June 9, 2007 / Brooklyn Cyclones

Cyclones beat up on old writers

By Eric Bennett

for The Brooklyn Paper

The Brooklyn Paper / Julie Rosenberg

Good times: Phenom Eric Bennett scored the game’s first run, and the Scribes appeared to be on a roll.

The Brooklyn Paper / Julie Rosenberg

Bad times: Bennett took the loss hard. Real hard.

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The scorebook may have read 6–2, but a group of punchy, punchy and pusillanimous veteran Brooklyn Cyclones reporters clearly won last Sunday’s charity game against the team’s front office.

How’s that for the first draft of history?

As expected, the Scribes got on the board first, scoring two runs in the top of the first, capped by a run-scoring double to deep left field by Patrick Hickey. The fact that Healy’s drive would have been an inside-the-park homer had he been wearing his oxygen tank did not diminish the feeling that the Scribes were going to win in a walkover.

And why not? After all, this midnight game was the fifth of eight straight contests that the Cyclones’ front office would play in a 24-hour marathon of baseball to raise money for two Coney Island charities, the Salt & Sea Mission Church and Reaching Out Community Services.

A team of clowns — no, really, they were clowns — from King Henry Entertainment softened up the ’Clones front office before the Scribes took the field, leaving the Cyclones sluggish, disoriented and ripe for the taking.

True, Scribes starting pitcher Mark Healy didn’t have his best stuff — or, frankly, any stuff — allowing the Cyclones to answer back with three runs in the home first. The front office would add single runs in the third, fifth and sixth innings while the Scribes stranded runners all night long.

But why dwell on misfortunes when you can accentuate positives like phenom Eric Bennett’s diving stabs at shortstop, first baseman (and Brooklyn Paper Editor) Gersh “Olerud” Kuntzman’s over-the-shoulder, Willie Mays–style catch in shallow right field, or Paper reporter Nick Pauly’s laser-sharp relay throw from left field to home to cut down a Cyclones’ runner?

And why mention Kuntzman’s three anemic pop-ups to first? And why bring up his error on a ground ball? (Why? Because it’s fun, that’s why.)

Manager (and Paper columnist) Ed Shakespeare declared, “I’m proud of my boys,” as the final out was recorded at 2 am. The Scribes received a standing ovation (though it may have simply been the fans’ rush to the restrooms).

And while the Cyclones had to keep playing, the Scribes passed the hat for charity and then went out and got drunk.

“We played hard, we played smart and we had fun, so I can’t ask anything more from my players,” Shakespeare said. “Now, who’s buying at Peggy O’Neills?”

©2007 Community Newspaper Group