Miracle still waiting

Palm Beach 5 at Daytona 4

W: S. Garceau (1-0, 2.70); L: M. Mateo (0-1, 2.45); SV: P. Parise (1)
HR: None.

The come-back Cubs fell one short at Jackie Robinson Stadium, as the Palm Beach Cardinals forced game three of the Eastern Division finals.

Antonio DeJesus singled to lead off the top of the first inning and Peter Kozma followed suite. Steve Hill would ground into a double play that allowed DeJesus to score, putting the Cards on the board.

Hill would reach on a fielding error in the top of the 4th, and Tyler Henley singled him to 2nd. After a fly out to Matthew Arburr, Charles Kingrey doubled in Hill. Nick Derba would go down on strikes, but Mike Foli singled driving in Henley and Kingrey. A wild pitch by Cubs starter Marcos Mateo advanced the runner, and a Oliver Marmol singled brought in Foli to make it 5-0 Cards. DeJesus would take a walk before the Cubs brought in Andrew Cashner to stop of the bleeding, and he'd take Kozma out on strikes for the 3rd out.

Daytona would get two in the bottom of the fifth as Jonathan Mota lead off with a walk. Darwin Barney singled before Tony Thomas was taken out on strikes. James Adduci singled in Mota and Ty Wright sacrificed in Barney for the host team.

Barney would start the Cubbies rally in the bottom of the 9th with a pop out, but Thomas took a walk. Adduci ground out but Wright doubled to score Thomas. The Cards would get Pete Parise on the mound, who allowed a single to Marquz Smith to score Wright. With the tying run on base however, Russ Canzier would go down on strikes, ending the contest in the Cards favor.

The series now reverts to Roger Dean Stadium for a 7:05 PM start on Friday. The winner of that contest will face the Miracle at Hammond Stadium on Saturday night for a 7:05 PM game.

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Less then 600 fans showed up for a weekday game between the Marlins and the Braves on Wednesay. The unofficial tally was 589 although 11,211 tickets were announced as being sold for the game. The Fish won the game 5-3.

RaceTrac has acquired tickets to all the potential Miracle playoff games and are distributing them now, at no cost to their customers. General admission tickets are available at the four RaceTrac Southwest Florida locations. Tickets obtained at RaceTrac can be upgraded to a box seat for only $2.00 at the Miracle’s Hammond Stadium offices from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and Friday or at the box office the nights of the game.

The Miracle will host game one and two of the FSL Finals on Saturday and Sunday, starting at 7:05 pm.

Former Miracle Adam Harben had not been playing for the Cubs during their playoff run as he is on the D.L.

Super Dad Sunday

About 20 years ago, a number of fathers took their sons out on their lawn and taught them to play catch. 25 of those youngster became the young men we know today as the Fort Myers Miracle. To their Dads, and all Dads everywhere, Miraclefans.com would like to wish you all a Happy Fathers Day.

West All-stars 9 at East All-stars 3

W: R.Porcello (1-0, 9.00); L: R.Morse (0-1, 9.00)
HR: WST: Stubbs (1), Iorg (1)

Fort Myers Miracle All-star Brian Dinkelman was 2-for-6 at the plate with 2 runs and Danny Valencia was 2-for-5 with a triple, 1 run and 2 RBIs as the West Division All-Stars beat the East Division All-stars, 9-3.

Catcher Wilson Ramos was 0-1 for 1 at the plate with a walk. Both Valencia and Dinkelman played the whole contest, while Ramos split time with Dunedin's J.P. Arencibia, the only other West Division player with a multi-hit game.

Dinkelman would single to start off the game, then move to 2nd when Clearwater's Gus Milner walked. Valencia's fly out moved Dink to 3rd, and a passed ball by Palm Beach's Tony Cruz brought him home.

In the top of the six, Dinkelman would reach on a fielding error by Jupiter's Logan Morrison. Milner's single moved him to second and the pair would be tripled in by Valencia. Lakeland's Ryan Strieby would single out to left 2 outs later to score Valencia.

Jeff Manship worked the 3rd inning for the West, posting goose eggs on his line score by getting Daytona's Tony Thomas to ground out and Daytona's James Adduci to ground into a double play after Brevard County's Darren Ford reached on a fielding error by Valencia.

Slama worked the fifth inning, walking 2 and striking out 1, while ace closer Rob Delaney mopped up in the ninth, allowing 2 hits and striking out 1.

Sarasota's Drew Stubbs earned MVP honors by going 1-for-3 at the plate with a two-run homer in the 2nd inning.

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The Miracle take Sunday off and return to play on Monday as they head over to Dunedin for a three-game series against the Jays to finish off the first half of the FSL season.

Fort Myers may be a few players short on the trip as Manship, Valencia, Dinkelman and either Delaney or Slama (but not both) will be headed to AA New Britain. Catcher Rocky Palacios was already promoted to back up Rock Cat catcher Drew Butera. Former Miracle Jose Morales re-injured the ankle he hurt at the end of last season, and Fort Myers alumni Jeff Christy received the call to Rochester to replace him.

The Midwest League does not play their All-star game until Tuesday, so unless players are loaned to the Miracle from the GCL for the road trip, the roster will be a little light.

One of the players who may be assigned to the Miracle is former 2nd round draft pick Paul Kelly who has been rehabbing at the Lee County Sportsplex. Kelly had a single in the 7-inning scrimmage that was played between the GCL Twins and Elizabethton Twins Saturday Morning. CGL shut out E-Town, 2-0.

The Miracle return home on Thursday to open the 2nd half of the season against the Sarasota Reds. It is Dog Daze II as well as Thirsty Thursday. The GCL Twins also begin their season on Thursday with a Noon game against the Pirates at the Lee County Sportsplex.

So Long Sarasota

A $16 million bond referendum to help fund a $45 million plan to rebuild Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota failed Tuesday's vote by a narrow margin. With goes any long term plans for the Cincinnati Reds to continue on in Sarasota.

The Reds hold a lease on the Stadium through the 2008 season, and have signed a year-to-year deal to extend it three more years while they search for a new home.

The Cleveland Indians recently agreed to leave Orlando for Goodyear, Arizona. That is one of the cities in line for the Reds as well, as it tries to lock up the monopoly on Ohio Spring Training fans.

Lee County, Orlando and Vero Beach have also been tossed around as possible new homes for the Reds.

Vero Beach is currently housing the Tampa Devil Rays FSL affiliate, but plans appear to be in place to move the team to Charlotte County once the renovations on the Charlotte County stadium are completed.

The Reds had received a promise of $15 mil from the state if they could receive matching funds from locally, but with defeat of the referendum that deal becomes void. It's possible however that the State will agree to match funds for a diffrent location in the state of Florida.

Locations in Bonita Springs and Cape Coral have both been talked about previously as potential locations for a new spring training facility. However as of Thursday, Jeff Maultsby, director of Florida operations for the Reds, has said nothing has been done in terms of a search for a new home.

"We'll get moving here in the next couple days," Maultsby was quoted as saying in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

"It's like a blank canvas, which is kind of exciting," said John Allen, the Reds' executive vice president and chief operating officer, in the same publication. "We can look at a lot of different options."

The fate of Ed Smith Stadium is also up in the air. While the city will save money on the stadium operations, they will not be able to make up the revenue they receive from the Reds being in town. The void in the budget is estimated to be as high as $1.3 million per year.

The Herald Tribune noted that the city gets about $20 mil from a Reds Spring training game, with multiple dates available, vs. $7,000 from the Sarasota Blues Festival, an annual activity.

Jupiter's Sinkbeil sinks Beach Boys

(Photo courtesy Missouri State)

Waikiki 1 at North Shore 8

W: B. Sinkbeil (2-0, 1.13); L: J. Sullivan (0-2, 6.75); SV: S. Walker (1)
HR: None.

Who ever said Threshers and Manatees don't play nice together? In the Hawaiin Winter League, members of both teams are playing side by side on North Shore Honu.

The Hanu picked up a win Friday over the Waikiki Beach Boys, but it was neither a Manatee nor a Thresher that was the story of the game.

Rather, Jupiter Hammerhead's ace Brett Sinkbeil picked up his second win of the season, allowing only 1 run on 3 hits and 1 walk while striking out 4 over 5 innings. He holds a stellar 1.13 ERA in Hawaii, having worked 16 innings in 4 games.

Waikiki's only run came in the fifth when Jermaine Mitchell (Oakland) reached on a fielding error by Lakeland Flying Tigers' shortstop Danny worth. Lucas Duda's (NY Mets) single moved him to second before Sinkbeil walked Oakland's Justin Sellars to load the bags. Mitchell would score on Sean McCraw's (NY Mets) force out, but Sinkbeil would then get Antoan Richardson (San Francisco) to strik out and Hector Pillot (NY Mets) to fly out to end the inning.

Steve Chapman (Milwaukee) walked with 2 outs in the 1st lead of North Shore's offense. Lou Santangelo (Houston) also drew a walk before Mat Gamel (Milwaukee) reached on a fielding error and Jamie Romak's (Pittsburgh) double served to bring all three in.

Shintaro Yoshida (F/A) singled his way onto base in the bottom of the second and was followed onto the bags by Michael Griffin (Cininnati) before Chris Valuika (Cincinnati) walked. Michael Champman's (Milwaukee) ground ball to right brought in Yoshida and Griffin, although Chapman would find himself out at 2nd as he tried to strech the single into a double. Santangelo's ground ball to left brought in Valaika before Mat Gamel (Milwaukee) would pop out to end the inning.

Hanu's production fell off after that though, and North Shore would not add the final 2 runs until the 8th inning. Gamel walked to lead off, but Jamie Romak (Pittsburgh) hit into a force out to nab him at 2nd. Dusty Ryan's (Detroit) walk pushed Romak to 2nd and Worth would push Romak over the plate when he reached on a throwing error by Waikiki's Sellers. Yoshida hit a sac fly to score Ryan, but Griffin would pop out to end the inning.

Milwaukee's Kevin Roberts pitched 1 inning of relief for North Shore, striking out 2 before Houston's Sean Walker came in to close the game, walking 2 and striking out 4 in 3 innings.

Colorado's Josh Sullivan suffered the loss, lasting only 3 innings and giving up 6 runs (3 earned) on 5 hits, and 3 walks while striking out 1. Kyohei Muranaka (F/A) finished off the game, both his runs were unearned. He gave up 1 hit, walked 2 and struck out 5 in 5 innings.

The two teams rematach Saturday at 6:30 PM Hawaiin Time.

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Beloit, Clearwater capture wins

Clinton 0 at Beloit 2

W: A. Craig (2-0, 0.00); L: A. Laughter (0-1, 11.57); SV: A. Slama (2)
HR: None.

If you've been watching the Midwest League playoffs, you might have realized by now that next years starting rotation for the Fort Myers Miracle is looking pretty spectacular. Alex Burnett, Tyler Robertson and Cole Devries have all dominated in their starts.

Now, you can add the name Matt Fox to the growing list. Fox allowed only 3 hit and 3 walks while striking out 4 over 5 innings of worth to help blank the Clinton Lumber Kings and lead the Snappers to a sweep of the Semi-Final round in the playoffs.

Jose Lugo worked 2.2 scoreless innings of relief, allowing only 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 2. Fireballer Aaron Craig picked up the win in the bottom of the 8th inning, needed to get only 1 out, which he managed with a strike out.

The Clinton pitchng staff was just as stingy though with Kasey Kiker keeping the Snappers off the board for 5.2 innings before giving way to Andrew Laughter.

Steve Singleton used a ground ball to second to get onto base in the 8th. Rene Tosoni, inserted into the game as a pinch hitter, doubled him in and managed to get to 3rd on the throw by Lumber Kings right fielder K.C. Herren. This prompted the Rangers farm team to bring Joshua Lueke to the mound. Chris Parmelee would knock a line drive out to right to bring in Tosoni for the insurance run. Parmelee would steal 2nd, but Lueke got Greg Yersich and former Miracle Matt Betsill to strike out and Danny Santiesteban to ground out to strand the Twins 2006 first round pick at 3rd.

Still, it would be enough as Anthony Slama came in to Slama-the-door shut on Clinton for the win.

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The Snappers will not have to wait for an oppenent though as they continue to seek their first championship since 1993. The West Michigan Whitecaps swept their series with the Silver Bend Silverhawks and the MWL finals, which start on Tuesday could be a preview of the next season's FSL West Division Championship battle.

James Skelton delivered a go-ahead two-run double for the Tigers farm team who edged the Silver Hawks 6-5. Trailing, 4-3, in the fourth inning, Brandon Timm reached on a fielder's choice, Audy Ciriaco singled and Gorkys Hernandez walked to load the bases. South Bend starter Chase Christianson uncorked a wild pitch and Timm raced home with the tying run before Skelton ripped a two-run double to put West Michigan on top.

The Whitecaps have captured the Midwest League championship in four of the past 11 seasons. They will host game one of the best-of-5 finals series on Tuesday. Alex Burnett will face West Michigans' Johan Nickerson. MiLB.com.

Clearwater 6 at Brevard County 4

W: W. Savage (1-0, 0.00); L: T. Wendte (0-1, 4.15)
HR: BRE: M. Bell (1).

It took 11 innings, but the Threshers took game 2 from the Brevard County Manatees, 6-4 and look to sweep the best-of-5 series when it returns to Clearwater tonight at 7:00 PM

Matt Thayer singled his way onto base off Brevard County's Travis Wendte and moved to 2nd on P.J. Antoniato's sac-bunt. Brian Burgamy walked before Brad Harmon doubled to bring in Thayer, breaking open a 4-4 tie. Jason Donald's ground ball to left brought in Burgamy for the insurance run.

It would then fall to William Savage who struck out 3 and walked 1 in four innings to end the game.

Harmon would go 3-for-6 in the game with 1 run and 2 RBIs for the Threshers, while Matt Thayer was 2-for-3 with 1 run and 2 walks and Clay Harris was 3-for-5 with 1 run and 1 RBI.

Brevard County managed only 4 runs on 4 hits, taking the early lead in the 3rd inning on a pair of doubles by Ned Yost and Cole Gillespie. Mike Bell belted a solo homer, his first of the playoffs, in the sixth.

The Manatees will have to beat Clearwater's ace, right-hander Andrew Carpenter, to avoid the sweep at Brighthouse Networks Field. Carpenter was 17-6 this season with a 3.20 ERA in 163 innings over 27 games including the perfect 7-inning game over the Miracle.

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Neither the Eastern League nor the International League played last night as both move into the final rounds of their playoff series.

Beloit drops Clinton, Threshers rip Manatees

Beloit 6 at Clinton 1

W: C. Devries (1-0, 1.00); L: J. Hyatt (0-1, 2.25)
HR: BEL: D. Santiesteban (1). CLI: C. Tracy (2).

A Joe Benson triple and Rene Tosoni dobule helped the Beloit Snappers to a 3 run 5th inning to salt away the Clinton Rangers, 6-1.

Beloit got on the board in the first when Tosoni singled his way onto base and was moved over to second by Chris Parmelee's ground ball to left field. Danny Santiesteban's ground out served to plate Tosoni, who was 2-for-4 in the game with 2 runs and 1 RBI.

Garrett Olson doubled his way onto base in the six, and moved to 3rd on a Chris Cates sac-bunt. He'd come home on a Steve Singleton grounder to right.

Santiesteban went yard to center field in the 7th to top of the scoring for the Snappers.

Cole Devries worked all nine innings for Beloit, allowing 1 run on 4 hits while striking out 5. The one run was a solo shot by Chad Tracy over the right field wall in the bottom of the ninth with 2 outs.

Devries, a former Golden Gopher, allowed a double in the 2nd inning, so there was little talk of a no-hitter, but the near shut out performance was impressive none the less.

Santiesteban, from Miami, Florida, was also 2-for-4 at the plate with 1 run and 3 RBIs. Benson, a 2nd round pick in the 2006 draft, was 2-for-4 with 1 run at the top of the order. Tosoni and Devries are both playing their first year of professional baseball. The 21-year-old Tosoni already won a championship with the Elizabethton Twins of the Appalacian League this season, before being re-assigned to the Snappers.

The best-of-3 series now shifts to Pohlman Field in Beloit for Game 2 on Sunday, starting at 6:30.

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West Michigan blanked the South Bend Silver Hawks in game one of their series. Jeff Gerbe worked 7.2 innings, holding the Arizona affiliated Silver Hawks to only 3 hits. Casey Fien struck out 3 in 1.1 innings work to pick up the save.

Ryan Strieby was 2-for-3 for the Tiger's affiliate with a run and a walk. Gorkys Hernadez and Jeremy Laster were both 2-for-5, Laster with a run and 2 RBIs. MiLB.com

Clearwater 8 at Brevard County 1

W: N. Johnson (1-0, 1.50); L: R. Lluberes (0-1, 7.20)
HR: CLE: J. Blalock (1), B. Harman (1). BRE: M. Gamel (1).

Nate Johnson held the Manatees to 1 run on 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 4 in six innings worth of work to help Clearwater thresh out a win over Brevard County in game one of the Florida State League finals series.

A Jake Blalock home run and doubles by Jeremy Slayden and Clay Harris led to a 5 run fifth inning for the Threshers. Harris also scored in the 7th while Brad Harman put one over the left field wall in the ninth to score Brian Burgamy.

The Manatees only run came when Mat Gamel launched one over the right field fence in the bottom of the sixth.

The two teams rematch Sunday at Spacecoast Stadium at 7:00 PM EST.

Burgamy was 3-for-4 for the Threshers, Blalock was 3-for-5 with 3 RBIs while Harman and Harris were both 2-for-5 for the Clearwater team who pounded out 16 hits in the game.

Cory Willey struck out 5 in 2 innings of relief work, while Brett Harker pitched the ninth for West Divsion champions.

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In the Eastern League, Trenton blanked Portland 4-0 to win the best of 5 series from the Red Sox affiliated Sea Dogs. Reegie Corona and Austin Jackson were both 2-for-5 with a run each at the top of the line up for the Yankees affiliate. P.J. Pilittere was 2-for-4 at the plate with 2 RBIs while Matt Carson accounted for the other two RBIs.

Jeffrey Marquez worked 7 innings for the Thunder allowing 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 3, Eric Wordekemper stuck out 2 in the 8th inning and West Palm Beach native Justin Pope finished off the game with 1 ground out and a pair of fly outs. MiLB.com

The Akron Aeros downed the Erie Sea wolves 8-6 to earn the right to progress in the Eastern League finals. Dallas Trahern gave up 7 runs on 7 hits, including 2 home runs, for the Detroit affiliate while striking out only 3 in five innings worth of work. Robert Brownlie picked up the win for the Cleveland affiliate, allowing 6 runs - 3 earned - on six hits while striking out 5 in 5 innings. MiLB.com

The Richmond Braves finish off the Scranton/WB Yankees in the International League playoffs with a 4-3 win, they will face the Durham Bulls in the finals for the AAA league. The Braves staged a 3-run ninth inning rally to pick up the win. Yankees slugger Bronson Sardinha was 2-for-4 in the game, both hits for doubles, with 1 run for Scranton/WB. MiLB.com

Clearwater knocks out Sara-Reds

Clearwater 4 at Sarasota 3

W: J. Trujillo (1-0, 0.00); L: S. Watson (0-1, 6.00); SV: R. Swindle (1)
HR: None.

For a while, it looked like the Sarasota Reds really wanted to travel over to see the Brevard County Manatees tonight. For a while.

Sarasota jumped out to an early lead as Cody Strait scored off a failed force attmept on Tonys Gutierrez. A fielding error by Clearwater's Brad Harman led to the run with 2 men on base, both walked by Antonio Bastardo.

Clearwater finally got to former Miracle pitcher Alexander Smit in the 4th when Brad Harmon singled and Jeremy Slayden drew a walk. Jake Blalock doubled in the pair on a fly out to center.

The Reds took their lead back though in the bottom of the inning with Eric Eymann doubling in Gutierrez, then passing the plate when Clearwater's Jason Donald threw the ball away.

Sean Watson would replace Smith in the top of the 5th. He'd work 2 innings before the Threshers rallied in 7th.

Clay Harris singled his way onto base. With 2 outs, Brian Burgamy plated him to tie up the game, then stole 2nd base. Brad Harman would draw a walk, Jason Donald would be hit by a pitch and then Jeremy Slayden would walk to force in a run. That prompted the Reds to put Dan Denham onto the mound to get the last out.

The Reds could get nothing off Bear Hill or Rob Swindle and it will be the Clearwater team, not the Sarasota team, taking the bus over to Spacecoast Stadium for a pair of games this weekend.

Smit surrendered two runs on four hits with two walks and four strikeouts over 4 2/3 frames for Sarasota.

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In the Midwest League, Clinton defeated Cedar Rapids 5-4. The Rangers affiliate will host the Snappers for the first game in the next round of the Midwest League Playoffs. The Southbend Silver Hawks used a 4-run first inning and 3-run 3rd inning to down the Dayton Dragons, 7-5. This was more bad news for the Reds organization who will now watch the Diamondbacks' farm team move into the next round against Detroit affiliated West Michigan White Caps.

In the Eastern League, the Trenton Thunder downed the Portland Sea Dogs 3-2 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-5 series. Cody Ehlers was 2-for-3 for the Yankees affiliate with 1 run and 1 RBI. Regee Corona and Gabrial Lopez had the other 2 runs for Trenton. Daniel McCutchen tossed six strong innings allowing 1 run on 3 hits and 3 walks with 5 strike outs. Trenton can close out the series with a win in Game 4 on Saturday behind starter Jeff Marquez. Portland, which pulled out a 13-inning victory in Game 2 on Thursday, will send Chris Smith to the mound.

The Akron Aeros roughed up Eries' Andrew Kown picking up 3 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks. Randor Bierd gave up 3 runs on 3 hits for the Detroit affilate which falls to 2-1 in the series. Stephen Head belted a two-run homer, his second of the series, in the 6th while Jordan Brown capped a 3-run seventh with a two-run shot, his first of the postseason for Akron. Jeremy Sowers pitched 7 1/3 solid innings for the Indian affiliated Aeros allowing 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 7.

The Devil Rays affiliated Durham Bulls ousted the defending Governor's Cup Champion Toledo Mud Hens from the playoffs, taking a 5-2 victory Friday to sweep the best-of-5 series. The Wild Card winning Richmond Braves took a 2-1 series advantage in over the Sranton/WB Yankees, posting a 6-4 win on Friday.

Clearwater, Brevard, Beloit post wins

St. Lucie 2 at Brevard County 13

W: B. Wright (1-0, 2.35); L: E. Brown (0-1, 15.43)
HR: BRE: C. Gillespie (1).

First Half East Division Champion Brevard County progressed to the Florida State League finals, puting a 13-2 huring on the St. Lucie Mets.

Cole Gillespie hit a home run in the first inning to put the Manatees on the board. Nestor Corredor reached on a fielding error in the 3rd and Lorenzo Cain walked. A Mat Gamel single scored the first runner, Cain was taken out on home on a fielder's choice that put Gillespie on base. Singles by Mike Bell and Yohannis Perez, mixed in with a Chris Errecart triple put the Manatees on top 6-0.

An Errecart double and a Perez single in the 7th extended the Manatees lead.

A Nick Evans double and a Dan Murphy single put St. Lucie on the board in top of the 8th, but the game was already out of reach. The Manatees tacked on another 5 runs in the bottom of the inning.

Brae Wright allowed only 2 hits on 8 hits and 1 walk in 7.2 innings while striking out 3. Patrick Ryan finish up on the mound for Brevard County. The Mets farm team threw 7 different pitchers at the Manatees, with Eric Brown suffering the loss for St. Lucie.

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Clearwater 3 at Sarasota 2

W: A. Carpenter (1-0, 3.00); L: D. Thompson (0-1, 3.60); SV: W. Savage (1)
HR: None.

Andrew Carpenter did not throw another perfect game, but the Threshers ace was effective Thursday night against Sarasota as the Threshers tied up the West Divsion Championship series at one game each.

A Tony Gutierrez walk and a Jeramiah Piepkorn single put the Reds on the board in the bottom of the second. A Lou Marson double helped the Threshers put 2 runners over the plate in the 4th to give the Phillies farm team the lead.

Marson's double in 6th scored Jeremy Slayden for an insurance run, which would be needed as a Cody Strait single, a stolen base and Gutierrez ground ball would give the Reds another run.

Carpenter picked up the win allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 2 in 6 innings. Darryl Thompson took the loss the for the Reds, allowing 2 runs, 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4 through 5.

The final game of the series is Friday night at Ed Smith Stadium, with the win progressing to face the Manatees.

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Quad City 4 at Beloit 5

W: A. Craig (1-0, 0.00); L: K. Maiques (0-1, 9.00)
HR: QC: T. Henley (1), S. Hill (1). BEL: J. Benson (1).

A late rally by the Swing lead to a blown save for Anthony Slama, but Steve Singleton doubled to plate Danny Berg in the 11th inning to give the Snappers a first round sweep of the Swing in the Midwest League playoffs.

A Joe Benson single and stolen base, followed a Rene Tosoni sac fly put Beloit on the board in the bottom of the first. A fielding error by Daniel Descalso in the 2nd lead to Greg Yersich crossing the plate in the 2nd for the Snappers, increasing their lead.

Southpaw Tyler Robertson blanked the St. Louis farm team for 5.2 innings, striking out 11 and allowing 5 hits and 3 walks during that time. The Swing did not get on the board until Steve Hill put one over the left field wall off Danny Vias.

The 19-year-old starter from California has been extremely effective for the Twins farm since joining them half-way through the season. The 6-foot-5 lefty struck out 123 in 102 1/3 regular season innings while compiling a 2.29 ERA. Robertson will be making to look the jump to the Miracle for 2008.

A Joe Benson home single home run in the 5th added to Snappers lead. Rene Tosoni walked and Chris Parmelee doubled him in to make it 4-0.

Joe Lugo allowed a single in the 8th and a fielding error by Chris Cates put aonther runner on base. Slama was brought in to get the Snappers out of the jam, but Tyler Henley hit a home run to tie the game.

The Twins affiliated Snappers now await the winner of the Cedar Rapids/Clinton game which it tied at one game each after the Ranger affiliated Lumber Kings defeated the Angel affiliated Kernels 8-2 at home.

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In other Midwest Playoff news, West Michigan Whitecaps swept their series with the Lansing Lugnuts 6-3. This may prove good news for the Lakeland Flying Tigers after their poor showing this season, as they look forward to getting some of Detroit's top prospects from the White Caps. The Whitecaps will also wait for an opponant as South Bend evened their series with the Dayton Dragons with a 8-4 win.

Burke Badehop picked up the win as the Erie Sea Wolves evened their series with the Akron Aeros with a 9-6 win. Danny Worth as 3-for-5 in the series with a run while Jeffrey Larish drove in 5 runs for the Detroit farm team. Porland, who sneaked into the playoffs despite the Rock Cats best efforts to stop them, squeeked by the Trenton Thunder, 3-2 in 13 innings to even that series at one game each.

In the International League, the Scranton/WB Yankees tied up their series with the Richmond Braves. The Toledo Mud Hens saw an exit early as the Devil Ray affiliated Durham Bulls picked up a 9-5 win for a sweep of their series with the defending Governors' Cup chamions.

Morales gets the call: The Minnesota Twins planned to bring up former Miracle catcher Jose Morales from Triple-A Rochester before Friday night's game at the Chicago White Sox. The Twins made the announcement on Thursday, two days after backup catcher Mike Redmond strained a ligament in the middle finger of his left hand while swinging at a pitch. Joe Mauer has been out since Aug. 25 with a strained left hamstring. He jogged lightly on Wednesday, but was still sore and did not appear close to returning. Chris Heintz is the other catcher on the roster.

Manatees bouce back, Snappers blank Swing

St. Lucie 6 at Brevard County 7

W: K. Roberts (1-0, 0.00); L: J. Hietpas (0-1, 7.71)
HR: BRE: C. Errecart (1).

Brevard County rallied back at Spacecoast Stadium to tie the Eastern Divsion finals at one game each with the St. Lucie Mets. Lorenzo Cain was hit by a pitch to force in a run, tying the game. Mat Gamel then singled in Fredy Parejo to put the Manatees on top.

St. Lucie let through most of the game. An Ender Chavez line drive brought in Dan Murphy to put the Mets on the board in the second. Brevard tied it up in the bottom of the fourth when Gamel reached on a fielding error by Nick Evans, stole second and was plated by Chris Errecart's fly out.

A pair of doubles by Evans and Sean McCraw led to 5 Mets runs that chased Manatees starter Mike McClendon from the mound. The Manatees got back into the game though when Errecart's homer scored 3.

Kevin Roberts picked up the win, allowing 1 hit and walking 2 while striking out 5 in 2.2 innings worth of work. Joe Hietpas suffered the loss and a blown save for St. Lucie.

The final game of the series will be played Thursday night at Spacecoast Stadium.

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Wednesday's game FSL West Division Finals game between the Clearwater Threshers and the Sarasota Reds at Ed Smith Stadium was postponed due to rain. It will played Thursday, September 6 at 7:00 PM. The Reds lead the best-of-three series, 1-0.

Beloit 3 at Quad Cities 0

W: A. Burnett (1-0, 0.00); L: T. Herron (0-1, 8.10); SV: A. Slama (1)
HR: None.

Doubles by Steve Singleton, Rene Tosoni and Greg Yersich blew open a scoreless game between the Snappers and the Swing in the fourth inning of the first round of the MWL playoffs.

Beloit starter Alex Burnett worked through 5 innings, giving up 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5. The Snappers 3 run fourth saw the Swings' Tyler Herron exiting the mound after only 3.1 innings, with the runs comeing on 5 hits and 1 walk while he struck out 4.

Dan Leatherman worked 3 scoreless innings for the Snappers, while Anthony Slama went 3-up-3-dow, 2 on strike outs, in the ninth inning to pick up the save.

The series now shifts to Pohlman Field in Beloit for game two of the best-of-3 series. Southpaw Tyler Robertson, the Twins 3 round draft pick in 2006, is expected to step onto the mound for Beloit. The Swing will counter with righthander Brandon Dickson.

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Sarasota, St. Lucie take early FSL playoff leads

Sarasota 2 at Clearwater 0

W: B. Jukich (1-0, 0.00); L: A. Cruse (0-1, 3.00); SV: D. Lutz (1)

HR: SAR: C. Strait (1).

Sarasota ace Ben Jukich blanked the Clearwater Threshers for 7 innings at Bright House Networks Field and Cody Strait put a home run ball over the left field fence to lead the Reds to victory in game one of the West Division finals.

Jukich walked 2 and stuck out 5 before giving way to Sean Watson and Derrik Lutz who finished out the game. Clearwater only managed 2 hits agains the Reds staff.

Andrew Cruse took the loss for the Threshers, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks. He struck out 4 in 6 innings worth of work.

Strait's yarder came at the top of 4th inning for the Reds. Chris Valaika also scored a run in the top of the 5th off Eric Eymann's sac-fly.

Ron "Bear" Hill finished off the game for the Threshers, allowing 1 hit and striking out 3 in 3 innings. Jason Donald and Matt Thayer were the only Threshers to record hits.

The series now travels to Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota for games 2 on Wednesday. Zac Stott will take the start for Clearwater. The Reds will counter with Daryl Thompson.

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Brevard County 0 at St. Lucie 8

W: J. Niese (1-0, 0.00); L: D. Welch (0-1, 3.38)
HR: None.

In the East Division finals, the St. Lucie Mets pounded out 8 runs on 12 hits, pasting the Brevard County Manatees.

Jonathan Niese allowed only 1 hit and walked 2 through six innings while striking out 9. Cole Gillespie tripled in the top of the 4th with 2 outs for the Tees, but Chris Errecart struck out swinging to preserve Neise's no hitter.

Victor Mendez scored in the bottom of the 3rd off a Hector Pellot single give the Mets the only run they would need, but there would be plenty of insurace, as the Mets scored consistantly in through the next four innings.

Mendez was 2-for-3 with 1 run and 2 RBIs while Nick Evans was 2-for-4 with 2 runs and 1 RBI to lead the Mets. Catcher Sean McCraw and right fielder Ambiorix Conception were also 2-for-4 for the Mets, Conception with a run and an rbi in the contest. Pillot was 2-for-5 with 1 run and 1 RBI in the friendly confines of Tradition Field.

Gillespie was 2-for-3 for Brevard County; Darren Ford and Yohannis Perez had the other 2 hits for the Manatees.

David Welch suffered the loss, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3 in 5.1 innings.

The two teams meet tonight in Melbourne for game 2, with Mike McClendon taking to the Spacecoast Stadium mound for the home team, while St Lucie will send right hander Eric Brown.

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Snappers honor pitching duo: Starting pitchers Alex Burnett and Cole Devries shared the Beloit Snappers' Brophie Trophy Player of the Year award.

Alex Burnett went 9-8 with a 3.02 ERA in 27 starts this season. Burnett was second on the team in strikeouts with 117 and opponents batted a measly .239 against the right hander.

Burnett was drafted by the Twins in the 12th round of the 2005 draft. Alex is a graduate of Ocean View High School in California. In 2006 he led the Elizabethton Twins with 71 strikeouts and was second on the team with 71.1 innings pitched.

Cole Devries went 9-5 with a 3.41 ERA in 25 starts this year. Devries was second on team with 148 innings pitched and third on the team with 108 strikeouts.

Devries graduated from the University of Minnesota and signed with the Twins as a non-drafted free agent on August 22, 2006. As a junior with Minnesota, Cole was named Second-Team All-Big 10 while leading the team in both strikeouts (72) and ERA (2.42). Devries was also tied for the team lead in wins with seven.

Both are expected to be mainstays in the Miracle pitching staff for the 2008 season.

Blackwell

Toward the end of July (the 30th according to my records) when Dunedin came in here last, I made note of a reliever with a great kick. His name is Chad Blackwell and was the first time I had a look at him. They'd picked him up on July 7th from the independant Northern League Gary SouthSohre RailCats.

Blackwell was drafted in the 6th round of the 2004 draft by the Kansas City Royals. He pitched his rookie league season with and split time between Low and High A in 2005 within the Kansas City farm system. The Pirates acquired his rights as the player to be named along with Jonah Baylis for Mark Redman. Evidently there were some concerns with his arm after the 2005 season leading to an MRI that revealed nothing.

He appeared in 19 games in 2006 for Lynchburg and 4 for AA Altoona but then was evidently released by the Pirates and went into Indy ball to have his contract purchased in 2007 by the Blue Jays.

He throws from a low three-quarters angle but is not a true submarine pitcher. His fastball registers around 90 - Jeff-Jeff went and check on it for me - and he throws a slider and a change up, the latter helping him against lefty hitters. He's a strong groundball pitcher. What got me was the kick, he's got this odd little kick he does.

He was born in 1983 in Fort Lauderdale and lists his home town as Clewiston, Florida, making him a semi-local boy. He attended the University of South Carolina which once I found out about it, I mentioned it to Tom as one of "his" Gamecocks was pitching against my Miracle.

"Oh yeah? Which one?"

"Chad Blackwell".

"Relief pitcher isn't he? He was the best kid in the program while he was there."

That kind of surprised me. Tom's not usually up on baseball. Blackwell was a 3rd team College All- American relief pitcher in 2004 and a Southeastern conference All-star relief pitcher the same year, so perhaps there's a reason Tom remembers the kid, which has nothing to do with his odd little kick.

So with the Jays back in town for three games, I was trying to get his autograph last night. I did get quite a few of the Jays' players but couldn't find him until he got up on the mound to pitch. Darn it all anyway. I have to get the Jeroloman cards signed tonight, so perhaps he'll show around the dugout. But I think he snuck into the bullpen the back way last night, which is why I couldn't find him.

I probably need to make a mental note, not to get too entranced with relief pitchers anymore, as they are too hard to get graphs from. Brandon Magee, who's ranked like 5th in the Jays' organiztion by BA was easier to get. He signed both my cards and my ball. Why do the relievers feel the need to slink off to the bullpen when they've got fans looking for autographs?

Anyway. I'm amusing myself with Blackwell for the next couple of days. And I have some nice video for you too.



Gene was giving me a hard time about getting to many autographs from the other teams. "You, the ultimate Miracle fan." I replied that I never said I was the ultimate Miracle fan. Alternate Miracle fan maybe. Some people refer to me as a "so called fan" so I'll just go with that. I get the same treatment at the Blades games. If you're not 100% rabid about the team, then you're not a real fan.

I think I'm going to branch out a bit more next year anyway and pay more attention to the visiting teams. Much more entertaining than seeing the same old guys all the time. (Although, you know, I would never get tired of Toby.)

I expect the Jays will have a harder time with the Miracle tonight after Ray shut them out through 7 innings, so we'll see how it goes. I still expect the Jays to win, they Miracle generally have a hard time beating them, especially for the important games.