Memorial Day Weekend 2018 Part 3

Continued from Part 2

5-28-18

I tried.  I really tried.  I turned on the TV in the morning to watch French Open Tennis.  This might surprise you, but I was once a big tennis fan.  I have happy memories of watching Wimbledon during the Fourth of July and other various other matches.  My disinterest might be best summed up in one word: GRUNT!  The guys doing it never bothered me, but the girls are a different story.  I flipped past tennis yesterday and I wasn't sure if the women were playing tennis or having a grunting contest.  I guess you can blame Monica Seles for starting this.  That guy who stabbed her at a match just couldn't take the noise anymore.  (Is it still too soon to joke about that incident?  My apologies.)

My viewing got off on a bad foot.  The tennis wasn't on when I flipped over to it.  Perhaps I wrote down the wrong time?  I went out and got lunch at McAlister's.  Their Southwest Turkey Melt didn't look anything like the picture on the Internet and was pretty small for the premium price.  Then I ate it and totally changed my mind.  It was pretty good.  I turned on the TV again and found the tennis this time.

The men were playing and it was raining.  (Maybe that was why it wasn't on earlier.)  Soon enough, officials stopped the match.  I couldn't get into it anyway.  I noticed the ballboys and girls were wearing shirts promoting a website, the name of which was in English.  Was this really the French Open?  They’re real picky about that French language thing in the France.  Oh, and NBC was running side-by-side coverage with commercials between points.  This was way worse than NASCAR doing the same.  Maybe I'll try again next time tennis is on.

Something else came up on local TV this weekend, or perhaps didn’t.  The Stadium Network sat on a freeze frame of a commercial all three days of the weekend.  At first I didn’t notice, because it was a title card and commercials come up all the time on these digital stations.  I can’t believe somebody at the station didn’t notice and do something about it.  Shoot, I was looking forward to watching The Rally show later in the day.  Meanwhile, I think another new network is about to come up on another station.  Years later, I have to admit that this digital conversion thing was a windfall in my TV viewing.     

Not having much luck with television, luckily, a Rangers' game came on the radio and I got to listen to the whole thing, while I attempted to finally finish reading the Baseball Preview magazine that I'd bought before the season.  Hey, I'm a slow reader and I've had things to do for the last three months.  It was outdated before I even bought it and so far, about 50% wrong in predicting the season.  I also skipped around on reading it before, so I've had trouble figuring out what I've read.  I actually spent all of last week just catching up on my reading and this magazine was about the last of it. 

Eric Nadel was kind of excited to be in Seattle.  He felt that that ballpark gave him the best opportunity to catch a foul ball in the booth.  He wished he had a glove.  This might have come up because some fans were making good plays in the stands.  A couple of years ago, I might have said that the Mariners should have signed up a few of those fans to play for them.  Right now, the M's are decent team (smoke and mirrors, they'll fade quick). 

The Rangers, meanwhile, are just a bad team.  They scored one run, it was unearned and came in on a passed ball.  The Rangers almost even got a free runner when an umpire missed the call on a diving catch.  The Ranger player got thrown out anyway trying to turn it into a double.  The Mariners only scored two, but that was plenty.  After the game, Eric seemed a bit depressed.  The guys blamed Roughned Odor's defense for the loss.  Eric at least had fun delivering another limerick, this one about hockey.  Matt Hicks asked beforehand if he'd tried to rhyme with “Ovechkin.”

That game finished just as the Chihuahuas' game came on.  I'd totally missed the Chihuahuas the last few days, and I was determined to hear them today.  I should have picked another day.  They were playing the Grizzlies in Fresno at a strange 4:00pm local time.  The game got off to a bad start in the first as Dusty Coleman fell down in the outfield trying to make an over-the-shoulder catch.  Two runs scored.  The pups managed a couple of runs in the second.  One came in on an error on a bunt, though they also had a runner picked off third on another play, perhaps a blown suicide squeeze.

The Grizz scored five more runs in the bottom to make it 8-3 and ran the Chihuahuas' starter out of the game.  In the third, the Grizzlies added a couple more runs and the Chihuahuas' reliever had to come out for injury.  By the eighth, it was 11-2 and position player, Diego Goris, was pitching.  That turned out to be highlight as he worked his career fourth shutout inning. 

I mentioned hockey earlier.  Tonight was Game 1 of one of the more improbable Stanley Cup matchups ever.  Alex Ovechkin and his Washington Capitals were taking on the Vegas Golden Knights.  The Knight franchise isn't even a year-old.  This has been the greatest run ever for an expansion franchise without question.  I like hockey a lot, but I don't get to see it on a regular basis.  My time going out to watch various Aggie sports has really cut into being able to watch the few games I can get at home on the weekends.  Even when there's no scheduling conflict, I've found myself unable to give the games the attention they deserve (it's so fast-moving, you have to concentrate when you're watching to get anything out of it), or the game's a blowout early on.   

The game really started with an impressive production number as the Knights came out.  NBC did a good job with their cameras showing the behind-the-scenes as the players came out.  (And they did more side-by-side commercials during stoppages.  This is a really bad sign for sports on TV.)  The T-Mobile Arena was, of course, filled.  The plaza outside was also filled and I think they were showing the game on a giant video board.  I had a friend who lives in Vegas who was a big hockey fan.  I hope he was there watching.  (He’s also a huge Raiders fan.  He must be over-the-moon that his favorite team is going to be coming to him.  I hope his gambling career is paying well, because he’s going to need the money to pay for all these season tickets.)

As for the game itself, I'm not qualified to do commentary on hockey, but I can say this: What an incredibly intense game!  The action was absolutely furious from beginning to end.  It was 2-2 after one period.  This is the finals.  It's not like the goalies were a pair of rookie scrubs!  It was 3-3 after two.  One team would score; the other match it.

The Caps went up 4-3 early in the third.  Vegas came right back a couple of minutes later to tie it again.  At the 10-minute mark, the Knights went up 5-4.  The game got chippy at that point with a couple of penalties.  With about five minutes left, the Caps went all-out. 

What I saw was the most mesmerizing display of hockey I'd ever seen.  For about five minutes, it was continuous play that you couldn't look away from and barely had time to blink.  With under two minutes, the Capitals pulled their goalie.  The crowd was now standing and screaming.  An announcer said this was the loudest he'd heard it in the playoffs.  There was finally one quick stoppage for icing to cool things momentarily (see what I did there). 

On one attack, for maybe a half-second, the Knight's net was wide open as Marc-Andre Fleury was facing in the other direction and the puck got behind him.  A Capitals player was right there, point-blank on the net and couldn't get a handle on the puck with his stick.  It rolled away from him.  In the remaining seconds, the Knight's managed an empty-netter to seal it.  6-4, the Golden Knights take Game 1.  There'd never been a Cup game with four lead changes before.  Wow!  What a way to end Memorial Day Weekend!

I suppose I should make a small effort to summarize this.  That was three races, one hockey match, a look-in at tennis, and I’m not sure how many baseball games.  It depends on how you want to count it.  I actually feel kind of bad that I completely missed a couple.  There just aren’t enough hours in the day.  Also, I had three meals out, which were all pretty good.  The highlight was the Aggies winning the WAC Championship on Sunday.  On the flip side, the lowlight was the Aggies not winning it on Saturday.  But I didn’t cover those games in these posts, so I’ll pick the hockey as the highlight here.  I am wondering where the Indy 500 will be broadcast next year, but that’ll have to wait.  I’m grateful that I at least got to enjoy one holiday this year.  

Memorial Day Weekend 2018 Part 2

Continued from Part 1

5-27-18

Unlike previous Memorial Day racing recaps, this one starts with the Indy 500 for me.  Since ESPN/ABC has apparently picked up F1 races and would be rebroadcasting it after Indy, forget waking up at 5:00am this time.  Let me put in an uncharacteristic “Thank you,” to ESPN for not running a sports ticker during Indy and spoiling the Monaco race. 

I enjoyed the pre-race show.  It was quite lively.  According to a newspaper article, this is ABC's last year of broadcasting the event.  I haven't had this confirmed, but if it is, they're going out on a high-note.  Nicole Brisco was an energetic host.  Speaking of women with racecar driver husbands (Nicole's married to Ryan Brisco), I also caught a glimpse of Lauren Bohlander, Tony Kaanan's wife.  I miss her Indycar reporting and skits, like impersonating Danica Patrick to some fans.  Speaking of that, this was going to be Danica's final race.  If you're a bit sick of her (like I am), it seemed like she felt the same way about racing in her pre-race interview. 

There were some good segments like the drivers reading fan tweets.  My favorite one was to Kaanan, “I know you're really Vin Diesel with a bad accent.”  Teammates Simon Pagenaud and Josef Newgarden had a hysterical segment where they were pranking one another by autographing each other's stuff, such as uniforms, cars, their houses, giant posters on the outside of the track, and Josef's mom.  (Josef is absurdly handsome, by the way.  It even came up in the tweet segment.)

After the great traditions at the start of the race, we were off.  I saw the first couple of the laps, when my dad called.  I'd invited him over and offered to buy lunch.  He came by and picked me up to go to Raising Canes, where we brought back delicious chicken fingers meals.  On the way back, I saw a horrifying sight.  There was a complete pizza that had been dropped off by the side of the road.  If you know how I feel about pizza, you know that this upset me greatly.  Thankfully, I think it was only a Dominos or Little Caesars pizza and not something good. 

I missed the first wreck, which took out last years' winner, Takuma Sato.  The car in front of him stalled in a turn and Taku plowed into him.  Danica crashed for the last time not too much later.  She spun out by herself going around a turn.  A consistent comment before the race from the drivers concerned the record heat at the track.  They hadn't had that all week in practice.  It had also rained last night, washing the surface clean, and the cars have less downforce this year.

Danica was actually the second car to get taken out like this.  She wouldn't be the last.  Danica hit the wall pretty hard.  There were shots of her anxious mom running down pit lane.  There was an obvious question: Where was Aaron Rodgers?  Are him and Danica not going out any more?  You could pretty much see Danica’s reaction to the wreck as she got out of the car.  I'm not going to miss this.

Scary moment about halfway through the race (as if all of the in-car views aren't frightening).  Zach Veach's car caught fire in the pits.  His crew chief told him to go anyway.  So, his flaming car went down pit lane.  This did extinguish the flames though.  I was reminded of the time Michael Schumacher's car caught on fire and he went on to win the race.  Dad was reminded of the time when he was a boy and accidentally set caught the lawnmower on fire when he splashed some gas on it.  “Dad wasn't very happy about that,” he said, being able to laugh about it now. Polesitter Ed Carpenter, paced the field early on.  Kaanan was the only one challenging him.  By 300 miles in, Will Power was leading.

About 60 laps to go, cars were going four-wide down the straightaway.  I told Ron about it later and he said, “That won't fit four.”  I know, that's why I was standing and gasping while I was watching.  Alexander Rossi, who had started next-to-last, had an epic run to the front.  On one move after a restart, he passed five cars on the outside.  He made some other tremendous wheel-to-wheel moves.  What did I say about one-car spins?  Helio Castroneves and Tony Kaanan were both taken out, so it could happen to anyone.  Helio even took a spinning trip down pit lane. 

Four laps to go and the two cars up front had to peel off, out-of-fuel.  While the drivers were leading, they each had interesting stories about them told.  One was the brother of Justin Wilson, who had died in a racing wreck.  If I could recommend one sporting event to a non-sports fan, it would be Indy, because each of the drivers has a backstory that makes this more than just a race; it's personal and the accomplishment of a lifetime.  It's like the Olympics, but way less corrupt and, not some stupid sport nobody cares about, except for every four years. 

The car assuming the lead was Will Power's.  He's a former series champion and I've seen how exciting he gets over winning.  This took it to a whole new level.  Of course, he had no trouble bringing it home for three laps.  His wife in the pits nearly hyperventilated.  In Victory Lane his expression was a priceless I can't believe I just won the Indy 500!  He accidentally sprayed the Indy Queen (whatever her title is) with his milk shower and apologized.  Will's wife was still hysterical.  It was another cool Indy with breathtaking action and true emotion.

Nicole Briscoe came on afterward and said, “Here's your Monanco coverage.”  And with that, it cut right to the green flag dropping at the principality.  There was no pre-race.  Daniel Riccardo started on pole and won.  That's pretty much the whole race right there (and virtually every other Monte Carlo GP I’ve seen).  Sebastian Vettel blew a chicane to get in front of Riccardo briefly and then had to give the spot back.  (Riccardo just about did the same in getting it back.)  That's as much passing as there was in the race.  The race call was hysterical, not in a ha-ha sort of way, but in a panicked sort of way.  It didn't do anything for the drama, of which, there wasn't any.  But it was all very glamorous, which is why we tune in.  (They should make them drive go karts for the race.  It would be much more interesting.)  Hey, it was pointed out to me in the paper later that a pair of Aussies won two of the big races today.  G’Day mates!

As for the Coca-Cola 600, I had it on, though I wasn't really watching for the most part.  The WAC Baseball Championship was on the radio during the F1 race and then I switched to the ESPN Sunday Night baseball with the Cubs and the Giants.  (I also peeked in on today's Rangers’ game for a couple of minutes.)  Mostly I was eating dinner and writing stuff up, not paying much attention to anything else.  I even got confused watching the race, thinking it was about to end early, but there was a fourth stage to this very long race, instead of the usual three.

Kyle Busch won the race, pretty much dominating the end of it.  There were only nine cars on the lead lap by the end.  It was typical Charlotte.  I wonder how that road course is going to work in the “playoffs?”  With this win, Kyle is the first NASCAR driver to win at every current track.  In Victory Circle, he was appropriately humbled by the accomplishment.  I can momentarily feel good about his win.  It also finished in under five-hours. 

Also finishing in just under five hours, was the ESPN game.  The Giants went up by 3 to start the game and lost 8-3 to the Cubs.  Bored by the proceedings, the hosts chatted about Lebron and Kato Kaelin?  Kato is apparently a big Brewers fan, he once won a 50/50 lottery at the Milwaukee ballpark, and he wears out Craig Counsell on Twitter everyday for his managing.  Fascinating.  It's your usual Memorial Day weekend Sunday: a great race and some peripheral sporting events that weren't as cool.

Part 3

Memorial Day Weekend 2018 Part 1

5-26-18

It's my favorite holiday again.  Frankly, every other holiday on the calendar has generally been ruined for me, but not this one, not yet.  Even when I've had bad moments, I've still been able to kick back and enjoy some sports.

Today was a baseball day.  I was a bit late starting it, as I’d gone out with my dad to the bookstore and a meal at McDonald’s.  That sheet of coupons they sent out actually paid off for them, because otherwise, I’d never have gone there, much less three times in three weeks.  The quarter-pounders were okay.  (Still not good enough to make me go back without a coupon.)  I began in the morning watching the Braves and the Red Sox on a Mexican station.  Before the season, this might not have looked like much of a matchup, but here in May, it's battle between two teams contending for their divisions.  From what I saw, both teams were hitting really well.  Neither team had great pitching, at least not today. 

For Atlanta, Dansby Swanson looked very smooth at short, though I think he was hitting below .200.  Wunderkind Ronald Acuna Jr. would hit a home run off Craig Kimbrel in the ninth, but he had a couple of misplays in Fenway's tricky right field.  The Red Sox won 8-6.

The Rangers and the Royals came on the radio next.  I missed the initial scoring in the third, 3-1 Royals, when I was running an errand outside, but I still got plenty of action.  In the bottom of the fourth, Jurickson Profar tripled.  He seems to be doing well this season with a starting spot.  He also got a double later.  Joey Gallo doubled him in on a near home run.  A sac, a muffed safety squeeze, and a popup ended the inning with two runners on, 3-2 Royals. 

I found out that Royal Whit Merrifield had a College World Series-winning walkoff single.  He was making a spot start in center today.  In the fifth, he made a great backhanded running catch at the wall.  Ronald Guzman for the Rangers tied it (the Rangers are dipping deep into their prospects this season), and in the tenth, Shin-Soo Choo hit a walk-off homer to win it 4-3.

In the evening, FOX finally decided to show a baseball game.  There was some European soccer championship on earlier.  I guess there wasn't any more soccer to show until the World Cup.  I figured I'd get the Astros game, but that was in a rain delay, so they went to the Yankees and the Angels. 

What a surprise, a Yankees' game being nationally broadcast.  In this case, even though I hate both teams, I was kind of interested in seeing this.  Shohei Ohtani wasn't pitching, but was in the lineup.  The Yankees hit three home runs over the course of two innings and it was 4-1 Yankees.  The Angels loaded the bases in the third.  Albert Pujols struckout and just as Ohtani was coming to bat, boom, Fox broke away to go to my regional game.  I can't believe the day came where I was yelling at the TV wanting to see the Yankees and the Angels playing.  The Angels won 11-4.  I don't know how it went down, since I got no other details on the game.           

By this point, Aggie Baseball came on the radio and I was very preoccupied with it, but I still watched the Astros and the Indians.  Jacobs Field (or whatever it's called, they're not paying me to promote their sponsor) looked really different with the new giant video board and a new paint job inside.  The Indians cut Chief Wahoo from their uniform, at least for tonight.  Just change the name of the team already and go all the way with it.  How about the Flaming Lakes or perhaps the Lebrons or the Social Justice Warriors?  Oops, still too Native American on that last one.  The Social Justice Advocates.

I wasn't really taking notes on this one.  Astro Yuli Gurriel had an error at first at one point.  Starter Lance McCullers showed some anger about it.  After the inning, Jose Altuve went over to him and told him not to do that on field.  Altuve then hit a two-run homer in the bottom to give the Astros a lead.  There's a team leader for you.  McCullers got chased from the game after giving up three home runs.

In the seventh, Michael Brantley homered onto the centerfield porch and hit an old guy on the face.  Hopefully, he was okay.  They didn't show him again.  The drum guy is still there, beating on the Indians' rallies.  He was wearing a Chief Wahoo hat.  The Indians won 8-6 in a back-and-forth game.      

I totally missed the Chihuahuas today.  I did peek in on a Mexican League game.  It was between the Bravos and the Diablos.  The stadium and the field were not as nice as the Toros' facility that I've seen the last couple of weeks.  The Diablos won 15-6.

Part 2

WAC Baseball Tournament 2018 Part 3

Continued from Part 2

5-27-18

This finale game between the Aggies and the Hornets (the “If necessary” game as per the schedule) started on a bad note for me.  Either, I wrote down the wrong start time or Adam Young didn't account correctly for the time difference.  It was late (after 1:00am) when the time was announced.  Who knows?  I was kind of glad the start of the game didn't overlap with the end of the Indy 500 anyway.  The entire crowd in Mesa, Arizona was shunning the lower deck of the stadium to be under the shade of the upper deck to avoid the heat.  Watching video of the game later on the news, it looked like the place was deserted. 

The game started badly for the Aggies too.  Normally sure-handed shortstop Joey Ortiz committed an error, which let on a runner who came around to score.  1-0 Hornets.  Kyle Bradish was starting for the Aggies on three-days rest, but looked okay otherwise as he was inducing groundballs.  The Hornet's pitcher was working on two-days rest.  It was iron-man baseball today. 

Joey had another misplay in the second.  I wonder if there were nerves or a lack of sleep taking a toll.  The Aggies loaded the bases in the bottom of the third with one out.  (They were the home team today.)  Caleb Henderson then hit into a double play.  In the fourth (with a new Hornet pitcher in), this situation basically repeated itself, but this time Trey Stine managed to sacrifice a run in.  1 all.

In the fifth, Aggie catcher Braden Williams threw out a runner trying to take second.  Day game after a very long night game and Braden was still sharp.  In the bottom, Joey beat out an infield hit.  The Hornets' coach complained and the umpires gathered and overturned the call without a review.  Yes, I found that odd, too.  However, Henderson singled and got moved over to third.  An error by the Hornets' third baseman (ruled a hit) on a Tristen Carranza grounder scored him.  2-1 Aggies.

Tristen came up big again in the sixth as he made a fence-scaling catch and nearly doubled off a runner at first.  (I wish I'd gotten to see that.)  This was Bradish's last inning.  He stranded two runners.  In the bottom with runners on the corners, Joey knocked in Braden to make it 3-1 Aggies.

Jonathan Groff, on two-days rest, came in and worked a scoreless seventh.  In the bottom, home run, Logan Ehnes!  He did it on the first pitch.  Why couldn't have somebody done that in the ninth yesterday?  Hohokam Park is not hitter-friendly.  Adam had thought that the Hornets were probably out of fresh, reliable pitching last inning.  Austin Ragsdale came in.  Yeah, the guy who threw seven innings yesterday!  There were two on with two out.  Ragsdale gave up a walk, but finished off the inning with a strikeout.  4-1 Aggies.

Let's make a gut-check here in the eighth.  The Hornets loaded the bases on three hits with nobody out.  A double play got two outs, but a run scored, 4-2.  Groff gave up another hit, which brought in another run, 4-3.  Another hit.  With two on, Chance Hroch came in and finished the inning.  The Aggies still had a one-run lead.  Ragsdale worked a quick bottom to send it to the ninth.

Not to be out-done in the “squeezing every last once of effort from your pitchers” category, Coach Green put in Brock Whittlesey, who'd also gone seven innings yesterday.  He came in kicking and screaming.  (Just kidding.)  Before the game, the coach did say he had a “rubber arm.”  Batter #1: foul out.  Batter #2: ground out.  Batter #3: Joey's third error of the game.  (You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you?)  Batter #4: Tristen squeezed a fly in left field.  Three outs.  Aggies win 4-3 and the WAC Championship. 

I felt like crying and getting sick at the same time.  After yesterday's marathon stomach-twister, this was three hours in a hydraulic press on top of it.  The Aggies just won their first WAC championship in the baseball.  The players dogpiled on the mound as the crowd erupted.  The NM State flag was unfurled and waved. 

Kyle Bradish got the win.  Brock Whittlesey got the save.  Both, along with Jonathan Groff, will be icing their arms for the next two days. Those three Aggie pitchers were named to the All-Tournament team, along with Marcus Still.  Tristen Carranza was the tournament MVP.  It was an interesting choice, but no arguments. 

This story isn't over yet.  The Aggies are now going to NCAA Tournament!

5-28-18

So it was destiny that the Aggies would play the Texas Tech Red Raiders again this season.  (Their scheduled third matchup of the season was canceled.)  Unfortunately, they won't be playing them here for the NCAA Tournament.  On local TV news, the video showed the guys politely applauding as their bracket opponent was announced.  Well, that was subdued.  The Aggies lost both meetings with the Red Raiders this season, but I don't think the Aggies threw Kyle Bradish either time.  This will hopefully be interesting.  

WAC Baseball Tournament 2018 Part 2

Continued from Part 1

5-26-18

At this point, I properly got excited about the tournament since it was for the WAC Championship.  The Aggies had already beaten the Sacramento State Hornets on Thursday, but they'd be the opponents for the trophy.  In the three games they'd played after their loss to the Aggies, they'd scored 37 runs.  Opposing them would be Justin Dehn on mound.  He hadn't pitched in a few weeks, but he'd beaten the Lobos three times this year and shutout Alabama.

It's kind of amazing that the Aggies are in this position.  Four years ago, when Coach Green took over, they won 11 games.  I remember that season; it was brutal.  Now they've had three years of 30+ wins and two years of nationally-ranked recruiting classes.  They're on the verge of their fortieth win and a conference championship.

An even larger Aggie crowd came for the game.  It even included some recent Aggie Baseball players who'd graduated.  The scoring started in the top of the second as Trey Stine put a ball in play and scored Tristan Carranza from third.  (The Aggies were the visiting team.)  1-0 Aggies.  Dehn struck out the side in the second.  He didn't appear to have any rust on him after the long layoff. 

The Aggies added to the lead by a Logan Ehnes' sac fly.  The two runners on base had advanced on a misplay by the Hornet catcher.  In fairness, he was catching his fourth game in two days.  2-0 Aggies.  In the fourth, Trey scored from third on a wild pitch (perhaps should have been a passed ball).  3-0 Aggies.  Though it was looking good to this point, the coaches' wife was out nervously pacing in the concourse.  Adam Young had tried to reassure her earlier by saying that he thought the Aggies would win in a run-rule.  It was a small fib; championship games aren't decided by run-rules.

In the fifth, Dehn gave up his first hit of the game.  He worked out of a two on situation.  Dehn came out after this inning and finished with ten strikeouts.  (He was over 90 pitches at this point.  The Hornets may have been close to figuring him out, too.)  Matt Perea came in for the sixth and became the victim of a pair of errors which scored two runs.  One came in with a close play at the plate, which went to review.  Even Adam, calling the game, wasn't sure when review could be used.  The call was upheld.  Brock Whittlesey came in to finish the inning.  He gave up a hit, which brought in the tying run, 3-3.  Well, surely this would get resolved in short order. 

This game was not resolved quickly.  We cut to the bottom of the tenth inning.  (Yes, we're skipping over three fruitless innings.)  With two outs, a Hornet batter doubled and a runner on first attempted to come home.  Marcus Still got the ball in the outfield and threw it to Caleb Henderson in the infield, who then threw out the runner at the plate.  Replay?  You bet.  It was the longest video review of all time (or seemed like it).  Ruling upheld.  Exhale.  Things were getting very tense.    

The thirteenth inning ended for the Hornets on a strikeout and a caught stealing by catcher Braden Williams.  He went back to the dugout pumped up.  I need to mention the opposing pitcher here.  Austin Ragsdale came out in the fourteenth inning . . . after pitching seven and 1/3 innings of relief!  Even Aggie fans were cheering him.  Austin Root, the Hornets' starter from yesterday came in.  (All hands on deck, indeed.)  The Aggies threatened, but left two on.

In the bottom, Brock Whittlesey finally came out!  Here's the Aggies' closer, who usually goes two innings, who tonight pitched seven and 2/3 innings and 99 pitches.  He had 9 strikeouts and no walks.  Aggie pitching set a school record with 20 k's in this game. 

We hit a crisis point in the fifteenth.  Adam was out of space on his scorecard.  Meanwhile, this game started at 8:00pm MST.  It was now 1:00am MST.  My endurance and my frayed nerves were being taken beyond human endurance.  And I wasn't even playing!  I was just listening.  The Aggies got Henderson to third in the top.  Eric Mingus, off the deepest part of the Aggie bench, took his eighth at bat of the year and worked a walk.  The Aggies didn't score.

In the bottom with a runner in scoring position, a high chopper just got over Mingus' glove at third and went into the outfield.  I turned off the game the moment after Adam said that the Hornets had scored the winning run.  4-3 Sac St.  This is another double elimination tournament and this was the Aggies' first loss, so tomorrow, we'd play again.  There would be a champion on Sunday.  The game would start in the early afternoon.  Hopefully, the game would end before Monday. 

I attempted to go right to bed (at 1:15am), but I would later be tortured in my sleep by thoughts of this game.  If you play a 15-inning game and nobody wins a championship at the end of it, did anybody really win?  (Answer: No.)  I'm not as nervous as Coach Green's wife, but I'm close.

Part 3

WAC Baseball Tournament 2018 Part 1

Well, this is a bit embarrassing.  I'm going to have to admit that, before the Aggies even started the tournament, I was already writing the season recap.  Just as a bit of a spoiler, I was writing up quick summaries of their first two games at work, not thinking that it was going to amount to anything.  Until that first win, I was thinking that Coach Brian Green's job was likely in some jeopardy.  Entering Saturday, I suddenly realized this was going to merit some separate posts.  But, I'm getting ahead of myself.  Let's start at the beginning.

5-23-18

At the WAC Baseball Tournament tonight, the Aggies played the CSU-Bakersfield Roadrunners.  I got to watch via the WAC Digital Network.  Kyle Bradish started for the Aggies.  He had a balk in the first, which sent a runner to third.  Right after, he got a strikeout on a wild pitch.  The runner tried to score, but Braden Williams, catching, flipped it to Bradish covering home and got a double play to end the inning.  In the bottom, Tristen Carranza doubled in a pair of runs to make it 2-0 Aggies.

Bradish worked his way out of another jam in the fourth.  In the bottom, Marcus Still drove in a run to make it 3-0.  In the fifth, Braden threw out a runner at second and Bradish finished off the inning with another strikeout.  In the bottom of the seventh, a Logan Ehnes’ fielder’s choice drove in the Aggies’ fourth run. 

Bradish came out after seven innings.  He had 10 strikeouts for the game, in addition to not giving up any runs.  The large number of scouts in attendance left.  Thankfully, the good-sized contingent of Aggie fans stuck around there in Mesa, Arizona.  Chance Hroch came in for the eighth.  He started off giving up a hit to a batter and was pulled immediately.  Brock Whittlesey was brought in, but two other pitchers were warming up behind him. 

Whitt gave up another hit to put two on.  A double steal was put on and Braden threw to third.  Trey Stine made a jump catch there and tagged the runner.  It was a close play.  Adam mentioned that video replay was available, but the opposing coach didn’t ask for it on this play.  Whitt then got a strikeout and a fly out to end the inning.  He closed it out in the ninth for a 4-0 Aggie win.  Alright, finally the Aggies got a tournament win.  The team looked sharp tonight.  They will take on Sacramento State tomorrow.

5-24-18

Another great game for the Aggies today.  Unfortunately, it was a terrible day for me trying to listen.  I was busy and irritated at work.  I even missed the end of the game.  This game was a late afternoon tilt against Sacramento State.  It was hot there and the crowd mic was right by the Hornets fans, so I got to hear a lot of their cheering.  The fans were all in the upper level, since that was in the shade. 

While I was still listening at home, I did hear this play in the second inning with Logan Ehnes’ at bat.

Dropped foul ball, E5.	0	0
Ehnes, L singled to catcher (1-2 KKBF).

Ball fell 10-feet in front of plate between C, P, 1B and 3B.

The Hornets weren’t sharp in the field today. 

While I was in a meeting, I missed the only scoring of the game.  Braden Williams, who was again catching, singled in two runs to give the Aggies a 2-0 lead.  Jonathan Groff, WAC Pitcher of the Year, started for the Aggies.  In the fourth, the Hornets loaded the bases.  Groff got the second out on his offspeed, which was working well.  He got a fly out to end the inning.

The Hornets threatened again in the eighth with two on.  Groff got two outs to end the inning.  He showed some emotion as he came off the mound.  He started the ninth, but came out after letting two on with no outs.  Brock Whittlesey came in for the second day in a row.  At this point, I missed the drama as I was away from my desk.  Whitt gave up a single to load the bases, but then got a popup, a strikeout, and a flyout to end it.  2-0 Aggies final.

Dad called right afterward.  He was excited.  He’d started listening to last night’s game and fell asleep.  The next game tomorrow may also go past his bed time as it starts at 8:00.  I heard Adam Young afterward also sounding relieved.  He’d thought it was pretty tense too.  Boy, the Aggies, especially their pitching, is looking good so far.

5-25-18

It was the Aggies versus the Seattle U Redhawks in the WAC Tournament semi-finals.  Alex Pinedo started for the Aggies.  Braden Willaims was again catching.  Mason Fishback was in as the DH.  There was a large contingent of Aggie fans there.

The Aggies got in going in the first.  Marcus Still was batting leadoff and singled.  Caleb Henderson doubled him in.  Tristen Carranza singled him in for a 2-0 lead.  In the third, Pinedo was in some trouble with two on and two outs, but Alex ended it with a strikeout.  In the bottom, Joey Ortiz singled and stole two bases before Carranza knocked him in.  3-0 Aggies.

Pinedo had more issues in the fourth.  Two got on and a wild pitch moved them into scoring position.  A sac fly brought in the first run against the Aggies in the tournament.  3-1 Aggies.  In the bottom, the Aggies busted out.  The SU pitcher, who hadn’t hit a batter all season, hit his third Aggie of the night.  Joey would drive in two runs off a reliever.  The bases were loaded when Carranza singled in two more.  7-1 Aggies.

In the fifth, Pinedo lost his glove on a comebacker.  He grabbed the ball bare-handed and threw out the runner.  It was that kind of night for him.  In the sixth, Henderson hit a deep fly out to Dalton Hurd in the center.  He had to jump for it at the wall for the defensive gem of the game.  However, this was the start of a series of hard hit balls by the Aggies.  Nick Gonzales would drive in a run.  Mason then got his mojo back with a three-run homer.  He pounded his chest upon touching home.  There was t-shirt toss to the crowd then, just like at the WAC Softball Tournament.  The Aggie fans went nuts.  11-1 Aggies.  In the seventh, Pinedo got two strikeouts and Henderson caught a liner to end it on a run-rule. 

Alex Pinedo followed two great Aggie pitching performances with one of his own, throwing a complete game, one run allowed.  How about Tristen Carranza!  He went 4 for 4 with 4 RBI’s.  Mason Fishback and Trey Stine also got hits today.  This game only lasted two hours and 28 minutes.  Okay, tomorrow night the Aggies have a chance at winning the WAC Championship. 

Part 2

Baseball Journal May 21-25, 2018

5-21-18

Franmil Reyes with the Padres hit his first major league home run against the Nationals today.  Mark Reynolds hit two for the Nats on their way to a 10-2 win.  Once again, the game was blacked out on the MLB.TV free game.  I really enjoyed listening to the Padres’ main radio guy, Ted Leitner, though.  He’s pretty lively.  In the final inning, he waxed, “It’s one of those games.  Nothing you can do about it.  Just go on to the next game.”

I missed the call, but Tim Hagerty got a foul ball in the booth in El Paso for the first time yesterday.  Given the stadium arrangement, any ball making it in there is a longshot.  The first time he got a ball in the booth, he was thrilled.  Now, he’s more worried about the equipment.  I vividly remember Tim getting knocked off the air on the road from a foul in his first year.  I remember being worried that we’d lost him.      

5-22-18

Giants versus the Astros was the MLB.TV free game.  I’m still surprised how often the Giants are showing up on the free game.  I was unsurprised that the game was again blacked out, but at least the radio call featured Jon Miller.  As soon as he left the air in the seventh, I switched over to the Chihuahuas’ game against the Rainiers.  (The Astros won 11-2.)

Owing to work and other distractions, I didn’t listen to much of the pup’s game.  This was pretty annoying, since every time I tuned away from the game, there’d be a bunch of scoring.  El Paso got a five-run lead early.  In the second, the umpire called a pace-of-play ball on the Rainiers’ pitcher.  (He ended up calling three such penalties in the game.)  The Rainiers came back and tied it, before Austin Hedges hit a three-run homer to put the Chihuahuas in the lead for good.  

By the time I’d switched away from the Giants’ game, the scoring stopped in Tacoma with the dogs up 10-5.  However, it did get interesting.  The stadium fire alarm went off in the eighth.  A voice came on over the PA telling everyone to evacuate.  Tim Hagerty wasn’t sure what to do.  He didn’t say so, but he didn’t seem to think that there was an actual fire going on.  “When you’re telling people about this game tomorrow, you can let them know that your broadcaster bravely stayed by his mic.”  While the crowd left, the players sat down on the field. 

Tim went to a hasty commercial.  Coming back, he was told that he was going to have to leave, but before that happened, the alarm stopped.  The umpires quickly restarted the game, even though the stands were now empty.  You could hear every sound of the game being played.  The sound system wasn’t on, so there was no music going.  The PA shouted out the names of the players coming to bat and you could hear him clearly.  The remaining fans, most left since it was a blowout, were finally let back in for the bottom of the ninth.  11-6 Chihuahuas was the final.

        

5-23-18

It was another Kid’s Day at the park, this time in Tacoma to see the Chihuahuas and the Rainiers.  I admit I was busy typing for most of the game and it was background noise.  Tim Hagerty brought on his friend and broadcaster, Rich Burke (I think I got the name right), to help him call the game about halfway through.  This was a great idea.  It put some banter in the booth and maybe helped save Tim’s voice a little for the rest of the season.  He should do this more often.  The kids there were singing in the seventh.  Myself and Tim couldn’t discern the song though.

As for the game, the Rainiers had big inning that put them in the lead.  (I wasn’t really taking notes.)  Hunter Renfroe, with the team on rehab, kept the Chihuahuas in it with two home runs and drove in another run on a double, making it 5-3 Rainiers.  In the ninth, the pups started a rally and got two on.  With two out, Luis Urias drove in a run to make it 5-4.  Brett Nicholas came up and hit a very deep fly ball that had a chance, but died on the warning track in the centerfielder’s mitt. 

After the game was over, some jerkoff ESPN Radio guy explained how he essentially out-grew watching hockey to explain how great the NBA is by way of comparison.  Funny, that’s how I feel about the NBA and the NFL compared to baseball.  That’s what I get for listening to national sportstalk.  Gosh, I wonder what they were saying about the NFL mandating that their players stand for the Anthem today? 

5-24-18

I picked up the Chihuahuas versus the Rainiers in the sixth.  I got woke up as a foul ball hit near Tim Hagerty’s mic off the stadium facing.  It hit hard enough that I flinched.  This was another very tight game.  Both teams were only able to scratch out runs.  It sounded like an unruly, rough crowd there.  They were certainly vocal.

Jose Urias doubled in what would be the winning run in the top of the seventh.  The bottom nearly started with a triple for the Rainiers.  Hunter Renfroe had to chase the ball to the wall.  He threw it to Javy Guerra, who threw out the runner at third.  In the ninth, Hunter made a catch of a foul and crashed into a wall.  The wall lost.  Well, the gate that he hit opened.  It was an impressive no-drama two-inning save for Jose Castillo.  3-2 Chihuahuas was the final.  Dillon Overton got the win, pitching 6 1/3.

5-25-18

All three games tonight came on at the same time tonight.  I only kept up with the Aggies’ WAC Tournament game though.  (I’ll cover that separately.)  The other two games were basically over by the time I got to them.  The Chihuahuas lost at home again, this time to Fresno 5-0.  The Padres and the Dodgers were the MLB.TV free game.  Of course, it was video blocked here as usual.  The game was in the ninth with one out when I picked it up.  It was then over almost immediately.  The Dodgers won 4-1.