Sailing the Ship

Posts Tagged ‘Jason Donald’

There was plenty of controversy in this here game, but it didn’t ruin it.

Even though the Columbus Clippers have one of the worst records in the International League, and the worst overall in the IL West, their fans have a huge amount of pride in the team. They are proud that they have had several Player of the Weeks on the team. They are proud of the fact that they had three players in the All-Star game. Most recently, Clippers fans are proud that their ballpark, Huntington Park, was named the best new ballpark in America, beating our even the new Yankee Stadium.

To show their pride, another 9,000+ fans packed into the park. This continues their record as the highest (by percentage of total seats) attendance of any park in the nation. From all over Columbus, all ages and walks of life came to watch their team play. They came to watch a great game of baseball, to see some amazing plays, and to see the Clippers dominate. They were not disappointed.

While the fans wanted to see the Clippers dominate, the Indianapolis Indians started the game off strong. In the first inning, the Indians managed to combine for three runs, with some decent hits and amazing base running. The Clippers managed to score one in the first themselves, but they couldn’t create the momentum that the Indians did. After the initial scoring, both sides were stagnated, as a pitchers’ duel emerged.

Finally, in the fifth inning, the Clippers were able to crack the brick wall of the Indianapolis Indians’ defense. With a series of singles, walks, and stolen bases, the Clippers managed to round the bases five times, including Jason Donald’s third of the night, which is quite impressive. The most exciting of these was when Wes Hodges’ stolen base forced an error, allowing him to advance to third and scoring Tony Graffanino. After scoring these runs, the Clippers were able to hold on for the win, 7-6.

Of course, no game this week would be complete without controversy – the Clippers and Indians game was no exception. In the sixth, right after the run-filled inning for the Clippers, Indianapolis right fielder Tagg Bozied swung and missed, striking out. Something that Clippers catcher Marson said immediately after that irked Bozied, and some words were exchanged. Quickly, both benches emptied, and it looked like we would have a brawl. Alas, that was not the case, as calmer heads prevailed and no punches were thrown.

Later, in the seventh, a home run from the Indians’ Neil Walker hit the foul pole on the side. There was a conference where the umps decided that it was a home run. Obviously, this caused much booing from the stands.

While these two examples seem to indicate that it was a tough and controversial game, it really wasn’t. While they made some mistakes, the umps called a pretty good game tonight.

The Great Race
Tonight’s Sugardale Hot Dog race was actually a pretty clean competition. Unlike the normal cheating – tackling, tripping, and shutting the door early – the hot dogs all competed fairly. The three all emerged from the wall at roughly the same time, and they were all neck-and-neck coming down to the final stretch. At the end, however, Mustard was able to pull away, grabbing the lead. This gives Mustard 2 wins, while Relish has 6 and Ketchup has 1.

W: Hector Rondon (4-2) 6.2 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO
L: Eric Hacker (5-5) 4.1 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO
S: Greg Aquino (12) 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO

Having the only AC in the park is one of the perks covering sports as press

A day at the ballpark for most fans is one of fun and excitement. They show up early, fork over lots of cash for parking and tickets, and then hang out with their fellow enthusiasts. If they want food, they spend even more money for very little food. But that isn’t what being a fan is about – it is about the fellowship, the team, and the experience.

Not only do fans get the experience, they have other added benefits for coming out the the game. There are contests, races, and trivia that give the fans prizes. They have a chance of going home with a ball, a souvenir, and some memories. Fans might pay a lot of money, but they get what they are after, and they generally have a good time.

For sport writers, it is a different game entirely. We still show up early, and pay-up for the parking, but that is about it. Instead of paying for everything, we head upstairs, get some nice comfy chairs, have instant-replay on demand, and sit in air conditioning. Oh, and we also get free food and drink. Man, this is the life.

While that might sound like it is the life, it is far from it. We must sit in out chairs, and pay extremely close attention to the game. We need to wear professional attire, and act like, well, professionals. If the game is a runaway, we sit there, Instead of being able to root for our team, we must remain stoic and unemotional, as cheering is not allowed.

Furthermore, the rules that the leagues put on us are pressing. We have rules regarding communications, rules regarding our writing, and even rules about the use of the internet. Everything in the press box is regulated, and it creates a major headache for us. Oh, and we also need to write several articles a day, just to keep our readers happy. Yep, being a sports writer is not all that it is cracked up to be.

Speaking of what we need to write each day, the Columbus Clippers had a game tonight. The AAA farm team for the Cleveland Indians faced down the Buffalo Bisons, the AAA farm team for the New York Mets. This was the first game in a 4-game series between the two teams, and it was also a chance for each to turn around a major losing streak.

The Clippers started it off when Jason Donald hit his second home run of the season. After Buffalo tied it up, amazing plays and great pitching kept the game tied at 1-1 for the next few innings. Finally, in the 6^th, the Clippers cracked the Bisons, and started to dominate, Scoring 4 runs in the 6^th, the Clippers utilized bad pitching, and many errors, to grab that lead. They held on for the rest of the night.

The pitching for both teams was quite impressive at the beginning, though it started to go downhill halfway through the game. Columbus’ RHP Carlos Carrasco (8-9) pitched for 7.2 innings, allowing 5 hits, 5 earned runs, and striking out 5. Rich Rundles picked up his 8^th hold by pitching only and Greg Aquino got his 10^th save after also pitching only .1 innings. For the Bisons, RHP Tobi Stoner (3-6) got the loss. Stoner pitched for 5.1 innings, allowing 7 hits and 3 earned runs, while striking out 4.

Tomorrow night, these two teams will face each other again, as Columbus tries to start a winning streak and Buffalo attempts to end their losing streak. The game will take place at 7:05 at Huntington Park.

Tonight, the Gwinnett Braves won their third game of this 4-game series between them and the Columbus Clippers. However, unlike Saturday, when they ran away with the game, and Sunday, when they won in extra innings, the Braves squeaked by the Clippers in the 9th inning. The Clippers scored first, with designated hitter Jason Donald making it around the bags. The Braves then held on, and managed to score twice in the 9th, giving them the win.

This is the 6th loss in the last 10 games and the 8th in the last 15 for the Clippers. They are currently in a 8-game homestand and a 4-game series against Gwinnett, they are losing both 0-3.

Nobody on either side managed to hit a home run tonight.

Both starters played amazing tonight. Gwinnett’s LHP John Halama pitched for 7 innings, allowing 3 hits and 1 run, while striking out 5. For Columbus, LHP Chuck Lofgren also pitched 7 innins, allowing 4 hits and 0 runs, while striking out 5. Of course, neither was credited for the game.

Instead, LHP Mariano Gomez got the win for the Braves, putting him at 7-3. For the Clippers, RHP Frank Herrmann got his second BS and a loss, putting him at 2-2.

Tomorrow night, the Clippers and the Braves will play their 4th and final game of this 4-game series – the series is currently held by Gwinnett at 3-0. The game will be played at 12:05 at Huntington Park.

Earlier in the Week, the Clippers lost one of their best players, as Andy Marte was called up to the Cleveland Indians. Today, the shakeups continue, as trading brings in 3 new Clippers and send 2 up to the bigs.

Coming to the Clippers

The Clippers will be adding 3 new players starting tomorrow. All three of these players were actually in the other dugout, as they come from the Lehigh Valley IronPigs and they are currently in a 4-game series against Columbus.

• RHP Carlos Carrasco, who was actually schedualed to pitch this afternoon against Columbus, is brought to the Clippers. He is 6-9 with a 5.18 ERA
• Catcher Lou Marson is also coming over today.  He is 4 of 17 and has only played a few games this season.
• Shortstop Jason Donald was also added. He has played 50 games, is hitting .230, and has one homer.

All-in-all, I expect Carrasco to be the only help from these three, and he has already been added into the rotation

Clippers sent up

• Trevor Crowe, one of our outfields, was sent up. In 47 games, he is batting .296 with 2 home runs.
• Fausto Carmona, one of Columbus’ RHP, was sent up. He is 2-6 with a 7.42 ERA.

Personally, I do not feel as though either of these players deserves the bump, as there are much better players on the team.

Good luck to the new Clippers and good luck to the new Indians