General Jammers 2012 Discussion

[tjfla]

http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats...=t_ros&cid=489

Finally we get to see Bryan Berglund pitch,Anthony Gomez is listed as a 2B, Austin Nola is on the roster,also looks like they are trying Miguel Fermin at pitcher???

[Mainge]

Ehe Fermin.

Nice to see Bergland back

[emkayseven]

General Jammers Discussion

Talk about the Jammers here.

[geemoney]

(If there is a more appropriate place for this, feel free to move it)

I'm back for another year as the official scorer of the Batavia Muckdogs, and the Jamestown Jammers were in town tonight. The series began in Batavia with a 7-5 Jammers win, and continues Saturday and Sunday in Jamestown. Angel Espada is the manager this season, replacing Dave Berg, who is now managing in Greensboro. I've been doing this long enough to see Mike Stanton in Batavia...but here are the reports I filed last season:

http://soflamarlins.com/showthread.php?t=4148
http://soflamarlins.com/showthread.php?t=4280

About a half-dozen scouts in attendance, most I've seen thus far, and one was from the Rays. Others, I'm not sure.

2B Anthony Gomez (6th Round Pick, 2012): Gomez was 1-4 with a run scored, a sac fly, and three ground-outs to shortstop. The Batavia radio announcer spoke with a scout in pre-game who said, "every time I watch Gomez, he does something good." At the plate, Gomez stood with a slightly open stance, and showed good plate coverage. He's hard to strike out because you can really see him shorten up and look to go the other way with two strikes. He made a leaping catch on a line-out in the second inning.

SS Yeison Hernandez (Signed as undrafted free agent, 2008; spent 2011 with GCL Marlins; also played for Jupiter in 2012): Hernandez went 2-4 with two doubles, he scored a run, and laid down a sacrifice bunt in the ninth. Hernandez has a wide open stance but opens up just before the pitch. He keeps his back elbow high in his stance. His double in the first inning was on a breaking ball, as he plopped it in right down the left-field line. His second double was a grounder down the left field line - he's a switch hitter and both doubles were from the left side of the box. He tried to bunt his way on in the third and his sac bunt was beautifully placed. Also fouled a ball off his foot in the third, but stayed in the game after the trainer checked on him. In the field, showed off a nice arm going after a ball in the hole.

1B Felix Munoz (Signed as undrafted free agent, 2008; spent 2011 with GCL Marlins): Munoz was 3-5 with a run and an RBI. At the plate, Munoz stands with the butt of his bat low, and as a lefty, was able to single off a lefty in the first. His RBI in the ninth was a little poke into left field. Batavia played him to pull in the OF, more so than most other players.

3B Austin Nola (5th Round Pick, 2012): Nola was 1-3 with a sac fly and a walk. He also flew out and grounded out. The righty stands tight to the plate at bat. His sac fly was a hard liner, and his single in the seventh bounced off the glove of the third basemen.

DH Viosergy Rosa (29th Round Pick, 2010; spent 2011 with Jamestown): Rosa was 1-5 with a run scored and a strikeout. Apparently, he hit lots of line drives during batting practice. His base hit in the first just snuck between first and second base. At 6'3", he has room to fill out. He struck out looking on a slider in the sixth inning.

C Jose Behar (30th Round Pick, 2011; spent 2011 with GCL Marlins and Jamestown; also played for Jupiter in 2012): 2-4 was Behar's line tonight, with a double, HBP, 2 RBIs, and strikeout. He scored a run as well. Behar's single was of the bloop variety in the fourth. The pitch he was hit with barely grazed him. He was a teammate of Batavia's Garrett Wittels at FIU.

LF Jesus Solorzano (Signed as undrafted free agent, 2009; spent 2011 with GCL Marlins): This was the guy I was most looking forward to seeing. He was 1-4 with a double, run scored, and two strikeouts. Both K's were swinging, and both third strikes were in the dirt. He has a bit of an open stance, and his double in the sixth inning was a screamer off the left-field wall.

RF Cameron Flynn (23rd Round Pick, 2012): Flynn was 0-4 with a swinging strikeout and an RBI. He was first-pitch swinging to lead off the second, ending in a fly-out to left. He showed a plus arm in right, almost throwing out a runner going from first-to-third on a single. He swung at one well out of the zone for his strikeout in the eighth.

CF Juancito Martinez (Signed as undrafted free agent, 2008; spent 2011 with GCL Marlins): Martinez went 1-4 with a run scored and a K. He reached on an infield single to second base in the fifth. They tried to pick him off first, but the pitcher threw it away, and he went first-to-third on it. On his fly-out in the eighth, he really got a hold of the ball and hit it on the nose.

SP Matt Milroy (11th Round Pick, 2012): Milroy was likely on a pitch count, as he went only two innings, giving up two hits, one run (earned), one walk and one strikeout in his first professional appearance. The righty has a compact delivery and explodes out of it to the plate. He was expected to throw 94-96 today, and I didn't catch the radar gun for him. One of the hits he gave up was due to a high hop and a speedy runner. After giving up that infield single with one out in the first, he really came unraveled and was all over the place. He didn't show much in the way of offspeed stuff. He fell behind all six hitters in the first inning.

RP Beau Wright (48th Round Pick, 2010; spent 2011 with GCL Marlins): Listed on the Jammers roster as "James Wright," Beau picked up the win, going two innings, giving up four hits, two runs (both earned), and one walk. At 6'2", 257 pounds, Wright is a big guy. He keep his feet spread when beginning his wind-up. Despite his size, he got off the mound to field a ball and make a play to first, and also got down quickly to field a ball on a comebacker, so he showed some good athleticism. The lefty has a blink-and-you'll-miss-it pickoff move, and used it successfully to pick a Muckdog off first. He had one of the hitters on an 0-2 count when he tossed a third offspeed pitch, resulting in an RBI single.

RP Brian Ellington (16th Round Pick, 2012): The Jammers used six pitchers, and Ellington was one of only two who looked really good. He went two innings and struck out two. He has a deliberate delivery and his offspeed pitched was clocked at 76 MPH. His fastball was at 92 on at least one pitch. He sat down all six Muckdogs he faced in the fifth and sixth.

RP Jheyson Manzueta (Signed as undrafted free agent, 2007; spent 2011 with Jamestown and Greensboro): Manzueta, whose first name is pronounced "Jason," struggled mightily here. He pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up two hits, two earned runs, one walk, one strikeout, two balks, and a wild pitch. He threw from the stretch even without runners on. The pitching coach made a visit after only two batters. One of his fastballs hit 90 on the gun. He put the tying run on third with no outs before inducing a ground out with the infield in, and striking out a batter before being lifted.

RP Frankie Reed (27th Round Pick, 2011; spent 2011 with GCL Marlins and Jamestown): Reed was brought in strictly for a lefty-lefty match-up: He squared off against the power lefty David Washington, who is hitting .444 and already has five doubles on the year. Reed lasted all of one pitch, getting Washington to pop out to him on the mound.

RP Nick Wittgren (9th Round Pick, 2012): Wittgren was the second pitcher who looked good. He tossed two innings, giving up one hit, and striking out two in notching his second save of the year. The first pitch of his appearance resulted in a broken-bat ground-out. He goes from the wind-up and showed a nice breaking ball. The hit he gave up in the eighth was the result of a bad bounce off the edge of the grass, so it was a cheapie. He showed good athleticism in pouncing on a Wittels bunt in the ninth, bare-handing it to get the out at first.

[emkayseven]

This is great. Thanks a lot.

[geemoney]

Whew! After 17 innings, the Muckdogs defeated the Jammers 5-4 last night in Batavia. As you'd imagine in a game that long, both teams squandered opportunities to win (and five Jammers errors led to three Muckdog runs), and the game ended when SS Yeison Hernandez committed a fielding error with the bases loaded and two outs, allowing the winning run to score after four hours and 41 minutes.

Of note, there was only one scout on hand that I know of, and he was from the Angels. Also in attendance: Marlins minor league pitching coordinator Wayne Rosenthal. I expected him to be watching Jose Fernandez's first game for Jupiter, but perhaps they have scheduled stops they need to make throughout the season. Jammers manager Angel Espada was tossed in the 14th, arguing a foul/fair call on a bunt. With so few folks left in attendance, you could clearly hear every "f bomb" he dropped on the umps. He also threw his hat down in frustration and kicked dirt on the umpires' shoes and on home plate.

Also, for what it's worth: The Jammers lineup is a bitch to call in for pre-game, because when I give the lineups, I have to spell just about every name because they're so difficult to pronounce. For more info on some of the players, see my previous write-up elsewhere in this thread.

DH Anthony Gomez: Gomez was back in the lead-off spot here after playing 2B last time in Batavia. He was 0-7 with a walk and two strikeouts. His strikeout in the 12th was on a change-up. Last time, he grounded out to shortstop three times; tonight, it was three ground-outs to second base. For the first few innings, the Batavia pitcher pretty much threw nothing but fastballs to the Jamestown lineup.

SS Yeison Hernandez: He was 2-8 with a run scored and two strikeouts. One of his hits was a hard bouncer the first baseman should've plucked. His other hit was a bunt single in the 12th that the 3B let go hoping it would roll foul. I noted his stance previously, and he also extends his hands away from his body. When facing a lefty later in the game, his stance was so open that his front foot was almost out of the side of the box. He's 5'10" and looks short at-bat. He was one of several Jammers to hit hard line-outs or fly-outs during regulation. In addition to the error he committed to end the game, he also made an earlier gaffe on a throw trying to get a double-play. That led directly to a run as well. He continued to show a strong arm from the hole though.

1B Viosergy Rosa: Rosa went 1-3 with a run, a homer (his first), and an RBI. He also walked before being lifted for a pinch-runner in the ninth. He stood with his back foot almost out of the box. His homer was a pull shot that the RF didn't even move for. It was a no-doubter. Rosa also flew out to left twice.

PR Rony Peralta (Signed as undrafted free agent, 2007; spent 2011 with Jamestown and Jupiter): Peralta pinch ran for Rosa in the ninth inning and was put out at second on a fielder's choice. He actually came in to pinch-run on a 1-1 count. Not much else to say about the 21 year-old.

1B Felix Munoz: Munoz replaced Peralta defensively in the ninth, and took over the third spot in the order. The Muckdogs again played him to pull in the extreme in CF and RF. He ended up 2-4 with a run at the plate. In the 16th, he made a nice scoop on a short-hop throw from short to save the game - with two outs, the runner on third would've scored had the throw gone awry.

3B Matt Juengel (24th Round Pick, 2012): Juengel went 1-7 with a run, a triple, an RBI and a strikeout (swinging on a curve). His RBI triple in the 11th put the Jammers up by one. He then scored on a Kentrell DeWitt double. Juengel has a unique stance, standing almost straight up in the box with little knee-bend and his back elbow high. His feet are open, but closer together than normal. He has a Dan Uggla-like bat waggle. His ground-out in the first was bare-handed by the third basemen on a nice play. He also had a broken-bat fly-out in the 12th. His throwing error in the seventh led to the Muckdogs go-ahead run - he fielded a grounder, touched third to get the force, then completely air-mailed a throw to first in an attempt to get the batter. Interestingly, Juengel appeared to be giving the signs, rather than the catcher, with a man on 2nd and no outs in the eighth.

RF Jesus Solorzano: Solorzano was 2-7 with an RBI and three K's (two looking). There were times he looked completely overmatched at the plate, but he showed just enough in other at-bats to make you think there's something there to work with. One of his hits, a game-tying single in the ninth, took a bad hop on the lip of the grass and bobbed past the third basemen. His first inning line-out was blasted nearly to the outfield wall in center. His strike-out in the seventh consisted of two swings on balls out of the strike zone, then the third pitch was right on the corner and he was caught looking.

LF Kentrell DeWitt (13th Round Pick, 2010; spent 2011 with GCL Marlins and Jamestown): He was 1-7 with a double, an RBI, and a strikeout. The RBI double in the 11th put Jamestown up by two runs. His fly-out in the second was similar to Solorzano's in that it was a screamer. He attempted to bunt for a hit in the fifth, but again, the third baseman (a supplemental first-round pick for the Cardinals) bare-handed it and threw him out. DeWitt just pushed it a little too hard up the line. He K'd looking in the 13th when trying to call time - it wasn't granted, but he stepped out anyway. In the field, he let a ground ball get by him that turned a single into a single and an error allowing the runner to reach second. It didn't have any effect on the game.

C Sharif Othman (32nd Round Pick, 2011; spent 2011 with GCL Marlins and Jupiter): Othman was 0-4 with two strike-outs. He also reached on an error by the first baseman. The switch-hitter came into the game with only eight at-bats on the season. He struck out looking and swinging, with the backward K coming on a curveball. His strikeout swinging was on an awful pitch out of the zone. Overall, didn't show much at the plate.

C Jose Behar: Behar replaced Othman defensively in the bottom of the tenth. He went 0-2 with a walk, a line-out and a ground-out.

2B Yefri Perez (Signed as undrafted free agent, 2008; spent 2011 with GCL Marlins and Jamestown): Perez was 0-6 with a sacrifice. He has an open stance at the plate, and squats down real low. His sac bunt in the 10th was nicely-placed. He couldn't beat out a swinging bunt in the third despite his speed, and he was another with a hard line-out, that one being in the fifth.

CF Juancito Martinez: He was 1-6 with a walk and two K's, one looking and one swinging. He also stole a base; it was a bad jump, but he made it thanks to a bad throw. It was his fourth stolen bag of the season. He came back from an 0-2 count in the 10th to work a walk, but shows a long swing on occasion. A couple times he pulled up in center-field when it looked like a catch was possible.

SP Helpi Reyes (Signed as undrafted free agent in 2008; spent 2011 with Jamestown): A good start wasted. Reyes went six innings, giving up three hits, one run (unearned), walking none and striking out five. He hit a batter, but it barely grazed the Muckdog. Only 19 years old (he turns 20 July 1st), Reyes works quickly with no one on and he's a lot of arms and legs in his wind-up. A breaking-ball in the third should've been strike three, and he was visibly agitated by the call, but he came back to get the batter looking on the next pitch. He showed a plus slider and had an average move to first base. He went to a three-ball count only twice through four innings.

RP Miguel Fermin (Signed as undrafted free agent, 2005; spent 2011 with Jupiter and New Orleans): Fermin is an interesting story. He went one inning, allowing two hits and one run (unearned). Fermin is 27 years old, but in his first year as a pitcher. He was a New York-Penn League All-Star as a catcher in 2008. From the stretch, he has a high knee bend and a stiff front leg before launching toward the plate. Othman visited him on the mound a couple times during his inning of work.

RP Sean Donatello (25th Round Pick, 2011; spent 2011 with GCL Marlins and Jupiter; also played for Jupiter in 2012): Donatello ate up a few critical innings, getting the Jammers into extras. He went three innings, giving up three hits and striking out two. He hit a batter as well. He has an easy motion with a decent curveball. Also showed a change as part of his arsenal.

RP Frankie Reed: Reed was charged with a blown save in the game in which he went two innings, giving up four hits, two earned runs, one walk, and five strike-outs. He gave up a two-out triple to Garrett Wittels with two men on in the 11th that tied the game back up. Four of his five strike-outs were of the swinging variety. Reed comes to the plate with a 3/4 delivery and worked the outside corner to righties. He doesn't really blow you away with his stuff.

RP Bryan Berglund (2nd Round Pick, 2009; sat out 2011 with injury): I was glad I was able to see Berglund pitch. He tossed two scoreless innings, giving up a hit, a walk, and three strike-outs (two swinging). Berglund didn't appear to throw hard, but kept the ball down in the zone. Originally from Sweden, Berglund keeps his hands together through his motion, holding them over his knee when he raises it during the wind-up.

RP Beau Wright: The losing pitcher in the game, Wright went 2.2 innings, and gave up three hits, one run (unearned), three walks and a K. Wright appears to be a max-effort pitcher and was inconsistent locating the strike zone. He was charged with an error on a pick-off attempt in the 15th, but the runner was out trying to score on the play.

After a game in Jamestown tonight, they close out the three-game series in Batavia on Saturday.

[geemoney]

The Jammers avoided a sweep tonight in Batavia thanks to a four-run ninth inning, erasing a three-run deficit in the final frame and going on to win 6-5. The same Angels scout who was there Thursday was there tonight, and he was also in Jamestown for yesterday's game. Colin Cargill is on the roster on a rehab assignment from I believe Jupiter. He pitched yesterday in Jamestown and did some throwing in the bullpen tonight, but did not enter the game. If there's anything I learned in the first three games I've seen the Jammers: Offensively, they don't like to walk.

DH Yefri Perez: Perez went 2-5 with a run, a double, and two RBI. He had a 3-0 count that ended in a fly-out on the first at-bat of the game. His double was just past the out-stretched glove of the 3B in the third, but he was out trying to stretch it into a triple. He was first-pitch hitting in the sixth when he singled.

2B Pedro Mendoza (Signed as undrafted free agent, 2008; spent 2011 with Greensboro and Jamestown): Mendoza, in his first game of the season after opening the year on the disabled list, went 3-5 with a double and RBI. His first at-bat of the season was a two-bagger just inside the line past third base. Mendoza wears no batting gloves and stands close to the plate. His single in the sixth was a flare to center-field.

SS Austin Nola: Nola played 3B on the 23rd of June in Batavia, and he's built more like a 3B than a SS. He went 1-4 with an RBI and a strike-out looking. He grounded out and flew out in addition to his RBI single that chased Jose Almarante from the game in the sixth.

3B Matt Juengel: Juengel (pronounced "YENGLE") was 1-4 with a run and a strikeout (looking). He stranded two runners with his backward K in the sixth inning. He also started the comeback in the ninth with a base hit to lead off the inning. He has a very strong arm in the field (which got him into trouble last game). The Muckdogs infield played him to pull.

1B Viosergy Rosa: The Taco Bell K man on the night (if the K man strikes out, anyone with a game ticket can redeem it for a free taco at the local Taco Bell within 24 hours) disappointed the hometown fans by not striking out. Instead, he went 0-2 with a run and two walks. He flied out and popped out in his two credited at-bats. In the field, he appeared to lose a foul pop-up in the sun - it was close to the fence, so it could've been that he didn't think he had room.

RF-CF Jesus Solorzano: Solorzano went 1-4 with a run and two RBI. He really goes to work on his gum when batting, chomping on it like there's no tomorrow. Expert analysis, I know. He got jammed on a second-inning fly-out. In the ninth, he lined a single that somehow got past the glove of the second baseman, driving in two runs and making it a 5-4 game. He moved from right field to center in the eighth inning.

LF Kentrell DeWitt: DeWitt was 0-3 with a run and a strikeout. Both strikeouts were swinging, the first being on a breaking ball. He worked the pitchers deep into counts on most of his at-bats, despite not having much to show for it. He had another error in the field, booting a base hit resulting in the batter moving to second. That's two errors in the last two games I've seen of him. In the ninth, he laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners over, but ended up reaching when the third baseman couldn't field the ball cleanly.

C Jose Behar: Behar (pronounced "BEE-HAR") was 0-4 with two strikeouts. Disappointing, since he looked good at the plate the previous two games. He struck out swinging on a breaking ball in the third and went down swinging on on a 3-2 fastball that he just waved at in the seventh. Defensively, he's pretty good at blocking pitches.

CF Juancito Martinez: Martinez was 1-2 with a run and a walk before being lifted in the eighth. I'm wondering if it was an injury issue, since in a close game you'd like to have his speed in the field and at-bat. His hit was a bunt single to the first baseman in the third inning, and a rushed throw by the fielder led to a throwing error and Martinez ended up on second base. In the seventh, he was caught stealing on the first pitch from a new pitcher who had just entered the game. In the field, he was credited with an assist after catching a fly ball in shallow center and throwing out the runner trying to score at home.

RF Cameron Flynn: Flynn replaced Solorzano in right and Martinez in the order in the eighth. He had the back pocket pulled out of his pants. More importantly, he walked in the ninth inning, but was erased on a fielder's choice.

SP Mason Hope (5th Round Pick, 2011; spent 2011 with GCL Marlins): Hope, who hails from the same hometown as former Marlin Brad Penny, got the start and went three innings, giving up five hits, three runs (all earned), four walks and five strikeouts. Upon delivery, his hand seems to come right behind his ear when he pitches the ball. His breaking pitch was clocked between 71-74 (when I was able to see the radar gun), while his fastball mostly sat in the high 80s, touching 91 on at least on occasion. He found the strike zone much more consistently with his curve than his fastball. One of the runs he gave up was unlucky - the ball was hit right to where the third baseman had been, but the fielder was covering third base as the runner on second took off with the pitch.

RP Jacob Esch (11th Round Pick, 2011; spent 2011 with GCL Marlins and Jamestown): In relief, Esch notched the win, and he earned it. He tossed five innings, scattering seven hits, two earned runs, one walk, four strikeouts, and one home run. Of the five innings, only one was a 1-2-3 inning (and that inning he threw only five or six pitches). He has an easy wind-up and seemed to have some wrist motion when throwing the ball. He struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches. He didn't look 6'4" to me, though it's his listed height - he looked a little shorter. I saw his fastball at 94 mph and his breaking ball at 77. One of the hits he gave up was on a 3-0 count. A former infielder who was drafted as a pitcher, Esch worked quickly at all times - he even managed to get a warm-up pitch in before God Bless America began during the 7th inning stretch. Esch finished with an 8-1 GO/FO ratio.

RP Nick Wittgren: Wittgren continued to impress, as he entered the game in the ninth after Jamestown completed their comeback. Staked to a 6-5 lead, he retired the 4-5-6 hitters in a dangerous Batavia lineup, striking out two of them (both swinging). Wittgren's third save combined a strong fastball with a solid curve.

Jamestown visits Batavia again once later in the month.

[geemoney]

It was a hot, sticky night in Batavia tonight for the first game of a home-and-home, but Jamestown escaped with a 5-3 victory. It was a strange contest, with three pick-offs, seven errors, and a catcher removed from the game after taking a wayward warm-up pitch to the groin between innings. Neither team looked particularly sharp, but leaving with a win helps.

I saw two scouts at the game: One from an unidentified team, and one from the Cardinals, likely just scouting the Muckdogs, as they are the Major League affiliate of Batavia. The wind was whipping throughout and played some tricks on the outfielders, especially early in the game.

Of course, for more information on the following players, check my other posts in this thread:

DH Yefri Perez: The infielder-turned-DH went 0-5 with a strikeout (swinging) on the evening. He also grounded out twice, lined out, and reached on an error. His strikeout occurred in the first and he went down on a ball in the dirt - it took only three pitches. The oddities started early, as the ball appeared to hit Perez after his strike-three swing; he came up limping and walked gingerly back to the dugout.

3B Pedro Mendoza: Mendoza has played second and third this year, and went 1-4 tonight. He grounded out twice as well. He noticeably shortened his swing with two strikes. Defensively, Batavia's outfield played him to go the other way, leading to a line-out in the third inning that was right near the RF line. Defensively, he made a high throw to first base for the second out of a double play - the first baseman came down on the back just in time to get the runner. He committed an error in the ninth inning when a one-hopper went high enough for him to lose it in the lights. The ball caromed off his glove and into left field.

1B Viosergy Rosa: Rosa was 1-4 with a run scored and a strikeout swinging. An interesting stat on Rosa: Last year in Jamestown, he struggled with plate discipline, walking just seven times and striking out 54 times in 143 at-bats. This year, in just 74 at-bats, he has already walked 14 times and has struck out on just 16 occasions. Also of note: Rosa's hit tonight came against a lefty, and he's hitting .400 (10-25) off lefties this year, rare numbers for a left-handed hitter. In this game, his ground-out in the first would've gone for a single had it not deflected off the pitcher. Nearly the same thing happened in the sixth when he was put out on a 1-6-3 ground out. This time though, it didn't look like he was running hard down the line and it should've been a closer play at first. His sixth error of the year was on an attempted back-hand of a ground-ball that was right to him at first.

RF Jesus Solorzano: 2-4 with a strike-out was Solorzano's line on the evening. It's like he takes a home-run swing every time he takes a cut - he goes all out each time. His strike-out was on a curve in the fourth inning. He made a base-running blunder in the first, rounding second too hard after an Anthony Gomez single. He was put out 9-6 trying to get back to the bag.

2B Anthony Gomez: The usually dependable Gomez didn't have a great game despite going 1-3 with two runs scored at the plate. He also walked once and struck out (looking, fastball on inside corner). His walk was only the second free pass issued by starter Tim Cooney in over 20 innings. He was part of a double steal in the second, swiping his fifth bag of the year. As you can see by my previous write-ups, he's been dropped in the lineup from the lead-off spot. He attempted a sac bunt in the sixth but got too much of it and sent it back to the pitcher, who nailed the runner going to second. Like most of the errors tonight, his happened when he tried to short-hop a grounder and he couldn't field it cleanly. Had he waited for a second hop, he would've been fine. He did make a nice back-hand flip to first base on a slow roller in the third.

LF Kentrell DeWitt: DeWitt went 1-4 with a run scored, a home run (first of the year), two RBIs and two strikeouts (both swinging). DeWitt was the other half of the double steal with Gomez. He also reached on an E-7 in the second. The left-fielder tracked the ball near the foul line, but he couldn't secure the catch. Both of his strikeouts were incredibly ugly, swinging wildly at balls outside the zone. The outfield played him to pull, with LF shallow to the left-handed batter. His two-run shot in the sixth was a no-doubter on a hanging breaking ball. It also broke a 2-2 tie and put Jamestown up for good.

C Sharif Othman: The Jammers catcher was 2-4 with a run, a home run (his first of the year), two RBIs and a strikeout (swinging). The frustrating part of the game for the Muckdogs was having a guy hitting under .200 (DeWitt) and a guy hitting under .100 (Othman) decide the game. Othman went back-to-back with DeWitt in the sixth, and his homer took place just two pitches after DeWitt's. He worked hard behind the plate and blocked balls well for a few pitchers who didn't have tremendous control on the night. He did have a passed ball though, but overall was impressive. Interestingly, his K in the eighth was the third strikeout in a row that inning. Batavia reliever Lee Stoppelman retired the three hitters on nine pitches, all strikes.

SS Yeison Hernandez: Hernandez was 0-3 with a walk and a strikeout at the dish. As I noted in a previous report: This team doesn't like to walk, and only had two tonight. His strikeout was on a 3-2 pitch in the sixth. Strangely, after DeWitt and Othman went back-to-back, Hernandez squared to bunt on the first pitch of his AB. He attempted one again later, almost reaching on a bunt down the third base line in the ninth, but it went just foul. He had some issues on defense, air-mailing a throw to first after cleanly fielding a ball on an easy hop. Completely unforced, as he had plenty of time to set and throw. Then, with the bases loaded in the fifth, Jamestown looked to turn a double play to end the inning, but as Hernandez took the throw to get the runner at second, for some reason he hesitated and didn't throw to first, despite the pitcher covering for the first baseman (who fielded the ball). That allowed a run to score.

CF Juancito Martinez: Martinez was 0-3 with a strikeout (swinging). He was also hit by a pitch, though whether he was actually hit is up for debate - both the catcher and Batavia manager argued the call. The wind pushed his fly-out to right in the third to the warning track. A missed bunt in the eighth led to Hernandez being picked off at first, as Hernandez cheated a bit going to second. Martinez himself was picked off first on a close play in the fifth. He didn't even dive back to the base. He did show a good arm in center.

SP Mason Hope: Hope didn't show much more than in his previous start in Batavia. Here, he went four innings, giving up six hits, two runs (both earned), two walks and three strikeouts. He showed a nice pick-off move and got a guy on it in the first inning. Hope was wild, but he was lucky his numbers weren't worse: Batavia batters helped limit the damage in the fourth when Jamestown got out of a bases loaded, no-out jam just giving up one run thanks to two bad Batavia strikeouts. One of the runs he gave up was on a cheap blooper into right field.

RP Frankie Reed: This was Reed's third appearance in four games in Batavia thus far this season. He picked up the win here, going two innings, giving up one hit, one run (unearned), and striking out three. Those in the Batavia press box have taken to nicknaming him "The Ambassador"; when the PA announcer and radio PBP guy Googled his name to find his stats, they found that he shares the same name with the American ambassador to Fiji. Reed struck out the first batter he faced on three pitches after entering in the fifth with the bases loaded and no outs. He was the cause of the two ugly strikeouts I wrote about under Hope.

RP Jose Rodriguez (Signed as undrafted free agent, 2007; spent 2011 with GCL Marlins and Jamestown; also played for Greensboro and Jupiter in 2012): Rodriguez was the only player I hadn't seen in earlier games this year for the Jammers. He picked up the hold, going one inning, surrendering a hit and striking out one. Sounds like a nice line, but he didn't really look that good. The second pitch of his outing ended up bouncing in the middle of the batter's box opposite the hitter. His strikeout caught the Batavia player looking on a great breaking ball. Rodriguez has a violent leg kick in his wind-up and, like Hope, was quite wild.

RP Nick Wittgren: I just can't stop raving about this guy. He picked up his eighth save, this of the two-inning variety. He struck out four without allowing a hit. The only base-runner reached on an error. All four strikeouts were swinging and like Stoppelman in the eighth, he also struck out the side in order in that inning. In fact, he came back from a 3-0 count to strike out the first batter he faced. What creates some of the deception is that his front shoulder stays closed to the hitter right up to the pitch.

Jamestown returns to Batavia on the second-to-last day of the season for one game. Ideally, I won't be there for that - my girlfriend got a job teaching in Collier County and moved down to Naples, FL earlier this week. I'm also looking for a job in the district to teach so I can move down with her. However, I'm open to jobs not only in teaching, but in the sports or journalism (ideally, sports journalism) field down there. Or anything, really. If anyone has any contacts in that area who may be interested, hit me up.

[Ramp]

I want Kentrell and Sharif to make the bigs so bad. I enjoy both of their names

[emkayseven]

Lots of Jammers in the NYPL All Star game...4 players and also basically an entire coaching staff

This afternoon four Jamestown Jammers were officially named to the New York-Penn League's 2012 National League All-Star team. Outfielder Jesus Solorzano, outfielder Juancito Martinez, first baseman Viosergy Rosa, and relief pitcher Nick Wittgren.
...
In addition to four Jammers players being named to the All-Star team the Jammers manager Angel Espada will manage the N.L. team. Espada will be joined by Jammers pitching coach Brendan Sagara, Jammers hitting coach Rich Arena, Jammers trainer Ben Cates, and Jammers strength and conditioning coach A.J. Seeliger.

The New York-Penn League All-Star Game is being held Tuesday, August 14th at Eastwood Field where the Mahoning Valley Scrappers call home in Niles, Ohio. For more information on the New York-Penn League All-Star Game goto www.milb.com or www.mvscrappers.com

http://jamestown.jammers.milb.com/ne...=.jsp&sid=t489