SBN Studios: Home Run Derby Preview

With the 2012 Home Run Derby set to take place on Monday night in Kansas City, SB Nation takes a look at this year's contestants, some of the longest derby dingers in recent history, and whether or not the field will be able to put on a show at a stadium not all that known for surrendering the long ball.

Colorado's own Carlos Gonzalez will be participating in the Derby tonight, and Purple Row will have a thread up for it.

The Rockies have not had a player enter the derby since 2007 when Matt Holliday hit 5 in the first round, tied for 1st, and only 8 in the second to wash him out. Before Holliday, Todd Helton hit 2 in the first round in the 2001 derby.

In the past, Larry Walker, Vinny Castilla, Dante Bichette, Ellis Burks, have participated in the derby, Walker twice. Walker finished first for the NL in the 1997 derby at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, hitting 19, but lost in the finals to Tino Martinez of the Yankees. Vinny Castilla hit 12 in the 1998 Derby in Coors Field, but Ken Griffey Jr. and Jim Thome's combined 36 homers were enough to beat the NL squad, never mind the contributions of Rafael Palmeiro, Alex Rodriguez, and Damion Easley.

Derby starts at 6PM, we'll see you there!

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Monday Pebble Report: Arenado Holds His Own in
Futures Game, Another Sky Sox Pitcher Homers, More

Futures Game: USA 17, World 5
The Rockies lone representative in the game was Nolan Arenado, as Edwar Cabrera was selected to the team but (A) pitched in the big leagues after his selection, and (B) pitched on Saturday for Colorado Springs).

Arenado entered the game in the top of the fifth inning, yet was still able to hit three times thanks to a nine-run sixth inning by the U.S. team. He went 1-for-3 with a single and a run scored as part of that big inning, with his the other two at-bats resulting in a fly out and a run-scoring ROE. Nolan also made a nice defensive play (which came on his only chance in the game) in the top of the ninth, as he showed good range to his left, getting to a groundball hit by Oswaldo Arcia and making a strong throw to first to get him out.

AAA Colorado Springs: W 13-8 (45-44, 2nd, 7 GB)
The Sky Sox had the long ball working yesterday, as four different Colorado Springs players went yard, with each homer coming against guys with significant big league experience. The strangest of them all was Edgmer Escalona's homer off of Joe Paterson. It was the second straight day that a Sky Sox hurler went deep, and this case is particularly strange considering Escalona is a relief pitcher who was making just his second plate appearance of the year. Brendan Harris, Ramon Hernandez, and Andrew Brown also homered for Colorado Springs, while Charlie Blackmon led the charge with three hits, including two doubles. Seven different Sky Sox players registered at least two hits, including pitcher Rob Scahill.

Scahill had another solid outing, as he didn't allow an earned run in six innings while allowing seven hits and three walks and striking out five. Jason Bergman was putrid in relief of Scahill, allowing six runs on six hits and a walk without even recording an out. However, Joe Torres, Escalona, and Dustin Molleken picked up the pieces nicely and preserved the victory.

Click past the jump for the rest of yesterday's recaps.

AA Tulsa: W 7-4 (47-39, 1st)
The Drillers' offense, which has struggled mightily at times this year, fared well without the presence of their star third basemen. In fact, Jimmy Cesario, who was filling in for Arenado at the hot corner, homered as part of a two-hit, two-RBI day. Josh Rutledge paced the Tulsa offense with three hits, including a double and a homer of his own. Corey Dickerson and Michael Mitchell also went yard for the Drillers.

Brandon Hynick allowed 11 hits in 5.2 innings, but somehow was able to limit the damage to three runs. Oddly enough, two of the runs came as a result of solo homers. He walked two and struck out five. Tim Sexton picked up the victory after recording four outs without allowing a run in relief of Hynick.

High-A Modesto: L 6-4 (46-42, 2nd, 1 GB)
Despite out-hitting High Desert nine to six, the Nuts fell yesterday due to a three-run first inning from the Mavericks. Kennil Gomez lasted just 4.1 innings, allowing six runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks. Craig Benningson was good in relief, as he tossed 3.2 perfect innings, striking out three batters in the process.

Cristhian Adames and Helder Velazquez paced Modesto's offense with two hits apiece, while Jared Clark hit his 18th homer of the year.

Low-A Asheville: W 3-2 (57-31, 1st)
David Kandilas came into the game late as a pinch runner and proceeded to go 2-for-2 with a walk-off RBI bunt single to lead the Tourists past Augusta. Ryan Casteel had two hits as well, while Samuel Mende doubled, walked twice, and scored a couple of runs.

Vianney Mayo allowed two runs on six hits in 5.1 innings. He struck out four and did not walk a batter. Kenneth Roberts earned the victory by tossing two shutout innings at the back end of the game.

Short-Season A Tri-City: W 5-4 (12-12, 2nd, 2 GB)
In his first game since being demoted from Low-A, Rosell Herrera singled in the eighth inning and ended up scoring the go-ahead run on a wild pitch. He was 1-for-4 with a K overall. Derek Jones was the Dust Devils' best offensive performer of the day, as he went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.

Peter Tago had a bit of a setback from his last outing, which was a good one. Yesterday, he allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks in 5.2 innings. He only struck out one batter, but he did maintain a GO/AO ratio of better than 2-to-1. Ryan Arrowood continued his brilliance out of the bullpen, as he recorded seven outs without allowing a baserunner. He struck out four. The 21-year-old out of Appalachian State now has a 1.06 ERA in 17 total innings.

Rookie Grand Junction: L 13-2 (10-11, t-2nd, 3 GB)
It was a rough day for GJ Rockies pitchers Josh Mueller and Anthony Siese. Mueller started the game and allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits and a walk in 3.2 innings. He struck out two. After Patrick Johnson was able to keep Ogden off the board for an inning and a third, Siese proceeded to enter the game and allow seven runs on six hits and two walks while recording just four outs. He allowed two homers - one was a three-run shot in the sixth inning, and the other was a grand slam in the seventh.

Juan Ciriaco led the Rockies with three hits, while Steven Graeter, who was making his first appearance of the season, had two hits of his own. David Dahl doubled for his only hit on a 1-for-4 day, and Ben Waldrip hit his fourth homer of the year - a two-run shot in the ninth inning to get the GJ Rox on the board.

Rookie DSL Rockies: Off Day

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Fish Stripes Ichthyomancy: Midseason Update

We have hit the midway point of the season for the Miami Marlins, and as a result, we have also hit the midway point for the Fish Stripes staple Ichthyomancy! Ichthy at the halfway mark has been a decent race between five players, but there are definitely some important changes to mention to keep all Ichthy players interested through the rest of the season.

Leaderboard

Let's take a look at the standings thus far.

The top five includes the most consistent Ichthyomancy players in the game, as most of these guys put up picks for every game. SuperRadz still holds the lead he took on early in the season, but a recent stretch of missed games pulled Jeremy Hulme and Jigokusabre within as close as five points. Radz now holds an 11-point lead heading into the second half, but no lead is safe from an Ichthy run. Past winner dgriot and oladipo_for_mayor round out the top five at 52 and 50 points.

The next group contains a number of regulars on the Fish Stripes game threads that have not been able to make picks for all the games. Nevertheless, the second half holds a lot of promise and opportunity for these players.

Second Half and Weekly Ichthyomancy

One of the reasons why the second half will be so interesting is that we are officially competing for an Ichthyomancy Second Half Championship! That's right, we are tracking second half performances in addition to the seasonal game in order to give more players a chance at prizes at the end of the season. Basically, your second half performance will be tracked separately alongside your season performance and we will determine a second half winner who will get a smaller but still significant prize! So if you missed out on much of the first half and want a chance at an Ichthyomancy crown, I urge to play in the second half, starting tonight with the Home Run Derby, and see if you can become our second half champion!

(Note: If the overall and second half champions are the same, you don't get double the prizes. It's not like you would want two copies of the prize, but you're not getting two copies, sorry.)

Also, I decided that I will try and do weekly Ichthyomancy updates from now on in order to keep everyone in the loop with what is going on with the game. Also, during these weekly updates, I will be announcing Weekly Ichthyomancy Champions as well. The only thing you get for being a weekly champ is the pride of knowing that you defeated your fellow Ichthy players that week, but take pride Fish Stripers, for it is a great accomplishment!

If you have not been playing this season or have been discouraged due to an early season slump, I encourage you to pick up in the second half, because we will be recognizing Ichthy accomplishments more often and the second half championship is still in play!

The second half period begins today with the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game. We will host a special game thread and Ichthyomancy for these events. The Derby and All-Star Game are events designed to give big boosts of points, so let's see how the scoring will go for each event.

Home Run Derby

- Pick each participant that will advance through the rounds. There are three rounds, going from eight competitors to four to two. Each selection in these rounds will be worth one (1) point. There are six points to be won here.

- Pick the winner of the Derby. This selection will be worth three (3) points.

- Pick the total number of home runs hit during the Derby. The closest selection gets two (2) points.

All-Star Game

- Pick the winner of the All-Star Game. The correct selection will be worth three (3) points.

- Pick the total number of runs in the All-Star Game. The closest selection gets two (2) points. Three (3) bonus points if you correctly guess the actual score.

- Pick the position player with the most hits (1 point) and the pitcher with the most strikeouts (1 point). In the event of ties (almost certain to happen), we will grant points for every player who tied for the lead.

- Pick the MVP. The correct selecion is worth two (2) points.

Make sure you use the Derby and All-Star Game as a starting point for your second half Ichthyomancy charge! Tune in later today to make your selections on the game thread!

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Baseball Card Show Purchase #7 Hank Aaron 2000
Topps Commemorative Reprint

Baseball Card Show Purchase #7 – Hank Aaron 2000 Topps Commemorative Reprint I have never seen this card, or any others from this set.  And while I come across Hank Aaron’s modern cards at a regular basis at card shows, … Continue reading →

Read The Full Article:
http://bapple2286.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/baseball-card-show-purchase-7-hank-aar
on-2000-topps-commemorative-reprint/

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Monday's Saber-Links

Kick off your All-Star break with Monday's edition of Saber-Links:This isn't an article, but instead the box score from yesterday's MLB Futures Game. The United States' prospects blew out the World stars: World Futures vs. U.S. Futures - July 8, 2012 |[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2012/7/9/3146676/mondays-saber-links

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Futures Game: Team USA Steps on the World's
Throat

George Brett was out for blood.

He didn't give a damn about diplomacy or the United Nations or any of that crap.

He wanted to win. He wanted to "step on their throat."

Team USA responded. That was one helluva pre-game pep talk. The dude makes General Patton look like Abbie Hoffman.

Kansas City is off to a great start hosting this extravaganza. Fan Fest is a hit, the bars are hopping, the weather was actually pleasant and Wil Myers had a great game.

Myers went 2-4 with 3 RBI and sprayed the ball to all fields. He had to have narrowly missed out on MVP honors which went to Nick Castellanos who went 3-4 with a three run home run in the sixth inning bludgeoning.

Altogether... WIL MYERS NOW!!!

Other highlights...

-- Anthony Gose's catch in the third inning was outstanding. Even better was his throw back into first base to try to double off the runner.

-- Yordano Ventura looked good on the mound, tossing an easy 1-2-3 inning. However, the World Team's pitchers looked dreadful once you got past the first two arms. Poor Ariel Pena. He was a late addition to the team and got absolutely hammered.

-- Jake Odorizzi surrendered a home run to Jurickson Prufar that was an absolute laser shot. When I saw that ball leave the park, along with the second inning homer by Jae-Hoon Ha, I thought the ball was really carrying. I suppose it was, but that was more thanks to the World pitchers not being able to keep the ball down in the zone.

-- It didn't matter because the ball went over the fence, but I thought Myers read the ball poorly off of Prufar's bat. It doesn't mean anything - why would you "scout" an exhibition game? Still, I thought it kind of interesting. Especially since if was up to me, he'd be patrolling right field for the Royals on Friday.

-- Even if he has to return to Omaha, I love that Myers left his mark at The K...

via gif.mocksession.com

-- Attendance was announced at 40,095, which was touted as a record for the Futures Game. Seriously, Kansas City is so thirsty for real baseball. Were you paying attention, Mr. Glass? If you were actually there...

-- Most of the crowd hung around for the celebrity softball game. Obviously a huge selling point was seeing George Brett, Mike Sweeney and Bo Jackson. Oh, and Chrissy Teigen.

-- Sweeney crushed a home run. So did Bill Self. I'm certain this news will upset Nick. I'm sure other homers were hit. We can watch it tonight after the HR Derby.

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Astros Minor League Recap: July 9,2012

A lot happened over the weekend, and that's for sure. First, Jeff Luhnow followed up his wizzardry by trading Carlos Lee for something more than just having a pulse by going on the road to see some of the minor league teams. He started off with Greeneville and took in their double-header on Friday night. He then went to the other side of the country and has watched two Lancaster games. Ross Seaton missed a complete game shutout by two-thirds of an inning, but had given up two baserunners on weak hits in the ninth, so pulling him was understandable. Adrian Houser tossed his best game in front of Luhnow and George Springer was "en fuego" for Luhnow last night (Luhnow's words, not mine). Let me not forget to throw in that Jonathan Singleton went 3-4 with a walk in the Futures game. I'd say more, but I haven't watched it yet. I have it recorded and should get time to watch it today.

One of my sources for a lot of information took in the Hooks game last night and sent me some of his notes from what he saw.

• Rob Rasmussen is tiny! However, last night he pounded the strikezone and mixed in his off-speed pitches well. He was 90-91 on his fastball. He saw him as more of a long-relief type pitcher in the future.
• He was impressed with Drew Muren. Muren makes things look easy. Glides well, has an easy stroke, and a very good arm. His home run last night wasn't a cheap shot either, cleared the bullpens in the outfield.
• Jonathan Villar has what it takes. Looked good in the plate appearances where he hit a single, HR, and a bunt single. However, the other two AB's he dropped his hands and got tied up. Very simple fix in keeping his hands up. Has glimpses of greatness followed by making you shake your head. Where have you read that before?
• Austin Wates didn't get a chance to really show anything in the field, but in comparison to Muren, the arm and speed don't match up. That's why you still see Muren in CF and Wates in LF.

Friday Games

Oklahoma City won 5-4 (11 innings)

• Armando Galarraga-6 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 6 SO, 2 HR, 7/4 GO/AO, 91 pitches
• Juan Abreu-2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO
• Mickey Storey 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO
• Jimmy Paredes 2B-1-7, 2B, SO
• J.B. Shuck CF, LF-2-4, 2 BB
• Mike Hessman 1B-1-5, 2B, BB, SO
• Brett Wallace 3B-1-4, 2 BB, SO
• Justin Maxwell CF-1-2, 2B
• Angel Sanchez SS-2-4
• Carlos Corporan C-5-5, 2B, BB

Corpus Christi won 3-0

• Ross Seaton-8 1/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 SO, 7/5 GO/AO, 100 pitches-Awesome!
• Jason Stoffel-2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO
• Jonathan Singleton 1B-0-1, 3 BB, SO
• Drew Muren CF-3-3, BB

Lancaster won 6-5

• Nicholas Tropeano-6 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO, 2 HR, 9/3 GO/AO
• Jose Trinidad-3 Ip, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 SO
• Domingo Santana RF-2-5, 2B, 2 SO
• Chris Epps DH-2-4, BB, 2 SO
• Jonathan Meyer 3B-2-5, 2 SO
• Ben Orloff SS-2-3, 2B

Lexington lost 5-4

• Luis Cruz-6 Ip, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO, 1 HR, 9/2 GO/AO
• Murilo Gouvea-2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO
• Delino DeShields Jr. 2B-3-5, 2B, SO, SB, CS, PO
• Matt Duffy DH-2-4, 2B, HR, BB, SO
• Mike Kvasnicka RF-1-4, 2B
• Justin Gominsky CF-2-3, BB

Tri-City lost 3-1

• Vincent Velasquez-5 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO, 1 HR, 2/7 GO/AO
• Jeremiah Meiners-3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3/2 GO/AO
• Blake Ford-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO
• Andrew Aplin CF-2-4, 2B
• Jesse Wierzbicki 1B-2-3, HR

Greeneville lost 1-0

• Adrian Houser-7 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 SO, 10/1 GO/AO
• Zachary Hardoin-2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO
• Terrell Joyce DH-2-4, CS, PO
• Jean Batista 2B, 1B-0-2, 2 BB

Greeneville won 4-2

• Richard Rodriguez-5 Ip, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO,1 HR, 5/1 GO/AO
• Zachary Dando-2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB,1 SO, 3/1 GO/AO
• Jose Monzon CF-1-2, HR, BB, SO
• Terrell Joyce LF-3-3, 2B
• Ariel Ovando RF-2-3, SO
• James Howick SS-0-1, 2 BB

GCL won 6-1

• Michael Feliz-8 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 13/4 GO/AO
• Juan Mojica-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO
• Carlos Correa SS-1-4, 2B, SO
• Yonathan Mejia 1B-2-4
• Juan Santana 2B, SS-2-4, 2B, SO
• Alfredo Gonzalez C-2-4, 2B

DSL lost 11-6

• Juan Hernandez-2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 SO, 4/1 GO/AO
• Frederick Serrano LF-0-3, 2 BB, 2 SO
• Brauly Mejia RF-2-5, 2 SB
• Marlon Avea C-1-3, 2B

Saturday Games

Oklahoma City lost 9-5

• Brett Oberholtzer-4 IP, 12 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 5 HR, 3/5 GO/AO, 93 pitches
• Sergio Perez-2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 3/0 Go/AO
• Jonnathan Aristil-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
• Marwin Gonzalez SS-2-4, BB, SO
• Fernando Martinez LF-2-4, 2B, OF Assist
• Travis Buck RF-2-4
• Carlos Corporan C-2-4
• J.B. Shuck PH-1-1, 2B
• Jordan Kreke 3B-1-2, 2B

Corpus Christi won 7-3

• Jake Buchanan-6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO, 1 HR, 9/7 GO/AO, 98 pitches
• Kevin Chapman-1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO
• Josh Zeid-2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO
• Jason Stoffel-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO
• Jonathan Villar SS-0-2, 3 BB, 2 SB-Impressive
• Andrew Simunic 3B-1-3, 2 BB, SO, SB
• Jose Martinez DH-3-5, 3B, SB
• Chris Wallace C-3-5, SO

Lancaster won 9-5

• Tyson Perez-3 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 SO, 1 HR, 7/2 GO/AO
• Brad Dydalewicz-3 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO
• Pat Urckfitz-3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 SO, 4/0 GO/AO
• George Springer CF-2-4, BB
• Erik Castro 1B-2-3, BB
• Domingo Santana RF-4-5, HR
• Enrique Hernandez 2B-1-4, 2B, SB
• Ben Orloff C-0-2, 2 BB

Lexington lost 9-6

• Luis Ordosgoitti-4 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR, 6/2 GO/AO
• Nolan Fontana SS-3-5, 2B, SB
• Matt Duffy 3B-2-5, 2B, 3 SO
• Justin Gominsky CF, RF-2-4

Tri-City won 8-2

• Aaron West-5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3/4 GO/AO
• Kenny Long-1 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2/0 GO/AO
• Brad Propst-2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO
• Neiko Johnson DH-1-2, 4 BB, SB
• Andrew Aplin CF-2-5, CS
• Jesse Wiersbicki 3B-2-4, 2B, BB, 2 SB
• Dan Gulbransen LF-0-3, 2 BB, SO
• Jobduan Morales 1B-0-3, 2 BB
• Tyler Heineman C-2-4, SB

Greeneville won 14-2

• Francis Ramirez-5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO, 1/5 GO/AO
• Tanner Bushue-3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 SO, 2/1 GO/AO
• D'Andre Toney CF-3-5, HR, SO, SB
• Brian Blasik 3B-2-4, HR, BB, SO
• Terrell Joyce LF-2-4, HR, BB, SO, SB
• Ariel Ovando RF-2-3, SO
• Jean Batista SS-2-5, 3B, SO
• Michael Martinez 1B-2-5, SO
• Joshua Magee 2B-2-5, 2B, SO

GCL lost 1-0 (12 inning)

• Agapito Barrios-5 Ip, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 SO, 6/2 GO/AO
• Brandon Culbreth-3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO, 3/2 GO/AO
• Erick Gonzalez-2 1/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 SO, 3/1 GO/AO
• Darwin Rivera 3B-1-5, 3 SO
• Teoscar Hernandez RF-0-4, BB, 3 SO, 3 SB, 2 OF Assists

DSL won 4-2 (10 innings)

• Elieser Hernandez-7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO, 7/3 GO/AO
• Rauldison Rodriguez-1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO
• Yonquelys Martinez-2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO, 3/0 GO/AO
• Johan Tomas De La Cruz RF-2-5, PO, SB-Say his name five times fast
• Mesac Laguna LF-3-4, PO, CS
• Yoel Silfa 3B-2-4, 2B, BB
• Pedro Coa 1B-2-4, SO

Sunday Games

Oklahoma City won 3-2

• Dallas Keuchel-3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 3/4 GO/AO, 37 pitches-3 days rest, only scheduled to pitch 3 innings
• Aneury Rodriguez-3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 2/3 GO/AO
• Mickey Storey-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
• Angel Sanchez 2B-3-3, 2B, BB
• Carlos Corporan C-1-4, HR, SO

Corpus Christi lost 7-4

• Rob Rasmussen-5 Ip, 5 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 2 HR, 7/4 GO/AO, 70 pitches
• Erick Abreu-1 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO
• Jonathan Villar SS-3-4, HR, BB, SO
• Jose Martinez 2B-1-5, 2B, SO
• Drew Locke RF-3-5, CS
• Austin Wates LF-1-5, 3 SO
• Drew Muren CF-2-4, 3B, HR, SO
• Chris Wallace C-2-3, BB

Lancaster won 10-8

• Jorge De Leon-4 1/3 IP, 11 H, 8 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 8/4 GO/AO
• Carlos Quevedo-3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO-I know auclairkeithbc is happy!
• George Springer CF-4-4, 3 2B, BB, 2 SB
• Jonathan Meyer 3B-3-5, 2B
• Enrique Hernandez 2B-3-4, 2B, BB, SO

Lexington lost 6-3

• Jonas Dufek-4 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 3 HR, 4/5 GO/AO
• Thomas Shirley-2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO
• Gabriel Garcia-2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO
• Delino DeShields Jr. 2B-0-3, 2 BB, 2 SO, SB-62 SB on the season...Insane!
• Nolan Fontana SS-1-2, 3 BB, SO, SB-Very impressed!
• Matt Duffy 3B-2-3, 2B, 2 BB
• Justin Gominsky CF-2-5, 2B, 2 SO
• Ryan McCurdy C-1-3, 2B

Tri-City lost 10-5

• Brian Holmes-3 1/3 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 4 BB, 4 SO, 0/3 Go/AO
• Jamaine Cotton-3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 SO
• Andrew Aplin CF-3-5
• Jobduan Morales C-0-2, 2 BB
• Emilio King RF-1-3, 2B, BB
• Joe Sclafani SS-2-4, SB

Greeneville lost 5-2

• Frederick Tiburcio-5 Ip, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO, 7/1 GO/AO
• Scott Zuloaga-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO
• Christian Garcia-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO
• Michael Dimock-1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO
• No notables

GCL and DSL: Off

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#FishStripes: Lone Fish

The All-Star Break is finally upon us. The Marlins have Giancarlo Stanton as their lone representative in the All-Star Game, but with his knee injury, he cannot play unfortunately. That won't stop us taking a look back at admiring at some of his best plays (along with other Marlins) in this week's #FishStripes.

WOW what an experience...great day! #Thankful

— Christian Yelich (@ChristianYelich) July 9, 2012

Here's Yelich in Kansas City yesterday:

.@ChristianYelich, Miami @Marlins prospect, with @Granthpaulsen from the SiriusXM Futures Game twitter.com/MLBNetworkRadi…

— MLB Network Radio (@MLBNetworkRadio) July 8, 2012

Yelich was not the only prospect in the Futures Game:

Jose Fernandez, @Marlins pitching prospect, discusses being named to the 2012 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game. AUDIO: bit.ly/MfDVG6

— MLB Network Radio (@MLBNetworkRadio) July 9, 2012

One more tweet — this one from Logan Morrison:

Heres to the saying it's not how u start it's how u finish!!!! Got to get get them in the second half! Kc here we come.

— Logan Morrison (@LoMoMarlins) July 8, 2012

Our Play of the Week comes from newly acquired Carlos Lee getting his first hit as a Marlin in Milwaukee on Thursday:

Lee is known for knocking the ball over the fence. Well, so is Stanton. Here are his three best homers of the first half (in no order).

Back on Mother's Day, a league-wide tradition is to head to the plate with pink bats. Giancarlo made it a trend to hit one big with a pink bat. Here is his walk-off May 13 grand slam (as well as my MLB Call of the First Half):

This second one is also a grand slam, and even though it wasn't a walk-off, it did put a dent into the feft field scoreboard at Marlins Park:

The third and final homerun of Stanton's first half came on May 3 when Giancarlo sent this long ball in the tenth inning against the Giants:

Even though Giancarlo is not partaking in any activities in Kansas City this week, Marlins fans are still proud of what our right fielder has done this season.

One more note before we send you off on a week's worth of no baseball:

The Clevelander is looking for a poolboy to grab the ladies' attention in the Marlins Park attraction. Men who think they're up to the task should email poolboy@clevelander.com and if one of you should win, we would like credit and free passes to the Clevelander.

For the rest of you, enjoy your All-Star break. Play picks back up Friday against the Nationals.

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Salcedo Leads Big Day From Lynchburg's Offense,
Alcantara Drives In 4, And Teheran Struggles Again In Sunday's Atlanta Braves Minor League Action

Edward Salcedo, David Rohm, and Chris Garcia led the way as Lynchburg's offense exploded again, albeit in a losing effort, Aris Alcantara had a big day for Danville, and Julio Teheran struggled again for Gwinnett.

World Futures 5, US Futures 17

Christian Bethancourt C 0-3

Christian Bethancourt, a 20 year old native of Panama, started at catcher and batted 9th for the World team in the Futures Game, going 0-3 in a losing effort. Bethancourt is an excellent defensive catcher, but his bat still needs work, as evidence by his .254 batting average and .558 OPS in 189 at bats for AA Mississippi this season.

Gwinnett Braves 11, Durham Bulls 9

• Luis Durango CF 3-4, 2 RBI, BB, SB (31), .282 AVG
• Tyler Pastornicky 2B 2-3, HR (1), 2 RBI, BB, .264 AVG
• Stefan Gartrell RF 2-5, .244 AVG
• Ruben Gotay 3B 2-5, 2B, HR (3), 3 RBI, .202 AVG
• Jose Yepez DH 2-4, 2B, RBI, .270 AVG
• Julio Teheran 5 IP, 7 ER, 9 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 4.92 ERA
• Dusty Hughes 3 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 3.60 ERA

Julio Teheran's struggles continued, as he allowed 7 earned runs in just 5 innings. He's allowed 20 earned runs in 16.2 innings over his last 4 starts after allowing 20 earned runs in 58.1 innings over his first 12 starts. That slump has raised his ERA from 3.09 to 4.92. Dusty Hughes followed him with 3 scoreless innings, and over his last 6 appearances, he's allowed 1 earned run in 7.2 innings. Luis Durango reached base 4 times, drove in a pair of runs, and stole a base for the second straight day. In his last 8 games, he's gone 11-31 with 4 walks. Tyler Pastornicky hit his first homer with Gwinnett and over his last 10 games he's hitting .308 with a .878 OPS, 3 doubles, 8 RBI, and 7 walks. Stefan Gartrell had a pair of hits, and in his last 5 games he's gone 8-21 with 2 doubles, a homer, and a RBI. In his last 5 games, Ruben Gotay has gone 6-17 with 2 doubles, 2 homers, 4 RBI, and 3 walks. Jose Yepez extended his hitting streak to 8 games, and during that stretch he's gone 11-29 with 4 doubles, a homer, and 5 RBI.

Gwinnett is off for the next 3 days for the All-Star break before beginning a series in Louisville on Thursday.

Mississippi Braves - Off

Ben Sheets will face the Birmingham Barons on Monday.

Lynchburg Hillcats 12, Winston-Salem Dash 13, 12 innings

• Nick Ahmed SS 2-5, 2 BB, SB (24), E (15), .267 AVG
• Tommy La Stella 2B 2-4, 2B, RBI, BB, HBP, SF, .274 AVG
• Edward Salcedo 3B 3-6, 2B, HR (9), 2 RBI, E (25), .276 AVG
• Chris Garcia 1B 3-4, 2B, 2 BB, .306 AVG
• David Rohm RF 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, SB (1), SAC, .245 AVG
• Braeden Schlehuber C 2-6, 3 RBI, E (9), .287 AVG
• JR Graham 5 IP, 3 R, 1 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 1 K, 2.76 ERA
• Blaine Sims 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 5.59 ERA

Edward Salcedo had his fourth straight multi-hit game, and during his 5 game hitting streak he's gone 11-22 with 4 doubles, a homer, 6 RBI, 3 walks, and 3 steals. Tommy La Stella had his third straight multi-hit game, and during that span he's gone 7-12 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI, and a walk. Nick Ahmed reached base 4 times and extended his hitting streak to 7 games, and during that stretch he's gone 11-35 with 5 doubles, a triple, 4 RBI, 2 walks, and 3 steals. Chris Garcia reached base 5 times and during his 5 game hitting streak he's gone 9-20 with 2 doubles, a homer, 5 RBI, and 5 walks. David Rohm had a 3 hit, 2 doubles, 2 RBI night, and the big outfielder stole his first base of the season. In his last 10 games, he's hitting .368 with a .994 OPS, 5 doubles, a homer, 8 RBI, and 3 walks. Braeden Schlehuber extended his hitting streak to 5 games, and during that span he's gone 8-25 with a double, a triple, and 7 RBI. Despite Winston-Salem's big offensive day, JR Graham had a decent start, allowing 3 runs, but only 1 earned, over 5 innings, a nice comeback after allowing 4 earned runs in 6 innings in his last start. Blaine Sims tossed a shutout inning, and in his last 6 appearances he's allowed 1 earned run in 9 innings.

Aaron Northcraft will pitch the series finale on Monday.

Rome Braves 3, Greenville Drive 12

Tony Mueller CF 1-3, RBI, BB, .268 AVG

William Beckwith 1B 2-4, HR (10), RBI, .303 AVG

Ryan Weber 4.2 IP, 10 ER, 10 H, 3 BB, 3 K, 5.73 ERA

John Cornely 1.1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 4.68 ERA

William Beckwith homered to continue a hot streak that's seen him hit .333 with a .981 OPS, 2 doubles, 3 homers, 10 RBI, and 2 walks in his last 10 games. Ryan Weber had only allowed 8 earned runs in 31 innings over his last 5 starts, but he allowed 10 earned runs in just 4.2 innings today.

Rome is off on Monday before beginning a series against the West Virginia Power on Tuesday with David Filak scheduled to pitch.

Danville Braves 9, Princeton Rays 4

• Ronald Luna 2B 3-5, 2B, 2 RBI, E (5), .308 AVG
• Aris Alcantara DH 3-5, 2B, HR (3), 4 RBI, .344 AVG
• Felix Marte LF 1-4, HR (5), RBI, .394 AVG
• Blake Brown RF 1-3, RBI, BB, SB (2), .200 AVG
• Ernesto Silva 6 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 3 K, W (3), 2.52 ERA
• Charlie Robertson 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 3.00 ERA
• Ignacio Geronimo 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 4.91 ERA

Aris Alcantara drove in 4 runs and homered for the second straight night. During his 8 game hitting streak, he's gone 15-38 with 7 doubles, a triple, 2 homers, and 12 RBI, helping him to the league league with 19 RBI. Felix Mart hit his fifth homer of the year, giving him the league lead in hits with 26. Over his last 10 games, he's hit .378 with a 1.058 OPS, a double, 4 homers, 13 RBI, and 2 steals. Ronald Luna had 3 hits to extend his hitting streak to 6 games, and during that span he's gone 9-24 with a double and 5 RBI. In his last 3 games, Blake Brown has gone 4-11 with a homer, 3 RBI, and 2 steals. Ernesto Silva picked up his third win of the year, and he's been very good with Danville, posting a 2.52 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP, walking just 1 in 25 innings for the D-Braves after putting up a 6.53 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP in 51 innings for Rome to start the year.

Mauricio Cabrera will start the series finale Monday.

GCL Braves - Off

The Braves face the Tigers Monday afternoon.

DSL Braves 13, DSL Angels 11

• Luis Monasterio 2B 3-3, RBI, 2 BB, SB (3), E (4), .303 AVG
• Victor Reyes DH 2-5, 2 RBI, SB (7), .304 AVG
• Juruengelo Tielman 3B 2-5, 2B, 3 RBI, .229 AVG
• Jose Morel CF 2-5, 3 RBI. 242 AVG
• Darrel Leiva 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K, SV (1), 7.04 ERA

Luis Monasterio had a perfect day at the plate, reaching base 5 times, and over his last 10 games the 17 year old Venezuelan has hit .406 with a .969 OPS, 2 doubles, 7 RBI, 5 walks, and 2 steals. Juruengelo Tielman had 2 hits for the second straight day, and the 19 year old from Curacao is 6-17 with 3 doubles and 4 RBI during his 4 game hitting streak.

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Pictures of Alex Rodriguezs girlfriend Torrie
Wilson

[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://bronxbaseballdaily.com/2012/07/pictures-of-alex-rodriguezs-girlfriend-torr
ie-wilson/

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