7.8.01 ROCHESTER RED WINGS vs PAWTUCKET RED SOX
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It’s worth noting that once I left California the Dodgers clicked off nine straight wins, including six against the Giants and a tit-for-tat sweep of the Padres in San Diego. Of course it’s silly to infer some kind of causality here, but given my track record it’s kind of hard not to: I mean, even setting aside the whole Chicago debacle for a moment, I go home and see five Dodger games, all of which they lose, except for the one where the winning run scored on a hit batsman with the bases loaded?! Rob is offering to pay my way to L.A. for the Dodgers’ series with the Cubs a month from now. I think I’ll pass.
Anyhow, whaddaya know—going into today the Red Wings have won ten of their last 15! They even took three of four on the road from the division-leading Buffalo Bisons! What’s going on here? A bit of a renaissance? Statistical inevitability?
Probably more of the latter, to be truthful, but the return of opening-day shortstop Eddy Martinez after he spent almost all of the first half on the disabled list hasn’t hurt, nor has the performance of Damon Buford—granted, the kind of capable, competent performance that doesn’t demand consideration for a major-league call-up so much as suggest that this is where he belonged all along. And goddamn if that fat-ass Calvin Pickering isn’t leading the International League in RBIs, with 72.
Time to check in with the newly kinda okay, semi-respectable Rochester Red Wings, then. We walked to the ballpark in a steady drizzle, unsure whether we’d even get to see a game but figuring what the hell, might as well get in a Sunday walk if nothing else. Once we got there, though, the clouds parted, the sun came out to stay, and it was as perfect an afternoon for baseball as you’ve ever seen. Rochester. Go figure.
The PawSox were sadly minus their kickboxing slugger Izzy Alcantara, as he was busy serving a suspension for some little incident or other, but that didn’t stop them from putting up a three-spot in the top of the first off Red Wings lefty Jeff Wilson. The Wings roared right back in the bottom half of the inning, though, with RBI singles by Darnell McDonald and Eddy’s Garabito and Martinez to tie it up, and scored three more in the fourth off PawSox lefthander Rafael Roque. What’s more, they actually looked pretty good doing it. In the field, too. Oh sure, Garabito submitted his requisite miscue (could that only be his twelfth error of the season? Really?), and Jose Leon booted one too, but the overall impression was that of a team actually capable of maintaining some level of dignity out there. And Martinez is good.
Defending the Wings’ 7–6 lead in the ninth, Jorge Julio made it interesting. Maybe it had something to do with the guy who kept yelling, “C’mon, Jose, let’s settle down out there! You can do it, Jose!”—Jorge, Jose, whatever—but the hard-throwing closer walked two batters to load the bases with two down. Wilton Veras then ripped a 2-and-0 fastball deep into the hole back of second, but little Eddy Garabito, a cape now trailing from his neck, ranged to his right to snag it, turned and fired to first, improbably beating Veras to the bag. Not bad.
FINAL SCORE: RED WINGS 7, PAWSOX 6
FOOD CONSUMED: “Don’t get me anything fried this time,” says the wife. A foot-long, some peanuts, a Genny.