SB Nation User Blog: BubbaFan

The Governor's not playing, why does he need a cup?

BubbaFan — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 20:33:42 -0000

Ray Olmedo hoists the Governors' Cup trophy.

I'd never been to a minor league post-season game before. I always assumed it would be hard to get tickets, or at least more crowded than a regular game. But last year, someone told me it was the opposite. The ballparks are usually empty during the post-season, and it's easy to get tickets, even for teams that are usually sold out.

I'd hoped it would be the Bats playing the SWB Yanks on Thursday, September 17, when the Governors' Cup finals came to Scranton. Alas, the Bats fell to the Bulls in five games. Turns out, they did better than the Baby Bombers would.

I'd planned to go to Thursday's game because as game 3 of a five-game series, it might be the last. The SWB Yankees rolled through the regular season and the playoffs, so I thought it was likely they would sweep the Bulls to take the Governors' Cup again.

Boy, was I wrong.

The SWB Yankees lost the first two games of the series to the Bulls (played in Durham - the home ballparks were pre-determined, based on the teams' divisions). So they came home to play a do or die game, and having to win three in a row to win the Cup.

My sources were correct; it was easy to get a ticket. In fact, I asked for one over the visitor's dugout, and ended up with an end seat in the first row. Holy cow! I could prop my feet on top of the dugout.

They even closed off the upper deck. I've never seen that before. (Of course, that meant there were no cheap seats, but it's not like minor league tickets are expensive anyway.)

The ballpark was so empty it was a little creepy. They didn't seem to be running with a full staff. Some of the concessions were closed, and they didn't have the video board working until late in the game.

I guess that's a sign of how many seats are season tickets/corporate sponsorships. The front row seat I got usually belongs to a season ticket holder, but there weren't any season tickets for the post-season. School had started, so there weren't many kids, except those too young to go to school. The weather was chilly - the kind of weather that has people thinking football, not baseball.

Before the game, they presented an award to the awesome (but not as awesome as Jay Bruce) Austin Jackson. He is the 2009 IL Rookie of the Year.

(That's the president of the IL and the president of the SWB Yankees with him. Or something like that.)

Unlike Soft-J, Ajax can blow bubbles:

Former Red Rainer Olmedo started out playing 3B, and moved to 2B later in the game.

Little Ray-Ray gave out a souvenir:

Oops. Where's my bat?

The bat didn't injure anyone; the stands were so empty there wasn't much chance of it hitting anyone. The fan who retrieved it was eventually persuaded to give it back, to the annoyance of the rest of the fans, who were yelling at him not to give it back.

Ray-Ray didn't have a good game. He had a .300 post-season batting average coming into this game, but went 0 for 5. With an error.

Former Bat Calvin Medlock played well, however.

He pitched two innings, giving up only one hit and one walk, striking out four.

The SWB Yankees took an early lead, and it looked like they might live to fight another day. But the Bulls tied it in the 8th, going small ball on Ivan Nova and Zach Kroenke. It was 2-2 after nine innings - free baseball!

Fans were not too enthusiastic about this. It was freezing cold by then, and people had to go to work and school the next day. A lot of fans left, including the elderly gentleman beside me who had been keeping score. The previously empty stands became even emptier. I practically had the whole section to myself.

Sitting in the front row, I could hear the players' conversations in the dugout below. It was that quiet. Unfortunately, they were mostly speaking Spanish, and my Spanish is muy rusty. It seemed to be mostly commentary on the game. "Stop! Go! Good job!" That kind of thing.

Finally in the top of the 12th, poor Eric Wordekamper gave up a single and a double...and the lead.

The SWB Yanks made their last stand in the bottom of the 12th, and almost pulled it off. Winston Abreu came in, and I was looking forward to seeing him pitch. But he walked Juan Miranda, then left the game. The trainer was looking at his hand. Maybe a blister?

Julio DePaula replaced Abreu. The SWB Yankees had two men on base when Reegie Corona was robbed by a great diving play by Justin Ruggiano.

Yes, he really made that catch. Juan Miranda, running to 3B in the foreground, had to go back to 2B.

But Ray Olmedo, the cutoff man, threw it past the first baseman when he tried to throw to first. So Miranda made it to 3B anyway (and John Rodriguez made it to second). The Yanks were still alive.

But not for much longer. Doug Bernier grounded out to end the game.

The Bulls dugout immediately exploded. Everyone ran out onto the field.

Then the champagne came out:

There was a brief ceremony, in front of mostly empty stands.

As soon as the brass left, Little Ray-Ray grabbed the trophy and brought it to the Bulls' dugout.

Final score: Durham Bulls 3, SWB Yankees2.

A lot of SWB Yankees fans blamed the big club for their team's collapse in the finals. The Bronx Bombers gutted their AAA club, even DFA'ing the well-regarded Anthony Claggett in order to make a space on the roster for Freddy Guzman, whose sole purpose is to serve as a pinch-runner.

But it was mostly pitchers they called up, and the pitching wasn't really the problem. They just didn't hit. The hazards of short post-season series.

Anyway, if you get a chance to see a minor league post-season game, I recommend it. They have trouble selling tickets in the post-season, for a variety of reasons, and that's a shame. I admit, I thought the teams might be going through the motions at this point - eager for the season to end, so they could go home, or be called up. But these guys played their hearts out, and when the Bulls won, it was like they'd won the World Series. I felt privileged to witness it - even though I was rooting for the other team.

Bats at Bulls - Gamethread

BubbaFan — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 23:42:55 -0000

The lineups:

BATS

Bolivar LF
Heisey CF
Francisco, J
Frazier 2B
Alonso 1B
Dorn DH
Valaika SS
Ford RF
Denove C
Jukich P

BULLS

Jennings CF
Eldridge DH
Dillon 1B
Joyce RF
Rodriguez, S 2B
Ruggiano LF
Johnson, E SS
Jaso, J C
Olmedo 3B
Talbot P

The Bats lost the first game of the best of five series yesterday, and are down 0-2 after the first inning tonight.

If the Soul-Sucker doesn't buckle down tonight, the RR contingent will be watching Louisville's last stand tomorrow night.

High school sports in crisis

BubbaFan — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:55:53 -0000

Today's USA Today has a series about how the recession is affecting school sports:

At some schools, budget cuts put sports in danger

Instead of gearing up to run cross country for Grove City High School in Ohio, Andy Bennett is training for a marathon.
It will give the 16-year-old some consolation because sports programs and clubs at his school have been shut down. An hour after the last bell each afternoon, it's lights out at the school.

Bennett and his classmates won't have homecoming, prom or a student government — activities that, like sports, are fixtures in American high schools but no longer exist at Grove City because of a financial crisis.

That's the plight of all students who attend South-Western City Schools, which serves part of Columbus and nearby towns and is Ohio's sixth-largest school district. The district has been in dire financial straits for years and is being squeezed further by the economic downturn. By canceling activities, the district cut $2.5 million in expenses, district spokeswoman Sandy Nekoloff says.

"I thought it was the worst thing in the world," Bennett says of the school board's decision to cancel activities after a proposed property tax hike was rejected by voters in August, the third time it failed.

They aren't the only ones. Revenue from sales and property taxes is way down, and it's pretty tough to raise tax rates when the economy is so bad. The other articles in the series describe how schools are coping. In California, parents raised money to fund the sports program. New Mexico changed the format of state tournaments to save money. And Shane Victorino has donated money to keep high school sports afloat in his home state of Hawai`i. (Sports is especially expensive in Hawai`i; even within the state, games may require flying.)

I wonder if we're moving toward a whole different model of school sports - one where students (or their parents) must "pay to play," and perhaps one where driving or flying the kids all over creation for tournaments no longer makes sense. Some school systems, prompted by last year's high gas prices, have already changed their league organizations, so that teams play only nearby teams, reducing travel.

And it's not just high schools feeling the pinch. California is taking the budget axe to college sports, eliminating some sports altogether, and even canceling scheduled games for monetary reasons.

San Jose State announced it is backing out of a scheduled football game at rival Stanford in 2010, opting to travel to Alabama instead.

The Spartans risk a big loss on the field, playing a traditional powerhouse on the road, because Southeastern Conference schools are known to pay visiting teams in the neighborhood of $1 million. Stanford wasn't going to pay nearly that much.

Even the pros are not immune. NFL ticket sales are slow; 10-12 teams may have their games blacked out. Some fans are asking that they suspend the blackout rules until the recession is over.

And what about Major League Baseball? The Cleveland Indians are expecting to lose $16 million this year, and according to Mr. Redlegs, the Reds are in a similar situation. Even the "rich" teams are feeling it. The Yankees, rather than jacking up prices for postseason tickets as usual, actually lowered the price, at least for some of them, likely for fear of fan backlash. The Mets' owners lost $700 million dollars to the Madoff ponzi scheme, and may be forced to sell the team. And the Red Sox? One of their owners is the New York Times group, which had to take out a mortgage on their building and forced the staff of the Boston Globe to take paycuts just to keep the papers in business.

What does this mean for us fans? It could be good news. Teams are likely to offer lower ticket prices and other deals. OTOH...we probably can't expect Bob C. to open up his wallet and buy a bunch of expensive free agents. The hairdos on CNBC are proclaiming the end of the recession. I suspect they may be wrong about that. But even if they aren't, it's going to take awhile for the economy to rebound, and I think the Reds will be cautious. Like Bronson Arroyo said: "People don't own teams to lose money. If you ask any owner whether they would rather make $20 million and come in last place or lose $20 million and win a World Series, there's only one guy who honestly would take that championship: George Steinbrenner. Nobody else."

Most say steroids worse than Rose's bets, yet no Hall support

BubbaFan — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:45:50 -0000

Most say steroids worse than Rose's bets, yet no Hall support

For most of 20 years, the debate surrounding Pete Rose's gambling and Baseball Hall of Fame candidacy has been static, in both senses of the word. Lots of noise, for sure, but little shift in public opinion.

With baseball's steroid controversy, however, the conversation has gained a new element. While support for Rose's place in the Hall remains virtually unchanged since the day he accepted a lifetime ban 20 years ago this Sunday, a new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll reveals a shifting public sentiment:

Three out of four respondents said they viewed the use of performance-enhancing drugs as a more serious offense than Rose's admitted betting on games of his Cincinnati Reds.

Who let the dogs out? (Maloney vs. Martis)

BubbaFan — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 03:32:58 -0000

JULY 27, 2009: Syracuse, NY: The Syracuse Chiefs were the Toronto Blue Jays' AAA affiliate for 31 years. That ended last fall, in the latest round of minor league musical chairs. I never heard what led to the breakup. Money? Desire for newer facilities? I can't imagine the Jays were happy to have to move their AAA team to Las Vegas; it's quite a schlepp to Toronto from there.

I'm kind of surprised the Mets didn't hook up with Syracuse. It would be closer than Buffalo, where they ended up. In any case, it was the Nats who ended up with Syracuse. Local businesses have "Welcome, Nationals" signs posted. Though the team has a red uniform reminiscent of Washington's, they also still wear a baby blue uni that looks very Jays. And the Canadian flag still flies over Alliance Bank Stadium.

Chris Valaika and Drew Stubbs warm up before the game.

Valaika tosses a warmup throw.

Starting for the Chiefs was one of the Nats' top prospects, Shairon Martis. He's a honkballer, born in the Dutch Antilles. Known for his changeup, he made his major league debut at age 21 last year.

Going for the Bats was Matt Maloney.

Old pal Corey Patterson was in the starting lineup. He was batting fifth and playing left field.

He ended up being released two days after this game. I was kind of surprised. He played well enough for the Chiefs, and I thought the Nats could never get enough outfielders. In any case, he's preparing for the future. According to Wikipedia, he bought a dairy farm in Georgia last fall, with a thousand cows, as well as emus and a giraffe. I guess we know what he did with the $3 million the Reds gave him last year.

Still not sure what that "HM" patch is about. Wikipedia says the Chiefs are wearing a "HB" patch, in memory of former member of the Chiefs' Board of Directors Harold Berman. But nothing about "HM."

Drew Stubbs played CF and led off, as usual.

Danny Dorn played LF and batted 7th.

Kevin Barker, since called up to the big club, had a big night.

Maloney singled in the 3rd inning, but ended up being picked off 3B by Gustavo Molina. I guess he doesn't have a lot of experience on the basepaths.

That ended up costing the Bats. Darnell McDonald singled, and Maloney would have scored easily from 3B.

Instead, Eric Eymann, on 2B via a double, tried to to come home.

He signals "safe," but Martis, Molina, and most importantly, the umpire, disagree. He's out!

The fourth inning was a disaster for the Bats. Maloney got the first two outs, then gave up a double. The next batter should have been the third out, but Wes Bankston's throwing error allowed the runner to reach. Maloney kind of fell apart, giving up a single, then a wild pitch, then a HBP. Corey Patterson came to bat with the bases loaded.

The Chiefs have a deal with Denny's:

I was kind of rooting for C-Pat then. I didn't bother getting my free taco when Drew Stubbs struck out and turned all the ticket stubs into free taco coupons. But breakfast at Denny's - that I could go for.

Alas, no rally-killer for Patterson. It was almost as bad, though. He hit a 2-RBI single, then stole 2B. Before the inning was over, 4 runs scored, all unearned. (Thanks, Wankston. That was his 12th error of the season. Not good.)

That made it 7-0. Things did not look good for our heroes.

Gustavo Molina nearly killed the third base coach with a hard-hit foul ball.

It was kinda scary, but he was fine, and stayed in the game.

Molina hit a leadoff homer the 5th. Darnell leaps at the wall, but he'd have to be 30 ft. tall to get this one.

After Martis singled to center field, Matt Maloney got the hook.

Rough outing for Maloney. 4.0 IP, 11 hits, 8 runs, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts, 1 home run. And two hit batsmen and a wild pitch. (The unearned runs were on Bankston's throwing error, and on a passed ball by Corky Miller in the 2nd.)

Ramon Ramirez took over.

He restored order, pitching three innings, giving up only one hit, no runs, no walks, and striking out three.

Martis pitched 7 shutout innings.

Drew Stubbs uses his psychokinetic powers to levitate a bat:

Valaika spits out his gum as he leaves the field.

(Eyeww. A-Rod always does that, too. Do the grounds crew or the bat boys have to pick it up? I can't imagine they just leave it there. The entire field would be pink before long.)

Ian Desmond was 2 for 4 with a double.

Eric Eymann catches a Desmond popup.

Elijah Dukes pinch-hit for Martis in the 7th. He singled, but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. Darnell got it back in quickly, and Valaika was there with the tag.

Dave Williams pitched the 8th.

The Bats finally broke through. Corky Miller doubled, and Eric Eymann was hit by a pitch.

Darnell McDonald singled.

Kevin Barker came to bat with the bases loaded. He let two balls go by, then smacked a home run over the right field fence.

Grand slam!

That drove Williams from the game. Zack Segovia took over.

Logan Ondrusek pitched the 9th inning. He was just promoted from AA.

He made short work of the top of the order.

The Bats mounted a two-out rally in the 9th.

After Dorn struck out and Valaika grounded out, Corky Miller got things started with a clutch HBP. Miller took 2B on defensive indifference, then got to third on a Luis Bolivar single.

Stubbs singled, scoring Miller.

Eymann walked, loading the bases for Darnell McDonald.

Though Darnell had a good night, going 3 for 5, he couldn't come through this time. He grounded into a forceout, ending the game.

The Chiefs celebrate their victory.

I was bemused to see Mike Vento (#26). He came up in the Yankees system, and got only a cup of coffee with the big club. I never would have guessed he'd still be playing baseball when more celebrated prospects like Bubba Crosby, Kevin Thompson, Kevin Reese, and Bronson Sardinha had hung 'em up.

Final score: Bats 5, Syracuse 8.

Reds' Arroyo is gambling on supplements, despite risk

BubbaFan — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:10:23 -0000

Reds' Arroyo is gambling on supplements, despite risk

ST. LOUIS — Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo reaches into his locker, pulls down a clear cellophane bag and slowly opens it.

He shakes out the contents like a kid on Halloween night. There are different-colored pills, powders, liquids, proteins, caffeine concentrates and ginseng, products such as creatine, Triflex and xelR8 found at local vitamin stores. Most of the products have not been approved by Major League Baseball for use by players, Arroyo says. Some of the items have the potential to trigger a positive test under baseball's performance-enhancing drug policy. Arroyo takes them anyway.

Sorry about that, Chiefs (Lehr vs. Ramirez)

BubbaFan — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:13:48 -0000

JULY 26, 2009: Syracuse, NY: There's a statue of a horse in front of Alliance Bank Stadium. Looks like one of those horse sculptures they get local artists to paint, then put up around town. This one is painted with sports gear: footballs, helmets, bats, baseballs, etc.

There were a lot of people tailgating in the parking lot. Unusual for baseball. There were tailgaters the day before, too, but I thought it was because there was an "official" tailgate party going on. There was no such thing on Sunday, but there were people tailgating nonetheless.

The game started at 5pm. Alliance Bank Stadium is aligned exactly north-south, and the sun is pretty brutal in the afternoons if you're sitting on the first base side. I decided to sit on the third base side, even though that was the home team's dugout, meaning it was more crowded, and I'd be seeing mostly the backs of the mostly right-handed lineups.

The view from my seat:

(I ended up moving to the first base side after a few innings. It was just too crowded on the home team's side. And I got tired of taking pictures of the batters' backs.)

Drew Stubbs, Wes Bankston, and Darnell McDonald warming up before the game.

Justin Lehr was on the mound for the Bats.

Horacio Ramirez started for the Chiefs.

Justin Maxwell steals 2B, sliding under Chris Valaika's attempted tag.

Maxwell would end up stranded, after Lehr got the Chiefs to strikeout, groundout, and popup.

The Bats drew first blood in the 2nd. Kevin Barker singled, and a groundout, single, and sac fly brought him home.

Lehr was 1 for 3 with a RBI.

Drew Stubbs hit a home run. It was only his 3rd homer of the season, just over the right field fence, just fair.

Stubbs crosses the plate.

Chris Heisey played LF and went 3 for 5.

Drew Sutton:

Sutton played 2B and was 3 for 4. He was wearing #9, but his batting helmet didn't match. It was #6 - teammate Michael Griffin's number. Sutton was sent down by the Reds only three days before; I guess they didn't bring his gear on the road trip.

Chris Valaika played SS, and was 1 for 3 with a double and 2 RBIs.

Justin Lehr:

Lehr's line for the night: 6.1 innings pitched, 6 hits, 3 runs, 2 earned runs, no walks, 4 strikeouts, 3.31 ERA.

The error was by Drew Stubbs in the 4th. I don't remember an error, and it's not mentioned in the game writeups in the Syracuse papers. I think it must have been changed by the scorer after the game was over. It was Stubbs' first error of the season.

Stubbs was 1 for 5, but the one was that home run.

Chris Heisey:

Kevin Barker and Pete Orr.

Heisey scores in the 7th:

Pinch-hitter Corey Patterson:

He grounded into a forceout, then stole 2B. But ended up stranded when Maxwell flied out.

Drew Stubbs:

Pedro Viola:

Yunior Novoa tries to pick off Heisey:

He eventually succeeds. Heisey out at 2B.

Robert Manuel closes it out.

The Bats celebrate their victory.

Final score: Bats 5, Syracuse 3.

After the game, manager Rick Sweet praised Lehr, saying, "He's pitched very well for us and he knows how to pitch. I'd like to see him get a chance at the big leagues."

I guess they were listening in Cincinnati...

Wood you believe... (Wood vs. Detwiler)

BubbaFan — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 21:42:23 -0000

JULY 25, 2009: Syracuse, NY - There was a huge crowd before this game. Well, huge for Syracuse, NY. They had a "tailgate party," with food and drink specials sold in the parking lot before the game, some local bands playing, and people signing autographs. There were a lot of older women at this game, and I soon figured out why: the Chiefs had gotten some hunky soap opera star to sign autographs before and during the game. Many fans missed several innings waiting in line for Mr. Soap Stud.

Me, I was there to see Travis Wood's AAA debut. He did not disappoint.

Going for Syracuse was southpaw Ross Detwiler, who is one of the Nationals' top prospects. It was only his second AAA game.

Darnell McDonald hit a two-out single in the first inning...

Then came home on a Kevin Barker triple.

Wes Bankston reached on an error by SS Ian Desmond, then went to 2B on a throwing error by Desmond. (Yup, Desmond made two errors on one play, poor guy. Desmond is considered a good prospect and a good fielder, but he ended up making three errors in this game. He only had one all season until this game.)

Bankston was stranded when SS Eric Eymann flied out.

The radar gun at the ballpark was working tonight (it worked two out of the four nights I was there). Wood topped out in the upper 80s. Detwiler hit the lower to mid-90s.

Wood was decent at the dish.

He walked in the second, and reached on an error in the 4th. (Throwing error by...you guessed it...Ian Desmond.)

Detwiler got a walk himself.

Kevin Barker was 2 for 3 with a walk, a double, and triple. And he was pretty solid at 1B, too.

Corky Miller caught the game. Check out his vintage stirrups.

Chris Heisey played LF and was 1 for 4.

Drew Stubbs was in CF. He was 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts, but did get a RBI (grounded into a forceout).

Drew Stubbs catches a fly ball. One of the Chiefs staff was behind him, filming the batters.

The hapless Ian Desmond was 0 for 4 with 2 Ks.

Eliajh Dukes in left field. Some medical company was giving away blue balloons during the "tailgate party," and they ended up floating all over the field during the game.

Wood had a pretty good night.

6.2 innings pitched, 3 hits, 1 run, 1 earned run, 4 walks, 5 strikeouts, 1 home run, 1.35 ERA.

They probably should have pulled him after six innings. He gave up a home run and a walk in 7th.

Zach Stewart (sigh) came in to get the last out. (Corey Patterson swung at the first pitch and grounded into a forceout.)

Josh Wilkie took over for Detwiler in the 8th.

Elijah Dukes had just been sent down from the Nationals, and has since been called up again.

Stewart gave up two singles and a walk in the bottom of the 8th. Pete Orr stole 2B.

After a runner scored on a forceout, Robert Manuel took over for Stewart.

It was 3-2 Louisville in the 9th, and I really thought they could hold on and win. Alas, it was not to be. Seth Bynum and Justin Maxwell (another of the Nats' top prospects) singled off Manuel. Gustavo Molina laid down a sac bunt, then Jorge Padilla hit a 2-RBI single.

Maxwell, the winning run, comes home:

Walkoff victory for the Chiefs.

Final score: Louisville 3, Syracuse 4.

Serious Sam sinks Syracuse (LeCure vs. Kown)

BubbaFan — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 21:06:25 -0000

Alliance Bank Stadium is in downtown Syracuse, and is a small, older ballpark. It's easy to get to. Parking is $4, which was a bit of a surprise. Most of the minor league parks I've been to do not charge for parking.

If I arrive early enough, I usually go upstairs to take a photo from behind home plate. Alliance Bank Stadium is so small that only the private suites and the press box are upstairs behind the plate. (There are some cheap seats in the upper deck above first and third base.) I didn't realize that, though, and ended up where I wasn't supposed to be. Weirdly, nobody stopped me. They assumed since I was carrying a camera that I was a member of the press. I went back downstairs, and took a photo through the netting instead.

They don't have a radar gun at this ballpark. At least, not a working one. I assume from this sign, which never changed the entire night, that they did at one time.

Drew Stubbs and Chris Heisey warming up before the game:

Chris Valaika:

Hadn't seen him since spring training. He was on the DL the last time I took in a Bats game.

Pitching coach Ted Power with Louisville starter Sam LeCure:

(It's just asking for a caption contest, isn't it?)

On the mound for the Syracuse Chiefs was Andrew Kown:

It's a very friendly, laid back ballpark, which was nice in some ways, but annoying in others. The seats are tightly spaced, and the cant of the floor is very shallow. People who showed up late did not wait until the end of the inning, as they do in some parks. Instead, they went to their seats...and stood there, blocking everyone's view, waiting for the usher to come dry the seats off. Which took a long time, because the seats had an oily texture that made wiping water off them difficult. I missed large parts of the first two or three innings because of this.

There was also a weird group in front that spent a lot of time standing. It looked like they were saying goodbye: they would stand up, hug, shake hands, talk, hug some more, and then some of them would leave. Only to come back shortly after. They did that whole long goodbye schtick every time one of them left to go get a beer or to go the bathroom or smoke a cigarette. It was bizarre.

There was a long delay in the 3rd. I couldn't quite figure out what happened. Sam LeCure struck out, and suddenly the Chiefs catcher, Jhonatan Solano, was rolling on the ground in agony. Apparently, he got hit in the nuts. Somehow. It was ruled a foul tip, and it looked to me like he caught it in the glove, not the...

The men around me were rather freaked out when the female trainer came out to treat him. Half of them were horrified ("you need a man, she doesn't know what it's like!). Half got raunchy ("rub it for me, baby!").

He seemed to be all right. He stayed in the game, anyway.

Drew Stubbs was up next.

He got on via a force out. (Catcher Brian Peterson was on 1B after working a walk.) Kown threw a lot of pickoffs attempts, trying to keep Stubbs close.

He went anyway.

Safe!

He would eventually score on a Luis Bolivar double.

"Two-Pitch At-Batterson" lived up to his name, but the at-bat ended in a double. He would eventually score.

The Bats had a big fourth inning, that featured Sam LeCure coming to bat with two outs, bases loaded. The fans across the aisle from me started wondering why the Bats didn't put in a pinch-hitter. It was a little early.

And no pinch-hitter was needed. LeCure hit a RBI single.

The Chiefs mascot:

They have a train theme going in Syracuse, perhaps because the ballpark is right by the train tracks. You can see the trains running just beyond left field.

Elijah Dukes, who got a cup of coffee earlier this season (and soon lost his job to Corey Patterson). Notice the train logo. (Not sure what the "HM" is for.)

LeCure ended up being pulled early anyway. He left after four innings and 62 pitches. He pitched okay and didn't see hurt, so I'm not sure what was up with that.

Chris Heisey played RF and went 1 for 4.

Rick Sweet talks to Heisey after Heisey grounded out.

Kip Wells is wearing Jay Bruce's old number.

Desmond steals 2B, despite Valaika's attempt to sell the tag.

Josh Roenicke closed it out.

Bats celebrate the victory.

Women's baseball team still pitching at 70

BubbaFan — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:38:34 -0000

Women's baseball team still pitching at 70

OSAKA, Japan - It may be late in the game, but Japan's septuagenarian Osaka Silver Sisters aren't hanging up their baseball gloves and bats any time soon.

In matching red and white uniforms, 75-year-old captain Mineko "Mimi" Khosaka and her fellow teammates pitch, hit and run with vigor, belying a range of health problems that range from bad backs, wonky knees, a missing kidney and a pacemaker.

...The team consists of 11 players who were stars of Japan's professional women's baseball league about half a century ago and who decided to give the game another go four years ago despite their advancing age.

Baseball is very popular in Japan and the players meet every Friday for an hour of practice followed by a game with a much younger, all-boys team -- which they often win.

The women's technique is just as good as younger pros — Khosaka catches behind her back, just like Major League Baseball star Ichiro Suzuki — but head-first slides and base steals are, understandably, out of the question.