MnSoxFan

WOODBRIDGE, Va. Gary Patchett's RBI single in the bottom of the 12th inning lifted the Potomac Cannons to a 4-3 win over the Winston-Salem Warthogs last night in a Carolina League game. The Cannons scored the winning run off reliever Dwayne Pollok (1-2). Ryan Hanigan led off with a single to right and Jason Vavao laid down a sacrifice bunt to move pinch-runner Junior Ruiz to second. Patchett's single scored Ruiz to win the game. The Cannons scored first in what proved to be a see-saw game. In the bottom of the first, Kevin Howard walked with one out off starter Jeremy Hudson of the Warthogs. Howard went to second on an error by shortstop Pedro Lopez. Tony Blanco then walked to load the bases. Howard scored on a fielder's choice to make it 1-0. In the second, Vavao tripled off Hudson and scored on Domonique Lewis' RBI single to give the Cannons a 2-0 lead. The Warthogs narrowed the deficit in the third against Thomas Pauly, the Cannons' starter. Lopez and Wally Rosa singled to lead off the inning. Lopez scored on an RBI single by Andy Gonzalez to make it 2-1. Casey Rogowski's solo homer to right off Pauly in the top of the fourth tied the game 2-2. It was Rogowski's team-leading ninth homer. Brian Becker followed Rogowski's homer with a single. Becker went to second on an error by shortstop Hector Tiburcio on Ricardo Nanita's grounder. Lopez sacrificed the runners over with a bunt, then Rosa flied out to center. Becker did not tag on the play, but Chris Denorfia threw the ball home anyway. The throw got away from the catcher, Hanigan, and Becker scored to give the Warthogs a 3-2 lead. The Cannons tied the game in the seventh off reliever Kenny Ray. Tiburcio reached on an infield single and moved to second when Ray's throw got away for an error. Brad Correll's RBI single tied the game. The Warthogs loaded the bases in the tenth with one out but failed to score when Brian Anderson struck out and Rogowski popped out.

CATS NIP KANNAPOLIS 2-1 IN SERIES OPENER (Charleston, WV) – Kannapolis (22-22) dropped their second consecutive game by a 2-1 margin despite a solid pitching performance by starter Rafael Flores in the first game of a three game series with Charleston on turn back the clock night in Charleston, WV. With both teams wearing replica, old-time South Atlantic League uniforms, the starting pitchers put on an old fashioned pitchers duel with the slight edge going to Charleston. Davis Romero held Kannapolis scoreless in his five innings striking out five. Flores (2-3) was equal to the task holding the Alleycats (29-15) scoreless through the first five innings. Charleston had several chances early in the game to score but Flores and his defenders kept three runners in scoring position from crossing home plate keeping the game tied. Antoin Gray’s third home run of the season, a solo shot over left field off Alleycats’s reliever Joanquin Canizal broke up the scoreless tie in the sixth inning and gave the visiting Intimidators a 1-0 lead. In the bottom half of the same inning, Clint Johnson tied the game for Charleston with a two out, solo home run off Flores over the right field wall. Mike Galloway led off the seventh with a walk, reached second on fielder’s choice ground ball, took third on a sacrifice bunt and scored on Willie Rivera’s sacrifice fly to center field. Canizal (4-1) gave up a total of three hits but did not allow another run in his two innings of work for the win. After a quick eighth inning by Mark Sopko, Brian Reed (7) closed his seventh game for the Alleycats working out of a jam in the ninth. Kannapolis had men on first and third with no outs before being retired in order with two strikeouts and a ground out to end the game Flores took the tough luck loss, despite allowing just two runs on six hits in seven innings of work. Fraser Dizard retired three of four batters faced in the eighth inning. The second game of the three game series is Tuesday night at 6:05pm from historic Watt Powell Park in Charleston, WV. The Intimidators return home May 27th vs. the Crawdads. For more information, or to order tickets, please contact the Intimidators at 704-932-3267.

GREENVILLE, S.C. - After the first inning, you might have guessed the Birmingham Barons were in for one of those double-digit marathons Monday night at Municipal Stadium against the Greenville Braves. Instead, Birmingham starter Jim Bullard settled into a groove and the rest of the Barons lineup fell in line with him as the team broke a season-long four-game losing streak with a 17-hit, 9-1 victory over Greenville before a gathering of 1,224. "It feels a lot better tonight, I guarantee you that much," Birmingham manager Razor Shines said after the Barons won for the first time on their eight-game road trip to South Carolina. "We needed a win in the worst way, and the kids went out and played a good brand of baseball, pretty much all the way around." The teams combined for a 31-minute first inning, with Greenville starter Macay McBride using 38 pitches while Bullard made 24 and emerged with a 2-1 lead. From that point on, Bullard retired 16 of the next 17 batters he faced and came away with the victory after leaning heavily on his slide. He threw 63 strikes in his 99 pitches through six innings. The Barons improved to 23-21 in the West Division of the Southern League. Greenville dropped to 15-30, in last place of the East Division. Birmingham broke open a 3-1 game with two runs in the seventh and four more in the ninth off the Greenville bullpen. Carlos Maldonado's infield outscored Rob Sasser, who walked and moved up on Normand Martel's single, then both runners advanced on an error when the Greenville outfielder missed the cutoff. Martel scored when newcomer Tom Nicholson dropped a sacrifice bunt that caught the Braves flat-footed. Sasser doubled in the ninth, scored on Martel's triple, then Maldonado singled him in before he scored on a deep home run to right by Scott Bikowski. "We never made an adjustment to Bullard all night," said Greenville manager Brian Snitker. "He preyed on our aggressiveness at the plate and did a good job." The Barons close out the series today when they send Heath Phillips (4-3, 4.11) to the mound against Greenville's Brett Evert (0-1, 4.85), with the first pitch scheduled for 6:15 p.m.

Rex, you do not know what old is yet

Played AA ball for Tigers last year, so low A is a bit low for him.

Indians dismantle Warthogs to avoid three-game sweep Nine-run inning propels Kinston to 15-6 victory By Dan Collins JOURNAL REPORTER For the first two games of a three-game series, the Winston-Salem Warthogs made a really good Kinston Indians team look really bad. But a baseball team, like water, is apt to find its own level, which the Indians did yesterday by leveling the Warthogs 15-6 in front of 989 at Ernie Shore Field. Unloading on right-hander Adam Larson, the Indians scored one in the first and two in the second before pouring across nine in the third. They sent 13 batters to the plate in the rally and collected eight hits - including five in a row - as Larson and reliever Byeong Hak An needed 51 pitches to finally stop the carnage. The Indians pushed across three more in the fourth, extending the lead to 15-0 before the Warthogs got in a few licks of their own with a run in the seventh and five in the eighth. "You've got to give Winston-Salem credit, they came out and really stuck it to us the first two games," catcher Ryan Garko of the Indians said. "What we talked about today was scoring first, because we got behind the last two nights, and they swing the bats so well it just seemed like they had the momentum go their way. "This is a big win for us." The Warthogs beat the Indians 8-5 Friday and 8-1 Saturday by getting strong starting pitching from left-handers Nik Lubisich and Paulino Reynoso and clutch hitting from Darren Blakely, Ricardo Nanita, Brian Anderson, Casey Rogowski and Brian Becker. Nanita had another impressive performance yesterday, going 4 for 4 for the second straight game, but starter Dan Denham of the Indians kept things under control by pitching sixth shutout innings to improve to 6-1. Denham, a first-round pick by Cleveland in the 2001 draft, allowed four hits and two walks while striking out two. "They've got a good-hitting club," Manager Ken Dominguez of the Warthogs said. "And they proved it today. "The first couple of games we were able to match up with them, having left-handed starters out there. That was able to neutralize them a little. But today it just really made a big difference." In professional baseball, a pitcher who finds himself behind in the count usually finds himself behind on the scoreboard, which is what happened to Larson in his first start after eight relief appearances for the Warthogs. A 15th-round pick by the White Sox in 2002, Larson allowed 10 of the 16 batters he faced to reach base. The Indians raked him for five singles, two doubles, a triple and two walks. "He got behind in some counts," Garko said. "He probably got into some hitters counts. which is what we haven't been doing the last couple of nights. When you get those 2-0 and 3-1 counts, I think that's what happened today." The struggles continued for An, a left-hander from South Korea who was 8-4 with a 3.16 ERA last season for the Warthogs. Bumped from the rotation, he entered yesterday's game with a 0-4 record and 6.47 ERA, and did little to improve his fortunes. He gave up eight runs on six hits and three walks in two innings, though three of the runs were unearned. By the end of the third, the Warthogs' best hopes rode on a thunderstorm that swept across Ernie Shore Field, prompting the fans to scurry under the grandstand roof. Although play was halted briefly after the fifth, the rain stopped in time for play to resume. Nobody took better advantage of the final four innings than Nanita, who collected his third single in the seventh and then blasted his second homer with a runner aboard in the eighth. After sitting out Friday night's game, while Dominguez started newcomer Darren Blakely in left, Nanita had two doubles, a single and a homer Saturday night and four hits yesterday. Nanita's eight straight hits is four shy of the league record, set by Kenneth Kuhn of Burlington in 1958, Nanita played center yesterday as Anderson rested, which allowed Dominguez to re-insert Blakely in left. Blakely managed only one hit in five at-bats, but it was a towering homer over the right-field wall to lead off the eighth. Blakely, a 27-year-old journeyman who grew up in Salisbury, has three homers in nine at-bats for the Warthogs. The Warthogs will embark today on a seven-day road trip to Potomac and Kinston. They will return to Ernie Shore Field May 31 to begin a seven-game homestand against Myrtle Beach and Lynchburg.

Nanita has big game as Warthogs whip Indians Dominguez makes sly move, puts regular back in left field By Dan Collins JOURNAL REPORTER Manager Ken Dominguez looked really good and his Warthogs looked better and better last night after an 8-1 pounding of the Kinston Indians at Ernie Shore Field. As he suggested he might, Dominguez sat newcomer Darren Blakely down after a two-homer night Friday and re-inserted regular Ricardo Nanita in left field. Nanita, who entered the game hitting .204, responded with a homer, two doubles, a single and a sparkling catch in the field to spark the Warthogs to their second straight victory. The Warthogs, with a win this afternoon, would sweep the Indians, a team that has dominated the Southern Division throughout the Carolina League's first-half race. Right-hander Adam Larson (1-0, 4.85) is scheduled to make his first start for the Warthogs and right-hander Dan Denham (5-1, 3.89) is scheduled to start for the Indians. Dominguez rested the left-handed hitting Nanita on Friday against left-hander Keith Ramsey and watched as Blakely, a switch-hitting outfielder who had just been dispatched from Class AA Birmingham, slammed homers in his first two at-bats for the Warthogs. But after the game, Dominguez was clear that the parent Chicago White Sox are in no hurry to give up on Nanita, a promising 22-year-old from Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic. Nanita said he wasn't surprised to see his name in the lineup last night, batting eighth against right-handed starter J.D. Martin. "He told me to be ready to play (last night) because you're going to play," Nanita said. "I wasn't surprised, because I know myself and I know I can do it. I was ready to go." Nanita, in his first at-bat in the second, hit the first pitch from Martin over the wall in right center for his first homer of the season. The blow came with two runners aboard and extended the Warthogs' lead to 5-0. Nanita doubled down the left-field line with two out in the fourth and scored the sixth Warthogs run on a double by Tommy Nicholson. He doubled down the right-field line in the fifth to drive home Casey Rogowski with the eighth Warthogs run. And he singled to left with two out in the seventh. To cap his best performance of the season, Nanita raced into the alley, dove and snared a wicked line drive from Caleb Brock to end the eighth inning. Dominguez said it really wasn't a tough decision to put Nanita back in the lineup. "He swings it good against right-handers," Dominguez said. "You've got to find out what he can do, and he did it. He came through. "Sometimes competition brings out the best in people." Nanita, with last night's performance, raised his average to .230. Last year, in his first professional season, Nanita hit .384 in 185 at-bats for Great Falls of the Pioneer Rookie League. "His prospect status is considerable in the organization," Dominguez said. "He's battled and played hard all season long. He's done well against right-handed pitchers so that was a good spot for him to step back in. "And he responded." Nanita's barrage overshadowed strong performances from Rogowski, who blasted a two-run homer in the second and a RBI single in the fifth, and Brian Becker, who doubled twice in four at-bats. The homers by Nanita and Rogowski provided a 5-0 lead, which proved to be more than enough for starter Paulino Reynosa and relievers Kenny Ray, Brad Murray and Julio Castro. Reynosa, a 23-year-old left-hander from Santiago, Dominican Republic, allowed only three hits through five innings for his first victory. Because he has started only four previous games, Reynosa was lifted after throwing 72 pitches. Even so, he pared his earned-run average from 5.32 to 4.33. "He had the changeup working, he was locating his fastball and he had his slider in the zone," Dominguez said. "He had all three pitches in the zone tonight and when you have all three pitches in the zone, you're tough to hit."

Melvin Perez called up from Extended ST to fill in for Nicholson at W-S. Reyes on DL at Birm.

Nice problem to have, I see Anderson moving up at midseason, then Brice will.

4 more hits for Nanita in game W-S got killed, 2 hits and a walk for AGon, Larson hammered in a spot start, An hammered in relief, then Purvis and Castro pitched well. http://milb.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnfor...px?GAMEID=11772

Shaffer!!!!

Not that big a deal. I get the hard copy issue so I do not have a problem copying it.

His average is low, but he has gotten a lot of RBIs and he has not been overmatched it appears, so I think he will come around.

That will be interesting, I hope he has no problem getting back in sync.

Chicago White Sox by Phil Rogers Counting On Cotts CHICAGO—After throwing lefthander Neal Cotts into the fire last August, the White Sox are allowing him to ease his way back. They expect him to start eventually but want him to establish himself by working out of the big league bullpen. It's the same formula that worked with lefthander Mark Buehrle in the second half of 2000 before he moved into the rotation in 2001. Early returns are encouraging that it's working for Cotts as well. "Neal Cotts has come in and done a heck of a job for us from the left side," general manager Ken Williams said. "He faces lefthanders and righthanders very well." Cotts, 24, entered the season ranked as the organization's second best pitching prospect. He showed why by going 0-0, 1.69 in his first 11 innings. Cotts, a second-round pick by the Athletics in 2001, came to Chicago with righthander Billy Koch in the deal that sent righthander Keith Foulke to the A's before the 2003 season. He forced his way to the big leagues last season by going 9-6, 2.12 with Double-A Birmingham but had major control problems with the White Sox. He got his first career victory despite walking five in five innings against the Rangers, but seriously imploded at Yankee Stadium his next time out. He allowed seven of the eight men he faced to reach base, four on walks, before being pulled with only one out in the first inning. With the White Sox, Cotts was 1-1, 8.10. Afterward Cotts was sent back to Birmingham, and some wondered if he would be crushed emotionally by such a high-profile failure. He was fine in spring training, however, going 1-1, 2.45 to earn a second chance. He appears much better prepared this time around. The Sox would love for him to follow the path that Buehrle blazed four years ago. CHI-LITES • Shortstop Andy Gonzalez needed just 12 games with low Class A Kannapolis to earn a promotion to high Class A Winston-Salem. He is considered a gifted fielder and was hitting .294 with eight stolen bases in his first 17 games. • After 196 consecutive relief appearances, the Sox are taking a look at lefthander Arnie Munoz as a starter. He dominated the Southern League in April, going 4-0, 1.46 and holding opponents to a .133 average.

Farm teams go 3-1, they have really been going well for last 2-3 weeks. Barons lose, but no Morse and no Spidale hurt, tho Martel got 2 hits as sub for Spidale. Borchard an RBI for Charlotte, but 3 Ks too. 4-4 with homer for Nanita, that is a good sign.

Kanny wins 10-4, Rodriguez with another really nice start, Young on all 5 times, 2 hits, 2 walks and 1 HBP, Gray 2 hits but 2 errors, Valido 0-6, down under .240 now.

Kanny up 7-2 after 3, W-S up 6-0 I think, Birm tied 1-1, Charlotte up 1-0 in 7th, Kohlmeier was starting. Rodriguez for Kanny and Reynoso for W-S, not sure who went for Birm.

Also, Anthony Webster at .242 with 40+ strike outs in about 160 ABs. Not doing too well in Cal League. The guy doing well was Bittner who we gave up for Schoney, he is doing well in AA for Anaheim (Arkansas team I think).

I realize he is not our prospect anymore, but saw this in latest BA • A rash of injuries hit the staff at high Class A Stockton, and righthanders Ben Keiter, Nick Masset and Josh Rupe were all sidelined. The Rangers were particularly concerned about Rupe, who had persistent soreness in the right forearm. An examination revealed no signs of structural damage.

They have their starting outfield at Birm: Spidale, Bikowski and Murphy so they just needed a sub, that is what Martel does, Blakely can play full time and help out Win-Salem.

Thanks, that makes me feel better.

Too big of a problem child tho, no way we go after AJ, not many teams will, no matter how good a hitter he is.

INTIMIDATORS SET SUNS WITH THURSDAY’S 6-3 WIN (Kannapolis, NC) – Brandon McCarthy allowed one run and just four hits and Chris Young went 3-3 including a two-run homerun leading Kannapolis (21-19) to Thursday night’s 6-3 win over Hagerstown at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium Micah Schnurstein drove in the game’s first run with a single to left scoring Antoin Gray. Tom Brice was thrown out at the plate on a throw from Sun’s right fielder Jesse Schmidt trying to reach home on the same play. In the top of the fourth inning, Hagerstown (16-24) scored a run off Intimidators starter Brandon McCarthy (4-3) who retired the first seven Suns faced, five by strikeouts. Young’s two run blast in the fourth off Suns starting pitcher Ben Thurmond (0-1) broke a 1-1 tie. Brandon Bounds hit the first pitch of the fifth inning over the right field wall for his first Intimidators home run and giving Kannapolis a 4-1 lead. Hagerstown chipped away at the Kannapolis lead with a solo home run off the bat of Nate Schierholtz. The visitors pulled within a run in the seventh on Jon Coutlangus’ sacrifice fly off reliever Fraser Dizard on a run charged to Todd Deininger. Leo Daigle stamped the win for the Intimidators crushing a two-run shot over the left center wall off reliever Sean Martin. In the ninth inning, Ehren Wasserman retired the first two batters before Tim Hutting reached on an error. Wasserman (8) induced Coutlangus to hit a ground ball to second ending the game for his eighth save. The two teams play the rubber match of the three game series Friday night at 7:05pm. For more information or to order tickets to upcoming games, contact the Intimidators at 704-932-3267.

CRAFTSMAN: Warthogs' Anderson honing the skills that make him one of White Sox' top prospects By Dan Collins JOURNAL REPORTER When you go to work playing for a minor-league baseball team, you bring your own tools. At least you are paid for the use of those tools. In the case of center fielder Brian Anderson of the Winston-Salem Warthogs, he was paid quite handsomely. Because nobody on the team has more or better tools than Brian Anderson. "He's a tools guy," Manager Ken Dominguez said. The tools in question are not gloves and bats, but the requisite skills to play the game. The Chicago White Sox thought enough of Anderson's ability to run, throw, field, hit and hit for power that they drafted him in the first round last June and paid him $1.6 million to sign. David Wilder, the White Sox' director of player development, was in Winston-Salem this past week to inspect the quality of Anderson's tools. His inspection only confirmed what he had seen in spring training, that, except for experience, Anderson has everything one needs to play major-league baseball. "He can do just about anything he wants to do on the field," Wilder said. "You don't find too many guys with all the tools to play any position out there in the outfield. "We think he's going to be a pretty good major-league baseball player. He's a special, special athlete." Anderson's statistics through his first month in the Carolina League are impressive. Through 106 at-bats, he was hitting .340 with three homers and 20 RBIs. But sharp eyes such as those of Dominguez and Wilder can look past the numbers to those singular moments when a prospect gives himself away, for good or for bad. Such a moment occurred last Thursday in the final game of the three-game series with the Salem Avalanche, when Anderson stepped to the plate in the ninth. The Warthogs trailed 10-7 but had the bases loaded. Facing Mark McLemore, the Avalanche's best reliever, Anderson took the first pitch across his knees for a strike. He fouled off the next pitch to fall behind 0-2. He fouled the third pitch straight back. He fouled the fourth pitch into the parking lot down the right-field line. He laced the fifth pitch over the head of the centerfielder off the wall for a two-run double. The Warthogs lost the game 10-9, but the overriding goal of getting Anderson a step closer to the major leagues had been served. "Early in the season he was pressing some and he was chasing," Dominguez said. "But he has really learned fast. He's learning his craft very quickly. He's laying off bad pitches now and he's making them throw strikes. Obviously with that swing he has, when they throw it in the zone he's going to hit it. "The main thing for him is to keep learning and keep getting better and better. And he's doing that every day right here right now." Anderson was expected to start slowly this season. After signing following his junior season at the University of Arizona, Anderson batted only 49 times for Great Falls of the Pioneer Rookie League before wrist surgery ended his season. He spent much of spring training with the parent White Sox, along with Warthogs' right fielder Ryan Sweeney, a second-round pick last June. So it was no big surprise when the White Sox jumped both past Kannapolis of the Class A South Atlantic League to the more advanced Class A Carolina League. While Anderson struggled to adjust to pitchers who throw hard, sharp sliders on 3-1 counts, the White Sox learned ever more about him. They were pleased to see he had the even temperament laced with just enough confidence that it takes to excel in the everyday game of baseball. "You wouldn't know he was a first-round pick," Wilder said. "A lot of guys come out and they're a first-round pick and you can automatically pick that guy out. You can only pick Brian out because of his ability. "That says a lot about him." The mature disposition has helped Anderson deal with the uncertainties of his livelihood. Like all his teammates, Anderson would like to be in the major leagues today. But he realizes he's only 22 with less than 200 professional at-bats on his resume. It would probably serve the interests of both the White Sox and the Warthogs to leave Anderson in Winston-Salem to give him a full season to develop before deciding where he should begin the 2005 season. Factors materialize, however, that change the best-laid plans of farm directors. And one of those factors could be that Anderson proves too good to be in the Carolina League for five full months. Regardless, Anderson said he will put his future in the hands of the people who have paid for the use of his tools. "Obviously you have to pay some type of dues," Anderson said. "When you're hot you say 'What am I doing here still?' But you get humbled the next day, or any day. You can be humbled real quick. "I'd like to make it to Double A by the end of this year. If I don't I'll just have to work a little harder next year." Trivia: First-round notables. Single - What first-round pick by the Yankees in 1992 was named World Series MVP in 2000? Double - What first-round pick by the Red Sox in 1994 was named the 1997 AL Rookie of the Year? Triple - What first-round pick by the Orioles in 1990 won 52 games for the Yankees from 2001-03? Homer - What first-round pick by the Red Sox in 1993 hit .306 last season with 28 homers and 87 RBIs? Around and about Two former Wake Forest players who resurrected their professional careers last season at Visalia of the Class A California League are playing together for Tulsa of the Class AA Texas League. Third baseman Corey Slavik, drafted in the 10th round by the Cubs in 2001, signed with Colorado before last season and hit .321 for Visalia with 14 homers and 75 RBIs. Through 114 at-bats this season with Tulsa, he was hitting .254 with three homers and 26 RBIs. Catcher Dan Conway, drafted by Colorado in the eighth round in 2000, hit .230 for Salem of the Class A Carolina League in 2002 before rebounding to hit .292 for Visalia last season with five homers and 43 RBIs. Conway continued his hot streak this season through the first 52 games at Tulsa, where he was hitting .327.... A race, of sorts, is on for two former ACC stars. Shortstop Russ Adams of North Carolina and pitcher David Bush of Wake Forest were both drafted by Toronto in 2002, Adams in the first round and Bush in the second. Both are playing for Syracuse of the Class AAA International League. Adams, through 130 at-bats, is hitting .238 with one homer and 14 RBIs. Bush, through seven starts, is 3-3 with a 4.61 ERA. Trivia answers Single - Derek Jeter. Double - Nomar Garciaparra. Triple - Mike Mussina. Homer - Trot Nixon.