Around the MWL: 4/9/10

Complete scoreboard:

Non-Rattlers Game of the night
How does a game go 12 innings with a combined 22 hits and one team committing 7 errors?

With the temperature plunging and only remnants of the latest sellout crowd remaining, the Dayton Dragons would have given anything for a big hit.

Or another error by the Lansing Lugnuts.

But suddenly, after committing six fielding miscues through eight innings and looking like the Bad News Bears most of the night, the Lugnuts had morphed into a squad of Gold Glovers for a few innings, and the Dragons were managing nothing more than the occasional single.

Then came the 12th inning and, finally, that elusive seventh error that sent Henry Rodriguez home with the run that made the Dragons 4-3 winners Friday, April 9, giving them two straight extra-inning victories at Fifth Third Field to begin the season.

Rodriguez opened the 12th by bunting his way on. He stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and, with two outs, hustled home when third baseman Oliver Dominguez booted a sharp but playable Chris Richburg grounder.

Whoo! Fun!

Lansing now with field naming rights, too

A couple of weeks ago Oldsmobile Park, the home of the Lansing Lugnuts, became Cooley Stadium.

Now, the Lugnuts have apparently sold the naming rights to their field.

Jackson National Life Insurance Co. is adding its name to the Lansing Lugnuts playing field.

The minor league baseball team will start its 15th season next month on Jackson Field after the insurer bought the naming rights in a deal announced Monday.

The first Jackson I thought of was...

But that's probably just me. What a combo though.

Cooley...Cooley

In the past, when I have heard the name Cooley, I have thought about Mel Cooley from The Dick van Dyke Show.

In the past, when I talked about the home stadium of the Lansing Lugnuts, I have said Oldsmobile Park.

No longer. On both accounts.

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero and Thomas M. Cooley Law School President and Dean Don LeDuc today announced that the downtown Lansing stadium and home to minor league baseball’s most successful franchise - the Lansing Lugnuts - will officially be named the Cooley Law School Stadium in a sponsorship agreement just signed between the baseball team and the law school.

There is video at that link. Video of a dragon and a politician.

The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog has this:

Okay. And you think the attention is going to increase visibility for the school?

We do. We’re a national school — more than 75 percent of our students come from out of state, and we’ve worked hard to attract more attention, both nationally and in-state.

We’ve got a really advanced presence on the Web, and we sponsor a booth at the ABA every year, and continue to have a pretty large marketing budget. We were the first school that I know of to buy a billboard here in Michigan, and now it seems like just about every school in the state has a billboard.

Our feeling is that the naming rights will be much like the billboard. The sign is visible from all four directions for anyone approaching the stadium. You also get the benefit of getting on street signs in town. We also get an advertisement inside the stadium and get on the team’s Web site. There really are a lot of ancillary benefits.

Much more at that link.

In closing, I will be disappointed if this is not part of the logo for the new name of the stadium.

I'm prepared to be disappointed.

Crystal, right?

The Lansing Lugnuts have announced -- on their newly renovated website (which looks very familiar, yet just a bit off) -- their plans for a 15th anniversary celebration. The big news is this:

The Lugnuts Hall of Fame will be open for fan voting until the end of January. Carlos Beltran, Corey Patterson, Carlos Zambrano, Carlos Marmol, and Brian Dopirak are on the ballot for the 2010 season. These five candidates were selected for fan voting based on their performance with the Lugnuts or an outstanding Major League career. All candidates played at least 10 games in a Lansing Lugnuts uniform.

Detailed information on each of the inductees can be found here. The top 3 winning inductees will be announced on Opening Day, April 14th, 2010, with a pre-game ceremony and unveiling of the Hall of Fame display.

Pretty good candidates.

New in Lansing

The Lugnuts have a new manager.

After 17 seasons as a player, former Blue Jays catcher Sal Fasano is making his managerial debut with the Lansing (Mi.) Lugnuts of the Single-A Midwest League.

What more do you need to know?

Something off in the future

There will -- at some point -- maybe -- quite possibly -- if someone steps up -- be a new name for Oldsmobile Park, the home of the Lansing Lugnuts.

But, it's not going to be easy.

Lansing mayor Virg Bernero told me Wednesday before he leaves office, with another four year term about to begin, the Oldsmobile Park name will change. No more General Motors money is coming in-- it was $100,000 per year for the 15 years the stadium has existed. Bernero says there are no new prospects to take over the naming rights and he is inviting anyone to step forward and negotiate a new deal. Bernero says a final decision on a name change will be made jointly by the City and the Lansing Lugnuts. The park will remain Oldsmobile Park until a new deal is struck and the Mayor told me the City will not just give the name away for revenue that is considerably beneath what the City has received over the past years.

A few non-Rattler rosters

Owen has come down enough from Kentucky stealing John Calipari away from Memphis to post an unofficial South Bend roster at his blog.

Lansing sent a roster....which never shows up right in my work e-mail and has about seven million attachments...but, it is not on their website yet. So, you'll have to either wait.

Quad Cities has an exhibition game tomorrow against the Springfield Cardinals. Here is the team release for the Bandit roster for that game. And here is the QC Times story about it.

That is all well and good for the Bandits, but the windows in the radio booth at Modern Woodmen Park still don't open.

Job Fairs

The Kane County Cougars, the Fort Wayne TinCaps, and the Lansing Lugnuts all recently held their job fairs.

Cougars job fair draws crowd, older workers to Geneva

More than 300 people showed up Saturday to apply for part-time positions at the Kane County Cougars job fair in Geneva.

"It was definitely the highest attendance we've had," said Cougars media relations coordinator Shawn Touney.

The job fair was for first-time applicants only, not returning employees, and many in attendance were not the traditional high school or college age job seeker.

Scott Snedden of Warrenville, 65 and retired from the video business, was applying for an usher's job.

"The way the market's been going, I saw it as an opportunity for some supplemental income," Snedden said.

Thousands apply for jobs with TinCaps

Well over 2,000 job seekers filed into the Grand Wayne Center on Saturday to learn more about the Fort Wayne TinCaps and the part-time and seasonal positions available at Parkview Field the team said in a press release.

The applicant line started to form as early as 8:30 a.m. and the TinCaps staff opened the doors and began the application process at 9 a.m., a full hour earlier than originally planned.

“We anticipated a great response to the openings we have available, so an early arriving crowd wasn’t a surprise,” said Vice President of Sales and Finance, Brian Schackow. “I am proud of our staff for being able to interact with as many people today as we did.”

Hundreds Show Up For Lugnuts Job Fair

There's no doubt finding a job in this economy is no walk in the park.

"I've been looking for a job for a year and a half," Jeffrey Cherkinsky said. "It's been really tough."

"I've been out of work for a month and a half and before that I was out of work for two months," John Mudget said.

That may be why hundreds of people packed the Lansing Center Saturday --- filling out applications and waiting their turn --- to take a swing at job with with the Lansing Lugnuts.

"Today is our game day job fair for all people that work at the stadium during the summer," General Manager Pat Day said. "Those are the people who serve your hot dogs or are on the field performing."

Day said the annual job fair usually brings in a crowd, but this is by far the biggest one he's ever seen.

This is kind of quick...

But, it is Canada.

According to Canada Newswire, the Blue Jays have completed their minor league appointments for the 2009 season.

Lansing, the MWL affiliate of the Jays, will have the following coaching staff:

LANSING LUGNUTS
---------------
Manager: Clayton McCullough
Pitching: Antonio Caceres
Hitting: Justin Mashore
Trainer: Bob Tarpey

Take a walk

Lansing Lugnut manager Clayton McCullough received an honor from his high school alma mater.

While members of the newest class of inductees into the J.H. Rose Walk of Fame have all gone on to bigger and better things after high school, none of them have forgotten their days as Rampants.

At Thursday night's Walk of Fame Banquet honoring this year's class, the common theme during each inductee's speech was how much each one's time at Rose shaped the rest of their lives. Of the 16 members being inducted this weekend, 11 showed up for Thursday's festivities at St. James United Methodist Church. Pro golfer Will MacKenzie is playing in a tournament and major league baseball umpire Joe West got called away at the last minute and could not make it to Greenville. West is scheduled to call the World Series later this month.

The newest Walk of Fame members will be recognized at halftime of tonight's Rose-Havelock football game at JHR.

Here is the part on McCullough. It's nice -- and I am overlooking the glaring error made by the reporter.

Clayton McCullough, a baseball and football standout who graduated in 1998, is the youngest [inductee].

McCullough went on to play baseball at East Carolina and, after being drafted by the Cleveland Indians, made it as far as AAA Buffalo. He is currently the manager of the rookie league Lansing (Mich.) Lugnuts and even though he is on a fast track up the baseball coaching ladder, McCullough couldn't wait to get back to his roots this week.

“Six or seven years ago, I couldn't wait to get away,” McCullough said. “Now, I can't wait to come home. Even before I was (at Rose), I'd go watch the football games and baseball games and I always looked forward to one day getting a chance to be a part of it.”

Did you spot it? the rookie league Lansing (Mich.) Lugnuts.

Catching up with...

the Lansing Lugnuts.

June 30:
Lugnuts' Jaspe rediscovering focus on field

Jonathan Jaspe is working to return to early-season form for the Lansing Lugnuts after recently serving a 50-game suspension after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

Jaspe, a 23-year-old catcher in his second season with the Lugnuts, was suspended April 25 by Major League Baseball, which stated in a release that Jaspe tested positive for nandrolone metabolites, a form of steroids. He was reinstated June 19.

When asked about the situation Thursday, Jaspe said, "I allegedly did that, right now."

July 5: Silver Hawks blank Lugnuts

July 7: Five-run first helps Lugs stop skid

July 8: Tolisano's big night paces Lugnuts victory

Other Teams' Rosters

I'm watching the Badger hockey game while putting off writing a few of the articles that are due tomorrow. But -- since it's the second intermission -- a few items popped into the inbox that call for at least a post.

The Beloit Snappers, Lansing Lugnuts, and Quad Cities River Bandits have released their Opening Day rosters.

From the Snapper website:

The Beloit Snappers first official active roster has some familiar faces on it from last season’s Midwest League Western Division Championship team. Eleven players from the 2007 squad have been assigned by the Minnesota Twins to return to the Snappers for the start of the ’08 season. Beloit will also sport somewhat of a younger team, having twelve players from the 2007 draft.

Highly touted prospects Chris Parmelee (2006 1st rounder) and Joe Benson (2006 2nd rounder) will return to roam the outfield for the Snappers. Last season Parmelee led Beloit with 15 home runs and 70 RBIs while sporting a .414 slugging percentage. Benson, Baseball America’s #2 rated prospect in the Twins’ organization, was the team leader last year in hits (110), runs (73), walks (49), stolen bases (18) and triples (8).

The entire roster appears to be here. Yes, Jair Fernandez (WI, '07) is listed as one of the catchers for Beloit. The Rattlers are in Beloit April 18-20 and the Snappers visit Appleton April 25-27.

From the Lugnut website:

Kevin Ahrens, the Blue Jays top pick in the 2007 draft, will make his full-season debut with the Lugnuts. Ahrens, 18, was drafted 16th overall out of Memorial High School in Houston, Texas. The switch hitting third sacker made his professional debut last season in the rookie level Gulf Coast League and is the second consecutive top pick of the Blue Jays to start in Lansing.

Joining Ahrens will be fellow first rounders Justin Jackson and Trystan Magnuson, along with the second round selection John Tolisano.

The Lugnuts also have nine players who have suited up with the Lugnuts in the past. The entire Lansing roster is available in PDF form. The Lugnut roster may look a bit different when they come to Time Warner Cable Field at Fox Cities Stadium July 29-31.

From the River Bandits website:

The initial River Bandits roster is loaded with young talent and high-ceiling prospects, headed by the Cardinals' first-round pick in the 2007 draft, 19-year-old shortstop Pete Kozma. The Oklahoma native hit .491 during his high school career, registering a school-record .553 average as a Junior and leading Owasso High School to a state championship as a Senior. In his final season he was also named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Oklahoma, while receiving national honors as the Rawlings High School Gold Glove shortstop and a second-team Louisville Slugger High School All-American on his way to becoming the 18th overall pick in the draft and the No. 7 prospect in the Cardinals organization according to Baseball America.

Kozma is one of five teenagers on the River Bandits roster. Fellow 19-year-old Beau Riportella, a 10th-round pick in last year's draft, was one of the true stars for the Cardinals' short-season affiliate in Johnson City. He hit .315 with 10 stolen bases during his 48-game professional debut with the Johnson City Cardinals last season. The River Bandits will also have a pair of 18-year-olds on the roster in third baseman Domnit Bolivar, who split the 2007 season between Johnson City and Batavia, and catcher Luis De La Cruz, who hit .281 in the Gulf Coast League last year.

Great news, everyone! The tandem starter system is back in Davenport!

Utilizing the tandem starter system for the second consecutive season, there will be a number of power arms in the Quad Cities rotation. Fifth-round pick Thomas Eager is the most high profile of the bunch, drawing comparisons by Baseball America to former Cincinnati Reds' closer and member of the "Nasty Boys," Rob Dibble.

The starting rotation will include a pair of returning players in 20-year-olds Blake King and Shaun Garceau. King, the great-nephew of Mickey Mantle, is considered by Baseball America to be the No. 26 prospect in the Cardinals organization. He is a flame-throwing right-hander who enters this season with 201 strikeouts over 173 professional innings. Garceau, who spent the entire season in the Midwest League in 2007, showed flashes of brilliance in striking out nearly a batter per inning, including a spectacular win on June 2 in which he struck out nine over four innings against Wisconsin.

The entire roster is here. The Rattlers open the season against the Bandits at Modern Woodmen Park this Thursday.