World Cup of Baseball: Video of Australia's win over Italy

The main highlight is at the end and that swing looks so familiar. But, check out the stadium. It's pretty sweet.

Chris Snelling ('00), who had that game winning hit, briefly flashes through the shot at the end. He looks almost the same as he did nine years ago when he wrapped up his season with the Rattlers.

Rattler Alumni Report: AAA and AA games of June 10, 2009

There were no games in the International League, the Pacific Coast League, and the Southern League yesterday. So, no updates there.

"But, wait!" You say..."What about Chris Snelling playing for Monterrey in the Mexican League? Surely they played."

Well, yes. They did play. But for the second game in a row, Snelling was not in the Sultans lineup.

I looked for answers about the member of the 2000 Timber Rattlers. Where could he be? Was he hurt again? Did he get released despite hitting very well south of the border? No to those last two questions. He is in Indiana!

Also today, the Pirates acquired veteran outfielder Chris Snelling from the San Diego Padres for future considerations and assigned him to Indianapolis.

Just a small, little entry, but the Aussie is back in the states and is now with the Pirates organization.

A headline so obvious....

...you will think Mehring wrote it.

Health the key to Snelling's success

The old axiom about hitters, that they can fall out of bed and hit, might well apply to [Chris] Snelling, who on Saturday signed a Minor League deal with the Padres. But Colborn insisted there's a twist with Snelling, albeit a cruel one.

"He might fall out of bed, but he might break something, too. He might hit on the way down, though," Colborn said.

Colborn is kidding of course. However, the fact that Snelling's promising career has been derailed by a series of unfortunate injuries is no laughing matter to Snelling himself, though he's not exactly reticent about his past either.

"It has always been a matter of me staying healthy," Snelling said. "It's pretty simple."

Read the whole thing and maybe you'll see why I'm pulling for this member of the 2000 Rattlers to make it.

Balentien is back and so is Snelling

Balentien reports to camp

As the Wladimir Balentien saga dragged on for two weeks, Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu joked that the outfielder was slowly swimming toward spring training from his native Curacao.

Balentien at last reached shore Saturday night and reported for workouts Sunday. Visa problems, apparently stemming from pages having been torn from Balentien's passport, caused the delay.

Balentien got as far as Venezuela, where officials rejected his passport. The ensuing red tape caused him to miss nearly two weeks of camp.

It was a terrible time for the 24-year-old to be absent, with a new coaching staff and plenty of competition in the outfield.

"I was nervous because I know the situation I'm in right now," he said. "I should have been in camp before anyone, and with the visa problem I was frustrated. But I'm over it now, and I'm in camp, and I've got to work harder to make up for the time I lost."

Later, in a different note at the same link:

Ryan Rowland-Smith's roommate, former Mariner Chris Snelling, is back in town, at least for a few days. Snelling, a free agent, is part of the Australian team for the World Baseball Classic, and the Aussies are training in Peoria.

"It's been great seeing them," said Rowland-Smith, who turned down a spot on his native country's team in order to stay and compete for a job in the Seattle rotation. "It doesn't make it harder, or make me regret my decision, though. It might be tough watching the (WBC) games on TV and stuff like that, but it'll be over soon."

The Mariners and the Australians will play an exhibition game Wednesday night.

"I was talking to some of the guys, and they said I should walk out there in a Mariners uniform and just rip it off and have the Australian one underneath," Rowland-Smith said.

To rip off a joke from USS Mariner...My God! That's Australia's Music!

Missed him

I knew this would happen. But, I missed an ex-Rattler on a World Baseball Classic roster.

Chris Snelling ('00) is playing for Australia.

Saw this on USS Mariner...

The Cult of Doyle continues...

Many people noted yesterday that the Phillies DFA’d Chris Snelling’s when they brought Jayson Werth off the DL. Which is Greg-Norton-style ungrateful, given that he’d been hitting like crazy. In, uh, his 4 at-bats.

Snelling’s 27 now, his career delayed and savaged by injuries, and in the last year he’s been signed, traded, traded, optioned, claimed, released and probably folded, spindled, and mutilated flying from team to team. Not surprisingly, I have a couple of arguments for why the M’s should put in their bid.

Count me as one of the Kool-Aid drinkers on this one.

How some ex-Rattlers did

In the game at Dodger Stadium, David Ortiz ('96) was 0-for-3 in an 8-0 Boston loss.

Justin Leone ('00) went 1-for-2 for the San Francisco Giants in a 7-2 loss to Oakland.

Lehigh Valley drew 10,188 to Coca-Cola Stadium for an exhibition against the Philadelphia Phillies and a couple of ex-Rattlers played for the new Triple-A affiliate of the Phillies. Chris Snelling ('00) was 2-for-3 with a walk for the Iron Pigs. TJ Bohn ('03) was 1-for-3 with a walk. Greg Dobbs ('02) was 0-for-2 for the Phillies. Phillies won 5-3 and Geoff Jenkins hit a home run. Sounds like a good day for the new stadium. No, make that a great day.

Ron Chiavacci peered in from the mound as Jimmy Rollins dug into the first-base side of the batter's box. A few seconds later, Chiavacci slipped a fastball past the reigning National League MVP for a called strike.

At 2:14 p.m., under sunny but crisp skies, the moment that many believed would never come finally came.

Allentown and the Lehigh Valley were back in minor league baseball.

Coca-Cola Park opened in grand style Sunday afternoon when a sellout crowd of 10,188 jammed every corner of the new park to watch the Phillies beat the IronPigs, 5-3, in an exhibition game.

''I think some guys don't realize how big a thing this was around here,'' Chiavacci, the IronPigs' starter, said of the return of affiliated baseball to the Lehigh Valley for the first time in nearly five decades. ''I live in Scranton, so I know how big baseball is around here.''

Oh, and speaking of Snelling

The last 48 hours have been tough on both Chris Snelling and Mike Spidale.

Until Friday Snelling had hopes of making the Phillies roster -- if the team found a taker for Wes Helms, Snelling would likely remain and get a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Spidale broke minor league camp as a member of the IronPigs, seemingly having accomplished his goal of earning a spot on the Triple-A roster.

But when the Phillies host the Nationals today, Helms will be in a Phillies uniform, which means when the IronPigs open the International League season Thursday at Scranton, Snelling will be in a Lehigh Valley uniform.

Snelling was asked one of the obvious questions he gets. His answer:

"'I don't want to think about that,'' Snelling answered when asked whether his health is the only thing that's kept him from being a consistent major league player. ''That's a what-if, and who's to say if I stayed healthy anything could happen. That's just how it is. All I'm looking for is to have some fun.''

Fun in Pennsylvania. Sounds good to me. So does taking a look at some of the other stories on yesterday's Iron Pig game.

Whatever happened to....

Chris Snelling?

Snelling ('00) is still one of my all-time favorite Timber Rattlers. He's bounced around quite a bit since leaving the Mariners. He may still do a bit of bouncing. USS Mariner has a pointer to this story about the Aussie at phillyburbs.com.

The way it opens is typical Snelling:

Off the bat, the drive to left-center looked like extra bases, and no one could have blamed Phillies left fielder Chris Snelling for opting to play a carom off the wall and concede a double to Indians batter Ryan Garko.

After all, this was the ninth inning of a spring training game played on St. Patrick’s Day, an exhibition the Phillies were up two runs with nobody on base, and you’d think Snelling would be conservative in March baseball after enduring 13 surgeries in his 10-year career as a pro, eight on his left knee.

But playing it safe is never an option for Snelling, so he instinctively threw his body into harm’s way by racing back to the Bright House Field warning track and jumping and crashing into the wall.

His effort was worth it: Snelling made a great catch and escaped injury.

“The way I look at it is I’m nothing special,” Snelling said. “I don’t run fast or throw hard, and I don’t hit the ball far. I don’t do anything great. I’ve always played hard. That’s what has gotten me here, and I can’t tone it down.”

What is the main point of this article? Well, Snelling may have made the team or may be heading out to another team or may have made the team but will be heading out soon after the season starts. To the article!

The Phillies played their final spring game in Florida on Thursday, losing, 14-5, to the Detroit Tigers, then caught a flight to Philadelphia. Snelling was on the charter flight, but he had no idea where he’ll be Monday when the Phils open the regular season at home against Washington.

Snelling, who is out of options, was placed on waivers this week by the Phils. But until the waiver process plays out, Snelling remains a Phillie with a chance to be in Philadelphia for Monday’s game.

If Snelling clears waivers, which is likely, he could opt for free agency and sign with any team (unlikely), or remain in the Phillies’ organization and report to Triple-A Lehigh Valley (probable).

But if the Phils find a taker this weekend for third baseman Wes Helms, Snelling would be a good bet to be on their Opening Day roster.

If he survives, Snelling’s stay probably would be short because closer Brad Lidge is expected to come off the disabled list a week from Saturday, and the Phils, who will start the season with 11 pitchers, quickly want to get to 12.

Here is a good primer on all the organizations Snelling has called home...no matter how brief:

Snelling has been in five organizations since the 2006 offseason. Two trades sent him from Seattle to Washington to Oakland last year, then after playing 30 games in 2007 he was claimed off waivers by Tampa Bay in October and promptly dealt to Philly for cash considerations in November.

That story was from March 28. That is the date of the last transaction on the Phillies site. I don't see him on their 40-man roster, but I do see TJ Bohn ('03) on that roster. Developing.