Saturday, April 30, 2011

Road Trip!!



Before the 2011 minor league season started, my friend and I decided we would go to a Charlotte Stone Crabs game since she is a big Rays fan. I wanted to go to another minor league park so even though I do not like the Rays I wanted to go to see their park. Today finally arrived and we headed down to Port Charlotte to watch the Stonecrabs of Charlotte take on the Miracle of Ft. Myers. We left super early and got to Port Charlotte in a little under 2 hours, along with a bazillion lovebugs stuck to the windshield and all over the front of the car. We hit up the Publix for lunch and made our way to the park to buy our tickets. The lady at the box office apparently didn't understand that I just wanted the cheapest ticket because she kept trying to sell me the most expensive ones. Crazy. Once we had our tickets, we settled in near the back of the parking lot and watched an episode of The Simpsons "Money Bart" the funniest baseball related episode of that show ever. Sitting on the ground I ended up getting ant bites all over, as I am writing this I am itching.  We had quite a bit of time before the game started so we decided to take a pre-game nap. About an hour before the start of the game we took a stroll around the park and made our way through the practice fields and into the minor league complex. Their minor league complex might be nicer than the Yankees one but its newer so I would expect that.

Walking up to the pavillion overlooking all 4 fields

The pavillion

Me and my new boyfriend. 

Boyfriend stealer!


About 45 minutes to game time we made our way to the front gate to wait for the gates to open. There we met a woman who worked for McDonalds who asked if we could keep an eye on a box of cookies for her so she could park, when she came back we helped her with the other boxes she brought up and had we not bought tickets already we would have been golden since we just walked right into the park with her.



We decided to go back out because we wanted to sign up to win free hats and because I needed my binder to keep score. It was freaking hot outside the park. I am thinking of emailing them and recommending that they put up maybe a covered picnic area or something for people who get there early, there was absolutely no shade at all. I am surprised I didn't get a sunburn.



So we got into the park and found our seats, the seats were probably the worst I have ever sat in at a baseball game. The chairs were small and the rows were so close together, I have long legs(thanks mom) so my knees kept hitting the chair in front of me. Luckily no one sat it our row until later in the game so I was able to take some pre-game pictures and fill out my scorecard.  I kept an eye out for Joe Mauer's brother and then I saw him. If I didn't have such good eyes I would totally think I was looking at Joe walking across the field instead of who it really was which is his brother Jake who manages the Miracle(they are the Twins class-a advanced team)

Jake Mauer, manager of the Fort Myers Miracle

The game itself was pretty uneventful to begin with. The Miracle scored the first runs of the game in the 3rd inning when they scored 3.  The Stonecrabs scored a run in the 6th and the Miracle scored another in the 7th and that was it offensively until the bottom of the 9th. The guy on the mound for the Miracle was throwing meatballs and before he could record a second out, the Stonecrabs had their very own walk-off win, just like their big league counterpart.  A wild pitch even factored into them both.  I really felt bad for the starting pitcher for the Miracle because he honestly pitched a great game. 7 innings pitched, 6 hits, 1 run only for his bullpen to blow it in the 9th. I was actually happy that they walked off in the 9th because I really didn't want a tie game.



During the game I swear, the group of people in front of us probably stood up and left and came back probably 15 times, because there weren't many people in our row everyone used our row to go in and out. So annoying. They had post game fireworks but we didn't stay for them since we wanted to beat the traffic out, we actually were able to watch them at the gas station down the road where we had stopped to scrub lovebugs off the windshield.

How did they know I didn't want anyone in my row?

In about an hour and 15 minutes later we had arrived home(our neighborhood Publix of course) All told, it was a great trip. If I were to go again, I would not leave as early, we kind of didn't realize that there is absolutely nothing to do in Port Charlotte so we wasted a lot of time just sitting around sweating. They did have an environmental park, hiking and stuff in the back of the parking lot that we probably could have explored if it wasn't so hot. We actually parked in employee parking because we got there so early, not sure if they charge for parking but we didn't pay anything since we had been there so long we had a great spot and no ticket or tow so I guess no one realized we didn't belong there. Their ticket prices were a bit much. We picked the cheapest non-berm seats and they were 9 dollars each, the seats were good but I think the price was a little steep being that all the other FSL parks I have been to only charge an average of $6. Not sure if I will go back because its so far away and the seating was not comfortable, I also don't care for the Rays so that helps make my decision. It was a good way to spend a summer day though.

                                                      The car covered in lovebugs, gross.

Home sweet Home

The Tampa Yankees have been losing but I haven't lost faith in them. They play in Clearwater for the next 2 days so I am going on Monday and then they are back home on Tuesday. I am hoping to get a cheesesteak at Clearwater because I heard they have good ones there and since I wont have to pay for admission, I can use the money I saved on a cheesesteak.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Guest Post

Hello all who read, as you know from reading the last post, there is no TY baseball until next Tuesday. Very sad, but how lucky are you to get a great breakdown of the Charleston RiverDogs game that happened this afternoon against the Lakewood BlueClaws? Doreen went to the game this morning and was gracious enough to share her experience and do a guest post on her recap of the game, with pictures :)

So without further ado, here is Tales From Tampa's first guest post:



Last season was the first time I went to minor league game by myself.  I went to Lakewood to see the Charleston River Dogs play the Blue Claws and was treated to an amazing pitching performance by Graham Stoneburner.  At the time, I really didn’t have any particular players to watch, so it was a good opportunity to take it all in in a very general way.

I enjoyed my solo trip to the ballpark so much that as soon as the Trenton Thunder and Lakewood Blue Claws schedules came out the first thing I did was to mark my calendar with the morning starts.   I was hoping the River Dogs would be included, and they were, to my delight. 



Today’s starting pitcher for the River Dogs was Zach Nuding.  I knew nothing about him, and had read his name only once in passing.  But unlike last season, this year I had a short list of players I wanted to see:  Slade Heathcott, J.R. Murphy and Gary Sanchez.  I had wanted to see Sanchez catch, but he DH’d this game with Murphy doing the honors behind the plate.  None of these players disappointed, and I also came away with some curiosity on Ramon Flores and the three pitchers used in this game, Nuding, Kahnle and Barreda.

It was a well-played game.  No errors, no one looking like they didn’t belong on a professional ballfield. 

Nuding pitched a very solid six innings.  He showed signs of tiring in the seventh inning, in which he surrendered 4 hits and one run, but completed the inning.

Zach Nuding throwing his first pitch of the game

The Blue Claws could not tee up against Nuding, though he only struck out 2, one in the 5th and the second in the 7th.  He did not walk anyone.  He was very efficient and economical. Most of his outs were fly balls (some deep, but not problematic) and pop ups.  He really had the game in hand.  He threw mostly upper 80’s, but hit an occasional 90-91.  Lakewood has a box out in right-center field with the radar readings.  I have no idea how accurate they are.  They showed him hitting 95 once in the 7th, his last inning, but his fastest to that point was 92 back in the 4th.

Nuding throws well, but obviously, he’s not overpowering.  He did not throw a lot of pitches, either, until that 7th inning.  Unlike his earlier innings, the balls hit off him were hard hit line drives.

At the very least, Nuding made me curious to find out more about him.  On first blush, he seems to be an extreme fly ball pitcher, who can handcuff batters with his stuff, who is not overpowering, but gets outs in an economical fashion.

Tommy Kahnle

He was relieved by Thomas Kahnle, who definitely threw some hard stuff.  He was consistently in the low to mid-90s.  He went to some deep counts, but only walked one.  His motion didn’t seem very smooth.  He didn’t impress me except for being able to hit 94 and 95.  Again, I’d like to find out more about this guy. 

Manny Barreda pitched the ninth.   He is small like the other Manny - Banuelos, but right-handed.  He had a smooth motion with a long stride.  Low 90s upper 80s and looked like he had some breaking stuff.  He had a 1-2-3 ninth that was easy except for his first batter, who had a six-pitch at-bat.

Manny Barreda

Nuding gave Heathcott a lot of work out in center field.  5 chances in 5 innings.  4 were routine high fly balls to center, but one required a diving catch, and Heathcott did a good job, looked good and in control.  Looked like he had no problem tracking the ball.   Heathcott had two hits in today’s game.  One was a solid double in the first inning.  The second hit fell between the infielders on the left side of the infield for a single. However, he was caught stealing by a lot – in fact, in was tagged out standing up about 2/3 of the way there.   He also walked once.

Slade Heathcott batting

Heathcott on 2nd after hitting a double

Murphy didn’t have anything out of the ordinary to do behind the plate today.  He looks fine there, but he really is not built like a catcher. Offensively, he was solid. He had a first inning double which drove in Heathcott with Charleston’s first run.  He got two more singles to round out his day.

JR Murphy Catching

Sanchez only had one hit today, and struck out twice. But he hit a loooooong foul ball to left field that I think the kids are still chasing down.  He grounded out twice, hitting the ball hard each time.  By the way, if I didn’t know Sanchez was a teenager still, I wouldn’t believe you if you told me he was, based on his build.  He’s really quite nicely filled out.  He was the DH today.

Gary Sanchez 

Jose Mojica is the shortshop.  He came up in the 4th with the bases loaded and one out. He had a hard-hit line drive double driving in two runs. He’s a skinny kid, and I was impressed he hit the ball as hard as he did in that situation.  I didn’t expect much there.

Jose Mojica

Flores, the left fielder, impressed me as a guy who may have some speed.

The Riverdogs broke through in the 4th inning and I was not surprised.  The Blue Claws’ starting pitcher, Jesse Biddle, was throwing a ton of pitches, and I knew it was just a matter of time. .  It was a great inning, where they batted around – 5 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks.

Bases loaded with Riverdogs

After the 4th, the game was pretty uneventful until Nuding tired in the 7th.  The game was always well in hand. 

There was one really heads-up play in the bottom of the 7th.  The Blue Claws had a runner on 1st.  The next batter hit a line drive single to left center, and the runner going from first to second overran second base.  Flores, the left fielder, threw the ball to second baseman (Anderson Feliz), who tagged the runner before he could get back. 

There was a play at the plate the same inning, and the ball got past Murphy, but Nuding nicely backed up the play and held the runner at third base, preventing a second run from scoring.

And for the minor-league purists, the most important news of the day, Mr. Egg was the winner in the Egg, Pork Roll and Cheese Race Around the Bases!!

Charleston Wins!!

Final Score: RiverDogs - 6 / BlueClaws  - 2

I am looking forward to next week, when I go to see the Trenton Thunder play Breakfast Baseball!!


Well I hope you enjoyed the first guest post on my blog. If any of you go to a Yankees minor league game and want to guest post, just let me know. And a big thanks to Doreen for sharing her game recap on here.




Tuesday, April 26, 2011

A win...Finally

Today was a doubleheader against the Clearwater Threshers since last nights game got rained out. The first game started at 5pm and I decided for today's games that I would score them since both games would be 7 innings and I felt I could handle that.

On the mound in the first game was Jose Ramirez, he was supposed to start last nights game but it of course got rained out. He was 0-2 going into the game, still looking for his first win and looking for a good start finally. Unfortunately today was not his day. Ramirez pitched 3 innings and did well in the first 3 innings despite giving up 5 hits and 1 run(came on a walk and 3 singles). Where he got into trouble was the 4th inning. Ramirez started the inning allowing 3 straight singles. He was pulled and replaced by Kelvin Perez leaving the bases loaded with no outs. Kelvin Perez got a ground ball and Luke Murton tried to throw the runner out at 2nd to start a 3-5-3 double play but he got a throwing error, 1 run scored and the bases were still loaded. Perez got the next batter to strike out swinging but then Darin Ruf hit the first pitch right over the fence for a grand slam. The next batter led off with a single, and the guy after him reached on another error by Luke Murton. Perez got out of the inning by getting a flyout and strikeout. Jose Ramirez ended his day allowing 8 hits in 3 innings, 4R/3ER 2BB and 3K.

Scorecard for the Threshers batters

The Tampa Yankee offense was virtually invisible. They got 4 hits all by different people. They hit the ball hard but always right to someone or just at the fence. I was happy for Taylor Grote who leads the team in strikeouts, because he didnt strike out once in the first game. He hit one way out to left field that got caught and in his last at-bat he hit a double on a ball to straightaway center. Unfortunately Kyle Higashioka grounded out to second for the last out of the first game and Grote's 2 out double was for not. One inning earlier, Emerson Landoni who was playing SS also doubled. He moved to 3rd on a groundout by Abe Almonte and scored on a groundout by Walter Ibarra. Landoni's run was the only TY run of the game. The TY got outhit 15-4 they lost the game 10-1 in 7 innings which is regulation for minor league doubleheaders.

Scorecard for the Tampa batters


The second game was pitched by Michael Solbach who has done remarkably well this season so far. He has always been the one to come out after Brett Marshall pitches and handles the next few innings to keep them in the game or keep them in the lead. He moved into the rotation when Jairo Heredia got put on the DL for elbow inflammation. Solbach also wears #36 which automatically made me like him(Brad Suttle was my fave TY player last year and he wore 36) Solbach came into the game 0-1 and only because he gave up 3 runs in his last start, the bullpen blew the game out of the water and the TY were never able to score enough to catch up and bail him out. Tonight Solbach was nothing but lights out. In his 5 innings pitched he only allowed 2 hits, 1BB and 6 strikeouts. He was followed by Chase Whitley who pitched the final 2 innings, allowed 1 hit and struck out 2 with no walks.

Scorecard for the Thresher batters

The TY offense woke up for this game which I was glad to see. Walter Ibarra hit a home run in the first inning which if im not mistaken, actually gave the TY their first lead of the entire homestand. The TY got a few singles(yay for hits) but weren't able to string anything together until the 4th inning. Taylor Grote opened the inning with a walk, he moved to 3rd on a single to deep right center by Mitch Abeita. Kevin Mahoney laid down a perfect bunt to bring Grote home, the bunt was so good that the Clearwater 3rd baseman didnt try to handle it but was waiting for it to roll foul, it never did which allowed Grote to score, Abeita to move to 2nd and Mahoney to be safe on 1st. Hector Rabago tried for another bunt, he moved the runners up but got thrown out. Abe Almonte singled which brought home Abeita. Things got a little funky when Walter Ibarra hit a sac fly to deep right field. Kevin Mahoney tagged up and scored but the umps ruled that Abe Almonte passed 2nd base and ran back to 1st without retouching 2nd so when the ball got back to the infield the 1st baseman touched 1st and it was ruled that Ibarra hit into a sacrifice double play. They still counted the run I think because Mahoney crossed the plate before the Clearwater 1B touched 1st for the second half of the DP. The players all started walking off the field and we were sitting there wondering why they were leaving the field with just 2 outs. It was all very confusing. The TY didn't score anymore runs after that inning but those 3 runs and Walter Ibarra's homer in the 1st were enough to win the game. The TY outhit Clearwater in the 2nd game 10-3 and won the game 4-0. Michael Solbach got a well deserved win.

Scorecard for the Tampa batters

During the game they do between inning games and giveaways. While we were waiting for the 2nd game to start, Jessica, who does the in game activities, came over to us and asked if we wanted to participate in any of the games. They have one sponsored by Village Health Market where you just have to sit there and if the pitcher strikes out one batter in the 3rd inning, you win a prize. That sounded easy enough so I signed up for that and wouldn't you know, Troy Hanzawa, the Taylor Grote of the Threshers was up that innings, Solbach struck him out to lead off the inning and I won a free smoothie(coupon) from Village Health Market and 2 tickets to the game on May 7th. Since I have season tickets, I obviously dont need them but I am going to see if my 4 year old friend at work will want them.

Overall it was a good evening,  I enjoyed taking score of the game though it was a lot harder than I thought. When I got home I went on the TY website and compared what I had with the official recap and I did pretty good, just a few mistakes. I'll probably try it a few more times so hopefully I can get better.

The TY ended their homestand 1-6 which is not ideal but it felt good to see them finally get a W. Also good to see that Rob Lyerly make a great throw on a ball in foul territory behind the 3rd base line in game 1, strong accurate throw in time to get the runner. I am starting to think he is remembering to bring his glove out onto the field with him now. The TY now head on a weeklong road trip. They will be facing the 1st place Daytona Cubs for the next 3 games and then head over to Clearwater for 3 more. The TY is back home next Tuesday.

**Click on the pictures for a zoomed in view of the scorecards. Depending on your computer, clicking on the zoomed in picture again will make it actually readable**

Monday, April 25, 2011

Double Header

No baseball tonight due to rain :( But tomorrow they have a double header scheduled to start at 5. Minor league double headers go 7 innings each. The last doubleheader I went to was played on a Wednesday and started on a Monday by Manny Banuelos. He didn't finish the game of course but the continuation of his game went 14 innings itself. That game was followed by a 7 inning game and I don't think I got home until after 11, this all after the game started at 4pm.   I am thinking that since I read earlier that Cervelli was going to catch tonight and head up to SWB, he wont play tomorrow. Anyway, ill post a recap after the games. Maybe I will keep score of one game since its something I've wanted to do for a while now.

Here is a picture of the field after a storm last season. It started so fast they didn't get a chance to open the tarp. The coaches were walking around barefoot looking at the field. Too funny.

Sunday, April 24, 2011

It gets late early out there

The Tampa Yankees have not been doing well lately. They have lost 5 in a row between a loss to Brevard, a sweep by the Blue Jays and another loss to the Threshers last night. Even though they have been losing, the games haven't been that hard to watch. Thats the good thing about minor league baseball, not as stressful as the big leagues. The TY are currently 7-10 on the season.

On Friday Brett Marshall pitched against the Blue Jays and he did well in the 1st inning but when he got to the dreaded 2nd inning, the wheels just fell off. In the 3 game series against Dunedin the TY allowed them to score 19 runs in the second inning and only 3 runs in every other inning combined. Honestly, the blowouts are not as hard to take as bullpen meltdowns. Theres nothing worse than thinking they are going to win just to have someone blow it in the 8th or 9th.

Brett Marshall pitching for the TY

When I got to the stadium with my friends on Friday night we had just come into the top of the 2nd and the bases were loaded with no outs. It seemed like every ball the Blue Jays were able to just square up and hit in the gaps, down the line and in the shallow outfield. Before the last out was recorded, Brett was pulled for Ronny Marte. Brett gave up 7 runs and left a runner on for Marte, Marte got into trouble of his own and by the time the inning was finally over, the TY was down 10-0 between the two of them they gave up 11 of the Blue Jays 16 hits, all in that dreaded 2nd inning.  The TY slowly began to fight back but weren't able to do much. The game ended with the TY losing 11-4. 6 Tampa Yankees had hits and only Walter Ibarra had more than one.

An interesting note on the game was that In addition to Francisco Cervelli playing for the TY, Scott Podsednik and Dewayne Wise were playing for the Blue Jays. It was like major league night.



I went to another game on Saturday night, this was against the Clearwater Threshers who are second behind Daytona in the FSL North Division. The TY made it through the second inning alright but then allowed runs in every inning after except the 7th and 9th. The TY was held in check all night and were finally able to put a run on the board in the 9th when Hector Rabago, hitting in the place of Cervelli walked, moved to 3rd on a double by Luke Murton and scored on a groundout by Deangelo Mack.  The TY lost Saturday nights game 8-1.

Ryan Pope pitching for the TY


Saturday night was also the most packed I have ever seen GMS field for a TY game. They had a pregame easter egg hunt in the outfield and all the kids and families stuck around for the game. It was loud and someone even sat in my seat. I guess they didn't care that it said "season ticket holder" on my seat because they sat there anyway. Before the game I walked over to the bullpen and watched Cervelli catching, I was hoping to get something signed but he didn't stop to sign, saying he had to go since the game was starting, some guy called him an "effing liar" like he would sign after that, the nerve of some people!

Cervelli catching in the bullpen before the game

Anyway, tomorrow night is another game against Clearwater. It is also baseball bingo night which I will sadly miss since I will have gotten there late. It sounds really fun so I am hoping that a Monday comes along that I can be there in time to play. Basically you get a bingo card with all these random situations. When something happens, like infield hit, fan catches a ball etc. you mark your card. If you make a Y on the card then you win. When I get a card I will take a picture of it and will post it on here for you to see.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Cervelli Videos

So I decided to put these two videos in their own post so they wouldn't get lost in the game notes from the post below. Check out that post too because I didn't write it for no one to read it. Enjoy :)

Here is video of Cervelli catching. Its a whole at-bat so you dont have to watch it unless you want to.




Here is video of Cervelli batting, its his whole at-bat and he hits a single at the end of it.

Francisco Cervelli and other notes.

Well it is quite hard to stay up on homework and keep you all updated on the games, but I am trying. The Tampa Yankees are back home through Monday I think, facing the Dunedin Blue Jays and the Clearwater Threshers.

Kevin Mahoney, the only person I got a pic of at the game Wednesday.

The first game of this current homestand was played last night against Dunedin. The TY lost 6-3 and if not for a really rough second inning for Jose Ramirez, they would have won. Everyone but Taylor Grote and Emerson Landoni had hits. Rob Lyerly went 3-5, Luke Murton went 2-5 and Kyle Higashioka and Walter Ibarra went 2-4 respectively.
Jose Ramirez pitched a perfect first inning, gave up 6 runs on 5 or 6 hits but went on to retire all but 2 batters through the 5th. He helped to salvage his ERA by coming out to pitch those innings after he labored in the 2nd. His relievers did a great job keeping them in the game but the TY was just unable to pick him up.
A little way into the game I saw Brett behind home plate charting pitches, I walked over to him so that I could tell him congrats on his W last Sunday, but he was talking to some friends kids that he knows. I sat behind him and watched him chart the pitches until I could talk to him. I never knew what went into that so it was neat to see. On the chart is a bunch of rectangles that have stuff in them that you complete for each batter. The rectangle has a grid which is the strikezone, a section where you can record pitch type, and a bubble in thing for the batters outcome, and the diamond like on normal scorecards. In the strikezone box they do like how it shows the pitch by pitch breakdown thing. They number and record the location of the pitch. That just seems like a lot of work. He was charting the pitches of the opposing pitcher.

I would just like to say that the Tampa  Yankees have some gamers. Kevin Mahoney tried to score from 2nd on a weird single by Luke Murton and got thrown out at home, he actually collided and got tangled up in the catchers legs, he took a while to get up and then limped off the field but he came out for his next at-bat. Walter Ibarra, dove for a ball and made a great stop but he jammed either his hand or wrist and wasn't able to make the throw, the medical staff went out and looked at him for a few minutes but he stayed in the game. He was the first up to bat in the bottom of the inning and hit a long home run to left field. The wind was really blowing in so a lot of balls that should have gotten out never made it. We had 2 hits way out to the wall but were unfortunately caught.
The TY were getting hits, just were unable to string enough together to make something happen. The Blue Jays 2B was really on his game too, he made some excellent dives and throws and probably saved his team quite a few runs. The whole Dunedin defense was really good last night, the TY balls in play were nearly always hit right at someone. Very unfortunate but that happens every now and then.

Cervelli smiling after making an out

Tonight was game two and Michael Solbach pitched in place of the injured Jairo Heredia who is on the DL with elbow inflammation. The big story out of Tampa was of course Francisco Cervelli catching in tonights game. I got to the game late because my class didnt get out until 645 which was actually really early. I missed the first innings and a half so I missed the 3 runs that Solbach allowed in the top of the second and the first of David Adams 2 hits. For the most part, the game was pretty boring. Not much to say when they only get 5 hits. That up against I think 9 strikeouts and it makes for a long night. Whoever it was that pitched for Dunedin in the 9th inning was making them all look really bad, like they were golfing and not playing baseball.  The TY were in the game for quite a while when the score was 3-0 but Kelvin Perez got into a little trouble and ended up walking the bases loaded twice, pushing the score to 5-0.

Cervelli Catching

Cervelli looked really good behind the plate, whenever a pitcher would start throwing too many balls or looking like they were lost out there he would walk up to the mound and talk with them and then come back after giving them a slap on the butt. He was smiling after every out or hit and seemed excited when they got their 3 outs. He caught through the 8th inning and came to bat at the bottom of the 8th and lined a solid single up the middle, something I saw him do a lot last year. He was lifted for a pinch runner and received applause as he walked back to the dugout. Hector Rabago ran for him and he moved to 2nd on a walk, 3rd on a ground out and scored the TY's only run on a wild pitch. The TY went on to lose the game 5-1 and will take on Dunedin tomorrow night and will try to not get swept as they send Brett Marshall to the mound. Hopefully they saved all their hits to support him tomorrow.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Major League Rehab

Every now and then a player from the Major Leagues has to come down to the minors to do a rehab assignment, it is not often that they come to the FSL to do their rehabs since we are just high class A, it most often makes sense for players to do rehab in AA or AAA. The last big name major leaguer I saw on a rehab assignment in the FSL was Chase Utley last August. I of course have seen Mark Prior, Sergio Mitre(last year) and Latroy Hawkins recently.

Latroy Hawkins pitching for the Brevard Manatees on Wednesday April 13 in Tampa

 Last Tuesday I read that Brandon Morrow of the Toronto Blue Jays had started a game for the Dunedin Blue Jays. I totally forgot he was on the DL but was more surprised that he was here in Florida doing his rehab and not somewhere else. I then heard that he would be making his last start on Sunday, I looked up the schedule and saw that Dunedin would be playing Lakeland and since I have been to Lakeland so often lately I decided it would be worth my while to make the trip up.

It was weird to go to a game that the Tampa Yankees were not playing in but luckily the TY had just played Lakeland in opening weekend so I was familiar with their players. I went rooting for Dunedin though because Toronto is in the AL East and it just made sense to me, I also like to go against the grain and cheering for the opposition is always fun. I got to the stadium and actually had to pay admission, when the Tampa Yankees are on the road I don't have to pay admission since I am a season ticket holder. It was 5 dollars for general admission, when I went last Saturday night it was $6 so apparently their prices change depending on the day. I went in and sat behind the screen on the home side because I wanted to get some sun(and sun I got, burnt to a crisp too)
Brandon Morrow pitching for Dunedin


I got some decent pics of Morrow pitching, overall he wasn't that sharp. I don't  know what I was expecting from him since I only saw him pitch a few times last year but I thought he should be able to handle some high class A hitters, in 4 innings he allowed 2 runs on 3 hits while walking 3 and striking out 5. He got into some pretty deep counts on most of his batters so he probably had too high a pitch count to make it to 6 innings like was hoped for by the Blue Jays.
I also got to see Frank Francisco who is also on a Major League rehab with Dunedin. He pitched 1 inning giving up 1 hit and striking out 2. Both he and Morrow are supposed to rejoin Toronto sometime this week.

Frank Francisco pitching for Dunedin

 I was pretty upset with myself for not thinking ahead and bringing a ball with me, in Lakeland their dugouts do not have stairs that lead to a clubhouse, once a pitcher is done he runs across the field and into a clubhouse next to the right field fence, if I had been thinking I would have brought a ball and waited there until he came over and then asked for a signature. C'est La Vie.



Overall I enjoyed the trip, I didn't stay until the end because it was blazing hot and I had seen what I had come to see. Joker Marchant is a very nice stadium, coincidentally it is not the stadium I thought I had been to many years ago, that is another stadium in Lakeland that must have been designed by the same people. Apparently the Tigers have been playing in this field in Lakeland for 45 years. Right next to the end of the right field bleachers is the clubhouse, it is where the players go to workout and get on the bus after a game, next to that clubhouse is where the players park, there was no security and I probably could have parked there if I wanted to.

Well thats all I've got for you. No Tampa baseball until Wednesday when they are back from Brevard county. Today Brett Marshall pitched for the TY and he did a really good job. Allowed an unearned run in the first inning and pitched 3 perfect innings to follow. In the 5th he allowed a lead off walk but retired the next 3 batters. In the 6th he walked a guy, allowed 2 singles and a run to score before he was pulled for Michael Solbach, Solbach allowed one of his runs to score on a sac fly but escaped with no further damage. Brett allowed 3 runs/2 earned on 3 hits while striking out 4 and walking 2 in 5 innings. The TY offense also came to life as Luke Murton and Ziolo Almonte hit home runs and everyone but Taylor Grote and Deangelo Mack had at least one hit. The TY won 11-3 and Brett got his first High A win.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

down to the wire

Sorry that I have not been posting about the games lately. I have begun to get swamped with end of the semester homework, projects, papers, exams...everything else you can think of that comes at the end of the semester so I have not had much time to sit down on here and recap. The TY do not play at home again until next Wednesday the 20th so I wont really have any updates for a while since I can't talk about a game Im not at.

Here is just a little bit to hold you over until I can post a significant amount.

On Monday I did not go to the game, apparently it was great and the TY scored 7 runs and Rob Lyerly hit a home run. Wish I had gone.

Tuesday Brett Marshall pitched. He pitched 5 innings and gave up 3 runs. He struck out 4 and walked none, It was a vast improvement over his season opening outing and I expect him to get better. The offense never even threatened in the game he pitched despite scoring 2 runs. I think only in one inning did they have more than one guy on base at the same time.

Tonights game was a lot like Tuesdays game, except they were able to play a bit of small ball to score runs. Neil Medchill hit his 2nd home run in as many days and both Zoilo Almonte and Carmen Angelini got triples. Rob Lyerly got a few singles as well. Sean Black pitched 6.1 innings giving up 1 run(technically 2 but it was a runner that his reliever let score) with 6 strikeouts, besides allowing 6 hits he was dominant. Preston Claiborne gave up  back to back home runs to allow the Manatees to tie the game at 4-4 but a triple by Zoilo and a close play at first with Walter Ibarra sliding into 1st head first allowed the TY to score the go ahead run in the bottom of the 8th. It didnt last long though, Ronny Marte gave up 7 runs in the top of the 9th to make the score 11-5 before Scott Allen struck out the final batter to finally end the inning.  All 3 batters in the bottom of the 9th flew out to center.

Check back later to see some pictures added to this post.

Monday, April 11, 2011

Mark Prior

So as everyone knows, Mark Prior has been pitching for the Tampa Yankees since they want him in the warmer weather. Well it is definitely warm. He pitched the last two nights down here and did well in his 2 innings of work. He is on and off the roster from what I have gathered. When they want him to pitch, they move someone down and activate him, when he is done then they reactivate the person they sent down. For the past two days it has been Kevin Mahoney who has been the one to lose his roster spot. You don't normally think about someone losing their spot on the roster and it probably hurts them more being some hotshot guy on a minor league deal that is taking away your playing time rather than someone who was on a well deserved promotion.

Anyway, here is a really short video of hotshot Mark Prior throwing one pitch in the game on Saturday in Lakeland. It is only one pitch because the batter hit the ball.  You will have to watch the video to see the outcome. Enjoy.



I am going to be going to the game tomorrow night. Brett is pitching and I am expecting him to do better than his last outing. Probably the nerves of pitching the first game of the season got to him in that one as he is definitely capable of pitching a great game. He just needs to pray for some better defense or that the batters don't hit the ball to 3rd.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Game 4: Lakeland at Tampa

Today was a scorcher. 1pm games are always hot but this one felt exceptionally hot, and its only April. I took my friend with me because she said she needed sun and also because she had been bugging me about hanging out and I needed to give her her birthday card(a month late) so I told her the only way that was going to happen was if she came to the game with me.  I wanted to sit in my seat for a change but it was so hot down there we decided to sit in the upper level for a while until the sun moved.
The TY looked like the Tampa Red Sox because they were wearing their pinstripe pants and blue tops with red numbering on the back. Last year when they wore their blue tops it was with white numbers on the back. I like that look better but whatever.

Jose Ramirez was pitching for Tampa today and I was excited to see him, I think he did well in the few innings I saw him pitch in minor league spring training and I was told to pay close attention to him. I haven't seen him pitch enough to know how well he does so today I was just generally observing. He seemed to do okay although he allowed 4 runs/2 earned. He walked 2 and gave up a home run with one of his walks aboard. Kyle Higashioka was responsible for the 2 unearned runs when in the 4th inning he got a passed ball and then dropped a 3rd strike allowing the runner to be safe at 1st. The runners scored on a single and a sac fly before Ramirez struck out the final batter of the inning. Ramirez struck out 6    in 4 innings.(2 looking, 4 swinging)

                                            Jose Ramirez getting ready to throw a pitch. duh

Jose Ramirez was followed by Michael Solbach who pitched 2 innings, allowed 1 hit and struck out 2. Solbach was followed by Mark Prior who pitched 1 inning, allowing 1 walk, a stolen base and no runs.
Prior was followed by Preston Claiborne who pitched 2 innings, gave up 2 hits, one HBP and 1 earned run with 1 strikeout.
The TY lost 5-2 with 5 hits(A.Almonte - 1, Landoni and Murton - 2 each. Landoni and Murton scored the only 2 runs) and 2 errors(both by Kyle Higashioka)

Because I promised details about Ramirez, here is his batter by batter ball and strike count, I didn't put in what order he got the balls and strikes just how many he had on the batter when he walked,
struck out/got out or allowed a hit.

Batter   Balls - Strikes - Outcome

Top 1

Batter 1 - 2B - 1K - Flyout to right
Batter 2 - 1B - 1K - 6-3
Batter 3 - 2B - 3K - Strikeout Looking

Top 2

Batter 1 - 4B - 2K - Walk
Batter 2 - 0B - 1K - HR to right(2RBI)
Batter 3 - 1B - 2K - 5-3
Batter 4 - 3B - 3K - Strikeout Looking
Batter 5 - 2B - 2K - 5-3

Top 3

Batter 1 - 1B - 0K - line drive to pitcher(hit him in the right arm) 1-3
Batter 2 - 0B - 1K - Flyout to left
Batter 3 - 2B - 3K - Strikeout Swinging

Top 4

Batter 1 - 2B - 3K - Strikeout Swinging
Batter 2 - 4B - 2K - Walk
(passed ball - runner to 2nd)
Batter 3 - 2B - 3K - Dropped 3rd strike, runner safe at 1st
Batter 4 - 3B - 1K - Single to right, Batter 2 scores from second. Batter 3 to third
Batter 5 - 1B - 0K - Sac Fly to center, Batter 3 scores
Batter 6 - 3B - 3K - Strikeout Swinging

I am positive of the outcomes because I checked online, the balls and strikes should be accurate because I looked up at the scoreboard as soon as something happened and wrote it right down. I didn't count foul balls and he got quite a few but since they don't show up on the screen so I didn't write them down.

I can't seem to work the link for the boxscore but if you go to tybaseball.com you can look it up on there.



                                   This is how I kept track of his balls/strikes and outcomes


Overall it was a fun afternoon, I think I finally was able to get sun on my legs but I also got it on my face which is no bueno, that's what I get for only putting on a little sunscreen. I sat for the second half of the game with Brett's mom again, I wanted to sit with her for a while since she is going back home and wont be down here again until May. After she had left, I moved back up into the shade and I was watching this little boy, he ran up to his mom with his dad following him and he had a pen and a ball in his hand, he was yelling "I got one!" he had gotten someone in the dugout to sign the ball for him(I had been watching him earlier just walking around with the ball and pen, it was Little League Day so there were tons of kids there in their Little League uniforms) He proudly showed off the ball to everyone around him. Because I am always out to make a kids day just a little bit better, I walked a row over to the parents and informed them that if he wanted another autograph, there was a pitcher(Brett) sitting just a few rows down who would gladly sign the ball for him if they could wait for the inning to be over. The mom asked the little boy if he wanted another autograph and the kid smiled and said yes so they waited and walked down to him and he signed the ball for the little boy. It was sweet. I didn't ask Brett if that was okay but even if I didn't know him I still would have sent that little boy over to him.

                                                       Mark Prior pitching for the TY


I am not going to the game tomorrow night because I have a lot of school work that I need to get caught up on since the semester will be over way too soon. I won't post anything until at least Tuesday unless it's a video or something that won't take much time.

I hope that you enjoyed this entry, if there is anything specific you want me to cover, comment on here or let me know via Lohud comments when I am around. Thanks for reading. Oh, and I added pictures to the post below. I didn't have them uploaded to my computer when I originally put up that post.



Saturday, April 9, 2011

Game 3: Tampa at Lakeland

I took my cousins to our first baseball game today. I took one of the older ones and two of the middle ones. I had previously taken the two middle ones to Rays Fanfest but real baseball is much better. It was a treat explaining what a ball is as well as a foul ball, hit, out and strike. Kids these days, seriously.
Josh Romanski was the starter for tonight's game and he was really good. In 6 innings pitched he only allowed 1 run(a home run), 3 hits and no walks. It was enjoyable not to worry about a runner scoring because hardly a runner made it into scoring position.
                                                                    Josh Romanski

Romanski was followed by Mark Prior in the 7th inning(told you all he was with the team) who pitched a perfect inning except for an error on the first baseman, he struck out one and got 2 fly balls. When he came up and they announced his name, you could hear a hush fall over the crowd like they couldn't believe it was actually Mark Prior pitching, of course I knew it because I had seen him the day before.
Prior was followed by Scott Allen for the 8th, interesting thing here is that Prior is the oldest member of the team and Allen is the youngest. I thought that was cool. Allen did not have his best stuff today, after a strikeout for the first out, he gave up a hit and walked two to load the bases. Ronny Marte came out and managed to get a ground ball that was handled and turned perfectly for a DP to escape the inning without allowing the Tigers to score. Pretty impressive.

Zoilo Almonte

The TY scored a run in both the 5th and 6th innings. In the fifth inning, Zoilo Almonte doubled and moved to 3rd on a groundout by Mitch Abeita. He scored on a single by Walter Ibarra. In the 6th Abe Almonte singled, moved to 2nd on a groundout, stole 3rd base and scored on a single by Luke Murton.

Because baseball games can never just end easily I was on the edge of my seat through the bottom of the 9th and for good reason. Ronny Marte came out to pitch the 9th after putting out the fire in the 8th. He got a ground out for his first out and then allowed a single. With 2 outs, he got a really easy ground ball to the first baseman but Luke Murton, the first baseman, booted the ball allowing the guy already on first to go all the way to 3rd. Marte walked the bases loaded(of course) Sojo, the manager came out and talked to him and let him stay in the game. Marte eventually got the batter to ground out to short, though it was close. Like the night before with a runner on 3rd and 2 outs, the batter hit a slow roller past the pitcher, Angelini had to really break for it, luckily he got to it and was able to throw it in time to barely beat the batter to the bag. Ballgame over. TY Wins 2-1. It was definitely a nail biter down to the last out.



Tomorrow, Jose Ramirez will be pitching for the TY. I will be there and will try to take good notes. I will not be going to the monday night game because I need to spend some quality time on homework but I will be there on Tuesday and maybe Wednesday depending on how much schoolwork I have left to do.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Game 2: Lakeland at Tampa

Finally have time to recap the game from last night and it was a fun one. I got to the park about 15 minutes to first pitch and was pleasantly surprised at the turnout. I know it is opening day but I didn't expect such a huge turnout. They had invited about 6 catholic schools so there were a few nuns and priests roaming around which was weird. I originally went to my seat, it doesn't have my name on it which is a bummer it just says"booster club season ticket holder" good enough I guess. I skimmed the crowd for familiar faces but didn't see many. I talked to a few of the boosters for a while and then I found where the Marshall family was sitting so I went over to say hello, I ended up sitting with them the majority of the game, they were right behind home plate so it was a different view than I am used to.

Sean Black was the starting pitcher and he was pretty good, he got some good swings and misses and the defense for the most part was working well behind him. We decided that in order to not let Rob Lyerly commit a costly error, the pitcher must make sure to not let the batter hit any balls his way, for the most part they were able to do that because of all the times I was watching I don't think I saw him have to handle but 1 or 2 balls.
The Yankees scored first in the 3rd inning on a single by Walter Ibarra, he moved to 3rd on a double by Abe Almonte and scored on a sac fly by Carmen Angelini. Love a little small ball. The tigers got on the board in the fifth inning on a triple and wild pitch. I missed Kyle Higashioka throw a runner out at 2nd but I am sure ill be able to see that a few times this season so Ill tell you how he does when I see it. The Tigers scored again in the 6th to put them up 2-1. In the top of the 7th with 2 outs and the bases loaded via a single and 2 walks, the Tigers changed pitchers to face Rob Lyerly. He proceeded to hit a 3 run triple which put the TY up 4-2 going into the 8th. He went 3-5 in the game tonight so as long has he can hit to make up for his fielding mistakes then maybe Ill learn to tolerate when he leaves his glove at home. Chase Whitley looked pretty good pitching the 8th inning and he came out again in the 9th but didn't last long.  A few well placed balls later, the bases were loaded for Francisco Gil who gave up a 3 run double that I was almost positive had been caught by either Taylor Grote or Abe Almonte, they both ran for it and nearly collided,  I thought Almonte had caught it but he scrambled around looking for it and by the time he had thrown the ball back in, we were down 6-4. The 2 out hit was a big game changer for both Lakeland and Tampa in this game.
So to the bottom of the 9th. The hitters up were Deangelo Mack, Walter Ibarra and Abe Almonte. Mack grounded out and Ibarra singled. Almonte had a little picking up to do after he missed the ball in the outfield and he came through hitting a huge home run nearly over the Tampa Tribune deck in right field. He had tied the game at 6-6.
The Tampa Yankees eventually won in the only way you want to finish a 10 inning game and that was via the walk-off. Taylor Grote singled and moved to 2nd on a error by the 3rd baseman who I think threw the ball into the dugout(good to see we weren't the only one with a faulty 3rd baseman) Grote moved up on a groundout by Zoilo Almonte and up came Kyle Higashioka who was 0-4 on the night. He hit a tapper up the 3rd base line and both he and Taylor were running, the 3rd baseman didn't come up with the ball(it was closer to home than 3rd by the time he got to it) and Taylor scored the winning run. It was super exciting and even though there was a little bullpen meltdown it would not have been as exciting as if they had won 4-2 before the meltdowns by both bullpens.
After the game they had a fireworks show and launch-a-ball which is my favorite post-game activity they do, someone actually got the ball into the bucket which hardly ever happens.

View from the outfield/Tribune Deck

Now to the fun stuff. I was sitting with the Marshall's and Brett's brother comes over from the Tribune deck and said he ran into Manny(Banuelos). They were all wondering why he was at the game and not in Trenton and since I knew, I told them that his grandmother was sick and he had flown home and didn't make his start. A little while later I got thirsty and they told me that the Tribune deck didn't have a long line so I headed over there, I walked past Brett's mom who was talking to Manny and she called me back and introduced us to each other. I stood there for about 10 minutes as they were talking and I also interjected a few things like how great I thought he looked in Spring Training and how I watched him pitch the final minor league spring game. he was talking about how much fun he had in Spring Training and the starts that he made for the team. He said it felt nice to strike out Youkilis but he was sad they pulled him after that strikeout. He told us what Joe said to him when he came out to get him, why he had such a huge smile on his face and also where he plans to end the season(can you guess?). Because I didn't want to impose on their whole conversation I kindly excused myself and wished Manny the best of luck this season even though I know he won't need it and that it was nice meeting him. Of course, I also couldn't pass up the opportunity to get my picture taken with him so in an awkward silence I asked if it would be okay to get a picture, he kindly obliged and now I have a picture with him.

The wait is over! Here is the picture.


A little later in the game we all went down to the first row of the Tribune Deck and it was a really different perspective, I have never sat in the outfield and it was a nice view and windy, it would be a great place to sit on a hot day when the infield is like a hotbox. As I was walking back to the infield from the Tribune Deck I looked into the bullpen and saw someone who looked like Mark Prior, he had the number 51 on and I looked on the roster and there was no 51. My suspicions were confirmed when he got up and sauntered over to a fan in the stands who was waving around a magazine. I know that none of the other guys in the bullpen would be on a magazine so it was definitely him.


Mark Prior signing a magazine for a fan.

I am heading off to the 3rd game in the series in Lakeland in about an hour and taking my cousins with me. It is a hot one so hopefully there is either a cool breeze or it cools down quick. Josh Romanski is pitching and he is my favorite kind of pitcher, a lefty. It should be a good time. If I pay attention to the game I will try to recap it for you all.

One interesting/funny note about the Lakeland Flying Tigers: They have a player on the team named Gustavo Nunez. Two names that a lot of people I know would not like to see in the same NYY lineup.