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Tuesday’s News & Notes

Two losses, an off day, an AWOL box score, and a "rainout" on Monday

The Quick Rundown…

Team Yesterday’s Result Today’s Game Pitching Matchup
Syracuse Chiefs Lost, 8-3 vs. Scranton/WB, 7:00 p.m. Ross Detwiler (5-5, 5.13) vs.
Adam Warren (4-2, 3.53)
Harrisburg Senators OFF DAY @ Trenton, 7:05 p.m. Garrett Mock (0-0, 9.00) vs.
Shaeffer Hall (5-3, 4.00)
Potomac Nationals Postponed vs. Myrtle Beach, 6:05 p.m.
(doubleheader)		 Cameron Selik (1-4, 4.11) and
Danny Rosenbaum (4-3, 2.50) vs.
Justin Grimm (2-0, 0.96) and
Barret Loux (5-3, 3.75)
Hagerstown Suns Lost, 3-1 @ Lakewood, 7:05 p.m. Sammy Solis (1-0, 3.86) vs.
Jesse Biddle (3-6, 4.13)
DSL Nationals Game Not Reported vs./@ DSL Rangers TBD vs. TBD

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 8 Syracuse 3
• Gorzelanny (L, 0-1) 4IP, 5H, 4ER, BB, 3K, 3R HR
• J.D. Martin 4IP, 7H, 4ER, 0BB, 3K
• Aubrey 2-3, R, 2B, BB
• Blanco, 1-2, R, HR, RBI, 2BB
Tom Gorzelanny was not sharp in his first rehab start back from injury. The big blow was a three-run home run in the third inning that gave Scranton/Wilkes-Barre a 4-0 lead. Syracuse answered with a solo home run from George Blanco in the fourth. They added two runs against Andrew Brackman, who had replaced George Kontos in the fifth. A leadoff double from Michael Aubrey, followed by a Flores HBP, a Jesus Valdez single, and a Corey Brown sac fly led to the additional runs. The Yankees extended their lead in the top of the sixth with an RBI double from Greg Golson. They put it out of reach with three more runs against relievers Lee Hyde and Ryan Tatusko in the 9th.

Harrisburg Senators — OFF DAY
Despite getting swept at home by Akron, the Senators remain in first place by three games in the E.L. West. They’re back on the road for seven games in six days before returning to Harrisburg a week from today for a six-game homestand.

Potomac Nationals — PPD
Unplayable field conditions was the announced (offline) explanation for the postponement. A doubleheader is scheduled for tonight at 6:05 p.m. to make up the game.

Lakewood 3 Hagerstown 1
• Jordan (L, 6-3) 5IP, 4H, 3ER, 2BB, 4K
• Swynenberg 2IP, H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Freitas (1B) 3-4
• Kelso 2-4, R, K

With a 3-1 loss to Lakewood, Hagerstown’s lead is down to one over Greensboro and Hickory in the race for the first-half division title in the Sally League North. The Suns were eclipsed each time a runner reached the apex of the basepaths, going 0-for-10 with RISP and stranding nine runners — seven with two out in the inning. Starter Taylor Jordan’s winless streak was extended to six starts by allowing all three Lakewood runs over five innings on four hits and two walks. Brad Kelso and David Freitas, playing first base, combined for five of the eight Suns hits (Bryce Harper did not play. The magic number to clinch remains at seven with seven games to play, the last five of which are scheduled for Municipal Stadium, where the Suns have actually played worse than on the road (15-15 vs. 22-11).

DSL Nationals vs. DSL Phillies — Empty Box Score
We’ll put the link here so you can see for yourself, but as of this writing at ~7:55 a.m., it looked like LeBron James’s digitus quartus.

23 Commments

  2. Steve Lombardozzi was named Eastern League player of the week, with a .538 BA for the week … and .316 for the season so far. Any thoughts re how the logjam at MI (Lombardozzi, Hague, Kobernus, Kelso, Rendon et al) will play out?

    1. Not sure, but it appears to me that The RiZzO has decided that having a surplus of middle infielders and power arms is his draft strategy. Get the up the middle guys from within, get an outfielder and first basemen from without. Isn’t this stuff going to work itself out, though. Lombardozzi will likely have to master Syracuse just as Marrero is expected to. I think that Lombardozzi will be in Harrisburg all of this year and then guys will get bumped a year at a time.

      Are Kobernus and Hague really on the DC radar yet? Kobernus needs to show health. Hague had error issues. Other people here know how they are progressing on those concerns better than I do. Kelso needs to show us he can do it in Potomac. Rendon needs to show he can do it anywhere and stay healthy.

      I realize that it’s fun to start projecting when a bunch of guys are hitting well. In general, though, I think following the minors has taught me patience and to be ready for anything. Never thought Brad Peacock would pitch as well as he has. Never thought that JP Ramirez would be as overwhelmed by the Carolina League as his numbers say right now.

      Let’s enjoy the ride. To answer your question, though, I think Lombardozzi will get a chance at the MLB level to show that he’s a leadoff hitter. I’m not sure he’ll be able to hold that job for the long term, though, and I feel he (like Desmond) will settle out as a utility guy. By that time somebody with higher pedigree should be on his heels and we’ll see how things work out at that point.

      Hope that helps.
      -The Other SD

      1. Hague is close to becoming a nonentity at this point. He had 200 AB’s last year & 14 this year and he’s not playing again til next year. The rule is a player needs 600 AB’s to get the aluminum out of his swing and by the time he does that he’ll be what BinM would calls an ‘old fart’.
        I’d feel bad for him if injury wasn’t self-inflicted with a headfirst slide. The Nats gave him $400,000 so they’ll give him lots of chances.

        Totally agree with you on Peacock & J.P. Ramirez.

      2. Again, keep in mind that like Danny Espinosa Steve Lombardozzi is attempting to be a switch hitter. He comes from a solid major league family … still … switch hitting in the majors is not an easy thing. RiZzo (using SD spelling) and wise grey baseball heads decided to let Espinosa finish developing his switch-hitting skills in the majors in exchange for his superlative ultra UZR fielding. Bonus: he rakes when he bats right handed.

        In Lombardozzi’s case one should expect that Rizzo et all will insist he finish developing his switch-hitting in Harrisburg and Syracuse to be a close-to-major-league ready as possible.

        I expect to see Matt Antonelli in the majors before Steve Lombardozzi. However, a switch hitter who can make contact, get on base/produce a high OBP will likely start in Rizzo’s lineup as long as the fielding is top notch.

    1. Paul: Should be coming within the next few days. Both leagues start play next week, iirc.

  4. I would like to offer a moment of silence for all of those Harrisburg fans who will have to watch Garrett Mock start today. I’m praying for you Mock to bounce back, but I am praying for the fans across the Nats system who have had to watch your struggles even more.

    1. Sould: You called it – Mock’s line = 3.1IP, 9H, 7ER, 3BB, 4K, L. This is at AA level, people, and it’s sad. That’s twice in a row he’s been pummeled at this level.

      How long do we have to tolerate this before Rizzo decides to cut the string on him as a 40-man roster-worthy player? I hope it’s sooner than later, because the orginazition no longer lacks in choices for the 40-man replacement possibilities (Meyers or Milone from SYR, or Peacock from HAR jump to mind).

      1. What’s worse Mock is still on the 40-man roster??? And folks are lambasting Yunesky Maya? Wouldn’t it be nice if Milone, Bradley and Peacock were on the 40-man instead of Mock, Gaudin, and Chien-Ming Wang? I mean c’mon … I’m generall a Rizzo backer but this is getting ridiculous isn’t it?

        1. No need to put people on the 40-man who aren’t exposed to Rule 5 and aren’t going to be put in DC. Until we’re at 40 guys, no need to DFA Mock. All I ask is that the 40-man isn’t used as an excuse for not giving guys like Antonelli a well-earned shot at some point this year.

  5. At the game at Lakewood. The suns offense looks bad without Harper in the line up. Kelso and Frietas can not do it all. rest of the team needs to step up. this team needs a shot in the arm for the next 7 games
    Still in the drivers seats . LETS GO SUNSSSSSSSSSSSSS

  6. A very interesting article in The Daily News in NYC . Its a huge sports paper. I use to live in Queens, and they do a great job. Also people should learn from this kid Manno on how to communicate to the press. He answers the question thoughtfully and always has a positive spin to his answers. He better sound intelligent, he did graduate from Duke. (just kidding )

    I love the way he puts Harper before himself and I love the way he acts like a solid teammate.

    Harper once told an ESPN interviewer that he wanted to hit .430 in the big leagues and go down as the greatest hitter ever. Whether he has depth to match his ambition is a legitimate question, but nobody around the Suns seems to have any doubts about his makeup, or his talent, least of all Brooklyn’s Chris Manno, a 6-3 lefty closer out of Xaverian HS and Duke University, the one Sun who may be having an even better season than Harper (29 IP, 11 hits, 46 strikeouts. 0.31 ERA).

    “He absolutely rakes the ball,” Manno said. “And socially, in the locker room, he’s been great. He’s handled (his acclaim) as well as anybody I’ve ever been around.”

    Says Daubach, “To his credit, (Bryce) is just one of the guys – an 18-year-old learning to be a baseball player.”

    The Nationals won’t get into public discussions of their timetable for Harper. They’ve said they want him to play at every minor-league level, and if anything, the kiss of last week might just reinforce that thinking. Doug Harris is the Nationals’ director of player development.

    “Let’s lay the blocks before we put in some chandeliers and some granite countertops,” Harris said.

    Harris’ patience is prudent, and laudable even. It’s just that Bryce Harper’s future has a way of happening at its own pace. A few minutes after Harper finished crushing batting-practice pitches over the fence, Marlon Anderson talked about how hard Harper works and prepares, and how hard it was to believe that Bryce Harper is 18 years old. Anderson smiled, the look of a man who knows he won’t be teaching Bryce Harper how to hit for much longer. Then the prodigy went out and played a ballgame. You get the feeling the hard part for Bryce Harper is not going to be hitting the ball over the wall, it’ll be making sure he can keep his feeling of entitlement in the yard.

    Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/2011/06

  7. Hey Souldrummer – stop by and visit FB now and then, we miss your perspectives on the minors and majors 🙂

    As for Lombardozzi, sometimes I feel like he’s an updated version of Jamey Carroll, in that people spend so much time worrying about what he can’t do (power, arm, etc) that they lose track of the fact that he’s a good ballplayer.

    1. Yes, and Ryan Tatusko’s velocity increased dramatically once he joined the Nats coming over from the Ranger’s system. He was hitting 97-98. And did you notice that Drew Storen now hits 98 when he needs to?

      When Storen said they were working on his fast ball he wasn’t kidding. I suspect they have been doing the same with many of the new young prospects including Solis.

      Just wish they had a roving pitching instructor who spoke Spanish who could convince Yunesky Maya to bring back his 93-94 mph 2-seamer up-and-in pitch. Wonder what happened to it? Maybe Pudge could …

    2. Solis is definitely not a soft-tosser and the 91-92 is about what I saw a couple of weeks ago.

  9. I think the true glut of middle infielders in the entire system considers these 4 names: Desmond, Espinosa, Lombardozzi, and Rendon. To me, Kobernus looks like a bust, Hague looks like an outfielder-in-waiting, and Kelso is too old for low-A to really pass judgement on.

    I’d love to see Lombardozzi own the 2nd base/leadoff spot; his numbers throughout every level have been identical and perfect for a leadoff guy. Move Espinosa to SS (where he very well may be better than Desmond anyway), flip Desmond to a team that needs a good SS. Wait for Rendon’s bat to mature and move him to either first or left field. Make Harper a CF. Here’s your 2013 lineup:

    Lombardozzi (2b), Espinosa (ss), Zimmerman (3b), Harper (cf), Werth (rf), unknown power hitter (1b), Rendon (LF), Ramos (c). That’s strong.

    1. Consider what Rizzo said in one of his discussions with Ben Goessling (I think?) from a year or so ago. Colleges shortstops are usually the very best athletes. The most athletic. Converting them to another position from shortstop is usually fairly easy if they are any good. And the bat is most important. Its why Rendon was a steal. Its why they drafted Kobernus, Hague, etc.

    1. The one-handed typer at HarperMania.com is saying it’s to recover from nagging injuries.

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