9-6-17
No baseball for me on the fifth. Today, I made the mistake of rereading a
volleyball post I had just posted. It was
terrible. It was just badly
written. Since I’d already posted it, it
wasn’t worth rewriting. Though I’d gone
to two volleyball games, watched some Godzilla films, and done some other
things, it felt like I’d spent my whole three-day weekend in front of the
computer typing. The writing was labored, forced, and tired, and it
showed. I need better editing and maybe
some more time between writing and posting.
While waiting for the Chihuahuas/Aces playoff game, I finally
got to check out MLB’s Twitter/Facebook/social media show, the Dugout. It was at once
more casual in conversation than MLB
Tonight coverage on the MLB Network,
but also more frenetic in pacing. Where
it felt like there should have been a commercial break, they kept going. The show felt kind of intense and it must be
exhausting for the hosts, especially with their high enthusiasm level. Maybe that’s why they only run this once a
week. Overall, it was an interesting
venue for baseball talk. Allison Footer was one of the hosts. I’d heard her many times on podcasts. I was surprised she’s an attractive young
woman. From her knowledge and
experience, I’d assumed she was older (and crustier, like a sports
writer).
And here’s where I bury the lead. I was busy with work and never quite caught
up. So, I was listening to most of the Chihuahuas’
game, but just didn’t have the time and energy to take more than a smattering
of notes. This isn’t a good start for
the playoffs for me. I found out a
co-worker is going to the game on Friday.
She even went to a recent game and a visiting player gave her little son
a ball. (I’m surprised the ball didn’t
have his phone number on it. She’s a
hottie.)
In Reno, a loud and passionate crowd
showed up (though not large at 3,100).
The fans were issued thunder sticks, which they used for most of the
game. Between the “clacking” noise and
occasional Latin music, it felt like a Brazilian Carnival was going on in the
background. The stadium’s PA was really
good at revving up the crowd, and the music and sound effects were good too.
Tim Hagerty was pleased that
the rain during the day cleared off that night.
He also took pleasure in finally announcing Chihuahua, Nick Buss, as the league batting
champ. Tim had been going over his
numbers, hits, plate appearances, and so on for a few weeks. I’m sure he’s glad that the storyline finally
resolved and happily resolved.
Okay, I heard most of this, but ended up
having to reconstruct it from Gameday.
Reno took the lead in the second on a fielder’s choice, 1-0 Aces. In the fourth, Hunter Renfroe homered to tie it.
Jose Rondon then drove in a
run on a fielder’s choice, 2-1 Chihuahuas.
In the fifth, Renfroe again got an RBI on yet another fielder’s choice,
3-1.
A light rain started falling in the
seventh. Tim tried to sell it as no big
deal. The pups hit into a really strange
double play. The third baseman picked up
a bunt by Chase d’Arnaud and threw
to first for one. Travis Jankowski, seeing third was unoccupied, tried to take the
base. The Aces’ catcher, however, got up
the line and covered for the out. That
was 5-3-2. Tim thought Chase should
still be credited with a sacrifice.
Top of the ninth, Rondon hit a sure
double or more which was caught by a sliding Evan Marzilli in the outfield.
Tim and the crowd there were very impressed with the play. In the bottom, the game ended on a double
play. 3-1 Chihuahuas win and take a 1-0
lead in the best of five series. Tim was
surprised by the low score, since the park and the altitude are very hitter
friendly. Chihuahuas’ and Aces’ pitching
did well. This felt like a close, tight
playoff game. This could be a good
series.
9-7-17
I checked out the Braves versus the Marlins
on the MLB Free Game. New Suntrust Field is getting some exposure
this year. Dee Gordon led off the game with a triple and there was a second
one by Marcel Ozuna, as part of a
three-run inning. Ender Inciarte was playing in the outfield next to fellow, former
Chihuahua Jace Peterson. Matt
Wisler, another Chihuahua, came in as a reliever in the Rangers’ game on
Labor Day. I hope the Padres got someone
good for all these guys.
Chip Caray and Joe Simpson called the Marlins’
pitcher, Dan Straily, “A box of
chocolates pitcher.” Quoting from Forrest Gump, you didn’t know what you
were going to get whenever Straily takes the mound. Ender stole second in the inning. He got there with Dee Gordon’s glove and the
ball underneath his leg and Gordon left empty-handed. Ender was still safe.
Because of the hurricane coming for
Florida, the Marlins players had been told to take their families with them on
the road trip. The Braves were offering
free game tickets to anybody from Florida who was fleeing the storm. That was nice of them. As of today (Friday), all of Florida and now
Georgia are being warned. There may not
be any games in Atlanta this weekend.
The Braves won the game 6-5.
Back in Reno, the Chihuahuas and Aces were
playing Game Two of the division series.
In the first, Chase d’Arnaud,
was announced as “The Strikeout Batter,” on the Chihuahuas. If he struck out during the game, everyone in
a section would get a free beer or something.
Tim Hagerty seemed a bit put
off by the promotion. It was another
lively crowd, if on the small side at 3,500.
They brought back their thunder sticks.
There wasn’t much offense to start,
though Chihuahuas’ pitcher, Brian
Rodriguez, got his first hit of the season.
He immediately stopped at first.
Ooops, emergency, emergency!
There’s a new Taylor Swift video
with her cat! I had to watch that a
couple of times. I can’t wait to meet
the cat when I’m finally dating Tay. While
working, I walked back into the room just in time to hear Jose Rondon doubling in Hunter
Renfroe, who scored from first. Dusty Coleman, who was in the lineup
for his defense, hit a two-run home run for a 3-0 Chihuahuas’ lead. The Aces got a solo homer in the bottom, 3-1.
In the fifth, with two Chihuahuas on,
there was a pop up near the pitcher’s mound.
Two players collided and let it drop to load the bases. (It wasn’t called an infield fly. Back to rulebook, if first base is
unoccupied, the rule doesn’t apply.) It
was bases loaded with no outs, but the Chihuahuas only got one run on a Christian Villanueva sac fly. That was even with two (could have been
three) errors in the inning. 4-1
Chihuahuas.
The pups had their own shaky inning in
the seventh. There was a single, a near
error, and then another single, which drove in a run. The runners moved up on the throw to the
plate. The crowd got back into it. There was a walk to load the bases with no
outs. Manager Rod Barajas stuck with Brian Rodriguez. He finished off the inning
with a strikeout, an infield fly, and another strikeout. 4-2 Chihuahas.
In the eighth, pinch hitter Diego Goris hit a long fly ball off the
batter’s eye. “What’s the call!”
exclaimed Tim, waiting on the ump, “Home run!”, 6-2. The crowd immediately went quiet. In the ninth, Christian Villanueva doubled in
a run, 7-2, and that was our final. Another
great pitching performance for the pups.
The Chihuahuas are now up two games in this best of five series and
coming back home for the rest.
Let’s take a quick, belated trip around
the MLB, mostly because I finally noticed a bunch of streaks in progress. Cleveland,
firmly in first in the AL Central, has a 15-game winning streak. A local window business had a promotion
related to that streak and had to pay up with a couple of million in free
product and services. Lucky they had an
insurance policy on that. Arizona has a 13-game winning streak
and the Dodgers have a seven-game
losing streak. Even with that, it’s
still not close in the NL West. In the
NL East, three of the five teams have already been eliminated from the
playoffs, with a fourth about to join them.
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