Baseball in Fort Wayne

Pauley to M’s, Padres Invite Several Former Wizards/TinCaps

By Chad Gramling | February 14, 2010

Random notes and signings involving Fort Wayne players and other local ties:

Former Wizard, David Pauley has signed a minor league deal with the Mariners. The 26-year-old spent 2009 in the Orioles system, posting a 4.37 ERA in 152.1 Triple-A innings. (h/t MLBTradeRumors)

The Padres have invited a slew of former WizCaps to spring training, including; Simon Castro, Ernesto Freiri, Mat Latos, Jackson Quezada, Wynn Pelzer, Wade LeBlanc, Steve Garrison, Cory Luebke, Mitch Canham, James Darnell, Lance Zawadzki, Matt Antonelli, Kyle Blanks, Luis Durango, Chad Huffman, and Will Venable. I don’t think this is an all inclusive list. You’ll also note that Michael Ekstrom and Greg Burke are on the list. Neither are with San Diego any longer. Ekstrom was snatched by the Rays off waivers and Burke has been placed on unconditional waivers and will likely be claimed or become a free agent.

Topics: Alumni, TinCaps Alumni | No Comments »

Rays Add Former Former Wizards, Furmaniak and Ekstrom

By Chad Gramling | February 13, 2010

Among the players competing for jobs with the Tampa Bay Rays this season will be former Fort Wayne Wizards, Michael Ekstrom and J.J. Furmaniak.

Ekstrom was claimed off waivers from the Padres who designated him for assigmnent to make room for John Garland. The 26-year-old right-hander made his Major League debut back in September of 2008. He logged 18.3-innings in his twelver games of MLB action last year. While at Triple-A Portland, he had a 1.73 ERA over 62.3 innings.

While with the Wizards in 2005, Ekstrom went 13-6 with a 3.70 ERA and 112 strikeouts over 167.2 innings pitched. He also appeared in 3 games with the Wizards in 2004. He was 0-2.

Furmaniak has 29 games of MLB experience under his belt, seeing time with the A’s and Pirates. While withthe Pirates in 2005, he experienced a “Field of Dreams moment” when he descretely sprinkled some of his grandfather’s ashes on the Wrigley field ivy. He also place with Yokohama of hte Japanese Central League in 2008 before returning to the US as a Phillies farmhand in 2009.

With the Wizards in 2001, Furmaniak appeared in 123 games, hitting .220 with five dingers and 35 RBI.

Topics: Alumni | No Comments »

BoSox Sign Ray Chang to MiLB Deal

By Chad Gramling | January 24, 2010

Former Fort Wayne Wizard and most recently a Pittsburgh Pirates’ farmhand, Ray Chang has signed a Minor League deal with the Boston Red Sox. He’ll probably play at Triple-A Pawtucket.

Related Ray Chang posts at BBIFW:

Topics: Alumni | No Comments »

IIT Alum, Josh Judy Turning Heads in Tribe System

By Chad Gramling | January 17, 2010

One Fort Wayne related player I have enjoyed following the last couple years is Josh Judy, a West Virginia native who played his college ball at Indiana Institute of Technology. IIT is hardly known as a hotbed of Major League talent, so the fact that he was drafted in the 34th round of the 2007 Amateur Draft was a bit of a surprise to many.

A two-time NAIA All-America, Judy posted an 8-1 record with a 1.63 earned run average and 84 strikeouts in 2007 before being selected as the 1034th overall pick by Cleveland.

But Judy didn’t remain in relative obscurity for long. Now, he ranks among the Tribe’s top prospects.

The latest stop on Judy’s get-to-know-me tour was the Arizona Fall League. In 11 relief appearances for the Peoria Saguaros, he went 2-2 with a 1.59 and 20 strikeouts. He gave up 13 hits in 17 innings . . . he went 12-1 and struck out 80 in 74-1/3 innings in 35 appearances for Class A Lake County. He also pitched seven games for Kinston (14 innings, 17 strikeouts).

Related BBIFW Josh Judy Posts:

Topics: Local Ties | No Comments »

Eric Sogard, Kouzmanoff Traded to Oakland

By Chad Gramling | January 16, 2010

Here’s an interesting one. The Oakland A’s acquired Kevin Kousmanoff and former Fort Wayne Wizard Eric Sogard for former Padre Scott Hairston and Aaron Cunningham.

Sogard is seen as a Todd Walker type hitter that lacks range defensively but is gap-hitter with great contact rates.

Sogard, a former second round pick out of Arizona State, hit .253 with two home runs and 15 RBI in 22 games with the Wizards in 2007. He should fit in well with Oakland becuase he does not strike out a lot. In 2008, with Lake Elsinore, Sogard struck out just 62 times in 536 at-bats. Last season, Sogard hit .293 with Double-A San Antonio and wiffed just 47 times in 457 at–bats.

Sogard, a second baseman, was idling on the Padres’ depth chart behind another former Wizard, Matt Antonelli, who held the position at Triple-A Portland. Somewhat ironically, Kevin Kousmanoff was originally acquired by San Diego in a 2006 trade for former Padres second baseman Josh Barfield.

The trade should also see former Wizard Chase Headley return to third base. As Friar Forecast points out:

With Chase Headley on the roster, the Padres had two third baseman, but were forcing one (Headley) to masquerade as a left-fielder. Not surprisingly, Headley’s fielding was a major liability and zapped much of his value. In the minors, Headley was considered an average fielding third baseman, and in the majors Headley has shown to be no worse than an average hitter. In replacing Kouz with Headley at third, the Padres essentially break even.

Topics: Alumni | 1 Comment »

This Week on Talkin’ Sports with Jim Shovlin

By Chad Gramling | January 16, 2010

Join us Saturday morning at 9:00 for Talkin’ Sports. IPFW does indeed have a hockey team and they are currently 14-2-1 on the season. We’ll talk with IPFW player Chris Treft about a home game coming up Saturday at McMillen Park Ice Arena. We’ll also talk local college basketball with University of St. Francis Mens coach Jeff Reckeweg as his Cougars prepare for a run at the conference crown. We’ll also be checking in with Komets President Michael Franke in our weekly Komets update as the K’s have another 3-game weekend of International Hockey League games.
We’ll be naming our PSI/One Eleven Design Athlete of the Week in the 4th Quarter of the show.

Any athlete (youth, adult, high school, collegiate, neighbor) can be a PSI/One Eleven Design Athlete of the Week. Nominations for the PSI/One Eleven Design Athlete of the Week can be submitted to this e-mail address or: jim@wowo.com.

Topics: Talkin' Sports | No Comments »

Fort Fragments: Former Wizards Player Movement

By Chad Gramling | January 12, 2010

Playing a little catch up on some Fort Wayne and Northeast Indiana related notes:

Add LaTroy Hawkins to the Brewers’ roster of growing former Fort Wayne players. He’s signed to a two-year deal, joining him with Luis Cruz and George Kottaras, who joined Milwuakee earlier this off-season. Reportedly, he wanted to return to Houston, but wouldn’t settle for a one-year deal.

Luke Carlin has signed a Minor League deal with the Pirates. “Carlin, 29, hit .321/.430/.481 for the D’Backs’ Triple A club. They still chose to outright him in early December.”

The Dodgers signed free-agent outfielder Michael Restovich to Minor League contract with an invitation to Major League Spring Training. The 31-year-old has played parts of six Major League seasons, most recently with Washington in 2007. He spent last season with the Triple-A Charlotte, slugging 21 homers.

The Twins have added right-handed reliever Clay Condrey to a one-year contract for the 2010 season. The 34-year-old became a free agent after he was non-tendered by the Phillies on December 12. In 2009, he went 6-2 with a 3.00 ERA in 45 relief appearances.

The Colorado Rockies have brought right-hander Juan Rincon back, signing him to a Minor League deal that calls for an $800,000 salary if he hits the big leagues. Rincon also got an invite to spring training.

Jon Link has gone to the Dodgers as part of the Juan Pierre trade. Link was 1-2 with a 3.99 ERA and 13 saves in 48 games at Triple-A Charlotte in 2009. He was acquired by the Sox in 2007 season in a trade with San Diego for Rob Mackowiak.

Topics: Alumni | No Comments »

Wedge to be Among NEIBA Hall of Fame Honorees

By Chad Gramling | January 5, 2010

The Northeast Indiana Baseball Association Hall of Fame will induct four new members during an awards banquet on January 29, 2010 beginning at 6:30PM at the Allen County Public Library. The four honorees will be:

Eric Wedge (Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians)
Keith Shepherd (Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles)
Gerry Tilker (35-year Wildcat official, FWUA Umpire)
Thomas Pillars (1928 St. Louis Cardinals, Monroeville Little League Coach and Organizer)

Pillars honor is being given posthumously and family members will be on hand to accept on his behalf. Wedge will also serve as the evening’s keynote speaker. In addition to the new HOF honors, NEIBA will also present the Bob Parker Memorial Award, given to individuals who go above and beyond to be promoters and ambassadors of the game of baseball on the local level, and the Colin Lister Award, which is given to individuals who demonstrate commitments to local youth league organization and development.

The Bob Parker Award will be presented to Dona Schaefer (Fort Wayne Daisies and AAGPBL supporter/activist and Fort Wayne Turners). The Colin Lister Award will be presented to Chuck Itt (Wallen Baseball player, coach and leader) and to Dan Eash (player and founder of the Fort Wayne Men’s’ Senior Baseball League). Tickets to the event are $25 and parking is free. Tickets must be ordered by January 24th.

They are available at Sports Center, Inc. (5511 Coventry Lane – Fort Wayne), via mail NEIBA, PO Box 40224; Fort Wayne, IN 46804 or on NEIBAseball.org (click here to request your tickets).

Topics: NEIBA | No Comments »

TinCaps Take Top Honors in Minor League Baseball

By Chad Gramling | December 28, 2009

The honors keep coming for the Fort Wayne TinCaps; recently being named MiLB.com’s Team of the Year. The Midwest League champion won a record 101 games in 2009 and beat out Triple-A Durham, Double-A Akron and Advanced-A San Jose for the overall Team of the Year award.

“Nobody could’ve dreamed for a better opening to Parkview Field in 2009 and our team on the field was a big part of that,” TinCaps President Mike Nutter said. “The guys went out and won more games than anybody in the minors this year. They were talented players but the team chemistry was what put them on another level. We can’t thank the San Diego Padres enough for their support.”

In all, the TinCaps broke sixteen franchise records, including wins in a regular season (94) and wins in a half-season (49) and longest winning streak when they opened the season with 10 straight wins.

Additional honors on the season included infielder, James Darnell and right hander Simon Castro being named Padres’ Minor-League Player and Pitcher of the year while Manager Doug Dascenzo won the Padres’ award for top player development staffer. The TinCaps’ front-office staff also received the Midwest League President’s Trophy.

Topics: Midwest League, TinCaps | No Comments »

Yes, This Blog Still Exists and I Will Update

By Chad Gramling | December 28, 2009

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and you are looking forward to an exciting New Year. You have probably noticed that I have not been updating BBIFW much lately. There are several reasons for that, but let me first tell you that I have no plans to “pull the plug” and am looking forward to another great year here at BBIFW.

The 2009 season quite frankly wore me out. While it was great to follow the TinCaps’ success, as a Cubs fan, I pretty much lost a lot of joy for the game last season. At the same time, my family added a member (bringing our household to five), and things got kicked up a notch in both my career and my walk with God. As those things competed for my time, BBIFW became the unfortunate sacrifice.

I have no idea what 2010 will bring, but my priorities remain firm. I’ll continue to update as it seems appropriate and time allows. In the meantime, thank you for your loyal following and passion for Baseball in Fort Wayne and Northeast Indiana.

Topics: Baseclearing | No Comments »

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