So I'm posting this under fanposts A) because I want to, and  B) I couldn't make the fanshots thing work the way I wanted it to.  So here it is, and the title says it all.  If you're anywhere near, you really should go to this thing.  I live an hour and a half away, and last year is the first one I've missed in a while, which was stupid of me because Brian McCann was there.  Oh well.  It's well worth the drive (in my opinion), and my daughter and I have made a bit of a tradition of it.

HERE is the link to the Rome Braves article with details.

So this year I'm going, and my targeted item to autograph is an 11x14 shot I have hanging in my classroom at school of Tommy I took when he was in Rome.  (The picture below is one I made and had signed as a reading prize .....the Hanson shot is on it):

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Interesting collection of people there, no?

So anyway, I'm going.  I'll report back here and post pictures if I get any.

And for the guys at the paper who like to print my pictures without permission, this picture is my property.  Not that anybody would want it.  Just sayin'.

Okay, so royhobbs has got me beat as far as stories go.  I really didn't get that many interesting pictures - as I said before, I couldn't get as close as I do in Rome, so I was not happy with what I got.  I did manage a few decent shots of Huddy:

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And check out the torque on this follow through.  I take it as a good sign!

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Oh by the way, the view from the outfield:

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I think this is Van Pope watching a pop-up:

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A decent contact shot.  Who?  No idea.  If this was last 3 or so years in Rome, I could tell you everything. 

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Sammy boy throwing down to second:

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And proof that Brandon Jones hit a bomb.  And squid have attacked Brian Barton.

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And one of my favorite former Braves farmhands, Tyler Flowers.

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And finally, my take on the Cole Armstrong hissy fit:

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(Gotta make the finale big):

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The rumor was that he drew his fist back at the ump.  I didn't see that, so I can't say for sure. 

 

So there you go.  Enjoy!

So we went to Rome....

 

In following the tradition of telling of our community adventures at the ballparks, I’ll throw mine in here from Rome.  There was very little in the way of interesting happening, but we had a good time - we always do in Rome.  My family and I usually go to 15 or 20 games in Rome a year, but due to several circumstances, we haven’t been at all this season.  My boss has a friend who plays golf with a guy who has a suite (I kid you not), so 14 of us got to go tonight.  It was nice.  The view from said suite:

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The lineup:

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And no, Eric Campbell is not our former friend.  I was hoping Randall was the good Delgado, but he didn't prove to be tonight.

Randall:

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Maybe it makes me an idiot, but I expected Randall to be a black guy.  He was not. 

 

Adam Milligan:

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Luis Sumoza:

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I honestly just don't know these guys.  Milligan was impressive.  Big tall dude.  I got some shots of Moody, Campusano, and others, so if anyone has any requests, I'll post.  Otherwise, I'm just too out of touch with Rome these days to know who's who anymore.  And it's way past my bedtime and I'm too tired to think. 

The highlight of our night was actualy when my daughter got picked to race Birdzerk around the bases.  They set up this whole deal where he beats her in the race, then a couple of players come beat him up for it (Hoover and Clemens), and then he asks her for a hug.  She runs over and kicks him, knocking him down, then kicks him some more when he's down.  Good, clean family fun.  The celebration:

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It was actually very funny, and the guys in the Birdzerk crew were very nice to us. 

 

Tomorrow I go to Gwinnett.  I'm looking for Schafer and Tyler Flowers.  If I get any interesting shots, I'll post. 

 

Tyler Flowers

Continue reading this post »

Spring Training Pictures March 21, 2009

 

So I went to Disney and didn't bother with the Major League game - not because it wasn't interesting, but because the minor league fields were much more interesting to me.  We got to see Jo Jo Reyes and James Parr pitch back to back on one field, while prospects like Eric Campbell and Kala Ka'aihue were playing on the next field over.  Meanwhile several Braves pitching prospects were just wandering around taking things in - Scott Diamond, Ryne Reynoso, and Zeke Spruill come to mind as a few we saw.  The minor league Braves were playing the Nationals minor leaguers, so we also had a Pete Orr and Ryan Langerhans sighting.  Incidentally, Langerhans is one tall dude. 

Overall a good day.  Here are a few shots.  Nothing too interesting.  Just sharing.  Enjoy!

 This is sort of the scene at the minor league fields.  Ryne Reynoso is at the table, and Zeke Spruill is the guy standing in the blue and yellow striped shirt.  Others of you may be able to identify the other guys. 

Kurt Kemp watching the troops.

Jo Jo throws a pitch

 

....and so does James Parr.

JC Holt hitting

Gorkys Hernandez gets ready to steal.  Which he did, by the way.

Jeff Lyman pitching

And gondee's #1 prospect, Kevin Gunderson

 

 

That's it for this spring.  More when Rome and Gwinnett get going....

One of my favorite events of the off season is the Hot Stoce gathering the Rome Braves host in January.  This year looks to be a good one with McCann on the guest list.  They usually throw in a minor leaguer or two as well, so this may not be the  end of the list.  Last year they had Bobby Cox, Kurt Kemp, Frank Wren, Tyler Flowers, Phillip Britton, and Jon Mark Owings.  They announced Cox first, then the list kept getting bigger and bigger.

Anyway, here's a snippet from the official announcement.  A link to the whole thing is here.  I always go with my daughter, and I'll be there again this year.  It's usually at the stadium, but this year will be at the Forum - Rome's downtown convention center....I guess they're expecting a big crowd with McCann.  Can't wait!

"The Seventh Annual Hot Stove Gathering will be held at The Forum on Monday January 26th from 5:30 until 7:30pm. Fans can look forward to a night of fun as Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann will be the featured guest along with special guests from the Atlanta Braves organization. The 2009 Rome field staff will also be in attendance."

Just in case anyone didn't know.  Or if anyone cares....

Tazawa rejects all offers but Boston's

 

Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves Go Braves

So JFP's post made me think:  we've been kicking this Escobar / Peavey trade around for a while now, debating from every angle.  But I'm wondering about how the majority here feel.  I know some have switched sides after all the discussions as well.  I thought it would be interesting to take a look at where we stand now.  Thus the poll.

The original assertion was that a majority here feel that a Peavey deal including Escobar is a steal, but not in the Braves favor.  I re-wrote that as a question (apologies to JFP - I hope I'm not misrepresenting the intented point of your post....).  I know the poll choices are very narrow with no wiggle room - but that's really the issue I'm taking up - Escobar, yes or no?

 

 

 

 

Poll

Would any deal that sends Yunel Escobar to the Padres, regardless of other players / prospects involved, be a bad move for the Braves?

39%

Yes

46 votes

60%

No

71 votes

117 votes | Poll has closed

Good write-up.  Flowers is in my top 5. Just saying.

 

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/braves/stories/2008/11/11/braves_tyler_flowers.html

 

 

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It's the Arizona Fall League, and T-Flow is tied for the lead in HRs with 6.   He's hitting .419 with an OPS of 1.533.  On the bad, he does have 8 walks to 14 strikeouts, but I'd take his overall production.  Here's hoping he doesn't get traded.  I know Freeman is the stud of the future, but I say again let's see something above Low A first.  Flowers could be the man. 

By the way, where has everybody been lately?????

I never, ever thought I'd say that.  Even in this World Series I've been pulling for the Rays, where I usually pull for the National League team just because.  But I can't stand the Phillies.  But once this thing is over, the Braves (and everybody else) can get down to business, right?  So I'm ready  - all the speculation and trade talk can come to an end.  The free-agent stuff can finally get started.  And sooner if the Phillies win.  So here's hoping for a Phillies win tonight, and baseball business on Tuesday!

The headline really says it all, but if you want the full article, go here.  It's at milb.com. At the end of the season last year, Freeman missed the last several games leading to a lot of daily speculation that he had been sent to MB along with Heyward, which of course wasn't true.  When he left after the last game of the season, people were asking him about his playing time, and he just said, "I'm hurt." So there you go.

On the Honolulu Sharks, the Braves have Michael Broadway, Jonathan Venters (both pitchers), and Kala Ka'aihue.  That's all I see on the roster....did I miss anyone?  Campbell went last year.  Oh well.... 

 

Your FanPost must be at least 75 words long. Right now it's only 29 words long. If you weren't such a moron, you'd know this by now and come up with something more interesting to say. 

Hey!  That's not nice!

Saturday night was Future Stars night at Turner Field where the Braves honored thier minor league players of the year.  Nothing much interesting to report, but I got a few shots I thought I'd share.  Enjoy!

This was what it looked like.  From right to left are David Francis, Jon Gilmore, Edgar Osuna, Jason Heyward, Tyler Flowers, Scott Diamond, Matt Young, Todd Redmond, Tommy Hanson, and Freddie Freeman.

Tyler Flowers getting interviewed while Matt Young, Scott Diamond, and Tyler's dad watch.

(L-R)  David Francis, Zeke Spruill, and Robert Brooks

Tyler Flowers on the big screen

Freddie Freeman getting his prize

 

Tommy Hanson getting his....

 

All the guys.   And yes, Matt Young is short.

 

 

 

The Braves usually host the winners of these awards at Turner Field in September.  Anybody heard yet when/if it will happen this year?  They pick a pitcher and a hitter from each level, and you can go to Turner Field that day and meet the guys and get an autograph.  It's pretty cool, actually.

For fun, I thought we might discuss who we think the winners will be.  Last year they looked like this:
Richmond: Manny Acosta and Brent Lillibridge
Mississippi: Joey Devine and Brandon Jones 
Myrtle Beach: Sung Ki Jung and Jordan Schafer 
Rome: Tommy Hanson and Tyler Flowers 
Danville: Jeff Locke and Cody Johnson 
Gulf Coast League: Eric Barrett and Samuel Sime 
Dominican Summer League: Dimaster Delgado and Anthony Feliz

I honestly don't know enough about the GCL or the Dominican League, so I'll refrain.  My picks for 2008:

Richmond:  Charlie Morton and Barbaro Canizares
Mississippi: Tommy Hanson and   Matt Young
Myrtle Beach: Scott Diamond and Tyler Flowers
Rome: Edgar Osuna and Freddie Freeman
Danville:  David Francis and Gerardo Rodriguez

 

The most exciting guy added to the 40 man for a September call-up.  In my opinion, anyway.

 

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And that's just the start of things.  From what I can tell, here are some other roster moves:

Joining Sumoza in Rome will be Jon Gilmore, Chris Shehan, and Paul Clemens.

Going to Myrtle Beach are Chad Lundahl and Craig Kimbrel (both from Rome).

I'm still not seeing Freeman's name on the Myrtle Beach roster.  Heyward's name was on it very soon after we all figured it out here.  I'm not saying Freddie ain't there, but his name isn't on the roster yet.  Interesting that Lundahl is in MB - he is a utility guy and has played first for Rome lately - why would he and Freddie go to the Beach??

Willie Cabrera moved from Myrtle Beach to Mississippi.  I guess it's the Brandon Jones to Atlanta trickle down effect, or replacing the injured Reid Gorecki.  Either way, I'm bringing this up because it was CJ Lee - an outfielder from Rome hitting .234 - who got to replace Cabrera, not Jason Heyward going up.  I was among those who at least hoped Heyward might get to move up before the season ended.  This move really seems to cement the fact that Heyward, Freeman, and even Johnson will continue the minor league journey together - at least for this season.  And as much as I really thought Heyward or Freeman might get the call to the Beach sooneer rather than later, I like the slow approach the Braves are so far taking with these three guys. 

 

There's a good article at the Rome paper on the big three and their respective seasons at Rome here.

May be done for the year, and could be done for good.  Elbow.  Braves.com says, among other things, that Matt DeSalvo is coming up to be a reliever and the Braves "will likely have to make another roster move in the next few days to find a starter to replace the void in their starting rotation."

 

Also of note, but totally unrelated, is that the Yankees released Richie Sexson. 

 

 

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I had a former superintendent of schools who would tell us that it was fine with him to come complaining, but come with a solution to the problem.  I spent too much time complaining in another post, so I thought I'd get this little discussion rolling, if you'd care to play along. 

If you're Frank Wren looking at the Braves, what do you do to make this a playoff caliber team right now?  I'm willing to part with a prospect or two to get there now;  I think our farm system is deep enough to create interesting packages for teams to get good talent in return (Rohrbough, Locke, Rodgers, Hernandez, Schafer, and the list goes on).  I don't want to mortgage the future, and I don't think we have to.  Many thought we gutted the system to get Tex, but I completely disagree - we traded from positions of depth (catcher, middle infield), and we're still okay there.  And I'm obviously thinking about getting to the World Series and winning it now.  Here's what I think:

 

1.  Keep Tex.  And Ohman.

2.  I am one of the biggest Frenchy fans around, but he's a mess right now.  I say let him pinch hit the rest of the year, but let him fill in now and then at all three outfield positions (hope he can fix himself in the offseason - right now we've got a pennant to win).  I don't want to trade him, though. 

3.  Unfortunately, we need a solid hitter to replace Frenchy, so I say trade for one asap and let whoever it is be the starter in right.  I also think Diaz has rehabbed long enough, and Kotsay doesn't need to play every day.  Therefore, Blanco should start EVERY game and lead off.  Let him platoon with both Diaz and Kotsay.  And I mean get a big bobber - somebody who is really good, solid, and dependable.  I know, easier said than done, but find a way to get it done.

**If five is too many outfielders for your taste, then drop one - trade Kotsay and don't platoon Diaz or Blanco.

3.  The Braves have got to start stealing bases, and that would be Blanco's responsibility. 

4.  We need another reliable, veteran starting pitcher, and I haven't got faith in Glavine - not this year.  Or Hampton.  So, I am okay with a rotation that features Hudson, Jurrjens, Campillo....but beyond that, nope.  So, I say package either Jo Jo or Morton in some way to get a good, solid starter.  Who?  No idea, but I think the scouts can decide on one, and I'd pull that trigger.  That makes a rotation of Hudson, NEWBIE, Glavine, Jurrjens, and Campillo.  Not bad.

 

That's where I'd start.  I don't think we're too far away from being where we need to be, if the right moves can be made.  It's a lot to ask in trade - my two main acquisitions would be a right fielder and a starting pitcher.  Impossible?  No idea, but that's what I'd go for.

 

PS

Right now, I'm ignoring Chipper's injury - too much to think about at the moment....

 

I'm a Will Startup fan from his days with the Braves organization, specifically the Rome Braves.  We kind of got to know Will a little bit - he was a very nice guy who took time with the fans and stuff like that.  He was a pretty decent pitcher, too, so we were pretty bummed out when the Braves traded him for Ledezma. 

Anyway, the last I had heard of Will, he was having some arm trouble.  I know he won the name contest at milb.com this year, so I assume he's still kicking aroud out there somewhere.  Is he sitting out due to his injury or what?

Any information would be greatly appreciated!

Okay, I can't stand Dave O'Brien's blog because it has so much of his bone-headed drivel about music, Disney, cigars, and motorcycles that it's sometimes not worth it to mine through the muck for the gem that is a baseball nugget.  However, today he finally said something worthwhile (about music, anyway).

 

Evidently there's a new album out today called The Baseball Project, and it features REM guitarist Peter Buck.  That was enough to get me to check it out on iTunes and look into it further on the net.  I think I may be making the purchase.  A link:

http://www.yeproc.com/artist_info.php?artistId=12539

Ah, where to begin?  The games all kind of run together, so I can't be sure what happened when (I guess I could check a box score.....), but here are some random thoughts:

1.  I've always heard it's difficult to hit at MB, and I've always herad it blamed on the breeze coming off the ocean.  I asked a player or two about it, and their feeling is that it's the shadows on the infield.  I noticed myself that I wasn't getting very clear pictures, and it was due to the fact that at the start of the game, the pitcher is generally half in and out of blinding sunlight, and the batter is in a huge shadow.  So I took a shot or two to demonstrate:

One hour before game time:

And game time:

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You can see the shadows creeping in over the pitcher and hitters, and it lasts for a while.  Bad stuff.

I mentioned earlier Gorkys Hernandez.  He's a very quiet, nice guy.  He plays hard, is real intense, and can really go after it in the outfield.  I got to see him make one amazing diving catch where he hurt himself (it was ruled an out, but he said later he actually trapped the ball under him, thus the pain).  He stayed in the game, by the way.

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And Tyler Flowers.  Very cool guy, big hitter, great catcher.  He walks a lot, but strikes out at the same rate (about 50 of each so far).  He looks like the real deal.

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Random shots:

Travis Jones watches Brandon Hicks make an unassistd double play.  Hicks made the Carolina League All Star team and is my personal prediction to eventually replace Chipper at 3rd.

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Pitching guru Kent Willis and Ryne Reynoso chart the game.  There were others there as well - Frank Wren was there for 3 or 4 games, and Roger Clemens was as well.

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Speaking of the Rocket - He came out of his suite the first game and was mobbed.  He stayed inside the next 2 games, but he was there.

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And Koby Clemens-He was 4th in the league in hitting before he came to MB - he dropped in the .280's while there-

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And one of my all-time favorite former Rome Braves, Jamie Romak.  He had elbow surgery and missed some time this year, but he's still doing well with 10 home runs.

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And the family's favorite player, Robert Marcial.  He had a good game on Thursday (I think it was)....drove in two, made some good plays in the field.  Still hitting in the .370's

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And finally, a cool banner they have out front:

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All in all, a very good experience.  I got to see the entire pitching rotation go, so that was cool.  The stadium itself is really nice - a very laid back atmosphere with a friendly staff.  The one drawback, I guess, is that a lot of the fans are tourists passing through with seemingly no real affiliation to whoever is playing, Pelicans included.  Lots of drunk college guys who holler about anything and everything, but they seemed to get stuck on the 3rd base side and really only entertained each other (as they so often do).  Otherwise, pretty cool. 

He was great.....signed for about 10-15 minutes before the game, then came in and looked very good.  He was supposed to go 1 inning but pitched two, so that was a plus.  He struck out 3 guys in 2 innings and gave up one hit.  Frank Wren was there, for what it's worth.  Smoltz will be back in Rome on Saturday - confirmed. 

The pictures:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/54273329@N00/2534995035/" title="53008Smoltz04 by second bass, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3117/2534995035_e7d3e6098c.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="53008Smoltz04" /></a>

 

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/54273329@N00/2534997215/" title="53008Smoltz12 by second bass, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2068/2534997215_ef9eba654d.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="53008Smoltz12" /></a>

 

Freddie Freeman looking past Smoltz in the dugout

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/54273329@N00/2535001439/" title="53008Smoltz17 by second bass, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2288/2535001439_fbc0b76e66.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="53008Smoltz17" /></a>

 

 

I'm not seeing a preview, so if this doesn't work, I'll fix it asap (not tonight....)

The title really says it all, but I have to come up with seventy five words.  I did not put the dash there between seventy and five like I should have because I was not sure if it would count as one word or two.  I am also not using contractions.  And at last check, I only had fifty one words.  Say, Gondee, maybe you could put a seventy five word filler thing on the side bar we could all cut and paste for our posts?  Or maybe we could all cut and paste words.  Like this:

 

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From the Pelicans Website:

"Pelicans’ right-hander Tommy Hanson has been promoted to Mississippi (AA).  He is expected to start for the Braves on Tuesday, May 13th, against the Montgomery Biscuits at home."

There's more....the link:

http://www.myrtlebeachpelicans.com/news/pressreleases/index.html?article_id=678

I'm happy for him, I hope it signals a debut in Atlanta in his near future (if he proves ready, of course), but I'm going to MB in 3 weeks.  Nobody asked me if it was okay to promote Hanson!  Frank!  Where's the courtesy phone call?

And now that I've figured out how to post my pictures, look out.....

I was at the game in Rome tonight (Friday), and here are a few things I thought I'd report to anyone interested:

1.  Freddie Freeman is not only a power hitting dude at 1st, but he's also very good defensively.  He hurt himself pretty good tonight chasing a ball into foul territory - banged his knee into a concrete wall.  He limped throughout the rest of the inning, but came out of the game the next inning out.  He came out of the clubhouse limping and with his knee wrapped and said he wants to play tomorrow night, but he figures they'll make him sit.  Here's hoping he only misses the one game.

2.  It looks like the Jon Gilmore era in Rome may begin soon.  The big club website lists him on the Rome roster, but the Rome website does not.  The rumor at the stadium tonight was that Samuel Sime had been sent back to extended spring training, but I didn't hear any mention of Gilmore.  I just happened on his name on the roster.  We'll see what happens - maybe the paper will have the roster moves.  Adam Coe, incidentally, has been playing regularly at 3rd and has been doing very well - he hit a home run tonight and got a double that almost went out. 

3.  Mr. Kurt Kemp was in attendance tonight - he sat behind the plate and watched Corey Gearrin and Scott Diamond pitch.  He moved up to the suite seats for a while (the Atlanta Braves game was on the tv).  Who knows exactly what he was doing - maybe just taking inventory, who knows, but one usher told me he was there last night as well when Locke pitched.

That's about it.  Rome lost, so blech.

Am I missing something?

Why do I see this entry on the Atlanta Braves website under transactions:

4/26/08		Designated RHP Zach Schreiber for assignment.   Was Schreiber on the roster?  has he been released from the organization?  What gives???

 

 

And I need several more words to make 75, so feel free to ignore this portion....

And I need several more words to make 75, so feel free to ignore this portion....

And I need several more words to make 75, so feel free to ignore this portion....

Just go look at that box score - faced 16, stuck out 13.  Amazing!

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=milb&t=g_box&gid=2008_04_04_myrafa_wilafa_1

 

It's saying my fan post must be 75 words long, and I've only got thirty (notice me typing out the word, which technically I only need to do for words up to ten.  But then again, technically, it's up to the writer and consistency becomes the rule.  Oh well....)

I have no idea if the other minor league clubs have theirs up yet, but Rome sure does!

http://www.romebraves.com/roster.php