FESH SHOWS SOME EMOTION!

Pullin' The Chain and Punchin' Him Out!

Note to self: Don't pitch a knuckleballer and a Korean in the same game. Manager Jones who was almost tossed after Donnie Sadler got the heave-ho should take heed. The Red Barons had an offensive explosion tonight!! Reggie Taylor went 3-5 and had the biggest blast of the night. A homerun in the 6th with 2 outs against Jin-Ho-Cho or Ho Chi Minh or whoever. Gary Bennett had 2 RBI in the 8th on a double to give us breathing room. It turned out that we needed it. Pawtucket threatened in the 9th, roughing up Barry Johnson and putting two runners on with 2 out for Dernell Stenson. Who always pitches to Stenson? That's right, FESH! Fesh came in and quickly ran the count to 3-0. He grooved a strike down the middle to make it 3-1. The next pitch was the exact same pitch and the count was 3-2. The place was raucous as Fesh delivered and Stenson ruined the drama by fouling it off. Eric Eckenrode, the Chase Brothers and I fired 'em up one last time. Fesh pitched.....RIGHT DOWN MAIN STREET!! EVERYONE WNET NUTS! FESH WENT NUTS AND LOOKED LIKE UGEUTH URBINA!! Game over. The final line score! Fesh (S,2) That's it!!!

Now on a gravely serious note. I was informed before game time that a friend of mine who I had refereed hockey games at RIT with passed away. Joe Ferraro had been on a trip to Israel. As he was returning on the flight, he felt extremely ill. He was rushed to a hospital in New Jersey and died within a couple of hours. It turned out that he had a strong case of Meningitis. Joe was an incredible guy who did so much, and didn't even have to. He was my supervisor when I started to referee hockey and I was quite poor. He never criticized me like the others, he made me feel like a part of the group. There is a tribute site that I will provide the link for shortly.
Ironically, I wore a hockey jersey to tonight's game. I had it on before I heard the news. I actually played hockey for the first time this summer 3 hours before I got the news. I wrote JF 79-00 on the back of my ticket stub to tonight's game. In the bottom of the 6th I pulled it out and asked myself things. Why was I bothered so much by this? Did it really mean that much to me? I felt that it did. When I looked up, Reggie Taylor launched a ball over the billboards in right field.
Joseph Theodore Ferraro (1979-2000)
This shows that meningitis can affect anyone, even 20 year olds. Please get vaccinated against this awful bacterial infection.

Hmm, I was just thinking about something...David Francia is pretty good. As is Reggie Taylor. Boiled Okra!