The Baltimore Orioles have a new manager, and ESPN has lost one of their anchors. The O's hired ESPN analyst Buck Showalter as their next manager, the team announced on Thursday. Showalter will take over as manager Tuesday night against the Los Angeles Angels, the first game of a seven-game home-stand. The Orioles, who are a major league-worst 31-70, fired manager Dave Trembley on June 4 and replaced him with Juan Samuel on an interim basis. Former Indians manager Eric Wedge, former Texas Rangers and New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine, former Orioles catcher Rick Dempsey, and Samuel all interviewed for the job, but the Orioles finally found their man. The 54-year-old Showalter is 882-833 as a major league manager. He twice was named Manager of the Year, in 1994 while with the Yankees and in 2004 with the Rangers. He helped rebuild the Yankees into a power after a down period, and he was the primary builder of the fledgling Arizona Diamondbacks in 1997; who won the World Series with Bob Brenly at the helm in 2001, a year after Showalter was fired. In 2004, he led the Rangers to 89 wins, 19 more than when he took over two years earlier.
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The trade deadline finally got a little juicier, and Roy Oswalt finally found a new home after Oswalt waived his no-trade clause and accepted his proposed trade to the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday. It was not immediately clear if the Phillies or Astros offered any financial incentives for Oswalt to drop his trade veto rights. According to sources, the Astros will pay $11 million of the approximately $23 million that the 32-year-old right-hander has guaranteed through 2011. In return for Oswalt, the Astros would get back left-handed starter J.A. Happ and two prospects. Since breaking into the big leagues in 2001, Roy Oswalt has 143 victories; 28 more than any other NL pitcher. His 1,593 strikeouts are also the most for any NL pitcher with 100 starts since 2001. While the Phillies prospects have not been identified, sources said the Astros have pressed hard for first baseman Jonathan Singleton, who is considered the team's best minor league hitting prospect. Singleton is currently at Class A Lakewood in the South Atlantic League, where he was hitting .312 with 18 doubles and 12 home runs as of Thursday. As of Thursday, Oswalt is 6-12 with a 3.42 ERA. He was scheduled to start Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers, and Happ was scheduled to start Friday for the Phillies against Washington. For his career, Oswalt is 143-82 with a 3.24 ERA.
The year of the pitcher continues in the MLB as Tampa Bay Rays starter Matt Garza threw the first no-no in Tampa Bay history. Garza's no-hitter was the first in franchise history and the fifth in the major leagues this season, as the Rays beat the Detroit Tigers 5-0 Monday night. The 26-year-old right-hander faced the minimum 27 batters in his 106th career start, allowing only a second-inning walk to Brennan Boesch. For the Rays, it is sweet redemption after being on the wrong side of two of the no-hitters this season alone. They didn't manage a hit Monday off starter Max Scherzer until Matt Joyce 's sixth-inning grand slam gave Garza all the support he would need. According to STATS LLC, the last time there were at least five no-hitters in a season was 1991, when Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan threw one of seven in the big leagues that year. It's only the third time in major league history that a team has been involved in three no-hitters during one season. The 1917 St. Louis Browns and Chicago White Sox were involved in three - all against each other. The no-no also marked the first time in 37 years that two no-hitters have occurred in the same AL ballpark in one season. After 1,006 games without a no-hitter at Tropicana Field, two have been tossed in the last 11 games at the dome. For Garza, it was his fourth straight win, tying a career best for victories. The Rays all mobbed Garza near the mound after a performance that left the New York Mets and San Diego Padres as the only big league teams without a no-hitter. For the Tigers, it was the first time they were no-hit since the Big Unit, Randy Johnson, shut them down at Seattle on June 2, 1990.
Don't look now, but Madison Bumgarner, a South Caldwell alumnus, is putting together a very effective season for the San Francisco Giants. The southpaw notched his fourth win in a row on Saturday night after going seven strong innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits, with three walks and seven strikeouts as the Giants defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-4 at Chase Field in Phoenix. He's only given up seven earned runs in his last 33 2/3 innings of work, and his earned-run-average during that stretch stands at 1.89. On the year, Bumgarner is 4-2 with a 2.43 ERA.
Moving from the college to the professional ranks, the Hickory Crawdads rallied for two runs in the top of the ninth against the Lexington Legends, but came up just shy, losing 3-2 on Thursday night. Lexington (12-9, 47-44) scored first with a run in the bottom of the fourth. With runners on first and second and two outs, 3B Jonathan Meyer singled to left field to score DH J.D. Martinez from third for the early, 1-0, Legends lead. Lexington added single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to push their lead to 3-0, before the 'Dads rally. Down 3-0, heading into the ninth inning, the Crawdads (10-11, 50-41) got a lead-off single by CF Cody Podraza to start the inning. After two fly outs, 2B Travis Adair extended the game by reaching on a fielding error by SS Jiovanni Mier, with Podraza taking second. Jared Bolden then pinch hit for 3B Joe Bonadonna, and raked a double to the wall in left center field, plating Podraza and Adair to bring Hickory to within a run, 3-2. However, RHP Arcenio Leon picked up the final out of the game, stranding Bolden at second to secure the win for Lexington. Crawdads starter RHP Neil Ramirez (7-6, 5.00 ERA) surrendered one run on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven to get saddled with the tough luck loss, while RHP Ovispo De Los Santos allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and a walk while fanning one in two innings of relief. Legends starter RHP Jose Cisnero (4-5, 4.14 ERA) picked up the win with Leon recording the save.
Sticking with the Crawdads, did you happen to see the Hickory Crawdads commercial featured on ESPN? Hickory Crawdads Field Manager Bill Richardson, Hitting Coach Jason Hart and INF Joe Bonadonna are featured in a commercial currently running on the sports network. The commercial was produced and shot by ESPN at Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park in Charleston, SC earlier in the season, and aired for the first time during the Major League Home Run Derby on Monday evening. In the spot, Richardson plays the third base coach and Hart serves as the first base coach, and the two engage in a strategic battle through signs against Charleston RiverDogs Field Manager Greg Colbrunn. Colbrunn calls for an attempted pick off of Bonadonna, the runner at second base, but Richardson and Hart see it coming and Bonadonna dives back to second safely. Here's the link to the commerical: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2zQf6bxsZo
It was a sad day for all of baseball after the news that George Steinbrenner, the owner of the New York Yankees, died of a massive heart attack this morning. Love him or hate him, Steinbrenner was one of the most visible and most successful owners in all of sports. He was known as a no non-sense, win now type of owner that came across very abrasive and confident. The colorful owner was best known for taking a once proud franchise that had fallen, back into a perennial winner. After buying the Yankees from CBS in 1973 for $10 million, Steinbrenner restored the franchise to its former glory. Under Steinbrenner's reign, the New York Yankees won 11 American League pennants and seven championships, more than any other team in that span. The franchise's value also skyrocketed into the billions as it became the staple product of its own cable network while still leading the big leagues in attendance year after year. During his first 20 years with the Yankees, Steinbrenner hired and fired 21 managers, including Billy Martin five times. He also was suspended indefinitely twice by MLB for illegally aiding Richard Nixon's campaign and trying to dig up dirt on one of his own players in Dave Winfield. Either way, through the Bronx Zoo of the '70's and '80's, the fired and re-hired managers, and the suspensions, The Boss will best be remembered for his tough attitude and his eagerness and relentlessness to win.
Even though it is the off-season for ASU baseball, that doesn't mean it's time to stop playing, and ASU's Hector Crespo is continuing his season even after ASU has stopped playing. The Mountaineer third baseman has been invited to join the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the prestigious Cape Cod Baseball League for the final month of the summer season. Crespo is traveling to Massachusetts from his native Florida on Sunday and could make his Cape Cod debut as early as Sunday evening when the Harbor Hawks host the Chatham Anglers. The Cape Cod League is by far the most recognizable and talent-laden of the dozens of NCAA-endorsed summer leagues across the United States. In 2009, 217 MLB players were Cape Cod alums. Crespo, who hit .335 en route to third-team freshman all-America recognition this spring, becomes the fourth Mountaineer in four years to play in the Cape. RHP Matt Andress pitched for the then Hyannis Mets in 2008 and RHP Garrett Sherrill (Hyannis) and RHP/OF Jason Rook played in the CCBL in 2007. Current ASU catcher Jeremy Dowdy who was originally slated to also be a member of the Harbor Hawks this summer, wound up not going to Cape Cod and instead suited up briefly for the Thomasville Hi-Toms of the Coastal Plain League. Crespo will join a squad in the thick of a pennant race when he arrives in New England. Hyannis is currently 10-13 and tied for third place in the CCBL's West Division but is just two games behind the division-leading Bourne Braves near the midway point of the season.
The Crawdads had some good news on Friday, as two more 'Dads regulars are being promoted. Hickory announced that All-Star pitchers LHP Robbie Ross and RHP Trevor Hurley have been promoted by the Texas Rangers to High-A Bakersfield of the California League. The 21-year-old Ross was 8-7 with a 2.59 ERA through 16 starts with Hickory. He led the team in wins and innings pitched. On July 22, Ross was the starting pitcher 2010 South Atlantic League All-Star Game in Greenville, South Carolina. In the All-Star Game, he struck out the side in the first inning. The native of Lexington, Kentucky was selected in the second round of the 2008 June draft by the Texas Rangers out of Lexington Christian Academy (HS) in Kentucky. Last season, with the Short-A Spokane Indians, Ross was 4-4 with a 2.66 ERA in 15 starts. 22-year-old Trevor Hurley was 0-1 with a 1.43 ERA and 11 saves through 26 appearances with Hickory. He led the South Atlantic League in batting average against and allowed the fewest base-runners per nine innings. On July 22, Hurley pitched a 1-2-3 seventh frame in the 2010 SAL All-Star Game. The native of Tomball, Texas was selected in the 22nd round of the 2008 June draft by the Texas Rangers out of Kansas State University. Last season, Hurley was 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in five relief appearances with the Crawdads and 7-2 with a 3.36 ERA in 15 starts with the Short-A Spokane Indians.
Something we like to do here at MTN is keep track of all the former athletes that use to play here in the High Country. One of those former athletes played his college ball in Boone. Former ASU closer Zack Quate is tearing it up with the minor league affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The right-hander, who set a school record with 11 saves last year at ASU only to see it broken by Chris Patterson with 13 this season, is shredding through hitters in the advanced Class A Florida State League. Playing for the Charlotte (Fla.) Stone Crabs, Quate is 0-1 with a minuscule 0.52 earned-run-average with 49 strikeouts and 13 saves in 34 2/3 innings of work. In his two professional seasons of baseball, Quate, who was selected by the Rays in the 14th round, has been dominant. In 42 games, he has given up just three earned runs in 60 2/3 innings of work with 73 strikeouts, 10 walks, 26 saves and a magnificent 0.45 ERA.
Coming back from a short all-star break, the Hickory Crawdads rallied against the Hagerstown Suns, but couldn't muster enough for the win, as the Suns walked off with a 4-3 win in the bottom of the 10th inning on Thursday night. With Hickory (40-31) trailing, 3-1, heading to the ninth inning, 3B Matt West hit a one-out double before Mike Ortiz stepped up to the plate with two outs and delivered a game-tying two-run blast down the right field line to tie the game at three. Hagerstown made the comeback though with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning. With Francisco Soriano at first, 1B Justin Bloxom struck out swinging, but a passed ball by C Leonel De Los Santos allowed Bloxom to reach first and extend the inning. LF J.P. Ramirez capitalized on the extra chance, following with a walk-off single to left, scoring Soriano from second, for the 4-3 victory. Hickory starter Neil Ramirez surrendered three runs on four hits and two walks while striking out four over five innings and finished with a no decision. RHP Braden Tullis followed with three perfect innings of relief, and RHP Tyler Tufts (0-4, 8.00 ERA) took the loss for Hickory, allowing an unearned run on one hit and a walk while fanning two in 1.2 innings. RHP Rob Wort (2-0, 3.68 ERA) picked up the win for Hagerstown with a perfect 10th inning of relief.
