Tag: Arizona Fall League

Teddy Ballgame chats with Michael Point of Baseball America
Photo courtesy of Jim Pierce of Baseball America

Giovany Gonzalez

This was get away day for the AFL, as a result this was only a seven inning game, with no chance for extra innings. Both teams were going home after the game as the Championship game was already set between the Grand Canyon Rafters and the Phoenix Desert Dogs Saturday November 18th at Scottsdale.

The Peoria Saguaros shutout Mesa 5-0 behind 3 2/3 scoreless innings put up by starting 5’11” lefty P Giovany Gonzalez (PHI), P Kyle Kendrick (PHI) got the win allowing one hit and fanning one over 1 1/3 innings of work, P Dan Foli (WAS), and 6’7″ T.J. Beam (NYY) each pitched a scoreless inning, C P.J. Pilittere (NYY) belted a three run bomb over the leftfield fence, 3B Chase Headley (SD) knocked a solo shot over the leftfield wall, and Cuba’s own OF Amaury Marti (StL) hit one over the centerfield fence with nobody aboard, he also singled to left, 2B Juan Ciriaco (SD) had a couple of hits, and big man 6’5″ 230 pound DH Colt Morton nailed a couple of fly balls to deep centerfield for long outs.

Bright spots for the Mesa Solar Sox were DH Brooks Conrad (HOU) who got a double in four at bats, he never uses batting gloves, 2B Eric Patterson (CHC) singled to center, walked, & stole a base, and lefty reliever Carmen Pignatiello (CHC) lowered his ERA to 0.87 with a perfect inning pitched. But Carmen’s chances of making the Cubs were diminished when it was learned during the game the Cubs traded for lefty Neal Cotts from the White Sox.

The game ended at 3:00 PM, but my ride didn’t get there till after six, which gave me PLENTY of time to look over the 2006 AFL Media Guide & Program, which I got free as a result of being with the Press (thebaseballzealot.com). Sitting on a bench in the parking lot I struck up a conversation with a catcher going to school in Peoria, he said it was a blast being a bullpen catcher for Mesa, catcher for Peoria is his daytime gig. My trip ended pretty much as it began as the last person I saw at the ballpark was the same guy that I saw when I first got into Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Matt Marks. Marks was the Mesa Solar Sox Operations Manager, continued success to Matt.

The traffic was horrible and I didn’t end up getting to the Blackhawk/Coyote game until the 2nd period, the Hawks were up 2-1, but ended up losing in a shootout. Still my Fall trip to Arizona was fantastic!!! And I’d like to tell you about my weekend trip to Las Vegas, but you know the saying, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”.

Teddy Ballgame Chillin’ in the Sunshine
Picture courtesy of Jim Pierce – Baseball America

Here I am out in beautiful Arizona, without a care in the world, also without a jacket. One thing I might have overlooked is that it gets cold in the desert at night. This Wednesday in Scottsdale was the only night game of the four games I was scheduled to see. Before the game stopped at Don & Charlie’s Resaurant & Lounge on Camelback in Scottsdale for a beer. I highly recommend this place, ran into Jim, he said I should just say, I’m a friend of his, and Brooke, his daughter will set me up, nice guy. The place is decorated with all kinds of baseball and other sports stuff, including a mural of the 1969 Chicago Cubs. Got to the ballpark relatively early, but the parking lot was pretty full as it was a night game, still it’s the AFL so my place behind the plate was waiting for me when I arrived. Sitting off to my left were my scout friends Marteese Robinson from the Cardinals & Phil Rizzo from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kevin Frandsen was awarded the Dernell Stenson Sportsman of the Year after the batboy sang the National Anthem and we were ready to play ball.

Scottsdale Scorpians stars of the night were CF Jerry Owens (CHW) had two singles, was really safe at first a 3rd time, stole a base, & drove in a run, DH Ryan Braun (MIL) drove a ball to the wall in right & singled to left, to go along with a couple of Ks, P Mike Schultz (ARZ) the 6’7″ righty clocked in at 91 MPH, striking out four, allowing one single, and 6’8″ righthander Adam Russell (CHW) got knocked around for a few basehits, but did strike out three, picked a runner off first, and tipped the radar gun at 93 MPH, he also shares a birthday with me, Greg Maddux, & Pete Rose – April 14th. It should be noted that Sportsman of the Year Kevin Frandsen dropped a loud “F” bomb as a flew to centerfield on his 2nd at bat of the game.

The Mesa Solar Sox topped Scottsdale 5-2 and here were their stars. RF Brooks Conrad (HOU) got a couple of hits, including an RBI double, C A.J. Ellis (LAD) got two singles, an RBI, a walk, & a K, 2B Eric Patterson (CHC) was three for five with a stolen base, SS Matt Tolbert (MIN) made a nice play in the hole and beat out a bunt, this kid can fly, P Jonathan Meloan (LAD) this righty topped out at only 86, struck out only one guy, but worked three perfect innings for the win.

Noticed some kids lined up to get autographs from some guy in the stands, turns out it was Eric Patterson’s big brother Corey the centerfielder for the Baltimore Orioles.

Then saw AFL visionary Roland Hemond Chicago White Sox Exec on the way out of the ballpark. He waved a friendly goodbye, said it was nice seeing me again, I told him to stop by Nancy Faust at the Cell in the summertime to say hello, he said he really doesn’t get to Chicago all that often anymore. Roland is one of the really good guys in baseball and it’s always a pleasure to see him.

Jordan Tata

Another beautiful day in Arizona. I was stressing about where I’d end up watching today’s game from, as I arrived only moments before game time, but luckily this was the AFL and there was a place for me right behind home plate. I pulled up a chair and sat down among the scouts. There were plenty of radar guns, so I was able to see how hard these kids were throwing. A couple of the scouts I got to know where Phil Rizzo of the LAD and Marteese Robinson of the St. Louis Cardinals.

Scottsdale Scorpians stars of the day were 3B Ryan Braun (MIL) a double, single, and a nice play in the field, 2B Danny Richar (ARZ) two singles & an RBI, and CF Jerry Owens (CHW) two singles. SS Kevin Frandsen (SF) got a hustle double, very fast, but no shortstop arm. C Bobby Wilson (LAA) got a single & a walk, but was robbed of a 2nd hit when 3B Kody Kirkland threw him out on a great play because he’s such a slow runner. P Dennis Sarfate (MIL) is a 6’4″ righty who threw 93 MPH & struckout one, walked one, and allowed one hit, in one inning. P Patrick Misch (SF) is a lefty out of Northbrook, IL who clocked in at 86 MPH and struckout one in his perfect inning of work. P Chris Kinsey (ARZ) threw 90 MPH, two perfect innings, struckout one, and stands 6’3″.

But the Phoenix Desert Dogs won this game 5-2 behind these performances. P Jordan Tata (DET) allowed eight hits & one base on balls, no strikeouts, five innings, 90 MPH, 6’6″ 220. Oakland righties Mike Mitchell (93 MPH, one walk, one K) & Connor Robertson (88 MPH, one K) each worked an inning, while Marcus McBeth came up lame after throwing just four pitches. 1B Chip Cannon (TOR) pulled three hits to right, including a double, & three RBIs, RF Brent Clevlen (DET) drove in one, had two singles, 2B Drew Anderson (CIN) had a triple and a base hit, SS Ben Zobrist (TB) stole a base, had two base knocks.

Heard the news while the game was going on that Brandon Webb was named 2006 NL Cy Young Award winner. Also heard that Mark DeRosa was signed by the Chicago Cubs to play secondbase, assuring Ryan Theriot of staying in Triple A.

When I left the ballpark I ran into White Sox Assistant GM Roland Hemond in the parking lot. I congratulated Hemond on all his hard work paying off with a 2005 White Sox World Championship. Hemond was talking with a Chicago Cubs executive who commented on the DeRosa signing, saying, “Theriot never looked better at any level than he did with the Cubs, but Ryan decided to pass on playing winter ball, saying he was moving”. It’s a shame to see a kid like Theriot throw his major league career away so foolishly.

My mouth was watering as we were driving out of the parking lot. I’m from Chicago and I know food, have had plenty of great pizza, but the Oprah Show claimed Pizzeria Bianco at Washington & 7th Street in downtown Phoenix has the best pizza in the world, they received over 400 e-mails from viewers claiming this truth. Waited from 5:30 PM till 8:45 PM, before my tastebuds were FINALLY rewarded with what truly was the best pizza I’d ever eaten. Chris makes every pizza, I had to tell him how much I’d enjoyed it, he commented on my Buck O’Neil shirt, saying it was sad he didn’t make the HOF before he’d died. We had four pizzas between myself & my friend’s son (one cheese & basil, one arugula, one pistachio, & one sausage).

Ben Zobrist

My flight from Chicago got me to Phoenix at 9:30 AM, a short cab ride later, and I was in the Hohokam Stadium parking lot in Mesa. I double check the schedule, asked a team bus driver in the parking lot if there was a game today, and ended up walking into the ballpark with a construction contractor before the gates opened to the public. There I was basking in the sunshine, the only fan in the stands, with both teams on the field getting ready for the game, it was surreal. I noticed a scout pick up a stat pack off a card table and I followed suit. Looking over the media notes I observed three players from today’s game received mentions, they were Ben Zobrist, Chip Cannon, & Jake Fox. I learned that Desert Dog Zobrist (TB) had reached base safely in all 24 of his games played, Cannon (TOR) a Phoenix teammate was leading the AFL in HR (11), tied for the lead in RBI (26), and was third in hitting (.362), while Mesa catcher Fox (CHC) drove in three runners and went 2-5 with a double & a HR on Saturday.

As I settled in to watch the ballgame here are some of my day’s happenings. I met writer Michael Point & photographer Jim Pierce from Baseball America. There were 205 paid fans in the stands, and me. One little boy caught two foul balls on consecutive pitches, what are the odds? Mesa’s SS Matt Tolbert (MIN) tried to convince the ump he was hit by a pitch, Manager Pat Listach even had the trainer go out to examine Tolbert, which amused Phoenix’ manager, but the umpire wasn’t buying any of it. The homeplate umpire, who was giving the pitchers about a foot outside, ejected MSS Brooks Conrad (HOU) & PDD Kody Kirkland (DET).

Here are some of the stars of this eleven inning 5-5 tie, which eventually was determined as a Desert Dog victory. Mesa Solar Sox starting pitcher Mark McLemore (HOU) struckout eight of the nine men he faced (Chip Cannon popped to 3rd), three guys on three pitches. Other impressive Mesa players were 3B David Winfree (MIN) a well hit homer over the leftfield wall, DH Anthony Raglani (LAD) three hits including a double, and SS Matt Tolbert (MIN) with a nice defensive play in the hole. Top Desert Dogs were SS Ben Zobrist (TB) a couple of hits including a homer batting lefthanded down the line in right, C Curtis Thigpen (TOR) a sac fly to right, a two run single, a bloop double to right, & four blocks of pitches in the dirt, P Corey Hamman (DET) struckout two in one and a third perfect innings pitched.

For me it was one game down, three to go. It was fun escaping Chicago’s cold, dreary weather, escaping to the sunshine of Arizona, AND BASEBALL!

Valentin, Vaughn, Robinson, Biggio

“Where have you gone Mr. Robinson?”, to paraphrase the famous Simon & Garfunkel song. It’s funny how my path happened to cross that of Marteese Robinson as I traversed through the Arizona Fall League. More importantly is what I’ve discovered about the man after returning to Chicago. I first noticed Mr. Robinson sitting behind the plate in Scottsdale, studying the action. I pulled a chair up in the next section over and we settled in to watch the action. Marteese had a huge NL Championship ring on his finger, to go along with a huge scar on his right elbow. Turns out the scar is a souvenir from his days at Seton Hall, when SS John Valentin’s throw drew firstbaseman Marteese into the path of the baserunner. Robinson’s arm snapped backward, but he chuckles, “I didn’t get knocked down and I didn’t cry”. While at Seton Hall he was the best hitter in a lineup that consisted of John Valentin, Mo Vaughn, & future Hall of Famer Craig Biggio. Although Martese Robinson never made it to the Big Leagues as a player, he’s soon going to have his BIG ring replaced with an even BIGGER one as he’s the Professional Scouting Director for the St. Louis Cardinals, the 2006 World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. He’s as nice a guy as a day is long. I congratulated him on winning the World Series and he kidded me about my not being able to get an accurate reading for him from a malfuntioning radar gun.

SO HERE’S TO YOU, MR. ROBINSON!!!

Don and Charlie’s in Scottsdale, AZ

Although I’m a vegetarian I had to stop off at Don & Charlie’s for a beer before catching November 15th’s night game in Scottsdale. Don & Charlie’s is a great place to have a drink, even though they are best known for their BBQ ribs. The restaurant/lounge is decorated with all kinds of baseball, as well as other sports, memorabilia, and the ballplayers actually hang out there. Can’t wait to get back out there in the spring, where one of the owners said, they’ll have a table waiting for me.

Susan Price

I had no idea when I went to Scottsdale that I would notice Susan Price, but there was no way I could miss her. Susan sits behind the Scottsdale dugout and cheers on her boys, through thick & thin. She is so positive, always saying positive things to encourage the Scorpians. In preseason ball she’s out there rooting on the SF Giants who train in Scottsdale. From the first pitch to the last out, Price was yelling, “fire it in there” to her pitchers. While sometimes her rants can become annoying, her undying optimism has made me a fan of hers and I look forward to hearing her again when I visit Scottsdale in the spring.

Kevin Frandsen

Kevin Frandsen (San Francisco) of the Scottsdale Scorpians beat out five other nominated AFL’ers to win the 2006 Dernell Stenson Sportsman of the Year Award. Dernell Stenson was a prospect with the Cincinnati Reds, who was shot to death while playing in the AFL for Scottsdale in 2003. Mark Teahen (Kansas City) won the first Stenson Award in 2004, made it to the big leagues in 2005, and starred for the Royals in 2006. Last year Andre Ethier (Oakland) won the award, before being traded to the LA Dodgers, where he earned an everyday major league job in 2006. Frandsen hopes the success of these two previous winners rubs off on him. The one thing all three winners share is a great determination to succeed. I was in Scottsdale when Kevin received this award November 15th.

CONGRATS TO KEVIN FRANDSEN!!! AND GOOD LUCK IN 2007 & BEYOND!!!

Brent Clevlen

The Phoenix Desert Dogs won their 3rd straight Arizona Fall League Title Saturday November 18, 2006 in Scottsdale, AZ with a 6-2 win over the Grand Canyon Rafters. Here is the boxscore from the game.

I’d like to say, “I was there”, but that would be a lie. 2006 was the year that I finally made it out to the desert to take in some Arizona Fall League action, but I left before the championship game was played. I’ll fill you in on my adventure later, but wanted to report on the title game before it became a distant memory. The Phoenix Desert Dogs were the only AFL team above .500 during the regular season and won their 3rd straight title, despite only getting four hits. Brent Clevlen (Detroit) was the hitting star, with a two run single & a solo homer. Fernando Perez (Tampa Bay) also drove in a pair of runs for Phoenix, as they triumphed over Grand Canyon 6-2. Virgil Vazquez (Detroit) allowed only one run over five innings of work to pick up the W.

CONGRATS PHOENIX DESERT DOGS!!!