RockCattin'

RYAN'S LEGACY ENRICHED NEW BRITAIN

2007-09-14T00:41:00.000-04:00

Terry Ryan's resignation as general manager of the Minnesota Twins came as shock to the people closest to him in New Britain.

Ryan, 52, perhaps the epitome of hands-on general managers, has visited New Britain at least twice a year in the 12 years the Twins have been locally affiliated. He has always been readily accessible to media and fans alike whenever he's been in town.

Thankfully, Ryan's visits will continue. He will serve as a senior adviser to new GM Bill Smith, whose parents live in Ledyard, with an emphasis on player evaluation. As a former scout, evaluation is what Ryan has always done best and enjoys. The parts of the job he didn't enjoy -- dealing with agents and putting out, as he calls it, administrative brush fires -- he will leave behind.

Ryan's tenure as general manager featured the revitalization of a franchise that became moribund in the mid-1990s. In the face of large-market domination and the specter of losing players to free agency, Ryan and his loyal staff restocked the Twins the old-fashioned way -- through scouting, development and some productive trades.

We in New Britain enjoyed the fruits of his labor -- Doug Mientkiewicz, David Ortiz, Michael Cuddyer, Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Jason Kubel, Francisco Liriano and Jason Bartlett to name a few. There were also many who weren't fortunate enough to bask in the limelight of the major leagues but contributed so much to the city's sports culture, like Jeff Smith, Brent Stentz and Steve Hacker.

We should all be very thankful that Terry Ryan has passed this way so often, and we're very fortunate that he'll be passing this way again.

A SOBERING LOOK BACK; A PROMISING LOOK FORWARD

2007-09-03T21:49:00.000-04:00

Leave it to Riccardo Ingram’s enigmatic Rock Cats to be playing their best ball of the season by far when the curtain comes down.

The Portland Sea Dogs, the Rock Cats’ spring training partners because their complexes are across town in Fort Myers, Fla., came into the five-game series needing a win or two to secure a playoff spot that they seemed to have wrapped up weeks ago.

So what happens? The Rock Cats, whose playoff mathematics stopped mattering after they lost three of four in Binghamton last week, sweep the series and wind up just a half-game out of a playoff spot.

Portland and New Hampshire finished the regular season 70-72 and will stage a one-game winner-take-all game Tuesday. The Rock Cats ended at 69-72 after a season-best seven-game winning streak.

“The guys just came to play,” Ingram said, after Monday’s crowd-pleasing 11-7 thrashing of the Sea Dogs. “I think a lot of it was all the stuff we went through as a team. We had to keep battling. We were younger than everybody else. This last series they finally started to understand what you have to do to compete here.”

The reason for 141 games played instead of the prescribed 142: a rainout on getaway day in Erie August 9 couldn’t be made up. The logistics of travel made it difficult to envision. The priorities of the major league clubs and their perspective on minor league playoffs make such a thing unthinkable. League rules made it impossible.

The slightest of shortcomings had Ingram thinking of all the games the Rock Cats should have won. His players learned a valuable lesson the hard way on playing every game to the hilt. If just one of those late-game leads could have been protected. Ingram heads back to Georgia with a duffel bag full of ifs and a strong belief in a productive future.

“I feel good about a lot of things,” he said. “We went from 14 under (.500, 64-78 last year) to the record we have this year and a mindset to build on next year. Next year we have to definitely be over .500. Anything else will be unacceptable.”

The prevailing sentiment is that many of these Cats should repeat. Ryan Mullins, Oswaldo Sosa and Yohan Pino should form a nucleus of a solid starting rotation. Jose Mijares, Eduardo Morlan and Armando Gabino have the stuff to alleviate the horrible bullpen woes that are at the heart of 2007 failures.

Who will be back among the position players would be rampant speculation at this point but it should start with shortstop Trevor Plouffe, center fielder Brandon Roberts, with Class A grads Dustin Martin and Florida State League All-Star Erik Lis among the newcomers.

Perhaps slugging first baseman Brock Peterson will repeat if Garrett Jones is still ahead of him. What is to become of Matt Moses is anybody’s guess.

Nonetheless, we’ll all look back on 2007 wondering what might have been. We’ll look ahead to 2008 confident about what can be.

BUCHHOLZ GEM TRIGGERS N.B. CIVIL WAR

2007-09-02T13:16:00.000-04:00

I’m known as a pretty opinionated guy among my readers but here’s an issue in which I find it hard to take a side.

The bottom line is that this Red Sox Nation phenomenon, born when bleeding-heart fans of the underdog leaped on the bandwagon after a team that soiled its night shorts for 86 straight years finally broke through, has created a culture that supersedes the sport itself.

Ironically, Red Sox rookie right-hander Clay Buchholz was at the center of the controversy. Here’s the “poop.”

Back on June 25 in Manchester, N.H., Buchholz, pitching for the Portland Red Sox, threw 6 1/3 innings, allowed a run on four hits and struck out 11. He received a rousing standing ovation for his part in beating the hometown New Hampshire Fisher Cats, a state of affairs that didn’t sit well with outspoken N.H. manager Bill Masse.

“I think it’s sad,” Masse said, in the heat of the moment to the Manchester Union-Leader. “We’re not playing the Boston Red Sox. We’re playing the Portland Sea Dogs. Unless you’re from that area, you root for your hometown team. This is New Hampshire’s team, Manchester’s team, and to see Clay Buchholz get a standing ovation was absolutely disgraceful.”

After having time to think it over for a day, Masse added, “When I came to the dugout after that standing ovation, players were not happy. I just think it rubbed my team, and especially myself, the wrong way. These guys are out there competing every night and giving the fans some awesome games, and they came away feeling like they were the visiting team.”

Fast-forward to Saturday night’s game at New Britain Stadium, Portland vs. New Britain.
With Buchholz closing in on his no-hitter in Boston, Rock Cats staffers felt obliged to keep the fans informed of the developments, while the Rock Cats and Sea Dogs were in the midst of their game.

Several Rock Cats players climbed the steps of the dugout and indicated their contempt.
The night before, Minnesota Twins right-hander Scott Baker – a former Rock Cats pitcher – was working on a perfect game heading into the ninth inning. The Rock Cats’ press box crew did inform the fans of Baker’s bid, although not as ardently as the Sox fans within portrayed Buchholz’ bid.

After the game, a self-appointed spokesman who requested anonymity said the following: “This comes from the entire Rock Cat baseball team. It’s a little weird that when a Red Sox player is pitching a no-hitter, it’s announced, which is fine. But when Scott Baker had a perfect game going in the ninth, there was no word of it. A little weird, just a little weird.”

When Rock Cats outfielder Garrett Guzman heard that the aforementioned player preferred anonymity, he offered to go on the record.

“It was definitely bush. ... (Baker) pitched here in New Britain a few years ago and they announce Clay Buchholz and show his highlight (on the scoreboard video display). I think it’s bush. It’s terrible of the front office,” he said.

Here’s my take.

I feel the players’ frustration, and I’m strongly in their corner philosophically that this is the home of the Rock Cats, affiliates of the Minnesota Twins, and the borders of Red Sox Nation stop at the Willow Brook property line since former owner Joe Buzas booted Boston after the 1994 season.

However, the Rock Cats front office is on a mission to provide fans with the kind of atmosphere that will bring them back often, something Bill Dowling and Company have done diligently and effectively since they’ve been in charge here.

Again, in fairness to the front office and press box workers, they did keep fans abreast of Baker’s effort, if not quite as zealously as they projected Buchholz’ achievement. Here’s one issue where it’s hard to define a right and wrong.

A LATE-SEASON MIRACLE LOOKS UNLIKELY

2007-08-26T00:42:00.000-04:00

Several fans and New Britain Stadium press box people have been chiding me about my writing that the Rock Cats’ late-season bid for the Eastern League playoffs was likely to come up short.

I’ve had a surge or two of optimism that I would be wrong since I wrote it several weeks ago, and believe me I’m still hoping that some miracle will happen, but I’ve witnessed so many pennant races over the years and I just don’t see any spark or leadership that could alter the 2007 Rock Cats’ fate.

When the team hit .500 at 47-47 with a doubleheader sweep of division-leading Trenton on a magical July 20, I sensed that maybe the Cats had turned the corner. They pounded Yankees phenom Joba Chamberlain, who is now baffling American League hitters. Enthusiasm filled the clubhouse. The stereo boomed music and there were smiles all around.

But New Britain lost the next two to Trenton, were beaten twice by the Connecticut Defenders in Norwich and lost two more to New Hampshire. The six-game losing streak erased all the good feelings, and in my mind sentenced the Rock Cats to also-ran status.

Yet the positive forces that have been at work during the Rock Cats’ better days resurfaced in mid-August. They won three straight in Portland, but lost the first game in a three-game set in New Hampshire August 20. Anthony Swarzak pitched a gem the next night and if the rubber game in the series had gone New Britain’s way, the Rock Cats would have been in business.

But the 12-0 pasting delivered by the Fisher Cats in the getaway game reinforced my original gut feeling that 2007 was not going to be the year that New Britain would return to the playoffs. Still, the optimists hold out hope. As Rock Cats voice Jeff Dooley looked forward, he saw a five-game home series with the last-place Defenders. If the Rock Cats could win four of five ...

Going into the final game of the set, the Defenders have won three of four and now only a miracle could save the season. Portland and New Hampshire are tied for second place – the last playoff slot – and lead New Britain by 4 ½ games. The Rock Cats have 12 to play, but have to go through two teams. If New Hampshire were to falter, the Cats have a five-game series with Portland to end the year, but the veteran-laden Fisher Cats are playing the best ball of the three.

On Saturday, the Rock Cats had a 5-1 lead after one inning. Eight innings later, the Defenders left the field with a 7-6 victory. Playoff-bound teams don’t blow games like that. They had two chances to rally against the Defenders bullpen but their at-bats disappeared without a threat.

I’m sorry, eternal optimists, but New Britain will have to wait until next year to try and break what will be a four-year postseason drought.

DEVELOPMENT CAN BE FUN TO WATCH

2007-08-25T14:50:00.000-04:00

The nuances of minor league baseball are part of its charm, if you can get past judging it by comparison with the majors.

From the major league perspective, administrators obviously prefer that their affiliates win. With championships come organizational pride. Impressionable young players who are part of championship teams gain confidence and momentum for future achievement.

But what fans must never forget is that the minor leagues exist at the behest of Major League Baseball. Development is the name of the game, so the fact that the Minnesota Twins’ roster is dotted with the likes of former Rock Cats like Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Torii Hunter, Jason Bartlett, et al is of much greater value to Twins general manager Terry Ryan than a collection of rings for his minor league affiliates.

The most difficult facet that fans have to wrestle with in terms of development is that great players won’t be around for long. Mauer, for instance, spent little more than half a season (2003) with the Rock Cats and never stopped at Triple-A Rochester at all.

With every Mauer that moves up, another exceptional athlete takes his place. That’s not to say the next Class A catcher is going to be of the same quality, which of course would be ridiculous, but the youngster making his way to New Britain from Fort Myers is still among the finest baseball players in the land.

Monitoring development can be fun if you know what to look for and watch carefully. Take the first game of Friday night’s doubleheader, for example.

The Rock Cats scored six runs in the first inning. Starting pitcher Ryan Mullins, 23, eluded difficulty in the top of the first when versatile hustle machine Luke Hughes threw a strike to catcher Kyle Geiger from right field to keep the Connecticut Defenders scoreless.

Given a six-run pad, the youngster convinced himself to stay aggressive and wasn’t mixing his pitches well. The Defenders were creeping back. With the score 6-3 in the fifth inning, the first two Defenders lashed doubles. Slugger Randy Ruiz was coming up carrying the tying run, a devastating thought to a team still vying for a playoff slot.

Rock Cats pitching coach Gary Lucas made his second visit to the mound.

“He had trouble with his curveball early and on my second trip I said, ‘Let’s try to get that back in the mix,’” Lucas said. “He had a couple good results with it.”

Indeed. With a man on second, no outs and the tying run at the plate, Mullins blew up Ruiz's rhythm and struck him out swinging. He got Tyler Von Schell thinking and punched him out looking at an offspeed delivery. Simon Klink grounded to short to end the threat.

Mullins left the game and reliever Armando Gabino, as he has done consistently since joining the Rock Cats Aug. 8, shut down the oppostion and paved the way for victory.

Whatever Lucas said struck a chord with Mullins, and the result may be a huge part in the development of a young left-hander with promise.

“I tried to give him some pointers on focus and concentration,” said Lucas, accentuating the importance of the mental toughness complimenting physical ability. “He was struggling with fastball command. We were trying to attack with fastballs but I thought there was a point where we attacked with too many fastballs and we missed too many locations that we had to go back to something else.”

That’s development, folks, and it’s something to remember if Mullins can absorb his lessons and fine-tune them for his shot at fame and fortune. It's something to have fun with as you return to New Britain Stadium and monitor the Eastern League.

DOOLEY'S A TREAT WHEN CATS ARE AWAY

2007-08-21T20:42:00.000-04:00

As most of you know, I don't get to see the Rock Cats much when they're on the road. I make most of the games over in Norwich, and did get to Manchester, N.H., for a rather snowy opening day, but road games are spent listening to Jeff Dooley on the radio.

The radio waves have never been too kind where I live. Like I tell Dooley, I would have bought a house north and east of Bloomfield (home of Rock Cats flagship station WDRC) instead of south and west if I had only known.

WDRC comes in loud and clear all day, including that dynamic 3-to-6 drive time when Dooley's home-game partner Dan Lovallo reigns supreme on his fabulous talk show. But when the sun sets in the west, WDRC sets in the east. By 8:30 or so, I'm listening to gospel music from someplace in New Jersey where DRC used to be.

Sometimes, Dooley comes in loud and clear on DRC's Buckley Radio Network affiliate out of Torrington, WSNG-610. But when the sky is clear and the AM waves don't bounce, it's a choice of either a muffled Dooley or Dooley and his choir chanting,"The Lord is my Shepherd."

But technology is marvelous. Dooley is always loud and clear on the internet through http://www.milb.com/. So here I am, with my laptop on my knee and the Twins on TV with the volume turned down. (Tonight I'm shifting back and forth between the Twins and Turner Classic Movies. It's Gary Cooper night and The Westerner is one of my faves.)

I always tell my wife that as soon as I turn Dooley on, I can tell if the Cats are winning or losing by his tone. Most of the Rhode Island accent he brought with him to central Connecticut 10 years ago is gone. It comes through now and then when he gets excited, especially when somebody hits a grand slam.

When the Cats are up, Dooley's voice lilts. When they're losing, you wish you could send him a cold beer via email to make him feel better. I heard that lilt tonight and sure enough, the Cats are winning 2-0 and Anthony Swarzak is mowing down the Fisher Cats.

On TV, the Twins are losing by the same score. Dooley says Twins GM Terry Ryan is in attendance in Manchester. Gotta feel for TR. The door to the playoffs in the AL Central is open but the Twins don't seem to have the sparkle they had last year when they burst through on the season's final day. What they need is another power guy. Why can't TR finagle Mike Piazza from Oakland? Oh, well. Perhaps he'll tell me why when he comes to New Britain Thursday.

Back to the Cats, Dooley says they can make the playoffs. But Dooley sees a full glass of beer in front of him when all that's left is foam. I keep saying and writing that it's too late. When they got back to .500 at 47-47 then lost five straight, that was a killer. If they're in fourth place, 4 games out with 5 to play, Dooley will figure it's a piece of cake. Gotta love him.

CATS SWEEP 7th DOUBLEHEADER

2007-08-18T23:50:00.000-04:00

PORTLAND, Me. – The New Britain Rock Cats just love to work overtime.

The Rock Cats kept their faint playoff hopes flickering by sweeping their seventh doubleheader of the season Saturday by whipping the Portland Sea Dogs, 8-1 and 6-3, before 7,368 at Hadlock Field.

The Rock Cats (58-63) remain in fourth place, five games out of the Northern Division’s last playoff spot currently held by second-place Portland (64-59). The teams still have six games remaining including the series finale Sunday at 1 p.m.

Minnesota Twins left-hander Glen Perkins made a rehab start in the first game and gave up a run in 2 1/3 innings. Felix Molina drew New Britain even in the second inning with an RBI single.

The Rock Cats took the lead for good in the fourth inning. David Winfree singled and took second on a walk to Rashad Eldridge. Molina sacrificed the runners forward, Brandon Roberts lifted a sacrifice fly and Trevor Plouffe lashed an RBI single.

Drew Butera drilled a two-run triple in the sixth. The Rock Cats added three in the seventh on an RBI single by Molina and consecutive bases-loaded walks. Portland manager Arnie Beyeler was ejected in the inning.

Tristan Crawford (7-5) pitched 2 1/3 innings to gain the win. Jose Mijares tossed the final 2 1/3 frames.

The Rock Cats also trailed by a run early in the nightcap when a double by Kyle Geiger, bunt single by Roberts and RBI hit by Plouffe tied it up. A home run by Molina – his eighth of the season – gave New Britain the lead the next inning.

New Britain put it away against former Cat outfielder John Barnes, who is back in Double A with Portland as a knuckleball pitcher.

Brock Peterson, who went 5-for-8 in the twinbill, ignited the two-run rally with a single. Matt Moses had an RBI single. Barnes’ knuckleball led to two passed balls that allowed runs to score.
Armando Gabino (2-0) pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Josh Hill. Gabino has not allowed a run in three appearances (5 innings) since his promotion from Class A.

Peterson is now 15-for-34 (.441) since coming back from a shoulder injury Aug. 8.
Barnes (1-1) took the loss for Portland.

Perkins is slated to get another rehab start at home Thursday against the Connecticut Defenders.

PLENTY LEFT TO PLAY FOR

2007-08-15T19:00:00.000-04:00

New Britain's 12-5 victory over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats on Tuesday proved that the team has no intention of yielding no matter how long the odds of making the postseason.

Manager Riccardo Ingram had a heart-to-heart with his youthful legions upon their arrival home from a 2-4 road trip to remind them that the season isn’t over and every game can have its rewards.

“We said it’s gonna take a lot for us to have a shot at getting to the playoffs,” Ingram said. “The only thing we can do is take care of what we need to take care of.”

The Rock Cats entered Wednesday’s game in fourth place, 2 ½ games behind New Hampshire and six in back of the Portland Sea Dogs, who currently hold the second of the Northern Division’s two playoff spots behind the Trenton Thunder.

“These are the last 30 games and these are the last impressions you’re going to leave in the staff’s eyes and all the evaluators who are going to come through,” Ingram said. “We’ve got to play all nine innings, not give away at-bats and I think we showed that (Tuesday).”

Ingram stressed that a player can make or break his season in the final 30 games. A hot streak can jump .280 to .300. Laxity can reduce prospects to suspects.

“There’s a lot left to this season and we’ve got to keep playing hard,” he said. “Don’t let these games, at-bats and innings get away. It can cause your season to be a bad one, or if you’re having a mediocre season you can have a good one. Don’t let it get down to the last week and think about how you gave away at-bats or innings.”

Left fielder Garrett Guzman, for example, used a 3-for-5 night to catapult his season average to .305. Combine that with his 13 home runs and team-best 71 RBI and there will be little doubt that he belongs in Triple-A next season. With the advent of a late-season slump comes questions.

Among pitchers with plenty at stake is Anthony Swarzak. His season eroded by a 50-game suspension, The 6’3, 195-pound right-hander from Fort Lauderdale, has raised eyebrows by going 3-2 with a 2.94 ERA since returning to New Britain in late June.

Closer Tim Lahey has come a long way in his transitioning from catcher to pitcher. Through May 6, he was 0-0 with one save and a 6.00 ERA. Since July 1, the native of Worcester, Mass., has eight saves in 10 chances and a sparkling 0.82 ERA.

Most will agree that he has what it takes to compete in the major leagues and he’ll want to reduce that ERA (3.06) a bit to further such thought.

Ingram reminded them that they all have something to play for. If Tuesday was any indication, they’re listening.

A DAY IN THE SUN

2007-08-05T23:00:00.000-04:00

The sun was shining so brightly and not a cloud was in sight so I couldn't resist spending a few innings of Sunday's game in the grandstands.

Perhaps the most refreshing aspect of my open-air approach was not having the distraction of this very computer in front of me. It's always so enticing to be researching statistics, checking the scoreboard and conversing via e-mail that sometimes the nuances of the game escape me. You know, like studying the pitcher's release point, picking up body language and getting a better look at pitch location.

Jake Dittler was pitching for the Akron Aeros. He's got a pretty good pedigree according to what I've read, but he was up with his pitches and the Rock Cats hitters were having their way with him.

Rock Cats pitcher Jesse Floyd has been struggling most of the year and Sunday was no different. He was falling behind the hitters, getting hurt and falling into his usual methodical routine that tends to put defenders back on their heels.

The New Britain Stadium ticket-holder is a very fortunate fan. I haven't yet found a bad seat and you're so close to the action. You can really appreciate the power that professional arms can generate and the incredible power that the hitters wield with their bats. These kind of get lost when you sit in the press box, watch games on television and view games from the distance that most major league seats afford.

Then there's president/owner Bill Dowling. Bill is a true "people" person. He enjoys interacting with the fans at his usual spot behind home plate and in front of the portal to the concourse below.

Through Dowling's leadership, his people don't miss a trick. What impressed me the most was the man who circulated with a broom and dust pan. When a child dropped his pretzel, the man was right on top of it. The stadium's thoroughfares are kept that way.

The game was moving forward. I was caught without my sunscreen, my neck had that burning feeling and I felt the need to start writing my story so I left for my usual spot in the press box.

Someday, hopefully more than just a few years from now, I will walk away from the job I've now had and relished for 11 years. And while it's more than likely I won't witness the 80 or so ballgames that I do as an Eastern League beat writer, I assure you of this. I am looking forward to attending Rock Cats games at New Britain Stadium when I can buy an ice cold beer, root for the home team and soak up all the advantages of being a baseball fan in central Connecticut.

RYAN HAS HIS REASONS FOR CASTILLO DEAL

2007-08-01T16:52:00.000-04:00

Twins general manager Terry Ryan has been vilified by fans and media for making the deadline trade that sent his steady second baseman Luis Castillo to the New York Mets for minor league catcher Drew Butera and outfielder Dustin Martin.

On the surface, it appears Ryan’s actions indicate that he has lost all hope of the team making another late-season dash to the postseason. Naturally, he claims that isn’t true. He says he has the ultimate faith in Castillo’s replacement – Alexi Casilla – which Rock Cats fans learned last year is well-deserved. Perhaps he’ll be right.

The bloggers are bashing away. Franchise cornerstone Johan Santana, probably speaking out of anger because he’s lost a friend in Castillo, says he doesn’t belong on a team that is unwilling to upgrade itself for a postseason run. Every fan in Major Market City is having an orgasmic vision of Santana in their uniform, like they do with every superstar that Small Market-ville can’t afford to sign.

Well, we don’t know what the future holds, and most bloggers can’t even make an educated guess, but there are other things we don’t know.

For instance, what kind of financial line does Ryan have to toe when he charts the Twins’ future with the Pohlad family and team president David St. Peter? I don’t know, and never will unless I can become that proverbial fly on the wall. Santana isn’t apt to know. Bloggers surely don’t know, so what sense does it make to belittle Ryan?

What we do know is that Ryan’s track record has gained him respect throughout the industry. Peers regard him as an administrator who has treated Twin Cities faithful to a competitive team without the blank-check mentality that some owners can enlist.

Here’s what else we should know before we disparage.

Let’s assume Ryan didn’t push the button and retained Castillo for the remainder of the season. If Castillo ranks as a Type A free agent, the Twins would receive a first-round pick in the June 2008 draft from the team that ultimately signs him. They would also receive a supplemental first-round choice – or sandwich pick – after the completion of the first round.

Ponder this. If the Twins cannot, or would not, come up with the cash to keep Castillo, will they be able to sign an extra high-priced first-round pick (for a Type B free agent), or possibly two?

Getting two prospects for a lame-duck player, no matter how good he is, benefits the Twins more than unmanageable draft-day expense, or coming away with nothing.

Getting to the two ex-Mets, Butera is a catcher who fulfills the Twins’ need in high Class A. Caleb Moore, a catcher with the Fort Myers Miracle, reportedly has expressed interest in becoming a pitcher. That left Fort Myers short at that vital position, so Butera’s arrival in New Britain and the demotion of Korey Feiner to the Miracle fills the slot.

Martin ranks as a decent outfield prospect. The left-handed hitter was a New York-Penn League All-Star for the Brooklyn Cyclones in 2006, when he batted .312 with two homers and 35 RBI in 72 games. He was hitting .287-5-52 for the high-A St. Lucie Mets prior to the trade.

Will either Butera or Martin be major leaguers? Will Santana still be bitter and shun the Twins when he qualifies for free agency after the 2008 season? Those are two of the many questions that can only be answered over time. What we do know in the here and now is that Terry Ryan is one of the best general managers in baseball, and Twins fans should trust him for doing the best he can with what he has.

If they want something to blame, they should blame the system. A system that provides advantages to the affluent and shuns the grassroots deserves their scorn.

BUSCHER HEADED FOR THE SHOW?

2007-07-25T22:54:00.000-04:00

Third baseman Brian Buscher likely will become the first member of the 2007 New Britain Rock Cats to make the leap from the Eastern League to the American League, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported on its Twins Dugout website Wednesday.

Buscher, who is hitting .319 with six homers and 20 RBI with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings since leaving New Britain June 20, will replace outfielder Darnell McDonald on the Twins roster, according to the report.

While the Twins said the move won’t be made until Friday, Star Tribune reporter La Velle E. Neal III quoted manager Ron Gardenhire as hinting, “It is a position player, we do know that. “He plays in the infield. Not in the middle.” The news was corroborated on the Red Wings’ web site. Buscher left Wednesday’s game after two at-bats.

Buscher, a Rule 5 acquisition from the San Francisco Giants organization at the winter meetings in December, hit .308 with seven homers and 38 RBI in 63 games for the Rock Cats before swapping spots with current New Britain third baseman Matt Moses.

Third base has been a trouble spot for the Twins this season. Nick Punto, a long-time utility player who won the slot last year, is batting just .218, has made baserunning mistakes and has failed to deliver in bunting situations.

ANYTHING BUT MINOR LEAGUE

2007-07-23T22:35:00.001-04:00

July is always a compelling time at New Britain Stadium.

The major league trading deadline is July 31 so the seats behind home plate are filled with scouts, evaluating the players’ skills and searching for intangibles that may influence their general managers to either include or eliminate them as keys to the future or “players to be named later” in last-minute deals.

But this July has seen more than just scouts.

San Francisco Giants general manager Brian Sabean paid a visit along with vice president of player personnel Dick Tidrow when their Double-A Connecticut Defenders were in town.

They watched with abhorrence as the Defenders stumbled their way to three straight losses. Sabean’s reaction was making the unusual midseason decision to relieve Defenders manager Dave Machemer and assign him to major league scouting duties. Basically, that’s a way of saying we don’t like the job you’re doing but we don’t want to humiliate you with a flat-out dismissal.

Sabean, who recently had his term extended, has been vilified by bloggers for the Giants’ descent into National League purgatory and he’s got to get it going in the right direction. The Giants successfully hosted the 2007 All-Star Game and continue to bathe in Barry Bonds’ race for the sports world’s most revered record. Now it’s time to start thinking of the future and the seeds were planted in New Britain.

When Sabean and the Defenders left town, they were replaced by the Trenton Thunder and an entourage of Yankees brass that had local keyboards, voice recorders and TV cameras whirring at a frenetic pace.

There may not be a more visible man in all of baseball than Hall-of-Famer Reggie Jackson, and while he wasn’t interested in addressing the media on the record, he was congenial and effectively exercised his role as an exalted ambassador of the game.

Following in Reggie’s massive wake was Yanks general manager Brian Cashman, who did everything he could to accommodate the local media and assure fans that the crown jewels of the organization’s future – pitchers Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy – would not be dangled for any quick-fix veterans.

On the other side of the field, virtually obscured by Yankee aura, were Minnesota Twins resident Hall-of-Famer Paul Molitor and the organization’s top two scouting luminaries, venerable director Mike Radcliff and pro scouting coordinator Vern Followell.

Radcliff and Followell could walk the corridors of Westfarms Mall and not attract attention like Jackson and Cashman would, but they are the architects of a farm system that has treated local fans to reigning AL MVP Justin Morneau and batting champion Joe Mauer.

Twins minor league director Jim Rantz slipped in and out of town after Cashman and Jackson departed. Minnesota general manager Terry Ryan will be here in early August making three GM visits in a span of three weeks.

There’s no escaping that the baseball is minor league but there was nothing secondary about the excitement, chatter, speculation and innuendo that distinguishes New Britain as a summer venue that’s anything but minor.

NEW FACES WILL BE 'PITCHING' IN

2007-07-19T16:52:00.000-04:00

The much-anticipated move that would change the face of the tattered New Britain Rock Cats pitching staff came down Thursday afternoon with two right-handed starters being promoted from the Class A Fort Myers Miracle.

Oswaldo Sosa, 21, is ranked by Baseball America as the 11th best prospect in the Minnesota Twins organization. Yohan Pino, 23, is the author of a seven-inning no-hitter in the Florida State League on June 30.

Kyle Waldrop, who suffered through a difficult outing under the watch of scouting director Mike Radcliff Wednesday, was dispatched to Fort Myers.

Left-hander Errol Simonitsch, who has been out of action since enduring shoulder trouble in spring training, was removed from the Double-A roster and assigned to the Gulf Coast (Rookie) Twins on a rehab assignment. The Rock Cats now have 23 active players, one under the limit.

Sosa, 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, is 5-5 with a 2.23 ERA over 105 innings for the offensively challenged Miracle. In 19 games (all starts), he allowed 94 hits in 105 innings while striking out 82 and walking 36. He is on the Twins’ 40-man major league roster, joining southpaw reliever Jose Mijares as the only current Rock Cats having that distinction.

Pino, 6-foot and 171, is 4-3 with a 1.73 ERA in 67 2/3 innings. He has struck out 64 and walked 17 in 19 games, nine of them starts. In the no-hitter against the St. Lucie Mets, he walked four and struck out seven. Opposing hitters are batting .192 against him.

Both pitchers are Venezuelans and thus were signed as free agents, Sosa in 2002 and Pino in 2004. Venezuelan players are not subject to the draft.

Waldrop, 21, was 3-6 with a 5.34 ERA in 59 innings with New Britain. Waldrop started the season in Fort Myers where he went 4-2 with a 2.86 in eight games before his May 16 promotion.

EL ALL-STAR GAME, OR IS IT?

2007-07-11T20:20:00.000-04:00

The fog is so thick at Dodd Stadium that my computer monitor needs windshield wipers.

The outfield billboards, generally resplendent in their color, are shrouded in gray. Thankfully, the first six outs in the game were ground balls. The press box odds of a routine fly ball being caught are 5-to-1.

Thicker and thicker the fog gets. Minor league directors across America must have swallowed hard at the thought of their elite outfielders standing under fly balls that could end their lives, no less their careers.

We can make out the left fielder, where Dodd Stadium’s lights are decent. But center fielder, shadowy even at the best of times, is obscured.

Rob Cosby of the New Hampshire Fisher Cats lofts what looks like a catchable fly ball to right field. Brian Barton of Akron cannot locate the ball and Cosby is off the races with a triple. We may set the record for triples tonight.

Val Majewski of Bowie hits a pop fly to fairly deep center. The only image I can see is a white shirt going right field, then circling toward left. Double. Let’s hope any foreigners on hand don’t interpret this as baseball. Even worse, let’s hope they don’t have camcorders. On the other hand, it’s OK because nobody would be able to see what was happening anyway.

The Dodd Stadium sound man wouldn't dare play, "I Can See For Miles."

Finally, some common sense. Jackson Melian's hit to right field could have dropped Defenders outfielder John Bowker where he stood. It went for a fog-assisted two-run single to tie the game. The umpires have intervened. We'll wait 15 minutes, which may be just enough time for the thunderstorm that Doppler says is inevitable.

Maybe he'll play, "I Can See Clearly Now."

VICTORY, ROCK CATS! SAVE, LEVY!

2007-07-07T10:49:00.000-04:00

Everybody was drained.

The visiting Portland Sea Dogs had a 2 p.m. bus from their hotel in Southington with the knowledge that it was going to be a long, long day. A doubleheader that simply had to be played was slated to begin at 4:05 p.m. Rain was in the forecast.

Manager Arnie Beyeler was cordial but far from jovial after nearly 4 1/2 hours of baseball separated by 30 minutes of fireworks on a day where the start of the game was delayed by 2 hours, 26 minutes by a violent thunderstorm.

"We went down to the cage and took some swings down there," Beyeler uttered in the monotone you'd expect from a tired manager whose team lost two games and had a 4-hour bus trip on the docket that would begin after midnight. "We didn't do anything on the field.

"We knew it was going to rain and it was going to be bad so we didn't get here any sooner than we had to."

Mental fatigue is one thing, but consider the following tale of physical and mentral strain rolled into one that needs to be told.

The gallant association of Rock Cats tarp-pullers was instructed by budding meteorologist, bon vivant and team president Bill Dowling to get the infield covered. That amoeba-like blob percolating across his weather map with green on its perimeter, yellow at its core and angry red in its nucleus was bound to cause problems. The sun was shining but Dowling knew those clouds in the western sky were a threat to wipe away his expected sellout crowd.

The sky blackened. The wind kicked up. The temperature plummeted like the thermometer was taken out of an oven and plunged into ice water. The tarp people did their usual superb job with one glaring exception. They underestimated the powerful wind that was now peeling the tarp off the infield near the critical shortstop area. One torrent and the doubleheader with over 7,000 fans would be bogged down in two inches of infield mud.

Enter Rock Cats assistant general manager Evan Levy. Evan can be a demanding boss. He wants everything done to his level of perfection, but he sets an example through the meticulous execution of his responsibilities, and then some.

As the undulating canvas threatened to waft skyward, Levy tried to summon his crack crew but they had scattered to perform their usual day-fo-game tasks. He and three others took matters into their own hands. With the rain pounding him and wind nearly taking him off his feet, he held onto the tarp at shortstop, like a 19th century deckhand battling to keep his sails aloft and his ship from sinking.

The wind was so strong it blew the huge cyclinder -- that big pipe-like contraption that rolls up the tarp -- toward the middle of the infield. Completely soaked to the skin, Evan and his abbreviated crew pushed it back and secured it.

As is always the case when rain falls at a ridiculous pace, the New Britain Stadium outfield was inundated. There's nothing anybody, not even Evan, could do about that. But with the sun again shining and 7,109 folks clamoring for entertainment, the tarpers did their thing in reverse and revealed a perfectly dry infield.

After the game, Evan had to supervise a girl scouts sleepover. Obviously there were places he'd rather be -- at home in bed being his most likely choice.

The managers were tired, the players were tired, the tarpers were tired. Evan had to be close to the human brink of exhaustion.

Rock Cats reliever Tim Lahey notched the save in the first game. J.P. Martinez rescued the second. But for the first time in baseball history, someone saved two games with one dramatic effort. He'll be at the ballpark well in advance of today's 1 p.m. youth clinic if anybody wants to thank him.

CATS DEAL DOGS A DOUBLE DEFEAT

2007-07-07T01:44:00.000-04:00

A rain delay pushed the first game of the Rock Cats' doubleheader with the Portland Sea Dogs up 2 hours, 26 minutes.

In their constant quest of pleasing the fans, they opted to treat fans to a belated Independence Day fireworks display between games, so the second game went deep into the night, deeper than our deadline would permit.

For those interested in the complete story that could not appear in Saturday's Herald, here are the details of a twinbill which carried the Rock Cats to within a game of the third-place Sea Dogs.

New Britain Rock Cats starter Ryan Mullins and leadoff hitter Brandon Roberts celebrated a day of Double-A firsts.

Mullins earned his first Eastern League win and Roberts slugged his first home run of the season Friday night to lead the Rock Cats to a 6-3 win over the Portland Sea Dogs in the first game of a doubleheader.

A botched pop-up by the Portland infield led to a 5-4 New Britain victory in the nightcap.

Mullins (1-2) yielded three runs on seven hits before tiring with one out in the sixth inning. Mullins had five quality starts in his first six outings but was unable to get the elusive victory.

“It feels good to get my first victory but I wish I could have gone deeper into the game,” said Mullins, a left-hander who was promoted to New Britain from Class-A Fort Myers May 29. “I’m getting better with all of my pitches and I’m starting to get into a groove.”

The Rock Cats (40-43) wasted little time in seizing the initiative off Portland starter T.J. Nall (3-11) when Roberts, with his family on hand from Florida, launched an arching fly ball that cleared the right-field wall with the count full.
“It was a fastball in,” Roberts said. “I just got lucky and squared it up.”

Portland right fielder Cory Keylor dropped Felix Molina’s warning-track with Brock Peterson aboard and nobody out, paving the way for an unearned run in the second inning. Korey Feiner tapped a grounder to short with the bases loaded and two out.

Nall retired the first two Rock Cats in the third inning but Peterson worked a walk and Molina smacked his fifth homer of the season well beyond the right-field wall to double New Britain’s advantage.

Portland (41-42) threatened to cut into the gap in the fourth but Mullins limited the damage. With the bases loaded and none out, a groundout by Jay Johnson scored a lone Sea Dogs run.

The Sea Dogs chased Mullins in the sixth. Jed Lowrie (2-for-3) doubled and scored on a one-out triple by Johnson. Johnson (1-for-3, 2 RBI) came in on Andrew Pinckney’s infield hit. Tim Lahey set down the next two hitters and retired Portland in order in the seventh to notch his fourth save.

In Game 2, Portland third baseman Pinckney dropped a pop fly 10 feet in front of home plate with the bases loaded and two out in the third inning, allowing the Rock Cats to score the two runs that made the difference.

“He’s got to make the play but he didn’t,” Portland manager Arnie Beyeler said. “It was his ball and he knows it.”

Johnson had two doubles and two RBI for the Sea Dogs, who dropped their first twinbill of the season.

Veteran knuckleballer Charlie Zink (8-3) yielded five runs (three earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out three.

“He struggles to throw when it’s humid out,” Beyeler said. “The knuckleball wasn’t working very well. He threw probably 10 good ones. … He battled and we got five good innings out of him, basically without any stuff.”

Moses had a two-run double in New Britain’s three-run first inning.

J.P. Martinez (2-4) retired nine of the 10 hitters he faced in relief of Rock Cats starter Josh Hill, six on strikeouts.The Rock Cats have swept four of their doubleheaders this season and split two.

ADVERSITY RESHAPES SWARZAK'S GAME

2007-07-04T22:08:00.000-04:00

The tiny sitting room with the cushy chairs adjacent to the Rock Cats clubhouse was quiet as Anthony Swarzak pondered what had transpired since he reported to spring training in March.

He was in great shape when he arrived in Fort Myers, eager to show the Minnesota Twins that he could follow the fast-path to big-league prosperity blazed by pitchers like Francisco Liriano, Matt Garza, Pat Neshek and Kevin Slowey.

Swarzak, 21, is entitled to have a little fun mixed in with the serious business of professional baseball, but he evidently crossed the line. When his time came to pee in the cup, he was a little concerned, but time passed, he reported to New Britain and he figured he was all set.

Not so. The Twins got the word in mid-April that Swarzak had failed his drug test, and it wasn’t his first offense. The penalty for messing up twice was a 50-game suspension. All his hopes and dreams passed before his eyes.

The initial shock wore off while Swarzak spent the rest of April and some of May hanging with the Rock Cats but unable to participate. When he reported to the Twins’ extended spring training program in Fort Myers, the hot sun bore down on him as he worked to stay in shape and fine-tune his mechanics.

“I realized I was taking the game for granted, just a little bit,” he said. “I really got that passion for the game, not that I lost it but I kind of put things in perspective. … I’m trying to make the best out of a bad situation.”

When the 50 games elapsed, Swarzak was dispatched across the parking lot at the Twins’ spring training complex to pitch for Fort Myers in the Class-A Florida State League. Returning to the scene where he had already started 37 games over the previous two seasons surely wasn’t what he wanted or expected on June 13, but he steadfastly refused to let that affect his focus.

Three starts, 15 2/3 innings and 18 strikeouts later, he was headed back to New Britain, where starting pitchers seemingly had forgotten that throwing strikes, trusting their stuff and challenging hitters are the keys to success. The time was ripe for Swarzak to make a dramatic entrance and show manager Riccardo Ingram what the Rock Cats had missed.

The results: two wins, 12 1/3 innings, 12 strikeouts and a 2.92 ERA.

“He seems to be a little more focused,” Ingram said. “He probably had a little bit of pressure on him from that situation and leading up to it. Obviously it’s going to affect you. … He had time to clear his head. He realizes the talent he has and doesn’t want to waste it. That’s what he’s shown the last two outings and hopefully he can continue.”

If he does, and he can somehow inspire his colleagues to follow suit, the Rock Cats’ quest for a winning season and some postseason fun aren’t yet out of reach. If he does, he will reshape how history reflects on a sobering 2007 season.

GET WELL, PAUL; GOOD LUCK, STAN & JOHN

2007-07-01T23:06:00.000-04:00

Sometimes the real world has the untimely habit of invading our fairy-tale sports domain.

Devout Rock Cats fans may notice that a man dressed in Twins blue and armed with a video camera can be seen switching between the first- and third-base sides to film the team's pitchers and hitters. He performs the duty out of the goodness of his own heart and for the benefit of Twins' player development and the players' future.

That man is Paul Dineen, and a more avid Rock Cats supporter you simply will not find.

Paul and his wife Merrilee were due at the home of Buddy and Lynne Robinson for a barbecue but he had to be rushed to the hospital Sunday morning and underwent brain surgery. As of Sunday night, the word was that Paul was resting comfortably, his foremost thoughts being that he doesn't want to miss the Rock Cats' next home game on Wednesday.

I'd like to join the folks who know, love or appreciate Paul in wishing him a speedy recovery. ...

The Cincinnati Reds fired manager Jerry Narron Sunday, surely a difficult decision for general manager Wayne Krivsky.

Krivsky, who was born and bred in New Canaan, was a long-time Twins exec before taking the Reds' post last year. Like most of Twins GM Terry Ryan's loyal people, Krivsky was a frequent visitor to New Britain Stadium and all the club's minor league venues.

Now I'm going to put two and two together, and while they may not equal four right away, here's some food for thought.

Krivsky had plenty of opportunities to see former Rock Cats managers John Russell and Stan Cliburn plying their trade over the years. While Peter Mackanin has been named Reds interim skipper, could Russell or Cliburn be in Krivsky's thoughts as he considers the future of his new club?

He couldn't go wrong with either ex-catcher.

Russell, 46, currently managing the Phillies' Triple-A squad in Ottawa, brings a quiet, cerebral approach to his job. His steady hand guided the Rock Cats to a fabulous season in 1998 which ended in the Eastern League finals.

Cliburn, 50, combines an uncanny knack for the game with an innate ability to handle ballplayers. He spent five years in New Britain before moving up to Triple-A Rochester last year.

Mackanin is a terrific guy who I got to know when he was scouting and I was the general manager in Glens Falls, N.Y. I'm sure he'll do fine at the helm in Cincy, but I can't help but thinking that either Russell or Cliburn would be a great choice. If it isn't in the cards this time, here's hoping that they get their chance someday soon.

TV GAME OFFERS A NEW PESPECTIVE

2007-06-23T19:54:00.000-04:00

I didn’t go to the Rock Cats game against the Connecticut Defenders in Norwich tonight. Hey, even sports writers deserve a day off now and then.

The wife and I did some wine tasting up in Litchfield at Haight Vineyards, bought some plants at White Flower Farm and did some gardening, but I couldn’t stay away from baseball an entire day. The game was televised on the Comcast Cable channel, CN8, so naturally I tuned in.

No matter how many games you watch from a press box behind home plate, you get a much different perspective watching on TV, particularly from the camera stationed in center field that allows you to watch the pitches break. You also get the expert commentary of announcers like former Red Sox catcher and color broadcaster Bob Montgomery, which is equally as valuable.

The unique perspective allowed me to make some observations that are hard to make from the press box.

The Rock Cats fell behind early with the Defenders taking it to starter Brad Baker.

Baker, the Red Sox’ first-round draft pick in 1999 when Dan Duquette was calling the shots, is struggling, and it’s easy to see why. His fastball is none too fast and has little movement. He has a terrific changeup that breaks sharply away from left-handed hitters, but Connecticut hitters were aggressive to the fastball and doing serious damage.

Montgomery pointed out that Baker’s delivery allows hitters a long look at his pitches, which doesn’t bode well for a pitcher either. Baker reaches back with his pitches and holds it there for a split second before following through.

Baker’s stats belie his problems. Going into Saturday’s game, he had given up 37 earned runs in 65 1/3 innings (5.10 ERA). He had also walked 20, which in addition to his 69 hits allowed, indicates that far too many hitters are reaching base.

Montgomery and CN8 play-by-play man Dave Popkin did a revealing in-game interview with Monty’s former Boston teammate – Connecticut pitching coach Bob “Steamer” Stanley. Stanley’s spot starter Brooks McNiven had New Britain hitters in the palm of his hand by spotting his pitches beautifully in just his third start.

Stanley talked about the Giants’ minor league pipeline, which is funneling plenty of prospects the Defenders’ way. Connecticut is mired in last place in the EL North but the way things are going, they’ll catch the beleaguered Rock Cats before long.

After falling behind 4-0, Baker began spotting his changeup and curveball extremely well and he settled down. The strikeouts began piling up and he retired a bunch of Defenders in a row. But the way McNiven is throwing, four runs may be enough to send New Britain to its 12th loss in the last 13 games.

There’s another reason why it’s fun for a beat writer to watch his team play on the tube.

Eugenio Velez, Connecticut’s flashy young second baseman, laid down a bunt. As he made his way toward first, he made contact with the ball and home plate umpire John Tumpane called him out.

Defenders veteran manager Dave Machemer came out to argue. Tumpane huddled with his two colleagues. They determined that the bunt was foul. Rock Cats manager Riccardo Ingram, who hasn’t caught a break since the Twins named him Double-A manager in the winter of 2005-06, voiced his protest, but of course to no avail.

As the umpires went back to their positions, a voice rang out very clearly.

“You called it right the first time. That’s boolsheet.”

Montgomery and Popkin probably didn’t hear it. Even if they did, they wouldn’t have known who it was, but beat writers get to know the voices of the people on their teams.

It’s always good to hear Rock Cats hitting coach Floyd “Sugar Bear” Rayford expressing his opinion.

ROCK CATS HAVE RILED BASEBALL GODS

2007-06-22T17:43:00.000-04:00

It’s easy to pass judgment on Rock Cats manager Riccardo Ingram, facets of the team’s game or individual players during a time when losses are piling up.

As the Rock Cats were dropping 10 of their last 11 games, Ingram will be the first to tell you that he made mistakes. The players’ mistakes, of course, are magnified. Those who don’t actually witness them first hand hear about them on the radio or read about them in the newspaper. People make mistakes. Ballplayers and managers are people. They’re entitled.

Mistakes have undoubtedly played a role in the Rock Cats’ nose-dive, but what has been incredibly apparent to those who watch the team daily is they just cannot catch a break.

Whenever Ingram sends a runner home from second on a hard-hit single and challenges the outfielder to make a perfect throw, he’s been making it.

In the second game of Wednesday’s doubleheader, New Hampshire has two outs and nobody on in the top of the ninth inning of a 1-1 game. Aaron Mathews pokes a single. Chip Cannon doubles into the right-field corner.

As right fielder Matt Allegra comes up with the ball, Fisher Cats manager Bill Masse sends Mathews. Prevailing wisdom questions how in the world he can make such a decision. Mathews is going to be out by 15 feet. Not when second baseman Felix Molina drops Allegra’s relay throw.

It goes down in the book as simply an RBI double and the box score analyst has no idea.

Thursday night, New Britain trails 1-0 in the seventh inning. The Cats bats have been resilient all season, though, and fans sniff a rally when Dave Winfree belts a leadoff single.

With one out, Kyle Geiger launches a long fly ball to the deepest part of the park. Center fielder Dustin Majewski angles back and twist nearly 360 degrees to compensate for the brisk tailwind. Just when it looks like the wind is going to carry the ball beyond his reach, Majewski makes a remarkable catch that would have made Jim Edmonds proud.

But the Rock Cats get a reprieve. Brandon Roberts’ Baltimore chop is coming down to second baseman Ryan Klosterman just as Winfree is running by. All Klosterman has to do is catch the ball and make the tag, but he drops it.

Ingram figures that stroke of luck will change the Rock Cats’ fate, but somebody in that New Britain dugout must have done something pretty distasteful to bring the wrath of the baseball gods down this hard on the team. Rashad Eldridge hits an absolute rope that seems destined to split the outfielders and bang off the wall.

Mathews races over from left field, goes horizontal and snares a sure double in his glove.

If Ingram didn’t keep his head shaved, he would have been yanking out hair by the handful. Of the seven losses he’s endured in the last eight games, six were by one run. How’s that for splitting hairs?

Explain the losing streak? All he can say is, “That’s baseball.” He can only wait for those capricious baseball deities to quietly rise from the opponents’ dugout and meander back into the Rock Cats’ good graces. The hard part is that has to happen during a 12-game road trip or any dreams of postseason play can be in serious jeopardy by the Fourth of July.

June swoon haunts Ingram again

2007-06-19T11:48:00.000-04:00

Sincerity shines from Rock Cats manager Riccardo Ingram as he contemplates the reasons for his team’s recent inability to win.

Seven consecutive defeats, the last four by one run, have him gripping the lifeline with determination, but determination is a quality that he can’t realistically transfer to the 24 men who go out and play the game. The wear-and-tear of the fruitless stretch has him searching for answers and absorbing the self-punishment that such experiences bring.

The answers are manifested in clichés that thousands of managers before him have uttered.

“Somebody in the bullpen has got to step up.”

“They’re coming out of the bullpen with fresh arms. They’ve got to throw strikes.”

“We’re just not getting the clutch hits when we get the chance.”

“We’ve got to do the little things.”

Last year in his first crack as a Double-A manager, the kindness and authenticity that characterize his nature were not enough to reverse the losing pattern. He was unable to use the traits that come naturally to him to motivate players who had more powerful negative forces at work.

He nearly willed a talented but flawed 2006 team back to .500 by June 4, only to go on a road trip to Akron, Harrisburg and Binghamton and watch it lose in every conceivable way. Eight straight losses. Even the return home couldn’t make it any better than 11 setbacks in 12 games.
Ingram’s Double-A debut had drifted into oblivion.

This year would be different. Perhaps he would be a little tougher. He would toss a bucket of cold water on any smoldering, selfish resentment about players being underappreciated and held captive at a level beneath what they deserve.

The chemistry is much better. Every position player is contributing. The team hits with consistency. It never gives up until the last out is recorded. But can history be repeating itself?
The Rock Cats battled their way to the loftiest record they’d had since teenaged wunderkind Joe Mauer arrived from Class A Fort Myers in June, 2003, and shouldered the hopes of a winning season in the hearts of the ever-growing band of New Britain faithful. A playoff berth was the result.

The extended homestand of early June didn’t provide the benefits that Ingram would have preferred (7-6), but nonetheless, the Rock Cats were embarking on a foreboding six-game Southern Division tour at 31-26.

Seven defeats later, including Monday night’s homecoming calamity, are the 2007 Rock Cats destined to stagger down the same meandering downhill path that their predecessors tread?
Although Ingram covers it up adeptly with the broad smile and genuine expression that are his trademarks, a proud manager with a winning tradition seems to be allowing losses to burrow deeper into his heart and mind. He isn’t the first. He won’t be the last.

The mid-June changes that brought us Mauer and Matt Garza in years past have begun. One veteran reliever plagued by inconsistency is gone. Others are likely to end up down or out before the week ends.

The question that looms as the final four games of this crucial series with New Hampshire unfolds is whether Ingram can prevent another June swoon from writing another painful epitaph.

"LITTLE PAPI" LASHES OUT AT ROCK CATS

2007-06-10T22:48:00.000-04:00

Perhaps Luis Jimenez has been misunderstood.

The burly Bowie Baysox first baseman, who played for the Rock Cats in 2005 and has terrorized them ever since, has been characterized in baseball circles as a “dog,” somebody who doesn’t work hard.

Jimenez, 24, was dubbed “Little Papi” because his mannerisms at the plate resembled those of David “Big Papi” Ortiz. Like Jimenez, Ortiz played for the Rock Cats but was released by the Twins before blossoming into stardom with the Red Sox.

Jimenez had his chance with the Red Sox, too. After the 2005 season, the Twins showed little enthusiasm to sign him for 2006 so he exercised his option as a six-year free agent and signed with Boston.

He kidded reporters after Saturday night’s game, saying he would give no interviews, but he couldn’t keep it in for long. A smile slowly crept over the face of the affable giant from Lara, Venezuela, and he spoke from the heart.

“They asked me to come back (to New Britain) but they didn’t give me a good contract offer,” Jimenez said.

“They believed a lot in (former Rock Cat) Garrett Jones, a very good player and one of my friends. And Garrett’s still in Triple-A and on the 40-man roster and they won’t move him nowhere. And (AL MVP Justin) Morneau up there? They’re very young guys and it’s hard to go up with guys like that because the team believes in them.”

Why didn’t the Twins show more interest in “Little Papi” after letting “Big Papi” slip away? His work ethic was in question. Whether or not he was going all out for manager Stan Cliburn and the 2005 Rock Cats, the perception was that he was not. Perception quite often eclipses reality.

The other issue at hand was his suspension for performance-enhancing drugs on the eve of the 2005 season. The Twins were unaware that Jimenez tested positive while with the Dodgers in the South Atlantic League before signing him. Jimenez appealed the suspension after serving part of the sentence but MLB ruled that he had 15 days left at the start of 2005.

Jimenez was forthcoming about the charges. He said that he had visited a GNC in a mall in Carolina and bought a product that would help him manage his weight. (He’s listed as 6-foot-4, 205, but he’s got to be at least 50 pounds heavier than that.) He said he wasn’t aware of what ingredients violated baseball’s doctrine. Perhaps if he had someone advising him, he could have avoided the suspension, but he probably should have sought counsel considering a big league career was at stake. That, however, is a story for another day.

Jimenez hit .278 with 16 homers and 69 RBIs in 116 games for New Britain in 2005. Last year with the Portland Sea Dogs (Red Sox Double-A club), he displayed uncanny consistency by hitting .276 with 17 homers and 70 RBIs in 115 games.

“(The Red Sox) gave me a very good contract offer,” Jimenez said. “I went to big league camp and I played very good.

He was promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket but when he encountered a prolonged early season slump (.148-1-7 in 81 at-bats), the Red Sox released him.

“When I started in Pawtucket, my average went down,” he said. “Bad luck. Every time I hit the ball hard, someone got it, but no excuse, I was hitting very bad. But they didn’t release me because I don’t work or I made mistakes and have a bad attitude. No chance.”

The Orioles, for whom he played in 2001 and 2002, scooped him up within five hours and assigned him to Bowie.

“They called me at 7 in the morning and asked me if I had already signed with somebody,” Jimenez said. “I said, ‘No, at 7 in the morning I’m sleeping.’ I gave them my agent’s number and they saved me.”

The timing was incredible. The Rock Cats were coming to town, and to nobody’s surprise, “Little Papi” smashed a home run in the series. Since leaving New Britain, Jimenez has hit .337 with four homers and 20 RBI in 24 games. On Saturday night in front of an SRO New Britain crowd, he pounded a solo homer and had a critical ninth-inning single that led to the game-winning run in Bowie’s 2-1 victory.

Jimenez’s words scream that he’s well aware of the perception about him. Maybe it was youthful indiscretion, at least in part, and he says he’s working hard to dispel that allegation. Double-A may not be his preference but it’s better to be on the scouts’ radar than off the screen.

“If you’re going to go up, you still have to play hard, put up numbers and make some plays,” he said. “You don’t go to the big leagues because you’re the best interview guy and you want to be on TV with air-conditioning. You’ve got to work here.

“There is a lot of chance that I will go to the big leagues either this year or next year with the Baltimore Orioles but you still have to play hard. They’ve given me a good opportunity. They’ve told me I’m going to play every day and I said thank you. It’s a good feeling that they believe in me.”

Do the Orioles believe him? They tried to sign him once before (when he signed with the Twins) and they’re overlooking what some view as a negative reputation. With a little patience, they may be chanting “Papi” just like they do at Fenway.

ENTHUSIASM ENLIVENS THE EMERALD

2007-06-07T10:59:00.000-04:00

The pageantry and color rival a holiday parade when the Rock Cats fill New Britain Stadium for one of their Baseball in Education morning games.

The first color you see is yellow. The staggered line of school buses appears solid yellow as it snakes its way out of the Willow Brook parking lot and onto South Main Street toward the junction Ellis Street and Route 9.

The yellow river soon turns the lot into a yellow sea after streams of youngsters flow from the buses toward their seats.

The educational aspect of BIE is something the Rock Cats take rather seriously. A "mad scientist" in his long white lab coat sets up near the Rock Cats dugout, calls on some youthful volunteers, teams them up with Rock Cats players and uses visual aid to drive home scientific fact. Young eyes and ears are riveted.

The team's Hometown Champions program, generally reserved for those in athletic endeavors, honors the accomplishments of the Connecticut International Baccalaureate Academy, an ultra-successful magnet school in East Hartford. Principal Art Arpin, teacher Doug Clark and senior Derek Bogner represent the school.

The 10:35 a.m. gametime is approaching, and that's where the Rock Cats interject some pageantry into what was once the mundane activity of playing The National Anthem.

The New Britain High School Junior ROTC presents the colors. Selected fans are asked for assistance, which they cheerfully apply toward displaying a huge American flag that covers a goodly portion of center field. Seemingly on command, the stadium's flag billows in the soft springtime breeze.

"The Star-Spangled Banner" is performed by the John F. Kennedy Middle School.

The results of the Rock Cats' effort are stirring. On a mid-morning weekday bathed in brilliant sunshine with humidity not a concern, The Emerald glistens, filled to the brim with humanity, exuding the enthusiasm and din that only our youth can muster. The yard has that special feel that can inspire a hometown player to great heights.

On this day, the baseball was far from inspiring, but there are some things that just can't be controlled.

PLOUFFE OVERCOMES ADVERSITY

2007-06-05T20:12:00.000-04:00

A significant rite of passage for a minor leaguer aspiring for the big time is coping with adversity.

As any professional player will relate, playing baseball well is tough enough without having to battle yourself. Make some mistakes or get yourself mired in a slump and the best tonic is the power of positive thought.

Rock Cats shortstop Trevor Plouffe displayed the ability succinctly last week, leaving his problems in the past, maintaining focus on the moment at hand and reaping the benefits.

On May 30 against Binghamton, Plouffe and the Rock Cats reached a low point. The Twins' first-round selection in the 2004 draft made three errors that helped the B-Mets pile on seven unearned runs en route to a 12-2 victory.

Plouffe could have allowed the ordeal to traumatize him. The Rock Cats have had first-round picks in the past who lost their competitive edge after hitting a bump in the road. Instead, he put together an incredible week at the plate and made every play in the field to earn Eastern League Player of the Week honors.

In the five games after his unfortunate defensive hat trick, Plouffe went 11-for-20 (.550) with a home run, three doubles, five RBI and five runs scored. He raised his season batting average from .247 to .279.

The results of Plouffe's first three professional seasons have been mixed. He posted a .283 mark and made just six errors in 60 games in his first year at Elizabethton in the short-season Class A Appalachian League. In his two full Class A campaigns, he hit .223 and made 35 errors at low-A Beloit and hit .246 with 29 errors at high-A Fort Myers.

The Twins certainly did not let numbers dictate their assessment of the soon-to-be 21-year-old Californian. They promoted him to Double-A and remain very positive about his development.

And by overcoming adversity, Trevor Plouffe showed this week that he is worthy of their respect.

HOW TO ATTEND A ROCK CATS GAME

2007-06-02T16:14:00.000-04:00

The summer is here for all intents and purposes, which means that tickets for New Britain Rock Cats games are not going to be as easy to procure as they were in April and May.

With that in mind, the following is a primer for those who intend to attend ballgames at New Britain Stadium through the remainder of the 2007 and into the foreseeable future.

The Rock Cats' group ticket sales people do a tremendous job. Their work is the primary reason why the team's attendance skyrocketed when the Bill Dowling/Coleman Levy ownership group and pushes forward every year.

Groups naturally prefer to attend games on weekends, primarily Friday and Saturday nights, so what the team refers to as its pregame sale can climb within a few hundred of capacity, which is 6,146. Tickets for such games truly are at a premium.

The team makes is very easy to purchase tickets. There are the traditional ways, like stopping at Willow Brook Park and making the advance purchase at the ticket windows, or calling and ordering over the phone. But anybody who can handle a keyboard can purchase tickets online, too.

Whatever your preference, you have to think ahead. Rock Cats pocket schedules can be found all over central Connecticut and beyond. The schedule is also on www.rockcats.com. Scrutinize a schedule and make your plans for the summer because the days of leaving home at 5:30 p.m. for a 6:30 game and expecting everything to flow nicely are over.

On the day of the game, leave home early. Gates open an hour before game time, so if you're looking at a 6:35 start, plan on arriving at Willow Brook by 5:45 or so.

The reasons are traffic and parking. On nights when games are sellouts or near sellouts, cars can be seen stuck in a line that extends up South Main Street and onto Ellis Street.

When the line of vehicles enters the parking lot, the flow bottlenecks near the west side of the stadium where parking fees are paid. The money exchange process is somewhat less than fluid. Avoid coming late at all costs or you'll be listening to the first few innings on the radio and idling your expensive gas away while you wait .. . and wait and wait.

Here's a way to avoid traffic as you approach the stadium. Try to avoid the Ellis Street exit when you're coming into New Britain on either Route 9 South or Route 72 East. You can also get caught up in a snarl if you're coming up from the Middletown area or points south on Route 9 North.

The alternative is to get to know New Britain. If you're coming from the west -- Southington, Bristol, Farmington and beyond -- you can get off Route 72 East at the Corbin Avenue exit, cruise past Martha Hart Park, continue straight onto the highway spur that leads to 9 South and exit on South Main Street. You'll find yourself at the entrance to Willow Brook Park in much better shape.

Here's another little hint with the thunderstorm season in full swing. Most of the reserved tickets in sections 206, 207, 208, 209, 210 and 211 will afford you protection from the rain and the blistering sun during day games. For my money, they also give you a nice view over the top of the field box seats, but that's a matter of opinion.