Minor League Update — 6/11/09

Buffalo Bisons (AAA):
18-39 (16.0 games back)

DUR 5 @ BUF 13

The Bisons beat up on the Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Ras), scoring 13 runs on 15 hits, seven walks and five errors. Ray Olmedo, Durham’s shortstop, committed four of those errors, including three on two consecutive balls in playin the bottom of the eighth inning. Chris Nowak led the Bulls offense, driving in four runs on a triple, a double and a single.

• Today was the offense’s first game under new hitting coach Bill Masse, who the organization promoted from AA Binghamton; this has already become the organization’s best transaction of the season
• Cory Sullivan scored two runs and drove in a two more on four hits (three singles and a double)
• Jesus Feliciano also drove in two runs and had three hits of his own
• Wily Mo Pena hit a pair of doubles and drove in three runs, however, he made a fielding error as the team’s first baseman
• Luis Rivera had three hits of his own and drove in a pair
• Lance Broadway, acquired from the White Sox in the Ramon Castro trade, gave up three hits, six walks and four runs (three earned)
• Adam Bostick, recently promoted from Binghamton, pitched a perfect ninth inning; Bostick distinguishes himself by dragging his foot across the foul line as he leaves the mound and heads to the dugout –the exact opposite of players who have actually succeeded in professional baseball

Binghamton Mets (AA):
24-34 (9.0 games back)

HAR 16 @ BIN 2

Tonight’s game between the B-Mets and the Harrisburg Senators (Washington Nationals) was completed in the eighth inning due to the weather (rain), but the game might as well have ended out of mercy. Jemel Spearman and Marvin Lowrance each hit home runs for the new “Murderer’s Row.”

• Today was the offense’s first game under new hitting coach Luis Natera, who the organization demoted from AAA Buffalo; Natera was Binghamton’s hitting coach last season and, in his 17th season in the organization, is apparently to blame for Buffalo’s terrible offense
• Emmanuel Garcia had a double, a single and scored a run as Binghamton’s lead off hitter
• Nick Evans batted third and had an RBI double in four at bats
• Ruben Tejada had a pair of singles in three at bats and now has a 10-game hitting streak (batting .353 in that stretch)
• Josh Thole did not start or play in today’s game, which, according to the latest SABRmetric, accounted for 92.7% of the blowout
• Jenrry Mejia gave up four runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks in four innings, he struck out four and has a 1.64 ERA since his promotion
• Nick Abel was impressive, allowing only 10 runs (all earned) on 11 hits and two walks, he struck out four over 2.1 innings and now has a 10.44 ERA

St. Lucie Mets (A+):
29-27 (7.5 game back)

TAM 4 @ STL 9

The Tampa Yankees (New York Yankees) attempted to come back from an early 7-1 defecit, but the St. Lucie pitching staff held on for the 9-4 win. Adam Olbrychowski, who will hopefully never play for a team that displays player names on the back of jerseys, threw three scoreless innings of relief for the Yankees to keep the game in reach during the comeback attempt.

• Zach Lutz scored a pair of runs while collecting two hits in four at bats
• Carlos Guzman only had one hit, but it was a two-run single in the bottom of the first inning
• Matt Bouchard had three hits, including a double, as St. Lucie’s shortstop
• Brant Rustich allowed a run (earned) on two hits and two walks in only three innings, he struck out three but left the game after allowing a leadoff triple in the fourth

Savannah Sand Gnats (A):
28-32 (7.5 games back)

ROM 2 @ SAV 3

The Rome Braves (Atlanta Braves) tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the eighth inning on a two-out RBI single by Braeden Schlehuber, who had a fantastic night at the plate against Savannah on Tuesday, but the Sand Gnats reclaimed the lead in the bottom half of the inning and held on for a 3-2 win.

• Sean Ratliff, who has really cooled off from his red hot start, went 2 for 4 with a triple and a run scored
• Wilmer Flores also had two hits, including an RBI single
• Jeurys Familia, who should have played with the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates, allowed a run (unearned) on three hits in six innings, he struck out six and now has a 3.11 ERA

Minor League Update — 6/1/09

Buffalo Bisons (AAA):
14-35 (17.0 games back)

Jon Niese was surprisingly sturdy on the mound, but ended up an unimpressive line and the Bisons dropped the series finale with the Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Rays) by a final score of 6-4. John Jaso, Durham’s catcher today, homered and scored two of the Bulls runs. Durham’s shortstop, the recently promoted Brandon Chaves, had two hits –one being a two-run double.

• Cory Sullivan extended his hitting streak to nine games with a pair of hits in the loss
• Jonathan Malo started at shorstop and went 2 for 4; Alex Cora had the day off and will likely rejoin the New York Mets in time for Tuesday’s game
• Jon Niese pitched 6.1 innings and allowed six runs (all earned) on seven hits and a walk; he struck out six and, despite the results, appeared to have a better attack against the AAA batters
• Lance Broadway debuted for the Buffalos and gave up a hit in 0.2 innings; he should be judged, from here on out, entirely on his profile picture

Binghamton Mets (AA):
22-26 (5.0 games back)

The B-Mets tied tonight’s game against the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox) at 8-8 with two runs in the top of the eighth inning and then stole the game in the tenth inning. With Lucas Duda up to bat, Nick Evans stole home plate in the 10th inning with Josh Thole also running, swiping second base and then advancing to third on the throw. Duda then drove in Thole with a single to right, putting the B-Mets up 10-8, which was the final score.

• Josh Thole had a hit and a walk in six plate appearances, he scored two runs and stole his third base of the season
• Luscas Duda had a sacrifice fly, and an RBI single and four walks; he now has 34 walks for the season and is one behind the league co-leaders in that category
• Ruben Tejada went 0 for 2, but drew three walks and scored three runs
• Carl Loadenthal hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning, his first of the season
• Michael Antonini pitched 4.2 innings and allowed seven runs (all earned) on eight hits and three walks; Antonini’s ERA now stands at 5.95 for the season

St. Lucie Mets (A+):
24-22 (6.5 game back)

The St. Lucie Mets threw out another impressive arm to shut down the Clearwater Thrashers (Philadelphia Phillies), winning today’s game 4-1. Jenrry Mejia dominated Clearwater for 6.2 innings and then gave way to Edgar Ramirez, who threw 2.1 hitless innings. Clearwater knocked Mejia out after a barrage of singles in the seventh, whic lead to the team’s only run of the day.

• Zach Lutz hit two doubles and drove in three runs for the Mets today; he has a solid .184 IsoP for 2009
• Matt Bouchard, starting in place of Reese Havens at shortstop, hit a solo home run in the fifth inning
• Havens was absent from the lineup again and the organizatio has not released a statement
• Jenrry Mejia allowed a run (earned) on six hits and  a walk over 6.2 innings; he struck out three and now has a 1.97 ERA for the season

Savannah Sand Gnats (A):
25-25 (3.0 games back)

The Sand Gnats did not play a game today, but start a series hosting the Charleston RiverDogs (New York Yankees) on Tuesday.

• Sean Ratliff, who is having a monster season, leads the club with an .859 OPS and five home runs; however, he already has 51 strikeouts on the season and only 14 walks
• Wilmer Flores is having an impressive first season in full-season baseball; the young shortstop, often compared to Miguel Cabrera in terms of potential, is batting .263/.308/.327/.635 and is still only 17-years-old
• Jefry Marte, also only 17-years-old, is struggling with the Sand Gnats and is hitting just .203/.243/.310/.553 with 53 strikeouts and 21 errors –the rest of the team has just 29 errors combined
• Jeurys Familia has a 2.92 ERA and is 19-years-old; that’s all you need to know about him
• The Mets assigned Aderlin Rodriguez, a third baseman from the Dominican Republic, to the Gulf Coast Mets; at 6-foot-3 and weighing 220 pounds, Rodriguez has scouts drooling over his potential power

Minor League Update — 5/27/09

Buffalo Bisons (AAA):
13-31 (15.5 games back)

Jon Niese’s AAA struggles continued tonight, as he allowed five earned runs over six innings in a 5-3 against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Philadelphia Phillies). Kyle Kendrick started the game for the IronPigs and allowed just three runs over his six innings of work, the IronPigs bullpen threw three hitless innings in relief of Kendrick. The two teams finish their three-game series tomorrow with a 1:05 p.m. game.

• Argenis Reyes, batting leadoff and playing shortstop, had two hits in four at bats and is now batting .283 for the season
• Javier Valentin, getting the start at third base, had one hit on the night while batting third in the order, Fernando Martinez usual batting spot while in Buffalo
• Jon Niese pitched six innings and allowed five runs (all earned) on seven hits and three walks; Niese struck out two, but gave up two home runs; the performance lowered his ERA from 8.06 to 7.96
• Robinson Cancel batted as the tying run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but he flew out to center field

Binghamton Mets (AA):
20-23 (4.0 games back)

The Binghamton Mets used late inning magic to win another extra-inning game from the first place Connecticut Defenders (San Francisco Giants). Binghamton trailed 5-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth, but scored a run on a suicide squeeze laid down by shortstop Ruben Tejaeda. Connecticut turned to its perfect closer, Dan Otero (he had not allowed a run or blown a save heading into the game), in the bottom of the ninth inning. Otero struck out Nick Evans swinging and caught Lucas Duda looking to begin the ninth, but then gave up three consecutive singles to Shawn Bowman, D.J. Wabick, and Jose Corondao to blow the save. Binghamton won it in the 11th on an errant throw by pitcher Dan Griffin, who was attempting to turn a groundball into a force out at third.

• Josh Thole had an off night with just one hit in six at bats; he is now second in the league with a .349 batting average
• Lucas Duda had two hits in five at bats and drew a walk; he now ranks third in the league in walks (26)
• D.J. Wabick, Jose Coronado and Ruben Tejada (who played second base tonight) all had three hits; Coronado and Tejada each drove in two runs
• Michael Antonini allowed four runs (all earned) on five hits and two walks in 6.1 innings, he struck out eight and now has a 5.02 ERA for the season (4.88 heading into the game)

St. Lucie Mets (A+):
21-21 (7.0 game back)

The St. Lucie Mets played a double header with the first place Brevard County Manatees (Milwaukee Brewers) tonight. Each game was scheduled to last seven innings, however, it took the Manatees eight innings to win game one by the final score of 6-5. St. Lucie hit three home runs in the game (Daniel Stegall in the third, Zach Lutz in the fifth, and Brahiam Maldonado in the sixth.St. Lucie bounced back to win game two 5-0 behind a brilliant performance by starting pitcher Eric Niesen.

• Ike Davis struggled in today’s first game, going 0 for 4 at the plate, but rebounded for two hits, including a double, a walk and two runs batted in in the second game
• Reese Havens had two hits and scored two runs in the double header
• Zach Lutz home run in the fifth inning of game one came with two men on base, at the time it gave St. Lucie a 4-3 lead
• Jenrry Mejia pitched four innings in the first game and struck out eight; however, he left after allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and four walks; the 18-year-old has a 2.06 ERA this season
• Eric Niesen pitched six shutout innings in the second game of the double header, striking out six and only allowing two walks and five hits, he has a 2.16 ERA for the year

Savannah Sand Gnats (A):
23-22 (2.5 games back)

The Sand Gnats scored a run in the bottom of the first inning and made it hold into the ninth, but the Lexington Legends (Houston Astros) scored three times in the top of the ninth inning and won the game 3-1. Savannah scored its run on an RBI single by Sean Ratliff, the team had nine more hits to follow but was incapable of scoring another run. Lexington scored their runs on a fielder’s choice, an infield single and a bases loaded walk.

• Jefry Marte was hitless in five at bats and is now batting just .190 for the season; Marte turns 18 on fathers day and may not be ready for long season baseball
• Sean Ratliff had two hits in four at bats and drove in the team’s only run
• Wilmer Flores continues to heat up, collecting another two hits on the night; the 17-year-old is now batting .255 for the 2009 season
• Jeffrey Kaplan pitched 7.2 scoreless innings, allowing six hits and two walks while striking out three; Kaplan has a 1.05 ERA for the seaosn