A Man in the Moment

What a great performance by the Railroaders last night against the Oilers, particularly Mitch McClay! After dropping his batting average to .267 over the last week, in a single game he brought it back up to .310. McClay came back big going 5 for 6 consisting of 3 singles, 1 double and a 2 out walk-off 2 RBI homerun in the 10th to win the game. While he only stole 1 or 7 bases for the Railroaders on the night, Mitch's steal was the starter for a double steal in which Joe Pudlo on 3rd base took home. McClay certainly has a game to remember as his play became the decisive factor against the Oilers.

The entire team should be proud their performance as a team last night. There down moments, but that didn't stop them from making the highs points. Defense when we needed it, come back pitching, great base running and stealing, and clutch hits were all a part of a good night of baseball at the yard. Let's work hard and take this game play on the road in the second half of the season and great things will happen!

Again, thanks for the thrills!

Road Record Woes

Our away games’ standing is 2 wins and 7 losses. “What’s with that!” We have a home record of 12 and 4, a .750 average, while on the road we are .222. Someone needs to figure out what’s making our players so much less effective on the road. Could it be bus? If so, I have custom luxury Thompson bus ready to roll for hire. If includes everything a good baseball team needs. There’s even a hot tub (girls not included) for the after game aches and pains. From Internet access to a custom body job, what more could you ask for? Oh yea, a WIN on the road!

Pirates are Humans too

As mid season approaches, the standings appear to be tightening up somewhat. The Railroaders benefited a half game in the rankings from a record breaking defeat of the Pirates at the hands of the Bobcats, 20-7, Wow! So there's nothing superhuman about the Bucs and they have loss 4 of their last 6 games. But mind you, they are still a good team, no doubt. The tide could be changing though as the lower half teams are starting to play some better ball. That means we are going to have to push the engine even harder to take the season.

The last place Browns have improved of late, winning 4 of their last 7. For the most part, they are keeping the games close, and I think they are the wild card in the league. They've had their woes, but make no mistake about it, they're getting tougher every game they play. Let's not take them lightly on Wednesday.

The Oilers have taken 4 wins out of their last 6, including 2 of 3 over the Pirates. They are in 3rd place at this posting and only 2 games behind the Railroaders. They have played the fewest games in the league thus far, several PPD games to make up, but they are playing solid baseball and will be a force to reckon with.

The Bobcats are only a half game behind the Oilers. They, too, are playing improved ball. As with the Oilers, the Cats have taken 4 of their last 6 games and beat the Pirates 2 or 3. They are done with Bucs yet either, Tradewater must face the Bobcats 4 more games in a row starting tonight.

As for the Railroaders, we're in good position to make a move. The players have will have had 8 days rest out of the last 12 days before Wednesday's doubleheader with the Browns. Let's make sure there's no rust on board the engine and everything is greased for action. In the last 12 days, we are 3 or 6 games played, and we need to improve on that. Time to get down to work and win, Baby, win!

The Nashville Panthers?

Our first inter-league match-up of the season is a doubleheader tomorrow with the Nashville Panthers, from the upstart Tennessee Summer Collegiate Baseball Association (TSCBA for short). And just who are these Cats? Are they just another breed of feline niggling into our Yard?

With a look on the TSCBA website we can see that the Panthers have the best record in their league at 10-5. They have a team batting average of .275, (the Railroaders average is.255), with 7 players batting over .300. Of the 115 hits total, 20 are for extra bases and there are no homeruns on the year (we have 11 after our last game). For Panthers, they seem a bit slow with only 16 stolen bases in their 15 games played. Our train has 44 in 18 games total. They have scored 52 runs averaging 3.5 per game, and the Railroader total 106 averaging 5.8 per game.

On the pitching front, the Panthers team ERA is 2.73 from a core of 11 pitchers. We’re weaker in this area with a team ERA of 4.16. So combine that with the Panthers better batting average, and we’d better be on our toes with defense! And speaking of Errors, the Panthers have 21 in the 15 games; while in our 18 games we have 37. We’ve done better over the last 3 games with only 3 errors but still, any error is one too many. With the Panthers, it could kill us!

It seems to me that the key to winning these games will be Defense. The bats seem hot and we have the speed to get it done on the bases. The Panthers have 4-1 record against other Kitty League teams this year, with their only loss coming at the hands of the Pirates. Let's give them a double-defeat tomorrow!

What’s wrong with the Railroaders?

You think it’s about time we take a look at record and numbers? The Railroaders current record is 9-8. In first 9 games, the guys won 7 and lost 2. Since then, the record shows only 2 wins and 6 losses. Is it the heat? The “at Home” record is pretty good at 7 wins, 3 losses while the “on the Road” not so good, 3-5. Are the Pirates really that good? Our record so far with them is 1 win, 4 lost. They have beat up on the other team too, but so have we. Tradewater has handed us half our losses. I know we’re better than that and I know we can turn it around. Let’s get a grip on things and start winning. We don’t face the Pirates again until July 17th in Fulton, and only face them 3 more times total. We may still be in 2nd place in the standings, but we’re 5 games behind Tradewater. Let’s get the steam pressure up and get this train rolling! The quality of our players and coaches are better than the record reflects. Let’s begin tonight at the Yard and put away the Bobcats, then repeat the same this Saturday when the Nashville Panthers come into town. The Panthers are the best of the TSCBA with a record of 10-4. The next 3 games we play are at Home, let make them all WINS!

Stolen Bases and Hits abound

What a show in Farmington on Wednesday. The train ride was certainly work it. The Railroaders are hitting all around and running the bases just the way I like it. It's so inspiring I'm going to work harder than even to be ready if I'm ever called up from under grandstand. Watching these guys play just make you want to out and get dirty. They are really getting ready for Pirates on Friday and Saturday, but first the Browns will follow us home for a Thursday night meeting at the Yard. I'd better get started back to be there in time. I have enjoyed the great chow they have in Farmington, but I sure miss the food at the Yard. I hope everyone will come out and cheer on the Railroaders as they really poor on the power. See you at the game!

Hobo Hoghead

I decided to hop a train and head to the farthest point north in Kitty League territory where the Browns reside. I made short time of it with only having to catch 3 trains and taking only 15 hours. Barely enough time for me to enjoy the trip and great leftovers I obtained from Tuesday night’s game in Fulton. What a game, huh? The boys are really at it now and I’m looking forward to seeing more, starting with Farmington. Did you know the Railroaders, after 7 games, have stolen 22 bases total? The entire league total is 54 and our guys have almost half of them! I enjoy aggressive base running as much as I do catching trains.

The 1-4 upstart Browns are behind everyone in the standings, but we all know that could change quickly. Wednesday night is the franchise Home opener in Farmington. I’m sure they’ll play their hearts out for a win. I’m looking for the Railroaders to have a different plan. Tomorrow, Thursday, the guys will return to Fulton and play the Browns a second game in the Yard. I’ll have to catch the midnight express to make in back down in time. But even if I have to walk, I’ll be there for some big weekend action.

The Railroaders are in the early season lead along with Pirates, but we have a couple of more games under out belts that they do. We're at 5-2 while they stand 4-1. On Friday, we’ll begin a 3 game series with the Pirates, one game on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday. This will be some good baseball playing between the current top 2 teams. The Railroaders have already face Pirates once this season, and they handed our first loss. I have feeling the outcome may be different after the two meet again the week’s end.

Well, I’ve got a couple miles to go before I reach Wilson-Rozier Park. No track or train from here on, so off on foot I go. If I start now, I may even beat the Railroaders bus. Hope the leftovers with are as good as they are at the Yard. If not, I brought plenty with me.