The Flinch That Stole Christmas

By Bill Tarrant

The Red Sox were mounting an unlikely comeback with two outs in the final inning when ‘The Flinch’ unexpectedly ended the game, preserving a 13-11 victory for the visiting Junkies.

Mike Mahler, the designated runner for Peggy Jones at bat, lurched over the starting line, and was called for the senior softball equivalent of a false start.

“It was just a flinch,” said Dr. Mahler, a neurologist and geriatrician, who can diagnose a quick nervous movement when he sees one. “My toe was just over the line, and my heel was above it,” he moaned.

It’s happened to most of us who’ve been designated runners at one time or another and probably worth revisiting this rule in the off season to make it less calamitous when “the flinch” inevitably happens. (In football it’s a five-yard penalty; in senior softball it can end a game).

The Red Sox were trailing 13-4 and had the bottom of their lineup due up in the bottom of the 7th.

"We had a 0.0 % win probability at that point," Red Sox manager Ben Franco remarked. 

Junkies pitcher Bill Tarrant set up the melodrama by walking the first low-rated batter - usually an ominous sign of impending catastrphe -before getting two outs to face the formidable top of the Red Sox lineup. Inevitably a cascade of goofs, gaffes and blasts followed, setting up the anti-climactic Flinch thatole Christmas from the Red Sox. 

Slow horses 17 Mustangs 7
Two thoroughbred teams met on Field 3, the Slow Horses and the Mustangs. After 6 full innings of horsing around, it was a tight game at 8-6. In the top of the 7th the Slow Horses stampeded for 9 runs, lead by clutch hits from David Munyer, Jodie Francisco, and Richard Wolf. The Mustangs answered back with a solo dinger by Matt Berlin, but it was not enough as the Mustangs were reined in by the Slow Horses 17-7. - John Gillot

Hip Replacements strut to victory

Well, this Thursday’s game against the Hip Replacements was a hard fought battle. The HR went out ahead with a lead early on, but the Grays came back chasing four runs at the end. Lots of good plays. Mark Simmons made two double plays at first base with a catch and a tag and John Gerson made two critical catches in the outfield to keep runs from scoring. Lots of other good hits and catches by the whole team. Unfortunately with our last bat, we had the runners on base to tie and win, but just failed to get them in. Regrettable errors cost us the win by one run once again. - Ann Alloca