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IL1 International League

International League News & Notes

July 28, 2005 - International League (IL1) News Release


BUFFALO BISONS
NEW MR. CLUTCH: Outfielder Jason Cooper has shown a propensity for clutch hits since being called up from Double-A Akron on June 10. Already this season, Cooper has driven in 30 runs with only 32 hits. On Monday, his grand slam helped the Bisons comeback and defeat Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 8-7. Wednesday brought on another clutch hit, as he got the game-winning RBI in Buffalo's 5-2 win over Pawtucket. Cooper, who led the Bisons in the 2004 IL Playoffs with a .375 average, is batting .242 with seven home runs and 30 RBI this season.

SOLID RELIEF: Reliever Andrew Brown has been fantastic out of the Bisons' pen recently. He has allowed just one hit in his last five outings (8.2 IP) while striking out 12 batters. Since June 23, he is 1-0 with a 0.98 ERA and two saves in 12 games (18.1 IP). Brown, who has developed a solid off-speed pitch to compliment a fastball that has reached 98 mph this season, has a 2-2 record with four saves and a 3.83 ERA on the year.

HOT BAT HEADS TO CLEVELAND: Infielder Jeff Liefer was called up to the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night. The All-Star was hitting .321 (103-321) with 27 doubles, 19 homers and 68 RBI in 89 games with the Herd. Upon his call up, Liefer was third in the IL in batting average, tied for fourth in RBI and doubles, second in slugging percentage (.595) and third in extra base hits (48). In his first game with the Tribe, Liefer doubled to drive home the eventual game winning run in Cleveland's 2-0 victory over Oakland.

CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS
CHARLOTTE KNIGHT GETS CALLED UP TO THE PADRES: Jerry Coleman, who is the "Voice of the Padres", will be inducted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame this year and on the days of July 30 and 31, Coleman and his broadcast partner in the Padres broadcast booth, Ted Leitner, will be in New York attending the induction ceremonies. With both announcers traveling to the induction ceremony it left the radio booth empty, so The MIGHTY 1090 ran a promotion along with Minor League Baseball looking for a "pinch hitter". After conducting an extensive search of the Minor Leagues and college ranks for the most exciting and engaging play-by-play voice, station CEO John Lynch and Padres officials chose Matt Swierad, who is in his 8th season with the Knights. Swierad is set to make his Major League debut this Saturday as the San Diego Padres take on the Cincinnati Reds at Petco Park.

DAIGLE AWARDED FOR PERFORMANCE WITH HOGS: Current Charlotte Knight Leo Daigle was honored this week as the June TOPPS Player of the Month for the Carolina League. During his time with Winston-Salem Daigle was leading the League in all 3 Triple Crown categories (.362/24/85), including 12 homers, 37 RBI and a .447 average in 22 games during the month. Daigle is still leading all of Minor League Baseball with 93 RBI. In 22 games with the Knights, Daigle is batting .241 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI.

MOVING BACK UP THE LEADER BOARD: After last night's performance Brandon McCarthy moved up to third place in the IL for strikeouts with 102. With 8 strikeouts last night against Rochester, McCarthy overtook Alex Graman (96) and John Maine (97). He now only trails Jae Seo (106), and Boof Bonser, who is currently leading the League with 118 strikeouts. On the season McCarthy is 4-7 with a 4.69 ERA. In 2004 McCarthy led the entire Minor Leagues with 202 strikeouts between stints with Kannapolis, Winston Salem and Birmingham

BROWN IS DELIVERING FOR KNIGHTS: Roosevelt Brown joined the Knights in May and has been producing ever since. Brown recently moved into the top ten in batting in the International League as he is currently batting .308 (76-247), which puts him 9th best in the IL. Brown also has 7 home runs and 27 RBI as well as 20 doubles, which puts him with the third most on the team trailing Felix Martinez and Brian Anderson who both have 21. In his last five games Brown is batting .381 (8-21).

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS
HANKINS HEATING UP: Clipper infielder Ryan Hankins has been having a great July so far. He has hit safely in 9 of 10 games this month and is currently on an 8-game hitting streak, including four multi-hit games. By hitting .395 (15-38) in July, he has raised his batting average 31 points.

GOOD ON THE ROAD... STILL: The Clippers have won six of seven games on their current road trip, bringing their Triple-A best road record to 36-20. Dating back to the last road trip, the Clippers have won 11 out of 13 (not counting a suspended game completed July 22, which officially gets credited to April 29). Columbus has only 15 games left on the road this year.

HELP FROM THE HOME CROWD: Last week in a game against Buffalo, Ryan Ludwick hit a routine grounder to Ryan Hankins at third. Hankins threw over to Mitch Jones for the first out of the inning and in the process Jones ripped the webbing in his first base mitt. With his spare still in the clubhouse a fan tossed Jones his glove. Jones played out the rest of the inning with the fan's glove, recording another put out.

DURHAM BULLS
DELMON DOING IT: 19-year-old Delmon Young, the first overall selection in the 2003 draft, has now hit in all 13 games he's played in Triple-A. Young has two hits in each of his last six games and is batting .362 (21-58) with two homers and eight RBI. Upon his call-up Young was leading the Southern League in homers (20), RBI (71), hits (111) and slugging percentage (.582). The younger brother of Dmitri Young of the Detroit Tigers was also third in the League in stolen bases (25) and runs scored (59), and was fourth in batting average (.336).
MORE CHANGES: Durham made another eight roster moves this week, for a total of 103 through 105 games. After one rehab start, pitcher Doug Waechter rejoined Tampa Bay. Meanwhile Eric Munson started rehabbing with Durham from a rib injury. Pitcher Lance Carter and catcher Kevin Cash were optioned to Durham. Carter is the 45th different player to play for Durham this season.

EXTRA, EXTRA: Durham collected 20 extra-base hits in games Monday and Tuesday before being held without one in yesterday's 10-2 loss to Louisville. The Bulls hit seven homers over the two days and now have a League-leading 158.

ESPN EVEN CLOSER: On Monday August 1 ESPN comes to Durham Bulls Athletic Park for its 50-states-in-50-days promotion. Kenny Mayne will anchor SportsCenter's coverage from North Carolina.

STREAK ON THE LINE: Durham has had a winning season in each of its first seven years in Triple-A. To continue that trend, the Bulls, 45-60, would have need to go 28-11 over the final 39 games of 2005, or better than .700 ball.

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
WIGGINTON CONTINUES TO SWING A HOT BAT: Indianapolis INF Ty Wiggington enters Thursday night's contest with a base knock in 13 of his last 14 games. The 27-year-old had hit safely in 13 straight games (.308 BA, 16-52, 9 R, 6 RBI) until an 0-2 performance in the nightcap of Wednesday's twinbill at Syracuse. Wigginton is hitting .318 (27-85) with five HR and 19 RBI in 22 games during the month of July. He went 2-4 with one run in the road-trip opener on Wednesday.

McLOUTH GOES STREAKING: Indians OF Nate McLouth enters Thursday night's affair with a 10-game hitting streak (.395 BA, 15-38, 5 R, 4 RBI). The 23-year-old leads Indianapolis in runs scored (58) and stolen bases (31). McLouth combined to go 4-8 with one run, two doubles and two RBI in Wednesday's twinbill against the SkyChiefs.

PLEASE DON'T CHARGE US FOR THEFT: Indianapolis has collected 110 stolen bases in 105 games, an average of 1.05 which ranks third in all of Triple-A Baseball. Nashville leads both Leagues with 120 stolen bases in 105 contests for an average of 1.14, while Durham places second with 112 thefts in 105 games for an average of 1.07. The 2005 Indians are on pace to swipe 151 bases, a total which would eclipse the Victory Field single-season record of 131 (set in 1996). In 2004, the Tribe registered 106 stolen bases for the entire season.

AMONG THE LEAGUE'S BEST: Indians RHP Mark Corey and OF Nate McLouth place among the International League's statistical leaders to this point in the season. Corey ties for second in saves (18), while McLouth ties for third in stolen bases (31).

SHOWING THAT ALL-STAR STUFF: Tribe RHP Mark Corey, who was named to the 2005 International League All-Star Team, has registered 11 straight scoreless outings. The 30-year-old closer has posted a 1-0 record with five saves during the stretch, allowing just four walks and four hits while fanning 14. On the season, Corey is 4-2 with a 2.22 ERA and 18 saves in 43 relief appearances.

CONGRATS TO THE BOSS: Indians Team President and Chairman of the Board Max Schumacher was formally inducted into the Butler University Athletic Hall of Fame on Sunday evening. Schumacher, who earned a varsity letter as a member of the 1954 Bulldog baseball team, is in his 49th season with the Tribe. He has served as ticket manager (1957-60), publicity director (1959-60), general manager (1961-1997), team president (1969-pres.) and chairman of the board (1997-pres.). Schumacher is a past president of the Indianapolis Downtown Kiwanis Club, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Indianapolis, and past chairman and president of Junior Baseball, Inc., of Indianapolis.

LOUISVILLE BATS
NEW FACES ON PITCHING STAFF: RHP Justin Germano and LHP Ben Kozlowski are two new faces on the Bats' pitching staff. Germano, 22, was acquired from San Diego in the Joe Randa trade July 23 and will be making his Louisville debut tonight. In his last outing with Triple-A Portland, he threw a complete-game shutout and had won six of his last seven decisions with the Beavers. He went 7-6 with a 3.70 ERA; his ERA ranked 9th in the PCL and his 100 strikeouts was good enough for 3rd place. He was named PCL Pitcher of the Week for the period July 18-24. Kozlowski, 24, was promoted from Double-A Chattanooga July 25 where he went 4-4 with a 4.04 ERA. He led the Lookouts in strikeouts (82), home runs allowed (10) and hits allowed (129); his 111.1 innings pitched ranked him 5th in the Southern League.

GO WEST YOUNG MAN: Bats trainer Chris Lapole has been selected to be trainer for the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League. It is the second straight year a Louisville trainer has been selected for the AFL, with Steve Baumann being chosen last year. Baumann is now an assistant trainer with the Cincinnati Reds.

HOMERS A PLENTY: The night of July 25 saw the balls flying out of Louisville Slugger Field with Toledo belting five and Louisville three en route to a 13-9 loss to the Hens. OF Alex Fernandez homered twice (both solo shots) and IF Aaron Holbert hammered a grand slam, his first since July 9, 1999 while with Durham. Holbert's granny put the Bats ahead 8-7 in the fifth inning.

NORFOLK TIDES
PERFORMING VALENTLY: With two base hits in game one of last night's doubleheader, Eric Valent increased his season-high hitting streak to 12 games. Valent is hitting .442 (19-43) with one home run and six RBI during the stretch, and he has also connected for six multi-hit games during that span. Valent began the month with a .238 average, but has hit .360 in July to bring his season average to .309. The longest hitting streak for the Tides this season is 14 games, accomplished twice by outfielder Angel Pagan.

YOU COMPLETE ME...WELL NOT YET ANYWAY: Through 106 games this season, the Tides have yet to have a pitcher throw a complete game. The Tides have never had a season without a pitcher recording a complete game, and the club record for fewest complete games in a year is three, set during the 2003 season.
INSIDE-THE-PARKER: With a go-ahead three-run inside-the-park home run in the 5th inning of game two yesterday, Anderson Hernandez became the first Tide to accomplish the feat since Prentice Redman did so on June 21, 2003 in a 2-1 win at Columbus.

GROUP EFFORT: The Tides currently lead the IL with 32 saves on the season, despite not having one player rank among the League leaders in the category. 11 different Tides pitchers have accumulated a save this season: Juan Padilla (11), David Lee (5), Scott Strickland (5), Heath Bell (3), Tim Hamulack (2), Manny Aybar (1), Steve Colyer (1), Eric Junge (1), Tim LaVigne (1), Blake McGinley (1) and Royce Ring (1). Last year, eight different pitchers recorded a total of 43 saves for the Tides, with Bell and Jose Parra each registering 16 saves apiece.

OTTAWA LYNX
SUSPENSION COMPLETED: On July 26, the Lynx played two games against Scranton/WB, with the first game being the completion of a game suspended in the bottom of the 1st inning due to rain on July 5. Although played on the 26th, the game's stats will go down in the record book as occurring on July 5th. This became increasingly interesting because RHP Dave Borkowski pitched 8.1 innings of relief on Tuesday in the 7-1 Lynx victory. Tony Fiore had originally started the game, so it is listed as a relief appearance for Borkowski. The intriguing part of this is that Borkowski had pitched 7.0 innings while picking up the win on July 4 against the Red Barons. So in the annals of history, Borkowski pitched 15.1 innings in two days, picking up two wins along the way. Easy to see why the resilient Borkowski leads the IL in IP with 130.1!

NO STOPPING SHORT: The Ottawa Lynx shortstops have been on fire for much of this month. Mike Moriarty has hit .385 in 13 games, while Ed Rogers has hit .368 in 21 contests. Over the last 16 games, the two have combined to hit an astounding .484 (30-62). They have also managed to score 12 runs while driving in another 12. Since July 9, Moriarty has batted .484 (15-31), raising his average 81 points (.151 to .232). He has scored 6 runs and driven in 11. During the same time frame, Rogers has batted .517 (15-29) with 6 runs and an RBI. Coming into today's action, Moriarty's average is at a season high while Rogers' .262 mark is one point below his high for the year.

YOU SAY GOODBYE AND I SAY HELLO: The Lynx have seen their roster change over the last few games. C Eli Whiteside, who was the Lynx starter for much of the year, was optioned to Ottawa after spending 23 days with the Orioles. Whiteside collected his first Major League hit on July 9 against Boston and was 3-8 in limited action. To make room for Whiteside, C Ryan Hubele was transferred to Double-A Bowie. OF David Newhan also left the Lynx roster, as he was recalled by the Orioles yesterday after OF Eli Marrero was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained right thumb.

PAWTUCKET RED SOX
WELCOME BACK KAPLER: On Saturday the PawSox added OF Gabe Kapler to their roster on an injury rehab assignment. In 4 games with the PawSox, Kapler is batting .625 (10-16) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 2 homers and 6 RBI. Kapler accounted for over half of the PawSox offense on Wednesday night, with four of the team's seven hits in a 5-2 loss at Buffalo. He scored both runs and drove in one. Kapler was 4-4 and just missed hitting for the cycle as he led-off the game with a homer, and then followed with a triple, and two singles. Gabe was signed to a Major League contract by the Red Sox on July 15 after returning from the Yomiuri Giants of the Japanese League and was placed on Boston's 15-day disabled list with a lower back strain. A member of Boston's World Series championship club last year (.272 in 136 games), Kapler signed an off-season deal to play in Japan. In 38 games with the Yomiuri Giants he hit .153 with 3 HR & 6 RBI before spending a month on the inactive list. That eventually led to his return to Boston.

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE IN A DOUBLEHEADER: The Pawtucket Red Sox hit 11 doubles in a doubleheader sweep of the Buffalo Bisons on Tuesday night, 9-1 and 10-4. Kevin Youkilis led the doubles parade with 5 two-baggers (3 in the opener and 2 in the nightcap). In all, the PawSox belted 28 base hits in 14 innings with 16 hits in game one and 12 in game two.

WE SCORE - WE WIN: The Sox are 9-3 in their last 12 games - they out-scored the opposition by 50 runs in their nine wins (84-34) but were out-scored by just 5 runs in their three defeats (12-7). Furthermore, in their 12 victories this month the Sox have won 9-3, 12-3, 4-0, 7-1, 9-4, 15-6, 12-3, 10-6, 5-4, 7-5, 9-1 and 10-4. Thus, they have scored a total of 109 runs in those 12 wins (for an average of 9.1 runs per victory). On the other hand, the PawSox have lost 13 games in July (six by 1 run) by scores of 5-7, 2-5, 4-5, 2-9, 5-9, 3-7, 1-2, 6-7, 3-4, 2-10, 5-6, 0-1, and 2-5 for a total of 40 runs (or an average of 3 runs per defeat this month).

MASS TRANSIT: The Boston Red Sox on Tuesday called up RHP Manny Delcarmen from Pawtucket. Reliever Marc Deschenes was transferred from Double-A Portland to Pawtucket and made his PawSox debut Tuesday night tossing 2.0 scoreless innings in game one. Ironically, Deschenes is from Dracut, MA and replaces another Massachusetts product in Delcarmen who hails from Hyde Park, MA. Delcarmen is only 23 years-old while Deschenes is 32. Deschenes, who went to UMASS-Lowell, reached Triple-A with Buffalo in 2001 (2-2, 6.37 in 22 RA) and again with Iowa in 2002 (0-1, 7.20).

WADE BOGGS BRONZE STATUE: The same day former PawSox and Red Sox star Wade Boggs gets inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, PawSox fans can receive a bronze statue of the legendary third-baseman. The first 5,000 fans entering McCoy Stadium this Sunday,
July 31 when the PawSox host Syracuse (the same day of the Hall of Fame ceremonies inducting Boggs) will receive this coveted collector's item of Boggs bronzed from his playing days in Pawtucket. The Boggs statue comes courtesy of our friends from Dunkin' Donuts and NESN.

RICHMOND BRAVES
GETTING HOT: The Braves are 9-5 since the All Star break and have won five of their last six games at home. Richmond is averaging over five runs per game since the All Star break.

RUNNING TOWARDS HISTORY: Esix Snead is trying to become the third player in IL history to lead the League in steals three straight years. The other two also played in Richmond (Len Johnston of the Virginians who did it 1956-58 and former R-Brave Ed Miller who did it 1978-80). Recent R-Braves acquisition Kerry Robinson still leads the PCL in steals with 26.
A CALL TO THE SHOW: Braves C Brayan Pena earned his second call-up to Atlanta Wednesday. Pena had hits in 10 straight games (16-38 .421) equaling the club's longest hitting streak of the season at the time of his promotion.

ROCHESTER RED WINGS
TRIPLE, TRIPLE, TRIPLE, TRIPLE, TRIPLE TRIPLE PLAAAAAAY: Saturday night at Frontier Field the Red Wings turned a 5-4-3 triple play vs. Durham. It was the first triple play the Wings have turned at home since June 2, 1990. Since 1990 (home & road), Rochester has turned just five triple plays.

BOOF MAKES THEM GO POOF!: RHP Boof Bonser is currently leading the International League with 118 strikeouts. Bonser is looking to become the first Red Wings pitcher to lead the IL in strikeouts since 1997 when RHP Nerio Rodriguez led the IL with 160. If Bonser can average seven strikeouts in his last seven starts he would finish with 167 strikeouts which would be the most by a Red Wings' pitcher since 1971 when RHP Roric Harrison led the IL with 182 strikeouts.

WIN ONE FOR ME DAD: Today's (11:00 a.m. game) starter RHP Scott Baker will have a very busy day. Scott's wife, LeAnn, is nine months pregnant and the birth will be induced this morning. The baby is a boy, and the Bakers plan to call him Elijah. LeAnn's doctor will set things up so that Scott is there for the birth of the couple's first child.

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE
THOME REHAB CALLED OFF: The arrival tonight of Jim Thome on a rehab assignment will not be happening. The Phillies slugger felt pain in his elbow after throwing in Clearwater and instead of playing for the Threshers yesterday, visited Dr. James Andrews in Alabama.

LIKING THE #1 SPOT: Since moving into the leadoff spot full-time on June 8, Shane Victorino has been one of the best hitters in the International League. In that game vs. Indianapolis he went 2-5 with a home run and two runs scored. Since then he has hit safely in 38 of 46 games (14 straight currently) hitting .340 (66-194) with 40 runs scored. Prior to being moved in to the one hole, his average was just .245. It is now .294. Also 7 of his 15 home runs have come out of the leadoff spot.

K MAN: Reliever Kevin Hodge has been putting together some pretty impressive strikeout numbers of late. In his last seven appearances covering a span of just 7.1 innings, he has struck out 13 men - or an average of 15.95 per 9.0 innings. Over his last 12 appearances he is 2-0 with 3 saves, 0.69 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 15.1 IP.

BARON BITS: With Mike Bacsik tossing a great game Tuesday night vs. Ottawa and picking up the win, he improved the record of Red Barons starting pitchers to 20-12 at Lackawanna County Stadium this season. On the road they are just 10-17......Juan Sosa was placed on the temporarily inactive list so he could attend the funeral of his brother.

SYRACUSE SKYCHIEFS
FAST TRACK FOR ZACH: Zach Jackson was taken by the Blue Jays with the 32nd pick of last year's draft and made 4 starts for Single-A Auburn in 2004. This season Jackson made 10 starts for Dunedin where he was 8-1 with a 2.88 ERA before being promoted to Double-A New Hampshire, where he was 4-3 with a 4.00 ERA in 9 starts. Jackson was promoted to Syracuse from New Hampshire on Sunday and will get his first Triple-A start tonight for the SkyChiefs against the Indianapolis Indians.

RIGHT ON Q: Catcher Guillermo Quiroz made his first start for the SkyChiefs on Sunday after spending much of the season on the Disabled List. He made his presence felt as he hit his first Triple-A home run of the season in the 6th inning and finished the night 2-4. Prior to joining the SkyChiefs, Quiroz played in 11 games for Single-A Dunedin where he batted .237 (9-38) with two home runs and six runs batted in. Quiroz is ranked as the 3rd best prospect in the Blue Jays organization by Baseball America.

TRIPLE THREAT: Anton French went 3-5 with his 10th triple of the season on Sunday. He leads the IL and is tied for 6th among all Minor League players in triples. It is the third time in the last four seasons that he has hit 10 triples (2002, 2003). French is the first Syracuse player with 10 triples since Robert Perez and Domingo Cedeno both finished the 1993 season with 10 three-baggers.

TOLEDO MUD HENS
DOUBLE DIPPERS: With the travel problems that the Hens encountered on Tuesday July 26, the game that night in Norfolk was postponed and made up as a doubleheader on Wednesday, July 27. With that double-dip scheduled, the Hens will have played in their third set of 7-inning games since the All-Star Break. On July 16, rain washed out any chance of the Hens and Bisons meeting, so July 17 featured the two teams in a pair of games that afternoon. July 23 in Louisville featured the Hens and Bats in a pair of games, one scheduled from a rainout back on April 29.

HEN FLIES NORTH...MAKES A GRAND ENTRANCE: Hen centerfielder and Detroit Tigers #1 prospect Curtis Granderson got the call he's been waiting for all season. In the early hours of Friday, July 22, Granderson was re-called to Detroit from Toledo. In his first game with the Tigers in 2005, Curtis went 2-4 with an RBI triple. He crushed his first big league home run on Saturday the 23rd (off of Minnesota's Carlos Silva) and was hitting .318 (7-22) with 2 HR and 2 3B in Detroit before being optioned to Toledo yesterday.

NINE INNING GAME?...WHAT'S THAT?: Since the All-Star Break, the Mud Hens have played in 15 games, six of which were of the 9-inning sort. The other nine have either gone into extra frames, or have been shortened to seven-inning affairs (doubleheaders). The Hens record in these games is 4-5. Overall this season, the Mud Hens are 20-8 in non-nine inning games.

CLIMBING UP THE SAVES CHART: Jason Karnuth leads Toledo with 14 saves. In 2004, Karnuth notched two saves, thus giving him 16 in his career as a member of the Hens. Jason holds the 10th spot for career saves as a Mud Hen. Franklyn German is the all-time leader (44).

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