Notes From The Nat

Cobb, Sulentic, Dowling - those are the three position players capable of turning around any game this season’s Vancouver Canadiansplay, and it’s no surprise that, once again, those three were the onlyones showing real life out there tonight at The Nat as the Tri-CityDust Devils beat the living crap out of Inoel Deaza and Derrick Gordonto toast the good guys 8-1.

Deaza has been strong for most of the 2006 NWL season, but of late hasstarted looking like he’s either tired, distracted, or injured, andtonight he got absolutely caned by the resurgent Devs, getting hit fortwo home runs in a ballpark where any pitcher worth his salt shouldn’tgive up one, and setting the C’s up for an almost certain loss.

And just to make sure of the result, Derrick "The Commissioner" Gordoncame in to relieve and gave up 4 earned runs in 0.1 innings pitched.

But there was some good in this mess of a meltdown - Matt "TheBattleship" Manship came in to clean up Gordon’s mess, throwing 3.2innings of 3-hit, 4-strike, no-run ball, and Sugar Shane Presuttifollowed that with a clean two innings of mop-up ball, striking out 4and walking none, to give C’s fans at least some reason not to hangthemselves.

Larry Cobb was also solid in the lead-off role, going 1-2 with twowalks - exactly what you’d want from a guy who sets the table for themeat of the order. Sulentic went 1-3 with a run, Dowling went 1-3 witha double, a walk, and an RBI, and Valdez and Hernandez eached showed upwith a base hit out of 3 ABs.

In the top of the 7th, Greg Dowling missed a catch at first base toallow Razor Ramon Rodriguez on to base. Dowling’s been working on hisdefense, and clearly wasn’t impressed with himself, despite the factthat the C’s were already blown out, so when the next hitter smashedthe ball at Dowling, he was not only ready for to take a screamer of acatch, he pounced on it like a panther to get the unassisted doubleplay, doubling up Rodriguez at 1st. From this moment on, Howling GregDowling will be known as Prowling Greg Dowling. Dude’s an assassinright now.

Rosie Rosendo started for a second straight game, giving Jake Smith amuch-needed rest - let’s see if The Rake can come back tomorrow with alittle steel in his garden tools.

Come on, Jacob. We need you steering this ship.

Note:

	July 31, 2006
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Tri-City 2 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 8 13 2 Vancouver 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 2 box | log W: A. Rodriguez (3-1, 2.34); L: I. Deaza (3-3, 3.91) HR: TRI: M. Repec (3), J. Kindel (1).

As Inoel Deaza serves up softballs to the Tri-City Dust Devils, Ifigured maybe it’s time for a quick news wrap-up, so that, just maybe,C’s fans have something to talk about that doesn’t start with "notagain."

JERMAINE MITCHELL INJURY UPDATE:
Don’t expect to see the J-Train in red white and blue any time soon -the guy is wearing a boot on his foot, courtesy of the plunking he tookoff Spokane Indians pitcher, Brennan Garr. We all knew the Injuns wouldstart hitting batters once they were behind - it’s tradition for theRangers affiliate, after all - but what wasn’t expected was thatMitchell, who was walking around freely on the foot after the game,would start feeling it days later and show enough damage on his MRI towarrant a couple of weeks out of the game.

I’m told he’ll be wearing the cast until somewhere around this timenext week, and you’d have to expect he’ll have a week or so once itcomes off to make sure he’s healthy before he starts again, so thoughhe’s not done for the season, his season is pretty badly damaged.Thanks Spokane, you bastards.

JASON WINDSOR BACK DOWN TO AAA:
2004 Vancouver Canadianspitcher Jason Windsor pitched reasonably well in his major leaguedebut, but got pretty much schooled by the Boston Red Sox in his secondstart last week. A series of days off for the A’s in the weeks aheadmeant the team had little need for a #5 starter, so Windsor was kickedback downstairs to Sacramento for a little more polish.

More after the fold:
(more…)

In a famous scene from the film Pulp Fiction, Marsellus Wallace says, "The nightof the fight, you may feel a slight sting. That’s pride f__king withyou. F__k pride. Pride only hurts, it never helps."

Needless to say, Marsellus Wallace didn’t know what the f__k he wastalking about, because pride is the thing that is keeping this ballclubfueled, afloat, and in the running for a pennant, and there wereboatloads of the stuff on display on Sunday.

At a certain stage of every season, at every ball club, a player willlook across a crowded locker room at another player, eyes will meet,and nods will be exchanged.

No, this isn’t the prelude to a wedgie, it’s called ‘the turningpoint’. It’s a moment where one player decides, "enough is enough," andanother player finds himself thinking the exact same way, and betweenthem, the snowball starts to roll - even if just an inch or so - slowlypicking up more players as it rolls until the entire team is gearedtowards achieving the impossible.

As the players left the ballpark on Saturday night after a 1-0 loss toa team they should destroy in their sleep, the mood was one where youfelt, if there was to be a turning point this season, it was going tobe here. Yesterdays game was a case of that snowball picking up steam,as a couple more players hopped aboard the "we’re not going out likethat" bandwagon, and tonight I expect more of the same.
(more…)

It would be tough to call tonight’s loss by the Vancouver Canadiansa result of a ‘bullpen meltdown’, because you can hardly blame abullpen for giving up a single run in an entire ballgame, even if thatsingle run brought about a loss.

In most games, you expect the other team to score at least a few runs,and you hope your offense can keep you out in front by scoring more,but when the hitters go for half a game without even getting a man onbase, the pitching staff has every right to wash their hands of blameand say, "We did our bit."

The Vancouver Canadians right now are hurting when the bat is in hand,and they have been for several days now, but tonight’s effort came withsomething that last night’s outing didn’t; and that’s desire.

Sure, the C’s lost to a team that only managed five hits (the C’smanaged four), but you can’t always look at a box score line and assumethe team that lost was hopeless. Case in point, tonight the pitchingstaff of the Tri-City Dust Devils featured ERAs of 3.79, 1.17, 1.63,1.80, and 3.60. Now, in anyone’s language, that’s hardcore nasty, andit’s no shocker that the Vacuum Cleaners would roll out their beststaff all on the same night, especially when the game was tied 0-0going all the way into the 7th inning.

Last night I sat in the front row and looked guys in the eye and couldsee their minds were elsewhere, and it pissed me off. Tonight, I lookedthose same guys in the eye and saw determination, drive, desperation,and even dread when the Dust-Devils finally broke the deadlock.Tonight’s Canadians wanted to win, and they wanted to win BAD.
(more…)

It would be tough to call tonight’s loss by the Vancouver Canadiansa result of a ‘bullpen meltdown’, because you can hardly blame abullpen for giving up a single run in an entire ballgame, even if thatsingle run brought about a loss.

In most games, you expect the other team to score at least a few runs,and you hope your offense can keep you out in front by scoring more,but when the hitters go for half a game without even getting a man onbase, the pitching staff has every right to wash their hands of blameand say, "We did our bit."

The Vancouver Canadians right now are hurting when the bat is in hand,and they have been for several days now, but tonight’s effort came withsomething that last night’s outing didn’t; and that’s desire.

Sure, the C’s lost to a team that only managed five hits (the C’smanaged four), but you can’t always look at a box score line and assumethe team that lost was hopeless. Case in point, tonight the pitchingstaff of the Tri-City Dust Devils featured ERAs of 3.79, 1.17, 1.63,1.80, and 3.60. Now, in anyone’s language, that’s hardcore nasty, andit’s no shocker that the Vacuum Cleaners would roll out their beststaff all on the same night, especially when the game was tied 0-0going all the way into the 7th inning.

Last night I sat in the front row and looked guys in the eye and couldsee their minds were elsewhere, and it pissed me off. Tonight, I lookedthose same guys in the eye and saw determination, drive, desperation,and even dread when the Dust-Devils finally broke the deadlock.Tonight’s Canadians wanted to win, and they wanted to win BAD.
(more…)

It always seems to be the way - the Vancouver Canadiansput on a fireworks show AFTER the game, which draws a huge crowd FORthe game, and the home team gets duly beaten like a rented mule,sending thousands of potential Canadians fans home wondering if it’sworth coming out for another some time.

It’s got to be jarring for the C’s front office to go to all the effortof gathering sponsors, getting permits, advertising, promoting, anddrawing in crowd of 6300, only to find the team’s best hitter is outwith injury, and the A’s have chosen a kid who got creamed in his lastappearance to start the game as pitcher.

But hey, such is life in the minors - you go to war with the army you’ve got, not with the army you need.

Speaking of ‘the team’s best hitter’, yes, you heard me correctly -Jermaine Mitchell is injured. Still. He’s gone from "It’s nothing,he’ll be back in a couple of days" to "We figured we’d rest him withSalem-Keizer coming up" to "His foot is in a cast and will be for thenext two weeks." As things stand, I’m not saying Mitchell is out forthe season, but he’s going to be out long enough that the C’s need tostart relying on someone else to be the game-winner, and recentlypromoted Arizona rookie Lorenzo Macias (seen left), as talented as he may be, isunlikely to be that person.

Kevin Bunch is also unlikely to be that person - at least in the shortterm - as he started last night’s game on the mound and struggled tomake even two outs, while surrendering (and I do mean surrendering)five runs.

I’m sure Bunch has a future, and potential, and stuff, and all theother things pitchers have at this level, but boy howdy, did he get thetar booted out of him by Tri-City. He wasn’t unlucky - he was terrible.Every hitter hit the ball cleanly, as if they were hitting off a tee,and when they did, the ball stayed hit.

More? Hit the link below.
(more…)

Lorenzo Macias is not a name that most Vancouver baseball fans wouldrecognize, but that situation may change shortly, as Lo-Mac has landedin the C’s outfield.

The 6′2" 188lb contact hitter has racked up a .293 batting average inArizona rookie ball so far this season, so while his stats are decent,they’re not so outstanding that he just HAD to be promoted… All ofwhich is a roundabout way of saying, "Yo, what’s up with JermaineMitchell? Has he been promoted or is his foot worse than first thought,or what?"

Last night, the C’s rode Scott ‘Real’ Deal’s shutout pitching for sixinnings, but only managed to put one run on the board in that time,which meant when Deal (seen left) got tagged in the 7th, and Shane Presutti failedto reduce the damage in relieving him, giving up 5 runs between them,the Volcanoes were as good as home.

Alex Valdez had a huge night, going 3-4 with a couple of RBIs, whileHowling Greg Dowling managed a couple of hits and a run scored, butwith only two walks registered by the C’s and 7K’s against them, thiswas a game that the offense lost as much as Salem-Keizer won.

The C’s roll back into town today, ready to take on the Tri-City DustDevils on a night that will feature fireworks at The Nat. Get yourtickets early!
 

	July 27, 2006
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Vancouver 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 2 8 1 Salem-Keizer 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 X 5 6 2 box | log W: C. Tanner (1-0, 0.00); L: S. Deal (6-1, 1.79); SV: J. Trinidad (9) HR: None.

Sorry guys, been out with the family enjoying the weather for a fewdays, so I have some catching up to do. The C’s took a solid winyesterday from the division leading Volcanoes on the back ofoutstanding pitching from Inoel Deaza.

The bad news was: Giants 1st round draft pick, Tim Lincecum, startedfor Salem-Keizer and struck out every single hitter he faced.

The good news was: He only pitched the first inning.

Here’s the official C’s PR on the game:

SALEM-KEIZER, OR - Starter Inoel Deaza pitched six strong
innings, allowing only one run on four hits as the Vancouver Canadians
closed the gap on first place to a single game with a 4-3 win over
Salem-Keizer Wednesday night.

Six different C’s had hits on the night, with Casey Myers having his
second great game in a row, going 1-3 with a pair of RBI. The Canadians
did it with the leather, as well, with left fielder Andre Piper-Jordan
making two diving catches to keep Salem-Keizer off the basepaths.

Closer Scott Moore got his fifth save of the year and kept his ERA at a
perfect 0.00 in eleven innings this season.

The C’s complete their six-game road trip Thursday afternoon with a
final game at Salem-Keizer. They return to Nat Bailey on Friday for a
5-game homestand versus the Colorado Rockies Northwest League affiliate
the Tri-City Dust Devils. For more information on the Vancouver
Canadians, please visit www.canadiansbaseball.com.

On a night when not a single player had a multi-hit game for Vancouver,the pitching shone through to keep the C’s competitive, shutting out ahard-hitting Salem-Keizer team that pushed hard to equalize.

Only a questionable inning on the mound from Matt "The Battleship"Manship (1IP, 3H, 2ER) marred an outstanding night on the mound for theCanadians, as Scott Moore not only pitched two scoreless innings to getthe save, he did it with the Volcanoes looking like they had momentumas he entered the game. That was his fifth save of the year, and he’sstill holding on to a 0.00 ERA.

Deaza pitched a four-hitter in 6 innings, striking out four, while theS-K starter and first rounder draft pick (10th overall), Tim Lincecum,threw a perfect one inning, striking out all the batters he faced.

And to finish, a quick note from everyone’s favorite beerhawker (unless you’re married to another beerhawker), Rob McGowan:

Here, from the Volcanoes home page, is their honest-to-God promotion for Tuesday’s game:

Patriotic Night ? Tuesday JULY 25th ? Game at 6:35
Come wearing your red, white and blue to support America.
Also enjoy Taco Tuesday and purchase three tacos for $5.

Perfectly explains the American dichotomy, n’est pas?

Indeed, good sir. Indeed.
 

	July 26, 2006
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Vancouver 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 4 6 0 Salem-Keizer 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 3 7 1 box | log W: I. Deaza (3-2, 3.38); L: G. Hobson (1-3, 3.86); SV: S. Moore (5) HR: None.

If there’s one thng that can be guaranteed about this Vancouver Canadians season, it’s that as soon as I sledge a player, he’ll have a career game the very next day.

Take, for example, my talk of Don Sutton (left) being injured and needing abig show in the remainder of the season - he then goes out and hits adinger. Then it was talk of Matt Sulentic needing some baseballknowledge to go with his Major League hitting ability - and he goes outand rips up the league, even getting profiled in Baseball America. Andre Piper-Jordan wore my scorn early in the season, and now he’s hitting like Mickey Mantle.

Of course, on the other side of the coin, I glowed about MikeAffronti’s offense after the first week of the season, and he thenstarted booting balls left and right. Then, of course, the day I starttalking about his slump, he busts out with a home run.

Truth be told, I should really say something mean about every player,every day, to guarantee an overwhelming victory filled with homerunsand one-hitter pitching performances, because yesterday I referred toCasey Myers as being a player who is "terminally non-hitting", andtonight he went out and smacked 3-3 with a double and an RBI.

So with that in mind, here is my prediction for tomorrow night’s game:every Vancouver player will suck. Now watch them win by 23 runs…

(more…)

It’s late and I have an early meeting, so here’s the info on tonight’s game from the official C’s press release:

EUGENE, OR - Andre Piper-Jordan (left) had a two-run home run, atriple and a single but the Eugene bats were on fire Monday night asthe Emeralds beat the Vancouver Canadians 10-7. Catcher Jake Smith and third basemen Alex Valdez had two hits apiece as the Canadians had 11 hits on the night.

Canadians starter Chad Lee had a tough night, allowing five runs infour innings before being lifted for Earl Oakes who took the loss.Keith Eusebio finished off the game, going two innings and allowingonly three hits.

The C’s head to first place Salem-Keizer for a three game seriesstarting Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 and can be heard atwww.Canadiansbaseball.com. For more information on the VancouverCanadians, please visit www.canadiansbaseball.com.

Great effort by Piper-Jordan on a losing team, which wasn’t helped bythe absence of Jermaine Mitchell and the presence of terminallynon-hitting DH Casey Myers.

The Canadians put numbers on the board, but the Ems were just too goodon the night. Thankfully, that won’t hurt the C’s too much in thestandings, and Everett put the slipper to Salem-Keizer to the tune of11-1.

And while we’re talking about other teams, congratulations to Boise onbeing the first NWL East team in two seasons to actually be better than.500 in the standings.
 

July 24, 2006
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Vancouver 0 0 4 2 0 0 0 1 0 7 11 2 Eugene 4 0 1 0 0 4 0 1 X 10 18 3 wrap | box | log W: J. Quezada (1-1, 4.67); L: E. Oakes (1-2, 6.00); SV: J. Mattison (5) HR: VAN: A. Piper-Jordan (1). EUG: L. Cannon (2).

Tim Lincecum, the San Francisco Giants #1 Draft pick this season, willmake his professional debut this coming Wednesday for the Salem-KeizerVolcanoes against the Vancouver Canadians.

The 10th pick overall will only be pitching the first inning of thegame, so chances are his appearance will have no huge impact (unless hegets tagged), but it’ll make for yet another reason to be tuned in tothe game on the webcast.

And just to make a game of it, the San Diego Chicken will be inattendance. No word on whether the C’s can convince Stomper theElephant to come north in response.

He’s had a hell of a rough time staying in the game this season, butDeadly Don Sutton (left) came back into the world of the healthy today, andannounced his presence with a monster shot to right field that savedthe game for the Vancouver Canadians against a resurgent Eugene Emeralds outfit.
(more…)