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The teams whose cities begin with "L" get the "W's" Tuesday night.  Go figure!  The 51's get the big inning twice, the Lugnuts are on the right side of a split against their Tigers counterparts and a strange injury in Auburn sidelines the Doubledays best hitter in a 2-4 night for the affiliates.



Las Vegas 11 Salt Lake 6

Salt Lake City, UT -  The 51's went all haywire and gave the Bees the buzz to the tune of five runs in the fourth inning.  J.P. Arencibia took Bees starter Brad Knox to the school of hard knocks by clubbing a two-run homer to score a Brian Dopirak single.  Kevin Howard then doubled home an Aaron Matthews double and Kyle Phillips belted a two-run dong to give Vegas a 5-1 lead. 

David Purcey gave up the game's first run in the second inning on two walks and a single but he struck out the last two hitters to end the threat.  The big lefty gave up another run in the fifth on two singles, a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly and allowed another run in the sixth on a walk and a double after getting the first two men out.  Sean Stidfole was able to get the final out of the frame without any further damage.

Kyle Phillips connected for his second homer of the game to give Vegas a 6-3 advantage in the seventh but the Bees just wouldn't buzz off.  A double and two singles led to Salt Lake's fourth run and Stidfole's exit.  Bubbie Buzachero got all three outs in the seventh but not before he allowed a run to score on a walk and a sac fly.   Salt Lake would tie it in the seventh off Buzachero when Chris Pettit tripled and came in to score on a Howie Clark throwing error from second.

The 51's offence bailed out Buzachero with another five-run inning in the ninth.  The big blow was Buck Coats' bases-loaded double to give the good guys a 9-6 lead.  "Mighty/Voodoo" Joe "King of" Inglett capped off the scoring by going deep to score Bucky Badger.  That would be a better nickname for Coats if he was from Wisconsin but he's from Fort Benning, Georgia.  Oh well!  Lefty Bill Murphy finished up the game without incident in the ninth by striking out the final batter.

Purcey allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings on five hits and three walks but he did strike out five.  He threw 110 pitches and threw 66 of them for strikes and his ground out/fly out total was 3-11.   Every Vegas starter at the plate got on base at least once with Inglett getting three hits, Phillips had two homers and Dopirak put two in the hit column.

Harrisburg 4 New Hampshire 1

Manchester, NH - Did the Fisher Cats have a chance in this one when they had to face Howie Mandel, Erik Estrada and Buck Martinez?  Actually, it was Jeff, Jesse and Carlos respectively but they held New Hampshire to four hits, four walks and a hit batter.  Lefty Luis Perez gave up just one single in the first two innings but he ran into a bases-loaded jam in the third on a walk, a single and a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt by catcher Brian Jeroloman.  Though Scott Campbell cut down a runner at the plate from third base, Campbell could not make it two in a row on the next play as he had to settle for the out at first for the game's first run.  The Nationals affiliate tacked on two more runs in the fourth when Luke Montz took Perez deep for a two-run shot that scored a Chris Marrero walk.

New Hampshire scored their lone run in the half of the fourth when Nick Gorneault singled, went to second on a Darin Mastroianni bunt and was singled home by JerolomanJonathan Diaz reached on a throwing error at third and Todd Donovan drew a walk to load up the bases but Campbell grounded out to end the inning.

The Senators put together a two-out rally in the seventh for the game's final run.  Perez was pulled after walking Freddie Bynum and in came sidearmer Leon Boyd.  Bynum was able to run wild by stealing second and third base before scoring on a single.  Boyd saw that runner steal second by snaring a liner to the mound to end the inning.  He issued a leadoff walk in the eighth but got a double play ball to erase the runner.  Lefty Tim Collins went a perfect 1 1/3 innings and struck out two.

Perez lasted 6 2/3 innings and gave up four runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks while uncorking a wild pitch.  However, 13 of his 18 outs in play were recorded on the ground.  David Cooper and Brad Emaus were the only Fisher Cats to get on base twice as Cooper had a hit and a walk while Emaus doubled and took one for the team.

Tampa 7 Dunedin 4

Dunedin, FL - Moises Sierra put the D-Jays in flight with a sac fly to score a Brad McElroy leadoff walk in the first.  The Yankees fought back with single runs against Bobby Bell in the second and third but Dunedin regained the lead when Jonathan Jaspe singled home a run with the bases loaded and Kevin Ahrens followed with an RBI groundout.  Tampa tied it in the sixth when Bell got into a bases-loaded jam.  Tyler Pastornicky threw out a runner at the plate from short but the Yankees did get the tying run across with a run-scoring fly ball.  Dunedin took the lead again when Jaspe connected for a solo homer to give them a 4-3 lead.

Daniel DeLucia went through a pretty wild eighth inning as an error by Pastornicky, a walk and an intentional walk loaded up the bases before a 1-2-3 double play got the lefty out of the inning.  Alan Farina wasn't as lucky in the ninth when he issued a leadoff walk and surrendered the tying run on a double.  A two-base throwing error by Sierra in right led to the go-ahead run and Austin Romine chased Farina from the game with a two-run bomb.  Lefty Boomer Potts got the final out of the inning.  The D-Jays went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.

Bell lasted seven innings and gave up three runs on eight hits and no walks while striking out four.  He did throw a pair of wild pitches and his ground out/fly out total was 8-7.  Jaspe had the lone two-hit game for Dunedin while McElroy had a hit and a walk.

Lansing 4 West Michigan 3

Lansing, MI - This game was scoreless after three innings as West Michigan was unable to convert a double, a wild pitch and two walks against Chad Beck in the third.  In the fourth, the Tigers affiliate did break through for the game's first run with a single and a double. A Billy Nowlin homer in the sixth gave the Whitecaps a 2-0 lead after six.  Ryan Koch relieved Beck and worked a clean seventh and that's when the Lugnuts went nuts at the plate.  Justin McClanahan doubled and scampered all the way home after an A.J. Jimenez bunt single and a throwing error at second.  Chris Emanuele doubled home Jimenez and a Kenneth Wilson single to put the Lugnuts ahead 3-2 but he was cut down at third to kill the rally.  Koch worked a one-hit eighth and was in line for the win when he gave the ball to Yorman Mayora for the ninth.  However, the ball then went over the fence as Luis Salas homered to tie the game at 3-3.  

The Lugnuts were able to pull it out in the bottom of the ninth when Ryan Goins doubled home a Jimenez leadoff walk to make a winner of MayoraBeck yielded two runs on six hits and four walks over six innings and uncorked a wild pitch.  Just six of his 16 outs in play were on the ground.  Emanuele had three hits and stole his 20th base of the season.  McClanahan and Welinton Ramirez had two hits apiece and they combined for three stolen bases with Ramirez getting two of them.  Jimenez had a hit and a walk and Johermyn Chavez stole a base as Lansing was 5-for-5 in the stolen base department.

Williamsport 6 Auburn 2

Auburn, NY - It was not a good night for Scott Gracey and the Doubledays against the Phillies affiliate.  Sebastien Valle hit a two-run poke off Gracey in the first to give the Crosscutters a quick 2-0 lead.  The D-Days got one run back in their half of the first when Sean Ochinko singled home a Chris Hopkins double.  However, Ochinko had to leave the game when an errant pickoff throw from the pitcher hit him in the head.  Karim Turkamani had to take over on the basepaths and behind the plate.   Gracey gave up just one hit over the next two innings but he was burned again in the fourth by another two-run long ball by Valle to make it 4-1 Williamsport.

Josh Wells relieved Gracey in the sixth and worked a one-walk frame but he was nicked for a pair of runs in the seventh as a single, a walk, a double steal and a double did the damage.  Wells gave up a two-out single in the eighth before lefty Evan Teague came out of the pen.  Teague gave up a single and saw another runner get aboard on an error at short by Jimmy Gonzalez.  However, Anthony Hewitt got himself tagged out at third on a 3-5 putout to end the inning.  Teague worked a clean ninth to give the D-Days a chance to rally.  The best they could do a was a Lance Durham RBI single to score a Yan Gomes base knock.

Gracey gave up four runs on six hits but did average a strikeout an inning over five frames.  Five of his nine outs in play were worm killers but his record falls to 1-8 on the season.  Gomes, Durham and Brad Glenn had two-hit games for Auburn and Glenn also earned an assist by throwing out a runner at second.  Also of note, Kevin Nolan was ejected by the home plate umpire after he was called out on strikes.  Williamsport wound up striking out the side in the frame.  Nolan was replaced by Gonzalez at short.

GCL Tigers 1 GCL Blue Jays 0

Dunedin, FL - Dennis Tepera delivered four shutout innings in his outing.  He set down the side in order in the second and fourth but had to pitch his way out of trouble in the first and third.    He hit a batter in the first and allowed him to steal second before getting out of that jam and stranded runners at second and third in the third after two singles and a wild pitch. 

Ross Buckwalter relieved Tepera in the fifth and he gave up the lone run of the game on two singles and a productive ground ball out in between.  Lefty Leandro Mella struck out two in a one-hit sixth but a single, two wild pitches and a walk led to his exit with two outs in the sixth.  Despite allowing a stolen base, Felix Moreno got the final out of the frame without any runs scoring.  Moreno had an interesting eighth when he allowed two singles but he threw out a runner at third on a bunt attempt and got the next two men to keep the Tigers from scoring.  Shawn Griffith struck out one in a perfect ninth.

The G-Jays best chance to score was in the third when they loaded up the bases with one out but neither Jon Del Campo or Eric Thames could make contact as they both struck out.  Thames did single in the ninth but Nick Zaleski hit into a game-ending double play.  Thames, Gustavo Pierre, Michael Crouse and Gari Pena accounted for all the G-Jays hits, all singles, while Zaleski, Jack Murphy and Yudelmis Hernandez all drew walks.

 

*** 3 Stars!!! ***

3.  Jonathan Jaspe, Dunedin

2.  Chris Emanuele, Lansing

1.  Kyle Phillips, Las Vegas

 

Honourable Mentions - Joe Inglett, Buck Coats, David Purcey, Luis Perez, David Cooper, Brad Emaus, Bobby Bell, Welinton Ramirez, Justin McClanahan, Chad Beck, Dennis Tepera.

 

Extra Innings......

*  The New Hampshire Union Leader speaks with Nick Gorneault and has the game story on Tuesday's loss to Harrisburg.

*  The Auburn Citizen has the game story on Tuesday's loss to Williamsport.

Baseball America updates the transactions column.

 

 

Go Nuts For Lansing & Las Vegas | 21 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Mike Green - Wednesday, August 26 2009 @ 04:09 PM EDT (#205609) #
The BA transactions page indicates that Egan Smith was recalled by Auburn from the DL.  He was off to a nice start to his pro career, so hopefully the short stint on the DL is a good sign. 
FisherCat - Wednesday, August 26 2009 @ 04:10 PM EDT (#205610) #

A couple of items to mention:

I just noticed that apparently the 2008 season was the last for the Hawaiian Winter League.  This according to an article on mlb.com re: the AFL rosters.

Second item, I was in attendance for the Fisher Cats game last night and got my first glimpse of Bauxite favorite "Tiny" Tim Collins.  He is definitely small, but not much smaller than Edgar Estanga (in height anyways) and Daniel Fahquar.  He has a tremendously high leg kick from the wind-up and pretty sizable stride upon delivery.  My vantage point was from the 1B side stands, but from there he seemingly hides the ball very well, so it jumps on the hitters.  Of course his 92-94mph helps it get on the hitters quickly as well.  I also noticed a plus 12 to 6 curveball @ 74-78 that broke what seemed to be 10+ inches.  Very repeatable delivery from between 3/4 & over the top with no distinguisable difference between his off-speed delivery and his fastball delivery.

TamRa - Wednesday, August 26 2009 @ 05:18 PM EDT (#205613) #
Some statistial observations about seldom mentioned guys in the low minors, mostly 2009 draftees:

*37th rounder Shawn Griffith (age 22) is spanking GCL hitters (as a 22 year old should) with 38 Ks and 6 BBs in 24.1 IP - he hasn't given up a run in his last 10 apperances and only 2 overall. Still, he's a 22 year old reliever in the GCL so, ya know...

*#19 pick Dennis Tepera - 21 - who started out relieving and now has five starts is holding opposing hitters to a .150 BA, has a 1.72 ERA, and has 4 walks 19 hits and 42 IP in his 36.2 IP

*The above mentioned Egan Smith (7th round) had a 0.62 ERA at Auburn in six July starts before spending most of August on the DL - he's just 20

*11th round catcher Sean Ochinko, 21, has a .916 OPS in 42 games at Auburn. Again, understanding the context of age/level here, this kid might be worth watching. 


ayjackson - Wednesday, August 26 2009 @ 05:51 PM EDT (#205614) #
17-year old Dominican SS Gari Pena and 18 year-old Canadian CF Michael Crouse are both having productive Augusts for the GCL Jays.
85bluejay - Wednesday, August 26 2009 @ 06:07 PM EDT (#205616) #

Some statistical obsrvations about seldom mentioned guys in the low minors, mostly 2009 draftees:

Reminds me of the days of Justin Maureau, Chad Pleiness, James Vermilyea, Vito Chiaravalloti, etc.- remember how these collegians killed in rookie ball - whatever

happened to them? - Get ready for more fantastic statistics next year when we draft all those signable college seniors  with all those extra draft choices and

they beat up on those high schoolers.

bball12 - Wednesday, August 26 2009 @ 08:43 PM EDT (#205617) #
Here's a quick statistical observation.
Mastroianni now has 32 Stolen bases in about 230 AB's at AA
He had 32 Stolen Bases in Dunedin this year - in about 270 AB's in High A - before coming up to AA

What is even stranger is that his OBA at AA is a full 50 points lower than High A.
Just sort of weird that someone can steal bases at this clip in AA baseball.

The leader for SB's in AA baseball has 47 - in about 525 AB's

Sort of absurd running stats for this guy.

 

Denoit - Wednesday, August 26 2009 @ 08:44 PM EDT (#205618) #
ya Aaron Hill, Adam Lind, and Shaun Marcum are all awfull signable college players. Can't lump everyone into that category. There are alot of high profile high school guys who never make it.
Shane - Wednesday, August 26 2009 @ 10:10 PM EDT (#205620) #

Reminds me of the days of Justin Maureau, Chad Pleiness, James Vermilyea, Vito Chiaravalloti, etc.- remember how these collegians killed in rookie ball - whatever

Oh, don't forget Adam Peterson, Jordan De Jong, and Jason Perry (though I guess we're combining 02-03 here). Those were good times. Hinske, Josh Phelps, Felipe Lopez. kicking around too. Hope right around the corner.

whiterasta80 - Thursday, August 27 2009 @ 08:31 AM EDT (#205633) #
My memory of Lopez is that he came into the system very young, and that was one of the least signable players we had for a while (hence the big bonus). I could be wrong though.

I'm prepared to wait and see on the draft. I don't believe that the money is going to be there, but there's a chance it will. I actually agree with the notion of taking a hard line on some of these picks.
92-93 - Thursday, August 27 2009 @ 10:04 AM EDT (#205637) #
I don't know how anyone can agree with taking a hard line with these picks, actually think that's why the Jays did it (as opposed to just not having the money to sign these guys), and still think JP deserves to keep his job. The reported difference between what the Jays were willing to offer Paxton & Eliopolous and what they wanted was a total of $520,000. With another 25 PA Kevin Millar will have made $550,000 more than Randy Ruiz would have cost.
whiterasta80 - Thursday, August 27 2009 @ 11:02 AM EDT (#205640) #
Those are two separate things though 92.

Of course the notion of Millar playing an entire season is ridiculous, as was the notion of Mencherson last year. That was a collosal waste of money that could have been spent on the draft, or elsewhere (personally I would have put it towards Wells' salary).

However, you can simultaneously believez in putting Ruiz in place of Millar AND taking a hard stance on draft picks.

Personally I think that the Jays can improve future negotiating positions by demonstrating that they won't be pushed around. Sooner or later they'll get a kid who really wants to play ball, looks at their history of taking a hard stance, and tells Boras to shove it. In the meantime they keep getting compensated, and won't "pay the price" as long as they draft smart.

Again, I'm not sure that is what the Jays are doing (could be cheapness), but it is the only conceivable way that I can condone their draft this season.
92-93 - Thursday, August 27 2009 @ 11:15 AM EDT (#205642) #
Why do you HAVE to look for the apologist side? If it's more obvious that they just became a cheap team, isn't that more likely? Paxton is a big lefty who put up a 13.2 K/9 2.3 BB/9 as a junior, so he clearly has stuff, and all reports are that with a repeat senior year he can improve to Top 10 status where he can make in the 2.5m range, similar to Mike Minor this year. I simply don't see how people can paint Paxton with a rosy picture. Eliopolous I care much less about, his reports sounded less promising and more junkballing, Brad Mills-ish.
whiterasta80 - Thursday, August 27 2009 @ 12:07 PM EDT (#205644) #
Rest assured that I am not looking from an apologists side. I was merely pointing out that Millar isn't necessarily linked to the draft (and if they let him get those 25 PA's then they're idiots). At the moment I'm of the opinion that the Jays are going the cheap route (although I don't really blame Rogers). I reserve the rite to be wrong, but evidence certainly points to going cheap.

That said, I called before the draft for MLB teams to take a hard line on picks in an effort to cull the bonuses. I thought the compensation system was great (although I didn't realize comp picks only roll over once) and that if teams used it properly it would severely handcuff Boras. Now it is possible that MY team was the only one who did that. Its tough to completely fault them there, particularly if more MLB teams go that route next year. As with the overall cost cutting I will wait and see with the draft philosophy.

Re: this draft, I agree that Paxton is the only one we should be concerned about and I was personally furious when I heard about the 300,000 discrepancy. But at the same time I like pushing Boras back when we get compensation.
ramone - Thursday, August 27 2009 @ 12:52 PM EDT (#205646) #

Just a thought on the 2010 draft, is it possible that players who would normally be going for the large above slot bonuses will settle for less next year.  My reasoning behind this is that the collective bargaining agreement ends in 2010 and it's been stated almost league wide that the draft, specifically the slotting system must be fixed, for example fixed slot bonuses.  Perhaps a player who normally would demand a large above slot bonus might be wary of what's coming with the new collective bargaining agreement in 2011 and thus settle for less than they normally would have?  Perhaps this played into the Jay's lack of signings this year, for the record I still think it sucks, especially Paxton.

This is just a thought, feel free to point out some glaring piece of logic I may have missed here.

Mike Green - Thursday, August 27 2009 @ 01:39 PM EDT (#205647) #
I reserve the rite to be wrong

Me myself, I observe the rite to be wrong once per year.  No animals are harmed...
whiterasta80 - Thursday, August 27 2009 @ 02:13 PM EDT (#205648) #
Mike: LMAO I didn't even notice that, but I'll take some props for the rare homonym typo.

Randome,
I don't know if prospects are planning on being more "reasonable" in negotiations next year, but I would be perfectly happy rolling picks over into the 2011 draft based on that exact rationale. I think a leaguewide strategy of paying for performance rather than potential is a good thing.
92-93 - Thursday, August 27 2009 @ 02:15 PM EDT (#205649) #
So you liked the Frank Thomas signing?
whiterasta80 - Thursday, August 27 2009 @ 02:38 PM EDT (#205652) #
Not sure if that was directed at me, but I'm pretty sure that I hated the Thomas signing at the time. In the only FA signings I've really liked since Clemens were David Eckstein and Benji Molina. Coincidentally I think those were the only (non-bullpen) examples we've had of buying low in the JP Tenure.

Incidentally I can admit that I was wrong about Eck.

But I definitely believe that if we ignored veteran respect in favour of saving money in Thomas' case that we should do the same with Millar. "Doing right by Millar" doesn't do anything but waste money.


whiterasta80 - Thursday, August 27 2009 @ 02:56 PM EDT (#205653) #
Ah... regarding the performance-based pay: got it!

Well, we still paid more than he was worth which I don't like, but at least were able to escape that last year of his deal because of it. If we had put a similar clause in the Wells contract I think alot of us would sleep better at night.

Either way I didn't like the buy-high mentality on him.

Generally speaking, I feel that if JP is doing something in November/December its a bad idea that usually involves a knee-jerk reaction to something (signing Ryan, extending Wells, signing Thomas, trading Lopez for Arnold, releasing Carpenter). But if its closer to spring training (Glaus/Rolen, signing Eckstein, Peterson for Hildebrand, Hudson for Glaus, signing Benji, extending Halladay) or during the season (this year's Rolen trade, Hildebrand for Accardo...)then I like it a bit more.

Actually the more that I look at his history Rogers should just cut off his phone from September-January.
John Northey - Friday, August 28 2009 @ 10:28 AM EDT (#205669) #
Heh.  Maybe just don't let JP know the budget until February each year :)

Many of his big splash deals were signing free agents for what they were worth based on market value (I give him a mulligan on Wells due to upper management at the time, just like I don't blame Ash for the out clause in Clemens contract or compliment him for getting Clemens).  IMO, for a team like the Jays, signing guys at market value should be avoided as much as possible.  Enjoy the first 6 seasons (arbitration is traditionally cheaper than free agency) and if you can get a deal ala Hill's or Halladay's (below market value) then do it.  If you have a team with one or two obvious holes costing the team big time (ala the 1992/1993 teams needing DH's thus Winfield & Molitor signed along with one more starting pitcher each year) then sign someone, but otherwise do your best to use the bargain bin and kids.

You need to have a few star quality guys on your team to win - Halladay, Hill, maybe Lind & Snider qualify.  You also need lots of filler for injuries ala the 1000 kids who started this year.  You need guys you can count on to fill in ala Tallet.  You need to find gems in the rough ala Richmond.  And even that can come up short, but at least you have a shot.  We need a couple more star quality guys (ie: guys who get to an AS game or two in their careers) to emerge, or for the staff to put it all together even more so than last year in 2010 (potential is there with Halladay/Romero/Marcum/Cecil/Richmond/Rzep/etc.). 

The last statement was brought to you by optimists international :)

Richard S.S. - Friday, August 28 2009 @ 01:29 PM EDT (#205674) #
Drafting College players, you allow 2-4 years (Stars: 1-2) to qualify to stay at the Major League level, while with High School players, you allow 4-6 years (Stars: 2-3) to qualify to stay.  Some leeway must be given for injuries, but beyond this, what you see is what you get.  Steady progress is usually the determining factor.  I think our kids should be evaluated on this basis.  Does anyone disagree?
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