Minors Stuff

The Herd:

A two-run deficit in the first inning has basically meant game-over for the Buffalo Bisons this season. The Herd finally showed some resilience Monday night in Coca-Cola Field and, amazingly enough, it resulted in an actual comeback win.

Jesus Feliciano did the ultimate honors, belting a two-run walk-off home to right field with two out in the bottom of the ninth that gave Buffalo a 5-3 win over the Norfolk Tides.

Feliciano’s first homer of the season came on a 2-1 slider from Norfolk reliever Andy Mitchell and gave the Herd a split of the four-game series.

But there is no home plate celebration in this one if the Bisons (7-22) don’t battle back for one of the few times this season.

A two-run homer by Norfolk’s Oscar Salazar’s in the top of the first off Tim Redding was a bad omen, as Buffalo was just 1-18 this year when opponents score first and had only won one other time when trailing by more than one run.

“They battled back and Redding shut them down after that two-run homer,” said manager Ken Oberkfell. “That was nice, really nice to see that. It’s fun to win. I want to see that on a more consistent basis.”

The Herd scratched out a run in the third on Feliciano’s RBI double and two more in the fourth for a 3-2 lead. Norfolk tied it in the seventh on Carlos Rojas’ beautiful squeeze bunt before Feliciano delivered in the ninth.

“When I hit it, I knew it was gone because it was a line shot,” Feliciano said. “It was great. We played a pretty good game. We drove some guys in from scoring position. The key was we didn’t give up.”

Give it up to the parent New York Mets for paying plenty of attention to the Herd’s struggles. Roving pitching coordinator Rick Waits and pitching consultant Al Jackson were both at the game to watch Redding, who went seven strong innings and threw 97 pitches in his second injury rehab start.

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bisons/story/668760.html


B-Mets:


The Binghamton Mets host the Trenton Thunder in a five-game Eastern League series starting tonight at NYSEG Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 tonight, 7:05 p.m. Friday, 5:05 p.m. for Saturday's doubleheader, and 1:05 p.m. Sunday.


* Tickets: $10 boxes, $9 grandstand, $2 discounts for youths, seniors. Call 723-METS or visit www. bmets.com.

* Affiliations: Trenton is the Eastern League farm team of the New York Yankees. The New York Mets have sent their Double-A players to Binghamton since 1992.

* Probable rotations: Thunder-- Zach McAllister (rh, 1-1, 2.67); Wilkin De La Rosa (lh, 1-0, 0.00); Ivan Nova (rh, 2-2, 4.13); Wilkins Arias (lh, 0-1, 2.95); Alan Horne (rh, 0-2, 7.71). Mets -- Dylan Owen (rh, 0-3, 5.34); Jose Sanchez (rh, 1-3, 6.53), Ryan Coultas (rh, 2-1, 2.67); Tobi Stoner (rh, 1-0, 0.00); Fernando Nieve (rh, 0-1, 4.91).

* DH? Yes, the designated hitter will be in effect for this series.

* Series: Series tied, 4-4

* Thunder diamond notes: After sweeping the B-Mets last weekend at home, the Thunder lost the first two games of a home series with Portland. McAllister, scheduled to start tonight, is ranked by Baseball America as the No. 6 prospect in the Yankees' organization. He's allowed just eight earned runs in five starts this season. Who's hot: Heading into Wednesday night's game, James Cooper has reached base in 16 consecutive games. Who's not: Justin Snyder entered Wednesday's game hitting just .150.

* B-Mets diamond notes: The B-Mets have gotten better, more sustained efforts from their starting pitchers of late. B-Mets' starters pitched at least six innings in six of the team's last seven games games. Tobi Stoner won his first start of the season over the weekend and is scheduled to make his NYSEG Stadium debut in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. Who's hot: Heading into Wednesday's game, Shawn Bowman has an 11-game hitting streak and has hit three home runs and driven in eight runs in that span. Who's not: Edgar Alfonzo has allowed nine runs in his last 4 1/3 of an inning.

http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20090514/SPORTS02/905140339/1118/Sports/B-Mets+Scouting+report


Shawn Bowman:


CURRENT HITTING STREAK: 10 (18-40) VS. LHP: .361 (13-36) POSITIONS: 3B (27), DH (3)

LONGEST HITTING STREAK: 10 (5/3-12) VS. RHP: .291 (25-86) IN THE ORDER: 4th (10), 5th (13), 6th (7)

THIS SERIES: 2-7, 2B, R LAST SERIES: 8-13, 3B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 4R HOMESTAND: 8-26, 2 2B, HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB

PINCH-HITTING: LAST HR: 5/10 @ TRE RESIDES: Coquitlam, BC, Canada

ACQUIRED: Mets’ 12th round selection, 2002 draft (Dr. Charles Best Secondary HS)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 7th season

∗ 2009 NOTES: Has hits in last ten games (.450, 18-40) driving in seven runs during his current streak....Cracked multiple hits in five straight games 5/6-10 (.619, 13-21)...Hit homers in back-to-back games 5/9-10.

∗ CAREER HIGHLIGHTS: 2008: Began season on DL following back surgery....Put together and 18-game hitting streak in between St. Lucie and Binghamton (7/17/-8/6)...2007: Saw action in six games for St. Lucie before undergoing back surgery in July... 2006:
Played in the first 32 games of the season before a back injury sidelined him... 2005: Hit .221 with 17 HR and 53 RBI in 87 games with St. Lucie...2004: Spent season at Low-A Capital City (116 G, .258, 19 HR, 69 RBI)

∗ PERSONAL/MISCELLANEOUS NOTES: 2002 Graduate of Dr. Charles Best Secondary HS in Coquitlam, BC.


Lucy:


THE WEEK THAT WAS: Aside from a three-game sweep of Fort Myers, it wasn't a good week for the Mets. St. Lucie lost four of seven games to push them to third place in the South, four games behind division leader Fort Myers and a game behind second-place Charlotte.

WHO'S HOT, WHO'S NOT: 2B Hector Pellot must think every day is batting practice. The native of San Juan, Puerto Rico is has hit .520 over his last seven games. In his last 25 at-bats, Pellot has 13 hits, seven RBIs and three homers. ... 2B Greg Veloz is on the opposite spectrum, hitting .139 in his last eight games.

PLAYER TO WATCH: LHP Eric Niesen is getting the job done on the mound. The Wyandotte, Mich. native has two wins in his last two starts totaling 12 innings. In those starts, he has 12 strikeouts, four walks and has allowed one earned run.
PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK: Palm Beach couldn't figure out RHP Bradley Holt in a 9-0 Mets' win May 6. The Albemarle, N.C. native shut down the Cardinals, allowing two hits and two walks through six innings. He struck out five.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090512&content_id=583383&vkey=news_l123&fext=.jsp&sid=l123


Gnats:

THE SEASON SO FAR: The Sand Gnats are 16-14 and in third place in the Southern Division, 1 1/2 games behind Lexington.

WHO'S HOT: IF Jordany Valdespin brings his .365 average (27-for-74) back to Savannah. ... OF Josh Satin is 10th in the league with a .337 (26-for-1-4) average. ... RHP Jeff Kaplan (3-1, 1.13) is third in the SAL in ERA.

WHO'S NOT: C Jean Luc Blaquiere is battling at .216 (12-for-55).

NEWS & NOTES: The Savannah roster underwent some shuffling last week as IF Jake Eigsti moved up to Class A Advanced St. Lucie, with Valdespin returning to the Sand Gnats. RHPs Jake Goldberg and Michael Powers also arrived from extended spring training. ... RHP Erik Turgeon has been assigned to extended spring training after going 1-1 with a 3.18 ERA and three saves in 10 outings with Savannah.

DID YOU KNOW?: Kaplan is yet another product of the outstanding program at Cal State-Fullerton. He was 3-2 with a 3.45 ERA at short-season Brooklyn in 2008 after being taken in the 11th round by the Mets. The California native has recorded five quality starts.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090513&content_id=583812&vkey=news_l116&fext=.jsp&sid=l116


Clones:


GIRL SCOUT NIGHT: June 28th is Girl Scout Night at KeySpan Park, and the Cyclones invite troops to join the fun! The 5pm game against the Hudson Valley Renegades will feature a variety of themed activities and entertainment.

With a minimum of 10 tickets purchased ($15 Field Box Seats, $13 Box Seats, $7 Bleacher Seats), Girl Scout troops enjoy the following benefits:

• Each Scout will receive an official Cyclones patch
• $1 from each ticket sold will be donated to the Girl Scouts Council of Greater New York
• Participating troops are invited to take part in a pre-game parade on the ballpark's warning track
• Troops are invited in uniform to take the field with the Cyclones for the National Anthem
• Girl Scouts can run the bases after the game
• Troops are invited onto the outfield grass to watch a post-game movie on the KeySpan Park videoboard

For more information, or to book your Girl Scout Night tickets today, contact Joyce Huang at 718-37-BKLYN or joyce@brooklyncyclones.com

http://webmail.aol.com/42949/aol/en-us/Suite.aspx