Mike Potter ·
22 Aug 2009, 11:37 PM ·
Comment
FIVE COUNTY STADIUM/ZEBULON The Carolina Mudcats return home for the opener of a five-game series against the Tennessee Smokies that will comprise the entire homestand.
It’s bordering on time for the end-of-season “death watch” for the Mudcats, as their tragic number for elimination from playoff contention is down to seven with 15 games left in the season. Carolina would just about have to run the table and get help from at least three teams.
The Cincinnati Reds’ organization is acutely aware of the situation, so any Mudcat who deserves promotion to Triple-A is headed for Louisville to help the Bats try to win a Governors’ Cup. Todd Frazier (pictured) is the latest to make the jump, making the number 11 of current Bats players I have covered as a home beat writer at some point.
The Bats really may have about 1/3 of this season’s Southern League post-season all-star team on their roster, since they already had SL home-run leader Juan Francisco, the SL’s best pitcher in Travis Wood and perhaps the SL’s best player in Chris Heisey in the clubhouse. If you think I don’t want Louisville to visit Durham in the playoffs this season, try again.
Anyway, it’s dark and rainy all the way over here from Brier Creek, but the game starts a reasonable 23 minutes late.
Grab an Italian sausage and let’s go.
Tennessee, which eventually wins this one 5-4, takes the early lead with a two-run second inning off Luis Montano. Tyler Colvin leads off with a double to left, moving to third on Ty Wright’s sacrifice bunt to third. Tony Thomas scores Colvin on a two-out double off the wall in left, followed by pitcher Chris Carpenter’s RBI double to right.
Carolina goes ahead with a three-run rally in the fourth.
Jose Castro leads off with a single to left, and after a Shaun Cumberland single to left and a walk to Zack Cozart the bases are literally full of “Cs.” With one out, Logan Parker hits a two-run single to right, and then Carson Kainer puts the home team ahead with another single to right.
Tennessee takes the lead again with a two-out rally in the sixth. Wright doubles to left, followed by Welington Castillo’s RBI single to left. Thomas then smacks an RBI single to left.
The Mudcats tie it in the bottom, as Cozart walks, steals second, advances on Alex Maestri’s wild pitch and scores on Kainer’s one-out sac fly to center.
But Tennessee takes the lead again in the seventh, as Jim Adduci reaches on a fielder’s choice following Jonathan Mota’s single, followed by Starlin Castro’s RBI double to right for the game-winning run.
Here’s what they said …
Mudcats manager David Bell: “Montano was good. In several of his outings he’s struggled for the first couple of innings and then settled down and gotten the job done. It was a good game, but we just didn’t win. There should always be enough motivation to go out and try to win every game, no matter what the standings say.”
Parker: “When you’re in this position (in the standings), you just have to forget about how the team’s doing and motivate yourself every day. We had a great team in the first half and didn’t make the playoffs because we lost the last series to Tennessee. That’s something we need to be thinking about when we play them.”
Cozart: “It’s always important to finish the season strong, even if the team hasn’t been winning. And if you go out and play a good game yourself, that’s going to give the team a better chance to win.”
What does it all mean?
That the tragic number is now five, while Tennessee is a game behind West Tenn for the division lead.
Stars of the game
1. Thomas, with three hits including a double for two RBI.
2. Parker, for two hits and two RBI.
3. Carpenter, for a respectable start and a clutch hit.
Play of the game
Starlin Castro’s game-winning double.
Season series
Tennessee leads 15-11.
Streaks
Carolina: Lost 2.
Tennessee: Won 1.
Transactions
Carolina: Outfielder Todd Frazier promoted to Louisville. Infielder Kristopher Negron promoted to Carolina from Sarasota.
Tennessee: none.
On deck
Tennessee at Carolina, Sunday, 2 p.m.
Jeremy Papelbon (L, 4-5, 3.26) vs. Tom Cochran (L, 4-5, 3.29)
Baseball, Carolina Mudcats Alex Maestri, Carson Kainer, Chicago Cubs, Chris Carpenter, Chris Heisey, Cincinnati Reds, David Bell, International League, Jeremy Papelbon, Jim Adduci, Jonathan Mota, Jose Castro, Juan Francisco, Kristopher Negron, Logan Parker, Louisville Bats, Luis Montano, Sarasota Reds, Shaun Cumberland, Southern League, Starlin Castro, Tennessee Smokies, Todd Frazier, Tom Cochran, Tony Thomas, Travis Wood, Ty Wright, Tyler Colvin, Welington Castillo, Zack Cozart
Mike Potter ·
5 Aug 2009, 11:42 PM ·
Comment
Juan Francisco (pictured) blasted two homers, but there weren’t enough men on base when he hit them as the Carolina Mudcats dropped the finale of their five-game road series with the Tennessee Smokies.
Ty Wright and Geovany Soto - on a Major League rehab assignment with the Chicago Cubs - each homered as the Smokies won 6-4 to keep a share of the lead in the Southern League’s North Division.
Casey Coleman (11-5), the league’s victory leader, was the winning pitcher.
Alex Maestri got his third save of the season with his performance in the ninth. The Smokies were up 6-3 when the Mudcats loaded the bases loaded when he got a one-out, three-pitch strikeout of Zack Cozart which led to the batter’s ejection.
Maestri then hit Francisco for the slugger’s fourth RBI of the game before getting Todd Frazier to ground out.
Francisco now has 22 homers and 71 RBI on the season.
Carolina, in last place in the division, trails Tennessee and Chattanooga by seven games with 30 remaining.
The Mudcats open a five-game road series with the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx on Thursday at 8:05 p.m. with Luis Montano (0-1, 6.00) on the hill.
Baseball, Carolina Mudcats Alex Maestri, Casey Coleman, Chattanooga Lookouts, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Geovany Soto, Juan Francisco, Luis Montano, Southern League, Tennessee Smokies, Ty Wright, West Tenn Diamond Jaxx, Zack Cozart
Mike Potter ·
7 Jul 2009, 4:14 PM ·
Comment
FIVE COUNTY STADIUM/ZEBULON Back for the finale of the Carolina Mudcats’ short four-game homestand against the Tennessee Smokies, and the home team finally has a bit of momentum following Monday night’s 8-1 whipping of the boys from Sevierville.
They’re still in last place in the Southern League’s North Division, but less than 20 percent of the second half has been played.
It’s getaway day for Tennessee, and although it’s going to be a hot one neither team is going to squeal about a noon start. The Smokies are home Wednesday against Montgomery, while Carolina will have the day off and leave for Thursday’s contest at Jacksonville.
In an aside it’s going to be a long day for me, as I’ll be covering the Durham Bulls’ home game with Gwinnett seven hours and five minutes after the start of this one. The trip is right at 50 miles.
Smokies manager Ryne Sandberg is in Game 2 of a three-game Southern League suspension for altercations with umpires.
And a particularly fun thing going on in the press areas is a “broadcaster camp” being conducted by Mudcats play-by-play guy Patrick Kinas, who also does play-by-play for N.C. State women’s basketball among other duties (I too, now have several jobs.)
The campers are rotating some play-by-play stints on the internet broadcast, and some of them off-air are doing simulations in another box. That, of course, has the potential of ending up like the scene in “The Naked Gun” when Dick Vitale, Dick Enberg, Jim Palmer, Tim McCarver, Dr. Joyce Brothers and the late Messrs. Curt Gowdy and Mel Allen all start commentating at once.
But about the game … well, Carolina wins 6-0.
The Mudcats get to Jay Jackson for a run in the first, as Carson Kainer hits a one-out single to right, advances on Juan Francisco’s infield single to second and later scores on a two-out balk. Continue reading »
Baseball, Carolina Mudcats Alex Maestri, Carson Kainer, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Curt Gowdy, David Bell, Dick Enberg, Dick Vitale, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Durham Bulls, Eric Eymann, Gwinnett Braves, Jacksonville Suns, Jay Jackson, Jeremy Hellickson, Jim Palmer, Juan Francisco, Korey Feiney, Logan Parker, Marcos Mateo, Mel Allen, Montgomery Biscuits, Patrick Kinas, Ryne Sandberg, Southern League, Tennessee Smokies, The Naked Gun, Tim McCarver, Travis Wood, Zack Cozart
