KAZMIR AND COLABELLO TOP AN ABUNDANCE OF INDY NEWS OUT OF SPRING TRAINING CAMPS

Recent Independent players have been making plenty of noise in major league spring training camps in recent days.  Here is a capsule, starting with comeback-minded Scott Kazmir and all-time Can-Am star Chris Colabello.

 

Kazmir, the onetime hot major leaguer who has not been at that level since 2011, has drawn raves from new Cleveland Manager Terry Francona where the lefty is a non-roster invitee.  What great news it will be for the Atlantic League if Kazmir can keep it up since he spent last summer with the Sugar Land (TX) Skeeters.  This is what Francona told The Cleveland Plain Dealer:  "He's looked so good it's scary.  I wish we could bottle it right now for the season."  Kazmir threw two scoreless innings (one hit, one strikeout) in his only Cactus League appearance so far.

 

Fox Sports said Colabello, who spent seven years in the Can-Am (mostly at Worcester, MA) before getting his first affiliated opportunity with Minnesota last season, probably ranks as the happiest player in spring training.  "Believe me: the smiles I have on my face all day, every day, are not fake," the first baseman said.  "It's very easy for me to come here and appreciate everything and be grateful to this organization."  Colabello is making the most of his time with the Twins before joining Italy for the World Baseball Classic by going 3-for-10 with a double and two runs batted in.  One infield hit tied a game in the bottom of the ninth inning and the next day Colabello hit a slicing double to right-center with the winning run, which, ironically came off of Kris Johnson.  This left-hander (Kansas City, KS, American Association) is expected to get a good look from Pittsburgh this spring.

 

In an intriguing pairing for the Can-Am League in a game at Dunedin, FL Tuesday, Colabello hit once against Toronto reliever Steve Delabar, who played in the league at the same time for Brockton, MA.  Delabar won this time, getting Colabello to bounce out.

 

OTHER TOP INDY PERFORMANCES

 

OF Justin Christian (Southern Maryland, Atlantic League, and River City, Frontier League) had to impress St. Louis brass with a single and double in four at-bats plus a run and two RBI.  On one of those one-day pass situations occurring frequently, former York, PA (Atlantic League) southpaw Ryan Feierabend hurled an inning (two hits, one run) for Texas.  OF Lew Ford (Long Island, Atlantic) had a 2-for-3 game with two runs as he attempts to stay with Baltimore.  Nate Robertson (Wichita, KS, American Association) hurled a scoreless inning (two hits) for Texas, Jarrett Grube (Southern Maryland, Atlantic) had a scoreless four-out performance for the Angels (one walk, two strikeouts), invitee Bo Schultz (Grand Prairie, TX, American Association) got a scoreless inning and a save for Arizona and Jim Paduch (Lincoln, American Association; Evansville, IN and Rockford, IL, Frontier League; Gary, IN, Northern League; Chico, CA, North American League) picked up a win while getting four outs for Tampa Bay.

 

Pitchers James Paxton (Grand Prairie), Josh Kinney (River City) and Tom Wilhelmsen (Tucson, AZ, Golden League) all hurled a scoreless frame in the same 8-3 win for Seattle against the Padres. 

 

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ALFONZO OUT WHILE AXELROD AND LOMAN EXCEL IN SPRING OPENERS; COLABELLO MAKES HIS FIRST APPEARANCE

Onetime St. Paul (MN) Saints catcher Eliezer Alfonzo has become the first of the 55 Independent Baseball players victimized in a major league spring training camp.  Actually, the 34-year-old did not even get to the Los Angeles Dodgers' camp where he was to be a non-roster invitee in his attempt to get back to the majors after serving a 50-game suspension and playing in Mexico last season.

 

Alfonzo missed the start of spring training for what the team said was "a family issue", then he contracted Dengue fever, described as an acute infectious disease transmitted by mosquitoes.  The Venezuelan native, who hit .300 in 68 games for the Saints in 2003 before they moved from the Northern League to the American Association, has been reassigned to the minor league camp.  He has a career major league average of .240 with 17 home runs in 193 games.

 

KEEPING UP WITH AXELROD AND LOMAN

 

Dylan Axelrod (Windy City, Frontier League) had to help his chances of a more prominent role with the Chicago White Sox when he started and turned in three shutout innings of one-hit baseball in a 9-0 blanking of the Dodgers Saturday.  Axelrod struck out four.

 

Former Golden Leaguer (St. George, UT) Seth Loman pinch ran in the third inning of that game, remained at first base and finished the scoring with a two-run ninth inning homer.  The White Sox's non-roster invitee was 1-for-3.

 

Lefty Victor Garate, who made one appearance for York, PA (Atlantic League) last season and signed with the Dodgers during the offseason, was brought over from the minor league camp as an extra, but he did not get into the game.

 

COLABELLO HAS A QUIET DEBUT

 

Longtime Can-Am League star Chris Colabello (Worcester, MA, and Nashua, NH) got a starting assignment in the Minnesota Twins' spring training debut Saturday, playing first base and batting sixth.  He went 0-for-3 with one strikeout before coming out of the 5-3 loss to Baltimore.

 

Colabello, who drove in 98 runs last year for Double-A New Britain, CT in his first affiliated season, will leave the Twins temporarily in a few days to play for Italy in the World Baseball Classic. 

 

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INDY COUNT UP TO 31 FOR WBC PLUS A RETURN BY VALENTINO PASCUCCI

A scan today of final first-round rosters for the World Baseball Classic starting in eight days (March 2) reveals at least 31 players who have been in Independent leagues are scattered among seven of the 16 teams.  We use the term "at least" because it is possible others have been overlooked.

 

Four players were added since we ran down the original 28 from provisional rosters in our subscription publication, the Independent Baseball Insider, in January, while veteran Canadian hurler Scott Richmond is no longer listed.  The additions are Venezuela's RHP Juan Rincon, who was with Bridgeport, CT of the Atlantic League part of last season, left-handed hitting infielder Mike Costanzo (a recent signee with Washington) and RHP Justin Cicatello with Italy and shortstop Jesus Merchan with Spain, which now has 12 players with Independent experience.  Costanzo played at Camden, NJ in the Atlantic League in 2010, Cicatello pitched in the Frontier League (Kalamazoo, MI) back in '07 while Merchan hit .391 in 115 at-bats with Lancaster, PA of the Atlantic League last season.

 

SLUGGER PASCUCCI REJOINS ATLANTIC LEAGUE

 

Long-ball-hitting first baseman-DH Valentino Pascucci is back in the Atlantic League.  The 1999 Montreal Expos-drafted Pascucci was with Camden for a time in 2010 before going to the New York Mets organization.  He saw brief action (3-for-11, one home run) with the parent Mets last season and homered 17 times in Triple-A, but was recently signed once again by the Riversharks.

 

POSITIVE THOUGHTS FROM LUKE HOCHEVAR

 

Luke Hochevar's starting job seems very much up in the air with Kansas City this time around even though he made 32 starts, including the second game of the 2012 season, for the Royals last year, but the onetime Fort Worth (TX) Cats (American Association) hurler is putting a positive face on at spring training in Surprise, AZ.

 

"I think it's a great situation," Hochevar told MLB.com.  "I think it's great that I'm in a position where I'm being pushed because it heightens everything.  It heightens your focus, it heightens your everything, so it can only be good.  Not just for me but for the whole club--it's great.  That's what it's all about, the club winning games." 

 

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BRACHOLD, GRIMES ON THE MOVE AFTER ALREADY POSTING GREAT INDY CAREERS

Two outfielders with prolific Independent Baseball numbers but virtually no history in the affiliated game made news this week, one because of a change of scenery and the other because he has given up playing to coach in college.

 

Can-Am League All-Star Keith Brachold will get a chance to showcase his tremendous bat in the American Association after the Rockland (NY) Boulders sent him to Doug Simunic's Fargo (ND) RedHawks in a one-for-three trade.

 

While now 30, Brachold has had seven productive Independent seasons without getting a major league organization to give him a regular-season opportunity.  He seems parallel in offensive production to Chris Colabello, who spent similar time in the Can-Am League before the Minnesota Twins finally gave the first baseman a chance last year.  All Colabello did was drive in 98 runs at the Double-A level to earn a major league spring training invitation plus an opportunity to play in the World Baseball Classic for Italy.

 

While Colabello never drove in 80 runs in a 100-game Can-Am season, Brachold, a lefty hitter, drove in 80 for Brockton, MA in 2011 and 84 along with a career-high 29 homers for Rockland last season.

 

"We gave up some very good players to acquire him, and think it will be a good deal for both clubs," said Simunic, who has helped develop and later sell many an Independent star to major league organizations.

 

SCOTT GRIMES MOVES ON TO COLLEGE OPPORTUNITY

 

Another player with power, speed and centerfield prowess was Scott Grimes, who put up all-everything-like numbers in both the Can-Am League and the Atlantic League but got only one injury-hampered season in a major league farm system.  Grimes was to start a new career this very day as an assistant coach with Philadelphia-based LaSalle University, where he also will work on a masters degree.

 

At 29, Grimes decided to move into the coaching ranks after not getting another affiliated opportunity despite leading York, PA to back-to-back Atlantic League titles in 2010 and 2011 and earning praise from new Revolution Manager Mark Mason as "the best player in the league (in 2010)" and "the best center fielder in the league" in his three seasons (including '12) in York.

 

"I've wanted to get into the coaching world, but it's still one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make," Grimes was quoted in the media release announcing his retirement as a player.  Grimes's career included leading all of professional baseball with 138 runs scored in 132 games in '10 as well as hitting .365 for Worcester, MA (Can-Am) in 2008 which earned a short look from the New York Mets.

 

KEEPING UP WITH DE LA ROSA AND TAVAREZ

 

After clearing waivers, big reliever Dane DeLaRosa is back in the Tampa Bay spring training camp although as a non-roster player.  The well-traveled Indy vet, whose stops included Southern Maryland (Atlantic) and El Paso, TX (American Association), makes it a record total of 55 onetime Independent players who are in or headed to major league camps.

 

Meanwhile, an interesting signing for the second season of the popular Sugar Land (TX) Skeeters in the Atlantic League is longtime major league reliever Julian Tavarez.  About to turn 40 (May 22), Tavarez has 17 major league seasons to his credit with an 88-82 record and 23 saves in 828 games, although he has not pitched in the bigs since 2009 (3-7, one save, 4.89 in 42 games for Washington). 

 

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INDEPENDENT PRESENCE CARRIES OVER INTO EARLY-MORNING HOURS AS MEXICO WINS CARIBBEAN SERIES

It takes more than a little old blizzard here in Connecticut (it was a dandy) to keep us from thinking baseball, especially with pitchers and catchers reporting to major league teams in a day or two.

 

Chris Roberson should have plenty of stories to tell when he reports back to the Winnipeg Goldeyes for the American Association season after being part of Mexico's championship team in the Caribbean Series his country hosted.

 

How about the 2:43 a.m. wrapup when Mexico pushed across the winning run in the top of the 18th inning of the seven-hour, 28-minute championship game that took down a dominating Dominican team, 4-3.  Come to think of it, Roberson can have some fun at the expense of new Lincoln (NE) Manager Ken Oberkfell, who was the Dominican skipper, when tha Goldeyes and Saltdogs meet.

 

Roberson went 0-for-6 in the finale while 2012 Winnipeg teammate Barbaro Canizares had a single and double in six at-bat.  Mike Benacka, who will be in minor league spring training with Toronto, got in an inning spread between the 12th and 13th innings.  He struck out two, but continued his late-winter wildness by allowing three bases on balls.

 

For the Dominican, Angel Castro (Lincoln, 2010), started and allowed only two hits and one earned run in the first 7.2 innings.  Dustin Richardson (Sugar Land, TX, Atlantic League) and Edward Valdez (Calgary, North American League, 2011) also pitched in the marathon, with Valdez allowing a home run to Doug Clark, who won the game with a second shot in the top of the 18th.

 

Twenty-one pitchers were used during the game.

 

T-BONES' GRENING SHARP IN AUSTRALIAN FINALE

 

Right-hander Brian Grening, one of several Kansas City (KS) T-Bones players to spend the offseason in Australia, was the clear star of Game 1 of the best-of-three series to determine the league champion Friday.

 

Grening, 10-5 with Kansas City (3.69) although not on the current roster, pitched seven scoreless innings before allowing the Perth Heat to get on the board in the eighth in leading Canberra to a 6-4 triumph.  He allowed six hits and struck out the same number in 7.2 innings.

 

Nearly a dozen current or former Independent players are on the two teams as is first baseman K.C. Hobson (Canberra), the son of Lancaster, PA (Atlantic League) Manager Butch Hobson.

 

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RECORD-BREAKING FIELD TO REPRESENT INDEPENDENT BASEBALL WHEN SPRING TRAINING CAMPS OPEN

It is going to be a record-smashing year for Independent Baseball in the number of the non-affiliated game's players heading into major league spring training camps, with the total continuing to grow.  We will have it all summed up, including a full roster, when subscribers to the Independent Baseball Insider receive their final pre-training column on Thursday.  Subscribe for a month or the season at www.WirzandAssociates.com. 

The American Association has had a bonanza of good news in this arena already this week with three additions to its already sizeable pool of talent headed to the 30 major league camps.

CARIBBEAN SERIES LOADED WITH INDY PLAYERS

For anyone fortunate to check out the Caribbean Series on television this week, see how much participation there is by current or former Independent players.  Puerto Rico has 11 such players on its roster, and the most amazing part may be that eight of them were in Indy leagues last season.  Every team has at least four players with an Independent Baseball background.

One of Puerto Rico's 11 is Sergio Espinosa, who made 14 appearances with the Can-Am League's Newark (NJ) Bears (1-0, 4.10) last season.  Espinosa was credited with the victory Monday when Puerto Rico, which had lost its first three games, upended the unbeaten Dominican Republic (3-1), a team managed by new Lincoln, NE (American Association) field boss Ken Oberkfell.

American Association all-star outfielder Chris Roberson (Winnipeg) has probably been as busy a participant as anyone as the leadoff man for Mexico (2-2).

Two former Indy pitchers have turned in very strong starts.  Angel Castro (Lincoln, 2010) hurled the Dominican to a victory over Venezuela (2-2) with seven innings in which he allowed two earned runs while striking out seven (no walks).  Ken Ray, among the most venerable of those in the series at 39, pitched Venezuela to a win over Puerto Rico when he allowed only one run in six innings while fanning nine and not walking anyone.  Ray last worked in an Independent league when he was with the Long Island (NY) Ducks (Atlantic League) in 2009.

It is guaranteed at least eight players with an Independent background will be eligible for Thursday's new championship game.  

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LINCOLN GETS BOOST WITH NEW SKIPPER KEN OBERKFELL MANAGING DOMINICANS IN CARIBBEAN SERIES

A few quick hits heading into the weekend when the on-the-field baseball highlight is the start of the week-long Caribbean Series.

The Dominican team is being managed by longtime major leaguer and frequent Independent boss Ken Oberkfell.  This must make the Lincoln (NE) Saltdogs feel good since Oberkfell will be at their helm when the American Association season starts.  It is his first season with Linchln.  It surely cannot hurt recruiting, either.

TRIPLE CROWN NOT ONLY TREAT FOR BUSCHINI

Adam Buschini, who as we reported won the Triple Crown in Australia, has now signed to play in the San Diego farm system.  After his .354-14-70 summer at Amarillo, TX (American Association) and the terrific winter in Australia 50 RBI in 45 games and the first Triple Crown that league has seen, the 25-year-old infielder will be in position to try capitalizing on an affiliated job.  He was only so-so in two Class A seasons with Philadelphia, but he was only 23 when released.  Buschini played in the North American League (Chico, CA) in 2011.

SO SAD

Wichita, KS bench coach Brian Rose, only 34, lost his three-year battle with cancer.  "Brian Rose was one of the strongest individuals I will ever know," praised popular Wingnuts Manager Kevin Hooper.

NON-ROSTER INVITES UP TO 31

Add New York Yankees southpaw Juan Cedeno (Rio Grande Valley, Harlingen, TX, North American League) to the list of former Independent players with non-roster invitations to major league spring training camps.  This list is now at 31.

And, shortstop Jesus Merchan, whose contract was sold to San Diego after he had hit .391 in 115 at-bats for Lancaster, PA (Atlantic League) early last season, has re-signed with the Padres and is on their Triple-A roster.  It would not be a shock to see him get into an occasional major league game during spring training.  Merchan was on base 44 per cent of the time for the Barnstormers.

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