Category: Sports

This week I give SotW honors to infielder Ryan Steinbach, one of the newest Shorebirds. He joined the team after the All-Star break as he was sent down from Frederick to get more playing time. Despite being on the Keys’ roster for over a month, he only found his way into 8 games and could only muster a puny .105 average in the limited action (just 19 at bats.) It was odd that the Orioles’ 20th round pick in 2005 (hailing from a school called IPFW – Indiana/Purdue at Fort Wayne) would make a two-level jump anyway, as he skipped the Shorebirds this spring. He was a starter in Aberdeen last season, hitting .272 in 65 games. Thus, in the natural order of the Orioles’ system, he’s just about where he belongs now and I’m sure is itching to get some playing time and at-bats in order to return to Frederick.

So far it seems to be going reasonably well, as he’s already nearly doubled his total number of Frederick plate appearances in just a couple weeks. More importantly, he’s brought his average up to .241 and the switch-hitter has shown a keen eye at the plate with 8 walks in 11 games.

Probably the biggest knock on Steinbach would be a lack of power – in 298 professional at-bats he has yet to hit a home run and has just six extra-base hits to his credit (including his first triple for Delmarva.) So he’s certainly no Miguel Tejada, but seems like a prototypical #9 hitter – he has the ability to at least get on base and turn over the batting order. And home runs may be a bit deceiving at this level anyway since the entire Aberdeen team managed just 37 in 75 games last season.

It’s now up to Ryan to take advantage of the opportunity to play every day, and so far he’s done a decent job of holding on to that starting role.

This week the SotW honors go to Quincy Ascencion. The outfielder has been a fixture in the Delmarva lineup for most of the season as he was in 2005. He got off to a slow start in 2006, but he’s had a habit of slow starts. The undrafted 23 year old native of Curacao has slowly worked his way up the Orioles system and hopes to someday join the exclusive club of major league players born on that island, a self-governing part of the Netherlands Antilles off the Venezuelan coast. The most notable player of this five-man group is Atlanta’s Andruw Jones.

Quincy has improved on last year’s numbers (.254 average, 3 home runs, 44 RBI in a team-leading 126 games played) enough to merit the All-Star selection. The average is up to .274 and he’s ripped a team-leading 18 doubles thus far in 2006. Definitely a line-drive contact hitter, he’s homerless on the season so far but does have a little bit of power potential. Despite being placed mostly in the 6 through 9 spots in the batting order until recent weeks, he’s still managed to amass 25 RBI so far, good for fifth on the team.

So Ascencion had been quietly having a good season until he was selected to the SAL All-Star team. Now the rest of the league knows a bit about this young man who’s still a trailblazer in his homeland.

This week the SotW honors go to a returning veteran of the 2005 Shorebirds, first baseman CJ Smith. A product of the University of Florida, the Gator was another high pick the Orioles have placed on the Delmarva roster, chosen 4th by the Orioles in 2004. He was drafted high enough and had enough of a profile (being from a nationally known college program) to have his own blurb on the draft board (from mlb.com):

TALL & WIRY. SOME STRENGTH. HAS PUT ON 15 LBS SINCE LAST YR. BUILD SIMILAR TO FORMER ML PLAYER PAUL O’NEILL. SLIGHT SPREAD STANCE, FLEXED KNEES. BALL JUMPS OFF BAT. WILL SHOW SOME PWR. CHANCE TO HIT FOR MORE PWR IN FUTURE W/ SOME ADJUSTMENT. BETTER RUNNER UNDERWAY. PLAYABLE ARM. GOOD ATHLETE. SHOULD HIT FOR SOME PWR. STRONGER THAN LAST YR.

Interestingly enough, he was drafted as an outfielder but he has good size (6′-3″) for a first baseman as well.

What he does need to work on is his hitting. The transition from college to pro has seen the 24 year old suffer at the plate. In 83 games here last year, he had just a .227 average but was a solid RBI producer with 45 knocked in. That total was third on the team, very good considering he had 295 at bats compared to over 400 AB’s for the two players in front of him. CJ’s on a slower pace this year though, with just 10 RBI in 88 at bats and only a .205 average.

But with a name like CJ, he’s almost bound to be a fan favorite. Hopefully with our support he can find the key to improving his batting average to a more respectable number.

And as suggested, several changes were made to the roster at the All-Star break.

The Shorebirds gained three players who were sent down after stuggling with high-A Frederick: pitchers Trevor Caughey and Russ Petrick (who pitched here in 2005) and infielder Ryan Steinbach. Taking their places on the Frederick roster with a promotion were Jon Tucker, Trent Baysinger, and SAL All-Star Jim Hoey.

Meanwhile some Shorebirds who had a tough time here became IronBirds in Aberdeen. That list included pitchers Kyle Schmidt and Luis Lebron (both who were here very briefly), infielders Rob Marconi and Rene Aqueron, and former SotW catcher Brandon Snyder. All three hitters were under .200 at the time of their demotion.

It was a tough finish to the half for the Shorebirds. After battling the Lexington Legends tooth-and-nail through most of May, they fought to a draw in a visit to Lexington in their last May series. That seemed to take the wind right out of the Delmarva nine’s sails though, as they plummeted to a 6-12 finish in the first half while Lexington amassed a 14-4 mark in the same stretch to win the SAL North going away. In fact, the West Virginia Power snuck by the Shorebirds and grabbed second place at the halfway mark.

But as usual in the SAL, everything starts afresh on Thursday. All Lexington’s great finish got them was a playoff date in September, but nothing says they can’t have a poor second half. In the topsy-turvy world of the South Atlantic League, last year’s champion can be this year’s doormat – case in point, the Kannapolis Intimidators, who won the 2005 SAL pennant but frightened no one except their fans with a 20-50 first half mark this season.

So what I’m doing here is a rehash of the first half standings, and adding commentary on each team’s second half schedule. There’s a scheduling quirk in the SAL this season. To avoid scheduling onerous roadtrips for some teams, the league is divided into four groups, which are as follows:

What I’ll call group 1 includes Delmarva, Hagerstown, Lake County, and Lakewood.

My group 2 is the rest of the North Division: Greensboro, Hickory, Lexington, and West Virginia.

Turning to the South Division, group 3 is Asheville, Augusta, Greenville, and Kannapolis.

Group 4 is the Georgia group (almost): Charleston (SC), Columbus, Rome, and Savannah.

The oddity is that Group 1 teams do not play Group 4 teams, so they’ll not have to face 3 of the top 4 South Division teams at all this season, while the Group 2 teams will play all eight South foes in the second half. Obviously the league doesn’t want a 13-14 hour bus trip (such as between Lake County and Columbus) to happen often. So Group 1 teams will have 4 games against just the Group 3 teams in the South in the second half, which as noted turns out to be an advantage.

Here are the standings for the first half along with the strength of their schedule in the second half. To determine that, I simply figured out the games below or above .500 for each remaining team on the schedule – for example the aforementioned Kannapolis team is a factor of minus 30 for each time played, and 44-25 Lexington would be a factor of plus 19 every time.

1. Lexington Legends (44-25, won division by 5 games.)

Second half schedule factor: minus 38 (3rd easiest). They play 4 games against each team in the other three groups, as well as 6 against Hickory, and 8 against Greensboro and West Virginia. They have 35 home and 35 away games.

First half summary: A 14-4 finish featuring an appearance by Roger Clemens boosted the Legends to the first half title.

Key games in second half: They play the South first half champion Rome Braves at home August 2-5 in what could be a championship preview.

2. West Virginia Power (39-30, second place 5 games back.)

Second half schedule factor: plus 32 (5th easiest). Just like Lexington, 4 games against the teams in the other three groups, along with 6 against Greensboro and 8 against Hickory and Lexington. They also are even with 35 home and away games apiece.

First half summary: Improved throughout the half from also-ran to second place club.

Key games in second half: A stretch from August 2-22 where they play 16 of 20 games at home, the lone road trip in the middle to Delmarva. The first homestand features Columbus and Rome, the second against division foes Hickory and Hagerstown.

3. DELMARVA SHOREBIRDS (37-31, third place 6 1/2 games in arrears.)

Second half schedule factor: minus 273 (easiest). As mentioned, they play only the four games each against Group 2 and Group 3 teams, along with 12 against Hagerstown, 15 against Lake County, and 11 against Lakewood. The schedule maker did give them a slight disadvantage of just 33 home games against 37 away from Perdue Stadium.

First half summary: Great pitching throughout, but a batting swoon cost the Shorebirds the first half title.

Key games in second half: They play the top two North teams as well as the second place South team (Augusta) a total of 12 times, all at home. By the way, if you’re sick of seeing Lakewood after 14 home games against them (of our 37 total), we don’t see them here again until the final home series August 28-31.

4. Lakewood BlueClaws (37-32, fourth place 7 games back.)

Second half schedule factor: minus 268 (2nd easiest). Just like Delmarva, only 4 against each team in Group 2 and Group 3. They play the Shorebirds 11 times, Hagerstown 15 times (11 at Hagerstown), and Lake County 12 times. They’re another even 35-35 team as far as road/home goes.

First half summary: After an 0-9 start, they rebounded with solid pitching to grab a first-division finish. Had they not dug such a hole, they may have been playoff-bound.

Key games in second half: A 12 game homestand August 11-22 against Lexington, Hagerstown, and Delmarva.

5. Greensboro Grasshoppers (36-34, fifth place 8 1/2 games back.)

Second half schedule factor: plus 74 (7th easiest). As with the other Group 2 teams, it’s 4 against everyone in the South and 4 against the Group 1 teams. They also have 8 against Hickory and Lexington, with 6 against West Virginia. They have 35 each at home and on the road.

First half summary: The Grasshoppers leaped into contention in early June after taking 3 of 4 at Delmarva, but the strong Lexington finish (at their expense) squashed the Grasshoppers’ hopes.

Key games in second half: Their final seven games (August 29-September 4) are at West Virginia and Lexington.

6. Hickory Crawdads (33-36, sixth place 11 games behind Lexington.)

Second half schedule factor: plus 94 (toughest). The final Group 2 team, they play that schedule along with 6 against Lexington and 8 each against Greensboro and West Virginia. They do get an advantage from the scheduler of 37 home games in the half against 33 on the road.

First half summary: The ‘Dads never really got going, they scuffled throughout the half and pretty much inhabited the second division throughout.

Key games in second half: A July 24-31 roadtrip to Columbus and Rome could drown the Crawdads’ chances for a second half crown.

7. Lake County Captains (29-41, seventh place 15 1/2 games out.)

Second half schedule factor: plus 16 (4th easiest). As with Delmarva and Lakewood, they get to skip most of the Georgia teams and Charleston, SC. They do play the obligatory four each against the Group 2 and 3 teams, along with Delmarva 15 times, Lakewood 12 times, and Hagerstown 11 times. A 35-35 split home to away is on their second half docket.

First half summary: Lake County’s Captains hit a late-winter iceberg at the end of April. After a 14-10 start they sank through the standings as they only won 15 more first half games.

Key games in second half: They finish with 8 road games August 28-September 4 at Hagerstown and Lakewood. Also, they start the second half at home with Delmarva for 4 games.

8. Hagerstown Suns (28-42, last place and trailing by 16 1/2.)

Second half schedule factor: plus 35 (6th easiest). The same deal as Delmarva, Lake County, and Lakewood, with 12 against the Shorebirds, 11 against the Captains, and 15 against the BlueClaws. Having 11 at home against Lakewood helped them have a 37-33 home to away advantage in the second half.

First half summary: Never in contention, but they managed to lay the wood to cross-state rival Delmarva at the end of the half.

Key games in second half: They have 17 of their first 22 games at home to begin the second half. Last season they won the first half title and tanked in half number 2 – so they hope for a reversal in fortune like Delmarva had last year. But there can be no all-Maryland playoff this season.

Just in: The North Division won this year’s SAL All-Star Game 4-0 at Lake County. There were four Shorebirds on the winning North team:

Quincy Ascencion started in left field and batted ninth. He played the entire game, collecting a single in 3 trips.

Brandon Erbe pitched the fourth inning, allowing one hit but striking out 2.

Chorye Spoone got the final out of the eighth inning. His first batter reached on an error and stole second but he got the strikeout to end the South’s inning.

Jim Hoey was selected to the team but didn’t pitch.

Also, the pitching coach for the North was the Shorebirds’ Kennie Steenstra.

So ends post number 150.

The honors for SotW this week go to a gentleman lucky enough to be pitching on a night the Shorebirds wore a special tribute uniform to the Negro League’s Baltimore Elite Giants. But Brad Bergesen has done more than be a good uniform model. Despite a recent bout of illness, Bergesen has pitched relatively well when healthy.

One thing the 2004 4th round pick (another high pick toiling for Delmarva this season) doesn’t do is walk a lot of batters. Last season in Aberdeen Bergesen walked just 14 in 71 innings, this year only 4 free passes have been granted in 35 1/3 innings. So count on Brad to be around the plate. It’s unusual for a young pitcher just a couple years removed from high school to have such good control. However, he is susceptible to giving up a lot of contact, thus his total number of hits given up will likely exceed 1 per inning. So far this season that has held true (44 hits allowed.)

With Bergesen’s 21st birthday not on the horizon until after the season in September, the California native is another of the Orioles’ promising crop of very young pitchers. The late collapse of the Shorebirds, who were eliminated from a possible first-half title with a loss tonight, cannot be laid at the feet of the pitching staff. With several changes to the team’s makeup likely to happen over the SAL’s All-Star break next week, look for Bergesen to regain a spot in the rotation before the end of the season as he recovers from his unusual trip to the disabled list.

This week I’m going to look at sort of an unsung hero. Before the end of the season, Juan Gutierrez of the Shorebirds will turn 25 years old. To be that age and in the lowest rung of class “A” ball is usually a sign that your pro career is nearing an end, and this may be the case for Juan.

But I think the Orioles organization has kept Juan around for another go-round with Delmarva for two reasons: one is that he’s a hard worker and always ready to play wherever needed, and secondly he’s the mentor for two young catchers I’ve previously selected as Shorebirds of the Week, Brandon Snyder and Kyle Dahlberg.

Last season I recall Gutierrez playing behind the plate, over at first, and occasionally at third, meanwhile hitting a respectable .264 in 84 games and drawing a lot of walks – he was third on the team in walks (46) but trailed two guys with at least 100 more at bats. It’s been more of a struggle this season though, the average is at .185 in 81 at bats spread over 30 games (just over half of Delmarva’s contests.)

So right now the only thing you see Juan Gutierrez doing in a lot of games is trotting out at the start of the innings to warm up the pitcher. But every team has a guy who sits at the end of the bench hoping to get in and contribute. Good teams have a good guy who does that, and I think Gutierrez fits the bill.

It may be that Juan Gutierrez never makes it to the Show, but if Brandon Snyder or Kyle Dahlberg do get that far they may look back at a mentor they had at Delmarva and lessons learned on how to stay ready to get into the game at a moment’s notice and conduct yourself in a professional manner.

This week’s SotW is the hard-luck loser from tonight’s contest, Brandon Erbe. He was outdueled by Greensboro’s Aaron Thompson in a 2-0 defeat. But the 2005 3rd round pick who hails from Baltimore did pretty well, giving up just 1 run and 2 hits in 5 innings, with 6 K’s. For the season, his 3-3 record is deceptive as he sports a fine ERA of 2.25 in 48 innings of work. Two hits tonight means he’s given up just 36 hits in that stretch, and should drop his WHIP under 1. (For non-stat geeks, WHIP stands for walks + hits/innings pitched – basically he’s allowing less than 1 runner per inning, which is outstanding.)

It’s a trend he started last year in rookie ball. While he was roughed up in a brief stint with Aberdeen (1-1, 7.71 ERA in 7 innings spread among 3 appearances), he dominated at Bluefield, fanning 48 in just 23 1/3 innings…in other words, 48 of the 70 outs he achieved were strikeouts. Hopefully his fielders didn’t get too bored. As a whole, his 2005 numbers were a 2-2 record and 4.15 ERA in 30 1/3 innings (with 57 strikeouts!) It was enough to get his feet wet at the professional level, as he made just 4 starts.

My guess is the plan for Erbe is to get him to a certain number of innings pitched this year and shut him down. With him barely being 18 (he pitched last season as a minor in the minor leagues, doesn’t turn 19 until Christmas Day) that arm of his is sure to receive plenty of TLC from the Orioles’ brass. Because of his electric stuff, Erbe has a fairly good chance of seeing the Orioles roster before the decade is out. The Shorebirds fans should enjoy each opportunity they get to see him because I think he’ll be up with Frederick next season.

When you’re a team’s number one pick in the draft, you have a lot of expectations placed upon you. Just less than a year ago, current Shorebird catcher Brandon Snyder drew all that attention as he went from high schooler in Centreville, Virginia to well-paid pro in less than a month.

And Snyder got off to a pretty good start in his pro career, hitting .291 between Bluefield (44 games) and Aberdeen (8 games). He led all of the Orioles rookie leaguers with 41 RBI between the two stops as well.

2006 has been a little bit more of a struggle for the teenager (he’ll not turn 20 until November.) With a recent stint on the disabled list, Snyder’s been limited to playing in just 24 of Delmarva’s 44 games thus far. His lower offensive numbers also reflect the higher level of competition – he’s now playing against guys who are mostly 2 to 4 years older and more experienced. So a .240 average in 96 at bats isn’t terrible, and he’s kept a little bit of power with 3 home runs and 15 RBI to his credit. In fact, he’s the lone Shorebird who has more extra base hits (12) than singles (11).

Honestly I’m not so sure the Orioles are worried about the offense though. A large part of developing a catcher is teaching him to work with the pitchers and call a good game. And I’m certain that, like most catchers, something Snyder takes pride in is the success of the pitching staff. In that instance, Delmarva’s league-leading ERA should give Brandon something to smile at.

Being picked number one generally means you’re on a fast track to the Show. A few of the 2005 picks are already there or on the cusp of that dream. It’s likely going to take a little longer for Brandon Snyder to get there but the Orioles are going to give him every opportunity to grow into an eventual job behind the dish in Camden Yards. Right now they have Ramon Hernandez doing a four-year stint with the Orioles, but I’m sure in the back of their mind they’d like to see Brandon Snyder assume that role by the end of Hernandez’s contract in 2009.