Today was a long day. I left a little bit after 8 AM this morning and arrived in Appleton a little bit before 11. Three days ago, it was supposed to be rainy and cold but it actually turned out to be a nice day as the sun was shining and it was in the mid 60s. It turned out to be a good day for taking pictures.
As for the action on the field, I felt bad for Joe Nahas in South Bend who was nickeled and dimed to death over 1.2 innings. In fact, I don’t think Wisconsin squared him up against him all day as it was just a series of bleeps, bloopers, and slow rollers As the Timber Rattlers cruised to a 9-2 victory. I did get to see a lot of the game and I got a lot of pictures of Jordan Nwogu, Yeison Santana, and Owen Caissie and I got to talk to a lot of players.
It was cool to see Caissie improve so much from three weeks ago when I saw him in the Quad Cities. He looked more confident and just stood a little taller. He went 2-for-3 today and used the whole field in doing so. Still, he was not today’s hitter of the day.
Other honorable mention hitters include Nelson Velazquez in Iowa, James Triantos and Pete Crow-Armstrong of Myrtle Beach and Matt Mervis and Bryce Ball in Tennessee.
Let’s get to the awards for today.
When I got home from Appleton around 6 o’clock, I fixed the dogs supper and sat down to watch Myrtle Beach. Unfortunately, I missed the first three innings watching Luke Little pitch live. But I went back and took a look at the Cubs 21-year-old lefty and he looked pretty good. He went three innings and struck out four and only gave up two hits as he held Columbia scoreless over those frames. He lowered his season ERA to 3.20 and his May ERA to 2.61, which is good for second-best on the squad this month behind Luis Devers. LIttle wins today’s Starting Pitcher of the Day.
As for the Reliever of the Day, that nod goes to 2017 number one pick Brendon Little who looks to be almost ready for the majors. Little has yet to allow a run in five outings and he has struckout 7 over 6 innings. Opponents are only batting .150 against him. Today he went two innings, allowed one hit and one walk while striking out four.
As for the Hitter of the Day, that award goes to Chase Strumpf who went 2-for-4 and jacked a three run homer that almost led to a comeback win for Tennessee, who was once down 8 to 1 to Chattanooga. It was a no doubter!
Picture of the Day
I took this one in Appleton today. Owen Caissie is that plate and I love the angle of all the objects within the frame!
