Fisher Cats outfielder Ryan Patterson looks awfully comfortable with the microphone for this interview with 3B Anthony Hatch. Hatch and Patterson batted fifth and sixth tonight against the Reading Phillies. This interview was aired during the pregame show on the Fisher Cats Radio Network. I get the feeling Patterson could do my job. Maybe we can trade places for a day.
– Reading won, 5-3, behind starter Carlos Carrasco, the Phillies’ No. 1 prospect.
– RHP Jamie Vermilyea looked so impressive in relief tonight that I wouldn’t be surprised if a promotion came any minute. He retired 13 batters in a row without so much as a baseball leaving the infield. His patented sinker was pretty ridiculous.
– Fisher Cats finish April with an 8-16 record.They own a winning record (3-1) when Marc Thaler or John Habib is covering them at home.
– Toronto farm director Dick Scott told me DH Travis Snider will be spending the whole year in New Hampshire. No chance of him getting sent down to Single-A despite a slow start. The 20-year-old is batting .125 with 18 strikeouts in 32 at-bats.
– Scott Campbell, the resident Kiwi, is riding an 0-for-9 but still leads the Eastern League with a .391 average.
– Former Fisher Cats in Texas: OF Dustin Majewski tripled and scored a run as the Frisco RoughRiders beat Bill Masse’s San Antonio Missions, 6-4, in 10 innings tonight. Just like old times? LHP Kurt Isenberg owns 7.31 ERA under his partner in crime, Masse.
Today the Fisher Cats welcome another player to the roster, lefty pitcher Brett Cecil, ranked as the No. 2 prospect in the Toronto organization. The Fisher Cats now have four of the Jays’ top 10 prospects: Travis Snider (ranked 1st by Baseball America), Cecil (2nd), Ricky Romero (5th), and Ryan Patterson (10th). Cecil played for the University of Maryland and was the 38th overall pick last year. Cecil will get the start Wednesday night against Reading.
– So you think the Fisher Cats game will get rained out tonight? Maybe not. They seem to always play at the Merch. Did you know? Last year, there was not a single rainout at home. Yes, despite all that rain in April and May, the Fisher Cats were not postponed because of rain. Asterisk: there was one postponement (snow) to begin the season … INF Marcos Cabral has been sent to Single-A Dunedin.
Gray Matter had a brush with greatness when Danielle Matteau, — aka The Diva — stopped by the Fisher Cats press box during Friday night’s game against Bowie. Typically, she stays isolated in her dressing room while preparing for “Full Count with the Fisher Cats,” a cable and YouTube program that has nearly reached the popularity of the Star Wars kid … You can imagine my surprise when The Diva sat down for a few questions. This is like going to a Dixie Chicks concert and having Natalie stop by for a chat. 
. Here’s Natalie:
Jacob Butler’s seventh-inning double knocked in two runs, and the Fisher Cats came back from a one-run deficit to defeat Bowie, 6-2, today.
– Here is how the Fisher Cats changed their luck: Ryan Patterson wore all-white batting gloves. Aaron Mathews made a new CD for batting practice and walk-off songs. I honestly overheard him saying something to Bob Lipman about how “Bubba Shot the Juke Box.” Manager Gary Cathcart started reading the blog.
– Danielle Matteau wasn’t at the game today. The front-office Diva was attending a bridal shower in Boston. So now the Fisher Cats are undefeated without The Diva in the hizzy. That means she’ll probably be working as parking lot attendant on Sunday.
– Marcos Cabral is riding an 0-for-21.
– Travis Snider is 3-for-21 with 12 strikeouts. He’ll be crushing the ball within a few weeks. This is just a painful adjustment period for the youngster.
– What goes on in the press box when the home team is trailing by eight runs? This. Tim Hough is a media relations assistant who flat-out gets it done.
– A look at the upcoming starters:
4/27 vs. Bowie RHP Jason Berken (1-2, 2.91) vs. RHP Brandon Magee (0-3, 7.08) 1:05 p.m.
4/28 Off Day.
4/29 vs. Reading LHP Fabio Castro (3-0, 2.25) vs. LHP Ricky Romero (1-2, 4.43) 6:35 p.m.
4/30 vs. Reading RHP Carlos Carrasco (1-2, 3.91) vs. LHP A. J. Wideman (0-3, 5.01) 6:35 p.m.
Turned on the video camera in attempt to capture Travis Snider’s first homer (wishful thinking) with the Fisher Cats, and this is what transpired. Bowie starter Bradley Bergesen struck out Snider for the second time, and the 5-foot-11, 240-pound slugger snapped a Louisville Slugger over his knee. Instant kindling. It looked like a pretty clean break of the bat.
– Bowie won, 8-1, as the Fisher Cats fell 10 games below .500.
– To give you an idea how difficult it is to break a bat in this manner, watch this video. It’s kind of long, but you get the idea.
– Snider is batting .166 through his first five games at Double-A. We all knew it was going to be a tough adjustment. That’s what makes this league so great. It separates the suspects from the prospects. But Snider is a big-time prospect, and he’ll be just fine.
– Fisher Cats win leader Scott Richmond (2-2) pitches Saturday afternoon against Bowie’s David Hernandez (1-1).
– New Hampshire is no longer undefeated on Friday (1-1). NH is now 0-13 when trailing after seven innings.
– Bet you didn’t know: tonight’s NH starter, A.J. Wideman, was acquired in a trade with the Nationals for former Fisher Cats outfielder Tyrell Godwin in 2005.
The Fisher Cats won a series at Portland and returned home energized and ready for baseball excellence, right? Not quite.
The Bowie Baysox won, 7-3, in a sleeper for Fisher Cats fans on Thursday night. Truth be told, fans were heading for the exits in the seventh inning.
NH starter pitcher Jean Machi was chased after three innings, and Fisher Cats pitchers walked nine batters on the night. The Fishers have played 19 games, and only Scott Richmond (2-2) and Ricky Romero (1-2) have wins among the starters this season.
Manager Gary Cathcart summed up the night: “We haven’t had a whole lot of things that have been very consistent, and it starts with starting pitching. That’s the key to the tempo of the game. It sets the tone … For us to get some consistency going as a team, it all starts with those guys.
“The whole game was ugly. We didn’t play a very good baseball game tonight. It starts with the pitchers. They didn’t command the zone. We had our opportunities in the middle of the game to get back into it — we had plenty of guys on base — and we didn’t have a good offensive approach for a couple at-bats. We couldn’t turn a routine double play on defense, and we got picked off second base down by four runs. So we didn’t play a very good game tonight.”
Today the Fisher Cats beat the Sea Dogs, 4-2, in the 100th game between the Northern Division rivals. Portland leads the all-time series, 54-46 … Portland starter Dustin Richardson was unable to locate his off-speed pitches in the first couple innings, and the Fisher Cats took advantage with a 3-0 lead … Here’s an interesting press note on Richardson, a 6-foot-4 lefty: he attended Texas Tech and was a finalist for ESPN’s reality show “Knight School” in which students competed for a spot on Bob Knight’s basket ball team.
– NH starter Ricky Romero went five innings to beat Portland for the first time in his career. In eight previous starts against the Sea Dogs, he owned an 0-5 record and 6.19 ERA. Romero stayed on the mound after getting struck by a broken bat in the first inning. 
– Ryan Patterson cooled off and went 0-for-5. Nearly 7,000 fans came out today. Here’s a look around the ballpark.
– Chris Gutierrez played shortstop and went 2-for-3 while giving the Fisher Cats some great at-bats.
– Travis Snider had a hit today and is easing himself into the Eastern League. Blog-licensed photographer Dave Letizi took these wicked awesome shots. 
Quite a lopsided game tonight at Hadlock Field in Portland. Sea Dogs win, 11-2, as Andrew Pinckney, Jeff Corsaletti and Bubba Bell all homer.
– Fisher Cats OF Ryan Patterson is 7-for-9 with five doubles in the series. He is now hitting. 313 after starting the year 0-for-Connecticut … The topic of oh-fers came up one day at the batting cage, and I told Patterson that Aaron Hill still managed to hit .270 after suffering through an 0-for-32 in 2004. Patterson replied, “I don’t want to bat .270.”
– New Hampshire still hasn’t won a series this season, a drought it can end Wednesday against Portland.
– Watched Travis Snider take batting practice today. Wow. It was most interesting watching the reaction of Snider’s new teammates. Some guys just had that big smile, like they were watching Tiger Woods at the driving range. Said Brian Jeroloman, “They’re not bombs. They’re line drives that become bombs.” Here’s a look at Snider’s prep profile on YouTube.
– Snider is a massive 5-foot-11, 245 pounds. Aaron Mathews is a rugged 5-foot-10, 205. I said to Mathews: “He makes you look small.” Mathews chuckled and said, “I know.”
– Portland has a new clubhouse this year, and a few changes have been made to improve the visiting clubhouse. For one, the visiting manager has his own office this season. In the past, the manager and two coaches were crammed into one small office.
– Toronto pitching coordinator Dane Johnson has made the trip to Portland, along with hitting coordinator Dwayne Murphy. If you’re wondering why Murphy’s name rings a bell, it’s because he played on the A’s with Rickey Henderson for many years. From his Wikipedia page: “Murphy was also known for his defensive flair playing center field, and was a fan favorite for the fact that the hat perched neatly on his afro blew off with nearly every fielding attempt.”
Outfielder Travis Snider, Toronto’s No. 1 prospect, has joined the Fisher Cats for the series at Portland beginning tonight. That is a name you’re going to be hearing a lot about. For now, you must know Snider is: 
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– 20 years old, the youngest Fisher Cat ever.
– built like a Mack truck and hits bombs.
– a No. 1 pick (14th overall) in 2006.
– facing a lot of pressure to make an impact in the Eastern League. And that’s not easy.
Stay tuned. Much more later on The Franchise.
If you think the Bruins and Canadiens have been entertaining, check this out! This is old-time hockey at its finest with Gerry Cheevers in net playing with teammates Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Ray Bourque and the whole gang.
Ian Clark, Matt McSorley, Chris Duffy and friends of the New Hampshire Union Leader came out for this bubble-hockey extravaganza. Duffy’s kid, Joe, knocked me out of pool play and a shot at the Frozen Four.
