Box score — St. Paul 7, Wingnuts 4
Dear Cleveland Indians:
Bring back Ole Sheldon and Jason Cooper!
You’ve had both of these guys in your organization in recent seasons. Why did you let them go?
Yeah, Sheldon was a 27-year-old playing in Class A ball last season. And still he wasn’t even that great. And yeah, even on his very best day as a one-time prospect, Cooper still only projected as a fourth or fifth outfielder.
So what?
Have you seen these guys raking for the St. Paul Saints lately? Do you think Lou Marson could crush American Association pitching the way Cooper and Sheldon are? Uh, probably not. So give Cooper and Sheldon another chance. It can’t get much worse than Matt LaPorta out in left field.
This is what it’s like to be an irrational fan. Of course Cooper and Sheldon aren’t major leaguers. But against guys who throw 86-88 mph on the independent level, they’re pretty fun to watch. Cooper, especially. I’m not sure how he didn’t make it to the majors at least for a cup of coffee. He was in Triple-A for a long time, and for two different organizations.
It just so happened that he spent a lot of time in Buffalo. It was first the Triple-A affiliate of the Indians, then when it switched to the Mets, Cooper went to the Mets. He never quite reached his potential, and he’ll probably never make the majors.
Cleveland’s (non) loss was St. Paul’s gain, though. And if we’re going to be witness to independent baseball, it’s good that there are hitters like these two. Professionals. Guys who have had success at much higher levels. They’re the “fear” guys I was talking about the other night that not a lot of teams on this level have.
They hit around Adam Cowart tonight. That doesn’t happen often, so you know Cooper and Sheldon are worth watching. And maybe the Indians should take another look.
Up next: Wingnuts travel to Lincoln for a three-game series beginning on Tuesday night.
I’ll be off until the next homestand after the one this weekend. Headed to Lawrence for some 6A state tournament baseball. I’ll do my best to keep the blog updated and have some material for you all to look at in the newspaper, too. See you soon.