Miracle sweep way to West Division Championship

Dunedin 1 at Fort Myers 3

W: A. Burnett (1-0, 0.00); L: R. Gonzalez (0-1, 3.00); SV: A. Slama (2)
HR: None.

The Fort Myers Miracle swept the Dunedin Blue Jays 2-game to none to become the 2008 West Division Champions of the Florida State League Wednesday night at Hammond Stadium.

Alex Burnett pitched what may well have been one of the best games of his career, limiting the Jays to only 2 hits and 3 walks over six innings while striking out 3.

The Miracle got on the board in the bottom of the second, with Whit Robbin doubling off Reider Gonzalez to start off. Edward Ovalle would go down on strikes, but Woodard singled to drive in Robbins. Following an Eli Tintor fly out, Woodard would steal 2nd base. Yancarlos Ortiz would draw a walk, and a wild pitch moved Woodard to 3rd. Juan Portes doubled to bring in Woodard and put Ortiz at 3rd, but Steve Singleton would ground out to end the inning.

Nathan Starner would replace Gonzalez in the bottom of the 7th for the Jays, and Ortiz would greet him with a single. He'd then steal second. Both Portes and Singleton would go down on strikes, but Rene Tosoni drew a walk, with a wild pitch advancing Ortiz to 3rd. Chad Blackwell would then trot out to the mound to try to hold the Miracle in check, but Wilson Ramos took a single off him to drive in Ortiz for the 3rd Miracle run.

Blair Erickson replaced Burnett in the top of the 7th. Jesus Gonzalez would reach on a throwing error by Portes in the top of the 8th, then move to 2nd as the ball went into the dugout. Adam Calderone singled Gonzalez in for the lone Dunedin run, as Luis Sanchez would ground into a double play, and Chris Emanuele would go down swinging.

Anthony Slama walked David Cooper in the 9th and allowed a single to Cory Patton, but with one out already on the board, he'd strike out Matt Liuzza and get Anthony Hatch to hit into a ground out to end the game.

Everyone except Rene Tosoni had a single for the Miracle, although T-Bone would draw a walk to get on base.

The Miracle will now wait on the outcome of the East Division series. In the conclusion of Tuesday's rain suspended game, the Daytona Cubs would pull out a 10-0 win courtesy of a six-run 8th inning. The series now shifts to Daytona for game two on Thursday and game three, if necessary, on Friday.

The East Division has home field advantage for the series, so the Miracle will host the first two games of the best-of-five championship series.

As with the Wednesday's game, free general admission tickets can be acquired at Lee and Collier County Racetrac locations. They tickets may be upgraded to a box seat for an additional $2.00 at the gate.

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Miracle win in Dunedin, return home on Wednesday

Fort Myers 2 at Dunedin 1

W: C. Devries (1-0, 0.00); L: B. Mills (0-1, 2.57); SV: A. Slama (1)
HR: FTM: R. Tosoni (1). DUN: M. Liuzza (1).

For the first time in Fort Myers Miracle playoff history, the Miracle took a win against the Dunedin Blue Jays - on the road.

In 2003 and 2006, the Miracle won one against the Jays, but in each year, it was within the friendly confines of Hammond Stadium. The Miracle will still need to do that, at least once, to progress to the best of five Florida State League finals round.

Juan Portes opened things up in the first with a single. Following a pop out by Steve Singleton, Rene Tosoni took a Brad Mills pitch over the right field wall to give the Miracle two.

Cole Devries would do the rest, scattering five hits and a pair of walks over 6.2 innings while fanning 3.

The Jays would not get a man past second until the bottom of the fifth, when Chris Emanuele made it to 3rd with two men out, but Brad Emaus flew out to send the Jays back on defense.

Carlos Gutierrez would work the next 1.1 innings, allowing only 1 hit and strikeing out 2 to bring the Miracle to the bottom of the ninth.

They would turn to closer Anthony Slama to slam the door on the Jays, but Matthew Liuzza had other plans, putting one over the right field wall to put the Jays on the board, ending the shut out bid. Anthony Hatch would single before Marcos Cabral went down on strikes. Emanuele then singled, moving Hatch to second, and putting the tying runner in scoring position with only one out on the board. But Slama would induce Luis Sanchez to hit into a double play, ending the contest.

The bus ride will be a little bit nicer for the Miracle as they come home to Hammond, where they will face the Jays on Wednesday and Thursday (if necessary) to determine the Western Divsion Champion.

Alex Burnett (8-6, 3.76) will get the nod on the mound against Dunedin’s Ray Gonzalez (12-4, 3.14).

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Tosoni finished off the night 2-for-2 with a pair of walks to go with his yarder. Whit Robbins was 2-for-4 at the plate but did not factor into the scoring. Aside from Portes, who was 1-for-4 on the night with a run, Wilson Ramos and Eli Tintor hit one single each for the Miracle.

The Jays swept their playoff series against the Miracle in 2000, and won, 2-games-to-1 in 2003 and 2006.

General Admission Tickets to Wednesday's playoff game are available free at Lee and Collier county Racetracs. Tickets can be upgraded to a box seat for just $2.00.

Game one between the Palm Beach Cardinals and the Daytona Cubs was suspended due to rain with the Cards leading 4-0 at the top of the fifth inning. It will be resumed tomorrow in West Palm Beach. The series will then shift over to Daytona for game two on Thursday (Cubs.

According to an article in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune the Cincinnati Reds have not committed to playing in either the FSL or the GCL for the 2009 season. 2009 will be their last year in Ed Smith Stadium, they will be moving to Goodyear, Arizona, after the taxpayers of Sarasota County voted down funding to renovate their 20-year old Spring Training facilities. That throws in a new glitch into the already complicated FSL Divisional problem, which started when the Tampa Bay Devil Rays partnered with Ripken Baseball to purchase the former FSL Dodgers franchise, moving it to Port Charlotte for the 2009 season.

Matt Tolbert and Jose Mijares were the only two former Miracle players to receive September call ups to the major league Twins. The other five players added to the Twins were infielder Matt Macri, pitchers Bobby Korecky and Phil Humber, outfielder Jason Pridie and catcher Ryan Jorgensen.

The Miracle were selected to receive the Florida State League’s Municipality Award Tuesday. The award is given each season to the best city or county operated Sports Turf Crew. It’s the ninth time since 1990 that Hammond Stadium crew manager Keith Blasingim's staff has won the award, voted on by field managers, pitching coaches and umpires.

Yankees, rain disappoint Miracle faithful in final game of 2008

Tampa 6 at Fort Myers 5

W: R. Semerano (4-1, 5.09); L: J. Lugo (2-6, 4.04); SV: J. Schmidt (16)
HR: TAM: L. Nunez (3).

It took Jose Lugo a total of two pitches to lose the final game of the regular season for the playoff bound Fort Myers Miracle. There is some speculation that the Miracle have been playing the cards close, and that they are ready to turn it on in the playoffs, but there should be a matter of pride in winning the final game of the season in front of the home town crowd.

Matt Williams took the start for the Miracle, and it didn't take long for Tampa to find their way onto base. After getting Matt Cusick out on strikes, The Professor gave up a single to Luis Nunez. Kevin Smith reached on a fielding error by Juan Portes. Josh Kreuzer struck out swinging, but Seth Fortenberry doubled to drive in the pair. Fortenberry would try to a triple, but was taken down at 3rd base. The damage was done however.

The Miracle took one back in the bottom of the inning. Portes singled and stole 2nd. Steve Singleton's outfield fly moved Portes to 3rd and he'd come home on a Rene Tosoni ground out.

Jesse Hoover would replace Michael Solback in the bottom of the 3rd for Tampa, and after getting Eli Tintor to fly out allowed a single to Garrett Olson, who then stole 2nd. Portes singled in Olson, tying up the game. Sing drew a walk before Tosoni would go down on strikes for the second out. Wilson Ramos then singled to drive in Portes putting the Miracle on top.

Eddie Ovalle would take a talk in the top of the 4th, then steal 2nd. Johnny Woodard would fly out, and Tintor ground out. Olson and Portes hit back-to-back singles that plated Ovalle and a Singleton line drive brought in Olson to pad the lead.

Matt Williams would work four innings, allowing two runs, neither of which were earned, on 3 hits while striking out 3. Alex Burnett worked the fifth and Carlos Gutierrez the six, each allowing only one hit to the Yankees. Danny Santiesteban took the seventh and would return for the eighth.

Mitch Hilligoss doubled and moved to 3rd on Ryan Baker's ground out. Tim Battle took a walk. Looking to protect the Miracle's 3-run lead, Jeff Smith called for a pitching change bringing in Lugo who promptly hit Cusick with a pitch to load the bags. Nunez then took the first pitch he saw deep over the left field fence for a grand slam.

Rain started to interfere with the game that had been played in high winds shortly there after. The Miracle would never make it to the bottom of the 9th before a torential downpour from Hurricane Gustov finished the contest and cut short any thoughts of a ninth inning rally.

The Twins take Monday off and travel to Dunedin on Tuesday for game one of the South Divsion Championship round.

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There is a van leaving for Dunedin from the Target on Santa Barbara in the Cape Tuesday at 2 PM. Space is very limited. If you want to be on it, you need to be there early. Iris is organizing the trip up to Dunedin. Bring enough money to play for your ticket in, concessions and a portion of the vehicle's fuel expense.

Danny Valencia put two over the fence for two runs and five RBIs for the New Britain Rock Cats who defeated the Binghamton Mets 9-6 in New Britain Stadium. Former Miracle Yohan Pino picked up the win, Brian Dinkelman was 2-for-5 at the plate with 2 runs and a pair of RBIs. Danny Berg was 2-for-4 with a pair of runs for the Cats as well.

The Rochester Red Wings downed the Buffalo Bisons 5-4 at Frontier Field. Trevor Plouffe was 3-for-5 at the plate with a RBI, while former Miracle catcher Jeff Christy was 2-for-2 with a walk and a run. Anthony Swarzak allowed 3 runs, one earned, on seven hits while fanning two over seven innings, but would leave with the no decision. Julio DePaula would pick up the win in the 9th inning.

The Beloit Snappers slipped past the Burlington Bees 4-3 at Pohlman Field. Mike Allen took the win for the Snaps who saw Estarlin De Los Santos, Mark Dolenc and Juan Richardson each hit two in the contest. Former Miracle Yangervis Solarte was 1-for-3 at the plate with a run and 2 RBIs.

Are you a fan? Check out the player fan forums at Talk-Sports. You can leave messages, post pictures and links and enjoy Videos of your favorite Miracle players.

Grand Slam a nice finish for Miracle

Tampa 0 at Fort Myers 4

W: A. Slama (4-1, 1.03); L: P. Bartleski (2-1, 1.67)
HR: FTM: J. Portes (12).

A sac fly would have done it. Heck, a ground out would have done it. Just about anything would have worked.

Johnny Woodard had drawn a walk in the bottom of the ninth for the Fort Myers Miracle and Danny Lehmann moved him to 2nd with a sac bunt. Edward Ovalle was brought in to pinch hit for Danny Santiesteban and was intentionally walked so that Philip Bartleski could get at Rene Tosoni. But Tosoni, even coming off the DL, is a good hitter and patient and he took walk as well to fill the bags. Yancarlos Ortiz would go in to run for him and Juan Portes came up to bat.

"Juan, whatever you do, don't strike out!" Lynn says helpfully. Not that he could hear her. Portes didn't wait long enough to get walked, launching the first pitch he saw, a fast ball, over the left center field wall for a grand slam, the 2rd walk off grand slam he'd belted this season.

Prior to that, it was quite the pitcher's duel. Matt Fox limited the Yankees to 4 hits over six inning, striking out three and Jose Lugo worked the next two, issuing a single walk. For Tampa, Ryan Pope pitched 7, scattering six hits and a pair of walks while striking out four.

Anthony Slama worked the final for the Miracle, striking out one while Bartleski walked 4 over 1.1 innings and allowed a pair of hits. It was the second one that really counted.

Tomorrow is Fireworks Fan Appreciation Night with give-aways all night long for the people that only come out to watch the fireworks. Look for Alex Burnett (8-6, 3.79), who evidently did not go to Sports Clips for his last hair cut and messed it up - bad, to be on the mound.

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Iris was concerned that there wasn't an article on the Miracle in the paper yesterday, but she needs to understand that High School Football has started and the Miracle just can't compete with High School Football in Fort Myers. God help us all if the Eagles ever get a football stadium built.

Alex wants to know if I though he was going up to AA next year and I said yes. Ditto with Deolis who was sitting there, if only because of his win record. Devries will go and probably Fox as well. I think Robertson will spend another half a season here though, since he missed most of the second half of the year with tight shoulder. They all want paw prints so they can go to AA, but I want them to win a Championship first, before I hand them out. (Actually, I'll be happy if they just beat Dunedin.)

Steedley says he'll be available for the playoffs, but that blister looks painful and I can't imagine that being a big, tough, baseball player makes your skin grown any faster than it does for us normal folks. Maybe if we make it out of the first round....

Speaking of playoffs, Racetrac is hosting "Park the Park" for the playoffs, so the next time you make a pit stop at Racetrac for gas, pick up a free pair of general admission seats to the playoff game on Wednesday at Hammond Stadium and Thursday (if necessary).

The Binghamton Mets defeated the New Britain Rock Cats, 3-1 at New Britain stadium. Jose Mijares took the loss. Jay Rainville worked 5.2 innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits and a pair of walks while fanning seven for the no decision. Brian Dinkelman, who was named the Mightiest Miracle for the second year in a row, was 0-for-4 at the plate for the Cats. Toby Gardenhire as 1-for-2 with a pair of walks, and Danny Berg was 1-for-4 with a double and the lone Rock Cats' run.

Garrett Jones hit his 22nd home run of the year, a solo shot in the fifth, to help power the Rochester Red Wings to a 9-3 win over the Scranton/WB Yankees. The former Miracle first baseman was 2-for-5, hitting a double as well and gaining 2 RBIs on the night. Brock Peterson, another former 1st baseman was 1-for-2 on the night with a home run as well. He also had a pair of RBIs and drew two walks in the game. Former Miracle shortstop Trevor Plouffe was 2-for-4 with double and a pair of runs.

Now that they've been eliminated from playoff contention, the Beloit Snappers have gotten hot, winning their third straight, 6-4 against the Burlington Bees at Pohlman Field. David Bromberg picked up his 9th win of the season. Andrew Schmiesing was 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk, a run and a RBI. Soon to be catcher Juan Richardson was 2-for-4 with a run. Every Snapper, except for Greg Yersich who was playing first base, had at least one hit, and only Yersich, and former Miracle Allan de San Miguel and Yangervis Solarte went without a run.

Dan Osterbrock and the Elizabethton Twins blanked the Pulaski Mariners 7-0 to go up 2-0, sweeping the best of three Appalachian League Championship game and repeating as Appalachian League Champions. Jon Waltenbury knocked a double shot home run over the wall in the first inning to get things rolling. He finished up 3-for-3 at the plate with a walk and 3 RBIs. Nick Romero was 2-for-5 with a run and a RBI and Angel Morales was 1-for-3 with a pair of runs.

Fort Myers clubs Tigers, 8-1

Fort Myers 8 at Lakeland 1

W: A. Burnett (8-5, 3.92); L: J. Nickerson (11-4, 3.88)
HR: FTM: J. Portes (11). LAK: J. Justice (10).

Justin Justice knocked a solo shot fly ball over the right field wall for his 10th home run of the year, but that was all the Lakeland Flying Tigers would get, as Alex Burnett turned in a stellar performance on the mound for the Fort Myers Miracle.

Justice's yarder came in the top of the 3rd. Burnett would scatter five hits and one walk over six innings while fanning a career-high 10 to keep the Tigers caged. Carlos Gutierrez worked a pair of innings in relief, givng up 1 hit and Anthony Slama worked the final inning, allowing one hit and striking out 3.

Fort Myer's was feeling feisty after several days of rest and continued the slug fest the Flying Tigers had started the day before.

Juan Portes led off by hitting a ground rule double to center field. Johnny Woodard singled him in to give the Miracle one.

Danny Santiesteban singled in the top of the 3rd and stole 2nd base. Woodard took a walk before Wilson Ramos' line drive single plated Santiesteban. Edward Ovalle then doubled in Woodard to make it 3-0, Fort Myers.

That's when Hurricane Justin hit, but much like Fay's passage through the Southwest Florida area, he didn't do much damage.

Portes would take the run back in the top of the fourth, hitting a fly ball over the left field fence for his 11th home run of 2008.

Woodard doubled in the top of the 5th. Back-to-back singles by Wilson Ramos and Edward Ovalle brought him home. Zach Simons would be summoned for the bull pen at that point to replace starter Jonah Nickerson. He would get Tintor to pop out and Garrett Olson to hit into a double play to leave the two Miracle runners stranded.

Simons kept the Miracle bats quiet until he was replace on the mound in the top of the eighth by Lester Oliveros. Oliveros allowed a walk to Juan Portes, but did not allow a hit...

Until the ninth inning. Woodard took a double to lead off and Ramos doubled as well. Ovalle smacked his 10th triple of the season out to center field, and Eli Tintor sacrificed him in. That gave the Miracle their eight, as Olson popped out and Lehmann ground out to retire the Miracle.

Louis Ott tripled off Slama to lead off the bottom of the 9th, but Slama found three straight strikes to keep him at 3rd as he ended the contest.

Portes and Woodard were both 3-for-4 with walks, Portes with 2 runs and a RBI, and Woodard with a pair of doubles, three runs and a RBI. Portes would fall a triple shy of the cycle, hitting a single, a double and a home run in the contest.

Wilson Ramos went 4-for-5 at the plate with a run and 2 RBIs. Ovalle had the triple that Portes needed, and went 3-for-5 at the plate, but lacked the home run for the cyle. He'd end up with one run and 3 RBIs. Ortiz as 1-for-4 and shared the game's one hit wonder role with Danny Lehmann who was 1-for-5, as was Santiesteban, who also had a run.

Both Tintor and Santiesteban fell one strike out short of the Golden Sombrero, and left the park without a prize. (Better luck next time, kids!)

The rubber match of the 3-game set will be played Friday at 7:00 PM unless Fay has found some more rain to dump on us. (Don't you just hate weepy little girls?) Freddy Garcia (0-0, 0.00) will start the game for the Tigers on a major league rehab, while Spencer Steedley (1-3, 7.83) will attempt to throw his second straight gem for the Miracle.

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Thursday's GCL game was rained out and will be made up on Tuesday, the final day of the GCL season. The GCL Twins continue to hold on to the wild card slot, while the GCL Pirates defeated the GCL Orioles, to move to 1.5 games head of the Twins in the standings. The Twins play at home Sunday with a double header against the Orioles set for an 11:00 AM start time. (Yes, Brett, I'll be trying to graph the O's. At least a few of the boys.)

The Rock Cats fell 6-3 to Erie in New Britain. Yohan Pino took the loss. Danny Berg made his AA debut, going 1-for-4 at the plate. Matt Tolbert, on rehab, finished off 2-for-4 with a double and a run.

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees slipped by Rochester, 8-7. Alejandro Machado went 3-for-5 at the plate with a run and 2 RBIs for the Red Wings.

The Burlington Bees downed the Beloit Snappers, 6-2. Henry Reyes suffered the loss. Ben Revere had the night off, so Estarlin De Los Santos when 3-for-5 for Beloit with a RBI to make for it. Former Miracle Yangervis Solarte was 2-for-5 at the plate, while former GCL alumni Andrew Schmiesing was 2-for-3 with a walk, a run and a RBI on the night. (Recap)

Team USA defeated team Japan 4-2 in the 11th inning , concluding the round-robin portion of the competition with a 5-2 record. They advance to the medal round and will meet Cuba in the second semifinal with the first pitch set for 6:00 PM Friday on the Wukesong Main Field. Recap)

Tigers tear up Miracle pitching

Fort Myers 7 at Lakeland 9

W: R. Weinhardt (3-1, 1.84); L: O. Sosa (2-2, 5.57); SV: R. Perry (4)
HR: FTM: S. Singleton (4).

The Lakeland Flying Tigers out slugged the Fort Myers Miracle as they feasted on Southwest Florida's pitching, taking a 9-7 win at Joker Marchant Stadium.

At least the bat of reigning FSL offensive player of the week, Michael Bertram, was relatively quite, as he didn't put anything over the fence. He did finish 2-for-5 however, with a double, a run and run batted in.

The Miracle got on the board first however, as Juan Portes took a single from Lakeland starter Duane Below. One out later, Portes would advance to 2nd on a balk. Wilson Ramos then singled him in, giving the Miracle one.

They made it 2 in the top of the 3rd with Steve Singleton putting his 4th home run of the season over the right field wall.

Rookie pitcher Joe Testa took the start and made it through the first two inning with nothing more than a walk to Brennan Boesch. His luck would run out in the third however.

He lead off with a walk to Brandon Timm and gave up a single to Jeff Kunkel. A passed ball by Wilson Ramos advanced the runners. Justin Justice then tripled to bring in the pair. A Louis Ott single plated Justice. Testa then got Bertram and Cale Iorg out on strikes, but allowed a triple to Boesch that drove in Ott. Jeremy Laster also knocked a triple out to center, to send Boesch over the plate. Jordan Lennerton would ground out however, getting Testa out of the inning.

The Miracle Bats were up the task however, as Whit Robbins walked in the top of the 4th, Edward Ovalle singled Robbins to 3rd and Johnny Woodard walked the bags full. A force attempt failed when Ott misfielded the ball, allowing Garrett Olson to reach and Robbins to score. Eli Tintor doubled two more in. The Tigers would take Below off the mound, bringing Ramon Garcia out of the bullpen. Yancarlos Ortiz ground out, plating Olson in the process to put the Miracle up by one. Juan Portes would walk and Singleton would be hit by a pitch to load up the bases again, but Wilson Ramos ground into a double play, retiring the side.

While it's usually 3-strikes, not 3-triples and you're out, in this came, it was the later as Testa came out and Ozzie Sosa went in for the Miracle. Timm tripled off the Venezuelan, but he'd then get Kunkel, Justice and Ott out on strikes to strand him.

Bertram doubled off Sosa in the bottom of the 5th home and Iorg singled him in, tying up the game. Boesch and Laster both ground out before Sosa walked Lennerton. Timm then struck out swinging.

Kunkel would walk to start the bottom of the sixth and advanced to 2nd on a wild pitch. Justice then walked as well. Jeff Smith didn't wait for Sosa to get this walk-fest into full swing, fetching Jose Lugo from the bullpen. But it was the wrong Jose Lugo! Lugo's throwing error allowed Ott to reach on a sac-bunt, for a bases load situation. Bertram singled in Kunkel. After Lugo got Iorg out on strikes. Boesch would ground into a force out that scored Justice. Laster then ground out,sending the Miracle to the plate again.

It was a somewhat wasted exercise as Robbie Weinhardt kept Fort Myers as quiet in the 7th as he had in the sixth.

Jeff Smith would try David Shinskie next. A fielding error by Ortiz allowed Lennerton to reach. Timm would advance him on a ground out, and Kunkel doubled to send Lennerton home, to give the Tigers nine.

The Miracle would try a brief rally in the top of the 9th, with Tintor tripling off Ryan Perry. Ortiz then singled him, but Perry took Portes down on strikes and got Singleton to fly out. Ramos then struck out to end the contest.

Tintor finished up 2-for-3 at the plate with with a walk, a double and a triple, a run and a pair of runs scored. Portes would end u 2-for-4 on the night with walk and arun. Singledon, Ovalle, and Ortiz were all 1-for-4, Sing with the home run, Ovalle with a run, and Ortiz with a pair of RBIs. Ramos ended up 1-for-5 with a RBI.

Robbins was 0-for-2 with a pair of walks and a run, as was Woodard. Olson was 0-for-4 with a run and a RBI.

Sosa took the loss, his second of the season, ending up allowing 3 runs, 2 earned on 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4. Testa would allow 5 runs on 5 hits and two walks while fanning 4 over three.

The two teams rematch tomorrow with Jonah Nickerson (11-3, 3.66) throwing out the first pitch at 7:00 PM, weather permitting. Alex Burnett (7-5, 4.03) will get the ball for the Miracle.

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Danny Berg was promoted to the New Britain Rock Cats on Monday. Joining him was former Miracle and current Minnesota Twin Matt Tolbert to start his rehab assignment. Tolbert had indicated that he'd be joining the Miracle for their last home stand, but Tropical Storm Fay was one of the factors deciding the change of plans. But the same token, Alexi Casilla was sent to Beloit to rehab. He was activated off the DL Wednesday night, while Brian Bass was outrighted to Rochester to make room for him on the Minnestoa roster.

The Rock Cats are hosting the Tigers AA affiliate, the Erie Sea Wolves. They lost for the first time in six game, 5-2. Dustin Martin, Danny Valencia, Felix Molina and Brian Dinkelman had one hit each for the Rock Cats while Ryan Roberson, Jeff Frazier and Diek Scram had multi-hit games for the Seas Wolves. Frank Mata took the loss, his first at the AA level.

The Rock Cats extended their affiliation with Minnesota through 2010. The Twins also acquired minor league outfield Joe Gaetti, the 26-year old son of Minnesota Twins' Hall-of-Famer Gary Gaetti, in a deal with Oakland and assigned him to New Britain. He replaced Brock Peterson on the Rock Cats roster.

The Rochester Red Wings defeated the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Former Miracle Anthony Swarzak is now 4-0 at the AAA level. Luke Hughes and Trevor Plouffe were both 2-for-4 in the game, Hughes with two runs, Plouffe with one.

The Beloit Snappers were idle last night. Elizabethton topped Princeton in Appalachia League action. First baseman Jon Waltenbury had a pair of home runs in the game, upping his season total to 10. Dan Osterbrock took the win, his 7th professional victory.

The Miracle host their annual Charity Golf Classic on Sunday, August 24th at Pelican Preserve. For more information or to register for the Charity Golf Classic, please call Terry Simon at 239-768-4210.

Picture of Joe Testa and Spencer Steedley are now available in our online Photo Gallery.

And finally the price gougers fine folks at Yahoo have decided to up their website hosting by $4.00 a month for this site. If it wasn't such a PIA to move, I'd find a cheaper alternative. Instead I've shut down my Everblades site - as I wasn't doing anything with it anyway - and my personal site - another project that fell by wayside. The end result is that Yahaoo will get less, not more, money from me per month.

These Jays are made for walking

Dunedin 9 at Fort Myers 2

W: A. Wideman (5-5, 5.40); L: C. Gutierrez (2-1, 3.24); SV: C. Blackwell (1)
HR: DUN: C. Patton (12).

Carlos Gutierrez, Anthony Slama and Blair Erikson gave up a combined 7 run on 8 hits and 4 walks in 3 innings Tuesday night, leaving Jeff Smith no recourse but to turn to ace closer Danny Santiesteban to get the final out.

The Miracle got on the board early. Danny Berg knocked a line drive to center before Steve Singleton was plunked by a pitch. Edward Ovalle's line drive loaded the bags. Wilson Ramos ground into a force out that took scored Berg and Singleton, but took Ovalle out at 2nd. A throwing error advanced Ramos to 2nd. Juan Portes singled out to center. Ramos would try to come home but was taken out at home on the throw. Eli Tintor would ground out to end the inning.

After that the Miracle could not seems to solve A.J. Wideman, who allowed a total of 4 hits and a walk, all of which came in the first inning except a single to Portes in the 4th and walk to the same in the 7th. He'd fan only 1, but worked 7 solid innings for the Blue Jays.

The Miracle got 5.2 innings out of Matt Fox who gave up a pair of runs in the top of the 4th. Brad Emaus would single, then one out later Cory Patton put his 12th over the right field fence to tied up the contest.

Gutierrez would replace Fox in the sixth after the Orlando resident allowed a double to Marcos Cabral. It was the 7th inning that got the Miracle's rookie in trouble.

The former Miami Hurricane would walk Matt Liuzza. Jonathan Diaz sac bunt advanced the runner to 2nd, and he went to 3rd on Luis Sanchez's line drive single. Chris Emanuele went down on strikes before Emaus single to plate Liuzza. David Cooper then singled to scored Sanchez. A wild pitch advanced the runners, but Gutierrez was able to get Patton to fly out to retire the Jays.

Slama would come in for the top of the 8th and hit Cabral with a pitch. Anthony Hatch was taken out on strikes before Liuzza's single moved Cabral to 2nd. Diaz would go down swinging before Sanchez singled in Cabral. Emanuele struck out to send the Miracle to batt.

Chad Blackwell would take over for Wideman in the bottom of the 8th. Allowing a ground ball single to Singleton but taking the the other three batters he faced out on strikes. Word that is that the former North Carolina Game Cock has become a hard autograph to get of late, having signed on with certain agent who advises his clients not to sign autographs. The same agent has been on the Minor League Autograph forum causing trouble. Gotta love the professionalism there.

Erickson would get Emaus and Cooper to flyout to left before allowing a triple to Patton. He'd come home on Cabral's single. Erickson then walked Hatch and Liuzza filling up the bases. Diaz singled to drive in two, but Erikson then walked Sanchez. I just read something, a comment on LEN3's blog I think, about needing guys like Erickson up in the bigs. Please, by all means, take him. After tonight's performance he can start his own dog walking business when the pitching thing doesn't work out for him.

So Smitty turned to Santieseban again and the Hialeah native got Emaus to ground out to let the Miracle have a turn at the plate.

That allowed Blackwell to strike out Ramos, pop out Portes and catch Tintor holding the bat on this shoulder to finish off the contest.

Gutierrez took the loss, his second of the season.

The Blue Jays will look to do what they hope to do to the Miracle in the playoffs, sweep them, on Wednesday night. They will have to get through Cole Devries (9-8, 2.85) to do it however. Meanwhile, Randy Boone (3-3, 5.56) will be on the mound for the Jays and, if the last two game are any indication, he will not be tested hard by the Miracle batters.

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I uploaded the video from the ninth inning from Monday's game but it seems to have gotten lost somewhere in cyberspace. I guess I can try again. (Sorry Eddie, it's not my fault!)

With the loss the Miracle are in fifth place in the six team West Division, 12.5 games behind the Blue Jays with 19 games left to play. Note to MILB: I don't think we're in still in the running any more.

From MiLB.com:

THE WEEK THAT WAS: The Miracle won four of six games and are still in the running for the second-half title in the West. With three weeks left in the season, Fort Myers is tied with Tampa in third place, 9 1/2 games behind Dunedin.

WHO'S HOT, WHO'S NOT: CF Brandon Roberts has proven to be a tough out. The California native has eight hits in his last 19 at-bats for a .421 average. ... SP Cole Devries has been a strikeout machine. The University of Minnesota product has 10 strikeouts in his last 11 innings pitched while racking up two wins.

PLAYER TO WATCH: RP Blair Erickson has been money. The Sacramento, Calif., native has eight strikeouts in his last 4 1/3 innings pitched through four games.

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK: Sarasota had a hard time keeping 3B Daniel Berg off the basepaths in Fort Myers' 11-4 win on Aug. 8. The native of Australia had two hits, walked twice and scored three runs.

Reds walk off winners after Miracle blow 9 run lead

Fort Myers Miracle 10 at Sarasota 11

W: T. Young (1-1, 2.16); L: J. Lugo (2-5, 4.53)
HR: FTM: D. Berg (6), W. Robbins (5). SAR: J. Francisco (20).

Despite home runs by Danny Berg and Whit Robbins, the Fort Myers Miracle could not hold on to an early lead, losing 10-11 to the Sarasota Reds in extra innings Sunday afternoon at Ed Smith Stadium.

Juan Portes singled in the top off Red's start Matt Klinker. Singleton doubled and Danny Berg singled to drive in Portes. After Whit Robbins went down on strikes, Wilson Ramos sacrificed in Singleton. Johnny Woodard would take a walk, and Danny Santiesteban doubled to drive in Berg and Woodard. Garrett Olson's single would plate Santiesteban before Yancarlos Ortiz went down on strikes.

Yuber Rodriguez walked in the bottom of the first, and a passed ball by Ramos moved him to 2nd. Heisey singled to score Y-Rod to put the Reds on the board.

The Miracle took the run back on Berg's solo shot homer over the left field fence in the top of the 2nd.

Garrett Olson would single in the top of the fourth, and Portes doubled him in, one out later. Singleton doubled to plate Portes, then moved to 3rd on Berg's ground out. Robbins launched his fifth home run of the season over the right field wall adding two more, to make the score 10-1. That did it for Klinker as the Reds brought in Steve Ottness, who got Wilson to ground out, giving the Reds a chance at bat.

Ozzie Sosa gave up a single to Juan Francisco in the bottom of the 4th and Todd Frazier doubled. Logan Parker would single to score the pair before Sosa could get Carson Kainer to ground into a force out and Daniel Perales to line out. Justin Tordi would single to move Kainer to 3rd, but Jake Long flew out to end the inning.

Y-Rod doubled in the bottom of the 5th, and Chris Heisey singled him in. Francisco took a walk, before Frazier lined out. Parker would sacrifice in Heisey. Sosa then issued walks to Kainer and Perales, and Jeff Smith walked out to the mound to retrieve the ball, giving it to Blair Erickson. Tordi would double off Erickson however to clean off the bags and Long's follow up line drive brought in Tordi before Erickson could get Y-Rod to strike out swinging.

Francisco's homer in the bottom of the 6th saw the Miracle's lead evaporate completely, leaving the game tied.

Sosa would leave the mound, having allowed 8 runs, 7 earned on 8 hits and five walks while fanning 3 in 4.2 innings. Please get well soon Tyler Robertson, we need you desperately! Erickson would give up 2 on 3 hits and a pair of walks, fanning 5 over 2.1 innings. Anthony Slama worked the next two, walking 2 and striking out 4 to take the game into overtime.

The Miracle bats fell silent after the fourth inning, getting only 1 hit off Ottness, one off Joseph Krebbs, and 3 off Zach Stewart. They'd take a walk off Terrell Young in the top of the 11th, but he'd strike out two, bringing the Reds up to bat.

With one out on the board, Jose Lugo would walk Perales, then hit Justin Tordi with a pitch. Long would fly out, but Lugo walked Y-Rod to load the bags. He then walked in Heisey to force in the game winning run. I'm sure Mr. Lugo had much to think about on the bus ride back from Sarasota.

Portes and Singleton both finish up the contest 3-for-6 with a pair of runs and a RBI each. Portes had a double, Sing had two. The two yard birds, Berg and Robbins, were 2-for-5 each, Robbins with 2 runs, Berg with one, Each had 2 RBIs,and Berg also added a walk on the side. Olson, down near the bottom of the order, was also 2-for-5 with a run and a RBI. Woodard and Ortiz finished up 1-for-5, Woody with a walk and a run. Santiesteban was 1-for-4 with a double and a run and a pair of RBIs. Danny Lehmann, pinch hitting for Ramos, was 1-for-2 with a walk.

The Miracle now head home to for a six-game home stand that starts out with three against the Dunedin Blue Jays.

Spencer Steedley (0-2, 10.38) will get the start against Dunedin's Adrian Martin (6-2, 4.85). Start time is 7:05.

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Monday is Bobblection night!

The popular Goldklang Group promotion is back and Fort Myers Miracle fans have a chance to let their voices be heard on which candidate should be the new president. Voting begins at 6 p.m.

Bobblection allows Miracle fans to cast votes by choosing a bobblehead doll with either Barack Obama or John McCain's likeness.

Upon entering Hammond Stadium, fans will be directed to actual Lee County Election voting machines to cast their vote. After voting electronically, the fan then will pick up their bobblehead of choice. The first of the candidates to run out of all 500 bobbleheads will be declared the winner.

The Miracle are the sixth and last team of the Goldkang Group to vote, and the results of the Bobblection will be tallied and announce shortly thereafter.

The Goldklang Group provides operational consulting and management services in all areas relating to sports franchise and event acquisition, promotion and operation.

Bobblection is the one non-guaranteed promotion for season ticket holders. You MUST be a the game to receive a bobblehead.

While the Miracle were blowing a 9-run lead in Ed Smith stadium, the Miracle of the future, the Jake Mauer coached GCL Twins were rallying past the GCL Reds at the Lee County Sportsplex. Anderson Hidalgo was 2-for-5 for the Twins with a pair of runs and a pair of runs scored, including a home run. The Twins are battling the GCL Pirates for the South Division lead and a playoff spot.

Brandon Roberts was promoted to AA New Britain Saturday. He takes the spot of former Miracle Brock Peterson on the Rock Cats roster. Peterson was promoted to AAA Rochester. The Centralia, Washington, 1st baseman was 0-for-4 with 1 strike out in his first Red Wing's game on Sunday.

Let's Go Miracle, Ed Pelegrino's blog on the News Press is holding a survey. You might also receive one of 15 Whit Robbins card to be given away. If you get your daily Miracle fix here at www.miraclefans.com, please stop by, take his brief survey, and write in www.miraclefans.com for question #4. Don't forget to register for the Whit Robbins card give away.

Team USA's exhibition game game on Saturday against Team China was cancelled. Team USA faces Korea on Wednesday at 6:00 a.m. for their first Olympic game. (USABaseball.com)

Homestead tops Newark on Negro League Appreciation Night

Whit Robbins shows off the new uniforms

Homestead 4 at Newark 0

W: M. German (2-1, 3.13); L: S. Steedley (0-2, 13.50)
HR: None.

A classic pitcher's duel came to an unhappy end for the Newark Eagles who fell, 4-0 to the Homestead Grays on Negro League Appreciation Night.

Quentin Berry singled off of reliever Spencer Steedley, then stole 2nd base. Watson would be hit by a pitch, but Michael Taylor ground into a double play, to take out Quenton and Taylor. A wild pitch by Steedley undid the great defensive work however, sending Watson to 3rd. Gus Milner was then intentionally walked and John Urick drew a walk to load the bags. At this point, Newark field manager Jeff Smith replaced Steedley with Matt Williams. A throwing error by Juan Portes at 3rd allowed Watson and Milner to score, and Kevin Mahar to reach. Tuffy Gosewisch then doubled in Urick and Mahar before Fidel Hernandez went down on strikes.

Newark would go down quietly to Homestead's Matt Smith in the bottom half of the stanza to conclude the contest.

After an offensive outburst the night before, Newark managed only six hits in the game. Wilson Ramos and Juan Portes were both 2-for-5. Ortiz was 1-for-3 with a walk, while Johnny Woodard was 1-for-4 with a walk.

Matt Fox worked six fine innings for the Eagles, allowing 8 hits and a walk while striking out 3 but giving up no runs. Jose Mijares worked a pair of innings in relief, as did Anthony Slama.

The rubber match of the series is Saturday on a Back-to-School backpack give away night.

Cole Devries (7-8, 2.97) will take to the hill for the home town team, while Drew Naylor (1-5, 6.87) will handle the pitching chores for the visitors.

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Devries wanted to wear the new stylin' duds, but as he wasn't playing in the game, he was disappointed. He'd try to practice in them, but Raz made him go back to clubhouse and take them off. Raz suggested he could wear them in the stands while charting and REALLY make a fashion statement, but he declined that one.


Johnny Woodard


Danny Berg


Jose Mijares and Alex Burnett (I think)

All photos © 2008 Animal Antix Designs. Use without permission prohibited.