So in Spokane I had one of the funnest times you could have watching baseball on the road, with a baseball team that really does know how to come up with clutch hits (Hey Jareck!), timely pitching (Hector+Mike), and good intentional walking skills, even though the at-bat ends with a wild pitch that scores the winning run (David Thomas). To say it simply, I love this team.
I’ve gone on the road before, watching the C’s, in both Everett and Spokane.
The first time we went to Spokane it was for a day game, where less than 1,000 people showed up, for the Indians only afternoon game all year. It was a not-so-pleasant experience to say the least. I don’t even remember how we did.
The Everett trips, on the other hand, have been a blast. Other C’s fans have come out, and it has always been a fun experience.
This year, we chose four games in Spokane to go to, and each one was worth it, in their own ways.
The first game we saw there was Jareck West grand slam. Game 2 had another Jareck home-run, before a lightning delay. Game 3 had a 9th inning comeback, due in part to Rodney Rutherford and West. Game 4, had awesome pitching from Mike Hart, and two great dingers from Jeremy Barfield and Leo Gil.
The C’s were 3-1 when we were in Spokane, losing the game before we got there. But I must say, now I know more about the grind of minor league ball than ever before. No, I didn’t head to the stadium early, and no I didn’t go to Hooters after the games, but seeing up close, not behind the friendly confines of Nat Bailey, how emotional players can get, whether it be good or bad, I have a new respect for every player who has ever come through the doors of ‘The Nat’.
Jareck West is where I’ll start off. He hits a grand slam in the 9th inning, before hitting a home-run in his next at-bat, in the following game. You’d think he’d be happy with his series performance, after yet another great game the next night. Well, in the final game of the series he was still angry when he struck out, and was mad when he couldn’t get on base another time. I’ve seen players before who have had a good first couple games of a series, and then act like they don’t care at the end. ‘Wild’ West really showed the true meaning of minor league ball.
Jeremy Barfield is going to be one heck of a ballplayer when he’s older. He’s just 20 years old, and yet is 6′5. Barfield hit his second home-run of the year last night, and it was a shot. A few nights earlier, he’d made the nicest attempt for a foul ball, diving into the stands, reminiscent of something you’d see on SportsCentre. He didn’t come up with the ball, but his determination was amazing, and he is quickly becoming one of my all-time favourite C’s. It helps too, that he’s batting over .280, weeks after his BA was under .250.
Mike Hart, the C’s starter last night, was remarkable through 4 innings, but hurt his foot in the 4th. This was earlier in the inning, and instead of taking himself out of the game, he stayed in there, and proceeded to strike out the batter he was facing. That wouldn’t happen in the Majors. In the MLB if a guy gets a paper cut he’s out for two weeks. ‘Iron’ Mike? Nope, he stayed in and finished the inning, failing to give up a run.
Ryne Tacker, has had a tough season. His command has been lost on a few occasions, and his ERA shows that. Last night, he was throwing ball after ball in the dirt. Most pitchers would’ve come into the dugout after being pulled, and still high-fived their teammates after just three batters, trust me it’s happened. Or, if not, they’d slam their glove down, and toss everything in sight. Tacker didn’t. He shrugged off teammates, refusing to pump fists or anything in that nature, but also didn’t get upset, at least physically. Of course he had to be upset with how he pitched, but honestly keeping your composure physically can be tough, but he held it together.
And in regards to Manager Rick Magnante, he couldn’t be doing a finer job in my opinion. His third year at the helm of the C’s, the players love him, and more importantly he’s the kind of guy you want managing a short-season club. He doesn’t throw bases in the air (Hello, Wichita Wingnuts of Independent Baseball), he doesn’t scream at an umpire unless it’s to fire his team up, and he most importantly doesn’t get in the face of a 20 something year old ballplayer, whose made a mistake.
Instead, he explains what they did, and in my view, that’s all you can do at short-season baseball. I mean, at the same time, you can’t say "Great play," when a guy bobbles the heck out of a ball, but you can tell him what he did and hope he improves it.
That is to me, what short-season baseball is all about. A rally in the 9th inning, a home-run hot streak, a guy who even if he gets hurt wants to finish the inning. The guy who doesn’t want to make a scene and throw stuff in the dugout, instead keeping to himself, when he has a bad night. And a manager who explains mistakes, but not in an arrogant or explosive way.
At Nat Bailey, you tend to shrug off a guy’s error in the field for the C’s, and think if someone dives for a ball it’s amazing even if it’s 5 feet in front of him. On the road, that’s different. Every player dreams of playing for sell-out crowds, and if they make a mistake they’ll get mad, trust me, but they won’t let it get to them, as much as on the road when all the fans dis-like them anyways.
No Nat Bailey fan unless they’re drunk is gonna yell at their own player and say "You suck, learn how to pitch." They’re going to applaud the guy anyways, and hope he improves. And I’m not trying to single this pitcher out, but you can tell after a game on the road whether he really does know how to control himself after leaving to a crowd who thinks it’s hilarious at how many ‘dirt-balls’ a guy throws. It’s not his fault he has a bad night. I mean he can try to improve but if he doesn’t, we all have bad days don’t we?
I am more and more convinced after seeing all of these events, the C’s are destined for post-season glory. They’re 7 games back, but hey, the C’s play both Eugene and Salem-Keizer a combined 12 times. They play Everett half-a-dozen times as well. And maybe it will take a miracle for them to make the playoffs, but Miracles happen, just ask the US Olympic Hockey team from the Early-80s or the 1988 New York Mets, or even the Colorado Rockies of 2007. And if they play with as much determination as I saw on the road, they will make it.
Minor League Baseball isn’t about the hefty pay-checks, or the endorsements that come from Nike or Reebok, it’s about the smell of Peanuts and Cracker Jacks, and more importantly the love of the game. That is what Minor League Baseball is all about.
When you’re 8 games back going into the final 5-game series of the season, you might ask yourself, "Why am I doing this,"? Well, the 2008 Canadians didn’t and picked up a 3-1 victory over the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes. Thanks to the stellar pitching of Pedro Figueroa, and the amazing bat David Thomas had on the night, as well as Julio Rivera, the C’s pulled off the victory.
And this next congratulations is much overdue, as Rick Magnante, with the C’s win, now has 100 wins as a NWL manager. ‘Skip’ has worked tirelessly for this team, and since the club switch to short-season baseball, Magnante has held the job for the longest. Never given a superstar like Travis Buck in 2005 or Javier Herrera in 2004, Magnante has done wonders for the Canadians, and in the last three seasons I have never heard one player say anything bad about him. So to you, Rick, congrats!
Strong Salem-Keizer pitching, mixed with Vancouver having a so-so middle innings, saw the Volcanoes win the finale of a three-game set with the C’s. Ronny Morla hurled for the C’s, while the defence had Mitch LeVier, Jareck West, Jeremy Barfield, Rodney Rutherford, Jason Christian, Francisco Tirado and Dusty Napoleon. Julio Rivera completed the battery with Morla. Mike Lissman was the DH.
After a tough loss Tuesday night to Salem-Keizer, the Vancouver Canadians were looking to rebound in Game Two of a three-game set. The C’s sent Shawn Haviland out to the mound, as the Harvard Grad looked to pick up his second win of the short Northwest League season.