2008 Following the Minor League Teams

[JMUalumni]

the weekly minor league notes

Potomac Nationals:

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Nationals went 3-4 last week, a span that included three straight wins and three consecutive losses. Wednesday night's game was particularly frustrating as a bevy of errors led to an 8-6 loss to Frederick. C Jhonatan Solano told the Potomac News, "I didn't feel the energy in the dugout. Errors are a part of the game. Everybody makes an error. We need more communication in the game." Nevertheless, with a 29-26 record, Potomac continues to reside atop the Northern Division standings with a two-game lead over Wilmington.

WHO'S HOT: OF Boomer Whiting has been living up to his nickname of late by stroking 10 hits in 23 at-bats with eight runs scored over his last eight games. ... 2B Michael Martinez has been hitting the ball as well, with 11 hits, five runs and nine RBIs over his last nine outings.

WHO'S NOT: CF Francisco Plascencia has only one hit in his last 15 at-bats. ... 1B Andrew Lefave was hitless in his last nine at-bats and one for his last 12 trips to the plate.

HELP ARRIVES: The P-Nats lost Brian Finegan when the Nationals traded the veteran to the Phillies last week, but the club received instant contributions from a pair of newcomers in Stephen King and Michael Burgess. King doubled and drove in a run in his first game Aug. 11, while Burgess hit a fifth-inning solo home run to deep center field. "I was just trying to hit the ball hard and not miss my pitch," Burgess told the Potomac News. "I came in to do my job. It's an honor to be here. It's been a good year, and I'm happy to be up here with a great ball club." Burgess led Hagerstown in hits (100), doubles (26), home runs (18), RBIs (60), and walks (46) prior to joining the P-Nats.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080817&content_id=446871&vkey=news_l122&fext=.jsp&sid=l122

Hagerstown Suns:

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Suns (21-34 second half, 55-69 overall) went 1-5 and were sixth in the Northern Division, 16 games behind first-place West Virginia.

WHO'S HOT: RHP Cole Kimball (5-8, 5.56) threw seven scoreless innings to win his lone start. ... C Sean Rooney .is hitting .307, but is trying to get over a bump in the road. ... IF Tim Pahuta is hitting .261 but leads the club with 62 RBIs. ... RHP Dan Leatherman (1-1, 2.49) has four saves and has been fairly effective out of the bullpen.

WHO'S NOT: OF Mark Gildea is battling at .177. ... SS Jose Lozada is sruck at .219 after a 7-for-40 slump. ... OF Robert Jacobsen is hitting .134 (11-for-82) in 30 games.

NEWS & NOTES: The SAL and Eastern League have two general managers exchangimg leagues. Brad Taylor moves from the EL's Trenton Thunder to the SAL's new Bowling Green franchise, while Suns GM Will Smith takes Taylor's place in New Jersey. Smith was introduced to the Trenton-area media at a Monday news conference. He becomes the second Suns' GM in three seasons to make a major move up, following in the footsteps of Kurt Landes, who is general manager of the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Minor League Board of Directors chairman Joe Finley has a stake in both the Thunder and Ironpigs.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080818&content_id=446995&vkey=news_l116&fext=.jsp&sid=l116

Vermont Lake Monsters:

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: The Lake Monsters (23-33) dropped to fourth in the Stedler Division after a 2-5 week. They've lost 13 of their last 17 games, including four in a row, and are eight games behind first-place Lowell.

WHO'S HOT: SS Danny Espinosa has five hits in his last six at-bats. ... RHP Jose Pinales tossed four shutout innings in two relief appearances, allowing one hit and striking out seven. All seven of his punchouts came Wednesday in a three-inning outing against Aberdeen.

WHO'S NOT: RF Michael Guerrero is hitless in his last 15 at-bats. ... 2B Jake Smolinski is stuck in a 3-for-21 slump. ... LHP Patrick McCoy has lost his last three outings. He allowed six runs on six hits in three innings Saturday while striking out four and walking three

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080817&content_id=446938&vkey=news_l127&fext=.jsp&sid=l127

[PANatsFan]

the weekly minor league notes

Potomac Nationals:http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080817&content_id=446871&vkey=news_l122&fext=.jsp&sid=l122

Hagerstown Suns:http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080818&content_id=446995&vkey=news_l116&fext=.jsp&sid=l116

Vermont Lake Monsters:http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080817&content_id=446938&vkey=news_l127&fext=.jsp&sid=l127

Who did we get for Finegan? I know there were a couple trades in the minors, but I'm having trouble finding info.

[JMUalumni]

Who did we get for Finegan? I know there were a couple trades in the minors, but I'm having trouble finding info.

I think it might have just been for cash.  I am not 100% sure though.

[ronnynat]

Ozzie Rodriguez's stats:

 Year  Age Tm  Lg  Lvl Aff  W   L   W-L%   G   GS  CG SHO  GF  SV   IP     H    R   ER   HR  BB   SO  HBP  WP  BFP  IBB  BK   ERA   WHIP
+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+---+----+----+---+---+-----+---+---+------+-----+
 2008   24 DWA DSL Rk  WSN  12   0 1.000   13  13   1   1   0   0   71     48    8    8   0   27  104   4   2   283   0   0   1.01  1.06 
           HAG SAL A   WSN   0   1  .000    1   1   0   0   0   0    6      5    2    1   1    1    7   0   0    23   0   0   1.50  1.00 

I've never even heard of this guy, but those are some sick numbers for him so far. That's 12.97 K/9.

[PANatsFan]

Ozzie Rodriguez's stats:

 Year  Age Tm  Lg  Lvl Aff  W   L   W-L%   G   GS  CG SHO  GF  SV   IP     H    R   ER   HR  BB   SO  HBP  WP  BFP  IBB  BK   ERA   WHIP
+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+-----+----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+---+----+----+---+---+-----+---+---+------+-----+
 2008   24 DWA DSL Rk  WSN  12   0 1.000   13  13   1   1   0   0   71     48    8    8   0   27  104   4   2   283   0   0   1.01  1.06 
           HAG SAL A   WSN   0   1  .000    1   1   0   0   0   0    6      5    2    1   1    1    7   0   0    23   0   0   1.50  1.00 

I've never even heard of this guy, but those are some sick numbers for him so far. That's 12.97 K/9.

Good that he's a starter, but what was he doing for the last 8 years?

[JMUalumni]

Good that he's a starter, but what was he doing for the 8 years?

Maybe he had troubles getting a visa?

[sportsfan882]

Nice start for Detwiler tonight: 5.1 IP 5 H 0 R 0 ER 1 BB 4 K (Win).

He lowered his ERA to 4.84.

Burgess hit his 3rd HR in 8 games for Potomac. Boomer Whiting blasted his 2nd HR of the season for the P-Nats as he continues to hit for a high average (.314). Whiting has also stolen 46 bases this season between Hagerstown and Potomac.

[daggerrrrrr]

It looks like Detwiler is finally starting to show why he was a 6 overall pick, and Burgess is also back on track crushing the ball.

[spidernat]

Maybe he had troubles getting a visa?

For 8 years?   And don't forget that there is a likelihood that he's actually older than what he claims.

[PANatsFan]

For 8 years?   And don't forget that there is a likelihood that he's actually older than what he claims.

Yeah, you would kinda expect a 24 year old to whoop up at Hagerstown

[sportsfan882]

Yeah, you would kinda expect a 24 year old to whoop up at Hagerstown

Yeah, people his age should be in AA/AAA or the Majors not Low-A ball.

[JMUalumni]

I was looking at Rodriguez's stats on Baseball Reference and noticed that he had previously played in the GCL and SAL in 2003/2004.  This was when he was 19 and 20, then there is a gap in his statistics until 2008 when he started pitching for the DSL Nationals.

[PANatsFan]

I was looking at Rodriguez's stats on Baseball Reference and noticed that he had previously played in the GCL and SAL in 2003/2004.  This was when he was 19 and 20, then there is a gap in his statistics until 2008 when he started pitching for the DSL Nationals.

Thanks. Baseball Cube had nothing. Maybe he was hurt, had family problems, who knows. I just won't get too excited until he hits AA.

[spidernat]

I was looking at Rodriguez's stats on Baseball Reference and noticed that he had previously played in the GCL and SAL in 2003/2004.  This was when he was 19 and 20, then there is a gap in his statistics until 2008 when he started pitching for the DSL Nationals.

Could he have had a serious injury that he's just now rebounding from or was he possibly a juicer or something along those lines and he went away to get cleaned up? There could also have been family issues that mandated he stop playing ball for a little while. Or maybe like Luis Ayala and Felipe Lopez, he got divorced or had women problems. 

[PANatsFan]

Could he have had a serious injury that he's just now rebounding from or was he possibly a juicer or something along those lines and he went away to get cleaned up? There could also have been family issues that mandated he stop playing ball for a little while.

great minds think alike

[spidernat]

great minds think alike

If that's true then you better be worried.   

[ronnynat]

Could he have had a serious injury that he's just now rebounding from or was he possibly a juicer or something along those lines and he went away to get cleaned up? There could also have been family issues that mandated he stop playing ball for a little while.

You always think it's the juice.

I've never cared about how old players are in the minors when they are actually producing. Even if it's a 30-year-old who has never pitched in the majors and he happens to figure something out late, it's all the same to me. It's all about timing. We need to have guys that can help us win, regardless of age. Outside of times like these when we're already down and out, we  should welcome a "career minor leaguer" who has figured out how to be successful.

[JMUalumni]

I've never cared about how old players are in the minors when they are actually producing. Even if it's a 30-year-old who has never pitched in the majors and he happens to figure something out late, it's all the same to me. It's all about timing. We need to have guys that can help us win, regardless of age. Outside of times like these when we're already down and out, we  should welcome a "career minor leaguer" who has figured out how to be successful.

QFT, especially the timing part

[sportsfan882]

You always think it's the juice.

I've never cared about how old players are in the minors when they are actually producing. Even if it's a 30-year-old who has never pitched in the majors and he happens to figure something out late, it's all the same to me. It's all about timing. We need to have guys that can help us win, regardless of age. Outside of times like these when we're already down and out, we  should welcome a "career minor leaguer" who has figured out how to be successful.

But he's producing in Low-A. I'll get excited if he starts shutting people down in AA.

[sportsfan882]

Speaking of timing, they should call up Bernadina NOW. He's been on a tear ever since they sent him down. I'd hate to see him cool off in the next few weeks before the Sept call-ups. He deserves another shot and it'd be better for him and everybody if they did it now while he's at peak performance.

[ronnynat]

But he's producing in Low-A. I'll get excited if he starts shutting people down in AA.

No, no. I meant in general. I know Rodriguez is far from being MLB-ready. We haven't seen those kind of numbers around here in a while, though. I'm a WHIP and SO fan. Hopefully he can keep it up.

[ronnynat]

Speaking of timing, they should call up Bernadina NOW. He's been on a tear ever since they sent him down. I'd hate to see him cool off in the next few weeks before the Sept call-ups. He deserves another shot and it'd be better for him and everybody if they did it now while he's at peak performance.

Absolutely. I don't think he'll "Casto" us again.

[sportsfan882]

Martin Beno with another disastrous outing in relief for Potomac: 0.1 IP 0 H 2 R 2 ER 3 BB 0 K.

He has walked 40 batters in 28.1 IP with Potomac this season. 

[JMUalumni]

PJ Dean is on the mILB.com frontpage today for the NYPL All-Star Game

[blue911]

Does PJ stand for Paul Jerome?