Baseball Journal August 2023

 Or thereabouts.  This was just a convenient stopping point to make a post.  The Chihuahuas have continued fading in the second half, so I’ve only been keeping up with them sporadically.  MLB.TV hasn’t been doing daily free games lately.  They had a Saturday with all free games, but I was busy and none of the match ups that day were all that great.  Not to mention, Aggie Sports have started up.  Also, the Rangers have swooned, so I’m a bit depressed about baseball.     

 

8-8-23

In an otherwise forgettable 18-1 loss to Sugarland by the Chihuahuas today, Jantzen Witte was a highlight.  The outfielder pitching was at least interesting.  He had a 33 mph eephus pitch that didn’t register on the pitch tracker.  Unfortunately, the hitters weren’t as fooled, as he gave up 4 runs in the ninth.   

 

8-9-23

Michael Lorenzen pitched a no-hitter for the Phillies.  He thanked the fans for giving him encouragement late in the game.  A few days ago, Trea Turner, who’s been slumping all season, was given a standing ovation there.  He rewarded them with a three-run homer later in the game.  Okay, what’s happened to the Philly Fans and who are these people in the stands in Philadelphia?  At this rate, I may have to bury my Philly Fan impersonation.  Boooooo!

 

While that was going on, I was watching the Blue Jays play the Indians.  (MLB.TV had a live look-in of the no-hitter ending.)  The Jays won 1-0 off of a solo home run by George Springer in the first.  He fought off 13 pitches before homering.  

 

8-12-23

Brett Sullivan slammed a line drive homer into the scoreboard tonight against the Sugar Land Space Cowboys.  Later in the game, with the score 18-11, broadcaster Tim Hagerty noted that with the double digit scores you could see that some bulbs had been broken in the display.  (Admittedly, I only listened to about an inning.  I was listening to the Rangers winning against the Giants.)         

 

Meanwhile in other games I didn’t see, the Braves swept a double header against the Mets, 21-3 and 6-0.  These two teams were supposed to be fighting each other for the division all season.  Further west, the Orioles beat the Mariners 1-0 in ten innings.  That must have been like a playoff game.

 

8-13-23

I came into today’s Rangers/Giants’ game late.  The Giants were leading 1-0 through 8 and 2/3 innings.  Thanks to an error and some hustle, the Rangers managed to score the tying run.  In the 10-th, the Rangers took the lead off of a runner being balked in from third.  Even the Ranger announcers seemed to be skeptical of the call.  In the bottom with the automatic runner on second and two outs, the Giants hit a two-run homer to suddenly win the game.  Matt Hicks was nearly in shock calling the game-winner.  I was disappointed, but it didn’t seem like the Rangers deserved to win today.  Like I used to hear said on Aggie Basketball, “Ball don’t lie.” 

 

8-16-23

I chose badly.  I listened to the Rangers lose 2-0 to Angels.  They were no hit for 7 innings.  This reminded me too much of Sunday’s game.  The Rangers are still doing well.  The problem seems to be me listening.

 

I should have listened to the Chihuahuas versus the Isotopes.  I noticed that they were up 10-4 in the second and didn’t start listening until late in the game.  The pups won 20-7!  They had an 8-run second inning, which included Ray-Patrick Didder hitting two home runs!  Brandon Dixon had a heck of a night with three homers and 8 RBI’s.  The wind was blowing out, but only when the Chihuahuas were batting apparently.

 

Broadcaster Tim Hagerty mentioned the crowd size the previous night.  The Isotopes are actually one of the biggest draws in Minor League baseball (and have one of the biggest MILB ballparks).  He seemed a little dismissive and wondered if there was a special promotion going on.  I checked.  There wasn’t and they’re not that great a team either.  Perhaps Tim should be asking the staff there what they’re doing to get the turnout.

 

8-18-23

The Angels got a grand slam from Shohei Ohtani and turned a triple play in the ninth and yet still lost to the Rays today.  Meanwhile in St. Louis, highly touted prospect, Masyn Winn, made his debut for the Cardinals.  He collected his first hit on an infield single, which Pete Alonso of Mets promptly threw into the stands . . . for real.  I’ve seen players fake doing this to freak out the rookie.  Pete apologized profusely to Winn and the media afterward.  He just had a “brain fart,” as he put it.  Also, since this happened in St. Louis, the receiving fan did give back the ball in exchange for some gear.

 

8-19-23

I tuned in late to the Chihuahuas vs Isotopes tonight, since I was late getting back from Aggie Volleyball.  I didn’t miss much as they were scoreless through 7 innings.  After that 20-run game (and Chihuahuas’ pitching in general) on Wednesday, this was hard to believe.  There was a hard wind blowing, but it must have been blowing in.

 

In the top of eighth, Brett Sullivan called time, but was still hit on the knee by a pitch.  The players started jawing at each other and a Chihuahuas player was ejected.  Sullivan was not given first, because time was called before he was hit.  He drew a walk anyway (painfully).  The pups loaded the bases and scored on a tapper in front of the plate that the catcher dropped. 

 

In the bottom, the Isotopes loaded the bases with no outs.  There was a run on an infield hit and then a grand slam.  The ball got caught in the wind, which must have shifted.  It had an exit velo of only 88mph.  5-3 Isotopes was the final.  The dogs did try to make a bit of a comeback in the ninth.

 

In the afternoon beforehand, I was watching Stadium and saw the Triple-A Worchester Red Sox playing the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders.  I was impressed with the Woo Sox’s facility and the full house there.  (I have also reluctantly praised the Yankee’s affiliate for their stadium.)  The Sox went up 7-1 early, but the Railriders came back.  I was kind of sorry I had to leave for Volleyball before the end.  Curious, I looked up the score after I got back.  The Sox hit a grand slam in the 8-th.  The Railriders scored 4 in the ninth, but fell short.  14-12 Woo Sox final.  The crowd got their money’s worth.

 

8-20-23

Everybody I was rooting for lost today.  The Rangers lost three in a row to the Brewers.  The only possible cause was that I listened to all of those games.  Lucky for them, the Astros ran into a buzzsaw against the Mariners and lost all three of their games to them this weekend.  The teeth of the saw were named Julio Rodriguez, who has gotten 18 hits in five games, which are video game numbers.  (My prediction of his “sophomore slump,” has now expired.)  The AL West is becoming a three-horse race. 

 

The Chihuahuas and Rockies lost, as well.  Annoyingly, everything I wanted to see or listen to today was all on at the same time.  I listened to the Rangers, switched to the pups, and then to the Rox as each game ended.  There was also a Minor League game on Stadium. 

 

An NHRA drag race also came on TV during all of this.  I was kind of excited as Leah Pruett made it to the finals, though things kept getting in the way of me watching.  She lost in the final, but at least it was to Antron Brown, who I also like.  (I didn’t get to hear his winning interview, because I was on the phone.)  And I found out that there was Monkees marathon going on another station, which I might have wanted to watch.  At least, I derived some pleasure from the Yankees losing their eighth game in a row today. 

 

   

8-22-23

What a surprise.  I came into tonight’s Chihuahuas game late (from having to go offsite for a meeting and dinner.)  Suddenly, Daniel Johnson came to bat.  Yes, our former Aggie Baseball star was now playing for the pups.  He’s bounced around a bit from when he played with the Indians.  This was his first game and he made a good impression going 3 for 4 with a home run.  Aggie Sports Twitter was all over it.  They also reported that Kyle Bradish with the Orioles was tied for the ERA lead in the American League.

 

8-25-23

I came in late (this seems to be a recurring theme in this post) to the Tigers versus the Astros on today’s MLB.TV free game, but I think I got the best part.  Framber Valdez tossed a no-hitter for the Astros through his 7 innings, but it was broken up in the eighth off a reliever.  Still, the Tigers were down 1-0 in the ninth.  Strikingly, the fans were standing and cheering for the whole inning and they were rewarded.  Rookie Parker Meadows jacked a walk-off 3-run homer off Ryan Pressley to win the game, 4-1.  (Obviously, the Astros had a bad inning leading up to that shot.)  Meadows had even robbed a homer earlier in the game in the outfield. 

 

8-26-23

There was a Free Saturday on MLB.TV, unfortunately I only really watched one game.  (The matchups this weekend weren’t that great and I was busy with other sports.)  I did watch the end of the Reds versus the Diamondbacks.  The Reds managed to tie the score with 2 runs in the ninth and went on to score 3 in the tenth.  The D-Backs responded with 3 in the bottom of the tenth.  With a runner on third in the top of the 11-th with 2 out, the D-Backs almost wiggled out of it, but an untimely balk brought in what would be the winning run.  Reds win 8-7. 

 

Those two teams are still fighting for NL wild card spots.  Meanwhile, the Seattle Mariners are suddenly leading the AL West.  How did this happen?  Didn’t they trade away their closer at the deadline?  Well, going 9-1 in their last 10 games probably helped, while the Rangers went 1-9 in their last 10.  The Rangers won Saturday night, but would lose on Sunday.  The Astros haven’t been able to capitalize and aren’t winning either.

 

8-27-23

I was waiting to go somewhere and caught some of an Indianapolis Indians game on Stadium.  Nick Gonzales had been sent down from the Pirates this month and was back with the Indians.  The game I was watching was a rebroadcast, so at the time I didn’t make note of the particulars of it.  What I did note was that Nick had a great game.  He was 4 for 4 when I left.  This was the other team’s broadcast and by this point, they’d taken notice of him.  They chatted about his epic career at New Mexico State, which pleased me to no end.  Joey Ortiz is also doing well in Triple-A.  Barring injuries to the big league clubs, I think these two will be juicy trade bait in the offseason.