Got a chance to speak to Tony Franklin just now for a few minutes as he made his way into physical therapy on his newly-replaced left knee. The Thunder announced yesterday that he was on board for his sixth consecutive season managing the team. When I told him that, at least toward the end of last season, it appeared that 2011 would be his last at Trenton's helm, here's what he had to say.

"I've thought about (retiring) in each offseason. You start questioning myself, but in the back of my mind I think, 'What else do I want to do?' I'm too young to retire."

During our conversation of what, other than reassurance from his doctors, eventually brought him back again, he brought up the many big-rehabs who have come through Trenton over the past few years, namely Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter, and how much that's meant to him.

"Another Hall of Fame player (like Jeter or Pettitte, or a prospect) will come through Trenton, and I want to be a part of that."

More than anything, though, the decision to come back centered around a desire to teach, which has been the motivating factor since he starting managing in 1982.

"I want to educate players about this," he said, "about how to be major leaguers."

(Trenton, NJ)- The Trenton Thunder, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, announced on Thursday that Tony Franklin will be returning to Trenton as Manager for the sixth consecutive season.

Franklin will be joined in the dugout once again by pitching coach and former Major Leaguer Tommy Phelps who returns for a fourth season. The coaching staff will include new additions,Hitting Coach Tom Slater, Coach Luis Dorante and Athletic Trainer Scott DiFrancesco. Strength and Conditioning Coach Kaz Manabe will return to the Thunder for a second season.

“Tony Franklin is an absolute professional and he’s been a great asset to the Thunder and our community," said Thunder General Manager Will Smith. " I can’t wait to welcome him back to Trenton in 2012. We all hope he can lead the Thunder to our third League championship.”

Franklin guided the Thunder to back-to-back Eastern League Championships in 2007 and 2008 and another Eastern League Championship Series appearance in 2010. Last year's squad did not make the Eastern League playoffs. Franklin owns a career managerial record of 997-906 including a record of 405-323 with Trenton (records include post-season).

The 2008 Eastern League Championship was Franklin’s third title as manager. In 1993, he led South Bend (Single-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox) to the Midwest League Championship. Prior to his time in Trenton, Franklin spent most of the last 11 years as the Minor League Infield Instructor for the San Diego Padres. His managerial career began with the White Sox organization as the manager for Geneva (NY) of the New York-Penn League in 1982.

Franklin spent four seasons in Geneva, making the playoffs in 1985. After one season with Wytheville (Appalachian League), he guided the White Sox affiliate in the Florida State League, the Sarasota White Sox, to a playoff appearance in 1989. Franklin spent two years as the skipper of the Birmingham Barons of the Southern League, including 81 wins in 1991 and a berth in the Championship Series.

He and his wife, Haiba, have three children Derrick, Wayne and Shelby.

Tommy Phelps will return for his fourth season as the pitching coach for the Thunder. Phelps pitched for the Florida Marlins in 2003 and 2004 including a 2003 season in which he went 3-2 with a 4.00 ERA in 27 games (seven starts). He was part of a Marlins team that won the World Series over the Yankees. Phelps pitched in 29 games for Milwaukee in 2005 and went 7-4 with a 4.45 ERA in 2006 with Columbus (Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees). Phelps was originally an eighth round pick by Montreal in the 1992 draft.

Hitting Coach Tom Slater has been a Manager in the Yankees organization for the past three seasons. Last year, he led Staten Island to a 45-28 record and the New York-Penn League championship. He managed the Gulf Coast League Yankees the previous two seasons. Prior to joining the Yankees, he served as Head Coach at Auburn University, going 115-113 and seeing 15 players drafted by Major League clubs over the four year span. His previous coaching experience includes a stint as assistant coach at Florida (2004), three years as the head coach at Virginia Military Institute (2001-03) and assistant coach positions at St. Christopher's School in Richmond, VA and Marshall University.

Coach Luis Dorante spent the last four years in the Pirates organization, serving as the Latin American Field Coordinator in 2011. From 2008-2010, he was the Pirates Bullpen Coach, having joined the Major League staff on November 20, 2007. He served the Florida Marlins in the same capacity during the 2005 campaign.

Dorante’s managerial career began with the Montreal Expos in the Gulf Coast League in 1995. The former Harrisburg Senators skipper returns to the Eastern League for the first time since the 2001 season. In 11 seasons as a minor league manager, Dorante led his team to the playoffs four times and compiled a record of 671-696. Primarily a catcher during his playing days, Luis also made appearances at first base, third base and in the outfield during his six-year minor league career.

Athletic Trainer Scott DiFrancesco has been in the Yankees organization for five years after spending last year with Tampa, the previous three with Charleston and a 2006 internship at the Yankees complex in Tampa, FL. He has a Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training from Ball State University.

Kaz Manabe returns to the Thunder as the Strength and Conditioning Coach. He had spent the previous two season with Charleston. A native of Japan, Manabe graduated from Hiroshima University and earned his Master degree in Kinesiology from California State University, Northridge.

In a text this morning, Tony Franklin, the Thunder's manager since 2007, says that he underwent successful knee-replacement surgery and is "on the mend."

"Therapy is tough," he wrote, "but (I'm) getting through it."

Franklin was bothered all season by various issues, foremost of which was his aching knee. You could see it when he walked, and especially when he made his way out to argue with an umpire.

He also missed an early portion of the season after being taken to a local hospital before a game complaining of chest pains.

In Franklin's absence, Justin Pope, a coach and a former Thunder pitcher, served as the team's acting skipper. Because minor league managerial contracts are year-to-year, Franklin is currently a free agent.

If he returns, he would only extend his franchise-record tenure at the team's helm. I, however, don't believe he will be back. The medical issues seemed almost too much to bear at times this season, and I think he will ultimately opt to stay in baseball, but with a job that is both less taxing physically and closer to his California home.

When the 2012 season begins, I fully expect that Pope will begin his first season as a professional manager.

TRENTON – Before every game, Thunder manager Tony Franklin oversees his infielders as they work on their craft. Jose Pirela and Corban Joseph in particular can be seen taking ground balls and working on perfecting the double-play turn. Rob Lyerly works on getting better at the corners.

This is all in addition to the day’s regularly scheduled pregame practice session.

After the infield’s display in the fifth inning of the team’s 9-3 loss to the Binghamton Mets last night, it’s clear that there’s a lot of work left to be done.









In that frame, Shaeffer Hall, who had the misfortune of being a control artist who can get hitters to beat the ball into the dirt, watched as Lyerly, Pirela and Addison Maruszak each misplayed grounders behind him.

The final error of the inning, Lyerly’s, would have ended the frame with just four runs on the board and the Thunder staring at a 6-2 hole. Instead, Niuman Romero, activated from Binghamton’s disabled list to replace the promoted Jordany Valdespin, reached, and the B-Mets tacked on three more.

When asked about it before the game, Franklin agreed that his team’s defense, particularly on the infield, has been one of the major contributing factors in its current tailspin.

“It’s a defensive game. I’ve said this for five years and I’ve said this for a long time in my career. … We’ve made a lot of errors, and errors have contributed to big innings (and) runs, and that makes playing the game a little more difficult.”

To wit, through the first 116 games, Trenton has committed 130 errors. Four players (Pirela, Joseph, Lyerly, Brad Suttle) have more than 10, something that hadn’t been accomplished since 2006.

Allowing seven runs in an inning is never good, but facing a former first-rounder throwing high-90s gas only compounds the situation.

That was the case with Matt Harvey last night, the seventh overall selection in last June’s draft, who, although he didn’t have lockdown stuff, was able to quiet the Thunder’s bats over five innings.

In all, Harvey allowed three runs on six hits, walked nobody and fanned six.

Before the disastrous fifth, things were actually looking up for the Thunder, who were able to briefly time Harvey’s fastball. Melky Mesa and Zoilo Almonte strung together consecutive singles in the second, and Damon Sublett sent home the first run with a ringing double into the left-center field alleyway.

A groundout from Jose Gil – who also erred in the fifth – brought home a second run, which tied the game at the time.

NOTES: Joseph was not initially in the lineup. He was scheduled to visit the doctor to have a stye over his eye lanced. Plans changed, however, and he was reinserted into day’s starting nine. … Ray Kruml took batting practice yesterday, and could be activated in time for this weekend’s set in Harrisburg. … Austin Romine (lower back) is still day to day.

Even though it had a little twist at the end, the Thunder followed virtually the same script they have for the last five weeks: Lose, and do so in particularly frustrating fashion.

This time it was a 6-5 defeat against Binghamton, one in which it looked for a moment like the tide was finally beginning to turn.

Down 6-1 opening the eighth, Jose Pirela blooped a single into a shallow left field. Corban Joseph followed with a single through the right side, and Rob Lyerly capped the rally with a long three-run homer into the blackness beyond the wall in right-center field.

With the pendulum appearing to swing back in their favor, the Thunder kept chipping.

Damon Sublett started the ninth with a triple off the top of the wall in center, which Jose Gil followed with a walk against Binghamton closer Josh Stinson.

Things then turned quickly back toward the visitors’ dugout.

With his team down two and threatening, Gil committed one of baseball’s biggest no-no’s when he got picked off of first base on Stinson’s fake-to-third-throw-to-first move.

Sublett scored on a wild pitch, but the next two men, Addison Maruszak and Austin Krum went down in order to close the game and the send Trenton back to the clubhouse with its six loss out of seven tries in August.

“I’ve got a recording,” manager Tony Franklin said afterward, “and it’s not good. It’s starting to wear on me. I think we’re a better team than that, but we keep seeing the same movie over and over every night, and I’m tired of watching it.”

In spite of the loss, the Thunder, who are just 11-25 since the start of July, find themselves just one game behind Reading for the Eastern Division wild card and just five games back of division leader New Hampshire, against whom they still have six head-to-head matchups.

With that knowledge, Lyerly says, the team can take a hint of solace in knowing its mess of a second half hasn’t amounted to a knockout blow.

“We’re right there,” he said. “It’s only a matter of time before we roll through and make a push and start climbing the ladder.”

Things started poorly last night when, with two outs and a runner on second, starter Graham Stoneburner lost the strike zone. He issued two consecutive free passes before third baseman Mike Fisher cleaned the bags with a double.

And although Fisher was wiped out in a rundown between second and third base, his hit put the Thunder in a three-run hole which, lately, has been an overwhelming deficit.

Over its last 11 games, last night marked just the third time Trenton had scored more than three runs.

Stoneburner settled down after the first inning, dodging in and out of trouble through the next four frames to keep Binghamton off the board. Problem was, Trenton wasn’t putting up much of a fight either.

Their first run scored on a Krum groundout in the fifth, and they collected just three hits and a walk in five frames against starter Collin McHugh.

Binghamton added to its lead in the sixth and seventh innings, using a two-run home run from Raul Reyes and a seventh-inning double from Fisher that plated Havens and chased Stoneburner.

Here are the links to The Trentonian's coverage of JeterMania tonight:

First, my story recapping The Captain's evening

Second, the game story from my intern, Spencer Israel

Last, my column on why, despite his accolades, Jeter will not be a unanimous Hall of Famer

Below are videos of all of Jeter's at-bats, plus some BP video, Tony Franklin's pregame presser, and Jeter and Cashman's postgame pressers:




















The other big news of the day was Shaeffer Hall's promotion to Triple-A, and Kei Igawa's umpteenth return to the Thunder. Hall will start tomorrow for the SWB Yankees, just 14 months after he started against Lakewood in Low-A. Crazy.

It's the final day of Derek Jeter's two-game stint with the Thunder, and everything but the weather has been optimal. The tarp is on the field now, and it's been raining on and off all day long, with thunder and lightning in the mix as well.

Jeter is scheduled to play all nine innings tentatively, as well continue leading off and playing shortstop. That, however, could be affected by the rain, obviously. He won't speak until after the game, as per rehab tradition. Only Lance Berkman, that I can remember, went against that rule.

Manny Banuelos is on the bump for the Thunder, giving this final game of their last homestand before the All-Star break just a little more juice -- as if it needed it.

The lineup for the Thunder looks like this:

Derek Jeter - SS
Ray Kruml - RF
Corban Joseph - DH
Brad Suttle - 3B
Melky Mesa - CF
Rob Lyerly - 1B
Jose Pirela - 2B
Damon Sublett - LF
Jose Gil - C
Manny Banuelos - LHP

Here are some videos of Jeter taking batting practice, and most of Tony Franklin's pregame press conference:









Here's Captain America's first at-bat -- er, plate appearance

TRENTON – As a direct result of an altercation with manager Tony Franklin during Tuesday night’s loss to the Altoona Curve, hitting coach Julius Matos has been – at least temporarily -- relieved of his duties.

Yankees roving hitting instructor James Rowson has been tabbed to fill the role until Matos returns, if he does at all. Calls to Yankees Vice President of Player Development Mark Newman were not immediately returned.

Franklin himself had little to say on the matter.

“Julius has a couple of issues to be taken care of, and for that reason he’s back in Tampa.” he said. “ … If there’s anything further that you need to know about it, you need to address those questions to Tampa. They can probably give you a little bit more than I’m going to give you.”

When it happened, Matos’ ejection seemed more than a little curious.

It started with one out in the ninth inning and the tying run in scoring position, when shortstop Jose Pirela hit a dribbler in front of home plate and was tagged out by Curve catcher Tony Sanchez. Pirela protested the call, and Franklin came out to discuss things with umpires Shaun Lampe (home plate), Scott Mahoney (first base) and Matt Cunningham (third base).

After the umpires upheld the call, Pirela kicked at the air, then dropped his helmet on home plate. Still, Lampe gave him a little leeway. When Pirela then flipped his bat back toward the dish, however, Lampe gave him the heave-ho.

With Franklin and Pirela both off the field, Matos decided he needed to go and have a few more very loud words with, oddly, Mahoney, who had nothing to do with the initial call.

Matos continued a very animated argument with Mahoney for about a minute or so before he was dismissed. On his way back to the clubhouse to join Pirela, Matos launched a bag of baseballs from the dugout and onto the field.

It has been revealed now that there was an incident after the game between Matos and Franklin over, among other things, the appropriateness of Matos’ actions given his capacity.

Initially, the media were barred from speaking to either Franklin or the players. Franklin relented shortly thereafter and agreed to speak briefly. He looked visibly aggravated during the conversation, and would only talk about things that happened during the game – including the play that led to both ejections.

It was the second ejection for Matos this season, and the second major incident that has occurred on his watch in Trenton. The first came three seasons ago, and involved then -Yankees prospect Jose Tabata.

During a game that summer, Tabata struck out and was less than pleased. He was hitting very poorly at the time and was having problems with his then-wife, and decided the best course of action was to simply leave the stadium during the game.

Tabata was suspended three games for his actions. Upon his return, Tabata, a Spanish speaker, used Matos to interpret his initial interview. The media found out that the translation Matos was providing was not accurate, and alerted both Franklin and Newman, who directed that Tabata and Matos re-do the interview.

It is unclear if or when Matos will return, but if he does, he will certainly be doing so on very thin ice.

The team has just informed me and other members of the media that Tony Franklin, out since last Thursday after experiencing chest pains before game time, will be back and managing tonight's game against the Portland Sea Dogs.

Bench coach Justin Pope had been managing in his stead, and went 4-2 during his six-game stint at the helm.

TRENTON — When chest pains forced Thunder manager Tony Franklin to the hospital just 20 minutes before last Thursday’s game, the team needed a skipper not only for that night, but more than likely for a small spell afterward.

The organization had more than a few choices at its disposal. In house, there were pitching coach Tommy Phelps and hitting coach Julius Matos, both of whom carry extensive experience with the franchise and its players.

The Yankees also could have shipped in one of their higher-ups, like Director of Player Development Pat Roessler or Torre Tyson, the organization’s defensive coordinator, to bridge the time until Franklin’s return.

The fact that they chose to forgo all of those options in favor of Justin Pope — the Thunder’s first-year bench coach and a man so young that he still has former teammates playing in the Eastern League — speaks volumes about how bright his future can be.

That fact wasn’t lost on Pope, who at 32 has gotten a taste of life in the big chair well before he expected it. And even though he’s grateful for the chance, there was one underlying factor that concerned him.

“I had fear of being a pitcher and working with position players, admitted Pope, who pitched for eight seasons in the minor leagues, including parts of three with the Thunder. “That’s what my biggest fear was, of these guys looking at me like, ‘This guy’s a pitcher, what’s he know? I’m not going to listen to him,’ and not getting any respect.”

He’s won three of his first four games at Trenton’s helm, and the offense has scored 17 runs in that time, so he’s got to be doing something right.

Thunder outfielder Austin Krum sure thinks so.

“He’s done a great job. I’ve been talking to some of the guys behind Pope’s back — he’s ready for this spot somewhere. He’s going to be a manager somewhere someday. ... Every move that we’ve made so far since Skip’s not been here has been the right move in my mind,” Krum said.

Franklin is expected to be away at least until this weekend’s homestand with Portland, and possibly until the team’s road trip to Reading next week.

In his stead, Pope has done everything that Franklin would have done. That includes filling out lineup cards, positioning fielders, deciding when to send or hold runners, and making the call on when is an appropriate time to bunt.

That last decision, Pope says, was at the center of his toughest moment so far as a skipper.

In the ninth inning on Sunday, with Melky Mesa on second, Jose Pirela at the plate and the Thunder trailing by a run with nobody out, Pope had to decide whether to have Pirela lay down a bunt or let him swing away.

The decision, obviously, had implications which meant the difference between taking three of four from Binghamton or sending the Thunder on the road to Erie with consecutive losses.

After giving him one chance to swing, Pope called for the bunt, which Pirela pushed beautifully up the third-base line. Addison Maruszak followed with a walk, and Krum capped the win with a two-run triple into right-center field.

“If something happens, he lines out and Mesa gets doubled up, that’s our inning right there,” Pope said, explaining the process by which he came to his decision. “Let’s play it safe, bunt him over, we’ve got two chances to get him in.”

One thing Pope has learned, from when his transition started in the Yankees instructional league back in September, through the first few weeks of watching and learning from Franklin, up until his cameo at the top, is that minor league managers have one goal bigger than their team’s won-lost record.

Above all, they are judged by the number and quality of players they deliver to the big club. You can produce bus league championships every year, but if the talent on those teams can’t stand the pressure in the show, then your tenure with the organization won’t last very long.

“We’re all here for the same reason: To get these guys better, and to hopefully get them to the big leagues,” he said. Not everybody’s going to get to the big leagues, and the guys who don’t get to the big leagues maximize their ability and their potential so they can look in the mirror when they’re done playing and be like ‘Hey, I gave it my all, it just wasn’t meant to be.

“That’s what I did. I didn’t get to the big leagues, but I knew I gave it everything I had, and I can look myself in the mirror. ... Hopefully, maybe this is my calling. ’”

TRENTON – If you like watching Double-A starting pitchers who were born in the 1970s, then the first 35 games of the Thunder’s season have been right up your alley.

In the first six weeks, Trenton has sent Kevin Millwood (1974) and Kei Igawa (1979) to the hill, and will send another ’70s baby to the mound tonight. The man this time is Carlos Silva (1979), who, like Millwood, is another one of the Yankees’ attempts at a reclamation project.

Silva was let go by the Cubs late this spring, and was signed by New York to a minor league contract on April 9, just two days into the minor league season.

He’s made two appearances with High-A Tampa, one for three innings on May 4, and a four-inning stint five days later. He’s allowed two runs on eight hits – one home run – two walks and a strikeout.

The change, of course, requires a little juggling in the Thunder’s rotation. Dellin Betances, originally scheduled to start tonight against Binghamton, will start the homestand finale on Sunday. Manny Banuelos will be pushed to Tuesday in Erie, where the team will begin a short road trip before returning to Waterfront Park on Friday.

Unlike Igawa, tonight’s start will not be Silva’s first in Trenton. With the Reading Phillies in 2001, he gave up seven runs on nine hits – two longballs – in seven innings against the Thunder, who were then an affiliate of the Red Sox.

∙∙∙

It seems all is fine with Tony Franklin after Thursday night’s health scare. He experienced chest pains 20 minutes before yesterday’s game, and was taken to St. Francis Medical Center with team physician Lou Fares.

He was back at the ballpark briefly yesterday morning, but won’t be back in uniform for a little while. In his stead, coach Justin Pope will take over the managerial duties. Franklin said yesterday by phone that he hopes to be back with the team when it travels to Reading, but there’s no set date at this time.

“I just need to take it easy for a few days,” Franklin said yesterday, noting that everything checked out fine at the hospital and that doctors assured them he did not have a heart attack.

Pope, trainer Tim Lentych and pitching coach Tommy Phelps went to see Franklin at the hospital but because of the hour, only Lentych was allowed to visit.

“He’s at home resting now,” Pope said yesterday. “Tim said he’s doing good.”

NOTES: Because Ray Kruml broke for second yesterday after being picked off by Binghamton starter Mark Cohoon, it went into the scorebook as a caught stealing. That meant it was the first time either he or Austin Krum had been pinched on the bases in 27 tries.

The Trenton Thunder, the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, announced on Wednesday that Tony Franklin will be back as Manager for his fifth consecutive season in Trenton.

Franklin will be joined in the dugout once again by pitching coach and former Major Leaguer Tommy Phelps. Julius Matos and Justin Pope will both make a return to Trenton in different organizational roles. Matos, who was a coach for Trenton in 2008 will serve as the Thunder Hitting Coach while former Trenton pitcher Pope will make his Double-A coaching debut. Athletic Trainer Tim Lentych will return for his fourth season and strength coach Kaz Manabe joins the Thunder after spending 2010 with Charleston (Low-A affiliate of the New York Yankees).

“We are thrilled to welcome Tony and his staff back to Trenton,” Thunder General Manager Will Smith said. “Since Tony arrived in Trenton four years ago, he has made many positive contributions on the field and in the community.”

Franklin guided the Thunder to back-to-back Eastern League Championships in 2007 and 2008. Last season under Franklin the Thunder finished with the the best record in the Eastern League (83-59) and another Eastern League Championship Series appearance.

The 2008 Eastern League Championship was Franklin’s third title as manager. In 1993, he led South Bend (Single-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox) to the Midwest League Championship. Prior to his time in Trenton, Franklin spent most of the last 11 years as the Minor League Infield Instructor for the San Diego Padres. His managerial career began with the White Sox organization as the manager for Geneva (NY) of the New York-Penn League in 1982.

Franklin spent four seasons in Geneva, making the playoffs in 1985. After one season with Wytheville (Appalachian League), he guided the White Sox affiliate in the Florida State League, the Sarasota White Sox, to a playoff appearance in 1989. Franklin spent two years as the skipper of the Birmingham Barons of the Southern League, including 81 wins in 1991 and a berth in the Championship Series.

While in Birmingham, Franklin was the manager of former Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson. Before Trenton, his last managerial stint came with Las Vegas in 2000. Franklin filled in for Duane Espy and guided the Stars to a 43-50 mark.

Franklin was honored by San Diego in 1997 with the Jack Krol Award for Outstanding Minor League Instruction in the Padres’ organization. He and his wife, Haiba, have three children Derrick, Wayne and Shelby.

Tommy Phelps will embark on his third season as the pitching coach for the Thunder. Phelps pitched for the Florida Marlins in 2003 and 2004. During 2003, he went 3-2 with a 4.00 ERA in 27 games (seven starts) for Florida. He was part of a Marlins team that won the World Series over the Yankees. He pitched in 29 games for Milwaukee in 2005. He went 7-4 with a 4.45 ERA in 2006 with Columbus (Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees). Phelps was originally an 8^th round pick by Montreal in the 1992 draft.

Julius Matos makes a return to Trenton as the 2011 Thunder hitting coach, replacing Frank Menechino. Matos made his coaching debut in 2008 with the Thunder and has spent the past two seasons as the hitting coach for the Tampa Yankees (Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees). Originally selected by the Indians in the 16th round of the 1994 draft, Matos played parts of 13 seasons for the Cleveland, Arizona, San Diego, Kansas City, Toronto and Montreral organizations. Matos played 104 games at the major league level with the Padres (2002) and Royals (2003) and batted a combined .244 with four home runs and four doubles.

Justin Pope begins his first season as a coach with Trenton after spending 2010 in the same capacity with the Staten Island Yankees (Short Season-A affiliate of the New York Yankees). Pope played parts of three seasons with Trenton ('05-'07) and currently holds the franchise record in career saves (58). A first-round draft pick by St. Louis in 2001, Pope played for eight seasons in the minor leagues and was acquired by the Yankees in 2003 as part of a trade that sent Sterling Hitchcock to St. Louis.

Tim Lentych returns to Trenton for his fourth season as the Athletic Trainer. The 2009 Eastern League Athletic Trainer of the Year spent the prior three seasons as the trainer for the Charleston RiverDogs (Low-A affiliate of the New York Yankees). In 2004, he began his stint with the Yankees organization as the trainer for the Staten Island Yankees. Lentych received his B.S. from Ball State University in 2002, and his M.S. from the University of Tennessee in 2004. He has completed internships in athletic training with the Baltimore Orioles in 2001, and the Tennessee Smokies (former Double-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals) in 2003.

Kaz Manabe joins the Thunder as the Strength and Conditioning Coach, after spending the previous two season with Charleston. A native of Japan, Manabe graduated from Hiroshima University and earned his Master degree in Kinesiology from California State University, Northridge.

TRENTON — For the fifth season in a row, Tony Franklin will manage the Thunder.
Reached at his home in Los Angeles, Calif., the manager was happy to remain in the Yankees’ organization, even if it meant not moving upward, something he has repeatedly expressed his desire to do.

“I’m happy to be coming back,” he said. “I really enjoy being there. I’ve said it before: Working in Trenton and living there for four years, this being my fifth, it’s not a bad deal. It’s not bad.
“Some people may look at it as being stagnant and whatnot, but I don’t look at it that way.”

Just because he’s happy to be coming back, however, doesn’t mean he didn’t look elsewhere.
After the season ended, he told Senior Vice President of Baseball Operations Mark Newman and farm director Pat Roessler that he was continuing to try to find an open job in the big leagues, and that he would be sending his resume to clubs with vacancies.

“I sent out some resumes and made some contacts, and nothing happened,” he explained. “That’s baseball, and I understand that’s how baseball goes. I’m just fortunate enough that I’ve got a place to come back to. Some guys may not have a place to come back to.”

Also returning to the Thunder for 2011 is Tommy Phelps, the team’s pitching coach for the last two seasons.

When it came to his pitching coach, Franklin couldn’t lavish enough praise.

“I cannot tell you and say enough good adjectives about Tommy Phelps,” he said. “What a guy. One of the nicest men I’ve known in baseball, one of the nicest men I’ve known, period.”

Oh, and he can coach a little, too.

Under Phelps, Trenton pitchers have fanned 2,235 hitters over two seasons and have accrued a combined ERA of 3.60.

“Very knowledgeable. Does everything he can to get the pitchers to be better pitchers, and gets the most out of them,” Franklin continued.

Taking the place of hitting coach Frank Menechino, who has taken a role with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, is Julius Matos, who filled the same role with the club in 2008.

He was High-A Tampa’s hitting coach for the last two seasons, and has a history with Franklin that dates back to when both were members of the Padres organization.

“Julius has been there before with me. He’s been on a championship team, so he certainly knows what it takes to, on a daily basis, prepare to play the game.”

Rounding out the 2011 field staff is Justin Pope, who pitched for the Thunder in parts of four seasons. He spent last season getting his feet wet as a coach with the Staten Island Yankees, the organization’s Short-Season affiliate.

“He’s out there trying to earn his spurs, like the majority of us have done who have been in this industry and coaching for a while,” Franklin said, referring to Pope.

“What I think he’s going to bring, and what I think the most important element of any coach, is character. ... I’m very excited about him being on our staff.”

Tim Lentych returns for his third season as the team’s trainer, and Kaz Manabe joins the staff as the strength and conditioning coach.

Manabe spent the last two seasons in the same role with the Charleston RiverDogs, the Yankees’ Low-A affiliate.

Over 15 seasons of managing in the minor leagues, Tony Franklin has accomplished quite a bit.

He’s won 925 out of 1,755 games, good for a .527 winning percentage.

He’s taken seven of his teams — including three of his four Thunder squads — to the playoffs.

And in three of those postseasons, he’s guided his club all the way to the top — in 2007 and 2008 with the Thunder, and in 1993 with the Midwest League’s South Bend White Sox.

Most important, however, is his track record of sending players to the show.

Since he joined the Thunder in 2007, Franklin has sent 39 players to the major leagues, including names like Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes, Mike Dunn, Ian Kennedy and Andrew Brackman, his most recent graduate.

Still, after a decade and a half plying his trade, there’s still something he dearly desires: A chance to join his former charges at the next level.

“It’s basically what I got in this for,” Franklin said before Game 2 of the Eastern League Championship Series, “like all the players, the broadcasters, the newspaper guys, you want to go to the highest point of your profession, and I want to do the same. That’s why I continue to do this.”

The major problem for Franklin is simple: Outside of the cities in which he’s managed, nobody really knows his name.

He never made the major leagues as a player, and only coached in the show for a brief period while the position’s normal holder was ill. Because of this, his name never really comes up when an opportunity arises.

And he’s perfectly aware of this situation.

“Outside of the Yankees, I think I’m under the radar,” he said, “and I’ve been under the radar for a long, long time.”

Using that example, when a vacancy opens up after the season, even with all good work Franklin’s done in his career, there is virtually no chance that he would get an interview.

“They’d call (Lou) Piniella, (Bobby) Valentine and the (Buck) Showalters, and my name would probably never get mentioned,” Franklin opined.

It’s this recycling of managers, no matter their level of success, that frustrates the Thunder’s skipper more than a little bit.

He knows that if you’re not a big name already, there’s a good chance that you never will be, especially given the highly cyclical nature of power that exists today within professional sports.

“People have to know you,” he said. “They have to know you, so unknowns don’t get as much play as people who are lesser known.”

As was mentioned earlier, Franklin has plenty of laurels on which to rest. That said, were he to pitch himself to a major league club, he’d prefer to do it with glowing testimonials from his former players.

One example is pitcher Ivan Nova, who made his major league debut this year. He’s also made a strong case for a spot on the postseason roster, as well as a shot at the fifth starter’s job once spring training rolls around.

Nova made a dozen starts with Trenton in 2009, and points to a particularly bad one in Bowie when Franklin taught him that bad outings will happen, and the best thing you can is to use what you learned that day when your next turn comes around.

“When I went into the dugout (after being removed), he said the same thing: ‘Keep looking forward. That happens in the game. I know sometimes you’ll feel bad, but you’ve got to take that away, work hard and keeping moving forward.’”

Former Thunder players Kevin Russo and Eduardo Nunez were also in the Bronx that day, and the pair also had kind words for their former skipper.

Nunez, who put himself on the map with a boffo 2009 as the Thunder’s shortstop, said that Franklin provided a guiding hand throughout his first foray into the upper levels.

“He told me all the time that the most important thing is consistency every day, working very, very hard,” Nunez said. “He’s a great manager, a great friend, too. He helped me out with everything.”

What Russo, who collected his first big league hit in late May, remembers is a players’ manager.
“He was very laid back, just let his players play. He obviously keeps winning there, so he must doing something right.”

Of course, he’s not beloved by everyone. When former Thunder catcher Kyle Anson retired before the season, he said that Franklin’s return to the team was one of his primary reasons behind the move.

“I didn’t enjoy playing for Tony Franklin whatsoever,” Anson explained. “When I found out he was returning, I took it as a sign from God.”

Anson was an exception, however, and stood in sharp contrast to one of Franklin’s most successful former players.

Phillies lefty Jamie Moyer, who was part of Franklin’s Geneva squad in the New York-Penn League in 1984, remembers Franklin as fiery, especially with younger players.

But that fire always came with a purpose, Moyer says, and it’s helped him get where he is today.

“When he needed to put his foot down, when he needed to get a point across, he got it across. Whether people liked it or not, it didn’t really matter. The way I took it all is that he was trying to bring the best out of you, as an individual and as a team.”

Moyer continued his praise, saying that perhaps Franklin’s lessons took time to sink in, especially for a 21-year-old just getting his feet wet in the pros.

“For me he was very good, as a young player, because he pushed you, he drove you, but all in all he’s just trying to teach you the game,” Moyer explained. “I probably didn’t realize that in the very beginning, but I think the more time I spent with him, I started to understand.”

Franklin is open to returning to the Thunder’s helm for a fifth season, but if the words from Moyer, Nova, Nunez and Russo get around, he might not have to.

— Josh Norris is The Trentonian’s Thunder beat writer. Reach him at 609-989-7800 ext. 296. Reach him by e-mail at jnorris@trentonian.com, or on Twitter at @jnorris427.

From the top down, here are Tony Franklin, Adam Warren, Austin Romine and Manny Banuelos talking about the loss last night and what they need to do to even the series tonight in Game 4.









Also below are videos of innings from Warren and reliever Pat Venditte. Both videos contain scoreless frames.

Just like the headline says, here are the postgame interviews from (top down) Austin Romine, Manny Banuelos, Rene Rivera and Tony Franklin. Rivera is the interpreter for Banuelos, who is a big topic in all four interviews. Check out some good stuff in Romine's interview about his friendly rivalry with Darin Mastroianni, whom he caught stealing twice last night.

TRENTON – Since Tony Franklin took over the reigns in 2007, the Thunder have won 321 games, have appeared in the playoffs three times and have claimed two Eastern League crowns.

Players on his teams have led the league in strikeouts (Alan Horne, 2007), ERA (Zach McAllister, 2009) and been named Pitcher of the Year (Horne, 2007) Most Valuable Player and Rookie of the Year (Brandon Laird, 2010).

The number that I’m sure he’d tell he’s most proud of, however, is 38. That’s how many players his teams have sent to the major leagues in just four years’ time, and that’s excluding all rehab appearances or players who were in the show before coming to the Thunder.

Yet for all that success in the standings, record books and developmental fronts, Franklin has failed to secure even one Manager of the Year honor in the Eastern League, and he hasn’t the slightest clue why.

“For whatever reason, they’ve chosen someone else,’’ Franklin said. “Would I have liked to receive the award? Yeah. I think I have done enough to receive the award. … I put a lot into this, just like the players put a lot into it, and you like to be recognized for some of the good things you do.”

Altoona’s Matt Walbeck won it this year, Akron’s Mike Sarbaugh took the award in 2009 and Bowie’s Brad Komminsk picked up the hardware in 2008. Walbeck also was the league’s top skipper in 2007 with Altoona, when the Curve finished just five games above .500, at 73-68.

The topic was broached as to whether his spate of ejections this season (there’s no official tally, but the consensus seems to be that he’s been run eight times) may have played a factor. Franklin acknowledged that it may have come into play, but sincerely hopes that it didn’t.

“I’ve always tried my best not to go out there just for the sake of sticking up for your players. I do, but when I do go out to stick up for my players, I feel like it’s a pretty legitimate reason,” Franklin said. “If my player gets upset and I feel he’s not right about why he’s arguing the call, I won’t go.”

Regardless of what the league’s voters say (the ballot results aren’t made public), it’s clear that Franklin has done more than enough to earn the award. He’ll just have to settle for the two championship rings instead.

Sure, Manny Banuelos gave up six runs over 5 2/3 innings, including two laser beams of home runs, but the stuff he showed was more important last night. Watch the video of him pitching against Darin Mastroianni, and look at Mastroianni's reaction to the curveballs Banuelos flings up there for strikes two and three. Those are big league pitches, folks.

Then, skip down a video and check out how he carves up Eric Thames, one of the circuit's most feared sluggers. He gets down in the count, then finishes him with a heater on the black. This is a 19-year-old, folks.

Afterward, here's what Tony Franklin had to say about his new arm:

“You can see the stuff, it’s there. Great changeup, no question about it. Great motion on it. Curveball was tight. It lost a little bit because of the wetness. But you could see the stuff is there.”

As for Banuelos, he gave the reporters in the room a little bit of shock when he said his arm didn't feel right, but clarified by saying the wing felt heavy, not painful. He said all this through coach Vic Valencia acting as interpreter.

“I didn’t feel that well with my body and my arm today. Also, the mound was wet and the ball was wet, so I couldn’t command my pitches well.”

“I didn’t have any pain in my arm, I didn’t feel any pain. It just felt heavy. That’s probably why the velocity was what I normally throw. But I kept pitching.”

Tonight, the show starts anew with Dellin Betances scheduled to debut. The forecast, once again, is for rain, so it could get interesting. Alfredo Aceves, also, will relieve for two innings, so be on the lookout for that.

At 8 a.m., a deal was “on the verge.” Two hours later, it was “imminent.”
At 2:45, there were “big concerns” on Seattle’s end, and by the end of the workday, the trade that would have made Cliff Lee a Yankee was dead.

Under the swap’s final proposed incarnation, New York would have sent Jesus Montero, Zach McAllister and David Adams to Seattle for the ace left-hander.

It also would have added a world of clarity to Austin Romine’s path to the Bronx.

Still, to the laid-back Thunder backstop mere hours away from a trip home for the XM Futures Game, yesterday’s proceedings were water under the bridge.

“That’s not something I worry about, especially when it really didn’t involve me,” Romine said in front of the visitors’ clubhouse before yesterday’s game with the Bowie Baysox. “It was interesting (and) exciting at the same time. I try not to think about that, but you can’t not when it’s all over TV.”

As for his status with the organization, the 21-year-old Romine realizes that choosing to keep him here is a tremendous reaffirmation of the big things the Yankees believe he will produce.

“It shows that they’ve got a lot of respect for me,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of confidence in me, I think would be a better word. Again, I don’t think it means much. I’m trying to get (to the big leagues) as fast as I can.”

Thunder skipper Tony Franklin agreed with Romine’s view, saying that perhaps Seattle didn’t give the Yankees much of a choice.

“You look at it from various angles and you make up your own mind. Maybe it was we’re putting Montero in the deal because we really want Lee,” Franklin said. “We’d hate to lose you, but we really want Lee.”

Like Romine, Franklin played off the trade, and its ultimate failure, as business as usual.

“It’s speculation. I don’t know why they backed out. They’ve got their reasons, and I don’t know why the trade consummated. Maybe they didn’t get what we wanted, and maybe they didn’t get what they wanted. That’s generally why they’d call a deal off.”

The other member of the Thunder involved in the proposed deal, second baseman David Adams, ended up being the reason the Mariners backed out at the very end. His severely sprained ankle, they said, was a concern.

So, if the injury was serious enough to warrant voiding a deal that would have sent Seattle arguably the best hitting prospect in all of baseball, what does it say about his timetable for a return to action?

“I don’t know what the medical team is thinking right now,” manager Tony Franklin said. “They’re going to make the assessment of when David’s ready to come back. I’m not the guy who’s going to make that assessment.”

Below are videos (shot by Mike Ashmore for The Trentonian) of Austin Romine and Andrew Brackman reacting to Brackman's debut on Friday night. Also below is audio from Nardi Contreras (15 minutes), pre- and postgame from Tony Franklin (pregame is in two parts), and David Phelps dissecting last night's start. Enjoy.