8.8.06 Pawtucket Red Sox @ Rochester: Oooooooooh!

Rochester WINS! 1-0

As I mentioned earlier, I drove to Rochester for a pair of PawSox games. This sort of developed because I was looking at the schedule and I noticed... two homestands left. And I got that panicky feeling I get when I realize the end of baseball season is nigh. So I figured that the two away games were a possibility and that's it. ROCHESTER!

Kason Crappard started for Pawtucket. He obviously did not do too badly through six innings, since the Red Wings only scored one run. Garrett Jones, who wore a different uniform number for each game, was responsible for the RBI single which was all Rochester needed. Keith Foulke pitched the seventh... two walks, one K, one hit. Not sharp. Barry Hertzler was fine for 8&9, but like it mattered.

Lefty Dave Gassner, a newish kid, stymied Pawtucket through five innings. He is perhaps one of Minnesota's high hopes. Henry "Hey Nineteen" Bonilla pitched two innings... hey, wasn't he a starter? At any rate, it hurts to watch him pitch because he throws so freaking hard. Beau Kemp finished off the PawSox and that was that.

Jeff Bailey walked three times on my ceiling. Stern went two for four. Not much else went on offensively.

The ever-popular Lew Ford was the leadoff guy for the Red Wings and delighted the fans with a first inning double and subsequent run.

Amongst our weaponry:
1. Frontier Field is beautiful. I think it's sort of new... it's a nicer park than McCoy. Great concessions, nice location. You should go! You'd love it.
2. I totally dug Rochester. I would happily spend a week there, just going to Red Wings games and checking everything out.
3. There was something of a hubbub at the gates when I got there.. news teams and what have you. Turns out the Rochester police department decided they weren't going to have officers at the games anymore. The locals were not happy about this. They feel that they need cops around.
4. Fred Lynn was signing autographs and oh, the lines!
5. It was strange to see the Pawtucket kids frolicking before the game, with the BP and catching fly balls and socializing. Scuzzy old Foulke was getting chummy with my homeboy, Marc Deschenes. Talk about a bad influence. Stay golden, Marky boy.
6. The Rochester folk are really into the Red Wings. They have a crazy hat cowbell guy! They're sort of more fannish than the Pawtucket crowd... not as many bastard kids.
7. I wore a fake plastic wedding band during my stay.
8. Choi! I saw Hee-Seop! He is not gone! It! Could! WORK!!
9. Note to self: Syracuse is closer.

I made a small bet that I would hear the new C. Aguilera song five times on the way to Flower City. I was wrong. Three times is all. Do you like that song?

Later!
Game two later!