Rainout...let's rest those arms....

a play two Saturday. Maday and Bumgarner start the two 7 inning games. Maybe time for the SF brass to fly a starter in....

BFTP 2004 hitters continued....

Fan fav Jake Wald played in 52 games for the Navigators in '04. He batted .210 (34 for 162) with two homers and 13 RBIs.



Francisco played in 28 games batting .314 (32 for 102). He hit a homer and had 13 RBIs. He made his MLBB debut in '03 with the Giants where he was 3 for 15--2 doubles and a solo homer.

Defs win 3-2 this afternoon and split with the BaySox...

and given the BS they went thru that's pretty good and they actually increase their division lead to 9 games.
Shane Kaufman, who started this week in Augusta, ends up winning both of CT's wins over the BaySox. Kaufman pitched the final two innings to earn the win as the Defs scored a run in the top of the 9th (thanks God the game didn't go extra innings)to make for a happy bus ride home.
EME, who hit a solo homer, his sixth of the season lead off the 9th and went to second on the third baseman's throwing error. Mike McBryde went in to run for him and the mov paid off as Brandon Crawford (2 for 3, double) singled Mike in for the game winner.
Jesse English started and went 5 IP. He was bailed out in the first as Crawford threw out a runner at home off a relay from outfielder Brad Boyer to keep the score at 1-1. Brett Pill had a RBI (#75) ground out to give CT a 1-0 early.

Misc fan notes: Back at Dodd Friday!

Defs add two to the bullpen...

Craig Whitaker from SJ. Craig has relieved in 26 games with a 1-1 record, 3.89 ERA 41.2 IP, 25 hits allowed. He appeared with the Defenders in one game late in '07 giving up 4 runs in one inning.
Mitch Lively comes to the CT pen from Augusta. A 4.58 ERA with no record in 13 games, all in relief with 17.2 IP. He started the season in SJ appearing in 16 games.

BFTP 2004 hitters continued....

A local guy from Springfield, MA., Doug had a big season in '04. Appearing in 140 games he had 537 ABs and hit .292 (157 hits). He racked up 23 doubles, 10 HRs 71 RBIs along with 33 SBs. He made his MLBB in '05 with the Giants and got his first MLBB hit the following year with the A's.
Note: I have most of the uniforms worn by the Norwich/CT franchise but not the "Patriotic" style sported by Doug. Never liked it.



D-Mac was in 110 games hitting .271 (118 for 436) with 23 doubles, 5 HRs and 55 RBIs. The second baseman was always coming up with big hits that season.

WHAT A JOKE.....

Tim Alderson is traded to Pittsburgh for Freddy Sanchez, GB (2-2) is moved up in the rotation and doesn't get out of the first inning and with the deleted pitching staff the Defenders have had 4 position players pitch in tonight's game, a 6-2 loss to the BaySox:

Bobby Felmy goes 2.1 IP and doesn't allow a run
Tyler LaTorre throws a inning and gives up one run
Mike Mooney throws a scoreless inning
Adam Witter throws an inning and gives up one run

I'm amazed the guys pitched so well--with some hitting we could of won this thing.

Is there help on the way SF brass???? What a nightmare....

Brock Bond goes 2 for 3 (what else is new) and is hitting .360. Sharlon Schoop hits his second homer of the year.

LY-2969

Ben Snyder update...Good News....

all tests negative, a knot on the head and most likely a black eye. This info comes from a very informed person.

Defs win 13-12 on EME's 2 run HR...

in the top of the 11th. Ramon Castro, infielder, throws the bottom of the 11th and gives up a run but gets the save for Shane Kaufman (1-0). Bumgarner had been tossesd for throwing at a batter, after he had given up a homer earlier in the inning. Over reaction by the ump? That lead to Ben Snyder getting into the game and being hit in the head by a line drive. Ben, according to the Defs website, walked off on his own which I take as a good sign. Keep puting out good thoughts for Ben please.
Defs need bullpen help ASAP.

Defs, BaySox in a wild one in MD...

tied at 9-9 after the Defs trailed 7-2 early went, ahead 9-7, only to have the BaySox tie it up with a run in the bottom of the 9th.
Madison Bumgarner was ejected by the home plate umpire in the second inning and Ben Snyder left the game with a head injury off a batted ball also in the second inning. Bumgarner had given up 3 runs in 1.2 IP on five hits.
Steve Calicutt came in after Snyder's injury in the second. His EL debut was rocky as he gave up 4 runs in 1.1 IP. Waldis Joaquin, Joe Paterson and Matt Yourkin followed Calicutt with Yourkin now on it the 10th.
This bullpen needs a rest and a long, long outing by Tim Alderson Wednesday.

CT's offense has 17 hits so far with 8 doubles but has two runners picked off which hasn't helped.
The Baby B's are having another productive day. Brock Bond is 3 for 5 with a RBI and Brad Boyer is 3 for 6 with a pair of doubles and a RBI. Brandon Crawford is 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles and Mike Mooney has two RBIs.
RockCats drop a doubleheader and Trenton loses.

UPDATE: It's 11-11 now as both teams scored in the 10th. Shane Kaufman, now pitching for CT, gave up a two run homer in the bottom of the 10th.

Misc fan notes: Everyone have good thoughts for Ben Snyder!!

BFTP...2004 hitters

Dan batted .252 (95-377, 106 games) in 2004. He had 23 doubles, 10 HRs and 48 RBI along with 18 SBs. Dan would make his MLBB debut in 2005 and played in parts of 4 seasons with the Giants. He is currently with the Rockies Triple A team.



One of my favs, Chris went .252 at the plate (71-299, 88 games) with 8 HRs and 40 RBIs. A last look, he was a college coach. Note the turn back the clock uniforms.

BaySox 6 Defs 0 in MD tonight....

with Geivy Garcia making a spot start out of the bullpen. Garica went 4 IP and didn't allow a hit but takes the loss anyway (that's hard to do). BaySox scored on 4 walks, a RBI ground out and a steal of home. Dan Griffin gives up 4 runs, 2 earned in his 3 IP. Shane Kaufman made his EL debut in the 8th throwing a scoreless inning and getting 2 Ks.
CT managed just 6 hits in the game off BaySox ace Brain Matusz. In his seven starts since his promotion he is a perfect 7-0 with a 1.59 ERA. In his 7 IP pitched he allowed just 4 hits.
Brock Bond was a perfect 3 for 3 with a EL leading BA of .354.

Misc fan notes: In 26 games with Augusta this season Kaufman, a righty, is 2-1 with one save. He has a 4.89 ERA in 35 IP; 33 hits, 16 BBs and 35Ks.
The other call up today from into the CT pen is lefty Steve Calicutt, who has appeared in two games with Salen-Kaizer and seven games with the Giants AZ league team this season.
Trenton also lost tonight and the RockCats were rained out in NH.

BFTP...2004 hitters...

Carlos hit .289 (110-381) with 20 doubles, 7 homers and 57 RBIs along with 20 SBs. He was the everyday CF. Carlos had a brief call up to the Giants in '03 going 1 for 7. I think he is a coach with the Giants someplace...not sure.



Bryan, an outfielder, played in 117 games hitting .224 (87 for 389) with 4 homers and 32 RBIs.



Angel is still playing today for the Red Sox's Triple A team in RI. The shortstop hit just .198 in 308 ABs with no homers and 21 RBIs in '04 for the Navs. He was called up to the Giants in '05 and went 5 for 19 with a RBI; his only MLBB stint.

Good Luck to Antoan Richardson and Brooks McNiven..

who were released late last week.
Antoan Richardson (aka... AR, Ant, Flash) and Brooks were both good guys but time and numbers simply caught up with them.
As readers see in the "Blasts from the Past" (BFTB) series running here they're not the first and they wouldn't be the last. I know AR had a big impact on at least one local family and those close connections in minor league ball that can happen between player and fan is something special and will be missed around here when the franchise moves.

The jerseys worn on June 19, 2007...

a 2-1 victory by Portland. The player is John Bowker. There's about ten of these left in the gift shop at Dodd. I picked up #15, I knew it was someone but couldn't remember who worn it. I looked it up the game pictures (I didn't take many that day) and even have a bad picture of the player wearing it--catcher Dayton Buller. And that turns turns out pretty well for me as I spoke to Dayton several times in his time at Dodd and he is a very nice young man. I also got to know his father as well.
They're not the fanciest uniform for sure--but a very affordable piece of franchise history to me.

Get out the broom! ...Defs win 10-6 over the RockCats.

at a hot, muggy Dodd Stadium this afternoon and sweep the three game series. CT jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the bottom of the first with a two run double by Mike Mooney (3 for 5) and Sharlon Schoop's bases cleaaring 3 run double (1 for 3, 3 RBIs) the big hits.
But the RockCats chipped away at CT starter Garrett Broshuis with two runs in the second and three in the fourth to close to 6-5. GB was lifted for Joe Paterson's (3-4, 2.18) earliest appearance in a game so far this season and Paterson settled things down throwing 3 IP and allowing just one run.
CT finally broke the game open in the bottom of the seventh on Brad Boyer's 3 run double to make it 10-6 Connecticut. Boyer, in left field again today, went 4 for 4 on the day. Brock Bond went 2 for 3 with three runs scored as the top of the lineup (Bond and Boyer) really produced.
Boyer in the outfield and Schoop playing third makes for an interesting dynamic especially with their bats heating up.
Dan Otero and Matt Yourkin finished up the game for CT. The Defenders are now in first place by 7.5 games over Trenton.

Misc fan notes: Always good to see the Norwich Bulletin's Joe Perez at the game.

Bargin at Cutter's Corner as the 2007 Juneteen jerseys are on sale for $5! A piece of team history for just $5 as they were worn jus once. All my uniform jerseys will make it out of the closet and will be worn by the end of the season as the games count down including the infamous techicolor "Dead Day" uniform for the '05 season (worn by Steve Holm). Pics from top to bottom: Ramon Castro plays first, Joe Paterson and GB

BFTP 2004 pitchers continues...

Luke was 7-2 in 35 games, all as a reliever. A 4.11 ERA he also had 2 saves.



Julio was also a reliever appearing in 17 games going 2-3 with a 4.70 ERA



Opening Day stater at Dodd in 2004, Josh was a hard luck guy, with a 4-10 record in 27 games, all but two starts. 136.1 IP with a 4.36 ERA. Later pitched in the indy leagues.

We'll start with '04 batters Monday to break things up and come back to the '04 pichers a later this week to.....

It's 0-0 after 11 innings at Dodd....

as I left totally frustrated after 10 innings over CT's inability to get one key hit to win the darn thing. The lack of situational hitting has become contagious since the All-Star break.
The RockCats starter Mike McCardell came into the game with a 24.75 ERA (OK, that's just one game, 4 IP and 11 earned runs) but the Defs make him look like an ace out there.
Daryl Maday and Ben Snyder matched zeros with McCardell and Anthony Slama and now Waldis Joaquin is now on for the Defs...

Misc fan notes: BIG crowd on hand (7200) for Military Appreciation Day! Took me almost 20 minutes in the car to get into Dodd. Game started a half hour late because of the on field stuff which was good given the traffic jam out front.
GB takes the hill Sunday.
Brad Boyer started his first game of the season in the outfield (in the post AR era) in left field and was tested in the first inning on a drive into the gap that he flagged down.

***UPDATE: DEFS WIN 1-0 in 13 innings. EME lead off with a single, went to third on Brandon Crawford's second double of the game and scored on NB's pitcher's fielding error. Ugly but we'll take it especially with Trenton losing tonight. Waldis Joaquin gets the win to improve to 4-5 on the season. Game took 3 hours 16 minutes.

BFTP 2004 pitchers continued....

Jeremy went 2-1 in '04 with a 5.40 ERA in 7 games. He made his MLBB debut in '05 with the Giants going 1-5 with a 3.94 ERA. Traded to the Blue Jays he saved 30 games in '07 and is still in the bigs today.



Jeff was a local guy born in Ledyard and went to UCONN. Injuries finished him and he only appeared in 4 games, all starts in '04. He was 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA.



A little used reliever, Jackson appeared in 15 games and was 0-1 with a 5.61 ERA.

A bitter Pill for the RockCats to swallow and..

somewhere Earl Weaver is smiling as the Defs use a three run homer off the bat of Brett Pill and score an insurance run late on a Brad Boyer (welcome back) triple and a NB error to win tonight 4-2.
Jese English (7-6) improves to 4-0 against the RockCats this season as he threw a solid six innigs. Matt Yourkin (1.88 REA) threw two scoreless innings before turning the game over to Joe Paterson and Dan Otero in the 9th. Otero gets the final two outs to record his 19th save.
CT got the three run homer in the first as Brock Bond (2 for 3) singled and Mike McBryde walked before Pill hit his team leading 12th homer and accounted for his EL leading 72 RBIs to left field.
RockCats starter Matt Fox settled down after Pill's homer to retire 14 in a row and recorded 9 Ks in his 6.1 IP.

Misc fan notes: Nice crowd on hand tonight--5081. An even bigger one is on tap for tomorrow's game for Military Appreciation Day.
Would have loved to see Yourkin pitch the 9th tonight.

Frank in an earlier post today is reporting that both AR and Brooks McNiven have been released. I didn't see AR in the dugout tonight...and I just checked the link Frank provided and indeed both have been released.

Pics are Boyer at third and Brandon Crawford (as Hondo points out...batting third tonight?) at short and Pill's homer.

BFTP 2004 pitchers continued....

Jack went 3-1 in 14 games with 10 of those games starts. He recored a 2.48 ERA in 58 IP. He made his MLBB with the Giants in 2005 going 2-0. He's now with the Phillies in Triple A after being sent down recently. You can catch him on "the Pen."



Chris went 9-1 in 16 games with a 2.30 ERA in 94 IP. How he didn't make it to the bigs remains a mystery.



Brian was 1-1 with a 2.08 REA in 7 games, 17 .1 IP. Another guy that coulda, shoulda made the bigs. He's wearing a "Dead Day" jersey.

Ugly, ugly, ugly....

as the Defs bullpen coughs up the game in the bottom of the 8th and the B-Mets score twice to win 6-5. CT loses 6 out of 8 on the road trip and Trenton picks up a game and is now 4.5 games back.
Tim Alderson, who must of gotten batting tips from Madison Bumgarner hit his first homer of the season and went 2 for 3 in the game. Brett Pill balsted two solo homers and now has 11 homers so far this season. Sharlon Schoop added a two run homer, his first of the season.
Joe Paterson (2-4) and Waldis Joaquin combined in the 8th to give up the two runs on three hits, a walk, wild pitch and a balk....what a nightmare!!!

Misc fan notes: It's pouring tonight and CT with rain in the forecast for Friday.

Welcome to a new feature on the blog...

"Blasts from the past," to be known going forward as "BFTP."
I've been taking pictures at Dodd since 2002 and in 2004 started to archive a picture or two of every roster player and I indeed have a player of every player to have played for the franchise.
So as we head towards the end of Double A baseball at Dodd, I'll start posting a few pictures a day of those players to have graced the playing field at Dodd. I'm starting with the 2004 Norwich Navigators team, pitchers first. Enjoy!




Brad went 5-5 in 2004. Started 18 games, threw 101 IP to a 3.56 ERA. He made his MLBB debut with the Giants in '04 going 2-2. Brad is wearing a Giants uniform for Turn back the Clock promo.


Billy went 0-3 in 2004 apppearing in 17 games. Threw 30.1 IP to a 3.86 ERA. He made his MLBB in 2006. I was emailing back and forth with his parents during the '06 season and I remember how happy they were when he was called up.



Alberto appeared in 53 games out of the pen in '04. He had a 6-5 record with 16 saves. 65.2 IP with a 3.56 ERA. This picture was taken on Opening Day. They rarely worn those cream colored home uniforms.

Bumgarner slams the B-Mets!!! as in a

grand slam as the Defs lead the B-Mets 8-1 after 7 innings. Madison is 2 for 3 witha single and is throwing a three hitter.
Madison becomes just the third Navs/Defender pitcher in franchise history to go yard. The others were Joe Bateman and Brain Mazzone.

**UPDATE: The Defs win 9-3 as Adam Witter added a pinch hit solo homer, his second of the season for CT. Madison improves to 7-1 on the season with a 1.56 ERA.
Other hitting stars for CT were Mike McBryde with a 3 for 5 night and Ramon Castro with a RBI evening.

Joe Perez of the Bulletin had an article not to long ago that spoke about Bumgarner being a pretty good hitter.

Portland sweeps the RockCats in NB and Trenton slips into second place a half game ahead of NB and 5.5 games back of the Defenders.

New blog feature starts tomorrow on the eve of the "official" announcement of the team moving!!

Defs down 5-2 after one inning as...

Brooks McNiven doesn't get out of the first inning giving up all 5 runs aided by a pair of CT errors (McNiven and Bond).
That's it for today....I'm turning in early tonight. Can't wait to get back to Dodd this weekend.
NB's DH rained out tonight.

Hey, We're suppose to be good on the road...

as the Defs drop another road game to the B-Mets tonight 11-5; that's 4 road losses out of five since the All-Star break. GB (2-1) takes the loss going 4 IP allowing 8 hits, 2 BBs and 9 runs of which only two were earned.
Only bright spot was Mike McBryde's three run homer, his fourth of the season, has the Defs managed just six hits.
Garcia pitched two scoresless innings and Griffin gave up two runs in his 2 IP.

Misc fan notes: A rare game off for Brock Bond--hope he's OK and he's not in the Fresno lineup....

Defs lose 4-2 in NH this afternoon as..

the FisherCats scored two runs off Daryl Maday in the bottom of the 7th and after CT tied it 2-2 with a run in the top of the 8th, the 'Cats scored a pair off Joe Paterson (2-3, 1.73 ERA).
CT managed just 5 hits in the game. Mike Mooney drove in a run and threw two runners out at home.
NB is losing big and the SeaDogs and Thunder are tied up late.

Misc fan notes: Well I complained about the bullpen yesterday; maybe it's time for a fresh bat. What about Thomas Neal from SJ? BA is .340 (105 for 309) with 28 doubles, 15 HRs and 59 RBIs.

FisherCats beat Jesse English, Defs 5-2...

as CT lead shrinks to 5 games over the RockCats who won their third straight tonight.
English (6-6, 3.57 ERA) went 4 IP giving up 3 earned runs. Geivey Garcia (6.16 ERA) gave up two runs in his two innings of work. Matt Yourkin and Dan Griffin threw a scoreless inning each.
Brock Bond, Brett Pill (double #29) and EME all had two hits each. Adam Witter knocked in a run on a sac fly.

Misc fan notes: Need help in the bullpen! They bring in Garcia into a close game with his now 6.16 ERA? Little help???

423 people in the stands last night to watch..

the host Jamestown Jammers lose to Hudson Valley 10-4. Jamestown has the third worst attendance in the NY-Penn league with an average of 1506 per game after 15 home games. Batavia is second worst with an average of 973 after 12 home games and Oneonta is worst with an average of 765 after 10 home games.
Jammers are the team mentioned as perhaps "replacing" the Defenders next season at Dodd. Can anyone explain that logo to me? Are there wine vineyards in Jamestown?

Defs hang on and win 9-8 in NH...

tonight over the FisherCats. Mike Mooney was the hitting star hitting a three run homer, his fifth homer this season. Brandon Crawford knocked in a couple of runs. Brock Bond and Jackson Willimas both had two hits in the game.
Tim Alderson gets the win improving to 6-1 with a ERA of 3.29. The bullpen almost let this one get away as the FisherCats scored 7 times in the sixth inning. Alderson started the sixth and was charged with 4 runs. He gave way to Dan Griffin who was charged with three runs. Ben Sndyer settled down after walking in one of Griffin's runners allowing just 1 hit over his three innings of work.
Dan Otero pitched the 9th to earn his 18th save of the season.

Misc fan notes: Sloppy game as the Defs committed three errors and the 'Cats two.

Defs lose 1-0 in NH tonight as...

the FisherCats pushed across a run in the bottom of the 8th on a pair of singles off Waldis Joaquin (3-5)and a sac fly off Matt Yorkin. Madison Bumgarner threw 5.1 IP of one hit ball with 3 Ks, 4 BB, a WP and a PO. THe Defs could manage just 5 hits in the ball game.

Misc fan notes: The winning run was scored by New London's Todd Donovan whose father was in the stands with us Monday afternoon.

Some Polo Grounds pics I found....

The All-Star Game break always gets me in a historical mood. Read most Roger Kahn's "Boys of Summer" in one sitting yesterday (Tuesday).

The Fresno Bee reports:

"The San Francisco Giants' No. 2-rated prospect is heading to Fresno.

Catcher Buster Posey will join the Grizzlies on Thursday in Colorado Springs, where Fresno's Triple-A baseball team begins an eight-game road trip.

Promoted from Class-A San Jose, Posey was the Giants' first-round pick in 2008 (fifth overall). He's rated the organization's No. 2 prospect by Baseball America.

Posey was batting .326 with 13 home runs and 58 RBIs in 80 games with San Jose. The 2008 Golden Spikes Award winner out of Florida State was selected as a California League All-Star."

This really doesn't bother me that much....not so sure how I'd feel if CT was 7 games out of first instead of being up 7 games over the second place team.

Random camo pics.....

From top to bottom: Castro, Williams, Monney and Schoop.

Defs win this morming/afternoon 4-3 heading..

as they split the four game series with the Trenton Thunder. Garrett Broshuis wins his second straight start since coming to CT. GB goes a tidy 6.1 IP allowing 5 hits and two runs. Dan Otero throws a 1-2-3 9th for his 17th save.
CT scored all it's runs after two outs. Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the third, Brock Bond walked and scored on Mike McBryde's RBI double to tie the game at 1-1. Brett Pill then singled in Mike for a 2-1 Defs lead. EME walked with Pill going to second where he scored from as Ramon Castro's RBI single brought him in for a 3-1 score.
CT added another two out run in the fourth as Brandon Crwaford walked, stole second and came in on Jackson Williams RBI single to make it 4-1.
With the RockCats losing today, CT is 7 games up in first place over the RockCats at the All-Star Break.

Misc fan notes: Only sour note in today's game was four CT runners caught stealing with another picked off.
Some research results off some chatter in the stands today: it turns out the RockCats have 9 weekday day games scheduled this season.. Those dates are/were April 22, May 7, May 14, May 28, June 5, June 25, July 13, July 21 and Sept 7.
There was some thought that the EL restricts the number of weekday day games a team can schedule to a maximum of five.