2062.12 - September 24, 2062

[R.Umali]

The Black Sox, having been swept by the last-place Madison Wolves in a 4-game midweek set, would have to achieve a winning season the hard way: winning two out of their last 5 games against the playoff-bound Twin Cities River Monsters at Land O' Lakes Ballpark.

It started off great, with Omar Robles, recently re-activating from the IL, driving in 2 runs in the first. By the time the umps postponed the game in the 3rd, the Black Sox were leading 7-2.

When the game resumed the following day, the first of a doubleheader, the River Monsters steadily chipped away at the deficit, scoring in the 4th, 5th, and 6th. And in the 8th, rookie Pedro Aguilar drove in 14-year veteran Joel Woodroffe to tie the game.

But this was Omar Robles' game. In the 10th, he doubles off or Jorge Duran to score Timofei Gadomsky. Rookie Razvan Chilom - converted to a reliever in the spring, came in to try close it out. Chilom, while decidedly unspectacular, blew only 3 save opportunities all season. This despite his horrendous 27:33 BB:K ratio.

Chilom immediately gave up a double to Randall Gray. He challenged Joel Woodroffe, who attempted to bunt but bunted foul to run the count 1-2. Then, as so happens with Chilom, he lost him and walked Woodroffe. At least the double play was in play. Chilom then induced three flyball outs to end the game.

The Black Sox would not have a losing season for the first time since 2048, when they last made the playoffs.

Perhaps it was fitting that rookie Dave Matthes caught the last out. Perhaps not. Did he even know the significance to the game? Of course. The Beef and the all the pundits back home were all agog about it. But did Matthes appreciate it? Certainly not as much as the mild-mannered Carlos Moya - 9 years with the Sox (yet sporting a near .500 record at 87-90); nor as much as 11-year vet Jeremy Starks. Starks and Moya were part of the huge trade which sent Badr Isam to Sacramento.

But Matthes is young. Let's forgive him for not whooping it up or making a show of securing the ball. After all, there was another game to be played. And this one was for the winning record.

//

The nightcap was tense. Stevie Bodine, 11-6 going into the game, had a shaky 2nd inning. He seemed rattled by the River Monster's expertise on the base paths (1st in stolen bases and 2nd in base running). But after giving up 2 runs in that 2nd, he settled down and it became a pitcher's duel, with Enzo Bouton pitching for the River Monsters.

Bouton lost steam in the 6th. 3 straight walks opened the inning. A hit batsman opened the scoring for the Black Sox, and a Timofei Gadomsky single tied the game.

It was an error in the top of the 9th that gave Chicago its first winning season since 2048. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and 2 outs, the scored deadlocked 2-2, Trent Moyer grounded to Miller Shed. A weak but imminently catchable throw to first. A drop by the normally reliable 1B Raul Gallegos - giving him 3 errors in 690 chances. Kyle Beers, running on contact with 2 outs, scores the go-ahead run.

Then, a walk to Dave Matthes juices the bases. And a grand slam by Gadomsky ices the game.

Rookie Manuel Ramos closes out the game. When he kept his finger pointed at the sky, after tracking the flyball to defensive specialist Shafiq Zahir, the finger became the universal signal: "We're number 1." It certainly felt that way. (The Black Sox are solidly 4th in the Heartland.)

The men on the field were mostly young guys who've only had a few losing seasons under their belt. Still, they gathered at the mound, jumped around some, smiles and high fives all around. Surely many of the 56000 in attendance were puzzled at the extra-special celebration on their field. It's been a long time since the River Monsters have had any kind of streak with a losing record, and never of the kind the Black Sox have just endured. What is the saying? "The darker the night, the brighter the stars." ? 13 years of losing seasons.

The celebration on the field was brief, but the celebration in the locker room was not. No, it was not the champagne spraying, goggle-wearing affair reserved for pennants and championships. No, it was a few cases of Goose Island and a talk by the manager, Rocky Wattson, who had been with the team since the team's last year in Huntsville. He's enjoyed playoffs success in Chicago in the post-season, and he's slogged through 60- and 70-win seasons. He's even managed some of those.

From what leaked out, the talk was typical boilerplate: talk of resilience, shutting out the critics, believing in ourselves, sticking together, no distractions, making your own luck, seize the day, yada yada yada. Rocky, if anything, is a baseball guy through and through. And as a baseball guy through and through, he would take the game ball and have it authenticated and put in a single baseball display. And he would place it in his tall trophy case in his home in Tinley Park. Not the top shelf, but the one right at eye level. Maybe he'd drink a single malt and look at it for a while before drifting to the other memorabilia - the gloves, the vial of dirt from Huntsville, the splinter from a beloved bat - and he would sip and dream, sip and dream. Baseball through and through.
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Going into the last Sim, the Black Sox are 82-77.

[RonCo]

Congrats, Renato.

[CTBrewCrew]

Go Madison!