With the Jays not on the tube over the week-end, the missus and I got to see one of the Jays affiliates in action as we made our very first trip to beautiful Oldsmobile Park , home the Single A Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League.  We took in a Sunday afternoon game between the ‘Nuts and the Fort Wayne Wizards, a San Diego Padres affiliate.

The pitching match-up was a lefty-righty battle with the sinister Chi-Hung Cheng on the hill for the home side.  Righty Joel Santo would toe the rubber for the visitors.

Top 1st – The lefty Cheng was working quickly, like his pants were on fire, as he faced the leadoff man Mike Sansoe.  It appeared he was using mostly changeups and fastballs in the early going, as his offerings ranged from 80-90 MPH but he wound up walking Sansoe, missing with an 89 MPH fastball.  The next hitter was Mike Baxter.  After getting a swing and miss on a 91 MPH heater, Cheng missed with a 92 MPH pitch and a 70MPH curveball.  During the at-bat, Sansoe stole 2nd.  Then Baxter lifted a bloop single to right on an 89 MPH pitch that 2nd baseman Sean Shoffit appeared to misjudge.  It looked like he just didn’t read the ball off the bat properly as he came in for the ball and then realized he wasn’t going to get to it and gave up on it.  Sansoe was able to advance to 3rd so it was runners on the corners with nobody out.  Seth Johnston was the next hitter and after taking two balls at 91MPH and 84MPH, he lined a 91 MPH fastball for a single to right past a diving Sean Shoffit to score Sansoe to make it 1-0 Fort Wayne .  The clean-up hitter, Nicholas Crosta, was able to work the count to 3-1 as Cheng missed with three 90 MPH fastballs and got a swing and a miss on an 87 MPH heater.  Crosta drove the next pitch past a diving Joey Metropolous at first for another single to right to score Baxter from 2nd to make it a 2-0 game for Fort Wayne .  Will Venable, son of Max, then dropped down a bunt down the first baseline that Cheng just got to before it rolled foul and fired a seed to Metropolous at first to finally get the first out of the inning.  The 1-3 bunt advanced Johnston to 3rd and Crosta to 2nd.  Cheng continued to struggle as Daryl Jones drew a walk to load up the bases as Cheng missed with offerings ranging from 70, 91, and 87 MPH respectively.  That brought up the catcher Brandon Gottier, who grounded into a 6-4 fielder’s choice, to score Johnston to make it 3-0 Fort Wayne .  The grounder wasn’t hit sharply enough to the shortstop Jesus Gonzalez to turn two.  Cheng looked like he was going to end the inning as he located his first two offerings at 81 and 80 MPH for called strikes to Chad Steiner.  However, Cheng missed with two curveballs at 70 and 76 and two 89 MPH fastballs to walk Steiner.  Facing the number 9 hitter, Abraham Aguilar, Cheng got two called strikes on an 88 MPH fastball and a 70 MPH curveball before inducing a grounder back to the mound for the 1-3 putout to finally end the frame.  It was 3-0 Fort Wayne with Lansing coming up to bat.

Bottom 1st – Righthander Joel Santo was on the hill for Fort Wayne to face lead off man Sean Shoffit.  Shoffit tried to get something started for the home side but fell behind in the count at 0-2.  He kept the at-bat going for about 6-7 pitches before getting a pitch he liked, as he hit one right on the money but right at the 3rd baseman for the first out.  Jacob Butler popped up to left for the 2nd for out number 2.  Corey Patton kept the inning going by lining a 92 MPH heater from Santo into left.  Clean-up hitter Joey Metropoulos drew a walk to push Patton to 2nd but Anthony Hatch popped to short to end the inning.  Still 3-0 Fort Wayne after 1.

Top 2nd -   Cheng was hoping to settle down and got a called first pitch strike on an 83 MPH offering to the leadoff man, Mike Sansoe.  However, Cheng threw the next 3 pitches for balls at 81, 88, and 89 MPH.  On the next pitch, Sansoe hit a grounder to short that took a funny hop off the grass and ate up Jesus Gonzalez as the ball went into shallow left-center field.  A hustling Sansoe was able to make it to 2nd as the outfield didn’t react quickly enough to get the ball back to the infield.  Mike Baxter worked the count to 2-0 as Cheng missed with a 69 MPH curveball and 86 MPH fastball.  Cheng then induced a grounder on a 69 MPH curveball to 2nd for the 4-3 putout that advanced Sansoe to 3rd.  Cheng got ahead of the number 3 hitter, Seth Johnston at 1-and-2 as he got a called strike at 87 MPH fastball and a swinging strike at 90 MPH.  However, Cheng couldn’t get the punchout as Johnston brought home Sansoe with a sacrifice fly to right to make it 4-0 Fort Wayne .  Cheng finally racked up his 1st K of the day.  He got ahead of clean-up man Nicholas Crosta, getting two called strikes at 79 and 73 MPH before getting a swing and a miss on an 81 MPH changeup.  Catcher Josh Bell couldn’t hang on to the pitch but was able to throw to first to get the final out.  It was now 4-0 Fort Wayne after 1 and a half.

Bottom 2nd – Designated hitter Brian Pettway sent one back up the middle for a base hit to lead things off for the Lugnuts.  Unfortunately, his stay on the basepaths was cut short as Josh Bell grounded a 3-2 offering to short as part of a 6-4-3 double play.  That would really hurt the home side as Yuber Rodriguez lined a 94MPH heater to center for a base hit.  However, Rodriguez would be stranded as the number 9 hitter, Jesus Gonzalez, would go down swinging on a 93 MPH fastball.  Still a 4-0 lead for Fort Wayne .

Top 3rd – Will Venable drew a leadoff walk from Cheng and wound up stealing 2nd when Daryl Jones struck out swinging on a 79 MPH offering.  However, Venable’s travels didn’t end at the keystone bag as catcher Josh Bell’s throwing error allowed the son of Max to get to 3rd.  The Wizards took advantage as Brandon Gottier lifted a fly ball to right to score Venable to give the visitors a 5-0 advantage.  Cheng was able to end the inning thanks to Joey Metropoulos, who tracked down a foul pop up down the first base line and got twisted around, tripping over the Lugnuts bullpen mound, but still made the circus catch to end the inning.  It was now 5-0 for Fort Wayne .

Bottom 3rd – Lead-off man Sean Shoffit did what he was supposed to do, get on base.  After lining out to 3rd his first time up, he managed to avoid hitting it to the 3rd baseman this time around as he doubled down the left field line.  Shoffit was joined on the basepaths by Jacob Butler, who was hit by a pitch from Joel Santo.  Cory Patton advanced Shoffit to 3rd on a flyball to right to give the Lugnuts runners at the corner with 1 out.  After a walk his first time up, clean up man Joey Metropoulos’ plate discipline didn’t help him as he was caught looking at a 91 MPH fastball for strike 3.  Anthony Hatch kept the inning going with a 2 out walk to load up the bases but Brian Pettway went down swinging on a 92 MPH fastball to leave the bases loaded and the Lugnuts runless.  Still a 5-0 ballgame for the Wizards.

Top 4th – Cheng continued to struggle as he issued a lead-off pass to the number 9 hitter, Abraham Aguilar.  Cheng compounded his troubles as he tried to pick off Aguilar but his throw sailed away from Joey Metropoulos, giving the baserunner an additional 90 feet.  Mike Sansoe laid down a sac bunt, 1-3, to advance Aguilar to 3rd .  Just when it appeared Fort Wayne was going to add to their lead, Cheng buckled down, inducing a grounder to 2nd on an 84 MPH offering off the bat of Mike Baxter and getting Seth Johnston to fly out to left for the final out to strand Aguilar at 3rd.  Finally, a shut-out frame for Cheng as it remained 5-0 Fort Wayne .

Bottom 4th – The inning didn’t start off too well for the Lugnuts as Josh Bell popped out to 2nd for the first out.  However, Yuber Rodriguez spanked a 92 MPH fastball from Joel Santo for a double down the left field line.  Then Jesus saved the home side from the shut-out as Gonzalez singled up the middle to cash in Y-Rod to make it a 5-1 ball game.  Sean Shoffit reached base his 2nd time of the game by drawing a walk to push Gonzalez to 2nd.  Jacob Butler would go down swinging on a 78 MPH pitch but Cory Patton kept the inning alive with a 2 out walk to load up the bases.  That would lead to a call to the bullpen as Joel Santo gave way to another righty, Mark Roberts.   His first batter was Joey Metropoulous - whose plate discipline came back at the right time, drawing his 2nd free pass of the day, score Gonzalez to make it 5-2.  Then Anthony Hatch nearly brought the home side all the way back with a double down the right field line to score Shoffit and Patton to make it a 5-4 game.  Manager Ken Joyce waved in a lumbering Joey Metropoulos, who was chugging in all the way from first.  Joyce wanted to force the issue and tie the game up but “ Big City ” was cut down at the plate rather easily on a headfirst slide on a 9-4-2 putout to end the frame.  However, the Lugnuts were back in the game, trailing 5-4.

Top 5th – Righthander Joey McLaughlin Jr. came out of the Lugnuts pen to relieve Cheng.  Of course, thoughts of his dad came flooding back into the memory banks as he took the mound.  His offerings this inning ranged from 82-88 MPH.  Things did not get off to a good start for the son of the former Jay as he lost his first batter, Nicholas Crosta, to a walk on a 3-2 pitch that registered at 87 MPH on the radar gun.  With Will Venable batting, McLaughlin uncorked a wild pitch that catcher Josh Bell could not locate.  Despite McLaughlin yelling at him where the ball was, Crosta was able to make it to 3rd by the time Bell found the rawhide.  With a throwing error already on the day, Bell ’s afternoon was going to get worse, but it would get better……..eventually.  Anyways, Venable drew a walk to give the Wizards runners on the corners and still nobody out.  The Wizards went to their bag of tricks to get their 6th run of the day, courtesy of a double steal.  With Daryl Jones at the dish, Venable took off for 2nd, beating the throw by Bell , while Crosta came in to score to make it 6-4 Fort Wayne .  McLaughlin would rally to get the next hitters, as he struck out Jones with a 82 MPH that had some hellacious movement, a nice sweeping breaking ball that Jones could not have hit with a canoe paddle.  Then he got a called strikeout on Brandon Gottier on an 89 MPH fastball for the 2nd out.   Just when you thought McLaughlin was going to be able to limit the damage, the bottom of the Wizards order proved troublesome again to the Lugnuts.  Despite Sean Shoffit’s best efforts, Chad Steiner’s infield single to 2nd managed to score Venable from 2nd to give Fort Wayne a 7-4 advantage.  The number 9 hitter, Abraham Aguilar, advanced Steiner to 2nd with a single to left but McLaughlin retired Mike Sansoe on a 5-4 fielder’s choice to end the inning.  On just 5 hits, it was 7-4 Fort Wayne as runs have scored courtesy of a double steal, a fielder’s choice, and 2 sac flies.  Other than their 3 singles in the first inning, Fort Wayne wasn’t exactly ripping the cover off the ball.  They just took advantage of the Lugnuts sloppy play and executed when given the opportunity.

Bottom 5th – Mark Roberts was back toeing the rubber for the Wizards and he was taken deep by DH Brian Pettway, who deposited one over the wall in right field onto the lawn for a home run to make it  7-5.  There was a bit of a breeze on the afternoon at Oldsmobile Park and I think the wind may have helped push Pettway’s big fly over the fence.  Just to confirm my suspicions, the missus also thought that ball was not going to make it over the wall.  However, they all look like tape measure shots in the boxscore and it was nice to see at least one homer on our first trip to Oldsmobile Park .  Anyways, Roberts decided to take out his frustration on Josh Bell and plunked him..  That was the second Lugnut who was plunked on the day but there was no warning from the umpire.  Roberts was able to rally by getting the next two batters swinging, striking out Yuber Rodriguez on an 87 MPH offering and Jesus Gonzalez on an 81 MPH pitch, to get the first 2 outs of the inning.  Sean Shoffit would keep the inning alive with a single to left, advancing Bell to 2nd.   However, Roberts struck out Jacob Butler swinging with an 88 MPH fastball to end the threat.  Wizards 7 Lugnuts 5.

Top 6th – The second member of the Lugnuts Taiwanese connection came out the pen to start the 6th in righty Po-Hsuan Keng.  His pitches ranged from 77– 93 MPH.  After it took pretty much 2 and a half hours to complete the first innings, Keng looked to restore some order to this crazy game by doing something off totally off the wall for Lugnut pitching – retiring the first batter of the inning.  He got Mike Baxter on a tapper to the mound and started a 1-3 putout.  Keng got another groundball out from Seth Johnston, 6-3, to make it 2 up 2 down.  Would it be 3 up 3 down?  No.  After  taking a 78 MPH pitch for a called strike, Nicholas Crosta doubled to left.  Keng fell behind Will Venable 2-0 on a couple of 90 MPH fastballs but he got a called 3rd strike on an 83 MPH offering and he retired Venable on a fly to centre on another 83 MPH pitch to end the frame.  Still a 7-5 ballgame for the Wizards.

Bottom 6th – Lefty Brandon Higelin came into the game for Fort Wayne as their third pitcher of the game and he was also the third Wizard hurler to plunk a Lugnut batter, as left fielder Cory Patton played the role of Reed Johnson, taking one for the team.  That brought Joey “ Big City ” Metropoulous, who walked twice and struck out looking his first 3 times up.  He decided to put one in play between the lines for a change, with a grounder to 3rd that was booted by Chad Steiner into left field, allowing Patton to reach 3rd and Big City to 2nd.  Anthony Hatch then drew a walk to load up the bases with nobody out.  That set the stage for Brian Pettway, who homered in his previous at bat.  This time around, he struck out swinging for the first out.  Up next was catcher Josh Bell, who was having a rough day behind the dish as he was victimized by a steal, a throwing error, a double steal, a wild pitch, and a hit by pitch.  This time, things would go Bell ’s way as he rang up a single to center to cash in Patton and Big City to tie up the game at 7-7.  Anthony Hatch made it to 3rd but he should’ve been called out as he overslid the bag and tried to grab hold of it with his fingers.  The Fort Wayne manager came out to argue from the dugout and he had as good a view as I did from the 3rd base side of the stadium. However, he was ruled safe and the Lugnuts had a chance, amazingly, to grab the lead.  After a blown call, it was really only fitting the Lugnuts could not forge ahead as Yuber Rodriguez, needing at the very least a deep enough fly ball to score Hatch, struck out swinging while Jesus Gonzalez flied out to centre an out too late to end the rally.  For the first time since the start of the game, it was all tied up again at 7-7.

Top 7th – Po-Hsuan Keng showed he had this pitching thing down this frame as he retired all three hitters in order.  He struck out Daryl Jones looking on an 93 MPH heater and got a groundball out to short off the bat of Brandon Gottier on an 82 MPH pitch.  Keng then put the exclamation point on his outing by ringing up Chad Steiner looking on an 89 MPH fastball.  A great outing for Keng, who faced just one batter over the minimum in his 2 innings of work.  That was a much better outing than the first time I saw him, when he got lit up in Kane County last season.  Stretch time at Oldsmobile Park and we’re tied at 7.

Bottom 7th – Brandon Higelin made it back to back 3 up, 3 down half-innings as he struck out Sean Shoffit swinging on a 74 MPH pitch.  Jacob Butler flew out to centre and Cory Patton grounded out to 3rd.  After 7, it was still tied at 7-7.

Top 8th – Michigan native Paul Phillips came on in relief of Keng for the Lugnuts.  The righty came out throwing smoke, throwing one pitch at 98 MPH but his heater settled in at 92-93 MPH.  However, he was greeted by a single to left from the pesky number 9 hitter, Abraham Aguilar, on an 88 MPH pitch.  Fort Wayne broke out their small ball playbook once again as leadoff man Mike Sansoe laid a bunt down but Paul Phillips was unable to get to the ball in time as Sansoe got aboard on the infield single.  With runners at 1st and 2nd and nobody out, Mike Baxter laid another bunt down.  Here’s a discrepancy from my scorecard and the boxscore on the team website.  I had a fielder’s choice of 5-6 on the scoreboard but the boxscore said 3-5.  I  may be wrong but regardless, the lead runner at 3rd was cut down so it was still 1st and 2nd but now 1 away.  Then Josh Bell had another adventure behind the dish.  With Seth Johnston at bat, Phillips uncorked a wild pitch allowing Sansoe to reach 3rd and Baxter to 2nd.  However, the ball on the wild pitch caromed off the backstop right back to Bell, who tried to gun down Sansoe at 3rd but it was an ill advised play, he should’ve put the ball in his back pocket.  Instead, Bell’s throw sailed into left field, allowing Sansoe to score the go-ahead run to make it 8-7 for Fort Wayne .  With Baxter now at 3rd, the Wizards had a chance to take on an insurance run.  With the infield draw in, Johnston hit a sharp grounder to 2nd but Sean Shoffit made a nice diving stop to deny Johnston the RBI to hold Baxter at 3rd.  Then Phillips retired Nicholas Crosta on a fly ball to right to end the frame and limit the damage to a single run.  It was now an 8-7 Fort Wayne lead.

Bottom 8th -  Another Wizards pitcher and another hit by pitch.  Righthander Jon “The Missing” Link was also missing his control as he plunked Joey Metropolous to start the inning.  After Big City was gunned down at the plate earlier in the contest, Anthony Garibaldi came in to pinch run for the big fella.  He would advance to 3rd on a single to right by Anthony Hatch.  So the Lugnuts had two Anthonys on the corners.  Brian Pettway was looking to bring home the tying run but it appeared he botched the opportunity with a groundball to the 3rd baseman, Chad Steiner.  However, Steiner saw Garibaldi dancing well off the 3rd base bag and Steiner thought he might’ve had a shot at tagging him or starting a rundown.  Steiner then decided to throw to first but his throw was wide of the mark, allowing Garibaldi to scamper home with the tying run to make it an 8-8 game.  Anthony Hatch wound up advancing to 3rd on the play while Pettway stayed at first.  So the spotlight found its way to Josh Bell once again and like his previous at-bat, he delivered with a booming double off the “Corner Green Monster”, an elevated wall in the right field corner, to score Hatch to give the Lugnuts their first lead of the long afternoon at 9-8.  That would end the day for Bell, who gave away to pinch runner Luke Hetherington at 2nd.  Definitely sweet redemption for Bell. After helping Fort Wayne take the lead in the previous half-inning, he gave the lead right back to the good guys with an RBI double.  With Pettway at 3rd and Hetherington at 2nd, the home side wanted some insurance.  It didn’t look like it would happen as Yuber Rodriguez grounded to 3rd and Jesus Gonzalez struck out swinging for outs 1 and 2.  Fort Wayne elected to pitch around to Sean Shoffit, handing him an international walk.  It was the right call for the Wizards manager to make.  Shoffit had reached base 3 times on the afternoon while Butler was hitless on the day, only getting aboard on a hit by pitch.  However, Butler made the Wizards pay with a single to left to cash in Pettway and Hetherington but Shoffit got hung up between 3rd and home and was retired in a 7-4-5-2-5 rundown to end the uprising.  It was 11-8 Lansing heading to the bottom of the 9th.

Top 9th – Paul Phillips came back out for his 2nd inning of work and he got a new batterymate to play with, as Brian Bormaster (love that name!) came on to catch for Bell while David Hicks replaced Big City at 1st.  It looked like Phillips decided that this game had gone on long enough as he retired Will Venable on a fly to left and Daryl Jones on a grounder to short.  His shot at a 3 up, 3 down inning went by the wayside as he walked Brandon Gottier and that brought up Chad Steiner.  His two errors at 3rd really played a big part in the Lansing comeback, and it seemed only fitting that he was the final out of the ballgame as he popped out to Sean Shoffit at 2nd to seal a wild 11-8 victory for the Lansing Lugnuts.  

According to the Lansing State Journal, a total of 373 pitches were thrown to 91 batters.  It was an ugly bastard of a ballgame with 6 errors, 4 hit by pitches, and 2 wild pitches that took 3 hours and 25 minutes to play in front of 3, 929 fans. 

Three stars of the game……..

1.      Po-Hsuan Keng – In a slugfest, he was the best pitcher on the afternoon, with 2 shutout innings in relief, striking out 2 and only facing one batter over the minimum.  He kept the game within reach for the Lugnuts.

2.      Sean Shoffit – He did a fine job of setting the table at the top of the order.  Shoffit got on base 4 times in 6 plate appearances, with a single, a double, and a pair of walks.  He would’ve had 3 hits had the third baseman not gotten in the way in the 1st.  Regardless, his on-base prowess led to an intentional walk that set the stage for Jacob Butler’s 2 run single in the 8th to give Lansing some much needed insurance.  He also scored a run.  Defensively, he also made a nice diving stop on a groundball to keep a potential Fort Wayne insurance run from scoring in the 8th.

 3.      Anthony Hatch – He reached base 4 times out of 5, with a single, a double, and 2 walks.  His 2 run double in the 4th brought the Nuts back into the ballgame and he wound up scoring the winning run in the 4 run 8th inning.

 Honourable mentions -

 Josh Bell – As mentioned, he had a rough day behind the plate, but to quote Jeff Daniels in “Dumb and Dumber” – HE TOTALLY REDEEMED HIMSELF with a 2 run single in the 6th to tie the game at 7-7 and put the Nuts ahead for good with the go ahead RBI double off the “Corner Green Monster” in the 8th.  He also reached base on a hit by pitch in his 5 plate appearances.  If it weren’t for his defensive misadventures, he would’ve been star number 3.  However, he deserves a tip of the cap for battling through a lot of adversity.

 Brian Pettway – Belted the only homer of the ballgame to keep Lansing in striking distance in the 5th and added a single for a 2 hit day.  Also got the do the two-step on home plate twice. 

 Cory Patton – Reached base three times via single, walk, and hit by pitch and got to stomp on the white dish a couple of times. 

 Joey Metropoulos – “ Big City ” showed creativity getting on base with 2 walks, an error, and a hit by pitch.  That HBP ignited the 8th inning rally for the nuts.  He also did well to track down a ball in foul territory for a precious out for a scuffling Chi-Hung Cheng to end the 3rd inning as well as cutting down the lead runner at 3rd on a bunt attempt in the 8th.  Also reached the white pentagon-shaped object once.

 In the team photo –

 Jacob Butler – a key 2 insurance run single and a HBP in 5 plate appearances

 Yuber Rodriguez – struck out swinging twice but managed a single, a double, and a run scored in 5 appearances at the dish.

 Paul Phillips – Next to Keng, he was the ‘Nuts best pitcher.  He got some help from Shoffit, but he stopped the bleeding in a one run 8th before facing one batter over the minimum in a scoreless 9th to pick up the “W”.

 Anthony Garibaldi/Luke Hetherington , aka “The Dynamic PR Duo” – 2 pinch runners scoring in the same inning, that’s not something you see everyday!  Garibaldi managed to distract the Fort Wayne 3rd baseman, causing a throwing error to first that led to Garibaldi scoring the tying run in the 8th. 

 This was the kind of game that set baseball back 100 years but at least the right team won.  After reading the thread above, I’m thrilled the Jays have extended their affiliation with the Lugnuts.  Oldsmobile Park is definitely worth the trip and I hope we’ll get to make another visit really soon.   Thanks for reading!

I too am thrilled that the affiliation was extended.  I was at the press conference where Dick Scott announced the arrangement.  Lansing and Toronto are a good fit.  Geographically, the league and the Lansing affiliation makes a lot of sense.

#2, it was good of you to come to the 3 hour 25 minute disaster that was Sunday's game.  Let me know the next time you are around so I can say hello.

Lugnut Fan, I'll drop you a line the next time I'm in town.  We're also hoping to hit Battle Creek one more time to say goodbye to C.O. Brown Stadium before the SW D-Rays leave.  I think I was the only one wearing a Jays hat or anything Jays related for that matter in attendance.   I got a strange look from the ticket seller when I broke out my Jays Mastercard to pay for our tickets.  It's a nice park.  I'd rate it just behind Rochester among the minor league parks I've visited.   

With Oldsmobile Park seating about 11,000, is there any chance of the Lugnuts going to Triple A?  I guess Lansing/East Lansing's population may not be big enough but I'm sure they wouldn't fare any worse than some Triple A teams right now (eg. Ottawa).  With Syracuse's Player Development Contract with the Jays set to expire after this season, Lansing would make a nice replacement. 

This is just me speculating but I don't see Syracuse re-upping with Toronto because the SkyChiefs are having another brutal season.  I think it's playoffs or bust for that affiliation to last.  My top choice for Toronto's potential affiliate, Rochester, just re-upped their PDC with Minnesota for 2008.  I yelled many expletives after reading that recently on the Twins website.  Alliance Bank Stadium is nice enough but damn that astroturf.  Part of me would like to see the affiliation extended but maybe after nearly 30 years, it's time to move on. 

Ottawa could fill the bill as the Jays Triple A affiliate as Philly is expected to leave Scranton to join up with Allentown next season.  That which would probably lead to Baltimore teaming up with Scranton, which by the way, has a neat park despite (again!)  the damn astroturf.  The upper deck seating is better than Syracuse's.  I had a chance to see that park on our way back from Camden Yards last month.  Even though it'd be a longer trip, I could handle it if Scranton and the Jays hook up.

Sneak preview of tomorrows MLU, New Hampshire played this afternnoon.

New Hampshire 4  Connecticut 10

It looked good for a while.  Davis Romero started and through six innings the Fisher Cats were leading 3-1 and Romero had only allowed two hits.  But in the seventh Romero gave up four hits and two walks leading to four more runs while he was pitching, and six in total once Danny Hill gave up a triple to the first hitter he faced.  I guess it's fair to say Romero ran out of gas although he could have been unlucky, the first three hits in the seventh were ground balls, it is impossible to tell how hard they were hit.  Hill gave up a three run home run in the eighth to complete the collapse.

New Hampshire had scored a run in the first inning on a single by Manny Mayorson, a double by Curtis Thigpen and a sac fly from David Smith.  The Cats added a run in the fourth, Eric Kratz singled to lead-off the inning and scored on a sac fly from Mayorson.  In the sixth Brad Hassey and Adam Lind doubled to give New Hampshire a brief 3-1 lead.  Hassey singled to lead off the eighth and scored on a Mayorson single.  New Hampshire outhit Connecticut 12-9 but as they say the Defenders bunched their hits.  Mayorson and Hassey each went 3-4.