Sneakin w/ Sally Down the Alley (aka Hagerstown Suns 2006)

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Track your Hagerstown Suns here. Sounds like they could be interesting this year:

]The Herald-Mail ONLINE http://www.herald-mail.com/ Monday April 3, 2006 It's showtime - Suns set to open season on the road by BOB PARASILITI bobp@herald-mail.com Manager Frank Cacciatore is ready to get the show on the road. That's a good thing because those are the two things the Hagerstown Suns will be all about at the beginning of the 2006 season: The show and the road. The Suns will be cast as a band of vagabonds to start the new season Thursday with eight of their first 11 games being played away from Municipal Stadium. "It's going to be a whirlwind for us," Cacciatore said as the Suns are scheduled to report to town today in anticipation of the start of the new season. "We get in and then we get going on some extensive road trips early. It will be a good awakening for some of these guys. I know I can't wait for when the lights come on." Act One for the new season starts Thursday in Greensboro. After a four-game series there, the Suns return to Hagerstown for the home opener April 10 to begin a three-game series with Lakewood. Along the way, Cacciatore will be looking to see which players are ready for the primetime. Hagerstown, which lost to Kannapolis in the South Atlantic League finals last season, will likely feature a young team, including a youthful core of players up the defensive middle. The Suns have every chance to be an exciting - and a little frustrating - team to watch. "This is going to be a fun team to watch," Cacciatore said. "They have been playing hard and that should carry over to the season. But like young teams, there are going to be times when they will be inconsistent." The excitement - and maybe the inconsistency - starts in the middle of the field where the Suns will feature three teens. The whole team will revolve around center fielder Fernando Martinez, a 17-year-old big-ticket player who has the Mets organization buzzing about his capabilities. The middle of the infield will be home for Hector Pellot, an 18-year-old second baseman who was the New York Mets' fourth-round pick in 2005, and Jose Castro, a 19-year-old shortstop and 2005's choice in the 32nd round. "Martinez is our leadoff guy and has had a good spring," Cacciatore said. "He has hit the ball well. Pellot and Castro are younger guys who the organization has a lot of confidence in to send out there and let them play." Hagerstown is scheduled to have some older players to help even off the growing experience. First baseman Nick Evans, New York's fourth pick in 2004, and two-year farmhand and third baseman Leivi Ventura are scheduled to start on the corners along with right fielder Johnathan Sanchez. "They have had a good spring," Cacciatore said. "Ventura has hit four or five home runs this spring. "We have a good blend. We have used the running game when we had to, but for most of the spring we have swung the bats pretty well. We don't know what we have for sure, though, until we get out there for real." Pitching has been shuffled around the system during the spring, but 2005 draft picks Jonathon J. Niese, a left-hander chosen in the seventh round, and Salvador Aguilar, a right-hander chosen in the 29th round, have been impressive in camp and seem to be ticketed for Hagerstown. The Suns play a dress rehearsal against Hagerstown Community College on Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. at Municipal Stadium in a benefit for the school's scholarship fund. After that, the Suns take the show on the road. "They are going to be fun to watch," Cacciatore said. "I'm anxious to get started. I know when they start, they will probably be a little nervous, but I know I still do when the lights come on ... and I'm an old guy."

[Guest Edgy DC]

Anybody heading to see a game in H-Town, let me know. I imagine I'l be field-tripping there a lot.

[MFS62]

Edgy,
check out Niese.
Reports when they signed him said he had a good major league future.

Later

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Suns finally get off the schnide and win their first game of the year in their 5th try, 8-7 over the Lakewood Blue Claws (who were also winless going into last nite's game).

WP: Sal Aguilar (5 IP, 2 ER, 5 K)
The bullpen (Eric Brown, Josh Appel, Gernam Marte) coughed up 5 runs in 4 innings but held on.

Butera 2 doubles, 3 RBI; Ventura: 2 doubles

Nick Evans has 2 homers so far.

Typical lineup thru 5 games looks like this:

Fernando Martinez CF
Jose Castro SS
Jonathan Sanchez RF
Nick Evans 1B
Leivi Ventura 3B
Hector Pellot 2B
Jonel "The Fight Doctor" Pacheco LF
Drew Butera C
Matt Anderson DH

Elvis Cruz (what a name!) has also DHed.

Rotation has gone:
Jonathan Neise
Jorge Reyes
Jacobo Negullis
Jeff landing
Sal Aguilar

[Guest OlerudOwned]

I should try to catch the Suns in Lakewood one day, s'not far off from where I live.

[Guest SI Metman]

The Suns actually lost two days in a row on walk off home runs by the same player this past weekend. Gaby Sanchez of Greensboro hit a walk off grand slam on Friday and a walk off 2-run shot on Saturday, which accounts for 2 losses.

Bad news for the Suns though, they lost reliever Waner Mateo for 50 games. He got caught cheating.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=mlb&id=2405260

The funny thing is that this kid makes Jose Reyes look like Mo Vaughn.

[Elster88]

Dupe.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Waner Mateo is a great name. Sounds backwards, or course.

Maybe he can sneak back in under the name Mateo Waner.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

YOUR Hagerstown Suns have rebounded from their poor start and with 2 walk-off victories this week (and nearly a third), have evened the ledger at 7-7.

The O is all about young outfielders Jonel �Fight Dr.� Pacheco (2-6 289/353/489) and Teen Sensation Fernando Martinez (1-8-333/407/569).

Sal Alguilar has three starts and a 1.13 ERA, but no decisions; Jonathan Neise has impressed at 2-0, 2.70 and 15/3 K/BB in 13 innings. The bullpen has been very shaky.

Recent Results

On Tuesday the Suns promoted �Guaranteed Loss Night� � the visiting West Virginia Power lose or you get a free ticket to a future game � and nearly had to pay up before the Suns rallied for 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th and won an RBI single by Leivi Ventura.

Wednesday they scored 3 times in the 9th but fell short 5-4.

Last night, the Suns coughed up a lead to West Virginia who scored twice in the 9th, only to come back and win 6-5 with 2 of their own. Elvis Cruz (picture the King doing �Love Will Find a Way�) smashed a solo homer for the first run and Hector Pellot later singled home the gamewinner. Cruz is slugging nearly 600 but striking out a lot and OBPing in the mid-200s.

Above Edgeward suggested a roadtrip to Hagerstown -- definitely up for one this summer!

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

April 27: Suns Shine in the Morning
In an 11 am schoolchildren's special at Lakewood today, LHP Jonathan Neise improved to 3-0, with 6 innings of 1-run ball and Elvis Cruz' two-run double gave the Suns a 2-1 win. Lefties Josh Appell and Kevin Tomasiewicz (first save) finished up.

April 26: Suns, Blue Claws Call it Quits After 17 Innings
The Suns on Wednesday played 17 full innings at Lakewood when the game was suspended in a 7-7 tie. It will be resumed in the top opf the 18th prior to the May 6 game.Teen Sensation Fernando Martinez went 3-for-9 with a pair of doubles as the Suns overcame an early 6-0 deficit. The Blue Claws had 21 hits! The hero may have been righty Brandon Nall, who pitched the last 5 innings scoreless with 3 K's, 2 hits and no walks. Nall came into the game with 9.39 ERA.

April 25: 5-run 9th Stuns Lake County
The Suns rallied for 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th to stun Lake County, 7-6. Nick Evans' grand salami (his 4th HR of the year) got the Suns within 1, and the game ended when Leivi Ventura scored on a combination wild pitch-E2. Sal Aguilar (2.42 ERA) started and got no decision.

The win staved off a potential 4-game sweep by Lake County.

Suns thru 4/27: 9-10, 4th place, 3.5 games back -- amazin' considering they can't hit or pitch except for Teen Sensation Fernando Martinez (323/408/538), Aguilar & Neise.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I still rather suspect there may be more future Mets on this team than on the Norfolk roster. That may be too much wishing because this is the beginnnig of the level where everybody belongs to the Minaya regime.

[Guest GYC]

I'm going to the Hagerstown Suns @ Lakewood Blueclaws game tomorrow. Should be fun.

[Frayed Knot]

I read where teen sensation Fernando Martinez had 7 doubles last week.

Also, BA takes a question this morning speculating on where he'd fall if draftable since he'd just now be coming up on that age.

Q:
Mets outfielder Fernando Martinez is off to a strong start at low Class A Hagerstown as a 17-year-old, hitting .323/.408/.538 with one homer, eight RBIs and three steals in 17 games. If Martinez were a high school senior right now, where would he likely be drafted in June?

A:
Martinez signed for $1.4 million out of the Dominican Republic last summer. Though he was a free agent then and would be restricted to negotiating with one team in the draft, he'd do better this June.

In a draft crop that's very thin on position players and is getting the worst early reviews since the 2000 bunch, Martinez would be coveted. Realistically, he's at three years away from the major leagues, so that might keep him from going No. 1 overall, but he'd likely be one of the first five or 10 picks. He's better than any high school position player available, and you could argue him against the top college position players. Martinez has a higher ceiling than Long Beach State third baseman Evan Longoria, and scouts believe he's a safer bet to hit than Texas outfielder Drew Stubbs.

Martinez already is an advanced hitter and he also has above-average power potential. With solid speed and a strong arm, he projects as a quality all-around right fielder. For the sake of comparison, he's outperforming the other 17-year-old phenoms in the South Atlantic League, Braves shortstop Elvis Andrus (.221/.279/.284) and Yankees outfielder Jose Tabata (.329/.342/.452).


IOW; still real early, but promising.

[Elster88]

Long Beach State third baseman Evan Longoria

[Guest Edgy DC]

i think "Teen Sensation" should be permanently affixed to his name for the rest of his career.

[Frayed Knot]

Ya don't have to be desperate to draft that!

[Guest GYC]

Alright, a bit late, but as per request of JD, I'll give a small recap of the Friday game @ Lakewood Blueclaws, which is where I was instead of watching the Mets 5-2 win...

Jacob Neguilis started the game, having 2 innings where he let up 2 hits, a double by Lakewood catcher Lou Marson and a monster HR (probably close to 400 feet - it went over in right-center and hit off 1/4 of the way up the billboards, which are behind a path leading around the stadium, by Jeremy Slayden. Neguilis left in the 3rd - but the the HR came in the 2nd, and there was a guy warming up after the bottom of the 1st. Didn't make sense, really.

For the top of the first, Fernando Martinez worked out a 12 or 13 pitch at bat which ended in a base hit up the middle. Hector Pellot was up next, and hit a line drive single to right field. It was slightly bobbled a bit by the Lakewood RFer, and Martinez tried to get to 3rd, but was thrown out by about a foot.

That was pretty much how everything went for the Suns offensively. They took a 4-1 into the bottom of the 6th without having any extra-base hits. They blew it in the bottom of that 6th by letting up 4 runs off of an error, a balk, and fielder ignorance. I don't even remember how most of it happened because I decided to make the 6th inning my "go and take pictures" inning, but I did see a few sloppy hits. 3rd baseman Leivi Ventura booted a ball, there was a double misplayed by Fernando (he got a late break and took a step in when it was to deep center), and then an apparent balk. The pitcher, Meyers, picked off the guy on 1st (runner was at 3rd), and they had him in a run down. The pitcher didn't cover the bag, however, and the runner got back in safely.

They called a mound visit, and the infield came in, and as they were doing so, the umpire called it a balk, giving each runner a bag (bringing in a run.) I believe this was the third run of the inning, and they STILL didn't have anyone up in the bullpen yet. When this had happened, I was already back to my seat (this half inning had to have taken almost 20 minutes).

It honestly wasn't a balk. With the MILB umpire streak, there was a homeplate umpire, and an umpire who was standing between 1st and 2nd and 2nd and pitcher, kinda off in a weird postion, and that was it. Honestly, the field umpire didn't have a good angle, and the homeplate umpire didn't call the balk. It was an embarassment.

Some positives: Blueclaws respected the speed of Fernando, Pellot, and RF Jonathan Sanchez and LFer Jonel Pachecho, throwing at least 1 pick off attempt each team they all got on base. Only Sanchez was able to steal, and twice, while Ventura and Pacheco were both caught once

Other notes: I came across some other random Met fan, who worked with me to get the score of the Mets game. We went into the Blueclaws team store, but they had YES on. We asked the girl running the store if we can change the channel to SNY to watch the Mets game, or at least see the score, and she said no. I came back in the 5th inning, changed the channel myself, but got kicked out of the store before I could get to the right channel. The guy went back in and tried the same but also got kicked out.

My pictures didn't work out either. I was using a crappy digitial camera that apparently can't get clear pictures unless you're closer than 1 foot. Oh well. It was still a fun experience.

OE: Sorry for the typos, I'm lazy.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Great recap!

This week in Suntown:

Adoptable hurler Jon Neise gets some ink in the Daily News Born to Be a Met

The gap between Teen Sensation Fernando Martinez and his teammates offensively continues to grow. Fernandez is at 327/413/529/929, qualifying him for

11th in hitting
13th in OBP
14th in slugging
13th in OPS in the entire 14-team Sally league

The next best hitter on the Suns is Jonel Pacheco 253/305/368.

Suns are 12-15, tied for 6th in the 7-team Northern Division

May 6: Lakewood 3, Hagerstown 0
--Deolis Guerra, the other teenager signed with Martinez last summer to a big bonus, made his debut. 3ER, 3 H, 3 IP.

May 5: Hagerstwon 4, Lake County 0
--Jeff Landing gets his first win of the year, Elvis Cruz 2rHR

May 4: Lake County 6, Hagerstown 4
--Jacobo Negullis roughed up in 1.1 IP; Leivi Venture: HR, 2B

May 3: Hagerstown 10, Lake Couny 3
--Biggest O of the season, as the Suns collect 17 hits and score in 7 different innings in support of Neise (4-0). Martinez, Sanchez, Ventura 3 hits each.

May 1: Delmarva 3, Hagerstown 2
-- Brandon Nall blows it in relief of Brown (5 IP, 1 ER, 5 K)

April 30: Hagerstown 5, Delmarva 4
--Leivi Ventura homers to tie it in the 9th and Tony Piazza hits a walk-off RBI single

[MFS62]

Thanks, JD.

How good a name is Elvis Cruz?

Later

[Frayed Knot]

BA Notes:
The Mets Bobby Parnell had his first strong outing of the season as the righthander allowed only one earned run over seven innings while fanning six and walking none for low Class A Hagerstown. He did surrender a home run, his second in 28 innings this season. Last year, in 73 innings in the short-season New York-Penn League he allowed only one.

[Frayed Knot]

BA: Already the best defensive catcher in the Mets system, Drew Butera flashed some pop last week as he went 10-for-17 with two home runs. It might just be a fluky week, but he is worth monitoring when you consider his defensive skills. His explosion coincided with a recent hot streak from the Mets top catching prospect Jesus Flores, who is hitting .394 in June with three homers at high Class A St. Lucie.

[Guest Edgy DC]

it's great to see Flores reward the Mets' faith in him. He hit like a sucka at Hagerstown last year in between injuries. He fell off prospect lists, but not the team's list, and they promoted him anyway.

OE: He's got 44 RBI --- as many as David Wright!

[MFS62]

Edgy DC wrote: it's great to see Flores reward the Mets' faith in him. He hit like a sucka at Hagerstown last year in between injuries. He fell off prospect lists, but not the team's list, and they promoted him anyway. OE: He's got 44 RBI --- as many as David Wright!

I read that he's among the league top 10 in many categories, including 2BH, HR, RBI, XBH and SLG(makes sense). And his defense isn't that far behind Butera's.

Edgy- you've gone to some Hagarstown games, right?
How are the lights in that ballpark? I recall that when The Mets' SAL team was in Columbia, SC, it seemed like all the pitchers averaged a strikeout per inning, and the strikeout totals for their batters were very high as well. I always thought bad lights played a major part of that.

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

I've only been to two games, both were twilight starts. I didn't notice anything about the lights. But the park in general has a ramshackle charm (the Mascot is a terrifying atrocity of a character) and I imagine the lights aren't great. That said, I wouldn't conclude much about their impact on statistics. While the building is crap, the field condiditons are probably comparable to the rest of the South Atlantic League.

[MFS62]

Thanks.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Since we were already (sorta) on the topic of Jesus Flores (and that I can't find the St. Lucie thread) I'll put this here:


From Basball Prospectus:

When it comes to position prospects, the Mets are awfully thin, but they entered the season with high hopes for catcher Jesus Flores, despite the 21-year-old Venezuelan's miserable 2005 that was beset by injuries and an inability to hit (.216/.250/.339) in the Sally League. This year started much of the same, as Flores didn't get his batting average above .200 for good until May 5th. When he finally did, he went on a tear. Since getting over the Mendoza line, Flores is batting .336 (39-for-118) with ten doubles and nine home runs; on the season, nearly 55% of his hits (29 of 53) have gone for extra bases. Throw in some pretty good defensive skills, and you get a real catching prospect, one who makes other teams jealous.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Much-needed Hagerstown update provided by today's rainout story

]Clubhouse Chatter Second half fortunes as easy as 1-2-3 by BOB PARASILITI bobp@herald-mail.com There isn't really a set plan. It's more like a general philosophy when it comes to setting objectives for the Hagerstown Suns in the second half. "If we play like we have been, the wins will take care of themselves," Suns manager Frank Cacciatore said Thursday after Hagerstown's 2-1 loss to the Lakewood BlueClaws in the opening game of the second half of the South Atlantic League's season. Granted, that statement is more of a coaching and organizational stance on the Suns' fortunes for the 2006 season. But the fans ... they'd rather see all the improvement in the world while it translates into wins and losses. So, for those with discerning baseball tastes, here's an unofficial check list for gauging the Suns' progress in the final 70 games, according to Cacciatore. 1. The Suns need good performances from the mound to stay in games. 2. Play solid defense. 3. Continue to improve hitting, especially in situations. Thursday's game had it all for the Suns, except for the victory. Hagerstown ended the first half playing some of its best baseball of the season, giving the Suns something to build on in the second season. "Sure, I would have liked to get the first win on the table," Cacciatore said. "We have the momentum we built at the end of the first half and we have been playing some quality baseball." Starter Ryan Meyers came out to fill the first rule of second-half engagement. Meyers went 6 1/3 innings in the loss, giving up both runs in the seventh. But in the first six innings, Meyers worked quickly and kept the Suns in the game. "It was big for us to get Meyers pumping on the mound," Cacciatore said. "It all starts on the mound. The pitchers set the pace of the game for the team." Part Two was on display with some flashy glove play. Shortstop Jose Castro made a outstanding diving play to open the seventh inning. Leivi Ventura and Nick Evans have improved on the corners while the outfield, led by speedy Joe Holden, has remained steady. "I'm an offensive guy, but I know that teams win with defense," Cacciatore said. "We have been going out there and turning more double plays. We work on that everyday and it is starting to pay off." The Suns have turned an SAL-leading 84 double plays this season, including 30 thus far in June. Phase Three, hitting, is improving but needs more work. The Suns' team batting average is on the rise, but needs to show more consistency. The Suns had problems with runners in scoring position, but Jonathan Schemmel came up with a key hit last Sunday and Elvis Cruz drove in the only run on Thursday in the clutch. "They have been getting better," Cacciatore said. "We're hitting .260 in June (.248 for the season). We lost who is considered our best player (Fernando Martinez), but it has allowed other guys to come in and step up." Holden has filled the center-field slot admirably, hitting .310 with six home runs. Meanwhile, Jonathan Sanchez has heated up with six home runs while the Suns have stroked 22 in June. "It's kind of tough to lose by one run, but we have been playing well," Cacciatore said. "The good thing is we only have to wait until tomorrow to go back out and do it again. I'm not arrogant enough to get up there and say we are going to win the league title in the second half, but we have a great chance to be a team everyone is going to have to reckon with."

[Guest Edgy DC]

I went on Saturday. I showed up a little late because of an extended visit with the Mum-not-Quite-in-Law, and Bobby Parnell had coughed up two in the top of the first.

Both teams went scoreless the rest of the way. A lot of called strikes, to the point where grandmothers were telling people to swing. Home players were getting razzed.

Both pitchers went seven, very rare for low A. At the end of the game (it was Faith Night, but there was no activities that evidenced that, unless doing the macarena on top of the dugout is an act of faith) the attendance was announced as 1,461.

Cha looked at me and asked: "Is that for the week?"

Fernando Martinez has been out with some ouchie or another. Bobby Parnell has broad shoulders and I guess what you'd call a projectable frame. He was around the plate a lot more than the other pitcher. I don't know what happened in the first. I suppose I could look it up.

[MFS62]

Its more than an "ouchie" for Martinez. I read that he hurt his leg(knee?) and may be out for the rest of the year.
Later

[Vic Sage]

i saw Joe Holden play for the Cyclones. He's a good little ballplayer.