August 29, HotCut in the Desert: $10 Gets You Major League Baseball in Tampa, Pick Any Seat in the House
I was sitting at the dealership waiting to hear if I needed new tires when the HotCut rolled on, as good as new: HotCut in the desert!
The Nationals put up two runs in the last half of the third when Daniel Murphy punched his way out of an 0-2 hole by fighting a high Vance Worley fastball back up the middle, scoring Wilmer Difo and Jackson.
I have taken to Twitter to see where Robert Ford is at. It turns out he had his appendix removed when the Astros were in Southern California! Incredible—that his absence is not Harvey-related at all. He will be off the air for a couple of weeks. He is tweeting a lot and surely listening to this game as I am.
They are reminiscing about guys they both played with during their MLB careers (Doug Brocail seems to be a favorite). They're also talking some Hurricane Harvey. Blum is giving kudos to his wife for holding down their fort somewhere in Houston, looking after their four girls and dog. Sparks is listed as a resident of Sugar Land, TX. I'm sure he spoke about his personal situation earlier but I missed it.
Blum does part-time work on the TV side for the Astros. His voice does sound somewhat familiar. To the 8th, it's still 11-2 Rangers.
Yasiel Puig hits his 24th home run of the year, he's at 60 RBI. I've got Greg Schulte and Tom Candiotti calling this HotCut on Diamondbacks radio. Adrían went 3-U. Logan Forsythe fans on a sinker. Let's see if Hill returns for the second.
It's the top of the third and Chris Taylor "who always seems to hurt the D'Backs does it again." It's now a 5-3 game. This is Curtis Granderson and the count is 3-and-0. Granderson sees more pitches per plate appearance than any other NL hitter. He strikes out at a higher rate but I heard a stat that he's been above a .900 OPS since some date in May (his OPS is .869 since the All-Star break...his OPS was 1.153 in June and 1.081 so far in August but he had an off month in July at .635).
The count runs full, Granderson strikes out. Justin Turner bats with two out. He doubles, his 24th. Grandal singles to center on "a cutter or a curve that didn't break." The tying run is on base for Puig.
Area 51
Nine hours later I was washing dishes after cooking pasta, squash and garlic bread when I heard Bob Carpenter call Stanton's 51st home run. That was three innings ago. Stanton has since faced Nationals starter Edwin Jackson again, whiffing on a slider low and away.The Nationals put up two runs in the last half of the third when Daniel Murphy punched his way out of an 0-2 hole by fighting a high Vance Worley fastball back up the middle, scoring Wilmer Difo and Jackson.
Toothpick Sighting
Dee Gordon singled, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and now will score on a Stanton flyout to deep left center. It's 3-2 Nats.Astros at Home on the Other Side of the Gulf
Displaced by the ravages of Hurricane Harvey, the Houston Astros are playing host to the Rangers tonight in Tampa, FL. I don't have it on TV but on the radio feed Tropicana Field sounds as cavernous and empty as ever. Maybe I'm projecting—and maybe it's because the Astros are being walloped 11-2—but I hear a tiredness and a sadness in Steve Sparks's voice on Houston radio, KBME. He was discussing the possibility that the Astros, who had been on the road in Anaheim this past weekend, will remain on the road for the foreseeable future. The Astros were supposed to host the New York Mets this weekend but that series might also be played at Tropicana Field in Tampa.Paging Robert Ford
It seems Sparks is flying solo. Doubtless early in the broadcast he indicated where his partner Robert Ford is at. I would label Ford the play-by-play man on the team, Sparks the color man. The Texas Rangers broadcast team has been assisting Sparks tonight. Right now Matt Hicks is joining Sparks on the Houston call. Earlier Eric Nadel joined Sparks, who has suggested he needs all the help he can get. It's a strange but necessary arrangement in a difficult time.I have taken to Twitter to see where Robert Ford is at. It turns out he had his appendix removed when the Astros were in Southern California! Incredible—that his absence is not Harvey-related at all. He will be off the air for a couple of weeks. He is tweeting a lot and surely listening to this game as I am.
Geoff Blum Sighting
I had recognized Matt Hicks's voice joining Sparks—I could not have told you, "Hey, that's Matt Hicks." But I knew I knew the voice. A voice that didn't sound nearly as familiar has joined Sparks this inning. It is that of Geoff Blum, a figure we know from the 2005 World Series. He hit a big home run for the White Sox in Game 3, the longest World Series game ever in terms of hours and minutes (5 hrs, 41 minutes). I remember watching that game, amid snooZes, in that brown La-Z-Boy I've had lo these years, in the apartment B and I had together in Austin.They are reminiscing about guys they both played with during their MLB careers (Doug Brocail seems to be a favorite). They're also talking some Hurricane Harvey. Blum is giving kudos to his wife for holding down their fort somewhere in Houston, looking after their four girls and dog. Sparks is listed as a resident of Sugar Land, TX. I'm sure he spoke about his personal situation earlier but I missed it.
Blum does part-time work on the TV side for the Astros. His voice does sound somewhat familiar. To the 8th, it's still 11-2 Rangers.
$10 Tickets
I'd like to be a fly on the wall at this game. Are the concession stands open? All proceeds are going toward Hurricane Harvey relief efforts. The paid attendance for this game tonight in the Trop is 3,485. Catcalls abound.HotCut in the Desert Night
It's 5-0 Diamondbacks, bottom one, Rich Hill is 32 pitches deep, a backdoor cutter gets Adam Rosales looking. Ross Stripling is warming. Hill fans Godley to escape the inning. He didn't walk anyone but Arizona had six hits. AJ Pollock hit a 2-run homer. It is a jarring result for Hill on the heels of his near no-hitter the last time out in Pittsburgh.Yasiel Puig hits his 24th home run of the year, he's at 60 RBI. I've got Greg Schulte and Tom Candiotti calling this HotCut on Diamondbacks radio. Adrían went 3-U. Logan Forsythe fans on a sinker. Let's see if Hill returns for the second.
It's the top of the third and Chris Taylor "who always seems to hurt the D'Backs does it again." It's now a 5-3 game. This is Curtis Granderson and the count is 3-and-0. Granderson sees more pitches per plate appearance than any other NL hitter. He strikes out at a higher rate but I heard a stat that he's been above a .900 OPS since some date in May (his OPS is .869 since the All-Star break...his OPS was 1.153 in June and 1.081 so far in August but he had an off month in July at .635).
The count runs full, Granderson strikes out. Justin Turner bats with two out. He doubles, his 24th. Grandal singles to center on "a cutter or a curve that didn't break." The tying run is on base for Puig.
Postscript
Waking up in the middle of the night I looked at my phone. There was a text from you:
Where in the heck is Trout?
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