Australians

Down in the Alumni Updates for today, you may have noticed two lines that jumped out and said hello!

#1
Ryan Rowland-Smith ('02, '03): 2-for-2, 2 runs

That led to this story: Mariners pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith a surprise at the plate

Optimism was low among the Mariners watching Ryan Rowland-Smith step into the batter's box for the first time since he was of legal voting age.

After all, his teammates had watched the left-handed pitcher swing and miss at just about every 60 mph pitch sent his way by manager Don Wakamatsu during batting practice before Saturday's contest against the Colorado Rockies. They knew Rowland-Smith hadn't handled a bat in any game since playing for New South Wales in a national tournament in his native Australia nine years ago when he was 17.

Rowland-Smith could hear the snickers from his dugout as he stepped in against Rockies starter Jason Marquis. But the laughter stopped moments later when Rowland-Smith laced the first of two straight singles for him.

"When I went out there, some guys were sort of talking smack to me in here, so I was like, 'I've got to get a hit,' " Rowland-Smith said. "I was just trying to make contact."

That he did, ripping a single through the left side in the second inning and later scoring in bizarre fashion on an infield hit as the Mariners waltzed to a 10-5 win. Rowland-Smith later lined a much harder single into left off Marquis in the fourth inning.

#2
Chris Snelling ('00): 1-for-1, run, RBI, BB

That was preceded by this blog post: Ex-Mariner Snelling back in baseball; signs with Padres

Chris Snelling, a long time fan favorite in Seattle thanks to his time spent with the Mariners from 2002-06, is back in baseball.

Seattle pitcher Ryan Rowland-Smith, who has been living in Snelling's Peoria, Ariz.-area home while Snelling has been away at the World Baseball Classic with Team Australia, said Snelling told him he'd agreed to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training with the San Diego Padres Saturday.

The offer came after Snelling and Team Australia was eliminated from the WBC in the first round.

''He's feeling great, really great,'' fellow Aussie Rowland-Smith said. ''Now all he has to do is stay healthy.''

Amen to that. For details here's the story from the Padres website.

Snelling is a career .305 hitter in the Minor Leagues with a .393 on-base percentage. He was a favorite of then-Seattle manager Lou Piniella in 2002 and became a fan favorite in Seattle, gaining something of a cult following from fans that chose to refer to him by his middle name (Doyle) so to avoid cursing him into another injury.

But Snelling -- who is a .244 hitter in 225 Major League at-bats with Seattle, Washington, Oakland and Philadelphia -- couldn't shake the injury bug.

Good luck to my former color analyst during the 2000 season.

25 dies insquequo Oris Dies!

Stalwart

There is a joke from an episode of the under-rated NewsRadio about the word stalwart. But, that is not what this post is about. Instead, it is about this:

Perth Heat successfully defended their Claxton Shield title with a thrilling win over NSW Patriots in the third and deciding game at Baseball Park in Thornlie last night.

The home team celebrated the 75th edition of Australia’s premier baseball competition with a 3-2 win after setting up the decider with a 5-4 on Saturday night after losing the opening game 5-3.

Perth held a two run lead going into the final innings before a late revival by NSW allowed the visitors to level the score.

But with two out and the game heading into extra innings, Perth’s Matt Kennelly took advantage of a throwing error which was compounded when NSW made a second error.

A clutch hit by stalwart Daniel Floyd batted in the winning run.

Here is the celebration picture. Floyd, a Rattler in 2001 and 2002, is in there somewhere:

Picture from Western Australia Baseball.

Claxton Shield Grand Final (Game Three)

The HEAT are the Champs!!!

......R...H...E
NSW...2...5...1
PERTH.3...9...2
Details

Ex-Rattler Dan Floyd ('01, '02) had the Shield-clinching hit in the bottom of the ninth. The HEAT had a 2-0 lead until New South Wales scored twice in the top of the ninth to tie the game.

That set up this for the champs:

PERTH 9th
D'ANTONIO to c.
HOUSE popped up to 2b.
KENNELLY,M reached on a throwing error by 3b, advanced to second on the error.
DESANMIGUEL intentionally walked.
DESANMIGUEL advanced to second on a wild pitch; KENNELLY,M advanced to third on a wild pitch.
FLOYD singled to right field, RBI; DESANMIGUEL advanced to third; KENNELLY,M scored, unearned.

If there are pictures or a story from any Perth newspapers, I'll link to them tomorrow.

Congratulations to Floyd and the HEAT!

60 dies insquequo Oris Dies

Claxton Shield Grand Final (Game Two)

It just went final a few moments ago and the Barbagallo Perth HEAT -- with ex-Rattler Dan Floyd ('01, '02) -- have forced Game Three in the best-of-three Grand Final down in Australia.

......R..H...E
Perth.5..12..2
NSW...4..10..0
Details

Floyd, 1-for-4

Nick Kimpton, a former Cedar Rapids Kernel, hit a home run in the top of the ninth to break a 4-4 tie.

Claxton Shield Grand Final (Game One)

Tough start to the best-of-three Grand Final for the Barbagallo Perth HEAT -- with ex-Rattler Dan Floyd ('01, '02) -- for the Claxton Shield in Australia.

......R...H...E
NSW...5...5...2
Perth.3...8...1
Details

Floyd, LF, 2-for-4, RBI

Game two is later tonight.

Spanning the globe

First, my Tonbridge Angels keep solidifying their playoff spot in the Ryman Premier League. They defeated Margate 1-0. The Angels sit in third place with 49 points, nine clear of Dartford for the last playoff spot.

Second,the Claxton Shield Grand Final approaches.

The Barbagallo Perth HEAT -- with ex-Rattler Dan Floyd ('01, '02) -- are hosting the New South Wales Patriots this coming weekend.

Here are a few stories to get you ready.

Bring It Home: Perth HEAT Set To Fry Patriots

PERTH Heat has a burning desire for back-to-back championships and the side will get its chance against New South Wales Patriots next week.

The two sides will meet in a re-match of last year’s grand final on the February 6, 7 and, if required, 8 at Baseball Park.

Perth Heat wary of underdogs from east in grand final

HOST Perth Heat are favourites for this week's Claxton Shield final, but NSW Patriots coach Shane Barclay has warned not to take the underdogs too easily.
The states play off for glory and gold in the final, marking the 75th year of Claxton Shield baseball, at Thornlie on Friday night, Saturday and if required, Sunday.

WA won its 10th Shield last year, beating 13-time winner NSW at Sydney's Olympic Park.

The states have clashed four times this year - all in Sydney - for a 2-2 record.

"They've got some players back since then and we've lost players, so they'll be the favourites,'" Barclay said.

The Grand Final will also help support Team Spencer.

Claxton Shield (1/8)

The Barbagallo Perth HEAT -- with ex-Rattler Dan Floyd -- scored four times in the bottom of the eighth inning and picked up a 4-3 victory over the Victoria Aces in game one of their three game series in the Claxton Shield.

.........R...H...E
Victoria.3...5...2
Perth....4...8...1
Box score

Floyd: 0-for-4, 2K

Game two is tonight.

Claxton Shield

The Barbagallo Perth HEAT -- with ex-Rattler Dan Floyd ('01, '02) swept their three game series in the Claxton Shield tournament with a win on Sunday.

............R...H...E
Queensland..3...7...3
Perth.......6...7...2
Game details

Floyd, LF, 0-for-2, run

Up next for the HEAT is a three game home series against Victoria that starts on Thursday. Perth is 6-3 in the tournament. Victoria is 7-2.

Claxton Shield

The Barbagallo Perth HEAT -- with ex-Rattler Dan Floyd ('01, '02) -- lost to the New South Wales Patriots in Claxton Shield action.

......R...H...E
HEAT..8...11..3
NSW...11..13..3
Box score

Floyd, LF 2-for-3, 2 runs, 2 walks

Game story from the Illawarra Mercury

Illawarra's Tim Atherton and Trent D'Antonio played significant roles in the NSW Patriots' 11-8 win over reigning titleholder Perth Heat in a high-quality Claxton Shield fixture at Fred Finch Park yesterday.

Spectators were treated to six home runs, with Atherton slamming a 126m three-run homer in the bottom of the third inning to give NSW a 5-0 lead.

Six runs by the Patriots in the third from a Tim Auty double, a Patrick Maat RBI double and Atherton's long ball proved the crucial inning in the outcome of a thrilling game, which was the only Claxton Shield fixture in country NSW this year.

D'Antonio played as the designated hitter and also made a good contribution when he batted in two runners in the bottom of the seventh, which took NSW to an 11-8 lead - the final score after Perth had fought back to make it 9-8 in the top of the sixth.

The HEAT play their next three game series at Baseball Park December 19-21 against Queensland.

Here is a google earth image of Baseball Park...I hope

Claxton Shield

The Home-and-Away series in the Australian tournament has begun.

We are following the Barbagallo Perth HEAT since ex-Rattler Dan Floyd ('01, '02) is playing for them.

In game one against New South Wales in Canberra:
......R...H...E
Perth.3...3...3
NSW...5...7...1
Box score

Floyd, LF, 2B: 0-for-2, BB

In game two against New South Wales in Canberra:
......R...H...E
Perth.7...13..1
NSW...2...7...0
Box score

Floyd, LF: 1-for-4

Next up is Perth against NSW. Here is the preview from the Illawarra Mercury.

Former Brewer Graeme Lloyd is a coach for Perth.

Here is a Google earth image of Fred Finch Park, where the game will be played.

Looking to kill a little time at work today

Down in the Claxton Shield post, Geoff Dyer from Australia checked in with a comment.

He was kind enough to drop a link to Baseball Western Australia's website. You might want to head over there. Who's going to know?

Things I've learned. Barbagallo is an auto dealership -- with really, really awesome autos -- in Western Australia.

There is an internet radio show called Talking Baseball at 6:00pm on Wednesdays which means it's on in Appleton at...Heck, whenever you want because there are podcasts.

HEAT is supposed to be in ALL CAPS due to the owner liking it that way.

The owner is named Marty Parn.

Ex-Rattler Dan Floyd ('01, '02) is hitting .353 in the first four games of this year's Claxton Shield.

Down in Australia

Ex-Rattler Dan Floyd ('01, '02) had a pretty nice game with Perth in a 4-3 win over New South Wales in Claxton Shield play.

Floyd got the start as the designated hitter and went 3-for-4 with a run and drove in the winning run with a single in the bottom of the ninth.

Box Score (scroll for play-by-play)

The Heat are 3-1 so far in Claxton Shield play.

What were the weather conditions at game time?
Weather: Fine 30.9C

They started a game with the temperature at 30.9? Oh, Celsius. That would have been right around 88 degrees, which is Fine. When is the first flight to Australia?