SCHERZER, LANCASTER, UMPS AND COLABELLO KEEP INDEPENDENT FLAMES BURNING

While Max Scherzer is the only player with Independent Baseball experience still playing in the major league postseason, his talent, on display with 10 strikeouts and only one run (two hits) over 5.2 innings in finishing Detroit's American League Championship Series sweep of the New York Yankees Thursday night, is unquestioned.

Scherzer started his professional career with 16 innings of power pitching for the Fort Worth Cats, who were in the American Association during that 2007 season. The onetime University of Missouri standout struck out 25 batters and allowed only nine hits and four walks while posting a 0.56 earned run average.

LANCASTER IN NEAR SWEEP OF TOP ATLANTIC LEAGUE HONORS

The championship eluded the Lancaster (PA) Barnstormers, as we detailed in Thursday's Independent Baseball Insidercolumn, but their season-long dominance was pretty evident when the Atlantic League revealed its postseason award winners Friday.

Lancaster became the first team in the league's 15-year history to sweep the top three on-field awards as well as the first to have more than five players make the 15-man all-star lineup. The Barnstormers had seven first team player selections. Batting champion Blake Gailen was selected as Player of the Year, Fourteen-game winner Dwayne Pollok is Pitcher of the Year and Butch Hobson took his fourth Manager of the Year title although it was his first with Lancaster.

Matt O'Brien of attendance giant Sugar Land, TX and Eric Menzer of York, PA shared General Manager of the Year honors.

TWO FORMER INDY UMPS WORKING ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE GAMES

Much like players, it is special recognition for an umpire to get assignments in the Arizona Fall League.

Onetime Can-Am League umpire Will Little and former American Association arbiter Nick Bailey are in the AFL this autumn. Little also was selected to work the World Baseball Qualifying tournament in Germany.

COLABELLO STARTS HOT

First baseman Chris Colabello continues to swing a hot bat in the early going in Mexico. The Minnesota farmhand, who had been limited to seven seasons in the Can-Am League (mainly Worcester, MA) until this year when he drove in 98 runs for Class AA New Britain, CT, has gone 9-for-19 (.474) in his first five winter league games. He has collected five doubles and driven in five runs.

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