What a Night!

What a night it was last night at T.R. Hughes Ballpark. Believe it or not, the big win was secondary. Sincere congratulations to Mike Breyman for becomming the Frontier League's all-time hit leader. It was my honor to be behind the mic for nearly all of Mike's hits, and the of course the two last night that sent him over the top!

As it turned out River City was probably the second best spot for Mike to break the record. P.A. announcer Randy Moelman and their music guy Andy set it up nicely. Randy made a nice announcement and Andy played the soundtrack from the Natural in the background. Something worthy of Grizzlies' music man Jarrod Frey! Plus the fans gave Mike a sincere stading ovation. Classy all the way around!

It was a fantastic night and, again, I was honored to be part of it!

Grizzlies are still in the hunt, can't hurt that the 'Hawks are in town for three. Hope its as memorable a weekend as it was Thursday night!

Thanks to Paul Baillargeon for the photo!

It's only one game. . .

So I approach with cautious optimism, but last night looked more like the Grizzlies team that we all know and love. It was a complete 180 from the night before. 10 hits-for the first time in more than a week and good pitching. I think Ridener was a little gassed heading into the ninth, and that's why he couldn't finish it. Otherwise it was a solid performance by him. Congrats to him for setting a franchise mark for appearances. And this is only his second year here.

Gotta get tonight's game. Blacksher give you a good chance. Here's hoping they play like last night and not revert back to Tuesday.

What has happened?

A lot since I last wrote, just a week or so ago. It feels like this team has been out of the playoff race for months, when in reality they were IN the wild card spot going into Sunday's game at Windy City and just a game out before last night's loss to the Wild Things. It seems like they have cashed in the season and that's a shame. As long as I have been here it has never seemed like the team has given up-it seems like it now. It all seemed to fall apart the day Campbell left-last Wednesday in Evansville.

I realize the Campbell move was a big blow, but there are two points that should be made regarding that move.

First off Phil Warren did that as a favor to Michael. He wanted to help Campbell, and felt like a move to the Atlantic League would do that. He didn't want to be the manager that held him back. That is comendable on Phil's part. He also didn't know that he would essentially be penalized by the Frontier League because he wasn't able to replace Campbell on the roster. Rules are rules and Frontier League rules state you can't replace a player who left after the trade deadline unless they were purchased by a Major League organization. Tough break Grizzlies.

The second point is that Campbell wanted to leave. Plain and simple. Phil put the decision in Michael's hands, and he chose to leave. If he didn't want to be here how much help would he have been anyway?

Either way it is hard to replace his productivity. The guys need to step it up. Hope they can.

As always. . .stay tuned!

State of the Grizzlies with 20 games to play

I wrote last time that it was important to win a game in that series at Southern Illinois. I thought it was. As it turns out the Grizzlies lost a heartbreaking game. They were 30-30 after that series. Things have turned since then. They are 11-6 since that point. Their only series loss came at home against Kalamazoo. The first half of this season long 12-game road trip went well. They were 4-2 vs. the Michigan teams and that is important. Last night here in Evansville was a good start (albeit ugly) to the second half of the trip. They need to finish the trip strong, especially against the red-hot Thunderbolts. Windy City has won 11 of their last 12 and are nipping at the heels of Southern Illinois in the West.

Not sure if everyone is aware of how the playoffs work in the Frontier League. The two division winners get in as the one and two seeds with the two next best records (regardless of division) getting in as the three and four seeds. Right now the Grizzlies are in the fourth spot. It is different because when the playoffs have been like this in the past, at least since the Grizz have been in the league, it has come up three East teams and the West winner. Obviously that is not the case this year. The Grizzlies own tie-breakers against Florence and Traverse City if they were to finish second in the East. Washington could get into that spot too, so it makes for a big series when the Grizzlies come home for them the 19th. They also need to take care of Midwest and by take care of I mean sweep. Nothing else can be acceptable.

Good move for the Grizzlies-acquiring Willie Keene from Southern Illinois. It is tough to see Manny go, but I really believe he will benefit greatly from increased and more consistent playing time. That is the difference between his season this year and last. Keene is going to provide the Grizzlies a stable outfielder who can hit consistently. House wasn't getting it done. I was sorry that the move didn't work out, but Kevin knew it. He told me yesterday when he was leaving it was going to do him well to clear his head and step away from the game.

Bottom line this team seems to be in good position. And should they get in I expect better results from a more prepared playoff team. Not that it should be hard to improve upon an 0-3 post-season from a year ago but to a man EVERY player I have asked believes that this team will be in better position for playing close, meaningful games down the stretch-something that didn't happen last year.

It should be a great last 20 games and don't think this team is going to settle for being just the four seed. They are gunning for the West title and they're right there to get it. We'll see how the series goes at Windy City and remember the final three games of the season will be against Southern Illinois at GCS! Should be fun! Stay Tuned. . .

Power Outage

Wish I knew what has caused it, but I don't. The thing is the Grizzlies have shown nothing on offense the last five games really. And even into that Evansville series if you think about it. The pitching has come around, BIG time but the hits haven't. Coming into tonight's finale at Southern Illinois the Grizzlies are tied for the fourth-best team ERA at 4.71. Think about that-there was a time when this pitching staff was last in the league, and the ERA was nearly double that. With Kevin House and Robbie Minor at the top of the lineup they have good speed now-if they get on base. With Breyman/Lisk/Holdren in the middle it should still be a formidable lineup. Now they just need to get back to doing what they do. Mike Breyman really hasn't hit all year. Hopefully he is due. Can you imagine the final month with a red hot Breyman?

I tend to panic less than some. I think Phil Warren and Darin Kinsolving are worried a little bit. I am less worried. I am more encouraged by the strong pitching than the lack of offense. Last year the Grizzlies had a nearly unstoppable offense look where that got them in the playoffs.

I think tonight is a must win. Not because of standing, because if we have learned anything from this season in the West it is that teams can move up and down pretty quickly in this crowded race. I think this game is more important for the confidence of this team in this ballpark. Don't forget there is a real chance that these two teams-the Grizzlies and Miners-could meet in the first round of the post-season. If that happens the Grizzlies would be well served to have won at least one game in this park this year. Weird, because last year the Grizzlies had a better record in Marion against the Miners than in Sauget.

The next nine games could REALLY make or break the Grizzlies. They're home for nine straight and they need to hold serve at home, because then they're on the road for 12in a row. That's a long time away from home, and they're going to be facing Traverse City and Kalamazoo-the East's top two teams at least for now. If they can pile up some wins at home it will make whatever happens on the road easier to digest-plus it will build some more confidence and some good will before hitting the road for essentially two weeks in the heat of August.

I fully believe this team has what it takes to compete until the end, if they want to. The last two days have felt kinda blah. Like no one really cared if they won or not. If that is the case then forget it. If they want it I think they have got the pieces and ultimately the talent. We'll see.

I owe you

A new post.

I'm not very good at this blog thing, am I? It seems when the season gets rolling I am most often doing Grizzlies things. When I am not at the park or on the road I'm with the family. We're on the road now, so I'll try and get a few thoughts down during this three-game series in Marion. It's going to be an important one.

More tomorrow. . .

Rock the Vote

Thanks to my friend, and former Grizzlies centerfielder, Mark Schulte for this one. . .

You can vote here for former Grizzlies right-hander Scott Patterson for the Triple-A All-Star Game. It would be nice to get a former Grizzlie in the game.

Take some time and vote!