Up Top Insight, Daly Pants, So Long, Mr. Ryan

The TinCaps opened a three-game series against Dayton last night with a 4-3 loss. Matt Wisler struck out a career-high nine batters, but it wasn’t enough, as the bullpen gave up two runs over three innings, giving the Dragons a win. Wisler left with a 3-2 lead, but Chris Fetter and Luis De La Cruz each gave up one run.

It was an atypical game for Fort Wayne, in that they had only two baserunners over the final 22 at-bats of the game. While the first-half TinCaps might’ve gone quietly into the night, that hasn’t as much been the case for this second-half club, which has hit .270 since the All-Star break.

Today Erik Cabrera makes his second start, and he’ll be opposed by Robert Stephenson, who was taken two slots behind Joe Ross in the first round of the 2011 draft. They say he can hit 99 on the radar gun. Should be a fun one.

In today’s TinCaps Report Podcast, hear my conversation with San Diego Padres General Manager Josh Byrnes. He’s in Dayton for a few days, and he’ll tell us about his thoughts on the TinCaps, the hardest part of his job, and what he looks for when he watches a game. (Apologies the sound gets a little choppy early on. As I did the interview, apparently that was also the time to sound check the YMCA song, but at a volume so loud that it was intended to be heard by George Williams, who created the YMCA and died in 1905.)

THEY’RE FLYING OFF THE SHELVES

Here’s the guy that sang the national anthem last night in Dayton. The rendition was good, but the pants were spectacular:

Photo courtesy of the TinCaps Amateur Photography Department

John Daly is jealous.

HAPPY TRAILS, BOB RYAN

Bob Ryan, the legendary sports columnist for The Boston Globe, wrote his farewell column today–and it’s a must-read. He talks of how he got into the business, and how lucky he was to cover some of the events he did over the course of his great career. Those are the things that made his career spectacular, but here’s what stands out to me the most:

“My goal is to gain personal life flexibility and to eliminate obligation. I still have the Globe part-time gig and I still have a bit more TV shelf life, how much I really don’t know. I want to do what I want to do and not do what I don’t want to do. And my wife of 43 years, the former Elaine Murray, is the perfect companion with whom to do or not do whatever it is we’re going to do or not do.”

Here’s a man who did what he loved for his entire life, all while working for one paper, by the way, and now will do things on his terms and on his schedule. Best of luck, Bob Ryan.

MUSICAL GUEST

Dispatch…take it away! (Shout out to Dean Freson)

If you’d like to get in touch, you can reach me at Couzens@TinCaps.com or on Twitter @MikeCouzens.