8.6.01 ROCHESTER RED WINGS vs OTTOWA LYNX
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Mike Piazza…Paul Lo Duca…Geronimo Gil? The latest Dodger catching prospect is now a Red Wing, thanks to the trade that sent Orioles reliever Mike Trombley to L.A., and he’s big and strong and possessed of an arm like a cannon. A terrifically accurate cannon, even. Tonight Gil picked off a runner at first and threw out a guy at second and it was like they never had a chance. So what if he’s batting under a buck-fifty. He lives in Oaxaca—say it with me, gringos: wa-HA-ca—he was signed by Mike Brito, the guy with the panama hat you always see holding the radar gun at Dodger games, and he has already somehow persuaded both the radio and P.A. announcers here to pronounce his name correctly, the G’s like H’s, something his shortstop brother Benji has yet to accomplish in two seasons in Anaheim. That’s good enough for me.
That his acquisition resulted in the immediate release of godawful Willie Morales is just gravy. It’s nice to see the Wings unloading some of their dead weight. The dismal season turned in by right fielder Wady Almonte finally earned him his walking papers the other day, too, a move no doubt helped along by the arrival of Tim Raines, Jr. and his .300-plus average. They should’ve axed half these guys three months ago.
Tonight the Red Wings played host to the Expos-affiliate Ottawa Lynx, who could teach their division-rival Buffalo Bisons [sic] a thing or two about irregular plurals, and boasted in the middle of their line-up another former-Dodger Geronimo, designated hitter Berroa. Wings starter Jeff Wilson, who really is better than his 2–11 record and 6.05 ERA would suggest, looked good out of the gate but never quite recovered his composure after giving up back-to-back home runs to Tomas de la Rosa and Ron Calloway in the third. And if you’re looking for my scouting report, incidentally, Calloway is the guy to watch: in addition to his solo shot, he also singled and sacrificed successfully and threw a bullseye from center field to nail a charging Steve Sisco at the plate, preserving Lynx starter Zach Day’s masterful seven-inning shut-out.
It was only Day’s second start at Triple-A, having just come over from the Indians organization in a trade for Milton Bradley last week. A minor disappointment, this, because I was looking forward to seeing Bradley after his June demotion from the Expos following a game in which he flipped off an umpire, broke a bat over his knee, and threw a ball into the stands. Milton Bradley, Izzy Alcantara. Izzy Alcantara, Milton Bradley….
After the Wings’ valiant attempt to get on the board in the seventh their last six batters fell in order. On the way out to the car I found myself humming the innocuous synthpop tune that had been playing over the P.A. as I left the park, and it was only when I got to the chorus that I realized what it was: “Cruel Summer.” Subtle.
FINAL SCORE: LYNX 7, RED WINGS 0
FOOD CONSUMED: I arrived early and hungry enough that it actually made sense to get the Frontier Field garbage plate: home fries and not-completely-awful macaroni salad topped with a couple Zweigle’s hots and what is called “hot sauce” around here, which is actually very mildly spiced ground beef. There’s a reason these things are called garbage plates, in other words, but this is Rochester comfort food, and it isn’t hard to acquire a jones for it.