Outlawed Baseball

When talk about Southern Illinois came up the other day, I failed to mention how the Miners got their first moment on the mainstream national stage that all independent league clubs dream of — when they were able to recruit and sign "the" Danny Almonte. I thought for whatever reason it had been discussed on the blog last summer when it went down.

His record was 0-1 with a 5.29 ERA in six appearances and it's pretty clear the Miners didn't quite get the PR boom some would have expected. The crazy thing is how Almonte is now on the PLAYING roster at Western Oklahoma State College, a JC in Altus, Oklahoma.

PHOTO COURTESY: Associated Press

Posted by Patrick Kinmartin at 04:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Remember the story about Bart Braun? He has since been signed by the Reno Silver Sox (earlier this month). In four outings for beleaguered Reno, Braun has thrown 10 innings in four appearances, giving up 12 earned runs. Two have been starts — a two-inning loss in his debut Aug. 13 and then a better five-inning go where he still was afflicted by 11 Edmonton hits and received his first loss.

Posted by Patrick Kinmartin at 02:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A couple weeks ago, there was some discussion here about Telus Field and how it stacks up against some of the other independent league stadiums. Let's forget about distance and dimensions for a second and look at the more fashionable side to these ballyards.

I've heard some pretty nice informal reviews about Rent One Park (pictured above), home of the Southern Illinois Miners in the Frontier League. The first thing players who have played there or spectators who have been in attendance seem to bring up when I ask about their impressions is the large video screen in right field, which this photo probably can't do justice.

If you want a more in-depth look-see, Ball Park Reviews has been out in Marion, Ill. to tour the joint.

Posted by Patrick Kinmartin at 12:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week's national poll is back, and probably for the last time before the final version is released after the playoffs wrap up (updates, however, will run during each series)...

1. Quebec Capitales (56-34 Can Am League)
Orlando Trias, 7-2 in 10 starts, has boomed as midseason pickup

2. Grand Prairie AirHogs (56-40 American Association)
Only downer is struggles of alumni Drucker, Mattison in Double-A

3. Sioux Falls Canaries (60-36 American Association)
Impending playoff matchup against Sioux City is AA's two oldest franchises

4. Somerset Patriots (60-56 Atlantic League)
No true horse in starting rotation ... a problem come postseason?

5. Southern Illinois Miners (55-35 Frontier League)
Ace is former Blue Jays prospect Ryan Bird — 13-3, 2.49 ERA, 1.23 K per IP

6. Alexandria Aces (50-35 United League)
Can win UL playoffs, but attendance is second-worst of the entire bunch

7. Fort Worth Cats (60-36 American Association)
They're the rage of The Metroplex with Rangers long out of AL West race

8. Southern Maryland Blue Crabs (60-55 Atlantic League)
Skipper Butch Hobson proudly boasting AL's dominant pitching unit

9. Kalamazoo Kings (57-33 Frontier League)
Mere .268 team average, but second-highest in FL in runs scored

10. Orange County Flyers (50-35 Golden League)
Like Somerset, looks like offense will have to win title singlehandedly

PREVIOUS POLL:
1. Quebec
2. Somerset
3. Grand Prairie
4. Sioux Falls
5. Amarillo
6. Orange County
7. Kalamazoo
8. Fort Worth
9. Southern Maryland
10. Fargo-Moorhead

Posted by Patrick Kinmartin at 08:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just because Atlantic City Surf sparkplug Anthony Granato is athletic and a native of a major NHL city (Toronto) doesn't mean he is the son of the pro hockey great who is one of the more underated all-time players. He isn't. But here is a Q&A the local paper today did with Granato, who is hittng .311 with 106 hits, 27 doubles and 12 home runs for the Surf.

Posted by Patrick Kinmartin at 04:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well, so much for Miami Hurricanes uber-star Yonder Alonso coming to the Atlantic League. Some of you may have already heard about the Cincinatti Reds coming to terms with their No. 1 draft pick earlier this week.

During the holdout for that contract, there was a strong notion Alonso would keep himself in the swirl by signing on with the Long Island Ducks for a stint while crashing at the pad of old Coral Gables pal Alex Rodriguez in New York. As the man himself told the New York Post about his birthday dinner guest last month:

"He hits at my house every night, still does," Rodriguez said of left-handed hitting first baseman Rodriguez compared with a young Jason Giambi. "He was my shadow for four months during the winter."

Had Alonso made the move to Long Island, he likely would have supplanted at first base none other than ... Pete Rose Jr.

PHOTO COURTESY: Atlantic Coast Conference

Posted by Patrick Kinmartin at 03:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I recently came across this article about Minor League Baseball's proposed move to Durham, North Carolina for what would be quite a new setup for its headquarters. This begs two more questions...will we see a MiLB Hall of Fame sometime soon, and will all these accoutrements generally include the independent league realm in the overall theme?

Posted by Patrick Kinmartin at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Though the Armada's home stadium, Blair Field, isn't on the Long Beach State campus, it is home to the Long Beach State baseball team (notorious for their black/gold "LB" hats and "Dirtbags" nickname.) In all, six GBL teams play in college ballparks, but Orange County Flyers infielder Dave Bacani is the only player in the league that plays on his old college field.

Bacani was a standout at Cal State Fullerton, where Goodwin Field is the home base of the Flyers.

Posted by Patrick Kinmartin at 04:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kind of like little kids telling their parents when/where they're going, and when they will return, I probably should have mentioned to everybody here I'm down in Southern California covering the Outlaws-Long Beach Armada series and finding it a little more difficult to get blog access.

Thanks for your patience and have an upstanding day.

Posted by Patrick Kinmartin at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The personalities of jersey numbers crack me up sometimes. Ben Shockey, the rookie Outlaws relief pitcher, is a perfect example. He is wearing No. 4, which was the same one Craig Kuzmic had for the past two seasons.

Kuzmic is viewed as one of the all-time formidable players in Chico pro baseball history because of his impassioned play as a hard-nosed catcher and, above all else, his performance level in clutch situations. Shockey upon first getting picked up off waivers midway through this season was pretty much the 22nd man on the 22-player roster. He has increased that status of late with some good work out of the bullpen, but with his mellow demeanor he is still a far cry from the clubhouse presence Kuzmic exuded.

On that note, here are the No. 4s retired in baseball history retired by all the different major league clubs (one of these days I'll also do a post about No. 3, but that will be one that always begins and ends with Steve Sax as far as anyone should be concerned):

Luke Appling (Chicago White Sox)
Earl Weaver (Balimore Orioles, manager)
Duke Snider (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Ralph Kiner (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Lou Gehrig (New York Yankees)
Paul Molitor (Milwaukee Brewers)
Mel Ott (New York/San Francisco Giants)
Joe Cronin (Boston Red Sox)

Posted by Patrick Kinmartin at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)