Wrap, Indy Wrap, Box, Play-by-Play
If you're a baseball fan, especially if you're a Bulls' fan, and you missed last night's game, too bad. It was a terrific one.
We saw two very good young pitchers. One of them, Indianapolis' Tyler Glasnow, was in top form. When Willy Adames came to bat in the 1st inning Glaznow threw four pitches: 97, 97, 98, and 99 mph. Adames rolled a grounder to 1B for an out.
The other pitcher, Durham's Yonny Chirinos, wasn't quite as sharp and he gave up 7 hits over his 7 innings. However, almost every ball hit off him was a ground ball, and the infield backed him up with three very pretty double plays.
Then we got to watch Jake Bauers at bat and on the field. He took Glasnow's first pitch of the 2nd inning and put it over the centerfield wall. His 8th inning single drove in Durham's second run. And his glove work was amazing, especially his inning-ending grab and toss to the pitcher to end the 8th.
Plus I have to mention how great it is to be at a game where the stands are filled with nothing but baseball fans (OK, maybe a couple came for the all-you-can-eat come on and fireworks). I've not been to a game this year where the fans were more into the game than this one. And knowledgable. Boy, was it fun. I watched the 9th from the right field stands and even those few folks were jumping and cheering as Diego Castillo struck out the side to get the save.
Meanwhile:
- Lehigh Valley came from behind to win the first game of their series against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the 12th inning. Box, Morning Call
- Here's a rant about roster expansion that doesn't mention my concern: ripping off players when AAA teams are in a playoff. USA Today
- And a fascinating piece on sign-stealing. Slate
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So a small rant here. The all you can eat thing is going to ruin Durham playoff baseball. Generally playoffs are small crowds, so I get why they're trying a gimmick, but the crowd is usually a very into-the-game type (like in game 1 when it rained).
ReplyDeleteEven though concessions always used to suck during playoff games, you could at least get your hotdog in about a minute and not miss any game action. Last night the lines were ridiculous. A guy in front of us missed about 4 innings of action getting food. I chose to not really partake in the food so I could watch the game, but that meant I spent more money on a playoff ticket than on regular season tickets without the assumed benefit.
I get it...they want people, but maybe don't make the playoffs about the bottom line.
Just got my usual beer and peanuts. Lines for concessions were awfully long. On the other hand, those in the stands were really watching. That was nice.
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