IT IS BIG BROTHER'S TURN IN THE CAN-AM SPOTLIGHT; ALSO, LEARNING ABOUT THIS 'FRATERNITY' CALLED BASEBALL

When I spent a day with the Rockland (NY) Boulders earlier this season the talk was centered around Chris Edmondson because he was making an early run with Triple Crown-like numbers against Can-Am League pitching.

Older brother Jerod, also an outfielder, could easily have gotten lost in the glare of Chris’s accomplishments. That is what made it so sweet when Jerod Edmondson went on a offensive splurge of his own and won Rawlings Hitter of the Month honors for July.

Edmondson hit .380 with five homers, but he hit so much in the clutch, driving in 23 runs to grab a share of the league lead (51). He had 14 extra-base hits and went a perfect 8-for-8 in stolen bases.

Chris Edmondson had his contract purchased by Atlanta in June, but he has been limited to only 10 games (7-for-34, .206 with one homer) because of an injury and has spent more than three weeks on the disabled list.

BASEBALL ‘LIKE A FRATERNITY’

St. Paul (MN) Saints newcomer Bryan Henry is writing a journal about his baseball days for Tallahassee.com, and if fans want a glimpse of how players adapt when they join a new team Harvey’s “Life in the Minors” column helps out.

“The baseball world is a small one,” the onetime Florida State hurler wrote recently. “It is a lot like a fraternity. It seems as if everyone is connected by past connections, a.k.a. the six degrees of separation syndrome. This team is no different.” He went on to discuss his personal or second-hand connections he learned about in chatting with his new mates.

Henry, 28 and fresh from seven years in the Arizona farm system, also talked about his perceptions and the realities of visiting new cities, such as his very first junket to North Dakota. He thought visiting Fargo might be much like scenes from the “Field of Dreams” with “farms, cornfields, crops in the middle of nowhere and then boom, a baseball field.”

The right-hander, who has had two stints in Triple-A and took a 30-26 career record to St. Paul, not only learned that the RedHawks have a nice stadium and playing surface, but “the most surprising thing to me was the atmosphere at the game. There were more than 4,000 fans in attendance, and it was an intense game.”

As for his pitching for the Saints, Henry has a 1.68 earned run average after four relief outings although he has suffered one defeat.

FELIX PIE’S SPEED COULD HELP PITTSBURGH

While he did not make the team despite a long look in spring training, it would not be at all surprising to see former major league and Atlantic League (Camden, NJ) outfielder Felix Pie helping the surging Pittsburgh Pirates down the playoff stretch.

His speed alone could be enticing. Pie has 34 steals at Triple-A Indianapolis although his average has tailed off to .245.

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