Ron's Baseball Blog

8/15/11-Coca-Cola Field

mlblogsscorekeepingaddict — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 05:34:40 +0000

Went to see the Bisons take on the Durham Bulls in a doubleheader, as the game on Sunday was rained out. I got to the ballpark about 10 minutes before first pitch and took the time to get lineups off the HD video board. Andy Sonnanstine pitched the opener for the Bulls and performed very well, going 6.1 innings and giving up 1 run on 7 hits, striking out 5 in a winning effort. Brandon Guyer hit a sacrifice fly to left in the third to put Durham up, 1-0. The Bisons responded in the bottom of the inning with a Zach Lutz single that scored Fernando Perez. Tim Beckham would triple home the winning run in the top of the 5th.

In the 6th inning, I caught a foul ball that took a crazy hop after hitting the screen on the Herd’s dugout. I had caught a ball thrown by Bisons first baseman Valentino Pascucci, but gave that one to a kid, so I considered this ball a sign of good karma. I would have caught a second one, but the ball took a bad hop off the dugout roof. There was also a used eyeglass and hearing aid drive at the ballpark tonight, so I donated two pairs of glasses my mom had lying around and got two free tickets.

Game 2 started out better for the Herd. After falling behind, 1-0 on an RBI fielder’s choice by J.J. Furmaniak in the second inning, Raul Chavez hit a sac fly to center, then Fernando Perez hit a two-run homer to center field to put the Herd up, 3-1 in the bottom of the second. It would stay that way until the top of the 4th, when Durham CF John Matulia hit a solo shot to center to close the gap to one. It would stay that way until the top of the 7th, thanks to some spectacular fielding by the Herd. Bulls shortstop Tim Beckham doubled to open the 7th, then was sacrificed to third by Brandon Guyer. Stephen Vogt hit a sacrifice fly to center to plate Beckham and force extra innings. Russ Canzler led off the 8th with a solo shot off Mike O’Connor followed by back-to-back single, a sac bunt and fielder’s choice to load the bases. Tim Beckham then hit a grand slam to left to make it 8-3, Bulls. The Herd went down 1-2-3 in the 8th. I plan to redeem one of the freebies for Friday night’s game against Toledo.

9/6/10-Bisons 16, Red Wings 1

mlblogsscorekeepingaddict — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:55:14 +0000

ROCHESTER, NY-What a way for the Buffalo Bisons to end their 2010 season! The Herd pounded out 20 base hits in a 16-1 obliteration of their Thruway rivals, the Rochester Red Wings. Justin Turner became the first Bison in 74 years to earn six base hits in one game and the first Bison since 2004 to hit for the cycle. Turner went 6-for-6, scoring four of the Herd’s runs. Josh Stinson recorded a complete-game victory, giving up three hits, one run, walking two, and striking out four. Mike Cervenak was the only Bison to go hitless, going 0-for-5 with a walk. Turner, Russ Adams, and Andy Green each homered, with Turner and Adams hitting solo home runs, while Green hit a three-run blast in the ninth. The Bisons went 8-for-17 with runners in scoring position, while stranding nine men on the day.
Jacque Jones was the lone bright spot for the Red Wings, going yard in the seventh for Rochester’s sole tally. Jones finished 2-for-4 on the day, with Dustin Martin tallying Rochester’s other safety. Anthony Swarzak was charged with the loss, giving up seven hits, six runs (five were earned), and two walks, while striking out two. Jose Lugo gave up four hits and five runs in 1.1 innings of work, facing nine Buffalo batters. Rochester second baseman Toby Gardenhire, the son of Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, was moved to the mound, giving up three hits, and three runs in 0.2 innings of work. The Bisons finished with a record of 76-68, a twenty-game improvement form 2009, while the Red Wings finished 49-95, dead last in the IL North.

6/3/10- Stephen Strasburg Comes to Buffalo

mlblogsscorekeepingaddict — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 02:47:19 +0000

Stephen Strasburg pitched his final Triple-A game for the Syracuse Chiefs, and I had the privilege of attending the game. Strasburg went 5 innings, giving up three hits and a walk, while striking out 5 Buffalo Bisons to lead the Chiefs to a 7-1 win over the Herd. Strasburg also proved handy with a bat as well, going 1-for-2 and scoring a run. Interestingly, he conceded his only free pass to his counterpart, Dillon Gee, who struck out 7, but conceded 7 hits and 5 runs, only 2 of which were earned.
The Chiefs opened the scoring in the top of the third on a two-run blast by Pete Orr. Orr made it to the plate after Bisons first baseman Mike Jacobs missed Dillon Gee’s pick-off throw, enabling Boomer Whiting to advance to second. Jacobs would commit another costly error in the top of the fourth, enabling Strasburg to move to second. Strasburg would score on Chase Lambin’s groundout to Gee, putting the Chiefs up 3-0. Devin Ivany contributed a two-run homer in the sixth to put the Chiefs up 5-0. Chris Duncan closed out the scoring for Syracuse with a two-run blast in the eighth.
Jesus Feliciano scored Buffalo’s only run in the eighth on a Justin Turner single. Feliciano went 2-for-4 on the day, boosting his International League leading batting average to .388. A crowd of 14,774 witnessed Strasburg’s final appearance in Triple-A.
Having seen Strasburg pitch in person, I can say he shows promise. Strasburg will make his Major League debut on June 8 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. If he pitches like he did today, the Nationals could be a playoff team in a few years.

9/1/09 @ Coca-Cola Field

mlblogsscorekeepingaddict — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 03:52:09 +0000

Took advantage of my final opportunity to see the Buffalo Bisons in action for the 2009 season. The evening started with a Bisons calculator giveaway to the first 3,000 fans through the gates. After obtaining the lineups and filling out my scorebook, I got two slices of pizza for my dinner. There was also an end-of-season sale in the Batter’s Box gift shop with bobbleheads and ballpark replicas going for $3 apiece. I picked up Darryl Strawberry and Jhonny Peralta bobbleheads and a replica of Coca-Cola Field.
The Red Wings opened the scoring in the top of the second inning when Brock Peterson hit a two-run shot to left field. The Herd answered with a one-out, two-run double from Rene Rivera, plating Mike Lamb and Chip Ambres, In the top of the third inning, Rochester had men on first and second when second baseman Steve Tolleson hit a sharp liner to shortstop Argenis Reyes, who threw to second baseman Luis Rivera, who then threw to first to turn the first triple play at CCF since 1997. The Wings took the lead for good in the top of the fourth when Peterson singled home third baseman Danny Valencia to give the Wings a 3-2 lead.
Rene Rivera was one of the few bright spots for the Herd, going 2-for-3 with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth. Bison starter Kyle Snyder was saddled with the loss, giving up ten hits and six runs in five-plus innings of work. Armando Gabino took the win for Rochester, going six innings and giving up four runs on eight hits while striking out five. Anthony Slama earned the save, striking out five in two innings of work, with four of his K’s coming in the bottom of the eighth. Jason Dubois went down swinging, then Rene Rivera reached on a third-strike wild pitch, which still counted as a strikeout in baseball scoring rules. Javier Castillo and Luis Rivera then went down on strikes to complete the four-strikeout inning.
Rochester scored an insurance run in the top of the ninth inning when Steven Tolleson advanced on Adam Bostick’s wild pitch. The Bisons would go down in order in the ninth to seal their fate. After the game, there was a beautiful pyrotechnics display. The Bisons close the home portion of their schedule with a two-game set against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, then travel to Lehigh Valley for a five-game set to close out 2009.

6/28/09- Knights 7, Bisons 3

mlblogsscorekeepingaddict — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:35:23 +0000

Went to another Buffalo Bisons game at Coca-Cola Field today. They played the Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. The weather forced a 36-minute delay, so the first pitch was delivered at 1:41 PM. The Bisons jumped out to a 1-0 lead when right fielder Emil Brown singled home Jesus Feliciano, with Brown advancing to second base on the throw to home. Charlotte tied it in the second when third baseman Wilson Betemit grounded out to short, scoring DH Daryle Ward, who had advanced to third on two wild pitches. The bottom of the third inning saw the most absurd incident in my years as a baeball fan. With the count 1-2 on Bison DH Chip Ambres, the home plate umpire appeared to “punch out” Ambres, but the pitch was ruled a ball. Ambres eventually walked, scoring on Emil Brown’s two-run homer immediately thereafter. The lead would not last, as Charlotte plated two in their half of the fourth inning. The Bison offense stalled after Brown’s homer, managing three hits the rest of the way, while Charlotte exploded for four runs in their half of the sixth. Carlos Torres picked up his seventh win of the season, while Lance Broadway fell to 1-5 overall on the season.
I saw one of my high school classmates at the game. Christa Sharkey (nee Neal) was there with her sorority, Sigma Kappa. She brought her three daughters, Cara, Hanna, and Makenna to the game. Interestingly enough, one of her sorority sisters, Jen, won a dance-off sponsored by Famous Dave’s. Enjoy your dinner, Jen.
After the game, the Buffalo Bisons Boosters had a picnic in the Buffalo Security pavilion. I had two burgers and a hot dog. I got several autographs from Bison players, who took the time to acknowledge their fans. Thanks, guys. Catcher Robinson Cancel actually played in the last game at Shea Stadium.

6/18/09- Rainout @ Coca-Cola Field

mlblogsscorekeepingaddict — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 01:22:31 +0000

Hoping to see the Bisons game against Syracuse today, but Mother Nature wasn’t in the mood to cooperate, which was a bummer, as I had planned to see the game with John, my friend from high school. It was nice to see him again. John brought two of his daughters. Can’t believe he has six kids. After the game was called, I went to the St. Vincent DePaul thrift store on Main Street and found two cool Bisons souvenirs. One of them was a baseball glove with the team logo on the palm. The glove showed its age, with the finger laces missing. I browsed some of my old Bison programs and discovered it was a promotional giveaway from 1986, given to the 14-and-under crowd. Somehow, it fit on my hand. Don’t ask how that was possible. I also picked up a souvenir batting helmet. Total cost for the souvenirs: $2.
AFA the glove, I just need to get a glove re-lacing kit, but for now, I used an old shoelace to lace the fingers together. I also applied some glove reconditioner to it, which worked wonders, as it cleaned much of the filth off the glove.

Bats 4, Bisons 3

mlblogsscorekeepingaddict — Sat, 02 May 2009 17:27:26 +0000

Just when the Buffalo Bisons seem to have run out of ways to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, they find yet another way to blow it. Reliever Carlos Muniz gave up three hits, threw two wild pitches (one coming on a third strike), committed a throwing error, and conceded a game-winning sacrifice fly to send the Bisons to their seventh consecutive loss and franchise-record ninth straight loss at home.
The bullpen implosion rendered moot starter Jonathon Niese’s stellar performance. Niese struck out eight and gave up only three hits, but was left with a no-decision to show for it.
One of the bright spots was first baseman Wily Mo Pena, who went 1-for-4 with a three-run homer to right-center to account for all the Herd’s runs. Pena is 3 for 8 in his two games, although he could be called up to the New York Mets.
* * *
More bad news: Bison infielder Andy green fractured his left thumb and dislocated his pinky finger sliding into first base in the third inning and is headed for surgery. He will miss at least six weeks.
The paid crowd was 5,795, with about 1,500 in the house. Game Two was postponed to today, as rain wiped out the scheduled nightcap.

Twins vs. White Sox-Win or Go Home.

mlblogsscorekeepingaddict — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 03:09:04 +0000

Tuesday, September 30, 2008. Minnesota Twins vs. Chicago White Sox. One game. Winner clinches the AL Central Division. The loser goes home. 7:30 pm Eastern Time on TBS.

News and Notes

mlblogsscorekeepingaddict — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:26:24 +0000

Been following the events of the past few days diligently. I had Saturday off, so I decided to watch the Cubs-Cardinals game on FOX. Alfonso Soriano went 1-for-4 with 2 RBI’s, with Mark DeRosa and Ted Lilly contributing ribbies of their own to put the Cubs up, 5-0 after 4. The Cubs the staved off the Cardinals after Troy Glaus hit a 3-run homer to pull the Redbirds within 1. The 5-4 win clinched the NL Central Division title for the Cubs.
On Sunday, I watched the final game at Yankee Stadium. Johnny Damon had a three-run homer and Jose Molina became the answer to a trivia question when he hit the final round-tripper at the old Yankee Stadium. Andy Pettite pitched 5-plus innings to earn the last win at Yankee Stadium.
On Monday, the Buffalo Bisons signed a two-year player development contract with the New York Mets. The agreement means that fans at Dunn Tire Park will be treated to NL-style baseball whenever the Herd plays a National League affiliate (In Minor League baseball, pitchers bat if a game is played between two Senior Circuit affiliates).
One more thing: A postseason without the New York Yankees. I can’t wait.

Boxscore: NY Yankees vs. LA Angels – September 8, 2008 | MLB.com: News

mlblogsscorekeepingaddict — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 05:31:25 +0000

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2008_09_08_nyamlb_anamlb_1

I just finished scoring this game on the YES Network. Brandon Wood had a great night at the dish with 2 homers and Jon Garland was stellar on the hill. Did anyone see that incident where Torii Hunter and I-Rod were run? Looks like they could face some discipline.