Sunday at Dehler

This is what happens at 5:30 or 6 in the afternoon: the sun beats down fiercely and that little bit of shade that we get disappears. This is what you get for the expensive seats.

Tell me again how much we were supposed to pay for this park, and then how much we paid after wrecking the architect's original plan. Enquiring minds want to know.

As usual the Mustangs and probably the Raptors looked a little tired at 4 or 5 in the afternoon, especially today with no clouds, temps in the 90s and no breeze. Robert Maddox is getting better at playing first base, making some great scoops today. The pitching fell apart in the 4th inning with the Raptors putting up a 5-spot on Cingrani and Contreras. The sun was so fierce we had to leave at the end of the 6th inning.

Even the umbrellas offered little protection. Hitters may have come alive late, not sure because FM 105.1 is having trouble being heard on the car radio. As I'm writing this I go to the Mustangs website and find that the game is already finished by 6:40 with everybody anxious to get out of the heat I guess. Same score, 5-1, as when we left after the 6th inning.

The umpires are supposed to be getting better just as the players are supposed to be getting better the more games they play. This is probably true for some players and for some umpires.

Mr Huus, the home plate umpire today still has no clear idea of where the strike zone is. He pisses off the pitchers by fiddling with the bottom of the zone and he does the same to the batters in the upper part of the zone. The managers and players don't bother to argue anymore. The fourth inning would have ended with no runs scored except for a missed third strike by umpire Huus. I imagine there are some real jobs out there for umpires that can't quite make it in the Rookie Pioneer League.

The official scorer is still calling them hits: ground balls that elude infielders and fly balls that make outfielders look silly. Hey Mr Scorer this isn't Little League. There are some sun-seekers in every crowd. By the way the Sunday afternoon crowed is quite a bit smaller than the usual evening crowd. I could tell because the concessions were not nearly as crowded as usual.