CUP O' JO: Tuesday, July 7, 2008

JONNY GOMES (OF,Cincinnati Reds, MLB):
Provided the only offense in last night's very offensive loss to the Phillies.  It was a 22-1 rout with PTown's Gomes preventing the ultimate humiliation with one big home run swing.  Worst loss in Reds' franchise history. Ugggghhhh-ly. Thank you Jonny for avoiding the shut out. Gomes is still hitting .329 despite returning to a pinch hitting role... despite his .367 average in the middle of the interleage swing.  Wazzup Dusty?

JOEY GOMES (DH, Edmonton Capitals, Golden League - IND)
3-for-5 with 6 RBIs and a dinger on Sunday. Woo!!! 1-for-4 with a double, a stolen base and a run scored in last night's loss to Victoria.  Batting .291.  Had a great visit with Joey during the Caps series with the Outlaws last week.  He is really enjoying the Caps opportunity and their sleek ride.  The team plane.  If you've ever wondered why the Florida Marlins have more empty seats than fans for an afternoon home game, take in an Outlaws game in Chico.  Words simply can't describe it.  It's a tanning booth, sauna and frying pan all wrapped up in one neat little package.  Good to see so many PTown Fans in the house for Joey despite the miles, the traffic (legendary) and the heat.

LOUIS OTT (A Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida Marlins Organization) 
0-for-3 in last night's loss breaking up a 5 game hitting streak.  He's still hitting .299 so the regular at bats are working for Louis.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (IF, AAA Sacramento River Cats, Oakland Athletics Organization):
1-for-4 in last night's loss. Batting .341 with a 5 game hitting streak. Starting to hear frequent chatter about Tommy during A's games.  Gonna happen 707 fans. I feel it!

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, High A Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
Wow!  A double short of hitting for the cycle in last night's loss to High Desert.  Way to go Konrad!

STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)
1-for-4 with his 4th double in a 4-1 loss to St. Paul last night.  Batting .343.

DJ GENTILE (OF, Matsu Miners, Alaska)
DJ was lighting up the scoreboard with his bat in Matsu, but not getting needed time in the outfield.  The Indians selected him in the draft last month and have been evaluating him as a potential outfielder in their organziation so he had to bust a move.  He's headed to Corvallis OR to play for the Knights. Fishing's still good in Oregon DJ. You won't have to go too far.

CUP O' JO: Wednesday, July 1, 2008

JONNY GOMES (OF,Cincinnati Reds, MLB):

Struck out in a pinch hit appearance as the Reds produced lackluster offense on an off night for starter Bronson Arroyo.
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JOEY GOMES (DH, Edmonton Capitals, Golden League - IND)

Joey is happy to be back in NorCal and it showed last night.  An RBI fielders' choice and went yard in the 7th to score two and ice the game for the Caps.  He's batting .273 with 3 home runs in 55 ABs for the Caps. PTownJr and I will be in the house tonight to watch Edmonton go for two in a row. Hopefully Joey saved some hits and some crisp D at 1B for the hometown fans.

LOUIS OTT (A Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida Marlins Organization)
1-for-3 with a single, a walk, a sac fly and a K in last night's win over Daytona.  Lou's hitting .283.

BRANDON MORROW (P, Seattle Mariners, MLB):
Threw 98 pitches and went 4.2 innings and left the game with a 3-3 tie.  The usually dependable Seattle bullpen hiccuped in the 7th and 8th and the Yanks won 8-3 with reliever White taking the loss.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (IF, AAA Sacramento River Cats, Oakland Athletics Organization)
2-for-4 with 2 hits including a two out RBI single and a walk in a 5-2 win over Las Vegas.  Everidge is batting .359 and has 14 RBIs in 78 at bats.  He's slugging .590 and has a .419 OBP. You gotta think this is attracting a fair amount of attention in Oakland where they could sure use some power in the lineup.

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, High A Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
2-for-5 in a 6-4 win over Bakersfield.

STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)
2-for-4 at 1B in a 4-2 win over Sioux City.  Batting .346.

DJ GENTILE (OF, Matsu Miners, Alaska)
3-for-5 with a run scored, a stolen base, a home run and two RBIs in an 11 inning win over The Fire.  Woo!

PTown's Joey Gomes Makes Sports Illustrated

Joey went yard against former MLB pitcher Jose Lima, who is trying to make a comeback via the Golden League, and Sports Illustrated gave it some ink.  Look for an article titled, "Somewhere, it's Lima Time" in this week's edition with Joe Mauer on the cover.  Or read it here.

Not to take anything away from Lima and his inspirational attitude, but Joey got the ink by making a two run jack out of a Jose Lima fastball. Yah, Joe Gomes :-)

And MrPTown assures me the "SI Jinx" only applies to the guy on the cover.  Poor Joe Mauer's .400 season is in trouble...

CUP O' JO: Thursday, June 25, 2009

JONNY GOMES (OF,Cincinnati Reds, MLB):
Good week for Jonny, hitting .333 in his last ten games.  In Saturday's Civil Rights Game, he gave the Reds a 5-0 lead with a 2 run dinger.  But Cueto gave up a truckload of hits and the Reds lost a game they shoulda won. 2-for-3 with his 5th double against the White Sox Sunday.  2-for-4 with his third homerun last night. A combo of lotsa probable LHP for the opposing teams and Jonny's hot bat have made it easier for Dusty to massage the lineup, inserting Dickerson for the struggling CF Willy Taveras the last few days.  Jonny Gomes is leading the team with a .333 average excluding 1B Joey Votto (.346) who is fresh off the DL with stress related issues following his Dad's death.  The Reds have sorely missed Votto's bat. Let's hope it's all good with Joey and that this new lineup grinds out some wins, not just hits.   BTW, Gomes is .391 v LHP and .286 v RHP.

JOEY GOMES (DH, Edmonton Capitals, Golden League - IND)
Joey has really cranked up the Caps' offense.  In just 8 games, he's had 7 extra base hits including 5 doubles, 2 homeruns and 7RBIs. 

LOUIS OTT (A Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida Marlins Organization)
Big game for Sweet Lou last night.  3-for-4 with a double and 2 runs scored. Yah!

BRANDON MORROW (P, Seattle Mariners, MLB):
Morrow pitched 5+ in a Mariner's victory last night.  Didn't get the win, but continues to solidify his spot in the rotation throwing 87 pitches, 57 for strikes. Attaboy Brandon.  Keep hummin'.  Brandon's bobblehead sure got a workout in the Seattle Pressbox last Friday night.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (IF, AAA Sacramento River Cats, Oakland Athletics Organization)
Tommy's on fire.  His average reached .347 Tuesday before a brief dip in the cool 0-for-4 water last night.  In just 14 games, he's racked up 11 runs on 17 hits with 3 doubles, 3 home runs and 9 RBIs.  Awesome.

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, High A Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
Batting .246 through this week's All Star Break.  Games resume tonight with the Rawhide hosting Modesto.

STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)
Steve's great season continues. He's batting .329 with 9 doubles, 2 home runs, and 20 RBIs. 4-for-5 last night. A tip of the cap to reader Not So Anonymous for his eye witness reporting from the Sioux City Explorers' where the Nuts no-hit the X's Tuesday night.  For the first time ever.

DJ GENTILE (OF, Matsu Miners, Alaska)
Man these box scores are hard to find.  Batting .333 in 5 games played. No fishing report yet.

PETALUMA AMERICAN JR. DIVISION ROUND TABLE PIZZA:
After an first round bye and a second round win, Round Table dropped one to Petaluma National's Anderson team Tuesday night.  Charlie Parnow pitched out of his socks for Anderson and Round Table was flat as a cheese pizza with no toppings.  Fortunately, Round Table rallied and topped Petaluma National's North Bay Construction by a score of 10-0 in six innings last night as they try to battle back through the loser's bracket.  That means baseball every night through Sunday.  I'm up for that :-)  All-Stars begin on July 4th.  What's more All-American than that?

CUP O' JO: Friday, June 19, 2009

JONNY GOMES (OF,Cincinnati Reds, MLB):
The Reds bats were a bust yesterday afternoon in Atlanta so no sweep.  Jonny struck out in his pinch hit appearance.  CF Willy Taveras' troubles continued with another 0-for-5 day at the plate.  Gomes has the highest average of any outfielder by .50 points but Dusty is bound and determined not to do any wholesale juggling, lest he hurt Tavera$' feeling$.  Now only a 1/2 game out of 4th place, maybe someone will decide to let Jonny have a go on a daily basis for awhile.  Ya think?

JOEY GOMES (DH, Edmonton Capitals, Golden League - IND)
Off to a great start with a double and a home run among the hits wrapped up in his .294 average as the team's DH.  The Caps are working their way back to Edmonton with a three game series in Victoria beginning tonight.  Gotta say, the scenery in the Golden League can't be beat.

LOUIS OTT (A Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida Marlins Organization)
0-for-3 with a run scored and a walk at second base Wednesday night.   Batting .185 and looking for more ABs.

BRANDON MORROW (P, Seattle Mariners, MLB):
Morrow got another start last night and it wasn't bad.  In fact, after a shaky first inning, he settled in and threw well going 4 innings before reaching his pitch limit.  He struck out 6 and walked only one while giving up 5 hits and 2 earned runs.  The M's went on to lose the game to San Diego in extras.  It's sounding more and more like Morrow will stay with the Major League Club during his transition to starter getting to a 100 pitch limit sometime next month.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (IF, AAA Sacramento River Cats, Oakland Athletics Organization)

Tommy with a couple of Valley of the Moon Little Leaguers from his hometown. I think Jack swings with Joey at The Coop. 

(Photo by Nancy Murray via the Sonoma Sun.)

Tommy helped make River Cats history as the they hit a team high 8 home runs Wednesday night. Tommy had a dinger and two doubles in his 4-for-5 night at the plate.  Last night he was 0-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored.  Now batting a very sweet .294 and playing every day.  The Cats are still dominating the Division with wins both nights.

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, High A Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
0-for-3 Wednesday night in a loss to the San Jose Giants.

STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)
0-for-3 in Wednesday's 7-5 loss to Sioux Falls.  No word on whether BBQ sauce is the way to go with Fowl Balls.

DJ GENTILE (OF, Matsu Miners, Alaska)
Off to a hot start in Alaska with a single, a double and a home run in two games.  I hear he might do a little fishing with the local celebrities as well.

PTown's Joey Gomes Headed West

PTown Fans who have been hoping to see Joey play a little closer to home are in luck.  Today he accepted a trade to the Edmondon Capitals in the Golden League.  That's Edmonton.  Alberta.  Canada.

Sometimes you have to go north to go south.  Like getting out of the parking lot at Orchard Supply Hardware.  Go right, flip a U-Turn and get home a lot faster. 

Same for Joey. His new team plays up and down the West Coast.  An 1,800 mile swath of the Wild Wild West stretching from Edmondton (north of Calgary where Santa Rosa's Fehlandt Lentini is rocking the leaderboard with a .465 average)  to Yuma, AZ just this side of the Mexican border. Fortunately for all of us PTown fans, the Chico Outlaws are at just about the halfway point and the Capitals play a series there beginning June 30th. 

Fortunately for Joey, the team ride is a plane, not a bus. 

He's movin' on up folks.  A winning team (11-10), an airplane (number of props TBD) and a series just hours away.  Road trip anyone?

CUP O' JO: Thursday, June 11, 2009

Great week for PTown ballplayers.  Jonny Gomes was the hero in last night's game while no one (else) was watching, Tommy Everidge got another step closer to The Show, Joey Gomes is hitting well fresh off the DL, Konrad Schmidt is on a terror, Matt Nadolski was drafted by the Orioles and the final days of PTownJr's Little League regular season were punctuated with an upset win over the Division leaders.  Oh yeah... and School's Out For The Summer!

PETALUMA  AMERICAN LITTLE LEAGUE - JUNIOR DIVISION: 
With one game left to play in the regular season, Round Table has clinched the Petaluma American Junior Title and second place overall in the combined Junior Interleague division with 11 teams from Petaluma Valley, National, and American Little Leagues.  Round Table knocked off Valley's leader, Brodie's, in a 9-5 slugfest last night.  Timely hitting and solid fielding gave PALL a pretty comfy lead throughout the game.  Kevin George pitched a great game against some lethal hitters. It has been a very sweet Worst To First run for the Round Table team.  Next up:  A double-elimination tourney to determine the overall League Champion. It begins next week.  Other Little League Divisions are also winding down their regular seasons with in house AAA tourneys and the Major Division City Tournament.  All-Stars begin in late June.  Maybe this year, a PTown Team will still be playing Little League baseball when school starts in August. 

Oh... and a big shout out to mi amigo Joey Gomes in Joliet.  He would be so proud of PTownJr's work with the bat this season.  8 million swings at the Coop?  Hangin' with the big dogs in the League.  Priceless.

JONNY GOMES (OF,Cincinnati Reds): 
What a night for the PTown underdog.  Fresh off PTownJr's win over Brodie's, I was the only Reds fan in the world happy to find them in a two hour rain delay at midnight in Washington, DC.  Closer Francisco Cordero had taken the mound in search of his 30th consecutive save in a streak dating back to July '08. The skies opened in the bottom of the 9th with a 2-0 lead, the speedy Elijah Dukes on board via a free pass, a 2-2 count on Josh Willingham, and no outs.  Following a rain delay that lasted a little over two hours, Dusty decided to put the ball back in Cordero's hand.  Uh oh.  Within minutes, the game was tied at two, it was midnight plus, and we were headed to extras.  The announcers didn't need to remove any shoes for an accurate count of remaining fans.  Including us online lookers I'm sure. In the 12th, Jay Bruce drew a walk and made it to third with some especially heads up baserunning on the heels of some especially bad Nats' ball handling. With a runner on third, the Reds' catcher grounded to second and got caught in a pickle resulting in a double play with Bruce still at third.  Baker went to Gomes who ripped a 1-1 pitch of the.... ahem... right hander... down the third base line for a two out rbi go ahead double.  Wahoo!  Jerry Hairston drove him in for an insurance run and it was the (g)Nats were the bug, not the windshield on a wet night in DC.  Keep it up Jonny.  And we hope you get a chance to use that new 1B glove.

JOEY GOMES (DH, Joliet Jackhammers, IND)
A one-for-four night for the elder Gomes who has been hitting very well since returning from a brief stint on the DL with a tweaked quad. 

LOUIS OTT (A, Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida Marlins Organization)
Louis is batting .238 in 7 games and 21 ABs as the Hammerheads DH.

BRANDON MORROW (P, Seattle Mariners):

The blogs are buzzing with news that Morrow will soon be on his way to Tacoma for an extended stay as he makes another bid for the Mariners' starting  rotation.  I hope they let him stick around in Seattle for his own Bobblehead Night on Friday, June 19th.  Good thing I didn't buy those tickets afterall.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (IF, AA Midland Rockhounds, Oakland Athletics Organization)
Well it's about time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Tommy's hot hitting in Midland finally earned him a AAA call-up Monday night!  This move was set in motion by the A's Ryan Sweeney (OF) finding himself on the DL after crashing into the wall and spraining his knee.  Daric Barton has improved his average to .245 in Sacto and got the call to replace Sweeney and share time with Giambi at 1B. Everidge's debut with the River Cats didn't go the way anyone hoped with an 0-for-5 night that included 3K's and a fly out to end the game with the tying run on board.  But now he's got that out of the way and we know he's gonna rock it in Sacto. 

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, High A Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
Konrad has cemented his role as the team's regular catcher and is 8-for-17 in his last 4 games.  He's batting .259 with a .687 OPS on the season.

STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)
Batting .337 for Wichita.  Next post I won't be so lazy ;-)

MATT NADOLSKI (Sonoma County League MVP, Casa Grande High School)
Matt was the 956th player selected in the 2009 MLB Draft.  He was a 32nd round pick.  Matt's headed for San Diego State University in the fall, otherwise, I'm sure he'd have gone much higher.  The old "signability factor" ?

CUP O' JO: Friday, May 29, 2009

JONNY GOMES (OF,Cincinnati Reds):
Day off yesterday for the Reds who aim to overtake second place Milwaukee in a head to head battle on the road.  This 7 game roadtrip ends with 4 against Division leading St. Louis before returning home to face the Cubs.  The next week could really unknot the NL Central.  St. Louis, a team weakened by injuries and a few slumping players, is in San Francisco this weekend. Come on Giants, soften 'em up some more.  For those wondering when Jonny might patrol the outfield in AT&T Park, it won't happen until August 7, 8, and 9.  It's part of my Half-Centurian Celebration as I celebrate a Really Big Birthday that week. 

JOEY GOMES (DH, Joliet Jackhammers, IND)
Joey had a 2-for-3 night with an RBI Triple Wednesday as the Kansas City T-Bones edged the Jackhammers 5-4 in KC.  Gomes pulled a quad sliding hard into third and will miss a few more games.  At least it happened in KC where there's plenty of good food to help pass the time.   He's batting .209.

LOUIS OTT (DH, A Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida Marlins Organization)
Louis signed with the Jupiter Hammerheads where he was 1-for-2 at DH Wednesday night in a 3-0 win over his former team, the Lakeland Flying Tigers.  Drought ending bad weather in Florida suspended play yesterday and it looks like more of the same today.  The team is in third place in the Florida State League South Division, 7 games out.  Attaboy Louis.  Good to see you back!

TOMMY EVERIDGE (3B, AA Midland Rockhounds, Oakland Athletics Organization)
1-for-5 Wednesday and 2-for-5 with a home run yesterday in a pair of wins for Midland.  They are now 2 games ahead of Frisco.  Tommy continues to lead the team in home runs, hits, and total bases as he transitions to 3B defensively.  With injuries continuing to plague Oakland infielders (Garciapara back to the DL... first an ankle, now recurring calf tightness) maybe things will start to shake loose in Sacramento so Tommy can have a shot.

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, High A Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
1-for-3 with a double in Wednesdays 3-1 win over San Jose. 0-for-3 last night in a 6 hit squeaker of a 2-1 win.  The Rawhide lead the Division by a two game margin.  Konrad is batting .255.

STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)
2-for-4 hitting in last night's 5-2 win over St. Paul.  Wichita is off to a red hot start with an 11-2 record and a five game lead in the Division.  Steve is batting .362, just a few points shy of the league Leader Board.

SAM BANISTER (1B, Senior, Arizona Wildcats Softball)
The top seeded Florida Gators shut out the nations' top scoring offense 3-0 last night in the opening round of the Women's Softball College World Series, limiting Arizona to just two hits in a dominant appearance by pitcher Stacy Nelson. The Cats got something going in the first with back-to-back hits, but a strikeout and a pop out by PTown's Banister ended the Wildcats only rally. PHS Grad, Samantha Banister had seven put outs at first base on the night.  Arizona will face Alabama in an elimination game for the second straight season on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT .  Whew.  PTownJr's game will be in the books by then!

DJ GENTILE (DH, Sophomore,  Cal Poly Mustangs)
What a season for Casa Grad, DJ Gentile.  For the first time at the Division I level, the Mustangs, ranked 26th nationally, have earned an NCAA Playoff berth.  They face Oral Roberts University today at 2pm in the West Regional:  Bracket  DJ is batting .311 in 49 games with 16 extra base hits including 5 home runs and two triples.  He leads the team with 11 sac flies.  Earlier this week, DJ was awarded All-Conference Honorable Mention honors.

CHAD KRIST  (C, Freshman, University of California Golden Bears)
PHS Grad and Valley Vista Elementary Alum, Chad Krist, saw a lot of action as a Freshman, with 16 starts in 27 appearances.  He batted .197 with 12 hits including 4 doubles and two home runs. Defensively, he had a .993 fielding percentage with 115 put outs, 22 assists and only 1 error in his first college season.

CASA GRANDE HIGH SCHOOL GAUCHOS
Uggghhh.  Clayton Valley got an early lead and never looked back Wednesday night.  I'll let Gauchos Beat Writer John Jackson tell you all about it: Bad Beginning Ends Casa Grande Baseball Season

Pearlacious... Potentially

Huge irrigation project to conquer in the back 40 today so the Cup O' Jo is just a sip today. 

Gotta lead off with this one.  Jonny Gomes almost had the defensive play of his season... maybe his career... yesterday, gunning Grady Sizemore at the plate after a heads up back up of an errant relay throw.  But an interference call on the Reds' 3B bumped Jonny's awesome play from Web Gem to simply whooped up on the Reds Website and Phront Page Pheature in PTown's Pearls of Wisdom.  You really do have to see it to appreciate it so here ya go: Obstruction Call Affects Indians Reds Reds Robbed.  Nevertheless, if there are any Little Leaguer's watching, this is why the Skipper is always reminding you to back up the throw.  Good things could happen. Jonny's had a hit in each of his appearances and the Reds already seem like a more energetic team.

Thanks to Anonymous for Commenting In a first hand report of Steve Pearson's weekend.  Looks like another PTown Product is off to a good start for the Wichita Wingnuts batting .343 in 35 ABs early in the season.

Joey Gomes is finding his groove with a handful of weekend hits and a pair of RBIs.  He's had two stolen bases so far. The Jackhammers are having a tough time stringing together some wins.  But it's early.

Tommy Everidge continues to hit north of .300 for the Midland Rockhounds.  He's got 12 doubles and leads the team with 39 RBIs. Already.  Yo... Billy...  let's see what he can do in Sacto? Whaddayasay?

Konrad Schmidt is batting .270 for the Visalia Rawhide, sharing time at Catcher with the recently promoted Jhoan Pimentel. He's got 6 doubles and 11 rbis so far this season.

And how 'bout those Casa Grande Gauchos!  They topped Brentwood's Heritage High School Saturday by a score of 4-1 to advance to the semi-finals of the Division II Northern California Section Championship Tourney.  They play Clayton Valley Wednesday in Concord at 5pm. Go Gauchos!

2000 feet of irrigation tubing awaits.  Ugghhh.  At least there are a lot of ballgames to pipe into the outdoor speakers today :-)

CUP O' JO: Friday, May 22nd

JONNY GOMES (OF, AAA Louisville Bats, Cincinnati Reds Organization):
1-for-3 with a double and a run scored in yesterday's loss to Syracuse as the Bats continue their skid.  They play again this afternoon at 4:05 PTown time.  Let's tune in and send some mojo across the airwaves to the Bats.  It's worked before ;-)  Good news for Cincy fans.  Joey Votto's dizziness has been diagnosed as a tricky inner ear infection that should clear up within a few days.

JOEY GOMES (DH, Joliet Jackhammers, IND)
Joey's had a hit in each of the last three games at DH.  Joliet has a 3-3 record in their weekold season.

LOUIS OTT (Florida Marlins Organization)
Haven't seen him assigned to a roster yet.

BRANDON MORROW (P, Seattle Mariners):
Good game for Brandon last night out of the bullpen.  Fanned 6 in a row: Some Positives But Not Enough Results For The Mariners

TOMMY EVERIDGE (IF, AA Midland Rockhounds, Oakland Athletics Organization)
Midland's bats are cooling off, but they're holding onto a 1 game Division lead.  Tommy continues at 3B.  Here's a first hand report from a blogger that spent some time in Midland recently: 5/16 Athletics

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, High A Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
1-for-4 with a single against Modesto on Wednesday. Visalia has a 1 game lead.

STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)
2-for-4 in yesterday's 4-0 loss to Sioux Falls as the teams' 5 game win streak came to an end.  Steve is batting .391 in 7 games with a double and 4 rbis.  Maybe Anonymous will Twitter us some udpates from Sioux City when the Wingnuts come to town.

CUP O' JO: Wednesday, May 13th

Live Blog From SCL Tourney: Gonna try something new tonight. A live blog from the Sonoma County League Tournament in Sonoma. The SCL Champ Gauchos face Sonoma at 7pm. I'll post updates here from the trusty iPhone. And we'll give Twitter a go as well and see how quickly I can figure it out ;-) (Follow me at PTownFan)  Hard to know how long the battery will last and hopefully the connection is good. If this works out, the Argus Courier will include future live blogs of Casa playoff games on Petaluma360.com via RSS feed. Don't you love technology? When it works.

Here's an update on how PTown Area Pros are doing on the diamond these days. Will catch up with the Up And Comers wrapping up their college seasons later this week.

JONNY GOMES (OF, AAA Louisville Bats, Cincinnati Reds Organization)
Jonny has settled in and is swinging a powerful stick, leading the team in home runs.  Hit #7 last night off Tampa Bay World Series closer, David Price.  He was the hero of that game as the Bats battled back from a 6-2 deficit in the 9th and went ahead on Gomes' two out double. On a two strike count.  Yah Jonno. He's batting .250 with an .866 OPS.  Louisville is on top of the International League West with a 3.5 game lead over Toledo.  I'm trying to get a pic of that timely hit and will add it if the photographer shows the Pearls some love.  The Reds still own the third best record in the National League with a 10-14 record.  OF Darnell McDonald has really cooled off and OF Chris Dickerson is below the Mendoza so perhaps the Reds will get hungry for a power bat off the bench soon.

BRANDON MORROW (P, Seattle Mariners)
After a 15 day stint on the DL for biceps stiffness, Morrow is back as the Mariners' closer.  He returned Saturday with a flair for the dramatic, loading the bases and putting the winning run on first before notching his 6th save with a Brendan Harris ground out.  Whew.  After a hot start, the Ms have dropped to 14-17 with Morrow's save ending a 6 game skid.

ERIC BRUNTLETT (IF, Philadelphia Phillies)
Santa Rosa's Bruntlett is not getting many ABs off the bench, but we'll keep an eye out for any surge in playing time or stats. 

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, HighA Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
Konrad is batting .279 with 7 extra base hits and 11 rbis in 22 games.  He had a huge game last week going  2-for-5 with a double, home run, two runs scored and five RBIs in a big win over the Stockton Ports for the Rawhide's 6th consecutive win.  The Rawhide, in their swanky new stadium, are atop the Cal North Division with a 3.5 game lead over Modesto and a 4 game lead over pre-season favorite San Jose.  Head 'em up and move 'em out boys.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (IF, AA Midland Rockhounds, Oakland Athletics Organization)
Tommy is leading the Rockhounds in hits with 40 and is second in rbs with 27 in 31 games.  He's belted 3 home runs so far this season and is batting .305 for the hot hitting Hounds with a team average of .302.  They lead the Division by 1.5 games over Corpus Chrisi with an 18-14 record.  Though listed as a 1B, Tommy's been playing a lot of 3B as the organization seems determined to give prospect Chris Carter more time at first.

JOEY GOMES (OF, Joliet Jackhammers, IND)
Joey's season starts Friday against Schaumberg.  The Jackhammers have had a perfect Spring and Gomes had a home run in Monday's 6-3 win over the Flyers. 

Chad Fillinger's Big League Camp Signups Underway

PTown Pro Chad Fillinger will hold his third annual Big League Camp for 10-12 year olds later this month. Chad's camp is a great way for your son or daughter to knock the barnacles off the old bat and glove and get ready for Little League Try-Outs in early February. Chad is offering two camps. The first is January 24th/25th and the second is January 31/February 1. Camp is from 9am to 3pm both days.  PTown Pro Joey Gomes (Joliet Jackhammers) and Sebastopol Pro Brandon Burgess (AA Mobile Bay Bears) will be coaching with Chad.  

PTown Junior has been to both of Chad's camps.  And a bunch of other ones.  He would tell you that Chad's camp is the best.  And the most fun.  He's hoping Chad and the guys can squeeze in a Big Leauge Camp for Big Guys before they jet off to their teams this spring.

Check out the Big League Camp website for more information.

Here's a slideshow of the 2006 Camp. Boy does time fly.

The Most Pearlacious Pearls of 2008

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2008 completely rocked.
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The 707 area code's Boys Of Summer and some of their amigos had a pretty entertaining year.  I dove through the Pearls of Wisdom treasure trove for the best stories of '08 and have strung those lustrous accomplishments together for you to reflect upon this New Year's Eve.  Here are ten gems, and some bonus links, I'm raising my celebratory glass of bubbly to as we ring in 2009...
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#10

Tampa Bay Ray Jason Bartlett steals a base
and wins free Tacos For The People
relieving the financial pressure of PTownJr's 5000 calorie diet for a few hours.  Barty had a premonition about the whole thing and dressed ALCS MVP Matt Garza (area code 209) as a taco during rookie hazing last summer.

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#9

Inaugural Pearls Of Wisdom Create-A-Caption contestants
get a little crazy after the Rays eliminate the White Sox
with their 100th win of 2008...

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#8

Jonny Gomes completes the Zero To Hero metamorphosis
with his own World Series Blog and gets all dressed up to meet The President.

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#7

Eric Bruntlett, another PTown Area Pro,
is the hero of World Series Game 3...
a game I would otherwise like to forget... along with the horrendous Game 1 fielding of the Rays fans sitting in my seat thanks to ZipCode Profiling.

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#6

Bud Selig Tunes Into The Wrong Weather Channel
ensuring that no one will EVER forget Game 5 of the 2008 World Series. Not even the extraordinary Kenyan fans that I hope Tex is trying to save with that cushy contract of his.

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#5

Konrad Schmidt wins the Peals Of Wisdom Batting Title with a .329 average at High A Visalia 
Konrad also earned kudos for his stylin' horsehoe-and-patch mustache combo on Josh Collmenter Mustache Awareness Night. This celebration was born of the great Josh Collmenter/Jason Giambi "Separated At Birth" debate.  Which, tragically, you may have missed during Konrad's promotion from Single A to High A.

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#4

RHP Chad Fillinger reaches on a fielder's choice
in his first career at bat
The Jackhammers were short handed and the pitchers were pressed into offensive action on July 22nd. Who did Chad force at second? PTown's Joey Gomes...   who earned Northern League Player of the Week honors a bit later. Sadly, there is no photographic evidence of Chad's historic at bat, but the entire PTownFan(mily) witnessed it over dinner via internet radio. So we'll celebrate the strength of Chad's belief that one day he would toe into the batter's box... and get paid for it...  with a high school yearbook photo.

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#3

Tommy Everidge has a career year,
earning AA Midland Rockhounds MVP.
He also took home the MiLB's award for Best AA Single Game Performance of 2008 with a 10 RBI (!!!!) game in May. Tommy had an awesome season and it would be so much more awesome to see him sporting the green and gold in '09. Come on Billy Beane. $ell $some Ticket$ in the 707. 

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#2

Brandon Morrow flirts with history,
nearly notching a No-No in his first MLB start.
After the best debut in Mariner's history on September 5th vs. the Yankees, Brandon almost did it again in front of the home town crowd at McAfee Coliseum. Following the trade of closer JJ Putz, the Mariners haven't decided whether to keep Brandon in the rotation or slide him into the closer role. Brandon stepped in for an injured Putz mid-season and was nearly flawless. Tough decision for Seattle and The Pearls will have an ear to the ground.

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#1

The Rays win the 2008 American League Pennant. 
I can't believe I cried over a baseball game. But hey, so did the entire state of Massachusetts.  The Rays storybook season did not end with a World Series Ring, but there wasn't a single loser on the field at the end of Game 5 in Philly. Only winners.
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It's hard to imagine the guys can Rep The 707 any better in 2009. All that... and then some... from one Area Code.

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Awesome.

Pros Rally For A Good Cause At Camp For A Cure

The debate over ALCS Game 5 bullpen management continued to rage at PTownJr's baseball game today. EV-eryone had an opinion. Concensus: huge screwup. I have a feeling Game 6 will bring an (even more) intolerable night of TBS commentary. Those guys are gonna be all over Maddon like a Craig Sager suit.

Joe, just play your game. Make and adjustment and move on.

Speaking of kids and baseball, the 5th Annual Camp For A Cure is coming up.

This is such a neat thing. I hope someday it catches on in
other towns.

Camp For a Cure is a youth baseball camp held each fall that raises funds for The American Cancer Society and Lupus Foundation of America. The camp is staffed by Northern California baseball players (both amateur and professional), pro scouts and high school coaches who donate their time to maximize the camp's potential. Since its 2004 inception, Camp For A Cure has raised nearly $40,000 for cancer and lupus research.

The 5th annual camp will be held Saturday, November 8st at the Casa Grande High School Baseball complex. (Rescheduled from November 1st due to a major rainstorm.) There will be a silent auction from 8-noon and an autograph signing session throughout the day.

The All-Star Coaching Staff will be headlined by Petaluma’s own Jonny Gomes of the American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays. (Take a minute to read that out loud. It's pretty awesome.) Brandon Morrow, starting pitcher for the Seattle Mariners will also be there along with other Petaluma area pros including Joey Gomes and Chad Fillinger of the Joliet Jackhammers, Tommy Everidge who had a tremendous year with the Midland Rockhounds (Oakland A's organization) and Louis Ott (Detroit Tigers Organization). See the Camp For A Cure website for a complete list of the 2008 Coaching Staff.

Campers pay a requested donation of $50 to attend camp, which includes a Camp T-Shirt and wristband if they register by October 20th. Registration forms are available on the Camp Website, the Athletic Edge Fall Ball Snack Shack on Saturdays and Sundays (Petaluma National Little League field on Kenilworth Drive adjacent to the Fairgrounds) and at the Athletic Edge Batting Cages (260 Water Street, Suite F, Petaluma).

A BBQ and Silent Auction during Camp bring athletes and the community together to battle these diseases. Families are invited to enjoy the BBQ and auction while players hone their skills at Camp. Gloves, bats and other signed memorabilia donated by players, scouts, and coaches were among the most popular sports items in past years. Restaurant certificates, movie passes, and merchandise donated by local merchants kept other auction goers in the bidding.

I'm the Camp's Silent Auction Skipper. If you would like to donate a Silent Auction item, perhaps in honor of a loved one that has battled cancer or lupus, please email me at TanyaSullivan@comcast.net .

The Camp For A Cure Story…

Three area coaches founded Camp For A Cure in 2004.

Paul Maytorena, Dan Leslie, and Gregg Adams were inspired by family members and close friends battling cancer and Lupus. They saw an opportunity to use a life long love of the game to fight back against these tragic diseases. Peers and pros rallied around the idea of a premiere youth baseball camp staffed by volunteers of the highest caliber. Kids signed up by the hundreds to learn from the best baseball talent in the region including Petaluma's own MLB star, Jonny Gomes who lost his high school coach to cancer.

LABOR DAY CUP O' JO

Happy Labor Day. We've reached the symbolic end of summer and most of the boys are headed home after today's MiLB season finale. A few have made the playoffs. More on that below.

JOEY GOMES - OF, Joliet Jackhammers, Northern League - IND
and
CHAD FILLINGER - P, Joliet Jackhammers, Northern League - IND
The Winnipeg Goldeyes ended the Jackhammer's season with an 8-4 thud last night. The Hammer's most consistent hitters did their thing last night including Joey who was 1-5 with a single, ending the season with a .303 average.

This year, Joey scored 60 runs, hit 18 doubles, 14 home runs, and 55 RBIs in 105 hits over 346 at bats in 93 games. He stole 6 bases in 6 attempts. Joey had 56 Ks and 2 errors on the season. He slugged .477 with a .393 On Base Percentage. He split the season between RF and DH.

Chad did not pitch in the Hammers' final game, but became the team's most consistent reliever after joining them mid-season with an OPPAVG of .286. Chad ended the year with a 4-5 record, one save, and a 3.4 ERA over 30 games. He pitched 47.2 innings giving up 7 HR and 18 earned runs in 52 hits. He walked 16 and struck out 54.

LOUIS OTT (DH/INF Detroit Tigers Organization - Lakeland Flying Tigers, A)
The Flying Tigers ended the season with a 7-1 win over Clearwater. 0-4 with two Ks in the 9-3 loss to Clearwater. Chad left the team brass with a great impression, going 3-5 with two runs scored, a double, and 2 RBIs in his final game of 2008. That effort boosted his average to .255. Louis played a number of positions this season with the majority at 3B, DH and the outfield. He ended the season with 2 HR, 3 triples, and 10 doubles in 82 hits over 322 ABs in 93 games. He scored 42 runs and drove in 29 RBIs. He drew 46 walks and struck out 76 times, and stole five bases in 19 attempts. A .349 OBP, .323 SLG and .672 OPS round out his hitting stats. Lou had 9 fielding errors. Lou also had a successful stint at AA Erie. He was called up to sub for an injured player and saw more playing time than expected.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (1B, Oakland A's Organization - Midland Rockhounds, AA)
The Hounds are getting it done with another win over Frisco last night, recapturing the Division lead. Tommy was 0-3 with a walk in the 3-2 win.

Midland must win tonight to make the playoffs. Frisco won the first half and Midland can only make it with sole ownership of the 2nd half Division Title. A loss tonight would leave Midland tied with Frisco for the Division Championship, but both Frisco and San Antonio hold the tie-breaker (head to head total sesaon record) edge over Midland so the Hounds fate is in their own hands. Gametime is 7pm Central. Following a Midland win tonight, the best 3-5 playoff series will open on Wednesday in Frisco. The remnants of Hurricane Gustav seem to be headed straight for Dallas, so playoff weather could be touch and go.

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization - Visalia Oaks, High A)
1 for 6 with an RBI single in the 9th to tie the game and send it to extra innings. A pitcher's duel ensued before Visalia gave up a walk off home run in the 14th handing Stockton a 6-5 win. Konrad's average is .336 going into the final game of the season tonight. Visalia needed to take the Stockton series to keep their playoff hopes alive, but they've dropped the first two and their season ends tonight.

JONNY GOMES (DH/OF, Tampa Bay Rays Organization - Durham Bulls, AAA)
1-5 with a single, two runs scored, and two Ks in last night's 10-2 thrashing of the Charlotte Knights. Jonny reached on an error in the 4th and later scored. .252 avg. The Bulls finish up the regular season at noon today in Charlotte and begin their playoff drive in Louisville on Friday.

The Rays made some roster moves yesterday designed to give them maximum flexibility in the MLB pennant race while leaving the Bulls strong for their own playoff drive. Tampa Bay opted to recall speedy Durham outfielder Fernando Perez last night, making him eligible for post-season play. Perez has pretty good offensive stats with a .288 average, 43 stolen bases and 11 triples in Durham this season. His defense and speed give him the edge and make him a better fit as a late inning replacement off the bench. Jonny may join the Rays when the Bulls' championship season is over and would be eligible for the playoffs if called upon to replace an injured player.

Speaking of the Rays... they just keep winning. Their sweep of the O's combined with another Cubs loss puts Tampa Bay back on top of the MLB standings. Pinch me. They're still the best team in baseball. And now... it's September! Woo-freakin-hoo! I wish Mr. PTownFan was as excited about this as I am. A quick trip to Florida for a playoff game would just be awesome.

BRANDON MORROW (P, Seattle Mariners)
Brandon got the win last night in a 5-1 victory over Portland. He gave us just one hit and 3 walks in 6 innings pitched and struck out 5, lowering his ERA to 5.01. He's scheduled to pitch against New York at Safeco Field next week per Seattle Skipper, Jim Riggleman. The Rainiers wrap up the regular season tonight.

8-27 CUP O' JO

JOEY GOMES - OF, Joliet Jackhammers, Northern League - IND
Joliet's playoff hopes are fading fast with an 8-0 grilling by the Kansas City T-Bones last night. Joey was 1 for 3 with a single, a walk and a K. .301 average. The Jackhammers managed 7 hits, but couldn't push one across. KC only needs one more win to clinch a playoff berth. Some burly dude named Calvin Pickering edged Joey for Player of the Week honors. IMHO, the guys in the league office seem overly impressed with the guy's 4 home runs last week. Hrrrumph.

CHAD FILLINGER - P, Joliet Jackhammers, Northern League - IND
Chad relieved starter Aaron Trolia who pitched 4 shutout innings before giving up 5 runs in the 5th. Chad pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, striking out one and walking two. 3.68 YTD ERA.

LOUIS OTT (DH/INF Detroit Tigers Organization - Lakeland Flying Tigers, A)
0-4 with a run scored, a walk and 2Ks in Lakeland's 7-5 win over Fort Myers last night. .263 average. Lakeland is 13.5 games out with a week to go.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (1B, Oakland A's Organization - Midland Rockhounds, AA)
Four hard hit balls landed in San Antonio Missions' gloves last night in an 0-4 loss to Midland with no other groovy stats to pick up the "0". Here's the deal. The hounds either need to win the 2nd half or edge San Antonio for the best overall season record to make the playoffs. Midland is a game back of Frisco who also won the 1st half. They're a game and a half ahead of San Antonio in terms of the overall season record. The next two days are muy importante. Oh yeah... Midland plays Frisco for the last two games of the season so it ain't gonna get any easier. Let's go Midland!

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization - Visalia Oaks, High A)
The Oaks had the night off to rest up after that whomping of Stockton Monday night.

8-25: Woo-dee-hoo! 5 for 5. Visalia pummelled Stockton last night 13-4. Konrad was just a HR short of the cycle, with 3 singles, a double (11), and his first striple at High A. That slugfest boosted his average to .336. Visalia is probably out of the playoff picture, but this article has a nice interview with Konrad and outlines the Oak's playoff chances.

JONNY GOMES (DH/OF, Tampa Bay Rays Organization - Durham Bulls, AAA)
The Bulls finally got to don the swim goggles and pop the champagne. Officially, they clinched early in the evening when the Norfolk game was rained out in a game that would not be made up. Ceremoniously, they clinched with a Dan Johnson solo homer in the bottom of the 8th, giving Durham a 3-2 win over the Indianapolis Indians. The night after hitting a walk off single, Jonny was 1-3 with a walk, a K and a .237 avg.

BRANDON MORROW (P, Seattle Mariners)
Brandon had another start in Tacoma last night. It coulda gone better but he showed once again that he can go 4+ innings without his arm falling off. He pictched consistently in the low-mid 90's last night and lit up the gun a 96 a few times. The not-so-pretty line went like this: 4.2 innings pitched, 6 earned runs on 5 hits (2HR), 3BB and 3K. That's an 11.57 ERA, but hey, he's new at this. He threw 79 pitches; 47 for strikes. Brandon did get the loss... to Sacramento. A powerhouse. Tacoma is 5 games back of Salt Lake with 6 games to go. 2 more against Sacramento then 4 at home vs. last place Portland. They've got a shot. I've seen several reports today that Brandon is slated to start against the Yankees on September 5th so it appears his transition to starting pitcher will continue in Seattle next month.

***

Be sure to read yesterday's post and chime in on either of the two topics at the end. Or maybe sound off on Tommy's Beard-thing (Sunday 8-23). PTownFan is hoping to make the Pearls more interactive. Soon, only The Rays will still be smacking the ball around and I don't suppose too many of you follow them quite as passionately as I do. We've gotta find some other things to bla-bla-blog about ;-)

8-25 CUP O' JO

Sheesh... the Baseball Gods did not give our boys any love this weekend. They were a combined 3 for 33. Thats a .090 average. No shiny, lustrous pearls in that stat. Let's go boys. Most of you are either tuning up for a pennant race or gunning for a wild card spot. We gotta see your best stuff. Find the gaps. Patient at bats. Throw nasty strikes. Make some headlines. Let's do this thing.

JOEY GOMES - OF, Joliet Jackhammers, Northern League - IND
Rough weekend for Joliet as they dropped two games to Gary and remain 3 games out of the playoff race with only 6 games to go. They have today off then face Kansas City for a three games which will likely determine which of the two teams' season will end on Sunday. Joey was 0-5 on Saturday in an extra inning loss and 0-3 yesterday in a 5-1. So we won't dwell on the details ;-) but his avg is still .300.

CHAD FILLINGER - P, Joliet Jackhammers, Northern League - IND
Did not pitch this weekend.
8-22-08 vs Gary: Chad entered the game with a two run lead in the 7th. He struggled in the 7th, loading the bases and walking in a run. The 8th was better and Chad ended up with two innings pitched, a hit, an earned run, 2 walks, 3 Ks and a 3.83 YTD ERA. What sounded like control problems on this end of the broadcast may have been something more as Chad was tossed in the 8th for arguing balls and strikes with the man in blue. Gary's Manager, Vacaville native Greg Tagert was tossed for the the same reason in the 6th. Maybe Blue needs Wichita's bat ring binoculars.

LOUIS OTT (DH/INF Detroit Tigers Organization - Lakeland Flying Tigers, A)
Did not play in Saturday's 6-2 loss to Dunedin. Yesterday, was 0-4 at DH in a 3-2 loss to Dunedin. Batting .263. Lakeland has been sinking in the standings and are now 4 games out of 2nd place with a week to go.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (1B, Oakland A's Organization - Midland Rockhounds, AA)
The Hounds lost two games to Division Leading Frisco this weekend and slipped two games back after jumping to the top of the Division briefly last week. The good news is that they're still 2.5 games up up on the San Antonio Missions in the wild card race. Frisco won the first half, so if they hold on to win the second half, the wild card (best overall record) will decide whether Midland or San Antonio goes to the playoffs. The Hounds and the Missions go head to head this week so Midland's got to play some of that awesome ball they dazzled us with a few weeks ago.

Tommy was 2 for 4 with two singles, knocking in the only run in Saturday's 10-1 loss. He notched his 110th RBI of the season in that effort. He went 0 for 4 in Sunday's 9-3 loss. His average is now .279.

Now for some good news... Tommy's rocking the leader board in the Texas League. He leads the league in RBIs by a margin of 19 (101), is 4th in home runs (21) and runs scored (85), and 5th in hits (139). If Midland doesn't make the playoffs, gotta wonder if the AAA RiverCats might add him to the roster as a hot hitting reserve during the AAA playoffs as they did last year.

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization - Visalia Oaks, High A)
8-23 vs Stockton: 0 for 4 at catcher in 7-5 win. .309 avg. Did not play in Sunday's 7-5 loss to Stockton. The Oaks are 7-3 in their last 10 and in 4th place. If San Jose repeats as Division Champs for the second half, Visalia could nab the wild card spot if they sweep Stockton this week. Let's go Visalia. Git 'er done!

STEPHEN PEARSON (1B, American Assn-Wichita Wingnuts, IND)
The Wichita Wingnuts finished their season witha 10-5 loss to Lincoln on Saturday. Steve was 0-2 with a sac fly RBI in the finale. The Nuts finished in 4th place, 12 games out.

JONNY GOMES (DH/OF, Tampa Bay Rays Organization - Durham Bulls, AAA)
The Bulls continue to make their playoff status more dramatic than necessary with two more losses this weekend. To the last place team in another division. Not the best way to tune up for a pennant race. The Bulls magic number is 2 games. C'mon boys, let's do it with wins, OK?

8-23-08 vs Indianapolis: Jonny was 0 for 3 with 2 Ks in the 6-3 loss.
8-24-08 vs Indianapolis: 1 for 4 with a two out RBI single and a K in the 10-6 loss.

BRANDON MORROW (P, Seattle Mariners)
Mariner Chatter: Brandon is scheduled to pitch in Tacoma on 8-31, the day before the rosters expand. His 72 pitch 10 K outing on Thursday has Seattle fans smiling. Throwing in a 5 day rotation, he could get two more starts in Tacoma before the September callups with the second of those starts falling on 8-31. If he continues to do well, September would give him enough time for 4-5 starts. 4 innings in AAA probably translates to 3+ in the majors due to the quality of hitters who can keep an at bat against a young power pitcher alive with patient at bats and foul balls on 3-2 counts. It would sure be exciting to have a Major League starter at Camp For A Cure this year. Gotta believe.

8-21-08: Brandon pitched 4.2 innings giving up two hits, two earned runs and striking out 10 batters before being relieved. His pitch limit is now north of 70. The game was suspended in the 7th inning due to a power outage in Portland. Brandon got his ERA down to 3.86 as he continues to stretch out his appearances and transition to a starting role. Hopefully in time for September call ups.

The Amazing Rays...
...got sucker punched yesterday. I'm glad I was at work and didn't have to watch that replay for 2 hours. The highlight reel last night was bad enough. Per-what's-his-name-ski is a schmuck and I can't believe all the Men In Blue couldn't get that call right. That's twice in a week! I hear Riggo didn't make an earlier play at the plate that would have prevented the extra inning debacle so I won't say the blown call cost the game. But sheesh. I've seen "the worst call ever" twice in one week! Disturbing trend. Let's get it right Blue. They've played too well for you to mess it up. Every game counts at this point. A 4.5 game lead over Boston might seem like a comfy cushion to you, but we Rays fan-atics prefer multiples of 5.

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!

**********

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".

***

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

Joey Gomes Named Northern League Player of The Week

Joe Gomes' smokin' bat earned him Northern League Player of the Week honors last week. Joliet's right fielder is the second Jackhammer to earn the honor this season. He hit .423 with two home runs in the recen 8 game road trip to Gary and Winnipeg, and lead the league during that period with 21 total bases and a .808 slugging percentage. Joey's had quite a streak the last several weeks despite the team's lackluster performance and it's nice to see him finishing strong. This week he's had several multi hit games including some extra base hits. Joliet continues it's firm hold on 5th place.

Congrats Joey!