Sunday, August 16, 2009

A night of milestones

Last night we attended the Washington at Windy City game. Washington's Chris Sidick tied Fran Riordan's career record for games played, which he will break tonight. Later in the game, Windy City's Gil Mejia stole his 100th career base, becoming only the third player in Frontier League history to reach that mark.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

It Was Close...

Quincy 4, Chillicothe 2 (Quincy leads PLCS 1-0)

Say what you will about the ninth inning doing the team in, and by all intents and purposes, the error to start the top of the ninth might have done it, but overall, this was a competitive game played by both the Quincy Gems and the Chillicothe Paints. This was definitely how I expected the game to be. I pretty much knew going into this game that Quincy weren't no pushovers to begin with. After all, the Gems are the best team in the Prospect League win-loss record wise, so it's no surprise to see the consistency coming from this team. Even during their brief practice right before this game started, I could tell that they were very much in sync with what they were doing. Simply put, they were focused.

Going into the Prospect League Championship Series, the Paints had to make decisions as to who to give the ball to for this Game 1 start. They chose A.J. Achter to carry the load for this first game. Achter, to his credit, did everything he could to make this start count. I do openly admit that Achter was a bit shaky in the first three innings of this ballgame, as I noticed that he was dancing around the strike zone, but not technically hitting his spots. However, from what I saw from that point on, Achter was pitching brilliantly down the stretch of his start. As he got deeper into his start, the more he just found his rythym, and at the time, this was a huge thing for the Paints.

Achter would pitch an amazing 8 innings deep in his start, and he would give up two earned runs in all on 6 hits allowed and one walk to boot, but he would come back and record 5 strikeouts. Towards the end of his start, Achter was really feeling it. He knew exactly where the strike zone was, and he wasn't holding anything back, mowing down Quincy's offense with surprising ease.

You know, it's amazing just how much I can get my hopes up whenever I go see a playoff game involving the Paints. You always hope that one year will be the year for the Paints, that they'll finally raise a championship flag over V.A. Memorial Stadium, and granted that can still happen if they manage to win both of these road games on Quincy's turf, but as I watch on to see Paints playoff games progress, there's always one thing that will set us back and flatten our tires, so to speak.

Blake Mascarello took the mound for the ninth inning, and at first, he wasn't all that bad. Seriously, he was doing a fine job until that error third baseman Zach Leonard made to open the door for the Gems in the top of the ninth. It was from here that Mascarello started to come undone. He would give up a walk and two hits, and he would give up two more runs to the Gems. The tie was eventually broken by the precision and the execution by the Gems.

For the offense, Ben Allen had an RBI single. Kyle Gendron had a single. Right fielder Eian Banks had such a great game here, and if you just look at the stats, then you'll be convinced that he did a great job. Eian went deep to left center field, blasting a solo homerun shot that hit the V.A.'s scoreboard in the second inning, and then would add onto his great night by getting two doubles. You could say that Banks provided most of the heavy lifting for the offense. Catcher Andrew Mashall had a single. Center fielder Steven Mirizzi had two singles. Second baseman Tim Krofcheck had a triple.

I know what the end result of this game is. The Quincy Gems defeated the Chillicothe Paints in Game 1, and they take a commanding 1-0 lead in this best-of-three series, putting the pressure onto the Paints, who now have to win the Prospect League championship by going on the road and beating the Gems at QU Stadium. I know this will be hard to do. It's definitely alot to ask for, but throughout this year, this team has been through alot, and this organization has been through so much more these past few years. I believe it wouldn't surprise me if we make this interesting later this week. There's still a chance, folks, and there's every reason to still believe that we can do it. Stay tuned on the radio.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Don't Worry Be Happy

Rihchmond 7, Chillicothe 2

I figured that the title was appropiate for this article, because all is well with the Chillicothe Paints, as far as I'm concerned. This last regular season game against the Richmond River Rats would have been a great game to win because after all, Chillicothe and Richmond are still pretty much rivals when it comes to baseball, but there's nothing to worry about when you look at this score. You can consider this as a game that the Paints just took it easy. If anything, the team is just getting tuned up for a series that's extra important coming up next week.

While this game didn't matter in the grand scheme of things, since the Paints will be the Prospect League Championship Series starting Monday night, it's okay to note that the Paints weren't nearly as focused on this game as they were in other games. Rex Ingham made the start for the Paints in this game, and I should note that he was experimenting with his pitching approach here. He would give up 6 runs on 7 hits allowed. Rex was a bit wild here, throwing a few wild pitches and beaning a couple batters along the way, but still, take note that this was just a "Take It Easy" game for him and the other players. Ingham struck out two batters.

Mark Williams would put in two innings of work coming from the bullpen. He gave up three hits and a run while walking a batter and striking out a batter. Crist Linster would only give up a walk in his one inning of work. The funny thing about Linster is that, well, he's been experimenting with his approach on the mound, but out of concern that the other team might read this report, I'll just leave it as simple as that. Linster's been experimenting, but I won't say exactly what he's doing.

For the offense, the lineup didn't feature Ben Allen, Andy Brouse, and Andrew Marshall. All three of these guys had an off night, as in they rested. Second baseman Tim krofcheck, batting leadoff, had a single. DH Eian Banks went deep for a two-run homerun in the fourth inning. Right fielder Zach Frentsos had two singles. Left fielder Brandon White had a single. Center fielder Steven Mirizzi had a single.

I believe it's understandable why the Paints would play how they played this game. Some players need rest, and they need to get ready for a much more important game coming up against the Quincy Gems on Monday night. The team is getting geared up for the Prospect League Championship Series, and I really don't believe that this is the beginning of bad habits being formed. I just think the Paints were taking the high road for this game and were just playing it safe.

Folks, don't worry. Be happy. The Paints organization will have another shot to raise up a championship flag over V.A. Memorial Stadium, and you can follow the last steps of their quest on Monday night for Game 1 of the PLCS against the Quincy Gems, and from there on, we'll find out what happens.

See you at the ballpark.

Friday, August 7, 2009

A Memorable Night

North Coast 2, Chillicothe 1

For the record, it's unfortunate that the Chillicothe Paints lost to the North Coast Knights by a score of 2-1 on the last regular season home game, but in spite of that, this night was simply a memorable one. The events that played out during teh course of the game were just grand and smooth, nothing bittersweet whatsoever. V.A. Memorial Stadium was packed with fans who were happy and content with the fact that their hometown team officially qualified for the Prospect League Championship Series, beginning next week on Monday. The atmosphere was electric and fun. Even though there was a loss on the scoreboard, the night itself was a big win.

I'm not in the mood to act jumpy at all because I feel happy with the way our team is progressing night in and night out. There are no worries coming from this amateur article writer. If I could ever figure out what word defined the meaning "no worries" from the Disney movie "The Lion King", then I would have it out for you, the reader, but I forgot about that word. Sorry.

Anyway, aside from the extra fluff that I occasionally add into my reports, let's get to the game. Blake Mascarello took the mound for the start. He would pitch 6 innings deep in this game, giving up 5 hits and a walk, resulting in an earned run. He would come back to strike out four batters. I believe Blake did a good job and he gave it a solid effort. There's not more that you can ask from a starting pitcher when he's pitching very late into the regular season aside from just tuning up his arsenal for the postseason.

Tony Davey would put in one inning of work coming from the bullpen in this game, and he would only give up a hit. He struck out a batter to get out of the seventh inning, and he didn't give up any runs. Davey, in my opinion, looked pretty solid out there even though he may have shaky at some parts. Davey made fairly quick work of the Knights when he was on the mound. This was a good job done by him overall.

Chadd Steinborn pitched the last two innings of the ballgame, and he would give up two hits and eventually the winning run to the Knights, but I have to point out that those things are just going to happen. Tip your cap to the North Coast Knights, because they brung it to the Paints in this game even though there was nothing to play for from their perspective aside from team pride, which always matters. Steniborn would strike out three batters in his relief appearance.

For the offense, shortstop Ben Allen had a single and a stolen base. First baseman Kyle Gendron had a bunt single. Third baseman Zach Leonard had a bunt single. Left fielder Andy Brouse had an RBI single in the third inning. Right fielder Brandon White had a single. Center fielder Steven Mirizzi had a single. I do have to point out some blunders the Paints made, such as a bases loaded double play that Andy Brouse grounded into in the seventh inning that prevented a run from scoring, and one baserunning blunder by Brandon White in the fourth as he was trying to get back to first base.

However, let's note the absolutely solid defensive effort put out by second baseman Tim Krofcheck. All game long, Tim was simply all over the place. He was diving, hustling to the groundballs hit to him, picking up balls on tough bounces, the whole deal. He turned two incredible double plays that simply dazzled me, and I'm sure many other Paints fans were dazzled as well.

On a soft note, I want to say that a close friend of mine, named Rick, and myself went out to throw out the ceremonial first pitches of the game, and it was amazing to be out there once more. Last year, I was feeling the sting of the fact that the Frontier League Paints were leaving Chillicothe for good, and my first pitch at the end of 2008 sailed past its target and hit the net. This year, at the end of 2009, I was much more poised to properly throw out the first pitch, and from the mound, I threw a decent curveball at Rex Ingham, as it took one bounce to get to him. Rick was thrilled that he got to throw out the first pitch because through 17 years, he had never done it before, so this was a special first for my good buddy.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Smooth Sailing at Pullman

Chillicothe 11, Butler 1

We're still at the home stretch of the regular season. We're still at the nitty gritty of it all, and these games at the end of the season are still important, and this game was no different. The Butler Blue Sox didn't appear to show up for this game as they didn't put in any dents against the Paints. This game was so very well played by the Paints, and the timing for a performance like this was great. This was what the team needed going into the last two games of the regular season.

Tony Bertucci had not made a start in about 12 days, so he had something to prove here when it came to shaking off the rust. Bertucci had a very good start here, giving up no runs at all in 6 innings pitched. He would give up 6 hits and a pair of walks, but he would come back and strike out two guys along the way. Bertucci pitched really well considering the situation with Butler's pitching mound acting up lately. What I mean by that is Pullman Park's pitching mound hasn't had strong rubber for the pitchers to throw off of. A block of wood was put in to soften the blow, so to speak. This isn't a huge issue, at least not for Bertucci, who managed the game quite well.

Crist Linster pitched one inning of relief. He wouldn't give up any hits, but he would plunk two batters and an error by the infield would cause him to give up a run. That run was the only run the Blue Sox would score in this game. Linster recorded a K for good measure. Brad Schnitzer would once again seal the deal for the Paints from the mound, as he pitched two innings of relief, and he gave up just two hits while recording a strikeout.

For the offense, shortstop Ben Allen had two singles. Third baseman Kyle Gendron had two singles and an RBI. Zach Leonard got an RBI off a bases loaded walk. Zach Frentsos had a pinch hit RBI single. Left fielder Andy Brouse had a single and an RBI. Brandon White got an RBI off a bases loaded walk. Right fielder Eian Banks had an infield single. First baseman Cory maguire had a single and 3 RBI's. He broke the game early on in the first inning to give the Paints a 2-0 lead at the time.

Catcher Kris McDonough had a 3-RBI double in the fourth inning. Center fielder Steven Mirizzi had a single. Second baseman Tim Krofcheck had two singles. Overall, this offensive display was very, very impressive, and the team just didn't stop when they were ahead. Thye casually tacked on some runs just to further their lead. I liked what I saw, and this is definitely a good sign considering the Paints are coming back home to V.A. Memorial Stadium to face the North Coast Knights in what's guaranteed to be a must win game for the Knights. A win by the Paints at home tomorrow will clinch the Eastern Division for the "Southern Ohio Stampede", and it will assure them to face the Western Division winner, most likely the Quincy Gems.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The Long Road To A Win

Chillicothe 7, Butler 3 (12 innings)

Wow. This game was pretty long and just listening to every minute of a game that lasted about four hours would be nerve pinching by all means, but in the end, the Chillicothe Paints still managed to find a way to win a ballgame. I guess that's what happens when you just don't have it easy in the later innings of the game. That's been common for the Paints, to be honest. Many of the games that I've either listened to or watched have involved the Paints being in pressure situations, being in a tight game with teams who have given it their all against them.

This game was fought hard by both teams. The Paints were taking care of business early on, but the Butler Blue Sox were taking care of business later on. This game seemed to have a split personality almost, and I'm not kidding when I assume that. The pace of this game was kind of slow during the regularly scheduled innings, but in the later innings, and then in the long extra innings, the pace of the game picked up a bit, and the intensity kept rising with each passing inning from there on.

Clayton Schulz, way back when, made the start for this game. He would contribute to the team's efforts the best way he could by putting in six innings of work. He would give up 4 walks and 3 hits while recording 7 impressive strikeouts. Schulz was a bit shaky early on, even though he didn't give up a run. He wouldn't give up a run for his start, once again adding to the great season that he's had with the Paints this year, and at the time, things looked good for him to get his seventh win of the year.

The bullpen, on the other hand, had other ideas...

This was the nerve pinching part in this game. It was simply devastating to listen to what happened during the eighth and ninth innings because the Paints were up 3-0 over the Blue Sox at the time, and gradually, the Blue Sox came back and tied the game at 3-3 a piece. Mark Willliams pitched 1 and 1/3 innings, giving up two walks and a hit, while giving up two runs. Krist Linster pitched 1/3 of an inning, giving up a hit. Stephen Shackleford gave up a walk, a hit, and a run, pitching 1 and 1/3 innings. Chadd Steinborn pitched an inning, giving up 3 walks. Brad Schnitzer broke the mold of flawed relief performances and sealed the deal, amazingly, for the Paints. He gave up a hit while striking out a batter.

Surprisingly enough, the offense didn't feature one pinch hitter the entire game, so the starters toughed it out the whole way. Shortstop Ben Allen had two singles and an RBI. DH Kyle Gendron had a single. Third baseman Zach Leonard had a single. Left fielder Andy Brouse had two singles and two stolen bases. Catcher Andrew Marshall had two singles and an RBI. Right fielder Eian Banks had two singles and an RBI. First baseman Cory Maguire had an RBI single. Second baseman Tim Krofcheck had a single.

This was just a huge win for the Chillicothe Paints. This was what they team needed, for sure. With this win, the Paints now stand tall at 30-21, 3 games ahead of the North Coast Knights for first place in the Eastern Division, and this win officially eliminates the Butler Blue Sox from appearing the Prospect League Championship Series. The four hour wait for this win was definitely worth it.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Overcoming Slippery Rock

Chillicothe 4, Slippery Rock 3

Going into this game, you pretty much had the feeling that the Slippery Rock Sliders weren't going away quietly at all no matter what the result was of this contest, and let's be honest, on our turf, at V.A. Memorial Stadium, throughout the course of 2009, the Slippery Rock Sliders have been the team that's had our number when it comes to playing them on our own field. Simply put, that trend had to be bucked for just one night, and especially at this time, since we're wrapping up the season and we're getting into a big melee with the North Coast Knights for first place in the Eastern Division, so we couldn't deal with any more headaches from the Sliders.

Let's get to the pitching performance. The ball was given to Tony Davey for this game, and he hung in there against a team that looked sharp hitting the ball against him all night. Davey would pitch 8 innings of "bend but don't break baseball", and ultimately, he kept the Paints hanging around. He did give up a bittersweet looking homerun early on to let the Sliders take a 1-0 lead with a shot that went over the Budweiser sign of the scoreboard, and he would give up three runs on five hits overall, but he would record an impressive six strikeouts to combat the hard charging Slippery Rock offense, and most of all, he kept the Paints in it. He did just enough to keep the engine going, as some people would say. (I think)

Stephen Shackleford was the only other pitcher who took the mound for the Paints, but he pitched the last inning of the ballgame, and boy, that last inning was definitely, and I'm not kidding when I say this, a heart-racing inning, but for good reasons really. Stephen only gave up a hit. That was it. He emphatically shut the door on the Sliders for good here.

Now let's get to the offense, and before I begin, let me just say that these guys battled so much throughout this game. It can really get hard and confusing as to why you face a certain team so much, and yet you can't seem to break through that certain team and score some runs. The Paints have had that problem for some reason against Slippery Rock at home with the lumber, and for most of this game, it felt like more of the same, but late in the game, the Paints did break through the Sliders' pitching puzzle with the lumber.

Shortstop Ben Allen had two singles, a double, and an RBI. Third baseman Zach Loenard had two singles and an RBI. Right fielder Eian Banks had a single, a double, and a stolen base. Catcher Andrew Marshall had an infield single. Center fielder Steven Mirizzi had a bunt single. Second baseman Tim Krofcheck had a stolen base. While the hits weren't many for the Paints, the hits that they did get in came at the most opportune times. The hits came when they were so desperately needed.

Remember when I said earlier this year, and I've probably said this for a few times by now, but let me say it again. It doesn't matter how many hits the team gets. What truly matters is that whatever hits the team does get, those hits have to count. Those hits have to mean something, as in they have to lead to runs, they have to lead to getting runners over to other bases, and they have to be placed in great spots in the outfield where the outfielders can't reach it.

Things are just getting more interesting now. The Paints have two games to play over the next two days, while the North Coast Knights have to double that and play four games in the next two days, meaning the Knights have to play two doubleheaders right after this night. Then after all that, the Paints will have their final regular season home game against the North Coast Knights on Friday night, at 7:05 PM...probably the biggest game the Paints organization may have in awhile.

Monday, August 3, 2009

For First Place

Chillicothe 4, North Coast 0

To tell you just how important this game turned out to be after the events of yesterday, I will say that this game was clearly important for both teams involved. The Chillicothe Paints and the North Coast Knights both entered this game, on the Knights' turf at the Pipe Yard, in a virtual tie for first place in the East Division. Technically, the Knights held the advantage over the Paints when it came to percentage points, but nonetheless, this game still had first place up for grabs.

This was a game that the Paints needed to have. I take that back.

This was a game that the Paints absolutely needed to have. Thankfully for the loyal fans of Ross County, the Paints found a way to win this ballgame. Paints manager Brian Mannino put it the best after last night's game against Butler when he said that they just need to win ballgames. That's all that matters here, folks. The Paints need to win ballgames from here on out, and it doesn't matter how pretty, or how ugly, those wins turn out to be. A win is a win, simply put.

So how did the pitching do here?

The pitching was fantastic. Credit that mostly to the excellent performance of starting pitcher A.J. Achter. Achter stepped up big time in this game, and he would go on to pitch very deep into this game. He pitched seven innings deep, and in that time, he had one of the best rebounding kind of performances that I have personally heard over the radio.

He did get into some trouble, mind you, but in the end, he had his way with the Knights as his defense helped him out for the most part. Achter gave up five hits, two walks, and plunked two batters, but he didn't give up a single run. He struck out four batters to counter the mishaps. He pitched a solid shutout against the hard charging North Coast Knights. How about that?

Blake Mascarello pitched one inning of relief. He plunked a batter and gave up a walk and a hit, but he struck out two batters. This was a solid relief outing for Mascarello. He did what he had to do. Simply put. Krist Linster was the interesting choice for the ninth inning. He went out there for the final inning and sealed the deal. The pitching was just solid in this game for the Paints. This was clearly a game for the pitching to step up, and they did.

For the offense, Ben Allen had three hits. He had two singles, a double, and two RBI's. Kyle Gendron had a single. Eian Banks had an RBI single. Cory Maguire had an infield single and a normal single. Zach Leonard had a double. Tim Krofcheck had an RBI single. The batters were just great when it came to scoring runs, and I really loved how they just made like gangbusters on some plays. This was a great up tempo game for the offense to deploy.

Although, I do have to say that there was a very bittersweet moment in the fifth inning for the offense. The Paints had runners on first and third with no outs, and they just got three straight outs without even trying to attempt a double steal. This really bugged me a great deal because the opportunity was there for the Paints to possibly get a run out of that double steal attempt, since Ben Allen had decent speed on third base, even though Kyle Gendron doesn't have great speed. That's just me, but hey, a win is a win, and it doesn't matter how you get to that win.

The Paints return home for a game against the Slippery Rock Sliders, a team notoriously known for making things hard for the Paints on their home turf. At the V.A., game time will be normal, at 7:05 PM.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

It Just Got Away

Butler 6, Chillicothe 2

This game was very competitive. Both teams showed what they could do, and they tried to execute some interesting plays, but only one team had to prevail here, and unfortuantely for the big Paints fans out there, the Butler BlueSox were that team. This was just a game that got away from the home team late. You'd have to say that this game was evenly played by both teams, and neither team wanted to go away quietly, but Butler got in the extra explosives in the final two innings, giving them the victory.

Even though the Chillicothe Paints lost this game, there's no doubt in my mind that you have to tip your cap to the likes of Rex Ingham, who started this game for the Paints. Rex was very, very impressive in this start considering everything that was going on in this game. Rex was like a bulldog here, because he hung in there to face batters and he actually got them out when time was running thin for him in this game. As far as resiliency goes, Ingham was solid, in my opinion.

Rex Ingham would go 7 and 2/3 innings deep in his start, giving up 8 hits and a total of three runs, which of course isn't good, but still, look at the glass half-full for this one, and he would strike out three batters. The good thing about his start was that he didn't give up any walks to the BlueSox, and he wasn't really wild at all. I was pretty amazed that he stayed in this game for this long because usually our starting pitchers would just get out of there after 6 innings or so, but 7 and 1/3 and trying for 8 innings is something to really take note.

Mark Williams pitched 2/3 of an inning and gave up just a hit while striking out a batter. Chadd Steinborn was called in to be the stopper for the ninth inning, but as this story goes, he didn't quite hold the BlueSox in check. He gave up three runs off of four hits allowed. This wasn't the best relief appearance made by Steinborn, and all of the momentum that the Paints had mustered to get to the ninth inning supposedly faded away once the BlueSox broke the game wide open. That's just how it goes in baseball, folks. You'll have good days, and then you'll have not so good days.

For the offense, Ben Allen had a single, a stolen base, and got an RBI off a sacrifice fly. Kyle Gendron, playing at first base in this game, had a single. Zach Leonard had a single. Steven Mirizzi had a single. Kris McDonough had a double. Tim Krofcheck had a single and an RBI. What can we take from this offensive performance? Well, I'm not quite sure what happened at certain points because some of the swings felt pretty sudden, and those swings ended up being high fly balls caught for outs. It's interesting in a way because sometimes you just get fooled by certain pitches. It happens to all baseball players, I'm sure.

If you're wondering about what the standings look like in the Prospect League's Eastern Division, then I should let you in on this little tidbit. The North Coast Knights came into this night 1 and 1/2 games behind the Paints for first place, and they played a doubleheader against the Slippery Rock Sliders, and combine this Paints loss to the Knights' doubleheader sweep, then you'll probably have an idea of exactly how tight this race is right now.