MLB Season Preview 2026

Sorry, this blog was originally titled, “MLB Hot Stove 2025.”    I really meant to do it, but the trades kept dribbling out until I decided to make it part of this season’s preview.    I tried keeping up with major trades, but probably missed a few anyway.    Well, let’s get to the Preview.

Preview Magazine

I picked up Lindy’s Baseball Preview magazine at the end of January.    I was surprised to find     it there so early.    In fact, it was way too early.    There were a bunch of important signings and trades that happened after.    I don’t know why they don’t publish this at the beginning of March.    Trades no longer mostly happen at the Winter Meetings.    It goes all winter. 

I actually really wished I’d waited.    I went back to Barnes & Noble a couple of times and found more and likely better ones.    The Athlon one seemed to have better articles.    Baseball America, now a regular-sized magazine instead a tabloid, produced a preview issue.    (They also had a separate College Baseball preview issue.)    Sports Illustrated had a mostly baseball issue for Opening Day week with the latest updates.  The best I can say is that the Lindy’s one may have been the cheapest option.   

The text of the preview magazine I did get was fairly functional, but there were a few zingers.

About the World Series: “In a subhead that required three semicolons and an inconsistent use of capitalization, the league proclaimed: Game Seven is Most-Watched MLB Game Globally in 34 years.”    The MLB points to the huge ratings of last years’ World Series and international viewers, but two/thirds of the audience was in Canada and Japan for the Blue Jays and the Japanese players on the Dodgers.    Last years’ Series with the marquee teams of the Dodgers and Yankees did not pull in those ratings.   

About the Rays: “Josh Lowe-Trade of Brandon Lowe reduces surname confusion but increases pressure on Josh’s stick.”   These two players have the same last name, but they are pronounced differently.

About the Phillies: “Adolis Garcia: Two years after being a World Series hero, was non-tendered by the Rangers.”

“Kyle Schwarber: Knows what it’s like to be non-tendered by a team for whom you were a World Series hero.”

About the Reds: “TJ Friedl: His picture is next to ‘scrappy’ in the dictionary.”

“Ke’Bryan Hayes: Terrific with the glove at third base, but might as well wear a mitt in the batter’s box, too.”    Ouch.

About the Cardinals: “Victor Scott II: Raps on the side, under the name, “Argo,” center-field defense outstrips his flow.”

About the Padres: “Top Prospects Kruz Schoolcraft.    The 6-foot-8 2025 first-round draft pick has a name you’ll remember even if he doesn’t pan out.”   

About the Rockies: “Paul DePodesta is back from the gridiron, but the Broncos have as good a chance of winning the NL West as the Rockies do.”    DePodesta was previously working for the Cleveland Browns, obviously some real out-of-the-box thinking there.    The Rockies did have the distinction of being the only team that Lindy’s didn’t have anything good to say about.    They didn’t even think much of Ezequiel Tovar, whom they put on the cover of this Mountain West edition.    I handed the magazine off to my dad and told him to read the entry about the Rockies.    He said, “Boy, they really don’t like their chances this year.”    

There was also a back page article on Women’s professional Baseball, for some unknown reason.

One thing I always find interesting in these Preview magazines are the stats on attendance and payroll.    The Dodgers are first in attendance with over 4M and first in payroll at $350M.    The Padres are second in attendance at 3.4M (eighth in payroll), while the Mets are second in payroll at $342M (fifth in attendance).    (The Yankees were third in both categories, if you were wondering.)

The A’s (768k) and the Rays (786k) were at the bottom in attendance, but they were playing in minor league parks.    The Marlins (1.1M) were the lowest in attendance at an actual Major League stadium.    The Marlins were also lowest in payroll at $67M with A’s and Rays not far off.       

A few other stats I found interesting.    Most teams’ payrolls track with their attendance.    The Rangers had the worst discrepancy being seventh in payroll, but seventeenth in attendance.    The Rockies may have made out the best being twenty-second in payroll, but fifteenth in attendance to see the worst team in the league (.265 winning percentage).    The Brewers were the best regular season team at .599.    They were twelfth in attendance and eighteen in payroll.   

The St. Louis Cardinals were twentieth in attendance and payroll.    That is shameful for such a proud franchise.    Finally, the Orioles were twenty-third in attendance, but sixteenth in payroll.    Granted, the team wasn’t winning last season, but they weren’t drawing well when they were.    They were just below Washington in attendance.    That’s a worse team with little prospect of getting better in a much smaller, but far richer, market.                               

I should mention that attendance is also dependent on the capacity of the stadium (and the city population to some extent).    Most stadiums are in the high 30’s to low 40’s.    Currently, only Dodger Stadium is in the 50’s (56k capacity) and that’s after a recent renovation.    Surprisingly, Chase Field (Diamondbacks) was #2 at 48k, but it will be renovated in the near future and likely lose seats.    T-Mobile Park (Mariners) was third at 47k.    Yankee Stadium and Coors field used to have 50k capacity, but they’re now at 46k.    [Actually, Coors has a 50k capacity, if you add in standing room area.]    At the other end, Sutter Health Park (A’s) only holds 14k and George Steinbrenner Field (Rays) holds 11k, but Tropicana Field reopens this season, so the Rays will return to their usual poor attendance in a Major League stadium.    (Do we need a Weighted Attendance (wAtt) stat?    Where’s Bill James?)

Salary Cap Analysis

This is it!    This is the year I’m rooting for the Dodgers to win the World Series!    Have I given in to the inevitable and succumb to the hype?    Heavens, no.    I just want them to win so that the salary cap finally gets implemented.       

This is the big issue this year.    The apologists for the current system (the Dodgers spending their way to victory) are negotiating with themselves at this point over the impending lockout at the end of this season.  They acknowledge that there’s a severe spending imbalance.    They want to tweak the competitive balance tax and also force the low end franchises to spend more money.    I don’t think that attitude works when even when even the New York Yankees fold in the offseason and say, “Too rich for my blood.”   

The Dodgers spend a lot, but they make a whole lot more.    Shohei Ohtani has been a gushing well of money for them in the Japanese market.    The Mets are trying to keep up, but don’t have the organization to properly utilize the resources to compete like the Dodgers do and look like idiots.    Mets Owner, Steve Cohn, needs guardianship on his bank account to stop him from hurting himself any further. 

The other teams are either trying to be prudently competitive or just not trying.    In effect they’re saying, “We’re not spending until we’re facing each other on more equal terms.”     Simply, the Dodgers may have broken the will of the other 29 owners. 

Maybe back in the day, people were okay with superstar Yankee teams being in the World Series every year with their fans saying, “We bought our championships fair and square,” but not today.    The NFL has already faced this problem of a maverick, free-spending franchise upsetting the apple cart and dealt with it (much to my chagrin as a Cowboys fan).    Fans may hate the Patriots and Chiefs’ dynasties, but they don’t think that the teams purchased their success.    (This isn’t to say that the Patriots might not have cheated their way to the Superbowl and that the Chiefs weren’t getting help from the refs to help script perfect endings for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, but that’s a different issue.)

I’m not against the Dodgers or other teams making as much money as they can.    Wide disparity between markets virtually guarantees revenue will be unequal in a sport that depends heavily on attendance revenue.    However, everybody should be limited on what they can spend on their teams, because the MLB is selling competition amongst equals at the top level of the sport.  Nobody’s paying to watch the Dodgers take infield and they’re not paying to see them play the Washington Generals if the umpires aren’t getting hit with buckets of confetti.      

Right now for salaries, there’s no floor and there’s a soft cap that allows unlimited spending, but with penalties (the competitive balance tax).    So, this is where you get the discrepancy of $67M to $350M in spending.    The current proposal is a minimum salary and a maximum salary for the teams and these would be hard caps.    The fans and the teams are for it, while quibbling about the numbers and how to implement it.    (The Dodgers have an enormous amount in deferred salaries, which would have to be accounted for.    Deferred salaries must also be eliminated.) 

I think the owners had been okay with the soft cap, because it allowed them to “go for it” whenever they felt they’d built up a team that could compete for a World Series.    Without a floor, owners could tear down and draft high to rebuild without having to overspend for little hope of good results.    That system has been abused at the low end and now completely exposed at the top end.    Too many teams have dropped into the non-competitive category and are “drawing welfare” from the competitive balance tax.    A handful of teams are running up the salaries of superstar players, ensuring they’re the only ones who can get them.    The ones in the middle may have calculated that their best chance of competing is to change the system and implement the cap.

 

Essentially, the Players Union and the Media are the only ones fighting the cap.    They really can’t articulate why.    All they are saying is, “This won’t work to create more competition,” and, “The players won’t accept a cap.”    That’s it.    A floor on spending should actually increase player salaries overall.    The cap isn’t necessarily going to limit superstar salaries, since more teams will be in the running for them.    I’m tired of hearing the inevitable talk about star players on small teams approaching free agency, and it’s always the Dodgers and Yankees listed as likely suitors.    The small market teams should not be a feeder system to the large market teams.   

When I say, “the Players Union,” even that is a misnomer.    It’s the high-powered agents, lawyers, their superstar players, and the true believers in the union.    You’ll recall what happened the last time there was a lockout.    The union reps rejected the owner’s final proposal.    The rank and file players overrode them and voted for it.    A lot of these players are doing pretty well and have little motivation to fight (and lose their income) for the “right” of superstar players to make enormous salaries.    It’s not like everyone will get to play on the Dodgers and the Yankees.   

One thing about this Dodger reign: it will end when Shohei Ohtani stops playing for them.    Right now, the Dodgers are making tremendous amounts of income from the Japanese media and sponsorship.    They are wisely attempting to win championships in this window as long as the money is pouring in.    When it closes, they’ll be more restrained, likely actively seeking out more Japanese stars for the team.    Now, this isn’t to say they still won’t be a first-class organization and always in title-contention; they’re just not going to be as brazen about it.

A salary cap might be seen as a permanent fix to a temporary problem, but really the salary imbalance has been unacceptable for quite a while now.    The Dodgers winning another World Series this year will prove it to everyone.    Certainly, the number of lower tier teams will grow regardless.    The Union wants that floor to fix it.    How bad to they want it?     

 

My best guess for a settlement is a hard $150M salary floor, which will double salaries for the lower tier teams.    There will be a corresponding drastic increase in the penalties for going over the current soft cap of $244M, which will essentially be a hard cap.    The distribution of those penalties will count towards that increased floor number.    The Dodgers will be free to continue what they’re doing, since they can afford it (for now).  Some owners may sell rather than meet the floor, but there will be buyers.    The Union could “save face,” by saying they kept the MLB from implementing a cap.  

Predictions

AL East

The Blue Jays were this close (holds fingers just apart) from winning the World Series, so they’re good and hungry.    The team led the AL in batting and improved their team pitching in the offseason, but I think the Red Sox will win the division.    They lost Bregman, but added pitching and will hit better and will make a move at the trade deadline.    The Orioles added Pete Alonso, but I’m not sold on them turning it around yet.    What am I, nothing to you?    Pipe down, Yankees!    You’re full of sound and fury signifying nothing.    At least the Rays are back to playing indoors this season.    They’re not going to do anything until they for sure get a new stadium.                         

AL Central

It should be the Tigers winning this division.    Tarik Skubal is pitching for a huge free agent contract and they picked up Framber Valdez (and for some reason, Justin Verlander).    They just didn’t pick up some batting in the offseason.    If the Tigers disappoint, that’ll be why.    The Royals do have the batting and will be fighting the Tigers for the division.    (KC has also moved in their fences.)    I know we should have learned to not sleep on the Indians after last season, but until they change their name back, they’re not winning.    The Twins and the White Sox are there to bolster the Tigers’ and Royals’ win numbers.    

AL West

It had better be the Mariners winning the division or Seattle fans will riot and burn down the stadium.    (Given the politics of the people of Seattle, they might not need an excuse.)    They improved the team a bit picking up Brendan Donovan in the offseason, but Cal Raleigh probably won’t hit 60 home runs.    This is still a team that nearly made it to the World Series.    Look for some trades to shore up their hitting some more.   

Speaking as a homer, I think the Rangers may give them a fight for it.    They led the AL in pitching and defense last season; they just couldn’t hit.    They added more pitching with Mackenzie Gore, who just needs better instruction to be a star, though the Rangers did lose Mike Maddux as their Pitcher Whisperer.    They also traded Marcus Semien for Brandon Nimmo.    This may have been for clubhouse issues as much as for offense.    Semien seems like a really good guy, but there are rumors about him and Corey Seager, who seems pretty mellow, not getting along.    Seager and others on the team staying healthy will determine the Rangers’ success.    If competitive, they’ll add pieces at the trade deadline.

I think the music has finally stopped for the Astros.    There’s talent there, but they’re likely played out.    Look for a teardown and a rebuild starting next year.    The Angels are still irrelevant.    The homeless A’s really need to keep their good, young hitters and hold on to them until they make it to Las Vegas.    Once there, add some pitching, and you’ve got a good team.       

NL East

This should be an entertaining dogfight between the Braves, the Phillies, and the Mets.    By picking up Freddy Peralta (though losing closer Edwin Diaz), the Mets may have the edge, especially if they’re will to pay whatever to win.    However, Phillies are desperately trying to keep their winning window open with some old man energy.    Meanwhile, the Braves may have the best overall team, if they can stay healthy.    It’s a three-sided coin flip.    The Marlins and the Nationals have had so much talent running through them, but it’s all going to go away to other teams.

NL Central

The Brewers traded their best pitcher (Peralta) and are done.    Wait, I’ve said that before.    They were #1 in pitching and #2 in hitting in the National League last season.    There’s got to be a drop off at some point from this talent drain, but it might not be this season.    Granted, the main reason the Brewers are winning is because of how questionable the rest of the division is.   

I actually like the Pirates to challenge them.    Beyond Paul Skenes, they’ve got good young pitching and some upcoming hitting prospects, like Konnor Griffin.    Management did open up the pocketbook finally and brought in Brandon Lowe.    Maybe they’ll add some relief pitching at the trade deadline.    If Oneil Cruz puts it together, this could be a good team.    (Lot’s of “If’s, though.”)    The Cubs are floundering.    Losing Kyle Tucker and picking up Alex Bregman wasn’t really a win.    The Reds are a bit of an enigma.    If players they have play up to potential, they’re a Wild Card team, at least.    (More “If’s.”)    My poor Aunt Judy.    Her beloved Cardinals are going into a rebuild finally, years later than they should have.   

NL West

The Dodgers are going to run away with this.    Apparently last season, they actually laid back a bit to be better rested for the playoffs.    They won the offseason by picking up the best free agent hitter in Kyle Tucker and best reliever in Edwin Diaz.    They’ll likely also win the trade deadline by picking up Tarik Skubal from the Tigers.    The speculation on this was rampant after getting Tucker.    The Dodgers do reportedly have the best farm system to trade with and the Tigers and Skubal had a very contentious arbitration, which the Tigers lost.    If the Tigers don’t play up to expectations, this trade will happen.    The Dodgers greatest opponent will be fatigue from playing through October for the last two years.    If they don’t win, that’ll be the only reason.

Everyone else is playing for a Wild Card.    As talented as the Padres are, they’ve lost pieces and the Giants picked up a good one in Luis Arreaz.  The Diamondbacks resigned Zac Gallen and acquired Nolan Arenado for a bag of chips.    Don’t count them out.    This might be a good fight between these teams.    I feel like I’m forgetting something.    (Flips pages on preview magazine.)    Oh yeah, the Rockies are still in the league and haven’t been relegated in favor of promoting a good Triple-A team.        

How does this all end?    Who loses to the Dodgers in the NLCS and the World Series?    Mariners over the Tigers in the ALCS.    (Alternately, if the Tigers falter and get blown up at the trade deadline, maybe the Royals.)    The Dodgers’ NLCS opponent is wide open, but I’ll pick the Giants, who will over-perform and pick up some help during the season.    Okay, this is a really dumb pick.    Let’s make a less edgy one.    How about the Phillies?    Really, it’s a tossup between several teams that aren’t as good as the Dodgers.  When you know how the movie ends, do you need to know about all of the side characters’ fates?    At least the M’s versus the Dodgers World Series should play well in Japan.

NM State Aggies vs LA Tech Bulldogs Baseball 3-22-26

Aggie Baseball had a tough road trip last week. They lost 2 of 3 to DBU in their first C-USA series. The two losses were by run rule. Their win was in a 17-14 slugfest. In that game, Tommy Meluskey went 4 of 5 with 6 RBI’s and Chris Daniels was 3 of 4 with 5 RBI’s. Each had a 3-run home run. It was a great comeback win, as they were down 13-5 in the seventh. The Aggies also took a mid-week run rule loss to TCU. Cooper Reese finally made it back into a game to pitch, but didn’t do well.

On Friday, the Aggies started their next conference series against LA Tech and suffered a 13-8 loss. This was in spite of 4 LA tech errors. Bryce Campbell had 3 RBI’s, though all of his runs were unearned. I went to Softball on Saturday afternoon and declined to go to Baseball for the nightcap, after being slow-roasted in the heat. I missed a good one, but a long one. The Aggies won a 13-10 slugfest in a nearly 4-hour game. Steve Solorzano went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI’s and Jonatan Clough had 4 RBI’s. For pitching, Connor Wylde pitched 4 innings and only gave up 2 runs. Jack Turner had a 3-inning save giving up 2 runs, 1 earned.

Sunday morning, it was again hot. There were a few light clouds in the sky and there was no wind. The weather report early in the game was that it was 85-degrees to start. It got hotter into the mid-90’s before the end. However, we’ll take that to 80-degrees and humid in Louisiana.

The crowd was officially 712, but it felt lighter. This did include a contingent of LAT fans. On field, the Bulldogs were dressed what looked like the Chicago Cubs’ away uniforms (one of my favorites, actually). Marcel Renteria was here calling the game with Adam Young. Unfortunately, it was only on the TV call. I was listening to the Softball on the radio, which would be the final Aggie radio broadcast of the season. We had a live Anthem singer, again. We still haven’t identified her, except she has the same last name as Steve Solorzano and he hugged her after the performance.

I sat with Fan Michael, as usual. He had a low opinion of the LAT coach, who wouldn’t talk to him when Michael tried to start a conversation with him. He was impressed with Trey Hawsey on their team. He said, we couldn’t get him out. I asked about Cooper and he said he was out with an arm issue. Michael also said that they’d planted grass on the dirt mound berm. I asked how people were supposed to get to it, since it was behind the Diamond Club area. He didn’t know.

On the one hand, these scorecards added up without the help of the official scoring or help from the broadcasters. On the other hand, I admit, mistakes were made. Jake Carvajal started the parade of pitchers for the Aggies today. A single and a hit batter began the game. Hawsey came up. He is not short, but rather heavy and stocky. He battled on every pitch until he singled in a run. A double play brought in another and the Bulldogs had a 2-0 lead.

On the first pitch of the bottom of the first, Solorzano cranked out a monster home run to left field. Don’t throw this guy a “get-me-over” first pitch fastball. Aidan Taclas followed that with a double. Boston Vest drove him in with a triple and Easton Rulli brought him in with a single. Rulli was then caught stealing and a strikeout ended the inning, but it was productive and gave the Aggies a 3-1 lead.

Embarrassing moment in the top of the second. The PA music was still playing when the inning started. Catcher Dane Woodcook took the first pitch and turned around and made a slashing motion at the pressbox. That cut the music. Matt Houston, fresh off his 80’s TV show, crushed a home run center. (I’m sure that show is so obscure, nobody his age is teasing him about his name.) There was no wind, but the ball was carrying well in the rising heat. After a follow up single, Carvajal was relieved for JT Price, who finished the inning. We’re tied at 3.

Destiny, the adorable team photographer, was back. I’d noticed her on field earlier. She came by and said, “Hi,” to myself and Michael. She’s so sweet and dressed in such a pleasingly provocative manner (tight tank top and tight biker shorts).

Aidan Lombardi led off the bottom of the second with a single. Dane made a perfect bunt to move him over and ended up beating it out for a single. (Also, the new turf plays really slow.) The two attempted a double steal. Dane looked safe, but was called out at second. Don’t run on catcher Matt Houston. He always gets his man, just like on his TV show. After a walk, Solo singled to bring in Lombardi. However, a double play finished the inning. Aggies up, 4-3.

The top of the third was delayed for an argument between Aggie Coach Angier and the umpire crew chief. No idea what that was about. Hawsey led off the inning. On the second pitch, he hit a line drive home run to center to tie the score at 4. Clough almost impossibly ran down a sure double to left field. He closed in and reached out for it. That was the play of the game. Price finished out the inning without any further damage.

A couple of pretty Marketing girls were tossing t-shirts to the crowd between innings. A guy behind us wanted one. Michael lent him his cowbell help him get the girl’s attention and the guy got one. His name is Doug. He’s amiable fellow who’d moved in from Idaho. We both chatted with him during the game. I was jealous that he’d acquired Savannah Bananas tickets, who will be playing in El Paso in the near future.

The Aggies went down in order in the bottom of the third. Doug remarked, “Is that the first 1-2-3 inning of the weekend?” Price worked around a single, a wild pitch, and an error on a bad throw from short for a scoreless inning. Lombardi made a good play from second to get the final out. The Aggies had another in-order inning in the bottom. Clough twice thought he’d walked on Ball 4, but the ump called the pitches strikes. Matt Houston took bad foul ball off his helmet catching, but stayed in. Show Business is tough.

Hawsey again led off the fifth inning. He is one tenacious batter fighting off pitches. He’d single and chase Price from the game for Bradyn Barnes. Barnes gave up another single and had a wild pitch, but kept the Bulldogs from scoring.

A light breeze started blowing and we were getting a little shade from some light clouds. There were several pretty girls in shorts and tank tops in the crowd, though I didn’t see the Volleyball girls. Michael mentioned seeing a head-turning player girlfriend last night in go-go boots. Now I’m really sorry I missed the game.

Thomas Allen, the LA Tech starter, had cruised through the past two innings and gotten the first two batters in the bottom of the fifth out. (He might have taken penalty ball during Solo’s at bat for being too slow to the plate.) Taclas then singled and advanced after a bad pickoff throw. After a walk, Vest singled in Taclas and that ended Allen’s afternoon. Rulli greeted the next Bulldog pitcher with a 2-run single and put the Aggies up, 7-5.

Hazen Wright started the top of the sixth. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out and Hawsey came up. The gravity of the moment was not lost on the coaching staffs. There were two separate conferences during the at bat, as Coach Angier talked to Hazen and the LA Tech third base coach talked to Hawsey. He ultimately popped out, but Sebastian Mexico came up and hit 2-run single. (“Sebastian Mexico?” It doesn’t seem fair that we’re playing a team with two great player names.) Carson “Chili” Timmons was brought in to finish out the inning. 7-6 Aggies.

In the bottom of the sixth, Cooper Reese ran out some new balls to the ump. At least, I got to see him on the field. Dane worked a walk in the inning. Solo took a hard hit hard on the elbow to put two on, but the Aggies weren’t able to bring in either of them.

Another argument delayed the top of the seventh. Coach Angier went at it with the home plate ump. Again, no idea. Solo dropped a popup on infield to start the inning. A sacrifice moved the runner into scoring position, but Timmons came back with a strikeout and a flyout to end the inning. Chili came off the mound screaming after the final out and charged into the dugout to pump up his teammates.

Doug and the people he was with left at this point. He was getting too hot. The way he was cheering during the game, I thought he was a real fan. (I’m just teasing.) If he’s too hot now, he’ll be missing profoundly Idaho shortly.

Meluskey began the bottom of the seventh with an excuse me swing that dribbled on the slow turf. Tommy was going to be safe, but pitcher Joey Wittig threw ball away trying to get him and Tommy ended up on third. Vest was next and was punched out with a looking strikeout on a delayed call. The fans and the Coach were now mad at the ump.

A troop of boys were charging up and down the aisle after foul balls during this inning, adding to the action. Rulli came up next and hit a hard, low liner back to the pitcher. Wittig ended up on his back like Charlie Brown, as the ball flew over him for an RBI single. Aggies up, 8-6. LA Tech brought a reliever to finish the inning. Rulli was caught stealing. Chalk up another one for Matt Houston, gunslinger. Rulli had words with Brecken Menuet at short while leaving the field. Michael had mentioned there was some bad blood between the teams over this weekend.

Clough taken out at left field. Granted, he was 0 for 4, but he was playing well in the field and not due to come up next inning. Julio Ramos began the top of the eighth, but only faced one batter, who singled. (I thought the 3-batter rule was in place in college baseball.) Dylan Weekly came in, faced Hawsey, and got him to ground into a double play. Lombardi made a nice smothering play from his knees to start it. Hawsey came out and went over to off to side of dugout and yelled and pounded his bat into the ground. Camden Kaufman doubled in the bottom, but was left stranded to set the stage for the ninth.

Weekly was still in. He struck out the first batter looking and got a ground out for the second. The grounder was rolling so slowly on the turf, I was afraid it might stop before it got to Vest at short. The crowd was into it. Hand it to the Aggie fans. When it’s close like this, they come alive. They virtually willed a looking strikeout to end the game. Aggies win, 8-6!

LA Tech is a good team. This was a great series win for the Aggies. Gameballs for the Bulldogs. Trey Hawsey was as advertised. He was 3 for 5 with 2 RBI’s and a home run. I don’t know whether or not scouts are looking at his numbers or if they are overlooking him because he doesn’t have the prototypical MLB build. Brecken Menuet also went 3 for 4.

Of course, I have to mention Matt Houston. Look at this Matt Houston guy. He’s damn handsome and his girlfriend is totally hot. He homered and threw out 3 baserunners. (Slow turf, again?) Matt also took a couple nasty foul balls behind the plate, so he’s tough, too. We’re waiting for Netflix to greenlight that revival series, Matt. (That’s actually actor Lee Horsley and Pamela Hensley in the picture from the TV show. My co-worker, who’s my age, had never heard of this show, so it is a bit obscure.)

Gameballs for the Aggies. Easton Rulli went 3 for 4 with 4 RBI’s. Steve Solarzano set the tone with his leadoff home run. The Aggies went through 7 pitchers with varying results. Dylan Weekly had the best day with 2 scoreless innings. JT Price and Carson Timmons also did well.

I ran into Trey and Robin Reese outside. I’d wondered where they were. Apparently, they were seated somewhere in the shade. They confirmed that Cooper was resting his arm, but wasn’t injured. They were thinking about lunch. I mentioned that I’d went to Sparky’s in Hatch last week and was impressed. Maybe they took my advice.

My stomach was irritated last night. I wasn’t enthusiastic about lunch, but called dad and asked if he was interested in a pizza, since Pizza Hut and Dominos were offering $10 large deals. He instead offered to reheat a hamburger, which he’d cooked up yesterday. I took that and it was pretty good. I ended up at the mall later looking for a couple of magazines and came away disappointed. Well, can’t win them all, but I’ll take the Aggie win today.

NM State Aggie vs FIU Panthers Softball 3-21-26

After the disappointment of not offering autographs two weeks ago, Aggie Softball went on the road and dropped two of three to Sam Houston State.    I’m sure there’s no correlation.    It was an 8-1 Aggie win in the first game with Faith Aragon picking up the win.    After that, it was a 13-5 run rule loss and then a 3-1 loss with Faith taking the hard luck L.    The team had a canceled Tuesday game against the Lobos, so they got the week off.    On Friday, the Aggies started off a series against FIU with a 10-6 win.    Faith pitched 5 innings of relief for the win.    She also had a homer and a 2-run triple.    Devin Elam contributed a 3-run home run.   

As for myself, on Thursday, I took an unexpected trip with dad to Sparky’s in Hatch.    They are famous for their green chili hamburger.    I’m not much for chili, so I had the chicken strips.    They could also be famous for those.    They were the best chicken strips I’ve ever had.    The lady that invited us, also invited us to a singing show at Boba Café on Saturday.    It was well done and I had a great croissant sandwich there, though it was really cold in the cafe.    (I’m not going to fit into my pants much longer eating like this.)

From there, I went to this afternoon’s Aggie Softball game against the Panthers.    I was greeted with He’s choosin’ Texas, I can tell, by Ella Langley over the PA.    I heard that song with dad on the way to Hatch.    He was pretty enthusiastic about it.    I’m not a Country fan, but it is a really good song.    I’d gone from freezing at the café to being unseasonably warm outside in 95-degree heat.    It was merciless with no clouds and no breeze.    I was cooking on the metal stands and started sweating instantly.   

It was a light crowd to start, but filled in later with 401 in attendance.    Duke Keith was on the radio call.    These are the final radio games of the season.    (I couldn’t get broadcast on Friday, unfortunately.)    Baseball was warming up next door, as their series was crossed up with this one.    The FIU players went over to greet the umps during player introductions.    They were actually high-fiving the umps.    One of the guys was pretty tall.    Some of the shorter girls had to jump to reach his palm.

I had some issues with the scorecard, mostly because I couldn’t figure out the Official Scorer’s method of scoring hits and errors.    It seemed a bit capricious.    Taryn Bennett started for the Aggies.    She was wearing red-tinged sunglasses while pitching.    Pitchers never usually wear shades.    She got a looking strikeout to start the game.    The batter contested the call.    It was going to be a wide strikezone today in the heat, regardless.    Kennedy Byrd singled, but unwisely tried to stretch it to a double.    A good relay caught her in a rundown to end the inning.

Devin began the bottom of the first with a line shot to right field.    Kendall Catherwood made a running catch, but dropped it.    It was ruled a tough two-base error.    However, Panther starter, J’dah Girigorie came back with two strikeouts.    Faith was out on a questionable appeal and Skye Johnson was out looking on a strike that looked wide.    The umps were moving this game right along.    Devin ended up stranded on second after a popup to third ended the inning.

The PA announced the temperature here and in Florida, where it was 57-degrees?    Really?    Catcher Madi Bachman made a nice play on a foul popup at the plate with two other fielders standing beside her.    Taryn slapped Madi’s helmet in appreciation.    Taryn then got a comebacker to end the inning.    She pumped her fist leaving the field.    In the bottom, Girigorie had a strikeout and a slick double play to end the inning.

Taryn got into trouble in the top of the third.    After a leadoff single, Taryn fielded a sac bunt, but didn’t get the runner to put two on.    She was given an error on the throw, though it was a tough play. Another sac bunt attempt put the runners in scoring position and Kally Meredith cashed them in with a single.    Janelle Martinez then hit a shallow single.    Meredith made a brave baserunning decision and scored.    A single by Leah Clark moved Martinez to third, but on a double steal attempt, Madi threw out Clark before Martinez made it home.    The FIU coach unsuccessfully argued for the run.    It was 4-0 FIU, anyway.

Taylor Baca came up in the bottom of the third.    Part of the crowd erupted, as Taylor had brought her own cheering section.    Unfortunately in her at bat, Martinez fielded the grounder and putout the lead runner at second.    No problem, Devin doubled Taylor in next.    Skye then doubled her in, as she belly-flopped into second.    Kendal Lunar came up with her new walk up music, Beat It.    She did that and floated one to the scoreboard just over the wall for a 2-run homer.    The Aggies had tied it right back up at 4.

I stood up for that home run.    When I sat back down, cold, wet sweat went down my back.    That was quite unpleasant.    Below me, there was a family with three kids.    The little girl in the group had gotten a foul ball.    The PA all but begged the little girl to return the ball for some candy without singling her out.    No deal.    On the radio, Duke thanked GLAM for his lunch, GLAM being the “Glamorous Ladies of Aggie Marketing.”   

In the top of the fourth, a single, a passed ball, a dropped ball at second that was ruled a hit, and finally, a sac fly brought in a run for FIU.    They had to work for that one.    5-4 Panthers.    Madi led off the bottom of the inning with a double.    She was left stranded.    Kaleena Downing in left field made a standout play on a big foul ball into the corner.    Meanwhile, the dad of the family was pouring soda from a bottle on top of his kids’ heads.    That seems like a waste.    Oh, wait.    It’s a Starry.    Never mind.    Hopefully that was actually just water in the bottle.

A cool, sweet breeze swept across the stands in the top of the fifth.    It was wonderful.    On the field, Taryn again worked into some trouble.    A double, a hit batter, and the first walk of the game loaded the bases.    Taryn helped herself out with a rare “FF1” scoring.    She called off a couple of other players on a foul ball.    For better or worse, Taryn really wants to use her mitt on the field.    Paige Miller nearly hit a bases-clearing double down the left field line that just went foul.    Instead, she hit into a fielder’s choice that ended the inning.   

My feet were starting to get hot on the metal stands.    Faith wasn’t figuring out Girigorie, as she had struck out in her first two at bats.    In the bottom of the fifth, Faith changed up her strategy and legged out a bunt.    Girigorie got two outs in the inning before Kendal singled.    Makenzie Jones came in as a pinch runner and promptly took second.    Riley Silvers at catcher nearly threw out Faith at third base instead of throwing to second.   

Next, Tamara was hit on the ankle on a pitch to load the bases.    Silvers asked her if she was okay.    Faith came in via a wild pitch, before Madi tripled and cleared the bases.    Madi was exhausted by the time she got to third.    Girigorie was relived and Brooke McNichols came in.    She gave up a run-scoring double to pinch hitter, Bella Clapp.    That was a 4-run outburst to put the Aggies back up, 8-4.

In the top of the sixth, a little boy in the family got a foul ball.    The attendant at the foot of the stands directed him to the pressbox.    The boy came back with a souvenir flag and candy.    The little girl still wasn’t budging. Zantelle Rodriguez came in to pitch for the Aggies in the inning.    She gave up a single and a walk before Skye in left field made a great catch on a line drive and a pop out ended the inning.    The bottom of the sixth went 1-2-3 for the Aggies.    The dugout did sing for pinch hitter, Jojo Hair.    More interestingly in crowd, I saw a lady in a Savannah Bananas jersey.    I need cooler gear.   

Before the top of the seventh, Kendal talked to Zantelle by the dugout to try and settle her down and/or encourage her.    Zantelle began with a single and a groundout.    Another single with a bobble in the outfield (no error) brought in a run.    After a wild pitch, Miller then legged out a grounder to reach first.   

Pitching Coach Paige Bachman came out and had a very demonstrative conference in the circle with Zantelle.    Unlike the Coach’s talk to Faith late in the game on 3-7-26, Zantelle walked the next batter to load the bases.    This was even with ump’s wide strikezone.    After Ball 1 to next hitter, Taryn was brought back in to pitch.    Her first pitch was a pop out and a flyball to center ended the game without further scoring.    Aggies win, 8-5!         

Gameballs.    It’s all Aggies today.    FIU didn’t really have any standouts.    Sorry.    Kendal Lunar went 2 for 3 with a 2-run homer.    Madi Bachman was also 2 for 3 with a 2-run triple.    I’ll also hand out one to Taryn Bennett for locking it down in the seventh.   

I looked at the time.    The game went 1 hour and 41 minutes.    It wasn’t my imagination that the game was running quick.    I could have gotten over to Baseball to see the start of their game, but I was thoroughly roasted and done for the evening.    The family left.    The parents had the kids clean up their trash in the stands.    Those are good parents.       

Duke kept announcing the wrong time for Sunday’s game.    I probably should have gone up and said something, but he was there on time the next day.    I listened to the game while heading to Baseball and kept listening while at that game.   

The first play I heard was in the top of the first with a play at the plate and a successful rundown, but an FIU player stole home in the process.    I’m not sure how that worked, either.    Duke gets kind of “creative” with his play calling.    I admit I wasn’t entirely following along for much with the game.    The Aggies went down 3-0.    The Aggies scored on a double steal in the fifth with a rundown lasting long enough to get a run across the plate.    Tamara Carranza singled in a run in the seventh, but the Aggies lost 4-2.    They didn’t have their bats today.    More Softball ***next week.*** 

Bonus: Somebody else noticed that the Aggies are doing well.

NM State Aggies vs #25 UTSA Roadrunners Baseball 3-8-26

 

The title here is misleading.    I only saw the last two innings of the game between Aggie Baseball and the UTSA Roadrunners, #25 in the nation.    I’d went to Aggie Softball, instead.  No regrets, though I was disappointed that the promised autograph session did not manifest.    I’d even dressed up a bit.    Just as well, there weren’t any kids in the crowd, which are essential for autographs.    Instead, I’ll recap a few games leading up to today’s game, as well as some surprising Aggie Women’s Basketball news and some Aggie Men’s Basketball recaps.    It’s a potpourri.    

On Tuesday, the Aggies played against the undefeated, 12-0, UNM Lobos.    Admittedly, I didn’t want to sit out in the cold and didn’t like the Aggies’ chances.    Russ Langer did the radio call, as Adam Young, who could barely speak for the Aggie Coach’s Show on Monday, was out.    I think I remember on that show, they previewed this game and somebody said that the Lobo’s had played a “soft” schedule, unlike UTSA, who’d played some stiff competition.    That sounds like bulletin board material, but let’s see how that analysis plays out.

The Aggies got the scoring started in the bottom of the second, as Tommy Meluskey tripled and Cole Rogers sac’d him in, 1-0.    Colton Sneddon started for the Aggies pitching.    A missed flyball that turned into a triple got him taken out for Jake Carvajal, who kept the runner from coming in.    Meluskey led off the fifth with a homer to make it, 2-0.    Brandon Clizbe got on via an error, advanced by passed ball, and was brought in by Boston Vest, 3-0.

The Lobos did come back in the sixth.    With 2 on, Carson Timmons came in and gave up a 3-run homer to tie it at 3.    In the bottom, there was a failed squeeze play and Steve Solorzano was out at the plate.    Rogers drove in a run anyway to give the Aggies back the lead, 4-3.

Russ was doing a good job calling the game.    He mentioned he is a baseball broadcaster in the summer in Las Vegas.    I thought I’d heard his voice before.    I think I’d listened to an Aviators’ broadcast once, when I couldn’t get the El Paso Chihuahuas’ side of the game.   

In the top of the seventh, the Lobos loaded the bases with 2 out.    Connor Wylde was in and gave up a bases clearing double, which gave the Lobos a 6-4 lead.    In the bottom, the Aggies got two on.    The Lobos brought in their best pitcher.    Russ had barely said that, before Aidan Taclas doubled in both runs. Easton Rulli and Rogers each drove in runs to get the Aggies back in the lead, 8-6.

Aggie defense closed it out.    A double play ended the top of the eighth and Wylde finished it off in the ninth.    Aggies win, 8-6!    Awesome!    And I wasn’t there.    It was a beautiful day and night too, with a great crowd of over 1,000.    I had meant to go, but had talked myself out of it, because I didn’t want to be there late at night and I’d underestimated the team.    To make it worse, I’d actually gotten the time wrong.    The game started at 4:00 and finished in the early evening.    Good job, boys.    Bad job by me.

On Friday night, Aggie Baseball took on #25 UTSA.    Russ was back calling the game with Adam still out.    Russ had some trouble pronouncing some player names, but was otherwise okay.    UTSA was coming in with a pretty good resume having beaten Ohio State, DBU, Coastal Carolina, and Baylor, who the Aggies had been swept by early in the season.    The Aggie Band was there for the game and played the Anthem.    It was a good crowd of 881.

It did not go well for the Aggies.    An error in the second brought in 2 runs.    In the fourth, the Roadrunners brought in 4 more.    When it was 6-0, UTSA was bringing in their bench.    It was 8-0 by the seventh.   

By the eighth, Russ was talking about basketball.    By the ninth, it was 10-0.    In the bottom of the inning, the stadium lights went out, thankfully not in the middle of a pitch.    I wasn’t watching the clock, but the delay was lengthy.    When play finally resumed, he said, “If you’re still listening, I’m a member of your fan club.”

In the delay, Russ started telling a story about his baseball-hating grandfather.    Russ’ dad finally talked him into going to a game, because they’d put lights up at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.    Grandpa didn’t like the game.    It was boring.    Little Russ read the paper the next day and found out Johnny Vander Meer had pitched his second no-hitter in row for the Reds at that game.    It was an absolute all-time historical game.       

Well, back to this game.    Jonatan Clough pinch hit a triple to drive in a run. The Band was still there.    They were loud and chanting in the background.    A Chris Daniels fielder’s choice brought in a second run. 10-2 UTSA was the final.

On Saturday, Russ was again doing the commentary.  It was 2-0 until the fifth and the Roadrunners opened up the floodgates.    As the game got out of hand late, Russ kept trying to tell stories, but the pace of the game was frustrating his attempts.    It ended in a 13-0 run rule in the seventh. At that point, I committed to going to Softball in the morning.

That brings us up to the Sunday game.  The baseball game was again on the radio, like softball was, so I followed along a bit.    A guy sitting next to me was also giving updates on the score.    Russ was not available to call this game.    Scott Colletti was in with Adam Young either out for the tournament or still out sick.  I know I’ve heard that name before, but I don’t remember where.  After the softball game, I hustled over to the next door baseball stadium and was waved inside.    It was the seventh inning and there were no programs available.   

Inside, I said, “Hello,” to Trey, Robin, and Nellie Reese and sat down by Fan Michael.    I felt like I needed an explanation for being late, so I said, “Its ‘Spring backward, Fall forward,’ right?”    They figured I was at Softball.    I could see the bright orange tops of UTSA from the softball stands.    They actually had a bat boy, an honest-to-goodness bat boy working for them.    I haven’t seen one of those in few years at the stadium.

I don’t have scorecard for this, since the game was well underway.    I just made some notes on the game.    It was 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh.    The Aggies stranded a runner at third.    In the top of the eighth, a Roadrunners runner was safe at first on an overthrow, but was thrown out trying to stretch it to second.   

In the top of the eighth, the Aggies faced a side-arming pitcher, a rarity in college baseball.    The Aggies got a runner to third with 2 outs.    Dane Woodcook laid down a bunt for a squeeze play.    The pitcher fielded the ball, but missed the first baseman. Woodcook didn’t.    The collision was tremendous and Woodcook got the worst of it.    He did stay in.    Aggies up, 5-4.

Connor Wylde was pitching in the top of the ninth.    He gave up a single and hit a batter.    A sacrifice moved them into scoring position.    There wasn’t a large crowd there, and maybe half was for UTSA, but they were all into it on every pitch.    Steve Solorzano squeezed a foul popup for the second out.    An intentional walk loaded the bases.    A reliever was ready, but Connor talked Coach Angier into letting him stay in.    The UTSA fans were doing a rhythmic clap.    Aggie fans were chanting, “Let’s go Aggies!”    A groundout to second ended the game.    Aggies win, 5-4.

After the game, the Aggies lined up for a handshake.    Connor and Dane could barely keep the smiles off their faces in the postgame interview. The Roadrunners declined.    Oh, well.    The game went a tidy two-and-a-half hours.    I was lucky I got to see any of it.    On the way out, I saw several more Volleyball players beyond Nellie.    None of them were together, though.    I don’t know if they had been sitting together.  

Though I gotten a Whataburger coupon at Softball, I’d been cheated out of a Jimmie John’s sandwich at work the previous week, so I went there.    It was tasty and I thanked the workers there.    (Cue the ominous music.)

A couple of hours after I got home, my dad called and told me that Coach Jody Adams had been let go of the Aggie Women’s Basketball team.    Given that the team had failed to make the tournament and lost their last several games badly, this wasn’t a huge surprise.    This firing wasn’t for losing games, so much as for losing the team.    I saw their final home game and clearly the players and the Coach were feuding.    Somebody had to pay the price.    Right now, Coach Hooten of the Men’s team is breathing a sigh of relief that he made the tournament.     

Flipping around in the evening, I ran into a WBC game from Houston on Mexican TV.    It was Brazil versus Mexico.    I knew former Aggie great, Nick Gonzales, was on the Mexican team.    He came up and I saw him drive in a run in the first.    I didn’t know his former Aggie teammate, Joey Ortiz, was also on the team.    [Samy Natera Jr. is also on the team. Fox Broadcasters did mention that, “Playing for New Mexico State does not make you eligible to play for the Mexican national team.] Together again.    That’s too cool.    Mexico wins in a 16-0 run rule.   

A little later, I spent four hours puking up that sandwich from earlier.    That really sucked.    Needless to say, I didn’t write much that night and that delayed my posts for the week.    As the timeline got pushed back, there were several more Aggie Sports events that I’ll go ahead and cover here.

Aggie Baseball played another Tuesday game against the University of the Southwest.    Duke Keith did the radio announcing for the game.    There was a live Anthem for the game.    Aggie Softball was playing the Lobos at the same time.    It was cold and raining out, so I was okay with missing being there.     

It was 4-0 Aggies after 1 inning and only got more lopsided from there.    In the fifth, Jonatan Clough hit the first Aggie homer at 16-1 Aggies.    In the sixth, he did it again and it was 20-1.    In the seventh, 24-1 Aggies, Duke thought that the run rule would be in effect.    It was not.    At least the sun came out for a while and it was nice out.    I kind of tuned out on listening to most of this one for basketball.    The Aggies won, 39-4.    Oddly, there were just those 2 home runs.    Basically, everyone hit well. Clough was 5 for 7 with 7 RBI’s.    Unfortunately, Cooper Reese never came in as a pitcher.    That may be a really bad sign for him, unless they were saving him for the weekend.

Over at Softball, it was a 9-1 win over UNM with a run rule.    Faith Aragon got the win.    Jaileen Mancha was again supposed to start, but didn’t pitch at all.    This happened on Sunday, too.    Maybe she’s being scratched late for injury after a pregame warm up.    Kendal Lunar dealt the big blow with a 3-run double in the fourth.    I think Adam Young was back calling the game.   

Also on Tuesday, Aggie Men’s Basketball played their first game in the C-USA Basketball Tournament against Jax State.    It was basically home game for the Gamecocks, as it wasn’t far from the their home.   

The Aggies took a 39-28 lead at the half.    Their biggest lead was 14 in the game.    However, Jax State made a comeback.    It was 65-63 Aggies with a minute left.    The Aggies didn’t make their shot, but Juice Mims got the rebound.    JS quickly fouled Gabe Pickens, who made 1 free throw, 66-63.    The Gamecocks missed their shot and the Aggies got the rebound.  The JS big man fouled out and Jayland Randall made both free throws to ice a 68-63 final.    Jemel Jones had 17 points and Pickens had 16.    Juice only had 3.

The next night, the Aggies played Sam Houston State, Coach Hooten’s old school.    Before this game, #1 seed Liberty lost to Missouri St. Liberty was the class of the conference, but fell way off at the end of the season.    Tournament was now wide open.   

Unfortunately, the Aggies were not shooting well.    At the half, it was 37-26 Bearkats.    The Aggies got it down to 4 with 10 minutes left, but that was as close as it got.    Sam Houston won, 69-61. SH was not shooting that well either, but they were defending and rebounding better.    Jemel Jones did well with 19 points.    For some reason, Juice Mims barely played in the game.    It’s another disappointing season for the Aggie Men’s Basketball.    This one was close to catastrophic, as they barely made the tournament.    I’d say next season Coach Hooten is definitely on the hot seat.