No Joy in Biscuitville

 

And so the Montgomery Jinx rolls on...

As the Biscuits fell to the Barons on Tuesday night, Montgomery fans were disappointed for the umpteenth time, but not overly surprised. The post-season struggles the Biscuits have endured for most of two decades has become a fall tradition, like watching the leaves turn colors and knowing the State Fair opens soon.

Instead this will be remembered as the season we watched Chandler Simpson swipe his hundred bases, enjoying Carson Williams smooth patrol of shortstop and for the Grey Sox game in Birmingham. It's the year Big Bob slugged homer after homer before his speedy promotion, when Xavier Issac replaced him at first base but not in the hearts of fans. For Tre Morgan and Tanner Murray, charismatic and quirky. For a litany of pitchers, many who ended the year in Durham, Workman and Seymour among them. Fans will remember Montgomery making a deep run into the playoffs for 2024, but also for getting swept in the LCS.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Where did this team come up short? It's tough to nail down one spot, though it appears the Biscuits just failed to get hits when they needed them in the final series. Scoring three runs over two games puts a lot of pressure on the pitching staff to be flawless. Over a five or seven game series, Montgomery maybe gets the better of the Barons, but the Biscuits and Kevin Boles can only tip their cap to Bham after the back to back losses.

Bob Seymour

 

WHAT WORKED, WORKED WELL

Kudos to the Tampa Rays, for leaving the core of the Biscuits team intact, even when players such as Simpson and Williams had shown they were likely ready for promotion. Without the two of them in the order through the end of August, Montgomery probably never even sniffs the postseason. Also the Rays sent two players, Jiminez and Menendez back from Durham to the Montgomery roster. 

But the Bulls kept Zarraga, the Biscuits ex-closer and got starting pitchers Workman and Wilcox in August. All deserved promotion, but the moves left the Montgomery pitching staff in the lurch at the end of the season with playoffs looming.

I also give much credit to players like Sean Hunley and Mason Auer, who worked to improve their game during the course of the season. The catching duo of Keegan and Genoves were reliable and productive, as was Dru Baker in the outfield. 

The Biscuits bullpen was a busy place this summer, featuring a new face every couple weeks. Yet the club managed to focus the roles quickly and fans were often happy to be able to see relief pitchers provide actual relief. Pitchers such as Keyshawn Askew, Evan Reifert and Paul Gervase were welcome sights in the late innings. 

 

MONTGOMERY JINX AT WORK?

How big is that injury to starting pitcher Adam Leverett looking now? Huge. The Biscuits became reliant on the bullpen after Leverett hit the IL and could certainly have used a reliable starter in the postseason.

In a related story, how big is that injury to starting pitcher Ben Peoples looking now? Also huge, same reason.

 

COMING UP

Be on the lookout for a few items of interest, among them the new podcast featuring Dr. Miraculous! We are putting some interesting spins on games and will debut in just a few weeks.

Also I am looking forward to doing interviews of former Biscuits and will be sharing that here, starting with Sam McWilliams, who has kindly agreed to answer some questions about his time in Montgomery in an interview with Dr. Miraculous.

There are a few former Montgomery Rebels I will be reaching out to as well, hopefully we can hear some of their stories about the old teams and their glory days.

There are about five different player biographies I will be working on, as well as identifying and photographing the locations of the known former ballparks in the city. It is a huge list!

I am continuing to write and research the Montgomery Negro League history, please reach out if you have any information on black baseball in Montgomery or are interested in carrying a book on the topic.

#BULLPENLIFE

THIS WEEK IN MONTGOMERY BASEBALL HISTORY

SEPTEMBER 23 1972

The Montgomery Rebels raise Southern Flag, win Southern League championship under manager Fred Hatfield.

SEPTEMBER 22 1973 

The Montgomery Rebels win the Southern League championship under manager Fred Hatfield

 

  SEPTEMBER 25 1976 

Les Moss

The Montgomery Rebels win Southern League championship under manager Les Moss

SEPTEMBER 27 1920 

"Montgomery Grey Sox Win Negro Pennant - Montgomery, Alabama, September 28. - P.M. Perdue, of Birmingham, president of the Negro Southern League baseball clubs today announced that the Montgomery Grey Sox team was winner of the pennant. The season ended with a game of 6 to 5 score between Montgomery White Sox and Chicago Giants yesterday."