Midwest League Action: Games of May 19, 2010

Complete scoreboard

WEST:
Peoria 11 @Wisconsin 7: Away.

@Cedar Rapids 4, Quad Cities 3: Piggyback.

@Burlington 4, Clinton 1: Stuns.

@Beloit 4, Kane County 2: Swipe.

EAST:
Lansing 9 @Dayton 3: Knock.

@Whitecaps 3, Lake County 1: Rockett's.

@Great Lakes 9, Bowling Green 1: Crush.

Fort Wayne 3 @South Bend 1: Find.

Another Seattle Trade?

From Baker...

The reshaping of the Mariners continues today as first baseman Casey Kotchman arrives in town for a physical ahead of a trade here from the Boston Red Sox.

In return for Kotchman, 26, a former first-round pick, the Mariners will send the Red Sox utility player Bill Hall, plus a low-tier minor-leaguer and cash. Kotchman is a former 13th overall draft pick of the Los Angeles Angels, but will join his fourth team in less than three years after delivering underwhelming offensive results the past two seasons.

In just skimming the story, I did not see the "low-tier minor-leaguer" mentioned. If it is a former Rattler, Rattler Radio will update the story.

Kotchman played for the Cedar Rapids Kernels back in 2002. Hall was a Beloit Snapper in 2000.

Worth checking out

MiLB.com is doing a series of articles called Path to the Pros. The latest is Lance Berkman, but others have included Midwest League Alumni: Clayton Kershaw, Lyle Overbay, and John Lackey. However, the focus on Overbay and Lackey seems to be more on their time in the Pioneer League. Kershaw profile has a lot to do with his legendary status in Texas High School baseball and his current time with the LA Dodgers.

But, there is a lot of Midwest League-centric coverage of a certain Peoria Chief alum.

But in the summer of 2000, [Albert] Pujols was just a 20-year-old player in Class A with big league dreams and a dwindling bank account, the latter of which he was not happy about.

Former Peoria manager Tom Lawless still laughs at the memory of an outraged young Pujols, who was fined $50 for not hustling down the first base line. It was a policy Lawless had explained to the Chiefs in a pregame meeting that night, and one that was strictly enforced after Pujols hit a one-hopper back to the pitcher in his first at-bat.

"He wasn't happy," Lawless recalled. "He said 'What do you mean?, I said, 'We play the game hard. I expect you to run down the line."

Lawless never had to discipline the budding superstar again. During his three month-stint with Peoria, Pujols was always the first one on the field to hit. A 13th-round draft pick despite putting up monster numbers at Maple Woods Community College, Pujols never missed an opportunity to learn about the intricacies of baseball. Whether he was taking infield grounders or working on secondary leads, Pujols used the same tenacity he took to the plate to improve all facets of his game.

Nice series. Can't wait to see if there are any ex-Rattlers or ex-Foxes who will be featured.

What is it with ex-Peoria Managers?

Last year it was Joe Maddon with Tampa into the playoffs. This year it's Jim Tracy and the Colorado Rockies.

Tracy, according to MWLGuide.com, was the manager of the Chiefs in 1987 and 1988.

Do the Rockies return to the series?

Well, they do have ex-Wisconsin Rapids Manager Charlie Manuel and the Phillies standing in the way.

And if they get there, maybe Ron Gardenhire (Kenosha, '88), Jim Leyland (Clinton, '72, '73, '75), or Terry Francona (South Bend, '92) will be there to welcome him to the Fall Classic.

Frisco, kids!

Some familiar faces in the Ranger organization are going to be on the staff of the Frisco RoughRiders.

First the guy with Rattler ties, but with next to nothing about him in the article.

Chris Gorosics, who was the Timber Rattler trainer in 2000 and 2001, will be the athletic trainer for the Texas League Affiliate of the Rangers in 2009.

Next, a bit on the manager for Frisco. Hint: He's been in Clinton for the last couple of seasons.

Micucci, 36, becomes the fifth full-time manager of the RoughRiders organization, which also marks his first managerial job at the Double-A level or higher. For the past three seasons, Micucci has managed in the Texas Rangers' farm system, including the past two seasons with the Clinton LumberKings of the Midwest League. Before coming to the Rangers' minor league system, Micucci was a hitting coach for six seasons within the Cubs' farm system. Micucci was drafted in the 51st round by the Chicago Cubs in 1994 out of Montclair (NJ) State and spent six seasons playing professionally in the Cubs' organization.

He was a hitting coach in Lansing, when they were a Cub affiliate -- from 2001 through 2004.

Back in the game

The State College Spikes, New York-Penn League affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, have a new manager and he has been out of the game for awhile.

Gary Robinson is a baseball man to the core. He’s been a player, a coach, a scout and even an umpire.

But as a high school administrator in North Carolina the last decade, his run-ins with the game were too few and far between.

That’s why the 56-year-old baseball lifer is returning to baseball as manager of the State College Spikes, the parent club Pittsburgh Pirates announced on Friday.

“Believe me when I tell you — and I’m not being facetious — that there’s not a happier guy on the face of the earth right now,” Robinson said by phone Friday. “I am so excited about being in State College. I can’t think of a place I’d rather be or an organization I would rather be with, knowing where we’re going. I feel very strongly that we’re going in the right direction.”

Robinson’s last on-field position in professional baseball came in 1998, when he served as pitching coach for the rookie- level Gulf Coast League Expos under manager Frank Kremblas, who will be the Pirates’ Triple-A manager at Indianapolis in 2009. From 1991-97, Robinson worked as a scout for the San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies.

That umpire thing is what caught my eye.

Robinson has been a college assistant at Appalachian State (1975-77) and Tennessee (1978-79) and later served as the head coach at North Carolina- Charlotte, where he compiled a 280-244-3 record from 1982-1991. Prior to that, he was a minor league umpire for three years in the Midwest and Southern leagues.

His pitching coach will be someone else with some Midwest League experience.

[Michael] Steele, 30, was the pitching coach for the Pirates’ Advanced-A team in Lynchburg last season and pitched for the Seattle Mariners and Detroit Tigers organizations from 2000-2005.

Steele played for West Michigan in 2001. He was not a Rattler as he pitched for Inland Empire and the AZL M's in the Mariner system.

The hitting coach for the Spikes also has Midwest League ties.

[Brandon] Moore, 35, served as hitting coach for the Altoona Curve for the last three seasons (2006-08), in addition to spending 11 seasons in the Chicago White Sox chain as a player and coach.

Moore's one year in the Midwest League was with South Bend in 1995.

Joe Maddon and the MWL

Joe Maddon is the manager of the American League Champion Tampa Bay Rays. He is also the subject of a few stories that reveal his Midwest League ties:

Peoria's Pete Vonachen, Rays' Joe Maddon share a bond

He came up to the Peoria Chiefs' owner one morning in 1984 and introduced himself.

He said, "Hi, I'm Joe Maddon and I'm your manager. I just want you to know that I've never managed a team before."

The owner shook his hand.

He said, "Hi, I'm Pete Vonachen and I've never owned a team before."

...

"Everybody in Peoria was afraid the team was going to leave town, so they convinced me to buy it," Vonachen recalled. "I think they got a bunch of drinks in me."

He inherited Maddon as manager.

At the time, Peoria was a part of the Angels' organization. Maddon had knocked around a while, playing minor-league ball in the Quad Cities and failing to make it past Class A ball as a catcher.

The '83 team in the Class A Midwest League had been known as the Peoria Suns, having moved there from Danville. The first thing Vonachen did was restore the Chiefs name from a previous Peoria incarnation of the team.

His next act was to notify the Angels that their affiliation would cease at the end of '84. Having been a Peoria businessman for a long time, Vonachen—which is pronounced "von-OCK-en"—felt it was a priority to join forces with the Cubs or Cardinals instead.

Pete is recovering from surgery to amputate his left leg, but he is still in pretty good spirits.

Rays manager Maddon left impact on QC

Joe Maddon’s professional baseball career began at Davenport’s John O’Donnell Stadium.

It was there that the manager who is preparing his Tampa Bay Rays for the World Series saw his first action as a minor-league player, working as a catcher for the Quad-City Angels in 1976.

“There were probably players with more pure talent on that team, but his leadership allowed him to stand out,” said Harry Pells, the general manager of the Midwest League club from 1976 to ’78.

“Thirty years have passed, and I don’t remember his average, but I do remember him quite well. That’s the kind of impact he had. And no question, he had the respect of his teammates.”

The Angels finished as the runner-up to Waterloo in the 1976 Midwest League playoffs and 10 players from that team reached the big leagues — most notably infielders Carney Lansford and Dickie Thon — but Maddon wasn’t among them.

But that doesn't matter to fans who remember him.

Longtime fan Frank Wulf remembers he and his wife Dorothy having postgame meals and good conversations with Maddon.

“He was a good catcher, and an even better person. He was a good man to be around and consider a friend,” Wulf said.

Maddon remained with the Angels after his playing career ended, working first as a manager and later as the organization’s minor-league hitting instructor and field coordinator.

He managed the Midwest League’s Peoria Chiefs in 1984, and then returned to the Quad-Cities many times as an instructor when the Angels were affiliated with Quad-Cities from 1985 to ’92.

Wulf recalls traveling to Peoria to watch Maddon manage, and he received a telephone message from Maddon earlier this year after his wife’s death.

“That’s the sort of guy Joe is, very thoughtful, very kind,” Wulf said.

Ex-Rattler playoff action (10/13)

ALCS Game Three:
Rays 9 @ Red Sox 1

Box score

Ex-Rattler:
BOS: David Ortiz ('96): 0-for-4

Higlighted Midwest League Alum:
TB: Matt Garza (Beloit, '05). Garza was the winning pitcher for the Rays last night. In 2005, he went 3-3 in 10 starts for the Beloit Snappers. Garza made one start against the Timber Rattlers. On September 4 at Pohlman Field, Garza allowed two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts over six innings. The Rattlers scored a game in the top of the eighth inning for a 3-2 win.

NLCS Game Four:
Phillies 7 @Dodgers 5
Box score

Ex-Rattler:
PHI: Greg Dobbs ('02): 1-for-2

Highlighted Midwest League Alum:
PHI: Brad Lidge (Quad City, '98): Brad Lidge was a 1st round pick of the Houston Astros in 1998 out of Notre Dame. His first stop in pro ball was with Quad City. He made four appearances (all starts) and went 0-1. Lidge walked five and struck out six in 11 innings for the River Bandits.

Ex-Rattler playoff action (10/11)

@Rays 9, Red Sox 8 (11 innings)

Ex-Rattlers for the Red Sox:
David Ortiz ('96): 0-for-3, run, 3 BBs

Ex-Midwest Leaguers in the game:
BOS:

Jason Bay (Clinton, '01)

Mark Kotsay (Kane County, '96)

Coco Crisp (Peoria, '00)

Josh Beckett (Kane County, '00)

TB:
Fernando Perez (Southwest Michigan, '05)

Grant Balfour (Quad City, '99)

Highlighted Midwest League Alumni for Tampa Bay:
I got a serious case of deja vu when Fernando Perez scored the winning run for the Rays last night.

Here's why.

May 3, 2005. Timber Rattlers at Southwest Michigan Devil Rays. Wisconsin had a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the ninth.

Eric O'Flaherty walked the first two batters of the inning and a sacrifice bunt put the tying runs in scoring position. Tommy Nichols followed with an RBI single. Then, Fernando Perez pinch-ran for Nichols.

Craig Markel drove in the tying run and sent Perez to second. John Asanovich was next and his single knocked Perez across the plate with the game-winning run.

Bonus ALCS Fact:
Rays manger Joe Maddon both played and managed in the Midwest League.

He played for the Quad City Angels in 1976. That team lost in the MWL Championship Series.

Maddon managed the Peoria Chiefs in 1984. The final year the Angels were in Peoria.