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Monday’s News & Notes

Post #1000
For what it’s worth, this is post #1000 since the site was relaunched in June 2010
Team Yesterday Today Probable Pitchers
Syracuse Lost, 4-2 @ Pawtucket,
7:00 p.m.		 Lannan (6-8, 4.60) vs.
Pena (0-7, 6.23)
Harrisburg Lost, 8-7 @ Akron,
7:00 p.m.		 Holder (0-1, 37.80) vs.
Espino (3-2, 3.41)
Potomac OFF DAY vs. Lynchburg,
7:05 p.m.		 Karns (4-2, 2.43) vs.
Northcraft (8-5, 3.45)
Hagerstown Losing, 8-1
(susp. mid 4th)		 @ Lexington,
5:05 p.m.		 Turnbull (4-4, 4.82) vs.
Cruz (6-5, 3.58)
Auburn Lost, 5-4
(10 inn.)		 @ Connecticut,
7:05 p.m.		 Monar (1-2, 3.57) vs.
Lo (1-0, 0.00)
GCL Nationals OFF DAY @ GCL Marlins,
12:00 p.m.		 Mieses (1-2, 4.79) vs.
Cavanerio (0-1, 6.61)
DSL Nationals ALL STAR
BREAK		 @ DSL Pirates2,
10:30 a.m.		 TBD vs. TBD

Scranton-Wilkes/Barre 4 Syracuse 2
• Duke (L, 10-4) 7IP, 10H, 4R, 4ER, 0BB, 2K, HR
• Garcia 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• J. Valdez 2-4, R
• Rivero 1-4, 2RBI

A three-run HR in the bottom of the 2nd erased an early 2-0 lead as the Chiefs fell to the Yankees, 4-2. Zach Duke took the loss, giving up all four runs on 10 hits while striking out two. Syracuse was limited to just three hits, with Jesus Valdez singling twice and Carlos Rivero collecting the third hit, which drove in two in the top of the 1st. After dropping four games to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre since Thursday, Syracuse heads to Rhode Island for four against the Pawtucket Red Sox before returning to upstate New York on Friday. Roster move: C Jeff Howell activated from the DL.

Richmond 8 Harrisburg 7
• Rosenbaum (ND) 6IP, 9H, R, ER, BB, 5K
• Storen (BS, 1) ⅔ IP, 3H, 4R, 4ER, BB, 0K, HR
• Davis (L, 7-3) 1IP, 2H, 3R, 3ER, 2BB, 0K
• Walters 3-5, 2R
• Van Ostrand 2-4, R, BB
• Perez 2-5, R

Danny Rosenbaum’s best start in six weeks was an afterthought after a 4-1 would-be Harrisburg win turned into a crushing 8-7 loss, completing a 1-4 series with Richmond. Rosenbaum gave up just a run as he scattered nine hits over six innings with one walk and five strikeouts. Drew Storen blew the save with a four-run seventh in which he retired just two of six batters faced, giving up four runs, a walk, and three hits, including a two-run homer. The Senators rallied to tie it at 5-5 in the 8th, but the ‘pen faltered again in the 9th and gave up three. Harrisburg got the tying and winning runs into scoring position with no outs in their final “ups,” but couldn’t push them across. Like Syracuse, it’s one-series road trip to Akron before returning home on Friday.

POTOMAC NATIONALS — OFF DAY
After the recent four-game sweep in Wilmington, Potomac’s road record in 2012 is 12-34, the worst mark in the full-season minors — with 21 of those losses coming to three teams in two states (Wilmington, Carolina, Winston-Salem). Their 29-18 home record is second-best in the Carolina League. Tonight, they begin a three-game series with the division-leading (and first-half winners) Lynchburg Hillcats.

Lexington 8 Hagerstown 1 — SUSP.
• McKenzie ⅔ IP, 2H, 6R, 6ER, 3BB, 0K, 0HR
• Meza 2⅓ IP, 5H, 2R, 1ER, 2BB, 2K, 2-2 IR-S
• Goodwin 1-2, R, HR, RBI

Chris McKenzie lasted just eight batters in the first inning as the Legends dropped six runs on the Suns. Play was halted midway through the fourth inning, with Lexington leading Hagerstown, 8-1. The game will be resumed today, weather permitting, with a completion/7-inning doubleheader.

Connecticut 5 Auburn 4 (10 inn.)
• Rauh (ND) 5IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 3BB, 3K
• Henke (H, 2) 2IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 3K
• Self (BS, 1; L, 1-2) 2IP, 3H, 2R, 2ER, 2BB, 0K
• E. Martinez 2-3, 2R, 2B, BB, OF assist at HP

The sun can’t shine on the same dog’s behind all the time, as Auburn learned when they blew their first ninth-inning lead of the season, 5-4 to Connecticut. Thanks to four Tigers errors, the Doubledays were in a position to win despite having just four hits (three singles and a double) and four walks. Derek Self took the loss (and blew the save), giving up single runs in the 9th and 10th innings. Brian Rauh made his first start and gave up three runs on five hits and three walks while striking out three. Estarling Martinez singled, doubled, and walked to lead the Doubledays on offense.

GCL NATIONALS — OFF DAY
A 4-2 week has pulled the G-Nats into a tie for 3rd place, as they open the week on the road and have home games on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

DSL NATIONALS — ALL STAR BREAK
• Marmolejos-Diaz 0-1, K
• Bautista 0-1

Just two D-Nats saw action in the DSL All-Star Game, which saw the American League defeat the National League, 6-3. “Orange” Marmolejos-Diaz and Rafael Bautista both went 0-for-1 off the bench. Diaz played 1st base and did not make an error while Bautista appeared as a pinch-hitter.

12 Commments

  2. Since not everybody here is on “The Twitters” — I did call out Kevin Goldstein’s key paragraph from his piece “The Nats Are Geniuses! Appel Is Stupid! Not So Fast,” which thankfully was viewable to folks without a BP subscription:

    Purke’s bonus demands remained high, dropping him to the third round, where the Nationals took him and signed him to a deal at the deadline with a total package worth more than $4 million. The reaction at the time was similar to the general consensus on Giolito: Mike Rizzo got his man. The Nationals just turned a third-round pick into a top-ten talent, and they’re brilliant. So much of that is true. It was a good pick, and it was a good risk. It’s the pretending that there’s no risk, that Purke will just automatically return to form, where mistakes are made. Cut to the present and Purke is still dealing with arm problems, still showing sub-par (for him, certainly) stuff during the rare times he takes the mound, and he has a career that consists of just 15.1 innings nearly a year into his professional life. Still a genius move by the Nationals? Debatable.

    The bolding is mine, and it’s something that folks will need to remember if indeed Purke (or Giolito) eventually requires surgery.

    1. So your take is that both picks (Purke and Giolito) are in the “good pick/good risk” category, but not genius moves? Just looking for clarity. I think that Rizzo made the picks with open eyes, FWIW (and in Purke’s case, with a fairly invasive medical clearance before the signing).

      Certainly the two “Dunn” picks, Meyers and Goodwin, look good so far (caveat for very early going yet).

      1. Yes, I agree with Goldstein here. The term “genius move” is also pretty loaded, much like “whiz kid.”

    2. Purke is looking more and more like Karns, where he might just disappear for 1-2 years and then magically show up.
      I’m hoping for more, but ,, as they say, my eyes are wide open.

    3. I take a different view. Rizzo knew that changes were coming to the draft after 2011. $4mil wasn’t unreasonable to sign a guy with the reputation and stuff that Purke had. Yes, most (actually, all) teams passed on him for good reason. The Nats did 3 times.

      However, it was a risk, but a pretty minor one, at that. The Nats have paid $7m for a couple crappy starts from Wang. They paid $15mil for Jason friggin Marquis, $16mil for some craptastic ABs from Cristian Guzman, and $17.5m for Austin Kearns. None of these were truly atrocious contracts. But then again, the Nats signed these guys knowing they weren’t all that great.

      $4mil for like 9ish years of team control (4 in minors, 5 in majors) for a 25% chance Purke ends up being good is a pretty great deal, if you ask me.

      Just look at what teams are paying now for potential- Puig cost $42mil, Soler – $30m+. Purke’s contract pales in comparison to those deals.

  3. I have to admit that Goldstein has common sense and history on his side, but I still choose to consider the Nats draft geniuses because it makes me happy to do so.

    Honestly, though, just one of the Rendon/Purke/Giolito gambles has to work out for the approach to be inspired. I wish Rendon would come back from his injury so some part of his inaugural season can be salvaged.

    +1/2St.

    1. Time will tell, especially once the Nats start picking in the lower third of each round, just how smart Rizzo, et al really are.

  4. Great comments by your readers as usual Luke.

    Managing the Rule 4 Draft is possibly the most visible and scrutinized of all the ‘talent streams’ available to teams to use as ways of infusing talent into their system.

    What I’d like to be a ‘fly on the wall’ for are the internal FO discussions about managing the other two major ‘talent streams’ of IFA and Trades. We read very little about the former and nothing about the latter until they’re consumated. I travel to Latin America on business and follow the Nats as close as I can, but I continue to be struck by how much talent there is in LatAm and by how little is reported (maybe that’s because little is being done???) by the team in LatAm. Other teams are obviously already expanding their reach to Asia and even Europe while the Nats’ have pretty much just Maya to show for their efforts of late.

    As a fan, I of course want every expensive / high pick to work out. However, history has shown that only a small minority will ever make the 25 man roster and that there are incomprehensible amounts of $$$ being given to players with 100% potential and 0% track record. Enough to keep an owner up late at night, don’t you think? Maybe not!

  5. Was the risk on a player like Purke or Gioloto any worse than a team dumping an absurd amount of money on a guy like Jorge Soler? The Nats got 2 potential loaded pitchers for a third of what Soler got. I think this was Rizzo’s way of spending money since the international presence just isn’t there. You are talking about 2 guys with top tier stuff for under $8mil and 1 40 man roster spot. Soler and Puig got ridiculous contracts and have just as much uncertainty.

  6. I’ve thought all along and posted to the effect that Purke would never make it because of injury. However, i still thought it was worth a try. (and still do). Ditto, Giolito and Rendon. What positively said is so true. If even one of the three become healthy, the gamble(s) would be worthwhile.

  7. Congratulations Luke, looking forward to the next 1,000. Good read Mark. There are many great talents out there, however it seems those players with the best marketing (not always the best talent) seem to the ones most fans know. Hats off to those players who do not have the marketing and financial backing which makes the climb easier. So many forget that most of these players struggle, as they did not sign for big $$. They are living well below the national poverty level, minus the federal assistant programs. When you are living on $10.00 per day to feed yourself, and no kitchen or frig to make that budget stretch, and meals consist of usually fast food…it becomes more challenging than those who have the funds for proper nutrition. The sleeping arrangements, equiptment( rather lack of) and knowing if you do not make it, you have nothing in the bank to help you start a new career.( yes, the college tuition, which usually is far below the actual costs)…the stress levels are much greater for those who did not sign that big contract. Good job Sam Palace, hope he keeps driving forward.

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