PawSox Hot Stove League Party

On Friday night it was time for an annual tradition, the Pawtucket Red Sox’ Hot Stove League Party.  The free event gives fans a chance to meet some of the top prospects in the organization, ask questions, and get autographs.  In the past few years it’s been held on a Saturday morning, but this time it was on a Friday night, which I found a lot more inconvenient.  My friends weren’t able to bring their kids because of all their after-school activities and sports, and I had to battle Friday evening traffic on Route 95, but I’m glad I was able to make it.  With fewer people in attendance it was certainly easier to navigate than the crowded Saturdays of years past.

Alex Wilson is one of the Red Sox' top pitching prospects. He spent most of last season in Double A, with a call-up to Triple A in August. He pitched well at both levels, and the Red Sox named him their minor league pitcher of the year.

It was a cold, blustery night, but baseball season was in full swing at McCoy Stadium.  (I joked that usually this event is held on the coldest morning of the year, but now they had somehow managed to find the coldest night of the year.)  My first stop was the batting tunnel, where the batting cages and workout equipment were moved out of the way.  Catcher Luis Exposito and pitchers Brandon Duckworth and Alex Wilson answered questions from fans in a session hosted by PawSox radio announcer Steve Hyder.  One fan asked each player what position he’d like to play if he could pick a different one.  Exposito said he’d like to be a pitcher, and Wilson said he’d be a centerfielder (”I’d have to be faster, but I could still throw people out.”)  Duckworth laughed and said, “DH.”  After the Q & A session, we were able to get autographs from all three players.  I had them sign a photo I had taken at a PawSox game a couple of years ago.

Luis Exposito and Brandon Duckworth sign autographs for fans. Exposito spent the whole 2011 season in Triple A after working his way up through the Red Sox organization. Duckworth has seen time in the majors with the Phillies, Astros, and Royals before signing with the Red Sox last spring.

When I was done in the batting tunnel, I went into the home clubhouse, where PawSox manager Arnie Beyeler and outfielder Alex Hassan were autographing.  After going through that line, I stuck around for their Q & A session, in which we learned that Hassan’s favorite players growing up in Milton, MA, were Manny Ramirez, Nomar Garciaparra, and Pedro Martinez.  (This made me feel old, since they’re players I rooted for as an adult, but I felt a little better later when I realized that I’m only a couple of years older than the journeyman Duckworth.)  Beyeler was asked about coaching third, a task performed by minor league managers.  He said he definitely hears about it from fans when a runner is thrown out at the plate, but that he also hears about it when he holds a runner at third, and that either way he’s just happy that the fans care enough to holler.

Alex Hassan's .404 OBP while playing in Double A Portland last year led all Red Sox minor leaguers in that category.

When the Q & A finished up, I headed into the visitors’ clubhouse, where the private restroom in the manager’s office had been designated as a ladies’ room, and then grabbed some chips and soda.  I stopped for a free hot dog out in the concourse, and then browsed through the many displays of photos and memorabilia that line the walls of the hallway on my way out.

Baseball signed by Dave Stapleton, who was the International League MVP in 1979.

Game 1 – Mets 6, Sea Dogs 4, 11 inn.

With the Red Sox on the road in Kansas City, Fenway Park played host to what is now an annual event, the Futures at Fenway minor league doubleheader.  It was my first time attending this event, and I was met by a friend and his 9- and 7-year-old sons, who were making their first trip to Fenway.  In a strange twist, it was a gorgeous, sunny day, but I’m sure that’s only because it was one of the few games where my seat was under cover.

Infielder Oscar Tejeda slides into second base. I was happy to see him in the game today, because he's a player I knew from Spring Training but he hadn't played in the Sea Dogs game I went to last month.

The first game pitted the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs against the Binghamton Mets.  Knuckleballer Charlie Haeger made the start, and despite allowing baserunners in every inning, he held the Mets scoreless through the first six frames.  The Sea Dogs were equally silent at the plate, with Alex Hassan’s two singles accounting for half his team’s hits in the first six innings.  Hassan, an outfielder, is originally from Milton, MA, and grew up a Red Sox fan.  We were sitting in left field, and I remarked to my friend how cool it must be for a kid who grew up outside of Boston to be here playing left field at Fenway.  No sooner had I made that comment, than a Binghamton player lined a hit off the Green Monster.  Hassan fielded it perfectly and got it back to the infield in time to hold the runner to a single.  My friend and I turned and almost in unison said, “And he knows how to play the Monster!”

Alex Hassan is outstanding in his field...

...and at the plate, where he reached base four times.

Haeger started to tire in the seventh when he issued three walks and a wild pitch, and he was further hurt by two errors.  That plated two runs for the Mets, and it brought Josh Fields in from the ‘pen.  Fields had been acquired at the trade deadline in the three-team deal that brought Erik Bedard to Boston.  He got out of the inning without any more damage, and stayed in to throw a scoreless eighth and ninth.

Phantom tag: Jonathan Hee is called "out" at second base, even though the stretching shortstop is about a foot away from the bag.

In the bottom of the eighth, Hassan continued his memorable afternoon by launching a two-run homer high over the wall in straightaway center field.  That tied the game at 2, and when the Sea Dogs couldn’t get anything done in the bottom of the ninth, the game headed to extra innings.  Neither team scored in the tenth, and I got to point out to the kids that the manual scoreboard on the Green Monster only has enough columns for 10 innings, and when they go beyond that they have to take all the numbers out and put the 11th inning linescore under the “1″.  (Both kids are so well-versed in Fenway history that this was the only new fact I was able to impart that day.)

Mitch Dening takes a big swing but comes up empty in his 7th inning at-bat.

With reliever Chris Martin into his second inning of work, the Mets ended up putting together three singles and a homer to score four runs in the top of the eleventh.  The Sea Dogs did finally get a rally going in the bottom of the eleventh, when Jonathan Hee’s single knocked in two runs, but it was too little, too late.

Game 2 – Chiefs 3, PawSox 1

Between innings we walked around the concourse to show the kids some of the historical displays, and then got something to eat.  Game 2 featured the Triple-A PawSox and the Washington Nationals’ affiliate, the Syracuse Chiefs.  Much to the 9-year-old’s chagrin, the Pawtucket starter was Kyle Weiland.  He’s been to several PawSox games this year, and almost all of them started with Weiland and all but one had ended in a loss.  This one started off on a much better note, with Daniel Nava lining a solo homer into the bullpen in the first inning.

Daniel Nava is congratulated by manager Arnie Beyeler after his first inning home run.

Besides Nava and Weiland, there were several other PawSox players whom I had seen play at Fenway before.  Lars Anderson and Ryan Kalish had seen time last year, with Jose Iglesias making his debut earlier this year.  Relievers Tommy Hottovy and Michael Bowden had also pitched in Boston before.

Weiland wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t exactly sharp either.  He had a lot of baserunners, and the Chiefs pushed across solo runs in the second, fifth, and sixth innings, before Jason Rice came on in relief.  At the plate, the PawSox couldn’t get anything going – or rather, every time they got something going, they got in their own way.  Three runners were caught stealing, and one was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double.  They also hit into three double plays.

Jose Iglesias takes a lead off first base after his sixth-inning single. Careful, Jose...

Oops, he's picked off!

As the evening wore on, we stayed in our seats in left field, until eventually we were the only people left in that section.  The usher even came over and made a joke that we must have fogotten to shower this morning since no one was sitting near us.  But we stuck it out, enjoying 20 innings of baseball on a warm day at America’s Most Beloved Ballpark.  The 9-year-old kept score for both games, just like me (and I only had to cheat off his scorecard a couple of times).  The 7-year-old spent the whole second game with his father’s camera, and wound up with over 300 pictures, also just like me.  Despite the fact that the PawSox never did come up with any additional offense, ending the day with two losses, a good time was had by all.

After attending Saturday afternoon’s exciting win over the Yankees, I got home around 9:30.  But at 10:30, I was on my way out again, this time headed to work for a midnight implementation.  (I work in IT, so many of our projects have to go in overnight, when computer usage is lowest.)  We finished up a little after 4 am, and I finally got home and went to sleep around 5.  But at 7:30, my alarm was going off and it was up and at ‘em, because I had to get to Pawtucket for my annual trip to McCoy Stadium.

I had gotten my tickets for this game from a friend who couldn’t use them when she moved out-of-state, and I invited a (different) friend’s nine-year-old, who’s a total diehard Red Sox fan.  It was pouring when we left his house, but he had packed his scorecard and a rain poncho (just like me!) and we headed out.  In the car, we chatted about the other PawSox games he’s been to this season, how it’s almost always been Kyle Weiland starting the game, and how they’ve almost always lost.  As luck would have it, Weiland was scheduled to start again today.

The grounds crew uses rollers to try to push a giant lake out of the outfield.

It had rained hard all night, and was still pouring as we found our seats and got our lunch.  Luckily the seats were far back enough under cover that we weren’t getting rained on, and we waited out the delay.  While we waited, he showed me his scorecards from his previous games, including the one win he had seen, which had come courtesy of a walk-off walk.  I showed him my scorecards from all the rain delayed games I’ve been to this year.

The game was originally supposed to be at 1:00, and even though the forecast didn’t look good, this was the last trip that Buffalo made into town, so with the PawSox in contention for a playoff spot they really wanted to try to get the game in.  At 1:30, the grounds crew started to take the tarp off, which at Fenway would have meant a 2:00 start.  But the PawSox have a smaller grounds crew, and there really was a lot of water on the field, so an hour later they were still at it.  Taking the tarp off the infield had resulted in a giant puddle/mini-lake in right field, and they had two guys with rollers trying to push the water into foul territory.  The warning track and the dirt paths leading from the dugout to the plate were reduced to mud puddles, and they emptied a whole truckload of bags of drying agent in front of each dugout.  And every time someone walked across the grass, we could see water splashing up with each step.

Shortly after 2:30, Weiland and his teammates came out and started stretching, which was a good sign that the game was finally getting underway.  (And with only 2½ hours of sleep, the sooner the better for me.)  But at 3:00, the announcement was made that the game was rained out.  Since there was no make-up game scheduled, we could trade the tickets in for any remaining game.  I tried to console the nine-year-old by saying that at least we had gotten to spend the afternoon at the ballpark, and that maybe when we went back we’d see someone other than Kyle Weiland.

IronBirds 1, Spinners 0, 11 inn.

LeLacheur Park in Lowell was the setting for tonight's game between the Spinners and the IronBirds.

The day after Jacoby Ellsbury’s walkoff hit, I went to Lowell to watch the short-season Single A Spinners take on the Aberdeen IronBirds, an affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.  I’m pretty familiar with the higher levels of the Red Sox organization, but I didn’t know many of the Spinners players coming in.  I had heard of left fielder Seth Schwindenhammer (who, if he makes the majors, would beat out Jarrod Saltalamacchia for longest last name in franchise history) and the Moanaroa brothers – first baseman Boss and outfielder (DHing tonight) Moko.  (There are also three Garcias on the roster – shortstop Jose, second baseman Joantoni a.k.a. “J.T.”, and pitcher Jason – but they’re not related.)  But the player who intrigued me the most was Matt Gedman, son of former Red Sox catcher Rich Gedman.  Rich now serves as hitting coach for the Spinners, and Matt plays third base.

Matt Gedman played third base. I did see his father the hitting coach in the dugout, but couldn't get any good pictures.

Luis Diaz was the starting pitcher, and between him and IronBirds starter Parker Bridwell, we were treated to a nice pitchers’ duel.  Both starters threw six scoreless innings, and in the middle of the sixth it was 8:20, only an hour and 15 minutes into the game.

Luis Diaz allowed only one hit and one walk over 6 scoreless innings.

On the offesnsive side, Schwindenhammer picked up two hits, Moko Moanoaroa had one hit, and center fielder Keury De La Cruz had three.  Those were the only Spinners hits of the day, and De La Cruz’s sixth inning double was the only extra-base hit.

When Diaz had finished his strong outing, Brandon Kapteyn followed with two more scoreless frames.  Mike McCarthy came on for the ninth, and after a leadoff walk got two consecutive 1-6 fielder’s choices and then a groundout to second to escape unscathed.  Schwindenhammer led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, but he was erased on a double play and the game headed for extra innings.

Both teams went down in order in the tenth, and McCarthy was on for his third inning of work in the eleventh.  He hadn’t given up any hits yet – in fact the entire Aberdeen lineup had only one hit all night – but with one out (a strikeout of Connor Narron that wound up getting Narron ejected) he hit Austin Knight.  The next batter was the #9 hitter in the IronBirds’ lineup, right fielder Kyle Hoppy, who had picked up his team’s lone hit in the third (before being caught stealing).  Hoppy hit a triple deep to right, and Knight bowled over Spinners catcher Jayson Hernandez to score the first run of the night.  The next batter hit a fly ball to shallow center, and Hoppy tagged up.  I was focusing the camera on home plate, so I missed whether he hesitated a bit or tried to go back, but when the throw came in, he was out by a mile, and that ended the inning without any further damage.

Jayson Hernandez tags out Kyle Hoppy in a collision in front of home plate to end the top of the eleventh.

In the bottom of the eleventh, Keury De La Cruz picked up his third hit of the night with a two-out single, but Schwindenhammer, who had two hits himself, stranded him there and the rally fell short.

The Spinners players put on their rally caps for the bottom of the eleventh, but it didn't work.

Even with extra innings, the game was still finished before 10:00.  When I got back to my car, the Red Sox/Indians game was still in progress, and they were tied 3-3 going into the bottom of the ninth.  In the ninth, Jacoby Ellsbury launched a walkoff home run into the center field stands, giving him walkoff hits in two straight games.

Rock Cats 5, Sea Dogs 4

While the Red Sox took on the Rays in their first series after the All-Star break, I traveled to Portland, Maine, for my annual look at the Double A affiliate Sea Dogs.  My family jokes that we know what day it’s going to rain based on when we have our Sea Dogs tickets, because it seems like every time I go there’s some sort of delay, if not an outright cancellation.  But this year surprised us all with beautiful weather, a perfect night for baseball.  I guess I was due for one eventually!

Chris Balcom-Miller went 6 innings and gave up 4 runs. And you wouldn't know it from looking at his uniform, but he plays for the Sea Dogs.

We were even more surprised when we saw the hideous special uniforms that the Sea Dogs were wearing that day.  It was “Shirts off their Backs” Night, where they raffle off their game-used uniforms afterward to benefit a charity.  Somehow I had managed to attend “Shirts off their Backs” Night last year too, but I’d much rather be watching – and photographing – them in their traditional garb.  I’m not a fan of alternate uniforms to start with, but I particularly didn’t like that they weren’t even in the team’s colors.  They still had their red shirts on underneath, and blue hats, so it just looked weird.  Making it even stranger was the fact that the New Britain Rock Cats, an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, were wearing red uniform tops.  It took us a few innings to adjust to cheering against a red-uniformed team in favor of a team wearing uniforms more suited for the Miami Dolphins.

Attention, internet image searchers of the future who find this picture of shortstop Heiker Meneses: This is not what Portland Sea Dogs uniforms look like.

Today’s starter, Chris Balcom-Miller, is the player the Red Sox obtained when they traded Manny Delcarmen to the Rockies last year.  He did fine in the first inning, but in the second, the Rock Cats got 3 runs on 4 hits, a walk, two wild pitches, and a passed ball.  From there he settled down, but there was at least one baserunner in every inning.  Balcom-Miller was helped by his defense too, with catcher Matt Spring throwing out an attempted base-stealer in the fourth, and center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker making a diving catch in the fifth.

The Sea Dogs take on the Rock Cats on a sunny evening in Portland.

Given that we play the Twins a lot in Spring Training, and that my Sea Dogs game last year was also against the Rock Cats, a lot of the opposing players were familiar to me too.  One player I hadn’t heard of was New Britain’s starter, Deinys Suarez.  But Suarez made quick work of the Sea Dogs lineup, staying perfect through the first four innings.  Right fielder Chih-Hsien Chiang’s single leading off the fifth was the first  hit of the day for Portland.  Luckily it was followed by doubles from Matt Spring and Mitch Dening, the latter of which drove in two runs and made it a 3-2 score.

Left fielder Mitch Dening and center fielder Jeremy Hazelbaker jog in at the end of an inning.

The Rock Cats got another run off Balcom-Miller in the sixth, but seventh inning doubles by Chiang and third baseman Will Middlebrooks, and another big hit by Dening, tied the game at 4-4.  Right-handed reliever Michael Lee started the seventh, and when he ran into trouble in the eighth, he was bailed out by lefty Kyle Fernandes.

The tie continued into the ninth with Fernandes still on the mound.  A one-out hit batsman put a runner on, and then a single misplayed by Hazelbaker for an error resulted in runners at second and third.  Fernandes got out of the inning with two fly balls, but unfortunately one of them was a sac fly that plated the go-ahead run.  Chiang walked to lead off the bottom of the ninth, but New Britain reliever Matt Schuld struck out the side to end the game.

In the Boston area, we’ve had more snow this January than we normally get in a whole winter.  So when the opportunity came to think baseball for a day, I jumped at the chance, even though I was supposed to be home preparing to host a dinner party that night.  The PawSox Hot Stove Party is an annual event that’s been going on for over 30 years, but I just found out about it last year.  Some of the top prospects in the organization are on hand, holding Q & A sessions and signing autographs for fans.  The best part is that the whole event – including parking and food – is free.

Jason Rice, Stephen Fife, and Robert Coello sign autographs for fans.

While waiting in the line outside before the start of the event, I bumped into a friend and two of his kids.  His brother joined them later too.  Our first stop was the batting tunnel, where three pitchers – Robert Coello, Stephen Fife, and Jason Rice – were assembled.  Originally drafted by the Reds as a catcher, Coello converted to a pitcher and was playing in the independent leagues a couple of years ago when he signed with the Red Sox.  He got into a handful of games with the Red Sox last September, but is likely headed back to Pawtucket for the 2011 season.  Fife, a starter, and Rice, a closer, both pitched for the Sea Dogs last year and hope to earn promotions to Pawtucket.

Robert Coello answers a question.

First there was a Q & A session with the three pitchers.  One kid asked what it’s like to be called up to the majors.  Coello is the only one of the three who’s had that chance, so he answered that it was a very special feeling and he called all his family and friends.  Fife added that getting a promotion to any new level is exciting.  Rice quipped, “I don’t know what it’s like yet, but I’ll probably faint.”  Then they were asked which major leaguer they’d most like to strike out.  Rice and Coello both said A-Rod; Fife picked Mark Teixeira.  All three got applause from the partisan crowd for their responses.  After the interrogation, we got to get autographs from the players.  I brought a print-out of a panoramic photo of McCoy Stadium that I had taken at a game last year, and both Coello and Fife admired the picture before signing it.

Jason Rice and Stephen Fife.

From there we moved into the visitors’ clubhouse, where we found new PawSox manager Arnie Beyeler and catching prospect Ryan Lavarnway.  Beyeler has managed the Sea Dogs for the past four years, and was promoted to Pawtucket when Torey Lovullo left to join John Farrell’s coaching staff with the Blue Jays.  Lavarnway split the 2010 season between Single-A Salem and Double-A Portland.  They also took questions from fans before signing autographs.

Arnie Beyeler and Ryan Lavarnway.

After seeing all the players, we stopped for some free hot dogs, chips, and soda.  I enjoyed looking at the extensive memorabilia collection that lines the walls of the hallway on the way out.  Before leaving, we got a chance to step into one of the luxury boxes and take a look at the field, blanketed under a layer of snow.

With Opening Day over two months away, McCoy Stadium's field is covered in snow.

I was glad that the lines seemed to be better organized than last year, so it didn’t take all day to get through both rooms.  I was able to get my baseball fix in the morning, and still had time to finish cleaning the house and make guacamole before my dinner guests arrived.

PawSox 5, Mud Hens 4, 10 inn.

With the Red Sox off on a west coast road trip and my next game at Fenway two weeks away, it was the perfect time to head to Pawtucket to check out the Triple-A team.  When Jeremy Hermida returned from the disabled list, Daniel Nava was sent back down, and this was his first game back with the PawSox after his impressive major league debut.  I had missed Hermida, Josh Beckett, Mike Cameron, and Jed Lowrie playing in rehab stints with Pawtucket earlier in the week, but tonight was the first rehab game for Mike Lowell as he tried to work his way back from his latest hip injury.

The PawSox dugout included Daniel Nava (left), Tug Hulett (3rd from left), Lars Anderson (4th from left), Mike Lowell (standing), and Gil Velazquez (right).

On the mound was Ramon A. Ramirez (no relation to the Ramon Ramirez in the Boston bullpen), whom I had seen in Spring Training.  He had a shaky first inning, with two doubles, a wild pitch, and a single plating 2 runs for the Toledo Mud Hens, an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers.  A solo homer in the second put the PawSox in a 3-0 hole.

Centerfielder Ryan Kalish had singled and stolen a base in the first, and he picked up his second hit of the day in the third inning.  Shortstop Niuman Romero, who had spent a few days in the big leagues earlier in the month, followed with a single.  Daniel Nava was next, and he worked a 3-2 count.  Right fielder Nava was fresh off a flight to rejoin the team, and along with Lowell he was getting the biggest cheers of the night.  The cheers got even louder when he drove the full-count pitch over the left field fence to tie the game.

Daniel Nava is greeted at home plate after his game-tying homer.

Ramirez pitched into the fifth inning, when he was replaced by Tommy Hottovy.  Hottovy went 2-2/3 innings and was not exactly a groundball pitcher – of his 8 outs, 2 were strikeouts and 6 were fly balls.  There was one other fly ball in there too, a homer that gave the Mud Hens a 4-3 lead.

McCoy Stadium panorama.

With one out in the bottom of the seventh, second baseman Tug Hulett doubled and third baseman Gil Velazquez singled.  That set up a sac fly by Ryan Kalish that tied the game back up again.  Robert Manuel, who had been called up to Boston for a handful of games earlier in the month, came on to pitch the eighth.  He ended up going three innings, and each time he put the leadoff hitter on but didn’t allow the runner to advance.  Catcher Mark Wagner, who had been on the PawSox D.L. when both major league catchers were injured last month but had recently returned, threw out a would-be base-stealer in the eighth to help Manuel out.

In the bottom of the ninth, Gil Velazquez walked, but he was stranded and the game headed to extra innings.  It had been a slow-paced affair so it was already well past the 3-hour mark, and a lot of people left.  I took the opportunity to move down to a really close seat just beyond the backstop screen.  As I settled in, Manuel gave up a leadoff double, but he struck out the next three batters to get out of it.

Rehabbing fan-favorite Mike Lowell singled in the bottom of the tenth.

Daniel Nava walked to lead off the bottom of the tenth, bringing up Mike Lowell.  He had gone 0-for-4 as the DH so far, but now he lined a hit into center field.  When the centerfielder bobbled it momentarily, it looked like Nava would be able to cruise all the way around to complete a storybook return for Lowell.  But the ball didn’t get far and he was held at third, with Mikey stopping at first on a single.  We gave Lowell a standing ovation when he returned to the dugout after being replaced by pinch-runner Argenis Reyes.  That brought up first baseman Lars Anderson.  He lashed the ball down the right field line.  At first I thought it had gone foul, but it was ruled fair, and Nava scored easily for the walk-off win.

Lars Anderson's teammates congratulate him after his walk-off hit.

My original plan when I chose this game was that it would end around 10:00, just as the Red Sox game would be starting in Seattle.  But with the PawSox game moving slowly and then going extra innings, it was 11:00 by the time I got back to my car.  I called my parents on my walk back to the parking lot and they told me that the Red Sox game was already in the third inning, and they had just taken a 3-1 lead.  As I listened to the radio on the way home, John Lackey was mowing down the Mariners lineup in a fast-paced game.  By the time I got home, that game was already in the sixth, and he hadn’t allowed a hit yet.  He made it until two outs into the eighth, when Josh Bard broke up the no-hit bid.  But the drama didn’t end there – the bullpen completely melted down, the Mariners tied it up, and it took a 2-run double by Eric Patterson in the 13th inning to finally give the Red Sox the victory.  That capped a fun day for me with 23 total innings of baseball and two exciting wins.

My seats in Pawtucket were fantastic (the original one plus the one I moved down to) and I got a lot of great pictures at the game.  See more in my album on Flickr.

Spinners 3, Cyclones 2

With the Red Sox off for the All-Star break, I got a chance to go see the short-season Single-A Lowell Spinners.  Jed Lowrie had just begun his rehab with the team, as he worked his way back after coming down with mono in Spring Training.  (Triple-A catcher Dusty Brown was also listed on the roster as being there on a rehab assignment, but we didn’t see him.)  The only other players I knew of were third baseman Kolbrin Vitek and right fielder Bryce Brentz, who were the Red Sox’ top two picks in last month’s draft.  I also recognized Spinners hitting coach George Lombard, the former major leaguer who had been with the Red Sox in Spring Training of 2005 and played for the Triple-A PawSox that year.

Keith Couch fires a pitch in the first inning. Behind him on the basepaths is Rylan Sandoval, whom he'd throw out trying to steal home a couple of innings later.

Keith Couch was the starting pitcher for the Spinners, and after allowing singles to the first two batters, he got out of the inning unscathed and then cruised through the second.  In the third, there was a little trouble again.  The Brooklyn Cyclones (an affiliate of the Mets) had runners at the corners with two outs, when the runner on third, Rylan Sandoval, tried to steal home.  Couch threw to catcher Chia-Chu Chen in time to tag him out at the plate and end the inning.  There was another play at the plate in the following inning, when left fielder Brandon Jacobs and shortstop James Kang teamed up to throw out a runner attempting to score from first on a double.  The Spinners’ good defense helped keep the game scoreless through the first five innings.

It was a well-played game which was entertaining in its own right, but being the low minors, the Spinners feel compelled to do some kind of goofy gimmick in between every half-inning.  Besides the usual wrestling matches between kids in oversized Sumo costumes and “dizzy bat” races, tonight we were subjected to Chicken Man USA.  It was a guy with a bunch of chickens who was set up in the concourse right behind our seats, so we could hear the roosters crowing beginning in the National Anthem and continuing throughout the game.  One of the chickens was perched on a step ladder to watch the game.  Between innings, Chicken Man was announced on the field, and one of his chickens rode around in a remote control truck in front of the dugout.

Jed Lowrie reacts with a laugh after his second long fly ball is caught on the warning track.

Jed Lowrie’s first two plate appearances will show up as routine outs in the box score, but both were long drives deep to the warning track which were caught by the centerfielder just in front of the wall.  As Lowrie returned to the dugout, his expression seemed to say, “What do I have to do to get it out of here?”  (Lowrie was wearing Spinners uniform #7, but I noticed he had his Red Sox batting helmet with his customary #12 on the back and the Boston “B” on the front.)  His next at-bat came in the sixth, with one out and runners at first and second.  He grounded out to first, but both runners were able to move up, setting up a 2-run single by Bryce Brentz which gave the Spinners the lead.

Bryce Brentz takes a lead off first base after his big 2-run single.

The Cyclones chipped away with a run in the seventh, but Lowell got the run back in the bottom of the inning when second baseman Nick Robinson singled after two batters ahead of him had walked.  In the eighth, the Spinners made an announcement that David Ortiz had progressed to the semi-final round of the Home Run Derby that was taking place in Anaheim that night.

It was a nice night and a well-played game at LeLacheur Park.

Brooklyn scored a run in the ninth on three straight singles, but Tyler Lockwood was able to get Sandoval to ground out to end the game.  I listened to the end of the Home Run Derby on the radio in the car on the way home (if you think it’s hard to watch 3 hours of homers and outs on TV, it’s even lamer on the radio!) and Big Papi had just wrapped up his victory when I got home.

Rock Cats 7, Sea Dogs 6

The Red Sox were playing their final series before the All-Star break on the road in Toronto, and I hit the road for my annual trip to see the Sea Dogs.  It seems every time I go to Portland it rains, and this year was no exception.  It poured all the way up, as I listened to a terrible Red Sox loss on the radio in the car.  When I got to Portland for the 6:05 game, it was down to a drizzle, but we had to wait through an hour-and-a-half rain delay before finally getting started.

With top prospect Casey Kelly scheduled to pitch the next day, it was Kyle Weiland’s turn in the rotation for this game.  He was one of the prospects I saw at the PawSox Hot Stove Party in January.  I was also familiar with the top four batters in the lineup – centerfielder Che-Hsuan Lin, second baseman Nate Spears, shortstop Yamaico Navarro, and catcher Luis Exposito – from Spring Training.

Kyle Weiland started the game for the Sea Dogs.

Weiland may have altered his pre-game routine because of the rain delay, or he may be one of those guys who has trouble settling in for the first inning, but whatever the reason, he struggled out of the gate.  The first four batters all had hits, and after a double play, the next five batters also reached safely.  There was even a wild pitch and a balk thrown in for good measure.  The tally at the end of the inning: 5 runs, 7 hits, 2 walks, 3 LOB.

There was no rain during the game, and we got to enjoy a beautiful sunset over the "Maine Monster".

Weiland made quick work of the New Britain Rock Cats (a Twins affiliate) in the second, retiring the side in order on just 7 pitches.  In fact, he stayed in through the fifth, and didn’t allow any baserunners after the first.  And while he was keeping the Rock Cats from any further scoring, his teammates were busy taking him off the hook.

Leadoff hitter Che-Hsuan Lin had two hits for the Sea Dogs.

Nate Spears hit a 2-run homer in the third inning to get the Sea Dogs on the board.  Matt Sheely followed Ray Chang’s double with an RBI triple in the fourth.  In the fifth, first baseman Anthony Rizzo came to the plate with a runner on and the Sea Dogs trailing by two.  He drilled a long fly down the right field line.  It had home run distance but was ruled foul.  No problem – he hit the next pitch he saw even deeper, and kept it fair this time, tying the game.

DH Luis Segovia warms up in the on-deck circle. He reached on an error and scored the Sea Dogs' first run.

Eammon Portice came on to relieve Weiland in the sixth and struck out the side.  In the bottom of the inning, Yamaico Navarro launched a home run into the screen over the left field wall, giving the Sea Dogs a 6-5 lead.  It was all good until Portice reached his third inning of work, when he gave up a 2-run homer and the lead.  The Sea Dogs had a chance for one last comeback in the bottom of the ninth, with runners at first and second and one out.  But Navarro struck out, and cleanup hitter Luis Exposito, who already had 3 hits and a walk, popped up to end the game.

Even though the home team ended up falling short, it was a nice night for baseball at Portland's Hadlock Field.

PawSox Hot Stove Party

It’s still over a month before I head to Spring Training, so when I heard about the PawSox Hot Stove Party this weekend I jumped at the chance to go.  Although it was my first time in attendance, it was the 33rd year that the Red Sox’ Triple-A team has put on the event.  Some of the top prospects in the organization were on hand for autographs and Q & A sessions, and it was all – including parking, food, and drink – free.

There was no traffic, so I made it to Pawtucket in record time and waited in a line outside for the gates to open.  The morning was cold, so it was nice that the events took place indoors, in the home clubhouse, the visiting clubhouse, and the batting tunnel.

Top pitching prospect Casey Kelly fields questions.

First I went into the batting tunnel, where the batting cages and workout equipment were stowed out of the way in the back of the room.  Pitchers Casey Kelly, Felix Doubront, and Randor Bierd, along with infielder Jeff Natale, fielded questions from the fans.  Most of the questions were directed to Kelly, the much-hyped 20-year-old who projects to open the season in Double-A Portland, and centered on his decision to focus on pitching full-time after splitting time between shortstop and the mound last year, and how having a father who played Major League baseball (Pat Kelly) has helped him prepare.  After the Q & A, we got in line for autographs.  I had them sign a photo I had taken at a PawSox game last summer.

Junichi Tazawa answers a question with help from his interpreter.

In the next room were pitchers Kyle Weiland and Junichi Tazawa, outfielder Ryan Kalish, and new PawSox manager Torey Lovullo.  Tazawa used a translator for long answers, but he answered short questions himself – like his favorite Major League player (Daisuke Matsuzaka, to no one’s great surprise) and what other sports he played growing up (swimming).

Outfielder Ryan Kalish is one of the top prospects in the organization.

In between autograph rooms, I grabbed a free hotdog and water bottle.  The only problem with the event was that there were so many people that the lines for each room stretched out into the narrow hallways, where it was impossible to tell where one line stopped and another one started.  That led to a lot of confusion and (mostly unintentional) cutting in line that made it take longer than it should have to get into each room.  It seemed smoother toward the end when they had people to delineate and enforce the lines, and it’s probably because there were so many people, but I was still surprised that it took me 2½ hours to finish with both lines.

One of the displays in the corridors leading to the clubhouse.

On my way out, I took the time to look at a couple of the displays that covered the hallway walls.  They had a lot of pictures and memorabilia to commemorate the important players and events since Ben Mondor bought the team in 1977, like no-hitters and perfect games, an International League championship, the longest game ever played, and alumni who have gone on the the Hall of Fame.  One display I found interesting commemorated Mondor’s inclusion in the Red Sox Hall of Fame, which involved a pre-game ceremony at Fenway in 2004.  I went to that game – it ended with a 12th-inning walk-off home run by Dave McCarty – so I couldn’t resist taking a picture of the framed “I was there – Ben Mondor Day – Fenway Park – May 30, 2004″ t-shirt.

For additional pictures of the players and memorabilia, see my photos on Flickr.