Archive for August, 2010

In probably one of the most enjoyable nights in Mahoning Valley Scrapper history, Aberdeen brought “The Animal” out of the Scrappers.  Ingenious promotion.  George “The Animal” Steele was on hand to sign autographs and chose the winner of a laser hair removal contest awarded to the contestant with the hairiest back.  The weather was perfect.  The Scrappers, paced by the hot bat of Giovanny Urshela, were victorious with a 9-6 triumph over the Cal Ripken Jr. owned Aberdeen Iron Birds.

The Scrappers hit the board first in the home half of the opening inning.  Carlos Moncrief was hit by a pitch.  Kevin Fontanez singled, and then Giovanny Urshela crushed the ball into the left field visitors bullpen to stake Scrapper starter Michael Rayl to some rare early-inning run support and a 3-0 lead.

Aberdeen scored a pair of runs in the second on a Michael Rooney sac fly and a Trent Mummey RBI-single to make it a 3-2 game.

In the bottom of the second, Moncrief  (pictured) destroyed a 2-0 pitch to deep right field, and he knew it.  After the contact, Moncrief flipped the bat out to the side and watched the ball.  Rounding third, Manager Travis Fryman did not congratulate Moncrief and was obviously irritated by the display of celebration.  In fact, Fryman did not return to coach third base the next inning but stayed in the dugout to have a heart-to-heart with Moncrief about the situation.

“If we were not shorthanded, he would not have stayed in the game”, commented Fryman.  “We had a talk.  Carlos has been stellar this year and he works as hard as anybody on this team.  I have never seen that side of him, and I don’t think we will see it again.

The Scrappers added another run in the third when Aberdeen pitcher Tyler Sexton’s throw to first base went to the stands allowing Urshela to sneak home from third and build the lead to 5-2.  One of the newest Scrappers, Jesus Aguilar, belted his first homer of the season in the fifth, a two-run jack, to increase the lead to 7-2.

Giovanny Urshela had a huge game for Mahoning Valley going 3-4 with four RBI to raise his batting average to .292.  The 18-year old Colombian has been stellar at third base all year and has been coming to life with the bat.  Fryman commented on the offensive progress of his young prospect.  “He seems to get better and better and has been one of the few bright spots this Summer.  He is maturing and looking like he has a chance to be a great player someday.  Playing at this level with older guys has been good for him and forced him to get better.”

The win brought the Scrappers record up to 19-30.  The two teams will play again Sunday at 5.  The game will feature Luke Holko who will be accompanied by his parents, Chad and Nicole, to honor his one day contract as an honorary Scrapper.  Holko was struck in the back of the head by a foul ball last September at a Scrappers game.  Nobody was sure where young Luke would be in a year, but all signs indicate significant progress toward his recovery.

Mahoning Valley just can’t get over the hump.  Ten hits, two runs, and a loss.  The Tri-City Valley Cats took it to the Scrappers, 6-2, in front of 4,001 fans.  The Scrappers fell to 18-30 on the season and are still trying to figure out where the consistency can be found.

Tri-City got on the scoreboard in the first inning by putting three runs up before the Scrappers could even record an out.  Ben Orloff led off the game with a solid single.  Kike Hernandez followed that with another single.  Scrapper starter, Kirk Wetmore, then hit Tyler Burnett with a pitch to load the bases.  The cleanup hitter for Tri-City, Michael Kvasnicka, did just that – cleaned up and gave the Valley Cats a 3-0 lead with a bases clearing double.  Kvasnicka was the #1 Draft Pick for the Houston Astros in this year’s draft.

Mahoning Valley fought back a little in the second as Jesus Aguilar and Chase Burnette hit back-to-back doubles to cut the Valley Cat lead to 3-1.

Tri-City again got to Wetmore in the top of the third.  Hernandez walked and Burnett was hit by a pitch.  Kvasnicka then singled home a run.  Wetmore’s third wild pitch of the game allowed the runners to move up a base.  Daniel Adamson then knocked in the fifth Valley Cat run with a groundout.

The Scrappers made it 5-2 in the fifth inning when Dan DeGeorge knocked home Kevin Fontanez with a single.  The Scrappers had a chance for more but Carlos Moncrief struck out looking and Brian Heere flew out.

Pitching Coach Ken Rowe (pictured, next to cooler), a man of few words, has to have mixed feelings on the Scrappers pitching this season.  When a starter looks strong, the bullpen implodes.  When a starter gets rocked, there is not enough offensive firepower to overcome the deficit.  Rowe has declined to comment several times.

After the game, Travis Fryman echoed the repeated frustration of having ten or more hits and only scoring a couple of runs.  “We hit into three double plays which could have easily been four.  We had a runner on second with nobody out a couple of times and failed to advance and we had several chances to get back into the game, but could not overcome that first inning.”

George “The Animal” Steele will be at Saturday’s Scrapper game to throw out the first pitch.

Three Mahoning Valley Scrappers have been named to the New York Penn League All-Star Team.  Two starting pitchers, Owen Dew and Alex Kaminsky and 2B Dan DeGeorge garnered the honors Friday evening.  The All-Star Game is played at Richmond County Bank Ballpark at St. George, Staten Island, New York and will take place August 17.

Owen Dew is currently 1-2 with an ERA of 2.53 in nine starts.  In his 42 innings, Dew has racked up 22 strikeouts against just four walks and has not received very much offensive support in his starts this season.

Alex Kaminsky (pictured) has a record of 4-3 as of this writing.  His ERA is a skinny 2.15 and he has 41 strikeouts in 51 innings pitched.  The former Wright State pitcher also has a 0.80 WHIP, so keep him on your fantasy draft boards as a three-category machine for the future.

Dan DeGeorge is batting .263 and is known for the intangibles.  DeGeorge is a hustler and has been coming into his own.

Congratulations Scrapper All-Stars!

Dew

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers seem to be catching on.  The Scrappers put together a nice ninth inning rally to get by the Tri-City Valley Cats.  After last nights 16-hit offensive bonanza, the Scrappers pulled out the rare one-run win, 3-2, in front of 4,516 fans at Eastwood Field.  After the game, the Scrappers held a “Lebronfire“, where the burning of Cleveland sports items were torched after the game.

Tyler Burnett (no relation to Chase) put the Cats in front in the first inning when he crossed home on Ben Heath’s RBI-single.  The run would be all that Scrapper starter Alex Kaminsky would give up as he turned in another strong start going five for the home team.  “Alex has been great all year for us, and he had another good start tonight”, remarked Travis Fryman after the game.

Chase Burnette (pictured) hit a solo shot in the fifth, his second in two nights to tie the game.  Burnette seems to be heating up after a week-long slump.

The teams would exchange runs and set the stage for Diego Seastrunk’s heroics in the ninth.  Seastrunk hit a long sac fly with one down in the ninth to provide the win for the Scrappers.  The large crowd roared for most of the ninth inning and everyone was really into the game.

Fryman liked the enthusiasm.  “I’m really getting to work on my Spanglish this season. We have a lot of players from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and other places.  They did not get to play in front of many people where they were before here, so it is a treat to see so many of them that are the same ages having so much fun in front of a good crowd.”

Busy, busy weekend for the Scrappers as George “The Animal” Steele will be in-house Saturday doing meet and greets and tossing out the first pitch.  Sunday is the emotional headline of the season as Luke Holko will honor his one-day contract and will get to enjoy his day in the sun after all he has been through.  I would not miss Sunday for anything.

Lisa Neeld was on hand at Thursday’s Mahoning Valley Scrappers game to throw out the first pitch.  Neeld has been in Playboy publications more than once and is currently promoting her barbecue sauce.  I got Neeld to agree to answer some questions about the sport of baseball to test her knowledge.  Kudos to Lisa for being a good sport, and here are the results.

1. What is a double play? It’s where you get two outs at the same time, right?
2. How does a relief pitcher qualify to earn a save? Um, wow, I don’t know, he just stands on the mound and looks cute?
3. How many pitches should a good starting pitcher throw? 15.
4. What is a good batting average foe a baseball player? Three Hundred.
5. Who is the manager of the Cleveland Indians?  Manny Actin.
6. Who is the greatest home run hitter to play the game of baseball? Babe Ruth, I love the Babe.
7. What is it called when an outfielder throws the ball home and the catcher tags the runner out? An out?
8. If a man is on first and tries to steal second but gets caught, what is it called? An unlucky play.
9. Here are three types of pitches: A knucleball, a slider, and a curveball, name another:   A fastball?

Thanks again, Lisa, you could have missed them all and nobody would have noticed, but you did well!

The Ohio State fans showed respect when Bo Schembechler passed, Michigan fans reciprocated when Woody Hayes left. Baseball fans either love or hate the Yankees, there is no middle ground.  With that inference in place, I bid farewell to George Steinbrenner, a guy who did anything he could to win at any cost.  I am on the other side of the Yankee fence, hate the way they can buy championships by fielding an all-star team, and would rather hear vuvuzela’s humming at a soccer game than watch the Yankees win a World Series again.

Steinbrenner single-handedly revolutionized free agency in baseball.  If he liked a player, the player was soon a Yankee, and a rich Yankee at that.  Several members of my own family are Yankees fans, as well as friends, who don’t root for the Knicks, Jets, or Rangers – just the Yankees.  Just like Lebron James, Steinbrenner left Cleveland to pursue his dreams.  I can go on and on and on, but I won’t… not this time.

The admirable quality that has my respect are the suddenly popular stories of the countless charitable acts that Steinbrenner did. Maybe I misread him as a person while he was here.  To make a mockery of a sport by purchasing everybody is one thing, but to make sure a down and out player was financially taken care of years after he retired, well that is just goodwill that he hid, and he has my respect in that regard.

One thing is certain, baseball will not be the same without him.  I can’t wait to watch his son, who admittedly knows little about baseball, spend millions of dollars for the wrong guys.  Enjoy what “The Boss” has left you, Yankee fans.  Soon, you will return to mediocrity, by George.

Rest in peace, George Steinbrenner.

Nothing is easy. Taking over something that never worked right in the first place and trying to fix it is even harder. Bob Boldon has accepted the challenge of reviving a deflated YSU Women’s Basketball program with open arms.  In fact, Boldon expects to win, as soon as possible.  Hard to believe that the Sophomore girls on this team have never won a game.  In fact, going into this season it will be almost two full years since the team’s Juniors can recall what it was like to win.  Boldon is refreshing. I was ready to suit up for him after our talk, he will provide motivation and technique that this program has sorely missed.

Paneech: Let’s start out talking about where you have been and what you have picked up to help you become better prepared to be a Division I basketball coach.

Boldon: Lambuth was my second head coaching job.  It was good, because it helped me realize all of the things that I did wrong at my first head coaching job.  We played in a National Championship game, which was a great experience.  My first job was at Monticello, a team that only won one conference game the year before I got there, it was  complete rebuilding project.  We finished in third place my first year.  Every team I ever coached could score, offense comes easy to me, but I realized that I needed to become a better defensive coach.

Paneech: Presently, you have taken on the “Bill Parcells” role of taking a mess and making it happen.  Will it work at YSU?

Boldon: I want to be successful, and there are going to be people who say it can’t be done.  I have a staff with expectations to be successful.  It’s hard to make any real predictions until I get to know the players.  I expect to win every game we play.  My staff and I have watched almost all of last year’s conference games, and defense is an issue.  Offensively, the shooting percentages were horrendous.   We are going to be a good three-point shooting team, and that is something that can’t just happen, magically. The players have to take responsibility and games are won on days like today, not on the day of a game.

Paneech: What kind of player will you go out and look for?  A three-point specialist, a defensive stopper, a good rebounder?  Where is the biggest need at right now?

Boldon: We are looking for shooters and want to improve the offense immediately.  We will get better defensively by working hard at it and learning proper positioning, but the shooter is something we want.  As far as I know there will be 14 girls here on the first day of school ready to go.  Anything less than that number would really be a surprise to me.  Shooter is on the top of the list.

Paneech: How demoralizing is it for a player on a team to go 0-30 and can they be turned into winners after that?

Boldon: I think they have embraced the fresh start.  They know that this new staff has set forth different expectations, and at least those expectations are coming from a different person, if nothing else. Going through a year like that had to be tough and moving forward I’m sure it is something that none of them want to experience ever again.

Paneech: Have you adjusted to Youngstown yet?  Are there things here that you like already?

Boldon: We are here now and we have been ordering in a lot trying to get the house in order, it is a wreck.  I keep hearing about how I have to get to the Canfield Fair and how much my kids will enjoy it.

Paneech:  Yeah, the Canfield Fair is pretty unique, it is one of the few places you can go pet a pig and be eating a sausage sandwich five minutes later.

Boldon: (laughing) Yeah, that is a little bit ironic I guess.  I like the community  and the people are very supportive.  My staff and I try to go different places and have lunch, it’s been really good so far.  The community is really buzzing about the football team and that new staff, and their season comes first, and I am excited as it is one of my favorite sports.  The football team at any college set the tone and can get people geared up for the Winter sports.

Paneech: You go through the interview process with Mr. Strollo (above), does he tell you that you have to win and win now?  Does he want you to build from the ground up?  Or does he want anything better than the last few years to be the band-aid for now?

Boldon: Mr. Strollo showed the same expectations as I did in that we both want to win ball games.  There is nobody in this administration who wants to win more than I do, and I say that for my staff as well.  They all left jobs to come here and turn this around, and they did not come here to lose.  The idea that it is going to take three, four, or even five years is something that we are not going to lean on.

Paneech: Do you ever play those little nightmare scenarios in your head where you are coaching that first game and look around to see about twenty people?

Boldon: Not really.  If there is nobody at our first couple of games, I can’t say I blame them for not coming.  I’m not in a rush to get to Jacob’s Field these days.  After we win a couple of games, I would expect the interest to grow.

One Word Answers

Favorite Beverage: v-8 Splash.

Worst Habit: Biting My Nails.

Favorite Meal of The Day: Lunch, but I like ’em all.

Best Basketball Movie Ever: Hoosiers.

Biggest Phobia: Snakes.

Best Show On Television: The Mentalist.

Favorite NBA Team: The Cavs.

Game You Want To Make An Impression With: Opener vs Pitt.

Favorite Fast Food: Subway.