Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for June, 2008

Earlier this month, Juan Rincon refused a minor league assignment from the Twins and chose to become a free agent instead. Given the disarray that the Cleveland Indian’s bullpen has seen this season, it’s easy to see why he elected to accept one from the Tribe.

“He’s struggled the last year and a half or so,” manager Eric Wedge said. “Hopefully we can get him over here and prepared to pitch, so he can get up here and help us” [source: mlb.com]

Few prospects in the San Diego system have been more highly anticipated than Chase Headley. Many were surprised when he was sent down near the end of Spring Training. But now he’s here and seemingly garnering a new headline on a daily basis.

If you’re seeking more info on the former Wizard, SignOnSanDiego has an interview with Headly that you should check out.  Among the things he discusses is his relationship with former Fort Wayne manager Randy Ready, who did his best to keep Chase from getting to discouraged:

My manager these past two minor league seasons has been Randy Ready. He did a great job filling me in and letting me know as best he could what everyone was thinking. Randy had been in my situation. He really helped me

Ironically, Headley played third base in place of the injured Kevin Kousmanoff, who missed the past six games because of a back ailment. Now that their everyday third basebman is back, Headley appears headed back to left field.

Here’s an interesting string of events that relates to father-and-son stories as it relates to the Fort Wayne Wizards

As previously reported, Zach Dascenzo, the son of current Wizards skipper, Doug Dascenzo, was drafted by the San Diego Padres; effectively making it possible  tha tthe duo would unite in Fort Wayne as player and coach. I doubt he will sign, but you never know.

On Thursday (6/18), former Wizard, Michael Cuddyder hit a two-run triple and reached base all four times he batted to help the Minnesota Twins complete a three-game sweep of the Washington Nationals. Then he missed the Twin’s game the next day to be present for the birth of his child. He and his wife, Claudia, welcomed a son, Casey, to the world.

Earlier in the week, another former Wizard consulted with his 13-year-old son for advice on breaking out of his slump. The Angels’ Torii Hunter was visibly discouraged when Torii Jr. asked what was wrong. The elder Hunter said he was not hitting the ball the way he should.

He looked at me and said, ‘Keep your head still, and you’ll hit.’ I thought about it, and he was right. He’s 13, and that’s what I always tell him: ‘Keep your head still.’ I worked on it [Tuesday], concentrating on keeping my head still and not jumping at the ball. I’m trying to be more quiet up there. I think it paid off [source: mlb.com].

In his first at-bat against his former Twins teammate, Johan Santana, Hunter kept his head still on a waist-high changeup and crushed it into the left-field corner for a two-out, two-run first-inning double. Hunter also hit a double and a walk to lead the Halos to a 6-1 win.

In less than one week over 1,500 submissions have been entered at HarrisonSquareFortWayne.com to re-name Fort Wayne’s Minor League Baseball team. The team is accepting suggestions from the community as to what name it will take when it begins play in the new downtown ballpark next April, part of the Harrison Square development.

“We launched the contest on the evening of Sunday, June 15th and within 24 hours we had almost 500 team name suggestions,” said Michael Limmer, Assistant General Manager of the Wizards. “We weren’t sure how many to expect when the contest launched, but interest has been overwhelming. We continue to be impressed with the creativity that the community has shown, especially in the ways they have tied in some of this area’s rich history.”

While the team is not ready to share suggested team names this early in the contest, they are not short of potential candidates. “We wouldn’t want to dampen the creativity with over a full week left for fans to submit names, but there are certainly strong candidates that we have already received,” stated General Manager, Mike Nutter. “The hardest thing for us will be to narrow this list down to a manageable number. We know that when the open submission period ends on June 30th we will have our work cut out for us trying to pick the best out of such an impressive collection of names and ideas.”

Due to the large volume of suggestions, team officials may have to make some adjustments for the remainder of the contest. “I’m not sure it was such a great idea to have all submissions sent directly to my email address,” joked Limmer. “I’d get to work in the morning, check my email and my inbox would be completely full. Get back from lunch and it would be full again. I thought it would slow down after a few days, but it’s been that way all week. I’m glad there’s only a week left, I’m looking forward to getting my inbox back.”

While the team has had a strong response it continues to encourage the public to enter their submissions. “We want to hear from everyone that has an idea. The last submission may be the best one,” explained Nutter.

The team will select one contest participant to receive a prize package that will include season tickets for the 2009 season, a shopping spree in the team store and the opportunity to throw a ceremonial first pitch at the new ballpark on Opening Day 2009. Those interested in making their suggestions, or simply learning more about the Harrison Square project, can visit HarrisonSquareFortWayne.com. Submissions are being accepted through midnight on Monday, June 30th.

[source: OurSportsCentral]

Brett Bonvechio was the “Player to Be Named Later” to complete a trade between the Boston Red Sox and San Diego Padres in 2004. He joined the Wizards that season and collected 304 while appearing in 82 games. He hit for a .237 average, which included 72 hits, 19 doubles, 1 triple and 9 home runs.

Mostly playing third, Bonvechio also saw time at first and a little at catcher. then, the left-handed hitting infielder had his best season in 2005 while with Lake Elsinore, where he hit .267/.385/.460.

Then, the injury bug virtually derailed his career and nearly ended it. The then 25-year-old found himself cut from the Padres system. To continue his career, he joined the legions of indy-ballers and continued to play simply because he loves to play.

Just days ago, Bonvechio was signed by the Chicago White Sox and assigned to Advanced-A Winston Salem Warthogs where he’ll set out to begin his ascent to the Majors anew. Let’s hope the injuries and bad luck are behind him.

John Conniff of MadFriars recently caught up with Bonvechio for an interview. Well worth a read.

Scott Miller (CBS Sports) speculates that the Padres may trade third baseman, Kevin Kouzmanoff, to open the position for former Wizard, Chase Headley. San Diego brass “don’t believe Headley, who has worked hard in left field this spring and early summer, can adequately cover the large outfield in Petco Park, a source with knowledge of the Padres’ thinking says.” Looks like I wasn’t too far off.

Here is our weekly plug for good friend of Baseball in Fort Wayne, Jim Shovlin:

Tune in at 10:00 a.m. Saturday for Talkin’ Sports as we’ll be talking with Jake Richardville, Bishop Dwenger and University of Notre Dame graduate, as well as a 2-year walk-on player for the Fighting Irish football team. Jake will discuss his experience and what it takes to successfully combine athletics with academics.

We’ll also be joined by Becky Levi, an accomplished World-Class athlete and co-founder of the Proaction Human Performance Institute in Fort Wayne, located in Spiece Fitness. Becky will talk about how athletes can take their performance to the next level, whether you’re an elite athlete, or a weekend warrior.

We’ll also make our weekly call to Wizards GM Mike Nutter and get a construction update and find out more about the “Name the Team” contest.

If you missed last week’s show, our Talkin’ Sports Top-5 High School Athletes of the Week included:

• Homestead golfer Al Jennings III
• Bishop Luers baseball player  Tyler Watts
• Homestead baseball player Ryan Wright
• Norwell golfer McCormick Clouser
• Bishop Luers baseball player Kevin Kiermaier.

If you know of a local athlete, team or league that we could feature on Talkin’ Sports, e-mail me at talkinsports@wnuy.com

Tune in Saturday morning at 10 for Talkin Sports on FM100 Talks!  WNUY 100.1FM.

Since the official announcement, I have heard many people in favor of the Wizards’ possible name change — and I have probably heard just as many who are against it.

• Indiana News Center’s Dean Pantazi reminds us that “General manager Mike Nutter, who dropped the hint of a possible name change with the move to Harrison Square as early as last August.”
• Ben Smith takes and interesting twist on looking to history for a new name.
• Neil Kelty at Political Equinox cites the success of the organization to favor keeping the name – you’ll have to read the whole article to understand how it applies to politics.
• The New-Sentinel’s Reggie Hayes doesn’t seem to favor changing the name – OF ANYTHING!

In my humble opinion, a name change is something that the Wizards must consider. It doesn’t mean they have to change the name. However, opportunities for repositioning a brand or rebranding only come along every so often, and now is the perfect opportunity.

I have my own ideas for team names, and they are not the Kekiongas, the Generals, or even the City Lights. For that matter, we might as well consider the Lady Wayne Chocolates, the Dairymen or even Capeharts. All good names that did well to characterize teams in their respective days.

This is a new era. It needs to be new and forward thinking. It irks me when people instead take it as an apportunity to get their digs in about their distaste for Harrison Square. Okay, we get it. You’re mad and don’t approve. We hear you. It’s all well and good, but let’s support the project and hope it’s successful. Otherwise, the only fitting name might be the Summit City Apathy. Not sure what the mascot would look like, but visions of Oscar the Grouch come to mind.

But even it that were the case,  as long as you can use the ticket toget a discounted Billy Idol ticket, I’ll take it. REBEL YELL!!!

This was posted a month ago, but over at INK, Dexter Robinson discusses the waning luster of Jackie Robinson’s Legacy. In in, he quotes former Wizard, Torii Hunter; “This is supposed to be an honor, and just a handful of guys wearing the number. Now you’ve got entire teams doing it. I think we’re killing the meaning. It should be special wearing Jackie’s number, not just because it looks cool.”

Some very valid points and a great read overall. Certainly, it’s a topic that has received more discussion in recent years, especially in light of the influx of international talent to the game of baseball.

As depicted in Baseball in Fort Wayne (page 87), Jackie Robinson paid visit to the city in 1955. The event was held at Central Catholic High School. Another little known baseball in Fort Wayne fact.

• Chase Headley: He’s back. And thanks to a Kevin Kouzmanoff injury, Chase Headley (who recently converted from third base to outfield) is going to get some starts at third. Oh the irony.
• Jake Peavy: He’s back too. “Peavy (5-3) combined with three relievers on a five-hitter in his first start in nearly a month since being sidelined by a strained right elbow. The reigning Cy Young winner looked as if he hadn’t missed a turn.” Even more important, his elbow was fine after the outing.
• Josh Barfield: He was back. Now he’s on the DL and likely out for 6-8 weeks. If Jamey Carroll keeps playing well, me may not return to the Majors this season (IMHO).
• Oliver Perez: He may have had a good start to getting back on the right track. Sseven innings, with Josh Hamilton home run being the only flaw. “So Perez, in spite of that blast, gave the Mets seven innings and 116 pitches’ worth of breezy baseball.” It still wasn’t enough to save his manager.
• Michael Cuddyer: Friday the 13th got the best of him and he left the game in the second inning after being hit in the right hand by a pitch. Doesn’t appear serious.
• Grady Fuson: He oversees the Friar’s farm system and he’s serious about changeups. Former Wizard, Michael Ekstrom lost his starting gig and current Wizard, Jeremy McBryde might be in line for the same fate unless he changes his way (hat tip to Friar Forum).
• Kyle Blanks: Apparently he’s trade bait due to a stockpile of first basemen (including the coming of age by current Wizard, Felix Carrasco) in the Padres’ organization. “Blanks is having a solid season; the 21-year-old is batting .306 with a .402 on-base percentage and five home runs.” Big mistake to let go of el Gigantor.
• Matt Bush: On draft day, Kevin Czerwinski used the Matt Bush saga to remind us that being the top overall pick doesn’t mean a sure thing.