Moving on, minus two standouts
With a little more than a month left in the Pacific Coast League's regular season, Missions fans can tap out a few computer keyboard strokes and find on the Internet that their team is in pretty good shape - at least from a mathematical standpoint.Best record in Triple-A baseball? Check.
With a little more than a month left in the Pacific Coast League's regular season, Missions fans can tap out a few computer keyboard strokes and find on the Internet that their team is in pretty good shape - at least from a mathematical standpoint.
Best record in Triple-A baseball? Check. A gaudy 27 games above .500? Check, again. A three-and-a-half game lead on the Round Rock Express in the American Southern Division? It's all there, right on the digital page.
At a glance, most of the statistical indicators would suggest that the Missions have as good a chance as anyone to make the playoffs and perhaps even win a championship, which would be sweet, considering that this is the team's first year in the PCL.
Then again, as faithful followers of the ball club likely know by now, not every little thing is going their way as the calendar flips to Aug. 1.
The Missions could be in for a transition in the coming weeks as they forge ahead without two of their best players - infielder
Dubon is now a member of the Sacramento River Cats who, oddly enough, are in San Antonio playing a series against the Missions at Wolff Stadium.
Dealt by the Milwaukee Brewers to the San Francisco Giants on the trade deadline, the 24-year-old fan favorite showed up at the Wolff on Wednesday afternoon, picked up his stuff in the home team clubhouse and moved it to the visitors' side.
"It's weird," he said. "It's weird. But, it's part of the business."
Later in the evening, the 24-year-old Honduras native played shortstop and batted second for the River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the Giants, who scored a 5-2 victory over the Brewers' minor leaguers in the second game of a three-game series.
The series finale is set for Thursday night at 7:05.
Grisham, meanwhile, has been called up to the major leagues with the Brewers. He came to the Wolff earlier in the day Wednesday and picked up a few things before heading to the airport, bound for Oakland, California.
In Oakland, Grisham is scheduled to start Thursday afternoon for the Brewers against the A's.
As for the Missions, they'll know soon enough if they can make up for the loss of their Nos. 1 and No. 2 hitters in the batting order -- Grisham and Dubon, respectively.
Grisham was a dynamic hitter, averaging .381 with 13 home runs in 34 games. He had hit for the cycle while hammering two homers on Tuesday night.
Dubon averaged .297 in San Antonio, with 16 home runs and 47 RBI. With a flair for the dramatic, he had two walk-off hits in victories on the first homestand of the season.
On Wednesday night, without the two spark plugs, the offense sagged for the first time in weeks. It scored only two runs on seven hits against the River Cats, the first time it had scored fewer than three runs in a game since July 7 at New Orleans.
A Brewers official predicted that the Missions will be OK.
"Oh, we'll still score," Brewers field coordinator Charlie Greene said. "I mean, you've still got pros (in the lineup). So, get some help on the way, and once this roster gets settled in … you just got to fill the void."
Greene, who is working for a few more days as acting manager for the Missions, applauded both Grisham and Dubon.
"It's awesome for those two guys," he said. "One's going to the big leagues and one's real close to the big leagues. That's part of this game. These guys (the Missions) will be fine. We hit it hard tonight. Just at the wrong part of the field.
"Like I said, it's just a weird day. The (trade) deadline days are always weird."
After Thursday's finale against Sacramento, the Missions will host the Fresno Grizzlies starting Friday night in a four-game home series.
A seven-game road trip follows. The trip will lead through Albuquerque for four games and through El Paso for three more.
PCL Standings
American Southern Division - San Antonio 68-41, Round Rock 64-44, New Orleans 56-51, Oklahoma City 51-57
Pacific Northern Division - Sacramento 59-50, Fresno 53-56, Tacoma 50-59, Reno 49-60.
Missions, month by month
April 15-9, May 20-12, June 16-11, July 17-9.
Sweet's vacation
Missions manager Rick Sweet is on an organization-mandated, four-game vacation. He's scheduled to return on Saturday.
Dubon's day
In a scenario that could only manifest itself in professional sports, Dubon played for the Missions against the River Cats in Game 1 of the series on Tuesday night, and then he reported to the same stadium and played for the River Cats against the Missions in Game 2 on Wednesday.
Dubon is 2-0 in that sequence, as the Missions won 8-4 on Tuesday, followed by the River Cats' 5-2 victory Wednesday.
The 24-year-old Honduras native, a fan favorite in his four months with the Missions, was taken aback when he got the news Wednesday afternoon.
Preparing to leave home to report to the stadium, he got a phone call while sitting in his car. "I had to stay there at home a little bit to figure out what was going on," he said. "When they told me I was in the (Sacramento) lineup, I had to come and get ready for the game."
Fans cheered as his name was announced in the first inning. But then he got hit by a pitch on his first at bat, nailed on the hand as a ball from
In reaction, he smiled at Wilkerson and faked a move, as if he might charge the mound. But he took his base, and the game went on. Even though Dubon finished 0-for-3 at the plate, he took a hit away from
"Before the game I was talking crap, telling Spangy I was going to steal a hit from him," Dubon said.
Deadline deals
Just before the deadline, the Brewers traded Dubon to the Giants in exchange for pitchers