Blogs > Minor Matters

Run by The Trentonian's Nick Peruffo, this blog will provide daily multimedia coverage of the Trenton Thunder.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

And The Winner Is ...

Folks, because I am somewhat of a fool, I totally forgot about the bobblehead contest I opened before the postseason. Regardless of my absent mind, there was a winner. That winner was ...

Adrian from Bordentown

To claim your prize, please email me your contact information at jnorris@trentonian.com or leave the same on my work line at 609-989-7800 ext. 296.

Congratulations.


Sunday, September 16, 2012

Postgame Notes - ELCS Game 4

Final score: Akron 6, Trenton 1

Synopsis: Toru Murata locked down the Thunder, whose offense was limited to just a homer from J.R. Murphy, and the Aeros claimed their fourth Eastern League Championship Series with a win in Game 4 at Waterfront Park. 

Early controversy: With Adonis Garcia on third and one out in the first, David Adams grounded a ball toward first base. Jesus Aguilar picked it up and fired home to try to nab Garcia. Home plate umpire Shaun Lampe, believing Garcia was never tagged and never touched home, made no call. 

Catcher Roberto Perez chased down Garcia for the out. Photographs later showed that Garcia did indeed touch home plate with his left hand on the way by. Tony Franklin argued to no avail, and Trenton's potential first run was off the board. 

No Offense: Trenton hit just .210 for the playoffs, and for the most part their offense was run through Zoilo Almonte. The Thunder's right fielder drove in 10 runs in eight games (a franchise record) and had five RBIs in Game 3 against Akron (also a franchise record). 

With a .357 mark, Addison Maruszak was the only Thunder player to hit better than .300 in the postseason. His average was the third best in the playoffs, behind only Reading's Cody Asche and Bowie's Ty Kelly. Maruszak's two longballs were also tied for the most in the postseason. 

As a team, Trenton put forth on-base and slugging percentages of just .276 and .361, worst in both categories among the four finalists. 

A Walk to Forget: Trenton's pitchers issued a playoff-worst 27 bases on balls, including five from Nik Turley and four apiece from Lee Hyde and David Aardsma. 

You're on the mark, Montgomery: Trenton reliever Mark Montgomery fanned 11 in six postseason innings, tied for second with Ethan Martin and Toru Murata, both starting pitchers. 

Picks to click: Here are my game story and notes from Saturday.

Flick to click: Here is my highlight reel from Game 4, with appearances from Turley, Murata, Garcia, Murphy, Maruszak, the controversial play at the plate and the Aeros' celebration. 

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Austin sits again, plus more notes


TRENTON – After being out, then in, then out of the lineup on Friday, first baseman Tyler Austin was not a part of the Thunder’s starting lineup on Saturday. This was because of an ankle that’s been sore enough all postseason to require an MRI.

If it gets there, he won’t be in Sunday’s starting lineup either. He’s done for the postseason barring an emergency appearance as a pinch-hitter.

After being re-inserted on Friday, Austin went for a pre-game jog and felt the same pain in the ankle he’d been dealing with since he arrived in Trenton. He re-aggravated the injury jumping for a ball on Wednesday in Akron.

“We got him out of the lineup because we think that’s best for his career,” manager Tony Franklin said. 
“It doesn’t make any sense to get him in there for one game and risk him hurting his career. We’ve got time to wait on this youngster. In my judgment and in (trainer Scott DiFrancesco’s) judgment and in the Yankees’ judgment, it was best that we get him out of the lineup.”

Austin’s injury leaves the Thunder with a bench of just two players: Catcher Jeff Farnham and outfielder Shane Brown. Neither Brown nor Farnham have played at all in the postseason.
For a brief moment on Friday, it appeared as if they might have to do it with less.

After a single in the fifth inning, Franklin and DiFrancesco visited at first base with Adonis Garcia, who had complained of dizziness. Everything checked out, however, and Garcia stayed in.
It’s not an ideal situation, to be sure, but Franklin isn’t panicking.

“We’ve done it with less,” he said. “As long as we’ve got one man on that bench, we’ve got enough. The fact that we’ve got two men on the bench, that doesn’t bother me, at all.”

•••

Without question, Branden Pinder’s magic act in the sixth inning on Thursday was the relief performance of the postseason. Not that there haven’t been plenty of worthy candidates.
Pinder also got the biggest out in Game 2 of the Division Series, when he coaxed a short fly ball from Reading bogeyman Darin Ruf with a man on first and Trenton up by three runs.

Lee Hyde’s pickoff of Ruf in Game 3 of the ELDS – after Ruf was intentionally passed to get to Tug Hulett – also stands as one of the biggest moments of the playoffs.

As a whole, Trenton’s bullpen has been superb. In 32 innings, the team’s relievers have allowed a scant four runs on 22 hits and 13 walks and have fanned 31 – including 11 in six frames from Mark Montgomery.

Those numbers become more impressive when one realizes that David Aardsma – who’s made three rehab outings with the Thunder this postseason – has given up two of those four scores. They also include 5 2/3 one-hit innings from Shaeffer Hall – normally a starter – in relief of Aardsma in Game 2 of the ELDS.

•••

Aardsma, working his way back from Tommy John surgery to repair a torn elbow ligament suffered while rehabbing a hip injury, was scheduled for his final appearance on Saturday. He was slated to throw one inning or 25 pitches, whichever came first.

Saturday’s appearance was the second of back-to-back outings, usually the final step before returning to the major leagues. In four innings with the Thunder this postseason, Aardsma’s allowed two runs – both earned – on six hits and three walks and struck out two. Friday marked his first 1-2-3 inning with Trenton.

In the five minor-league outings before he arrived with Trenton, Aardsma worked to a 2.70 ERA in 6 2/3 combined frames in the Gulf Coast League, Staten Island and Tampa.

•••

Win or lose, Zoilo Almonte has helped make this ELCS one for the record books. With his 10 RBIs over the first three games, Almonte eclipsed Austin Jackson’s mark of seven driven in, set during the 2008 finals with the Aeros.

That’s not all.

Almonte’s five RBIs on Friday broke the team’s overall postseason mark of three, last reached by outfielder Matt Carson on Sept. 15, 2007, once again against Akron. 

Pregame notes - ELCS Game 4


Pitching matchup: Nik Turley (1-0, 5.40) vs. Toru Murata (0-0, 1.50)

Situation: Trenton is down 2-1 to Akron in the best-of-five Eastern League Championship Series.

AKRON 
Jordan Henry - RF
Tyler Holt - CF
Chun Chen - DH
Jesus Aguilar - 1B
Matt Lawson - 2B
Adam Abraham - LF
Ryan Rohlinger - 3B
Davis Stonebuner - SS
Roberto Perez - C
Carlos Carrasco - RHP

TRENTON
Adonis Garcia - CF
Ramon Flores - LF
David Adams - 3B
Zoilo Almonte - RF
Addison Maruszak - SS
J.R. Murphy - C
Kevin Mahoney - 1B
Rob Segedin - DH
Walter Ibarra - 2B
Mikey O'Brien - RHP

Notes: Yep, Tyler Austin is out of the lineup again. Presumably still dealing with the ankle issue that kept him out of yesterday's game (eventually). ... Mainly a reliever this season, Murata whiffed 59 in 65 2/3 innings during the regular season. ... Manager Tony Franklin said after Game 3 that it's all hands on deck from here on out as far as the bullpen is concerned.

Postgame notes - ELCS Game 3

Final score: Trenton 11, Akron 7

Synopsis: The Thunder came out on top in a see-saw battle thanks to five RBIs from Zoilo Almonte, and some amazingly clutch work from Branden Pinder and the rest of the bullpen, which continues to be stellar this postseason. Addison Maruszak also hit the go-ahead double to cap a four-run rally in the fifth inning. 

Branden Houdini: In the sixth inning, with the Thunder clinging to a one-run lead, Tommy Kahnle walked the bases loaded without recording an out. Having seen enough, Tony Franklin hooked him in favor of Branden Pinder, who, like Kahnle, came up toward the very end of the season. Pinder responded by whiffing Tyler Holt, getting a popout from Chun Chen and blowing away Jesus Aguilar. 

“The only word you can use to describe that is huge,” Maruszak said. “I mean, you can talk about all the hits, all the runs and the whole rest of the game, but that was the reason why we won, those three outs right there. I don’t know what the statistics are of a runner scoring from third and no outs, but I know it’s absurd.”

And although the outcome was everything he'd hoped for, Pinder did get a bit of a scare when Aguilar launched a 2-0 heater foul but well beyond home-run distance. And when I say Pinder got a scare, I mean everyone else did. For his part, Pinder said he didn't even flinch. 

“I knew it was foul,” he said. “2-0 fastball. He knew it was coming. After that, he was done.”

Walk This Way: I wrote a story last week about how patient Ramon Flores has been in his first taste of Double-A. With his walk to help start the Thunder's four-run rally in the fifth inning, he proved it again. With two down and Adonis Garcia on first, Flores took two quick strikes from T.J. House before staring at the next four to draw a walk.

That proved huge when David Adams got hit by a pitch in front of Almonte and Maruszak, who each drove home two runs with a single and a double, respectively. 

“I was just trying to fight the at-bat,” he said. “It was a tough left-hander. I got deep in the count and ended up with a walk.”


Zoilo stays hot: With five more RBIs, Almonte now has half of the Thunder's 16 runs this series. Still, it hasn't always been pretty. Take his three-run homer on Friday, for example. Carlos Carrasco started him with two curveballs, and he swung through both. On the third pitch, Carrasco's hook was up just a little bit, and Almonte, batting from the left side, flicked it over the wall in left-center. Damn impressive no matter how you slice it. 

Picks to click: Here are my game story and notes from Friday

Flick to click: Here's my highlight video from Friday.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Pregame notes - ELCS Game 3

Pitching matchup: Mikey O'Brien (0-0, 1.80) vs. Carlos Carrasco (0-0, 0.00)

Situation: Trenton is down 2-0 to Akron in the best-of-five Eastern League Championship Series.

AKRON 
Jordan Henry - RF
Tyler Holt - CF
Chun Chen - DH
Jesus Aguilar - 1B
Matt Lawson - 2B
Adam Abraham - LF
Ryan Rohlinger - 3B
Davis Stonebuner - SS
Roberto Perez - C
Carlos Carrasco - RHP

TRENTON
Adonis Garcia - CF
Ramon Flores - LF
David Adams - 3B
Zoilo Almonte - RF
Addison Maruszak - SS
J.R. Murphy - C
Kevin Mahoney - 1B
Rob Segedin - DH
Walter Ibarra - 2B
Mikey O'Brien - RHP

Notes: Yes, you read that right. Tyler Austin is out of the lineup after hitting a longball in Game 2. He's replaced by Walter Ibarra, with Kevin Mahoney shifting from second base to first base. Presumably, this is done for two reasons: He's a superior defender and he hits lefties. In 36 at-bats against southpaws this season, Ibarra has put together a .306/.342/.556 line with six doubles and a longball. ... Because the game notes list Zach Nuding as the starter for a possible Game 5, it seems safe to assume that Brett Marshall's season is over. He finishes with 171 1/3 innings, by far a career high. Nuding hasn't pitched since Aug. 31 in Tampa. ... Carrasco, in his third outing of the postseason, will go two innings before turning things over to T.J. House.

Edit - 5:56: Yes, you read *that* right. Tyler Austin is back in the lineup. Initially held out because of a sore ankle that necessitated an MRI, Austin was cleared before the game and re-inserted. He said the ankle, which was wrapped after Game 2 in Akron, is just tired from wear and tear of the season.

Edit - 6:34: I don't even know at this point. Mahoney is now back in for Austin. Something with his ankle between the last update and now must have changed, because he has been re-benched. My goodness. This is like the Dellin Betances/Francisco Rondon start all over again. 

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Trenton falls short in Game 2


AKRON, Ohio – Tony Franklin has spent the entire year working his way back from offseason knee surgery. When he walks, it’s with the gait of a man fighting against gripping pain. So when he took off in a full run toward home plate to dispute a late out call on Thursday night, one could easily recognize the urgency in his movement.

The argument was to no avail. Tom Woodring stuck with his call, which pictures later proved correct, and the Thunder eventually fell to Akron, 7-5, in Game 2 of the best-of-five Eastern League Championship Series at Canal Park.

With the Thunder down four and with runners at second and third, Rob Segedin shot a ball through shortstop and into left-center field. J.R. Murphy scored easily, but because the ball was hit in front of him, Mahoney had to freeze briefly. That, plus a momentary stop sign from Franklin before Tyler Holt bobbled the ball, cost Mahoney some time.

The throw in arrived just before Mahoney, and catcher Roberto Perez threw his body in front of the dish to cut off Mahoney’s path. His tag was high, though, and the play at the plate was very close. Mahoney briefly screamed at Woodring before Franklin interjected vehemently enough to earn an early shower.

“I thought I had cause to be out there on that play, because I definitely thought Mahoney had gotten in there before the tag was applied,” Franklin said. “Close play, no question about it, but from my vantage point from where I’m standing – and I’m a long way away – it just looked to me like he got his leg in there.”

The call changed the face of the game. Instead being down one with a runner on second and one out, the Thunder were down two. Adonis Garcia bounced harmlessly to short on the next pitch from Kyle Landis, killing Trenton’s rally.

Afterward, Woodring explained what he saw.

“I just had him going too far out. Never got his foot to the bag and he got blocked off the plate,” he said. 

Mahoney, of course, disagreed. He thought that because the tag was high there was no way it could have come in time to beat his foot to the plate. He also added that he didn’t believe Woodring was in the correct position to make an accurate call.

“Coming home, I felt that the catcher was way too far away, for me, that he wasn’t going to make the play,” Mahoney said. “When he caught it he came at me high, so I went low, slid through the plate, and as soon as I hit the plate I popped up. … All I can say is it’s a tough call from where he was at. I didn’t think he was in the best position to make the call.”

Shoved aside by all the ruckus was a poor performance from Shaeffer Hall, whose gem in Game 2 of the Division Series helped swing the momentum back from Reading. Hall, a command specialist who needs to live down in the zone, was up all night, and he paid for it.

He allowed seven runs – five earned – in three innings before being yanked for Craig Heyer. No matter how far the series goes, Hall’s season finished in incredibly bitter fashion for a pitcher who has been a rock in the rotation not only this season, but since the beginning of 2011.

There was no doubt in the clubhouse afterward that this one is going to gnaw at him for a long while.

“I take a lot of pride in being that No. 1 or No. 2 starter in our rotation all year and going deep into games,” he said. “Having that pressure of being down 0-1 in the finals of the Eastern League, trying to get our team back on the winning track and tie this series up, I take a lot of pride in it. I wanted to do that for my team tonight and unfortunately I didn’t get that done.”

After a day off on Thursday, the series shifts back to Waterfront Park for its final act. In Akron, the Thunder are facing both their foe and, if they choose to look at it that way, their inspiration. The Aeros were down 0-2 to Bowie in their Division Series only to come back and win the final three games at Canal Park.

And although he knows the road isn’t going to be easy, the convictions Hall has formed by watching comeback after comeback over the last five months lead him to believe that if any team can overcome this deficit, it’s this one.

“We have three games left in this series, and I’m not counting us out yet.”

ELCS Game 2 - Trenton at Akron


Pitching matchup: RHP Brett Marshall vs. RHP Paolo Espino

Situation: Game 2 of best-of-five the Eastern League Championship Series, with the Thunder in a 1-0 hole before the final road trip of the season. 

TRENTON
Adonis Garcia - CF
Ramon Flores - LF
David Adams - 3B
Zoilo Almonte - RF
Addison Maruszak - SS
J.R. Murphy - C
Tyler Austin - 1B
Kevin Mahoney - 2B
Rob Segedin - DH
Shaeffer Hall - LHP

AKRON
Jordan Henry - RF
Tyler Holt - CF
Chun Chen - DH
Jesus Aguilar - 1B
Matt Lawson - 2B
Adam Abraham - LF
Ryan Rohlinger - 3B
Davis Stoneburner - SS
Roberto Perez - C
Danny Salazar - RHP

Notes: Spoke a lot with Mark Montgomery and Jeff Farnham about Montgomery's maturation this year and just how dominant he's been. That'll be the lead of my sidebar in tomorrow's Trentonian. ... Also spoke with Tony Franklin about the possibility that Brett Marshall's season is over. He'd only pitch if there's a fifth game, and that's not certain yet. If it gets that far, it sounds like the Thunder are leaning toward starting Zach Nuding, who hasn't pitched with the Thunder yet and hasn't pitched at all since Aug. 31. ... Franklin also said he hasn't considered whether he's coming back for a seventh season at the helm.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Postgame Notes - Game 1 ELCS

Final score: Akron 3, Trenton 0

Synopsis: Trenton got three hits all night long, and the Aeros scored twice in the second on a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly. That gave starter Paolo Espino all he'd need and more. Brett Marshall was solid, but Espino, Shawn Armstrong and Preston Guilmet were simply better. 

Higher and higher: With the outing, Marshall's new career high for innings in a season keeps rising. He's at 171 1/3 now, 31 more than his previous peak. If the series goes to a fifth game, he'll get the ball again. 

Aardsmania, Part Troix: David Aardsma loaded the bases with nobody out but wriggled free with a whiff and a double play. He'll pitch again on Friday in Game 3 and again in Game 4 if the series gets that far. 

What a pen, what a pen, what a mighty good pen: Aardsma and Tommy Kahnle each fired scoreless frames, keeping the Thunder's relievers at one run for the entire postseason.

A Paolo Creed: Akron's righty handcuffed the Thunder, holding them to two hits over seven innings with three punchouts. Considering he'd allowed seven runs to them in two Aeros losses this year, that's a pretty neat trick. 

Picks to click: Here are my game story and notes from Tuesday.

Flick to click: There weren't many highlights, but I put together a short reel of some of them.

Eastern League Championship Series - Game 1

Pitching matchup: RHP Brett Marshall vs. RHP Paolo Espino

Situation: Game 1 of best-of-five the Eastern League Championship Series, starting at scenic Canal Park in picturesque Akron, Ohio. (If you can't tell, I love it here.)

TRENTON
Adonis Garcia - CF
Ramon Flores - LF
David Adams - 3B
Zoilo Almonte - RF
Addison Maruszak - SS
J.R. Murphy - C
Tyler Austin - 1B
Kevin Mahoney - 2B
Rob Segedin - DH
Brett Marshall - RHP

AKRON
Jordan Henry - RF
Tyler Holt - CF
Chun Chen - DH
Jesus Aguilar - 1B
Matt Lawson - 2B
Adam Abraham - LF
Ryan Rohlinger - 3B
Davis Stoneburner - SS
Roberto Perez - C
Paolo Espino - RHP

Notes: Manager Tony Franklin indicated today that there's a good chance that Brett Marshall would come back and start Game 5 if the series get that far. That makes sense, given it would be his day to pitch. ... Kevin Mahoney has 10 hits this year against Akron and has hit .292 against the club, which probably played a role in his getting in the lineup today over Walter Ibarra. ... As I reported earlier, Mark Montgomery, Danny Burawa, Zach Nuding and Dellin Betances are headed to the Arizona Fall League. 

Monday, September 10, 2012

The Spree for Three starts Tuesday


AKRON, Ohio – By winning on Sunday, the Thunder gave themselves a sizeable advantage entering the Eastern League Championship. That advantage is a perfectly set rotation, starting Tuesday with 13-game winner Brett Marshall in Game 1.

Marshall will be opposed by Paolo Espino, the de facto number-one on a staff depleted by the loss of lefty Giovanni Soto and knuckleballer Steven Wright. In 20 starts in the regular season, Espino was 7-3 with a 3.09 ERA and a team-best 106 strikeouts.

Trenton will follow with Shaeffer Hall, Mikey O’Brien and Nik Turley, the latter of whom pitched five solid innings to close out Reading on Sunday. Because of the travel day on Thursday, Trenton can also bring Marshall back in a possible fifth game. They wouldn’t have had that luxury if they had played Bowie.

Akron will counter with righty Danny Salazar on Wednesday, followed by Carlos Carrasco, Toru Murata and Brett Brach at Waterfront Park. Carrasco, who is on a major league rehab assignment, will pitch just one inning on Friday before turning things over to T.J. House.

David Aardsma, Trenton’s resident rehabbing righty, will pitch twice in the series, though it is unclear in which games.

The Thunder and Aeros split their season series at six games apiece. Trenton took three of four in the teams’ last meeting, last month at Canal Park.

As it was last series, the biggest key to Trenton scoring its third championship will be a deep and talented bullpen. Of the 10 runs the Thunder surrendered in the division series, just was charged to a reliever – Aardsma in Game 4.

As constructed, the pen features two arms – Craig Heyer and Graham Stoneburner – capable of multiple-inning work, as well as plenty of late-inning heat in Tommy Kahnle, Branden Pinder, Mark Montgomery and closer Ryan Pope.

Manager Tony Franklin also will have lefties Lee Hyde and Josh Romanski at his disposal. In addition to his repertoire, Hyde also brings a lethal pickoff move that he used to snuff out Darin Ruf at first in one of the most pivotal moments of the last series.

After its last roster overhaul, Trenton is without a few of the hitters who’ve faced Akron this season. Of those who remain, catcher J.R. Murphy leads the way with 6 hits in 16 trips. Adonis Garcia, with his .317 average against the Aeros, isn’t far behind. Kevin Mahoney also notched 10 hits versus the Western Division champions.

The Thunder’s championships in 2007 and 2008 came against Akron. Starting Tuesday, they’ll see if they can make it three.

The Thunder are going to the Eastern League Champion

Final score: Trenton 5, Reading 4

Synopsis: Behind quality pitching from Nik Turley, Graham Stoneburner, Branden Pinder, David Aardsma, Mark Montgomery and Ryan Pope, and homers from J.R. Murphy and Addison Maruszak, the Thunder bested Reading and will play Akron starting Tuesday in the Eastern League Championship Series. 

H.R. Rufnstuffed: First and foremost, congratulations go to Darin Ruf for getting called to the big leagues after this game. Enjoy him, Phillies fans. As far as the Eastern League playoffs were concerned, however, Ruf was more or less a non-factor. His home run on Sunday accounted for his only RBI of the series. 

“(Ruf) is obviously their best hitter," Murphy said.  "We had our plan.  We were going to pick our times when we should even give him something close to hit, and our whole pitching staff did a really good job.  We were going to stay away, away, away and pick our times to pitch to him.  Obviously, we had to pitch to him there in the ninth, and Popey made a good pitch.”

“(The plan for Ruf was) Just don’t let him beat us," Pope said.  "Anybody else can beat us but him. He’s a great player, and I think that’s what anybody would do.  Just make your pitches.  Don’t pitch around him, but make quality pitches against a quality hitter.”

“You’ve just got to lock it in (against Ruf).  Anything is possible in the playoffs.  We had great pitching.  They’re a great hitting team, but sometimes people just have better days than others and we were on the other side of that tonight.”


Trenton's hurlers found a way to attack him, and were especially effective in doing so on Sunday, when he banged into a pair of killer double plays and popped out to quash a third potential rally. Here's how J.R. Murphy and Ryan Pope explained attacking Ruf. 

Who needs experience?: This was Nik Turley's first playoff start and J.R. Murphy's first playoff series. I'd say both did just fine. Turley allowed three runs over five-plus innings, and Murphy hit a huge two-run homer that helped give Trenton a big boost of momentum. 

“It’s awesome," Turley said. "I was so pumped out there when we got that double play.  It’s just a really good feeling, we’ve got a really good group of guys here and we all want to win.  I’m just happy to be up here.”

Aardsmania: David Aardsma made his second appearance for the Thunder, and allowed another run. He was better than his first time out, when he said he wasn't finishing his pitches. To get some more work in, he'll travel with the team to Akron (lucky him) and pitch back-to-back days, likely beginning in Game 2 and then once again in Game 3 at Waterfront Park. 

What a pen, What a pen, What a mighty good pen: The Thunder's relievers allowed two runs in 17 innings. That's pretty darn nasty. 

Brother, brother, brother: This series will pit Thunder pitcher Graham Stoneburner against his brother, Akron second baseman Davis Stoneburner. So they've got that going for them. 

Picks to click: Here are my game story and notes from Sunday. 

Flick to click: Here is my highlight reel from Game 4. 

Saturday, September 8, 2012

ELDS Game 4 - Pregame notes

Pitching matchup: LHP Nik Turley (0-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Adam Morgan (0-0, 0.00)

Situation: The Thunder are up 2-1 on Reading in the best-of-five Eastern League Division Series.

READING
Tyson Gillies - CF
Cody Asche - 3B
Darin Ruf - LF
Tug Hulett - 1B
Leandro Castro - RF
Tommy Joseph - C
Miguel Abreu - 2B
Jiwan James - DH
Troy Hanzawa - SS
Adam Morgan - LHP

TRENTON
Adonis Garcia - CF
Ramon Flores - LF
David Adams - 3B
Zoilo Almonte - RF
Addison Maruszak - SS
J.R. Murphy - C
Tyler Austin - 1B
Rob Segedin - DH
Walter Ibarra - 2B
Nik Turley - LHP

Notes: With all the weather in the area, the obvious question is: Would Trenton consider starting Brett Marshall in a possible Game 5 on Monday? The answer is yes.

"Absolutely," manager Tony Franklin said. "We probably could. We probably would. It just makes sense to do it. That's just my thinking right now. That could change."

For his part, Marshall says he'd be ready to go, if the need arises.

"I threw a bullpen today and it felt great," he said. "I think it felt like it was one of my best bullpens all year. I think if I stay like I did today, I think I'll be good." 

Obviously, the weather right now is poor, and it's the same all over the area. If the Thunder do play tonight, it won't be for a long while. It might make the most sense to simply cancel this one quickly and get it in tomorrow, when the forecast looks perfect.

Edit, Sunday - 1:22: Well, yesterday was obviously rained out. The lineups for today are exactly as they were yesterday, so one just needs to look above. Also, it has been confirmed that Marshall and Austin Hyatt are tomorrow's starters if it is necessary.

ELDS Game 3 - Postgame Notes

Final score: Trenton 3, Reading 1

Synopsis: After a sterling duel between Ethan Martin and Mikey O'Brien and the Thunder bullpen, David Adams cracked a 1-1 tie with a sharp single to right field, scoring Tyler Austin. Austin had led off the inning with his first Double-A postseason hit. Zoilo Almonte, who had Trenton's first RBI, added an insurance run with a single off of reliever Tyler Knigge. 

Snapping out: In a season full of professional at-bats from as professional a hitter as you'll find, Adams waited until Martin finally started to lose command, and then pounced. He lined a 2-2 pitch that was supposed to be in but leaked out over the plate into short right for the game winner. 

Not only did it win the game, but it got Adams off a nasty postseason schneid in which he was 1 for 13 with seven strikeouts. 

“After the last few games and those first three at-bats, I was mostly just going up there battling. I got down 1-2, and at that point I was just thinking, just put the ball in play. Fortunately I did that. It wasn’t the hardest hit, but it was in the right spot.”

Pick a winner: Before Adams' hit, the biggest play of the game was easily Lee Hyde picking off Darin Ruf at first after intentionally passing him to pitch to Tug Hulett. The play was months in the making and was installed, oddly enough, by Luke Murton, Trenton's erstwhile first baseman who was promoted to Triple-A just before the playoffs. 

The play worked a lot like backdoor pickoff at second, where the shortstop or second baseman sneak in behind the runner before the pitcher whirls around and throws. In this case, first baseman Tyler Austin was the one who snuck in and slapped the tag on Ruf before Hyde had even thrown a pitch to Hulett. 

“All the credit goes to Luke Murton,” Lee Hyde said. “We were doing PFPs … probably two months ago. I had the snap throw – I picked off a couple of guys with it early in the season. Usually on the back pick to lefties, the first baseman breaks off … but Murton came up with the idea of trying to sneak in behind him and have me do the snap throw. It was a good spot for it, and it worked out for us.”

I wanna be like Mikey: For the second time in his last few starts, Mikey O'Brien came up absolutely nails when his team needed him most. The first time was during the team's four-game set in Akron early last month. He one-hit the Aeros for 6 2/3 innings during the Thunder's second of three wins against what at the time was the league's best team. 

He only went five frames tonight, but he yielded just one run on three hits and touched as high as 96 on the radar gun. Given the caliber of the arms in the bullpen behind him (we'll get to them later), that's more than enough. 

O'Brien said he didn't necessarily change anything, but he did feel a little more amped during Friday's win. 

“I don’t do anything different. Focus is still the same. My routine is still the same. I don’t do anything different. I guess it’s just a little extra adrenaline rush.”

Works of Martin: On the other side, Ethan Martin put forth probably the best pitching performance I've ever seen in five years of covering this team. He struck out 11 Thunder hitters in 7 2/3 innings before Adams knocked him from the game. He walked none, which is especially impressive considering the reputation for spotty command he brought with him from the Dodgers organization. 

“I felt like I had pretty good command and had a pretty good idea on every hitter of what I wanted to do. Going into that last inning I think I still had the stuff I had for the majority of the game – I just missed spots and they capitalized on it.”

A no-bull pen: In 13 innings of relief (counting Shaeffer Hall's outing on Thursday), Trenton's bullpen has surrendered just one run on five hits, good for an ERA of 0.69. Branden Pinder got the biggest out Thursday when he retired Darin Ruf in the eighth, and Tommy Kahnle, Lee Hyde and Mark Montgomery did yeoman's work over the final four frames on Friday.

Aard to Beat: David Aardsma will make his second rehab outing with Trenton on Saturday, this time in relief of Nik Turley. He'll only pitch one inning, and he doesn't know exactly when it will be. With a series win possibly in the balance, he'll have to be a little better than he was on Thursday if he wants to do his share of the lifting. 

Picks to click: Here are my game story and notes from Friday's proceedings.

Flicks to click: Here is a short highlight reel I put together. It includes O'Brien whiffing Ruf, Almonte doubling in a run, Tyler Austin singling to start the rally, and Adams getting the winning hit. 


Friday, September 7, 2012

ELDS Game 3 - Pregame notes

Pitching matchup: RHP Mikey O'Brien (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Ethan Martin (0-0, 0.00)

Situation: Trenton and Reading are tied at 1-1 in the best-of-five Eastern League Division Series.

READING
Tyson Gillies - CF
Cody Asche - 3B
Darin Ruf - 1B
Tug Hulett - 2B
Leandro Castro - RF
Tommy Joseph - C
Brandon Tripp - DH
D'Arby Myers - LF
Troy Hanzawa - SS
Ethan Martin - RHP

TRENTON
Adonis Garcia - CF
Ramon Flores - LF
David Adams - DH
Zoilo Almonte - RF
Addison Maruszak - SS
J.R. Murphy - C
Kevin Mahoney - 3B
Tyler Austin - 1B
Walter Ibarra - 2B
Mikey O'Brien - RHP

Notes: Our national nightmare is over. Tyler Austin is in the lineup. He's batting eighth and playing first base. He has not batted eighth this season. He has played first base just eight times this season and 24 times in his young pro career. ... Jake Fox is not with Reading today. His wife went into labor last night and he went back to Michigan to be with her. That, of course, gives the Thunder a lot more incentive to pass on him and deal instead with cleanup man Tug Hulett, he of the two homers and 22 RBIs in 52 games this season.

ELDS Game 2 - Postgame notes

Final score: Trenton 4, Reading 1

Synopsis: After a shaky first inning from David Aardsma, Shaeffer Hll took over and gave Trenton the boost it needed with 5 2/3 innings of one-hit ball. Graham Stoneburner, Lee Hyde, Branden Pinder and Ryan Pope filled in the final seven outs, and Rob Segedin's three-run triple gave the Thunder all the margin they needed.

Bright Spots: Where to begin? How about the first inning, on what Addison Maruszak said might have been the biggest play of the game. With runners on first and second, Darin Ruf singled to left, where Ramon Flores bobbled the ball. Tyson Gillies scored, but Flores recovered in enough time to nab Cody Asche on a very close play at third.

“(That play was) pretty big," Maruszak said. "That was the first out, so actually that’s probably the biggest play of the game, that’s probably bigger than Segedin’s (hit).  You never know what might happen, they might still not get it, but that’s a pretty big play.”

Maruszak also homered on Thursday, a solo blast in the fifth that tied the game. It was his 17th longball of the year. Here's what he had to say about what he saw from Trevor May, who looked pretty vanilla for most of the game:

“My first at-bat, (May) threw a get me over curveball, which I’ve seen before.  And then he left a changeup up and in, and that’s the one I tapped to shortstop kind of awkwardly.  We were all noticing that he was leaving offspeed way down or hanging it a little bit. 

"My last at-bat, I almost fought off an 0-0 and an 0-1 fastball, and I forget what happened next, but then he threw offspeed up again and I tried to stay on it as long as possible and I just caught it perfect.  First at-bat, same thing happened, except I took a better swing my second at-bat.”

Before we get to Segedin, let's talk about Hall, who put forth one of the grittiest (I'm sorry) efforts from a Thunder pitcher in postseason play, especially considering the media were the ones who informed him on Wednesday that David Aardsma would be stepping in for the first inning on Thursday.

The lefty kept Reading off-balance and off the bases all night, something that, with guys like Ruf, Jake Fox, Tommy Joseph and Leandro Castro, isn't particularly easy. Without Hall's effort, the Thunder could very easily have been heading home down 2-0. Instead, they did what they needed to do and split at FirstEnergy Stadium. Here's Hall on his outing:

“I’m going to be honest with you, it was a little different than what I’m normally used to.  I tried to keep it as close as I could to the other games that I’ve started.  It was a little tough, because we had the first inning where we were up and he was still on the mound getting loose, and I needed the catcher.  But everything kind of got delayed a little bit, but I just went out there and treated the second inning like it was my first.  Starting with the back end of the lineup first was a little different, but other than that I tried to keep everything as similar as possible.”

“I don’t think (the outing could have gone better).  Honestly, I just went after every hitter.  Attacked them.  The hit that Hulett got off me, I felt like it was a good pitch, he just got it into left field and it fell.  Other than that, I walked a couple guys…Ruf’s a pretty good hitter and I didn’t want to give him anything easy and Joseph, he’s been pretty good against me this season.  I just wanted to be careful with those guys and just attack.”

Now on to Segedin, the final hero of the evening. Many in the media, including yours truly, questioned why Tony Franklin would play Segedin instead of Tyler Austin, the new kid in town with the big numbers. Franklin said that benching him now, after he'd helped all season, wouldn't be beneficial to his development. Whether that line of thinking is right or wrong is still open to debate. Given the chance, however, Segedin rewarded his boss' loyalty in a big way.

“I was elated (on the Segedin hit).  We needed a big hit.  It was really nip and tuck there, and there were times during the game where each team might have had an opportunity there.  I look up at the board and saw we only had three hits and they only have three hits, and it just goes to show you it was a well-pitched ballgame.  This time of year, it’s all about pitching and defense, and when you get a big hit like we got tonight, that generally puts you over the top.  It just happened to be Segedin tonight, and Addy got the home run to tie us.  It was a well-played game”

Segedin, who watched the 2010 playoffs from the bench, was happy to come through in such a big way on Thursday, especially knowing that he'll sit on Friday in favor of Austin while David Adams moves to designated hitter.

“I was looking for something away.  He’s got a pretty good cutter, a pretty good slider.  I was kind of focusing on a ball away.  First pitch was in, and I laid off that.  The second one, he actually missed a little bit over the plate but it was still a little bit in.  I just got lucky enough to get the ball down.”

“I got decent wood on it.  It kind of help there for a little bit.  At first, I thought it was definitely going to get down, but Castro…Luis (Dorante) was saying he actually overpursued it and had a good chance to catch it.  It’s been one of those years where you hit balls hard at people and you can’t do anything about it, all you can control is the swing you put on it and the pitches you swing at.  It was a good time for me to get something.”

Finally, there was Pinder, who got Ruf with a man on for the final out in the eighth, arguably the biggest at-bat of the game. He'd never seen Ruf before, and that always gives the pitcher the edge, even if it's against a masher of Ruf's caliber.

“I just heard that (Ruf) is a good hitter.  There’s going to be a lot of good hitters up here.  I don’t really pay attention to (him leading MiLB in HR’s) I just go out there and do my job and pitch to my strengths. If he’s going to get it, he’s going to get it.”


“Obviously, a new hitter seeing a new hitter is going to be to our advantage.  I just went out there and did my job and that was that.It’s just going out there throwing strikes and getting outs.”

Trenton will send Mikey O'Brien out there tomorrow against Ethan Martin in an obviously pivotal Game 3 at Waterfront Park.

Picks to click: Here are my game story, notes, and a feature on Trevor May from Game 2

Flicks to click: Here videos of Segedin's triple, Pinder getting Ruf, and Flores cutting down Asche at third.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

ELDS Game 2 - Pregame notes

Pitching matchup: RHP David Aardsma (0-0-, 0.00) vs. RHP Trevor May (0-0, 0.00)

Situation: The Thunder are down 0-1 in the best-of-five Eastern League Division Series

TRENTON
Adonis Garcia - CF
Ramon Flores - LF
David Adams - 3B
Zoilo Almonte - RF
Addison Maruszak - SS
J.R. Murphy - C
Kevin Mahoney - 1B
Rob Segedin - DH
Walter Ibarra - 2B
David Aardsma - RHP

PHILLIES
Tyson Gillies - CF
Cody Asche - 3B
Darin Ruf - LF
Jake Fox - DH
Tug Hulett - 1B
Tommy Joseph - C
Leandro Castro - RF
Miguel Abreu - 2B
Troy Hanzawa - SS
Trevor May - RHP

Notes: Tony Franklin said after last night's loss that the lineup wouldn't change today, and he wasn't lying. It's baffling, really, that Tyler Austin, arguably the organization's most productive position player this season, can't crack a playoff nine. 

Franklin said yesterday that he wanted to play the guys who got him here, and that's admirable. If that were the case, however, then why was Ramon Flores in left field instead of Shane Brown, who has been the good DL solider all season long?

Nik Turley will start tomorrow at Waterfront Park in what -- win or lose -- has the potential to be the biggest start of the 22-year-old's career. In between bouts of blisters, Turley put forth 9-5 record with a 2.89 ERA in 21 turns (and two relief appearances).

Tonight, however, it will be David Aardsma's turn on the hill for an inning before handing the ball to Shaeffer Hall, who'll then proceed as if he were starting. This will be Aardsma's sixth rehab appearance -- all starts -- between the Gulf Coast League, Staten Island and Tampa. 

He says he's not taking it any differently than any other outing, even considering the circumstances for his temporary team. 

“I never think of things like that, even in normal situations,” he said. “It doesn’t matter in the big leagues or here. I have to make my pitches. That’s all that matters.”

Postgame notes - Game 1 ELDS

Final score: Reading 4, Trenton 2

Synopsis: Brett Marshall allowed three solo homers and an RBI groundout, and the Thunder got only a two-run bomb from Ramon Flores in a postseason-opening loss at a half-full FirstEnergy Stadium.

Bright spots: Flores' home run, obviously. The blast was his second in as many games in Double-A. The two homers account for a third of his total all season with Tampa. I guess you just can't predict baseball.

- Mark Montgomery fanned a pair in his scoreless eighth inning.

- Zoilo Almonte drew a four-pitch walk off of Eastern League saves leader Justin Friend to lead off the ninth. For a guy who drew just 25 walks all year and just two in his last 38 at-bats, that was an oddity indeed.

- Adonis Garcia notched a pair of hits in his first playoff game.

- David Adams had the team's other extra-base hit, a double in the fourth inning after Flores had homered.

A look into the future: If you're looking for Tyler Austin to make his postseason debut tomorrow -- on his 21st birthday -- don't. Manager Tony Franklin said afterward that he'd be throwing out today's lineup again on Thursday.

Bad luck dragon: Trenton had itself set up for a big inning again in the sixth after Austin Hyatt, who had thrown eight straight balls to J.R. Murphy and Addison Maruszak, was hooked in favor of Tyler Knigge, who had allowed seven runs -- five earned -- in just five frames this season against Trenton. Kevin Mahoney scorched a ball toward Troy Hanzawa, who dropped to a knee and snared the liner before quickly shoveling the ball to second to double up Maruszak and end the inning. 

Picks to click: Here are my game story and notebook from Wednesday. 

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Longballs do in Marshall, Thunder in Game 1


READING, Pa. -- All season long, the Thunder have lived by the home run. On Wednesday night, it was their undoing.

The R-Phils swatted three longballs off of Trenton ace Brett Marshall – a fifth of the total he allowed all season – in a 4-2 Trenton loss in Game 1 of the Eastern League Division Series on a gorgeous night at a half-full FirstEnergy Stadium.

Staked to a two-run lead courtesy of – what else? – a two-run dinger, this time from newcomer Ramon Flores, Marshall seemed on his way to giving his team an all-important edge in the best-of-five series. He had no-hit the R-Phils through four, and the only baserunners he’d allowed were on a pair of hit batsmen.

Then he made a mistake up in the zone. Jake Fox, a professional mistake hitter if ever there were such a thing, turned it into Reading’s first run with a soaring bomb that nearly cleared the bleachers in left field. The blast preceded Jiwan James’ RBI groundout, which squared the score again.

“I thought I was throwing the ball well over the first four innings,” Marshall said. “In the fifth inning, I left the ball up and that’s what’s going to happen. I wish I could get those pitches back, but there’s nothing I can do.”

Marshall worked around a two-out double in the sixth from league MVP Darin Ruf, but couldn’t equal the feat in the seventh, when Tommy Joseph and Leandro Castro swatted two of his first three pitches into the seats to give Reading its margin of victory.

It was just the second time since May that Marshall had lasted through the seventh inning and, after a career-high 165 1/3 innings this season, he admitted afterward that he felt a little fatigue in the later frames.

“I’ve had my tired innings when I’m like, ‘Oh, my arm’s hanging right now,’’ he said. “Other than that, it’s all mentality there. That’s when the mental part of it comes in like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to find a way to get through this.’”

Just as they did in 2010, the Thunder will turn to a major leaguer in the postseason’s second game. It was Andy Pettitte taking the hill against New Hampshire two years ago at Waterfront Park, and it will be David Aardsma on Thursday in Reading.

The right-hander, who is recovering from a torn elbow ligament suffered while rehabbing from hip surgery, was signed by the Yankees this offseason in the hopes that he could bolster the bullpen in 2013. Aardsma, who this week became a father for the second time, says the circumstances surrounding his sixth rehab appearance don’t add any pressure.

“I never think of things like that, even in normal situations,” Aardsma, who purchased a postgame spread from Outback Steakhouse for his new teammates, said. “It doesn’t matter in the big leagues or here. I have to make my pitches. That’s all that matters.”

After Aardsma completes his frame, he’ll hand the ball to Shaeffer Hall, the left-hander on his second season with Trenton. And although it’s not optimal, Hall does have a little experience relieving a rehabbing big leaguer. He twice appeared after Phil Hughes rehab starts in 2011, and is comfortable doing so again Thursday, albeit under more pressurized circumstances.

“I look at it like any other game,” he explained. “If we had won tonight, I would have had to go out there and do the same thing I would have if we were down 0-1. … Hopefully I can put my team in a chance to win tomorrow and tie the series back up going home tomorrow.”

Trenton will be opposed by Trevor May, the Phillies' top pitching prospect who has been troubled by bouts of both mental and physical inconsistency. Since the end of July, however, things have gone swimmingly for the towering righty. He’s allowed two or fewer earned runs in six out of those eight turns, and has fanned 47 hitters in 45 innings.

Even faced with a deficit, Marshall and the Thunder are not daunted by the task ahead. They’ve made a habit of wild comebacks all season long, and, Marshall says, are more than ready to do so one more time.

“We’ll be able to (come back),” Marshall said. “Reading is a good team, but I think we’ve got a better hitting team, a better defensive team, a better all-around team. I think our pitching’s really (good), especially the guys we just called up. I think we’ll be just fine.”

Austin sits in Game 1


By JOSH NORRIS

READING, Pa. – If Tyler Austin gets time in the Eastern League playoffs, it most likely won’t come until his 21st birthday, which comes on Thursday, when Trenton plays Reading in Game 2 of the division series.

Manager Tony Franklin said he’d wrestled with the decision prior to Wednesday, but ultimately chose to keep Austin out of the Thunder’s lineup for Game 1. Instead, he penciled Zoilo Almonte in at right field, Adonis Garcia in center, and Rob Segedin – who is dealing with a bit of tendinitis in throwing shoulder – at designated hitter.

The choice, Franklin said, came down to playing guys who’d been with the team all season during the highs and lows on its run to its sixth postseason since 2005.

“It’s finding room, mostly,” Franklin explained. “Where am I going to play him? I think that the guys who have been here deserve an opportunity to play in these games. That’s not to say that he won’t be used. We had a talk about it. I talked to a few guys about it. I just wanted to let him know that he’s not going to be in there tonight.”

Segedin’s shoulder injury keeps him from throwing, which confines him to designated hitter. That obviously complicates matters and limits Franklin’s flexibility. Still, the decision to bench a player ranked by many as one of the top 50 in the sport didn’t come without some conferencing with the player-development staff in Tampa.

“It’s no secret. There’s some discussion about not only what’s best for the player, but what’s best for the team, as well,” Franklin said. “I make calls about exactly what their thinking is with what my thinking is. I was the one who suggested that, because Tyler had just gotten here and Segedin has been here with our club, (Segedin) would be the guy to DH tonight.”

As one would expect from someone who’s already suffered through testicular cancer and a concussion in the last two years, Austin is taking his night off in stride. He knows he just got here, and when his manager told him he’d be sitting on Wednesday, he had no problem.

"It was just a one-on-one thing,” Austin said, “and he just told me, 'Look, we're going to give Segedin the start tonight. He's been up here a lot longer.  We're just going to see how it happens tonight.'"

Segedin, who has hit just .188 in his couple of months with the Thunder, hurt his shoulder last month in Reading on a slide back into second base after a double, said he was examined by team orthopedist William Gomez and the two decided he was good to go for the postseason so long as he didn’t play the field.

“It feels like tendinitis in my shoulder,” he said. “I was playing the outfield and it wasn’t a big deal. It kept getting worse and worse, so it came to the point where it was affecting me throwing in the outfield and affecting the team, so I figured I’d talk to (trainer) Scotty (DiFrancesco) about it. He and the Yankees decided to shut down my throwing from until the tendinitis goes away.”

•••

Yankees reliever David Aardsma was with the Thunder on Wednesday and is expected to pitch an inning on Thursday at FirstEnergy Stadium. He wasn’t entirely clear when he would be used, but they’ve had him start in all of his previous five rehab appearances, so it would be natural to expect him to take the hill before Shaeffer Hall in Game 2.

Aardsma, a 30-year-old rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, was a signing drawn from the blueprint of Jon Lieber, who inked with the Bombers before the 2003 season with the knowledge that he wouldn’t throw a pitch in the big leagues until 2004.

And while the Yankees have said they don’t expect anything from Aardsma this season, the way their bullpen has performed during their second-half tailspin should give them enough motivation to at least see what they’ve got before completely putting the kibosh on his season.
•••

The Phillies made a minor move on Wednesday, adding right-hander Mario Hollands to their roster and demoting backup catcher John Hill. Hollands, who spent time with all four full-season affiliates in 2012, was 3-5 with a 4.75 ERA in nine appearances (eight starts) with Reading before moving the Lehigh Valley.

Hill had five at-bats with the team in a two-game stint. 

Game 1 - Trenton vs. Reading

Pitching matchup: RHP Brett Marshall (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Austin Hyatt (0-0, 0.00)

TRENTON 
Adonis Garcia - CF
Ramon Flores - LF
David Adams - 3B
Zoilo Almonte - RF
Addison Maruszak - SS
J.R. Murphy - C
Kevin Mahoney - 1B
Rob Segedin - DH
Walter Ibarra - 2B
Brett Marshall - RHP

READING
Tyson Gillies - CF
Cody Asche - 3B
Darin Ruf - 1B
Jake Fox - DH
Tug Hulett - 2B
Tommy Joseph - C
Leandro Castro - RF
Jiwan James - LF
Troy Hanzawa - SS
Austin Hyatt - RHP

NOTES: Gonna be honest, not seeing Tyler Austin in the lineup tonight is surprising. The only real benefit here, is not having to play Zoilo Almonte in center field. The downside, however, is multi-fold. Adonis Garcia is not going to be mistaken for Willie Mays any time soon. Rob Segedin hasn't hit since his call-up to Double-A. Sure, Austin has played just two games with Trenton, but when Brian Cashman calls you a mega prospect, it's pretty surprising not to see you in the lineup.

Hello from Reading

I just arrived at Reading, along with colleagues John Nalbone and Mike Ashmore, for Game 1 of the Eastern League Division Series. 

Trenton takes on Reading tonight on the road, and will start Brett Marshall against Austin Hyatt. Hyatt, a former Florida State League Pitcher of the Year who also led the Eastern League in punchouts in 2011, was 1-1 with a 3.27 ERA against Trenton in two starts. 

Marshall was 1-1 with a 5.11 ERA in his two turns against the R-Phils. That record is a little bloated, however, because four of the seven earned runs he allowed to Reading were let in by a reliever. 

As for tomorrow's pitching situation, there's been a little shake-up. Using sources known only to him, ace reporter David Aardsma reported on Twitter that he will be pitching tomorrow in Game 2, after flying back from witnessing his wife give birth. 

Whether he'll start and piggy-back with Shaeffer Hall is uncertain, but that seems to be the pattern, judging by his last five rehab appearances -- at GCL, Staten Island and Tampa -- all of which were starts. 

The 30-year-old was signed by the Yankees this offseason in the hopes of nabbing a cheap, quality arm on the mend -- think Jon Lieber -- who could help in a year. With the Yankees in the doldrums right now, perhaps he could be of service in 2012. 

As I'm sure you've all seen by now, Luke Murton was bumped to Triple-A Scranton yesterday, removing the team's leading slugger just before the playoffs, a big blow, to be sure. Besides a middle-of-the-order bat, Trenton also loses its only true first baseman. 

With Murton gone, here's how I guess Tony Franklin will line them up tonight:

David Adams -- 3B
Ramon Flores -- LF
Tyler Austin -- RF
Zoilo Almonte -- CF
Addison Maruszak -- SS
J.R. Murphy -- C
Kevin Mahoney -- 1B
Rob Segedin -- DH
Walter Ibarra -- 2B
Brett Marshall -- RHP

Remember, my contest to win seven bobbleheads and a Robinson Ca-Gnome doll expires in four hours. Click here and comment to enter. 

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Versatile, reliable and productive, Addison Maruszak is Trenton's MVP


TRENTON — When they left for Akron late last month, fresh off a sweep-sealing 14-2 loss to the Altoona Curve, the Thunder appeared to be in the grip of a freefall for the ages. On the surface, there was little — if any — reason to believe the team would snap out of its funk in time to prevent both New Britain and Reading from eclipsing them in the race for the playoffs. 

Addison Maruszak, however, found no reason to panic. 

“Statistically, it didn’t look good,” he recalled. “If you went to the games, you saw we were a line drive away from having a big inning, scoring a run. There were countless games where we’d have second and third — line drive to the third baseman, makes a great catch. … We were swinging the bat good — we just didn’t get any hits. We kept the same mindset when we won.”

That’s Maruszak in a nutshell. He bypasses the game’s prima facie and instead digs for the deeper nuggets, beyond both box scores and traditional thinking. He’ll talk baseball with you as long you like, and will do so with the aplomb of someone destined to be a dugout lifer. 

Moreover, after spending last year as little more than an always-willing utilityman who drew a ton of walks, Maruszak has established himself over the last five months as an everyday shortstop, a threat in the middle of the order and — in a year that placed premiums on both health and versatility — the Thunder’s most valuable player.

That success hasn’t come without a bit of serendipity. 


When camp broke in April, Maruszak was slated to join Jose Pirela and Yadil Mujica as part of the team’s extremely malleable bench. When Pirela and Walter Ibarra — the starting shortstop — went on the shelf within the season’s first month, however, Maruszak’s role quickly shifted, and the chance was there to reaffirm his worth to the only organization he’s known. 


With three scorching months, it’s obvious he made the most of his opportunity. From May 1 until Aug. 1, when it seemed like he barreled everything thrown his way, Maruszak hit .313/.362/.519 with 16 doubles, a triple, and 12 home runs. The longball total for that period was just four behind Darin Ruf, the league’s MVP and Rookie of the Year. 

He finished the season with a .276 average, on-base and slugging percentages of .330 and .457, a team-best 25 doubles, 16 homers, 59 RBIs and just 78 whiffs in 416 at-bats. The home run total stands as the most for an everyday shortstop in franchise history.

That success was forged through hours upon hours of hard work, both the in the cages and in front of a video screen with hitting coach Tom Slater, identifying and removing flaws from his swing. 

“I think the biggest thing for Addy is that he’s got more confidence,” Slater explained. “He’s playing more regularly than he was at the beginning of the year. He’s a guy that got a chance to get in the lineup day in and day out. He’s seized that opportunity, and the results have been pretty good.”

Before the injuries to Ibarra and Pirela gave him a chance to re-establish himself at shortstop, Maruszak’s value continued to lie in his versatility. In fact, within the first week of the season, he had already played at each of the four spots on the infield. 

That continued the trend from 2011, when he played every infield position besides, ironically, shortstop. He also saw time in the outfield and even made four starts at catcher. 

Yes, catcher. 

The genesis behind him seeing even limited action as a backstop started years ago, when Jorge Posada – who was doing a little bit of guest instruction with Tino Martinez at the University of South Florida – saw a little bit of his past in Maruszak. 

“Tino told him about me in college, and Jorge had been joking with me ever since, saying ‘Oh, you’re going to become a catcher, believe me. That’s what happened to me,’” Maruszak recounted. “I was like ‘OK, yeah, we’ll see,’ and then it happened, and Jorge was like ‘Hey, I told you so.’”

He learned the position during the instructional league after the 2010 season with the goal of making himself even more useful. Playing all first, second, third and shortstop is special enough, he thought, but adding catching to resume would be even more beneficial to his resume and could also help further ingratiate him to the organization’s decision-makers.

“I was pumped for it, because I really wanted to learn. If I could do that, that raises my stock as a player. It’s huge,” he said. “If I can play every position, I can open a roster spot up on a team. … When that came about I was eager to do it.” 

He hasn’t been behind the dish this year, but he still carries a catcher’s mitt among in his equipment bag, just in case. And with Jose Gil freshly promoted to Triple-A, Maruszak stands as the team’s emergency backstop should something happen to both J.R. Murphy and Jeff Farnham.

Mark Newman possesses the most influential set of eyes in the organization, and he made clear last week that the Yankees have definitely taken notice of Maruszak’s work ethic, and are certainly aware of the value he provides, both now and well into the future. 

“He’s another example of why we should be careful putting limits on human beings’ potential to grow and achieve things,” Newman said. “He’s at our complex in Tampa all the time in the offseason. He works, he catches, he helps, and he catches rehab pitchers. 

“He’s a fabulous person. He works incredibly hard and you can’t be any happier than all of us are for Addison for the kind of year he’s had, the contribution he’s made to this team, and for the way he’s pushed his career ahead.”

In a conversation with reporters toward the beginning of this season, well before his bat caught fire, Maruszak was asked if, because of his deep and obvious study of the game, he’d ever considered becoming a coach someday. 

He replied that yes, he had, but didn’t want to do so until his playing career was over, “in about 10 years.” As he was walking back from the hallway and into the clubhouse, perhaps realizing he’d undersold his own abilities, he turned back to the media and said “make it 15 years.”

With the way he’s performed this season and the can-do attitude he brings into every challenge he faces, he might be wise to extend that thinking even further.

Specter of Babe Ruf looms large against Trenton


TRENTON — Throughout the Delaware Valley, the clarion call has come in near-deafening unison. Phillies fans want Darin Ruf at Citizens Bank Park, and they want him there yesterday. 

They want the Eastern League’s Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year to continue his show of shock and awe on Broad Street, not Centre Street. 

They want the man who just broke Ryan Howard’s Reading single-season home run record to see if he can defy scouts and prospectors, nearly all of whom have tabbed Ruf’s big league future as somewhere between non-existent and fringy. 

In a few weeks, those fans, in desperate need of a pick-me-up in the waning days of a lost season, may well get their wish. 

For now, Ruf has a few barriers left to overcome, and unfortunately for the Thunder, they’re first on his list. 

The slates are cleaned once the postseason rolls around, but Ruf has done enough damage against Trenton this year to haunt the nightmares of its hurlers. Against the Thunder this season, Ruf has put forth numbers unimaginable even in the virtual world. 

“I think we tried everything over that last series when he hit like four (home runs),” Thunder hurler Mikey O’Brien said. “He’s in the zone right now. Every team in the league was trying to figure out how to pitch to him. He’s locked in; just try and pitch around him and hope he chases.”
In a dozen games, he’s torched Trenton for a .458 average, on-base and slugging percentages of .509 and 1.063 and has smashed eight of his minor league-best 38 longballs. 

He’s as ever-present a threat as a Northeast thunderstorm, and the Thunder will have to find a way to weather him if they hope to advance to the Eastern League Championship Series next week against either Bowie or Akron. 

Still, those scouts who try to put the kibosh on fans envisioning Ruf as their team’s next cleanup hitter aren’t doing so out of spite. They’re doing so because there are holes in his swing, and a pitcher with enough stuff and command can use those weaknesses to neutralize Reading’s biggest threat. 

“There’s two ways (to attack him),” one scout explained. “You have to keep him off-balance; he likes to hit the fastball. You have to mix your pitches in, you have to keep him off-balance. He’s got some holes and you can exploit them, but he doesn’t miss many mistakes, so you’ve got to be precise.

“There’s times where you can get over his hands with a fastball.´... He wants to extend and he wants to pull. Most of the home runs I’ve seen him hit have been to left field. He doesn’t miss those offerings out over the plate.”

And although he has run roughshod over the Thunder and the Eastern League all season long, one Trenton hurler has found great success against the man fans have dubbed “Babe Ruf.” Over the last two seasons, Brett Marshall — who will take the ball opposite Austin Hyatt in Game 1 on Wednesday — has faced Ruf five times and held him to just one extra-base hit. 

Marshall is aware of his success against Ruf, but knows that one mistake will turn all of that into history. 

“For me, I have a lot of confidence against him. We’re kind of friends and played together at the All-Star game. I learned a little about him. Between this year and last year I’ve faced him a lot. I think he’s like 1 for 20 against me, so that gives me a lot of confidence,” Marshall said. “But he’s still a good hitter. I can’t take it for granted. You have to make your pitches to him. He seems to be locked in. If you leave a ball up he’s going to hit you hard.”

For a little extra help making Ruf an afterthought, Trenton might want to place a call to Kevin Boles and the Portland Sea Dogs. In their season-closing series with Reading, Portland pitchers held Ruf to just 3 for 16 with a run and an RBI. If the Thunder can do the same, there’s a good chance they’ll play for their third Eastern League crown.

Thunder set to begin playoffs, albeit without Murton


TRENTON — After enduring a season of full of injuries, the Thunder will open the playoffs tonight in Reading missing one of their lineup’s biggest cogs. 

The team announced on Tuesday that Luke Murton, whose 25 longballs led Trenton and placed second in the Eastern League behind Darin Ruf, had been promoted to Triple-A to take the place of the released Kosuke Fukudome and open a spot for hurler Zach Nuding. 

Just as they have all season, though, Trenton will soldier on, and will do so Wednesday with their ace, Brett Marshall, taking the ball in Game 1 opposite Reading’s Austin Hyatt. 

Marshall, whose 13 wins were the most for a Thunder starter since Jason Jones’ 13 back in 2008, made two starts against Reading this year, posting a 1-1 record and 5.11 ERA. He permitted just nine hits and fanned 14 over 12 1/3 innings. 

Lefty Shaeffer Hall will take the ball in Game 2, followed by Mikey O’Brien and Nik Turley when the series returns to Waterfront Park for the third and fourth games of the series. Reading will counter with Trevor May, Ethan Martin and Adam Morgan. Neither team has announced its starter for a possible fifth game, which would also be played in Trenton. 

All season long, Trenton’s bread-and-butter has been the longball. The team poked a franchise-best 162 homers, and will look to do even more damage at cozy FirstEnergy Stadium on Wednesday and Thursday. 

The men responsible for 59 of those homers – Murton, Melky Mesa and Cody Johnson – are gone, however, and Trenton will instead rely on a pair of talented newcomers in outfielders Tyler Austin and Ramon Flores to buoy stalwarts like Addison Maruszak, David Adams and All-Star outfielder Zoilo Almonte.

Austin, dubbed a “megaprospect” by Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, has emerged this season as one of the organization’s top two offensive prospects, rivaled only by catcher Gary Sanchez, who finished this season in High-A. 

After starting the year with Low-A Charleston and finishing with Trenton, Austin, who doesn’t turn 21 until Thursday, with a .322 average, on-base and slugging percentages of .400 and .559, 35 doubles, 17 homers and 80 RBIs.

Because Tampa wasn’t eliminated from the Florida State League playoff chase until the penultimate day of the year, Austin doesn’t have to work hard to get geared up for postseason action. 

“We had a shot in Tampa up until the last couple of nights,” Austin said. “I think it definitely keeps you focused. We’d been in a playoff race and now I’m up here trying to help this team win a championship.”

Flores, who slugged a home run in his first Double-A game in Monday’s season finale at Binghamton, brings with him a keen batting eye, a mature approach at the plate, if perhaps less power than most corner outfielders.

“He’s got a pretty swing, that kid,” a scout said. “He goes deep in counts, he’ll take his walks. He’s a patient hitter. … I like the swing and I like the plate discipline, but I don’t think he’s ever going to hit for a whole lot of power.”

Along with Austin and Flores, the Thunder also added a pair of relievers who, when coupled with Mark Montgomery and Ryan Pope, will make it paramount that Reading get to the Thunder’s starters. 

Tommy Kahnle and Branden Pinder each bring mid-90s fastballs and above average offspeed stuff – a slider for Kahnle and a split-finger for Pinder – at the opposition. They’ve each struggled with command but have improved over the past two months. 

From July through the end of August, the pair combined fan 68 against 16 walks in just 55 innings. 
If they can continue that trend starting Wednesday, the Thunder can shorten games to six innings. 

After finishing two wins shy of a championship in 2010 and missing the playoffs entirely last season, Trenton hopes it can get back to the promised land starting Wednesday and add to their resume a third championship in six seasons.