8-21-17
It’s Eclipse Day. Tacoma was in the path of Totality. Tim Hagerty was there and reported that the city went nuts for the event during a pre-game interview. He’d forgotten about the eclipse himself and hadn’t packed any special glasses, so Tim actually missed it. My co-worker, Mike, wanted to go to Wyoming for the eclipse. His girlfriend refused when he made the suggestion. She turned out the lights in the room and said, “There! It’s just like an eclipse! You’re sitting in dark!” She left the lights off for two minutes until she’d made her point. If you think I’m making a joke here, you obviously don’t know her.
The Chihuahuas started the night in first place by virtue of having the same record and the tiebreaker over the Salt Lake City Bees. The game started on a sour note for everyone, as the Rainiers’ shortstop tripped on the mound going after a popup in the first. He hit the ground very hard and had to come out of the game, completely shaken up. Hunter Renfroe was in the lineup for the Chihuahuas tonight, down from the Padres. He started off his stint with a hit. Carlos Villanueva hit the chalk for a double, which drove in two runs, including Renfroe busting it all the way from first, 2-0 Chihuahuas. So far, so good.
Then, the Rainiers tied it in the bottom of the first, 2-2. The Rainiers’ reindeer mascot, Rhubarb, put in an appearance, wearing sunglasses for the eclipse. Tim may have been a bit jealous that the mascot was better prepared than he was for the spectacle. Chihuahuas’ pitcher, Kyle Lloyd, may not have been ready for this game. He loaded the bases without getting an out, gave up two runs on a double, and two more on a single. It was 6-2, still without any outs, when Lloyd came out, and Jason Jester came in. I got busy at that point, but got a recap. Three more runs scored, and Jester was injured by a line drive off this leg and had to come out. 9-2 Rainiers and the Chihuahuas were on their third pitcher.
I admit that I somewhat drifted out of the game at this point. In the fifth, Tim mentioned former Aggie pitcher, Joe Galindo. He was promoted by the Padres today. Joe is from El Paso, so there is some anticipation of him making it Triple-A in the future. In the sixth, Renfroe hustled out a triple and scored on a Fielder’s Choice, 9-3. Former big leaguer, Ernesto Frieri, was pitching for the Rainiers for the inning. Renfroe wasn’t done. In the seventh, he doubled in a run, 9-4.
For the ninth, the Rainiers brought out a Brazilian pitcher. Brazil’s starting to come on as a baseball country. The Chihuahuas scored once on another Fielder’s Choice and scored another on a wild pitch to bring the score to 9-6 Rainiers. Unfortunately, it never felt that close, and that was the final. Renfroe made the final out on a pop up. He went 3 for 5, with 2 runs, 1 RBI, and no walks, which was actually what he was sent down to work on. I’ll take the hits instead. Salt Lake won, so the Chihuahuas went back to second. It was unlikely that the Rainiers weren’t going to do start scoring at some point in the series. Let’s hope for a better pitching performance tomorrow.
8-22-17
I got to work today and was informed upon entry that we were in a disaster recovery situation. If you’re in a data processing profession, a chill just went down your spine. We were down for the day, but recovered. Whew. So that said, baseball wasn’t a top priority.
Later in the evening after things had gotten back in order, I got an update on the Chihuahuas/Rainiers game in progress. It was the sixth with the pups up 2-1. It wasn’t until the bottom of the seventh that I was able to sit down and listen. That was right after the Rainiers hit a two-run homer to take the lead, 3-2.
In the eighth, Hunter Renfroe doubled. He then attempted to take home on a shallow single by Chase d’Arnaud. Tim Hagerty was a bit flabbergasted by what happened next and had some confusion calling it, but Renfroe hesitated, then ran through the stop sign and was thrown out at the plate. To make it worse, Rafael Ortega singled next. When Chase stopped at third, the crowd actually laughed. No one scored here, and the Chihuahuas went down quietly in the ninth. 3-2 Rainiers was the final. This one stings, especially as the team had apparently had chances to break it open earlier in the game. Salt Lake also lost, so at least no further ground was lost. Unfortunately, Jose Rondon and Carlos Villanueva left the games with injuries. At least the team has a day off tomorrow to recover.
8-24-17
I was not able to get any baseball Wednesday. Sad. Steve Kaplowitz was a guest on his own show Thursday. Kappy was injured this week and had to take time off, and what better way to take time off than to go to the ballpark. He called in as something of a pre-game show, since the replacement host doesn’t like baseball. Kappy reported that Hunter Renfroe was out signing autographs for fans. Jay Jaffe, a sports writer who is a weekly guest on Kappy’s show, was also there, signing his new book. Tim Hagerty came on later with updates on player injuries. Carlos Villanueva was okay and back in the lineup. Jose Rondon wasn’t in, but was not on the DL at this point.
The Chihuahuas were starting their final homestand of the regular season with a series against the Rivercats. Whether they’re having any post-season games is yet to be determined. What sounded like a large, lively crowd was present. Jaffe came into the booth in the second to chat with Tim. He’s a Hall of Fame expert and that’s what his new book is about.
Jaffe is a stat geek and very geeky. WAR wasn’t good enough for him, so he made up his own version of the WAR stat. (The ultimate goal for all Sabermetricans is to find the One True Stat, which will condense all players down to single, catch-all statistic.) Jaffe’s statistical work has actually helped players get in the Hall. He would also probably have a few players booted, who he says got in via cronyism of elected members getting their friends in. It was an interesting conversation. Tim clearly would have liked to have talked to him more. I kind of wished I was at the ballpark, so I could get a signed copy of the book and maybe chat a bit too. (He might not have liked what I’d have to say about what I think about the importance of baseball statistics.)
Meanwhile there was a game going on and the call somewhat suffered. In the bottom of the second, the Chihuahuas started off with three straight hits. Nick Buss even got on by a bunt! Unfortunately, even with no outs, the pups only managed one run and that was on a double play, 1-0 Chihuahuas. Diego Goris flashed some “skin” in the third by making a barehanded catch of a grounder. Renfroe doubled in the bottom and Goris doubled him in, 2-0. In the fourth, the Rivercats would get a run on a fielder’s choice, 2-1. At this point, the game had been flying along and was only an hour old.
This all set the stage for the bottom of the eighth. I’d been busy and just came in as the inning was ending. Or not. There was a close play at first where Rafael Ortega was ruled out to end the inning. Manager Rod Barajas came out and asked the home plate umpire to overrule the call. I’m not sure what the Chihuahuas’ bench saw, but they seemed sure the runner should have been safe. Obviously the crowd thought so too. After the umpires gathered to discuss the situation, they agreed. Tim was utterly shocked. Either there’s some other ruling coming into play or it wasn’t as close Tim thought it was. Certainly, this kind of reversal never happens where there’s no video replay involved.
Since Ortega was safe, this impacted the score too, as a run scored from the amended result. Almost needless to say, the Rivercats’ manager was ejected arguing the reversal. The Rivercats’ pitcher had to come back out from the dugout. This didn’t go well. Three more runs scored, including one by a passed ball. It was 6-1 before the final out was definitively recorded. That score would hold as the final. In the ninth, the Rivercats’ pitching coach and substitute manager was ejected for arguing fair/foul on a batted ball. I suspect they’ll still be pissed tomorrow. Hunter Renfroe went 3 for 4. Salt Lake won their game versus the Isotopes 12-0, so there’s no change in the standings.
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