NOW THAT FISHER CATS owner Art Solomon is establishing another minor-league team in Bowling Green, Ky., we wonder where members of the Fisher Cats’ front office will land in the future. Here’s the forecast:
Rick Brenner, GM — Will control the baseball empire from the former Vandelay Industries suite at the Manchester park.
Jeff Tagliaferro, assistant GM — Still beaming from the 1989 Class I baseball championship played at Gill Stadium, the Oyster River graduate stays firmly planted in ManchVegas.
Karl Stone, corporate controller — Love of racing draws him to Churchill Downs when he’s not counting money in Bowling Green.
Daryl Jasper, executive VP — Remains with the Fisher Cats and volunteers as a key grip for WMUR-TV.
Mike Ramshaw, ticket sales — Stovetop stuffing. He’s staying.
Erik Lesniak, group sales — Energetic “E-4″ goes Bowling. (That’s his nickname stemming from an error in the 2006 Media Game.)
Sam Boudle, stadium operations — Let’s just say toilets don’t freeze in the Bluegrass State.
Danielle Matteau, marketing and P.R. — Say hello to the Kentucky Woman. “Just send me to the opposite place as Mike Murphy,” she said.
Mike Murphy, radio and ticket sales — Stays in town to call Chip Cannon’s 100th Fisher Cats homer.
Tim Restall, food and beverage — That’s not KFC. It’s Tim’s special chicken in Bowling Green.
Bob Lipman, radio — “Ladies and gentlemen, the Kentucky broadcaster of the year …”
Kelly Spain, office manager — Buys her own franchise in the Sally League.
Tim Hough, intern — Future Bowling Green GM.
GAMECAST on ESPN.com has never been so exciting. Let’s set the stage Tuesday night:
The Blue Jays and Yankees are locked in 1-1 contest in the seventh inning, and Jason Phillips has just bounced into a fielders’ choice, putting runners at the corners for Toronto. Two out.
Royce Clayton is batting for the Jays. Starter Andy Pettitte is on the mound, throwing a beauty. Suddenly …
The score changes. Toronto 2, New York 1. But how? There is no base hit or any play registering under Clayton’s at bat. Remember, I’m watching ESPN.com’s Gamecast on my computer.
And there it is! Flashing under “plays.” Aaron Hill stole home.
I imagine it happened like this: Pettitte is straddling the rubber, just before he pitches from the stretch position. The back of his jersey, No. 46, is facing Hill. Pettitte’s eyes wander into the upper deck as he takes a deep breathe and prepares to execute the next pitch … and Hill takes off!
“Here’s the throw. Here’s the play at the plate. Holy cow, I think he’s going to make it.” (Meatloaf’s line.) And Hill’s safe!
Can’t wait to watch the replay tonight.
– Chip Cannon provided a tip on ex-Fisher Cats second baseman Dominic Rich, who can be found here on YouTube squatting 700 pounds. Rich is now a bodybuilder.
– Lee “Game Over” Gronkiewicz vows to continue throwing his super-slow curveball, a new pitch he showed for the first time in game action Tuesday. The “Gronkball” is like the old eephus pitch except it spins like a curve. He threw it twice against the Reading Phillies and badly missed the strike zone. “I’m going to throw it at least once a week,” Gronkiewicz said.
– Tonight the New Hampshire Fisher Cats play at Binghamton, where they’ve been snake-bitten since July 6, 2005. The Fishers have lost 11 in a row at NYSEG Stadium.
– Good luck to the Nashua Pride, who launched their 10th season on Thursday night. Chris Hall, vice president of baseball operations, invited the media to take batting practice before the opener against North Shore. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the event, but I’ll take a raincheck.
THE BLUE JAYS were hoping for some depth to their rotation when signing Victor Zambrano to a one-year deal over the winter. Thursday he’ll pitch for the Fisher Cats in a one-stop rehab assignment. A 45-game winner in the majors, Zambrano underwent Tommy John surgery a year ago and hasn’t yet returned to the form Toronto had hoped.
He gave up four homers against the Red Sox on May 8 and dropped to 0-2 with a 10.97 ERA. Zambrano arrived during batting practice on Wednesday and said hello his new Double-A teammates.
“He’s got a really good breaking ball. His problem has always been his command. He’ll walk six or seven guys a game and find a way to get out of it. That’s been his M.O. ever since he came up, I think,” New Hampshire manager Bill Masse said.
Indeed, Zambrano has twice led the league in walks. In 2003, he threw the most wild pitches (15) in the American League as a member of the Devil Rays. The following season he was traded to the Mets in a head-scratching deal involving Scott Kazmir.
Zambrano, who has earned almost $12 million over the past five years, signed a free-agent deal with Toronto reported at $500,000.
“Guys want to see how he conducts himself because he’s where we want to be,” Fisher Cats catcher John Schneider said. “Plus, hopefully he’ll give us a good (clubhouse food) spread after the game.”
Is that expected from a major leaguer?
“It’s not expected, but it’s always appreciated,” Schneider said.
IN HONOR of former Fisher Cats manager Mike Basso, in town as Toronto’s roving minor league coordinator, we offer the following Basso-isms from his two years of managing in Manchester.
“Trust your approach” — Basso’s answer to the daily grind of baseball.
“I don’t have any thoughts about Portland. We’ll play them when they get here” — After asked several times about first-place Portland.
“At some point in time, you have to take responsibility for how you play. If you don’t play very well, you can’t expect to be around very long” — On the nature of demotions.
“I don’t have anything to do with any of that” — Asked if 17 runs runs over two days might carry over to the next day.
“It’s tough to stomach, but we are what we are” — After getting shutout against Binghamton in 2005.
“I know for a fact we’ve lost every game we’ve played this year that we have not scored” — After getting shutout for the 12th time in ‘05.
“I’m starting to worry about his career.” — Basso’s comment about a poor umpiring job.
Thanks to the archives at www.nhsportsradio.com for some of the sound bites.
LEE GRONKIEWICZ notched his 150th professional save on Saturday, sealing the Fisher Cats’ 9-7 win over Binghamton. That’s pretty impressive for a no-name out of South Carolina University who doesn’t throw all that hard. Gronk says he’s still enjoying the game and waiting for his opportunity to reach the big leagues. The 28-year-old doesn’t mince words, so you’ll want to check out Sunday’s On Baseball with some vintage “Game Over” quotes. Here are some extras that were left on the cutting room floor:
Gronk on his future in the game: “It’s between me and my fiancee. Right now, I’m enjoying it. I love baseball and love being here. There’s not one day I come to the field and say, ‘Ah, I have to go to the field again’. If you’re playing baseball for a living, it’s not that bad.”
Gronk on Jesse Litsch, a 22-year-old former Fisher Cat starting for Toronto on Sunday: “Everybody in this clubhouse is excited about what he’s doing, and we don’t want to see him back here.”
My favorite part of Sunday’s story on Gronkiewicz is when he talks about his on-going battle to advance in the game. “It seems like a never-ending fight. You’re just always going up hill, keep on battling. You do well, have success, and then people kick you,” he said. “I thought I did well in Triple-A (last year), and they told me in spring training I’m going back to Double-A. I can’t get real negative about it. I still have to go out there and pitch.”
In 2005, we asked Gronk if he liked his nickname — “Game Over” was born in a New Hampshire Union Leader game story — and he said, “You guys can call me whatever you want. Just as long as the other team doesn’t think I made it up.”
Each time Gronk is summoned from the bullpen, the Fisher Cats should flash “Game Over!” on the scoreboard and play “Game Over” by Destiny’s Child. Oh, that would be cool.
DENNIS “OIL CAN” BOYD’S Traveling All-Stars will play at Nashua’s Holman Stadium on Thursday night with a mission to reach out to African-American kids and get them interested in baseball. The sport has seen a sharp decline in participation of black players from the majors all the way to Little League. More on this issue in Thursday’s New Hampshire Union Leader … This space is reserved for more Oil Can quotes after talking with him today.
On passing the torch to younger players: “There’s always going to be a baseball player and a kid who loves to put on a baseball glove from now until the end of eternity.”
On his Traveling All-Stars, a team that is supposed to include Delino DeShields, Derek Bell, Marquis Grissom and Bill Lee: “Everyone keeps asking me who’s on the team. Hey, look, you don’t need nobody but Oil Can Boyd in the house! Come on, be for real. I can show up with a whole bunch of scrubs. As long as The Can is there …”
On the top baseball talent in the U.S.: “I still say today, the best players are not in the major leagues. There’s too many players out there to say who’s the best.”
On America’s pastime: “It’s not just America’s pastime. It’s coming to be the world’s pastime.”
NOTES from Jesse Litsch’s big-league debut Tuesday night at Toronto. He pitched 8.2 innings, allowing four hits and one run in a dazzling performance against Baltimore.
– Just last week, Litsch was on a nine-hour bus ride to Bowie with the Fisher Cats. Tonight he threw 99 pitches and came within one strike against Miggy Tejada for a complete game. Jays win, 2-1, as Jeremy Accardo gets the save.
– Litsch turned in the longest outing by a Toronto pitcher in his big-league debut. He received a standing ovation while exiting in the ninth and gave a curtain call to the crowd of 30,958 at Rogers Centre.
– Jesse’s father, Rick, made the trip to Toronto on his 57th birthday and was shown on TV with his own video camera.
– The announcer noted that home umpire Jim Joyce gave Litsch the game ball from his first strikeout. Litsch fanned Melvin Mora in the second inning.
– The Blue Jays made room for Litsch on the roster by designating infielder Jason Smith for assignment.
– How long will Litsch stay with the Toronto? “It may be one or two starts, and he comes back. You hope he pitches well enough to stay there, but I’m not really sure what the plan is. I don’t think they need a fifth starter for the next two starts after this,” Toronto farm director Dick Scott said.
– NH manager Bill Masse has sent one other player from Double-A straight to the big leagues in his managing career. Left-hander Sean Henn, who pitched for Masse’s Trenton Thunder in 2005, leap-frogged Columbus and joined the Yankees that year.
– Masse’s words of wisdom to Litsch: “Throw strikes, change speeds and let your stuff get guys out just like you’ve been doing here. Don’t do anything differently than what you’ve done here.”
– Let’s do some math. If Litsch is now on a pay scale to earn the major-league minimum of $385,000, he’ll make about $7,400 every week he stays with the Jays. In Double-A, players earn about $400 per week.
– Scott on David Purcey’s chances of getting called up: “Purcey’s time will come. He’s made a lot of progress this year compared to last, and we don’t want to break up that momentum. We want him to keep getting better and better, and he’ll get his chance at some point.”
ITEMS OF INTEREST while waiting for Chad Paronto to pitch at Fenway Park this weekend. Who’s Paronto? He’s the 6-foot-5, 250-pound reliever for the Braves who grew up swatting black flies and homers in North Haverhill.
– Holy mackerel! Jesse Litsch is completely skipping Triple-A and starting for Toronto Tuesday night against the Orioles. He’s been red-hot lately, throwing seven hitless innings against Bowie in his most recent start. Still, the news comes as a surprise considering Litsch, 22, was the youngest member of the Fisher Cats. He finished last season pitching in the Florida State League (Class A) playoffs … He leaves the Fisher Cats leading the Eastern League with an 0.96 ERA.
– Fisher Cat alum Casey Janssen (1-0) picked up a relief win on Monday for the Blue Jays. I always remember his first game with the Fisher Cats in 2005 because he pitched a gem against Portland and Chip Cannon homered in his first NH at-bat that day.
– Ex-Fisher Shaun Marcum made a spot start and pitched six innings without allowing a hit against the Devil Rays on Sunday.
– This just in: Litsch, who grew up near Tampa, served as a bat boy for the Devil Rays. So this marks a return trip to the majors for the redhaired right-hander.
– Aaron Hill’s average has dipped to .279 with the Jays, but he still leads the team with 22 RBI.
– This just in, Part II: Paronto has his own Wikipedia page while fellow North Haverhill product Frank Stoddard, formerly a big-name crew chief in Winston Cup racing, does not. Someone get Stoddard his own Wikipedia page. He helped Jeff Burton win some big races before getting fired from Burton’s team.
– Andy LaRoche, son of Fisher Cats pitching coach Dave LaRoche, recently made his big-league debut with the Dodgers and is off to a nice start. The third baseman is batting .333 (6-for-18) in seven games. Dave’s older son, Adam, is batting .168 with three homers for the Pirates.
DEDICATING Saturday’s blog to my great aunt, Phyllis Clement, who recently died at age 78. She played a key role in my journalism career by printing Wiffle Ball reports in her weekly column in the little Record Citizen newspaper in Plymouth, N.H. I wrote game stories from the “Bridgewater Wiffle Ball League” and got hooked on the newspaper business as a young teenager.
One day, she told me, “Your story is going in the Sports section, and they’re paying you $5.” What a thrill! For the record, Jeff Beckley and I were undefeated that summer, and the game stories were a blast to write.
I’d pen things like, “Stan Adams hit a homer into the strawberry patch at Nanny Memorial Stadium” and “Beckley hit one off the light on Bumpa’s garage.” Good times and great iced tea.
Aunt Phyllis was the fifth generation to settle at the Clement Homestead in Bridgewater, which our ancestors established in 1807. A memorial service will be held today in Bridgewater. Thanks for my first byline. Rest in peace.
