Trees fall before ERAs can rise at Cashman Field

If a tree falls at Cashman Field, and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

51s president Don Logan said he didn’t hear two tall evergreen trees get uprooted from the berm in right field during a recent wind storm that wreaked havoc across the valley. The trees toppled down an earthen bank and came to rest near the outdoor batting cage.

His office in the bowels of the ballpark is far removed from the right-field line. Or insulated well. So Logan didn’t hear a Budweiser beer cart on the concourse get blown over, either.

The fallen trees were nearly as majestic as the home run Kris Bryant hit for the Cubs on Big League Weekend. They nearly landed on top of the run-down outdoor batting cage and did thousands of dollars worth of improvement.

The tall firs once provided a shady respite for spectators sitting on blankets on the berm. Now they will only provide Logan with a bill to have them removed before the 51s’ home opener against the dreaded Fresno Grizzlies at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday.

That’s (minor league) baseball.

Mrs. Viola’s sweet bracket

Last year at Mets spring training in Port St. Lucie, Florida, 51s pitching coach Frank Viola was watching March Madness on TV. He marveled at how Las Vegas oddsmakers set the lines just right in so many cases.

“How do they do that?” asked the three-time All-Star and 1988 American League Cy Young Award recipient.

He should have just asked his wife.

Viola posted a tweet on 51s media day about how MommaV16 — his wife, Kathy — had won the Mets’ organization March Madness bracket.

The left-hander said Momma V’s system for picking winners was a cross between flipping a coin and possessing uncanny knowledge of certain teams.

“She’s sneaky,” he said.

Gallo’s vintage HR

Did you see the home run Bishop Gorman product Joey Gallo smacked for the Texas Rangers against Cleveland the other night?

It took every tool in Fangraph’s sabermetric shed to measure it: 443 feet, 115.6 mph exit velocity, launched at 35 degrees, 80 power, 80 scale, 377 feet to the power alley times three to the fourth power, or whatever.

Or, to paraphrase what Crash Davis said to Ebby Calvin “Nuke” LaLoosh in “Bull Durham,” after the latter served up a long one against the Fayetteville Generals and mechanical bull noises were being heard in the background:

“Look at that. He hit the (bleeping) bull! Guy gets a free steak!”

UNLV Raiders

A photo from UNLV spring football practice showed quarterbacks Armani Rogers and Kurt Palandech running drills while sporting silver helmets and black jerseys. Were it not for Rogers’ red undershirt, and if you didn’t know the numbers, the two might have been mistaken for Derek Carr and Matt McGloin, or whomever the Raiders’ backup QB is.

So maybe this notion about UNLV not being able to display its colors at the proposed domed stadium on weekends they share it with the Raiders isn’t going to be that big a deal.

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The disconnect between ballplayers and media types is growing all the time, so a few minutes spent chewing the fat with Paul Sewald, formerly of Bishop Gorman and the 51s bullpen, always seemed special.

Sewald seemed to enjoy it as much as you did.

A little fat was chewed on media day Tuesday at Cashman Field, after which a media type told the right-handed relief pitcher he’d probably see him around — but hopefully not for too long. On Friday, Sewald got called up by the Mets.

Paul Stanton Sewald, age 26, possessor of a modest fastball, effective slider, impressive WHIP and the sunniest of dispositions, is now a major leaguer. He’ll wear jersey No. 51 for the Mets, which seems appropriate.

A lot of local media types couldn’t be happier for him.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.