PCL1 Round Rock Express

Godfather of Soul Offers Moore Congratulations

Published on June 30, 2003 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Round Rock Express News Release


Minutes after Jacques Landry lifted the Round Rock Express to a dramatic 5-4 win over the Arkansas Travelers with a home run in the bottom of the ninth Sunday night, manager Jackie Moore was joined by team president Reid Ryan, CFO Reese Ryan, their father Nolan – by phone – and the Godfather of Soul.

Yes, the Godfather of Soul.

Before the season started, Nolan Ryan gave Moore a 30-inch singing toy version of James Brown to play after every Express win. 81 games into the season and the team at only 25-56, James wasn't getting the opportunity to "feel good" very often. At one point, Moore put a piece of tape over its mouth with the hopes for a change in fortunes.

However, that's slowly but surely starting to change. An influx of new faces has given Round Rock a boost, as seen by Landry's ninth inning heroics Sunday night.

The win moved the Express to 5-6 in the second half, but that is a marked improvement from how they started the first. After 11 games in the first half, Round Rock was 2-9 and seven games out of first place. Now, they stand only two behind San Antonio.

On top of that, the Express is coming off one of its most improbable victories of the year. Sore spots for Round Rock earlier this year turned into strengths against the Travelers: the bullpen and power from the middle of the order.

After giving up late runs that cost the Express wins the previous two nights, the quartet of Eric Cammack, Mike Burns, Max Tremblay shut down Arkansas over the next 4.2 innings to give Round Rock the chance to come back from a 4-1 deficit.

Michael Rosamond took care of the comeback himself with a three-run home run in the seventh, setting up Landry.

"It was looking like our third loss in a row until (Rosamond) hit that homer," Landry said. "To get that win before heading to extra innings will give us the chance to create some momentum."

Whether or not this momentum can be sustained will be the biggest question to come out of Sunday's game. It's one thing to have a single miracle; it's another to do it for two months. However, Moore is confident his team can do it.

"We've been through a lot in the first half, but we have something to build on now," Moore said. "There's nothing more exciting than a walk off home run and if we can't build off it, then we're in trouble. This team can do it though. We're starting to get some pitching, but we haven't taken advantage of it. When we do, we'll be in good shape."

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Pacific Coast League Stories from June 30, 2003


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