Archive for June, 2011

With a serious threat of rain on the radar, the Eastwood Field grounds crew and the Scrappers employees peeled the tarp off and got the game started right on time.  The Mahoning Valley Scrappers had a rough time with different elements, notably fundamentals.  Batavia trailed 1-0 in the first inning but roared back to beat the Scrappers, 10-7, thanks to 6 errors committed by the home team.

The Scrappers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard.  Cody Elliott recorded a double on a check swing and advanced to third when Tony Wolters singled.  Elliott scored when Jake Lowery (above) grounded out to second and avoided being a double play victim by hustling to first.  The RBI was the fourth in two games for Lowery.

Batavia evened the score in the top of the second aided by two walks off of Scrappers starter Rob Nixon.  Virgil Hill made Nixon pay with a clean RBI single to tie the game.  In the top of the third, Batavia tacked on another run when Romulo Ruiz tripled to the base of the left-centerfield wall.  Ruiz got home on a wild pitch to give the Muckdogs the lead.  In the fourth, Kevin Moscatel hit a home run to left field to increase the Muckdogs lead to 3-1.  Back-to-back doubles by Mike O’Neill and Jeremy Patton created another run later in the fourth inning for Batavia.

Aaron Siliga and Casey Serna hit back-to-back singles to start the fourth inning for the Scrappers.  Siliga scored from second when Batavia could not complete a double play at first base and the ball trickled past first baseman David Medina, to make it 6-2.

Bryson Myles cut the Batavia lead to 6-3 with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the fifth to bring the Scrappers back to striking distance.  It was the first home run hit by a Scrapper player this season. In the top half of the sixth, unfortunately, Cesar Valera answered with his own long bomb to keep the Scrappers at a four-run deficit with the score at 7-3.  Medina hit the third home run of the game for Batavia to atone for his error and give the visitors a 9-3 lead.

The Scrappers got two more runs back in the seventh when Alex Lavisky hit a two-run double driving in Wolters and Lowery to make the score 9-5.  Batavia added to their lead in the eighth though and the Scrappers would not get closer than a 10-7 deficit.  It should be noted that Kyle Petter struck out three Muckdogs in the top of the ninth.

Nixon took the loss for the Scrappers (2-2) and Jose Almarante got the win for Batavia (2-2).  These two teams will hook up for two more games on Tuesday (Buck Night) and Wednesday.

After the game, Mahoning Valley Skipper, David Wallace, was optimistic with good reason.  “In the two losses, the thing that I see is that these guys do not give up.  I can take losing if the effort is there, and it was tonight.  We had a chance to come back and win in the late innings and stayed in the game overcoming the six errors.  We made some mistakes, but it is still very early in the season and we are going to be ok.”

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers opened the 2011 season with mixed results.  The good news is that the Scrappers improved over last seasons 14-0 Opening Day drubbing.  The bad news was that they are 0-1, like last year, falling 9-3 to the Jamestown Jammers.   The good news was that it was fireworks night and a great turnout for the home opener which included good weather.  The bad news was that the video board and wifi did not work.  In the end, the Jordan Taylor / David Wallace Era of Scrapperhood was a solid success despite the game result.

In front of a crowd of 5,428, the Scrappers fell into a 6-0 hole after Jamestown batted three times.  Scrapper starter, Joseph Colon, threw 65 pitches and struggled with his control in less than three innings.  Colon will have better days.

In the bottom of the third, Mahoning Valley found the scoreboard.  Aaron Siliga hit a routine grounder to short, but Yefri Perez’s throw to Jammers 1B Viosergy Rosa was lost in the sun and sailed to the wall.  Siliga ended up at second on the play.  A Cody Elliott groundout to second advanced Siliga to third with one out.  Kevin Fontanez then hit a fly ball to right, just deep enough to score Siliga to get the goose egg off of the scoreboard.

Starting catcher, Alex Livisky, collected a pair of hits in his first two at-bats.  Livisky, from Lakewood, Ohio, had four really good at-bats in which he demonstrated the ability to put the ball anywhere, an invaluable quality for an up-and-coming minor leaguer.   In the bottom of the fourth, Livisky scored when Jerrud Sabourin hit a rocket into the right-centerfield gap.

After the game, Livisky (above) talked about his success at the dish.  “Here, I have to be more of a dynamic hitter.  In high school, it is easy to pull everything to left field.  I have really been working on going with the pitch that is thrown to me, taking what I am given and pushing the ball where it needs to go.  I dug myself a hole, and my power numbers were okay at Lake County, but my average suffered.  I hit eight home runs and drove in 25 during Spring training, but my average was inconsistent, and that is what I need to focus on here. I would have three good games and then fall under the bus again.”

In the sixth, Bryson Myles singled and stole second.  He would later score when Perez mishandled a nasty one-hopper off of the bat of Sabourin.  Myles had a rough night in right field.  He slipped when he misjudged a fly ball and could not recover, allowing a Jammers run to cross the plate.  He also dove forward for a ball later in the game that got by him and rolled to the wall.  This kid is going to be one of the best players on this team by seasons end and it is a shame that he got off to such a rocky start in Niles.

Jamestown, however, would jump their lead to 9-3 when Brent Keys hit a towering shot over the right field wall to wrap up the scoring.  The same two teams face off tomorrow evening at Eastwood Field.

After the game, Wallace was very positive.  “There is plenty of good stuff that happened out there tonight, we are by no means in a state of panic in this clubhouse. We saw a lot of positives and I felt like we were always in the game and did not give up.  Obviously, these guys are still learning each others name and strengths and weaknesses, but I am pleased with the talent we have here and we are going to be okay.”

Fans of Youngstown State Athletics now have the opportunity to purchase official YSU Under Armour gear at a discounted price on YSUSports.com for a limited time.

Through an agreement with Under Armour and the Penguins baseball team, fans can purchase apparel at a 15-percent discount from the original retail price. A percentage of every order placed goes toward a fundraiser for YSU baseball.

The direct URL to the online store is http://ysubase.itemorder.com/. There is also a link on the baseball page at YSUsports.com

“We are excited about this opportunity for our fans to purchase new Penguins Baseball Under Armour gear at a discounted price,” Youngstown State head coach Rich Pasquale said. “I know fans have been looking forward to buying YSU Under Armour gear, and now they have the opportunity to do that while supporting our program financially.”

Although the available items are mostly baseball-oriented, all fans can find something to support Penguins athletics. The online store features 21 different items, including jackets, polos, t-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, sweatpants, hats and sackpacks. There are also three items exclusively for women. Most items will have the official “Y” logo embroidered on them, and some will have a baseball-specific logo. Select items have the option for a number to be added at an additional cost.

The first sale period runs through June 26, and orders will ship shortly after with an approximate delivery date of July 8. Another sale period will begin on June 27.

The online store is run by Kohlmyer Sporting Goods in Lorain, Ohio.

There is one predictable group of people you can never expect to see return to Eastwood Field from year-to-year, the players.  Some Mahoning Valley Scrappers get promoted during the season, some are reassigned for better or for worse, and some are no longer in the Major League Baseball system anymore.  Because the Scrappers are a short-season, Low-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, they usually get the majority of the Tribes draft picks from less than two weeks ago.  You can have a favorite player, but usually only for a year, then you have to wait to find out who your new favorite Scrapper will be next season.

There are three returning Scrappers from last season on the 2011 roster.  Kevin Fontanez (waiving in yellow shirt, top photo) was only 19 last season and got some valuable experience at second base.  Moises Montero battled injuries and played through probably more pain than he should have last season.  Kirk Wetmore, a 2009, 11th round draft pick, was in the starting rotation for awhile last season but struggled down the stretch.  All three of these players are promotable but have been kept as Scrappers to continue to develop.

“I worked out hard in the offseason and feel like I can really have a good year”, commented Montero.  “Last season, I was pretty banged up and toughed it out, but I was not one-hundred percent for most of the season.”

Then the unexpected new faces started popping up everywhere.  Travis Fryman accepted a promotion to be a roving instructor for the Indians.  This opened the door for new head coach, David Wallace (above), a former Scrapper himself.  I admired the way Fryman played in his day, but I really took a liking to his personality and managing style over the past two seasons.  Wallace has very big shoes to fill.

Wallace brings Greg Hibbard on as a pitching coach and Tony Mansolino to be his new hitting coach.  Hibbard pitched in the majors for six seasons, mostly with the Chicago White Sox.  Gone is pitching coach Ken Rowe, a legend in the press box for his 45 second walks to the mound, the 8 seconds of dialogue he would give the pitcher, and the fifty-five second return flight back to the dugout.

Jordan Taylor also has big shoes to fill as the new general manager.  Taylor, who learned plenty under the guidance of former GM Dave Smith, is capable of doing great work with his staff.  He has already been very accessible, as Smith was, to any requests or questions anyone has posed.

If you catch the games on the radio, you will not hear last years voice of the Scrappers, Dave Lubich, anymore.  His internship is over making way for newcomer Grant Tunkel.  Tunkel had some good experience with the Jamestown Jammers last season and should be an entertaining play-by-play announcer for the Scrappers.

One constant thing that has not changed in 13 years is the Scrappers Backers Club.  With colorful personalities like Larry Snyder and Gail Drushel (below, with microphone) leading the way, the Scrappers Backers do so many good things behind the scenes.  It might be the hardest working fund-raising bunch in sports.

Wednesday evening the Scrappers Backers gave scholarships to Hayley Goist of Columbiana, Richard Selep of Southington Chalker, Taylor Ward and Aaron Oblisk from Sebring.  They also held a picnic for all season ticket holders, Scrappers Backers members, and the 2011 roster of coaches and players.  There was a silent auction, an autograph session, and an introduction of all team members and coaches.  The neat part was watching the players interact, most of them only seeing each other for a few minutes to that point.

The Scrappers kick off the 2011 season at home Friday night against Jamestown, which happens to be fireworks night as well.  Should be a packed house for the opener!  Call the box office for ticket availability at 330-505-0000.

In October of 2010, I interviewed Jack Loew at his Southside Boxing Club.  One of the first things Loew wanted to talk about was a young, scrappy prospect from St. Louis named Dannie Williams.  Loew said that the 135-pound fighter was going to be someone to reckon with.  On April 17, 2011, Williams made Loew look like a genius as he knocked out veteran Manuel Leyva in the first round to capture the WBC Continental American Lightweight Title in St. Louis.  First round knockouts are impressive, but when you do it throwing counterpunches, they become really impressive.

That win made “The Chopper”, as he is known in some circles, a Top-15 contender as he improved to 17-1 with 14 KO’s.  On July 1, Williams will headline the first-ever Ghost Productions card to be held at the Covelli Centre.  His opponent for that fight is Oscar Cairo , fighting out of New York.  I recently sat down with Williams to discuss the future fight and the big picture.

Paneech: Do you realize that you are starting to be  mentioned nationally and the opportunities will grow?

Williams: Yes sir, I do.  Two years ago I won my first belt and suddenly the sky is the limit.  I’m now in the Top-15 in the world and have a big fight coming up with Oscar Cairo.  We are both getting paid to train hard, show up, and beat the opponent up.  He is 13-6-1.  He is from Colombia but fights out of New York and has only been knocked out one time  and out of his 13 wins, ten have come from knockouts.  He can punch and it will be a good test for me.  I’m training to go ten rounds, but one punch can change the whole fight.  I am excited about fighting here in Youngstown for the hometown crowd.

Paneech: Who are the guys in your weight class of 135 that you want to face?

Williams: Right now, I am taking baby steps to get some exposure.  I would like to get a fight on ESPN or Showtime boxing.  As far as the fighters go, Hank Lundy out of Philadelphia is solid.  I would also like to fight Brandon Rios, who I beat at the amateur level.  The key in the whole process is to get some exposure and then face someone like a Robert Guerrerro, a Lundy, or a Rios on a bigger card.  Having 14 knockouts in 17 wins and not many people seeing them does not help my career much.  Once the world sees me, then I can think about bigger fights.  Obviously, fighting Manny Pacquiao would be huge.  Whether you win or lose, you can retire from boxing rich if you fight him.  Once I become champ at 135, I can think about moving up.

Paneech: I don’t think Jack Loew is going to whisk you into a fight with Manny Pacquiao in December unless he knows your ready.  Do you notice with each fight, a better opponent?

Williams: Definitely.  In February, I fought a guy [Cuello] who had never been knocked out.  My last fight against Leyva was a step up in class and for a belt.  They are getting tougher as they go, but that is what boxing is about, you have to beat the best to be the best.

Paneech:  Who influenced you when you were young to get into this sport?

Williams: Floyd Mayweather and Roy Jones.  I am a slick fighter, like a Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker or a Corey Spinks type boxer, where they are just slick and hard to hit solid.  I am 25 years-old and am driven by all of the guys who I came up with that have made it.

Paneech: What would be the “ultimate exposure” as far as a network covering you?

Williams: It has got to be HBO Pay-Per-View.  They are gonna pay, and I can co-promote with my real promoter by then.  However, right now, any network will do, it has to start somewhere.

Paneech: How is the transition from St. Louis to Youngstown going?

Williams: It’s been going great!  A lot of bad habits I had when I was in St. Louis stayed there when I came here.  In Youngstown, I am much more focused, training extremely hard, and staying out of trouble.  All I do here is eat, sleep, and box.  No time for foolishness once training camp starts.  I am focused on my opponent and trying to build a fan base here.

Paneech: Is Kelly Pavlik supportive?

Williams: Kelly has been great, like a big brother.  He is always giving me pointers, always taking time to make sure I am doing something the right way and pushes me to get better.  Even when I just fought in February, he was there hitting the ring and encouraging me.  He has been awesome.

Paneech: What is your relationship with Jack Loew like?  He has been tooting his horn about you for two years.

Williams: Jack is my trainer, but is also like a dad to me.  I call him “Pops”.  He has always spoken highly of me and doesn’t paint a fake picture.  He will come out and tell you what you are doing wrong.  I love him like a real dad for showing me the ropes and teaching me what I have learned.  He is always behind me 100 % and has my back regardless of who is against me.

Paneech: What is the message to the boxing world?

Williams: My message to the boxing world is to look out.  I am in Youngstown, one of boxing’s best kept secrets, and you will all know about me in a minute.

One Word Answers

Favorite Food When Not Training: Pizza with chicken and peppers on it.

Favorite Movie: Scarface.

Biggest Phobia: Me getting knocked out.

Worst Habit: I smile too much.

Favorite Drink: Hawaiian Punch.

Favorite TV Show: Sportscenter and boxing.

Favorite Store: Dillards.

Favorite Color: Red.

Favorite Musician: Yo Gotti.

The Youngstown State University Football Camps have been drawing good numbers.  The above photo was taken on the new turf and shows some of the student athletes who attended.  Coach Eric Wolford and staff did a great job of thinning the groups and giving plenty of specialized, individual attention to all who attended.

“We had about 100 Saturday in the WATTS”, remarked Trevor Parks, YSU Sports Information Director, referring to the first camp.  These pictures are from Monday’s All-Positions camp, in which there were another 70 plus participants.

Wolford and this staff could probably make a living running camps.  It was impressive to see the organization and how well prepared the staff was.  Each group of position players worked with a YSU position coach at great lengths.  The players seemed to benefit greatly on improving technique and straight fundamentals.

Quarterback Coach / Offensive Coordinator Shane Montgomery was fun to watch work with the QB’s as he ran them through a plethora of passing drills, worked on drops and steps and passing accuracy drills.  Montgomery was working with about ten different quarterbacks and in the five minutes I watched his station, he said something to each one.

Former Youngstown State pitcher Phil Klein was selected by the Texas Rangers in the 30th round as the 924th overall selection in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Tuesday evening.

Klein, a native of Gahanna, Ohio, was a second-team All-Horizon League selection in 2011. For the campaign he was 5-5 with a 3.61 ERA. In 92.1 innings pitched, he led the conference with 105 strikeouts while setting a school record for starts with 15 during his senior campaign.

On July 1, 2011, a brand new Youngstown business will be open for business.  “Ghost Productions” is the promotional combination of Jack Loew, Mike Pavlik Sr., and Kelly Pavlik.  The trio who run the promotion will hold their first event, simply called Friday Night Fights.  The event will be held outdoors, weather permitting, at the Covelli Centre.  If there is a threat of rain, the event will be moved inside the Centre.

“There is an awful lot of local talent and this is a way to let them showcase their skills”, commented Loew.  “Don’t get me wrong, it is a professional boxing card featuring Dannie Williams in the main event, but we would rather fill the card with as many local fighters as we can.”

Loew said that some of the other local fighters who will compete on July 1 will be Marco Hall, Anthony Pientono, Darnell Boone, Billy Lyell, and possibly Jake Giuriceo and Durrell Richardson.  One young man who Loew has been high on for a couple of years, Juan Salinas, will make his professional debut on the card.

Tickets for the inaugural Friday Night Fights go on sale Friday, June 3.  Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster and are very reasonable at $10 and up (plus Ticketmaster fees and tax).  Tickets go onsale to the public at 10 a.m.

The absence of the Golden Gloves, formerly held at the Struthers Fieldhouse in the 80’s and 90’s, could make the ticket even more appealing for local boxing fans.

“It is a fairly priced ticket for a very good lineup of young local fighters,” said Loew.  “We would like to get television coverage as we continue to grow using some of the connections that Kelly [Pavlik] and I have made along the way.  Stations like ESPN, VS, and Showtime who air boxing regularly are targets.”

Congratulations NCAA!  Your Witch Hunt at Ohio State has almost been completed!  All you have left to do now is kick all of the players off of the team, strip the school of every game won under Jim Tressel, and fine The Ohio State University.  What else…  oh yeah, throw probation at them, keep them down.

Jim Tressel exudes class.  I had the pleasure of being a guest coach of the Red-White Game at Youngstown State University in 1991 and met Tressel.  I was impressed at his demeanor with the average student and his willingness to make his program the entire city of Youngstowns, his drive to make a Fall Saturday at the Ice Castle an event, but most importantly his desire to win.  He did plenty of winning at Youngstown State and was promoted to his dream job coaching the nationally-prominent Buckeyes.  Never an “in your face”, cocky, kind of coach either.  Tressel often deflected praise with the only negatives he could scour up from week-to-week.

The only memorabilia I will ever associate to Jim Tressel is the countless piles of things he has donated to charities.  I wrote Tressel a letter in 2006 asking for something to use for a Chinese Auction at the first-ever Korey Stringer Memorial golf outing.  I took all of the required steps and had a signed mini-helmet sitting on my doorstep in a week.  That item, along with some Kelly Pavlik memorabilia, drew the most money in the auction.  In fact, it seems like every charity event I went to locally, there was always something with Tressel’s signature on it to assist the folks raising money.

The main function of a college football coach is to coach football.  Tressel cannot babysit every player he has to make sure that they are doing the moral thing 24/7.  As Ohio State Alumnus and current New Orleans Saints DB Malcolm Jenkins recently said, “They have a formal meeting with the players every year to go over the rules of what they can and can’t do.  When they [players] do something wrong, they know it is wrong.”

The boosters are a good concept at the college level.  However, there are always a couple of them who like to lean on the water cooler at work and brag about what they can do to manipulate a system for their own betterment.  I will never badmouth anyone who supports collegiate athletics with scholarship donations.  I will criticize people who do it for their own gain and notoriety as a status symbol.

Leslie Cochran, the former President at Youngstown State University recently made comments in Sports Illustrated that made Tressel and his coaching staff sound like the new regime of the Youngstown Mafia.  Cochran referred to the program as “family” and said that those things happened but were always kept within the family.  Pretty brash for the “father” who sat at the head of the table glowing with pride when Tressel was winning National Championships.  Sad thing is, Cochran thinks that a fly pattern is the path an insect travels in a corn field.

I recently stopped to buy gas on my way to work.  I was wearing an Ohio State shirt.  When I went inside to prepay for my criminally-priced fuel, a Michigan fan, wearing a Michigan shirt pounced on the wrong Buckeye fan.

“Looks like you guys are done for awhile”, he said.

“Yeah, I guess we are.  If you guys would have won any Big-10 Championships and had rings to sell you would have gotten into more trouble than us”, was about the best response I could give.

Congratulations on what you have achieved so far Coach Tressel.  You have more to do and don’t let the minority ruin what you have created for yourself.  Relish in your successes and learn from your defeats.  This may be the biggest defeat of your storybook career, but I know it won’t be the end.  You didn’t know your ex-quarterback was driving with a suspended license.  You didn’t know your running back had a tattoo of a rose on his thigh.  Guess the NCAA will have to add some more rules so they can move on to the next campsite to invade like coyotes.

The NCAA crackdown is coming to a school near you!

“Mom! Phineas and Ferb are going on a live tour!” Join the Danville Tri-State Area Gang for a high-energy ride through their wildest invention yet in Disney’s Phineas and Ferb: The Best LIVE Tour Ever! The beloved characters from Disney Channel’s animated series embark on a bold escape from the television screen to a live action adventure – right in your hometown! This brand new live stage production performs at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown on October 29, 2011 at 1pm and 4pm. Tickets go on sale Friday, June 4^th at 10am.

Produced by Feld Entertainment, Disney’s Phineas and Ferb: The Best LIVE Tour Ever! brings Phineas, Ferb, Candace, Isabella, Baljeet, Buford and friends to the stage as they make the most of the last day of summer by building an invention bigger, better and more amazing than ever. And, before you can wonder, “Hey, Where’s Perry?” the beloved pet platypus shifts to his secret double life as Agent P to foil another one of Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s evil plans.  Musical madness abounds in an escapade so awesome that even Candace can’t help but join the hilarious hijinks.  It’s the ultimate end to summer vacation, so seize the day ‘cause Phineas and Ferb are gonna do it all!

Tickets are available at Ticketmaster , at  the Covelli Centre Box Office or by calling 1-800-745-3000. To find out more about Disney’s Phineas and Ferb: The Best LIVE Tour Ever!, go to the Phineas And Ferb Live Disney Page, or visit us on Facebook and YouTube.