Recap: The BlueClaws went 4-3 on the week.  Colby Shreve and Jon Pettibone were the standouts on the pitching side.  Jiwan James was the most notable on the hitting side as he extended his hitting streak to 19 games, moving within 2 games of the Lakewood record.  After winning the first half championship, the ‘Claws are again on top of the SAL North with a 12-5 record, 2 1/2 games ahead of Hickory.  Baseball America ranked Lakewood as perhaps the single most talented team in the entire minor leagues.  In personnel notes, Trevor May made his first two starts for Lakewood, while Matt Way and Jordan Ellis both moved on to Clearwater.  And tooting my own horn, I won four tickets to a future ‘Claws game via Twitter by coming up with the best Springsteen-related reference they can use on the air (home run call:  “The Big Man has joined the band”.)

Continue reading Lakewood Weekly Report (7/5-7/11) →

Recap: The BlueClaws have hit the ground running in the second half, racing out to an 8-2 record which leaves them atop the SAL North.  Overall, they are 50-30, the best record in the SAL by 4 1/2 games.  In personnel notes, Matt Way goes up, Trevor May comes down, and Nick Hernandez looks to be two to three weeks away from returning (turns out he had a frayed labrum).  I’ve seen two recent reports on Jarred Cosart–the Asbury Park Press reports he’s shut down for two-to-three weeks, then will begin a throwing program, while csnphilly reports he  is getting an MRI on his elbow.

Continue reading Lakewood Weekly Report (6/24-7/4) →

Recap: The BlueClaws went 5-2 on the week en route to clinching the SAL North first half title with Sunday’s win.  Jonathan Singleton led the way with two home runs and 5 RBI on Sunday to back a decent start from Brody Colvin.  The week caps a stretch that saw the ‘Claws win 16 of their last 21.  As an aside, last week’s column noted that Sebastian Valle’s two-HR game last week was the first since 2006–turns out I’d gotten that information from a bad source and Derrick Mitchell actually had been the last to do it in 2008.  I can say, with a fairly high certainty, that Singleton’s two-HR game Sunday was the first for the ‘Claws since Valle’s last week.

Continue reading Lakewood Weekly Report (6/14-6/20) Plus First Half Review →

Recap:  The ‘Claws are surging going into the final week of the SAL first half, going 4-1 and moving ahead of Hickory and into first place in the SAL North. Sebastian Valle led the way with a monster power week, while the starting pitching was consistently good across the board.  Their record has improved to 37-26.  They close out the first half with seven games at home, including three with Lexington then four with Kannapolis.

Continue reading Lakewood Weekly Report (6/7-6/13) →

Recap: The ‘Claws took it up several notches and had their best week of the year, going 6-2 (including the completion of a suspended game) and winning several games in improbable, comeback fashion, including a walkoff home run by Leandro Castro to end the suspended game in the bottom of the 14th.  The ‘Claws pulled to within 2 games of first place Hickory in the SAL North.

Continue reading Lakewood Weekly Report (5/31-6/6) →

Recap:  Lakewood went 3-3 last week (with another game suspended due to rain).  They are currently 27-23, tied for second in the SAL North, 4.5 games behind Hickory.  (Just a note on the weekly stats below:  the box score for the suspended game has disappeared from the web.  Since the game is being resumed this Tuesday, the stats will be included next week.  For all the readers who diligently log the stats I compile to create graphs, pie charts, and run regression analyses, hopefully this bit of housekeeping doesn’t throw you for too much of a loop.)  Also, I’m writing this while watching the debacle unfold with the big club in Atlanta, so this could be more negative and / or sarcastic than usual.

Continue reading Lakewood Weekly Report (5/24-5/30) →

Recap: Lakewood went 3-4 on the week, dropping two of three to Greensboro and splitting four with West Virginia.  The team sits at 24-20 in third place, three games behind Hickory in the SAL North.  Outstanding performances during the week by Jonathan Singleton, Jonathan Villar, and Brody Colvin.  On the downside, the Claws lost both Nick Hernandez and Jon Pettibone to shoulder injuries. Continue reading Lakewood Weekly Report (5/17-5/23) →

Recap: Lakewood went 4-2 on the week, losing the first two, then winning four straight against Greenville and Greensboro.  They are currently 21-16, 1.5 GB of Hickory in the SAL North.  Lots of noteworthy performances this week with  Jonathan Singleton homering in his SAL debut and another pair of great starts by Nick Hernandez, including a near no-no on Sunday afternoon. Continue reading Lakewood Weekly Report (5/10-5/16) →

Recap: Lakewood went 4-3 on the week, splitting a four game series with Charleston, then taking 2 of 3 from Savannah.  The Claws currently sit in second place in the SAL North with a 17-14 record, two games behind Hickory.  The week was marked by pretty solid starting pitching and capped off with a 15-inning win on Sunday on Jonathan Villar’s walkoff single.

Continue reading Lakewood Weekly Report (5/3-5/9) →

Recap:  Lakewood went 4-2 on the week, winning two to wrap up a series with Greensboro, then splitting a four game series with Kannapolis.  Most noteworthy item of the week was the first appearance (s) of 2008 6th round pick Colby Shreve.
Continue reading Lakewood Weekly Report (4/26-5/2) →