Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘MiLB’

There are three undefeated teams in all of Minor League Baseball entering Saturday. The Fort Wayne TinCaps, at a 8-0 are one of them. The TinCaps latest stand saw a comeback win Friday in downtown Fort Wayne. Saturday’s game against the Dayton Dragons  begins at 4:05pm and Sunday’s game starta at 3:05pm. The TinCaps then have Monday off before opening a fourgame series Tuesday against the West Michigan Whitecaps.

“I don’t think anybody could have ever predicted a start like this, but our guys keep on winning,” TinCaps President Mike Nutter said. “The crowds at Parkview Field have been electric and we hope our fans continue to rally around this team.”

On Saturday morning, many seats were still available for the weekend. Fans are encouraged to get their first look at the state-of-the-art facility, with seats in the All-Star sections as close as 45 feet away from home plate, the $8 Reserved seats down the baselines, Home Run Porch seating which is prime real estate for catching TinCaps home runs and the already-famous TreeTops section featuring all-you-can-eat food and all-youcan-drink soda.

Fort Wayne native Kyle Day is one of the Dragons’ key players. A Snider High School graduate, Day rewrote the Panthers’ record book and went on to play at Michigan State University. He was drafted last year by the Cincinnati Reds in the 12th round.

Thursday night’s home opener game was a sellout, with 8,208 fans in attendance for the TinCaps’ 7-0 victory. It was the largest crowd ever to attend a game since professional baseball returned to Fort Wayne in 1993.

Fans can order tickets online at TinCaps.com, by phone at (260) 482-6400 or in person at the Parkview Field Box office.

Here are some shots I took at the park. Hopefully I can post more and write a bit tomorrow.

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No matter what you think of the team name, the Fort Wayne TinCaps are making news in so many ways right now. After sweeping a three game series against the Lansing Lugnuts and as they finished a second three game sweep – this time against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers – the TinCaps were hosting a press conference to announce that all of the TinCaps’ home games will be broadcast on Comcast.

According to a TinCaps’ news release:

… a new partnership with Comcast that will enable all 70 of the team’s games played this season at Parkview Field to be carried live on Comcast’s digital cable lineup throughout most of Indiana.  This unique agreement marks the first time a Class A baseball team has delivered all of its home games to a live TV viewing audience, and the TinCaps will be one of only two Minor League Baseball teams to show each of its home games live throughout the season.  The live games will be available exclusively to Comcast Digital Cable customers on channel 81.
 
In addition to offering TinCaps home games live, Comcast will also have access to original team content and On Demand highlight packages that digital cable customers will be able to view whenever it’s convenient for them, with the ability to pause, fast forward and rewind selections.

The partnership will allow the TinCaps to also create a high-quality video product in the ballpark.  To do so, the TinCaps will use five broadcast quality cameras and a fully integrated video production room with editing and replay capabilities.  Long-time television broadcast personality, Kent Hormann, will call play-by-play and Dan atson will provide color commentary.  Watson, will also be the radio voice for the TinCaps’ road games

If You Ain’t Dutch, You Ain’t Much!

In honor of the biggest upset in the short history of the World Baseball Classic (WBC), I offer unto you a very special edition of “I Saw Them In Fort Wayne”. For your Netherlands curiosity, here are two pictures of the team’s catcher, Kenly Jensen (methinks it is pronounced “Yen-sin”).

I snapped these photos all the way back on May 26th, 2008. Yeah, that’s almost a year ago.

Jensen was catching for the Great Lakes Loons, a Midwest League affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. On this day, he went 1-3 with a double, a run, a walk and an RBI en route to a 5-3 Loons victory over the Wizards.

The 21-year-old catcher from Curacao signed as an undrafted free agent in 2004. He played rookie ball in 2004 through most of 2007, when he played 20 ames in the Midwest League. In 2008 with the Loons, he batted .227 and drove in 27 runs over 247 at-bats in 79 games.

More “I SAW THEM IN FORT WAYNE” posts from BBIFW:

• I Saw Them in Fort Wayne: Mitch Maier
• I Saw Them in Fort Wayne: Ambiorix Burgos
• I Saw Them in Fort Wayne: Felix Pie

Many former Fort Wayne Wizards are getting early Spring Training action or have hit the headlines for various teams. Here’s a quick recap:

Luis Cruz (Pirates) sustained a left hip flexor in the first hour of practice today and is expected to miss a week (Pittsburgh Post Gazette).

Leo Rosales (Diamondbacks) earned a save in Arizona’s first Grapefruit League game (Kansas City Star).

David Freese (Cardinals) is experiencing tightness in his Achilles’ tendon, which stems from an injury that occured during a one-car January auto accident. He was on his way to a bowling fundrasier at the time (STLToday).

The incident totaled Freese’s vehicle, which skidded into a ditch and suffered a badly damaged front end. The impact twisted his left foot, which became increasingly sore.

Eddie Bonine’s (Tigers) first pitch of the seventh inning was hit over the right field wall by 22-year-old Jordan Schafer. It put the Braves up 4-3, but Detroit won the game 5-4 (TheLedger.com)

Dale Thayer (Rays) pitched a perfect eight inning against the Yankees (MVN).

Jake Peavy (Padres) pitched an inning and Kyle Blanks (Padres) won it in the tenth with an RBI hit. Chase Headley (Padres) also threw out a runner in the game (MLB.com).

The next day, Chad Huffman (Padres) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the eighth inning to force in a run. Drew Macias (Padres) tied the game in the ninth inning with an RBI double (MLB.com).

Jack Cassel had a rough start to his Indians career, giving up four runs on seven hits in 1 2/3 innings (MLB.com).

Luis Rivas (Cubs) and Bobby Scales (Cubs) are battling for a backup infielder role, presumably as Aramis Ramirez’s bacuck at third. Scales started at third, and Rivas finished. Both played again yesterday.

Sometime over the next few days, I will begin profiling former Wizards that I think have a chance to appear in Major League uniforms this year. I think the 2009 season has a solid chance of topping the record fourteen that got their first tastes last year. Some will win jobs right out of Spring (such as David Freese), some will get called up to spot start or replace an injured player and some will be among the September call-ups for their respective teams.

But before I begin my thoughts, I want to hear from you.

What former Wizards do you think will make their Major League Debut’s in 2009? Comment on this post.

Cleveland Indian’s prospect and former Indiana Tech pitcher, Josh Judy has been profiled as the #43 Indian’s prospect by Indian’s Prospect Insider.

The 6’4″ 200-pound Judy throws a fastball with great life that consistently sits at 92-94 MPH topping out as high as 96 MPH when he was in college. He complements his plus fastball with a slider and changeup. The slider is very good and has a nice sharp break to it and late movement. Hitters have a real hard time picking it up, and it is a swing-and-miss pitch for him. He used to throw a curveball as his third pitch, but it was tabled for the changeup. He did not use the changeup much in game situations last year, and instead mostly worked on it in bullpen sessions between games since he was still learning to throw it seeing that he never threw one before. In addition to his outstanding fastball-slider two pitch mix, he displays very good composure on the mound by being a bulldog in tight situations. He is aggressive on the mound and goes right after hitters.

January 14 at 11:27 pm – Baseball America is reporting that Jack Cassel has signed a minor league deal with the Cleveland Indians (h/t MLBTraderumors). I have not yet seen this reported anywhere else, but I trust BA. Hopefully we’ll hear a little more ove rthe next couple days.

Update: January 16 – The Indians’ website has finally confirmed Cassel’s signing:

Two more invitees were announced on Friday, as right-handers Matt Herges and Jack Cassel have been signed to Minor League contracts. As previously reported, right-handed reliever Vinnie Chulk was signed to a Minor League deal with an invite to big league camp on Thursday, though that deal hasn’t been officially announced by the club yet.

Best of luck with the Tribe Jack.

Seems odd to be admitting this, but I have been following a lot of Pittsburgh Pirates blogs and sites lately. A lot of it is becuase of the emergence (or expected emergence) of Luis Cruz. As you may recall, he descretely made his MLB debut last year; becoming the 73rd former Wizard and 11th during the 2008 campaign to do so.

After getting off to a torrid start in Winter League play this offseason, Cruz hasn’t appeared an many games. However, he’s back at it. Afte r aslow start in his return, he’s picking up momentum again:

SS Luis Cruz doubled to lead off the 7th inning for Obregon, then moved to third base on a sacrifice bunt and scored on an RBI single, giving Obregon the tying run.  Another run, on a fielding error and a single, gave Obregon the lead.  In the 8th, Cruz hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded, bringing in another run.  Obregon scored two more insurance runs on a walk, a hit batter, and two wild pitches [Sandlot Swashbucklers].

Apparently, Cruz favors playing competitively all year long too, as he remains a possibility to play with the Mexican squad in the World Baseball Classic. He appeared in 5 games during the 2006 edition, but had no hits in one at-bat.

Cruz played with the Wizards in 2003 after he came to the Padres via a trade with the Boston Red Sox for 2B Cesar Crespo. He appeared in 129 games and posted a .231 average with 8 home runs, 53 RBI’s and 2 stolen bases while walking just 30 times over 481 at-bats. On the bright side, he struck out just 55 times. His lackluster offense and propensity to ground into double-plays (he led the team with 15) left much to be desired. Since that time, he’s played in a handful of other organizations, but is finally emerging as a viable ML utility middle infielder. 2009 may in fact be his year.

If you check the front office page of the Fort Wayne TinCaps website, you’ll see that there are many new names and faces. One of them is Dan Watson, who joined the team as the Radio Broadcast Manager in November.

He’s wasted little time in getting to work, having put together his own blog, The Watson Files, where he dishes on pretty much everything. He recently was kind enough to answer my 3 Strikes.

Here goes:

STRIKE 1: This is your first season In Fort Wayne. Tell us a little about yourself and your experiences in professional baseball so far.

Well, I’m 24 years old, originally from northeast Ohio in a small town called Conneaut. I went to school at Otterbein College near Columbus, OH. During college I was the sports director of the campus radio station, the lead broadcaster for a wood-bat summer collegiate league team (the Delaware Cows) and a news/sports reporter/anchor for a commercial radio station in Columbus. This will be my third year in professional baseball; in 2007 I was with the Daytona Cubs of the Florida State League and last season I called games for the Harrisburg Senators in the Eastern League, alongside former Wizards broadcaster Terry Byrom.

STRIKE 2: You’ll be the lead radio announcer in the upcoming season, what might we expect from you and your crew when we listen in?

Good question… This is my first time being the lead broadcaster for a 140-game schedule, so your guess is as good as mine! Seriously, a night of baseball is fun and (usually) exciting and I hope people will be able to feel that enthusiasm when they listen to TinCaps games. I grew up listening to Tom Hamilton on Cleveland Indians broadcasts and his energy, ability to “see everything” and storytelling ability are things I try to emulate. Last year in Harrisburg, we had a player who grew up around the corner from Burl Ives and another who had his father-in-law as his field manager earlier in the year (luckily for him they were on good terms!). Not every game is going to be a nailbiter and not everybody is a die-hard baseball fan, but most people I know will stick around for a good story.

STRIKE 3: You recently started a blog, The Watson Files. How’s the fan repsonse been so far? 

I’ve gotten a few e-mails here and there, mostly people welcoming me to town. I think it takes a little while for the general public to realize it’s there and that it’s worth taking a few minutes to read. We’re looking at doing some podcasts as the season gets closer. My hope is that it gets people excited about Parkview Field and baseball in general.

Photo courtesy of the Fort Wayne Tincaps.