Series #12 @ Wisconsin

The Lugnuts had a solid week against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Milwaukee Brewers affiliate). We went 3-3 bringing our season record to 32-36 and our second half record to 1-2. The Timber Rattlers had a worse record than us coming into the week but played well forcing a series split. I got to pitch twice this week: Tuesday and Sunday.

Over the weekend, I found out that I was voted to be the Minor League Union Player Representative for the A’s organization. Player Reps are responsible for being the bridge between the Union and the Players. Now in the Minors, there is one Player Rep for each organization whereas in the Majors there is one Player Rep per team. Minor League and Major League Reps are on the MLBPA Executive Board as well, the group that makes decision for the broader group of players. I’ll be on the Minor League Executive Board along with the 29 other Minor League reps. I’ve been involved with the Union since last season and have continued to be engaged throughout this season so having the title of Player Rep won’t change much for me. However, it is cool because I’m officially the first A’s Minor League Player Rep ever and I was voted on by my teammates. My brother put this together when he heard about the vote:

On Tuesday, I entered the game in the 8th inning while we were losing 3-0. The Wisconsin bullpen is one of very few that is off the field, which is great for us since we don’t have to worry about getting hit by foul balls but on the other hand, it's a trek from the mound. Because of the pitch clock, you have to hit a brisk jog to make it with enough time to warm up but you can’t jog too fast. Last year, I ran in too quickly and spent my warm up pitches trying to catch my breath. When I got to the mound this year, I was not out of breath and had enough time to warm up. Great success. The inning was a quick one, three up and three down. Pop up to second, ground out, pop up to short. We didn’t score so we didn’t have to pitch the 9th inning.

On Wednesday, the great Jack Winkler doubled in his first at bat, singled in his second at bat, homered on his third at bat (his first of the year !), and in his fourth and final at bat, he tripled!!!! I think it was the first cycle I’ve seen in person. Pretty cool and fun to watch. Here it is:

https://twitter.com/lansinglugnuts/status/1671613409236844544?s=10

This week, we put a plastic cup in the middle of the bullpen, with two signs. One said “Quarter in the cup” and the other said, “win a ball,” so fans could toss quarters into the cup or at least try to to win a ball from us. We made $16 the first day, which was pretty solid. We had no idea what to expect, it was the first time we tried this. The next day, we added a sign that read, “will trade quarters for cash” and that day we doubled our profit. We made $70 the day after that, and $70 again on Saturday. Sunday was a tough day for business because of all the rain but we finished the week with just under $250. Our biggest spenders were young kids that really wanted a ball and dads trying to show off. Unfortunately, we cannot continue this game every week because our bullpen in Lansing is on the field and we cannot have kids launching quarters onto the field. The bullpen is currently discussing how to spend our new funds. We are open to any and all ideas.

I pitched again on Sunday and the conditions were miserable. There was rain in the forecast all day but at game time, we were good to go. In the second inning, our starter struggled and of course it started to rain. “Bullpen, bullpen, get Nambiar going.” I start warming up, the inning prolongs, and the rain continues to come down. Our starter gets out of the inning so I sit down. Then in the next inning, after a bunch of base runners and more rain, I’m on the mound with the bases loaded and nobody out. The bullpen mound was soaked while I was warming up so I was slipping all over the place and was hesitant to let it rip. Once I got to the game mound, my cleats were not sliding anymore so I could settle in. I got out of the inning after a couple runners scored: strike out, single, strikeout, fly out. Here is the second strikeout:

I went back out for the 4th inning: ground out, single, fly out, ground out. Everything about that game was messy and I think we were all excited to get out of Wisconsin.

Losing on Sunday is always a tough way to end the week especially when you have a seven hour bus ride back. We didn’t get back until well past midnight but we did get to travel on a sleeper bus, which had beds for 17 people along with couches and tables. It was a much better experience than being on a regular coach bus, especially for a trip of that length.

The Lugnuts are off today and tomorrow but head to Midland, Michigan to play the Great Lakes Loons (Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate). Our game on Wednesday will be the first of twelve straight games heading into our All-Star break. Thanks for reading! Go Nuts