The Lakewood Blue Claws got off to 1 win 3 loss start to the 2008 season
this week versus Lake County.
They lost the opener 4-0 behind a decent outing from Drew Naylor. He gave up three runs in a tough inning that featured a bunt single, a walk and two misplayed fly balls for hits. Naylor took the loss with 5ip, 5h, 3er, 6k & 1bb The Blue Claws could not come up with the big hit, twice loading the bases with just one out.
Lake County 4, Lakewood 0
I had long basbeball day yesterday. Went to see the Phills look real ugly in first few inning before storming back. Left it the 8th in time to get to Lakewood for the opener.
Some quick notes and the game recap.
Drew Naylor took the loss but deserved a better line. 
Continue reading Blue Claws Drop Opener
BlueClaws announce Opening Day roster
LAKEWOOD, N.J. – The Philadelphia Phillies have announced the Opening Day roster for their Class A affiliate, the Lakewood BlueClaws.
Of the 25 players that will be on the Opening Day roster, 18 played in Williamsport in 2007 under current BlueClaws hitting coach Greg Legg.
The roster also features seven players named in the top 30 Phillies prospects by Baseball America: outfielder Dominic Brown (No. 6), shortstop Freddy Galvis (No. 13), infielder Travis Mattair (No. 18), pitcher Julian Sampson (No. 19), outfielder D’Arby Myers (No. 21), and pitcher Drew Naylor (No. 29). Infielder Tyler Mach (No. 25) is also on the roster, but will open the season on the disabled list. Continue reading Blue Claws Announce 2008 Roster
Alright gang, here are this week’s updated minor league rosters. You can compare this to the week 3 roster and week 2 rosterand week 1 roster that I had posted earlier if you would like.
Quite a few cuts all in around in the minors this week, with one more round left to go this week before minor league rosters are finalized next Monday.
I’ll keep on the lookout for each new officially posted roster and keep them updated here as needed.
I don’t know how much of a limb I am going out on to project this, but I have updated my Clearwater Threshers website with this (click here) as my projected 2008 line up. The projection is based on the latest 2008 ST roster mixed in with a little intuition. I’m guessing I’ll have about 20 of the 25 players correct, with a few free agent signings thrown in at the last minute just to mess things up and maybe a few other moves in the mix.
From Blue Claws PR: Not the biggest news, but its a start!
Galvis, Mattair, Brown all expected to start campaign with the BlueClaws
Lakewood has already produced a number of Major League stars and it appears a few more former BlueClaws are on their way to Big League fame. The 2008 season could produce the latest crop of future Phillies, with a number of big prospects likely starting the season in Lakewood.
I hit the Carpenter Complex to check out the first day of minor league games. It was the Clearwater (Group 3) team and the Lakewood (Group 4) teams against the Orioles. Nothing of terrific interest to report except that I did pick up the newly updated minor league rosters. This version has the guys broken out into five groups not four like the previous version that I had posted a while back. Continue reading Updated 2008 Minor League Rosters (Workout Groups)
Several people have emailed me or messaged me asking about the 2008 workout group assignments.
I was finally able to get my hands on them today.
Most of you are aware that these groups by no means indicate what the actual AAA, AA, and other rosters will actually look like in the end. This is just where the guys are working out now. There are still going to be many guys sent down from the big league ST roster to take spots away, a lot of players will be cut, and many free agents will be signed to minor league spots after other teams cut players.
That being said … here is a link to the Current Workout Groups in PDF version (sorry, but I didn’t feel like re-typing them from scratch) and for those who also wanted this the 2008 Minor League Spring Training Games Schedule. Continue reading 2008 Minor League Workout Groups Announced
Hi Folks:
For those that may be interested, the Phils’ Winter Caravan will be making its annual stop in Lakewood on January 18th. The Blue Claws just announced that Manager Charlie Manuel has been added to the guests that include Coste & Kendrick, as well as returning Phils’ broadcaster Tom McCarthy and Minor League Director Steve Noworyta. Below is the press release from Lakewood.
(Kyle Drabek, courtesy of Blueclaws.com)
Lakewood’s defense of their Sally League title has gotten off to a somewhat slow start, as the Blueclaws sit at just 7-7, 4.5 games behind front running West Virginia in the Northern Division of the SAL. The two biggest culprits to date are the bullpen and the weather, the latter of which the Blueclaws obviously can’t control. Garrett Hill and Michael Dubee have been a bit shaky in the pen, and Andrew Cruse is looking to get back on track after a rough outing last week.
(courtesy of Blueclaws.com)
Lakewood started off week 2 of the season on the right foot, beating West Virginia on April 9th and 10th behind strong pitching performances. After 4 shaky innings from Jarrod Freeman, the bullpen, led by Ben Pfinsgraff, clamped down on West Virigina and held on for the win. In game 2, Kyle Drabek tossed his first gem of the season, going 6 innings, allowing only 1 earned run on five hits, two walks, while striking out 4. Alex Concepcion and Justin Blaine combined for 3 scoreless innings to take Lakewood to a 3-2 record. The third game of the series was rained on Wednesday, and when play resumed Thursday, things didn’t go quite as well, with Lakewood losing both ends of the double header, largely due to shaky bullpen work from the Hill’s, Garet and Ronald. Lakewood traveled to Hickory for what was to be a 4 game series, winning the opener 9-5, with Ben Pfinsgraff notching his second win of the week in relief of Darren Byrd. The next three games, however, were canceled due to wind and rain.
So, Lakewood’s defense of their Sally League crown has begun with a 4-4 record, and they sit in 5th place, 2.5 games behind first place Greensboro in the Northern Division. There have been plenty of positives as well as a few questions left to be answered. Kyle Drabek, who’s first appearance came in relief, was excellent in his first start, and has 7 strikeouts in 7 innings against only 2 walks. Edgar Garcia has two good starts under his belt, having allowed only 3 ER in 12 innings with an 8:1 strikeout to walk ratio. Adrian Cardenas, thrust into full season ball, is hitting .333 in 27 AB, and in Week 2 alone, he hit .467. Maybe the most pleasant surprise has been Gus Milner, an outfield prospect that really wasn’t on anyone’s radar after a disappointing debut last year. Milner’s overall line .387/.424/.548 in 31 AB is an impressive start, and in Week 2, he 2 doubles and 2 stolen bases as well. Even CJ Henry, who struggled mightily last season, has shown some promise, with 5 extra base hits and 3 stolen bases so far.
Their are two things to keep on eye on however, that aren’t looking quite as positive. Darren Byrd and Jarrod Freeman, both promoted to full season ball this year, have struggled a bit. Byrd has allowed 7 ER in 8.1 innings, with 7 walks and 8 strikeouts, and Freeman has allowed 5 ER in 5.2 innings, but does have 7 strikeouts. Not every arm is going to pan out, and it is only two starts, but keep on eye on these two and see how they develop and handle the jump to a full season league. The other disconcerting aspect of not only Lakewood, but of all the Phillies affiliates, is the general lack of plate discipline being shown. In 274 AB as a team, they’ve managed to draw a grand total of 22 walks, with 5 of those going to Julian Williams and 4 to Tuffy Gosewich, neither of whom are really great prospect material. I’m not sure if it’s an organizational teaching method or not, because the big league club clearly doesn’t have a problem drawing walks. Again, keep an eye on this trend and see if it improves or gets worse as the season progresses.
Lakewood returns back home this week for a 3 game series against Delmarva and then they welcome in Hagerstown.
Phuture Phillies 