The Boll Weevil notebook ...
As the old
ESPN saying goes, “You can’t stop Marlon Byrd, you just
hope to contain him.”
Yeah, right.
It’s obvious that no one can stop him or contain him as
the second half of the South Atlantic League season starts
heating up.
Big Byrd is
in the top five in eight of the SAL’s 10 offensive
categories. He leads in RBIs (67), runs scored (77) and
triples (8). He is second in extra base hits (45), two
behind teammate Nate Espy. He is third in slugging
percentage (.561) and hits (107). He is fourth in doubles
(21).
“He has
really been consistent,” praised manager Greg Legg. “Every
day, every night, he’s helping our ballclub.”
So how long
will it be before he is moved up to Clearwater?
“They’ve
got outfielders playing well there,” said Legg. “I’d
like to see him — and Philly would like to see him —
finish up here. He’ll get to play in the playoffs. Now, if
there’s an injury, he’ll go up. But right now, we like
what Marlon is doing.”
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ESPYAWARD:
Espy is also burning up the league. He leads the SAL in
homers (19), slugging percentage (.625), on-base percentage
(.447) and extra base hits (45). He is also second in
doubles (24) and fourth in average (.326).
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BYE-BYE
BATSON: Third baseman Tom Batson has moved up to Clearwater.
Uriel
Casillas, last year’s Boll Weevil third baseman, has gone
down with a broken wrist.
After three
games, Batson was 2-for-10 with a double.
n
ANDAJUAN,
ANDATWO... Taking Batson’s place is Juan Richardson, a
19-year old who is on stint No. 2 with the Weevils.
Richardson
started the season here but languished with a .207 batting
average and was sent down to extended spring training and
then Batavia in the short season New York/Penn League.
Some newfound
confidence is showing. Friday night, he had two hits in a
11-3 win over Greensboro.
n
NEWFACES:Two
new faces for the Weevils are Aaron Merhoff and Ryan
Brookman.
Merhoff is an
Oregon native who excelled in football, basketball and
baseball in high school. He was a two-time NAIA All-American
at Texas Lutheran before being drafted in the 21st round of
the 1999 draft.
Merhoff is a
converted outfielder. Legg has him stationed as a backup
first baseman.
“He works
his butt off, swings the bat well and runs the bases well,”Legg
said.
Brookman, a
right-hander, has two appearances under his belt, the last a
sparkling two-inning, two hit performance in Friday’s win.
Brookman had
been in extended spring training but when Brad Pautz went
down with a shoulder injury, the bullpen had just five
pitchers.
“We talked
with management and they agreed it would be better to have
six arms,” Legg said. “With just five, we wore them out.”
Brookman is a
from Tomah, Wisconsin, where he pitched, played football and
hockey.
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WHATEVERHAPPENEDTO:
Alex Rojas has been sent down to Batavia.
When the
season began, we received good reports about the speedy
infielder, who stole 39 bases last year for Legg in Batavia.
But he seldom
got into the lineup here, despite his reputation.
“In
Batavia, he was stealing bases like crazy,” Legg said. “But
he messed up a knee. Then he broke a thumb.”
During this
year’s spring training, he caught the chicken pox. By the
time he regained his baseball shape, the first half was
practically over.
“The best
thing for him,” said Legg, was to go to Batavia and play,”
said Legg.
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THEGREATCHASE:
No word yet on whether Philadelphia’s top draft choice,
Chase Utley of UCLA will make it to Fieldcrest Cannon
Stadium.
The second
baseman is still holding out for bigger bucks.
“We have no
roster spot open but if they want to send him here, we can
make that spot,” Legg said.
n
WHAT SLUMP?
How good are the Weevils?
They are
considered slumping by winning only 7 of their last 12
games.
Legg said the
best motivation was the presence of some Philly big-wheels.
Friday night, Ruben Amaro, Larry Rojas and Don Long were
observing
“At first,
it was just me, Jerry (Martin, the hitting coach) and Rod
(Nichols, the pitching coach),” said Legg. Then, here
comes the brass. They like to play when those people are
watching. It gives them a lift when someone else is
evaluating them. And those guys have liked what they’ve
seen.”
n
AROUNDTHESAL:
The league player of the month for June is Charleston
Riverdog pitcher Joe Magrane. He was 5-0 with an 0.72 ERA
during the month and is tied for the lead in wins with 9.
... Charleston (S.C.) is the hottest team in the second
half, winning 13 of its first 14 games and already leading
the Southern Division by 312 games. ... Delmarva leads the
SAL in attendance with an average of 3,869. ... Hickory’s
J.R. House leads the league in hitting (.343) and the
Crawdads lead in team hitting (.286). Piedmont is second at
.274. ... Piedmont has a big lead in ERA 3.04 to Charleston,
S.C.’s 3.64.
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BUGBITES: The
unsung hero for the Weevils may be Matt Bailie. He has
quietly put together a record of 4-0 with a 1.65 ERA. ...
Mark Outlaw, the lefty reliever, is 5-2, with an 0.87 ERA.
... Jorge Padilla has raised his average to .289 and is
third on the team in RBI’s with 43. ... Jay Sitzman is
hitting .310 and is fourth in the league in stolen bases
(39). ... Piedmont had over 10,000 fans in a two-day span
July 3-4. It is averaging 1,922. ... Diaper dandy Ryan
Madson entered Saturday’s start ranked among the pitching
leaders with a 2.75 ERA.
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THESCHEDULE:The
Weevils are home today (2:05 p.m.) and Monday night (7:05
p.m.) before hitting the road to Charleston (W.Va.) and
Savannah.They return home July 18 for a 4-game set with
Hagerstown. |
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