Northern League Newsletter

Published on July 16, 2009 under Northern League (NL) News Release


Pennant Race Heats Up, Top Four Teams Separated by Only Four Games While the season-long front-running Winnipeg Goldeyes hit their first snag of the season losing seven of their last eight games, the Gary SouthShore RailCats moved within two games of first place as they won seven of eight in that same span. With over 40 games remaining in the regular season, the race for the four playoff spots is still well within reach for all six teams, but it is beginning to look like a five-team race for the top seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The top four teams that would currently qualify for the post-season are only separated by four games in the standings with the Goldeyes leading the way while the RailCats, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, and Schaumburg Flyers are in hot pursuit. The defending champion Kansas City T-Bones sits only one and half games from the final playoff seed and five and half games from first. Still with a fighting chance, the JackHammers remain only 7.5 games off the playoff pace. ************************************************************************ Northern League All-Star Game Ends in a Draw The 2009 Northern League Field of All-Stars Game presented by Farmers Insurance ended in a 5-5 tie between the Great Plains All-Stars (Kansas City, Fargo- Moorhead and Winnipeg) and Great Lakes All-Stars (Joliet, Schaumburg, and Gary) after 10 innings before 3,146 people at Silver Cross Field in Joliet, IL on July 7th . After the two clubs battled to a stand-still after 10 innings, even using position players as pitchers, the managers, umpires and league personnel met briefly and declared the game a tie. The ‘Hammers Freddie Thon was named M.V.P. of the Game, while Goldeyes pitcher Bear Bay was named the Pitcher of the Game. Thon also won the pre-game Home Run Derby. ************************************************************************ The Lake County Fielders Unveil Stadium Renderings The Lake County Fielders, owned by actor Kevin Costner's group, Grand Slam Sports & Entertainment, LLC, has unveiled the schematic for the teams' brand new baseball stadium. Located at 850 Green Bay Road in Zion, IL, the state-of-the-art, 8,000-person stadium is scheduled for completion May 2010. The baseball stadium construction project will be managed and developed by Panattoni Development Company, which has developed over 150 million square feet of major commercial real estate projects throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe in the last 22 years. To check-out the renderings of the Fielders stadium, please visit www.fieldersbaseball.com. ************************************************************************ Gary-SouthShore RailCats Eclipse One Million Fans The Gary SouthShore RailCats welcomed Kelly Scurlock as the one millionth fan in franchise history on July 3rd at U. S. Steel Yard. Scurlock, who was the 2,301st fan to walk through the Steel Yard gates to hit the magical total, had the opportunity to throw out a ceremonial first pitch before the game while wearing a special commemorative "one million" jersey. She also won $100 to spend at the SouthShore Depot Merchandise Store and season tickets to the see the RailCats in 2010. ************************************************************************ Chris Coste Claimed of f Waivers by Houston Astros The Houton Astros claimed former RedHawks catcher Chris Coste off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies on July 10th . Coste, 36, had been designated for assignment to make room on the roster for all-star outfielder Raul Ibanez. Astros general manager Ed Wade said that Coste's versatility was a key factor in the acquisition. "He can catch and play both corner-infield positions, but primarily it's a legitimate power bat off the bench for us," Wade said. "He had 20 or 21 home runs in about 600 career Major League at-bats. We just view him as another weapon, particularly in a close-game situation." ************************************************************************ Northern League Alumni Former players of the Northern League continue to succeed and progress through the ranks of professional baseball. Currently eight NL alumni are on major league rosters.

Alumni Notes: Yurendell DeCaster (RedHawks), pictured right, played his first game for Scranton Wilkes-Barre (International League) on July 2nd . After starting 3-for-16 (.188), he has gone 5-for-16 (.313) since...The two runs allowed by Brad Ziegler (Flyers) on July 12th were the first he yielded since June 18th ...Recently acquired Edwin Walker pitched 6.2 scoreless innings for Charleston (South Atlantic League) over four relief appearances, but has landed on the 7-day disabled list. For more links and updates to the Northern League alumni, please go to www.northernleague.com/alumni.

Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks - The RedHawks only manager in franchise history is nearing his 900th career victory. With his 25 wins in 2009 to date, Siminuc now si ts only 10 games shy of the 900 mark. Over his Northern League career, he has won 38 games with the Rochester Aces ('93), 90 with the Winnipeg Goldeyes ('94 -'95), and 762 with the RedHawks ('96 - current). His overall career managerial mark is 890-567 (.611)...Reliever Matt Mossey has posted a 1-0 record with one save and a 3.86 ERA on the year. Over a span of 22 games, he has not been credited with a blown save, it is the second longest streak in the league in '09... T.J. Stanton, has not allowed a run to score since June 28th . He currently has the league's longest active consecutive scoreless innings streak at 10.2 innings.

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Gary SouthShore RailCats - After falling four games under .500 on June 25th , the RailCats have won 12 of 15 games to move to only two games out of first place. In those 12 victories, they have outscored their opponent 92-43. In the three losses, the ‘Cats were outscored 2-30...The RailCats have been excellent at home posting a 19-9 (.679) home record. G-S is currently in the midst of playing 16 of 19 games at home (June 26th - July 19th )...Jordan Czarniecki has a 21-game consecutive on-base streak (June 17th - current). It is currently the longest active streak in the league...At home games, Jay Pecci has the longest active on-base streak in the league. Dating back to May 23rd , he has reached base every home game, a span of 22 games...On July 24th , the ‘Cats begin a three-game series versus the Goldeyes in Winnipeg.

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Joliet JackHammers - The JackHammers are in a pivotal part of their schedule as they play Kansas City and Fargo-Moorhead six games apiece over a two-week span. The T-Bones and RedHawks are the two teams closest to them in the standings. They are currently a combined 4-8 (.333) versus the two adversaries. The ‘Hammers do not play the Flyers anymore in the regular season, closing out the season series with an 8-11 (.421) record...Joliet leads the league with a 4.17 team ERA...They have three players who rank amongst the league leaders in ERA: Brad Mumma third (3.07), Rory Shortell sixth (3.50), and Chad Blackwell ninth (3.95)...Excluding the all-star game, reliever Drew Shetrone has not been tagged with a blown save this year, a span of 27 games dating back to May 16th .

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Kansas City T-Bones - The defending champion T-Bones cont inue to lead the league in defense, having committed a league-low 44 errors in 52 games. They are the only team in the league with fewer miscues than games played...Kansas City has six players with more than 30 RBI. No other team in the league has more than three players with as many RBI...Ryan Knippschild's nine strikeouts on July 9th versus the RedHawks was tied for the second most in a single-game this year. He currently ranks third in the league with 55 strikeouts...Ryan Fox, who has only played 14 of his 51 games as a catcher, ranks second in the league throwing out 6-of-21 (.286) would-be basestealers. Fox, who has also hit seven home runs over his last nine games, leads the league with 17 round-trippers.

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Schaumburg Flyers - Despite not ranking any higher than fourth as a team in any of the major statistical categories (4th in AVG, 6th in ERA, and 6th in FLDNG), the Flyers have the third most wins in the league (26)...Over nine games in July, Vince Harrison is batting .444 (16-for-36) and has not struck out in that span...Craig Maddox, who made his debut for the Flyers on June 27th had his 11-game hitting streak snapped on July 11th . Overall, he is batting .472 (25-for-53) and has collected a hit in 13-of-14 games for Schaumburg... Jose Valdez leads all second baseman with a .986 fielding percentage (only 3 errors in 43 games)... The Flyers will play 21 of their final 30 games versus the two teams with the top records in the league, Winnipeg and Gary-SouthShore. Of those 21 head-to-head games, 14 will be played on the road.

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Winnipeg Goldeyes - On July 11th the Goldeyes welcomed their 4-millionth fan in franchise history. They are the only team in league history to eclipse the four million all-time attendance mark... The Goldeyes have 797 wins in franchise history (797- 587, .576 pct.)...Due to a number of rain outs earlier in the season, the Goldeyes have four doubleheaders remaining on their schedule...Juan Diaz, who is tenth in the league in batting, went 3-for-5 with a run and two RBI for the Great Plains All- Stars... Kevin West has an active 18-game hitt ing streak (June 21st - current), the second longest in the league this season. In that span he is batting .432 (35-for-81) and has raised his season average 81 points to .315...On July 15th , the Fish snapped a seven-game losing streak post ing a season high 22 runs on 27 hits versus the Flyers.

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Northern League Stories from July 16, 2009


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