Which Team Tonight

 The boys are in Hoptown tonight playing the 4-3 Hoppers for the second time. The first time we loss to them poorly in Fulton on Monday. Our record stands at 3-4 and its still early in the season. We've seen the Railroaders at their best and worse so far. Wonder which team we'll see tonight, Good or Bad. We need to win to even our record!

Tale of Two Teams

Last night’s win over the Stallions was a solid victory and the way the Railroaders should be playing. Compared to the previous evening’s game loss to the Rhythm, I thought we were seeing a different team. Obviously the guys woke up overnight and played a great game to get Fulton their first win at home on the season.

The Stallions were held to only 2 earned runs and the three Railroader pitchers threw a firm game walking only 3 batters, giving up 3 hits and struck out 12 batters, a reversal from the night before. And they held on strong to finish the final inning. Two Fulton errors did not factor in Stallion scoring thanks to the pitching performance.

At the plate the Railroaders were hot kicking out 10 hits to produce 8 earned runs. A big 4th inning showed the guys sending ten men to the plate to get 6 runs from 6 hits that included 2 doubles, a triple and one homerun. Another 2 RBI homerun was added in 5th.   

All this is good and needs to be carried over into tonight’s game at Dubois against the 3-1 Bombers. I believe the guys are finding their Moxie as a Team. Tonight’s game should tell us even more. Friday’s home game with the River Dawgs should be a show to watch.

Here’s How I See It!

Questionable call(s) by the home plate umpire sure put a damper on last night’s game against the Hoppers. For the benefit of those who weren't there, I won’t bother describe the mess that occurred. For those in attendance who witness the poor officiating, there is nothing to add. I will say, after a little research, this call appears to be the most controversial interference rule in baseball. Time to move on and forward to next game and the season.

The Railroaders travel to Hendersonville tonight for another game with the 3-0 Full Count Rhythm. After losing the first 2 home games, the Railroaders need a second road victory to even their record.

After 3 games: The Opponents have struck out 42 Railroaders at the plate, while Fulton pitching struck down 23 players. That needs fixing!

Our pitching ERA is at 6.33. Of the total 27 runs scored against us, 8 were unearned.

Fulton totaled 13 errors in the three games while the opponents had 5 total (that needs work, too) .

At the plate we are at a .220 AVG with a .365 OBA (19 batters who walked help that average).

Enough said. Once thing for sure, the hometown fans are fired up at the Yard and ready for seasonal Railroader baseball. Tomorrow Fulton hosts the Muhlenberg Stallions, weather permitting, 7:05 start.

Hoghead Is Back

Upon request, I have returned from the grave to make a comment. Here we go!

After the first 2 completed games for 2021 the Railroaders find themselves with a 1-1 record and 42 regular season games to go. For sure, its too early to know how we’ll shape up at this point. That said, there are a few interesting points to look at after these early games..

Our first game was a victory over the Chiefs on the road at Paducah. Our loss was to the Rhythm at Home in Fulton. In the last active season of 2019, the Railroaders opened on with a road loss in Paducah follow by a win at home.

This year in two games we had 54 batters and runners put out. Of those, 31 were strikeouts. Whoa, that’s a 57% strikeout rate! It has been my observation in the past that the pitching tends to suffer early season and the bats a much better. Maybe we need to settle down a little. I have always subscribed to at least make the pitcher throw a strike first before swinging. Just a thought…..

Lastly, in 2 games we’ve had 7 errors. Another good reason to settle down and focus. This is not a good trend to fall into.

Bottom line for me is this: We haven’t had a .500 or above season record since 2015. Consider this: We were never below .500 in season for 10 straight, 2006-2015! I think we need to turn the tide and make this a winning year! Let’s Go Railroaders and beat the Hoppers at the Yard tonight, game time is 6:00 p.m..