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Casey Janssen gets the call to The Show today, which means he's significantly more happy than Delmon Young. Syracuse had the day off, NH and Dunedin bored the hell out of me, but Lansing makes up for it.


New Hampshire 2 @ Harrisburg 7

There is absolutely nothing to say about the Fisher Cats in this game. So let's look at the winning pitcher, Shawn Hill. 6 innings, no runs, four K's and just three hits. He'll turn 25 in two days, so dominating the Eastern League like he has isn't that impressive. But, as a loyal Canadian, I am obligated to point out his birthplace of Mississauga. Not only that, he went to Bishop Reding in Georgetown, a school which I am familiar with, but only to the extent that they had a bad Reach For The Top team in the 2004-2005 school year. Certainly nothing like Oakville-Trafalgar -- as Jerry Howarth would say, "Whoa, baby!"

Ahem. Yes, baseball. The Vito Award for Coolest Name In The Boxscore goes to Jesus Feliciano, an outfielder for Harrisburg.

Dunedin 10 @ Tampa 4

It's always nice to beat the Yankees. Ron Davenport went 4-for-6 with a solo homer and two other RBIs on a double in the second. Speaking of the second, check this out: double, walk, walk, triple, single, single, double, single. That was it right there; Big Bang Theory strikes again. Ryan Patterson and Anthony Hatch both had three-hit nights; the former raising his average to .299. If it's not at .378 very soon, I'll be disappointed in him. Sort of. Everyone in the lineup got a hit, except the catcher...who walked three times.

Give Brad Mumma a pat on the back for four strikeouts and just one hit in two innings. Oh, and no walks were issued by the D-Jays' pitching staff, which strikes me as rare.

Vito Award Winner: Gerardo Casadiego, who gave up runs 9 and 10.

Cedar Rapids 2 @ Lansing 4 (13)

Thank you, Luke Hetherington. An exciting finish for the Lugnuts, as Hetherington homered in the bottom of the 13th, but to share that and not the rest of the inning would be madness. Consider: Cory Patton singled and got picked off first base. The next batter grounded out, and suddenly the game looks like it will be 14 or more. Never fear, Brian Pettway is in the area! He doubled and Hetherington brought the house down.

Until then, A.J. Wideman (another Mississaugan) and Robert Mosebach kept the offenses at bay through six. Even though Po-Hsuan Keng's blown save in the seventh wasn't really fair, he wasn't pitching like the Keng of 2006 last night. Four hits, a hit batter and a walk facing 13 batters -- a .462 OBP is uncharacteristic for him. Anyway, Yesson Berroa and The Other Joey McLaughlin both went two, striking out three with one hit allowed, but McLaughlin was lucky enough to do it when his team scored to get him the win.

Vito Award Winner: Flint Wipke.

Three Star Selection:
3. Ryan Patterson
2. Ron Davenport
1. Luke Hetherington
One Exciting Win, One Boring Win, One Stinker | 18 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Mike Green - Thursday, April 27 2006 @ 09:35 AM EDT (#145906) #

Minor league notes from nowhere:

  • Paul Phillips, on learning of Edward Rodriguez' suspension, expressed surprise: "he's a beanpole, man"
  • Kevin Gray describes the Fisher Cat road trip as their worst ever, and who can argue?
  • Jesus Feliciano must sing softly and carry a big stick
Mike D - Thursday, April 27 2006 @ 11:31 AM EDT (#145933) #

Flint Wipke is a superb name.  Hope to see you at The Show, Flint.

Far be it for me to play Chicken Little, but good heavens, what's going on the Fisher Cats bats?  Hitting instructor Gary Cathcart is just not getting through to his charges -- Adam Lind leads the team with a .316 (!) OBP after 19 games. 

Mike Green - Thursday, April 27 2006 @ 11:43 AM EDT (#145935) #

The Fisher Cat bats are indeed sleeping.  The same thing happened last year.  Miguel Negron went from Ken Huckaby to Albert Pujols as if switched on like a light in June.  On the other hand, Ismael Ramirez has an ERA of about 1.5. 

Lind, Cannon and Thigpen will start to hit once the sunshine and warmth arrives.  Now that I think about it, Cannon started off very slowly in Lansing last year and went ballistic beginning in mid-late May. There are some hitters, like Harold Baines, who are like that.

Mike Green - Thursday, April 27 2006 @ 02:45 PM EDT (#145952) #

The Sky Chiefs are facing CC Sabathia on a rehab assignment and a loaded Buffalo club in an afternoon tilt at Dunn Tire Park.  They trail 4-2 after 4 and 1/2. Rosario started and gave up a 2 run homer and run-scoring double to Lou Merloni (hey, I told you the Bisons were loaded).  Shaun Marcum is on in relief.

The Bisons have Franklin Gutierrez, Ryan Garko, Andy Marte, Jason Dubois and Jake Gautreau in the lineup. Hot prospects past and present. 

Incidentally, Sabathia is 6'7", 300 lbs. and likes to drive a Mercedes 560, apparently; yet his nickname is Dub, instead of the obvious CC Rider.

Magpie - Thursday, April 27 2006 @ 07:06 PM EDT (#145963) #
Is that a Reach veteran I spot on the Box?

I myself am a Reach for the Top veteran, two years in a row, back when I was a wee teenager. That was a different century, a different milennium, and quite possibly an entirely different epoch in the planet's history, of course...
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