Hi all,
Long post here but it's an email I get from MLB Australia. If you want to subscribe to it, the email is listed below. I'll post it here each week if I remember
THE PITCH
Saturday 5 May 2007
REMINDER: To unsubscribe to THE PITCH simply send an email to this address with your request – new subscribers are always welcome and can be easily added by request. You may contact our office: majorleaguebaseball@bigpond.com or by telephone 02 9238 2292.
SNELLING TRADED TO OAKLAND
Chris Snelling’s (Gorokan NSW) stint with the Washington Nationals has proven short lived – he has been traded to the Oakland Athletics for fellow outfielder Ryan Langerhans. David Forst, Oakland’s general manager has been quoted in the media saying, “Chris Snelling is a guy we’ve liked for a long time. This is an opportunity to get a young player who, when he stays healthy, is an offensive threat.â€
In his Oakland debut on Friday Snelling went 1-for-3 with one hit, one walk and run scored in the A’s 5-2 win over the Devil Rays at Tampa Bay. In 24 appearances with the Nationals he was batting .204 with seven RBI and one home run.
RONEBERG PROPELS CURVE TO 8-7 VICTORY
Our Sports Central/Curve Media Release – 22 April
In a thrilling ballgame, too many mistakes finally caught up with the Harrisburg Senators as Brett Roneberg's (Cairns QLD) slow-roller in front of the mound scored Andrew McCutchen in the bottom of the ninth to give Altoona (AA-PIT) a walk-off 8-7 win.
The game was back and forth all day long, but ten walks issued by Harrisburg pitchers and two extremely untimely errors were too much for the Senators to overcome.
The Senators started the scoring in the top of the second inning, when Wardell Starling walked Dan Dement with one out. The pitcher, Anastacio Martinez bunted Dement to second. A batter later, Wade Robinson singled him home for a 1-0 lead.
The Curve responded with some help from the Senators in the bottom of the inning. Dave Parrish singled to start the frame. The Senators seemed to have him hung up between first and second as he tried to advance on a pitch that had rolled a few feet away from catcher John Suomi. Suomi's throw to second was wild however, and Parrish reached safely on what was technically ruled a passed ball. Brandon Chaves followed with a ground ball that was thrown over the head of Josh Whitesell at first and into the stands by shortstop Wade Robinson. The over-throw brought in Parrish to tie the game at one. Taber Lee was walked by Martinez, and both he and Chaves scored on RBI singles for McCutchen and Roneberg.
Harrisburg tied it quickly in the very next inning. With Tony Blanco on at first, Josh Whitesell clubbed his third home run of the year, an opposite field shot off of Starling that made it a 3-3 game.
The Curve went back in front with a four-run eruption in the fourth. Martinez hit McCutchen with a pitch to lead off the inning. McCutchen stole second and scored when Adam Boeve doubled off the wall in center for a 4-3 Curve lead. Martinez was removed from the game in favor of Jim Magrane who promptly gave up a two-run homer Roneberg to give the Curve a 6-3 advantage. Magrane then walked Randy Ruiz, who later scored on a Taber Lee single to make it 7-3.
The Senators stormed back in the sixth. Justin Vaclavik came on for Starling and got the first out. It was the only Senator he retired as the next five recorded base hits that amounted to four runs and a tie ballgame.
The game stayed even at seven until the bottom of the ninth. The fifth pitcher of the night for Harrisburg, Jeremy Plexico yielded a one-out double to McCutchen who advanced to third when Seth Bynum misplayed a ground ball off the bat of Adam Boeve. That left runners at the corners for Brett Roneberg. Roneberg trickled a ball in front of the mound and when Plexico's valiant attempt to cut down McCutchen at the plate was too late, the Curve were victorious 8-7.
Matt Peterson, who kept the Senators scoreless in the eighth and ninth, claimed the win for Altoona and improved to (1-0) on the year. Plexico took the loss for Harrisburg and fell to (0-2) on the season.
Despite the win and the eight runs they scored, Altoona did tie a franchise record for runners left on base with 15.
The win gave the Curve the series win three-games-to-one, their second series win of the year.
BLACKLEY TOSSES SIX SHUT-OUT INNINGS TO SHUT DOWN THE SIDEWINDERS
Our Sports Central/Sidewinders Release – 2 May
LHP Travis Blackley (Cheltenham VIC) threw six shutout innings against the Tucson Sidewinders on Wednesday night, and the Fresno Grizzlies (AAA SF) CF Fred Lewis was 2-for-4 to lead his team to a 6-5 victory. The Sidewinders scored all five of their runs in the bottom of the ninth, but stranded a runner on third base to end the game. Blackley picked up his second win of the season, and is now 2-1 on the year. RHP Yusmeiro Petit dropped to 2-2 for the Sidewinders.
Fresno jumped ahead in the top of the second inning, jumpstarted by a leadoff walk to 1B Scott McClain, followed by a line drive single to center field by RF Nate Schierholtz. 3B Justin Leone then hit a sacrifice fly to left, bringing in McClain. After another walk, C Justin Knoedler hit a double to left field, scoring both Schierholtz and Lewis. Knoedler advanced to 3rd on the throw. Two batters later, SS Kevin Frandsen doubled to center field, scoring Knoedler, and putting the Grizzlies up 4-0.
The Grizzlies added another run in the fourth on a double to right field by Lewis, who then scored on a throwing error by Sidewinders 2B Danny Richar. Two innings later they made it 6-0 on Lewis' third home run of the year.
The Sidewinders were able to muster just five hits through the first eight innings, but came alive in the bottom of the ninth. PH Alex Romero started off the inning with a single, and advanced to second, and then third on two wild pitches from Grizzlies reliever RHP Scott Atchison. After a walk to 3B Matt Erickson, RF Rich Thompson hit his second triple of the season, scoring both Romero and Erickson. 2B Danny Richar then singled in Thompson, cutting the lead to three. Following a Grizzlies error that put runners on the corners, 1B Chris Carter doubled to left field, scoring both runners and putting the score at 6-5.
With one out, 3B/C Jamie D'Antona grounded out to shortstop, advancing Carter to third. Then with the tying run on third, LF Dee Brown struck out swinging to end the game.
MANATEES PITCHER DAVID WELCH RECOVERS AFTER FOUL-BALL INJURY
Jim Cawley, www.floridatoday.com – 16 April
A major scare turned into a feeling of relief after Brevard County Manatees (A+ MIL) pitcher David Welch (Castle Hill NSW) was struck in the head with a foul ball during Saturday's Florida State League game against the St. Lucie Mets at Tradition Field.
Welch, who was standing in the dugout, was struck in the forehead with a hard liner off the bat of a teammate in the second inning. Athletic trainers from both teams rushed to assist Welch, who was knocked unconscious.
"It hit him so hard it knocked him completely out and he fell back in the dugout," said Manatees director of media relations Scott Pinner, who was doing radio play-by-play for the game. "The ball hit him so hard that after it hit him, the ball went straight up into the stands."
Manatees GM Buck Rogers also witnessed the incident.
"The ball lasered into the dugout," Rogers said. "It was lights out for a little while."
According to Pinner, Welch faded in and out of consciousness at first. He then regained consciousness, was given an IV and taken to the hospital for a CAT scan. Pinner said Welch was in good spirits at the hospital and even jokingly asked if he could have a radio so he could listen to the rest of the game.
The 23-year-old left-hander from Sydney, Australia, was released from the hospital Saturday night and was at Space Coast Stadium before Sunday's game against St. Lucie, which was rained out. Welch, who has a laceration on his forehead, was placed on the disabled list, retroactive to Friday.
Welch has appeared in three games for Brevard County this season, posting a 3.00 ERA. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder has three strikeouts and has not walked a batter.
Ed. Note: Since being hit in the head David has gone 1-0 with a 0.79 ERA, he’s made three appearances totally 8.1 innings allowing one hit, no earned runs, no walks while chalking up three strikeouts.
AT A GLANCE
· From the Huntsville Times from 22 April: "What a moment in Wednesday’s game: Grant Balfour, the reliever from Australia, facing Chin-Lung Hu, the Jacksonville shortstop from Taiwan, with Max St. Pierre, the catcher from Canada, behind the plate, with Luis Mata, the second baseman from Venezuela, on base. Only in America.†Balfour has since been promoted to AAA Nashville where he’s 0-0 with an 0.00 ERA over 2.0 innings with one save. He’s joined Chris Oxspring (Rouse Hill NSW) in Tennessee – 2-1 with a 2.39 ERA over 26.1 innings, he’s struck out 26.
· Utility man Trent Durrington (Broadbeach Waters QLD) was called on to pitch Thursday night when his AAA-Buffalo Bisons (CLE) gave up six runs to the Syracuse Chiefs (TOR) in the second inning and went on to lose 8-3. Durrington pitched a scoreless 8th inning while allowing one hit.
· Adam Morrissey (Ourimbah NSW) is among the batting leaders of the AA Texas League. Playing for the LA Angels affiliate Morrissey has the 9th highest average at .323, 5th highest on-base percentage at .411 and 7th for hits with 30.
· Phil Stockman (Mt Warren Park QLD) has landed back on the AAA-Richmond (ATL) disabled list – in the last week of April he “felt something in the hamstring area, perhaps scar tissue breaking up, and also some problems with some gluteal inflammation†(reported the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). It’s not expected to be serious and he should be back on the mound in the next week or so. In three appearances with Richmond he’s 1-0 with an 0.00 ERA over six innings having allowed only one hit and one walk while notching up six strikeouts.
Thanks,
Mark.
Long post here but it's an email I get from MLB Australia. If you want to subscribe to it, the email is listed below. I'll post it here each week if I remember
THE PITCH
Saturday 5 May 2007
REMINDER: To unsubscribe to THE PITCH simply send an email to this address with your request – new subscribers are always welcome and can be easily added by request. You may contact our office: majorleaguebaseball@bigpond.com or by telephone 02 9238 2292.
SNELLING TRADED TO OAKLAND
Chris Snelling’s (Gorokan NSW) stint with the Washington Nationals has proven short lived – he has been traded to the Oakland Athletics for fellow outfielder Ryan Langerhans. David Forst, Oakland’s general manager has been quoted in the media saying, “Chris Snelling is a guy we’ve liked for a long time. This is an opportunity to get a young player who, when he stays healthy, is an offensive threat.â€
In his Oakland debut on Friday Snelling went 1-for-3 with one hit, one walk and run scored in the A’s 5-2 win over the Devil Rays at Tampa Bay. In 24 appearances with the Nationals he was batting .204 with seven RBI and one home run.
RONEBERG PROPELS CURVE TO 8-7 VICTORY
Our Sports Central/Curve Media Release – 22 April
In a thrilling ballgame, too many mistakes finally caught up with the Harrisburg Senators as Brett Roneberg's (Cairns QLD) slow-roller in front of the mound scored Andrew McCutchen in the bottom of the ninth to give Altoona (AA-PIT) a walk-off 8-7 win.
The game was back and forth all day long, but ten walks issued by Harrisburg pitchers and two extremely untimely errors were too much for the Senators to overcome.
The Senators started the scoring in the top of the second inning, when Wardell Starling walked Dan Dement with one out. The pitcher, Anastacio Martinez bunted Dement to second. A batter later, Wade Robinson singled him home for a 1-0 lead.
The Curve responded with some help from the Senators in the bottom of the inning. Dave Parrish singled to start the frame. The Senators seemed to have him hung up between first and second as he tried to advance on a pitch that had rolled a few feet away from catcher John Suomi. Suomi's throw to second was wild however, and Parrish reached safely on what was technically ruled a passed ball. Brandon Chaves followed with a ground ball that was thrown over the head of Josh Whitesell at first and into the stands by shortstop Wade Robinson. The over-throw brought in Parrish to tie the game at one. Taber Lee was walked by Martinez, and both he and Chaves scored on RBI singles for McCutchen and Roneberg.
Harrisburg tied it quickly in the very next inning. With Tony Blanco on at first, Josh Whitesell clubbed his third home run of the year, an opposite field shot off of Starling that made it a 3-3 game.
The Curve went back in front with a four-run eruption in the fourth. Martinez hit McCutchen with a pitch to lead off the inning. McCutchen stole second and scored when Adam Boeve doubled off the wall in center for a 4-3 Curve lead. Martinez was removed from the game in favor of Jim Magrane who promptly gave up a two-run homer Roneberg to give the Curve a 6-3 advantage. Magrane then walked Randy Ruiz, who later scored on a Taber Lee single to make it 7-3.
The Senators stormed back in the sixth. Justin Vaclavik came on for Starling and got the first out. It was the only Senator he retired as the next five recorded base hits that amounted to four runs and a tie ballgame.
The game stayed even at seven until the bottom of the ninth. The fifth pitcher of the night for Harrisburg, Jeremy Plexico yielded a one-out double to McCutchen who advanced to third when Seth Bynum misplayed a ground ball off the bat of Adam Boeve. That left runners at the corners for Brett Roneberg. Roneberg trickled a ball in front of the mound and when Plexico's valiant attempt to cut down McCutchen at the plate was too late, the Curve were victorious 8-7.
Matt Peterson, who kept the Senators scoreless in the eighth and ninth, claimed the win for Altoona and improved to (1-0) on the year. Plexico took the loss for Harrisburg and fell to (0-2) on the season.
Despite the win and the eight runs they scored, Altoona did tie a franchise record for runners left on base with 15.
The win gave the Curve the series win three-games-to-one, their second series win of the year.
BLACKLEY TOSSES SIX SHUT-OUT INNINGS TO SHUT DOWN THE SIDEWINDERS
Our Sports Central/Sidewinders Release – 2 May
LHP Travis Blackley (Cheltenham VIC) threw six shutout innings against the Tucson Sidewinders on Wednesday night, and the Fresno Grizzlies (AAA SF) CF Fred Lewis was 2-for-4 to lead his team to a 6-5 victory. The Sidewinders scored all five of their runs in the bottom of the ninth, but stranded a runner on third base to end the game. Blackley picked up his second win of the season, and is now 2-1 on the year. RHP Yusmeiro Petit dropped to 2-2 for the Sidewinders.
Fresno jumped ahead in the top of the second inning, jumpstarted by a leadoff walk to 1B Scott McClain, followed by a line drive single to center field by RF Nate Schierholtz. 3B Justin Leone then hit a sacrifice fly to left, bringing in McClain. After another walk, C Justin Knoedler hit a double to left field, scoring both Schierholtz and Lewis. Knoedler advanced to 3rd on the throw. Two batters later, SS Kevin Frandsen doubled to center field, scoring Knoedler, and putting the Grizzlies up 4-0.
The Grizzlies added another run in the fourth on a double to right field by Lewis, who then scored on a throwing error by Sidewinders 2B Danny Richar. Two innings later they made it 6-0 on Lewis' third home run of the year.
The Sidewinders were able to muster just five hits through the first eight innings, but came alive in the bottom of the ninth. PH Alex Romero started off the inning with a single, and advanced to second, and then third on two wild pitches from Grizzlies reliever RHP Scott Atchison. After a walk to 3B Matt Erickson, RF Rich Thompson hit his second triple of the season, scoring both Romero and Erickson. 2B Danny Richar then singled in Thompson, cutting the lead to three. Following a Grizzlies error that put runners on the corners, 1B Chris Carter doubled to left field, scoring both runners and putting the score at 6-5.
With one out, 3B/C Jamie D'Antona grounded out to shortstop, advancing Carter to third. Then with the tying run on third, LF Dee Brown struck out swinging to end the game.
MANATEES PITCHER DAVID WELCH RECOVERS AFTER FOUL-BALL INJURY
Jim Cawley, www.floridatoday.com – 16 April
A major scare turned into a feeling of relief after Brevard County Manatees (A+ MIL) pitcher David Welch (Castle Hill NSW) was struck in the head with a foul ball during Saturday's Florida State League game against the St. Lucie Mets at Tradition Field.
Welch, who was standing in the dugout, was struck in the forehead with a hard liner off the bat of a teammate in the second inning. Athletic trainers from both teams rushed to assist Welch, who was knocked unconscious.
"It hit him so hard it knocked him completely out and he fell back in the dugout," said Manatees director of media relations Scott Pinner, who was doing radio play-by-play for the game. "The ball hit him so hard that after it hit him, the ball went straight up into the stands."
Manatees GM Buck Rogers also witnessed the incident.
"The ball lasered into the dugout," Rogers said. "It was lights out for a little while."
According to Pinner, Welch faded in and out of consciousness at first. He then regained consciousness, was given an IV and taken to the hospital for a CAT scan. Pinner said Welch was in good spirits at the hospital and even jokingly asked if he could have a radio so he could listen to the rest of the game.
The 23-year-old left-hander from Sydney, Australia, was released from the hospital Saturday night and was at Space Coast Stadium before Sunday's game against St. Lucie, which was rained out. Welch, who has a laceration on his forehead, was placed on the disabled list, retroactive to Friday.
Welch has appeared in three games for Brevard County this season, posting a 3.00 ERA. The 6-foot-4, 215-pounder has three strikeouts and has not walked a batter.
Ed. Note: Since being hit in the head David has gone 1-0 with a 0.79 ERA, he’s made three appearances totally 8.1 innings allowing one hit, no earned runs, no walks while chalking up three strikeouts.
AT A GLANCE
· From the Huntsville Times from 22 April: "What a moment in Wednesday’s game: Grant Balfour, the reliever from Australia, facing Chin-Lung Hu, the Jacksonville shortstop from Taiwan, with Max St. Pierre, the catcher from Canada, behind the plate, with Luis Mata, the second baseman from Venezuela, on base. Only in America.†Balfour has since been promoted to AAA Nashville where he’s 0-0 with an 0.00 ERA over 2.0 innings with one save. He’s joined Chris Oxspring (Rouse Hill NSW) in Tennessee – 2-1 with a 2.39 ERA over 26.1 innings, he’s struck out 26.
· Utility man Trent Durrington (Broadbeach Waters QLD) was called on to pitch Thursday night when his AAA-Buffalo Bisons (CLE) gave up six runs to the Syracuse Chiefs (TOR) in the second inning and went on to lose 8-3. Durrington pitched a scoreless 8th inning while allowing one hit.
· Adam Morrissey (Ourimbah NSW) is among the batting leaders of the AA Texas League. Playing for the LA Angels affiliate Morrissey has the 9th highest average at .323, 5th highest on-base percentage at .411 and 7th for hits with 30.
· Phil Stockman (Mt Warren Park QLD) has landed back on the AAA-Richmond (ATL) disabled list – in the last week of April he “felt something in the hamstring area, perhaps scar tissue breaking up, and also some problems with some gluteal inflammation†(reported the Atlanta Journal-Constitution). It’s not expected to be serious and he should be back on the mound in the next week or so. In three appearances with Richmond he’s 1-0 with an 0.00 ERA over six innings having allowed only one hit and one walk while notching up six strikeouts.
Thanks,
Mark.
