NM State Aggies vs Northern Illinois Soccer 8-31-18

Erm . . . Apparently I didn't catch the name of the other team.  This is a bit embarrassing right off the bat, especially given how many recaps I may be writing over my vacation week.  We're going to be doing some hard core Aggie-ing this week.  Starting here on Friday, I'd already listened to the Aggie Volleyball this morning (which I'll recap later).  Since I'd gone into work early the day before, I was going to be coming in late today so I could see Aggie Soccer.  I probably should have just taken the day off, but I couldn't since it was month end. 

The weather more-or-less cooperated.  It was 97 degrees and I could see it was raining by the mountains.  However, the clouds didn't come into town and it wasn't anywhere near as humid as last weekend's game.  Stepping out of my truck in the parking lot, I once again decided I'd be using an umbrella and I'd be getting a Gatorade.  I was greeted with the strong smell of skunk.  Then I noticed the guy coughing in the slot next to me and realized it was that other thing that smells like skunk. 

Yes, there was some parties going in the parking lot.  There were two different tents with tailgaters.  I was unintentionally rude to one of them, as I think one of them invited me over.  I was too surprised to take them up on it.  I was friendlier inside as Danny was there and he came over to chat.  I told him about the volleyball this morning.  He didn't think the team would be very good this year.  He'd been here at the pitch for the last game (I never saw him) and he doubted this team would be good either.  Out on field, I could see some reason for skepticism.  Goalie Dmitri Fong was out on field with team, but wearing a boot. 

I also saw the son of a co-worker, Rito, on the sidelines with a TV camera.  He'd been hired by Aggievison after graduation.  I told him his mom sent me there to check up on him.  On the other side of the field, I looked over the NIU . . . umm . . . team (for lack of a better name).  They looked tall and lean.  A little more height and they could also be the volleyball team.  They brought a few fans with them.  You could likely say the same about the Aggies, but the stands filled in later.  Quite a few students from other teams were there.

First Half

Okay, we're ready for some soccer!  15 seconds into the match, Alexa Barrera passed it to Katie Martinez in front of the NIU net and Goooooooal!  1-0 Aggies.  Apparently, we weren't all ready soccer, or the Aggies just shoved it down their throats.  That was rather startling.  Danny came over a minute later and said, “It's too early to tell me to eat my words.” 

It was Bark at the Park day.  There were a few dogs in attendance.  A group of pretty girls, maybe the Swim and Dive team again, sat nearby and put up signs for their favorite player, Kayleigh Cox.  One of the girls brought in a friendly black lab and sat next to me.  I immediately made friends with the dog (not so much with the very pretty girl).  He was a sweet pooch, but his owner later took him out on the much more comfortable grass to lie down on. 

Oh, the match was still going on.  (I was so distracted by the dog.)  37' left in the half, Mia Montano, the freshman Aggie goalie, made a good punch save.  I missed Coach Rob Baarts' interview on the Aggie Coaches Show earlier this week.  I e-mailed host Adam Young if there was anywhere to re-listen to it.  He sent me an audio clip of the interview.  What a swell guy.  I found out Mia was starting because the team had not only lost Dmitri to injury, but also backup, Ashley Martin.  He'd had to press Mia into immediate service. 

35' there was a foul on field.  “Are you kidding me!” screamed an overly dramatic voice.  I think the fan wasn't being serious, as he laughed afterward.  Actually, the fans were somewhat less obnoxious today (note I said “somewhat”).  I think a few parents weren't there.  I didn't see it on-field, but did in the game notes, that my dear Aileen Galicia got a yellow card.  I'm well familiar with her angel face and her rough play.  This might have been the play she got carded on.  NIU's free kick just went over the net. 

The game went back and forth.  26' Aileen led a breakaway, but at 24' NIU came back and forced Mia to make a save.  21' Aileen took a great shot well outside the box and nearly got it.  20' Aileen passed to Rebecca Mazzie (that’s her in the poster above to the right), who came close.  15' Kayleigh Cox cycled in to the screams of her friends there.  13' the NIU goalie, Megan Donnally, made another good save on a shot outside the box.  7' some members of the football team came in.  I don't know who they were.  (Tyler Rogers and maybe Larry Rose III were the only guys I could ever recognize.) 

“Get wide Number 9!”  I really don't know what that means, but I kept hearing from someone in the crowd.  It was more confusing than irritating.  3' NIU had a great chance here with a one-on-one breakaway, but the attacker and the defender both went down in the box at the same time.  Perhaps that was why there wasn't a foul called.  2' Aileen ran down a loose ball and took a good solo shot.  1' Alexa stripped the goalie and took a shot to end the half.

Halftime

“You can rest at halftime!” Not to say that there weren't still some obnoxious parents there.  I heard that during the half.  There was another fan soccer skills competition with a foam finger as the prize.  I think they were giving those away before the match on the courtesy table.  I decided not to take one.  DJ Downs ruled the contest a tie and that both guys should get a . . . finger.  (That doesn't sound right.)  Unfortunately, the marketing girl only had one with her.  A bit later, she found the other guy in the crowd and gave him a finger too.  (That still doesn't sound right.)

The pretty girls near me left and took their signs with them, though not before taking pictures with them in front of a goal.  Some other girls from the Swim and Dive team came in and sat in front of the stands.  One of them was a striking tall blonde with a bob haircut.  I need to check out their roster.  Speaking of pretty female athletes, the Aggie Volleyball team was about to play their next game of the day.  I had brought my little portable radio for it and listened during the second half.  I'll recap it later and not confuse you with double play-by-play.  (Ugh, I mixed them both together in my notes.)

Second Half

In spite that very early score, this was not going to be a blow out.  Both teams were going to have to work for it.  44' Emma Smith took a corner shot on goal.  41' NIU came back and hit the scoreboard over the Aggie goal.  35' Audriana Chavez made a crossing pass to Aileen, who took the shot.  Donnally had to make a diving stop.  34' Mia pushed out a ball on a corner kick.  31' Gooooooooal!  Becca put it in an open net on a great crossing pass by Emma.  2-0 Aggies.          

I was a bit distracted by an odd sight at the nearby football field.  A bunch of girls in white shirts were walking up and down the berm behind the pressbox.  That hill slopes about 45 degrees and would be a heck of a workout, especially in 97 degree heat.  Kids go sledding down that hill.  They walked down it backward and then walked forward going up.  I found out from Danny later at a volleyball game, that it was the softball team out there.  Coach Rodolph is brutal on the girls.    

From here, the Aggies dominated most of the time of possession.  Becca took a couple more shots and hit the crossbar once.  The girls were doing a good job of passing in their attacks.  Donnally was able to stop the shots.  17' She made a loud scream as she ran into a crowd in the box to grab a ball.  It worked.  I did notice she was very loud during the match. 

11' Aileen had come out earlier, but came back in here.  She said, “Hi,” to one of the NIU defenders by leveling her with a hip check.  Aileen should have played hockey.  She's a natural.  7' Mia made a good catch on a long shot.  4' Alexa took a good shot that Donnally made another good save on.  2' Aggie defender Kelly Burton somehow got in on an attack.  She made a high, soft kick that just floated over Donnally and into the net.  Goooool! 

3-0 Aggies was the final.  The goalie was clearly angry about that last one getting in, but I don't know how she could have stopped it.  After the match, Kelly got some big hugs from her teammates, who were very happy for her.  The girls came out to midfield and gave their applauding fans a jaunty wave.  Later, at work, I looked at the team Twitter feed.  This was Coach Baarts first win as a head coach.  A couple other Aggie coaches tweeted congratulations.  There was also a video interview with him posted.  (Maybe it was Rito doing the footage.)  He took a moment to praise Megan Donnally for her opposing work in goal.  That was a nice gesture.

I needed to get to work, but I'd dropped my mechanical pencil under the stands at some point.  I needed that pencil for my upcoming trip to see the Chihuahuas so I could fill out my scorecard.  I ducked and half-crawled under the grandstand supports and got it.  When I came out, a lady appeared and asked if I could get her spray bottle, which she'd dropped.  Somehow, I managed to get in and out twice without hitting my head.  Before leaving, I also ran into the Old Man, Tom.  We said, “Hi,” and he commented on how intense I look when I'm taking notes.  I've heard that from someone else.  Maybe I'm scaring people off.  I don't feel like I'm concentrating that hard.  

Driving out of the parking lot, I actually had my personal game highlight.  Softball Coach Kathy Rodolph was walking out to her car.  She'd probably been working at the nearby softball field.  I stopped and called to her and congratulated her on last season.  She was very gracious and pleased with the recognition.  This wasn't a great place for a conversation, but I did ask about her assistant Kat Heifner coming back.  The Coach thought the team would be really good next season with Kat instructing the hitters.  As if the team could realistically get much better.  (The rest of the conference just soiled their pants.)  Kathy was able to focus more on recruiting and had gotten a bunch of new players. 

Under other circumstances, I would have loved to have talked to her some more.  (Perhaps asking her about her insane conditioning program for the team, if I’d known it was them out there climbing the hill.)  Coach said she hoped see me out at the park again next season.  Oh my, she recognized me.  Is that good or bad?  If it was bad, hopefully I've changed her mind.  I'm a regular now aren't I?  I'm the weirdo with the notebook.  I was still listening to the volleyball game as I left.  Work proved to be a very long busy night, even showing up late, but I was really glad I went to this game.  I may try this again next month. 

Baseball Journal August 28-31, 2018

8-28-18

The story of the night was the Richmond Flying Squirrels.  (Disclaimer: your baseball story of the night might be completely different and probably is.)  Once again, it was a light baseball night for me.  I tuned into the Squirrels early in the evening.  Yesterday, they thought they were far away from setting an ignominious record for scoreless innings.  Well, there they were in the sixth inning, still scoreless and now holding a new record.

The crowd there seemed well aware of the situation.  In the bottom of the sixth, when a runner got to third, they actually cheered.  In the seventh, the Squirrels got runners on second and third with nobody out.  After a pop-up out, catcher Jeff Arnold came to bat and ended the streak at 33 1/3 innings definitely with a three-run homer. 

Unfortunately, the Squirrels’ losing streak continued.  The next inning there was a play at the plate with Arnold and the runner was ruled safe.  The Reading Fightin’ Phils would go on to win.  The announcers doubted the call at the plate, but there’s no replay in Double-A.  “We need cameras first,” said one of the guys.  The play and the result also ruined the storyline for the night.  The announcers were too depressed to do their usual haiku afterward.

There was a big matchup in the MLB between the A’s and the Astros fighting for first in the AL West.  I probably would have been more interested in the game, except the MLB.TV free game had me under a local blackout for video.  Yes, Houston is “local” to me in Las Cruces, New Mexico in the sense that we’re on the same continent.

I didn’t really like the Astros’ radio call, so switched to the A’s, which was a little less grating.  They were reporting a sellout tonight in Houston.  Probably not coincidently, it was the fourth time this season the team had offered replica World Series rings.  The other three times were also sellouts.  For their own team, the announcers reported that there’s another city council proposal for a new stadium.  Good luck on that, unless you guys win a World Series yourselves this year. 

The A’s announcers also promoted a “town hall” meeting between ownership and the fans.  They said that several fan suggestions had been implemented at the park from previous meetings.  Given that Oakland’s other two pro sports teams are deserting them, this is the A’s opportunity to own the town.  With enough community outreach, maybe they can get a new stadium. 

As for the game, it was close and tense.  The Astros had loaded the bases when I started listening and then the stream suddenly stopped like last night.  Reloading the page didn’t help; it would repeat the last minute I’d heard and stop in the same place.  I gave up after a couple of tries, figuring I’d already missed the drama of the current situation.  Between weirdness and the blackouts, this really isn’t selling the MLB.TV service to me.  The A’s ended up beating the Astros 4-3.  It’s a one-game lead for the Astros for now.           

I turned over to the Chihuahuas’ game.  They were in Fresno, playing the Grizzlies, who may be their opponent when the playoffs start.  I struck by a couple of things I was heard in the background.  On a routine flyball out by the Chihuahuas, there was the sound effect of Apu from The Simpsons saying, “Thank you.  Come again.”  The PA announced that anyone retrieving a foul ball could bring it to the service desk and receive a prize, “And you get to keep the ball.”  

Tim Hagerty was talking about the team’s impromptu airline arrangements to get to Fresno.  He received a phone call from airline while he was on the air, which he couldn’t take, obviously.  He hoped they were letting him know that his bags had finally arrived, “Otherwise, I’ll need to do some shopping tomorrow.”  As for the game, I’d tuned in in the middle of an inning, but wasn’t sure which one or what the score was.  After the Chihuahuas’ second error of the game let in a run, Tim finally reported that it was 8-0 in the third.  Suddenly, I had other things to do and watch.  I came back for the end.  The pups did make a bit of a comeback with the final being 9-4 Grizzlies. 

8-29-18

Oh, no!  Tonight’s Dizzykitten stream is her last until she comes back from Korea.  Thank goodness, I’m off next week too.  I’d miss her if I was here at work without her stream.  Not sure which Korea she’s going to.  If it’s North Korea, Trump and the US Seventh Fleet may have to go there to get her back from Kim Jung Un.  If it’s South Korea, she obviously has elaborate plot to kidnap K-Pop boy band BTS.  (BTS will refused to be rescued.) 

Oh yeah, baseball.  The MLB.TV free game tonight was the Cardinals versus Pirates.  I missed the play of the game in the fourth, or should I say hurl.  Matt Carpenter barfed at first base and had to leave the game for nausea.  The Cardinals’ announcers mentioned that the team has had a bunch of injuries, which has resulted in a bunch of call-ups.  If the Chihuahuas make it to the PCL Championship, this might be helpful.  The Pirates won 2-0 and the Cardinals lost their lunch.

I came into the Chihuahuas/Grizzlies’ game in the sixth, as the pups were in the middle of sending eight-straight batters in a row as they batted around.  Ty France singled in a run, Shane Peterson hit a three-run homer, and Raffy Lopez tripled in two runs, which led to a 6-0 lead.  Starter Colin Rea pitched five scoreless innings.      

However, the Grizz made a comeback in the eighth.  They loaded the bases and a run was walked in.  Kyle McGrath came in and struck out the side, but gave up a double that scored two more runs to make it 6-3.  Rowan Wick came out in the ninth for a no-drama save.  Chihuahuas won 6-3.  That’s a team record 80 wins.

8-30-18

It was a little strange to hear Aggie Football on a Thursday at 5:00.  They were playing Minnesota on the road.  This was a “money game,” though not a “big money” game for the program.  The Aggies did give them a game for about a quarter and a half.  Matt Romero’s first interception led to a 7-0 lead for MN.  But after a subsequent fumble recovery by the Aggie defense, Romero hit Izaiah Lottie on a fade in the endzone to tie it.  To start the second quarter, the Dylan Brown hit a career-long 45-yard field goal to give the Aggies a 10-7 lead. 

The Aggie defense came up with a big sack next, but right after, gave up a big play.  That series lead to another Golden Gopher touchdown, 14-10 MN.  Romero was nearly intercepted again, but the officials waved it off.  Aggie special teams got off a tremendous fake punt to keep a drive going.  The team went down to the MN 21 and went for it on a fourth and one and didn’t make it.  I’m not going to say the Aggies would have won this game, but that coaching decision probably took points off the board. 

The Gophers would score another touchdown to make it 21-10.  The Aggies went three and out, which was bad, but the runback for another touchdown was likely backbreaking.  The half closed out at 31-10.  The rest of the game, which I admittedly didn’t listen to (I was busy at work), the Gophers pretty much ran it out.  48-10 Minnesota was the final. 

The shocking difference in the stats was the running game: Aggies 38 yards, Gophers 295.  The sacks were 4 to 0 in Minnesota’s favor.  As Jack Nixon observed, the Aggies were one-dimensional on offense, actually out-passing MN, but it made them way too predictable.  Turnovers were even at 1.  I am encouraged by that.

I did start watching the MLB.TV free game between the Tigers and the Yankees in the second half.  It was 7-5 Yankees in the top of the ninth with Dellin Betances in to close.  After one out, I stepped away for a minute.  When I came back Victor Martinez was getting congratulated in the dugout.  He’d just hit a tying two-run homer.  Next up, Niko Goodrum hit a solo, go-ahead homer which would be the 8-7 Tigers game-winner.  Both shots just cleared the short porch in right field.  Heh, heh, heh.  When they were designing the new Yankee Stadium did anyone say something like, “Hey, other teams might be able to take advantage of this design flaw.”

I listened a little to the Chihuahuas and the Grizzlies.  The Grizz led 3-0 for much of the game.  They added a couple more in the eighth.  The pups scratched out a run in the ninth.  Brett Nicholas struck out to end the game with a 5-1 loss.  He tossed his bat and tried to argue his way into an ejection for some reason.  Tim Hagerty made an interesting statistical observation during the game.  El Paso and Fresno probably have that best current lineups of the contending PCL teams.  However, in the baseball, the best teams only win about 60% of the time. 

8-31-18

After listening to an Aggie Volleyball match this morning, going to an Aggie Soccer match this afternoon, and listening to another Aggie Volleyball match this evening, you’ll forgive me if I’m a bit sports-ed out.  Not to mention, I was running our month end processing tonight.  I wasn’t even interested in tonight’s Chihuahuas/Rainiers game when I saw the 6-1 Tacoma score after seven innings.  I almost didn’t listen.  What a mistake that would have been. 

In the top of the eighth, the umps got together and chatted.  Tim Hagerty didn’t know why until Chihuahuas’ reliever Carter Capps threw his first pitch and was warned about his delivery.  Capps has had run-ins with the umps before about his hop-step, but hadn’t been called on it in five previous appearances.  His catcher, Raffy Lopez, immediately turned around started arguing, which was grounds for a quick ejection.  Manager Rod Barajas was also tossed right after.  Capps had to change his delivery and couldn’t pitch.  After walking a batter, he had to be taken out.  Brad Wieck finished the inning.

In the bottom, Ty France cranked a two-run homer to make it 6-3.  How about this kid?  Wieck polished off the top of the ninth and went two shutout innings with six strikeouts.  Tim said at the time, “If the Chihuahuas come back and win this, they should thank Wieck for these shutdown innings.”

We went to the bottom of the ninth down three.  On the first pitch, Brett Nicholas hit a solo home run to make it 6-4.  Dusty Coleman doubled and Auston Bousfield singled and moved him to third.  Nick Shultz then hit a sacrifice to bring in Dusty and make it 6-5.  Are you believing yet?  Forrestt Allday walked.  Carlos Asuaje flied out.  And look who’s up next.  Ty France pounded a ball over the center fielder’s head, bringing both runners, and winning the game 7-6!  “It’s over!” yelled Tim. 

The Chihuahuas had a 4:00 am plane ride to get to El Paso this morning.  Tim admitted to being exhausted even only calling the game, much less playing.  The two ejections might have lit a fire under the dogs tonight and got them going.  That’s 17 home wins in a row. 

I’m off next week.  No posts, but I will hopefully come back several reports from live events, including today’s.

Baseball Journal August 25-27, 2018

8-25-18

Today’s MLB game on Mexican TV was the Cubs and the Reds.  The game started a bit too quick for them and they weren’t able to show all the league standings.  Oh, my God.  The Orioles are 52 games back in the AL East.  The Yankees are only 8 ½ games back as the Red Sox are now only playing .600+ ball.  Some divisions are decided, others are too close to call. 

In the second, Daniel Murphy hit a two-run homer to cap a three-run inning for the Cubs.  It’s his second homer since he was been traded from the Nationals.  In the third, he made a diving catch at second.  That was his second good fielding play of the game.  I told you this guy was a good pickup for the Cubs.

Kyle Schwarber hit a two-run homer in the fourth to make it 5-2.  The pitcher spun around on the mound without looking at the ball fly out.  By the seventh, it was 7-2.  Cubs’ catcher Willson Contreras got the Purple Heart for this game.  After getting hit on the knee while batting in the first, a foul ball bounced off the ground and hit him right between the legs while he was catching.  (I didn’t need the slo-mo replay of that.) 

His Little League uniform nickname read “Willy the Beast.”  The players were all wearing Little League World Series style uniforms this weekend.  Speaking of that, Hawaii won US bracket this afternoon while this game was going on.  I stopped watching the LLWS after too many domestic abuse scandals and steroid allegations.  I also don’t like the kids taking a knee during the Anthem, even the International kids doing it now.  (Or maybe I couldn’t take the five-minute commercial breaks between each inning and the announcers breaking down each kid’s game like they’re a bunch of prospects in the minors.)

The Reds played like a bunch of Little Leaguers in the bottom of the seventh.  (Ooh, what a segue.)  Three fielders converged on a popup only to have it clank off a glove and load the bases.  “Murph” hit a sure double play ball that the shortstop muffed, allowing everyone to be safe.  A single drove in two more runs.  The bases were loaded again before the Reds got the final out.  It was now 10-2 Cubs.

In the eighth, the Reds did make a comeback on a three-run homer, followed by a solo shot, to make it 10-6.  I’d name names here, but I had the sound down and couldn’t figure out who was who based on the nicknames on the back of their jerseys.  In the ninth, Anthony “Tony” Rizzo went over the rail at the camera well to catch a foul ball for the second time.  The Cubs won 10-6 and are looking sharp. 

About halfway through the Cubs’ game, the Rangers and Giants game came on the radio.  As the coverage started, Brandon Crawford hit a three-run homer to center as part of a four-run inning in the first for the Giants.  Well, that was all the scoring until the seventh, when Hunter Pence hit a pinch hit homer for a 5-0 lead. 

I didn’t hear about last night’s game until today, but the Rangers went down early then and came back late and won.  This afternoon in the eighth, Roughned Odor hit a three-run bomb off Hunter Strickland to make it 5-3.  He’d hit a similar home run last night.  Joey Gallo had reached on an error with two outs to start the rally. 

I suddenly became a bit worried about Eric.  To start the eighth, he got ready to read his daily limerick.  It was dedicated to Bruce Bochy, manager of the “A’s?”  And then he lost the paper that he wrote it on and couldn’t read it until he found it later.  On the other hand, Eric did write a limerick, something I couldn’t do on the fly, so he’s still got plenty of faculties left. 

Ranger reliever Chris Martin let runners on the corners with no outs in the bottom of the eighth, but got out of it.  In the ninth, the Rangers got two on in scoring position.  Adrian Beltre came in as a pinch hitter, but struck out.  Bochy took out his closer after a walk loaded the bases.  Carlos Perez, just called up, came in to pinch hit and ended the game on a fly out.  Giants won 5-3.  That wasn’t much of a game until the end.   

Aggie Football’s game against Wyoming and the Chihuahuas’ game against the Rainiers both started at the same time later at night.  Football was on FM and was the Aggies’ opening game of the season.  The Chihuahuas’ station was on AM and was coming in poorly tonight, however they were on the verge of clinching their division tonight.  I put two radios on and tried to listen to both, which worked about as well as you’d think. 

Let’s just pull the band-aid off.  The Aggies lost 29-7.  Those 7 points came inside of the last two minutes when new quarterback, Matt Romero, threw a 31-yard touchdown.  It was against the Cowboys’ first team defense, who were going for the shutout and are reportedly one of the top 10 defenses in the country.  Offense and special teams were an issue tonight for the Aggies.  20,000 fans showed up at Aggie Memorial stadium, which is awesome.  That’s about 2/3 capacity.  Hopefully, they’ll all come back next month for the game against the Lobos.

In Tacoma, the Chihuahuas either needed a win tonight or a loss by the Bees in the Fresno to win the division and get to the playoffs.  Admittedly, it’s a matter of “when” not “if,” but you want to hear that winning moment.  The Rainiers went up 4-0 early.  The pups got back in it with a couple of runs in the fourth.  In the seventh, they put up three runs to take the lead, 5-4.

But in the bottom, the Rainiers tied it back up on a solo home run.  In the eighth, they loaded the bases and scored them all, as Dusty Coleman fell down in the outfield trying to catch the ball.  In the ninth, down 8-5, Tim Hagerty was somewhat excited by the out-of-town score.  The Bees and the Grizzlies were in the ninth.  The Grizz were down 6-2 to start the inning, but had scored a couple and had two on.  The Chihuahuas got one on in their ninth, but a double play ended the game, 8-5 Rainiers.  We went to commercial.

A completely stunned Tim Hagerty came back on two minutes later and announced that the Grizzlies had beaten the Bees.  The Chihuahuas are the PCL Southern Division champs for the fourth time in a row!  What a way to end a 10-game winning streak!  Tim pronounced Kyle Tucker a “friend of the Chihuahuas” for his walk-off home run in Fresno, at least until the playoffs.  That homer also clinched a playoff berth for the Grizzlies too.  Okay, that was fun and unexpected. 

8-26-18

When I got back from Aggie Soccer, I tuned into Stadium for a scheduled Women’s College Volleyball match, which wasn’t on, as usual, unless they finished up real early.  I’m getting disenchanted with their scheduling.  The Chihuahuas were on and I came into their game with the Rainiers in the seventh. 

With the pups clinching yesterday, neither team is playing for anything.  Manager Rod Barajas even put out a joke lineup card before the game.  It was 4-2 El Paso when I started listening.  Tim Hagerty was commenting on the between-innings entertainment there in Tacoma where a community theater puts on skits.  They only do original bits.  So, as Tim said, “Sometimes they’re good, sometimes not.”

The first pitch of the bottom of the seventh went straight out to make it 4-3.  Then the score would get tied on a blooper just inside the foul line.  The crowd got into it and then booed loudly on a close play at first that ended the inning.  The Chihuahuas worked three walks to start the ninth.  Auston Bousfield drove in one run on a fielder’s choice, but that was enough.  Seth Simmons allowed a lead-off single to start the bottom, but got the save.  5-4 Chihuahuas.

KROD carried the ESPN game right afterward.  It was the Yankees versus the Orioles.  Didn’t I just mention that the O’s are 52 games out of first in the AL East?  (It may be more than that today.)  I know these games are chosen well in advance, but was this really the best matchup to broadcast?  I was almost insulted.  Was this game even necessary?  I think we can all guess who the winner was going to be, it was just a question what the final score would be (in this case, 5-3 Yankees).  The Red Sox have hit a bit of a skid lately and the Yankees are closing in, just five games back.

 

I did learn a couple of things from the broadcast.  You can use player nicknames to get their attention for autographs.  And Hawaii won the Little League World Series over Japan.  Congratulations.  

8-27-18

I hate to admit I wasn’t into baseball today.  Going to the soccer match yesterday got me worked up for Aggie Sports this season.  I made a half-hearted attempt at listening to the Giants and the Diamondbacks on the MLB.TV free game.  The warm friendly tones of Jon Miller greeted me on the broadcast for a game that at least was meaningful for the D-Backs.  However, the stream suddenly dropped when I walked away from my desk for a minute and I gave up on it.  Listening at my other workstation to another game, the Richmond Flying Squirrels were in the midst of a three-game, 20+ inning scoreless streak.  Their announcers were downright depressed.

I eventually settled on listening to the Chihuahuas playing the Rainiers, but didn’t pay a huge amount of attention.  Granted that the pups have won their division, the rest of the regular season doesn’t matter.  Not to mention, I missed all of the scoring in the game.  That was Shane Peterson getting an RBI hit in the second inning.  The final score was a 1-0 Chihuahuas’ victory.  Logan Allen, Kazuhisa Makita, Carter Capps, and Rowan Wick obviously pitched well for the dogs.

Speaking of Kaz, Tim Hagerty mentioned that most Japanese players in the US have significant fan followings in their home country.  Kaz live-streamed the Chihuahuas’ victory celebration on Saturday to thousands of people back in Japan.  Tim gave the disturbing news during the game that Chihuahuas’ star Luis Urias was about to be called up because of an injury on the Padres.  He did assure everyone that all Triple-A teams lose good players at this time of year.  Don’t panic yet.  This was the Rainiers last home game of the season.  After the game, their players went into the crowd to sign autographs.  That’s a nice gesture.

Baseball Journal August 22-24, 2018

8-22-18

Somehow, I was at work at 8:00am again for a meeting.  Once again, I stuck around all day.  If I’d been home, I could have heard the Rangers this afternoon on the radio.  The game was also a free game on Facebook, but only if you’re a signed-up, which I’m not.  The other MLB.TV free game was a power match-up between the Indians and the Red Sox.  The Sox had lost three-in-a-row, including two to the Tribe.  This was their longest losing streak of the year. 

They were showing the NESN feed.  Tonight, they were doing a fund-raiser for the Jimmy Fund, a cancer charity.  They had guests on during the broadcast.  Most striking was a kid, maybe 10 or 12.  He had cancer and problems coming from it, but was still brave and upbeat and a big Sox fan.  He was a New Englander in the best sense of the term.  Unfortunately, it was a short inning, but he loved the view from the pressbox.  “No wonder you guys can call home runs so quickly up here.”  The kid had plenty to cheer for with a 10-4 Red Sox victory.

On the Flying Squirrels tonight, Jeff Samardzija made a rehab start for the Giants’ Double-A affiliate.  Meanwhile, the Giants are trying to deal off Andrew McCutchen and Buster Posey may be about to have surgery, thus effectively ending their season.  In El Paso, it was the best-est Diablos Days of the season with a replica Diablos jersey giveaway.  Okay, I’m sorry I missed attending this game. 

So, we had the Diablos facing the Isotopes tonight.  The Diablos got off on a bad foot with a Luis Urias’ error and a single scoring two runs for the Isotopes.  Francisco Mejia made that lead short-lived in the bottom with a two-run homer.  The Padres organization may have gotten a winner in the Brad Hand trade.  Javy Guerra piled on with a two-run homer in the second to make it 4-2.  In the third, Tim chatted with a season ticket holder.  The fan actually called Ty France’s leadoff homer as it happened.  Javy doubled in another run that inning and singled in a run in the fifth to make it 7-2 Diablos, which was the final.  Logan Allen had a good start pitching, including a four-pitch sixth inning.  The Chihuahuas have got an eight-game winning streak going and their magic number for the playoffs is four.

8-23-18

Today started off with the MLB.TV free game between the Rays and Royals.  When I tuned in, it was Duffy versus Duffy.  In this case Royals’ pitcher Danny Duffy was pitching to Rays’ batter Matt Duffy.  The announcers were excited and had been waiting all day to make that call.  I didn’t actually watch much of the game, but I did see in the third when a fly ball hit the “B-ring” catwalk that was caught at the wall.  Balls hitting that catwalk are in play and it was almost a three-run homer.  You gotta be aware of those Tropicana Field ground rules. 

With the scored tied at 3 in the bottom of the ninth, the bases were loaded with Rays with one out.  Kevin Kiermaier grounded into a fielder’s choice.  The throw came right home.  Salvador Perez, very uncharacteristically, clanked on the low throw and the run scored.  The Rays won 4-3. 

I heard a bit of the pregame for tonight’s Chihuahuas’ game.  Steve Kaplowitz gave Tim Hagerty some news about the Isotopes, tonight’s opponent.  Matt Holliday was called up to the Rockies.  However, his cleats didn’t make the trip with him.  But, his cleats from his great 2007 season were there at Coors Field on display.  They broke them out for him and that’s what he used when he played for them today. 

The Chihuahuas’ magic number to clinch is 3.  Early in the game, Tim talked about the team’s division-winning plans.  He was unafraid of jinxing them at this point as it’s just about inevitable with a couple of week’s worth of games left.  The pups got it started with Ty France hitting a two-run homer in the first.  This kid is even not listed in my baseball season preview magazine as a top 10 prospect.  I’m simply amazed.

The Chihuahuas never looked back after that lead.  I was pretty busy during most of game (admittedly mostly stuffing my face with a large dinner).  I’ll just hit the highlights.  Forrestt Allday cranked a three-run homer in the fourth.  Santiago Casilla, former great reliever with the Giants, came into pitch for the Isotopes in the fifth.  Dusty Coleman hit a two-run homer off him.  Cal Quantrill started for the dogs and went six innings with only 1 earned run.  Dusty made a great jump catch at the wall to end the game with Tim making an emphatic call of the play.  Let’s add it up.  It was 14-2 Chihuahuas today.  That’s a four-game sweep of the Isotopes, a nine-game winning streak, and a 16-game home game winning streak.  I’m just going to let that speak for itself.

8-24-18

My definition of “work” is turning into being overwhelmed by paperwork on a daily basis.  Well at least today, that meant I was mostly at my desk and able to listen to a good game.  The MLB.TV free game was the Phillies versus the Blue Jays.  This was at least a meaningful game for the Phillies.  The pleasant baritone voice of Dan Shulman did the play-by-play with Buck Martinez providing color.  It was a bit like a good ESPN game where they talked about the players, teams, and baseball in general around the game being played.

There was a great crowd there at Rogers Centre in Toronto.  The Blue Jays do some good promotions.  Upcoming ones included a Buck Martinez alarm clock, an R2-D-Took sock hat, and a Jays batting helmet.  I caught a couple of glimpses of one of the hot waitresses that work the seats behind home plate.  At Turner Field, there was a girl working there for a couple of years that always got my attention during the game. 

The teams were wearing their Little League World Series-themed uniforms with nicknames on the back.  This is a great promotion for baseball.  Kevin Pillar, who wanted to be identified as “Superman,” but couldn’t because of trademark restrictions, threw out Scott Kingery at the plate from centerfield in the second.  Seemed pretty super to me.  In the bottom, Kendrys Morales homered for the fifth straight game, also pretty super.  He’s flirting with a record. 

In the fourth, Rhys Hoskins “Big Fella,” made a great diving catch in center.  (Hoskins’ teammate, Tommy Hunter, took the nickname “Bigger Fella.”)  Rhys came up shaking his hand.  Martinez reminded everyone that it’s concrete underneath that Astroturf.  Yeesh.  You don’t like thinking about those things.  There was a discussion later about bats.  Most players now favor shorter, lighter bats.  Martinez said it was because they were more like the aluminum bats they used in college.  Not to mention, it’s bat speed that causes home runs, not heavier bats. 

Curtis Granderson was not in the game.  His replacement in the lineup hit a homer.  They showed the “Grandyman” in the dugout a couple of times.  The announcers were wondering what he was going to be doing after he retires.  They thought, with his experience and personality, he could manage, go into broadcasting, try politics, or might work as a charity fundraiser (he’s raised millions for various causes).  His options are wide-open.  He’s pretty likeable player.  I remember him starting with the Tigers and then following him along to various teams. 

The Blue Jays won 4-2.  I was too busy to really keep track of the scoring, but I really enjoyed the commentary.  I admit I was rooting for the Phillies, but the Jays played a good game.         

Meanwhile in Arizona, Aggie Volleyball played ASU as the Soccer team played Northern Arizona.  Since I’ll hopefully be going to their matches in the near future, I think I’ll save my commentary for those reports.  Unfortunately, they both lost.  It was a bit disappointing.   

The Chihuahuas were in Tacoma and were looking to clinch the division tonight.  It was cool there in the Pacific Northwest.  It was projected to be 50 degrees by the end of the night.  There was smoke in the air from forest fires in Canada, but not bad enough to make it unpleasant.  I was busy and sort of mentally tuned out of the game, though it might have had more to do with the score.  I think it was 1-0 Chihuahuas for much of the game. 

Tim Hagerty was searching for Wi-fi in the broadcasting booth, looking for updates on the Salt Lake game.  The Chihuahuas winning and the Bees losing would decide the division tonight.  By the eighth, the pups were up 2-0.  The Rainiers loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom.  They got a run on a sacrifice.  Shane Peterson threw out a runner at home on a single to end the inning. 

The other game was close too.  Tim was basically alternating play-by-play on the games.  The Bees won, though Fresno nearly came back in the ninth.  The Chihuahuas won their game 3-1.  It was a bullpen day and they did a great job.  Their magic number is now 1.   

NM State Aggies vs Pacific Tigers Soccer 8-26-18

The Aggie Soccer team has started the season 0-4, if you count the exhibition game with ASU to start the season.  They were close in that game, but I think goalie Dmitri Fong came out before the end, maybe injured.  They played to a 1-0 loss at San Diego State against the Aztecs.  Hey, I’ve actually seen those girls play on TV (10-6-17 and 11-4-17).  I love their goalie’s name, Gabby English.  The worst thing about that loss was the Aztecs were a player down because a red card.  I don’t know how the rules work on that.  They might have gotten the player back later or not, but it was for at least a half. 

They lost in Arizona again to Albany.  Dmitri was out for that game, but I think Aileen Galicia had a goal in that one.  Coach Rob Baarts was on the Aggie Coaches Show after that game.  He said that Dmitri was out with back spasms and he had started a freshman, Mia Montano.  (Actually, I don’t think he mentioned any player names during the interview.)  He was promoting the team’s first home game and promised a “New and exciting” style of play.  I ran into the coach earlier in the year (1-20-18), and I did mention that the team was playing in a defensive, counter-punching style.   

Friday night (8-24-18), I followed along on the team’s Twitter feed as they played Northern Arizona.  The Aggies had a two-goal lead, but were tied at the end of regulation.  They lost in overtime, 3-2.  Dmitri started the match, but was not in the game by the overtime.  I suspect she may have come out for injury.  I won’t say the Aggies’ season hinges on Dmitri being healthy, but I’m sure everyone concerned would like her to be in goal and able to play well.  Aileen had another goal in the game.  I’m sorry I’m playing favorites and not mentioning every scorer. 

We’re up-to-date.  Ron was not able to go with me for today’s game, so I was solo again.  My Aggie Country Pass got me right in.  That’s one.  If I go to 27 more games this school year, the pass is paid for and everything else is a bonus.  (Don’t worry.  I won’t keep a countdown in every post, just mentally.)  I thought I’d go without an umbrella today, but after roughly two seconds out in today’s heat and humidity, I changed my mind.  It was announced at 91 degrees and I’d guess 50 to 60% humidity.  The guy sitting next to me was actually using a little water bottle to spray himself.

There was no courtesy water today, so I bought a Gatorade.  There was a nice poster of Rebecca Mazzie and Micaela Miavec on the table though.  I’ll post it next time.  Becca actually has an Alex Morgan-y look going for her in the picture.  (Oh, Alex.  Sigh.)  There was a group of students attending the table.  One asked if I was a student.  How polite of you, child.  Actually I think they were looking for blood donors.  Boy, all you’d need to help out with the heat and humidity today would be some blood loss.   

The crowd seemed pretty thin to start, but filled in well during the first half.  I wished it was a bit more sparse, a few specific fans actually.  (I only heard a couple of comments about last night’s football loss.  Maybe that’s for better.)  Right off the bat before the introductions, some of the fans were complaining about the refs.  Suddenly, I was reminded of how much I hate soccer fans.  I’m going to make a guess they’re the same everywhere, and not just annoying here. 

Let’s just vent on this right now.  I am sick of these people coaching their daughters from the stands, if not outright deriding them.  (You’ll see what I mean later.)  I’m tired of them getting on the refs, no matter how much they might deserve it.  At least baseball umps can directly eject fans to keep some order.  There’s no way to really adequately call this game by the rules anyway (just like the NFL).  It’s probably the nature of the sport itself that brings out this bad fan behavior, not just limited to drunken English hooligans.  Over-serving the angry parents here might cause a riot though.      

Fan-wise, the Old Man was there at one end of the stands cheering.  However, I didn’t see Danny.  Nor did I see Marty, the senior lady that the girls had befriended last year.  If she’d been there, I would have gone with her to see the girls after the game.  The Aggie Baseball team came to support the girls.  They must like them.  One of guys is really handsome, but I don’t know who he is without his player number and a lineup card.  I’m sure the girls know who he is.  Another guy had a drop dead gorgeous girlfriend with him. 

On that note, some girls from the Swimming and Diving team were there along with their coach.  Two of the girls were really hot.  Unfortunately, one that wasn’t so hot kept yelling for a friend on the soccer team to embarrass her, but really mostly succeeded in embarrassing herself.  She might have come into the stands over-served already.  I have this vision of getting banned from the park for what I write and then complaining, “You let all these obnoxious jerks in and you’re kicking me out!”

Team-wise, star goalie Dmitri Fong was on crutches.  I don’t know what the specific injury is, but it’s probably not good.  I hope it isn’t season-ending.  I really like watching Dmitri play.  Beyond her goaltending, she very much takes charge whenever she has the ball.  Another big loss is Devin Hart, but that was from graduation.  Devin was one of the big scorers for last years’ team and she was really nice.  (I still have her poster up.  I can’t quite part with it.)  Cristina Bertoldo also graduated and was a good defensive presence.  I got a glimpse of her at this match later.   

I noticed a few players that didn’t return to the roster from last year.  Mariah Baker was hard to miss out on field with her piles of curly, red hair (and freckles).  Alyssa Greenblatt was also easy to spot with her long, blonde hair.  Mariah and Alyssa seemed a bit awkward playing at times, but I was rooting for them to do well on the field.  Diminutive Puerto Rican Tuti Tirado, whom I’d spoken to after a couple of games, was gone too.  Raemann Garcia was the third goalie, but actually saw quite a bit of action.  I advocated for her to start at one point (9-10-17) when Dmitri was injured.  Good thing the coach didn’t listen to me.  After that rough fill in, Ashley Martin bounced back with a good game (9-17-17).  

The baseball players should have been right at home as the PA played that Genesis song that gets played before their games start.  (I should really get the name of that song.)  An angry-looking black cloud appeared out of nowhere to the south of the stadium.  I hadn’t brought my jacket, thinking there wouldn’t be any weather issues for a couple of hours, but I did have my umbrella.  There was an undesired five-minute delay before starting the match for a repair on one of the nets.  I was just about a puddle of sweat already.  My dear Aileen Galicia stood near the stands waiting to play and danced a bit.  That was about as happy as she’d get during the match.         

First Half

And another thing I hate about soccer is my notes on the games, which are almost as hard to decipher and worthless as my volleyball notes.  At least my volleyball notes describe players scoring, not almost scoring, as they do here.  One of the parents shouted out some last minute instructions to his daughter, but did add a “Have fun out there!”  That’s the most encouraging thing I’ve ever heard a soccer parent say here. 

Given that I heard several different parents say a dozen times during the match, “Shoot it!”  I’m only surprised I didn’t hear one of them yell it before the opening the whistle.  If Ron had been with me, I might have been an ass and started yelling, “Shoot it!” if the ball was a midfield or the goalie was holding it, until somebody figured out I was mocking them.  And I would have been!  On the rare occasions when a player took that advice, the ball inevitably bounced off a defender or never reached the goal.  If the players aren’t shooting the ball, it’s probably because they know they don’t have a clear shot.           

Okay, let’s start.  42’ minutes left (I’m still not going to bother translating the scoreboard timekeeping into proper soccer timing), the Aggies got a shot on a breakaway that went high.  40’ Kaitlyn May (who apparently has friends on the Swim team) made a great defensive play, kicking a good chance out of the Aggie box.  38’ a Pacific player hit the scoreboard over the Aggie goal with a terrific bang.  That must have been a very hard kick. 

“Run her over!” Thanks, dad.  More great coaching from the stands.  36’ Aileen made a solo breakaway.  (You wouldn’t have to tell her to run someone over.)  35’ Mia went down in goal during a rush at the Aggie net.  Samantha Afonso made two no-hands blocks from point blank to save a goal.   Alternately, it was #14 Kaitlyn.  Fonzi is #4.  (That’s her up top with Dmitri in the poster above.)  It’s hard to see who’s at the goal when there’s a bunch bodies there.  Either way, it was a tremendous.

34’ there were a pair of Aggie offsides at midfield.  I’m officially confused about the offsides rule again.  Thank goodness I’m not playing.  26’ it’s still hot and bright, but we all heard a couple of rolls of thunder from that dark cloud.  It didn’t seem that threatening at this point.  24’ after two good passes, Audriana Chavez took a good shot.  If they could just develop plays like that more often.  20’ Sarina Stockton got taken out at the knees and hit the deck.  Her dad (at least I hope, because otherwise this would really be awkward) shouted and told her to get up and keep playing.  Even with the somewhat disappointing result of this match (spoilers), that was the low point of the match for me.  Easy.

19’ Pacific hit the Aggie crossbar.  They’re getting closer.  18’ Emma Smith drove the field immediately afterward and took a shot.  Right after, a girl, who didn’t even entirely have possession of the ball at the time, was encouraged to (you guessed it) “Shoot it!”  13’ after a good crossing pass, Aileen did a great dribble and took a shot.  12’ Fonzi kicked away another shot on an open Aggie goal.  Mia recovered and then caught a follow up shot. 

8’ Fonzi stripped a Pacific player on the Aggie side of the field and led an attack downfield.  Aileen kicked it to the front of the net from the corner.  I have #9 Alexa Barrera taking a headshot on goal that was saved.  (That might not be the correct player.)  Aileen looked like she was starting to cramp, but at 5’ left she kicked another assist from the corner.  A shot in front of the net just missed.  Right before the half, Aileen gave Kaitlyn a quick chewing out in front of the stands during play.  It was a little shocking, but Aileen is a senior and should be one of the leaders on the team (as opposed to some yahoo in the stands shouting out random instructions).            

Halftime

Oh, and the score was nil-nil at the half.  There were only three official shots on goal total after 45 minutes of play.  There was a quick student soccer skills competition on field.  They surely didn’t want them running on field too long, lest they collapse from the heat.  Lovely and sweet Cristina Bertoldo walked by the stands.  She now seems to be an assistant with the team.  Cristina spoke briefly with a parent nearby.  If she’d come a little closer, I would have said “Hello,” but I didn’t want to bother her otherwise.  It was nice to see her.  Maybe I’ll get another chance later in the season to talk to her. 

Second Half

Some more clouds rolled in and the wind kicked up.  I wasn’t worried about the weather yet, but was happy for the breeze.  43’ right off the bat off a free kick outside the Aggie box, Abigail Wolf put one just under the crossbar and over a jumping Mia.  She made a good try at it, but up to this point, Mia had probably been bailed out mostly by her teammates’ efforts.  1-0 Pacific.   

This might have let the air out of the crowd and my notetaking, which got sparse at this point.  36’ Becca got a pass to Aileen in front of the net, who took a shot that was blocked by the Pacific goalie.  34’ nearly the same play, but the ball went just wide.  After two good rushes at the net, Aileen may have been gassed.  She came out.

Pacific took the offensive.  (In fairness, it might not have been because Aileen wasn’t in.)  22’ off another free kick, a Pacific header went over Mia into the net.  I’d attribute the goal, but I couldn’t see the player and DJ Downs kind of muttered her name afterward.  2-0 Pacific.  21’ sprinkles started falling on the field.  This is sort of welcome, but worrisome. 

The Aggies went into offensive mode.  On the sidelines, Coach Baarts was becoming noticeably animated and vocal.  18’ Micaela Milavec got a shot on goal.  16’ Aileen came back in.  15’ Fonzi took a shot outside the Pacific box.  In spite of the two goals, the ball was on the Pacific end of the field for most of the half.  2’ left in the game.  Micaela again, but this time she fired right in front of the net.   “Gooooooooooal!”  2-1 Pacific.  I almost missed the goal while I was scribbling (as usual).  I’m not sure how the play developed, but I think Pacific was distracted too and fell asleep on defense.  There was no one except the goalie in front of Micaela. 

2-1 Pacific was the final.  Official shots on goals were 6 to 4 for Pacific.  Yeah, I’m not a soccer expert.  I don’t how to break this down.  I would say the girls are playing more of a pressure offense under Coach Baarts than under Coach Delgado, so on some level it was more entertaining.  The Aggies had chances on offense, but Pacific could have scored more too, but for some good impromptu defensive work at the net. 

The two goals the Aggies gave up were off free kicks, so penalties played a part in the loss.  I think Dmitri would have stopped both shots, but mostly because she’s taller than Mia.  Obviously, telling someone to “Be taller,” isn’t constructive criticism.  Ashley Martin has more experience as a goalie, but she’s even shorter than Mia.  If Dmitri can’t come back, there might need to be some strategic rethinking.  The team is a work in progress.      

“Please clear the stands.  There’s lightning in the area.”  Well, that announcement took everyone’s mind off the loss right away.  I didn’t even stick around to see the girls wave to the crowd, if they did.  There was a thunderclap about a minute later, so I’d have cleared the field too.  It didn’t look that stormy, and in fact, it didn’t hit for another hour and was pretty brief. 

I told myself to go straight home, or stop by Schlotzsky’s, which is on the way.  (I’m afraid to go back.  If the ice cream machine is still gone, I may not recover.)  Instead, I ended up at What-a-burger.  It turns out my stomach will control the wheel when hungry enough.  I may have lost a few pounds just from sweating.  I used a coupon for free chicken strips, which I inhaled and was still hungry afterward.  I’m hoping to go to the game this Friday and that it will work out better.

Baseball Journal August 19-21, 2018

8-19-18

The Rangers played the Angels in Arlington.  Matt Hicks was doing the commentary with Jared Sandler.  Eric Nadel was out for the weekend.  It was overcast there, but they didn’t seem worried about the weather, especially after the two-and-a-half hour rain delay last night.  I couldn’t get that game to come in later in the night, but I wasn’t trying too hard either.  Too bad I missed it.  The Rangers won 11-6.

In the first, Roughned Odor drove in Shin-Soo Choo.  Ruggie has really got it turned on.  Late last night, Matt did a limerick in honor of Bartolo Colon, who was honored before the game.  He has the all-time record for wins for a Latin player.  Matt said he’d never worked harder on a poem.  He was still revising it right up until when he read it.

Yovani Gallardo started for the Rangers.  He struck out the side in third.  In the fourth, the Angels scored a run on a play at the plate.  The runner got around Isiah Kiner-Falefa taking the throw.  Shohei Ohtani, who hit a three-run hr last night, scored on a double play to make it 2-1.  The fans at the park suddenly applauded.  The announcers figured it was for the clouds completely covering the sun and providing some shade.

In the fifth, the fans were probably not quite as pleased with the weather.  Severe winds kicked up, even blowing a fair ball foul.  The guys had trouble keeping their notes from flying away.  Unsurprisingly, rain started up soon after, delaying the game for 20 minutes.  I took a nap.  Play resumed and a bit more rain fell in the sixth. 

In the bottom of the seventh, it was full-on raining again.  Ruggie came up with two on and jacked out a three-run homer.  The crowd erupted.  Jared Sandler gave a tremendous call of the play.  It was now 4-2 Rangers.  With the rain increasing, the grounds crew dragged out the tarp with two outs in the inning.  Matt and Jared admitted to being lost in predicting the weather, because Eric was the one with the magic weather app.  During the hour delay, Matt composed a limerick about the rain and Ruggie’s home run, which he read in the eighth.  In the ninth, Jose LeClerc made short work of the Angels for the save and a 4-2 Rangers’ win. 

That was a long broadcast, but I was busy during it writing.  About an hour later, the Chihuahuas played Las Vegas.  Steve Kaplowitz and Butch Henry were again doing the commentary.  A lovely cello version of the Anthem started the proceedings.  I could hear some dogs barking, so it was obviously a Bark at the Park game. 

In the first, catcher Raffy Lopez threw out a runner to end the inning.  In the bottom, Luis Urias was hit by a pitch and was then doubled home by Raffy.  Brett Nicholas drove him in to make it 2-0 pups.  Kappy had dropped an eggroll in the booth during dinner.  He was sure Tim Hagerty would be furious when he got back.  In the second, a single and an error by Forrestt Allday got the 51’s a run, but the batter was thrown out trying to advance to end inning, 2-1.  Javy Guerra came right back with a homer to make it 3-1.  In the third, a balk moved up Raffy on base, who was then driven in by Shane Peterson to make it 4-1.   

The fifth was special for a couple of fans as there was a proposal between innings.  (She said, “Yes.”)  In the sixth, Dusty Coleman made a diving catch in the outfield.  He’s been making some good plays out there for an infielder.  The 51’s scored later in the inning to make it 4-2.  Guerra did it again in the bottom by driving in two to make it 6-2. 

In the seventh, Patrick Kievelhan, former Chihuahua, hit a two-run homer.  It seemed to carry in the wind.  Another run scored on a double to make it 6-5.  Jerry Keel had been pitching since the fourth, but there was no relief in sight.  He came back out in the eighth and got one more batter before he was taken out.  Kazuhisa Makita came in and gave up a two-run homer and the lead, 7-6 51’s. 

It was looking bad in the ninth.  Allday was on first, but there were two outs and two strikes on Luis Urias, whose hitting streak was on the line.  He tripled to tie the score.  Ty France came up after an intentional walk.  He banged one off the wall to bring in Urias to win it 8-7.  Wow!  This call-up kid Ty is impressing the heck out of me.  Games like this are why I never get tired of baseball.

8-20-18

I’d been watching (well, mostly listening, because I was busy with work) Gibi on Twitch playing Fortnight for a while, when I checked the MLB website for the free game.  It was the Giants and the Mets and it just started.  However, I just couldn’t tune away from Gibi. 

Today’s stream was titled, “If I don’t win a solo match today, my family disowns me!”  She came in second in one match and screamed and fell out of her seat and kept screaming.  She started talking to herself, “Gibi, stop looting.  You’re going to get yourself killed.”  The funny thing was that she wasn’t listening to herself and continued to loot.  Gibi came in second twice, but didn’t win and her family disowned her.  I should have posted a marriage offer to give her a new family.  (I can already sense this blog is going to turn into a daily Twitch-watching summary in the offseason.) 

The game, meanwhile, moved pretty quickly and was already official by the time I tuned back.  I felt a bit bad for not watching, but I could listen to the red-hot Chihuahuas later anyway.  I looked at their schedule.  Oops.  They’re off today.  This was my only game.  Nevertheless, I regret nothing.  (Gibi was so fun today.)

Actually, my viewing of the game never got on track.  It was 1-0 Mets for most of the game.  This was the Giants’ feed of the game.  Rich Waltz and, former player, Javier Lopez were doing the call.  They were doing a good job.  Javy had a very relaxed, conversational style.  I came in in the middle of a discussion about position players pitching.  60 different players have done it so far this year.  They thought there should be an award for the best one.     

They had quite a bit of discussion on the Giants’ hitting woes.  They’ve tried all the “voodoo” stuff and a “Come to Bochy” meeting to break the collective slump.  Eventually, the Giants did manage to scratch out a run to tie it tonight.  Mr. Met was shown working the crowd.  Javy mentioned he was a Mets’ fan as a kid, watching them on WOR on cable.  (I saw them there too.)  Jon Miller came in to work with Javy later.  Even with the close score, I still wasn’t really paying attention.  I kept assuming it was going to be over soon.  It wasn’t. 

Let’s jump ahead to the thirteenth inning.  In the top of the inning, the Mets made two errors, had a wild pitch, and allowed a stolen base without a throw.  All that said, the Giants only scored because two fielders collided on an infield popup by Brandon Crawford that allowed Andrew McCutchen to score from third.  “It’s better to be lucky than good,” observed Javy.  The Giants won 2-1 in a tidy four hour, 20 minute game.  I think the only people left there at Citi Field were the group of Giants fans who came together on a charter bus from their hotel.

8-21-18

When I got into work yesterday, I asked some co-workers how the Chihuahuas’ outing went.  There was apparently a good turnout for it.  The hour delay wasn’t too bad and the rain was pretty quick.  I asked if Chico came by.  He did and played catch with one of them.  An opposing player even tossed a ball into their section.  The fireworks show was spectacular.  All that said, I-10 was indeed closed that night.  Getting back home, especially given the late start and the fireworks, was a long, difficult process for some.  I’m still okay with not going, though playing catch with Chico would have been cool.  

Before tonight’s Chihuahuas’ game, I heard a couple of interesting baseball interviews.  On El Paso Sportstalk, Tracy Ringolsby, Rockies reporter, was a brief guest.  Boy, is he smart about the team and baseball.  I wish Steve Kaplowitz had had more time with him.  Ringolsby also offhandedly dropped at the end of the interview that he knew Don Haskins well and had some stories about him, so he’ll be invited back.

Meanwhile on the Flying Squirrels’ game, they interviewed an umpire, whose name I unfortunately missed.  (I’ve got to start writing down names better.)  His knowledge of baseball was real deep and fascinating.  The announcer asked the ump to explain a “fourth out."  I’ve never even heard of this.  Even after looking at the Wikipedia entry, I still don’t understand it.  Did you know that there’s a difference between the “hitting stance” and the “batting stance?”  It makes a difference in calling high strikes how the batter stands when he actually swings, as opposed to how he just stands in the box.  And in answer to the question, “Do umps do makeup calls?”  The answer was a resounding “No.”  (They only do that in the NBA, which is a reality show, not a real sport.)

Tonight in El Paso, the Chihuahuas were taking on the Isotopes.  The Rockies affiliate featured one of their top prospects, Brendan Rodgers, and distinguished veteran, Matt Holliday.  Tim Hagerty was particularly excited to talk about Holliday during the game.  (Good to have you back, Tim.)  I missed the first half of the game.  Chihuahuas’ starter, Walter Lockett drove in a run in the second.  Matt Holliday drove in a run in the third. 

I basically joined the game in the fifth with the score 3-3.  In the sixth, El Paso got two runs, one on a double play and another on a single by Forrestt Allday.  The crowd hadn’t finished cheering when a large clap of thunder suddenly stopped play.  The umps cleared the field and the tarp came out as rain was incoming. 

During the one-hour, 21-minute break, I found out about Nationals giving up on the season and sending Daniel Murphy to the Cubs.  I’ve seen this guy do well in the playoffs.  This move might be a big deal later on.  Even more shattering was that they’d put Bryce Harper out on the waiver wire.  I’m not sure if it was surprising or not that he fell all the way to the Dodgers, who also refused to take him.  The Nats waited too long.  They couldn’t even give him at this point.  Now Harper just walks away.

Play resumed in El Paso.  In the seventh, Rodgers drove in a run on a fielder’s choice to make it 5-4.  Shane Peterson made a sliding catch to end the inning and saved a couple of runs.  In the bottom, Ty France homered to make it 6-4.  Where did this kid come from?  RBI-landia?  In the ninth, Colten Brewer came on.  He put two on with nobody out, but got the next three batters without letting a run score.  6-4 Chihuahuas and 14 home wins in a row.  The fans are getting spoiled.