Baseball in Fort Wayne

Posts Tagged ‘Portland Beavers’

If you are like me, you thought former Fort Wayne Wizard Josh Geer would win the fifth spot in the San Diego Padres rotation coming out of Spring Training. He almost go tthe gig, but got sent down to Triple-A Portland very late. Never the less, it was expected that he’d be on the short list for a callup.

With some injuries in the Padres’ rotation, Geer did indeed get the call-up and started in place of the fairly recently acquired Walter Silva. Over seven innings, he gave up six hits and two runs, only one of them being earned. he struck out four and walked none. Unfortunately, the Padres bullpen gave up three runs after Geer exited, so not only did he not get a win, but the Padres lost to the Phillies as well.

While Geer’s sport on the parent club roster is expected to be short-lived, it does create a pitching vacancy in Portland. The Fort Wayne TinCaps’ Michael Watt got the call to take up Geer’s spot – quite a jump from Low-A to Triple-A.

Watt was a second round pick of the Los Angels Dodgers in 2007 (86th overall). He came to the Padres’ organization last Winter to complete the Greg Maddux trade. In two appearances with the T’Caps, Watt has pitched four perfect innings, boastin a 0.00 ERA while striking out eight.

No corresponding move was made following his promotion. One might wonder if Mat Latos or Jaff Decker are close to joining the TinCaps roster and an announcement will come soon.

The Seattle Mariners have an opening for a manager. Former Wizards manager Randy Ready was named the Pacific Coast League’s “Best Manager Prospect” in August by Baseball America in their annual “Best Tools” Survey.

And now, he’s on the M’s short list of candiates. USA today is reporting that:

New Seattle Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik will hold seven interviews this week as he looks for a new manager.

Ready is on that list of seven. the others include former Seattle second baseman Joey Cora, Arizona third base coach Chip Hale, Boston third base coach DeMarlo Hale, St. Louis third base coach Jose Oquendo, Oakland bench coach Don Wakamtsu, and Boston bench coach Brad Mills.

Ready managed in Fort Wayne from 2004 through 2006 where he compiled a 208-209 record and reached the playoffs each season. He managed Double-A San Antonio to a 73-66 record and a Texas League championship in 2007. 2008 is his first stint as a Triple-A manager.

I believe Ready would be the first former Wizards manager to land the same role on a big league roster if he were to win the gig.

The Seattle Times also has a closer look at all the candidates.

Portland Beavers manager and former Wizards skipper, Randy Ready, was recently named the Pacific Coast League’s “Best Manager Prospect” according to Baseball America’s annual “Best Tools” Survey.

In addition, left-handed starter Wade LeBlanc was selected the pitcher with the “Best Control” in the PCL, center fielder Will Venable was selected for “Best Strike Zone Judgment” and left fielder Chase Headley, who is already with the Padres, was selected as the “Best Batting Prospect.” All three are former Wizards.

“It’s quite a compliment, because it’s peer-driven,” Ready said before Friday night’s home game against Fresno. [Source: Portland Tribune]

But the question now becomes, is Randy Ready ready to manage in Major League Baseball?  If he is, where would it be?

“I’d like to get an opportunity to manage in the major leagues,” Ready says. “The resume is coming together, and I think I’m earning the opportunity to at least earn an interview.”

Ready managed in Fort Wayne from 2004 through 2006 where he compiled a 208-209 record and reached the playoffs each season. He managed Double-A San Antonio to a 73-66 record and a Texas League championship in 2007. 2008 is his first stint as a Triple-A manager.

Here’s some news on two former Wizards pitchers; Dirk Hayhurst and Wade LeBlanc. Both are at similar stages of their journeying through the Padres’ farm system.

Both are with Triple-A Portland. Dirk Hayhurst saw his first action of the season Sunday against the Fresno Grizzlies. He allowed two runs on three hits over two innings in a game that saw the Beavers lose 9-1. Over at Mad Friars, they have a good interview with Hayhurst. I can’t help but post a wonderful quote from that segment here:

I write for Baseball America. I write their non-prospect diary. Everybody else writes this thing called a prospect diary, which is what it’s like to be cool and awesome and hitting real well and drinking protein shakes. But, that’s not real, that’s not the minor leagues. The minor leagues are getting off a bus at 3 am to eat at a gas station or fighting over seating arrangements on a bus in A ball. What’s it like to bicker about who’s going to do the ball bucket, that kind of stuff, real stuff. [read the full piece at Mad Friars]

On the other hand, Wade LeBlanc dazzled in his Triple-A debut. The former Wizards pitcher tied a Beavers record with a career-high 11 strikeouts over just six innings of work to lead Portland to a 9-1 win over the visiting Sacramento RiverCats on Monday (yes, Hayhurst really did lose in a game 9-1 while LeBlanc won a game 9-1).

LeBlanc’s strikeout record ties other former Wizards pitchers Oliver Perez (2003) and Steve Watkins (2004) in single-game strikeouts for Portland. There was speculation during Spring Training that Leblanc had an outside shot at the fifth starter spot before being assigned to Triple-A. Methinks we may see him a time or two before the season is over.