Who’s got River Cats championship fever? I know I do, and the rash is killing me. Hooray for Jorge (call him George) Piedra and AA callup Brant Colamarino, and for the great pitching by Michael Madsen, Jeremy Blevins and Brad Ziegler. Madsen really cut the ears off the Zephyrs hitters for 6 strong innings! (Sorry.)
The Cats are now up 2 games over the Zephyrs in this PCL championship series. Stay tuned to River Chat for all your River Cats blogging needs.
Beloved River Cat Kurt Suzuki is getting a permanent spot in the bigs as a result of yesterday’s trade sending Jason Kendall to the Cubbies. He’ll be behind the plate for Oakland, with Mike Piazza as his backup. Piazza will also resuming his DH duties when he is through with his stint in Sacramento.
Having had a recent pet emergency (lilies are toxic to kitties, as are many other plants and flowers, so get your fluffball urgent care, and keep flowers out of the house — out of reach is not enough, I learned), I thought I’d give a run-down on my experience with some of 
the region’s veterinarians.
Our beloved feline is fine, thanks to the fine folks at VCA Sacramento Veterinary Referral Center. We were referred to VCA from another VCA clinic (on Manzanita, south of Madison), and we were referred to them by the Banfield inside of Petsmart on Watt Avenue.
Here’s my take on some of the vet clinics I’ve encountered over the years:
When you’re CoolDMZ, you frequently don’t have to create the snark, the snark just finds you. In order to be seated last night at Raley Field, we had to displace none other than CBS13’s Arran Andersen, who was perched in our spot for his 10 p.m. segment on the game. Why he wasn’t in the press box is anyone’s guess–even a blogger can get a press pass these days. Also we sat near the family of last-minute A’s starter Dallas Braden. That was a real treat, his grandma was there and everything. They were a bit too enthusiastic for me (“awwwing” real loud for every foul ball with 2 strikes, etc.) but what a great Sacramento night.
The action was good. Those A’s look pretty strong, and obviously the River Cats needed to get the starters out of the game to mount a comeback, but you still have to put the bat on the ball to score those runs. Here’s to a good season for both teams!
I’m looking forward to another exciting River Cats season, full of thrills and spills and inappropriate sponsorship. In preparation I made myself a Google calendar of all the home games (I’m the proud and lucky beneficiary of season tickets again) and I thought this might be of use to others so here it is:
Sacramento River Cats 2007 Home Games (Google Calendar)
Perfect summer evening for baseball, and so on impulse I rounded up some friends last night and headed for Raley Field to watch the RiverCats play the Salt Lake City Bees. Maybe it’s me, but … where did the fun go?
To be sure, you couldn’t fault the weather, Sacramento’s best: just a hint of summer warmth with an overlay of classic Delta breeze. Raley Field still looks as adorable as ever, with its center field neon and center-right view of the Tower Bridge lit artfully by both nature and SMUD power. The field itself is crisp and clean, with sharp white chalk lines as always striking against the dark valley loam. The food was great (no sense complaining about ballpark prices — they are what they are), the play was good and the ‘Cats beat the Bees, thanks to a lovely grandslam midway through.
So what was the problem?
Continue reading “Going, going, gone …”
Enjoyed another night game at Raley Field last night. Thursday nights are “Crystal $1 Family Feast” nights, featuring hot dogs and ice cream bars for $1 each. The ‘Cats were knocking the ball around and indeed went on to win 7-3. (Props to Keith Ginter!)
The family fun got even funner when Jose Morban, last night’s “K-MAN” struck out, winning each attendee a free entree at…Hooters! That’s right, “Family Feast” night featured a prize sponsored by everybody’s favorite owl-themed family restaurant. In another mind-numbing scheduling faux pas, Thursday nights are also “Rivercats Idol” nights, sponsored by Heineken. Strap the kids in the SUV and head down to Raley Field for $1 hot dogs, Dinger bobbleheads, and ta-tas and beer.
Continue reading ““Family” “Fun” at Raley Field (Rivercats 7, Raniers 3)”
Side note to the woman in Section 112, row 29, seat 22 who shushed my 3 year old daughter during the National Anthem: are you a season ticket holder? If so, we might have a problem… (and kudos to the SMUD worker (didn’t catch the name) who also saw you, miss Fun Police, and mentioned it to me on the sly. Right awn Mr. Smud PR guy!!)
The Sac Rag 