Two people with very full schedules were able to coordinate a Friday night early in April in which to play shum APBA. Keith Smith would be bringing his Kentucky Kernels to Crackerjack Park for a nine game series, our first in-area series of the year. Keith had just sent an e-mail to the league, stating, he’d never beaten me in APBA, which was the kiss of death, we were beaten before the dice hit the table. Due to crazy traffic, almost three hours from O’Hare, Keith said that three lanes were closed down because of an accident, so rather than getting to my house about seven; it was almost eight when he arrived. We chowed down on some Angelo’s grub, lasagna for Keith and eggplant parmagiana for me. Zip-zip, we were off & rolling by 8:30 and in snappy series, we were all done about half passed midnight.
The Champions outscored the Kernels by eight, out homered Kentucky by two, and yet dropped a close series 5-4. Champion hurlers notched their 9th & 10th shutouts in just 39 games played. Last year was a high point, 1st place finish & a World Series Championship, and we got out of the gate in fine shape this season, winning 23 of the first thirty games. Who would have thought it would all go downhill so quickly? Gravity is a bitch! Losing our first series, possibly ever to Keith, makes me really pause to reassess my life, APBA, what’s it all about? Is it all about lucky dice? When people’s lives go to shit, is it all because of bad dice? I can’t roll any friggin numbers!
Actually it was a fun series, even though I lost. Keith is always good to play, never changes expression, whether he wins or whether he loses. With the team he has put together, I don’t think this will be the last series in which the Kernels best the Champions. We won the first game 6-0 behind a Tim Lincecum shutout. Dropped the next four, by a total of five runs, two games went extra innings. The Champs rebounded to take the next three, Lincecum by a score of 8-2, with 2 outs Jeff Francoeur walked on a 13-40 walk with the bases the bases loaded against a Z pitcher in the bottom of the 10th for a walkoff 6-5 winner, and Matt Cain combined with two relievers for a 5-0 shutout. Kentucky took the rubber game for a series win. AROD clubbed six long balls, driving in 13, batting .375, 12 for 32 against KK.