Monday, Monday

Arrived late at the ballpark.

There were a lot of people. Maybe too many people!

Fortunately, no one desecrated our row tonight.

Roster/Player update:

• Austin Bibbens-Dirkx released
• Atahualpa Severino outrighted to Syracuse 
• Chris Marrero back in Syracuse (saw him coaching 1B tonight)
• Jason Michaels has disappeared (he usually coaches 1B. Past two evenings, players have been coaching)
• Manny Mayorson and Mitch Atkins on 7-Day DL
• former Chief Lee Hyde is now with the Traveling Wilkes-Barres. He faced one batter tonight, walked him, and was pulled from game.

The Big Board:

I like the KKKK tracker.

And putting the pitcher's name next to the number of pitches is extremely helpful, especially when playing a team like the Traveling Wilkes-Barres that does not have player surnames on the backs of the jerseys.

Friday Night at the Ball Park

The Chiefs should not have lost tonight's game. Mitch Atkins had pitched a good game and left with a three run lead in the 7th. Ryan Perry pitched 1/3 of an inning and left the game with the score 4-4.

Seth Bynum was named player of the game for last night. I don't get it. Yes, he hit a 2-run triple, but every Chief got on base last night and all but two had RBIs. Scoring the runs was a team effort. Zach Duke pitched an awesome game. The final score last night was 10-NOTHING. The problem with the casual fan is they think the 10 is the key, when the NOTHING has more meaning in this case. Maven explained it this way: Seth is a popular guy (I don't know of anyone who doesn't like Seth. I like Seth. That's not the point.) and he probably had family in town. There were only a few people at the stadium last night.

The opening pitch was tossed out by Dave & Diana Johnson & Family, who happen to be friends of my parents, so I made sure I snapped several photos. It was Home Builders & Remodelers of CNY Night; the Johnson family just had a total house makeover.

Dave & Diana Johnson & partial family

The scoreboard was dark green again, which makes the scores easier to read.

TV Stevie bought us beer during Happy House -- and it was served in Dixie Cups!

Beer in Dixie Cups

The Famous Eric Cohen joined us for an inning or two. He told us he went to the Change of Pace after the game last night and ran into Matt Antonelli there.

There were four umps officiating tonight. That's unusual.
Also unusual -- and Maven said he's never seen anything like it:

Pitching Coach Greg Booker -- coaching first base

There is scuttlebutt that the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees may revert to their previous name: the SWB Red Barons.

The SWB Yankees wear their socks out -- no pajama pants. Mark Teahen does, too. I've decided that I like seeing the socks over pajama pants.

Corban Joseph still looks like Ellen DeGeneris in his scoreboard picture.

Corban or Ellen? You decide!

And speaking of scoreboard pictures -- most of the Chiefs have one of three facial expressions: mean, dazed or blase. Not Brett Carroll. He looks delighted!

Brett Carroll: Happy Camper

Matt Antonelli coached 1B from the 6th inning on. He looks good in Yankee pinstripes.

TV Stevie went to sit with a friend in Section 205, where he spoke with K-Daddy as K was hanging a K on the railing.

And finally, an observation. There were two female Yankee fans sitting in the last row of 107. They each wore madras shorts. Madras shorts? I didn't even know you could still buy madras shorts? Are they coming back in style? I sincerely hope not.

Home Run Derby Take 2 and Buying a Catcher

Tonight was a perfect night for a ball game, and yet the stadium was "empty." Unfortunately it's festival season in CNY; the two biggies this weekend are Greek Fest and Balloon Fest. I'm trying to stay positive: fewer people sitting in 207 to annoy me!



Rumor has it the Nats bought another catcher, Kris Watts, from the Pirates. Don't know if he'll be with the Mothership or the minors.

The  first thing I noticed tonight was the orange background for the numbers on the board.

As Maven said, they should stick with the dark green. It provided the best contrast.

Seth Bynum was yesterday's player of the game.
Gregor Blanco's Throwback Thursday jersey was raffled. (Gregor is doing well with the SF Giants).

Eric Komatsu coached first base for several innings. He waved to us!

Corky Miller (L'ville Bats catcher) was their first base coach for several innings, and he waved to us, too!

We were on the big screen for a blink tonight, mostly because the Famous Eric Cohen was sitting with us. I recommended the spiedi and salt potato combo from the Flavors of Syracuse stand (hold the butter!) as a healthy dinner choice.

We filled out a survey tonight. Ovation wants to know about the food. TV Stevie and I independently trashed the hot dogs and for the same reason: they're not cooked. I wished there was a place for comments, like, "A la cart sandwiches. The whole world doesn't want french fries!" We were given $5 food coupons for participating.

It was another night for HRs at the stadium tonight.
Louisville started out with a 2-run homer in the second. (Navarro)
Carlos Rivero responded with a 1-run blast over the left-field fence, again in the second.
That was it for the Bats, but the Chiefs got the taste in their mouth and went for it.
Pitcher Mitch Atkins hit one over the left-field fence in the third.
The next time he came to bat (4th) the stadium announcer shared the fact that Atkins was the first Chiefs pitcher to hit a home run since June 15, 1975, when Ed Ricks did it. As I said to Maven, "That means Atkins is the first to hit a homer in this stadium."
Corey Brown hit a Grand Slam in the 4th.

In the 7th inning, Scott Carroll came in to pitch for L'ville. Brett Carroll was at the plate. Maven loves that kind of stuff.

I wrote a haiku for Corey Brown. (I wrote a limerick about him last year).

Corey Brown's grand slam

 Put the Chiefs ahead by three.

I hope the Chiefs win. 

The Chiefs eventually did win, 7-3.

We hung around after the game. Seth Bynum came out to greet the other team (he's from Louisville). And the father with the two little kids was out, too. It's batting coach Troy Gingrich. TV Stevie took some awesome photos. Here's the single one I got. These two children are absolutely adorable as they run the bases.

As TV Stevie and I were leaving, we saw other people sitting there, quietly, in the soft air of a perfect summer evening. Lingering. We should have stayed longer.

Visitors At Home

PNC Field, home of the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees, is undergoing major renovations this year, so the team will be playing "home games" at various other parks around the International League North, ten of which will be played in Syracuse.

The first one was Saturday, April 14. I missed the game. Does it count, though, if it was considered a road game for the Chiefs?

The second one was today, Sunday, April 15. TV Stevie and I had been out of town for the weekend, so didn't get to Alliance Bank Stadium until the bottom of the fifth inning. Even then, we didn't go directly to our seats. You see, today is Jackie Robinson Day throughout baseball, and part of Syracuse's observance included Jackie Robinson's original plaque from the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.

Jackie Robinson's original Hall of Fame Plaque

A representative from the Hall of Fame explained to us that when Jackie went into the Hall of Fame, he wanted no mention of how he broke the "color" barrier and integrated professional baseball. He wanted to be known as simply a Hall of Fame player. (Which in my opinion is as it should be. The color of his skin had nothing to do with his skill and success in the game.) Several years ago, the plaque was recast to include the information about how he was the first African American to play in the major leagues. The original plaque (see above photo) is now used for educational purposes, such as today's celebration in Syracuse.

As I mentioned, I never got to my seat until the sixth inning. The score was 5-1 Syracuse. The Chiefs scored two more runs as I was settling in for the game. Sandee explained that there were 4 doubles hit in the sixth inning. She also mentioned that I missed another Tyler Moore HR. She also told me he'd hit a couple during the road trip, so he's probably going to be our HR guy for the year. I love it when the 1B is also a good hitter. 

It drizzled on and off for the rest of the game. 

After one pretty spectacular play by starting pitcher Mitch Atkins, the Superman Theme blared through the stadium. That was so cool.

I only saw Corey Brown and Bryce Harper one time each at bat. Pat Venditte, the Yankees' ambidextrous pitcher, struck out Harper. Brown popped out.

Once again, I had my camera on the wrong setting while snapping photos of Venditte.

Venditte 

Venditte pitching

Venditte pitching to Bryce Harper

Austin Bibens-Dirkx came into pitch for the Chiefs in the 8th. That was okay. But when he gave up enough hits in the ninth for the Yankees to score, we were not happy.

Mitch Atkins, the starting pitcher, is my choice for player of the game. Maven heard me say that, and he said I was absolutely right. Sandee also voted for him. He pitched 7 innings and the other team scored only one run? I think that's pretty darned noteworthy.

Crazy Fan Man (CFM) showed up, too. My latest crackpot theory about him is that he comes late so he doesn't have to pay for parking and there's no one taking tickets, so he comes for free. He was shouting stuff today that we couldn't understand. 

It was a challenge to watch the Chiefs be the visiting team in their own stadium, especially without a scoreboard. I mean, there's a temporary scoreboard that notes balls, strikes, hits, and the score, but we get no stats, no history of the game, no players names. And we're used to our team being the bottom of the inning, not the top. 

We're back to being the home team tomorrow night.