Day: May 2, 2006

box 23
POTG #23: SS Frank Martinez (2 H, 2 R, RBI, SB)
Runner up #23: C Raul Padron (2 H, 2 RBI, SB), RF Jose Pineda (2 H, R, RBI, SB), RP Brad Kilby (1 IP, 2 K)

box 24
POTG #24: SP Jared Lansford (5+ IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 5K – no hitter thru 5, W)
Runner up #24: RP Roland Madej (2/3 IP, K), RP Dan Fyvie (1 1/3 IP)

Today’s possibly going to be the first day without rain around here in about a week. There’s been some significant downpours the last few days. It’s finally warm enough where it doesn’t cause ice or worse, but it’s been consistent enough that it rained out this weekend’s Kane County Cougar action. Losing a whole weekend is horrible for them, business wise, but games have to be played for seasons to be complete and there’s not a lot of free time to do it. To make up the two weekend games in a four game series, they decided to run back to back double headers – one on Monday, and one on Tuesday. (Minor league double headers are shortened to seven inning games, so this isn’t completely as tough on the teams as it sounds, though I imagine it’s not too fun.)

I didn’t really have any plans for Monday, and I knew I could get to the park in time to only miss a half inning of the opener, and $10 for second row seats at a doubleheader is a great deal, so I spent the evening there.

Park was completely empty when I got there. The original start time was 6 pm, and most people probably can’t get to a baseball stadium at 4pm on a weekday, so there were maybe 80 paying customers when I got to my seat. (First base side, just past the dugout.) It was quiet enough that, I’m sure if you tried, you probably could listen to any meeting on the mound. Almost as if they held a little league game in a minor league park, and only the parents showed up; in fact, I know many of the people besides myself were there to see their kids, but that’s another story.

An empty park has it’s advantages; there were nine people standing around at the grill area, all waiting and ready to make me one barbecue chicken sandwich. (There was only one person to pour me a Mountain Dew.) As it got closer to 6pm, the park did fill up, to an announced attendance around 4500.

WHAT I ATE/DRANK
– 1 large mountain dew
– 1 barbecue chicken
– 1 funnel cake
– 1 large hot chocolate (costs too much because they give you a mug, and I can’t take any more plastic mugs)
– 1 bag of roasted almonds ($5, wanted to try it, bad investment)

I don’t think that’s what a doctor would recommend.

It was a long night, and I don’t have great memories of either game because of it. In the first game, Clinton just gave up too many hits and by the third, the Cougars were opening it up on Lumberjacks. (Which is a dumb name.)

The second game was Jared Lansford (son of Carney Lansford) made his first start of the season for the Cougars in game 2; he was in extended spring training with some shoulder issues.) He promptly threw five innings of no-hit ball till one blooped in the sixth. He might be pretty good.

As I was expected, it rained. It rained a bit during the first game, and I was okay if busy because I was using an umbrella and keeping a scorecard at the same time. It cleared up for a good while, but came back late in game 2. It was raining by the 5th, and became virtually unplayable at the end of the sixth and start of the seventh, but the umpires weren’t going to stop or call the game unless a lightning bolt struck home plate. They wanted to get done and get home, and as people rushed out of the stadium after the last out, so did everyone else.

The second doubleheader is today, like I said, at noon. Kinda too busy to actually go, and I feel like crap. It didn’t seem so bad last night, but I think the cold and the rain caught up with me overnight.

Horrible looking scorecards – I need to bring a pencil and something to cover them in the rain. It would also help to know who the players are, I guess.

game 1: clinton, kane country
game 2: clinton, kane country