Baseball Journal August 2019 Part 2

8-7-19

I lost access to listening to the Richmond Flying Squirrels (and other stations) at work sometime in July.  My last game with them was a no-hit bid against them.  I’ve not had much experience with no-hitters, but this was the first time I’d heard the broadcast of a team on the wrong end of one.  I was getting tickled as the Squirrels’ broadcasters kept mentioning the no-hitter, trying to jinx it.  I’m not saying that worked, but it was broken up in the ninth.  I was reminded of this incident while listening to an afternoon Rangers game today.  Ariel Jurado had a no-hitter going into the middle innings.  Eric Nadel dutifully gave the no-hit line score and then immediately said, “Shh,” trying not to talk about it.

Meanwhile, to finish off last week’s eastern games, Yadier Molina hit a home run for the Memphis Redbirds against the Chihuahuas.  He’d only had been bunting in games up to that point and hadn’t been cleared swing away until the last game of the series.  The pups fielders were not expecting those bunts.  Molina got sent to the Double-A Springfield Cardinals afterward.  I wonder if my Aunt Judy went out to see her favorite player while he was in town?   

Today, the Chihuahuas had their first home game after their long road trip.  This was also their first game at home after the Wal-Mart shooting in town, which I’m not discussing here.  The team was wearing their black away jerseys with El Paso on them and their EP caps.  The Padres would wear and sign some EP caps for a charity auction the next day.

For the game, the pups scored 12 runs.  They hit four home runs (Aderlin Rodriguez hit two).  They’re only five away from the PCL record.  (The Twins briefly passed the Chihuahuas for home run lead, but took it back with this game.)  Ty France finished the game going 4 for 5 with a .399 average!  He was .400 when he 4 for 4 earlier in the game.  The Chihuahuas also lost today 20-12 to Round Rock.  Alex de Goti hit for the cycle, as the Express scored in every inning, which is a feat rarer than a no-hitter.  With this horrific loss, the Chihuahuas also finally lost first place to Las Vegas in the division.

8-9-19

I don’t think you could blame me for not listening to tonight’s Chihuahuas game.  After that terrible Wednesday loss (as mentioned above), they then lost last night, 12-11 to Round Rock.  The Chihuahuas were getting beat badly, but managed claw back into it until they rallied in the ninth inning.  They were down to their final strike two or three times over the course of scoring two and nearly tying it.

For tonight’s game, Round Rock scored four in the first.  I started listening to the Brewers versus the Rangers on MLB.TV.  While I’m a big fan of the Rangers’ broadcasters, I couldn’t resist getting to hear Bob Uecker’s Brewers’ radio call.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get to hear too much of it with various work distractions.  He did have an interesting chat with his partner about travelling via trains to back-in-the-day to get to games.  It wasn’t a bad way to go, especially given that teams travel by bus and station wagons in the minor leagues.  I didn’t know that Sunday games used to always used be scheduled double headers.   

I made occasional checks of the El Paso game, pretty much fearing the worst.  It was 8-1 early when I checked the first time.  I think El Paso’s “fan pitching experiment,” while amusing, probably needs to come to an end.  They should start using Triple-A pitchers again.  I tentatively only looked at the score a couple more times.

Suddenly in the ninth, I noticed the score was 12-11 with the Chihuahuas only a run behind and the game was still in progress.  I immediately brought the radio call back up.  The first thing I heard was Tim Hagerty screaming, “Walk-off grand slam home run!”  Oh my, goodness.  I don’t think I’d ever heard him so excited.  The Chihuahuas won 15-12.  They scored 10 runs in the bottom of the ninth, a team record.

Having not listened to the game, I had to get the details in the game recap that followed.  It was 12-5 going into the ninth.  Ty France, the pups’ best hitter, had been taken out halfway through the game to give him a rest.  Matthew Batten, a position player, had pitched the top of the ninth.  He got the win.  Our walk-off hero was Esteban Quiroz, who was pinch hitting.  Even more, that home run set the new PCL record. 

This game got some national press, probably somewhat due to the shooting last weekend.  There were some highlight reel catches for both teams in the game that made it even more interesting.  The next day, Tim reported that they could only find one other 10-run walk-off win in the ninth, which occurred in 1901.  Even more shocking, instead of faking it, many of the fans in attendance admitted that they had left early, as I admitted to not listening.

8-19-19

Tim Hagerty had a delightful guest on tonight for today’s Chihuahuas game against the Fresno Grizzlies: Baseball Brit.  (It suddenly occurs to me that I didn’t bother to get his actual name.)  As the nickname would imply, he’s an Englishman that’s into baseball.  Really into baseball.  Right now, he’s travelling around the country with the intention of seeing 162 games this season and promoting the sport, major and minor leagues. 

That said, “Brit” was so charmingly full of British reserve and modesty, I wonder how he’s promoting himself.  Tim told listeners to search his nickname to find his Twitter feed.  “Oh, dear.  Please don’t.  Goodness knows what might come up.  I have a British friend who runs a much better baseball Twitter.  Go visit him.”  Brit seemed quite baffled by all the attention he’s garnered from various national media outlets.  The guy was so retiring, polite, and soft-spoken, I have to ask how he got on the air with Tim.  He was seriously not promoting himself. 

I unfortunately missed some of his backstory.  From what I gathered, Brit was introduced to baseball while working in Japan and South Korea and watching their games and collecting Japanese baseball cards.  He saw Shohei Ohtani playing in person in Japan.  He also got to watch quite a few MLB games.  They show a lot of games there with Kenta Maeda with the Dodgers and Shin-Soo Choo with the Rangers. 

Brit was at the Yankees/Red Sox London games and did some TV commentary.  Tim asked if he’d be working for ESPN again for next years’ games.  Brit insisted, “I have no job whatsoever.”  (He also off-handedly mentioned those two games were the highest attendance games for the MLB this year.)  Unprompted by Tim, he called Southwest University Park the best minor league park he’d been to.  Brit reiterated that on his Twitter feed later.  His feed also includes his first trip to an In-and-Out Burger while in California and a picture of a cactus when he drove through New Mexico.  Next, he’s off to visit, “The incredibly named ‘Sod Poodles,’” in Amarillo.

Tim held Baseball Brit over to talk to him for a full inning.  Tim was loving the conversation.  The game itself was a happy blowout for the Chihuahuas.  They won 9-1.  It was 1-0 Chihuahuas until a seven-run sixth inning.  I actually missed the barrage because I was listening to something else at the time.  Jacob Nix, on rehab, threw five scoreless innings in the win.  However, the Las Vegas Aviators came back in the ninth in their game to keep pace, so they’re still tied in the standings.  Lastly, the Griz featured a player named Chuck Taylor.  I wonder what kind of shoes he was wearing.

8-21-19

It was a game of numbers between the Chihuahuas and the Fresno Grizzlies tonight.  There were five plays at the plate tonight, including two force plays, all of them got the runner.  There were two bunt single attempts in a row for the Chihuahuas.  One worked; the next one didn’t.  The El Paso crowd booed that last one.  I’m not sure it was because the tying run for the Chihuahuas was called out at the plate, or if they were upset by the greedy ill-conceived bunt attempt in the first place.  There were seven errors.  Five of those were committed by the pups.  They didn’t deserve to win this one.

Fresno almost took a first inning lead, but their runner was thrown out at home.  This got the crowd into it.  In the bottom, there was a wind-aided homer by Aderlin Rodriguez to give the Chihuahuas the lead.  Swirling winds around the stadium made flyballs an adventure for most of the game.  There was even a light rain shower, but it didn’t stop play. 

By the seventh, the game was tied at three.  Another great defensive play lit up the fans, as Seth Mejias-Brean made a diving catch on a deflection by the pitcher.  But by the eighth, the Griz were up 7-4.  It was seeming a lot like last night’s loss, where Fresno scored a bunch runs in the ninth to break a tie and win it.  In the bottom of the eighth, the Chihuahuas got it to 7-6.  That’s where the two consecutive bunts came in with runners on base.

The Griz were up 8-6 in the ninth.  The pups weren’t done though.  An error put two runners in scoring position.  Estaban Quiroz tied it with a single.  Austin Allen then won it on a flyball single with the outfield playing in.  He had to be reminded that he still needed to touch first by the winning runner as he crossed the plate.  Chihuahuas win 9-8.  Unfortunately, the pups are still a game behind the Aviators in the standings. 

Okay, I hope to be back next week with some Aggie sports recaps. 

Baseball Journal August 2019 Part 1

I wish I hadn’t formatted July’s entries the way I did.  That was dumb.  I really didn’t intend to do any sports writing this summer.  At least I haven’t been writing about every game or sport I’ve been watching or listening to, so it’s been a bit of a break.  I’d never been so tired of writing as I was earlier this year after the Aggie sports season had ended.

Just as a sidebar, I’d like to backtrack and mention some tennis I saw in July on CBS.  It was called “Team Tennis.”  The teams were affiliated with various cities and there was a league.  They played five sets, but each set featured different players in different formats.  They played women’s doubles, men’s doubles, mixed doubles, women’s singles, and men’s singles.  The total number of game wins determined the match winner.  It was interesting.  The crowd there in Las Vegas seemed to be into it.  There were even cheerleaders.  I’ll give it another shot if I have the opportunity.  It’s good to see a sport not being too hamstrung by tradition to try something new.

 

8-1-19

I saw some of the O’s versus the Blue Jays on MLB.TV.  Obviously not much of a game in the matchup and not much of a game with an 11-2 Jays win.  However, there was the thrill of seeing Bo Bichette, Cavan Biggio, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. all batting back-to-back at the top of the Jays’ lineup.  Let’s go Legacy Jays!

Also in the Eastern time zone, the Chihuahuas finished off taking two of three in Nashville.  The Sounds are the Rangers’ new Triple-A affiliate.  The “Condor,” Ronald Guzman, had been sent down there recently.  He had a pure frustration outburst after making an out in one of the games, but tonight he did hit a grand slam home run, though in a losing effort.

                                            

8-2-19

How about some Little League action?  Stadium was showing an international tournament in Branson all day today.  I was really impressed with the facility at Ballparks of America.  The field was a bit like a minor league park with seats and sunken dugouts.  I wonder if a Little League field has the same dimensions as a softball field.  Unlike college and professional parks, I think the PA was asking for foul balls back from the fans.  Unfamiliar with Little League rules, I didn’t realize they used ten-batter lineups.  (Is this why there’s a tenth batter slot on scorecards?)     

They were showing games played on the main field called “St. Louis.”  It’s a 2/3 size replica of Busch Stadium with an arch painted onto the artificial grass outfield.  How hard can it be to grow grass in Missouri?  Judging by the half-barren grassy knolls by the field, apparently it’s harder than you’d think.  There are four other fields named after cities at the complex, including a “Boston” field with a little Green Monster.  We assume the right field dimensions at the “New York” field are the same as Yankee Stadium, thus allowing popups to the outfield to fly right out, just like the big league.

I saw parts of two American regional games and two international games.  The last game had New Zealand versus Canada.  The announcers hyped up all afternoon that the Kiwi boys would be doing the “haka” war dance before the game, like their championship rugby team, the All-Blacks.  However, they didn’t actually show it when it came time for the game.  Annoyed, when I got to work, I searched for them on the Internet and found their Facebook page with a haka video.  It was an impressive performance (even surprising, because it was a bunch of white kids).  I’m sorry I didn’t get to see it live.     

Later in the evening, I heard the Chihuahuas versus Memphis Redbirds.  Actually, it was more like they were playing the Cardinals, the Redbirds’ MLB parent club.  Harrison Bader, Matt Carpenter, and Yadier Molina were in the lineup for the Redbirds.  They just missed playing against Marcel Ozuna as well.  Yadi got a big ovation for his first at bat and was big fan draw tonight.  Chihuahuas’ catcher, Austin Allen, from St. Louis, is a big fan of Yadi’s.  He was introduced to him by Chihuahuas’ coach, Edwin Rodriguez, before the game.  The coach had worked with Yadi years before.  It was Elvis Night in Memphis, so there were Elvis impersonators performing between innings.  This should be a fixture everywhere.

8-3-19

I want to mention that Aaron Sanchez was the starter in a combined no-hitter for the Astros on Saturday.  He was just traded to Astros from the Blue Jays.  In spite of his atrocious record this year, I’d seen him pitch a couple of weeks ago and had a feeling this move would do him good. 

8-4-19

Baseball did not work out so well for me today.  I had the opportunity to see all of the Padres versus the Dodgers.  I saw Eric Hosmer hit a grand slam home run and the Padres take a lead into the ninth.  Unfortunately, because the coverage started late, the Mexican station I was watching cut away to a local soccer match before the end.  The Padres would lose 11-10. 

The Chihuahuas were scheduled to play at the same time as the Rangers on the radio, but a three-hour rain delay in Memphis allowed me to hear both games.  While the Rangers beat the Tigers, the pups were one-hit in their game against the Redbirds and lost.  The ESPN Radio baseball game came on right after, which was a nice surprise and that game had also been delayed, so I could have listened to most it.  Unfortunately, it was the Red Sox versus the Yankees.  Worse, the Yankees went up 7-0 early and then the signal dropped for the night.

I had a little better luck with sports earlier.  NBC put USA Volleyball on TV.  It was an Olympic qualifier, and it was the girls and it was indoors, my favorite combination for volleyball.  Due to the previous match running over, they replayed the fifth set of yesterday’s match against Bulgaria and then showed today’s match against Argentina.  I was impressed with the matches’ handling of challenge calls.  There was a high-speed camera for touches at the net (regular cameras just show blurs on replay) and a tennis-like silhouette system for in/out calls.  

The US women are big, built, and tall.  The shortest, thinnest girl was their libero and she could have been a middle blocker for the Aggies.  Regrettably, for the most part, they weren’t winning any beauty contests.  Some of the girls on the other two teams, who were also quite impressively built, had more of my attention.  The US girls won the tournament and will be in the Olympics.  They unfurled and waved a big American flag for the big home court crowd in Louisiana.  That’s how to get on my good side.

I keep trying to give Leah Pritchett, NHRA Top Fuel drag racer, my adoration.  (I need a new sports crush, since Alex Morgan disappointed me so badly.)  For the last two weeks though, she’s been eliminated in the opening round.  That means no interviews, no honey shots, no nothing.  Even the announcers were very gently saying she needs to perform better, since she’s with a top team. 

But this event was still worth watching.  John Force has been sitting on 149 wins for a while.  Today, he made it to the finals and won it for win #150.  The larger-than-life racer was exuberant coming out of the cockpit.  He might have come out of something else as he kissed competitor Ron Capps on the mouth.  I’m sure Capps regretted coming over to congratulate him.  Force then gave an over-the-top speech, thanking everybody, and, in reference to finally getting this win, said, “I’m over this sh*t!”  He then took off on a scooter, went over to the stands, hopped a fence, fell down (I was afraid we’d lost him for a moment), and then ran into the grandstands to be with the fans.  What a guy!     

How I Spent My Summer Vacation July 2019 Part 8 Trade Deadline Edition

7-26-19

The Chihuahuas had a pair of back-to-back three-game series versus the Aviators, who were three games behind them in the standings, scheduled this week.  The pups took two of three in Las Vegas, including a 15-9 win in the finale on Thursday.  The next day in El Paso on Friday, the Chihuahuas went up 11-4 after three innings.  Then the wheels completely came off on their pitching.  They gave up 13 runs over the next four innings.  The Aviators surpassed a team record in home runs in the five-run seventh.  Their ninth home run of the game was their third of the inning.  Chihuahuas’ pitcher, Brad Wieck, took his hat off in frustration watching the third one fly out.  At least he didn’t slam it into the ground like Charlie Brown.  The team even provided some comedy as they attempted to vacate the field en mass after only the second out of the inning to give you an idea of how long the inning was.

In the eighth, the Aviators hit their tenth home run to tie a PCL record.  They set the new record in the ninth with their eleventh homer.  The pups had a position player pitching the inning, which led to some confusion in the bottom as they lost their DH with that move.  It took a couple of days for the league to sort out that the player had reentered the game to bat, but should have been taken out.  The game didn’t stop to figure it out as it finished 20-11 Aviators.  You’d think 11 runs would be enough to win any game.  The Chihuahuas have not played as well at home as they have on the road.  This even goes for their whole franchise existence for some reason. 

About the home runs, it’s the new MLB ball they’re using, but that’s not all.  It’s a change in hitting philosophy brought on by the shift.  You can hit to the opposite field or bunt to an undefended side, but you’re not playing to your strength as a batter, which is what the defense wants.  Hitting into the shift is probably an out with fielders positioned at likely landing spots.  Therefore, batters with any power are actively swinging for the fences because hitting the ball over the fence isn’t defensible.  This creates an uptick in strikeouts, but if it was going to be an out anyway, why not try to hit a homer?  It’s like the juiced ball was introduced to combat the shift. 

7-28-19

Horrifically, the Chihuahuas were swept in all three home games against the Aviators.  Their division lead is now down to one.  Much worse, they gave up a total of 20 home runs over the three games.  I think Tim Hagerty finally got worn out calling them by Sunday.  It was like every flyball went over the fence for them.  The pups’ pitching has officially crashed.  They almost got shutout on Sunday, so their offense is also exhausted.  I wonder what the Padres, basically out of the playoffs, will do with the Chihuahuas’ players for the rest of the season.  Call them up early?  Bring up reinforcements for them?

7-31-19

My fiftieth birthday was yesterday.  The harbinger of my impending degeneration and demise was at least softened by some considerate people.  My Aunt Judy sent me the above sports cards.  The people at work gave me something I always wanted: a pizza.  (I hadn’t had a pizza in a month.  I was happy to see those pepperonis.)  My folks gave me a baseball magazine and a couple other things to read.  On my own, I’d picked up a couple of comic books, which I may be reviewing in the future and a box of random old baseball cards (there were a few winners inside).  I looked, but didn’t find anything else at a couple of other stores.  I did turn up my nose at getting Sports Illustrated’s latest issue celebrating the US Women’s Soccer team.  Who needs them?  (They should have put Rose Lavelle on the cover, instead of Megan Rapinoe, if they’d wanted to sell more.)

As for the new MLB definitive trade deadline, the first big move sent Marcus Stroman from the Blue Jays to the Mets.  What?  Are they holding him hostage to playoff teams?  Apparently not.  They kept him and their other highly-valued pitchers even though they’re not competitive.  Maybe next year.  The Giants kept Madison Bumgarner, since they are surprisingly competitive.  The second wild card position is giving quite a few teams some hope, especially given that most of the division winners may have already been decided. 

 

The Braves bolstered their bullpen by picking up closer Shane Greene from the Tigers, where he wasn’t getting a lot of opportunities to save games.  I actually saw him pitch on the Youtube game versus the Angels on Monday.  The Cubs picked up Nick Castellanos from the Tigers.  He did well in that game and was interviewed in the postgame. 

There was a three-team trade that affected the Chihuahuas directly.  They lost pitcher, Logan Allen.  Just what the pups needed: less pitching.  Both him and thumper Franmil Reyes from the Padres went to the surging First Peoples, err Indians.  The Indians gave up one of their big game pitchers, Trevor Bauer, to get Yasiel Puig from the out-of-it Reds.  Right after Puig got traded, he was still in the dugout when the Reds and the Pirates ended up in big fight and he got involved in it.  I’m surprised the Reds’ GM didn’t rush on to the field and tackle him to keep him from potentially getting injured.

Bauer had thrown a fit on field when he was taken out of his last start.  He apologized immediately to Tito, who wasn’t pleased.  After he was traded, Bauer was photographed in the stands in Cleveland watching the game after cleaning out his locker.  I almost think he knew the trade was going to happen and he didn’t want to go.  In any case, this is a loser move for the Indians.  Trading pitching for offense is unlikely to pay off in the playoffs.  The Reds got Bauer, and the Padres got screwed just getting an outfielding prospect (albeit the Reds’ top prospect.)  

The big move was announced right after the deadline passed.  The D-Back’s Zack Greinke went to the Astros for four prospects.  This is a loser move as well.  Greinke wins games, but hasn’t made any of the teams he’s been on better.  In fact, they got better after he left them.  Maybe it’s a coincidence.  If he wants to prove me wrong by winning the World Series with the Astros, I’ll be happy to stand right up and apologize.  I’ll believe Grenike is a real winner and not just a trade piece mercenary when I see it.  The Astros also picked up Aaron Sanchez from the Blue Jays.  Hey, I saw Sanchez and Bauer pitch great games against each other last week.

It’s going to be a long August from some teams without the wavier trade deadline.  Teams will have to wait for the offseason for any more moves.  Meanwhile, the players are worried about the lack of free agency movement.  Teams waited until the last minute to make major deals last offseason.  I’ve noticed an uptick in trades for cash and international slot money.  The Grenike trade wouldn’t have even happened, but for the D-Backs kicking in $25M.

Teams are favoring prospects with several controllable years ahead of them with low salaries over overpriced mediocre veterans.  Some teams are “tanking” and dealing all high-priced players.  Even high-payroll teams, like the Dodgers and Yankees, didn’t make any moves at the deadline and don’t seem to be eager to sign big free agents.  The Player’s Union may be ready to strike, but I’m not sure how you force owners to spend more on their teams, even with a minimum roster salary.  The extra player that will be added to everyone’s rosters next year or adding the DH to the National League is unlikely to really create much of a rise in salaries.   

This brings up the issue of “Why aren’t owners spending more?”  Yes, team owners want to win, but they are uncharacteristically also trying to control salary costs.  The “luxury tax” has enough teeth to it to keep the big market teams from spending “stupid money.”  Unfortunately, the middle tier teams seemed mired as well.  The Astros gave up a lot of future pitching to get Grienke, but only because they’re trying to win while they’ve still got a great team, one which will likely be broken up by free agency soon.  The Rays are being as smart as they can be in a small market in fielding a good team, but most of the rest of the teams on their level seem hopeless, praying for years of good drafts to put decent talent in their hands. 

I have a theory, but nobody’s going to like it (especially not myself).  The owners are seeing declining in-person attendance (you can thank the tanking teams for some of that) and difficulties in getting a national audience for spotlight games as a bad omen.  While regional TV does well for some teams, it doesn’t grow the sport.  Meanwhile, even hard core fans, such as myself, are getting turned off by the current style of play.  Shifting, strikeouts, lots of pitching changes, home run derby, and overly long game times aren’t mine or apparently anybody else’s cup of tea for enjoyment.  I don’t think it’s some grand scheme by the owners against the union that is tamping down on salaries.  I think they’re seeing the future and they don’t like it. 

Given the analytics the owners keep on the players, you’d think they’d also be able to do a business forecast.  I don’t think they think the sport is going to get any bigger, so they’re going to get smaller in expenses to maintain their profits and keep the MLB going.  The question is: how hard are the players going to fight this?  Are they willing to fight it to the point where they strike, thus making it even harder to make the sport more popular and for them to get paid more?  Ever since I’ve had this dark notion, for the first time, I’ve been worried about the future of baseball.   

How I Spent My Summer Vacation July 2019 Part 7

7-16-19

Officially, the Chihuahuas played the Reno Aces once today, except they also played out the end of a suspended game from 4-15-19.  The Chihuahuas manager met with broadcaster, Tim Hagerty, to compare scorecards before the game.  Both team managers and the umpire also had a lengthy meeting to go over the rosters.  There’d been a large number of personnel changes since April.  Tim talked about how the rules handle this situation yesterday and during today’s pregame.  Annoyingly, both times, I was interrupted while listening, so I still don’t know how exactly it works.  Tim did say that there’s never been a suspended MLB game where a player has been on both teams because of a trade, but it has happened in the minors. 

In any case, the eleventh inning of the April game started about an hour and a half before the scheduled game.  There was a small crowd there for it.  The Aces’ catcher actually turned around and waved to crowd before the game.  The pups did win it 6-5, thanks to a timely hit by Jose Pirela, and a great catch in the bottom of the inning by Boog Powell.  Tim was pleased that the broadcast only took about a half hour total, but was apologetic that the station had had to cut short airing a town hall with the El Paso Locomotive soccer team.  I admit, the forum was actually kind of interesting.  It wasn’t like the suspended game resumption was a surprise.  I’d think they could have juggled things around a little to get the whole discussion in. 

About an hour later, the scheduled game came on.  The Chihuahuas lost 5-3, but that wasn’t the story.  Tim’s usual eating schedule had been disrupted by the suspended game.  Late in this game, he got hungry.  However, he came on the air out of commercial break complaining that he couldn’t buy M&M’s at the concessions.  They had a bunch of bags there, but wouldn’t sell them.  Tim only had 90 seconds during the break, so he didn’t argue.  He went back on the next break.  They still wouldn’t sell them to him, something about “taking inventory.”  “It’s a big crowd here tonight.  I don’t understand why the concessions aren’t selling to people with cash in hand,” said a bewildered and just barely able to contain his anger, Tim Hagerty.  If you’re doing something to make a very congenial broadcaster unhappy, you’re not running your ballpark well, Reno.

7-17-19

After the All-Star Break, the Chihuahuas have been stumbling.  They’ve lost 5 of 7 (including the suspended game above), and tonight they down 7-2 to the Aces with 1 out in the ninth.  What happened next defied belief as the pups scored 7 and shocked the Aces and the Reno crowd.  Unfortunately I wasn’t keeping notes, but suffice it to say that the Chihuahuas scored in just about every way possible, including a two-run error.  They won 9-7.  With their division lead dwindling over this slump, broadcaster Tim Hagerty conjectured that the team may look back on this game as a turning point in the season.

7-20-19

The Rangers, in the midst of an eight-game losing streak and playing themselves out the postseason, were losing badly in Houston to the Astros again this weekend.  What was notable about this game though was Eric Nadel’s rather giddy attitude.  Him and Matt Hicks were really loose and having fun with the radio broadcast.  Here’s where I really regret not taking notes during a game, so I could relate their entirely off-topic conversations.  In any case, listening to this game may have been the Ranger highlight of the season for me for pure entertainment value not involving actual play. 

7-23-19

I’d seen Youtube and the MLB advertising their upcoming joint broadcasts, but had forgotten about them.  I’d missed their first game last week, but caught their second streaming broadcast today.  The MLB has tried streaming over other Internet sources than their MLB.TV.  I’d watched games on Yahoo a couple of years ago.  Facebook and Twitter have shown games since.  I’m guessing none of these venues caught on.  They haven’t tried Twitch yet to my knowledge, though I have watched live sports on that site (some NM State Aggie games).

While those other streams were just showing team broadcasts, in this case, Youtube was actually producing it.  They had their own announcers and cameras there covering the game.  This was a legit national broadcast like ESPN or Fox.  I really enjoyed the commentating crew with Scott Braun, Cliff Floyd, and “The Mayor” Sean Casey.  They were very loose and having fun with it.  My favorite story was Casey talking about telling his first base coach that he was going to try and steal a base during a game.  The coach said he’d tackle him, “If you try it, I’ll get fired.  Stay put!”  They also mentioned Floyd’s excellent physique and bet him that he could still play.  “Tell that to my knees,” he replied.   

Even more intriguing, there were no commercial breaks during the game.  For the between innings breaks and pitching changes, they got reports from their lovely field reporter (I missed her name, sorry), ran some fun prerecorded segments with players (Eric Byrnes, who hosted those, what the hell are you doing with your hair?), and ran some interesting documentary material.  They also talked to both coaches in the dugouts and a player.  Talking with Terry Francona, they wished him luck at the end of the interview.  “Yeah, good luck to you guys too with Casey up there,” mic drop, walk away.  I have to say, this all made the game way more entertaining.  Has it been the commercials all along that made baseball seem “boring?”

The highest viewership I saw was 170k, which seems pretty good for an Indians . . . err . . . First Peoples/Blue Jays game.  The stream finished with 12k likes to 1k dislikes, so I think I’m not the only person who enjoyed it.  The chatroom was populated by an official MLB commenter, official team commentators, and some Youtube content creator baseball fans.  I would have liked to have tossed in a few comments, but it was invitation only.  That might not have been a bad idea given what I usually see in the comments of livestreams, but I’m sure regular fans would have liked a way to express themselves during the game.  A local Toronto Youtuber, who was a Jays fan and has a big channel, actually came on the air with the broadcasters for an inning.

As for the game, it was a tight affair.  Aaron Sanchez and Trevor Bauer started and pitched very well, but didn’t figure into the decision.  The Indians took a 1-0 lead into the ninth.  Justin Smoak homered to center to tie it.  Smoak then singled in the winning run in the tenth to win it for the Blue Jays, 2-1.  I kept having to stop the stream to do work (since I was at work).  There was a half hour long postgame scheduled, but most of it was cut off by the time I got around to watching it.  Maybe next time, though most of the rest of Youtube’s scheduled games seem to be day games.  I wish I still had a home connection, since I’ll bet Youtube’s steam would have worked better than the MLB.TV stream did for me.  (It kept dropping off.)  Overall, I was really impressed.  I hope this association continues.    

Traitors! A Commentary on the US Women’s National Soccer Team

I don’t think I’m overstating things; I have been personally betrayed.  Alex Morgan, my ultimate sports crush, has utterly disappointed me.  I feel like a fool having rooted for this national team that hates half the country just for political reasons.  But here’s my main problem with the US Women’s National Soccer team: I didn’t mean to do any sports writing this summer.  I was going to take the time off to work on a fiction story.  I started off writing about the MLB London Series, but felt like I had to cover the soccer, because I was watching their games.  Since I already had RPG stuff scheduled for the whole month, I had to stick my commentaries in on the weekends.  Moreover, I really didn’t mean to keep writing about them, but I couldn’t stop.  This team’s sad act has really gotten under mine and a lot of other people’s skins. Whether they’re more famous or infamous depends on your personal disposition instead of on-field events.  

I mostly skipped the postgame championship coverage because of the inane commentary by the hosts, but I heard about it later.  I saw the video of the American flag being dropped and heard that Megan Rapinoe actually trampled on a flag, though I never actually saw that happen.  Player Kelly O’Hara “rescued” the flag after it fell.  To be honest, while the drop may have been a literal Freudian slip of the team’s true feelings, it seemed like a minor accident and not an incident that deserved all of the attention.  I appreciate Kelly’s presence of mind in the situation, whether out of patriotism or trying to avoid a controversy.  The conservative media pounced on the drop and praised Kelly.  The mainstream sports media also highlighted her, in an effort to promote the team, but even then, they also showed Kelly kissing her girlfriend for the cameras.  The Agenda . . . always, at all times . . . The Agenda.

Afterward, the team was treated to a parade New York City.  It was pride parade combined with a democrat party rally with Rapinoe teasing throwing her hat into the 2020 election.  It was swell.  I couldn’t watch any significant portion of the parade.  I heard one clip of Rapinoe.  She said the words, “Our country,” at one point in a tone that suggested she was actually playing for another country, one that only people like her live in.  And I can't believe Carli Lloyd gave a shoutout to the Philadelphia Eagles during their NYC rally.  This team really was all about pointlessly pissing people off.  

The US Women’s National Soccer team neatly reduced itself to two salient issues before, during, and after the tournament: they’re money grubbing and political.  So much for being winners, role models, and ambassadors for the sport.  Playing for the championship was almost a foregone conclusion.  Since they felt assured of victory, the team’s “hero’s” journey would be less than epic, in their minds, unless they wedded themselves to higher causes: money and power.  Being so like minded, since they’d gotten rid of or silenced any dissenting opinions, they were as fallen angels, so as one sinned, they all fell together in allegiance to one another.    

The team claimed to be fighting for “all women” for more pay.  This is a painfully embarrassing transparent attempt to cover their greed with a larger cause (which is itself suspect).  Male sports stars and the sycophantic sports media continually complain about how much more they “deserve” to be paid.  The general public finds these assertions utterly tone deaf.  How much less will they care about Women playing a sport they don’t care about (and that includes soccer fans in general)?

Moreover, they want the money to essentially come out of the US Men’s Soccer team’s budget.  They’re not saying that directly, but they’re not saying where else the money to pay them more is going to come from.  I’ve heard it said by the sports media that the US Soccer Federation governing body and the international FIFA body have been put in a position where they’ll have to equalize the gender pay gap, because of the US Women’s win. 

Yeah, right.  Obviously, you commentators don’t know the stuffed shirt elitist bureaucrats who run these agencies.  The US Soccer Federation will likely give the Women a raise since they won, but they’re not going to pay them the same as the Men’s team.  Instead of giving Women’s soccer in this country a bunch of good publicity from their win, they’ve lost half the country as potential fans from their off field antics.  Instead of promoting national pride after winning, the team spent their time demanding a raise and taking shots at President Trump.  The Women's sport is now perceived as being only for greedy female democrats who shun the company of men, not exactly a mass audience.  US Soccer Federation is congratulating the Women with gritted teeth. 

As for FIFA offering the same prize money for the Men and Women’s World Cups, well, they’re basically a French organization.  The French didn’t invent snobbery; they just perfected it.  Unless you’re massing German troops on the French border, expect them to ignore your pleas.  The Women will be lucky to not take a pay cut for embarrassing the sport and knocking their officials’ noses out of joint.  They’re only going to pay the ladies more if they make their organization more money.  Some “socially conscious” corporate entities might step up, but the general public may not be applauding them for it because of how the Women acted, so don’t count on it.  

Rapinoe and the Women’s team were upset that FIFA scheduled their World Cup final, the Copa America final, and the CONCACAF final all on the same day.  They wanted the global stage to themselves.  None of these events overlapped, so FIFA’s intent was clearly to create a day of soccer for western hemisphere fans.  They may have even been trying to do the Women a favor, hoping fans might tune in for the early Women’s game while they were waiting for the Men’s matches.  Unfortunately, there was no such crossover.  The Men’s and Women’s coverage didn’t mention each other at all.  They may as well have been playing different sports.  Even worse, and I say this from personal observation, viewing the Men and Women’s games back-to-back, it was real obvious who the better players were. 

What do the players on other Women’s national teams think of the US Women attitude?  I’m sure they’d like higher pay, but probably not at the expense of their Men’s national teams, whom many of them likely take a lot of national pride in.  The only reason why the US Women can take their position is that the US Men’s team is only barely internationally competitive.  US sportswriters and commentators are all on board with paying the championship-level Women as much, if not more than, the Men.  I’m sure other countries would appreciate the US soccer governing body permanently kneecapping their Men’s team forever.  Not one of them will do the same.

The Women’s team’s intent to promote and legitimize their sport has almost completely backfired because of the inane way they went about it.  Hey, they lost me as a fan and I was watching their matches whenever I could.  It seems unlikely I’m going to mark out time to watch a bunch of money grubbing in-your-face non-het females play a sport I don’t like.  Yeah, my main reason for watching, Alex Morgan, is straight (and married), but she has really soiled herself in my eyes by her association and endorsement of all of her radical teammates’ agenda. 

Alex Morgan, the team’s only relevance for the last four years since their last World Cup win, has obliterated her reputation as a soccer star, a sex symbol for guys, and an idol for little girls into sports.  Morgan is now completely irrelevant in Megan Rapinoe’s political activist shadow, and her only value is that she does what Rapinoe tells her to.  I don’t think this is Alex’s last World Cup, but she’ll just be that honorary captain with limited playing time in the next one, like Carli Lloyd.  It probably doesn’t matter to me, because I won’t be watching.

How could they be so dumb to alienate the patriotic half of the country that might have been willing to give their sport a chance?  How could Alex have done this and been so supine in going along with it?  She is one of the most highly-marketed female athletes in the world.  I’m sure she has a team of publicists working night and day on her carefully crafted image as a beautiful nice woman, who plays soccer well and is a role model to little girls.  Did none of them say anything?  How could they have been so good at their jobs to this point and then let the whole thing get dynamited?  Did Alex herself not realize this was going to limit her own popularity?  The team is going to get some endorsements out of this, but not as many as they could have.  The ones they do get will likely be unsatisfied with the results from the association with the general public. 

If Alex had any objections to what was going on, she was a co-captain like Rapinoe.  Between her and the third team captain Carli Lloyd (well, there’s part of problem, too many captains), who I suspect (and have no concrete reason to do so) wasn’t all in with the social justice agenda, they could have told Rapinoe, “Hey, shut up.  If you don’t like it, leave.  We can win without you.”  (And they did in that game with England.)  If that seems like an unlikely scenario, consider the case of Jaelene Hinkel.  She’s an American player and reportedly the best defender in the world.  Jaelene was left off the team for not wanting to wear a pride jersey in a pre-cup match.  It’s pretty obvious who’s driving the bus for the team.       

On the Todd Starnes radio talk show, he played a clip of a hockey coach, who told his players that they’re going to stand for the Anthem, and if they had a problem with that, go ahead and leave now.  Todd got the coach on for an interview.  The coach said Rapinoe had blown a chance to bring people together and be loved.  He wondered what had happened to her in her life that made her want to have people who might have cherished her, instead hate her. 

I don’t know anything about Rapinoe’s personal history and don’t care.  She’s an adult and has made some calculated and coached choices on how to behave with a national spotlight on her.  And here she is, just another divisive political figure, nothing more.  She washed away her own accomplishments.  She also could have been a credit to her community.  Now, she’s just a stereotypical angry non-het woman with a poor hair color choice who hates Trump for no good reason.  

Can this be undone?  Can the Women’s team win back all of America?  Sure, they can start by taking Trump up on his invitation to the White House.  Whatever Rapinoe’s problem is with him, she can politely bring it up to him while there.  If she raises a worthwhile enough issue, it’s not unthinkable she’d be invited back to discuss it further.  But, no.  Much like Steph Curry and Steve Kerr in the NBA and whoever in the NFL, there’s no principled, reasoned ideological stand here.  It’s just brainless politics.  If the team actually goes ahead and only meets with the democrats (and maybe Never-Trumper republicans) in congress, they’ll prove it.  Until there is an appeal to all of America by the US Women’s Soccer, don’t expect me to be watching or caring.