Cubs at Mets, 4-19-10 - Ike Davis Debut Edition
Ike is the first prospect I've watched from the draft all the way up to the Majors. Tonight, he's making his debut live on ESPN! Let's live-blog this thing!
Lineups:
Chicago:
Byrd, CF
Baker, 2B
Lee, 1B
Nady, RF
Ramirez, 3B
Soriano, LF
Soto, C
Theriot, SS
Wells, P
New York:
Pagan, CF
Castillo, 2B
Wright, 3B
Bay, LF
Francoeur, RF
Davis, 1B
Barajas, C
Cora, SS
Niese, P
Starting pitchers: Randy Wells vs. Jon Niese
Niese needs to stop smiling. It is making me keyboard smash on Twitter.
Top of the First:
Ike is excited over at first as Niese throws the first pitch, which is taken for a ball. Byrd then flies out veeeery far to right, but Frenchy has it for the first out. Baker works a count of 2-2 before singling. Derrek Lee takes a strike, then swings and misses at strike two. Niese comes high and inside on him for a ball, then has his next pitch fouled off. Finally, he strikes out on Niese's cutter (which is not as lovely as his curve, but still pretty nasty). Xavier Nady, a former Met who went to Cal grrrr, works a count of 1-1, then fouls off the next offering to make it 1-2. Nady grounds out to David Wright to end the inning, and that's that!
Bottom of the First:
Ike's roster photo is revealed. It looks Photoshopped. Angel Pagan steps in to face Randy Wells to kick things off, and he works a 2-2 count, then fouls off a cricket ball near the dirt. Finally, he flies out to center. Castillo follows and is immediately down 0-2, but then takes a ball. He fouls off a ball that almost looks like it wasn't hit, then flies out to left. David Wright steps up to the plate and is also quickly 0-2. After fouling off a second offering, he takes a ball, then strikes out, as David is often wont to do.
Top of the Second:
Niese starts off Aramis Ramirez with two strikes, then follows it up with two balls. But he strikes Ramirez out for his second K of the night! Soriano follows him, and he hammers one out to center, but it's a double because it's juuust out of the reach of Pagan. Niese comes right back with a strike to Soto, but falls behind him 3-1. David covers him with a nice pick to retire Soto, however, bringing up Theriot. Niese intentionally walks him to get to Wells. Wells grounds out, and Ike makes his very first out, throwing the ball over to Niese, who is covering first base. The Mets escape the inning!
Bottom of the Second:
Jason Bay leads off the bottom of the second. He singles to start things off! Francoeur follows him to the plate, swinging immediately at the first pitch he sees (because that's what Frenchy does). He fouls off the second pitch to make it 0-2. He swings yet again, popping out to short. And here we go...it's Ike time! He takes the first pitch for a strike, then fouls off the second one whilst spinning around in a circle. He fights off the third pitch he sees, then takes two balls. And he singles, getting his first Major League hit! Congratulations, Ike! Barajas follows the rookie up, taking two balls before fouling one off. Barajas grounds into a double play, in which Ike slides awkwardly to no avail.
Top of the Third:
After a called strike, Byrd singles to start the inning. Baker swings and misses at Niese's changeup, working a count of 2-2. ESPN, meanwhile, gets the Mets' rotation wrong, going with Santana-Pelfrey-Maine-Perez-Niese (it's Santana-Maine-Niese-Pelfrey-Perez). Niese induces a double play, and there are two quick outs. He then leads off Lee with his curveball, which Lee takes for a strike, then gets him to swing and miss at a cutter. Lee works a count of 3-2, but Niese gets him looking on a high fastball. And on we go!
Bottom of the Third:
Alex Cora leads off the inning, working a full count before grounding back out to the pitcher. Niese finally comes to the plate adorably, and after he quickly falls behind 0-2 he takes three balls to get to 3-2. After fouling off the next offering, he grounds out to Wells, much like Cora before him. Pagan is back up, and he slices one down the line foul, then ends up at 3-2 before grounding out to second to end the inning.
Top of the Fourth:
Nady lobs Niese's first offering over Cora's head for a base hit as ESPN shows some French students who are watching the Mets since they can't get home due to Iceland's volcanic eruptions. Ramirez is then up, and after working a 1-1 count he flies out to center. Soriano is now up, and he works a 2-1 count before knocking a base hit out to right, moving Nady to third. Soto is up next, but he ends up 3-2 before Niese strikes him out looking with that cutter for the second out. Theriot takes strike one, then ball one, then strike two, then fouls one off, then checks his swing on a ball in the dirt (that this huge Niese fan thinks he swung at), then takes strike three on the inside corner. Niese is insane through four.
Bottom of the Fourth:
Castillo bunts and aaaaalmost gets on, but he's barely thrown out at first for the first out. Wright follows him to the plate, David then immediately dumps a base hit into left field, and JayBay is up. He goes down 0-2 quickly, then strikes out looking. Frenchy then pops up into right, and that's that.
Top of the Fifth:
Niese throws Wells a ball or two to start things off. He then gets the count nice and even at 2-2, but then Wells gets a hit. Byrd singles, as well, after taking a strike, and there are two men on with no outs. Baker takes a ball, then a strike. Niese's third pitch just misses the zone for ball two, but he gets an out after David throws out Byrd at second. It's now first and third with one out. Niese throws a ball to start off Lee, but Lee fouls off the second pitch to make it 1-1. Niese throws his next two pitches high, but he gets him to swing and miss at a slider for a full count. Of course, he walks Lee to load the bases for Nady. Niese is starting to tire, and it's visible. He throws his first pitch to Nady high and outside, but gets Nady to swing and miss at the next offering. Nady fouls off the next pitch to make it 1-2, and Niese strikes him out. Ramirez swings at Niese's first offering (a changeup) and his second pitch (a cutter), and Niese retires him by getting him to ground out to third. Phew!
Bottom of the Fifth:
Ike is up again, and he looks a lot calmer than he did during his first at-bat. After taking a pitch, he flies out to left. Barajas fouls off the first two pitches, then swings and misses at the third one, and he's down on strikes. Alex Cora is up, and he takes the first pitch for a strike. The second pitch is a ball, but Cora singles down the right field line on the third offering to get on and bring up Niese, who singles! Pagan checks his swing on the first pitch, then ends up 2-0. He walks on four straight pitches to load the bases for Castillo. Castillo takes ball one, then ball two, and finally a strike to make his count 2-1. He slips a chopper up the middle and there's no play! The Mets score their first run as Cora comes home! David swings and misses at the first pitch he sees, then the second one, as well. He fouls the third pitch back, but then he strikes out to fux0r the rally. Typical.
Top of the Sixth:
Niese is still back out there for the sixth! He gets Soriano to pop up to Castillo for the first out. Nieve gets up in the pen as Niese throws three balls in a row to Soto. Finally, he gets a strike across the plate, but he walks him anyway on the fifth pitch. After Niese tosses yet another ball, Barajas comes over to have a little battery chat (because Thole is still in AAA Buffalo and cannot do this at the moment), and Niese starts throwing strikes again, working Theriot's count to 1-2 before striking him out. He's facing Wells again, and he leads him off with a ball before following it up with two strikes and a ball. Then there's a little pandemonium...the grounder Niese induces hops off of David's glove, and Cora throws it over to first, but it's a little too much for Ike to handle and there are runners on first and third with two out. Niese leaves the game with seven strikeouts and Fernando Nieve comes on to pitch the rest of the inning.
Nieve faces Marlon Byrd with two away, and his first pitch is fouled off. The ball is grounded off of Nieve, and the runner on third comes home. It's charged to Niese and I cry, because it means he still isn't getting a win. Jeff Baker finally grounds out to Nieve, and the inning ends. GRRRRRRRR.
Bottom of the Sixth:
I am still smarting over Niese not getting a win. He should've been allowed to finish the inning. Anyhow, JayBay takes a ball from Wells to start off the bottom of the sixth, but he fouls the next one off. He takes a second ball, then a third one, but he swings and misses and it's a full count. After fouling the next one off, he walks, bringing up Frenchy. Frenchy grounds into a force out, so there's one runner on base for Ike's third at-bat of the night. Ike hammers one out to right, but it's caught, much to the dismay of the crowd. Barajas is up with two outs, and he works a full count before striking out swinging to end the inning.
Top of the Seventh:
Nieve gets Lee to pop up on the first pitch, and one is away very quickly. Nady then flies out to left, and there's two away with Ramirez up. He flies out to Pagan, and that's it - a nice, quick inning for a change! Cue the Italian music!
Bottom of the Seventh:
James Russell in to pitch for the Cubs as Jose Reyes magically appears to lead off the inning! He swings and misses at the first two pitches he sees, then gets hit and is transported to first base by means of, well, his legs. Gary Matthews Jr. then appears directly after him, and after several failed attempts to pick off Jose, he takes two balls. Matthews attempts to bunt, but it goes foul, bringing the count to 2-1. Russell throws a second strike to make it 2-2, and Matthews fouls the next offering off, but then he finally strikes out and is booed. Pagan steps to the plate and finally gets to see a pitch - a strike - after Russell repeatedly tries to get Jose out at first. Pagan takes advantage of Russell's nerves and homers, giving the Mets a 3-1 lead! Now if only Nieve hadn't allowed that run. Grrrr. Castillo swings wildly at the first pitch and misses it, then takes a ball before lining out to Soriano for the second out. It's a pitching change - Jeff Samardzija is in to face David Wright. Samardzija's first pitch is a strike, and he gets David to swing and foul the second pitch off to make it 0-2. Somehow, it gets to 2-2, then 3-2, and then becomes a base on balls.
Meanwhile, in the dugout, Pagan appears to be trying to make out with Jose as Castillo looks on thoughtfully.
As JayBay takes a pitch or two, David steals second base, and JayBay hammers a ball off the wall for a double. David scores to bring the score up to 4-1 in favor of the home team! Frenchy then hits a ball directly at Aramis Ramirez, and it bounces off of him and allows JayBay to advance to third without incident. Frenchy happily sits on first as Ike steps to the plate. It's a pitching change again, and Sean Marshall takes the mound to face Dwight D. Eisenhower. Marshall's first pitch is a ball. Ike dodges the second pitch (which ESPN announces as the first "Ike Davis buckle in the big leagues"), as well as the third, but he squeaks a hit through the middle for his first RBI! Frenchy advances to third as JayBay comes home. Barajas swings and misses at a pitch, but it gets away and Frenchy scores to make it 6-1. Barajas grounds out to end the inning, and all seems well in Flushing.
Top of the Eighth:
Jennry Mejia, the youngest player in the Majors, is in to pitch. He delivers a strike at 94 mph to Soriano, then immediately gets ahead 0-2. Soriano grounds out to Wright and Mejia takes on Soto, starting him off with three balls. Although he throws a strike next, he walks Soto. Theriot is up next, taking a ball and a strike. The ball is hit towards Castillo, who tags out Soto and throws out Theriot to end the inning.
Bottom of the Eighth:
Justin Berg is the new Cubs pitcher; Jose leads off against him and immediately pops out to Byrd to start the inning. Gary Matthews, after taking a strike, grounds out to second. Pagan, who was attacked by David Wright in the dugout (who looked quite gay doing so - watch it, Jose, or Pagan'll steal your boyfriend!), takes a ball and two strikes before dodging a pitch near his ankles. He fouls a ball off and hops around for a second, then fouls off a second pitch. Pagan flies out to left to end the inning as Frank Catalanotto appears lurking in front of Jose in the dugout.
Top of the Ninth:
Mejia is still in to close things out! He throws two strikes to rookie Tyler Colvin, who's putting up a fight. Mejia finally gets him to swing and miss after several fouls. Byrd is up now, and Mejia gets behind him 2-1. Byrd fouls a ball off to even the count, then continually fouls off a bunch of pitches until Mejia hits him in the head. Fortunately, it glances off his helmet and he's okay. He picks up his helmet and marches it over to first base to hang with President Eisenhower. Mejia throws a strike to Jeff Baker, getting right back on track, and he grounds out to second for the second out. Derrek Lee is up, and Mejia throws him two balls before finally throwing a strike. Lee fouls off the fourth pitch, and Mejia just misses inside to bring it to a full count. Lee fouls off the next offering, but Mejia walks him to bring up pinch hitter Kosuke Fukudome. Frankie Rodriguez is up in the pen just in case as Mejia blazes a fastball by Fukudome for the first strike. He fouls off the second pitch from Mejia, and the Cubs are down to their final strike. Mejia fans Fukudome, and the Mets win 6-1!
Bottom of the Ninth:
This section is entirely unnecessary. Hoorah!
Good first game for Ike, I have to say, but he's still got some learning to do. Saw him in Spring Training this year and his hands were still a bit iffy, so he's got to work on that defense if he wants to stay in the majors. Anyhow, Niese, you and I are getting married, so set a date! (Not really. Besides, we all know I like Jed the best.)
Lineups:
Chicago:
Byrd, CF
Baker, 2B
Lee, 1B
Nady, RF
Ramirez, 3B
Soriano, LF
Soto, C
Theriot, SS
Wells, P
New York:
Pagan, CF
Castillo, 2B
Wright, 3B
Bay, LF
Francoeur, RF
Davis, 1B
Barajas, C
Cora, SS
Niese, P
Starting pitchers: Randy Wells vs. Jon Niese
Niese needs to stop smiling. It is making me keyboard smash on Twitter.
Top of the First:
Ike is excited over at first as Niese throws the first pitch, which is taken for a ball. Byrd then flies out veeeery far to right, but Frenchy has it for the first out. Baker works a count of 2-2 before singling. Derrek Lee takes a strike, then swings and misses at strike two. Niese comes high and inside on him for a ball, then has his next pitch fouled off. Finally, he strikes out on Niese's cutter (which is not as lovely as his curve, but still pretty nasty). Xavier Nady, a former Met who went to Cal grrrr, works a count of 1-1, then fouls off the next offering to make it 1-2. Nady grounds out to David Wright to end the inning, and that's that!
Bottom of the First:
Ike's roster photo is revealed. It looks Photoshopped. Angel Pagan steps in to face Randy Wells to kick things off, and he works a 2-2 count, then fouls off a cricket ball near the dirt. Finally, he flies out to center. Castillo follows and is immediately down 0-2, but then takes a ball. He fouls off a ball that almost looks like it wasn't hit, then flies out to left. David Wright steps up to the plate and is also quickly 0-2. After fouling off a second offering, he takes a ball, then strikes out, as David is often wont to do.
Top of the Second:
Niese starts off Aramis Ramirez with two strikes, then follows it up with two balls. But he strikes Ramirez out for his second K of the night! Soriano follows him, and he hammers one out to center, but it's a double because it's juuust out of the reach of Pagan. Niese comes right back with a strike to Soto, but falls behind him 3-1. David covers him with a nice pick to retire Soto, however, bringing up Theriot. Niese intentionally walks him to get to Wells. Wells grounds out, and Ike makes his very first out, throwing the ball over to Niese, who is covering first base. The Mets escape the inning!
Bottom of the Second:
Jason Bay leads off the bottom of the second. He singles to start things off! Francoeur follows him to the plate, swinging immediately at the first pitch he sees (because that's what Frenchy does). He fouls off the second pitch to make it 0-2. He swings yet again, popping out to short. And here we go...it's Ike time! He takes the first pitch for a strike, then fouls off the second one whilst spinning around in a circle. He fights off the third pitch he sees, then takes two balls. And he singles, getting his first Major League hit! Congratulations, Ike! Barajas follows the rookie up, taking two balls before fouling one off. Barajas grounds into a double play, in which Ike slides awkwardly to no avail.
Top of the Third:
After a called strike, Byrd singles to start the inning. Baker swings and misses at Niese's changeup, working a count of 2-2. ESPN, meanwhile, gets the Mets' rotation wrong, going with Santana-Pelfrey-Maine-Perez-Niese (it's Santana-Maine-Niese-Pelfrey-Perez). Niese induces a double play, and there are two quick outs. He then leads off Lee with his curveball, which Lee takes for a strike, then gets him to swing and miss at a cutter. Lee works a count of 3-2, but Niese gets him looking on a high fastball. And on we go!
Bottom of the Third:
Alex Cora leads off the inning, working a full count before grounding back out to the pitcher. Niese finally comes to the plate adorably, and after he quickly falls behind 0-2 he takes three balls to get to 3-2. After fouling off the next offering, he grounds out to Wells, much like Cora before him. Pagan is back up, and he slices one down the line foul, then ends up at 3-2 before grounding out to second to end the inning.
Top of the Fourth:
Nady lobs Niese's first offering over Cora's head for a base hit as ESPN shows some French students who are watching the Mets since they can't get home due to Iceland's volcanic eruptions. Ramirez is then up, and after working a 1-1 count he flies out to center. Soriano is now up, and he works a 2-1 count before knocking a base hit out to right, moving Nady to third. Soto is up next, but he ends up 3-2 before Niese strikes him out looking with that cutter for the second out. Theriot takes strike one, then ball one, then strike two, then fouls one off, then checks his swing on a ball in the dirt (that this huge Niese fan thinks he swung at), then takes strike three on the inside corner. Niese is insane through four.
Bottom of the Fourth:
Castillo bunts and aaaaalmost gets on, but he's barely thrown out at first for the first out. Wright follows him to the plate, David then immediately dumps a base hit into left field, and JayBay is up. He goes down 0-2 quickly, then strikes out looking. Frenchy then pops up into right, and that's that.
Top of the Fifth:
Niese throws Wells a ball or two to start things off. He then gets the count nice and even at 2-2, but then Wells gets a hit. Byrd singles, as well, after taking a strike, and there are two men on with no outs. Baker takes a ball, then a strike. Niese's third pitch just misses the zone for ball two, but he gets an out after David throws out Byrd at second. It's now first and third with one out. Niese throws a ball to start off Lee, but Lee fouls off the second pitch to make it 1-1. Niese throws his next two pitches high, but he gets him to swing and miss at a slider for a full count. Of course, he walks Lee to load the bases for Nady. Niese is starting to tire, and it's visible. He throws his first pitch to Nady high and outside, but gets Nady to swing and miss at the next offering. Nady fouls off the next pitch to make it 1-2, and Niese strikes him out. Ramirez swings at Niese's first offering (a changeup) and his second pitch (a cutter), and Niese retires him by getting him to ground out to third. Phew!
Bottom of the Fifth:
Ike is up again, and he looks a lot calmer than he did during his first at-bat. After taking a pitch, he flies out to left. Barajas fouls off the first two pitches, then swings and misses at the third one, and he's down on strikes. Alex Cora is up, and he takes the first pitch for a strike. The second pitch is a ball, but Cora singles down the right field line on the third offering to get on and bring up Niese, who singles! Pagan checks his swing on the first pitch, then ends up 2-0. He walks on four straight pitches to load the bases for Castillo. Castillo takes ball one, then ball two, and finally a strike to make his count 2-1. He slips a chopper up the middle and there's no play! The Mets score their first run as Cora comes home! David swings and misses at the first pitch he sees, then the second one, as well. He fouls the third pitch back, but then he strikes out to fux0r the rally. Typical.
Top of the Sixth:
Niese is still back out there for the sixth! He gets Soriano to pop up to Castillo for the first out. Nieve gets up in the pen as Niese throws three balls in a row to Soto. Finally, he gets a strike across the plate, but he walks him anyway on the fifth pitch. After Niese tosses yet another ball, Barajas comes over to have a little battery chat (because Thole is still in AAA Buffalo and cannot do this at the moment), and Niese starts throwing strikes again, working Theriot's count to 1-2 before striking him out. He's facing Wells again, and he leads him off with a ball before following it up with two strikes and a ball. Then there's a little pandemonium...the grounder Niese induces hops off of David's glove, and Cora throws it over to first, but it's a little too much for Ike to handle and there are runners on first and third with two out. Niese leaves the game with seven strikeouts and Fernando Nieve comes on to pitch the rest of the inning.
Nieve faces Marlon Byrd with two away, and his first pitch is fouled off. The ball is grounded off of Nieve, and the runner on third comes home. It's charged to Niese and I cry, because it means he still isn't getting a win. Jeff Baker finally grounds out to Nieve, and the inning ends. GRRRRRRRR.
Bottom of the Sixth:
I am still smarting over Niese not getting a win. He should've been allowed to finish the inning. Anyhow, JayBay takes a ball from Wells to start off the bottom of the sixth, but he fouls the next one off. He takes a second ball, then a third one, but he swings and misses and it's a full count. After fouling the next one off, he walks, bringing up Frenchy. Frenchy grounds into a force out, so there's one runner on base for Ike's third at-bat of the night. Ike hammers one out to right, but it's caught, much to the dismay of the crowd. Barajas is up with two outs, and he works a full count before striking out swinging to end the inning.
Top of the Seventh:
Nieve gets Lee to pop up on the first pitch, and one is away very quickly. Nady then flies out to left, and there's two away with Ramirez up. He flies out to Pagan, and that's it - a nice, quick inning for a change! Cue the Italian music!
Click to viewBottom of the Seventh:
James Russell in to pitch for the Cubs as Jose Reyes magically appears to lead off the inning! He swings and misses at the first two pitches he sees, then gets hit and is transported to first base by means of, well, his legs. Gary Matthews Jr. then appears directly after him, and after several failed attempts to pick off Jose, he takes two balls. Matthews attempts to bunt, but it goes foul, bringing the count to 2-1. Russell throws a second strike to make it 2-2, and Matthews fouls the next offering off, but then he finally strikes out and is booed. Pagan steps to the plate and finally gets to see a pitch - a strike - after Russell repeatedly tries to get Jose out at first. Pagan takes advantage of Russell's nerves and homers, giving the Mets a 3-1 lead! Now if only Nieve hadn't allowed that run. Grrrr. Castillo swings wildly at the first pitch and misses it, then takes a ball before lining out to Soriano for the second out. It's a pitching change - Jeff Samardzija is in to face David Wright. Samardzija's first pitch is a strike, and he gets David to swing and foul the second pitch off to make it 0-2. Somehow, it gets to 2-2, then 3-2, and then becomes a base on balls.
Meanwhile, in the dugout, Pagan appears to be trying to make out with Jose as Castillo looks on thoughtfully.
As JayBay takes a pitch or two, David steals second base, and JayBay hammers a ball off the wall for a double. David scores to bring the score up to 4-1 in favor of the home team! Frenchy then hits a ball directly at Aramis Ramirez, and it bounces off of him and allows JayBay to advance to third without incident. Frenchy happily sits on first as Ike steps to the plate. It's a pitching change again, and Sean Marshall takes the mound to face Dwight D. Eisenhower. Marshall's first pitch is a ball. Ike dodges the second pitch (which ESPN announces as the first "Ike Davis buckle in the big leagues"), as well as the third, but he squeaks a hit through the middle for his first RBI! Frenchy advances to third as JayBay comes home. Barajas swings and misses at a pitch, but it gets away and Frenchy scores to make it 6-1. Barajas grounds out to end the inning, and all seems well in Flushing.
Top of the Eighth:
Jennry Mejia, the youngest player in the Majors, is in to pitch. He delivers a strike at 94 mph to Soriano, then immediately gets ahead 0-2. Soriano grounds out to Wright and Mejia takes on Soto, starting him off with three balls. Although he throws a strike next, he walks Soto. Theriot is up next, taking a ball and a strike. The ball is hit towards Castillo, who tags out Soto and throws out Theriot to end the inning.
Bottom of the Eighth:
Justin Berg is the new Cubs pitcher; Jose leads off against him and immediately pops out to Byrd to start the inning. Gary Matthews, after taking a strike, grounds out to second. Pagan, who was attacked by David Wright in the dugout (who looked quite gay doing so - watch it, Jose, or Pagan'll steal your boyfriend!), takes a ball and two strikes before dodging a pitch near his ankles. He fouls a ball off and hops around for a second, then fouls off a second pitch. Pagan flies out to left to end the inning as Frank Catalanotto appears lurking in front of Jose in the dugout.
Top of the Ninth:
Mejia is still in to close things out! He throws two strikes to rookie Tyler Colvin, who's putting up a fight. Mejia finally gets him to swing and miss after several fouls. Byrd is up now, and Mejia gets behind him 2-1. Byrd fouls a ball off to even the count, then continually fouls off a bunch of pitches until Mejia hits him in the head. Fortunately, it glances off his helmet and he's okay. He picks up his helmet and marches it over to first base to hang with President Eisenhower. Mejia throws a strike to Jeff Baker, getting right back on track, and he grounds out to second for the second out. Derrek Lee is up, and Mejia throws him two balls before finally throwing a strike. Lee fouls off the fourth pitch, and Mejia just misses inside to bring it to a full count. Lee fouls off the next offering, but Mejia walks him to bring up pinch hitter Kosuke Fukudome. Frankie Rodriguez is up in the pen just in case as Mejia blazes a fastball by Fukudome for the first strike. He fouls off the second pitch from Mejia, and the Cubs are down to their final strike. Mejia fans Fukudome, and the Mets win 6-1!
Bottom of the Ninth:
This section is entirely unnecessary. Hoorah!
Good first game for Ike, I have to say, but he's still got some learning to do. Saw him in Spring Training this year and his hands were still a bit iffy, so he's got to work on that defense if he wants to stay in the majors. Anyhow, Niese, you and I are getting married, so set a date! (Not really. Besides, we all know I like Jed the best.)