8-25-26
It was a big-time matchup in the MiLB Free Game tonight with the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at the Worcester Red Sox. Both teams had several rehabbing big leaguers on their rosters. There was a big crowd present with what looked like additional media by the dugouts. I was instantly charmed with this game with the thick Northeastern accent from the color commentator.
Polar Park was a really nice place to watch a game. The field looked very green. The stadium has two levels. The second level has suites and terrace seating. The outfield has a club seating area and green lawn seats. There’s a red Duck boat behind center and train tracks behind outfield wall. (There’s a running motif of trains at a lot of minor league parks, including Southwest University Park in El Paso.) There was a lady keeping a scorecard behind home plate, who was pointing out players to her husband. Scorekeeping fans is a hallmark of a fine baseball facility.
The Woo Sox had the bases loaded in the second. Roman Anthony, just up from the Portland Sea Dogs, who I was watching last week, took a walk to bring in a run. That was their first run scored since Friday night. The two shutouts over the weekend were the first in team history. Trevor Story, also on rehab, took a walk to force in another run, as the SWB pitcher, Xavier Rivas, threw 12 straight balls. However, the Sox only came away with 2 runs for a 2-0 lead.
In the fifth, Rivas settled down and got Anthony and Story. He pounded his mitt in satisfaction. The Woo Sox pitcher, whose name I didn’t get, had 8 strikeouts over 5 innings and gave up a solo home run. In the sixth, the ump dodged a foul tip and got a round of applause from the crowd. SWB tied it after loading the bases and took a 4-3 lead.
“The Roman Empire returns to the heart of the Commonwealth,” was reported as Anthony hit a 2-run homer in seventh to give the Woo Sox back the lead. The Sox piled on 5 more runs to win it, 8-5. Story made a dive catch at short to end it. This was a pretty entertaining game and will likely be a great series for the fans. (There were Yankee fans there, too.)
I tuned in late to the Chihuahuas versus the OKC Comets. The pups had been up, 4-0, but the Comets scratched back into it. They loaded the bases in the eighth. A sac fly run made it, 4-3. Mason McCoy made a jump catch at short to end the inning. The dugout cheered for him as he came back. The fans there booed him. It was a shocking no-drama ninth with Alek Jacob getting the save.
8-26-26
The Chihuahuas played a double header today with OKC to make up an earlier canceled game. It was a quick-moving Game 1. The Comets had a one-run lead with 2 on and 2 outs in the bottom of the fifth. Blake Treinen, on rehab, talked his way into staying in for one more batter and gave up a run. On the other side of the ledger, it was one-hitter against OKC and even that one was questionable and could have been ruled an error. Finally in the sixth inning of this seven-inning game, Samad Taylor had a clean hit to drive in a run. The pups tied it and Ethan Salas drove in the go-ahead run, 3-2.
OKC tied it in sixth and it went to extras. The Chihuahuas scored twice in the eighth. OKC threatened in the bottom and scored once, but El Paso took it, 5-4. The second game I kind of tuned out on, but OKC took an early lead and blanked the Chihuahuas, 6-0. The Chihuahuas were about as interested in that game as I was.
On the MiLB Free Game, the High-A Spokane INDIANS! (suck it, Clev-hole!) were playing north of the border against the Vancouver Canadians. The Rockies’ affiliate had “Spokane” on the front of their uniform written in Indian, as Spokane is an actual Indian tribe. The Canadians had a Mountie mascot logo on their uniform.
It was a one-level stadium in Vancouver and a roof over only the center part of the stadium. That crowd behind home plate was sitting in the dark later in the game. There was a large terrace section on first base side. So, it wasn’t a great facility, but it was pretty full of enthusiastic fans. The camera work was kind of terrible, but that might have been because of a lack of coverage. The announcer was fine, but didn’t have Canadian accent, so I was disappointed.
There was a fielding error in top of first and a run scored on a wild pitch in the bottom to give the Canadians a one-run lead. A home run in the second by the Indians to tied it. In the fourth, a Canadian outfielder crashed into the wall trying to make a catch, but oddly it was the batter going into the second that was injured on the play and had to come out. The Indians loaded the bases with 1 out. A new Vancouver pitcher came in. He got an infield popup, which was caught with the fielder’s back to home, and a looking strikeout. The female ump had nice demonstrative motion the on call. In the fifth, the Indians loaded the bases again. A sac fly broke the 1-1 tie. A double off of the running right outfielder’s mitt brought in 2 more runs. The center fielder made a running catch to end the inning, 4-1.
In the sixth, a broken bat single sent the bat head directly back into the ump’s mask and hurt her jaw. The trainer came out, but she stayed in. From the announcer, if she’d been knocked out, they apparently would have had to have called around to find an ump in the area. A caught stealing with 2 on ended the inning. It was 5-1 Indians in the bottom of the eighth. The bases were walked full to start the inning for the Canadians. The crowd was into it. A spiked pitch brought in a run and the crowd erupted. They got another run on a fielder’s choice. The bases were again walked full before another pitcher was brought in to finish it. The Indians won it, 5-3. Great game.
8-27-26
It was Joe Musgrove versus Will Smith, both on rehab, at tonight’s Chihuahuas versus Comets’ game. Joe got the better of it in the first with a strikeout on Will. Bryce Johnson made a great diving play to end that inning. The Chihuahuas took a 1-0 lead in the second and ran it up to 4-0 over the game. Musgrove came back out in the sixth, but gave up a couple of hits and a run before being taken out.
In the bottom of the ninth up 5-1, the Comets hit a 3-run homer to make it a one-run game. The Chihuahuas brought in a new pitcher. The tying run got on, but was left stranded. Chihuahuas win, 5-4. Marcos Castañon brought in 2 of the runs and went 3 for 4. Catcher Ethan Salas threw out two baserunners and went 3 for 4 with an RBI.
The MiLB Free Game was the Bees at the Rainiers. The stadium in Tacoma was okay and so was the crowd. Nothing to get excited about. It was nice, but seemed kind of sterile. In the fifth, the Rainiers loaded the bases down, 2-1. A run walked in tied it. Then the Rainiers’ big bruiser came up. The announcer noted, “The Bees have their bullpen buzzing.” The big guy struck out, though.
In the sixth, the Rainiers loaded the bases again, but the threat ended on a soft low liner caught at second. The fielder was perfectly placed. I was busy in the bottom of the eighth, but saw there were two Rainiers on with no outs. The batter was up to bunt the runners into scoring position, but a really wild pitch went over his head to move up the runners. The Rainiers finally cashed in for four runs and won, 6-2.
8-28-26
I was late to both games tonight. The MiLB Free Game was the Binghamton Rumble Ponies at the Reading Fightin Phils. The Ponies had the word, “Bing,” on their colorful jerseys. The Phils were in their Luchadores identity. I came in in the eighth with the Ponies up, 5-1, but the Phils had the bases loaded. A new pitcher came and got a strikeout where the batter wore a “gone fishing” sign. The Phils didn’t make a comeback and the Ponies won, 5-1. Tomorrow night is “Swiftie Night” with some Taylor Swift impersonators. There’s also a drone show afterward. It’s not nice to call Swifties “drones” (no matter how accurate that might be).
I came into the Chihuahuas versus OKC with the Comets up 2-0 after 5 innings. Broadcaster Tim Hagerty announced that they had canceled the postgame fireworks show because of the wind tonight. It was 2-1 OKC going into the ninth, when the wind came into to play. Mason McCoy tied it on a solo home run. Rodolfo Duran followed that with another solo home run. I don’t know that these were wind-aided, but I wouldn’t be surprised. In the bottom of the ninth, the Comets got 2 on with 2 out and managed to tie it at 3.
The Chihuahuas scored in the tenth, but an error to begin the bottom of the inning ended up putting two Comets on with no outs. The Chihuahuas intentionally loaded the bases to get a force at any base, but a single ended it, 5-4 OKC. Since there were no fireworks, I guess the fans were okay with the game going late.
8-29-26
Lots of sports tonight, but who cares? I had a great date with Zanaya. The sports sort of figured into it. We went to The Game to watch tonight’s Week 0 game between NM State and Florida State. (This was after getting my tire fixed and getting a blind box toy at the Mall for Zanaya.) There were several other Aggie fans there. She really enjoyed her chicken sandwich. I liked my club sandwich, but it irritated my stomach. Zanaya got a call from her work in the first quarter, so we cut the viewing short. She was probably okay with leaving early. (I’d told her we’d only stay until halftime anyway.) I was okay with leaving early after getting a wet, sloppy kiss when I delivered her back home.
As for the game, it was a 31-point spread against the Aggies, but with a $1.4M payout for showing up. I’d heard an interview with new Aggie quarterback, Trey Hedden, before the game. He’s a very confident, well-spoken young man. The new voice of the Aggies, MJ Newsom (who did a good job of calling the game later), did ask him a pointed question, “Trey, you’re ranked #138 out of 138 FBS quarterbacks. Does this motivate you?” Myself and every Aggie fan listening groaned in agony. Hedden had been the quarterback at Furman, a school better known for basketball. Actually, only known for basketball. We didn’t know they had a football team.
Coach Sanchez had said in his interview that the team’s running game had been greatly enhanced, which seemed to further underscore a lack of faith in his new quarterback. In what I saw at the restaurant, they were instead passing and doing so effectively. Unfortunately, the Aggies’ first drive ended in an interception near the endzone. That pass was a misfire, rather than bad judgment.
When I got back home to watch the game, it was 17-7 Seminoles at half. The Aggie defense was looking pretty stout. They did give up a couple of big plays, but that’s the nature of college football for the most part. Just don’t do it all the time, so you can give your offense a chance.
On the first Aggie possession of the third quarter, a halfback option trick play for a wide open touchdown was dropped. There was a near turnover next, but the team held its composure and managed to make long field goal, 17-10. It was 24-10 at the start of the fourth. At 27-10, the Seminoles blitzed Hedden, who stepped up and hit TK King in stride. King went right down the middle beating two defenders for a 34-yard touchdown. I could hear them cheering at The Game restaurant from my apartment, 27-17.
The Aggie special teams and the defense made two bad penalties, but did come back with a big sack. Florida State did score another touchdown. The Aggies punted on their last possession, but got ball back on a penalty. I’m not sure what that penalty was. Was it too many men on the field? The broadcast was counting players. (It was an Illegal Substitution.) The Aggies turned it over on downs near midfield. In a nice class move, Florida State knelt on it for the last 1:30. 34-17 Seminoles.
There was a shot of Hedden consoling King on sidelines, but there was nothing to be ashamed of. It was a respectable loss. Florida State was not exactly celebrating the win confidently. In an interview with a couple of FSU players afterward, you could see in their eyes, they know their coaches will be rimming them for not beating the spread. From the stats, the Seminoles won it on rushing dominantly. Hedden actually did a good job passing, better than the Seminoles. The Aggie defense also got to their quarterback pretty well. Here’s hoping the Aggies can take away some confidence from not getting plowed by a Power Four team.
There were other college football games going on. The game in Ireland was on cable. Before leaving to get Zanaya, I did see a bit of #14 USC against San Jose State. The Trojans beat the Spartans, unlike in The Odyssey, 35-3. That was expected. The crowd at the LA Coliseum, however, was a social media disaster. Attendance was officially 51k attendance in the 77k capacity stadium. It looked a lot more like it was 1/3 to a quarter full. There was also a HBSC SWAC match up on late. It was good close game that I didn’t really pay any attention to.
I could have finally watched a NASCAR Cup race this season, but mostly stuck with the football. They were at Daytona. Ryan Preece won it on the final lap in overtime with a massive wreck going on behind leaders that brought out a caution. Preece earned his first playoff birth. He’d even gotten in a wreck earlier.
On the radio, the Chihuahuas were playing OKC. I came in late. Ethan Salas had an RBI in the eighth to make it a 2-2 tie. Down 3-2 in ninth, Dustin Johnson was on base and took third on a bad throw on a steal attempt during a walk on the batter. That was an odd play. There were two in scoring position, but with 2 outs. A groundball ended it for another close loss, 3-2 OKC.
I did watch a bit of a Mexican League game. I noticed the stadium was filled for the game. The Monarchs (?) beat the Dorados and celebrated wildly on the field. Oh, it was the Mexican State League Championship game. Congratulations. Finally, the El Paso Locomotive beat Louden (?), 4-1. It was 3-1 at the half and I thought it was going to be the highest-scoring soccer match ever at that pace.
8-30-26
I tuned in to the Rangers at the Brewers for a bit before going to dad’s apartment. There was some first inning confusion. A penalty ball was assessed on pitcher Kumar Rocker before the game started. In the first at bat, ball 4 was thrown by the broadcasters’ and fans’ count, but did not produce a walk. The umps conferenced, but agreed with the count. Broadcasters Matt Hicks and Jared Sandler were counting the number of pitches thrown trying to figure it out. The batter walked anyway. The violation was actually mis-reported on the pitcher; it was on one of the fielders for not being in position? So, what’s the penalty for that then? I tried to continue listening to the game at dad’s apartment, but got no reception. The Rangers found some offense today and won, 7-4.
The Astros were playing the Mets as part of the NBC Sunday double header. I’m not sure if it was dad’s TV or the coverage, I was clearly hearing the crowd noise, but could barely hear the commentators. Dad was asking me about getting a hearing aide. I told him that it wasn’t just him having trouble hearing it. Dad had a fan on, but I was sweating, had a headache, and kept falling asleep during the game, so I wasn’t paying much attention. I did see the coverage showing a poor guy that lost a foul ball. He was devastated.
The Little League World Series was on at the same time between Nevada and Curacao. I’m not a big fan of the coverage for this series, so I didn’t want to watch the whole thing. It was disaster in the fifth for Nevada with two outs and the bases loaded for Curacao. There was a hit batter and then a bases-clearing double and it was 8-2 Curacao. They ran away with it, 11-2. In the seventh in NYC, we were still watching Little League, as 2 Astros’ runs scored on a fielder’s choice and an error on a bad throw to the catcher. The Astros win, 6-3. Stupid Mets not helping out the Rangers.
Back at home on the radio, the Chihuahuas were playing OKC. I heard Ethan Salas drive in a run in the first and throw out a runner as the catcher in the second. I was on a call with Zanaya and missed almost all of the game. I tuned back in in the ninth in time to hear OKC get a walk off win, 2-1. Broadcaster Tim Hagerty was stunned in the postgame. It’s been that kind of road trip with a bunch of close losses. The Chihuahuas’ 1-run lead held up until the seventh before it was tied. Nick Pivetta on rehab threw four scoreless innings.
NBC’s night game (and thank you to NBC for showing all of these games) was the Reds versus the Cubs. The game start was delayed by rain and the rain continued early in the game. Most of the crowd was wearing rain ponchos. Wait, did I see that White Sox fan, who was always wearing a Kyle Busch NASCAR jacket, sitting behind home plate? Why did he change sides? The White Sox are doing great this year.
The Reds hit several home runs in the game. Two were thrown back. One went to a kid that was a Reds fan. There was some great conversations during the game between the commentators. Anthony Rizzo: “If we were the Reds ownership, when are we going to extend Elly (de la Cruz)?” Joey Votto: “We can’t afford him. His contract will be the size of a small countries’ GDP.”
Sal Stewart homered the seventh into in the shrubbery. There was no throwing that one back. Rounding third, he looked into the camera and said, “Jesus is king!” The commentators were left speechless. It was 7-3 Reds, but they lost Elly, who came out of the game afterward for a minor injury. There was a bizarre disclosure that Votto never eats nachos at the ballpark. That’s still not as weird as Tim Hagerty never having a hot dog at the park. Pete Crow-Armstrong began the game with a Cubs’ home run. He ended it with another in the ninth. “MVP! MVP!” But, the Reds win tonight, 7-5.
In sad news, Shiyazh Pete was cut from the Cowboys today. I have no doubt that he has a bright future ahead of him in whatever he chooses to do. After his viral moment in the Cowboys’ locker room and having a whole section fans cheering for him, important people will want to talk to him about various opportunities. I hope Shiyazh chooses wisely. I’m sorry I didn’t get to see him play more, but I’m ever so glad I got to see him play for my team in the NFL.
