The Tides Wait for No Man

[Guest Rotblatt]

When I last left you, intrepid Crane Poolers, Angel Pagan was streaking, Seo was dominating, and Padilla was practicing his Petey impression, but our boys still couldn't avoid a sweep at the hands of the Pauwtucket Sox. In the following game against Rochester, Seo struggled, going 6 innings, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits & 3 walks, while K'ing only 4. Chesapeake HS-grad Jimmy Anderson shut down our offense, although Pagan went 1-4, keeping his 13-game hitting streak alive in a 3-2 loss.

Since then, we've rattled off a 6-game winning streak, putting us 8 games ahead of the Durham Bulls in the International League South.

Over that time, here are your
Norfolk Notables

Juan Padilla, RP
0.75 WHIP, 0.00 ERA, 6 K, 0 BB in 5.1 IP

Jose Santiago, SP
1.50 WHIP, 0.79 ERA, 4 K, 4 BB in 11.1 IP

Blake McGinley, RP
0.56 WHIP, 0.00 ERA, 7 K, 1 BB in 5.1 IP

David Lee, RP
0.82 WHIP, 2.45 ERA, 4 K, 0 BB in 3.2 IP

Jason Scobie, SP
1.33 WHIP, 0.00 ERA, 2 K, 3 BB in 6 IP

Jae Seo, SP
1.43 WHIP, 1.29 ERA, 7 K, 3 BB in 7 IP (cumulative ERA down to 3.34)

Angel Pagan, CF (although he spent most of the streak as DH)
.333 AVG/.357 OBP/.518 SLG/.875 OPS in 27 AB. His 15-game hitting streak ended over this stretch.

Brian Daubach, 1B
.347 AVG/.444 OBP/.565 SLG/1.009 OPS in 23 AB

Jeff Keppinger, 2B
.429 AVG/.455 OBP/.523 SLG/.978 OPS in 21 AB

Norfolk faces the Bulls in Durham again tonight at 7:00 p.m. Stay tuned for more updates!

[Guest Edgy DC]

I told you the Fake would get his act together.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Goddamn it.

This is the second time I've started a recap of all the games and had my computer crash on me.

Fuck it. Our 6-game win streak ended at the hands of the Durham Bulls on June 10 in an 11-inning marathon, but we're now on a 2-game streak after an off-day yesterday.

Daubach continues to shine, hitting his 10th & 11th home runs and taking the lead for the International League batting title. Keppinger has been consistently solid and is starting to flash some power lately. He's now at .344/.384/.464/.848. Shortstop Basak is on a hot streak. Our starters have been allowing too many baserunners lately, but are turning in gritty performances and limiting the damage. The pen has been excellent, although Padilla blew a save, giving up his second home run of the year. He rebounded to retire 6 of the next 7 batters, however, and took the win in a 10-inning match against the Knights on the 12th. Tim Lavigne's strong relieving over this three-game stretch have lowered his Norfolk ERA to 1.67 and WHIP to 1.05, and he now has more K's than BB's--19 to 14. McGinley has excelled as well recently, bringing his stats to the following line: 3.13 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 7.34 K/9, 2.71 K/BB. Colyer had a bad game, and his ERA stands at 4.66 now.

Seo gets the ball tonight against the Charlotte Knights, as Norfolk goes for the sweep.

[soupcan]

Why isn't Daubach up here?

Is Pagan gonna be the first Cyclone to play for the Mets?

[MFS62]

Edgy, our boy "Blake the Fake " looks like he's getting it together. This will be a test. Do they want to bring up a LOOGY reliever with "stuff" (Colyer) or someone who can pitch a few innings if needed and doesn't peg the needle on the radar gun (McGinley).

Blatt, superstition reminder. Never use the term "sweep". Baseball lore says to say you're taking them "one game at a time". Oh, its the last game of the series? Never mind.

BTW - keep up the good work.

Later

[Guest cooby]

I thought Scooter-o was

[soupcan]

Did Scutero do a Coney Island stint?

[Guest Rotblatt]

I've no idea why Daubach isn't up here yet, although it might have something to do with his defense. You'd think the fact that he's creaming AAA pitchers would outweight that, but . . .

I just checked out McGinley's career stats, and he's been pretty goddamn good. 2.75 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 10.23 K/9, 4.60 K/BB throughout his career . . . He struggled after getting promoted to Norfolk last July or August, but he certainly seems to have adjusted well this year, although he's given up too many HR so far (1.37/9).

I'll be shocked if McGinley gets called up before Padilla, though. Padilla's been twice as sick as McGinley.

When you get right down to it, we have some serious pen options down in Norfolk between Padilla (1.00 ERA in 45 IP), Lavigne (1.67 in 32.1), David Lee (2.89 in 28) & McGinley (3.13 in 46). Everyone but Lavigne has good peripherals too.

We're going to have some good chits come trading time . . . I just hope we deal from our starting pitchers & pen rather than from our prospects . . .

[Guest cooby]

I could be wrong about that. I just remember that it was someone my daughter thought was cute

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Danny Garcia was the first legit* Cyclone-Met.

*-excluding injury-rehab guys like Shinjo and playoff sandbaggers like Matt Watson.

[Guest cooby]

That's right!

Nice to see ya, Mrs. Garcia! How could I forget...

[Guest Rotblatt]

6/14/05

Seo Makes Yet Another Bid to Replace Zambrano, Ishii; Leads Tides to 3-2 Win Over Knights

Seo pitched 7 strong innings, giving up just 5 hits and 2 runs (1 earned), while striking out 7 and walking just 2. His ERA on the year dropped to 3.13 & his WHIP to 1.24. He's 4-1, with 9.11 K/9 & 3.5 K/BB ratios.

The Knights' Brandon McCarthy held his own, also surrending just 5 hits and 2 walks and striking out 7, but he couldn't handle the mighty bats of DH Angel Pagan and SS Chris Basak, who collected 4 of the Tides 6 hits, and both of its extra base hits.

How We Scored
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, Basak (.296/.366/.509/.875) ground into a fielder's choice, but got the run home. Pagan followed with a triple that scored Brazell & Basak.

Drama in the Ninth
Lee tried for the save, but got into trouble in the ninth as he walked the go-ahead runs on. With two outs, Colyer came in to face lefty Roosevelt Brown for the save, and got a ground ball that 3B Rodney Nye booted, loading the bases with two outs. Into this pressure-packed park came ace reliever Juan Padilla, who had a personal agenda--to get his ERA back below 1.00. Padilla rose to the occasion, striking out Brian Anderson to preserve Seo's win--and bring his ERA down to 0.99.

Standings

The Tides are now 38-29 on the year, and sit comfortably atop the International League South, 7 games ahead of Durham.

[soupcan]

Let me tell ya - this IS 1984 all over again.

The big club is no longer a laughing stock, has some good solid young players and vets. A maverick manager (well maybe not 'maverick', but willing to flout tradition) and the pitching is showing promise.

Tidewater, sorry, Norfolk is chock full of talent chomping at the bit.

This year is not our year but next year...

[soupcan]

="soupcan"] Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 3:30 pm Why isn't Daubach up here?

Is there now any doubt that Minaya is a closet 'Pooler?

Either that or I need to start using my supernatural powers of influence for the good of mankind.

[Guest Rotblatt]

June 15, 2005

Knights Float By Tides in Hit Parade; 9-5 Charlotte

Despite 17 base runners, the Tides couldn't break through against the Knights, as Santiago and Lavigne each got hit hard. Santiago started and went 7 innings, giving up 8 hits, 4 walks and 5 earned runs, striking out 5. Lavigne relieved and took the loss, allowing 7 hits, including one home run, and 4 runs in 2 innings.

3B Rodney Nye contributed with 3 of the Tides' 11 hits, including one double, raising his batting average on the year to .317. Basak kept up his hot hitting, going 2-4, and Brazell matched Basak's line and raised him one walk.

June 16, 2005

Hit Parade Continues; Tides Pound Out 16 Hits in 11-9 Victory Over Red Barons

The move from SS to 2B didn't bother the red-hot Basak, who led the way for the Tides, going 2-3 with a walk and a home run. LF Redman also hit a dinger and walked, while Eric Valent showed signs of life, going 2-3 with a double and a walk, bringing his AAA average to .182. 3B Rodney Nye also continues to hit, going 2-3 with a walk and a double.

Norfolk starter Junge struggled, barely getting through 4 innings. He gave up 8 hits, including 2 home runs, and three walks, striking out 5 and allowing 7 earned runs. McGinley pitched a hitless inning of relief, giving up only a walk, and Colyer went 2 perfect innings, striking out 2, to earn the win. Padilla uncharacteristicly struggled after coming in to pitch the final two innings with the Tides up 11-7. He gave up 5 hits, including Ryan Howard's 13th home run, and struck out 2, walking none.

June 17, 2005

Red Barons, Brito, Blank Tides in 3-0 Loss

Scranton's Eude Brito (3-1, 6.61 ERA) shut down the Tides for 6 innings, striking out 7 and allowing only 3 singles and 2 walks. Yoel Hernandez followed in relief, K'ing 3 and allowing 1 single in 2 innings, and Franklin Perez came on to close the Tides out with a perfect ninth.

Redman, DiFelice, Gil & a pinch-hitting Lunar each had singles for the Tides during the offensive draught. Neil Musser pitched well, going 6 innings, and giving up 5 hits, 2 walks, and 2 ER, K'ing 4, and Lee was effective in relief, allowing only a hit and a walk in 2 innings. He struck out 2. Hamulak gave up an solo shot insurance homer in the ninth to Carlos Ruiz.

Red Baron Ryan Howard went 1-3 with a walk, lowering his average to .377, but raising his OBP to .468. With a .710 SLG, Howard owns a 1.178 OPS. We should trade for him.

June 18, 2005

Rally-Cap Turns Tides for Norfolk; 2-1 Victory in Bascik, Scobie Duel

Journeyman Reliever Mike Bacsik and '05 surprise Jason Scobie locked horns in tight duel where the pens ultimitely proved the difference. After giving up 2 singles in the 1st, Bacsik did not allow a hit until 2 outs in the seventh, when Rodney Nye launched his 5th homer into the left field bleachers to tie the game at 1-1. After giving up a single to the newly promoted second baseman Chase Lambin, Bacisk was yanked for Terry Adams. Prentice Redman came in to bat for Scobie, and he singled Lambin to 3rd. Angel Pagan followed with a double into left field, bringing the go-ahead run in.

Scobie pitched 7 innings, giving up only 5 hits and walking 2, while striking out 3. McGinley followed with a perfect 8th, but got into trouble in the ninth, giving up consecutive one-out singles to Sandoval and Ryan Howard. Padilla relieved and quickly gave up a single to Coste to load the bases, but he retired Ruiz and Castellano on ground outs to preserve the victory.

Padilla has inherited 16 runners on the year and only allowed one to score.

June 19, 2005

Offense Sputters In 3-1 Loss to Red Barons

Eric Valent's solo shot in the 7th was all the support Seo would get in another well-pitched game between Scranton & Norfolk. Despite allowing only 6 baserunners through 7 innings (5 H, 1 BB) and striking out 5, Seo took the loss as he gave up 3 runs in the second.

Pedro Liriano allowed only 2 hits through the first six innings but was yanked in the seventh after Valent's solo shot and a walk sandwiched by 2 infield errors to load the bases. Gerald Williams couldn't capitalize on the Baron's mistakes, however, and ground out to short to end the inning.

Hamulack & Lavigne continued the streak of fine relief pitching for Norfolk, combining to pitch 2 hitless innings.

For Scranton, Ryan Howard went 2-3 with 1 walk to extend his hitting streak to 22 games.

[Guest Rotblatt]

Hot-rod Keppinger is out with a knee sprain due to a nasty take-out slide by Felix Martinez on June 15. Skipper Oberkfell was pissed:

]�[Martinez is] a hot-dogging bush-leaguer who runs and hides behind his teammates. I�ll say that to his face. Hopefully I�ll get the chance to do just that. What�s the saying? Payback is what? We have more games left with them this season. People in baseball don�t forget. It�s a given.�

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=87884&ran=54630

Keppinger's been out of the lineup since then, and was placed on the DL on June 18. He is expected to be on crutches for at least a month. Craig Brazell was also placed on the DL with a broken and dislocated ring finger on his left hand--an injury sustained during batting practice on Thursday. Chase Lambin (AA) and Jose Offerman (extended Spring Training) replaced them on the roster.

The 25 year-old AA utility infielder Chase Lambin is is having the best season of his professional career. After 3 mediocre seasons in Brooklyn, St. Lucie, then Binghamton, Lambin has been insanely hot, batting .323 AVG/.392 OBP/.615 SLG, with 11 home runs. Chase had only 10 home runs last year in over 400 at bats. His line would be more exciting were he younger, but it's still a good sign, especially given that this is only his fourth year of professional ball. If he can adjust to AAA pitching, his stock should rise dramatically.

Chase was drafted as a shortstop, then moved to third base in 2002. After Wright's resurgance, he was switched to second base in 2003. He strikes out a lot, especially for someone who hasn't displayed a lot of power (103 K's, 10 HR in 410 at bats last year) but he will take a walk (48 in 04).

Skipper Ken Oberkfell earned his 600th minor league victory on June 9, despite getting ejected from the game in the second inning.

Chris Basak sprained an ankle on Friday. The 32 year-old Benji Gil has been filling in for him, although he is expected to return soon.

edited for clarity and updates on Keppinger & Basak

[Guest Edgy DC]

He shouldn't get credit for the victory if he can't go five.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Good job on the updates. After we fall out of thing for good it would be nice to provide poor old Rodney Nye a big-league paycheck or two. He's been at AAA for like, forever.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Actually, Rodney's been a minor leaguer forever, but I seem to remember him being with the B-Mets for the last couple of seasons.

[Guest Rotblatt]

A nifty little article about batting practice for the Tides under skipper Oberkfell, including HoJo's responsibilities as batting coach.

]For the Tides, batting practice isn't what it sounds like By TRIS WYKES, The Virginian-Pilot � May 31, 2005 NORFOLK � The term �batting practice�� is a misnomer. Because when the Norfolk Tides take the field for such an activity, it�s really multi-tasking on grass. Sure, players rotate through the aluminum batting cage, stationed at home plate. But between pitches and on either side of the netting-draped structure, coaches or players stroke ground balls to infielders, who then throw over to first base. In rightfield, outfielders take fly balls and sinking line drives hit by a coach. And on the bases, runners practice timing their jumps around the instant when bat meets ball. The workouts, which probably average about 90 minutes, happen an hour or two before fans enter Harbor Park. . . .

http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=87132&ran=95697

[Guest Rotblatt]

I checked it--Rodney's only 28; he was promoted to AAA at the very end of the season in 2003 after posting an .870 OPS for AA. 2003 marked his third full season at AA, so maybe that's where you're thinking of, Wide.

He struggled to adjust to AAA last year, but he's having a nice season for us--.309 AVG/.387 OBP/.487 SLG/.874 OPS. If he keeps it up, I could see calling him up. Not a lot of power for a corner infielder, but he seems like a nice little contact hitter, and I think his glove is pretty decent.

[metirish]

Looks like Keps sprained knee is worse than first thought..

Notes: Triple-A INF Jeff Keppinger has a fractured left knee after he was taken out on a slide June 15, but he is not necessarily out for the rest of the season, the Mets said. Keppinger batted .284 with three homers and nine RBIs in 116 at-bats for the Mets last year.

[Guest Rotblatt]

6/20/05
Without Keppinger, Basak, Or Brazell, Tides Fall Victim to Late Rally By Bisons; 4-3 Win For Buffalo

The Tides's relievers couldn't hold a 3-2 lead going into the seventh, and the Tides lacked the firepower to come back.

Jose Santiago was effective through 5 innings, allowing 5 hits, 3 walks, and 2 runs and striking out 6, bringing his ERA down to 4.20. Former Met Grant Roberts had this to say about Santiago's new ERA: "Duuuuuudee!" Colyer pitched a perfect 6th, striking out one, but Hamulack & Lee each surrended one run and one hit in the 7th and 8th, respectively.

Eric Valent had a solo shot for his second consecutive game, going 1-3 with a walk and a K. Shortstop Gil, who is filling in for the red-hot Basak, also homered for the Tides. Chase Lambin, Keppinger's replacement, scored the third run for the Mets in the fifth on Prentice Redman's RBI single to left. Chase & Redman each went 1-4 on the night.

Update on Keppinger

According to mets.mlb.com, Keppinger will miss at least four to six weeks.

Update on Basak

Basak, who is out with an ankle sprain, is expected back before the current series ends on Thursday.

[Guest Rotblatt]

The Tides have dropped their last two games, miring them in a four-game losing streak. Nonetheless, we remain comfortably in first place, 7 games ahead of Durham. We try and avoid the sweep at the hands of the Bisons tonight, sending up Jason Scobie (8-3, 3.24 ERA) to face Billy Traber (2-2, 4.63).

The good news: Basak is back, and went 2-5 with a double last night; Valent is still kicking, going 2-5 with 3 BB over the last two games; Chase Lambin, who has now played both 2B & LF in his 5 games for Norfolk, has adjusted beautifully to AAA so far, going 5-15 with a 2B and 3 BB, and only striking out once (.333 AVG/.444 OBP/.400 SLG/.844 OPS); Junge turned in a good start, going 7 innings, allowing only 6 hits, 1 run and 2 walks while striking out 3; and Blake continues to impress, striking out 4 in 2.1 IP last night, despite giving up Ernie Young's 18th home run.

The bad news: Our offense is sputtering without Daubach and Keppinger. Pagan hasn't done much since moving from the DH back to center, Offerman's batting .125, and Nye has gone 0-6 with 5 K's and 1 BB in his last 7 plate appearances. Lavigne got creamed last night, allowing 6 hits and 2 walks in 1.2 innings and giving up 3 ER.

News & Notes

Juan Padilla has been named to the International League All-Star team. He is 3-1 with a 1.29 ERA and 6 saves in 28 games. He's struck out 47 and walked 5 in 49 innings pitched, and is holding opponents to a .202 AVG. This is his fourth All-Star appearance, having been named to the Eastern League's All-Star Team in 2002 with AA New Britain, the 2001 FSL with A Fort Myers & the 2000 Midwest League with A Quad City.

Norfolk trainer Brian Chicklo will join Padilla for his first appearance as an All-Star.

You can tune in to the All-Star game on July 13 live on El Ocho--er, ESPN 2.

[Guest Rotblatt]

6/24/05
A Win, A Win! A Palpable Win! Tides Stomp MFC, Halt Losing Streak in 7-4 Win

Tides snap their 5-game losing streak tonight on the back of Seo, who went 6 innings, giving up 7 hits and 2 ER, walking 1 and striking out 6 MFC. Both runs were solo shot homers.

Valent, who had the day off yesterday, stays sharp, going 2-4 with a 3B & a dinger and walking once. I think I can officially say that Valent is regaining his stroke. Calloway and the newly promoted Anderson Hernandez both hit HRs, and Basak, playing at 2B again now that Hernandez is promoted, had a triple.

To echo SI in the other thread, it looks like Anderson will be trade bait and that's a big reason for his promotion. Tough break for Chase, who was solid, but we might see him back soon.

We have a lot of middle infielders performing well this season, though most aren't top-notch prospects. Basak (SS, 2B), Lambin (2B, SS), Keppinger (2B) & Hernandez (SS) have all done very well offensively. If we're out of the running, I could see us trying to move Matsui and giving one of these boys a shot at the end of this season.

Anyway, back to the game. Lee pitched a scoreless 7th, and Padilla gave up a double and a home run to his 2004 teammates in a two-run eighth. He went on to retire the next four batters to preserve the win.

6/23/05
Bisons Run Wild Over Tides in 5-4 Loss, Losing Streak Extended to 5 Games
Isn't Bison plural already? Anyway, another tough loss for the Tides. Gil, Lambin & Redman each had three hits (1 2B for Gil & 3 for Redman), but it wasn't enough to overcome a shaky start by Scobie.

Scobie went 6 innings and allowed 9 hits, 2 walks and 5 runs (4 earned), striking out 4. The unearned run scored in the second, as Scobie & Gil each erred, allowing Jason Cooper to first reach second, then score. Colyer & Hamulack pitched two hitless innings in relief, and Norfolk mounted a rally in the ninth, but fell short. The top of the ninth:

Pitcher Change: Jake Robbins replaces Andrew Brown.
Prentice Redman doubles (9) on a fly ball to right fielder Ernie Young.
Mike DiFelice grounds out, pitcher Jake Robbins to first baseman Andy Abad.
Ron Calloway flies out to right fielder Ernie Young. Prentice Redman to 3rd.
Benji Gil singles on a ground ball to pitcher Jake Robbins. Prentice Redman scores.
Chase Lambin singles on a ground ball to center fielder Joe Inglett. Benji Gil to 2nd.
Eric Valent pops out to third baseman Mike Kinkade.

A tough loss, as I said, but our boys showed heart, and that's gotta cout for something.

[Guest Rotblatt]

6/29
Seo Brings ERA below 3.00 in 2-1 Win Over Mud Hens

8.1 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K

Good stuff. Since being sent back down, his ERA at AAA is 1.92. Have I mentioned that he should be pitching for us instead of Ishii? Padilla came on with one out and two on, hit the first batter, then struck the next two out. His ERA is down to 1.49.

Hernandez is demonstrating why he got to stay instead of Chase, going 2-4 with a triple to raise his average to .385 in 26 AAA at bats. We may have to start a Jose Reyes watch on him, though, as he has yet to walk for Norfolk. Rodney also went 2-4, with a double.

Our old pal Ginter pitched very well, going 6 innings and allowing only 4 hits, 2 walks and 2 runs (1 earned), while K'ing 5.

[Frayed Knot]

Mets shortstop Anderson Hernandez has been one of the hottest hitters in the International League since being called up to Triple-A Norfolk in late June. The 22-year-old middle infielder came over to New York from the Tigers for Vance Wilson in January and has 17 hits in his first 45 at-bats for the Tides. Hernandez batted .326-7-24 in 273 at-bats at Double-A Binghamton this year before being promoted.

[Guest Edgy DC]

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	AVG	OBP	SLG	OpS
26	53	5	7	0	0	0	4	7	6	12	0	0	.132	.246	.132	.264

[Guest Rotblatt]

While I've been drinking beer in the great outdoors, neglecting my Cranepoolean responsbilities, the Tides have been busy treading water at Norfolk. Since 6/29, they've won 1 and lost 1 against Toledo, then won 2 of 4 against Syracuse. Fortunately for them, going .500 over that stretch has been good enough to keep their 8-game lead in their division. The Tides start a 3-game series against the MF Clippers starting tonight at 7:15.

Norfolk Notables since 6/29/05

Pagan .292 AVG/.370 OBP/.458 SLG/.828 OPS. He's been consistent lately, getting on base pretty much every day despite not having a lot of multi-hit days. He is starting to show a little power, though, which is a relief--his SLG is only at .382 on the year so far, despite his recent surge.

Hernandez .348 AVG/.400 OBP/.609 SLG/1.009 OPS. This 22-year old just won't stop. . . Some pop, some speed, and he's developing patience. We've been very agressive with him this year and have him playing 2B in addition to his natural SS. Will he be our very own Cano come September? His line through 49 AAA AB: .367 AVG/.404 OBP/.571 SLG, 9 SB, 1 CS, 6 XBH, after hitting .326 AVG/.360 OBP/.462 SLG, 11 SB, 9 CS, 24 XBH in 273 AB in AA. Not only is he not struggling to adjust to AAA, he's taking the damn thing by storm. It's like he smells the majors beckoning and has stepped up his game . . . At any rate, he's still likely to go through a slump once pitchers find a hole to exploit, but it's hard not to be impressed by his success so far.

Valent .286 AVG/.423 OBP/.429 SLG/.852 OPS (including his second career grand slam). V-dog remains hot and has his line up to .247 AVG/.361 OBP/.547 SLG/.908 OPS, despite his initial slump after being demoted. I would expect us to send Ice Man down and bring Valent back up before too long.

Nye .455 AVG/.500 OBP/.545 SLG/1.045 OPS. He's back after his recent slump--lots and lots of singles for him lately.

McGinley 1 IP, 1 K. Not much to talk about here, but he has a following, so . . .

Hamulack 4 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K (ERA in 12 games now down to 1.23). Hamulack, a 32-round draft pick in 1995, is a 28-year old lefty who came to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee. He was in Binghamton until 6/3, when his 1.26 ERA, .91 WHIP & 8.48 K/9 over 28.2 IP earned him a call-up to AAA. He's posting pretty much the exact same numbers here. While he's more or less always been able to strike people out, he's only met this much success once--at AA in 2003 for Seattle, where he posted a 2.09 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP, and a 10.27 K/9. He got called up that year and was shelled in 4.1 innings. He reverted back to mediocrity the following year. Looks like a reclamation project that so far is going amazingly well.

Padilla 3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K (1.39 ERA). Still good. The first to get promoted should we trade someone from our pen?

Aybar 2 IP, 2 K (just his second game since accepting assignment)

Scobie 5.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. Scobie was recently selected to the All-Star team. Congrats!

Seo 8 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K. Seo had a perfecto through 2 outs into the 6th, which was broken up by a "double" on a ball misplayed by Calloway. Since Calloway managed to get a glove on it, there was some dispute over whether it should have been called a hit. The Norfolk crowd cast their vote with a long round of boos . . . The only other hits Seo gave up were 2 ground balls in the 8th that got past the infield for singles.

Seo said of the game, in which he was the hard-luck loser thanks to some shoddy defense: "I had everything tonight: cutter, splitter, changeup and fastball. They were all my friend tonight. It was a bad inning and bad luck. I�m not very happy.�

Seo's AAA line overall
2.84 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 8.70 K/9, 3.65 K/BB, .55 HR/9

The Korean 28-year old has now thrown 12 straight quality starts for Norfolk since being demoted. Did I mention that he should be starting over Ishii?

[MFS62]

I remember when there used to be something called the Bernstein Report available on the WEB. The writer used to rank the Mets minor leaguers and had interesting comments about each of them.
He was very imporessed with Nye when he was at A ball. The comment I remember was that Nye had "one of the quickest bats" he had ever seen.

I think he deserves at least a cuppa' at the major league level as payment for toiling in the minors for many years. Who knows? He could be the next Matt Franco - a serviceable major league corner infoeld sub for a few years.

Later