Unlike last years’ maudlin MDW, here I have a full slate of sports to report on. Unfortunately, I’m still not really enthusiastic. Let me recap a few things I took note of in the interim.
Aggie Baseball
The Aggies limped into the WAC Tournament. They beat SU pretty convincingly in their first
game. They lost to GCU, the number 1 seed, in a close game. The Lopes had disrespected the Aggies a
little by not starting their best pitcher.
The Aggies got a lead in the first off of the replacement pitcher, but
couldn’t hold it. Finally, they faced SU
again the next day and basically self-destructed. Late in the game, they even threw out their
next scheduled starter to finish the game when it was out-of-reach. Chris
Barraza had spent most of the season on the disabled list. The coach wanted to make sure he got to
pitch.
Polo
Yes, Polo. I got to
see a match last month. It was the
second time I’d ever seen the sport. I’d
talked my dad and his friend, Joe, into watching it with me after we’d gone out
to visit mom’s grave and to get pizza. Joe
would ask me questions and I’d say, “I saw five minutes of a match two years
ago. I don’t know what’s going on.” As I’d seen before, it was fast and
dangerous. The upscale crowd watched in
pavilions on the sidelines. Even the
commercials were really classy.
MLB
So far, one of the best things about this season has
unexpectedly been Stadium’s Inside Baseball show. It must have some popularity, because they
expanded to do two new episodes a week. They
do stories, stats, commentary, and have some fun. They did not mention the ASG getting moved when it happened, so they are not doing politics,
which is appreciated. Meanwhile, the MLB
was very disappointed in the verdict of the so-called murder trial in
Minnesota. They had all sorts of fun
protest activities and boycotts planned if it had gone the other way. Thank goodness for mob rule and politicians intimidating
the jury.
There have been two main storylines this season in
baseball. One has been pitching
dominance. There have been six
no-hitters (seven if you count Madison
Bumgarner throwing one in a scheduled 7-inning game). Even the Padres
got a no-hitter for the first time in franchise history. Now all of the teams have one. It’s too bad Ted Leitner retired before this season and wasn’t calling it. That game was probably on MLB Network. As I started to watch it, they blacked it out
in my area.
This brings me to the next big story. The Dodgers
and Padres have been fighting their own private World Series. Their meetings so far this season have been memorable. If only anybody was able to watch them. Pity that none of them were on national
over-the-air TV. Even Trevor Bauer was annoyed with the local
blackouts.
I got to hear one of their games on the ESPN Sunday Night game on the radio. This one was truly epic. The Dodgers went up 7-1 and I nearly bailed on
the game. I’m glad I stuck with it. The Padres somehow tied it in the ninth. The teams ran out of players in extras. Clayton
Kershaw pinch hit at one point. The Padres
won 8-7 in 11-th. The game took five hours, but it was worth it.
Chihuahuas
The Chihuahuas are back.
It’s like being reacquainted with an old friend. They won their opening game on the road in Tacoma in extra innings. I felt bad for the crowd there because they
were waiting for fireworks. Mackenzie Gore, the Padres’ top
prospect, pitched the home opener. I’ve listened
to him pitch into and out of trouble consistently. He’s still learning.
More recently, the Chihuahuas were on a six-game losing
streak. They’d won five games in a row
against the Isotopes, but lost the
last one after giving up a big lead. It
went downhill from there against the Sugar
Land Skeeters. For a new team,
couldn’t they have come up with a better name than “Skeeters?” (Then I remember my own team’s name and shut
up.) The pups might have lost all six
games against them, except one got rained out.
(Be prepared for a 7-game series to make up that game next time.)
The Chihuahuas came back home to face the OKC Dodgers with Cody Bellinger there on rehab.
(Old Chihuahuas’ farmhand, Carlos Asuaje, was
also on their team.) The pups managed to
break a tie in the eighth and win it.
Cody played hard and well in the game.
He made the final out with men on with a very hard line drive. People watching in person were shocked by his
power. Reports were also that he enjoyed
being there. He tossed balls to the
crowd between innings and signed a bunch of autographs. His appearance in the game was in doubt up
until game time, but a full house showed up, including a bunch of Dodger
fans.
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