CMYK PAGE 6C
➛
SUNDAY, JUNE 17, 2012
S
P
O
R
T
S
THE TIMES LEADER
S H O R T- S E A S O N M I N O R L E A G U E B A S E B A L L
S W B YA N K E E S
www.timesleader.com
NOTEBOOK
Branyan delivers walk-off HR in 10th The Times Leader staff
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Tied 2-2 in the bottom of the 10th inning, Russell Branyan hit a home run to left center to bring Jack Cust home from first base and end the game, giving Scranton/WilkesBarre the 4-2 win over Syracuse at Alliance Bank Park. The Yankees (39-30) drew first blood in the first inning as Chris Dickerson doubled on a line drive to right field, allowing Ronnier Mustelier to come in next at-bat and hit a double of his own, allowing Dickerson to score. Two innings later Dickerson would score again in the third inning, afYANKEES ter getting on base by hitting his second double of the game. CHIEFS Mustelier came in to try and bring Dickerson home again, but this time he grounded the ball to third. But Dickerson waited for the throw across the diamond and bolted for third base. Chiefs first baseman Mark Teahen overthrew third after recording the out at first, allowing Dickerson to make it a 2-0 game. Teahen would make up for it though as the Chiefs came back to make it a 2-2 game in the sixth inning after runs scored by Mark Teahen in the fourth and sixth innings. Three scoreless innings later in the bottom of the 10th, Russell Branyan nailed the game winner to give the Yankees the victory. The Chiefs and Yankees will meet for the final game of their four-game series at Alliance Bank Park today at 2 p.m.
4 2
Syracuse
R 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
h bi 1 0 1 0 2 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Yankees
Brown cf Hoffpauir 3b Teahen 1b Carroll rf Paul lf Michaels dh Negrych 2b Bynum ss Howell c
ab 5 5 4 4 4 4 2 4 4
Totals
36 2 9 2 Totals
Russo rf Dickerson cf Mustelier lf Cust dh Branyan 1b Cervelli c Laird 3b Pena ss Bernier 2b
ab 5 5 5 4 3 3 4 4 3
r 0 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
h bi 0 0 2 0 2 1 1 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0
32 410 3
Syracuse........................ 000 101 000 0 — 2 Yankees ......................... 101 000 000 2 — 4 E – Teahen (4), Hoffpauir (5) LOB – Syracuse 7, Yankees 8 2B – Teahen (20), Haoofpauir (7), Dickerson 2 (8), Mustelier 2 (10), Pena (10) 3B – Teahen (3), Branyan (6) HR – Branyan (6) IP H R ER BB SO Syracuse Lannan....................... 7 6 2 1 3 3 Mandel ....................... .1 1 0 0 1 1 Garcia ........................ 1.2 1 0 0 0 3 Pena (L, 1-3) ............ .2 2 2 2 0 0 Yankees Mitchell ...................... 7.0 6 2 2 3 6 Cedeno...................... 2 1 0 0 0 3 Igarashi (W, 1-1)...... 1 2 0 0 0 0
MLB
Oakland bids adieu to Manny The Associated Press
OAKLAND, Calif. — Manny Ramirez is a free agent again after he asked the Oakland Athletics to release him and the team granted his request on Friday. Ramirez signed a minor league deal with Oakland on Feb. 20 and hit .302 with 14 RBIs in 17 games with Triple-A Sacramento. He served a 50-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball’s drug policy last year, but remained in the minors when the ban ended on his 40th birthday on May 30. The dreadlocked slugger was expected to make approximately $500,000 if he was added to Oakland’s big league roster. “Manny believes he has demonstrated that he is ready to return to the major leagues,” Ramirez’s agents, Barry Praver and Scott Shapiro, said in a statement. “However,giventhattheOaklandAthletics could not give Manny any assurance that they plan to promote him in the immediate future he asked for his release. Manny thanks the A’s for providing him with this opportunity.”
Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Gerrit Cole was promoted to Class AA Altoona.
WILLIAMSPORT SUN GAZETTE
Williamsport Crosscutters players, from left, Brock Stassi, Roman Quinn and Larry Greene sit on the top step of the first base dugout during media day for the NY-Penn League team Saturday.
Phils hopefuls report to Cutters Tracy charged with guiding the club By DAVE ROSENGRANT drosengrant@timesleader.com
WILLIAMSPORT – Extended spring training has concluded and the Major League Baseball amateur draft was held more than a week ago. That means it’s time for the short-season leagues to start playing ball. The closest team to start up this week is the Williamsport Crosscutters of the New York-Penn League. The Crosscutters held media day on Saturday at Bowman Field and that’s when the affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies found out which players would make up the roster. After a long flight from Clearwater, Fla., to Philadelphia then a bus trip to Williamsport, the new members got to town Friday night, and were acquainted with their new playground on Saturday. They will only have two days to get ready for Monday night’s season opener against the State College Spikes. First-year manager Andy Tracy isn’t expecting smooth sailing for the young squad. “They’re going to struggle. That’s what we’re telling them. Coming out of the struggles is the most important thing in baseball and being able to handle those struggles,” the skipper said. “That’s what we’re going to deal with this year and hopefully they’re little valleys, but we’re going to see how
these guys react.” Tracy is beginning his first year as a manager in the organization after just ending his playing career. He played last year for Triple-A Reno in the Diamondbacks organization. Now, he’s eager to begin a new chapter, even though he will be standing in the third-base box as opposed to the more familiar first base side, where he spent the bulk of his playing career as a first baseman. “I think it helps that I’m just getting out of the game,” Tracy noted. “A lot of times when you’re in coaching you forget when you were a player… It’s still a process. There’s going to be more learning. I want these guys to like me and fear me and all of the above. That’s the whole point of coaching.” More than half of the rostered 27 players for Williamsport will be making their professional debuts this week. Thirteen of those were drafted in 2011 or earlier this month out of college. A few of the notable names on that list are first baseman/outfielder Larry Greene and infielder Roman Quinn. Greene, who was drafted last year out of Berrin County High School in Nashville, Ga., is a left-handed power hitter. Standing at 6-feet tall and 235-pounds, the No. 4 overall prospect in the organization according to MLB.com is ready to make his pro debut. “You just don’t even know (how exciting
it is),” Greene said when asked about finally making his pro debut. “It’s going to be fun. I’m happy to be here. I’m just going to do what I can.” Quinn isn’t a power hitter like Greene. Instead, he’s got another tool to hammer opponents: speed. Also taken out of high school last year coming from Florida’s Port St. Joe High School, some experts referred to him as the fastest player available in the 2011 draft. Playing on a field like the historic venue in Williamsport with high grass and deep fences – 350-feet to right field, 345 to left and 405 to center – the 19-year-old No. 10 prospect in the organization is ready to get started to show off his quickness. “(The field’s dimensions) make me excited to be here because I’m not a home run hitter at all,” Quinn said. “So if I get a ball in the gap, it’s basically a triple for me. I hope I can get one in dead center and get an inside-the-parker.” Pitchers Hoby Milner (round 7 from the University of Texas), Jordan Guth (9, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Kevin Brady (10, Clemson), Zach Cooper (15, Central Michigan), Nicholas Hanson (16, Golden West College), Matt Sisto (20, Hawaii), Geoff Broussard (23, Cal Poly Pomona) and Jeb Stefan (22, Louisiana Tech) are some of the top picks from this year’s draft on the roster. Infielder Chris Serritella, a fourth round selection out of Southern Illinois, was also taken by Philadelphia earlier this month.
COLLEGE WORLD SERIES
Kent State hoping to be more than a flash Arkansas picks up 8-1 victory over Golden Flashes in their Omaha opener Saturday. By ERIC OLSON AP Sports Writer
OMAHA, Neb. — Kent State knows it faces a daunting task to make its first appearance in the College World Series last much longer. An 8-1loss to Arkansas on Saturday leaves the Golden Flashes fighting for survival in a bracket that includes two-time defending national champion South Carolina, No. 1 national seed Florida and a Razorbacks team that just beat them. Kent State coach Scott Stricklin offered a simple message to his players after DJ Baxendale and Brandon Moore combined on a four-hitter against them Saturday. “Get it out of your mind. Get ready to play on Monday night again in Omaha, Neb.,” Stricklin said. “Our kids are thrilled to be here. But that’s thing we’ve got to make sure that we’re not just happy to be here. We want to compete and get some wins and make a run at it. It’s still possible.” Baxendale didn’t allow a hit until Sawyer Polen’s infield single with two out in the fifth. He held the Flashes (46-19) scoreless until Jimmy Rider homered in the sixth. Arkansas (45-20) broke open
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Arkansas coach Dave Van Horn (2) greets Bo Bigham, center, and Derrick Bleeker, left, after they scored Saturday.
the game on Matt Vinson’s tworun double that made it 5-1 in the bottom of the sixth. Baxendale (8-5) allowed just three hits, giving way to Moore with one out in the seventh. He struck out five and walked one. “DJ Baxendale was outstanding,” Stricklin said. “He kept us off balance. His fastball was sharp and he throws the breaking ball when he’s behind in the count. He really competes.” Kent State starter David Starn (11-4) walked three of the first four batters he faced and left after Vinson’s two-out double in the sixth. Starn threw 24 pitches in the first inning, just eight for strikes, and walked the bases loaded before Brian Anderson’s
hard liner up the middle knocked off the pitcher’s glove and brought home the first run. An inning-ending double play let Starn escape further damage. “It was basically just a flaw in my mechanics,” Starn said. “I wasn’t really finishing my pitches. And I was leaving them armside, and that’s basically what happened with the control issues and everything.” Kent State is the first team from the Mid-American Conference to make it to the CWS since Eastern Michigan in 1976. Wearing their old-school gray uniforms with high socks, the Flashes struggled early against a Razorbacks team that was last in Omaha in 2009.
Arkansas was up 2-0 by the time the Flashes had their first hit. Rider’s homer down the leftfield line cut the Hogs’ lead to 3-1 in the sixth. The Flashes looked like they could draw closer in the seventh after Baxendale walked Nick Hamilton to put runners on first and second with one out. Moore came on to get a groundout and flyout to end the threat. Moore worked the last 2 2⁄3 innings for his third save. Arkansas made it a four-run game in the bottom of the sixth on Vinson’s two-out, two-run double, and Wise drove in two more runs in the eighth with a two-out single off Ryan Mace. Starn threw 24 pitches in the first inning, just eight for strikes, and walked the bases loaded before Brian Anderson’s hard liner up the middle knocked off the pitcher’s glove and brought home the first run. An inning-ending double play let Starn escape further damage. Wise, the No. 9 batter, made it 2-0 in the second when he went deep to left center for his second homer of the season, and first since the second game of the season on Feb. 19. It was the Razorbacks’ first homer since May 19, the last day of the regular season. Baxendale retired 14 of the first 15 batters he faced before Polen ripped a hard grounder up the middle for a base hit.
Pirates’ prospect now at Altoona
Gerrit Cole is moved up by Pittsburgh after a steller showing at Class A Bradenton. By BILL BRINK Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
CLEVELAND - The Pirates promoted right-hander Gerrit Cole from Class A Bradenton to Class AA Altoona on Friday after two months adjusting to pro ball in the Florida State League. Cole, 21, started 13 games and went 5-1 with a 2.55 ERA. He struck out 69 and walked 21 in 67 innings. The Pirates officially will add him to the Curve roster Wednesday, and he will make his first start against New Britain that night. “We’re working on the same things, we’re just working on it at a more challenging level,” assistant general manager Kyle Stark said. “We’re working on it at a level that’s less forgiving.” Cole had a 1.96 ERA in his past 10 starts. He has held opposing batters to a .217 average this season. “When you get to a place where you’re continually better and performing better, you want to make sure you can [raise] that level of opposition where there’s more challenges for him as well, and I think that’s what we’ve done,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. While in Bradenton, the Pirates wanted Cole to improve the command of his fastball, which can reach 100 mph but is hittable when it is flat or elevated. “I think that it’s something that he will probably continue to battle,” Stark said. “When he’s got [downward] angle to his fastball, it’s really tough to hit. It’s something that he’s made significant strides on.” The Pirates gave Cole an $8 million signing bonus in August. Back at it Charlie Morton had Tommy John ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow Thursday, but it is likely his rehabilitation already has begun. “The day of surgery, the day after surgery, they’re already starting to work it and try to get that extension back,” said Brad Lincoln, who had such surgery in 2007. More important, Lincoln said, was the mental adjustment. “You know you just went through major surgery, you’re going to be out for at least a year and just trying to cope with that and realize that, ’Hey, I need to work that much harder to get back to where I need to be,” he said. Boy of summer Garrett Jones started the month of June well, hitting .344 with two home runs and two doubles in 10 games. He had a hit in 10 of his past 11 games entering the game Friday against the Cleveland Indians. He has had similar streaks in the past, but generally returned to the numbers posted in 2010-11, when he hit a combined .245. “What has happened to most hitters, comparables like Garrett, I’ve worked with, they get to this spot right here, and then you know what they want to do?” Hurdle said.