International League News and Notes

Published on February 23, 2006 under International League (IL1) News Release

BUFFALO BISONS
HALL OF FAMER LOVULLO RETURNS TO BUFFALO: One of the hottest prospects in all of Minor League Baseball will be in Buffalo in 2006, but won't be on the field. Torey Lovullo is the Herd's new skipper, replacing Marty Brown, who is now the manager for the Hiroshima Carp of the Japanese Central League. Lovullo is coming off back-to-back championship seasons and Manager of the Year honors in 2005 with Double-A Akron (Eastern League) and in 2004 with Single-A Kinston (Carolina League). Lovullo, who played for the Bisons in parts of three seasons including their 1997 American Association Championship and their 1998 Governors' Cup Championship, was inducted into the Buffalo Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.

HIGH-POWERED INFIELD: From first to third, the Buffalo Bisons could have one of the most powerful infields in the League this season. 2005 International League All-Star Ryan Garko (.303, 19 HR, 77 RBI) could be the Herd's first baseman with mid-season IL All-Star Jake Gautreau (.253, 18 HR, 57 RBI) at second. Free agent Jose Flores takes over at shortstop (.336, 4 HR, 42 RBI) after finishing 7th in the Pacific Coast League in average in 2005. And of course, Andy Marte (.275, 20 HR, 74 RBI), 2005 Baseball America's 9th best prospect in the Minor Leagues, could play third base after being acquired in a trade with the Boston Red Sox.

BISONS.COM REVAMPED: On February 17, the Buffalo Bisons launched a revamped version of their official web site, Bisons.com. The new site, through Major League Baseball Advanced Media, will feature live video of select home and road games as well as live audio and pitch-by-pitch updates of all games. To celebrate the new web site, the Bisons have created the "Night Out with the Bisons" Sweepstakes. Any fan that visits Bisons.com from Friday, February 17 to Monday, April 24, 2006 and signs up for the team's online newsletter, Herd.On.Line, will be entered in a drawing for a Night Out with the Bisons. The prize pack will feature eight tickets, eight hot dogs, eight sodas, eight French fries, eight ice creams, eight souvenir caps, eight autograph baseballs and one ceremonial first pitch to a future Bisons home game.

NEW FIELD: The Buffalo Bisons will play out their 2006 home schedule on a brand new field. A fresh sheet of Kentucky Blue Grass was dropped in Dunn Tire Park shortly after the conclusion of the 2005 season. And, with unseasonably warm weather in Buffalo this December and January, the field is already taking root and shining a vivid green.

CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS
FRESH AND FAMILIAR FACES: The 2006 coaching staff for the Knights includes two new faces, Razor Shines and Tack Wilson. Shines comes from Double-A Birmingham to take the lead role in Charlotte after being named Southern League Manager of the Year in 2005. Tack Wilson, the new hitting coach for the Knights, takes over for Manny Trillo who has moved on to become a roving instructor for the White Sox. Wilson played a total of 12 games in the Major Leagues, five with Minnesota in 1983 and seven with California in 1987. Returning in 2006 for the Knights will be pitching coach Juan Nieves and athletic trainer Scott Johnson. While Nieves will be entering his second season with Charlotte, this is his eighth season as a pitching coach in the White Sox organization. Scott Johnson is entering his eighth season with Charlotte, his ninth straight at Triple-A, and his 17th overall with the Sox.

MOVING UP IN THE WORLD: A handful of Knights from 2005 are hoping to get their tickets to "the show" punched within the next few weeks of Spring Training. Joe Borchard, who batted .263 with 29 HR last season, looks to build off his record setting Knights career and find a home in the outfield on the south side of Chicago. Brian Anderson, who hit .295 with 16 HR last season, is also looking to find a home in the outfield. Anderson was named International League Player of the Week during July (11-17). Brandon McCarthy has a more difficult task ahead of him as he looks for a full-time spot on one of MLB's best rotations. McCarthy posted a 3.92 ERA and recorded 130 strikeouts during his one season with the Knights. McCarthy was also named International League Pitcher of the Week in May (2-8). Other 2006 additions to the White Sox roster may include Ross Gload and pitcher Jeff Bajenaru. Gload holds the Knights record for average, hitting .332 for his career, and Bajenaru recorded a team leading 19 saves and a 1.41 ERA in 70.1 innings pitched last season.

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS
COMING IN 2008, HUNTINGTON PARK: The Franklin County Parks and Recreation Board and Franklin County Stadium Inc. announced that Huntington Bancshares, Inc. has signed a letter of intent to purchase naming rights for the new downtown Columbus baseball stadium, Huntington Park, the future home of the Columbus Clippers. Huntington Park is scheduled to open during the 2008 season at the northwest corner of Nationwide Boulevard and Neil Avenue. Cooper Stadium, the current home of the Columbus Clippers, is owned by Franklin County, which leases the stadium to Franklin County Stadium Inc., a non-profit entity managed by the Parks and Recreation Board. Plans to move the Clippers to a new downtown stadium were announced by the Franklin County Commissioners in 2005. Construction of Huntington Park is scheduled to begin later this year. Franklin County is responsible for the design and construction of the facility and an Owner's Representative will be secured by the county by the end of February. The Owner's Representative will oversee the project by working with the Franklin County Commissioners to hire an architect, engineering firm and construction manager. Stadium Inc. will lease the stadium from the county and will assume debt service and operational duties. The county is in the process of acquiring approximately eight acres of land in the Arena District. The stadium will be financed through private funds along with the issuance of revenue bonds. Huntington Bancshares Incorporated is a $33 billion regional bank holding company headquartered in Columbus. Through its affiliated companies, Huntington has more than 140 years of serving the financial needs of its customers.
NEW RADIO SHOW: The Clippers have started the "Clippers Hot Stove Weekly" radio show which airs each Friday from 6:00pm to 7:00pm on 1580 AM WVKO. New broadcaster Scott Leo will talk with guests about the Clippers and the International League. Coverage of the Yankees organization and other baseball topics can also be heard each week. Guests include Clippers coaches and players, personnel from the International League teams, and Major League representatives. Listeners are encouraged to e-mail questions and comments to sleo@clippersbaseball.com. Archived interviews can be accessed at clippersbaseball.com.

DURHAM BULLS
CAN'T SPELL USA WITHOUT DURHAM BULLS: When the World Baseball Classic begins March 3, team USA will surely have a Bulls flavor. Three former Bulls are on the roster: OF Chipper Jones and OF Randy Winn, and RHP Dan Wheeler. Jones played for the Bulls when the organization was a Class-A affiliate of the Braves in 1992. Winn spent parts of the 1998-2000 seasons with the Triple-A Bulls. Wheeler was with Durham from 1999-2001. The 22-man reserve roster also includes former Bulls outfielder Carl Crawford, who has elected not to play due to an ailing right wrist.

REPRESENTING THE WORLD: Former Triple-A Bulls playing with other countries in the WBC include: 2B Jorge Cantu (Mexico),
RHP Jeremi Gonzalez (Venezuela), 1B/3B Edwards Guzman (Puerto Rico), OF Jose Guillen (Venezuela), C Pete LaForest (Canada),
LHP Damian Moss (Australia), RHP Jorge Sosa (Dominican Republic) and RHP Victor Zambrano (Venezuela). Former Class-A Bulls with other clubs in the WBC include OF Andruw Jones (Netherlands) and C Javy Lopez (Puerto Rico).

TWO MORE WITH TAMPA: The Bulls have extended their Player Development Contract with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays through the end of the 2008 season. Since joining the International League, the Bulls have only been affiliated with the Devil Rays. During the first eight years as a D-Rays affiliate the Bulls have had seven winnings seasons, six playoff appearances, and have captured two Governors' Cup crowns.

NEW FACES: With Bill Evers now in Tampa as bench coach, John Tamargo becomes only the second manager in Bulls Triple-A history. The Devil Rays also signed numerous players to Minor League contracts that have plenty of Triple-A experience but are new to the Bulls. RHP Jason Childers (Richmond), RHP Jack Cressend (Pawtucket), and RHP Justin Miller (Syracuse) all spent time in the International League last year.

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
THIS NAME SOUNDS FAMILIAR: Utility man Yurendell de Caster, who hit .280 with 11 home runs and 61 RBI for the 2005 Indianapolis Indians, was recently named Baseball America's "Winter League Player of the Year". The 26-year-old hit .325 with 17 roundtrippers and
47 RBI for Oriente of the Venzuelan League this past winter. De Caster also tied for the League lead in stolen bases and ranked second in runs scored. He will be representing the Netherlands in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

THE SKIPPER IS BACK FOR ANOTHER YEAR: Manager Trent Jewett returns for his second season with the Indians in 2006. The 41-year-old guided last year's squad to a 78-66 regular season mark and second place finish in the International League Playoffs. By the end of 2005, Jewett had seen 18 players move from Indianapolis to the big league roster.

SAME HITTING COACH; NEW PITCHING COACH: Hitting coach Hensley "Bam Bam" Meulens returns for his second season with the Tribe, while pitching coach Jeff Andrews comes to Indianapolis after spending three years with Pittsburgh's Double-A affiliate in Altoona, PA. Trainer Jason Palmer and strength & conditioning coach Mubarek Malik round out the 2006 field staff.

INDIANS HELP RAISE OVER $255,000: The Indians donated over $95,000 to various charitable organizations in 2005, while 48 non-profit groups raised over $160,000 in efforts coordinated by the team's front office. The Tribe donated $28,992 worth of tickets as part of its Pinch Hitter program, while it also filled an additional $41,112 worth of ticket donation requests. The front office, field staff, players and their significant others also donated money and merchandise to victims of Hurricane Katrina.

LOUISVILLE BATS
NEW FACES ON COACHING STAFF: The Bats will have two new faces on their coaching staff this year to help returning manager Rick Sweet who is entering his 31st year in professional baseball and second as Louisville's skipper. Adrian "Smokey" Garrett returns for his fourth consecutive season as the team's hitting coach; Smokey played 19 years of pro ball including parts of eights seasons in the Majors with Atlanta, Chicago-NL, Oakland and California. Lee Tunnell joins the Bats' staff and will take over pitching coach duties from Mack Jenkins who was promoted to Minor League Pitching Coordinator. Tunnell spent the last nine seasons in the Texas organization, most recently as the pitching coach for Triple-A Oklahoma in 2005. Tunnell is a former Louisville Redbirds pitcher who played in the Derby City in 1987 and 1988. Alonzo Powell joins Sweet's staff as a coach after spending the past two seasons as the manager of Cincinnati's Single-A Dayton Dragons; this season is Powell's fifth in the Reds organization. Powell also enjoyed a 19-year playing career , having stints with Montreal (1987) and Seattle (1991). Chris Lapole returns for his second season as the Bats' trainer. Lapole was a trainer for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League in 2005.

FREE AGENTS GALORE: The Reds loaded their organization with quality six-year free agents this offseason with the most notable names being Earl Snyder, Andy Abad and former Louisville Bat and IL MVP from 2002, Raul Gonzalez. Snyder, a 2005 Durham Bull, was second in the League last season in home runs (29) and RBI (92). Abad spent 2005 with the Buffalo Bisons where he hit .293 with 20 home runs and 85 RBI (5th in the IL). Gonzalez, a 2005 Memphis Redbird who played in Louisville 2001 and 2002, batted .308 with 14 home runs and 50 RBI.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: Aaron Holbert, team captain for the past two seasons, signed back with the Reds after an emotional 2005 campaign. Holbert broke several Louisville franchise records - career hits (471) and at-bats (1,760) - and is now second in Louisville's history with 500 games played and 242 runs scored. Holbert also received his second call of a lifetime when the Reds purchased his contract August 16, nine years after making his Major League debut with St. Louis in 1996. He spent the rest of the season in the big leagues and hit .222 with three doubles and two RBI.

NORFOLK TIDES
2005 BASEBALL AMERICA MANAGER OF THE YEAR RETURNS TO NORFOLK: 2005 Minor League Manager of the Year Ken Oberkfell will return to manage the Norfolk Tides in 2006, while Howard Johnson will return as hitting coach and Randy Niemann will serve as pitching coach. Brian Chicklo will return to the team as the head trainer, and Kenny Coward will return as the strength and conditioning coach. Oberkfell led the Tides to a 79-65 mark and the International League South Division Title in 2005, and was named the Minor League Manager of the Year by Baseball America after the season. The 49-year-old has compiled an overall record as a manager of 644-614 since 1997, and the 2006 season will be his sixth with the Mets organization. "I'm thrilled to be back for a second season with the Tides," said Oberkfell. "Norfolk is a tremendous city, and hopefully I can be a part of the Tides making an even deeper playoff run in 2006."

VOICE OF MIDSHIPMEN TO CALL THE ACTION FOR TIDES IN 2006: Bob Socci has been named as the Tides' new play-by-play broadcaster for the 2006 season. Socci takes over for Jeff McCarragher, who accepted a television position with the ABC affiliate in Topeka, Kansas. Socci is the lead broadcaster for both Navy football and men's basketball, and he has served as the play-by-play broadcaster for the Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes for the past three seasons. Socci is no stranger to the International League, having spent time with the Charlotte Knights during the 2002 season and the Rochester Red Wings in 1991 and 1992. "We are sad to see Jeff go, but at the same time we are extremely happy to welcome Bob to our organization" Tides President Ken Young said. "He is one of the best in the business, and we are very excited to have him calling the action for us this year."

SOLER, SANTA BRING HOLIDAY CHEER: Alay Soler, one of the New York Mets top pitching prospects, visited the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters in downtown Norfolk on December 23. Also visiting with the children was the one and only Santa Claus. Soler and Santa visited with children and parents, handing out New York Mets memorabilia and signing autographs. Soler also presented a check to the nearby Ronald McDonald House after his visit.

OTTAWA LYNX
BACK IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT: Veteran Manager Dave Trembley returns for his second season at the field boss of the Lynx. 2006 will be Trembley's 20th season as a Minor League manager, and he currently has 1,295 wins in his illustrious career. He becomes the fifth man to manage the Lynx in more than one season. (Pete Mackanin - 1995/96; Pat Kelly - 1997/98; Jeff Cox - 1999/00; Tim Leiper - 2002 and 2004). Returning with Trembley are Athletic Trainer P.J Mainville and Strength and Conditioning coach Joe Hogarty, both for their third season in Ottawa.

NEW COACHES ON LYNX STAFF: Two new men will flank Dave Trembley on the Lynx coaching staff in 2006. Larry McCall and Dallas Williams join the club as the new pitching coach and field coach respectively. McCall, 53, takes over as pitching coach after spending the last two years at Double-A Bowie. This season will be his 17th in the Orioles organization, having worked at each level of the Minor League system. Williams, 48, joins the Lynx after serving as hitting coach for Double-A Springfield in the St. Louis Cardinals organization last season. 2006 will be his 17th season as a coach in the pro ranks. Williams spent four seasons as the first base coach with the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies. He was also a coach in the Chicago White Sox and Cleveland Indians organizations.

NAME TAGS ARE OPTIONAL: The Lynx lineup in 2006 with feature some friendly faces and some new blood. Some of the new faces that may join the Lynx lineup Orioles' top prospect OF Nick Markakis, as well as former Montreal Expos 3B Fernando Tatis and former Toronto Blue Jays OF Howie Clark. Lynx fans were elated when several fan favorites were resigned, including last season's Lynx home run leader
INF Alejandro Freire, along with INF Napoleon Calzado, RHP Andy Mitchell, OF Keith Reed, INF Ed Rogers and RHP John Stephens.

PAWTUCKET RED SOX
PAWSOX PREVIEW: The Pawtucket Red Sox have posted winning seasons during 8 of the last 10 years. The Boston Red Sox have had winning records during 9 of the last 10 years. Coincidence? Probably not. But while winning is certainly the ultimate objective of any ball club, the Pawtucket Red Sox take even greater pride in their clearly defined role of helping the Boston Red Sox attain their perennial success. And for Red Sox fans those two parallels may never come together better than in 2006. In what may be one of the most anticipated PawSox seasons in recent history, the Pawtucket Red Sox appear certain to open the 2006 campaign with more talented young players than they have in years. The names read like a roll-call of top prospects: lefty starters Jon Lester & Abe Alvarez, relievers Manny Delcarmen, Cla Meredith & Craig Hansen, infielders Dustin Pedroia & Alejandro Machado, and outfielders David Murphy & Brandon Moss. The impressive list grows when you add newcomers like closer Jermaine Van Buren, reliever Craig Breslow, and RHP David Pauley along with familiar names like LHP Lenny DiNardo & OF Adam Stern. "You get excited about all of these guys," said manager Ron Johnson who returns for his second season as PawSox skipper. "We have a nice blend of players coming through and this is a very exciting time around here. You can see the development happening. This is the fruits of the labor, the hard work all of the scouts and development people have put in."

A HISTORIC SUMMER AWAITS: The excitement on the field will also be coupled with a wide array of special events throughout the 2006 campaign. This season marks the 25th Anniversary of the world-famous "Longest Game in Professional Baseball History" that was played at McCoy Stadium in 1981. The PawSox 3-2, 33-inning victory over Rochester will be remembered in style as we celebrate that amazing event throughout the year culminating with a reunion prior to the June 23 game at McCoy (the exact date, 25 years ago, that Dave Koza drove in Marty Barrett with the winning run in the bottom of the 33rd inning to earn his spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame). Later this summer the PawSox will participate in the "Futures at Fenway" twinbill when they play a regular season game against the Rochester Red Wings at Fenway Park. The historic event will take place on Saturday, August 26 at 6:05 pm. Family-friendly ticket prices and other details regarding this first-of-its-kind event will be announced by the Boston Red Sox.



A RADIO THREE-PEAT: It's a three peat for the PawSox - albeit not on the field but instead in the radio booth. For the third consecutive season, a Pawtucket Red Sox radio broadcaster has earned a job in the Major Leagues. The Washington Nationals announced this past January that Dave Jageler, the lead radio voice for the PawSox in 2005, had been chosen as their new radio broadcaster for 2006. Jageler will team with partner Charlie Slowes, a former Tidewater Tide radio man, on Washington Post Radio (1500 AM) to broadcast all Washington Nationals games during the 2006 season. Jageler, 34, spent just one season on the PawSox Radio Network and joins former PawSox radio voices Dave Flemming (San Francisco Giants in 2004) and Andy Freed (Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 2005) in an unprecedented three-peat. The PawSox have now proudly seen one of their radio broadcasters earn the call to the big leagues during each of the last three off-seasons - a feat believed to be unmatched in Minor League Baseball.

RICHMOND BRAVES
CLASSIC BRAVES: 12 former R-Braves are slated to play in the World Baseball Classic. Chipper Jones (Richmond '93) will play for Team USA. Team Canada will have a heavy R-Braves presence, including Scott Thorman (R-Braves '05), Pete Orr (Richmond '04), Stubby Clapp ('03), and Adam Stern ('04). Andruw Jones (Richmond '96), and Randall Simon (Richmond '97-99) will play for The Netherlands. Dave Nilsson ('04) is on the roster for Australia. Mark DeRosa (Richmond '99-'02) is slated to play for Italy. Javy Lopez (R-Braves '93) will play for Puerto Rico. Bruce Chen ('98-'00) will pitch for Panama. Jung Bong ('03) will pitch for Korea. The WBC begins March 3.

BIG LEAGUE DREAMS: Atlanta opened spring training last week with 54 players in big league camp. 18 of those players appeared with Richmond last season. Also in camp with Atlanta is pitcher Travis Smith who was 10-2 with a 2.59 ERA for the R-Braves 2004 Southern Division championship club. He spent 2005 in the Florida organization.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES?: The R-Braves, in partnership with the Atlanta Braves Foundation, presented a check for $10,000 to the Miracle League of Richmond, at the Inaugural "Rally for a Miracle" Auction and Gala February 3 at the Richmond Downtown Omni. The Miracle League provides opportunities for mentally and physically disabled children to play baseball. Miracle League games are played on specially designed fields to meet the unique needs of Miracle League players.

ROCHESTER RED WINGS
OFF-SEASON SIGNINGS: The Minnesota Twins have signed the following free agents to Minor League contracts: RHP Ryan Glynn,
RHP Pete Munro, OF Tim Raines, Jr., OF Jason Tyner, C Shawn Wooten, 1B/OF Jason Hart, and RHP Pat Neshek.

THE STAN AND STU SHOW: The Rochester Red Wings will enter the 2006 season with a set of twins in the dugout. Identical twin brothers Stan and Stu Cliburn will make the move from Double-A New Britain to Rochester. 2006 will be Stan's first season as a Triple-A manager and his 18th year as a Minor League manager. His brother Stu, who will enter his 14th season as a Minor League pitching coach, will be the Red Wings' pitching coach. It will also be his first season in Triple-A. Rich Miller, who filled in as the Red Wings' interim manager when Phil Roof left to team to be with his ill wife Marie, returns to the staff as the hitting coach.

WHO IS THIS GUY: RHP Willie Eyre had a great winter, going 9-0 with a 1.23 ERA for Aragua (Venezuelan League). He will look to win a spot in the Twins bullpen this spring, but if he doesn't make Minnesota's roster the Wings will welcome him back with open arms. Eyre was
10-3 with seven saves and a 2.72 ERA in 56 games last season. His 10 wins matched a career-high and he became the first Red Wings reliever to post double figures in wins since Dave Johnson in 1976. In addition, his seven saves were a new career-high.

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE
RUSSELL NEW SKIPPER: Marc Bombard had the fans and staff in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre spoiled. The current Phillies first base coach spent 8 consecutive seasons at the helm of the Red Barons before joining Philadelphia last season. Gene Lamont replaced him last year only to leave for a big league job with Detroit this year. Taking his place will be former Phillies #1 draft pick John Russell. Russell, a former catcher who spent time in the big leagues with Philadelphia, Atlanta and Texas, comes back to the Phillies after spending the last three years as the Pirates third base coach. His last managerial stint was in 2002 when he guided the Edmonton club to the PCL title and was named the Manager of the Year by Baseball America.

CLUBHOUSE EXPANSION: The Red Barons and visiting teams will have new clubhouse accommodations in 2006. Currently a $3,000,000 new home locker room is being constructed on the site of the former visiting locker room along the third base side of Lackawanna County Stadium. When completed, the new facility will boast 8,000 square feet of total space including an indoor batting cage, private coaches suites and a very large training facility. Visiting clubs will be moving over to the former home locker room which features a larger training room and players lounge.

GOODBYE PHILLIES?: Members of the Phillies front office have put the Red Barons franchise on notice that they will most likely not be renewing their Player Development Contract past the 2006 season. Should this happen, the Red Barons will become a "free agent" at season's end in search of a new affiliation. The Phillies have been the only big league club in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre since they joined the IL in 1989.

SYRACUSE SKYCHIEFS
THEY'RE BACK: Five Minor League free agents from last year's team resigned with the Blue Jays this season: infielders Kevin Barker and Danny Solano, outfielder Chad Mottola, left-handed reliever Adrian Burnside and right-handed reliever Matt Duff. Barker set a franchise record for RBI in a month collecting 41 in 28 June games last season, and with a .305 batting average became the first Syracuse player since Orlando Hudson to finish the season hitting over .300 with at-least 350 at-bats. Solano appeared in 57 games last season hitting .243 with 3 HR and 22 RBI. Mottola enters this season with 67 career home runs in a Syracuse uniform, ranking him 4th in franchise history. Burnside tied for the team lead with 50 appearances last season and held opposing left-handed hitters to a .185 average. Duff went 5-0 in 15 appearances last season before having season ending Tommy John surgery.

HOT STOVE: The SkyChiefs held their 45th annual Hot Stove Dinner and Silent Auction on Friday February 3. A record attendance of around 400 people came out to see 1996 Cy Young Award Winner Pat Hentgen, new SkyChiefs manager Mike Basso, SkyChiefs 2005 MVP John-Ford Griffin, Detroit Tigers pitcher Jason Grilli and SkyChiefs outfielder Justin Singleton. The Silent Auction helped raise over $6,000 for local charity ENABLE.

FREE AGNET FRENZY: Not only did the Blue Jays front office steal the headlines this winter improving the Major League team, but they were also active in signing players to Minor League deals. Catchers Jason Phillips and Mike Mahoney, infielder Luis Figueroa, outfielder Wayne Lydon and pitchers James Baldwin, Matt Blank, Shawn Sonnier, Brian Tolberg and Rodney Ormond were added to the Minor League roster.

TOLEDO MUD HENS
TEAM PREVIEW FOR 2006 TOLEDO MUD HENS: The 2006 Toledo Mud Hens are coming off their first Governors' Cup Championship in 38 years and will have several returning players to try and defend their title. In the infield, Toledo will have several familiar faces; 3B Mike Hessman blasted a career-best 28 home runs last season and was brilliant defensively at the hot corner. SS Don Kelly hit .340 with Double-A Erie before spending the final month with Toledo. 2B/SS Kevin Hooper was a sparkplug for the Hens and played all nine positions in the final regular season game of 2005. 2B Ryan Raburn appeared in 130 Toledo games and hit 21 home runs. 3B Jack Hannahan made Fifth Third Field history last May when he blasted three home runs in one game. Former Hen SS Ramon Santiago is back after smacking 10 home runs with Tacoma in 2005. Santiago hit .429 in nine games with Toledo in 2002. Another new face will be 1B Josh Phelps who has played with Durham and Syracuse in the International League. Phelps is a career .277 hitter with 17 or more home runs in seven straight seasons. Roaming the outfield for Toledo will be RF Alexis Gomez who was among the IL leaders last season with his .307 average and 21 stolen bases. New faces will include Ryan Ludwick who had an injury plagued season last year and appeared in 73 games between Cleveland and Buffalo. Reggie Taylor has been signed as a free agent to roam spacious centerfield in Toledo. Taylor has played with Durham, Charlotte, Louisville, and Scranton/WB in his 11-year career with 263 career stolen bases.

Behind the dish will be a couple of players getting their first real taste of Triple-A baseball. Maxim St. Pierre appeared in one game for the Hens in 2002 but has spent the last four seasons with Double-A Erie. His .278 average in 2005 was his best offensive season and he added 23 extra-base hits. St. Pierre has been tabbed as one of the best defensive catchers in the system for several years. Brian Peterson has spent the last three seasons with Double-A Chattanooga and hit a combined .284 over the last two years but has never played in a Triple-A game. The pitching staff is not as clear cut but some returning arms should make pitching coach Jeff Jones' job a little easier. RHP Joel Zumaya burst onto the scene in 2005 with his 100 mph fastball and helped push the Hens to the IL West title last summer. Zumaya struck-out 199 between Erie and Toledo last year. RHP Zach Miner came to Toledo from Atlanta in the Kyle Farnsworth trade last summer and went 3-1 in his six starts for Toledo. LHP Wil Ledezma started 2005 with Detroit but spent most of the year in Toledo, going 5-3 in 11 starts. Possible starters that are new to the system include RHP Chad Durbin who went 4-5 in 20 starts with New Orleans last season. RHP Tony Fiore spent 2005 with Ottawa and went 9-5 with a 3.63 ERA. The veteran will enter his 15th professional season. In the bullpen, Toledo will again be strong with RHP Mark Woodyard, RHP Steve Green, RHP Adam Peterson returning. Fresh faces include RHP Lee Gardner, RHP Kevin Hodge, LHP Hector Mercado and LHP Bobby Seay.

FIFTH THIRD FIELD ENTERS FIFTH SEASON, TOLEDO COMING OFF RECORD YEAR: The Mud Hens will celebrate their fifth season in downtown Toledo in 2006 with Opening Day scheduled for 5:30 on Thursday, April 6. Toledo is coming off a historic year in 2005 with a Toledo baseball record 556,995 fans coming out to root for the eventual Governors' Cup Champions. Toledo also celebrated their 100th sell-out in the history of the ballpark in August, and has now sold-out 107 games since 2002. The Hens have welcomed 2,166,308 fans through the gates during the first four years of Fifth Third Field. As a comparison, the last four seasons at Ned Skeldon Stadium saw 1,205,468 fans come to see the team from 1998-2001. That is an increase of 80%.

TELEVISION SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED FOR 2006: For the third straight season, the Toledo Mud Hens will televise over 50 games on Buckeye Cable Sports Network (BCSN) locally. Last season, the Hens televised 64 games on BCSN with 50 of those games being live. All games are available (video streaming) online at www.mudhens.com free of charge. This season, the team will televise 62 home games and bring the Mud Hens fans 44 of those games live. The broadcast trio of Jim Weber, Frank Gilhooley, and Jason Griffin will again provide the play-by-play action of all 62 games on BCSN.

International League Stories from February 23, 2006

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• International League News and Notes - IL1

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