3 nights - 3 results

On Thursday night the Rivercats set a new record - their game against the Fresno Grizzlies lasted 16 innings and unfortunately they lost. I was coming back from the East Coast and spent from 7 AM (EDT) until 9 (PDT) (remember to add the three hours) getting across the country. So when I got into the car I thought I would listen to the end of the game - indeed I did but it took a couple of hours more for that to happen. The Cats were fully in control going into the ninth only to give up a bunch of runs and tie it up to go into extra innings. They had a couple of chances to score through the next 7 innings and simply did not come through.

On Friday, we got to go back to the ballpark. We started out well against the Grizzlies then in the fifth it fell apart. Another record. The Grizzlies scored 11 runs in one inning. It looked for a while like the three stooges were playing for the Cats. I debated about whether I wanted to go get an iPhone (at the AT&T store in the Downtown Mall) but stayed until the ninth.

On Saturday, the Cats debuted a new pitcher named Michael Madsen. Lord knows we need some pitching. A good part of the changes in roster (112 at this point) has been to move pitchers up or down. Remember Ron Flores is still up. Madsen pitched a good solid first outing. What was impressive was almost eight innings, six Ks and only four hits in his time on the mound. Jermaine Van Buren, the first reliever was not as impressive but then the Cats brought in Andrew Brown who was able to close the Sidewinders down. Also impressive was Landon Powell, the new catcher, who homered in his second at bat - if he keeps this up it will be impressive! (that was his second homer). Barton finally broke his hitting streak but that was an impressive run, nonetheless.

It is odd that we had such problems with the Grizzlies - they are usually a reliable safety net - but in this series we had trouble with them in two of the three games. More importantly over this season they have the advantage. We stand at .542 with on up on Fresno and no longer the strongest record in the league. Our last 10 we were 4-6 so we will need to get back on track. But with the number of roster moves it is hard to imagine how a team can jell.