Yesterday afternoon after work, Gerry and I enjoyed beverages, conversation and Blue Jays at a local pub. As you might imagine, minor league matters came up more than once. Gerry posed the question: who is the Blue Jays third best prospect after Snider and Thigpen? We both threw out names and ended up throwing up our hands. We also discussed the mid-season prospect poll, and agreed that 2007 draftees should be eligible. Auburn's season starts on Tuesday, and so you can expect a poll about 2 weeks after that. I will probably use the poll results to choose the players for the Friday summaries.
The minor league affiliates went 1-3 on the evening.
Syracuse, scheduled day off
Akron 9 @ New Hampshire 6
The Fisher Cats coughed up a lead late to end up on the short side of a seesaw affair. The Aeros jumped ahead with 3 runs in the first off Jesse Litsch, two of which were unearned. The Cats tied the game when the first four batters of the fourth inning hit for the cycle, with Aaron Mathews' 2 run homer the big blow. The Aeros jumped back ahead on Michael Aubrey's 2 run shot in the fifth inning, but single runs in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings put the Cats back into the lead entering the ninth. Jean Machi came into the game as the Cats' closer, taking over the role with the promotion of Game Over Gronk, and gave up a single, two walks and a double, and that was that. Litsch went 6 innings, and allowed 5 runs, 3 earned on 6 hits and 2 walks with 3 strikeouts. Jesse Carlson pitched two hitless innings to set the stage for the ninth inning letdown. Mathews had 3 hits in 5 trips, while Ryan Patterson and Dustin Majewski had two apiece.
Clearwater 3 @ Dunedin 9, 1st game
Clearwater 2 @ Dunedin 1, 2nd game
A. J. Wideman continued his fine pitching in the opener, and Anthony Hatch supplied the punch as the D-Jays won a laugher. Wideman gave up 3 earned runs on 5 hits and 3 walks in 5.1 innings. He struck out 5. Hatch hit a 2 run shot in the 2nd inning, and Carlo Cota went back-to-back. Hatch drove in a run with a groundout in the 3rd, and then had a solo blast in the 4th inning. The D-Jays scored runs in each of the first five innings, and banged out 13 hits, including two by Hatch, Cota, Nielsen, Patton, Kreuzer and Gonzalez.
In the nightcap, Aaron Tressler pitched well enough but gave up 2 runs in the fifth inning and the D-Jay offence could manage only one. The Threshers catcher Orlando (Che?) Guevara hit a two out, two run double, and then tried to score from second on a Greg Golson single, but Cory Patton threw him out at the plate. Guevara took the brunt of the collision of catchers with David Corrente and left due to injury. Inspired, the D-Jays first three hitters in the bottom of the frame singled, but a Cory Patton DP with runners on the corners, one out and a run in, spelled the end of that threat. Eric Nielsen went 2-2 with a walk.
Lansing 3 @ Great Lakes 7
The Lugnuts faced hot prospect Clayton Kershaw and came up empty, as Kershaw spun a 7 inning two-hitter with 8 strikeouts. Meanwhile Graham Godfrey was touched for 4 earned runs, on 9 hits and 3 walks, in 5 innings. The Lugs scored three in the ninth to make the score respectable. Travis Snider singled, doubled, struck out twice and was picked off. Big City Metropoulos and Sean Shoffit also had two base knocks for the 'Nuts.
Three stars
3rd star- Aaron Mathews
2nd star- Eric Nielsen
1st star- Anthony Hatch
The story of the day. When Vinny Chulk came on, I commented that his eyebrows seemed to be thicker than I remembered. Later, we were discussing performance enhancers and Gerry pointed out that HGH was of questionable effectiveness because it seemed to affect all parts of the body equally. Gerry pointed to the bone above the eye to illustrate his point. "Vinny?", I joked.
The minor league affiliates went 1-3 on the evening.
Syracuse, scheduled day off
Akron 9 @ New Hampshire 6
The Fisher Cats coughed up a lead late to end up on the short side of a seesaw affair. The Aeros jumped ahead with 3 runs in the first off Jesse Litsch, two of which were unearned. The Cats tied the game when the first four batters of the fourth inning hit for the cycle, with Aaron Mathews' 2 run homer the big blow. The Aeros jumped back ahead on Michael Aubrey's 2 run shot in the fifth inning, but single runs in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings put the Cats back into the lead entering the ninth. Jean Machi came into the game as the Cats' closer, taking over the role with the promotion of Game Over Gronk, and gave up a single, two walks and a double, and that was that. Litsch went 6 innings, and allowed 5 runs, 3 earned on 6 hits and 2 walks with 3 strikeouts. Jesse Carlson pitched two hitless innings to set the stage for the ninth inning letdown. Mathews had 3 hits in 5 trips, while Ryan Patterson and Dustin Majewski had two apiece.
Clearwater 3 @ Dunedin 9, 1st game
Clearwater 2 @ Dunedin 1, 2nd game
A. J. Wideman continued his fine pitching in the opener, and Anthony Hatch supplied the punch as the D-Jays won a laugher. Wideman gave up 3 earned runs on 5 hits and 3 walks in 5.1 innings. He struck out 5. Hatch hit a 2 run shot in the 2nd inning, and Carlo Cota went back-to-back. Hatch drove in a run with a groundout in the 3rd, and then had a solo blast in the 4th inning. The D-Jays scored runs in each of the first five innings, and banged out 13 hits, including two by Hatch, Cota, Nielsen, Patton, Kreuzer and Gonzalez.
In the nightcap, Aaron Tressler pitched well enough but gave up 2 runs in the fifth inning and the D-Jay offence could manage only one. The Threshers catcher Orlando (Che?) Guevara hit a two out, two run double, and then tried to score from second on a Greg Golson single, but Cory Patton threw him out at the plate. Guevara took the brunt of the collision of catchers with David Corrente and left due to injury. Inspired, the D-Jays first three hitters in the bottom of the frame singled, but a Cory Patton DP with runners on the corners, one out and a run in, spelled the end of that threat. Eric Nielsen went 2-2 with a walk.
Lansing 3 @ Great Lakes 7
The Lugnuts faced hot prospect Clayton Kershaw and came up empty, as Kershaw spun a 7 inning two-hitter with 8 strikeouts. Meanwhile Graham Godfrey was touched for 4 earned runs, on 9 hits and 3 walks, in 5 innings. The Lugs scored three in the ninth to make the score respectable. Travis Snider singled, doubled, struck out twice and was picked off. Big City Metropoulos and Sean Shoffit also had two base knocks for the 'Nuts.
Three stars
3rd star- Aaron Mathews
2nd star- Eric Nielsen
1st star- Anthony Hatch
The story of the day. When Vinny Chulk came on, I commented that his eyebrows seemed to be thicker than I remembered. Later, we were discussing performance enhancers and Gerry pointed out that HGH was of questionable effectiveness because it seemed to affect all parts of the body equally. Gerry pointed to the bone above the eye to illustrate his point. "Vinny?", I joked.
