Baseball Road Trip 2018: Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Rail-Riders (or Yanks for the Memories)

Today was the last stop on my whirlwind baseball tour, which had taken us a week, and cost us countless dollars funneled into collective 50/50 raffles. But we made it out the other side. And we ended the trip with some friendly, familiar territory.

The Scranton-Wilkes Barre Railriders. Or...the Yankee-to-be's.

First of all, not only was this the more impressive of the AAA facilities we attended (narrowly edging out the well-attended-but-homey Toledo Mud Hens), but this was the game where we knew the most players. It didn't entirely have to do with the fact that my dad and I are diehard Yankee fans. No, it's because their adversaries, the Rochester Redwings, were the Twins' AAA affiliates, and that team...ALSO featured some people we'd heard of.

These were our seats...and I think they were the nicest ones of the trip.

Second row, not far along the first base side, with a tantalizing view of the batter's box and visiting dugout, and great view of the stadium, which is, again, a pretty great facility. Obviously they knew that Yankees fans would be in attendance.

The RailRiders had a nice core of Clint Frazier, Tyler Wade, Brandon Drury, Ryan McBroom and Billy McKinney, all of whom had a pretty nice day today. Frazier and McKinney had home runs, as did many of the RailRiders, who had a nice time hitting off of the Rochester starter, making the eventual win even more inevitable.

#43 for Rochester...looked familiar, though. Just in the way he stood in the batter's box. It's like he'd done this sort of thing before. It's like I'd seen him before.

Sure enough, it was Joe Mauer, at the top of a rehab assignment post-concussion, and he was playing for Rochester. He didn't have the best day, striking out a few times, and it may take a bit to get him back to where he was, but...it's still Joe Mauer. He's a Twins legend. And here he is, playing in AAA. We yelled out 'hey, love the way you play', but he was in the zone.

Now, the guy that HEARD us...

was the Rochester catcher. If you're from Philadelphia, which I am (now that I'm done with college that is), you know exactly who this stocky catcher is. Cameron Rupp, who held the backstop for a few years. And he got to launch a home run off of the Riders' ace tonight, which he seemed pretty enthused about. My dad yelled out, cordially, 'we miss you in Philly, Cam'. Rupp turned to us, and nodded, kindly. I bet he misses Philly just as much right now.

The game, though truncated due to a doubleheader, went pretty well. McKinney and Frazier went long, making their return to New York seem inevitable. Their defenders did well, especially Kyle Higashioka behind the plate. The fans were into it, even if there were a ton of Pennsylvania Ps' around. It was, if anything, a quaint, if polished, way of ending the baseball trip. Plus, we ended with a home-team win, which is nice.

So, that's all I have to report. A lot of baseball happened over the last week, and not all of it was good, but it was definitely worth the trip.

Baseball Road Trip 2018: Orioles @ Blue Jays or Grand Stand

So...I was in Canada yesterday. Which was nice.

I mean, I'd never been, so it was kinda nice to take everything in, see how different things were. I mean...I say different. It's basically another state. More baseball fans, more regular people. Just differences in currency and stuff.

The stadium I went to yesterday, though...WAS different. Astroturf, closable roof, larger feel to it. It's a nice place to watch a game, but I feel like the understocked the place. Not enough restrooms, food stands. Good enough food, but...it felt like the Toronto people were trying to build a stadium from what they knew, rather than what MLB was. And it stands out in a few less-than-savory ways on that front...like a lack of cup-holders. But I quibble. Because THESE...were my seats:

This was the fifth row. We could see the bat-girl, and had a nice view of Manny Machado at shortstop. And yes, I should say...this game was against the Orioles. OH BOY...WAS IT AGAINST THE ORIOLES.

Something I should point out about this Jays game- it was Jr. Jays Weekend, and they had kids helping out all over the stadium. In the broadcast booth, with the groundskeepers, on the news-desk. It was very cute. And I feel like those kids did a better job than Alex Cobb, who was on the mound for Baltimore.

Alex Cobb...gave one of the most pitiful performances I've ever seen from a pitcher. Not since Ryan Vogelsong in a spring training game last year have I seen someone give up as many runs as Alex Cobb did.

Okay, to be fair, Marco Estrada did give up the first run of the game, for a Trey Mancini home run...but then...Cobb started getting hammered by the Blue Jays offense. First an RBI double from Curtis Granderson, the guy I'd essentially come here to see. Then, the following inning (the third), Kendrys Morales took him for a solo shot.

And THEN, in the 4th inning...the same guy who'd gotten him in the 2nd...went bigger...

This guy hit a 3-run home run, to make it 6 to 1. And believe me, this was just the start of Curtis Granderson's fantastic day. He'd strike again in the 5th, doubling in Gio Urshela, and capping off a 6-RBI day, a career HIGH for him. So...it's kinda nice to see a career day for one of my favorite players.

It didn't just stop at him. In the fifth, Teoscar Hernandez hit a 2-run homer, and then Kevin Pillar hit another solo homer. This wasn't even off of Alex Cobb, as he'd been taken out by then. This was Pedro Araujo's doing, as he was sent in to quell the fire...which he could not do.

Thanks to the ineptitude of the Baltimore pitching, the score was 13 to 1 after the 5th inning. Suffice to say, there wasn't going to be any extra innings this time.

This was also thanks in part to a fantastic job done by Marco Estrada, who only gave up 2 runs on the day, both solo home runs (the other one was a Jonathan Schoop shot in the 7th). The bullpen would let one more run go by, an RBI from...Jace Peterson of all people, but there wasn't any more mayhem about.

...Which was fine. Tyler Mayza shut down the team for the last 2 innings, the later closers for Baltimore kept the runs down, Machado and Jones left the game because...they were losing by like 10 points, so they could use a rest.

Still, when the game ended, the crowd went wild again, cheering on their team, and being very proud of even the Donaldson-less Jays. And, even though I usually despise the Blue Jays, I couldn't help but join them. Especially considering the day Curtis Granderson had.

I'll be heading to two more AAA parks before I'm done, including one tonight. Tonight's is an affiliate of a team that doesn't especially need many minor leaguers right now.

Baseball Road Trip 2018: Indians @ Detroit Tigers or The Long Haul

Last night was a thrilling, close, climactic battle between two teams that both wanted the victory. And  it almost didn't happen.

For two hours, I stood against a wall in Comerica Park, waiting for the rain to stop. To be fair, there are worse stadiums to be stuck in during a rain delay. The concourse is great, with a cool food court area, there's a ton of devotion to history with standees around displaying familiar legends, and a souvenir soda cup with Charlie Gehringer on it, and while the food does pale in comparison to the other MLB stadiums I attended this week, there's still a lot of it. So, the only sucky part about the rain delay was...the fact that it took 2 hours.

But, just as I was thinking we'd be better off heading to our next destination earlier, the tarps began to lift, and the rain stopped. And we made it to our seats, and the fun began.

Before I go into the game, I should mention that this game took place on Negro Leagues Weekend, as the team took time to honor several Negro Leaguers who played for the Detroit Stars. Also, everyone in attendance got a free Stars hat, which is always nice, because free hats are better than ones you have to pay for. I did, however, have to pay for that '68 Tigers pin.

Everyone was wearing Negro Leagues throwbacks tonight, including the Tigers' opponents for the night, the first-place Cleveland Indians.

THESE...were my seats, by the way. Not bad at all. There was a pretty nice crowd, too. Even for a team that's below .500, a lot of people turned up.

The game started with an indication that it would potentially be more about pitching than previously thought, with two guys named Mike (Clevinger for the Indians, Fiers for the Tigers) on the mound. Both let runs go by; Clevinger allowed a Victor Martinez RBI, and Fiers gave up a renegade Yan Gomes home run. But, for the most part, it was a game of defense- Miguel Cabrera proved that he's still a rock at 1st base, while Jose Iglesias is still one of the best defensive middle infielders in the game. But, alternatively, the infield combo of Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez was similarly unfazed.

The game kind of chugged along for a while at a tied score. And don't get me wrong, it was good baseball, but it was so evenly matched that it became very ho-hum after a while. The kid sitting near us, who was attending his first-ever Tigers game and was so excited for the entire thing, was even eating up the quieter moments.

The tie, polished off by a single from Iglesias and a homer from Rajai Davis of all people, remained up until late. However, things looked promising for Detroit in the bottom of the ninth, with the bases loaded (thanks to a bit of overconfidence from Neil Ramirez), and Jeimer Candelario stepped to the plate. We knew he was capable of something big, and we were just waiting for it...


and it didn't happen. He hit into an easy out, and the game, once again this trip, went to extra innings. Which was great for us, but for my mom, who isn't as big on baseball, was slightly less great.

Once again, every opportunity seemed futile, and every promising base-runner was left on, and it kept going, and going. But...hope persisted. As many Tigers fans left the stadium early in extras, many stayed. They were insisting that something big was gonna happen. And they were pinning this hope on a goose.

The Rally Goose, who had been essentially deified in Detroit, was being shown as much as possible, projected onto the stadium, heralded by all of the fans. They were convinced that something was going to happen. My family, on the other hand, were insisting on leaving after the 12th.

And through the bottom of the 12th, it seemed like we'd be leaving at the right time. The rain was starting again, the big guns were striking out, even Mr. Walkoff, Jacoby Jones, and it was looking very dire. Plus, Cody Allen was on the mound. And he's pretty intimidating.

Well, Miguel Cabrera cracked a single off of him. Which was a start. And then the same guy who broke the hearts of fans 3 innings earlier, Jeimer Candelario, the rising star, gets up. And we're thinking, 'oh, if only he could'.

...and he did.

And not only did he hit this ball out, he MASHED it. There was no doubt in anybody's mind that this thing was gone. It was a slam that was heard 'round Detroit. Everyone went wild, especially me and my dad. The place was shaking, nearly, as the rally goose's cry had worked.

This was a game that wasn't 100% perfect, and thanks to the rain, the defense, and the middle bit, wasn't the most entertaining...but my gosh, the ending more than made up for it. It was a nice stadium, a nice game, and a nice experience. Plus, I got a free hat out of it.

There was one more MLB stadium left on the docket, and it was a pretty unique one. And I assure you, this game did not go into extras. It never would have needed to.

A Word About the Detroit Tigers

Alright, folks. The next stop on my baseball road trip will be Comerica Park, home of those lovable, surprisingly-2nd-place Detroit Tigers. And seeing as there's a Tiger that's next up in the custom pile (having to rearrange a Marlins one for tomorrow), I might as well pre-assess them.

The Tigers...aren't doing too badly. Their lineup has gained extreme traction lately, as John Hicks has been filling in for Miguel Cabrera at 1st, and...I believe Miggy has moved to DH to accommodate for Hicks' come-up. Miggy's not doing too badly either, batting over .300 despite his infielding numbers having decreased due to age. The core of the lineup rests with youth; Jeimer Candelario, Jose Iglesias, Nick Castellanos and Leonys Martin are keeping the lineup together, and all giving some nice numbers at the plate and in the field, giving a new core that isn't sagging and decaying.

The pitching, while not bad, isn't...great. Matthew Boyd has ascended to ace status, in the absence of Michael Fulmer's better numbers. Blaine Hardy has become a surprisingly potent late-rotation addition, after also-hot Francisco Liriano wound up on the DL. Mike Fiers is doing alright, and he's the one I'll be seeing pitch today, which...is a safe enough bet, but there's a reason he was moved to the bullpen for the postseason last year. He's good, but not THE greatest.

The bullpen isn't perfect, but Shane Greene has done well after taking the closer role, Joe Jimenez is a fine middle reliever (whose BaseballReference photo makes him look like he applied his own makeup), and Louis Coleman was a nice steal from Arizona.

This is a nice enough team that has done some nice work in a dire-looking division. They're below .500, but they're still holding 2nd strong above the Twins, and...below the 1st-place Indians...who they play today.

Today might not be a perfect matchup, especially considering that Mike Clevinger is pitching for Cleveland, but it'll definitely be enjoyable, as these teams will be fighting for dominance, and that's always nice.

Writeup of this will be up (hopefully) tonight.

Baseball Road Trip 2018: Toledo Mud Hens, or Attack of the 80s

After some exposure of minor league ball in the form of a spirited but tepid a-ball stadium, we were ready for some real, bare-bones minor league baseball. And you couldn't get more premium MiLB than in Toledo, a minor league park that...DRAWS? LOTS OF FANS? CONSISTENTLY??? To me, a guy whose previous exposure to minor league baseball included the Camden RiverSharks, who'd be lucky if they drew a couple hundred per game, this was a new concept, and I liked it.

The stadium too seemed a bit more upscale than WV, with better concessions, and really nice ice cream (though not Graeter nice). But there were a ton of fans who seemed to know the players and weren't just there because there were a few Tigers in the lineup, like Mikie Mahtook.

The game was against the Norfolk Tides, the AAA affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, featuring Ruben Tejada, Caleb Joseph and Zach Britton.

It was also 80s night at the stadium, as the guy behind the PA screens was sifting in 80s music and 80s ads, which gave a nice, nostalgic feel that fit the one the team was obviously going for with their retro eggshell uniforms.

These were our seats. Not bad, but you can definitely tell that some seasoned Mud Hens fans beat us to the better ones. Still, I definitely wasn't complaining.

Once the game started, I was. The Mud Hens, described pre-game as the '#1 team' in the standings, looked anything but; Mikie Mahtook slipped in catching a ball from Mike Yastrzemski (yes, he's Yaz' grandson), allowing a 3-run inside the park home run. The offense didn't help matters, as only one renegade run scored late in the game.

I found out that Zach Britton, on a rehab assignment, did jump in for an inning, but it was while I was out getting ice cream. Figures. He was apparently his old self, though.

It was a quick, 2-hour game, one that left a smidge to be desired in terms of exciting-ness, and...home-team potency. Yes, I imagine they're a fine team, and a few of the players do look MLB ready, but...they weren't themselves tonight, and it showed.

Not a lot to report here, sadly, but...tomorrow it gets better. As we're going to see the next level up from the AAA affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.

2018 Baseball Road Trip: Rockies @ Reds, or The 13th Warrior

THE GREAT AMERICAN BALL PARK!

Truth in advertising, folks. Not only is it very great, not only is it very American, but it is quite a ball park. Quite possibly one of my new favorites. It falls into the PNC Park category of having a lot of the bells and whistles you could think of (BEER GARDEN! SUPERMARKET! GRAETER'S ICE CREAM!), but while retaining its charm. It wasn't flashy, it was just good. Great food, great fans, and not a bad seat in the house.

Plus, with a rare photo of me on the blog (doing my best 2016-era Jacob deGrom impression), this cool statue of Joe Morgan proves that the Reds' history is on full display here. Not just the hall of famers: Joe Nuxhall and Ted Kluszweski also get statues. And people are lining up for pictures with them, just like me with the Morgan.

This park was the first of three MLB parks I'd visit on this trip I'm on right now, and so far...this is the standard in terms of parks AND in terms of games. Because this was an incredible game, from start to finish.

THESE...WERE MY SEATS.

Up a few levels, front row.  Behind home plate. So...this view was totally worth it. All the action could be seen clearly, including the firework tower and scoreboards.

This game, Tyler Mahle vs. Tyler Anderson for Colorado, wasn't exactly a pitching battle. Look, Anderson maybe one of the least impressive of the Rockies' pitchers, but he was great today, only allowing 2 runs, and keeping the onslaught of Reds sluggers steady, going 7 strong as well. Mahle wasn't so lucky, allowing a few more runs than we would have liked, and leading to the eventual 5 to 2 lead that most of the game would be based upon. The usual suspects for Colorado, like LeMahieu and Arenado, were responsible for most of the damage, though Ryan McMahon snuck an RBI in there as well.

The Reds, who started Brandon Dixon at 2nd instead of Scooter Gennett, and Alex Blandino instead of Jose Peraza (who would thankfully come in later and make some incredible plays at short), had most of their starters yet were listless at the plate early on, with the only substantial runs coming from backup catcher Curt Casali (who, with Greta Van Fleet's 'Safari Song', easily had the coolest walkup music out of everyone).

Eventually, the game, as with the weather, would heat up; in the eighth, the bases would load, and Joey Votto and Eugenio Suarez would help the score round up to 5-4 Colorado, even as the threat of Wade Davis loomed in the distance.

As the ninth came by, we moved to a standing area in the shade to watch what we figured would be the final inning. In the bottom of the ninth, Wade Davis was brought in to face the middle of the lineup, including Curt Casali, who was walked...and eventually scored on a wild pitch. The game was tied, and with Jose Peraza up, and a man on base, it looked over.

It wasn't. And it wouldn't be for another 4 innings.

Eventually, we found new seats in the shade, because nobody was policing them past inning 9, and...it was a bit of an upgrade.

Yeah, not a bad place at all to watch Raisel Iglesias mow down 3 straight batters. Unfortunately he only went an inning, and a series of relievers, capped off by Dylan Floro giving a great performance, followed.

The Reds exhausted their bench, wasting Barnhart and Gennett on missed opportunities, though keeping Jesse Winker and Peraza in the lineup. The game limped on, though, going into the 11th...12th...until it was inning number 13, and we were all contemplating whether or not to just leave now and save ourselves the exhaustion.

I advised we stay...and I did this right before the 11-strikeout free pizza was redeemed.

And as the bottom of the inning game around, and as Chris Rusin began to look tired, and human, I was feeling something would happen. Especially as Joey Votto made it to base, and Jesse Winker confidently stepped to the plate.

Sure enough, Winker did not disappoint, and blasted a 2-run shot into the void, ending the game and causing what remained of the Cincinnati crowd to go absolutely wild. It was a rare, deserved win for a team that persevered and never stopped fighting. And yes, this team was human for several points of the day's game...but they were still ferocious when they had to be, especially in that final moment.

Hell of a game, hell of a park. Tonight I'm in Toledo for a AAA game, expect a writeup to eventually follow.

Baseball Road Trip 2018: West Virginia Power, or Toast Valuable Player

As I mentioned a little while ago, I'm on a baseball road trip this week, scouring the midwest and northeast for parks, major and minor league, that I'd never been to, and that'd be worth a treat.

We designed the trip around the three MLB games (the recap of the first one will be up tomorrow morning, and oh is it a nice one), so in between the major parks, we picked a few MiLB parks along the way that seemed nice.

This one, in Charleston, West Virginia, seemed interesting if anything. This is an A-Ball affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, which is nice, as that meant I had a hat to bring with me.

If you zoom in, which I encourage, you can see all the MLB players who've started out in Charleston, including Lorenzo Cain, Ryan Braun, Michael Brantley, Alcides Escobar (as this used to be a Brewers affiliate), Jameson Taillon, Starling Marte and Nick Kingham. So...not a bad lineup of alums. The current Power player that was on the minds of everyone was Cal Mitchell, a high-drafted prospect who was being heralded by everyone, even the team's programs.

Because my father was nice enough to ask for the best seats they had (and for 10 bucks, no less), this was our view. Front row, pretty good sightline. You can tell that Charleston is a very in-progress type city, as there's a lot of buildings and businesses in the background, and this stadium was built right in the middle of this city.

The team was up against the Lexington Legends, an A-affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, managed by former Braves 1st-baseman Scott Thorman. Funnily enough, we were sitting next to Thorman's parents, who were very nice Canadian people that seemed to enjoy the game as much as we did.

As the game progressed, we noticed how...spirited the fans of the West Virginia Power were. At every strikeout, an energetic middle-aged man sitting behind home plate would stand, hold a peace of toast, and lead the surrounding fans in a chant of 'YOU! ARE! TOAST!'. It happened every time. Every time.

My mother, ever the receptive one, turned to me at multiple points after this and went "...why do I smell toast?"

This wasn't exactly a pitching battle, though, as Deon Stafford hit a grand-slam in the first inning, Cal Mitchell had several hits throughout the day, and most pitchers (save for a rogue submariner the Lexington team employed) were futile compared to the range of hitting. Some players weren't the best at their positions, as a career shortstop was playing first for the Power that day. But it was still a smooth enough, laid back enough game.

Not much else to say for this one, though...to be honest, I'm saying my typing fingers for the writeup of the game I witnessed earlier today...because OH my god.