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Giving Back
Baseball is a game for children of all ages, and on Friday the West Michigan Whitecaps took that statement to heart. Members of the team spent the day at the DeVos Children’s Hospital, putting smiles on little faces that need it the most. One of those smiles belonged to eleven year-old Colin Bradley of Grand Rapids. This young man has recently been diagnosed with Leukemia, and has a rough schedule of treatments ahead of him. He had a fun day playing stick-hockey with ‘Caps outfielder Steven Moya and relief pitcher Nick Avila, though.
“I’m really glad they came, because I was supposed to have a field trip in a few days to go see a Whitecaps game,” Colin told MLive.com. “But I got hospitalized so I was going to miss it, but now I still get to meet them.”
The players really seemed to enjoy giving back to the community, also. The team gets a lot of support throughout the season, so many players volunteer during the summer, like first baseman Aaron Westlake.
“It’s a good opportunity to come and spend an afternoon with the kids and have some fun with them,” Westlake stated. “It’s a day to make them happy and have fun and get to know them. You can ask why they’re here and get to know them better, but they want to be treated just like everyone does. It’s fun for them, and fun for us and a great way to help out the community.”
I get sappy when I hear stuff like this, but I think it’s so important. I simply can’t imagine what it would be like for any of my kids to go through stuff like this, and my heart goes out to them and their families.
Photos courtesy of Cory Olsen/MLive.com
Whitecaps finally sink Loons
After two frustrating one-run losses to the Great Lakes Loons (2-1 and 4-3), the West Michigan Whitecaps finally upended their in-state rivals 5-2 on Thursday night. Already in a 2-0 hole in the first inning, they came back in the third. After a triple by Jeff Holm, Chad Wright drew a walk followed by and Eugenio Suarez double to score Holm. Wright scored on a sac-fly by Dean Green. Suarez on leads the Whitecaps in RBI’s with 19, with Green following with 17. West Michigan took the lead in the eight inning off a clutch hit by Jason King. His single drove in the winning run, and stopped his brutal slump.
“You never want to go 0-20, but everyone is here for a reason.” King told the Grand Rapids Press. “You make adjustments until something good happens. It’s just part of being a baseball player.”
Brandon Loy also contributed with a triple that drove in two runs, to help the ‘Caps win a rare close game. They have a 6-10 record in one-run games so far.
“We’ve been in a lot of one-run games,” Loy told the Press. “It’s big to get a win like this. Hopefully it’ll get us on a roll. When a team gets hot, it’s usually a game like this that starts it. It definitely gives us momentum.”
On the hill, West Michigan starter Brennan Smith had a solid night. He gave up only three hits and retired 19 of 20 batters from the last two outs in the first inning to the sixth inning.
“I had a rough start in the first inning, but I kind of settled down and threw my off-speed pitches for strikes,” stated Smith. “We’re used to playing a lot of close games, but no one is getting down. We keep battling.”
I hope this win get the ‘Caps on a solid winning streak, and they get above .500 and battle for the title. We’ll be down next weekend to see them play, so I’m hoping they can give us plenty to cheer about.
The whole Peanuts gang was surprised that Pig Pen was the only member of Charlie Browns’ team to make it to the pros…
Photos courtesy of the Grand Rapids Press
Whitecaps split with Lansing
The West Michigan Whitecaps evened their record to 16-16 with the split of a four game series against the Lugnuts in Lansing. The Lugnuts, who are currently the best team in the Midwest League, won the first two games of the series by the scores of 2-0 and 4-3. The Whitecaps fought back to win the next two contests. On Monday, the two teams were tied 1-1 from the second inning on, until West Michigan rallied for four runs in the eight inning. Brandon Loy and Eugenio Suarez each singled, and Dean Green reached first on a bobbled bunt to load the bases. They scored one run on a fielder’s choice, and Suarez then scored on a wild pitch. Curt Casali hit a single that scored two runs, to give West Michigan the 5-1 victory. The winning pitcher was Wilsen Palacios, who improved his record to 2-2. He struck out five batters and did not issue a base on balls.
Tuesday’s morning game was an offensive battle, as the Whitecaps knocked a season high 15 hits, on their way to the 7-6 win. Patrick Leyland went 3-5, and hit a single in the ninth inning to put the Whitecaps in the lead. Casali also had three hits, while Suarez went 2-4 with three RBI’s. Green hit an RBI single in the seventh inning, tying the game at 5. On the mound, Michael Torrealba was the winner, retiring two batters in the ninth. Dan Bennett struggled, but was able to earn the save for West Michigan. The team returns home for a series with their other in-state rival, the Great Lakes Loons.
Photos courtesy of the Lansing State Journal
Ballpark Review: Pilot Field-Buffalo, NY
Next week I’ll be returning to the place where my Minor League pilgrimage began…Buffalo, New York. Almost 19 years ago back in 1993, I took in my first Minor League baseball game watching the Buffalo Bisons. It was during one of the best experiences of my life. I was just a student, but as part of the U.S. Customs Explorers, we were working security at the World University Games that took place in Buffalo. It was great being part of all of the events, and meeting so many people from all over the world. On our free time, we took in a couple of Bisons games, and even a few international games that were part of the WUG. With our badges, we were able to get into any of the events for free, so that gave us a chance to see quite a bit. I really liked Pilot Field (now Coca-Cola Field), and thought the site lines with the city were great. I look forward to returning and seeing all that’s changed. Luckily, I came across these pictures by mistake while in my garage last week. When moving so much, you lose track of so much stuff, and it was pure chance that I found these. Enjoy this blast back to 1993, and in the coming weeks I’ll have pics of how the ballpark looks now!
The Blues Brothers were on hand to entertain the crowd!
Photos property of Minoring In Baseball
Whitecaps go .500 in Iowa
The West Michigan Whitecaps ended their quick six game swing of eastern Iowa going 3-3, winning the series against the Quad Cities River Bandits and dropping two games to the Cedar Rapids Kernels. The road trip started out rough for the ‘Caps, losing 5-1 to the River Bandits and mustering very little offense. The bounced back to take game two, though, by the score of 2-1 thanks to a suicide squeeze pulled off by Brandon Loy. Loy layed a nice bunt between the pitcher and first, while Chad Wright, who singled to get on base, beat the throw to the plate. Warwick Saupold earned his very first professional victory coming out of the bullpen. The Whitecaps would also win the rubber match, in a wild game where they and Quad Cities combined for 17 walks, six wild pitches, and four errors. Jason Krizan led the offense going 3-3, while catcher Curt Casali had two RBI’s. Starter Tommy Coulier earned the win, despite his bullpen giving up four consecutive walks in the 9th to make it a close one, before retiring the Bandits for good.
The first game between the Whitecaps and the Kernels was rained out, but they made it up the next day, having a double-header on the last day of April. Another rough opener to a series, as the Kernels won the game with a walk-off home run in the 9th. Kyle Ryan pitched a complete game, but suffered the loss, while Casali homered for West Michigan. The ‘Caps would win game two, however, on the back of Patrick Leyland’s 3-run dinger, and Eugenio Suarezs’ 3-5 performance, including a double and RBI. Nick Avila earned the victory, despite giving up three hits and two home runs of his own. In the rubber match to welcome the month of May, the Whitecaps basically had their a$$#$ handed to them. Brandon Loy got the only hit of the day, a double, for WM. ‘One hit…that’s all we got? One G*% D@*^ hit? Don’t worry…no one’s reading….’
Photos courtesy of The Gazette (Cedar Rapids)
Little League begins for the Boys
Battling the constant unpredictable weather, the 2012 Little League season is finally under way. We’ve started with some indoor clinics before we get the teams set and play outside in a week or two. Brian is just four, and will be tackling t-ball for the first time. The first year kids only play once a week and we’re just getting them to have fun with the sport and learn some of the basics. Trevor is trying to get back in the swing of things after taking a year off to play soccer. He’s excited to be playing baseball again, though, and we’ve invested in some of the catcher’s tools for him to be behind the dish. The last time he played he was seven, and in a coach-pitch league. This year as a nine-year-old he’ll have to adjust to having his peers throwing at him. He’s developed a pretty good swing, though, so I’m not too worried about him at the plate. This should be a really fun season, as I plan on managing Brian’s team and being an assistant for Trevor’s. Lily starts her girls softball league at the first of next month, too, so it looks like we’ll be spending plenty of time at the ball fields!
Photos property of M.I.B.
The Unconditional Release of Brandon Inge
Well, I’ve had a few days to mull this over…after the inevitable happened to (former) Tigers‘ third baseman and mainstay, Brandon Inge. I really don’t think any other player has had this love/hate relationship with fans as he does. Detroit faithful either love him, or call for his head on a platter. Very few seem to be in between. From a business standpoint, the Tigers organization had to do this, and with the majority of the fans leaning toward the ‘hate’ side, it was the right time. I give the Tigers credit, though, as they really gave him every chance this season to play and be effective. After going 2-20 (.100), it was apparent that he just wasn’t going to be the hitter he was during is All-Star year in 2009. In fact, he hasn’t done much since then. I also think that the Tigers are giving him a chance by releasing him. Giving him a chance to maybe catch lighting in a bottle somewhere else, and if that doesn’t happen, then he’ll be welcomed back into the organization in some capacity. I wrote a post back in February on why he’d make a fine Minor League coach, and would probably be in Toledo or West Michigan do to their proximity to Detroit, where Inge and his family live year round. That can be found here: http://burrilltalksbaseball.mlblogs.com/2012/02/12/the-future-of-brandon-inge/
Now, it looks like he’ll get his chance as a member other of the Oakland Athletics, who reportedly signed him yesterday. He’ll be patrolling third base as usual, ironically replacing former Tiger and Whitecap Scott Sizemore, who is out for the season with a torn knee ligament. If things don’t work out for him playing ‘moneyball’ on Oakland, I’m still believe that Tigers’ owner Mike Illitch will find a place for him in the organization somewhere. He’s a great owner, who is very loyal to players loyal to his teams. And Inge is the longest tenured Tiger since Alan Trammel and Lou Whitaker…
Photo courtesy of the Grand Rapids Press
A streaky season so far
After being swept at home by the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, the West Michigan Whitecaps came back with two impressive wins over the Beloit Snappers, but were unable to complete the sweep. The ‘Caps suffered their worse loss of the season, by the score of 8-0. They had their chances, but have not been very good at the plate with runners in scoring position. With the bases loaded in the sixth inning, they came away with no runs due to a called third strike. Dean Green and Patrick Leyland each had two hits in the game, though. The team has been getting hits, but not the ones that count…the ones that drive in the runs and win games. During the current home stand, the Whitecaps had eight to ten hits in each game, but they left approximately nine runners on base in four of those. With runners in scoring position, the team was 11 for 59. Ouch.
The Whitecaps are now 9-10, not horrible, but it’s been a season of streaks so far. Already in 2012, they’ve had two three-game winning streaks and one three-game losing streak. If they could have pulled out a victory yesterday, it would have made for three consecutive sweeps in the last three series, with the ‘Caps sweeping Lake County, being swept by Wisconsin, and taking the first two from Beloit. Manager Ernie Young still have confidence in his young team, though.
“We had opportunities…sometimes you just have to find a way to get that big hit,” Young told the Grand Rapids Press. “The timely hits will come. The guys just have to get up there and see it happen and it will. Two wins in six game? Yeah. Tough. It would have been nice to go ahead and get that last one a salvage a home stand with a split, but we’re going to be fine. We have a lot of games left. No time to panic. There’s no panic from me and none on staff members.”
The Whitecaps are getting some good production from guys like Steven Moya (.400 average), Green (.268, 5 home runs), and Brandon Loy (.300), but are getting little help from the lead-off position, as well as the bottom part of the line-up. Today is their first day off since April 8, and then it’s off to Quad Cities for a seven game road trip.
Photos courtesy of the Grand Rapids Press
Life in the Minors…
Such is the life of the Minor League baseball manager. Sometimes you just gotta work with the players the big team gives you… Peanuts comics are still the best.
Peanuts comic courtesy of the great Charles M. Schulz
Snakebitten at home
After being swept by the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, it seems the West Michigan Whitecaps could be snakebitten at Fifth Third Ballpark. The ‘Caps seemed to be on a roll, after sweeping the Lake County Captains on the road in Eastlake, Ohio. The T-Rats didn’t return the favor, though, beating the ‘Caps in three straight games. It seemed that West Michigan had a great chance to steal a victory on Saturday afternoon, but couldn’t find the winning run and lost 3-2 in twelve innings. Eugenio Suarez had a good game at the plate, though, going 3-5 with a double and RBI. On another good note, ‘Caps relief pitcher Nick Avila pitched over four scoreless innings to keep his team in the game. The winning pitcher for Wisconsin was Tommy Toledo, who had one of the best baseball names I’ve ever heard. The Tigers need to trade for this guy and put him on the Mud Hens roster immediately. The 7-9 Whitecaps now must take on the Beloit Snappers in a three game set starting this afternoon, and hope they can give their fans something to cheer about with a victory or two, or three.
Photos courtesy of the Grand Rapids Press
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