Friday, April 16, 2010

4/16: The Rundown

Norfolk Tides 6, Durham Bulls 4
Box | Recap
Notes: Durham fell to 5-3... Jeff Bennett started but left the game(likely due to injury) 8 pitches in--all balls. Brian Baker took over, but Norfolk put up a 4-spot in the 1st inning... Baker and Richard De Los Santos ate up innings, combining for 8.1... Heath Rollins got a groundout and a strikeout to work out of a jam in the 9th... Dan Johnson hit his third homerun of the season... Hank Blalock went 2-5 with three strikeouts in his return to the lineup... Elliot Johnson had two hits and a walk... Joe Dillon flew out with the bases loaded and two outs and two runs in already in the bottom of the 9th to end it...
The Leftovers: If Jeff Bennett is in fact hurt, either Baker or De Los Santos could make some starts. Alternatively, the Rays could promote Aneury Rodriguez from AA and plug Darin Downs into that rotation(then move Downs back to the bullpen when Alex Cobb is healthy)...

Montgomery Biscuits 8, Carolina Mudcats 4
Box | Recap
Notes: Montgomery improved to 5-2... Aneury Rodriguez allowed a 1st-inning run to end the scoreless streak by Biscuits starters, but turned in a solid start nonetheless: 6 innins, 3 hits, 2 runs(1 earned), 1 walk, and 4 strikeouts... Justin Garcia and Ryan Reid each allowed a run in relief... The Biscuits had five doubles(Greg Sexton twice, John Matulia, Emeel Salem, and Drew Anderson) and a homerun(Matulia)... Jose Lobaton was 2-4 with 2 RBIs...
The Leftovers: Another nice start from a Biscuits starter. There aren't any super prospects in the rotation, but it's solid from 1 through 5... Shawn O'Malley, Cody Cipriano, and Ryan Royster all went hitless. Royster struck out 3 times and is hitting .083 on the year...

Charlotte Stone Crabs 7, Fort Myers Miracle 0
Box | Recap
Notes: Charlotte improved to 4-2... Nick Barnese allowed 3 hits over 7 shutout innings, walking 1 and striking out 5... Zach Quate finished the shutout, striking out 2 and allowing a hit over the final two innings... Matt Sweeney went 2-3 with a double, a homerun (his 3rd of the season), and a walk... Tim Beckham went 1-4 with an RBI single and a stolen base in his 2010 debut. He struck out twice... Kyeong Kang was 1-3 with a triple and a walk...
The Leftovers: I have a bone to pick about Matt Sweeney: First of all, he should've been assigned to Montgomery. He had a 1.165 OPS and that was before today. I get that he'll probably be promoted soon, but he should've been in AA to begin with. Second of all: Why is he DHing? He's already done it at least 3 times this season. In a system that isn't strong on hitting prospects, the guys who are legit should be playing the field every day. Sweeney probably isn't a 3B in the majors, but what about giving him some time at 1B?

Bowling Green Hot Rods 2, West Michigan WhiteCaps 1
Box | Recap
Notes: Bowling Green improved to 3-5... Shane Dyer started and got the win, allowing a run over 6 innings of work. He struck out 4 and walked 3... Matt Stabelfeld pitched a scoreless inning out of the bullpen and Kirby Yates got the 2-inning save, striking out 4 in the process... Eli Sonoqui had both Hot Rods RBIs, including a solo homerun... Tyler Bortnick went 1-4 with a double...
The Leftovers: Dyer got 9 groundouts to 3 flyouts... Dustin Biell and Ty Morrison are in the Ryan Royster "hitting .083" club...

3 comments:

  1. I'm guessing you mean Sweeney shouldnt have been put in A+ instead of shouldve.And maybe his D isnt so good at 1B so they decided his future is at DH.I dont know, is he expected to take up 1B at the start of next year or is that where Leslie might go(to replace Pena)?

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  2. Royster hit 229 last year with a high strike out ratio. How does a guy with numbers like that get promoted to the next level.

    The 083 average really doesn't come as a surprise.

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  3. Anon 1: Nothing like me undermining my point completely with that. Thanks for pointing out the error. I don't think Sweeney will be MLB-ready for the start of 2011(he's at high-A and hasn't played much 1B as a pro), and we'll have to see how Anderson does.

    Anon 2: Sometimes organizations will promote guys just for a change of scenery and see what happens. More often that not, it turns out like it has with Royster, who hasn't hit much since his 2007 triple crown year with Columbus.

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