The Chicago Hounds defeated the Rangers last night at Winnemac Park. The score was 13-0 in only 5 innings, as the Hounds trounced the hapless Rangers via the slaughter rule in front of several mystified fans who may have thought the Hounds were playing a team from a much less competitive league.
By the score it may seem like a strong win for the Hounds, but it was more the story of a sad, sad, depleted, in-fighting Ranger squad. Indeed, at least 4 of their players seemed more likely to be hurt by the ball than catch it–some of them proved nearly incapable of catching a ball despite multiple attempts at routine plays, a couple could not swing a bat in a manner in which it could possibly connect with a pitch. The Ranger shortstop played the field defensively in tennis shoes, no cleats. Overall, somewhat embarrassing for the league–we used to have teams like that years ago (the long defunct Hawks were just terrible, the Aviators were awful the first few seasons), but this was the worst performance by a CMBA team that I have seen in a long, long time.
Keith and Mudd pitched. Nolan hit a home run. Papa Hanson reached safely 3 times. Lots of scoring. But it wasn’t much fun, it really felt like beating up a team of 8 year olds. If Brent and I didn’t keep hitting the ball directly into the mitts of surprised Ranger fielders, the game might still be going on.
The Hounds play again tomorrow v. the Red Sox at Winnemac and hopefully it is a more competitive game, but with a similar result (meaning, Hounds win).
Even if last night was sad, the bigger story is that the Hounds are now 7-3 after the first 10 games of the 30 game CMBA season. Simply a great start!