"Old Bisons" vs. "New Bisons"

By Charles H. Roberts III

The stage is set for an absolutely perfect day. Not a cloud in the sky, Torey Lovullo and the Columbus Clippers return to Buffalo AND it's chicken fajita day in the press box.

What more could a guy ask for?

Pre-game tid-bits:

• 16 former Bisons, including 2007's Most Valuable Pitcher, Jeremy Sowers (who is slated to pitch here on Saturday), are among the Columbus roster.
• With his recent hot-streak, outfielder Fernando Martinez leads the International League with 22 extra-base hits. Keep your eye on him - with the slue of injuries on the parent-club New York Mets, as he could be a dark-horse call-up.
• It's a battle of left-handed pitchers this afternoon, as Mike Antonini takes the hill for Buffalo, while Zach Jackson gets the nod for Columbus. For Antonini, today is an important start, as his last outing led to his staggering 13.50 ERA. Granted that was in only 3.1 innings of work, but regardless, today is a chance at redemption.
• In a slight twist of irony, the Clippers (Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians) are sitting in first-place in the International League West, while Buffalo sits dead-last in the IL North.

Game on!

• It's not looking good for Antonini. After retiring the first batter, he was shelled for five-consecutive hits. The 19-minute top of the first inning resulted in four Columbus runs. This has the makings of another very brief appearence for the lengthy-lefty (6-foot-5, 220 pounds).
• The Bisons can thank former Bison, and by all accounts - big-time bust - Andy Marte for their three runs in the bottom half of the first inning. The third baseman's error resulted in Martinez making his way from second to score on a Wily Mo Pena shot down the line. With Mo Pena on-base, the next batter, Javier Valentin, blasted a two-run home run about 360 feet into left-center field. 4-3 Columbus after one.
• Travis Hafner, who is playing with Columbus today on a rehab assignment for the Indians, doesn't look like he'll be in Triple-A much longer. He's 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs.
• Antonini's day is done after four innings-pitched. He allowed eight hits, five earned runs, struck-out two and walked one. It's 5-3 heading into the top of the fifth.
• Nice crowd on-hand today. Probably about 3,500 here soaking up the sun.
• The Herd had a splendid opportunity to steal a victory in the bottom half of the ninth, after the first two hitters got on base, but in a theme all too familiar this season - they left them stranded.
• Despite a decent day at the plate (10 hits), the Bisons drop to 10-28 on the season after losing 6-4.

POST GAME REACTION FROM EX-BISONS, CURRENT CLIPPERS:

"It was a little unusual, I'm not going to lie," said former Bisons manager/current Columbus Clippers manager Torey Lovullo. "It was like a family reunion for me for a lot of reason."

"I was happy with the outcome. I wanted to avoid that distraction (jitters about coming back to Buffalo)," Lovullo continued. "A lot of these guys were here last year and wanted to make a statement."

"It was a little bit awkward," Lovullo said. "I got here real early in the day."

"It's nice to be in a place you're familiar with," Clippers pitcher Jeremy Sowers said. "I've got a lot of family in Columbus, so it's been a pretty nice transition though."

"It's just different," Clippers center fielder Trevor Crowe said of walking out of the opposing dugout. "I enjoyed my time here."

NEWS AND NOTES:

• Lovullo said as far as he was aware, Travis Hafner will finish out the full extent of his 20-day rehab assignment. He was 3-5 today with a double and three RBIs.
• Today was the first of a four-game series, which resumes tomorrow at 7:05 pm, with Jonathon Niese taking the hill for Buffalo and Jack Cassel for Columbus.