Athletics Minor League Baseball Blog

A Scout’s View of James Simmons

Billy Mitchell — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 03:32:38 +0000

In a very interesting piece at Baseball America, columnist Chris Kline caught up with a National League scout to talk about Athletics first round draft pick James Simmons. Simmons put up solid numbers as a reliever for the Rockhounds and he’s had a solid campaign for the Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League. The scout talks about Simmons workload and he thinks the big thing with Simmons will be whether he can refine his breaking ball or not. He talks about he’s shown improvements in his breaking ball but whether he can perfect will determine the extent of Simmons major league career.

River Cats Blow Out Richmond In Bricktown Showdown

Billy Mitchell — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 06:39:20 +0000

Lou Merloni and Brant Colamarino combined to drive in all seven runs for the River Cats as they dispatched the PCL champion Richmond Braves to win the Bricktown Showdown. Merloni went two for five with a homerun and four RBIs while Colamarino went three for five with a homerun and three RBIs.

Shane Komine didn’t finish the second inning and he came out after an injury and Kazuhito Tadano took over from there to pick up the win. He gave up one run on three hits with four strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings.

River Cats Hold Off Late Inning Surge to Sweep Zephyrs

Billy Mitchell — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 06:15:07 +0000

The River Cats won their sixth straight playoff game to capture their third PCL championship in five years in a 4-3 win over the Zephyrs. Brad Knox was cruising along until he gave up a three run homer in the eighth inning that made it close but the River Cats buckled down and pulled of the win. Knox gave up three three runs on three hits and three walks with six strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings.

Brian Stavisky went two for four with a run and an RBI. Brant Colamarino doubled, drove in a run and scored.

River Cats Take Commanding 2-0 Lead In PCL Championship

Billy Mitchell — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 06:37:56 +0000

The River Cats scored two runs in the top of the ninth inning to turn a one run deficit into a one run win as they came one win closer to winning the Pacific Coast League championship. Jorge Piedra belted a solo homerun to tie the game up and then Brian Stavisky doubled home the game winner as Sacramento squeeked out the win.

Michael Madsen had a decent start and he gave up just two runs in 6 1/3 innings. Jerry Blevins picked up a win with 1 2/3 innings of shutout relief. He gave up just one walks and he struck out four.

River Cats Win Fourth Straight Playoff Game With Game One Win Over Zephyrs

Billy Mitchell — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 06:16:49 +0000

The River Cats took game one in their quest of the PCL title with a 5-3 win over the New Orleans Zephyrs. Shane Komine was the winning pitcher and was solid in his six inning start. He gave up two runs on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

Nicholas Blasi had a big day at the plate for the River Cats. He went three for four with a double, an RBI and three runs. Jorge Piedra went one for four with two RBIs and a walk.

Daric Barton Powers River Cats to PCL Championship

Billy Mitchell — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 01:56:23 +0000

The River Cats came back from a 2-0 deficit in their series with Salt Lake but they won their last three games to pull off a dramatic come behind series win to move on to the PCL championship. Daric Barton had the big hit of the game with a huge three run homer in the fifth inning that turned out to be the winning runs.

Shawn Kohn got it done after a shaky start by Bobby Cramer. Kohn gave up just three hits in four shutout innings to pick up the win.

Next up for the River Cats is a five game series with the New Orleans Zephyrs. The Zephyrs beat Nashville three games to one to move into the championship series.

River Cats Force Game Five With Ten Inning Win

Billy Mitchell — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 06:12:58 +0000

The River Cats lived to fight another day as they took care of Salt Lake to force a winner take all gave all five in a ten inning, 7-4 win. Salt Lake jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third but the River Cats answered and tied the game up in the bottom half of the inning. The River Cats then took the lead in the fifth only to have Salt Lake tie it in the eighth, which sent things into extra frames. Then Danny Putnam belted a big three run homer in the bottom of the tenth to win it.

It was Putnam’s second homer of the day and he finished with five RBIs. Nicholas Blasi accounted for the rest of the offense and he belted two solo homers.

Brad Ziegler pitched an impressive game and he picked up the win. He threw 2 2/3 shutout innings in which he didn’t give up a hit. He walked two and struck out three.

River Cats Avoid Elimination in Must Win Game Three

Billy Mitchell — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 06:21:27 +0000

The River Cats needed a win and that’s what they got although they still have a tough road to climb. Brad Knox got it done on the mound and he gave up four runs on seven hits and four walks with four strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings. Julio Manon struck out four batters in 1 2/3 innings as he closed out the game.

Gregorio Petit went three for four with two runs in the win. Lou Merloni went two for four with a double, a solo homer and two runs.

River Cats Lose In Ninth, Now One Game Away From Elimination

Billy Mitchell — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 06:30:37 +0000

The River Cats led their game against Salt Lake all the until the ninth inning in a tough 11-10 loss that now puts them two games down in a five game series. The River Cats had leads of 5-0, 7-4 and 10-6 but Salt Lake scored three in the bottom of the eighth and two in the ninth to blow it. Brad Ziegler was tagged with the final three runs and he took the loss but the game winning run actually came with Jeffrey Gray on the mound.

Nicholas Blasi went four for six with three runs. Jorge Pierda went two for four with a double, three RBIs and a run in the loss.

River Cats Lose to Salt Lake in Ten Innings

Billy Mitchell — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 06:57:34 +0000

Talk about a tough loss. The River Cats came back from a 6-2 deficit to tie the game and send it into extra frames. Then, they take a two run lead in the tenth inning only to have Jeffrey Gray give up three runs in the bottom of the tenth to seal the River Cats fate in a 9-8 loss. Gray didn’t get batter out in the tenth, he just gave up five consecutive hits.

Daric Barton had a big day at the plate with two homers and four RBIs. Nicholas Blasi doubled twice and he scored three times in the loss.