My Tip of the Day today goes to the Golden League's Orange County Flyers.
If James Denton--you know, Mike the Plumber on Desperate Housewives--is going to stand behind John Edwards when he makes his post-election speeches as he did last night in New Hampshire, couldn't the Flyers talk the actor and their investor into wearing a Flyers cap?
So much for my two cents worth of advice.
On a more serious note, if Adam Pettyjohn is to become the first Golden Leaguer to reach the major leagues as a player, he now will try doing so for the Cincinnati Reds. Now 30, the lefthander inked a Triple-A contract (Louisville) recently and was invited to major league spring training. This is the latest effort by the onetime second round choice of the Tigers (1998) to get back to the majors after escaping a near-death illness experience a few years ago. After pitching for Long Beach, CA in the Golden League all of 2005 and for a time the next season, Pettyjohn was a combined 16-6 for Milwaukee's top two farm clubs last summer.
Another lefthander whose stock seems pretty decent is 24-year-old Jon Connolly. Detroit re-signed him, prompting MLB.com's Jason Beck to note "Connolly's return comes on the heels of a 2007 season that helped regain some momentum in his career". Described by Beck as a "finesse" pitcher, Connolly, who hurled one game for Nashua, NH in the Can-Am League in 2006, was 7-7, 4.58 in primarily a starting role for Double-A Erie, PA last summer and was 1-1, 3.91 with a complete game shutout in four starts for Triple-A Toledo, OH.
Had Jeffrey Leonard's appointment as the new Reno, NV manager in the Golden League been made a few days ago instead of yesterday he likely would have made the mythical all-star team of former major leaguers managing in Independent Baseball in 2008 we selected in last week's Independent Baseball Insider column. Leonard's 1,415 major league games and his two All-Star Game selections would have had him in the outfield where we had named Von Hayes (managing at Lancaster, PA in the Atlantic League), Rick Miller (Nashua, NH, Can-Am League) and Pete Incaviglia (Grand Prairie, TX, American Association).
Leonard's appointment brings the total of former major leaguers leading Independent teams this summer to 31. Pretty impressive, huh?
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