Montreal Impact (5-3) @ Los Angeles Lakers (4-1), Game 2 (MTL lead 1-0)
After a forgettable game one, where we were out of it after the flop even if we did catch some good cards at the river, we intend to charge the field with a renewed focus and steely resolve. Actually, that’s just me saying that – no one in the clubhouse said anything of the sort, instead it was business as usual – cool, calm, and collected. I wish my confidence was as unwavering – but, it’s not – far from it in fact. Montreal showed the ability to jump on bad pitching – and while we’ve been serviceable on the mound so far in the playoffs, we’ve rarely been great. To silence Montreal’s bats, we don’t have to be great – we just can’t be whatever it is that Brisk was in Game 1. As I’ve said before, he certainly looked the part in Game 1 – a quality that is emphasized in La La Land – but he couldn’t quite play it, and in the meritocracy that is professional baseball we stack our weights on the field of play, and Brisk couldn’t quite measure up. With Dejuan on the bump today we expect –
NAY, demand – better results. It’s funny – I have a tendency to add undue import on games throughout the season, tossing around the term, “must-win”, out there with the reckless abandon of a young college co-ed on their first spring break vacation without their parents – but, if ever there was a game that we simply had to win, I think this is it. If only for my sanity – to keep my blood pressure in check – and to, for one more day at least, keep my job security in the green.
Side note: Shawna Betts is in town. She’ll be joining me in the owner’s box for the game, where our topics of discussion will almost certainly include the rumor that a cadre of influential owners, still hot over her outright thievery of OKC’s team, is pushing the expansion agenda again. An aggressive expansion agenda that, in addition to the reintroduction of the Oklahoma City Thunder, would bring 3 additional clubs into our league. With clubs in Colorado, Ottawa, Miami, Washington DC, Columbus, Indianapolis, Boston, Calgary, Monterrey, and Anaheim under consideration. With the list of owners attached to the rumor, and given their influence over this league, there isn’t much we can do to stop it, so I expect that Shawna will be pushing the agenda to gain my owners cooperation in making sure that if OKC does make a reappearance in the MLB it will happen in the American League. Should be a fun chat to have during an intense and important game 2.
Julius Trowbridge (1-1, 16.20) @ Dejuan Burns (1-0, 2.16)
Trowbridge was destroyed his last time out – 6 earned in 0.2 innings of work – laid to waste… Montreal’s castle was razed and there appeared to be no survivors. So, seeing him get the nod here is nice, but hardly comforting – the Bahaman hurler has a sick fastball and a dag nasty slider when he has his command. He’s also the type that operates on an even keel – and islander through and through. Today, he rode the tack and righted the ship until a rogue wave in the bottom of the 5th, which came in the form of a 3-run double courtesy of Mr. Pepper Grant, knocked him back off course and gave us a much needed 2-run lead. We’d manage to hang on to it and take Game 2 by a score of 4-2. A critical win for us here – exaggeration be damned – Dejuan gives us 7 innings, allowing 2 runs and striking out 8, and Kawka goes 2 in relief, allowing nothing to reach home and racking up 3 K’s. Pepper’s has been our offensive story so far – that’s fun, but not the kind of fun that will propel us into the next round – and Otto seems to have stepped out of his mini-funk with a 1 for 3 day and run scored performance. We’ll head to Montreal next – a long flight with nothing to think about – for a couple in their ballpark. We need to get them both, but will settle for a split – anything else would be uncivilized.
