Team USA defeats Cuba to win Baseball World Cup

Castro & Descalso part of second consecutive gold-medal team

By StickRat

Entering into this year, Team USA had won just five championships between the three major international baseball competitions: The World Baseball Classic, the Summer Olympics, and the Baseball World Cup.

Yesterday in Nettuno, Italy, a coastal city just south of Rome, Team USA claimed the gold-medal game of the 2009 Baseball World Cup with a 10-5 win over Cuba. With the U.S. winning gold in 2007 – there was no Baseball World Cup played in 2008 – this marks just the second time they have won back-to-back gold medals in the tournament. The last time was in 1973-74, before anyone on this year’s roster was even born. The U.S. posted a 14-1 overall record throughout the tourney.

Two local products – former Stanford star Jason Castro and San Carlos native Dan Descalso – were on board for the European tour spanning from Germany to Italy for the U.S. Alternate pool-play also took place in Holland. Both players were used in a reserve capacity, with Descalso hitting .238 in 21 at bats, including a homerun Sept. 19 against Team Mexico. Castro gave way as the team’s starting catcher when fellow backstop Lucas May, who totaled a .355 batting average with three homeruns, caught fire at the plate. Castro had a modest tournament, going 3-for-23, though he had a key RBI single in the Sept. 24 semifinal-round qualifier against Cuba.

Castro has quickly become one of the top prospects in the Astros minor-league system. In leading Stanford to the College World Series in 2008, Castro was one of three finalists for the Johnny Bench Award, given to the nation’s top collegiate catcher. Giants catcher Buster Posey, out of Florida State, ultimately won the award.

There was some controversy among fans when the Astros took Castro in the first round with the 10^th overall selection of the 2008 draft. One of the consensus future stars of the draft class was University of South Carolina slugger Justin Smoak, a switch-hitting first baseman who has drawn comparisons to Mark Teixeira. The Astros passed on Smoak, who was selected with the very next pick by the Texas Rangers. Wes Clements, manager of Astros High-A affiliate Lancaster of the California League, said Castro’s athleticism and catching skills were the reason Houston opted to draft him.

“It’s not an exact science,” Clements said of the draft process. “But when you see Castro, he’s an athlete. He looks like an athlete. He’s got a great frame, he’s a left-handed hitter, and he’s got great feet (behind the plate).”

Smoak has fast-tracked to Triple-A with a career minor-league average of .292. Also having been named to the Team U.S.A. squad, Smoak was named MVP of the Baseball World Cup, hitting .291 with a tourney-best nine homeruns.

Castro has been an offensive force on the farm as well, though. Starting the year at Lancaster, the left-hander hit .309 in 207 at bats before being promoted to Double-A. He finished the year with a cool .300 batting average between both levels, logging 380 at bats as a catcher, and just 64 at bats between designated and pinch hitting. With a makeup similar to that of former Dodgers catcher Mike Scioscia, Castro is first-and-foremost a bona fide helmsman behind the plate.

“That’s where I want to be,” Castro said. “I feel that’s the best shot (to reach the big leagues) I have at this point. So I’m looking to stay back there.”

Squatting on a daily basis is the challenge every new pro catcher must adapt to, though Castro has had some experience with this. Due to a late start on the 2008 Stanford schedule, the Cardinals frequently played games on four consecutive days. The most a college team regularly plays is three straight days per a weekend series. Stanford even played five games over one five-day stretch in 2008, for which Castro caught all five.

“It’s definitely a challenge,” Castro said of being an everyday catcher. “It’s something you have to be prepared for. You have to stay in shape and take care of yourself. It can be a grind.”

Castro said he is not the same Jason Castro of “American Idol” fame, who competed as a singer on the 2008 season of the hit television show. It wouldn’t be tough to confuse them though, as there is a striking resemblance, with the exception of the hair do’s. The Castro of American Idol was notorious for his long dreadlocks.

“I did get some heckling when we were in Omaha at the College World Series,” Castro said. “Some of the fans were poking fun at the likeness in our names.”

Castro claims there has been no crooning in his recent past though, and is certainly focused on a future in baseball. And with Pudge Rodriguez having been dealt to the Rangers by Houston in August, it would seem there is now a catcher’s box at Houston’s Minute Maid Park with Castro’s name on it.

“I want to do everything I can to get to the big leagues and stay there as long as I can and help the team for a long time,” Castro said.

Descalso had a prolific minor-league season as well. He finished the regular season at Triple-A Memphis, with a Redbirds team that went on to win the Pacific Coast League championship. Descalso was not with the team in the postseason due to being named to Team USA He did plenty to help them get there, though.

The lefty hit .253 over the final two months of the season, during which time the Redbirds played their best baseball of the year. Descalso – who hit .323 at Double-A Springfield – was blocked by an abundance of talented infielders in the Cardinals Triple-A mix this year, but garnered a promotion when the team traded third baseman Brett Wallace to Oakland in the Matt Holliday deal.

“Since I’ve been here, we’ve been on a tear,” Descalso said. “We’ve just been winning left and right.”

Selected in the third round of the 2007 draft out of U.C. Davis, Descalso settled in as a second baseman for Memphis after also seeing time at first and third in Double-A.

“I’ve grown pretty comfortable over at second base over the last few seasons,” Descalso said. “So hopefully I can fit myself in as a prospect for them over there.”

Cal alum Allen Craig paced the Redbirds in 2009 by capturing the team triple crown, hitting .322 with 26 homeruns and 83 RBIs. Memphis captured the PCL crown with a three-game sweep over A’s affiliate Sacramento. The Redbirds went on to fall 5-4 in extra-innings to Rays affiliate Durham in the one-game Triple-A National Championship Game on Sept. 22 in Oklahoma City.

Barton and Pennington providing spark in Oakland

Green-and-gold is red hot to tune of 14-7 record in Septmeber

By StickRat

Oakland, CA ~ Man, baseball critics can be tough. There are those that have already written off A’s first baseman Daric Barton. Sure, it’s fun when a 23-year old like Pablo Sandoval comes along and takes the baseball world by storm. They can’t all be cartoon superheroes though.

Albeit not talking about Barton directly, Texas Rangers reliever C.J. Wilson said it best: “Ninety percent of the other guys are going to take a few years to learn what baseball is about.”

Barton is in his third year of bouncing between Triple-A and the big leagues. And at 23, he is the second youngest position player on Oakland’s 40-man roster. Outfielder Aaron Cunningham is eight months younger. In the eyes of many fans, the luster on Barton’s star faded because of his poor performance at the beginning of the season. Hitting below the Mendoza Line for two months will have that effect at any age. But consider this hypothetical. If Barton was new to the big leagues as a September call-up this season, and had done what he’s done, he’d be hitting .292 with an OPS of .905 for an A’s team that has posted a 14-7 record since Sept. 1.

Even still, he doesn’t need to go by the numbers to beat the opposition. Thursday against the Rangers he showed that. Barton went 0-for-3 hitting in the six-spot, while walking twice, and scoring twice. With the three outs made, he drove home a run, and peppered two fly balls to the warning track.

“I was happy with my day,” Barton said. “I squared two balls up, and [drove home] a run with my other at bat … so I was happy overall.”

Oakland chalked up a 12-3 win with an early comeback, while Barton made some dazzling defense look routine at the crux of the game. In the top of the fourth, just after the A’s scored four times to go up 4-2, the Rangers had one on with one out and lefty slugger Chris Davis at the plate. Davis topped a high chopper to first. From the first-base bag where he was holding base-runner Hank Blalock, Barton charged just past the fringe of the grass, set and pivoted, and fired a strike to second base. Shortstop Cliff Pennington shuffle-stepped across the bag and threw back to first without hesitation, where Barton took the throw while in stride to the bag to complete the double play. 

Just a routine play, according to Barton: Part of the job of a first baseman. Alright, possibly. But there was absolutely nothing routine about the play he made in the previous game on a foul pop up. Barton ran a 30-yard fly pattern and made an over-the-shoulder reception that would have made the Oakland Raiders proud. To add a degree of difficulty, he was traversing the mound in the visitors bullpen while making the catch.

Pennington shined with some defensive gems in the Rangers series as well. Charged with an error in each of the final two games, his play was far from erratic. His throwing error in the first inning of Thursday’s win did result in a run for the Rangers. It was a wonder Pennington got a glove on the ball at all, as the bounder off the bat of Andruw Jones knuckled and changed directions at the last second, forcing an awkward throw. In the second inning, Pennington atoned by robbing Marlon Byrd of a single with a long throw from the outfield grass after a fully-extended dive to his backhand.

Also spending much of the year at Triple-A, Pennington was recalled at the outset of August when the A’s dealt Orlando Cabrera to the Twins. During his initial call-up in 2008, Pennington played mostly second and third base. Upon his arrival in Oakland this year, he was informed he would be the every day shortstop – his natural position – for the remainder of the season.

“It feels good anytime you get a chance to play the position where you’re most comfortable,” Pennington said. “It’s great.”

Pennington was a first-round draft pick in 2005 out of Texas A&M. Oakland currently boasts two other former first-rounders who broke into the big leagues as shortstops: 2004 A.L. Rookie of the Year Bobby Crosby and 1997 A.L. Rookie of the Year, and two-time A.L. batting champ, Nomar Garciaparra.

“He makes the routine plays which is good for a young shortstop,” Garciaparra said. “He’s solid. He has a good arm. The only thing is you have to believe you are in control of the infielders and outfielders…. He’s the quarterback of the infield.” 

It seems Garciaparra’s hitting prowess is also rubbing off on Pennington. The switch-hitting speedster is hitting .282, and has already slammed four homeruns in 177 at bats. That is twice as many as he hit in 440 minor-league at bats last year. While he has scuffled against left-handed pitching, Pennington was peppering the gaps from the right side in batting practice Wednesday in a session that included Garciaparra. During each of Garciaparra’s turns to hit, an observant Pennington was perched on the batting cage right beside hitting coach Jim Skaalen.

“When you’ve got a guy on your team like that, you can’t help but study him,” Pennington said.

Having hit safely in 15 of his last 18 games, Pennington touts a .325 batting average in September.

“I know it is my shot and I’ve got to make the most of it,” Pennington said.

Beyond this season, Pennington said he isn’t looking any further into the future than Nov. 3. That’s the day his wife Missy is due to deliver their first child.

“That’s going to be the big off-season acquisition,” Pennington said.

Feldman fortifying top of talented Rangers rotation

College of San Mateo legend among Major League wins leaders

By StickRat

Oakland, CA ~ Getting back over the top. It’s meant all the difference for Scott Feldman.

In his fifth year with the Rangers, the right-hander is having the best season of his career. Bold and efficient on the mound, he’s grown into the backbone of a pitching staff for a playoff contender. It’s evident from the American League leaders board for wins on the Oakland Coliseum scoreboard – S. Feldman 17 TEX – good for second place in the A.L., just behind C.C. Sabathia’s league-leading 18 wins.

Feldman was in line for a shot at 20 wins entering into yesterday’s start in Oakland. He would have had to roll off wins in each of his remaining starts to do so. After departing in the fourth inning trailing 7-2 however, reaching the 20-win mark – became a practical impossibility in 2009 for the kid from Burlingame. Before yesterday’s start, Rangers bullpen coach Andy Hawkins said he liked Feldman’s chances of reaching 20.

“And I like his chances of being as good a pitcher next year,” Hawkins said.

Despite having appeared as a starter in a majority of his appearances over the last two years, going wire-to-wire as a starter would be a first for Feldman. He bounced between the rotation and bullpen at the beginning of the 2008 season, and started this year outright as a reliever. Once he got his crack at the rotation though, he took off. He won his first five decisions, including two against Oakland. He’s been in the rotation ever since.

“He always wanted to be a starting pitcher,” Hawkins said.

On the road to the big leagues though, Feldman made a major concession in his delivery by dropping to a sidearm slot. Following recovery after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2003, Feldman fast-tracked through the minors as a side-winding reliever. Throwing just 52 games between High-A and Double-A in 2005 – his first full professional season – he was promoted to the majors. He bounced between the minors and the big leagues as a reliever for the next two seasons, before he returned to the delivery with which he posted the greatest pitching career in College of San Mateo history. With the help of Hawkins, who had been the pitching coach at Rangers Triple-A affiliate Oklahoma City until he was promoted last August, Feldman raised his arm angle back over the top to a traditional three-quarters slot.

“I would have been happy to be in the big leagues [as a reliever], but I wanted to try to go back to what I was doing before,” Feldman said.

The Rangers pitching staff has evolved into an entirely different beast since Feldman was a rookie. Along with left-hander C.J. Wilson and right-hander Frank Francisco, he is one of just three pitchers still with the team since the 2005 season. Notorious for offense as they’ve long been, the Rangers posted a 79-83 record that season while having just three starting pitchers to make at least 20 starts. Then, before the 2006 season, the Rangers signed veteran right-hander Kevin Millwood. Unable to develop any homegrown talent, however, the Rangers failed to add much depth to their rotation. Summarily they finished under .500 for the next three seasons.

That wasn’t what the organization envisioned. Texas had two high-profile starting pitching prospects on the farm in 2005 when Feldman was busy fast-tracking as a reliever. Fire-balling right-hander Thomas Diamond, a first-round draft pick just a year previous, was ranked the Rangers’ No. 1 prospect by Baseball America. Never having reached the big leagues with Texas, Diamond was traded to the Cubs earlier this month. Left-hander John Danks, ranked No. 2 that year, was traded after the 2006 season.

The new wave of pitching prospects has been more profitable for the Rangers. Left-hander Derek Holland has been all the buzz amid an up-and-down rookie year, posting a 7-12 record. Rookie right-hander Tommy Hunter, 9-4 after his win over Oakland Wednesday night, has quickly emerged as a reliable innings eater. Twenty-five year old right-hander Brandon McCarthy – acquired from the White Sox in the Danks deal – has returned recently from a shoulder-blade fracture to settle into the rotation with a 7-4 record.

Amid Texas’ first legitimate shot at the postseason in some years – though Boston’s lead in the A.L. wild-card race is starting to look insurmountable – Feldman has arrived to bolster the top of the rotation. And he’s done so with good, old-fashioned consistency.

“The consistency comes from staying here, learning the league, and learning yourself,” Wilson said. “And in four years, How much better is he going to be?”

Pennant chases seem to agree with Feldman. He topped his streak from the outset of the year by winning seven consecutive decisions through August and September, including a perfect 5-0 record in August. And heading into yesterday’s start, he had won eight of his last nine decisions. According to Rangers first-year pitching coach Mike Maddux, the best is yet to come for the 26-year old.

“We haven’t seen the best of Scott Feldman,” Maddux said.

If his performance in August is any indication, there may be an entirely spectacular potential yet to be tapped by Feldman. In addition to going 5-0 in six starts, Feldman struck out 34 opposing batters. The most he had previously struck out over one month was 19. The spike in his K-total was much in part to an 11-strikeout performance Aug. 23 in Tampa Bay. It was Feldman’s first time throwing to Pudge Rodriguez, who was reacquired by the Rangers on Aug. 20. So, did Rodriguez directly affect Feldman’s ability to get the ball by Rays batters?

“Yeah probably, I don’t know,” Feldman said. “It’s been great throwing to Pudge. Not that it’s bad throwing to the other guys. All the catchers we have are great.”

Of course, Feldman has always been a groundball pitcher who excels when he commands contact. And the Rangers infield is a groundball pitcher’s dream, with two former Gold Glover winners – Michael Young and Omar Vizquel – in the mix. Not to mention another Gold Glover in Rodriguez behind the plate, and a likely future one in rookie shortstop Elvis Andrus.

“It makes life a lot easier when you’ve got guys like that that can go out and get all kinds of groundballs,” Feldman said.

As the current Rangers rotation stands, Feldman is due to make two more starts: Sept. 29 in Anaheim, and on the final day of the season Oct. 4 in Seattle. He still has a shot at leading the Major Leagues in wins. Both Sabathia and Cardinals right-hadner Adam Wainright are scheduled to pitch tomorrow. The two are tied atop the majors at 18 wins. Whatever the outcome, Feldman has arrived as a big-league starter. He is virtually assured of starting the 2010 season as a cornerstone of the Rangers rotation.    

“He had the opportunity to start this year and he seized the moment,” Maddux said. “He is not going to relinquish his spot in the rotation.”

San Jose crowned California League champs

Lefty hurler Tanner rolls after ace promoted to Double-A

By StickRat 

Beer endorsements may be the backbone of pro baseball finance, but after the season just had by the Giants farm system, they may want to consider a champagne endorsement as well.

Three of this year’s Giants minor-league teams were crowned league champions, the most recent of which was the squad from San Jose. Saturday night, the High-A Giants completed a three-game sweep of Mariners affiliate High Desert to win the California League championship.

After winning the first two games of the series on the road, the Giants returned home to revel in the traditional dog pile following their Game 3 win. San Jose ace left-hander Clayton Tanner generally doesn’t show a lot of emotion on the baseball diamond. This occasion – San Jose’s third California League championship in five years, and the fifth in team history – was fit for an outpouring though. And it was worth any discomfort of being trapped under a dozen or so jubilating teammates.         

“I’ll hold my breath a little while if it means we get to win a championship,” Tanner said.

Tanner – born in Australia, but grew up in Concord – is certainly deserving of a celebration this time around, having posted two solid years at San Jose. In that time, he tabbed 22 regular-season wins. He allowed just one run over two starts in the 2009 postseason, posting a 2-0 record, including a Game 1 win last Thursday in which he allowed seven hits over seven innings, while striking out nine.

Because of the depth of pitching in the Giants farm system, Tanner’s success has been about as low-profile as can be. For most of his stay in San Jose he has been a back-of-the-rotation starter. In fact, he was never considered the ace of the staff until left-hander Craig Clark was promoted to Double-A Connecticut four days prior to the start of the playoffs.

It wasn’t hard to get lost in the shuffle this season, with Clark breaking records left and right en route to being named the California League Pitcher of the Year. Top prospects Madison Bumgarner, Tim Alderson, and Scott Barnes also started the year in the San Jose rotation. Tanner was overshadowed in 2008 as well, when he was the odd man out with San Jose sending four starting pitchers – Alderson, Kevin Pucetas, Jesse English, and Ben Snyder – to the California League all-star game. Being passed over was difficult for the young lefty to digest.

“At first it was kind of tough. I made the all-star team two years ago in Augusta. It was a great experience and it was great to get honored like that,” Tanner said. “But (last year) they had better stuff than me, or they had better numbers than me, so they definitely deserved to be there.”

Still, Tanner turned in a solid 2008, posting a 10-8 record with a 3.69 ERA. He tabbed just 84 strikeouts in 117 innings, however, which loomed as a factor in the organization’s decision to have Tanner return to High-A in 2009.

“Well, sometimes the stepping stones in development are not always sequential,” said Bobby Evans, Giants vice president of baseball operations.

An even bigger factor though was Tanner’s age. Still just 21, he was the third youngest pitcher after Bumgarner and Alderson to toe the rubber in San Jose over the last two years.

“He was 21-years old, so that’s still very young for the California League,” Evans said. “And it would have been very young for Double-A.”

Evans said the improvement in Tanner’s strikeout rate from 2008 to 2009 was evident. As were Tanner’s numbers across the board. He posted a 12-6 record this season with a 3.17 ERA, striking out 121 against 42 walks in 139 1/3 innings. There was one glaring decline in Tanner’s performance this year however, as he allowed just one homerun throughout all of 2008.

“That was crazy because I gave up a ton this year,” Tanner said.

Indeed, Tanner surrendered 18 homeruns this season. His saving grace was many of them were solo shots. In a June 25 game against Stockton, Tanner surrendered four homeruns. All were solo shots, while two were on the first pitch of the at bat. The other two came on 1-0 counts. Therein lies the reason for Tanner’s success the second time around in San Jose. He challenged more.

“If I throw a ball, it’s like: ‘Here comes a strike,’ ” Tanner said.

His confidence to challenge more readily complimented his rapid tempo on the mound. Tanner walks fast, he talks fast, and he certainly works fast. Games he starts regularly last less than two-and-a-half hours. It’s been his style to turn-and-burn on the mound since he started pitching as a sophomore at De La Salle High School, according to Tanner’s high school head coach Eric Borba. Now in his second year as head coach at Orange Lutheran High in Southern California, Borba took the opportunity to watch several of Tanner’s starts down south this season, including Game 1 of the California League Championship Series at High Desert.

“As far as makeup and stuff, he’s very, very similar,” Borba said. “But since he’s been drafted, he’s dropped his arm slot a little bit.”

Working from a traditional over-the-top arm slot in high school, Tanner garnered a lot of attention with a sharp 12-to-6 curveball. It helped him excel in his first year as a junior. But even then – when the Spartans won the North Coast Section Championship in 2005 – he wasn’t the ace of the staff. It wasn’t so much because his fastball topped out in the mid-80s. More that De La Salle boasted senior right-hander Eric Massingham, who went on to Cal Poly before being drafted by the Phillies in the 25^th round earlier this year.

In the summer before Tanner’s senior year though, his velocity spiked. He started hitting 90 mph consistently, and in turn started catching the eye of pro scouts. It was at the Anderson Bat National Classic, a coast-to-coast annual invitational held in Placentia, Calif., that Borba knew he had a surefire ace for the 2006 season.

“The coaching staff kind of looked at each other and just knew he could be special,” Borba said.

Now that Tanner has lowered his arm angle to a three-quarter slot, he features more of a slurve. His bread-and-butter are a two-seam fastball and a sinker, while he also throws a four-seamer and a changeup. He no longer throws a traditional curveball, however.

“Here’s the pitch that got him drafted, and he’s not even throwing it anymore,” Borba said.

Tanner committed to Pepperdine out of high school, but decided to go pro when the Giants selected him in the third round of the 2006 draft, the same in which San Francisco drafted Tim Lincecum in the first round. Tanner was the top high-school pick and was the youngest draftee by the Giants in the first 37 rounds of that year.

While next year’s minor-league rosters will not be officially determined until spring training, it is likely Tanner will start the 2010 season in Double-A.

“He had the kind of year where you’d like to see him get a chance at the Double-A level,” Evans said.

Meanwhile, Tanner abides by a fairly straightforward philosophy.

“You just have to go out and throw, and if you do well, you’re going to move up,” Tanner said.

SacCats fall in PCL finals despite infielder's big finish

Cardenas and Wallace will contest for big-league infield jobs in 2010

By StickRat

Sacramento, CA ~ The Pacific Coast League postseason came to an end Friday night in Sacramento, and though it resolved with a three-game sweep of the River Cats, Adrian Cardenas would not go quietly.

 
With the A’s Triple-A affiliate Sacramento falling 6-0 to Memphis in Game 3, the River Cats second baseman went 2-for-4. His ninth-inning double, a lofty shot up the right-center field alley, provided one of the only well-struck hits of the evening for Sacramento against Redbirds starter Evan MacLane. It was a bittersweet finish to an exceptional playoff performance for Cardenas, who paced Sacramento with a .370 postseason batting average.

It was an up-and-down season for Cardenas, who saw two stints at Triple-A this year, bouncing between Sacramento and Double-A Midland. The left-handed hitting infielder, acquired by the A’s last season as one of three prospects in a July trade for pitcher Joe Blanton, finished the 2009 season with a .251 average in Triple-A, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Not by a long shot.

Cardenas struggled mightily at the plate in May during his first Triple-A call-up, hitting at a .175 clip (10-for-57) before being demoted.

“I told [the organization]: ‘You can keep me here in Triple-A. I’ll be fine. I’ll figure it out,’ ” Cardenas said. “I was just struggling. But they know what’s best.”

Despite his early-season struggles, Cardenas improved his defensive stock. Drafted by the Phillies in the first round as a shortstop out of Monsignor Pace High in Miami, Cardenas split time at both second and third base this year. And, after scorching the ball at Midland for two months, Cardenas was recalled to Sacramento where he hit .309 over the last two months of the regular season, including a .371 average (13-for-35) in September. Not bad for a 21-year old, the youngest of all River Cats players this season.

“I felt fine (early in the year) and I wasn’t striking out a lot,” Cardenas said. “So I knew it was a matter of time. That’s how baseball works.”

Getting the bat on the ball – Cardenas struck out just 73 times in 513 at bats this season – has helped him succeed as a two-hitter, the spot in the batting order where he has been most dangerous. His most impressive split though is his average against left-handed pitchers. His 2-for-4 performance against the southpaw MacLane on Friday was no fluke, as Cardenas hit .302 against Triple-A lefties this season.

“Most of the time (against lefties I do) better than I do against righties,” Cardenas said. “It forces me to say inside the ball, and against a lefty you have to do that.” 

The infield depth at Sacramento should make things pretty interesting next year for the big club. A’s second baseman Mark Ellis is under contract for 2010, while current third baseman Adam Kennedy is a candidate for free agency. Cardenas is a possibility at third, having played nearly as many games at shortstop and third combined this year as he has at second. Of course, much of the future at third base in Oakland will depend on the guy with whom Cardenas was taking pregame grounders at third: Brett Wallace.

Wallace was the prize prospect to change hands throughout all of baseball at this year’s trade deadline. A first-round draft pick by the Cardinals in 2008, Wallace fast-tracked through the St. Louis system, only to experience a whirlwind July this year. He was named to the U.S. Future’s team, with which he represented St. Louis. A week later he was featured on the cover of Baseball America in a Memphis Redbirds uniform. A week after that he was traded to Oakland in the deal that sent slugger Matt Holliday to the Cardinals.

A native of Sonoma, Wallace was an A’s fan growing up, and idolized A’s Gold Glove third baseman Eric Chavez. Wallace said he modeled his game after Chavez, and the similarities with the bat are obvious. The sweet-swinging left-handed Wallace can turn on the ball with the best of them, posting a career minor-league average of .302 with consistent power. One of the big questions among baseball prospectors though, is: Where will Wallace eventually fit on defense? Third base? Or, first?

At The Baseball Cube, the online encyclopedia of minor-league baseball, Wallace already lists as a first baseman. Strangely, he got most of his reps as a first baseman in the St. Louis system, the position where they have one of the best ballplayers on the planet in Albert Pujols at the big-league level. Since being dealt to Oakland though, Wallace has played mostly third base, as he did throughout the postseason.

“Once I got here it was: Get here early … take 100 extra ground balls,” Wallace said.

Physically, Wallace has slimmed down from the hulking specimen with thighs the size of tree trunks that resulted in the dubious nickname “The Walrus”. He approximated he’s lost between 10-15 pounds, and he’s certainly toned most of the body fat he was carrying just over a year ago at Arizona State. Wallace said one of the things that has driven him is criticism about his body as to whether or not he will have the mobility to persevere at the hot corner.

“Anytime somebody tells me I can’t do something, I take it as a challenge,” Wallace said.

Of course, the big subplot throughout this year’s PCL Championship was Wallace going up against the team from which he was traded less than two months ago. Memphis swept the series, limiting the River Cats to just two runs through three games. The Redbirds took the first two at home, by scores of 1-0 in Game 1,  and 3-2 in Game 2, before completing the sweep Friday night at Raley Field with a 6-0 win.

“It’s getting a chance to do battle with the guys you used to call brothers,” Wallace said before Game 3. “So it’s been pretty fun for me.”

San Jose captures North Division title with Game 5 comeback

High-A Giants begin play tonight in High Desert for Cali League championship

By Nova Lee

San Jose, CA ~ No. 7, San Jose Giants catcher … Johnny Monell.

Yep, same Buster time. Same Buster channel. Top prospect Buster Posey may be with the big club now. Perhaps in spirit he was at Municipal Stadium last night, as were his rank and serial number.

Contrary to the final score – San Jose downed Bakersfield 12-3 in the elimination game of the California League North Division playoffs – it was a come-from-behind grind for the Giants that saw them trailing late. Considering the final score, thanks to an utter implosion of the Bakersfield bullpen, it is hard to imagine that the game was on the line when Monell stepped to the plate with two on and one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Giants trailing by a run.

It turned into a wild at bat, literally. With runners at first and second, Blaze reliever Justin Miller (not to be confused with the San Francisco Giants pitcher of the same name) threw two wild pitches before Monell even swung the bat, allowing Conor Gillaspie to score the tying run, and moving Brian Bocock to third base with one out. The count ran full to Monell before he lofted a sacrifice fly to fairly deep center field, and in doing so lifted the Giants to a 4-3 lead.

In the top of the eighth, the Blaze got the tying run to third with one out against Giants reliever Daniel Turpen, but failed to score. It seemed incidental after the Giants half of the eighth though, as San Jose sent 13 batters to the plate amid an eight-run rally, spurred by six walks and a pair of miscues by the Bakersfield infield.

Bakersfield dominated the Giants through the opening six frames. Blaze starter Richard Bleier allowed just five hits over 6 1/3. Two of those five hits came in the seventh inning. The tall lefty worked effectively, minimizing his pitch count with a sneaky fast mid-80s fastball and a solid sinker/slider combination. He induced two double plays, and picked off a runner at first.

The only blemish over the first six innings was Conor Gillaspie’s leadoff homerun in the fifth, a booming shot down the right-field line to cut Bakersfield’s lead to 2-1. It was a high hanging two-strike slider – five of the eight base runners Bleier allowed reached on a two-strike count – that Gillaspie turned around, showing lightening wrists to compliment the exceptional hand-eye coordination for which he has become revered.

The Blaze got on the board in the third inning. Eight-hitter Jacob Kaase reached on a one-out walk, and nine-hitter David Paisano doubled him home with the help of a Thomas Neal fielding error in left. The error was moot as on the next pitch Matt Lawson lined a single back up the middle to plate Paisano from second. In the sixth, Bakersfield answered the Gillaspie homer when Lawson slammed a triple off the right-center wall. Davis Stoneburner followed with an RBI single to left to give the Blaze a 3-1 lead.

Giants starter David Mixon kept his team in it though. An improbable fifth-game starter in that he made just two starts in the regular season. But hey, in Mixon’s last start on Sept. 3 he threw six innings of a combined no-hitter at Inland Empire. So, with the recent promotion of San Jose ace Craig Clark to Double-A, perhaps some Mixon mojo was just what the Giants needed. Mixon threw just 79 pitches last night, but stretched them over six-innings, allowing three runs on four hits, walking one while striking out six.

Lefty reliever Daniel Quinowski earned the win in relief, working a scoreless seventh in which he walked one and struck out two. Quinowski’s playoff record improves to 2-0 in just his second game with San Jose since being promoted from Low-A Augusta, where he was 2-1 with a 1.77 ERA in the regular season. Turpen worked the final two innings to notch the save, the most important pitch of his outing being a broken-bat jam shot in on the hands of Stoneburger with a runner on third and one out in the eighth. The result was a weak grounder to the drawn in shortstop Bocock. One inning later, Turpen induced a fly ball to center fielder Francisco Peguero off the bat of Ian Gac for the final out of the series.

San Jose travels to High Desert tonight to face the Mariners affiliate in the best-of-five California League Championship. The series will head north on Saturday, with Game 3 scheduled for 6 p.m. first pitch at Municipal Stadium. Game 4 and 5, if necessary, will each be played in San Jose as well, with Sunday’s game scheduled for 5 p.m. and Monday’s game scheduled for 7 p.m.

Nava poised to make name for himself in Red Sox Nation

Former Indi League standout has hit .345 over two minor-league seasons

By StickRat

Just three years ago Daniel Nava was working out at the College of San Mateo, going all-out during base-running drills with the Bulldogs squad like he was trying to make the team.

Only, Nava had already graduated from the college ranks. After one year at Santa Clara University as a JUCO transfer from CSM, Nava was a proverbial man without a nation. A career .400 hitter in college, he couldn’t find work.

Shortly thereafter, Nava picked up with the Chico Bandits of the independent Golden League. He hit .371 and slugged .625 while helping the Bandits to a league championship in 2007, and was tabbed the top independent player in the nation by Baseball America. Needless to say, he impressed. So much so, he was signed to a minor-league contract by the Boston Red Sox.

After two years in the organization, Red Sox Nation is beginning to take notice. Since starting the 2008 season at High-A Lancaster of the California league as a backup outfielder, Nava has become a surefire starter, posting a career .345 batting average.

“He’s definitely opening some eyes, let’s put it that way,” Red Sox director of minor-league development Mike Hazen said.

Nava was ticketed for Double-A to start 2009, but was sidelined in spring training with a leg injury. With the Red Sox relocating their High-A affiliate to Salem of the Carolina League, Nava started the season rehabbing as far from his Redwood City home as he had ever played. Showing no ill effects from injuries that cost him the first month of the season, Nava hit the ground running, hitting .339 at Salem.

“Personally, I would have loved to stay in the California League, just because it’s California,” Nava said. “But because the Red Sox Nation is on the east coast, it makes more sense to be in the Carolina League.”

His A-ball hometown was academic, as Nava was swiftly promoted to Double-A Portland where he posted the best stint of his minor-league career. The switch-hitting table setter hit .364 through 32 games in the pitching-renowned Eastern League, though he did not log enough at bats to compete with Connecticut second baseman Brock Bond – the Giants prospect hit .333 over 122 games – for a batting title.

“In general, it’s a pitchers league,” Nava said. “It’s a tougher league to hit in, that’s for sure.”

Nava solved the challenge of crisper stuff and sharper command by hardly allowing opposing pitchers to throw the ball by him. He struck out just 12 times in 118 at bats, while walking 25 times.

“He can flat out hit, and he’s a pretty good baseball player,” Hazen said.

On August 8, Nava got to take part in the fourth annual Futures of Fenway, a twin bill featuring games of each the Double-A and Triple-A squads for the Red Sox. Nava started in right field, going 1-for-3 with a single in front of 16,125 fans. 

“For me it was a big deal. I was thrilled,” Nava said. “Usually I don’t like to look into the stands. I like to concentrate on the game. But I had to take it all in playing at Fenway.”

Performance isn’t the be-all of end-all among prospecting circles though, and Nava has his work cut out for him because of his age. He will turn 27 before the start of next season.

“I think the other dynamic of that is, When did he start his career? He started his career at age 25,” Hazen said.

Anyone who witnessed the return of Dave Roberts to Fenway Park with the Giants knows the fervor of Red Sox Nation though. Some players, regardless of superhuman accomplishments over the course of many seasons, do not receive the ovation Roberts did upon his return to Boston. And Roberts won over Sox fans by virtue of one play, his pivotal stolen base in Game Four of the 2004 American League Championship Series. Nava said that fervor extends throughout Boston’s farm system.

“Out here people know their baseball,” Nava said. “It’s incredible. They know the prospects and they know who’s coming up.”

And the fans in Portland, Maine are no exception.

“It seems the whole town stops at game time,” Nava said. “They sell out every night. It just shows their love of baseball.”

Nava hasn’t become a fan favorite, at least not yet. But if ever there was someone built for it – a 5-foot-10 fundamentally sound overachiever who battled his way from indi-ball to Fenway Park – it’s Nava. And so long as he gets to play ball, he’s fine with waiting on the acclaim.

“They never ask me for my autograph, but that’s okay,” Nava said.

Kieschnick clubs 100th RBI of season for San Jose

Slugger only fourth player in team history to reach the 100-RBI mark

By StickRat

San Jose, CA ~ AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” is as good an anthem as any for this year’s San Jose Giants, and not just because it fires up all the old KSJO heads in the crowd.

When the song rang out during a pregame ceremony to honor the San Jose Giants Offensive Player of the Year last night though, there was an air of suspense as to just who would be the individual honoree. After all, this is a team that has featured California League All Stars such as catcher Buster Posey – who was hitting .326 with 13 homeruns and 58 RBIs at San Jose at the time of his promotion to Triple-A Fresno – and  left fielder Thomas Neal, currently hitting a team best .333 with 21 homeruns.

But as those old KSJO heads know, “Thunderstruck” is the personal soundtrack for Roger Kieschnick when he walks to the plate at Municipal Stadium. And with numbers like his, it’s tough  to argue there is a more deserved Offensive Player of the Year in San Jose. Kieschnick entered into play last night leading the team with 23 homeruns, but the big splash came Monday night when he reached the 100 RBI plateau, becoming just the fourth player in San Jose Giants history to do so, and the first since Sean McGowan did it in 2000.

“We were counting them down for awhile,” San Jose hitting coach Gary Davenport said.

Kieschnick collected the game ball after driving home leadoff hitter Darren Ford, taking a 3-1 fastball from Visalia lefty Patrick McAnaney to the left-center gap for a double. And, the left-handed slugger hasn’t stopped producing since. Last night against Lancaster, he drilled a first-inning double off – almost through – the centerfield wall to plate Nick Noonan and raise his season RBI total to 104. The all-time San Jose record was set by Mark Leonard in 1988 with 118 RBIs.

Kieschnick measures his success by consistency. And coming from him, the word “consistency” isn’t anywhere near  a baseball cliché. The trait runs deep throughout his baseball career. Whereas many hitters who go on to successful college and pro careers drum up remarkable batting averages in high school – Shawon Dunston is a famed example after hitting .790 in his senior high-school season – Kieschnick never hit better than .381 at Rockwall High in Texas. And that was in his sophomore year. He went on to hit .284 as a junior and .319 as a senior.

“That’s what I work on much of every day is being consistent,” Kieschnick said. “You’re not going to be a very good hitter going 10 for 20 in one stretch … then 2 for 20 in another. So I just strive to be consistent.”

In three years at Texas Tech, Kieschnick maintained his even-keel, .300 approach that caused him to smooth under the radar as San Francisco’s third-round draft pick in 2008. After hitting .359 as a freshman in 2006, he posted single-season averages of .302 and .305 respectively. And despite not suiting up for a pro game in 2008 after signing last year with the Giants, he was immediately promoted to High-A this season, where the 6-foot-3 right fielder is currently hitting for – you guessed it – a cool .300 average.

“He’s still a young hitter,” Davenport said. “He still needs to learn the zone, and he’s striking out a little more than he should. But it’s his first full year of professional baseball, and he is in a high league for this stage of the game.”

While the California League is a notorious hitters league, San Jose is revered as one of the tougher towns for offense. Especially the power game.

“We’re not at Lancaster. We’re not at High Desert. You have to earn it here,” Davenport said.

This is by no means Kieschnick’s first stay outside of the Lone Star State though. He played in the Northwoods League for the summer after his first college season, before playing two years with the U.S.A. National Team from 2007-08. His travels included tournament play in Brazil, the Netherlands, and Cuba.

“(Cuba has) great fans, but not all of them like you, I can tell you that,” Kieschnick said. “It’s a big rivalry. When you play Cuba, you want to beat ‘em. There’s a mutual respect there but it’s a pretty good rivalry.”

Just to clear up a commonly overblown report as to Kieschnick’s bloodlines, he is not exactly the nephew of former Brewers utility man Brooks Kieschnick. According to Roger, there is a relation, albeit one he himself is a bit hazy on.

“My dad’s distant grand cousin is their son,” Kieschnick said, somewhat searching for a way to explain it. More simply put, he said: “I’ve never met him, never talked to him … never seen him play.”

Giants fans were witness to this on that notorious comebacker April 9, after Martinez was struck in the head with a line drive that inflicted three skull fractures. The force of the impact dropped Martinez to the ground. But with the collective AT&T Park crowd still in mid-gasp, Martinez instinctively hopped back onto his feet. And while he exited the game soon thereafter – nose bloodied and trainers on either side at the ready – he walked from the field predominantly under his own power.

“He’s a tough kid,” said Bob Stanley, former pitching coach at Double-A Connecticut, where Martinez won the Eastern League ERA title last year.

Stanley, along with current Giants minor-league pitching coaches Jerry Cram and Ross Grimsley, helped Martinez polish the dramatic sinkerball with which he has had so much success. The pitch was so effective, it helped Martinez go straight from Double-A in 2008 to the big-league roster by opening day 2009.

Yet, when Martinez began his pro career in 2005, he hardly ever threw a two-seam fastball – the grip off of which he throws the sinker.

“The more he used it the better it got,” said Grimsley, Connecticut’s current pitching coach, who coached Martinez during his first full pro season in 2006 at Low-A Augusta. “I had nothing to do with it. It’s something he just took and ran with it.”

The innovation of the sink started at short-season Salem-Keizer in 2005. Martinez was a 12^th round draft pick out of Boston College, in a draft where the Giants did not make their first selection until the fourth round, due to free-agent signings. So it was evident the Giants had to develop talent instead of drafting the cream of the college crop. They drafted some raw college arms, including San Diego State lefty Alex Hinshaw in the 15^th round, and Mesa State College right-hander Sergio Romo in the 28^th round.

It was a test for a young group of players, shooting for a big-league dream in an organization that had just signed several free-agent veterans to multi-year deals.

 
“Obviously, with Romo and with Hinshaw, we all could pitch,” Martinez said. “We all knew we could pitch … but (the upper-level competition within the organization) it gives you incentive. It gives you a hunger.”

Martinez began his career relying on a four-seam fastball, and it showed, as he surrendered nine homeruns over 69 innings with the Volcanoes. So the slender right-hander learned how to pitch to contact, and he learned in a hurry.

“Him and I are pretty much the same way,” Romo said. “We don’t throw incredibly hard where you can throw it by guys…. But, he’s got a direct approach. He’s not afraid of anybody.”

The work with Cram at Salem-Keizer paid off, and Martinez had an exceptional 2006 season at Augusta, helping the GreenJackets to a 92-win season with a 15-5 record.

“The mental toughness he has, and the way he approaches every day,” Grimsley said, “he knows what he has to do, and what he needs to work on.”

Martinez saw continued success as he climbed through the system, posting a 10-10 record at each High-A San Jose in 2007, and again last year at Connecticut. More importantly, he trimmed the homerun numbers, allowing just 26 homers from 2006-08.

“I think it was more a confidence issue than actual technique,” Martinez said.

Indeed, Martinez has gained a reputation as a gutsy pitcher who will challenge the strike zone, challenge it early, and rely on inducing contact. This is not unlike Detroit phenom Rick Porcello, who attended the same Seton Hall Prep in New Jersey as Martinez. And Martinez was having so much success during his ERA-crown season at Connecticut last year, the Giants were considering him for the big-league staff late in the year.

“He almost had a chance to go to the big leagues last year, but they changed their minds,” Stanley said.

So it had to wait until this year. Porcello and Martinez each leap-frogged a minor-league level or two to be opening-day surprises for their respective clubs. No Seton Hall Prep graduate had ever made the Majors, and with his April 7 relief win on opening day, Martinez became the first. Porcello made his debut two days later as a starter.

April 9 would become marred as a horrific day for the baseball world though. Angels rookie Nick Adenhart died early that morning from injuries sustained in an automobile collision the evening prior. And with Adenhart’s death looming, Martinez took the mound in relief in just his second big-league appearance, in which he was struck by a line drive to the head.

The good news was, despite sustaining a concussion, Martinez remained lucid and conscious.

“He was aware of everything going on,” Giants head trainer Dave Groeschner said. “I was concerned, but he kept saying: ‘I don’t feel that bad.’ ”

It was two months before Martinez could resume baseball activities, and that included simply throwing a baseball. On June 25, he made his first rehab start in San Jose, going three innings while allowing just one hit and one run. Meanwhile, the big-league rotation would soon take a hit when Randy Johnson went on the disabled list in early July.

Martinez said he was intent on getting back in any capacity he could, but noticed the trend of his rehab use.

“Once I started my rehab assignment, I was starting every time, and they were stretching me out,” Martinez said.

Soon after arriving in Tacoma on August 1 for a Triple-A start, Martinez was scratched from duty and told to hop a flight to Houston to make his first major-league start with the big club. He got his feet back on the ground, and earned a win in the process, much in part to another memorable first – catcher Eli Whiteside’s grand slam, and first big-league homer.

“He had pretty good stuff,” Whiteside said. “I don’t know if he had his best stuff … but he had the stuff to get guys out.”

Now in returning home to AT&T Park for his first appearance since sustaining the injury, Martinez is trying to cement his role as San Francisco’s fifth starter. He has the benefit of being recognized by manager Bruce Bochy as a viable swingman if the Giants should choose to scale down to a four-man rotation for the stretch drive. Bochy however said there has been no talk about that as of yet.

“Yeah, he can pitch as a swingman, but right now he’s our fifth starter,” Bochy said before Monday’s series opener against the Dodgers.

Dodgers wreck one-month anniversary of Sanchez no-no

Kuroda quiets Giants bats as Los Angeles takes series opener 4-2

By Nova Lee

San Francisco, CA ~ In case anyone forgot, Hiroki Kuroda is good.

Remember Kuroda? Last year, a 30-something year old rookie from Japan, who dazzled with two wins in the postseason allowing just two runs in 12 1/3 innings over two starts. He’s got somewhat lost in the mix of a Dodgers rotation that features Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw. But he demonstrated tonight that on a given night, he can be every bit as effective.

Sound familiar? That was Jonathan Sanchez’s story; just another low-profile pitcher at the back of a stacked rotation. That was the case until a month ago today, when Sanchez no-hit the Padres. And if a big-league pitcher could survive solely on a breaking ball, he could have thrown another no-no tonight. His curveball was that good.

After walking Rafael Furcal on four straight fastballs to open the game, Sanchez quickly settled in with a feel for the deuce. He fanned four Dodgers batters through the first two innings by locating dramatic second-stage curves at the bottom of the strike zone. But he just couldn’t zero in with the heater.

Staked to a 1-0 lead, the lefty got into trouble the second time through the order. His fastball had zip -- he was cruising 93 mph -- yet he couldn’t command it. In the top of the fourth, Sanchez set up a four-run rally by loading the bases with two walks after a one-out single by Manny Ramirez. Matt Kemp had missed a thigh-high fastball out over the plate in the second inning. This time, he saw virtually the same pitch. And, wham! A bases-clearing double down the left-field line.

That’s all the Dodgers would need, as they went on to win 4-2. Their pitching took care of the rest. Kuroda received much deserved support from his bullpen, as the unassuming right-hander was dealing. Early on, he was changing up and cutting his fastball, until he rolled through the top of the Giants batting order in the sixth by pumping 95 mph heaters across the plate. Dodgers manager Joe Torre had Kuroda on a short leash in the seventh -- he hadn’t pitched into the seventh inning since June 28 -- going to the bullpen after he surrendered a one-out single to Randy Winn.

The paradox for the Giants tonight was crowd support versus getting closer Brian Wilson up in the ninth inning. It was a 40,000-plus sellout crowd at The Bell tonight -- which pushed the attendance past the 2-million mark for the season -- though they were silenced until the bottom of the ninth. After a Bengie Molina solo bomb, Winn singled to get the tying run to the plate against LA closer Jonathan Broxton. The rally prompted Wilson to start warming for possible extra innings; a seemingly unimportant move that could have consequences in the long run for a workhorse closer.

It wasn’t SF’s night though, and first-base umpire Bill Hohn added insult to the mini-funk -- the Giants have now lost three of their last four -- by botching two calls that cost the G’s two outs early in the game. Perpetual even-keel manager Bruce Bochy was ejected for just the third time this season, arguing a call that cashed Rich Aurilia at first base when Mark Loretta couldn’t pick a throw in the dirt on the back end of a double play. Earlier in the game, Freddy Sanchez was also cheesed at first on an infield grounder that he beat by a half step.

Kuroda was the one that really cheesed the Giants though. The back end of the Dodgers rotation was supposed to be in disarray, with Jason Schmidt landing back on the DL, and the Braves scoring 19 runs in a three-game sweep in LA over the weekend. And, Kuroda was riding a streak of four no-decisions entering into August.

It was about this time last year Kuroda proved himself against the Giants -- albeit in a game the Giants eventually won -- posting one of the best outings of his career in allowing just one run over eight innings. Tonight he again showed just how good he is, in case anyone forgot.