Suns lose decisive Game Five

Before we start, I likely will not be doing a post on Ohio State's 66-0 blasting of Kent State.
Since Saturday was so busy (more next week), I didn't see the game as I badly needed the rest and considering the score, I doubt if I watch the tape,

The Hagerstown Suns had a chance to give the hometown "crowd" a rarity-as in not just a championship, but a title on home ground.
The Suns fell short in the decisive game five as they lost to the Asheville Tourists 4-1 at the Muni.
This post will cover the three home games at the stadium, where the Suns lost two of the three (winning game four, but losing the third and fifth games).
I am planning a post soon that looks back at the season with some scouting reports on players and maybe some memories from the season.
But that's for later.


1) I was decidedly unimpressed with the umpiring in this series throughout all three games.
It didn't decide the series on one play, but they were consistently missing calls for both teams every night and don't get me started on the strike zones.
If this is the best crew that the league could assemble, I wonder how bad some of the others were throughout the season...

2) OK, Get me started on the strike zone.
I would make a real case that this series was decided in game three when the Tourists defeated Reynaldo Lopez in large part because Lopez lacking his best stuff simply could not get any call on his curve.
That changed the game as Lopez had to become fastball dependent and gave up three runs including a long homer to Jordan Patterson.

3) The Lopez loss then meant the Suns were in a position of having to win back to back games started by Travis Ott and Nick Pivetta and that was simply unlikely to happen against a team the quality of the Tourists.
Ott pitched passably enough in game four in his two and two thirds even he did allow two homers, but he did work his way out of a bases-loaded situation in the second without allowing a run.

4) The Sun's bullpen had been an Achilles Heel all season, but in the three games here, the Suns' relievers allowed just one run and that was a run allowed in game three by Nick Lee after the Tourists already had a sizable lead.
Excellent work by an often questioned unit.

5) Jake Johansen's outing in game four in relief of Ott was the underrated point of that victory,
The hard-throwing, but erratic Texan fired three and two-third innings and allowed just one hit in keeping the Suns close as the team teetered close to elimination.
Johansen may have had a disappointing season, but he showed the potential to have a future in the bullpen and came up huge when the Suns needed it most.

6) I've been to a lot of games at the dreary and crumbling Muni and most of the time, it's the same regulars watching the game, but I have never heard a roar like I did when Cody Dent's three-run homer to right field cleared the wall.
The old stadium was trembling from a nice, but not packed crowd and it was the moment that I want to remember from the 2014 season.

7) As excited as I was to have game five and a chance to win the series, I was not confident by any means.
That was mainly because Nick Pivetta was getting the start.
I know some think Pivetta is a prospect because he made the All-Star team, but Nick Pivetta is the prototype reason that smart baseball people don't look at wins as a top pitching statistic.
When Pivetta pitched this season, you had to count on scoring four (and usually five) runs or more to win the game.
I don't consider a pitcher like that in the South Atlantic League to be a prospect.
Pivetta did what he usually did (four runs in five innings) and on this night- the Hagerstown offense could not pick him up.

8) I mentioned this point earlier in the series, but I still never understood the reasoning behind starting club handed Carlos Lopez at first and the usually dependable Jimmy Yezzo at DH.
Lopez made some errors during the series and not that Yezzo is Mark Grace at the sack, but he was far superior to Lopez around the bag.
When you could flip the pair's position and still had the same lineup, I wonder why that was done.

9) When you have four umpires, you shouldn't miss a home run call.
In-game three, the umpires did just that in the ninth inning as Wilmer Difo's shot cleared the first level of the fence for a homer and yet the call was a double.
At the right-field wall at the Muni, the wall is separated so the visiting team's relievers can walk under the wall to reach their bullpen, If the ball hits above that point,, the ruling is supposed to be a home run. It did and it wasn't and I might have been the closest fan to the play.

10) Craig Manuel returned to the team to catch the final two games after Spencer Kieboom injured himself stealing a base in game three.
Rather attempting to steal a base that is as the slow booted Kieboom was out by the proverbial country mile, was injured on the play and then was removed from the game for Austin Chubb after the play and Manuel for the series.
As much as I like Craig Manuel personally, Spencer Kieboom is the superior bat, even if he may be the inferior defensive catcher.
Offensively, the Suns certainly took a hit in the batting order without Kieboom.

11) I picked Asheville to win the series because of their superior sticks, but give their arms some credit too.
Konner Wade beat the Suns twice and never allowed a run in either start, while Zach Jemiola came into game three with a plus-five ERA and definitely the B-Side to Reynaldo Lopez and fired a gem over eight and one-third innings.
When Lopez was not as his usual form and the absence of Lucas Giolito (more on that soon), the Sun's advantage on the hill for the season disappeared and they were never going to have the hitting edge not with...

12) Patrick Anderson's insistence of playing David Masters at shortstop was basically giving Asheville an out each time at the plate.
Anderson often used Wilmer Difo at short during the season with Brennan Middleton at second.
Now Middleton is not a prospect or exactly Robinson Cano (.253 O HR's) in the lineup, but compared to the anemic bat of Masters (.182 O HR's), the Suns gave some outs away during this series.
When the casual fans are groaning each time that Masters name was announced, you know you have problems.
It almost came across as the Nationals brass wanted to see Masters play and told Anderson so.

13) I did like Anderson's handling of the pitching staff in the series.
He didn't leave a pitcher in that was getting hammered and wasn't afraid to go to the pen early either.
Anderson's removal of Travis Ott in game four after allowing two homers and a 3-0 deficit saved the game for the Suns in the third inning.
Anderson's decisive decision kept his team in the game before things got out of hand, which it seemed was precariously close to happening.

14) Now to the big question-Lucas Giolito.
Would the Suns have won this series with the righthander making the start?
Well, I wouldn't go as far as to say yes, but you have to think a Giolito start rather than two Nick Pivetta starts would have increased their chances.
I'll get into the whys and wherefores on the Nationals in my season-ending Suns review, but the parent club's cap of Giolito at 98 innings was ridiculous.
I see no correlation in injury between 98 innings pitching and 108 for a season even considering Giolito's past Tommy John surgery.
They could have easily told Patrick Anderson that he could have Giolito for ten innings in the playoffs (Greensboro and Asheville) to be used at his discretion, Whether he wanted to use them in two five-inning starts or a shorter mix from the bullpen.

15)   Finally, the better team won.
Asheville just has more talent as their top six hitters in the batting order last night all are of super to decent prospect status-I really like Jose Briceno's arm behind the plate, David Dahl is putting things together off an injury-plagued 2013 and Raimel Tapia looks to have plenty of tools for a 20-year-old.
In comparison, the Suns really had just three in Rafael Bautista, Wilmer Difo (who was my surprise of the season) and Drew Ward (so young playing the entire year at 19 that I might even return him to Hagerstown to start next year) and frankly I might take any of the Rockies six over any of the three Suns as prospects.
The Suns needed to outpitch Asheville and get some luck, they just couldn't get enough of either...

Back later with the New Orleans Saints in Cleveland...