8-31-14
The Rangers lost to the Astros. Does the score matter? Does the result even matter? Eric Nadel’s complaints about the length of
games are becoming continuous. He is
definitely trying to get the league’s attention (since the Ranger’s season is
long finished). Now that he’s a Hall of
Fame broadcaster, perhaps that will help.
Eric and Matt Hicks talked about an Independent league that
has experimented with enforcing the 20 seconds between pitches rule (as per the
rulebook), forcing the batter to stay in the box, and limiting trips to the
mound to three per game. Implementing these ideas in the Major Leagues would
require the Players Union’s consent. An
informal poll in the clubhouse, showed that pitchers and batters were against
these ideas. So, “The fans don’t
matter,” as Eric put it.
Another foul ball went into the broadcast booth. This time only Eric’s laptop got hit. He rubbed some dirt on it and put it back
into service. Amazingly, the computer
did not require season-ending repair work, unlike everyone else associated with
the Rangers this season.
I picked the wrong game to keep a scorecard. I usually do this once a year, and I picked
the last game of the year for the dogs on Labor Day. I have a hard enough time doing it when
watching it on TV, much less over the radio.
I never got all the positions written in. In the third, the Pups batted around,
destroying my scorecard. In the fifth,
there were the twin disasters of my radio reception going sideways and head
huckster-used car salesman-General Manger, Brad Taylor, talking for the most of
the inning. Look, if you’re a guest and
plan on talking a lot, then you have to keep up the call of the game. So I ended up with some of question marks in
the boxes.
But other than that,
Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?
It was a swell game.
For a high-scoring game, it clipped along pretty quickly at a bit more
than two and half hours. There were only
a handful of walks, which usually drag out games. The pitchers worked quickly and the hitters
did the same. Going back to Eric Nadel’s
complaint, it’s a pity that it has to be a day game on the last game of the season
that everyone plays the game the way it was meant to be played. I have to think that most of the fans would
concur that this is how they would like baseball to be.
On to the game itself.
Unfortunately, fan-fav Jeff Francoeur had left the night before. Manager Pat Murphy took him off the field in
the 9th to let the fans say goodbye to him. Being a long-time major leaguer, he was the
most recognizable Chihuahua . But it was playing with a smile and
interacting with the fans that made him a favorite. It’s a pity he wasn’t around today, he could have
pitched the 9th. The Pups won
10-4 over the Salt Lake City Bees thanks to a scorecard-breaking 3rd
inning, where they sent 12 men to the plate, where they scored a team record 8
runs.
Tim Hagerty properly spent most of the game
reminiscing. (No matter how much it was
killing my scorecard. Lesson
learned. I’ll pick another game next
time.) The Pups made a pretty big splash
this year for being named after a small dog.
They won Stadium of the Year, Best Mascot of the PCL, Best Hat in the
Minor Leagues, and even beat the Toledo Mudhens in Facebook Likes. Over 530,000 fans were in attendance at the
Doghouse, easily an El Paso sports
record.
Tim gave the radio station personnel a special, “Thank
you.” On the one hand, I have been disappointed
with KROD’s lack of a pre-game. We were
teased a few times, but for the most part, it’s just been a couple of minutes
at the end of local sports talk, if that.
However, the station’s commitment to baseball has been solid. I wondered what they would do with Dallas
Cowboy game conflicts, but they moved them over to FM. They even held their Friday High School
[Unless you live here, you have no idea how big a deal High
School football in Texas is, even in El Paso , whose teams are routinely beaten by out-of-town
teams. (Probably doesn’t help that here
in nearby Las Cruces , we have two teams that
routinely win state championships and beat El Paso
teams.) It may be a good thing that the Canines
didn’t get into playoffs.]
There were two guests in the booth, the general manager and
team president. It probably helped the
interviews that the game wasn’t close.
The team execs were very complimentary of El Paso ,
if not somewhat humbled. Little wonder. The ownership group probably didn’t anticipate
their scheme working this well, what with the questionable civics antics and
team missteps (mostly the name, but that turned out well too). I’m still skeptical of them, but the good
people of El Paso have apparently decided they
will enjoy this team and stadium that have been forced upon them. Perhaps some good gate will help mitigate the
inventible tax increases. I was hoping
Steve Kaplowitz would show up, or that we might get a pre-game, but it’s a
holiday. So much for that.
It was a holiday and a day game in 90+ degree heat, but they
drew over 9,000 for another sell out. In
the 8th, up 10-4, the crowd was chanting, “We want a hit!” They had reasons to cheer in the 9th. Cody Decker and Jason
Lane were taken off the field to loud applause. Lane was probably the most talented Chihuahua , pitching and hitting well. Decker, meanwhile, had a rare mix of talent,
hustle, and showmanship. After a couple
of successful YouTube videos, appearances on network TV, and doing local sports
and weather, he’s at least got career options.
With two outs, the fans were standing and then let out a big cheer at
the end of the game. They were still
there after the game as players came out and tossed hats and stuff to the
crowd.
Before an end-of-season montage, Tim ended his broadcast
with a jaunty, “See you next year!” I actually
got choked up a bit realizing it was over.
At the end of the baseball season, I miss baseball, but I don’t think
I’ve missed any particular team before.
The broadcasts and the players have really been endearing. The El Paso Chihuahuas finished the season at
.500, but clearly they have convincingly won over their fans.
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