Can Kris Honel, former first round pick of the White Sox, play the Crash Davis role for the Cardinal youngsters in Springfield? I don’t know about that, but with the start they’ve had, I’d go along with any idea to get them on track - especially an idea that might shore up their bullpen and its 7.36 ERA.
After a rough day yesterday, a few more of our guys did some damage today. Quad Cities was rained out again, although they might have just heard that Erik wasn’t coming and so they figured: ‘Why Bother?’ A parade of homeruns in Memphis, but not enough to win; Springfield put a bunch of runs on the board and finally got their first win of the year; and Palm Beach got some great pitching and just enough runs to pull out a victory. Details after the jump.
Memphis 6, New Orleans 7
- The magic of Spring Training is turning into a typical slow start for Colby Rasmus. He went 0-4 today with a strikeout.
- Blake Hawksworth was roughed up for five runs in five innings. He gave up seven hits, two walks, and a homerun while striking out four.
- The normally unhittable Chris Perez was hittable tonight, blowing the save and getting the loss by giving up two runs on three hits and only retiring one batter in the tenth inning.
- On the good side of things, David Freese went 3-4 with a homerun and two runs scored.
- I have to correct something I said about Nick Stavinoha yesterday: he didn’t become a new father, but he found out that his wife is pregnant with a little girl. She announced this to him and the world by having the news flashed on the scoreboard during Wednesday’s game. Nick had another good game today, going 2-5 with a solo homerun.
- Gabe Johnson and Josh Phelps also hit homeruns in the game, Johnson’s was a three run shot and Phelps’ solo shot in the 10th temporarily gave the Redbirds the lead.
- Hugo Castellanos and Cliff Politte each pitched two scoreless innings.
Springfield 12, Frisco 5
- The big shot in this game was provided by Mark Hamilton, who hit a grand slam in the 8th. He went 2-5 with a walk.
- Bryan Anderson went 4-5 with three runs scored, two rbi, and a double.
- The oft-maligned Tyler Greene had a nice night, going 2-5 with a walk and three runs scored.
- Jose Martinez went 4-5 with a run scored, a double, and an error in the field.
- Jon Jay went 1-3 with two walks and a double.
- Brandon Yarbrough did a little of everything: two hits in four at bats, a walk, an rbi, a run scored, a double, and a stolen base.
- Jaime Garcia started the game and went five innings, giving up seven hits, two walks and three earned runs, while striking out five.
Palm Beach 2, Daytona 1
- Kyle Sadlowski got the start and went five innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk, while striking out one.
- The piggy-backer was Jess Todd, who was outstanding. He went the final four innings, giving up only one hit and he struck out four in getting the save.
- Daryl Jones tripled and walked in his five plate appearances, but also struck out three times.
- Steve Hill continues to hit, this time from the DH slot, going 2-4 with two runs scored.
- Big Brandon Buckman and Donovan Solano also went 2-4, with Solano getting a double.
- Oliver Marmol was 0-3 with a walk, but he stole second and third after walking.
Filed under: Daily Farm Reports
erik
azruavatar
fewgoodcards
roarke49
theredbaaron
nice to see freese, anderson, and martinez break out of early season slumps.
can anyone else believe that tyler greene had 6 plate appearances and didn’t strike out once?
what happened to steve hill’s power? he is 11-28, but he only has one extra base hit, a double.
I’m happy to see Freese is hitting, i was getting worried. I’m hoping that next year the cardinals have a tough decision on who should play third.
FGC-
My experience from hitting (although admittidly I am/was primarily a pitcher) is that in the early part of the season I was a little hansier with my swing just trying to time things and make contact. Steve Hill could have the same problem. It may be like a slow start for Colby, he just hasn’t found a grove yet…
BJM
Hmmm. . .I wonder if Steve Hill could play third?
A lot of these guys had great springs. That means some of them undoubtedly peaked in March. I mean they hit a physiological peak of strength, speed, power, and reaction time.
Any athlete in any sport is going to fall off a bit from a peak performance.
Some sports are designed for peaks to occur at precise times — like swimmers competing in the Olympics — but in a 6-month baseball season, players have to make some choices.
A veteran with guaranteed contract might come into spring training with the goal of reaching some kind of peak in April, when the games count. He might be in terrific physical shape, but he’s nowhere near his top form in baseball skills.
But a guy in his first professional season might want to come into spring in top form, make a great impression with management, and then get assigned to a higher-level team to start the season. The price you pay for peak performance in March is that you’ll fall off somewhat in April.
I suspect that within a month or so all the guys who had great springs will be back to a higher level of performance.
Their third base choice for next year is already made. Didn’t the Cards have to exercise Glaus’s option for ‘09 in the Rolen trade?
Both Yarbrough and Anderson are listed as catchers. Where is Yarbrough playing now in the field?
Yarbrough DH’d last night.
Just and interesting tidbit.. The hotel that the Springfield team is staying at in Frisco was hit by a tornado wed. night.
Thanks as always for the daily report. Very nice to see Anderson & Martinez start hitting. Allen Craig, you’re next! While Springfield is obviously off to a very rocky start, check these combined numbers for Walters, Garcia, and Salas:
23.1 IP
35 K’s (Yowza.)
7 BB’s
0 Longballs
Keep it up, guys.
Joe Mather hit the DL yesterday w/a sore back, Cody Haerther taking his spot. Congrats to Cody, he deserves to be in AAA
I think this is a new link from the Cards website this year, but they have a short summary of each affiliate’s game, as well as a link to the box scores…
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080401&content_id=378976&vkey=news_milb&fext=.jsp
The Springfield team hotel in Plano was hit pretty bad. My office is down the street, and the wreckage to street signs, the Pappadeaux’s restaurant across the street, and to the hotel itself was pretty bad. There were broken windows, twisted gutters, and chunks of roof missing visible from the Highway. Definitely had to be scary….
A few observations from the game against Frisco lastnight:
Martinez played really well with the exception of the error. It was an infield pop-up that bounced out of his glove.
Garcia has a filthy curveball.
Hamilton’s grand slam was absolutely crushed. The stadium pretty much emptied out right after he it.
I think Shane is pointing out that MiLB.com has made us obsolete. It’s time to start sending out resumes because I can’t afford to live without my FR salary (when *am* I getting my paycheck, Erik?).
Oops, sorry about that - I’ve been avoiding work this afternoon by reading TBL, and the sarcasm is rubbing off on me. What I meant to post is:
Erik - are you going to delete Shane’s comment or should I?
Roarke,
No need to pack those bags yet. I just had a look over at the link and you guys have nothing to worry about. They don’t even have an option to leave ‘clever’ comments!
No, I just posted that so that it might be easier for you guys to get the box scores from one place. A couple days ago there was no box score links on your DFR, so I was trying to help out.
And I know I’ll never get the true scoop on Marti or “Rauschenwrecker” from the Cards official site. :~)