Friday, May 28, 2004

Tiant coming to Hadlock

On June 11th, Red Sox legend Luis Tiant will throw out the first pitch at Hadlock Field. A borderline candidate for the Hall of Fame, "El Tiante" was my favorite Red Sox player when I was a kid, and I even indulged my Godfather by using Tiant's windup a couple times while pitching in Little League. Tickets are still available for this match against New Britain.

The story also mentions that "Everwood" star Chris Pratt will be at Hadlock for the game vs. New Hampshire on June 5th.

I kid you not. Luis Tiant and Chris Pratt!

Red Sox Nation Column

Part two of the "Mark Bellhorn, OBP Freak" series.

I've been told that the design is going to be revamped to make the pages a little easier for eveybody to read. So keep that in mind!

Thursday, May 27, 2004

Former Dog Gets Standing O

A nice article at Red Sox.com about former Sea Dog Andy Dominique's major league debut, including a standing ovation in his first plate appearance. It made you feel good to be a baseball fan.

New Red Sox Fan Page

The latest addition to the online coverage of the Red Sox is "Red Sox Nation," a new fan page written and published by fans participating in the sports talk forums at TheBigJab.com. I have volunteered to be a "Featured Columnist" (my terminology) for the site. My columns will often, but not always, focus on statistical analysis. My first offering is a look at why Mark Bellhorn (OBP Freak!) was acquired by GM Theo Epstein. It's a two-parter, with part two coming in a day or two.

I plan to write one or two columns per week for Red Sox Nation, so please check back often. I will link all of my columns here as well.

Thanks to Justin (Red_Sox_Fan_2004) for pulling together the site. I think it looks pretty good.

Mets sweep Sea Dogs

OK, I think that we have established that the Binghamton Mets are a better baseball team than the Portland Sea Dogs. After Wednesday afternoon's 5-1 victory, the first-place Mets are now 10.5 games ahead of the last-place Sea Dogs. The Sea Dogs had the bases loaded with one out in the 9th, but failed to score. Josh Stevens allowed four runs in the 7th to take the loss.

The Portland Press Herald article suggests that Nomar Garciaparra could potentially come to Portland on a rehab assignment during the first week of June.

Portland and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats commence their natural rivalry beginning Friday in Manchester.

Wednesday, May 26, 2004

AL East Quarterly Report

Last in a series.

March 29 Prediction: Boston, New York, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Baltimore
Actual: Boston, New York, Baltimore, Toronto, Tampa Bay

The Red Sox were an offensive juggernaut last season, but this year they are doing it with pitching. Led by Pedro and Schilling, the rotation has been solid (other than Derek Lowe), with Bronson Arroyo pitching capably where BK Kim has failed. The bullpen has been outstanding, with Keith Foulke allowing only one run in 23.1 IP. The pitching, along with injuries to Nixon and Garciaparra, have obscured the fact that the offense has been pretty good, too. They're 4th in the league in runs (10 behind the league leading Angels), and tops in OBP. Manny has been a monster, Ortiz and Varitek solid, and Bellhorn has been an OBP machine, making up for disappointing starts from everybody whose name resembles "Miller", but is spelled differently.

The Yankees trail the Sox by a game and a half, and have been disappointing in the process. Like the Sox, pitching leads the way for the Yankees. Brown and Vazquez have been good, Mussina is rounding into form, Lieber has pitched well, and Contreras has been a waste of money. The Yankee 'pen is much improved with Gordon and Quantrill, even if Rivera has allowed three times as many runs as Foulke thus far. The offense has been a mixed bag - Posada started out on fire, Matsui has stepped it up from last year, and ARod and Giambi have lived up to expectations, but Bernie has struggled, Sheffield hasn't shown any power, Wilson has been terrible at the plate - and Jeter has been even worse, with the worst BA and OPS (among qualifiers) in the entire majors. Jeter and Sheffield will improve, but I think they are still the second best team in the division.

I was hard on the Orioles in my predictions, but they have been better than expected thus far, only falling below .500 last night. Javy Lopez hasn't dropped off like I thought, and Tejada and Palmiero are in line with last season, while Melvin Mora is having another white-hot first half of the season. The pitching has been more consistent than I thought, despite a 5.40 ERA from the Ace and a 9+ ERA from Ainsworth. The bullpen has kept up with those of the Red Sox and Yankees, with Rodrigo Lopez being the biggest surprise. I think the Orioles start is a bit flukey, and that they will fall behind Toronto before they are done playing this season.

The Blue Jays are a big disappointment at 9 games below .500. Neither the pitching or the hitting have been as good as expected. Halladay has been decent with a 5.02 ERA, but Lilly, Bautista and Hentgen are all over 5.00 and, as anybody who has watched Toronto-Boston games can tell you, a call to the bullpen is akin to waving the white flag. The offense has been bad, other than Frank Catalanotto, with Delgado and Wells posting OPS below .800. Eric Hinske's rookie of the year award from 2002 is beginning to look like a fluke.

In my own defense, when I picked Tampa Bay to finish fourth, I did lead off the commentary by stating: "Tampa Bay will not finish fourth this season, but I think that they have more of a future than the Orioles, so I am picking them in that order anyway." The offense has been brutal. While Cruz and Tino have been better than I thought thus far, Aubrey Huff has a .640 OPS, and they have gotten nothing from guys like Geoff Blum, Robert Fick and Brook Fordyce. Doug Waechtler has been the ace of the staff, his 3.93 ERA is the only one under 5.00 for a starter. Jeremi Gonzalez pitched himself off the team. "Ace" Victor Zambrano has led the league in wildness, and recently walked 16 over two starts covering 6 innings pitched. The bullpen has been pretty good, with the top 5 guys sporting ERAs below 3.30, led by Danys Baez' 2.04, but there usually isn't anything for them to protect.

Dogs stopped on five hits.

Binghamton made it two in a row vs. the Sea Dogs with a 5-1 victory. The Mets scraped 11 hits off Chris Smith and Colin Young, with Smith taking the loss despite striking out 10. Prentice Redman had two hits including a two-run homer. Mike O'Keefe had two hits for Portland, who scored on Bret Ronenberg's double in the 6th. Neil Musser pitched seven innings for the win.

Tuesday, May 25, 2004

Al Central Quarterly Report

Prediction: Minnesota, Kansas City, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit
Actual:Chicago/Minnesota (T1), Detroit, Cleveland, Kansas City

On the surface, this division isn't looking too good for me. Minnesota is seven games over .500, but they have allowed 10 more runs than they have scored, which is not a good way to keep winning (though KC followed that route last season). The Twins have been plagued a bit by injury, with Corey Koskie, Torii Hunter and Joe Mauer all missing time with injuries. Doug Mientkiewicz has struggled with the bat, Luis Rivas continues to not justify his starting role, and for some reason Jose Offerman getting in the lineup, but Lew Ford has been a nice surprise and Jacques Jones has exceeded expectations. Brad Radke has pitched well and Carlos Silva has defied gravity, but both Johan Santana and Kyle Lohse have struggled. The Twins bullpen has been strong, and Joe Nathan (1.25 ERA, 13 saves) once again sets aside the notion that you need a "proven closer" to succeed. The White Sox hitters have been mashing, led by Frank Thomas, Magglio Ordonez, and...Juan Uribe? At only 24 years old, maybe Uribe is coming into his own, but if not any decline will likely be offset by an improvement from Joe Crede, struggling with a .651 OPS. The rotation of Buehrle, Loaiza, Garland and Schoeneweis (a difficult bunch to spell) has been solid, and the bullpen has "gotten by". Detroit has been the (good) surprise of the division. The offense, behind new additions Pudge Rodriguez, Rondell White and Carlos Guillen (seriously, the Mariners got rid of him to make room for Rich Aurilia?) has hardly missed the bat of Dmitri Young. The pitching has been bad, but Jeremy Bonderman is turning into a good pitcher. This team will still probably finish last, but it's been fun for them so far. Cleveland has been impressive. The offense isn't great, but is built around promising youngsters Gerut, Hafner and Martinez, and Matt Lawton's on-again, off-again career is apparently on again. Sabathia, Lee and Westbrook are a good core of starters, but going to the bullpen has been, shall we say, risky. Finally, the Royals. For the life of me, I can't explain why I thought they would contend this year. The offense hasn't been good, other than Beltran and the surprising Ken Harvey. Rookie of the Year Angel Berroa has stunk it up to the tune of a .573 OPS (though he has shown signs of life lately). And speaking of stinking, the pitching.

The Multitalented Bronson Arroyo

A neat article about Bronson Arroyo's guitar playing. He might not be the greatest baseball player on the team, but Kevin Millar and Johnny Damon, among others, gush about him like he's a rock star. I'm a guitar novice - do you think Arroyo would be willing to give me some pointers?

Sox defensive experiments

Here's an interesting article from Bostonpressbox.com regarding the frequent defensive shifting utilized by the Red Sox. The Sox have moved the shortstop to the right field side of second base with regularity against left handed sluggers like Jason Giambi, Carlos Delgado, Rafael Palmiero, and . . . Aaron Guiel. While many fans will complain if the batter beats the shift with a hit the opposite way, this alignment should help far more than it hurts.

As Sox third base/defensive coach Dale Sveum puts it, “If they try to hit the ball the other way, you’re getting them out of their game anyway. It takes them out of their swing path way too much to try to do it. I’m sure they’ve tried to do it in their own minds, and it screws them up more than anything and takes them out of their normal approach to hitting.”

Streak ends with Shutout

Portland's winning streak was snapped at five games following a 7-0 shutout at the hands of the Binghamton Mets Monday night. Portland managed only four hits by Mets pitchers Jose Diaz and Ken Chenard, though they were issued seven free passes and had lots of base runners in the game. Abe Alvarez started for Portland and allowed two runs on six hits over five innings of work, while the bullpen was again tagged for five runs over the final four innings. Third baseman David Wright, a top Mets prospect, and left fielder Angel Pagan both had three hits for Binghamton.

Monday, May 24, 2004

AL West First Quarter

I'll do this in smaller bunches, that NL quartlerly review was a bit of a bear.

AL West
Prediction: Oakland, Anaheim, Seattle, Texas
Actual: Anaheim, Oakland (T2), Texas (T2), Seattle.

The Amazin' Angels are chugging right along, despite some key injuries. I don't expect it to continue, but with Garrett Anderson, Tim Salmon, Troy Glaus and Darin Erstad going down, who would have expected to keep winning? (Well, the Erstad injury may have actually helped the team - a first baseman with a .627 OPS? - but that's another post). Vlad has been Vlad, and Jose Guillen returned the 2003 version, which is good for the team. The pitching hasn't been very good, with Aaron Sele the only guy with an ERA under 4.00 in the rotation. Escobar has been about what I expected, but Colon has tanked (5.17 ERA) and Jarrod Washburn's 7-1 record is heavily influenced by run support. The bullpen has been good, despite the injury to Brendan Donnelly and Ben Weber's poor performance, because K-Rod is the real deal. Oakland's offense hasn't really missed a beat - Hernandez has been ably replaced by Miller and Melhuse thus far, Jermaine Dye has had a resurrection, and Scutaro and Crosby have done OK in the middle infield. It's all about the pitching, though, and despite Barry Zito's troubles, everyone else in the rotation has an ERA under 4.00. I think they will overtake the Angels in the near future. Texas has been a big surprise, with a team ERA of 4.51. Chan Ho Park continues to be a waste of money, and RA Dickey has returned to earth, but Kenny Rogers and Ryan Drese (Ryan Drese?) have both pitched very well, and the bullpen has been solid. The offense was expected to be good, but it seems a bit of an illusion at this point. Soriano hasn't hit as well as expected, but Michael Young, Laynce Nix and David Dellucci won't all sport OPS' in excess of .950 for much longer. It'll be back to reality for this team before too long. And back to reality it is for the Mariners, who have hit the wall just as I expected they would. Freddy Garcia has been better than I thought (looking for a trade, I guess), but his resurrection is directly offset by Joel Pinero's suckage. The offense has been BRUTAL. Raul Ibanez leads the team with a .815 OPS. There's really no reason to read on, but how about the following OPS: Ichiro! .761, Edgar .715, Boone .714, Winn .574(!), Aurilia .590(!!), Olerud .687. Ichiro has a nice .325 BA, but no power to speak of (only 4 doubles). Other than Ibanez, Scott Spezio and Dan Wilson, everybody has tanked. I think there is some improvement to be expected, and they still will likely catch the Rangers, but I don't think they'll get above .500 for the season.

Interviews, A to Z

An interview with Abe Alvarez, from the Royal Rooters.

About the hat:
"I've been wearing it like that since high school, and believe it or not, it's really comfort more than style at this point. If I straighten it out, it actually feels a little funny -- seriously."

The Rooters also interviewed Charlie Zink. On throwing the knuckler in cold and windy weather:
"Cold weather is something I'm learning to deal with. I've pitched a few times where I could barely feel my fingers -- it's a learning process. There was also a game where it was so windy I almost got blown off the mound a few times, and it really had me wondering how to throw the ball. I think that's what Wake (Tim Wakefield) means about still learning on the job -- as a knuckleballer you're always coming across situations that affect how the ball is moving."

Dogs Keep Winning

Charlie Zink tweaked his mechanics and reversed his slump, pitching 8 shutout innings vs. the Harrisburg Senators on Saturday in a 1-0 Sea Dogs victory. Former Red Sox farm hand Rich Rundles (traded in the Cliff Floyd deal, I believe) stayed with Zink for six innings, but the bullpen gave it away in the 7th. The bottom of the Sea Dogs order provided the offense, a double by Kenny Perez and a single by (at the time) .157-batting Edgar Martinez scored the only run.

The Sea Dogs made it five in a row (and their first sweep of Harrisburg since 1994 - these are not the Senators of Vlad Guerrero and Jose Vidro!) with a 6-2 victory on Sunday. Portland again received shutout pitching from the starting rotation. This time it was Jerome Gamble who gave up seven hits and no runs in six innings of work for the victory. Harrisburg finished the game with 14 hits, as the bullpen was touched for seven hits and both runs over the final three frames. The bottom of Portland's lineup did some damage again, as hot hitting Kenny Perez was 2-4 with two runs scored and an RBI in increasing his batting average to .294, and Sheldon Fulse contributed two RBI with a double and a sacrifice fly. Raul Nieves had three hits and Bret Ronenberg two more to help pace the offense.

The Sea Dogs are now within one game of Trenton to move out of the cellar in the EL North.

Saturday, May 22, 2004

Doug Pappas Passes Away

In sad news, Doug Pappas, the leading writer about MLB financial dealings (and leading Bud Selig debunker), passed away yesterday (Thursday) while hiking in Big Bend National Park. He was 43. Pappas' work was featured at Baseball Prospectus, and his Business of Baseball Blog, which I have in my links, was an invaluable and informative daily update of the wheelings and dealings in major league baseball.

I did not know Doug personally, though I did exchange a few emails with him when I joined SABR and its Business of Baseball Committee. In fact, it was Pappas' work from Baseball Prospectus that inspired my interest in the financial workings of MLB and ultimately led me to join his committee. His blog was a heavy inspiration for this very blog. In our few email exchanges, I found Doug to be a very kind and respectful person. I did not know Doug Pappas, but he inspired my deeper interest in baseball over the last couple of years, and I am deeply saddened by his passing

Pappas was very highly regarded by his friends and will be missed by many.

Three in a Row!

Another strong outing for Sea Dogs starter Josh Stevens. Stevens gave up two runs on a walk and five hits over eight innings, striking out five. (The walk was the first that Stevens has allowed in 26.1 IP for Portland this season). Mike O'Keefe had a two-run triple, while Ronenberg, McGowan and Fulse chipped in with two hits apiece. Expos prospect Shawn Hill took the loss, raising his ERA to 2.00 in the process.

NL First Quarter

Now that we've reached the one-quarter mark of the major league season, let's check in with my pre-season predictions, starting with the National league.

NL East
Prediction: Phillies, Marlins, Braves, Expos, Mets
Actual: Phillies, Marlins, Mets, Braves, Expos

The Phillies have done it with offense, as Pat Burrell has indeed bounced back and David Bell forgot who he is. The pitching has been solid, with all starters sporting ERA's under 4.5. The Marlins got off to a hot start and have some exciting young players in Cabrera and Choi. The pitching has also been good (though less dominant than expected), with the unsurprising exception of Darren Oliver. The Mets and Braves are in a virtual tie. The Braves have been hampered by injuries to Furcal and Giles. When JD Drew gets hurt, they'll be officially done. The Mets offense is weak, the pitching has been pretty strong, but Al Leiter is hurt and when you think that a guy like James Baldwin can help, that's not a good sign. I seem to have missed the boat on the Expos, who have been anemic on offense. This team can't afford any injuries, so missing Nick Johnson and Carl Everett is bad enough, but neither Cabrera or Vidro is hitting his weight. Re-signing Vidro, however, was a good move. The pitching has been decent, expecially Day and Livan Hernandez. The fact that Rocky Biddle has 9 saves and a 7.63 ERA is an indication that the "proven closer"

NL Central
Prediction: Cubs, Astros, Cardinals, Reds, Brewers, Pirates
Actual: Astros, Cubs, Reds, Cardinals, Brewers, Pirates

Not too shabby on my part. The Cubs pitching has been excellent, even without Mark Prior, and the Astros better than I expected, especially Roger Clemens. Still, only a game separates the two teams. The Reds are also only a game out but, having been outscored by 10 runs this season, that seems a bit fluky to me. The Cardinals are in fourth, only a game and a half out of first, and the offense has led the way. Other than the disappointing Woody Williams, the Redbird pitching has also been good, with Chris Carpenter's resurrection (5-1, 3.93) especially surprising. Also surprising are the Brewers, who are in fifth but are two games above .500. It's all offense, especially Lyle Overbay, who is sporting a 1.027 OPS and pretty much making up for the loss of Richie Sexson on his own. However, Junior Spivey and Craig Counsell are also playing capably, as is the given-up-for-dead Ben Grieve. Ben Sheets has pitched well and recently set a club record with 18 K's in one game, but the rest of the staff (Bangor's own Matt Kinney, I'm looking at you) have been, ahem, not good. The Pirates are also surprisingly good thus far, only two games below .500 in last place. The Wilsons, Jack and Craig, have led the offensive attack (don't expect it to continue for Jack), while interesting guys like Jason Bay and Daryle Ward have hit well in limited action. The Pirates have received some decent pitching from Oliver Perez (part of the Brian Giles deal, along with Bay), Kip Wells and Kris Benson. And some how, some way, Jose Mesa has 12 saves and an 0.49 ERA. See my comment about Jack Wilson.

NL West
Prediction: Padres, Giants, Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Rockies
Actual: Dodgers, Padres, Giants, Rockies, Diamondbacks

The NL West was hardest for me to get my hands around in the pre-season. The Padres have done about as I expected, and are in a virtual tie for first place with the Dodgers. The Padres offense has been a bit weaker than I thought, Petco Park aside. Brian Giles has hit wall, as has Mark Loretta, but Klesko has stunk and lets just say that Yoga hasn't done anything for Phil Nevin's swing. The pitching has been good, and Trevor Hoffman has been almost as dominant as usual. The Dodgers have caught me off guard, though their 8-game losing streak maybe indicates that they weren't that good to begin with. Adrian Beltre seems to be realizing his potential, and Paul Lo Duca is off to his usual hot start. The pitching has disappointed, evidenced by Wilson Alvarez being about the best guy out there not named Gagne. Jeff Weaver continues to flop. In my preview, I described the Giants lineup as a "sick experiment", surrounding Bonds with a bunch of empty sticks. Bonds has posted a 1.420 OPS, and Marquis Grissom has hit well. However, Neifi Perez plays every day and has a .540 OPS, and JT Snow and Edgardo Alfonso can no longer hit, either. The pitching has been so bad (Dustin Hermanson is the second-best starter thus far, and Matt Herges is the closer) that Felipe Alou left a recently-injured Jason Schmidt in for 144 pitchers in his one-hitter the other night. The offense looks good, superficially, but it's mostly the Coors effect, though Charles Johnson is having a nice bounceback season. The pitching has posted a 6.30 ERA, and that's not all Coors, either. At least they finally cut the cord on Scott Elarton, and Joe Kennedy (2.82 ERA) has pretty much come out of nowhere. Finally, the Diamondbacks have been a big disappointment. Aside from Finley and Gonzalez (both still chugging along), the offense hasn't been good, and Shea Hillenbrand still sucks. The pitching hasn't been good, either. Randy Johnson, of course, had a perfect game and has been terrific. Brandon Webb, with a 2.93 ERA, is indicating that last season was no fluke. But apparently guys like Steve Sparks and Elmer Dessens aren't the kind of pitchers you want rounding out your rotation. Who knew?

Greek God Finally Walks!

Former Portland Sea Dog Kevin Youkilis, the Greek God of Walks, drew his first two major league passes last night in his fourth career game. Although he was held hitless, lowering his BA to .357, Youks' walks raised his OBP to a Bellhorn-esque .412. So far he's proven to be a capable fill in for Bill Mueller. Oh, the Sox rallied for six in the 8th to down the Blue Jays, 11-5.

Friday, May 21, 2004

Hot Dogs on a Roll!

(Excuse my excitement here.)

The Portland Sea Dogs made it two in a row (and three of four) in beating the New Britain Rock Cats 3-2 Thursday night. Former major league pitcher Rick Helling (who started out on a rehab assignment, but never was recalled by the Twins) got the start for New Britain and pitched well, allowing only two runs on five hits over seven innings. Helling was touched for a home run by John Hattig (his 10th) and a run scoring single by Eric Johnson. Hattig also had a double and a walk for the Sea Dogs. Portland's starter Chris Smith was equal to the task. Smith allowed a two-run home run to pesky Luis Maza in scattering four hits (including a triple by Maza) and striking out nine in six innings of work. Jason Howell got the win in relief and Joe Nelson struck out three in picking up his 7th save. Portland scratched out the winning run in the top of the 8th with a single by light hitting catcher Edgar Martinez, an error and a sac fly by Brett Ronenberg.

The Sea Dogs returned home to host the Harrisburg Senators over the weekend.

Please refer to the Box Score.

Thursday, May 20, 2004

Another Win for Sea Dogs

Behind the seven-hit pitching of Abe Alvarez, the Dogs topped New Britain 7-1 Wednesday night. Ronenberg and Hattig each had two hits and an RBI, but Portland got production from some different areas, too. Kenny Perez had three hits (two doubles) and two RBI, while Eric Johnson, recently returned from the DL, had a homer and an RBI double. New Britain left 8 runners on base in the game as Alvarez ran his record to 3-3 and lowered his ERA to 4.15, which is the best of any Sea Dog with more than 21 innings pitched.

Here is the box score.

Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Sea Dogs Earn Split

On a day when good pitching was evident all around baseball, the Sea Dogs and Rock Cats engaged in a pair of pitching duels yesterday. Scott Baker, just promoted from A-ball, allowed only a 7th-inning single to Raul Nieves in a bid for a perfect game. EL Player of the Month Jason Kubel hit a fourth-inning home run for the game's only score. The Sea Dogs snapped their six-game losing streak in the opener, as Jerome Gamble allowed only one run over six innings and carried a four-run sixth inning to the W. Brett Ronenberg had a two-run double and Sean McGowan a run scoring double, one of his three hits on the day, to lead the offense. Joe Nelson collected his sixth save for Portland, stifling the Rock Cats after an error and a hit started the final inning.

Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Youkilis makes major league debut

Former Sea Dog Kevin Youkilis made his major league debut on Sunday and impressed with two hits, including his first major league home run. The home run was a bit of a surprise considering that Youkilis had only 23 homers in his three-year minor league career, but his bomb on a hanging change up by Pat Hentgen was measured at 402 feet. The future star also had two hits in Sunday's game and sports a nifty .500 batting average, but the Greek God of Walks has yet to draw a free pass in the major leagues.

Youkilis' stay in the majors is likely to be a short one, as he was filling in for an ailing Bill Mueller over the weekend. When Mueller comes back, Youkilis will probably be returned to Pawtucket where he can play regularly. This was a nice move by the Sox, though, in sending down extra pitcher (12th man in the bullpen, third lefty) Mark Malaska to avoid putting Mueller on the DL. I think Malaska is a good major league pitcher, but the Red Sox don't really need a 12th arm, and Lenny DiNardo (who I also think is a good pitcher), as a Rule 5 pick from the Mets organization, would have to be waived before he could be sent to Pawtucket. Overall, I give high marks to the Sox for roster management in this case. My hope is that the Sox will continue with 11 pitchers when Mueller is ready and Youkilis is sent down. Maybe Trot Nixon will be ready to return by then.

Hope in Single A

While the Sea Dogs toil in last place, many of the Red Sox top prospects reside in Sarasota. Looking at the current prospect rankings, five pitchers and six position players are in their respective top 12's. 20 year old John Lester has supplanted Abe Alvarez at the top of the pitching list, while 20-year old SS Hanley Ramirez is the top position prospect. (Ramirez is currently out of action with a wrist injury). The May 17th edition of Baseball America's Daily Dish has a full report on the Sarasota prospects. The Sarasota Sox are currently 20-18 and in second place in the FSL West division.

Zink, Sea Dogs woes continue

The losing streak reached six games as New Britain bested Portland 9-2 Monday night. Charlie Zink walked six and gave up 8 hits in allowing all nine runs in five innings of work, dropping his record to 0-5. Luis Maza had a two-run homer, and James Tomlin two 2B and two RBI to lead the Rock Cats attack, while Kevin West had a single to extend his hitting streak to 19 games. Boof Bonser, a one-time top prospect for the Giants, pitched seven strong to earn his first win as a member of the Twins organization. In 2002, Boof was mentioned in the same breath as Jerome Williams and Kurt Ainsworth. Both those guys are in the bigs now while Bonser toils in AA, hampered by high walk and HR rates.

Here is a good report on the Twins prospects in New Britain.

Forgot to publish yesterday

My apologies to anybody who checked in yesterday looking for an update. I forgot to push the publish button. But I have lots of goodies today to make up for it!

Monday, May 17, 2004

Glaser goes to Fenway

Eric Glaser, a rehabbing Sea Dogs pitcher, was summoned to Fenway to pitch to rehabbing stars Trot Nixon and Nomar Garciaparra last week. Steve Solloway's column tells us how it went.

More on the affiliation extension.

Here's the official Sea Dogs story about the affiliation extension until 2008. Everybody has nice things to say about each other. And Steve Solloway's column in the Sunday Telegram illustrates what a class act Burke, Eschbach and the entire Sea Dogs organization is.

Dogs keep Sox until 2008 / Weekend Update

The Sea Dogs lost three in a row over the weekend. With Theo Epstein and Ben Cherington in town to announce the extension of Portland's player development contract with the Red Sox until 2008, Abe Alvarez started strong (no hits through four innings) before the Reading bats caught up to him, and the bullpen and defense (three earned runs) couldn't hold on in an 8-7 Phillies win. The Dogs tagged Phillies uberprospect Gavin Floyd for five runs in four innings, including a three-run home run by Ronenberg in the first. Mike O'Keefe went 4-5, and Medrano, Nieves and Bailey each had two hits for Portland.

Things got worse in Saturday's 13-2 loss. Chris Smith allowed six runs on nine hits over five innings pitched in suffering his first loss of the season. The usual late-inning bullpen and defense troubles recurred, as the relievers allowed eight hits and seven runs (only three earned runs) over the last four innings. Ronenberg and Hattig remained hot with the bats with two hits each (two doubles for Hattig), while Reading's attack was paced by big first baseman Ryan Howard (two HR, 5 RBI), DH John Castellano (four hits) and SS Danny Gonzalez (3 RBI). If you do the math from above, the Phils ended up with 17 hits on the night.

Reading completed the sweep with a 2-0 win on Sunday. Josh Stevens turned in a good performance, allowing both runs on just four hits with 8 K's, and the defense played error-free baseball. This time, however, the Sea Dogs bats were silenced by Phillies starter Robinson Tejada, who pitches three hit shutout ball (three BB, 7 K's) over seven innings. Brett Ronenberg's hitting streak was snapped at 18 games following an 0-3. Jeff Bailey continued to be an on-base machine with two walks. He now sports a team-leading .427 OBP.

Friday, May 14, 2004

Prospect Update

Recent hot streaks for John Hattig and Sheldon Fulse have attracted the attention of the folks at soxprospects.com. Hattig is #11 and Fulse #12 on the position player prospects, though they are rated C- and D+, respectively. Alvarez continues at #1 and Zink at #5 among the pitchers.

Major Press Conference

The Sea Dogs scheduled a major press conference with Red Sox GM Theo Epstein and Director of Player Development Ben Cherington. The smart money is on the announcement of an extension of the Sea Dogs contract with the Red Sox, which is scheduled to expire at the end of this season.

Dogs mimic Sox

The Sea Dogs left 13 runners on base last night in losing to New Britain 7-4. The Sea Dogs totaled 11 hits and 8 walks, and left the bases loaded in scoring only one run in the sixth. The Dogs also got the tying run to the plate (in the person of Kenny Perez) in the 9th but failed to capitalize. Perez managed three hits in the game, while Jeff Bailey walked three times to extend his "on base" streak to 21 games. Brett Ronenberg had two singles to extend his hitting streak to 16 games, and John Hattig continued his power surge with a three-run home run. Luis Maza had two doubles and BJ Garbe two RBI to pace the Rock Cats.

Here's the box score.

Thursday, May 13, 2004

Cats top Dogs

It was another slugfest between New Britain and Portland last night, with the bad guys prevailing 9-7. Luis Maza's two-run triple, followed by Jason Kubel's (him again!) two-run homer gave the Rock Cats a three-run lead, which the Sea Dogs were unable to overcome despite a run in the 8th and loading the bases in the 9th. For the second night in a row a Sea Dog hit two two-run homers in the game, this time is was CF Sheldon Fulse, who finished with three hits and four RBI. Mike O'Keefe also had two RBI on a double and a home run. New Britain's Maza finished with four hits and 3 RBI, and Tommy Watkins also had three RBI. Charlie Zink battled through 7 innings, giving up 5 runs (four earned) on nine hits and five walks in his best outing in a couple of weeks, however the bullpen again failed him. One time SF Giant pitching prospect Boof Bonser, who has struggled this season, started for New Britain and gave up four runs in 5 IP, allowing 9 hits and striking out five. New Britain's bullpen was no great shakes, either, but managed to hold on for the win. The Rock Cats are now tied with Trenton for fourth, 1.5 games ahead of Portland.

Here's the box score.

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Dogs beat Cats

The Sea Dogs outslugged New Britain 10-6 last night. The two teams combined for 28 hits, 16 of which went for extra bases. It seemed like every ball struck went down the line, in a gap, or over an outfielder's head. Portland staked Josh Stevens to an early five run lead behind two two-run homers by Bret Ronenberg, but what looked to be a strong outing (retiring the side on five pitches in the first, allowing a runner on an error in the second) turned into batting practice by the third time through the order. The Rock Cats had four doubles from the first five batters in the 5th to tie it at five, but the New Britain bullpen (following a strong 3 1/3 of long relief from hard throwing Beau Kemp) was not up to the task. Victor Moreno took the loss in giving up two runs in the 6th, raising his ERA to 2.08 on the season, and the Dogs scored three more in the 8th off Bobby Korecky. Ryan Cameron frustrated the home crowd by failing to throw strikes with a five-run lead in the 9th, giving up a run on two walks and two singles before Joe Nelson recorded the final two outs with the bases loaded for his fifth save. Josh Stevens was credited with the win as the Dogs moved to within 1/2 game of New Britain for fifth place in the EL Northern division.

Game Notes:
Batting stars a-plenty: New Britain was led by LF Tommy Watkins (3-5, 2 2B, 2 R) and 1B Garrett Jones (4-5, 3 2B, 1 RBI), while slugging RF Jason Kubel had two walks and a two-run triple in lowering his BA to .391 and increasing his team-leading RBI total to 22. Kubel was rated as the Twins 8th-best prospect this spring. BJ Garbe and Jason Mauer also had two hits each for the Rock Cats.

Portland's attack was led by Ronenberg (2-3, 2 BB, 2HR, 3 R, 4 RBI), Sean McGowan (not to be confused with Shane MacGowan) (4-4, 2B, 3 RBI including the go-ahead single in the 6th) and Jesus Medrano (3-5, 2B, 3B, SB, 3 R). Medrano was also a defensive star, with 8 putouts (3 popups, 4 forces at second (one on a DP), and a putout at first on the backend of a botched bunt-turned-DP as Stevens made a nice diving catch on the bunt and doubled Mauer off first). However, Medrano fumbled the one ground ball hit his way for an error in the second. The Sea Dogs made three errors in all.

Cameron pitched well in Portland last season (3.14 ERA in 51 IP), but did not impress at all last night, continuing his season-long struggles with control (14 BB, 4 HB, 6 WP in 24 IP) and making the natives restless in the ninth, to say the least.

It was a pleasant evening at the ballpark, with the gametime temperature in the low 70's and very little breeze. Thanks to Betty for the tickets and the rest of the Matero clan as well for the company. Total Recap score books were out in force, including Total Recap Jr. for the youngsters.

One complaint about the public address system, whereby the final three pitching changes for the Rock Cats were not announced to the crowd. For those of us who brought our own score books (and didn't have the official programs), it was very frustrating not knowing who was in the game. Also, the Sea Dogs used to make a big deal with the "guess the attendance" game, but as far as I can tell, the attendance was not announced at all last night. These are minor issues, but did detract a little for those of us trying to fill out complete score sheets.

Here's the box score.

Tuesday, May 11, 2004

Sea Dogs Batting Leaders

A few different statistical breakdowns - Sea Dogs top 5

Plate Appearances:
Ronenberg 123, Hattig 120, Medrano 119, Bailey 106, Campo 101
Runs Scored:
Hattig 24, Campo 21, Bailey 17, Ronenberg 16, Medrano 12
Average:
McGowan .333, Medrano .299, Johnson .294, Bailey .292, Hattig .289 (Team .267)
OBP:
Hattig .417, Bailey .406, Campo .386, Fulse .378, Johnson .362 (Team .351)
SLG:
Hattig .639, Bailey .539, Johnson .510, Campo .488, Fulse .457 (Team .431)
OPS:
Hattig 1.046, Bailey .945, Campo .874, Johnson .872, Fulse .835 (Team .782)
GPA:
Hattig .347, Bailey .317, Campo .296, Johnson .290, Fulse .284 (Team .266)
Runs Created
Hattig 25.3, Bailey 19.6, Campo 16.9, Medrano 16.5, Ronenberg 14.7
Outs Used:
Ronenberg 89, Medrano 83, Hattig 75, Perez 71, O'Keefe 67
Runs Created/27 Outs
Hattig 9.1, Bailey 8.0, Campo 7.1, Fulse 6.0, Medrano 5.4 (Team 5.2)

A couple of notes:
With his big week, John Hattig has moved to the very top of the Sea Dogs productivity. He leads in OBP, SLG, OPS, GPA, Runs Created, and RC/27 outs used. He is, however, only third on the outs list. Note that two guys (Kenny Perez and Mike O'Keefe) show up on the "outs" leaders without appearing on other lists. One is the starting shortstop, which might be expected. But Mike O'Keefe is a 1B/OF type, who should be producing more bang for the buck.

Perez is next-to-last in RC/27, with 2.8 (catcher Edgar Martinez is last at 1.4). This also is not unusual considering their defensive positions. For the record, O'Keefe is 7th with 11 RC, and tied for 8th with 4.4 RC/27.

At age 25, Jeff Bailey is a little old for this league, but his hot start should at least have him in the running for a promotion to Pawtucket next year (especially if Shoppach or Dominique end up in Boston). He can catch, and a lot of catchers seem to develop as hitters later in their careers. If he keeps it up, Bailey could have a career as a backup in the bigs.

Jesus Medrano is the only guy on the Sea Dogs currently listed among the top 12 Red Sox position prospects. John Hattig was on the list at the beginning of the season, and if he keeps swinging the bat he'll end up back on the list. If the Sox trade Youkilis to fill a need later in the season, I would think that Hattig would move up a notch, too, as the top 3B in the high minors.

All stats are from Baseball America, except formulas noted by hyperlinks above that I borrowed elsewhere.

Dogs Garner Awards.

John Hattig (.474-6-10 on the week) was named Eastern League Player of the Week for the past week. Chris Smith (2-0, 1.54 in two starts) was named pitcher of the week. The last time the Sea Dogs swept these awards was July 1999, by Nate Rolison and Gary Knotts. Based on those two, it looks like Hattig and Smith have at least a cup of coffee in their futures.

Monday, May 10, 2004

Feature Presentations

A nice profile of Abe Alvarez, from the Maine Sunday Telegram. I'm not the only one touting him here. Also, a less serious piece, about the Sea Dogs Bobblehead giveaways. Tuesday night is David Ortiz night, I hope to be there early enough to get one!

Catching up the Weekend

Sea Dogs lose two of three since my last post. Akron won 7-3 Friday night as Charlie Zink's knuckler again failed to knuckle. Saturday, the Aeros got to Abe Alvarez early (trouble again in the first couple of innings) in winning 5-4. On Sunday, John Hattig hit two home runs in pacing Portland to a 10-3 victory. The two bombs give Hattig six over the last week, and a team-leading eight on the season. Hattig is now hitting 289/417/639 and leads the team in both OBP and SLG.

Friday, May 07, 2004

Win One, Lose One

Following a 6-5 loss to Harrisburg, the Sea Dogs responed with a 12-6 victory over the Akron Aeros. Josh Stevens had a decent start going through five in his return to Portland before the Senators reached him. Hattig and Ronenberg went deep for the Dogs in the loss. in the Akron game, Jerome Gamble picked up his first win of the season while the Sea Dogs took advantage of the struggles by Jeremy Guthrie.

Wednesday, May 05, 2004

Three in a Row

Behind a strong start by Chris Smith, the Sea Dogs blanked Harrisburg 2-0 Tuesday night. In a competition between the "Resistable Force" (Harrisburg batting) and the "Moveable Object" (Sea Dogs Pitching), the Resistable Force loses out. The Sea Dogs have allowed just three runs over the last three games (one vs. Norwich, two vs. the Senators), a stark contrast to the 38 runs allowed in their prior three contests (all against the Navigators). Jeff Baily continues to impress, this time with a solo home run.

The Dogs also made a couple of roster moves, getting their 2003 pitcher of the year, Josh Stevens, from Pawtucket while Phil Seibel was sent up, and returning reliever Eric Glaser from the DL. In a paper-only transaction, Alvarez was assigned to Lowell to make room for Glaser, meaning another move will be necessary prior to Abe's start on Saturday.

Sox Slide Continues

The Red Sox have now lost five in a row, this one an ugly 7-6 loss at the hands of the Indians. Derek Lowe was shaky at the outset, then the defense (two throwing errors by Bill Mueller) let him down for five unearned runs. The Sox made a comeback - one that probably shouldn't have been allowed because the Indians bullpen was clearly not prepared in time to relieve a tiring Kazuhito Tadano. I'm not sure how Tadano could get tired with the 52-mph slop he was throwing out there, but he does have an exaggerated motion reminiscent of Hideo Nomo, so maybe that tuckered him out. The Sox hope to reverse their fortunes today when BK Kim makes his second start of the year against just the kind of pitcher who scares me - a guy who is struggling. Jeff D'Amico (9.64 ERA in his last three starts) toes the rubber for Cleveland.

Tuesday, May 04, 2004

Another big win for Sea Dogs.

Portland beats Harrisburg 9-1 on Monday night. Abe Alvarez pitched six strong to pick up his second win, giving up 5 hits and one walk while striking out 7. The only run was a first-inning homer to Larry Broadway. Abe gave up two more hits in the inning before settling down. He seems to have struggled early on in his last 2-3 outings, but once past the first inning he's been finding a groove. Shawn Hill pitched well for the Senators, but for a change it was Portland taking advantage of a bullpen breakdown, scoring seven runs over the last two innings. Mike Campo reached on three hits and a walk and scored three runs, while Jeff Baily continued his Youkilis impression with a double and a HBP. He's reached base in 18 of his last 27 times up - a Bondsian rate! Here is the Box Score.

Win Cash, Food, Season Tickets

Check out the Winning Inning promotion, sponsored by the Partnership for a Tobacco-Free Maine and Gritty's pub. Register at seadogs.com, and you could walk away with tickets to a future game, a cash bonus, dinner at Gritty McDuff's, or even 2005 season tickets.

Monday, May 03, 2004

Catching up the Weekend

It was a high-scoring weekend series between Norwich and Portland at Hadlock Field. Friday night, the Sea Dogs prevailed 11-9. Saturday was an entirely different story, as Zink's knuckleball apparently didn't knuckle, and nothing much else went right for the home town nine as the Navigators routed the Dogs 16-0. On Sunday it was Portland's turn, as the Dogs responded with a 12-2 victory.

Jeff Baily has become a solid stick for the Sea Dogs, batting 288/420/485-5-15, with 12 walks on the season. John Hattig is leading the team with 14 walks, and has posted a 244/362/423-2-6 line while manning the hot corner. Mike Campo leads the team in slugging, batting 290/397/565-3-9 in 18 games.

The pitching has been less impressive. Charlie Zink is 0-3, but with a 3.71 ERA in 26.2 IP. Abe Alverez is 1-2, 4.26 in 19 IP, however neither of these lines is as impressive when you consider that they have both allowed 4 unearned runs. Chris Smith also has been OK as a starter, 1-0, 4.50 in 20 IP. The bullpen has struggled, with the exception of Juan Perez, who is 1-0, 0.63 with 12 K's in 14.1 IP. Click here for the complete Sea Dog stat line, courtesy of Baseball America. According to the Red Sox prospects site, Alvarez has moved into the #1 pitching prospect slot for the organization.