Batter's Box Interactive Magazine Batter's Box Interactive Magazine Batter's Box Interactive Magazine
After scoring 11 runs and losing by 6 on Sunday the Fishercats took no chances and scored 17 on Monday as the affiliates were a perfect 4-0 on the night.


Norfolk 3 at Syracuse 8

Kane Davis put together a strong start going 7 innings and giving up 2 runs.  DeJong and Wolf finished the game, each with a scoreless inning.

Eric Kratz was the hitting star for the Chiefs hitting 2 HRs and driving in 4 runs.  He turns 28 this month so he's not a top prospect by any means, but he's slugging .500 this year.  If he can keep that up it makes him a possible good emergency option, and maybe even a backup in the right spot.

Adam Lind was in the lineup for a 2nd straight day and had 2 hits.  The middle infield duo of Sandoval and Cabral (who?) each also had 2 hits on the night.


Portland 10 at New Hampshire 17

After losing 17-11 the previous day the Fisher Cats turned the tables.  The only regular without at least 2 hits for NH was Travis Snider who went 1-5 while playing RF.  Ryan Klosterman had the best day going 4-4, including a HR and 2 BBs, with 4 runs and 5 RBIs.  The following players had 3 hits (with XBH in parenthesis):  Guitierrez (2 doubles), Matthews (double), Patterson (double), and Campbell (double).  Two hit nights belonged to Jacob Butler, Kreuzer (double), and Jeroloman (HR).

We'll ignore the pitching.


Dunedin 5 at Fort Myers 0

Robert Ray pitched 6 scoreless innings, giving up just 4 hits and 2 BBs to go with the 5 Ks he had on the night.  Polanco came on for the perfect 3 inning save, preserving the shutout.

Cory Patton did the most damage going 3-5 with 2 doubles and 3 RBIs.  Luis Sanchez also had 3 hits while Shoffit had 2.

Three D-Jays are FSL All Stars:  JP Arencibia, Brian Dopriak, and Connor Falkenback.  Arencibia was also the FSL player of the week.


Lansing 4 at South Bend 1

Randy Boone got the start and went 6 innings giving up just one run.  Tim Collins struck out 4 in a 2 inning relief stint.

Mastroianni had 2 hits for the Nuts.  Sierra, Rodriguez and Eiland each had a double, with Eiland also walking twice.

3 Stars!:
3 - Robert Ray
2 - Eric Kratz
1 - Ryan Klosterman

Explosion in NH | 11 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
ayjackson - Tuesday, June 03 2008 @ 11:25 AM EDT (#186415) #
Ryan Patterson was Eastern League Player of the Week.
John Northey - Tuesday, June 03 2008 @ 11:39 AM EDT (#186416) #
One has to hope for Eric Kratz that he gets a shot.  At 28 his chances at the majors are reducing quickly.  Checking his minor league B-R page I see he was drafted in the 29th round in '02 out of college (no one drafted him out of high school), then started in Medicine Hat in '02, jumped around a lot in '03/04 between low A and AA, spent a full year at AA in '05, and has juggled between AA and AAA ever since.  AA is the only spot he has played over 100 games in and he hit 225-294-386 total there.  AAA numbers overall are 231-291-409.  These suggest a guy who swings for the fences when up to bat.  Hopefully he is strong defensively as those offensive numbers won't get him here.  He has 281 games behind the plate and 10 at first plus 9 as the DH at various levels. 
FisherCat - Tuesday, June 03 2008 @ 12:00 PM EDT (#186420) #

Eric Kratz has very LONG swing.  He doesn't necessarily swing for the fences he just takes a very long time to get the bat thru the zone.  In the few at bats I saw of him up in NH this season, he noticeably shortened his swing after 2 strikes and would consistantly make contact (foul or otherwise).

If a dope like me notices this, then I'm sure hitting coaches have.  So I'm not sure why it hasn't been "fixed", but he is a superb defender behind the dish.

BulletJayFan - Tuesday, June 03 2008 @ 12:30 PM EDT (#186424) #
Kratz does have a ridiculously long swing, and his incredibly wide stance seems to preclude the ability to hit for anything but power. That said, he absolutely crushed, and I mean crushed, the two HRs he hit last night, the first a line drive opposite field that would not come down and the second a monster fly ball to left that must have gone 400 feet. His defense is good, the difference between his and Thigpen's warmup throws to second is almost comical, but he's not as athletic as Diaz, whose arm is just as good, and Kratz can't hit for average nearly as well. Kratz looks a lot like a Kevin Barker, a guy who will crush AAA pitching but who just doesn't have the skill to be much more than a career minor leaguer.
Mike Green - Tuesday, June 03 2008 @ 03:02 PM EDT (#186428) #
With catchers, youneverknow.  Ernie Whitt had a pretty long swing himself and got a very late start. 
Explosion in NH | 11 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.