Frostbite Falls got into the head of St. Francis starter Clay Buchholz (0-1, 11.57) when previously-dormant OF Mike Trout smacked a 2-2 fastball over the wall in left, his first post-season hit---- but a timely one that gave the Squirrels a 1-0 lead! Then, in the second, an error by Pedro Alvarez and some nifty go-with-the-pitch hitting by Wilton Ramos and Yonder Alonso helped plate two more runs for Frostbite Falls, while running up Buchholz's pitch count. In the third, having already walked the free-swinging Austin Jackson with one down, Buchholz was ordered to intentionally walk Evan Longoria after a Bryce Harper double. This loaded the bases with one out, and Jose Reyes foiled the strategy by walking on four straight pitches to plate another run.
That was it for Buchholz (0-1, 11.57), and though Rafael Soriano struck out a pair to escape further damage, the Squirrels now had a solid lead after three innings:
FROSTBITE FALLS 4, ST. FRANCIS 0!
Matt Garza (1-0, 2.16), a surprise starter for Game Two, would strike out seven Friars while never relinquishing this or subsequent leads, but St. Francis would make things interesting in front of their home-town fans: Aaron Hill hit a solo shot leading off the bottom of the fourth, and in the eighth Ryan Sweeney repeated the same feat with one down to finally get the Frostbite bullpen going.
This was only possible because St. Francis's bullpen stitched together five innings of scoreless relief, the main contributor being erstwhile starter Bronson Arroyo. But, after allowing Sweeney's shot, Head Squirrel Andrew Haynes elected to stick with Garza, who finished the frame and was allowed to take the hill to start the ninth. Leading off the frame: left-handed hitting Shin-Soo Choo, who worked the count even at 2-2, and then LAUNCHED a Garza fastball into the RF corner, past the warning track, against the wall, where...
...a leaping Mike Trout pulled it in for the first out! A brilliant defensive play had prevented St. Francis from bringing the tying run to the plate, and that was enough for Haynes: Garza was lifted, and David Hernandez summoned. Hernandez got ahead of Aaron Hill (who had homered earlier) and dispatched him with an 0-2 slider. That brought up slugging 1B Chris Davis with two down, and Davis....
...DRILLED a 3-2 fastball into right center, over the glove of the sprinting Austin Jackson, an easy double. St. Francis had brought the tying run to the plate, and that brought Carlos Beltran to the plate. Beltran had been the Friars best offensive player in the regular season, leading the club in both average (.303) and HR (30). But Beltran topped the first ball meekly to Alonso, and Hernandez easily beat Beltran to first for the throw, and the Series was tied!! The final:
FROSTBITE FALLS 4, ST. FRANCIS 2!
A-ROD ATTORNEY: WE'RE MAKING A LIST
With the series now shifting to the less-tropical Squirrels stadium, there was also a chill in the air as Alex Rodriguez's attorney Joe Tacopina *outlined the case against the league and various owners:
"Basically, we're suing any and everyone who has been part of the victimization and persecution of my client, who has never done anything wrong and only wants to be part of a winning tradition. Yet, every year since 2006 he has found himself exposed by various owners and, in the ultimate act of betrayal, he was not able to play on any BARB roster this year, despite being healthy for most of the second half of the season."
"For example," the noted ambulance chaser wrote, "Alex was BARB's Most Valuable Player in its first season, hitting 53 HR for Eric CASKEY and Brooklyn Moabs. He hit 48 HR for the Moabs in 2004. 101 bombs in two years...but what did Eric Caskey do? Sent him away, without explanation. This damaged my client's reputation, don't you think? Why shouldn't be take legal action?"
"Then, my client was sensational with his next owner...who has a familiar name....Matt CASKEY. All Alex did for Worcester was hit 32 HR and lead his club with 114 runs scored in 2005. That's MVP material....but THIS second Caskey let my client go because...why? So he could pay Manny Ramirez $19 million? So that definitely raises questions."
"Then, with all the good teams in the league, where does Alex end up? He spends 2007 with the Visalia Fuegos. They're don't exist anymore, so we don't have anything to bring an action against. Same thing with 2008: the S-MART Boom Sticks? Really? We've got nothing to bring redress for my client's losses. What the hell is an S-MART?"
"In addition, there is one owner who continually victimized my client by constantly moving him from one city to another, thus making it difficult for him to obtain the local vendor endorsements that are so lucrative to a superstar player like Alex Rodriguez. Yes, I'm talking about YOU, Ronald MELKONIAN. The 2009 Texas Tornadoes? The 2010 Arizona Thunder? The 2011 Philadelphia Rebels? Not only was this an unstable situation for endorsements, but the instability played havoc with Alex's ability to produce runs."
"Continuing our concerns about the unregulated siblings in this league, another Melkonian, CHRIS Melkonian, had the audacity to rig the playing field in 2012 so that my client was only paid a paltry $7.75 million! How can anyone imagine that is equitable, and that these actions don't damage my client's reputation!!!!?!?!"
"Perhaps most disturbing of all is what happened in the 2013 off-season. That....MATT CASKEY character signed Alex to a free agent offer on April 8th, agreeing to $14.5 million for the 2013 season, but then, without explanation, the very next day RELEASES him. Well, of course, you can imagine that wasn't good for Alex at all!"
"Finally, we have to hold the leadership accountable. It's not just the Caskeys and the Melkonians who are to blame, though they are clearly the worst offenders. It's former Commissioner Scott Hatfield and current Commish Andrew Haynes who have let these things happen, over and over. We will be contacting all who have shared in the actions which have libeled, excluded or otherwise damaged the earning ability of our client and make them PAY."
* any resemblance between the "Joe Tacopino" described in this blog and the actual celebrated high-profile attorney (who is currently suing one of his former clients for defamation) is coincidental.
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