[Archelirion]

Game One

AUS: RF Snead – 2B Villalpando – LF Baker – CF Grajeda – 1B Martel – SS Boettcher – 3B Baughan – C Millar – P Aguilar

GR: 2B Martinez – 1B White – 3B Winters – CF Ramos – LF Bastyr – RF Osmond – SS Meiman – P Ishibashi – C Magallanes

Manny Aguilar (0-0, 0.00 ERA) v Tomoshi Ishibashi (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

The first innings against the Warriors seemed to go pretty smoothly for us – 1-2-3 went the visitors, with Baker being struck out for the third out, followed by Martinez catching a leadoff walk. Winters and Bastyr ended up being walked too to load the bases, but Osmond with the decisive hit was caught out JUST short of the boundary, ending the firs innings 0-0. Then… it all started to unfurl a bit. Consecutive doubles from Grajeda and Martel put Austin up 1-0, following which Ishibashi clutched his shoulder and called it a day. Worried faces here.

Ted Idema replaced the outgoing Japanese pitcher, but immediately gave away two singles to make it 2-0 Austin. By some miracle it stayed that way and two errors on first base put Meiman and Magallanes on base with one out between them. Meiman was tagged out at home, but a wayward pitch towards White’s thigh loaded the bases… but Winters couldn’t do the damage. A second innings played for us where we retire on a full complement.

The dodgy start continued continued when Austin loaded the bases on no outs in the 4th, following a second Martel double, a walk and a base hit. Huffman’s single made it 4-0 (still no outs), and while the inning was seen out, Idema was done. In the bottom of the 4th, Ryan Riffle (pinch-hitting for Idema) slogged a beauty of a double out left, but again, it came to zilch.

Jason Milton came on to pitch and immediately oversaw a double (partially thanks to some motionless ‘fielding’ from White on first), and then (after two outs) run #5 for Austin courtesy of a single. Our boy Bastyr managed to make second after a wayward 5-3 throw, but SHOCKINGLY, was beached at the end.

Another inning, another two runs conceded. Milton was subbed for Jason Waldon, who saw off the 7th and 8th (mercifully) with consummate ease. Sadly, we only managed a walk in those two innings, so it remained 7-0. With really nothing to came back from in the 9th we brought Jorge Vargas on to finish it off, who amazingly oversaw our first double-play of the game! And then a home run. Never mind. The game finished 8-0 Austin, and we have A LOT to answer for.

Notable performances: Ryan Riffle (1-for-1, 2B). Tomoshi Ishibashi (1.0 IP, 2H, 2R, 2ER, K, L [0-1]).

Special notes: SP Tomoshi Ishibashi was injured while pitching. Chris Martel ties the RL regular season game record for doubles with 3. Manny Aguilar set the RL regular season game record for walks with 8.

Ooooookay. We just got trashed by a side that outhit us 15 to 1, despite their pitcher gave us 8 walks, struck out ‘only’ two and we had 3 errors go our way. So how did we lose so badly? Rubbish batting (far, far too many easy flyballs) and a shockingly bad bullpen runout. I think I’m going to need to upgrade my bullpen very, very soon.


Game Two

AUS: 2B Villalpando – RF Snead – LF Baker – CF Grajeda – 1B Burks – SS Cook – 3B Baughan – C Miller – P Harmeyer

GR: 3B Winters – 2B Martinez – 1B White – RF Ramos – LF Olivares – SS Meiman – CF Osmond – P Johnson – C Magallanes

Nick Harmeyer (0-0, 0.00 ERA) v Joe Johnson (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

When the game starts with a leadoff double against you, the hackles start to come down. When that player tries to run to third and gets tagged out, then the hackles lift a little. When Snead crashes a home run out immediately afterwards, those hackles are bolted right down again. In fact, after loading the bases again and conceding another run, Johnson wasn’t settling into my good books early on at all… We had no response either, with Martinez’s single counting for nowt following a GDIP attributed to White. Good, promising start then.

Singles from Floyd and Meiman in the 2nd went stranded, but things started to look up in the 3rd, when Magallanes got by on a fielding error and was able to get to third following a single from Winters. Winters ended up getting forced out, but Martinez was able to speed out to first to prevent the double play while Magallanes got on the board. Better than last time already!

Etzler came on for Johnson after three innings, and promptly dealt very well with a bunt opportunity to force out Miller who was cruising for second. Harmeyer ended up getting injured on the play for the Warriors. In the 4th, Ramos hit a single, followed by Olivares getting caught out (quite finely, admittedly) and a walk for Meiman – Osmond then was struck out, but we caught a break with Etzler’s bat, who saw a strike three but a wild pitch, meaning the bases were loaded. Sadly, Magallanes is about as good at batting as my 98-year-old great-grandfather, and we lost the opportunity to lead.

Another opportunity presented itself in the 5th, following another exemplary Etzler inning. Winters hit a blooper out left-centre for a single, after which Martinez collected a walk… and then White did the nasty, surging a hit into the centre wall for a double, which of course brought Winters and Martinez home. 3-2 Grand Rapids! Sadly, their infield was suspiciously alert and caught out the next three, but we’d managed to make it.

A double-play ensured we’d see the 6th bottom in the lead. Etzler found a walk, and then Magallanes got fortunate with ANOTHER error going his way to push him onto base and Etzler to second. They were, however, beached. With Etzler going 1-2-3 in the 7th my decision to leave him on was justified, but he was out of it for the 8th, so Tye Guthrie ended up coming on. A flyball, a K and a flyball later and he’d done the damage; Meiman was nicked in the bottom (of the 8th, I mean), and made it home after Magallanes(!) hit an RBI-single dead centre. 4-2 going into the 9th! Guthrie looked tired by the end, but he saw the game out. 4-2 – a win!!!

Notable performances: Scott Winters (2-from-5, R), Butch Martinez (1-from-3, R, RBI, BB), Steve White (1-from-4, 2RBI, 2B), John Meiman (0-from-2, R, BB), Jonathan Magallanes (1-from-4, R, RBI). Devin Etzler (4.0 IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 3K, W [1-0]), Tye Guthrie (2.0 IP, 2H, 0R, 0ER, 0BB, 3K, SV [1]).

Much better! We were still outhit, but 9-to-7 is a damn sight better than 15-to-1. Special mentions go to Devin Etzler and Tye Guthrie, who both pitched brilliantly to stave off the Warriors following Johnson’s short, increasingly better but damaging start. Still no news on Ishibashi, which doesn’t bode well.


Game Three

AUS: 2B Villalpando – RF Snead – CF Grajeda – LF Baker – 1B Burks – SS Cook – 3B Baughan – C Miller – P Montoya

GR: 2B Martinez – 1B White – 3B Winters – C Elder – LF Bastyr – RF Osmond – SS Meiman – P Guymon – CF Ramos

Juan Montoya (0-0, 0.00 ERA) v Caleb Guymon (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

It was a cold evening in Grand Rapids with the ambient temperature at 36 degrees, but the fans were jumping to see what their new-found favourite man, Caleb Guymon, would do on the mound this time. And despite giving away a hit, the first innings looked good, taking out the team in 4. With White hitting a single and Elder getting a walk (on two outs) there was something of a chance to take the lead early on, but Bastyr swung at air and so the first innings ended sans run.

The 2nd passed without event, and in the bottom of the 3rd another half-opportunity came up: with two outs, Martinez and Winters were on 2nd and 1st respectively after two base hits. Elder’s shot flew out though, so again scoreless. Osmond went flying around the bases for a double in the 4th (another great pitching show from Guymon preceded this), but also wound up stranded following two catches.

Austin snuck into the lead in the 5th following some audacious baserunning, effectively signalling the end of a tiring Guymon’s game. Ted Idema saw the innings out, but it was 1-0 Warriors. Following White getting clobbered by another pitch and Winters getting some luck with the wind in outfield, there was another 2nd-1st two-out situation, but again, Elder couldn’t finish the job off.

With the score still 1-0 midway in the 7th, Idema was subbed off after a commendable outing for the 25-year-old (conceding a single hit, no walks and forging two K’s in 2.1 IP). Ramos copped a base-hit following PH Riffle just – JUST – missing out on a home run, and another single-bagger from Martinez meant that two were on base with one out. White wound up getting walked to load the bases, but Ramos was forced out on home following Winters’ iffy infield hit. Elder AGAIN couldn’t do the damage on two-out, and we missed out on the best opportunity of the game so far.

Jason Milton came on in the 8th, and got two out easily… before loading the bases. With Cook copping a base-hit and letting two round, the score was 3-0, and I realised we weren’t winning this one. However, a little hope followed, with Osmond cracking out a 368FT DINGER straight right for a run – it remained 3-1 though, so we needed to damage limit in the 9th and then score at least two.

Sardis replaced Milton and walked two, but was able to see the innings out unscathed. Just as Ramos stepped up to play, we had the game stopped for 43 minutes due to freezing Grand Rapids rain – this would either work in our favour, or kill any chance we had. As it turned out HERE. Ramos got to second on a walk and wild pitch, and then to 3rd on a sac hit from White. Winters collected another walk to make first, but on two-out it was… SURPRISE! Elder. And shockingly, it didn’t come off. 3-1 Austin, and we’d lost the series.

Notable performers: Floyd Osmond (2-from-4, R, RBI, 2B, HR). Caleb Guymon (4.2 IP, 5H, R, ER, BB, 4K, L [1-1]).


Got news the following day about Tomoshi Ishibashi’s injury – shoulder inflammation, 3 months out. Marvellous. With no minor league games until the 10th and no history to go off, I have to trust my gut a little – using my very scientific spreadsheets Milton should be next in line, but after giving up 5 earned runs in as many innings over two games, I’d sooner shoot my foot off. So, it’s Ted Idema instead who will take Ishibashi’s place – I liked the look of what he gave us in the last game, so fingers crossed for more of that. Dominican Luis Macias will replace his spot in the bullpen. Macias, 26, offers a straight-forward fastball/curveball combo with good stuff (93mph), but unspectacular movement and control.

To end the first week on a 0.500 record is about as much as I could’ve hoped for, so I’ll take it and run with that. I have two primary concerns, however – the run-scoring and the bullpen. We’ve managed 18 runs across 6 games (which for the mathematicians among you is 3-a-game) while conceding 21 (3.5-a-game) – 3.5 conceded a game I can live with in most circumstances, but 3-a-game scored is royally naff. Annoyingly, the conceded tally could be better, too; with an ERA of 2.28 we have the 2nd lowest starter ERA in the Red League, only behind the Albuquerque Destroyers’ 1.83, but our bullpen’s ERA of 4.76 is the 3rd HIGHEST. Idema, Etzler and Guthrie have done well, and Idema’s landed himself a position starting; I’ve been singularly unimpressed with Sardis, while Milton is on last-chance. After only one week that may seem too quick, but I just have a terrible feeling about him.

Our next two series are an away trip to Birmingham, Alabama to face the Alligators, and then a visit from the Jacksonville Hurricanes. Both finished their respective opening weeks 2-4 (Birmingham being in the South/Central like us, and the Hurricanes in the Southeast), although the ‘Gators have been offensively interesting.


ELSEWHERE

1st April: 1B Nate Sari hit 5-for-5 to help the Omaha Atomics towards a lovely 8-0 victory over the Salt Lake City Tornadoes. He hit singles in the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 8th innings, and hit a solo dinger in the 9th.

2nd April: SP Jayden Walker of the Fresno Mechanics will be out for 6 weeks as of today, after incurring an elbow strain during the ‘nics’ 6-1 victory over the Tulsa Steers. He had pitched 6 innings, given up 4 hits and a solitary run (with 5 Ks) at the time of injury.

In happier news, Sacramento Flames SS George McDuff hit for the cycle in the Flames’ 9-3 victory over the Orlando Owls today – he went for the three-bagger in the 1st (hitting in two runs in the process), an RBI double in the 3rd, a single in the 6th and an 8th-inning dinger off Cliff Wasson in the 8th. “Productive day,” he said afterwards.

5th April: Honolulu Volcanoes C Mitch Karp made the news as an important safety lesson for correct training discipline – coming very, very close to a serious injury involving a weights-machine. The 31-year-old from Shreveport is struggling for form in these early stages, not delivering on his purported $1.1m salary with a 0.111 average from 4 appearances.

6th April: SP Bill Pennington waited 4 days to learn that his shoulder inflammation will keep him out until the start of August at least. The 39-year-old fan favourite of the Birmingham Alligators’ injury will have the GM and owner gasping, as his $4.8m salary will come to nothing.

More tragic news from the injury bunker, as Omaha Atomics starter Dave Maldonado tore his UCL in yesterday’s 3-4 defeat to the Charlotte Stallions. While not thought-of highly from a technical standing, his manager is said to be “gutted for such a tireless worker”, regarding the 29-year-old Dominican being out for 13-14 months.

Aaaaand yet more. SP Melvin Miralles of the Salt Lake City Tornadoes is out for 4 weeks following elbow inflammation during their game against the Portland Thunderbirds (which ended 4-1 in the Tornadoes’ favour).

Finally, SP Danny Bourke of the Tucson Jesters held the Hartford Panthers to a 1-0 scoreline, effectively winning the game single-handedly for the Arizonans. The 27-year-old from Delafield, Wisconsin gave them no walks, only four hits and struck out 2 Panthers in the process.