IL1 International League

International League News and Notes

Published on August 21, 2008 under International League (IL1) News Release


BUFFALO BISONS

BISONS GET MAJOR ADDITIONS TO LINEUP: A lot of star power was added to the Bisons' lineup this week as DH Travis Hafner and C/INF Victor Martinez joined the club on rehab assignments. So far the pair has delivered. "Pronk" is 3-5 with two doubles, two RBI and two walks in his two games while Martinez went 1-2 with a walk and two RBI in his lone game on Tuesday. The two have been alternating playing days since Monday with Martinez expected to play today. Both last played in Buffalo in 2003 when Martinez hit .328 with seven home runs and 45 RBI in 73 games while Hafner hit .270 with two home runs and 10 RBI in 29 games.

NOT A LAUGHING MATTER: LHP Aaron Laffey has been his dominating self since being optioned to the team on August 4. In four starts this month, the southpaw is 3-0 with a 2.88 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 25.0 innings of work. Laffey was with the Tribe for over three months this season but has still gone 6-1 with a 2.82 ERA in nine starts with Buffalo. He has not allowed an earned run in five of his nine starts. He has now won 15 of his last 16 decisions with the team and is a career 15-4 with a 2.50 ERA in 25 career games with the Bisons.

ALL-STAR GETTING BETTER: LHP Rich Rundles was a mid-season All-Star for the Bisons, but may actually be having a better second half to the season. The side-winding reliever has a 0.90 ERA and three saves in 13 games since the break. He has posted 11 consecutive scoreless outings and hasn't allowed a hit in his last six appearances. In those 11 total games, Rundles has allowed just three base runners (two hits, one walk) while striking out 10 in 8.1 innings of work. Overall, Rundles is 5-4 with a 2.94 ERA in 50 games with the team. He ranks T-3rd in the IL in games pitched.

CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS

KNIGHTS BROADCASTER CLOSES IN ON 2,500 GAMES: Charlotte Knights play-by-play radio broadcaster Matt Swierad is closing in on his 2,500th game in the broadcast booth. Swierad has been with the Knights for 11 seasons and has called games during two IL South Divisional Championships and one Governors' Cup Championship in 1999. Swierad began his broadcasting career with the Gastonia Rangers before moving on to the Hagerstown Suns and Hickory Crawdads. Game number 2,500 will be August 31 when the Knights host the Durham Bulls.

CREDE CONTINUES COMEBACK: 3B Joe Crede will continue his rehab assignment with the Knights through this Sunday's game vs. the Norfolk Tides. Crede appeared in two games for the Knights with the first being on August 1 vs. Louisville and the second being just this week on August 19 vs. Indianapolis. Crede has gone 0-5 with two strikeouts with the Knights while playing an errorless third base. Crede played for the Knights from 2001-02. Crede was placed on the White Sox 15-day disabled list on July 22 with back lumbar inflammation. In 2007, Crede appeared in 47 games for Chicago before undergoing season ending back surgery on June 12.

BOURGEOIS KEEPS RUNNING: INF/OF Jason Bourgeois picked up his 26th stolen base of the season in Tuesday night's win over Indianapolis. Bourgeois is now 7 stolen bases shy of his 200th career MiLB stolen base. Bourgeois now has 6 stolen bases in his last 10 games. Bourgeois has a total of 49 stolen bases during his two years with the Knights.

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS

THE AMAZING SPEIGNER-MAN: Levale Speigner has not allowed an earned run in his last 10 appearances after throwing 2.0 perfect innings on August 19 against the Braves. On the season, he has allowed earned runs in just four of his 22 appearances for Columbus and in only five of his 32 appearances combined between Harrisburg and Columbus. In his last 10 games, he has allowed a single unearned run in 20.0 IP, currently throwing 9.1 consecutive scoreless innings (last run on August 4 vs. Norfolk; last earned run on July 12 vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre).

SETTING THE TABLE, BUT NOT CLEANING UP: With runners on-base, the Clippers are hitting at a .273 clip this season (4th in the IL), however, with runners in scoring position the average dips to .251 (10th). The 22 point difference is the largest gap between averages in the League. In addition, among the 14 teams in the IL, the Clippers have driven in the lowest percentage of their runs scored (90.5%) with a League-high 53 runs scored without the benefit of an RBI.

IT ONLY TAKES ONE: Last night's 1-run victory over the Richmond Braves gave the Clippers their 25th 1-run win this season. That total leads the International League and is tied with the Portland Beavers for the most 1-run wins in Triple-A.

DURHAM BULLS

STOPPING THE STREAK: Durham snapped a four-game skid yesterday with a 5-0 shutout of Louisville.  Jeff Niemann (8-5) went the distance, allowing four hits without walking a batter, while striking out six.  Niemann had been without a win in five straight starts (three no-decisions, two losses).  Niemann is the only Bull to have a nine-inning complete game this year.  He now has two nine-inning stints, doing so as well against Charlotte on July 2. These are the first two nine-inning complete games of his career; with last night's start his first complete-game nine-inning shutout.  Niemann retired his final 12 hitters yesterday and 21 of his final 22, and held Louisville to 0-8 with runners in scoring position. Niemann's start was important in the terms of the playoff race and the bullpen.  The bullpen had pitched 3.1 innings on each of the previous two nights, and had lost leads in both games, leading to back-to-back 9-8 defeats.  The pen had allowed 13 runs, 11 earned in the previous 6.2 innings during those two games.

STORY OF THE SOUTH: With the win and a Norfolk 8-5 loss to Toledo, Durham's lead moved to 6.5 games over the Tides in the South Division with 12 games left (six at home, six on the road).   The Bulls have two games left at Norfolk (next Wednesday and Thursday).  Durham's magic number is six: any combination of six Durham wins and Norfolk losses will give the Bulls their second straight division title.

TOUGH RUN: Durham improved to 9-10 in August, but it's been a tough month.  On Sunday Joel Guzman was lost (DL) to a right hamstring injury.  The team also this month lost SS Reid Brignac to a fractured left wrist (DL - August 7), and Ben Zobrist and Justin Ruggiano to the Rays when Carl Crawford and Evan Longoria were injured.  In addition, reliever Juan Salas went to the majors this month when Troy Percival went on the DL for the third time. 

ALMOST RECORD: Mitch Talbot left Tuesday with an 8-2 lead after six, only to see the team fall 9-8 at Louisville in ten innings.  Had Durham held the lead, Talbot would've set a single-season Bulls Triple-A record with 14 wins.  Talbot won 13 games last year, as did Dave Eiland in the team's first Triple-A season in 1998.  Talbot should make two more starts.

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS

THREE INDIANS NAMED AMONG THE IL'S BEST:  Center fielder Andrew McCutchen, third baseman Neil Walker and right-handed pitcher Jimmy Barthmaier have been named among the International League's best in the August 25 edition of Baseball America. The three Indians were all listed among the best in the International League in Baseball America's annual "Best Tools" issue. McCutchen was named the "Most Exciting Player," Walker the "Best Defensive Third Baseman" and Barthmaier as having the "Best Breaking Ball." Indianapolis tied Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Durham and Norfolk for the most appearances on the "Best Tools" list with three. Also this week McCutchen is featured in Sports Illustrated, who projects the 21-year-old's talent as similar to Grady Sizemore.

GREAT PITCHING: Indianapolis starting pitchers have combined for a 3-1 record and 3.10 ERA (17 ER in 49.1 IP) over the last eight games. During the stretch Tribe starters have struck out 35 batters, while walking only nine. RHP Ross Ohlendorf, LHP Corey Hamman, and LHP Tom Gorzelanny also have combined with relievers Franquelis Osoria, Juan Perez and Jesse Chavez to toss three shutouts during the stretch. Indians RHP Marino Salas is 2-1 with a 1.96 ERA over his last 12 relief appearances (4 ER in 18.1 IP), while RHP Jesse Chavez has collected seven saves and posted a

2.29 ERA over his last 14 relief outings (4 ER in 15.2 IP). Salas leads the team with .203 batting average against and ranks 2nd on the team with 36 appearances, while Chavez paces the club in appearances (49), saves (13) and strikeouts (68).

MORGAN MOVING ON UP: Indians OF Nyjer Morgan was recalled by Pittsburgh on Tuesday, August 19. Before his promotion Morgan had been one of the hottest hitters in the International League, posting a .410 batting average (25-61) with 15 runs, 14 RBI and 12 stolen bases in 16 games during the month of August. During the stretch, Morgan had collected nine multi-hit games including a four-hit contest against Toledo on August 3. He also tied a 72-year-old team record, set by Robert Fausett on May 14, 1936, with five swipes against Durham on August 15.

AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS: Indians OF Andrew McCutchen ranks among the International League's leaders for games played (T-2nd, 124), walks (3rd, 64), at-bats (7th, 467), stolen bases (7th, 30) and on-base percentage (9th, .371), while INF Neil Walker ranks 5th in games played (122) and 10th in RBI (73). RHP Jesse Chavez also places among the IL leaders for appearances (T-5th, 49) and saves (9th, 13).

LEHIGH VALLEY IRONPIGS

D.L. DOWNER: Since coming off the DL, DH Chris Snelling -- who missed 31 G -- has gone just 4-31 (.129) in 11 G -- though he has now drawn at least 1 BB in each of his last 4 G. He had hit in 9 consecutive games before triggering his knee injury June 19 and going on the DL. 3B Brennan King -- who missed 29 G -- has gone 1-28 (.036) in 8 G (snapped an 0-23 skid with a 1B in the 8th on August 15). He had hit in 7 of his last 11 G prior to straining his right elbow July 4.

 

WHAT'S HAPP-ENING: LHP J.A. Happ has won 5 of his last 6 decisions, posting a 2.44 ERA (59.0 IP, 36 H, 16 ER) in his last 10 IL starts. In his last 6 GS (40.1 IP, 8 ER, 1.79), opponents are batting just .133 (18-135) with 6 extra-base hits. He is 2nd in the IL with 143 K and is 5th in ERA (3.30).  

WHO'S HOT: INF Mike Cervenak snapped his 14-G hitting streak Monday (0-4) upon his return from Philadelphia. He's hit in 15 of 16 G (26-65, .400-0-9, 6 2B)... C Jason Jaramillo snapped a 6-G streak Tuesday (0-3). He's hit safely in 6 of last 7 G (9-26, .346, 2 2B) and in 16 of last 30 G (25-80, .313-1-5)... OF Brandon Watson has hit in his last 6 G (12-27, .444-1-3, 2 2B) and in 13 of his last 15 G (23-64, .359-3-9, 4 2B)... 1B Andy Tracy has hit in 7 of his last 10 G (.405-4-10, 15-37, 5 2B) and slugging .865... OF Rich Thompson has been successful in his last 20 SB attempts...RHP Joe Bisenius has allowed just 2 R in his last 6 G (2.08, 8.2 IP, 8 K)... RHP Matt Childers is 1-2, 2.12, 12 SV (34.0 IP, 8 ER) in his last 25 G... LHP Stephen Randolph has allowed just 1 R in his last 5 G (1-0, SV, 1.29, 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 13 K)... RHP Kris Benson is 1-1, 3.29 (38.1 IP, 14 ER) in his last 6 GS after starting 0-2, 11.77 in his first 3 GS.

 

BACON BITS: The 'Pigs have set a new low-water mark of 27 games below .500... The 'Pigs have lost 9 of the last 10 road games. They went 20-12 in the previous 32 G... The 'Pigs are now just 4-17 in their last 21 G vs. the North Division -- and just 10-24 in their last 34 G. They started the season just 1-20 vs. divisional does before an 8-3 run May 19-June 13... The 'Pigs need to go at least 4-9 in their last 13 G to pass Ottawa's record last season (55-88)... The 'Pigs are just 4-12 in August with the 13th-ranked AVG (.231) and 12th ranked ERA (4.78) in the IL this month.

LOUISVILLE BATS

POP THE CHAMPAGNE?: If the Bats win tonight (or Toledo loses), Louisville will be crowned IL West Champs; it will be their first division title since the 2003 season.  In that season Louisville lost to Durham (3-1) in the first round of the Governors' Cup Playoffs.  It would also be their fourth IL West title, which would tie them with Toledo for the most IL West banners. The 2008 Bats are now the second team in franchise history to record 80 wins in a season.  They now set their sights on breaking the all-time franchise record for wins in a season with 84.  That record belongs to the 2001 Governors' Cup Championship Team that went 84-60 and first eclipsed the 80-win mark on August 29 at 80-59.  The Bats would need to go 3-9 in their remaining 12 games to match that record. What could make the next win even more special is that manager Rick Sweet is one victory away from matching former manager Dave Miley's all-time win total of 296.

HOT, HOT AUGUST: In the month of August the Bats are 16-3 and are three wins away from matching the 1985 (19-13) and 1987 (19-11) Redbirds for most wins in the month of August.  This season, the Bats entered August at 65-48, three games in front of the Toledo Mud Hens.  The team's magic number to clinch the division was 29 on August 1, and in 18 games, the Bats have dropped that number to one.  Louisville had watched their magic number dwindle each time they had taken the field in the month of August until last night, when Durham defeated the Bats (5-0) and Toledo won at Norfolk (8-5).

PETTYJOHN TIES TEWKSBURY: With the win on Saturday, LHP Adam Pettyjohn became the first Louisville player to record 13 wins in a season since Bob Tewksbury did so in 1989.  The 13 wins in a season are the second most in franchise history. Ralph Citarella recorded 15 wins in the Louisville Redbirds' inaugural season (1982).  Also, with LHP Matt Maloney picking up his 10th win of the season on Thursday, Pettyjohn and Maloney are the first Louisville pitchers with double-digit victories since Jared Fernandez and Jose Acevedo each had 12 wins for the Bats in 2002.  It's also just the sixth time in franchise history that a Louisville team has more than one pitcher with 10 or more wins.

SAVE-A-LOT: When LHP Daniel Ray Herrera recorded his 5th save and the club's 49th of the season Sunday, the Bats eclipsed the franchise mark of 48 set in 1994.  That season Willie Smith led the American Association in saves with 29.  RHP Jon Adkins notched his 25th save of the year Saturday night, which ties him with Toledo's Blaine Neal (who is currently in Beijing) for the League lead.  Adkins' 25 saves on the season is the fifth most in a single season in franchise history, tied with Cory Bailey who did so in 1995.  The franchise record for saves in a season is 31, set by Mike Perez in 1990.

NORFOLK TIDES

OSCAR-WORTHY PERFORMANCE: Tides infielder Oscar Salazar has had his name at or near the top of numerous offensive categories this season. Salazar currently leads the IL with 58 extra-base hits, and he also leads the IL with 42 doubles - a total that has established a new franchise record (surpassing the 41 doubles hit by Mark Carreon in 1987). Salazar is also tied for 3rd in the League with 82 RBI, tied for 5th in the League with a .312 average, and tied for 6th with 135 base hits this season. He's also enjoyed incredible success against left-handed pitching, as he's hit .422 (62-147) vs. southpaws this year.

STARTING STRONG: Through the first six games of the current homestand, Norfolk's starters have gone 3-1 with a 2.21 ERA (9 ER, 36.2 IP), as the rotation has allowed 25 hits and 21 walks while striking out 27 over that stretch. Tides starters have gone 21-13 with a 4.06 ERA (115 ER, 255.0 IP) since July 1, reversing a trend that saw the starters go 15-39 with a 5.61 ERA entering July.

SERIES BUSINESS: The Tides have earned at least a split in each of their last 13 series, winning six and splitting seven more over that stretch. Norfolk has not dropped a series since they lost two of three vs. Durham from June 27-28, and the Tides are 30-16 since July 1, the 3rd-best record in the IL over that span (Louisville is 34-13 and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre is 30-15).

PAWTUCKET RED SOX

MAGIC NUMBER STATUS: The PawSox magic number to clinch a playoff spot is down to 3 over the Toledo Mud Hens. The PawSox currently lead the IL Wild Card race by 9 games over the Mud Hens with 11 Sox games remaining and 12 left for Toledo. Pawtucket is also only -1½ GB of 1st-place Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the race for the IL North championship. The clubs appear all but certain to meet in the first round of the IL Playoffs beginning on September 3rd - either at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket or PNC Field in Moosic, PA (whichever teams wins the Wild Card).

RECORDS ARE MADE TO BE BROKEN: The PawSox are on the verge of some team and individual records that are within reach with just under two weeks remaining in the season. With 11 games remaining the PawSox have a chance to set a new franchise-record for victories in a season (83 wins in 2003) as they are currently 78-54 with 11 games to go (6-5 does the trick). The Sox also have a chance to equal or better their most home wins in a season as the club-record is 46 victories at McCoy in both 1977 and 1995 - the Sox are presently 43-24 at home with 5 home games remaining (3-2 ties that mark). The PawSox are all but certain to set new club mark for highest fielding pct. (they currently own a .984 fielding pct. well ahead of their best ever of .980 set in 2006) as well as a new team record for fewest errors in a season as the Sox have committed just 75 errors thus far - much fewer than the club mark of 106 errors in 2006. Individually, OF Jonathan Van Every has a 1.000 fielding pct. (0 errors in 111 games in the outfield - all in CF actually) as he looks to tie the only other outfielder in PawSox history to play a minimum of 100 games in the outfield without making an error - Ray Boyer in 1980. PawSox INF Joe Thurston has tied the franchise-record for most sacrifice hits with 14 (matching the mark set by Mike Twardoski in 1991). On the pitching side, RHP David Pauley is one hit batsman away from equaling the club-record set by Danny Parks (11 HBP in 1981).

HELP FROM ABOVE: On Tuesday the PawSox welcomed two players from the top two teams (record-wise) in the International League and teams that are certain to be in the four-team IL playoff tournament in less than two weeks. The PawSox added OF Jason Lane as a free agent. Lane, 31, opted out of his contract with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees over the weekend (playing his last game with the Yanks last Saturday). He was hitting .236 in 97 games for Scranton/WB with 19 2B, 3 3B, 16 HR & 51 RBI playing 80 games in the outfield and 12 at 1B. Lane is a veteran of 497 big league games playing in the majors with Houston (2002-2007) and San Diego (briefly in 2007). He has a .241 career Major League average with 61 HR & 189 RBI. His best season came with Houston in 2005 when he batted .267 with 26 HR & 78 RBI in 145 games for the Astros. Also on Tuesday, the PawSox added reliever Marcus McBeth to their roster following his claim by the Red Sox off waivers from Cincinnati (Louisville) back on August 13. McBeth, 27, had spent the entire season at Triple-A Louisville, going 1-1, 6.20 in 24 relief appearances. He was 3-2, 5.95 in 23 games with the Reds in 2007 during his only big league experience.

RICHMOND BRAVES

ANDERSON ROLLS ON: Josh Anderson has a 26-game hitting streak (48-118, .407), extending his all-time R-Braves record.  His streak is the longest in the IL this season.  Randy Ruiz of Rochester hit in 24 straight.  Brandon Watson of Columbus set the IL record by hitting in 43 straight games last season.  The longest hitting streak in Triple-A this season is 27 games by Peter Cioforne of the Portland Beavers.  His run ended July 30.  That streak is the highest above Class-A this season.  Quinten Berry of Clearwater (Florida State League) has the longest streak in organized baseball this season.  He hit in 30 straight games.  Michael Jones of Greenville (South Atlantic) had a 28 game streak.

PIPELINE TO ATLANTA: RHP Matt DeSalvo earned a promotion to Atlanta Friday, becoming the 15th Richmond Brave to earn a big league promotion this season.  He made his Braves debut Sunday vs. San Francisco.  Atlanta's current active roster includes eight players who've seen action with Richmond this season prior to earning promotion (DeSalvo, Brandon Jones, Jo-Jo Reyes, Clint Sammons, Jorge Campillo, Buddy Carlyle, Vladimir Nunez, and Charlie Morton).  There are also three players on the Atlanta roster who have rehabbed with Richmond this season (Mike Hampton, Mike Gonzalez, and Omar Infante).

RICHMOND, CANADA'S TEAM: One current R-Brave (Scott Thorman) and three former R-Braves (Adam Stern, Rheal Cormier, and Stubby Clapp) saw action for Team Canada at the Olympics.  Canada finished the tournament 2-5 and in 6th place.  One former R-Brave, Mike Hessman, is a member of the Team USA squad that advanced to the medal round.  Thorman is expected to re-join the R-Braves August 25.

ROCHESTER RED WINGS

CHICKS DIG THE LONG BALL: Outfielder Garrett Jones hit his 20th home run of the season Tuesday night (his 78th as a Red Wing).  Jones is the first Rochester player to hit 70 home runs during his Red Wings career since Terry Crowley hit 87 home runs from (1968, 69, 71, 76-77).  Jones' 78 home runs put him 8th all-time on the Red Wings home run list.  Jones is just one home run shy of Mike Fiore for 7th all-time (79 home runs).  Tuesday night Jones became the first Red Wings player to have three 20-home run seasons (2005-24, 2006-21 and 2008-20) since outfielder Russ Derry had three 20-home run seasons (1947-26, 1949-42 and 1950-30).  Derry is the Red Wings all-time home run leader with 134 long balls.

PICKING UP STEAM!: The Red Wings enter tonight's game one game over .500 with a 67-66 record.  It's the first time Rochester has been above .500 since Opening Day April 3 (1-0 record).  Rochester started slow this season with a 19-32 record in their first 51 games but the Wings have turned things around dramatically.  Since May 26 the Red Wings have a 48-34 record (.580) in their last 82 games.  The Red Wings are 14-5 in the month of August and look to have their first 20-win month since July 1997 when Rochester had a 23-7 record.  Since 1980 when month-to-month records begin Rochester has never had a 20-win month of August.

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE YANKEES

IT'S AN ANOMALY: The Yankees had the rare occasion to lose on Tuesday night when out-hitting the opposition and scoring the game's first run. When crossing the plate with the game's first tally, SWB now sits at 54-17; when out-hitting the opposition the Yankees are 58-12.

AVOIDING KORECKY: The Rochester Red Wings have won five games against the Yankees in 2008 and the common link in each of the Red Wings wins has been closer Bobby Korecky. The right-hander picked up his fifth save against the Yankees on Tuesday night and has saved every game the Wings have won against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this season. In 9.0 innings Korecky has allowed only five hits to the Yankees, who are hitting a meager .161 (5-31) against him.

THE MELK MAN: Outfielder Melky Cabrera made his SWB Yankees debut on Sunday at Lehigh Valley and immediately paid dividends tying a SWB franchise record with four walks in his first game. Cabrera singled in his only official at-bat, scored two and stole a base in the Yankees 9-6 win. Sunday's game for the switch hitting outfielder was his first Minor League action since May 8, 2006 for the Columbus Clippers. Cabrera hit .385

(47-122) with 4 HR and 24 RBI and three steals in 31 games for the Clippers in 2006 before getting his first MLB promotion. In 117 games with the NY Yankees this season he hit .242 with 8 HR and 36 RBI.

ROUNDING THIRD AND HEADING FOR HOME: As the season winds down and the chase for playoff positioning heats up, home field advantage may prove to be a big factor. The Yankees have 13 games remaining with five at PNC Field and eight on the road. Pawtucket has 11 remaining with five at McCoy Stadium and six games on the road. The Yankees and Red Sox finished the season series splitting the 16 games with each team winning four in the other's ball park. The final home stand for SWB continues tonight with one more game vs. Rochester, two games on Friday and Saturday vs. Lehigh Valley and two vs. Buffalo on Sunday the 24th and Monday the 25th. The Yankees will wrap up the season seven on the road with three at Buffalo, two at Rochester and the season-ending series of three games in two days (August 31 and September 1) at Syracuse.

SYRACUSE CHIEFS

ADAMS LOVES AUGUST: Chiefs second baseman Russ Adams, who batted less the .100 in June, has made up for it in the month of August with a .423 batting average (33-78).  Russ has also driven in 16 runs and has added nine extra-base hits (5 doubles and 4 home runs).

SNIDER LIKES TRIPLE-A: So far Travis Snider has cruised through every level of the Blue Jays organization with ease and in Syracuse it's been much of the same.  In the 20-year-old's first 11 games with the Chiefs he is batting .359 with 10 RBI after being promoted from Double-A New Hampshire two weeks ago.  Snider began the season at A-Dunedin.

RICHMOND RETURNS TO SYRACUSE: Scott Richmond was optioned back to the Chiefs after three starts with the Blue Jays.  With the Chiefs the right-hander still has not recorded a win in six starts, despite a 2.43 ERA.

GOOD WEEK FOR TEX: It was a good week for Chiefs Executive Vice President & COO Anthony "Tex" Simone when he was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame with childhood idol Hank Sauer on Friday night before celebrating his 80th birthday today.

TOLEDO MUD HENS

AROUND THE WORLD: Team USA advanced to the semi-finals of the Olympic Games with a win over Chinese Taipai on Tuesday. Mike Hessman has started in three of the six games and has one home run and three RBI. Blaine Neal has made one appearance - a 9th inning appearance during the 9-1 win over China. Neal gave up one earned run and one hit in one inning of work. Team USA's next game is against Cuba at 6:00 a.m. on Friday to begin the medal round.

SOLD OUT: Fifth Third Field is currently on a fourteen (14) game sellout streak (breaks a FTF record set in August 2002 through Opening Day 2003), including number 200 in the history of the venue. In addition, the park has been sold out 25 of the last 28 home games. Fifth Third Field has also eclipsed the 500,000 mark for the seventh straight season.

BACK IN THE RANKS: RHP Chris Lambert has thrown himself back on the leader board in ERA among the League's starting pitchers. After throwing four quality starts in his last five, Lambert now ranks 8th overall with a 3.50 ERA. He spent the majority of this season in the top ten, but had to climb back and did so after his recent stretch.

LIGHTNING FAST: OF Freddy Guzman leads the IL in steals with 48 and is ranked 2nd in professional baseball with 63 (swiped 15 with Double-A Erie). Guzman has swiped 60 or more bases four of the last five years.

Check out the International League Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from August 21, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central