Fort Wayne TinCaps (26-43 – T7th, 62-77) @ Bowling Green Hot Rods (46-23 – 1st, 83-55)
RHP Cal Quantrill vs. RHP Roel Ramirez
Monday, Sept. 5 — Bowling Green Ballpark — First Pitch 1:05 p.m. — Game 140
LAST NIGHT: The TinCaps lost to the Hot Rods, 6-5, in 11 innings.
THANK YOU: I’m sorry that your Labor Day consists of reading this, but please know it is much appreciated that you are. Thank you for following along throughout the season and for your coverage of the TinCaps. Hopefully at least one bit this mostly-useless info proved helpful in some way. Please keep in touch during the offseason.
THE GREEN FIELDS OF THE MIND: The following is an edited excerpt from A Great and Glorious Game: Baseball Writings of A. Bartlett Giamatti by A. Bartlett Giamatti (Commissioner of Baseball: 1989)… “It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops. Today, September 5, a Monday, it stopped, and summer was gone.”
GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: The following 20 players were with the TinCaps at one time this year but are currently with High-A Lake Elsinore, Double-A San Antonio, or Triple-A El Paso… Austin Allen (SA), Elliot Ashbeck (LE), José Castillo (LE), Enyel De Los Santos (LE), Lou Distasio (LE), Thomas Dorminy (LE), Ty France (LE), Michael Gettys (LE), Ruddy Giron (LE), Jerry Keel (SA), A.J. Kennedy (LE), Brett Kennedy (LE), Corey Kimber (LE), Walker Lockett (EP), Phil Maton (EP), Gerardo Reyes (LE), River Stevens (SA), Luis Tejada (SA), Nick Vilter (LE), Trey Wingenter (LE).
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR: The TinCaps have 31 one-run losses. That tops all teams in both the Majors (30) and Minors (190). Meanwhile, Fort Wayne’s 10 extra-inning losses are tied with Peoria and West Michigan for most in the MWL.
THE GOOD: The TinCaps set franchise records for attendance… Austin Allen set a franchise best with a 24-game hitting streak… The team peaked at 8 games above .500 (34-26) on June 9.
THE BAD: Since June 9, the team is 28-51… Along the way, Fort Wayne lost as many as 8 in a row from July 14-22… The TinCaps have dropped 25 of 31 on the road.
THE UGLY: This year’s team has posted the fourth worst record in the franchise’s 24-year history.
TORTURE: Including last night’s 4-hour game, the TinCaps have played eight consecutive games that have gone at least 3 hours.
COUNTDOWN: Opening Day for the 2017 TinCaps at Lansing on April 6 is 213 days away.
