COLABELLO HOMERS, HELPS TWINS TO TWO WINS IN A DAY

We talked at length in Thursday's Independent Baseball Insidercolumn about the fates--at least for now--of former Independent sluggers Chris Colabello and Brock Peterson depending on whether they were able to take advantage of their new opportunities with Minnesota and St. Louis, respectively.

Oh, how things change swiftly. Peterson (1-for-7) was sent back to Memphis today when Matt Holliday returned from the disabled list. The good news for this 11-year minor leaguer, including '11 and half of last year with Bridgeport, CT (Atlantic League), is that he got to taste the major leagues, drove in two runs in his short stint and remains on the Cardinals' 40-man roster, which can be a hurdle itself for a player hoping to return.

Colabello, after struggling in three brief call-ups and again in a lengthier test this time, finally has clicked in less than 24 hours. He banged his first major league home, a two-run job, in the 13th Friday night in Seattle to provide a Minnesota victory, then came right back to help in a 4-0 win Saturday afternoon with two singles (2-for-4), a walk and a run. He hit fifth on Saturday and lifted his first-year average to .182 as the Twins continue to give him a solid look to see what they have in the 29-year-old, who was in the Can-Am League his first seven professional seasons.

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CAN-AM'S COLABELLO BACK IN MAJORS

With the Minnesota Twins struggling 14 games under .500, longtime Can-Am League star and current International League RBI machine Chris Colabello was recalled to the American League team Friday in time to help usher in the second half of the season.

We had projected in Thursday’s Independent Baseball Insider column that Colabello could be wearing a Twins uniform for the fourth time this season, and logic would say this will be a longer trial for the first baseman-outfielder. He was 2-for-16 in seven appearances–his first in the major leagues–the first three trips combined.

Fresh from a 1-for-3 game in the Triple-A All-Star Game (although he was shut out in the home run-hitting contest), the seven-year Can-Am veteran (Worcester, MA and Nashua, NH) will bring a season log of .354-24-76, all among International League leaders, with him to Minnesota. He could face another former Indy player, Cleveland lefty Scott Kazmir (Sugar Land, TX, Atlantic League), Friday night.

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HOW CAN ANYONE OVERLOOK THESE STORIES OF INDEPENDENT PLAYERS MAKING THEIR WAY IN MLB ORGANIZATIONS?

The stories of Chase Lambin and Aaron King are two of the most intriguing to follow, Lambin because he is said to be the oldest active player in all of the affiliated minor leagues never to play in the major leagues and King because he has moved from trying to pitch to be an interesting offensive story.

Both came through Independent Baseball, of course, to where they are now.

Lambin, 34, has had his ups and downs ever since the New York Mets drafted him 11 years ago. He found himself in Sugar Land, TX (Atlantic League) for 24 games earlier this year (.305-5-13 and a .347 on-base percentage) before getting one more affiliated opportunity. It is in Omaha, NE, with Kansas City’s top farm club, where he is hitting .264 with four ribbies in 21 games.

“I’m realistic,” he told The Washington Post recently. “I know the chances (of reaching the major leagues) are pretty slim. But I know there is a chance.”

King once had a decent chance of climbing the baseball ladder as a left-handed pitcher. Then control issues became more prominent, including during a stint last summer with River City (O’Fallon, MO) in the Frontier League.

Fast forward to 2013 when King found his way onto the Lancaster, PA (Atlantic) roster for a short time when Barnstormers Manager Butch Hobson referred him to Grand Prairie, TX (American Association) Manager Ricky Van Asselberg because of what Baseball America quoted Hobson as saying was “unbelievable” power. The 24-year-old went 14-for-36 with six extra-base hits when Boston purchased his contract.

The Red Sox sent the Newton, NC native to their Gulf Coast League team, but only for a few days before moving him up to Class A Lowell, MA. The 6-foot-4 southpaw hit his second New York-Penn League home run last night (Thursday) and with a .328 average and .381 on-base percentage after 16 games the saga seems to be gaining life.

MORE POSITIVE PRODUCTION

In our never-ending search through the affiliated leagues for bright lights among former Independent players, these numbers are worth reviewing:

–Outfielder Antoan Richardson (Schaumburg, IL, when still in the Northern League), is hitting .285 with 21 thefts in 58 games since the Minnesota Twins promoted him to Triple-A Rochester, NY.

–Another outfielder, Dustin Martin, went 2-for-3 with a triple and RBI last night to lift his average to .343 in 38 games for Arizona’s Double-A Mobile, AL farm club. He started the year in Sugar Land.

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CHAZ ROE, GREG BURKE LOG MAJOR LEAGUE TIME, SUGAR LAND DUO ALSO MAKE NEWS

Lots of Friday afternoon notes and thoughts following up on yesterday’s newsy Independent Baseball Insider column.

**Interesting job just announced. The Atlantic League is seeking a new president, who will not be affiliated with any of the teams.

**I don’t know how this one slipped through, but Chaz Roe, who was a standout reliever with Laredo, TX (American Association) last season (3-2, 1.47 in 49 games), got a few days with the Arizona Diamondbacks, his first major league opportunity. Roe, 26, was in three games and picked up a victory over the New York Mets. He is back in Reno, NV now, but still on the 40-man roster.

**Another righty reliever, Greg Burke (Atlantic City, NJ, Atlantic League), is back with the Mets for the umpteenth time this season.

**It did not take Dustin Martin long after his contract was purchased from Sugar Land, TX (Atlantic) to draw attention in the Southern League. The outfielder was the Double-A league’s Player of the Week for July 1-7 when he hit .467 with four extra base hits and five RBI. He joined the BayBears May 23, and had gone .326-4-15 with a .410 on-base percentage at the time the award was announced.

**These former Indy players have been released, all somewhat surprisingly: Chris Jakubauskas, Mike Costanzo and Curt Smith. Jakubauskas and Costanzo have some major league time while Smith was a standout in the recent World Baseball Classic.

**Storm warnings in the United League. Alexandria, LA, trying to rebound with re-entry this season but with only part of its seating available, has ceased operation and reports are another team may do the same. While I hesitate to call it an Independent league, the new Pacific Association has suspended operation of the Vallejo (CA) Admirals at least temporarily until its players and some other bills have been paid.

FORMER MATE KEEPS IN TOUCH

Southpaw Will Startup has had such a good season in his first year in the Detroit organization (4-1, four saves, 2.04) that he was in the Eastern League All-Star Game this week, but the Nashville native is staying in touch with some of last year’s teammates at Sugar Land, TX (Atlantic League). “We have developed such a close-knit group of guys that we are always checking in, at least once a month”, he told Insider reporter Mike Nelson during festivities leading up to the All-Star contest in New Britain, CT.

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INDY TEAMS NEED SUPPORT ON ALL LEVELS, INCLUDING STEADY MEDIA COVERAGE

It is well known that for any Independent Baseball franchise present or future to succeed it almost certainly needs good ownership, a quality stadium and the support of local government, business and the media.

I know first hand how the lack of any of factors can spell doom.

I also saw, once again in recent days, a setup every municipality could well try to emulate if it really wants a flourishing local franchise.

I had the opportunity to be on hand for an American Association game in the Nebraska capitol city of Lincoln between the Saltdogs and the El Paso (TX) Diablos.

Lincoln has it clicking on all fronts, as, I believe, is the case in such other Independent cities as Winnipeg, Canada, and the Pennsylvania communities of York and Lancaster. There certainly are others where there is a beautiful stadium, wonderful ownership and good local political and business support.

But I also know the media piece is not nearly as strong in some areas, and in many of those instances past and present the team is struggling. How can a team draw sufficient fan support if they do not see the media on board in a consistent and quality manner. A few paragraphs hidden on Page 4 or 5 of the sports section just don’t do the job. Fans need to be introduced to the players and to the personality of the team whether it is winning consistently or not.

The next morning after the Saltdogs’ game The Lincoln Journal Star, serving a market of more than 200,000 where University of Nebraska sports reigns supreme, delivered marvelous coverage for its local professional baseball fans, and I seriously doubt the fact the team won, 4-1, prompted the decision.

“Saltdogs’ bullpen closes out Diablos” was the lead story in the sports section, which did not overlook the world sports scene. And right above that headline were a few words accompanied by logos telling everyone the next game would be played that afternoon, where the radio coverage could be found for those who couldn’t get to the game and a notice that JournalStar.com had a gallery of photos from the previous night’s game, which drew more than 4,700 spectators.

If Lincoln can package all facets to make certain local–and area–fans can enjoy this sport day in and day out throughout a summer, then other communities should be able to do it as well.

KINNEY GOES TO TRIPLE-A; PRIOR RELEASED

It was somewhat surprising to see the Seattle Mariners remove veteran reliever Josh Kinney from their 40-man roster and outright him to Class AAA Tacoma after he had finished his 60-day time on the disabled list and worked through rehab appearances, but then the M’s do not seem to be going anywhere this season so a younger arm probably seemed more attractive. Kinney, a onetime prominent World Series reliever for St. Louis and with a great deal of major league experience, started his professional journey in O’Fallon, MO, home to the Frontier League’s River City Rascals.

It also was disappointing, though perhaps not as surprising, to see Cincinnati give an outright release to onetime Chicago Cubs star Mark Prior, who logged Independent time at Orange County (Fullerton, CA, Golden League) as he tried to get his once top shelf career back on track.

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