Seal Blubber

Here are some random thoughts after my visit to the ballyard on Wednesday night:

1. Strange things happen in independent baseball.
   
   Take the top of the 9th inning in Wednesday's 3-1 win over Orange County for instance. Eziequiel Ruvalcaba started the inning by walking the first two batters he faced. With closer Javier Garcia unavailable after picking up saves in the last two Seals games, Darrell Evans called in righty Mike Reeves to take over (who now sports a whopping 16.62 ERA). Reeves then lost control of a curveball and hit the first batter he faced. Later in the inning he walked in a run before shutting the door to pickup the save. The totals for the half-inning? One run on three walks, one hit batsmen and a half-dozen Tums for Darrell Evans.
   


2. Isaac Hess sure is fun to watch pitch.
   
   In the home opener, he didn't have control of his breaking pitches but he gutted it out and kept the team in the game by only giving up two earned runs in six innings. On Wednesday night, Isaac was on. His line was 6 2/3 IP, 3 hits, 4 walks and 8 strikeouts. The outing drops his ERA to 2.37 and opponents are hitting a meek .174 against him.
   
   The funniest part of the evening was when Evans came out of the dugout in the 7th inning to take him out of the ballgame. Before the manager could even get to the foul line, Hess was shaking his head back and forth and saying "No, no, no". He did not want to come out of the game. The two of them argued back and forth for a good 10 seconds with both of them shaking their heads in unison trying to win the debate. The manager always wins these battles though. You just have to love watching a pitcher on the mound who clearly loves what he does and has such passion for the game.
   


3. Why do Victorians love Jamar Hill so much?
   
   Out of the 11 Seals with more than a single at-bat, he's 6th in batting average, 3rd in on-base percentage and 6th in slugging percentage. But he seems to get the loudest cheers and the most vocal support out of the entire team. I for one can't figure it out. He regularly doesn't run out ground balls, he's a poor baserunner and every flyball to him is an adventure in left. This guy clearly has a lot of raw talent, but he offends the baseball gods at every turn. I'll take Hess, Pedroza, Arhart or Rios any day of the week over Jamar. Or maybe it's the fact that he still has his "Hill" sticker on the back of his batting helmet. Jamar, try writing your name or number on the inside of the helmet!
   


4. Time is runing out before the new video screen is installed at RAP.
   
   There are a lot of ugly ERA's and two nasty batting averages on the team. Those fellows better turn the corner quick because once the new scoreboard is working everyone in the park will know who is stinking it up (Yes, I'm talking to you Mr. Reeves!).