And It's One, Two, Three Strikes, You're Out . . .

The Columbus Clippers may have the best record in all of the the International League, but our Syracuse Chiefs beat 'em again tonight, three zip. That's three of four games this homestand. It was a fun game.

The fourth man at bat, former NY Yankee Shelley Duncan, thought he drew a walk, but the ump called him out. Shelley took exception to the call. Extreme exception. The ump took exception to Shelley and ejected him. Moments later, the ump also tossed the Clippers manager.

Because of the rain earlier in the day, the field was slippery, and at least three Clippers lost their footing on the wet grass, enabling the Chiefs to run the bases.

USA Today Best-Selling Author Gayle Callen

After all the excitement in the first inning, things settled down.

Local author Gayle Callen stopped by to say hello.



Pants and jersey don't match

 We noticed that Clipper #38's pants and jersey were two distinctly different shades of gray.

 And poor Valbuena is still wearing torn pants.

Valbuena's torn pants








Jersey Raffle: Throw-back Thursday

First base coach wave:

• Tug Hulett ignored us in the first, then gave a half-hearted, "oh-do-I-have-to" wave in the second.
• Innings 4 - 7 was our good friend Corey Brown. He heard us. He even heard me say, "Come on, wave!" Dissed.
• Tug was back for the 8th and there was no 9th, because the score was 3-0 Chiefs.

Line of the night: Came from a Clipper's fan, referring to Corey Brown: "It's your fault, first base coach!"

Exciting news of the night: The Nationals are sending Roger Bernadina back to Syracuse. I wonder how the Chiefs will make room for him on the roster. Maybe Corey Brown is wondering the same thing.

Curiosity of the night: Maven was no where to be seen. Even if he sits on the 3rd base side out of the heat or the rain, when things turn "normal" he comes home to Section 207. No one sighted him at the stadium tonight.

Why Is It Called "Common" Courtesy?

The third consecutive night of thrilling baseball was marred by the incredible rudeness of the jerks sitting several rows behind us.

They were banging the seats -- county property -- very loudly. TV Stevie asked them not to do that. The guy was cool, the girl was a foul-mouthed slut. And they were sitting in seats for which we had purchased the tickets. TV Stevie dubbed them the Squatters. Totally obnoxious group of young people who should have been booted from the stadium.  The girl -- I won't dignify her with the term "woman", which would imply a level of maturity she did not possess -- is the type who beats up other girls in the high school bathroom. You know. The one with the tramp stamp prominently on display. The f-bombs were flying. And they had a child with them! It went on all night. I told TV Stevie we should have gotten security and had them ejected from the seats.

Other than this -- which is not insignificant -- tonight was another night of awesome baseball.

Valbuena's pants are still torn

Tom Milone was the starting pitcher.

Valbuena's pants were still torn.

The third inning was quite interesting. The umps called a foul ball a home run. Milone protested. Manager Randy Knorr protested. The whole stadium protested. Knorr was ejected from the game. Now, I didn't see this next part, but Suspect told me Milone was so upset, he threw one ball inside the foul pole and told the ump that was fair, then threw another ball outside the foul pole and told the ump that was foul. The ump told Milone he was done (I saw that.)


K-Daddy with his Eye Chart for the Umps

Jersey Raffle: Throwback Thursday

Quote of the Game:  "They're from Ohio! Come on!"

First Base Coach Wave:

• Chris Marrero nodded and seemed surprised (it's the first time he's coached first that I've seen, as he's usually playing first.)
• Seth Bynum pointed to us to acknowledge us.
• Brad Peacock ignored us. Maybe he's hanging out with Lombardozzi & Brown too much. Brad, I blogged nice things about you last night!

Warm & Fuzzy Moment: When Carlos came out at the bottom of the 1st to help warm up Milone, he waved to us. He knows we're his fans.

Moment of Zen: Clippers pitcher was Zach; Chiefs pitcher was Zech.

Cool New Thing: When Steve Lombardozzi came to bat in a critical situation, the scoreboard lit up with a new chant: LOM-BO, LOM-BO (like TA-CO).

Spent time with Eric Cohen (WAER) and Bill DeLapp (SNT).

Eric Cohen, WAER-FM88



Bill DeLapp, Syracuse New Times












The ballpark is our community. When I missed the starting line-ups tonight, the Usher went to K-Daddy and asked if he'd share with me. And K-Daddy shared. He does exactly what I do: writes the starting line-ups in a note book.

The Chiefs were down 5-2. They scored a run in the seventh. Then they pulled ahead by a run in the 8th inning. Very thrilling. Lots of opportunities for the Squatters to be jerks. Then the Squatters were incredibly rude to Atahualpa Severino in the 9th. Okay, he walked three batters and filled the bases, but hey, he got out of it just fine when the next batter grounded out for the third out. It was tense, but there was no need for some of the filth flying out of some of the mouths.

It bothers me when people come in and think they can say anything they want because "you're at a baseball game, old man, so just f*****g chill and f*****g enjoy it."

Like the Squatters. They were rude to the other team, too. There's a difference between heckling and being a jerk. Suspect is an excellent heckler. He heckles, he doesn't get mean, or personal, or nasty, or vicious, or vulgar, or foul-mouthed. The things coming out of the Squatters' mouths were appalling. "How'd you get such a f-bombing fat @$$?" they called to a Clipper who was at bat. It was a constant stream of insults. Someone should have taken out the trash tonight.

Wanted: Dead or Alive -- A Baseball Thief



Greedy, good-for-nothing baseball thief

 A great night at the ballpark, but then I rarely have any other kind.

The goodness started when I heard Carlos Maldonado was in the starting line-up. At one point, he fouled off a ball directly at Section 207. Anthony was there with his glove. The ball bounced a few seats past Sandee, down to the aisle between Sections 107 and 207. The ushers aren't allowed to touch foul balls. I tried to get to the ball, but a GREEDY, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING BASEBALL THIEF swooped out of nowhere and scooped up the ball. Hello????? Did Carlos not hit that ball to his cheering section? That ball should have been mine or Sandee's ball.

Valbuena's torn pants (right leg)

Brad Peacock was in fine form tonight. In fact, he had a no hitter going until the 8th inning, when Corey Brown missed a catch in center field. After last night's perfect game against them, the Chiefs really needed a night like tonight. When Peacock left the game after Brown missed the catch, he received a well-deserved standing ovation.

What I saw: Valbuena (Columbus Clipper) came to bat in the first inning with torn pants.

 Jersey Raffle: Throw-back Thursday

First Base Coach Wave:

• Jeff Frazier finally acknowledged us in the 2nd inning
• Steve Lombardozzi ignored us all night. ALL NIGHT. And we like him, because he's staying with his grandmother in Auburn while he plays in Syracuse. Plus he's a good player. But if he continues to ignore us, that could change. The liking part, not the good player part.

Interesting trivia of the night: I asked the Maven why the Chiefs use a Designated Hitter when we're a National League ball park. Here's what he told me: The Major Leagues and the Pacific Coast League (the other Triple A league) each use the rule of the home team's league (i.e. no DH in National League parks, DH in American League parks). The International League, however, states that a DH is available except when two National League teams play each other. So the choice is up to the Chiefs as to whether or not they want to use a DH, and they opt to use one. Thank goodness. Although Tom Milone can hit.

The Perfect Game

Clouds at the Stadium look like mountains

Columbus Clippers pitcher Justin Germano pitched a perfect game tonight. Twenty-seven men up, twenty seven men down.


TV Stevie noticed the clouds looked like mountains. Chiefs' General Manager John Simone (who visits the Maven almost every game) suggested someone take a picture just as I was retrieving my camera. Several people said, "Salt Lake City" at the same time.

I will recap last Thursday night's game (and WCNY night at the stadium) soon. But tonight's game deserved immediate attention.

Jersey Raffle: Throw-back Thursday

1st Base Coach Wave:

• Matt Antonelli: looked like he was in pain when he waved to us. Emotional pain. Thanks, Matt.
• Jesus Valdez: big smile, big wave
• Carlos Maldonado: big smile, big wave
• Gregor Blanco: big smile, big wave

Lots of former Yankees on the Columbus team (which is no longer the Yankees Triple A team):





Nick Johnson at bat


• Nick Johnson,
• Shelly Duncan
• Chad Huffman

And Lee May Junior was coaching first for Columbus -- and he smiled at waved at our greeting.

TV Stevie said he's never seen a perfect game. It was tough, because we like to root for the Chiefs, but a perfect game . . . we've seen a lot of great things at Alliance Bank Stadium this season.

Now, about that perfect game.

Yes, I set up my camera and started recording the final batter of the ninth inning.

Unfortunately, Blogger and the video aren't playing well together tonight, the .avi file won't upload.

Not to mention that

I RAN OUT OF MEMORY BEFORE THE FINAL STRIKE.

Maybe I can get TV Stevie's footage and post it here later.

Mini Catch Up

Yes, Sandee & I have notes and photos from Thursday's game, but life has been crazed, including a trip to Cooperstown on Induction Sunday. Lots of Blue Jays fans wandering the streets today. That typeface on those numbers is so familiar to this Chiefs fan.

We'll be back with your regularly scheduled blog soon!

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.

The Good Thing About Playing the Paw Sox and Other Bits of Randomness

Last year, we saw Josh Beckett pitch in rehab. Tonight, we got to see Kevin Millwood and Hideki Okajima, both former All-Star pitchers. That was pretty cool.


All Star Pitcher Kevin Millwood




All Star Pitcher Hideki Okajima

The evening started out a lot of fun. Sandee's bag was searched when she came into the stadium.
(That happened to me once, too.)

It was a pretty night for a ball game.

Sunset turned the clouds into cotton candy over the stadium

When the scoreboard didn't reflect a strike for quite a while, Sandee wondered aloud if the scorer had to call his mommy and ask if it was okay to give the batter a strike.  A little while later, one of the ushers commented on her umbrella, asking her if she thought it was going to rain. "No, I brought it so it wouldn't rain," she explained.

We once again noticed that when we call our encouragement to the team, they seem to do better.

JERSEY RAFFLE: Cam-meow. Tonight's intern/model tried to tell us that they alternate nights: camo, pink, camo, pink. Ha-ha, we said. We have a blog to prove her wrong!

FIRST BASE COACH WAVE:

• Matt Antonelli ignored us all night. We know he heard us.
• Corey "Ignore-y" Brown ignored us all night. We know he heard us. In fact, Corey Brown is JACKET MAN! It was too warm for his jacket tonight, but we know that face now.

BEST INNING OF THE GAME: The fifth. If you don't believe us, check the box score.

GUEST OF THE NIGHT: Amanda, who is a follower of this blog came over to say hi to us! How cool is that?

GOOD NEWS: Carlos Maldonado is off the DL because Jesus Flores was called up to Washington. Maybe we'll get to see Carlos play again soon!

QUESTION OF THE NIGHT:


What does Syracuse reliver Lee Hyde do after he warms up, but before his first pitch?

 LAMENT OF THE NIGHT: The bullpen.

Cheer, Cheer, Cheer for the Chiefs

The Chiefs won! It was a great game, too. Spectacular fifth inning.

TV Stevie and I arrived at the stadium a bit early, not to see the Irish Dancers

(who were a lot of fun to watch), or to see the first pitch (altho' two of the boys throwing out the first pitch are sons of a friend's friend), or even to see Suspect's vacation pictures (which I saw),

but because a former co-worker happens to be in town, calling the Paw-Sox games.



I dare you to guess who!

TV Stevie went up to the broadcast booth with another friend in the business to say hi to former WTVH sports anchor Dan Hoard. TV Stevie took this photo on his iPhone.



Anybody for wings at the Change of Pace?

FIRST BASE COACH WAVE:

• Carlos Maldanado - big wave and big smile
• Tug Hulet - waved and smiled, but didn't seem to be into it (altho' Sandee thought he was watching us as we cheered for Seth Bynum's RBI)
• Jhonatan Solano - big wave and big smile

JERSEY RAFFLE: Pink! Josh Wilkie! Sandee bought tickets but no luck. :-(

INTERESTING OBSERVATION:  Okay, tonight isn't the first time I've noticed this, but it is the first time I actually took a photo.

Spidey!!!!

FUN THING: XG-Man wore seersucker tonight. How awesome is that!

"Everything's for sale. Everything's on sale!"...XG-Man

MOLLY & SANDEE'S PLAYER OF THE GAME: Michael Aubrey. 4 RBIs, including a HR. Yeah.

THE ODDITY OF THE NIGHT: I didn't have my camera ready. Sandee and I saw an unusally dressed woman at the same time and turned to look at each other in complete disbelief. By the time I grabbed my camera, the woman was sitting down. I was ready to snap her photo at the end of the game, but got involved in an intense conversation with another season ticket holder in Section 207 who was upset that people with freebie tix for general admission had come down to sit behind him and were being overly rowdy (unlike Sandee & me with our quiet, lady-like demeanors), and when he complained to the usher, who confirmed the people were using GA tix to sit in a reserved section, the usher let the people sit there anyway. HELLO? Anyway, back to the oddity of the night. I said to Sandee, "That's just what I would wear to a ballgame." Skin-tight blue top, skin-tight gray leggins, and tight black suede boots up to her knees. My description may not sound odd, but trust me (and Sandee), it was odd.

Skychiefs vs. Chiefs

Molly was right about the lethargic-ness tonight. Last night offered some more action.

Papertowel Head was in the stands sans paper towel hat - I guess the temperature was cool enough for her. (If you remember, we posted before about the woman who made a hat out of the paper towels in the ladies room and wore it on her head about a month ago).

So the highlight I think was the boistrious fan cheering for the "Skychiefs" (as you may or may not know, the team hasn't been called Skychiefs for about 4 years now). So the b-fan had a good set of lungs and kept belting out "Let's Go Skychiefs!!!" A season ticket holder that sits in the row behind us, yelled "Chiefs" after every skychiefs that was shouted out. After this went on for some time, Mike (Chief's Staff) got up, walked over toward the b-fan and informed him "it's JUST Chiefs, not skychiefs, it hasn't been Skychiefs for about 4 years." B-fan chuckled, embarrassed like, and said simply "oh." As Mike walked back to his seat I heard him say "What we deal with..."

Crazy Fan-Man was there in full form last night. Somehow he seems to appear only towards the end of the game - at least we don't usually hear from him until later in the evening. He must have been paying careful attention to the Skychiefs vs Chiefs business, because he started screaming (with his hands cupped around his mouth) "Go Skychiefs! Hit it to the Sky!!!" over and over and over! He is, incidentally, the same man I have quoted several times on my facebook page. He is famous for "Ball High Man, Ball High!!" This usually comes about 60 seconds or so after the ball is thrown and the pitch has been called.

Suspect has been out of town, so things are quieter. Hopefully he will be back to join us tomorrow.

The game just isn't the same without Molly there. She was watching the game on TV, so she knew what I was talking about when I texted her about the game happenings. We started that little tradition when Anthony and I went to Louisville to see the Chiefs play the bats.

Another home game tomorrow - Irish Night - hopefully we'll have the Luck of the Irish and we can get a win!!

Paw-Sox Pause

I missed the game on July 5, but Sandee was there and told me some funny stuff that happened. Plus we texted back & forth during the game (I was watching on TV). I'll let her blog about that.

Tonight's game against the Paw-Sox went quickly. The Chiefs gave up only 3 hits, but two of them were HRs. Maybe it was the heat, but everything seemed lethargic to me. There weren't as many BoSox fans as I expected, and crowd seemed quite subdued.

Guess who was in the stands?

Former SU Orangeman Preston Shumpert
and family

JERSEY RAFFLE:  Cam-meow. Haven't they run out of those yet?

1ST BASE COACH WAVE:

• Gregor Blanco (half-hearted wave)
• Seth Bynum (half-hearted wave)
• Jesus Flores (he never came out on to the field early enough for us to call to him)

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!

Dog Days and Jacket Man

The stadium literally went to the dogs tonight, to quote Dave Anthony. People could bring their pooches to the game tonight, so they did. Fortunately, they were way down first base line, close to the visiting team bull pen. And it was $1 hot dog night. Mmmm. Hot dogs.

Jacket Man, The Mysterious First Base Coach



FIRST BASE COACH CHEER:

• Tug Hulett waved and smiled
• Jhonatan Solano waved and smiled
• Gregor Blanco ignored us
• And the Mystery Man, now re-named JACKET MAN, well he doesn't know we're waving to him.

QUEST OF THE NIGHT:
Who is Jacket Man? If you can identify him from this photo, please let us know.  And why does he always wear a jacket (which conceals his number)? Is he from the tropics and cold? Has he heard and believe all those nasty rumors about Syracuse weather, particularly the snow?

JERSEY RAFFLE OF THE NIGHT: PINK!



The Coveted Pink Game-worn Jersey

 

I have been trying to win one of these since Mothers Day 2010, when they were worn in the game. No luck tonight. Sandee & Anthony kindly bought me an extra ticket, too.





PLAY OF THE GAME
An Indianapolis player (Watt) hit a long ball to right field. I thought it went over the fence. A lot of people thought it was a home run. Including Watt. But Jesus Valdez scooped up the ball and threw it to second in time to get Watt, who was doing a home-run trot around the bases He over ran 2nd, and Seth Bynum nabbed him.

CURIOSITY OF THE GAME

Ross Detwiler pitched only the first two innings. Brad Meyers replaced him in the third. Conjecture is that Detwiler was called up and will pitch for the Nationals tomorrow. According to the Maven, Meyers was scheduled to pitch for Syracuse tomorrow, so was throwing on only 4 days rest.

FRUSTRATING MOMENT

I mean besides the BIGS sitting next to Sandee in the first inning. Who didn't have tickets for those seats. There was a controversial play at first base. The Indianapolis runner was clearly out, but the ump called him safe. Seconds later, the same thing happened at home plate. K-Daddy held up his eye chart to see if the umps could see that. Sandee and I like to quote Suspect: "You need a new phone! You're making bad calls!"

THE ODDITY OF THE GAME

It's Throwback Thursday, where the Chiefs wear a historical-style uniform. This year, it's a pinstripe with an Old English "S". For some reason, Rick Ankiel wasn't in pinstriped pants.