In looking at the line score, this game didn’t seem to be too bad, as we were winning at the time we had a major meltdown in the bottom of the 8th inning. We gave up a “crooked number” in the box score (7 runs), and that pretty much doomed us. To our credit, we tried to come back, picking up 2 in the top of the ninth, but it just wasn’t enough. Most of that meltdown was by Jeff Zimmerman, who was credited with 7 earned runs with no outs recorded. Saw a quote by him that said his ERA looked like a fish. I didn’t get that at first until I realized the infinity symbol is a sideways 8, and it does look like a fish, sorta. :) Three of the other runs were given up by Glendon Rusch, someone I don’t expect to be here past Spring, so I don’t much care about that. Zim, well this was his first game in two years or so, and while a 7 spot is really ugly, I’m not to worried about that either. The rest of our pitching was pretty good (5 pitchers combined for 9 hits over 5.1 innings, and 2 runs). A few too many hits, but not a lot of runs.
Mike Young, Kevin Mench, & Gerald Laird led the way offensively. Hell, even Ramon Nivar took a walk! We got a couple of home runs today, one by Mark Teixeira, and another by Kevin Mench (off of short lived former Ranger Dave Burba).
OK, after winning the first two, we lost the next three. (unless you count an unofficial B game, in which case, we’re 2-4).
Still waiting a bit longer before I attempt to score any games – scoring spring training games this early in spring training is a nightmare. Although someone I met at the Ballpark last year gave me an idea. Score the game, but score it as if there were no substitutions in the game at all. I might just do that next weekend on paper, as my “Spring Training” for scoring. ;)
