A Bad Day at the Ballpark

With all the great bloggage in Blue Jays Land, I've been confining myself to writing about the minor league system, which offered much more joy than could be found anywhere within the vicinity of the Toronto Blue Jays and Rogers Centre today.

But, since I am a Jays fan, and living in Toronto for the time being, I'm availing myself of the opportunity to go see the big league team whenever I can.  Today, as a part of a wedding gift to a couple of my baseball loving friends (one of whom is a gigantic Red Sox fan*), we headed down to the Rogers Center to watch R.A. Dickey work his magic.

Unfortunately, the game was an utter disaster and offered some ugly glimpses of many, many things, aside from the on-field egg that every team lays on occasion.

Things I learned (on-field edition):

1) Dickey is prone to bad days.  It's going to happen.  He will be awesome on occasion, too.
2) Dave Bush hasn't pitched in the big leagues since 2011 for a reason.  He gave up 4 HRs.  Is he going to end up going back to AAA?  He can opt to refuse the assignment, but I have a feeling that he's not sticking around after that performance today.
3) This team REALLY misses Brett Lawrie.  If only for his defense. And the fact that those metal cutouts that Charlie Sheen pitches to in Major League can hit better than DeRosa.
4) Without Bautista, Rasmus, Lawrie, and Lind, the lineup is pretty gosh darn thin.  I can understand the effort to get right-handed hitters into the lineup against a tough lefty like John Lester, but make sure those righties can hit.  No, spring training stats don't count anymore.
5) Carrying 8 relievers is stupid, especially when Lawrie and Bautista are hurt (Don't worry, Andy LaRoche should already be on the QEW from Buffalo - he's hit 3 HRs in the last 2 days ... and he can play 3B).
6) Brett Cecil is becoming a monster in his resurrection.  He finished the game, taking over for the shell-shocked Bush and got four outs (three by strikeout) and only giving up one walk.  So far this year, he's thrown 3 innings, given up one hit, two walks and has struck out eight batters.

Things I learned (off-field edition):

1) Toronto fans in the 500 level are mostly dumb people who think that buying a ticket gives them permission to get drunk on expensive beer and scream or talk really loudly (saying incredibly stupid things) and do other disruptive things like throw paper airplanes onto the field.
2) Toronto fans like to entertain themselves and others by disrupting a major league baseball game by running on the field.  At least one of the two was actually entertaining today.  He surprised the guards, made a very nice slide popup slide into second base, then sprinted for the center field fence, outrunning several security guards.  He actually managed to leap and grab the top of the fence, trying to pull himself up and over it before getting hauled down by security.  I think he was trying out for the team.  At least he can slide without injuring his hand, or getting hit in the head by a fielder.  The other guy who ran onto the field was tackled hard pretty quickly and just made an idiot of himself by resisting and actually having to be dragged off the field.
3) Toronto fans are too quick to boo their own players.  I saw an explanation on Twitter saying that they boo the moment, not the player.  It's still very discomforting to see how quickly the fans turn on these guys.  They're not TRYING to suck.  A caller on Jays Talk (click on the blue words to listen to the Jays Talk show) was trying to compare the right to boo with the right to complain when your internet or phone service doesn't work.  I'm sorry Mr. "The Customer is Always Right," but your phone service people aren't competing to get your calls through against other, equally talented phone service people trying to stop them!  Applaud the effort people, live with the result.  It's a long season.

If I wasn't there with friends, I probably would have not enjoyed the experience at all.  I do have to say that even in the 500 level around first base, I felt like the seats weren't so bad.  I miss the dome being open and being able to feel as if you're in an open air stadium.  With the roof closed, the place seems really dark and cavernous.  I just hope that the overall experience improves as the weather warms up (and so does the team).

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* This friend, from Saskatchewan originally, didn't follow baseball until she moved to Boston where we met at music school there.  Incidentally, I actually lived across the street from Fenway Park for a year but was strong enough to resist the brain washing of the evil Red Sox Nation.

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April 7 Minor League Report

Buffalo Bisons (3-1)

The Bisons took their first loss of the season to the Rochester Red Wings, falling 14-5.  Newly promoted Tyson Brummett struggled to throw strikes as he walked three batters to go along with the three hits he surrendered while throwing 38 pitches to get only one out, a strikeout.  Although the defense didn’t help, making two errors, the pitching staff still gave up twelve earned runs on the day, making the shoddy plays in the field a bit of a moot point.  Four of the Bisons’ five runs came on solo HRs, with two by on-fire DH Andy Laroche as well as the first of the season each for 3B Eugenio Velez and 2B Jim Negrych.

Hitting:

Mike McCoy – 1/5, RBI

Anthony Gose – 0/5, OF Assist

Moises Sierra – 2/4, K

Luis Jimenez – 0/4

Andy Laroche – 2/3, 2 R, 2 HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB

Josh Thole – 1/4, K, E

Eugenio Velez – 1/4, R, HR, RBI, K

Jim Negrych – 2/3, 2 R, 2B, HR, RBI, BB

Ryan Goins – 1/4, K, E

Pitching:

Tyson Brummett – L, 1/3 IP, 3 H, 5 R (4 ER), 3 BB, 1 K

Bobby Korecky – 2 1/3 IP, 8 H, 5 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR

Mickey Storey – 2 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR

Brad Lincoln – 2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR

Juan Perez – 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K

Blue Jays from Away Player of the Game: Andy Laroche (2)

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (2-2)

The Fisher Cats squared up their series against the Reading Fightin’ Phils with a 6-5 victory on Sunday.  The batters showed a great deal of patience with the Reading pitching staff, taking ten walks on the afternoon including six off their starter, #10 ranked Phillies prospect Austin Wright.  The hero of the day was 2B John Tolisano, who hit a one-out triple in the bottom of the eighth and was driven home by a Kevin Pillar single to break the tie.  Starting pitcher Clint Everts got roughed up a little bit today, giving up two home runs and four runs in his four innings, but the bullpen gave up only a single run off of a solo shot off Matt Wright (in an otherwise excellent 3  1/3 innings of work).

Hitting:

Kenny Wilson – 0/5, 2 K

Kevin Pillar – 1/4, R, RBI, BB, SB

Sean Ochinko – 1/2, RBI, 3 BB, SB, CS

Clint Robinson – 0/2, R, 3 BB

Brad Glenn – 1/3, RBI,

Kevin Nolan – 0/3, R, RBI, BB, K

Brian Van Kirk – 0/4, K

John Tolisano – 2/4, 2 R, 3B, HR, 2 RBI

Kevin Ahrens – 1/2, R, BB, K

Pitching:

Clint Everts – 4 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 2 HR

Matt Wright – 3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 HR

Joel Carreno – W, 2/3 IP, 2 K

Chad Beck – S, 1 IP, 3 K

Blue Jays from Away Player of the Game: John Tolisano

Dunedin Blue Jays (3-1)

The D-Jays got more great pitching and a bunch of runs (mostly in the fourth and fifth innings) to beat the Clearwater Threshers for the third time in four games 6-1.  Starter Efrain Nieves went five scoreless innings, giving up only three hits and a walk while striking out three to lead the way for the Jays.  The hits kept coming on offense as every starter except for Oliver Dominguez got at least a base hit, contributing to the eleven total hits for the team.  Speedsters Jon Berti , Jonathan Jones, and Andy Burns had their way on the base paths against the Fightin' Phils, stealing a total of five bases between them.  Matt Newman had the hot bat, going two for three with two doubles and a walk as well as an outfield assist.

Hitting:

Jon Berti  - 1/4, R, BB, 2 K, SB

Oliver Dominguez – 0/4, RBI, 2 K

Andy Burns – 2/3, R, RBI, BB, 2 SB

Gabe Jacobo – 1/4, BB

Kevin Patterson – 1/5, R, RBI, K

Marcus Knecht – 1/5, R, 2B, RBI, 2 K

Matt Newman – 2/3, R, 2 2B, RBI, BB, K, OF Assist

Derrick Chung – 1/4, K

Jonathan Jones – 2/4, R, RBI, 2 SB

Pitching

Efrain Nieves – W, 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K

Marco Grifantini – 3 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR

Blake McFarland – 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K

Blue Jays from Away Player of the Game: Matt Newman

Lansing Lugnuts (3-1)

The Lansing Lugnuts put another hurt on the Lake County Captains by getting another fantastic performance from their starter, winning 7-1.  This time it was 18-year-old Roberto Osuna, the youngest player on a full-season roster, stepping up and shutting down the Captains by putting together a Full-Season A debut performance that was reminiscent of his Short-Season A debut last season with Vancouver.  Going 5 innings, he gave up only 2 hits (one of them a solo HR) and no walks to go with his 8 strikeouts, effectively stifling the opposition.  Today’s run given up by Osuna was actually the ONLY run given up by any of the four starting pitchers in the Lugnuts series with Lake County.  19-year-old lefty Daniel Norris goes tomorrow.  Osuna got plenty of run support, especially in the form of the long-ball with both Balbino Fuenmayor and Carlos Ramirez going deep.  Gustavo Pierre also had a big day at the plate, going three for five with two doubles.

Hitting:

Ronald Melendez – 0/4, R, BB, CS

Gustavo Pierre – 3/5, 2 R, 2 2B, RBI, K, CS

Christian Lopes – 1/5

Balbino Fuenmayor –2/4, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB

Chris Hawkins – 0/4, K

Santiago Nessy – 1/3, BB

Kellen Sweeney – 2/4, R

Carlos Ramirez – 1/2, R, HR, RBI, BB, K

Jorge Flores – 1/4, R RBI, K

Pitching:

Roberto Osuna – W, 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K, 1 HR

Ben White – 3 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K

Matt Johnson – 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB

Blue Jays from Away Player of the Game:  Roberto Osuna

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April 7 Minor League Starters: A Preview

Note:  Since I'm heading down to the Jays game in Toronto, I'll be posting this a little earlier than I might have otherwise.  At the present time, I'm waiting for the Buffalo Bisons and the Dunedin Blue Jays to tweet their starting pitchers.

Buffalo Bisons: RHP Tyson Brummett

Tyson Brummett. Photo: Brad Mills, US PRESSWIRE

A late announcement as the starting pitcher for the Bisons, Brummett was called up from New Hampshire to fill in after Dave Bush, the original starter, was called up to the Blue Jays.  Brummett, a 7th round draft pick in 2007, was claimed off waivers by the Jays this offseason and the 28 year old is no stranger to AAA.  He has pitched at that level off and on since 2009 when he was with the Phillies' organization.  He had his best minor league year in 2012, mostly with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs of the International League (Phillies AAA team).  Throwing 72 innings mostly out of the bullpen, he had a 3.63 ERA, 1.306 WHIP, 65 strikeouts and 27 walks.

New Hampshire Fisher Cats: RHP Ryan Tepera

Ryan Tepera. Photo: Kevin Hill/milb.com

Ryan Tepera is a 25 year old 19^th round pick from the 2009 draft out of Sam Houston University in Huntsville, Texas.  Ryan’s had a steady climb up through the Jays’ system since making his debut in the Gulf Coast League in 2009.  He started 22 games in Lansing in 2010, 23 in Dunedin in 2011, and 20 between Dunedin and New Hampshire in 2012.  Tepera has never had an outstanding or dominating season and is not considered a strikeout pitcher.  It will interesting  to see how he reacts in his second go around in the Eastern League.

Dunedin Blue Jays: LHP Efrain Nieves

Efrain Nieves.  Photo: sulekha.com/AP

Nieves, 23, was selected by the Blue Jays in the minor league portion of the 2012 Rule V draft from the Detroit Tigers.  He has bounced up and down in the low minors since being selected in the 2007 Amateur Draft out of Puerto Rico, and Nieves returns to the Florida State League this season with the D-Jays for the first time since 2011.  He has had average numbers throughout his minor league career, except for last year, where he had a 2.79 ERA and a 0.857 WHIP in Short Season A Connecticut.  We'll see how he does now that he's back in the FSL.

Lansing Lugnuts: RHP Roberto Osuna

Roberto Osuna. Photo: Jenifer Howson

18 year old Roberto Osuna may have a baby face, but he pitches like a man.  The consensus #2 prospect for the Blue Jays, he was signed as an international free agent out of Mexico where he pitched among men in the Mexican League and held his own in 2011.  In 2012, he came to the US as a 17 year old and the 6’2”, 230 lb youngster absolutely dominated both the Appalachian League and the Northwest league, combining for 43 2/3 innings with a 2.27 ERA, 1.076 WHIP and a 10.1 K/9 ratio.  He makes his first full-season A start today to close out the 4-game series against the Lake County Captains.

April 6 Minor League Report

Buffalo Bisons (3-0)

The Bisons improve their record to a perfect 3-0 with a resounding 9- 2 victory over the Rochester Red Wings at home at Coca-Cola Field.  With great hitting and team speed, only two Bisons failed to get hits today while Andy LaRoche had a 4 for 6 day with a stolen base and a 2 run HR in the 3^rd inning.  Also of note were 2B Eugenio Velez who went 3 for 6 with a stolen base and Munenori Kawasaki who went 2 for 3 with two walks while scoring twice and driving in a run.  All five of the Bison pitchers had great days, although starter Claudio Vargas struggled with his control in his four innings.  Anthony Gose did not have a good day on the bases, getting caught stealing and picked off.

Hitting:

Eugenio Velez – 3/6, R, SB

Anthony Gose – 1/4, RBI, BB, K, CS, PO

Moises Sierra – 2/5, R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K, E

Luis Jimenez – 2/4, 2 R, 2 BB, K

Andy Laroche – 4/6, 3 R, HR, 3 RBI

Josh Thole – 2/5, RBI

Ryan Langerhans – 0/4, BB, 2 K

Adam Loewen – 0/3, 2 BB

Munenori Kawasaki – 2/3, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, K

Pitching:

Claudio Vargas – 4 IP, 3 H, 1 R (all runs are earned unless indicated), 5 BB, 4 K

Buddy Carlyle – 1 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R (unearned), 3 BB

Bobby Korecky – W, 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 K

Alex Burnett – 1 IP 1 BB

Alex Hinshaw – 1 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K

Blue Jays from Away Player of the Game: Andy Laroche

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (1-2)

The New Hampshire Fisher Cats took their second loss of the season, falling 10-3 to the Reading Fightin’ Phils on Saturday.  All of the pitchers had rough days but weren’t able to rely on their defense, who committed five errors resulting in three of the ten runs being unearned.  Distinguishing themselves with the bats were 3B Ryan Schimpf who went deep with his second HR of the year and Kenny Wilson and Kevin Pillar had multi-hit days, and making nuisances of themselves on the basepaths.

Hitting:

Kenny Wilson – 2/5, R, 2B, K, SB, E

Kevin Pillar – 4/5, R, 2 SB, E, OF Assist

Ryan Schimpf – 1/3, R, HR, 3 RBI, BB, K, E

Clint Robinson – 1/4, BB, 2 K

Ricardo Nanita – 0/5, 3 K

Brian Van Kirk – 1/5, 2 K

John Tolisano – 0/2, 2 BB

Jack Murphy – 0/4, 2 K

Amadeo Zazueta – 0/4

Pitching:

Deck McGuire – L, 4 2/3 IP, 6 H, 4 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 7 K

Tommy Hottovy – 1 1/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R (2 ER)

Trystan Magnuson – 2 IP, 1 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 K

Chad Beck – 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 K

Blue Jays from Away Player of the Game: Kevin Pillar

Dunedin Blue Jays (2-1)

The D-Jays took their first loss of the season, falling 7-3 to the Clearwater Threshers on Saturday.  The game was started by #1 prospect Aaron Sanchez who showed off his power arm by hitting 97 at least twice in the 1^st inning, and 98 in the third.  He was also throwing a 90 mph pitch which the announcers called a “changeup” and a curve, getting four strikeouts on the day.  The Threshers went 9 up, 9 down to start the game but became more patient in their second time through the order, eventually tagging Sanchez for 3 runs on 3 hits and one walk in five innings of work.  To be honest, from what I heard on the radio broadcast, there was probably one or two balls that could have been played (despite not being scored as an error) and Sanchez could have gotten out of the three run fourth inning with less damage.

On offense, the batters could only manage 3 runs on 10 hits, getting all three runs off starter Ethan Stewart. 

Hitting:

Jon Berti – 2/5, RBI, 2K, CS

Peter Mooney – 0/3, BB, HBP

Andy Burns – 1/5

Gabe Jacobo – 1/5, 2B

Marcus Knecht –1/3, BB, K

Michael Crouse –0/2, R, 2 BB, K, SB

Oliver Dominguez – 2/3, R, 3B, RBI, BB, K

Aaron Munoz – 1/3, 2 K

Jonathan Jones – 2/4, R, 2B, RBI

Pitching

Aaron Sanchez – 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K

Dustin Antolin – 2 IP, 4 K

Shawn Griffith – L, 1/3 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 BB,

Tony Davis – 1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K

Blue Jays from Away Player of the Game: Dustin Antolin

Lansing Lugnuts (2-1)

The Lugnuts beat up on a pair of Lake County Captains pitchers to come out on top of an 8-1 victory on Saturday.  21-year-old lefty Alonzo Gonzalez, making his first start above rookie ball, continued the trend of fantastic starting pitching for the Lugnuts by going 6 shutout innings, giving up only 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6.  The offense was clicking in an interesting way.  While Jorge Flores was the only starter who failed to get a base hit, he also was the only starter who didn’t strike out, as the team compiled 13 hits (including 4 doubles) and 16 strikeouts.

Hitting:

Dalton Pompey – 1/5, 2 R, 2B, 4 K

Gustavo Pierre – 2/5, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K, E

Christian Lopes – 1/5, R, 2 K

Balbino Fuenmayor – 2/5, R, 2 RBI, 3 K

Chris Hawkins – 2/5, 2B, K

Carlos Ramirez – 2/5, R, 2B, K

Kellen Sweeney – 1/4, RBI, BB, 2 K

Seth Conner – 2/4, R, RBI, K

Jorge Flores – 0/3, RBI, BB

Pitching:

Alonzo Gonzalez – W, 6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K

Griffin Murphy – 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R (unearned)

Ian Kadish – 1 IP, 2 K

Andrew Sikula – 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K

Blue Jays from Away Player of the Game: Alonzo Gonzalez

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April 6 Minor League Starters: A Preview

Today's slate of minor league games features some interesting pitchers starting for the Jays' affiliates.  They range from a veteran with extensive major league experience to the Jays' #1 prospect.

Photo: Victor Perez

Buffalo Bisons: RHP Claudio Vargas

Vargas is a 34 year old Dominican who made his major league debut 10 years ago with the Montreal Expos.    Since then, he's bounced around, playing for the Expos, Nationals, Diamondbacks, Brewers, Mets, and Dodgers.  And that's only in the majors.  He last appeared in the big leagues in 2010 putting up pretty bad numbers with the Brewers (19 2/3 innings, 7.32 ERA, 1.932 WHIP, 18 K, 10 BB).  Since then, he's had a couple of decent seasons playing for the Brewers' AAA team in 2011 and in the Mexican League last year.

Photo: Mike Ashmore

New Hampshire Fisher Cats: RHP Deck McGuire

McGuire, as many of you already know, was the Blue Jays first round pick (11th overall) in 2010 draft, coming out of the Georgia Institute of Technology.  The 23 year old shot through the minors in his first season (2011) pitching extremely well for most of the year in Dunedin (A-Adv.) - a 2.75 ERA in 104 2/3 innings with a 1.213 WHIP and 102 Ks -- and also having solid numbers in a 20 inning call up to New Hampshire.  

Unfortunately, last season, things took a turn for the worse for Deck.  He spent the entire season in AA, throwing 144 innings and putting up a 5.88 ERA, a 1.556 WHIP and had his K% drop from around 24% (rough estimate of the 2 levels) to 15.1%.  I'm hoping that he was having a Ricky Romero-esque minor league year that would force him to learn and make adjustments.  Talking to a couple of scouts and writers in Spring Training, however, my faith in Deck is a bit shaken, but at least today, he gets a chance to begin to turn things around.

Dunedin Blue Jays: RHP Aaron Sanchez

Sanchez, 20, is another 1st round pick from 2010 but came out of Barstow HS in California.  He is the Jays consensus #1 prospect and most prospect nerds have him ranked in the top 50 in the minor leagues.  The Jays have been bringing him along slowly, spending 2010 and 2011 in short season ball, and piggybacking in 2012 in Lansing.  His numbers really started to improve last year, when he gave up only 64 hits in 90 1/3 innings to go with a great 2.49 ERA and an good 1.273 WHIP.  He also struck out 97 batters for a 25.7% strikeout rate.  

While scouts drool over his electric high-90s fastball and solidly developing curve and change, it's his control that keeps his numbers from being jaw-droppingly good.  Sanchez walked 51 batters last season, and that could be a problem moving forward.  However, I saw an interview with Sanchez on Prime Time Sports on Rogers Sportsnet where he talked about how difficult it has been mastering his pitches as he's added velocity on his fastball every few months.  He and the Jays' staff think that as his velocity stabilizes, the command of the fastball will come.  I predict that we'll see Sanchez throwing a lot of fastballs in his first outing looking for that command.  

Hopefully we'll get some action photos of Alonzo this year.

Lansing Lugnuts: LHP Alonzo Gonzalez 

Gonzalez is a 21 year old who came out of Glendale Community College in California in the 18th round of last year's draft.  I'm actually a little surprised to see Gonzo (as I'm sure some of his teammates call him) pitching in Lansing this year, considering that his pro debut last season didn't set the world on fire.  He did have two excellent starts to close the year in Bluefield, but I expected to see Gonzalez in Vancouver this year.  By starting him in Lansing, the Jays get a chance to see what they have in this 6'5" lefty early in the season.  

Some think that he should be able to add velocity (he's listed at only 200 lbs to go with his tall lanky frame) but as it stands, he only throws in the high 80s although I didn't see him throw in Spring Training so I couldn't get an idea of where his velocity is right now.  Jared McDonald of Jaysprospects.com wrote in September that he thinks Gonzalez's changeup is a solid out pitch while his curveball wasn't used much.  As a lefty, he'll need to develop that curveball into a pitch he can trust going forward.

April 5 Minor League Report

Buffalo Bisons (2-0)

The Bisons came up with win #2, beating the Rochester Red Wings 3-2 built on solid performances from Ramon Ortiz, Anthony Gose and Luis Jimenez.  Gose had 2 more hits and scored 2 runs while Jimenez hit the only extra-base-hit for the Bisons on Friday with his second HR in as many days.

On the mound Ortiz was very good, while Mickey Storey was a story of his own, throwing 2 1/3 shutout innings, giving up only 1 hit and walking 1 while striking out 3.  Storey looked really good in major league camp with the Blue Jays this spring, and although he's about the 9th or 10th bullpen option for the Jays, he looks like he can get guys out at the major league level too.

Batting:

Mike McCoy - 0/3, 2 K

Anthony Gose - 2/4, 2 R

Moises Sierra - 1/3

Luis Jimenez - 1/4, R, 2 RBI, HR

Andy Laroche - 0/4

Ryan Langerhans - 2/4, K

Mike Nickeas - 1/3, K

Jim Negrych - 1/2

Ryan Goins - 0/3, K

Pitching:

Ramon Ortiz - 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R (all runs are earned unless indicated), 2 BB, 7 K, 2 HR

Mickey Storey - 2 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K

Alex Hinshaw - 2/3 IP

Neil Wagner - 1 IP, 2 K

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (1-1)

The Cats ran into the Phillies #1 prospect (ranked by MLB.com), pitcher Jesse Biddle on Friday and it seriously ruined their mojo, taking a 6-1 loss.  Biddle held the Fisher Cats to only two hits, and the offense could only get another two off relievers Jay Johnson and Hector Neris (who struck out 5 in his two innings).  Clint Robinson’s Fisher Cat career is off to a rousing start as he went 2 for 4, while SS Kevin Nolan had the only extra base hit on the night.  On the mound, Marcus Walden was fighting it tonight, giving up 8 hits in his 4 1/3 innings, but only two runs.  The rest came off of Randy Boone.  Joel Carreno (a veteran with MLB experience) shut things down for the final two innings, keeping the Fightin’ Phils off the bases and striking out three.

Batting:

Kenny Wilson – 0/4, 4 K

Kevin Pillar – 0/4, K

Ryan Schimpf – 0/3, BB, 2K

Clint Robinson – 2/4, K

Ricardo Nanita – 0/4, K

Kevin Nolan – 1/4, R, 2B, K

Brad Glenn – 0/3

Sean Ochinko – 1/3, RBI

John Tolisano – 0/2, BB, 2 K

Pitching:

Marcus Walden – 4 1/3 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K

Randy Boone – 2 2/3 IP, 6 H, 4R, 0 BB, 1 K

Joel Carreno – 2 IP, 3 K

Dunedin Blue Jays (2-0)

The Dunedin Jays brought their pitching arms today, and while it took them until the 10^th inning to get any runs, they finally got things done, winning 2-0 over the Clearwater Threshers with a Marcus Knecht RBI single, and a Marcus Crouse RBI double.  On the mound, returning Dunedin Blue Jay, 25-year-old Scott Copeland brought his A-game, throwing 7 innings of shutout ball, while the bullpen kept the Threshers off the scoreboard. 

Batting:

Jon Berti – 1/3, BB, SB

Peter Mooney – 1/3, BB, E

Andy Burns – 0/4, K

Gabe Jacobo – 1/4, R, K

Kevin Patterson – 0/3, R, BB, 3 K

Marcus Knecht – 1/4, RBI, K

Michael Crouse – 1/4, 2B, RBI, 2 K

Derrick Chung – 0/4, 2 K

Jonathan Jones – 0/4, 2 K

Pitching

Scott Copeland – 7 IP, 3 H, 0R, 1 BB, 5 K

Scott Gracey – W, 2 IP, 1 K

Ajay Meyer – S, 1 IP, 1 K

Lansing Lugnuts (1-1)

The Lugnuts rebounded from a tough loss Thursday with a 5-3 victory over the Cleveland affiliate Lake County Captains.  Getting another strong night from their starter, this time, it was Taylor Cole, who teamed with Javier Avendano last season in Vancouver to lead the team to championship.  Can they do it again this year?  On the offensive side, Christian Lopes, Santiago “Loch” Nessy and Emilio Guerrero led the way, combining for 6 of the team’s 8 hits.

Batting:

Dalton Pompey – 1/4, R, K, SB

Gustavo Pierre – 0/4, 2 K, E

Christian Lopes – 3/3, R, RBI, BB

Balbino Fuenmayor – 1/4, K

Kellen Sweeney – 0/3, R, BB, 2K

Santiago Nessy – 1/4, 2B, R, 2 RBI

Carlos Ramirez – 0/4, R, SB

Emilio Guerrero – 2/4, 2 RBI

Ronald Melendez – 0/4, 3K

Pitching:

Taylor Cole – W, 6 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 7 K

Matt Johnson – 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R (unearned), 1 K

Tucker Donahue – 1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, K

Chuck Ghysels – S, 1 IP, 1  H,1R (unearned), 2 BB, 1 K

Kaboom! Thoughts on Game 3

This won't be a full summary of the game yesterday since I devoted my energies to writing up the minor league reports this morning. 

It was definitely exciting to see the bats come out.  Last night a few Jays got off the schneid, and while for some I have a feeling that the success is fleeting, for others it's reassuring and a sign of continued excellence.

Jose Bautista

GIF: Gamereax.com

Jose's blast in the first is a continued sign that his wrist is healthy and that he's back to being one of the game's most feared sluggers.  That swing is awesome (but I think the GIF is from Wednesday's bomb).

J.P. Arencibia

Arencibia is one of streakiest hitters on the club.  While 2 homer games aren't really unusual for him, it doesn't mean that he's going to hit 50 this season and that he's magically discovered the key to being an improved major league hitter.  Numbers thus far are irrelevant so I won't point to his season stats.  I do like the fact that he seems to be more patient this season, but again, it's too early to actually point to statistical evidence with any sort of confidence

Colby Rasmus

Colby's HR is nice, but I'm still not convinced that he's going to get on a roll.  He's 1 for 11 with a walk and four strikeouts this season so there's really no evidence to show that he's improved.  I'd love to see Colby put it together and have even a good season (.250/.310/.410) because Gose isn't ready yet (despite his great game yesterday) and I think we're going to have to keep Colby around for the season.

Edwin Encarnacion

GIF: Gamereax.com

No, I wasn't forgetting EE.  His 3 run blast, complete with chicken wing celebration (as he rounds first base, see above) gave the Jays some breathing room yesterday.  From what I've seen from him in the WBC, Spring Training, and early this season, I'm not sure that he's completely right yet.  Granted, he has been nursing an injury, but so far, I've seen a lot less monstrous power from Encarnacion than I did last year.  A lot of balls that he hit well seemed to go for doubles, not home runs, and the HR yesterday (while hit hard) barely cleared the wall.  I'm not sold on Edwin being able to reproduce last season's HR totals but I can't wait for him to show me.