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AFL Update: November 3, 2011

Derek Norris gave ammunition for both his fans and his haters in a 5-4 Scottsdale loss last night.

The 22-year-old went 2-for-5 at the plate with a run scored and two RBI, extending his hit streak to 10 games. Behind the dish, he allowed a passed ball in the 5th, committed an error while attempting to throw out a runner in the 7th, then gunned down a runner in 9th. The “stuck at .210” catcher is now batting .358 but is down with OBP (yeah, you know me) at .446 clip.

Zach Walters played third base again and went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts but drove in a run via the sacrifice fly. He had no defensive chances.

Pat Lehman turned in another scoreless inning, allowing a hit but striking out two and walking none. MASN’s Byron Kerr has the story on the adjustment that pitching coach Paul Menhart helped Lehman make.

Rafael “La Ligua Cerveza” Martin turned in an identical line to Lehman’s, lowering his ERA to 2.25 in his sixth appearance this fall.

The Scorpions rematch against the Saguaros this afternoon in Peoria.

7 Commments

    1. Thanks for the heads-up. For now it’ll probably be just a tweet and an add-on to tomorrow’s post, but the online post/chat is scheduled for next Wednesday.

  2. I’m still wondering the wisdom of ranking guys who haven’t even played pro ball yet.

    I know small sample size but…………… I’d love to know what people in AZ are really saying about Purke.
    Keith Law said he showed nothing at all. Just sayin’.

    1. Mark: Draft-year rankings are a sore point with me, but I’m learning to take them with a few grains of salt, since they’re pure projection. BA’s player projections almost always skew young, and favor FB speed in pitchers.

      An OBP of .400+ in College, or a HS arm that clocks 95, and as Sue_D noted, they’re suddenly typing with one hand.

  3. It’s fun to guess the picks. But where does one slot a Purke, who, if healthy, could be as high as number three. On the other hand, I’m not optimistic that he will ever get close to becoming a major league player.
    I had all ten in my top fifteen. My other five were Marrero and Ray (in my top ten) Hood, Milone, and either Turnbull or Rosenbaum.

  4. I believe it is way too early to yea or nay on Purke. Let’s see what Spring brings. Speaking of haters, what say y’all in the catagoy about the current boomlet to have Harper make the 25 man roster out of ST?

    1. On Harper: I’m one that leads toward patience and an organizational philosophy of mastering the levels. He’d have to absolutely rake in Spring Training to earn a spot for me and show defensive improvement. I don’t want to see him learning the outfield in the bigs.

      I”m for Harrisburg,, but again, the speculation is way early.

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