Erik Lesniak, the Fisher Cats director of group sales, finally got some sleep last night, ending a Deadliest Catch-like run of 30-something hours without shuteye. Lesniak supervised Friday night’s Troop Night at the park, which brought out 1,200 campers. They pitched tents in the outfield, watched Shrek, ate Dunkin Donuts in the morning. Lesniak pulled an all-nighter and kept going while working Saturday’s game. I hadn’t seen anything like it since my buddy Mike Cousineau’s run at Las Vegas blackjack in 1999.
Press notes for today’s Fisher Cats doubleheader beginning at noon:
NH STARTER GAME 1: RHP ROBERT RAY: Makes his fourth start since
joining New Hampshire from Advanced-A Dunedin. He is the first Fisher Cats pitcher to win his first
three starts. Tuesday night, at New Britain, blanked the Rock Cats 6-0. The nine-inning complete game
shutout was just the fourth in franchise history. Selected by Blue Jays in 7th round of 2005 draft.
NH STARTER GAME 2: RHP JULIO PINTO: Makes his fourth start of the
season overall and his second with New Hampshire. Has made 18 appearances between Dunedin and
New Hampshire. Last start was with Dunedin on Tuesday when he worked five innings, allowed just
one run and earned the win. Won in his only Fisher Cats start of the season working five innings and
giving up two runs. Was signed by the Blue Jays as a minor league free agent in November 2006.
NEWS AND NOTES: In the Fisher Cats current five-game winning streak, the starter pitcher
has earned the win in each game. That is the first time that has happened in franchise history….
Travis Snider has been on-base (hit or walk) in 21 consecutive games, the longest such streak by a
Fisher Cats player in 2008. Scott Campbell had a 20 game streak.
The Red Sox agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Bryan Price, a junior out of Rice University for $849,000. Price was a supplemental first-rounder who was taken with the 45th overall selection in the 2008 draft. The pick was compensation for the departure of free-agent Eric Gagne. Price, who pitched primarily in relief for Rice University, is likely to begin his Red Sox career next week for Short-Season Single-A Lowell. The Sox plan to use him as a starter. The 21-year-old features a mid-90s fastball that he complements with a slider and changeup. As a junior for Rice this year, Price went 4-4 with a 3.72 ERA and 54 strikeouts in 48.1 innings.
– Alex Speier
“If I can make it there, Ill make it anywhere” –Frank Sinatra.
Fisher Cats second baseman Scott Campbell will play in the Major League All-Star Futures Game at Yankee Stadium on July 13. After learning the news, Campbell went out and had four hits against the New Britain Rock Cats last night. More info on the Futures Game can be found here.
Check out this catch by the ball girl during a Triple-A game between Tacoma and Fresno. You know Tree Thorpe in the Tacoma bullpen was impressed.
– LHP Brett Cecil (3-1) pitched five scoreless innings tonight and got the win against Connecticut in a 3-1 triumph. Here’s an interview with Cecil from a couple weeks ago. Watch at the end when Brian Jeroloman makes an appearance.
Former Fisher Cats hurler Kyle Yates, released by the Jays this season, is now pitching for the first-place Fort Worth Cats in the independent American Association. Fort Worth is the team for which No. 1 draft pick Luke Hochevar pitched after turning down a contract offer with the Dodgers.
Right-hander Kyle Yates, a three-year Fisher Cat, was released after his ERA ballooned to 7.82 this season. Manager Gary Cathcart called Yates into his office at New Britain.
“I was told the organization made a call, and they were going in a different direction,” Yates said. “It’s hard. In some situations, you might see it coming. I didn’t see it coming.”
Toronto drafted Yates, of the University of Texas, in the 13th round of 2004. The curveballer established himself as a big-league prospect by winning 15 games for New Hampshire, and he led the Arizona Fall League in strikeouts in 2006.
But Yates this season lost velocity and eventually his job.
“A part of your life is over, at least this chapter. That’s tough,” Yates said while packing for Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. “The hardest thing is leaving your friends, leaving those guys you’ve been playing with for five years. For me, it’s not a dream ender, it’s more like a bump in the road. I’ll try to find a team that will give me an opportunity.”
Portland Sea Dogs starter Kyle Jackson and … 
Greg “The Hammer” Valentine from Sunday’s Fisher Cats game.
Dave Letizi photos
– The Fisher Cats own a 3-1 record in the J.P. Arencibia era. The first-round draft pick belted a three-run homer in Friday’s 6-1 win over Portland.
– The Double-A season is more than half over. (Assuming NH doesn’t make the playoffs … that’s sarcasm, BTW). Wow, it’s gone fast.
– The Blue Jays cleaned house on Friday, firing manager John Gibbons and three coaches. What happened next? They went on to lose, 1-0, in 12 innings against the Pirates. Now whose fault is it?
– Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi has a contract through 2010. Or he’d be gone, too.
– Ex-Fisher Cats manager Bill Masse should be in the big leagues instead of Double-A San Antonio.
– Fisher Cats pitching coach Dave LaRoche has a son playing for the Pirates. Adam, a first baseman, earns $5 million per year. Andy LaRoche, the younger brother, is a rookie third baseman with the Dodgers.
– OF Josh Kreuzer, last year’s Florida State League MVP, never homered and was released by the Jays.
– Kiwi power: Scott Campbell of New Zealand still leads the Eastern League with a .348 average.
As a supplement to Thursday’s feature story on Toronto’s catching prospects, here is an interview with Brian Jeroloman. Prediction: two years from now, the Blue Jays catchers will be Jeroloman and J.P. Arencibia.
By now, you know all about the plight of Los Angeles native Ricky Romero, who was pulling for the Lakers. Well, Wednesday night this picture of the Fisher Cats southpaw was shown on the video board. Ricky, who has been a great sport, actually wore this shirt during batting practice today:
The updated prank video can be found here.
In other news:
– Travis Snider extended his hitting streak to 11 games tonight against Connecticut. That’s the longest streak of the season for NH hitters. The Defenders won, 9-0.
– Scott Campbell’s on-base streak of 20 games came to an end. He was victimized in the sixth inning by home umpire Shaun Francis. Campbell fouled off a low pitch — a foul tip that could be heard in the press box — but the ump ruled a swing and a miss. Campbell went 0-for-4.
– Campbell signed a nice deal with Reebok that entitles the New Zealander to thousands worth of merchandise. He was sporting new cleats and gloves tonight.
– NH starter Scott Richmond has benefited from only one doubleplay ball all season.
– Connecticut starter Joey Martinez, who played with Manchester product Chris Lambert at Boston College, was sensational last night. The right-hander pitched seven shutout innings, allowing only a single to Snider and a double to Anthony Hatch.
