[Questdog]

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

I was frightened awake this morning, too early to even look a the clock and see what time it was. I had a horrible dream or dreams, because I think I was scaring myself out of them all night. People kept running up to me out of nowhere and ripping pieces of paper in my face and laughing maniacally. Others were flailing their arms about in a panic and their arms were all rubbery and did not seem to have any bones in them. The first GM I ever worked for, who has been dead for over 10 years, called me into his office and chewed me out for not having my shoes tied and told me he was going to have to let me go because the chairs I had bought for the clubhouse were all too flimsy and had snapped into pieces when anyone sat on them. My own mother, who is still alive, acted like she was talking to me from the hereafter and asked me why I hadn't given them the milk every day like she asked. Given who the milk? "The little puppies!" she wailed and held up a litter of them in her arms and they all had mangled legs and tails. A little girl brought me a bunch of daisies and asked me to put them on the grave of Giant Jim.........

Baucom has gone back to Jacksonville to be examined by Dr. Pepper, but there is no hope that he will refute the diagnosis of the Buffalo doctor. Pia filed the paperwork to put Baucom on the DL and recall P Al Calice (24-R) from Daytona Beach (A). Calice can work on his issues with us now, because the season is over as far as winning the division. Baucom was the rock that everything else was built on. We are down to a 2 man rotation with Del Warwick and Mike Marsh. And Marsh is having his own injury issues and I would not be surprised if he does not last the season. And our offense is way off form what it was last season and does not seem capable of winning games with less than stellar pitching.

Jacksonville Jays (21-12 .636 0 GA tied for 1st place in the Southern Division) at
Buffalo Bombers (17-14 .548 3 GB in 3rd place in the Northern Division)

JAX: Del Warwick (30-L) (3-4 2.31 ERA 50.2 IP, 50 H, 3 HR, 6 BB, 32 SO) Gold Glove(02)
BUF: Steve Cron (31-L) (4-2 2.70 ERA 53.1 IP, 49 H, 1 HR, 7 BB, 20 SO) All-Star

Warwick gave up 2 runs (1 earned) on 10 hits and no walks with 4 strikeouts in 6.2 innings last time out in a win.

Cron is their #1 starter. He was 17-14 with a 2.81 ERA in 256 IP last year and 18-9, tying for MLB lead in wins, with a 2.43 ERA in an MLB leading 263 IP in 2003. He has tied for the MLB lead in games started every season. He is 3-1 in 4 starts against the Jays in his career with a shutout and a 1.97 ERA. 32 IP, 31 H, 3 HR, 6 BB, 19 SO.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
JACKSONVILLE
1: 2B Charlie Faber (34-R .250-44-0-2-.606-1 B+) 6 for 12 vs Cron
2: LF Cal Doty (28-L .188-64-1-5-.475-3 B+) All-Star
3: RF Ray McDonald (24-L .261-119-4-18-.833-6 B+) All-Star 2 for 16 vs Cron
4: 3B Tom McDowell (27-R .227-128-6-19-.654-4 C+)
5: 1B Jack Washburn (23-L .240-104-1-8-.738-6 B)
6: CF Gary McKellar (35-R .200-30-1-1-.633-0 B)
7: SS Bart Daw (33-R .200-90-2-13-.588-5 B+)
8: C Don Kern (28-R .185-27-1-4-.683-0 B+)
9: P Del Warwick (30-L .000-13-0-0-.000-0 F) Gold Glove(02)

BUFFALO
1: CF Pete Hudzik (25-R .212-104-0-7-.531-10 A+)
2: SS Charlie Childs (21-L .245-94-0-9-.567-3 A)
3: 1B Frank Cohen (29-R .231-108-3-11-.685-1 B) All-Star(3: 01-02,04)
4: RF Bob Sedrick (26-R .125-16-1-3-.489-0 B) Rookie
5: LF Tom Hamm (35-R .283-92-1-6-.674-3 B) All-Star(2: 01-02)
6: 2B Dave Lloyd (32-R .244-82-2-7-.694-0 B+) All-Star(2: 01-02) 8 for 21 w/3 HR vs Warwick
7: 3B Charlie Russell (28-R .400-15-1-2-1.171-0 C+)
8: C Dick Lyles (38-R .200-50-1-9-.581-0 D-) 3 for 9 w/HR vs Warwick
9: P Steve Cron (31-L .235-17-0-2-.458-0 C) All-Star

Game Start: 2:05 PM
Ballpark: Sportsman's Park
Weather: 52 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 12 MPH wind blowing out to left
Attendance: 10,975

Top of the First
Charlie Faber strikes out on 3 pitches. Cal Doty takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Ray McDonald grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6. Tom McDowell strikes out.

Bottom of the First
Pete Hudzik gets beaned with the second pitch of the game. It is hard to concentrate on the action.... Charlie Childs lines a hit to left. Frank Cohen grounds into a 6-4-3 double play and Hudzik scores. No, he just goes to 3rd. Bob Sedrick grounds out to 3rd.

If the players are feeling anything like I am, we have no hope of winning today....

We need someone to do something to snap us out of theses doldrums and get us excited and Cal Doty does it! In the bottom of the 2nd, with 2 runners on and only 1 out, Dick Lyles lines one to left that looks like a sure run-scoring hit, but Doty makes a diving catch and hops up and fires to 2nd to double off the runner!!

Alright, boys! Let's score some runs!

We don't score in the 3rd, but everyone hit the ball hard and P Del Warwick had a hit. In the bottom of the 3rd, with 2 outs, Charlie Childs beat out an infield hit. Frank Cohen lines a hit to right and Childs went for 3rd, but Ray McDonald threw him out!

Top of the Sixth
With 1 out, Ray McDonald grounds a hit to right. With McDonald running, Tom McDowell swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses, but McDonald is safe at 2nd. They walk the lefty Jack Washburn intentionally to face Gary McKellar and he lines a hit to left and McDonald scores! 1 to 0, Jays!

Bottom of the Sixth
Frank Cohen lines a hit to center.... Bob Sedrick doubles to right.... The Bullpen gets up. With the infield in, Tom Hamm grounds a hit to left and Cohen scores... Tie Game: 1 to 1. I thought for sure with our newfound enthusiasm, we would go on to win, 10 to 0..... Dave Lloyd lines a hit to right and Sedrick scores and Hamm beats the throw to 3rd... 2 to 1, Bombers. Call to the Bullpen: Bob Craig (27-R). Charlie Russell walks on 4 pitches to load the bases up with no outs.... Dick Lyles grounds into a 4-2-3 double play!! P Steve Cron grounds out to 2nd!

Top of the Seventh
Don Kern draws a walk. P Bob Craig is allowed to hit, because whoever we send up there, Manny will have them bunt and Craig is one of the best bunters on the team. So, of course, he bunts into a force at 2nd, 2-6.... With 2 outs, Cal Doty grounds a double over the 3rd base bag and P Craig scores form 1st! Tie Game: 2 to 2! Ray McDonald flies out to the warning track in right....

Top of the Eighth
With 1 out, Jack Washburn grounds one to 2nd, but Dave Lloyd throws it away for a 2 base error! Washburn steals 3rd! With the infield in, Gary McKellar swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to short and Washburn holds.... Bart Daw flies out to deep left....

Bottom of the Eighth
The Bullpen is ready. Bob Sedrick knocks one off the wall in left center for a triple.... Call to the Bullpen: All-Star Albert Davies (28-L). Tom Hamm strikes out! Dave Lloyd grounds out to 3rd and Sedrick stays put! We walk Charlie Russell intentionally. Dick Lyles pops out to 3rd!

Top of the Ninth
P Steve Cron is at 116 pitches. 8-9-1 up for us. Don Kern takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4! Pinch-runner: Frank Roadman (30-R). PH T.R. Hunter (28-R) grounds a hit to right and Roadman beats the throw to 3rd! Charlie Faber pops out to 2nd.... Cal Doty pops out to left and Roadman tags up and gets thrown out by Tom Hamm.......

Bottom of the Ninth
New Pitcher: Johnny Groom (28-R). T.R. Hunter stays in to play 2nd and Bob Hutson (22-L) is in to catch. 9-1-2 up for the Bombers. PH Joel McCormick (36-R), 2 for 8 in this series, strikes out! PH Vern Stewart (24-L), a rookie, who is 0 for 7 in his career, but was the #36 prospect this Spring and was hitting .373 in the American Association (A) before being called up, grounds a hit to right.... PH Mickey Lynn (32-L), 0 for 8 this series, but almost guaranteed to hit a home run off P Groom, grounds into a 4-6-3 double play!!

Extras!
We are 3-0 so far this season.

Top of the Tenth
New Pitcher: Billy Temple (28-R), their 2-time All-Star(02,04) closer, who pitched a scoreless inning yesterday. He is 2-1 with 7 SV and a 1.08 ERA in 16.2 IP with 8 H allowed and 17 SO. 3-4-5 up for us. They go down in order on 2 ground outs to the pitcher and a pop out to short....

Bottom of the Tenth
3-4-5 up for them.... Frank Cohen walks.... Bob Sedrick grounds into a 3-6-3 double play!! Tom Hamm hits a 2-2 pitch over the center field wall....

Lost - 3 to 2

We had 6 hits and made no errors
Buffalo had 12 hits and made 1 error

We turned 5 double plays, 4 of them GDP.

Del Warwick went 5+ innings, allowed 2 runs, 9 hits, 1 walk, 2 HBP and struck out 3. At bat, he had a hit.
RHP Bob Craig went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 1 hit and 1 walk. At bat, he bunted into a force out and scored a run.
LHP Albert Davies went 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 walk (INT) and struck out 1.
RHP Johnny Groom (L 1-2) went 1.2 innings, allowed 1 run, 2 hits, 1 home run, 1 walk and struck out 1.

Steve Cron went 9 innings, gave us 2 runs, 6 hits, 5 walks (1 INT) and struck out 6. 136 pitches.
RHP Billy Temple (W 3-1) pitched 1 perfect inning.

LF Cal Doty hit a double, drew a walk and had an RBI. 1B Jack Washburn had a hit and a walk (INT) and stole a base. C Don Kern drew 3 walks. PH/2B T.R. Hunter had a hit.

For Buffalo, LF Tom Hamm had 2 hits with his 2n home run of the season, the game winner, and had 2 RBI. 2B Dave Lloyd had 3 hits and an RBI. 3B Charlie Russell drew 3 walks (1 INT).