4/10/2008

Notes from around the MWL

The Peoria Journal Star has this story on a Beloit Snapper pitcher. Why? Well, Loek Van Mil of the Netherlands is 7'-1" tall. Apparently judo was too easy for him as a child.
"It got kind of boring," the 7-1 Van Mil said. "I don't mean to sound cocky, but even when you're 7 years old it gets boring winning all the time. I wanted to do something with a team and with a ball. I thought basketball or baseball might be an option."
Yeah. I know how he feels. Winning all the time is soooooooo booooooooring.

Fate took a hand to begin Loek's baseball journey.

Van Mil, whose first name is pronounced Luke, chose basketball. His mother thought he said baseball and signed him up with the local club.

"We drove there and there were open fields. I asked my mom, 'Isn't basketball an indoor sport?' " Van Mil said. "She said, 'Oh I thought you said baseball.' I wanted to do either one so I kept with it."

If there is one Midwest League beat writer who knows about the piggyback pitching system, that beat writer would be Marc Katz of the Dayton Daily News. So, he was ready when Fort Wayne brought that system to town this week.

At least for now, Fort Wayne manager Doug Dascenzo is all for the piggyback pitching system parent San Diego has installed for his team.

He gave all the same reasons the Reds used when they forced their lower minor league teams into harsh pitch counts while alternating starters with relievers.

The system requires eight pitchers who can start games. At Fort Wayne, pitchers are allowed only 60 pitches before being replaced.

When it was pointed out not every team has eight pitchers good enough to make the system work, Dascenzo said, "We have eight pitchers."

How's it working so far? Entering Wednesday night's (April 9) game, the Wizards were 1-5 with a team ERA of 5.40, 12th in the 14-team Class A Midwest League.

Plus, read down to see what Dayton manager Donnie Scott almost did.

Steve Batterson of the QC Times has his Midwest League Notebook. The big news in there was the 50-game suspension of Peoria's scheduled opening night starter.

Instead of throwing to the catcher in Peoria’s Midwest League opener last week, Chiefs pitcher Robert Hernandez found himself catching a plane.

Hernandez was sent back to the Chicago Cubs’ spring training complex in Arizona last Thursday, one day after he was suspended for 50 games after a positive test for stanozolol, a performance-enhancing substance.

The 50-game suspension is mandated for first-time violations of rules of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

But, the interesting story in the notebook is this one about the Kernels and their attempt to get from Spring Training to Cedar Rapids.

The team was forced to cancel its “Meet the Kernels” event when a canceled flight from Dallas left the entire team stranded in Texas instead of jetting into Cedar Rapids at around 6 p.m. last Monday.

In addition to spending an unexpected night at a Dallas hotel, the

Kernels were unable to secure enough room on another flight to Cedar Rapids the following day. They were able to fly into Chicago late Tuesday afternoon and then bused to Cedar Rapids, arriving about 28 hours later than originally scheduled.

I'll bet there have never been so many people glad to get to Cedar Rapids, Iowa...ever. Joking, Kernels fans.


Hmmm, a rover for the parent club likes the makeup of the minor league affiliate? Color me surprised.

Gene Roof, a 23-year veteran of the Detroit Tigers' organization, thinks all the signs are there for a big season in West Michigan.

Roof, the Tigers' roving outfield and baserunning coordinator, believes the West Michigan Whitecaps' combination of talent, experience, the success of the players last year at short season Oneonta and the likelihood of improvement translates into a potentially interesting summer.

Which is why the team's 6-1 record after the first week of the season doesn't necessarily surprise him.

Making his first visit to Fifth Third Ballpark for the Whitecaps' series with the Great Lakes Loons, Roof, who coached first base in Wednesday's 9-0 win, said it's the type of ballclub that should be better in the season's second half.

"Player development and winning go hand-in-hand," he said.

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