FanPost

Game report: Vancouver Canadians find their feet, pitchers continue to shine.

The response to my first few posted game reports from Vancouver's Nat Bailey Stadium has been great, so here's the latest, from today's daytime game against the Rockies-affiliated Tri-City Dust Devils. Yet again, it was a squeaker.

(Reposted from Notes From The Nat)


(Canadians coach and Mexican League hall-of-famer, Juan Navarrete, at today's C's game)

When you're a college pitcher entering the baseball draft, the last team you want to hear say your name is the Colorado Rockies. And if you do get drafted by the Rockies, you really want to play well in the minors so that another team will buy you. So when Tri-City Dust Devils pitcher James Freeman came in to today's game with an ERA of 11.57, chances were good that his nerves would be a little on edge. Thankfully, for Freeman anyway, the Vancouver Canadians seemed to be sharing those nerves, as management switch about the line-up before every game, add players to the roster every morning, and try to cope with a crop of kids who have never played pro ball before, let alone pro ball with wooden bats.

And that was the story of the first two innings of this game between the Canadians and the Dust Devils - nerves, panic, mistakes and defense. A prime example of this came when C's lead-off man Chalon Tietje drew a walk to open the game, and was then given the signal to steal second. Granted, one could suggest that the C's coach, Juan Navarrete, was looking to go with the unexpected, but when Tietje was thrown out, and the next two hitters drew walks, the decision looked like a bad one in the cold harsh light of day.

Instead of taking the lead, the C's failed to bother the scoreboard attendant for the next two innings... And then came the third.

Vancouver starter, Jeff Gray, had a great start to the year, conceding just 3 hits over six innings in a start against Yakima, and though he was picked up in the 32nd round of last year's post-college draft (which means he probably got enough of a sign-on bonus to take his girlfriend to Red Lobster), Gray opened today's game looking strong, composed, smooth and every inch the prospect. Not as fast as Joe Newby, but showing a ton more control, Gray's only hiccup came in the top of the 3rd, where two singles, a sacrifice bunt, and a groundball to second saw a run score for Tri-City. To his credit, Gray struck out Dev's SS Pedro Strop to retire the side and get out of a rough situation.

In response, the C's grew a set, with a linedrive to center from 17th round draft pick Isaac Omura opening out the inning. Omura is a real nugget of a player - your typical squat second baseman, with a very much untypical ability to locate the ball and send it back past the pitcher's head. He barely looks old enough to be out of pyjamas, but Omura continues the tradition of Oakland pilfering the best players Hawaii has to offer (such as Kurt Suzuki).

With Omura on base, Chalon Tietje drew a very patient walk, working his way back from 1-2, and suddenly the C's were looking dangerous. That is, until big shortstop Frank Martinez clanked an attempted bunt straight to the pitcher, allowing him to throw out the lead runner with ease. Chris Tritle won few friends when he popped out for the second out, and the Nat Bailey faithful began to get that uneasy feeling they'd experienced so many ties in the last few days - that their team was about to invent a brand new way to blow a scoring chance.

But that would be the expected, and anyone who has called themselves a baseball fan for a year or more knows that the unexpected is an integral part of the game. Just ask Hass Pratt, the leggy slugger who took a pitch in the back, loading the bases so that an ensuing wild pitch would see Vancouver score the equalizing run, irrespective of their own mistakes.

For Freeman, it could have been so much worse - the next pitch was drilled by right fielder Jose Garcia down the third base line, forcing Tri-City third baseman Phillip Cuadrado to pull a great catch out of his backside to end the inning, and save what would have been at least two runs, and maybe more.

So going into the fourth, the scores were level at one a piece, and they'd stay that way as C's pitcher Jeff Gray gave new meaning to the word 'consistency'. Ground out, ground out, pop out, fly out, fly out, fly out... and not a walk to speak of.

Bottom of the fifth, and the C's were still pumped and looking for the lead. Tietje singled to right, looking more and more comfortable in the lead-off role, and Frank Martinez did likewise, before Chris Tritle chipped one into shallow center and loaded the bases. Coach Juan Navarrete's decision not to send Tietje home drew boos from the bleacher bums, but credit where it's due - Navarrete made the perfect call, especially with only one out. Unfortunately, the fates conspired to turn that decision sour, when a weak grounder by Hass Pratt saw Tietje thrown out at home, and a second weak grounder from Jose Garcia saw the umpire erroneously call out the sliding Tritle as he barreled head first into third to end the inning.

From my angle, Tritle had beaten the third baseman to the bag by a comfortable margin as Martinez slid home, but in short season Single-A ball, you're only given two umpires, so a close call at third is called by an ump standing at second. Hardly the ideal sightline for such an important play.

Irrespective, the Dust Devils were already on their second pitcher, and rapidly moving towards their third. Freeman, the starter, has an odd throwing action that seems to not allow his pitching arm to straighten at all before he goes into his motion. It's a quick action, and one that no doubt has some hitters guessing, but you have to wonder how he manages to generate enough power when his throwing motion starts right beside his head. His repalcement, Stephen Edsall, kept things together through the sixth, but in the seventh, with Jeff Gray throwing down K's and groundball outs, the pressure finally wilted the visitors.

With a new pitcher on the mound in Patrick Stanley, the Dev's watched Chalon Tietje again open things with a walk, and though Martinez and Tritle grounded into force-outs to get the inning to two outs, the inning was far from over. Tritle stole second, and then Hass Pratt singled him to third, before Jose Garcia singled up the middle to score a run, and Jeff Baisley pushed Tri-City into making a fundamental fielding error at third, which allowed another run to score.

I must say, I really like Vancouver's ability to make runs happen with two outs down - a trait they've demonstrated several times this homestand. It seems to be a trend that they get someone on base, somehow screw up the next couple of outs, and when the chips are down they finally concentrate on the task at hand and make things happen. It plays hell with the fans, who never know whether to cheer or cry, but when you can make as many mistakes as the C's have been making in offense and still come out in the lead, you're in a better position than most.

Out came University of Hawaii grad Stephen Bryant (left) to replace Jeff Gray (7 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 4 K's, no walks) in the 8th inning, and though Bryant had looked nervous as he warmed up in the bullpen, once on the mound he was all business. A 20th round draft pick, Bryant looks like he hits somewhere around the mid to high 80's in speed, throwing in a curveball to mix things up when his fastball is getting noticed. Over two innings to close out the game, he struck out one and surrendered just one hit. Solid outing.

All in all, a weird game. The crowd seemed subdued and so, for the most part, did the players. But pitcher Stephen-Ryder Carter said it best after the game when he told me, "We've got a great team here... the hitting is good, but the pitching is ungodly."

Sho' nuff.

Game notes:

  • Chalon Tietje looks very comfortable now in the lead-off role, and seems to be taking on a real 'heart of the team' attitude on the bags. He worked hard all game, both on the basepaths and in the field, and showed great patience at the plate to end up with a line of 1 from 2 with 3 walks. Very, very nice stuff. After the game, Tietje told me "I was hitting great in Kane County for a while there, and then I just went pffft. So hopefully the step back to Vancouver will give me a chance to get back in the swing. That's baseball - one day you're on fire, the next you're on a bus."
  • Oakland head of player development, Keith Lieppman, was in attendance, yammering into his cellphone as Jeff Gray threw a great game. I talked often with Lieppman last season, so if he sticks around I'll see if I can get some face time with him and find out anything I can about this year's batch.
  • Jose Garcia is starting to become a C's fan favorite. He always seems dangerous when he's at the plate, and seems to have a real habit of getting clutch hits. As a right fielder, to date he has showed good speed, good hands, and great discipline at the plate.
  • Isaac Omura may be off a lot of people's radars, and he has one of the weirdest batting stances around (his back leg is bent and turned way inside, while his front foot extends straight out), but the little second-bagger is a dynamo with the bat in hand. Though he only managed 1 from 4 today (no C's hitter managed more than one hit on the day), he was unlucky a few times, seemingly getting good wood on a lot of pitches, but falling victim to bad luck and good fielding. One to watch.
  • Speaking to the Canadians media liaison, it seems there's been so much interest in this new crop of recruits, that the press office is actually telling some media outlets they can't help them with interviews. For a team at this level, this is a real first, because last year the C's media personnel couldn't get coverage if they paid for it. What gives with this sudden enthusiasm for interviews with Vancouver players? C's media honcho Leanne Cass can't really explain it; "It's strange, we're actually getting requests from all over the US to speak with anyone we can get. Not just the new guys, not just the stars, but anyone at all. We have TV cameras all over the ground today... I don't know what the added interest is, to be honest, but I'm exhausted! Take it from me, I'm never doing Breakfast Television again, especially after the game the night before went 13 innings!"
  • Clay Tichota, who had pitched below his best in Kane County earlier this season, tells me he "experienced some twinging" which led to his shift down to Vancouver. Tichota says "We've pretty much worked through it, so I'm good now. Havent lost any speed on it, I'm still in the late 80's/early 90's." When I suggested that the twinge may have been picked up during some late night elbow bending activity at The Roxy nightclub, Tichota just smiled and said "So you coming out tonight?" "No bloody way," I said, "The last time I went out drinking with you, I got a wife out of the deal."
  • Vancouver wraps up this home stand tomorrow night for the final game of the Dust Devils home series. As always, listen to the call (which I can confirm is very entertaining - the C's have turned one of their funnier beer-sellers into a color man) right here.