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Another splitsville day on the farm in which the affiliates won two and lost two. A shutout loss was the lowlight but that was balanced out by a walk-off victory Tuesday night.


Scranton/Wilkes Barre 7 Buffalo 0

Moosic, PA
- This came down to a Judge's decision, as Aaron Judge played jury and executioner against Scott Diamond (2-1, 3.24) with a three-run home run in the third inning to put the Yankees affiliate ahead for good. Diamond could not get out of the fifth as he was drilled for six runs (four earned) over 4-2/3 innings on five hits and two walks. He was chased from the game after a two-run triple by Gary Sanchez. Errors by Dalton Pompey in center field and Matt Dominguez at third also contributed to the carnage. Pat McCoy yielded an unearned run as the result of a David Adams error at second. but struck out three in 2-1/3 innings. Bobby Korecky worked a one-hit ninth.

The Herd managed just five hits in this one, just one better than their error total. Dominguez had two with Andy Burns, Jesus Montero and Jio Mier getting the others. Domonic Brown drew the lone walk. Pompey was 0-for-4.


New Hampshire 7 Hartford 2

Manchester, NH
- The Fisher Cats busted out of the gates with a two-run second inning before blowing it open with a five-run fourth. Ian Parmley singled home the first run and Jorge Saez extended the two-out rally with an RBI double. Saez would double home three more runs along with a Matt Dean run-scoring single in the fifth. Saez managed to score the final run when Shane Opitz stayed in a run down long enough on the heels of a Jorge Flores strikeout. Saez had three hits and Parmley had two. Jon Berti singled, walked and stole his eighth base of the year. Roemon Fields was hitless in five at-bats.

Luis Santos (1-0, 3.86) limited the Rockies affiliate to a pair of runs (one earned) on seven hits and two walks while striking out five over six innings. John Stilson struck out two and walked only one over two shutout frames. Chris Smith finished up with a two-hit ninth.


Tampa 12 Dunedin 7

Tampa, FL
- This was a see-saw affair in which Dunedin held leads of 3-0, 5-4 and 7-6 but the Yankees scored the final six runs of the game to win it. Christian Lopes led off the game with a home run and would get another RBI on a sacrifice fly in the second inning. Danny Jansen had RBI singles in the second and third innings and Ryan McBroom would go deep in the third. Emilio Guerrero knocked home a run with a single in the fourth before J.D. Davis went deep with a solo shot in the fifth. Guerrero had three hits and Lopes had two hits and two walks. J.D. Davis and Jansen each had two hits and a walk. D.J. Davis was 1-for-4 with two stolen bases.

Ryan Borucki was rocked for six runs, including a two-run homer, over three frames. He gave up eight hits and two walks and did not strike out a batter. Alonzo Gonzalez allowed three more runs over 2-1/3 innings. Chris Rowley (1-1) could not strand his two inherited runners and was roughed up for three runs of his own over 2-2/3 innings.


Lansing 3 Fort Wayne 2

Lansing, MI
- The Lugnuts walked off the Padres affiliate thanks to a Carl Wise single with the bases loaded to score Juan Kelly, who started the four-hit rally with a base hit. Kelly also singled and scored on a Josh Almonte base rap in the fourth inning after being moved along by a wild pitch and a passed ball. The Lugnuts got on the board in the first when Andrew Guillotte doubled and advanced the other 180 feet on ground balls by Gunnar Heidt and Lane Thomas. Kelly had three hits while Almonte and Ryan Hissey had a pair apiece. Almonte had the lone stolen base.

Tayler Saucedo lasted 6-1/3 innings and permitted just two runs (one earned) on three hits while striking out three and walking nobody. He kept the infield busy as they handled 10 of his 16 outs in play. The lefty did get a helping hand from Almonte who threw out a runner at home from right field to end the sixth after a three-base throwing error by Saucedo himself. Guillotte also nailed a runner at home from left field in the seventh but a throwing error by Heidt at second resulted in another runner at third and Saucedo's removal from the game. Dusty Isaacs (1-0) was promptly dinged with the game-tying single but allowed just one other hit the rest of the way, tossing 2-2/3 shutout innings with one strikeout.



3. Tayler Saucedo, Lansing


2. Juan Kelly, Lansing


1. Jorge Saez, New Hampshire



Tuesday's Linescores


Today's Schedule / Probable Starters


Hartford @ New Hampshire, 10:35 am ET - John Anderson (1-0, 0.93)
Buffalo @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 6:35 pm ET  - Wade LeBlanc (1-1, 2.38)
Dunedin @ Tampa, 7:00 pm ET - Juliandry Higuera (0-0, 1.80)
Fort Wayne @ Lansing, 7:05 pm ET - Francisco Rios (0-0, 3.52)
Small Sample Saez More Than Enough | 13 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
jerjapan - Wednesday, April 20 2016 @ 08:58 AM EDT (#321352) #
What keeps a guy like Bobby Korecky going?  Dude will be 37 at the end of the season, and has all of 28 MLB innings under his belt.  2 brief call-ups for the Jays - 2012, 2014, 521 career minor league relief appearances, 159 career saves.  guys a reliever version of crash davis. 

He's not even the AAA closer right now, Aardsma's got that job.  he's been in buffalo since 2013, maybe he just likes the city. 

Gerry - Wednesday, April 20 2016 @ 09:09 AM EDT (#321353) #
Richard Urena twisted an ankle going for a ball in the hole yesterday and was taken out of the game. He did stay in for a couple of more hitters after the original incident before leaving. Expect him to miss todays game, at least.
Gerry - Wednesday, April 20 2016 @ 09:20 AM EDT (#321354) #
Korecky has a place on a AAA team. He is the 26th guy. He will be placed on the DL when the Bisons have one too many pitchers and he won't complain. When I have been at AAA games he seems to be always helping the coaches during BP, catching balls for the coach who is hitting to the infielders. Those "good clubhouse" guys have value to a team.

I have no idea what Korecky makes but it could be around $10,000 per month for 5 months work. AAA free-agents have some negotiating power, more if you can fill in at the major leagues in case of emergency. Lets say he does some coaching, clinics, etc. in the off-season and takes home $70,000 per year total. If he gets lucky and gets a call-up he can double that. What else is he going to do to make that kind of money?

I have no idea of Korecky's education or earning potential but many baseball players have no career opportunities after baseball. They often have to sell cars or insurance and live off their name for a while. They usually are the most successful sportsman from their town and people will know them from that. Some setup baseball schools, like Rob Butler and Nigel Wilson did in Ajax.

Bottom line, making $70,000 (US) is a nice payday for many players, especially compared to the alternative.
JB21 - Wednesday, April 20 2016 @ 12:50 PM EDT (#321355) #
Also, maybe he really likes to play baseball.
jerjapan - Wednesday, April 20 2016 @ 03:13 PM EDT (#321358) #
Thanks for that answer Gerry - I hadn't realized that about the AAA roster machinations, with Korecky on the DL when needed. That certainly explains his usage.

My guess to answer my own question had been along those lines - the future coach type - and I hope that you are right about his earning potential. I know that top minor league FA's can make over $100K, and guys on the 40 man have a decent annual salary, but paying Korecky to be an extra coach and team guy makes sense to me.

You've been a long-time minor league watcher Gerry - any other players like Korecky that come to mind? Alexis Infante is the first name I can think of - he of the 62 career ABs and the lifetime MLB avg of .109 - but he finished his career in Mexico.
China fan - Wednesday, April 20 2016 @ 04:44 PM EDT (#321363) #
Are the AAA injury rules so easily manipulated that a healthy player can routinely be placed on the DL whenever the team wants?   I didn't realize that kind of thing can be done in AAA so easily.  It is occasionally done in the majors, but usually the team needs to produce at least a plausible story about an injury. 
Gerry - Wednesday, April 20 2016 @ 04:44 PM EDT (#321364) #
No-one comes to mind at the moment. It is harder to do at the major league level. The union does not approve and the cost to the team is a lot higher.

In the minors you need to look at players who are on and off the DL regularly. They are not injury prone, they are the 26th man.

Over the last few years Luis Hurtado was that guy for the Jays. You would see him catching in AAA one week and in Dunedin the next, and then he would be in extended spring training.
Gerry - Wednesday, April 20 2016 @ 04:57 PM EDT (#321365) #
Most minor league teams have a healthy player, or two, on the DL and nobody cares. If a player is injured for a week, say, then you just activate the 26th guy. Obviously if a player is injured then you lose the 26th guy so it is not an absolute rule. But generally the season starts like that and then injuries take their toll.

Players do get injured all the time and it is convenient to have a spare player close by.
John Northey - Wednesday, April 20 2016 @ 05:04 PM EDT (#321366) #
I suspect no one minds in the minors for a few reasons
1) Every team does it

2) it is hard to get replacements in the minors vs majors as you don't always want to promote a guy from A to AA and another from AA to AAA just to cover an injury for a week or two.

3) Tons of guys holding on for that last gasp at the dream who will gladly sit on a DL just so they don't have to go get a 'real' job.
jerjapan - Wednesday, April 20 2016 @ 06:25 PM EDT (#321368) #
I remember the name Luis Hurtado for precisely the reasons you mentioned Gerry, so I looked the guy up and found this nugget on him from last november on Bluebird Banter:

"Luis Hurtado was re-signed as a player last week per Baseball America, having spent 2014 as a coach with the DSL Jays and 2015 as a coach with the GCL Jays (spending the entire year on New Hampshire's disabled list)." 

No idea what happened to him in the interim, he hasn't played since 2012 but still seems to have some sort of coaching role in the org?

Gerry - Wednesday, April 20 2016 @ 07:17 PM EDT (#321369) #
Hurtado probably coached in extended and the GCL and filled in when there was a need at any level.
scottt - Wednesday, April 20 2016 @ 07:26 PM EDT (#321372) #
There is often extra money for the fringe players in the form of playoff shares.
I know of some Dominicans AAA guys who were making some of their money that way in the Boston system back in the days.

I suppose a pitcher can last longer at AAA. Most position players will retire around 34-35.
FP Santangelo, who was a popular AAA player here in Ottawa became a broadcaster and followed the major club to Washington. Howie Clarke who alternated between the Jays and the Orioles is a hitting coach in the Baltimore system.

ISLAND BOY - Thursday, April 21 2016 @ 05:40 AM EDT (#321411) #
Wasn't Howie Clark playing third for the Jays when the infamous Alex Rodriguez play occurred ? Clark was camped under an infield popup when Rodriguez, running from second to third shouted something to make Clark think he was being called off, resulting in the ball falling untouched to the ground.
Small Sample Saez More Than Enough | 13 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.