San Antonio Sentinels USBL

[LocalRock]

5/7 - 5/9 @ DAL (6-10):
Well who saw this coming. The back-to-back reigning champs are worse than us at the time of our first meeting. The Stars have slid to 6-10 thanks to a slow start from an offense that has been consistently top-10 over the last decade. Sitting with a league worst .224 batting average, the guys who have been rolling will be able to keep it going and take advantage of the slumping Stars, and not be the ones to get them rolling. Their only decent hitter so far has been 34 year old CF Ikki Fujimoto, as he is 16-47 with 4 HRs and 11 RBIs, along with 8 walks. We’ll be facing the bottom half of their rotation, so hopefully our lineup won’t put up more stinkers like the past week.

5/7: I decided to watch this game because I really want to see Ortiz have a nice start. On the road against the best team of the last decade, we would love to put on a show and establish ourselves as worthy competition. The game began exactly how you would expect a game between these two offenses to begin. We go down in order through the first nine men, and Dallas does the same until the bottom of the third, where they put up a run one a pair of hits. Singleton finally grabbed our first hit with 2 down in the fourth, making it 11 consecutive retired for Dallas starter Chad Hodgins before we could get somebody aboard. The score would stay 1-0 until a Dave Ebey two run shot in the fifth put us on top 2-1. Fujimoto would lead off the bottom of the fifth with a double to right, and advance on a groundout, but two more groundouts got Ortiz out of the inning unscathed. In the bottom of the sixth, a leadoff walk followed by a stolen base by Masakazu Sekiguchi led to a run for Dallas on an RBI single by B.J. Peterson. Bottom of the seventh now, Fujimoto on after a single, two away, and SS Miguel Cabral hits his first homer of the year, as we leave Ortiz in a tad too long, and Dallas takes the lead back now, 4-2. A befuddling move by Olson to leave Ortiz in for the eighth gets embarrassed, as Dallas adds on 3 more runs, two counted to Ortiz, and opens their lead to 7-2. That would be all she wrote for us in game 1 of the series vs Dallas, as we go 1-2-3 in the ninth. Final: 7-2 loss. (7-10)

After this game I sat down with Justin and gave him a stern talk about pulling starters earlier when they start to slip a bit. He’s very open to my input and I think the talk was well-received. Hopefully this doesn’t come up again.

5/8: Jonathan Singleton gave us the lead with a 3-run shot in the top of the third and we didn’t give it back. Doyle gave us yet another beautiful start, going 5.2 allowing just one unearned run and 4 hits, 3 walks, while striking out 3 as well. He lowers his ERA this year to 1.71. Though Schmitz did all he could to try to blow the game for us in the eighth, giving up a couple of runs, Lopes was able to come in and get a 5 out save, his third save of the year, and secure the W for us. Final: 4-3 win. (8-10)

Unfortunately, in our win, Brian Bedford suffered an injury. We are awaiting diagnosis.

Well that was fast, this morning diagnosis came back as a mild abdominal strain, which will have him DtD for the next 5 days. About as good as it gets for us. In other injury news, 26 year old 1B Chris Belz, who got injured during Spring Training, is eligible to come off the IL today. He will begin a 20-day rehab assignment in AAA before we decide what to do with him.

5/9: Wow the rotation continues to look solid, this time Oscar Grande goes 6 allowing just one run on 5 hits with 5 strikeouts. The bullpen, on the other hand, continues to do its best to blow games for us, with Collins allowing 3 runs on 2 doubles and 2 walks in just 0.2 innings. The offense was given two solo home runs, one by Caldwell and one by Singleton, making it back-to-back games with a homer for Singleton, but that was all we could get going. Final: 4-2 loss. (8-11)

5/10 - 5/12 vs CAL (8-11):
The team joining us at the bottom of the West, the California Bears enter off taking 2 of 3 from Phoenix. Seems like everybody I write about just played them. Anyways, the Bears have a pitching rotation much like ours, not a whole lot of talent, but certain guys are over-performing. That player for the Bears former Rainiers/Sentinels star, and 2005 Pitcher of the Year, 34 year old Tim Sweeney. Sweeney, in his POTY season with Seattle, went 19-6 with a 2.77 ERA in 224 innings. He also struck out 154 batters that year. While that season was certainly an outlier, Sweeney was a consistent 2 or 3 guy in our rotation from 2000-2010, before going to Dallas, Phoenix, and now California. Sweeney, much past his prime now, is having an excellent start to the year, posting a 2.38 ERA with 11 K’s in his first 3 starts, and pitched 8 shutout innings in his last start against Phoenix on the 7th. Don’t know if we’ll get to face him, but hopefully we’ll see him in game 3 of the series.

5/10: Martinez with a solid start, going 5.1 allowing 3 runs on 7 hits with 3 K’s. He gets stuck with the loss as our offense only puts up 3 runs, though they did put up 11 hits, including 3 hit games from Caldwell and Gille. Ebey, Caldwell, and Singleton were the ones to drive in our 3 runs today, as we fall to California 4-3. (8-12)

5/11: Ramirez getting the nod in game 2 here in front of almost 16,000 at iHeartMedia Stadium. California goes up 1-0 in the second on a sac fly, and another comes in after a 2-out error leads to a run on a single the very next batter. They would add another in the third on a Marko Boger leadoff home run that traveled 412 feet to right. In the bottom half of the frame we finally get on the board with an RBI single by Gille who advances on an error by Boger in right, then two batters later Caldwell drives him in and makes it a 1 run ballgame one third of the way through. Ramirez would remain unscathed through the next two innings, but with one out in the sixth, LF Masao Nishimura hit a 2 run shot to left-center to increase the Bears’ lead to 5-2. That would be the ballgame for Ramirez, making it 5.1 innings with 3 earned runs allowed and 4 strikeouts. Doug Morgans would finish out the inning. Neither team would threaten again, aside from California getting runners on the corners in the eighth, but they would not score, and we drop our third consecutive game, 5-2. (8-13)

Unfortunate injury news comes out after the game, as Brian Bedford’s abdominal strain is not healing as expected, and will be at least another week until he is ready.

5/12: Now I know I said I’ll only watch 1 game a series but Sweeney is getting the nod for the Bears today and I’d like to see his return to San Antonio in front of 15,000 strong at iHeartMedia Stadium. Carlos Ortiz is on the mound for us today in the series finale. Four hits in the first two innings and no runs scored. If you don’t like that, you don’t like Sentinels’ baseball. Two-outs, bottom third, and Justin Caldwell takes a 2-1 fastball the opposite way 374 feet to give us the lead 1-0. On to the bottom of the fifth, two hits to open the innings followed by a popout and a groundout, however Bobby Bowen decided to drive one just over the left field wall to extend our lead to 4-0. Through the first 4 innings our offense has been very good, 8 hits and 4 runs scored. Just need our pitching to hold to avoid the sweep. Ortiz did his part, finishing the day with 6 shutout innings, striking out 2 while allowing 3 hits and walking 3. The offensive outpouring continued in the 6th, as we put up 3 more on 4 hits, thanks to an RBI double by Ebey and a 2 RBI single by Gille. Vic Tift just replaced Caldwell as our 1B, hope this is to rest Caldwell and not because of injury. Davalos would finish off the game, allowing 1 run and 3 hits over 3 innings, as we avoid getting swept by our division rivals, and spoil Tim Sweeney’s return to San Antonio 7-0. Paul Baker wins player of the game, going 4-4 in the win. (9-13)

Okay so no injury for Caldwell, just resting him. Love to see it.

[LocalRock]

5/13 - 5/15 @ ATL (13-9):
A big series here against one of the better teams in the USBL. The Attack entered the year off back-to-back division titles, including a 90 win season last year. They got off to a bit of a slow start, beginning the year 6-6 before rattling off 7 wins in their last 10 games to get to where they are now. Led by one of the best offenses in the league, the Attack have scored an NBL high 5.36 runs per game, and also lead the league in batting average and home runs. Their pitching has been top notch as well lately, holding Phoenix to just 5 runs over their 3 game sweep. Funny, I also just noticed that the older brother of projected number one overall pick Sam O’Masta’s is a reliever on this team. They also have a reliever with the amazing name “Dave Van Sickle”. Love that.

In the latest edition of the Power Rankings, our Sentinels come in ranked 22nd.

5/13: Greg Doyle gets the start today in game 1, which is why I chose to watch it. I want to see one of his elite starts that we’ve been so spoiled by to start the year.

Well this is a way to start the game…on a one out double, Dave Ebey was injured and is going to leave the game after the trainer examined his left leg. Hoping for just a strain. Bedford came in to take his place and was back in the dugout 2 batters later on an RBI double by Tony Kurtz. (Holy **** just realized they have a second baseman named Shane “Butterball” Pettyjohn, this is amazing). Speaking of good names, O’Masta just entered from the bullpen to start the third for Atlanta and he immediately surrenders two doubles to Bowen and Bedford, extending our lead to 2-0.

Atlanta is able to cut the lead down to 2-1 in the bottom half of the frame on a 2-out solo shot by third baseman Scott Berger. Then, the very next batter Chris Reeb puts one in the seats, and ties the game at 2. Next inning, however, with two down, Eric Raia hit his first bomb of the year, 366 feet to straight away left, giving us the lead once again. The lead wouldn’t last long, though, as Atlanta ties it back up with a Pettyjohn triple followed by an RBI groundout.

On to the top of the sixth, one down and Tony Kurtz takes a fastball 410 feet to left center field to put us back on top 4-3. Another run was tacked on with an RBI single by Raia. Dan Schmitz enters with one out in the sixth after a walk issued by Doyle and he retires the final two to keep us in front with a third of the game to go. Lopes would come in to close it out in the ninth, and though the Attack almost came back thanks to an error by Caldwell, we hang on to pick up our tenth win of the year, 5-4. (10-13)

We received injury news on a Double-A player, as 24 year old reliever Frederick Sanna’s season comes to an end with a fractured elbow. No news on Ebey yet…

5/14: Make that three in a row for our Sentinels, as we beat the Attack 7-5 behind a 3-4 game from Any Kurtz, including a solo shot in the ninth, and a 2-4 day for Singleton, including a solo shot in the 3rd. Paul Baker also went 2-5, increasing his batting average to .383 through our first 24 games. Oscar Grande only made it 4.2, while giving up 4 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks with 3 K’s, but thankfully the bullpen held Atlanta to just a single unearned run, and we came home victorious. (11-13)

After the conclusion of this game, the news we were waiting on came in. Dave Ebey suffered a strained hamstring that is expected to sideline him for 3 months. Yikes. He has been placed on the 60 day IL. A devastating loss as Ebey had been one of our more consistent players this first month. In response to this news we have promoted 25 year old RF Cory Hann to the big leagues to make his USBL debut. Hann was hitting .244/,400/.390 in 13 games in Newark. 12 walks in 55 PA’s intrigues me, and he’s not a terrible fielder either. To fill his role in Newark, we have promoted 24 year old CF Cesar Lopez from AA. Lopez was raking down in Kalamazoo, putting up an OPS of 1.099 in 12 games. Lopez has seriously become one of our top prospects this year, and between him and Westphal, I expect our outfield to be looking very different in a couple years. In a good way.

[LocalRock]

5/15: Unfortunately, facing Atlanta ace Bill McCormick, we are unable to pick up the sweep, picking up just 4 hits in a 5-0 loss that saw Taylor Martinez get bounced after surrendering 5 runs in 3.2, including 4 runs in the fourth. (11-14)

In Triple-A, SP Jonathan Krebs is suffering from back spasms that will keep him DtD for a week.

Today is also the Single-A Opening Day, and our Burbank Bruins will face the New York Empire’s Single-A affiliate, the Santa Cruz Eagles. With this opening day, we will get to see 3B Carlos Garcia in action. Garcia, a 20 year old Domincan prospect, was recently ranked as the 44th best prospect in the game, and according to Rick, has a 3 star potential, with a very good bat and a strong arm. Last year in 57 games in Puerto Rico, Garcia hit .286/.335/.448 with 4 HRs and 33 runs driven in. In the game today, starter Evan Samuels suffered back tightness and is now listed as DtD for one week.

Off day today as we prepare for a series against the division leading Surf.

Eric Burzinski, the Double-A closer with 3.5 star potential is DtD for 5 days with a pulled abdominal muscle. Simon Hoover was also suspended for 4 games for a fight with an Annapolis Otters (AAA, PIT) player.

5/17-5/19 @ SD (16-9):
Another big series here against the division leading San Diego Surf. The Surf have won 9 of their last 10, and are coming off a series win over Phoenix, 2 games to 3.

5/17: On the mound for us in game 1 is Jose Ramirez and he gets offensive support early in the form of a 2 run shot by Tony Kurtz in the first. A few batter later Petzke would rip a double down the left field line, driving in Bedford and increasing our lead to 3-0. San Diego would cut the lead to 1 on a sac fly in the bottom half of the inning. Our lead was extended back to 3 with a Paul Baker RBI single in the second. That didn’t last long however as in the bottom of the inning, Mark Majors, two-way star, hit a two run shot to make it a 4-3 game. On to the top of the third, and Jonathan Singleton smashes a ball deep to left field and over the wall to make it 5-3. Things finally slow down as the score remain 5-3 through 6. Then, top of the seventh, one down and bases loaded but both Hann and Bowen go down on strikes, and we piss away a great opportunity to put this game out of reach. Ramirez is pulled in favor of Collins in the 7th, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. The score would remain 5-3 until the 9th, when Chris Petzke hit a 2 run shot, to extend the lead to 7-3 for us. Lopes would come in and finish off the ballgame for us as we walk away with the W in the series opener, giving us wins in 4 of our last 5 games. Baker, Singleton, and Bedford all picked up 3 hits for us, as the offense looked legit today. (12-14)

Word came in after this game that Single-A starter Dan Baker will need radial nerve decompression surgery, and is expected to miss the next 4 months.

In other USBL news, the Milwaukee Hops fell to a league worst 6-20 after losing their fifth consecutive game, 6-5 to Colorado. Somehow, they still sit just 5 games out of the top spot in a miserably bad ABL Central, where Minnesota, Detroit, and Cleveland are tied for the top spot at 11-15. Chicago sits in 4th at 10-16.

5/18: Rough one today for the offense, mustering just 3 hits and 4 runs (though just one was earned) as San Diego starter Garret Nalepka went 8 strong with 5 strikeouts. Ortiz pitched alright, 7 hits and 4 runs in 6 innings with just a single strikeout. Schmitz gets credited with a loss after surrendering the go ahead run in the 7th. Gille and Bowen were responsible for the runs with a solo homer and a three run shot respectively, as we fall 5-4. (12-15)

5/19: Well this is more like it! 15 hits from the lineup as everybody 1 through 9 gets at least 1, with each of our 4-9 hitters getting 2 hits. Doyle allowed 5 hits and 4 runs over 6 innings while striking out 2, which was good enough to get credit for his 5th win of the year, as we pick up a 7-4 victory. (13-15)

In this week’s edition of the Power Rankings, we ranked 16th, sandwiched between the also 13-15 New York Titans and St. Louis Archers.

[LocalRock]

5/20 - 5/22 vs BOS (16-12):
We enter this series off 5 wins in our last 7 games, and a series victory over the division leading Surf. We face another division leader here, as the Rebels sit tied with Atlanta atop the NBL East division. The Rebels are on a bit of a skid, losing 4 of their last 5 games, including 2 of 3 against Phoenix. This one will be a test for our pitchers, as the Rebels have superstar 1B Mitch Silverman, who is coming off a season where he led the NBL with a .332 batting average and a .987 OPS. That was accompanied by 38 homers and 117 RBIs. In Game 2 we are expected to face Vinny Escamilla, the former Sentinel who led the league with 17 wins last year and a 2.18 ERA. Should be a fun one to watch.

5/20: Oh dear. Well this one was miserable. We lose 11-3 with the only real bright spot being SIngleton’s 3-4 day as he continues to finally heat up after a dreadful first few weeks. However, the big story here is Oscar Grande, who had been one of our more reliable starters so far, suffered a ruptured UCL in the second, is done for this year, and could potentially miss time next year as well. Absolutely devastating. We have of course placed him on the 60-day IL, and have called up 23 year old right hander Dave Stalker. Stalker spent last season in the bigs, and in 89 innings split between 6 starts and 44 relief appearances had a 5.06 ERA with 78 strikeouts and 31 walks. This year with Newark he has made 4 starts and is 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA with 20 K’s and 15 walks, averaging 7 innings an outing. (13-16)

5/21: Escamilla didn’t start today so looks like I’m watching tomorrow’s game. Instead, it was 28 year old Scott Rome making his first start of the year, going 7.1 and allowing 3 runs (2 earned). On our side, it was Taylor Martinez with a solid outing of his own, going 6 and allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits with 3 K’s. Singleton went 2-5, giving him 5 multi-hit performances in his last 7 games. This one went to extras, and it was George Mees allowing the game losing run after an error led to an RBI squeeze bunt in the top of the 11th. Final: 5-4 loss in 11. (13-17)

5/22: So no Escamilla here either, instead Kyler Wahl makes the start for Boston. For us, we have Jose Ramirez on the mound, trying to avoid the sweep at home. The scoring got kicked off in the bottom of the 2nd on an error by Silverman that allowed Gille to score from 2nd, then an RBI single by Baker, putting us up 2-0 early. 5 shutout innings so far for Ramirez with 5 strikeouts and just one baserunner allowed on a 2nd inning single. He has been dominant so far. Aaaaaand now there’s runners on the corners with nobody out. Why do I ever speak. We retire the next guy but then Robbie Flores takes Ramirez to deep left-center and gone. 3-2 Boston. I jinxed him. Next man up Jim Yoder takes him deep to right. Yikes. 4-2. He’s able to finish off the inning with 2 strikeouts, upping his total to 8 on the day. Olson leaves him in for the 7th, and he’s able to set them down 1-2-3 with his 9th K of the game. On to the bottom half, a leadoff double by Bedford followed by single by Baker and Kurtz makes it a 1 run ballgame. Next man up, Caldwell rips a double down the line to drive in Baker and tie it at 4. After a Hann strikeout and a Petzke IBB, Gille works a 3-0 count and takes a fastball out of the zone to walk and score the go-ahead run. Bowen would then strike out for the third time today, but then Edgar Soto rips a base hit to right. Kurtz would score but Caldwell was thrown out trying for home to end the inning. 6-4 through 7. Doug Morgans came in for the 8th and was able to get us through it allowing just 1 hit. After a scoreless bottom of the 8th, we turned to Dan Schmitz to get his first save of the year. He allowed a leadoff walk, then after retiring the next guy, walked another then gave up a base hit. He forced a flyout to the pinch hitter next and got a groundout to first to end the game. Final: 6-4 win. We avoid the sweep. (14-17).

5/23 - 5/25 @ NAS (10-21): If there’s ever a chance to get back to .500 it’s now. Nashville enters the series on a 4 game skid, winners of just 1 of their last 14 games, and owners of a 4-16 record in May thus far. They have the worst ERA among NBL starters and the 3rd worst bullpen ERA in the NBL as well. As long as our bats don’t die, I think we should have a good chance to sweep, or at worst go 2-1.

Oh, before I start this series, I was sitting on Nashville’s home page, and noticed that their minor league teams are a combined 39-10 right now. I knew they had the top system in baseball, but jeez that is ridiculous. Absolute domination.

[LocalRock]

5/23: Well, we’re not gonna sweep. Nashville starter Jon Ramirez shuts us down, holding us to just 5 hits and 2 runs over 5.1. The offense wasn’t able to do much more once he left, adding just 2 hits, squandering a good start from Ortiz, where he went 6.1 allowing 3 runs on 7 hits. Final: 3-2 loss. (14-18).

5/24: Dave Stalker’s first start of the year here in Nashville trying to save us from dropping the series to the worst team in the NBL. The game was scoreless until an RBI double in the second by catcher Lance Brown put Nashville up 1-0. On to the top of the fourth, where it was Jonathan Singleton getting us on the board with a 2 out solo shot to left, his sixth of the year. The tie would last for just an innings, as a 2-RBI single by RF Brad Flood put Nashville back up 3-1 in the 5th. A few batters later it was LF Jonathan Harper ripping a base hit up the middle to drive in a run and extend the lead to 4-1. The most exciting part of the rest of the game was a nude spectator sprinting onto the field and getting leveled by the first base umpire in the top of the eighth. Final: 5-1 loss. (14-19)

5/25: Well there it is, our first time getting swept this season comes at the hands of the worst team in the NBL (record wise), as we fall 6-3. Ernesto Davalos got the start in this one, and exited in the 4th with a sore thumb that should be healed in a day or two. It was Ruben Ruiz who got stuck with the loss in this one, giving up 3 runs on 2 hits in just an inning of work. The offense was only able to put up 3 runs (1 earned) on 7 hits on 24 year old Nashville starter Adrian Finn. (14-20)

5/26 - 5/28 @ IND (20-14):
The Racers are currently leading the NBL Central by 2 games over Dallas. They enter this series as winners of 4 of their last 5, holding opposing offenses to just 8 runs in those 5 games.

5/26: Taylor Martinez got the start in this one for us and had a very decent start, nothing special, surrendering 4 runs on 5 hits in 6 innings of work along with 6 punch outs. The bullpen team of Morgans, Doyle, and Lopes only gave up 1 hit over the remaining 3 innings, but unfortunately the offense did not show up, picking up just 2 runs thanks to RBI doubles by Hann and Petzke in the 6th and 7th innings respectively, as we dropped our fourth game in a row, 4-2. (14-21)

Weekly Power Rankings were released today and the Sentinels have plummeted down to 27th, an 11 place drop from last week’s. Yeah, losing 6 of 7 will do that for ya huh.

5/27: Jose Ramirez gets the start for the Sentinels in our 36th game of the year, and he is matched up against Indianapolis ace Tim Gibbs, who is 4-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 7 starts (40 innings). In those 7 starts he has struck out 36 and walked 17. Would love to snap the losing streak here.

The scoring opened in the bottom half of the first for us as with bases loaded and 1 down, Caldwell drew a 6 pitch walk to drive in the first run. Next up, Gille ripped a base hit to center to drive in two as Singleton and Kurtz scored from third and second. During Eric Raia’s trip to the plate, Gibbs issued not one, but two wild pitches that moved the runners from 1st and 2nd to 3rd and home, extending the lead to 4-0. That was all we would get for the inning, however, as a Raia fly out turned into two outs with Gille getting caught trying to tag from third.

The score would remain 4-0 until the bottom of the 5th, when after back-to-back walks to Petzke and Singleton (Gibbs’ 6th and 7th of the game btw) opened the inning, Kurtz ripped a double into the left field corner, pushing us ahead 5-0. That would be the game for Gibbs, who did not look like an ace at all in this performance. The runs would continue to be added to his name, however, as a Caldwell sac fly followed by an Eric Raia RBI single would bring us total to 7 runs allowed in 4 innings of work.

Through 5 innings of work, Ramirez has allowed just 1 hit and 3 walks while punching out 6. He has been dominant. This is usually the point where the wheels fall off, especially with their 2-3-4 guys coming up. Let’s see if he can get through unscathed.

A lineup, flyout, single, and lineup (which was a spectacular catch by Gille) later, he has 6 shutout innings of 2 hit ball, and hopefully that’s the day for him as he is at 94 pitches.

We would add on another in the 8th on an Eric Raia solo shot, and one more on a Bedford sac-fly later in the inning. Davalos would finish off the final 3 innings, allowing just 2 baserunners (both walks), and we snap the losing streak in front of 9,743 fans at iHeartMedia Stadium, 9-0. (15-21)

Meanwhile, in AA, I got a notification that Kalamazoo had gotten shut out 11-0, dropping them to 12-13 on the year, which snapped a 4 game win streak. They had won 6 of their last 7. The anti-Sentinels.

5/28: Before I get into the ballgame, the Pittsburgh 57s announced today that their owner, Chris Knowles, passed away of natural causes at the age of 88. His son, 53 year old Chris Knowles Jr, will take over the club. The Sentinels issued a statement on Knowles’ passing: “The San Antonio Sentinels organization is deeply saddened by the passing of Chris Knowles, and we issue our deepest sympathies to the Pittsburgh 57’s organization, along with the Knowles family. Prior to today’s contest against the Indianapolis Racers, we will hold a moment of silence for the family and organization, along with a brief ceremony to remember the life of Chris. We wish the best to everybody affected by his passing.”

Today’s starter was Dan Schmitz, matched up against Racers’ hometown king Jeff Kraemer, who grew up just an hour away from WellPoint field, in Bloomington. Schmitz struggled, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks with 3 K’s over just 4 innings of work, and the hometown hero held us to 1 run over his first 7 innings of work. A slight implosion in the 8th allowed 3 more to come across for us, thanks to a Paul Baker 2 RBI double and a Tony Kurtz RBI single, and make it a 5-4 game, but George Mees surrendered 3 in the top of the ninth, allowing Indianapolis to take the 3 game series, 2-1. Final: 8-4 loss. (15-22)

After the conclusion of tonights game, we designated 1B Vic Tift for assignment, and called up Chris Belz from his rehab assignment. Belz went 20-65 with 1 HR, 9 RBIs, 8 walks, and 14 K’s in 16 games in Newark. He also hit 3 doubles and a triple. Finally Belz will make his 2013 debut with the club after tearing his hamstring during the spring.

We get a day off on Wednesday the 29th and hopefully snap out of this funk we’ve been in, dropping 7 of our last 9.

[darkcloud4579]

Love the longform format!

[LocalRock]

5/30 - 6/1 @ NYT (15-22):
We enter this series as arguably the second coldest team in baseball, and will be facing arguably the coldest team in baseball, as the Titans have won just 1 of their last 8, and sit 6 back of Florida and Atlanta in the East. The Titans are just 13th in the NBL in runs scored this year, averaging 3.76 runs per game. Guess who’s last…

Also, before we get into game 1, I noticed that they have what’s got to be the oldest bullpen I’ve ever seen, with an average age of 34.4 years. Their youngest bullpen arm is Sam Sanchez, who is 32 years and 342 days old.

Oh, one more thing: All Star voting begins today! All Star teams will be announced on July 7th. I went ahead and voted for a few of our more deserving players.

5/30: A 12 inning thriller in the series opener against the Titans. With Carlos Ortiz on the mound, New York jumped out to an early 3-0 lead through the first 2 innings, but those would be the only runs they’d scratch across against him in his 5 innings of work. On the other side it was Kevin Carter starting, last year’s NBL strikeouts leader also leads the league this year with 61 Ks and a K/9 of 11.9, and an ERA of 3.52. He continued to roll against us, going 6 innings allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits and a walk, while striking out 7. Runs were driven in on a 2nd inning double by Cory Hann, an RBI single by Caldwell in the third, and a 2 run shot by Caldwell in the 8th (he went 3-6). Unfortunately, we still fell in the 12th, 5-4. (15-23)

After the conclusion of today’s game the San Antonio Sentinels traded 1B Vic Tift (retaining 100% of his deal) to Phoenix, getting 24 year old AAA 1B/2B Cory Novak in return. Tift had been Designated for Assignment on the 28th. Novak was recently promoted to AAA by the Rattlers, and was 6-17 with 1 double, 4 RBIs, and 2 walks. In 22 AA games he hit .291/.365/.430 with 3 HRs and 14 RBIs, along with 19 K’s and 7 SBs to 2 CS. Novak will continue in AAA for us, platooning with George Johnson.

Novak grades out with 2.5 star potential according to Rick. Very average at the plate, he looks to use his patience at the plate and his speed to his advantage. Also grades out as very average in the field with a poor arm.

Also, injury update from around the league: Makos’ 28 year old starter Alberto Sanchez, who was leading all of baseball with an 0.84 ERA in 7 starts (53.2 IP) was diagnosed with a torn flexor tendon in his elbow and is expected to miss the rest of the season. A devastating blow for a guy who was finally coming into his own over this season and the previous one after a rocky start to his career.

5/31: Coming into this one needing a victory to avoid falling to 9 games under .500, we sent out Dave Stalker to make his second start of the year. His last start on the road in Nashville resulted in a 5-1 loss, as he surrendered 4 runs in 5 innings. He made sure that wouldn’t happen again, and started us off with 7 shutout innings, before a leadoff walk in the top of the 8th ended his day. Our offense came got off to a slow start as well, putting up just 2 runs through the first 6.1 innings, thanks to. However, with 1 down in the 7th and 2 on, Tony Kurtz ripped a line drive 373 feet to right, extending our lead to 5-0. The scoring wouldn’t end there, as an RBI single by Bowen and a 2-RBI double by Edgar Soto would make it a 6 run inning, putting us seemingly out of reach up 8-0. Ernesto Davalos wasn’t going to let it be easy, however, as after Stalker was pulled after the walk, an error by 3B Petzke, walk, and hit by pitch, and single, drove in 2 and kept the bases loaded for Titans’ SS Ryan Pichinte. Pichente took the 1-1 pitch deep to right and 370 feet, giving Davalos 5 ER on the day, ending his afternoon after just a third of an inning. George Mees would record the final two outs and Lopez would close it out with a 1-2-3 9th, and we went on to win 8-6. (16-23) Stalker’s stats for the day: 7 IP, 3 H 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. Beautiful way to bounce back in his second outing.

More updates: First off, Rick sent me our Player Development Update for the month of May. A few notable changes will be listed below:
- Oscar Grande was all positives, as his current movement increased from 45 to 50, current control up fro 50 to 55, and potential control up from 55 to 60. His overall rating also went up to 3 stars.
- Chris Belz’ current contact increased from 40 to 45 and his potential power went up to 50 from 45. His current speed also dropped fro 55 to 50.
- AAA starter Jonathan Krebs’ potential stuff dropped from 45 to 40, and his current stamina dropped from 50 to 45, however his current and potential movement both went up form 60 to 65.
- Recently acquired Cory Novak had both his current contact and potential power increase from 35 to 40.
- AAA 2B Steve Green had his potential eye and current speed from drop 55 to 50.
- AAA OF Cesar Lopez has his potential contact increase from 45 to 50, current power increase from 35 to 40, and potential power increase from 40 to 45.
- A surprise development as AA starter Nelson Chinchilla, who is currently out with a partially torn labrum, had his current stuff increase from 45 to 50, his current stamina increase from 55 to 60, and his current and potential movement increase from 35 to 40. His overall rating went up from 0.5 to 1.5 stars, and his potential rating went up from 1.5 to 2 stars. He is suddenly becoming very interesting once he returns from injury in 3 months.
- AA closer Eric Burzinski continued to improve, as his potential stuff went from 75 to 80, his current movement increased from 50 to 55, potential movement went up from 55 to 60, and his current control increased form 40 to 45.
- 31st overall prospect Roberto Galvan saw his current and potential power drop from 70 to 65, and his current eye increase from 45 to 50. His overall rating went up to 2.5 stars and potential dropped from 3.5 to 3 stars.
- 20th overall prospect John Walzer saw both his potential contact and power drop from 65 to 60.

[LocalRock]

As the month of May comes to a close, we close the month with a record of 11-17 moving us to 16-23 on the year. At the moment we sit tied with San Francisco for last in the West, 7 games behind the division leading, 23-16 San Diego Surf. Our team leaders on offense are:
AVG - Paul Baker (.314)
HRs - Tony Kurtz and Jonathan Singleton (7)
RBI - Tony Kurtz (22)
OBP - Paul Baker (.356)
SLG - Tony Kurtz (.504)
BB - Justin Caldwell (16)
K - Bobby Bowen (45)

note - Brian Bedford did not qualify, as he is just .15 PA/team game played short of the 3.1 required, however he would lead the team in AVG (.317) and OBP (.366).

Also shoutout Jonathan Singleton, who after an abysmal start to the year, hit .288/.324/.510 in May, with 6 HR and 12 runs driven in. Our offense needs him to continue hitting like this into the summer months.

Our best starter thus far was Oscar Grande, until the injury ended his season. Now, I gotta go with Jose Ramirez, who has been settling in a bit, with a 3.73 ERA in 31.1 innings (5 starts), striking out 29 and walking 8. He also had just a .205 BAA and a 0.99 WHIP. Very solid numbers. Our best reliever was clearly Andres Lopez, who had 6 saves in 11 appearances (14.2 IP), with a 1.84 ERA. He blew one save in May.

May Minor League Recap:
AAA Newark Aztecs:
The Aztecs’ finished their first month of the year at 11-18, much due to having clearly the worst offense in the East Coast League, hitting an embarrassing .225 as a team with a .297 OBP, both last. Pitching has been where they have shined, ranking 4th in Starters’ ERA (3.94) and 9th in Bullpen ERA (3.35). The main bright spots for the Aztecs have been starter Jon Rowton, who coming off an injury in his first start, rebounded with a 9.1 inning outing where he allowed just 4 hits and 4 walks, and struck out 10. Why he went 9.1 and threw 137 pitches, I’ll never know, but I’m gonna install a pitch count ASAP. Overall in 21.1 IP over his 3 starts he has allowed just 2 runs and 14 hits, with 21 strikeouts. Gonna have to keep a close eye on the 27 year old lefty.

On the offensive end, their only bright spots have been Simon Hoover and Peter Tyler. Hoover was acquired in a trade with Boston in November of 2012 and is rolling, hitting .313/.352/.475 with 8 RBIs. No homers yet for Hoover, but is he keeps it up we may see a debut in a bit. C Peter Tyler has been a big surprise thus far, hitting .289/.361/.474 with 5 HRs. He may, too, be joining us in San Antonio in the near future, replacing Mike Joyce as backup to Bowen.

AA Kalamazoo Clowns:
The Clowns have been slightly better than the Aztecs, finishing their first month of play at 13-16. That is to be expected from the team that currently has our 3 top prospects. First baseman Roberto Galvan, coming off a historic 2012 campaign where he hit a minor league record 63 home runs in time split between A and AA, had continued to smoke the baseball, even if not at a record pace. Through 28 games, he is slashing .252/.339/.568 with 11 homers and 26 RBIs. He has walked 12 times, but has also struck out 42 times in his 127 PAs (111 ABs). That’s a K% of 33.1, which is the third highest among qualified hitters in the 14 team Great Lakes League (the top-two are at 38.4 and 33.3). Hopefully we can get him up to AAA at some point this year to see how he does against tougher competition.

2B John Walzer, our 3rd ranked prospect, has continued to hit for good average (.318), along with reaching base at a good rate (.361). Combine this with a solid .509 slugging percentage, and you’ve got a pretty good season on your hands. 4 HRs and 17 RBIs for the 22 year old, who enters June on a 15 game hitting streak. Over those 15 games, he has gone 21-60. Obviously, we knew fielding would be an issue for him, and it has continued as such, as he has committed 6 errors already, good for a .952 fielding%. Add on a Zone Rating of -6.0, he almost certainly will be playing DH in the majors. Looking like he’ll probably get the call to AAA later on in the year, as I’d like to see how he hits once this hot streak cools off.

Lastly, COF Tanner Westphal. Easily our top prospect, the number 2 overall selection in last year’s draft, has been as good as advertised in his first month of AA baseball. Easily our best player in the minors, Westphal has slashed .322/.368/.583, with 8 HRs and 24 RBIs. Add on 70-grade speed and an above-average glove, and it’s clear that Westphal projects to be an All-Star at the major league level for years to come. I expect him to be called up to Newark within the next 2 months, more than likely closer to a month as long as production continues.

Not much to comment on the starting rotation for the Clowns, as that is clearly what’s costing them games. They rank 13th of 14 in Starters’ ERA (5.42) and 14th in runs allowed (175). Allowing over 6 runs a game is awful, no matter who you are. The only decent starter has been 24 year old Colin Hasting, who is in his 6th year of professional baseball. Through 6 starts (34.2 IP), he has a 3.89 ERA with 12 walks and 16 punch outs. This is a major improvement from his last season in AA, as he has already matched his WAR from that year despite having pitched less than half the innings (34.2 vs 74.2).

Their best pitcher, however, has clearly been 24 year old reliever Francisco Taveras, who has been very impressive. Through 22.1 innings, he has allowed just 5 runs and struck out 29 hitters, with just 2 walks. He also made one start, which was an impressive CG (104 pitches) where he allowed just 3 hits and 2 runs, along with 7 strikeouts. While he will probably not be starter at the major league level (55 stamina, but 30-grade Movement and Control Potential), it is nice to know we have a solid emergency arm if need be. He has been moved to closer, replacing the struggling Eric Burzinski, who had allowed 11 runs and 19 hits in 8.2 innings.

A Burbank Bruins:
The Bruins began their first half-month of play with a 7-9 record, good enough for 5th in the California League North Division. They have suffered from much of the same issues that Kalamazoo has, ranking 4th in team AVG (.283), 5th in runs scored (94) and 6th in OPS (.776), but 8th in Starters’ ERA (5.05), 12th in Bullpen ERA (6.04), and 12th in runs allowed (111). If I had to find a single bright spot in the pitching, it’s 23 year old starter Ted York, who despite a 5.40 ERA through 20 innings, has struck out 21 batters and walked 5. Also, only 22 hits allowed with a .298 BABIP isn’t horrendous, so assuming he can limit the long balls, maybe he can even things out. The offense, on the other hand, has been rolling, with contributions from all over. The top hitter has been 24 year old catcher Steve Goetz, who is 16-48 with 4 HRs, 4 doubles, and 8 RBIs in 13 games. The only issue has been strikeouts, but 50 plate appearances is too small a sample size to worry about anything.

RL PRSL Sentinels: Their season begins in a little under 2 weeks, on the 11th on the road against the PRSL Makos.

[LocalRock]

San Antonio and Newark Rosters and Stats:

[LocalRock]

Kalamazoo and Burbank Rosters and Stats:

[LocalRock]

Also, I realize the roster shows Brian Bedford as not a starter. Our manager refuses to start him regularly so I have forced him to start, it doesn't show up but he is getting starts almost daily.

[LocalRock]

6/1: We entered the rubber match of this series facing rookie starter Willie Villanueva, a 24 year old righty who was a 10th round (294th overall) selection in the 2010 USBL Draft. He enters the game off back-to-back quality starts, in each of which he earned Player of the Game honors. On the year he has a 3.43 ERA with 37 punch outs in 42.0 IP.

We sent Jose Ramirez out to try to secure the series victory, and coming off a 6 inning shutout performance, he gave us another beautiful outing, allowing just 5 hits and 3 walks with 4 Ks and no runs through 6.1. Unfortunately, Villanueva held our offense in check, allowing just 4 hits, and one unearned run to cross in 6 innings of work. The bullpen did us in, unfortunately, as Greg Doyle surrendered the game tying run in the eighth, and it was Dan Schmitz who allowed the game-losing run, a walk off solo shot by Titans’ 1B Adam Ososki to lead off the 10th, as we dropped the series finale 2-1. (16-24)

6/2 - 6/4 vs PHX (23-17): A quarter of the way into the year, we enter a 3 game set against our division rival Phoenix Rattlers, who are currently tied for first with San Diego at 23-17. They are currently on a 5 game win streak, taking the final 2 from the Titans then sweeping Baltimore in 3. Last time we faced them was back in late April, when they took 2 of 3. Offensively, the snakes are led by 33 year old second baseman Gabe Vasquez, who is slashing .324/.367/.614 with 12 homers, 31 RBIs, and 8 stolen bases through the first 40 games of the year. On May 17th, the 2010 NBL MVP hit his 300th career home run, a 2 run shot against the Boston Rebels. Their pitching staff currently ranks 2nd in Starters’ ERA, 6th in Bullpen ERA, and 6th in FIP. They have allowed the fewest runs in the NBL thus far. This will be a touch matchup for our offense, that ranks last in runs scored this season.

6/2: Opening game of the series we face off against ace Erik Rios, who enters with a 3-2 record and a 2.50 ERA in 8 starts (57.2 IP). Last years NBL leader in innings pitched, HR/9, and WAR, has been dominant once again this year, after being rewarded with a 5 year/$73.2 million contract in the offseason.

It was an outright dominant day from both Rios and Taylor Martinez, as the offenses combined for just 8 hits and a single run the entire game. The lone run was an unearned run scored off a first inning error. Martinez went 7 innings, allowing just 1 hit and 3 walks, striking out 4, as we came away with the win over the potential NBL Pitcher of the year, 1-0. (17-24)

In injury news, Kalamazoo SS Orlando Estrada has been placed on the Injured List after suffering a fractured thumb in the club’s 6-4 10 inning win over the Seals’ Brooklyn Park Badgers. The 24 year old, who was slashing .319/.361/.341 over 99 PAs, is expected to miss the next 5 to 6 weeks. To fill the hole left, we have promoted 24 year old 2B Paul Kibbe from Single-A Burbank. in 17 games (61 PAs), Kibbe was 17-58 with 3 walks and 11 Ks, along with a homer and 9 RBIs. Though not projecting to be a solid hitter and any level, Kibbe has a solid glove with an elite arm and has strong defensive capabilities, along with 65-grade speed.

An in-division trade was struck between California and San Diego, with the Surf sending platoon catcher Tyler Turnbow to California, along with the 93rd overall prospect 21 year old LF Jorge Medrano, and $660,000 in exchange for 26 year old minor league reliever Tom Lamont, who was for some reason playing in AA despite appearing to be USBL-ready, along with 24 year old minor league starter Rob Jarrett, who was also playing in AA. Interesting deal for San Diego, who looks to fix the worst bullpen in baseball, but at the cost of a top-100 prospect. And for a guy who has never even touched a big league field? I don’t get it, but that’s why they’re leading the division and we’re in a 3-way tie for last.

[LocalRock]

I apologize to anybody who cared about this lol, things got really busy over the last few months and had no time for this...should be back to posting daily however as things have cooled off.

[LocalRock]

Clumsy Central: The ABL Central continued to prove the anti-division folks out there happy, as the division leading Chicago Wind Sox dropped their third consecutive, falling to a pitiful 19-22. With the entire division currently below .500 a quarter of the way through the season, we've gotta ask ourselves, do we need an overhaul of the current playoff system?

An American Battle: The Philadelphia Liberty and the New York Empire each won yesterday, improving to 28-13 and 27-14 respectively, with New York 6 games up on 3rd place Pittsburgh. The ABL East looks like a lock to be decided between these 2 yet again. They have finished 1 and 2 three of the last four seasons.

Triple Crown Potential?: San Diego starter Garrett Nalepka has been dominant to start the year. The 33 year old currently sits top-2 in ERA, Wins, and Strikeouts. With current ERA leader Alberto Sanchez done for the year with a torn flexor tendon, Nalepka has a clear shot to leading 2 of the 3 major categories. Though it is certainly way too soon to crown him, it’s definitely exciting to keep watch.

Stay tuned for next month’s edition of Around the USBL, dropping on the first Monday of the month.

[LocalRock]

6/3: Game 2 of the series has us sending out rookie Chris Collins, making just his second career start and his 15th career appearance overall. His last start came back on April 24 against this very same team, in which he lasted 6.2 allowing 3 runs (1 earned) on 9 hits and 2 walks. He has been very solid with a 2.81 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP over 25 innings.

On the mound of Phoenix is 25 year old lefty Scott Majewski. Majewski has begun the season on a tear, going 4-0 with a 0.64 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP through his first 4 starts (28 innings) after beginning the year with AAA Vancouver. Add 36 punch outs to that line and you can tell our struggling offense will have its hands full today.

The scoring opened in the first with both teams putting up a run on RBI groundouts by Vasquez and Baker, then an RBI singer by Jonathan Singleton put us up 2-1 in the opening frame. Phoenix responded quickly however, as an RBI double by 37 year old catcher Angel Mijares scored DH Brian Carter, knotting the game at 2. The Rattlers continued scoring steadily, as Vasquez upped his RBI total to 2 with a solo shot to right in the third. They added another later in the inning on an RBI single by Carter.

Another run would score in the 4th on an RBI single by, guess who, Vasquez, extending the lead to 5-2 and ending Collins’ day after a rough outing.

Majewski would settle in nicely after his shaky first, and last 8 innings allowing just 3 more hits, and one more run after a walk to lead off the ninth was followed up by a Mike Joyce homer moments later. That would be all she wrote for the Sentinels, however, as 8th inning runs had increased the Rattlers’ total to 7, and they walked away with a 7-4 loss. (17-25)

6/4: Hitting was the story of the rubber match of the series against our division rivals, as both teams combined for 30 total hits. Neither starter did well, as our Carlos Ortiz lasted just 3.1, allowing 5 runs on 11 hits with just 2 strikeouts. Chris Gomez got the start for Phoenix, and he lasted just an inning longer, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits with 2 walks. Our bullpen showed they were up to the task, as Davalos, Morgans, Mees, and Lopez combined for 5.2 innings of shutout, 6 hit baseball, and 4 strikeouts. Our offense would tack on two more runs later in the game as we walked away with the series victory, with a 7-5 win in this one. Caldwell (8), Singleton (7), and Kurtz (8) all homered in this one. (18-25)