2006 Erie Seawolves Diary [Archive] - MotownSports.com Message Board

redshark63

04-04-2006, 02:45 PM

Our 2006 Erie Seawolves:

2006 SeaWolves Roster!

Familiar faces and top prospects fill the Erie SeaWolves Opening Day roster. Nine of the top 30 prospects (Ranked by Baseball America) and 16 players from Class-A Lakeland (Florida State League 2005 West Division title winners in both halves with an 85-48 record) will be in uniform on Opening Day.

RETURNING PLAYERS
Nine players are making the return trip to “The Uht.” Veteran OF Kurt Airoso is slated to once again be the designated hitter in his fifth stint with Erie. Other players headlining in their return include SS Tony Giarratano (89 games with Erie prior to being called up to the Tigers in 2005), RHP Humberto Sanchez (Ranked the number six prospect in the Tigers organization by Baseball America), RHP Eulogio De La Cruz (Ranked 15th), 2B Juan Francia (Ranked 17th), and Virgil Vasquez (Ranked 26th ).

CATCHERS
Switch hitting Mike Rabelo returns for the SeaWolves and will be joined by Danilo Sanchez as the two backstops for Erie.

INFIELDERS
The left side of the SeaWolves infield will feature two top prospects in Kody Kirkland at third and Giarratano at short. Utility infielder Scott Tousa and 2B Francia make their return to the SeaWolves and Kelly Hunt will patrol first base.

OUTFIELDERS
Three new outfielders will get the nod for Duffy Dyer’s squad in ’06. Vince Blue, Brent Clevlen and Garth McKinney are all making the move from Class-A Lakeland to Erie. In 2005, the three combined to lead the Florida State League with 35 assists. Clevlen is ranked as the number four prospect in the Detroit farm system and Blue is ranked number 30.

THE BATS
The SeaWolves will be counting on big bats and speed lead the offense in 2006. The 11 offensive players for the SeaWolves combined to hit a total of 131 home runs in 2005. Airoso led the SeaWolves with 22 long balls in ’05 and McKinney(23), Sanchez (22), Clevlen (18), Hunt (18), and Kirkland (16) paced the ’05 Lakeland Tigers. Erie is also getting 103 of the league leading 166 stolen bases from the ’05 Lakeland club. Blue lead the Tigers with 40 during the campaign.

THE ARMS
Erie’s Opening Day starter Jordan Tata has been called up to the big league club to replace the injured Todd Jones, however, the SeaWolves should not skip a beat with the pitching staff to open the year. The projected starting staff will feature Nate Bumstead (12-4, 2.58 ERA in 2005), Humberto Sanchez (3-5, 5.57 ERA), Virgil Vasquez (4-1, 4.21 ERA with Lakeland; 2-8, 5.27 ERA with Erie) and Preston Larrison (1-2, 4.70 ERA with Lakeland; 4-3, 5.23 ERA with Erie). Coming out of the bullpen will be Eulogio De La Cruz, Chris Homer, Jeremy Johnson, Bobby Jones, Ian Ostland, Brian Rogers and Danny Zell.

The 2006 season opener is April 6 as the SeaWolves travel to the Harrisburg to take on the Senators (Washington Nationals). The SeaWolves home opener is April 13 against the Bowie Baysox (Baltimore Orioles). Fans can catch all 142 games live on The Fan Sports Radio 1330 AM and at www.SeaWolves.com.

IT ALL STARTS HERE

RHP - Nate Bumstead
RHP - Eulogio De La Cruz
RHP - Chris Homer
RHP - Jeremy Johnson
LHP - Bobby Jones
RHP - Preston Larrison
LHP - Ian Ostlund
RHP - Humberto Sanchez
RHp - Brian Rogers
RHP - Virgil Vasquez
LHP - Danny Zell
RHP - Pete Sikaras

CATCHERS
Mike Rabelo
Danilo Sanchez

INFIELDERS
Juan Francia
Tony Giarratano
Kelly Hunt
Kody Kirkland
Scott Tousa

OUTFIELDERS
Kurt Airoso
Vince Blue
Brent Clevlen
Garth McKinney

FIELD STAFF
Duffy Dyer - Manager
Pete Incaviglia - Hitting Coach
Mike Caldwell - Pitching Coach
Chris McDonald - Trainer
Steve Chase - Strength & Conditioning Coach

IT ALL STARTS HERE
CLASS-AA AFFILIATE OF THE DETROIT TIGERS

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060403/SEAWOLVES03/60403037/-1/SEAWOLVES

zCor

04-04-2006, 02:52 PM

23 on the roster in Erie. Is that the roster limit in AA, or should we expect 1-2 more on this roster by opening day? Anybody remember?

NATE

04-04-2006, 03:02 PM

23 on the roster in Erie. Is that the roster limit in AA, or should we expect 1-2 more on this roster by opening day? Anybody remember?

24 for the first month then it drops to 23.

No Chris Maples? I thought he would be a valuable utilityman.

shamrock07

04-04-2006, 03:25 PM

Chris Maples or Reggie Taylor would be likely additions.

estrepe1

04-04-2006, 06:38 PM

My probably not as well known prospects to watch... Danilo Sanchez C, De La Cruz RHP and Danny Zell LHP. Both Zell and De La Cruz could see MLB time next season.

Of course it will be interesting to see Clevlen does offensively. I think he will have a bump in numbers like a lot of players in Erie although I am not sure the power will stick long term.

Kirkland needs to fix his off field issues that Mark has brought up, but I think he does fairly well in AA.

Giarratano needs a rebound season to replenish his status.

I expect Larish, Whelan, possibly Clete, and possibly PJ Finigan to see this level this season.

Shinzaki

04-04-2006, 07:03 PM

Kelly Hunt is going to hit 25+ HR's this year. The kid has awesome power....and I'm not just saying that because I'm a BG grad.

estrepe1

04-04-2006, 07:10 PM

As much as Hunt has struggled in his minor league career, I would be surprised if he finds himself in AA.

He might hit 25 homeruns... but that won't mean much if he can't up his contact rate.

He hit 18 last season while hitting 0.216/0.259/0.375 over 501 at bats and 128 games. He also had 29 bb:128 K...

If Larish starts out hot in Lakeland over the first month to month in a half I would be surprised if he wasn't in Erie which would relegate Hunt to the bench.

Right now I just don't think Hunt is much of a prospect. I am semi-surprised he is still with the organization.

Edman85

04-04-2006, 07:42 PM

I'm with you on Hunt, he really really really struggled last year. I guess the raw power and local ties bought him a little more time. As soon as Larish is ready, he probably should be headed back down to Lakeland. At this point, he's simply a placeholder, nothing more.

Here's hoping that Danilo Sanchez gets quite a bit of time at catcher. I know that the organization loves Rabelo's defense, but Sanchez's bat (while he's been old for levels) has been very good recently, and he could potentially turn into a Josh Willingham.

diaspora04

04-04-2006, 09:46 PM

I wonder if Francia will continue to hit like he did last year.

kpking3032

04-04-2006, 10:04 PM

I apologize in advance, but can someone give me a brief synopsis of what exactly Kirkland's "off field" problems are? I am just flat out too lazy to search the site for Micro's post about it....

estrepe1

04-04-2006, 10:10 PM

I apologize in advance, but can someone give me a brief synopsis of what exactly Kirkland's "off field" problems are? I am just flat out too lazy to search the site for Micro's post about it....

If I recall correctly he has problems with putting a full effort into practice and his ability to make the needed adjustments to his game. He is very inconsistent as a fielder.

I guess those are on the field problems that are under the radar.

http://www.motownsports.com/forums/showpost.php?p=604531&postcount=40

Here is a quoted synopsis:

Here's the synopsis for my Kirkland hate.....

I disagree that his numbers are "good" for anyone if you take out his hot April. Without 73 april at-bats where he went .384/.423/.658, you end up with a player who posted a .243/.327/.432 line in 370 at-bats. That's simply poor, by just about any standards, particularly for a player who performed as a 22-year old in A-ball for most of the season.

His defense is the least of my concerns, as that is typically a late blooming factor for many third basemen.

We're talking about a player who has not improved his strikeout rates at any level, and actually got a touch worse each month during the 2005 season, and a player who's walk rates have not improved either.

Aside from his impressive GCL performance, and another impressive, albeit misleading, NYPL performance, he's done nothing to warrant the praise laid upon him since he the second month of his NYPL season.

He's demonstrated an inability to improve at the plate, has stagnated (while still having potential) defensively, and simply hasn't shown the progress that his tools suggest he should at this point.

Kody Kirkland gets considered one of the top position prospects in the Tigers system by many people, and it's simply misguided and incorrect. He's a very average minor league player, who doesn't even deserve the praise he receives in a system with a lack of quality position prospects.

kpking3032

04-04-2006, 11:25 PM

DAMMNN...thanks for doing the grunt work for me...He sounds like the anti-Granderson, in that he isn't whatsoever willing to work to get better.

hueytaxi

04-04-2006, 11:46 PM

Kelly Hunt needa great 1st half to stay with the Tigers. He has heavy competition at his heels and his size and power did nothing spectacular at the plate last year. Speed and contact need major improvement. I'm critical and one of his fans.

Roger

84 Lives!!!

04-05-2006, 12:02 AM

If I recall correctly he has problems with putting a full effort into practice and his ability to make the needed adjustments to his game. ...Here is a quoted synopsis...

I thought there was a better quote from Micro specifically stating comments on his practice habits (heard from people in the organization???), etc...

My memory may be faulty though...

Also, how can you find someone's prior post like that? So quickly?!?!?!?!

redshark63

04-05-2006, 07:55 AM

Bumstead to start 'Wolves opener

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060405/BASEBALL01/604050403

By Ron Leonardi
ron.leonardi@timesnews.com

Erie SeaWolves right-hander Nate Bumstead has been bumped up a day in the rotation and will start the season opener Thursday at Harrisburg.

Bumstead, one of 12 Double-A rookies on the Erie roster, was scheduled to start Friday in the second game of the SeaWolves'four-game series against the Senators, but Tigers roving pitching instructor Jon Matlack on Tuesday decided to move up Erie's entire starting rotation a day.

Those changes were necessitated by the loss of SeaWolves right-hander Jordan Tata, who was recalled to the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. Tata was scheduled to be Erie's opening-day starter.

Matlack also elected to insert right-hander Jeremy Johnson into Erie's rotation as the club's fifth starter. A starter with Erie in 2005, Johnson was set to begin the season in the bullpen.

Bumstead, in his third season in the Detroit organization, was 12-4 with a 2.58 earned-run average in 25 starts last season at Class A Lakeland.

"I knew I was throwing No. 2 and kind of with the shuffle, I didn't know what was going to happen," Bumstead said. "I'm excited. It's cool. I felt coming into the spring I was right where I wanted to be in the strike zone throwing three pitches for strikes. I was consistent and I feel healthy."

After Bumstead's opening-day assignment, the SeaWolves will throw right-hander Humberto Sanchez on Friday, right-hander Virgil Vasquez on Saturday and right-hander Preston Larrison on Sunday. Johnson is scheduled to start Monday, when Erie opens a three-game road series at Altoona.

The Tigers called up Tata a day after Detroit closer Todd Jones suffered a hamstring injury against Tampa Bay in the Tigers' final preseason game Saturday. He was placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Dyer said his revamped rotation will remain that way indefinitely. He said the Tigers have not made a decision on Tata's future once Jones returns from the disabled list.

"We don't know if Tata will be up there just two weeks until Todd Jones comes off the disabled list, but it probably depends a lot on how Jordan pitches," Dyer said. "Jim Leyland is not afraid to use the young kids, so if he goes up there and just pitches the way he did this spring, he may stay there all year."

RON LEONARDI can be reached at 870-1680 or by e-mail.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I am excited for Nate. As has been said already, Nate doesn't have overpowering stuff, but somehow seems to win at each level.
He's not my AAT, but he is one I am definitely rooting for.

Is his scouting report still mid-80's heat and movement, movement, movement? Any early major league comparisons to him?

-------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't read too much into Dyer's comments on Tata. Heck Jordan hasn't even thrown a pitch yet. Obviously, anything can happen - if Jordan pitches good, they COULD keep him. IF they keep him, who do they move off the big league roster and to where? Jason Grilli? Bobby Seay? Tata would either need to become a long man or a lefty :classic: (the latter was tongue in cheek). Personally, I think it would take ALOT to have him stay in Detroit.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

redshark63

04-05-2006, 07:56 AM

1 MORE DAY!

estrepe1

04-05-2006, 09:11 AM

I thought there was a better quote from Micro specifically stating comments on his practice habits (heard from people in the organization???), etc...

My memory may be faulty though...

Also, how can you find someone's prior post like that? So quickly?!?!?!?!

Just search for the user and the topic... You were right that there was another post that got more into his work ethic.

Here is that post:

http://www.motownsports.com/forums/showpost.php?p=670562&postcount=66

I'm not tossing his numbers in Lakeland aside completely, but I'm also not looking at them as though he's suddenly discovered something. My biggest beef with Kirkland lies in his inability or lack of enough work ethic to adjust and react to changes against him...and his numbers at Oneonta, West Michigan, and Lakeland bear that out. Good players adjust and become more consistent...Kody hasn't done that.

April (73 ABs) - 384/428/658
May (112) - 232/295/375
June (74) - 243/317/351
July (94) - 234/308/489
August (79) - 266/370/506
September (11) - 273/500/545

Every season he's been with the Tigers has looked very similar to the above trend from last season in Lakeland. He simply hasn't developed. You can post nice numbers over the course of the season that are the result of a hot month...players do it all the time, that doesn't make them a good prospect....it makes them interesting and someone who has potential....but that doesn't mean good prospect.

I can make a list of 29 guys that have either more tools to justify a high ranking, or have performed better than Kirkland pretty easily....in fact, I've done it the last two years. Now, I don't necessarily agree with the results spit out by the ranking system I developed, that he's only the 51st best prospect in the system....but I also would have a difficult time defending him if her were ranked above say 25. He just lacks too many things at this point.

If he goes to Erie this year, and even shows the slightest improvement in consistency, he'll likely shoot up the list, but until he does that, he's nothing more than an interesting name to peak at in the box score.

In addition, citing the fact that the organization added him to the 40-man roster, doesn't do much for me....particularly considering the history of crappy 40-man decisions this organization has made in recent years.

Big Toe

04-05-2006, 10:42 AM

Must.....not....post.....

lesgoblu02

04-05-2006, 09:19 PM

alrighty then. Since opening day is tomorrow and my AAT is starting, I guess it's time to update my sig.

GO NATE!!

redshark63

04-06-2006, 08:03 AM

Youth movement
Foundation for SeaWolves' success could be with players new to Class AA (http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060406/BASEBALL01/604060436)

Many of the 12 Double-A rookies on the Erie SeaWolves roster are celebrated prospects who already have experienced success climbing the Detroit Tigers' minor league ladder.

Several were teammates on West Michigan's low-Class A Midwest League championship team in 2004.

Many remained together last season when high Class-A Lakeland won a regular season Florida State League championship with an 85-47 record.

Now, they are gearing up for what many baseball people regard as one of the most difficult jumps in the minors - the move from high Class A to Double-A.

"I don't think that happens too many times when that many players from a team move up and take over the Double-A team," SeaWolves first baseman and Double-A rookie Kelly Hunt said. "This could be pretty special."

Their 142-game regular-season indoctrination begins tonight when the SeaWolves open the season at Harrisburg. First pitch at Commerce Bank Park is 6:35.

Erie's four-game series against Harrisburg concludes Sunday. The SeaWolves visit Altoona for a three-game series from Monday through Wednesday. Erie's home opener is April 13 against Bowie.

Nine of the Tigers' top 30 minor-league prospects, according to Baseball America, will start the season with the SeaWolves.

Five of those prospects - right fielder Brent Clevlen (No. 4), third baseman Kody Kirkland (11), reliever Eulogio De La Cruz (15), right-handed starter Nate Bumstead (29) and center fielder Vince Blue (30) - are making their Double-A debuts following successful 2005 seasons at Lakeland.

Clevlen was the Florida State League's MVP and the Tigers' minor league player of the year last season after hitting .302 with 18 homers and 102 RBIs.

He enjoyed a productive spring in the Tigers' big league camp before he was assigned to Erie.

"I was waiting for my chance to get out there and see how I went up against all those other guys," Clevlen said. "I felt like I did good and I had the confidence I could play up there."

Other members of the 2005 Lakeland class who will begin their Double-A careers with Erie are left fielder Garth McKinney, catcher Danilo Sanchez and relievers Brian Rogers, Chris Homer, Ian Ostlund and Daniel Zell.

"It's going to be a new season for most of the guys -- a new challenge," said Bumstead, the SeaWolves' opening-day starter. "We played very well as a team in Lakeland and we're comfortable. It's not like we're walking into a clubhouse full of new guys and we have to get reacquainted. We're a tight group. It's going to be fun."

SeaWolves manager Duffy Dyer feels good about his pitching, despite losing No. 1 starter Jordan Tata to the Tigers on Sunday, and believes the strength of his club entering the season might be its defense.

Erie's starting outfield of Clevlen, Blue and McKinney led the Florida State League with a combined 35 assists last season.

Erie's infield will have two new Double-A rookie starters this season -- Kirkland at third and Hunt at first. Both players won FSL gold gloves a year ago, and the SeaWolves should be strong defensively up the middle with returnees Tony Giarratano at shortstop and Juan Francia at second base.

Sanchez, a Double-A rookie beginning his ninth year in the Detroit organization, is the SeaWolves No. 1 catcher, with Mike Rabelo as the backup. Rabelo backed up Max St. Pierre last season and was a non-roster invitee to Detroit's big league camp in spring training.

Although Rabelo had a solid spring, the Tigers feel Sanchez, coming off a productive offensive season (.284, 22 homers, 68 RBIs) in 2005, warrants more playing time.

"We're getting a lot of kids who are making the jump to Double-A this year and I think some of them might struggle a little bit because the pitching is going to be much better and they're going to see more breaking stuff," Dyer said. "Usually the higher up you go, you see pitchers who can throw off-speed pitches better.

"Most guys can hit a fastball pretty good, and when they get in fastball counts they get fastballs at the lower levels," Dyer added. "But when you get to Double-A, pitchers start throwing a lot more change-ups and splits and breaking balls in fastball counts, and that separates a lot of guys."

One of Dyer's main concerns is an absence of speed and penchant for strikeouts from the middle of his lineup, which will be packed with power-hitting prospects like Clevlen, Hunt, McKinney and Kirkland, along with veteran designated hitter Kurt Airoso.

Don't expect the SeaWolves to have the capability to put pressure on an opponent with any type of sustained running game.

All of Erie's speed will be concentrated at the bottom and top of the batting order. Blue, who will hit ninth, stole 40 bases last season at Lakeland but was caught 29 times and needs to improve his reads, jumps and bunting to better utilize his speed, Dyer said.

Francia will hit leadoff and shortstop Tony Giarratano will bat second.

"I don't like sitting back and waiting for the three-run homer," Dyer said, "but I think with Francia, Giarratano and Blue as our speed, we're going to have to generate some extra-base hits from them. We have a few other guys who can steal some bases, but I don't think we're going to run a great deal."

Airoso, one of the few veterans on Erie's young club, spent most of spring training with Triple-A Toledo, but kept a close watch on many of Erie's younger players in camp.

Entering his fifth season with the team, Airoso's experience could be an invaluable commodity with the young position players.

"When you have a bunch of young guys, things can kind of snowball where, if you're struggling, and a lot of them are going to struggle maybe early when it's cold and it's hard to hit, it's good to have a guy who's done it," Airoso said. "I've struggled in April and May every year, so I can tell them, 'Hey, don't worry if you get into a little slump, it's easy to dig your way out in this park.' Later in the year, when the weather heats up and the ball starts carrying a little bit, you can really put up some good numbers late in the season, so don't press early."

RON LEONARDI can be reached at 870-1680 or by e-mail.

redshark63

04-06-2006, 08:05 AM

The Official Opening Day Roster:

Infielders

Player B T HT WT Age Resides 2005 club

Tony Giarratano S R 6-0 180 23 Marlboro, N.J. Erie/Detroit

Juan Francia S R 5-9 158 24 Venezuela Lakeland/Erie

Kelly Hunt R R 6-5 240 24 Bowling Green, Ohio Lakeland

Kody Kirkland R R 6-4 200 22 Pocatello, Idaho Lakeland

Scott Tousa L R 5-11 180 27 St. George, Utah Lakeland/Erie

Chris Maples R R 5-10 187 26 Hillsborough, N.C. Erie

Catchers

Mike Rabelo S R 6-1 200 26 New Port Richey, Fla. Erie

Danilo Sanchez R R 5-11 215 25 Dominican Republic Lakeland

Outfielders

Kurt Airoso R R 6-2 190 31 Tulare, Calif. Erie

Vince Blue L R 6-2 180 23 Houston Lakeland

Brent Clevlen R R 6-2 190 22 Cedar Park, Texas Lakeland

Garth McKinney R R 6-3 210 23 Johnson City, Tenn. Lakeland

Pitchers

Player B T HT WT Age Resides 2005 club

Nate Bumstead R R 6-1 210 23 Las Vegas Lakeland

Eulogio De La Cruz R R 5-11 177 22 Dominican Republic Lakeland

Chris Homer R R 6-1 190 25 Jamesville, N.Y. Lakeland

Jeremy Johnson R R 6-3 170 23 Mooresville, N.C. Erie

Bobby Jones R L 6-0 170 34 Orange, N.J. Charlotte (AAA-White Sox)

Preston Larrison R R 6-4 235 25 Aurora, Ill. Lakeland/Erie

Ian Ostlund R L 6-1 200 28 Singers Glen, Va. West Michigan/ Lakeland

Humberto Sanchez R R 6-6 230 22 Bronx, N.Y. Erie

Brian Rogers R R 6-4 190 23 Marietta, Ga. Lakeland

Virgil Vasquez R R 6-3 205 23 Santa Barbara, Calif. Lakeland/Erie

Daniel Zell L L 6-5 210 24 Cypress, Texas Lakeland

Pete Sikaras R R 6-2 205 27 Chicago Tennessee (AA-Arizona)

redshark63

04-06-2006, 08:21 AM

ITS SHOWTIME!!!

OPENING DAY!!!!

I started a gameday thread for the Seawolves opening game here:
Opening Day Game Thread (http://www.motownsports.com/forums/showthread.php?t=36887)

Not sure how much I will be able to update it - gotta take my daughter to Brownies tonight. Game starts at 6:30.

But if someone is energetic and is so inclined to listen to the game on the Erie or Harrisburg feed, please feel free to provide updates. Thanks.

Listening to the minor league broadcasts is always fun. I remember last year, especially with the West Michigan feeds, listening to the guys between innings chatting about whatever. Pretty funny. Another thing that I like to do, is listen to the opponent's feed, for at least part of the game. Gives me an idea of what type of competition our guys are going up against. For me, it keeps the "Our Guys Are Special" thinking in perspective, because, of course, they think there guys are too.

On the players to watch section, also, feel free to comment on those guys or add any players you know of.

Well, enough of me for now, T-minus 10 hours to game time. If I leave right now, I should be in Harrisburg with time to spare (I wish).

Now if I could only find those dancing Seawolves!!

redshark63

04-07-2006, 07:32 AM

New Website Launch Coming Soon!
Coming soon....the NEW and IMPROVED www.seawolves.com!!!

The new site will continue to offer all of the great features of the current site, such as online merchandise sales and ticket sales...but wil be easier to navigate and more user-friendly.

Powered by Newline Creations, the SeaWovles are excited about the prospects of the new site. "We think this site will create a destination for intense and casual fans alike. It will fill all needs congruent with a team's website, with statistics and promotional information, but will have a new design, be easier to navigate and update, and will hopefully remain a site that our fans visit on a regular basis" said Rob Magee, Director of Marketing and Promotions for the Erie SeaWolves.

The new site will be launched in the coming weeks...keep checking back and enjoy SeaWolves baseball.

WWW.SEAWOLVES.COM

IT ALL STARTS HERE

Yoda

04-07-2006, 08:05 AM

Supposedly they're having a hard time dealing with thier current provider. They have a hard time getting it updated and adding new features. I think this new site is going to be much better, and I believe they're going to be linking to motownsports somewhere on their site.

redshark63

04-07-2006, 08:10 AM

Jones knows ups, downs
Former big leaguer travels long road on way to 'Wolves

By Ron Leonardi
ron.leonardi@timesnews.com

On a young Erie SeaWolves team loaded with Double-A rookies and high-profile prospects, Bobby Jones might seem out of place.

At 34, the journeyman pitcher has been around the professional baseball block, having pitched at every level of the minors, for nine major league organizations and in the majors with four teams.

For the first time since 1995, Jones is back in Double-A baseball, this time with the SeaWolves, and just two years removed from a relief role with the 2004 world champion Boston Red Sox.

"At this point, I feel like I need to pitch and the opportunity is here," said Jones, a left-hander. "I wouldn't do this if I wasn't trying to get back to the big leagues. I feel like Detroit is a good organization for me. I think this is going to work out well."

Jones, a native of Rutherford, N.J., is entering his 15th season in professional baseball. He signed with the Tigers in January, a year and a half after undergoing Tommy John ligament-replacement surgery on his left elbow.

After spending most of spring training in Lakeland, Fla., with Triple-A Toledo, Jones was assigned to the SeaWolves on Saturday.

As the oldest player on the team, Jones is the veteran reliever of a young SeaWolves bullpen, whose seven-man staff includes five pitchers making their Double-A debuts.

"Hopefully I can lead by example," Jones said. "I'm not really an outspoken person. I kind of stay to myself, but I think I will lead them if they are willing to follow. I'm going to work hard and I'm going to do the things and make the adjustments so, ultimately, I can get back to the big leagues. I know for each one of these guys, that's their goal. I remember when I stepped into Double-A. There's only one place to play and that's the big leagues."

Drafted by the Brewers in 1991, Jones made his major league debut with the Colorado Rockies in 1997. He pitched for the Rockies again in 1998 and 1999, for the Mets in 2000 and 2002, the Padres in 2002 and the Red Sox two years ago.

Jones went to Boston's spring camp in 2004 as a non-roster invitee, threw consistently well and earned a bullpen spot on the opening-day roster.

"It was a great thrill to make that team, which had a lot of great players," Jones said. "It didn't take a rocket scientist to see the talent that was there in Boston at that time. The chemistry was there and you could almost sense the first day we all got together that we were going to win the whole party."

Early in the 2004 season, Jones never felt better. He was healthy and his fastball was touching 93-94 mph. Then, almost overnight, his party ended when he developed a problem with his left arm.

After throwing back-to-back relief outings in Baltimore, Jones' velocity on his fastball dropped to 84 mph and he could no longer throw his curve.

"It was like an overnight experience and nothing you can even explain," Jones said.

After just three relief appearances, and a lengthy stay on the disabled list, Jones left the Red Sox in July and had surgery on his left elbow in August 2004.

The operation was performed by nationally renowned Tommy John surgery specialist, Dr. James Andrews, in Alabama.

Jones returned in June 2005, pitching for Newark of the independent Atlantic League.

In July, the White Sox purchased his contract and assigned him to Charlotte, their Triple-A affiliate. He pitched in 16 games, including two starts.

"I went to Newark because I was itching to do something pretty much against what my agent and my doctor wanted, but it all worked out and I felt pretty good," Jones said. "I went to Charlotte with no expectations and without the doctor's consent. I didn't go there for any other reason than I missed baseball and I wanted to get back on the field. I knew this season I would be able to sign with a major league organization, so the White Sox signing me last year was a huge surprise."

Jones was granted free agency in mid-October and signed with Detroit three months later.

"I didn't have Bobby this spring, but I've heard nothing but great things about his character and what a good teammate he is," SeaWolves manager Duffy Dyer said. "With his experience, I'm sure he's going to be a very positive influence on the younger kids and, hopefully, show them what it takes to be on a winning team and what it takes to be a winner."

There's no disappointment for Jones being back in Double-A, only anticipation of being healthy and proving that he can still be effective. He wants to attain the level that enabled him to earn a major league job as recently as two years ago.

"Things happen for a reason and I'm excited to possibly get an opportunity on this ballclub,"Jones said. "My job is to go out there and pitch well, whatever role it's going to be.

"I keep myself in great shape and I'll probably pitch as long as my arm holds up and as long as I really feel like I can pitch. This is what I love to do, and that's how I look at it."

RON LEONARDI can be reached at 870-1680 or by e-mail.

redshark63

04-07-2006, 10:31 AM

This write-up from Harrisburg side:

MLive meet PennLive
http://www.pennlive.com/senators/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/sports/114441600661200.xml&coll=1&thispage=2

Heroes plentiful for Senators
Friday, April 07, 2006
BY GEOFF MORROW,
Of The Patriot-News

Pick a hero, Senators fans. Your 2006 Harrisburg club presented a handful of them in last night's season opener, a 2-1 triumph over the Erie SeaWolves in 10 innings before 3,698 fans at Commerce Bank Park. Catcher Salomon Manriquez certainly qualifies.

It was his deep sacrifice fly to left with one out in the 10th that plated Cristian Guerrero with the winning run.

Guerrero deserves praise for starting the rally against reliever Frankie De La Cruz (0-1) with a solid one-out single, erasing the memory of strikeouts in his first three at-bats.

Josh Whitesell followed Guerrero's single with a long double into the left-center gap, and manager John Stearns, coaching third base and waving his arms, saved his own hide by putting the brakes on Guerrero at the last minute as he rounded third.

It's a safe bet Guerrero would have been toast.

"I was going to send him," Stearns said. "But [Garth McKinney] made a great play getting the ball to the relay man. I had just enough time to stop him."

The play most of the team talked about was the catch by left fielder Frank Diaz, who leaped against the wall in left-center and robbed Erie's Danilo Sanchez of a home run with two outs in the top of the 10th.

Diaz said he was lucky because with two outs he was in a no-doubles defense, meaning he was playing deeper than usual. It helped him get a jump on tracking Sanchez's bomb.

There were also the heroics of Dan DeMent and Kory Casto in the bottom of the ninth. DeMent drew a one-out walk off reliever Chris Homer and scored the Senators' first run of the season from first on a two-out, opposite-field double by Casto.

"My first two at-bats, I was a little antsy and anxious," Casto said of two strikeouts. "The third at-bat was a little better, and by my last at-bat I was really staying within myself."

But really it's impossible to talk about this game without mentioning the sensational performance by Harrisburg's starting pitcher, Shawn Hill, and his three relievers, Chris Schroder, Oscar Alvarez and David Gil.

Hill, a right-hander from Ontario, fired six brilliant innings but was on the hook for the loss until Casto's double in the ninth.

His only real mistake was hanging an 0-2 fastball to McKinney in the top of the third. McKinney nearly introduced the baseball to the Pepsi sign behind the left-field wall for a home run.

Other than that, Hill was nothing short of fantastic. He didn't walk a batter, scattered four hits and whiffed six in a 75-pitch effort.

Same acclamation for Schroder, Alvarez and Gil.

Gil (1-0) picked up the win by retiring the final four batters, with Diaz providing one healthy assist.

"I was saying thank you, thank you," Gil said of the conversation after Diaz's catch. "It was a big moment. For a team with a lot of young players like this, we showed a lot of character in this win. It's a very good sign."

Alvarez struck out all three batters he faced over the eighth and ninth innings, and Schroder walked one and didn't allow a hit in 12/3 innings.

In all, the bullpen pitched four hitless innings and struck out five.

Erie's pitchers equaled Harrisburg's in productivity, at least through the first eight innings.

The Senators were limited to three singles -- by Manriquez, Alex Escobar and Ian Desmond -- over the first eight innings. Only Escobar reached scoring position after he stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher in the fourth.

SeaWolves starter Nate Bumstead allowed just two hits to go with six strikeouts in five shutout innings.

Relievers Brian Rogers and Bobby Jones teamed for three scoreless innings before giving way to Homer in the ninth.

Homer's one-out walk to DeMent was the only free pass issued by Erie vs. 12 strikeouts. Harrisburg also walked only one and whiffed 11 batters.

"All the pitchers threw very well," Erie manager Duffy Dyer said. "They were hitting spots and had good command. [Harrisburg] just started to swing a little better in the ninth and 10th."

NOTES: Designated hitter Tony Blanco was placed on the 15-day disabled list before the game and was replaced on the 24-man roster by outfielder Jesus Feliciano, who started at DH. ... Erie lost its 11th straight game dating to last season and has lost five in a row against Harrisburg. ... Stearns and Dyer tried to out-think each other to start the bottom of the ninth. Lefty Bobby Jones warmed up on the mound for Erie, and Stearns called on the right-handed Melvin Dorta to pinch-hit for Feliciano, a lefty. Then Dyer called on Homer, a righty, for relief. Stearns countered by pinch-hitting Rich Lane, a lefty, for Dorta. All this before a pitch was thrown. For the record, Dyer won the battle because Lane struck out. But Stearns' club won the war with the 2-1 victory. ... The Senators improved to 8-12 on opening day.

GEOFF MORROW: 255-8250 or gmorrow@patriot-news.com

redshark63

04-07-2006, 12:45 PM

Not a good hitting day anywhere north of WM, but some nice starting pitching.

Didn't get a chance to listen to the game last night. Tonight's game is a 6:30 start, so maybe someone can follow it prior to switching to the Tiger game.

For Erie, Nate Bumstead had a great first start.

2 hits, no walks, and 6 k's in 5 innings. His ball was definitely moving yesterday.

Brian Rogers carried over his "quiet" success from Lakeland with some nice middle relief. A nice player that no one (except us) knows about. Any thoughts on his repetoire and how it currently looks as he performs at AA and maybe beyond?

Of course, Bobby Jones performed well on the opening day of The Masters. :classic:.

redshark63

04-08-2006, 08:29 AM

Bullpen blows 5-run lead; 'Wolves fall to 0-2

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060408/BASEBALL01/604080427

From staff reports

HARRISBURG -- For the second straight night, the Erie SeaWolves got superb a outing by their starting pitcher.

And for the second straight night, the 'Wolves bullpen could not hold a lead.

The Harrisburg Senators rallied from a 5-0 deficit to top the 'Wolves' 11-7 in front of 2,751 fans at Commerce Bank Park on Friday.

Erie will send Virgil Vasquez to the mound tonight to face Harrisburg's Anatacio Martinez in a matchup of right-handers that begins at 6:05 p.m.

Friday's loss spoiled a fine outing by Humberto Sanchez, who shut out the Senators over the first five innings. Sanchez, who pitched for the 'Wolves last year, struck out eight and allowed four hits before departing with a 5-0 lead.

When manager Duffy Dyer went to his bullpen, things fell apart. The Senators scored four runs in the sixth inning, took the lead for good with five runs in the seventh, and scored twice in the eighth.

Erie scored two runs in the first inning on Kurt Airoso's two-out home run, one of three hits for the 'Wolves designated hitter. Erie made it 5-0 on Kelly Hunt's two-out, two-run homer off of Harrisburg starter Kip Bouknight.

Pete Sikaras (2/3 inning, four hits, four runs), Daniel Zell (2/3 inning, two hits, one run), Eulogio De La Cruz (2/3 inning, five hits, four runs) and Ian Ostlund (one inning, two hits, two runs) could not hold Erie's lead.

Alex Escobar blasted a two-run homer off Sikaras in the sixth inning, and Frank Diaz added a two-run homer off Ostlund in the eighth. Diaz also had a double and single and three RBIs.

Kory Casto and Salomon Manriquez each had three singles for the Senators.

Tony Giarratano had three hits, including two doubles, and he drove in the other two 'Wolves runs.

redshark63

04-08-2006, 08:31 AM

From Thursday's game:

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060407/BASEBALL01/604070474

SeaWolves start season on sour note

From staff reports

HARRISBURG -- One out away from preserving a shutout win on opening night, Erie SeaWolves closer Chris Homer couldn't slam the door on the Harrisburg Senators.

Harrisburg third baseman Kory Casto tied the game at 1 in the bottom of the ninth with a two-out, RBI double off of Homer.

The Senators completed their rally in the 10th, winning 2-1 Thursday on Salomon Manriquez's sacrifice fly off of Erie reliever Eulogio De La Cruz.

An opening-night crowd of 3,698 at Commerce Bank Park saw four Harrisburg pitchers limit the SeaWolves to four hits and shut down Erie's No. 1 through No. 5 hitters, who finished a combined 0-for-20.

Still, Erie carried a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth thanks to Garth McKinney's home run in the third.

With one out, Homer, who led Class A Lakeland with 29 saves in 2005, walked Harrisburg second baseman Dan Dement on four pitches (Erie's only walk of the game). It proved costly.

After Homer struck out Ian Desmond for the second out, the left-handed-hitting Casto went with an outside pitch and lined a slicing double toward the left-field line. The ball skipped past McKinney, enabling Dement to score easily.

"He did a good job of hitting," SeaWolves manager Duffy Dyer said. "We had our outfield playing deep at what we call no-double depth, but the ball took a big skip or something and I was surprised it got by him."

Casto was the Washington Nationals' minor league player of the year last season after hitting .290 with 22 homers and 90 RBIs at Class A Potomac.

Erie nearly regained the lead in the top of the 10th inning. Catcher Danilo Sanchez drove a pitch deep to left field, but Harrisburg left fielder Frank Diaz leaped above the wall and made the catch to rob the Double-A rookie of a go-ahead homer and end the inning.

In the 10th inning, De La Cruz struck out Harrisburg's first hitter, then gave up a single to Cristian Guerrero and a double to Josh Whitesell, putting runners on second and third. Manriquez then lofted a fly ball to left that McKinney caught just in front of warning track, scoring Guerrero with the winning run.

Erie's starter, right-hander Nate Bumstead, and relievers Brian Rogers and Bobby Jones combined to blank Harrisburg on three hits over eight innings.

Bumstead threw five scoreless innings, allowing only two hits while striking out six and walking none. Rogers worked 21/3 scoreless innings and Jones 2 /3 of an inning.

"The bullpen is still a pick-'em situation," Dyer said. "Homer deserves a chance to close most of the time because he did a good job at Lakeland last season. De La Cruz will close some of the time, but the Tigers aren't sure if they want him to be a closer or set-up man, and they want him pitching more than one inning when he's in there."

Harrisburg right-hander Shawn Hill, who missed the entire 2005 season while recovering from elbow surgery, retired the first seven Erie hitters before McKinney hit a towering homer to left in the third.

McKinney played at Lakeland last season and was third in the Florida State League with 23 homers.

The SeaWolves wasted an opportunity to extend their lead in the fifth. With one out, Sanchez doubled and went to third on Kody Kirkland's bloop single to center. McKinney then bounced into a double play to end the threat.

"That was one of the few chances we had to score some runs," Dyer said

redshark63

04-08-2006, 08:38 AM

Two great starts by Bumstead and Sanchez. Only one start, but very encouraging.

De La Cruz with back to back poor outings. Very early, but should we be worried? I wish there was someone in the Harrisburg region tuning into this forum who could give us a scouting report on Virgil tonight. Lee, are you going to go see any of the Wolves games when they head up your way?

Hitting: Not real familiar with the Harrisburg pitchers, so I'm not sure if the bats are a little rusty or the Senator pitchers are ahead of our hitters. I think it was mentioned in the Lakeland forum that these guys have not been together long as a team, so there may be some gelling going on. I don't buy that completely. Someone is winning and it just isn't us, yet.

estrepe1

04-08-2006, 09:50 AM

Clevlen is starting out slow. He is very streaky it seems lets hope he gets back on track soon before he has a terrible start to the season.

Edman85

04-08-2006, 12:02 PM

Any reports on Delacruz's velocity? That could be very telling as to whether this is a bad start or something to be concerned about... To be very honest, I would not be shocked if he flamed out.

calpon

04-08-2006, 10:29 PM

Virgil Matt Vasquez was the starter tonight and his line looked good, but took the loss.

Vasquez (L, 0-1) 6.0 3 1 1 1 4 0 1.50

Big Toe

04-08-2006, 10:55 PM

Six strikeouts in eleven at bats so far for Kirkland. Ugh. Ditto for McKinney.

Microline133

04-09-2006, 10:43 AM

Six strikeouts in eleven at bats so far for Kirkland. Ugh.
For some reason, seeing you write this put a smile on my face :classic:

Edman85

04-09-2006, 11:03 AM

When are these guys gonna start hitting?

tiger337

04-09-2006, 11:04 AM

I remember going to an Oneonta versus Lowell game a couple of years ago and saw Kirkland for the first time. He had a good game and I commented on the board that he looked good. It happened to be Mark's first week on the board so of course he responded with a long diatribe detailing all of Kirkland's weaknesses.

eastside billee

04-09-2006, 11:07 AM

Larrison, Larrison, Larrison

Big Toe

04-09-2006, 01:16 PM

For some reason, seeing you write this put a smile on my face :classic:

Yeah, I expected as much. Now when he goes 5 for 5 with 5 grand slams today I'll expect you to write something nice about him. ;-)

He's really off to a horrendous start though. Too bad he's not the only one.

redshark63

04-10-2006, 07:59 AM

Catching up from the Weekend -

About Saturday's game:

Box: http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2006_04_08_eswaax_haraax_1

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060409/BASEBALL01/604090457

Bullpen sinks 'Wolves for 3rd straight game

From staff reports

HARRISBURG -- The Harrisburg Senators took advantage of the Erie SeaWolves' bullpen for a third straight Eastern League victory.

The Senators, subdued by Erie's starting pitchers for most of the season-opening series, scored twice in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 3-1 victory Saturday before 1,420 at Commerce Bank Park.

Virgil Vasquez (0-1) became Erie's third straight tough-luck loser. Vasquez went six innings and allowed one run, three hits one walk and four strikeouts.

Harrisburg's lone run off Vasquez came in the bottom of the third, when Richard Lane doubled to center and scored on Melvin Dorta's one-out single.

It was the first run allowed by an Erie starter. In three games, Nate Bumstead, Humberto Sanchez and Vasquez combined for 16 innings, nine hits, two walks and 18 strikeouts.

Harrisburg scored the decisive runs off SeaWolves reliever Danny Zell in the seventh. Frank Diaz led off with a single and scored on Cristian Guerrero's opposite-field triple to right with one out.

Harrisburg manager John Stearns then called for the squeeze play. Lane put down the bunt that scored Guerrero for a 3-0 lead.

Erie got its lone run an inning later. Vincent Blue reached on a bunt single off the Senators' Devin Perrin and moved up when Dorta made an error on Tony Giarratano's grounder to second.

Brent Clevlen singled in Blue with two outs, but Perrin struck out Kurt Airoso to quash the rally. Perrin and Chris Schroder combined to strike out the side in the 'Wolves' ninth.

Anastacio Martinez (1-0) got the win for Harrisburg.

redshark63

04-10-2006, 08:01 AM

Sunday:

Box:
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2006_04_09_eswaax_haraax_1

'Wolves finally notch a W

From staff reports

HARRISBURG -- Kelly Hunt homered and four Erie pitchers combined on a two-hitter as the Erie SeaWolves beat the Harrisburg Senators 3-0 Sunday before 2,667 at Commerce Bank Park.

Erie got its first victory after dropping three consecutive games to start the season.

Hunt got Erie on the board in the top of the third inning with his second home run of the season.

His two-run shot came with two out off of Harrisburg starter David Maust, who fell to 0-1 after allowing seven hits and two earned runs in four innings.

Erie starter Preston Larrison went five shutout innings and did not allow a hit to improve his record to 1-0. He did not issue a walk and struck out five.

Left-hander Ian Ostlund went two innings in relief of Larrison. The Senators (3-1) recorded their only two hits of the game off of Ostlund, who walked two and struck out two.

Bobby Jones and Chris Homer each went one inning for the SeaWolves, with Homer getting his first save of the season.

Erie added an insurance run in the ninth as Vincent Blue got his first run batted in of the season.

Tony Giarratano, Brent Clevlen and Blue each had two hits for the SeaWolves.

The 'Wolves continue their road trip today at Altoona.

After a three-game series with the Curve, Erie will return for its home opener Thursday against Bowie.

redshark63

04-10-2006, 08:05 AM

SeaWolves Series Preview
Erie SeaWolves (1-3) at Altoona Curve (4-0)

At Blair County Ballpark

Today-Tuesday, 6:35 p.m.

Wednesday, 4:05 p.m.

Pitching matchups

Today: Erie RH Jeremy Johnson (0-0) vs. Altoona RH Jason Roach (0-0)

Tuesday: Erie RH Nate Bumstead (0-0, 0.00) vs. Altoona LH Mike Connolly (0-0, 1.80)

Wednesday: Erie RH Humberto Sanchez (0-0, 0.00) vs. Altoona RH Landon Jacobsen (0.00)

Altoona notes: The Curve are off to a good start thanks to outstanding pitching. Curve starters Mike Connolly, Landon Jacobsen and Matt Peterson limited the Trenton Thunder to a combined one earned run in the first three games of their four-game series. Former Allegheny College pitcher Josh Sharpless, a native of Freedom entering his fourth season of professional baseball, is a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates' 40-man roster. Sharpless earned the win in Altoona's season-opening 4-3 home victory over Trenton on Thursday with two scoreless innings of relief.

Erie notes: The SeaWolves carry some momentum into this series after earning their first win of the season Sunday with a 3-0 victory at Harrisburg in the final game of their four-game series.

-- from staff reports

... After struggling in the first three games against Harrisburg, Erie's bullpen did the job on Sunday, with three relievers combining to throw four shutout innings. Closer Chris Homer earned his first save. He led Class A Lakeland with 29 saves last season. Right-hander Jeremy Johnson is scheduled to make his first start of the season for the SeaWolves today. Johnson, a starter for Erie in 2005, was scheduled to open the season in the bullpen, but was inserted into the rotation after the Tigers promoted SeaWolves right-hander Jordan Tata on April 2. First baseman Kelly Hunt leads the club with two homers and four RBIs. Erie's starting rotation of right-handers Nate Bumstead, Humberto Sanchez, Virgil Vasquez and Preston Larrison was outstanding in the Harrisburg series, allowing a combined one run in 21 innings. [!!!!]

redshark63

04-10-2006, 08:35 AM

Monday Morning Observations:

Stats:
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=t_ibp&cid=106

All I can say about their starting pitching so far is WOW!!
As the Times-News highlighted in the previous post, the 1st 4 starters in the Erie rotation allowed ONLY 1 RUN in 21 innings! To cap off that all Preston Larrison does on Sunday is go out and throw 5 NO HIT INNINGS! (notice the trend in CAPS!) Now I know that they are not going to keep this up, but it is amazing.

Here is their composite starters' line:

21 ip
9 hits
1 run
1 earned run
2 walks
23 strikeouts

DAMN!!!

That was the good news...now for the not so good news, the hitting & bullpen -

Well not all the hitters had a bad week,

The hot hitters:

Vince Blue 5-13, sb, 2r
Tony G 6-17, 2 2b, 4 k
Kurt Airoso 5-16, 2b, hr, 4k

Not so good:
Kelly Hunt 3-15, 2 hr, 5 k
Brent Clevlen 3-16, 0 r, 0 rbi, 5 k
Juan Francia 1-14
Kody Kirkland 2-15, 7 k
Garth McKinney 2-11, 2b, hr, 6 k

Bullpen:
Eulogio De La Cruz 2g, 1.1 ip, 7 h, 5 r/er, 1 bb, 2 k
Pete Sikaras 1g, 0.2 ip, 4 r/er, hr, bb, k
Danny Zell 2g, 1,2 ip, 4 h, 3 r/er, 3 k

Surprisingly, the whole Eastern League apparently is not hitting this early. It could be the early spring weather (not sure what is was like in Harrisburg) if Toledo & Grand Rapids weather is any indication. I do know that Erie weather is usually not good for another month (thus in the past some prospects playing in Lakeland until it warms up in PA, then moving up).

League hitting:
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=l_tba&lid=113

Erie is hitting .219, which places them right in the middle of the pack, 6th of 12 teams. Reading & Portland are hitting dismal .172. Granted, we are talking 3 or 4 games.

On the pitching side, in spite of their phenomenal starting pitching, the Seawolves are 10th in the league with a 4.15 ERA. No doubt the bullpen woes are THE factor in that.

League pitching:
http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=l_tpi&lid=113

In wrap, a 1-3 record or their early hitting/bullpen woes may not be encouraging, but the system's strength, starting pitching is definitely showing 1st time through.

All 4 are encouraging, Bumstead having a great 1st AA start, Vasquez, Sanchez, & Larrison all doing well.

redshark63

04-11-2006, 09:01 AM

Recap from MiLB:
Box: http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&gid=2006_04_10_eswaax_altaax_1&cid=106&t=g_box

Pond leads unbeaten Curve
April 10, 2006

Simon Pond smacked two homers and drove in three runs to help Altoona stay undefeated with a 9-1 win over visiting Erie on Monday.

Pond finished 3-for-5 with three runs scored for the Curve (5-0).

Rich Thompson had a double, two singles and an RBI for Altoona, while Travis Chapman and Adam Boeve each contributed two hits and two RBIs. Vic Butler also had a multi-hit night, going 2-for-4 with a double against the SeaWolves (1-4).

Jason Roach (1-0) tossed six scoreless innings, scattering three hits and striking out five. Brandon Knight pitched the final three innings, allowing a run in the ninth but picking up his first save.

Jeremy Johnson (0-1) lasted five innings but gave up four runs on nine hits. Eulogio De La Cruz came on to pitch in the eighth and only got two outs. He was touched up for five runs on six hits.

Garth McKinney led the SeaWolves offense with a double and a single. Kelly Hunt also contributed an RBI single.

Altoona will try to stay unbeaten on Tuesday when it faces Erie again at 6:35 ET in Altoona. --Christopher Heine/MLB.com

--------------------------------------------------------------------

From Erie Times-News

Curve baffle 'Wolves
From staff reports

Altoona coasts past punchless Erie

ALTOONA -- The Erie SeaWolves' offense has struggled since the Eastern League season began last week.

On Monday, their starting pitcher struggled, too.

Right-hander Jeremy Johnson and three Erie relievers were touched up for 16 hits and three home runs by the Altoona Curve. First baseman Simon Pond hit two of the homers, as Altoona improved to 5-0 with a 9-1 victory before 3,063 atBlair County Ballpark.

Erie (1-4) shut out Harrisburg for its lone win Sunday. In three of their four losses, the 'Wolves have scored only one run.

Erie averted a shutout in the ninth inning when first baseman Kelly Hunt hit his third home run of the season off of Curve reliever Brandon Knight.

Altoona starter Jason Roach (1-0) allowed no runs, three hits and struck out five in six innings. Knight was credited with his first save because he pitched the final three innings.

Pond gave the Curve a 4-0 lead with a two-run homer off of Johnson (0-1) in the bottom of the fifth. Pond led off Altoona's five-run eighth with a solo shot against Eulogio De La Cruz.

The Curve sent 10 batters to the plate and scored all five runs in two-thirds of an inning against De La Cruz.

Right fielder Adam Boeve also hit a home run for Altoona. Boeve was one of six Curve players with at least two hits.

Pond went 3-for-5, drove in three runs and scored three times. Center fielder Rich Thompson also had three hits.

Garth McKinney had two hits for the 'Wolves.

redshark63

04-12-2006, 08:52 AM

From the Times-News:

BOX: http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2006_04_11_eswaax_altaax_1

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060412/BASEBALL01/604120463

Airoso launches 'Wolves to win
From staff reports

Erie hits 3 homers, tags Altoona withfirst loss of season
ALTOONA -- Veteran Kurt Airoso smashed a pair of two-run home runs, and right-hander Nate Bumstead again pitched five strong innings to lead the Erie SeaWolves to a 6-2 victory over the Altoona Curve on Tuesday night.

A crowd of 3,371 at Blair County Ballpark saw the SeaWolves improve to 2-4 and hand the Curve their first Eastern League loss in six games.

The 31-year-old Airoso raised his franchise-leading career home run total to 93 with a pair of shots to left field against Curve left-hander Mike Connolly (0-1), who also gave up a two-run blast to Kody Kirkland.

Airoso, the designated hitter, hit his second homer of the season in the top of the first after Brent Clevlen's two-out single. He hit his third of the year in the fifth inning one out after Tony Giarratano led off with a double.

Kirkland hit his first home run with the SeaWolves to left in the second inning to score Danilo Sanchez, who had singled. Clevlen had a pair of hits for the SeaWolves.

The 23-year-old Bumstead (1-0) allowed one hit and struck out eight after an opening-day no decision against Harrisburg, when he allowed two hits in five shutout innings and fanned six.

The Curve scored their two runs in the sixth against reliever Bobby Jones. Carlos Maldonado and Adam Boeve had two hits apiece in the loss.

Erie right-hander Brian Rogers struck out four in 2 1/3 scoreless innings to earn his first save..

------------------------------------------------------------

MiLB:

Airoso blasts Altoona
April 11, 2006

Kurt Airoso blasted two-run homers in the first and fifth inning as Erie handed Altoona its first loss of the season, 6-2, on Tuesday.

Kody Kirkland hit a two-run shot of his own in the second to complete the scoring for the SeaWolves (2-4). Brent Clevlen added a pair of singles against the Curve (5-1), which beat Erie on Monday, 9-1.

Nathan Bumstead (1-0) dominated the hot-hitting Curve by striking out eight in five shutout innings. Brian Rogers blanked Altoona over the final 2 1/3 innings to get the save.

Curve starter Michael Connolly (0-1) surrendered all six runs in 4 1/3 innings and took the loss. Shane Youman struck out two and Jorge Vasquez fanned four to shut down the SeaWolves the rest of the way.

Carlos Maldonado smacked two doubles for Altoona, going 2-for-4. Adam Boeve and Vic Buttler had RBI doubles off reliever Bobby M. Jones in the sixth to wrap up the scoring.

The teams meet at 4:05 p.m. ET on Wednesday in the rubber match of their three-game set. --Christopher Heine/MLB.com
-------------------------------------------------------------

Another nice outing for Nate. 4 walks not great, but 1 hit is.

Wonder whose record Kurt Airoso broke?

Nice first 3 appearances for Brian Rogers.
5.1 ip, 3 h, 0 bb, 7 k

Kind-of overlooked last year with Verlander, Tata, Bumstead, Homer(?) at Lakeland. Nice steady job.

Any scouting reports on Rogers?

Big Toe

04-12-2006, 01:27 PM

Anyone feeling too happy? Take a glance down the walk and strikeout columns of Erie's hitters. Not pretty. Ten walks as a team. 58 strikeouts. Kirkland and McKinney are (unsurprisingly) leading the way, but Giarratano's right behind them and that's pretty disappointing.

Big Toe

04-12-2006, 01:30 PM

Redshark, I can't give you a scouting report, but what I've read of Rogers (might just have been around here) is that he's a bit of a soft-tosser who needs to hit his locations with precision to be effective.

04-12-2006, 01:59 PM

Brian Rogers throws a fastball (89-92) with good movement. His best pitch is his slider and has developed a nice change-up since joining the Tigers. He has always had excellent control as witnessed by his K/BB ratio in Oneonta, West Michigan, and Lakeland. Either his velocity was up or he was getting good movement on his fastball last night as listening to the game, several of the Curve players he struck-out were swinging and missing at fastballs. The move to the bullpen last year at Lakeland seems to have been a good move for Brian.

redshark63

04-12-2006, 02:01 PM

thanks gt. hope those tornadoes missed you.

Microline133

04-12-2006, 02:52 PM

I'm surprised to see a report that has Rogers throwing 89-92. I've never seen him touch 90, and I've seen him probably a dozen times in person. He's always been consistently in the 85-88 range with good movement and very good breaking pitches.

redshark63

04-13-2006, 09:04 AM

SeaWolves limp home after rough start

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060413/BASEBALL01/604130458

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Show of Strength (http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060413/BASEBALL01/604130441)

Erie SeaWolves manager Duffy Dyer labeled starting pitching and defense as his club's top two strengths entering the regular season.

Both have been constants through the first week of the season on a young team whose roster includes 12 players who are Double-A rookies.

In Erie's first six games, the SeaWolves' starting rotation combined to allow just five runs and 18 hits in 31 innings while striking out 35 and walking seven.

Right-hander Nate Bumstead (2-0) hasn't allowed a run over 10 innings in two starts. Right-hander Preston Larrison (1-0) pitched five scoreless, hitless innings in his first outing.

Right-hander Humberto Sanchez worked five scoreless innings in his first start. Right-hander Virgil Vasquez, who will start Erie's home opener tonight at 6:35 against Bowie at Jerry Uht Park, lost his first start despite giving up only one run and three hits over six innings against Harrisburg last week.

Vasquez was 2-8 with a 5.27 ERA in 15 starts last season with Erie after a midseason Double-A promotion from Class A Lakeland.

"If the starters can keep giving us five or six strong innings, we'll win a lot of those games,"Dyer said.

But that will depend on how well some of the young arms in the bullpen adjust to Double-A and how quickly they can acclimate and settle into their roles.

Erie's bullpen has been inconsistent, allowing a combined 20 runs and 31 hits in 20 2/3 innings in the team's first six games.

Right-hander Brian Rogers has been extremely sharp, throwing 5 2/3 shutout innings of scoreless relief with seven strikeouts and no walks. He also has one of Erie's two saves.

Closer Chris Homer has a save and one blown save in two appearances. He led Class A Lakeland with 29 saves last season. His lost save came in the season opener April 6, when the Harrisburg Senators touched the right-hander for a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game at 1. Erie lost 2-1 in 10 innings.

On Sunday, Homer was summoned to pitch the ninth against Harrisburg and worked a scoreless inning to preserve a 3-0 win.

"I think everybody the first time out had the jitters and didn't know what to expect,"Homer said. "I was talking to my family on opening day and kind of joking around and telling them that we were going to win that night and I was going to close it out and get the ball rolling. But we started out with a bump in the road."

No one in the bullpen is struggling more than prospect Eulogio De La Cruz, a 22-year-old right-hander who has touched 100 mph with his fastball. De La Cruz had three forgettable outings on Erie's season-opening seven-game road trip, allowing 10 runs and 13 hits in just two innings.

"He's one of our better prospects," Dyer said. "He has a great arm but he has to start getting some people out. He's too high in the strike zone, he's getting balls up and out over the plate. It's mechanical. He's a young kid and he's lacking confidence now. He needs to go out and have a good outing."

Five of Erie's seven relievers - Rogers, Homer, De La Cruz, lefty Ian Ostlund and lefty Daniel Zell - are Double-A rookies after pitching together at Lakeland in 2005. The exceptions are 34-year-old lefty and former major leaguer Bobby Jones and right-hander Pete Sikaras, 27, who has Double-A and Triple-A experience.

"I hadn't formed any opinions about the younger kids coming here, though I didn't think they would come here and tear up the league because they're facing older hitters and better hitters," Dyer said. "It's not that easy jumping from the (high Class A) Florida State League to the Eastern League."

One early season trend that Dyer expected from his offense has materialized.

The SeaWolves have flashed power - they led the league with eight homers before Wednesday's game at Altoona - but have not been able to manufacture runs from a lineup top-heavy with younger, power-hitting, strikeout-prone prospects.

"We need to do a better job of getting runners over, and we're not getting a lot of hits with men in scoring position," Dyer said. "We're getting a couple of men on with no outs or a man on third with less than two outs and not getting them home. We're scoring all of our runs on homers. When you have three or four power hitters, it makes it tough at times on the offense."

SeaWolves first baseman Kelly Hunt, who has three of Erie's eight home runs, isn't worried.

"There's that saying that hitting is contagious," Hunt said. "One through nine in the lineup, we have hitters. We haven't been able to string hits together, but we know we will get that going soon. I don't think that's going to be a problem."

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Meet The Players (http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060413/BASEBALL01/604130423)

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Series Preview (http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060413/BASEBALL01/604130424)

Bowie Baysox (4-3)

at Erie SeaWolves (2-5)

At Jerry Uht Park

Today-Saturday, 6:35 p.m.

Sunday, 1:05 p.m.

Pitching matchups:

# Today: Erie RH Virgil Vasquez (0-1, 1.50) vs. Bowie RH Brian Finch (0-0, 0.00)

# Friday: Erie RH Preston Larrison (1-0, 0.00 ) vs. Bowie LH Richard Stahl (0-1, 0.00)

# Saturday: Erie RH Jeremy Johnson (0-1, 7.20) vs. Bowie LH Craig Anderson (0-0, 2.57)

# Sunday: Erie RH Nate Bumstead (1-0, 0.00) vs. Bowie RH James Johnson (2-0, 3.18)

Erie notes: Vasquez was a tough-luck loser in his first outing, allowing one run and three hits in six innings of a 3-1 loss at Harrisburg on Saturday. ... Erie designated hitter Kurt Airoso and first baseman Kelly Hunt and New Britain's Doug Deeds shared the league's home run lead with three apiece. ... The first 1,000 fans at tonight's home opener receive a free SeaWolves calendar. ... The first 1,000 fans at Friday's game receive a free magnetic schedule.

Bowie notes: The Baysox roster features seven of the Baltimore Orioles top 30 prospects rated by Baseball America. Left-handed starter Adam Loewen, 22, is Baltimore's No. 2-ranked prospect. In his first start this season Friday, Loewen carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning of a 4-0 win over the Reading Phillies. ... Other top Bowie prospects are right-hander James Johnson (8), outfielder Jeff Fiorentino (11), right-handed starter Brian Finch (14), right-handed reliever Chris Britton, right-handed reliever Salas Marino (25) and third baseman Tripper Johnson (30). ... Bowie's roster includes Leo Daigle, who spent the 2003 season with the SeaWolves, hitting .238 with 13 homers and 54 RBIs in 118 games.

-- from staff reports

Daigle was released by the Tigers in April 2004. He spent the remainder of the 2004 season and all of the 2005 season in the Chicago White Sox's farm system among Class A Kannapolis, Triple-A Charlotte and Class A Winston-Salem. Daigle signed with the Orioles in November.

redshark63

04-15-2006, 11:18 AM

From 4/14 articles:

Euphoria of opener erased
6-run 6th inning too much for 'Wolves to overcome

http://imgsrv.goerie.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=GE&Date=20060414&Category=BASEBALL01&ArtNo=604140477&Ref=AR&MaxW=580&title=1
Erie Seawolves designated hitter, Kurt Airoso greets his teammates after being introduced at the home opener against the Bowie Baysox. (JACK HANRAHAN/Erie Times-News)

By Ron Leonardi
ron.leonardi@timesnews.com

Balmy 72-degree temperatures at gametime, the unveiling of a new $1 million video board, and an early 2-0 Erie SeaWolves lead gave a home-opening crowd of 4,089 at Jerry Uht Park reason to be in a festive mood.

One rocky inning that included three Bowie Baysox home runs was all it took to deflate it and send the SeaWolves to a 9-3 loss.

Bowie (5-3) entered Thursday's game with five homers in its first seven games. Leading 3-2, the Baysox broke it open by belting three homers in a six-run sixth inning. An Erie error in that inning also proved costly, leading to four unearned runs.

Erie highlights included solo homers from third baseman Kody Kirkland and left fielder Garth McKinney.

"We've gotten off to a slow start, and it's early, but at the same time we want to start getting things going a little bit and start getting our situational things done, because that's what's kind of killing us," Kirkland said. "We're getting our hits, but the timely hits is what we're missing out on. It's frustrating. Every single guy here wants to win. We played real well in spring training and haven't gotten it going yet."

Despite the loss, which dropped the SeaWolves to 2-6, Erie manager Duffy Dyer saw improvement from his offense.

"I was happy with our at-bats tonight," Dyer said. "We were actually hitting the ball the other way more and not pulling off the ball quite as badly, especially early in the game. In the middle of the game, I liked our approach. We were hitting the ball pretty hard and hitting it up the middle and the other way, and we haven't been doing too much of that."

Dyer expects some of his Double-A rookie position players to struggle the first half of the season until they become acclimated to the league and learn to make adjustments at the plate.

"Late in the game was a great example," Dyer said. "They were looking for fastballs in fastball counts - 2-0 and 3-1 counts - and they didn't get them. They were getting change-ups and breaking balls and that's tough for a hitter, because I don't think they saw that too much last year (at Class A Lakeland)."

The SeaWolves grabbed a 2-0 lead in the third off of Bowie starter Brian Finch.

http://imgsrv.goerie.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=GE&Date=20060414&Category=BASEBALL01&ArtNo=604140477&Ref=V3&MaxW=200
Erie SeaWolves second baseman Juan Francia turns a double play in the first inning as Bowie Baysox runner Brooks Badeaux tries to force a bad throw Thursday. (JACK HANRAHAN/Erie Times-News)

Kirkland opened the inning with his second homer this season, a shot to right-center. Kelly Hunt drove in the second run on a two-out, bases-loaded infield single in which he legged out a slow roller to third.

Bowie answered with three runs in the fourth. Noah Hall doubled and scored on Tony Alvarez's single. Leo Daigle's run-scoring triple to right center tied it. Daigle scored on a two-base error on Erie right fielder Brent Clevlen.

In the sixth, Bowie received a two-run homer from Tony Alvarez off of Erie starter Virgil Vasquez and solo homers from Rayner Bautista and Gera Alvarez off of SeaWolves reliever Pete Sikaras.

"We had good momentum going the first three innings and lost it all of a sudden," Dyer said. "Vasquez was pitching well and it seemed like he started elevating the ball in the fourth inning and our defense wasn't too good behind him in that one big inning. In this park, you can give up a lot of big innings if you're not careful."

The four-game series resumes tonight at 6:35.

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SeaWolves notes
# SeaWolves right-hander Nate Bumstead hasn't allowed a run in his first two starts and ranks second in the league with 14 strikeouts.

Bumstead has allowed just three hits in his two five-inning outings. Bumstead went 12-4 with a 2.58 ERA in 25 starts at Single-A Lakeland last season.

# Former SeaWolves pitcher Mark Johnson is working out with the team and throwing batting practice. Johnson, who pitched for Erie in 2002, 2003 and 2005, resides in Girard.

As a middle reliever and spot starter with the SeaWolves last season, Johnson was 4-3 with a 5.06 ERA in 32 games. He also made seven appearances, including two starts, with Triple-A Toledo in 2005.

# The SeaWolves are scheduled to play games the first 21 days of the season and don't have their first scheduled off day until April 27.

Better now than later, manager Duffy Dyer said.

"That's the minor leagues for you,"he said. "Nobody likes playing 21 days in a row, but I'd rather have it now when we're fresh and the weather is a little cooler than not have any days off in the middle of the summer when it's hotter, you've played 50 or 60 games and you're starting to wear down a little."

# Nine former SeaWolves opened the season on Triple-A Toledo's roster: infielders Don Kelly, Jack Hannahan and Ryan Raburn; catcher Max St. Pierre; outfielders Nook Logan and David Espinosa; and pitchers Wilfredo Ledezma, Mark Woodyard and Corey Hamman.

Logan was placed on the disabled list April 7 with a broken finger.

# Bowie right-hander Chris Britton was recalled by the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday and made his major league debut Wednesday in the Orioles' 7-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in Tampa.

Britton, who made two relief appearances with Bowie last week, relieved in the eighth and retired both Tampa Bay hitters he faced.

# The Chicago White Sox roughed up former SeaWolves right-hander Justin Verlander on Thursday in his second start with the Tigers this season. Verlander allowed seven runs in 22/3 innings of a 13-9 loss, the Tigers' fourth straight.

Verlander, who made seven starts with the SeaWolves in 2005, struck out none, walked one and gave up two homers. Verlander threw a two-hitter over seven innings his first start last week.

# Mayor Joe Sinnott and Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio threw out first pitches before Thursday's home opener.

-- Ron Leonardi

redshark63

04-15-2006, 11:48 AM

Same ol' situation
Erie squanders scoring chances vs. Bowie, falls to 2-7

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060415/BASEBALL01/604150465

By Ron Leonardi
ron.leonardi@timesnews.com

The scoring opportunities were there.

The one or two big, clutch, timely hits were nowhere to be found.

The SeaWolves' 6-4 loss to the Bowie Baysox on Friday night before 1,473 fans at Jerry Uht Park dropped Erie to 2-7 and again showcased some situational-hitting difficulties that have plagued the club the first two weeks of the regular season.

"We're not stringing along hits, but it's still early," shortstop Tony Giarratano said. "We're hitting some home runs, but we're not getting the big hits, getting the guys over and executing well right now. Eventually it will come and it has to come for us to be successful. It doesn't matter how much talent you have, you've got to do it on the field. We have to turn this thing around."

Erie, which outhit the Baysox 9-8, had three good opportunities to do that in the final four innings.

After designated hitter Kurt Airoso's RBI single to left in the sixth inning pulled Erie within 5-2, the SeaWolves had runners on the corners with one out.

The threat ended there, with first baseman Kelly Hunt grounding into an inning-ending double play.

In the eighth, with Erie still trailing by the same score, Giarratano flied out to center to end the inning with runners on first and second.

In the ninth, after scoring a run to get within 6-4, the SeaWolves again had an opportunity where a big hit could have tied or won the game.

With runners on first and second and one out, Giarratano grounded sharply to shortstop and into a game-ending double play.

"We're having trouble stringing some hits together right now, but that stuff will come," SeaWolves designated hitter Kurt Airoso said.

"The guys aren't comfortable right now and as we get going, more guys will get comfortable and we'll start stringing some hits together. I think the guys need to relax a little bit. Some guys are trying to do too much, like they have to come through. You can't put added pressure on yourself."

SeaWolves third baseman Kody Kirkland took over the club lead with his third and fourth homers this season, both solo shots. His second, a line-drive that cleared the batter's eye in center field in the eighth inning, cut Bowie's lead to 5-3.

Bowie entered the game hitting only .197 as a team against right-handed pitchers, but used two homers and a breakout game from right fielder Cory Keylor to build a 5-2 lead through six innings.

Erie right-hander Preston Larrison, who pitched superbly in his first start last week in Harrisburg, saw his record drop to 1-1. He allowed five runs on six hits, struck out three and walked two.

In his first start on Sunday, Larrison pitching five scoreless, hitless innings in a 3-0 win at Harrisburg.

The Baysox entered this weekend's four-game series having hit five homers in their first seven games. Bowie has already equaled that in the first two games of the series.

After hitting three homers in Thursday's 9-3 win to spoil Erie's home opener, the Baysox connected for two more on Friday. Left fielder Tony Alvarez staked Bowie to a first-inning lead with a two-run homer to left.

Keylor entered the game hitting .083 (1-for-12), but went 2-for-3 with a homer, drove in three runs, walked once and stole a base. His solo homer to left in the fifth put the Baysox ahead 3-1. His two-run single to center in the sixth made it 5-1.

NOTES: SeaWolves left fielder Garth McKinney threw out Bowie designated hitter Mario Delgado at second base in the fourth inning. Delgado was trying to stretch his single down the left field line. ... When Bowie first baseman Leo Daigle was hit by a pitch in the sixth inning, it marked the ninth straight game Bowie has had at least one player hit by a pitch. Bowie batters have been hit by pitches a league-high 13 times this season.... Right-hander Jeremy Johnson (0-1, 7.20) will start for Erie tonight against Bowie left-hander Craig Anderson (0-0, 2.57).

RON LEONARDI can be reached at 870-1680 or by e-mail.

redshark63

04-17-2006, 07:59 AM

'Wolves whiff at home

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The Erie SeaWolves’ Brent Clevlen is tagged out at home by Bowie Baysox pitcher James Johnson during the third inning of Sunday’s game at Jerry Uht Park. Clevlen tried to score when the ball got away from catcher Raul Chavez. (Janet B. Campbell / Erie Times-News)

By Ron Leonardi
ron.leonardi@timesnews.com

Manager Duffy Dyer conducted a team meeting Sunday morning and told many of his younger players to relax and try to have some fun. Dyer emphasized that the early season swoon the Erie SeaWolves are mired in is not the end of the world.

"I told them don't go up to the plate like all the burdens of the world are on your back," Dyer said. "Some of the kids are struggling right now and they're beginning to realize that. They have to improve a little bit mentally first before the physical part probably comes."

Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Bowie Baysox before 1,151 fans at Jerry Uht Park did not exactly produce a positive impact on the SeaWolves' collective psyche.

Bowie (8-3) completed a four-game series sweep of Erie, sent the reeling SeaWolves (2-9) to their fifth straight loss and kept them winless (0-4) at home this season.

Erie hitters managed eight hits but struck out 15 times in Sunday's loss without coaxing one walk from three Bowie pitchers.

The SeaWolves struck out 36 times and stranded 32 runners in the four-game series.

"We obviously have a lot of work to do and we have to be patient," Dyer said. "The hitters are going to have to make some adjustments and if they don't do it, it's not going to get any better. They're capable of doing a lot better than this. We're just trying to keep their confidence up."

Has Dyer succeeded in achieving that?

"That's up to them, I don't know," Dyer said. "They say so. A couple of them might be lacking a little bit of confidence."

More than a few Erie hitters are struggling at the plate, which is to be expected early in the season from a team whose roster includes numerous Double-A rookies making the jump from single-A Lakeland.

"We're hanging in there, but we're just not getting those timely hits, but they'll start coming," SeaWolves right fielder Brent Clevlen said. "We're striking out too much and trying to do too much. We have to try and put the bat on the ball more, maybe work a couple of walks. When you're struggling, you have to sometimes take some pitches to get your timing back. Mostly it's just timing when people are striking out a lot."

With the wind blowing in at Uht Park on Sunday, it would have been conducive to try and hit line drives and keep the ball on the ground, but making contact proved to be Erie's biggest hurdle.

Bowie starter James Johnson (3-0), the Class A Carolina League pitcher of the year in 2005 at Frederick, allowed eight hits, struck out eight and had no walks in five innings. Baseball America rates the right-hander as the Baltimore Orioles' No. 8-best minor league prospect.

Baysox right-hander Calvin Maduro struck out six over three scoreless, hitless innings, and right-hander Marino Salas pitched a scoreless ninth inning, striking out one, to earn his fourth save.

The SeaWolves have struck out 100 times in 11 games, an average of nine per game, and are second in the league in strikeouts behind Binghamton (104).

Erie left fielder Garth McKinney led the SeaWolves' strikeout parade Sunday with four, while Clevlen, third baseman Kody Kirkland and second baseman Juan Francia each struck out twice.

"When you put the ball in play, you give yourself a chance," SeaWolves infielder Scott Tousa said. "When you're striking out, the defense doesn't have to do anything. That's something that we could definitely improve on."

If there were a positive from Sunday's loss, it was that Erie hitters delivered a pair of two-out, RBI hits -- designated hitter Kurt Airoso's RBI double in the first inning and Clevlen's run-scoring single in the fifth inning.

Clutch hits have been a non-entity from an Erie lineup laden with power-hitting prospects, but one that's struggled heavily moving runners, stringing hits together and manufacturing runs.

Dyer said improved situational hitting could take a while to materialize with any consistency.

"A couple of our hitters are just pretty big, strong guys who take big swings and you just can't automatically change that," Dyer said. "It's not that easy to say, 'Well, I'm going to hit the ball the other way and I'm going to be a singles hitter today."'

Dyer said he and SeaWolves hitting instructor Pete Incaviglia want their hitters to develop a better two-strike approach and to improve on shortening their swing with two strikes.

"If you're not used to doing it, that's not that easy of a change," Dyer said. "We have to be patient. We have to start hitting more line drives and making better contact. It will come, but I don't know if it's in the near future. I think it's going to be."

RON LEONARDI can be reached at 870-1680 or by e-mail.

redshark63

04-17-2006, 08:01 AM

Francia leads off 'Wolves' offensive woes

By Ron Leonardi
ron.leonardi@timesnews.com

Second baseman and leadoff hitter Juan Francia's early season slump has compounded the Erie SeaWolves' offensive maladies in their first 11 games.

Francia was in a 1-for-22 slump (.045) before he collected a single in four at-bats in Saturday's 7-1 home loss to Bowie.

Francia hit leadoff again Sunday and went 1-for-5 with a run scored, a swinging-bunt infield single and two strikeouts. He also tried to bunt for a base hit in the seventh, something SeaWolves manager Duffy Dyer would like to see more of.

Francia is 3-for-31 this season, and the SeaWolves have received just four hits from the leadoff spot in their 11 games.

"Juan is our catalyst and we have to get those guys at the front of the lineup on base so we can get our bigger guys in the middle of the lineup to drive in some runs," Dyer said.

Dyer has begun to use some other personnel in the leadoff role, including shortstop Tony Giarratano and outfielder Vince Blue.

"Juan has been hitting the ball in the air too much and chasing a lot of bad pitches," Dyer said. "We're trying to get him to ease up a little bit and quit being overly aggressive. He needs to hit more like a leadoff hitter and get a few walks and make the pitcher work. He's got to start hitting more ground balls and line drives."

Baysox's Keylor snaps slump: Bowie right fielder Cory Keylor entered the Erie series hitting .083 with one hit in 12-at bats in the Baysox's first seven games. He finished the four-game series against the SeaWolves 8-for-15 with five runs batted in, two walks and three runs scored. He was 4-for-4 with an RBI in Sunday's game.

Rabelo gets first hit: SeaWolves catcher Mike Rabelo picked up his first hit of the season Sunday with a one-out single to right in the fourth, ending an 0-for-11 start.

SeaWolves turn two: Erie turned five double plays in Sunday's game, with four coming on ground balls and one on a strikeout-throwout situation.

'Wolves' pitching ranks low:Erie's 4.67 team earned-run average before Sunday's game ranked 11th out of 12 teams in the league. Erie pitching has allowed a league-high 10 homers. The SeaWolves were hitting .217 as a team (eighth).

Taking one for the team: Bowie center fielder Noah Hall has been hit by a pitch a team-leading five times in 11 games. Washington Nationals first baseman Nick Johnson set the Eastern League single-season hit-by-pitch record with 37 in 1999 for the Norwich Navigators. Baysox hitters have been hit by a pitch a league-high 16 times this season. Sunday's game marked the first time this season Bowie did not have a batter hit by a pitch.

RON LEONARDI can be reached at 870-1680 or by e-mail.

http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060417/BASEBALL01/604170362

redshark63

04-17-2006, 08:50 AM

Monday Morning Musings:

Well, another week, and more of the same. The 'Wolves, further to be known as the " 'Ooofs" until they get their hitting (& pitching) together.

As mentioned in the Times-News article above, they struck out 36 times in the just completed 4 game series with Bowie. The 32 LOB just indicates to me that if they actually had been able to put wood to ball they might have scored some runs.

Now granted there is a lot of youth, that is AA rookies, on this team, and as many say, especially here, AA is THE differentiator for players making the climb. Now it is still very early, but so far, the adjustment has been rough.
If it wasn't for having minor league veteran Kurt Airoso in the lineup, they could very well be 0-9.

Well, yesterday, Nate Bumstead came back to earth a little bit. Now I'm not saying this game is an indicator of what is to come anymore than I thought he was going to pitch shutout ball the rest of the season. Not sure right now what to predict for him. Not really a bandwagon guy (except Kevin Whelan), so we'll see and root for him.

Not a good sign when you get a whole article on you detailing your poor play, but Juan Francia has done that. Well he has inched closer to the "Buhl" line (wasn't sure what to call it, so decided to call it the "Buhl line" in honor of Bob Buhl a lifetime .089 hitting pitcher over 15 seasons), now hitting .097.

Now this guy hit .290 in 70 games at Erie last year so it is not like this is his first taste of AA. I'm sure there are alot of new pitchers, but as Duffy Dyer indicates he is not using his speed, hitting the ball in the air too much. Now this guy is probably never going to hit for any type of power, but if he going to be of any value to the organization, he's got to use his speed - bunts, hitting down on the ball.

Gotta a say a word about Brent Clevlen. Although his average is still not great, he is showing indications that he will be fine. Guys still got an arm, but feel he will be fine. Will check back in a month.

When I was looking at the team stats and the above articles, the thing that jumped out at me wasn't the .215 batting average (well not as much at least), but that they are next to last in ERA. Here is partial list of the 'Oof's pitching:

The Good:
Bumstead 1-1, 2.30, WHIP=1.47
Vasquez 0-2, 4.09, 1.09
H Sanchez 0-1, 1.80, 1.40
Brian Rogers 8 ip, 1.13, 0.50!

The Ugly:
Jeremy Johnson 0-2, 7.56, 2.28
Preston Larrison 1-1, 4.50, 0.80
Pete Sikaras 7.1 ip, 7.36, 1.23
Eulogio De La Cruz 5.1 ip, 16.88, 2.81
Ian Ostlund 6.1 ip, 5.68, 2.53
Danny Zell 5.1 ip, 6.75, 1.88

I feel that this is the make or break year for both Johnson and Larrison. They both had arm surgeries over a year ago and need to show their stuff to be even considered worth retaining for next year, let alone moving up to fill in at Toledo as required this year. Same with Ian Ostlund. I was actually surprised he was still in the org. The fact that he is a lefty that has had some lower level success helps, but his "clock is ticking". For all three, the pressure, for lack of a better term, of 2006 draft prospects behind them in Lakeland and WM has a bit to do with this thinking as well.

As for De La Cruz, I believe he only had 1 (or 2) appearance this week. It was a middle relief appearance which he did well in. I am guessing, not being there, that they may be working on the side with him, on making better use of the pitches he has. Word in this forum is that he may have hit his proverbial wall. We'll see.

http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/external/brandedstats/t998.html?cid=106&lid=113&t=t_ibp&sid=milb

redshark63

04-18-2006, 08:56 AM

Airoso delivers in 10th
'Wolves end losing streak at 5

http://imgsrv.goerie.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=GE&Date=20060418&Category=BASEBALL01&ArtNo=604180448&Ref=AR&MaxW=240
Erie SeaWolves third baseman Kody Kirkland holds up his glove after tagging out the Harrisburg Senators’ Josh Whitesell when Whitesell tried to advance on a single by Salomon Manriquez on Monday. (Jack Hanrahan / Erie Times-News)

By Ron Leonardi
ron.leonardi@timesnews.com

SeaWolves designated hitter Kurt Airoso has a penchant for struggling at the plate early in the season and usually revitalizes his bat once the weather warms in late May or early June.

But this season, the SeaWolves'career home-run leader is throwing a curve at Eastern League pitching.

Airoso's game-winning RBI single in the 10th inning Monday lifted the struggling SeaWolves to a 2-1 win over the Harrisburg Senators in front of a Buck Night crowd of 3,048 at Jerry Uht Park.

Erie (3-9) snapped a five-game losing streak and earned its first home win of the season.

Airoso drilled a first-pitch fastball off of Harrisburg right-hander David Reuckel into left field, scoring Juan Francia from second with the winning run. Francia struck out swinging to open the inning, but reached first when the ball got away from Harrisburg catcher Salomon Manriquez. Francia moved to second on Tony Giarratano's sacrifice bunt. Erie's Brent Clevlen was intentionally walked.

"They went to the mound, they talked and they started Clevlen off with a couple sliders," Airoso said. "I thought maybe they were talking about a different game plan for me. I was looking for a first-pitch fastball and I was lucky that's what I got."

With Monday's 1-for-2 performance that included three walks, Airoso increased his average to .348.

He entered the game eighth in the league in hitting, tied for second in homers (three) third in the league in slugging percentage (.636) and tied for first in extra-base hits (seven) with Harrisburg's Frank Diaz.

"I don't feel real great at the plate now," Airoso said. "I had a sun hit on Sunday that dropped in and I've had a few infield singles that fell in for me, so that has a lot to do with it. I'm trying to be aggressive at the plate and get good pitches to hit and, right now, I'm getting decent pitches to hit."

Airoso, 31, is in his fifth season with the SeaWolves. His career home run total stands at 93, and he set the franchise's single-season home run record with 34 in 2004.

A notorious warm-weather hitter and a tireless worker in the batting cages whether he's in a slump or on a tear, Airoso said he is seeing the ball better than he normally does early in the season and is getting a lot of good pitches to hit.

"I'm working hard like always and I'm taking maybe even more swings than usual," he said.

"You can see his experience coming through," SeaWolves manager Duffy Dyer said. "He's swinging the bat good and he feels pretty comfortable. He is a veteran player and you can tell that he is exuding with confidence right now."

On a young team with numerous Double-A rookies, Airoso's leadership in the clubhouse is another important job that Dyer wants him to perform.

"I had a meeting with him in spring training and I said we're going to depend on you to help us out with some of these kids who are going to be at Double-A for the first time," Dyer said. "He said, 'Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it.' He's not a rah-rah type of guy, he's very quiet, but I think he gets his point across to some of the guys. If they just watch him play and how hard he works, they have to learn something from his worth ethic."

The SeaWolves received six innings of one-run ball from starter Humberto Sanchez and four scoreless innings from the bullpen.

Erie notched its first home win despite wasting a bases-loaded, no-out opportunity in the seventh with the game tied at 1.

"That was rough, and that's why it was good to come back and win, so you could hopefully forget about that," Airoso said.

"Offensively, we're still struggling a little bit, but it was a big win for us," Dyer said. "You have to win those kind of games if you're going to be a good ballclub and especially when you're not going well. That was a big hit for Airoso and the whole club, so I hope that's a start for us."

Harrisburg took a 1-0 lead in the second on Manriquez's RBI single.

Harrisburg starter Kip Bouknight no-hit the SeaWolves for 5 1/3 innings before Francia reached on a slap-bunt infield single to shortstop. Francia went to second on a wild pitch and scored on Clevlen's double to center.

NOTES: Erie right-hander Virgil Vasquez (0-2, 4.09) is scheduled to start today against Harrisburg right-hander Anastacio Martinez (2-0, 3.65). Vasquez will make his second start this season against Harrisburg. He lost to the Senators on April 8 despite giving up just one run and three hits in six innings of a 3-1 loss.

RON LEONARDI can be reached at 870-1680 or by e-mail.

redshark63

04-18-2006, 08:57 AM

Tata's near future with Tigers uncertain
Erie could get Detroit reliever

By Ron Leonardi
ron.leonardi@timesnews.com

The Erie SeaWolves could learn within the next two weeks whether right-hander Jordan Tata returns to the club.

Tata, who was set to begin the season in Erie's starting rotation, has made three relief appearances with the Detroit Tigers since they purchased his contract from the SeaWolves on April 2.

"Although he's pitched very well and actually deserves to stay there, I think the organization wants him to get some innings in,"SeaWolves manager Duffy Dyer said. "He's awfully young just to be up there and pitch three or four innings a week. I think they'd like him to come down not because he's not capable of pitching up, but just because of the position he's in right now, he won't get enough innings in."

On Saturday, Tata, 24, pitched four scoreless innings in relief of Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman against the Cleveland Indians in a 7-2 loss.

"It's definitely a confidence-booster," Tata told MLB.com. "That's a good lineup over there. Hopefully, the next time out, I'll be in the strike zone a little more."

Tata has thrown 8 2/3 innings of relief for Detroit and is 0-0 with a 3.12 ERA. He's allowed three runs and four hits with four strikeouts and seven walks.

Tata was recalled by the Tigers one day after Tigers closer Todd Jones was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a pulled hamstring.

"He's a great kid," Tigers manager Jim Leyland told MLB.com. "He's probably not ready yet to start at this level, who knows? Sometimes you get pressed into things."

Jones has said he hopes to return from the disabled list in the next week or two.

The Tigers have not indicated what they plan to do with Tata when Jones returns.

"I think the organization wants him to come down and get some starts in and then possibly take him back up for something,"Dyer said. "It's not a matter of not thinking he can't pitch up there because he's showing he can.

"In the role he's in now, being the 11th or 12th pitcher, you're not going to get a lot of innings in," Dyer added. "I think as far as development goes, he needs to come down and get some starts under his belt."

If the Tigers elect to send him back to the minors, there's also the chance that Tata could drop down to Triple-A Toledo.

"There's a good chance they send him there and send us somebody else or send him here," Dyer said. "Nothing has been said. Right now, I'm not worried about it because I have enough to worry about without him."

Tata made his major league debut April 6 against the Texas Rangers in Arlington. He was 13-2 with a 2.79 ERA in 25 starts at Single-A Lakeland last season. He was named the Florida State League's pitcher of the year and the Tigers' minor league pitcher of the year.

RON LEONARDI can be reached at 870-1680 or by e-mail.

bcap

04-20-2006, 11:54 PM

Does anyone knwo what happened to John Birtwell?

redshark63

04-21-2006, 07:53 AM

He was released this spring

redshark63

04-21-2006, 08:21 AM

Wednesday articles:

'Wolves find way to win
Erie holds off Harrisburg for 2nd straight victory at home (http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060419/BASEBALL01/604190502)

Thursday articles

Series sweep lifts SeaWolves' spirits (http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060420/BASEBALL01/604200508)

After a loss to Bowie on Sunday in which they struck out a season-high 15 times, the SeaWolves trudged back to their Jerry Uht Park clubhouse with a 2-9 record and entrenched in a five-game losing streak.

Wednesday night, they boarded a bus and left town forthe start of a seven-game road trip with renewed confidence and their first series sweep of the season.

Despite being held to five hits, the SeaWolves scored twice in the eighth to defeat the Harrisburg Senators 3-2 before 1,495 fans at Uht Park. Erie (5-9) swept the three-game series from the Senators (8-6) and took a 4-3series lead on their Southern Division opponent.

"We opened the season in Harrisburg and lost three of four and they saw our worst, but now they saw what we really can do,"Erie closer Chris Homer said.

Trailing 2-1, the SeaWolves used power and small ball, plus a costly Harrisburg error in the eighth, to take the lead.

Erie left fielder Garth McKinney went 2-for-3 and tied the game at 2 with a one-out homer to left off of right-hander Dan Kolb.

Kolb then worked himself into further trouble by issuing back-to-back walks to Erie's Vince Blue and Tony Giarratano.

The Senators summoned right-hander Roy Corcoran to pitch to the right-handed-hitting Kody Kirkland, who hit a broken-bat, slow roller between the mound and first base.

As a piece of Kirkland's shattered bat landed nearby, Harrisburg first baseman Josh Whitesell fielded the grounder and attempted an underhand toss to Corcoran covering first on a bang-bang play.

The ball eluded Corcoran and rolled away, allowing Blue to score the go-ahead run on Whitesell's throwing error. Kirkland was credited with an infield single.

"That was a big hit, and I think the bat went farther than the ball did, but we'll sure take it," SeaWolves manager Duffy Dyer said.

Homer, a Double-A rookie who had 29 saves at Single-A Lakeland in 2005, came on to start the ninth and retired the Senators in order for his second save in as many nights and his third of the season.

In Erie's season-opening 2-1 loss to Harrisburg on April 6, Homer gave up a two-out, RBI hit in the bottom of the ninth that allowed the Senators to tie the game before winning in the 10th.

"I think he got over that first-game jitters and ever since then, he has pitched very well," Dyer said.

Asked if Homer exhibits a different mentality like many closers possess, Dyer said, "I don't know him that well yet. He's very quiet and he doesn't seem to be as goofy as most closers, so I'd have to ask his roommates what he's like. He's giving us what you need out of your closer."

Dyer said his club continues to struggle offensively, but is encouraged that his hitters are beginning to see the ball better and not swinging at so many bad pitches. The SeaWolves have also begun to generate some walks that are leading to runs.

"We sure are getting some pitching," Dyer said. "If we get in a lot of close games, it's good to have some confidence you can win these types of games."

SeaWolves right-hander Preston Larrison had another quality start, allowing two runs and scattering six hits over six innings.

Larrison was struck in the right thigh by a line drive from Harrisburg designated hitter Tony Blanco in the fifth inning. Larrison threw out Blanco on the play and remained in the game.

"It hit me square and flush," said Larrison, who had his thigh wrapped tightly in ice after the game. "It was nothing at first, it felt like maybe a tennis ball hit me, but when I started sitting around between innings and the swelling started getting going, that's when it became a factor because that's my push-off leg."

After finishing the sixth inning, Larrison asked to be taken out because his thigh was bothering him. He threw 84 pitches and was on a 90-pitch count.

"They wanted me to go back out there, but I was honest and I told them I couldn't push off. It's starting to get some bruising now and that's a bad sign because the next two days, there's probably going to be some pretty strange colors coming out of there. There's seam marks and a big brown ball mark on my thigh, but I'll get through it."

RON LEONARDI can be reached at 870-1680 or by e-mail
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Notebook (http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060420/BASEBALL01/604200463)

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Series Preview
Erie SeaWolves (5-9) at Binghamton Mets (9-5) (http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060420/BASEBALL01/604200469)

Today, 6 p.m.

Friday, 7 p.m.

Saturday-Sunday, 1:35 p.m.

# Pitching matchups:

Today:Erie RH Jeremy Johnson (0-2, 7.56 ERA) vs. Binghamton RH Brian Edwards (1-1, 5.79)

Friday: Erie RH Nate Bumstead (1-1, 2.30) vs. Binghamton LH Evan MacLane (1-0, 4.20)

Saturday:Erie RH Humberto Sanchez (0-1, 1.69) vs. Binghamton RH Miguel Perez (1-0, 2.12)

Sunday:Erie RH Virgil Vasquez (1-2, 3.50) vs. Binghamton LH Willie Collazo (2-1, 2.81)

# Binghamton notes: Five Binghamton players are ranked among the New York Mets' top-30 prospects by Baseball America: outfielder Carlos Gomez (No. 3), first baseman Brett Harper (10), shortstop Corey Ragsdale (27), right-hander Henry Owens (28) and left-hander Evan MacLane (29). ... Gomez hit .275 with eight homers and 48 RBIs and led the South Atlantic League in steals (64) in 2005, which was second overall in the minors. ... Harper, the son of former major leaguer Brian Harper, was second in the Eastern League with a .405 average (17-for-42) entering Binghamton's game Wednesday at New Hampshire. ... Owens is a fireballing closer who struck out 74 in 54 1/3 innings at Single-A St. Lucie in 2005. ... Left-handed starter Willie Collazo was the Eastern League pitcher of the week for the week ending April 16 after posting a 2-0 record with nine strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA in 12 innings. ... Binghamton is 6-1 at home this season.

# Erie notes: Right-hander Jeremy Johnson has not been sharp in his two starts, surrendering seven runs and 13 hits in 81/3 innings with eight strikeouts and six walks. Johnson Erie's No. 5 starter was scheduled to begin the season in the bullpen but was inserted into the starting rotation after the Detroit Tigers purchased the contract of SeaWolves right-hander Jordan Tata on April 2.

-- Ron Leonardi

Johnson gave up a league-high 23 homers in 2005. ... After allowing no runs in 10 innings during his first two starts, both on the road, Erie right-hander Nate Bumstead struggled in his first home start Sunday. He allowed 11 hits and five walks and gave up four runs over five innings in a 5-2 loss to Bowie. ... Sanchez has had three solid starts, striking out 20 and allowing three earned runs in 16 innings, but has yet to collect a win. Sanchez is coming off of a six-inning no-decision against Harrisburg on Monday in which he allowed one run and four hits while striking out eight and walking two.

================================================== ============

Friday articles:

'Wolves get wild victory in 13th (http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060421/BASEBALL01/604210446)

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. -- Thirteen was a lucky number for the Erie SeaWolves.

The 'Wolves won a marathon victory over the Binghamton Mets on Thursday. Tony Giarratano watched the winning run score on a wild pitch in the top of the 13th inning, then followed with a two-run single for a 9-6 win before at 2,272 NYSEG Stadium.

The 4-hour, 49-minute game was the start of a seven-game road trip for Erie (6-9), winner of four straight.

The game stood at 6-6 after the Mets' Bobby Malek hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Each team then squandered numerous scoring chances and combined for 27 runners left on base.

The 'Wolves and Mets had runners on third base five times in extra innings before Erie scored in the 13th.

Kelly Hunt led off with an infield single against Binghamton's Henry Owens (1-1). Mets shortstop Corey Ragsdale tried to catch the line drive, but mistimed his jump.

The ball struck Ragsdale flush in the face and he left the game with a bloodied uniform. Ragsdale's removal led to several improvised defensive changes for Binghamton manager Juan Samuel.

Erie manager Duffy Dyer also sent in Chris Maples to run for Hunt before Garth McKinney stepped in to bat. McKinney sacrificed Maples to second, but on the bunt back to the mound Owens made an errant throw to first. The runners advanced to second and third.

Erie's Vince Blue was intentionally walked to load the bases. Owens got Juan Francia to pop up, but allowed Maples to score on a wild pitch to Tony Giarratano.

On the next pitch, Giarratano drove in McKinney and Blue with a bloop single.

Ian Ostlund (1-0) picked up the win as Erie's fifth pitcher. Ostlund struck out the Mets'Jorge Padilla with two outs and runners on first and third in the bottom of the 12th.

Ostlund then retired Binghamton in order in the 13th.

Erie's Mike Rabelo had two hits and four RBIs.

Padilla had four hits for the Mets and scored a run.

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Not mentioned in the article on last night's game is the 20 strikeout performance by the Wolves batters. They won, which is great! But 20 Whiffs, even in a 13 inning game is incredible.