NM State Aggies vs Sacramento State Hornets 3-29 & 30-18

After the Padres/Chihuahuas exhibition game  (3-26-18), I wrote Tim Hagerty, the voice of the Chihuahuas, to tell him I was glad to have him and the team back on.  I asked him about local and baseball icon, Cody Decker, tweeting the Aggie program before the season.  He said it was because Coach Brian Green had been one of his coaches when he was at UCLA.  I’m sure I heard that somewhere before, but forgot all about it.

On Tuesday (3-27-18), Aggie Softball beat UTEP 8-6 in Game 1, and 8-0 in a run rule in Game 2.  Kelsey Horton and Victoria Castro homered in that game.  I felt so bad about not going.  People had been encouraging me to take a day off, since they all were taking vacation at about the same time.  Initially, Aggie Baseball had scheduled their game versus Texas Tech at about the same time as the softball in the evening, and I’d asked for the day off.  Then they changed it to the afternoon, but still overlapping with the softball, so I just said I’d come in late that day.  Then they canceled the game altogether, but the softball was still on.  Then I had problems with my stove and had to be there for a repairman and that canceled everything for me.  He showed up early and I still could have called in for the day, but I’d been too wishy-washy and didn’t want to be a last minute problem.  NM State stop scheduling important games at the same time!

3-29-18

The Aggies started their conference series versus Sacramento State on Thursday.  There was a good crowd reported there for an odd day of the week for a game.  I could hear the Old Man there cheering.  There were also a bunch of scouts there to watch Aggie starter, Kyle Bradish.  Trey Stine got the scoring started in the first, bringing in two runs on a triple.  Bradish wasn’t giving up much in the way of hits, but was handing out walks.  In the third, Sac St tied the score at 2 on a sacrifice and a double. 

In the fourth, the Aggies loaded the bases, but only managed 1 run to take a 3-2 lead.  An Aggie coach brought up a horrifying stat related to last Saturday’s game (3-24-18) with all those stranded runners.  A team that loads the bases with no outs and fails to score has a single-digit chance of winning the game.  There weren’t any other factors attached to that stat; it was simply that black and white.  That did happen in the game, which the Aggies did lose.  Just to follow up a little on something else, Caliche's handed out free frozen custard during that game.  While going somewhere else, I passed by there and got lunch.  They have a new key lime with cheesecake bits flavor that is to die for.  I also picked up one of their croissant sandwiches, which have to be the best in town.

Bradish struck out the side in the fourth.  He’d go 6 innings and finish with 7 strikeouts, 5 walks, and 2 runs.  In the fifth, Stine, Caleb Henderson, and Nick Gonzales all drove in runs.  Mason Fishback finished it off in the eighth, doubling in two runs.  The Aggie relievers gave up nothing in the game.  8-2 Aggies was the happy total on MLB Opening Day.

3-30-18
Too busy at work to really watch the game on TV.  The Aggies went down 6-0 halfway through the game and my interest waned.  They made it respectable, but in the seventh, after scoring two runs, Mason Fishback struck out with two runners in scoring position.  That was the pivotal play of the game.  7-3 Hornets was the final.  The Aggies ran into some tough pitching today.  Hopefully, I’ll be there tomorrow to watch the rubber match.

MLB Opening Day 2018

I’ve only gotten to catch a couple of Spring Training games this year, apart from the Padres and Chihuahuas exhibition.  (Darn you, Twitch!  Curses on pretty gamer girls!)  This week, MLB TV had all the games up for free viewing.  Monday (3-26-18), I caught the end of the A’s beating the crap out of the Giants.  It was a close game in the ninth until the A’s clobbered the Giants’ reliever.  I didn’t catch his name, but I’m thinking he’s going back down to the minors.  This game came on the heels of the double loss of Jeff Samardzija and Madison Bumgarner going down and pre-ruining the Giants’ season.  My pre-season preview was shaky enough before that.

Tuesday (3-27-18), I caught the end of the Blue Jays versus the Cardinals playing in Montreal.  It was another good crowd there in Quebec.  If they’re missing baseball there, they shouldn’t have run off their last team.  The Jays were sporting an all-legacy team with Bo Bichette, Vladimir Guerrro Jr., and Cavan Biggio, all sons of great major leaguers.  Bo looks like he’s 16 years old.  They should let him play without a hat.  What a head of hair on that kid!  If he makes it to the majors, there’s a shampoo endorsement waiting for him.  The score was a futile 0-0 through eight and a half and 2/3 of the bottom of the ninth, when Vlad jacked one to win the game, 1-0 Jays.  Even I was yelling at him to make a curtain call, which he did.

The Giants won their Bay Series rematch against the A’s that night.  The final game of the night and Spring Training was the Dodgers versus Angels at Dodger Stadium.  When I tuned in, there was a delay in progress.  A broken water pipe had flooded the Dodger side of the field, including the warning track, the dugout, their offices, and the first row of seats.  Obviously part of the problem they had was turning off the water.  It was just an official game at that point when they stopped play.  The umpires called it after 30 minutes to the boo’s of the crowd.  

While I was out yesterday, I went by Target and took advantage of their MLB sale.  I couldn’t find the team gear, but did pick up several packs of Topps Opening Day baseball cards.  Since I finally got a Buster Posey card for Christmas, I was going to abstain from further cardboard crack purchases, but I can’t resist those OD cards, especially at a discount.  These packs are usually great with star cards, rookie cards, and fun, special cards.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get much that I liked.   There was Whit Merrifield of the Royals.  He’s kind of awkward and stiff on the field, but several of those kind of guys have turned into great players.  I got a Harrison Bader of the Cardinals rookie card.  I remember him from last year.  He doubled and scored the winning run in his MLB debut with his family there.  A couple of the players were not pictured on their correct current teams.  There were some special cards, including a Phillie Phanatic and a Slider, mascot of the Indians.  Given the nose on this guy, I guess he’ll be taking the place of Chief Wahoo next year. 

Ah finally, Opening Day (3-29-18).  There’s even an early game scheduled between the Marlins and the Cubs on ESPN Radio . . . just not on my local station.  I endured five minutes of some ESPN sports talk dummies, before giving up.  I did hear on the top of the hour update that Ian Happ of the Cubs hit the very first pitch of the MLB season for a home run.  This is an ominous sign for baseball offense this year and for the Marlins.

Okay, take two.  The Rangers were playing the Astros in Arlington later in the afternoon.  It was a near full house there, including Commissioner Rob Manfred.  I had to perch my radio in an odd spot on top of some boxes to get clear reception.  For a change, the local station broadcast the first pitch.  (For the last couple of years, they’ve picked up the games 10 minutes in.)  Our pitching matchup was marquee-level with Justin Verlander versus Cole Hamels, though apparently Tim Lincecum stole the show when he was introduced and the fans went wild.  

George Springer homered on third pitch of the game.  What!  I’m sensing a long summer for pitchers this year.  George became the first player ever to homer in the opening at bat on consecutive Opening Days.  I’d been waiting on a new oven to be delivered today, which showed up shortly after that.  While I was outside of my apartment, my radio fell off the boxes.  Good thing I wasn’t there, because I might have screamed.  A decent radio may be hard to replace in this day and age.  Fortunately, it was still working afterward.

The bases were loaded to start the third.  Joey Gallo and Hamels collided at first on an infield hit to start the problems.  Eric Nadel and Matt Hicks started obsessing over the new mound visits rule, as Hamels was in trouble and receiving mound visits.  I thought Eric wanted quicker games?  Hamels gave up a run, but a DP got him out of it, 2-0 Astros.  Elsewhere, Giancarlo Stanton homered in his first Yankees at bat.  Groan. 

Another repairman came by to check my smoke detector.  It’s been a busy afternoon, not the lazy listen-to-a-couple-of-ballgames kind of day I was hoping for.  Jake Marisnick homered off the pole in the fourth to make it 3-0 Astros.  The Rangers finally threatened in the sixth with two in scoring position, but nothing came of it after a Nomar Mazara strikeout.  Carlos Correa drove in a run in the eighth to make it 4-0.  At this point, I had to go to work, but I apparently only missed Elvis Andrus scoring on a wild pitch in the ninth.  4-1 Astros was the final. 

At work, I listened to Aggie Baseball, which I’ll recap in a later post.  When I turned on the TV in the break room, the Dodgers/Giants game had just finished on ESPN with a 1-0 . . . Giants win?  Ty Blach outdueled Clayton Kershaw, who didn’t give up a run in Spring Training.  Joe Panik’s fifth inning homer was the only score that mattered in the game.  Of course, I also learned that the Giants lost their closer, Mark Melancon.  By the end of the month, they may be using dudes from the stands wearing Bumgarner jerseys.  

That wasn’t the only injury I just found out about.  Salvador Perez is hurt for the Royals.  Troy Tulowitzki is also injured for the Blue Jays.  Actually, it would be news if he was healthy.  The game next up was the Indians versus the Mariners in front of a full house in Seattle.  I decided to watch the Diamondbacks versus Rockies on Fox Sports Arizona instead, which started at about the same time.  I did see Ichiro Suzuki’s first at bat since returning to the M’s.  He’s 44 and still looks good.  The crowd in Seattle gave him a loving, standing ovation.

It was another full house in Phoenix.  The roof was open and field looked good for a change.  DJ LeMahieu got the scoring started with a home run in the first for the Rockies.  Jon Gray gave up three runs in the bottom, but I think the half inning lasted a half hour, which diminished my attention.  I had some work and other distractions (Twitch gamer girls) and missed a lot of the middle, but the D-Backs mostly piled on. 

The game in Seattle ended pretty quick with a 2-1 M’s win.  Sports Center came on next with a recap of the day.  Boy is this show lame these days.  I was embarrassed for Nelson Cruz as he was being interviewed.  Thank goodness MLB Tonight and Quick Pitch were on the MLB Network for better coverage.  I found out that Stanton homered twice in his first Yankees game.  He’s already getting obnoxious.  He’s going to rub off negatively on Aaron Judge and ruin him.  Noah Syndergaard struck out 10 in a win over the Cardinals.  I did keep up with the Rockies game and watched the ninth.  It was an 8-2 Diamondbacks win, and that was the last game of the day that also went pretty long. 

So, this wasn’t exactly a successful Opening Day from a watching and listening standpoint.  I’m going to have to be retired with some MLB viewing package to really enjoy this.  I miss that guy on Yahoo that would live chat the day’s games a few years ago.  That’s the way to do it and have fun.  Regardless, baseball is back.  Yea!  

El Paso Chihuahuas vs San Diego Padres 3-26-18

Ah, it’s good to be back to pro baseball.  This exhibition spring training game was probably the signature event on the Chihuahuas’ schedule this year.  The Padres must really like El Paso and Southwest University Park to keep coming back.  This is a really great way to help the franchise and encourage the fans. 

That said, Steve Kaplowitz interviewed someone from ownership before the game and brought up the possibility that the Padres would take their Triple-A team to San Antonio.  He said the nice things about their relationship to their parent club, but positively stated that they still have most of a 30-year lease on the stadium in force.  It’s a showplace, and if the Padres leave, somebody else will want to move in.  Whether that’s another Triple-A team or something lower remains to be seen. 

Is this the first crack in the foundation or merely pointless speculation?  The Mountain Star Sports Group (I think I’m getting that name right) is now working on getting a new stadium for the minor league soccer team franchise they just bought.  This team will be playing at the Chihuahuas’ park for a couple of years, which will likely degrade their pristine field.  Will setting up this new team also split their focus and degrade the Chihuahuas’ experience for their fans?  Is Mountain Star up to the task and truly committed to bringing great sports franchises to the region or are they opportunists, who will build all this up to sell it off to lesser custodians for a big profit at the communities’ expense?  The manner in which this stadium was built has always left me with the feeling that this arrangement is going to end badly.  I hope I’m wrong. 

For now, it’s all good.  I was particularly heartened to hear that the Padres brought Joe Galindo here with the team.  He’s an El Pasoan, played for Montwood High School, and did a great job for New Mexico State’s baseball team.  The Montwood team canceled practice to go to the game.  I expect some Aggies were there too.  A couple of people from work went. 

The warm, friendly tones of Tim Hagerty greeted the fans on the radio to start the game.  The last time I’d heard him calling a game was unexpectedly at the Aggie/Lobo basketball game in Las Cruces (11-17-17).  He was filling in for Jack Nixon, who was out-of-town to do Aggie Football.  It must have been thrilling for Tim to suddenly be doing a full house rivalry game, like hitting an announcing jackpot.  This game was on TV on the CW’s channel, which the cable at work no longer picks up.  Couple of hundred stations on Comcast digital cable, but not the local CW.  Yeah.  If I were home, I could have actually watched the game over-the-air. 

There was a pre-game show with Kappy and his Sportstalk show, but I’m still wishing Tim was able to spend a couple of minutes to set up the upcoming game.  Sometimes there’s a pre-game during the season, but sometimes, like today, the coverage starts with the Anthem.  It’s an awkward way to start. There was a title sponsor for this game, which proved to be a mouthful for Tim every time he had to say it.

The game rosters could partly be described as the new Chihuahuas versus the old Chihuahuas.  There were a lot of very familiar names on the Padres, such as Travis Jankowski, Hunter Renfroe, and Austin Hedges.  Honestly, it was a bit hard to figure out over the radio which team was which.  The Padres did bring and play some of their new big league acquisitions, such as Freddy Galvis (formerly of the Phillies), Allen Craig (from the Cardinals), and, my man-crush, Eric Hosmer (from the Royals).  Oh, the mischief I would commit if I could be him for a day.  Unfortunately, their farm system’s top prospects, Fernando Tatis Jr. and MacKenzie Gore, were not present.  (See, I’m using my new baseball preview magazine.)

During the game, Tim mentioned that when the Padres starters came out of the game, they would be mingling on the concourse with the fans.  A lady co-worker that’s a big Padres fan was glowing after getting to meet and get autographs from several players.  There were tables set up with the players seated behind them.  Austin Hedges charmed the heck out of her, and she’s a Chase Headley fan, who she also met.  She’s been to games in San Diego and not seen anything like this, so she’s a bigger fan than ever.  This game and player meeting were an awesome promotion for both teams.

This was good, action-filled game, which I found very hard to track without some sort of statcast.  Like I said, it was hard to tell one team from the other at times.  Also, being at work, I was busy with work and missed stuff, which was why I needed statcast.  This isn’t going to be the greatest game recap. 

New Chihuahuas player, Rudi Giron (if I’m even getting close to spelling that right), made a good impression on the fans, as he started off the scoring with a two-run home run.  2-0 Chihuahuas.  In the third, Wil Meyers drove in Austin Hedges for the Padres to make it 2-1.  During Eric Hosmer’s at bat in the inning, he fouled on to the roof.  The ball rolled off into the crowd below.  A big cheer went up as a fan caught it. 

In the fourth, the Padres took the lead, 3-2.  Freddy Galvis hit a solo home run in the inning.  Christian Villanueva had a tough game.  The previous inning, he was hit in the chest by a grounder and had the wind knocked out of him.  This inning, he got hit by a pitch.  Tim was also having some trouble calling hits near the foul line.  With Padres’ TV taking over the pressbox, he was sitting in the auxiliary box and was out-of-position to make close calls. 

Hunter Renfroe pinch hit in the fifth and made it count with a two-run homer.  5-2 Padres.  The Chihuahuas scored in the bottom to make it 5-3.  There was a delay to start the sixth as seven new Padre players came on to the field.  While this should have been a National League game, there was a DH.  Tim was scratching his head trying to figure out who that player was going to be.  I lost track of the game for awhile.  In the seventh, the Chihuahuas tied the game at 7 with a runner scoring on a play at the plate. 

Meanwhile, Tim had thrown up his hands.  Players were reentering the game and batting out-of-turn.  While enjoying the game, this lack of accounting was offending Tim’s scorekeeping sensibilities.  With the score tied, I’m surprised he didn’t go into the new minor league extra innings rule, where a runner is put on second to start the inning. 

In the eighth, I finally went to the Padres’ website to see if I could find a statcast, as I hadn’t found one on the Chihuahuas’.  I never found one, but did finally figure out that MLB TV was broadcasting the game.  Well, shoot.  I could have been watching.  What a great crowd was there!  Attendance was announced at over 9,700.  Though the radio and TV were badly out of sync, I kept the radio play-by-play going.  The Padres scored in the top to make it 7-6.  Phil Maton pitched the bottom and hit two and walked one, but didn’t allow any runs.

In the ninth, Boykin, I didn’t catch his first name, homered for the Padres.  Tim had a delay in identifying him, as Boykin had reentered the game from earlier.  In the bottom, the Padres had an assistant coach playing second.  (That’s what I heard.)  Tim was hoping at Joe Galindo might be brought in, but in a tight game, the coach might have thought that might potentially be bad for him.  The final score was 8-6 Padres.  It was a good, fun game.  The crowd was loudly rooting on the Chihuahuas, and I’m sure they’re looking forward to the upcoming season.   

NM State Aggies vs Seattle U Redhawks Baseball 3-25-18

It was another beautiful, sunny morning.  I wasn’t fooled after yesterday though.  This time I was wearing a hoodie and had my jacket with me.  I nearly stayed up late Saturday night watching the season opener of F1 in Australia, but wanted to make sure I got up early instead.  Their racecars now have this hoop around the cockpit.  I don’t know why they don’t just put in a windshield.  I called Ron to see if he was available for this game against the Redhawks.  I didn’t wake him up this time, but he was still running behind.  He said he’d meet me at the ballpark. 

Once again, I came hungry to Presley Askew Field.  Concessions was offering $1 hot dogs, which is about what they’re worth.  For the first time, I was offered chili and cheese for my hot dog for another $1.  Well, that’s the only topping I actually like on a hot dog, so I accepted.  Unfortunately, it was chili with beans, which I don’t like.  It was also completely tasteless, which is I suppose better than tasting bad.  I was too hungry to complain anyway.

The wind kicked up hard during the Anthem and it was partly cloudy, but the weather never got bad.  The wind would be a factor in the game.  It was a light crowd to start with, but filled in fairly well.  The Old Man came by and again sat behind me.  We chatted about yesterday’s game for a couple of minutes.  He was excited.  A scout-looking guy saw me with my scorecard and asked about this weekend’s games and about Kyle Bradish.  Of course, I froze up a bit and likely gave him incorrect information.  Once I write stuff down, I often totally blank on it right after.  It’s gone from my head.  I hope I didn’t say anything that might wreck Kyle’s career.

The game started off with some low energy from everyone in the park, except the Old Man, who was cheering it up.  Aggie starter Jonathan Groff walked the first batter.  No harm there, as he then picked him off.  Ron came in in the bottom.  We caught up a bit.  I showed him the mark in my notebook where the foul ball hit (Game 2, 3-17-18).  As I expected, he was super disappointed that he missed out on free ice cream yesterday.  (They would have cut him off at some point.)  The Old Man moved over a bit when Ron came in so that, “I won’t be yelling into your ear.”  He suddenly left halfway through the game without explanation. 

In the second, Groff got a strikeout and a double play for a quick inning.  In the bottom, Tristen Carranza was hit to start the inning.  He didn’t flinch as it bounced off him.  Trey Stine moved him to third and Caleb Henderson sacrificed him in to give the Aggies a 1-0 lead.  The coach came out and talked to pitcher Dawson Day.  The PA played a new Family Guy clip during the meeting.    

Joey Ortiz got style points for a play at short to start the inning.  He did a 360 after fielding the ball before throwing out the runner.  In the bottom, Marcus Still singled and was then moved to second on a balk.  Was that the fourth balk call in three games?  Was it the same umpire making all these calls?  Wasn’t there an MLB umpire nicknamed “Balkin’ Bob?”  Regardless, Noah Haupt drove Marcus in.  Mason Fishback then drove him in with a line drive home run to left center.  Judging by the flag, that may have been against the wind direction, but still in a stadium jet stream.  Fishy’s little batting slump ended in the ninth yesterday, but this was more emphatic.      

 

People kept walking by with little plastic wine glasses, some with white wine, some red.  I think I saw this yesterday, but today, there were some definite winos in the crowd.  We’re still in the third.  Carranza singled his way on.  Henderson then came up and hit the scoreboard in left for another homer in the inning.  Logan Enhes followed that with another homer.  This one went to right with the wind pushing it.  Bradish’s dog up in the stands started barking as the crowd cheered the barrage. 

After six runs, 6’ 11” Brayden Weyer was brought in to pitch.  Whenever I see guys like this on a baseball team, I wonder why they aren’t playing basketball.  Nick Gonzales greeted him with another homer, again to left center.  One bad fielding play extended the inning as the Aggies batted around, when the shortstop threw the ball away to put Marcus on second.  A good play by the catcher, Kyler Murphy, on a popup finally ended it.  The ball went towards the stands then blew back towards the plate.  Murphy stayed with it.  8-0 Aggies.

Seattle went down quick in the fourth.  In the bottom, a lady Redhawks fan in front of me asked about one of the player’s line score.  Hey, I’m suddenly useful.  The big Mastiff service dog from yesterday was sitting with her and her husband and his owner.  The dog was really friendly and nice (and still just out of reach, I wanted to pet him so bad).  Fishy singled, then Carranza struck out, but one of his foul balls did land in between three players in a testament to the swirling winds.  Trey then singled.  Boom!  That was another homer, this one for three runs, courtesy of Henderson.  I’m getting a bit winded standing up and applauding all these shots.  11-0 Aggies.

A Redhawks player, Lucas Denney, was hit to start the fifth.  The ump called him back.  Apparently he felt that the batter had leaned into it.  “That’s bull****!” shouted one of the Redhawks fans in front of me.  “We’re going to have to leave separately,” said his wife next to him.  I question the call as well, but I was more skeptical of the ump’s inconsistent strike zone, which myself and some others noticed.  We’re not even getting into the balks.  Denney hit a liner to Ortiz.  He dropped it, but managed to throw him out.  A double play ended the Aggie half of the inning.

              

I haven’t mentioned yet that there were plenty of attractive young women in attendance.  I’m sure many were the players’ girlfriends, but them and their short shorts didn’t hurt to have around.  Let’s hear it for warm weather.  I think I saw a couple of softball players in the crowd.  They were on the other side of the stadium, so I won’t try to ID them.  I was surprised they didn’t come as a team, since they were off this weekend.  After the game, a few volleyball players walked by, Megan McGuire, Bridgette Lowe, and Briana Ainsworth.  I almost didn’t recognize Briana.  She’d trimmed her hair and put in some highlights and dropped some weight.  She’s taken off some pounds very quickly.  (Briana’s so beautiful to begin with; this must be for increased athleticism.)     

The Redhawks got a couple of singles in the sixth.  Both runners moved up on a passed ball.  There was a grounder to Stine at third.  He looked the runner there back before throwing to first, but the runner still scored on a play at the plate.  Henderson outdid himself to end the inning.  He laid out to make an awesome catch on a liner by first base.  Once again, I’m standing and applauding.  Carranza hit a solo homer in the bottom, so that I could get some more exercise.  Haupt seemingly struck out twice to start the frame.  The Redhawks’ catcher started to throw around the horn after the second strike, but had to wait for the next pitch to fully do it.  12-1 Aggies after six.

I finally saw it coming before it happened.  The Aggies could potentially run rule win this inning.  I told Ron, and he hoped that wouldn’t happen.  Dalton Hurd led off with a triple off the centerfield wall for Seattle.  He was brought in by pinch hitter Jack Reisinger with a single.  The ball floated over Joey at short.  He completely lost track of it as it dropped in behind him.  He would start a double play on the next batter though.  Another pinch hitter singled.  The Aggie bullpen was active before the inning, but would not be necessary.  12-2 Aggies was the final. 

Coach Brian Green never put in the reserves for this game, and I think he used the same lineup for all three games.  He even stuck with Marcus Still, even after his bad game yesterday.  The game only took around two and half hours.  Only playing seven innings accounts for most of that, but what made the game move along was that there was only one walk (and that was on the first batter).

There are two easy gameballs to hand out today.  Jonathan Groff had a complete game (7 innings) and only gave up two runs.  Considering what Redhawks’ pitching gave up in the same wind, that’s amazing.  On a day with six home runs accounting for nearly half the Aggies’ hits, Caleb My Name is Earle Henderson accounted for half of the runs driven in.  In three plate appearances, he hit two home runs (5 RBI’s) and drove in a run with a sacrifice.  Not to mention, he had the defensive play of the game in the sixth.

The crowd was happy, but seemed reluctant to leave.  Ron was a bit despondent over the quick ending.  He’d wanted to hang out and watch some more.  I was happy to see the win and for the pleasant weather.  One issue though was that it was a little early for lunch.  Not that that stopped us from taking advantage of Papa John’s current two-pizza deal.  It’s all good.  We chatted for a while before Ron started nodding off and went home.  This was a good start to conference play for the Aggies against a good team.  Neither of us can go to the Texas Tech game on Wednesday, but I plan on listening. 

NM State Aggies vs Seattle U Redhawks Baseball 3-24-18

I'm going to start off stepping backwards out of the box for a minute.  I listened and watched a few games this week before today.  The Aggies played the Arizona Wildcats on Tuesday (3-20-18) in Tucson.  I took some notes, but it's not worth recapping a 14-0 Aggie loss.  The only good news was that Matt Munden did well in relief, and Brett Worthen, who struck out three in an inning.  Brett hadn't pitched in two years since being injured in an epic Aggie win in Lubbock against Texas Tech.  (I didn’t actually write about that game, but I listened to it and mentioned it in the season review.)

On Wednesday (3-21-18), I got to see some of Aggie Softball playing in Albuquerque against the Lobos.  I just happened to check in on the team and found out they were playing, and UNM had a video feed of the game.  I was enjoying it until the video suddenly froze up and wouldn't come back.  At the time, the bases were loaded and Kelsey Horton was coming to bat, so you might imagine my frustration.  It wasn't as big as Kelsey's, who I think popped out and went like 0 for 6.  It's okay though, the Aggies won 12-7.  The Aggies used all four of their pitchers in the game.

Friday (3-23-18), Aggie Baseball was on TV.  I joined the game in the third with the Aggies down 3-1 to Seattle U.  The Old Man was there, right next to a crowd microphone, cheering up a storm.  Joey Ortiz got his second triple of the game and was driven in by Tristen Carranza to make it 3-2.  As I was at work and working, I missed the Aggies taking the lead in the fourth, 5-3.  Ironically, I was taking a quiz from MLB.com at the time waiting for a process to finish.  (Actually, it was a preseason opinion poll, but I'm pretty sure I failed anyway.) 

There was some sort of contention at one point as the umpire warned the Redhawks' bench to “Cheer for your own team.”  (I think that's what happened.  I'd just walked in the break room when the warning occurred.)  More controversy in the seventh.  Alex Pinedo had seemingly picked off a runner on first, but was called for a balk instead, which brought in a runner from third and tied the score at 6.  Caleb Henderson hit a three-run bomb in the bottom to make it 9-6.  In the eighth, Carranza hit a two-run homer.  The happy, gritty final was 12-6 Aggies. 

That brings us to today, Saturday (3-24-18).  My day started badly as Ron woke me up with a phone call in the morning to say he wasn't going to be able to go.  Well, I woke him up last weekend, so he took the initiative this time.  He'd been up all night watching some sick relatives both times.  My upstairs neighbor had kept me most of the night with loud music, so I wasn't happy either.

It was such a beautiful day out though.  I had on a mesh crimson t-shirt with my Aggie button (covering up the Star Fleet insignia on my Star Trek shirt), sun block, and sunglasses.  I knew it was Bark at the Park day, so I was expecting some dog action.  Even better, Caliche's frozen custard cones (hereafter referred to as “ice cream”) were being handed out for free to fans and their dogs.  What nice people!  A great crowd showed up.  It was mostly adults with just a few children.  It was a pretty good-looking crowd too.  I saw a scout for the Mariners.  Both starting pitchers were being scouted.

Umm.  You might glance at these scorecards and say, “J, it looks like you missed some stuff at the end there and didn't even bother totaling anything.”  We'll get to that and don't be so judgmental.  I sat down with my cone, a soda, and Corn in the Cup.  I wasn't that hungry, but I felt generous after the free ice cream.  I'd gotten the soda because I'd assumed the heat was going to parch me out.  Yeah, it was now suddenly overcast and heat wasn't a problem.  I no longer needed the sunglasses or sun block.  The wind had also picked up and made balls hit in the air a bit of an adventure.       

The Old Man was sitting nearby me.  He was quiet at first, but that didn't last long.  I got an earful of Aggie cheering for the entire game.  Also down the row was a big, pretty dog.  He was just out of reach, but I kept flirting with him for a couple of innings.  As far as the game went, Aggie starter, Justin Dehn, gave up a couple of hits, but shortstop Joey Ortiz made a great throw to third for a force to end the inning. 

In the bottom, two Australian Shepherd dog pups came by and they were super-friendly (and again, out of reach).  That's my favorite breed, and they were so cute!  After a pair of strikeouts, the Aggies loaded the bases in the bottom on a hit batter and two walks.  Redhawks pitcher, Tarik Skubal, helped his own cause with a great play on a chopper by Logan Ehnes.  The ball got behind the mound and he made a jump throw to first to get Logan.

A cool wind picked up in the second.  The sun did peek through the clouds and it momentarily got hot.  It was 78 degrees to that point, but soon falling.  The first batter of the inning, Justin Mazzone, got a liner into the jetstream.  The ball hit the top of the wall and fell over to give Seattle the lead.  A double and a single added to it to give the Redhawks a 2-0 lead.  Their dugout got pretty loud.  Dog-themed tunes started playing between innings.  I only recognized Elvis' Hounddog.  The Aggie second ended with Nick Gonzales getting picked off first. 

Mini footballs got tossed into the crowd.  An Aggie marketing girl made two trips down the stairs to hand deliver a couple to some fans who missed out.  Dehn had some more problems in the third.  The Aggie bullpen was already in use, warming up a pitcher.  Runners were in scoring position via two hits, an error, and a stolen base with no outs.  With the infield drawn in, the next batter hit to second.  Nick fielded the ball and looked back the runner at third and threw to first for an out.  The runner at second took off for third, which drew a throw.  The runner at third then went for home and was thrown out for an unconventional double play.  If the Redhawks had done a worse job of base running, I might have been able to finally record a triple play.

Aggie catcher Mason Fishback attempted to leave the field after that play.  The dugout sent him back out.  It had been a long inning to that point.  Who could blame him?  Unfortunately, a hit batter, a single, and another run drove Dehn from the game.  Alex Pinedo came in and finished off the frame.  3-0 Redhawks. 

Victoria Castro and Nikki Butler from the Softball team came in.  The girls have the weekend off.  Unfortunately, they didn't walk past me so I couldn't congratulate them on their win against the Lobos.  Noah Haupt led off the inning with a hit, which should have been scored an error (IMHO).  Another Australian Shepard dog entered the stadium!  I can't believe it!  Doggie-doggie heaven!  Noah advanced to third on a wild pitch and a flyball.  He made it home on a balk.  I'd noticed that Skubal was barely stopping before pitching right before that was called.  3-1 Redhawks.

To start the fourth, a cute little girl didn't do well at the window toss contest on field.  Her and her dogs got the prizes anyway.  I wouldn't have denied her either.  One of the players gave her a pat on the shoulder as she left the field.  Splat!  That was a raindrop hitting my scorecard.  Oh, oh!  I didn't come prepared for this.  Curse you, Accuweather!  Thankfully, it was just a little sprinkling to this point.  In the top, Nick made a jump to stop a liner, knocked it down, and still threw out the runner. 

A Seattle U fan walked by with a large Mastiff service dog.  He was frightening and sweet-looking at the same time.  Aggie marketing guy, DJ Downs, was going around the crowd, taking pictures of people with their dogs for Aggie Twitter.  A Caliche's server sat down for a moment with a cone and a hot dog and took a picture for their Twitter stream.  I could see it raining over at the Organ Mountains.  At least, those heavier clouds passed us by.  The Aggies got a couple of walks to start the bottom of the fourth, but nothing came of it.

Last call was announced for free ice cream to start the fifth.  The Aggies turned a double play in the top.  They loaded the bases without a hit in the bottom and no outs.  Logan Ehnes popped out to short on an infield fly.  I didn't have to explain that rule anyone nearby, which was a bit disappointing.  A double play ended the inning.  Groan.

The rain, the drop in temperature, and finishing my soda required a trip to the bathroom in the sixth.  I couldn't resist and got the next to last cone of ice cream.  The guy there gave me a napkin and said, “You look like you're going to make a mess.”  That was correct.  I got ice cream on my scorecard on four different occasions within five minutes. 

I didn't miss any action in the meantime, but this was because the Aggies were called for a “delay of game?”  A penalty “ball” was issued because the Aggies weren't ready to play.  Coach Brian Green took too long complaining to the umps about something.  Pinedo also said something to the ump.  This all got the crowd into it.  They were even more into it as Nick made a diving stop and putout, and then Joey ended the inning with a diving catch with his back turned to the stands.  Even the dogs were barking in appreciation of that one.

The ice cream and humidity were giving me a headache.  This might not have been a good sign.  I sometimes get a headache right before it rains.  In the bottom, Nick led off with a single.  Marcus Still was able to finally get down a successful bunt on his third attempt of the day.  Nick advanced to third on a bad pickoff throw into center field by the catcher.  Once again though, the runner was left stranded.  The Aggie offense was also giving me a headache. 

A little boy and his grandfather slowly made their way down the stairs beside me for the second time in the game.  I'm not sure who was leading who as they took it one step at a time.  Hey, Striking the Wonder Dog didn't show for the game!  That's disappointing.  The sky was now dark with clouds.  The stadium lights were going to need to come on.  It was sprinkling again and the wind was really picking up.  And it was now officially cold.  Wyatt Kelly had come in for the seventh.  After hitting a batter, he gave up a home run to Dalton Hurd.  5-1 Redhawks.  In the seventh, Ehnes got on when the pitcher and third baseman collided going after an infield hit.  Nice comedy, but the Aggies still didn't score.

By the start of the bottom of the seventh, I had moved higher up in the stands, trying to get under the canopy to avoid the rain.  It didn't help, since it was raining sideways.  By the start of the eighth, there was a mass exodus of fans, including myself.  If I'd had a jacket on, I would have tried to tough it out, but in a t-shirt, I didn't even think twice.  Were it not for wearing double socks to keep my slightly too big boots on, I might not have made it this long.  Even the Old Man was leaving and he was in long sleeves.  Nikki and Tori were directly ahead of me in the parking lot, but forget making friends in a cold rain.  

As I pulled out, I saw that they'd turned on the stadium lights finally.  I kept listening to the game over the radio.  For the eighth, the only memorable play was that another balk was called.  Was it the same umpire doing this?  I'd already decided I'd be having dinner at Schlotzsky's, since their back of the ticket coupons were about to expire.  After I'd finished my sandwich, I hung around to keep listening to the bottom of the ninth.

The Redhawks brought in their ace closer, Zach Wolf, for a non-save situation.  That's usually a mistake.  Outside the shop window, I could see the weather was getting worse.  The wrought iron chairs outside were rocking in the wind, as rain pelted the window.  Surely, this wouldn't take long.  After a quick out, Fishback and Carranza both singled on.  Then, Trey Stine doubled Fishy in.  Suddenly, this was interesting.  I got out my scorecard and made some quick notes.  I could hear the Old Man still there.  He must have just gone out to get a jacket.  Ehnes and Henderson came up and both drove in runs.  The Aggies were within one run with two runners on and one out.  But it was not to be and that was as close as they got.  5-4 Redhawks was the final.

I'm not sure what would have been worse: listening to them dramatically win with me not there or being there and watching them lose dramatically.  Didn't matter.  I couldn't have stayed without catching pneumonia.  This hasn't been my week.  This was just par for the course.  Since I didn't get complete stats, I didn't bother adding anything up.  I don't really want to remember this game in more detail anyway.

My gameballs go to Redhawks pitchers Tarik Skubal and Jarrod Billig for keeping a potent Aggie offense down (14 runners left on, though Seattle's offense wasn't much better there), and to Dalton Hurd for going 3 for 5 (?) with a home run.  Alex Pinedo may have pitched his way into another start in the near future for the Aggies.  Also give it up for the Aggie bats for not giving up in the ninth.  At least, Zach Wolf was burned and won't be available tomorrow.  I'm more concerned about tomorrow's weather though.  Let's hope for the best.

MLB Preview 2018

The situation hasn’t improved since my last rant (1-5-18).  Well, there’s been one improvement: I’ve stopped listening to ESPN Radio.  I don’t care about the NFL or the NBA or Tiger Woods, so there’s no reason to listen.  However, my dream of attending Spring Training was again crushed this year.  The person I’d hoped to go with decided not to make the trip.  Also, he didn’t know I was planning on going with him.  Just to make matters worse, before pitchers and catchers even reported, some players were threatening to boycott Spring Training altogether.      

Cue the violin music as I quickly recap the baseball labor situation which has disgruntled these beleaguered players.  Next season, Bryce Harper, Clayton Kershaw, and several other A-list stars will become free agents.  This has had the unintended effect of making this years’ group of free agents, who weren’t all that great, much less attractive.  There were about 100 of them sitting around with no offers before Spring Training.  Many big spending teams are dumping salary and saving money in preparation for wooing the big names.  Near future free agents, who aren’t big stars, are also worried that their value is going to go down as well.   

  

Let’s hear from one of these poor, disadvantaged professional baseball players. 

As players, we need them to secure the biggest and longest contracts.  We need this class to push the market higher and higher as revenues go higher and higher.  When revenues are at all-time highs, increasing to historic levels, that warrants historic contracts.  We don’t need to hear more excuses about teams not spending actively this year to make sure their resources are available next year.  Things better start acting normally. 

Thank you, Max Scherzer.  I’m sure we’ve all been moved by your contrite humility and inspired by your eloquent gratitude for being blessed enough to play this great game of baseball.  (I also get the impression that he’s a player-union rep when not pitching.)  These poor free agents are being forced to accept being paid millions of dollars for three or four years instead of tens of millions of dollars for a decade.  It’s so unfair.  As long as the owners and fans still have money, that means the players can be paid more. 

Apart from congressmen, is there any group of people in this country that people have less sympathy for than Major League Baseball players?  Well, probably, but this is a baseball post, so let’s go with that.  As mindlessly greedy as the players are, I think that’s reason enough to keep more money out of their hands.  At least some of the owners have some business acumen and employ a bunch of people with their wealth.  (No, players, purchasing the services of a personal shopper for your wife isn’t the same thing.)      

I sincerely don’t think these guys understand how thin the ice is that they’re standing on.  Real baseball fans are known for their long memories and knowledge of the sport’s history.  They have not forgotten that senseless player’s strike that canceled a World Series.  Baseball is really dependent on attendance, much more than the NFL or NBA.  (The NFL didn’t even care if half the fans showed up last year.)  If people don’t show up, the team moves, and there aren’t many places left in the country that will build a stadium for an MLB team.    

Local TV contracts are doing really well for the teams, but apart from the World Series (depending on who’s playing) the league is hurting for a national audience.  With ESPN’s money problems, I could see them dumping baseball.  They’re all NFL/NBA all-the-time anyway.  Fox will be relegating baseball to FS1 for US-less World Cup coverage.  (What an insult.)  They just want to broadcast the World Series; they don’t care about the rest of it.  Little wonder the MLB has been exploring Internet outlets for games for a national presence (MLB TV, Yahoo, Twitter).  Me and some other hardcore fans will keep watching likely no matter what, but don’t think for a minute that that’s a large group of people.  I’m sure my threats and warnings are meaningless to the Players’ Union, but here’s a surefire prediction: if guys just shut up and play, you’ll all be millionaires.         

I resisted getting a baseball preview magazine last month, since there were so many unaccounted for free agents.  Their information was certainly going to be well out-of-date before the season started.  I went to Barnes & Noble looking for Sports Illustrated’s preview.  Not only would it be up to date, but I liked the writing in the preview issues I’ve gotten over the last couple of years.  (Other than their college football preview issue, those were the only issues I enjoyed from my subscription last year.) 

Unfortunately, the only SI I found at the store on the newsstand was the Swimsuit Issue and a Philadelphia Eagles championship magazine.  Wow, the Swimsuit Issue’s really fallen off the face of the earth in popularity.  I remember long ago counting the days until it came out and now I’m like, Are they still doing this?  I think when they started using fat chicks it was over.  Even putting in pictures of male athletes wasn’t as big a betrayal.  In any case, the weekly magazine hasn’t always been on their newsstand, so I wasn’t terribly surprised.  It also wasn’t on the rack of Albertsons here in town, where has usually been.    

As long as I was there at the B&N and still wanted a preview, I broke down and bought Baseball Digest and Athlon Sports Baseball Preview (Nolan Arenado cover and promising “4 pages of Rockies team coverage,” oooh), since I couldn’t decide between the two.  Though not current in their projected rosters, I decided that most of the free agents out there, probably weren’t going to be big impacts anyway.  I felt much better about the purchase when I noticed an article about ballpark food in the back of the Athlon magazine.  That, at least, will be interesting reading.  It also listed former Aggie, Daniel Johnson, was listed as one of the Washington Nationals’ top 10 prospects.  They like his speed and power.  (We did too.)

I’m so behind in my reading stack.  I’ve still got magazines there from the middle of last year (about the time my work schedule changed).  I’m not going to be able to read either magazine cover-to-cover, so I’ll be skimming them for information.  Both magazines made the same uninspired, albeit obvious, choices for division winners, but which I’m mostly agreeing with.  The winners and losers seem pretty well defined even before the season starts.          

I’m breaking the teams of the MLB into four groups. 

Going For It: These are teams who think they can win now.  Take note, I said “they” think they can win. 

Yankees, Red Sox, Indians, Angels, Astros, Nationals, Cubs, Cardinals, Brewers, Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Giants.

Of this group, the Giants, Rockies, Indians, and Nationals may be blown up after this year if they don’t win.  Gutty move by the Giants to pick up Evan Longoria and Andrew McCutchen.  We’ll see how it works out.  At least, they’re two really likeable players.   

Going Nowhere: These teams aren’t built to win, nor rebuilding.  They’re trying to put an above .500 product on the field with a few overvalued players to not run off their fans.

Blue Jays, Orioles, Rays, Royals, Rangers, Mariners, Mets, Braves.

The Rangers are about to get a new stadium, so they’ll be off this list in the near future.  I think the Mets do have a chance to get a wild card spot this year, but they don’t seem to.  I don’t know what the Braves’ deal is.  They got the new stadium.  They should be putting a better team on the field.  Maybe they need new management. 

Going Down the Drain: These guys are flat out tearing down to rebuild.

 Tigers, A’s, Marlins, Pirates, Reds.

That’s not as big a list as the Players’ Union would make you believe.  Ideally, they want all the bad teams to be in the Going Nowhere category, not this one, since it doesn’t make free agents more money having teams shredded.  I hope Derek Jeter is able to turn the Marlins around, because he’s going to be run out of town if he doesn’t for what he’s done. 

Going to be Good: Hope springs eternal.    Fans of these teams can look forward to watching a winning team in a year or two.

White Sox, Twins, Phillies, Padres.

Arguably, the Twins are already a good team, in spite of a late season teardown last year.  Perhaps they’ll improve themselves with some success this year.

Predictions

Okay, let’s just pull the band-aid off.  It’s going to be the Yankee$.  I’ve had a good ten+ year run without seeing pinstripes in the World Series and rooting for teams I like.  Sometimes, it’s been both teams in the Series.  The Dodger$ came close last year and almost ruined it for me, but at some point the near misses are going to result in a direct hit to my baseball happiness.  I actually made some pretty accurate predictions last year (3-28-17), though I got a bunch wrong too.  I did have the Astros as my backup winning pick. 

AL East: The Yankees should run away with it between Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Judge knocking the cover off the ball.  The Red Sox are still soft (in other words, David Price is still on the team).  They might buy a Wild Card spot.

AL Central: The Indians are way better than the rest of the division.  Also, this is their last year with Chief Wahoo.  Let’s win one for the Chief!  The Twins should contend for the Wild Card, if management doesn’t get cold feet and sabotage the team again.

AL West: The Astros are awesome.  Perhaps their youth will allow them to compete this year in the World Series after playing an extra month last year.  They also added Gerrit Cole and will have Justin Verlander for the whole season.  The Angels are kidding themselves with their upgrades, including the talk of the off-season, Shohei Ohtani, who might not make the big league club to start the season.  The curse (read: contract) of Albert Pujols still hangs around their neck.

NL East: The Nationals will win this or explode in a memorable fashion.  If they are not somehow leading the division or first in the Wild Card by the trading deadline, the fire sale will start immediately.  Bryce Harper will be out the door first.

NL Central: The Cubs have had a year to recover from winning in 2016.  They’ve also seriously upgraded their pitching with the addition of Yu Darvish.  Unfortunately, he’s just been really good, not great, and will likely disappoint down the stretch.  The Cardinals and Brewers will be fighting for the Wild Card, if not the division, if the Cubs stumble.

NL West: Dodger$ management is right now focused on dumping useless salary and convincing the county to float a $500 million bond issue for the resigning of Clayton Kershaw.  (That might be a hard sell to public.  I can see that going down in a vote.  Maybe they can implement it via fiat like El Paso did when they brought in the Chihuahuas [4-14-13].)

The Dodgers just lost Justin Turner, probably for the season, and they played about as many games as the Astros last year.  The Dodgers may be more vulnerable than they look.  They might not entirely care if they don’t win it all this year, banking on some wild splurging next season to put them over the top.  The D-Backs, Rockies, and even the Giants may have a shot at the division, certainly the Wild Card.

How does it all play out?  Yankees over the Indians in the ALCS.  Cleveland fans moan in unison for another year.  Most self-styled Yankees fans won’t actually start watching until the World Series.  Cubs over the Nationals in the NLCS.  You’re questioning this.  The Cubs will make a mid-season pitching acquisition that will put them over the top.  Expect some blockbuster deadline deals to be done this season because of next year’s free agent class.  Yankee$ over the Cub$ in one of the most viewed World Series ever.

Okay, I admit I have some reservations about most of the stuff I’ve written here and, without a doubt, I hope I’m wrong about the championship result.

NM State Baseball vs Maine Black Bears Baseball Game 2, 3-17-18

Continued from Game 1

To exactly nobody’s surprise, Game 2 of this double header started at about the same time as the softball double header next door.  This scheduling was really terrible.  Now the only question was: Would this baseball game finish before or after the softball double header?  It was worth taking bets on. 

I’d only had a bowl of cereal and a banana for a late breakfast.  Four hours later, my stomach was growling, something that never happens to me.  I was briefly worried that the concessions trailer was closed when I went by earlier, because I didn’t see anyone inside.  Happily I was able get a soda, dog, chips, and my favorite, corn in a cup.  Had I been less hungry, I might have complained about the hot dog, but not today.  The corn in a cup was a lot less soupy than last time, but not quite as melted.  Why am I reviewing this?  Aggie concessions aren’t exactly gourmet (or even El Paso Chihuahuas level ballpark food). 

In the kiss and cry area by the Aggie dugout, a couple of players were eating with their girlfriends (presumably).  The dogs from the stands were also there.  While I was back at my seat in the stands, several kids ran by with newly player-signed balls.  I had grabbed my jacket and undershirt from my truck in preparation for the sun going down, so I was ready for anything.  No, I wasn’t, as you’ll see.

You might notice a smudge on the Aggie scorecard.  We’ll get to that.  The game started badly for the Aggies right off, particularly for Caleb Henderson.  He had two errors to start the game.  Myself and broadcaster Adam Young thought the first one might have been undeserved.  Aggie starter Alex Pinedo didn’t have a good start either.  The pitching coach and trainer suddenly ran out to him.  They left him with one of his nostrils stuffed with cotton.  Adam had no idea how he’d gotten a bloody nose, or maybe he had a runny nose.  The first batter let on by an error scored on a wild pitch, but Pinedo otherwise pitched fine with one nostril.  1-0 Maine Black Bears.

By the second, we could hear cheering at the softball complex from their game.  The girls make a lot of noise and always sound like they’re having a good time.  It makes you wish you were there, but if you were, you then ended up missing the actual seats and shade at the baseball park.  Joey Ortiz caught a low, sinking line drive and then caught a runner off first for a double play to end the inning.

The wind shifted in and I could hear the softball announcer.  That would come and go all during the game.  In the bottom, after a hit batter and a double, Nick Gonzales drove them in with a high, arcing blast to center.  3-1 Aggies.  Oh, oh, Adam’s voice started cracking after that homer.  This was a bad sign for the radio broadcast.  He kept going and eventually worked through it.  There was a bunch of screaming over the wall at the softball complex.  I could see helmets bobbing up and down by home plate and then go to the visitors’ dugout.  I think Minnesota just scored a multi-run homer too.

For the third, foam balls were tossed to the crowd.  Pinedo had a two strikeout top of the third.  Mason Fishback led off the bottom with a line drive homer to right field.  The team gave Fishy a strange high wave upon his return to the dugout.  This is going to be their trademark thing for the season, I guess.  4-1 Aggies.  Brandon Vicens for the Black Bears made a tremendous running, over the shoulder catch in deep centerfield.  There were two on at the time, so that inning-ending catch saved some runs.  The entire crowd applauded his effort.

In the fourth, Maine got their first hit of the game.  It was a hard hit ball at Joey that might have been called an error instead.  A little brother and sister played with their new foam balls next to me in the aisle.  I ended up getting involved a couple of times by errant throws.  Unlike some other times with rambunctious kids, this time I okay with it.  They were kind of adorable.  Pinedo made a rare play by a pitcher on a sky-high pop up.  Three other players lost the ball and he was the only one able to make the catch.  Occasionally, that pitcher’s glove is useful.

In the bottom, Caleb Kerbs at second for Maine made a great falling away throw to get the speedy Marcus Still at first.  Someone in the stands loudly disagreed.  I wonder if it was Marcus’ dad.  Ortiz singled.  Logan Ehnes beat out an infield hit, which even Adam initially called him out on.  Fishback singled in Ortiz next.  Tristen Carranza walked to load the bases.  Alex McKenny, who’d just come in this inning, uncorked a wild pitch that scored Ehnes.  He injured himself on the throw, which the catcher immediately noticed, and had to come out.  The crowd gave him a nice round of applause.  The next pitcher, Trevor Delaite, picked up the at bat to Caleb Henderson with a 1-0 count.  Trey Stine would drive in two more runs with a single.  8-1 Aggies.

Kevin Doody came up to bat for the Black Bears in the fifth.  The little girl found the name amusing.  Adam called, “Doody down on strikes,” as he struck out in his at bat.  Adam and the softball PA gave the final score for the Game 1 of the softball double header, 7-0 Minnesota.  Nick started off the bottom with a ground rule double over the wall.  Marcus singled him in, though he was caught off first taking too wide a turn on a good throw in from the outfield.  9-1 Aggies.

To start the sixth, Pinedo lost his glove on a comebacker.  No problem.  He still threw out the runner.  Alex thought he had the next batter on three pitches.  The umpire disagreed.  The count went full, and Pinedo grooved the last pitch.  The ball went 400’ over the center field wall.  Alex walked the next batter and was taken out to a round of applause.  He seemed out of gas.  The Black Bears pieced together another run that came in on a wild pitch.  9-3 Aggies.

Mason Fishback led off the bottom of the sixth.  He hit a foul popup straight back.  It went over the net.  I lost it in the sky, but several other fans were able to track it.  And were looking right at me as the projected impact point.  Plop!  And that’s how that mark got on my scorecard.  The ball hit right in my lap.  The crowd was laughing.  I was laughing too.  That could have been a lot worse.  The ball did not hit the ground and I caught it with my equipment (the scorecard), so I consider it a legal “catch.”  A couple of kids, not the little ones next to me, wanted the ball.  I decided to keep it, since the ball had found me.

Almost inconsequentially, Fishback doubled in his at bat.  Adam said he was hitting over .400 and leading the nation in RBI’s (I think, I should have been paying better attention to the commentary).  What a player to almost get beaned by.  Carranza then came up and homered him in to make it 11-3 Aggies. 

In the seventh, there was an Aggie Baseball shirt toss from the top of pressbox again.  I did stand up and wave for one, apparently not satisfied with my other souvenirs, but I think they only threw two out.  The lights came on at the ballpark.  Softball had turned theirs on last inning.  They may have already started Game 2 by this point.  A double play ended the inning for Maine.  In the bottom, the ump got confused on the count and almost called out a batter on two strikes.  This further confused the scoreboard operator and led to a momentary delay to correct everything.  Carranza drove in a run and Henderson doubled in two more runs to make it 14-3 Aggies.

I could hear the girls singing at the softball field.  The PA was telling leprechaun jokes to the crowd, until a leprechaun claiming defamation showed up with a lawyer.  Kyle Wullenweber made his first appearance in about a month to start the eighth.  He was a bit rusty as he walked two and had two wild pitches, but he also had two strikeouts.  A run scored on a sacrifice.  14-4 Aggies.  The Aggies loaded the bases in the bottom, but didn’t score.  A foul ball by pinch hitter Zach Hardy hit the canopy and landed by a nearby fan.  I flinched before it landed. 

Matt Munden came in to close out in the ninth.  The first four batters hit for the cycle.  Yes, a single, double, triple, and a home run.  Honestly, that was kind of impressive to watch.  There was another foul into the stands.  This time it went to the other side of the stadium, but I still flinched.  I hope this isn’t going to be an ongoing issue.  The Black Bears scored three times before Wyatt Kelly came in and struck out the next three batters to end the game.  Our final: Aggies 17, Black Bears 7.

Great job by Alex Pinedo on the mound and with his glove today (and even without it).  Wyatt Kelly looked good in relief.  Mason Fishback had a great day with the bat, going 3 for 5 with 2 RBI, a home run, and one hit fan.  Nick Gonzales and Tristen Carranza both had homers and went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI’s.  All nicely done.     

I thought about trying to find Fishy after the game to get his autograph on the ball, but I wasn’t in the mood to hang around and further embarrass myself.  I doubt I was going to be charming after 8+ hours sitting at the ballpark.  I found mistake after mistake on my scorecards in the later innings while writing this.  I likely wasn’t very coherent at the time.  My radio ran out of juice right after the final out, so I wasn’t able to check any totals.      

The softball game was still going on.  I slowly drove past their stands to look at their scoreboard.  It was 8-3 Minnesota in either the fifth or sixth.  Since my baseball ticket wasn’t going to get me in, I didn’t bother stopping.  I wasn’t going to buy another ticket for an inning or two (remember, they only play seven in softball).  [Edit: Minnesota won 15-5.]  I think Major League Baseball games let people in without a ticket after the seventh, though I could be really wrong about that or that policy may have changed. 

Adam was concerned about the wind for the Sunday baseball game, so was the weatherman.  It was nice enough in the morning.  I was dressed and ready, but the specter of 50mph reared up with some gusting an hour before the game.  I changed my mind and stayed home.  It was likely okay there for the first hour, but conditions degenerated soon after.  I felt like I made the right decision, but still felt bad about it.  [Edit: Aggies won 8-5 and it was very windy.]  I think I got plenty of good baseball this weekend anyway.

NM State Aggies vs Maine Black Bears Baseball Game 1, 3-17-18

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  It was a gorgeous day here in Las Cruces, sunny with a cool breeze.  What a glorious day to play two.  Things got off on the wrong foot as I called Ron about going to the game.  He’d been a bit ambiguous about participating.  I woke him up at 11:00 am where he was a bit understandably incoherent.  Ron said he’d meet me at the park sometime, but that didn’t happen.       

At the ballpark, I noticed there was increased and visible security.  Perhaps they were expecting some unruly fans drunk on the green beer being sold there.  They didn’t have much to worry about from the light crowd at initially showed up.  Thankfully, more fans arrived as the game went on.  I picked up a souvenir pennant, which was cool.  I saw Adam Young.  Glad to see he made it out of Laramie.  We would have radio today.

The Aggies won the series opener on Friday, 6-5, against the Maine Black Bears.  The Aggies came back in the seventh with a two-run shot by Tristen Carranza and a go-ahead solo shot by Caleb Henderson.  I remember Maine from a couple of years ago (2-27-16).  John Arel had one of the most dominating opposing pitching performances I’ve seen.  He’s still on the team, though I didn’t see him today.  They did have a guy that looked like a blonde version of Charlie Blackmon.  (And he was in the game.  And I should have gotten his name, instead of being lazy.)

Justin Dehn started for the Aggies coming off his big win over Alabama.  That was the only win on the team’s southern road trip and the first against an SEC school.  He looked a bit erratic at first with a walk and a balk to start the game.  Dehn came right back with two strikeouts looking.  A nice-looking family group came in and sat in front of me.  They were three kids, dad, and grandpa.  The kids ran around getting foul balls.

Nick Silva started for Maine.  He’s Alex Rodriguez’s nephew.  I liked that he worked fast and threw hard.  Danny Casals at third for the Black Bears made a great play on a liner on a force play.  Mason Fishback went down on three pitches, so Silva had some good stuff.

The wind started blowing a bit starting in the second.  It was prone to switch directions, but was going out initially.  Whoa!  What’s this?  Amy Bergeson and Victoria Castro from the Softball team came in.  Amy’s blonde hair had grown out a bit and had some waves in it.  Tori had let her magnificent curly, black locks loose.  They looked nice.  They walked by me up the stairs and I called them by name and said “Hello.”  If I’d known about it earlier, I would have congratulated them on their big win last night against Minnesota, 3-0.  Adam talked about the game later in the broadcast.          

While the game wasn’t as interesting as those two, it did get more interesting.  In the top of the second, a double and a sacrifice brought in a run for Maine, 1-0.  The frame ended with Braden Williams throwing out a runner at second.  He contributed in the bottom by driving in a run to tie it up, 1-1. 

Mini-footballs bombed the stands in the third.  There were a bunch of kids in the crowd and they went crazy for them.  On the other side of the stadium, a lady brought in a Welsh Corgi.  It was so cute it hurt to look at.  There were a few dogs in attendance.  A chocolate lab and his human aide walked by me several times.  Very pretty dog.  Adam mentioned that Maine plays in the America East conference, which was the same as the University of Maryland-Baltimore County.  What sports fan could resist talking about the NCAA Basketball Tournament #16 seed, who beat the tournament #1 seed yesterday, which has never happened before.

The first batter of the inning walked.  He tried to take second when Williams dropped a pitch to the next batter.  Williams threw him out anyway.  Adam had already called the base stolen.  It was a great throw.  Unfortunately, another walk and two hits drove in another Maine run, 2-1 Black Bears.  Carranza would make a great play at the wall on a deep fly.  Maine would load the bases, but Dehn got out of it with a ground out.  Silva gave up two hits in the bottom, but without damage.  He got Carranza to strikeout on a beautiful 12-to-6 curve and then a high fastball.   

Amy and Tori left between innings.  They did have a double header to play later this afternoon.  Sorry, ladies.  I wanted to see your games, but I did have to choose which double header to go to because of the questionable scheduling.  No announcement was made about baseball tickets getting the holder into the softball games.  There was a good reason for that.  The baseball didn’t end until well into the second softball game.       

A couple of singles and a sacrifice got Maine another run in the fourth, 3-1 Black Bears.  The Aggies answered back in the bottom with Nick Gonzales singling and stealing a base and Logan Bottrell driving him in, 3-2.  During his at bat, Joey Ortiz argued with the ump over a call.  This doesn’t usually happen in a college game.  Joey beat out an infield hit, but was picked off to end the inning. 

Caleb Henderson made a great play on a bunt in the fifth, and Williams gunned down another runner to end the inning.  In the bottom, Silva started losing some control and walked a couple batters with two outs.  He made one bad pitch to Henderson.  The ball carried beautifully over the left field wall.  5-3 Aggies.  The crowd loved it.  The dogs were barking their approval.  Silva was knocked out of the game.

For the sixth, Williams picked up his fourth caught stealing.  The Black Bears went 1 for 5 in stolen bases in this game.  They did not scout the Aggies’ backup catcher well.  The music started next door at the softball complex.  They were warming up to play, which meant this game was going into its third hour, but it was a lively game, so it was okay. 

In the seventh, there was an Aggie Baseball t-shirt toss.  I stood up for it, but I think they only threw one into the crowd from the press box.  Justin Dehn was pulled from the game after giving up a hard hit to the second batter.  Good defense and grit carried Dehn today without his best stuff.  Unfortunately, the next two relievers gave up two runs only pitching to three batters.  Chance Hroch was brought in on short rest from last night.  He induced an inning-ending double play, but Nick overthrew first, which allowed a run to score.  Black Bears back up 6-5.

The bottom of the seventh started with Carranza getting hit with a fastball on the shoulder near his head.  He was okay.  Next up, Logan Ehnes doubled.  Carranza was waved in and slid just under the tag.  The catcher immediately complained to the ump.  Carranza said something to the catcher, perhaps something about his bruised shoulder.  Words were exchanged.  Coaches and umpires got between the two, while both dugouts started yelling at each other.  No punches were thrown, but not from lack of desire.  Ehnes made it to third, but was thrown out on a squeeze play at the plate.  He might have missed the sign or couldn’t believe the sign was being given.  (I didn’t.  Small ball isn’t the Aggies’ forte.)  We were tied at 6.

The temperature dropped a bit in the eighth as the sun went behind a cloud.  Hroch had a quick top of the inning.  Marcus Still came in and led off the bottom and was promptly hit by a pitch.  It seemed really unintentional, so tempers did not flare.  Joey tried bunting him over and ended up with an infield hit.  Carranza worked out some more anger by singling in Marcus.  Trey Stine came in as a pinch hitter.  He only saw one pitch, which he apparently liked just fine and didn’t need to see any others.  The wind carried it over the right field wall for a three-run homer.  10-6 Aggies.  I think I heard on the broadcast that the team is second in the nation in runs scored.  I can believe it. 

Hroch stayed in for the ninth.  He walked the second batter.  Next up, Casals accidently tossed his bat on a swing all the way to the net by the Aggie dugout.  He got on via a tough error given to Joey.  (I thought it should have been a hit.)  Hroch was un-rattled with two on and finished out the game.  Aggies won 10-6 in front of a 500+ crowd in a 3 hour, 20+ minute game.  It went long as usual, but was fun.  (The nice weather helped too.)

Let’s hand a gameball to Black Bear, Nick Silva.  He pitched well until he ran out of gas.  Justin Dehn didn’t allow a big inning and kept the Aggies in it.  Braden Williams had a great game behind the plate, catching four runners, and had an RBI.  Caleb Henderson and Trey Stine each had critical and crushing three-run homers.  I still can’t believe Stine came off the bench and whacked the first pitch he saw over the fence.  The Aggies showed some good resilience coming back twice in the game, though their bullpen definitely has some shaky parts.

Let’s have some more.  On to Game 2.