thursday,may 2, 2013 - County Times - Southern Maryland Online

Sp rtsThe County TimesThursday, May 2, 2013 34A View From TheBleachersA Failed ChemistryExperimentBy Ronald N. Guy Jr.Contributing WriterA fewyears ago, Iwatched mydaughter painta dragon. Herbrushstrokes,to her art-challengedfather,were amazingin their fluidityand effortlessness. The elegant flowof pen across paper created unmistakablecharacteristics and withinmoments the beast had come aliveon paper. It was still a drawing by achild, but it wasn’t about the qualityof the art - it was her execution. Itwas out of body. Her unencumberedthoughts were guiding the brush.There was no consternation and noimpeding examination between herimagination and her hand’s magicaltransfer of image onto paper.The point is my daughter’shand and a paintbrush work together.There’s a natural chemistry betweendevice and extremity and aninnate ability to convert thought intotangible image. Transport me backin time to apprentice under Monetor Van Gogh and I could probablyproduce passable artwork; but I’dnever duplicate my daughter’s grace.Similarly, Stephen King said in hisbook “On Writing” that obsessivededication can turn competent writersinto good ones, but great writingis something you either can or can’tproduce. I experience that humblingtruth often while ironing out choppyprose. There are times when stringingtwo sentences together exceedsmy capabilities; other times hundredsof words can explode in moments. Ifonly the latter could be bottled andconsumed as needed.Sports are no different from artor writing - the naturals stand out immediatelyto the naked eye. A fewglimpses of Ken Griffey Jr’s swing,Barry Sanders running a football,Randy Moss running under a longbomb, Hakeem Olajuwon in the lowpost or Roger Federer playing tennisand you know greatness is beforeyou. Each regularly accomplishedelite athletic feats with seeminglylittle effort. There was no wastedmovement; everything – from mindto every part of the body – was incomplete harmony.Of the major team sports, basketball– particularly on the offensiveend - requires the most integrationto play at the highest level. Consistentlyputting the orange in the hoopis predicated on proper spacing,ball movement, unselfishness andclose choreography between 5 participants.When a basketball team issynchronized, the game is graceful –even artful. Passes are crisp, the ballmoves like a pinball and plays unfurlahead of the human eye’s ability toprocess. When it is executed precisely,offensive basketball is perhaps themost beautiful display in the sportsworld’s gallery - and no one does itbetter than the San Antonio Spurs.The Spurs’ talent - with householdnames like Manu Ginobili, TonyParker and Tim Duncan – is undeniable,but teamwork and the perfectintegration of role players like MattBonner, Danny Green and TowsonUniversity’s (a shameless plug of myalma mater) Gary Neal are the rootof their mastery. From top to bottomthe Spurs organization is perfectlyaligned and role-mapped; the oncourtproduct is simply as gorgeousas modern basketball gets.Ironically, the Spurs’ first roundplayoff opponent, the Los AngelesLakers, is their antithesis. WithKobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, DwightHoward and Steve Nash, the Lakersare a hodgepodge of elite talent thathas never found its flow. Coachingchanges, tweaked lineups and teammeetings – clichés of desperate teams- have had no effect. The Lakers havebeen foiled by injury and acrimonyand ultimately were doomed by a severelack of chemistry. The Lakerswere swept 4 games to none in an uncompetitiveseries against the Spurs;an outcome that secured their legacyas an apocalyptic disaster and thelatest entry in “Chemistry TrumpsTalent”, an unwritten diary of teambuilding.Barbara Walters once infamouslyasked Katharine Hepburn “if youwere a tree, what kind of tree wouldyou be?” I suppose if the Lakerswere an artist, they’d be me with abrush held awkwardly in on hand, apalate loaded with dollops of paint inthe other and a blank canvass aboutto be victimized.Send comments to rguyjoon@yahoo.comSomerset PatriotsTrounce Blue CrabsThe Somerset Patriots defeated the SouthernMaryland Blue Crabs twice during backto-backnights at regency stadium. The Patriotswon 8-5 in a 10th inning rally tonight in front ofa season-high 5,312 fans on April 26, then won7-4 in front of 3,613 fans on April 27 at RegencyFurniture Stadium.The Patriots began the April 27 game byhomering in the first inning and would not relinquishthe lead for the remainder of the game.In the loss, Southern Maryland drops to 3-7 inthe Liberty Division, while Somerset improvesto 6-3 in the Freedom Division.First baseman Jose Julio-Ruiz led the wayfor the Blue Crabs, going 2-for-4 and contributingtwo RBIs on the night. Julio-Ruiz broughtthe Blue Crabs within one in the fourth as theteam attempted a bottom of the inning rallyhowever, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabswould be unable to add any more runs in theframe. Designated-hitter Ryan Mulhern wouldhave the only other multi-hit game (2-for-4),while center fielder Jeremy Owens continued towarm up after a cool streak, going 1-for-3 withtwo walks and two stolen bases.Somerset’s second baseman Jonny Tuckerwent 3-for-5 tonight for the Patriots, dishing outthree RBIs and one run in the contest. CatcherJake Fox also hit his second home run in asmany nights for the Patriots as he went 2-for-5with one run and one RBI.LHP Jeremy Sowers would not perform asstrongly on the mound as he did in his last startagainst Somerset. Despite pitching two stronginnings to begin the game, Sowers would eventuallyunravel in the fifth, walking the first threebatters he faced. In four innings the starter allowedfive runs on four hits and three walks.For the Patriots RHP Mitch Atkins alsofaced trouble throughout his five inningspitched. The Blue Crabs would nab four runsoff of three hits, while Atkins managed fivestrikeouts in his start and walking four.Sowers began the game by retiring the firsttwo batters he faced, but gave up a home run tothe next batter Fox. The home run was the secondof the series for the catcher who went 2-for-5 last night. Despite a leadoff walk by Owens,the Blue Crabs were unable to add any runs inthe bottom of the inning as the Patriots took anearly 1-0 lead.Sowers quickly redeemed himself in thesecond by retiring the next three batters in arow and the Blue Crabs defense helped the 26year-old get out of trouble in the third. Patriotscenter fielder Aharon Eggleston would be hit bya pitch, advancing to first in the top of the thirdwith one out, but the Blue Crabs would get twoouts right back as Sowers struck out shortstopBobby Stevens and Eggleston was caught stealingat second. Designated hitter Yunesky Sanchez,who has collected seven hits in the firsteight games, then came to the plate. Fortunatelythough, a fly out to the shortstop for Sanchezhelped the Blue Crabs get out of the inningwithout a run scored.Southern Maryland wouldn’t be much helpon the offensive side in those same innings,despite the Blue Crabs getting runners to thecorners in the second with two outs. Somersetwould retire the next batter second basemanWladimir Sutil and was able to get out of theinning with the two runners left on base. In thethird Owens continued to turnaround his performanceafter a slow start to the season with aleadoff single and stolen base. Yet Atkins againgot the next three consecutive batters out as thescore remained 1-0 in favor of the patriots.Playing a part in moving Blue Crabs battersto the corners in the second inning, Mulhernwould help by getting himself on base inthe bottom of the fourth. The ensuing batter Julio-Ruizwould get Mulhern, plus himself homeas he belted a two-run homerun over the rightfield wall, for his first home run of the seasonand a 2-1 score at the end of four.After allowing the leadoff batter on base inthree innings straight (second through fifth) thePatriots would finally capitalize on the situationin the top of the fifth. Sowers struggled, walkingthe first three batters he faced in the inning.Manager Patrick Osborn chose to replace Sowersin favor of RHP Kyle Mertins with the basesloaded. Mertins, who was faced with a toughtask of a bases loaded situation with no outs,had work to do. Somerset’s Tucker would tallyhis first hit with a single followed by a Sanchezsingle, putting the Patriots ahead 3-2. Mertinswould battle back, retiring the three of the nextfour batters, but not before a sacrifice fly for atally and Mertins throwing a wild pitch to addtwo more to the board for Somerset.A bottom of the inning rally would be inthe works for the Blue Crabs however as Patriotspitcher Atkins began to lose momentum.Owens reached base for the third time on thenight as he led-off the inning with a walk andstolen base for the second time tonight. ShortstopRenny Osuna was then sent to first afterbeing hit by a pitch as outfielder Brian Bartondropped down a sacrifice bunt. Somerset wouldthen tally back-to-back errors from the thirdbaseman and pitcher Atkins. Third basemanSmith would overthrow first as he tried to getBarton out, leaving him at first and allowingOwens to score, while pitcher Atkins also overthrew first base as he checked the runner duringthe next at bat, allowing Osuna the score as theBlue Crabs shortened the Patriots lead to 5-4.The Blue Crabs would be unable to contributeany more runs to the board after thefifth inning, however Tucker’s single to rightfield would chip in two more runs in the eighthinning and a stolen base for the 7-4 final overSouthern Maryland.The Blue Crabs remain home Sunday toclose out a three-game series against the SomersetPatriots. The game slated for 2:05 p.m.will be the seventh meeting between the twoclubs this season. Southern Maryland will thenhave an off-day Monday before heading backon the road for a six-game road trip Tuesday.The Liberty Division’s first-place BridgeportBluefish will be the Blue Crabs first opponentin a three-game series, before facing the CamdenRiversharks for the first time this seasonstarting on May 3. Fans can listen to the BlueCrabs live broadcast tomorrow on www.phoenixintermedia.comwith pre-game beginning at 6:15p.m. Fans can also follow the Blue Crabs onwww.somdbluecrabs.com .