Toto, We're Not In Kansas (or RFK) Anymore
While the Nats are on the road, the girls and I decided to head south a little bit and check out the single A Potomac Nationals. If you've been there, you know that single A ball seems like a different world. We experienced, perhaps the craziest night in baseball we have seen in a long time.
The P-Nats were able to come up with a 5-1 win, but not before some very exciting/interesting baseball. The first 3 innings were like clockwork for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Three Nats up, three Nats down. These boys were swinging at everything that came their way. A little tutorial from Lenny about patience would have done them some good. However, in the 5th inning, things got going. The Nats' bats came alive and they scored 5 runs, which was all they would need for the night.
Some interesting notes on our Single A experience:
1. There are only two umpires! While one is charged with overseeing home plate and calling balls and strikes, the other is left with the entire field. The helped explain some of the questionable calls we saw throughout the game.
2. It's a 'wild' game. We saw more wild pitches last night that we have all season with the Wash. Nationals.
3. Speaking of wild pitches, #43 Thissen, the 3rd baseman who looks eerily like Austin Kearns, saw a wild pitch that he felt was aimed at his head. So he promptly headed towards the mound and the benches cleared. I have never seen the benches clear so fast in my life...and the bullpen even got in on the action! Luckily, no punches were thrown. However there were several questionable pitches following the incident.
4. Apparently it doesn't matter where you stand as long as one foot is in the batter's box. The P-Nats' second baseman, Rogelstad, was consistently standing with his back foot out of the box.
5. Pop fly's drop! We probably saw around 5 or 6 very catchable pop flys drop to the ground. Some were even in a guys glove before they found the grass! I was amazed to see these players unable to get such easy outs.
6. Where is Ross Detwiler? We didn't see him anywhere during the game.
Like the Potomac Nationals, our Washington Nationals had a 5-1 lead heading into the 9th inning. The girls and I comfortably walked into IHOP confident Chief would get the job done. Four runs is a good cushion right? WRONG! Chad gave up a single and home run in his first two pitches, yet Manny kept him in. Chief had some problems the night before, and it seemed that with a 4 run lead, Manny could have given him the night off. Chief would finally be sent to the bench, but not before the bases were loaded with no outs. Rauch was brought in and put in a difficult situation. With the bases loaded, we expect that a run is going to come in, but we also expect him to at least get an out or two. Unfortunately, the Nats watched their 5-1 lead evaporate into a 5-6 loss. Also, Hill was given a no decision despite another spectacular performance.
The P-Nats were able to come up with a 5-1 win, but not before some very exciting/interesting baseball. The first 3 innings were like clockwork for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Three Nats up, three Nats down. These boys were swinging at everything that came their way. A little tutorial from Lenny about patience would have done them some good. However, in the 5th inning, things got going. The Nats' bats came alive and they scored 5 runs, which was all they would need for the night.
Some interesting notes on our Single A experience:
1. There are only two umpires! While one is charged with overseeing home plate and calling balls and strikes, the other is left with the entire field. The helped explain some of the questionable calls we saw throughout the game.
2. It's a 'wild' game. We saw more wild pitches last night that we have all season with the Wash. Nationals.
3. Speaking of wild pitches, #43 Thissen, the 3rd baseman who looks eerily like Austin Kearns, saw a wild pitch that he felt was aimed at his head. So he promptly headed towards the mound and the benches cleared. I have never seen the benches clear so fast in my life...and the bullpen even got in on the action! Luckily, no punches were thrown. However there were several questionable pitches following the incident.
4. Apparently it doesn't matter where you stand as long as one foot is in the batter's box. The P-Nats' second baseman, Rogelstad, was consistently standing with his back foot out of the box.
5. Pop fly's drop! We probably saw around 5 or 6 very catchable pop flys drop to the ground. Some were even in a guys glove before they found the grass! I was amazed to see these players unable to get such easy outs.
6. Where is Ross Detwiler? We didn't see him anywhere during the game.
Like the Potomac Nationals, our Washington Nationals had a 5-1 lead heading into the 9th inning. The girls and I comfortably walked into IHOP confident Chief would get the job done. Four runs is a good cushion right? WRONG! Chad gave up a single and home run in his first two pitches, yet Manny kept him in. Chief had some problems the night before, and it seemed that with a 4 run lead, Manny could have given him the night off. Chief would finally be sent to the bench, but not before the bases were loaded with no outs. Rauch was brought in and put in a difficult situation. With the bases loaded, we expect that a run is going to come in, but we also expect him to at least get an out or two. Unfortunately, the Nats watched their 5-1 lead evaporate into a 5-6 loss. Also, Hill was given a no decision despite another spectacular performance.
posted by riseupcleveland at 8:57 AM
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