Batter's Box Interactive Magazine

Three wins in four tries. Ryan Schimpf went 4-4 with a home run to lead Auburn to victory. TJ Beam pitched well as Las Vegas won. And the GCL Jays won a slugfest 12-11, Michael Crouse is heating up and he added four more hits in this game. New Hampshire took the only loss for the affiliates as a two out error in the ninth proved costly. Brad Emaus however hit a home run and had three RBI's. Dunedin and Lansing did not play.

Round Rock 1 Las Vegas 5

TJ Beam had an excellent start, he went seven innings and just allowed the one run on five hits. With Cecil and Rzepczynski about to be shut down it wouldn't be a surprise to see Beam promoted in September as he has been one of Las Vegas's best starters. Las Vegas scored a run in the fourth, two walks were followed by an RBI single by JP Arencibia. In the fifth Jason Lane led off with a double and later scored on a sac fly from newly promoted Adam Calderone. Las Vegas scored three runs in the eighth to cement the win. Buck Coats singled, Howie Clark doubled in a run and Brian Dopirak tripled in Clark. Dopirak then scored on a passed ball.

Coats and Lane were the only 51's with two hits.

Connecticut 5 New Hampshire 3

Luis Perez pitched six innings and gave up three runs on nine hits. In the bottom of the sixth Brad Emaus hit a two run home run, and in the seventh Emaus hit a sac fly to score Brian Van Kirk who had led off the inning with a double. Trystan Magnuson pitched two shutout innings in his AA debut. Zach Dials came on to pitch the ninth and put two runners on while getting two outs. the next hitter grounded to shortstop Manny Mayorson who threw the ball away letting two runs score. The Fisher Cats went 1-2-3 in the ninth.

Scott Campbell was the only New Hampshire hitter with two hits.

Brevard County at Dunedin - postponed

Lansing - scheduled day off

Auburn 3 Lowell 1

The first runs came in the fifth, Markus Brisker singled and stole second; Ryan Schimpf doubled him home and Welinton Ramirez singled home Schimpf to make it 2-0. Lowell got a run back in the bottom of the inning off Dave Sever who pitched five innings. Schimpf homered in the seventh to make it 3-1. Schimpf had four hits in four appearances, Ramirez had two.

GCL Pirates 11 GCL Blue Jays 12

The Jays trailed 11-7 in the middle of the seventh but two runs in the seventh and three in the eighth gave them the win. The Jays had 18 hits, Michael Crouse led the team with four hits including a double and a triple. Nick Zaleski and Jack Murphy had three hits each. Oliver Dominguez hit a home run, his third. Dennis Tepera started and gave up eight runs four earned in four innings.

Three Stars

3rd star - Michael Crouse
2nd star - TJ Beam
1st star - Ryan Schimpf

Posted by Gerry on Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 09:01 AM EDT.

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The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.

Mike Green - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 09:07 AM EDT (#205243) #

My favourite MLU header of the year, Gerry. Well done.

John Northey - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 09:18 AM EDT (#205244) #

A good question is which starters are on the 40 man, or likely to be added post-season to it. Those are the best bets for September call-ups regardless of performance.
Pitchers on the 40 man who are not in the majors...
Jeremy Accardo - a lock to be back up
Dirk Hayhurst - was effective in the pen earlier, has been stretched out, could eat a lot of Sept. innings
Brad Mills - was in majors earlier, not doing the best right now
Bill Murphy - has been up, 8.56 ERA in AAA right now
Luis Perez - in AA and not impressive
David Purcey - 5.00 ERA, very wild, but might be given last chance
Davis Romero - 5.68 ERA between AA/AAA, just doesn't miss enough bats
Brian Wolfe - 4.81 ERA in relief in AAA, might be given a shot still but is near the end here

I'd say Accardo and Hayhurst are likely call-ups, maybe Purcey with Mills if they want replacement starting pitchers. I dream of Tim Collins getting the chance with that crazy 13.8 K/9 given he has now reached AA but no hope of that - FYI the radio (590) and TSN both have noticed him now. Fabio Castro and T.J. Beam have slim shots. Should be interesting in September.

FisherCat - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 09:59 AM EDT (#205248) #

I was at the Auburn game last night in Lowell and came away reasonably impressed with what was a relatively well played game by both teams.

Sever, the DDays starter, has a very nice clean delivery. He has very similar build to one Doc Halladay and his wind-up seems similar to Doc's as well. He popped the glove consistantly at 90-92 with the occasional 94 heater called on to blow away hitters. His curveball was erratic most of the night, but all in all I think with some good coaching he could be made into a #3/4 starter.

Josh Wells followed Sever and he's a beast @ 6-7 & 230+ lbs. Other than that though, nothing overwhelming in terms of arsenal.

Casey Beck, the closer, seemed rather impressive as he pumped up his Texas heater to the mid-90's and go them chasing what looked like a splitter that nipped 90 a couple of times.

If you look at the boxscore you can see that there wasn't much offense to impress other than Ryan Schimpf. The home team's stadium announcer thought he was being funny when he introduced Ryan before his 4th AB as Ryan Schimpf "cocktail". The very next pitch was hit over the RF wall for a HR!

The other item from the game that gave me a little chuckle was the batting order for the DDays. It was Gilligan followed by Eiland...!

MatO - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 11:32 AM EDT (#205252) #

I'm curious if Marasnick and Hobson will make their way to the GCL Jays for the last couple of weeks of the season? Not being pitchers they should able to get prepared quicker.

John Northey - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 11:36 AM EDT (#205254) #

I bet it would be fun to watch Josh Wells pitch, followed by Tim Collins. Just imagine being a hitter, seeing a 6'7" 230 lbs guy leave then a 5'7" (maybe - TSN said he was 5'5" most likely) 155 lbs guy come in. Then have that shrimp strike you out. Now _that_ would be demoralizing for a guy.

Jdog - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 11:43 AM EDT (#205255) #

Marasnick stated via twitter that he signed a 2010 contract and that meant no playing any games this year. Never heard of that before but thats what he tweeted.

ayjackson - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 11:50 AM EDT (#205259) #

I wonder if that means that he doesn't get his Million 'til January....more evidence of budgetary problems?

Gerry - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 11:52 AM EDT (#205260) #

Thanks for the scouting report Fisher Cat. How did Schimpf look generally, how big is he, did he look OK at 2B?

What did you think of Welinton Ramirez, he is the other big hitter on that team.

FisherCat - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 11:58 AM EDT (#205262) #

The funny thing is that at 6-7, Wells isn't even the tallest guy on the team. David Miller is 6-10

Denoit - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 12:06 PM EDT (#205264) #

I'm curious if Marasnick and Hobson will make their way to the GCL Jays

Marisnick signed a 2010 contract, so were going to have to wait till next year. Not sure about the other guys, but im assuming its the same.

FisherCat - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 12:06 PM EDT (#205265) #

Gerry in reply to your Schimpf inquiry, he was a somewhat stocky LH hitter. The visual comparison I'd use for his stance vaguely reminded me of a leaner Brad Fullmer.

I don't recall any balls being hit in his direction all night so his fielding wasn't showcased. He did make strong contact all night as shown by his 4 for 4 line, so that is promising.

I will be going to the next 2 games as well and may even take photos/videos so I will keep you posted.

Denoit - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 12:08 PM EDT (#205267) #

Marisnick signed a 2010 contract, so were going to have to wait till next year. Not sure about the other guys, but im assuming its the same

Sorry just noticed its already been covered...ill read a little more slowly next time

TamRa - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 02:12 PM EDT (#205270) #

I'd say Accardo and Hayhurst are likely call-ups, maybe Purcey with Mills if they want replacement starting pitchers.

Mills hasn't pitched in a game since July 2

Accardo and Hayhurst are safe calls and Cito has hinted that Purcey might get some of those leftover September starts after Cecil and Zep are shut down. I wonder if they will want another lefty bad enough to go ahead and add Castro to the 40 (I don't know but it's possible he could be a minor leage free agent if they don't add him)

On the hitting side, the same thing applies to Dopirak - they need to put him on the 40 to be sure of keeping him so I wonder if they will at least let the coaches see more of him in September. The Jays tend to call a third catcher but neither JPA or Jeroloman is earning it - Phillips maybe?

Surely Inglett will be back and some would argue for Coats.

Hodgie - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 02:19 PM EDT (#205271) #

Not sure if anyone has seen this already, but Rob Neyer gives a shout out to our Mr. Collins.

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/sweetspot/0-4-193/Jays-prospect-still-beating-odds.html

tercet - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 02:34 PM EDT (#205274) #

Hodgie - Neyer was on fan590 prime time sports yesterday, then one of the co-hosts started talking about him due to the tsn article. Neyer sounded completely clueless about tiny tim and thought that he was a starter. That is why the article is out today.

Also Keith Law was just on fan590 and said that the Jays didn't sign Barrett because they didn't do their pre-draft homework, and found out at the last minute that he had arm problems.

MatO - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 03:04 PM EDT (#205280) #

Dustin McGowan actually signed a contract with the Jays before they discovered he had a wonky elbow and the Jays considered voiding the deal. Eventually he did need surgery on the elbow.

John Northey - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 05:16 PM EDT (#205293) #

Doh, forgot Mills was injured.

Dopirak would be a nice bat in September to add (highest OPS in AAA for a Jay who hasn't been called up yet) although I doubt he'll get much playing time as long as Ruiz (144 OPS+ so far) is hitting. Inglett is a lock and I'd figure Coats has a real shot as a solid defensive CF would be nice to have and his bat has been good this year (.304/.366/.418). Phillips should be given a shot after being nearly called up earlier this year (Barajas was to go on the DL, Phillips called up but paperwork not done and Phillips had to stay in Vegas) - he has hit 310/377/432 in AAA and is a left handed bat who is 25 and can play third as well.

No hitter in AA has done enough to skip AAA imo.

Ryan Day - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 06:52 PM EDT (#205303) #

I like Inglett, but he's not particularly valuable playing the outfield. If you're not going to use him in the infield - and for all John McDonald plays, Inglett could be a perfectly adequate emergency shortstop - you might as well bring up Coats, who's probably a comparable hitter and a real outfielder.

Thomas - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 07:09 PM EDT (#205307) #

The problem with Coats is that he is only really useful as a CF. Snider and Lind figure to get the bulk of playing time at each corner and will probably get a day or two off over the course of the last month. If Wells gets a day off as well that might give Coats five starts, but those starts can all be covered by Bautista, in theory. I think one of Coats and Inglett will be called up, but there's hardly enough playing time for one of them, let alone two.

In terms of position players, I'd call up one of Inglett or Coats, Phillips (I feel bad for the Barajas incident) and I'd like to see Dopirak, as well, but only if he's going to get playing time at the expense of Millar. If he's going to sit on the bench and watch Millar start against southpaws than they might as well let him start fresh in 2010.

TamRa - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 07:14 PM EDT (#205308) #

listening to JP's FAN interview....he needs to break the habit of saying "0-10"

TamRa - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 07:29 PM EDT (#205309) #

Now I'm listening to Keith Law and the host is asking about signing a "star" GM and he uses Terry Ryan as an example and KLaw just slobbers all over the guy.

And yet, Ryan's overall track record is pretty unimpressive. Take away the (eventual) playoff appearance and it's got nothing on JP.

Ryan Day - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 07:37 PM EDT (#205311) #

I'm not in love with Coats, but if you want an outfielder, he's more valuable than inglett; he's also got some speed, which could be useful off the bench. One would hope that neither Bautista nor McDonald will be back next year, so Inglett could take one of their roles.

But then, one would hope to never see a lineup with Barajas and Millar hitting 4-5, so who the heck knows what's going on. The major league roster seems peculiarly indifferent towards the future at the moment.

Dave Till - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 08:29 PM EDT (#205314) #

From Jordan Bastian's Twitter feed:

MLBastian RT @QuestionMarkP: The dome's roof is opening. Either the storm has passed or the plan is to have Wells and his contract taken to Oz.

jmoney - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 08:50 PM EDT (#205316) #

Jays saved their worst game for the last one. Nice work on the sweep boys.

Jim - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 09:06 PM EDT (#205317) #

Good news for the Riccardi apolgists. Each loss to the Red Sox so far this week has make the Jays fall further behind their third order win-loss record.. They have gone from 6.9 wins below their actual record to 7.7 losses below their record. That will make for great excuses in the offseason.

Jay1308 - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 09:32 PM EDT (#205318) #

Phillips is not even an everyday player for AAA, and he usually only plays catcher one day a week...his defense at catcher is not very strong...not my idea of the ideal call up

the shadow - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 09:51 PM EDT (#205319) #

This BJ team is as bad as the St. Louis Browns

damos - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 10:40 PM EDT (#205323) #

I feel badly for anyone that went to the game tonight.
I suppose they did get to see the roof open & close a couple times.

Thomas - Thursday, August 20 2009 @ 11:39 PM EDT (#205325) #

not my idea of the ideal call up

He's not mine, either. However, I feel sympathy for a guy who got called up to the parent club and yet never spent a game in uniform and missed a chance to get into at least one MLB game. I'd probably call him up for a week, but just let him get a few big league at-bats and maybe one start.

I doubt the front office will promote him. With Cecil and Zep getting shut down in early September I suspect they'll spend the callup money on pitchers like Purcey, Accardo and Hayhurst.

Spifficus - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 12:07 AM EDT (#205326) #

I suppose it's the long-form of fan that has people seemingly reveling in Jays losses.

Piece of advice - cheering on the losing is not a healthy coping mechanism.

92-93 - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 12:24 AM EDT (#205327) #

"Piece of advice - cheering on the losing is not a healthy coping mechanism."

I prefer just becoming indifferent to the team. Isn't that what Rogers prefers?

TamRa - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 12:59 AM EDT (#205328) #

But then, one would hope to never see a lineup with Barajas and Millar hitting 4-5, so who the heck knows what's going on. The major league roster seems peculiarly indifferent towards the future at the moment.

I loke forward to our Esteemed Teflon Manager topping himself in September with the following lineup:

John McDonald - SS
Howie Clark - 2B
Buck Coats - CF
Rod Barajas - C
Kevin Millar - 1B
Jose Bautista - LF
Jason Lane - RF
Celebrity Guest - DH
Winner of Fan Lottery - 3B

Brian Burres pitching

Against the Yankees.

Wayne H. - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 03:52 AM EDT (#205338) #

Be careful not to suggest the fan lottery for a one day playing contract. Someone in the corporate office might actually consider it a good idea.

I'm only half joking. :-(

Alex Obal - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 04:22 AM EDT (#205339) #

Maybe as a defensive replacement.

scottt - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 07:31 AM EDT (#205340) #

Piece of advice - cheering on the losing is not a healthy coping mechanism.

I'm cheering for the 5th overall draft pick. How healthy is that?

Forkball - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 08:52 AM EDT (#205343) #

listening to JP's FAN interview....he needs to break the habit of saying "0-10"

That's not high on my list of habits that he needs to break.

LouisvilleJayFan - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 09:01 AM EDT (#205344) #

I'm cheering for the 5th overall draft pick. How healthy is that?

I'd almost be there with you except for the fact that I don't have any confidence that the Jays would be able to sign that high of a draft pick given the recent state of things.

Spifficus - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 09:31 AM EDT (#205345) #

I'm cheering for the 5th overall draft pick. How healthy is that?

That seems constructive enough to warrant its masochistic nature... and plausible, too. Uhh... Keep up the good work?

damos - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 10:27 AM EDT (#205348) #

As depressing as it is, I'm also hoping for the best draft pick at this point. Aside from good individual results, I don't know what else there is. C'mon D-backs & A's!

John Northey - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 11:14 AM EDT (#205350) #

With ownership expected to be on the cheap, one would expect minimal call-ups.

A third catcher is a September must as a rule, and the Jays need to see if Phillips, JPA, or Jeroloman can handle the majors in 2010. Given JPA & Jeroloman have shown they aren't ready yet that leaves Phillips who may be poor defensively but at least would be able to catch if needed as well as cover third.

I suspect two pitchers will be called up to eat innings, thus Hayhurst (who did start a bit) and Accardo (more a one inning guy, but at least an effective one) with a possibility for Purcey but I wouldn't bet on him with his recent results.

Jay1308 - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 11:35 AM EDT (#205351) #

Why would the Jays want to call up a catcher who really has no future with the club, when they can call up one of the other two who do have a future with the club and could use the Big League experience...I vote for Arencibia or Jeroloman despite both of their poor hitting this year...Jeroloman is a stud defensively (FYI he has thrown out approximately 48% of runners trying to steal), I would like to see him get some big league experience and at bats since he is a good option for a back-up (and if he could hit better, a starter eventually) next year...

VBF - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 11:48 AM EDT (#205353) #

Cito said on FAN590 that Barajas was there because he's 3/8 against Lester while Lind is 2/14. This is like playing Monopoly at the Alzheimers convention.

This team should be grateful for the 5,000 fans that show up in September. What a joke.

Thomas - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 12:08 PM EDT (#205354) #

A third catcher is a September must as a rule

Many teams call up a third catcher in September, but it doesn't happen all the time. The Jays didn't call up one last year and it wouldn't shock me if the team didn't call one up this year.

As far as Jeroloman or Arencibia, we could see one of them in September but I doubt very much that either will start 2010 on the big league team after disappointing years in the minors.

Spifficus - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 12:57 PM EDT (#205358) #

Aside from good individual results, I don't know what else there is.

As others are eluding to with the September callups discussion, the rest of the year should be about sorting things out for next year. Can Roenicke pitch well enough to earn a fairly prominent role? Can Purcey pitch himself back into at least a starting depth role? Can Carleson rediscover his slider, or can we find a replacement from Castro, D Romero, et al? Is a Lind/Wells/Snider outfield going to be passable defensively? Encarnacion - is there anything there to give hope that he can be our 3B, especially with our lefty-heavy rotation? Can League bring his ERA down to make himself more attractive as trade bait? Obviously, the Dopirak / Millar standoff will have to come to a head. These are only some of the things I'll be watching for, as well as basking in Doc's awesomeness in case he gets dealt over the winter.

Jay1308 - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 01:16 PM EDT (#205360) #

The Jays didn't call up one last year and it wouldn't shock me if the team didn't call one up this year.

I believe they called up Thigpen last year

John Northey - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 04:56 PM EDT (#205384) #

Yup, Thigpen had 6 games in September last year.

The 3rd catcher rule is to ensure the regular two aren't 1/2 dead by seasons end and so you can do more pinch hitting for them, or running, or whatever and it also helps insure no non-catcher will be put into play behind the plate.

So, to figure out 2010 who should be out there?
CA: Phillips/JPA/Jeroloman
1B: Dopirak
2B: Hill (signed through 2014)
3B: Encarnacion (see if he is worth keeping, if he can learn to play defense)
SS: Sanchez (I'd like to see if he has anything)
LF: Lind
CF: Coats (see if he has any use as a 4th next year)
RF: Snider
DH: Ruiz

Figure it can't do much worse than keeping Barajas/Overbay/Scutaro/Wells out there.

katman - Friday, August 21 2009 @ 07:17 PM EDT (#205398) #

We need to call up Coats. Why? Because we know Wells is poor and declining as a center fielder, and Rios is gone. At the very least, we need a defensive replacement.

We don't have one, other than Coats. He's supposedly pretty good in the field, and hit well all year. Let's see what we have.

By the same token, Carlson's struggles make me want to see what we have in Castro as a potential replacement. I'd might also call up Purcey, and try him from the bullpen. His stuff suggests that as a better fit, anyway.

Try it when it doesn't matter. We need to know.

Beyond that, I'd say we'll need at least one starter and a catcher. TJ Beam gets lucky, I guess.

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