Tuesday, August 28, 2012

7/14/12 Gwinnett Braves 8, Louisville Bats 10

Louisville Slugger Field, Louisville, KY
Game 3 of 4

After dropping the opening game of the series, the first and only visit by the Braves to Slugger Field this season, the Bats trolled the Braves big time in the second game, a record-setting effort by the Bats that ended 22-1 in their favor.  There were many heroes in that game, and just as many goats.  Showing up at LSF with my daughter Chihiro, I was more excited about seeing Julio Teheran take the mound than anything else...the way the Bats season has been going, there aren't many chances that they will win tonight, and there aren't very many points of light on the roster...well, OK, there are a few that showed up here recently, but for the most part, it has been Dioner Navarro that has been the picture of offensive consistency for AAA Louisville...and he delivered something special and bizarre at the same time.
Teheran started off coolly, yet ended his night with a thud after 6.2IP and 5R (4ER) that started after a 2nd inning 3-run HR by recent roster addition Xavier Paul.  True, the Braves had their way with Bats RHP Chad Reineke, who worked himself away from the ball after 3.1IP of sweaty disassociation, and 7R (6ER), giving up 2 HRs in the process.
The combined bullpen of Kanekoa Texeira, Carlos Fisher, Travis Webb, and Donnie Joseph held the Braves to only 1 more run, 5 hits, 1BB and 4K in their combined 5.2 innings of relief.  Even still, the Bats entered the bottom of the 9th down by 3 runs, and it looked like RHP Jaye Chapman had their number.  Appearances can be deceiving.

Cody Puckett stuck out swinging to lead off, then PH/3B Mike Costanzo came through with a rocket 0-1 double to deep RF.  Chapman walked Denis Phipps, he and Costanzo are stranded after Didi Gregorius lined out to RF (Gregorius reached base on an exciting wild-pitch strikeout in the 7th, and eventually scored).  Corky Miller (who had been 1B coach all evening) steps up to the plate to pinch-hit, and is walked to load the bases with 2 outs.  Miller's patience was the key to this walk, but Chapman inexplicably walked Neftali Soto with the bases loaded to bring in Costanzo.

What happened next admittedly happened so fast it was difficult for most of us in the stands to understand.  Dioner Navarro takes a 1-0 pitch for what seemed to be a ground rule double, which would have tied the game.  In deep RF, the ball seemed to bounce back into the field once it hit the wall, just missing the yellow goal line.  The account that was published in the 7/15/12 edition of the Louisville Courier-Journal recounted the event in this manner:

This was an odd one right down to the end - and beyond.  Navarro...sent a line drive into the right-field corner that kicked back onto the field.  First-base umpire Will Little signaled home run, and the Bats exploded out of the dugout to celebrate...
Gwinnett manager Dave Brundage said his players told him that a fan interfered with the ball in the corner, causing it to bounce back onto the turf.  he pleaded with the umpires, who huddled for a few minutes before upholding the original call.
"My players were arguing that it hit the guy in the arm as he was reaching for the ball," Brundage said.  "I personally couldn't see it because I was in the dugout.  I just saw how it ricocheted.  It would have been a ground rule double."
When Navarro was asked if he thought it was a home run, he said: "I don't know.  I was running.  I saw the umpire (make the home run signal)."

Well, that happened...a walk-off GRAND SLAM.  As for the dugout exploding, well it didn't really happen that way...there was a joyous pilgrimage to the plate by Navarro's teammates, but from where I sat, they seemed as confused as the rest of us.  While the umps were huddling, our friend Jimmy (with his trusty AM radio) relayed the ensuing controversy...when the huddle broke up, the game was over, officially.

Did it really happen?  I wasn't the only one present who thought it was a ground rule double, but as we know in baseball...the umpires have the final say.

1st Inning:
Braves RHP Julio Teheran warming up




Bats CF Denis Phipps faces Teheran



 Bats SS Didi Gregorius faces Teheran



2nd Inning:
Braves 2B Lance Zawadzki faces RHP Chad Reineke









4th Inning:
Braves CF Jose Constanza (the bat-licking guy) faces Reineke



Braves SS Josh Wilson faces Reineke
 ...Jose Constanza at 2B

RHP Kanekoa Texeira takes the mound, in relief of Reineke


Braves LF Felix Pie faces Texeira


Bats RF Xavier Paul faces Teheran




Bats 2B Chris Valaika (who wears sandals off the field) faces Teheran





 #shadows


Bats LF Cody Puckett, looking like he might be featured in the Little League World Series

5th Inning:
Braves C Jose Yepez faces Texeira...I tried to capture his truly sweet swing but the best I could do was frame his most excellent batting stance...


Zawadzki grounds out, 1B Neftali Soto (SOH.......toe) to Texeira

7th Inning:
Gregorius reaches first on a Wild-Pitch strikeout, Corky Miller is the 1B coach
runner going...


RHP Jaye Chapman in relief of Teheran...a few days later, Chapman was picked up by the CUBS



9th Inning:
Swith-hitting Zawadzki on the opposite side of the plate, facing LHP Travis Webb


Bats PH Corky Miller faces Chapman with 2 on and 2 out...he would draw a free pass to load the bases


For today's Mystery Rookie Card game, my pull was kind of surprising...I tend to pick lower-tier prospects who not only never panned out, but that I've never seen play before.  Today was different, as I selected this 2008 Upper Deck Hernan Iribarren RC...we just saw Iribarren barely a month ago, in the Colorado Springs Sky Sox lineup at this memorable game.  Iribarren is a Venezuelan IF/OF with 9 years of Minor League service.  He originally signed as an amateur free agent with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2004, and was a fixture in their system through 2007.  He was called up to AAA Nashville in 2008, and played in 12 games for the Brewers in MLB in both 2008 and 2009.  He was selected on waivers by the Texas Rangers in early 2010, playing 128 games and batting .275/.333/.385 for the AAA Oklahoma City RedHawks that year.  In January of 2011 he signed as a free agent with the Colorado Rockies, but didn't play professional ball at all that year.  Iribarren re-signed with the Rockies in 2012 and is batting .304/.373/.379 for the Sky Sox, playing the majority of his games in CF and at 2B.

Chihiro's pick was this 2008 Upper Deck Timeline Chin-Lung Hu, who signed with the Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 2003.  Hu spent 2003-2010 in the Dodgers farm system, playing a handful of games with the Major League club in 2007-2010, until he was traded to the Mets for pitcher Michael Antonini in December of 2010.  He was granted free agency in late 2011 after playing 22 games with the Mets (.050/.091/.050...ewww, gross) and 13 games with the AAA Buffalo Bisons (.194/.219/.258).  Hu also played Australian Baseball with the Adelaide Bite in 2011, sporting a slightly more impressive triple-slash of .277/.328/.437 while down under.  Without any considerable Major League interest, Hu signed with the Southern Maryland BlueCrabs (of the Independent Atlantic League) in 2011 and is holding his own with .296/.351/.402 in 50 games.

UPDATE: Immediately following the 4th game of the series, the Braves and Reds made a "cross-dugout" trade that swapped IF Paul Janish for RHP Todd Redmond, who started game 1 of the series.  A great move, as Todd's "invisi-ball" is semi-legendary and his sub-4 ERA with Gwinnett in 2011 and 2012 can only mean good things for the Reds and their dangerous vacancy of Major League-ready pitching available for call up from the Minors...did I also mention that Redmond famously threw a no-hitter against Louisville in 2010?  Oh...okay...




Official Program #3, featuring Kristopher Negron

Official Scorecard #3, featuring Corky Miller...and autographed tonight by Corky Miller!!

Bat Chat





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