IL news & notes

Published on April 29, 2004 under International League (IL1) News Release

BUFFALO BISONS
BISONS' BATS GET INTO THE SWING: Buffalo's offense has come alive in the first six games of their current road trip. Since the start of the trip last Friday, the Herd leads the International League in hits (74), average (.326), on-base percentage (.397) and doubles (19), and is second in runs (48) and third in slugging percentage (.524). Brandon Phillips (.591), Mark Little (.421), Jhonny Peralta (.407) and Ernie Young (.381) have all helped power the Herd's offense, getting the team within one game of the lead in the IL North.

LITTLE CYCLES THE HERD TO VICTORY: Mark Little became the first Bison to hit for the cycle in six years, as the outfielder went 4-5 in a 11-3 victory at Rochester on Tuesday, April 27. Little homered in the third, reached on an infield single in the fifth, picked up his second triple of the year in the seventh and then completed the cycle with a double in eighth inning. The rare feat was the first in Buffalo history since Alex Ramirez did it against Syracuse in Game One of the 1998 Governors' Cup semifinals in Dunn Tire Park. Little's cycle was also the first ever at Frontier Field in Rochester.

BRANYAN BACK WITH THE HERD: On Monday, the Bisons welcomed back one of the most prolific home run hitters in team history, Russell Branyan. Branyan was acquired in a trade with the Atlanta Braves, and including today's action, has already hit three home runs in his four games back with Buffalo. With the 51 homers he hit in his first stint with the club, Branyan now has 54, good for sole possession of fourth place on the Herd's modern day home run chart.

CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS
HAPPY VALENTIN DAY: Chicago White Sox shortstop Jose Valentin is tentatively scheduled to make a five-game rehabilitation appearance with the Knights beginning Thursday night. Valentin was placed on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring on April 19. In 11 games with the Sox in 2004, Valentin is hitting .271 with three home runs and eight RBI. Knights' opening day shortstop Kelly Dransfeldt was called up on April 20 to take Valentin's spot on the White Sox.

TORRES JOINS KNIGHTS: The Chicago White Sox signed free agent outfielder Andres Torres on April 24 and assigned him to Charlotte. Torres had been designated for assignment by the Detroit Tigers and then became a free agent. The 26-year-old Puerto Rico native is currently hitting .176 in four games with the Knights. Torres has spent time in the IL the last two seasons with the Mud Hens.

REED TO RECEIVE AWARD ON FRIDAY: Charlotte Knights outfielder Jeremy Reed will receive a trophy honoring him as the 2003 Topps Minor League Player of the Year in a ceremony prior to the Knights' home game against Louisville on Friday, April 30. Reed, 22, received the honor after hitting .373 with 11 home runs, 95 RBI and 45 stolen bases between Double-A Birmingham and Class A Winston-Salem last season. His .373 average led the entire minor league circuit and is the 11th-highest figure in the minor leagues since 1980.

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS
A PLAYER TO BE NAMED LATER: Outfielder Mike Vento has requested to be called Michael. As "Michael", Vento has hit .500 (11 for 22) raising his average from .182 to .303.

COSME'S HOT: Caonabo Cosme wasn't even on the radar before spring training. The rookie second baseman has remained hot this week, hitting .421 with 12 RBI. Cosme is currently among the league leaders with a .385 average. He signed as a free agent after hitting .273 with Tennessee last season.

THE LUMBER COMPANY: The Clippers bats remain hot this week with a .316 team average. Seven players clubbed over .300 for the week. Major league veteran Mike Kelly hit .348 with ten RBI. Kelly, who has seen major league action with the Braves, Reds and Rockies, sat out for three seasons before returning to hit .296 with Omaha in 2003.

DURHAM BULLS
GOING GONZO: Bulls' starting pitcher Dicky Gonzalez has been tremendous so far with the Bulls. Gonzalez has pitched shutout ball in his last two starts, covering 12 innings, and has allowed just a single run over his last 17 innings

DEWON IS ON: Righty Dewon Brazelton has been nearly as tough, as he hasn't walked a batter over three starts, covering 17.2 innings, and during that time has given up just two runs and 14 hits.

HOME SWEET HOME: The Bulls are in the midst of their longest home stand of the season, 10 games. The Bulls, with a win Wednesday night, are 5-2 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

CANTU CAN GO DEEP: Jorge Cantu homered Wednesday in his third straight game. The Bulls' shortstop now has six homers, which is one short of his career high of seven, set last year between Orlando and Durham.

TEEN PROGRAM ADDS ART TO THE DBAP: The streets surrounding the Durham Bulls' Athletic Park are freshly adorned with 70 custom designed banners celebrating the Bulls' 10th anniversary at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The images combine architectural elements from the American Tobacco Historic District with the Bulls' beloved mascot. What's unusual about this design work is the age of the designer. Sean Coleman is a junior at Durham School of the Arts and a Designer for SeeSaw Studio, North Carolina's only design and business program for teenagers. The five year old non-profit studio offers a year round work exchange program to talented and motivated teens in Durham. Youth Designers work their way up from Entry Level to Senior Designer as they work on commissioned projects, and retail production.

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
TRIBE REMAINS IN FIRST PLACE: Indianapolis has been in first place since the road opener at Norfolk on April 8. Last season, the Tribe held first place for a mere four days (April 3-6). In fact, when Indianapolis reached its 12th victory of the season last year, the Tribe was 12-19 and in fourth place in the IL West Division.

COOPER EARNS 75TH WIN FOR INDIANAPOLIS: Indianapolis defeated Louisville at Slugger Field Tuesday, 3-2. The victory earned second-year field manager Cecil Cooper his 75th victory as skipper of the Tribe.

CHILDERS, HENDRICKSON SHINE: Indianapolis pitching, ranked fifth in the IL, has been spearheaded by starter Ben Hendrickson and reliever Jason Childers. Childers leads the league in saves with six and Hendrickson leads the league in wins with three and is ranked sixth in overall ERA at 1.66.

ERDOS JOINS TRIBE: The Indians have purchased the contract of right-handed pitcher Todd Erdos from Rochester. Erdos will join the club today when the Tribe hosts the Louisville Bats. In four appearances with Rochester, Erdos threw three innings, allowing one hit, walking one batter and striking out three. To make room for Erdos, pitcher Reggie Rivard has been transferred to Double-A Huntsville.

LOUISVILLE BATS
LONG DAYS AHEAD: April 27 was the start of the Bats' longest road trip of the season with Louisville visiting Indianapolis for two, Charlotte for four and Durham for four. The road warriors leave town for such a long trip because of the 130th running of the Kentucky Derby which is Saturday, May 1. The Run for the Roses is always the first Saturday of May.

GETTING HIS SHOT: OF Jacob Cruz had his contract purchased yesterday by Cincinnati as Reds OF Austin Kearns was placed on the disabled list. Cruz leads the team with 10 walks and is tied for team lead with 12 runs scored. His .556 slugging percentage leads team and has reached base safely in first 8 games at home (4/14-4/26). He has reached base safely in 15 of 17 games with Bats. Overall he was batting .315 with 3HR and 7RBI. The last time Cruz was with a Major League team was the 2002 season in Detroit. He has spent parts of seven seasons in the big leagues dating back to 1996 with San Francisco, the team that drafted him out of Arizona State in 1994. The former 1st round draft pick (32nd overall) has a career .248 average with 12 home runs and 59 RBI in 203 games.

THE LAST TIME: The Bats have not been five games under .500 since August 24, 2000 when the then RiverBats were 64-69. That team started the ‘00 season 16-6 (franchise record for April), but finished with a 71-73 record. So far, Louisville is 7-12 and is guaranteed their first losing April since 1999 when they went 7-15.

NORFOLK TIDES
GETTING STARTED: Tides' starters allowed just 3 earned runs over 4 games from 4/23-26. The previous 4 games, they allowed 17 earned runs. The starter's earned run average dropped from 4.79 on April 23rd to 3.80 after the game 4/26 at Charlotte.

PH and DH UH OH's: Mike Jacobs finally broke the DH spot curse on Monday going 2 for 5 with a double and a home run. Prior to that game the Tides' DH had gone 0-16 with 7 strikeouts. The DH spot is still just 3-28 (.107) with 11 strikeouts. Tides' pinch hitters are still 0-15 with 7 strikeouts.

STREAKING: Esix Snead is currently on a team leading 8-game hitting streak going 12-34 (.353) with 6 runs scored, 2 doubles, 2 RBI, a SAC Fly, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts, and 3 stolen bases. Unfortunately, he has been sidelined since April 23rd with a strained back. Craig Brazell is on a 5-game hitting streak going 6 for his last 19 (.316) with 2 runs scored, 2 home runs, 4 RBI, a SAC bunt, a walk, and 2 strikeouts.

OTTAWA LYNX
RECORD SETTING WEEK: If nothing else, this has been an interesting week at Lynx Stadium. For a park not known to be a hitter's paradise, it was certainly not a place for pitchers who are faint of heart. It started out with a Lynx 11-5 loss to Buffalo, where the Lynx walked a team record 16, including 12 (another team record) by starting pitcher, and knuckleballer, Joe Gannon. The very next night, the Lynx pounded out 22 hits and a franchise record 18 runs on route to an 18-11 victory. Things settled down for a few nights, and then on Tuesday Pawtucket scored 14 runs (possibly an IL record) in the 3rd inning as they defeated the Lynx 16-1. In the fateful inning, the Paw Sox had thirteen hits, including 9 in a row. Mike Curry had a nice game in that inning, going 1-for-2 with a hit by pitch and two runs scored, two RBI, and two steals. Lynx pitchers Brian Forystek and Mike Paradis each took the brunt of the attack, as they both gave up seven earned runs. INF/OF/P Joey Hammond became the first Lynx position players since Chris Snusz in 2000 to pitch for the Lynx when he came on in relief. For the record, Hammond gave up a solo homer to Jeremy Owens, then retired the next three batters in order.

SIMPLY OFFENSIVE: The Lynx offensive outburst in the first four games of their homestand (41 runs in four games) was a Lynx franchise record for most runs in four games. During the six games of the Lynx current homestand, (which they are 3-3 so for) they have been outscored 60 to 42, or an average of 10 to 7 each game.

IT'S DEFINITELY THE CHAD: Chad Mottola has been red hot for the Lynx of late. Mottola has hit in 10 straight games, over which time he has hit .375 (15-for-40), raising his batting average from .219 to .309

SWANN FLIES IN APRIL: Pedro Swann has had a terrific month. The Lynx leftfielder has hit .397 through his first 18 games, with a team leading 25 hits, 7 doubles and 13 RBI. Swann's month is much better than it was this time last year, when he struggled in the first month to the tune of a .212 average.

PAWTUCKET RED SOX
A DOMINATING PRESENCE: He began the season without a set position after being Pawtucket's regular catcher for most of last season, but all slugger Andy Dominique has done is play in every PawSox game this season and lead the club in virtually every offensive category. In 20 games thus far, the 28-year-old California native is hitting .400 (2nd best in the IL) with 5 HR (T-5th) and 29 RBI (tops in the league – and 11 more than anyone else). Andy has been used as the DH in 14 games, catcher in 5 games, and at 1B in 1 game. He also leads the team in doubles (8) and walks (14) and is obviously making an early-bid to represent the PawSox in the 2004 Triple-A All-Star Game that will be played at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket on July 14. Dominique, by the way, enters play on Thursday riding a 12-game hitting streak at a .468 clip (22-for-47) with 5 HR & 24 RBI.

HAVE AN INNING! The PawSox rode a club-record breaking 14-run inning en route to a 16-1 victory on Tuesday night. The previous Pawtucket record for runs in one inning was 11 (accomplished four different times). Some leftover highlights from Tuesday's incredible 3rd-inning explosion: The PawSox batted around twice and sent 19 batters to the plate. They pounded out 13 hits including 9 straight hits. They scored 12 runs after two outs in the inning. LF Mike Curry batted three times in the frame (HBP, single, ground out to 1B). The Lynx used three pitchers in the inning. The breakdown: Curry HBP, Kevin Youkilis singled, Carlos Febles singled, Andy Dominique flied out, Earl Snyder singled, Adam Hyzdu walked, Justin Sherrod singled, Tony Schrager fouled out, Jeremy Owens walked, Curry singled, Youkilis singled, Febles singled, Dominique doubled, Snyder homered, Hyzdu doubled, Sherrod doubled, Schrager doubled, Owens singled, and (finally) Curry grounded out. All told, the top of the 3rd-inning took 40 minutes to play with the PawSox scoring 14 runs on 13 hits with 2 LOB. It was reminiscent of last June 27, 2003 at Fenway Park when the Boston Red Sox plated a club-record 14 runs during the 1st-inning of a 25-8 rout of Florida. The Red Sox scored 10 runs without making an out in that historic 1st-inning last season.

IL NEWS & NOTES IS YOUR TICKET TO THE BIG LEAGUES: Last week in this spot we highlighted two PawSox players of note – 1B Brian Daubach and RHP Byung-Hyun Kim. Let the record show that there is no such things as an IL N & N jinx. This past Tuesday, Daubach had his contract purchased by Boston to replace injured OF Ellis Burks. Daubach helped turn around the PawSox early-season fortunes by hitting .350 in his 10 games with 5 HR & 11 RBI. And then today (Thursday), the Boston Red Sox recalled Kim from his injury rehab assignment with the PawSox. BK will make the start this afternoon for the Red Sox in the day game of a day/night doubleheader vs. Tampa Bay at Fenway. Kim made two starts for the PawSox going 0-0, 0.00 (1 unearned run in 6.1 IP).

RICHMOND BRAVES
HOME, SWEET HOME: The Braves won five consecutive games at The Diamond April 11-25. The run was the longest winning streak for the Braves under Pat Kelly and was the longest streak at The Diamond since May 18-21, 2002. Richmond last had a home winning streak greater than five games June 22-July 4, 1997 when they took eight consecutive decisions at The Diamond under Bill Dancy.

DOWNTOWN BASEBALL IN RICHMOND?: On Wednesday, April 21 the Richmond Braves and members of the Richmond Ballpark Initiative (RBI) held a join announcement at The Diamond to reveal plans to explore the possibility of building a new baseball stadium in downtown Richmond. The Braves and RBI are currently working to identify a developer for the project and have already revealed renderings of a proposed stadium. For more information on the project, visit rbraves.com and click on the image of the proposed ballpark on the lower right-hand side of the main page.

RARE COMMODITY: Richmond's left-handed knuckleballer, Ray Aguilar picked up his first win of the year in Friday's 6-3 victory over Durham at The Diamond. Aguilar, who is 1-0 with a 5.79 ERA through three starts, fanned a season-high seven batters over five frames of one-run baseball. Aguilar has always featured a knuckleball in his repertoire but is throwing the flutterball more frequently this year. Originally signed by Atlanta as a free agent in July of 2001, Aguilar entered the 2004 season with a career mark of 16-7 with a 1.99 ERA.

ROCHESTER RED WINGS
NO SOUP FOR YOU, YOU AND YOU! Red Wings reliever Kevin Hodge has been very impressive the first month of his rookie season in Triple-A, going 1-0 with two saves and a 0.68 ERA in seven games. In 13.1 innings of work, Hodge has allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits while walking two and striking out 10. Hodge has not allowed an earned run since April 10th and opponents are batting just .143 against him.

HOT AND COLD: In the Red Wings' 10 wins this season, Rochester has batted .293 (98-for-335) while holding their opponents to a .204 (66-for-323) batting average. In the Red Wings nine losses, Rochester has batted .211 (68-for-322) while their opponents have a .300 (100-for-333) batting average.

APRIL WINS BRING SEPTEMBER PLAYOFF GAMES: The Red Wings look to get off to a fast start this season with a winning month of April. Rochester has had a non-winning record in April five of the last six years (58-75 record over the last six seasons). Prior to the past six seasons Rochester had a .500 or better record in five consecutive April's (1993-97). In those five seasons Rochester made the playoffs in four of those five years.

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE RED BARONS
TIED WITH "SEVERAL": Mark Budzinski tied a Red Barons record Tuesday night vs. Syracuse with two triples in a game. According to the Red Barons Media Guide, this feat has been accomplished by "several" players in the past. Upon further review, Budzinski was the 13th two triple game in team history with the last being David Doster on July 14, 2002 vs. Rochester. Other players on the list include Reggie Taylor (twice), Ricky Otero (twice), Lou Frazier, Wendell Magee, Gene Schall, Ed Wade, Dave Hollins, Kim Batiste, Tommy Barrett and Mickey Morandini.

GREAT PITCHING CONTINUES: Despite a very slow start that saw them post a 4.92 ERA through the first 5 games of the season, the Red Barons pitching staff is once again the International League leader in ERA at 2.89. Since game two of a doubleheader April 14 vs. Buffalo, the Red Barons team ERA is 2.14 in 14 games. They have allowed four runs or fewer in each of the 14 games and one run or less seven times including four shutouts. Over the last five games the staff has allowed only four runs (three shutouts) in 38.2 IP for a 0.93 ERA. Leading the league in this important pitching category is nothing new to the Red Barons. They finished the 2000, 2001 and 2002 seasons with the lowest ERA – and made the playoffs each time. Since 1999 they have finished the ERA race in 1st three times, 5th place once and 4th place once. What makes the current lead so unusual is the team's strikeout totals. With just 80 they rank dead last in the league - a full 28 behind 13th place Pawtucket's 108. But they are 2nd in fewest walks allowed (42), 1st in fewest hits allowed (125) and 2nd in fewest HR allowed (12).

BOMBARD TWO AWAY: Red Barons manager Marc Bombard is just two wins away from 1,500 in his career. He has more wins than any other active manager in minor league baseball with 1498 - 100 ahead of Trenton's Stump Merrill. So far 516 of his wins have come in a Red Barons uniform, a uniform he first put on in 1997.

SYRACUSE SKYCHIEFS
WALK ON BY: The SkyChiefs are 7-1 this season when drawing four or more walks in a game. Through Wednesday's doubleheader, Syracuse has drawn 68 walks this season, second most in the IL behind only Pawtucket with 80. Russ Adams leads the team with 10 free passes, while Shawn Fagan is second with 9.

BACK-TO-BACK: The SkyChiefs were shut out by the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons on Tuesday night and in the first game of a doubleheader Wednesday. The games marked the first time in five years that the SkyChiefs were shut out in back-to-back games. Rochester swept the SkyChiefs by scores of 6-0 and 2-0 in a doubleheader on April 27, 1999. Current SkyChiefs pitcher Mark Lukasiewicz was the losing pitcher in game one that day.

QUICK WORK: The first game of yesterday's doubleheader with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre took only 1 hour and 28 minutes to complete. The game time was the shortest for the Syracuse franchise since the first game of a doubleheader September 4, 1993 at MacArthur Stadium. In that game, the Chiefs defeated Pawtucket, 2-0, in a game that lasted just 1 hour and 6 minutes.

TOLEDO MUD HENS
MILESTONE REACHED: Mud Hens starting pitcher Shane Loux earned the win in his most recent outing on April 26 at Columbus. While winning is not extraordinary for the IL All-Star, this win set a new milestone for Loux and the Mud Hens. Shane has surpassed Terry Felton to become the record-holder for wins among all Toledo Mud Hens pitchers since 1965. Loux holds a 34-29 record over three-plus years while pitching for Toledo.

GO FOR THE LONG ONE...: Hens' hitters have collected an extra-base hit in 18 of the first 19 games this season. Most recently, Toledo batters have knocked 28 extra-base hits in the last five games (April 23-27).

BASEBALL: FUN AND EDUCATIONAL: Thursday, April 29, will mark the first Pepsi School Kids Celebration Day at Fifth Third Field for the 2004 season. School kids of all ages from across the area can enjoy a great day at the ballpark with educational experiences mixed into the fun of a baseball game. This season, kids will be treated to a performance by the Zooperstars during a day game in May. Toledo plans to hold four education days before local schools let out for the summer. Game time is set for 10:30 AM each day.

APRIL SHOWERS? WHERE? After 20 games in 2003, Toledo had postponed or suspended six games due to rain. So far in 2004, the Mud Hens have been able to play every game with only one short delay.

THAMES IS ANYTHING BUT TAME: Marcus Thames has had the hot bat for the Mud Hens over the last three games. On April 25 at Louisville, Thames went 4-5 with three home runs, one double, five RBI, and three runs scored. The following night, he went 2-4 with one homer, one double, one RBI, and a run scored. Thames is tied for second in the IL in home runs (six) and tied for third with extra-base hits (11) as of April 28.

International League Stories from April 29, 2004

• Indians blanked, 9-0 - Indianapolis Indians
• Home Run Frenzy At Lynx Stadium; Lynx Lose 16-7 - Ottawa Lynx
• IL news & notes - IL1
• Bats Defeated by Indians 8-4 - Louisville Bats
• Erdos joins Tribe - Indianapolis Indians

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.