Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for May, 2008

Note: This article also appears at DugoutCentral.

In my fantasy draft, I selected Yankees’ pitcher Joba Chamberlain knowing that he might or might not split time between reliever and starter this season. I am in a league that has a holds category, so I was delighted when he started the season in the bullpen. But now that the Yankees have announced he is joining the starting rotation, I am scrambling to figure out who will fill the very large void that it creates in the set-up spot.

The current depth chart in the bullpen boasts of the youthful Edwar Ramirez, Jose Veras, the recently recalled Chris Britton, the unpredictable Kyle Farnsworth and the experienced LaTroy Hawkins. Most of what I have read and heard suggests that Farnsworth will get first crack at the spot because of his supposed resurgent season (and possibly his personal relationship with skipper Joe Girardi). I’ve also heard one analyst suggest that Ramirez will ultimately win the role. But of all the relievers, only Latroy Hawkins has a valid case. Sure, he has had some struggles over the last couple years but that should not disqualify his earlier track record and experience.

He signed with the Chicago Cubs in 2004 as a free agent and was coming off an impressive stint with the Minnesota Twins that saw him dominate as one of the most reliable set-up men in all of Major League Baseball. At the time, it was no secret that Hawkins’ preference was to remain a setup man. The Cubs obliged and put him in that role where he did quite well as the eighth inning bridge to then-closer Joe Borowski.

“Joe is the closer here in Chicago,” Hawkins said at the time of his signing. “I came in to help him accomplish that. I came in to get the ball to Joe. That’s my job. “

With the Cubs in 2004, Hawkins was 5-4 with a 2.63 ERA and 25 saves over 82 innings pitched. That year, he gave up 24 runs and struck out 69. The year before, with the Twins, he had a 9-3 record and a 1.86 ERA while giving up just 16 earned runs over 77.1 innings pitched.

But, when Borowski went down, Hawkins was the in-house option to take over. He was converted to a closer late in 2004 and began 2005 as the Cubs’ only option. Hawkins struggled and the Cubs faithful turned on him – as they have on so many quality players. The right hander has never been quite the same. Hawkins was traded to the Baltimore Orioles where he played the 2006 season before signing with Colorado.

With the Rockies, he went 2-5 with a 3.42 ERA. He had five post-season appearances in which he allowed just one run and one hit over five innings. After Colorado declined their 2008 option, Hawkins signed with the Yankees where he is off to a rough start. In the 2008 campaign, Hawkins is 1-1 with a 6.75 earned run average over 24 innings in 20 games. He’s given up 18 runs on 25 hits and 11 walks while striking out 15. He also blew his only save opportunity.

In addition to his gruesome stats, he’s experienced other on-field drama. He was suspended for three games and fined $2,000 by Major League Baseball, who claims that he intentionally threw at Baltimore’s Luke Scott in the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium on May 20th. He is currently appealing it through the MLB Players Association.

However, what most fans see is the “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately?” statistics. Hawkins is an experienced set-up man who has shown he is capable of dominating hitters. He’s just never been given the chance to truly return to the spot where he is most comfortable.

Drafted by the Minnesota Twins in 1991, he played all of the 1993 season in Fort Wayne of the Midwest League and compiled a dominant season that saw him post crazy numbers. With the Wizards, Hawkins went 15-5 with a 2.06 ERA and 179 strikeouts (including 15 in one game) over 157.1 innings pitched. He also tossed 2 shutouts and 4 complete games. The ERA, wins, complete games, shutouts, strikeouts in a season and game are all still Fort Wayne Wizards’ records to this day.

In route to his MLB debut season in 1995, Hawkins continued to produce solid numbers. But it was with the Twins that he earned recognition as one of the best set-up men in the game. By the time he earned free agency and joined the Cubs, he was highly sought by several teams – including the Yankess.

In 2002 and 2003, he went 15-3 with a 2.00 ERA in 139 with the twins. 2003 saw him tie for third in the majors with 28 holds and didn’t allow a run from July 31 to Sept. 14, which spanned 20 games.

Sure, he’s had a few bumps in the road as of late, but Hawkins has a proven track record that he is capable of being the type of pitcher who can step into the eighth and get the ball to Mariano Rivera for the Yankees. Since he left Minnesota and the Cubs set him up to fail, he really has not been given a chance to return to his comfort zone as the set-up guy. Will he get the chance with the Yankees this season?

If not, it may be closing time for a career that has gone largely unappreciated and undervalued.

The following was provided to WANE-TV by the Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation Department:

Fort Wayne, IN: Mayor Tom Henry and Director Al Moll were joined by representatives of the Fort Wayne Baseball Federation, Fort Wayne Community Schools and the City Council as they dedicated the City’s newest park and baseball diamond. Named the Daryl B. Cobin Memorial Park, Home of Carrington Field, the 6.3 acre park replaces an old development on the north side of Coliseum Blvd. by Lakeside Golf Course.

“Creating a park and ball diamond here is a great use of this land,” said Mayor Henry. “The site is on a flood plain and now absorbs flood waters with the removal of asphalt, concrete, a trailer park and apartment buildings. Impervious materials were recycled and now the community has a great new green space to enjoy.”

The Parks and Recreation Department completed demolition and clean up in 2007, removing 89,467 square feet of asphalt, concrete and old trailers. Green building practices were used in the creation of this park, including recycling the concrete and asphalt that was removed, and the use of biosolids to make the lawn healthy. Low energy sports lighting and recycled construction materials were also enlisted in the Department’s efforts to create a new home for Carrington Field.

The original Carrington Field was located at Johnny Appleseed Park, but was displaced by the building of Memorial Baseball Stadium in 1992. A new field was created across Coliseum Blvd. on IPFW property in 1993, where it hosted amateur baseball games for 15 years. Lease of IPFW’s land came to an end this year, and good fortune occurred when three business men donated the property at 742 N. Coliseum Blvd. to the Department, and the new Daryl B. Cobin Memorial Park will be open in time for baseball this summer.

Steve Cobin, Harold Belkin and Jeffrey Cagan are the former owners of the 6.3 acre site. Mr. Cobin attended today’s ceremony, as the park was named in memory of his son Daryl B. Cobin.

“The Fort Wayne Baseball Federation and Fort Wayne Community Schools have been our partners in creating this new park,” said Al Moll, Director of Parks & Recreation. “During our planning phase, the Federation was very active in helping us determine the configuration of the diamond. Fort Wayne Community Schools’ Anthis Construction Trades students helped with construction of the dug outs and installation electrical wiring to the scoreboard and dugouts.”

Amateur baseball will be seen this year with Fort Wayne Baseball Federation games. Next year, the North Side High School baseball will call Carrington Field home.

The scoreboard was donated by Crumback Symons Chevrolet, Inc., and the posts were donated by Omni Source. Erie Haven provided services, and consultants included GAI for engineering plans, Palermo Construction for demolition and Brooks for construction. The project received funding assistance from the Fort Wayne Park Foundation, the Park Bond, the Mayor’s CEDIT pledge and City Council District 1.

“With the donation of land and shared costs for the project, this new park and baseball diamond are great examples of a true public-private partnership,” said Moll.

Update – 5/31/08: Benjamin Lanka has more coverage over at the Journal Gazette.

Tune in Saturday morning at 10:00 A.M. on FM 100 Talks, (100.1FM) for Talkin’ Sports.

I’ll be joined in the studio by former Norwell standout and Northern Illinois University Redshirt Freshman quarterback Chandler Harnish, giving us a glimpse of what being a Division-1 QB is all about.

We’ll also be debuting a Wizards baseball segment, recapping a very successful weekend for an area travel baseball team, giving details on a unique tennis tournament taking place at IPFW and previewing IHSAA schedules as well. We’ll also be naming our Talkin’ Sports Top-5 High School Athletes of the Week.

Last Week’s Top-5 High School Athletes of the Week included:

• Wayne baseball player Justin Walker.
• Wayne track’s Jasmine Perry.
• Bluffton baseball player Jarred Carpenter.
• Homestead softball player Erica Leeper.
• Snider softball pitcher Amy Blackstone.

If you’d like to nominate a student-athlete, send your nomination detailing their accomplishments to talkinsports@wnuy.com.

Tune in Saturday morning at 10 for Talkin Sports, on FM 100 Talks, 100.1 FM WNUY.

Wright State junior, Justin Parker was named First Team All-Horizon League. Butler University junior, Colin Ziegel was named to the 2008 All-Horizon League Second Team. Both players are Fort Wayne natives.

[Source: CSTV]

Outfielder Robert Perry will return to Fort Wayne and infielder Brian Joynt, who joined the Wizards on Saturday, has been promoted to the Lake Elsinore Storm of the California League.

Perry, a 16th round selection by the San Diego Padres in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft, split his first professional season between the Wizards, the Arizona League Padres and the Storm. He hit a combined .300 with 13 doubles, six triples, six home runs, 18 stolen bases and 35 runs batted in over the span of 63 games.

He spent his collegiate years at Long Beach State. Perry led the Dirtbags with a .335 average, 50 runs, four triples and 52 runs batted in the 2007 season. He was named to all-conference teams three times, including first-team honors in 2007.

Perry opened the 2008 season with the Storm, hitting .165 with five doubles, one triple, three stolen bases and 11 RBI in 38 games.

In three games with the Wizards, Joynt was hitting .250 with one double and one run batted in.

Source: OurSports Central

Several mini-news items that I have not been able to keep up on as of late. Here’s a quick recap with links:

• Back to traditional rotation (LaMond Pope: May 23) – The Wizards officially pulled the plug on the 8-man (piggy-back) rotation and went back to the traditional 5-man rotation. The setup had its critics and its champions, but I think everyone – players and fans – are pleased with the return to normalcy so-to-speak.
• Scott Woodward makes All-Big South (Bluffton News Banner: 5/23) – “Coastal Carolina freshman third baseman Scott Woodward, a 2007 Norwell graduate, was named to the first team of the 2008 Big South Conference baseball team. Woodward also was Freshman of the Year. Woodward ranked first in the Big South in the regular season with 35 stolen bases, 42 walks, a .513 on-base percentage and 25 hit-by-pitches. He also ranks seventh in batting average (.352) and second in runs scored (64). In Big South games, he was third with a .405 batting average and was first in stolen bases, walks and on-base percentage, while ranking second in runs scored. He also was among the top 10 in slugging percentage in overall and conference games. Nationally, he is 10th in the country in stolen bases and fifth in hit-by-pitches.”
• Billy Hogan Plays for the Atlantic City Surf (The New Ottowa Rapidz Blog) – Former Fort Wayne Wizard, Billy Hogan was selected by the Padres in the 5th round in 2003. He’s suiting up for the Atlantic City Surf of the CanAm League.
• IPFW: Knowling Named Summit League First Team (NCAA: 5/27) – IPFW junior Brandon Knowling was named to the Summit League’s First Team in voting conducted by conference coaches. The lefty was third in the league in ERA with the 2.91 mark and fourth in the conference in batting average by opponents at .249. He was tied for fifth in wins (7), and ninth in strikeouts per nine innings with 6.75. Senior center fielder, Jared Davis, was selected to the conference’s second team. His slugging percentage of .574 and doubles mark of 36 are also school records.
• I want this interview, in fact, I’m begging for it (ScoutAbout: 5/18) – Scout was inspired by a TV segment that featured former Fort Wayne Daisies player, Pat Scott. “I realized, I want an interview like that. I want to interview someone who played in the AAGPBL and I want to be able to reflect on the memorabilia and the memories. Yeah, I’m a sentimental softie, but I’m a sentimental softie who loves sports and how they were able to make the history books not by records but by paving ways and creating opportunities for people to succeed who otherwise wouldn’t have been given a chance.” Might I suggest Isabel Alvarez?
• Peter Ciofrone Named Pacific Coast League Batter of the Week (The Raw Feed: 5/28) – Ciofrone, 24, batted .429 (12-for-28) with four homers, three doubles, 10 RBIs, 10 runs scored and a .964 slugging percentage in seven games played during the week. It was enough to earn him the award; the second Portland Beavers player to earn it this season. Maybe he’ll be part of the big changes coming to the Padres later this summer.
• Pinto: Soria deal makes sense for Royals (The Sporting News: 5/21) – David Pinto weighs in on why the extension of the former Wizards pitcher makes sense for the Kansas City Royals.
• Former Wizard, Michael Cuddyer isn’t worried about power, but he did lead the Twins to an extra inning win.
• Hardball Capital not posting latest stories (Fort Wayne Observed: 5/28) – Mitch Harper points out that Fort Wayne Wizards’ owners, Hardball Capital have been a bit lax in posting news stories to their website as of late. Hmmmm….
• Jake Peavy Resumes Throwing (Friar John’s Blog: 5/27) – The former Wizards pitcher and current Padres’ ace, is on the disabled list because of an elbow strain. He rested the elbow and was to resume throwing last Saturday, but soreness persisted so the second MRI was ordered. That came up clean and he’ll begin throwing again.

I said it might be a short-lived stint, but I had no idea this was on the horizon. As MLBTradeRumors reports:

The Padres and Mariners worked out a minor trade, as they have many times in the past. The Padres acquired Cha Seung Baek for Jared Wells. Baek was in the 10-day limbo period after being designated for assignment.

Baek, 28, has a 4.96 ERA in 168.2 career innings for the Mariners. His best asset has been respectable control. The Ms signed Baek out of Korea for $1.3MM in ’98. Baseball America said back in ’05 that Baek succeeds by locating a full five-pitch repertoire. He had Tommy John surgery back in ’01.

Wells, 26, was shifted to relief at Triple A last year and picked up nine saves. His numbers have been ugly – tons of hits, poor control, mediocre strikeout rate. Baseball America notes his average slider and decent two-seam fastball

The Houston Astros have called up former Fort Wayne Wizards pitcher, Jack Cassel from Triple-A Round Rock. He is 4-1 with a 2.17 ERA in seven starts for the Express and takes the spot of Wandy Rodriguez, who has been on the disabled list since April 19 with a strained groin muscle. That being the case, it may be a short stint with the parent club since Rodriguez is currently doing rehab work through minor league assignments.

He had been up between April 24th and 30th. On the season with the Astros, he is 1-0 with a 5.59 ERA, three strikeouts and 2 walks having started and appeared in two games.

Cassel was drafted in the 25th round of the 2000 draft and was released in 2006 before resigning with the Friars as a free agent. He appeared in Fort Wayne over three seasons (2000-2002), playing in 74 games and logging over 200 total innings pitched while compiling 148 strikeouts.

I’ve had my first article accepted at Dugout Central. Check it out. Comment and click the Thumbs Up icon to show your love!

Hopefully we’ll see more of my articles published over there. Rest assured that much of it will be Northeast Indiana related, but this situation gives me the opportunity to scratch other baseball itches if the wind blows that direction.

Former Fort Wayne Wizards pitcher, Jared Wells became the 64th player in the history of the team to make his Major League Debut. He entered the game against Cincinnati in the seventh inning in relief of Mike Adams. He coaxed outs from Joey Votto and David Ross before issuing a walk to Bronson Arroyo, followed by a single to Ryan Freel. He then got Paul Lanish to line out to end the inning unscathed.

Wells was a 31st Round (925th overall) pick in the 2002 Major League Draft. He joined the Wizards in 2002. During that season, he started 14 games and compiled a 4.09 ERA with one complete game and 72 strikeouts over 81.1 innings pitched.

The bottom of the seventh saw two former Wizards, Paul McAnulty and Luke Carlin take their at-bats before Wells was lifted for a pinch hitter.

Update (5/25/2008): Sandy Burgin talks with Wells and his teammates regarding the reliever’s Big League Debut:

“Jared’s debut was fine,” said Black. “He looked comfortable and I think he’d like to have that walk back to the starting pitcher [Bronson Arroyo], but overall, his stuff looked good, his delivery looked fine.”