Opening Day Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes
April 8, 2011 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Winston-Salem Dash News Release
WINSTON-SALEM DASH (0-0) @ KINSTON INDIANS (0-0)
Friday, April 8, 2011, 6:30 p.m.
Grainger Stadium
Kinston, NC
Webcast available on www.wsdash.com 15 minutes before first pitch
Game No. 1
Road Game No. 1
2011 Home Record 0-0
2011 Road Record 0-0
RHP Terry Doyle (-, -) vs. LHP Drew Pomeranz (-, -)
Old Foes Meet: Winston-Salem opens its 67th season of Carolina League baseball tonight when the Dash begins a three game series with the Kinston Indians at "Historic" Grainger Stadium. The set is part of a six-game road trip to start the season for the Dash, which will head to Woodbridge, VA for a three game series at the Potomac Nationals following the team's visit to eastern North Carolina. Winston and Kinston are the two oldest teams in the Carolina League, with the Indians entering their 49th, and potentially final, year in the circuit. Following the 2011 season, the Indians franchise will move to Zebulon, NC and become the latest incarnation of the Carolina Mudcats (the current AA Mudcats will be moving to Pensacola, FL following the season). Exactly one year ago on this date, the Dash and Indians began the 2010 season in Kinston, with Winston-Salem picking up a convincing 7-1 victory.
Tough Act to Follow: This year's Dash team will attempt to mimic the success enjoyed by the last few Winston-Salem outfits. Last year, the Dash finished 81-58, seven and a half games better than the next best Carolina League team. Winston won the Southern Division in both the first and second halves of the season and advanced to the Mills Cup Champion Series, where the team lost to Potomac three games to one. The Dash hit .288 as a team in 2010, the sixth best batting average in minor league baseball. Additionally, the team led the CL in runs scored, hits, home runs, slugging percentage, and on-base percentage. The Dash has finished with at least a share of first place in the Southern Division in the last four halves (going back to 2009), a feat that had not been accomplished since Wilmington last did it from 2001-02. The team has also made the playoffs in three consecutive seasons. Winston-Salem owns a league-record 11 Mills Cup Championships, but this season will be looking for its first since 2003.
We Went To Jared: After missing all of 2010 with an ankle injury, outfielder Jared Mitchell is finally ready for his first full professional season. Mitchell, the fourth best prospect in the White Sox system according to Baseball America, was drafted by Chicago with the 23rd overall pick in 2009. He was the MVP of the College World Series for national champion LSU that year and also won a BCS National Championship as a wide receiver on Les Miles' football team in 2008 (he caught 24 passes in his three seasons). Mitchell played in 34 games for Kannapolis in 2009, hitting .296 with 12 doubles and ten RBI.
Carmen Sandiego's kind of team: The Dash's opening day roster is strikingly diverse, geographically speaking. Winston's 25 players hail from 18 different states and five countries. The following states are represented by the Dash: Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, and Washington. The five countries represented are the United States, Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela.
Me and Julio Down by the Ballyard: Tonight's contest marks the full-season managerial debut for new Dash skipper Julio Vinas. The native Floridian returns to the organization that drafted him as an amateur 20 years ago when Vinas was a High School All-American. The White Sox selected Vinas in the 33rd round of the 1991 draft and he spent seven years in the Chicago system before finishing his playing career in the Orioles, Red Sox, and Indians organizations. Vinas spent eight years as a coach in the Orioles system, serving as both the team's field coordinator and hitting coordinator. He has previously managed on a fill-in basis for some of Baltimore's minor league teams in addition to teams in the Colombian and Venezuelan winter leagues. Vinas replaces former Dash skipper Joe McEwing, who won the Carolina League's "Manager of the Year" award in each of the last two seasons. McEwing is now managing the AAA Charlotte Knights. Vinas is joined on the coaching staff by pitching coach Bobby Thigpen (third season in Winston) and hitting coach Rob Sasser (fourth).
Today's Opposing Starter: LHP Drew Pomeranz (-,-) makes his professional debut tonight against the Dash. The southpaw was selected with the fifth overall pick in last year's first-year player draft and reportedly signed for a $2.65 million bonus. He was the Indians' highest draft pick since the team selected Paul Shuey second overall in 1992. Pomeranz, who was the first college pitcher taken in the 2010 draft, signed too late to pitch in the minors last season. Baseball America ranks the lefty as the fourth-best prospect in the Cleveland system and notes his breaking ball, a 12-6 knuckle-curve, as the best among Indians farmhands. His fastball sits 91-94 mph, occasionally reaching 95 mph. Pomeranz attended Ole Miss and was the 2010 SEC Pitcher of the Year, going 9-2 with a 2.24 ERA and 139 strikeouts (third among NCAA D-I pitchers) in 100.2 innings. Pomeranz comes from a baseball family: his brother, Stu, was drafted in the third round of the 2003 draft by the Cardinals (and is currently in the Rockies system). Drew's father, Mike, was a 13th round pick by the Twins in 1988 and his uncle, Pat, was an 18th rounder (White Sox) in 1983).
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Carolina League Stories from April 8, 2011
- Ramirez, bullpen strong as offense bangs out 13 hits in Birds' victory - Myrtle Beach Pelicans
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- P-Nats Rained out on Opening Day - Potomac Nationals
- Keys Opening Day Roster Is Set - Frederick Keys
- Lynchburg Hillcats Game Notes - Lynchburg Hillcats
- Opening Day Winston-Salem Dash Game Notes - Winston-Salem Dash
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