JODIE REPLACES SPARKY LYLE AT SOMERSET AND KEN OBERKFELL WINS LINCOLN JOB

Baseball's revolving door for managers appears to have nudged legendary Sparky Lyle into a "manager emeritus" status at Somerset, NJ, but the onetime major league lefty relief standout left quite a mark for his 15 years with the Patriots, including a record five Atlantic League championships and 1,024 regular-season victories.

Always frank and open with this typist, our fedora is lofted very high for you, Sparky.

It is easy to feel Somerset is in good hands into the future with longtime player personnel boss and pitching coach Brett Jodie taking over although he must get the Patriots off back-to-back disappointments.

Another managerial hiring that got our attention today was Lincoln, NE (American Association) signing Ken Oberkfell, who has an arm's length of accolades on his side even if he did struggle through what had to be a very embarrassing few months with the Newark (NJ) Bears (Can-Am League) this summer before leaving early for what we had heard were personal health issues.

Oberkfell is managing in the Dominican Republic now, where he has had tremendous success.

TWO MORE HAVE MAJOR LEAGUE INVITATIONS

Add the veteran lefty Tim Byrdak (Gary, IN and Joliet, IL, when both were in the Northern League) and catcher Eddy Rodriguez (American Association stalwart at Sioux Falls, SD and El Paso, TX) to the growing list of players with non-roster invitations to major league camps well before the holidays. We will get into this topic in more detail in next week's Independent Baseball Insidercolumn, which subscribers will receive on Thursday, but Byrdak will once again be with the New York Mets and Rodriguez with San Diego.

We also throw a bouquet in the direction of onetime Kansas City, KS (American Association) manager Tim Doherty, who one year ago moved from the Independent ranks to serve as assist hitting coach with the Red Sox. Doherty will be the hitting boss with Minnesota's top farm club in Rochester, NY this season.

ONE MORE HINT ON THE NORTH AMERICAN LEAGUE

While it has been all-too-apparent the North American League wasn't likely to enter Year 3 in 2013, more evidence came in today when the Maui club (owners also have the Hawaii Stars) listed the affiliation of those two teams as the Pacific Baseball Association. One has to feel for San Rafael, CA, where a new lease was recently signed. The Pacifics probably will hook on with some type of league in the area, but it is difficult envisioning them playing what had been the NAL's Southern Division teams, all located in Texas and more likely to resume under some type of United League banner.

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BURKE GETS 40-MAN ROSTER PROMOTION, TWO OTHERS TO MAJOR LEAGUE TRAINING CAMPS

Finally catching up with some Thanksgiving Week transactions involving onetime Independent Baseball personnel...

Greg Burke (Atlantic City, NJ, Atlantic League) made the best jump by first signing with the New York Mets, then being promoted to their 40-man roster. The rebounding righty is now at that level along with another hurler whose first pro pitch was in an Indy league, lefty Brandon Sisk (Bay Area, TX, Continental League) with the Los Angeles Angels. Southpaw Caleb Thielbar (St. Paul, MN, American Association) also got to the 40-man with Minnesota this fall.

MORE MAJOR LEAGUE SPRING TRAINING INVITATIONS

Add left-handed hurler Scott Rice, an Atlantic Leaguer at York, PA, Long Island, NY and Newark, NJ, and outfielder Felix Pie (Camden, NJ, Atlantic) as recent contract signees who have major league spring training invites. Rice will be with the Mets and Pie with Pittsburgh.

Pie is having a solid offseason in the Dominican Winter League.

COLABELLO ANOTHER STEP CLOSER

While we have not heard officially that the contantly productive bat of first baseman Chris Colabello (Worcester, MA and Nashua, NH, Can-Am League) will be in the Twins' big-league camp in Fort Myers, FL, Minnesota has bumped him up from its Double-A farm club to Triple-A. The last we checked Colabello was among the top three Mexican League hitters this offseason in batting, doubles, total bases, on-base and slugging percentage.

NEW DEALS FOR THIS TRIO

Catcher Shawn McGill (Lincoln, NE, American Association), third baseman C. J. Retherford (Fargo, ND, American Association) and pitcher Jarrett Grube (Southern Maryland, Atlantic League) have signed new contracts with their 2012 organizations. McGill remains with Atlanta, Retherford with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Grube with the Los Angeles Angels. All are in the minor leagues.

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THIELBAR AND SISK LATEST INDEPENDENT HURLERS TO REACH 40-MAN ROSTER STATUS

Happy Thanksgiving!

That's surely the case for two left-handed pitchers this morning after being added to 40-man rosters of their parent major league organizations.

Caleb Thielbar, who climbed quickly after being signed out of the American Association (St. Paul, MN), is now on the Minnesota Twins' 40-man protection list. The same is true for Brandon Sisk, acquired by the Los Angeles Angels recently in a trade with Kansas City. Sisk had an unusual start in that he was in the Continental League, a circuit that gained limited success before failing. He pitched near Houston for a team called Bay Area.

Twenty players with Independent experience are now on 40-man rosters, which basically have been set (except for free agent signings) 10 days ahead of the Winter Meetings. Three more veterans who are free agents likely will pad that number.

METS SIGN SCOTT RICE

Still one more southpaw, Scott Rice, has been signed as a free agent by the New York Mets although he currently has a minor league contract. Rice had been in the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system after pitching for Atlantic League teams in York, PA, Long Island, NY and Newark, NJ. The latter now is in the Can-Am League.

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TRACKING THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC AS WELL AS FRONTIER LEAGUE GRADS

When the final spot in next spring's World Baseball Classic went to Brazil, which squeezed out a 1-0 victory over host Panama Monday night, a couple of Atlantic Leaguers lost their opportunity to be on this important stage.

Ramiro Mendoza, much better known for his decade (1996-2005) with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox although he did pitch for Newark, NJ in the Atlantic League in '09, would have been a key on the Panama mound. He hurled 3.2 scoreless innings in the finale, keeping Panama in the game. Mendoza only allowed two hits and, interestingly, did not have any strikeouts or walks.

Infielder Angel Chavez, who started at third base and later shifted to second for Panama while enduring an 0-for-3 night, played 90 games at Bridgeport, CT in 2011.
Panama was outhit 10-3 with the Phillies' Carlos Ruiz getting two of the safeties.

I do not believe Brazil has any players with Independent Baseball experience although that could change by March.

The 16-team WBC field still seems certain to have a number of former Independent players when the final rosters are determined although we may not have the details until February.

FRONTIER LEAGUE FINDS STILL MAKING NEWS

The extensive records we maintain for the Independent Baseball Insider and this blog show that the Frontier League has produced 24 major leaguers. The nicest part is that many of them started their career in the Frontier since it caters to younger players, many of whom have been overlooked coming out of college.

Two members of this group, left-handed pitcher Andrew Werner and outfielder Justin Christian, are in the news once again because of joining new organizations. We can only hope the new location works out well.

Werner, only 25, was part of a two-for-two trade which takes him from San Diego to Oakland. Werner got a nice test the last six weeks with San Diego, where he started eight times (2-3, 5.58). One has to believe the bargain-hunting Athletics will give him a good look next spring. He is on their 40-man roster. Werner played for both Evansville, IN and Windy City (Crestwood, IL) in the Frontier League.

If Christian lands a job with St. Louis after signing a free agent deal it will complete a round trip from within that area since he started his pro journey with River City in 2003-04. River City is in O'Fallon, MO, mere miles west of St. Louis. Christian, who also played briefly at Southern Maryland (Waldorf) in the Atlantic League, will be hoping to become a fourth or fifth outfielder, a role he had with eventual World Champion San Francisco for part of the last two seasons.

FELIX PIE JOINS PIRATES

In another free agent signing, major league veteran Felix Pie has joined Pittsburgh, where he presumably will receive a spring training invitation. The outfielder started 2012 with Camden, NJ (Atlantic League) before his contract was sold to Atlanta. He did not get any major league time with the Braves.

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ANOTHER TRIO GET OPPORTUNITIES WITH MAJOR LEAGUE ORGANIZATIONS

It always is nice to see another Independent player get picked up by a major league organization, but it was doubly impressive that the World Champion San Francisco Giants elected to place Omar Javier on their Triple-A (Fresno) roster.

The 25-year-old Dominican native had only pitched at the rookie level with St. Louis in 2007-09 before he joined the Indy ranks. The 6-foot-3 right-hander spent some time with the Atlantic League's Road Warriors in 2011, then was at York, PA in that league this season (1-6, 5.67 in 22 games, including nine starts) before joining the Newark (NJ) Bears of the Can-Am League for the final month. Javier won twice and lost twice for the Bears, posting a 3.74 ERA and 36 strikeouts in 33.2 innings over six starts.

Newark's release says Javier will be given a chance to make the Double-A farm club, and even that would be a nice jump from his St. Louis days.

MORE NEW AFFILIATED OPPORTUNITIES

The happy news of significant opportunities with major league organizations for those who have been in Independent leagues continues to stream in.

Onetime outfielder Anthony Iapoce has become special assistant to the general manager and minor league hitting coordinator for the Chicago Cubs. He played for Gary, IN in 2004-05 when the current American Association team was in the Northern League.

And Southern Illinois continues to churn out pitching coaches. The latest is Justin Lord, who helped the Miners win the Frontier League title this year before being hired by Baltimore to serve in a similar capacity with their South Atlantic League farm club in Salisbury, MD (Delmarva ShoreBirds). Brad Hall had previously been hired by Washington and Brendan Sagara by Miami after handling pitching coach duties for the Miners.

"Coaches, just like players come to the Miners with hopes of showcasting their skills and talents so that a major league organization will give them an opportunity to reach the big leagues," said Southern Illinois Manager Mike Pinto.

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KRIS JOHNSON AND EDDY RODRIGUEZ AMONG LATEST WITH NEW AFFILIATED CONTRACTS

Several more former Independent players have gotten new contracts with major league organizations, including southpaw hopeful Kris Johnson (Kansas City, KS, American Association) who will be among those featured in this week's Independent Baseball Insiderwhich subscribers will receive on Thursday. Johnson is continuing in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

Others with new deals include infielder Mark Minicozzi (Worcester, MA, Can-Am League; Camden, NJ, Atlantic League; Kansas City and Winnipeg, Northern League) with San Francisco, third baseman Jimmy Van Ostrand (Sugar Land, TX, Atlantic and Canadian World Baseball Classic star) with San Francisco, catcher Eddy Rodriguez (Sioux Falls, SD and El Paso, TX, American Association) with San Diego and infielder Amadeo Zazueta (Sugar Land) with Toronto.

Among those on the long list of minor league free agents, which we also will cover in the Insider, are veteran outfielder Justin Christian (River City, Frontier League, and Southern Maryland, Atlantic) and right-hander Chris Jakubauskas (Lincoln, NE, American Association; Orange County, Golden League; Ohio Valley and Florence, KY, Frontier). Christian spent a sizeable portion of 2012 with the World Champion San Francisco Giants while Jakubauskas's most recent affiliation was with Toronto.

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RIGHT-HANDED PITCHERS GREG BURKE, BRANDON KLOESS IN POSITION FOR SPRING TRAINING FLINGS

Here is an early tip on two right-handed pitchers who started their pro career in Independent leagues, one of out the Atlantic League and the other from the Frontier. Both seem destined for a decent opportunity in major league camps come spring training.

Put Brandon Kloess and Greg Burke on your watch list for February and March.

Burke, who got 48 major league appearances (3-3, two saves, 4.14) with San Diego in '08, bounced back nicely from injuries this past summer to register 17 saves (3-1, 1.53 in 44 games) for Baltimore's top two farm clubs. The 30-year-old, who had debuted with Atlantic City, NJ (Atlantic League) in 2005, became a free agent, and while there were indications the Orioles would try to re-sign the New Jersey native, in stepped the New York Mets. They signed Burke this week and quickly issued a major league spring training invitation.

Kloess, who doesn't turn 28 until next month, spent four seasons in the Chicago White Sox system after a debut period at Windy City (Crestwood, IL) in the Frontier League, and was part of a trade to San Diego this week. While he is not on the 40-man roster it is difficult to imagine him not logging spring training innings with the National League team since some San Diego media expressed that he gives the team "bullpen depth".

Kloess also worked with the White Sox's top two farm clubs in '12, and went 17-10 with 24 saves and a 2.39 earned run average in 132 career games (only five starts) during his time in their farm system.

THESE GUYS HAVE NEW CONTRACTS

Can-Am League product Chris Garcia (New Jersey Jackals), a first baseman, has been given a new contract by Atlanta and moved up from Class A to AA.

Catcher Scott Thomas, who has played in both the American Association (Shreveport, LA) and Atlantic League (Road Warriors), has a new contract at the Class A level in the Baltimore chain.

FREE AGENT COUNT INCREASING

With the annual release of six-year free agents, a sizeable group of onetime Independent players who have gone on to get some major league playing time, are now available: The list includes catchers Mike Rivera, Jose Yepez and Rene Rivera, pitcher Nelson Figueroa, outfielders Lew Ford and Felix Pie, third baseman Mike Costanzo, and first baseman-DH Valentino Pascucci. We will examine the free agent pool more in our subscription publication, the Independent Baseball Insider, next week.

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PLAYER MOVEMENT PICKS UP WITH PROMOTIONS, NEW SIGNINGS AND FREE AGENCY ALL ON OUR RADAR

The pace of promotions, signings and, yes, those electing free agency has really picked up. We are tracking the movement as best we can:

PROMOTIONS

Another pitcher from the Can-Am League has made a nice jump, perhaps following the likes of Stu Pomeranz, Raul Valdes and Steve Delabar toward the major leagues.

This time it is left-hander James Leverton, who like Pomeranz and Valdes once played for the New Jersey Jackals. Miami had Leverton in both Class A and Double-A last season, and after his 3-0, 3.31, one save record at Jacksonville, FL where he both started and relieved, has elevated him to Triple-A New Orleans. Leverton struck out nearly one per inning (53 in 56.1) and allowed less than a hit per inning (49) in his 23 Double-A outings.

NEW SIGNING BY A.L. CHAMPS

Remember the hot summer right-hander Shawn Hill had, starting the season with York, PA (Atlantic League), then winning nine of 11 decisions for Las Vegas and getting one appearance with the parent Toronto Blue Jays? He became a free agent, but American League champion Detroit quickly signed the 31-year-old and placed him on the Triple-A Toledo roster. The Tigers may well have liked the fact right-handed hitters only accounted for a 3.33 earned run average off Hill. He was 4.52 overall.

RE-SIGNED

It was last off-season when Pittsburgh signed infielders Keoni DeRenne (York) and Vince Harrison (York plus then Northern League cities Schaumburg and Joliet, IL and Winnipeg) and outfielder Michael Ryan (Somerset, NJ, Atlantic) as player-coaches.

The Pirates have signed DeRenne again, but released Ryan. Neither played in '12. We have not seen any change of status for Harrison.

RELEASES AND FREE AGENCY

Outfielder Chris Murrill (Laredo, TX, American Association) has been released by Tampa Bay.

While many more will follow as released six-year free agents, catcher Shawn McGill (Lincoln, NE, American Association) and outfielder Felix Pie (Camden, NJ, Atlantic) have become free agents after playing at least part of the season for Atlanta's top farm club in Gwinnett, GA. Righty hurler Greg Burke is a free agent after finishing the year with Baltimore's Triple-A club.

Major leaguers taking the free agency route include Mets lefty Tim Byrdak (Gary, IN and Joliet, when both were in the Northern League), Seattle southpaw George Sherrill (Evansville, IN, Frontier League, and Northern League cities Sioux Falls, SD and Winnipeg)) and Oakland shortstop Stephen Drew (Camden).

Stay tuned.

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