AFL Update: October 26, 2010

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Oct 262010
 

Just three Nationals saw action in the Scottsdale Scorpions’ 5-4 loss to the Peoria Saguaros on Monday…

  • Steve Lombardozzi led off and played 2B, going 1-for-3 with a walk, a strikeout, and a run scored
  • Derek Norris played catcher and batted fifth, driving in a run on a sacrifice fly and drawing a walk but o-for-2 otherwise; no baserunners attempted to steal against him
  • Adam Carr pitched the fifth and sixth innings and gave up 2 runs on three hits but issued no walks and struck out one

Scottsdale remains in first place in the AFL American division, leading second-place Mesa by one game.  They host the Peoria Javelinas tonight.

AFL Update: October 25, 2010

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Oct 252010
 

Here’s a look at how the Nationals fared over the weekend in the Arizona Fall League…

FRIDAY
The Scottsdale Scorpions pounded the Peoria Javelinas 12-4

  • Steve Lombardozzi led off and played second base, helping to turn two double plays and going 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI (via sac fly).
  • Sammy Solis started and got torched for four runs (all earned) on four hits and three walks over three innings. He struck out three.
  • Brad Peacock got his second hold with a scoreless inning of relief, alowing one hit and striking out two.

SATURDAY
Scottsdale cruised to its eighth win in eleven games with a 6-1 decision over the Phoenix Desert Dogs

  • Derek Norris caught and batted cleanup, swatting his second home run of the fall campaign in a 1-for-3 night with a run scored, a walk, a strikeout, and two RBI. He threw out another baserunner.
  • Michael Burgess batted seventh and played RF, going 1-for-4 with two RBI and a strikeout.
  • Bryce Harper was the DH and went 2-for-4 with a strikeout.
  • Cole Kimball was touched for a run on two hits and a walk while pitching the ninth.

After 11 games, the stats…

BATTERS

PLAYER G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG OBP SLG SB
Lombardozzi 6 24 6 6 4 0 0 2 4 2 .250 .367 .417 0
Burgess 7 24 2 6 1 0 0 4 3 8 .250 .321 .292 1
Norris 6 19 4 6 1 1 2 6 5 7 .316 .480 .789 1
Harper 2 8 0 3 1 0 0 2 0 1 .375 .375 .500 0

PITCHERS

PLAYER W L SV ERA G IP H R ER BB SO WHIP HLD GF
Solis 0 0 0 6.75 2 6⅔ 6 5 5 4 4 1.500 0 0
Peacock 0 0 0 1.50 4 6 4 1 1 1 12 0.833 2 0
Kimball 0 0 1 1.80 4 5 3 1 1 1 5 0.800 0 4
Carr 1 0 0 2.25 3 4 2 1 1 2 2 1.000 0 1

AFL Update: October 22, 2010

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Oct 222010
 

In the downtime between Bryce Harper appearances, we’ll still keep you updated on how that Nats did in AFL action. Last night, three players were in the game, which the Scottsdale Scorpions lost 4-2…

  • Derek Norris caught and batted cleanup but went o-for-3 and threw out a baserunner.
    He was also hit by a pitch.
  • Michael Burgess played RF and batted eighth, going 1-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and two strikeouts.
  • Adam Carr pitched a scoreless eighth inning and struck out one.

Scottsdale’s record stands at 6-3, tied for first place in the AFL American Division with the Mesa Solar Sox.
Sammy Solis is expected to get the start tonight against the Peoria Javelinas.

AFL Update: October 21, 2010

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Oct 212010
 

By now, most of you have heard that Bryce Harper made his debut yesterday and went 1-for-4 with a double and 2 RBI, but for those that haven’t, here’s the story on MiLB.com. And if you haven’t seen Adam Kilgore’s story on Derek Norris, it’s worth a look.

Otherwise, it was a light night on the Nats front as the only player to see game action was Steve Lombardozzi. He batted leadoff, played second base, went 1-for-4 (double) with a walk and two runs scored in a 6-3 Scottsdale Scorpions win. He was also caught stealing.

AFL Update: October 20, 2010

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Oct 202010
 

The debut of Bryce Harper is expected to be tonight, which should temper the stories about the hopes and anticipation and with any luck, put the focus on the field instead of the tone-deaf proclamations about the future (hence the picture).

Meanwhile, after a night in which just one Nat played, five saw action on Tuesday night…

  • Steve Lombardozzi drew a walk and scored a run while going o-for-3 and leading off and playing second base
  • Derek Norris caught and batted cleanup, tripling in a run but striking out three times. Defensively, he allowed a stolen base and a passed ball
  • Michael Burgess batted seventh and scored two runs while going 1-for-3
  • Brad Peacock earned a hold with two hitless innings, walking one and striking out three; he also picked off a runner
  • Cole Kimball pitched the final two innings for a save, allowing one hit and setting down one on strikes. He also threw a wild pitch

Scottsdale won 5-4 to improve to 5-2 in the AFL East and hosts the Mesa Solar Sox tonight.

AFL Update: October 19, 2010

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Oct 192010
 

Just a quick update before the wires start buzzing about the expected debut of Bryce Harper today.

Scottsdale fell 6-4 to the Surprise Rafters. Michael Burgess was the lone Nat to see game action, as Derek Norris was a late scratch (see link above for more details). Burgess went 1-for-3 with a sac-fly RBI while batting eighth and playing right field.

AFL Update: October 18, 2010

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Oct 182010
 

Here’s a look at how the Nationals fared over the weekend in the Arizona Fall League…

FRIDAY
The Scottsdale Scorpions pounded the Phoenix Desert Dogs, 11-4

  • Michael Burgess went 1-for-4 with 3 K’s as the DH
  • Brad Peacock struck out the side while pitching the sixth but gave up a run on two hits
  • Cole Kimball pitched a 1-2-3 ninth and struck out one

SATURDAY
With a 6-4 win over the Peoria Javelinas, the Scottsdale Scorpions improved to 4-1

  • Sammy Solis got the start and allowed a run on two hits and a walk over three innings while striking out one. He also picked off a runner
  • Adam Carr pitched two scoreless innings to get the win while walking one and striking out one
  • Steve Lombardozzi played 2B and batted leadoff, going 1-for-3 with a double and a walk and scored two runs
  • Derek Norris caught and batted cleanup, going 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, a run scored, and a stolen base. He threw out the only runner to attempt a steal against him

After five games…

BATTERS

PLAYER G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG OBP SLG SB
Lombardozzi 4 14 3 4 3 0 0 1 1 2 .286 .375 .500 0
Norris 3 9 3 4 1 0 1 3 4 3 .444 .615 .889 1
Burgess 3 10 0 2 0 0 0 0 3 4 .200 .385 .200 1

PITCHERS

PLAYER W L SV ERA G IP R ER HR BB SO WHIP HLD GF
Peacock 0 0 0 3.00 2 3 1 1 0 0 7 1.000 0 0
Solis 0 0 0 3.00 1 3 2 1 0 1 1 1.000 0 0
Carr 1 0 0 3.00 2 3 2 1 0 2 1 1.333 0 0
Kimball 0 0 0 0.00 2 2 0 0 0 0 4 0.000 0 2

AFL Update: October 15, 2010

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Oct 152010
 

Four Nats saw action in yesterday’s 5-1 loss by the Scottsdale Scorpions to the Phoenix Desert Dogs…

  • Steve Lombardozzi was the DH and went 1-for-5 with a run scored
  • Derek Norris caught and went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout; he was 0-for-1 in throwing out runners
  • Michael Burgess played RF and went 1-for-3 with a walk, a strikeout, and a stolen base; he committed an error
  • Adam Carr pitched the 8th inning and allowed a run on two hits and walk and did not strike out a batter

AFL Update: October 14, 2010

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Oct 142010
 

By now, you’ve heard that Bryce Harper has been assigned to the taxi squad and will play twice a week. As I put in one of the comments last night, I believe this is a move that has more to do keeping Harper under the watchful eye tutelage of one of the best baseball men in the system (Randy Knorr) than it is exposing him to high-level competition. From a PR standpoint, it’s also a nice gesture to appease the impatient DC fans (today’s submission from the department of redundancy department).

Anyway, just two Nationals saw action in yesterday’s 9-1 win by the Scottsdale Scorpions, but the results are what we love to see…

…Steve Lombardozzi doubled in his first two at-bats and went 2-for-6 overall while scoring a run. Defensively, he made just one play.

…Cole Kimball pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out the side, which included Minnesota’s Joe Benson, and San Diego farmhands Luis Martinez and Cole Figueroa (seriously, what was up with the name “Cole” in the mid-to-late 80s?).

AFL Update: October 13, 2010

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Oct 132010
 

Here’s a peek at how the Nationals did yesterday for the Scottsdale Scorpions, who won 4-3 over the Peoria Saguaros…

  • Derek Norris 1-2, 2R, 2BB, HR, 2 RBI
  • Mike Burgess 0-3, BB
  • Brad Peacock 2IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 4K

UPDATE: MLB.com’s Bill Ladson is reporting that Bryce Harper will be assigned to the Scorpions’ taxi squad and will play roughly twice a week.

A few other odds & ends (be thankful I opted not to lead with that for the picture ;-) …

…Wilson Ramos was the lone National in the Baseball America International League Top 20, coming in at #18. The good news is that scouts like him defensively, and describe him as having “above-average raw power.” The bad news: He needs to work on game-management and pitch-calling. Before folks chime in about having Ramos and Rodriguez working together, remember that the knock on Pudge for his entire career has been in these two areas.

…The folks at Ballpark Digest named the new Metro Park in Harrisburg as the renovation of the year and I couldn’t agree more.

…Sickels weighed in on an age-old question of young pitcher development.

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