Monthly Archives: August 2014

… And Threshers Can’t Overcome 6-0 Second Inning Deficit; August 22, 2014

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The Threshers followed up their come-from-ahead first game loss to the Brevard County Manatees with a 7-2 loss in the second game of the double header.  They continued their passive offensive ways with 4 hits in the night cap.  Newcomer Jesmuel Valentin was replaced by Angelo Mora in the second game.

Jeb Stefan was touched for a run in the first inning.  He allowed the first 5 batters to reach base in the second inning on the way to giving up another 5 runs.  He settled down after that and retired 13 consecutive batters before surrendering a solo home run in the sixth inning.  His final line was – Continue reading … And Threshers Can’t Overcome 6-0 Second Inning Deficit; August 22, 2014 →

Threshers Blow 6-0, First Inning Lead; August 22, 2014

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The Threshers had a fun first inning in game one of a double header tonight.  For the first time all season, I had to change the innings on the score sheet as the Threshers sent 10 batters to the plate.  The big damage came on three-run home runs by Art Charles and Chris Serritella.  Unfortunately, the Threshers’ offense packed it in for the rest of the game.

Roman Quinn, Jesmuel Valentin, Brad Pointer, and Harold Martinez all hit singles in the first to score ahead of the home runs.  The Manatees’ Taylor Williams rebounded from a 33-pitch first inning and shut down the Threshers through the end of the fifth.  Williams is the Brewers’ #13 prospect.  He was their 4th round pick in 2013, #122 overall.  He was recently promoted and came into this game with a 1.80 ERA and 1-1 record in 3 Florida State League starts.

The Threshers’ starter was Colin Kleven.  Kleven is among the league leaders in lowest walks per innings pitched at 1.92 per nine.  He came into the game having allowed 27 walks and striking out 95 batters in 126.2 innings.  He had an easy 1-2-3 first inning.  However, he didn’t appear to have his best stuff, and the plate umpire seemed to squeeze him on a couple of occasions.  He battled but surrendered single runs in the second, third, and fourth innings before a complete implosion in the fifth allowed the Manatees to tie the score.

Kleven’s pitching notes and some game notes –

  • Kleven – 4.0 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
  • 21 batters, 12 first pitch strikes
  • 92 pitches, 57 strikes
  • Of the 57 strikes – 5 swinging, 19 called, 20 fouls, 13 balls in play
  • Of the 13 balls in play – 6 infield ground balls, 3 fly outs to CF, 4 base hits
  • Of the 4 hits – triple off the top of the CF wall, home run to CF, line drive single, ground ball double down the left field line
  • 5 three-ball counts – 3B, SF8, BB, K, and a bases loaded BB on the final batter faced
  • Kleven allowed 1 run in a 32-pitch third inning where he faced 5 batters and struck out two
  • Kleven’s hard luck fifth inning included an HBP on an 0-2 pitch, a failed fielder’s choice when Crawford was ruled off the bag on Valentin’s throw (blown call) on a 1-2 pitch, an errant throw to second by Martinez on another failed fielder’s choice on a 2-2 pitch, then a 6-pitch walk to end his night
  • Quinn, Valentin, and Charles each had 2 hits
  • Quinn got picked off first after a leadoff walk in the 4th

Forsythe came in with the bases loaded and the score 6-4, nobody out.  Gabriel Lino allowed a passed ball on a pitch where he gave less than minimum effort.  Forsythe did give up a run-scoring single, but his 2 strike outs and inning ending fly ball limited the damage.  Ridenhour gave up a lead off single in the eighth and couldn’t stop the Manatees’ momentum as they pushed ahead the go ahead run.

The Threshers went quietly in the bottom of the eighth, they managed only 4 hits after the first inning, and we’re getting set for another game in 25 minutes.  Yippee.

Romus #2

Other Stuff

For those of you who don’t follow the comments at all, you can probably ignore this, but it’s been brought to my attention that someone’s been using one of the regular commenter’s handle to make up posts under the other name. So you all know, I’ve identified the guy via the site’s administration pages, and he’s posted in the comments under his own name before, though he’s not what I would call a regular. He used Romus’ name today to comment. While what he said wasn’t necessarily offensive or anything of the like, it’s just in poor taste and shows a lack of respect for the site and for Romus himself.

So, listen up, “guy”. I am being far too nice to right now in not identifying by name. If this happens again, we’ll get your IP blocked from commenting on the site, and just for fun, I’ll comment under your name and say all kinds of dumb things that make everyone here think you don’t know what the heck you’re talking about/are too dumb to be taken seriously/are a terrible person otherwise. And if you gripe about it, we’ll all know that you were the one who started it all.

So drop it, and we’re cool. Or keep it up and see how creative I can get in trying to shame you when you treat part of our community poorly.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Lehigh Valley Report

Other Stuff

The final conclusion is that put simply, Lehigh Valley is not a good team.   They have little to no timely hitting and their starting pitching has been simply abysmal which has led them to where they are which is at the bottom of the Northern Division of the International League.  Entering the seasons final week plus, the ‘Pigs are 59-73 and in last place, 17 games back.  Lehigh Valley finishes their four game series with Pawtucket tonight, trying to salvage a win before returning home for a 9 game home stand before closing out the season with two on the road against Scranton.

‘Pigs Prospects: Maikel Franco has hit in 3 of his last four games, including a walk off HR last Sunday.  Prior to that, Franco had been in a 3-30 funk, during which he saw his average drop from a season high .251.  Over the last 33 games, Franco is hitting .285 with 6HR and 22RBI.  He is the ‘Pigs leader in HR(12) RBI(64) and 2B(29). Continue reading Lehigh Valley Report →

GCL Phillies Beat Jays, Josh Taylor Shines; August 22, 2014

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The Phillies topped the Jays 8-3 today.  They remain 2 games behind the Yankees with 5 games remaining.  They play the Yankees twice next week in games that will likely determine the division winner.

Sam McWilliams drew the start for the Phils.  His fastball was 86-87 mph.  He also had a change up at 82, slider at 78, and a slow curve at 68.  He allowed single runs in each of the first two innings, and was pulled when he reahed his pitch count in the fourth inning.  His pitching stats – Continue reading GCL Phillies Beat Jays, Josh Taylor Shines; August 22, 2014 →

Box Score Recap – 8/21/2014

Box Score Recap

Cameron Rupp went 3-3 with a double, his second multi-hit game in the last three. I imagine a solid last ten days or so would be welcome for him at the end of this total bummer of a season. Brian Pointer was 2-4 with a double and Gabriel Lino was 2-4 with his fourth home run for CLR, (5th on the year across two levels). Edubray Ramos with a good outing – three Ks and one hit over two scoreless. He’s struck out 14 and walked just one in 14.2 IP for WIL.

Winding down here, folks. Not much left for these guys to do except stay healthy, and for the GCL squad, push for the playoffs. Many guys will be hitting instructs, and we could get some info on our 2014 July 2 international guys. Of course we’ll get a list of AFL players from the US born/Canadian ranks sometime shortly after the season, where hopefully we get a lot of scouting on the real prospects in that group, and a lot of the upper level foreign born players will play in their home countries’ pro leagues this winter, where we likely won’t get any scouting at all.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 8/21/2014 →

First Place Phillies Drop Game with Braves; August 20, 2014

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The GCL Phillies entered their game with the GCL Braves tied with the Yankees for first place in the GCL Northwest Division.  They dropped a 4-0 decision to fall a game back with a 31-21 record and 7 games remaining in the season.

Denton Keys scattered 8 hits and a walk through 6 innings.  One of the two runs he allowed was unearned, set up by an errant pick off attempt in the third inning.  He allowed an earned run in the fourth on a bunt single, hit-and-run single, and a sacrifice fly.  Although he allowed 9 base runners, Keys benefited from double plays in the first and second innings, and a caught stealing in the fourth inning.  Continue reading First Place Phillies Drop Game with Braves; August 20, 2014 →

Box Score Recap – 8/20/2014

Box Score Recap

Lehigh Valley was stymied by Pawtucket pitching, managing just three hits and four walks. MAG threw two scoreless innings of relief, allowing a walk and striking out one. Kelly Dugan was 2-3 with two doubles plus two walks for Reading as Severino Gonzalez shutout Bowie for six innings and the bullpen completed the job. Gonzalez was throwing strikes, about 2/3 on the night, and he’s allowed 2R, 8H, 4BB and 13Ks in 13IP over two starts since being skipped at the beginning of the month to keep his innings down as he finishes out his first full season as a starter. Seems like the rest did him some good.

Roman Quinn was a triple short of the cycle, including his sixth home run of the year. Art Charles hit his second in as many nights (16), and Mark Leiter was strong over seven innings – he struck out seven after striking out 10 in 6.2 last time out. He’s walked just 35 men in 135 IP this year over two levels. I imagine he’ll start the spring fighting for a spot in Reading’s rotation. Jia Tromp hit his 13th home run, tying a Williamsport franchise record, shared by Zach Green from 2013. And I imagine the off-season can’t come soon enough for Chris Oliver. Another pretty good performance from Denton Keys – 2R 1ER 8H 1BB 6K in 6IP – he’s had four pretty good ones in a row. His offense did just about nothing to support him.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 8/20/2014 →

Threshers Split in Daytona; August 19, 2014

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Jesmuel Valentin made his debut with the Threshers last night. He singled in his first at bat, stole second, and scored on a Brian Pointer single.  That was his last impact on scoring in the game until the bottom of the eighth inning.

Due to a rain out on Monday, two 7-inning games were scheduled Tuesday.  The start time was pushed back by afternoon rains again.  The Threshers took a quick 1-0 lead on Pointer’s single mentioned above.  They re-took the lead on Pointer’s opposite field, 2-run home run in the third inning.  Pointer leads the team with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs.

Meanwhile, Miguel Nunez battled and was finally lifted with 2 outs in the fourth inning and the bases loaded.  Cody Forsythe recorded the final out of the inning on a pop up to shallow center.  Nelson Prada left Forsythe in to close out the game.  Looked good until with 2 out and 2 strikes, Kyle Schwarber clubbed a game-tying home run to right in the botttom of the seventh inning.

Lee Ridenhour took the loss in the eighth innng on a routine ground ball to second.  Ridenhour walked Bill McKinney with one out.  The next batter hit a slow ground ball to Valentin at second.  He flipped the ball to Crawford to start the inning-ending double play.  Then all hell broke loose.  Valentin’s flip pulled Crawford off the bag, runner safe on the Valentin throwing error.  Chris Serritella could not handle Crawford’s throw at first, batter safe on Crawford’s throwing error.  Serritella retrieved the ball and chased down the batter to tag him out for the second out.  Meanwhile, Gabriel drifts up the line toward first base, allowing McKinney to continue home to score the game-winning run without a throw.

In another oddity, the Threshers’ line up included 7 left-handed hitters/switch hitters against the Cubs right-handed starter.  The Cubs line up featured 9 left-handed batters against the right-handed Nunez.  This in part probably explains Prada’s trying to get 7 outs out of Forsythe.

Prada’s other two bullpen lefties pitched in the night cap, Lino Martinez started and Ethan Martin relieved and got the win.  Ulises Joaquin picked up the save.  Roman Quinn went 2-2 with 2 walks, 2 runs scored, and his 29th stolen base.  Art Charles took the team lead in home runs with his 15th of the season.  Valentin and Pointer went 0-3 in the second game.  Crawford got the game off.

 

Nola’s Numbers Against Bowie; August 19, 2014

Game Reports

I listened to Aaron Nola’s outing on Baysox radio.  Brad was actually there, and posted his observations in the Box Score Recap.  Here’s what I charted during the game.

  • 5 IP, 5 H,  2 R,  2 ER,  2 BB,  2 K
  • 21 batters, 14 first pitch strikes
  • 79 pitches, 50 strikes
  • 5 swinging strikes, 13 called strikes, 15 fouls, 17 balls in play
  • both strike outs were of the swing-and-miss variety
  • 6 ground ball outs, 4 fly ball outs, 2 pop ups, 5 singles
  • 2 line drive singles, 1 ground ball single, 2 bunt singles
  •  2 of the fly ball outs were line drives
  • the radio announcers only mentioned his velo once at 91 mph
  • I saw Twitter reports of 92-93 with spikes to 95 and one at 96
  • he got no decision and left with the score tied 2-2

I would categorize this as another good outing.  These are still uncharted waters for his arm.  Even with inning’s limits and pitch counts, he is continuing a starting pitcher’s workout regimen much further into the summer than he ever has.