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MLB ROAD TRIP 2001
2001.8.8 <VOL.27> Days 108-116
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*We are in New Orleans
Index
1. A tough week
2. San Diego
3. Texas thrillers
4. Louisiana Lightning
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A tough week
We are in New Orleans today, right in the middle of a nice thunderstorm as the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry pelt the city. This is the first major storm we have experienced in a couple of months, and it makes it very hard to believe that it was only a week ago when we were in sunny San Diego. Since then we have driven over 2000 miles, seen games in San Diego, San Antonio, Houston (twice), and New Orleans, and hiked in Guadalupe National Park. But although the rain may be dampening New Orleans, it is not dampening our spirits at all. But the weather is affecting our e-mail schedule - this update was supposed to be sent out last night, but rain delayed the start of the ballgame for 2.5 hours. The game ended at around 12:20 am and we arrived at our hotel 30 minutes later, far too late to write a coherent update. By the way, there's more on the game we saw below - it was one of the best minor-league games we have seen so far.
This update will be a bit sparse as we hope to drive to Tampa Bay tomorrow, which is another 700 miles, so please forgive us. If you need more detail, check the website, it will be updated with Houston and New Orleans info in a couple of days.
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San Diego
San Diego has made it into the top three cities on the trip, along with Chicago and San Francisco. This city is so clean, it is amazing. The weather is perfect, sunny but not humid. Lots to see and do, a cool trolley system that takes you right to the Mexican border as well as the ballpark, and friendly residents. I guess you would be friendly too, if you were fortunate enough to live here. For me, San Diego is probably the most livable city in the country - it is apparently the 6th largest city in the U.S., but comes across as a small town without many of the problems one would associate with big cities. And with L.A. just a couple of hours away, there are plenty of sports teams to watch - clearly San Diego has it all.
Unfortunately, we were only able to spend two days here, but the Padres are planning to open a new ballpark downtown in 2004. So we hope to return for MLB Road Trip 2004, and we will update you all on the new digs at that time.
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Texas Thrillers
Our second swing through Texas was short, but in that time we saw two great games. The first was in San Antonio, where the Missions are the AA Texas League team for the Seattle Mariners. Aya was interested to see which players would be joining Ichiro in a couple of years, while I was looking forward to watching the visiting Round Rock Express, 2000 Minor League Team of the Year, and a team with one of the best pitching staffs in the minor leagues this year.
The Texas League has a split season and Round Rock had won the Western Division's first half, while San Antonio was leading the second-half standings, so a good game was in store. League strikeout leader Carlos Hernandez started for the Express and shut down the Missions for nearly 8 innings, allowing only 1 run. Round Rock scored 2 runs in the 7th and another in the 8th to take a 3-1 lead into the ninth. But the Express bullpen couldn't hold the lead and in the bottom of the ninth, the Missions tied the game on a 2-run homer. Extra innings came and so did the rains - but the umpire refused to stop the game, despite protests from both benches. It was the right decision, as the storm soon passed, and the game continued into the 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th innings. Finally, in the bottom of the 15th, San Antonio managed to get runners to first and third with nobody out and the next batter hit a deep fly ball, so deep, in fact, that it cleared the fences and San Antonio won 6-3. Props to San Antonio's fans, most of whom waited through the rain and the 6 extra innings to see their team win a key game.
The second game we saw was the Expos at Houston on Saturday. Roy Oswalt was the starter for Houston and he was amazing. After 6 innings, the Expos had not managed a hit. Tomo Ohka, the starter for Montreal, was almost as good, giving up only 2 hits through six innings. In the 7th, Mike Mordecai ended Oswalt's no-hit bid with a single, and the fans were obviously disappointed. But the Astros' offence seemed to take their cue from Mordecai as they battered Ohka and Brett Reames for 4 runs in the bottom half of the 7th. The final was 4-1 Houston, but the 6 inning no-hit bit by a rookie will be a highlight of this trip.
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Louisiana Lightning
Yesterday, we drove through lots of rain and arrived at Zephyr Field in New Orleans to watch Calgary play the Zephyrs. I was looking forward to this game as Tim Redding was scheduled to start for New Orleans. Redding is one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, having moved up from AA to the majors this season, although he was recently sent back to AAA to get some more innings.
The rain, however, was still a problem. It had followed us into town and had forced the start of the game to be delayed. Most of the fans had left as it appeared as if the rain wouldn't stop, but still the game wasn't called. We sat around waiting, and were finally rewarded at 9:10 when the grounds crew removed the tarp. The game got underway at 9:35, a full 2.5 hours after the scheduled start. The fans who remained had demonstrated patience above and beyond, and the Zephyrs rewarded them with $1 beers for the entire game.
But the game itself turned out to be worth staying for. Redding showed why he should be a mainstay in the Houston rotation for years to come, mowing down the Calgary batters one after another. Preston Wilson, the Marlins' centerfielder, was playing for Calgary on a rehab assignment and even he was perplexed by Redding's stuff, going 0-3. After 7 innings, Redding had not yielded a hit, although Calgary had managed a run on a hit batsmen, stolen base, error, and groundout. In the 8th, with one out, a Calgary batter finally got to Redding, driving a double down the line. The few remaining fans groaned as their dreams of watching a no-no evaporated, but Redding got out of the inning.
The final was 6-3 New Orleans, but the story will be Redding. His fastball was unhittable, which is why I have dubbed him Louisiana Lightning, with apologies to Ron Guidry. This guy will be back in the big leagues soon, and if you have a chance to see him in a ballpark near you, take it - he will be very famous very soon.
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The next few days should prove tough as well, as we will visit Tampa Bay, Miami, and Key West in the next week. After that, things should calm down as we enter our homestretch - the minor league season ends in a few weeks and we don't have that much driving left after we leave Florida. The pennant races are underway and we hope to see some key games in New York, Boston, and Atlanta, and we will let you know about them later. Until then, take care everybody.
Talk to you later,
Sean and Aya
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