Tuesday, May 22, 2007 |
Minor League Scorebook
News
- A belated hat tip to Sons of Steve Garvey for pointing out that
Diamond Leung of the Press-Enterprise has a new blog. ("Yes, my name is Diamond. Yes, I'm a dude. And yes, it's my first year on the beat at the ripe old age 25.")
Leung's got some links to great stories of relevance
to the Angels' and Dodgers' minors. Here's one about the measures Francisco Rodriguez had to take after he became a World Series hero:
Days after sipping champagne in a delirious Angels clubhouse after the seventh game of the 2002 World Series, Rodriguez boarded a flight home to Venezuela. Not only had his scintillating playoff performance made him a national hero almost overnight, but it also elevated his status in the eyes of local thugs.
The majors are worried that the flow of talent might stop thanks to declining relations between the U.S. and Venezuela. Angel Castillo, a 17-year-old Angels outfield prospect the Angels think has first-round talent, is worried about friends and family in Venezuela:One band of thieves surrounded his brother and forced him to empty his wallet. Another approached his mother on the street and threatened to shoot her if she didn't turn over her valuables. On the rare occasions Rodriguez left his Caracas home that offseason, he was never sure whether people who approached him intended to rob him or ask for an autograph.
Afraid for himself and his family, Rodriguez tried to persuade his grandparents and several of his 13 siblings to relocate to the United States. When they declined, he hired a cousin and two friends to accompany them whenever they left their homes, like a personal Secret Service.
"I'm worried for my cousin and the other kids who haven't signed yet," Castillo, a 17-year-old outfielder, said through a translator from the Angels spring training complex in Tempe, Ariz. "If the situation gets worse, they may not get a chance to play in the states. The government should stay out of baseball. We've all heard changes are coming, but I wish they would leave us alone."
Whether it's a threatened talent blockade (so far, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has said he opposes such a measure), rampant crime ("You're taking your life in your own hands" according to Angels scouting supervisor Clay Daniel), or political uncertainty ("anything's possible with Chavez," according to Dodgers AGM of scouting Logan White), Venezuela is becoming an increasingly treacherous minefield through which major league teams try and extract talent.Finally, there's a piece about English-language instruction given to Latin players.
"One of the things I pound into their heads is if they don't make it in baseball, these English classes are still going to be very valuable," said Miley, a professor at Glendale Community College in Arizona. "Most of these kids' baseball dreams are going to be shattered. If they go home knowing English, that's a life-changing skill."
- The MILB.com weekly notebook wrap is up. Noteworthy is Pedro Borbon Jr.'s resignation as pitching coach at Cedar Rapids, "citing personal reasons".
Scores
Pavkovich: 0-3, 2 BB, 1 K
Kendrick: 1-3, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 BB
Gorneault: 0-5, 2 K
Eylward: 0-3, 2 BB
Wood: 0-2, 2 BB, 1 K
Mathis: 0-3, 1 BB
Patchett: 2-2, 1 BB
Rouwenhorst: 5.2 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 1 BB, 3.48 ERA
Shell: (W, 2-0) (in relief), 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 K, 1 BB, 3.46 ERA
Terry Evans batted leadoff and returned to center field while Nathan Haynes got a breather; he went 3-4 and drove in a run but top A's catching prospect Kurt Suzuki caught him stealing second. (Haynes came into the game in the ninth as a pinch hitter.) Howie Kendrick's three run blast in the top of the ninth won the game for the Bees. Salt Lake had trailed most of the game thanks to three runs given up in the third by Jonathan Rouwenhorst. Only one of those was earned, owing to errors by Brandon Wood and Jeff Mathis.
Brandon Wood walked twice, and scored a run on Terry Evans' sac fly. Steven Shell got the win in relief, facing the minimum and allowing a single.
Trumbo: 1-3, 1 2B, 1 BB
Sweeney: 2-4, 2 K
Conger: 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 K
Johnson: 2-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI
Phillips: 2-3, 1 K
Schoeninger: (W, 6-2), 8.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 6 H, 5 K, 1 BB, 2.41 ERA
Madrigal: 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 K, 1 BB, 4.24 ERA
Tim Schoeninger tossed another great game against the one of the best hitting teams in the Midwest League, the Dayton Dragons. He retired the side in order three times in his second-longest outing of the season; it was his fourth time pitching seven or more innings, and he is 2-1 in such games.
Tyler Johnson hit his second home run in only his third game of the season, and has one or more hits in every game he's appeared in thus far. Hank Conger drove in a run on a sac fly, and stole second, his seventh successful steal of the season, but then got greedy when he later tried to steal home (again) and got thrown out 1-3-6-2. He also threw out Chris Valaika trying to steal second, so it was a busy day for Hank.
Loney: 1-4, 2 K
Kemp: 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB
Young: 0-4, 2 K
Freeman: 2-4, 1 K
Juarez: (L, 0-1), 3.1 IP, 6 R, 6 ER, 8 H, 3 K, 2 BB, 1 HR, 16.20 ERA
LaMura: 1.2 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 5.00 ERA
Miller: 1.0 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 K, 3 BB, 5.74 ERA
William Juarez made his AAA debut and got shelled for his trouble, despite getting instant run support from Tony Abreu with a leadoff homer in the first. Greg Miller had another miserable outing with his control, giving up a single and walking three, including a bases-loaded walk to Mike Morse that scored Adam Jones.
Gonzalez, J: 1-2, 2 BB
Dunlap: 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 BB
McDougall: 2-3, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
Hammes: 0-0, 1 BB
Troncoso: 0-1, 1 K
Hammes: 3.0 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 H, 3 K, 1 BB, 3.09 ERA
Troncoso: 2.0 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 9.00 ERA
Wright: 2.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 K, 0 BB, 4.15 ERA
Meloan: (W, 5-2) (in relief), 2.0 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 4 K, 2 BB, 3.38 ERA
Say goodbye to Carolina: Quoting Lyle Lovett, the Suns have taken four of five from the Mudcats, and find themselves in second place in the Southern League South division, four games back of Mississippi. RBIs from Cory Dunlap, Cory Dunlap, and Marshall McDougall pushed the Jacksonville past Carolina, with McDougall driving in the winning run in the bottom of the second. 28-year-old third baseman McDougall has had a really good series, hitting .308/.500/.692 over the last five games.
Starter Zach Hammes lasted only three innings, so the game went as a relay race to the finish; Jonathan Meloan went 5-2 and captured the win in relief.
Lizarraga: 2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 1 K
Perez: 2-3, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Gonzalez: 4-4, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBI
Berezay: 0-3, 2 BB
Mattingly: 0-5
Van Slyke: 0-3, 2 BB, 2 K
Apodaca: 1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K
Castillo: (W, 1-1), 6.0 IP, 1 R, 1 ER, 7 H, 2 K, 1 BB, 3.94 ERA
Rodriguez, J: 2.0 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 K, 0 BB, 1 HR, 2.25 ERA
A romp by the Loons, who beat the (Midwest League) Burlington Bees thanks in part to Adolfo Gonzalez's 4-4 night; he missed hitting for the cycle by a homer. Juan Apodaca hit his first home run of the series, an eighth inning solo short. Swingman Arismendy Castillo got his first win in his first quality start of the year while dancing through six hits.
Labels: minors
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