Astros @ Phillies Series Preview

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Ebby Calvin in Series Previews

Astros @ Phillies Series Preview

Motown Philly back again, doin’ a little East Coast fling. Boyz II Men goin’ off. Not too hard, not too soft.

I don’t really know what those lyrics mean. I mean, Motown Philly – got it. East Coast fling – sure. Boys to men, goin’ off – not too hard, not too soft. Really? I’ll pass, thank you.

But somehow, I’m intrigued. I remember digging this song when I was 13 or so at Pershing Middle School, roaming the halls, avoiding eye contact with girls, hoping that only I could see the hash-marked mustache that dared me to shave it. So let’s check out the video to see if it sparks any nostalgia.

NOPE

I’m even more confused. They’re at a birthday party, got it. They can do synchronized Hammer/Kid N Play dances, so that’s a check. They’re in Philly. I guess Temple University is also in Philly – didn’t know that. Something called the Alex Vanderpoolera is coming soon, so there’s that. Is that Spike Lee rapping on the toilet? And under the kitchen table? What the fuck is this?

I liked this video? I can’t imagine what my hippie parents thought.

At least I still have this.

***

Tuesday 8/5/14

Kuechel vs Kendrick

Surely will be completed by the time I post this “Preview”

Wednesday 8/6/14

Peacock vs Buchanan

Yay! Peacock is back!

Thursday 8/7/14

McHugh vs Hernandez

***

Promotions

Apparently nothing.

***

Injuries

Phillies

Mike Adams – thought he played for STL?

Domonic Brown – wants to change the first ‘o’ to an ‘e’

Cliff Lee – is older than Coach

John Mayberry – stuck watching Andy Griffith shows

Astros

Albers is throwing off a mound, Fowler started his rehab yesterday, Springer is in the minors rehabbing. Other people are also injured.

***

Astros win the series

Blue Jays @ Astros Series Preview

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Ebby Calvin in Featured, Series Previews

submitted by Bench

Sorry for mailing this in late. I frankly didn’t realize there was a Thursday game and then got hit with a bunch of last minute, immediate deadline work. I will happily forfeit my royalties to the Brady Aiken signing fund.

Ah, the Blue Jays. Toronto is a gorgeous city to visit… in the summer. I was there a few summers ago and after having a delightful couple of days sailing, hiking and eating Georgian Bay white fish on the Bruce Peninsula on Lake Huron I hit the big city for a few days. Delightful trip. I took my picture with the Stanley Cup at the NHL Hall of Fame, saw the Blue Jays beat the Yankees in a virtually empty Skydome, and spent a lovely summer day strolling around Toronto Island. Anyway, Canada is awesome except for Niagara Falls which is place of eternal natural beauty and human sadness.

The Blue Jays are nipping at the Orioles’ heels at the top of the AL East, which is a refreshing change from the usual Yankee/Red Sox dichotomy of entitlement. And we get an extra opportunity for a post-anthem standoff with the addition of O Canada before the game. Stand on guard for thee, forsooth.

Meanwhile the Astros are schizophrenically getting swept by the Marlins and then coming back to one pitch away from sweeping the A’s who are winning all the games and all the trades. I guess the front office’s game of rope-a-dope worked on the fish who gave up the sneaky “inside baseball best trade of the trading deadline” because it solely allows for pundits to speculate without having to be proven right or wrong anytime soon.

Anyway, the Astros are ahead of the Rangers on percentage points again so I’m printing ticker tape in case there’s a parade.

There’s a lot of baseball ceremony in town this weekend. The annual SABR convention is taking place at the Royal Sonesta in the Galleria if you misplace your VORP. This series is Legends Weekend in which the Astros will be honoring various alumni who “played integral roles in the franchise’s storied history” according to Astros.com. Friday night is a Berkman bobblehead night, Saturday is a legends autograph special featuring the following schedule:

5:00
-Jimmy Wynn – Bob Aspromonte
– Billy Smith – Johnny Edwards
– Carl Warwick – Bill Heath
– Milo Hamilton – Gerald Young
5:20
– Jose Cruz – J.R. Richard
– Jerry DaVanon – Glenn Davis
– Ron Brand – Eric Anthony
– Louie Meadows – Jerry Mumphrey
5:40
– Larry Dierker – Bob Watson
– Anthony Young – Roger Metzger
– Bob Bruce – Enos Cabell
– Tony McKnight – Ryan Bowen

So you know where to go for that Tony McKinght autograph that your collection was no doubt missing. Unfortunately honoring Meluskey by washing his mouth out with soap has been canceled. Nevertheless, if you happen to run into him it is still recommended.

July 31, 2014

So yeah, the bullpen. Oof.

The MMPUS menu featured “Texas Poutine” featuring shoe string fries and a smoked chipotle gravy, smothered in mushrooms, pico and cheese and topped with green onions. That’s about as authentic as any poutine you would get in Toronto and I’d certainly eat the fuck out of it. But really, if you want the real deal stick to Quebec.

August 1, 2014 – 7:10pm

JA Happ (8-5 4.58 ERA)

The formerly hapless one has found a good degree of success pitching in the True North. Not many Astros have faced Happ (a theme for the season), with only Fowler and Guzman getting a hit off him. Both doubles though.

Collin McHugh (4-9 3.45 ERA)

McHugh is still pitching well, despite being 0-6 with a 4.46 ERA in his last six starts. Yes, I know that seems impossible, but his stuff is still good. He’s suffered with command, bad luck, and the post-May Astros ineffective offense. McHugh doesn’t have much of a history against the Blue Jays, facing only Francisco and Reyes who collectively went 2-4 with a triple and homerun off of him.

In news I did not know, every Friday from 4:30-6:00pm is St. Arnold Happy Hour, featuring $5, 12-ounce beers at the St. Arnold’s Bar in left field.

August 2, 2014 – 6:10pm

R.A. Dickey (9-10 3.91 ERA)

The Cy Young winner has reverted to the up and down fortunes of any good knuckleballer. He tossed a beaut in his last game, striking out ten Red Sox while allowing just one run on three hits in seven innings. Castro and Dominguez have had success against Dickey and Grossman has a homerun in one of two at bats against him.

Brett Oberholtzer (3-7 4.30 ERA)

Oberholtzer has quietly been putting together a good campaign recently, going 3-1 with a 3.15 ERA in his last seven starts and looking for his fifth consecutive quality start. He’s one of many who have surrendered a home run to Jose Bautista, but other than that has had an unusual amount of success against the Blue Jays. Oberholtzer is from Delaware, which actually explains a lot. When I was in college we’d sometimes drive down from Boston to D.C., or even one year to spring training in Florida. We’d always speculate about the Delaware Joint Experiment: Would it be possible to smoke one joint for the entirety of Delaware, lighting up after exiting the first toll and finishing up getting into the final toll? We were never successful but I think we were just greedy and didn’t time it right. Anyway, the scenery looked a lot like Oberholtzer. Tough to describe, generally ineffective and left handed.

It’s an Andy Pettitte jersey giveaway day, so if you get subpoenaed and aren’t comfortable with the truth just wear that to court.

August 3, 2014 – 1:10pm

Marcus Stroman (7-2 3.03)

Stroman has won his last four decisions, including a 16 inning scoreless streak that was snapped by the one run he gave up in his last appearance. He’s pitched a quality start in 9 of 11 outings this season. Stroman has never faced the Astros. Expect to get our asses kicked.

Scott Feldman (4-8 4.39 ERA)

Feldman hasn’t won since June 29th, but looked very good in his last start which was erased by a 6 run ninth inning blowpen job. That was certainly the best he looked since before his brief stint on the DL in April. Feldman has been lit up by Adam Lind, but he’s on the DL. Bautista is hitting .385/.438/.769 against Feldman over his career, so hopefully he’ll limit the runners on base when Jose comes up to bat.
Sunday is Roy Oswalt bobblehead treats for the first 10,000 fans (or the last 300 fans if you’re in the diamond club. They keep extra down there).

Those are the facts, and they are not in dispute.

Astros steal a split somehow.

Marlins @ Astros Series Preview

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Ebby Calvin in Featured, Series Previews

If the sun ever set, the dust clouds could settle and the hordes could rest. But the sun doesn’t set. It might disappear from time to time, to blink perhaps, but soon enough it shimmers upon its glacial waters once more.

Darkness does not fall in the summer months on the Kenai Peninsula. Its residents grow weary.

***

Marlins @ Astros Series Preview

Projected Starters/Promotions

Friday, 7pm, MMPUS: Hand (1-2) vs Keuchel (9-6)
Beach Towel to 10,000; Fireworks

Saturday, 6pm, MMPUS: Koehler (6-7) vs Cosart (9-6)
Nolan Ryan Beef Sunglasses to 10,000; Jason Derulo (who?) Postgame Concert

Sunday, 1pm, MMPUS: Turner (3-6) vs TBD
Nothing. Like it.

***

You can’t swim in Skilak Lake. You can float, I guess, in the same way an ice cube floats near the top of unsweet tea, but then you’d be dead and, again, not swimming. The glacial runoff that feeds a large portion of the 15-mile mirror in the mountains supports little vegetation, cleansing the incoming streams into a milky turquoise that runs 500 feet to the rocky bottom. If you visit Alaska and want to see a clear blue sky, look down, not up.

This is the finish line. A big middle finger pointed straight at every bear, rock, twig, tree, net, hook, line and sinker that litters the defiant trek inland. 32 miles of twists and turns and bends and breaks – upstream. Eggs are laid here. Lives begin and end. It is survival of the fittest is stripped to its core.

But nature’s laws must be obeyed and these (cold) bloodlines are worth the fight. Truman Capote once wrote: “It’s the Circle of Life, and it moves us all. Through despair and hope, through faith and love, til we find our place on the path, unwinding. In the circle, the Circle of Life.”

***

Injuries

Miami
Capps: Scurvy
Dietrich: Motion Sickness
Fernandez: Mercury Poisoning
Furcal: Balantidiasis
Gregg: Hymenolepiasis

Astros
Albers: Right shoulder tendinitis; TBD
Cisnero: TJS; 2015
Crain: Biceps surgery; TBD
Fowler: Right intercostal strain; August
McHugh: Right middle fingernail avulsion (ew); late July
Presley: Strained right oblique; late July
Springer: Right quad strain; August

***

This is the start line. The Kenai River empties from the western shore of Cook Inlet, just south of Anchorage, and in July its banks swell as the salmon surge. Dip netters from Soldotna, Homer, Sterling and the like crowd the sandy beach; hundreds of power forwards competing for a loose rebound. They elbow, push and pull for position, each vying for the great carom of summer as the sockeye swim back home. It’s windy and it’s cold and it’s strewn with coolers and stoves and tents.

The nets, great contraptions of mangled metal and twine, extend twelve feet from the shoreline and pierce the water at (hopefully) just the right spot. If they’re lucky, they snag a fish and walk it up to camp. Small clubs the size of a child’s souvenir baseball bat strike just above the eyes with a dull thwack. Family members deftly filet each fish with broad strokes and intricate slices and, depending on how many you’ve caught so far, place the limp red meat either on a stove or in a Ziploc bag. Then it’s time to get your shore position back.

It’s a harried process. Take a family, outfit them with a net and a club, remove all sleep and promise them of weeks of food – if they’re lucky. Then place them next to hundreds of other families in the same situation and say “Go!” Crime is mostly limited to petty theft and game regulation violations, but the urgency to fill the freezer within a three-week window is real and tempers often flare.

Sand sifts salty, water blends bloody, light darkens spirits. Days run into weeks and coolers overflow. And Alaskans retire to a weary bed in the sun.

Astros @ White Sox Series Preview

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Ebby Calvin in Featured, Series Previews

Astros @ White Sox Series Preview

Because I’m not feeling very funny these days (BudGirl called me out), I figured I’d consolidate duties and let you fuckers see how funny you’ve been over the last year. There are 98 entries. Click ‘em all if you want, but if you’re being lazy (BudGirl), I’ve sorted the Multiple Vote Winners at the top.

Post(s) of the Week(s)

Multiple Vote Winners

Single Vote Winners

So there you have it. Congrats to all.

I’ll try to be more diligent with POTW duties in the future.

STARTERS

Friday, 7/18/14

Feldman (4-6) vs Quintana (5-7)

Saturday, 7/19/14

Keuchel (9-5) vs TBD

Sunday, 7/20/14

Cosart (0-6) vs TBD

PROMOTIONS

Friday – Fireworks, Italian Heritage Night

Saturday – Fireworks

Sunday – Retro White Sox Pennant to first 10,000 kids

INJURIES

White Sox

Scott Carroll – Hypothermia

Adam Eaton – Montezuma’s Revenge

Avisail Garcia – Hangnail

Nate Jones – Poked finger with pencil

Matt Lindstrom – Make a funny face until it stuck

Felipe Paulino – Penguin Flu

Alexei Ramirez – Transposed E and I

Astros

Albers – Shoulder tendinitis (August)

Cisnero – TJS

Crain – TJS

Fowler – Right intercostal strain (should be back this series)

McHugh – Right middle finger avulsion (next week)

Presley – Strained right oblique (late July)

Braves @ Astros Series Preview

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Ebby Calvin in Series Previews

submitted by austro

Nostradumbass Sees All

Atlanta Braves (38-37) @ Houston Astros (33-44)

Well, the Braves are back in town, but now that the wife-beater and the teenie-bopper bait are gone and we no longer see them in the playoffs, it’s hard to work up much hate for them anymore. And after watching UT lose in the bottom of the 10^th, followed by the news about Correa, followed by the USMNT giving up the goal you knew was coming but had almost convinced yourself wouldn’t come, the Braves are pretty low on my list of things to give a shit about.

Tuesday, June 24, 7:10 CDT

Aaron Harang (5-6, 3.83) vs Scott Feldman (3-4, 3.95)

The Harangutan is back! Fowler has 19 PAs against Harang, with a .133/.316/.400 line against him. Six other Astros have a combined 24 PAs, with a combined line of underflow/underflow/underflow. It’s a pretty depressing picture, made even more depressing by the fact that Jerome Williams has the most production, with a double in three ABs.

Current Braves have a combined .244/.396/.366 line against Feldman in 41 ABs and 53 PAs. The Upton brothers alone have 21 ABs and 29 PAs, with Justin doing the most damage: 3 hits in 7 ABs, including a double and a HR. They also have four walks, and somehow BJ has managed to get hit by three pitches.

I like Feldman, but I’m not very optimistic about his ability to shut down the Atlanta offense. On the other hand, Harang has been pretty awful in his last three starts, going 1-2 with a 6.35 ERA. So maybe we’re looking at a shoot-out for this one.

Wednesday, June 25, 7:10 CDT

Alex Wood (5-6, 3.43) vs Collin McHugh (4-5, 2.76)

Not much to see here: Fowler has three PAs against Wood, with a walk to show for it, and Guzman has one PA with nothing to show for it. And that’s it: no other Astros have faced Wood in the bigs.

McHugh has only seen two Braves himself: Andrelton Simmons has a single in his only PA against McHugh, and Uggla was HBP in his only PA.

Wood is 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in his last 3 starts, and with only 4 Ks, so either the Astros are going to get a bunch of good opportunities, or they’re going to rescue Wood’s K rate. McHugh hasn’t been great in his last few starts, but he hasn’t been awful, either. You can probably count on him going 5 or 6 innings and giving up 2 or 3 runs. Hopefully the bats will come alive for this one and take advantage of Wood.

Thursday, June 26, 1:10 CDT

MikeMinor (2-4, 4.20) vs Jarred Cosart (7-5, 3.78)

Once again, Fowler leads the charge with a .300/.417/.500 line and two walks in 12 PAs. Dominguez has had good success in a tiny sample size, with two hits, including a double, in 4 PAs. But that’s the end of it, because Castro, Corporan, and Feldman are zip/zilch/nada in six PAs.

Cosart has faced exactly one current Brave: Ryan Doumit, who has a line of zip/zip/zip in three PAs. Not much predictive value there.

Minor has been brutal in his last three starts: 0-0 with a 7.31 ERA in 16.1 innings. The lone bright spot in that stretch is the 20 Ks he’s recorded, which doesn’t make me all warm and fuzzy given the Astros’ proclivity for striking out. On the opposite side, Cosart has been outstanding in his last three starts, going 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA in 21 innings. I think the Astros will actually be favored in this one.

Injuries

On June 18, 1967, Don Wilson struck out 15 Braves to record his first no-hitter. The next year, on July 14, 1968, he struck out 18 Reds in a 6-1 victory. The following year, on May 1, 1969, he no-hit the Reds in a 4-0 victory. Sadly, Wilson committed suicide on Jan 5, 1975.

J.R. Richard was establishing himself as one of the most feared pitchers in MLB, leading the NL in strikeouts in 1978 (303) and 1979 (313), and leading the league in ERA in 1979 (2.71). I can say from personal observation that several LA Dodgers wanted nothing to do with standing in against the mighty JR. Sadly, after missing a couple of starts because of shoulder pain, JR suffered a stroke on July 30, 1980 while throwing a side session. He tried to come back later, but he was never the same.

Cameron Drew was a star outfielder for the University of New Haven, and the Astros drafted him with the 12^th pick of the 1^st round in 1985. He performed well in the minor leagues and was called up to the Astros on September 8, 1988. Sadly, he had suffered from knee problems for a long time, and after a 7-game major league career, he retired.

Carlos Correa was drafted by the Astros with the 1^st pick in the 1^st round of the 2012 draft. He immediately distinguished himself for both his baseball skills and his character, and in 2013 he helped lead a very talented Quad Cities low A team to a Midwest League title while putting up a .320/.405/.467 line and playing outstanding defense at short. In 2014 he was bumped up to high-A Lancaster, and he had put together a .325/.416/.510 line through 62 games when, sadly, he injured his right leg sliding into third on a triple. Thus far, the Astros have offered disturbingly little information about the injury. I wish felt better about this than I do.

Orioles @ Astros Series Preview

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Ebby Calvin in Featured, Series Previews

submitted by austro

Time To Go Bird Hunting

Baltimore Orioles (26-24) @ Houston Astros (22-32)

The Astros are returning from a very encouraging 6-4 road trip, and riding a 5-game winning streak! I don’t know when they last had a streak that long (especially on the road), but I suspect it’s been a while.

I’ve just returned from a road trip of my own to the western slope of Colorado. Grand Junction, where I lived until I was in junior high, hosts the Junior College World Series every year (and they’ve been hosting it since the 50’s, I think). I don’t go out there every year, but I go when I can to take in a really great celebration of baseball. The community really supports the tournament, and it’s a big deal both to the locals and to the teams that win their regional tournaments to qualify to compete for the national championship. This year was especially meaningful on a personal level, as a close family friend – who is now in his 80s and was an instrumental part of the tournament during the 60s and 70s – made the trip over from Denver for the Friday night banquet and the Saturday opening. Tony LaRussa was the speaker for the banquet, and even though he’s still a derp, he had some amusing stories to tell. His man-crush on Pujols hasn’t dissipated at all.

The late, great mihoba also hailed from Grand Junction, although he was a bit younger than me and I don’t think we ever met as kids. I like to think that we may have bumped into one another at the tournament, chasing foul balls and just generally goofing around.

Thursday, May 29, 7:10 CDT

Jimenez (2-6, 4.98) vs Peacock (1-4, 5.20)

Four or five years ago Ubaldo Jimenez was pitching for the Rockies and striking out everybody he faced. Now he has trouble getting anybody out. Go figure. Most of the Astros are young enough that nobody has much of a history: as a team they’re 9-for-31 in 34 PAs. Altuve and Krauss have two hits apiece, and nobody else has more than one.

From all appearances, Peacock is pitching to retain his spot in the starting rotation. Exactly one active (and I use the term loosely) Oriole has faced Peacock: David Lough is 1-for-2 (with a single) against Peacock.

NJCAA Tournament, Day 1, Saturday, May 24

The first day of the tournament is always great. There are four games scheduled for the day, everybody is psyched, and the energy level is high. The weather was great (50s in the morning, high in the 70s, typical 15-20% humidity), and everybody was ready to go.

Iowa Western and Columbia State (TN) kicked things off at 9am on Saturday, and it was one of those games in which one of the teams (Columbia) seems comfortably in control, and then everything gets turned upside down. Columbia went out to an early 5-0 lead, and Iowa Western didn’t seem like much of a threat. But in the middle of the game they chipped away, and when they came to the 9^th they were only down by one. They wound up scoring two in the top of the 9^th to take the lead, but Columbia loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the 9^th, and extra innings seemed likely, if not an outright win for Columbia. Then the Columbia batter absolutely smoked a ball up the middle, but the pitcher made an improbable snag of the liner and doubled off the runner on first. And just like that, the game was over. Everybody was stunned.

The second game at noon featured Midland College (TX) against Johnson County (KS). Midland came out crushing the ball, and it seemed like every batter was a carbon copy of the preceding one: wide base, fast bat, level through zone, and lots of contact. They wound up hitting several homers, and although Johnson County eventually scored some runs, the game was never really in doubt, with Midland winning 10-5.

The third game of the day was Cochise College (AZ) against Blinn College (TX). I took a break from the sun for this one, so I missed the Blinn starter, Robbie Dickey, who is apparently one of the hot pitching prospects for this year’s draft. He had a so-so outing, going 5.1 innings with 3 ER, 6 BB, and 9 K. Blinn wound up winning 7-4.

The final game of the day kicked off at 7:30pm, featuring Chattahoochee (AL) against Delgado (LA). I think this was the #1-ranked team against the #3-ranked team, but I’m not sure. Whatever the rankings, these two team were very evenly matched, and the game went to the 8^th tied up 4-4. Delgado scored two in the top of the 8^th to take a 6-4 lead, but in the bottom of the 8^th they gave it back and then some, with Chattahoochee taking an 8-6 lead. Neither team scored in the 9^th, and Chattahoochee moved to the winner’s bracket, and Delgado found themselves in the unenviable loser’s bracket.

Friday, May 30, 7:10 CDT

TBA (0-0, 0.00) vs Oberholtzer (1-6, 5.32)

Here comes TBA again. Seems like we’ve faced this guy a lot this year, and his ERA doesn’t make me feel all fuzzy. But we’re hot, and it seems like a good time to give this guy a shit-stomping.

Oberholtzer may or may not be the anonymous source of the sour grapes about Luhnow’s numbers-driven approach to team assembly. If I were Obie, I’d make damn sure that the numbers were on my side, which means that he’s got a ways to go to straighten things out. In his favor, current Orioles are sporting a .176/.176/.176 line against him in 17 PAs, which is pretty fucking stout. On the other hand, that’s not a lot of plate appearances, and Chris Davis appears to be heating up, so watch out.

NJCAA Tournament, Day 2, Sunday, May 25

Sunday dawned cloudy (and early: Grand Junction is far enough north that the hotel window starts to get light around 5:30am, even when it’s cloudy). There were three games scheduled for Sunday, but the committe’s worst fears materialized when the weather went south in the afternoon.

One of the cruel aspects of the tournament is that two teams will be eliminated by Sunday afternoon (even before two of the ten teams have played their first game). The first elimination game featured the first two losers from Saturday: Columbia against Johnson County. Johnson County scored two in the top of the 2^nd, but Columbia came back and battered them with 9 runs in the bottom of the 2^nd, and after that the outcome wasn’t really in doubt. Columbia wound up winning by 10 after 5 innings (the tournament has a 10/5-8/7 rule to try to limit the effects of blowouts on pitching staffs).

The 2^nd game was also an elimination game, with Cochise playing Delgado. The game started under a drizzle and overcast, and the conditions were not very conducive to good baseball. Cochise got out to a 3-1 lead after 3 innings, and increased it to 7-2 after 6. There was a significant rain delay during the 6^th and we decided to repair to my mother’s home, and when they returned (without us) Cochise dispatched Delgado 9-5.

The Sunday evening game was supposed to feature Spartanburg (SC; being a Marshall Tucker Band fan, they were my sentimental favorite) vs Miami Dade (FL), but the rain was too intense, and the game was postponed until the following day. But that allowed us all to get together at my brother’s and do some cooking and conversing, which was nice.

Saturday, May 31, 3:10 CDT

TBA (0-0, 0.00) vs Keuchel (6-2, 2.55)

Son of a bitch: TBA is such a stud that he can come back with no rest. That gives them a big advantage in pinch hitters, since they don’t have to carry as many pitchers. (For all I know, TBA slugs 4.000, too.) That can’t be good.

To this point in the season, Keuchel is this year’s Astros’ All-Star. I was always impressed by his mental toughness (first witnessed in the CWS for Arkansas), and I’ve hoped that he would be able to make the leap in the bigs. It appears that this is the year that he does so, and I’m delighted. Current Orioles are 7-for-26 against Keuchel, but that’s skewed by ex-Ranger Nelson “Please don’t hit it at me” Cruz, who has a 4-for-9 record against Keuchel. Considering Cruz’s defensive “contributions”, that’s probably about break-even.

NJCAA Tournament, Day 3, Monday, May 26

Monday dawned bright and clear, with a brilliant view of the Colorado National Monument that was breathtaking.

The first game on the schedule was the Spartanburg-Miami game that had been postponed from the previous evening. Ordinarily, Monday would be a three-game day, but because of the rainout, they had to squeeze four games in. This game started at 9am, and Miami ran out to a 3-0 lead and was never really threatened, winning 8-3.

The second game was another loser’s bracket game, Cochise vs Columbia State. This was one of the most exciting games of the tournament so far. Columbia jumped out to a big lead, leading 7-2 after 5, and from there it was a dogfight. Columbia was ahead 8-7 after 6, Cochise went ahead 11-9 in the top of the 9^th, and Columbia tied it with 2 in the bottom of the 9^th. Nobody scored in the 10^th, and then a Columbia player fulfilled every kid’s ultimate dream, hitting a pinch-hit, walk-off homer to deep left-center to win the game in the bottom of the 11^th, eliminating Cochise.

The third game of the day was Blinn against Chattahoochee. The game was even at 2-2 through 5, but then Blinn pulled away with 2 in the 6^th and 6 (!) in the top of the 9^th to win 10-2 to eliminate Chatahoochee.

The final Saturday game featured two unbeaten teams: Midland vs Iowa Western. Based on what I had seem from their earlier games, I expected Midland to spank Iowa. However, Midland apparently never received their wake-up call, and Iowa Western beat the crap out of them 9-0. (I have to admit that I didn’t attend the game, since it was the traditional Memorial Day game that features fireworks after the game, and there are a million people trying to attend; I find it much more relaxing simply to listen to that game on the radio.)

Sunday, June 1, 1:10 CDT

TBA (0-0, 0.00) vs Feldman (3-2, 3.02)

You’re fucking kidding me: TBA three days in a row? Might as well write this one off now. How can we compete with somebody that can throw three games in a row?

Well, there’s no “small sample size” issue here. Current Orioles are .278/.293/.456 against Feldman in 90 ABs. That’s not a particularly bad line, but when you combine it with TBA’s 0.00 ERA, I’m not optimistic about this contest. Somehow TBA is still winless even though he hasn’t given up any earned runs. Sometimes baseball is a funny game.

NJCAA Tournament, Day 4, Tuesday, May 27

The first game of the day was Chatahoochee against Spartanburg, another elimination game. This was perhaps the most bizarre game of the tournament. It started out normally: Chatahoochee scored 2 runs in the top of the 1^st, but in the bottom of the 2^nd Spartanburg scored 9 unearned runs after the Chatahoochee CF dropped a routine fly ball with 2 outs. Things only got worse after that, and Sparteanburg wound up winning 18-3 (after 5 innnings because of the mercy rule).

In the second game of the day, Midland got out to an early lead against Columbia and held on to win 10-7. Midland remains as an interesting team, but they seem to lack a killer instinct.

The third game of the day featured undefeated Blinn against undefeated Miami. Miami totally outclassed Blinn 11-2, sending Blinn to an elimination game against Spartanburg on Wednesday. The highlight of the game was the Bull Durham-esque “we’ve got a natural disaster” delay that occurred when the infield sprinklers all came on at exactly 8:30.

That ended my baseball marathon, since I had to return to Austin on Wednesday. But Spartanburg eliminated Blinn 10-2 Wednesday afternoon, and Iowa Western mauled Miami Dade 10-0 in a game that ended after 5 innings. That leaves Iowa Western as the only undefeated team in the tournament, and with a pretty well-rested pitching staff to boot. Four teams are still standing: Spartanburg will play Miami Dade in an elimination game Thursday afternoon, and Iowa Western and Midland will face off again Thursday evening, and the two winners will play Friday evening. If Iowa Western wins Thursday, that Friday game will be for the championship; if not, two of the three remaining teams will play Friday, and the winner will advance to the championship game against the third team on Saturday evening. (I believe that the bye in that case goes to the team that has played the most games, but if they have all played the same number of games at that point, it comes down to a coin flip.) I have to think that Iowa Western is the favorite, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Midland or Miami Dade take them down.

Injuries

Probably a bunch, but I’m too lazy to look them up.

Miscellaneous

If you are interested in the JUCO tournament, I encourage you to check out the jucogj.org site. The games are all being streamed live, and there are some good ball players there. And if you fnd yourself looking for something to do in late May some day, I encourage you to consider visiting Grand Junction and taking in the tournament; it’s really quite an undertaking, and a lot of fun to participate in. And even if you miss the tournament, consider Grand Junction as a vacation destination: the Grand Mesa and the Colorado National Monument are really spectacular.

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