It was a sad day when he and Negrych left the team to move on up to Altoona; also one that signaled an end to the playoff race with the little offense that remained on the team. There was also Brian Friday and Eddie Prasch who both had good averages, both scored a lot of runs, and both were quit in their solid production. And, finally, we had awesome luck with our catchers this year. First, there was Steve Lerud who had eight homers and forty RBI and hit a very nice .256 in the first half of the season. Once he left, we plugged in Kris Watts who ended up with four homers and forty RBI and seemed like he hit a double every other at-bat. And to back them all up, there was Chris Jones who batted .253 and also added two deep shots to his resume. So, as you can see, the O was there, just maybe not consistently enough. But if you really wanted to point out where we went wrong, look no further than the month of May where we lost fifteen of eighteen at one point and almost completely took us out of first-half playoff contention. To find out where we blew it in the second half, I would point out the eleven straight losses in the end of July/beginning of August. But everything happens for a reason, and with a couple of years since our last playoff birth, next years team will look to return the Cats to the dominance that we are accustom to seeing in the Hill City. See you in the 09!

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Kyle Pearson pitched a ninth inning shutout to earn his and the team’s first save of the year. And Pearson would go on to earn three more saves in the month of April. Unfortunately though, he would be traded before he got to five. But we managed, and seven other guys would pick up a save before the end including the guy who led the team with nine, Kevin Roberts. Now, Roberts wasn’t always a sure thing as seen by his five losses, but he was as close to it as we would probably see this year. And since we’re on the topic of pitchers, let’s go over some of the others who left their mark on the 08 season. Starter Tony Watson was arguably the best pitcher we would see this year. He had eight wins, a 3.56 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP, and one hundred and four strikeouts; numbers that light a bright future for the southpaw out of Nebraska. Of course there was also Brian Holliday and Jared Hughes to bolster the staff, but two of the more memorable pitchers would be true enigmas. The first is Daniel Moskos, who started the season in the starting five, but ended up in the bullpen due to a high number of innings pitched. The thing about Moskos was that he either seemed to dominate or disappoint. It was so even that his record ended up being 7-7. An ERA of 5.95 would seem to illustrate the bad, but with seventy-eight strikeouts, he looked lights out.

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It was a bittersweet day in the Hill City. Yes the Cats won, but it was also the last game of the season; and also one of the best games of 2008. It was a scorcher, but the heat couldn’t stop the fans of the Green and Gold from cheering them on one last time. On the pitching side we saw a great dual from starters Mike Crotta and Chad Wagler. Crotta went six innings and only gave up six hits and one run, while Wagler went six and a third and only allowed two runs on seven hits. But it would be reliever Derek Antelo who got the win after blowing the save in the eighth. Offensively though, Matt Cavagnaro had three hits while Jared Keel and Eddie Prasch had two apiece. No home runs from the Cats, but Jhon Florentino from the Avs hit one while going 2 for 4. Nothing much else of interest, so on with the summary. Salem scored first with a run in the third when Roberto Mena doubled and came home on a Greg Buchanan RBI single. The Cats would take the lead with two in the fourth as Keel tripled and Prasch hit a RBI single and scored on a Danny Bomback double. The Avs would tie it up in the eighth with a Florentino home run, but the Cats would take it for good in the bottom when Sakamoto singled, moved to third on a wild pitch, and came home on a Chris Jones double. Eric Krebs would get the save with a perfect three strikeout inning and everyone would go home happy. It was an awesome finish to an awesome series. It was also Lynchburg’s first four game sweep of the year. So with some congratulatory handshakes and some cheerful goodbyes, the 08 season ended; not with a whisper, but with a BOOM! Until next year, peace out.

Stat of the Night: Come on, you really didn’t think I would end the last blog without mentioning Daniel Moskos, did you? Moskos had the third most strikeouts on the team with seventy-eight. He also ranked third on the wins list with seven. Good luck in Altoona next year.

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This is the kind of game I like; fast and a win. In a game that lasted just over two hours, the Cats took a victory against rival Salem. It wasn’t an offensive spectacle, but the pitching was spot on. Cats starter Matt McSwain went seven strong innings allowing no runs, on only seven hits and no walks, and struck out three. I believe it to be one of the better pitching performances of the season for Lynchburg. One stat that also stuck out to me was that Cats power hitter Jared Keel was hit by a pitch twice tonight. Really, how unlucky is that? No matter though, he just took one (I mean two) for the team. The Cats got on the board first tonight with two quick runs in the first. Brian Friday singled and scored on a Miles Durham RBI double. Durham stole third and came home on a Kent Sakamoto sacrifice fly to deep center field. Lynchburg got two more runs in the third when Sakamoto singled, Keel was hit by a pitch, and both scored on an Eddie Prasch two-run double. And that would be it for the scoring tonight as McSwain left after seven and Ronald Uviedo came in to close it out. McSwain goes to 2-2 on the season and Uviedo lowers his ERA to a very nice 2.25. It was an all around good effort for the Cats as they look for a clinching series win tomorrow night at 6:05.

Stat of the Night: With tonight’s loss, Salem starter Corey Bass has an amazing fifteen losses on the season including three in a row.

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As I said above, Erbe would leave after the seventh and we would see reliever Brian Parker take the mound. He didn’t fair as well as he gave up three runs in the eighth. Jones singled, Danny Bomback walked, James Barksdale doubled to score Jones, Brian Friday grounded out to plate Bomback, and Barksdale would score after a throwing error on the catcher Johnson. And that would be it as reliever Jeff More would come into the game for the Keys to protect the lead and the win. It was just an overall poor showing by the offense and the grander really killed us. With this loss the Cats are officially eliminated from the playoffs. I heard that it might rain tomorrow, so this might be the last post for a couple of days, but feel free to check out the football section as I am doing a daily post of each quarter from the last Crimson Cardinal game.

Stat of the Night: The Carolina League listed the post-season all-stars today and the only Cat to make it was former second baseman Jim Negrych. Looks like they forgot about a certain power hitting right fielder we once had…

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This was one mess of a game. First of all, it took five and one third innings for the Cats to record a hit, and second, the Cats had five errors in this game. While it was not one of our best games of the season, three players still caught my eye tonight: Obviously first is the man who gave the Cats the only hit of the night, Brian Friday, who also added in a stolen base. Next, Jose De Los Santos got on base twice tonight with two walks. It’s always nice to see a patient player. And, finally, on the pitching side, Cats reliever Kevin Roberts looked good tonight going three innings, giving up no runs on only two hits, and striking out three along the way. He did a good job of holding done the unusually offensive Keys. So, on with the recap. It didn’t take long for Frederick to score, as they put a one up on the scoreboard in the very first inning as Jason White hit a line drive single, moved to third on a Brandon Snyder single, and scored when Chris Vineyard reached on a fielding error by third baseman Eddie Prasch. They would add to their lead in the third with four big runs. Justin Johnson lead things off with a walk, Miguel Abreu singled, White grounded out moving Johnson and Abreu up one base, and Snyder singled which prompted Johnson to score and Abreu to third. Vineyard reached on a force attempt which allowed Abreu to score and moved Snyder to second and Brandon Tripp reached on a fielding error and Snyder scored with Vinyard moving to third. Billy Rowell reached on a fielding error which scored Vineyard. Our chances of winning looked very slim from this point. If you added up the runs correctly, you would know that this would be the end of the scoring tonight. Cats starter Mike Crotta would leave after six innings and earn his tenth loss on the year. It was a long, boring night; be glad you weren’t there…

Stat of the Night: Even though he didn’t pitch all that well, Cats starter Mike Crotta did strike out seven in his six innings of work tonight.

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It looked as if an away series with Potomac might be a little tough, but the Cats heard none of that tonight as they took game one by a score of 2 to 1. It took a great effort on the pitching side as Cats starter Tony Watson and Dustin Molleken combined to pitch a three hitter against the P-Nats. We also saw a two hot night from first baseman Kent Sakamoto as he raised his average to a solid .258. And with all of that combined, the Cats would take a nice win and keep looking towards the future. It took four innings, but the home team Nationals got on the board first tonight when Daniel Lyons walked and scored when he stole third and came home on an error. Lynchburg would answer in the very next inning as Jared Keel doubled and scored on a Danny Bomback RBI double. The Cats would take the lead for good in the top of the eighth when Brian Friday doubled and plated on a Miles Durham sac fly. We would see Watson leave after the seventh and Molleken would then enter the game. He did just as well as he picked up his second save for the green and gold. It was a much needed win and still keeps my spirits high. A sweep of our neighbors to the North would be very nice.

Stat of the Night: Of the Cats seven hits tonight, four of them were doubles. I guess the guys remembered to eat their spinach today.

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It was a high scoring affair tonight for the Cats. We saw an amazing performance from Matt Cavagnaro who went 4 for 5 with two doubles and three RBI. The visiting Cats also hit three homers with Jared Keel, Miles Durham, and Brian Friday all going yard. And, finally, the namesake of this entry refers to Cats starter Mike Crotta who had an amazing night pitching six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and no walks, and striking out three along the way. So on with the scoring recap. The Cats hit luck first when Durham reached on a fielder’s choice and scored on a Keel ground-rule double. The Keys would respond in the bottom of the first when Daniel Figueroa singled, stole two bases, and came home on a Chris Vinyard single up the middle. Frederick would take the lead in the third as, again, Figueroa singled, stole second and third, and scored on a Jason White ground out. But the Cats would not go away. They tied it back up in the fourth when Eddie Prasch doubled and plated on a Chris Jones ground out. Then, things would get a little crazy when the Cats scored five runs in the fifth. Friday walked, Durham hit a two run shot, Kent Sakamoto walked, Keel hit a two run shot, Prasch walked, and, finally, Cavagnaro hit a RBI double. They would add two more to their total in the next inning when Friday hit his second homer on the year and Jose De Los Santos singled and scored on a wild pitch. Frederick would try to make a comeback in the seventh when Justin Johnson singled, Paul Winterling walked, and Brandon Tripp homered to deep left field. And the Cats would end things in the eighth with two final runs. Durham walked, Sakamoto singled, and both scored on a Cavagnaro single. So, wow, we have won two straight games; a definite improvement over the past couple of weeks. Playoffs, here we come! …or not.

Stat of the Night: Daniel Figueroa is so fast. “How fast is he?” He is so fast that he actually stole 4 bases tonight which raises his season total to thirty three.

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Brian Holliday; a man who has been in Lynchburg for the past four years. He was here when such greats as Wardell Starling, Rajai Davis, and Brad Eldred were here. He knows this city pretty well. But tonight, he knew the town of Frederick, Maryland pretty ok as well. It was an awesome performance; he went eight strong innings, giving up only two runs on eight hits and no walks, and striking out a crazy nine batters. It was absolutely ridiculous. But we also saw “the pen” tonight. What a way to mess up a spectacular evening. We should really be used to it though. But, as you will read, we still get the win in this all-important ball game. The visiting Cats plated the first run tonight in the very first inning when Brian Friday got hit by a pitch, moved to second when Jose De Los Santos got hit by a pitch, and scored on a missed catch error on a pickoff attempt at second. The Keys responded in the bottom of the inning on Ryan McCarthy’s fifth home run of the year. They would take the lead in the next inning when Chris Amador doubled and scored on a Paul Winterling ground out. The Hill City Cats would tie things up in the third when De Los Santos singled and rushed home on a Miles Durham RBI double. We would then see three straight scoreless innings until the top of the seventh when Lynchburg would take a two run lead. Danny Bomback homered, James Barksdale tripled, and De Los Santos hit a sac fly that plated Barksdale.

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Going into this game, the Cats had lost a depressing five straight games. It’s almost as if they have given up on the season. But that’s a heavy statement that I’m not ready to make. I am seeing a lot of effort on the field. The problem is that the pitching and the offense can never get on sync. But, if they do, watch out, because when the Cats are on they will score a load of runs on you. Too bad that only happens once or twice a month. So here it is, Lynchburg got on the board first tonight as Jose De Los Santos singled and scored on a Kent Sakamoto ground out. Winston-Salem responded in the second with a run of their own when Greg Paiml walked and surprisingly came home on a Brett Bonvechio single up the middle. They added two more to their total in the next inning when Joe Persichina singled, Estee Harris reached on a force attempt, a double steal was executed, and both came home when Paiml singled to center. The Cats got to within one run in the fourth as Sakamoto doubled and scored on a Danny Bomback ground out. Lynchburg actually took the lead in the next inning when James Barksdale doubled, Brian Friday walked, and they both came home on a Miles Durham two RBI double.

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