Friday, October 31, 2014

CHECKING OUT A RUMOR PLUS A SOME NICE WORLD SERIES LINKS

A word to the wise: Do not believe those rumors that the American Association is planning to expand to Brownsville, TX. One owner is believed to be stirring the pot, but the stories that say the league has been involved are not true.

WORLD SERIES RINGS LIKELY

While the Independent leagues did not have any players in this year's World Series, the Giants are not without former Indy people in their organization. As starters, coaches Andy Skeels (current Atlantic League city Somerset, NJ as well as numerous other non-affiliated spots), Ken Joyce (Northeast League) and Todd Linden (North American League) all work in the minor league system.

Speaking of coaches, congratulations are in order to onetime Quebec Manager Darren Bush (he also had a few other Indy stops) for moving up from bullpen coach to hitting coach at Oakland. New Athletics assistant hitting and catching coach Marcus Jensen also played Independent Baseball.

FROM BEST PROSPECT TO MAJORS STILL A BIG CLIMB

Before anyone gets overly giddy for the chances of Baseball America's top Independent prospect Eric Anderson making the majors, none of the last five have gotten that far to this point. Anderson was a rookie right-hander this season with Normal, IL in the Frontier League. History says he will get a chance in a major league farm system.

WHO IS HOT IN WINTER BASEBALL?

Free agent corner infielder Andy Marte (York, PA, Atlantic League) and New York Yankees catching hopeful Jose Gil (Lincoln, NE, American Association) have hot bats in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, respectively. Marte has three homers and is hitting .367 (11-for-30) while Gil is at .345 (10-for-29) with one homer.

Right-hander Tim Dillard (Lancaster, PA, Atlantic) has allowed only three hits and one run over 10.1 innings in nine appearances in Venezuela. He has struck out 12.


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Friday, October 24, 2014

CATCHING UP WITH PLAYER TRANSACTIONS, THE WINTER LEAGUES AND THE AFL

A surprising release we picked up today. Julio DePaula, who made that meteoric climb from York, PA (Atlantic League) to the Baltimore Orioles in 11 days in mid-summer, has been given free agency. He had not been in a major league uniform since 2007 (Minnesota) when he reported to the Orioles for a day before being designated for assignment and eventually returning to Class AA Bowie, MD.

BEVY OF INDEPENDENT PLAYERS IN WINTER BASEBALL

While the winter league season still is young, two hitters who had strong regular seasons are off to flying starts. San Francisco hopeful Mark Minicozzi, a well-traveled Independent vet, is hitting .417 (15-for-36) after 10 games in Venezuela. The versatile Minicozzi has two homers and has driven in eight runs. His Independent time was in the American Association (Kansas City, KS and Winnipeg), Can-Am League (Worcester, MA) and Atlantic League (Camden, NJ).

Third baseman Andy Marte, who was with the parent Arizona Diamondbacks for a very brief time this summer, has started fast in the Dominican Republic by going 5-for-11 with a homer and seven RBI in only three games. Now a free agent, Marte spent his Indy time at York.

Among pitchers, Chris Smith (Sugar Land, TX, Atlantic, and Wichita, KS, American Association) has worked 12 innings in two starts in Venezuela without allowing an earned run. He is in the San Diego minor league system.

CATCHING UP WITH ARIZONA FALL LEAGUERS

The only two former Independent players we have identified as playing in the Arizona Fall League are struggling so far. Frontier League grads Brandon Cunniff (Southern Illinois)and Alex Smith (River City) have 4.76 and 11.81 earned run averages, respectively. Both have worked five plus innings in multiple appearances. Cunniff is in the Atlanta farm system while Smith is with the New York Yankees.





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Friday, October 10, 2014

TOP SHELF INDY GRADS MARTE, FEIERABEND LOOKING FOR NEW OPPORTUNITIES

A great number of former Independent players with major league organizations will be looking for new contracts once the World Series is over, but two of the record 41 players who were active in the big leagues this season have gotten a jump by declaring free agency. Both played their Indy baseball at York, PA (Atlantic League).

Third baseman Andy Marte logged a few days with Arizona this season, and had a banner year with the Diamondbacks’ top farm club in Reno, NV. Lefty Ryan Feierabend spent most of the year with Texas’s Triple-A club in Round Rock, though he also logged time with the parent Rangers.

Right-hander Bo Schultz got his first taste of the majors during a couple of stints with Arizona (four appearances; eight innings), and was 10-8 at Reno. He was picked up via waivers this week by Toronto where he will try for a slot next spring.

FRESH START IN TRIPLE-A FOR THIS CATCHER

Ryan Eigsti, at one time with Frontier League power Southern Illinois (Marion), has seen his fortunes change. Kansas City signed the catcher and placed him on the roster of its top farm club in Omaha, NE.


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Monday, October 06, 2014

LIKE MAJORS, IT TOOK 413-PITCH MARATHON TO DECIDE ATLANTIC LEAGUE

Major League Baseball does not have anything on the Atlantic League when it comes to exhausting postseason games.

The season finale in the Atlantic, which ended up with Lancaster, PA winning its second championship, included back-and-forth leads between the Barnstormers and Sugar Land (TX) Skeeters over 13 gripping innings that required four hours and 40 minutes to play. Gabe Jacobo’s walkoff home run in the bottom of the 13th won it to the delight of most of the 6,084 fans, giving Lancaster a three-game sweep.

Fifteen combined pitchers three 413 pitches (225 by Sugar Land) with 30 hits, six home runs, 12 walks and 22 strikeouts. Twenty-eight runners were left on base in the 8-7 contest. Jacobo had a double in addition to two homers and drove in four runs. Delwyn Young homered twice for the Skeeters.

INDEPENDENTS MAY GET SHUT OUT IN LCS AND WORLD SERIES

Unless Washington can reel of three consecutive wins to erase its 2-0 deficit against San Francisco or Kansas City elects to activate reliever Aaron Crow (Fort Worth, TX, American Association) for the American League Championship Series against Baltimore, not a single Independent Baseball player will get to experience a League Championship Series or World Series this year. Tanner Roark (Southern Illinois, Frontier League) carries the current Indy hopes with Washington. Max Scherzer (Fort Worth) was the Game 1 starter for Detroit in its Division Series loss to Baltimore. Scott Kazmir (Sugar Land) of Oakland and John Holdzkom (Amarillo, TX, and Sioux City, IA, American Association, and San Angelo, TX, United League) of Pittsburgh had their hopes of going on dashed in the wild-card games.

95 WINS FOR INDY HURLERS

The final tally for onetime Independent hurlers in the major leagues during the regular season showed 95 victories and 73 defeats with Scherzer on top with 18 wins followed by 15 for both Roark and Kazmir.

‘PERCEPTION OF AGE’ NOT HELPING JASON LANE

One of the many players whose future is an unknown is Jason Lane (Sugar Land and Southern Maryland, Atlantic League), but the outfielder-turned-pitcher seems to carry an extremely positive attitude as he prepares for the winter season in Venezuela.

Lane won praise this summer when he became a rarity at the age of 37 to make his first major league mound start and held Atlanta to one run in six-plus innings for San Diego. “It’s the perception of age that works against me,” the California native told The Santa Rosa Press Democrat recently. “But the odd thing is that I’ve only been pitching for a few years (starting, primarily, at Sugar Land in 2012). My arm is really like a 27-year-old.

“I’m just very thankful for the Padres organization giving me a shot for the short time I was up there (10.1 innings, 0-1, 0.87 over two times called up).” Lane, who said he is open to most any offer the team makes but insists “I’ll fight to get back there (majors)”, also pointed out he never missed a start at Triple-A El Paso, where he went 9-9 with a 4.15 ERA.


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