Print this articleMemo to Frank Boulton and Miles Wolff,
In the spirit of trying to help out, there may be a relatively easy solution to the dilemma you face in the Atlantic League (Boulton is Founder) and the Can-Am League (Wolff is Commissioner).
The suggestion, which I would not be shocked is in your collective minds already, is to help you out of the bind whereby Ottawa is without ownership in the Can-Am League and Bridgeport, CT is lagging behind everyone else on a success basis in the Atlantic League.
Here we go.
If Richmond does not find a replacement for its longtime Triple-A franchise from within the affiliated ranks, move Bridgeport to the Virginia city (and give the Atlantic League another major market). Then, move Ottawa into Bridgeport.
These moves solve several problems, not the least of which would have either or both leagues end up with an odd number of teams in 2009, forcing resurrection of one or two travel teams.
We know the Atlantic covets Richmond, given all the confirmed reports that Peter Kirk, who owns nearly half the Independent circuit already, has been working the scene for some time. His proposal, which would preferably include a new stadium, includes building the Brooks Robinson Life-Skills Center to benefit after-school activities as well as hosting indoor sports events beyond the ballpark's outfield fence to generate added revenue.
Even if the Atlantic League cannot stay in the market long term, it will have provided a quality location until Louden County, VA or West Chester, PA or the Meadowlands of NY is ready, and Boulton and his Past Time Partners, LLC, who are in the midst of taking over the under-capitalized Bridgeport franchise, will not have to fight to re-build the Bluefish into a financially success franchise under the burden of a 140-game season. It is appearing all the more likely this battle is a stiff one no matter who operates, especially given the less-than-agreeable evening temperatures in Connecticut in April and May and the fact school does not end until the latter part of June.
On the other hand, Bridgeport should do nicely in the Can-Am League, where each team hosts only 45 games or so instead of 70 and the budget is much, much smaller. A break-even or better result is likely for Boulton or whoever ends up running the Bluefish.
The Can-Am League would like to hold onto Ottawa, which averaged an okay 2,200 in its first post-Triple-A season, but unless strong new ownership shows up soon Wolff and Company may have to give it up. Ottawa still could be viable at some time down the road as a companion to Quebec and Montreal, if the latter can ever be developed.
So, both leagues would have their immediate franchise issues behind them. It seems a win-win.
Now wasn't that easy.
Bob Wirz, author of the Independent Baseball Insider and www.IndyBaseballChatter.com
It appears the United League is slowly coming back to life after weeks of speculation that its third season may have been its last.
CEO Brad Wendt went public on the subject earlier this week, and even if the John Bryant-Byron Pierce lawsuit is playing a role in keeping it going we are once again seeing team press releases and player signings, which would seem to be decent indicators.
DETROIT LATEST TO GET ACTIVE
Perhaps it is the economy and maybe it is the mere recognition of the talent. Regardless, more major league organizations seem to be focusing increased attention on the Independent leagues.
Count Detroit as among those more active. The Tigers only had six of the 243 players who showed up on our master roster--an average of 8.1 per organization--until recently. But all of a sudden Detroit has reached into the American Association twice and the Can-Am and United Leagues once in recent weeks. Three pitchers and an outfielder for your at-home scoreboard.
By the way, we soon plan to post all of the recent signings on this blog.
BRIDGEPORT BLUEFISH NOW IN HANDS OF FRANK BOULTON
A screaming headline in today's Connecticut Post informed readers the hometown Bridgeport Bluefish are getting new ownership with Past Time Partners, LLC, led by Atlantic League Founder Frank Boulton, taking over.
Boulton, who also owns the Long Island (NY) Ducks in the eight-team league, told the newspaper the other owners have approved the deal and that the new group will pay off the nearly $250,000 overdue in rent as soon as the city okays the sale.
Indications are the team will stay in Connecticut although it is well documented that another Atlantic League owner, Peter Kirk, has been working toward placing a franchise in Richmond, VA which Atlanta has just vacated as home of its longtime Triple-A franchise.
BASEBALL AMERICA SPREADS AWARDS AROUND
I do not profess to know whether Baseball America is merely trying to be fair to everyone in Independent Baseball, but the magazine's announcement of its All-Independent teams and its list of top Indy players not yet signed by major league organizations is very balanced.
Four leagues (Atlantic, Can-Am, Frontier, Golden) each placed three players on the 14-player first All-Independent unit. The Northern League and American Association had one player apiece with the United and Continental shut out. The Atlantic edged out the Frontier, six players to five, when the second team was included, but six of the eight leagues had at least three players apiece.
Seth Loman, an outfielder-first baseman at St. George, UT (Golden League), is Baseball America's top choice among players still without a major league organizational contract. Mike LaLuna, a hard-throwing righthander discovered in a tryout camp, had that honor, but his contract has been purchased by Detroit. BB-A had three United League players in its top ten unsigned (including LaLuna), with the American Association, Atlantic League and Golden League with two apiece. Some players were in more than one league this season.
When I featured onetime relief ace Sparky Lyle in yesterday's subscriber-only Independent Baseball Insider column space would not allow the luxury of getting into everything we discussed, including the Somerset (NJ) Patriots manager's thoughts regarding the major league chances of anyone off the 2008 Atlantic League championship team.
Lyle should know something about this subject since four former Patriots were in the big time at season's end, including backup catcher Michel Hernandez now in the American League Division Series with Tampa Bay.
His top pick to have a chance is third baseman Brandon Larson, the Atlantic League Championship Series MVP when he hit .458 with three homers and seven runs batted in.
Wait 'til you read Lyle's praise.
"A pure hitter" to start with, he said of the right-handed batsman out of LSU who hit .304 this season with 95 RBI and 30 home runs. And, Larson is "the best defensive third baseman in the league". Not just now, but in the Atlantic League's 11 years, Lyle believes.
The odds against Larson getting back to the majors, where he has played 109 games over a span of a few years with Cincinnati, may seem a bit odd at age 32, but who am I to argue with the Somerset boss, who has won four championships and seen 10 of his Patriots players reach the majors.
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Chalk up one more for the Somerset (NJ) Patriots.
Travis Anderson's walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning Monday night lifted Sparky Lyle's gang to its fourth Atlantic League title, and officially ended the Independent Baseball season.
This corner's attention immediately shifted to the major league postseason, and to which Independent players might be on the 25-man rosters.
In other words, lots of news and thoughts, as always.
POSTSEASON ROSTERS
I had thought reliever Mark DiFelice might have a chance of being among the chosen 25 at Milwaukee, especially since Manager Dale Sveum had used the right-hander in some key spots down the stretch. It was not to be, we learned late Tuesday, but DiFelice, who pitched for both Somerset and its Atlantic League championship series opponent Camden, NJ in his Indy days, will stay with the Brewers which means there always is a chance he could be activated for later in October.
If anyone spots the 32-year-old during the Division Series against the Phillies it will be pre-game or in the stands since only six players not active will be allowed on the bench. Milwaukee identified its sextet, mostly veteran players. For the record, DiFelice finished with the fourth best earned run average on the Brewers' staff, posting a 2.84 ERA and winning the only decision of his first year in the majors. Four walks and 20 strikeouts in 19 innings (17 hits) look pretty good on the resume for next season.
THREE OR FOUR EXPECTED TO BE ON ROSTERS
All the details will not be known until Wednesday because some teams have that long to make a decision, but it would appear either three or four players with actual Independent playing experience will be active for the Division Series.
Milwaukee has catcher Mike Rivera (Atlantic City, NJ), who hit .306 during the season but seldom plays because of backing up durable Jason Kendall. It does not help his case of pinch-hitting since the Brewers only carry two catchers. Chris Coste (Fargo, ND, Northern League, plus the defunct Prairie and North Central Leagues) has a similar role with Philadelphia although his chances of playing or coming off the bench are much better since Carlos Ruiz's bat is not his strong suit. Outfielder J. D. Drew (St. Paul, MN) appears likely to be ready to play for Boston (barring any late recurrence of his injuries), and lefty Craig Breslow (New Jersey Jackals) will be in his usual situational role in the Minnesota bullpen, if the Twins outlast the Chicago White Sox in their one-game playoff.
A few of the other players who finished the season with playoff-bound teams may be invited to stay around, as DiFelice is doing.
SOMERSET PREVAILS IN '01, '03, '05, '08
We intend to get deeper into Somerset's success in this week's subscriber-only Independent Baseball Insider, but it is no secret Newark, NJ is the only other team to grab even more than one Atlantic League title in the 11 seasons the league has been around. Newark has won twice. The Patriots' legend grows with its fourth championship, all in this decade. Third baseman Brandon Larson was named MVP of the final series, won in four games by Somerset.
GRIMES' HOT SEASON PAYS OFF WITH METS DEAL
Outfielder Scott Grimes of Worcester, MA, who took Player of the Year honors in the Can-Am League, has been rewarded for his .365-21-57 season and a league-record 87 runs by signing with the New York Mets' organization. His is one of several signings we have seen already in the early days since the various Independent league playoffs have finished. There will be more to come.
What a perfect example we saw last night (Thursday) of the value of Independent leagues to major league teams.
The New York Mets would not be tied for the National League wild-card and only one game behind Philadelphia for the NL East title without the feats of Robinson Cancel.
Cancel has gone to Independent Baseball on three separate occasions when his catching career stalled in affiliated leagues. He spent all of 2003 in the Atlantic League (Somerset, NJ for 69 games and the traveling Road Warriors for 19). He returned to Somerset for a brief time the next year, then was in the United League (Edinburg, TX) for all of 2006 before he found a new home with the Mets organization.
Now, fast forward to last night when the struggling Mets had to replace regular catcher Brian Schneider (sore back) only 90 minutes before the crucial game against the Cubs, who had dealt them a crushing 9-6, 10-inning defeat a day earlier. Enter Cancel, generally considered the No. 3 backstop.
With New York suddenly facing a 6-3 deficit in the bottom of the seventh, the 32-year-old Cancel, who only had 15 games of major league experience prior to this season, led off with a line double to left-center, and came around to score.
Still down by two in the bottom of the eighth, the Mets rallied to make it 6-5. It is the stocky Cancel's turn again, and this time he delivers a line single to right on a 1-2 pitch to tie the game. The Mets won in the bottom of the ninth, 7-6.
"Yesterday's loss was a big loss," Cancel told The Associated Press. "But today we tried to regroup." He played a major role, which might well pay off again if the Mets make the postseason and they find room on their 25-man roster for this guy with all of the Indy experience.
Another Indy grad, Minnesota lefty Craig Breslow (New Jersey Jackals, Little Falls), continued to show his worth last night, as well. He needed only 13 pitches to set down the rival Chicago White Sox in the eighth inning, keeping the Twins only two runs behind. Minnesota got those runs back in the bottom of the eighth, won in the 10th and now sit one-half game atop the American League Central standings.
Breslow now sports a nifty 1.93 earned run average.
The New Jersey-based teams of Camden and Somerset have at least a couple of things in common and one that is anything but similar as they prepare to square off for the Atlantic League championship starting Friday night.
Atop the similarity list, at least to this typist, is the fact they have the greatest number of their former players in the major leagues of any Independent Baseball club. Both have four big-leaguers, which is a pretty heady accomplishment.
Somerset's quartet all are in the heat of postseason consideration, too. The two teams both lay claim to Milwaukee hurler Mark DiFelice. The Patriots also have pitcher Brandon Knight and catcher Robinson Cancel with the New York Mets and backstop Michel Hernandez with Tampa Bay. Camden's contingent includes Arizona shortstop Stephen Drew, whose team is on life support today, reliever Alberto Castillo at Baltimore and we give the RiverSharks credit for Angels pitcher Jered Weaver although he really only trained with but did not play in Camden.
Another similarity is the way the teams dispatched of Long Island, NY (Camden) and York, PA (Somerset) in two quick games apiece in the first round of the playoffs.
Digressing from the subject for a moment, I must say that with a 140-game regular season a mere three-game playoff seems insufficient. If anyone wants to officially debate this issue it could well start at the desk of Atlantic League Founder Frank Boulton, who also owns the quickly-dispatched Long Island Ducks.
For those of you scratching your head over the area where Somerset and Camden are miles apart entering the best-of-five finals which start in Camden it is as simple as this. Somerset has won three of the 10 previous Atlantic League titles, all under current Manager Sparky Lyle, while Camden is trying to get to the throne room for the very first time.
Independent Baseball is down to just one league still with its playoffs to be determined, but don't get the idea the opportunities of following some of the best players from the non-affiliated ranks has gone away. That candle continues to burn brightly this week, and there will be a few people to check out every day well into October.
Now that Windy City (Crestwood, IL) has picked off its second consecutive Frontier League crown, the full attention of Indy teams falls to the Atlantic League. Camden, NJ will be at Long Island, NY and Somerset, NJ at York, PA to open the best-of-three series in the Liberty and Freedom Divisions, respectively, Tuesday night. The best-of-five finals will open Friday at either Camden or Long Islnad.
We are tracking those among the 26 former Independent players now wearing major league uniforms who will could get into the postseason, and will have much more to say on that subject in the coming days in this space or in our regular Independent Baseball Insider column to subscribers each Thursday.
In the interim, three hurlers among the big-league contingent have been getting this corner's attention. They are doing quite well, thank you, even though the glut of sports may not get them on Sports Center as much as they deserve. They are quite evident when we dig into the fine print of the newspapers.
Arizona's Max Scherzer is the likeliest of the trio to make it to Sports Center or Baseball Tonight because his work has bordered on exceptional even though the 24-year-old University of Missouri product still is looking for his first major league victory.
You think I'm overstating it? In three September starts for the Diamondbacks, this onetime Fort Worth (TX) Cats star right-hander has struck out 28 National League hitters in just 16 innings. That three-game sample projects out to 15.75 K's every nine innings. Scherzer has surrendered 14 hits and five walks while being charged with seven runs (3.94), a little above the 3.52 ERA he has for his 15 major league appearances.
Hold your breath that the D-Backs give him some support in what almost certainly will be one more regular season start so he might get to 1-3 before all of the postseason pairings are known by Sunday night.
Scott Richmond, another righty who started in Independent Baseball (Edmonton, Alberta, in the Northern League before the CrackerCats transferred to the Golden League in '08) shot through Toronto's farm system in less than a year (he only signed last November 20), and already has four major league starts. It seems an understatement to say the Blue Jays are impressed with the 29-year-old. His last start came yesterday (Sunday) with the Red Sox still trying to nail down a postseason berth.
Richmond was not overwhelmed, though his record fell to 0-3 (5.14) as the World Champs managed three runs and five hits against him in five innings. One was a two-run David Ortiz homer, and Toronto got only three hits off Daisuke Matsuzaka (18-2) and two relievers the entire afternoon in the 3-0 Boston win.
How highly does that speak of Richmond's three years of seasoning in Edmonton, where he was a combined 4-10 virtually all in relief for two seasons and a 10-9, 4.26 starter last summer.
The third hurler making some career progress at age 32 is Mark DiFelice, now with the NL wild-card-chasing Milwaukee Brewers. After toiling 10 seasons exclusively in the minor leagues, including half of 2005 at Somerset and all of 2006 at Camden (yes, two of the Atlantic League playoff teams mentioned above), DiFelice got into six major league games in June. More impressively, he has been called on four times in September, and not just to mop up. Point in case came Saturday, a devastating 4-3 loss to Cincinnati.
Trailing 4-2 with one out in the bottom of the eighth, Richmond was summoned. He promptly fanned Jolbert Cabrera, gave up a single, then got the final out of the inning to keep Milwaukee within striking distance.
It would not be a total shock to see DiFelice on the postseason roster, if the Brewers can get there. What a jump it would be from the Northern League to the NL postseason in less than one calendar year.
It appears the Atlantic League will be thrust squarely into the middle of the suddenly blazing National League East race Wednesday night. Pretty good for Independent Baseball, right?
New York Mets Manager Jerry Manuel says either Nelson Figueroa or Brandon Knight will get the ball that night to face the Washington Nationals. Both have pitched in the Atlantic League, with Knight at Somerset, NJ all of last year (12-5, 4.03) and earlier this season (0-2, 2.56 in six starts). Figueroa spent a little time with the Long Island (NY) Ducks in 2006.
MAJOR LEAGUERS GET LATEST INDY LEAGUE TITLES
How is this for big names on the major league stage winning Independent Baseball titles?
Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter, who has made it well known he would like to be a big-league manager, got to celebrate the Golden League championship this season when his Orange County Flyers pushed across two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning of the deciding fifth game for a 10-9 victory over Calgary. The Flyers are based in Fullerton, CA, which just happens to be Carter's former hometown.
And Hal Lanier, the 1986 Manager of the Year in the National League for leading Houston to a 96-66 record, took Sussex (Augusta, NJ) from worst-to-first in the Can-Am League. Lanier, a longtime fixture in the Northern League, brought the Skyhawks from a slow start this season to a 3-0 sweep of Quebec in the Can-Am Championship Series. Sussex won 6 of 7 in the playoffs with Matt Weston's three homers, 10 RBI and a .333 average leading the way.
Some excellent photos of Sussex's championship run can be found at http://www.njherald.com/.
Jermy Acey, who hit .374 with 21 homers and a league-record 97 RBI during the regular season, was a standout for Orange County with four homers, 12 runs batted in and a .357 average for the entire playoffs although this reporter cannot help but wonder what would have happened to this series if Darryl Brinkley had stayed with Calgary. The 39-year-old hit .399 for the Vipers one year ago and .351 with 60 RBI this season, but his last game was August 28. He joined Bridgeport, CT of the Atlantic League in early September (while Calgary was still playing), where he has been a part-time outfielder, hitting .250 (6-for-24) with two RBI.
WEATHER WOES IN MIDWEST
The Kansas City (KS) T-Bones and defending champion Gary, IN are scheduled to get their Northern League championship series, which stands at a game apiece, back on track in Gary Monday night. The teams have not played since Wednesday. In the Frontier League, three consecutive postponements have continued to push the start of the Windy City (Crestwood, IL) vs. Kalamazoo, MI finals back. The new start date in Kalamazoo is Tuesday evening.
WE JUMPED THE GUN
We apparently jumped the gun by saying International League Pitcher of the Year Charlie Zink was back with the parent Boston Red Sox, even though we saw it on a MLB transaction list. It must have been one of those "recalled, not to report" transactions since the knuckleball hurler remains on Boston's 40-man roster. That puts the total of former Independent players in the majors at 26, including disabled Luke Hochevar (Kansas City).
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My, how quickly things change.
No more had I written in my subscriber-only Independent Baseball Insider Thursday that Atlantic League Player-of-the-Month (August) Michael Woods had led off games with a home run for Lancaster seven times since July 25 when, wouldn't you know, he did it again that night to help keep the Barnstormers within four games of Freedom Division-leading York.
It was Woods's 28th birthday, too.
The two Pennsylvania rivals separated by less than an hour have a really neat day coming up Saturday, September 20. They will play a doubleheader with the day game (12:07) in York and the night contest (7:05) at Lancaster.
Every fan with ticket stubs from both games will receive free a limited-edition t-shirt commemorating the event although the supply is not unlimited. One of those fans also will win $1,000.
The games could decide the second-half title, too, with the regular season ending the next day in Lancaster.
TWO MORE INDY ORIGINALS BACK IN MAJORS
We also wrote yesterday at some length about 25 former Independent players being in the major leagues for the September stretch drive, with many of them on contending teams.
Add two more just 24 hours later, and both of these right-handed pitchers started their career in Indy leagues. San Diego picked up reliever Scott Patterson off waivers from the Yankees, for whom he had gotten into his first--and only--major league game June 1. Patterson was expected to be in uniform Friday night when the Padres host San Francisco.
Boston brought knuckleball hurler Charlie Zink, the International League Pitcher-of-the-Year, back up from Triple-A Pawtucket, RI. Zink had made his major league debut with a start on August 12.
Patterson spent considerable time with both the Gateway Grizzlies (Sauget, IL) in the Frontier League and Lancaster and Zink started out at Yuma, AZ when the current Golden League city had a Western League franchise. Patterson gives the Atlantic League 11 players in the majors for the stretch drive.
PENSACOLA SKIPPER NOW WITH METS
We send somewhat belated congratulations to Mac Seibert, who managed Pensacola, FL in the American Association the last two seasons, for his new job as a scouting supervisor with the New York Mets. Seibert is going back to familiar territory since he has about 12 years of scouting duties with three major league organizations already.
Is it just me or is it wrong that Independent teams can bring in strong players from teams in other leagues who are out of the playoffs to reinforce their own postseason rosters?
This practice is not new although it seems to this corner the practice is increasing.
Sure, an Independent team should be able to fill out a roster depleted by injuries or a player who has to go back to school before the playoffs. It would not be fair for a team to have to play shorthanded, and Independent teams do not have farm systems.
But it seems some ruling needs to be considered so that a star pitcher or hitter is not added to roster merely because his team isn't going to be in the playoffs. Some organizations would take a financial hit to enter into this "bulking up" process. Besides, where is the fairness for a team good enough to make the postseason with its regular season roster to reach to the outside for a new star player in one of those "John Doakes was traded to Team A for a player to be named later"? Anyone in the know realizes that player to be named will likely be John Doakes going back to his original organization once the playoffs have ended.
How would anyone like it in the major leagues if some playoff-bound team could add Cleveland's Cliff Lee (21-2) or San Francisco's Tim Lincecum (16-3) only to have them return to their current team once the season is over? The screams would be heard from now until the Super Bowl was over.
CONGRATULATIONS TO SIOUX FALLS AND THE GOLDEN LEAGUE
It took 16 years (the duration of today's Independent Baseball), but the Sioux Falls (SD) Canaries now have a league title. Steve Shirley guided the Canaries to the American Association crown, and it must feel oh so good to everyone in the South Dakota city, one of three original Northern League franchises (along with Sioux City, IA and St. Paul, MN) still playing.
The Golden League has to be happy today to have its first major leaguer. Adam Pettyjohn has made it all the way back from the ulcerative colitis attack which nearly cost him his life to join the Cincinnati Reds. Pettyjohn, now 31 and 11 seasons removed from the 1998 campaign when Detroit made the lefty its second-round draft choice, led the International League with 15 wins for Louisville this summer. Pettyjohn's new lease on his pitching life took on encouragement in 2005 when he was 10-2 for Long Beach, CA in the Golden League. His original trip to the major leagues came in 2001 when he made 16 appearances, including nine starts, for Detroit.
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My thoughts are running on two parallel courses as we start this post-Labor Day period in baseball.
One is on the playoffs within Independent Baseball since five of the eight leagues will go a long way toward determining their postseason champions this week. After all, isn't this what is being competed for all season long?
At the same time, five more Independent players, including three who started their career in these ranks, are wearing major league uniforms. And, every one of the five is with a contending team. Not a single Independent player has been called up as part of the September 1 roster expansion so far unless his team is in the running to be on baseball's grandest stage next month.
It also seems noteworthy, if only coincidental, that all five of the players have joined National League teams.
The surprise of the group, at least to this corner, is seeing Josh Kinney back with St. Louis. Kinney, who we have talked about numerous times in this space and in our more expansive Independent Baseball Insider column, had not been in a regular season game in any pro league since the 2006 World Series until August 24. He was sufficiently recovered from his lengthy rehab from elbow surgery to work four times for Class AA Springfield, MO over a nine-day period, and the Cardinals brought him back onto the active major league roster. I would expect St. Louis to be on the cautious side over the next four weeks, and hope this 29-year-old, who started in the Frontier League (River City, O'Fallon, MO), will be back at full strength next spring. He was quite a find for the bullpen when he came up to help the Cardinals' championship run in '06.
The other recalls include Phillies infielder Mike Cervenak and Diamondbacks hurler Max Scherzer, who started in the Frontier League and American Association, respectively, plus pitchers Mark DiFelice (Milwaukee) and Brandon Knight (New York Mets, both of whom have worked in the Atlantic League.
AMERICAN ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES TIED--Sioux Falls, SD will be the site of the remaining games in the American Association playoff finale with the Canaries and Grand Prairie, TX tied at a game apiece in the best-of-five test. Grand Prairie, which ended Fort Worth's three-year championship run (one in the Central League and two in the AA), got even with Sioux Falls at a game apiece in a 6-3 matinee win today (Tuesday). The series resumes Thursday.
NORTHERN AND GOLDEN OPEN UP TONIGHT--Divisional playoff series begin in both the Northern and Golden Leagues Tuesday night, with the Can-Am starting Wednesday and the Frontier League later in the week. The Atlantic League does not finish its regular season until September 21.
This always is an intriguing time for those of us tracking the fortunes of players who have put in time in Independent Baseball because active major league rosters can expand from 25 players (up to 40) starting September 1 (Monday).
Five Indy grads were elevated last September, and the number could go even higher this time around. We will be speculating on some of the possible call-ups in our weekly Independent Baseball Insider column later today.
The New York Mets jumped the gun Wednesday by bringing two players back onto their 25-man roster for the National League East stretch, and USA Today floated Adam Pettyjohn in Thursday's editions as a possible addition for the Cincinnati Reds.
It would be great if it was Pettyjohn who got the call for an emergency start against San Francisco Saturday although I find it unlikely to happen since the southpaw would be working on three days rest after he pitched seven innings Tuesday.
If Pettyjohn surfaces either Saturday or in September we would waive the flag of happiness for two key reasons. First, it would mark the first time a player who has worked in the four-year-old Golden League had played in a regular season major league game. On a personal level, it would climax the comeback of the 31-year-old from Fresno State who had reached the majors with Detroit in 2001 (1-6 in 16 appearances, including nine starts) before a horrible battle with ulcerative colitis threatened not only his career but his life. He pitched for Long Beach, CA in 2005 (10-2, 3.92) and briefly in '06 (1-1) on his way back up the ladder, and is 14-6 (4.63) at Louisville this season.
It looks to me like Ramon Ramirez or Matt Maloney, both better rested, are more likely to get the Saturday start.
In the meantime, the Mets brought both catcher Robinson Cancel and right-hander Nelson Figueroa back to the majors Wednesday. Figueroa, who was 2-3, 5.12 in nine earlier appearances with New York, once played briefly for Long Island, NY in the Atlantic League. Cancel has been in 17 Mets games, hitting .233 with a homer and four RBI. He has played in the Atlantic League (Somerset, NJ and the traveling Road Warriors) and the United League (Edinburg, TX) during his career.
I had the feeling Independent Baseball had produced more than the trio of four-home run performances I was able to report on in last week's Independent Baseball Insider column.
The Fargo (ND) RedHawks filled me in on Jesse Hoorelbeke's big day for them June 18, 2006, when he pounded four homers and drove in eight runs in the Northern League outing against Edmonton, which now plays in the Golden League.
Hoorelbeke, who currently plays first base for Bridgeport, CT in the Atlantic League, homered in the second, third and fourth innings, then finished with a three-run blast in the sixth. With three round-trippers and eight runs batted in in his last five games for the Bluefish, the big right-handed batsman shares the league RBI lead (95) with Southern Maryland's Pat Osborn and is one home run off the league lead. Somerset, NJ's Josh Pressley has 26 homers while Hoorelbeke and Somerset's Brandon Larson have 25 apiece. Hoorelbeke's previous career best in RBI were his 94 of last season, when he pounded 33 homers.
John Allen of Fort Worth, TX started all the current focus on four-home run games when he recently accomplished the feat in the American Association. Hoorelbeke's barrage was the third such feat in the Northern League, with Harry Berrios (Schaumburg, IL) and Ryan Jones (Winnipeg) both homering four times during a separate contests in 2000.
TWO CHAMPIONS IN TEXAS (SO FAR)--The Bay Area Toros (Texas City) and Amarillo have given the Lone Star State the first two Independent Baseball champions of the season. Bay Area swept two in a row from Texarkana to earn Continental League honors while the Dillas ended Alexandria, LA's two-year run in the United League. Brady Bogart's Amarillo club hit .325 and posted a 3.00 earned run average while winning the semifinal series in two straight over Edinburg, TX, then taking two of three from Alexandria.
American Association postseason play begins tonight (Monday) with two more Texas teams, Grand Prairie and defending champion Fort Worth, squaring off in the South and Sioux City, IA and Sioux Falls, SD going at each other in the North.
WHAT CROWDS IN AMERICAN ASSOCIATION--Weekend regular season finales brought out huge crowds in the third year American Association. Wichita, KS drew crowds of 6,093 and 7,076 to its last two games even though the Wingnuts missed the playoffs in their initial season away from affiliated minor league play and El Paso, TX, which also is sitting out the postseason, did even better at 7,288 and 6,718. Playoff-bound Sioux Falls, SD and Sioux City, IA went well above their season averages in their regular season finales. The Canaries lured 4,805 fans, nearly 1,600 above their season average, while the Explorers' 4,147 was more than double their average crowd.
QUEBEC GETS NO-HITTER--The Can-Am League regular season goes through Labor Day, but playoff-bound Quebec had another reason to celebrate Sunday when Orlando Trias hurled a no-hit, 3-0 victory at Nashua, NH.
What is going on here?
Some of the late-season performances are really staggering, with none better than Saturday night in the American Association when John Allen belted four home runs and drove in eight runs in a 5-for-5 performance in Fort Worth's 14-0 runaway victory over El Paso. The home-standing Cats report each of the homers travelled more than 400 feet.
Allen, Fort Worth's designated hitter and an occasional first baseman, is having a career year with 20 homers, only four below the number he hit in his first three professional seasons combined. His previous high came in 2005 when he hit 11, and he managed only seven total last season when he played for both Fort Worth and Brockton, MA of the Can-Am League.
What I would like to figure out before Thursday's Independent Baseball Insider column is whether the feat has ever been accomplished--or, how many times--since Independent Baseball resumed in 1993. The American Association media guide shows the record in the first two seasons of that league belonged to Chad Gambill of Shreveport, LA, who homered three times July 28, 2006. I would be grateful for research assistance from any reader.
Allen, a 27-year-old right-handed hitter, is second in round-trippers in the American Association this season, one behind Pensacola, FL strongboy Brandon Sing. Allen's .337 batting average is second to the .372 of Kevin Hooper, the hometown sparkplug Wichita, KS signed for its first season in the league.
CONTINENTAL, UNITED PLAYOFFS STARTING--Corpus Christi is at Texarkana in the best-of-three semifinal playoffs in the all-Texas Continental League starting tonight (Monday) with the winner traveling to Texas City starting Friday. United League playoffs also were scheduled to start Monday.
News, notes and thoughts which won't make today's Independent Baseball Insider column:
SOMEONE MUST WANT MIKE RIVERA--With Jason Kendall an ironman behind the plate for the National League wild-card-leading Milwaukee Brewers, backup Mike Rivera seldom can be found in box scores. But when he gets in the lineup, the 31-year-old onetime Atlantic City (NJ) Surf certainly produces. Rivera has been in only eight games since May 25, but the inactivity does not seem to affect him. The right-handed hitter has gone 9-for-26 (.346) in that stretch to lift his season average to .333 (18-54). Wouldn't every manager like to get 14 runs batted in for every 54 at-bats. The Puerto Rican has a .400 on-base percentage.
PLAYING ALL NINE POSITIONS--The United League, one of several Independent leagues winding down the regular season, has already had one player play an inning at each position in a single game with another one to try it tonight (Thursday). Amarillo's Danny Bravo, who regularly plays shortstop and is one of the league's top hitters, went 3-for-5 (homer, double, single) during his nine-position game. "He's been very valuable at SS for us this year in winning the first half and clinching home field advantage (for the playoffs)," Manager Brady Bogart said in an email, while questioning why Bravo has not gotten another chance in affiliated baseball. Ryan Fox of Harlingen, TX, another UL hitting leader, is to try the feat tonight.
MC KINNEY HAS NINE-RBI GAME--The Frontier League has had some tremendous pitching feats of late, but Garth McKinney of Florence, KY struck a note for the hitters. He had a 6-for-6 game with nine runs batted in and four runs scored to pace a 14-2 pasting of the Midwest Sliders. The 6-foot-3 McKinney included a double and home run in his barrage, then came back the next night with another homer and two RBI. A centerfielder, McKinney is hitting .317 with 16 homers and 60 runs batted in plus 22 steals, proving he has more than raw power.
It is impossible to predict in the crazy world of sports when the opportunity comes along to see a "first".
This one won't rank up with watching the first man walk on the moon, but it was fun anyway.
I was at Shea Stadium Monday afternoon for the Pittsburgh-New York Mets makeup game. What a chance to introduce two of my grandsons, aged eight and six, to their first major league game.
Robinson Cancel does not get many starts for the division-hungry Mets, but wouldn't you know this 32-year-old graduate of the Atlantic League (Somerset, NJ and the Road Warriors) and the United League (Edinburg, TX) was in the lineup today. On his second trip to the plate, he sizzled a single to center, which got the Mets' fourth run home because of a Pittsburgh miscue at home plate.
He did even better the next time when he lined a home run which hit off the foul pole in leftfield, a few feet above the outfield fence. The New Yorkers now had a 5-1 lead. I knew Cancel (pronounced Can-SELL) couldn't have many major league home runs since since only had 44 at-bats in 1999 and another couple dozen this year.
Bingo! This was his first even though the sturdy catcher has had five minor league campaigns with 10 or more round-trippers, including 2003 at Somerset and two summers ago in Edinburg.
Unfortunately for Cancel, the Pirates spoiled the day for the Mets with two late bursts good for a 7-5 victory. Still, he has to have a warm feeling for his initial big-league homer.
CERVENAK PICKS UP HIS FIRST HIT--While we are at it, did you notice that longtime minor leaguer Mike Cervenak picked up his very first major league hit for Philadelphia last week? Mike joins Robinson Cancel in the 32-year-old club next week, and is 10 seasons out from his professional debut at Chillicothe, OH in the Frontier League.
DO YOU KNOW SOMEONE IN NEED OF A PROFESSIONAL TRYOUT? The third annual Arizona Winter League season starting in late January might be it. Check out details on this blog or at www.IndependentBaseballClassifieds.com.
The action comes hot and heavy all summer as we try to keep in reasonable touch with the major developments in all eight Independent leagues involving 62 teams. Throw in the pennant races and record-breaking near the end of the season plus some really creative promotions, and...well...it is a dizzying pace. Here are a couple of examples:
A SECOND FRONTIER LEAGUE NO-HITTER--We had no more than gotten the mention of Isaac Hess's no-hit game for Windy City of the Frontier League into last week's Independent Baseball Insider column when word came of a second FL gem. Eric Ridener and Zack Gray combined on this no-hitter for the Gateway Grizzlies (Sauget, IL) on the road against Kalamazoo, MI. Ridener was making his first start since 2004, and after being touched for two unearned runs in the first inning he settled in for six added no-hit innings before turning the job over to Gray as the Grizzlies won it, 5-2. I believe these are the only two no-hitters in the Independent world this season.
NORTHERN LEAGUE CAREER RECORD FOR SAVES TUMBLES--Nate Cotton of Fargo, ND now owns the Northern League record for saves by recording his 69th. It came before the RedHawks' largest crowd of the season, 5,168. There always is irony, in this case the fact the victim was Schaumburg, IL, with whom the 29-year-old picked up the first 28 of the saves during 2005 and 2006. The Kennesaw (GA) State right-hander is enjoying his finest Independent season with a win and 19 saves plus a 1.33 earned run average so far in '08.
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I have been somewhat neglectful on this site in recent days, but I presume you will understand when I tell you my Mother passed away. What a dear lady, 100 years, 10 months and 3 days old when her time came up last week. My resulting trip to Nebraska did not allow a great deal of concentration on Independent Baseball although I know so much has taken place.
Aside from what I reported in last week’s Independent Baseball Insider, I have tried to keep up with some of these developments:
Justin Christian continues to make the most of his infrequent appearances for the New York Yankees, helping to keep the Bombers within striking distance in the American League East and the Wild Card chase. He was credited with igniting the Yankees' 14-9 comeback win Sunday over the always-challenging Los Angeles Angels by swiping third as a pinch-runner in the eighth inning, then scrambling home with the tying run when the throw ended up in leftfield. He had a run-scoring single later in the inning, and Manager Joe Girardi told The New York Times he "did an unbelievable job". Christian, who started his pro career with River City (O'Fallon, MO, Frontier League), has had only nine at-bats in the last three weeks, but has contributed four hits, four runs, four RBI and three steals. His season average is up to .296 (8-for-27).
The gesture of the HARLINGEN (TX) WHITE WINGS to help fans disenfranchised by Hurricane Dolly by providing free admission the rest of the United League season. I hope fans respond.
Philadelphia’s second recall of 1B-3B MIKE CERVENAK, the onetime Chillicothe, OH (Frontier League) standout. Now, if only he could get some chances to show how good his bat can be.
TIM DREW decided to give up his pitching career, retiring after a ceremonial one-pitch appearance for Bridgeport, CT in the Atlantic League. Tim had some major league time, but was in the shadow of his celebrated brothers, J.D. of the Red Sox and Stephen of Arizona. J.D. broke into professional baseball with St. Paul, MN, now in the American Association, while Stephen started in the Atlantic League (Camden, NJ).
Signings by MAJOR LEAGUE ORGANIZATIONS off Independent rosters countinue to mount.. The count since the season started is at least 70, with more detail likely in the August 7 Insider.
TOM COCHRAN and BRAD ZIEGLER continue their unbelievable pitching runs. Cochran, a 25-year-old southpaw, has improved his record for Worcester, MA of the Can-Am League to 11-0 plus 2 saves, and has allowed only 16 earned runs in his 11 starts while pitching at least six innings each time out. Ziegler's major league record for most scoreless innings at the start of a career is up to 32. The right-hander, who comes at batters from down under, added seven innings in the last eight days, with three appearances of at least two innings apiece.
Independent Baseball has had more superb feats by its graduates already this week to give this typist plenty of ammunition for Thursday's Independent Baseball Insider, but all of our thoughts at the moment need to be sent in the direction of the flood-drenched Texas coast.
It probably would not register with every baseball fan because of the geography, but both the United and Continental Leagues have had their schedules disrupted by the hurricane. We can only hope they escape long-term damage.
Both Laredo and Harlingen in the Lone Star State had enough advance warning that they actually played games ahead of when they were scheduled. Harlingen moved a Wednesday game up to be part of a Monday doubleheader and Laredo moved its Wednesday contest to be half of a Tuesday twin bill.
The Continental called off a series between Texarkana and Corpus Christi.
Some games on the East Coast also will no doubt be lost because of heavy rain expected over a wide swath of real estate tonight (Wednesday).
As for the most recent feats by onetime Indy players in the majors, add Yankees outfielder Justin Christian to the headliners. His two-run double broke up a scoreless battle between New York and Minnesota this afternoon, jump-starting the suddenly hot New Yorkers as they reeled off still another Yankee Stadium victory. Christian, one of four players who started their pro career in Independent Baseball (River City, Frontier League) and broke into the majors this season, went 2-for-3 and stole a base in a rare start.
Tuesday night, the unbelieveable scoreless streak of onetime Schaumburg, IL (Northern League) hurler Brad Ziegler continued with the Oakland Athletics. With two scoreless innings in a win at Tampa Bay, the submariner now owns the American League record for most zeroes to start a career (23.2) and is only four outs shy of tying the major league record. George McQuillan had his 25 innings for Philadelphia a short 101 years ago.
Little old Indy strikes again.
Some leftovers from a busy week along the Independent Baseball trail, heightened by a heavy schedule of affiliated and Indy All-Star Games.
Mike Cervenak must have felt like he was having one of those wild dreams where nothing was going right and everything was getting extremely complicated as he got called up to the major leagues for the first time in his 10-year professional career.
(We discussed the call-up and Cervenak's great credentials in this week's subscriber-only Independent Baseball Insider, including his current No. 2 ranking in the International League batting race--.310 with 7 homers and 52 runs batted in--but did not have the space to tell the rest of the story about his initial major league experience.)
It was not a dream however, as the most recent player who started in an Independent and now has a major league resume explained on the telephone Thursday as he was preparing to leave with his Philadelphia Phillies teammates for an important weekend trip to Florida to square off against the Marlins.
As the 31-year-old former Chillicothe (OH) Paints (Frontier League) star explained, his Lehigh Valley team had just finished a homestand with a night game (July 9) and had bussed to Syracuse, NY, where a road trip would start. It is roughly 200-225 miles from Allentown, PA to Syracuse so it is a reasonable assumption the IronPigs (sorry, that is their nickname) arrived no earlier than 2 a.m.
Cervenak and roommate John Ennis turned off their cell phones and went to bed. (I will paraphrase Mike's words from this point.) Wouldn't you know it, the hotel alarm clock kept going off, shortening the night of sleep even more. And, little did Mike know he was being called on the hotel telephone. It turned out it was broken.
The next sound was a pounding on the door about 7:30 a.m. It was Manager Dave Huppert. "Is Mike in there", he called. "They need you in Philadelphia."
Those are the magic words for every minor leaguer, of course, and even moreso if you played four seasons in Double-A after leaving the Independent world and were in your fifth year in Triple-A.
I'd have to believe that once Cervenak knew it wasn't a dream he could have gotten to the door in about one long step.
It was to be a day game in Philadelphia, too, at 1:05 job against St. Louis. Mike started scrambling, gathering whatever clothes he had and getting his baseball gear from the trainer.
An 11:30 flight was the best that could be arranged, and it was due in Philly at 12:30. Would it be on time? No way. It arrived nearly an hour late, with the game underway. By the time Mike got to Citizens Bank Park, signed his MAJOR LEAGUE CONTRACT, suited up in his sparkling Phillies uniform and reached the dugout the fifth inning was starting.
Cervenak did not get into the game as the Phillies won, 4-1, but he was there to celebrate with his new teammates, who included two others who labored in Independent Baseball, catcher Chris Coste and pitcher R. J. Swindle, the latter now back with the IronPigs.
Cervenak's long-awaited major league debut came the next night against Arizona. He pinch hit against Connor Robertson, shook off some of the nervousness he admitted feeling in the on-deck circle and flied out to the warning track with Ryan Howard on first base and one out in the 11th inning. The Phillies won it in the 12th.
What a day!
Mike Cervenak is a realist. He knows this major league experience could end any day, especially with the Phillies acquiring Joe Blanton from Oakland Friday. But he will not ever forget those early-morning experiences in Syracuse.
WHAT ABOUT THESE ALL-STAR LEFTOVERS?
I wonder how many people were curious about the cap Hall of Famer Gary Carter was wearing for the celebrity softball game he was catching in during this week's major league All-Star festivities at Yankee Stadium? Golden League brass recognized it immediately. It was the cap of the Orange County Flyers of Fullerton, CA. Carter is the manager of the first-half champions. The hat also includes the Golden League logo.
The home run-hitting contest before the Atlantic League All-Star Game in Somerset, NJ had to be a one-of-a-kind attraction for fans. Several of the blasts by the winning player, the hometown Patriots' Josh Pressley, crashed off the scoreboard in right-center. Bridgeport, CT first baseman Jesse Hoorelbeke may have gone one better when he hit a drive off a moving train.
Maybe Donald Trump, a guest in Somerset, will start a reality TV show to highlight such feats.
If you were among those who did not make it through all 15 innings of the thrilling major league All-Star Game then you probably have no idea how major the roles were of the two players who started their professional careers in Independent Baseball.
They could not have been more important in the American League's 4-3 triumph in the longest game by time in the history of this classic that started in 1933. And that is not just this typist beating the drum, either, as we have been doing in this space and more extensively in our weekly subscriber-only Independent Baseball Insider column.
J. D. Drew, who played with the St. Paul (MN) Saints in 1997 and 1998, was named Most Valuable Player, and rightly so because it was his two-run seventh inning home run off Cincinnati's Edinson Volquez which pulled the A. L. even at 2-2. Drew, the Boston Red Sox rightfielder, also drew a key walk in the bottom of the 15th to move Justin Morneau to third base and load the bases. Michael Young's sacrifice fly scored Morneau with the winning run, ending the dramatic evening at Yankee Stadium. Drew's night also included a single so he was on base three times and officially went 2-for-4.
Baltimore closer George Sherrill hurled two and one-third scoreless innings, and was full of dramatics. The former Frontier League and Northern League southpaw, who needed four and a half years in the Indy leagues before Seattle gave him a chance in 2003, came into the game with the National League having a runner at each base and two outs in the top of the 12th. He promptly fanned San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez to get out of that jam.
The 31-year-old Sherrill, who has 28 saves this season, allowed only one of the next seven N.L. hitters to reach base. The Mets' David Wright got a soft single to center to lead off the 13th, then Sherrill fielded Cristian Guzman's bunt and got a force on Wright at second. He struck out Corey Hart and got Ryan Ludwick to pop to second. In the 14th, the former Evansville, IN and Winnipeg hurler got Nate McLouth and Russell Martin on flies to Drew and Miguel Tejada on a grounder to short to end his night's work. Sherrill used a tidy 25 pitches, 18 of which were strikes.
The only previous player who started in an Independent league and eventually played in the All-Star Game was another Winnipeg reliever, Jeff Zimmerman. He was in the 1999 contest at Fenway Park while a member of the Texas Rangers.
UNITED LEAGUE TOPS GOLDEN BEFORE FULL HOUSE IN TEXAS
The only All-Star Game between two Independent leagues also took part Tuesday night with the United League besting the Golden League 8-5 before a sellout crowd of 4,421 at Foster Field in San Angelo, TX.
Twenty-three-year-old catcher Luany Sanchez of the Laredo (TX) Broncos blasted two home runs and drove in four to earn MVP honors. His three-run clout in the second gave the United League a lead it never surrendered.
We will be writing about more All-Star Games, including those in the affiliated minor leagues, in this week's Independent Baseball Insider which comes out on Thursday.
I am not certain I can keep up.
I wrote in last week's Independent Baseball Insider column about seven former Indy players getting fresh opportunities in major league baseball.
Had my deadline been a few hours later it would have been even more impressive in that two more players pulled on big-league uniforms. Catcher-first baseman Robinson Cancel returned to the New York Mets. The other one was a personal favorite--if writers are allowed such admissions--because Mike Cervenak is another 30-plus player (32 next month) who started in Independent Baseball (Chillicothe, OH of the Frontier League in 1999-2000) and was getting his first regular-season promotion to the bigs.
Cervenak's story is nearly as good as that of Chris Coste, who debuted at 33 two seasons ago, and now, ironically, is a Philadelphia teammate.
Part of one paragraph from my January 17 IBI column when Cervenak was featured can catch the uninitiated up on the third baseman-first baseman: "It is vital you know about some of Cervenak's accomplishments so you do not get the impression this is some chump ballplayer we are discussing. The all-time hits leader at the University of Michigan (293), a former member of Team USA, the runnerup in MVP voting behind Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard (another new teammate) and ahead of third place Curtis Granderson (Detroit) in the Eastern League in 2004 and last summer's International League leader in hits (157, with Baltimore's Norfolk, VA farm club)."
Cervenak is now one of a very impressive list of 10 players with Indy playing resumes who have made their major league debut this season. Four of the 10 got their start in an Independent league, including outfielder Justin Christian (River City, Frontier League) and pitcher Scott Patterson (Gateway, Frontier League), both with the New York Yankees, Max Scherzer (Fort Worth, American Association) with Arizona and Cervenak. Patterson and Scherzer are back in the minors, although we suspect not for long.
And, with another 70 or so games to go for each major league team we can visualize the list of 10 making their debut and 29 overall with some time in The Show this season continuing to grow. It seems noteworthy only 24 Indy players were in the majors at any time in 2007.
If you have been keeping up with our Independent Baseball Insider columns you know that one of this reporter's favorite subjects the last couple of weeks has been speculating about what it would mean for Independent Baseball if Baltimore closer George Sherrill was selected for the American League All-Star team.
I should have been speculating on two players who got their professional start in non-major league-affiliated leagues.
That's exactly what has come to pass.
Both Sherrill and Boston outfielder J. D. Drew made it, doubling the number of times it had happened in the previous 15 seasons of the Indy game. What a milestone it is, and all 62 of today's teams should be trumpeting the story.
It is easy to overlook Drew as an Independent player since his appearance with the St. Paul (MN) Saints in 1997 and 1998 came about because he could not reach contract terms with the major league teams drafting him. But the truth is he played in 74 games for the Saints when they were a fixture in the Northern League. (They still are a fixture for Indy baseball even though they helped form the American Association three years ago.)
Drew, the No. 2 draft choice in the country in 1997 after being a collegiate standout for Florida State, could not reach agreement with Philadelphia so off he went to St. Paul, where he became Northern League Rookie of the Year for hitting .341 and pounding 18 homers and driving in 50 runs in a mere 44 games. Drew, now 32, went back into the draft pool in '98, but he hit another nine round-trippers and drove in 33 runs in 30 additional games for the Saints before St. Louis could select him fifth overall and reach contract terms. He hit over .300 at two different minor league stops for the Cardinals that season, and finished by hitting .417 in 14 games in the National League with five homers and 13 RBI.
The All-Star selection for next Tuesday's heralded show at Yankee Stadium came about because of his prolific June when he carried a big chunk of the World Champion Red Sox's offensive load from the No. 3 hole, where it was expected David Ortiz would be greatly missed.
Sherrill's 27 saves in his first season as a major league closer have been a major reason for Baltimore's improved 2008 campaign. His selection climaxes (to this point) his brilliant rise from a starter with Evansville, IN of the Frontier League in 1999-2000 after a college career at Austin Peay to his transition as a left-handed specialist for Sioux Falls, SD in 2001 and the Winnipeg Goldeyes for the next season and a half before his contract was purchased out of the Northern League by Seattle.
The only previous time that someone who started in an Independent league was selected for a major league All-Star Game was when Texas reliever Jeff Zimmerman was tabbed in 1999. He had pitched for the Goldeyes in 1997. Brendan Donnelly had pitched for Ohio Valley of the Frontier League (1994) and Nashua, NH when it was in the Atlantic League (1999) prior to becoming the winning pitcher for the A.L. in the 2003 game, but he played in the farm system of both Chicago major league teams before going to Independent Baseball. Donnelly currently is on a rehab assignment with Cleveland's Gulf Coast League team.
One can only hope that many a fan will be thinking back to the Independent game when they see Drew and Sherrill being introduced at Yankee Stadium Tuesday night. You can bet every current Indy player will be thinking about where they started and where they are today.
Three longtime baseball managers, all with Independent ties, have been in the news lately. Two of them have happy stories; one does not.
The first managerial casualty in the Independent ranks in 2008 that I have seen came this week in the United League. That was longtime Indy skipper Al Gallagher with Harlingen, TX. "Dirty Al", his affectionate nickname from his major league playing days, was replaced by his pitching coach, Caleb Balbunea, who also had been the White Wings' closer.
On the more pleasant news front, we tip our cap today to Newark (NJ) Bears Manager Wayne Krenchicki and to Frank Verdi, one of the pioneers of the Northern League.
Krenchicki picked up his 1000th managerial win last month. Most of those victories have come in Independent leagues, starting with the Texas-Louisiana League and the Northern League, followed by the Atlantic League, where the onetime major league infielder has been a fixture since the circuit started in 1998.
Krenchicki led the Bears to the Atlantic League title last season, but to this typist the most notable feat has been in leading Camden, NJ to the league's best record for four consecutive seasons (2002-05).
Verdi is one of the Class of 2008 going into the International League Hall of Fame. Known as "Old School", Verdi won 938 games with a total of five IL teams, closing out that run in 1985. He was the manager of the Sioux Falls (SD) Canaries in the Northern League's initial season of 1993 as well as parts of the next two years. His induction will take place at Norfolk, VA July 30, where he led the Tidewater Tides from 1977-80.
The Los Angeles Dodgers' weekend victory when they were no hit was not the only unusual game of late.
Were you aware that the New Jersey Jackals and Worcester Tornadoes played a 20-inning game in Worcester Saturday? The game lasted six hours and six minutes so if anyone questioned a spouse about their late arrival home, it most likely was valid.
The Jackals finally won 5-4, but not before the lead changed or ties were created nine times from the sixth inning on. New Jersey scored the game's first run in the sixth, Worcester tied it in the seventh, went ahead 2-1 in the eighth and the Jackals pulled even again in the top of the ninth.
Then it really got fun. Innings 10-15 were scoreless, both teams scored in the 16th and again in the 19th. Tiring, huh? Thirty-three runners were left on base, New Jersey pitchers combined for 21 strikeouts (compared to only eight for Worcester) and the two leadoff hitters--NJ's Marcus Sanders and Worcester's B. J. Weed combined to go 9-for-19. Sanders had four singles and a home run in 10 official at-bats.
Sanders and Weed have used the game as a springboard for great offensive runs. Sanders, a 22-year-old second baseman out of Saratota (FL) Community College, has 11 hits in 22 at-bats in the last four games, including the marathon, to jump his rookie professional average from .303 to .333. Weed, who has been roaming Can-Am diamonds for several seasons and Monday was named Player of the Week, has gone 12-for-23 in the same stretch to climb from .328 to .357. He shares fourth in the league batting race while setting the pace in hits (55), doubles (17) and extra base hits (21).
Some quick hits while leading up to this week's Independent Baseball Insider column where the current plan is to feature the continuing first half exploits of Indy original and current Baltimore closer George Sherrill. He could be on the brink of another magic milestone.
The southpaw, who played in both the Frontier League (Evansville, IN) and the Northern League (Sioux Falls, SD and Winnipeg, CA), did it again Tuesday night when he got the final out in the eighth, then gave up two hits and a walk to start the bottom of the ninth at Wrigley Field. He stunned the Cubs, though, when he struck out Ronny Cedeno, Kosuke Fukudome and Henry Blanco to leave the bases loaded and give the Orioles a 7-5 victory..
His 26th save of the season, which is second best in the majors, ended the Cubs' home winning streak at 14, a mark they have not bested since 1890. This is not a typo, friends. It really is 1890.
STILL ANOTHER FRONTIER LEAGUER DEBUTS IN BIGS
The major league debut of outfielder Justin Christian was one of the few bright spots in the New York Yankees' 12-5 drubbing in Pittsburgh Tuesday. Christian, who follows pitchers Josh Kinney and Joe Thatcher as players who started their pro career at River City (O'Fallon, MO) and made it all the way to the major leagues, played leftfield and had a single, double and drove in two runs.
"He can create some havoc on the base paths, he plays very good defense, he had some important hits in the later innings (in spring training)," praised Yankees Manager Joe Girardi. With the Yankees scheduled to face five lefthanders in six games and regulars Johnny Damon and Hideki Matsui hobbled the right-handed-hitting 28-year-old figures to get more at bats over the next few days.
FORT WORTH CATS WIN ANOTHER TITLE
Fort Worth, TX has become the first Independent league team to nail down a first-half championship. Congratulations to the Cats, who already are three-peat winners, having won the last championship in the Central League (2005) and the first two in the American Association. Fort Worth won the Southern Division title this time, with Sioux Falls, SD on the brink of doing the same thing in the North.
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