August 2011
Is This A Fairy Tale? (8/30/2011)
The Greensboro Grasshoppers trounced the Delmarva Shorebirds tonight with an impressive 10-7 come-from-behind victory. It has me wondering if this is a fairy tale. With this win, it’s a sweep of the Shorebirds. With this win, it puts the Hoppers only 3 games out of first place for the 2nd half. With this win, the Hoppers have a legitimate — but still difficult — chance at the playoffs. It may be a fairy tale in the making.
The Hoppers started out well, scoring the first run of the game in the 2nd inning. And then the third inning came and everything fell apart. Delmarva scored seven runs, putting the Hoppers six runs behind. Fortunately, those were the only runs Delmarva scored, and the Hoppers managed to score a run in the fifth, another run in the seventh, and six big runs in the eighth to pull the score to 10-7. It was a nail-biter of a game and there were several times I was concerned that the Hoppers wouldn’t make it. Like the time when they loaded the bases with only one out, and managed to strand all three base runners. But, in the end, a win is a win. And this win is exactly what the Hoppers needed to do to stay alive with a shot for the playoffs. Kannapolis also won against Rome tonight, so we didn’t gain any ground against them.
What does this all mean? It means that the final five games of the season are the games it will boil down to. What’s even more exciting is that those games are against Kanappolis. Every one we win, we are guaranteed to pick up a spot against them in the standings. I ran into Hoppers announcer Jim Scott in the score after the game and he said that the Hoppers need to win 3 out of 5 in order to make it happen. Kannapolis is a great team, so it’s going to be difficult to accomplish that — especially in Kannapolis — but it’s possible. If the Hoppers aren’t able to win the 2nd half outright, they still have a wild card chance if Hickory stays on the top of the standings. It’s going to be an interesting game of divisional standings chess between now and Labor day. Bill on Baseball has a great recap of tonight’s game and details about what needs to happen in various situations to allow the Hoppers to get in the playoffs: Hoppers’ scintillating run continues. Be sure to check it out, as well as the official box score and game recap.
The win was great, but what made this an extra special night for me is that I got to spend the evening with about 40 of my friends in the Party Deck on the third base side. A few weeks ago, I won a drawing sponsored by Sheetz where the prize was a free night on the Party Deck, including supper. It was AWESOME. Here’s a picture from the deck:
The folks at the ballpark took real good care of us. We had an all-you-can-eat hot dog and bbq buffet. We had a great view of the ballpark. I even arranged with Pat Taylor, owner of Taylor Made Kettle Corn, to have enough kettle corn up in the seats for everyone to enjoy. I’ve always maintained that the kettle corn is the best deal in the ballpark, and I was excited to be able to share it with my friends tonight. I got upstairs, and there was a bag on every table, with a couple of extra bags on the buffet line. Several of the Hoppers staff, including Todd and Tim, also stopped by to check on things. Even Guilford stopped by:
As you can see, I was wearing the Kyle Winters jersey I won at the Tropical Jersey Night auction a few weeks ago.
At one point, my wife Meredith went down to the field to take some pictures because we knew some of the folks who were going to participate in one of the on-field promotions. Here’s a cool shot that she took of Mark Canha swinging hard. I don’t know if he connected on that particular swing or not, but it was his three run homer that put us in the lead in the eighth.
Since it was the last home game of the regular season, the Hoppers put on the best fireworks show of the year. Every explosion was really cool, and the show lasted a bit longer than usual. It was really neat to be able to watch the fireworks from the second level.
It was sad to leave the park when the game was over, but with the excitement the team has been building by maintaing such a long winning streak, I won’t be surprised if I find myself back in the park for a playoff game in a week or so. I’m planning to head down to Kannapolis for the entire series. If you’re planning on making it out to any of the games, leave a comment on the blog and let me know. We’ll definitely catch up with each other at the game.
It’s an exciting time to be a Hoppers fan.
Remember, you can click on any of the pictures in the post to embiggen them. Check out the photo album on Facebook for all the pictures. Join the conversation by leaving a comment — what are you thinking?
See ya at the ballpark!
Email: hoppersfan@gmail.com
Twitter: @HoppersFan
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HoppersFan
Another Shutout In The Books (8/29/2011)
Tonight’s Greensboro Grasshoppers game against the Delmarva Shorebirds was another shutout, and the Hoppers leave the field with the score 8-0. It was a short game, about two and a half hours, and the Hoppers established command early on and didn’t let it up. Half of our runs came in the seventh inning, where Delmarva pitcher Tim Adleman just kept giving up hits and runs. No complaints here. J T Realmuto hit another homer on Natty’s Hill in the second inning. The Hoppers played good ball tonight, got done what they needed to get done, and kept their wits about them. As always, check out the official box score and game recap for all the details.
Again, I didn’t take many pictures tonight (It was raining for part of the game, and I didn’t want to mess with the camera), but here’s a shot of Realmuto making it home after blasting the ball onto Natty’s Hill.
Winning like this is what we need to keep doing to stay (get) in the race for a playoff spot. I was out of town for the weekend and missed the games, but Bill on Baseball has some excellent write-ups of how things went down. Be sure to check out his blog for details on how the Hoppers are doing what they need to do get to the post-season.
Tonight’s win really helps the Hoppers, especially considering how some of the other games in the league are shaking out tonight. I listened to Andy Durham explain it all on the radio on the way home, and I think I’ve got a good grip on it. Hickory won both of the games against Lakewood in their double-header today and Kannapolis lost to Rome. This moves Hickory into first place in the league, with Kannapolis only a half game behind them. Hoppers are in 3rd place, three and a half games behind Hickory. It’s still mathematically possible for the Hoppers to win the 2nd half outright, but the easier route to the playoffs is going to be with Hickory winning the 2nd half. Since Hickory won the 1st half, if they win the 2nd half, the other playoff spot goes to the team with the best overall record,, where the hoppers have a chance of coming out on top.
While it’s fun to think of the possibilities, all this depends on the Hoppers doing their part and winning games. They’re on fire right now, with a great winning streak. The best thing they can do is keep it going. The other teams are going to do what the other teams do, and we’ll just have to see what happens. Any way it rolls out, it looks like the final five-game series in Kannapolis is going to play a big part in whether or not there will post-season play for the Hoppers. I’ve actually got tickets for the whole series in Kannapolis, and am going to try to go to all the games down there.
Tomorrow’s the last regular home game of the year. I’m especially looking forward to it because I won a drawing at the ballpark this year where the prize was a party at the ballpark party deck, including dinner, for 40 people! If you’re at the game tomorrow, we’ll be hooting and hollering from the third base side, upstairs, under the “Miller Lite” signs. Big thanks to Sheetz for sponsoring the drawing, at to everyone at the ballpark (I’m especially looking at you, Todd) who is working to make it a special night for my friends and me.
A note to anyone who might be visiting from MLBlogs: welcome! Today, my other baseball blog — Baseball Haiku — was one of the featured blogs on MLBlogs. In addition to pointing out the baseball haiku I write every day, they mentioned the Hoppers Fan blog. Here’s a screenshot:
How cool is that? It’s truly a humbling experience to see my mug up there on the official page for all the MLBlogs, in the company of the other great blogs featured. I would never have imagined seeing my picture next to a picture of John Thorn, MLB’s official historian, for example. It was especially nice of MLBlogs to mention the Hoppers Fan blog while they were featuring the Baseball Haiku blog. Thanks!
Join the conversation by leaving a comment — what are you thinking?
See ya at the ballpark!
Email: hoppersfan@gmail.com
Twitter: @HoppersFan
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HoppersFan
Hoppers Win Unscheduled Double Header (8/25/2011)
History was made at Newbridge Bank Park last night, when the Greensboro Grasshoppers went nineteen innings against the West Virginia Power for the longest game ever played at the park. At nineteen innings, it was like going to a double header. Considering that double headers are shortened games at seven innings, it was almost like going to a triple header. The Hoppers were victorious. Check out the official box score and the game recap for the details. I’m sure Bill on Baseball will have something to say about it soon, too.
I only took one picture last night, and it didn’t come out well, but here’s the winning run about to reach base. This occurred over five hours into the game, at a little after midnight.
That’s Noah Perio coming into home well ahead of the throw on a Christian Yelich hit in the bottom of the 19th, to push the Hoppers ahead 5-4.
It was very, very cool to be at that game. By the time the game was over, there were probably more players on the field than there were fans in the seats. It didn’t help that it started raining sometime around the twelfth and didn’t let up until about the seventeenth. It wasn’t hard, slightly more than a drizzle, but it was persistent. Kudos to the grounds crew for keeping the field playable through the rain and to the umps for not calling a delay. That would have been extra crazy.
Because of the rain, I quit keeping score sometime around the thirteenth because my book was starting to get too wet. Also, the Power made a few defensive substitutions that were difficult for me to keep up with, including moving their second baseman to pitcher. So I’m going to study the official recap and finish my scorecard later.
I’ve got conflicts for the next three games, but I hope the Hoppers keep tearing it up while I can’t be there. I’m looking forward to getting back to the ballpark Monday for the last two home games.
Join the conversation by leaving a comment — what are you thinking?
See ya at the ballpark!
Email: hoppersfan@gmail.com
Twitter: @HoppersFan
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HoppersFan
Hoppers Nine-Hole Hitters Deliver The Win (8/24/2011)
Tonight’s Greensboro Grasshoppers game against the West Virginia Power was a true joy to attend on many fronts. Obviously, a Hoppers victory is always a pleasure. I also spent the evening at the game with Donald, one of my good friends. Finally, it was a huge day for adding to my autograph collection. The Hoppers won, 3-1. Check out the official box score and game recap for the details, but I think Twitter user @CBinder513 said it best:
Seriously, it was that exciting. You don’t usually expect decisive gameplay from the bottom of your lineup, but tonight, the Hoppers delivered. When the Power put a run on the board in the sixth inning, Joe Bonadonna responded by blasting a solo home run high over left field. At first, I thought it had drifted foul, but it was ruled fair. Especially since Joe doesn’t get as much playing time as his teammates, it was great to see him hit that homer. The official score had him going 1-2, but I scored his plate appearance in the fourth as a sacrifice bunt, so I had him 1-1. I don’t disagree with the official scorer, though. Then, with the score tied at 1 apiece, Noah Perio replaced Bonadonna in the eighth and hit a home run of his own, very high over right-center field. Isaac Galloway had just reached on a double, so Perio’s homer brought him in as well. It was pretty awesome. After last night’s loss, it was great to come back and get a solid win.
I’ve got a few pictures with highlights from the game, and a bunch of pictures on the Facebook photo album.
FIrst, let’s celebrate the promotion of the night by checking out Spaz, Mike, and Laura in their disco attire:
I totally want a big black fuzzy hat like Spaz has.
How about our starting pitcher, Zach Neal? I think this was his 2nd start after coming off the disabled list. He lasted three and two-third innings, allowed two hits, issued three walks, and one strike-out. I think it was a pretty good start for him. Here he is pitching:
Zach was replaced by Greg Nappo (whose autograph I got at Monday’s game), who pitched three and a third innings and delivered an impressive seven strikeouts. Four of those Ks were in a row — batters 2-5 that he faced. He allowed four hits, the only run, and issued just one walk. I was very impressed and hope that I get to see him pitch again before the season’s over. Here’s a picture of Greg pitching:
Finally, here’s a picture of Joe Bonadonna coming home after hitting his solo homer:
Earlier, I mentioned it was a great night for me for autographs. Let me show them to you. First, there were my baseball cards. I got Power’s pitcher Jameson Taillon‘s autographed on the two cards out of the SAL All-Star sets I have. I also got Hoppers Manager Andy Haines’ autograph on his card. Andy was especially kind to come back to the tunnel to sign my card before the game after having to do some actual baseball-related work just before they introduced the umpires.
I also got a couple of baseballs autographed. Jameson Taillon and one of my favorite Hoppers, Mark Canha. I’m going to miss Mark’s walk-up music next year — he always comes to the plate to Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone.”
Lastly, I got yet another Jameson Taillon autograph. This one is particularly special, because it’s on a photograph that another fan, Pete, took at last night’s game:
Seriously, this photograph is totally awesome, super-boss, and just plain cool. My scan came out OK, but the actual print is killer. I’ll be getting a frame for this and adding it to the baseball mini-museum I’ve started curating in an empty cube at my office. (I’ll write a post about that in the off season….) Super-big thanks go out to Pete for giving me a copy of this picture so I can add it to my autograph collection. Looking through some of the pictures he’s taken this year, I know exactly what’s going on my birthday/Christmas wish list this year: a nice telephoto lens suitable for sports photography. I had never considered taking pictures at the game, printing them out, and then bringing them to the next game for autographs. It’s super cool.
So, why all the focus on autographs from a West Virginia Power pitcher? Yeah, I’m the Hoppers Fan, but I also enjoy good baseball, and Taillon is a player to watch. He was last year’s number two overall draft pick (second to Bryce Harper). He’s got a fastball that flirts with 100mph. He’s got a nice curveball. And he’s just 19. He’s definitely got a major league career ahead of him. It was exciting to watch him work last night. And he was very gracious to autograph-seeking fans like me tonight.
To top all of that off, I got to hang with my buddy Donald for the whole game. He even bought me a hot dog and a drink. Even more — he grabbed a foul ball tonight that bounced off the upper deck and headed back our way. As soon as he picked it up, he handed it to the kid in the row in front of us. Made that kid’s day. I’m not sure a better evening of baseball could be had.
Here’s how I had the game scored. Check out the action that Bonadonna and Perio delivered in the sixth and eighth innings.
Remember, you can click on any of the pictures in the post to embiggen them. Check out the photo album on Facebook for all the pictures. Join the conversation by leaving a comment — what are you thinking?
See ya at the ballpark!
Email: hoppersfan@gmail.com
Twitter: @HoppersFan
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HoppersFan
Almost An Amazing Comeback (8/23/2011)
Yesterday’s Greensboro Grasshoppers game against the West Virginia Power was tense. At one point, the Hoppers were down 0-7. Then, in the sixth and seventh, they rallied to tie the score 7-7. I started getting my scoresheet ready for extra innings, because I thought it was going to go that far. The eighth was scoreless. Then, in the ninth, the Power got a 3 run homer, taking the score to 7-10. The Hoppers managed to get two runs on the board in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough, and they lost 9-10.
Why did they lose? Errors. Greensboro had 3 errors (West Virginia had 2), and several of those errors allowed runs to score. The errors were killing me and most of the fans had given up on the team. But baseball doesn’t work that way. Things looked like they were going to turn around. It made for an exciting end of the game, just not the result we would have liked.
Check out the official box score and game recap for the details.
Since I’m behind on my blogging, I’m going to keep this one short and try to write an entry about tonight’s game before I go to bed. In the mean time, check out the latest Bill on Baseball post: Another number comes into play. Bill describes the elimination number and how it figures into the final push at the end of the season. In the comments, I ask how Hurricane Irene might also factor into the final games and Bill flushes out a few scenarios.
Finally, here are a few pictures from the game. First, Alex Caldera pitching:
Now, how about Danny Black backing off from a little chin music:
Finally, here’s how I had the game scored. Check out the bottoms of the sixth and seventh to see the phenomenal rally that the Hoppers put up, and the ninth to see how it just wasn’t quite good enough:
Remember, you can click on any of the pictures in the post to embiggen them. Check out the photo album on Facebook for all the pictures. Join the conversation by leaving a comment — what are you thinking?
See ya at the ballpark!
Email: hoppersfan@gmail.com
Twitter: @HoppersFan
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HoppersFan
Big Error In 9th Creates Walk-Off Win For Hoppers (8/22/2011)
The Greensboro Grasshoppers are back in town for a 9 day homestand: four games against the West Virginia Power and five games against the Delmarva Shorebirds. We pretty much need to sweep the entire homestand in order to set ourselves up for a playoff spot. We got off on the right foot tonight with a 4-3 win, that went all the way to the bottom of the ninth.
Starting for the Hoppers tonight was Kyle Winters, who pitched five innings, and was set up for the win with the Hoppers leading 2-1 at the bottom of the fifth, when he was relieved by James Leverton. Kyle ended up with no decision however, as the score became tied 3-3 in the top of the ninth. Leverton was replaced by Michael Brady, who came away with the win when he Hoppers scored in the bottom of the ninth on a big error by West Virginia.
Here’s how the bottom of the ninth went down. Batting out of the seven-hole, Danny Black singled on a nice hit to right field. J. T. Realmuto followed with a nice sacrifice bunt that pushed Danny to second. Isaac Galloway singled on a ground ball to first base, but the first baseman made a fielding error that allowed Danny to score from 2nd base. And that was the game. The Hoppers had pretty good command of the game, but when West Virginia scored those two runs to tie it in the ninth, it was starting to get tense. When the Hoppers got the win, everyone mobbed the field in celebration.
These are the results we need if we want a shot at post-season play.
Want to see Kyle Winters pitching? I thought so:
How about James Leverton? I thought so, too:
How about Player Of The Game Danny Black hitting a single? Yeah, I’ve got that for you:
Lots more pictures on the Facebook photo album. I actually managed to get some action shots of every Hoppers batting this time. So if you want to see any of them, be sure to check out the full album.
Before the game, Greg Nappo was signing autographs at the autograph table. I got his autograph on one of my baseballs:
And here’s how I had the game, without bothering to do the stats. Look how tense that ninth inning was:
That’s it for me. Tomorrow’s another day, another game. Let’s keep winning.
Remember, you can click on any of the pictures in the post to embiggen them. Check out the photo album on Facebook for all the pictures. Join the conversation by leaving a comment — what are you thinking?
See ya at the ballpark!
Email: hoppersfan@gmail.com
Twitter: @HoppersFan
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HoppersFan
Pictures From Last Game Against Augusta (8/17/2011)
OK, with an eight game home stand starting tonight, I realize that I’m simply not going to get around to writing up a review of last Wednesday’s day game for the Greensboro Grasshoppers vs. the Augusta GreenJackets. The GreenJackets won in an enjoyable game to watch. I’d love to see these teams battle again in the post-season for the championship. Augusta’s on a good track to make it there. Greensboro has a lot of work to do.
I did take lots of pictures, which are all on the Facebook photo album. But I’d like to go ahead and share one picture here, of Wilfredo Giminez getting ready to take a pitch.
Looking forward to the next string of games. The season’s almost over, so every game needs to count. For a good breakdown of what the Hoppers need to do to make some postseason dreams happen, check out the latest Bill on Baseball blog entry: Big push needed in final homestand.
Remember, you can click on the picture in the post to embiggen it. Check out the photo album on Facebook for all the pictures. Join the conversation by leaving a comment — what are you thinking?
See ya at the ballpark!
Email: hoppersfan@gmail.com
Twitter: @HoppersFan
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HoppersFan
Hanging With The Bus Driver
Yeah, I know I owe the blog a post from Wednesday’s day game. Short version: Hoppers lost. I’ll get a few pictures and my write-up posted soon. Check out Bill on Baseball: On to Lakewood in the mean time.
Enjoy this picture that Hoppers Fan photo corespondent Eli took. Left to right: me, Bill (the bus driver for Augusta), Patrick (Eli’s dad), Todd (friendly Grasshopper employee). Five year old Eli captured the moment.
Here’s what Patrick had to say about the picture:
I know, why do you want a picture with the bus driver? I don’t know, just thought it would be something different. Besides, he drives a bus with “Abbott” on the side, and for a baseball team at that. Just wanted to share this brief moment Sunday, a time none of us will ever forget, seen through the eyes of a 5 yr old…. And Todd, thanks for humoring me. I’ve always said you guys go above and beyond for the fans.
Thanks for sending the picture my way, Patrick and Eli. I think it’s cool.
I ended up having a great chat with Bill before the game. Turns out in addition to currently driving the bus for Augusta, he used to drive the bus for Greensboro. I saw him at the ballpark every day for the series against Augusta and we watched several of the games together. He’s a great guy to watch a game with, and I’m glad to have met him. It would be nice I got to see him again in September.
Speaking of September, the Hoppers still have a chance at the playoffs, but it continues to be tough. So far, they’re 1-2 for the series at Lakewood, so the best we can hope for is a split if they win tomorrow’s game. They are going to have to work hard when they get back to Greensboro if they want to play in the postseason.
Hoppers Deliver A Spanking To The GreenJackets (8/16/2011)
The Greensboro Grasshoppers beat the Augusta GreenJackets by such a wide margin (13-2) tonight that it’s almost embarrassing to talk about. Except for Danny Black, every Hoppers starting position player scored at least one run. Kyle Winters appeared to have an off night for his latest start after recently coming off the DL (he pitched three and two-thirds innings and didn’t get the win), but James Leverton’s relief pitching was good enough to easily carry throughout the rest of the game. Combined with both poor pitching and poor offense from the GreenJackets, the Hoppers came away from this game with an easy win. Check out the official box score and game recap for the details. There’s also a nice story from the GreenJackets perspective of the game: GreenJackets Held to Five Hits in 13-2 Setback. As of my writing this, Bill Hass hasn’t posted a story about tonight’s game on the Bill on Baseball blog, but I’ve got my fingers crossed that he’ll have some great insight from the players with their thoughts of how the game went down. Update: Bill’s blog entry about the game is up now: How to respond to a buzzing. He focuses on Perio’s two home runs, and includes thoughts from Perio about his performance.
I don’t have a whole lot in the way of pictures from this game, but here’s a shot of the latest GreenJackets pitcher to have the Hello Kitty backpack, Seth Rosin:
One of the autograph-seeking kids asked why he had a pink backpack and Seth’s response was it was because he gave up a homer (to Marcell Ozuna) in last night’s game. I wonder who will be wearing the backpack tomorrow. If they had enough backpacks, I’d make all four of tonight’s pitchers wear one.
Check out the Facebook photo album for the rest of the pictures I took tonight, including some pitching sequences of both Kyle Winters and James Leverton.
Offensively, the Hoppers looked great tonight. Like I mentioned earlier, everyone except Danny Black got to score: Noah Perio (x2), Marcell Ozuna, Christian Yelich (x2), Mark Canha (x2), Jacob Realmuto (x3), Wilfredo Giminez, Ryan Fisher, and Isaac Galloway. Four of those runs were homers — Noah Perio (x2), Mark Canha, and Jacob Realmuto. It was really impressive to watch Noah hit back-to-back homers in the third and fourth innings. I think they awarded him “Player Of The Game” for tonight based on his performance.
The Hoppers were aided in their win tonight by the fact that the GreenJackets just kind of fell apart. Going into the fourth inning, the game was tied 1-1. When Jacob Realmuto came to the plate as the second batter of the inning, the momentum dramatically shifted to the Hoppers’ favor. Realmuto reached base on an an error (charged to the first baseman) and ended up being the first of five runs scored that inning. I’m not even sure how many of those runs count as earned and how many count as unearned. But when that error occurred, I commented to a friend sitting next to me that it might turn out to be an extremely expensive error. I believe that it was. While the GreenJackets were able to score a second run in the sixth, they never really posed much of an offensive or defensive threat after committing that error. There were several times during the game when the Hoppers could have pressed for a greater advantage, but the unwritten rules of baseball kept them playing conservatively.
I’m glad to have the win in our column, but especially after the tense battle of yesterday’s game, it just doesn’t seem right to revel in tonight’s victory too much. We’ll see how tomorrow goes and if we can take the series or end up splitting it with the GreenJackets. This has been a really enjoyable series, and I’d love to see these two teams meet on the diamond again for the SAL championship title. Tonight’s win puts us four and a half games out of first — we gained a game since yesterday. So we’re inching our way up the ladder, staying in contention. If we keep this up, it’s going to go right down to the wire, and make for a very exciting end of the season.
Here’s how I had the game. Check out the impressive bottom of the fourth, and all the runs that were scored.
Remember, you can click on any of the pictures in the post to embiggen them. Check out the photo album on Facebook for all the pictures. Join the conversation by leaving a comment — what are you thinking?
See ya at the ballpark!
Email: hoppersfan@gmail.com
Twitter: @HoppersFan
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HoppersFan
GreenJackets Halt Hoppers Winning Streak (8/15/2011)
With tonight’s loss to the Augusta GreenJackets, the Greensboro Grasshoppers lose the momentum they’ve been gathering over their six game winning streak. Check out the official box score and game recap for the details. Bill on Baseball sums it up in his latest blog post: Winning streak ends. Here’s my quick recap. The only Hoppers runs came in from Marcell Ozuna: having reached on a double in the sixth and a solo homer in the eighth. Reviewing my scorecard, nothing else offensively jumps out at me as notable. The GreenJackets had a solo homer of their own. Their other two runs came from base runners who reached on a single. Their third run was especially disheartening for Hoppers fans, as it scored via a passed ball. And it turns out to have been the difference in the game.
That’s all I have to say about the game itself. Let’s look at some pictures. How about a series showing Christian Yelich hitting a double in the sixth?
The pictures I took of pitching didn’t come out good enough to include in the blog, but they’re on the Facebook album if you really want to see them.
Funniest picture of the day? GreenJackets reliever Mario Rodriguez leaving the tunnel before the game:
I think he got the “honor” of carrying the Hello Kitty backpack because prior to today’s game, he’s the last GreenJackets pitcher to give up a hit. He seemed to take the kidding about it in good stride.
As far as the possible playoff spot goes, tonight’s loss certainly doesn’t help. The Hoppers are currently in fourth, five and a half games out of first. The Hoppers need to win as many games as possible, especially since Kannapolis keeps winning and are currently holding on to the top spot in the division. We’ll see how tomorrow goes.
Here’s how I had the game:
Remember, you can click on any of the pictures in the post to embiggen them. Check out the photo album on Facebook for all the pictures. Join the conversation by leaving a comment — what are you thinking?
See ya at the ballpark!
Email: hoppersfan@gmail.com
Twitter: @HoppersFan
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HoppersFan
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