Here are the rest of the videos from the the 5/24 game against the Ft. Myers Miracle.
Rob Lyerly Strikes Out
Abraham Almonte Triple
Brett Marshall gets the second out of the 4th inning
Brett Marshall gets the last out of the 4th inning
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Videos
Here are a few videos I uploaded from the May 24th game. The TY against the Fort Myers Miracle at Steinbrenner Field.
Kyle Higashioka doubles to lead off the inning.
Taylor Grote singles to bring home Higashioka
Kelvin Castro reaches on a fielding error. If you dont want to watch the whole at-bat, at least skip to the end to see the error.
Brett Marshall
Kyle Higashioka doubles to lead off the inning.
Taylor Grote singles to bring home Higashioka
Kelvin Castro reaches on a fielding error. If you dont want to watch the whole at-bat, at least skip to the end to see the error.
Brett Marshall
Thursday, May 26, 2011
My Season So Far
In the coming days I am going to post a few videos of some at-bats and pitching from the Tampa Yankees game from May 24th's game against the Ft. Myers Miracle but for now I want to recap some of the things I've learned and experienced through the first 2 months of the season. The TY don't play any more home games in the month of May so I figured now would be a good time to stop and reflect on how the first two months have gone for me both numbers wise and with personal involvement.
So far this Minor League season I have been to 29 games. 6 were away games and 2 of those were games that the Tampa Yankees didn't even play in. I have been to 27 Tampa Yankee games through the first two months.
The two games that I went to that the TY did not play were Dunedin at Lakeland to watch Brandon Morrow make a rehab start and Ft. Myers at Charlotte as a road trip with a friend. Lakeland and Charlotte won.
I have seen 10 wins and 17 losses.
The bullpen received the win or loss in 9 of the games I went to. The bullpen received the win in 6 games and the loss in 3.
I have seen the TY walk off twice.
Breakdown of starting pitchers I have seen and how many times I saw them.
Brett Marshall - 8 games - 4 losses, 2 wins and 2 no decisions
Sean Black - 6 games - 4 losses, 0 wins and 2 no decisions
Josh Romanski - 3 games - 1 loss, 1 win and 1 no decision
Jairo Heredia - 3 games - 1 loss, 0 wins and 2 no decisions
Jose Ramirez - 3 games - 3 losses
Michael Solbach - 2 games - 1 loss, 1 win. Solbach also contributed for a win and a loss in the bullpen
Scott Allen - 2 games - 1 loss, 1 no decision
Interesting note: Francisco Gil was the winning pitcher for both of the TY walk offs.
I've realized that the corner infielders we have can hit the ball but not field it exceptionally well. The 3rd baseman, Rob Lyerly has 10 errors and the 1st baseman, Luke Murton has 9. Sometimes Rob Lyerly plays 1st base but all his errors are at 3rd.
We have had many SS/2B combos but I always feel the game is safer when Walter Ibarra is playing SS. I am not sure who I like as much at 2B because normally that rotates between Emerson Landoni, Kevin Mahoney and Kelvin Castro. To begin the season we had Carmen Angelini at SS but he apparently got injured again and hasnt played since the first few weeks of April. Since Kelvin Castro has done so well he tends to get more starts in the field. Kevin Mahoney also has gotten more starts than the first month of the season. Emerson Landoni does not start as often.
The TY has 2 catchers and tend to rotate them on a regular basis. Kyle Higashioka normally plays 2 or 3 games in a row and then Mitch Abeita will catch a day. Every now and then Hector Rabago will get into a game but he is more the backup's backup. Mitch tends to also catch in the day games. Rabago has played more games at 3rd then behind the plate(at least for the games ive been to).
The TY outfield is not always consistent. For the most part, Abraham Almonte plays centerfield and Taylor Grote plays right field but there have been many people to play left. Zoilo Almonte played there a lot until he got put on the DL. We then had Jason Place there, Neil Medchill has played a few games there and so has Deangelo Mack.
The TY lineup is not always the same. Except for Abe Almonte who leads off nearly every game, the order changes pretty often. Rob Lyerly usually hits 3rd and Luke Murton usually hits 4th.
Here is the lineup from the first home game of the season:
Abraham Almonte - CF
Carmen Angelini - SS
Rob Lyerly - 3B
Luke Murton - 1B
Taylor Grote - RF
Zoilo Almonte - LF
Kyle Higashioka - C
Deangelo Mack - DH
Walter Ibarra - 2B
Currently 2 of those players are on the DL(Angelini and Z. Almonte)
Here is the lineup from the game on 5/24
Abraham Almonte - CF
Walter Ibarra - SS
Rob Lyerly - 3B
Neil Medchill - LF
Luke Murton - 1B
Kevin Mahoney - DH
Kyle Higashioka - C
Taylor Grote - RF
Kelvin Castro - 2B
Everyone but Kelvin Castro was on the opening day roster. Kelvin was the first player called up from Charleston this season though he came by way of Scranton where I am assuming he pinch ran in 2 games because he has no at-bats or walks with Scranton.
Taylor Grote would make a great K-man at a game because its VERY rare to see him not strike out. His hitting has gotten better but lately he has just been hitting the ball at fielders.
Kelvin Castro has done well offensively here since he came up around May 10th. He has 5 triples and 1 double. We were joking saying that he needs a lasso to hold him back because he always goes for 3rd and sometimes he should just stop at 2nd which he rarely does.
None of the outfielders get as good a read on balls that Melky Mesa did last year. If the ball is hit in the air in the outfield, Melky would be on it whether it was in his territory or not. These outfielders, with the exception of Grote most of the time, do not get good reads on the ball and miss many of them. They run and run and put their glove out and the ball falls like 5 feet away.
Some things I've learned through the Booster Club and from talking to other people who work for the TY.
The TY players got their ping-pong table taken away because they kept losing a few weeks ago. Apparently they were coming to practice early so they could play ping pong and I also heard that they limit who can play according who is better, if you're good then you get more playing time than if you suck. Too funny.
I also learned that for the most part, the catchers call the games. I thought at this level that the calls came from the bench but apparently the catchers call games themselves. Most of the pitchers have preferences as to who they prefer to catch them. I wont name names but some catchers prefer to play to the hitters weakness while some are more sensitive to the pitchers strength.
We talked about some of the spanish speaking players who don't speak English at all. The translator in the clubhouse is Walter Ibarra, he doesn't alway have to be asked to translate either, if he sees that someone is speaking English to a player who speaks Spanish only then he will just come over and start translating.
I hope this has helped you get to know the players better. Im sure the rosters will change more in the next month so I will probably do an update of this later.
Oh and it was Cito Culver that I saw at the game the other night. He had apparently just gotten back from NYC after getting his wrist checked out. He tweeted about his wrist on Twitter but somehow I missed it. Wish I had known, I would have asked for a picture with him. Hopefully I see him again before the Staten Island season starts up if not then I wont get to see him for another year(minor league spring training)
So far this Minor League season I have been to 29 games. 6 were away games and 2 of those were games that the Tampa Yankees didn't even play in. I have been to 27 Tampa Yankee games through the first two months.
The two games that I went to that the TY did not play were Dunedin at Lakeland to watch Brandon Morrow make a rehab start and Ft. Myers at Charlotte as a road trip with a friend. Lakeland and Charlotte won.
I have seen 10 wins and 17 losses.
The bullpen received the win or loss in 9 of the games I went to. The bullpen received the win in 6 games and the loss in 3.
I have seen the TY walk off twice.
Breakdown of starting pitchers I have seen and how many times I saw them.
Brett Marshall - 8 games - 4 losses, 2 wins and 2 no decisions
Sean Black - 6 games - 4 losses, 0 wins and 2 no decisions
Josh Romanski - 3 games - 1 loss, 1 win and 1 no decision
Jairo Heredia - 3 games - 1 loss, 0 wins and 2 no decisions
Jose Ramirez - 3 games - 3 losses
Michael Solbach - 2 games - 1 loss, 1 win. Solbach also contributed for a win and a loss in the bullpen
Scott Allen - 2 games - 1 loss, 1 no decision
Interesting note: Francisco Gil was the winning pitcher for both of the TY walk offs.
I've realized that the corner infielders we have can hit the ball but not field it exceptionally well. The 3rd baseman, Rob Lyerly has 10 errors and the 1st baseman, Luke Murton has 9. Sometimes Rob Lyerly plays 1st base but all his errors are at 3rd.
We have had many SS/2B combos but I always feel the game is safer when Walter Ibarra is playing SS. I am not sure who I like as much at 2B because normally that rotates between Emerson Landoni, Kevin Mahoney and Kelvin Castro. To begin the season we had Carmen Angelini at SS but he apparently got injured again and hasnt played since the first few weeks of April. Since Kelvin Castro has done so well he tends to get more starts in the field. Kevin Mahoney also has gotten more starts than the first month of the season. Emerson Landoni does not start as often.
The TY has 2 catchers and tend to rotate them on a regular basis. Kyle Higashioka normally plays 2 or 3 games in a row and then Mitch Abeita will catch a day. Every now and then Hector Rabago will get into a game but he is more the backup's backup. Mitch tends to also catch in the day games. Rabago has played more games at 3rd then behind the plate(at least for the games ive been to).
The TY outfield is not always consistent. For the most part, Abraham Almonte plays centerfield and Taylor Grote plays right field but there have been many people to play left. Zoilo Almonte played there a lot until he got put on the DL. We then had Jason Place there, Neil Medchill has played a few games there and so has Deangelo Mack.
The TY lineup is not always the same. Except for Abe Almonte who leads off nearly every game, the order changes pretty often. Rob Lyerly usually hits 3rd and Luke Murton usually hits 4th.
Here is the lineup from the first home game of the season:
Abraham Almonte - CF
Carmen Angelini - SS
Rob Lyerly - 3B
Luke Murton - 1B
Taylor Grote - RF
Zoilo Almonte - LF
Kyle Higashioka - C
Deangelo Mack - DH
Walter Ibarra - 2B
Currently 2 of those players are on the DL(Angelini and Z. Almonte)
Here is the lineup from the game on 5/24
Abraham Almonte - CF
Walter Ibarra - SS
Rob Lyerly - 3B
Neil Medchill - LF
Luke Murton - 1B
Kevin Mahoney - DH
Kyle Higashioka - C
Taylor Grote - RF
Kelvin Castro - 2B
Everyone but Kelvin Castro was on the opening day roster. Kelvin was the first player called up from Charleston this season though he came by way of Scranton where I am assuming he pinch ran in 2 games because he has no at-bats or walks with Scranton.
Taylor Grote would make a great K-man at a game because its VERY rare to see him not strike out. His hitting has gotten better but lately he has just been hitting the ball at fielders.
Kelvin Castro has done well offensively here since he came up around May 10th. He has 5 triples and 1 double. We were joking saying that he needs a lasso to hold him back because he always goes for 3rd and sometimes he should just stop at 2nd which he rarely does.
None of the outfielders get as good a read on balls that Melky Mesa did last year. If the ball is hit in the air in the outfield, Melky would be on it whether it was in his territory or not. These outfielders, with the exception of Grote most of the time, do not get good reads on the ball and miss many of them. They run and run and put their glove out and the ball falls like 5 feet away.
Some things I've learned through the Booster Club and from talking to other people who work for the TY.
The TY players got their ping-pong table taken away because they kept losing a few weeks ago. Apparently they were coming to practice early so they could play ping pong and I also heard that they limit who can play according who is better, if you're good then you get more playing time than if you suck. Too funny.
I also learned that for the most part, the catchers call the games. I thought at this level that the calls came from the bench but apparently the catchers call games themselves. Most of the pitchers have preferences as to who they prefer to catch them. I wont name names but some catchers prefer to play to the hitters weakness while some are more sensitive to the pitchers strength.
We talked about some of the spanish speaking players who don't speak English at all. The translator in the clubhouse is Walter Ibarra, he doesn't alway have to be asked to translate either, if he sees that someone is speaking English to a player who speaks Spanish only then he will just come over and start translating.
I hope this has helped you get to know the players better. Im sure the rosters will change more in the next month so I will probably do an update of this later.
Oh and it was Cito Culver that I saw at the game the other night. He had apparently just gotten back from NYC after getting his wrist checked out. He tweeted about his wrist on Twitter but somehow I missed it. Wish I had known, I would have asked for a picture with him. Hopefully I see him again before the Staten Island season starts up if not then I wont get to see him for another year(minor league spring training)
Friday, May 20, 2011
Who wants pie?
Tonight the Tampa Yankees took another game from the St. Lucie Mets with a final score of 5-4 in the bottom of the 12th inning, Walk off style of course. It wasnt that they didn't get hits like was their problem the first month of the season as they had 15 hits in 12 innings, it was probably the small army that they left on base in those first 11 innings that could have cost them the game tonight had they not come back. According to the box score, the Tampa Yankees went 5-19 with runners in scoring position and left 17! on base.
The starter for the Tampa Yankees tonight was Jairo Heredia. (pronounced hai-ro) He was also the keyword for Facebook Friday. On fridays they have Facebook friday where admission for Facebook friends is $2 and there are dollar drink specials. Something new they added is $10 all you can eat wings from 6-8.
Jairo was dealing through the first 3.1 innings. He didnt allow a hit until the second batter of the 4th inning singled up the middle, Heredia stomped his foot when he saw that the ball went through for a hit which may have had something to do with how the rest of the inning went. After the second batter singled, the next batter doubled to put runners on 2nd and 3rd. The next batter singled both runners home which put the score to 2-1, he scored on a 2 out single and the St. Lucie Mets had a 3-1 lead. The score stayed the same until the bottom of the 8th when Tampa staged their comeback.
Luke Murton led off the 8th inning with a walk, he was pinch run for by Emerson Landoni since he is a slow guy. Kevin Mahoney walked to put 2 on and none out, Kyle Higashioka then struck out swinging, Taylor Grote singled to bring home Landoni and move Kevin to 2nd. Deangelo Mack grounded out which moved the runners up, Abe Almonte was intentionally walked to load the bases for Walter Ibarra. Walter singled which drove in both runs. Rob Lyerly was hit by a pitch and Neil Medchill struck out swinging to end the inning. The TY had a 4-3 lead going into the top of the 9th. In the top of the 9th, Ryan Flannery came in to get the save. Flannery got the first out of the inning and when the second batter bunted, he threw to 1st(Lyerly was now on 1st) and the throw got away from Rob, the runner was safe on 2nd base on the throwing error. With 2 outs, Flannery got a fly ball to shallow center field that fell in and the tying run scored. The TY went quietly in the bottom of the 9th and we had bonus baseball for the first time in Tampa this season.
Both teams had men on base in every inning between the 10th and 12th and finally in the bottom of the 12th the TY had the bases loaded with 1 out and Rob Lyerly stepped up to the plate. He hit a ball down the rightfield line and he ended our misery scoring Kelvin Castro for the walk off win.
Poor Kyle Higashioka was the final batter of 5 innings in the game tonight. He left 8 men on base(5 in scoring position) by himself. He went 0-6 with 4 strikeouts. He played the Taylor Grote of the game though Taylor did strikeout 3 times on his own.
The Tampa Yankees play another game tomorrow night and go for the sweep of St. Lucie. They won their 3rd straight game for the first time this season. Tonight was also their 3rd straight come from behind win so maybe they are starting to show some life in the later innings.
The starter for the Tampa Yankees tonight was Jairo Heredia. (pronounced hai-ro) He was also the keyword for Facebook Friday. On fridays they have Facebook friday where admission for Facebook friends is $2 and there are dollar drink specials. Something new they added is $10 all you can eat wings from 6-8.
Jairo was dealing through the first 3.1 innings. He didnt allow a hit until the second batter of the 4th inning singled up the middle, Heredia stomped his foot when he saw that the ball went through for a hit which may have had something to do with how the rest of the inning went. After the second batter singled, the next batter doubled to put runners on 2nd and 3rd. The next batter singled both runners home which put the score to 2-1, he scored on a 2 out single and the St. Lucie Mets had a 3-1 lead. The score stayed the same until the bottom of the 8th when Tampa staged their comeback.
Luke Murton led off the 8th inning with a walk, he was pinch run for by Emerson Landoni since he is a slow guy. Kevin Mahoney walked to put 2 on and none out, Kyle Higashioka then struck out swinging, Taylor Grote singled to bring home Landoni and move Kevin to 2nd. Deangelo Mack grounded out which moved the runners up, Abe Almonte was intentionally walked to load the bases for Walter Ibarra. Walter singled which drove in both runs. Rob Lyerly was hit by a pitch and Neil Medchill struck out swinging to end the inning. The TY had a 4-3 lead going into the top of the 9th. In the top of the 9th, Ryan Flannery came in to get the save. Flannery got the first out of the inning and when the second batter bunted, he threw to 1st(Lyerly was now on 1st) and the throw got away from Rob, the runner was safe on 2nd base on the throwing error. With 2 outs, Flannery got a fly ball to shallow center field that fell in and the tying run scored. The TY went quietly in the bottom of the 9th and we had bonus baseball for the first time in Tampa this season.
Both teams had men on base in every inning between the 10th and 12th and finally in the bottom of the 12th the TY had the bases loaded with 1 out and Rob Lyerly stepped up to the plate. He hit a ball down the rightfield line and he ended our misery scoring Kelvin Castro for the walk off win.
The handshake line and Rob Lyerly getting pied by Kevin Mahoney(12)
Poor Kyle Higashioka was the final batter of 5 innings in the game tonight. He left 8 men on base(5 in scoring position) by himself. He went 0-6 with 4 strikeouts. He played the Taylor Grote of the game though Taylor did strikeout 3 times on his own.
The Tampa Yankees play another game tomorrow night and go for the sweep of St. Lucie. They won their 3rd straight game for the first time this season. Tonight was also their 3rd straight come from behind win so maybe they are starting to show some life in the later innings.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
St. Lucie Mets at Tampa
Tonight was the first game of a weeklong home stand for the Tampa Yankees. They play here until next Wednesday but unfortunately tomorrow and next Wednesday's games I believe are at 11am which means I wont make it to them. The TY play the St. Lucie Mets for the next 3 days and then play the Fort Myers Miracle the following 4 days. They are then on the road until June 5th so I am going to try to make it to as many games as possible. Also really looking forward to the Ft. Myers games because of another shot to see Joe Mauer's brother and up close too.(but thats a post for another day)
Pitching tonights game for the TY was Brett Marshall who pitched the last home game. He did such a great job last game he had a lot to live up to. I got to the game late but when I sat down the TY were up to bat and Marshall had allowed just a hit and someone committed an error in the top of the 1st. In the second inning he got a grounder down the RF line and Kevin Mahoney who was playing 1st, jumped on it, recovered and threw to Brett to get the runner out at 1st. It was a great play. Brett then allowed a double and walk but got out of the inning with a strikeout. In the 3rd inning I realized that Angel Pegan was playing for St. Lucie just in time for him to hit a leadoff solo shot to right to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. Brett got into more trouble that inning after walking the second batter and and allowing a single to put runners on the corners, after a strikeout for the first out of the inning he got a groundout which scored the 2nd run. He escaped the inning with no further damage on 2 more groundouts. In the 4th inning the Mets again touched up Brett for a run though this one was all his fault. He walked the first batter got a groundout and then hit the next batter. He threw a wild pitch to move the runners up, after a walk(to Angel Pegan) he allowed a single that scored the runner from 3rd. He then got a groundout to end the inning. In the 5th inning for Brett, the leadoff hitter reached on an error by Rob Lyerly, he then got a groundout, a single move the runner to 3rd. Brett then got a popout and Hector Rabago who was catching, threw out the runner for the last out of the inning. Overall Brett was not that sharp, he allowed 3 runs on 7 hits, he walked and struckout 4, and he threw a wild pitch. He did however limit the damage and keep the TY in the game so they could stage a comeback in the late innings.
The TY offense was pretty dead through the first few innings of the game.Leading up to the 5th inning they only had 2 hits and a walk. In the 5th with 1 out, Kevin Mahoney doubled, he moved to 3rd on a single by Kelvin Castro and scored on a sac fly by Deangelo Mack. When Castro singled, the ball bounced off the SS glove and went into center, Sojo held up Kevin at 3rd and this man behind me started yelling at Kevin for not trying to score the run. Apparently he thought it would be okay to just ignore the manager, uh no. (in the minor leagues, the manager usually stands in the 3rd base coach box)
Luckily Kevin was able to score on the sac fly because that guy probably would have had words for him. In the bottom of the 7th inning the TY scored 2 runs to tie the game. Those runs came on a walk by Mahoney, a fielding error which moved Kevin to 2nd and Castro safe at 1st, (the ball just rolled through the 3rd basemans legs) Deangelo Mack then sac bunted the runners over for the 1st out of the inning. Taylor Grote pinch hit for Rabago and got himself a walk(surprisingly because he strikes out a ton) This loaded the bases for Abraham Almonte who greeted the new Mets pitcher with a 2 run single. That was it for that inning but it tied up the game and got Brett off the hook.
In the top of the 8th Mitch Abeita came in to catch since Taylor had pinch hit for the catcher Rabago and Kyle Higashioka was the DH for the night. Ryan Flannery came in to pitch and after getting the first out he allowed a triple down the RF line, the runner scored on a groundout. Flannery got out of the inning with another groundout. This put the score at 4-3 going into the bottom of the 8th.
Neil Medchill led off the bottom of the 8th with a walk, Kyle followed with a single off the fresh into the game reliever for St. Lucie, this moved Neil to 3rd. Kevin Mahoney then walked and was followed by a bases loaded walk to Kelvin Castro, this scored Neil with the tying run(again). Deangelo Mack then popped up(infield fly rule) Mitch Abeita grounded out which scored Kevin for the go ahead run and Abe Almonte struckout to end the inning but the TY was now leading 5-4 going into the top of the 9th.
Ryan Flannery stayed in to pitch and allowed a leadoff single and then 2 groundouts that moved the runner to 3rd. He thankfully struckout the final batter of the game and the TY beat the 1st place(in the south division) St. Lucie Mets in the 1st of 4 games. Flannery got the win though something has to be said for Preston Claiborne who pitched a perfect 6th and 7th with 3 strikeouts. Things have been looking up for the T-Yanks though things should after dropping 9 in a row, it couldnt have possibly gotten much worse.
Going back to the shifts that happened in the game, its always neat to see how things work out after the fact. Hector Rabago got pinch hit for by Taylor Grote who only came in to pinch hit, he didnt replace anyone in the field. Because Kyle Higashioka was the DH and Mitch Abeita was on the bench, they were able to do those substitutions without losing the DH. Taylor actually walked instead of striking out. Before that at-bat he had walked only 15 times yet struck out 43 and his walk came on a 3-2 count. In the next inning, Mitch who came in to catch after Rabago got pinch hit for came up to bat and grounded out to score the go ahead run. Who knew what would have happened if they hadnt made those substitutions.
When I got to the game one of the other boosters gave me her 2 tickets to see the Reds and Rays in the end of June, I am excited because I like interleague play and I like the Reds. The tickets were also free so I couldn't pass them up. I also saw that Brett's girlfriend was in town and I talked to her and Kevin's wife for a while at the end of the game. I stayed over where they were because I didnt want to mess with the mojo if I were to leave since we were already up a run. She is only going to be around until Sunday morning so she will miss the dinner on Sunday night. While I was sitting over by the dugout with them, another foul ball flew our way, they are attracted to us as we almost got hit by one in Clearwater. Kevin's wife said she finally talked to Kevin about the ball that almost hit us in Clearwater and he said he didnt realize how close it had come to knocking one of us out until Brett said something to him. I think ill stick to behind the screen from now on.
I wont make it to the TY game tomorrow because I have to work but I should make it Friday through Tuesday. Depending on how the games go I might do updates but probably not for every game.
Pitching tonights game for the TY was Brett Marshall who pitched the last home game. He did such a great job last game he had a lot to live up to. I got to the game late but when I sat down the TY were up to bat and Marshall had allowed just a hit and someone committed an error in the top of the 1st. In the second inning he got a grounder down the RF line and Kevin Mahoney who was playing 1st, jumped on it, recovered and threw to Brett to get the runner out at 1st. It was a great play. Brett then allowed a double and walk but got out of the inning with a strikeout. In the 3rd inning I realized that Angel Pegan was playing for St. Lucie just in time for him to hit a leadoff solo shot to right to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. Brett got into more trouble that inning after walking the second batter and and allowing a single to put runners on the corners, after a strikeout for the first out of the inning he got a groundout which scored the 2nd run. He escaped the inning with no further damage on 2 more groundouts. In the 4th inning the Mets again touched up Brett for a run though this one was all his fault. He walked the first batter got a groundout and then hit the next batter. He threw a wild pitch to move the runners up, after a walk(to Angel Pegan) he allowed a single that scored the runner from 3rd. He then got a groundout to end the inning. In the 5th inning for Brett, the leadoff hitter reached on an error by Rob Lyerly, he then got a groundout, a single move the runner to 3rd. Brett then got a popout and Hector Rabago who was catching, threw out the runner for the last out of the inning. Overall Brett was not that sharp, he allowed 3 runs on 7 hits, he walked and struckout 4, and he threw a wild pitch. He did however limit the damage and keep the TY in the game so they could stage a comeback in the late innings.
Pegan up to bat
Pegan on 3rd. Luckily he didn't score this time
The TY offense was pretty dead through the first few innings of the game.Leading up to the 5th inning they only had 2 hits and a walk. In the 5th with 1 out, Kevin Mahoney doubled, he moved to 3rd on a single by Kelvin Castro and scored on a sac fly by Deangelo Mack. When Castro singled, the ball bounced off the SS glove and went into center, Sojo held up Kevin at 3rd and this man behind me started yelling at Kevin for not trying to score the run. Apparently he thought it would be okay to just ignore the manager, uh no. (in the minor leagues, the manager usually stands in the 3rd base coach box)
Luckily Kevin was able to score on the sac fly because that guy probably would have had words for him. In the bottom of the 7th inning the TY scored 2 runs to tie the game. Those runs came on a walk by Mahoney, a fielding error which moved Kevin to 2nd and Castro safe at 1st, (the ball just rolled through the 3rd basemans legs) Deangelo Mack then sac bunted the runners over for the 1st out of the inning. Taylor Grote pinch hit for Rabago and got himself a walk(surprisingly because he strikes out a ton) This loaded the bases for Abraham Almonte who greeted the new Mets pitcher with a 2 run single. That was it for that inning but it tied up the game and got Brett off the hook.
In the top of the 8th Mitch Abeita came in to catch since Taylor had pinch hit for the catcher Rabago and Kyle Higashioka was the DH for the night. Ryan Flannery came in to pitch and after getting the first out he allowed a triple down the RF line, the runner scored on a groundout. Flannery got out of the inning with another groundout. This put the score at 4-3 going into the bottom of the 8th.
Neil Medchill led off the bottom of the 8th with a walk, Kyle followed with a single off the fresh into the game reliever for St. Lucie, this moved Neil to 3rd. Kevin Mahoney then walked and was followed by a bases loaded walk to Kelvin Castro, this scored Neil with the tying run(again). Deangelo Mack then popped up(infield fly rule) Mitch Abeita grounded out which scored Kevin for the go ahead run and Abe Almonte struckout to end the inning but the TY was now leading 5-4 going into the top of the 9th.
Ryan Flannery stayed in to pitch and allowed a leadoff single and then 2 groundouts that moved the runner to 3rd. He thankfully struckout the final batter of the game and the TY beat the 1st place(in the south division) St. Lucie Mets in the 1st of 4 games. Flannery got the win though something has to be said for Preston Claiborne who pitched a perfect 6th and 7th with 3 strikeouts. Things have been looking up for the T-Yanks though things should after dropping 9 in a row, it couldnt have possibly gotten much worse.
Going back to the shifts that happened in the game, its always neat to see how things work out after the fact. Hector Rabago got pinch hit for by Taylor Grote who only came in to pinch hit, he didnt replace anyone in the field. Because Kyle Higashioka was the DH and Mitch Abeita was on the bench, they were able to do those substitutions without losing the DH. Taylor actually walked instead of striking out. Before that at-bat he had walked only 15 times yet struck out 43 and his walk came on a 3-2 count. In the next inning, Mitch who came in to catch after Rabago got pinch hit for came up to bat and grounded out to score the go ahead run. Who knew what would have happened if they hadnt made those substitutions.
When I got to the game one of the other boosters gave me her 2 tickets to see the Reds and Rays in the end of June, I am excited because I like interleague play and I like the Reds. The tickets were also free so I couldn't pass them up. I also saw that Brett's girlfriend was in town and I talked to her and Kevin's wife for a while at the end of the game. I stayed over where they were because I didnt want to mess with the mojo if I were to leave since we were already up a run. She is only going to be around until Sunday morning so she will miss the dinner on Sunday night. While I was sitting over by the dugout with them, another foul ball flew our way, they are attracted to us as we almost got hit by one in Clearwater. Kevin's wife said she finally talked to Kevin about the ball that almost hit us in Clearwater and he said he didnt realize how close it had come to knocking one of us out until Brett said something to him. I think ill stick to behind the screen from now on.
I wont make it to the TY game tomorrow because I have to work but I should make it Friday through Tuesday. Depending on how the games go I might do updates but probably not for every game.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
The Tampa Yankees dont play another home game until next Wednesday. Hopefully they can do well against the Palm Beach Cardinals who they are playing a 4 game set against(their game got postponed today) They then come back to face the St. Lucie Mets who are currently first in the FSL south.
Here is a picture of the Award that I presented to Walter at the game last night:
Here is a picture of the Award that I presented to Walter at the game last night:
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Bradenton Marauders at Tampa game 2
Tonight the Tampa Yankees played game two of four against the Bradenton Marauders (Pittsburgh Pirates)
It was also Yankees night light giveaway. I got 2 night lights, one at the gate and one at Costumer Service when I went to get my lineup card. It was a weird night for me. First I went up to get my RBI Rewards card stamped and the girl traded out my ticket for another one. No clue at all why, it was the ticket for tonights game and everything. Then I went to Costumer Service and got a second night light. Odd but I can't complain.
It was a warm game and made even warmer because I was wearing my Mitch Abeita Hawaiian jersey. The other woman wore her pink one too. We decided that his number for tonight was 28.5 since I was wearing 28 and she was wearing 29 which is his new number(I think by wearing the 28, I am the more loyal fan since I got his jersey last season) Mitch even played tonight though he wasn't really great defensively as he had 2 passed balls(his first 2 of the season) and a throwing error. In his defense it was a poorly played game all around so he wasn't the only one who had a bad night. He did do well at the plate getting the first 2 hits of the game and driving in the first run.
Speaking of bad nights, it is Kevin Mahoney's birthday and he got to play, with Carmen Angelini and David Adams on the DL he is getting into more games though he hasn't done well in the past 2. Today he went 0-3 with a strikeout but he did get on base on a fielder's choice. He made an error in the top of the 3rd after making a great play on a ball just one out prior. I think the official scorer likes to mess with us because when Kevin made that error they put up an E5 which would be an error in the 3rd baseman, Rob Lyerly in this case. When they put up E5 on the screen we yelled "Rob, What did you do?" and he looked up at the screen in time to see that the error had been attributed to him. In the game on Monday they kept putting up E3 for all the errors which would be an error on Luke Murton at 1st base. I guess they are just so used to giving those 2 errors, they dont know how to give an error to anyone else anymore.
Onto the game. Josh Romanski was the starter for Tampa, his first start since being activated from the DL. He wasn't perfect but was able to limit the damage through the first 3 innings allowing just one run in the 3rd. In the 4th inning Romanski allowed a leadoff single, the runner advanced to second on a passed ball, he scored on a triple by the next batter. The following batter laid down a pretty good bunt which brought the runner home, with no throw, he made it safely to 1st base. The next batter grounded out on a batter's interference. Mitch attempted to throw to second and the batter didn't get out of the way. The next batter singled and then stole second base. One walk later, Romanski's night was over He left with 3 runners still on base and the lone lefty Jose Quintana came out to get the last out of the inning. Mitch then had his second passed ball of the game and a run scored. He tried to recover but he threw to Quintana who couldnt hold onto the ball, he wouldnt have had him out anyway. By the end of the inning, the TY was down 4-1.
The score remained the same until the 6th inning when Bradenton had their own sloppy inning.
The starting pitcher for Bradenton was replaced in the bottom of the 6th and then things started going downhill. This was probably one of the first times that the TY was able to take advantage of another teams bullpen.
Abe Almonte started the inning off with a walk, he moved the 2nd on a wild pitch. Walter Ibarra was then hit by a pitch. Rob Lyerly got his first hit of the night, a double which scored both Walter and Abe. Luke Murton followed Rob with a double of his own scoring Rob in the process. Neil Medchill flew out to center for the first out of the inning. He was followed by Taylor Grote who walked. Things got crazy when Taylor Grote broke for 2nd base, I was watching to see of he got the steal when I heard yelling, around home plate. Luke Murton was stealing home! Luke is probably the slowest guy on the team so I had no clue what he was thinking stealing home but he somehow pulled it off, the SS for Bradenton made a throwing error when Luke was stealing home which allowed Taylor to move to 3rd. Mitch then hit a ball right to the 3rd baseman who let the ball roll right through his legs allowing Mitch to reach and Taylor to score. All this happened with just 1 out. Bradenton switched pitchers which allowed them to get through the inning without anymore damage. The TY scored 5 runs in that inning on just 2 hits.
Mitch had 2 hits and Rob had 2 hits. The TY was outhit 10-6 but still managed to win. (Deangelo Mack and Luke Murton had the other 2 hits)
Jose Quintana was followed by Preston Claiborne in the 7th inning. Things got a bit dicey when the first batter of that inning reached on an error by Rob Lyerly(E5 - was actually right this time) Claiborne struck out the next 2 batters and on a hit and run/strike-em out throw-em out, Mitch threw the ball to center field moving the runner to 3rd. Claiborne got out of trouble getting a flyout to end the inning.
Claiborne pitched the 8th working around a leadoff double. He was followed by Ryan Flannery who allowed a leadoff single, he then showed off his skill by starting a 1-4-3 double play, it looked just like the DP that Mariano Rivera started in the game Tuesday night. The last batter popped out to Rob in foul territory(more like a line drive caught in foul territory, as it was more line drive than popup). The TY won the game 6-4. Jose Quintana got the win and Flannery got the save. I am not sure if Quintana will stay in Tampa as he played only a few games in the GCL and Charleston last year. He may be here because Tampa doesn't have any lefty relievers without him. He has done well though. Ryan Flannery has pitched 12 innings so far, giving up 9 hits and no runs so he has so far done well for himself.
While I was at the game I saw a friend of mine from High School, more like an acquaintance I had a few classes with who is now an EMT with Hillsbourough county, he was working the game tonight so I went over and talked to him. He said he likes to work the minor league games(on his day off) but they are hard to come by since they only bring in 1 paramedic for the TY games. He said that he got to come to 3 spring training games and caught a foul ball hit by Teixeira and landed himself on Sportcenter top 10 plays. He has a 3 year old son who looks just like him, and he informed me that his wife is expecting a girl in the fall. Just thought that was a cute story I felt like sharing.
The TY play again tomorrow and will hopefully be able to keep their win streak alive. Scott Allen gets the start for the TY in the place of Jose Ramirez who was sent back down to Charleston. Hopefully Scott does well in this start, he didn't do well last time he had a spot start but I don't think he was as prepared for it, this game he has known about for a while. I have seen him the past few days up charting pitches and normally only starters get to do that. I will try to do a recap of that game depending on how it goes but I may just combine it with friday.
My birthday is on Monday and my free tickets fell through for the Yankees at Rays game but I am still going and with a friend who lives across the street from Tropicana, she is going to pick up our tickets on Friday, avoiding the "day of game" fee and then I am going to park at her town house complex on Monday avoiding the parking fee. I wanted a Robinson Cano shirt for the game but other expenses got in the way. Ill probably just wear my Swisher shirt since they seem to win when I wear it.
It was also Yankees night light giveaway. I got 2 night lights, one at the gate and one at Costumer Service when I went to get my lineup card. It was a weird night for me. First I went up to get my RBI Rewards card stamped and the girl traded out my ticket for another one. No clue at all why, it was the ticket for tonights game and everything. Then I went to Costumer Service and got a second night light. Odd but I can't complain.
It was a warm game and made even warmer because I was wearing my Mitch Abeita Hawaiian jersey. The other woman wore her pink one too. We decided that his number for tonight was 28.5 since I was wearing 28 and she was wearing 29 which is his new number(I think by wearing the 28, I am the more loyal fan since I got his jersey last season) Mitch even played tonight though he wasn't really great defensively as he had 2 passed balls(his first 2 of the season) and a throwing error. In his defense it was a poorly played game all around so he wasn't the only one who had a bad night. He did do well at the plate getting the first 2 hits of the game and driving in the first run.
Speaking of bad nights, it is Kevin Mahoney's birthday and he got to play, with Carmen Angelini and David Adams on the DL he is getting into more games though he hasn't done well in the past 2. Today he went 0-3 with a strikeout but he did get on base on a fielder's choice. He made an error in the top of the 3rd after making a great play on a ball just one out prior. I think the official scorer likes to mess with us because when Kevin made that error they put up an E5 which would be an error in the 3rd baseman, Rob Lyerly in this case. When they put up E5 on the screen we yelled "Rob, What did you do?" and he looked up at the screen in time to see that the error had been attributed to him. In the game on Monday they kept putting up E3 for all the errors which would be an error on Luke Murton at 1st base. I guess they are just so used to giving those 2 errors, they dont know how to give an error to anyone else anymore.
Onto the game. Josh Romanski was the starter for Tampa, his first start since being activated from the DL. He wasn't perfect but was able to limit the damage through the first 3 innings allowing just one run in the 3rd. In the 4th inning Romanski allowed a leadoff single, the runner advanced to second on a passed ball, he scored on a triple by the next batter. The following batter laid down a pretty good bunt which brought the runner home, with no throw, he made it safely to 1st base. The next batter grounded out on a batter's interference. Mitch attempted to throw to second and the batter didn't get out of the way. The next batter singled and then stole second base. One walk later, Romanski's night was over He left with 3 runners still on base and the lone lefty Jose Quintana came out to get the last out of the inning. Mitch then had his second passed ball of the game and a run scored. He tried to recover but he threw to Quintana who couldnt hold onto the ball, he wouldnt have had him out anyway. By the end of the inning, the TY was down 4-1.
The score remained the same until the 6th inning when Bradenton had their own sloppy inning.
The starting pitcher for Bradenton was replaced in the bottom of the 6th and then things started going downhill. This was probably one of the first times that the TY was able to take advantage of another teams bullpen.
Abe Almonte started the inning off with a walk, he moved the 2nd on a wild pitch. Walter Ibarra was then hit by a pitch. Rob Lyerly got his first hit of the night, a double which scored both Walter and Abe. Luke Murton followed Rob with a double of his own scoring Rob in the process. Neil Medchill flew out to center for the first out of the inning. He was followed by Taylor Grote who walked. Things got crazy when Taylor Grote broke for 2nd base, I was watching to see of he got the steal when I heard yelling, around home plate. Luke Murton was stealing home! Luke is probably the slowest guy on the team so I had no clue what he was thinking stealing home but he somehow pulled it off, the SS for Bradenton made a throwing error when Luke was stealing home which allowed Taylor to move to 3rd. Mitch then hit a ball right to the 3rd baseman who let the ball roll right through his legs allowing Mitch to reach and Taylor to score. All this happened with just 1 out. Bradenton switched pitchers which allowed them to get through the inning without anymore damage. The TY scored 5 runs in that inning on just 2 hits.
Mitch had 2 hits and Rob had 2 hits. The TY was outhit 10-6 but still managed to win. (Deangelo Mack and Luke Murton had the other 2 hits)
Jose Quintana was followed by Preston Claiborne in the 7th inning. Things got a bit dicey when the first batter of that inning reached on an error by Rob Lyerly(E5 - was actually right this time) Claiborne struck out the next 2 batters and on a hit and run/strike-em out throw-em out, Mitch threw the ball to center field moving the runner to 3rd. Claiborne got out of trouble getting a flyout to end the inning.
Claiborne pitched the 8th working around a leadoff double. He was followed by Ryan Flannery who allowed a leadoff single, he then showed off his skill by starting a 1-4-3 double play, it looked just like the DP that Mariano Rivera started in the game Tuesday night. The last batter popped out to Rob in foul territory(more like a line drive caught in foul territory, as it was more line drive than popup). The TY won the game 6-4. Jose Quintana got the win and Flannery got the save. I am not sure if Quintana will stay in Tampa as he played only a few games in the GCL and Charleston last year. He may be here because Tampa doesn't have any lefty relievers without him. He has done well though. Ryan Flannery has pitched 12 innings so far, giving up 9 hits and no runs so he has so far done well for himself.
While I was at the game I saw a friend of mine from High School, more like an acquaintance I had a few classes with who is now an EMT with Hillsbourough county, he was working the game tonight so I went over and talked to him. He said he likes to work the minor league games(on his day off) but they are hard to come by since they only bring in 1 paramedic for the TY games. He said that he got to come to 3 spring training games and caught a foul ball hit by Teixeira and landed himself on Sportcenter top 10 plays. He has a 3 year old son who looks just like him, and he informed me that his wife is expecting a girl in the fall. Just thought that was a cute story I felt like sharing.
The TY play again tomorrow and will hopefully be able to keep their win streak alive. Scott Allen gets the start for the TY in the place of Jose Ramirez who was sent back down to Charleston. Hopefully Scott does well in this start, he didn't do well last time he had a spot start but I don't think he was as prepared for it, this game he has known about for a while. I have seen him the past few days up charting pitches and normally only starters get to do that. I will try to do a recap of that game depending on how it goes but I may just combine it with friday.
My birthday is on Monday and my free tickets fell through for the Yankees at Rays game but I am still going and with a friend who lives across the street from Tropicana, she is going to pick up our tickets on Friday, avoiding the "day of game" fee and then I am going to park at her town house complex on Monday avoiding the parking fee. I wanted a Robinson Cano shirt for the game but other expenses got in the way. Ill probably just wear my Swisher shirt since they seem to win when I wear it.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
TY wins again!
Tonight the Tampa Yankees won their 2nd game in 4 days(3 games)
I got to the ballpark late because I had to work later than usual. When I walked in, I was pleasantly surprised to see that we had 2 runs and were only in the 2nd inning. Unfortunately, the Bradenton Marauders also had 2 runs. I found out that the TY played a little small ball to score their 2 and Bradenton scored a run in the first and tied the game with a home run in the 2nd.
The score remained tied until the 4th when Neil Medchill, fresh off the DL, hit is 3rd home run of the season to put the TY up 3-2. Jairo Heredia pitched the first 4 innings for Tampa giving up 2 runs on 4 hits and a walk. He struck out 4. Jairo didnt stick around long enough to get the win as Michael Solbach came in to pitch the 5th through 7th innings. He limited the Marauders to 1 hit and a walk while striking out 4 and earning the win. Chase Whitley pitched the final 2 innings allowing 2 hits and a strikeout for the save. The TY won tonight's game 5-2 as the pitchers were able to keep Bradenton off the board after allowing a run in both the 1st and 2nd innings.
The TY offense was also rolling through the game. They scored runs sporadically throughout the game which I found to be a good sign and they were able to take advantage of some pitchers and some timely hitting. The TY defense also looked pretty good even after committing 2 errors. Jairo Heredia picked a runner off 2nd and Kyle Higashioka(who committed an error earlier in the game) threw out 2 runners trying to steal.
I was talking and not keeping score so I didnt pay as close attention to this game as I normally do. I also think getting there early messed me up because it was the first game I have been late to that I havent paid attention to the score before I got there.
Tomorrow they are giving out Yankees nightlights to the first 250 fans which means I will get one unless they only give it to the kids. It is also Mitch Abeita Appreciation night(not officially) so I will be wearing my hawaiian jersey I won last year. He hasnt played the last 2 games so hopefully he gets into tomorrow's game for us.
I got to the ballpark late because I had to work later than usual. When I walked in, I was pleasantly surprised to see that we had 2 runs and were only in the 2nd inning. Unfortunately, the Bradenton Marauders also had 2 runs. I found out that the TY played a little small ball to score their 2 and Bradenton scored a run in the first and tied the game with a home run in the 2nd.
The score remained tied until the 4th when Neil Medchill, fresh off the DL, hit is 3rd home run of the season to put the TY up 3-2. Jairo Heredia pitched the first 4 innings for Tampa giving up 2 runs on 4 hits and a walk. He struck out 4. Jairo didnt stick around long enough to get the win as Michael Solbach came in to pitch the 5th through 7th innings. He limited the Marauders to 1 hit and a walk while striking out 4 and earning the win. Chase Whitley pitched the final 2 innings allowing 2 hits and a strikeout for the save. The TY won tonight's game 5-2 as the pitchers were able to keep Bradenton off the board after allowing a run in both the 1st and 2nd innings.
The TY offense was also rolling through the game. They scored runs sporadically throughout the game which I found to be a good sign and they were able to take advantage of some pitchers and some timely hitting. The TY defense also looked pretty good even after committing 2 errors. Jairo Heredia picked a runner off 2nd and Kyle Higashioka(who committed an error earlier in the game) threw out 2 runners trying to steal.
I was talking and not keeping score so I didnt pay as close attention to this game as I normally do. I also think getting there early messed me up because it was the first game I have been late to that I havent paid attention to the score before I got there.
Tomorrow they are giving out Yankees nightlights to the first 250 fans which means I will get one unless they only give it to the kids. It is also Mitch Abeita Appreciation night(not officially) so I will be wearing my hawaiian jersey I won last year. He hasnt played the last 2 games so hopefully he gets into tomorrow's game for us.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Baseball Bingo!
Tonight the Tampa Yankees lost 5-1. I wish that I could give you a solid recap of the game but I can't because I was too busy playing baseball bingo than actually watching the game. I think I might have to skip bingo next time because I start rooting for a situation rather than for my team.
Carlos Silva started the game for the TY, he pitched 4 innings giving up 5 hits and no runs and 5 strikeouts. He escaped a bases loaded jam so though he struggled he didn't implode. He made big pitches when he needed them which is always a good sign. Sean Black, who was supposed to be the starter for the game, came into the game in the 5th and gave up 3 runs in his first inning. Poor Luke Murton got 2 more errors in the game today both on the throw. He has 9 on the season. Kyle Higashioka also had an error on the throw. Black threw a wild pitch and Kyle tried to recover it, he attempted to throw the runner out at 3rd who was advancing on the wild pitch but he threw the ball to left field.
The TY scored their first and only run in the 7th when Rob Lyerly doubled, moved to 3rd on a groundout and scored on a single by Taylor Grote. The offense was again asleep as they scattered 4 hits throughout the game. Taylor had 2 of the TY's 4 hits and he didn't strikeout once. (yay!)
The highlight of the game was playing baseball bingo. At the gates when they scan your ticket, you get handed a bingo card. On the card is 25 circles with a random situation that can occur in a baseball game and a free spot of course. In order to win, you have to make a T and a Y(the boxes you need to fill are shaded grey so you will know what you need to win the game) Mine was a difficult card as it required that the game total 20 hits or more. There ended up being 13 so I automatically lost out regardless of however many circles I actually got.
The group I sit with were all playing, some came just for baseball bingo. Only 2 of us actually won, the rest of us got burned by 1 or 2 circles. We all wanted to win so much that we weren't rooting for the Tampa Yankees but for a situation to come up so we could check off out circles. Stolen Base? I dont care who does it as long as someone does! 20 hits? well I think between the two teams they can do it! Home Run? Bring it on! I was asking for hits from everyone that came up to the plate no matter the team. I unfortunately came up 3 circles short of winning. (15 or more hits, 20 or more hits and a stolen base) Wade Gaynor who was the cleanup hitter for the Flying Tigers went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts but reached base on a hit by pitch. I actually WooHoo'ed when he got on base because that was a situation that I needed in my TY on my bingo card(cleanup hitter reaches base)
I am going to the Tampa Yankees game tomorrow and hopefully again all week. On Wednesday we are going to have Mitch Abeita appreciation night where myself and the lady who won Mitch's jersey in the auction on Saturday are going to wear our jerseys in support of him. Maybe he will even get to play. I need to also get his card signed that I found at the flea market back in January.
Jose Ramirez, who I have been following for certain people, was sent down to Charleston. He was 0-5 and not doing well so maybe going back to low-A will help him. Starting in his place on Thursday is Scott Allen. The TY starters were pushed back a day because of the off day on Sunday. I originally thought Brett was going on Thursday which would be his 5th day but he is now going on Friday. That works out better for me because I get off early on Friday where I would have been late on Thursday.
Carlos Silva started the game for the TY, he pitched 4 innings giving up 5 hits and no runs and 5 strikeouts. He escaped a bases loaded jam so though he struggled he didn't implode. He made big pitches when he needed them which is always a good sign. Sean Black, who was supposed to be the starter for the game, came into the game in the 5th and gave up 3 runs in his first inning. Poor Luke Murton got 2 more errors in the game today both on the throw. He has 9 on the season. Kyle Higashioka also had an error on the throw. Black threw a wild pitch and Kyle tried to recover it, he attempted to throw the runner out at 3rd who was advancing on the wild pitch but he threw the ball to left field.
The TY scored their first and only run in the 7th when Rob Lyerly doubled, moved to 3rd on a groundout and scored on a single by Taylor Grote. The offense was again asleep as they scattered 4 hits throughout the game. Taylor had 2 of the TY's 4 hits and he didn't strikeout once. (yay!)
The highlight of the game was playing baseball bingo. At the gates when they scan your ticket, you get handed a bingo card. On the card is 25 circles with a random situation that can occur in a baseball game and a free spot of course. In order to win, you have to make a T and a Y(the boxes you need to fill are shaded grey so you will know what you need to win the game) Mine was a difficult card as it required that the game total 20 hits or more. There ended up being 13 so I automatically lost out regardless of however many circles I actually got.
The group I sit with were all playing, some came just for baseball bingo. Only 2 of us actually won, the rest of us got burned by 1 or 2 circles. We all wanted to win so much that we weren't rooting for the Tampa Yankees but for a situation to come up so we could check off out circles. Stolen Base? I dont care who does it as long as someone does! 20 hits? well I think between the two teams they can do it! Home Run? Bring it on! I was asking for hits from everyone that came up to the plate no matter the team. I unfortunately came up 3 circles short of winning. (15 or more hits, 20 or more hits and a stolen base) Wade Gaynor who was the cleanup hitter for the Flying Tigers went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts but reached base on a hit by pitch. I actually WooHoo'ed when he got on base because that was a situation that I needed in my TY on my bingo card(cleanup hitter reaches base)
Here is my bingo card. I checked all the boxes of things that happened even though they weren't all in the shaded TY.
I am going to the Tampa Yankees game tomorrow and hopefully again all week. On Wednesday we are going to have Mitch Abeita appreciation night where myself and the lady who won Mitch's jersey in the auction on Saturday are going to wear our jerseys in support of him. Maybe he will even get to play. I need to also get his card signed that I found at the flea market back in January.
Jose Ramirez, who I have been following for certain people, was sent down to Charleston. He was 0-5 and not doing well so maybe going back to low-A will help him. Starting in his place on Thursday is Scott Allen. The TY starters were pushed back a day because of the off day on Sunday. I originally thought Brett was going on Thursday which would be his 5th day but he is now going on Friday. That works out better for me because I get off early on Friday where I would have been late on Thursday.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
When you're in a slump, it's almost as if you look out at the field and it's one big glove.
something you only see after a win.
The Tampa Yankees finally won a game tonight. Thank Jesus. I didn't think a win would ever come. I knew though that if anyone would be able to keep them in a game and give them a chance would be Brett Marshall. He allowed a lot of hits but only 3R/2ER in his last outing and he seems to get better each game.
He built on this past Monday's game and more.
Tonight was a 6pm game. I thought it started at 630 but I got there early so I didn't miss anything. It was Pink out night which is where the players wear a pink jersey that is auctioned off during the game in a silent auction. The money raised goes to Moffitt Cancer Center. I went not knowing if I wanted one but then decided to put my name down on Michael Solbach's sheet and if I won then good and if not then I couldn't afford it anyway. Michael Solbach wears the number 36 and since my favorite Brad Suttle wore 36 last season(and still does for Trenton) then I would get it in honor of him. When the 6th inning was complete I went to the table to see if I had won and I did. I paid for my jersey and waited until the game was over so that I could go on the field and get it. Of course I had to watch a game before that could happen so I will recap that now and then get to the fun stuff.
Brett pitched tonight and his mom couldn't keep track of the game as she had a prior engagement. She asked me to keep her updated so I did. Brett pitched a perfect 1st inning getting a flyout and 2 groundouts. In the second inning he allowed a leadoff single which was erased on a fielder's choice. Brett walked the next batter and then got a groundball for an easy 6-4-3 double play. Brett pitched a perfect 3rd inning getting a flyout to right, left and center. In the 4th inning he got into a little trouble. He allowed a leadoff walk and after a groundout which moved the runner to 2nd, he allowed a double to center which let the run score. He got out of the inning by inducing a groundout and a flyout. Brett pitched perfect 5th and 6th innings for the last 2 innings of his night. All told he pitched 6 innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits, 3 strikeouts and 2 walks.(88 pitches) Most definitely the best pitching I have seen in days. Brett was followed by Chase Whitley who pitched 2 innings allowing 1 hit and Preston Claiborne who pitched the 9th allowing only a single as well. The TY defense looked really good tonight. Rob Lyerly got to all the balls that came his way and he even got to a ball to start a double play in the 8th inning. Abraham Almonte made at least 2 great catches in centerfield that saved a few runs.
The offense really came out in the game from the first inning. They didnt stop hitting until the 7th inning and by then they had the game well in hand. With one out in the first Walter Ibarra singled, another out later, Jason Place(RedSox castoff) came to the plate and hit a 2 run home run over the left field fence. He gave the TY their first lead since Wednesday. The TY had 2 hits in the 2nd inning but left empty handed. In the 3rd they scored another run when Walter Ibarra singled and scored on a double by Jason Place. The TY broke the game open in the 4th when they scored 3 runs. The inning started with DeAngelo Mack who singled, he moved to 2nd on a balk. Mitch Abeita singled to move Mack to 3rd and Kevin Mahoney singled to bring home Mack to move Abeita to 3rd. Abraham Almonte reached on a fielders choice. Walter Ibarra struck out but Abe Almonte stole 2nd to move in scoring position for Rob Lyerly. He didn't disappoint and singled to right to bring home Abeita and Almonte. The TY scored their 7th and final run in the 5th when Taylor Grote singled and scored on a double to deep center by Luke Murton. The TY had a walk and hit by pitch in the 7th but was unable to take advantage. By the end of the game the TY had more hits then they have had in their past 3 games combined with 13.
One other reason for picking Solbach's jersey is because he did not pitch in the game today. I didn't want a sweaty jersey to wear home. Last time I won a jersey I picked Mitch Abeita because he wasn't playing so I decided to do the same today. The lady sitting next to me ended up getting Mitch's jersey so we decided that we are going to wear ours on the same day to support him. Mine has #28 on the back which was his number last year and hers has #29 which is his number from this year. Kyle Higashioka is #28 this season. The funniest thing happened in the 4th inning. All game long the woman who bought Mitch's jersey was saying how he better keep it clean for her. Well when he was on 3rd and Abe Almonte stole 2nd, he started to run towards home but they were onto him and threw to 3rd, he dove back and made it in time to beat the tag. When he stood up he had a huge dirt stain all down the front of his jersey. She(who bought his jersey) yelled "Noo my shirt! what did you do to it? Its all dirty!" we were dying of laughter. It took quite a while to recover from that as it was hilarious. I made a point to show her that my jersey was still nice and clean standing in the dugout.
5'6 meet 6'3.
Me with Michael Solbach after I got my jersey. Photo taken by Brett Marshall
When the game was over I made my way down to the field. I met Kevin's wife in the line and she had bought both Kevin and Brett's jerseys. We walked out to the field together and I went to find Solbach and she was greeted by Kevin. Brett had already changed and had to come back out to give her his jersey. After I got Solbach to sign my jersey I asked for a picture too. He reached out and grabbed someone to ask for a picture and the person he got was Brett which was ironic. I told Brett good job and he said " so you were keeping my mom up to date?" I said yep and that I was glad that he got the win and did as good as he did, he said he really needed a good outing like that. He got his ERA down to 6.75 which is great considering that 3 starts ago he had an ERA around 11.
I really like the pink jersey better than the hawaiian one I got last year but I like the player who wore the hawaiian one a bit more. I also realized that both numbers I have are divisible by 4(28 and 36)
The front of the jersey. The patch on the sleeve is the logo for Moffit Cancer Center.
The back of the Jersey. Not sure why the color is so faded, I blame the flash on my phone camera.
Hopefully tonight's game was a step in the right direction for the TYanks. They had a ton of hits and were able to hit them in places they haven't in the past games they have played. The TY is off tomorrow for Mother's Day but are back at it for the rest of their 6 game homestand on Monday. Lord willing I will be able to make it to the game in time on Monday and will finally be able to play baseball bingo.
Here is the picture of me and Mitch at the end of last season when I won his jersey on Jimmy Buffet night:
Thursday, May 5, 2011
We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time
The Tampa Yankees seem to be in a slump. Maybe "seem to be" is too kind. They are definitely slumping. They are currently on an 8 game losing streak and don't seem to be getting out of it anytime soon. As I posted yesterday, they have been unfortunate in their schedule because they have had to play the top two teams in the FSL North for the past 12 games. The Daytona Cubs who they were just swept by this morning is hitting over .280 and their pitchers are pitching to a less than 2.80 ERA. They have several players who are doing better than many Major Leaguers in many categories. The Tampa Yankees on the other hand are hitting under .249 and have a team ERA of over 5.30. They play the Lakeland Flying Tigers for the next 3 games so maybe they will be able to catch a break and finally win one.
Onto my recap of last nights game. I was told on Tuesday night that Carlos Silva was going to pitch in Wednesday's game by one of the pitchers on the team. I wanted to go anyway since their game today was a morning game and they aren't home again until Saturday. I also had the day off and I wanted my 10th game stamp(even though I have been to 11) I belong to the RBI Rewards program which gets you rewards obviously for attending games. For the 10th game you attend you get 5 dollars in T-Bucks to spend at the concession stand or team store and a TY hat. I have a million of those hats and I don't wear them. I also found out that they sell player bats at Costumer Service. I don't ever plan on using one but if a good one comes available(David Adams bat was for sale yesterday) it would be neat to have.
The game started out promising enough....for the Cubs. The first batter Silva faced, Junior Lake, the Cubs 27th best prospect according to Baseball America, hit a Triple on the first pitch of the game. One out later the Cubs 28th best prospect hit a home run over the right field fence. Only his 5th home run of the season. Just before that home run though, Silva hightailed it to 1st to cover the base on a close play. He got his last 2 outs on 4-3 ground balls(2B to 1B putouts) The next inning, Silva allowed a leadoff double. He then made a play on a bunted ball in front of the mound, he hopped off the mound and got to the ball in time to throw the runner out. He struck out the next batter and then repeated his previous play on a bunted ball in front of the mound, reaching it in time again to throw the runner out at first. I guess he really does not want to be playing in the minor leagues anymore. In his third and final inning of work Silva had a strikeout swinging followed by a strikeout looking. He then walked Mr. 1st inning home run only to strikeout his last batter of the evening. I would say that he did well.
The Tampa Yankee offense actually came to some life in this game. Their biggest problem offensively has been BABIP which I now kind of understand. When they aren't striking out, the balls that they are hitting are being hit right to the fielders, seriously I dont think I saw one Cub outfielder or infielder have to make a tough play on a ball in the 2 games that I went to, it was like the ball was a magnet and the fielders were the fridge. The Yankees didn't get lucky until the 4th inning when Rob Lyerly singled and was followed by Jason Place who reached on an error on the shortstop. Zoilo Almonte followed Place's lead and ended up on 2nd base after the Cubs right fielder made his own error, that lead to Lyerly scoring the first TY run of the game. Taylor Grote drove in the next run on a sacrifice bunt and the TY had tied the game. The TY were at it again in the 5th inning. Abe Almonte hit a 2 out single, he stole 2nd and was driven in on a single by Rob Lyerly. The TY had their first lead in a week! It looked promising too as Jairo Heredia came in to pitch the 5th inning. He had two perfect innings in the 5th and 6th. In the bottom of the 6th, the TY scored another 2 runs without the help of errors which contributed to their 2 runs in the 4th. Jason Place started the inning with a single, he was erased on a Zoilo Almonte fielders choice. Luke Murton singled to move Zoilo up to 2nd. Taylor Grote grounded moving both runners to 2nd and 3rd. A pitching change later, both Kyle Higashioka and Emerson Landoni singled to bring both runners home. That was the extent of damage the TY would put on the board through the rest of the game as the went hitless through the final 3 innings. The TY were up 5-2 going into the 7th inning.
Without going into batter by batter detail which you can all see for yourself at tybaseball.com, I will just say that Jairo Heredia got himself into a bit of a jam that his replacement was thankfully able to get him out of without letting the game get out of hand. He did however give up 5 runs in the top of the 7th which made the Cubs winners again. With 1 out and the bases loaded(HBP, single, single) Jairo Heredia got the groundball he was looking for, unfortunately it went to the one fielder that was totally incapable of fielding it. Rob Lyerly. The one ball the whole entire game that went to Rob, probably the most important ball the whole game which could have ended the inning, was instead bobbled, rolled through his legs, no throw was made and a run scored. The bases were still loaded and on the next batter Heredia walked in the 2nd run of the inning. The following batter(who hit a 2 run HR in the first inning) singled to center and plated another 2 runs. After an intentional walk to load the bases again, Heredia walked the next batter forcing in the 5th and last run of the inning. He was replaced by Preston Claiborne who managed to leave the bases loaded by getting the final 2 batters(who started the inning) to strikeout and groundout.
It was not a pretty game for either team but it would have felt good to leave with a win. Today the Tampa Yankees lost 5-0. They managed to get only 4 hits.
Something that I had meant to include on the post from the Clearwater game is something about the Threshers 1st baseman, Joe Savery. Apparently Savery came up through the Phillies organization as a pitcher. In college he both pitched and hit and he was great at both. When he was drafted they made him only a pitcher. He disliked the downtime between starts so much that the team let him DH once or twice between starts which he thrived at. When he moved up to AAA last season he bombed, his ERA blew up and he was banished to the bullpen. He realized that he was no good to the organization so he spoke to the director of player development for the Phillies and asked if he could try hitting full time because he knew he was still good at that. They sent him to the instructional league and decided that he was good enough to play first base and sent him to Clearwater. Joe Savery is currently first in the FSL in batting average with an average of .430. he is 40/93 with 7 walks and only 8 strikeouts, his OPS is 1.046. I read this in their program that they handed out at the gate and I thought it was just a really neat story. Even though he is on the oppositions team, these kinds of stories always interest me. Its cool that he was able to realize that he wasnt doing himself or the organization any good as a pitcher and he is doing excellent now as a fielder and hitter now. I hope that he gets promoted really soon so he can torture another league.
I will post pictures when I can find my cable to link my camera to my computer.
Onto my recap of last nights game. I was told on Tuesday night that Carlos Silva was going to pitch in Wednesday's game by one of the pitchers on the team. I wanted to go anyway since their game today was a morning game and they aren't home again until Saturday. I also had the day off and I wanted my 10th game stamp(even though I have been to 11) I belong to the RBI Rewards program which gets you rewards obviously for attending games. For the 10th game you attend you get 5 dollars in T-Bucks to spend at the concession stand or team store and a TY hat. I have a million of those hats and I don't wear them. I also found out that they sell player bats at Costumer Service. I don't ever plan on using one but if a good one comes available(David Adams bat was for sale yesterday) it would be neat to have.
The game started out promising enough....for the Cubs. The first batter Silva faced, Junior Lake, the Cubs 27th best prospect according to Baseball America, hit a Triple on the first pitch of the game. One out later the Cubs 28th best prospect hit a home run over the right field fence. Only his 5th home run of the season. Just before that home run though, Silva hightailed it to 1st to cover the base on a close play. He got his last 2 outs on 4-3 ground balls(2B to 1B putouts) The next inning, Silva allowed a leadoff double. He then made a play on a bunted ball in front of the mound, he hopped off the mound and got to the ball in time to throw the runner out. He struck out the next batter and then repeated his previous play on a bunted ball in front of the mound, reaching it in time again to throw the runner out at first. I guess he really does not want to be playing in the minor leagues anymore. In his third and final inning of work Silva had a strikeout swinging followed by a strikeout looking. He then walked Mr. 1st inning home run only to strikeout his last batter of the evening. I would say that he did well.
The Tampa Yankee offense actually came to some life in this game. Their biggest problem offensively has been BABIP which I now kind of understand. When they aren't striking out, the balls that they are hitting are being hit right to the fielders, seriously I dont think I saw one Cub outfielder or infielder have to make a tough play on a ball in the 2 games that I went to, it was like the ball was a magnet and the fielders were the fridge. The Yankees didn't get lucky until the 4th inning when Rob Lyerly singled and was followed by Jason Place who reached on an error on the shortstop. Zoilo Almonte followed Place's lead and ended up on 2nd base after the Cubs right fielder made his own error, that lead to Lyerly scoring the first TY run of the game. Taylor Grote drove in the next run on a sacrifice bunt and the TY had tied the game. The TY were at it again in the 5th inning. Abe Almonte hit a 2 out single, he stole 2nd and was driven in on a single by Rob Lyerly. The TY had their first lead in a week! It looked promising too as Jairo Heredia came in to pitch the 5th inning. He had two perfect innings in the 5th and 6th. In the bottom of the 6th, the TY scored another 2 runs without the help of errors which contributed to their 2 runs in the 4th. Jason Place started the inning with a single, he was erased on a Zoilo Almonte fielders choice. Luke Murton singled to move Zoilo up to 2nd. Taylor Grote grounded moving both runners to 2nd and 3rd. A pitching change later, both Kyle Higashioka and Emerson Landoni singled to bring both runners home. That was the extent of damage the TY would put on the board through the rest of the game as the went hitless through the final 3 innings. The TY were up 5-2 going into the 7th inning.
Without going into batter by batter detail which you can all see for yourself at tybaseball.com, I will just say that Jairo Heredia got himself into a bit of a jam that his replacement was thankfully able to get him out of without letting the game get out of hand. He did however give up 5 runs in the top of the 7th which made the Cubs winners again. With 1 out and the bases loaded(HBP, single, single) Jairo Heredia got the groundball he was looking for, unfortunately it went to the one fielder that was totally incapable of fielding it. Rob Lyerly. The one ball the whole entire game that went to Rob, probably the most important ball the whole game which could have ended the inning, was instead bobbled, rolled through his legs, no throw was made and a run scored. The bases were still loaded and on the next batter Heredia walked in the 2nd run of the inning. The following batter(who hit a 2 run HR in the first inning) singled to center and plated another 2 runs. After an intentional walk to load the bases again, Heredia walked the next batter forcing in the 5th and last run of the inning. He was replaced by Preston Claiborne who managed to leave the bases loaded by getting the final 2 batters(who started the inning) to strikeout and groundout.
It was not a pretty game for either team but it would have felt good to leave with a win. Today the Tampa Yankees lost 5-0. They managed to get only 4 hits.
Something that I had meant to include on the post from the Clearwater game is something about the Threshers 1st baseman, Joe Savery. Apparently Savery came up through the Phillies organization as a pitcher. In college he both pitched and hit and he was great at both. When he was drafted they made him only a pitcher. He disliked the downtime between starts so much that the team let him DH once or twice between starts which he thrived at. When he moved up to AAA last season he bombed, his ERA blew up and he was banished to the bullpen. He realized that he was no good to the organization so he spoke to the director of player development for the Phillies and asked if he could try hitting full time because he knew he was still good at that. They sent him to the instructional league and decided that he was good enough to play first base and sent him to Clearwater. Joe Savery is currently first in the FSL in batting average with an average of .430. he is 40/93 with 7 walks and only 8 strikeouts, his OPS is 1.046. I read this in their program that they handed out at the gate and I thought it was just a really neat story. Even though he is on the oppositions team, these kinds of stories always interest me. Its cool that he was able to realize that he wasnt doing himself or the organization any good as a pitcher and he is doing excellent now as a fielder and hitter now. I hope that he gets promoted really soon so he can torture another league.
I will post pictures when I can find my cable to link my camera to my computer.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Daytona at Tampa Game 2
I know I said that I would put up a post and I will but it wont come until tomorrow. The TY play a school day game at 11am and since I have to work I wont make it. If they pull out a win and I miss it, I am going to be pretty upset as it has been over a week since I saw a win.
The good news about tonights game was that the TY had their first lead in a week, it got blown 2 innings later but I take that as hopefully a sign of good things to come. Torre Tyson who was the manager of the TY last season who is now the roving defensive coordinator of the minor leagues is down here so hopefully he can whip the infielders into shape(rob lyerly in particular)
Carlos Silva started for the TY and despite giving up a 2 run home run to the 3rd batter he faced, he looked good, sprightly even as he covered first on a close play and hopped off the mound TWICE to get to a bunted ball to throw the runner out at 1st.
The TY lost the game on sloppy defense but would have won on sloppy defense so I guess in the end it evened out.
Ill have more indepth recap of the game tomorrow though so make sure to check back by the end of the night.
oh and Go Lightning! who swept the Capitols tonight. I bet Phil Hughes is pleased.
The good news about tonights game was that the TY had their first lead in a week, it got blown 2 innings later but I take that as hopefully a sign of good things to come. Torre Tyson who was the manager of the TY last season who is now the roving defensive coordinator of the minor leagues is down here so hopefully he can whip the infielders into shape(rob lyerly in particular)
Carlos Silva started for the TY and despite giving up a 2 run home run to the 3rd batter he faced, he looked good, sprightly even as he covered first on a close play and hopped off the mound TWICE to get to a bunted ball to throw the runner out at 1st.
The TY lost the game on sloppy defense but would have won on sloppy defense so I guess in the end it evened out.
Ill have more indepth recap of the game tomorrow though so make sure to check back by the end of the night.
oh and Go Lightning! who swept the Capitols tonight. I bet Phil Hughes is pleased.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Tampa Yankees at Clearwater Threshers
Much against my mother's wishes, I went to tonight's game in Clearwater. She says that since I am sick I should be resting. I told her that a baseball game is resting since I will just be sitting there watching and not doing anything. I went hoping for a win and unfortunately didn't come home with one. The Tampa Yankees lost 3-0 and have now lost 5 in row. Their last win coming last Wednesday in Daytona.
Brett Marshall was on the mound for Tampa and through the first 5 innings he was not perfect but he was perfect at limiting the damage he put on himself. The first inning he faced the minimum. After 2 outs( a strikeout and comebacker) he allowed a single that was erased 2 strikes in on the 4th batter when Mitch Abeita threw the runner out trying to steal 2nd. In the second inning, with one out, Rob Lyerly bobbled a ball and was unable to make the throw to 1st base. 2 batters and 2 singles later, the runner scored. An unearned run but a run nonetheless. In the 3rd inning after a hit and an errant pickoff throw, Brett was able to escape the inning with a strikeout, groundout and flyout. His 4th inning was nearly perfect except for a 2 out walk sandwiched between 2 strikeouts. Brett nearly blew the game in the 5th inning when he had the bases loaded after giving up 2 singles and a walk with just one out. He managed to get back to back strikeouts to end the inning leaving 3 men on base. Brett started the 6th inning extremely close to his pitch count and a double and another run scoring double later he was lifted for Ronny Marte with a runner on. Marte allowed a single and Brett's final runner scored on a groundout. Marte got the second out on a caught stealing(Mitch Abeita may not have the status that Kyle Higashioka has but he is a darn good catcher) Ronny then allowed a walk-single-walk and the bases were loaded. Luckily he got the clean-up hitter for the Threshers to fly out to left.(the same guy who hit a grand slam in the first game of last Tuesdays doubleheader) All in all Brett pitched 5 innings, giving up 8 hits, 3 runs/2 earned. Brett walked 2 while striking out 9. That's a lot of strikeouts in just 5 innings.
Ryan Flannery pitched the final 2 innings and did wonderful. He allowed only 1 hit which actually was on a ball the deflected off his foot in the 8th. The pitching in tonights game was actually really good. They allowed a lot of hit but were able to limit the damage and keep the TY in the game the whole night.
The TY offense was totally anemic again. The first baserunner came when Zoilo Almonte walked in the 2nd inning with 1 out, he stole 2nd but was unable to score as Jason Place(the new guy) struckout and Taylor Grote grounded out. The TY didn't get their first hit until the 4th when Rob Lyerly singled. It was all for not though as he was followed by a strikeout and a groundout. Things looked promising in the 5th when Mitch Abeita walked and Kevin Mahoney singled with 2 outs. Abe Almonte came up to the plate and flew out to right for the final out unfortunately. Things again were looking up in the 7th when Jason Place doubled and both Mitch and Kevin walked. Abe Almonte again came up to the plate, this time with the bases loaded and really unluckily popped out to the catcher. The last threats of the game came in harmless singles in both the 8th and 9th.
I got to the game right as the National Anthem began, I missed the turn into the stadium but was able to find parking in the overflow parking lot. I really do not understand why they charge for parking but my ticket was free so I guess I cant complain. When I first got inside I sat in the section where they gave me a ticket for. About an inning into the game I spotted Kevin Mahoney's wife so between innings I walked over and sat with her. She was keeping track of Brett's pitch count and what he was throwing and relaying them to Brett's brother. She seems/is pretty nice so I enjoyed talking to her throughout the game. We had quite the scare in one of the later innings. She was 3 seats in on the row un front of me and I was sitting one row behind her in the first seat. She was turned talking to me about insurance(the Yankees have excellent insurance for their minor league players) when a foul ball flew off the bat of one of the Threshers and was smoked between us. Had I been a seat to the right and she a seat to the left then one of us would have been making an emergency trip to the ER. I didn't even have time to say watch out, I just leaned to the left and hoped for the best. She was saying how she couldn't believe that Kevin didn't yell to duck because he knew where she was sitting. In the last 2 innings, this guy sat down in front of us and he turned out to be Ryan Flannery's dad. He is down here visiting for a few days. Luckily Ryan did a good job. His dad said that every time his son pitches he gets really nervous. I would too.
Well the TY weren't able to take any games from Clearwater and they are now home for the next three games to play the Daytona Cubs. I will probably go tomorrow night and maybe Wednesday depending on if I go to work. Thursday is an 11am game and since I have to work I will miss it.
Ill most likely post the scorecards tomorrow after I check them for accuracy, I really think I am getting better at it.
Brett Marshall was on the mound for Tampa and through the first 5 innings he was not perfect but he was perfect at limiting the damage he put on himself. The first inning he faced the minimum. After 2 outs( a strikeout and comebacker) he allowed a single that was erased 2 strikes in on the 4th batter when Mitch Abeita threw the runner out trying to steal 2nd. In the second inning, with one out, Rob Lyerly bobbled a ball and was unable to make the throw to 1st base. 2 batters and 2 singles later, the runner scored. An unearned run but a run nonetheless. In the 3rd inning after a hit and an errant pickoff throw, Brett was able to escape the inning with a strikeout, groundout and flyout. His 4th inning was nearly perfect except for a 2 out walk sandwiched between 2 strikeouts. Brett nearly blew the game in the 5th inning when he had the bases loaded after giving up 2 singles and a walk with just one out. He managed to get back to back strikeouts to end the inning leaving 3 men on base. Brett started the 6th inning extremely close to his pitch count and a double and another run scoring double later he was lifted for Ronny Marte with a runner on. Marte allowed a single and Brett's final runner scored on a groundout. Marte got the second out on a caught stealing(Mitch Abeita may not have the status that Kyle Higashioka has but he is a darn good catcher) Ronny then allowed a walk-single-walk and the bases were loaded. Luckily he got the clean-up hitter for the Threshers to fly out to left.(the same guy who hit a grand slam in the first game of last Tuesdays doubleheader) All in all Brett pitched 5 innings, giving up 8 hits, 3 runs/2 earned. Brett walked 2 while striking out 9. That's a lot of strikeouts in just 5 innings.
Ryan Flannery pitched the final 2 innings and did wonderful. He allowed only 1 hit which actually was on a ball the deflected off his foot in the 8th. The pitching in tonights game was actually really good. They allowed a lot of hit but were able to limit the damage and keep the TY in the game the whole night.
The TY offense was totally anemic again. The first baserunner came when Zoilo Almonte walked in the 2nd inning with 1 out, he stole 2nd but was unable to score as Jason Place(the new guy) struckout and Taylor Grote grounded out. The TY didn't get their first hit until the 4th when Rob Lyerly singled. It was all for not though as he was followed by a strikeout and a groundout. Things looked promising in the 5th when Mitch Abeita walked and Kevin Mahoney singled with 2 outs. Abe Almonte came up to the plate and flew out to right for the final out unfortunately. Things again were looking up in the 7th when Jason Place doubled and both Mitch and Kevin walked. Abe Almonte again came up to the plate, this time with the bases loaded and really unluckily popped out to the catcher. The last threats of the game came in harmless singles in both the 8th and 9th.
I got to the game right as the National Anthem began, I missed the turn into the stadium but was able to find parking in the overflow parking lot. I really do not understand why they charge for parking but my ticket was free so I guess I cant complain. When I first got inside I sat in the section where they gave me a ticket for. About an inning into the game I spotted Kevin Mahoney's wife so between innings I walked over and sat with her. She was keeping track of Brett's pitch count and what he was throwing and relaying them to Brett's brother. She seems/is pretty nice so I enjoyed talking to her throughout the game. We had quite the scare in one of the later innings. She was 3 seats in on the row un front of me and I was sitting one row behind her in the first seat. She was turned talking to me about insurance(the Yankees have excellent insurance for their minor league players) when a foul ball flew off the bat of one of the Threshers and was smoked between us. Had I been a seat to the right and she a seat to the left then one of us would have been making an emergency trip to the ER. I didn't even have time to say watch out, I just leaned to the left and hoped for the best. She was saying how she couldn't believe that Kevin didn't yell to duck because he knew where she was sitting. In the last 2 innings, this guy sat down in front of us and he turned out to be Ryan Flannery's dad. He is down here visiting for a few days. Luckily Ryan did a good job. His dad said that every time his son pitches he gets really nervous. I would too.
Well the TY weren't able to take any games from Clearwater and they are now home for the next three games to play the Daytona Cubs. I will probably go tomorrow night and maybe Wednesday depending on if I go to work. Thursday is an 11am game and since I have to work I will miss it.
Ill most likely post the scorecards tomorrow after I check them for accuracy, I really think I am getting better at it.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Extra Notes
Just thought I would add a few more pictures/notes to yesterdays post. Because I don't want to mess with the flow of it, I will just start a new one.
Here is a map of their park
For a team on a budget it looks like they spared no expense here
I forgot to take my Baseball America Prospect Handbook with me and it would have been helpful because when I got home I realized that I saw a really big prospect in the Twins minor league system. Aaron Hicks who played Centerfield for the Miracle is ranked as the Twins #2 prospect for 2011. In the game last night he went 1-4 with a run scored. I really like watching other teams prospects because its interesting to see if they perform like the books say and so I can say that I saw them play in the minors.(just checked out his player page and saw that he is currently batting .205 not so good so far)
Two major leaguers were listed on the two team rosters. JP Howell of the Rays was listed on the Stone Crabs roster and Kevin Slowey was listed on the Miracle roster.(Just looked at the game score from the Stone Crabs and Miracle game today and saw that Howell pitched an inning, missed him by a day. Bummer)
Also, everyone's favorite clown Ronald McDonald threw out the first pitch which was pretty cool.
Here are my scorecards from the game, apparently scorekeeping is something you make your own so on the Ft. Myers scorecard, in the pitchers section is the pitchers for the StoneCrabs who pitched against them. In the Charlotte scorecard in the pitchers section is the pitcher for the Miracle that pitched against them. It makes sense to me but maybe not to you.
Miracle Scorecard
Just looked at my scorecard for the Miracle and realized that I attributed a run to Dozier and not Hicks. Will have to fix that on my scorecard. I guess thats what I get for checking my scorekeeping accuracy at 230am.
Just looked at my scorecard for the Miracle and realized that I attributed a run to Dozier and not Hicks. Will have to fix that on my scorecard. I guess thats what I get for checking my scorekeeping accuracy at 230am.
StoneCrabs Scorecard
You can see that they were quite held in check until the bottom of the 9th.
And here is the sign that is on the exit gate, thought it was pretty funny.
I am going to try to make it out to Clearwater tomorrow night, I have been stricken by a bout of Tonsillitis so my throat is swollen and gross and I feel pretty yucky, but I am pretty headstrong when it comes to making it to my baseball games so chances are pretty high that you will be able to find me in the stands in Clearwater tomorrow night at first pitch.
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