When we last saw our heroes, they were in a tight race to potentially win the first half of the Pacific Coast League Championship and secure a berth in the PCL Playoffs in late September but they then ran into the force that were the Round Rock Express and losing four of their last six along with any hopes of winning the Division. Despite this, the River Cats would end the first half with one of the best records in all of Minor League Baseball in the first half.
The River Cats would start the second half of the season looking like they had righted the ship by going 3-1 against the Las Vegas Aviators before hitting a nine-game losing streak, and losing 11 of their next 12. While the River Cats have fared much better since then by going 23-18 the damage has been done and they sit at the bottom of the PCL West Division with a record of 27-30.
The Reno Aces on the other hand are 32-24 for the second-best record in the PCL behind none other than Sugar Land. Should the Aces keep going we are looking at a potential Reno Aces vs Sugar Land Space Cowboys playoff series September 24-26 with the winner advancing to the Triple-A Championship in Las Vegas on September 28. Should the Aces advance from there, it would be their second appearance in three years.
Speaking of Las Vegas, the River Cats closed out a six-game series this week against the Aviators with a come from behind walk-off courtesy of Cavan Biggio. I left the game early because I was not feeling well. The Aviators had the lead of 8-4 in the 8th when I decided to leave, and were being carried by their catcher Carlos Perez who was having an amazing three home run game. This was only the second time since 2005 that an opposing player had hit three home runs against the River Cats here in Sacramento.
It was on my way home that the River Cats began to make their move. A two run double by Trenton Brooks, a three run home run by Hunter Bishop to tie it, and then a walk-off two run home run by Biggio and what a way to end a game and a series.
I have not written a story for this page in about six weeks, and I stopped, because like the River Cats I hit a wall. It seems to happen to me almost every year around June or July since I first started writing my book back in 2019. It really goes to show how much the game of baseball itself can wear on your mentally and not just the day in and day out of its physicality.
In this time off from writing I have had a lot going on personally and have been overwhelmed with the day job that I lost track of how the rest of the River Cats season had been going. I was noticing how well the team had been doing after that slow start until I started to write this. I saw the loses and the blown leads but nothing else was registering and that was how I was viewing my life outside of writing as well. So, I am grateful for this outlet, and hopefully this can spark something to get me back on my feet. No, like the River Cats, this season probably will not end on a playoff run, but there is hope for a better tomorrow, and in the words of Winston Churchill, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
Dugout Tales 