(Non) Captain's Corner: 6/8 road trip to Hartford

Each week, we speak with team Captain Matt "Howitzer" Lungariello on the game of the week. But Matt wasn't there this weekend and I feared other captains and Team Prez Vigorito wouldn't respond to my interview requests in time for my self-imposed deadline of today. So instead, I interviewed Ginger Kirkpatrick (pictured above). He's not a captain or anything, but I knew he'd respond to my e-mail comparatively quickly.

KEEP IT VINTAGE: I know you're not a captain but I'm interviewing you for the Captain's Corner this week, since Matt wasn't there and the other guys take too long to respond to my e-mails.

Why do I think you will respond more quickly?
GINGER: I don't know because, in truth, I'm actually quite busy. You have to understand, I'm kind of a big deal.

KIV: So what went wrong with the guys the other day?

G: Aside from several missing people, nothing, really. We just played a better team. They could rake. Brian and I kept saying, "Oh, geez" as we watched yet another dart sail deep into the gap. But Kurt braved it out on the mound, and I believe added 3 hits. He's really been hitting some nice line drives, which is what we need in this lineup. Cap filled in at short and then pitched, and Matty "the Conspicuous Canine" Ayotte pitched a scoreless inning in relief. Brian had the hit of the day, when he temporarily felled the leftfielder and possibly threatened his offspring. And Gozer scored something called a "run."

KIV: Do you think the switching between rules has any impact on the team?
G: Nah. Come on, we gotta be able to play '80s ball, too. What do we need, a tee?

KIV: (Well I just meant you need more pitchers and catchers, your pitchers have to be able to work the strike zone more not to mention fielders and hitters have to be adjusted to higher speed of play, but moving on...) Do you think there's any chance Obama chooses me as his runningmate?
G: Well, some say he should pick a woman to help broaden his appeal. So, yes.

KIV: Another rule switch this weekend. How do you think the boys will hold up?
G: I'm not even sure what the '70s game - or as I call it, "Ulysses S. Grant" ball - consists of. Is it like 60s ball, but now freed slaves can play, too? Carpetbaggers get only 2 strikes? Players are subject to random testing for morphine use? (These late 19th-century jokes doing anything for you?)

KIV: Well, no...

Captain's Corner: 6/1 "A Tale of Two Games"

Each week, we will catch up with Team Captain Matt "Howitzer" Lungariello (pictured above) on his thoughts regarding the game of the week.

On June 1, it was certainly the tale of two games. In the first, the Orators' bats slumbered while sloppy defense left them in a hole they never climbed out of. The team rebounded in the second game of the doubleheader jumping out to an early lead and never looking back. The team scored over 20 runs in what was their best offensive game of the season. They managed to end their 6-game losing streak and get hitting displays from guys like Barkeep Donnelly and Ginger Kirkpatrick.

So let's see what El Capitan says:

KEEP IT VINTAGE: Let's be blunt - Ginger's been hot at the plate. Is he juicing?
HOWITZER: If you're not cheating, you're not trying. We aren't currently testing for steroids since they haven't been invented yet.

I just hope that he would share it with the other players on the team if he was getting some decent stuff.

KIV: The team's beaten Newtown before but this was the first official victory against them. How important is that?
H: It's very important. We have lost a few one run games to them, and I know that our guys really wanted to win and put it behind them. A good way to get that first win is by scoring 20+ runs. We really put game 1 behind us and hit the ball very well in game 2.

KIV: The team is still .500 at home. After just two wins, is it too early to say the team plays better at home?
H: There's no question that we play better at home. Most of the guys get to sleep a little longer, and spend a little less time driving before gametime. That works both ways also. The team that we are playing had to wake up a little earlier and drive a little extra. It messes up your body. No one likes to sit in the car too long.

KIV: After showing some life in game 2, I'm sure building on that momentum is important? What does the team have to work on to have more victories?
H: I hope we can carry it over. It would be nice if we were playing a 1860's game this weekend, we looked pretty sharp in game 2 last week.

This weekend we will be playing 80's rules, so it will come down to pitching. Hopefully, we get a few pitchers to show up on Sunday.

KIV: What's the status with Cap and the other injured guys how they coming along?
H: All our injuries are day to day at this point. We are going to keep a close watch on Paul's hammy. That will be a problem all year, we just have to be smart about it. Ginger always plays through it, and last week we had to remove GentleBen who had problems with both legs. Cap is just about healed, its really up to him when he feels comfortable playing again. Irish is ready to go, and Big Dawg has a cut on his hand but it wont effect his knuckleball.

The 10th Inning...with Brian "Barkeep" Donnelly

Everyone knows him from tending bar at The Field restaurant/bar in Bridgeport. Little do they know, Brian “Barkeep” Donnelly’s vintage “alter-ego” as the boisterous LF for the Bridgeport Orators.

Barkeep, a pesky top of the order hitter, is known by his fellow ballists as a guy who sacrifices life and limb to catch a fly ball. He has a fire in his stomach, not just because he has access to hard liquor from his job as bartender either. The Barkeep is always willing to speak his mind, sparking his teammates and making things happen on the ballfield with his dangerous speed and sometimes supernatural fielding abilities. He does it all while dedicated – rather than hit a cutoff he’s been known to run a ball all the way back to the infield. His banner moment came last year, when he showed up to play a vintage nine even though he was to be married in mere hours.

We took the opportunity to talk with Donnelly this week, and see what makes his vintage mind tick.
KEEP IT VINTAGE: Let's get the obvious out of the way. On the morning of the day of your wedding, you showed up to play some ball. Obviously that is multi-tasking but let me ask you this: did you ever think of rescheduling the wedding to an offday?
BARKEEP: I have my priorities; my wife's my life. Besides how could I say no to a beautiful woman who includes Oktoberfest and Amsterdam in our honeymoon plans?

KIV: You're generally considered one of the faster runners in the vintage game. Are you really fast or is everyone else really, really slow?
B: I'll take the pat on the back, but in all seriousness if the lads didn't support the tobacco peddlers so much we'd be a faster team. But yes, even without the smokes, I'd still out run the lot of them without spilling me beer.

KIV: A lot of people know you as a bartender. Compare mixing it up at the watering hole to mixing it up in the outfield.
B: Curious question...and I really don't think there is an eloquent answer for it. I guess with the off-season acquisition of the very talented Irish, first sack has really started to resemble The Field.

KIV: Tell me a little bit about how you first heard of vintage ball and became an Orator.
B: My great-grandfather shared fields with the Orator himself, so when our founding fathers held their initial meeting at the bar I tend, I was intrigued.

Then I overheard tales of barnstorming across New England and pictured flashy uniforms with hundreds of cranks cheering our efforts and lining up for our autographs. The Yankee blue uniforms sold me.

KIV: What's a better insult for an opposing team fielder who catches a fly ball on the bounce - nancy boy or a fancy lad?
B: I think we need to take a more aggressive approach than that. Those scallywags should to be tarred, feathered and thrown back into the kitchen where they belong. Maybe one of them can fix the run in my stockings.

The "10th inning" is a series of posts where we chew the fat with the Bridgeport Orators team and other vintage personalities.