Game 81 Recap, Aug 20: My Own Private Odyssey

Ballers clobber Roadsters 14-2, take series in Modesto; Ybarra sets B’s HR record

by Dan Silvert

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After a monthlong wait, I finally got to see Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey in glorious 70mm IMAX form on Wednesday, thanks to my magnificent girlfriend Jessica.  What a journey and a psychological mindf—k.  Since I’m in a free flowing, alliterative state after seeing the best sword-and-sandal movie since Gladiator (which is, empirically speaking, one of the top four movies of all time), I thought “why not go on my own Hero’s Journey, tilt at some windmills and harass newly minted #1 public enemy J.T. Snow?  So with that, I decided to Fear and Loathe my way to the Central Valley (without the travel companion and/or drug consumption).

As I finally had room to breathe after a long journey prepping my new listing in Piedmont and a morning of managing vendors at an upcoming listing, I pinged my editor/maniac-in-chief and asked what the scope and pay-per-word of today’s assignment would be.  Joe Horton told me “get your ass in your car and enjoy the privilege that writing for Dispatches is,” so I obliged and got on the road at noon.

I’ve always enjoyed some solitude and playing music at unconscionably loud level, so I knew my assignment.  I loaded up my 32 ounce L.L. Bean branded Contigo/Nalgene bottle with coffee left over from Monday’s brokers tour that I hosted… all coffee becomes cold brew under the right conditions, y’know?!... and off I went to Modest…Oh?

I went into Stanislaus County with so many questions on my mind:  How many Oscars will The Odyssey win?  What is causing the Ballers to play so competitively during the last quarter of a “lost” season?  Was Matt Damon the best possible casting for the role of Odysseus?  But most importantly, the question on all B’s fans minds: why has J.T. Snow acting like such a little b----?

Let me briefly give my baseball history: my stepdad turned me on to baseball in 1987.  I got to see an inside-the-park grand slam that summer at the Coliseum, one of just over 200 in MLB history.  And thanks to the internet, I just saw that Bob Brower adventure for the first time in 38 years.  I became a big A’s fan during the Bash Brothers-era and was at the 1992 ALCS game where Roberto Alomar went yard off of Eck, which (hindsight being 20/20) was the beginning of the end.  I gained some momentum back for the Moneyball-era and the BoSox 2004 and 2007 World Series titles (as my family is from Boston), but my peak baseball fandom was over.

In the early 2000s, I had flunked… ahem, bailed… out of UC Davis, and spent the first half of that decade reffing ice hockey and playing poker for a living.  The hockey games would often end at/after midnight, and you Folks of a Certain Age will remember the Giants’ broadcasting replays of the day’s game as the Giants Midnight Replay.  This was an era before you could track down a replay of your favorite team’s game on the internet easily, so this was a big deal.

Though my team was (and short of an FJF-led hijacking, always would have been) the A’s, I fell in love with Krukow, Kuiper, Miller and Fleming.  I have no desire to start a debate on this, but they are the best MLB broadcast team of the first quarter of the 21st century and I am saddened by Kruk’s impending retirement.

During that time, the Giants (no, not the 2010/2012/2014 ones) went on a somewhat improbable run to the World Series.  JT Snow saved manager Dusty Baker’s young son from imminent death at the plate in Game 5 and the Giants cruised to a 16-4 victory.  Barry Bonds was doing Barry Bonds stuff and hit .370 with a .582 OBP and an 11.7 WAR.  Like, the guy was doing Eddie Pelc’s 2026 season with Long Beach at the MLB level.  It was absolutely bonkers.

Then, Game 6 arrives.  Dusty Baker hands out a preemptive game ball to Russ Ortiz.  The Giants take a 5-0 lead into the 7th inning.  Then, everything fell apart.  Felix Rodriguez.  Tim Worrell.  Lofton.  Bonds.  Closer Robb Nenn.  It was all a comedy of errors and unintentional mishappenings and s--- happens, and as they say, “the rest is history.”  Note: LBC manager Troy Percival was the closer and Troy Glaus a slugging corner INF for the eventual WS champs, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (I still LOL at that moniker).

Fortunately, the Giants have never been my ride-or die, so… whatever.  My point is that current Glow Riders… err, Roadsters manager J.T. Snow was on that team.  Not only was he on that team; he had a commendable 15 year career with the Angels, Giants and a last year extended cup of coffee with my second MLB love, the Red Sox.  He hit .268 for his career, slugged nearly 200 regular season HRs, and had a run of six straight Gold Gloves from 1995 to 2000, including a 26th place finish for MVP in 1997.  J.T. Snow was a force and a gamer. All this leads me back to the burning question at the quintessence of this random-ass mission: why has Jumbo Tantrum Snow (thank you, Joe Horton, for originating a phrase that I will regret uttering) been such a dick this season?  I officiate men’s lacrosse at the collegiate and national tournament (youth/high school, primarily) level.  From having been involved in lacrosse and hockey at decent levels, I have learned to be wary of judging and castigating high level athletes, and public figures in general, from a distance.  You/I/we have no idea, and sometimes the powers of observation are a better mechanism than opening one’s mouth and spewing bulls--- into the ether.

That said, there’s been an informally reported/gossiped run of troubling and inappropriate behavior from Snow this season.  Getting run in Yuba-Sutter and being trespassed from the stadium for the remainder of the series.  Flipping the double birds to Ice Cold Kenny and the B’s faithful, as well as a not-so-discreet up close scratching of the buttocks for the 3rd base line fans.  Hell, he’s had enough hooks from the umps this season that I bet he has used The No-No Word with the Boys in Blue.  As I pondered this over my lunch of shrimp tacos and burrata salad, I got back on the road to Glowville.

As my report is already becoming a ramble, let’s get to the nitty gritty.  I rolled into the press box a few minutes after 5 PM and had an opportunity to connect with the B’s outstanding Director of Broadcasting and Media Production, Gareth Kwok.  I also got to chat with many of the Roadsters’ press box/game day staff, who confirmed (and I will omit details as to protect confidences) that J.T. Snow can be… not nice.

The game itself was a joy to behold.  Recently signed Wazzu/Gonzaga/Vandy (and Los Gatos) product Logan Johnstone lead off with a solo opposite field shot.  I then headed up to the broadcast booth to call the 3rd and 4th innings with Gareth.  After recent Columbia grad Cole Fellows tied the game with an RBI single in the bottom of the 4th, Dave Thomas (no, NOT the Wendy’s guy) escaped a couple of jams with some nifty pitching that minimized much hard contact.

On the day, Thomas turned in one of the best pitching performances of the B’s season. He went 7.0, giving up one run on five hits while striking out a season team-high nine.

We reached out to Thomas after the game for his thoughts on what was working so well. “Just trying to get ahead in the count and then throw good swing-and-miss pitches and throwing every pitch with good intent. Every thing worked well; just trusting my catchers and my defense; they are always making good plays behind me.”

I returned to my 2nd row seat near the Ballers’ dugout after my radio spell and grabbed Drew Harris to help me procure a handful of drinks for the small but mighty gathered crew of B’s fans. We missed Jeter Ybarra picking up Jake Allgeyer from 2nd with a two-run blast.  With his 32nd homer of the season, Ybarra broke 2025 offensive MVP Christian Almanza’s single-season franchise HR record.  

When asked by your intrepid reporter about which sandwich he would be celebrating with—the longstanding Dispatches question after he hits a home run, variously titled Slamwiches, Sandingers, others—he pondered and said “oh gosh, probably a Starbucks bacon gouda breakfast sandwich.  I had so many questions.  Will he be doing that later tonight?  Will this be a delayed gratification breakfast sandwich?  Then I realized that the man who possesses one of the sweetest lefty swings since Ted Williams owed me no firm answers about his sandwich predilections (or optimal time of consumption), so I just let him enjoy his moment.  Well, that, and demanded a selfie.

The rest of the evening was all B’s.  Logan Johnstone doubled in three runs in the fifth to cap a six-run inning.  He led a crew of Ybarra, Sanford and TJ Rogers, who all had a multiple RBI game.  Jaden Collura came in as a mid-game replacement for Connor Smith, who somehow broke a fingernail on his throwing hand blocking a ball at the plate.  Collura hit a home run and scored three runs in half-a-game, which is incredibly impressive.  Dave Thomas pitched seven innings of one-run ball, and new pitching addition, James Pazdera, made his professional debut with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Everything’s coming up Milhouse for the boys in green as they complete a six-game road trip with series win against Long Beach and Modesto, the two best teams in the league.  The pitching staff, managed beautifully by pitching coach extraordinaire Jim Dedrick, rocked a sub-3 ERA on the Central Valley/SoCal swing, and instilled optimism about the future of this team.  The Ballers allowed five runs or less in six straight games against two imposing lineups.  We, and more importantly they, should be very proud of that.

To wrap up my story, my Hero’s Journey felt like a fait accompli.  Maybe I can breathe a sigh of relief and utter this post-facto, but it felt like a given that the Peloteros would take home the rubber match and a “W” from the Roadsters tonight.  Everything was flowing, J.T. Snow (and apparently, the umpire he got into it with on Wednesday) were persona non grata and on an apparently PBL-mandated time out; I wish I had more details and info on that.

At one point late in the game, a Roadsters fan yelled “what’s your record?!”  While this might not have been the appropriate response, I answered “73-23.” While it’s not really a great look to rest on past laurels, I can honestly say that I think the Ballers are a more dignified team at this moment—scrapping their way to a winning 2nd half record after an 0-7 start—than the Roadsters are at 28-5.

How you conduct yourself matters, and I couldn’t be prouder to have Aaron Miles, Jim Dedrick and James Harris showing these young guys how to get s--- done under difficult circumstances.

Photos by Dan Silvert, Maya Lee, and Dawn Pieper in Modesto.

Video recap by Ben Verhoek.