As much as I enjoy being on the road, it seems that I always need to energize myself when I come home from a road trip and Greer Stadium is a great place for such energizing! Even though the stadium has been around for a long time and has seen its better days, I still enjoy the view from my own catbird's seat known as my broadcasting booth! No matter what ballpark I'm in, I always remember to this small compartment as my office. Guess what? During the day when I report to the Sounds' office, the booth is also my office where I make phone calls in my continuous efforts to get more businesses and fans involved with the ballclub. Still, my favorite kind of call is in the booth when I am broadcasting the ballgame for that particular night or any night at all.
The Sounds were happy to end their last road trip in Tacoma on a positive note, when they won the nightcap of their doubleheader with the Rainiers by a 3-2 score. Eric Farris singled home the winning run from second when Taylor Green scored to break a 2-2 tie in the sixth inning! Our reward was a 2-3 hour sleep in our hotel before we had to check out of the Hotel Murano at 4:30 in the morning! As I mentioned in my last blog, such the life in the Pacific Coast League. Still, I enjoy flying and since we don't have to wake up that early every day, it doesn't really bother me. I count my blessings every day because I get to broadcast sports, especially a baseball game on a daily basis during the spring and summer!
On Friday, May 27th, we made our way onto the plane at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport for our 4 hour trip to Chicago's Midway Airport, where we would connect to our flight back to Nashville. I was able to get some shuteye, except there were a couple of times that the couple sitting next to me had to excuse themselves to either walk around or go to the restroom! Of course, I didn't want to be rude to them, so I still picked myself up and let them go through. Had I been asleep, I don't think they would have been able to communicate to me. Still, I was able to get as much sleep as I could and as a result, it really didn't feel like a four-hour flight. Anyway, from Chicago to Nashville, where I picked up my luggage bag and hopped on the bus that would take the team, including myself back to the ballpark.
I didn't know how I was going to feel when I got to the ballpark. Normally, I would go home first and unpack my bag, check my mail and put my laundry in my washer/dryer as soon as possible. Having arrived at the ballpark at 4:30PM, I knew that there was no way that I would have time to go home and get settled since the start of the game was only two and a half hours away!
The Sounds would have the first leg of their homestand against the Oklahoma City RedHawks, a team who was on their LAST leg of a 4-game road trip having started out west in California and playing in Sacramento and then Fresno. Since both teams were travelling two time zones to the Music City, there was no favorable advantage for either team with the exception that the Sounds were back home in the friendly confines of Greer Stadium.
As it turned out, it was a great night for a ballgame and I didn't feel tired at all nor had I experienced any after-effects of the long flight. I knew that I had my job to do and I was NOT going to disappoint. I took the night like I would take any night and I felt so relaxed and was excited when I saw broadcast booth again and was ready to go to work as well as a nice crowd assembling at Greer Stadium. The booth is my office and it literally is since I also use it as an office whenever I make calls during the day so I can get businesses and fans involved with the ballclub. I grabbed my equipment and got everything set up. As it turned out, it was a well-pitched ballgame on Friday night when the Sounds' starter Frankie De La Cruz and former Seattle Mariner Ryan Rowland-Smith locked heads in a fine pitching duel with the Sounds winning the opener, 3-1. Despite giving up a run in the 1st inning, De La Cruz settled down as he did not allow another run through the 6th inning, which turned out to be his last for the night. The Sounds' bullpen did a fine job as Jim Henderson won it in relief! Sounds' 1st Baseman Mat Gamel showed why he is a top prospect with the Brewers as he belted a home run over the right field wall to tie the game at 1-1. Nashville would win it when they broke a 1-1 tie in the 8th inning when Caleb Gindl scored on a wild pitch and then Brendan Katin added good measure with an RBI single in the inning for insurance. The Sounds would win the next 2 games, 8-3 on Saturday and 4-2 on Sunday. Gamel added two more homers in the game on Saturday as the Sounds wore special pink jerseys to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Night as the Sounds and the Nashville Chapter of the American Cancer Society continue the war on this terrible disease. I had a woman named Jennifer Purdom who was representing the Society in my booth for one inning and we discussed the many ways on how funds are raised and what the Society is doing to improve the quality of every cancer patient's life. She is an inspiration since she is a breast cancer survivor herself.
During the game on Sunday with the Sounds winning, left hander Chase Wright escaped trouble in the 1st inning despite giving up a couple of walks and hitting a batter. He then settled down after that in picking up his 2nd win of the year. Relievers Donovan Hand, Zach Braddock and Sean Green did a nice job in relief. Braddock struck out the side in the 7th inning in his only inning of work. Braddock is on a rehab assignment since he was placed on the Brewers' Disabled List due to a sleep disorder, but it was no secret that his stuff put the RedHawks to sleep in the inning. Sean Green, who had been struggling when he got sent down to Nashville, continued to pitch like he is capable of doing as he picked up his 2nd save of the year. Normally, that role would go to Mark DiFelice, but unfortunately, early in the game, DiFelice was tossed for expressing his disbelief on the umpire's call of a drive that Erick Almonte hit to the left field wall in the 1st inning and drove in a run. DiFelice and Manager Don Money both thought the ball went off the upper wall of the double-decked wall in left field and if that was the case, that should have been ruled a home run. It was the umpire's judgement and he had the best view of anyone although from any spot in the stands, you can see the double-decked wall. DiFelice apologized on my pre-game interview with him the following day. Mark is a class individual who doesn't seem to be the type that would get so vehement on stuff like that. Apparently, he just got caught up in the emotions of the situation and those things do happen. Both Almonte and Brandon Boggs were with the club and earlier in the season, they had spent time with the Brewers as reserved players, only to be caught up in the numbers game when Josh Wilson was picked up by the Brewers on waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks and Nyjer Morgan, the former Washington National, was activated on the big club's roster. Boggs and Almonte each contributed with 2 hits in Sunday's 4-2 win and both showed why they made it to the show. Both are veterans who are experienced, professional and disciplined hitters who never beat themselves at the plate. I wish both Erick and Brandon the best just like I do with everyone else.
On Memorial Day night, the RedHawks took the finale with a 3-2 win over the Sounds at Greer Stadium. Nashville didn't go down quiet since Jeremy Reed doubled in a run and Mike Rivera, who was also returned to the Sounds from the Brewers, also added an RBI with a single in the 9th. Even though the Sounds didn't sweep the series, taking 3 of 4 is nothing to sneeze at and this Sounds team showed they can bounce back. Now that Iowa is in town, hopefully things will change for the Sounds. They are now playing a team in their own division and these games are just as important as well. I will have a blog on the Sounds-Iowa Cubs series coming up. Until then, I like to thank you for reading and your loyal support of Sounds Baseball and we hope to see you out at the ballpark. Happy Reading as always!
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