Ninth inning rants

Upperdecker manager Marcus Bunch takes on John Brandeberry’s Rising Bamm! Beanos

Pardon me if I rant about my team’s performance today,

See, my Twin City Thunderchickens took on the Moline Upperdeckers managed by Marcus Bunch.  He came all the way down to Urbana to play two nine-game series; one against my cross-town rival John Brandeberry and his Rising Bamm! Beanos and the other against me.

The overall score doesn’t matter (ok, he beat me 5 games out 9) but my frustrations lie with two ninth inning situations.  Surely, they’ve happened to you.

Game #4

Down 4-1 going into the bottom of ninth, I have two out and a runner on first.  Jacoby Ellsbury begins to rally with a base hit making it first and second.  An E-5 scores a run making it 4-2 and first and second with #3 hitter Nick Markakis up. 

Now Markakis is the tying run and I just need two to tie.  I roll the bones and get an 11-0.  Woo-hoo!  We’re going into extra!!  My next roll?  52-7.  My jaw dropped.  A single and a run.  I’ve never been so frustrated over a rbi hit.  Why oh why could it have been anything but a second column seven? 

Yes I had one more out left and it was even Albert Pujols but I must have used up all my mojo on that 11.  Albert rolled a 16-13. 

Upperdeckers win 4-3

Game #9

In the last game, once again in the ninth inning (this time in the top of the frame), I was down 3-2.  Marcus announced he was bringing in Francisco Rodriguez.  I practically giggled like a school girl when he made his announcement.  We owned K-Rod all series.  Win or lose, he couldn’t get the 1-2-3. 

And this game was no exception.  Ryan Zimmerman started us off with a base hit.  One strikeout later, Mike Cameron walked, something K-Rod was familiar with doling out.  Next up, Scotty Podsednik, who was pinch hitting for weak hitting Geovany Soto, followed up with a well-placed 35-9 to load the bases with a base single.  The sacks were drunk with only one out.  Surely I could squeeze out a run to at least tie the game.

I pinch hit for the pitcher with Casey McGehee.  Then came my critical mistake.  I failed to coach Ryan Zimmerman at third. 

What did I roll?  A 23-39.  Zimmerman is caught stealing home.  ARGGH!

McGehee then followed that up with a strikeout to end the game.  K-Rod had the last laugh with an ugly save.

Upperdeckers win 3-2.

Seriously, a well fought series by the Upperdeckers   They had a rough time of it as five of their players were injured during the course of the nine games.