You might have heard something in the news about Hurricane Isaac, the giant watery behemoth that is currently soaking the Gulf Coast as it slowly crawls north to lift the drought in the Midwest. Needless to say, hurricanes are not good for baseball. Generally when one of these storms hits, baseball teams clear out for less dangerous fields.
And that is exactly what the New Orleans Zephyrs have done. The schedule said they were to play Round Rock at home this week. The Pacific Coast League decided to move that series to Texas. Starting Friday, however, the Zephyrs are scheduled to play the Iowa Cubs in New Orleans. Home plate in the Zephyr’s home stadium is just 3.5 miles from the shore of Lake Pontchartrain. That’s nothing to a hurricane, especially one that is supposed to produce a lot of rain like this one. That stadium is going to get very, very wet before this thing is over.
Now for the difficult questions. How long does it take to rehabilitate a baseball diamond after a Category 1 hurricane passes over head? How fast can a grounds crew prepare a baseball diamond that received as much as twenty inches of rain in a matter of hours? Can they have they have the stadium ready for play at 7 PM on Friday? That sounds like a tall order.
With all due respect to the grounds crew in New Orleans, I strongly suspect the Iowa – New Orleans series will be moved, quite possibly to Iowa. Should that happen, Iowa fans could get one last unexpected chance to see their beloved Cubs. Fans in that area should watch for an announcement by Thursday afternoon and make some tentative plans to visit the ballpark this weekend, just in case the series is moved to drier conditions up north.
Best wishes to those who find themselves being visited by Isaac. Hurricanes are never pleasant, but here’s hoping this one is more gentle than most.
Scores From Yesterday
Iowa – Iowa had trouble turning hits into runs in this 7-3 loss. Tennessee – Tennessee ended their home season with a ten inning 6-5 win. Daytona – Daytona. Rain. I think you see where this is going. After yesterday’s postponement they’ll try the doubleheader again today. I wish them luck. Peoria – The Chiefs gave up three in the ninth to lose this one 4-1. Boise – Boise kicked off their final home stand with a 7-3 win. Arizona – The AZL Cubs back into the playoffs with a 6-4 home loss.
Performances of the Day
[Iowa] Despite ten hits, the only Cubs’ scoring in this game came from Alfredo Amezaga. He drove in all three of the Iowa tallies, two of them on a home run.
[Tennessee] Frank Batista blew the save in the ninth, but he came back out in the tenth and picked up his second Double A win.
[Tennessee] Michael Brenly went 3 for 4 with his 6th home run for the Smokies.
[Tennessee] Logan Watkins won the game with his tenth inning home run, his seventh of the season.
[Peoria] Jorge Soler walked twice and scored the Chiefs only run. Through 15 games in Peoria, his OPS is a very respectable .861.
[Boise] Pierce Johnson struck out three over the first two innings while allowing one run on three hits.
[Arizona] Garrett Schlect finished 4 for 4 with both a double and a triple and three runs scored to lead the Cubs’ offense. He also stole his eighth base of the year and picked up an outfield assist at first base. I think it is safe to say that this was the best game of his career.
Other Minor League Notes
Ben Wells pitched again last night for Peoria. You may remember that Wells started the season with the Chiefs, but his season apparently ended when (it was reported) he had Tommy John surgery. Or did he? As noted the last time around in the Minor League Daily, it turns out that the Cubs decided to rest Wells for a few months to see if things would clear up before actually putting him under the knife. Apparently it worked, with Wells pitching for the second time yesterday on regular rest. Hopefully he can throw a bit more in the offseason, and be in a position to have a full, regular year in 2013.
It will be interesting to watch Boise’s attendance numbers this weekend. They have had trouble luring fans to the ballpark all season, and now that Boise State football is about to get underway I can imagine those troubles getting worse. On Tuesday night the Hawks drew just over 1700 fans despite it being their final home stand of the season and that the Hawks had clinched a trip to the playoffs. If fans won’t come out to watch a prospect laden, division champion, playoff bound team like the Hawks, what will they go watch? The answer, I suspect, is college football. Weekend games do tend to sell better than weekday games, so we will find out in a few days.
The AZL Cubs finished the regular season half a game behind the A’s. Even though they did not win the division, they are still playoff bound as the Wild Card team.
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NEWSLETTER
You might have heard something in the news about Hurricane Isaac, the giant watery behemoth that is currently soaking the Gulf Coast as it slowly crawls north to lift the drought in the Midwest. Needless to say, hurricanes are not good for baseball. Generally when one of these storms hits, baseball teams clear out for less dangerous fields.
