Baseball Fans

Minor Leaguer suspended

2007-04-28T12:30:00.000-04:00

I'm all in favor of cracking down on "performance enhancing" substances. For example, I think Barry Bonds should be banned and all his home run records are fraud.

But every now and then, this whole "performance enhancing" thing hits close to home.

My local team was, until this year, an affiliate of the Dodgers. So, I've followed many of the Dodgers minor leaguers that played for the Columbus Catfish.

The Dodgers have suspended a former Catfish player for 50 games.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitching prospect Jonathan Figueroa was suspended Friday for 50 games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance.

[more: MinorLeagueBaseball.com]

Figueroa wasn't one of the Catfish players we got to know well, but he was still one of the Catfish. I hope he gets his situation straightened out.

Catfish End Augusta Unbeaten Streak

2007-04-18T08:49:00.000-04:00

After opening the season with 12 straight wins, the Augusta Greenjackets (Giants) fell from the ranks of the unbeaten, losing to the Columbus Catfish Tuesday night, 5-1.

Augusta got on the board first in the top of the 3rd. 2B Marcus Sanders singled to center, then moved to second on LF Tyler Graham's single.s on a ground ball to center fielder Desmond Jennings. Marcus Sanders to 2nd. With one out, Sanders and Graham executed a double steal. Sanders then scored when 1B Brett Pill hit a sacrifice fly to right field.

The Catfish came back in the bottom of the inning. With one out, CF Desmond Jennings singled, and moved to third on a ball four passed ball that put RF Maiko Loyola on first. 3B Cesar Suarez doubled, driving in Jennings. DH Nevin Ashley sacrificed Loyola home, but the inning ended when Suarez was tagged out at second.

Augusta threatened in the 4th and 6th innings, putting runners in scoring position, but were unable to convert.

In the bottom of the 6th, the Catfish padded their lead, knocking Augusta starter Daniel Griffin from the game. Loyola led the inning with a short double that Augusta SS Brian Bocock couldn't handle. Suarez was hit by a pitch. Loyola scored on Ashley's double to center. That's when Griffin was lifted for reliever Benjamin Snyder. LF Quinn Stewart singled, bringing home Suarez. 2B Brett Grandstrand sacrificed Ashley home on a bunt to the pitcher.

Augusta put a runner on 3rd in the 7th, but again couldn't convert. Catfish reliever Brian Baker set down Augusta in the 8th, and Ryan Owen got three straight ground ball outs in the 9th to secure the win.

Griffin fell to 2-1 with the loss. Catfish starter Ryan Morse improved to 2-0, striking out 3 and walking 2 in 6 innings work, and now has an even 1.0 ERA.

The Catfish managed to strand 8 Greenjackets, 5 in scoring position.

Augusta drops to 12-1, with a 4-game lead. The Catfish are in 4rd place, a game out of second.

The 4-game series continues Wednesday night.

More: Columbus Catfish

Augusta, Georgia just ain't no place to be

2007-04-15T08:23:00.000-04:00

According to the old song by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, "Augusta, Georgia just ain't no place to be." *

And, apparently, neither is anywhere else the Augusta Greenjackets (Giants) are playing.

The South Atlantic League (Class A) team improved their record to 10-0 Saturday night, with a 2-0 win over the visiting Charleston River Dogs (Yankees).

Starter Kevin Pucetas worked five shutout innings for the win and waited out a 28 minute rain delay while catcher Dayton Buller drove in both runs.

Pucetas (1-0) allowed five hits, did not walk a batter and struck out four in his first start of the season for Augusta.

More: Augusta Greenjackets, MinorLeagueBaseball.com

The Greenjackets were held to just 3 hits in the game, but 2 came in the 5th inning and, along with a walk, produced the games only runs.

The only other undefeated team in the minors is the Midwest League (Class A) Dayton Dragons, who are still 5-0 after having their 4th postponement of the season Saturday night.

Whitesell goes 5-for-5

2007-04-14T09:55:00.000-04:00

Photo: Harrisburg Senators

Harrisburg Senators (Nationals) 1B Josh Whitesell went 5-for-5 at the plate, including slamming two doubles and a home run, driving in 5 runs and scoring 3 times, as the Senators beat the Erie SeaWolves (Tigers) 16-3 Saturday night.

The Senators amassed 23 hits in the attack.

Roger Bernadina, Juan Melo, and Seth Bynum all had three hits in the game. The Senators had three or more hits in five innings.

The offensive juggernaut started in the second inning when Whitesell had his two-run home run. They scored four in the second, three more in the fourth, two in the seventh and then five in the eighth.

In the eighth inning, Tony Blanco capped the evening off with a grand slam, his second hit of the night.

More: Harrisburg Senators, MinorLeagueBaseball.com

The Senators and SeaWolves play in the Eastern League (Double-A).

Snow Day for the Midwest League

2007-04-12T15:55:00.000-04:00

Every game scheduled ... all seven games involving all 14 teams ... Wednesday night in the Midwest League (Class A) was called on account of cold or cold-related weather issues.

The game between the Peoria Chiefs (Cubs) and the Swing of the Quad Cities (Cardinals) was delayed because of "heavy overnight rains and predicted cold temperatures."

The game between the visiting Burlington Bees (Royals) and the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Angels) was wiped out on account of snow.

The game between the Clinton LumberKings (Rangers) and the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Mariners) was postponed on Wednesday because of snow, and finally cancelled on Thursday for the same reason.

The Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers) at the Fort Wayne Wizards (Padres) was called on account of rain, and was part of a Thursday double-header.

The Lansing Lugnuts (Blue Jays) had to postpone their game with the visiting West Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers) when the snows hit.

The Dayton Dragons (Reds) game at the South Bend Silver Hawks (Diamondbacks) was snowed out Wednesday ... and the scheduled Thursday doubleheader makeup was also scratched.

The Kane County Cougars (Athletics) couldn't host the Beloit Snappers (Twins) Wednesday ... or Thursday ... because of the snow.

Abreu 5-for-5, Bigbie 4-for-5 in 51s win

2007-04-11T10:32:00.000-04:00

Las Vegas 51s (Dodgers) 2B Tony Abreu was perfect at the plate last night, helping lead the visitors to a 10-2 blowout of the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Rockies). Almost as perfect was CF Larry Bigbie, who was 4-for-5.

Abreu and Bigbie each scored three runs, although LF Delwyn Young led the team in RBIs, thanks to his 3-run homer in the 7th inning.

"Every year, I struggle at the beginning of the season. It seems like this is a good year and I'm going to continue to work hard," Abreu said through teammate and translator Luis Gonzalez. "Today was a good day. I'm going to keep trying with two singles and three singles a day. I'm seeing the ball pretty good."

Abreu clubbed a solo homer in the fifth inning to go with four singles. Bigbie was a home run shy of the cycle, collecting two singles, a double and a triple. Both players scored three times.

More: Las Vegas 51s

Las Vegas and Colorado Springs play in the Pacific Coast League (Triple A).

Lester blanks Catfish in rehab start

2007-04-11T10:13:00.000-04:00

Photo: Billy Crowe / MLB.com

Boston Red Sox P Jon Lester pitched 4 shutout innings for the Greenville Drive (South Atlantic League, Class A) Tuesday, in his second rehab start.

Lester retired the first eight batters he faced, striking out five in a 3-0 victory over the Columbus Catfish.

This was Lester's second rehab start for the Drive as he attempts to return to Boston's rotation after an offseason of cancer treatments.

In his first start in Charleston on Thursday, Lester shut out the New York Yankees' affiliate, the Charleston RiverDogs, on two hits over four innings.

More: Boston Globe, MinorLeagueBaseball.com, Columbus Catfish

Lester is scheduled to make two more starts for Greenville before the next Red Sox evaluation.

Two four-homer games

2007-04-09T10:14:00.000-04:00

Two games in the minors on Sunday featured four home runs.

In Louisville, Kentucky, Bats (Reds) 1B Joey Votto, 3B Aaron Herr, and CF Dewayne Wise all hit home runs, as did Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers) CF Timo Perez. The Bats bats came alive in the 3rd inning of the International League (Triple A) contest.

The Louisville Bats used a 10-run third inning, highlighted by a Joey Votto grand slam and home runs by Aaron Herr and Dewayne Wise, in a 13-3 rout over the Toledo Mud Hens on Sunday. RHP Homer Bailey picked up the win in his first Triple-A start.

More: Louisville Bats, Toledo Mud Hens

In Adelanto, California, home of the High Desert Mavericks (Mariners), the home team and the visting Inland Empire 66ers (Dodgers) each hit a pair of homers.

For the 66ers, Blake DeWitt and Lucas May each hit homers for the second game in a row, while the Mavs' Jesus Guzman and Adam Moore also hit round-trippers.

Lucas May homered, tripled and doubled for Inland Empire, which scored four times in the 11th inning and beat host High Desert, 15-11, on Sunday.

In a game that featured four home runs and five hit batters, May came up huge with his go-ahead two-run triple. He doubled in the third and hit his third home run of the season in the fourth.

Gabriel Gutierrez doubled home Jamie Hoffman with the final insurance run. Hoffman went 3-for-5 with four RBI and Blake Dewitt drove in three for the 66ers.

More: MinorLeagueBaseball.com, High Desert Mavericks, Inland Empire 66ers

The Mavericks and 66ers play in the California League (Class A Advanced).

Iowa, Round Rock pitchers combine for one-hitters

2007-04-09T09:52:00.000-04:00

The good news for the Iowa Cubs was that pitchers Ryan O'Malley and Cory Bailey allowed the Round Rock Express (Astros) just one hit. The bad news was that Express pitchers Chad Reineke, Philip Barzilla, and Jose Rodriguez held the Cubs to a single hit, too. The worse news was that the Express scored on a wild pitch, while the Cubs never got a runner past first base. The Pacific Coast League (Triple A) game ended with Round Rock 1-0 winners over Iowa.

Reineke and Iowa starter Ryan O’ Malley each worked no-hitters into the fifth inning. Round Rock picked up its first and only hit when Barry Wesson drew a two-out walk in the fifth and Danny Ardoin followed up with a double.

Corey Bailey, who replaced O’Malley after the double, threw a wild pitch, allowing Wesson to score the game’s only run. Reineke worked 4 1/3 innings without allowing a walk or a hit before Scott Moore singled to right-center with one away in the fifth.

More: Round Rock Express, Iowa Cubs

The double one-hitter occurred in game two of a doubleheader.

13 Innings In Stockton

2007-04-08T10:50:00.000-04:00

The longest game in the Minors on Saturday was a 13-inning affair in Stockton, California. And it was a disappointing game for the home team.

Anthony Contreras drove home Emmanuel Burriss with a two-out single in the top of the 13th inning to send the San Jose Giants to a thrilling 8-7 victory over the Stockton Ports Saturday evening at Banner Island Ballpark. The Giants and Ports battled for three hours and 58 minutes with San Jose notching their third consecutive win to open the season. Ryan Paul worked the final two innings on the mound for the Giants, including a perfect bottom of the 13th, to seal the victory.

More: San Jose Giants

The San Jose Giants and Stockton Ports (Athletics) play in the California League (Class A Advanced).

Weather Wreaks Havoc On Minor League Schedule

2007-04-07T12:44:00.000-04:00

Cold weather was the rule in the Midwest League (Class A) Friday night. Six of seven scheduled contests were postponed on account of either cold or snow. And the one game that was played -- between the Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers) and the South Bend Silver Hawks (Diamondbacks) -- began in 28 degree weather with 628 fans in the stands. And today's game between those two teams has already been called off.

Two games in the South Atlantic League (Class A) were postponed, too, due to snow.

At the Double A level, four of six Eastern League games were postponed for cold, snow, or wet fields due to snow. A Texas League doubleheader was also postponed.

Triple A lost five games. In the International League, four games, including a makeup doubleheader were postponed for snow or cold. The Pacific Coast League also had one game postponed because of cold weather.

Minor League Roundup for April 5

2007-04-06T11:13:00.000-04:00

The top team pitching performances in the minor leagues Thursday night were all combined 2-hitters.

In Nashville, New Orleans Zephyrs (Mets) pitchers Philip Humber (WP, 1-0; 5 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4K), Jose Santiago (3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2K), and Lino Urdaneta (S, 1; 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R) combined to shut down the hometown Sounds (Brewers), 4-1 in a Pacific Coast League (AAA) game. [more: New Orleans Zephyrs]

Four Bowie Baysox (Orioles) pitchers combined to shut out the Trenton Thunder (Yankees), 1-0. Beau Hale (6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K), Rommie Lewis Jr. (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K), Jim Miller (WP, 1-9; 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K), and Jim Hoey (S, 1; 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K) combined to keep the Thunder scoreless in the Eastern League (AA) contest. [more: Bowie Baysox]

Not all two-hitters were wins, however. Four pitchers on the Florida State League (A Advanced) Fort Myers Miracle (Twins) staff combined to hold the Sarasota Reds (Reds) to two hits and no earned runs. But two errors allowed the Reds to score two unearned runs, and the Reds staff held Fort Myers to three hits and no runs. Kyle Waldrop (5 IP, 0R, 7K), Jay Rainville (L, 01; 2/3 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 1 BB), Yohan Pino (1-1/3 IP, 0 R, 1 K), and Kyle Aselton (1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K) did all they could do, but the Reds' Carlos Fisher (W, 1-0; 7 IP 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K), Ramon Ramirez (1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K), and Josh Roenicke (S, 1; 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 K) proved more than up to the task. [more: Sarasota Reds]

Townsend Returns From Surgery With Win

2007-04-06T10:03:00.000-04:00

Photo by Philip Wartena / Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

After sitting out the 2006 season with Tommy John surgery, Tampa Bay Devil Rays prospect Wade Townsend returned to action Thursday night, pitching 5 innings of two-hit ball, en route to a 6-1 win for his Columbus Catfish (South Atlantic League).

Townsend (1-0), the eighth overall pick in the 2005 draft, allowed two hits and a walk while fanning six en route to his first professional victory. The 6-foot-4 right-hander went 0-4 in 12 games (10 starts) during his debut season with Hudson Valley of the New York-Penn League.

It was Townsend's first appearance since blowing out his right arm in an Arizona Fall League start in 2005. He admitted he had some butterflies.

More: MinorLeagueBaseball.com

Townsend was pulled after facing two batters in the 6th inning for hometown favorite Brian Baker, who shut down a rally by the visiting Kannapolis Intimidators (White Sox).

My New Local Minor League Team: The Columbus Catfish

2006-09-27T22:57:00.000-04:00

Ever since they moved to Columbus in 2003, there have been rumors about the Columbus Catfish leaving Columbus. Now, we're sort of losing the team ... but still have the team. The Catfish players are leaving Columbus ... and won't be back. But the Catfish will have players here.

Confused? Let me explain.

In 2001, there was a new team that joined the South Atlantic League: The Wilmington Waves. They played in Wilmington, NC and were affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

For those that don't know what that means, the players on an affiliated minor league team are under contract with the parent organization (in this case, the Dodgers) and are assigned to the minor league team, which is owned by someone else. Usually. The players on the Waves played in Wilmington, wore the Wilmington uniform, but were under contract to and paid by the Dodgers.
Anyway, the owner of the Waves didn't like playing his games in a college baseball field, and moved the team after one year.

To Albany, Georgia.

And changed the team's name.

To the South Georgia Waves.

Which never made much sense to me. Since the ballpark in Albany is 140 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. Or 180 miles from the Atlantic Ocean.

Still, they were affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Only thing is, they didn't like that ballpark, either. So, after one season, they left.

And moved to Columbus.

One week before the season started.

Okay, eight days. More than a week. But you get the idea. The Waves and Albany got into a pissing contest, and the Waves left. For Columbus. Who had just lost their team, the Columbus RedStixx, during the off-season, when they moved to Eastlake, OH, becoming the Lake County Captains.

This soap opera continued with the Waves wanting to move to Evansville, IN. That fell through. But don't feel too sorry for Evansville. They have a team. The Evansville Otters won the Frontier League (independent) championship this year.

Anyway, the South Georgia Waves played in Columbus in 2003. Forget that Columbus isn't in South Georgia. Forget that Columbus is over 4 hours from either the Gulf or the Atlantic. The South Georgia Waves played in Columbus.

Anyway, when the move to Evansville fell through, the Waves ended up staying in Columbus for another year. The team figured out the whole South Georgia Waves thing didn't work in Columbus, so they came up with a new name: the Columbus Catfish.

And they were still a Dodgers affiliate.

Recently, there have been rumors of the Catfish moving to Columbia, SC. Columbia lost their team to Greenville, SC, who lost their AA team to Pearl, MS.

So, what's all this got to do with us getting a new team that's the old team?

Well, now you know the twisted, knarled, confused, and just plain weird history of the Columbus Catfish, Dodgers affiliate.

Only, now, they're no longer a Dodgers affiliate.

Seems the Dodgers signed an agreement with the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League.

Now, get your scorecard out. The Great Lake Loons used to be Southwest Michigan Devil Rays. That team played its last game this year. They're leaving Battle Creek, MI, for Midland, MI. And changing their nickname. They're also changing their affiliation. Like I said, they're now with the Dodgers.

Which means Tampa Bay needs an affiliate in Class A. The Clinton (IA) Lumberkings are expected to no longer affiliate with the Texas Rangers.

So, it's likely that the Devil Rays will sign with Columbus or Clinton. With the Rangers getting the other.

The Catfish indicate they're negotiating with 4 teams. They've mentioned Tampa Bay and Texas, but not the other teams. Since Washington dropped the Savannah Sand Gnats, I'm thinking that may have been one of the teams, but I don't know that; I'm just guessing here. But, since Washington has now hooked up with the Hagerstown Suns, it means that the fourth team may have been the Mets. Again, just guessing. But since the Mets signed Savannah, that's now out. The other possibility is the Milwaukee Brewers, who haven't renewed with the West Virginia Power.

Anyway, the Catfish are no longer affiliated with the Dodgers. Don't know who they're hooking up with yet.

According to the Catfish, the condition of the field in Columbus was the reason for the switch. If that's the case, it means that the Catfish will be in Columbus in 2007. So the rumors of a move are just that: rumors.

If the Catfish were moving, the field in Columbus wouldn't be an issue. So, either the Catfish aren't moving, or the reason given is BS. Or both.

Anyway, we're glad the Catfish will be back next season. Even if some asses don't care.

Interview with the Umpire

2006-09-18T09:21:00.000-04:00

"Blue" calling balls and strikes at a Columbus Catfish vs. Savannah Sand Gnats game earlier this season.

At my blog, we do interviews with bloggers regularly on weekends. This one was posted this past weekend, and was a little different.

When Minor League Baseball started this season, they didn't have their regular umpires. The minor league umpires union was on strike. And the minor league teams used replacement umpires.

First game I went to, I thought one of the umpires looked familiar. Turns out I knew the guy. And he agreed to talk with me about it. After everything was done.

Well, everything's done. And he and I met for lunch one day...

How did you develop a love of baseball?

I lived in the country as a kid. And I would get baseball cards for the Braves and whoever they were playing. I learned the players ... and learned the teams.

How'd you get involved in umpiring?

In high school, I was called on to umpire for little league. Since I was 15, I've umpired every season.

In 1996, I started umpiring high school games. I was assigned to Columbus, Show, Hardaway ... all the big games. I worked the primo games since '99 ... and built up a good reputation for being a good umpire.

How about the jump from high school to pro ball?

When the strike happened, every minor league team was responsible for getting their own umpires. The GMs for each team was tasked with getting the best umpires in the area.

They called the secretaries of the umpire associations to get the best.

There were 3 from Columbus, 3 from Phenix City. Some of the college umpires didn't let their umpires fill in. We lost one guy because of that.

What was it like when you found out you'd be calling pro baseball games?

When the opportunity came, I got the call, and I thought it was my brother playing a joke on me.

Did you enjoy it?

If it wasn't for raising a family and all the commitments, it'd be a dream job.

After going to all the Catfish games, I've been thrilled to get the chance to umpire pro ball. Even though it's minor league ...

What about playing ball? Did you ever do that?

I had the speed of greg luzinski and the power of vince coleman. (laughs)

My brother got 2 rings in college. He had the better career ... but I got the first crack into pro baseball ... by umpiring.

It reassured me that if i had the chance to go to umpire school, I could have done it.

When you got the first call, were you already aware of the strike, or the possiblity?

Not at all, the call as a complete shock.

How did the players on the team, not just the Catfish, but their opponents, act towards you? Did you feel they thought any less of you since you weren't one of the "regular" umpires?

To be honest, I don't think so. We were very well received by the players.

While they're disappointed from time to time with the calls, they're concentrating on doing their job.

In my opinion, the umpiring that was going on, particular in Class-A baseball, where the incoming umpires are 19-20 years old, they were replaced by more experienced umpires, though not experienced at those levels.

The major differences in what I had umpired before are the speed of the game. At Class-A, they have major league tools. Like a ball hit to a shortstop, they can get to the ball where in high school they can't.

The velocity of the pitches coming in ... There's a definite adjustment of tightening the strike zone.

I'm sure the quality varied from city to city ... but if this was a Triple-A city, I could have done a Triple-A game.

What was the most difficulty you had with any team, manager, or player?

I've only thrown out three people in a baseball game in all these years. It's got to be bad for me to throw someone out. But one Catfish player went berserk on a called strike 3, and i had to throw him out.

As an umpire, if you screw up a call, you know it.

I understand those guys are playing on a lot of pressure, playing on a high level, competing against great players. Every at bat means something.

I was behind the plate on the home opener, 2800 people there. I was nervous. But after about 2 innings, I settled down and it was okay.

I was confident I could do the job that needed to be done. It's a personal challenge. as an umpire, you're competing. You compete against a standard to umpire a perfect game.

How many calls do you think you blew?

Really, I never harp on it. You make the call, you react. There may have been a couple that maybe you second-guess yourself for a split second... You put it out of your mind. You have to keep the same temperament whether it's the 7th game of World Series or 1st game of spring training.

If you think about a call you might have missed, you set yourself up to miss the next.

Out of 15 ballgames, I'm sure there were one or two I missed somewhere along the way.

The South Atlantic League uses a 2-umpire setup. Which position is harder: plate or field?

Normally, the bases are harder. But they play such good defense on that level (Class-A), it makes it easier. Here, being on the plate, you have to really be on your toes. Pitches are in the 90s, and you have to be right about the strike zone.

We were evaluated by a professional organization that supplies minor league umpires. He spent a week in Columbus, he evaluated me on the bases that night. Gave me some pointers, but said I reacted very well as the play developed. He said my partner behind the plate did very well, too.

What about Delmon Young? You heard about that. Was the 50-game suspension appropriate?

I think it was about right. The key thing there is if it ever happens again, it needs to be something severe. Ban, one- or two-year suspension. What he did ... it's totally uncalled for. Part of being a good athlete is being able to stay in control.

Did you ever think about something like that happening to you?

We were fortunate we never had any situation where teams started throwing at each other.

The GM of catfish emphasized he wanted us to take charge if a situation might get out of control.

What other differences did you run into umpiring at the pro level instead of high school?

This is the first time I ever umpired with wood bats. It was the final piece of the picture of being in pro baseball ... great players, wood bats, and hecklers.

What about hecklers?

It was funny as long as they weren't heckling me. Sometimes I got a laugh out of it.

But me personally, I don't like to see a minor league player heckled. They're young, away from home, and if they're hitting .200 or less, it's got to hurt.

When they're real, real young minor leaguers, it's got to be rough.

One catcher from the Sand Gnats, they got on real bad. But, fans pay their money, they can heckle who they want.

In a pro game, an umpire can't say anything. The primary concern is to the other paying customers, not to the players.

You have to stay balanced.

What about...

I tell you this. all the replacement umpires got a letter from president of minor league baseball. For us to step in and let baseball continue, they appreciate it.

Have you received any thing from the union umpires? I mean any ill feeling towards you?

We didn't get any of that in Columbus, but it happened in other cities.

They didn't put umpires names in box scores, we weren't introduced. They did what we could to keep our names out of the public at the start of the season.

I think the situation taught the minor league umps they're not in a position to strike.

Are you aware of the reasons for the dispute?

From what I understand, it was overall pay, health insurance, per diem meal money. What they got out of it, about a $100/month increase & 3/day meal money.

They are paid low. They get about $10-grand a season. 15 for Double-A or Triple-A.

Are the union umpires underpaid?

Here's my take: it would be nice if they could make more money. But the pay is dictated by the economics of minor league baseball. I don't know where you could put a dollar amount of what's a fair pay for the job.

Even the minor league players themselves don't make much. The high draft choices get a signing bonus, but they all get the same low salary.

A career as a minor league umpire isn't the goal -- It's to make the majors.

A couple told me "you look like a major league umpire" ...

How much difference is there in the play at the different levels?

One night, Greenville had a left-hander pitcher ... had a brief stint in majors in 2004. That pitcher was polished, the control he had was unbelievable.

Back to pay. You say minor league umpires don't get much pay. How about replacement umpires?

We got $90/game pay. And we got paid after every game

What one thing will you take with you, will you remember from this?

The Biggest thing is ... a lot of people in highly visible roles are just ordinary people. Even though I didn't go higher than Single-A, if you change the circumstances, you never know what you could have done.

You can do a lot of thing you might not consider until the opportunity comes.

---------------------------------

Thanks for taking the time to agree to this. And thanks for making baseball happen.

Baron pitcher hurls 1st 9-inning no-hitter in team history

2006-09-04T19:26:00.000-04:00

Facing only 2 over the minimum, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (Phillies) right-hander Jeremy Cummings tossed a no-hitter Sunday, blanking the Rochester Red Wings (Twins) 5-0.

“I wanted to go 8 1/3 innings and get my ERA under four,” the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons right-hander said.

Cummings did that and more. The eighth-year pro tossed the first nine-inning no-hitter in the Red Barons’ 18-year history, pitching to just two batters over the limit, in a 5-0 victory over the Rochester Red Wings.

“It was a masterpiece,” Red Wings manager Stan Cliburn said.

Cummings nailed down his piece of history by striking out Gil Velazquez swinging, as the crowd of 6,472 gave the Charleston, W.Va., native a standing ovation.

He threw a whopping 137 pitches, 84 for strikes.

[more]

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has qualified for the International League (Triple-A) playoffs.

Two Complete-Game Shutouts Saturday

2006-09-03T07:11:00.000-04:00

Las Vegas 51s (Dodgers) pitcher D.J. Houlton and New Britain Rock Cats (Twins) pitcher Colby Miller each threw complete game shutouts Saturday.

In Las Vegas, Houlton pitched his first complete game shutout since 2004.

The 51's scored all the runs they needed in the third inning scoring four times. With two out, and no one on, shortstop Sergio Garcia doubled to left. First baseman Eric Riggs followed with an RBI single to right scoring Garcia. After Riggs hit, right fielder Delwyn Young ripped an RBI single to right field scoring Riggs (who had taken second on the throw). The big blow of the inning was when third baseman Andy LaRoche came up, and hit a two-run homer (10) to left field to cap the inning.

Young would add an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to make it 5-0.

Fresno never threatened other than having runners at first-and-second in the top of the fourth. After the fourth inning, the Grizzlies had just two runners reach.

[more]

Las Vegas and Fresno play in the Pacific Coast League (Triple A).

In an Eastern League (Double A) game, Colby Miller completed his comeback from last season's injury.

The 24-year-old Oklahoman took a big step in his comeback Saturday, throwing a two-hitter to lead New Britain to a 5-0 win over Harrisburg. He retired 18 batters in a row from the third through eighth innings and struck out seven.

[more]

78 Outs, 1 Run

2006-09-03T06:54:00.000-04:00

The Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox) pitching staff held the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays) scoreless for 12-2/3 innings Saturday. Unfortunately for them, the Fisher Cats staff held the Sea Dogs scoreless for 13 innings.

LF Ryan Patterson delivered a two-out single in the top of the 13th inning, scoring RF Dustin Majewski from second base as the Fisher Cats defeated the Sea Dogs 1-0 Saturday night at Hadlock Field.

Majewski (2-for-6) singled to lead off the 13th, and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by CF Tony Miller. After DH David Smith grounded out, Portland reliever Mike Bumatay was summoned to face 1B Chip Cannon. Cannon walked, and Patterson followed with the game winning single.

Tracy Thorpe worked a perfect 13th to earn his 18th save in support of Brian Wolfe, who picked up his first win, working two shutout innings.

Starting pitchers Kyle Yates for the Fisher Cats and Thomas Hottovy for the Sea Dogs each worked seven innings, allowing just two hits.

[more]

It was the longest game of the night in the Eastern League (Double-A)

15 Innings In New Jersey

2006-09-03T06:40:00.000-04:00

While not the longest game of the day in either innings or time, Saturday night's matchup between the Lakewood BlueClaws (Phillies) and the Lake County Captains (Indians) went the most extra innings.

In a game scheduled for 7 innings, the 5,397 fans in attendance saw 8 extra innings played, as hometown Lakewood beat Lake County 5-4 on Avelino Asprilla's sacrifice fly.

Asprilla drove in three runs in the game. His sacrifice fly in the 15th off Mark Jecmen (2-4) drove home Mike Spidale, who led off the inning with a single, stole second and moved to third on a groundout by Jeremy Slayden.

It was the second longest game of the season for the Captains, who played 16 innings in a game at Greenville exactly one month ago.

Chris Raulinaitis (1-1) pitched two scoreless innings for the BlueClaws to earn the win. He issued a pair of walks with one out in the top of the 15th, but struck out Juan Valdes and got Matt Fornasiere on a groundout.

[more]

The game was scheduled for 7 innings as part of a doubleheader. The 1:00 AM ending time meant the second game was delayed until Sunday night, weather and time permitting.

16 Innings Win For San Jose

2006-09-03T06:32:00.000-04:00

It took 16 innings and 301 minutes, but the San Jose Giants scored 4 runs in the 16th to beat the Stockton Ports (A's) 7-4.

Tim Hutting led off the 16th with his 3rd hit of the game, a clean single to left off Stephen Obenchain (1-1), Stockton's sixth pitcher of the night. After Steve Holm sacrificed Hutting to second, Alex Requena delivered a flare to left field that dropped in front of a sliding Luis Perez, scoring Hutting with the go-ahead run, with Requena taking second on the throw home. Requena moved to third on a wild pitch. After John Bowker walked, Mark Minicozzi delivered an insurance RBI with a bloop single to center to score Requena. Carlos Sosa followed with a rocket to right to score Bowker. Right-fielder Myron Leslie bobbled the ball, allowing Minicozzi to advance to third -- from where he scored the 4th run of the inning on a sacrifice fly by Julio Cordido.

[more]

It was Stockton's 7th extra inning loss in the California League (Class A Advanced) this season.

Two Complete-Game Shutouts Friday

2006-09-02T09:59:00.000-04:00

There were two complete-game shutouts in the minors on Friday. In Charleston, SC, Columbus Catfish (Dodgers) pitcher James McDonald went 9 innings in shutting down the Charleston Riverdogs (Yankees), 2-0.

McDonald, who came into the evening with a 0-3 record and a 4.85 ERA in six previous appearances against the RiverDogs, was masterful at times. The Long Beach, CA native set the RiverDogs down in order six times and worked around leadoff hits in the other three innings. On the way to earning his second complete game victory in less than two weeks, the right hander allowed just three Charleston hits while walking two and recording 10 strikeouts.

[more]

The Catfish and Riverdogs play in the South Atlantic League (Class A).

In the independent Can-Am League, Brad Guy of the Brockton Rox pitched the first game of a doubleheader to get a complete game shutout of the New Jersey Jackals.

Guy was magnificent in the early game, stranding the bases full in the first inning, and proceeding to retire 19 consecutive batters in the third Rox complete-game shutout of the season. The Rox scored four runs in the third inning on an RBI single by 1B Francisco Lebron and a three-run HR off the bat of C Jason Radwan. 3B Jeff LaRue added an RBI double in the fifth inning, his second two-bagger of the night.

[more]

Under minor league rules, doubleheader games are 7 innings.

Whitecaps Win In 14

2006-09-02T09:51:00.000-04:00

It took 14 innings, but the Western Michigan Whitecaps (Tigers) won a 1-0 14-inning marathon against the Dayton Dragons (Reds).

Justin Justice led off the top of the 14th with a triple. Pedro Cotto drove in Justice with a sacrifice fly to center field.

Five Whitecaps pitchers combined for the shutout, which trimmed West Michigan’s Midwest League-lead team ERA back to an even 3.00.

Scheduled starter Luke French was a late scratch due to a flu-like illness that has affected most of the team.

Josh Kauten made the spot start and threw five scoreless innings with just one hit allowed. In fact, Kauten retired the last 14 batters that he faced.

Paul Hammond and Ricky Steik each chipped in three innings on the mound for the Whitecaps. Jose Fragoso pitched the 12th and Matt Rusch (9-3) threw the 13th and 14th to earn his ninth win in relief.

[more]

Western Michigan and Dayton play in the Midwest League (Class A).

Quakes Score 21

2006-09-02T09:40:00.000-04:00

Each team hit 3 home runs, but Rancho Cucamonga scored 21 runs as they as the Quakes (Angels) beat the Lancaster JetHawks (Diamondbacks) 21-8.

Ben Johnson and LeBlanc led off the sixth with singles, and after moving into scoring position on a wild pitch both came home on Ryan Leahy’s two-run double. Michael Collins followed with a ground ball that shortstop Derek Bruce whiffed on, allowing Leahy to score and putting the Quakes up 9-6. Leahy delivered another big blow in the seventh, driving a three-run double to the wall in left before scoring on Collins’s RBI single as Rancho Cucamonga took a 13-6 lead. The fun continued in the eighth as the Quakes tacked on six more runs while sending a dozen men to the plate. Baltazar Lopez and Freddy Sandoval led off with doubles to make it 14-6, Johnson added a sacrifice fly to make it 15-6, and after backup catcher Richard Mercado had entered to pitch Collins sent a three-run double into the right field corner for an 18-6 advantage before Reilly lined an RBI single to right.

Johnson got the Quakes to the 20-run mark in the top of the ninth with a solo homer to right off Bruce (yes, the shortstop), and LeBlanc followed with a single. Leahy walked with one out to move LeBlanc to second, and Collins then hit a roller that snuck into right field. Quakes manager Bobby Mitchell gave LeBlanc the stop sign at third but LeBlanc ran right through it and scored easily to rewrite the record book. The previous record of 20 runs was set August 10, 1997 at Visalia.

[more]

The Quakes and the JetHawks play in the California League (Class A Advanced).

Southwest Michigan's Wade Davis tosses no-hiter, loses game

2006-09-01T06:51:00.000-04:00

A Southwest Michigan fan
experiences one of those
nights. (Battle Creek Enquirer)

In the day of their first ever home game, the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays were snowed out. On the day of their last ever home game, they lost a no-hitter.

5,348 fans, four times their season average of 1,327, watched a doubleheader that closed out the Southwest Michigan's existence. Next season, the team moves to Midland, MI, and become the Great Lakes Loons.

Thursday night, game one of the doubleheader, saw the Devil Rays lose a heartbreaker.

In Game 1, Davis threw the franchise's fifth no-hitter, and second of the season, but Beloit (37-29) scored an unearned run in the fourth inning and it was enough to defeat Southwest Michigan's anemic offense. Oddly, Yancarlos Ortiz, who scored the game's only run, reached base on a Davis fielding error.

Davis (7-12) said the only other no-hitter he threw came when he was "like 10 or 11."

"I didn't have command of all my pitches but they made some good plays behind me," said the 20-year-old Davis.

Davis' seven-inning whitewashing is the third-ever losing no-hitter in Midwest League history and the first since 1972.

The 6-foot-5 Davis, ranked as Tampa Bay's sixth-best prospect, threw 93 pitches—60 of them strikes.

"In the fourth inning I told (hitting coach) Brady (Williams) it would be appropriate to throw a no-hitter and lose," Lichtenstein said.

"It's unfortunate. Wade's been special all year."

In the seventh inning of Game 1, Rays catcher Christian Lopez reached third base with no outs on a three-base error on Beloit pitcher Adam Hawes. But, in a summary of the Rays' season, Lopez was left at third because nobody got the ball out of the infield.

[more]

Game two saw Southwest Michigan beat the Beloit Snappers (Twins) 5-2. The teams play in the Midwest League (Class A).

Little League World Champs To Be Honored By Hometown Team

2006-08-31T06:52:00.000-04:00

From the Columbus Catfish:

The Columbus Catfish will celebrate the accomplishments of the 2006 World Champion Columbus Northern Little League team during the Catfish home finale against the Rome Braves Thursday at 7:00pm at Golden Park. As a salute to Columbus, Georgia little leaguers, the Catfish will host Little League Appreciation Night. All area little leaguers who suit up in uniform will get a free general admission ticket.

The Catfish will also be joined by Children’s Miracle Network at The Medical Center. Families of CMN and their sponsors should contact CMN for tickets. Columbus Regional Hospital employees get a $3 general admission ticket when showing their ID badge at the ticket window. During the game members of Phi Mu will be on hand to raise funds for CMN.

Monday afternoon three Catfish players visited Columbus Regional Hospital. Pitchers Joe Jones, Dave Preziosi and Jordan Pratt toured the high-risk nursery and the children’s ward. Their afternoon activities ranged from chatting about baseball to playing with dolls, all to the delight of CMN youngsters.

The game against Rome wraps up the 2006 Catfish home schedule. Then Columbus goes on the road for one last four-game series against the Charleston RiverDogs. For tickets or more information call (706) 571-8866 or visit www.ColumbusCatfish.com.

Columbus and Rome actually play two games today. Because of last night's rainout, the teams square off at 5:00 PM in the first of two 7-inning games.

Former Minor Leaguer Killed In Louisville Plane Crash

2006-08-28T09:06:00.000-04:00

photo: CBS

Former minor league player Jon Hooker and his new bride were among the 49 people killed Sunday morning in the crash of Comair Flight 5191 in Louisville.

Hooker had married Scarlett Parsley the night before, and were heading to Atlanta for a honeymoon flight to California.

Hooker played college ball at the University of Kentucky and signed with the Chicago White Sox as a free agent in 2001. His professional playing career involved being a part of the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks 2003 Northern League champions. He also played with the RedHawks in 2004, before being traded to the Joliet Jackhammers, where he finished 2004 and spent part of 2005.

More coverage: Chicago Tribune, Boston Herald, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks

Lumberkings pitcher loses no-hitter, game

2006-08-26T10:40:00.000-04:00

Jake Rasner faced one batter over the minimum, but no run support meant his one-hitter was a losing cause Friday night. In a game scheduled for 7 innings, the 8th proved disastrous for Rasner and the Clinton Lumberkings (Rangers) as they dropped a 1-0 contest to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Mariners).

With the very first pitch of the eighth inning, Rattlers catcher Curtis Ledbetter changed everything. Ledbetter lined the pitch off the Fox Cities Stadium scoreboard in left-center field, ending Rasner's no-hitter, shutout, and most importantly his win as Wisconsin defeated the LumberKings, 1-0 in the second game of a double-header.

Rasner (L, 5-16) allowed only three baserunners through seven innings, battling through a scoreless contest with Rattlers lefty David Asher. The LumberKings had several chances against Asher and reliever Brian Kappel, leaving a pair of runners stranded in the sixth and the bases loaded in the eighth.

[more]

The loss puts the Lumberkings in the cellar of the Midwest League (Class A) Western Divisoin, a game behind the Timber Rattlers.

14 Innings In Huntsville

2006-08-26T10:28:00.000-04:00

Huntsville Stars (Brewers) LF Brendan Katin hit a 2-out solo home run in the bottom of the 14th inning to give the home team a 4-3 win over the Mississippi Braves Friday night. The Braves catcher was the losing pitcher.

Braves’ catcher Ray Serrano pitched a scoreless 13th inning and retired the first two hitters in the 14th before Katin blasted a 2-1 offering over the wall in left-center field toward the scoreboard for his third home run of the week and his second game-winner since joining the team. Backup catcher Jon Williams worked out of a one out, bases loaded jam in the 11th inning and tossed a scoreless 12th before switching positions with Serrano.

[more]

The win puts Huntsville up by a game and a half in the Southern League (Double A) North Division with 10 games left on their schedule.

24 Runs For Fresno

2006-08-26T10:10:00.000-04:00

The Fresno Grizzlies (Giants) didn't score in every inning Friday night. Imagine if they had.

When the game ended, the home team had scored 24 runs against Sacramento River Cats (A's).

The Grizzlies pounded out 24 hits with eight doubles and two home runs to rally from an early 8-2 deficit to pick up their second straight win over the River Cats.

Fresno right fielder Jason Ellison went 5-for-5, tying a single-game record for hits in a game and runs in a game with five runs scored to pace the Grizzlies.

Seven Grizzlies had multi-hit games with Lance Niekro and Jed Hansen recording four hits each and Clay Timpner and Fred Lewis with three hits.

Timpner blasted a grand slam in the 8th inning for his third home run of the season as he finished with a season-high five RBIs. Hansen homered for the second consecutive game in the 8th inning.

[more]

It's Fresno's second win in a row against Sacremento, coming on the heels of a Sacramento sweep of Fresno. The two teams play in the Pacific Coast League (Triple A).

16 Innings In Connecticut

2006-08-25T07:23:00.000-04:00

The Connecticut Defenders (Giants) came from behind in the 9th inning, but lost it in the 16th, to the Reading Phillies.

The Defenders battled from behind all night. Trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the 5th inning, Nate Schierholtz who had already doubled to extend his hit streak to 20 games, hit a two run home run over the wall in deep right to make it a 5-4 Reading lead. The Phillies would score two more runs, but in the bottom of the 9th inning trailing 7-4, the Defenders came all the way back. Connecticut scored three runs to tie the game with the last one scoring on a Juan Sosa error at deep short.

[more]

In the 16th, Reading LF Joey Hammond reached on a ground-rule double, then, with 2 outs, scored when 1B Brandon Gemoll singled on a liner to right. The run held up, and the Phillies won the Eastern League (Double-A) contest.

United League Playoffs Begin

2006-08-25T06:59:00.000-04:00

United League Baseball playoffs begin tomorrow night.

The Edinburg Coyotes are top seed. They'll play the 4th seed Laredo Broncos. The 2nd place San Angelo Colts will play the 3rd place Alexandria Aces.

Complete final standings


              W   L   PCT GB
EDINBURG     57  33  .633     
SAN ANGELO   46  44  .511 11.0
ALEXANDRIA   45  44  .506 11.5
LAREDO       44  46  .489 13.0
AMARILLO     39  50  .438 17.5
RIO GRANDE   38  52  .422 19.0

[more]

Ironbirds' Figueroa hits for cycle

2006-08-24T07:26:00.000-04:00

Danny Figueroa became the first player in the history of the Aberdeen Ironbirds (Orioles) to hit for the cycle Wednesday night against the Staten Island Yankees.

Figueroa went 4-for-5 and hit the first grand slam in franchise history as part of an eight-run second inning. Figueroa doubled in the fourth, singled in the sixth and tripled in the seventh to complete the cycle in his second home game since rejoining Aberdeen on rehab on Sunday.

Figueroa’s grand slam was part of a wild second inning in which Aberdeen sent 13 men to the plate and Staten Island starter James Conroy was ejected. Conroy (0-2) took the loss after he gave up six runs on five hits in 1 1/3 innings. He was ejected after his first pitch sailed behind Pedro Florimon, Jr., the first Aberdeen batter after Figueroa hit the grand slam.

Figueroa’s six RBIs led the way for the IronBirds and Miguel Abreu, David Cash and Kieron Pope added two RBIs apiece as part of the offensive outburst.

[more]

Aberdeen and Staten Island play in the New York-Penn League (Class A Short-Season)

San Diego Forfeits To Yuma

2006-08-22T11:21:00.000-04:00

Bus trouble. That's what caused the San Diego Surf Dawgs to forfeit their game to the Yuma Scorpions Monday.

With the forfeit, the Surf Dawgs stand 15-18 for the second half of the season. With the win, Yuma is 13-19.

[more]

The two teams play in the Golden Baseball League.

Fort Worth No Hits El Paso

2006-08-22T10:57:00.000-04:00

Fort Worth Cats pitcher Joel Kirsten threw the first no-hitter in modern Cats history Monday night, en route to a 2-0 won over the El Paso Diablos.

Kirsten faced just two batters above the minimum, permitting a walk in the fourth inning and hitting a batter to start the eighth. He struck out a season-high 11 as he notched his second complete game of the year and his seventh win on the season.

With the victory, the Cats clinched at least a tie for a playoff spot in the American Association South as they reduced their magic number to one.

[more]

It's the first no-hitter thrown in the new American Association. The Cats returned to Fort Worth in 2001. The American Association returned this season.

Mavericks Combine For No Hitter

2006-08-22T10:49:00.000-04:00

The High Desert Mavericks (Royals) recorded the first no-hitter in franchise history Monday as Patrick Green and Jarod Plummer combined to shut down the Inland Empire 66ers (Mariners).

Green faced the minimum through six innings by throwing his sharp slider for strikes early in the count. Womack reached on a two-out walk in the bottom of the second on an 0-2 pitch, but was thrown out between first and second as he took off too early and Green's throw to Irving Falu at the second base bag was in time to catch the baserunner. Working against a small strike zone where neither starting pitcher was given any benefit of the doubt on the outside corner, Green began to labor in the seventh as he issued three walks in the frame and left with the bases loaded and two outs, giving way to Plummer who induced the Womack popout to shallow left on a running catch by James Tomlin. In the ninth inning, Plummer struck Luis Valbuena and Arroyo swinging, though Arroyo took first on the passed ball. Ronnie Prettyman then send a slow chopper up the middle, though Falu charged the ball, picked it up on the shorthop, and fired over to Stodolka at first for the second out of the inning as Arroyo took second base. With a 2-2 count on Casey Craig, he got underneath a ball and popped it up on the infield as Mike Gaffney moved underneath it and pulled it down on top of the third baseline for the final out of the game.

[more]

The Mavericks and 66ers play in the California League (Class A Advanced).

Columbus (GA) Ballpark Suffers Damage

2006-08-22T10:47:00.000-04:00

photo: Columbus Catfish

When the Columbus Catfish (Dodgers) return home from their short road trip up to Rome, they'll have another issue to contend with. While heavy rains interferred with the game against the Rome Braves, heavy winds were wreaking havoc on Golden Park in Columbus.

The center field wall collapsed, and damage was done to the pressbox, the scoreboard, the billboards, and a light tower. Additionally, there was damage to the playing field.

The plan is for a temporary fence to be erected in center field in time for Thursday night's homestand opener. If everything is repaired sufficiently by Thursday, the Catfish' final homestand of the year will take place with several promotions that have been delayed by weather rescheduled for this week.

Four Extra Innings Games In Frontier League

2006-08-21T07:09:00.000-04:00

Four of five games played Sunday in the Frontier League went extra innings. And the one game that didn't go into extra frames was won in the bottom of the 9th.

The Windy City ThunderBolts took 12 innings to beat the Evansville Otters 3-2.

CF Kevin House hit a single with runners on the corners and one out in the bottom of the twelfth inning to score Anthony Seratelli. [more]

The Washington Wild Things won a 10-5 11-inning contest with the Florence Freedom. Things fell apart for Florence in the top of the 11th.

Chris Carter began the inning with a single. The left fielder would be brought in after a double by Peavey, making the score 6-5. Lance Koenig advanced the score 7-5 after a RBI single, bringing in Peavey. The rest of the damage was done by the Florence bullpen, as they allowed six walks in the 11th inning alone with pitcher Patrick Clayton creating most of the damage with four walks. Washington earned three more runs and sealed the victory by a solid defensive performance in the bottom of the 11th.

[more]

It took 12 innings for the Gateway Grizzlies to edge the Traverse City Beach Bums 7-6.

Rob Wirth hit a one-out home run in the bottom of the 12th inning Sunday night to lift the Gateway Grizzlies (31-48) to a 7-6 win over the visiting Traverse City Beach Bums (48-33). The second consecutive exta inning win for the Grizzlies came in front of 3,783 fans at GCS Ballpark.

[more]

The River City Rascals won a 5-4 contest from the Chillicothe Paints in 12 innings.

The Rascals continue to make believers in this late season push for the West Division Wild Card spot as an extra-innings single by Trave Hopkins gave River City a 5-4 dramatic victory over the best team in the Frontier League. Chillicothe led 4-3 with two outs in the bottom of the 12th inning when the Rascals’ catcher smacked a single to right off of Eric Teall that scored the tying and winning runs for River City who took three of four games from the first place Paints.

[more]

The lone 9-inning game in the Frontier League almost went extra innings. The Kalamazoo Kings won their game with the Rockford RiverHawks in the bottom of the 9th.

The Rockford RiverHawks had a chance to get their first sweep in Kalamazoo in team history, but the Kalamazoo Kings had different plans.

Mike Russell hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning for a walkoff Kings victory, 4-2.

Rockford was still able to get their first ever series win in Kalamazoo by winning the first two games of the series.

[more]

No Hitter For Missoula

2006-08-21T07:02:00.000-04:00

Two Missoula Ospreys (Diamondbacks) pitchers combined for a no-hitter Sunday. Osbek Castillo and Hector Ambriz combined to no-hit the Casper Rockies.

Castillo lasted six innings and retired the last 16 he faced. The only Rockies batter to reach off Castillo came on a two out walk to Austin Rauch in the first. Ambriz then followed retiring the first six he faced and allowed only one base runner via third baseman Andrew Fie's throwing error to put Radamis Nazario on base leading off the ninth.

[more]

Missoula and Casper play in the Pioneer League (Rookie).

Complete Game Shutout For Florence Pitcher

2006-08-17T07:30:00.000-04:00

Jason Bowlin, pitcher for the Florence Freedom, got just enough offense to support him as he pitched a complete game shutout Wednesday night in a 1-0 win over the Kalamazoo Kings.

The lone run from either team came in the first. Reggie Watson singled, and then stole second for his 16th steal of the year. Greg Stone then singled in Watson, Reggie scored on a great slide at home. Jason Bowlin (5-7) took care of the rest, he went a complete nine innings for the shutout. He only allowed nine hits, striking out nine, while only walking two.

Greg Stone was the leader of the offense, he went 3-4 with an RBI. Wally Quigg continued his perfect hitting, he went 1-1. Reggie Watson went 1-4, with a stolen base, and a run scored. Clint Chauncey, Beau Blacken, and Kyle Geswein each added singles.

[more]

Florence and Kalamazoo play in the independent Frontier League.

Indianapolis Loses One-Hitter

2006-08-16T07:15:00.000-04:00

Ryan Vogelsong pitched 8 innings of one-hit ball, the only hit allowed by the Indianapolis Indians, but it was enough for the Norfolk Tides (Mets) to beat Indianapolis, 1-0.

Indianapolis starter Ryan Vogelsong (2-5) was nearly perfect in the contest, but still took the tough-luck loss. He did not issue a walk and allowed just one hit in 8.0 innings, but the hit was a solo home run by Tides' third baseman Chris Basak in the 5th inning. Vogelsong struck out five and threw just 82 pitches, 60 of which were strikes.

Indianapolis put runners on first and third in the ninth inning off of Tides' closer Heath Bell, but Norfolk escaped the jam when Bell fanned Chris Richard and Carlos Maldonado to ensure the win. It was Bell's 11th save in 11 chances this season, and helped the Tides to their fourth win in the past five games.

[more]

The two teams play in the International League (Triple-A).

[wrapups: Tides, Indians]

Light Schedule In Minors On Monday

2006-08-15T06:33:00.000-04:00

Many minor leagues had few games ... and many leagues had no games ... Monday.

As a result of the light schedule, the longest game of the day was an 11-inning affair in Niles, OH.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers (Indians) camed from behind to tie the Tri-City Valley Cats (Astros) in the 9th on a Josh Roberts home run, then won it in the 11th:

Roberts tied the game at 5 with a two-out solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. He came up again in the bottom of the 11th with two out and Andy Lytle on second base, but this time Langbehn and the ValleyCats chose to walk him.

And while Roberts’ long home run to right field kept the Scrappers alive, it was all-star centerfielder Jason Denham’s suicide-squeeze bunt down the third-base line that beat Tri-City, 6-5, Monday night.

The Scrappers improved to 30-24 and moved a game and a half in front of second-place State College in the Pinckney Division of the New York-Penn League. Tri-City fell to 31-23 but is still in first place in the Stedler Division.

[more]

The Scrappers and the Valley Cats play in the New York-Penn League (Class A Short-Season)

The best pitching performance of the day on Monday was a 2-hit, complete game shutout by Corpus Christi Hooks (Astros) pitcher Chance Douglass against the Tusla Drillers (Rockies):

Douglass retired the first six hitters of the game before hitting Alvin Colina with a pitch to begin the third. A double play eliminated Colina, and the Drillers did not have another base runner until two outs in the fifth as Matt Miller ended the no-hit bid by dropping a single into center field. Colina followed with another base hit, but it would be the final runner of the game for Tulsa. Douglass retired Doug Bernier to end the fifth, then retired the next 12 Drillers in a row to end the game.

It was only the second complete game of the season against Tulsa and only the third time that the Drillers had been shutout. Douglass improved his record to 7-6 with the victory.

[more]

The game was Douglass' second complete-game shutout of the year, and the 5th in the Texas League (Double-A) this season.

20 Innings In Jacksonville

2006-08-14T06:39:00.000-04:00

It took 2 days and 20 innings, and the catcher was the winning pitcher. When it was all over, the Jacksonville Suns (Dodgers) had defeated the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx (Cubs) 5-2.

Saturday's game was suspended in the 4th inning. Suns starter Danny Muegge hadn't allowed a hit in 3-2/3 innings when the skys opened. That meant the two teams would complete the 9-inning game Sunday, then play a 7-inning game. But the 9-inning game would go 20.

When it was over, Muegge's battery mate A. J. Ellis had caught 18 innings before being called into service to pitch in the 19th inning.

It was a career day for Ellis, who collected five of the Suns' 16 hits, drove in a run in the bottom of the 19th inning to tie the score at 2-2 and caught 18 innings before taking the mound.

"That was the most amazing game I've ever played in in my life," Ellis said. "You just don't see that between two Double-A teams, not being able to score runs.

"When I went out there on the mound, my thought was just to throw strikes, make them put the ball in play. If they're going to beat you, make them swing the bats; don't walk them."

Ellis faced 11 batters and issuing just one walk, an intentional one. The Diamond Jaxx loaded the bases on him in the 19th with nobody out, but could only manage one run on a sacrifice fly.

The Suns catcher made up for that run when he laced a single down the right-field line to drive in Gabriel Gutierrez in the bottom half of the inning.

The Suns' run in the 19th inning was their first score since Chin-Lung Hu's home run in the first inning Saturday.

[more]

The game was the longest played at Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville in its short 3-year history. The Suns and the Diamond Jaxx play in the Southern League (Double-A).

No Hitter In New Jersey

2006-08-13T20:50:00.000-04:00

photo: Lakewood Blue Claws

Carlos Carrasco's week has been the best of times and the worst of times. Tuesday, he had a near-perfect game get away from his as he ended up losing a 2-hitter. Sunday, he wasn't perfect, but he and Andrew Barb combined for a no-hitter as the Lakewood Blue Claws (Phillies) edged the Lexington Legends (Astros) 2-1.

For the second time in five years, the Lakewood BlueClaws held the Lexington Legends hitless. Carlos Carrasco and Andy Barb combined for a 2-1 no-hitter on Sunday night at First Energy Park.

The no-hitter comes just five days after Carrasco flirted with a perfect game against the Asheville Tourists. The BlueClaws’ now have three no-hitters in franchise history and the last came when Gavin Floyd tossed a no-hitter against the Legends on July 24, 2002 but lost 1-0.

[more]

Carrasco pitched 7 innings of no-hit ball before being relieved at the top of the 8th.

Andy Barb came to the mound to throw the final two frames and other than two batters that reached base on errors, both by BlueClaws shortstop C.J. Henry, nobody reached for the Legends. The BlueClaws recorded the second out of the ninth inning on a controversial play that got Lexington Manager Jack Lind ejected from the game. Iorg reached on one of the two errors and was stealing second when Clemens flew out to left field. Lakewood appealed that Iorg had touched second base and did not return to the bag on his way back to first base to tag up. Iorg was called out and then Barb struck Ori out swinging to secure the no-hitter and the 2-1 victory.

[more]

The Legends and Blue Claws play in the South Atlantic League (Class A).

No Hitter In New York

2006-08-13T20:34:00.000-04:00

photo: Lowell Spinners

The Lowell Spinners (Red Sox) made team history Sunday when pitchers Jeffrey Farrell and Yulkin German combined to pitch the first no-hitter in the team's 10-year existence. The Hudson Valley Renegades (Devil Rays) were the victims of the no-no.

Offensively the Gades could not muster a hit against Farrell. He allowed only two runners to reach base. Hard throwing German took over in the sixth looking to keep the no-hit bid alive.

The Spinners broke the scoreless tie as they took advantage of a costly error by Hudson Valley third baseman Scott Gummo. After the potential inning ending groundball was booted, Exposito singled to left scoring Zak Farkes from second base. All-Star leftfielder Ryan Royster nearly gunned him out at the plate but catcher Matt Spring was unable to hold onto the ball. The Spinners extended their lead to two as reliever Celso Rondon proceeded to walk centerfielder Jeffrey Vincent with the bases loaded.

German completed the “no-no” as he consecutively retired the last 11 Renegades. He dominated for four innings while striking out four and walking none.

[more]

The teams play in the New York-Penn League (Class A Short-Season).

Amirillo Walks Away With Win

2006-08-13T09:52:00.000-04:00

Five walks in the bottom of the 9th paved the way for the Amarillo Dillas to come from behind and beat the Rio Grande Valley White Wings Saturday.

Amarillo batters were walked five times in the ninth inning, and as a result, the two runs scored proved the difference in Amarillo's 11-10 United League Baseball win before a loud and enthusiastic crowd of 4,129 fans in the Amarillo National Bank Dilla Villa.

The final walk coaxed by Dillas shortstop Ericnardo Padilla out of Igancio Estrada plated Gary Schneidmiller with the winning run.

It marked the fourth time in the game, and second time in the inning, Amarillo scored off a bases-loaded walks.

The Dillas tied the game at 10-10 the batter before Padilla when Marcus Lewis earned his fourth walk of the game on four pitches, plating Brett Donahoo.

Padilla then gutted out his plate appearance with two outs. Twice the 20-year-old Padilla fouled off pitches with the count full, then took an inside pitch that produced the winning RBI.

[more]

The teams play in the independent United Baseball League.

I've been in the stands when my local team has walked in the scoring or winning run. It's about as frustrating as it can get for a baseball-fan. That had to be a long ride back to the hotel for the White Wings.

[wrapups: Amarillo.com, OurSportsCentral]

13 Innings In Georgia, New Hampshire

2006-08-13T09:33:00.000-04:00

Two games went 13 innings Saturday, tying for longest in the minors.

In Rome, GA, the Braves beat the Augusta Greenjackets in a South Atlantic League (Class A) contest.

In Rome, Ga., Eric Campbell led off the bottom of the 13th inning with a double to right field and scored the winning run on a Joshua Morris' single, lifting the Rome Braves past the Augusta GreenJackets, 3-2 on Saturday.

[more]

[wrapups: Rome Braves, Augusta Chronicle]

In Manchester, NH, they also played 13 innings. And again, the home team won on a 13th-inning single.

Manny Mayorson’s 13th inning single scored Ryan Klosterman to give the New Hampshire Fisher Cats a 5-4 victory over the Trenton Thunder before 6,021 fans at MerchantsAuto.com Stadium.

Klosterman beat out an infield single against Gerardo Casadiego (1-1) leading off the bottom of the 13th. After Curtis Thigpen laid down a sacrifice bunt, Dustin Majewski (2-for-3, HR, 4 BB) was intentionally walked for the second time in the game. Mayorson drilled a hit-and-run single to right-centerfield, easily scoring Klosterman to give the Fisher Cats their ninth win in 16 meetings with Trenton (65-54), salting away the season series in the longest game of the season (4:06).

[more]

The Fisher Cats and Thunder play in the Eastern League (Double-A).

[wrapups: New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Trenton Thunder]

Night Game Called On Account Of Darkness

2006-08-12T22:35:00.000-04:00

Yes, that exactly what happened. Or what I saw happen.

Here's the deal. The Columbus Catfish (Dodgers) and Greenville Drive (Red Sox) of the South Atlantic League had a doubleheader scheduled Saturday night. They played the 1st game, a by-rule 7-inning game. But game 2 never got underway.

A light pole in foul territory near 3rd base was not working because of a short in the underground wiring. So, after about 90 minutes, a backup set of lights arrived. They were set up and turned on. However, they were deemed insufficient, and the game postponed.

So, the two teams will play a day doubleheader Sunday.

Now, this happened one night after unplayable field conditions postponed a game forcing the doubleheader.

Fans were not happy with Friday night's postponement. They were visibly and audibly upset with Saturday night's postponement.

Facing low attendence ... Saturday's 1,201 is higher than their average of 1,012 per game ... the Catfish will have a hard time winning hearts and minds in Columbus.

Goodbye Columbus?

2006-08-12T16:14:00.000-04:00

As a fan of baseball, I'm disappointed by the lack of attendance at the local games. The Columbus Catfish draw poorly, averaging just over 1,000 a game. That's last in the South Atlantic League. There are lots of possible reasons thrown around for the lackluster attendance, but we're not going to focus on them. Not so much anyway.

What I want to talk about is something that got the notice of the president of the South Atlantic League on Friday night.

According to the Columbus Catfish Web site, John H. Moss was in town for the game. The thing is, the game wasn't played.

The Catfish were there. The Greensboro Drive players were there. Knology was there giving stuff away to fans. I was there. Other fans were trickling in. The league president was there. The sun was shining. The sky was blue.

And the field was unplayable.

“I drove six hours to see a game and when I arrived at Golden Park I found a beautiful night yet we were unable to play ball. The stadium’s drainage system is unacceptable,” Moss said. “Not only do the fans miss an opportunity for a weekend home game, it affects the players as well.” Moss added that in this case, both teams were in wait-and-see mode, unable to work out on the field and then lost valuable game experience. This postponement also financially hinders the Columbus franchise. The considerable revenue that would have been earned from the expectedly large crowd is lost because the game will now be made up as part of a doubleheader.

Drainage at Golden Park ... well, quite frankly, it's horrible. When it rains, it's always a crapshoot whether or not they'll be able to play.

The Catfish don't blame their groundskeeper. In fact, they call him "arguably the best groundskeeper in the South Atlantic League." Brock Van Faussien has been with the team longer than most of the office staff.

The Catfish don't blame Brock. They blame the city of Columbus, GA.

Golden Park is a good-looking ballpark. I'm not a fan of the stadium itself. I like the layout of most other stadiums much better. But the field? None of the few I've been too look any better.

Until it rains.

Then, if the rain continues for any period of time, the field is unplayable.

The Catfish say the drainage is the problem and want the city of Columbus to fix it. There have been veiled threats of moving the team.

This is not the first time the stadium’s drainage conditions have prohibited Golden Park occupants from playing ball. “The RedStixx repeatedly lost games because of the drainage system and cited the problem as one of the reasons for leaving Columbus and moving to Ohio. More recently, the Catfish Major League affiliate, the Los Angeles Dodgers, complained in writing to the City of Columbus about the poor drainage and urged the city to fix the problem,” Moss said.

“Columbus lost Minor League Baseball once because of this problem and if they don’t fix the problem soon they stand likely to lose it again. I will not allow any club in the South Atlantic League to continue to lose income and Major League prospects to lose valuable playing time because the city cannot maintain the field properly. After ten years of talk about this problem it is time for action,” Moss concluded.

With the poor attendance, the last thing the Catfish need is another reason for fans to stay away. And the uncertainty of a game ... and the cancellation of a game after driving through traffic and taking to walk to the far side of the stadium to get in (told you I hate the stadium layout) ... will upset folks. Kids will complain, parents will lose their temper, and what should be a pleasant experience turns out poorly.

Some fans won't be back. And a team with poor attendance doesn't need one more thing making it hard to draw fans.

The field drainage at Golden Park is a problem that never should have happened. The field was redone completely in 1996 for the Olympics. It should have been done right then. Instead, people took money to do a half-assed job. Money in the short-term was the driving factor.

Catfish fans are paying for it now.

16 Innings In St. Joe

2006-08-12T11:22:00.000-04:00

It 4 hours and 44 minutes, but it must have seemed longer for those of the 1,934 fans that stayed to the end. The St. Joe Blacksnakes lost a 16-inning American Association contest to the Lincoln Salt Dogs, 5-3.

The only runs through nine innings were scored on Scooter Jordan’s third inning double for a 1-0 lead. Lincoln scored an unearned run in the sixth when Evan Tartaglia reached on an error and scored on Pichi Balet’s double to tie the game at 1-1.

Twice Lincoln took leads in extra innings, only to see St. Joe rally to tie it both times before the Saltdogs plated two two-out runs in the 16th for the win.

[more]

Having sat through some extra-innings loses, I can feel their pain. But the true fans are the ones that show back up for tonight's game between the same two teams.

Long Beach's Simpson Tosses 1-Hitter, Loses

2006-08-12T11:08:00.000-04:00

Andre Simpson of the Long Beach Armada tossed 7-2/3 no-hit innings before allowing a 2-run homer that proved the difference in the game. Simpson took the hard-luck loss, allowing just one hit, but losing 2-0 to the Chico Outlaws.

Chico’s Lino Garcia broke up Andre Simpson’s (5-5) no-hit bid in the eighth with a two-run homer and led first place Chico (39-25,17-7) to a 2-0 win over host Long Beach (30-35, 8-17).

The Armada lost to Fullerton last night after Rik Currier hurled eight and one-third no-hit innings. To see back-to-back near no-hitters end in losses is indeed a rare sight, even for a veteran like pitching coach Jon Warden.

“Is this possible?” pleaded Warden. “How can this happen? In two nights we give up three hits and two hits and lose 3-2 and 2-0. To have those two kids go 8-1/3 and 7-2/3 it’s just unbelievable.”

Simpson retired 23 of the first 24 batters of the game including 16 in a row heading into the eighth. Craig Kuzmic led off the eighth inning with a walk but Simpson seemed on his way out of the jam after retiring the next two batters. But Garcia then launched his third home run over the left field wall to break up the no-hit bid and give Chico the 2-0 lead.

Simpson still went the distance, finishing with a one-hit loss while striking out seven and walking one.

[more]

The Armada and Outlaws play in the Golden Baseball League.

JetHawks Blast Past 66ers 21-0

2006-08-12T10:27:00.000-04:00

The largest blowout of the night in the minors was a 21-0 rout by the Lancaster JetHawks (Diamondbacks) of the Inland Empire 66ers (Mariners) in a California League contest.

Not only did the offense have an historic night, the pitching held the Inland Empire 66ers scoreless on just two hits in a 21-0 victory. The win moves the JetHawks into a tie for second place, just one half-game behind first place Lake Elsinore.

Amazingly enough, it was a pitcher’s duel through the first four innings with the JetHawks leading just 1-0 on a solo home run by Emilio Bonifacio. However, the JetHawks scored ten times in the fifth inning, then added eight more in the sixth to pull away. The 21 runs is the most the JetHawks have scored in any game this season and it is the first time Lancaster has scored more than 20 runs in a game since 2003.

[more]

I'm one who loves a pitchers duel. Some fans would rather see lots of runs scored. JetHawks fans got both last night.

Bluefish Ties Atlantic League Shutout Record

2006-08-11T07:10:00.000-04:00

The Bridgeport Bluefish tied an Atlantic League record for shutouts in a season Thursday night when they shut out the Road Warriors 4-0.

What right-hander Kevin Hodges has accomplished during an All-Star season of his own has often come without great fanfare. He's continued to battle, continued to keep the Bluefish in games and has continued to win over the last eight weeks.

Hodges produced another gem Thursday in a 4-0 victory over the Road Warriors before 2,815 at Harbor Yard. He scattered 10 singles over eight innings as the Bluefish tied an Atlantic League single-season record with their 12th shutout.

[more]

The Bluefish have now won five series in a row.

13 Innings In Springfield

2006-08-11T06:46:00.000-04:00

The longest game of the night in the minors was a 13-inning Texas League affair in Springfield, MO. The visiting Frisco RoughRiders beat the Springfield Cardinals 5-4.

Both teams had some chances in extra innings, but it wasn’t until Yan’s second hit of the game broke the 4-4 tie and eventually ended the three-hour and fifty seven minute affair.

Yan actually had another go-ahead hit, as his ninth-inning single against Mark Worrell gave the RoughRiders a 3-2 lead. After a Tim Hulett double plated another run in the ninth, the Riders couldn’t hold on in the last of the ninth inning.

Frisco closer Jesse Ingram didn’t get all the help he needed behind him, as Iker Franco’s ground ball to shortstop Enrique Cruz was booted for an error. After a walk to Jarrett Hoffpauir, Mike McCoy’s sac bunt moved runners to second and third with one out. Ingram struck out Shaun Boyd for the second out, but then walked Reid Gorecki to load the bases. That brought Nick Stavinoha to the plate, who finished a home run shy of the cycle. Stavinoha ripped a 3-2 pitch into the hole on the left side, scoring two to tie the game at 4-4.

It was Springfield's longest game of the year.

No Hitter In Georgia

2006-08-11T06:15:00.000-04:00

The Augusta Greenjackets showed one of the reasons they're leading the South Atlantic League South in the second half. On Thursday night, they beat SAL South first half champion Rome Braves 5-0. And did it in style. With a combined no-hitter.

Greenjackets starter Sergio Romo went 7 nearly perfect innings. He hit the 3rd batter he faced, but set down the next 19 batters and left the game with a 2-0 lead and a no-hitter. Relievers David Quinowski and Osiris Matos each pitched a perfect inning of relief to give Augusta the win.

It's the first time Rome has been no-hit since moving from Macon in 2003.

The Braves have thrown two no-hitters since moving to Rome prior to the 2003 season.

The first came in 2004, when three Rome pitchers combined on a five-inning no-hitter in a game the Braves actually lost. Last season, James Parr and Angelo Burrows combined on a no-hitter against Savannah in May.

Until Thursday, though, the Braves had never been on the other end of a no-no.

“It’s tough to take, but what can you say?” said infielder Derrick Arnold. “(Romo) got the best of us. He didn’t have overpowering stuff, but he knew how to work it.”

[more]

Augusta has a 10-game lead with 23 games remaining in the first half. Barring a complete Greenjackets collapse, Augusta and Rome will meet in the SAL playoffs.

Northern League Suspends Eight

2006-08-10T07:08:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday, there was a bench-clearing brawl in the 4th inning of the Kansas City T-Bones 11-9 win over the Schaumburg Flyers. Four players involving both teams were ejected.

Wednesday, the Northern League announced the suspension of those four, plus four more.

For Kansas City, OF Charles Peterson and IF Eddie Pearson drew 3-game suspensions, while OF Greg Jacobs, OF J.D. Foust were suspended for 5 games.

Schaumburg P Rick DeHart got a 6-game suspension, while IF Sandy Almonte, IF Josue Lopez, and IF Rob Watson were suspended for 5 games.

Fines were also leveed but not announced.

I hate to see young players miss any playing time. I also hate to see young players think it's okay to get into fights ... especially in front of young children in the stands. The managers should be taken to task for allowing ... or possibly encouraging ... minor league players to be involved in such thing.

13-Run Losses in Burlington, Mobile

2006-08-10T06:45:00.000-04:00

A pair of home teams lost by 13 runs Wednesday night in the minors. In Burlington, NC, the hometown Indians were outscored by the visiting Greeneville Astros in an Appalachian League (Rookie) contest.

Ralph Henriquez went 3-for-5 with two homers and five RBIs as Greeneville pounded host Burlington, 14-1, on Wednesday.

Henriquez, who was hitless in his last 14 at-bats, got the offense started with a two-run blast in the first inning. The 19-year-old catcher added an RBI single in a six-run second and a run-scoring groundout in the third before belting his fifth homer of the season, a solo shot in the fifth.

[more]

Over in Mobile, AL, the visiting Montgomery Biscuits (Devil Rays) collected 20 hits to beat the Mobile Bay Bears (Padres), 14-2.

First baseman Gabriel Martinez accounted for four of the hits, including a three-run homer in a five-run Biscuits fourth inning and a grand slam in a six-run ninth.

Four of the BayBears' five hits and both of their runs came meaninglessly in the ninth inning against Josh Kranawetter, after Jeff Niemann and Tony Peguero combined to throw six innings of shutout, one-hit ball. Niemann allowed only one runner as far as second base, surrendering a second-inning single to Brett Bonvechio. He walked only one and struck out eight. Peguero added two scoreless innings.

[more]

It was a record night for the Biscuits in several ways.

It was the Biscuits' highest offensive output of the year in runs, hits and doubles. Martinez's seven RBIs are a Biscuits individual record. Every Biscuit had at least one hit.

The Biscuits and the Bay Bears are in the Southern League (Double-A).

12 Inning In Amarillo

2006-08-10T06:35:00.000-04:00

The longest game of the night in the minors took place in Amarillo, TX last night. The Amarillo Dillas lost in 12 innings to the Laredo Broncos in a United League contest.

Amarillo led 2-1 going into the 9th, but Laredo tied it up, forcing the extra innings. In the top of the 12th, Amarillo reliever Derek Tillman struck out 3 Broncos, but not before allowing 3 runs and being charged with his 2nd loss.

For the night, the Amarillo staff struck out 11 Broncos in the losing effort.

Lakewood Pitchers Loses Perfect Game, Game

2006-08-09T06:42:00.000-04:00

Carlos Carrasco of the Lakewood Blue Claws (Phillies) had a perfect game going into the 8th inning. But the 8th inning turned to game around as they Asheville Tourists (Rockies) finally got on base ... and on the scoreboard in a South Atlantic League game Tuesday night.

With one out in the eighth, Carrasco issued a walk to Phillip Cuadrado ending the perfect game bid. On the next at bat, the hopes for a no-hitter were also extinguished. Michael Paulk ripped a single back up the middle and the situation continued to deteriorate for Carrasco. A double by Jason Van Kooten brought home Cuadrado and the game was tied at 1-1. The BlueClaws brought in Andy Barb from the bullpen and Carrasco walked to the dugout under a standing ovation from the Asheville fans.

With Barb on the mound, a passed ball allowed Paulk to score and Carrasco was now on the hook for the loss. With another runner at third, Nelson Robledo grounded out to short but Van Kooten scored and Lakewood found themselves down 3-1.

[more]

The game was one of two Tuesday games where a team allowed but 2-hits and still lost the game.

[wrapups: BlueClaws, Tourists, Asheville Citizen-Times]

Grizzlies Throw 2-Hitter, Lose 2-1

2006-08-09T06:11:00.000-04:00

Andrew Himes allowed just 2 hits Tuesday night ... both of them home runs ... as his Gateway Grizzlies fell to the Traverse City Beach Bums, 2-1.

Himes, making his third start, was a bright light for Gateway. He worked seven innings, walked two and struck out two before turning over the game to Ted Juske, who pitched two hitless innings. Himes recorded 11 ground-ball outs.

But the home runs by Mendoza and Gergel were the difference.

[more]

The Grizzlies and Beach Bums play in the Frontier League.

[wrapups: Grizzlies, Beach Bums, Belleview News-Democrat]

Updated Stadiums Sought in Savannah, Marion

2006-08-08T21:14:00.000-04:00

photo: Paul Crumlish

The Savannah Sand Gnats (Nationals) of the South Atlantic League are asking for upgrades to the 65-year old stadium.

The Savannah Morning News reports that Sand Gnats owner John Simmons wants $10-million spent by Georgia's first city to upgrade the facility.

He estimates he's spent $500,000 toward improvements for aging Grayson Stadium since buying the minor-league baseball club 21 months ago,

Now Simmons hopes Savannah and Chatham County officials will ante up, too.

The Illinois lawyer wants $10 million from the upcoming Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax referendum to renovate the 65-year-old ballpark.

Simmons' proposal, which will be announced at a press conference at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Grayson Stadium, could be placed on the Sept. 19 ballot.

[more]

Simmons told the Savannah newspaper that he has no plans to move the team if the Grayson Stadium proposal isn't approved.

Meanwhile, in Marion, IL, a stadium is already being built for the recently-announced Frontier League team. The Daily Herald reports that area educators are very unhappy about the money spent on the stadium.

One such district is Johnston City, just a few miles north of Marion. The district has been waiting four years for $528,000 from the state to help pay for a library and classroom additions.

When district Superintendent Gary Schurz heard last week that the governor was just a few miles down the road and had found another million dollars to benefit a baseball stadium, his reaction wasn't pleasant.

"It's not printable," Schurz said.

Marion, IL was rumored last year to be the destination of the SAL's Savannah Sand Gnats when Simmon's bought the team. His wife is owner of the newly-announced Marion team.

T-Bones Raising Money For Negro Leagues Museum

2006-08-08T17:09:00.000-04:00

photo: Northern League

How many of you have never heard of Buck O'Neil? Well, you should have.

John Jordan O'Neil played his entire career in the Negro Leagues. His teams included the Miami Giants, Shreveport Acme Giants, Memphis Red Sox, and Kansas City Monarchs, winning batting titles, and helping his teams win league championships and Black World Series titles.

Never played in the majors. But he was hired as a scout for the Cubs in 1956. He became a coach ... the first Black coach in the majors ... in 1962. And served as a coach and scout through the 1980s.

Earlier this year, a special committee of Major League Baseball decided that Buck O'Neil didn't warrant inclusion into the Baseball Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown.

Later in the year, in July, O'Neil took his last at-bat in a professional game.

No, really.

You may have read about it. That 94-year year old player that batted in the Northern League all-star game? That was Buck O'Neil.

The point to all this?

The Kansas City T-Bones of the Northern League are raising money for the Buck O'Neil Education and Research Center. It's to be next to the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City. It's the Paseo YMCA. That place is registered as a National Historic Landmark. You see, it's the official birthplace of the Negro Leagues.

The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum is the Northern League's Official Charity. And the Buck O'Neil Education and Research Center is the Kansas City club's pet project.

Lot's of people are saying that O'Neil belongs in the Baseball Hall Of Fame.

Whether or not he makes it in, if the center in his name helps the youth of today, it's a worthwhile project.

45 Hits In Fresno

2006-08-08T06:50:00.000-04:00

The Memphis Redbirds and Fresno Grizzlies combined for 45 hits in 11 innings Monday night in a Pacific Coast League contest. Fresno had 25 hits while Memphis had but 20. In the all-important runs column, the numbers weren't quite as high. Fresno came out on top, 17-16.

Trailing by two runs, the Grizzlies loaded the bases by sandwiching two singles around a walk with one out against veteran right-hander Alan Benes (4-4). Jason Ellison plated on a groundout by Mike Cervenak before Melo's game-winning hit allowed Fred Lewis and Kevin Frandsen to score.

The Grizzlies pounded out 25 hits and Memphis (45-71) had 20 in the rollercoaster game. Tomas De La Rosa went 5-for-6, the first Fresno player to get five hits in a game this season. Justin Knoedler was 4-for-6 with three RBIs and four runs scored, Ellison also had four hits and scored three times.

[more]

While not the longest game of the day in all minor leagues, it was the longest involving National Association teams at 11 innings.

[wrapups: Grizzlies, MiLB]

12 Innings in O'Fallon, MO

2006-08-08T06:35:00.000-04:00

The longest game of the night in the minors happened in O'Fallon, MO where the River City Rascals took 12 innings to beat the Windy City ThunderBolts 7-6 in the longest game of the night in the minors on Monday.

The win gave the Rascals a season sweep of the ThunderBolts:

All it took was another 8th inning comeback followed by a walk-off home run by Mike Cockrell in the bottom of the 12th inning and the River City was able to pick up its third sweep at home after a 7-6 win over Windy City.

[more]

River City and Windy City play in the independent Frontier League.

[wrapups: Rascals, ThunderBolts]

Travelers Blast RoughRiders

2006-08-08T06:15:00.000-04:00

Arkansas Travelers (Angels) DH Greg Porter went 4-for-5 and scored 4 times to lead his team to a 12-0 win over the Frisco RoughRiders (Rangers) in the biggest blowout in the minors Monday night.

In ending Frisco’s nine-game winning streak, the Travs scored six runs in the second inning to give Hunter all the support he needed on his best night of the year. In eight innings, Hunter allowed just one Frisco batter to reach second base on five singles and a walk to go with a season-high seven strikeouts. RHP Miguel Gonzalez capped the six-hit shutout with a scoreless ninth inning. In his second four-hit game of the season, Porter doubled and singled three times.

[more]

Arkansas and Frisco are members of the Double-A Texas League.

[wrapups: Travelers, MiLB]

One-Hitter For Coastal Bend

2006-08-08T05:50:00.000-04:00

Coastal Bend's Pedro Flores took a no-hitter into the 8th inning Monday night. One swing of the bat and the no-hitter ... and the shutout was gone.

The good news ... or better news ... is that the Aviators held on for a 3-1 win over the Pensacola Pelicans in an American Association contest.

It was the closest thing to a no-hitter in the minors on Monday.

[wrapups: Pelicans, Pensacola NewsJournal]

The Toastman

2006-08-07T05:45:00.000-04:00

photo: Photo Adventures!

I recently exchanged emails with Don Surber, who, in addition to being a blogger and a newspaperman, is a fan of the West Virginia Power (Brewers) of the South Atlantic League. Since I'm a fan of the Columbus Catfish (Dodgers) of the SAL, it's always particularly interesting when they play another blogger's team.

The screwy schedule the SAL makes their teams play meant that the Catfish and the Power would meet but once this season ... and that series would be in Charleston, WV. And it was a rough series for the Catfish, losing 3 of 4 by scores of 8-4, 16-6, and 8-2. Thankfully, the Catfish won the finale, 9-5.

After seeing a writeup at MinorLeagueBaseball.com about a West Virginia Power fan, and after having some run-ins with some Catfish fans in Columbus, I asked Don about the Power superfan known as the "Toastman."

The Toastman is Rod Blackstone, Assistant to the Mayor of Charleston, WV. And he's a thorn in the side of visiting players. And, on occasion, to the local fans.

Don shared that back about 4 or 5 years ago, he thought Toastman had crossed the line in his razzing of a Columbus RedStixx (Indians) player. (The RedStixx moved to Eastlake, OH in 2003, becoming the Lake County Captains.)

Since Don's actually a fan of the Cleveland Indians, he felt bad for the RedStixx catcher. Toastman was serenading Swedlow with ditties like "Swing low, Sweet Sean Swedlow ..." every time he struck out. Toastman got under Don's skin that night, like he gets under some opposing players'.

However, the Toastman follows the opposition quite closely. And uses that to light into the opposing players.

The Toastman has been following the Power -- and the Wheelers and the AlleyCats before the name changes -- for a decade and a half. And has a following at the games.

At The Yard reports that once, the Greensboro Bats (Marlins) -- now the Grasshoppers (Marlins) -- tried to sabotage Toastman's outlet he uses to make toast.

The oppositon notices ... and knows ... the Toastman. And the Toastman knows the opposition. As Don Surber told me about the RedStixx Sean Swedlow, the Indians farm hand that he took up for one night:

Sean Swedlow's outa baseball
Many are called
Few are chosen
Toastman knows

Attending a game in Charleston, WV has got to be fun. But probably not for the Rome Braves, who are facing Toastman's taunts tonight.

Danville Blows Out Pulaski

2006-08-07T05:30:00.000-04:00

Danville Braves C Phillip Britton hit 2 home runs -- one a grand slam -- and drove in 6 runs as the Braves beat the Pulaski Blue Jays 14-1 in the biggest blowout of the day Sunday.

The two Appalachian League teams had nearly identical number of hits: 12 for Danville, 11 for Pulaski. The Blue Jays, however, stranded 12 base runners.

The winning run scored as part of Britton's 3rd inning grand slam. Danville 2B Brandon Monk led off with a walk, LF Concepcion Rodriguez doubled, and the bases were loaded when SS Jose Santos was hit by a pitch. After Pulaski's Kyle Ginley came in to replace Kyle Walter, Britton hits his grand slam, making it 5-0.

The Braves made it 14-0 before the Blue Jays managed their lone run in the bottom of the 8th.

[wrapups: MiLB]

Connecticut Wins In 13 At Binghamton

2006-08-07T05:01:00.000-04:00

A two-run homer by Connecticut Defenders (Giants) 1B Travis Ishikawa in the 9th inning forced extra innings. A 13th inning RBI infield single by P Oscar Montero gave Connecticut the lead as they beat the Binghamton Mets 8-7 in 13 innings in an Eastern League game.

The Met were 2 outs away from moving into a virtual tie for first place in the Northern Division when the Defenders tied it up.

Schierholtz led off the top of the ninth by reaching on a throwing error by second baseman Wilson Batista. That set the stage for Ishikawa's two-run homer off closer Henry Owens, which sent the game into extra innings.

Four extra frames were needed to settle the game.

The game was tied until the top of the 13th inning when Binghamton manager Juan Samuel turned to utility man Kevin Rios to make his first professional pitching performance. The Defenders took advantage with a run, making the score 8-7. Bill Sadler would come in and secure the 8-7 win with his 17th save.

Montero's RBI gave him his first win of the season.

[wrapups: Mets, Defenders, MiLB]

No Hitter In New Jersey

2006-08-06T22:37:00.000-04:00

photo: New Jersey Jackals

New Jersey Jackals pitcher Aaron "Bulldog" Myers made history Sunday, pitching a no-hitter against the Worcester Tornadoes in a CanAm League game.

Myers allowed just two base-runners, both on walks, en route to his gem:

The "Bulldog" faced 29 Tornadoes batters, just 2 more than the minimum. His perfect game was broken up in the top of the 4th inning, as SS Ricardo Cordova drew a walk. Cordova would be caught stealing 2nd shortly after that, and Myers continued to cruise through the Worcester lineup. His only other blemish was a 4-pitch walk issued to C Patrick Perry to start off the 6th inning. However, Myers was unphased, continuing to roll right along. He would retire the next 3 batters in order, and none of the Tornadoes would be able get past 1st base today.

It was the second no-hitter thrown in the 8-year history of Yogi Berra Stadium.

[wrapup: Jackals, CanAm League]

5-for-5 Night For Catfish Player

2006-08-06T10:57:00.000-04:00

Thanks to a 5-for-5 night by Columbus Catfish (Dodgers) CF Bridger Hunt, the Catfish avoided a sweep by the West Virginia Power (Brewers) in a South Atlantic League game Saturday night.

Hunt hit singles in the 1st and 2nd innings, doubled in the 4th and 7th, and had an RBI single in the 9th en route to a perfect 5-for-5 night.

photo: Columbus Catfish

Saturday night's performance raises Hunt's batting average to .339 in 39 games with the Catfish. That average would be high enough to lead the SAL ... if he had enough plate appearances.

He joined the Catfish on June 22nd after signing with the Dodgers, who drafted Hunt in the 9th round of the 2006 Draft. At Central Missouri State University this year, Hunt batted .415, had 74 RBIs, while hitting 9 homers, 11 triples, and 21 doubles.

[wrapups: Basil's Blog, MiLB]

RedHawks Scoreless Streak At 30

2006-08-06T10:32:00.000-04:00

The Oklahoma RedHawks have not allowed a run in 30 innings, a franchise record, thanks to the Las Vegas 51s.

Since the 8th inning of their Pacific Coast League game August 2nd, the RedHawks have not allowed the 51s to score for 30 straight innings.

Saturday night, Okalahoma beat Las Vegas 5-0 to complete a 4-game sweep.

[wrapup: MiLB]

Ft. Worth Beats Coastal Bend in 12

2006-08-06T10:09:00.000-04:00

The longest game in the minors Saturday ended with an unearned run scoring in the top of the 12th to give the Ft. Worth Cats a 4-3 win over the Coastal Bend Aviators in an American Association contest.

Coastal Bend jumped to a 3-0 lead in the 5th. 2B Hector Garanzuay hit a two-run single, scoring SS Jack Joffrion and RF Charles Carter. An throwing error by CF Jordan Foster allowed a third run to score.

Ft. Worth struck back with 3 in the 7th. 1B Shawn Williams doubled in SS Marc Mirizzi. RF Matt Spencer and C Ken Lup then singled to score LF Tony Mota and Shawn Williams, respectively.

In the top of the 12th, the Cats' Ken Lup and 3B Terence Green reached on errors, 2B Kip Harkrider walked to load the bases. , before Adam Miller, pinch running for Lup, scored in a passed ball by Aviators C Steve Morales.

[wrapup: Cats]

Suns blowout Lookouts 14-1

2006-08-06T09:32:00.000-04:00

The biggest blowout in the minors Saturday belongs to the Jacksonville Suns (Dodgers). In the second game of a double-header in Chattanooga, the Suns beat the Lookouts (Reds) 14-1 in a Southern League contest.

After dropping game one, the Suns jumped out to an early lead in game two:

Jacksonville picked up the offensive assault in the third inning as Craig Brazell belted a tape measure homerun out of the stadium over the right field picnic pavilion, a two-run homerun that opened a 4-0 Suns lead. Later in the inning Jimmy Rohan drove home a run with a double to open the lead to 5-0.

After Chattanooga scored it's lone run in the third, then the Suns offense poured it on:

The Suns then blasted away again in the fourth inning by scoring six runs on five hits and a Chattanooga error. Craig Brazell, Jimmy Rohan and Spike Lundberg all recorded RBI singles in the inning with Adam Greenberg scoring on a Chattanooga error and Wilkin Ruan scoring on a passed ball. The six-run frame opened the Suns lead to 11-1.

Jacksonville came back around for more in the fifth inning when Craig Brazell drove home his fifth run of the game with a double to make it 12-1. Tony Abreu had a groundout RBI while Jimmy Rohan recorded his fourth hit of the game with another RBI to finish the scoring at 14-1.

The games went 7 innings by rule.

[wrapup: Suns]

Two One-Hitters Saturday

2006-08-06T08:35:00.000-04:00

Fans in Chillicothe, OH, saw Chillicothe Paints pitcher Luke Palmer pitch a complete game 1-hitter Friday night as his team beat the visitng Rockford RiverHawks 6-0 in a Frontier League contest.

A double in the 5th by the RiverHawks Richard Quihuis-Bell stopped the no-hit bit. Palmer walked 2 and struck out 8 on the night.

[wrapup: RiverHawks]

Lakewood BlueClaws (Phillies) pitcher Josh Outman allowed only 1-hit over a scheduled 7 innings as he led his team to a 7-0 win over the Kannapolis Intimidators (White Sox) Saturday night. The game was scheduled for 7 innings by South Atlantic League rule because it followed a continuation of a suspended game.

A 2nd-inning single by Kannapolis 3B Juan Camacho in the 2nd inning was the only hit allowed by Outman, who walked two Kannapolis batters and struck out 9.

[wrapup: Intimidators]

Smokies Smoke Barons

2006-08-05T07:50:00.000-04:00

A 7-run 3rd inning helped pave the way for the Tennessee Smokies (Diamondbacks) to blast the Birmingham Barons (White Sox) 15-2 in Southern League contest that was the biggest blowout in the minors Friday night.

Down 1-0 in the bottom of the second, Tennessee tied the game on a hit batsman and back-to-back singles. The Smokes took the lead in the 3rd and never looked back.

With one out, SS Alberto Gonzalez singled, then RF Jesus Cota singled, moving Gonzalez to third. 1B James D'Antona singled to right, scoring Gonzalez and moving Cota to second. 3B Agustin Murillo was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Cota scored on a passed ball by Baron's C Gustavo Molina. LF Mark Reynolds drove in D'Antona and Murillo with a single to to left. C Phil Avlas singled, moving Reynolds to second. DH Alex Frazier then hit his 6th home run, making the score 8-1.

In the 4th, Cota hit a 2-run homer, and Alex Frazier singled in Agustin Murillo to make it 11-1.

Barons 3B Micah Schnurstein hit a solo home run to make it 8-2, but that's as close as they would get.

A Mark Reynolds home run and Alberto Gonzalez's bases-loaded single scored Phil Avlas and CF Steve Garrabrants in the 6th made it 14-2. In the 7th, Mark Reynolds singled, then scored on an error by Barons RF Thomas Collaro, making it 15-2.

The Smokies pounded out 20 hits en route to the victory. Jesus Cota had 5 of the hits in 6 at-bats, including a double and a home run. Mark Reynolds was 3-for-3 with a homer and 3 RBIs. Also with three hits were Alberto Gonzalez, Phil Avlas, and Alex Frazier.

[wrapup: Smokies, MiLB]

14 Innings In South Bend

2006-08-05T07:10:00.000-04:00

3,732 fans (or those that stayed til the end) in South Bend, IN went home disappointed Friday night as the South Bend Silver Hawks dropped a 14-inning Midwest League contest to the West Michigan Whitecaps, 4-2, in the longest game of the night in the minor leagues.

In the 2nd inning, Whitecaps RF Matthew Joyce doubled, then advanced to third on a wild pitch. He scored on LF Michael Hernandez's sacrifice fly to right field.

South Bend tied it up in the bottom of the inning. 1B Bryan Byrne walked, moved to second on DH Will Crouch grounder to third, them moved to third on a wild pitch by Whitecaps pitcher Burke Badenhop. With two out, 3B Steve Mena doubled to left, scoring Byrne.

The Silver Hawks took the lead in the third. RF Leyson Septimo doubled, moved to third on CF Justin Upton's single, and scored when Byrne singled.

It remained 2-1 until the 7th, when West Michigan tied the score. SS Mark Haske reached on a fielder's choice, then stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Silver Hawks C Orlando Mercado. Whitecaps C Joel Roa singled to left, scoring Haske and tying the game.

The only baserunners to reach before the 14th inning were Silver Hawks 2B Manuel Ferrer who singled in the 7th, but was forced at second to end the inning; Whitecaps DH Justin Justice reached on a bunt-single, but was stranded there; Justice reached on a two-out double in the 11th, but was stranded.

In the top of the 14th, South Bend reliever Ryan Doherty came in to pitch. Whitecaps Justin Justice walked, then Mark Haske reached on a fielder's choice that saw Justice reach second on River Hawks 2B Manuel Ferrer's throwing error. A wild pitch moved Justice to third and Haske to second. Whitecaps Joel Roa then hit a grounder to center field, scoring Justice and Haske.

Whitecaps P Orlando Perdomo set down the River Hawks in order in the bottom of the 14th to secure his 27th save and give Jose Fragoso his 1st win.

[wrapup: Whitecaps]

Saltdogs' Jeff Blitstein Earns Fourth Shutout

2006-08-05T06:51:00.000-04:00

Lincoln Saltdogs pitcher Jeff Blitstein became the third pitcher in the minors to post his 4th shutout of the season Friday night, as Lincoln blanked the St. Paul Saints 8-0 in an American Association game.

Against St. Paul, Blistein allowed 8 hits, but kept the Saints off the scoreboard.

The Parker, Colo., native scattered eight hits while walking two and striking out three in improving his record to 7-1 on the season. A deeper look at the numbers indicates greater dominance. In posting his second-straight complete-game shutout, Blitstein induced 14 ground-ball outs and only six balls were hit out of the infield by Saints batters. Over the course of his last two starts, he has induced 32 ground ball outs in 18 innings and only 10 balls have been hit out of the infield, either safe hits or outs, by the 61 total batters that he’s faced. In addition, Blitstein has given up just three runs (two earned) in his last 36 innings of work and he has now pitched 22.1 consecutive scoreless innings.

[more]

Blistein joins the Montogomery Biscuits (Devil Rays/ Southern League) pitcher Andy Sonnanstine and Tony Casoli of the Traverse City Beach Bums (Frontier League) as pitchers who have pitched 4 complete game shutouts in 2006.

51s Lose Two-Hitter

2006-08-05T06:08:00.000-04:00

An impressive pitching performance by Las Vegas 51s pitcher Joel Hanrahan was wasted when the Oklahoma RedHawks scored two unearned runs and Las Vegas failed to score in a Pacific Coast League contest Friday night.

With two outs in the bottom of the first, RedHawks SS Joaquin Arias was hit by a pitch, then stole second. Las Vegas 3B Andy LaRoche misplayed a ball hit by Oklahome RF Adam Hyzdu, allowing Arias to score. RedHawks 3B Jamie Burke then tripled, scoring Hyzdu.

Hanrahan only allowed one more baserunner when Oklahoma C Miguel Ojeda singled in the 5th. He was relieved in the 8th by Lance Carter, who walked a batter and got into trouble when a baserunner reached third on a throwing error. Carter was relieved by Tim Hamulack, who got out of the inning on a fly ball to center.

Offensively, Las Vegas SS Wilson Valdez went 3-for-3 with a double, but was left stranded at third base in the 4th inning and at second base in the 8th. In all, the 51s left 9 runners on base.

Oklahoma has now kept opponents scoreless for 21 innings as they won their 4th in a row.

[wrapup: 51s]

Coyotes Win One-Hitter

2006-08-05T05:31:00.000-04:00

Edinburg Coyotes pitchers Ryan Harris and Julio Castro combined to one-hit the Alexandria Aces Friday night in a United League contest. Harris allowed Alexandria CF Keto Anderson a single in the third inning, the only hit of the night for the Aces.

In the fourth, Alexandria scored an unearned run without a hit. The fifth inning saw Aces DH Trey Beamon reach base on a error by Coyotes 3B Jose Olmeda. Olmeda commited his second error of the inning when his throwing error allowed 3B Luis Espinosa to reach base and Beamon to advance to third. Beamon scored when C Ryan Smith grounded out.

After getting out of the inning with no further damage, Harris saw his team's defense stiffen. He pitched three perfect innings before turning the game over to Castro in the ninth. A perfect 9th by Castro gave Harris his 7th win and Castro his 2nd save. It was Castro's first appearance in three weeks, after being sidelined with a shoulder injury.

[wrapups: Coyotes, Aces]

Lincoln Saltdogs pound St. Paul Saints, 16-1

2006-08-04T12:42:00.000-04:00

The Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association continued their drive for both halves titles. Last night, they won the biggest blowout of the day in the minors, beating the St. Paul Saints, 16-1.

Three runs in the 1st, two coming on a Kevin Sullivan homer, gave Lincoln an early lead. St. Paul narrowed it to 3-1 when Jose Torres singled, scoring Chaz Lytle. But it was as close as the visitors would get.

Lincoln added four runs in the 3rd, five in the 4th, another three in the 5th, and a final run in the 7th to make it 16-1.

Saltdogs pitcher Kyle Ruwe relieved starter Roger Lincoln, who was coming off the DL, in the third inning. Ruwe set down 17 straight Saints en route to his 7th win of the season.

Saints reliever Gabe Eikum debuted for St. Paul. He went 5 innings, and gave up 9 runs on 12 hits (3 were home runs) in his welcome to pro baseball.

The win keeps the Saltdogs 5 games in front of the St. Joe Blacksnakes in the race for the second half championship of the AA North Division. The Saltdogs won the first half.

[wrapups: Saltdogs, Saints]

14 Innings In New Orleans

2006-08-04T06:54:00.000-04:00

Down 6-5 in the 9th, New Orleans Zephyrs (Nationals) 1B Larry Broadway hit a one-out solo home run off Tuscon Sidewinders (Diamondbacks) to send the game to extra innings Thursday night. It took five extra frames before the home team prevailed, 7-6.

In the 14th, Zephyrs SS Anthony Medrano singled on a soft fly ball to right field, scoring pinch runner Russ Cleveland, and ending the contest.

Although the Sidewinders committed a season-high 7 errors, only one of New Orleans' runs was unearned. In the first inning, two errors allowed RF Kenny Kelly on base and to advance to second. After being sacrificed to third, he scored the game's first run on CF Marlon Byrd's single to right field.

Despite 5 additional errors, the Sidewinders managed to get out of those innings with no damage due to the errors. The unearned run in the first allowed the Zephyrs enough runs to force extra innings ... and eventually the win.

A New League

2006-08-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

Back in the heyday of minor league baseball ... you know ... the 1940s and 1950s ... before Major League Baseball expanded to the West and the South ... there were minor leagues everywhere. You could even find pro baseball being played in Moultrie, GA, Opelika, AL, and many other small cities across the U.S.

When the Major Leagues moved into California in the 1950s, and into Georgia in the 1960s, plus expanding in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, plus the impact of television and other technologies, it became harder and harder for teams to draw crowds. I've seen a report (I can't confirm it) that the Georgia-Florida League champ Thomasville Tigers drew about 120 a game in 1963.

What finally happened to all those baseball teams and baseball leagues folded when baseball reorganized the minor leagues to affiliate all the teams with Major League teams.

Oh, to be sure, there are still independent leagues, but by far, most of the teams are in affiliated leagues.

But not all leagues are affiliated.

While there aren't as many independent leagues as once existed, they're still there. Oh, not the original leagues or teams, to be sure. But they carry on the namesake of the teams and leagues of old.

The American Association, for instance, was contracted in the 1990s when Minor League Baseball decided to have only two Triple-A leagues: the Pacific Coast League and the International League. Well, a few years ago, a group brought back the American Association. Actually, they stated up a league and called it the American Association.

But that's not much different than the South Atlantic League deciding to take the name of the defunct Southern League. Or the Western Carolinas League deciding to take the name of the South Atlantic League. That kind of thing has happened a lot.

Still, there are independent leagues floating around all over the U.S.

Well, not all over. Not in the South.

But that's supposed to change next year.

There's a new independent league starting up play on May 1, 2007: the South Coast League. The new league just announced another franchise for its inaugural season: Bradenton, FL. That team will join Charlotte County,FL, Albany, GA, Macon, GA, and Aiken, SC and one other planned team.

Now, whether or not the teams or the league will succeed ... I don't know. I hope so. But I do wonder if there's enough people willing to go out and support a team.

In the South Atlantic League, for instance, Rome is the smallest Georgia city with a team, far smaller than Columbus, Savannah, and Augusta. But Rome leads all those cities in attendence.

So, you never know. I hope the new league makes it. More children need the opportunity to see pro baseball. Even it's it watching the Macon Music play the Albany Polecats.

Sonnanstine is Southern League Player of the Month

2006-08-03T14:30:00.000-04:00

photo: Montogomery Biscuits

Going 6-0 in six starts, including two complete game shutouts isn't a bad month, no matter where you're pitching. Fortunately for the Montogomery Biscuits (Devil Rays) of the Southern League, Andy Sonnanstine pitches for them.

The 23-year-old righthander from Wadsworth, OH was named the TOPPS Southern League Player of the Month for July.

Minor League Baseball's press release gives more details about the outstanding month this young pitcher had:

Sonnanstine leads the Southern League with 12 wins, 148.1 innings pitched, 4 complete games, and 4 shutouts. He is also tied for the league lead with 120 strikeouts while ranking fifth with a 2.67 ERA. In 22 starts this season, the righty has posted 14 quality starts and gone at least 6.0 innings in 18 contests. He has walked just 25 hitters while striking out 120 for a K/BB ratio of 4.80. He has also posted a 0.96 WHIP (148.1 IP, 117 H).

His four shutouts this season is tied for tops in all of minor league baseball, and is more than many teams have recorded. (Note: Tony Casoli of the Traverse City Beach Bums in the Frontier League also has four shutouts this season.)

I really need to drive over to Montgomery and watch this young man pitch one night.

Golden League, Golden Bases

2006-08-03T12:41:00.000-04:00

photo: Golden Baseball League

The Golden Baseball League has brought to mind orange baseballs (remember that?) with their new bases ... that are golden.

According to a league press release, the bases were to have been put into use this week:

First, second and third base will be changed during a pre-game ceremony to reflect the new golden color with fans participating in the activity. Home plate will remain white to clearly delineate the strike zone.

As one that considers himself a purist ... I'm not sure just how I feel about golden bases. On the one hand, anything that draws fans to the park is a good thing. But I'm not sure if golden bases do that. If a jewelry store or chain signs on as a sponsor, then there'll be an indirect draw via advertising.

But messing with the field? I just don't know. I hope the golden bases don't adversely impact umpires. But with them keeping home plate white to "clearly delineate the strike zone," it indicates the golden color may be a problem for the men in blue.

I'm not sure golden bases are a good thing.

I'm not sure they're a bad thing, either.

Sixteen Innings In Greenville

2006-08-03T07:45:00.000-04:00

Tied at 3 after nine innings, the Lake County Captains (Indians) and the Greenville Drive (Red Sox) of the South Atlantic League battled for a total of 16 innings before the visitors prevailed, 6-5 Wednesday night in Greenville, SC. It was the longest game in the minors yesterday.

Lake County scored early, taking a 3-0 lead, but Greenville drove back to tie the game in the 8th inning, before going to extra frames knotted 3-all.

Lake County's RF P. J. Hiser led off the 11th with a home run. CF Mike Conroy later drove in 3B Chris De La Cruz, who had singled following Hiser's solo shot.

In the bottom of the 11th, Greenville's DH Christopher Turner and 3B Dustin Kelly hit back-to-back homers to start the inning, but Captains pitcher Matt Davis settled down and got out of the inning.

It remained 5-5 until the 16th, when Lake County scored an unearned run following a throwing error by Greenville's Dustin Kelly that allowed Lake County 2B Jose Chavez to reach third. Chavez then scored on LF Mike Butia's grounder to short.

Christopher Turner led off the bottom of the 16th with a double, but could get no further when Lake County pitcher Julio Pinto got PH Matthew Mercurio to fly out to left, then struck out LF Michael Hall to win the game.

It was the longest game in Lake County Captains history. The team has been in East Lake, OH since 2003. It's also the Greenville Drive's longest game. The team moved to Greenville, SC from Columbia, SC last year.

Kiss A Catfish

2006-08-02T21:45:00.000-04:00

A South Atlantic League team is raising money for Special Olympics of Georgia by auctioning off three players. The Columbus Catfish are taking bids until August 11 for the chance to "Kiss A Catfish."

Pitcher Arismendy Castillo, outfielder Adam Godwin, and team mascot Hook are selling themselves for the cause.

RHP Arismendy Castillo, OF Adam Godwin and mascot Hook are prepared to do their civic duty for the benefit of a worthwhile cause. The kiss will take place on top of the dugout after the Catfish game against the Greenville Drive on Friday, August 11 at 7:00pm.

Bids can be placed by calling (706) 571-8866, e-mailing kissacatfish@gmail.com, or by obtaining a bid form in the souvenir store at a Columbus Catfish game. The minimum bid is $10 and bidding ends in the middle of the seventh inning during the August 11th game.

[full story]

Here are the players (and mascot) up for bids:


Arismendy Castillo	Adam Godwin	Hook

Baseball Disgrace

2006-08-02T16:46:00.000-04:00

In an article on SI.com, columnist Tom Verducci lists what he calls the 10 most embarrassing moments in baseball.

As a baseball fan, I read such articles with fascination. However, those in my lifetime bring back unpleasant memories. Why would I dwell on such things?

Verducci says it "reminds us just how great an institution baseball is, for it has survived these." Yeah, maybe so. But reading them doesn't make me think, "Gosh, baseball's great!"

Rather, it reminds me that baseball is made up of flawed humans. Some make tragic mistakes. Some show a lack of concern for others. None of the items on the list show sportsmanship.

While he alludes to Phillies owner Bill Cox being banned from baseball for betting on his team, that incident doesn't make the list. Pete Rose's being banned for betting on the Reds does make the list (number 7).

I might take issue with the order in which he put some of the items. Number one, for instance.

Commissioner Kenesaw Landis in 1942 announces there is no policy, official or otherwise, barring blacks from baseball.

The supporting story behind retells the story that Landis colluded with NL president Ford Frick to make sure Bill Veeck couldn't buy the Phillies and hire Negro League players in 1943, and helped direct the sale to Cox instead. While the story was accepted as gospel for years, there are enough questions to cause -- in my mind, at least -- doubt about it.

Frick, for instance, put down a protest by St. Louis Cardinals players regarding Jackie Robinson's playing. Also, Baseball Digest reports Cox was a thorn in the side of Frick, suggesting to me that Frick wouldn't have supported Cox if he hadn't been the highest bidder for the Phillies.

So, I'm not so sure about the accuracy of number one. My personal choice would be number 5: The Steroid Era.

This chapter of baseball's disgrace isn't complete. And the fact it's still going on suggests that steroids may be overlooked ... for certain players, at least. And to me, that's baseball's biggest disgrace.

Bet on baseball ... on your own team ... and be banned for life. Use drugs ... get in the Hall of Fame.

If that's not a disgrace, I don't know what is.

Related: Don Surber

Big Brothers, Big Sisters

2006-08-02T15:17:00.000-04:00

I got a call last week from Big Brothers Big Sisters asking me if I wanted free tickets to a game. I, of course, said yes.

You see, I have signed my children up under the Big Brother Big Sisters program. They were having a special night at the ball park (Joe Davis Stadium here in Huntsville) last week.

A good time was had by all and we won the game against the Birmingham Barons. It was a close and exciting game.

Huntsville Stars

Bat Bitch

2006-08-02T14:04:00.000-04:00

photo: Greensboro Grasshoppers

No, I'm not making a snide remark about anyone. But the Greensboro Grasshoppers of the South Atlantic League introduce a new kind of bat girl tonight when they host the Savannah Sand Gnats.

The nine-month-old bitch, named "Miss Babe Ruth," will debut at First Horizon Park this evening, but will see limited action. If all goes well, she'll be more and more involved in the action over the remainder of the season.

A now nine-month old Miss Babe Ruth will don a uniform, try to calm pre-game jitters and take the field for her first performance First Horizon Park. Though daily practices still continue, instructors believe she has what it takes to make a solid impact with the team, especially during the upcoming eight-game homestand.

“We are so excited for Babe to be in the game tonight,” said Grasshoppers President Donald Moore. “She has worked so hard and progressed extremely well for her age.”

No word on if umpires will now be allowed to have their seeing-eye dogs accompany them to the plate.

Seven Minor Leaguers Suspended

2006-08-01T22:00:00.000-04:00

Seven Minor League players were suspended today for drug violations. Five tested positive in the Venezuelan Summer League, while one Appalachian League and one Gulf Coast League player tested positive for drugs.

GCL Dodgers catcher Kengshill Pujols and Danville Braves catcher Cole Flowers tested positive for "a performance-enhancing substance." VSL Pirates pitchers Edison Barrios, Juan Casas, and Alfredo Reyes, VSL Tigers/Marlins catcher Alvaro Diaz (a Detroit player), and VSL Phillies outfielder Jesus Granado all failed drug tests for performance-enhancers.

All the players received 50-game suspensions, except Reyes, who was suspended for 100 games because it was his second positive test result.

Personally, I'm glad to see baseball coming down on players that violate drug policies. I'm just sad to see them coming down on Minor Leaguers and letting Barry Bonds continue to play.

Life isn't fair.

Welcome

2006-08-01T21:00:00.000-04:00

This is an experiment in group blogging. The idea is a blog for baseball fans. Not just to read, but to write.

We're looking for bloggers. Or for people that would like to be bloggers. As long as the topic is baseball.

The only thing to keep in mind is that baseball is a family sport. Sure, it's a business. But it's also an event that the whole family can enjoy. And enjoy cheaply, at the minor league level.

So, if you're a blogger -- or if you want to be -- and you want to blog about baseball, this is the place for you.