Baseball Journal July 2, 2017

The coverage of today’s Rangers versus White Sox game (late as usual thanks to my local affiliate) began with Carlos Gomez robbing Melky Cabrera of a first inning home run.  Or not.  It was a homer.  Eric Nadel was again surprised by a home run and mis-called it!  What is going on here?  Is there something wrong with Eric, or is there some weird jet stream carrying balls out in Chicago?  The Sox takes a one run lead.

In the third, Pete Kozma, playing third for the Rangers today, thought he was out on a close play at first.  At least by crowd noise, he thought he was out.  The ump called him safe on an un-emphatic call.  The first base coach had to bring Kozma back from the dugout.  Pete next thought he was out on a fielder’s choice at second and went to the dugout.  However, a review showed him safe, so back on to the field he went.  With the bases loaded, Shin-Soo Choo was called for interference going into second, resulting in a double play.  Kosma went back to the dugout, inning over.  Wait.  Review.  Choo was ruled out, but no interference.  Kosma has now scored because of this ruling.  He doesn’t have to come back out of the dugout this time though.  1-1 tied.

The bottom of the third also got messy, but proved more productive for the White Sox, as they scored three more runs.  4-1 White Sox and a 48-minute third inning.  Mike Napoli hit a homer in the fourth.  Matt Hicks had no trouble calling it.  Robinson Chirinos, the Rangers catcher, stole second on a throwing error.  Later, he got to third and took home on a wild pitch.  4-3 Sox.  “A Little League game has broken out,” observed Eric after the White Sox had managed to commit four errors in the last two innings.

The Rangers loaded the bases in the fifth with no outs.  Two outs later, Jonathan Lucroy blooped in a single to score two and give the Rangers a 5-4 lead.  Matt Bush came out in the seventh and pitched well.  Unfortunately, the problem seems to be Rangers relievers in general.  Jose LeClerc gave up a two-run homer and the lead in the eighth.  6-5 White Sox.

In the ninth, Adrian Beltre was given a free pass with two on and two out.  Carlos Gomez then struck out on a wild pitch.  The catcher managed to retrieve the ball and tag home before pinch runner, Joey Gallo, could cross the plate.  Unfortunately, he didn’t come in as a pinch runner earlier or if only the Rangers had a speedy player on the bench, when a double might have scored him from first.  6-5 White Sox final.  The Rangers have the worst record in the league in one-run games.  Everyone thought that their awesome record last year in one-run games would eventually even out.  It just took a while.  Meanwhile, Jared Sandler was going to be doing a Frisco Roughriders game tonight with, former Ranger, David Murphy.  That’s a tough double header for Jared.

Speaking of double headers, the Chihuahuas started playing the Aces two hours early this evening to accommodate two, seven-inning games.  Given how late the decision was made about canceling last night’s game, I think a lot of fans didn’t hear about it.  Tim Hagerty was a little freaked out by how deserted the stadium was.  I wasn’t entirely playing attention during the top of the first, but I’m still wondering what happened as Tim gave the line of “No runs, no hits, no errors, and the bases left loaded,” at the end of the inning.  He commented that no balls were put in play.

In the third, it was a little more clear cut as the Aces scored three, though the last three batters all struck out.  In the fourth, it was 6-0 Aces.  It was nearly silent in the stadium during the inning.  Oswaldo Arcia did have an amusing moment, as he forgot the count and walked back to the dugout after a strike.  A coach had to direct him back to the batter’s box, as he wasn’t out.  Fifth inning, 12-0 Aces.  Thank goodness nobody is there watching this.  Tim spent most of his time going over the just announced All-Star Game rosters.  It was quiet enough to hear an Aces’ player beating the bat rack after making an out.  Tim mentioned that Albuquerque put up a sign making players liable for broken dugout equipment.  Finally, it’s over.  12-0 Aces.  Even at seven innings and two hours and thirty-five minutes, that was way too long.

It was not, however, as long as 30 inane minutes of ESPN Radio during the intermission.  I really should have switched stations while waiting.  Even if you’re a big NBA/The Bachelor fan, these idiots’ chatter couldn’t possibly have been entertaining to you.  The Aces scored a run in the second, but the Chihuahuas finally put up a run in the bottom.  The crowd cheered.

Tim had a couple of guests.  A veteran was made manager-for-a-day and got to hang out with the team before the game and give the ump the lineup card.  Tim was impressed with his long service record, but not enough to hold him over after a very short half inning.  Next, Tim had a young lady on, who was making her first trip to the ballpark.  She liked to play softball and praised the Boys and Girls Club.  It was another short interview.

The tie was broken in the fifth by a Socrates Brito home run for the Aces.  You gotta love that name.  The Aces scored three in the inning for a 4-1 lead.  Catcher’s interference was called in the inning, which gave the batter first base.  Normally, this would start a seldom-used rules discussion, but not tonight.  In the bottom, Ryan Schimpf homered to finally give the crowd something to get excited about.  Nick Buss continued the crowd-pleasing with a triple.  But the inning ended on the next pitch from an Aces’ reliever.  4-2 Aces.

 In the bottom of the ninth, Ryan Schimpf hit another home run to excite the crowd, but it was a 4-3 loss anyway.  There ended up being over 9,000 in attendance.  At least they were going to be getting fireworks.  Tim sounded a bit tired after five and half hours of baseball, which might explain his reluctance to talk about Catcher’s interference.  I’m a bit bushed too.  Later, I realized I'd listened to two of my teams lose three games today, which sucks.

Baseball Journal July 1, 2017

Rangers versus White Sox this afternoon.  Ranger pitcher, Cole Hamels, had some early problems in the first as he gave up a two-run homer and hit a batter.  Derek Holland was pitching for the Sox, his first time facing his former club.  Matt Hicks reported that Derek and Adrian Beltre had an amicable meeting before the game.  In the second, the Rangers loaded the bases with no outs, but only got a run on a groundout.  Score tied at one.  After the inning, Derek talked to the ump.  Eric Nadel speculated that he was apologizing for having a bad reaction to a ball call.  Hamels wasn’t particularly happy with the strike zone calls either.

In the fourth, Matt was amazed as Roughned Odor managed to see a bunch of pitches and reached on an error.  Yesterday, he’d only saw ten pitches in five at bats.  By the end of this game, he’d end up seeing over 30.  Ruggie is working on plate discipline.  In the fifth, a sacrifice attempt was later ruled foul and resulted in a “do over.”  Delino Deshields took advantage of that by doubling in a run instead.  Elvis Andrus then hit a two-run homer.  Eric gave a surprised home run call, as he thought that the fielder had gotten it up against the wall.

In the sixth, Mike Napoli added to the lead with a two-run homer after Holland came out of the game.  6-2 Rangers.  And again, Eric was surprised by the home run.  Him and Matt went nuts in the seventh, as slow-working Sox reliever, Chris Beck, came out.  [Listening to the game Sunday, I have yet to hear a quick-working White Sox pitcher.]

Cole Hamels came out in the bottom of the inning.  He did a great job after the first.  I think he had 19 straight outs.  Alex Claudio gave up two runs in relief, but in the eighth, Ruggie homered and then Normar Mazara tripled in three runs for a 10-4 Ranger win.  Once again, Eric was surprised by the home run.  What was going on in this game?  These players were being cheated out of their Eric Nadel home run calls.

Before the game and during, it was reported that Matt Bush had indeed lost the closer job.  Manager Jeff Bannister announced that he was going with a closer-by-committee approach.  A bat shattered during the game.  Eric mentioned that the MLB had forced bat-makers to do something with the grain of the bat to reduce shattering.  This was a quiet, but good, development for game safety.  I wonder this change somehow also has something to do with the insane home run totals this year.

This was bad timing later in the evening.  The NASCAR Coke 400 and the Astros/Yankees game both came on at the same time.  I admit, I kind of wanted to see a race, since I hadn’t seen one in a while, but the baseball matchup was too good to pass up.  Much of the pre-race was just an ode to Dale Earnhardt Junior anyway.  I actually saw a tribute magazine to him on the newsstand this week, since he’s more-or-less retiring after the season.  It was titled, “The Greatest Ever.”  I’ll just let that sit there without further comment.

OH COME ON!  ARE JIMMIE JOHNSON’S SEVEN CHAMPIONSHIPS NO BIG DEAL???!  REALLY???!

Ahem.

In any case, the Astros and the Yankees were wearing special Independence Day uniforms.  Frankly, I’m over these special uniform deals, since most of them are weird.  This time was especially strange, since the guys were wearing two different colored socks, which show up depending on how high the players put up their pants.  Maybe the MLB could work out something a bit more restrained and classy for future holiday games.

This evening was a sellout at MMP in Houston, little wonder given the teams involved.  There was lots of sunlight coming into the stadium early on, even with the roof closed.  Aaron Judge, who I’m sure many of the Yankee fans showed up to see, was on the bench for the game.  Matt Vasgersian and John Smoltz still spent a large amount of the broadcast time talking about him.  Judge is apparently being coy about entering the home run derby, even though he’s leading baseball in homers.  Smoltz definitely wants to see him play.  (And Smoltz does way too much backseat pitching.  Easy there, you’re not managing.)  There was no discussion of the biggest issue in the game: Carlos Correa’s terrible mustache.

Pitchers dominated early, somewhat making me regret my viewing choice.  Yuli Gurriel got it started in the fifth with a two-run homer.  He made a twirling, off-balance swing, and the ball just went inside the pole by the Crawford Boxes.  Rookie call up for the Yankees, Clint Frazier, got his first Major League hit in the sixth.  His family was in attendance, and they had a camera on them during the hit.  They were overjoyed.  Then wheels came off for the Astros to the tune of five runs, including a Didi Gregorious grand slam.  5-2 Yankees.  If Frazier’s family was happy before, they were crying now, as he followed up with a solo home run in the seventh.  6-3 Yankees.

Flipping on the radio at 7:00 pm, I found out that tonight’s Chihuahuas’ game was . . . delayed by rain?  Not that Las Cruces and El Paso necessarily have the same weather, though that is often the case, there wasn’t a hint of rain here.  From checking out the local news later, I found out that the stadium had been hit by a small storm.  It only rained for ten minutes, but it caught the grounds crew completely by surprise, and they didn’t get it covered in time.  Even with the 100 degree heat, the field was sopped and wrecked.  After three hours, they finally called it and scheduled a double header for Sunday.  The fans that came still got to see that night’s fireworks show anyway.  That was nice of the team to go ahead and do that for them.

Back in Houston, the Yankees’ fireballing set up man, Dellin Betances, came in the eighth.  Jose Altuve worked a walk.  He then proceeded to steal second and third during Correa’s at bat, and was driven in on a grounder.  (Correa’s mustache still looks terrible.)  Next up, Evan Gattis blasted a shot to left field, nearly landing the ball on the railroad tracks on the outfield wall.  (That’s really high up there, folks.)

The next batter walked, took second on a bad pickoff throw, and stole third.  Betances, in spite of throwing 100 mph, apparently has a very slow delivery.  Austin Romine, behind the plate, isn’t good at throwing out runners either.  Tonight, this is a bad combination.  There’s another walk.  With two outs, Aroldis Chapman is brought in for a four-out save.  With another 100 mph reliever in, nobody was expecting Gurriel to turn on one of Chapman’s pitches.  With the left field line unguarded, Yuli hammered a double into the corner.  Two runs scored to give the Astros the lead.  And then he stole third.  7-6 Astros.

For the ninth, the Yankee fans got to see Aaron Judge as the leadoff pinch hitter, unfortunately they only saw him foul out.  The Astros had their 100 mph reliever in, Ken Giles.  With two outs, Brett Gardner singled to left center.  Watching this ball, it did look like a gapper, except Houston’s speedy outfield easily ran it down and threw it back in.  Brett apparently only saw a sure double and only belatedly looked up to find out he was going to be out at second.  He was tagged out trying to get back to first.  Appropriately, Yuli Gurriel made all three put outs in the inning (two foul outs and the tag).  7-6 Astros was our final and a pretty cool game.

Junior won the race!  I got to see end of the “Firecracker 400” as Junior would incorrectly call it in Victory Lane.  Also, it wasn’t Dale Earnhardt Junior; it was Ricky Stenhouse Junior.  That was his second win of the year.  At this rate, he might become better known for being a racecar driver than Danica Patrick’s boyfriend.

I joined the Rockies and the D-Backs in the sixth with the score 3-0 Arizona.  I’ve had little luck in reception, game scheduling, and my work schedule to be able to listen to any of the Rockies’ games on KOA.  Nolan Arenado singled in the seventh and chatted with his WBC teammate, Paul Goldschmidt, at first.  Trevor Story came up next and homered.  This is good sign for the kid, though historically he has had Zack Greinke’s number.  3-2 D-Backs.  Unfortunately, that was it for Rockies’ highlights, and they lost 6-2.  I could hear fireworks going off during the post-game.  Was the roof opened before the game was over?  Just curious.

Baseball Journal June 2017 Part 8

6-27-17
Rangers versus Indians.  Tyson Ross went six innings and gave up one run for the Rangers.  Steve Clevenger for the Indians did the same.  Adrian Beltre homered in the ninth to give the Rangers the lead.  In an encouraging development, Matt Bush came in in the bottom of the ninth and got the save.

The Rockies versus the Giants was the MLB free game.  It was blacked out, of course.  As near as I can figure, most of the entire western US is in my local viewing area.  Thankfully, I could still listen to Jon Miller do the radio call.  I hope Tim Hagerty understands me cheating on him.

Matt Cain broke three Rockies’ bats in the first.  I think that was likely a fluke, though he did go scoreless for six innings before giving up a three-run homer to Mark Reynolds.  It was 3-1 until the eighth, when the Giants tied the score.  Then it went to extras.  Sam Dyson came in for the Giants.  I’d wondered where he’d ended up.  Buster Posey, his teammate on this year’s WBC team, had spoken to management about him when he’d become available from the Rangers.  Dyson pitched well in his inning.

Unfortunately it was after midnight, and I didn’t want to stick around for the end, which turned out to be in the fourteen.  Denard Span singled in the winning run.  The Rockies’ losing streak continues.  The Chihuahuas won their game.  Carter Capps pitched an inning without any drama.

6-28-17
The Chihuahuas, Rangers, and Rockies all lost.  It was depressing.

6-29-17
Good news, today featured morning baseball between the Rangers and Indians.  Unfortunately, it was also Free Tea Day at Mcalisters and there were two different TV shows (Remington Steele and Emma Approved) on that I wanted to see at the same time.  There was too much distraction for me to really get into the game until late.  By that time, Corey Kluber and the Indians’ offense had effectively ended the game, 5-1 final.  Eric Nadel and Matt Hicks at least got in some pleasant chatting, which is usually a bad sign, insofar as being a good game.

Interesting stats after the game.  Over the four-game series, the Rangers hit nine home runs, the Indians zero.  But, the Rangers were outscored 26-15 over the series.  They also lost three of four.

Chihuahuas versus Rivercats.  What got into the balls or the water in El Paso this evening?  Seven home runs!  Unfortunately, the last one broke an 8-8 tie in the top of the ninth to the tune of a three-run homer for the 'Cats.  There was some confusion, as the run hit the batter's eye and dropped on the head of the fielder.  It was not a Jose Canseco-like out-fielding play however.

It wasn't over yet.  In the bottom, the pups loaded the bases with no outs.  One run came in on a wild pitch.  Another on a sac fly.  With the tying run on third and the crowd going wild, the next two batters were a ground out and a liner to the pitcher, respectively.  11-10 Rivercats final, yet somehow, I doubt anyone felt cheated.  Two other interesting things came up at the game.  One, the Chihuahuas welcomed their two-millionth fan.  Said fan had a friendly chat with Tim Hagerty.  (Could there be anyother kind of chat with Tim?)  Two, Tim mentioned an interesting tidbit during the game; 100 to 125 balls are used in the average Chihuahuas' game.

6-30-17
The bad news was that I was at work until after 3:00 am.  The good news was that I had plenty of baseball to keep me entertained while I was waiting on processing.  In fact, I probably overdid it trying to keep track of various games.  At one point, I was flipping between two games on TV, had the MLB free game going on the Internet, and had a couple of Gamedays going.  I’ll try to keep these games in order, even though they were all overlapping.  

The MLB free game was the Royals versus the Twins.  I’m always game to watch this group of Royals.  The team was wearing their gold trim uniforms tonight.  Lorenzo Cain, one of fav’s, made a great play in center in the ninth, as the Royals won going away, 8-1.  Eric Hosmer, another favorite, hit an excuse-me three-run opposite field home run.  Seldom have I seen a player more pleasantly surprised by a homer.  I also caught the ninth inning of the other Missouri team, the Cardinals, beating the Nationals by the same 8-1 score on the MLB Network.

I only got to listen to a bit of the Chihuahuas versus the Aces.  AJ Pollack was playing for the Aces and hit two home runs, and they are a good team in the PCL.  However, the team had two other players just called up to the D-Backs and perhaps it showed, as the pups won 13-4.  Carlos Villanueva had two homers himself for the Chihuahuas.  However, the best home run was by Aces player, Oswaldo Arcia.  As Tim Hagerty’s call put it, “Roy Hobbs is rounding the bases,” as Arcia hit one off the a light stand.

I almost spit up my drink while I was watching the score ticker on TV, and I wasn’t even drinking.  The Rangers had a fairly comfortable 7-4 lead late versus White Sox earlier.  The final was 8-7 White Sox.  Sputtering, I checked the box score.  Matt Bush had exploded in the ninth.  He gave up three runs and only got one out.  He’s done as closer.

The main game I was watching was the Rockies versus the Diamondbacks.  This was on the Fox Sports Arizona channel on TV.  The broadcast was pretty homer for the D-Backs, but Bob Brenly was still pretty interesting and informative with the color commentary.  At least I could finally watch a Rockies’ game.

Jon Gray, up from Albuquerque where I’d heard him last week versus the Chihuahuas on rehab, went six innings with 10 strikeouts and two earned runs for the Rockies.  Charlie Blackmon led off the game with a home run.  Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story walked and later scored in the third.  The team was even playing good defense.  The Rockies won 6-3, finally breaking their losing streak.

Baseball Journal June 2017 Part 7

6-25-17
Even with my new terrible work hours, I was still knocked out after that game and woke up late.  Thankfully, I got up in time for the rubber match between the Rangers and Yankees.  The radio call picked up (late as usual) with Adrian Beltre hitting a two-run homer as part of a three-run first inning.  Later in the first after Aaron Judge got on, Eric Nadel commented that, “Napoli looks like a little leaguer next to him.”  Mike Napoli, playing first today, is not a small person.

In the second, Joel Pineda, starting for the Yankees, took about 15 minutes to put two runners on and then give up a home run to Shin-Soo Choo.  You could hear Yankee fans grumbling.  If you were going to do that, couldn’t you have done it quicker?  Drew Robinson, a name I didn’t recognize playing second for the Rangers, got his first hit, RBI, and home run all in one swing in the fourth in his first start.  He also made a great play in the field earlier.  He can reportedly play any position.  7-0 Rangers after four complete.

Then it began.  The Yankees scored on a hit by Judge, right after the previous batter struck out, but reached on a wild pitch.  Then there was a three-run homer by Gary Sanchez.  7-4 Rangers.  In the seventh, the Yankees scored two more times and got the crowd back into it.  7-6 Rangers.

Finally, with two outs in the ninth, Matt Bush was pitching to Aaron Judge.  It was kind of a forced move for manager Jeff Bannister to put Bush in and everyone held their breath.  After a battle, Judge singled.  Gary Sanchez came up next.  Bush managed to strike him out to end the game, and perhaps get his closer job back.  7-6 Rangers final.  Whew!    

Tonight’s Chihuahuas’ game versus the Isotopes started in a rain delay in Albuquerque.  (It felt like rain here too.)  Thankfully, it was a short delay.  Thankfully, because they went back to regular programming and ESPN Radio has been completely unlistenable this week over the NBA (Nothing But A-holes) draft talk.  I don’t know who any of these players are that you guys are talking about, since all you’ve talked about for the last six months is Lebron and how much you hate the Warriors.

The coverage started with a very regal chorus performing the national anthem.  It was the Santa Fe Opera performing.  Very cool.  There was also Christmas music playing between innings.  Tim Hagerty explained that it was half-way to Christmas night.  Santa was in the house, and there were holiday giveaways for the fans in attendance.  Tim was still buzzing about last night’s game.  He said that there were only a couple of thousand left at the end of the game.  The stadium lights went off immediately after the last out, plunging the stadium into darkness, the music started, and the fireworks show began right then.  Meanwhile in the Isotopes’ clubhouse, Jon Gray had bought an extravagant spread of steak and shrimp for the team.  Needless to say, it got cold waiting for them.

The Chihuahuas managed a steady drip of runs and led 5-0 after four.  The comeback for the Isotopes started in the fifth as Dominic Brown tripled in two runs.  The crowd went nuts.  Brown scored on a sacrifice, and it was 5-3 Chihuahuas after five.  In the sixth, Albuquerque took the lead on a home run, 6-5, and piled on more in the seventh, 9-5.

In the bottom of the eighth, Carter Capps came in for the pups and was called for an illegal pitch.  Suddenly, we’re playing softball?  (That’s the only other place I’ve seen that call.)  Rod Barajas was tossed for arguing.  After a second call, a wild pitch by Capps hit the ump, and Capps smirked.  He was ejected and nearly got into a fight with the umpire.  Right after, Isotopes tacked on some more against the new reliever.  12-5 Isotopes was the final in an embarrassing loss.

6-26-17
Chihuahuas versus Rivercats.  The ‘Cats are the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, so Tim Hagerty chatted about how bad the Major League team is.  He was also stumbling over some of the Rivercats’ player names, which even a professional announcer would have some trouble with.  Their roster is like a U.N. meeting.  Oh my, goodness gracious!  I just read the Albuquerque Journal account of that five and half hour game on Saturday.  After the past-midnight fireworks show, there was a scheduled “fun” run, which took place at 1:00 am.  There were participants.  What exactly is “fun” about a run with a bunch of strangers?  Seems like tequila shots would have been more “fun” and appropriate at that hour.

The Chihuahuas got the scoring started in the first by taking advantage of their home field and putting one into the overhanging Peter Piper Pizza Porch.  Jabari Blash made a great throw to the plate to keep the Rivercats off the board in the second, but they did tie the score in the fourth with a home run.

And then there were some broadcast issues over the Internet, along with my work commitments.  This has not been a good season for KROD’s baseball broadcasting.  I missed an interview with PCL President, Branch Rickey.  Then I missed Tim recapping the conversation.  I think Branch liked the franchise.  Tyler Beede pitched eight strong innings for the ‘Cats in a 4-2 win.  Tim sounded genuinely disappointed at the end of the game.

Rangers versus Indians.  Cole Hamels made his return to the lineup today.  Through four innings, he gave up three runs.  Unfortunately, he was charged with four runs in the fifth.  Amazingly, Cole did not take the loss.  The Rangers had been up 9-3 until that point.  The final ended up being 15-9 Indians.  The Rangers might have had some bullpen issues for this game.  Meanwhile, a reeling Rockies team got beat by a crappy Giants team, 9-2.  That’s six losses in a row, all to division opponents.

Baseball Journal June 2017 Part 6

6-24-17
Saturday morning baseball between the Rangers and Yankees.  Aaron Judge hit a monster home run for the Yankees in the sixth.  Rangers’ starter, Austin Bibens-Dirkx, watched the replay of it on the video board.  It was the only run he gave up in seven innings of work.  The Ranger offense had a good bounce back today as the team won 8-1.  They scored on hits, home runs, and even without a hit.  It was even a quick game.

The Fox game in the evening was the Red Sox versus the Angels.  Ugh.  Two teams I could hardly think the less of.  Interestingly, AJ Pierzynski was in the booth, calling the game.  He must have finally retired.  Having watched him do commentary in the post-season and liking it, I was hoping he’d make this transition.  Listening to his color commentary was actually made the game watchable for me.  Since he’s played against many of players in the game, it’s all relevant chatter.  After a player got hit on the toe, AJ contributed his own story about such an injury.  His toe was so swelled up, he had to play without a toe on his shoe, while he recovered.

The game wasn’t without its entertainment.  In the seventh, with a runner on third, a balk was called on the Red Sox pitcher.  The batter had called for time right before that, causing the flinch.  Red Sox manager, John Farrell, came out to argue.  Unfortunately, you could pretty clearly hear him over the crowd mic, before they shut it off.  After the umpires gathered and decided that was the right call, Farrell got into a face-to-face with the crew chief in a good old fashion agreement that, of course, ended in an ejection.  It was great.

With the score 6-1 Angels in the ninth, most of the Boston crowd was still there.  There were even some Angels fans there, and a Dodgers fan.  “I think he’s lost,” said AJ.  A bloop double hit the line, a third strike bounced into the crowd, and the bases were loaded to give the end of the game some drama.  The Angels finally had to bring in their closer to end it.  6-3 Angels.

Flipping around, I again found something interesting on a Juarez station.  It was the US versus Mexico in a football game.  No, American football, and it wasn’t a bunch of guys either.  I kept wondering why so many of the players had long hair coming out of the back of their helmets.  I seriously couldn’t actually tell their gender by how they walked.  This was the heretofore unknown international women’s football league.  To add to the confusion, the game was in Canada.

I couldn’t watch, but I kept tuning back to it to check the score.  It was nil-nil, errr, 0-0 after the first quarter.  There were four commentators for the game, including a woman who was a former player.  She was pleasant enough looking, but had on eye black, sideways, under one eye for some reason.  It was 16-0 US at halftime, 23-0 after three quarters, and 29-0 final.  Don’t ask me how the scoring worked.  Both teams lined up and shook hands afterward.  That’s all I have to say about this.

In Albuquerque, the Chihuahuas were playing the Isotopes.  The ‘topes opened it up with two home runs in the third, including one that went out over the hill to straightaway center.  Rockies’ starter, Jon Gray, was making a rehab start for the Isotopes.  I was kind of rooting for him, since the big league team needs him.

Unfortunately, I didn’t really start paying attention to this game until late.  I didn’t even keep track of the score.  In the sixth, I caught that an Isotopes player fell down rounding third coming in to score, and had to go back.  He didn’t end up scoring.  Surely that one run wouldn’t make a difference later, like the next inning when the Chihuahuas scored three runs to tie the score at five all.

A squeeze play by the Isotopes gave them a one-run lead going into the ninth.  There was a big crowd there, about 10,000.  The game was running long and the fans were waiting for a post-game fireworks show.  Sure enough, the Chihuahuas tied it.  In the bottom, the bases were loaded with two outs.  Inexplicably, the pinch hitter was called back and the Isotopes’ relief pitcher was allowed to hit for himself, which he didn’t do on three, empty-air swings.  Tim Hagerty was almost speechless at this turn of events.  Isotopes’ manager, Glenallen Hill, just about lost his voice screaming about the move.  I have no idea what happened.  On to extras.

We were over four hours in, when in the eleventh, Diego Goris hit a leadoff home run for the pups to the cheers of the crowd.  The Isotopes tied it in the bottom.  I suddenly realized that I’d missed the Rockies game that started an hour after this one, but I was not leaving this game now.

It’s the fourteenth inning.  We’re now five hours in.  Tim is getting giddy.  This game is setting all sorts of records you didn’t want to witness in person.  The Isotopes at this point have run out of pitchers to put on the mound.  A pitcher was moved into the outfield and Dominic Brown came in from the outfield.  If this is who I’m thinking off, he’s an impressive physical specimen.  Tim announced that that his fastball was hit 88 mph.  Regrettably, without any movement or complimentary pitches, he was putting it on a tee for professional batters.  He gave up three runs without getting an out.  Another outfielder came in and surrendered a three-run homer, but did get three outs.  13-7 Chihuahuas.

“If you’re still with us, you keep very odd hours,” said Tim, almost like he knew me.  The PA made an announcement that this game had set a PCL record with 40 players used in the game.  It’s over, right?  With two outs, the Isotopes hit a three-run homer.  Gasp!  The final out came with two runners on, but the game did end.  13-10 Chihuahuas.  The remaining fans gave the players an ovation.  The fireworks went off immediately.  This wasn’t quite as bad as that infamous Braves’ fireworks game, but pretty darn close.  It clocked in at five and half hours and finished after 12:30 am.

Baseball Journal June 2017 Part 5

6-21-17
No baseball today.  I was already depressed, but this just made it worse.  The Chihuahuas were off, and I missed the MLB free game, since it was on during the day.  Later, I realized I could have seen the Rockies playing the Diamondbacks, but I’d gotten out of the habit of having the TV on at work.  That just made me feel worse.

6-22-17
The good thing about being at home all day is that I get to hear all of the day games on the radio, such as today’s Rangers versus Blue Jays contest.  The game started well with the Adrian Beltre doubling in Elvis Andrus from first.  It was an aggressive, but good send to score him.  Mike Napoli hit a two-run homer in the second for a 3-0 Ranger lead.  Jose Bautista was thrown out at third to end the top of the third.  The Arlington crowd loved it.  You could tell every time he came to bat just by the boo’s.  In the bottom, Carlos Gomez hit a three-run homer off the word “Fowl” on the foul pole (sponsored by Chik-fil-a).  6-0 Rangers.

Robinson Chirinos clubbed a homer in the fourth.  Ranger starter, Martin Perez, lost it a bit in the fifth and four runs scored, all with two outs.  7-4 Rangers.  The Rangers actually didn’t score in the bottom as the Blue Jays finally took out their starter, Marcus Stroman, for a reliever.  Perez got into more trouble in the sixth, but finished the inning with two strikeouts to end it without damage.  In the bottom of the seventh, Gomez did it again with a two-run homer, 9-4 Rangers.

The bottom of the eighth featured an attempted run down of Chirinos between home and third.  He was ruled out, but it looked like at first to the broadcasters, that he’d been tagged with the glove, but the ball was in the fielder’s other hand.  Upon review, obstruction was called on the fielder and Robinson was awarded home, 10-4 Rangers.  Eric Nadel: “You can go years without seeing an obstruction call.”  I saw one this year at an Aggie softball game (I’m not going to look it up to link).  Beltre sacrificed in Shin-Soo Choo to bring the score to 11-4, which was the final.  The Rangers ended up splitting the four-game series with the Blue Jays.  Sometimes, they look really good, but they’re a .500 team.

Later, profoundly alone at work, I listened to the Chihuahuas versus the Isotopes in Albuquerque.  Jared Weaver, on Major League rehab, started the game for the pups.  Tim Hagerty spent quite a bit time going over Weaver’s accomplishments in the MLB.  For his first rehab start, it wasn’t that great, as he gave up three runs in three innings.  The runs were earned, but the defense behind him really didn’t help.  The Chihuahuas ended up losing 8-1.  They didn’t bring their hitting shoes today.

6-23-17
Finally, I can see a Rockies’ game today on the MLB free game.  Ha, ha, just kidding.  Local blackout.  At least I got to listen to the radio broadcast.  I actually stayed with the Dodgers’ team feed until I couldn’t take Charlie Steiner butchering the call anymore.  How does this guy still have a job with the Dodgers?  How do you follow Vin Scully with this guy?  In spite of how well the Rockies have been doing, I really haven’t been able to listen or watch any of their games.  I was surprised by some new, cool bumper music on the Rox’s radio broadcast.  Unfortunately, they lost 6-1 to the now first place Dodgers.  Why couldn’t I have been listening to these guys when they were winning?

Belatedly, I thought to check in to the Rangers versus the Yankees.  This was going to be the first US matchup between Yu Darvish and Masahiro Tanaka.  (They had pitched against each other in Japan.)  It was 0-0 in the eighth!  Incredible!  Looking at the box scores, they basically matched each other pitch-for-pitched.  In the ninth, the Rangers finally scored the first run, and it was on a wild pitch.  In the bottom, Matt Bush gave up a home run to Brett Gardner.  (Bleeping Brett Gardner!)  In the tenth, Bush gave up three singles, the winning run, and possibly the Rangers’ closer role.  That was disappointing.

And the Chihuahuas lost to the Isotopes again, this time badly.  (I didn’t bother noting the score.)  With that, I’m 0 for 3 for my teams today.

Baseball Journal June 2017 Part 4

6-18-17
The Rangers lost a very long, listless game to the Mariners, 7-3.  Manager Jeff Banister was ejected in the first.  He had an emphatic press conference afterward, saying that he wasn’t going to the repeat the offending conversation.  It was the most Ranger passion displayed in the entire broadcast.

“It’s 104 degrees in Fresno today,” said Tim Hagerty with some gravity.  I think we can beat that here, I thought.  Unfortunately, there were technical troubles in the bottom of the first.  The broadcast went to commercial for 10 minutes.  It came back briefly, and Tim announced that the score was now 2-0 Grizzlies and that the Chihuahuas were changing pitchers.  And then another 10 minutes of commercials.  The broadcast returned to the Chihuahuas batting with two on.  Then more commercials.  Tim seemed unaware of the problem.  Maybe the station was on auto-pilot, like they do to their MLB broadcasts.  Tim came back and switched to a cell phone and explained that the Fresno press booth was having problems.

The Chihuahuas weren’t having any problems.  The relief pitcher, in for the injured starter, was putting up zeroes.  After back-to-back home runs, the pups took the lead.  There was an interesting play in the fifth.  With the bases full of Chihuahuas, a dribbler at the plate was picked up by the Grizzlies’ catcher.  He stepped on home for the force out, but then airmailed the ball into the outfield, trying to get the double play at first.  The ball rolled into the Fresno bullpen, which the umpire ruled in play.  Two Chihuahuas’ runs scored.  6-2 El Paso.

The scoring didn’t stop, but the advantage remained the same.  In the ninth, with the score 11-5 Chihuahuas, it was quiet enough at the stadium that Tim could hear a Fresno player taking his frustrations out on a bat rack after a bad plate appearance.  It ended up being a three-hour, 20-minute game in some extreme heat.  I don’t blame the fans for deserting.  During the post-game MLB scores, I found out that Nolan Arenado had hit for the cycle, including a walk-off three-run homer to complete the trick.

Meanwhile, the Mexican League All-Star Game was on, as advertised yesterday during their home run derby.  The teams were North versus South and was held in the city of Campeche, whose citizens filled the grandstand for the game.  The bunting was in red, whte, and green.  The various teams’ costumed mascots were there in force.  I saw a dog, a wolf (with a mustache), a tiger, a bull, a rabbit, a chicken, a blue devil (?), and the hometown pirate parrot, who was the star of the proceedings.  Cheerleaders came out between innings.  And there was a midget, who was the bat boy.  

The players had ads all over their uniforms.  Even the umpires were wearing sponsorship patches.  The name on the back of most of the uniforms was “Tecate,” with a “Bud Light” mixed in.  You don’t want this in the MLB.  Alex Liddi was the only player name I recognized, but I wasn’t sure from where.

The game play was generally pretty good.  It was maybe a tick below what you’d see at Chihuahuas’ game.  The final was 4-3 North over South.  The game took about four hours.  All of the scoring took place early unfortunately.  It was interesting viewing anyway.

6-19-17
Another violent work schedule change.  Jabari Blash and Ryan Schimpf hit back-to-back home runs for the second day in a row, but the Chihuahuas fall in Fresno.

6-20-17
Tim Hagerty reported that today’s game was the hottest start time ever for a Chihuahuas’ game.  Fresno’s PA finally overdid it with the sound effects and played one during an at bat.  Both managers and the home plate umpire all looked up at the booth in disapproval.  It didn’t cut down on the sound effects, but that had to have been embarrassing.