Sea Dogs vs Fisher Cats

August 21 2013 Back in Portland on a 82 degree sunny day, On this day Sea Dogs star lefty Henry Owens was suppose to start. Since being called up from Salem he has gone 2-0 with a 1.20 era. So it was dissapointing when they announced that Miguel Pena was the starting pitcher for Portland. Nothing againsed him but I really wanted to see Owens pitch. But that is the way it goes. Pitching for the Fisher Cats was right hander Marcus Walden. He has gone 6-12 but a nice 3.68 era at this point in the season. Intersting note New Hampshire cleanup hitter Adam Loewen who has spent time with Baltimore and Toronto was down in double a trying to work his way back up. Worth noting that he started out as a pitcher in the big leagues starting in 2006 with Baltimore. Lately has been in rightfield working way his up as a position player.

While Owens pitched very well going 7 innings without allowing a run on 5 hits. Marcus Walden was just as good going 7 2/3. Sea Dogs got on the board in the 4th inning. Christen Vazquez singled with one out, Peter Hissy then got a knock of his own to advance Vazquez to third. Derrik Gibson then hit into a 5 to 4 fielders choice scoring Vazquez. He was later caught stealing to end the inning. The Sea Dogs held a very slim 1-0 lead going into the 8th inning. Jeremy Kuhrt was brought in from the bullpen to pitch the 8th inning. NH thirdbaseman Andy Burns singled with 2 out. Next up Kevin Nolan tripled to score Burns. Tied ballgame! Loewen struck out to end the inning. Bottom of the 8th rolled around. Shannon Wilkerson led off the inning and he was hit by a pitch. Ryan Dent then sacrificed him to second. Now with a runner in scoring position Garin Cecchini (who in his first at bat extended him on-base game streak) grounded out to third but that advanced the runner to third. Next up JC Linares then walked. Micheal Almanzar who has had a up and down season with Portland may have got the biggest hit of his season by lining a ball to the corner to right. That scored 2 runs, he ended up at third with a triple. To add to that Vazquez singled scoring Almanzar to make the score Portland 4, New Hampshire 1 in the 8th inning. So a great inning for the Sea Dogs. In the top of the 9th inning with a 3 run lead for Portland. Kuhrt continued to struggle allowing 4 base runners on which scored. He was replaced by Noe Ramirez who recorded the final out to end the game. Well as it turned out that would be the last Sea Dogs game for me for the 2013 season. Went down for the last game on September 1 but heavy rain that morning forced the Sea Dogs to cancel the game. Oh well, at least I got tickets to exchange for the 2014 season. But got one more Red Sox game on Sunday September 22 in Boston. The last regular season game at Fenway.

Sea Dogs lose to Squirrels again.

August 8 2013 Well my back to back games in Portland concluded with a day game vs the Richmond Flying Squirrels. It was a overcast afternoon at the ballpark, about 68 degrees. After a disapointing end to the previous night Sea Dogs game we are hoping for a win at Hadlock. Got my food, drink and went to section 105 right behind home plate and settled in. Before the game started Slugger the Sea Dog and his mascot friends had a parade around the field at Hadlock. That was interesting. Pitching for the Sea Dogs was Terry Doyle. (Seems like I've seen him many times this season, actually this is the 4th time I've seen him) Pitching for Richmond was righthander Craig Westcott who had coming in a 4-11 record with an era of 4.37. Doyle came out pitching strong retiring the first 7 batters he faced. He had help from Sea Dog outfielders Matty Johnson and Shannon Wilkerson with circus catches. In the 3rd Squirrels catcher Tyler LaTorre singled to break up the no-no. After another hit from Richmond Joe Panic singled in LaTorre to give the Flying Squirrels a 1-0 lead. But Doyle settled down and pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings until he gave up a 3 run homer to Joe Panic. By then the Sea Dogs haden't scored a run and were trailing 4-0. Doyle ended up pitching 7 innings giving up 8 hits 4 run (3 earned) 1 walk 4 strikeouts.

It was a quiet day for the Sea Dogs bats again. They did manage to get a run in the 7th inning when Matt Spring reached on an error by the third baseman. JC Linares then doubled, Spring to third. Ryan Dent then grounded out to third which advanced both runners. But that was all for the Sea Dogs offense. In the 8th inning Portland loaded the bases but could not get any one home. Garin Cacchini a mid season call up from Salem reached base 3 times by via the walk. His on base percentage coming into this game was .406. By far the leader for Portland. The next highest is Christian Vazquez at .366. Vazquez on the Red Sox 40man roster coming to the season we all know what he could do behind the plate defensively. But his bat was in question. But he has seemed to silence those critics by hitting .277 with 5 homers. So back to the game.. Portland brought in relief pitcher Miguel Celestino and let me tell you he was bringing heat! I was sitting near a scout. I could see his radar gun and several times it was reading 98 mph. Let me tell you that is pretty fast. He pitched well for Portland that afternoon going 2 innings 1 hit 0 runs he struck out 3. So with 2 out in the 9th Matty Johnson singled and Shannon Wilkerson struck out to end the game. Sea Dogs fell once again to the Flying Squirrels. This time 4-1. Next up August 21 vs New Hampshire.

Squirrels tame Dogs

August 7, 2013 Back in Portland for back to back games vs the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Richmond new to the Eastern League, recently become the double a afiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Many years Richmond was in the triple a International League as the Richmond Braves. Speaking of triple A, Chris Hernandez the starting pitcher for Portland was brought down from Pawtucket to Portland. This is to be is first start in Portland since last season. On the bump for Richmond was right hander Chris Gloor (8-5, 3.44 era, 21 starts). Sea Dogs bats got going in the first, Derrik Gibson led off the game with a double. Garin Cacchini with one out singled to drive in Gibson. So after one inning 1-0 Dogs. Hernandez meanwhile pitched great. He gave up a run in the 5th inning but that would be the only run he would give up in 6 1/3 innings. Offensive standouts for Portland was Shannon Wilkerson who went 2-4 with two runs scored. Cecchini who coming into the game .293 went 2-4 also. In the 3rd inning Portland added another run Michael Almanzar lined a hit scoring Wilkerson. With one out in the 6th Sea Dogs manager Kevin Boles pulled Hernandez who pitched a nice game. He brought in Franklin Morales who was in Portland for a re-hab assignment. He picked off the runner at first, gave up a single then got a fly to right to end the inning. Coming back out in the 8th was Morales. Squirrels catcher Navarro doubled. With the number nine hitter up he squared to bunt. Well he hit in the perfect spot beating hit for a infield hit. After a strikeout Morales was pulled. Former Cleveland Indian Rafeal Perez was brought in. With runners on 1st and 3rd and one out a sac fly to rightfield was hit to tie the game. So on to the bottom of the 8th. Derrik Gibson lead off the inning with a strikeout. Shannon Wilkerson singled. Next up Garin Cecchini doubled to bring in Gibson. So Portland had a slim one run lead going into the 9th. Perez still in the game which was a little suprising to me. Lets just say the inning did not go well. After a walk, homer, homer then finally a out. Perez was finally pulled from the game but the damage was done. Richmond had a 5-3 lead. Pete Ruiz came in and retired the side. Cody Hall pitched the 9th for Richmond. But Portland went down 1-2-3. Game Over. Tough game for the Dogs.

Watching the Sea Dogs in style!

July 27, 2013 Well little back story first. A while back when I was going to get tickets for the "Futures at Fenway" game. I decided to wait and get tickets. So I waited and waited. One day I saw online that tickets for the EMC Level were available. It was 30 bucks. So I jumped on it. It was just me going to this one. Now I thought I was going to sit in the old "600 club" at Fenway. That was not the case. I got to Fenway, went inside. I saw the sign that said EMC Level. So I walked up the ramp, saw the gentleman at that top showed him my ticket. He said last door on the left. So walked down the hallway opened the door. I walked in and what did I see?! I walked in saw a beautiful furnished room with drinks, food and a private bathroom. I quickly realised that I was in a private skybox at Fenway. Holy Cow!!!! I had to check 3 times to make sure I was in the right location. Sure enough it matched what it said on my ticket. I couldnt believe it! Once I realized this is where I was suppose to be, I stepped outside and saw the most increadible view of Fenway I've ever seen in person. Just fantastic!

So I grabbled and lemonade from the cooler and couple of slices of pizza that they dropped off and went outside to my seat in the skybox above the 3rd base dugout. ( I also didn't dare to leave fearing they wouldn't let me back in) But there was a baseball game to be played of corse. The Sea Dogs were the home team playing the Harrisburg Senators. Keith Couch was the lucky starter for Portland pitching at Fenway that afternoon. Senators leadoff hitter hit a leadoff triple to rightfield. He would later score on a sac fly. Couch showed some jitters in the 2nd walking two. One would score to give the Senators a 2-0 lead. The Sea Dogs answered in the bottom of the second scoring 3 runs. Hieker Meneses hit a double off the monster to give the Sea Dogs a 3-2 lead. Keith Couch would settle down. He pitched scoreless ball through the 7th inning. Back on the offensive side of the game for Portland, first baseman Travis Shaw got a little taste of what its like going yard at the Fens. 4th inning he it an inside fastball into the bullpen in right field. You know that had to be a big thrill for him. Turns out he was just a tripe shy of hitting for the cycle. He singled in the 2nd, homered in the 4th and doubled in the 6th. His last at bat in the 8th he struck out. I'm sure it was on his mind. So after two and a half hours the Sea Dogs prevailed with a 5-2 win. Few other notes about being in the skybox. As I was sitting up in there watching the game, I looked over to my right. Who did I see but Dwight Evans! Holy cow! Never been that close to a Red Sox hall of famer. But what a day overall. Probley the highlight of my summer. This is something definetly going to have to look into next year to to again. Next time I'll have to bring a crowd with me. (Fingers crossed!)

Going to the beginning to the minor leagues

July 26 2013-- Well went to check out some NY Penn League short season class A baseball. Saw the Hudson Valley Renegades (affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays) vs the Aberdeen Iron Birds (affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles) Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls NY was the site of this game. Opened in 1994, a nice little ballpark. It holds a little under 5,000. Its interesting that pitching is usually that dominates the NY Penn League. This game was no exception. For Hudson Valley lefty Ben Griset. He was dealing. Going 6 innings 4 hits 0 runs 0 walks and 7 strikeouts. You can really see the Tampa Bay Rays doing a great job in the scouting department. Hudson Valley scored 2 runs in the second inning on back to back hits from Darryl George and John Alexander. Interesting note for the Aberdeen Iron Pigs their rightfielder was Mike Yastrzemski grandson of Red Sox hall of famer Carl Yastrzemski. It was interesting by far he was the most polished position player on the field. He made a spectacular grab in right againsed the wall to take extra bases away. He also did it with the bat. In the 1st he was hit by a pitch, he then singled to right. In the 5th he struck out. But in the 9th with Aberdeen losing 3-0 he hit a line drive solo homer over the fence in right. So very impressive game for M Yaz. So fun night at the ballpark. It is always interesting to see the different levels of baseball. You definetly see the mistakes that is made in the lower levels of the minor leagues. But was really impressed with the Hudson Valley starting pitcher. Really knew what he was doing. Pitching inside, out, up, and down. Give credit to Tampa Bay and their scouting. So we'll see if in a few years if any of these guys advance. Who know mabey I'll see him again vs the Sea Dogs at Hadlock soon. Next Up: July 27 Sea Dogs vs Harrisburg at Fenway Park!

Round 2 in New Britain

July 24, 2013-- Round 2 in New Britain, CT. Also the last game of the series for the Sea Dogs. A beautiful day at the ballpark. Got there a little early. Strange that the gates don't open until an hour before the game. Figure it would be one and a half hour. Oh well. So I decided to go over next door and check out old Beehive Field. Now Beehive Field was the home of the old New Britain Red Sox. (before the Red Sox eastern league affiliate was in Portland then before Trenton NJ) Many past Red Sox and Major League stars played there. Roger Clemens, Mike Greenwell, Curt Schilling, Jeff Bagwell and so on. Compared to most the minor league parks I've been to it was kind of old and falling apart. Part of it was closed off to the public. But I believe it is used as a high school field today. As far as high school fields go its pretty sweet.

So on to new modern New Britain Stadium. Anthony Ranaudo was the starter for Portland. A tough year last season. He has bounced back to re-claim himself as a top pitching prospect for the Red Sox. Pitching for the Rock Cats was righty Virgil Vazquez who I saw a few weeks earlier pitch a 4 hit complete game vs Portland. Once again the Rock Cats answered first scoring in the 1st. Danny Santana led off the game with a single then stole second. After 2 outs Josmil Pinto doubled to score Santana. Luckly that is all New Britain would score for this game. In the second inning Dogs first baseman hit a long fly to center, it hit off the top of the wall and bounced away the center and right fielder. He was jugging around the bases he got to third Sea Dogs manager/3rd base coach was waving him in. Everyone was yelling "go!, go!, go!" But he just didn't quite have enough speed to make it all the way around. He got thrown out at the plate. So there goes my chance to see an inside-the-park homer. Wasn't ment to be. The Sea Dogs did manage to get 3 runs in the game. But Virgil Vazquez still managed to throw another complete game vs Portland. He threw strikes. Walking only 1 while striking out 8. No home runs for the game but a good game. Also great series sweep for the Sea Dogs to put the back into playoff contention. Also great back to back days in New Britain. Will try to get to more games down there in the future. Also will look into seeing the Dogs in Manchester, NH at some point. (Most likely next season). Next up: Going to see the Hudson Valley Renegades vs Aberdeen Iron Birds on Friday the 26th. Then back at Fenway the next day for Sea Dogs vs Harrisburg for the "Futures at Fenway".

Catching some Sea Dogs action on the road

July 23 2013--Well on vacation this week so lots of more baseball planned after the rainy night at Coney Island from the day before. So saw on the Sea DOgs schedule that they were in New Britain this week. After a doubleheader sweep from the night before the Dogs looked to add to there winning streak. Another win would get them closer to a wild card possibility. But back in New Britain for the first time since 2011. I like New Britain Stadium, kind of small like Hadlock. Interesting that there were quite a few Red Sox fans here. Turns out many were routing for the Sea Dogs. So on to the game. Pitching for the Sea Dogs for the 3rd straight game that I have attended is Terry Doyle. Even more interesting pitching for the Rock Cats is former ML pitcher Kyle Davies. The former Brave and Royal has not pitched in the Majors since 2011, but while in there compiled a 43-65 record with a 5.53 era. It was looking like it was going to be a one sided game early on. Jasmil Pinto hit a 2 run homer in the first. Rock Cats had an early 3-0 lead after one. In the second second baseman Nate Hanson tripled in 2 runs. So after 2 innings Rock Cats led 5-0. It was looking like an early shower for Terry Doyle. Meanwhile on the other side Kyle Davies was dealing! He was showing that he had plunty left in the tank to get back to the big leagues. He retired 8 of the first 9 he faced. In the 4th inning he ran into trouble though. Peter Hissey singled, Garin Cecchini singled, Michael Almanzar singled. Tony Thomas next it a long fly ball to center it hit off the top of the wall to score 2. So the Sea Dogs cut the lead 5-2. So with 2 on Ronald Bermudez hit it over the left field fence to tie the game 5-5. After two more singles by Vasquez and Dent Derek Gibson struck out for the 1st out of the inning. Hieker Menesses singled to load the bases. That would be the night for Kyle Davies. Blake Martin would come in and record the final two outs.

The score stood tied until Christian Vazquez hit a solo homer into the black night to give the Sea Dogs a 6-5 lead. They would tack on another one in the 8th to add to the lead 7-5. The Rock Cats got one back in the 8th when Miguel Sano brought the Rock Cats within one. However Portland got a big insurance run in the 9th when Garin Cecchini singled in Heiker Meneses. With the score 8-6 in the bottom of the 9th New Britain got one more but that would be it. The Sea Dogs would win 8-7. Next up: The very next day in New Britain!