Catfish drop series, finally win a game

Saturday night's rainout caused the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) and the Columbus Catfish to schedule a double-header today. And, after dropping the first two games of the series, the Catfish needed a double-header sweep to split the series.

They didn't.

They did make it interesting in the first game, and just plain beat Savannah in the second game, giving Savannah the series, but the Catfish their first win.

Game one was much like the first two games of the series. Savannah jumped to an early 2-0 lead, thanks to another towering home run, this one by Savannah C Francisco Pena.

By the middle of the 4th, Savannah had a 4-0 lead. The Catfish made another error, their 7th in three games, accounting for one of those runs. They'd commit another later in game one, but no one scored on that one. And, in all honesty, they should have been charged with another error in the 4th, on a play where the official scorer ruled a sacrifice fly on a deep shot to center that allowed a runner to score ... from second base. The Savannah coach held the runner up at third, then sent him home when the throw missed the cutoff man. Doesn't really matter, I supposed, since the run counts, whether earned or unearned. Unless you're the pitcher, who got charged an earned run on a run that shouldn't have happened.

Bottom of the 4th, and the Catfish started their comeback.

With 2 outs, DH Stephen Vogt walked, stole second, then scored when 1B Henry Wrigley doubled to right, cutting the lead to 4-1.

The Catfish stranded runners in scoring position in both the 5th and 6th innings.

In the 7th, the Catfish came, oh, so close to winning.

With one out, SS Omar Luna reached on an error. CF Emeel Salem and RF Maiko Loyola walked to load the bases. Following a pitching change, LF Reid Fronk walked, plating Luna. 2B Cody Cipriano grounded out, scoring Salem. Vogt then hit a hot shot over the third baseman, that should have been a double, scoring two runs and giving the Catfish the win. However, Savannah, 3B Jacob Eigsti made a great jump to snag the ball, cut the rally short, and give the visitors the win.

Both pitching staffs did another good job. Savannah only managed 4 hits, while the Catfish mustered only 3. Each team has two errors, though the Catfish should have been charged with a third.

Game two was not close.

The Catfish got their first lead of the season in the 3rd inning. With one out, Luna and Salem both reached on singles. Salem stole second, his third steal of the young season. 2B Joey Callender drove in Luna on a sacrifice fly to right. Then some serious excitement. Just how serious, we wouldn't find out until later.

Fronk (RF) hit a shot just out of reach of Savannah CF Richard Pena. Salem scored from third, and the ball bounced away from Pena. By the time the ball got back to the infield, Fronk was bearing down on home plate. With C Jordan Abruzzo blocking the plate, Fronk ran him over, scoring the Catfish' third run, and turning a triple into an inside-the-park home run.

In the 4th, Vogt (LF) and C Mike McCormick hit back-to-back doubles to make it 4-0.

In the 5th, the 3rd inning collision at home plate came back to into play. Savannah reliever Julio Polanco hit Fronk with his first pitch, bringing a warning from home plate umpire Koyu Inoue. Savannah manager Donovan Mitchell complained about the warning, but it stood.

In the 6th, the Catfish stretched their lead to 4-0. McCormick and Wrigley singled to lead off the inning. DH Shawn Williams hit into a 4-6-3 double play moving McCormick to third. Luna singled to second, scoring McCormick, and putting the Catfish up 4-0.

The 7th inning saw more fireworks, but no scoring.

With 2 outs and the bases empty, Catfish P Kevin Boggan hit Abruzzo in the head. Inoue immediately threw out Boggan while Abruzzo yelled, "I am not believing this!" as he grabbed his head and dropped to the ground. Abruzzo let the F-bomb ... actually the M-F-bomb ... fly as he rolled around. The Savannah skipper let an F-bomb fly as he complained to Inoue, despite Inoue's tossing of Boggan.

After things settled, Abruzzo was replaced on the base paths, and Catfish reliever Travis Risser coaxed a ground ball out of Savannah 3B Jacob Eigsti to end the game.

Jason Ragan picked up the first Catfish win of the year, striking out 4 and retiring 9 straight at one point.

Despite dropping the series, the Catfish were actually in every game. Errors killed them.

If they can cut down the errors, they'll be on the winning side of a lot more games than on the losing side.

The Catfish head on the road for eight games, playing at Rome tomorrow night in the first of four, then heading to Savannah Friday for another four.

I'm curious to see if there'll be any follow-up to the head-hunting that may ... or may not ... have gone on today.

Catfish lose error-filled contest

For the second night in a row, the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) ruined the night for the Columbus Catfish at Golden Park. After being one-hit by Savannah last night, tonight, the Catfish outhit the Sand Gnats 10-8, but were outscored 7-4.

Defensively, it was not a night to remember. The Catfish committed 5 errors. And a fan committed one. More about that in a minute.

First, the good news is, the swelling is going down nicely.

Not mine. My grandson's.

He went to the game with us tonight. And, you know the part where they say "Be aware of balls being hit into the stands?"

Well, they also mean that you should be aware of balls being hit into the picnic area by the visitor's bullpen, too. Because that's where my grandson was playing with several other children when a Savannah batter hit a hot shot into the picnic area.

The ball came in so fast, he didn't have a chance to get out of the way. Hit him squarely in the leg.

Hurt like heck, but he still managed to get the ball.

And I have nothing but good things to say about the Catfish, including General Manager Ken Clary, who was quickly on the scene, kept my grandson calm, and got the nurse to look at him.

The nurse was great, too. And, in a few minutes, my grandson was running around, having a good time.

Back at the game, it seemed like everything that could go wrong, did. Except for injuries. My grandson checked that off the list.

The Catfish, though, suffered 5 errors. Six if you count the fan who interfered with a pop fly near the visitor's dugout. So we could check that off the list.

I've never seen a runner score from first on a strike-out. Until tonight. With two out and Savannah DH Darren Clark on first, having reached on an error, Catfish starter Glenn Gibson struck out Savannah LF Daniel Stegall. Catfish C Mike McCormick dropped the strike, then threw high to 1B Seth Dhaenens. The ball reached the right field corner, allowing Clark to score. So we could check scoring from first on a strike out off the list.

In the 4th, Savannah 2B Greg Veloz stole home as McCormick threw high while trying to throw out SS Matthew Bouchard who was stealing second. So we could check stealing home off the list.

Savannah 1B Jose Jimenez (yes, his name Jose Jimenez) hit a towering 2-run shot over the left field wall. Actually, over the advertising signs above the wall. Actually, into the trees behind the wall. So we could check scoring runs while knocking limbs off trees from the list.

And, in the 9th, the rains came, holding the game up for an hour. So we could check that from the list.

Yes, it was one of those nights.

On the positive side, the Catfish managed to keep it from being worse. On the five errors, Savannah only managed two runs. Nine Savannah runners were stranded, and one was caught stealing. Like I said, it could have been worse.

Catfish DH Stephen Vogt hit a 2-run shot over the left-center wall. McCormick went 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. LF Reid Fronk was also 3-for-4, scoring two runs, and stealing three bases.

A bad night overall, but some good performances. The Catfish pitchers struck out nine. The bullpen recorded 5 of those, and allowed just one run.

The Catfish are now 0-2, and need to win both Saturday and Sunday in order to salvage a split of the series.

Catfish drop opener, are 1-hit by Savannah

There's not much you can do when the opposing team's pitcher is putting his pitches right where he wants them. You can hope the pitch count catches up with him, and you can get some hits off the bullpen.

That's sort of what happened to the Columbus Catfish tonight.

Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) pitcher Michael Antonini had his stuff tonight, holding the Catfish hitless through six innings, allowing just three base runners -- two on errors plus one walk -- to pick up a 2-0 win over the Catfish.

Savannah reliever Jacobo Neguilis allowed a hit to the first Catfish batter he faced in the 7th, but a fly ball and two ground balls kept the Catfish off the board. Savannah's Nicholas Waechter pitched two perfect innings to seal the win.

While the Catfish were held to that single by 3B Gregory Sexton, they did hit the ball hard a few times, but each time at someone. Or 400 feet to center field, only to find it's 415 to the wall.

Defensively, the Catfish played well. For instance, 1B Henry Wrigley made a great diving stop of a ball that, had it gotten by, could have been a double easily, and possibly a triple. Several sharply hit balls to Sexton at third and to SS Omar Luna were handled well. Sexton turned an unusual 5-3 double play, swiping a Savannah baserunner as he tried to advance on a 1-out grounder to third, before retiring the batter at first to end the inning and stop a Savannah inning from getting out of control.

In the first two innings, each with the leadoff batter making it to third base, the Catfish settled down and shut Savannah down.

However, Savannah scored in the 4th on a hit batsman and a double. And an unearned run in the 6th on an error by Luna, followed by a double.

The difference, though, was the pitching. Catfish starter Alex Cobb struck out 5 in 5-2/3 innings work, allowing one earned run on 4 hits, which would normally be good enough for a win. Catfish reliever Justin Garcia struck out 3 in 2-1/2 innings work, allowing a hit. Brian Flores pitched a perfect 9th for Columbus.

As good as that was, Savannah pitching was better tonight.

The loss drops the Catfish to 0-1. They get the chance to even their record and the series with Savannah tomorrow night at 7:00. Lefty Glenn Gibson is scheduled to start for the Catfish. He was 4-3 in 12 starts for Hudson Valley of the New York-Penn League last year, striking out 58 in 58 inning pitched.

I'm hoping for a better outcome tomorrow night.

I was pleasantly surprised by one thing: I expected a few hundred fans at the ballpark, because that's normal for Columbus. However, 1,895 fans showed up for the game. That's nearly 600 more than came to watch the Catfish clinch the South Atlantic League championship last September.

Oh, and the Catfish magic number to clinch the South Atlantic League Southern Division title remains at 71.

Take me out to the ballgame

Baseball season opens tonight. The minor league season, that is.

Opening Day in Columbus usually means a couple of hundred fans show up for a ballgame where a few players from the previous year's team -- that usually finished near the bottom of the standings -- take the field.

This year, there are only four players back from last year's team: IF Seth Dhaenens, IF Joey Callendar, OF Maiko Loyola, and P Jeremy Hall. But that's the team that won the South Atlantic League championship, the first baseball championship in Columbus in over 20 years.

However, two unfortunate things are likely to happen.

One is that only a few hundred fans will show up. I'd wager good money that'll be the case.

The other is that this is probably the last year of the Columbus Catfish. Some guy from Up North (Art Solomon, a successful businessman who already owns a Double-A team, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats) is trying to buy the team and move it to Bowling Green, Kentucky. I'd wager good money on that, too.

So, as the 2008 Columbus Catfish Farewell Tour kicks off, I'll be in my usual seat behind home plate, cheering on the team.

At least I'll have been rewarded by a championship. And who knows? Maybe this year's team will take the trophy come September.

Regardless, it's been a fun ride. And I'm looking forward to this season. I'm just sad that it will likely be the last.

McCain on Letterman

Didn't get to see it live, what with work and all. But I got a chance to catch it on YouTube...



Heh. Funny stuff.

Tomorrow night!

Baseball season opens tomorrow night.

Okay, the Major League season is underway. But the local minor league team, the Columbus Catfish, open their season tomorrow night.

And I'm ready.

The Catfish (Rays) host the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) tomorrow night at 7:00, to begin what is, in all likelihood, the final season of the Catfish. A guy from Up North, Art Solomon, has put in a bid to buy the Catfish. And he's trying to put a team in Bowling Green, KY, for 2009. So, after this year, no more Columbus Catfish.

Anyhow, I'm ready for baseball ... local baseball ... to start.

Hardly anyone around here goes to the games. The Catfish draw, on average, around 1,000 a game. But that includes some games where soldiers at Ft. Benning pack the stands. Crowds of a couple of hundred are common during the week.

Folks just don't care about baseball at the minor league level. At least, around here, they don't.

But they're missing out.

For example, check the Los Angeles Dodgers. They began their regular season with five rookies on their roster. One. Hiroki Kuroda, played in Japan for 10 years. The other four? They played for the Catfish.

Blake DeWitt, Chin-lung Hu, Ramon Troncoso and Delwyn Young all wore the uniform of the Catfish. (Actually, Young wore a South Georgia Waves uniform the year before the team changed its name to the Columbus Catfish.)

But that's not all.

Also on the Dodgers roster are pitchers Chad Billingsley and Jonathan Broxton, plus outfielder Matt Kemp. All played for the Catfish. As well as Andy LaRoche and Tony Abreu, both on the DL.

That's over a third of the Dodgers roster. Former Catfish.

And that's just the home team.

The visitors bring plenty of talent, too.

You follow the Braves? Well, you should. Anyway, remember their first game? The one they lost to Washington on a 9th-inning homer by Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals? I got to see Zimmerman play when he was a member of the Sand Gnats.

Another Sand Gnat I got to see play? Ever heard of Eric Gagne? Saw him pitch for Savannah back in 1996.

But back to the Braves. Just look at their roster. Not all, but many of their players came up through the Braves farm system. And that means we got to see them when Rome (or, formerly, Macon) came to town.

And Rome comes to town 12 times this season.

So, for the opportunity to see some future Major League stars, there's no better place than Minor League Baseball.

And for just good, fun baseball? A place you can take the kids to have a good time in a safe, family atmosphere?

Take them out to the ball game.

No good deed...

Been a busy couple of weeks at work. Logged nearly 80 hours last week. And 42 so far this week. And, yes, it's only Tuesday. Tuesday night, sure. But still, it's only Tuesday.

Anyway, I'm tired. I'm grumpy. And my head hurts.

When I left work tonight, the car told me it needed gas. Okay, it didn't say anything. But the words "FUEL LEVEL IS LOW" came on. And, if the car thinks it needs gas, it needs gas.

So, I ran up to one of the gas stations downtown, got out, and put $49.46 worth in the car. Put it on the card, since I don't carry cash.

That gas station, which has a Subway on one side and a Taco Bell on the other is a haven for the homeless, the downtrodden, the tired, the poor, the huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse ...

You get the idea.

So, I don't carry cash. Just plastic.

Got gas, then crossed the street to McDonald's. Got in the drive-thru line and waited for the line to slowly move along.

Right as I got to the speaker to place my order, a bum walked up.

Now, why do I say he was a bum?

First impression. They're not always right. Sometimes they are. Let's see how right my first impression was.

"Excuse me, sir?"

I rolled the window down. "Yes?"

"Do you have a set of jumper cables?"

I thought for a second. I used to carry a set of cables in the old car. And I didn't think I had them in the new car.

"No, I don't -- hang on. I might. Let me check"

I pulled up, ordered my Quarter Pounder with Cheese meal, moved forward, jumped out, popped the trunk, and checked.

There they were.

"Yes, sir, I do have a set."

He stuttered, "Oh, uh, oh oh, uh uh uh. I'm I'm I'm about four blocks down. Can you give me a jump?

"Sure."

He walked around to the passenger door, opened the door, sat down, and buckled up.

I pulled forward, and was next in line to pay for my order.

"Sir, sir, sir, I do appreciate this. I do."

He offered my his hand. We shook hands.

"Not at all."

I pulled up to the window, gave the young lady my card, and he told me about his surgery.

"I had cancer surgery here," he said, as he raised his shirt to show me the scar running from chest to navel.

"Uh-huh."

The lady at the window asked me about my name. She'd seen it before. I wasn't sure what to say, other than, "Yes, ma'am, there's a couple of folks with a similar name."

She was telling me about her being from Florida and a fellow from down there with a name like mine ran for county commission or something. Meanwhile my rider was showing me his leg surgery. I'm not saying much. Although the conversation about the county commissioner sounded more promising. Especially since, on a visit to Florida, I remember seeing signs the guy had up when he was running.

I thanked the lady, my rider thanked me again, and shook my hand.

Pulled up to the window to actually get the food. Put it on the floor behind the seat and pulled forward, towards the exit.

"Which way is your car?"

"Uh, um, uh, it's about four blocks that way," he said, pointing down Veteran's Parkway toward the Civic Center.

I pulled around and went out the back entrance in order to face my car towards his.

"About how far?" I asked when we got back to Veterans.

"About three or four blocks," he said. "I do thank you for this, mister."

He proceeded to tell me about his cancer surgery meaning he couldn't get work, since he's now a risk. I guess he has the cancer that's catching.

As we approached the three block mark, he asked me if I was a mechanic.

"No, sir, I'm not. Don't know much about cars."

"I left the lights on yesterday and the battery died. I jumped it off, but it keeps dying. I don't think it'll work and I need to see if you can take me over to where I'm staying."

"Where's that?" I asked.

"You know where the Wal-mart is in Phenix City?"

I did. Actually, The Wife knows exactly where every Wal-mart in a 500 mile radius is. But I didn't tell him that. I just said I thought I knew where it was.

So, I kept heading south on Veterans, turning right at the Civic Center, pointing the car in the direction of Phenix City.

In four more blocks, we were crossing the river into Alabama, heading to the Wal-mart in Phenix City, which was, he said, near where he lived.

He appreciated this. And he shook my hand.

"You don't seem like a prejudiced man," he said.

"No, sir."

"Did you ever used to be?"

"Sir?"

He clarified. "Oh, I know you're not a prejudiced man now. I can tell that. Did you ever used to be?"

"No, sir, I wasn't brought up that way. I've know folks that are that way, including some family members. But not my immediate family," I said.

"I can't afford to be prejudiced," he said.

"None of us can," I began.

"Two white folks saved my life when I was a kid," he continued.

"Oh?"

He explained about being out in a boat, fishing for bream with a cane pole. Then something about his mama all upset because he was in the boat so far from shore, and she asked these two white men to help out.

"They could have thought, 'Let the nigger die, there'll be one less of them,' but they didn't. The helped get me back to shore," he told me. "So I can't afford to be prejudiced."

"Yeah, well, we all got to..." I began.

"I do appreciate the ride. I been staying back over in Columbus, just out of the hospital, having cancer surgery, and cain't work."

"Yeah, cancer's rough. And cancer surgery is rough. At best, it's still surgery. And that's not good," I said.

"You're right. And I appreciate your helping me out," he said. And shook my hand.

I got to hear more about the boss man who he was working for laying him off after the surgery. Last hired, first hired.

I understood. And I did, having worked construction in the past. And he appreciated that. And shook my hand.

We got near the Wal-mart in Phenix City, and I asked, "Just at the door?"

"Yeah, that's fine," he said. Then told me about a church he went to for help and they made him fill out paperwork to make sure he was telling the truth. And he filled out paperwork for food stamps, he said, but that took several weeks.

"This okay?" I asked, as we got to the door.

"Yeah, this fellow I know said I could stay with him if I got $150 to help out with the groceries," he said. "I can tell you're an honest man, and you'll help out someone. God puts us here to help each other out, dontcha think?"

"Oh, yeah, the Lord knows what He's doing, even if we don't."

"Can you help me out? I need some money so I can help with the groceries," he asked.

I told him, "I always use cards, don't carry cash. I might have ... let me see ..." And I reached into my pocket, pulling out every bit of cash money I had. One dollar and 51 cents.

"That's all I got," I said.

"Can't you pull some money out on your credit card?"

"No, I can't get a cash advance on my Visa credit card," I said. And that's true. It's not set to draw cash. That's what my Mastercard is for. But I didn't tell him that.

"I just need enough for a hotel room for the night."

"That's all the money I got. I can't get cash on that Visa credit card. That's all I can do."

He sat quietly for a second or two.

"I thank you." He opened the door, slamming it as he walked away. And he didn't shake my hand.