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IL1 International League

International League News and Notes

June 22, 2006 - International League (IL1) News Release


BUFFALO BISONS
MARTE'S MONSTROUS STREAK: Third baseman Andy Marte tied a Bisons All-Time Record when he homered in five consecutive games this past week. The infielder went deep in the second game of a doubleheader in Durham on June 15 before going deep the next day in a 6-1 Bisons win. Marte then brought his red-hot bat back to Buffalo and went deep in the first three games of a four-game series with the Indians. The 22-year old's streak matched the one set by Hall of Famer Ollie Carnegie in 1938 and later equaled by Carlos Garcia (1992) and Bill Selby (1998). Marte now has eight homers and 16 RBI in his last 11 games and has hit in 21 of his last 24 games (.333, 31-93).

HOMER TEAM: The Bisons offense has pounded out 11 home runs in their last seven games. Andy Marte has accounted for five of those while first baseman Ryan Garko has three. As a team, the Herd has launched 66 home runs on the season, most in the International League. Marte leads the team with 11 while Garko has 10. Buffalo is one of only three teams (Toledo, Syracuse) with at least two hitters with double-digit home run totals.

IT'S NOT EVERY DAY YOU GET A SLUGGER: ...but the Bisons were lucky enough to add outfielder Jonathan Van Every to their roster on Tuesday from Double-A Akron. Van Every, who made his Triple-A debut that night going 1-3 with a single, has put up big numbers in each of his last two seasons. In 2005 with the Aeros, his 27 home runs finished 2nd in the Eastern League and in the Cleveland Indians farm system. He was also named to the EL All-Star Team. The Tribe's 26th round pick in the June, 2000 draft also hit 21 home runs with Class-A Kinston in 2004.

CHARLOTTE KNIGHTS
SET TO BE KNIGHTED: The Charlotte Knights are set to welcome a new member to the organization, well at least for their upcoming weekend series against Norfolk. Cliff Politte is set to begin a rehabilitation assignment with the Knights on Thursday night. Polite, 32, was 1-1 with a 7.40 ERA in 23 games with the White Sox before being placed on the disabled list back on June 7 (retroactive to June 5) with right shoulder inflammation.

FEELS GOOD TO BE GOOD: The Charlotte Knights have had sole possession of first place since April 21; this coming after a 2005 campaign that never saw Charlotte in the top spot. The closest the Knights were to the top was the very beginning of the season when they were tied for second from April 10-11, 2005. The last time the Knights were in first place previous to 2006 came on June 8, 2004. During the 2004 season, the Knights were in first place from May 23 until June 8. The Knights are currently 14.0 games ahead of the Durham Bulls in the International League South and 5.0 games ahead of the Rochester Red Wings (who have a total of 44 wins) for first place overall in the International League.

THE FUTURE IS NOW: On July 9 three members of the Charlotte Knights will take part in the 2006 XM Satellite Radio All-Star Futures Game held at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The rosters were set Wednesday afternoon and infielder Josh Fields, manager Razor Shines, and pitching coach Juan Nieves will be making the trip to PNC Park in Pittsburgh to take part in the All-Star festivities. Fields will take part as a member of the USA Team while Shines and Nieves will serve as coaches for the World Team squad. This is the second consecutive year that Shines will take part in this exhibition game as he was a coach on Team USA last season.

COLUMBUS CLIPPERS
CLIPPERS REVOLVING CLUBHOUSE DOOR: Columbus has passed the 90 player mark in transactions already this season. Shelley Duncan is one of the latest to join the club in a big fashion, with three hits, including a home run and a double in his first two games. Shelley is the son of St. Louis Cardinal's pitching coach and former Major League catcher Dave Duncan and the brother of the Cardinal outfielder Chris Duncan. Shelley was a second round draft choice of the Yankees in 2001. Last season in Trenton, Duncan hit 34 home runs and 92 RBI.

KING OF THE HILL: With his eight innings of work vs. Syracuse last week at The Coop, Kris Wilson became the best pitcher in Cooper Stadium history. The former Georgia Tech quarterback has never lost a game at Cooper Stadium. This season at The Coop, Wilson is 4-0 with a 0.47 ERA with 33 strikeouts and just two base on balls. Kris was undefeated at home all of last season. In four seasons with the Kansas City Royals, the Washington DC native posted a 14-9 record. But if you want to see Kris smile, ask him about his .333 Major League batting average! Wilson was the IL Pitcher-of-the-Week (May 22-28).

ALSO SAFE AT HOME: Third baseman Russ Johnson finished this past homestand with 11 singles, raising his batting average at The Coop this season, to a robust .357. The LSU All-American hit .292 for the Clippers as he split last season between Columbus and New York. Russ has seven seasons in the Majors with Houston, Tampa Bay and New York.

DURHAM BULLS
DELMON RETURNS: OF Delmon Young returned from his 50-game suspension on Monday, and got a hit in his first at-bat. He's now 4-8 with a walk since his return, raising his batting average to .345 with 9 RBI.

COINCIDENCE?: Perhaps, but the Bulls are 15-8 when Young is in the lineup, 20-29 when he's not.

SHUTOUT: The Bulls now are halfway through the 2006 season (72 games), and have been shutout 10 times, including three times in the club's last eight games.

LAST DANCE: Of 72 games, 18, or 25%, have been decided in a team's final at-bat. The Bulls have won 8 of those 18 contests.

CHANGES AND PLENTY OF THEM: Before Tuesday's game, OF Joey Gathright and INF Fernando Cortez were traded to Kansas City for LHP J.P. Howell, who will start tonight for Durham. C Josh Johnson was assigned to Durham from Hudson Valley. After Tuesday's game RHP Edwin Jackson was recalled to Tampa Bay and RHP Seth McClung was optioned to Durham. McClung will pitch out of the Durham bullpen. Then Jon Switzer went to Tampa Bay when Ruddy Lugo went on the DL. To make room for Switzer on the 40-man roster, Sean Burroughs was designated for assignment.

INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
BEEN HERE FOR A WHILE: Indianapolis has been in first place since April 23 -- a span of 61 days. The streak establishes a new Victory Field Era record for consecutive days in first place.

THEY CAN'T KEEP HIM OFF BASE: Indianapolis INF Chris Richard has reached base safely in 33 consecutive games (.257, 29-113, 9 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 14 R, 21 RBI, 18 BB, 21 SO). Richard's streak is the longest by an IL batter in 2006. The 32-year-old is hitting .236 with six long balls and 24 RBI in 45 games this season.

BRINGING THEM HOME: Indians C Carlos Maldonado has recorded an RBI in eight of his last 10 games (June 9-19). The 27-year-old is hitting .344 (11-32) with one roundtripper, two doubles, four runs and 11 RBI during the stretch.

BOEVE IS ON A ROLL: Indianapolis OF Adam Boeve enters Thursday night's tilt with a season-best seven-game hitting streak (.379, 11-29, R, 8 RBI).

DAVIS GOES STREAKING, TOO: Tribe OF Rajai Davis also enters Thursday evening's affair with a season-best seven-game hitting streak (.267, 8-30, 5 R, 1 RBI).

ROAD WARRIORS: Indianapolis owns the International League's second-best road record at 23-14 (.622). Only IL South Division-leader Charlotte (29-10, .744) boasts a better winning percentage away from home.

BEATING US ON THE ROAD ISN'T EASY: Indianapolis has played 12 road series in 2006. Of those 12, the Indians have won six, split five and lost just one.

LOUISVILLE BATS
WINNING WAYS: The Bats ended a 10-game road trip with a 9-1 record Tuesday. The team set a new franchise record with 11 straight road victories, passing the previous mark of nine set July 17-28, 1989 by the then Redbirds. The Bats also won a season-high eight straight games from June 11-18. The last time the Bats won eight in a row was during the 2003 season when they won a franchise record 12 straight, May 18-31.

JUNE IS LOOKING GOOD: The last time the Bats had a winning record for an entire month was May of 2004. Tuesday night's victory assured the Bats of a winning record during this month; the team had gone 10 straight months without one. The pitching staff's ERA during June is 2.28, significantly better than April's (4.07) and May's (3.95) ERA.

A WELCOME ADDITION: After severely spraining his ankle at the end of Spring Training, OF Dewayne Wise was been promoted to the Bats from Double-A Monday. Wise began the season on Louisville's disabled list and played in 13 games for the Lookouts. He batted .420 with 11 runs scored, three home runs, seven RBI and seven doubles.

NORFOLK TIDES
WELCOME BACK OBIE: Tonight will mark the fourth game of the season for Tides manager Ken Oberkfell, who had been away from the Tides this season after undergoing multiple surgeries during spring training because of blood clots in his left leg. Oberkfell led the Tides to a 79-65 record and the International League South Division title in 2005, and was named the Minor League Manager of the Year by Baseball America after the season. Oberkfell, who played 16 seasons in the Major Leagues, is in his sixth season in the New York Mets organization. Tony Tijerina, who filled in as the Tides interim manager for the first 70 games of the season, has resumed his role as a roving instructor in the Mets organization.


ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Tides just finished up a stretch where they played 16 home games in 20 days, and beginning tonight, Norfolk will play 25 of their next 31 games on the road, including a doubleheader on June 26 in Toledo. The Tides have actually fared much better on the road this season, going 14-15 with 24 home runs and 118 runs scored (4.07 runs a game) in 29 road contests. Norfolk is 15-28 with 10 home runs and 123 runs scored in 43 home games (2.86 runs a game).

STLL RINGING TRUE: Reliever Royce Ring has pitched exceptionally well over the past two months. Since April 19, Ring has gone 2-0 with five saves and a 0.00 ERA, turning in 17 consecutive scoreless outings. Ring has allowed just eight hits and six walks while striking out 23 over the stretch, which has spanned 20.0 innings, the longest scoreless streak for any member of the Tides this season. The longest consecutive scoreless inning streak in Tides franchise history was turned in by Orber Moreno during the 2003 season, when Moreno did not allow a run over 24.1 consecutive innings.

OTTAWA LYNX
PITY THE FOOL WHO PITCHES TO THESE MR. T'S: OF Luis Terrero has been red hot of late. Terrero has hit .444 (8-18) in his last six games, smashing three jacks, driving in six runs and also scoring six runs. With Terrero's latest streak of production, his average has climbed back over .300 from .293 to .313. 3B Fernando Tatis has been crushing opposing pitching over the last few games. Tatis is hitting .341 (14-41) with eight runs scored in his last 11 games and is hitting .454 (10-22) with five runs scored in his last six games.

BULLYING THE OPPOSITION: The Lynx bullpen has been terrific lately. Dating back to June 6, the Lynx 'pen has given up only seven earned runs in their last 40.1 innings of work, which works out to a 1.56 ERA. Several Lynx bullpen members have been terrific this month, including RHP Eddy Rodriguez (zero runs in 9.2 innings; one earned run in 30.0 innings this season); RHP Andy Mitchell (0.93 ERA in 9.2 innings) and RHP Chris Piersoll (1-0. 1.04 ERA in 8.2 innings). RHP Julio Manon is tied for the IL lead with 14 saves on the season, while Rodriguez has eight.

RECORD CHASERS: A few Lynx players are on pace to challenge team records. 1B Andy Tracy leads the Lynx with 13 homers and 43 RBI and could challenge for both the HR (24) and RBI (85) franchise marks, while OF Keith Reed's 21 doubles could allow him to make a run at the doubles mark (38). With a strong second half RHP Julio Manon (14 saves) could look to match the Lynx all-time saves mark of 31.

CLARK GETS THE CALL: After hitting in a IL third-best 16-game hit streak, and an on-base streak of 21 games, which is still active, INF/OF Howie Clark had his contract purchased by Baltimore on June 16 and joined the Orioles in New York for a series against the Mets and made an immediate impact, laying down a pinch hit sacrifice bunt to help the Orioles to a 6-3 win.

PAWTUCKET RED SOX
A MEMORABLE WEEKEND ON TAP: Several special events are planned for Pawtucket's 4-game series with the Columbus Clippers that begins tonight (Thursday) at McCoy Stadium. Tonight will be Armed Services Night at McCoy as we honor the armed services in special pre-game ceremonies. Then on Friday we will celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Longest Game as Wade Boggs, Marty Barrett, Bruce Hurst and others will be in attendance at McCoy. And on Sunday, June 25 young fans will receive a complimentary copy of The Longest Game Book. Here are more details:

THURSDAY - ARMED SERVICES NIGHT (7:05 p.m. vs. Columbus): One of the most colorful nights of the year at McCoy Stadium will take place on Thursday prior to the PawSox game with the Columbus Clippers at 7:05 p.m. With extra special meaning again this year the 27th Annual Armed Services Night is a tribute to the men & women who serve our nation. Armed Services Night pre-game ceremonies feature the Colonial Militia, Parade of Flags, a 21-Gun Salute from the National Guard Guards of Thunder Howitzer Pack, and performances from the 88th Army Band.

FRIDAY - LONGEST GAME POSTER (7:05 p.m. vs. Columbus): 25 years to the date that the PawSox won the Longest Game in baseball history in 33-innings - a 3-2 victory over Rochester on June 23, 1981 at McCoy Stadium - many of the stars from that game will be on hand at McCoy to relive the memories of their Hall of Fame moment. Those in attendance during Pawtucket's game with Columbus this Friday (June 23) at 7:05 pm at McCoy include: Wade Boggs, Marty Barrett, Bruce Hurst, Dave Koza, Joe Morgan and several others from both the PawSox and Rochester Red Wings. Special pre-game ceremonies and an autograph session will be staged. In addition, fans attending the game will receive a full color Longest Game Poster.

JUNE 25 - LONGEST GAME BOOK (1:05 p.m. vs. Columbus): As part of a weekend long celebration of the 25th Anniversary of The Longest Game, the first 4,000 youngsters aged 14 & under coming to McCoy this Sunday will receive a copy of the best-selling book "The Longest Game". Written by acclaimed author Steven Krasner, "The Longest Game" children's book has become a popular keepsake for fans young and old alike. Young fans can get their specially-printed copy when they come see the PawSox host Columbus on Sunday at McCoy.

PAW-PRINTS: The PawSox - who have won 13 of their last 17 games - are 3-games over .500 for the first time this season (at 37-34). The PawSox swept a pair of 4-game series from Richmond in a 12-day stretch from June 9-20. Pawtucket finished 8-0 vs. the Braves in the season-series as they completed a perfect season against an opponent for the first time since the 1998 season when they went 6-0 in an abbreviated season-series against the Toledo Mud Hens (the last two games vs. Toledo that year were rained-out).





RICHMOND BRAVES
THE STREAK: The Braves have set a club record by losing 12 straight games. The previous record was 11 in a row last season from June 30 to July 10. The Braves have dropped 14 of their last 15 games. They have been swept in three straight four-game series. Three defeats came in extra innings. The Braves have been out-scored 69-38 over the course of the losing streak. Eight of the losses have come at home. The Braves lost all eight games to Pawtucket this season. That is the first time the Braves have ever gone winless vs. an IL opponent in a season series. The all-time Richmond IL record for consecutive losses is 14 by the 1959 Richmond Virginians.

CALL-UPS: Scott Thorman became the 14th R-Brave recalled to Atlanta this season when he was promoted Saturday. That equals the total for all of last season. Thorman was in the top five in the IL in batting average, home runs, RBI, slugging percentage, hits, and extra-base hits at the time of his promotion. The Braves have made 73 roster moves this season.

BONUS FRAMES: The Braves and Pawtucket Red Sox played a 17 inning game Sunday, won by the PawSox 8-5. The game took 4:35. It was the Braves longest contest in innings and time since an 18-inning, 5:23 game at Louisville June 6, 2003. It was the Braves' longest home game since August 1, 1999 when the Braves and Columbus Clippers played 17 innings. The club record is 22 innings (twice, both vs. Syracuse, here in 1966 and on the road in 1980). The Braves are second in the IL in extra inning games with 13. They are 4-9 in bonus frames.

ROCHESTER RED WINGS
TURNSTILE TANGO: This past weekend the Red Wings drew 33,899 fans for the three-day weekend (Friday-Sunday) which is the 2nd highest three-day attendance total in Frontier Field history. The only three-day total higher is August 25-27, 1997 when the Red Wings drew 37,334.

HALFTIME SHOW: The Red Wings hit the halfway mark of the 2006 season today with a winning record (44-28). It's only be the second time since 1997 Rochester has hit the halfway mark with a .500 or better record (2004, 39-33 record). Rochester currently holds a 44-28 record which is eight games better then 2005 (36-36 record), five games better then 2004 (39-33 record), nine games better then 2003 (35-37 record), 14 games better then 2002 (30-42 record), and 19 games better then 2001 (25-47 record).

KING OF THE HILL: The Red Wings enter tonight's game in first place in the IL North Division. Rochester has been in first place or had a share of first place in the IL North for 55 of the first 78 days this season.

NO JUNE SWOON HERE: The Red Wings are off to a 14-5 start in the month of June. Rochester needs just one more win to clinch their eighth consecutive month (May, June, July, August, September 2005 and April, May, June 2006) with a .500 or better record. It would be the first time they've accomplished this since April, May, June, July, August, September 1980 and April, May 1981.

SCRANTON/WILKES-BARRE
HOW'S THIS FOR A RARE EVENT: Not a single Red Barons batter struck out vs. the Lynx June 19. How rare is that? Well the last time it happened was 589 games ago on May 30, 2002 vs. Durham.

78 IS USUALLY GOOD ENOUGH: With the Red Barons season now at the official halfway mark, the club is on pace to finish with 78 wins. This has usually been good enough to make the playoffs. Since 1989 only four IL clubs with at least 78 wins have failed to make the post-season. The unlucky winners are Ottawa (80 wins) in 2002, Pawtucket (82) & Charlotte (78) in 2000, and Columbus (78) in 1993.

REGAINING HIS FORM: 2005 IL batting champion Danny Sandoval is back to hitting like a champ. Since June 5 he has recorded ten multi-hit games and is batting .333 (22-66) to raise his batting average from .212 to .250.

SYRACUSE SKYCHIEFS
MR. RIGHT: Switch hitting infielder John Hattig has appeared in 14 games at first base this season and 28 games at third base. While playing the right-side of the infield he is hitting .304 (17-56) and while playing the left-side he is hitting .224 (22-98). He is hitting .290 (38-131) from the right-side of the plate and is hitting .213 (13-61) from the left side.

REVERSAL OF FORTUNES: Over the first 35 games of the season the SkyChiefs were outscored 32-17 in the first two innings of games, scoring just ten first inning runs and seven in the second. Despite spotting opponents an early lead Syracuse managed an 18-17 record. Over the last 37 games the SkyChiefs have outscored their opponents a combined 72-43 over the first two innings but have produced just a 13-24 record. Syracuse has done the most damage in the second inning scoring 47 times followed by 41 first inning runs.

WE ARE THE WORLD: Panamanian left-hander Davis Romero has been selected to represent the World squad in the All-Star Futures Game to be played July 9 at Pittsburgh's PNC Park. Romero began the season in Double-A New Hampshire where he went 6-5 with a 2.93 ERA striking out 70 opponents while issuing just 19 walks. For Syracuse Romero has made two starts and is 0-2 with a 5.73 ERA striking out seven and walking one. It is the second straight season that a member of the SkyChiefs has been selected to represent the World and the third straight season a Syracuse player has been selected to participate in the Futures Game. John Hattig of Guam was selected to the World Team last season and Russ Adams was selected to represent the U.S. in 2004. After being selected both Hattig and Adams were replaced on their team's roster due to injury. Adams was replaced by fellow Blue Jays farmhand Aaron Hill who went on to be named the game's MVP after driving home the winning run with a double.





TOLEDO MUD HENS
SANCHEZ PROVIDES A BIG LIFT: Since being promoted from Double-A Erie, RHP Humberto Sanchez, has been a big addition to the Mud Hens rotation. He stands an imposing 6'6, 270 pounds, but it's his numbers that have proven to be the most impressive. Sanchez pitched well enough at the Double-A level posting a 5-3 record with a 1.76 ERA to warrant a promotion to Toledo on June 8. In making three starts with the Hens since the promotion, Humberto has continued to dominate the competition going 3-0 with a 0.47 ERA to go along with 17 strikeouts in 19.0 innings of work. For his efforts during the week of June 12-18 he was named the IL Pitcher-of-the-Week. He currently leads all of Minor League Baseball with 103 strikeouts between Erie and Toledo.

FREE BASEBALL!: Friday night June 16 featured a match-up between the Toledo Mud Hens and the Syracuse SkyChiefs. The hometown crowd at Fifth Third Field only paid for nine innings of baseball but was treated to 16 innings! In a game that featured 15 straight shutout innings, the Hens finally broke the scoreless streak in the home half of the 16th when 1B Josh Phelps belted a walk-off two run home run to left field. The four hour and twenty-seven minute affair marked the longest number of innings ever played at Fifth Third Field. However, it doesn't top the franchise record of 27 innings played, which was against Richmond on August 7, 1989.

HE'S HEATING UP!: 3B Mike Hessman, who had gotten off to a slow start this year, has started to show signs of turning it around and being a force in the middle of the Hens lineup once again. He currently has a hit in eight of his last nine games and is batting .281 (9-32) with three home runs over the June 10-20 time period. Hessman, known for his power, leads the team with 14 home runs and is 3rd among all IL hitters in that category.

BUILDING MOMENTUM: Led by stingy pitching and clutch hitting the Hens have risen to within 1.0 game of the Indianapolis Indians, who currently lead the IL West Division. The pitching staff has combined to shutout their opponents in over half (6) of their last 11 games. In those 11 games, the Hens produced nine victories with a five-game winning streak in the midst. In their latest series against Rochester they won three of the four games in the series, just missing the sweep. The Hens have not swept Rochester on the road in a four-game set since 2002.

CURRENT INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE LEADERS IN ONLINE FAN VOTING FOR TRIPLE-A ALL-STAR GAME
Catcher - Shawn Wooten, Rochester Outfield - Ryan Ludwick, Toledo
First Base - Kevin Witt, Durham Lastings Milledge, Norfolk
Second Base - Kevin Hooper, Toledo Josh Rabe, Rochester
Shortstop - B.J. Upton, Durham Starting Pitcher - Jeremy Sowers, Buffalo
Third Base - Josh Fields, Charlotte Tom Gorzelanny, Indianapolis
Designated Hitter - Ernie Young, Charlotte Relief Pitcher - Pat Neshek, Rochester
Scott Strickland, Indianapolis
***Online voting concludes June 23***

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