Were were back at McCoy Stadium this Saturday to see Pawtucket Red Sox host their newest International League rivals, the Gwinnett Braves.
This Triple-A version of the Braves found a new home in Gwinnett, GA after having called Richmond, VA their home since 1966. That's quite a long time, especially for the IL, where teams seem to change locations and/or affiliations fairly often.
Whatever the Braves' reason for moving, Richmond's loss is Gwinnett's game, as who wouldn't want a minor league team nearby?
There had been a fair amount of rain in the area during the week and the forecast didn't sound brilliant for Saturday, but the weather was actually quite nice for the game. It was cool at the start, got a little warmer as the game went on. It did start to rain, but not until we were already on our way back
home. Talk about good timing!
As for the game itself, the Paw Sox pretty much had their way. Right fielder Chris Carter (at left) hit a home run in the second inning to give them a lead they never relinquished. The seven runs put up in the third was all they need for an 8-5 victory.
Enrique Gonzalez, whom we had seen in the stands charting pitches on our last trip to McCoy, was the starter and picked up the win.
The save was notched by fireballer Daniel Bard. As noted before, this kid can throw! Who else could throw a fastball registering 97 on the pitch speed, then reverse it on the next pitch for a 79 mph change-up, with the same motion? Take that, Lars!
We had good seats at this game as well, so we were eager to see if we could spot another Paw Sox pitcher in the stands. Very recognizable to us was Michael Bowden, the previous night's starter.
He was busy charting pitches, but you couldn't blame him if he was a bit distracted at times, as right behind him among the wives and girlfriends (W.A.G.s, if you will) of the Paw Sox was the fiancee of fellow pitcher Clay Buchholz. And who's that? Lindsay Clubine, number 26 herself from TV's Deal or No Deal!
Not all the familiar faces were in the stands. Some were on the field too. We were glad to see Iggy Suarez playing third base. Iggy had recently received his first Triple-A call-up (from the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs) and we were hoping to see him in action. He picked up his first Triple-A hit during the game and added a second base knock for a 2-4 afternoon. Good job!
On a rehab stint from the Red Sox was Mark Kotsay, who served as DH. Nothing against the guy, and we do appreciate that he was also once a Sea Dog back when they were a Florida Marlins affiliate, but we like seeing "our" players better. Still, he got a nice ovation from the fans, due to his name recognition.
But you can bet we cheered louder for Iggy!
Meanwhile, another former (and most likely future) Paw Sox was having the time of his life with the Red Sox. Jonathan Van Every, the onetime Cleveland farmhand, made a great diving catch against his former employers in Wednesday's Red Sox/Indians game, then hit a home run in the tenth inning for the winning run in a 6-5 Sox win.
What a game, but what could he do for an encore? How about pitch? The next night, the Sox were on the bad end of a 13-0 margin in Tampa. The bullpen was getting roughed up and another arm was needed. Leave it to "Lefty" Van Every to finish the game. He does it all!
No matter what happens to J-V-E in the future, he'll have some great stories to tell about his time in the Show!
And who could ask for anything more?
This Triple-A version of the Braves found a new home in Gwinnett, GA after having called Richmond, VA their home since 1966. That's quite a long time, especially for the IL, where teams seem to change locations and/or affiliations fairly often.
Whatever the Braves' reason for moving, Richmond's loss is Gwinnett's game, as who wouldn't want a minor league team nearby?
There had been a fair amount of rain in the area during the week and the forecast didn't sound brilliant for Saturday, but the weather was actually quite nice for the game. It was cool at the start, got a little warmer as the game went on. It did start to rain, but not until we were already on our way back
home. Talk about good timing!As for the game itself, the Paw Sox pretty much had their way. Right fielder Chris Carter (at left) hit a home run in the second inning to give them a lead they never relinquished. The seven runs put up in the third was all they need for an 8-5 victory.
Enrique Gonzalez, whom we had seen in the stands charting pitches on our last trip to McCoy, was the starter and picked up the win.
The save was notched by fireballer Daniel Bard. As noted before, this kid can throw! Who else could throw a fastball registering 97 on the pitch speed, then reverse it on the next pitch for a 79 mph change-up, with the same motion? Take that, Lars!
We had good seats at this game as well, so we were eager to see if we could spot another Paw Sox pitcher in the stands. Very recognizable to us was Michael Bowden, the previous night's starter.
He was busy charting pitches, but you couldn't blame him if he was a bit distracted at times, as right behind him among the wives and girlfriends (W.A.G.s, if you will) of the Paw Sox was the fiancee of fellow pitcher Clay Buchholz. And who's that? Lindsay Clubine, number 26 herself from TV's Deal or No Deal!
Not all the familiar faces were in the stands. Some were on the field too. We were glad to see Iggy Suarez playing third base. Iggy had recently received his first Triple-A call-up (from the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs) and we were hoping to see him in action. He picked up his first Triple-A hit during the game and added a second base knock for a 2-4 afternoon. Good job!
On a rehab stint from the Red Sox was Mark Kotsay, who served as DH. Nothing against the guy, and we do appreciate that he was also once a Sea Dog back when they were a Florida Marlins affiliate, but we like seeing "our" players better. Still, he got a nice ovation from the fans, due to his name recognition.
But you can bet we cheered louder for Iggy!
Meanwhile, another former (and most likely future) Paw Sox was having the time of his life with the Red Sox. Jonathan Van Every, the onetime Cleveland farmhand, made a great diving catch against his former employers in Wednesday's Red Sox/Indians game, then hit a home run in the tenth inning for the winning run in a 6-5 Sox win.What a game, but what could he do for an encore? How about pitch? The next night, the Sox were on the bad end of a 13-0 margin in Tampa. The bullpen was getting roughed up and another arm was needed. Leave it to "Lefty" Van Every to finish the game. He does it all!
No matter what happens to J-V-E in the future, he'll have some great stories to tell about his time in the Show!
And who could ask for anything more?
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