As of today, the Nashville Sounds are in serious contention in the PCL’s American North Division, being only 1.5 games behind the first place Iowa Cubs in the standings.
Today is also the seventh straight game that the Sounds are playing the same team, the Albuquerque Isotopes. Both clubs are almost ending an eight-game “home and home” stretch against each other. It’s a quirk in the daily baseball schedule that you don’t find very often.
I’ve seen quite a few interesting things…one team scoring six runs in one inning with only ONE HIT? However, there were five walks involved and then the Sounds come back to score three runs in the bottom of the inning, thanks to three Isotopes’ errors. Then the next night, Albuquerque belts six home runs, four in one inning! Those are the kind of things that you don’t see very often.
The Sounds dropped the first three games of this eight-game stretch to the Isotopes, albeit they have come back to win three in a row. Nashville has continued to show that they are a team that can bounce back from adversity. We’ve seen quite a few transitions made…a promising centerfielder by the name of Lorenzo Cain who went 3 for 6 in one week with the Milwaukee Brewers, only to come back to the Sounds, so he can get daily playing time. Cain has shown he can swing the bat and play center field. Norris Hopper has really been hot at the plate lately and continues to show great discipline of a veteran, with him continuing to go the opposite way with pitches and getting key hits. Adam Stern has been catching fire and having his best stretch at the plate as a Nashville Sound this season.
What is also good is to see promising young Second Baseman Eric Farris back in the lineup after being sidelined for three months due to a knee injury and he collected a double and triple in last night’s 8-5 Sounds victory at Isotopes Park. RHP Josh Butler made his first start in Triple-A this season for the Sounds and pitched very well in getting the win last night.
Sometimes teams may get sick and tired of seeing each other after playing together for so many consecutive days and that is the test of a professional baseball team. It’s a bigger test to see how a team can react after dropping the first three games of this eight-game stretch, especially against a heavy hitting club like the Albuquerque Isotopes.
The Sounds have reacted well and have not let a long home and home series and a bad start to it get them down. It almost feels like the old Beatles’ song, “Eight Days A Week”. Still, the Sounds know that this is on the 2010 schedule and they still must focus on continuing to play the best baseball they can possibly play and which they are capable of playing.
It’s nice to also see a tight divisional race with six weeks left to go in the regular season and all four teams in the American North are playing better than .500 ball and all in serious contention.
After this series with Albuquerque is over, there will be three homestands and three road trips left for the Sounds. Their next road trip is Nevada, where they go to Reno and Las Vegas. At this time of the year, Las Vegas is among the hottest places in the country, weather-wise and that will be a big test on how the Sounds can deal with that kind of heat. However, like the eight straight games against Albuquerque, it is part of the schedule.
The Sounds return home on Tuesday for the start of an eight game homestand against the Omaha Royals, a team that Nashville had just played during the last homestand at Greer Stadium. I have noted how the attendance has picked up and interest is really high with the Sounds being in the American North race. It has really made for interesting and exciting baseball. However, there are still two games left here in Albuquerque and the Sounds can assure themselves of winning this “home and home” series with two wins in a row. They play tonight at 7:05PM Central Time and a 1:05PM Central Time (12 noon here in Albuquerque) start tomorrow. What’s also great is that the Sounds will be travelling home after the game tomorrow night instead of the following morning. That could be an advantage since they can get a reasonable amount of sleep before the big homestand and series with Omaha starts this week. It is big since Omaha is an American North Division and this will be the last series of the year between the Sounds and O-Royals. Let’s take them one game at a time. Tonight and tomorrow night’s broadcasts can be heard over the internet on nashvillesounds.com.
One side note about Isotopes Park. You can’t beat the scenery. There’s a tremendous mountainous scenery beyond the outfield walls and there is an upward slope as you go towards centerfield. Another “quirky” thing about the PCL. There are nice bushes beyond the center field wall as well and a huge lawn and inflatable playground beyond the right field wall. Not to mention that the last two nights, the weather has been perfect. The temps were in the 70s and a nice cool breeze was a big huge welcome. Easier to play ball in. Anyway, have a nice Sunday and a great week and I will see you at Greer Stadium on Tuesday. I urge all of you to come on out to cheer on the Sounds as they vault towards winning the PCL’s American North Division!
- Posted on July 25, 2010 at 12:59 pm
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