Archive for the ‘Scrappers’ Category

Just an hour into their game against the Auburn Doubledays, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers had to be scratching their heads and wondering who poisoned their food before the game.  After three innings, the scoreboard pretty much told the story (above).  The Scrappers played better after the first three disastrous innings but never got enough traction to get back into the game, ultimately losing, 10-1.

Auburn finished the game with ten hits and the Scrappers with seven errors.  Tony Wolters had three of the errors and could not make the plays he has made all year at short.  The fans sarcastically cheered in the seventh inning when Wolters made a routine play.  Not to worry Indians and Scrappers fans, he is the real deal, he just had one of those nights.

Starter Danny Jimenez struggled with his control at times and when he was able to throw strikes, the Doubledays either found holes or were given gift base runners.  Jimenez is a good pitcher and will have better starts.  Not to worry Indians and Scrappers fans, he is the real deal, he just had one of those nights.

A heckler sitting right in front of the press box made the comment that if he wanted to see this style of baseball he would go home and watch little league.  Haha… I think he was on the Muppet Show in the balcony twenty years ago and someone gave him a free ticket to the Scrappers game.  The moral of the paragraph is that one night and one loss will not cripple this team.  They will play harder tomorrow.  Not to worry Indians and Scrappers fans, they are the real deal,they just had one of those nights.

David Wallace is too good of a manager and his support staff of Greg Hibbard and Tony Mansolino have been around long enough to convince a bunch of young guys that they are way better than they played.  Wallace has preached to these guys all year not to look back and to develop not regress.  He has the composure of someone who has been managing for decades, yet he is a rookie.  Not to worry Indians and Scrappers fans, they are the real deal,they just had one of those nights.

Wallace (above), talked about his team’s uncharacteristic performance.  “They want to put this one behind themselves and forget about it pretty quick.  It really was one of those nights. We got off to a bad start and it just snowballed on us.  One thing I didn’t like was that if we are going to make mistakes, I want them to be aggressive mistakes.  I think some of the mistakes we saw tonight were passive and that is what bothers me. There wasn’t much positive to take from this one.  I think they were embarrassed out there tonight and they don’t need me to tell them about it.”

On the bright side, Scrappers pitchers recorded 12 strikeouts. RP Nate Striz had four strikeouts in relief, and Grant Sides struck out the side in the ninth.

These two teams meet again tomorrow night at Eastwood Field.  Expect a much different result.

It started out as a pitchers duel between the Mahoning Valley Scrappers and the Staten Island Yankees on Buck Night.  The fans, all 4,807 of them,  were treated to a great defensive game (0 errors) and a pitching clinic by both teams.  Cody Elliott (above) hit his first big-league home run to propel the Scrappers to a hard-fought 4-0 win over the Yankees on Betty White Night.

Scrappers starting pitcher, Will Roberts (below), threw 65 pitches covering six scoreless innings to pick up the win for the Scrappers.  Roberts had good stuff and only allowed one hit , struck out four, and didn’t walk anyone.  Not to be outdone, the Yankees Bryan Mitchell gave up only one hit through five, a single to red-hot Tony Wolters.

Roberts reflected on his first win.  “They [Staten Island] have some pretty big guys in their lineup.  I knew coming in that I would have to throw quality strikes and felt like I was able to do that today.  I felt awful warming up in the bullpen and I could not throw an off-speed pitch for a strike.  Once I got my slider working, and was able to throw some quality curveballs, I was able to keep them off-balance, they were pretty aggressive.”

After walking Evan Frazar and surrendering a double down the first base line to John Barr, the Yankees pitching coach, Danny Borrell, made a trip to the mound, but opted to leave Mitchell in.  Hindsight was 20/20, and Allen hit a scorcher to left-center that cleared the advertising banners to give the Scrappers a 3-0 lead.

Allen’s first homer was memorable.  “I ran hard because if it drops, I need to be on second or third.  It felt great, anytime you can do something to help the team win, it always feels good.  As my first home run, that makes it even better.”

The Scrappers tacked on another run in the sixth when Wolters walked after fighting back from an 0-2 count.  He advanced to second on a wild pitch and came around to score on a Jake Lowery double to the alley in left-centerfield.  Lowery’s double made it 4-0.

Cody Allen took the ball to start the seventh inning on the hill for Mahoning Valley. After allowing back-to-back singles to start the seventh, Allen was able to strike out the next two batters and record a pop-fly to escape harm.

The Scrappers are only the second team all year to defeat Staten Island in back-to-back games.  The other streak of note was Jordan Smith‘s 18 consecutive home games with at least one hit.  Smith batted in the bottom of the eighth with two outs, but walked, which unfortunately ends the roll.

Smith reflected on his streak.  “It’s not about me, it’s about the team.  It is always fun to have a streak like that, but we won a big game and that is more important.  It’s always good to win.”

Enosil Tejeda pitched the ninth inning to earn the save for Mahoning Valley.

The Scrappers, improving to 28-19 with the win, proved they are championship material against the Yankees, who dipped to 33-13.  Come September, don’t be surprised to see these two teams lock up for a championship meeting.

David Wallace was praiseworthy of both Roberts and Allen.  “What Roberts did was impressive tonight.  He was throwing his fastball both in and out and was able to throw off-speed pitches for strikes as well.  When he has that mix going he is going to be tough to hit, I don’t care what level he is at.  Cody [Elliott] has been giving us good at-bats no matter where we are putting him in the lineup.  His two-strike approach has been very impressive.  He has really looked comfortable in the box.”

Wallace also offered his opinion on Betty White Night. “I don’t know much about Betty White and I was wondering before the game what the obsession is with her lately.  I have seen her on Saturday Night Live and she has a huge following, so good for her.  “

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers were firing on all cylinders against the team with the best record at their level.  The Scrappers dominated Staten Island in every possible way en route to a 13-5 win.  The Scrappers pounded out 13 hits as Tony Wolters (above) went 5-6 and Todd Hankins and Jerrud Sabourin each collected a pair of doubles in the barrage.  Sabourin knocked in four.

“We went out and got hits in key situations tonight”, remarked Wolters after the game.  “They are a good team but we were a little better tonight.  It feels awesome to be in first place, we are excited about it.”

The Scrappers scored in the first when Bryson Myles reached via error, and later scored on an error. They added a run in the second when Hankins doubled and scored on a Sabourin sac fly in the second.  In the third the Scrappers plated four with Myles, Wolters, Jake Lowery, and Smith all scoring.

The floodgates opened in the bottom of the fourth.  Myles reached on an error, Wolters singled, and Lowery walked.  Jordan Smith then singled to extend his home hitting streak to 18 games.  Cody Elliott then hit a sac fly, Alex Lavisky walked, and then Hankins hit an RBI double, followed by Sabourin hitting a two-run double.

Joseph Colon (above) threw 81 pitches in four innings of work for the Scrappers. Colon was only able to complete four innings but fought his way out of mostly every obstacle.  He showed a lot of heart and got some run support departing with an 11-1 lead.  Colon’s only mistake was a third-inning home run to Staten Island’s Ben Gamel. The beneficiary of Colon’s early exit was Will Krasne, in line to get a gift win.  Krasne struggled, walking five in two-and-a-third innings, but ultimately got the job done to pick up the win.

The game got delayed 15 minutes due to inclement weather.  The high scoring didn’t help the pace much.  It was 9:35 p.m. after the sixth inning and the crowd of 2,345 was filing out with the outcome presumably decided.

Having interviewed Wolters before the game, I learned he was very superstitious. Claiming he changes everything when he has a subpar game –  from his wristbands to his sliding pants to the time he eats, I kidded that if he went 5-5 that I would not be able to interview him every night.  He just laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

“Same everything tomorrow, nothing will change”, said a joyous Wolters after his five hit gem.

David Wallace praised the effort of Wolters and Sabourin.  “Special night for Wolters. The way I look at it, it is the fruit of a lot of hard work.  When he stays within himself, he is a great player.  Jerrud [Sabourin] has really stepped up these last couple of weeks.  He has been swinging a good bat all year without much reward, now he seems to just be hitting over their heads.  If he keeps hitting like this, he will not be near the bottom of the order very long.”

Wrestling fans will want to mark August 28 in their planners.  The Mahoning Valley Scrappers have announced that Jimmy “Mouth of The South” Hart has been added to Baseball Brawl 2 following the ball game.  Mick Foley and Al Snow had already been signed to participate in the event, and Hart has recently been added.

All-in-all, there are seven matches scheduled for the card, which will feature mostly independent talent.

Hart was instrumental in the wrestling popularity craze of the 80’s.  He was best known for his screaming through a megaphone and was a great “heel” manager.

Tickets for the game are available at the Mahoning Scrappers Box Office and the game ticket will include the wrestling card, no additional fees.

Staten Island entered Tuesday’s contest against Mahoning Valley with the best record in the McNamara Division.  Conversely, the Scrappers had the best record in the Pinckney Division.  Something had to give as the two best teams faced off in game one of a three-game set.  With a nasty storm brewing, the Yankees took control of a tie game in the eighth inning and got by Mahoning Valley, 7-4.

The Yankees wasted little time scoring the first run of the game, as leadoff hitter Mason Williams homered off of Scrappers starter, Mason Radeke (below).  The next batter, Cito Culver, tripled into the right field corner.  Culver trotted home on a passed ball to increase the Yankee lead to 2-0.

The Scrappers cut the margin in half in the bottom of the first inning.  Tony Wolters scored on a Jordan Smith single.  Smith extended his streak of getting a hit at every home game with the knock.  Smith entered the game leading the league with a .352 batting average.  The Scrappers took a 3-2 lead in the third inning when Wolters and Jake Lowery scored as a result of a Cody Elliott clean single.

The Yankees tied the game in the top of the fourth and took a lead of 4-3 in the fifth.  The Scrappers tied the game back up in the bottom of the fifth.  Alex Lavisky doubled and scored when Todd Hankins hit what looked like a routine fly that was dropped by the center fielder.  Lavisky, hustling with two outs, scored easily from second on the gift.

At that point, pitching and defense kicked in for both teams.  Nate Striz threw a couple of scoreless innings before Staten Island got to him in the eighth inning.  A sacrifice fly by Ben Gamel put the Yankees ahead 5-4.  Striz then threw to first to keep the baserunner, Culver, honest, but Lowery mishandled the throw allowing the Yankees shortstop a path all the way to third base.  Grant Sides relieved Striz with two out in the eighth.  Angelo Gumbs greeted Sides with a triple on a 1-0 count to deep center for an RBI and a 6-4 Staten Island lead.

Mason Williams was tough on Scrappers pitchers all night.  The Yankees center fielder ended the game 3-5 with a HR and 2 RBI.

Striz took the loss for Mahoning Valley (26-19), and Fred Lewis picked up the win for Staten Island (33-11).

After the game, Scrappers Manager, David Wallace, talked about playing the team with the best record.  “It does make a difference when they [Staten Island] have some second and third year players.  However, we just focus on getting better as individuals and as a team without worrying about who is on their team.  They definitely made it happen, you can’t give them extra opportunities and we did tonight.  They gave us some opportunities too, and we were unable to take advantage of them.”

On Glee night, modeled after the hit TV show, which incidentally is Wallace’s favorite program, I had to ask if he was paying more attention to the between-innings themed entertainment than he usually would.  “I heard and saw some stuff on the scoreboard, but have to admit I was pretty disappointed in some of the singing that I heard tonight.  It looked like they were having a really good time with it.”

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers (22-17) celebrated Christmas in July in more than one way.  In the spirit of Christmas, the Scrappers were in a giving mood committing four errors.  Despite the generosity, Santa saved the day with some good bats he dumped down the Chimney of the Scrappers clubhouse, as the home team beat the Lowell Spinners, 5-3.

The Scrappers scored single runs in each of the first five innings.  In the first, John Barr hit a potential inning-ending double play ball, but the ball was bobbled at second base allowing Cody Elliott to score from third.  Aaron Siliga doubled in the second and scored on a Tony Wolters fielders choice to make it 2-0.

After giving up an unearned run in the top of the third, Alex Lavisky hit a bomb to deep left-center clearing both rows of advertising banners to make the score 3-1 in favor of the Scrappers.  The Spinners retaliated in the top of the fourth when Seth Schwindenhammer homered off of starter Rob Nixon to cut the Mahoning Valley lead to 3-2.

In the fourth, Jordan Smith kept his streak of getting a hit in every home game alive with a single that scored Elliott (above) to give the Scrappers a 4-2 lead.  Lowell SS Joantoni Garcia committed two errors in the fifth allowing the Scrappers to put another run up and take a 5-2 lead.

Cody Allen racked up seven strikeouts in three innings of scoreless relief for the Scrappers.  Enosil Tejeda worked the ninth to earn his team-leading fifth save.  Nixon is credited with a win for the Scrappers.  Raynel Velette took the loss for the Spinners.

Tony Wolters (above) had another good night for the Scrappers going 2-4 with an RBI and a stolen base.  Wolters commented on his progress.  “I am feeling great.  I haven’t had to come and play every day until now, and I am still adjusting.  I think we are all getting the hang of it and everyone is hitting great right now, we feel really great as a team.”

After the game, I joked with Manager David Wallace about his rare heckling of the umpires.  Anyone who has met or talked with Wallace will agree that he usually has a smile on his face and a positive outlook no matter what.  Wednesday, Wallace blew his cool and was almost ejected.  Earlier in the season, he informed me that there is a pool where personnel are trying to figure out if and when the ejection will happen.  If you said “never”, you are still in the pool, but it was close tonight.

“I did not do a very good job of controlling my temper tonight.  This crew is learning just like we are here.  I wasn’t trying to get thrown out, but I was on edge tonight for sure”, commented Wallace.

The Scrappers pitchers put up 14 strikeouts in the win.  “They [Lowell] have some good bats in that lineup and I was really happy with Nixon, Cody [Allen], and Enosil [Tejeda].  I thought we got ahead of the hitters in the counts which puts us in the drivers seat.”

When asked about the theme being Christmas in July at Eastwood Field, Wallace gave a great politically correct and honest answer.  “We definitely got a gift tonight, I don’t think it was our best effort.  I guess we made one less mistake than they did.  We will thank them for that gift. “

When I first met Heather Sahli at a Scrappers game a couple of years ago, I was intimidated.  Heather was pointing in a hundred directions and talking out of both sides of her mouth, it was scary.  Having gotten to know Heather, it is amazing that someone can multi-task to the level that she does.  She is very organized and precise and has won the respect of her peers and foolish bystanders like myself.

Paneech: Tell me what your official title is and what responsibilities you handle.

Sahli:  Director of Entertainment is my official title.  I am in charge of all of the game promotions, anything that goes on in between innings, any giveaways at the gate when people come in, the graphics for any print material or advertising, and am in charge of the production staff at the game as well.

Paneech: How many people are you watching over?

Sahli: My staff is comprised of about 15-20 interns.  Five of them are full-time and the rest of them come in on game days.

Paneech: What is good and bad about the job?

Sahli: Well, I have been here for seven years.  I really like the buildup period before the season starts with Opening Day falling as a deadline.  I couldn’t see myself doing anything where I sit at a desk all day, I need variety, not a nine-to-five job.  I had a marketing job straight out of college where I basically just sat at my desk all day.  I’m not sure what I would do now.  This job goes in cycles…  You have that buildup period, and the crazy period before the season starts and then you settle into game mode.

Paneech: You worked under Dave Smith last year, and Jordan Taylor this year, is it much different?

Sahli: I have been working with Jordan for years and have gotten to know him very well.  We work well together, and I really don’t think it was a difficult transition from Dave to Jordan.  The only thing that remains tough around here is pulling the tarp, or at least waiting to pull it.

Meet Jake Lowery.  He has started his professional baseball career with a bang. Drafted in the fourth round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft by the Cleveland Indians, the James Madison alumnus has been a standout for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.  Lowery recently won the Johnny Bench Award, which is given to the best catcher at the collegiate level.  His work behind the plate as a catcher combined with his array of power he shows with the bat are making him a commodity that could be promoted to bigger things by the end of the season.  I recently interviewed the 21-year old to discuss his career path and his home life.  Like so many of this years Scrappers, he has a great attitude and was fun to chat with.

Paneech: Recently, you won the Johnny Bench Award, what is it and how did you win?

Lowery: It is an award given to the top collegiate catcher in the nation.  There was a starting list of 39 that got knocked down to 13.  I was fortunate enough to be in the final three with a catcher from Florida and a catcher from Wichita State, and I ended up coming out on top.  It was a great experience and I got to spend a whole day with Johnny Bench.

Paneech: You get drafted and thrown into this team [Scrappers] without really knowing any of your coaches or teammates, how is it working and who have you gotten close to on the team?

Lowery: I am pretty close with Tony Wolters and Jerrud Sabourin. I get rides from those guys and we hang out a lot.  I am also close with John Barr and Will Roberts because they went to Virginia and that’s where I am from.  I like everyone on the team and we all get along really well and I’m happy that it has been so easy to mesh with all of these guys.

Paneech: Do you have a lot of contact with your family and friends back home?

Lowery: Yes, I do.  In fact, my parents are here this week to see me for the first time as a pro.  It’s been like 30 games already, but this is my first game as a pro that they can come and see me play, I am very excited about it.

Paneech: How is the host family experience working out for you?

Lowery: It is really going good here.  I had a really bad experience with a host family my Freshman year and this experience has been 100% better.  I have food, a place to stay, cable television, and air conditioning.  The bad experience was the opposite of this as I had cat poop all over my bed, crickets on my bed, no cable TV for a whole Summer.  It was just a miserable and rough experience.

Paneech: You do well as a catcher, but you DH some nights and have popped up in the lineup at first base lately.  Where are you going to want to be?

Lowery: I have been told by people who know to learn first base as it could possibly open some doors later in my career.  They try to keep me fresh, so I DH some nights too.  It all comes down to me being able to hit and to play this great game – I am having fun.

Paneech: Are you used to this heavy traveling schedule yet?

Lowery: It has been like a whirlwind.  The first week we had six home games and just when I was getting used to that, a road trip starts.  I then had to do some extra traveling and went to Texas for the Johnny Bench Award.  I think I have gotten into a good routine and know what I have to do get ready for a game.  Traveling is pretty fun and you get to hang out with all of the guys.

Paneech: How has it been to play for Coach Wallace so far?

Lowery: Both Coach Wallace and Coach Manso [Tony Mansolino] are young guys. They are fresh out of the game and both bring a wealth of experience from the game. We stay pretty loose as a group, but we know when we have to be serious.  They do a good job keeping everyone loose and their experience is really starting to show as we get further along in the season.

Paneech: Are you getting used to people badgering you after games for autographs and requests for a bat?

Lowery: I am getting used to it, everyone asks for a bat and I can’t give everyone a bat, but I’m like, “Hey, I will sign your ball” and sometimes that is good enough. Yesterday, some girl asked me what number I was and I told her number 30.  It must not have been who she was looking for because she walked away, she must have been looking for someone else (laughs).  Anytime you can sign an autograph for somebody and it makes their day, it is a beautiful thing.  It is not something we are required to do, but I feel like it is a rewarding thing for both sides.

One Word Answers

Favorite Major League Player: Chipper Jones.

Biggest Phobia: Snakes.

Toppings On A Pizza: Pepperoni And Onions.

Favorite Sport Other Than Baseball: Football.  I was a wide receiver and a long-snapper.

Favorite Song: Chicken Fried by The Zac Brown Band.

Worst Habit: I try not to have any bad habits.

Favorite Pitch To Hit: A middle-in fastball.

Typical Fast Food Order: Three Soft Tacos, Nachos Supreme, and a large Mountain Dew.

Dream Car: An Escalade.

Favorite Drink: Mountain Dew.  It’s a refreshing thing and always tastes better after a win or a two-hit game.

Toughest Question:  You are playing in a developmental league yet you are an athlete conditioned to win.  How tough is it to have a 3-4 night at the plate when you lose compared to going 0-4 when you win?

Lowery: I try to take it in stride.  If I go 2-4 or 3-4 and we lose, I know I did my part but other things like pitching or defense were not right.  We get to play 76 games in 80 days and we know that we are going to win some and lose some.  You never want to go out there and try to lose.  It sucks when you go 0-6, but if the team wins when you go 0-6, you have to look at it as getting a win and getting a step closer to the playoffs.  When you lose, you just have to move on.

Top Photo:  Courtesy of Jesse Piecuch

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers offense had been pretty potent all season.  State College came into Wednesday’s contest in the basement of the NYPL Pinckney Division, nine games behind the Scrappers.  The Scrappers entered the game in a three-way tie for first. The Scrappers fought and clawed their way back from a two-run ninth inning deficit to tie the game, but a Carlos Mesa home run gave State College a hard fought 5-4 victory in ten innings.

The Spikes recorded the first run of the game in the first inning.  Chris Lashmet hit an RBI single knocking in Walter Gourley.  The Spikes made it 3-0 in the fourth when Scrapper starter Danny Jimenez uncorked a wild pitch allowing Carlos Mesa to score.  Jimenez went 5 1/3 innings for the Scrappers.

Alex Lavisky (below) got the Scrappers on the board with a solo home run in the fifth.  For Lavisky it was his third home run and he seems to be swinging the bat much better in the last couple of weeks.

State College looked like a different team than they had their first four games this season at Eastwood Field (0-4).  Their pitching kept Scrapper hitters off-balance for most of the game and they played well as a team.  The Scrappers did not do well with situational hitting and just couldn’t seem to get into the rhythm that they have performed at most of this season until the ninth inning.

Todd Hankins hit a solo home run to lead off the seventh inning.  Hankins crushed the Mike Jefferson offering over the visitor bullpen fence clearing the back wall, which is about fifteen feet high.  The Hankins dinger made it a two-run game and hope was still alive.

The Scrappers threatened in the eighth inning when John Barr had a one-out single.  State College went to the bullpen and brought in Emmanuel De Leon to face the potential tying runs, Lavisky and Hankins who both homered earlier in the game.  Lavisky flew out to left, just getting under one.  Hankins grounded out to second, end of the threat.

In the ninth inning, Tony Wolters (above) knocked in Jerrud Sabourin, who walked on four pitches to start the ninth.  Jake Lowery hit a mammoth sac fly to deep center to bring home Cody Elliott and tie the game.  In the top of the tenth, Carlos Mesa blasted one over the left field wall to put State College back in front, 5-4.

In the bottom of the tenth, Lavisky started the inning with a single and was bunted to second by Hankins.  The Spikes brought in reliever Vince Payne to face Sabourin.  The Scrapper first baseman lined out to short.  Aaron Siliga stepped in with two outs but flew out to center.

Will Krasne took the loss for the Scrappers.  These two teams will travel to State College and play three more times over the next three days.

This weeks Scrappers Personnel Profile focuses on a seasoned veteran in the minor league baseball circuit, Mark Libs.  Mark’s official title is Director of Group Sales, but like Matt Thompson and Drew LaFollette, he wears many hats and his duties overlap into other spectrums.  Mark is a good person, always a smile on his face, always talking to people, and always willing to do the right things to make everyone’s visit to Eastwood Field a more enjoyable experience.

Paneech: Your title is Director of Group Sales for the Scrappers.  What exactly is it that you do.

Libs: As the Director of Group Sales, I take care of organizing corporate outings, churches forming a group to come out and put packages together to allow those groups to take advantage of the facilities.  Just about everything can overlap and I am needed to help in other areas.  I am also the director of table operations and make sure that all of the tables get set up in the concourse.  I am also in charge of the Scrappers Fun Zone, making sure that things get up and going.

Paneech: How fun is it to come to work at a baseball park everyday?

Libs: I love it, this is my 12th season in minor league baseball.  This is the fourth team I have worked for, I don’t think there is a better job out there.  Even when I am having a stressful day, I can just go out and look at the field and breathe easier knowing that this is what I do.

Paneech: What would you be doing if you were not working for the Scrappers?

Libs: Well, I was actually an athletic trainer before I got into the business end of this.  I’ve got a few more years of baseball left up my sleeve.  I am currently finishing my Masters Degree at Kent State and when I finish, I want to work on my PHD.  Ultimately, I want to become a college professor teaching sports management.  I will be here a bit longer though, hopefully four or five more good seasons.

Paneech: What part of the job do you dislike?

Libs: Definitely pulling the tarp.  The tarp is not fun and it seems to get put on and taken off quite a bit here.