This Post Isn’t About Barry Bonds

May 31, 20115:29 p.m.

If you know the name Mike Bacsik, you probably only know it because he allowed Barry Bonds’ record-breaking 756th home run in 2007.

I remember where I was when Bonds’ hit his record*

* = tainted

home run. I was sitting in my apartment in Atlanta, where I spent that summer as an intern with Braves.com.

Bacsik was pitching then for the Washington Nationals. Now, he’s with the Fort Worth Cats, who are in Wichita playing a four-game series with the Wingnuts. Bacsik, last I checked, is scheduled to pitch at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium on Thursday.

I’ve been telling people I wanted to talk to Bacsik so I can ask him about his claim to fame. I told him the same thing today, too, and he gave me a cursory, ‘OK.’ Then I told him, to me, he is not most remembered for serving up Bonds’s 756th, but for pitching in one of baseball’s most improbable comebacks ever. For my Cleveland Indians, of course.

Bacsik made his major league debut on Aug. 5, 2001, watching Indians right-hander Dave Burba stink up the joint against the powerhouse Seattle Mariners, who won 116 games that year. Bacsik, just called up from Buffalo, came on with the bases loaded in the third inning and eventually allowed Seattle to take a 14-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh.

The Indians scored three in the seventh, four in the eighth and five in the ninth to tie it 14-14. Jolbert Cabrera drove in the winning run with a single that scored my favorite all-time player, Kenny Lofton, in the bottom of the 11th. That night was Bascik’s first taste of big-league baseball and I talked to him today about what he remembered from that game. Which should come as a relief to you, my reader, because I could go on for days about what I remember about it:

“Being as nervous, one of my most nervous moments of my life. Coming in with the bases loaded — I was a starter my whole minor-league career, then you come in with the bases loaded and you’re facing the best team in baseball at the time.

“As the inning went along, I remember the first batter was Mike Cameron. I got up early in the count, I got ahead of him, then he worked it to a full count. I thought, ‘I can’t walk the first guy I ever face in the big leagues, I’ve got to throw a strike.’ I threw it down the middle — big mistake. Double off the wall.

“Then, I just remember the rest of that inning backing up bases. Backing up home and looking toward the bullpen and thinking, ‘Boy, they’ve got nobody warming up, I’m going back to (Triple-A) Buffalo pretty soon.’ I remember Dick Pole, the pitching coach, coming out and saying, ‘All right, all the excitement’s over.’ I’m thinking, ‘It ain’t over for me, I haven’t gotten anybody out yet.’

“Finally I get Ichiro to fly out. It was a sacrifice fly but I got somebody out. Once I got somebody out, it seemed to get better from there. It was just a really rough third inning and the place is packed and it’s your major league debut.

“As the game went along, they scored two in the fifth. I remember in that inning Edgar Martinez hit a routine double-play ball to Omar Vizquel, and he misses the ball. Out of all the time to have a double play ball that he’s going to boot one, and that extended that inning.’

“The game just went along from there. We took out as many players as we could, they took out as many players as they could to give guys rest. After that fifth inning, we just scored. I remembered it being 14-9 and I went out and pitched the eighth inning. And I was going to be pitching the ninth inning, too.”

I, naturally had to correct Bacsik on a few things because for whatever reason he hasn’t hung on every single pitch of every single Cleveland Indians game for the last 17 years like I have. The Indians trailed 14-11 with two outs in the 9th before Omar Vizquel tied it with a bases-loaded triple down the right-field line against Seattle closer Kaz Sasaki.

“Usually teams will play closer to the line. They decided not to, probably thinking Omar, out of all the things, he’s not going to roll one down the first-base line.

“I remember them telling me they were going to take me out. They got the thing somewhat close, and I think they were going to bring in Rocker to pitch the ninth. I pitched six innings, great, got to pitch in the big leagues, probably going back to Buffalo as soon as the game is over.

“Then I’m just sitting in the dugout. Usually pitchers will go in the locker room, do their exercises, ice and stay in the locker room. In fact, there were so many guys in the locker room. But I’m thinking to myself, ‘I may not be in the major leagues tomorrow.’ So I want to stay out and watch the rest of the game, be part of the game.

“When (Vizquel) hit that base hit down the line, I’m going nuts. Then when we win it I’m running out there and I can’t believe I’m part of this. I’m on the Cleveland Indians and I’m jumping up and down at home plate in my first game ever.

“It’s funny, when the game was over guys — Thome, Fryman, Ellis Burks, all the guys — ‘Congratulations, great job, way to go tonight.’ And I’m thinking, ‘This is the first time I’ve ever been congratulated for giving up seven earned runs in six innings. Usually you don’t get too much praise for that.

“It was great. My wife came to watch the game. She flew up from Dallas. There was probably only 15,000 people left when we did those, but those 15,000 people were louder than the 40,000 that started the game. It was nuts.

“Jolbert Cabrera got the (game-winning) hit and I remember, I think (Eddie) Taubensee picked (Lofton) up. The cool thing was we went to Minnesota and they had tied us in the (American League Central) division. I got sent down, but from that point on Cleveland never gave up the lead and a lot of the veterans point to that game as the turning point, as when they kind of came together and took the division. It’s really cool that I was part of that.

“It was really nerve-wracking, but once the game really got out of hand it kind of calmed me down, because I’m in no situation to help us win a game. I’m just trying to eat up innings so our bullpen will be fresh for the next day.

“At my home, I have framed the scorecard that they gave me from that game and the front page of the newspaper in Cleveland, the Plain Dealer, of Taubensee lifting Lofton over his shoulder and all the guys running out.

“For me now, it seems a long time ago baseball-wise in my head. It turned from something really being bad to being one of the great moments of my little career in the major leagues.”

Bacsik was traded, with Roberto Alomar, to the Mets before 2002 season. Off the top of my head, the Indians received Billy Traber, Jerrod Riggan, Alex Escobar and Matt Lawton in that trade. Bacsik later moved onto the Rangers, then the Nationals, putting him in position to be part of history. He only pitched in 51 games in the majors, but he fit a lot of memorable moments into his short career.

“Weird, weird history. But fun.”

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off

They (and I) Remember

May 30, 20115:13 p.m.

Memorial Day means a lot to me because I get to think about, even more than I normally do, my grandparents. My dad’s parents both passed away before I finished the second grade, and my grandpa, Ray, died before I even started school at all.

If Ray (whose full name is Ray Lewis Lutz, which I’ll be replicating when I have a son, because it’s an awesome name) were still alive, I’d probably be a St. Louis Cardinals fan. Instead, I went against the alignment of the stars and became a fanatical supporter of the Cleveland Indians. My grandpa and my dad watched, attended and listened to Cardinals games on the radio throughout my dad’s childhood and I know it would have been the same for Ray and me if I had gotten more time with him.

As it is, my emotions are directly tied to the Tribe. Even though I became an Indians fan at 11, some of my favorite early memories are sitting with my dad in his white Ford Probe as he tuned in KMOX 1120 AM and we heard Jack Buck through the fading signal out of St. Louis. We don’t share a team in common, but my dad is responsible for my love of baseball, and it ultimately traces back to my grandpa, Ray, who I remember today along with my loving grandmother Marcella.

Who do you think about most on Memorial Day?

For Wingnuts general manager, it’s his two grandfathers and his dad, Dick, who all served in the military. The Wingnuts host Armed Forces Night at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium Monday night, and the positive thoughts the organization has (that we all should have, in fact) toward our service members starts with Robertson. He hates when I don’t put my hand over my heart during The Star-Spangled banner.

Here’s what Memorial Day means to him, in his own words:

“Why does Memorial Day mean a lot to me? Well, both my grandfathers fought in World War II. My grandpa Taylor, he was left for dead but made it out and he’s still alive. He took, like, a bazooka missile to the side of his head, and it screwed with his hearing and what not, and everybody else in his Jeep died.

“My grandpa Robertson served on an aircraft carrier in the Navy in World War II. I remember doing an interview with him in sixth grade, asking him about some things and some of the things that he saw, and you can tell when he was talking about it that it really bugged him. They’d pull up on the beach somewhere where the fighting had gone on between them and the Japanese at the time, and some of the things that he saw and the friends that he lost.

“But more importantly, my father was a master sergeant in the United States Army for 23 years. He wasn’t a master sergeant for 23 years, he retired as a master sergeant. But when I was 16 years old, my brother Nate was 14, Luke was 12 and Matt was 2, I remember very vividly, it was the summer before my junior year in high school. Me and dad were out in the shed working on my ’51 Chevy truck, my first truck. He got a phone call, and five minutes later we flipped the lights out and he said, ‘Let’s go inside, son.’

“The next day, he was gone. That’s when Desert Storm was happening, so for six months he was gone and I didn’t know if I was ever going to see my dad again. But we won that war fairly quickly and he got back and retired shortly after that.

“Memorial Day, our freedom, everything that we get to do, whether it’s work in baseball or come to the baseball game tonight — everybody that has served in the military has afforded us that freedom.”

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off

We’re All Set

May 20, 20115:48 p.m.

It’s opening day at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. How do I know? When I walked into the press box this afternoon, the game notes and statistics were placed neatly near my seating area, and my trusty fan was aimed right at my chair. Steve Schuster, who organized these luxuries, is the man. But we’ll see if that’s still happening in July.

I’m not gonna lie, I feel way behind. In past years I’ve been able to come to spring training on many days and talk with a lot of players, and at least be seen by the ones I don’t get to chat with. That hasn’t been the case this year. My employment schedule hasn’t allowed me to spend much time around the team, and with the Wingnuts starting on the road, I’ve lost more chances to be hanging around.

I know what you’re saying — your EMPLOYMENT schedule? Doesn’t that involve covering the Wingnuts? It does, but there are other things going on, too.

I guess that means I just don’t know what to expect, even though I’ve been to two Wingnuts exhibition games. If the first road trip is any indication, I’ll be seeing a lot of offense.

I don’t want to give away the findings of 10 minutes of exhaustive research, but the Wingnuts, outside of Nick Singleton, who has two wins (one in relief), haven’t pitched well. They’ve scored more than eight runs a game but allowed more than seven. It’s likely neither of those numbers will hold up, but the long-term success of the team hinges more on the pitching improving than the offense sustaining.

The Wingnuts have hit, though, scoring at least 12 runs in four of their first seven games. Ryan Patterson, Jorge Delgado and Wichita Eagle sports-cover subject Juan Richardson all have 12 hits and are each batting .400 or better. Jorge Cortes isn’t off to quite as hot of a start but is two hits shy of 1,000 in his professional career. Is that redundant? I think it is. Somewhat surprisingly, the Wingnuts have hit just two home runs, by Delgado and catcher Edwin Bellorin.

I kind of expect another slugfest tonight. El Paso has averaged nine runs in seven games but has allowed even more than that. We could be here a while. But no complaints, right? Baseball is back.

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off

Are You Ready?

April 29, 201110:46 p.m.

Man, I’ve been trying to come down from an exciting win by my Cleveland Indians tonight, and I excited myself out. I’ve just hit a wall. But I’ve wanted to blog on the Wingnuts for a few days now, and with their spring training beginning on Saturday morning, I had to get this blog going for the spring and summer.

I was out at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium the other day, and they were putting the finishing touches on the new artificial playing surface. Early returns say it’s outstanding — very aesthetically appealing and different from the surface used by WSU. That’s notable because the Shockers and Wingnuts used the same company to install their synthetic field. The first time I saw the new surface was from the stands, and I thought the basepaths were dirt. It looks remarkably similar to the dirt that was on the old field. But it’s turf. Fooled me. The logos behind home plate, near each dugout and in center field look sharp, too. I give it an A. But my Tribe just won on a walkoff grand slam, so I’m in a generous mood. Still, the field looks awesome and is definitely worth checking out.

The next thing I have to mention is the job manager Kevin Hooper and Josh Robertson have done in putting together this roster, which will be cut from 28 to 22 after spring training. The Wingnuts can actually start the season with 23, but I think Hooper likes to set the roster at 22 so he doesn’t have to cut a player after a couple weeks. I don’t know if that’s policy for him or just the way he did it last year and the year before.

Anyway, the Wingnuts, on paper, have their best roster in their four years of existence. I can say that with confidence even though I haven’t seen or heard of some of the players. But I’ve heard of most, either because they’ve had success in this league before, in affiliated ball around here (like Juan Richardson, who played against the Wranglers when he was in the Cardinals system), or they’ve played in the big leagues. The Wingnuts actually have two ex-big leaguers in Edwin Bellorin and Brent Clevlen, who play important up-the-middle positions.

The lineup will be stacked. The pitching is more of a question mark to me, but only because that’s the area of the team that features players I’m not as familiar with. I do know that the Nos. 1 and 2 in the rotation, Nick Singleton and Dan Grybash, are a fearsome duo if both stay healthy. There will be competition for the last few sports in the rotation and for spots in the bullpen. The Wingnuts have guys they can pencil into late-inning roles, but with so many capable arms in camp, someone could surprise and take one of those spots. We’ll see.

I’m going to try to get out to camp on Sunday if I can, and if so I’ll blog again that night and let everyone know what I’ve seen. Keep coming back throughout the season. I’m going to do my best to make this blog as entertaining as it was in the first half of last season. I slacked off a bit after that, but my efforts will be toward not allowing that to happen again. Talk soon!

-Jeffrey Lutz

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off

These Guys Are Good

Aug. 18, 20105:58 p.m.

No, that isn’t me ripping off the old senior PGA slogan. I’m talking about the Wingnuts, and if you haven’t been paying attention, they’re in first place. It’s not a fluke.

I remember at the beginning of the season, all the games were the same. The Wingnuts would most often get a good pitching performance and lose because the failure of hitters to come through in important situations. I struggled with what to write because the same thing happened over and over and over and over and over again.

It’s the same way now. Every game seems the same, except the Wingnuts are now dominating. They score a lot of runs, put up big innings, and the pitching does enough to win. Even after just a few games of that it’s like, What do I write now? I just saw this last night.

Luckily for me, something different did happen last night. The Wingnuts pitched two shutouts, and they came from unlikely sources. Jae Jung, acquired from Sioux City earlier this month, hadn’t pitched since July 27. But he breezed through the lineup of his former team in the first game of a doubleheader, allowing four hits and one walk and not allowing a runner into scoring position.

Then it was Kevin Angelle’s turn. Rocked by Lincoln in his first start after being released by the Phillies organization early this month, Angelle went 5 1/3 innings in the second game Tuesday and didn’t allow a run. His scoreless outing didn’t come as easily as Jung’s — Angelle allowed many more baserunners and had to escape several jams — but the performance had to give Wingnuts brass confidence that he could handle the pressure of a postseason start.

There has been a lot of hyperbole spouted in the press box the last couple days. I just don’t know if it’s hyperbole. Stuff like, The Wingnuts might not lose another game this season. The Wingnuts have the best lineup in the league. The Wingnuts’ 2010 lineup is better than the one in 2009.

Maybe all true. The final two games against Sioux City are the last two games against North opponents this season. The Wingnuts finish their schedule with six games against El Paso, the worst team in the league, and Fort Worth, another team almost out of the race in the South. Six of those games come on the road, though, so nothing is guaranteed.

Circle Thursday on your calendar if you’re a Wingnuts fan. That’s pretty easy to do, since it’s tomorrow. It’s also the last day American Association teams can acquire players. The Wingnuts are looking for a starter and a closer, though those needs may not be as pressing as they were before last night.

Cephas Howard has the mentality of a closer and has done a good job in that role since Justin Dowdy was sold to the Tampa Bay Rays organization. And if Jung and Angelle can deliver quality innings like they did last night, the Wingnuts have a lot of options for their postseason rotation. Not that either of those things will stop the Wingnuts from acquiring the right player, of course.

The lineup needs no help. Is it better than last year’s? Maybe. Deeper, definitely, but this team doesn’t have the home-run power like the 2009 group did. Still, you won’t find many 1-through-9′s more dangerous than this one at this level. The guy I most enjoy watching hit is Carlos Rivera, a veteran of 85 major-league games with the Pirates. He’s in complete control when he’s at the plate, and I don’t think this level is much of a challenge for him. He has great power to the opposite field.

A couple of notes about the postseason: Sioux Falls, by winning the first half, got to choose the playoff format for the Divisional round and took the first two games at home, meaning the last three games (if all are necessary) will be played away from Sioux Falls. The thinking there is that if they can go up 2-0, the Pheasants will only have to win one of three games on the road. I get that, but if the final three games are in Wichita, where the Wingnuts just swept Sioux Falls in a three-game series, nothing is guaranteed.

Also, the Wingnuts can get into the postseason in either of two ways. If they finish with the best record in the North for the second half, they’re in. If Sioux Falls wins the half, the next playoff spot goes to the team with the second-best overall record. Now, that’s Lincoln, which leads the Wingnuts by a game and a half. Wichita holds a half-game lead over Sioux Falls for the half.

The attendance hasn’t been great, though. I’m no cheerleader, but I’d encourage people to come out and watch this club. They’re fun to watch hit. I’m only saying that in support of myself — I want my writing to reach more people, so I need more people to come to the yard. Plus, the weather is nice.

See you tonight!

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off

Live Coverage: All-Star game

July 27, 20105:06 p.m.

10:20 — Guess I’ve been forgetting to update this as I wrote my game story. The South wins 12-3. Solo homers by Reggie Abercrombie and Jason Cooper and an RBI fielder’s choice provide the only offense for the North.

9 p.m. — The first pitch from new pitcher Jacob Schmidt turns into a grand slam by John Allen of Fort Worth to put the South ahead 12-0.

8:56 — South is running away with it, already with three runs in the sixth and the bases loaded. South leads 8-0.

8:32 — Jason Cooper, Mr. Fever Dog, has an RBI single in the fourth. Nothing else doing for the North, though. Robert Perry makes his second excellent catch in center field.

8:25 — Two more runs for the South in the top of the fourth, courtesy of RBI singles from Espinosa and Garcia. South leads 5-0.

8:12 — Albenis Machado draws a leadoff walk, but the next three North hitters in the third inning are retired.

8:03 — Greg Porter doubles off new pitcher Jim Paduch, then scores on a fielder’s choice from Lou Palmisano. 3-0 South.

7:55 — The Cooper double is all the North manages in the second. South holds a 2-0 lead after two innings.

7:52 — Former Indians minor leaguer Jason Cooper comes out to “Fever Dog” from the fictional band Stillwater, from “Almost Famous”, then hits a double off the wall. I think we can all go home now, because we’ll never see a better sequence not just in baseball, but in life.

7:49 — A 1-2-3 inning for Jung in the second after eight South hitters batted against Singleton in the first.

7:43 — The North gets two hits, including an Abercrombie double, in the first, but can’t score. Jae Jung, from Sioux City, will start the second inning on the mound for the North.

7:34 — Singleton walks the bases loaded, then gets out of the jam on a pop-out and a double play. I’m guessing he’s done after 29 pitches, but we’ll see.

7:29 — Singleton still hasn’t recorded an out, issuing two walks after the two extra-base hits. Hooper, the bench coach, I guess, for the North, pays him a visit on the mound.

7:24 — HR derby runner-up Garcia hits one when it counts (sort of), a two-run shot off Singleton to give the South the lead.

7:23 — David Espinosa leads off with a double off the right-field wall against Singleton.

7:20 — The video board is posting stats from the first half, even though there have been about 20 games since it ended. Weird. We’re almost ready for first pitch.

7:10 — Can’t understand why, when the players are being announced, the teams they play for aren’t included. Is this only important to me? Does anyone else care? I ask myself this a lot, and I’m usually afraid when the answer is “No.” I’m afraid this time, too.

7 p.m. — Here are the lineups for tonight’s game:
SOUTH: David Espinosa 3B, Christopher Garcia DH, Greg Porter 1B, Palmer Karr LF, Lou Palmisano C, John Allen RF, Hector Bernal 2B, Adolfo Gonzalez SS, Robert Perry CF. RHP Osvaldo Rodriguez.
NORTH: Joe Anthonsen 2B, Gavin Dickey LF, Reggie Abercrombie CF, Beau Torbert DH, Brandon Sing 1B, Jason Cooper RF, Trevor Lawhorn 3B, Ray Serrano C, Albenis Machado SS. RHP Nick Singleton.

6:35 — Torbert and Garcia both hit five homers in the final round. They’ll go to another blast-off. Torbert hit one off the wall on his last swing. Torbert wins the HR derby with a jack on his first blast-off swing. He wins a cool 75 bucks, Garcia settles for $50.

6:30 — It’s Torbert v. Garcia as Torbert beats Abercrombie in a “blast-off” after both hit four taters in the second round.

6:20 — Garcia sets the evening pace with five homers in the second round. Hit a few out to McLean.

6:15 — The semifinals are set: Abercrombie and Torbert for the North, Garcia and Allen for the South.

6:10 — Only one homer for Brandon Sing, who leads the league with 23 smacks. I’m using any home-run slang I can think of.

6:05 — No bombs for Karr. He went all Mike Piazza up in here.

6:05 — One homer for Chris Garcia of the Shreveport-Bossier Captains. Greg Porter will not be competing tonight. Palmer Karr is the last hitter for the South.

6:00 — John Allen belts four home runs as the first derby competitor. Every hitter gets five outs. He crushed a few foul, too.

5:55 — Jeff Christy (Wingnuts) and Lou Palmisano (Pensacola) will meet in the finals of the “skills” blindfolded catchers’ throw. Palmisano wins with a stellar six-point final round. Or maybe it was seven. Hulk wins, though. Next up is the bomb derby.

5:50 — Who doesn’t want to see blindfolded catchers try to make balls into a bucket 120 feet away? I know I do..n’t. They’re calling this a skills competition, but I wasn’t aware that blindfolded throwing was a skill players needed to master. Lou Palmisano, also known as the incredible hulk, has 10 points and will probably win this thing.

5:42 — What do you know? The four-outfielders team did horribly. South team wins! SOUTH. TEAM. WINS!!! Benji Johnson, Adolfo Gonzalez, David Espinosa and Hector Bernal all win 50 bucks. That’s huge. Might get them a cab right back to the airport.

5:40 — We’re set for the relay throw competition, already 10 minutes behind schedule. YAY! One of the North teams features all four outfielders. Not sure how that’s going to go. Outfielders don’t take a lot of relay throws, do they? Well, except for Manny Ramirez cutting off a throw from Johnny Damon in shallow left. Remember that?

5:05 — I’ll be here all night blogging on the American Association All-Star game at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. The skills competitions, including the home run derby, are getting underway in about 25 minutes. After that, we’ll have the All-Star game, which will go no longer than 10 innings. This isn’t the crazy MLB All-Star game…we’re not ending in a tie. Hopefully not, anyway, because…it’s not going any longer than 10 innings. After that, the game is called and we all go home.

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off

If I Were Manager…

July 23, 20105:29 p.m.

Breathe easy, Mr. Hooper, this isn’t a criticism of the job you’re doing.

No, I’m playing the role of Marty Scott, the Lincoln manager who will also be skippering the North Division in Tuesday’s All-Star game at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium.

Speaking of the All-Star game, you know what’s really kind of silly? They’re doing the home run derby and skills competition the day of the game. Before the game. I’m going to need an explanation on that one. I guess it’s how they’ve always done it, but it really doesn’t make much sense to me. I don’t even know who’s in the home run derby, but I’m going with hometown favorite Mario Delgado to win it.

I’m going to come up with what I think the best batting order would be for the North Division to win just this one game. That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re not trying to win the pennant or sweep a series, we’re trying to win one game. That’s why Albenis Machado, who replaced injured Wingnuts shortstop Josh Horn on the roster, won’t be starting.

Machado will likely be the starting shortstop on Tuesday, but he isn’t playing if I’m manager. Without even looking at the numbers, I can tell you Sioux Falls shortstop Tim Hutting is more deserving of the spot, but he doesn’t play for Scott in Lincoln. Machado does. If Hutting started at shortstop, the entire infield would be Sioux Falls Canaries. That would be awesome, I think, but I bet Scott and perhaps the league wanted to avoid that. So here’s my batting order:

SS Joe Anthonsen, Sioux Falls — A usual second baseman, I’m asking Anthonsen to slide over to the left side of the infield…you know, so Machado doesn’t play. I’m giving Machado a hard time, but he actually is pretty solid defensively. But I think Anthonsen can hold his own, so he’s getting the nod instead. He’s a natural for the leadoff spot with a .415 on-base percentage and 59 runs.

DH Beau Torbert, Sioux Falls — Doesn’t walk a lot, but handles the bat well and is batting .379 after being over .400 for much of the season. Has 42 extra-base hits and, with Anthonsen, will give the middle-of-the-order hitters in the North lineup plenty of RBI opportunities. Of course, Torbert could just drive them in himself — he leads the league in ribbies.

1B Brandon Sing, Sioux Falls — Though he has about 30 games remaining, Sing has already broken his own American Association home run record with 23, besting by one his 2006 mark. He’s the most difficult out in this lineup and in his dangerous lineup in Sioux Falls, as he’s supplemented his 41 extra-base hits with 51 walks and a .484 OBP.

LF Jason Cooper, St. Paul — With the recent addition of Edgard Clemente (you may have heard of his uncle, Roberto), Cooper might no longer be the best outfielder on his own team. But he’s a worthy All-Star and belongs in the cleanup spot thanks to his .545 slugging percentage and 36 extra-base hits, including 27 doubles. And we all know I’m partial to former Indians guys.

RF Reggie Abercrombie, Sioux Falls — He usually plays center field, but I’m putting Reg in right because of his superior arm. The ex-big leaguer has done what ex-big leaguers are supposed to do at this level, which is crush. He has a .353 average, 17 homers and is chasing Torbert for the league lead in RBIs (Torbert leads 69-67).

3B Brent Krause, St. Paul — Another Lutz tweak, as I’m inserting a player who likely won’t be starting Tuesday. Krause was voted as the utility player, but with Horn out I’m making him a starter. With Anthonsen at shortstop and Krause, who mostly plays the outfield, at third, I’m surrendering defense in favor of putting together a more dangerous lineup. That’s just the kind of manager I am.

2B Trevor Lawhorn, Sioux Falls — Yep, I’m going off the board once again. Lawhorn was elected as the starting third baseman, but with my infield shift he’s going to second. We’re just trying to win ONE game, remember? He can handle it. It’s not like he’s gonna be Dan Uggla in the 2008 MLB All-Star game out there or something. With so much offensive firepower around him, Lawhorn has been somewhat overlooked. But he’s batting .325 with 13 homers and 49 RBIs.

C Ray Serrano, Sioux City — Yes, he’s a catcher, and traditionally in this league backstops haven’t been threats with the bat. But Serrano is, batting .348 with 20 doubles. Hey, and he even has eight walks! YEAH! I’ll, of course, always remember him for the epic meltdown at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium on June 30. Same day as the Eagles concert for the win!

CF Gavin Dickey, Lincoln — He’s just the last guy left, really, but there’s some strategy to putting Dickey in this slot. He’s fast, so having him on base will help when the lineup turns over, giving Torbert and the others another potential RBI. I think Dickey has a slow bat and not great pitch recognition (from what I’ve seen), but the numbers don’t lie, and he’s put up some good ones, with 12 homers and 40 RBIs.

SP Nick Singleton, Wichita — No-brainer, obviously. Hometown guy, best pitcher in the league, will be pitching Tuesday on almost normal (three days as opposed to four) rest. I’ll be shocked if Singleton isn’t named the starting pitcher for Tuesday’s game. Just got to have a Wingnuts player starting somewhere, right?

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off

Lincoln at Wingnuts, 7/13

July 13, 20106:00 p.m.

 10:35 — Wingnuts 8, Lincoln 7 (Final) — Wingnuts win their seventh in a row. Cephas Howard pitches a scoreless ninth to earn the save.

10:20 –  Wingnuts 8, Lincoln 7 — After issuing an intentional pass to Ryan Patterson to load the bases, Adam Daniels throws another four balls in a row. These weren’t on purpose, though, and Jorge Cortes gets the RBI to tie it with two outs. Wichita gets the go-ahead run on Daniels’ wild pitch.

10:05 — Idiot fans were just ejected after a verbal altercation with some Lincoln players. Praise to the L-D Stadium security for removing them quickly.

10 p.m. — Lincoln 7, Wingnuts 6 — Boling walks the first batter he faces as a pro, Juan Richardson, then allows a two-run homer to Argelis Nunez that gives Lincoln the lead.

9:55 — Wingnuts 6, Lincoln 5 (End 7) — J.R. Boling will make his Wingnuts debut and his first professional appearance as he’s on the mound to start the eighth. He was the closer at Arkansas-Little Rock this spring. Mathes’ final line: 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K. 12 balls, 15 strikes. Mathes is the pitcher of record and would get the win if the score holds.

9:30 — Wingnuts 6, Lincoln 5 (End 6) — Pearson scored on a single, wild pitch, stolen base and an error.

9:15 — Singleton’s line, as he exits in favor of Brandon Mathes to start the sixth: 5 IP, 5 R, 2 ER, 6 H, 3 BB 1 HBP, 4 K. 48 balls, 55 strikes. Leaving a tie game, he cannot earn a decision.

9:10 — Lincoln 5, Wingnuts 5 (End 5) — Not much to report from the last inning and a half. Pitchers have settled down.

8:45 — Lincoln 5, Wingnuts 5 (Bottom 4) — Wingnuts tie it on a double by Pearson and an RBI single by Mike Bell.

8:40 — Lincoln 5, Wingnuts 4 (Mid 4) It’s not a 1-2-3 inning, but after being hit by a pitch, Albenis Machado is caught stealing second. Singleton struck out the other two batters of the inning.

8:30 — Lincoln 5, Wingnuts 4 (End 3) — Nothing doing for the Wingnuts in their half of the third.

8:25 — Lincoln 5, Wingnuts 4 (Mid 3) — The Saltdogs score on a double-play grounder and Singleton minimizes the damage. He’s allowed three unearned runs, but isn’t helping himself much, either. He’s walked two, is falling behind in counts consistently and has thrown 73 pitches.

8:15 — Lincoln 4, Wingnuts 4 (Top 3) — Lincoln has the bases loaded and no outs after a walk, an error and an infield hit that was booted by SS Josh Horn. This game is long and very, very ugly.

8:05 – Lincoln 4, Wingnuts 4 (Bottom 2) — After scoring a run with the help of an error, the Wingnuts have runners on first and second…then Patterson hits a three-run homer to tie it.

7:45 — Lincoln 4, Wingnuts 0 (Top 2) — A sacrifice fly by Machado scores Gillan, and Brandon Jones’ double completes the team cycle for Lincoln the first time through the order. One out.

7:40 — Lincoln 3, Wingnuts 0 (Top 2) — After a solo homer by Hawke, Patterson drops another fly ball. This one is scored as a triple by debuting Lincoln catcher Jeremy Gillan. He’s on third with no outs.

7:35 — Lincoln 2, Wingnuts 0 (End 1) — Wingnuts get runners on first and third with two outs before Mario Delgado strikes out swinging. Wingnuts are flat to start this game. But Lincoln isn’t exactly exuding enthusiasm, either.

7:20 — Lincoln 2, Wingnuts 0 (T1) — Saltdogs get two unearned runs after an error by Patterson to start the game. Dickey scores on a sacrifice fly, then Nunez blasts a two-out solo homer.

6:50 — Lineups:
Lincoln — Gavin Dickey CF, Rafael Alvarez RF, Juan Richardson 3B, Argelis Nunez LF, Juan Camacho DH, Phil Hawke 1B, Jeremy Gillan C, Albenis Machado SS, Brandon Jones 2B. RHP John James (1-0, 7.20 ERA).

Wingnuts — Josh Horn SS, Ryan Patterson CF, Jorge Cortes RF, Jackson Melian LF, Mario Delgado DH, Jeff Christy C, Steve Pearson 1B, Mike Bell 3B, Rene Ruiz 2B. RHP Nick Singleton (5-3, 2.20 ERA).

6 p.m. — It’s 7-13, so is that a lucky day or an unlucky one? Hard to say, right?

I’m not going to be on Twitter tonight because I follow a lot of baseball-related pages and I don’t want the All-Star game spoiled. I realize I’m in the minority, but I absolutely love the MLB All-Star game. Love everything about it. My favorite one ever was the one in Pittsburgh in 1994 (I think), when Tony Gwynn came around to score on a double by Moises Alou in extra innings.

That was my first year as a Cleveland Indians fan, but I’ve always preferred the National League over the American League. Yes, if Fausto Carmona enters tonight’s game, I want him to strike out everybody he faces. I’ve just always liked the National League brand of baseball. It’s not the lack of a DH or anything like that, I just think the NL teams are more interesting. The Orioles? The A’s? Come on, now. Plus, I spend so much time rooting against the other AL teams that it doesn’t make sense for me to put that aside, even for a night.

But my point was that since I won’t be on Twitter tonight, all the updates from the Wingnuts’ game tonight against Lincoln can and will be found here. The Wingnuts enter on a six-game winning streak and face Lincoln, which is also hot coming into this series. Yes, the Saltdogs are 2-5 and just lost 3 of 4 to Sioux Falls, but beating Sioux Falls even once qualifies as a hot streak since the Pheasants have been tearing through the league for most of the season.

So just keep refreshing this page and the updates will be at the top. Feel free to comment — I always love discussion. Just don’t spoil the All-Star game. And don’t spoil the All-Star game because you think it would be funny since I told you not to. And don’t spoil the All-Star game because you think it would be funny since I told you not to because you think it would be funny. Just don’t. But stick around and talk some Wingnuts baseball if you want.

Go Fausto!

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off

Wingnuts Trade Thompson

July 10, 20103:28 p.m.

The Wingnuts made a flurry of roster moves today, the most notable of which is trading mainstay Michael Thompson, their third baseman since the first game of the inaugural 2008 season, to Quebec of the Can-Am League.

The Wingnuts received Michael Bell in return. Bell has spent much of the season in Fort Worth, but he was sent to Quebec recently in a move that may have helped facilitate this transaction. I wasn’t completely clear on that.

Thompson, the Wingnuts’ career leader in games played with 242, is one of only two Wingnuts, along with first baseman Stephen Pearson, to be with the team since Day 1. In his first two seasons, Thompson combined for 81 extra-base hits, but this season he has just seven in 181 at-bats despite an average hovering around .300.

Bell has a strong track record but has struggled this season and could benefit, like Thompson, from a change of scenery. A former member of the Milwaukee Brewers organization, where he reached Double-A in 2008, Bell was a .269 career hitter entering this season with double-digit homers in every season since 2006.

This year, however, Bell batted .214 in 131 at-bats with Fort Worth, with one homer and 11 RBIs. He’s strong defensively but needs to prove that he’s not finished as a hitter.

In other moves, the Wingnuts released reliever and former Wichita State two-way player Clint McKeever. They also traded reliever Doug Hurn to Fort Worth. To fill those spots, the Wingnuts signed J.R. Boling and David Jensen, who will slot into the bullpen.

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off

Game 52 (4): Wingnuts 8, Air Hogs 7

July 9, 201011:56 p.m.

Box score — Wingnuts 8, Grand Prairie 7

The parenthetical (4) is the number of games the Wingnuts have played in the second half. I’ll probably keep it like that, even if I have to explain it in every post.

I’ve been quite critical of the Wingnuts during their futile first half, and they deserved pretty much all of that criticism, because they just weren’t very good.

I never made a big deal of one games, or four games, during the first half, though, and I’m not about to do it now. But I think it’s obvious to everyone who’s watched this team lately that it’s much improved. With the additions of Jackson Melian and Jorge Cortes, the lineup is much deeper and more troublesome for pitchers. Though those two hit in the middle of the order and haven’t yet hit a home run, they provide quality at-bats that veterans are supposed to provide and that the Wingnuts weren’t getting from some of the younger, less disciplined, less experienced players that previously occupied those spots.

Having those two guys around takes pressure off pretty much everyone else. Though Josh Horn isn’t a prototypical leadoff hitter, he doesn’t  have the weight of hitting third and being expected to be anything other than the type of hitter he is. Ryan Patterson in the No. 2 slot is perfect, because even though he’s not going to lay down many sacrifice bunts because of his power, he pretty much always puts the ball in play and provides speed if he reaches base.

I don’t think Mario Delgado is too pumped about moving from third in the order to fifth, but he should be. Melian and Cortes just give him two more potential RBIs, and since July 1, Delgado has driven in 11 runs, with two three-RBI games in that stretch. He’s among the league leaders with 50 RBIs so far.

Jeff Christy in the No. 6 spot gives the Wingnuts a fairly formidable bottom three, with Stephen Pearson, Michael Thompson and whoever will be the permanent second baseman. For now, it’s Rene Ruiz, a rookie who appears overmatched at times but is still batting .333 in limited time.

Grand Praire’s pitching staff ranks eighth out of 10 in the American Association in ERA, and obviously manager Pete Incaviglia isn’t too confident in his bullpen, as he left an average starter in tonight for 121 pitches with a big lead. The bullpen imploded, but a poor opponent doesn’t take anything away from the Wingnuts’ win. They’ve won three in a row for the first time this season.

As legendary Cleveland Indians manager Lou Brown once said: That’s called A WINNING STREAK. It HAS happened before.

Up next: Grand Prairie at Wingnuts, 7:05 p.m. Saturday at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium. Starting pitchers: Grand Prairie, RH Greg Krause (2-3, 4.31 ERA); Wingnuts, RH Gabe Medina (2-4, 3.44).

By Jeff Lutz | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments Off