IL1 International League

International League News & Notes

Published on August 5, 2010 under International League (IL1) News Release


BUFFALO BISONS www.Bisons.com

STRONG ARMED: There are six pitchers in the International League with 10 wins and two are in the Bisons starting rotation. LHP Pat Misch (10-4) and RHP Dillon Gee (10-7) both won their 10th game last week and are now the first Bisons teammates to each have 10 wins in a season since RHP Kyle Denney and RHP Jack Cressend in 2004. Misch has posted a 3.24 ERA this season, the 5th lowest ERA in the International League. The southpaw also leads the entire IL with 139.0 innings of work. Gee is tops in the League with 123 strikeouts, tied with Durham's ace RHP Jeremy Hellickson. Gee is 14 strikeouts away from the Bisons single-season record of 137 set in 1990 by

RHP Vincente Palacios.

TURNS FOR THE BETTER: Bisons INF Justin Turner continues to have a standout season with the Herd. Turner hit .380 (30-79) in July, the second best average in the International League. He has averaged .318 (68-214) in 53 games with the Bisons since the Mets claimed him off Baltimore's waivers. After hitting .250 (21-84) in 23 games with Norfolk to begin the year, Turner has his overall season average up to .299. That mark is now the 9th-highest average in the IL. Turner has 22 doubles, six home runs and 45 runs scored to go along with his solid batting average.

NICK THE STICK: INF Nick Evans is back with the Bisons and has gotten off to a great start with the Herd this year. After being promoted on July 30, the slugger had a hit and an RBI in each of his first four games. While that streak came to an end on Tuesday, Evans has still hit .381 (8-21) with three doubles and seven RBI in just five games. Evans began the year with Double-A Binghamton and ranked in the Top 5 in the Eastern League in doubles (4th, 30), home runs, (4th, 17) and extra-base hits (2nd, 47). Evans played 66 games with the Bisons last year and hit .211 with a team-high 10 home runs.

CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS www.CharlotteKnights.com

TEAHEN ON ASSIGNMENT: White Sox INF Mark Teahen continues a major league rehabilitation assignment with the Knights.  He has been with the Knights for their last four games and made his first appearance in the field on Tuesday vs. Rochester where he started at third base.  The previous three games he was the Knights DH.  On his assignment he has gone 5-10 (.500) with one double, four walks and 2 RBI.  Teahen, 28, was placed on the White Sox 15-day disabled list on June 1 (retroactive to May 31) with a fractured right middle finger sustained while fielding a ground ball on May 30 at Tampa Bay.  This season he is batting .255 (35-137) with three home runs and 14 RBI in 45 games this season, his first with the White Sox.

SAILING AWAY: On Wednesday, the Chicago White Sox purchased the contract of left-handed pitcher Chris Sale from the Knights.  Sale, 21, went 0-0 with a 2.84 ERA

(2 ER / 6.1 IP) and 15 strikeouts in seven relief appearances this season for Charlotte.  The 6-foot-6, 175-pounder began his professional career this season with Advanced Class-A Winston-Salem where he compiled a 2.25 ERA (1 ER / 4.0 IP) with four strikeouts in four games.  Sale was the White Sox first-round selection (13th overall) in the June First-Year Player Draft out of Florida Gulf Coast University.  In addition to becoming the first player from the 2010 draft class to reach Triple-A he is now the first player to reach the major leagues and first White Sox player since Alex Fernandez in 1990 to reach the majors in the season in which he was drafted.

THE CLOSER: Knights pitcher Ryan Braun comes into tonight's game having made five consecutive scoreless relief appearances.  Braun has pitched 6.1 consecutive scoreless innings going 2 for 2 in save opportunities with opponents hitting .210 (4-19).  Braun is in his first full season after undergoing his second Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.  On the season opponents are hitting just .197 (34-173) off the right-hander.

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS www.ClippersBaseball.com

UNITED NATIONS: With Panamanian cousins Damaso and Paolo Espino now on the roster, the Clippers have players from six nations, including Australia (Shane Lindsay), Canada (Nick Weglarz) the Dominican Republic (Jose Constanza) and Venezuela (Carlos Carrasco, Richard Martinez  and Yohan Pino).

DOG DAYS: Columbus snapped a season long four game losing streak yesterday with a comeback win over Louisville.  During the streak, the Clippers saw their lead in the IL West shrink to 5.5 games over the Bats.  They are now 1-2 to start August.  Last season, the Clippers started August by losing eight of the first nine, as they did not win back to back games over the last 37 of the year, going 10-27 (.270).  During that time, they went from 12.5 games behind Louisville in the IL West to 27.

EXTREME MAKEOVER: ROSTER EDITION: Of the 32 players to start the year on the Columbus roster, only eight are active.  Cleveland currently has 10 Opening Day Clippers (Hector Ambriz, Jordan Brown, Trevor Crowe, Jason Donald, Shelley Duncan, Chris Gimenez, Jeanmar Gomez, Frank Herrmann, Carlos Santana and Josh Tomlin), while 10 are no longer in the organization (Brian Bixler, Russell Branyan, Brian Buscher, Mike Gosling, Anderson Hernandez, Wes Hodges, Brian Horwitz, Scott Lewis, Saul Rivera and Niuman Romero).

DURHAM BULLS www.DurhamBulls.com

ELEVENTH HEAVEN: Durham had an 11-game win streak snapped on Monday, as Durham lost 12-0 at Pawtucket.  The 11-game win streak was Durham's longest under Bulls Manager Charlie Montoyo.  It tied Durham's single-season Triple-A record.  The Bulls won 11 in a row from July 21-31 in 2004.  During the 11-game win streak, Durham starters were superb.  They allowed 12 earned runs in 63.1 innings (1.71 ERA).

HOME SWEET HOME: The Bulls begin a seven-game stretch at home tonight having won five straight at the DBAP.  Durham has the highest winning percentage in the IL at home, going 37-18 (.673), and the 68-42 overall record is best in the IL as well. 

MVP NOW A RAY: Dan Johnson officially left the Bulls on Tuesday night, when he was added to the Rays roster. He left Durham leading the IL in homers (30), RBI (95), walks (75), OBP (.430) and slugging percentage (.624).  He also was top five in runs scored, total bases and extra-base hits.  Of his 30 homers, 17 came with men on base.  He certainly was Durham's MVP, and could be the Bulls fourth League MVP, joining Steve Cox (1999), Toby Hall (2001), and Kevin Witt (2006).

WEST IS BEST: Durham begins its last series against the West Division tonight.  The Bulls are 13-14 (one game was canceled at Toledo by rain).  Durham needs to win three of four against Indianapolis to have a winning mark against the West Division.

GWINNETT BRAVES www.GwinnettBraves.com

WES SIDE CONNECTION: Gwinnett 3B Wes Timmons has had a power surge at the plate recently. After hitting just 2 home runs before 7/2, he has hit 4 bombs since then, with 2 of those coming in his last 4 games (7/30, 8/2). His 6 home runs this season are the most he's had since 2006. Timmons' season-high for homers is 7, which he has achieved twice in his career (2003, 2005).

BARBARO'S BATTING CROWN CHASE: G-Braves DH/1B Barbaro Canizares went 1-for-3 on Tuesday, making his batting average .323 and maintaining his lead atop the race for the IL batting crown. He is now in 1st place in the League with Columbus' Michael Brantley in 2nd place with a .317 AVG. Canizares' mark is also good for 3rd place in all of Triple-A Baseball (min. 300 ABs).

STREAKS ENDED: Saturday's 9-6 win over Toledo marked a number of impressive streaks in the world of the Gwinnett Braves. It was the team's 5th straight win, a mark they've reached 3 times this season including when they reeled off a season-best 7 straight from 6/27-7/3 (a span that included a sweep @ TOL). International League batting-crown leader Barbaro Canizares also knocked in at least 1 RBI for his 5th straight game, a season high. Finally, 2 days after being activated from the DL, SS Diory Hernandez went 4-for-4 with 2 RBI and extended his IL-leading on-base streak to 26 games (tied with 1B Freddie Freeman for a 2010 team and IL high).

MAKING MOVES: OF Mitch Jones was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash considerations. OF Gregor Blanco was a part of a five-player deal in which he,

RHP Jesse Chavez (ATL) and LHP Tim Collins (MISS) were sent to the Kansas City Royals for OF Rick Ankiel and RHP Kyle Farnsworth. OF Willie Cabrera was promoted from MISS on 7/31. SS/2B Diory Hernandez was recalled by the Braves on 8/2. OF Willy Tavares was released from the organization on 8/2. OF Wilkin Ramirez, who was assigned to GWN after being traded from the Detroit Tigers for a player to be named later or cash considerations on 7/31, made his debut on 8/2. OF Josh Anderson was released from the organization on 8/4. RHP Chris Resop, who was recently in Gwinnett on MLB rehab assignment, was claimed off waivers by the Pittsburgh Pirates on 8/4.

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS www.IndyIndians.com

MOSS ON FIRE: After driving in a run with a first inning double against Norfolk on August 3, Tribe OF Brandon Moss improved his team-best RBI total to 77, which ranks as the second-highest tally in the International League this season. The Indians' left-handed slugger has recently moved past both Toledo Mud Hens' INF Jeff Frazier and Norfolk Tides' INF Robert Andino - who have collected 68 RBI and 66 RBI, respectively - and trails only Durham Bulls' INF Dan Johnson's astounding total of

95 RBI. Since Moss' recent hot streak began on July 6, during which time he has reached base safely via a hit or a walk in 23 of 25 contests, the Georgia native ranks third in all of professional baseball with 34 RBI, behind only Triple-A Iowa Cubs' OF Brad Snyder's 38 RBI and Single-A High Desert Mavericks' OF Johermyn Chavez's

37 RBI. The Indians' outfielder has also been one of the most consistent contributors for the Tribe offense this season, and, among current players, he leads the team in games played (104), at-bats (383), runs scored (59), hits (104), doubles (25), home runs (19), RBI (77) and total bases (188).

ADD MARTINEZ TO THE MIX: RHP Joe Martinez, who was acquired from the San Francisco Giants organization along with OF John Bowker for Pittsburgh Pirates' left-handed reliever Javier Lopez, tossed three scoreless innings of relief to earn the save in the Tribe's 5-3 victory over Norfolk on August 3 in what was his first action in an Indians' uniform this season. The right hander posted a 5-3 record and a 3.32 ERA (30 ER), while allowing 78 hits and 26 walks to go along with 65 strikeouts in 81.1 IP over 14 games (13 starts) for Triple-A Fresno earlier this season. Before being traded to Pittsburgh, the right-handed pitcher also appeared in four games at the Major League level with San Francisco, turning in a 0-1 record in a 4.91 ERA (6 ER on 15 hits) in 11.0 innings of work. Martinez, who made his Major League Baseball debut with the Giants on April 7, 2009, allowed two runs on three hits in two innings of work against the Milwaukee Brewers and earned a win in relief of RHP Tim Lincecum in San Francisco's 2009 Opening Day 10-6 victory. Martinez, who was born in South Orange, New Jersey, spent the 2006-2008 off-seasons working as a substitute teacher at Columbia High School in South Orange, teaching a number of classes. The right-handed pitcher was originally selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 44th round of the 2001 First-Year Player Draft, but elected not to sign and was later drafted by the Giants in the 12th round in 2005.

TAKE A BOW-KER: OF John Bowker, who was acquired from the San Francisco Giants organization along with RHP Joe Martinez for left-handed reliever Javier Lopez, drove in a run and collected a game-high three base knocks, including two doubles, in his first game with the Indians on August 3 in Norfolk. The left handed slugger batted .310 (61-for-197) with 36 runs scored, 12 doubles, 14 home runs, 36 RBI and a .388 on-base percentage in 51 games for Triple-A Fresno earlier this season. Before being traded to Pittsburgh, the outfielder had also spent considerable time at the Major League level with San Francisco, appearing in 41 games for the Giants and posting a .207 batting average (17-for-82) with nine runs scored, three doubles, three home runs and eight RBI. Bowker, who made his Major League Baseball debut with the Giants on April 12, 2008, became eighth player in San Francisco history to hit a home run in his Major League debut and then, one day later on April 13, became the only Giant in San Francisco and New York history to hit a homer in his first two MLB games. Additionally, Bowker collected seven RBI in his first two big league games, a total which marked the most by an MLB player since St. Louis Cardinals' Joe Cunningham also drove in seven from June 30 - July 1, 1954.

MORE FRESH FACES: Along with adding INF/OF John Bowker and RHP Joe Martinez, the Indians also added long-time Minor League veteran OF Mitch Jones and INF Pedro Ciriaco to their roster prior to the July 31st MLB trade deadline. Jones, who played in 1,069 Minor League contests and hit 235 long balls heading into this season, began the 2010 campaign with the Gwinnett Braves and batted .250 (81-for-324) with 18 home runs and 45 RBI in 89 games. Last season with Triple-A Albuquerque, Jones posted monster numbers as he hit .297 with 35 home runs and 103 RBI in 108 games with the Isotopes. Also added to the Indians' roster was Ciriaco, who was acquired by the Pirates organization along with C Chris Snyder from the Arizona Diamondbacks organization for INF Bobby Crosby, OF Ryan Church and RHP D.J. Carrasco. Before coming to the Tribe this season, Ciriaco played in 87 games for Triple-A Reno, where he turned in a .259 average (92-for-355) with 44 runs scored, 15 doubles, seven triples, six home runs, 51 RBI and 14 stolen bases. The speedster entered the 2010 season as the Arizona organization's top base stealer the last two seasons (40 in 2008 and 38 in 2009) and was ranked by Baseball America as having the Best Infield Arm in the system for the fourth straight season. The right-handed hitting Ciriaco was also rated by Baseball America as being Arizona's Best Defensive Infielder prior to the 2009 campaign, during which he was named to the mid-season and post-season All-Star teams after leading the Double-A Mobile Bay Bears with a .296 batting average and 139 hits.

LEHIGH VALLEY IRONPIGS www.IronPigsBaseball.com

WHO'S HOT (PITCHING): LHP Antonio Bastardo has not allowed a R in 14 G w/ LHV (3 SV, 0.00, 12.1 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 19 K) -- retiring 22 consecutive BF at one point from 7/17-7/31...... RHP Michael Schwimer started his Triple-A career with 7 scoreless appearances (8.1 IP) and is unscored upon in 8 of 10 G -- going 2-2, 1.46, 2 H

(12.1 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 10 K)...... In 4 G since coming off the DL, RHP Brian Gordon is 0-1, 1.17 (7.2 IP, 6 H, ER, 7 K)...... RHP Vance Worley went 12.0 scoreless IP

in his first 2 GS w/ LHV -- going 30.0 consecutive scoreless IP combined before a Fernando Martinez HR, 8/1...... LHP Brian Mazone has allowed just two runs over his last two starts (1-0, 1.20 ERA, 15 IP, 10 H, BB, 10 K). Despite leading the League in losses (11) Mazone sports a respectable 3.65 ERA (14th best in the IL).

FRIED-DAY FUNK CONTINUES: LHV has fallen to 1-15 on Friday games this season -- though 0-15 in games finished on the actual day. Because of the 4/16 (Fri) suspended game completed 6/29 (Tue), the Pigs got their first win on a Friday in '10 in late June... on a Tuesday!

ONE IS THE LONELIEST....: With the 2-1 loss Sunday, LHV is now 1-9 (.100) in extra inning games; 0-4 at Coca-Cola Park. With the 2-1 loss Sunday, LHV fell to

11-29 (.275) in one-run games -- a winning PCT which ranks last in the IL (IND is 13th at .429). LHV is 1st in the IL w/ 40 one-run games. SWB is T-2nd and has the top record , 26-10 (.722). In '09, the team w/ the worst such win% was COL, .395 (17-26). If the Pigs were just above .500 (20-20) they'd be 53-54.

LOUISVILLE BATS www.BatsBaseball.com

ALONSO RECOGNIZED: Bats first baseman Yonder Alonso has been named the IL Batter of the Week for 7/26-8/1.  He led the IL in average (.480), hits (12) and slugging percentage (.960) during this stretch.  He was second in the League in on-base percentage (.552) and doubles (4).  His two home runs were also tied for third in the IL.  Alonso appeared in all six games helping the Bats to a perfect 6-0 record.  He recorded six RBI, scored seven runs, and picked up his only career triple during the week.  Alonso also set several single season career highs this week, including doubles (26), RBI (55), and walks (42).  With the Bats, Alonso is hitting .288 with 9 homers,

23 doubles, and a triple.  He also has 44 RBI and 34 runs scored.  Alonso joins Juan Francisco (5/3-5/9) and Luis Terrero (5/10-5/16) as the third Bat to be named IL Batter of the Week this season.

STREAK OVER AT 11: Last night's 9-8 loss at Columbus ended the Bats winning streak at 11, which was their longest win streak of the season and longest since 2003 when they won a franchise-best 12 straight from 5/18-5/30. That year Louisville finished with a 79-64 record and won the IL West.  They were eliminated in the first round of the Governors' Cup Playoffs first round by DUR. The 11-game winning streak was the second longest in Louisville history, surpassing the Louisville Redbirds streak of 10 from 7/11-7/19 in 1984.

HOME SWEEP HOME: After defeating Columbus 3-2 on Sunday night, the Bats completed a homestand sweep with a record of 6-0.  Louisville swept a four game series against Charlotte 7/27-7/30 and took two straight against COL 7/31-8/1 before hitting the road again. It is the first homestand sweep since 6/6/09-6/9/09 when Louisville swept a four game series vs. LHV.  It is the first homestand sweep of at least six games since 5/22/03-5/29/03 when Louisville went 8-0 in an eight game homestand.  Sunday's win also gave the Bats a seven game home winning streak.  The last time LOU won 7 straight at home was from 6/22/09-7/12/09. When they return home tonight, the Bats will be going for eight in a row for the first time since 7/22/08-8/8/08.  Louisville has won 13 of their last 17 home games and at 32-23 sit a season-high 9 games over .500 at home.

JULY WAS SO FLY: The Bats followed a subpar June (12-16) with a record breaking July (22-6) . Their 22-6 July record was the best in the IL, Durham was second with a 19-9 clip, and it also marks the best month of any team in the league this season. The 22 wins in July are also a franchise-high and they finished a win short of tying the franchise's best month ever. In August of 2008 the Bats went 23-7 and went on to finish a franchise-best 88-56 en route to the first of two straight IL West crowns.  They lost their first game in July (6-0 L at DUR) and then went on to win 22 of their next 27 games. In June they batted .266 and had a 3.85 ERA, while in July they batted .293 with a 3.17 ERA.

NORFOLK TIDES www.NorfolkTides.com

RIGHT ANGLE: With two hits in Tuesday's contest, outfielder Matt Angle has now reached base safely via a hit or walk in 26 consecutive games. That run that is tied for the 2nd-longest in the IL this year, trailing only the 35-game run by Louisville's Drew Sutton from May 7 to June 18. Over the 26-game run, Angle has hit .306 (33-for-108) with 17 runs scored and a .372 on-base percentage. Since being promoted from Double-A Bowie on May 29, the 24-year-old Ohio State product has batted leadoff in 63 consecutive games and has yet to make an error in 167 total chances.

HIT MAN: Robert Andino has hit safely in 14 of his last 15 games, batting .359 (23-for-64) with two home runs, eight stolen bases, 10 RBI and 12 runs scored over that stretch. Andino is 4th in the IL and 3rd among Orioles minor leaguers with 66 RBI this year, surpassing his previous career-high of 50 RBI collected between Triple-A Albuquerque and Florida in 2007. He also ranks 3rd in the IL with 112 hits this season.

THE GREAT GABINO: Armando Gabino has turned in a fantastic season for the Tides, and he's been especially dominant over the last month. Over his last eight games (two starts), Gabino has gone 3-0 with one save and a 0.39 ERA (1-ER, 23.1-IP), 11 hits and 18 strikeouts as he's increased his record to 7-0 with two saves and a 2.12 ERA. For the season, the 26-year-old right-hander has held IL batters to a .199 average, and right-handers have hit just .159 against him (23-for-145).

PAWTUCKET RED SOX www.PawSox.com

STAY AT HOME: The PawSox are playing 15 of 19 games at home during a 21-day span from July 31 - August 20. They are in the middle stages of their current 8-game homestand (2-2) that continues through this upcoming weekend. The Sox interrupt this home stretch by making a brief 4-game roadtrip to Pennsylvania next week from Monday - Thursday (two at Scranton/WB and two at Lehigh Valley) before coming back to McCoy for a 7-game homestand (August 13-20). Including tonight, Pawtucket has 17 home games and 16 road games remaining. All 33 are against IL North rivals starting tonight through the season-finale on September 6 vs. Syracuse.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY: The PawSox have currently won two straight games for the second time in less than a week. A victory tonight will give them 3 straight wins for the first time in three weeks. Pawtucket has also presently won back-to-back home games for the first time in a month (since July 2 & 3). They can win three consecutive games at McCoy tonight for the first time since the end of May (May 29-31).

PAWSOX NOTES: The PawSox are batting .291 in their last 10 games (105-for-361) with 17 HR & 61 runs scored while Sox pitchers are 5-5 with a 5.26 ERA in their last 10 games (52 ER in 89 IP)...... Pawtucket has played terrific defense of late and they have moved all the way up to 2nd in the International League with a .982 fielding pct. (69 errors in 3917 total chances). The PawSox have made just 3 errors in their last 14 games since July 21. Durham is first in the League with an outstanding .987 fielding pct...... Pawtucket has been held to 3 runs or less in a game 55 times this season and they are 10-45 in those. The Sox have scored more than 3 runs in a game 56 times this season and they are 39-17 in those....... The PawSox are 11-5 in shutout games this season as they are tied with Durham and Louisville for the League lead in shutout wins.

SALT SHAKER: The PawSox on Sunday added catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia who was acquired by Boston from the Texas Rangers (Oklahoma City) in a trade deadline deal. The 25 year-old began this season with Texas and appeared in two games with the Rangers (1-for-5 with an RBI) before being optioned to Triple-A Oklahoma City in mid-April. In 63 games with the RedHawks he was hitting .244 with 11 HR & 33 RBI playing 55 games as a catcher and 8 as the DH. In 240 Major League games (47 with Atlanta and 193 with Texas) he has a career big league average of .251 with 23 HR & 94 RBI. Originally selected by Atlanta in the first round (#36 overall) of the 2003 June draft he was traded to Texas on July 31, 2007 as part of the deal that sent Mark Teixeira to the Braves. His 2009 season ended when he underwent surgery to correct Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (removal of rib nearing right shoulder) on September 21, 2009. According to Elias Sports Bureau, Jarrod's 14-letter last name is the longest in Major League history.

ROCHESTER RED WINGS www.RedWingsBaseball.com

NOT MEETING YOUR QUOTA: Rochester is just one loss away from their second consecutive losing season, which would be the first time that has happened since 1998-2003 when the Wings had six consecutive losing seasons (first time Wings had six consecutive losing seasons since 1942-47).

HOT WING: Infielder D'Angelo Jimenez has a six-game hitting streak batting .400 (10-for-25) with one double, three home runs and 12 RBI.  Jimenez really caught fire during the just-completed four-game series in Charlotte batting .471 with one double, three home runs and 12 RBI.  Jimenez had a Red Wings season-high six RBI in Tuesday's 12-10 win over the Knights.

I NEED SOME HOME COOKIN': The Red Wings have just a 19-35 record at Frontier Field this season which is the worst home record of any team in the International League.  The last time Rochester had a losing record at Frontier Field was 2002 when the Red Wings had a 30-41 record.

DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME: The Red Wings have 32 games remaining in the 2010 season (14 road games and 18 games at Frontier Field).  Of the 32 games remaining 17 of them are against teams with a losing record (Red Wings have 9-14 record vs. these teams this season).  Of the 15 games remaining against teams with a .500 or better record the Red Wings hold just an 8-25 record.  Rochester will play 12 of their final 20 games away from Frontier Field.

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE YANKEES www.SWBYankees.com

ENJOYING THE BREATHING ROOM: The Yankees current 8.5 game lead is the largest a Scranton/Wilkes-Barre team has had since September 7, 1992 when they finished the year with a 13.5 game cushion. The largest lead ever for an SWB team was the Red Barons lead of 16.5 games on August 31, 1992. Even in 2002, the winningest season in SWB franchise history at 91-53, the biggest lead of the season was just 6.0 games. A big part of the reason for this year's success is the long ball.

THERE'S NOTHING TO THIS TRIPLE-A THING: Brandon Laird has played in two Triple-A games in his career and his performance against the Syracuse Chiefs certainly show the numbers he put up in Double-A were no fluke. In his first game in an SWB Yankees uniform, fresh off the bus from Double-A Trenton, Laird homered in his first AB on the second pitch he saw and was just getting warmed up. On the eight pitches he saw from Chiefs pitchers on Monday Laird hammered two homers and had two singles. He scored three runs and drove home two in his debut. Tuesday night was more of the same with Laird putting together another solid effort with a pair of doubles, two RBI and a run scored in game two of his brief career in the IL. In two games Laird is hitting .750 (6-8) with 4R, 2 2B, 2 HR and 4 RBI with a .750 OBP and a 1.750 slugging percentage. The power is nothing new for the newest Yankee, who hit.291 (119-409) with 73 R, 22 2B, 2 3B, 23 HR and 90 RBI at Trenton. At the time of his promotion out of the EL, Laird was first in RBI (90), first in total bases (214), second in HR (23), second in hits (119), tied for second in extra base hits (47), fourth in runs (73) and was fifth in slugging percentage at .523. His 2010 total of 92 RBI are third in all of the Minors, while his 25 home runs are eighth best.

BRUNTLETT ON A DOWN TURN: Eric Bruntlett was on a 21-44 (.477) tear from July 1st through the 17th raising his average from .141 to .299 with the Yankees. Following a 3-4 game against Toledo on the 17th which featured his second two homer game since joining Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Bruntlett was one hit away from being a .300 hitter with the Yanks. Since the 17th, he has been going in the opposite direction posting a .153 average (9-56) over his last 15 games. From the 1st through the 17th Bruntlett had scored 11 R with 2 2B, 5 HR, 16 RBI, 3 BB and 5 K. In the 15 games since peaking at .299 he has scored 5 R with 4 2B, 3 RBI, 4 BB and 15 K and his average with the Yankees has dropped from .299 to .248.

JOGGING AROUND THE BASES IS MUCH EASIER: In the first 80 games of the season (April, May and June) the Yankees as a team hit 45 home runs for an average of 0.56 homers per game. Since the end of June the pace has picked up with the Yankees knocking 35 out of the park in the team's last 31 games covering July and the first two days in August for an average of 1.13 per game.

CONGRATS TO THE SKIPPER: SWB Yankee Manager Dave Miley picked up his 1,500th win on Friday night, July 30th with the Yankees 2-1 win over Norfolk. Miley picked up his 1,504 career wins with nine different teams (Greensboro, Cedar Rapids, Charleston, Chattanooga , Nashville, Indianapolis, Louisville, Columbus and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre) and five different leagues (South Atlantic, Midwest, Southern, American Association and International). As the Yankees Triple-A Manager (which includes 2006 in Columbus) his mark sits at 387-294. Since moving with the Yankees when the Triple-A affiliate moved from Columbus to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to start the 2007 season, he has a 318-221 record. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre has averaged an 84-58 record with Miley as the manager.

SYRACUSE CHIEFS www.SyracuseChiefs.com

ORR HEATING UP: Pete Orr is hitting .432 with 16 hits over his last 10 games. He's raised his average 20 points from .233 to .253 in that span. Orr, who is second on the team in games played (107) behind Chase Lambin (108), hit his League-leading seventh triple of the season in Tuesday night's loss to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The 31-year-old has played every position except for catcher, first base or pitcher for the Chiefs this year.

WHAT'S AHEAD: The Chiefs have 33 games remaining on their schedule, 21 of which are against divisional opponents. Syracuse is 34-25 against the IL North so far in 2010. Overall, the Chiefs carry a record of 38-33 versus their eight remaining opponents.

GOODBYE JULY: Syracuse struggled to a 10-17 record in the month of July. Only Rochester had fewer wins (9) and a worse winning percentage (.333) in July than the Chiefs did (.370). Syracuse hit .237 for the month, which was also the second-worst mark in the League (Rochester hit .233). The Chiefs' pitching staff also had a tough month, compiling an ERA of 5.14. Only Pawtucket had a higher July ERA (5.40).

NOT FOOLING ANYBODY: The Syracuse pitching staff has recorded 699 strikeouts, fewest in the League. They are 47 strikeouts behind Charlotte, who has the League's second-lowest strikeout total (746). Shairon Martis leads the team in punch-outs with 72, 18 ahead of Jeff Mandel, who is second on the team in that statistic (54). Stephen Strasburg's nine strikeouts in Rochester on May 19th is the highest strikeout total by a Chiefs pitcher in a game this season.

TOLEDO MUD HENS www.MudHens.com

MUSICAL BATTING ORDER: With all the roster moves made by Detroit, the Mud Hens have already had 16 players listed in the eighth spot in the lineup this season.  Additionally, 15 have started a game batting sixth, seventh, and ninth.

HEN EGGS: OF Casper Wells is hitting .365 (19-for-52) with five doubles, five home runs and 11 RBI over his last 14 games...... C Max St. Pierre is hitting .400

(12-for-30) over his last nine games...... C Robinzon Diaz has hit safely in eight of his last nine games, batting .400 (14-for-35)...... INF Max Leon has hit safely in each of his last six games, batting .400 (10x25)...... RHP Alfredo Figaro is 3-0 with a 1.25 ERA (21.2 IP/3 ER) and 22 strikeouts over his last four starts.

SEAWOLVES SNIPPETS: OF Andy Dirks and RHP Zach Simons were promoted to Toledo from Erie (Double-A) Tuesday.  Dirks was batting .315 (68-for-216) with

11 doubles, six home runs and 23 RBI over his last 53 games in Erie. Simons has compiled a 1.01 ERA (44.2 IP/5 ER) and 44 strikeouts over his last 28 outings.

LEADING OFF: The Hens are a combined 94-7 when leading after seven (48-5) and eight innings (46-2). The Hens are 27-1 on the road when leading after seven frames and 28-0 when they are ahead after eight. Conversely, they are just 1-49 this year when trailing after eight innings.

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International League Stories from August 5, 2010


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