Not hugely into baseball today for some reason. There was some sort of the issue with the Chihuahuas’ broadcast, which didn’t start on time. I gave up on it initially. By the time I checked back, it was 4-0 Las Vegas 51’s halfway through. The pups ended up losing 7-3. I did hear the Las Vegas crowd go nuts for an inside-the-park home run in the eighth.
7-6-17
All of the MLB free games were on early this week, so I missed them. I did see a clip of Jon Jay pitching for the Cubs in a blow out. The outfielder was throwing unbelievably slow, but he got the outs. I sent the link to my Aunt Judy in Missouri. Even though he’s not a Cardinal anymore, she still likes him. She loved it.
I missed the first half of the Chihuahuas versus the 51’s. It was 109 degrees in Las Vegas at the start. Tim Hagerty reported that it was still 103 degrees late. Also, he was outside calling the game, since there wasn’t room the pressbox for out-of-town announcers. He sounded okay anyway.
The Chihuahuas, however, weren’t doing so good. They had a 5-2 lead when I tuned in in the seventh, right before the 51’s sent 11 batters to the plate and scored six runs. They had the bases loaded for most of the inning. Cody Decker got a hit and scored.
In the top of the eighth, the pups scored two to close back to 8-7. Unfortunately, 51’s had a nine-batter bottom of the inning and scored five more. It wasn’t a good day for the bullpen. “The Chihuahuas probably want this one over with,” said Tim. 13-7 51’s final.
7-7-17
Even in the high 90’s, Tim Hagerty reported that the team and himself were glad to be back in El Paso, rather than 109 degree Las Vegas. After the fact, he reported how uncomfortable it was broadcasting in those conditions outside. Tim had been especially worried about his equipment overheating out in the sun.
The Salt Lake City Bees started the game with a homer and a one run lead. In the bottom, the Bees had an epic defensive meltdown with two errors and a misplayed ball, which resulted in six Chihuahuas’ runs. Much of that damage came off of a three-run homer. Tim was incredulous as the Bees are the best defensive team in the league.
I drifted away from the game again. The Bees would make it interesting later, but the Chihuahuas tacked on a few more runs for a 9-5 win. The Bees ended up with four errors for the game. On the local news the next day, I saw one error where they blew a rundown between third and home that resulted in a run. Also on the broadcast, they talked to a local umpire who was brought in to sub for a sick PCL umpire for the game. That must have been a thrill for him.
7-8-17
This Saturday’s Fox game was the Royals at the Dodgers. Both teams are playing well lately, and I like the Royals. Unfortunately, I still don’t like the Dodgers, and there were multiple distractions on other channels. I kept flipping back to the game, but didn’t stick with it for the most part. I need an All-Star break.
The Dodgers took a three-run lead early. The Royals got on the board after a Whit Merrifield double and then a wild pitch and a passed ball scored him. Down by a run in the seventh, Merrifield again drove in the tying run. Salvador Perez homered in the eighth to give the Royals a one-run lead (I missed seeing it). In the bottom, Dodger rookie All-Star, Cody Bellinger tied it on a homer (I missed that too). In the tenth, Dodger shortstop, Corey Seager, let a slow roller go right past him, and Eric Hosmer took second before the ball came back in. Unfortunately, he didn’t score. In the bottom, the Dodgers loaded the bases without an out. Too late, a reliever was put in, who walked Bellinger to force in the winning run. 5-4 Dodgers. Depressing.
The Chihuahuas versus the Bees. Dustin Ackley hit into “The longest fielder’s choice in history,” as Tim Hagerty put it in the second. A long fly ball was hit to Franchy Cordero, who caught it at the wall, but dropped it. The runner on first didn’t see it and was forced at second when the throw came in. The Bees just don’t seem to be playing sharp.
Tim had a special guest in the booth early, Ben Wood, the Dugout Club supervisor. (Those are the good seats behind home plate with the attractive attendants.) It was Ben’s birthday and his wife had set up this interview. Tim was pleased as punch to talk to him. After two quick half innings, Tim kept holding him over into a third. Ben and one other attendant have been at every Chihuahuas’ game. He’d worked for the Royals right before they won the World Series.
The Chihuahuas were up by three until the Bees tied it on a three-run homer in the fifth. In the sixth, Jabari Blash drove in two for a 5-3 lead. The Bees scored once in the ninth and had the tying run on, but Jason Jester got the final out for a 5-4 win. Hmmm. Seems familiar.
I flipped over to the Rockies versus White Sox game right after the finish. In the eighth, Mark Reynolds hit a triple and was driven in to tie the score. Unfortunately, my reception was poor, but I did hear Greg Holland giving up the lead in the ninth. In the bottom, Charlie Blackmon was ejected after questioning the call on a strikeout. Manager Bud Black would join him in the clubhouse shortly afterward for doing the same. 5-4 White Sox was the final. Wait. What? That was three games in a row with the same score. Now I know why I missed the Rangers winning over the Angels. They had a different score.
7-9-17
10:00 am was the earliest start time ever for the Chihuahuas. It was even the first game of the day for all of professional baseball today. Tim Hagerty was continually amazed by the time and kept watching the clock. This time was set to get the teams a headstart on the All-Star break and maybe a break on the evening heat. Tim didn’t mention the crowd during the game, but announced it at 6,000 afterward. Not a great crowd, but they were pretty enthusiastic.
In the first, a Salt Lake City Bee outfielder dropped a flyball that ended up being a double and yet another error. The Bees definitely need some time off. The teams traded solo homers in the second. Jabari Blash hit the one for the Chihuahuas. A little girl joined Tim in the booth from Chico’s Kid’s Club. She called Tim, “Sir,” the entire time.
Franchy Cordero hit a two-run homer in the third. He also got on in the fifth after a bad throw to first after a strikeout (another Bee error) and scored on a grounder. 4-1 Chihuahuas. In the seventh, the Bees sent out Damien Magnifico to pitch. I doubt I could have called this inning without snickering. He wasn’t magnificent (I’m sure he’s never heard that one before in his career), but only allowed a run, in spite ample opportunity to give up more.
The Chihuahuas would win 5-2. Brian Rodriguez had a good, quality outing for the win. That’s a three-game sweep of the division leader, putting the pups only five games out of first. (Unfortunately, they still have a losing record.) The game came in in a very tidy two hours and 19 minutes. I almost think there was a kangaroo court rule in effect for the game for the players. Any at bat going over four pitches or any walks given up would be punished.
Rangers versus Angels. I haven’t seen or heard these guys all week. Eric Nadel has apparently taken off this Sunday, but I’m happy to hear Matt Hicks doing most of the commentary. On the other hand, I got to hear plenty of him and, co-host Jared Sandler, as the Yu Darvish worked at a snail’s pace. The Angels’ pitcher wasn’t any better. Matt told a long story about the third base coach’s uncle. It was so long, I wasn’t sure the game was still going on. Matt later speculated on the first meeting between the Aaron Judge and the Yankees and Brandon Drury and the D-Backs, thus we’d have “Judge and Drury.” Maybe the heat there was affecting everyone. Regrettably, the game itself was worse. It was a 3-0 Angels win, and it wasn’t that close.
In more interesting games, the Astros beat the Blue Jays 19-1. It’s obvious which team started the All-Star break early. Jon Lester surrendered 10 runs without getting three outs in the first inning in the Cubs’ 14-3 defeat at the hands of the Pirates. I did say something about the Cub’s pitching being their Achilles’ heel at the beginning of the season. Kyle Freeland threw 8 1/3 hitless innings in a 10-0 win for the Rockies over the White Sox. That’s a really good sign. Unfortunately, the Dodgers are starting to run away with the NL West. And with that, we go to the break and the All-Star game.
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