The Stinko de Mayo Story

As mentioned by Mgr Ron "RJ" Johnson during the season ticket holder cookout.

It was May 5th at Dunn Tire Park in Buffalo. The PawSox and the Bisons (CLE) were playing a double header. The first game was a continuation of an April game that was suspended. 67 degrees, overcast. 5200 fans.

Things were looking good for Pawtucket. They were ahead 9-6 going into the ninth inning. Nick Pesco was pitching for Buffalo. The first batter he faces is Pawtucket catcher George Kottaras. GK walks. Luis Antonio Jimenez strikes out looking.

New kid Jacoby Ellsbury singles, then McEwing walks to load the bases with only one out. Nick the Fish is probably sweating. Bobby Scales is up and HE DELIVERS! He singles to right which brings in George and Jake. 11-6. Runners at the corners. Pesco is having trouble getting outs... gets a little coaching visit while McEwing very likely chats with RJ and Scales perhaps chats with Buffalo first baseman Ryan Mulhern.

The mild-mannered infielder Ed Rogers steps in. Nick Pesco is unconsoled and throws a wild pitch, which scores McEwing. 12-6. Rogers draws a walk. David Murphy comes up and lines out to former Twin Luis Rivas. Here comes big, dumb Jeff Bailey (Favorite Sports Moment: Seahawks playing in Super Bowl). Bailey walks! Bases loaded again, two outs.

Buffalo allegedly concedes at this point and removes Nick Pesco, who probably needed a warm bath and a good cry. And guess who comes in? Former PawSox Australian Trent Durrington! No, Durrington is not a pitcher, although he pitched once in Pawtucket in a 16 inning pinch.

Brandon Moss is the first batter to face Durrington and he probably decided not to swing at anything. Trent walks him, bringing in a run. 13-6. Kottaras comes up again and HE gets walked. Another run walked in, 14-6. Jimenez once more! And once more he FAILS by lining out. Wow, it's all coming back to me now... the flailing and the non-clutchness and the hopeless batting of L.A. Jimenez.

It's looking good at the bottom of the ninth with that 14-6 lead. Craig Hansen comes in like everything's everything and immediately walks the first batter (Ben Francisco). Okay. Hector Luna comes up and hits a weak grounder which Hansen does not field well and he reaches first. Error for Craig who failed to cover first after a great play by Jeff Bailey. Whatever.

Joe Inglett comes up and singles. Now the bases are loaded with no outs. And so? Still 14-6. Mike Rose steps up and Hansen hits him, walking in Francisco. 14-7. Bases still loaded with no outs. Hansen gets a mound visit. "I got this," he probably says. They all say that.

Infield cutie-pie Jason Cooper is up and he singles, driving in Hector Lunatic. 14-8 and still no outs. Bases still loaded. Brad Snyder gets on base due to a David Murphy fielding error. Inglett scores! 14-9! Ryan Mulhern comes in and doubles, bringing two runs home! 14-11! No one out and two runners in scoring position.

I'm sure at this point the Bisons fans were getting all excited. Can you blame them? Hansen is finally removed and replaced by Manny Delcarmen. He gets Franklin Gutierrez to pop out. Luis Rivas gets on base next when Ed Rogers makes an error. Two errors! Brad Snyder comes home from third. 14-12. Ben Francisco's up again and he singles, bringing home another run. 14-13, still only one out. Hector Luna's back and he doubles in Luis Rivas. 14-14! Ben Francisco's at third, Luna at second, still only one out. Manny intentionally walks the extremely dangerous Joe Inglett to load the bases. Brian Rose is up.

And... he walks Rose with the bases loaded. Bisons win 15-14. Trent Durrington gets the win.


choice media phrases:
1. "The Mother of All Meltdowns" - projo
2. "Bad, Bad Day in Buffalo" - pawsox.com
3. "...that horrendous meltdown in Buffalo" - Gordon Edes, B-Globe
4. "a nightmarish ninth inning" - USA Today
5. "In the completion of a game suspended two weeks earlier in the first inning, the Bisons pull off the greatest comeback in their history with a nine-run ninth off Boston prospects Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen. Infielder Trent Durrington, who pitched the top of the inning in a white-flag gesture because the teams had another game that night, is credited with the stunning victory." - Buffalo News
6. "...the most bizarre event of the season..." - Buffalo News
7. Steve Buckley's Herald column in which he speaks to Manny and Craig... "Pawtucket's defense contributed to the debacle.."
8. "It sucks but I'm over it." - Manny D
9. "Well, look at the bright side. We made SportsCenter." - RJ
10. "It was just a bad outing... it was just a long night." - Terry Francona
11. "YUCK" "I don't think [Hansen's] future is with the Red Sox anymore." - Baseball Fever
12. "Bisons manager Torey Lovullo was home in California attending his daughter's first Communion and getting text-message updates from GM Mike Buczkowski. Lovullo and the GM were then speaking via cell phone for the final three runs. And, remember, Buffalo did all of its damage against Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen, Boston's prized relief prospects who have both seen big-league time." -Mike Harrington, Inside Pitch
13. "The eight-run comeback ties a Modern Era record set August 19, 2000 when the Bisons trailed Ottawa 8-0 in the second game of a doubleheader before winning 9-8. The victory is a new record for the largest ninth-inning comeback in Dunn Tire Park history." -OursportsCentral.com
14. "I said, 'Trust your stuff. Believe in your stuff. You've got unbelievable stuff,' " McEwing said of his message to his Pawtucket Red Sox teammate, who had cited McEwing and the since-released Alex Ochoa as major reasons for his rebound from a meltdown against Buffalo. "It's rewarding to me and very humbling, but they do come up and ask." -Amalie Benjamin's blog
15. "The PawSox (10-21) are struggling mightily. The low point came when Pawtucket blew a 14-6 lead in the 9th inning against Buffalo on Saturday. Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen, the two relievers who combined to waste the eight-run advantage, were regular members of Boston’s bullpen last summer. This year, their ERAs are 7.20 and 6.32, respectively." -Richmond Braves...Oh Yeah (blog)

Et cet. This post took forever and cost me 4 dollars for archival material, but it was worth it for me.