Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for December, 2008

Through Twitter, I started following OurSpaceFortWayne. Today, Baseball In Fort Wayne was featured as the blog of the week. A big thank you goes to OSFW. Check it out:

Each Wednesday, OurSpace will feature an area organization, business or group that share the values of innovation, ingenuity and creativity. To have your entity featured, please send an e-mail to ourspacefortwayne@gmail.com along with a link to your website.

Everyone else is doing it, so I guess I better too. Here are my top ten hit posts and top ten referrers of 1008. Thanks to all who have read and all who have referred. I’m looking forward to another great year in 2009!

Top 10 Posts:

1. First Round Pick Kellen Kulbacki Joining Wizards
2. Wizards No More? Fort Wayne’s 2009 Team
3. Mitch Canham is the Herald’s Man of the Year in Sports
4. 2008 Eric Wedge Baseball Camps
5. Matt Latos to Join Fort Wayne
6. Wizards Logo…The Best in Minor League Baseball
7. Cedric Hunter Making Good on Promise
8. Youth Baseball Thrives in Northeast Indiana
9. Jarrod Parker to Debut with SilverHawks
10. Nick Hundley to Join Padres’s Roster

Top 10 Referrers

1. padreblogs.com
2. whatsgoingdowntown.com
3. indiana.typepad.com/fwob
4. fwbaseballfed.org/links.htm
5. abeautifulcity.org
6. journalgazette.net/apps/pbcs.dll/Sect…
7. pittsburghpirates.buccoblog.com/bucs-…
8. jgwebblogs.typepad.com/wizards
9. gaslampball.com
10. neibaseball.org/links.shtml

Today, the Chicago Cubs signed free agent infielder Aaron Miles. They then promptly traded Mark DeRosa to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for three young pitchers.

These transactions have potential implications for two former Wizards. The first and most obvious is the fact that Josh Barfield’s chances of a return to the parent club just got a lot tougher than what I discussed a few days ago.

The second involves Jake Peavy. As you might recall, the Cubs were hot after Jake Peavy not too long ago, but didn’t hav ehte young pitching that San Diego was said to have coveted. After many rumors and much speculation, there was actualy a formal announcement from the Cubs stating the talks were dead. San Diego looked posied to enter the season with Peavy - who could be dealt at a later time during the season.

However, anyone paying attention has to wonder if this trade might spark renewed talks for Peavy – especially if the rumored Marquis to Colorado trade happens. Should be an interesting couples months before Spring Training starts. Hoepfully the Cubs’ ownership situation gets sorted out soon so big things can happen.

We’ve recently updated the design at NEIBAasball.org for the Northeast Indiana Baseball Assocation. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Congratz to pepperwhiteboy for winning our first ever Twitter contest. Thanks to all who participated. I’ll try to put together more contests in the future. Be sure to follow fwbaseball on Twitter so you cat in on the action!

Special thanks to Vintage Blue for hooking us up with the prize.

As the also recently renamed Winston-Salem Dash work toward their ballpark construction, the Winston-Salem Journal explored it in comparison to other similar projects currently under way. Fort Wayne TinCaps Vice President – Marketing & Promotions, Michael Limmer is quoted in discussing the business plan, which includes improvements for reaching out to more patrons and families who might not normally come to a baseball game.

“You want to give people as many reasons to come as possible,” Limmer said. “It can’t just be seats and a field…. You want it to be a destination regardless of whether there’s a game going on or not.”

…

Limmer said that families come to minor-league games in part because they like baseball, but also in part because the stadiums are fun for children, some with moon bounces, hot dogs, slides and mascots. A better stadium brings bigger crowds, he said.

“These towns and cities want something to showcase, something to show off,” he said. “If you’re going to do it, you do it right. So if you just put up a community field, a glorified high-school field, you’re not going to get the sponsorships or the people.”

Judging by the comments on the article, that project (and team name) is just as contentious as the Fort Wayne project.

After my recent post on George Kottaras and the potential for him breaking camp with the Red Sox in 2009, I got to thinking about Josh Barfield.

His rise and fall is well documented. With the Padres in 2006, he was a legitimate candidate for NL Rookie of the Year. His numbers were pretty solid. Over 150 games, Barfield hit .280 with 151 hits, 13 home runs and 58 runs batted in. He also swiped 21 bases.

The offseason saw the Padres trade Barfield to the Indians for Kevin Kouzmanoff and Andrew Brown (who is now with Oakland) to fill a void at third base when the Sean Burroughs experience didn’t pan out the way they had planned. That’s when things went south for Barfield.

His 2007 production was lackluster at best. Over 130 games, Barfield hit.243 with three home runs and 50 RBIs. Rookie, Asdrubal Cabrera came out of nowhere to take advantage of the situation and wrestle away the starting gig at second base. His performance is one that often receives credit as a big reason the Tribe was able to launch into the playoffs and narrowly miss going to the World Series.

As one might expect, Cabrera entered Spring Training as the incumbent second baseman and began the 2008 season in that role. Barfield began the 2008 season at Triple-A Buffalo. His numbers were nothing to write home about, hitting .253 with 75 hits and 23 runs batted in over 299 at-bats. He struck out 58 teams.

But fortunately for Barfield, Cabrera offered a dismal performance that was reminiscent of Barfield’s 2007. It gave Barfield another shot. Though he went 0-6 during that stint, he might have had a good shot had he not gotten injured. He underwent surgery to repair an injured ligament on the left middle finger and missed several weeks.

By the time Barfield had recovered, Eric Wedge and the Indians had moved on and the season was more or less lost. Jamey Carroll held down most of the second base duties during that time, but didn’t really show any indication that he had locked up the role. That may have provided Barfield with yet another opportunity to regain his promise.

On the season, Barfield had little opportunity to impress at the MLB level and continues to show a high strikeout propensity (10 in 33 at bats). He hit just .182 during the combined stints. But reportedly, Barfield did make an impression and should get a legitimate shot at reclaiming his position unless there happens to be an acquisition of an established veteran. In all likelihood, the battle will come down to Barfield, Cabrera, Carroll and rookie Luis Valbuena, who hit .245 in 18 games last season.

Methinks there’s an very outside shot that Barfield could regain the role he lost nearly two years ago. Though, I might be a bit more on the hopeful side than most. As I often do with former Wizards players, as I researched this post, I did an environmental scan of news stories and blog posts. Many have already written Barfield out of the future plans not only for the Indians, but every team in Major League Baseball.

The DiaTribe suggests:

As 2009 looms, the decline of Barfield from being an up-and-coming steady MLB contributor at the age of 23 to a player that isn’t likely to factor into the Indians’ 2009 plans as a 26-year-old is nearly complete.

Sheldon Ocker of Ohio.com predicts that…

Jhonny Peralta probably will move from short to third – a move I don’t like – Asdrubal Cabrera will be shifted from second to short, and manager Eric Wedge will re-introduce himself to Josh Barfield, the forgotten man. It’s also not out of the question that Shapiro will find a free-agent second baseman.

And finally, Michael Taylor provides a thorough (yet bleak) analysis for MVN:

While Kouzmanoff has lived up to his end of the trade, the son of a former home run champion has arguably become the worst position player in the American League when he has been in the lineup. Barfield’s OPS, which is on-base percentage plus slugging percentage, is under .600! That’s right, under .600!

In that segment, Taylor reviews Barfield in comparison to baseball-reference.com’s similar batters through age 25.  Those batters are Russ Adams, Carlos Febles, Carlos Guillen, Pat Kelly and Michael Young. It’s an interesting mix, but I don’t recall any of those players ever emerging as the type of player who was irreplaceable for a team.

So, while the outlook is dim, it does appear that Barfield still has an opportunity to restore an unfulfilled promise. He’s still relatively young, nobody has a lock on his position at the MLB level, and he’s playing for a club that saw Cliff Lee make one of the most phenomenal “out-of-nowhere” resurgences in Major League Baseball History. So I guess anything’s possible!

If you enjoyed this post, you might also be interested in:

• Barfield on His Way Back to Tribe (June 9, 2008)
• Barfield Focuses on Mechanics, Wants Job Back (March 9, 2008)
• Barfield Looks to Reclaim Job (February 23, 2008)
• Barfield Looking Forward to New Team; League (January 14, 2008)
• Barfield to Tribe (November 8, 2006)

Photograph courtesy of the Fort Wayne Wizards/TinCaps

Okay, so I guess Christmas Eve is not the best time to do a contest! Anywho, I am still giving away this awesome T, so the rules are still the same: 1.) Follow fwbaseball on Twitter, and once you do 2.) send a Direct Message (DM) and you get entered. I’ve had many do the first step, but only a couple have done the second. So, I’m extending the deadline. 6PM EST on Monday, December 29th, I will select a winner.

Original Post is below:

A few days ago, I blogged about the wonderful stuff over at Vintage Blue. I hope you had a chance to peruse their site and perhaps even take advantage of the holiday promo code.

Well, here’s another reason to like the good folks over at Vintage Blue: They’ve provided me with a Fort Wayne Daisies T-shirt to give away . . . any way I see fit (no pun intended). So, here’s the details:

Follow fwbaseball on Twitter. That’s it. Once you’re following me, send me a direct message to enter. Say whatever you want in the message. On Wednesday, 12/24 all entrants will be placed into a drawing for the rad T. I’ll select one at random. I’m even going to pay for the shipping costs.

Obviously, this won’t make it to you in time for Christmas, but I promise to send it out as soon as I can after the holiday.

No Purchase Necessary. Some will enter. One will win. Odds of winning are fully dependant upon the qualified entrants.

Kyle Blanks Autograph at Padnographs (Wizards).

Simon Klink Home Run Photo at Greg’s Connecticut Defenders Blog (Local Ties).

Jarrod Parker likely to be in Diamondback’s Rotation in 2010, says USA Today (Local Ties).

Huntington University baseball coach, Mike Frame will be inducted into the Indiana Baseball Hall of Fame during a ceremony in January 2009 (Local Ties).

Memorial Stadium is profiled at Little Ball Parks (Wizards).

With the Boston Red Sox seemingly parting ways with Jason Varitek, David Ross joining the Braves and having the Yankees snagging the now former Red Sox catcher, Kevin Cash, today, former Wizards catcher Goerge Kottaras is seemingly the incumbant Red Sox catcher. For now anyway.

Kottaras sports a hefty .200 batting average in 3 games and 5 at-bats at the major league level after having made his MLB debut last season. He was once a highly regarded prospect. In 2004, Kottaras played in the Olympics as first baseman and backup catcher for the Greece team. He collected three hits to help the team come from behind and defeat Italy 11-7. It was the team’s first and only win.

The following year, he did well at High-A, batting .303 before his promotion to Double-A Mobile. He was traded to the Boston Red Sox in September of 2006 to complete an Aug 31 trade for David Wells. That year, Kottaras was a Futures Game selection. During the game, he slugged a two run homer off Phillip Hughes and also collected an RBI off of Homer Bailey.

Yet, since that time, his average has been pretty much on the decline. Having spent two seasons at Triple-A Pawtucket, he got his chance very late in the 2008 season as a September callup, but the bench was pretty much full of backup catchers at that point and there was no sure thing he’d see any MLB action. Fortunately he did, and perhaps he was able to make a good impression on Francona and others.

But one has to suspect that the Red Sox will sign a catcher before (or two) before Spring Training. I’ve speculated in the past that they might try to pry away one of Texas’s young catchers, and latest word I have heard says that they were recently scouting Jarrod Saltalamacchia. There are a few catchers on the free agent market still, including two former Wizards, Jarvier Valentin and Chad Moeller (whom I thought was on his way to Baltimore). Might they take a chance on Ivan Rodriguez?

See Also: Wizards Where R They? George Kottaras

Photo by Chad Gramling