THE FLYING TIGERS (38-35, 1-2, 1.0 GB) - After opening the second half with a 3-1 win over Brevard County on a Billy Nowlin 3-run homer on Thursday, Lakeland suffered back-to-back 4-3, 11-inning losses to the Manatees and stand at 1-2 in the second half. The Flying Tigers batted .252 in the series and had 22 hits in the two extra-inning affairs. Lakeland is now tied for third in the FSL with a .263 average while the pitching staff is also third with a 3.13 staff ERA.
THE YANKEES (38-33, 1-2, T-1st) ... Tampa took two of three from Clearwater to open the second half, but have lost five of its last eight games, including back-to-back shutout losses to Dunedin on June 22-23. Adam Warren leads the FSL with a 2.86 ERA, but has just a 6-5 record to show for it while reliever Jonathan Ortiz is tied for third in the league with 14 saves. The Yankees are hitting .254 as a team and have the second lowest ERA in the league with a 3.11 mark.
THE SERIES ... Tampa holds a slim 7-6 advantage in the series this season and has won the last two meetings. The first four meetings of the season all ended in a shutout with the Yankees taking three of those games. Lakeland is batting .252 in the series with a 2.95 ERA while the Yankees have a .256 average and a 2.93 ERA in the 13 games.
ROSTER RAID PT. II ... Just prior to the Brevard County series, 1B Rawley Bishop, 2B Alden Carrithers and OF Kody Kaiser were all sent to AA Erie and RHP Wilsen Palacios was sent to the GCL Tigers. RHP Jacob Turner and 1B Jordan Lennerton were then added from West Michigan and IF Carmelo Jaime was brought back to Lakeland from the Connecticut roster while Bryan Pounds was activated from the DL. On June 24, LHP Charlie Furbush and OF Ben Guez headed to Erie while OF Samir Rijo was added from the GCL Squad. The moves continued on Saturday as RHP Lester Oliveros earned a trip to Erie while Miquel Mejia was sent to West Michigan. Taking one roster spot is RHP Jared Gayhart from Erie while Brayan Villarreal was activated from the disabled list.
NEWEST CREW MEMBERS ... Jared Gayhart, who pitched in seven games in Lakeland in 2009, was a 13th round pick of Detroit in 2008 out of Rice University. Carmelo Jaime, who played in 37 games in Lakeland in 2008, was a 24th round pick of the Tigers in 2008 out of Miami Dade Community College. Jon Kibler was a 39th round pick of Detroit in 2007 out of Michigan State University. Kibler, who entered this season with a 23-16 career record, was the Tiger’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2008 and the Gulf Coast League Tigers’ Pitcher of the Year in 2007. Jordan Lennerton, who played in 18 games in Lakeland in 2008, was a 33rd round pick that season out of Oregon State University. Samir Rijo was signed as a non-drafted free agent in 2006 and spent the last three seasons in the Dominican Summer League.
WELCOME BACK BRAYAN ... Brayan Villarreal made his first start on Saturday after being activated from the disabled list. Villarreal, who is tied for the Florida State League with seven wins, worked five shutouts innings, holding the Manatees to a pair of hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. He is now eighth in the FSL with a 3.10 ERA and is fourth with a .222 opponents batting average.
NOWLIN STREAKING AGAIN ... Earlier this season, Billy Nowlin strung together a streak of reaching base in 22 consecutive games. He enters this series with a 12-game hit streak in which he is hitting .455 (20x44) with 14 runs batted in. He joins Kody Kaiser (21), Alden Carrithers (13), and Francisco Martinez (13) as Flying Tigers with streaks of 12 games or more this season.
DIG THAT DOUGLAS ... Brandon Douglas has multiple hits in each of his last four games and is batting .643 (9x14) with five runs scored in those games.
GO GUSTAVO ... Gustavo Nunez has two hits in each of his last two games and is batting .400 (4x10) with two runs scored in the two 11-inning losses at Brevard County.
LOOK OUT BEHIND YA ... While he’s got some catching up to do to match Nowlin’s hit streak, Billy Alvino has hits in each of his three games played since joining Lakeland this season.
WILK THE WORKHORSE ... Adam Wilk ranks second in the league with 86.0 innings pitched. He leads the FSL with 1.05 walks per nine innings and is tied for second with a 1.10 WHIP (walks/hits per inning pitched). He has allowed 10.26 baserunners per nine innings this season which is the third fewest total in the league.
STARTING ROTATION ... From opening night through to the All-Star break, the Flying Tiger starting rotation remained intact with the same five pitchers starting every fifth game. With all of the recent roster moves and a doubleheader thrown in, seven different pitchers have started on the mound in the last seven contests.
THE QUARTET ... As Flying Tigers, Rawley Bishop, Alden Carrithers and Kody Kaiser combined for 37 percent of Lakeland’s hits and runs scored while pitcher Charlie Furbush was leading the FSL with 109 strikeouts. The position trio earned promotions to AA Erie just prior to the end of the first half with Furbush earning his trip shortly after that. With the Seawolves Bishop is adjusting with three hits in 16 at bats for a .188 mark. He does have a homer and six RBI so far. Carrither’s took his hot bat with him and is off to a 4x13 start (.308) with three runs scored and a .526 on-base percentage. Kaiser is hitting .235 with four hits in 17 at bats. Furbush gave up three runs in 7.0 innings pitched on eight hits (two were home runs) with four strikeouts and two walks (one intentional) in a no-decision.
55 FLYING TIGERS ... So far this season 55 players have donned the colors of the Flying Tigers. Twenty-three players have gone to bat for Lakeland while 22 have taken the mound. Of the 13 position players currently on the team, eight have played in 30 or fewer of the 73 games contested to far.
SHORT SEASON CLUBS ... Connecticut (formerly the Oneonta club) is off to a 5-4 start in the New York-Penn League and has won three straight. The GCL Tigers are 2-4 in the early going and have lost three in a row.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Mission Notes vs. Brevard County (June 24-26)
THE FLYING TIGERS (37-33) - The Flying Tigers downed Daytona 7-4 on Wednesday to close out the first half tied for second place with a 37-33 record. The 37 wins is the most for a Lakeland club since the 2006 team also recorded 37 victories. The Flying Tigers are hitting .215 (71x330) as a team since knocking out a total of 28 hits in back-to-back games on June 8 and 9 and rank third in the FSL with a .263 average. Lakeland has scored an average of just 3.3 runs per game over the last 11 games. The Lakeland starting pitchers have a 6.09 ERA (23 ER/34.0 IP) over the last seven games but do have two complete games in those seven games. Meanwhile, the bullpen has a 3.27 ERA (8 ER/22.0 IP) over the same time frame. Overall, Lakeland ranks third with a 3.15 ERA and has walked the fewest batters of any FSL team.
THE MANATEES (33-34) ... Brevard County scored five times in the bottom of the eighth to snap a 5-5 tie and defeat Clearwater 10-5 on Wednesday. The win gives the Manatees a 27-42 first half record. Brevard is hitting .252 as a team and is second to last in the FSL with a 4.10 staff ERA.
THE SERIES ... Lakeland won the first five games of the series winning all three games played at Brevard County. The Manatees came back to take three of the last four. Overall, Lakeland leads the series 6-3. Three of the last four games were seven inning affairs - two coming in a doubleheader and the third was cut short to due heavy lightning in the area. Lakeland is hitting .236 in the series and has a 3.72 ERA in the nine games. Brevard County has a .251 average in the series with a 3.25 ERA.
PROBABLE STARTERS ... Thu: Jon Kibler (0-1, 7.71); Fri: Luke Putkonen (6-4, 3.61); Sat: Adam Wilk (4-4, 3.24).
ROSTER RAID ... As in common place following the major league draft and the conclusion of the first half, the Lakeland roster got hit hard by organizational moves on Wednesday. Earning promotions to AA Erie were 1B Rawley Bishop, 2B Alden Carrithers and OF Kody Kaiser. Carrithers was leading the Florida State League with a .359 batting average and a .464 on base percentage while Kaiser was third in the league at .325 while leading the FSL with 82 hits. Bishop was hitting .301 with a team-leading six homers and 42 RBI. Collectively, the trio has accounted for 37 percent of Lakeland’s runs and hits. In addition, RHP Wilsen Palacios, who pitched in just one game for Lakeland, was sent to the Gulf Coast League Tigers. The moves were just some of 18 moves made by the Detroit organization Wednesday.
NEWEST CREW MEMBERS ... Taking the vacated rosters spots are infielders Carmelo Jaime, Jordan Lennerton and Bryan Pounds along with RHP Jacob Turner. Jaime began the season in Lakeland but was sent to extended spring training on June 23 while Lennerton batted .290 in 59 games at West Michigan with 15 doubles. Both players played on the 2008 Lakeland Flying Tigers’ squad. Pounds also began the 2010 season at Lakeland and was on a hot streak, batting .370 in the six games before going on the disabled list with a strained oblique muscle. Turner was 2-3 with a 3.67 ERA at West Michigan and had 51 strikeouts with just nine walks in 54.0 innings pitched.
OUTSTANDING IN HIS FIELD ... Daniel Field has batted .333 (11x33) in his last 10 games, but is 0x6 in his last two games.
THE CONN CONTINUES ... Tyler Conn has not allowed an earned run in his last seven appearances and has a 1.37 ERA in his last 14 outings from the bullpen.
FURBUSH FUROR ... Charlie Furbush leads the FSL with 109 strikeouts in the first half this season (11 more than the next pitcher). Furbush recorded 93 in strikeouts in all of last year.
LOOKING TO GET THE MAGIC BACK ... Francisco Martinez had a 13-game hit streak from June 1-17 batting .385 (20x52), but is just 2x13 in four games since having the streak snapped.
BILLY BALL ... Billy Nowlin enters the Brevard County series with a nine-game hitting streak in which he is batting .433 (13x30) with eight runs batted in. He now has hits in 21 of last 23 games and is batting .386 (32x82) in that time frame.
IN “O” WE SAVE ... Lester Oliveros is a perfect eight-for-eight in save opportunities this season with four of those saves coming against the Manatees.
SKIPPER ANDY BARKETT ... Andy Barkett is in his third season as manager of the Flying Tigers and enters the Brevard County series with a 159-178 record with the club. The 37 wins in the first half is the most wins in any half for a Barkett-led club in the Florida State League. Barkett began his managerial career with Oneonta in 2007, going 44-32. He played 11 seasons in minor league baseball with the Rangers, Braves, Pirates, Mariners and Tigers organizations and played one season (2001) in the majors, batting .304 in 17 games with Pittsburgh.
NOTABLE LAKELAND ALUMNI ... Among the numerous Lakeland alumni who have made it to the major leagues are Yankees outfielder Curtis Granderson (2000); Tampa Bay’s Gabe Kapler (1997), Marlins’ Cody Ross (2001), as well as Detroit’s Justin Verlander (2005). Past Lakeland Tigers who played in the major include: Mark “The Bird” Fidrych (1975), Kirk Gibson (1978), John Smoltz (1986) and Lou Whitaker (1976). Detroit manager Jim Leyland played in 1964 for Lakeland and came back to manage the team to back-to-back Florida State League titles in 1976 and 1977.
WHY THE FLYING TIGERS? ... The team’s name and colors pay homage to the Lakeland School of Aeronautics, later the Lodwick School of Aeronautics, which trained over 8,000 pilots between 1940 and 1945, some of whom later flew with the Flying Tigers in China during World War II. The school was actually located at the current site of Joker Marchant Stadium.
FSL CHARTER MEMBER ... The 2010 season marks Lakeland’s 59th season in the FSL. The Lakeland Flying Tigers are in their 45th season as a Tigers’ affiliate, the second longest affiliation in Minor League Baseball and are an original member of the FSL, which was established in 1919. Lakeland has also been affiliated with Cleveland (1960); San Francisco (1962) before becoming a Detroit affiliate in 1963 (Detroit moved the franchise to Daytona Beach for the 1965 and 1966 seasons).
THE MANATEES (33-34) ... Brevard County scored five times in the bottom of the eighth to snap a 5-5 tie and defeat Clearwater 10-5 on Wednesday. The win gives the Manatees a 27-42 first half record. Brevard is hitting .252 as a team and is second to last in the FSL with a 4.10 staff ERA.
THE SERIES ... Lakeland won the first five games of the series winning all three games played at Brevard County. The Manatees came back to take three of the last four. Overall, Lakeland leads the series 6-3. Three of the last four games were seven inning affairs - two coming in a doubleheader and the third was cut short to due heavy lightning in the area. Lakeland is hitting .236 in the series and has a 3.72 ERA in the nine games. Brevard County has a .251 average in the series with a 3.25 ERA.
PROBABLE STARTERS ... Thu: Jon Kibler (0-1, 7.71); Fri: Luke Putkonen (6-4, 3.61); Sat: Adam Wilk (4-4, 3.24).
ROSTER RAID ... As in common place following the major league draft and the conclusion of the first half, the Lakeland roster got hit hard by organizational moves on Wednesday. Earning promotions to AA Erie were 1B Rawley Bishop, 2B Alden Carrithers and OF Kody Kaiser. Carrithers was leading the Florida State League with a .359 batting average and a .464 on base percentage while Kaiser was third in the league at .325 while leading the FSL with 82 hits. Bishop was hitting .301 with a team-leading six homers and 42 RBI. Collectively, the trio has accounted for 37 percent of Lakeland’s runs and hits. In addition, RHP Wilsen Palacios, who pitched in just one game for Lakeland, was sent to the Gulf Coast League Tigers. The moves were just some of 18 moves made by the Detroit organization Wednesday.
NEWEST CREW MEMBERS ... Taking the vacated rosters spots are infielders Carmelo Jaime, Jordan Lennerton and Bryan Pounds along with RHP Jacob Turner. Jaime began the season in Lakeland but was sent to extended spring training on June 23 while Lennerton batted .290 in 59 games at West Michigan with 15 doubles. Both players played on the 2008 Lakeland Flying Tigers’ squad. Pounds also began the 2010 season at Lakeland and was on a hot streak, batting .370 in the six games before going on the disabled list with a strained oblique muscle. Turner was 2-3 with a 3.67 ERA at West Michigan and had 51 strikeouts with just nine walks in 54.0 innings pitched.
OUTSTANDING IN HIS FIELD ... Daniel Field has batted .333 (11x33) in his last 10 games, but is 0x6 in his last two games.
THE CONN CONTINUES ... Tyler Conn has not allowed an earned run in his last seven appearances and has a 1.37 ERA in his last 14 outings from the bullpen.
FURBUSH FUROR ... Charlie Furbush leads the FSL with 109 strikeouts in the first half this season (11 more than the next pitcher). Furbush recorded 93 in strikeouts in all of last year.
LOOKING TO GET THE MAGIC BACK ... Francisco Martinez had a 13-game hit streak from June 1-17 batting .385 (20x52), but is just 2x13 in four games since having the streak snapped.
BILLY BALL ... Billy Nowlin enters the Brevard County series with a nine-game hitting streak in which he is batting .433 (13x30) with eight runs batted in. He now has hits in 21 of last 23 games and is batting .386 (32x82) in that time frame.
IN “O” WE SAVE ... Lester Oliveros is a perfect eight-for-eight in save opportunities this season with four of those saves coming against the Manatees.
SKIPPER ANDY BARKETT ... Andy Barkett is in his third season as manager of the Flying Tigers and enters the Brevard County series with a 159-178 record with the club. The 37 wins in the first half is the most wins in any half for a Barkett-led club in the Florida State League. Barkett began his managerial career with Oneonta in 2007, going 44-32. He played 11 seasons in minor league baseball with the Rangers, Braves, Pirates, Mariners and Tigers organizations and played one season (2001) in the majors, batting .304 in 17 games with Pittsburgh.
NOTABLE LAKELAND ALUMNI ... Among the numerous Lakeland alumni who have made it to the major leagues are Yankees outfielder Curtis Granderson (2000); Tampa Bay’s Gabe Kapler (1997), Marlins’ Cody Ross (2001), as well as Detroit’s Justin Verlander (2005). Past Lakeland Tigers who played in the major include: Mark “The Bird” Fidrych (1975), Kirk Gibson (1978), John Smoltz (1986) and Lou Whitaker (1976). Detroit manager Jim Leyland played in 1964 for Lakeland and came back to manage the team to back-to-back Florida State League titles in 1976 and 1977.
WHY THE FLYING TIGERS? ... The team’s name and colors pay homage to the Lakeland School of Aeronautics, later the Lodwick School of Aeronautics, which trained over 8,000 pilots between 1940 and 1945, some of whom later flew with the Flying Tigers in China during World War II. The school was actually located at the current site of Joker Marchant Stadium.
FSL CHARTER MEMBER ... The 2010 season marks Lakeland’s 59th season in the FSL. The Lakeland Flying Tigers are in their 45th season as a Tigers’ affiliate, the second longest affiliation in Minor League Baseball and are an original member of the FSL, which was established in 1919. Lakeland has also been affiliated with Cleveland (1960); San Francisco (1962) before becoming a Detroit affiliate in 1963 (Detroit moved the franchise to Daytona Beach for the 1965 and 1966 seasons).
Monday, June 21, 2010
Mission Notes vs. Daytona (June 21-23)
THE FLYING TIGERS (35-32) - With this series, the first half comes to a close and the end can’t come soon enough. For a brief afternoon on June 2, Lakeland was in first place as Dunedin had lost a morning game, but the Flying Tigers also fell that evening and have dropped 11 of their last 16 games (including nine of the last 12) to drop into a tie for third place with Clearwater. Lakeland is also tied with Clearwater for second in the FSL with a .263 team batting average while the staff ERA has climbed to 3.15 and is now second best in the league. The Flying Tigers have the most hits of any team in the league with 602 and are third with 227 walks drawn. That number could increase with this series as Daytona has walked the third most batters of any team in the FSL. The pitching corps has issued the fewest walks (142) in the league.
THE CUBS (33-34) ... Daytona is coming off a series win over Dunedin, taking two of three from the Blue Jays, including the last two straight. The Cubs are in fifth place in the North Division and are 18-13 on the road compared to their 15-21 home record. Brett Jackson is the Cubs’ offensive star, leading the Florida State League with 48 runs scored. Jackson, who is second to Lakeland’s Alden Carrithers in the league with 42 walks, is fifth in the FSL with a .408 on base percentage and third with seven triples. Daytona is batting .252 as a team and the pitching staff is fourth in the league with a 3.51 team ERA.
THE SERIES ... Daytona has won five of the nine games played this season between the two clubs, including three of the last four. Lakeland took two of three in the first series in Daytona on April 27-29, while the Cubs returned the favor in Lakeland, taking two of three, on May 3-5. Last week, the Cubs again took two of three in Daytona with two of the games heading into extra innings.
PROBABLE STARTERS ... Mon: Charlie Furbush (4-5, 3.39); Tue: Adam Wilk (4-3, 3.30); Wed: Mark Sorensen (4-7, 4.52).
THE NORTH RACE ... Dunedin heads into the final three games of the first half with a 3.0 game lead over second place Tampa with their final series of the half against the Yankees in Dunedin. One win in the three games gives the Blue Jays the first half pennant. A sweep by the Yankees would leave the teams tied, but Tampa would then take the pennant on a tiebreaker by virtue of what would be a 9-3 advantage in their head-to-head series.
PITCHING STAFF STRUGGLING ... The Flying Tigers pitchers have found the going a bit on the tough side as of late. Having one of the few staff ERA’s under 3.00 in the minors for much of the first half, Lakeland now has a 3.15 ERA. The starting pitchers have a 6.45 ERA in the last seven games while the relief corps has a 3.14 ERA over the same span.
CALLING BATMAN ... Someone seems to have snuck into the club house and taken away the Lakeland bats as the team has stumbled to a .198 batting average in the last eight games with 61 strikeouts and 65 runners left on base. Lakeland, which once lead the FSL in batting, is now tied for third in the FSL with a .263 team batting average.
CONN MAN ... Reliever Tyler Conn has not allowed an earned run in his last six appearance and has a 1.42 ERA in his last 13 games out of the bullpen.
FSL LEADER ... Alden Carrithers continues to hold on to his lead in the FSL batting race with a .355 average. He also leads the league with a .462 on base percentage and is tied for the lead with 43 walks. Carrithers is third in the FSL with 77 hits and fifth with 41 runs scored and is on an eight game hit streak in which he is batting .400 (12x30).
PLAYING THE FIELDS ... Centerfielder Daniel Fields is hitting .407 (11x27) over his last eight games.
NO JUNE SWOON ... Francisco Martinez is batting .364 in the month of June with 20 hits in 55 at bats this month.
BILLY BALL ... Billy Nowlin enters this series with a seven-game hit streak in which he is batting .391 (9x23) and has hits in 19 of his last 12 games for a .368 average (28x76) during that time.
NEW CREW MEMBERS ... Just prior to the Brevard County series, Lakeland made a series of roster moves that resulted in three new players joining the club. With Brayan Villarreal on the DL, Julio Rodriguez being sent to West Michigan and Gabriel Purroy for just one day, being assigned to Connecticut (formerly the Oneonta team), the squad had three openings. John Murrian was activated from the disabled list where he had been since May 2 to take one roster spot. Billy Alvino rejoins Lakeland where he played some last season and Wilsen Palacios was added from the Connecticut roster.
LOOKING FOR BEST FINISH IN FOUR YEARS ... If the Flying Tigers would finish in second or third place this half, it would be their highest first-half finish since the 2006 team placed third, just 1/2 game out of first. The season prior, the 2005 squad captured the first half pennant.
ONE ALUM UP, ONE DOWN ... With former Lakeland Flying Tiger Rick Porcello sent down to AAA Toledo, another Lakeland alum get his shot as Jay Sborz joins the big club. Sborz racked up 15 saves for Toledo this season.
LAKELAND ALUMS ON THE FARM ... Toledo’s Jeff Frazier leads the International League with 23 doubles, 38 extra base hits, 45 runs scored, 144 total bases, while second with 77 hits. Wilkin Ramirez, now at Toledo, still ranks third in the Eastern League with 15 homers and fifth with a .543 slugging percentage while Andy Dirks is fourth with 73 hits. Trevor Feeney is fifth in the Midwest League with 76 strikeouts and first with 95.1 innings pitched.
ORGANIZATIONAL RECORDS (thru Saturday):
MLB Detroit – 38-30, 2nd in the Central Division
AAA Toledo – 39-31, 2nd in West Division
AA Erie – 30-38, 6th in Western Division
A+ Lakeland – 35-32, T-3rd in North Division
A West Michigan – 26-43, 8th in Eastern Division
SS Connecticut – 2-1, T-1st in Stelder Division
R VSL Tigers – 11-14, 6th in VSL
R DSL Tigers – 7-11, 4th in DSL
THE CUBS (33-34) ... Daytona is coming off a series win over Dunedin, taking two of three from the Blue Jays, including the last two straight. The Cubs are in fifth place in the North Division and are 18-13 on the road compared to their 15-21 home record. Brett Jackson is the Cubs’ offensive star, leading the Florida State League with 48 runs scored. Jackson, who is second to Lakeland’s Alden Carrithers in the league with 42 walks, is fifth in the FSL with a .408 on base percentage and third with seven triples. Daytona is batting .252 as a team and the pitching staff is fourth in the league with a 3.51 team ERA.
THE SERIES ... Daytona has won five of the nine games played this season between the two clubs, including three of the last four. Lakeland took two of three in the first series in Daytona on April 27-29, while the Cubs returned the favor in Lakeland, taking two of three, on May 3-5. Last week, the Cubs again took two of three in Daytona with two of the games heading into extra innings.
PROBABLE STARTERS ... Mon: Charlie Furbush (4-5, 3.39); Tue: Adam Wilk (4-3, 3.30); Wed: Mark Sorensen (4-7, 4.52).
THE NORTH RACE ... Dunedin heads into the final three games of the first half with a 3.0 game lead over second place Tampa with their final series of the half against the Yankees in Dunedin. One win in the three games gives the Blue Jays the first half pennant. A sweep by the Yankees would leave the teams tied, but Tampa would then take the pennant on a tiebreaker by virtue of what would be a 9-3 advantage in their head-to-head series.
PITCHING STAFF STRUGGLING ... The Flying Tigers pitchers have found the going a bit on the tough side as of late. Having one of the few staff ERA’s under 3.00 in the minors for much of the first half, Lakeland now has a 3.15 ERA. The starting pitchers have a 6.45 ERA in the last seven games while the relief corps has a 3.14 ERA over the same span.
CALLING BATMAN ... Someone seems to have snuck into the club house and taken away the Lakeland bats as the team has stumbled to a .198 batting average in the last eight games with 61 strikeouts and 65 runners left on base. Lakeland, which once lead the FSL in batting, is now tied for third in the FSL with a .263 team batting average.
CONN MAN ... Reliever Tyler Conn has not allowed an earned run in his last six appearance and has a 1.42 ERA in his last 13 games out of the bullpen.
FSL LEADER ... Alden Carrithers continues to hold on to his lead in the FSL batting race with a .355 average. He also leads the league with a .462 on base percentage and is tied for the lead with 43 walks. Carrithers is third in the FSL with 77 hits and fifth with 41 runs scored and is on an eight game hit streak in which he is batting .400 (12x30).
PLAYING THE FIELDS ... Centerfielder Daniel Fields is hitting .407 (11x27) over his last eight games.
NO JUNE SWOON ... Francisco Martinez is batting .364 in the month of June with 20 hits in 55 at bats this month.
BILLY BALL ... Billy Nowlin enters this series with a seven-game hit streak in which he is batting .391 (9x23) and has hits in 19 of his last 12 games for a .368 average (28x76) during that time.
NEW CREW MEMBERS ... Just prior to the Brevard County series, Lakeland made a series of roster moves that resulted in three new players joining the club. With Brayan Villarreal on the DL, Julio Rodriguez being sent to West Michigan and Gabriel Purroy for just one day, being assigned to Connecticut (formerly the Oneonta team), the squad had three openings. John Murrian was activated from the disabled list where he had been since May 2 to take one roster spot. Billy Alvino rejoins Lakeland where he played some last season and Wilsen Palacios was added from the Connecticut roster.
LOOKING FOR BEST FINISH IN FOUR YEARS ... If the Flying Tigers would finish in second or third place this half, it would be their highest first-half finish since the 2006 team placed third, just 1/2 game out of first. The season prior, the 2005 squad captured the first half pennant.
ONE ALUM UP, ONE DOWN ... With former Lakeland Flying Tiger Rick Porcello sent down to AAA Toledo, another Lakeland alum get his shot as Jay Sborz joins the big club. Sborz racked up 15 saves for Toledo this season.
LAKELAND ALUMS ON THE FARM ... Toledo’s Jeff Frazier leads the International League with 23 doubles, 38 extra base hits, 45 runs scored, 144 total bases, while second with 77 hits. Wilkin Ramirez, now at Toledo, still ranks third in the Eastern League with 15 homers and fifth with a .543 slugging percentage while Andy Dirks is fourth with 73 hits. Trevor Feeney is fifth in the Midwest League with 76 strikeouts and first with 95.1 innings pitched.
ORGANIZATIONAL RECORDS (thru Saturday):
MLB Detroit – 38-30, 2nd in the Central Division
AAA Toledo – 39-31, 2nd in West Division
AA Erie – 30-38, 6th in Western Division
A+ Lakeland – 35-32, T-3rd in North Division
A West Michigan – 26-43, 8th in Eastern Division
SS Connecticut – 2-1, T-1st in Stelder Division
R VSL Tigers – 11-14, 6th in VSL
R DSL Tigers – 7-11, 4th in DSL
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Mission Notes vs. Brevard County (June 17-19)
THE FLYING TIGERS (34-29) - Going 2-6 in their last eight games, the Flying Tigers have fallen into third place and are 3.5 games out of first place with seven to play in the first half. Lakeland has this four-game set with Brevard County and then concludes the first half at home against Daytona. Tampa is in second place, 3.0 games back. Lakeland is batting .265 as a team and is tied with Bradenton for the FSL lead. The pitching staff also leads the FSL with a 2.95 team ERA and fewest walks issued.
THE MANATEES (23-39) ... Brevard County is in last place in the North Division, 14.0 games back. They have won just nine times in 29 road games this season, and were just swept in three games at Clearwater. The Manatees are hitting .252 as a team and have scored the third fewest runs in the league. The are second in the league, however, with 73 stolen bases. Their staff ERA of 4.21 ranks second to last in the league and they have walked the most batters of any team in the FSL.
THE SERIES ... Lakeland, which plays Brevard County in seven of their next 11 games, has won all five previous meetings with the Manatees this season sweeping a three-game set at Brevard County on May 12-14 and two games in Lakeland on May 18 and 20. The game on the 19th was rained out and is being made up as part of a doubleheader tonight (Thursday). That rain out stands as the only scrubbed game this season for Lakeland. Rawley Bishop batted .538 in four games in the series while Alden Carrithers hit .357, also in four games. Lakeland has outscored Brevard County 21-10 in the series so far.
FSL LEADERS ... Alden Carrithers is tied with Bradenton’s Brock Holt for the FSL lead (and 10th in the minor leagues) with identical .351 batting averages, although Carrithers, who is fourth with 73 hits, has achieved his average in nine more games than Holt has played. Carrithers continues to top the league with a .460 on base percentage and 41 walks. Kody Kaiser leads the FSL with 79 hits, is second with 120 total bases, and is fourth with a .335 average and a .508 slugging percentage. Rawley Bishop is fourth with 18 doubles. Luke Putkonen is seventh in the FSL with a 2.95 ERA to go with his 6-3 record. Bryan Villarreal, who is now on the disabled list, is the league’s only seven-game winner so far. Charlie Furbush leads the FSL (and all of baseball) with 109 strikeouts and a 12.74 strikeouts per nine innings pitched ratio. Adam Wilk is second with just 1.14 walks per nine innings while Furbush is fourth with a 1.52 mark.
MARTINEZ AT 12 ... Francisco Martinez singled in the seventh inning last night to extend his hit streak to 12 games, the second longest active streak in the Florida State League. He is batting .396 (19-for-48) during the streak, which is the third longest hitting streak by a Flying Tiger this season behind Kody Kaiser’s FSL-best 21 games and Alden Carrithers’ 13 games.
WHITHER THE OFFENSE? ... Lakeland is batting just .178 in its last four games and has scored just 13 runs in that stretch. In addition, the Flying Tigers have struck out 53 times in the last five games and stranded 44 in those five outings. Meanwhile, the pitching staff has been victimized for ten or more hits in five of the last seven games. Opponents have combined for a .278 average in the last seven games while Lakeland pitchers have posted a 5.53 ERA in the last five games including a 8.05 by the starters.
WORKING OVERTIME ... Lakeland played in just one extra-inning game in the first month and a half of the season. The Flying Tigers have now played in six overtime affairs since in the last month, including three of the last five games. Overall, Lakeland is 3-4 in extra-inning games.
FURBUSH CLIMBS K LADDER ... Charlie Furbush now has 109 strikeouts which is tied for 12th most for any Lakeland pitcher for an entire season. He needs three more to move into the top ten.
THREE AT FIVE ... Rawley Bishop, Kody Kaiser and Billy Nowlin all have five home runs on the season to tie for the team lead. Lakeland fans who only watch the team at Joker Marchant Stadium may think Nowlin’s place in the group is a typo as he has connected for all five of his round trippers on the road.
IN AND OUT ... Pitchers Rob Waite and Jon Kibler have traded places as Waite headed to AA Erie and Kibler joins Lakeland from the Seawolves. Waite will have some company on the flight north as catcher Luis Sanz has also earned a promotion to Erie. Taking Sanz’s place on the Flying Tiger roster is Gabriel Purroy who was on the Connecticut roster. Kibler, Detroit’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2008, was 4-5 this season at Erie with a 5.65 ERA. A 30th-round pick in 2007, Kibler has a 27-21 career record in four seasons. Purroy has been in extended spring after batting .267 with seven homers and 39 RBI last season in the Venezuelan Summer League. In addition, pitcher Brayan Villarreal has been placed on the disabled list. His roster spot has not been filled as of yet.
FSL AVERAGE ... As a group, the Florida State League teams combined are hitting .254 and have a 3.71 combined ERA.
K’s DON’T EQUAL W’s ... Of the six pitchers who lead all of minor league baseball in strikeouts, including Lakeland’s Charlie Furbush who leads all of baseball (majors included) with 109 K’s, only one has a winning record - Myrtle Beach’s Julio Teheran, who is 5-3. The other five pitchers are a combined 12-27.
FLYING HIGH ... Alden Carrithers is 12x33 (.364) since June 4 ... Daniel Fields is 8x22 (.363) since June 3 ... Francisco Martinez is on a 12-game hit streak in which he is batting .396 ... Billy Nowlin is hitting .356 since May 28 with hits in 14 of his last 16 games.
GROUNDED ... Rawley Bishop is 0x16 his last five games and 3x30 (.100) since June 4 ... Kody Kaiser is 2x21 (.095) his last five games ... Gustavo Nunez is 1x18 his last four games ... Julio Rodriguez is 1x13 his last five games ... Brent Wyatt is 6x46 (.130) since May 29, but is 3x13 (.231) his last three outings.
ORGANIZATIONAL RECORDS:
AAA Toledo – 37-29, 2nd in West Division
AA Erie – 27-37, 6th in Western Division
A+ Lakeland – 34-29, 3rd in North Division
A West Michigan – 24-41, 8th in Eastern Division
R VSL Tigers – 11-11, t-4th in VSL
R DSL Tigers – 5-10, 5th in DSL
THE MANATEES (23-39) ... Brevard County is in last place in the North Division, 14.0 games back. They have won just nine times in 29 road games this season, and were just swept in three games at Clearwater. The Manatees are hitting .252 as a team and have scored the third fewest runs in the league. The are second in the league, however, with 73 stolen bases. Their staff ERA of 4.21 ranks second to last in the league and they have walked the most batters of any team in the FSL.
THE SERIES ... Lakeland, which plays Brevard County in seven of their next 11 games, has won all five previous meetings with the Manatees this season sweeping a three-game set at Brevard County on May 12-14 and two games in Lakeland on May 18 and 20. The game on the 19th was rained out and is being made up as part of a doubleheader tonight (Thursday). That rain out stands as the only scrubbed game this season for Lakeland. Rawley Bishop batted .538 in four games in the series while Alden Carrithers hit .357, also in four games. Lakeland has outscored Brevard County 21-10 in the series so far.
FSL LEADERS ... Alden Carrithers is tied with Bradenton’s Brock Holt for the FSL lead (and 10th in the minor leagues) with identical .351 batting averages, although Carrithers, who is fourth with 73 hits, has achieved his average in nine more games than Holt has played. Carrithers continues to top the league with a .460 on base percentage and 41 walks. Kody Kaiser leads the FSL with 79 hits, is second with 120 total bases, and is fourth with a .335 average and a .508 slugging percentage. Rawley Bishop is fourth with 18 doubles. Luke Putkonen is seventh in the FSL with a 2.95 ERA to go with his 6-3 record. Bryan Villarreal, who is now on the disabled list, is the league’s only seven-game winner so far. Charlie Furbush leads the FSL (and all of baseball) with 109 strikeouts and a 12.74 strikeouts per nine innings pitched ratio. Adam Wilk is second with just 1.14 walks per nine innings while Furbush is fourth with a 1.52 mark.
MARTINEZ AT 12 ... Francisco Martinez singled in the seventh inning last night to extend his hit streak to 12 games, the second longest active streak in the Florida State League. He is batting .396 (19-for-48) during the streak, which is the third longest hitting streak by a Flying Tiger this season behind Kody Kaiser’s FSL-best 21 games and Alden Carrithers’ 13 games.
WHITHER THE OFFENSE? ... Lakeland is batting just .178 in its last four games and has scored just 13 runs in that stretch. In addition, the Flying Tigers have struck out 53 times in the last five games and stranded 44 in those five outings. Meanwhile, the pitching staff has been victimized for ten or more hits in five of the last seven games. Opponents have combined for a .278 average in the last seven games while Lakeland pitchers have posted a 5.53 ERA in the last five games including a 8.05 by the starters.
WORKING OVERTIME ... Lakeland played in just one extra-inning game in the first month and a half of the season. The Flying Tigers have now played in six overtime affairs since in the last month, including three of the last five games. Overall, Lakeland is 3-4 in extra-inning games.
FURBUSH CLIMBS K LADDER ... Charlie Furbush now has 109 strikeouts which is tied for 12th most for any Lakeland pitcher for an entire season. He needs three more to move into the top ten.
THREE AT FIVE ... Rawley Bishop, Kody Kaiser and Billy Nowlin all have five home runs on the season to tie for the team lead. Lakeland fans who only watch the team at Joker Marchant Stadium may think Nowlin’s place in the group is a typo as he has connected for all five of his round trippers on the road.
IN AND OUT ... Pitchers Rob Waite and Jon Kibler have traded places as Waite headed to AA Erie and Kibler joins Lakeland from the Seawolves. Waite will have some company on the flight north as catcher Luis Sanz has also earned a promotion to Erie. Taking Sanz’s place on the Flying Tiger roster is Gabriel Purroy who was on the Connecticut roster. Kibler, Detroit’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2008, was 4-5 this season at Erie with a 5.65 ERA. A 30th-round pick in 2007, Kibler has a 27-21 career record in four seasons. Purroy has been in extended spring after batting .267 with seven homers and 39 RBI last season in the Venezuelan Summer League. In addition, pitcher Brayan Villarreal has been placed on the disabled list. His roster spot has not been filled as of yet.
FSL AVERAGE ... As a group, the Florida State League teams combined are hitting .254 and have a 3.71 combined ERA.
K’s DON’T EQUAL W’s ... Of the six pitchers who lead all of minor league baseball in strikeouts, including Lakeland’s Charlie Furbush who leads all of baseball (majors included) with 109 K’s, only one has a winning record - Myrtle Beach’s Julio Teheran, who is 5-3. The other five pitchers are a combined 12-27.
FLYING HIGH ... Alden Carrithers is 12x33 (.364) since June 4 ... Daniel Fields is 8x22 (.363) since June 3 ... Francisco Martinez is on a 12-game hit streak in which he is batting .396 ... Billy Nowlin is hitting .356 since May 28 with hits in 14 of his last 16 games.
GROUNDED ... Rawley Bishop is 0x16 his last five games and 3x30 (.100) since June 4 ... Kody Kaiser is 2x21 (.095) his last five games ... Gustavo Nunez is 1x18 his last four games ... Julio Rodriguez is 1x13 his last five games ... Brent Wyatt is 6x46 (.130) since May 29, but is 3x13 (.231) his last three outings.
ORGANIZATIONAL RECORDS:
AAA Toledo – 37-29, 2nd in West Division
AA Erie – 27-37, 6th in Western Division
A+ Lakeland – 34-29, 3rd in North Division
A West Michigan – 24-41, 8th in Eastern Division
R VSL Tigers – 11-11, t-4th in VSL
R DSL Tigers – 5-10, 5th in DSL
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Mission Notes vs. Daytona (June 14-16)
THE FLYING TIGERS (37-27) - Lakeland is 5-9 in its last 14 games and finds themselves 3.5 games behind Dunedin with 10 games to play. In addition, Tampa, which swept the Flying Tigers in a two-game series before the All-Star break, now trails Lakeland by just 1/2 game. Lakeland has this three games series at Daytona, then returns home for the remainder of its first-half schedule taking on Brevard for four games and the Cubs for three more.
THE CUBS (29-32) ... Daytona saw a four-game win streak snapped in its final game before the break, falling 12-8 to Brevard County. The Cubs are 8.0 games back and in fifth place in the North Division. Daytona is 11-19 at home this season, but 18-13 on the road. Brett Jackson leads the Florida State League with 40 runs scored and 39 walks while Christopher Archer has a .185 opponents’ batting average to lead all FSL pitchers in that category. Daytona is batting .247 as a team while the Cubs’ pitching staff has a 3.61 ERA.
PROBABLE STARTERS ... Mon: Luke Putkonen (6-3, 2.58); Tue: Mark Sorensen (4-6, 4.32); Wed: Brayan Villarreal (7-3, 3.33).
THE SERIES ... The two teams have split their six games played so far with each team winning two games in other team’s home park. Lakeland took two of three in Daytona in the first series with the Cubs returning the favor in the rematch in Lakeland. Rawley Bishop is batting .400 in the series with Gustavo Nunez posting a .320 mark. Erik Crichton, Charlie Furbush and Anthony Shawler all picked up wins for Lakeland in the series.
FURBUSH PASSES THE CENTURY MARK ... Charlie Furbush struck out eight batters in 4.0 innings in his last start on June 10 to give him an amazing 104 strikeouts at the All-Star break. He is just the 11th pitcher this century to record 100 or more strikeouts for Lakeland and is the 31st since 1978 to hit triple digits. He now ranks 16th on Lakeland’s all-time strikeout list (since 1978). The Lakeland record is 134 set by Rick Lacko in 1987 and matched by Jordan Tata in 2005. Furbush is the first pitcher in the majors or minors this season to reach 100 strikeouts.
BATTING BATTLE ... Alden Carrithers and Kody Kaiser have each led the FSL at some point this season in terms of batting average and have been swapping the lead with Bradenton’s Brock Holt who currently tops the league with a .351 mark. Both Carrithers and Kaiser are tied for second at .348 on the season. Kaiser leads the FSL with 78 hits while Carrithers is tied with two other players for second with 70 hits. Carrithers continues to lead the FSL with a .452 on base percentage and is second with 37 walks.
NOWLIN’S STREAK SNAPPED ... Designated hitter Billy Nowlin saw his streak of reaching base in consecutive games snapped at 22 when he was kept off base in Lakeland’s loss at Tampa on June 10. Nowlin’s 22-game streak from May 14-June 9 was the third longest in the FSL this season. Teammate Alden Carrither’s 32-game mark from April 28-June 2 is the longest streak to date.
MARTINEZ STREAK AT NINE ... Francisco Martinez brings a nine-game hitting streak into the Cubs series in which he is 15-for-37 (.405) with six runs batted in. He is Lakeland’s hottest hitter in the month of June (.405) and has the fourth highest batting average in the FSL so far this month.
NEWEST CREW MEMBER ... With Cory Hamilton’s promotion to AA Erie, Lakeland welcomes Jose Ortega from West Michigan. Ortega was 0-3 with one save and a 4.56 ERA in 18 games for the Whitecaps. Signed as non-drafted free agent in 2006, he spent his first two years in the Venezuelan Summer League before pitching at Oneonta in 2009.
THREE THEFTS ... Lakeland was successful on three stolen base attempts on Thursday Tampa, marking their first stolen bases since June 2 and their first multi-stolen base game since swiping three on May 23 against St. Lucie.
TRIPLE TRIPLES ... The Flying Tigers have collected a triple in three straight games after hitting just one on the previous 14 games. Speaking of triples, one of the FSL’s most amazing stats (at least in this writer’s opinion) is that of most triples in a single season – 30 – by Pete Rose of the Tampa Tarpons in 1961.
AT THE ASG ... Lakeland’s representatives in the 49th Florida State League All-Star game found the going a bit rough on Saturday, combing for a 1-for-10 effort. Shortstop Gustavo Nunez got the lone hit for the three Lakeland defensive selections and scored one of the North’s runs in the 5-4, 10-inning loss to the South. First baseman Rawley Bishop was held in check in four at bats, while outfielder Kody Kaiser was 0-for-2 with an intentionally walk. Pitcher Brayan Villarreal set the South down in order in the fourth inning on three ground outs. Lakeland’s fifth selection to the game, Charlie Furbush, had pitched on Thursday night and therefore did not pitch in the All-Star game. Defensively, Nunez and Bishop participated in three double plays.
CAIN HANGS UP HIS CLEATS ... Former Flying Tiger Nolan Cain has announced his retirement after being placed on the disabled list with a partially torn UCL in his right elbow. TigsTown reports that rather than face surgery and more rehab, he opted to retire.
THE DRAFT’S ALL-RELATIVE ... Among Detroit’s 50 picks in last week’s Major League Draft were several players with professional legacies. Their 48th pick was spent on Chance Ruffin, a RHP from the University of Texas, who is the son of former Major Leaguer Bruce Ruffin. With their eighth-round pick, the Tigers tapped Patrick Leyland, a high school catcher from Pennsylvania, who happens to be the son of Tiger Manager Jim Leyland. In the 17th round, Detroit picked Drew Gagnier, a RHP out of the University of Oregon, whose brother L.J. Gagnier played for Lakeland last season. With their 25th-round selection, the Tigers picked Shawn Teufel, a LHP out of Liberty University, the son of former Major Leaguer Tim Teufel. Another former Major Leaguer, Lloyd McClendon, saw his son, Bob McClendon, go to Detroit in the 39th round out of Valparaiso University. Hoping pitching is in his genes, Detroit picked up Ben Verlander, a RHP high school pitcher from Virginia. He is the younger brother of Tiger hurler Justin Verlander.
I KNOW YOU ... Jim Jaworski, the Daytona’s ticket and group sales manager, interned with the Flying Tigers last season. From Crown Point, Indiana, Jim went to Saint Joseph’s College in Indiana where he played baseball for four season for the Pumas.
THE CUBS (29-32) ... Daytona saw a four-game win streak snapped in its final game before the break, falling 12-8 to Brevard County. The Cubs are 8.0 games back and in fifth place in the North Division. Daytona is 11-19 at home this season, but 18-13 on the road. Brett Jackson leads the Florida State League with 40 runs scored and 39 walks while Christopher Archer has a .185 opponents’ batting average to lead all FSL pitchers in that category. Daytona is batting .247 as a team while the Cubs’ pitching staff has a 3.61 ERA.
PROBABLE STARTERS ... Mon: Luke Putkonen (6-3, 2.58); Tue: Mark Sorensen (4-6, 4.32); Wed: Brayan Villarreal (7-3, 3.33).
THE SERIES ... The two teams have split their six games played so far with each team winning two games in other team’s home park. Lakeland took two of three in Daytona in the first series with the Cubs returning the favor in the rematch in Lakeland. Rawley Bishop is batting .400 in the series with Gustavo Nunez posting a .320 mark. Erik Crichton, Charlie Furbush and Anthony Shawler all picked up wins for Lakeland in the series.
FURBUSH PASSES THE CENTURY MARK ... Charlie Furbush struck out eight batters in 4.0 innings in his last start on June 10 to give him an amazing 104 strikeouts at the All-Star break. He is just the 11th pitcher this century to record 100 or more strikeouts for Lakeland and is the 31st since 1978 to hit triple digits. He now ranks 16th on Lakeland’s all-time strikeout list (since 1978). The Lakeland record is 134 set by Rick Lacko in 1987 and matched by Jordan Tata in 2005. Furbush is the first pitcher in the majors or minors this season to reach 100 strikeouts.
BATTING BATTLE ... Alden Carrithers and Kody Kaiser have each led the FSL at some point this season in terms of batting average and have been swapping the lead with Bradenton’s Brock Holt who currently tops the league with a .351 mark. Both Carrithers and Kaiser are tied for second at .348 on the season. Kaiser leads the FSL with 78 hits while Carrithers is tied with two other players for second with 70 hits. Carrithers continues to lead the FSL with a .452 on base percentage and is second with 37 walks.
NOWLIN’S STREAK SNAPPED ... Designated hitter Billy Nowlin saw his streak of reaching base in consecutive games snapped at 22 when he was kept off base in Lakeland’s loss at Tampa on June 10. Nowlin’s 22-game streak from May 14-June 9 was the third longest in the FSL this season. Teammate Alden Carrither’s 32-game mark from April 28-June 2 is the longest streak to date.
MARTINEZ STREAK AT NINE ... Francisco Martinez brings a nine-game hitting streak into the Cubs series in which he is 15-for-37 (.405) with six runs batted in. He is Lakeland’s hottest hitter in the month of June (.405) and has the fourth highest batting average in the FSL so far this month.
NEWEST CREW MEMBER ... With Cory Hamilton’s promotion to AA Erie, Lakeland welcomes Jose Ortega from West Michigan. Ortega was 0-3 with one save and a 4.56 ERA in 18 games for the Whitecaps. Signed as non-drafted free agent in 2006, he spent his first two years in the Venezuelan Summer League before pitching at Oneonta in 2009.
THREE THEFTS ... Lakeland was successful on three stolen base attempts on Thursday Tampa, marking their first stolen bases since June 2 and their first multi-stolen base game since swiping three on May 23 against St. Lucie.
TRIPLE TRIPLES ... The Flying Tigers have collected a triple in three straight games after hitting just one on the previous 14 games. Speaking of triples, one of the FSL’s most amazing stats (at least in this writer’s opinion) is that of most triples in a single season – 30 – by Pete Rose of the Tampa Tarpons in 1961.
AT THE ASG ... Lakeland’s representatives in the 49th Florida State League All-Star game found the going a bit rough on Saturday, combing for a 1-for-10 effort. Shortstop Gustavo Nunez got the lone hit for the three Lakeland defensive selections and scored one of the North’s runs in the 5-4, 10-inning loss to the South. First baseman Rawley Bishop was held in check in four at bats, while outfielder Kody Kaiser was 0-for-2 with an intentionally walk. Pitcher Brayan Villarreal set the South down in order in the fourth inning on three ground outs. Lakeland’s fifth selection to the game, Charlie Furbush, had pitched on Thursday night and therefore did not pitch in the All-Star game. Defensively, Nunez and Bishop participated in three double plays.
CAIN HANGS UP HIS CLEATS ... Former Flying Tiger Nolan Cain has announced his retirement after being placed on the disabled list with a partially torn UCL in his right elbow. TigsTown reports that rather than face surgery and more rehab, he opted to retire.
THE DRAFT’S ALL-RELATIVE ... Among Detroit’s 50 picks in last week’s Major League Draft were several players with professional legacies. Their 48th pick was spent on Chance Ruffin, a RHP from the University of Texas, who is the son of former Major Leaguer Bruce Ruffin. With their eighth-round pick, the Tigers tapped Patrick Leyland, a high school catcher from Pennsylvania, who happens to be the son of Tiger Manager Jim Leyland. In the 17th round, Detroit picked Drew Gagnier, a RHP out of the University of Oregon, whose brother L.J. Gagnier played for Lakeland last season. With their 25th-round selection, the Tigers picked Shawn Teufel, a LHP out of Liberty University, the son of former Major Leaguer Tim Teufel. Another former Major Leaguer, Lloyd McClendon, saw his son, Bob McClendon, go to Detroit in the 39th round out of Valparaiso University. Hoping pitching is in his genes, Detroit picked up Ben Verlander, a RHP high school pitcher from Virginia. He is the younger brother of Tiger hurler Justin Verlander.
I KNOW YOU ... Jim Jaworski, the Daytona’s ticket and group sales manager, interned with the Flying Tigers last season. From Crown Point, Indiana, Jim went to Saint Joseph’s College in Indiana where he played baseball for four season for the Pumas.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Mission Notes vs. Tampa (June 9-10)
THE FLYING TIGERS (33-25) - With their 9-1 win on Tuesday over Fort Myers coupled with Dunedin’s 4-3 loss to St. Lucie, the Flying Tigers are back to 1.5 games out of first place in the North Division. With 12 games to play, Lakeland has two games left with Tampa (30-27), six games against Daytona (28-31) and four with Brevard County (22-25). The Blue Jays have two games with Clearwater, six games with Tampa and three with Daytona. With their 13 hits on Tuesday, Lakeland now has the highest team batting average (.270 - one point better than Bradenton) in the league as well as the lowest ERA (2.84) in the FSL. Lakeland has also walked the fewest batter (121) of any team.
THE YANKEES (30-27) ... With all the attention on Dunedin, Lakeland may need to look in their rear view mirrors as the Yankees are lurking in third place, 2.5 games behind the Flying Tigers and 4.0 games behind Dunedin. With six games against Dunedin and two against Lakeland, the Yankees could make a surge to set up a repeat FSL title, or at least play spoiler in the first half. Tampa is seventh in the FSL with a .254 average and second behind Lakeland with a 3.25 staff ERA.
LAKELAND’s PROBABLE STARTERS ... Wed @ LAK: Adam Wilk (4-3, 3.60); Thu @ TPA: Charlie Furbush (4-3, 2.62).
THE SERIES ... These two clubs have locked horns 11 times with Lakeland holding a 6-5 edge. The Yankees shutout the Flying Tigers in three of their first four meetings while Lakeland swept their last three meetings on May 24-26.
LUCKY 7 ... Brayan Villarreal held Fort Myers to one run on three hits while striking out five and walking three in seven innings on Tuesday to pick up the win and become the Florida State League’s first seven-game winner. Villarreal is 7-3 with a 3.33 ERA.
KAISER STOPPED AT 21 ... Kody Kaiser saw hit 21-game hit streak come to end on June 6 as he was held hitless against Fort Myers. The 21 games is longest streak in FSL this season. Kaiser batted .467 during the streak that started on May 15.
KAISER TAKES OVER FSL LEAD ... With three hits in Tuesday’s game (including a double and home run), Kody Kaiser easily held on to his lead in the FSL batting race. The Flying Tiger outfielder now leads the league with a .358 mark - seven points higher than Bradenton’s Brock Holt. Kaiser leads the FSL with 77 hits, is second with six triples and third with 115 total bases as well as fourth with 39 RBI and a .535 slugging percentage.
OTHERS FLYING HIGH IN THE FSL STATS ... Alden Carrithers leads the FSL with a .452 on base percentage, second with 36 walks and is third with a .346 average. Rawley Bishop is tied for the league lead with 37 runs scored and is tied for second with 68 hits and 18 doubles as well as fifth with a .332 average.
ARMED AS WELL ... Luke Putkonen is third in the FSL with a 2.58 ERA. Charlie Furbush leads the league with 98 strikeouts, 12.84 strikeouts per nine innings pitched and a 0.92 WHIP (walks + hits per inning pitched) and is fourth in the league with a 2.62 ERA. His .198 opponents’ batting average is second best in the league. Brayan Villarreal leads the FSL with seven wins. Adam Wilk leads the FSL with 1.01 walks per nine innings pitched.
MARTINEZ AT EIGHT AND COUNTING ... Francisco Martinez enters the Tampa series with an eight-game hit streak in which he is hitting 14-for-32 (.438). He had three hits on Tuesday and has driven in six runs in his last six games. He has now a 10-game hit streak at home.
NOWLIN KNOW HOW ... Billy Nowlin has had hits in 11 of his last 12 games played and is 17-for-43 (.395) during that span. Nowlin has reached base in 21 consecutive games - the longest active streak in the Florida State League.
FLYING HIGH ... Daniel Fields has hits in four straight games and is 6-for-14 (429) in those games with five runs batted in. Julio Rodriguez is 5-for-15 (.333) his last four games with two doubles and three runs batted in.
ANOTHER THREE-FER ... Kody Kaiser collected three hits in Tuesday’s game, marking the fifth time in the last 13 games and eighth time this season in which he has had three or more hits.
FABULOUS FURBUSH ... Charlie Furbush, who is slated to take the mound on Thursday at Tampa, leads all of baseball (majors and minors) with 98 strikeouts. Last season, Furbush struck out 93 in 24 games. This season, he has punched out 98 in 68.2 innings. The 6’5” lefty needs just two more strikeouts to become the 31st Lakeland pitcher since 1978 to reach the century mark. Only 10 Lakeland pitchers have done so in the 2000’s with the last being L.J. Gagnier who had 123 in 23 games last season. The team record (since 1978) is 134, set by Rich Lacke in 1978 and matched by Jordan Tata in 2005.
SIGHTS ON FIRST ... With the first half pennant race approaching the finish line, Lakeland will be looking for its first first-half title since the 2005 team captured both halves of the season. The 2005 team went on the league championship where it fell to Palm Beach in five games. Should Lakeland take the first half, it would be their fifth first-half championship since the league went to split seasons in 1988.
FOUR FLYING TIGERS NAMED TO ALL-STAR TEAM ... Pitchers Charlie Furbush and Brayan Villarreal along with first baseman Rawley Bishop and outfielder Kody Kaiser have been named to the 2010 FSL Mid-Season All-Star Game and will represent Lakeland in the 49th Annual event on June 12 in Viera.
FIVE YANKEES NAMED ALL-STARS ... Catcher Mitch Albeita, outfielder Jack Rye, second baseman Corban Joseph and pitchers Hector Noesi and Adam Warren were selected to the Florida State League All-Star team. Noesi has since been promoted to AA Trenton.
WEDNESDAY: ALL-YOU-CAN-WIN NIGHT ... One of Lakeland’s fan favorite promotions is All-You-Can-Eat Wednesdays with a game ticket and various AYCE concessions for $10. The Flying Tigers like the event so well, the team is 6-2 on Wednesday nights. It is not as popular however as Tear-Em-Up Tuesdays in which Lakeland is an amazing 8-1 with six-straight wins.
THE YANKEES (30-27) ... With all the attention on Dunedin, Lakeland may need to look in their rear view mirrors as the Yankees are lurking in third place, 2.5 games behind the Flying Tigers and 4.0 games behind Dunedin. With six games against Dunedin and two against Lakeland, the Yankees could make a surge to set up a repeat FSL title, or at least play spoiler in the first half. Tampa is seventh in the FSL with a .254 average and second behind Lakeland with a 3.25 staff ERA.
LAKELAND’s PROBABLE STARTERS ... Wed @ LAK: Adam Wilk (4-3, 3.60); Thu @ TPA: Charlie Furbush (4-3, 2.62).
THE SERIES ... These two clubs have locked horns 11 times with Lakeland holding a 6-5 edge. The Yankees shutout the Flying Tigers in three of their first four meetings while Lakeland swept their last three meetings on May 24-26.
LUCKY 7 ... Brayan Villarreal held Fort Myers to one run on three hits while striking out five and walking three in seven innings on Tuesday to pick up the win and become the Florida State League’s first seven-game winner. Villarreal is 7-3 with a 3.33 ERA.
KAISER STOPPED AT 21 ... Kody Kaiser saw hit 21-game hit streak come to end on June 6 as he was held hitless against Fort Myers. The 21 games is longest streak in FSL this season. Kaiser batted .467 during the streak that started on May 15.
KAISER TAKES OVER FSL LEAD ... With three hits in Tuesday’s game (including a double and home run), Kody Kaiser easily held on to his lead in the FSL batting race. The Flying Tiger outfielder now leads the league with a .358 mark - seven points higher than Bradenton’s Brock Holt. Kaiser leads the FSL with 77 hits, is second with six triples and third with 115 total bases as well as fourth with 39 RBI and a .535 slugging percentage.
OTHERS FLYING HIGH IN THE FSL STATS ... Alden Carrithers leads the FSL with a .452 on base percentage, second with 36 walks and is third with a .346 average. Rawley Bishop is tied for the league lead with 37 runs scored and is tied for second with 68 hits and 18 doubles as well as fifth with a .332 average.
ARMED AS WELL ... Luke Putkonen is third in the FSL with a 2.58 ERA. Charlie Furbush leads the league with 98 strikeouts, 12.84 strikeouts per nine innings pitched and a 0.92 WHIP (walks + hits per inning pitched) and is fourth in the league with a 2.62 ERA. His .198 opponents’ batting average is second best in the league. Brayan Villarreal leads the FSL with seven wins. Adam Wilk leads the FSL with 1.01 walks per nine innings pitched.
MARTINEZ AT EIGHT AND COUNTING ... Francisco Martinez enters the Tampa series with an eight-game hit streak in which he is hitting 14-for-32 (.438). He had three hits on Tuesday and has driven in six runs in his last six games. He has now a 10-game hit streak at home.
NOWLIN KNOW HOW ... Billy Nowlin has had hits in 11 of his last 12 games played and is 17-for-43 (.395) during that span. Nowlin has reached base in 21 consecutive games - the longest active streak in the Florida State League.
FLYING HIGH ... Daniel Fields has hits in four straight games and is 6-for-14 (429) in those games with five runs batted in. Julio Rodriguez is 5-for-15 (.333) his last four games with two doubles and three runs batted in.
ANOTHER THREE-FER ... Kody Kaiser collected three hits in Tuesday’s game, marking the fifth time in the last 13 games and eighth time this season in which he has had three or more hits.
FABULOUS FURBUSH ... Charlie Furbush, who is slated to take the mound on Thursday at Tampa, leads all of baseball (majors and minors) with 98 strikeouts. Last season, Furbush struck out 93 in 24 games. This season, he has punched out 98 in 68.2 innings. The 6’5” lefty needs just two more strikeouts to become the 31st Lakeland pitcher since 1978 to reach the century mark. Only 10 Lakeland pitchers have done so in the 2000’s with the last being L.J. Gagnier who had 123 in 23 games last season. The team record (since 1978) is 134, set by Rich Lacke in 1978 and matched by Jordan Tata in 2005.
SIGHTS ON FIRST ... With the first half pennant race approaching the finish line, Lakeland will be looking for its first first-half title since the 2005 team captured both halves of the season. The 2005 team went on the league championship where it fell to Palm Beach in five games. Should Lakeland take the first half, it would be their fifth first-half championship since the league went to split seasons in 1988.
FOUR FLYING TIGERS NAMED TO ALL-STAR TEAM ... Pitchers Charlie Furbush and Brayan Villarreal along with first baseman Rawley Bishop and outfielder Kody Kaiser have been named to the 2010 FSL Mid-Season All-Star Game and will represent Lakeland in the 49th Annual event on June 12 in Viera.
FIVE YANKEES NAMED ALL-STARS ... Catcher Mitch Albeita, outfielder Jack Rye, second baseman Corban Joseph and pitchers Hector Noesi and Adam Warren were selected to the Florida State League All-Star team. Noesi has since been promoted to AA Trenton.
WEDNESDAY: ALL-YOU-CAN-WIN NIGHT ... One of Lakeland’s fan favorite promotions is All-You-Can-Eat Wednesdays with a game ticket and various AYCE concessions for $10. The Flying Tigers like the event so well, the team is 6-2 on Wednesday nights. It is not as popular however as Tear-Em-Up Tuesdays in which Lakeland is an amazing 8-1 with six-straight wins.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Mission Notes vs. Fort Myers (June 5-8)
THE FLYING TIGERS (31-23) - Three Lakeland pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout on Friday as the Flying Tigers downed Bradenton 3-0 at Joker Marchant Stadium. Adam Wilk tossed six strong innings holding the top-hitting team in the FSL to a pair of singles while striking out five and walking none. The win snaps a two-game losing streak for Lakeland and allows the Flying Tigers to keep pace with Dunedin which also won Friday. Lakeland now trails Dunedin by 1.5 games. Lakeland has the best ERA at 2.89 and is second with a .268 team batting average.
THE MIRACLE (23-31) ... Fort Myers dropped a 12-6 loss to Dunedin on Friday as the two clubs combined for 25 hits. The loss drops the Miracle to 23-31 and 8.0 games behind Bradenton in the South Division. The Miracle has the second lowest batting average in the FSL at .240 and ranks ninth with a 3.90 ERA.
LAKELAND’s PROBABLE STARTERS ... Sat: Charlie Furbush (3-3, 2.76); Sun: Luke Putkonen (6-2, 2.59); Mon: Mark Sorensen (4-5, 4.06); Tue: Brayan Villarreal (6-3, 3.71).
THE SERIES ... Lakeland is facing the Miracle for the first time this season and will now have played every team in the Florida State League. Last season, Fort Myers won six of the seven games played between the two clubs. Three of the scheduled dates were postponed due to rain.
KAISER AT 20 ... Kody Kaiser tripled in his first at bat last night to extend his hit streak to 20 games - the longest streak in the FSL. He is hitting .481 during the streak which began back on May 15. In his 20 games, he has scored 14 runs with 39 hits, including seven doubles, two triples and a homer along with nine walks.
KAISER TAKES OVER FSL LEAD ... With a 1x3 night on Friday, Kody Kaiser’s batting average dropped to .355 on the season. However, Bradenton’s Brock Holt, who entered Friday’s game against Lakeland leading the FSL in batting, was held hitless in four at bats to slip to .351, just one point ahead of Alden Carrithers’ .350 mark. Rawley Bishop is now at .335 to rank sixth. Kaiser also leads the FSL with 70 hits.
TWO MORE STREAKING ... Along with his 20-game hit streak, Kody Kaiser has (obviously) reached base in 20 consecutive games. It’s the longest active streak in the FSL now that Alden Carrithers streak was snapped at 32 on June 3. The second longest active streak now belongs to Billy Nowlin who has reached base in 18 consecutive games.
WELCOME BACK, BEN ... The Flying Tigers welcomed back outfielder Ben Guez on Friday. Guez opened the season at Lakeland and then was promoted to AAA Toledo after just nine games. At Toledo, Guez was batting .273 with five doubles and two homers in 23 games. To make room on the roster, Chao-Ting Tang was sent back to extended spring training.
JOSH BACK AT WORK, MAN ... The Flying Tigers activated Josh Workman from the disabled list where he had been since May 20 with a groin problem.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ERIK ... Pitcher Erik Crichton will turn 25 on Sunday, June 6.
DEFENSE STILL LEADS LEAGUE ... Lakeland’s .978 fielding percentage leads the FSL while Rawley Bishop (1 error in 379 total chances), Alden Carrithers, and Gustavo Nunez are tops at their positions.
CATCHING DOMINOES ... When former Lakeland catcher Max St. Pierre went on the disabled list at Toledo with a injured finger, Jeff Kunkel was promoted from Erie to Toledo. Flying Tiger Angel Flores was then sent to Erie while Luis Sanz was added to Lakeland from extended spring training.
FURBUSH FLASH ... Heading into Saturday’s games, Charlie Furbush is second in all of minor league baseball with 90 strikeouts. He trails only Mike Minor of the Mississippi Braves (AA) who has 91 punch outs on the year. Furbush has struck out 10 or more in each of his last three starts and has 54 strikeouts in his last five games. He needs 10 more strikeouts to reach the century mark and become just the 11th Lakeland pitcher in the 2000s to reach triple digits and the 31st since 1978.
ARMS FLYING HIGH ... Reliever Cory Hamilton has yet to be scored upon in eight appearances (including two on Friday) since joining Lakeland while Luke Putkonen is 5-0 with a 1.60 ERA in his last five starts.
FOUR FLYING TIGERS NAMED TO ALL-STAR TEAM ... Pitchers Charlie Furbush and Brayan Villarreal along with first baseman Rawley Bishop and outfielder Kody Kaiser have been named to the 2010 FSL Mid-Season All-Star Game and will represent Lakeland in the 49th Annual event on June 12 in Viera.
FOUR MIRACLE PICKED, ONE GOING ... Four Fort Myers players were named to the Florida State League All-Star game as well. Selected in a vote of league managers, official scorers and club sports writers were pitchers Billy Bullock, Kyle Gibson, Bobby Lanigan and infielder Yangervis Solarte. However, only Bullock will make the trip to the game as Lanigan is on the DL while Gibson and Solarte have been promoted to AA New Britain.
BIG LEAGUE BRO ... Miracle manager Jake Mauer is the brother of Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer.
SHOOTER ... Miracle Pitcher Steven Hunt was a first-round draft pick of the Twins in 2008 out of Tulane University. He goes by the name “Shooter”.
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR ... The Miracle take the World Serious, so to speak with three players from far side of the Earth. Liam Hendriks hails from Perth, Australia while Brad Tippet is also from down under, specifically Sydney, Australia. In addition, Andrei Lobanov is from Moscow, Russia.
FELLOW TIGERS ... Lakeland’s Charlie Furbush and Fort Myers’ David Martin were teammates at Louisiana State University.
DID YOU KNOW? ... When former Flying Tiger Danny Worth played at Pepperdine University, the team’s batboys were the sons of former Baywatch starlet, Pamela Anderson.
THE MIRACLE (23-31) ... Fort Myers dropped a 12-6 loss to Dunedin on Friday as the two clubs combined for 25 hits. The loss drops the Miracle to 23-31 and 8.0 games behind Bradenton in the South Division. The Miracle has the second lowest batting average in the FSL at .240 and ranks ninth with a 3.90 ERA.
LAKELAND’s PROBABLE STARTERS ... Sat: Charlie Furbush (3-3, 2.76); Sun: Luke Putkonen (6-2, 2.59); Mon: Mark Sorensen (4-5, 4.06); Tue: Brayan Villarreal (6-3, 3.71).
THE SERIES ... Lakeland is facing the Miracle for the first time this season and will now have played every team in the Florida State League. Last season, Fort Myers won six of the seven games played between the two clubs. Three of the scheduled dates were postponed due to rain.
KAISER AT 20 ... Kody Kaiser tripled in his first at bat last night to extend his hit streak to 20 games - the longest streak in the FSL. He is hitting .481 during the streak which began back on May 15. In his 20 games, he has scored 14 runs with 39 hits, including seven doubles, two triples and a homer along with nine walks.
KAISER TAKES OVER FSL LEAD ... With a 1x3 night on Friday, Kody Kaiser’s batting average dropped to .355 on the season. However, Bradenton’s Brock Holt, who entered Friday’s game against Lakeland leading the FSL in batting, was held hitless in four at bats to slip to .351, just one point ahead of Alden Carrithers’ .350 mark. Rawley Bishop is now at .335 to rank sixth. Kaiser also leads the FSL with 70 hits.
TWO MORE STREAKING ... Along with his 20-game hit streak, Kody Kaiser has (obviously) reached base in 20 consecutive games. It’s the longest active streak in the FSL now that Alden Carrithers streak was snapped at 32 on June 3. The second longest active streak now belongs to Billy Nowlin who has reached base in 18 consecutive games.
WELCOME BACK, BEN ... The Flying Tigers welcomed back outfielder Ben Guez on Friday. Guez opened the season at Lakeland and then was promoted to AAA Toledo after just nine games. At Toledo, Guez was batting .273 with five doubles and two homers in 23 games. To make room on the roster, Chao-Ting Tang was sent back to extended spring training.
JOSH BACK AT WORK, MAN ... The Flying Tigers activated Josh Workman from the disabled list where he had been since May 20 with a groin problem.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ERIK ... Pitcher Erik Crichton will turn 25 on Sunday, June 6.
DEFENSE STILL LEADS LEAGUE ... Lakeland’s .978 fielding percentage leads the FSL while Rawley Bishop (1 error in 379 total chances), Alden Carrithers, and Gustavo Nunez are tops at their positions.
CATCHING DOMINOES ... When former Lakeland catcher Max St. Pierre went on the disabled list at Toledo with a injured finger, Jeff Kunkel was promoted from Erie to Toledo. Flying Tiger Angel Flores was then sent to Erie while Luis Sanz was added to Lakeland from extended spring training.
FURBUSH FLASH ... Heading into Saturday’s games, Charlie Furbush is second in all of minor league baseball with 90 strikeouts. He trails only Mike Minor of the Mississippi Braves (AA) who has 91 punch outs on the year. Furbush has struck out 10 or more in each of his last three starts and has 54 strikeouts in his last five games. He needs 10 more strikeouts to reach the century mark and become just the 11th Lakeland pitcher in the 2000s to reach triple digits and the 31st since 1978.
ARMS FLYING HIGH ... Reliever Cory Hamilton has yet to be scored upon in eight appearances (including two on Friday) since joining Lakeland while Luke Putkonen is 5-0 with a 1.60 ERA in his last five starts.
FOUR FLYING TIGERS NAMED TO ALL-STAR TEAM ... Pitchers Charlie Furbush and Brayan Villarreal along with first baseman Rawley Bishop and outfielder Kody Kaiser have been named to the 2010 FSL Mid-Season All-Star Game and will represent Lakeland in the 49th Annual event on June 12 in Viera.
FOUR MIRACLE PICKED, ONE GOING ... Four Fort Myers players were named to the Florida State League All-Star game as well. Selected in a vote of league managers, official scorers and club sports writers were pitchers Billy Bullock, Kyle Gibson, Bobby Lanigan and infielder Yangervis Solarte. However, only Bullock will make the trip to the game as Lanigan is on the DL while Gibson and Solarte have been promoted to AA New Britain.
BIG LEAGUE BRO ... Miracle manager Jake Mauer is the brother of Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer.
SHOOTER ... Miracle Pitcher Steven Hunt was a first-round draft pick of the Twins in 2008 out of Tulane University. He goes by the name “Shooter”.
INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR ... The Miracle take the World Serious, so to speak with three players from far side of the Earth. Liam Hendriks hails from Perth, Australia while Brad Tippet is also from down under, specifically Sydney, Australia. In addition, Andrei Lobanov is from Moscow, Russia.
FELLOW TIGERS ... Lakeland’s Charlie Furbush and Fort Myers’ David Martin were teammates at Louisiana State University.
DID YOU KNOW? ... When former Flying Tiger Danny Worth played at Pepperdine University, the team’s batboys were the sons of former Baywatch starlet, Pamela Anderson.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)