Wrong Turn: A GM/Manager Career Story

[Doc32]

Great read so far! Love the character narrative going on. Going to be following this one while I do my own.

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Forty games into the season and we had a four game lead in the division and were still the only team in the division with a winning record.

RENO ACES (27-13) AT ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (24-16)
May 17: Twenty two hits! Among Raimel Tapia's five hits were two triples and a home run. Tony Wolters drove in five runs. And Ryan McMahon scored four times. Isotopes 19 Reno 4.

May 18: Our pitching staff changed again as German Marquez was called up to Colorado and Tyler Anderson returned to Albuquerque. I put Anderson in the number two spot in the rotation. We went into the ninth with a one run lead but they scored two to beat us. Reno 6 Isotopes 5.

May 19: We didn't do much to talk about today. Reno 5 Isotopes 2.

May 20: Colby Lewis has been on fire for us and he pitched eight innings of shutout ball. Tapia went 3 for 4 as we salvaged the split. Isotopes 2 Reno 0.

With the next Power Rankings release, we had moved up to number three. Reno was number two. And, even better, Brett Oberholtzer was back!

SALT LAKE BEES (22-22) AT ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (26-18)
May 21: Oberholtzer was okay but the bullpen was bad. Really bad. Salt Lake scored five runs in the sixth to take a 7-2 lead. We scored ten in the seventh to go up 13-7. They then scored six in the eighth and the game went into extra innings. Salt Lake scored three in the top of the tenth. But we came back as the last four batters in the bottom of the tenth drew a walk, including Anthony Bemboom with the walkoff. Isotopes 17 Salt Lake 16 10 innings.

May 22: The Rockies called up Shawn O'Malley so Daniel Castro became the starter at second base. Ryan McMahon had a four hit game and Tapia had another two triples game as we used an eight run eighth to come from behind yet again.

May 23: I am wishing they would leave my pitching staff alone. At least this time it was a small move. With the return of Oberholtzer, Matt Flemer became the odd man out in the rotation and was sent to Hartford. In the game, McMahon had another four hit day but our bullpen gave up ten runs in thelast three innings. Salt Lake 16 Isotopes 9.

May 24: Anderson and Marquez swap spots again with Anderson back in Colorado. Colby Lewis had another strong start but left in the fifth inning. Meanwhile, the bullpen could not protect a 7-1 lead. Salt Lake 8 Isotopes 7 10 innings.

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A 4-4 home stand. It could have been better. We were off to Sacramento for a five game set against the River Cats before returning right back home. The Rockies sent us relief pitcher Chris Rusin and I made him one of our setup men.

ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (28-20) AT SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS (21-27)
May 25: Willy Garcia's three hit and three RBI went for naught. The River Cats put it away with six runs in the sixth inning. Sacramento 11 Isotopes 7.

May 26: Stephen Cardullo was back and got five hits but our losing streak reached four games. Sacramento 8 Isotopes 2.

May 27: Five losses in a row! Austin Slater had a couple hits in a losing effort. Sacramento 4 Isotopes 2.

May 28: German Marquez was called back up to Colorado as we fell all the way to tenth in the Weekly Power Rankings. This left us with a four man rotation. And no offense. Sacramento 4 Isotopes 0.

May 29: Not even Colby Lewis could get us a win as we were swept in Sacramento. Cardullo hit a three run homer in the top of the ninth to end a stretch of nineteen scoreless innings. Sacramento 6 Isotopes 3.

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I furiously texted back. "You are leaving me with no starting pitching. What am I supposed to do with a three man rotation?"

We were back in Albuquerque. Sans Colby Lewis who had been called up. We did get Shawn O'Malley back at second base.

But we needed more starting pitching.

And to find a way to end a seven game losing steak.

I'm going to get an ulcer.

FRESNO GRIZZLIES (24-29) AT ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (28-25)
May 30: I have no solution. Everything we try fails. Fresno 9 Isotopes 4.

May 31: Anthony Phillips hit a two run homer in the bottom of the eighth to break a tie as we finally end the losing streak. Mike Tauchman had four hits and Raimel Tapia had three. Isotopes 7 Fresno 5.

June 1: Thank you! We got some more pitching. Justin Masterson and Derek Holland. Both signed as free agents. We also picked up relievers Jaye Chapman, Chien-Ming Wang and Peter Moylan from Hartford and sent reliever Keith Kessler to Hartford. And then we got destroyed. Fresno 14 Isotopes 4.

June 2: We sent our closer, Jairo Diaz, back up to the parent club. Masterson made his first start for us. And lost. Fresno 8 Isotopes 4.

June 3: I really am thinking about drinking again. Fresno 5 Isotopes 0.

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We had lost 10 out of 11.

We had fallen to .500.

We were now in second place in the division.

We had dropped all the way down to 13th in the Power Rankings.

Everything was falling apart.

I got a manilla folder from the mail. I opened it to find several photos of Mike's kids wearing their Isotopes jerseys

Forgive me but I am fifty one and I refuse to say the word swag.

But I am not too old to feel a solid punch in the gut. Mike's wife has never thought much of me.

But the whole family, including her, posed in one picture wearing Isotopes jerseys.

I forgot all about making dinner and instead I just wept.

Maybe somebody in my family actually believes in me.

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I posted a thank you to Tina's Facebook page when she posted the pictures of Mike, the kids and herself.

We were headed to Iowa to face the Cubs for Iowa had the worst record in the entire PCL.

If we left Iowa below .500, it was just unimaginable.

We had a new number five man in the rotation. Jeremy Gabryszwski had been sent to us from Hartford. David Holman had been sent down to Hartford in exchange.

ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (29-29) AT IOWA CUBS (20-38)
June 5: Derek Holland held the Cubs to a single run in six innings. And the bullpen shut them out the final three. Isotopes 3 Iowa 1.

June 6: Raimel Tapia hit a grand slam in the seventh inning. Ryan McMahon also homered in the contest. Isotopes 8 Iowa 4.

June 7: They scored five in the second inning and our late inning rally fell short. Iowa 8 Isotopes 6.

ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (31-30) AT OMAHA STORM CHASERS (31-30)
June 8: Willy Garcia had a home run as we built a 3-0 lead. But they came back and got a walk off win. Omaha 5 Isotopes 4.

June 9: Noel Cuevas was sent down to Hartford. Stephen Cardullo had three ribbies and Ryan McMahon went 3 for 4. Derek Holland pitched into the sixth inning. Isotopes 7 Omaha 2.

June 10: Justin Masterson is called up to Colorado, leaving us with a four man rotation again. Our offense explodes as Stephen Cardullo has four hits, Tony Wolters has four hits and Ryan McMahon has three. Isotopes 14 Omaha 3.

June 11: The new Power Rankings has us up to number seven. Tony Wolters was traded to the Phillies, meaning Anthony Bemboom would take over the starting catcher duties. Oberholtzer finally got back to form, allowing just one run in six innings. Daniel Castro went 3 for 5 and Stephen Cardullo had four hits as well. Just like that, we had a three game winning streak. Isotopes 10 Omaha 1.

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The next night, I fixed some BBQ Chicken Monkey Bread as we had the day off before a seven game home stand.

David Holman was back from Hartford and Jeremy Gabryszwski was sent back to Hartford. Also coming to us from Hartford were starting pitcher Devin Burke and catcher Jan Vazquez.

I put Burke at four and Holman at five in the rotation. Vazquez became our new starting catcher.

We had gotten out of our huge slump but still trailed Salt Lake by a single game.

I called Mike. I still was in shock that his wife had made a peace offering of sorts.

"Her dad has cancer," Mike told me. "We found out two months ago. It's early stages so it looks like he has a fighting chance."

I knew Tina and her father did not have the best relationship either.

"This hit her hard," Mike said. "Changed her perspective on things. She wanted us to mend our bridges before anything like this happened again."

That made sense. There does come a point in time when you can never say you are sorry.

I thought about my own parents, dead and buried, as I hung up the phone.

I didn't know how many relationships I would be able to repair, but I knew I had to try.

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MEMPHIS REDBIRDS (36-28) AT ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (34-31)
June 13: Raimel Tapia drove in a pair and scored a pair as we won our fourth straight. Stephen Cardullo added a couple hits as we rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the fifth inning. Isotopes 7 Memphis 3.

June 14: Jan Vazquez. Welcome to Albuquerque. In just his second start for us, Vazquez hit two home runs and drove in five. Too bad it was in a losing effort. Memphis 7 Isotopes 6.

June 15: Noel Cuevas returned to Albuquerque. Tapia had three hits and Ryan McMahon scored a couple of runs as we made it five wins in six games. Isotopes 5 Memphis 1.

NASHVILLE SOUNDS (36-32) AT ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (36-32)
June 16: Devin Burke made his debut and pitched six innings and Mike Tauchman hit two doubles, drove in two runs and scored twice. Isotopes 7 Nashville 6.

June 17: Derek Holland pitched six innings as he tried for his third win. Cardullo hit a solo home run and scored three times but the bullpen blew it as the Sounds scored twice in the ninth. Nashville 7 Isotopes 6.

June 18: We lost Ryan McMahon to the Rockies. Jordan Patterson was sent down to Albuquerque to take his place at first base. Relief pitcher Jeremy Bleich came up from Lancaster as Noel Cuevas was sent back to Hartford. We had climbed all the way back to number six in the Weekly Power Rankings. And we were tied for first with Salt Lake. Another tough loss as we blew a 4-3 seventh inning lead. Mike Tauchman had a pair of hits for us. Nashville 5 Isotopes 4.

June 19: Our losing streak reached three. Nashville 8 Isotopes 5.



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Sticky garlic pork chops.

I was going to pay for not following my diet but what can I say. I. Love. Food!

We were headed to Fresno for four games in three days. We got German Marquez back from the Rockies as Julio Gonzalez was sent to the Dominican League. I put Marquez as the number one starter.

We once again trailed Salt Lake by a single game.

One of the columnists in the local paper ripped the Rockies organization for replacing a black guy with a white guy. This, of course, referenced me replacing Glenallen Hill.

This is the culture we live in.

Sadly, many real and despicable acts of racism are ignored while fake news racism is pushed along just to get clicks and retweets.

In case you were wondering, the columnist who wrote it was white.

Ugh.

I want to board the plane now.

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ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (37-35) AT FRESNO GRIZZLIES (35-37)
My first ex-wife is an Astros fan. The Grizzlies are the Astros Triple A farm club. Just for some completely irrelevant trivia.

June 21: Derek Holland dominated the Grizzlies, allowing just two hits in six innings. Anthony Phillips hit a bases loaded triple in the third to give us a lead we would never relinquish. Isotopes 5 Fresno 1.

June 22: Marquez was just as good as Holland, allowing just four hits in 6.1 innings. Tapia had a double and a triple. But Jan Vazquez suffered a thumb contusion. Isotopes 3 Fresno 1.

June 23: Although Vazquez is day to day, I decided to move Anthony Bemboom to the starting catcher spot until Vazquez is a hundred percent. We lost the first game of the double header. Fresno 7 Isotopes 2. And the second game as well as the Grizzlies scored five in the ninth. Fresno 13 Isotopes 10.



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On the flight back to Albuquerque, Brandon Emanuel sat with me to discuss the pitching staff.

"We need to give our starters the full time off they need. We have some that are not going deep enough and it is overworking the bullpen."

Devin Burke had only pitched six innings for us all year so he would get the start in our next game.

I spent the rest of the flight disappointed at being unable to contact any of my other kids on Facebook or Twitter.

Maybe I could use the Isotopes mascot account to keep up with them?

No. That's just too creepy.

I did ask a couple of my players to befriend Mike's kids on Facebook.

To think, my grandkids have Facebook.

I'm getting old.

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SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS (37-39) AT ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (39-37)
June 25: 21 hits as a team! Jan Vazquez was a double short of the cycle. Raimel Tapia had another four hit game. Stephen Cardullo had three hits. Isotopes 14 Sacramento 4.

June 26: We trailed 5-1 before exploding with seven runs in the seventh inning. Mike Tauchman hit a big bases loaded triple to give us the lead. Isotopes 8 Sacramento 5.

June 27: David Holman was sent back down to Hartford. Stephen Cardullo had a mild abdominal strain but we decided to keep him in the starting lineup. German Marquez pitched into the sixth inning as we built a 7-2 lead. But the River Cats scored eight in the eighth. Sacramento 10 Isotopes 7.

June 28: Marquez was called back up to Colorado. And Shawn O'Malley was hurt so Daniel Castro got the start at second base. Jordan Patterson hit a three run homer and Mike Tauchman had four hits. Isotopes 8 Sacramento 4.



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ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (42-38) AT EL PASO CHIHUAHUAS (32-48)
We immediately hopped on the bus and made the five hour trip to El Paso for a five game series. Derrik Gibson would sit out the opener as his injury was diagnosed so I had to put Josh Fuentes at third base. We were getting awfully thin on the bench.

June 29: Daniel Castro went 4 for 4 and Stephen Cardullo had a pair of doubles but the Chihuahuas got a three run homer in the bottom of the eleventh as we blew an 8-0 lead. El Paso 12 Isotopes 9 11 innings.

June 30: Gibson only has a strained hip muscle so I went ahead and put him back in the starting lineup. Mike Tauchman had five ribbies and Stephen Cardullo got another four hits as this time we were able to protect an 8-0 lead. Isotopes 9 El Paso 4

July 1: We have a five man rotation again as Jeremy Gabryszwski returns to us from Hartford. However, Shawn O'Malley has shoulder inflammation and will be out for about six weeks. Derek Holland gives up just three runs in six innings but the bullpen gets demolished. A five run eighth seals our doom. El Paso 9 Isotopes 3.

July 2: Stephen Cardullo was named Conference Player of the Week as we climbed back to seventh in the Weekly Power Rankings. Antonio Senzatela shut El Paso out for five innings but it took eight runs in the sixteenth inning for us to get the win. Mike Tauchman had a four hit game. Isotopes 9 El Paso 2 16 innings.

July 3: Jordan Patterson drove in three and Brett Oberholtzer left the game after five innings with a 3-2 lead but the Chihuahuas scored two in the ninth for the walk off. El Paso 6 Isotopes 5.

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TACOMA RAINIERS (46-39) AT ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (44-41)
This was the last series before the All Star Break. Five games.

July 4: A customary patriotic showing, including a surprise welcome home for a former deployed marine and his family. And there was a Trump Protest in the parking lot. Welcome to 2018. Jordan Patterson and Raimel Tapia each homered but it wasn't enough to overcome an 8-1 deficit. Tacoma 9 Isotopes 6.

July 5: Devin Burke was solid through six but he got the very definition of no run support. We were out hit 15-5. Tacoma 6 Isotopes 0.

July 6: Derek Holland came up just two outs short of a complete game shutout. Stephen Cardullo homered and Derrik Gibson had three hits as we returned the favor. Isotopes 10 Tacoma 0.

July 7: Jan Vazquez homered but we could not quite overcome a 5-0 deficit. Tacoma 5 Isotopes 4.

July 8: Willy Garcia and Stephen Cardullo each had a couple of hits as our bullpen pitched 4.2 scoreless innings. Isotopes 4 Tacoma 1.

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ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (46-44) AT LAS VEGAS 51S (42-48)

July 12: They scored five in the third and it was never a game after that. Las Vegas 10 Isotopes 4.

July 13: It may be Friday the 13th but Derek Holland remains on fire, allowing just three hits in five innings. Derrik Gibson reached base four times. Isotopes 4 Las Vegas 2.

July 14: They scored five in the first. 'Nuff said. Las Vegas 8 Isotopes 1.

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We had fallen to ninth in the Power Rankings and lost our last three series.

Back in Albuquerque, I just ordered some pizza and checked on the status of Mike and his family.

There had been no response from other family members on his new pictures on Facebook. The ones I was in.

Or maybe I just was unable to see responses because of being blocked.

I turned my attention back to the team. We were just a single game above .500 and three behind Salt Lake.

If we could just get another winning streak going.

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EL PASO CHIHUAHUAS (39-54) AT ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (47-46)
July 16: We failed to hold a one run lead in the ninth. An El Paso run in the fifteenth inning dropped us to .500. Devin Burke allowed just two runs in six innings. Daniel Castro had four hits. But our nineteen hits as a team only produced three runs. El Paso 4 Isotopes 3 15 innings.

July 17: An odd off day in the middle of a series.

July 18: We dominated this game. Antonio Senzatela allowed just one run in seven innings. Derrik Gibson scored a pair and Stephen Cardullo drove in a pair. Isotopes 8 El Paso 1.

July 19: Our first series win of the month. Derek Holland allowed just three hits in five innings and Mike Tauchman hit a two run homer in the first inning. Isotopes 4 El Paso 3.

FRESNO GRIZZLIES (47-49) AT ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (49-47)
July 20: Despite five strong innings from Brett Oberholtzer, our struggles against Fresno continues. Fresno 5 Isotopes 4 15 innings.

July 21: Devin Burke got his fourth win as Stephen Cardullo and Derrik Gibson each homered. But Chris Rusin suffered a calf strain and will miss three weeks. Isotopes 4 Fresno 2.

July 22: Austin House returned to us from Colorado and I immediately stuck him in our closer role. Jordan Patterson had three hits but they got four in the fifth to beat us in another series. Fresno 7 Isotopes 4.

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We had moved up to sixth in the Power Rankings as we prepared for a seven game road trip.

We still trailed Salt Lake by two games.

Our next games would be in Oklahoma City and Mike and Tina and the kids would be coming.

I was looking forward to it!

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ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (50-49) AT OKLAHOMA CITY DODGERS (55-44)

July 24: Another one run loss knocked us back down to .500. Oklahoma City 5 Isotopes 4.

July 25: Austin House did not stay with us long. He was called back up to the Rockies. We fell behind 7-3 but rallied. Stephen Cardullo had three RBI and Jan Vazquez had a homer. Alas, our third one run loss in our last five games gave us a losing record. Oklahoma City 7 Isotopes 6.

July 26: Mike and thefamily came up for this one and we treated them to a 5-0 lead before they came back to make it a one run game. Six solid innings from Brett Oberholtzer and a two hit, two walk performance from Mike Tauchman ended our three game skid. Isotopes 5 Oklahoma City 4.

ALBUQUERQUE ISOTOPES (51-51) AT COLORADO SPRINGS SKY SOX (64-39)

July 27: Down 2-1 in the ninth, we got a run to send it to extras and then three in the tenth to win it. Devin Burke allowed four hits in five innings and Derrik Gibson hit a huge two run double in the tenth. Isotopes 5 Colorado Springs 2 10 innings.

July 28: This time, they scored the run in the tenth. David Holman allowed three earned runs in five innings and Jordan Patterson had a couple hits. Colorado Springs 4 Isotopes 3.

July 29: The third straight game in the series to go into extras. Our fourth straight loss to be by one run. Antonio Senzatela did not give up an earned run in six innings and Stephen Cardullo drove in three runs but the bullpen could not hold a 4-0 lead. Colorado Springs 6 Isotopes 5 10 innings.

July 30: The new Power Rankings came out and we had fallen back to ninth. This time we went thirteen innings with Cardullo getting four hits and bringing home three. Isotopes 5 Colorado Springs 4 13 innings.

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Five weeks.

That's all our season had left was five weeks.

We were right at .500. 51-51. Still just two games behind Salt Lake.We would have our next six games at home.

We really needed to make our move as no one in our division was ready to run away with it.

We were really strong in most categories as a team.

Except for home runs.

Only one team in the conference had hit fewer home runs than us.

I revisited Mike's Facebook page. He had posted pictures from the game in OKC.

Tanya had commented.

With some rambling rant about patriarchy and white privilege and economic inequality and praising her new idol. Someone named Ocasio-Cortez.

I had never heard of this woman.

Apparently I was the only one as that started a whole firestorm of comments attacking and defending this mystery woman.

I closed the page with two thoughts in my head.

1. I really hate Facebook politics.

2. I could actually read some people's comments. Which meant I wasn't blocked anymore.

Although I wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

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