Bio: Claiborne was the Yankees' 17th-round selection in 2010, out of Tulane University. He's a right-hander who checks in at 6-foot-3 and 230 pounds, and he'll be 24 when the season starts in April. Along with Chase Whitley, Claiborne was one of two college relievers from the 2010 class whom the Yankees chose to pass over Low-A Charleston.

2010 was the second time he was drafted. The first was in 2006, when the Pirates selected him in the 23rd round out of Newman Smith High School, in Carrollton, Tex.

Last year: After 31 innings between Staten Island and Tampa in 2010, the Yankees ramped up Claiborne's workload in 2011. He tossed 81 frames out of the T-Yanks' bullpen, as well as another dozen for the Phoenix Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League.

Overall, he finished with a 3-9 record between the teams, allowed 84 hits (eight longballs) over 93 innings, and worked to a WHIP of 1.26 (I removed four intentional walks from his total).

A scout who saw him with Tampa was not impressed. He noted a fastball that sat between 89 and 92 miles per hour that was delivered with little deception and a long, stabbing arm action in rendering his judgment.

What's Next: Claiborne will probably be part of a host of interesting arms toward the back of the Thunder's bullpen in 2012. If he can clean up his delivery, perhaps he can raise his stock as a prospect.

Why He's Here: I know what you're thinking. You're thinking: Josh, why is Dellin Betances, one of the Yankees' biggest and brightest prospects, ranked so low? Well, I'll tell you. It's because, despite his dynamite stuff and sky-high ceiling, his time with the Thunder this year was very inconsistent.

At 6-foot-8, command problems are pretty much an inevitability, and Betances is no exception. He issued four or more walks in nine of his 21 starts, and issued 55 free passes in 105.1 innings before being bumped to Scranton toward the end of the year.

Overall, Betances' season was fractured into two distinct halves. See for yourself.

From April 10 until June 4, he was 3-1 with a 1.99 ERA (the best in all of Double-A), a 1.17 WHIP and allowed just 31 hits over 45.1 innings. He struck out 50 against 22 walks. Over those nine starts, the Thunder were 8-1.

After that, things quickly went south.

From June 9 until August 12, his final start with Trenton, Betances went 1-5 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. He fanned 65 during that stretch and walked 33. The team was a shocking 1-11 in those 12 starts.

I said all that to say this: Yes, he's a fantastic prospect, and yes, he'll probably have more major league impact than a lot of guys you'll find on the rest of this list, but his impact with the Thunder in 2011 wasn't all positive. At least, it wasn't as positive as the players at the top of my list.

Most Memorable Moment: On the field, Betances' finest start was probably his outing on May 25 against Reading. He lasted six innings, fanned 10 against one walks and allowed just two runs. Both scores came on his only mistake of the day, which Derrick Mitchell put over the fence at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Runner-up was probably July 7 at Richmond, when he went six innings again, allowed one run and struck out nine against two walks. He also hit 99 miles per hour that afternoon.

Off the field, the best Dellin Betances moment was easily on the morning of July 31, MLB's non-waiver trading deadline, while his name was being bandied about in all sorts of rumors. One would have excused him if he were nervous and a little on edge that morning.

Not so.

While waiting to go in and talk to the manager before the game, Betances was in the weight room across the hall from the clubhouse, riding the elliptical machine and listening to some very loud Spanish music. During every chorus, you could hear Betances clapping and singing, all while wearing a huge smile.

So much for nerves, eh?

Outlook for 2012: With a great spring, he might just earn himself a spot in the big club's bullpen out of camp. More likely, however, he'll probably get a great tour of the Northeast part of the U.S. in the rotation of team formerly known as the Scranton Yankees, who will play the 2012 season without a home park while PNC Field undergoes a yearlong renovation.

Since the World Series ended, the Yankees have done three things: Extended CC Sabathia, re-upped with Freddy Garcia, and won the bid on Japanese infielder Hiroyumi Nakajima. As far as traditional Yankees offseasons go, it's been a snoozer.

With that in mind, it seems like the perfect time to begin the second year of my Thunder Top 10 lists. Starting Monday, I'll roll out of five lists of the top ten best things involved with the Thunder's season last year and their campaign in 2012, which, by the way, begins in just 110 days.

Here's what the schedule will look like:

Monday - Top 10 Players from 2011: From superstar prospects like Manny Banuelos and Dellin Betances to role players Addison Maruszak and Jose Gil, here's where we'll count down those most important to Trenton's success and failure last year.

Tuesday - Top 10 Players for 2012: As it looks right now, this year's roster will, for the most part, lack that true A-list player as it's had in years part. Even so, there will be plenty of players who have the chance to make the jump into elite status.

Wednesday - Top 10 Opposing Players for 2012: As any one who's met me or followed me on Twitter (@jnorris427) knows, I love prospect watching. Last year's season featured such luminaries as Travis d'Arnaud, Anthony Gose, Bryce Harper, Eric Surkamp and Matt Harvey. There will be plenty more where that came from in 2012, and I'll run down my favorites for the next 10 Wednesdays.

Thursday - Top 10 Words from the 2011 season: Last year we did the top 10 numbers, so this year I thought we'd switch it up and list the 10 most representative words. Last season had plenty of ups and downs -- and Derek Jeter -- so there will plenty of potential for this list.

Friday - Ten Lost Interviews from the 2011 season: Sometimes during the course of a busy year, you do an interview with someone, but never get around to transcribing it. I have quite a few of those from the 2011 season, and I'll share one each week in this space.

On the heels of the interview with Tony Franklin interview this morning, I was lucky enough to get a chance to speak with new Thunder hitting coach Tom Slater this evening. He managed the Staten Island Yankees last year, the Gulf Coast League the year before, and has been in the Yankees system for the last four years.

As such, he's gotten a chance to see just about every young player in the system, and was willing to share a few of his insights about a few guys you'll see this year at Waterfront Park, as well as a couple of guys who might need another year at the lower levels. It's a bit lengthy, but it's worth the read. Enjoy.

Q: After managing in the Gulf Coast League in 2010 and with Staten Island last year, why do you think the Yankees assigned you to Double-A in 2012?

A: I don't know. You'd have to ask Pat Roessler that question. Six called me in October and told me I would be heading up to Trenton. Obviously I'm excited about it, getting a chance to be with Tony Franklin and Tommy Phelps, two class guys, so I'm looking forward to it. As far as why, I guess you'd probably have to ask Six that question.

Q: Besides working with the Yankees, what else do you have on your coaching resume?

A: I'm going on my fourth year with the Yankees, I just got done with the Fall League in Arizona. Yankees sent me out there this fall. Prior to the years with the Yankees I coached in college for 17 years.

Q: With the Arizona Fall League, then, you got to see some of the more experienced guys in the system, as opposed to the younger, more raw guys you'd worked with at the complex and with Staten Island.

A: Yeah, I was out there with Corb and Ronnier and Rob Segedin, and a few of our pitchers that you guys had last year -- Chase Whitley and Preston Claiborne and Dan Burawa, who I know were at Tampa last year, as well as David Phelps from the Triple-A club. All those guys were out there. It was a good time, those guys all did well and I certainly enjoyed my time out there as well.

Q: What's the difference with working with guys at the upper levels as opposed to kids who are just getting their feet wet in pro ball?

A: I think, with the younger guys, be it Gulf Coast League or Staten Island, some of the first-year guys, you're doing a lot of the stuff that's introductory to those guys. They are learning the Yankees system, the way we do certain things, be it team defense, the way we run the bases, whatever.

Obviously by the time they're up there in Trenton where you guys get to see them, they've been through rookie ball, short season, and then either Charleston or Tampa. It's an older, more mature and obviously more polished player.

Q: Let's get specific, then. With a guy like Mustelier, who's older but new to pro ball, what do you do with a guy like him?

A: I tell you what, I was really impressed with Ronnie out in Arizona. He really swung the bat well, showed the ability to hit the ball, to really use the whole field. Probably what was the most impressive -- I had been told what a good hitter he was -- but he really played defense well. He played third base a lot there, and he really played third base well.

The young guys, like I said, down in the Gulf Coast and in Staten Island, you're really helping those guys establish a routine, and hopefully you're helping them establish a routine that they can carry throughout.

With the older guys, Mustelier, Corb, Rob Segedin, these guys are a little bit older and they've already established their routines. It's a matter of helping them stick with it. Those guys all work extremely hard out in the fall league, and it was fun to be around them.

Q: Have you had a chance to work with Tony Franklin before?

A: Just in spring training, a lot in spring training over the last couple of years. What a great guy. What a great baseball guy. Really a class individual. I've always enjoyed my time around him down in spring training.

Q: What would you say your biggest strength is as a coach?

A: To be honest with you, I wouldn't say. It's not something I really want to talk about -- myself -- that much. I'm just honored to have the opportunity to get up there and coach with a bunch of good players and a great staff.

Q: Well, if you don't want to talk about yourself, then let's talk about a few of the players you might see up here at Trenton this year. First, Zoilo Almonte.

A: Yeah, Zoilo, what a great player. I really enjoyed having him down in extended spring training a couple of years ago. Tremendous athlete, tremendous skills, pop -- a lot of pop in his bat. ... Just great tools, an exciting player. Like I said, three years ago when we were together down in extended spring training, (he was) just an exciting guy to be around. That bat is fun to watch hit.

Q: How about Rob Lyerly?

A: Rob's another guy that I've gotten to know. He went straight to Staten Island out of college. I got to know him in Spring Training with some of the early work we do in January and February with the guys before Spring Training starts.

Another guy who can drive the ball. I know that at both Charleston and in Tampa, he really put up good numbers hitting, and from what I've seen of Rob, he's a guy who really drives the ball well to left-center, right-center, stays on the ball well, lot of doubles; good middle-of-the-field, gap-to-gap approach. I know he got up there with you guys for a spell last year. He's a hard-working kid who's fun to be around.

Q: I don't think Trenton's going to see him until later in the year, perhaps, but J.R. Murphy.

A: I was fortunate enough to have Murph down in the Gulf Coast League the first year he signed. He's very intelligent, he's got a great demeanor and he's got a really great approach. He had a great high school coach who prepared him well.

He's just a guy with a great demeanor and a great approach coming out of high school right into pro ball right from the get-go. He signed late, but he was able to play for us there at the end of the Gulf Coast League and was dropped right into the middle of our lineup. He did a great job, and I know he's continued to do a great job.

I know he was putting up really great numbers in Charleston last year and really swinging the bat well. Unfortunately, I think he broke a foot when he first got to Tampa, but quality guy, good hitter and just a great professional demeanor.

Q: Same deal for another guy who the Thunder probably won't see this year but who is intriguing to Yankees fans nonetheless -- Gary Sanchez.

A: I had the pleasure of having Gary two years ago, and ... just a tremendous talent. Tremendous talent. He overmatched the Gulf Coast League a couple of years ago. I mean, .350 with, I don't remember how many home runs it was, nine, in a short period of time. Then he went up to Staten Island at the end of the year just as a 17-year-old guy.

Last year, I know he really got on a hot streak in Charleston with the home runs before his season got cut short by an injury as well. Just a tremendous hitter, a guy that will hit for power and for average.

Q: Just two more, the next name I'm curious about is Kyle Roller.

A: Kyle, like Rob, is a guy I've had a chance to spend some time around in spring training and in the early parts of January and February for some extra work with those guys. Again, a strong, good-looking hitter. From everything you read in the reports and everything you see, I know he's had a lot of success at Staten Island, at Charleston and in Tampa last year.

He's a guy who uses the whole field, drives the ball well to left-center field, has a lot of power in his bat, and is a good-looking hitter.

Q: Last name I'm going to mention, and he won't get to Trenton this year, but Mason Williams is the talk of the organization, so I've got to ask you about him.

A: Again, I've had the great fortune of having Mason. I had him Staten Island this year, he was the Player of the Year in the New York-Penn League. He hit .350, played a tremendous center field, stole 28 bases. He's an exciting young player, and comes to play every day and loves to compete. I'm biased. I've had him for the last two years, and he's really a good-looking young player.

Q: What could you say about his work ethic?

A: It's tremendous. Tremendous work ethic. That whole group of 2010 draft kids, guys who were first at the yard every day at Staten Island, they put in countless hours at the cages with Ty Hawkins, and they also put in good work at the fields defensively in their pregame work as well.

Every one of those kids, whether it's Mason, Cito, Ben Gamel, Tyler Austin, Angelo Gumbs, just a really special group of young players.

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.

Another day, another former Thunder pitcher finds his way into a new organization. This time it's Kanekoa Texeira, a two-time Trenton alumnus, who signed yesterday with the Cincinnati Reds.

He joins former teammate Andrew Brackman, who inked a major league deal with Cincy earlier in the week.

Like Brackman, Texeira does have some major league service time under his belt, although his experience in The Show is considerably more extensive.

The affable Hawaiian appeared in 49 games over the last two seasons, compiling a 1-1 record and a 4.66 ERA with the Mariners and Royals. He never appeared in the big leagues as a Yankee, though he did face them four times in 2010.

Of the Yankees' minor league free agent pitchers, Josh Schmidt, Logan Kensing, Brad Halsey, Francisco Castillo and Wilkins Arias are still on the market.

One of his three career home runs allowed was against Alex Rodriguez. Mark Teixeira scored on the bomb, marking a lovely collision of Texeira and Teixeira.

After a relaxing week in the Cayman Islands, I'm back in lovely, frigid New Jersey and ready to think (and blog) about the Thunder. There should be an announcement in the next couple of weeks regarding the team's coaching staff for 2012,

Anyway, to the predictions, which I'm sure are what you care about most. I've been thinking about this for the past couple of weeks, tossing around a few of system's sexier names and wondering what the team will look like come April.

From where I sit, it appears that this year's club, at least for the first half of the season is going to look very much like it looked at the end of 2011. Aside from catcher and second base, the starting nine should be untouched.

A few familiar names should show up in the bullpen, which otherwise should feature more than a few strong-armed college relievers.

With that said, here's my initial guess at which 24 men will be on Trenton's roster on Opening Day against New Hampshire.

1. Kyle Higashioka - Catcher

2. Mitch Abeita - Catcher

3. Luke Murton - First Base

4. David Adams - Second Base

5. Jose Pirela - Shortstop

6. Brad Suttle - Third Base

7. DeAngelo Mack - Left Field

8. Melky Mesa - Center Field

9. Zoilo Almonte - Right Field

10. Rob Lyerly - Designated Hitter

11. Yadil Mujica - Utility

12. Walter Ibarra - Utility

13. Brett Marshall - Starting Pitcher

14. Graham Stoneburner - Starting Pitcher

15. Mikey O'Brien - Starting Pitcher

16. Sean Black - Starting Pitcher

17. Craig Heyer - Starting Pitcher

18. Dan Burawa - Relief Pitcher

19. Grant Duff - Relief Pitcher

20. Chase Whitley - Relief Pitcher

21. Preston Claiborne - Relief Pitcher

22. Ryan Flannery - Relief Pitcher

23. Noel Castillo - Relief Pitcher

24. Kramer Sneed - Relief Pitcher

Also in the mix: Ryan Baker (C), Jose Gil (C), Addison Maruszak (Utility), Jeremy Bleich (SP).

Baseball America transaction guru Matt Eddy released his publication's guide to this offseason's minor league free agents, and several of this year's Thunder players showed up on the Yankees' list.

New York Yankees (21)

RHP: Francisco Castillo (Hi A), Noel Castillo (Hi A), Grant Duff (AA), Logan Kensing (AAA), Jeff Marquez (AA), Kelvin Perez (Lo A), Mark Prior (AAA), Josh Schmidt (AA), Kanekoa Texeira (AA), Eric Wordekemper (AAA)

LHP: Wilkins Arias (AA), Steve Garrison (AA), Brad Halsey (AA), Kei Igawa (AA), Jose Quintana (Hi A), Josh Romanski (Hi A)

C: P.J. Pilittere (AAA)

1B: Mike Lamb (AAA)

SS: Doug Bernier (AAA), Luis Nunez (AAA)

OF: Jordan Parraz (AAA)

Among those who played with the Thunder last year are: Duff, Marquez, Schmidt, Texeira, Arias, Garrison, Halsey, Igawa and Romanski.

Nearly all of those arms, if they re-signed, would be fodder for Triple-A. Unfortunately for the Yankees, it's going be difficult to lure free agents to the hellscape that will be the Rochester/Batavia/Lehigh Valley/Pawtucket/Lake Woebegone Yankees.

Meaning: It's going to be really interesting to see how this plays out over the winter.

NOTE: Jordan Parraz has already signed a minor league deal with the Braves.

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.

The Eastern League is pleased to announce the league will be launching an online charity auction starting this Tuesday, November 1st at 1 p.m. All proceeds from the auction will be donated to the relief efforts from the devastating flooding that took place in Binghamton, New York and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania earlier this fall. To view the items being auctioned off or to place a bid on any of these items visithttp://easternleague.milbauctions.com.

The list of items that will be available when the auction starts on Tuesday afternoon are:

- Game worn Akron Aeros Cory Burns jersey

- Autograph Pack featuring LaMarr Woodley of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Matt Cooke and
Pascal Dupuis of the Pittsburgh Penguins

- Derrek Lee autographed baseball

- Jacob Turner autographed baseball

- Tyler Moore game worn autographed hat

- Paul Molitor autographed baseball

- 2011 Eastern League All-Star Game team autographed baseball set (Eastern Division baseball
and Western Division baseball)

- Autographed Jose Iglesias Portland Sea Dogs jersey

- 2011 Reading Phillies Opening Day team autographed baseball

- Richmond Flying Squirrels Prize Pack (various giveaway items, a t-shirt and hat)

- Set of 2011 Trenton Thunder Bobblehead Dolls (Cano, Hughes, Pettitte home, Pettitte road,

Jeter, Banuelos/Betances, Pettitte statue)

New items will continue to be added to the auction through its completion in December so be sure to visit the site often to see what is available. Some of the items that will be added along the way include:

Derek Jeter authenticated autographed baseball

Portland Sea Dogs honorary bat kid for a game

Carlos Santana autographed bat

Andrew McCutchen autographed bat

I'm sorry. I haven't been at the blog much lately. Between not being at games, the Hurricane and other various day to day nonsense, I just haven't gotten around to it. My apologies. I'll be better from here on out.

With that out of the way, here's how we stand. As I mentioned on Twitter, I won't be covering any games for the rest of season because of a very complicated situation at The Trentonian's office. The paper's coverage will come from a variety of people, including talented freelancers Bill Landis and Kyle Franko.

As for me, I'll physically be at Tuesday's game, but won't be writing anything because it's technically my off day. I will, however, have something for you on the blog that's not necessarily about the Thunder.

I'll also be at the Staten Island Yankees game on Sept. 3 (weather permitting). Hopefully, the Yankees' first pick this season will also be around.

That will be my final minor league ballgame of the season. I'll keep the blog running through the offseason, and will keep you up to date on the Yankees' prospects as they play in their various fall and winter leagues.

Here's hoping you stayed nice and dry during the hurricane.

TRENTON – While it wouldn’t have come close to topping this year’s list of marquee rehab starts, Jeff Marquez’s scheduled appearance last night did continue an interesting recent trend of long-forgotten alumni finding their way back to the capital city.

Instead, the game was postponed by torrential rain and lightning, and will be made up today as part of a doubleheader of two seven-inning games that will begin at 6:05 p.m.

Over the last four seasons, Marquez is the fifth player to re-enter the fold after spending significant time elsewhere in the sport. It’s not an illustrious list, but it includes outfielders Noah Hall and Justin Christian, as well as current Trenton relievers Kanekoa Texeira and Brad Halsey.

That’s to say nothing of Justin Pope, the Thunder’s coach who last pitched for the Thunder on Sept. 3, 2007 before returning to Waterfront when the team kicked off its home schedule on April 14.

When he finally toes the slab tonight, it marked the first time since Aug. 28, 2008 that Marquez has taken the mound at Waterfront Park in the regular season.

In the 1,087 days between appearances, Marquez has been traded to the White Sox in the package that brought Nick Swisher – as well as Texeira – to the Yankees, and pitched two seasons with Charlotte, Chicago’s Triple-A affiliate.

The Yankees claimed him on waivers on June 8, three days after he was cut by Chicago. He pitched four innings this season for New York before hitting the disabled list with shoulder inflammation.

“For them to keep an eye on me and notice that I’m on waivers,” Marquez said. “I felt like that was a good opportunity for me to come back. At the time, they needed pitching up there in the bullpen. That little time I was up there I felt like I did a pretty good job, and hopefully I’ll get back there.”

If he is to get back to the Bronx, it will have to happen before Tuesday, at which point he will fall into a sort of transactional limbo. Should the Yankees decide they don’t need his services, which, considering they’ve acquired Raul Valdes, Scott Proctor and Aaron Laffey in recent days, seems likely, then Marquez’s immediate future will become uncertain.

Because he’s out of minor league options, and has been since the season began, he’ll be placed on waivers, from which teams will have 72 hours to claim him and place him on their major league roster. If nobody claims him, he can choose to finish out the year in the minors with the Yankees, or shut it down and prepare for free agency.

For now, his travels have taken him back to Trenton, and considering the success he’s had here, that’s not such a bad thing.

“It feels good to be here to be around guys, to be around a team, rather than being down there in Tampa (in the Gulf Coast League),” he said. “I was here in ’07 and a little bit in ’08 when we won the championships back to back – lot of good memories here.”

NOTES: Marquez will start the first game of tonight’s twinbill, and will be followed by Graham Stoneburner. They’ll be opposed by Mike Ballard and Tim Bascom of Bowie. … Manager Tony Franklin said before the game that third baseman Brad Suttle was likely done for the season. … Reliever Wilkins Arias is on his way back from a brief stint in Scranton. To make room, Halsey will be placed on the 7-Day disabled list. … It is unclear who will replace Marquez in the rotation after this turn. Cory Arbiso, Josh Schmidt, Kei Igawa and Arias seem like likely candidates.

In the spirit of Jeff Marquez's return to Trenton this evening, I decided to do a little research. Marquez finds himself back at Waterfront Park after leaving the organization for a time, and he's not the only player to do so in recent memory. In fact, since I've been in New Jersey, I can count five players who have returned to the Thunder after spending time elsewhere in either pro or indy ball.

Those five are: Marquez, Brad Halsey, Justin Christian, Noah Hall and Kanekoa Texeira.

With that in mind, I sat down and looked up how many days each man went between
regular-season appearances at Waterfront Park. Here's how it breaks down:

Halsey - 2,841 days (Aug. 31, 2003 - June 12, 2011)
Marquez - 1,086 days (Aug. 28, 2008 - Aug. 19, 2011)
Christian - 1,051 days (June 21, 2007 -May 8, 2010)
Texeira - 698 days (Sept. 5, 2009 - Aug. 5, 2011)
Hall - 627 days (Sept. 3, 2007 - May 23, 2009)

And, as a special addendum, there's Justin Pope, the team's do-it-all coach and its former pitcher:

Pope - 1,318 days (Sept. 3, 2007 - April 14, 2011)

As speculated, then unspeculated, here by yours truly, Jeff Marquez will start Friday's game against the Bowie Baysox. I guessed he would be coming this way, but re-considered when I saw he was moved to the 60-Day Disabled List earlier this week.

I figured that meant his injury had gotten worse, and would prevent him from coming north. Then I realized that it may simply have been a roster-shuffling move, and it wouldn't necessarily keep him from a second stint in Trenton.

Because he's considered a major league rehab, no move will be required to get him a place on the roster.

A former first-rounder and a part of the trade that brought Nick Swisher to the Yankees, Marquez has pitched five innings in the bigs, including four with the Yankees this season after he was claimed off waivers from the White Sox.

Marquez was a part of the 2007 and 2008 Thunder teams that won back-to-back Eastern League Championships.

After four days in sometimes rainy, sometimes sunny Virginia, I'm back in action. Not much happened while I was gone, did it? Oh, right, some stuff did occur.

For instance ...

Dellin Betances was promoted to Scranton. This makes sense. He pitched very well his last time out, and his velocity was hitting the upper-90s. He had been throwing a much higher percentage of fastballs in recent days, an indicator, I think, that the Yankees may use him as a reliever in the near future.

With his promotion, the Thunder's rotation is left with a 6-foot, 8-inch hole to fill. As it stands, here are Trenton's five starters:

1. Shaeffer Hall
2. Graham Stoneburner
3. Steve Garrison
4. Craig Heyer
5. ????

There are two in-house candidates for the elusive Four Question marks Of Doom spot -- Cory Arbiso and Kei Igawa. Arbiso is starting tonight in the second game of the doubleheader with Erie, so you can probably count him out at least for Friday.

Igawa just came off the shelf, where he'd been since June 23, so he'd be fresh as a daisy on Friday. That said, he's been markedly better as a reliever with the Thunder this season -- not that it really matters to the guys who make these types of decisions.

The other, more interesting candidate is Jeff Marquez, who was with the team way back in 2008, my first year of coverage. He's working his way back from injury, and is currently with the Tampa Yankees. He last pitched on the 13th, so he'd be on five days' rest.

Because Marquez is on the 40-man roster, no move would be needed to get him on the Thunder's roster on Friday. This is key, because the team is currently carrying the maximum 24 players.

Additionally, Austin Romine was activated off the team's disabled list this afternoon. Inflamed disks in his back put him out on August 3rd. Tonight's game will be the first he's played in exactly two weeks. Don't expect him here for long, however. He'll get the bump to Scranton once Jesus Montero is ready to take the first car up to the Bronx.

Corban Joseph missed three consecutive games after having a stye on his eye taken care of. My sister dealt with one of those at one point, and I remember her saying that they were no fun at all. Though he wouldn't admit, I'd bet it hindered his performance some.

The Thunder also dropped two of three to the Harrisburg Senators over the weekend, including one that was lost when Bryce Harper hit a 480-foot walkoff home run off of Ryan Pope on Friday.

As it stands, Trenton is, at 60-60, in a tie for second place in the Eastern Division with the Reading Phillies. Lurking just a half-game back is New Britain, who also could overtake both Reading and the Thunder for the wild card.

If the Thunder are going to make the playoffs, they're going to have to beat some of the best competition the circuit has to offer. After their quartet with Erie, they have seven games with division leader New Hampshire, three with Western Division frontrunner Bowie and eight with the Rock Cats.

UPDATE: Welp, I missed on that one, folks. Jeff Marquez was placed on the 60-Day DL and most certainly not be starting against the Baysox on Friday. Igawa leads the race.

TRENTON – Up and down his back and all across his body, Josh Romanski is covered in tattoos. Most of the ink is a testament to his belief in God, but the next one he gets, he says, will have a different theme.

“I’m going to get a nice, big pink breast cancer ribbon this offseason,” he explained yesterday. “I just don’t know where I’m going to put it yet. That’s coming soon.”

The ribbon will stand in tribute to his mother, Sheila, who has survived breast cancer three times. The Thunder wore pink jerseys yesterday to help raise awareness for the disease, and the cause was certainly not lost on Josh.

“I think it’s awesome whenever organizations take the time to honor the people who have struggled with the battle, not just against breast cancer, but any type of cancer,” he said.

No matter when the diagnosis comes, hard times surely lie ahead. When you receive the news on the heels of a day that was supposed to be a celebration of the culmination of years of hard work, however, the pain only multiplies.

That’s what happened to the Romanski family in June of 2008, just 20 minutes after Josh got the news that he’d been drafted in the fourth round by the Milwaukee Brewers.

During the celebration, the phone rang again, this time with the news the family had hoped it would never hear again. Sheila’s cancer had returned, and she would need to begin the process of fighting the disease for a third time.

“That was kind of a bittersweet day for us as a family,” he recalled. “I was going to get to start my professional career, but at the same time she was heading into her third bout with breast cancer.”

The first time the cancer popped up, Josh was in fifth grade, at an age when one doesn’t necessarily understand its ramifications and the battle that lies ahead for the patient and his or her family.

“All you know is that mom’s sick. My brothers and sister, they’re younger than I am, so they had a hard time comprehending it, but we got through it. She got through it the first time, it came back a year later, she got through it again, and fortunately it was in remission for another 11 or 12 years.”

Now, in the midst of a career that was nearly blunted early by Tommy John surgery, Romanski is able to count his blessings with the knowledge that the worst day in the bush leagues is far and away better than the best day his mother – or any cancer patient, for that matter – will struggle through.

“It kind of puts baseball second on your priority list, and I think that’s helped me,” he said. If something goes wrong on the field, you can always look back and say there’s other people going through more difficult times. If the worst that’s going to happen to me is giving up runs on a baseball field, then I think I’m going to be OK.”

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.

(TRENTON, NJ) Even with 14 home games remaining in the 2011 season, the first seeds of the 2012 campaign were sown on Tuesday afternoon as the Trenton Thunder, Double A Affiliate of the New York Yankees, released next year's schedule.

The Thunder will begin the 2012 season at home against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays) on Thursday, April 5 at 7:05 pm. The team will play their last home game on Thursday, August 30 at 7:05 pm against New Britain (Minnesota Twins). The season will end in Binghamton (NY Mets) on September 3 at 1:05 pm.

The Thunder will face their top rivals 24 times at home. The Double A Affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, the Portland Sea Dogs, will visit Trenton 14 times in 2012. The Sea Dogs will make their first trip April 9-11 followed by May 10-13, June 22-25 and July 7-9. Philadelphia Phillies fans can catch the Reading Phillies in Trenton for seven games next season, July 19-22 and August 7-9. The Binghamton Mets (NY Mets) will visit Trenton for just one series, June 8-10.

The Thunder will play 13 home games in April, 14 in May, 14 in June, 15 in July, and 15 in August. The team plays 71 home games against all 11 Eastern League teams.

The standard game time will remain at 7:05 pm for night games. The first Saturday of the season, April 16, will begin at 1:05 pm and Saturday, April 21 will begin at 5:05 pm. All other Saturday games will start at 7:05 pm. Sunday games will start at 1:05 pm with the exception of the final two Sundays of the season, July 29 and August 19, which will begin at 5:05 pm.

Mid-week day games will return in 2011, with the first one, a 10:35 am "Education Day" slated for Wednesday, April 11. Education Days will also be held on on Thursday, April 26 and Monday, June 4. Popular 12:05 pm day games are scheduled for Monday, July 9, Thursday, August 2, Wednesday, August 8 and Wednesday, August 22.

The schedule of fireworks dates and promotions will be released at a later date.