Baseball Journal September 16-17, 2017

9-16-17

Chihuahuas versus Redbirds, PCL Championship, Game 4.  The Chihuahuas had Double-A pitcher, Jacob Nix, making his Triple-A debut on the mound.  He got into some early trouble in the first two innings, but worked out of it both times.  In the bottom of the second, Nick Buss tried to score on a double from first, but was thrown out at the plate. 

The third was the definitive inning.  Rafael Ortega singled in a run.  The crowd started chanting, “We want a hit!”  Hunter Renfroe sacrificed in a run, then Buss hit a three-run homer, 5-0 Chihuahuas.  In the sixth, sloppy ball-handling led to a Redbirds’ run, 5-1, and they left a runner stranded on third.  Things got busy for me in the seventh.  In baseball, Nyx came out of the game with one on, and two outs.  He got a standing ovation.  Jason Jester finished off the inning. 

Simultaneously in the seventh, the Canelo/Triple G fight started.  Also, the NM State Aggies football game versus Troy was finishing.  I was a bit unhappy I wasn’t at the game, but it was tight enough to where it was too nerve-wracking for me to watch.  (I was surprised the game was on local TV, since it was a home game.  Congrats to Adam Young, who was doing the TV call.)  I was encouraged that the score was close at halftime.  As the game went on, the score got closer.  Troy ended up winning 27-24.  I heard a couple of fans at the soccer match the next day felt that the wrong play call was made on a 4 and 1 late, but I can’t say.  I was watching through my fingers.  I feel pretty good about this loss in that Troy put up like 50+ points on the Aggies in their last two meetings.  If the Aggies can beat the Miners next week, people will be a lot happier with the program.           

In the ninth, Eric Yardley came in and closed out the game.  Chihuahuas win 5-1.  “Game 5 tomorrow night!” exclaimed Tim Hagerty.  He spent some time trying to sell tickets for the game.  He reminded people how rare it is to have a possible championship-winning game at home.  Tim also apologized for his voice and blamed allergies.  He sounded fine.

  

9-17-17

Tim Hagerty’s voice had a sense of urgency and gravity in his voice to start tonight’s PCL Championship deciding game between the Chihuahuas and the Redbirds.  In the first, a fan made a play on a foul ball, “Even the fans are in championship form tonight,” he commented.  There were another 5,000+ in attendance.  I’m not sure why they couldn’t get a sellout for any of these games.  These games were on the weekend.  Their regular season promotions never went to more than a fraction of the crowd, so that doesn’t seem like the problem.  Did they raise prices for the playoffs?  In the bottom, the Chihuahuas had two on via walks, with no outs, but didn’t score.

“I don’t know who won the Cowboy’s game.  I’m not looking it up,” Tim said with some annoyance in the third.  I’m guessing he was looking at fan comments on his Twitter feed or something.  It was such an out-of-character and out-of-left field remark, I laughed.  I think Tim’s tension might have broken a bit too, which may have been a good thing.  In the bottom, with runners on first and third, Hunter Renfroe struck out to end the inning.  In the fifth, Tim was talking about the Hawaii Islanders being the last PCL team to win back-to-back PCL Championships.  I think he was saying that they had a wooden stadium, infested with termites, when Patrick Wisdom of the Redbirds suddenly hit a two-run homer.  The crowd boo’d.  Renfroe later threw out a runner at home to end the inning.  2-0 Redbirds.  Chase d’Arnaud (“Four Base Chase” as he’s called on El Paso Sports Talk radio) hit a solo home run in the bottom to bring the score to 2-1.

Top of the sixth, an attempted double play failed and a Redbird runner scored on a fielder’s choice, 3-1 Redbirds.  Bottom of the eighth, Renfroe doubled and the crowd roared.  Christian Villanueva got on by an infield hit.  Unfortunately, Buss lined out to the first baseman to end the inning.  Before the bottom of the ninth, I put my Chihuahuas’ shirt back on and deployed my hat in rally mode.  I’d only worn the shirt all weekend.  Why not again?  The inning started with a hit and the crowd cheered.  There was another hit.  We have a chance.  Unfortunately, the next three batters were a strikeout, a strikeout, and a flyball out.  3-1 Redbirds final.

Waaah!  It’s over!  It was a great season from an entertainment value.  The Chihuahuas had an engaging run over the last month and a half.  The MLB races haven’t been all that tight and the pups’ run just consumed my interest.  It’s been fun.  At least they lost to a really good team.  The Redbirds had a 91 win regular season.  They grinded it out over two full five-game series.  The Chihuahuas had plenty of chances to win this series thanks to their hitting.  They got batter after batter on base.  At some point, you might have to credit the Redbirds for just being able to get outs when they needed to. 

Tim was ever so pleasant in the post-game and thanked everyone involved with the team, especially the fans.  It’s so sad to hear him sign off.  It’s like a friend going away.  I’m wondering if I’m going to be able to get back into the MLB.  With so many of the playoff games on cable, it’s hard to get into it until the World Series.  I still have some teams to root for, though they’re not teams I get to see or hear much of.