Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for April, 2008

So, I am on my way home from the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds game on Thursday. I’m a little bummed that the Reds busted out a rare win and took it to the Cubs pretty much all day, and I’m not looking too forward to the long train ride and drive home. So, I’m sitting on the Red Line and what do I see? AJ Pierzynski taunting fans!

Okay, so it wasn’t the real Pierzynski. Rather, it was an ad of the White Sox (and former Wizards) catcher holding up a sign that reads “Hey Fanna Fanna Fanna.” In some fashion, it’s a collaborative effort of the CTA and the Chicago White Sox to promote their mutual interests. I couldn’t find any further info on the campaing on-line. However, as I looked around, I saw other White Sox players holding similar messages on their signs.

Pretty clever. Effective? I don’t know. But clever indeed.

Outfielder Danny Payne joined the Fort Wayne Wizards today while outfielder Angel Mercado has been sent the disabled list, the San Diego Padres announced prior to a six-game Wizards homestand.

Payne was selected by the Padres in the supplemental first round, 64th overall, of the 2007 draft out of Georgia Tech. He spent most of that season with the Eugene Emeralds, hitting .279 with eight doubles, three triples, 21 runs batted in, 17 stolen bases and a league-best 53 walks. Payne appeared in two games with the Wizards at the end of 2007.

Payne was a two-year starter at Georgia Tech, batting leadoff and starting in centerfield. He was a pre-season candidate for the Brooks Wallace Award, the college baseball player of the year and a pre-season second team All-America. In 2006, Payne was a member of the first-team All-ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference), leading the Yellow Jackets with a .356 batting average, along with 11 home runs, 14 doubles, 44 RBI and 20 stolen bases.

Mercado has appeared in 10 games, mainly as the designated hitter, hitting .250 with one double, one home run (which came on Opening Night) and has nine runs batted in.

When LaTroy Hawkins came to the New York Yankees, he reported to Spring Training and wore number 22. Then, Morgan Ensberg – who was randomly given number 21 as a non-roster invitee – willingly forfeited number 21. Hawkins saw an opportunity to honor an international hero; Yankees fans saw an opportunity to be idiots (IMHO):

Hawkins eagerly accepted No. 21 as a tribute to Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente but quickly learned that a pinstriped No. 21 has other meanings for Yankees fans. Unaware he was donning a number that had not been worn since O’Neill retired following the 2001 World Series, Hawkins was booed when introduced on Opening Day at Yankee Stadium. Fans chanted “Paul O’Neill” during one of his appearances in the Bronx [source: MLB.com].

Hawkins was urged by Mariano Rivera, Derek Jeter and other Yankees players to forget the number because of the “headaches” it caused.

Hawkins will wear No. 22, last worn by Roger Clemens, when the Yankees take the field on Wednesday. He had said that he would be interested in wearing No. 42 on Tuesday as a tribute to Jackie Robinson, but declined to change his number for the game against the Rays.

Hawkins also has a yellow “Retire 21″ sticker from retire21.org on the side of his locker [source: ESPN.com].

Members of the Ft. Wayne Flash will visit the show Saturday morning before heading to Dayton to take on the Diamonds in the National Womens Football Association opener for both teams. The Flash will also discuss their association with Special Olympics in Fort Wayne.

We’ll also hear from Tom Rehm, Founder of the Nancy Rehm Border Wars, pitting the best high school boys and girls basketball teams from Indiana and Ohio, which will take place Saturday April 26th at Indiana Tech.

Poll Question: In IHSAA varsity baseball this week, Dugger beat Eminence 53-0, scoring 50 runs in the first two innings. Should the Dugger Coach be disciplined for running up the score or applauded for setting state records?</blockquote>

E-mail a reply or voice your opinion Saturday morning from 10-11 A.M on Talkin’ Sports on FM Talk 100, 100.1 FM.

We’ll also recap the Komets/Muskegon Game 1 of the Turner Cup Playoffs, give the scores and take your calls.

We’re Talkin’ Sports Saturday morning at 10 A.M on FM Talk 100, 100.1 FM.

Matt Latos, who signed for $1.25 million with the Padres last May, has recovered from shoulder soreness. The Padres will keep him in extended spring training and then he is expected to report to the Wizards. “He threw a lot of pitches” in two innings Thursday, said Grady Fuson, vice president of scouting and development. [source: SignOnSanDiego]

Intentional Blog On Balls has a nice look at Justin Germano.

Michael Cuddyer looks to return on Sunday. He dislocated his finger on April 4 when he slid headfirst into third base and collided with Royals third baseman Alex Gordon.

Asdrubal Cabrera’s struggles have dropped him from the second spot in the order down to number seven. Josh Barfield is at Triple-A Buffalo and would love to take his job back. But after a hot start, he’s hitting just .175 in his last ten games, including an 0-13 streak in his last three games.

Former Wizards catcher, George Kottaras had a career game for Triple-A Pawtucket (Boston). “The former Olympian hit a pair of homers and drove in a season-high five runs as the Pawtucket Red Sox beat the Louisville Bats, 8-2, at Louisville Slugger Field to earn a split of Monday’s doubleheader.” Kottaras was selected by San Diego Padres in 20th Round (595 overall) of the 2002 draft and played in Fort Wayne in 2004 where he produced the highest batting average of his minor league career (.310) over 271 at-bats. He was traded to Boston in 2006 as the “player to be named later” to complete the David Wells trade.

Today, Jackie Robinson’s number 42 is temporarily unretired in Major League Baseball. Commissioner Bud Selig proclaimed the action for the second consecutive year as Major League Baseball celebrates the anniversary of Jackie Robinson breaking its color barrier. Any Major League player may wear the late Hall of Famer’s famous No. 42 in action on Tuesday.

The Dodgers, Angels, A’s, Pirates, Cardinals, Rays, Rangers and Nationals will take the field waring Robinson’s number. Included in that group are local tie, Rob Bowen and former Wizards Luis Rivas and Torii Hunter.

Hunter, spreads the Robinson message to youth wherever he travels.

“I talk to kids in the neighborhood,” Hunter said, “and they’ll say, ‘Baseball’s a white sport; I’m into the NBA.’ I ask them if they know about Jackie Robinson, and they say, ‘Yeah, heard of him.’ What about Hank Aaron? They’ll get this look and say, ‘Who’s he?’

“Man, that kills me. Our kids have lost touch with our history, our heritage. They don’t know we had our own league, the Negro League, with all those great players. Something’s got to be done. You have to start somewhere: reach one kid, two kids. All you can do is your part. That’s something I would love for the players to do. This is definitely a big issue.” [source: MLB.com]

In addition to the full teams donning number 42, several individual players have chosen to join the celebration. Among them is former Wizards, LaTroy Hawkins.

“I was a kid and my grandfather used to tell me how Jackie was the first African-American to break into the Major Leagues,” Hawkins said. “My grandfather watched him in the Negro Leagues and said he wasn’t the best player on the field, but he was the best player to deal with what he had to deal with.

“The thing that impresses me the most about what Jackie did was keeping his composure. It wasn’t just on the field — it was off the field, too. He had players going after him at second base and guys yelling racial slurs. All the while, he was separated from his teammates [on the road]. That must have been the hardest thing” [source: MLB.com]

The New York Yankees saw their primary backup catcher, Jose Molina injure his left hamstring during last night’s game. Molina had been filling in for starting catcher, Jorge Posada who is dealing with injury woes of his own. The two injuries could land a call-up for former Wizards catcher, Chad Moeller.

Molina had to come out of the game in the eighth inning for pinch-runner Wilson Betemit as the Yanks’ tried to mount a rally against the rival Boston Red Sox.

The Yankees will make a roster move to bring in another catcher for Monday’s game at Tampa Bay — likely Triple-A backstop Chad Moeller — but have not yet decided if Molina will need to go on the 15-day disabled list [Souorce: MLB.com].

Moeller, 33, was the subject of a handful of similar stories this spring that praised him as the classic veteran catcher who is content to fill the desired role.

Moeller has been in this situation before. He’s not going to be a starter in New York, but the Yankees want him around to fill in if need be . . . It means I’ve been doing it a while,” Moeller said. “For me it’s a good thing. It means they haven’t told me to go home yet. Situations are always out there and you have to find the one that fits. This one, it seems to fit so far. I don’t know how it’s going to play out and I don’t have to. I don’t know where I’ll be at the end of the season . . . you just don’t know where you’re going to be and you just go out and try to do the best you can.” [source: The Citizens Voice]

Moeller, the eight-year major league veteran has a .224 career average, but a .282 average in the minors.

Moeller was selected by Minnesota Twins in the 7th Round (187 overall) of the 1996 draft. While in Fort Wayne during the Wizards 1997 season, the backstop hit .289 with a .386 on base percentage. He scored 58 runs with 111 hits in 384 at-bats. He also had 9 home runs and 39 runs batted in while swiping 11 bases and drawing 48 walks.

He’s spent time in the big leagues every year since his debut in 2000, including time with the Dodgers and Reds last season. He has also been on the Major League roster of the Diamondbacks and Brewers.

UPDATE: As expected, the Yankees called up Moeller, who was inserted in the Yankees’ lineup on Monday, making his New York Yankees debut. “I just never know,” Moeller said. “I just thank the Lord every day that I get to do something I enjoy and as long as he wants me to keep doing it, I’m just going to keep going. When my body says stop, it’ll probably be a clear answer.” In four at-bats, he had a hit, a run and two strike-outs.

The Newark Bears Professional Baseball Club announced today that they have signed former Wizards, JJ Trujillo and Brian Burgamy, to contracts for the 2008 season.

The 32 year-old Trujillo was a member of the Bears’ championship-winning team of a year ago. He appeared in 10 games, tossing scoreless ball in each contest, at the beginning of the season before having his contract purchased by the Philadelphia Phillies organization. In the Phillies chain, Trujillo appeared in 24 games at Double-A Reading and Single-A Clearwater, posting a 4-1 record with a 3.13 ERA. He returned to the Bears after helping Clearwater win the Florida State League championship, pitched in 2 more scoreless regular season games with Newark, and then helped the Bears capture the Atlantic League crown [source: Newark Bears]

Trujillo is one of my all-time favorite Wizards. He signed with the Padres as a free agent in 1999. In 2000, he saved 42 games for the Wizards to set the Midwest League single season saves record (a record he still holds) and taking the Rolaids’ Relief Man Championship award. Read more about Trujillo on page 63 of Baseball in Fort Wayne.

The 26 year-old Burgamy comes to the Bears after spending last year in the Phillies organization, splitting the season as a teammate of Trujillo’s at both Double-A Reading and Single-A Clearwater. The switch-hitting outfielder equaled his career-high by hitting 13 home runs in 2007, and he drove in 51 runs, surpassing 50 RBI for the 3rd time in his six-year career.

Burgamy was originally selected in the 9th round of the 2002 draft by the San Diego Padres. He appeared with the Wizards in 2003 and 2004, where he had over 500 at-bats, collecting 115 hits 4 home runs, 39 runs batted in and 20 stolen bases. He has a career .248 minor league batting average.

Last February, Matt LeCroy signed with the Oakland A’s following Jeremy Brown’s sudden retirement. The A’s offered the catcher and first baseman a spot on their Triple-A squad, but LeCroy turned it down to play in the Atlantic League for the Lancaster Barnstormers.

“We’re very excited to have him in the middle of our lineup,” manager Von Hayes [a former Major Leaguer who also previously managed in the Midwest League] said. “He’s a proven power hitter, somebody who obviously should do very well in this league. He still has quite a few years left to play.” [Source: Lancaster Online]

LeCroy was selected in the first round (50th overall) by the Minnesota Twins of the 1997 draft. While a member of the Wizards in 1998, he appeared in 64 games. He hit .276 with 9 home runs and 40 runs batted in and drawing 34 walks over 225 at-bats. LeCroy made his big league debut with the Twins in 2000 and played them until signing with Washington as a free agent prior to the 2006 season.

Photo is courtesy of the Fort Wayne Wizards

The Calvin College Knights are off to their best start in the baseball program’s history. With a 17-2 record, senior and Fort Wayne native, Kyle Fletcher is looking to put the 46-65 record of the last three years behind him.

Calvin, led by first-year coach John Sparks, is ranked 23rd in NCAA Division III for its first top 25 rating. The Knights’ only setbacks were against Division III William Paterson (N.J.) in Arizona after an 8-0 start, and this week against Grand Valley State, the No. 10 team in Division II, after another eight-game winning streak. [source: mLive.com]

The catcher has a .397 batting average with six doubles and 18 runs batted in.