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Great performances, mainly from the pitchers, were the key to a 4-2 day for the farm affiliates.


Rochester 2 @ Syracuse 6

Robinson Diaz hit a 2 run homer off Kevin Slowey and drove in 4 runs in all to lead the Chiefs to a victory. Diaz' homer in the 2nd inning put the Chiefs on top, but the Red Wings came back and the game was tied at 2 runs apiece at the 7th inning stretch. In the bottom of the inning with one out, Diaz bunted for a base hit. A walk, an RBI single from Russ Adams and an error brought in 2 runs to put Josh Banks in position to win the game. Diaz then put the icing on the cake with a 2 run double in the eighth. Banks went 7 innings and allowed 2 earned runs on 9 hits and 1 walk with 5 strikeouts. Scott Sauerbuck worked the eighth and ninth for the save.

New Hampshire 5 @ Harrisburg 6, 11 innings

It was a barnburner in Harrisburg.  The Fisher Cats broke on top with 2 runs in the top of the second.  David Smith singled to open the inning.  Rob Cosby doubled him to third and Chip Cannon followed with an RBI single.  Aaron Mathews drove in Cosby with a ground out. The Senators came back over the middle innings and led 4-2 after 7 innings.  The Cats rallied in the top of the eighth for 3 runs to take the lead on a 2 run double from Sergio Santos and a Rob Cosby RBI single, but the Senators evened the score with a run off Seth Overbey in the bottom of the frame.  The game went into extras, with Dee Brown playing the hero for Harrisburg with a walk-off bases loaded single. Kurt Isenberg started for New Hampshire and went 4 innings, allowing 3 earned runs on 9 hits.

Dunedin 2 @ Fort Myers 1, 1st game
Dunedin 3 @ Fort Myers 1, 2nd game

In the opener, the D-Jays won behind fine pitching and a 3-hit performance from Chris Gutierrez. Robert Ray started and went 4 innings and allowed an unearned run on 5 hits and no walks, while striking out 6. Adrian Martin followed with 2 shutout innings of 1 hit ball, with no walks and 3 strikeouts. Conor Falkenbach earned the save with a scoreless final inning. The game was tied, going to the seventh. Jesus Gonzalez reached on an error, moved up on a ground ball and then scored the game-winner on Gutierrez' single. Earlier, Gutierrez had doubled twice and scored the first Dunedin run.

The Jays completed the sweep with 3 runs in the top of the sixth to make a winner of a deserving Brandon Magee.  Magee allowed an unearned run, on 3 hits and two walks with 6 strikeouts, in 5 innings of work.  Paul Phillips and newcomer Chad Blackwell (is he really 6'1", 145 lbs?) each threw a scoreless inning of relief.  In the key sixth inning, Anthony Hatch and Chris Gutierrez singled to open the frame.  Cory Patton and Eric Nielsen followed with walks to tie the game and leave the bases loaded for Josh Kreuzer.  Kreuzer capitalized with a 2 run single and the GWRBI.  Gutierrez went 2-3 to finish the night 5-6.

Cedar Rapids 5  @ Lansing 1

Reidier Gonzalez was the tough-luck loser for the Lugnuts yesterday afternoon.  The Lugs could muster only 6 hits in support of Gonzalez, and it was not enough.  Chris Emanuele tripled and singled, while Jonathan Jaspe doubled and scored the only 'Nut run.  Gonzalez went 5 innings, and allowed 2 earned runs on 7 hits and 1 walk, with 6 strikeouts.  Edward Estanga and Po-Hsuan Keng struggled in relief.  Travis Snider went 0-3 with a walk.

Jamestown 0 @ Auburn 6

The Doubledays respected and rewarded fine pitching with a 6 run 9 hit attack as they kicked out the Jammers.  Brett Cecil started and went 2 innings, allowing 1 hit, walking nobody and striking out 4.  Drew Taylor followed with 3 innings of 1 hit, no walk, 5K ball.  Ryan Bird followed their lead with 3 perfect innings including 4 strikeouts.  Javier Nieves finished up the shutout.  Now that's what I call pitching in a groove.  J.P. Arencibia and Wes Stone each had 2 hits and drove in a run  to lead the attack.

GCL Indians @ GCL Jays, suspended

3 stars

Lots and lots of good choices today.

3rd star- Brandon Magee
2nd star- Chris Gutierrez
1st star- Robinson Diaz



Jammin' with Cecil Taylor and Bird | 8 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
BigTimeRoyalsFan - Thursday, August 02 2007 @ 01:20 AM EDT (#172404) #
If Banks has a strong finish in August, I wonder if he has a real shot at the 5th spot in the rotation for next year. I know Janssen will get a chance too, but barring any outside aquisitions, there might be nobody better in house than Banks. I have never seen him pitch so this is purely speculative, but by just judging his stats I get the impression he is a Litsch-like pitcher - a kid who doesn't strike out many batters but also rarely walks them. The worst WHIP he has ever posted at a level in the minors was 1.28 upon his promotion to AA and that's still pretty low, and the 28 BB in a full season at AAA excites me. He does give up too many HR though. So what do I not know about him? Why, if he's been an effective pitcher for nearly 2 years now in AAA, has he never been brought up for even a spot start? I see no harm, if the team is out of it by September, in giving Towers' starts to Banks. We might as well give him 4-6 starts, like we have with Litsch, and see what we've got. That is assuming, of course, that Burnett remains out - or at least that he'll go down sometime in August, and by then it will be smarter to just shut him down for the season.
Mike Green - Thursday, August 02 2007 @ 12:48 PM EDT (#172444) #
By the way, while Cecil, Taylor and Bird are on the same Auburn staff, Cecil Taylor and Charlie Parker never played together as far as I can tell.  They did share an association with the drummer Max Roach.  Back to baseball.
Ron - Thursday, August 02 2007 @ 02:34 PM EDT (#172458) #
I'm hoping Josh Banks get called up if any of the 5 (Doc, AJ, Marcum, McGowan, Litsch) get injured. His ERA would look a lot better if you wipe out the 1 horrific start in May where he gave up 10 runs in 1 inning. I know he has been called a Josh Towers clone but I would like to see what he can in the Majors. This is already his 2nd season in AAA.
timpinder - Thursday, August 02 2007 @ 02:43 PM EDT (#172460) #
I don't know, I see Banks as the Jays' 8th starter right now behind Halladay, Burnett, Marcum, McGowan, Janssen, Litsch and Towers.  It might not be long until he slips behind Romero too, assuming Romero stays healthy.  I don't see Banks getting the call any time soon and I wouldn't be surprised to see him thrown into a trade this off-season either.
Mike Green - Thursday, August 02 2007 @ 02:56 PM EDT (#172467) #
For comparison purposes, here is Josh Towers' career line.  You'll notice the 1999 and 2000 statistics.  In 2000 in the IL, Towers was 23 and 1/2 (a year and half younger than Banks is now) and put up a significantly better K rate and similar W and HR rates than Banks is doing.  Banks may develop, but my view is that he is behind Towers at this point.  He was a closer in college, and may do better in the pen.
Ryan Day - Thursday, August 02 2007 @ 03:45 PM EDT (#172474) #

I was a Banks booster for the first few years, but he's got to find a way to keep the ball in the park. He gave up 35 homers last year, and will probably give up 25-30 this year. If AAA hitters can do that, I don't want to see what happens in the Dome.

I do recall someone saying he had a bit of Towers-itis - that he almost stubbornly insisted on throwing strikes and not walking anyone, which without great stuff is just a licence for good hitters to tee off.

I think Ricciardi mentioned making him a reliever at some point. But the Toronto relief corps is pretty crowded right now.

BulletJayFan - Thursday, August 02 2007 @ 05:04 PM EDT (#172478) #

Banks may well be the Jays 8th starter, but I think he may very well deserve a shot. He seems to have figured something out in his last few starts and if he can sustain this level of production, which may not be possible since three of his last four were against a rather punchless Rochester, he probably should get a look. If he has figured out AAA, there's no reason to keep him here. At the evry least he can be showcased. And as for his home run problem, there's a man named Schilling who one gave up 37 in a season and finished second in the Cy Young. Is Banks as good as Schilling? Absolutely not, but they both give up solo shots so they don't hurt as much, which should be taken into consideration at least somewhat.

On another note, Robinzon Diaz is the real deal. I know he doesn't seem to have much power, but that homer last night was a no doubter. And his arm is ridiculous. He can throw BBs from his knees. I don't think we've had a catcher this good in Syracuse since Adam Melhuse or Sandy Martinez. And he seems to work just fine with the pitchers, too, though I can't read minds. 

Mike Green - Friday, August 03 2007 @ 10:26 AM EDT (#172511) #
Here is the Auburn Citizen game story from Wednesday's game.  The Doubledays are 'backing off' on Cecil, but still planning to have him throw a couple of innings every 5 days, presumably because of the finger problem.



Jammin' with Cecil Taylor and Bird | 8 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.