The Herd:
The Buffalo Bisons are showing they're definitely not Ohio players this week.
The Herd remained winless on its eight-game road trip through the Buckeye State following Thursday night's 9-6 loss to the Columbus Clippers before 10,100 at Huntington Park. Buffalo is now 0-5 on the trip and has lost six in a row.
In this clash between the two worst teams in the International League, Columbus (48-62) took advantage of a walk and a couple of fifth-inning errors by the Herd to take the lead for good. Major league journeyman Tony Graffanino's sacrifice fly scored Michael Brantley, who reached via walk, to break a 1-1 tie. Matt LaPorta followed with an RBI single.
Graffanino, a former Brave, Devil Ray, Red Sox, White Sox, Royal and Brewer, hit a two-run double during the Clippers' four-run sixth inning.
Quickly amassing a 16-5 record this season, due to a more than healthy combination of hearty hitting and fiery pitching, the Brooklyn Cyclones were riding high atop the NY-Penn League Standings when their first taste of reality began to hit home.
With a 2-7 record over a nine game stretch in mid-July, the baby Mets weren’t nearly as dominant as they were earlier in the season.
Nevertheless, they believe the experience has been productive one and one that will help them find the continuity they need to keep their lead in the McNamara Division with a hot Staten Island Yankees team behind them.
Bouncing back over the past week, winning four out seven games, it looks like the Clones are back in the driver’s seat.
“We’re human,” said reliever Mike Lynn, who has rebounded marvelously after spending most of last season with arm problems, posting a 2.79 ERA through his first six appearances. “We got off to a great start, but everyone was still getting to know each other. It’s just a matter of how fast we can turn it around.”
K-Port:
Kingsport extended its longest winning streak of the season to five games by edging the Bristol White Sox 4-3 on Thursday.
The victory also pulled the K-Mets out of the basement in the Appalachian League’s West Division. Kingsport (15-23) hurdled these same Sox (15-24) by a half game in the standings.
Jeff Flagg hit a home run, his seventh of the season, over the right field fence in the top of the ninth inning and Travis Babin came on in the bottom of the inning to record the save.
Zachary Von Tersch (1-0) was the winner for Kingsport, giving up two hits over a pair of scoreless innings of relief
The Nationals made a couple trades, jettisoning Anderson Hernandez to the Mets for a younger second baseman Greg Veloz. Anderson wasn’t anything special at second. He played a solid defense, much better than Belliard, but he wasn’t going to hit any better than .250 with little power. The Nationals had clones with both Alberto Gonzalez and Anderson Hernandez on the major league roster. Gonzalez was Riggelman’s flavor of the month and the Nationals chose to trade Hernandez.
Greg Veloz is a second baseman who was hitting .232 at single A with an OBA of .297 and a slugging average of .303. He reminds me a lot of a younger Anderson Hernandez with harder hands on defense. Myworld doesn’t believe the Mets lost anything by acquiring Hernandez and they obtained an alternative at second base for Luis Castillo.
At age 37, with lots of mileage on his Hall of Fame right arm, Pedro (Martinez) may be more effective for short spurts in the bullpen than he is for six innings as a starter (he appeared to tire in the sixth inning tonight). When he signed with the Phillies last month, Pedro described himself as an “employee” and said he’d do whatever he’s asked. Pedro has plenty of pride, but until the Phils came knocking last month, he was unemployed, pitching side sessions in the Dominican. If the Phillies ask him to go to the bullpen, what choice does he have but to go?
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