Baseball Notebook for March, April, and May 2016

While I was attending Aggie baseball and softball games, I was still listening and watching other baseball.  I scribbled down whenever something interesting happened.  These aren’t game recaps.  They’re mostly just little moments during the game or comments.

3-31-16

It’s an exhibition game between the Chihuahuas and the Padres in El Paso.  The game sells out long beforehand and was actually broadcast on local TV.  It was a 13-9 loss for the dogs, but they were competitive.  Several of the Padres had been on the Chihuahuas last season.  And several of them ended up back on the team after this game.

4-24-16

Chihuahuas vs Salt Lake.  Fans there were cheering Chihuahuas home runs.  Announcer Tim Hagerty had to explain, they were cheering the great fan catches behind the fence.   Tim had an interesting fact about three home runs being hit in one inning by a Double-A player.  I can’t remember the game where he talked about this, nor can I find anything online corroborating it, but I'm sticking in with this entry anyway.

  

4-3-16

Rangers lose to the hated Angels 4-3.  Rangers’ announcer Eric Nadel was uncharacteristically angry with the team after the loss.  This must have gotten back to the team.  They won the next two games.

4-7-16

“It’s a home run by Buster Posey . . . ‘s good friend, Hunter Pence!”  For all of John Miller’s great work over the years calling games.  We can spot him this one.

4-4-16

Rockies vs. Diamondbacks.  I told this story before.  I missed Trevor Story's first home run off Zack Greinke.  Ron was watching the NCAA basketball tournament and I flipped it over to a Diamondbacks game during halftime.  Just as Story came up for his first major league at bat, I flipped it back to the basketball for Ron.  A couple of minutes later I saw that he’d hit a home run.  I flipped it back, but even missed the replay.  And then I missed his second home run later in the game.  Rockies win 10-5.

 4-10-16

It’s a 3-1 loss for the Rangers to the hated Angels.  However, it’s significant because it’s the big league debut of a top Ranger prospect, Nomar Mazara, filling in for injured Shin-Soo Choo.  He homers. 

4-20-16

Chico goes down!  A bad throw by Tacoma shortstop Chris Taylor flies into the Chihuahuas’ dugout and nails the mascot.  The next day, ever the gamer, Chico shows up wearing bandage.  He confronts Taylor with a sign reading, “What did I do to you?”  Taylor tears up the sign and walks away.  Tacoma comes back to El Paso in August.  I have feeling this isn’t over.   

4-14-16

Rangers vs. Blue Jays.  With the Rangers up by three runs in the top of the 9^th, Justin Smoak gets to Sean Tolleson again, this time for a two-run homer.  Smoak already walked off Tolleson in Toronto, last week.  Then Tulo dings Sean for another homer, tying the score.  Drew Stubbs would give the Rangers a walk-off win in the 10^th.  6-5 Rangers final.  During the game, catcher Bobby Wilson would hit his second grand slam of the week.  Strangely, neither of these guys were with the team last week. 

Chihuahuas vs. New Orleans Zephyrs.  I hadn’t been paying much attention to this game, which was going on at the same time, since the dogs were comfortably ahead.  I gave it my full attention in the top of the 9^th with the Chihuahuas up by 8 runs.  The final out of the inning was the go-ahead run getting thrown out at home.  The Zephyrs had scored 8 runs and tied the score!  The dogs would win in the 11^th on a two-run homer, 10-8, but myself, Chihuahuas fans who’d been in attendance, and announcer Tim Hagerty are still shell-shocked.  No lead is safe!  And the Chihuahuas should never do that “Pitch an inning for Chihuahuas” promotion with the fans again.  (Grandma Ellie Spudmaker’s curveball just wasn’t biting like it did during the war years.)      

4-23-16

Rangers lose to the White Sox 4-3, but Mazara had a great robbery of a home run that sent the game into extra innings.

4-29-16

The Chihuahuas beat Fresno 6-5.  What was remarkable was the bottom of the 9^th.  Fresno had the bases loaded with two outs.  They had apparently gotten a walk to force in the tying run when the ump called a penalty strike.  The PA had played a sound effect during the pitch.  With the count altered, the batter was struck out on the next pitch.  After the game, Chihuahuas fans were calling for the PA to be given the game ball.

 5-18-16

After a half hour of bad radio reception of a back and forth game between the Rangers and A’s, I get to hear the bottom of the 9^th.  The Rangers had a one run lead.  Sean Tolleson comes in to close and leaves after giving up a walk-off grand slam home run.  A’s win 8-5.  While Sean was actually tied for the American League lead in Saves, it’s the blown ones that cost him his job. 

   

5-4-16

Day game.  Chihuahuas vs Las Vegas.  Tyler Renfroe throws out a runner at third from right field.  Best put out of the year.

5-10-16

Rangers vs. White Sox.  I started watching this game at work at night, but there was an hour rain delay.  Actually, it was a little more dramatic than that.  The cameras were showing large, dark clouds rotating over the stadium. People in the upper deck were told to evacuate.  The Rangers were losing 10-6 when I left for home.  Once there, I flip on the radio just in time to hear Ryan Rua hitting a three-run homer, which would turn out to be the game winner.  The final was 13-11 Rangers, who scored seven runs in the 8^th.

5-11-16

The Rangers beat the White Sox 6-5.  The game was memorable for the wrong reason.  Todd Frazier of the Sox dove into the stands after a foul ball.  He immediately came up, put his glove over his face, and ran into the dugout.  The crowd, the announcers, and myself (and certainly the players) were all a bit stunned for several minutes afterward.  The replays showed Frazier hitting his face on a metal arm rest.  White Sox TV announcer, the immortal homer, Hawk Harrelson, left the booth to check up on him.  He came back and reported, “He’s okay for a guy who put his teeth through his lip.”

5-15-16

And here it was, the play of the year.  Forget the teams involved, this was all about Rougned Odor vs. Joey Bautista.  I listened to this bout over the radio and didn’t get to see the punch until later.  The radio guys didn’t approve of the fight and had no appreciation of the technical beauty of Odor’s right cross to Bautista’s jaw.  Oh, if only they’d gone ahead and let them fight it out.  “Let them fight!  Let them fight!” 

Okay, let’s see.  Bautista flipped his bat after hitting a home run in the playoffs against the Rangers last year.  Flipped?  It was more like he was about to a start a Marine drill team rifle flipping maneuver.  (And if this fight hadn’t happened, you might have actually seen such a thing during a game.)  This was the last regular season meeting between these two teams this year, and it’s been a hard-fought series between these two teams.  The Rangers have a one run lead in the 8^th.  Matt Bush hits Bautista.  Part me of says, this was probably the Rangers’ last opportunity to get payback this year.  The other part me of says, this would have been the worst time to do something like this.  Certainly this wasn’t worth possibly losing a game over.  Who knows now? 

On a ground ball, Bautista charges into Ruggie to break up a double play.  He obviously skipped over the part of the scouting report that mentioned Odor’s hair-trigger temper.  Fight.  Benches clearing brawl.  Prince Fielder was hit by a pitch the next inning.  Benches clear again.  “Now we got bad blood,” sings Taylor Swift over the PA.  More importantly to me at least, the Rangers win 7-6.  How about a peace treaty between the teams if they meet in the playoffs, and Ruggie and Joey Bats have a pay-per-view match in the offseason?  Seriously, who wouldn’t want to see this?  [Both teams promptly went on the three game losing streaks after this incident.  It didn’t help either of them.  Ruggie had to sit out seven games, bringing top prospect Jurickson Profoar dangerously close to his job.  Joey Bautista is now Internet famous for being on the receiving end of a punch, instead of his bat flipping.  There may have been some lesson-learning here.]          

5-19-16

Chihuahuas vs Round Rock Express.  Dogs win on a walk-off, coming from behind for the win 4-3.  It's the only game of the series where they hold the Express under 10 runs.   

   

5-20-16

After two innings, the Round Rock Express had put up 12 unanswered runs, but the Chihuahuas made a game of it.  The final was 14-10.  I found out a co-worker had tickets to all four of these Express/Chihuahuas games and was extremely jealous.  He’s a fan of both clubs, which prompted another fan, seated next to him, to ask him during the game, “Who are you rooting for?”   [I know the feeling.  I found myself rooting for the Rockies and the Giants over Memorial Day.]  There were apparently many Ranger fans in attendance. 

5-21-16

The score in the 7^th was 10-5 Chihuahuas.  The final score was 13-11 Round Rock Express.  The Express is the only other Triple-A team whose roster I mostly recognize, as many of them have been up with the Rangers. 

5-22-16

Rangers vs. Astros.  Cole Hamels goes 8 innings in a 9-2 Ranger victory and sweep the Astros.  Eric Nadel was surprised during the game when the Astros fans started booing Dallas Keukel during a bad inning.  He shouldn’t have been.  They’re a talented, underperforming team with high expectations, who were losing big to their in-state division rival, after dropping the first two games of the series.  It probably didn’t help that half of Minute Maid Stadium was rooting for the Rangers either.  

Meanwhile in El Paso, the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate was pounding the Chihuahuas 16-7.  They had an 11 run third and almost batted around twice.  James Loney talked his way into a pitching an inning for the dogs.  His last pitching outing had been in high school.  Loney walked Joey Gallo, but got out of the inning without giving up a run.

5-23-16

Chihuahuas vs. Iowa Cubs.  Pitcher and Pinch Hitter, Daniel McCuthen, struck out, but after the pitch went to the backstop, he ended up on second.  Dogs win 6-1.  After giving up 40+ runs over four games to Round Rock, it was a victory for the pitchers.

Rangers lose 2-0 to the hated Angels off of a Pujols’ home run.  Josh Hamilton is also reported to be done for the season.  Sigh.

5-24-16

Rangers over the hated Angels 4-1.  Nomar Mazara “The Big Chill” goes 3-3 with a two-run homer,  but his best play was an out.  In the 8th, Mazara allowed himself to get caught in a run down on a delayed steal to allow Ian Desmond to score from third.  Angel catcher, Carlos Perez, slapped himself on the helmet afterward.

5-25-16

Rangers vs the hated Angels.  15-9 Ranger victory.  Eric Nadel, “Just when you think the Rangers are never going to score another run, things like this happen.”  Stat of the game: the Rangers were 9 for 21 with runners in scoring position. 

5-31-16

Alex Dickerson extended his hitting streak to 29 games in an 8^th inning at bat.  Hunter Renfroe follows that with a monster home run that goes between the outfield pavilions out on to Santa Fe street.