Dateline: Fox Mill 2

The Twins took the field against a very tough O’s team. Most of their players were on the AA Yankees last Spring. The Yankees they finished in second place in their division with an 11-2 record, a half a game ahead of the Red Sox who were 10-2-1. The Red Sox then beat the Yankees in the first round of the tournament in a thrilling 9-2 ballgame. The win avenged a 9-8 heartbreaking loss earlier in the season. Why do we tell you all these things? Well, as luck would have it, Coach Grossman and Goldstein were the coaches of the Red Sox. So, suffice it to say that they have familiarity with the Yankees (a.k.a. Orioles) players.

On with our story…It was again a pleasant late summer evening. Jared led off with a nice smash to right and moved to second on a single by Jake. With runners on first and second, Coach Grossman sent Jared to third on a slightly bobbled pitch and the catcher threw a perfect strike ot the third baseman who made the tag on Jared inches from third base. This reporter frequently questions Coach Grossman when a runner is nailed at third, but in this case it certainly seemed justified. With a young team, Coach Grossman was clearly hoping to rattle the O’s with a quick score and Jared is awfully quick on the base paths. In retrospect, this reporter has to admit the odds did appear to be on Coach Grossman’s side, but one can’t win them all. In the bottom half of the first the Yankees scored three times on some fortunate walks and a couple of hits and after one it was 3-0.

This reporter doesn’t remember too much of what happened next. The O’s managed three more runs and the Twins stayed in it while scoring two more. Tommy had his first outing and looked fantastic on the mound. Jared came on for another solid performance. When the dust had cleared, the O’s had their victory, but it was clear that the next time the two teams meet may be a real thriller.

Coach Grossman said “I knew this would be a tough game. The O’s have their entire pitching staff from this Spring. So clearly, the first meeting was going to be non-trivial. However, I like how our team is progressing and it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see us play very well against the Yankees on Saturday. Coach Goldstein said “For such a young team, we played these guys very well. I am looking forward to playing the O’s later this season.”

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