Baseball Journal: August 25-27, 2017

8-25-17

Tonight’s game between the Chihuahuas and the Rivercats was rained out.  Tim Hagerty reported that the shower came out of nowhere to soak the field.  A bit later, a weather alert said central El Paso was under a flood warning, at which point I gave up on the game starting.  I had a bit of a similar experience where I live in Las Cruces before the game.  It poured for a short, but heavy time, where I live, though the sun was still shinning.  When I went to work, the streets were flooded, until I got to a major intersection, after which, the streets were completely dry.

So, all I have to report on the game is the pre-game.  Steve Kaplowitz, still injured, but in the lineup, hosted his show from Twin Peaks.  I know Ron has been there.  I think remember asking him, “Is it themed after the TV show?  That’s cool.  I was a big Twin Peaks fan.”  No.  Actually, the name is a reference to something else.  I’ll let you chew on that.  Kappy had a conversation with one of those eponymous assets, a waitress named Anna.  She was so bright, sweet, and perky, and sports knowledgeable, I found myself wishing I was there.  (Though I would have been too shy to have talked to her.)  In any case, Anna did a great job of selling the restaurant, just by being herself.

Kappy reported that Jay Jaffe had a great time at the ballpark last night and sold plenty of books.  When Tim Hagerty came on, Kappy brought on a special guest, Tim’s toddler son.  He just barely knew how to talk, so it wasn’t much of a conversation.  Tim might have been a little too professional in acknowledging his child.  Maybe Tim was wondering how why his kid was at a sports bar.  There was no talk of impending bad weather, so all of us were surprised by the rain.  We await a double header on Saturday.

I tried to watch the Cardinals versus the Rays on the MLB free game, but I wasn’t into it.  The teams were wearing the Little League style uniforms, along with a nickname on the back.  They’re kind of appealing.  I picked up the game in the fourth with the Rays up 4-2.  The game was on, but I wasn’t paying much attention.  In the seventh, I did see a bunted ball actually stop on the foul line for a hit.  In the ninth, the Cardinals had some uncharacteristic, inattentive play and let a runner take second, unopposed.  This lead to two runs scoring (with a runner already on third) on a single.  7-3 Rays was the final.  The Cardinals almost deserved to lose for that.  I’m sure the Cardinals fans in attendance there in St. Louis were less nice about it.           

8-26-17

After a morning at an estate sale with comics and toys and a local comic book convention, I settled in for some baseball.  It was the Rangers vs. A’s in the early afternoon.  Rangers went up by two in the first. Thanks to the station joining the game late, I didn’t hear either run.  Cole Hamels was doing the pitching for the Rangers.  He gave up a homer in the bottom, 2-1.  I thought Eric Nadel alone in booth, since I didn’t hear Matt Hicks until the bottom of the second.  They were wondering about upcoming games in Houston with a hurricane currently battering the area.

By the third, Hamels was clearly having trouble finding the strike zone and gave up another home run, 2 all.  The A’s got the lead in the fourth on a grounder that skipped past Adrian Beltre and went all the way to the wall.  A runner was waved all the way in from first, 3-2 A’s.  In the fifth, the Rangers loaded the bases with Mike Napoli up.  He struck out on a pitch that bounced to the plate, inning over.  Napoli slammed his helmet and bat down afterward.  In the bottom, the A’s came up with three more runs and chased Hamels out of the game, 6-2.    

By the sixth, the game was dragging badly.  The guys started discussing the drummer in the outfield seats.  (I thought that guy was in Cleveland.)  Then they started talking about rock drummers and rock in general, then an A’s double to the wall scored two more, 8-2.  The Rangers got a run back in the seventh, but the A’s were threatening in their half.  I switched over to the Chihuahuas/Rivercats’ game that was just about to start.  A little bit later, I turned back and ran into the post-game.  I think the pace of the game must have picked up after I left.  8-3 A’s was the final. 

Game One of the Chihuahuas’ double header started with a leadoff homer by the Rivercats into the left field green seats, 1-0.  The Rivercats proceeded to tack on three more while I was answering a phone call and not listening, 4-0.  I’m suddenly getting the impression that this won’t be the Chihuahuas’ game. 

Tim Hagerty mentioned that several of the players on the Rivercats had been Chihuahuas recently.  He mentioned one trade that involved Anthony Rizzo, who had been on the Padres before being sent to the Cubs.  “I know Padres get furious with me whenever I mention that,” Tim said apologetically.  And then it was 5-0 by the third. 

Tim had time to offer an explanation of that close play at first that was reversed on Thursday.  Manager Rod Barajas hadn’t disputed the catch beating the runner, but rather that the first baseman had come off the bag.  It must have been pretty obvious for the Chihuahuas’ dugout to have seen that from across the field.  They were probably fortunate that the home plate umpire had been watching the play and agreed with them.   

In the fifth, Hunter Renfroe made the defensive play of the game by throwing out a runner going first to third from left field.  Tim reported some good news.  The groundskeeper at the Southwest University Park was honored by the PCL for best field.  The award is voted on by the various team managers, so it’s pretty prestigious.  Back to reality, the Rivercats clubbed a two-run homer just out of Travis Jankowski’s reach, 7-0.  It’s like there’s no crowd at the park.     

By the seventh, the last inning for this double header, Rivercats’ pitcher, Casey Kelly, had only thrown 56 pitches.  I stepped out of my apartment for one minute to take out the trash.  In that time, Renfroe hit a two-run homer, 7-2.  The crowd suddenly made itself known, cheering loudly.  I am present when Diego Goris hit another two-run homer for the inning, 7-4.  This knocked Kelly out of the game.  A reliever got the next two outs.  7-4 Rivercats in Game One.

I missed the top of the first since I’d tuned away, not wanting to listen to ESPN Radio talk about Colin Kaepernick again.  So much for 20 minutes between games, or that was a three-pitch half inning.  It appeared that I didn’t miss much for the rest of the game.  In the fourth, the Chihuahuas scored on a fielder’s choice.  That was it.  Adam Cimber got the save in the ninth with a runner on second and after a nine-pitch final at bat.  Chris Huffman got the win.  The Chihuahuas at least wouldn’t lose ground tonight in the standings.  (I admit I was watching a movie while the game was on.)  Meanwhile, Clayton Kershaw pitched for the OKC Dodgers on rehab in front of a full house.  That must have been a thrill.  And this game finished in time for me to watch the McGregor/Mayweather fight.  I wonder if the teams actually meant to do that so they could watch too.

8-27-17

Sunday had another afternoon matchup between the Rangers and the A’s.  Adrian Beltre scored the first run of the game in the second on a dropped popup, 1-0 Rangers.  Again, the game dragged and Eric Nadel discussed the weather in Texas with the hurricane.  In the second, the A’s hit a two-run homer and a solo home run, 3-1 A’s.  Ranger AJ Griffen was finally knocked out in the fourth after he got in trouble.  Austin Bibens-Dirkx came in and walked the bases full, but he got out of it on a grounder.  Shin-Soo Choo homered in the fifth, 3-2, but the A’s got another run in the bottom on a fielder’s choice, 4-2.

In the eighth, Elvis Andrus singled in a run for Rangers.  Adrian Beltre then doubled on a ball that the outfielders should have caught.  A’s not a good fielding team and made two errors today.  Mike Napoli then hit a hard shot that was caught by the third baseman, who then doubled off Elvis to end the inning, 4-3.  Errors are contagious.  In the bottom, an error by Roughned Odor gave the A’s another run, 5-3.  Two more scored on a hit, 7-3.  Then another hit brought the score to 8-3 A’s, and that was the final. 

This was a three-game sweep of the Rangers by the worst team in their division.  I hate these games against the A’s.  They always seem to take forever and end in a blow out.  The worst of it is, with college football, the NFL, and Aggie sports, I’m not even sure how many more games I’ll get to listen to this season.  These two games were a terrible way to close the season if that’s the case.  Meanwhile, the heavy weather in Houston is going to cause the Rangers and Astros to fly to Dallas, instead of Houston for their series that starts Tuesday.  They’re not sure where they’ll be playing.    

Tim Hagerty started off Sunday night’s Chihuahuas/Rivercats game by mentioning that the second game of Saturday’s double header was the first 1-0 game in the stadium’s history.  The Chihuahuas started off the bottom of the first with four hits in a row.  Rafael Ortega scored two on a double.  Hunter Renfroe brought him in with a double.  Rocky Gale singled in a fourth run and the inning ended on a rundown after that hit, 4-0. 

The Rivercats scored a run at some point by some means early in the game, 4-1.  I don’t know how or why I missed it happening.  I was listening.  In the second, the Chihuahuas got three on, but came away with no runs.  In the third, a Rivercats batter accidentally tossed his bat into the crowd for the second time.  Meanwhile, Tim interviewed another Chico’s Kids Club member, a rather laconic little girl.  Here’s something of a transcript.        

“You have a jersey on with a player autograph?” “Yes.”  “You met the players?”  “Yes.”  “You like them?”  “Yes.”  “You met Chico?”  “Yes.”  “What do you think of him?”  “Love him.”    

In the fourth, an ill-advised around the back throw by a Rivercat fielder went into the dugout to let Travis Jankowski on by an error.  He scored on a Renfroe double, 5-1.  Tim was closely following the Bee’s game in Albuquerque.  They were winning big.  In the fifth, the fans started jeering the Rivercats’ batter who can’t hold on to his bat when he comes up.  They loaded the bases.  I nod off (it was a long day).  Three runs scored, 5-4.  That’s what I get.

Tim related some more news.  The hurricane rain is hitting San Antonio hard.  As the home of Padres Double-A affiliate, they’re now having scheduling issues.  Colorado Springs clinched a playoff spot.  It’s their first since 1997.  That’s nice as a going-away present for the city, since the team is leaving in the near future and is going to be replaced by like a rookie ball team.  In the seventh, a walk and a double by the Rivercats tied the score at 5.

The Rivercats loaded the bases in the top of the ninth with two outs.  A grounder finished off the inning.  In the bottom, Ortega beat out an infield single.  Renfroe made it on via an error.  Christian Villanueva popped up to invoke the infield fly rule.  Tim reported that Salt lake won in Albuquerque.  Nick Buss hit a foul ball that was dropped for another error, but he ended up as a fly ball out.  Two on, two out, Tony Cruz came to bat and singled in Ortega for a walk off.  6-5 Chihuahuas final.  It’s coming down to the wire for the playoffs.