5.17.01 ROCHESTER RED WINGS vs DURHAM BULLS
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The Red Wings’ staggering ineptitude begins to make more sense when you realize that not only is this by far the youngest team in the International League, but, whereas most clubs have at least one veteran player, a former major-leaguer spending the waning years of his career as a mentor to players at the lower levels—a guy like the Durham Bulls’ Pat Borders, 38, who spent eleven-plus years in the bigs and was World Series MVP in ’92—the role of seasoned vet in the Red Wings’ clubhouse falls to 31-year-old Steve Sisco, whose major league experience consists in its entirety of 27 at-bats with the Atlanta Braves last year. I mean, seriously, if the Orioles didn’t have to field a Triple-A team, weren’t contractually bound to play baseball in Rochester, most of these guys would still be down in Bowie (Maryland, amusingly pronounced booey, home to the Class AA Bowie Baysox).
Likewise, today’s odd 11:15 a.m. starting time began to make more sense when I pedaled up and found the parking lot full of schoolbuses. Somebody in Red Wings marketing must be credited with a stroke of genius, for “Education Day” produced the largest crowd of the year at Frontier Field, nearly all of it comprised of screaming prepubescents. (Isn’t that kind of cheating, though? Busing in a crowd? When is Incarceration Day?)
All the noise and commotion must have unsettled poor Eddy Garabito, or maybe he was just distracted by some bright, shiny object in the stands. At the plate in the bottom of the fifth, Garabito looked at ball four and stood there in the box for a good thirty seconds before someone reminded him that he was welcome to take his base whenever he was ready. A little later, Garabito wandered just far enough from his post at second in pursuit of a Pat Borders pop-up to make right fielder Wady Almonte think he was going to make the play, at which point Garabito peeled off and the ball dropped untouched. That looked like Willie Mays compared to what came next, though, when, after Borders stole second, Bulls center fielder Norm Hutchins hit a harmless pop-up directly to Garabito, who somehow contrived to let it dribble out of his glove for a one-run error.
Eddy Garabito, it pains me to say this, but you leave me little choice: Dude, you suck.
Day’s saving grace no. 1: The Durham Bulls’ uniforms are beautiful. French blue lettering and trim set off by orange-tinged sienna accents and caps, a color combo that is as gorgeous as it is unique. Nice, unfussy logo, too.
Day’s saving grace no. 2: The Red Wings’ new center fielder, Darnell McDonald, is awesome. Never mind the .156 average. The guy is fast, reads the ball well, gets good jumps and isn’t afraid to lay himself out to make a play. Where the hell have you been, Darnell?
The Wings managed a couple runs in the seventh on a wild pitch and a passed ball—it didn’t look like Bulls reliever Brad Cornett and catcher Paul Hoover had worked much together before—but that was as close as they were gonna get.
FINAL SCORE: BULLS 4, RED WINGS 2
FOOD CONSUMED: Thursday being 2-for-1 hots night at Dicky’s, the 120-year-old bar down the street from my house, I wanted to lay off the hot dogs at the game; I was also low on cash and, having skipped breakfast, pretty hungry. The solution: chicken fingers from the Batter-Up! concession, which—specializing in fried everything—sounds like something out of The Simpsons, but isn’t. Somewhat frighteningly, they were actually pretty good.