Just got home and turned on the Jays game. Brett Lawrie struck out on a called strike that was at least 6 inches off the plate. All umpires are terrible.Yeah, it was a 14-3 game, but that's not a strike if bad-boy Brett wasn't standing there. Wonder how long the umps will haze him ... Robinson Cano's homer to center field off Tyson Ross was an insane back-spin blast on a pitch below his knees. Oh, my, nobody has more fun playing pro baseball than Nick Swisher. In a related note, his dad. Steve, managed the Reading Phillies in 2004. Ryan Howard hit a bomb off the JFK Coliseum that season ... Happy for Brian Van Kirk and Brad Glenn, who homered for the Fisher Cats tonight. Brad Glenn and Van Kirk each blasted two-out homers off Binghamton Mets starter Darin Gorski.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Thursday night notes
RHP Sam Dyson hit 97-mph on Wednesday, the hardest pitch thrown by a Fisher Cat all season. RHP Chad Jenkins (disabled list) will throw one more bullpen session and likely return to the starting rotation. Said his arm felt great after yesterday's 'pen. What was the issue? "Probably just me freaking out. I was a little extra sore after one start and got a little nervous. I guess I just needed some rest," Jenkins said ... Switch-hitter Mike McDade homered from both sides of the plate in Wednesday's doubleheader. That was an ugly day for the Fisher Cats, swept by Portland. The Fisher Cats could have won the first game but somehow John Tolisano didn't score from first base (with two outs) on a high fly ball to CF that surprisingly dropped. McDade walzed into second base for a double. Tolisano only made it to third. Sal Fasano on the play: "He was running hard. It wasn't really high enough to get from first to home. By the time it dropped and bounced right into the center fielder's hands, John was just getting to third. It was a tough one because it was only a 150-foot throw by that time. We made more mistakes early in the game."
Brian Bocock was thrown at home plate after Fasano got too aggressive in the third-base coaching box. "With Bocock, I probably should have held him. And (Brad) Glenn not scoring on a ball hit off the wall by (Brian) Jeroloman. A lot of things could have gone better. Bad first game," Fasano said after the 7-6 loss to Portland ... Fasano has done a poor job managing and motivating this team. I've never seen so many Fisher Cats not run hard to first base on routine grounders and pop fly balls.
Brian Bocock was thrown at home plate after Fasano got too aggressive in the third-base coaching box. "With Bocock, I probably should have held him. And (Brad) Glenn not scoring on a ball hit off the wall by (Brian) Jeroloman. A lot of things could have gone better. Bad first game," Fasano said after the 7-6 loss to Portland ... Fasano has done a poor job managing and motivating this team. I've never seen so many Fisher Cats not run hard to first base on routine grounders and pop fly balls.
Ricky's rant
Hey, everyone gets frustrated with the haters, and impulse tweets tend to happen, but I'm begging Ricky Romero to ignore the Twitter shut-ins who are ripping him. In case you missed it, some late-night venting by Ricky Ro:
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Fisher Jays re-up through 2014
The Blue Jays and Fisher Cats, in their ninth year together, remain honeymoon-esque. The two parties officially re-upped today, extending their player development contract through 2014. Not too surprising. On the last homestand in Manchester, Charlie Wilson, Toronto's director of minor league operations, said the Jays would "love" to re-up with New Hampshire. "Awesome affiliate. Great city. Great facility. More importantly, there are great people here with the Fisher Cats." Story on Wednesday's announcement here in the NH Union Leader. The city of Ottawa had high hopes of luring Toronto's AA affiliate as early as 2013, but that was a bit unrealistic. I could see the Jays moving their AA affiliate to Ottawa by 2015. In New Hampshire, fans have shown great support for Toronto's farm team, but the Red Sox are more of a natural fit here. The Red Sox and Portland Sea Dogs are under contract through 2014. Just saying.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Rainout? Max Sullivan and KG will entertain you -- in the most bizarre way possible
So I'm sitting in the press box having a conversation with Max Sullivan, a kid/blogger/relentless inquisitor of how to cover the Fisher Cats, and things get out of control. Turns out Max can shred a guitar. Turns out he played at Murphy's Taproom in Manchester the other night -- in front of some Fisher Cats relievers! A girl requested he play "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus to which Fernando Hernandez replied, "Party in Cuba!" Now, let me back up for a minute. As Max is telling me this story, he is soaking wet. Why? He locked his keys in the PT Cruiser and stood outside while waiting for the tow truck. Max kills me. He writes stories for FutureJays.com (we think) but nobody has any proof because there is a monthly fee to read his stuff. He once referred to the bullpens as "those things" and had no idea what they were actually called. But these are all reasons we like him.
3rd No-Hitter in Fisher Cats History
MANCHESTER -- Brett Cecil led the way, pitching 5-2/3 innings, and Danny Farquhar and Ron Uviedo combined on a no-hitter as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats muzzled the Portland Sea Dogs, 6-0, in the series opener Monday night. Boxscore here. There was a buzz in the ballpark as Red Sox No. 1 pitching prospect Anthony Ranaudo (five earned runs) took the mound, but Cecil stole the show by taking a no-no into the sixth inning. At that point, we knew there was little chance of "Squints" (86 pitches) pitching much longer. He made only two previous starts since returning from a groin injury. Cecil struck out eight and walked three. Brian Bocock made a great play in the at 2B in the eighth inning. My game story here ... Portland manager Kevin Boles penned an all-righty lineup against NH. Cecil was hitting 87-90-mph and struck out Kolbrin Vitek three times. "His stuff was crisp. He worked both sides of the plate and changed speeds," Blue Jays minor-league pitching coordinator Dane Johnson said ... Brian Jeroloman, who was behind the dish for Kyle Drabek's no-hitter on July 4, 2010, has now caught both no-nos at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium. Video of the final out made by Bryce Brentz, who grounded to Ryan Goins at shortstop:
Postgame interviews with all three pitchers:
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