Archive for July, 2009

Congratulations Mark Buehrle for throwing the 18th perfect game in Major League Baseball history!  With a no-hitter to his credit already, Buehrle joined some pretty elite company yesterday with his perfect game.  He owes DeWayne Wise big time for preserving the fete with a great catch in the ninth. Here are some great stories:

• Sharapova’s Thigh digs into the archives for a random retro baseball player profile on Frank Tanana.
• NESW Sports found Kevin Costner and Toronto Maple Leafs player Luke Schenn are chased down at a golf outing by two drinking cougars.
• Style Points has the letter sent from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to Ben Roethlisberger.
• Fansided writes about the Top 10 sports stories that need to go the eff away.
• Detroit4lyfe angrily rips up the Detroit Tigers sudden lack of offensive production.
• Not Qualified To Comment spotted ESPN goofing up on the length of baseball games.
• Babes Love Baseball tells Mark Buehrle that he better do more than high-five DeWyne Wise for preserving his perfect game in the ninth.
• The Viking Age tries to offer up reasons why Jared Allen dressed like Gene Autry for the ESPY’s.
• The World Of Isaac finds Detroit Councilwoman Martha Reeves not even knowing who the Detroit Lions are.
• Zoner Sports was in attendance for Mark Buehrle’s perfect game, and gives you the feelings of watching something like that live.

The Mahoning Valley Thunder will close out their 2009 season at home this Saturday when they take on 9-6 Green Bay.  Mahoning Valley is coming off of their second win of the 2009 season, a 41-39 victory over Albany.  The win broke a two-plus year road losing streak and snapped a 13-game losing streak for Mahoning Valley.  What made the win so improbable was losing CJ Brewer on the opening kickoff.  Brewer was going to be the guy who picked up the slack for injured leader Quorey Payne.

Coach Chris MacKeown was pleased with the effort of his team.  “We started the game with one healthy receiver, CJ breaks his hand on the opening kickoff, Moye is forced to play a position he had never played before.  We played the game with two defensive backs at receiver, we’ve got a quarterback who is making his first start ever, we’re on the road against a team fighting for a playoff spot, and we end up getting a victory on the road.  It was huge.  I’m excited about how we did it under those circumstances.  We eliminated mistakes and won using our formula.”

Frashon McGee will get the call at receiver this week.  “The H is an important spot which CJ was going to fill.  You have to be intelligent and read the defensive coverages, the H has to get us into good situations.  McGee will play there for us this week”, commented MacKeown.

Should be a good crowd this week with hometown favorite, Tom Zetts, making his first home start at quarterback, reduced beer prices, and coming off of a big win.  MacKeown commented on the potential crowd, “I will be disappointed if we see less than 5000 people here Saturday.  Although people might look at the record and say, I’m not going.  Tom Zetts is starting at quarterback, got a win in his first start,  and I hope Youngstown comes out and supports one of their native sons.”

Zetts was not as optimistic about 5000 fans.  “I wouldn’t be disappointed, 5000 is alot of people.  That would be a huge boost and I hope we have a good crowd, I’m looking forward to it.”  Zetts also commented on his future in football when asked if this was it, “I couldn’t tell you.  I thought I was done when I left YSU, and then I thought I was done when I played in Italy, who knows, maybe this is it, maybe it isn’t.  It’s too soon to tell.  I am going to try to keep myself in shape in case anything ever comes up.”

The Mahoning Valley – Green Bay contest is Saturday night at The Covelli Centre.  Beer is selling at a greatly reduced price, Tom Zetts will want to put on a show for family and friends, Coach MacKeown wants the second consecutive win, and the Thunder want to deliver against a playoff team to prove their underachievements this season.  Come and watch!

It’s like somebody keeps trying to poke the Pittsburgh Pirates mascot logo’s other eye out.  Problem is that it is happening from within – sabotage, conspiracy, and greed.  Meet the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Major League Baseball should impose fines to Pirate management and ownership for not even trying to win.  This team is only 7.5 games out of first place right now, but they keep making moves to eat away at what they are paying out.

About a month ago, Nate McLouth was peddled to Atlanta.  Sure, Charlie Morton might end up being OK someday, I grasp that logic.  McLouth was a proven commodity who they did not want to pay, so they moved him.  Same with Jason Bay, Xavier Nady, Bobby Bonilla, Barry Bonds, Doug Drabek, Nyjer Morgan, and on and on and on… 

This pattern sickens me.  The LaRoche trade yesterday confirms what so many have known for so long.  Pittsburgh’s baseball franchise doesn’t care a lick about trying to win.  They take good players and feed the rest of baseball with the talent they grow.  They (management) then whine about how they cannot afford to pay these guys because attendance is so poor.  I’m sick of that story too.  Keep bodies on the field and you might put bodies in seats.

I am serious, this practice needs to be reviewed by the powers that be.  If I were a season ticket holder for this team, I would be calling my lawyer to find out how to recoup my wasted money.  There was absolutely no intent to win in the past 18 seasons.  Pittsburgh is simply a flea market for the rest of baseball.  Trading your All-Star outfielder (McLouth) before the break when you are 5 games out of first place is ridiculous.

I am all for sending the Pirates management elsewhere.  Let’s trade them to New York or Boston so they can display their Lemonade Tycoon mentality on a bigger stage.  Bring someone in to own and run the team that wants to win.  Sign Roy Halladay, make a damn run.  Do something to prove to people you care about their interests an inkling.

Maybe it’s because of the Penguins and Steelers successes that Pirates management feels they can be lax and just get through another harvest without trying to win.  Yeah, that’s it… the public already feels good about Pittsburgh sports, so screw this Pirates winning thing, lets keep dumping players and the Steelers will open training camp and people can root for a team trying to win again.

Nothing against the players, because they are trying their hardest to still win games.  If Garrett Jones, Ryan Doumit and Andrew McCutchon keep performing the way they have been, they too may get an “E” ticket out to a winner.  Can’t keep guys with stats like that. 

Lastings Milledge sucks.  The Mets found that out firsthand last season.  He couldn’t even crack the lineup in Washington.  Pittsburgh basically gave the Nationals Nyjer Morgan, who has been on fire ever since, for Milledge and Joel Hanrahan.  Mark my words, Milledge will be cut by years end.  Then again, it is Pittsburgh.  They may try to put him in the pen with the two teenage Indians who won the reality show (more cheap contracts).  Maybe next year, my 88 year-old grandmother can hit cleanup when they run out of people.

If you do not want to even attempt winning, sell the team, not all of the players.

Maybe the Cavs will sign Curly Neal too.  We know he could handle the ball, he shoots better than Ben Wallace did, and at the ripe age of 58, he would bring more experience and a great winning percentage to Cleveland.  You know I’m just kidding…   Here are some other great stories: 

• Josh Q. Public is a Yankee hater much like myself, but here come the Yankees.
• Outside The Boxscore wrote an entertaining piece called Hitler is not happy, Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson broke up.
• No Guts, No Glory finds new Minnesota Wolves GM David Kahn chasing Ricky Rubio around and too busy to find a new coach.
• PSAMP comments on last nights near brawl in the Brewers vs Pirates game in Jason Kendall, Ryan Braun and the Brewers suck.
• MoonDog Sports  takes a good look at the 2009 NFL rookie signings.
• Hugging Harold Reynolds says that Rick Reilly should leave the Top Ten lists to bloggers.
• Major League Jerk previews the Big 10 Conference for the upcoming college football season.
• In Game Now reports that Shaq will be an upcoming guest host on WWE’s Monday Night Raw.
• The Friendly Blogfines says Rich Harden is afraid of the sun and Wrigley Field.

Michael Phelps cleaned house at the ESPY’s.  I agreed with most of his wins, it isn’t often that someone wins eight gold medals.  Anyway, lots of ESPY coverage as well as many other great stories:

• PSAMP talks about a new show that Shaq is filming where he takes on other athletes in their sport.  In football he is facing off with Ben Roethlisberger.
• Major League Jerk takes a look at NBA fights, new and old, and asks – How Does It Make You Feel?  Pointing out that players involved in a mid-80’s fight turned out OK.
• The always entertaining Bugs & Cranks has a story of how a Royals announcer compared Dan Wheeler to a fetus.
• Babes Love Baseball are wondering if this year’s Home Run Derby has screwed up Joe Mauer’s swing.
• Detroit4lyfe says that Samuel L. Jackson was a disappointment as host of the ESPY’s and Tim Tebow needs to hire someone to dress himself.
• My Sports Rumors talks about how miscommunication between Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez on the field has turned into management not sharing the loot.
• NESW Sports has a video of behind-the-scenes footage of Peyton Manning at the ESPY’s.
• Not Qualified To Comment takes a look at the NBA’s Summer League in Las Vegas.
• Josh Q. Public writes about Tom Watson and other geriatric moments in sports.
• Sports Rubbish has the sad video of Formula One Driver Henry Surtees killed in a crash at Brands Hatch.

Garrett Jones has been on a tear lately.  In fact, he was long overdue to contribute as major leaguer.  Those wacky Pirates front office people will make you think they traded Nate McLouth to get Jones into the lineup.  Don’t buy it.  Had that been the case they would have never asked for Lastings Milledge when they peddled Nyjer Morgan off to the Nationals.  Either way, Jones has had an opportunity to get some AB’s with the Pirates and has more than made the most of his chances.

The 6’4″, 245 lb. outfielder turned 28 on June 21.  Kind of old for a rookie prospect.  Through Sunday, Jones was batting .286 with 7 HR and 9 RBI.  What’s impressive about those numbers is that he has only had 56 at-bats so far.  Fourteen games and homer in every-other-game.  Pretty impressive.

Jones was seemingly a lifetime member of the Minnesota Twins farm system.  He racked up over 1,000 minor league games while in that system.  The Pirates could not let Jones sit in Indianapolis too long as he was tearing the cover off of the ball.

Jones’ emergence as a powerhitter has me scared of what the front office must be thinking.  Either they are going to play out his hot run and send him back to Indy, or they are going to trade Milledge or Moss because there isn’t room for him in the outfield.  My prediction would be the earlier.  Jones will be sent back down once he cools off.

The run that Garrett Jones has been on lately has been fun to watch.  His two homers against San Francisco were the only two runs the Pirates needed for a win, and that was in 14 innings.  More impressively, one of the homers was off of Tim Lincecum and the other was a 14th inning game-winning shot. 

June 2, 2007 was the last time the Mahoning Valley Thunder won a road game.  July 17, 2009  will go down as the beginning of a new streak, a road winning streak as the Thunder upset the Manchester Wolves, 41-39 in front of nearly 5,000 fans hoping to see their Wolves clinch a playoff spot.  The Thunder also canned a 13-game losing streak to pick up their second win of the season.

Tom Zetts, making his first start,  was voted the Russell Offensive Player of the game on 12-24 passing for 236 yards with five TD’s and just one INT.  Manchester QB Mike Potts had better numbers on 31-48 for 337 yardswith four TD’s and one pick.  Zetts, however, continually made the big play when he had to in leading the Thunder upset of the Wolves.

Remember four short weeks ago when the Thunder had a 20-0 lead on the Wolves at the Covelli Centre?  They had a 19-0 lead in this contest, and actually trailed 39-35 with :53 left in the game.  Zetts found Pat Clark for a 34-yard TD lifting the Thunder to a 41-39 lead with ten seconds left.  Mahoning Valley unsuccessfully attempted a two-point conversion.  Mike Alston blocked a 27-yard game-winning field goal attempt to secure the victory for the Thunder.  Alston finished the game with that blocked kick, four tackles, a sack, and a broken-up pass.

Jermaine Moye caught 5 passes for 93 yards and two TD’s.  CJ Brewer injured himself (dislocated finger) on the opening kickoff and never returned.  The Thunder were already playing the game without their biggest weapon, Quorey Payne, who was placed on IR earlier in the week. 

The Thunder close out the year against Green Bay at home this weekend.  Can Zetts lead the team to a two-game season-ending winning streak?  Should be a good week to catch the game.

There was no shortage of power, walks, errors, or hits.  The fireworks were supposed to start after the game, but there were plenty of explosions before the game ended.  The Mahoning Valley Scrappers and Oneonta Tigers played a long contest which started fifteen minutes late due to rain.  In the end, the Scrappers came away with a 10-8 victory.

Tigers starting pitcher Jeff Gerbe only lasted two-thirds of an inning as the Scrappers loaded the bases on a walk and two hit batters.  A Kyle Bellows groundout to short drove home Jordan Henry.  A Greg Folgia groundout plated Kyle Smith.  Ben Carlson then drilled one toward the pitcher that deflected into left field driving in Bellows and giving the Scrappers the early 3-0 lead.

Oneonta scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game at 3 apiece.  In the bottom of the fifth,  Juan Aponte homered to reclaim the Scrapper lead at 4-3.  Henry later singled, stole second, and scored on a Smith double pushing the lead to 5-3 in favor of Mahoning Valley.  Bellows then homered to left to push the lead to 7-3.  Rafael Vera got in on the action and drove home Folgia making it 8-3.

The Tigers tacked on a couple of runs in the sixth cutting the Scrapper lead to 8-5.  Guido Fonseca came in to pitch with the bases loaded with just one out and got out of trouble with an inning-ending double play minimizing the Tigers potential threat.

Oneonta clawed back into the game tying the score at 8 runs each on a two-run double from John Murrian.

The Scrappers took a 9-8 lead in the bottom of the eighth when Henry scored again on an error from the Tigers shortstop, Jim Gulliver.  Jason Smit stole second and scored on another Gulliver error to close the scoring at 10-8.

Bellows spoke about the Scrappers being a team that got two home runs in the game, but only have eight for the entire season.  ” It’s great to hit home runs, but we’re pretty much a small ball team.  It just feels good to win.”

Travis Fryman was mostly pleased with his team.  “We need to continue working on consistency.  It was nice to put the losing streak behind us against a hot team.  Oneonta and Staten Island are probably the two hottest teams in the league, so it felt good to get the win tonight.  I like winning the first game of the series.”

Smit-O-Meter:  0-4, Run Scored, SB (5), HBP, Currently Hitting .299

Travis Fryman was fun to watch as a Detroit Tiger and a Cleveland Indian.  The Travis Fryman coaching the Mahoning Valley Scrappers is patient, clever, and a great motivator.  Having followed the Scrappers very closely this season, I can really respect the job that Fryman does.  Fryman took a few minutes from his hectic schedule to talk about anything and everything with me.

The name Squeaky Parker triggered a smile from Fryman’s face.  Parker was someone who helped Fryman’s development as a hitter.  “When I first signed, I struggled with the bat.  Squeaky Parker told me he would work with me by throwing me batting practice all Winter.  In return he wanted a new car when I signed my first big contract”, chuckled Fryman.  The Parker promise lasted for three years.  Parker would throw pitches to Fryman all Winter for three seasons to make him a better hitter.  The catch was that the type of car he would ask for when Fryman got that first big contract was upgraded and a little more luxurious each year.  When Fryman finally got that big contract, he delivered on his end of the deal and parked the new vehicle in Parker’s garage as a Christmas present.  That story told me some stuff about Fryman that I suspected but wasn’t sure about.  He is as honest and loyal as they come.  Without hesitation, here is my interview with Travis Fryman.

Paneech:  Tell me about a day in the life of Travis Fryman.

Fryman:  Well, when we are on a homestand, there is a pretty hectic and normal pattern to my day.  I usually get up at about nine and have my morning coffee on the deck.  I then start to play around with the starting lineups for that night’s game.  I make a couple of different starting lineups because sometimes the pitching gets switched up, so I want to be ready.  I spend time with my wife and kids.  We usually go to eat a good lunch and share some valuable family time at around noon.  I usually get here to the ballpark at around 1:30 or 2:00 and start working on other things.  We stretch and take batting practice, then we have a little downtime before the game.  At 7:00 we hit the field to play the game.  After the game is over, I talk to you, and then I can head home.

Paneech:  I know your three sons are in attendance showing the importance of family to you.  How important is it that you coach a short-season team compared to going for eight straight months?

Fryman:  Very important.  I feel baseball has given me plenty and I want to give some back.  We live in a house for the Summer not far from here and there is a good balance between the important time I spend with my family and the amount of time required to coach here.  The shorter season has enough flexibility to allow me more quality time with my family.

Paneech:  Who can we expect to see in an Indians uniform out of this year’s Scrapper team?

Fryman:  Well, I think if all of them didn’t have a shot, they wouldn’t be here.  I see good in all of these guys.  There is such a big learning curve in such a short period of time.  Jordan Henry is probably the best baserunner I have ever coached here, he also hits good deeper into a count. 

Paneech:  Is winning more important than individual statistics at this level?

Fryman:  Actually, player development is the most important thing at this level.  Winning games is always a good thing, but our job is to make these guys better players so that the Indians can win games, which is more important than us winning games here.  Individual statistics don’t always tell the story on how a player is doing.  To me, the development is the most important thing at this level.

Paneech:  I have learned by watching you that you don’t expect these guys to do everything right.  Where is the line between “He is still learning”, and “He should make that play”?

Fryman:  Again, they are learning things every day.  If a player makes the same mistakes over and over and over again, then it is our job as a coaching staff to work with that player to correct the problem.  Understanding that this is A-level baseball helps me get through mistakes a little easier.  Expectations at this level are not what they would be at higher levels because development is the key.

Paneech:  Tell me your thoughts on steroids in baseball and whether or not they exist at this level.

Fryman:  The steroid issues that Major League Baseball are dealing with are being monitored better than they were.  There was a year when Cal Ripken [Jr.] and I were the only two shortstops to hit 20 HR and have 90+ RBI.  Ten years later you see the numbers for shortstops and everyone is hitting at least that many home runs and you start to realize that there is a problem.  I don’t think there are problems at this level.  There are a bunch of safeguards in place to make sure that it doesn’t happen and I feel that baseball is doing better with the problem.

Paneech:  Did getting traded from Detroit to Arizona in 1997 come as a shock?

Fryman:  Yes it did.  I was told by Detroit that I would be offered something to stay but it never materialized.  They [Detroit] brought in Cecil Fielder as a high-dollar free agent and didn’t want to have to pay too many guys large amounts of money.  I got a call out of the blue that said I was traded to Arizona, and then I got another call two weeks later out of the blue that said I was traded to Cleveland.

One Word Answers

Favorite Meal Of The Day:  Lunch

Favorite Music:  Country

Favorite Area Restaurant:  Yoder’s Amish Restaurant

Player You Got To Be Close With:  Paul Shuey

What Do You Watch On TV:  Fox News

Who Was Your Favorite Player Growing Up:  Dave Concepcion

I Love What I’m Doing -or- I Need To Move Up:  I Love What I’m Doing

Do You Play Video Games?  No

In conclusion, Travis Fryman has his life prioritized the way he wants it.  He is giving back to the game of baseball and able to spend quality time with his family.  The players know when it is time to work, and when it is OK to kick back and have a laugh.  He takes his position as a developmental league manager to heart and wishes nothing but the best for every player he has.

Fryman is a class act and the Mahoning Valley is lucky to have him here.  I hope he stays for many years because his mission is so well-spelled out.  He is a refreshing alternative to the arrogant athletes on display in so many sports.  He stays grounded and will make these guys better players, but more importantly, better people.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are happy to see Staten Island go home, especially Yankee prospect Neil Medchill.  Medchill homered for the third consecutive game helping the Yankees complete a three-game sweep of the Scrappers.

Medchill put Staten Island on the scoreboard in the second inning with a two-run bomb to deep right field.  “I thought he [Clayton Cook] was going to throw a change-up, he ended up coming with a fastball inside and I just reacted to it”, said Medchill after the game. 

The Scrappers got it going in the third as Jordan Henry and Kyle Smith singled to start the inning.  Henry scored on a Jason Smit sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 2-1.  A Ben Carlson single scored Smith to tie the game.   Chun Chen scored on a Kyle Bellows fielders choice coupled with a throwing error to give the Scrappers  a 3-2 lead. 

The Scrappers added a run in the fourth as Tim Palincsar doubled and later scored on a Kyle Smith double-play groundout to up the Mahoning Valley lead to 4-2.

In the sixth, Scrapper-killer Medchill doubled and scored as SS Kyle Smith mishandled a throw that would have ended the inning.

With the score at 4-4, Staten Island struck in the top of the eighth when Luke Merton delivered with an RBI single to give the Yankees the lead for good at 5-4.

“It’s frustrating getting beat by a team’s seven, eight, and nine hitters, and they have been coming through the whole series.  It [this series] gave me a feel for where we are at as a club”, remarked Scrappers Manager Travis Fryman after the game.

Smit-O-Meter:  1-4, 3B (4), RBI (14),   Currently batting: .311