FORMER ATLANTIC LEAGUERS TERRY TIFFEE AND LOGAN KENSING IN STARRING ROLES WITH YANKS' TOP FARM CLUB

Vacations are wonderful, but they certainly throw you off schedule. So with that apology and while waiting for the Atlantic League and Frontier League All-Star Games on Wednesday, we will bring you up to date on some former Independent players now in the affiliated minor leagues.

We often talk about how many Indy grads are playing in Triple-A, just one notch below the majors. It may surprise some, but the powerful New York Yankees have been one of the most active teams at purchasing the contracts of Independent players again this season.

All five of the players below came out of Indy leagues (four this season), and are based at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA, that one step away from putting on the pinstripes at Yankee Stadium.

Recent signees Terry Tiffee and Logan Kensing are doing especially well.

Tiffee, a former major league third baseman who was one of those sold by first-half Atlantic League division champion Lancaster, PA, is hitting .338 after 18 games with three homers and seven doubles among his hits. Tiffee his a dozen runs batted in.

Kensing, also signed out of the Atlantic League (Bridgeport, CT), has a win and three saves in his first five Scranton/Wilkes-Barre appearances with eight strikeouts and only one walk in 6.1 innings while posting a terrific 1.42 earned run average.

Greg Smith, purchased from Grand Prairie, TX in the American Association, is starting and after six appearances (one was in relief) he has gone 2-2, 4.99. Fourteen walks in 30.2 innings have not helped his cause.

Veteran major leaguer Mike Lamb, normally a first baseman or third baseman, has hit
.255 in 11 games since leaving Camden, NJ (Atlantic League) with seven of his 12 hits for extra bases. He has driven in five.

Onetime Chicago Cubs star Mark Prior, who seemed to be a decent candidate for the Bronx at the end of spring training, has once again spent much of the year on the disabled list. Now 30, the right-hander worked three times for Class A Tampa, FL, but has thrown only one inning (scoreless) with the top farm club. Prior started his comeback with Orange County (Fullerton, CA) of the Golden League.

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IT WOULD BE NICE TO SEE JOSE YEPEZ MAKE HIS MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT THIS WEEKEND

It is my hope we will see 30-year-old rookie catcher Jose Yepez's name in a Seattle Mariners box score this weekend.

Indications were the three-season Independent Baseball backstop might only be with the M's a short time while starter Miguel Olivo overcomes hamstring issues, and it always seems such a heart tug when a first-time major leaguer does not get into a game before being returned to the minor leagues. One never knows if or when the next big-league call will come.

I know of three previous times this has happened, including earlier this season when Cincinnati elevated lefty Tom Cochran, a veteran of the Can-Am (Worcester), Atlantic (Lancaster) and Frontier (Ohio Valley and Washington) Leagues, from Louisville for two days without using him in a game. In the previous two cases, the pitcher never did get another major league opportunity. Those victims were Tim Bausher (Berkshire, Northeast League) with Boston and southpaw Brian Mazone (Zion, Western League, and Joliet, Northern League) with Philadelphia.

"I think he's (Olivo) going to be okay," Seattle Manager Eric Wedge told MLB.com. "He feels pretty good, but we wanted to get Yepez up here to make sure we were covered in case something happens."

Yepez, a Venezuelan native, played with Gary of the Northern League in both 2005 and 2007 and was with Pensacola of the American Association in '06. The 11-year pro was hitting .276 in 28 games for Triple-A Tacoma. Veteran Josh Bard, who also joined Seattle Wednesday, was listed as the starting catcher for Friday's game against the San Diego Padres. The regular backup, Chris Gimenez, is on the disabled list.

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D-BACKS COULD BE ADDING PENA WHILE CORDERO CALLS IT QUITS AND GULIN IS RELEASED

Speculation has been running high that Arizona would add the potent bat of Wily Mo Pena today (Tuesday) as the Diamondbacks begin a stretch in which nine of 12 interleague games will be played in American League stadiums where the designated will be used. Nothing seemed to have been announced, however, by mid-afternoon.

Pena, who played a good chunk of last season (155 at-bats) with Bridgeport, CT in the Atlantic League, has been tearing up the Pacific Coast League all year. He has 21 home runs, 40 extra-base hits and 63 runs batted in for 63 games. The big right-handed hitter is at .363 with a .439 on-base percentage.

RETIREMENT AND A RELEASE TAKES TWO GOOD PITCHING NAMES

Former major league closing standout Chad Cordero has called it quits at the age of 29 after getting roughed up in the American Association. Pitching for the St. Paul (MN)Saints, Cordero struggled to a 13.50 ERA for seven outings.

Cordero's career was highlighted by the 2005 season when he saved a National League-leading 47 games for Washington, made the All-Star team and finished fifth in Cy Young Award voting. He was not the same after shoulder surgery in 2008.

Southpaw Lindsay Gulin also could be nearing the end of the road after being released Monday by the Lincoln (NE) Saltdogs. Gulin, 34, did it all except reach the major leagues, compiling a 119-74 record and winning the American Association's Star of Stars award in 2006 when he won 13 games for Lincoln. He earned Pacific Coast League All-Star honors two years later, and reach Triple-A with two organizations.

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HERE IS A SUGGESTION: TRY TO VISIT THE STUNNING NEW CAN-AM BALLPARK

It was just as pre-game ceremonies were starting when I asked Miles Wolff how many of these events he had been a part of in his 19 years as commissioner of an Independent league.

With little more than a shake of the head and a grin, it was obvious the Can-Am League boss had no idea of the answer.

One thing is certain: Not many could match the magnificence of the first-year Rockland Boulders stadium an hour north of New York City in Ramapo, NY.

Provident Bank Park, rushed all winter and spring to get near completion, attracted what was called a standing-room-only crowd of 6,317 (there were some open seats in both outfield sections) and the Boulders obliged with a sparkling 3-1 win over Brockton, MA. Dave LaPoint's team had to be happy to be home since its first 16 games (5-11) were on foreign soil, including eight defeats in a row.

But this game was much more about the new $38 million playpen tucked in the Ramapo Mountains. The plan to build the stadium had been disputed by many, as often is the case with such projects, but city fathers plus President Ken Lehner and his partners had their say.

The stadium seems to have everything: It has spaciousness for watching, chatting and eating, a lush, green playing surface and multitudes of fascinating touches. Want to see a handsome bridge. Got it. Need a kid's zone. Rightfield corner. Picnic area with a grand view of the diamond. Check. Crystal clear high-definition scoreboard complete with replays from the crew of at least 10. You bet.

My suggestion is that anyone within reach check it out for themselves because I have not included many of the amenities.

Oh, I did come upon a couple of blips. One concession stand was out of pizza by the fourth inning, and closer Adrian Martin, who got to nail down the first game win, admitted with a wry smile as he was waiting for his pre-game introduction that the 313-foot sign in front of the picnic area in the rightfield corner might be just a tad short to give pitchers comfort.

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SOME ODD 'N ENDS STARTING WITH HOT SEATTLE MINOR LEAGUE HURLER

I would mark Steve Delabar down as a former Independent player possibly on a fast track toward the major leagues.

While the 27-year-old righty has been pitching professionally since 2004, he was only signed by Seattle in the third week of April and now the Mariners have promoted the 6-foot-5 hurler from Class A High Desert in the California League to Double-A Jackson, MS.

We wrote about Delabar earlier this season in the Independent Baseball Insider because he is coming back after what appeared to be a career-ending broken right elbow. He worked at Florence, KY of the Frontier League and for quite a while with Brockton, MA in the Can-Am League before Seattle bought his contract.

Delabar has struck out 29 hitters in 20.1 minor league innings so far with five saves, a 2-1 record and a 2.66 earned run average. He has been virtually perfect in the Southern League, and we will keep a lookout for more progress.

ODDS 'N ENDS HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND: The New York Mets have sent lefty Mike O'Connor (Southern Maryland, Atlantic League) back to Triple-A Buffalo even though he had a 2.70 ERA for nine appearances. He took one loss, but also fanned eight in 6.2 innings and gave up only five hits...Milwaukee has Erick Almonte (Long Island, NY, Atlantic League) out on a rehab assignment at Nashville. He was perhaps the major surprise among former Indy players during spring training when he came from nowhere to make the Brewers' Opening Day roster as a utilityman and pinch hitter...It may not be the end, but Detroit has released former major league hurler Chris Oxspring, whose Indy time was at Cook County (Crestwood, IL) of the Frontier League...Corey Smith (Newark, NJ, Atlantic) is back at Double-A Chattanooga, TN after the Dodgers had moved the hot-hitting third baseman up to Albuquerque for a time. It still would not surprise this corner if he got a major league opportunity because of his bat...the pace of player sales from Indy teams to major league organizations has really picked up in recent days.

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