Sharing Tales of the Chiefs

I've just returned from Erie, PA, where I spent time with some baseball fans. Lisa & Chet go to major league games in both Cleveland and Pittsburgh (and elsewhere, too, but those are the closest MLB teams) plus they have a package for 8 games to see the Erie Sea Wolves (which are the Double A team for Toledo Mudhens/Detroit Tigers).

They've never been to a Triple A game, so Chet had some interesting questions: what are the stadiums like (not that I've been to all that many); how many games are played in a season (I had my schedule on me, so we figured around 130) -- things like that.

Then I told them about the two high points of this season: Michael Aubrey's 4 HR game on May 14th, and seeing the perfect game pitched by Justin Germano on July 26. Chet's face filled with awe, as he said in a hushed tone: "I've never seen a perfect game." I stressed how infrequently Michael Aubrey's feat happened, too -- he was the 10th International League player to do it and only 15 major league players have done it, no one has ever done it twice, and no one has ever hit more than four HR in a single game. Chet and I agreed: we'd both love to see an unassisted triple play.

Thanks for the bragging rights, Chiefs!

Finally! A Recap of WCNY Night (July 21)

The temperature, like Strasburg's fastball, was in triple digits.

Molly & Sandee with "parasols"

TV Stevie and I arrived at the stadium early. He started doing his work thing, I bought a Dinosaur and a beer and made my way to my seat. Almost immediately, The Ushers converged on me. From every direction. You see, they deemed it too hot to sit on the first base side of the stadium and assured me I could sit anywhere I wanted on the third base side, out of the sun.

I waited all winter for summer. I was not about to hide from it.

Besides, I'd promised TV Steve I would take photos of the first pitch and the WCNY staffer singing the national anthem, and all of that stuff.  My angle was different. Here are a couple very "soft" photos that I took.

WCNY Staffers congregate

Jon English singing the National Anthem,
with TV Stevie taking stills.

WCNY General Manager, Bob Daino, was slated to throw out the first pitch. Unfortunately, Blogger doesn't like videos from my camera . . . and I did get the whole thing in video. If you really want to see it, contact me, and I'll try to e-mail it to you.

TV Stevie did capture a few stills, which he shared with me.


Bob Daino, Rosie Taravella, Clifford and crew





Clifford, the Big Red Dog,
throwing out the first pitch



Clifford in the Chiefs dugout

Clifford and Jon under the stadium

It was a busy night all the way around.

First Base Coach Wave:

• Tug Hulett didn't turn, but definitely waved
• Michael Aubrey tipped his helmet.
• Gregor Blanco waved.
• Brad Peacock ignored us.

Jason Botts watch: he acknowledged us. Barely.

Best named player on the Bison: Valentino Pascucci.  If you want to know why, ask Sandee.

Carlos Maldonado watch:  At first, he heard us and was looking around for us, but somehow missed us. Later on, after warming up a pitcher, he found us and waved.

Oddest game-related incident: Seth Bynum foul ball went through the protective net behind home plate.

Best line of the night: The Bison Center Fielder struck out, and someone called out: "Thanks for the breeze, Perez!"

At one point, Sandee and I were up on the "Diamondvision" during a commerical break (the Bisons games are usually televised on Time Warner Cable Sports). We waved like crazy. We've heard that the cameras for any televised game frequently find us. One of these days I'll have to record a game and check out that rumor.

So that's it. A recap of most of what went on at Alliance Bank Stadium on WCNY Night at the Game. Better late than never, eh?

The Ups & Downs of Being A Fan

"What this chick digs is familiar faces, players I know and love. Statistically, women are the most loyal fans of anything." Alyssa Milano, Safe at Home.

Reading the league transactions is disheartening, especially at this point in the season, when we've come to depend on knowing the various line-ups.

Jason Botts is now on Buffalo's 7-day disabled list. Okay, he plays for Buffalo now, not Syracuse, but we still like our J-Botts. I hope he's back by the time Buffalo returns to Syracuse next week.



J Botts playing 1st for the 2010 Chiefs





As previously mentioned, Roger Bernadina has been optioned to Syracuse from Washington (and was activated today), but there have been plenty of other things happening. 

• Yunesky Maya and Brian Bixler have both been recalled to the Nats.
• Michael Aubrey and Tom Milone have both been placed on the 7-day DL
• Brad Meyers has been activated from the 7-day DL
• Evan Bronson (LHP) is coming up from Potomac

The great thing about Triple A Baseball is seeing the Major Leaguers of tomorrow. I was watching the Yankees the other night, when Brandon Laird had his first big league at bat, his first big league hit, his first big league RBI, and scored his first big league run. It was very cool, because we saw him play a few weeks ago when Scranton Wilkes-Barre was in town. And during the same game, I saw Scott Sizemore playing for Oakland. I have a foul ball Scott hit into Section 207 early in the season, when Toledo was in town.

The bad thing is, you never know what your team will look like game-to-game.

Wednesday's Breast Cancer Awareness Double-Header

Billy Baldwin poses with Molly

Wednesday night was Breast Cancer Awareness Night. Billy Baldwin was in town, because the Carol Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund was the sponsor of last night's game, which turned into a double-header due to Monday night's rainout. Billy was very gracious, taking the time to pose with anyone who asked, and signing autographs.

I missed the first game due to a dayjob conflict. TV Stevie and I arrived at the stadium during the 2nd inning of the second game.

Everyone who worked in the stadium wore pink. And the team wore their new, very cool black and pink shirts. Gregor Blanco used a pink bat, and Jhonatan Solano wore pink cleats.

Blanco using pink bat

Solano wearing pink cleats


It was a crazy night at the stadium.

We got Jason Botts to wave to us again as he strolled in from left field. He also hit a home run, which we thought he shouldn't have done, as he is no longer a Syracuse Chief.


First base coach wave:
(we missed a lot because so many things were going on)

• Corey Brown dissed us again. We probably won't cheer for him anymore, even when he makes those awesome catches in center field.
• Tug Hulett smiled and acknowledged us.
• Michael Aubrey probably didn't hear us.

Jersey Raffle: Throw back Thursday from last season

Funny business: Sandee saw some funny business going on while Corey Brown was being interviewed between games. I saw a continuation after the 2nd game. More on this later. Let's just say Steve Lombardozzi was very, very wet.

Disgusting thing of the game: We see a lot of disgusting things, but last night was just a travesty. Rumor has it the culprits were fans of the Binghamton Mets in town to see the Buffalo Bisons play. I have no way of confirming this rumor. Regardless of who you were cheering for, SHAME ON YOU!

You couldn't pick up your trash when you left???????



Wang, Bix, Extra Innings



Chien Ming Wang

Last night's game against Buffalo was postponed until tomorrow night.

Former Yankee and current Nationals pitcher Chien Ming Wang pitched for Syracuse tonight.  There was quite a crowd on hand. And because the Chiefs played the Bisons, we were treated to Wang at bat.

Wang at bat



Also, a favorite from last year, Brian Bixler, is back with the Chiefs, and he made some key plays tonight -- including a sac fly in the bottom of the 12th inning, which allowed Seth Bynum to score and end the game.

That's right. The game went 12 innings. But Maven said it best at the top of the 10th: this is what we dream about in January, sitting in the ballpark on a perfect summer night, watching an excellent game. He also pointed out that we sat through many 6-1 games in April, so we deserved a night like tonight.

The Chiefs played some amazing defense. Center fielder Corey Brown made a spectacular catch to end the top of the 4th. Left fielder Brian Bixler made a similar catch in the 10th. And Matt Antonelli was just amazing at third base all night long.

Our bullpen is going to be tired for tomorrow's doubleheader.

Jersey raffle: Throw back Thursday

First Base Coach Wave:

• Gregor Blanco - huge smile and wave, and tip of his helmet. Even WAER's Eric Cohen was impressed.
• Michael Aubrey - tipped his hat
• Seth Bynum - didn't hear us
• Tug Hulett waved to us without our saying anything.
• Brad Peacock (in the 12th inning) wasn't sure what to do when he heard us calling, but he smiled.

Fun thing: former Chief Jason Botts plays for Buffalo this year, and played left field tonight. So we called to him every time he came in from the outfield at the end of an inning until he finally acknowledged us with a wave and a smile. He played first base for the Chiefs last year, so Sandee and I cheered for him a lot. We think he's lost weight.

Jason Botts returning to dugout from left field

Busy Night of Baseball



Jimmy Key signing autographs

 Former Syracuse Chief, Toronto Blue Jay, and NY Yankee Jimmy Key was at the stadium signing autographs today. TV Stevie thanked him for 1996.

Key also threw out the first pitch.

Jimmy Key throwing out first pitch











It was a very busy night at the ballpark, in front of a very scant crowd.  Besides Jimmy Key, the staff is busy promoting the upcoming breast cancer awareness night, part of which is sponsored by the Carol Baldwin Foundation. Carol's son Billy will be at the stadium that night. The Chiefs have very nice jerseys, too, even better than last years's pink one. I can't wait to start bidding on these.


   

         DA modeling Billy Baldwin's Jersey

 
And we ran into an old friend, Rob Edelman, who was at the game with his wife, Audrey Kupferberg. Rob & Audrey are

Rob Edelman

passionate about baseball. Rob told TV Stevie again tonight that if he lived closer to Syracuse, he'd be at every game. Rob has written several books about baseball. It's always a pleasure to see him at the stadium.


First Base Coach Waves:

• Tug Hulett tipped his helmet
• Michael Aubrey tipped his helmet
• Gregor Blanco waved
• Brad Peacock -- our bad! We didn't realize he was out there in the top of the ninth. Next time, Brad!

Jersey Raffle: Colin Ballester's Throwback Thursday Jersey from last season.

Intern modeling the Throwback Thursday Jersey from last season

Fun Thing of the Game: Tom Milone going three for three (okay, the last one was ruled an error, but still--) We have a sinking feeling Milone won't be pitching for Syracuse for much longer.

Tom Milone at bat

Milone and Lombardozzi scoring on Lombardozzi's home run

And we got to see CNY native Jason Grilli pitch.

Jason Grilli in action

Tomorrow night begins a 4-game homestand against the Buffalo Bison, which means we'll be able to see former Chief and one of our favorites, Jason Botts. And rumor has it that another favorite is coming back to Syracuse: Brian Bixler.  It's going to be a fabulous week.

Baseball Game or the Circus?



Michael Aubrey's Overstuffed Pockets

 Congrats to Tom Milone and Matt Antonelli for making the International League All-Star Team.

Tonight was the first home game since the All-Star break, and it was great to be back at the stadium. And it was a good game, in spite of the Chiefs losing it 8-6. The new pitcher, Brad Peacock, pitched his first Triple A game tonight. It was a rough outing for him, especially the top of the first. The Chiefs never caught up from the 5-0 deficit. But the fans gave Brad a nice round of applause when he left the game.

ODDITY OF THE NIGHT #1: There seemed to be an awful lot of women with an awful lot of tattoos in attendance at tonight's game. Am I the only one who remembers a time when tattood ladies were found only in the circus?

ODDITY OF THE NIGHT #2: Hitters being hit by pitches. There were at least three. Seemed high to me.

ODDITY OF THE NIGHT #3: Michael Aubrey's overstuff pockets while he coached first base. See the photo if you don't believe me.

JERSEY RAFFLE: Pete Orr's "Throw Back Thursday" replica 1961 Twins jersey from last season. I forgot to take a picture of it. But then, the interns selling the raffle tickets never made it to 207 until the bottom of the 6th.


FIRST BASE COACH WAVE:

• Tug Hulett waved
• Michael Aubrey tipped his helmet
• Corey Brown sort of waved. Did it hurt?

LINE OF THE NIGHT: "Balk on!"

Two Sons, Red Jerseys, and Fireworks

After all the rain the first three months of the season, July is finally baseball weather. Hallelujah!

It was a quiet night at the ballpark, at least during the game. The in-house announcer read the starting line-ups so fast, I missed several Iron Pigs. Doesn't he realize people are writing the info on their score sheets? It always seems like when the line-ups are announced too fast, the national anthem is sung too slowly, which was definitely the case tonight. The woman who sang was fine; she was simply too slow. The National Anthem isn't a dirge, it's a celebration. Be happy!

XG-Man's guest asked me if Iron Pig 2nd baseman Josh Barfield was any relation to former NY Yankee outfielder Jesse Barfield. I was delighted to tell him yes.

And speaking of the Yankees, how about that Derek Jeter and his 2999-3003 career hits today?

But I digress.

QUESTION OF THE NIGHT: What's wrong with this picture?

Both teams in red jerseys is very confusing.

JERSEY RAFFLE: Cam-meow. I teased last night's intern about it. She assured me that tomorrow night's jersey will be pink. Too bad I won't be at the game.

ONE GOOD THING: Carlos Maldonado played tonight! We just love Carlos.

SIGHTING: Jason Grilli, who grew up locally, plays for the Irons Pigs. Altho' he didn't pitch tonight, we did see him several times. We also got to say hi to his dad, Steve Grilli, who is not only a former big league pitcher himself, but also owns the Change of Pace, home of the best wings in town. Steve also does color commentary for the local cable broadcasts of Chiefs games.

FIRST BASE COACH WAVE:

• Tug Hulett grinned and waved
• Michael Aubrey touched the brim of his helmet and smiled
• Jesus Valdez (as Sandee predicted last night) gave us a HUGE smile and a big wave.

(After last night's 1st base coaches dissed us, Sandee and I discussed the players who never seem to coach first base -- Jesus Valdez and Chris Marrero specifically -- and wondered how they would react to our greetings. Sandee said they'd probably do exactly what Jesus Valdez did.)

CURIOSITY OF THE GAME: When starting pitcher Yuneski Maya left the game, the pinch hitter was Tom Milone, another starting pitcher! Milone was in the game only to pinch hit for Maya. 

SCARY MOMENT OF THE GAME: Seth Bynum, back from a heel injury, limping and hopping out in shallow left center. Eventually a trainer came out to talk to him. Seth stayed in the game.

The post-game fireworks were fantastic -- even better than they were on the Fourth.

Fabulous End to Holiday Weekend/Start of a Home Stand

Wow. What a night for baseball. There was a crowd at the stadium: the weather, the holiday, the Mets farm team, and fireworks brought 'em out.

As usual, people had to be asked to leave seats that weren't theirs. Our friend XG-Man's seats were usurped by the people in the 2nd row using them as a coat rack.

But it was a fun crowd, a great game (even tho' it went by too quickly), and the Chiefs won, thanks to a Corey Brown HR, immediately followed by an insurance HR by Michael Aubrey.

Smoke lingering on the field after the fireworks

ITEMS OF NOTE:

• Before the game started, TV Stevie pointed out that Jason Botts, one of our Chief faves from last season, is now playing for Buffalo.

Jason Botts came in at the top of the ninth.
Last batter of the game.

• Seth Bynum hurt his heel yesterday in Buffalo.

FIRST BASE COACH CHEER:

• Gregor Blanco waved.
• Michael Aubrey tipped his hat
• Jhonatan Solano gave a big grin and waved

JERSEY RAFFLE: Cam-meow

FUN THING #1:

Molly & Sandee show off their red pedicures
and the baseball flipflops Sandee & Anthony made

ODDITY OF THE GAME:



Yep. That's a napkin tucked into her hat.

FUN THING #2:

Jim Durkin selling ice cream, decked out for the holiday

GREAT MOMENT:

One of the things I love about Independence Day games at the stadium is watching the players and their families sprawl on the grass in front of the dugout during the fireworks.

Chiefs and their families, watching post-game fireworks

That's it until tomorrow night, when the Chiefs take on the Bison again!

Fabulous Start to the Holiday Weekend

It was the perfect night for a ballgame. No rain. Sunny. Warm. July. Finally. TV Stevie bought me a Molsons and a Dinosaur pulled-pork sandwich. Awesome.

Before the game, Tug Hulett and Chris Marrero were signing autographs for fans over by the dugout. I love watching the players interact with the kids like that.

Confirming last night's speculation, Ankiel is back with the Nats and Detwiler was called up.

BTW, the Chiefs are having a Patriotic Picnic on Monday.

FIRST BASE COACH CHEER

• Gregor Blanco grinned and waved
• I missed Michael Aubrey both times he coached first
• Tug waved, too.
• No first base coach in the ninth inning

JERSEY RAFFLE: Pink. I bought 10 tickets. I still didn't win.

A little kid -- maybe two or three -- really wanted my bat-shaped rattle. Twice.

There was a group of adolescent girls sitting in section 107 who were rowdy in a funny way. They really loved Scooch and Pops.



Pops and his groupies



There was a new game: Are you Smarter than an Intern? It was . . . strange. No, Montreal is not a Canadian province.

SCARY MOMENT OF THE GAME

Steve Lombardozzi was rounding second and slid. He had the presence of mind to go back to 2nd. Otherwise, he would have been out. I don't like it when the Chiefs slip while running bases.

PLAYS OF THE GAME

There were several great moments tonight.

• JD Martin caught a ball Bowker lined to him, fell, but managed to get a throw off to Marrero at first, who tagged the runner trying to get back to first.
• (Cesar) Valdez pitching to (Jesus) Valdez. Jesus always beats Cesar. Base hit. Add Jesus Flores with another hit and the Chiefs pulled within one.
• Bottom of the ninth. Indianapolis is up by 1. Two outs. Runners at 1st and 2nd. Jesus Valdez steps up to the plate and belts one down the middle. THE CHIEFS WIN!!! We haven't seen an ending like that in a long time.

SOMETHING I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE:

In the middle of an inning, Michael Aubrey was recalled from coaching first base so he could pinch hit. Tug replaced him at first.

Molly & Sandee showcase Chiefs flipflops

SOMETHING WE NOTICED
Chris Marrero at first base is a true team player. Once first base is out of the action, Chris is ready to help where he's needed, backing up the pitcher, catcher, second baseman, right fielder. We see him everywhere. YAY CHRIS MARRERO!

Guess Who's Playing in Syracuse

Ankiel in the on-deck circle

THE BIG NEWS OF THE NIGHT



Ankiel at bat



Rick Ankiel is rehabbing with the Chiefs.

According to Wikipedia, Ankiel "is the first player since Babe Ruth to have won at least 10 games as a pitcher and also hit at least 50 home runs. Ankiel is also the only player other than Babe Ruth to both start a postseason game as a pitcher and hit a home run in the postseason as a position player."



He got on base and eventually scored the first two times he was at bat.


Ankiel heading to dugout after scoring his 1st run as a Chief.

FIRST BASE COACH CHEER:

• Jeff Frazier - a wave & a smile
• Michael Aubrey - ignored us
• The Mystery Coach - we couldn't figure out who it was (he wore a jacket). We thought it was Corey Brown, but it wasn't.

JERSEY RAFFLE: Camo (Cam-meow) from Josh Wilkie. Anthony bought tickets because Sandee is a Josh Wilkie fan, but he didn't win. Sandee is consoling herself by reminding herself that it was a cam-meow jersey.

FUN THING:

Official Chiefs Flip Flops. Does life get better than this?



Home Again

I missed Saturday's double-header due to family celebrations, but I was back at the ballpark tonight. What a gorgeous night for a game. The early afternoon thunderstorms had me worried, but everything was wonderful come game time. Especially the win!

First Base Coach Cheer:

• Michael Aubrey ignored us.
• Tug Hulett waved back
• so did Gregor Blanco
• but not Jhonatan Solano (or as we said, Sola-NO!)

Scary moment of the game: when Chris Marrero fell rounding first.

Quote of the game: "That was a Lombardozzi Doozy."

Question of the game: Do you prefer the socks in or out? Indianapolis all wear theirs out, while most of the Chiefs wear theirs in. Michael Aubrey was the notable exception tonight.

They raffled off yet another camo jersey from last season. I've started meow-ing everytime someone wearing one walks by. You'd think they'd be out of the camo jerseys by now.

MiLB All Star Voting

I've voted. Have you? There are only 4 days left. Rumor has it Michael Aubrey is in the lead for Internatioal League Designated Hitter.
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/events/asg/y2011/ballot/ballot_reg.html

Looking Back: May 15, 2011

It rained on May 15th, the day after Michael Aubrey made history with his four home runs.

Tex Simone

Ever optimistic, many of us went to the stadium anyway, hoping for a rain delay, not a postponement. As I sat on the concourse, watching the field, I saw Syracuse Chief icon Tex Simone leave the visitors dugout and slowly cross the field to the home dugout. I admired his hands-on approach in such nasty weather. He'll be 83 in a couple of months. I guess his passion for baseball keeps him young.

Moments later, the game was postponed until the following day.

Intro: 2011 Season

Sandee and I are Syracuse Chiefs baseball fans. We met last season. We bonded. I love sitting next to someone who likes to watch baseball the same way I do. Toward the end of the 2010 season, we toyed with the idea of blogging from a fan point of view. But we both have very full plates, and neither of us was certain we could carve out the time to do justice to a blog. I've decided to give it a try. Sandee has been posting a quote of the game nearly every night on Facebook.

We've been to every home game to date this season, sitting through rain, snow, and even some sunshine. So far, it's been a very wet season. At one point, I thought I was beginning to mildew.

There are very few Chiefs from the 2010 on the 2011 roster. Most of them are pitchers. Seth Bynum (infield) and Carlos Maldonado (catcher) are still around, although both of them are on the DL.

Saturday, May 14 was historic: DH Michael Aubrey hit four home runs in one game. It was only the 2nd time in Chiefs' history that a player as done that, the 10th time in International League history, and only 15 players in the majors have ever done it. No one has ever done it twice, and no one has ever hit more. It was a fabulous day to be in the stadium. Topping that as a high point this season might be tough.

A couple of nights ago, Carlos Maldonado was coaching first, so we hooted and waved, and he waved back at us. Sandee and I have decided to see how many first base coaches will acknowledge our greetings this season. Tonight, Carlos and Adam Fox both waved back at us.

The ball park experience is about more than the game (although the Chiefs have had a great home stand this time around).  Tonight, there was a squirrel. I don't know where he came from, but he sat in front of me between games (a suspended-due-to-rain game was finished before the scheduled game began). Every time someone moved, the squirrel flinched. I felt bad for the little guy. If only he'd arrived at the stadium a little sooner, he could have seen the Chiefs win. Maybe he hung around and saw them win the second game.