Friday, March 30, 2012

PERENNIAL INDY HITTING STAR VAL MAJEWSKI FINALLY GETS ANOTHER MAJOR LEAGUE AT-BAT AND COMES THROUGH

It may not seem like much since Val Majewski perennially is one of the Atlantic League's best hitters. Still, it had to feel pretty good when the 31-year-old outfielder got what we believe was his first major league spring training at-bat since he appeared in 22 games for Baltimore in 2006-07.

He got a hit, of course, for the Texas Rangers against the Los Angeles Angels.

Majewski, whose only regular season major league duty was for nine games with Baltimore way back in 2004, has been in a pattern the last four seasons. Start in the Atlantic League (Newark, NJ in '08, Camden, NJ the next year and York, PA each of the last two seasons), then a major league organization comes along because of his career .331 average in Independent Baseball and gives him a look in its minor league system for the rest of the season.

The Rangers at least kept the former Rutgers University product this winter, which is somewhat encouraging that they feel he might help the American League team at some juncture.

LANCASTER'S BEN COPELAND APPEARS WITH CLEVELAND

Another of the bevy of players taken off the Lancaster, PA (Atlantic League) roster during the 2011 season, got into a Cactus League exhibition with Cleveland Thursday. Outfielder Ben Copeland singled in his only time at bat in a 5-4 loss to Arizona.

The most prominent of the Barnstormers who went to major league organizations is veteran pitcher Jerome Williams, who finally appears back on track in his bid to lock up the No. 5 starter job with the Los Angeles Angels, as we reported in Thursday's subscriber-only Independent Baseball Insider column. He had been sidelined about three and a half weeks with a hamstring strain. Williams, 6-0 at Lancaster before being plucked away by the Angels, is due for another start Saturday.

MIKE RIVERA RELEASED BY BREWERS

Catcher Mike Rivera, who got some big league time with Milwaukee most every year for the last several seasons, has been released by the Brew Crew. Rivera played his Independent Baseball in Atlantic City, NJ (Atlantic League).

ALMONTE GOT LITTLE CHANCE

Who can forget the brilliant spring Erick Almonte had with Milwaukee one year ago which earned the onetime Atlantic League infielder (Long Island, NY) a spot on the opening day roster? The veteran Triple-A utilityman never really got a chance to repeat the showing this spring. Almonte was only used in three spring training games, going 1-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI.

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Saturday, March 24, 2012

DON'T OVERLOOK YANKEES SOUTHPAW JUAN CEDENO, WHO WAS IN THE NORTH AMERICAN LEAGUE LAST YEAR

Shame on me.

I overlooked one of last year's Independent players still in a major league spring training camp in Thursday's Independent Baseball Insider column when I said three of them remained.

How could I forget lefty Juan Cedeno, who jumped all the way from Rio Grande Valley (Harlingen, TX) of the North American League to an audition as a non-roster invitee with the New York Yankees?

Cedeno continued that audition on national television Thursday night, getting a key strikeout to get the Yankees out of a jam against the rival Boston Red Sox. His numbers do not look so good (9.64 earned run average over 4.2 innings in six games), but then the Yankees only need someone who can get certain left-handed hitters out. Cedeno's ERA was not a lot better in the NAL, where he was a strikeout machine.

He may be getting extra looks because another southpaw who came into spring training with some legitimacy to his hopes, Mike O'Connor, has an identical ERA. O'Connor had some time with the New York Mets last season after coming out of the Atlantic League (Southern Maryland, at Waldorf).

TIFFEE STRIKES

Former Lancaster (PA) Barnstormer Terry Tiffee has been talked about in this space more than once this spring because of all the playing time the Atlantic Leaguer has gotten, primarily at first base, with the Miami Marlins.

This onetime Minnesota Twins prospect got his first two extra-base-hits Thursday to help the Marlins tie Atlanta 5-5. He had a solo home run and a double, and has his spring average up to .147 (5-for-34) in 13 games.

KUSSMAUL GETS A LOOK, JAKUBAUSKAS GOES DOWN

The Chicago White Sox have had at least four Indy grads who are in their minor league camp in the dugout to see what a major league exhibition looks like up close, with the latest we have seen who has gotten into a game being right-handed pitcher Ryan Kussmaul, who started his professional career in the Frontier League (Southern Illinois). Kussmaul walked two in a scoreless inning against Kansas City.

Meanwhile, Dylan Axelrod, who pitched at Windy City (Crestwood, IL) in the Frontier League, continues to bid for a spot on Chicago's opening day roster. He could win a starting job or move into the bullpen.

Arizona has decided Chris Jakubauskas will not be on its opening day roster, sending the righty to Double-A Mobile, AL. Jakubauskas has major league time with Seattle, Pittsburgh and Baltimore after Independent stops at Lincoln, NE (American Association), Orange County (Fullerton, CA) of the Golden League and both Florence, KY and the travel team called Ohio Valley, both of the Frontier League.


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Saturday, March 17, 2012

DANE DE LA ROSA AND CODY CLARK SEE FORTUNES IMPROVE; OTHERS SENT TO MINORS

Among all of the Independent players still trying to climb to the majors this spring training, Kansas City catcher Cody Clark and Tampa Bay reliever Dane DeLaRosa may have made the greatest strides.

DeLaRosa, who is on the 40-man roster and got into seven games last season (0-0, 9.82), has had a terrific first five appearances. He has not been scored on, but it is the 11 strikeouts in 5.2 innings (six hits, three walks) that should be making some impact. DeLaRosa, 29, has a lengthy Indy resume with appearances at Southern Maryland (Waldorf) of the Atlantic League, El Paso, TX in the American Association and with four Golden League teams (Victoria, Orange County, Long Beach and Yuma).

Clark, who played at San Diego in the Golden League, could benefit from long term injuries to two key Kansas City receivers which appears to leave the 30-year-old battling occasional major leaguer Max Ramirez to see who backs up Brayan Pena early in the season unless the Royals reach out to a free agent such as Ivan Rodriguez.

Clark, in the Kansas City system since 2007 and at Triple-A Omaha the last two seasons, has been in eight spring training games, and has hit .364 (4-for-11) with a .429 on-base percentage. He has only one RBI, however, while Ramirez, who has 54 major league appearances to his credit, has homered three times and driven in eight runs while hitting .385 (5-for-13).

RECENT CUTS

Indy hopefuls sent to minor league camps recently include first baseman Valentino Pascucci by the New York Mets and pitchers Brandon Sisk (Kansas City), Mike DeMark and Jason Lane (Arizona), Logan Kensing (Pittsburgh) and Erik Hamren (San Diego).

We plan to include a roster of all remaining Independent players in major league camps in this Thursday's subscriber-only Independent Baseball Insider column.

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Thursday, March 15, 2012

A STRIKEOUT/E1 PLAY AND AN AMERICAN IDOL-LIKE CHAMPION AMONG SIDELIGHTS OF SPRING TRAINING

If anyone has a tendency to forget about some of the unusual plays we see on the baseball diamond think about this one.

Onetime bartender Tom Wilhelmsen seems to pretty well have a key late-inning spot in the Seattle Mariners bullpen, as we explained in yesterday's Independent Baseball Insider, but the onetime Golden League hurler (Tucson, AZ) also had one of those freak incidents in a recent Cactus League exhibition that he will probably talk about for the rest of his career.

Wilhelmsen's fastball and curve have been so good that the last I looked the right-hander had held hitters to a combined .154 batting average. He got so excited about one recent strikeout on a curveball against the Chicago Cubs that he wound up with a rare strikeout/pitcher error on the same play.

It seems the ball bounced in the dirt on the strikeout, then ricocheted back toward the mound where Wilhelmsen picked it up and threw wildly to first base.

"I was so excited about the curveball working and probably could have planted my feet better before I threw," he told The Seattle Times.

GUITAR-PLAYING SINGER WINS DODGERS' 'IDOL' COMPETITION

While three-time Atlantic League lefty Scott Rice continues to hope this is the year he breaks into the major leagues, the 30-year-old out of Simi Valley, CA has already claimed one honor in the Los Angeles Dodgers spring training camp.

The Dodgers routinely hold a "Dodgers (American) Idol" competition, a fraternity-hazing type event required for first timers in the big league camp.

Rice, a non-roster invitee after signing out of York, PA during the 2011 season, performed an original song about teammate Kenley Jansen. Guess what? The judges, including Hall of Fame Manager Tommy Lasorda, declared Rice the champion.

Rice told The Los Angeles Daily News he can't carry a tune, but the guitar he bought to pass time while playing in Lakeland, FL some time back helps. "I'm not a singer," the 6-foot-6 Rice told the newspaper. "I play the guitar really loud so I don't have to sing in tune."

Rice has made three Atlantic League stops--Long Island, NY in 2008, Newark, NJ a year later and York last summer when he went 1-0, 2.45 in 15 appearances for the eventual champion Revolution. Now in his 14th professional season and after overcoming flexor tendon surgery, the southpaw is hoping to continue winning accolades, this time in a major league uniform.

He is off to a solid start, allowing only one hit and striking out four (no walks) in three scoreless innings spread over the same number of appearances.


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Monday, March 05, 2012

NAL WINS PROSPECT TOURNEY WHILE GRAND PRAIRIE'S MIKE HOLLIMON HAS GOOD START WITH TWINS; WILLIAMS INJURED

Fighting off a flu bug that is keeping me away from Florida ballparks for a few days, but the mind has not completely shut down. With that thankful comment, I offer a few thoughts between magnificent leaps by a dolphin on the Gulf Coast...

The games in the first Independent Baseball Prospect Tournament in St. Petersburg continued to be entertaining to the very end when the North American League rallied for five runs in the ninth inning and a 5-2 win over the Can-Am League to wrap up the championship. How fitting to see Bob Flori's name perpetuated through the championship trophy.

Bob loved Independent Baseball, and was one gritty manager, who I got to know through the Can-Am League.

The all-tournament team is to be announced later this week, and how nice it would be to see a signing or two follow in short order.

JEROME WILLIAMS INJURED, MIKE HOLLIMON MAKES A BID

The most meaningful performance I have noted by an Independent grad after the initial weekend of major league exhibition games was turned in by former Grand Prairie, TX middle infielder Mike Hollimon, a non-roster invitee with the Minnesota Twins.

Hollimon drove in the go-ahead run in the sixth innings as the Twins topped Tampa Bay, 7-3, on Saturday. Hollimon got into 11 major league games with Detroit in '08, but a shoulder injury the next year cost him most of the season as well as his spot in the Tigers organization. The onetime University of Texas star signed on with Grand Prairie in 2010, and hit .256 in 55 games with the American Association team.

Long showing decent power, especialaly for a switch-hitting middle infielder, Hollimon hit 18 home runs in 126 games split between Double-A and Triple-A for Minnesota last summer to earn the spring training look.

He walked and scored in his only at-bat in an 8-3 loss to Boston Sunday with his defensive innings at second base for the second day in a row. Catcher Rene Rivera (Camden, NJ, Atlantic League) went 1-for-2 as the Twins' starting catcher.

Jerome Williams has taken a blow with the Los Angeles Angels by straining his left hamstring, but Manager Mike Scioscia's comments do not rule him out of possibly winning the No. 5 starting job even if he misses the next two weeks. Williams landed with the Angels after a brilliant start at Lancaster, PA (Atlantic League) last season. The veteran right-hander also pitched for Long Beach, CA in the Golden League.

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