Written the week of August 24-30, 2026

Every remaining game has playoff implications. Amarillo leads the South Division. We play them this week in Amarillo. Springfield leads the North Division. We return home to play them next week. Midland is one game behind us in third place, and we travel to Midland for the final series of the regular season.

We remain in second place but now two games rather than one separate us from first. The Hooks aren’t in the driver’s seat yet, but they do control where they sit in the playoff car during these last three weeks.

This week I watch from the air-conditioned comfort of my living room, not wanting to travel the long road to Amarillo. I’ve been there before, and it seemed like a torturous drive on cow trails. I despise Google Maps and its penchant for circuitous off-the-beaten-path directions.

Ellen and I watched Tuesday’s game, which did not end well. Trey Dombroski allowed 2 home runs to Amarillo five weeks ago in a 7-6 loss at home and repeated the 2-homer performance in a 7-3 loss in Amarillo. We won’t out-homer the Sod Poodles in this series. At this writing, the Soddies have hit 158 home runs, the Hooks 111 for the season.

Jason Schiavone did his part though. He hit two bombs in the rain-shortened game and may have blasted more if given additional at-bats. After no home runs in July, he has hit four in the last ten days.

The loss against the team the Hooks have to beat dampened spirits in our home and ignited a discussion about a planned trip to Midland in two weeks.

But we won’t know if they’re out of it.

Why go if they’re out of it?

Well, right now they suck!

They’ve sucked before and bounced back.

When they lose, we plunge into the cold depths of despair. When they win, we are lifted to joyous heights. It is exhausting watching this version of the Corpus Christi Hooks. At least in years past, they were just awful. The funk lasted most of the season, and we fans lived under the dark cloud of dashed dreams.

This team won’t let us stay under that cloud nor will they let us simply be happy. They have to win some, lose some, and remain in contention when it seems so improbable. No one expected this, at least, no one I know.

Last year, the Hooks bottomed out historically. They had their worst season ever and clinched the worst record in the entire country in the minor leagues. One coach told a family member to not expect too much from the players in 2026. They were doomed to repeat last season’s misery.

But they haven’t. So, the Hooks lost on Tuesday, what of it?

The team hasn’t quit on us, so let’s not quit on them.

The August 26^th headline on the team website says it all: Schiavone Authors Second Straight Two-Homer Game, Hooks Drop Nail-Biter!

Wednesday’s game was a battle of bats that the Hooks came close but claimed no cigar. Jason Schiavone came alive at the plate going 5-5 in his first five plate appearances in this series. He hit four home runs and a single in the two games. A sixth swing of the bat went flying high into right field but not quite far enough, and Jason had a dang-it smile after the fly ball was caught.

By the time the game was over, Ellen and I felt like Apollo Creed and Rocky in the first movie.

“Ain’t gonna be no rematch!”

“Don’t want one!”

Our words were more like, “We’re not doing this again next year.”

I reiterate what I wrote earlier. It’s exhausting watching this version of the Corpus Christi Hooks.

Our pitching had a bad day at the office. They gave up two home runs, seventeen hits, and ten runs over 8 innings pitched. Andrew Marrero was the only pitcher to escape unscathed. He pitched 1.1 scoreless innings. Cole Hertzler pitched the only 1-2-3 inning, the 2^nd, before being relieved in the 3^rd. Amarillo scored in every inning except the 2^nd and the 8^th. They did not bat in the 9^th, but the Hooks 8^th made it look like a possibility.

In the bottom of the 7^th, Amarillo sent the entire lineup to the plate and scored four runs to spot the Sod Poodles to a 10-5 lead.

In the top of the 8^th, Corpus Christi sent its entire lineup to the plate and scored four runs to narrow the margin to 10-9. Marrero kept the score at 10-9 in the bottom half of the inning.

In the top of the 9^th, two walks and a passed ball put Hooks on second and third when Trevor Austin stepped into the batter’s box with two outs. A meek grounder to the pitcher seemed like such a quiet way to end the ball game after he and Jason Schiavone had thundered in the 4^th inning with back-to-back homers.

For the record though, the Hooks did out-homer the Soddies this time, 3 home runs to 2. Our batters took what I’m assuming was a season-high 13 walks. Our pitchers gave up a lot of hits, 17, but not a lot of walks, 6, compared to Amarillo’s generosity.

Thursday’s game helped lift our spirits, and Alonzo Tredwell, after making a first inning exit in the previous series with Midland, pitched well, allowing 2 runs in 4 innings, one earned and the second unearned.

The Hooks started well, scoring with a two-out double by Jason Schiavone and a two-run homer by our guy Will Bush in the top of the 1st inning. Tyler Whitaker singled to center field then ran us out of the inning trying to score on Alejandro Nunez’s double.

Tredwell got a quick out before offering a third-pitch strike too juicy for Cristofer Torin to pass on. He blasted it over the left center wall to put the Soddies on the scoreboard. After one complete, Corpus Christi 2-Amarillo 1.

In the 2^nd inning, Hector Salas walked for the fifth time in two games as the ninth batter in the Hooks’ batting order. Jean Walters would mirror Salas with a walk in the bottom of the inning, hitting in the same spot, number nine, for Amarillo.

Walters would be the most frustrating Sod Poodle simply because he never got a hit, never seemed to be a hitting threat, and would be walked on four or five pitches. He wouldn’t score during this game, but he accounted for three of the nine walks issued by Hooks’ pitching.

In the 3rd inning, both pitchers would get 1-2-3 innings, but Tredwell needed a well-executed Schiavone to Brown to Tredwell double play to get outs 2 and 3.

The 4^th inning wouldn’t be as quick and clean for either team. With the bases loaded and two outs, Justin Thomas Jr. clobbered a shot off the left field wall to score two of the three base runners. With base runners at second and third, Trevor Austin sent a line-drive single into left field to bring two more runs home, making it 6-1 Corpus Christi.

In the bottom of the 4^th, an error would put Druw Jones on first and a successful steal on second. He’d advance to third on a deep fly and score on a groundout by Matt O’Neill. Another groundout ended Tredwell’s day on the mound. After 4 complete, Corpus Christi 6-Amarillo 2.

Ramsey David entered for Corpus Christi in the 5^th and pitched two scoreless innings. Amilcar Chirinos entered in the 7^th inning and did more than walk a guy. Cristofer Torin singled, Avery Owusu-Asiedu grounded into a force out at second, Ben McLaughlin walked, and Druw Jones doubled a run home. After seven complete, Corpus Christi 6-Amarillo 3.

In the top of the 8^th, Alejandro Nunez doubled and stole third. With one out and two on, Brandon Forrester laid down a squeeze bunt, and Nunez ran like a rabbit home to extend the lead to 7-3.

Joey Mancini pitched the 8^th and 9^th innings. When Joey comes into a game, he is either hittable or lights out. With the score 7-3, the Hooks had a little wiggle room before things would get tense, so I wasn’t initially worried when he entered the game. A strikeout and two groundouts later, I relaxed for the first time that night.

A strikeout and two groundouts in the bottom of the 9^th ended the game. Final score: Corpus Christi 7-Amarillo 3.

Michael Coffin, the voice of the Hooks, said something the next day during the Friday night broadcast about the pitching challenges of Hodgetown, Amarillo’s downtown ballpark.

The field conditions are higher, 4000’+ elevation, and drier than Corpus Christi. The dimensions of the ballpark provide shorter fences to clear at 350’ in left center and right center as opposed to 370’ in many ballparks.

Whataburger Field is on the Corpus Christi Bay, which provides a prevailing wind out of the southeast. The ballpark sits at a near sea-level elevation and has a high-humidity atmosphere.

The higher elevation and drier conditions do two things when it comes to pitching and hitting a baseball. With less resistance, balls fly farther when hit. The shorter porches add an additional advantage to long-ball hitters.

Michael’s insight on Friday night, though, had to do with what happens to pitches under those higher, drier conditions. They flatten out and have less movement. That makes the ball more predictable as it approaches the plate. Curve balls have less break. Sweepers don’t sweep. Sliders don’t slide. Fast balls zip but they don’t zag.

At this point in the series, under the prevailing conditions, the Hooks have been as likely to hit home runs as the Soddies. Our clear advantage, the pitching staff, has not proven to be as advantageous as I’d hoped.

I have to give credit where credit is due to the Amarillo batters. They wear pitchers out with their 2-strike approaches. Our guys throw strikes. They foul them off. They make the opposing pitcher throw and throw and throw until he’s been lifted because of a high pitch count. That means, in a long series, the bullpen appears earlier and more often in games. Our advantage disappears under those circumstances.

Saturday morning’s headline on the Hooks website read: Sod Poodles Cruise to 3-1 Series Lead. There was no drama in Friday night’s blowout. The Sod Poodles scored in 5 of the 8 innings they batted and lead 5-0 through the first five innings. We scored our first and only run in the 6^th.

Promising fireballer Hudson Leach showed no promise in the 8^th inning when he gave up four runs on three hits and two walks. A fielding error by our second baseman didn’t make the pitcher’s outing any easier. After issuing his second walk, Leach handed the ball to Colby Langford, who struck out the batter for the final out.

Going down 3-1 in the series had the texting brain trust talking about the players’ futures. We currently don’t see any light at the end of the tunnel when it comes to playoff possibilities for the Hooks. The best-case scenario is we split the series, something the Hooks have done five times straight already, and end up where we started, two games out of first place. Except now we will have six fewer games to make up the difference.

Jim Cologna, father of our development coach, Jeremy Cologna, wrote about the reality of professional baseball.

The funnel gets really small the higher you go. They are all really good players, some better than others. Just like the line from Money Ball, some get told at 18 that they are no longer wanted (like me), some at 22 (like Jeremy), and some at 40. But they all get told that at some point in their careers. The business end of baseball.

Though Friday’s game was awful and the future looks bleak for the Hooks’ playoff chances, my last text rings true for us: Sad night, but a fun year.

Well, the ship full of playoff hopes sank. The Hooks aren’t officially out of the playoff race, but the official notice should come during the next series.

The sobering moment arrived on Saturday night when the Hooks seemed to be cruising to a win.

Corpus Christi had their best start of the series and perhaps the best start of the season in the 1^st inning. With two on and no outs, Jason Schiavone hit his fifth home run of the series. In the 2^nd inning, the Hooks scored three more runs. The Sod Poodles scored one in the 1^st and none in the 2^nd. After two complete, Corpus Christi 6-Amarillo 1.

In the 3^rd inning, Amarillo would get two more runs and cut the deficit in half. Alejandro Nunez extended the lead to four with his first Double-A home run in the 6^th inning. After six, seven, and eight complete, Corpus Christi 7-Amarillo 3.

The Hooks went 1-2-3 out in the top half of the 9^th inning, but that was okay. We led by four runs, and I just wanted the game over. Let’s get those Soddies up and down as quickly as possible.

Disaster struck with the bottom of the order. Numbers eight, Gavin Logan, and nine, Junior Franco, opened the Soddie half of the inning with back-to-back home runs. Lineout, walk, strikeout followed the homers. We were up 7-5 with two out and one on. Angel Ortiz hammered the second pitch he saw over the center right field wall to knot the score at sevens.

We barely escaped the 9^th tied before losing 9-8 in the 10^th.

Disappointing outcome leads to disgruntled comments. The texting brain trust all agreed it was a horrific loss. We had varying opinions which are best not shared publicly as to why we lost.

We lost on Sunday afternoon in a game that never seemed in doubt, though in reality, it was close.

The Sod Poodles had their best 1^st-inning start of the series, 3-0. We’d tie it up 3-3 in the 2^nd, then Amarillo scored a run in the 3^rd, a run in the 4^th, and Corpus Christi countered with a 2-run 5^th to tie it up again. Amarillo scored a run in the 5^th and another in the 7^th to put the Soddies up by two. Final score: Amarillo 7-Corpus Christi 5.

The highlight for the Hooks was Tyler Whitaker’s 2-run homer in the 5th inning, and right fielder Chase Call’s catch and throw to third baseman Hector Salas for a double play to end the 6^th inning. Chase has as strong and accurate an arm as I’ve seen at Corpus Christi. That includes Ramon Laureano, San Diego outfielder in 2026, who played with the Corpus Christi Hooks in 2016 and 2017. At the time, he boasted the strongest arm in the entire Astros’ system. Chase’s biggest plus side is his accuracy coupled with the arm strength.

When the prize, a playoff spot, is no longer on the table, you watch the game with less anxiety and an appreciation for the little things. We didn’t get tons of hits, seven, and we struck out thirteen times, a problem all season. But we walked six times, including Will Bush’s 9^th-inning walk after getting down in the count 0-2. This stands out after an earlier series where Hooks batters didn’t walk once during an entire game.

The texting brain trust’s exchanges on Sunday centered around the fact that the Hooks are out of playoff contention and have two series remaining. We talked about the uncertainty surrounding what happens for each player after the season ends. Who do we expect to see again in Corpus Christi? Who might move up to Triple-A or move down to High-A? Who will most likely be released?

That last question, of course, is the saddest reality for a player. In two weeks, his playing career could be over. For certain, well, almost for certain, the Hooks season will be over.

Corpus Christi Hooks 3-Amarillo Sod Poodles 7               L

Corpus Christi Hooks 9-Amarillo Sod Poodles 10             L

Corpus Christi Hooks 7-Amarillo Sod Poodles 3               W

Corpus Christi Hooks 1-Amarillo Sod Poodles 9               L

Corpus Christi Hooks 8-Amarillo Sod Poodles 9               L

Corpus Christi Hooks 5-Amarillo Sod Poodles 7               L

Texas League South 2^nd-half standings

Amarillo                          33-24

Frisco                              28-29

Midland                           28-29

Corpus Christi                  27-30

San Antonio                     24-33