Thursday, August 21, 2008

8-21 CUP O' JO

Time for some serious catch-up! The vacation is over, my parents' anniversary party has been celebrated and the back to school paperwork is complete. I am gonna sit here at the computer and not even touch that new iPhone until the Pearls are up to date. No matter how sweetly it chirps at me. Trust me. iPhones are not productivity boosters.

OK... I'm a big fan of John Jackson at the Argus Courier, but he gave all the props to our town's past football greats in his column today. To compensate for that extreme oversight, I will give the PTown baseball boys an extra special dose of love in The Pearls. And expect an errata from JJ in the paper next week ;-)

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE LAST 10 DAYS:

Joey Gomes is gunning for the playoffs, batting .750 in the last 5 games. He earned Player Of The Game honors from the local radio station each of those nights. His hot streak includes a walk off single, a 3-3 night, and 2 run home runs on two consecutive nights. The radio guy yacked about it for 5 minutes, saying it was the longest shot in recent years . Love that! Gotta think Joey is almost a lock for Player Of The Week honors for the second time this month. Last weekend, the Skipper called several guys out for "mailin' it in" on a team just a few games out of contention. Wally delivered the Tough Love and Joey picked 'em back up on their way out of his office. The Hammers have played much better ball the last few days. A playoff berth will take all they've got with only 10 more games to make up a 3 game deficit.

Tommy Everidge still tearing it up. He's hitting .279 and the Rockhounds have overtaken Frisco for the Division lead with a 5 game win streak.

Konrad Schmidt still hitting north of .300. Wait til you see his split vs. RHP. Woo!

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JOEY GOMES - OF, Joliet Jackhammers, Northern League - IND
As of 8-20-08 Joey is batting .301 with 92 hits, 18 doubles, 13 home runs, 51 RBIs and 6 stolen bases. His OBP is .394.

8-20 v. Gary Railcats:
2-3 with an RBI single and a walk in a 13-3 loss. Joliet(38-48) is 4 and 6 in their last 10 with a 1 game losing streak. They are 17 games back and 8 games ahead of Diamond Jim Gentle and his cellar dwellers.

Hammer Chatter:
Last Sunday the Jackhammers raised $23,000 in a St. Baldricks Foundation Children's Cancer Event. Six big hearted Hammers shaved their heads in support of the effort. No surprise that Joey was one of them.


CHAD FILLINGER - P, Joliet Jackhammers, Northern League - IND
As of 8-20-08: Chad's record is 4-5 with a 3.79 ERA in 40.1 innings pitched.

8-19 vs Winnipeg Goldeyes:
Chad picked up his 4th win as Joliet swept the two game series. He entered the game in the 7th inning with Joliet down 4-3 and pitched two scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk and fanning 3. Chad has the lowest ERA on the team and has been their most consistent reliever since joining the team mid-season. Chad still has all his hair. And a full beard =)


LOUIS OTT (DH/INF Detroit Tigers Organization - Lakeland Flying Tigers, A):
Stats as of 8-20: Lou is batting .267 with 76 hits, 12 extra base hits, 24 RBI, 5 stolen bases and a .690 OPS.

8-20 vs. Fort Myers:
Lou's been playing well. Yesterday he was 1 for 4 with an RBI single, a sac bunt, a run scored, 2 Ks and a fielding error at 2B in the Tigers' 9-7 win. Lakeland has fallen from second to 4th place place, 13 games back of Dundin and .5 games out of third. Lakeland (27-30) has gone 4 and 6 in their last 10, with a one game win streak.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (1B, Oakland A's Organization - Midland Rockhounds, AA):
8-20 vs. Corpus Christi:
Coming off Texas League Player of the Week honors for the second time this season, Tommy's hot streak continues. His average is up to .279 and Midland has overtaken Frisco for the Southern Division lead. Last night he was an uncharacteristic 0 for 3, but still managed two runs with a walk and two Ks. Midland has another win streak going, taking 5 in a row with yesterday's win. The team is 8-2 in their last 10 and have a one game lead at with a 36-22 record.

Rockhoud Chatter: Two of Tommy's teammates are pitching for Team USA in Bejing. Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson have each pitched several innings and are gearing up for the medal round which begins Friday as Team USA faces Cuba. Cuba edged the US by one run playing under new extra inning rules last week: Recap of USA's 5-4 loss to Cuba.

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization - Visalia Oaks, High A):
8-20 vs High Desert:
Konrad is still pounding out the hits with several 2/4 games during the last 10 days. He continues to be especially effective against right handed pitching, batting .350 with an .838 OPS against righty hurlers. Visalia (59-69) has fallen off as of late. They're in 4th place, 9.5 games back, 3 games out of 3rd place and fighting to stay ahead of the cellar dwellers. Yesterday Konrad was 2-4 with a single, his 7th double of the season, and an RBI. He's hitting .315.

STEPHEN PEARSON (1B, American Assn-Wichita Wingnuts, IND):
8-20 vs Sioux Falls:
Stephen's average (.267) is way off the .300 + he was hitting just a few weeks ago, but he had a great game last night against Sioux Falls hitting 2 for 5 with and RBI, 3 runs scored and his 16th double of the season. The Wingnuts are tied for last place with St. Paul, ten games out.

JONNY GOMES (DH/OF, Tampa Bay Rays Organization - Durham Bulls, AAA):
Jonny got off to a scary good start in Durham, but lately has been hittin' 'em right to people, batting only .171 in his last 10 games with 12 Ks in 41 ABs. Interestingly enough, his average against RHP is almost .100 higher than against LHP. The Rays used him exclusively against lefties this season. The Bulls seemed close to clinching their division a week ago, but cooled off quite a bit, narrowing their lead to 6.5 games. Yesterday Jonny was 1 for 5 with a double as Durham shut out Louisville 5-0. Through 5 innings tonight, Jonny is 1 for 2 with another double.

BRANDON MORROW (P, Seattle Mariners):
Brandon was also optioned to AAA a few weeks ago. The Mariners are transitioning him to a starting role. Since he hasn't pitched more than 2 innings the entire season, they will gradually stretch him out in Tacoma and hope to have him back as a starter for the last several weeks of the season. Initially he has a 35 pitch limit that will be gradually increased and he'll be in a 5 day rotation. The cautious approach is underscored by this week's news that the Yankee's phenom, Joba Chamberlain, also transitioning from reliever to starter, is on the DL with shoulder tendonitis. He has an 0-1 record and a 5.63 ERA. I'll do some digging and give you the scoop on that tomorrow.

PTOWN's UP AND COMERS:

DJ GENTILE (OF, Mat-Su Miners (Palmer, AK), Alaska Baseball League, Amateur):

A tip of the hat to DJ for his outstanding play in the National Baseball Conference World Series. DJ led the starters on the team with a .375 average and excellent "D".

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Whew... all caught up. But I couldn't help myself. I was all over that iPhone ;-) It's a needy little thing.

2 comments:

  1. Lordy -
    All that techno babble about a phone.... I thought this was a baseball blog.. Where is the photo of Chad Fillinger doing his Mountain Man imitation. This blog has to stand and deliver.!!!
    Go Bears!!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chad's furry face died with the memory card in the ol' CrackBerry. Sorry to disappoint you "Anonymous" aka: MrPTownFan :)

    ReplyDelete

Give PTownFan a shout. It will make her day to know there is someone out there ;-) Don't worry. She doesn't always talk about herself in the third person like The Rickey.

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