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.