I was a proper mess driving home from Barrie last night.*
Between the oppressive humidity at Schmidt & Shaw Stadium, the plague of mosquitos that descended on the park after sundown, and the horrendous final score, it was an appalling night of baseball. I was disappointed and physically battered - my soggy hat clinging to my head, arms and legs burning from mosquito bites, face and neck greasy with sweat, throat dry, ass wet, feet sore. Proper mess.
The tone of the game was set in the first inning. The Maple Leafs went down quickly in the top of, then gave up four runs to fall into a seemingly bottomless hole. The rest of the game was a demolition job by the Barrie Baycats. They rocked every pitcher the Leafs put on the mound and shut down Toronto's bats for a 16-4 win.
Having left in disgust after 6 innings, I drove back down the 400 with the stereo blaring, my head stuck out the window, howling at the moon.**
What else are you gonna do?
I started composing a poem in my mind. I came up with a fantastic title for it: "Bart Giamatti's Inferno." It was a searing composition, borne from the disappointments of the night. An anthem for the anguished fan. Something that, once posted online, would make the rounds of the Internet and become a lasting sensation.
Much of it was forgotten by the time I got home, since I didn't write any of it down, or text myself, or call home and dictate it over the phone.***
It wasn't a completely rotten night. Prior to the game, there was an onfield march by army, air and sea cadets from the training centre at nearby CFB Borden. Have you ever seen 40,000 cadets on parade? There were considerably fewer at the ballpark this night, but it was still an impressive show.
I have always liked coming to games in Barrie. The ballpark is one of the nicest in the league, the stands are always packed with lively fans and the concessions are good. A few innings into the game, a huge golden sunset filled the horizon and cast its rays through the tall conifers outside the playing field, a brilliant image of northern baseball. So yeah, there was that.
The Leafs have a chance to turn things around this weekend, with games against cellar-dwellers Burlington and Guelph. If they want to go far in the post-season this year, this digging of holes early in games has to end, or that poem may end up getting written on some other dark night.
* But fully sober - not intoxicated, medicated or impaired in any way.
** While driving attentively and at or below the posted speed limit.
*** Eyes on the road, hands on the wheel.
Recap:
You know it might be a lopsided affair when one club goes down in order to start the game, while the other sends nine men to the plate. This was the case as the Toronto Maple Leafs visited the Barrie Baycats last night.
Barrie starter Adam Rowe started with a quick 1-2-3 inning, but his counterpart Franco Pace got into trouble early. He was tagged for five hits and four runs as the Baycats jumped to an early lead.
In the top of the 2nd, the Leafs loaded the bases with a single, walk and single. Centerfielder Steve Coates grounded into a 5-3 putout that allowed leftfielder Sean Reilly to come home from third and it was 4-1 Baycats after the 2nd inning.
The Leafs made it a close game in the 3rd. Rightfielder Rob Gillis singled and DH Jon Waltenbury doubled. Reilly then drove in Gillis with a 4-3 putout that moved Waltenbury to third. Third baseman Sean Mattson walked, and first baseman Will Richards was safe at first on an error by Baycats first baseman Jordan Castaldo. Waltenbury scored on the error and it was 4-3 Leafs midway through the 3rd.
The Baycats bounced back in the bottom of the inning. Shortstop Jason Coker walked, then advanced to third base on a hit by leftfielder Ryan Asis. Coker scored on a sac fly by DH Brandon Dhue and Asis moved to third. Asis then scored on a putout at first by Baycats second baseman Jonathan Fernandez. 6-3 Baycats after the 3rd inning.
Dhue drove in another run in the bottom of the 4th to make it 7-3 Baycats.
Rowe was masterful on the mound in the 5th, striking out Reilly, Mattson and Richards in order. Marek Deska relieved Pace in the 5th, and he also pitched a hitless inning (not counting the pitch where he hit Baycats catcher Kyle DeGrace, but no harm done).
Going into the 6th inning, the game still felt close. The Leafs scored another run as second baseman Dan Marra, shortstop Branfy Arias and Gillis each singled. Marra scored on Gillis' hit and it was 7-4 Baycats.
But the game was blown open for good in the bottom of the 6th. The Baycats again sent nine men to the plate, and Deska and Jas Shergill gave up five hits and five runs combined. Suddenly it was 12-4 for the home side. By then, certain observers had fled the park, driven away by the scoreline and sick of being eaten alive by the mosquitos.
The Baycats piled it on in the 8th inning. Rightfielder Ryan Spataro drove in a run, and Castaldo hit a 3-RBI double that made it 16-4. The Leafs went down in order in the 9th.
The Leafs are now 13-18, and 15.5 games behind the Brantford Red Sox. Their next game is in Burlington on July 20, against the Burlington Bandits.
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