Sacramento River Cats

Cats win fourth in a row behind Straily's arm and grand slam from Hicks

2012-08-25T02:51:45Z

Dan Straily was sent down three days ago to make room for the long-awaited return of Brett Anderson.

Straily did nothing wrong. In fact, he could be called back to the big club very soon.

And after his strong start in Sacramento on Thursday, that call could be very soon indeed.

Straily went five strong innings and helped the Sacramento River Cats win their fourth in a row by beating the Salt Lake Bees 6-3 at Raley Field on Thursday evening.

“He threw the ball well,” said Cats manager Darren Bush. “He moved the ball around, changed speeds and was aggressive. He looked good!”

The first couple of innings flew by for both teams. As for Straily, he even struck out the side in the second, doing his part in keeping the Bees at bay.

It wasn’t until the bottom of the third inning that the River Cats would scratch a run on the scoreboard.

Jermaine Mitchell led off the frame with a walk and, after a couple of quick outs, Brandon Inge, who is on a rehab assignment, ripped a line drive shot into center field for a double that plated Mitchell and gave the Cats the first lead of the game.

Bush was pleased with Inge’s performance in his first rehab start.

“Good ABs (at-bats),” said Bush. “He swung the bat well, just like he did last time he was down here with us. He did a good job tonight.”

Salt Lake came back in the top of the fourth when Andrew Romine led off with a single. Romine would later score on a two-out ground out by Efren Navarro to tie the score.

Straily started to find some trouble in the fifth when he gave up a lead-off double to Bees left fielder Ryan Langerhans. Matt Long sacrificed Langerhans to third, setting up the go-ahead run with only one out. The next up to bat, Doug Deeds, hit a liner to Grant Green at shortstop, but Green was able to make a great play and throw out Langerhans at home to keep the game tied at 1-1.

The Bees still ended up with the bags full of runners with two outs. After a brief coaching visit to the mound by pitching coach Scott Emerson, Straily settled in and got Kole Calhoun to fly out to left to end the threat.

After five strong, Straily made way for reliever Rich Thompson.

Thompson induced a ground out to the first batter he faced. But that was the end of the good news for him. After a walk to Navarro, Thompson gave up a long home run to catcher John Hester, which put the Bees on top 3-1.

The Cats opened the sixth by getting the first three base runners on and threatening with no outs. Inge walked, Kila Ka’aihue and Michael Taylor singled to load them up.

The press box has its own game during every River Cats contest. The names of all the offensive starters are put in a cup, and we draw out names. Whoever picks the name of the player that hits the last home run of the game gets all the cash in the cup that week.

As Brandon Hicks strolled to the plate, I looked at Casey Pratt of CSN Bay Area and showed him my Hicks “tag” that I had pulled from the cup before the game. I told Pratt that now was the time. And it was.

On a 2-2 pitch from Brad Mills, Hicks torched one over the left field wall for a Cats grand slam, giving me a three innings from the clubhouse lead in the “money in the cup” sweepstakes for the day.

Hicks has spent some time with the big club this season and could get another call if he keeps making contact as well as he did in this game.

“I thought he had great at-bats all night long,” said Bush. “Not just that at-bat. All four of his at-bats were quality ABs. The first two ABs he just missed. Good swings, good position. He’s done a good job.”

The scoring festivities weren’t over just yet for the Cats, as Wes Timmons scored on a single from Colin Cowgill that added to the run total in the sixth.

The Cats lead after the sixth was 6-3.

Sacramento relievers Justin Souza and Jeremy Accardo did their job in closing out the balance of the game and keeping the Bees off the scoreboard.

Straily wasn’t ecstatic about his start, but he did say it was one he could build off.

“I felt like I had below average fastball command,” said Straily. “It was kind of one of those deals on the one-day-a-week plan. I’m trying to get used to that. I feel like there is a lot of stuff to work on still. My fastball command — it never goes away — you’re always working on it.”

Straily had time to reflect on his first call up and his short time with the Oakland A’s. When I mentioned to him that he looked a lot like A.J. Griffin — calm, cool and collected — he instantly agreed.

“You nailed it right there,” said Straily. “I just went out there and just pitched. It’s one of those things I think you prepare for your entire professional career. You just have to remember that between the lines, it’s the exact same game. No different. I had a lot of fun and can’t wait to get back.”

Straily is only second behind Justin Verlander in total strikeouts in professional ball this season. With the pennant race coming up for the A’s, Straily should get a chance to be a big part of it.

On a side note, longtime River Cat and personal favorite of mine Graham Godfrey, along with Anthony Recker, have been designated for assignment. They will be on the open market for 10 days. If no one claims them in that amount of time, they have a chance of coming back to the organization.

Cats lose on Tuesday, win Wednesday to go 6-2 on latest homestand

2012-08-09T03:37:46Z

The River Cats were sailing along on this eight-game homestand. As winners of the first five, things seemed to be on cruise control.

But this is the Pacific Coast League, where anything can happen — and quite frequently does.

The Nashville Sounds came to town for a four-game stop and, after losing the first contest, found their stride and took the next game from Sacramento. On Tuesday evening the Cats would lose their second game in a row to the Sounds 5-4 on a wild pitch by Merkin Valdez in the top of the ninth inning.

On Wednesday afternoon, the River Cats were looking to end their small two-game losing streak, and did so when Daric Barton was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to win the game. The Cats won a pitcher’s duel 1-0.

Two exciting games in less than 24 hours. Both games weren’t decided until nearly the final at bat.

In Tuesday's affair, the Cats wasted no time in getting some numbers on the Raley Field scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning.

Following a walk to Jermaine Mitchell, Cats second baseman Grant Green, who had a 13-game hitting streak entering the contest, continued his torrid pace with a sharp double that plated Mitchell for the first run of the evening. Green went to third on the throw home, but Mitchell came up holding his right thigh after sliding into home on the play. However, he would be okay to return.

Josh Donaldson then hit a line drive single into right center to score Green from third to give the Cats an early 2-0 lead.

After a couple of strikeouts, Sacramento loaded the bases on a Barton single and a base on balls to Brandon Hicks. The rally ended on a Shane Peterson strikeout, but the Cats had already done some damage.

Ross really settled in over the next few frames, as he faced only one over the minimum from the second to the fifth innings. The stretch included five strikeouts and six ground outs to the infield. No one was able to get solid wood on his pitches.

The Sounds finally got something started in the sixth when Edwin Maysonet, the ninth hitter in the lineup, led with a clean double over the head of Cats third baseman Stephen Parker. After a sacrifice by Corey Patterson, Eric Farris singled in Maysonet for the first run for Nashville.

One out later, Khris Davis singled in both Farris and Brown to give the Sounds their first lead of the game. After the Cats failed to score in the bottom of the sixth, the score was 3-2 in favor of Nashville.

That was it for Tyson Ross, as he had a solid night and looked to have good control of his pitches until the sixth, when the Sounds batters started to figure him out.

“Tyson did a good job,” said Cats manager Darren Bush. “He was very aggressive. He ran into a little trouble in the sixth. There was really only one ball hit real hard, but they found some holes and pushed across three runs.”

On the defensive side of things, Green was outstanding in the field. He was diving to his left and his right all night in an effort to save balls from going into the outfield. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seem so many putouts by one player. He was involved in seven ground ball putouts to first base, caught two popups and helped turn two double plays.

In short, he was everywhere.

“Grant did a good job at second base,” said Bush. “He ranged both ways — left and right — and made all the plays. He’s been working hard over there, learning a new position, and so far so good.”

Arnold Leon came to relieve Ross, but didn’t keep the Sounds at bay. He gave up a solo shot to the first batter he faced in Jeff Bianchi, and Nashville put some more cushion between them and the Cats.

Mitchell got the Cats closer in the bottom of the seventh on a one-out triple that plated Stephen Parker.

However, every little bit helps, as the Cats would score again in the eighth to tie the game. One out after a leadoff triple by Kila Ka’aihue, Barton singled in pinch-runner Wes Timmons to lock the game at 4-4.

Valdez had his hands full in the ninth. After a one-out triple by Logan Schafer, Bianchi was intentionally walked. Following a Humberto Quintero strikeout, Valdez threw a wild pitch that allowed Schafer to score and break the tie.

The Cats would not score in the ninth as the visiting Sounds won their second straight in SacTown.

In the afternoon game on Wednesday, it was Bruce Billings on the mound for the Cats.

Billings entered the game is in the top ten in the Pacific Coast League in several pitching categories including ERA, WHIP and base runners per nine innings.

Nashville found it almost impossible to get a hit off of him. In his seven innings, Billings faced only two batters over the minimum, giving up only two hits and striking out six.

His counterpart, Sounds pitcher Hiram Burgos, did more than hold up his end of the bargain. In his six strong, he also gave up two hits and had five strikeouts.

The pitcher’s duel kept any crooked numbers from being etched on the towering Raley Field scoreboard until the game went into extra innings.

Cats manager Darren Bush was pleased with his starter’s effort.

“He was outstanding,” said Bush. “He attacked the zone. He went seven innings on 93 pitches. We could have possibly sent him back out there. If it wasn’t a hundred degrees out, we probably would have.”

Donovan Hand came in to start the 10th frame, but just couldn’t put the ball where he wanted it to be.

Brandon Hicks led with a ground rule double that was helped by a glaring sun in the eyes of Sounds center fielder Logan Schafer. Schafer never really saw the ball, which bounced several feet away from him and over the center field fence.

The next hitter was Shane Peterson, who was intentionally walked to give Nashville a force out at any base. One batter later, Donaldson walked to load the bases and bring Barton to the plate. On a 1-2 pitch, Hand hit Barton on the upper arm, which forced the winning run across the plate.

The only Cats player to get a hit in the first nine innings was Donaldson, who had all three of Sacramento’s base knocks.

Donaldson may not be ecstatic to not be playing for the A’s, but he never lets that get in the way of how he goes about his business.

“Their starter was doing a real good job of locating,” said Donaldson. “He didn’t really have anything overpowering, but was hitting his spots. My second at bat was the first time he really came over the plate with anything and I was able to hit a double.”

Bush was happy to see Donaldson get three hits, but may have been more impressed with his at bat in the 10th, when he loaded the bases for Barton.

“That last AB (at bat) was really big because he laid off a couple of tough pitches,” said Bush.

The Cats now have a six-game lead over the Las Vegas 51’s in the PCL’s Pacific Southern division.

After a day off on Thursday, the River Cats head out on an eight-game road trip to Oklahoma City and New Orleans.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF:

RON NABITY

http://nabityphotos.com/

River Cats down Redbirds for second come-from-behind win in two days

2012-08-04T02:01:55Z

With rumors swirling that Cats phenom pitcher Dan Straily would be called up to the big club at any moment, Tyson Ross got the call to replace Straily in the starting lineup for Thursday’s tilt against the Memphis Redbirds.

With nearly the same type of clutch hitting as the night before, Ross’s fine performance and solid relief from James Timmons, Pedro Figueroa and Rich Thompson out of the bullpen, the Sacramento River Cats beat the visiting Redbirds 4-3 in front of 8,762 faithful in another exciting contest at Raley Field.

Even though it was the late clutch hitting of the Cats that helped pull out the victory, Cats manager Darren Bush couldn’t let the performance of his starter go unnoticed.

“I thought Tyson threw the ball really well,” stated Bush, who is in his second year as manager. “All his pitches were right around the zone. No big messes. ... with very good action on his pitches.”

With Ross pitching for the Cats and John Gast on the hill for the Redbirds, the game started as nearly the opposite — at least in pace — of last night’s affair. Both of the starters go very slowly from one pitch to the next, which sets up a long night at the park.

After giving up a double in the first and a single and a walk in the second, Ross finally gave up some runs to Memphis.

With one out in the third, Redbird right fielder Shane Robinson hit a line drive into right, which was later followed by one out with a single by third baseman Steven Hill. After a walk to designated hitter Mark Hamilton, second baseman Eugenio Velez hit a sharp grounder straight up the middle that scooted just past Ross and into centerfield for a two-run single that gave the Redbirds an early 2-0 lead.

Ross didn’t allow another run until the sixth. With one out, Redbird shortstop Pete Kozma singled, and one batter later leadoff hitter Adron Chambers hit a soft roller to Green at shortstop. Green fielded it, but made an errant throw to first. Kozma scored on the play, but when Chambers barely rounded first base, Daric Barton hustled over and made the tag for the third out of the inning.

After the sixth inning, Memphis had a 3-0 lead.

Up to this point, Redbird starter Gast was solid, if not spectacular. Through the sixth he had allowed no runs on four hits, two walks and five strikeouts.

Gast would finally start to show some wear as the Cats threatened in the seventh, when Anthony Recker, who pinch-hit for Derek Norris, lined a grounder into left field for a leadoff single. After Barton walked, Gast was removed from the game in favor of Nick Greenwood.

Greenwood never found his groove, as he walked the first batter he saw. A fielder’s choice and strikeout later, Colin Cowgill doubled into left. Barton, Wes Timmons and Jermaine Mitchell scored on the hit and Sacramento tied the score.

After an intentional walk to Josh Donaldson, Kila Ka’aihue ripped a shot into right that scored Cowgill and put the Cats ahead for the first time in the contest.

Bush spoke about the timely hitting.

“Recker leading off the seventh, and then us getting some big hits,” said Bush. “Cowgill with the bases loaded hitting the ball in the gap that scored three, and then K.K. (Kila Ka’aihue) coming up, after they intentionally walk J.D. (Josh Donaldson) — lefty on lefty — another big hit. It was good. It was a good day.”

The Redbirds tried to rally in the eighth when Velez, who had two previous singles, singled again and stole second and third to give Memphis a runner in the scoring position with two outs.

The threat was abruptly ended when Timmons made a great diving stop of a grounder that seemed destined to end up in right field. He was able to get up and throw Bryan Anderson out at first and stop the Redbirds rally cold, before dusting himself off and heading to the dugout.

“That was huge,” said Bush. “That’s the tying run, right there. And he goes over and ranges way out to his left and makes a great play. A game-saving play.”

For Timmons, it just gives him more leverage in convincing Bush to let him play shortstop, as Timmons’ career winds down.

“It’s just one of those plays,” said Timmons. “The ball’s hit and you just react. The funny thing is that I got on Bushy the game before for not letting me play shortstop. I wanted to play shortstop.”

Timmons was only half-kidding. He’s kind of a modern-day Campy Campaneris. He’s even pitched this year — his 10th in professional baseball.

Rich Thompson came in to close out the ninth. After Chambers walked, he was running to second when Luis Montanez struck out. Montanez didn’t slide, and was easily caught stealing.

Thompson then struck out Matt Adams, looking to earn his second save of the year.

Timmons may have made a game-saving stop, but, as always, gives a lot of credit to Bush for the team’s never-say-die attitude.

“It starts with Bush,” said Timmons. “It’s been like that for two years now. He has confidence in us and we go off of that. He doesn’t panic. We don’t do anything different. And we’ve done it enough times where you almost expect to do it and when you don’t, it’s like, wow, what happened?”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF:

David Alvarez Photography

Cats ruffle Redbirds feathers as Godfrey comes back to form

2012-08-03T01:29:31Z

To say the Oakland A’s have an eye for pitching talent and like to have lots of live arms is like telling a 35-year-old that Santa Claus doesn’t exist.

Duh!

Graham Godfrey is one of those live arms that for one reason or another hasn’t been able to find his mark when called up for duty.

Godfrey thinks he may have found what ailed him over his last few starts, when his earned run average skyrocketed from 1.21 on June 15 to 3.29 prior to the game on Wednesday evening.

“I’ve been battling an injury and you can kind of notice the dip in my numbers,” said Godfrey. “It was something I was trying to pitch through, but I just needed some time off. I was able to rehab it and get it strong again.”

Godfrey is talking about a minor problem with his left knee. Whatever he’s done, he looked much improved on Wednesday, as he pitched six strong, gave up three hits, struck out five and only gave up one run in Sacramento’s 5-2 comeback win over the Memphis Redbirds.

The first two innings sailed along like an easy cruise on a Mississippi steamboat, as both starting pitchers looked sharp and were hitting their spots.

For the visiting Redbirds, Brandon Dickson sat down for all six innings he faced, as did Cats ace Godfrey. Godfrey’s stuff looked a little better. He had three strikeouts, and the Memphis hitters were having a hard time getting around on his fastball.

Godfrey only allowed a walk in the third, but Dickson wasn’t as lucky.

Sacramento’s second baseman Grant Green led off the bottom of the third with his 12th homer of the season, to put the first digits on the Raley Field scoreboard for the night.

Both pitchers kept their rhythm until the sixth, when the Redbirds also put a run on the board.

With one out, the ninth hitter in the order was Bryan Anderson, who ripped a shot into deep right centerfield. Jermaine Mitchell went back for the ball, but the ball just missed his outstretched glove, hit the bottom of the wall, and rolled back towards centerfield. By the time Mitchell got to the ball, Anderson was safely arriving at third base.

The next hitter was Adron Chambers, who lofted a soft shot into short centerfield for a run-scoring single that tied the game at one apiece.

Darren Bush, third-base coach and Cats manager, replaced Godfrey after six great innings. Godfrey threw only 61 pitches in his six innings of work, 49 of them for strikes, and Bush was extremely happy about the way Godfrey went about his business on the mound.

“Him going six innings at that pitch count is an outstanding job,” said Bush. “He attacked the zone, changed speeds, he was down — great outing.”

He was replaced by Arnold Leon to start the seventh.

The first hitter Leon faced proved that the Redbirds were not done scoring just yet. In the seventh frame, Matt Adams, one of Cardinals brightest prospects, took Leon’s 1-1 pitch over the right field wall only a few yards inside the foul pole, for a solo jack that put Memphis ahead by 2-1.

It seemed like the leadoff hitters were getting to have all the fun this game.

And the fun continued when Daric Barton led off the bottom of the eighth with a solo shot of his own that tied the score at 2-2.

Sacramento would threaten further in the inning, as Adam Rosales hit a two-out single that kept the inning alive. Mitchell followed that with a single of his own, which knocked Memphis starter Dickson out of the game.

Colin Cowgill then broke the tie with an infield single that scored Rosales from third on a tricky play. Cowgill’s single didn’t even make it out of the infield, as Redbird shortstop Ryan Jackson make a diving stop to keep the ball from going into the outfield. The lucky diving stop caught both Rosales and Bush off guard.

“I had to wait a long time to see if the ball ricocheted off, but I was stopping Rosie (Rosales),” said Bush. “He was coming so hard down the line that he didn’t pick me up, and it worked out.”

Rosales hesitated just for a second on his way home, once he realized the ball didn’t make it into the outfield, but eventually made it home before the ball, giving Sacramento the go-ahead run.

“I thought I was dead in my tracks,” said Rosales. “It was a really tricky play because it happened so fast.”

The Cats bats weren’t done yet. Josh Donaldson stepped into the box and drilled a line shot into right centerfield that plated both Mitchell and Cowgill, padding the lead and assuring the win for the home team.

“I felt like I was back to the old Graham that was doing well the first half of the season,” said the 2012 All-Star. “A lot of it (his recent struggles) had to do with just feeling healthy again.”

What’s it going to take for Godfrey’s to stick around the next time he gets the call?

“It’s going to take a little bit of luck and timing,” said Godfrey. “Hopefully, I’ll get another opportunity and make the most of it.”

23-year old Straily pitches gem on first outing for River Cats

2012-06-23T05:56:00Z

With all the pitching changes on the Oakland A’s staff that have already occurred this season, you don’t really know who may be called up from one level for good or get a one-time start on the roster.

So when Dan Straily took the mound on Thursday evening to throw his first pitches against hitters at the Triple-A level, even though he had an incredible strikeout-hit ratio, no one, not even Straily, knew quite what to expect.

Straily admitted that maybe he had to shake off a little case of the jitters early in the game.

“I was a little nervous there early on,” said Straily. “It was nice I was able to watch a couple of games, and settled in that way. But going out there and towing the rubber is completely different.”

On a cool, crisp 65-degree evening at Raley Field, the local boys of summer put a whooping on the Fresno Grizzlies, the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, 6-0, in front of 8,521 chilly, happy fans.

After a lead-off single by Grizzlies center fielder Skyler Stromsmoe in the opening frame, Cats pitcher Daniel Straily, who was just called up Wednesday from Double-A Midland, sat down the next three hitters, two of them on strikeouts.

Straily had been mowing them down for Midland before being sent up to the River Cats. In 85.1 innings pitched this season, he struck out 108 batters and only walked 23.

His counterpart, Matt Yourkin, didn’t have the same kind of luck. After getting the first two hitters to fly out to right field, Yourkin walked Chris Carter, gave up a single to Kila Ka’aihue and then a walk to Michael Taylor to load the bases with two outs.

That’s when the hottest hitter of the last six games in the entire Pacific Coast League strode to the plate. Brandon Hicks, who had five home runs and 14 RBI in that span, roped a 1-2 pitch screaming over the left-center field wall for his first grand slam of the season.

“Tonight, I got myself in a hole early with the bases loaded,” said Hicks. “I swung at a couple of pitches in the dirt. I was able to work it back, and I got a good pitch when he made a mistake and I was able to drive it.”

Make that 18 RBI in the last seven games and six home runs in the same seven games!

“I think I’m just putting myself in a good position with my setup and everything and seeing the ball real well,” continued Hicks. “Whenever I got into a hole early in the year, I was a little jumpy and my head was moving a lot and I wasn’t able to see the ball like I am (able to) right now. I think that’s the key.”

Courtesy of Denny’s, everyone in attendance received a coupon for a free grand slam breakfast. Sweet deal!

The Cats would strike again in the fourth when Stephen Parker hit a shot into left-center that looked like it would be caught at the warning track at best. The ball kept going, and drifted over the wall for a two-run bomb that gave Sacramento an early 6-0 lead.

All the while, 23-year-old Straily was mowing them down.

In the second through fifth innings, he faced the minimum number of batters and had six strikeouts along the way, including striking out the side in the third.

In the top of the sixth, home plate umpire Quinn Wolcott ejected Grizzlies starting pitcher Yourkin for yelling at him from the dugout. Yourkin must have known he deserved it, as he walked quietly through the center field wall and to the showers.

By the time Straily was pulled after seven strong, he had only given up three hits, three walks, and struck out eight. Quite an impressive performance for the young man from Redlands, Calif.

“I got to clean it up a little bit, but I got the first one out of the way and I’m very happy with it,” said the 23-year-old.

How did the young man make his way up the ranks so quickly?

“You just keep working hard and everything takes care of itself,” said Straily. “I’m not trying to sound cliche at all. I showed up every day wherever I was at and had a great time. I worked hard and I feel very fortunate to be here this soon.”

The only real Grizzlies threat after Straily was pulled was in the eighth, when Fresno loaded the bases off Cats reliever Pedro Figueroa with one out. Figueroa settled in and retired the next two batters to shut down the Grizz.

Rich Thompson came in the close out the ninth, and sent the fans home happy.

Cats manager Darren Bush has seen a lot of top-flight pitching prospects come through town, but I’m not sure he saw this coming.

“He did a great job,” said Bush. “His first outing in Triple-A, facing a very good team on the other side and he went right at them. You could tell he didn’t have the best stuff that he could have had, but he made the pitches when he needed to in big situations. So, congratulations to him. Outstanding job!”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF:

David Alvarez Photography

Godfrey shines again, but Cats lose to Grizzlies 2-1 in ninth inning

2012-06-02T02:30:57Z

Graham Godfrey is killing it in Triple-A.

If he keeps up the numbers like he has so far at this level, he’ll easily be a pitcher of the year candidate.

Problem is, that's a minor league award and Godfrey is determined to get back to the A’s and stay there.

On Thursday evening, Godfrey did his part to increase his chances of being recalled and in hilding down the Fresno Grizzlies offense by only allowing one earned run in eight strong innings of work. This time, the bullpen let him down, as the usually reliable Fautino De Los Santos gave up three hits – all singles in the bottom of the ninth – as the Grizz knocked off the Sacramento River Cats 2-1 at Raley Field in front of 9,431 fans.

The Grizzlies wasted no time in trying to win their first game of the four-game set, as center fielder Justin Christian started the game with a clean single off Cats starter Graham Godfrey that went into center field.

One batter later, Francisco Peguero, who was playing right field on this night, slashed a line drive shot down the right field line that rolled to the wall and into the corner for a triple that scored Christian for the first run of the contest.

Anthony Recker, who is playing his first game as catcher of the year for Sacramento, showed off his cannon of an arm in the second, when Juan Ciriaco tried to steal second and the ball cleanly beat him for the third out of the game.

So many times in baseball does the guy that makes a great play get to come up to bat almost immediately and do some damage.

That was the case when Recker approached the batter’s box in the bottom of the second. With two outs, Recker reached on an error by the shortstop on a slightly bobbled ball. Recker hustled down the baseline and beat out the throw.

After a rare stolen base, Recker scrambled home after a Brandon Hicks’ single to tie the score.

The middle innings were filled with strikeouts and double plays.

Graham Godfrey, who entered the game 3-0 with a 1.21 ERA, allowing only four earned runs in 29.2 innings of work, was solid. He left after eight strong innings, allowing only one run on eight hits, and had seven strikeouts.

He was helped by a couple of double plays and two runners trying to steal second, who were thrown out by Recker.

Godfrey finally thinks he’s figured out what has held him back from putting up similar numbers at the big league level.

“It’s a combination of a couple things,” started Godfrey. “I felt like early on my mechanics were a little bit off. My command wasn’t where it needed to be, so I came down here and worked on it. When I got back up there, I injured my finger (the middle finger on his pitching hand) and it was just a bad circumstance. It made throwing off-speed, or really any pitches, kind of difficult, so I had some bad luck right there.”

“I feel like I’m in a good spot mentally and physically to stay up there. I’ve got to get that opportunity again and make the most of it.”

Darren Bush agreed.

“He just needs a couple of good outings to get his confidence level and know he can consistently do it, like he did here,” said the skipper.

His counterpart Yusmeiro Petit, who entered the contest 2-2 with a 3.98 ERA, was dealing just as well, if not better, than Godfrey.

Petit pitched seven frames, giving up only three hits and striking out eight in the process. He was in control his entire time on the mound.

De Los Santos came in to hold down the fort in the ninth, but ran into the top of the Grizzlies order.

Christian, who already was 3-for-3, ripped a shot to third baseman Stephen Parker. The ball took a very high hop and Parker just got a glove on it, but it bounced high in the air off the glove for a single.

After a sacrifice by Conor Gillaspie, Peguero hit a soft ground ball to Eric Sogard at second. Sogard couldn’t get to the ball in time, as Peguero beat it out for another infield single in the inning.

That’s when Chris Dominguez, who was just called up from Double-A Richmond, lofted a bloop single over Sogard’s head and into shallow right-center field. Two infield hits and a bloop single later, and the Grizzlies had a 2-1 lead.

It seems I can’t go to a River Cats game without some sort of umpire controversy.

Still in the ninth, with one out and two on, Nick Noonan swung and missed at a ball in the dirt for what everyone in the press box and the Cats’ bench thought – or should I say knew – was strike three.

Out trotted Bush to argue the call. All four umpires gathered near the mound for more than a minute before saying no, that was only strike two.

Surprise! Replays showed the umpire was wrong.

When I caught up with Cats outfielder Michael Taylor in the locker room, he said he’d “never seen anything like that in his years in professional baseball.”

Luckily for the home team, the next batter grounded into a 5-3 force out to close out the rally.

The River Cats had one more frame to do some damage.

And Taylor would be involved there, too.

With two outs, Taylor popped a routine fly ball into right field. Grizzly second baseman Charlie Culberson peddled backwards and waved off right fielder Peguero. Peguero stopped his pursuit of the ball, then suddenly Culberson stopped backing up and just dropped his arms, in essence, giving way to Peguero. The ball dropped in between them both for a fluke double.

After a walk to Chris Carter, Brandon Moss was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs.

Recker came up to the batter’s box. He flied out to center on the second pitch to end the threat and the game.

Bush was impressed with both starting pitchers’ performances.

“Petit located well,” said Bush. “He was hitting his spots down and away. Consistent. Didn’t give us much to hit. He only gave us a couple of pitches to hit the whole night.”

As for his ace, Godfrey?

“He did a good job. He made good pitches to get those double plays. He threw the ball well and worked ahead (in the count). He pitched into the eighth inning, so that’s a good game.”

GAME NOTES: Manny Ramirez was a last minute scratch, as he felt tightness in his left leg right just before game time ... Yoenis Cespedes was also removed from the Cats roster as it’s expected he will rejoin the big club on Friday ... The final game of the four-game set occurs Friday, 7:05 p.m.

Hicks hits walk-off homer run as Cats top Grizzlies 4-2 in Tuesday tilt

2012-05-31T03:31:42Z

With their division rivals in town and the possibility of seeing Manny Ramirez and Yoenis Cespedes, the series opener against the Fresno Grizzlies promised to be an exciting one.

In front of a solid Tuesday crowd of 8,729, Ramirez didn’t play (finished 10-game rehab stint), but it didn’t matter as the River Cats beat the division-leading Triple-A team of the San Francisco Giants 4-2 on great pitching and a walk-off home run by Brandon Hicks.

It was relatively quiet until the bottom of the second inning when Cats first baseman Chris Carter led off with a walk. After he stole second, Anthony Recker, who was optioned back to Sacramento yesterday, ripped a line shot into left field that plated Carter for the first runs on the scoreboard.

With two outs, Hicks was hit by a pitch to extend the inning, and when he stole second, it put runners on the corners.

That was all the Cats could muster in the frame as second baseman Luke Hughes struck out on the sixth pitch from Fresno starter Eric Hacker.

Yoenis Cespedes, who is on a rehab assignment, singled to start a rally in the third. Michael Taylor was up next and grounded a single into right field that allowed Cespedes to get to third.

Carter then strode to the plate and skied to second pitch into left field for a sacrifice fly that scored Cespedes. Then it was Recker’s turn. He promptly torched the first pitch he saw into right to put two on with two outs. Cats catcher Derek Norris who flied out to end the threat.

After three full, the River Cats held a 2-0 lead.

As the Cats bats were coming through when needed, Sacramento starting pitcher A.J. Griffin was having his best start of the year. After allowing two base runners in the opening frame, Griffin tightened up the screws and only let one more over the second, third and fourth innings combined.

Griffin has been consistent all year. The only knock on him may be that opponents are figuring out his stuff as the game goes into the latter innings.

“The more they see you, each time through the lineup, the more they are going to be able to recognize your pitches”, said 24-year-old Griffin. “At the same time, I’m out there throwing strikes and putting the ball in the zone.”

Manager Darren Bush said he saw a different and better Griffin out on the mound in this game.

“He’s thrown the ball well, but today he threw the ball with conviction and confidence, and it looked really good from the side,” he said.

A horrible call was made after Cespedes torched a clean double into right field that rolled to the wall. When the play was over, Hacker told the umpire he wanted to appeal the play, saying Cespedes didn’t touch first base on his way to second. He did, and the first base umpire Chris Segal called Cespedes out.

Upon seeing the replay, it was obvious that he easily hit the front corner of the bag with his heel. A horrible call cost the Cats a one-out scoring opportunity.

Fresno started off the sixth with a base on balls by Nick Noonan. Noonan got to third on a strange play. Roger Kieschnick hit one straight up the middle that nicked the top of Cats pitcher Griffin’s glove and towards a running Hicks. As the ball continued its path, he was able to get in front of the ball but fanned on it as it went right by his open glove into centerfield for a fielder’s choice that kept the inning alive.

The next batter, Charlie Culberson, singled on the first pitch he saw from Griffin for the Grizzlies first run of the game.

Bush decided that was enough for Griffin and brought in Sean Doolittle, who was just called up from the Midland Rockhounds.

Doolittle is an amazing story. The guy was a pitcher in college, but once drafted, the A’s liked his frame and thought if he just put on enough muscle, he would be a great power guy and be able to play first base. And he did for the River Cats back in 2009.

After tearing a tendon in his knee and having two knee surgeries, Doolittle then tore a tendon in his wrist. If he had the surgery to repair, he would have missed most of 2012. He realized the only way to stay in the league was to convert back into a pitcher.

In only 21.1 innings of work, he had a 0.84 ERA and 40 strikeouts in Single-A Stockton and Double-A Midland combined. Oh, by the way, he’s a lefty and can toss it 96 mph.

“It’s very mind-boggling,” Doolittle said. “It’s incredibly humbling, and I take none of it for granted. I’m so thankful to not only have a second chance but to make the most of it. Driving up the ballpark today was very surreal. Like, wow! Not only did get all the way back here, but I’m back as a pitcher. To make the most of a second chance, so far, it’s been awesome!”

After getting Todd Linden to strike out, Doolittle gave up a run scoring single to Juan Ciriaco that tied the game at 2-2.

That was all she wrote for the Grizzlies as the Cats bullpen threw zeros onto the scoreboard for the rest of the game behind the arms of Doolittle, Pedro Figueroa and Evan Scribner.

With Dan Otero on the mound, who relieved Hacker in the seventh, the Cats led off the ninth with a first pitch line shot to left by Stephen Parker. It was Parker’s third single of the day as he went 3-for-4 on the day.

Otero must have been rattled as the next pitch he threw was lofted over the wall into left field by Brandon Hicks, his sixth on the season.

Hicks had struggled in a couple of at-bats in the game as Hacker was pounding the fastball in tight and it kept Hicks from making good contact.

But on the first pitch from Otero, everything changed.

“It’s always fun to hit a walk-off at home in front of your home crowd”, Hicks said. “Especially against a team like Fresno, who we’re battling against for first place.”

GAME NOTES: With the win, the River Cats go to 33-20 on the season . . . Recker went 3-for-4 in his first game back with Sacramento . . . Scribner is now 2-0 and has a team-leading four saves . . . Fresno left 19 men on base as the Cats arms were tough when it mattered most . . . Ramirez is expected to stay in Sacramento and probably play Wednesday

Cats lose another pitcher's duel, fall to Tacoma 1-0 on solo home run

2012-04-21T02:23:34Z

Coming into Thursday night’s contest at Raley Field, the Sacramento River Cats were on a roll. As winners of four of their last five, the team’s confidence was riding high, especially considering the pitching staff had only given up seven runs in the last five games.

All that changed with the Tacoma Rainiers in town. They brought their ace, Anthony Vasquez, who had a streak of nine consecutive quality starts on the line dating back to last July, pitched a gem and kept Sacramento’s bats confused by changing speeds often. The pitching performance allowed the Rainiers to win the game 1-0 on a beautiful 79 degree evening in front of 4,304 fans.

For the River Cats, the action got started in the bottom of the first.

With two outs and a man on first, a horrible call was made when Michael Taylor drilled a sinking line drive into right field. The ball clearly hit the grass before right fielder Chih-Hsien Chiang scooped it up, but the right field umpire called it a catch.

That’s all it took for Cats manager Darren Bush to come sprinting out of the dugout and racing straight up to the umpire to complain. It appeared that, not only everyone in the press box knew it was a clean hit, but so did almost every player in the field. Bush couldn’t get umpire Stu Scheurwater to change his mind, and the inning ended.

The third inning brought a little excitement for both teams. The first batter up for Tacoma was Guillermo Quiroz, who belted a shot over the left field wall for a monster solo shot.

In the bottom half of the frame, the Cats had two outs and one on when Colin Cowgill, who just joined the team after being sent down by the A’s, sent a ball screaming toward deep left field. Scott Savastano had to leap at the base of the wall and made a great catch, snatching the ball just as it was clearing the fence.

Cowgill seemed to be the only River Cat that could halfway figure out Rainiers starter Vasquez.

“I played against him last year,” he said. “He’s got a .90 (ERA) for a reason. He’s got a good fastball that tails away, good change-ups, cutters and works both sides of the plate. I was just fortunate enough to get the barrel on a few. I wish I would have done a little more damage with them.”

After three complete innings, the Rainiers led 1-0.

It was quite the pitcher’s duel through six innings. Tacoma’s starter Anthony Vasquez was solid as he only gave up four hits, gave up no walks and struck out three.

For Cats starter Fabio Castro, the pitching line was very similar. He had also given up four hits but had seven strikeouts. The big difference being the solo homer he gave up in the third.

Finally in the eighth, the Cats started a rally of their own. Brandon Hicks walked with one out, and a batter later, Cowgill, who had hit the ball hard in all three of his previous at-bats, smashed a liner down the third baseline that bounced off the glove of Vinnie Catricala and rolled down the line. It went far enough for Hicks to get to third and Cowgill to second.

Cue the Rainiers reliever. Out with starter Vasquez and in came Oliver Perez. With a 1-2 count on him, Brandon Moss, who scored the winning run two days ago, struck out looking to end the inning.

In the ninth, Derek Norris managed to squeeze out a walk, but that was all the Cats could muster. Adam Rosales struck out for the final out of the game.

Castro had a great performance. Castro’s final line was six innings pitched, four hits, one earned run, three walks and seven strikeouts.

Bush was very pleased with the outing.

“He threw the ball well and moved it around,” he said. “One mistake. He fell behind in the count, and the guy hit a home run. Solo home runs usually don’t hurt you. Tonight it hurt us. He threw the ball outstanding. Bullpen did a great job. The defense played well, but we just couldn’t get the hits.”

Bush was not surprised at the outing that Vasquez had for Tacoma.

“He changes speeds well,” he said. “He moves the ball around in the zone. He gets guys off balance and stays off their barrel. He does a good job of it.”

How did Bush think Cowgill did in his first start with the team?

“Just like I remember him,” he said.

Cowgill, like every new player that comes into the clubhouse at Raley Field, was welcomed with open arms.

“It’s a great feel,” Cowgill said. “Great teammates, great coaching staff,all the way around. It’s just a great clubhouse. There’s a positive attitude. This team is going to do damage in the future.”

PHOTOS COURTESTY OF:

RON NABITY PHOTOGRAPHY

http://nabityphotos.com

River Cats win third in a row, beat Reno Aces 2-1 in pitcher's duel

2012-04-18T02:02:13Z

In the first two series of the year the Sacramento River Cats won both of them by winning three of the four games played in each. In the third series of the year, it was a close one, but the Cats beat the Reno Aces 2-1 in a classic pitchers’ duel on Monday night at Raley Field.

The Aces were the first to scratch a run onto the huge Raley Field scoreboard when Ryan Wheeler ripped a 3-0 pitch from Cats starter Jarrod Parker that went screaming over the right field fence on a rope for a solo home run.

Parker was solid though three innings of work. One-third of the way through the game, he had four strikeouts, three hits and a walk.

In the bottom half of the third, Cats left fielder Grant Green smoked a line drive down the right field line for a clean triple. Hopes were raised when the 244-pound Chris Carter strolled to the plate with a man on and two outs. Carter tapped a roller to the third baseman, but Wheeler threw the ball up the line and pulled first baseman Randy Ruiz off the bag. Ruiz’s tag missed Carter as he ran by on his way to first. The play scored the Cats’ first run as Green easily made his way to home plate.

Even though he was working deep into counts, Parker was still dealing. Through five, he had seven strikeouts and had only given up four hits.

His counterpart, Chris Jakubauskas, was having a great game himself. He had given up only three hits through five.

A scare came in the sixth. After a couple of singles off of Parker, Coach Bush decided to have a mound chat with him in an attempt to settle him down.

After a fly out, Taylor Harbin hit a 1-1 pitch to the left side of shortstop Adam Rosales. Rosales scooped it up and threw it home. Cats catcher Derek Norris was ready for the throw at the plate and tagged David Winfree as he tried to score from third on the play. The next hitter grounded out to end the frame and the game remained tied.

In the bottom half of the sixth, with one out, designated hitter Brandon Moss scorched a double into right field. Michael Taylor walked to the plate and promptly took a 2-0 pitch into right for a seeing-eye single that put runners on first and third with only one out.

That’s when Norris stroked the pitch into deep enough right field that Moss could score from third. On the play, Taylor was thrown out at second as he tried to get the extra base.

Norris said he’s motivated by playing with such a great group of guys this season.

“We have a really good hitting team and a really good pitching team,” Norris said. “You see the guy in front of you get a base hit, your confidence goes up that you can get a hit as well, so I think that is a big part of it. I’ve hit behind (Michael) Taylor most of the year and I don’t even know - he’s batting like .900 or something. When I see him up there and he gets a line drive base hit, that gives me all the confidence in the world to go up there and do the same exact thing.”

“With a group of great guys, it makes it easier to come out here and play. A great manager, great coaching staff, makes everything so much easier when everything goes smooth like it is.”

The aforementioned Michael Taylor is killing it early this season. Taylor is the team leader in hits with 19, runs batted in with 11, and an outstanding .413 batting average.

On this night, he went 3-for-4 with all three hits being solid line drives.

Even though Taylor didn’t have an awe-inspiring spring training, he was hard at work refining his swing like he does every year.

“I came into this year focused on my process and what I wanted to do,” started Taylor. “Spring training and whatnot, I kind of went back to how I always look at spring training, which is getting ready for the season, kind of building your swing and learning what you need to do so you can be consistent on a day-in day-out basis. I went to the spring and might have got five hits all spring, but I knew I was right where I wanted to be. I’ve rolled that over to here and luckily some of the balls I’ve hit hard are falling.”

Taylor believes the future is bright for the team.

“This might be the best team I’ve been on in the last three years I’ve been here… I think we have a really great bullpen. It might be the hardest throwing bullpen I’ve ever been a part of. Everyone seems to up there around 95 or 96,” Taylor said.

“Anyone on any night can come in and shut the door for us and that’s fantastic. Overall, we have a really solid team with young prospects and older guys that have been here before. So far, it’s been a recipe for success!”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF:

JOHN HERNANDEZ

Cats or A's? Final roster to be set on Wednesday, hopefuls still hoping

2012-04-04T02:30:50Z

As the grass gets greener and the sun starts to shine more often, the question for some players in the Oakland A’s system is - which team will they be starting the season with, the Oakland A’s or their Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats?

Some players, like Jemile Weeks, suited up in the maroon and grey of the Cats for most of last year until getting the call to don the Kelly green and gold of the Athletics late in the season.

For Weeks, it’s a comfortable feeling knowing that a good portion of the River Cats players he spent most of the last couple of years with had a chance to make this year’s big club.

“It’s great, I love it,” Weeks said. “These are guys I played with in the Double-A level and Triple-A level here at Raley Field and I enjoyed that team. It’s just boosting everybody up to another notch here at the big league level. I’m gonna enjoy this season also.”

Weeks’ situation is not the norm this year in A’s training camp. There are several spots open for guys that spent either all or most of last year in the minor leagues.

Enter Eric Sogard.

Sogard only hit .200 in 27 games for the A’s after being called up in September, but hit an impressive .340, had 16 hits and scored 14 runs this spring for the big club.

After such a showing, Sogard has garnered one of the remaining utility infielder spots he had cherished so much.

“It’s been great,” started the soft-spoken Sogard. “It’s my third big league camp there and I got a lot of experience. I’m continuing to feel more comfortable out there. I had a good spring and did what I wanted to do and it’s been paying off… They’ve liked what they’ve seen and they’ve been talking high on me, so hopefully I’ll make that last cut. Either way, I’ll just keep working hard to do what I can to stay up there or get back up there.”

Sogard gets excited when he thinks that several of the guys he has spent so much of his minor league career with may also make the team.

“That’s exciting,” said the 26-year-old from Phoenix, Ariz., “just seeing those guys up there and guys that I have played with for a long time. You just feel comfortable around them; you kind of know how they play and you can work off of each other. I think that is one thing that will help me and not make me put too much pressure on myself knowing those guys are around me.”

For Anthony Recker, it’s a childhood dream to be able to start a year in a major league uniform.

“It would mean the world to me,” said the 28-year-old catching prospect. “Obviously, that was the goal coming into this year was to make the squad and be on the roster. It looks like there is a good possibility of that happening, but nothing is set yet. It’s been a long time - like seven or eight years I’ve been working for this - so it would be a dream come true to make an opening day roster.”

Recker, like everyone that was asked, feels great about the possibility of several River Cats making the A’s main roster around the same time.

“It’s great playing with those guys all the way up and getting a chance to play with them here,” Recker said. “It brings a lot of unity to the locker room. We’re a tight-knit group and we’re having a lot of fun. It makes it a lot easier to get out and perform and just feel comfortable. It’s been great so far.”

Josh Donaldson has been high on the A’s radar for several years, but it’s the here and now that has given him a chance to land a starting position.

With projected starting third baseman Scott Sizemore going down with a torn ACL, the opening day spot at the hot corner was up for grabs.

By playing solid defense at third base during spring training and honing up on his infield skills in the Dominican League during the offseason, Donaldson appears ready to start at third base for Oakland this season.

“It’s exciting times for me,” said an excited Donaldson. “It’s a great opportunity for me to show my talents and hopefully make these guys look like geniuses!”

As you can tell, Donaldson has quite the sense of humor and a great, honest personality. During his struggles last season, he was refreshingly candid about his plight and was always upfront when issues arose.

Again, the at-ease factor of playing with so many ex-teammates plays an important role in Donaldson settling into his new role.

“It’s awesome, just having these guys around,” said the new A’s third baseman. “The clubhouse so far has been awesome. We’ve got a good mixture right here.”

Then there’s my favorite River Cat of all. You can’t find a more honest and real person than Wes Timmons.

Timmons has toiled in the minors for ten years looking for a chance to kick down the door. This training camp with the A’s had him closer than he may have even been before in making an opening day major league roster.

Alas, even though he made only one error in 53 total chances and hit .278 during the spring, he seems destined to spend one more season with the Sacramento River Cats.

While his wife Randi and two children spend another season without their main man in Florida, Timmons will be a stalwart for the River Cats.

“It feels great, but the reality of the situation is that I’m probably not going to be on that (Oakland’s) roster,” said the 33-year-old utility player. “But being here (Sacramento) as long as I have, it’s been a great ride.”

Timmons is one of the best clubhouse guys a team could ever have. Coach Darren Bush would be the first to agree and Timmons can’t wait to get back here and be a positive influence on the younger guys.

“I’m excited. And the thing is that I signed a contract to come to Triple-A. The big leagues, that’s a bonus - icing on the cake so to speak, but I know the kind of manager Bushy is and I know that the will to win or that thrive to succeed and I can’t wait to get back to that.”

The Oakland A’s will make their final cuts on Wednesday and the River Cats won’t know until then who comes back and who doesn’t.

Whatever the news, several of last year’s Cats will be wearing a new green and gold uniform this season.

River Cats beat Reno 5-2 in must-win game to keep title hopes alive

2011-09-10T09:54:42Z

With everything they’ve worked for the entire season on the line, the Sacramento River Cats found themselves down 0-2 after two games of the first round of the Pacific Coast League Playoffs.

After losing the first two games in Reno, 7-4 and 4-2, the Cats force a fourth game after beating the Reno Aces 5-2 at Raley Field on Friday evening and keep the best-of-five series alive.

That’s good news for the team with the best record in the regular season.

Josh Donaldson, who went 1-for-3 with two RBI, knew that it was just a matter of time before the offense woke up.

“It’s something that we really haven’t been tested all year because we had such a big league all year”, said Donaldson as he left the field. “But you know what? We showed our colors today and we’re going to come out tomorrow and try to do it again!”

The River Cats wasted no time in getting to Aces starter Kevin Mulvey. With two outs, Chris Carter, who hit a homer in each of the first two games of this series, continued his nice run by singling a soft ground ball that Mulvey deflected and shortstop Angel Berroa couldn’t get to in time.

Josh Donaldson came up next and ripped a line shot over center fielder Ryan Langerhans’ head for a run-scoring double that gave the Cats the first run on the scoreboard.

The not-so-funny thing was that it was the River Cats first lead of the series.

Reno wasted no time in getting that run back in the second when, with two outs, Cole Gillespie hit a solo shot that bounced off the midway point of the left field foul pole banner.

Donaldson continued his fine hitting by knocking in lead-off hitter Jermaine Mitchell on a sacrifice fly in the third to get Sacramento back their one run lead.

It didn’t last long as Reno started to get to Cats starter Travis Banwart when Andy Tracy led off the fifth with a deep shot that easily cleared the Jiffy Lube sign in right center.

A controversial call in the Cats part of the fifth when Mitchell attempted a steal of second after getting on by a hit by pitch. The Aces shortstop Berroa ran in front of second baseman Tony Abreu to grab the throw from the catcher and he tried a swipe tag on Mitchell as he slide into second. The second base umpire Barry Larson, who’s view was blocked on the play, called Mitchell out on the tag. The problem was that everyone at Raley Field didn’t think the tag was made including Cats skipper Darren Bush, who went out to argue the call to no avail.

The play effectivly ended the start of a rally for the home team.

With two on and one out in the seventh, Wes Timmons lined a shot right to left fielder Evan Frey that he snagged, but it was deep enough to get Tyler Ladendorf home for the go-ahead run.

The funny thing was that Timmons almost didn’t give himself the chance to get the needed RBI. After initially getting some kind of bunt sign, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do on the upcoming pitches so he had to run down to the third base coaching box and confer with Bush to make sure.

“Bushy and I got a thing,” said Timmons, who admitted the season would have been for naught had the Cats lost on this occasion. “I was looking to set up a safety squeeze or something like that, but I got the signs mixed up so he told me he wanted me to swing. With that said, God is good.”

The wheels came off for the Aces when the next hitter, Carter, torched the pitch from Esmerling Vasquez and sent it well over the wall in left center. The ball bounced once on the top of the Cats clubhouse and then out of Raley Field. What a bomb!

Carter has hit a home run in each of the first three games of the series and has just been hitting the cover off the ball lately. He put it simply when asked what’s gotten into him over the last couple of weeks.

“I’ve just been trying to square things up and keep it low and not try to do so much with it,” said the Cats big man.

Jordan Norberto came into the game in the seventh and pitched two high quality innings before giving way to closer Fernando Cabrera.

Pitching coach Scott Emerson was very pleased with his staff’s effort on this night. When Norberto was mentioned, he sounded had some nice things to say.

“I thought he did a good job of being aggressive and attacking the strike zone. He had six up, six down and a good slider tonight. Any time he’s down with his fastball, he’s tough to hit with that mid-nineties fastball.”

Cabrera would allow two runners on base in the final frame to put a minor scare into the home crowd, but buckled down and struck out the last two hitters of the contest.

Banwart was happy to get his part of the job done and hand it over to the closing crew.

“It meant a lot to get that win and not go home early,” said Banwart. “I just came out there and tried to treat it like another game. I focused in and I scouted hitters the last two games and their place and felt like I had great command of everything and threw a lot of strikes.”

Bush was very complementary about his starting pitcher’s effort.

“He did a great job just like he has been," said Bush. "He attacked the zone, he moved the ball around and he kept it down. He gave up two home runs - both solo home runs. That’s because he was commanding the baseball and was doing a good job. Outstanding!”

The Cats try to get even in their best-of-five series on Saturday night at Raley Field at 7pm.

Be there!

PHOTOS COURTESY OF:

RON NABITY PHOTOGRAPHY

River Cats win seventh in a row and on a roll as playoffs loom

2011-09-03T00:29:46Z

It was the last regular season game of the year.

A chance for the team to thank the fans for being such great guests all year long and an equal chance for the River Cats diehards to cheer one last time during a great campaign.

From the Sacramento players greeting loyal guests at every entrance to Raley Field to the pre-game fireworks booming from center field to the River Cats own regular season player awards - all of it took place before the contest in front of the fifth sellout of the year - 14,014 roaring fans. Everything fell into place on Thursday evening for the Cats to win their last home game of the regular season 7-1 against the Las Vegas 51’s.

The game started out as a pitcher’s duel through the first two innings with 51’s starter Chad Beck matching zeros with Cats starter and team pitcher-of-the-year Graham Godfrey.

In the bottom of the third, Cats first baseman Chris Carter ripped a ball into left field for a clean double with one out. After Josh Donaldson put runners on the corners with only one out with his single, Michael Taylor, who was selected by his teammates as defensive player-of-the-year, torched a shot well over the left field wall that bounced off of the top of the Jackson Rancheria “Home Run Terrace” roof.

Forget the minors - that ball would have cleared any fence in the majors!

Las Vegas would get one back the following inning when the three of the first five batters singled. Chris Woodward was the last of the trio and garnered an RBI in the process.

The Cats threatened again in the fifth when Carter doubled for the second time, then Donaldson and Taylor walked to load the bags with no outs.

Cats home run leader and offensive player-of-the-year Jai Miller strode to the plate. The seventh pitch to Miller was a wild pitch that allowed Carter to score from third. With Miller still batting, he lifted the tenth pitch he saw high into right-center field for a sacrifice fly.

One more run would score when Las Vegas right fielder Adam Loewen’s throw was a little offline as it came into the infield and arrived at third base. The ball got away from Jayson Nix at third and rolled into the Cats dugout for another run in the frame.

After five, the Cat led 6-1.

In the sixth, Wes Timmons, this writer’s favorite River Cat player, extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a long single. Timmons has been on fire since being recalled from Midland 11 games ago by hitting well over .400. He also has three home runs, 15 RBI and 11 walks since returning to Sacramento.

Timmons, who was voted the teams’s most improved player, as always, first thanks the man upstairs.

“I’m blessed,” said the 10-year veteran. “I’m blessed to back here and to be healthy. We battled that ankle injury for the first half of the season so finally feel like I’m healthy enough to play at a level that I know I’m capable of playing.”

“And I have to thank Bushy for fighting to get me back up here. I easily could have ended the year there and missed out on all the fun here. So I’m fortunate to be back and to have Bushy in my corner.”

Manager Darren Bush was in his corner the entire time, it’s just that certain circumstances dictate who must play where sometimes during the season.

Nonetheless, Bush was just as happy to have Timmons back in the fold for the playoffs.

“Wes was deserving to be here the whole time,” said the Cats’ skipper. “Having him back here - he pushed his way back here, I mean he was hitting .380 or something. I’m real happy for him and it’s been great to have him back in the clubhouse for sure.”

Godfrey handed it over to Jordan Norberto and Vinnie Chulk - who was named the teammate of the year - to finish the game. He threw 97 pitches, 73 of them being strikes in another fine performance for the man that started the season at Double-A Midland. Godfrey was his normal self by throwing six innings, giving up only six hits and one run while striking out five. Just another day at the office for one of the best pitchers in all the minors.

Godfrey told me how much it meant to receive his pitcher-of-the-year award before the game, but reminded me in the process that he thought he was ready to have that breakout year.

“It means a lot,” said Godfrey, who ended the regular season with a record of 14-3. “It means so much, especially, like you said, where I started off the year. I knew I was going to have a good year this year. Once I was able to come to Sacramento, I knew that things were going to take off from there.”

“Just being with this group of guys, this coaching staff - I kind of held onto something and enjoyed the ride. It’s easy to have a great year like this when you are surrounded by a bunch of guys that work as hard as they do. Our defense is outstanding, the offense is probably the best in the minors right now so it just makes my job so much easier.”

Bush can’t say enough about his most consistent pitcher throughout the season.

“He takes the ball and goes out there and dominates,” said Bush. “He did it again tonight. Graham’s always been ready for the baseball, always been prepared. Thank goodness he’s had some opportunities to go up there and help that club (A’s). When he comes down here, he has one thing on his mind - take the ball, compete and win. It’s paid off for him.”

GAME NOTES:

Here is a list of the team’s regular season awards:

Graham Godfrey - Pitcher of the year
Michael Taylor - Defensive player of the year
Josh Donaldson - Most exciting player of the year
Wes Timmons - Most improved player of the year
Adrian Cardenas - Most versatile player of the year
Vinnie Chulk - Teammate of the year
Jai Miller - Offensive player of the year
Jai Miller - MVP

PHOTOS COURTESY OF:

DAVID ALVAREZ

Cats stay on winning track as Godfrey shines again in 7-3 win

2011-08-17T23:19:08Z

When you think about it, Graham Godfrey’s path was not on the fast track.

In fact, for a guy that started the season with Double-A Midland, where he is today is a huge leap in the right direction.

As Godfrey told me earlier this year, it was just one small mechanical thing he changed and voila, a steady, dominating pitcher was born.

With Godfrey pitching nearly lights out, the Sacramento River Cats stayed on the winning side of things with a 7-3 victory over the Albuquerque Isotopes at Raley Field on Tuesday evening in front of 10,016 happy fans.

The win gives him a league tying 12 and he’s only two away from tying the Sacramento franchise record of 14.

What would that accomplishment mean to the guy that could be leading the PCL in almost every pitching category if he'd been with the team all season?

“Personally, it will mean a lot, but right now I’m really focused on trying to get the team into the playoffs. We’ve got a good grasp of first place right now and hopefully we can lock it down and keep everything rolling into the playoffs. If I can pick up a win or two, that’s great, but what’s on everybody’s mind right now is getting to the playoffs and showing what this team is all about.”

After Godfrey got out of a small jam in the top of the first, trouble arose for Isotope moundsman Joe Newby right away.

Newby, owner of a 5.36 ERA, was a little out of control and getting hit hard in more ways than one. He led off the game with a walk to Jermaine Mitchell and a clean single by Adrian Cardenas.

During Kevin Kouzmanoff’s at-bat, Newby threw a wild pitch that just got by catcher Tim Federowicz. Mitchell sprinted towards the plate trying to score the first run of the game when Newby received the ball back from his catcher and had to awkwardly attempt a tag on the barreling-in Mitchell. Mitchell appeared to cleat Newby’s right foot on the play.

After a brief visit with the trainer, Newby elected to continue pitching in the contest.

He didn’t last long.

Kouzmanoff ended up taking a base on balls and, after a ground out by Josh Donaldson, Chris Carter torched a 2-1 pitch into left field that scored Kouz and gave the Cats a 2-0 lead.

Apparently, the right foot of Newby was hurting enough that he left the field of play with the trainer after the Carter at-bat. Newby’s line was one for the books - one-third of an inning pitched, two hits, four earned runs, two walks and two wild pitches! Quite an outing!

Adam Rosales would plate another run before the inning ended when he singled in Carter. The frame would end there as Andy LaRoche was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on the play.

As Godfrey was bearing down - three straight fly outs to center in the second, the opposite could be said of Francisco Felix, the emergency pitching replacement for the injured Newby.

Cardenas, who went 4-for-5 and an RBI, said the Cats know they have a great chance to win when Godfrey’s on the mound.

“You just know he’s gonna go out there and give it his best, regardless of what happens,” said the 23-year old. “Usually, it’s a performance like tonight where, if it wasn’t for that sixth inning, it would be another six inning shutout. But that’s Graham, he’s been that way all year and he deserves to be in the big leagues right now.”

Besides the run in the first, Felix would give up another in the second on Donaldson’s second RBI in as many innings when he plated Mitchell on a fielder’s choice.

It was all quiet for the next couple of innings until a crack in Godfrey’s armor was starting to develop.

After getting taken deep on three fly ball outs in the fifth, he gave up three straight hits to lead off the sixth inning. After a lead-off single by Joe Becker, Brad Coon tripled down the right field line to score Becker for the first Albuquerque run of the game. The next hitter, Ivan De Jesus Jr., singled and scored Coon from third.

That was enough for a visit to the mound by Cats pitching coach Scott Emerson in an effort to settle down his starter.

The pep talk did some good as Godfrey settled in and struck out the two of the next three hitters to set down the Isotopes with minimal damage inflicted.

In the frame, a great play by Rosales at short helped get Godfrey out of the jam when he made a diving stop on Russ Mitchell’s shot up the middle. While laying on the ground, Rosales tried flipping the ball to LaRoche, but the it semi-stuck in his glove and barely trickled to LaRoche in time to get the runner at second base. The play probably saved another run from scoring in the inning.

In the eighth, the Cats etched some more digits on the Raley Field scoreboard when Cardenas singled in Anthony Recker, who had walked to lead off the inning. Kouzmanoff was up next and hit a shot to the shortstop who looked like he would turn two easily. De Jesus, Jr. flipped the ball to Becker at second but Becker double-pumped the throw, which caused him to be late with the ball and allowed Kouz to get an RBI and be safe at first on the play.

Jordan Norberto pitched a good final two innings of relief having four strikeouts and only allowing a two-out solo home run in the ninth by Jamie Hoffman.

With two strong pitching performances turning into two wins in a row, Darren Bush was pleased the guys are getting back on track and playing proper baseball at the proper time.

“We played better games in that Round Rock series and we played good again tonight,” said the soft-spoken manager of the now 72-52 River Cats.

Taking things in the proverbial day-by-day fashion works for Bush and it’s that attitude that has spread to the entire team and staff over the course of his first year in Sacramento.

“We need to make sure we stay focused on the game that day and not get caught up in anything else,” continued Bush. “We’re here to play a baseball game tomorrow at twelve o’clock, not two weeks from now. We’re here to play tomorrow and we need to focus on playing that game on that day. Everything else will take care of itself. You ask about fine tuning? Just play that game and you’ll play fundamentally sound.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF:

STEVEN CHEA

Cats losing streak up to six in 7-3 loss to Round Rock

2011-08-14T00:17:07Z

On a night that had the Sacramento River Cats thinking about grounding up Round Rock Express pitcher Mark Hamburger, the first time starter was serving up filet mignon as he blanked Sacramento in his four innings of work to help the Express beat the Cats 7-3 at Raley Field on Friday evening.

For the home team, Josh Outman started to slip a little in the second when the hitters for Round Rock started taking him up the middle with several solid hits.

After Val Majewski and Joey Butler had back-to-back singles, Matt Kata hit into what looked like a tailor-made double play. Cats second baseman Andy LaRoche’s throw was offline and pulled Brandon Allen off the bag. With two men on, one of the power hitters for the Express, Brad Nelson strode to the plate and ripped a liner into right-center for a clean double that scored both base runners.

The other hitter in the Round Rock lineup with 20 homers - Chad Tracy - was up next and took a 3-1 pitch from Outman straight up the middle for a run-scoring single to give the Express a three-run lead after one and a half innings of play.

On the defensive side of things, Cats center fielder Jermaine Mitchell made a sweet diving catch on a sinking liner off the bat of Express catcher Robinson Diaz in the inning that helped put out the rally.

In the third, Cats catcher Josh Donaldson threw out former Cat and ex-Oakland Athletic Esteban German even though he got a great jump on a steal attempt from second. As Kouzmanoff had his glove waiting between the bag and the runners foot, Donaldson thew a bullet that hit Kouz in the perfect spot - right in the glove.

It wasn’t until the fourth inning that the Cats scratched out a hit against the long-time reliever. After Allen ripped a liner into center that was caught, Kouzmanoff hit a clean single for the first hit off of Hamburger. When the Jai Miller was hit by a pitch in the next at-bat, it looked like Sacramento would put some runs on the board against the right-hander.

With two outs, hope came to the plate by way of Chris Carter. The big man worked the count full before striking out on a fastball away to end the threat.

Hamburger was pulled after four innings of work and had a great line for a guy getting his first start in 168 appearances at the professional level. The guy hadn’t made a start since back in college in 2006!

“I was really excited when they told me I was going to start,” said Hamburger. “I’d done well in college so I always had a feel for starting.”

Even though Hamburger had a no-hitter going into the fourth, he knew the coach would only let him throw so many pitches before resting his “reliever” arm.

“I knew I was getting pulled. I had the feeling that if maybe I kept it a no-no, that maybe he would have kept me in there, but once I gave up the hit, I knew I was coming out.”

The boys from Round Rock added some extra cushion to the lead in the seventh when, in between striking out the side, Justin Souza gave up two doubles, a single and a two-run bomb that added an extra four runs to the Express’ lead.

The Cats would get one back in the seventh when Donaldson took one over the A’s logo tarp into left-center field but that was all they could muster in the frame.

Even though Donaldson was one of the lone bright spots for the Cats offensively going 2-for-4 with the home run, he knows that the Cats sticks aren’t right.

“I think for the most part, our guys are struggling a little bit at the plate, even myself lately,” said the Cats catcher. “We need to turn it around so we all finish strong at the end of the year.

In the eighth, newly acquired Allen absolutely crushed the ball over the Jiffy Lube sign and deep onto the grass near dead center for a solo shot to get the Cats to within five.

Then, on the strength of three singles out of the next four batters, the Cats scored another run on a Chris Carter single to bring the score to 7-3 with Round Rock leading.

With the bases loaded, Cats Manager Darren Bush pulled a rare minor league move - bringing in a pinch-hitter. For various reasons, it doesn’t happen much at this level.

The Cats best chance to do some significant damage this day came to the plate in the form of Adrian Cardenas. Cardenas, who had a nice at-bat, would bounce out to second on the seventh pitch he saw to end the inning.

The Cats’s comeback would fall short and the loss would give them six in a row.

Manager Darren Bush had no problems with tonight’s effort. It’s that he just wishes that the team would have played better on the road.

“We didn’t play very good on the road, that’s for sure,” said Bush after the loss. “We didn’t play good baseball. Tonight we played better. We did all the fundamental things correct. We just didn’t push across the runs. That’s okay. You need to play good baseball. Tonight we did, we just came out on the losing end.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF:

Sara Molina - RIVERCATS.com & Daniel Gutierrez - RIVERCATS.com

Cats on fire, beat Sky Sox, now eight games ahead of last year's pace

2011-08-04T00:35:40Z

Usually, Cats’ starter Travis Banwart pitches well during the first few innings of a contest.

Banwart’s quietly had a very good season. His numbers put him near the top of several Pacific Coast League pitching categories. He ranks fourth in strikeouts, third in WHIP and third in batting average against while being the team leader in all of those areas.

On Tuesday evening at Raley Field, things went in a different direction for Banwart when he got off to a rough start as five of the first six batters got on base and the River Cats found themselves down 4-0 after one.

But after the shaky start, Banwart settled in and pitched well as he set down 13 of the next 14 batters he faced and helped get the Cats their sixth win in a row by beating the Colorado Sky Sox 8-6 in front of 11,268 jacked up fans.

Cats’ skipper Darren Bush was pleased with, not only this overall pitching performance, but the way his guys have handled the Sky Sox the entire series.

“The pitching was good all series long,” said Bush. “Banny (Banwart) had the rough first inning and then he settled down and put in five solid innings out there for us. That really helps the bullpen going into an eight-day road trip.”

The Sky Sox got off to a hot start on the strength of a couple of walks and a run-scoring single by Mike Jacobs. Included in the hit parade was center fielder Joe Mather’s three-run laser shot home run that almost hit the Premier Access Dental smiley face sign on the way out of the ballpark.

Leading off the third for the Cats, Adrain Cardenas ripped a line shot triple that just missed going out in right field as it hit the padding on top of the fence and rolled out to center. Recent call-up from Double-A Midland Dusty Coleman stroked a looping single that just cleared second baseman Matt Macri’s glove and fell into right-center field for a run-scoring hit.

Cardenas was all smiles as he stood in front of his locker space after the game. He can’t remember a time where he’s had so much fun and played with such a great group of guys.

“It’s just been fun,” said A.C. “This team, it’s awesome! All the way around with all the players that we have, all the talent we have and Bushy is a great manager. The hitting coach, I mean it’s been everybody. This has been the best team I’ve ever played for. Not only has it been the best team, but it’s been the most fun.”

Just as Kevin Kouzmanoff was strolling to the plate, I leaned over and said to Chris Biderman, editor of the up-and-coming Oakland Farm Report (a great source for A’s minor league news), that Kouz was due and this would be a great spot for a homer. About ten seconds later, he took the first pitch over the wall in right to tie the score at 4-4.

Kouzmanoff struck again in the fifth when a he hit a run-scoring bloop single that dropped in between three Sky Sox. Chris Carter was up next and hit a towering shot that would have brought rain on a spring day. The two-run homer gave the River Cats a three-run lead after five.

Kouz, as he is known by his teammates, would love to get back to the big league level. Given that, he sure appreciates being on a winner and wants to do everything he can to being another title to SacTown.

“I feel pretty good,” said Kouzmanoff. “I’m improving each and every day and I feel like all of us are. I think we are really coming together as a team and winning some ballgames. I think we have good team chemistry and a lot of guys are playing well.”

Scott Beerer got one back for the Sky Sox in the sixth on a single that scored Mather. In the bottom of the frame, Michael Taylor singled and scored on a Cardenas sacrifice fly to get the run back and keep the three-run lead for the Cats.

The Sky Sox would etch one more run on the board in the final frame but it wasn’t enough as Fernando Cabrera settled in and got his fifth save of the year.

Kouz sees the pieces to winning a title already here in Sacramento.

“Defense, pitching and hitting,’ said the 30-year old from Newport Beach, CA. “If you can combine all of those things together, I think you you have a pretty good chance of winning.”

Cardenas, a guy that’s high on the A’s radar and a terrific guy in the clubhouse, put everything in perspective as I was leaving the facility.

“The running joke is that we’re the Sacramento A’s. But it’s been a lot of fun here. It’s just a testament to our players. I’m learning from guys like Kouz. We have so much big league experience that if you’re fortunate to be a young guy like I am, you don’t slip up. You see what they do. Kouz, unfortunately for him, has come down here and was sent to Triple-A and never once has he complained and look at what he’s doing now. He’s showing us that someone that’s up in the big leagues and been there for five years - his first time in Triple-A - is not going to pout, is not gonna cry. There’s no chance that we (the younger guys) are going to pout and cry.”

IMAGES COURTESY OF:

STEVEN CHEA

Cats split rare doubleheader, second one a classic against rival Aces

2011-07-25T00:43:38Z

This was one to remember.

On a beautiful afternoon at Raley Field on Saturday, one rare occurrence seemed to open the door for several more as the day went on and the Sacramento River Cats split a rare double header against their bitter rivals, the Reno Aces.

The Aces won the first contest 3-2 and the Cats won the nightcap 5-4 in a game that had just about everything but the proverbial kitchen sink.

How about both managers being ejected during the same at-bat, a foul ball that found it’s way into the press box, a guy being about a foot short of hitting for the cycle and a walk-off homer run all occurring during the crazy second game?

We'll save that for later. How about the first game?

The home team struck first in the second inning. After Jai Miller struck out, hot-hitting Josh Donaldson, who’s hit .353 and had a 1.009 on-base percentage the past ten games, ripped a liner into the left field corner for a double. Second baseman Andy LaRoche, who’s been picking up his average lately as well, singled to left to move Donaldson to third with only one out. Michael Taylor strode to the plate next and took an 0-2 pitch into right that scored Donaldson.

The Cats were up early 1-0 on the three consecutive hits in the frame.

The Aces of Reno put up their first digits of the game on the towering Raley Field scoreboard in the fourth on a fluke two-run single by Robby Hammock.

Before Hammock’s at-bat, David Winfree singled while Cole Gillespie and Andy Tray both walked to load the bases for the visitors. After a Konrad Schmidt strikeout, Hammock hit a ball up the middle that skipped off of Cats starting pitcher Carlos Hernandez’s leg, then rolled quickly into the hole between short and third. Third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff drove into the hole to snag the fast-dribbling roller, but the ball bounced off his glove and rolled far enough away to allow a second runner to score on the play.

In the end, it was probably the weirdest two-run single I’ve ever seen.

The Cat got even quickly in the bottom half of the fourth.

Donaldson got his second double in as many at-bats and scored on Laroche’s second single of the game.

Donaldson, who struggled to find a comfort level at the plate early in the season, has been playing well the past couple of months, especially after the incident against Reno in their last meeting.

Donaldson, who was batting when a Reno pitcher intentionally threw behind him, ended up being suspended by the league for approaching the mound in what they must have considered a semi-threatening manner.

“I just feel pretty comfortable in the box right now,” Donaldson said after the twin bill. “It helps when guys aren’t throwing at your head every other game, but it’s just one of those things that most hitters goes through a spell where they’re feeling pretty good and right now I’m feeling pretty good, seeing the ball well and putting some good swings on them.”

Even though Donaldson, who went 2-for-2 with two doubles and a walk in game one, had been steadily increasing the average the last couple of months, I asked him if the incident had anything to do with his recent performance.

“For me, focus is a big part of it,” continued the 25-year old catcher. “Being able to go in there every day and being able to get consistent at-bats. Every at-bat, every games counts from here on out and the season’s going by too fast almost for me so it’s time really focus in and do the things I’m capable of doing.”

All quiet on the Western Front until the seventh and final inning of this rare double header when Aces leadoff man Evan Frey doubled into left center. Colin Cowgill’s single scored Frey for the go-ahead run.

With three bullets left in the gun, the Cats went down quietly in the seventh to lose the first of two on the day.

The Reno Aces win a close one in the first of two by the score of 3-2.

The other star for the Cats in the first game was Andy LaRoche. LaRoche is on of those players that was sent down by the big club to work out some kinks in his offensive game.

He’s been playing better lately indicative by his 3-for-3 and RBI performance and , thanks to Donaldson, thinks he found something in his swing that was preventing him from being as successful.

“I’m getting back to my old swing,” started LaRoche, “the way I used to be like back in my Dodger days. J.D. (Donaldson) actually noticed something with my back knee and since he told me that, I’ve been feeling a lot more comfortable at the plate and my timing’s been a lot better.”

-----------------------------------

In the second of two on a beautiful July evening in Sacramento, the Cats were wearing pink uniforms to raise money for cancer research. During the annual affair to raise funds for the Susan G. Koman Foundation, visitors had the chance to bid on the hot pink threads with the winner bidder getting to hit the field after the game and get that player's signature on their newfound collectable.

Adrian Cardenas torched a foul line-seeking triple in the first inning that rolled all the way to the wall in right. Two batters later, Jai Miller hit a towering blast over the wall in left-center that landed on top of the ground keeper’s field house. What a monster blast! A true major league bomb in any park.

Reno didn’t take long to etch their own digits onto the scoreboard. With two outs in the second, Robby Hammock walked, Mark Hallberg singled and leadoff batter Evan Frey walked to load the bags.

That’s when Colin Cowgill popped weakly into shallow right. Even with three River Cats converging on the scene, no one could get there in time and the ball dropped softly near the foul line where the edge of the grass meets the dirt. The seeing-eye single scored two and locked the game in a 2-2 tie.

On a side note, before Tony Abreu flied out to center, he just got a piece of a fastball that came screaming back over the net. That’s when things went into slow motion for your fearless writer.

While sitting next to Nick Lozito, Coordinator of Media Relations & Interactive Media for the Cats, near the right corner of the press box, I locked onto the ball as it came straight for us. Unfortunately for me, I’m left-handed and the ball was speeding towards my right side. As I stood up, the ball entered through the press box open windows and I stuck out my right hand. Not sure if Lozito would also be going for the rocket shot, I was only able to get my right hand up and the ball hit the side of my palm at what seemed 70 -75 miles per hour. The ball just bounced off my hand and fell into the box between Lozito and myself.

After the fact, Lozito assured me he was having no part of the foul ball that was screaming towards us.

My one shot at glory and I couldn’t hang on. It didn’t matter though as I showed the crowd the ball and got a small undeserved ovation.

Back to the game.

Cardenas, who ended up a homer short of hitting for the cycle, led off the third with a single and he scored three batters later when LaRoche hit a roller to third that Hammock knocked down, but couldn’t get back to his feet in time to throw out LaRoche at first.

Chris Carter, who struggled in Oakland and since being back in Sacramento, was up next and hit a line drive into left that plated Kouzmanoff.

Carter’s been moved around defensively quite a bit as the Cats have tried him in the outfield, first base and third base. With all the things going on the defensive side of things, one has to wonder if it’s been affecting him at the plate.

“It’s not that hard, you know,” said the 6’4”, 240-pounder. “I keep them both separate. I can’t take by bat out onto the field and I can’t bring what I do on the field to my at-bats. I’m just trying to work on getting back right.”

The Aces struck right back in the next inning when Hammock took a 1-1 offering over the left-center field wall to get Reno to within one run.

In the sixth, something happened that I’ve never seen. Two managers ejected for different reasons during the same at-bat.

Cats Manager Darren Bush was ejected for either making some gestures or saying something the first base umpire didn’t like on what he thought was a check swing that first base umpire called a ball and Aces manager Brett Butler, yes that Brett Butler, was tossed for arguing a close play at the plate.

Bush sat somewhat confused in his office after the game; still wondering what he did to be ejected.

“Apparently, he thought I was doing something he thought was inappropriate,” said the skipper. “He thought I did something that he thought warranted I be thrown out of the game, but what is was, I’m not sure.”

Compared to what Butler did, Bush’s issues were minor to say the least.

The replay showed that home plate umpire was correct in calling Mark Hallberg out as Anthony Recker blocked the plate and Hallberg couldn’t get his hand in for the score.

Butler, who played for Atlanta, Cleveland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York, flipped out after being ejected for arguing and then did a highly animated pantomime of his impression of what had happened. The crowd got a laugh out of Butler’s antics, which lasted a good minute or two.

Cardenas, who was a homer short of hitting for the cycle, torched the 2-1 pitch from Jordan Norberto deep to the warning track. The ball just missed going out of the park and Cardenas would come be the home run short of a rare feat.

Cardenas knew what his line was as on a pitch before his deep drive, he almost swung out of his shoes in his effort to take on out of the yard and complete the cycle.

“I usually don’t hit too many homers,” said Cardenas. “I’m usually the one that likes to keep my swing nice and short. But I’ve been working on a few things as far as trying to turn on inside pitches and be really taking advantage of my swings and hitting the ball a little bit harder. Obviously with the situation and the game being tied and me going to the cycle, I’d be lying to you if I told you I wasn’t trying to hit a homer there.”

No worries for the Cats though as the next batter was Kouzmanoff, who took the second pitch he saw over the center field wall for a game-winning homer run.

“All I was thinking was get a good pitch to hit and trying to hit it hard,” said the slugger from the loud clubhouse as the Cats had the music cranking while celebrating the walk-off win. “We needed base runners at that point and I saw A.C. (Cardenas) hit his and I thought it was out, I really did because it came off the bat well and then just died. But I was trying to get a good pitch to hit and fortunately I got a pitch out over the plate that I was able to handle and drive out.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF:

SARA MOLINA - RIVERCATS.com

Ex-Cat Tolleson helps take out the A's, err, I mean River Cats 12-7

2011-07-02T01:42:06Z

Even though half of the River Cats starting lineup began their season with Oakland, it was a former River Cat that helped make the difference in the game.

Steve Tolleson and the other top three hitters in the batting order in the Tucson Padres lineup collected 12 of their 18 hits in a 12-7 win over the River Cats on Thursday evening at Raley Field.

Tolleson’s not sure about the Padres plans for him. Whether he gets the call or not, he’s just happy to be playing everyday.

“I don’t really know too much,” said the 27-year old from Spartanburg, South Carolina. “At the time of the trade, they were struggling up there as a team with their utility players, but I’m just here having a good time and playing well and I’m sure things will work out.”

One look at the starting lineup for the Cats and one would think that they were watching the A’s for a moment as five players that started the season with the big club are now either rehabbing in Sacto or have been sent down to get a firmer grip on their game.

Daric Barton, Andy LaRoche and Kevin Kouzmanoff were all sent down and Tyson Ross and Josh Willingham are in Sacramento on rehab assignments.

Ross got off the a rough start when the Padres first three hitters ripped singles straight up the middle to lead off the game and gave Tucson an early 2-0 lead.

After leadoff hitter Everth Cabrera stole second, the next two hitters - Logan Forsythe and former Cat infielder Steve Tolleson - hit sharp singles and reached second on throws to the plate by Cat center fielder Jai Miller. Miller must have thought he had a play at the plate because he never made an effort to hit the cutoff man.

Miller made another run-costing decision when cleanup hitter Matt Clark took a 1-0 pitch deep into centerfield. Miller got a bad jump on the ball and got turned around which allowed the ball to drift over his head for a run scoring double.

After sending eight batters to the plate in the opening frame, the Padres led 3-0.

Unfortunately for the Cats, Miller wasn’t done making mental errors just yet.

In the second, Tolleson laced a sharp liner into center. While making a play on the ball, Miller had the ball bounce off his glove, then after quickly retrieving it, overthrew the cutoff man again which allowed Tolleson to take second. Forsythe scored on the hit and it widened the lead to 4-0.

Sacramento would etch their first runs on the board in the bottom half of the second when Michael Taylor led off with a single to center and later scored on a throwing error by Padres shortstop Cabrera as he completely missed the first baseman while trying to turn a double play.

Daric Barton would get his first RBI since being sent down when his good eye allowed him to walk with the bases loaded. The two runs in the inning got the Cats cut the Padre lead in half. After two, Tucson led 4-2.

Sacramento would plate another run in the third when Anthony Recker who, along with Eric Sogard and reliever Willie Eyre made the Triple-A All Star team, plated Kevin Kouzmanoff on a ground out to the catcher.

Tucson would increase their lead to 7-3 in the fourth when Clark torched an 0-2 pitch from Yadel Marti, who came in to start the inning, over the Jiffy Lube sign in left-center field wall for a three-run homer.

Clark, who’s taken over the cleanup spot since Anthony Rizzo has been called up, had a great game. He went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a home run and four RBI.

“Whenever I get a chance to do something good, I just try and take advantage of it,” said Clark.

The wheels came off in the sixth when, after coming in with two runners on base, Eyre gave up a walk and then a bases loaded double by Luis Martinez that extended the lead to 12-3.

A small amount of hope arose in the seventh when Willingham crushed a liner over the Bell Brothers sign in left center that bounced off the field house for a two-run dinger.

Willingham is coming back from a strained left Achilles. He said he really didn’t get to test it this game, but it was nice to get the home run.

“I really didn’t have to leg out a double or anything to test it out, but I felt good and it was good to get some at-bats and get back in the swing of the game a little bit.”

The River Cats are known for their never-say-die attitude and it paid off again in the eighth when Matt Carson clocked his fifteenth homer of the season - a two-run shot that brought the score to 12-7 and tied him with Miller for the team lead in that category.

Alas, Sacramento would not come back in the ninth and Tucson took the first game of the four game set that goes through the Fourth of July.

Steve Tolleson, who was 3-for-6, with two runs scored and three RBI, has hit around .340 since the trade just over a month ago.

Even though he misses his old teammates, he seems to be making the most of it since the deal went down and was grateful that the Padres thought enough of him to make the swap.

“I kind of found my stroke,” said Tolleson. “I’m kind of back to the form I was last year when I was here with Sacramento. I got off to a little bit of a slow start here in Sac, but things have got going and I’m very appreciative to the San Diego Padres for trading for me and putting me in a good position. We’ll see what happens from there.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF:

SARA MOLINA - RIVERCATS.com

The Rickey Henderson Chronicles - Part 3 - End of an Era

2011-06-21T07:25:47Z

Continued from Parts 1 and 2.

Click here to read Part 1 and here to read Part 2.

As one gets older, you start accepting that certain boxes on your personal “bucket list” will never be checked off.

I’ve had to chance to meet several people that I either enjoyed their work or admired them from afar. From politicians to actors to athletes, all have been moments I’ve logged away in the memory bank.

The day I interviewed Rickey Henderson is now on top of that list.

In this final part of my three-part story with the great Rickey Henderson, he talks about playing the Big Apple and why, even though his critics said he was washed up, he delayed his retirement until he reached the ripe old age of 44.

Here are the links to Part 1 and Part 2.

I’ve also included some comments from several River Cats players saying how special it was to have Rickey come to town and work with them. I’ll call them Cats Comments.

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Cats Comment: “I like to get base running help from him, whether it’s getting little things off the pitcher or something else.” – Eric Sogard

New York, New York

Yes, the city so nice, Rickey had to play there twice.

Henderson enjoyed having Billy Martin as his manager in Oakland, and Martin had a special place for Henderson. The thing was, that special place was in New York.

“Billy Martin had been a manager of mine before and he always felt that the type of player I was that I needed to be a Yankee,” Henderson said. “The Yankees were the best club, the best organization in baseball, and one of the best players in his eyes was on the Oakland A’s. He told George Steinbrenner that there is a player he wanted him to go get, and George was like, why? Martin said this is the best player in baseball, and I want you to go get this player. So Billy really made the deal for me to get over to the Yankees. He always told me he was going to bring me over to the Yankees.”

Everyone in sports had either experienced it or had heard about the pressures of playing in the Big Apple. The constant criticism. The tabloid-type of sports reporting the local rags are famous for.

None of it phased the “small town” kid.

“When I got over there, people said that I was in Oakland doing this, but now I was in New York, and New York was going to break me. It’s a different atmosphere there. People expect more there. So I go there, and, in a way, my confidence was so high that I knew I just loved the game of baseball, and I didn’t think it was going to break me because I don’t get that deep into the media and all that. I just like to go play the game.”

What made it easier for Henderson is that he found a kindred spirit in Yankee first baseman Don Mattingly. Henderson “clicked” with Mattingly, and not just on the field. He had never played with Mattingly before. It was the personal relationship that he felt he had with Mattingly almost immediately upon meeting him.

Once he starting clicking with Mattingly on the field, it was a force that was hard to stop.

“We became a dominant one-two punch. As a hitter, he was one of the best clutch hitters and one of the best RBI guys. He really knew what to do to try to get a guy home. He’d put the ball on the bat and put the ball in play anytime he was ready.

Mattingly was the yin to Henderson’s yang.

“It was a strange thing. I remember one year I scored like 147 runs and he knocked in about 145. When we totaled it up and went back and looked at it, he had knocked me in 79 times of his 145 RBI.”

Mattingly loved having Henderson bat in front of him in the lineup and knew exactly how to use the situation.

“He’d tell me, ‘OK, Rickey, you get on. They aren’t going to pitch (me) anything, so I’m going to take one and then take two and then you’re going to steal. I’m going to take three until I get two strikes, and by that time I want you on third base. If you get on third base and I’m up to the plate and I got a full count on me, I’m going to get you in.’”

I guess Mattingly didn’t suffer from a lack of confidence

Apparently, not everyone liked the plan that he and Mattingly had concocted.

“One time, Dave Winfield was batting behind (Mattingly), and Mattingly goes three balls and I had stolen second and then third base. They’re trying to walk Mattingly because they know he’s going to get me in. They throw a pitch way over his head and swings a ball four with a tomahawk swing. So Dave comes over to him and tells Mattingly that he could get me in too, so take your walk. Mattingly said, ‘Oh, no, he’s too close. I can get him in, and I don’t care when I got to do it, he’s coming home.’

“So Mattingly was one of the better run driving guys that I played with.”

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Cats Comment: “He plays this game for all the right reasons, and I say ‘play’ because if he wanted to, he could probably play right now!” – Adrian Cardenas

Hanging up the Spikes

In baseball, like most sports, there comes a time when your body tells your mind — no matter how much it wants to deny it — that it’s time to hang it up. Take off the pants, hang up the cleats and retire the jersey.

But what if you were a player who had gone out there and done everything you could do and succeeded in your chosen sport? Would it be easier to retire and never play the game again?

“It wasn’t the numbers that got me to play the game,” Henderson said. “I got the numbers because I loved the game.”

Why would a guy like Henderson, a guy who had done it all, want to stick around past his prime?

“The game never got to a burn point for me. I was never bored, never like I was getting sick of it. I always enjoyed myself out there, so I never really wanted to quit.”

Nearing the end was hard for Henderson because he still felt he could contribute and wasn’t given the opportunity to prove himself. Managers were looking for younger talent that they could help mold into future stars. It was hard to get a roster spot.

“I told some managers that I would play with no contract. If I made the club, then give me a contract. I called maybe six or seven clubs, and they gave me an answer that almost made me want to quit. They said they knew I could make the club, but they didn’t have any room for me, and I couldn’t understand it. It was like applying for a job and them telling you that you’re overqualified.”

The answer floored Rickey.

“So I’d ask them, ‘What do you want from a player? I thought you wanted a player that could make the club and help your ball club? Now you’re telling me that I would make the club but you won’t give me the opportunity because you don’t have a spot for me?’

“It left me in a bad situation — left me a little bitter about it.”

Henderson didn’t give up. He went all the way down to the Independent League to get some quality playing time. They couldn’t believe that a Hall of Famer would go all the way down there to prove a point.

“I told them that I still love the game and was going to go out and prove I could play every day.”

Remember, this is a guy who, at 40 years old, won the Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year with an impressive stat line: a .315 batting average — his first season over .300 in five years — 89 runs scored, 82 walks and 30 doubles. Not bad for an old man.

After playing a little for San Diego and Boston in 2001 and 2002 respectively, Henderson got the call from the Independent League in 2003 to join the Dodgers at the ripe age of 44.

“It was only because a guy got hurt. I was a spot player, so it didn’t matter what I did. As soon as the player came back, I wasn’t going to play.

Henderson did his best to take advantage of the limited playing time.

“So I got my start, and I hit a home run that game. I played a couple of more games and hit another home run. The guy comes off the DL and I go to the bench. “

For a guy who proved he still had something in the tank, it wasn’t easy.

“I used to talk to Edgar (Martinez) and all the guys that played DH and ask them how they did it. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in the game of baseball. For me to sit around the whole game and then try to come up and do something, I just couldn’t adjust. I couldn’t understand it. I was very difficult for me.”

If you know Henderson at all, you know he didn’t take it with a grain of salt. He approached the manager time after time asking why he didn’t get more chances to play. He didn’t like the response.

Having proven he wasn’t a quitter time and time again, he made his way to the San Diego Surf Dawgs of the Golden League. In the league’s inaugural season, Henderson helped the Surf Dawgs win the league championship.

“I had one of the best times of my life as a baseball player. People ask me how. Because I went down there to enjoy the game and see the kids play the game and have fun with them. It was unreal. It was the greatest thing to happen to them because they said no way a player that I had become would come down here and make us feel that we were just as good as you. That made my day! I knew that God had given me a gift to just go down there and enjoy the game.”

The Rickey Henderson Chronicles - Part 2 - The Oakland A's

2011-06-13T05:39:13Z

Continued from Part 1. Click here to read.

It's one thing to gaze from afar and laud your personal heroes from your seat in the stadium. But to get a chance to not only speak with but spend 45 minutes alone with the greatest base-stealer of all-time was one of the highlights of my writing career.

The Oakland A's were my favorite baseball team when i was a kid. My first sports idol was Reggie Jackson. My second was Rickey Henderson.

For part one of this story, click here.

In this second segment of a three part story, Henderson talks about playing for the his hometown Oakland A's, the 1989 earthquake-interrupted World Series, his 1990 MVP season and playing with Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. I have also included some comments from several River Cats players, demonstrating how special it was to have Rickey come to town and work with them. Throughout the piece, I’ll call them Cats Comments.

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CC: “It’s amazing just to have him around. I listen to him and take whatever he has to say and take what I can get from him while he’s here.” – Eric Sogard

Mr. October

Growing up, my childhood idols were Evel Knievel, Roman Gabriel and Reggie Jackson.

Ever since I saw my first ballgame in 1968 — Jackson’s first full year — I was hooked: his mighty swing that made it appear he was screwing himself into the ground, the towering shots that gracefully made their way over the right field wall. Early on, he even had a great arm that few would test.

Even eventual superstars have their heroes when they’re young. It was then I found out that mine was the same as Henderson’s.
However, Henderson went to greater lengths to meet his idol than I ever did.

“We would sneak into the ballpark and take a look at the guys, and Reggie Jackson was such a hot commodity that he made me excited about the game,” Henderson said.

I played Little League for seven years. I was left-handed like Reggie. I used to practice my swings to imitate him. I yearned to be Reggie.
And so did Henderson.

“I wanted to be Reggie Jackson,” he said. “I wanted to play like Reggie Jackson. I wanted to swing like Reggie Jackson. He was my idol. The only things that changed me was when I got in A-Ball. I was swinging like Reggie and striking out a lot, so I had to tell myself that I can’t hit like Reggie because I’m striking out too much. So I developed my own style and my own stance, and I got in the habit of knowing that I was a leadoff hitter and not the fourth hitter. I wasn’t going to be hitting all the home runs like he was.”

As a kid, Henderson tried, like most hardcore sports fans, to get his idol’s signature on something he could worship for years to come. The constant pursuit of Jackson’s autograph took a long time to accomplish. The story is one for the ages.

“I was one of those kids that used to wait out after the ballgames and try to get his autograph, but he was the type of player that an autograph wasn’t a big thing for him,” Henderson said. “So he would never give me an autograph. He would say hello or give me a pin or something with his name on it but never an autograph.”

Staying out too long after the game got little Rickey in a little bit of trouble with his mama.

“I’d be coming home late and my mom would be spanking me here and there and asking me what the hell I was doing out so late,” he said. “I’d tell her that I was waiting outside for Reggie Jackson, but he’s always the last one to come outside. And when I get him outside, he don’t give me an autograph! I’m pissed off at him.”

It was a turning point for Henderson’s career path.

“I would say that he gave me that: making me want it. He made me want to be a ballplayer so that I could show him I was that kid.”

Once Henderson got called up to the bigs, getting that hand-written name was one of his biggest goals. Would he finally get his hero’s signature on something?

“We got to go play the Yankees in New York. He was in the cage. He was always one of the last guys to get out in the cage, so I got dressed real quick and ran out there. I got to see Reggie Jackson hit. I got to go out there and talk to Reggie Jackson.”

Just listening to Henderson talk about him, you can tell how much reverence he has for his idol. Every time he mentions his name, he uses his full name, Reggie Jackson. Every time.

“Now remember, I never could get an autograph as a kid, and when I got called up, I never got to see him because he went to New York. So we’re in New York and I’m the left fielder. I made it! So I’m going to tell Reggie Jackson that I was that little kid that asked him for his autograph all the time and he never gave it.”

You would think, at this point, there would be some kind of mutual respect or brotherhood type of thing that would garner Henderson his long overdue signature. Not a chance. Not yet at least.

“I told him I was playing left field today, and he straightened up his cap and said, ‘Let me tell you something, young man. When I come up to the plate, I want you to back up because I hit the ball a long way, and I don’t want you to embarrass yourself.’
“I said, ‘Reggie, I’m that kid that they talk about that has so much speed.’”

So there he was. Already a young, brash kid who wasn’t going to back down from anyone, even his childhood hero.

“Since you told me that, here’s what I’m going to do,” Henderson told Jackson. “When you come up to the plate, I’m going to run all the way in and get closer.”

Jackson immediately snapped back.

“Oh, no, no, no. You can’t do that. You can’t do that,” Jackson replied, according to Henderson.

“I said, ‘Yeah, unless you hit the ball out of the ballpark, I’m going to run it down.’”

The gauntlet had been thrown down, the challenge issued.

“We did that at batting practice, so I went in and got dressed for the game. The first three guys come up — one out, two outs, three outs. I come back out for the second and Reggie’s leading off.”

Let the games begin.

“So I’m out at regular depth and all of a sudden notice that Reggie is at the plate,” Henderson said. “I go run in just like I said I would. Reggie looks out at me. I think it was a 2-2 pitch, and he drove it right to left-center. When the ball left the bat, all I did was sprint. I put my head down, looked up one time and sprinted again. The ball was coming on a bead. I caught the ball backhanded right at the end of my glove. It freaked me out because he drove it and I caught it!”

There was no way Jackson thought Henderson had a chance to reel it in.

“He was boogieing and, because he had thought he had a double, he was pulling into second base. He looked up at me, stood on second base and donned his cap to me.”

In baseball, that is the most respect one ballplayer can show another.

“So, what happened when I saw him after the game and asked if I could finally get an autograph? Well, he gave me the autograph.”

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CC: “He’s awesome! He’s a good guy to have in the clubhouse.” – Josh Horton

“I Tell You What, We’re Having an Earth-----”

The matchup Bay Area fans waited a lifetime to see finally happened in 1989. The Oakland A’s took out the Toronto Blue Jays in the same fashion the San Francisco Giants dismantled the Chicago Cubs that postseason by winning four of five during the Championship Series.

The stage was set for what was to be known as the “Bay Bridge Series.” It was the brash Will Clark and powerful Kevin Mitchell versus the “Bash Brothers,” Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco. Both teams had excellent starting pitching that season, as well as a solid relief crew.
But only one team had Henderson.

Henderson was chosen as the ALCS MVP that year and he put up the numbers against the Blue Jays: a .400 batting average, two home runs, 5 RBI, seven walks and eight stolen bases.

Too bad that’s not what Bay Area residents remember when they think of 1989.

After the A’s won the first two games at home handily, outscoring the Giants 10-1, the series shifted to San Francisco for Game 3.

“We had already beaten the Giants twice and were feeling pretty confident,” Henderson said. “We felt like we were going to win.”

And why not? With Bob Welch and his 3.00 ERA slated to start Game 3, confidence was at an all-time high.

Many of the A’s had made their way out onto the diamond getting ready for the pre-game festivities. But not Henderson. He was in the clubhouse using the facilities.

And then it happened.

“So I sit down to use the restroom and all of a sudden the building is shaking, and it seemed like there was a lot of rumbling going on, a lot of noise. So as I sit there in the restroom, I’m thinking, man, this is exciting! The fans are really getting excited about the game, so let me hurry up and get back outside.”

Henderson had no idea what was about to come.

“All of a sudden, someone comes running in and said, ‘You’ve got to out of here. we’re having an earthquake!’ I was like, what? I didn’t have a clue what was going on outside. So when I stepped outside, I was shocked!”

Teammates had already feverishly snatched their loved ones out of the stands and were milling about in the middle of the field, away from any possible falling debris. Tears were seen rolling down the cheeks of several of the players’ wives and loved ones.

“Most of my teammates had never been in an earthquake and were scared and shocked at what was going on. Then I’m saying that this stuff happens all the time. This is just a rumble for us.”

Little did Henderson or the rest of the people on the field that fateful day know what was going on outside the Coliseum. Once ABC came back on air, the pictures of the devastation in the surrounding areas came pouring in to the dismay of everyone in attendance.

“There was more hurt for us when we really found out what happened,” he continued. “The bridge collapse and all the people that passed away. That was the sad part about it. You know, we were so up for the game. It was a chance for the Bay Area to have both of their clubs play in the World Series and one of them to bring the trophy home. The whole Bay Area was excited. It was one of those times there were A’s fans and Giants fans all coming together, but then we had a major tragedy.”

The quake lasted for 10 to 15 seconds and was a 6.9 on the Richter scale. Sixty-three people died and 3,757 were injured. Estimates of up to 12,000 people were left homeless.

When the live pictures started coming in from the news helicopters, the pictures told a devastating story.

Part of the Bay Bridge had collapsed and a 1.25-mile section of Interstate 80 in the Oakland area known as the “Cypress Freeway” had fallen and was stacked upon itself, crushing many people caught in rush-hour traffic.

Luckily, less than half of the expected crowd had taken their seats, as most were still filing into Candlestick Park or in a concession line. One still wonders if the upper deck would have come crashing down if it had been full when the massive quake struck.

Instead of getting the customary — at the time — one day off in between games, the Loma Prieta Earthquake forced the series to take an 11-day sabbatical. The A’s used that time wisely.

“Before we came back for Game 3, we went to Arizona to practice,” Henderson said. “The Giants had the opportunity to go to but decided to stay in the Bay Area. They really didn’t get in as much work as we did, so we were prepared. We were so prepared and really happy the series was going to resume.”

To this day, Henderson wonders why the Giants didn’t make the trip.

“Once we got back from Arizona, it seemed like they were still in shock. As soon as we got on the field, we were ready to play. The Giants didn’t seem like they were ready for it. The next thing you know, we beat them the third game and then beat them in the fourth game."

Being an A’s fan, I clearly remember ‘Frisco skipper Roger Craig saying it wasn’t fair that Oakland could use their two aces again. Funny. Craig could have done the same thing as Tony LaRussa. Problem was, his best two starters weren’t as good as the A’s top two guys. And the A’s knew it.

“Their excuse was that if they didn’t have the earthquake, they would've beaten us,” Henderson said. “Even though it wasn’t something they could complain about, we did have an advantage. We could use our top two starters again and they were better than their first two starters.

“The whole thing about it was that it was such an odd year. What was so strange is that every game in spring training we beat the Giants. Every game. So we play the season and all of a sudden the Giants get to the World Series and we say, no way this can be happening, because they never beat us. So our confidence was so high, and that’s what helped us win the series.”

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CC: “I’ve been around a few Hall of Fame players, and they can be a little standoffish and think they’re above it all, but Rickey gets right in there. He’s willing to help and give us any kind of tidbits he can come up with, and he’s willing to share it, anything he can offer. You have to be like a sponge and soak it up.” – Matt Carson

MVP

In 1990, Henderson picked up his one and only American League MVP award. Even though he missed almost 30 games because of injury, he put up some fantastic numbers: 119 runs scored, 33 doubles, 28 homers, 65 stolen bases, 97 walks, a .325 batting average, a .577 slugging percentage and, maybe most astonishing of all, a 1.016 on-base percentage. Truly incredible numbers.

“That year was such a great year,” he said. “I think I started off hot. I had never had a great start. I was seeing the pitches and was really driving the ball out of the ballpark well.”

That season Cecil Fielder nearly doubled the home run and RBI output of Henderson. With an astonishing 51 HRs and 1,323 RBI, Fielder seemed poised to take the award.

“I had no idea that I had a chance to win the MVP because that year I think he hit 50 home runs. It was something that, as a player, you never expect is going to happen. It happened and everything went well that year”

In the end, it was Henderson’s overall performance that gave him the honor, although much of the other competition for the award was from members of his own team. Unbelievably, the season ended with six of the top 12 vote-getters in Kelly green and gold.

“We were always a real scrappy club, and we always manufactured runs any way we could. The bottom of the lineup decided they knew how to get on the base paths, and it gave me the opportunity to really see some more fastballs and pitches I could handle and drive out of the ballpark.”

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CC: “He’s preaching more than anything to have fun when we’re playing. For me, I thought I was pretty laid back, but you see him and you say you got to take it to another level.” – Adrian Cardenas

The Bash Brothers

While winning the MVP trophy was about as cool as it could get, being in a lineup every day with two of the most feared hitters in baseball at the time was an honor in itself.

In 1990, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco were collectively the heavy lumber that struck fear into the eyes of opposing pitchers. McGwire and Canseco blasted 39 and 37 home runs respectively and both went over the 100 RBI plateau.

It was all a leadoff guy could ask for.

“There really wasn’t nothing much better than that,” Henderson said. “You had two guys that could drive the ball out of the ballpark, two guys that were feared at the plate. And then you had a guy (Henderson) to begin the lineup that you had to get on base and use the base paths, so there was always an opportunity to get the guys into scoring position and score runs in any given inning. That’s the fear we put in our opponents. It boosted up everybody. With them and all those home runs, it made everybody feel like they could go out and hit one.”

For the players, it was more than that. These guys really liked each other.

“We tried to do more things together. Instead of just going out in the field together, we would have dinner arrangements and we’d go to other people’s moms’ houses. We were more of a family type, and I think that’s what made it so good, because instead of just taking it out on the field, we did it as a lifestyle.”

Not having to play to a big stage, like what Henderson experienced his first time in New York, also played a key role in the players being able to focus and play well.

“I think it was an easier way to jell. In a big market, they would expect so much, but here in Oakland, they were not really expecting that much. We really didn’t have the pressure of going out there and being the best. All we had to do was go out there and play.”

In part three next Sunday evening, Rickey talks about playing in New York, an unlikely ally in the Big Apple and trying to end his career on his own terms.

DiNardo still finding his groove as Cats lose to Tacoma 8-4

2011-06-10T23:55:10Z

Lenny DiNardo knows what it takes to be in the bigs again. He just has to try and adjust.

You see, usually by 31 years of age, a pitcher will start losing something off his fastball and may even need to retool himself to stay in the game he loves so much. This is that precise moment in time DiNardo is in, and River Cats pitching coach Scott Emerson is helping him down that bumpy road.

“He’s a different pitcher than he was 10 years ago,” Coach Emo said. “The velocity is a lot less, so he’s got to learn a different type of style. That style is throwing a bunch of strikes at the bottom of the zone and changing speeds.”

On Thursday evening at Raley Field, DiNardo was not able to keep the ball out of the prime hitting zones as the Tacoma Rainiers garnered 10 hits off the Cats starter — eight of them singles — en route to an 8-4 loss.

The Cats etched the first runs on the board on a warm 80-degree evening when Sacramento’s shortstop Eric Sogard took a 1-0 pitch into right for a clean double to lead off the bottom of the first. Josh Donaldson was then safe at first on a perfect bunt that slowly rolled past Rainiers pitcher Chris Seddon. During Kevin Kouzmanoff’s at-bat, Donaldson took off for second. Tacoma catcher Josh Bard threw the ball into center field which allowed Sogard to score from third giving the Cats an early 1-0 lead.

After Kouzmanoff’s walk, the rest of the lineup went down quietly.

In the second, the Rainiers had three of their first five batters get on base with singles. The last one by center fielder Michael Saunders plated Mike Wilson to tie the game.

Tacoma really started hitting the ball hard off DiNardo in the third. After getting the first two batters out easily, the visiting team unloaded on him. A double by Alex Liddi was the shot that temporarily opened the flood gates. The next hitter, Luis Antonio Jimenez, torched a ball down the right field line that hit the bag and bounced over Anthony Recker’s head. It rolled down the line and Liddi scored on the play. Hot-hitting Mike Wilson lifted a full-count pitch over the wall in left that bounced off the Raley sign and bounced back over the fence. The high-velocity shot scored Jimenez and put the Rainiers ahead 3-1.

After getting out of the jam in the third, DiNardo was still ripe for the picking in the fourth as lead-off hitter Matt Tuiasosopo worked the count and finally took the ninth pitch he saw from the Cats starter over the short Sutter Health wall in front of the River Cat bullpen.

Sacramento finally bust out some heavy lumber in the bottom of the fourth.

After a pop-out from Recker, Adrian Cardenas took a base on balls to bring up Matt Carson. Carson knocked his 13th homer of the season over the wall in left that hit the clubhouse. After the shot by Carson, the Cats trailed 5-3.

Carson has really been in a groove lately. With five homers in his last 10 games, the 29-year-old from Newport Beach is doing his part in trying to make his way back to the bigs. And seeing some of his teammates getting the call is keeping him positive about the situation and not the other way around.

“Obviously, this is not where any of us wants to be,” said a candid but smiling Carson on his way off the field. “We want to be in the major leagues, but to see guys get to get the opportunity to go up there (Oakland) — some of the guys have never been up there — it’s actually pretty cool.”

Carson also thinks that a good chunk of this River Cats lineup has something to offer a big league club. And that would be sooner than later.

“There is no one on this team that you think, man, why is that guy up here? But with this team, and anybody who goes up there, you’re just thrilled for them because they’ve worked their butt off and they’re good baseball players.”

Tacoma got to DiNardo again in the sixth. Wilson, who singled to lead off the frame, scored on Saunders’ single a few batters later. Saunders then scored on Sean Kazmar’s single, which was followed shortly thereafter by another single by Matt Mangini.

In total, the Rainiers scratched out five singles and scored three runs in the inning. That was enough for Manager Darren Bush to make that long walk to the mound to pull his starter and replace him with Fautino De Los Santos.

After the dust settled, the Cats found themselves down 8-3 after five and half.

The later part of the game went by quickly. Cats reliever De Los Santos was dealing as he had five strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work. That’s right. In between the two hits he gave up, he struck out every other batter he faced.

Emerson spoke about what the fireball reliever is missing in his run at making a major league roster.

“He’s definitely a power pitcher with an improved breaking ball,” Emerson said. “Once we can get that location down and maybe he can cut his pitches down (he'll be okay). Strikeouts are great, but balls in play are better for outs, especially as a reliever. So you can be fresh for the next couple of days.”

Kouzmanoff, who was playing in his first game for Sacramento since being sent down to work on his game, homered to lead off the eighth to get the Cats to within four.

Even though this is the first time he has experienced being sent down, he sure has a great attitude about it.

“It’s a learning process,” the third baseman said. “I’m learning as we go. I plan on helping the team win and keep working hard. That’s all I can do.”

The Rickey Henderson Chronicles - Part 1 - The Early Years

2011-06-05T21:41:46Z

“It wasn’t until I saw Rickey, that I understood what baseball was all about.”
- Mitchell Page, former A’s teammate and should have been ROY in 1977

In any sport, this is the highest compliment a fellow competitor can pay you. Words like that tell you that you’ve reached the pinnacle in your chosen field.

These days, Rickey Henderson gets to live the high life - traveling around to the various farm teams in the Oakland A’s system. As a roving instructor, he’s seen working with players on everything from being more aggressive at the plate to getting a more advantageous lead from first base to helping guys field better in the outfield.

Last time Henderson stopped off at Raley Field to work with the Sacramento River Cats, I was able to catch up with him - and trust me - I had to get a great jump.

In this first segment of a three part story, Henderson talks about childhood - being born in the back of a car, his time in the minors, his style of play and making it in the major leagues. I have also included some comments from several River Cats players, demonstrating how special it was to have Rickey come to town and work with them. Throughout the piece, I’ll call them Cats Comments.

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Cats Comments:
“It’s just awesome. Besides the fact that he’s a Hall of Famer, it’s just the way he goes about his game.”
- Adrian Cardenas

Out of the Gate

Rickey’s known for getting a great jump, and it started on the day he was born.

You see, Rickey couldn’t even wait until his mom got into a hospital bed.

From what his mother told him about that day, his dad was probably out gambling or something like that, and was late coming back home. She tried and tried to get in touch with him, to no avail. With less than moments to spare, Rickey’s father showed up and hustled his mom to the hospital in the family Oldsmobile.

“Once she got to the hospital,” said Henderson, “he jumped out and was going to get a doctor or nurse and she said, ‘Don’t worry about it, you’re already too late, he’s already out!’ So I was out in the backseat!”

Would you expect anything less from the greatest base stealer of all time?

Born Rickey Nelson Henley, after singer-actor Ricky Nelson, he moved to Oakland when he was two, after his pop left home. His dad would pass away 10 years later. His mother, Bobbie Henley, married again when Rickey was a junior in high school. His new stepfather’s name was Paul Henderson, and the family changed its last name to reflect the new union.

Rickey’s first love was football. He played for Oakland Technical High School and was a two-time All-American and had two 1,000 yard rushing seasons. After receiving over a dozen football scholarship offers, he turned them down on the advice of his mother. She was adamant about not letting his smaller frame get beat up on a football field every Sunday.

“I still, to this day, would have chosen football over baseball,” said a smiling Henderson.
“At that time, I was so involved with football that I wanted to play football. When I got drafted, my mom got talking about how she wanted me to play baseball and that’s how I got to sign with the Oakland A’s.”

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Cats Comments:
“It’s a joy for me personally, and I’m sure it’s a great time for them to see a guy and have a guy here that has had so much success and played the game so well come out here and help them.”
- Manager Darren Bush

Making Hay in the Minors

In 1976, Henderson would be drafted and make his way to the Boise A’s of the Northwest League.

This was Rickey’s first extensive time away from home. With the help of his manager at the time, Tom Treblehorn, Rickey would get over missing his mom and his old life.

“I was homesick!” said Henderson, “It was one of the first times being away from Oakland, my parents and being away from home. I got lonely. He (Treblehorn) took me under his wing and made me feel a lot more comfortable and feeling good about me playing baseball.”

Later in his stellar career, Henderson would garner a Gold Glove, the highest honor bestowed upon a fielder.

But in 1977, he would make 20 errors at Modesto, the A’s Single-A club. Plain and simple, Rickey was too fast. Even though he set the minor league record for stolen bases with 95 that year, he still had a lot to learn about fielding.

“A lot of times, I was so fast that I didn’t know how to control it,” remembers Henderson. “I was overrunning the ground balls and making the ball get to me too fast and booting a lot of balls.”

It’s hard to believe that for a guy that made it look so easy, he really put in a ton of hard work to become the player he wanted to be. Henderson also had to learn how to throw the ball correctly.

“I really couldn’t throw the ball real, real straight,” continued Henderson. “I always seemed to have a slice - it would go the opposite way, so I had a lot more errors.”

By working with Lee Walls, one of his minor league coaches, he was able to overcome his lack of accuracy and improve his footwork.

Early in 1978, Rickey would have his first real problems in the minors. Well, let’s say that his manager had problems.

At Jersey City, his manager was having issues adjusting to the players. The entire team got off to a really slow start and Henderson decided to pick up the phone. The 20 year old would do something unheard of at the time - call the A’s owner.

“I really didn’t know how it was going to turn out. I was in a position where I had such a good season at A-ball and I was so frustrated at Double-A, that I was willing to go back. But Charlie Finley said he couldn’t send me back and there were no spots in Triple-A, so he told the manager to leave me alone. It gave me the confidence to go out and do what I knew I could do and not worry about everything else that was going on.”

Can you imagine being one of the newer employees and calling the owner of the company you worked for and saying that you can’t work for the boss? Especially if your boss were Charlie O., a stern man known for not mincing words with his players? It was a huge risk that paid off in the long run.

In 1979, Rickey had another major decision to make. While at Ogden, Oakland’s Triple-A organization, he got the call to fill in for an injured Dwayne Murphy. When Murphy came back from his stint on the DL, the management team came to Henderson and said he could either go back to Triple-A - if he wanted to stay in center field - or he could start playing in left and stay in the bigs.

“It really wasn’t a choice for me to make, so I just said I’ll go in left field and play. I figured if I could play one position in the outfield, I could play all three. I ended up having a decent year and made the club the next year.”

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Cats Comment:
“It’s a big inspiration for us having a guy with that kind of stature.”
- Jemile Weeks

The Bigs

As a 21 year old, Henderson had one of his finest years. In his first full season with the Oakland A’s, he hit .303, had an .420 ~~.820~~ OBP (on base percentage), walked 117 times and scored 111 runs.

One more thing - he also broke Ty Cobb’s American League record of 96 stolen bases.

That’s right, in his first full season in the bigs, he would reach the unthinkable - 100 stolen bags! He had already swiped 96 in Single-A, 81 in Double-A and was on his way to the same success in Triple-A before getting called up.

“I felt if I had more opportunities in the big leagues with more games played, that I could steal even more bases. So I put a goal of 100 stolen bases in my head. I knew Ty Cobb’s AL record was in the 80’s or 90’s, so I was shooting to top that record. It seemed like it was natural for me as far as getting out there and reading the pitchers and pitches and using my speed. I was just using my speed and trying to outrun the ball.”

Even with the great start on the base paths, Rickey knew he had much more to learn if he going to keep up that pace. Enter Davey Lopes.

Lopes, who had led the NL in stolen bases twice with the Los Angeles Dodgers, became a teammate of Henderson’s in 1982.

“He was a genius as far as seeing things off the pitcher that helped him get a good jump. So he took me to the side and showed me some different moves and showed me what the pitcher was doing.”

But to steal a base, one had to first get on base. Henderson stole over 100 bases three times, but had over 100 walks on five occasions.

“Basically being patient and knowing your strike zone,” said Henderson when asked about the key to taking a base on balls. “A really big key is knowing you can hit with two strikes. I was the type of player that knew I could hit with two strikes. It would make me bear down more.”

When asked if being patient made you confident, or if confidence made you patient, he didn’t hesitate one iota.

“I think confidence makes you patient - believing in yourself and what you’re doing, feeling that it’s a challenge out there for you. If you feel like you’re going to take that challenge on, you’re going to build your confidence up.”

A year later, Henderson’s confidence would transfer to his play in the outfield. He won his only Gold Glove in 1981.

Next Monday in part two of this three-part story, Henderson recounts finally meeting his childhood hero - Reggie Jackson, his memories about the Bay Bridge “Earthquake” series against the San Francisco Giants, his MVP season in 1990 and playing with the Bash Brothers.

Click here to read Part 2

Relievers key as Cats comeback to scratch out 2-1 win over Bees

2011-06-05T01:30:08Z

Scott Emerson has a philosophy. Let’s call it more of an idea what the Sacramento River Cats pitching coach is looking for out of his pitching staff.

“You want your starter to go six or seven innings and then that cuts down on the usage of the bullpen,” said Emerson after the game. “As an organization, we do have a pitch count for guys to be able to pitch the next day, if they go over a certain number, we can’t use them the next day.”

Considering that Cats starter Bobby Cramer had reached that pitch total well ahead of schedule, it was refreshing to see all three Sacramento relievers combine to hold the Salt Lake Bees to only two more hits in the game. That allowed their timely hitting and sacrificial play to give the Cats the 2-1 victory at Raley Field on Friday evening.

Cramer only went 3 2/3 innings because of that philosophy as he had given up five hits, four walks and six strikeouts. Emerson ferreted out the problem the left-hander was having.

“He’s got to pitch a little more to contact,” said the pitching coach of Cramer. “To throw 77 pitches in that amount of time - less than four innings - we want him pitch more to contact. The strikeouts are great and all but the contact balls are going to be much better for him and he’ll be able to go much deeper in the game. That’s what starters get paid to do - to get us into the seventh inning.”

After loading the bases in the first without incident, in the second, Cramer got into trouble again. A leadoff double that bounced off the bottom of the Toyota sign in left-center by Gil Velazquez set up the first score for the Bees. A few batters later, leadoff hitter Tyson Auer’s second single in as many innings plated Velazquez to give Salt Lake a 1-0 lead.

A good sign early was seeing Cats catcher Anthony Recker increase his hitting streak to 13 games on a sharp double in his very first at-bat. Funny things is, he didn’t even know he had a steak to keep alive.

“I didn’t even know I had a hitting streak going, hopefully I can keep it going,” said a happy Recker as he walked off the field after signing for the young fans along the left field rail.

Recker is one of those guys that seems to be maturing at a very high rate. His stats and development have to be getting the attention of the big club. Especially if he keeps this up.

“I think I’m ready, it’s just a matter of getting an opportunity,” said Recker. “I just have to keep doing what I am doing and keep working hard and keep things going.”

The Cats got some trouble brewing in the fourth for the Bees when Matt Carson led off with a sharp double into left center that rolled to the wall. After a walk by Jai Miller, Carson stole third to set up runners on the corners with no outs. One wild pitch later by Scott Kazmir, who is on a rehab assignment, and Miller was on second.

That brought up Adrian Cardenas with the bases loaded and, with a little patience, Cardenas took a walk that brought in Carson from third to tie the game. A sacrifice fly by Eric Sogard brought in Miller to give the Cats their first lead of the game.

Sogard knows it’s just doing the little things right that can help you scratch out a win.

“We only had three hits, but made the most of it,” said Sogard after signing whatever memento was in every kid’s outstretched hands. “We did the small things right. Got the guys over and sac flied them in so we did what it took to get the win. It was a great win!”

After four, the Cats led 2-1.

In the sixth, Bees’ second baseman took the first pitch he saw from Cat reliever Trystan Magnuson for a ride. Carson tracked it nicely and, with a nice jump, snared the ball as it was clearing the Sutter Health sign in right field. The great catch saved a home run that would have given the Bees the lead.

On that particular play, Carson was glad he was in right and not left field.

“I had a pretty good route to it and got back to the fence,” said Carson. “That part of the fence over there is shorter than the rest of the field so it’s easier to kinda get up there. You can kind of lean back over it, whereas, the higher fence you gotta get a foot up on it and reach over the top of it. But over there, you can kinda just get your back up to the fence and lean back and that’s basically did.”

Besides the home run that Carson saved, the rest of the fifth through ninth innings sailed along like a delta breeze. Three Cats relievers - Magnuson, Jerry Blevins and Vinnie Chulk - combined to only allow only two hits over the 5 1/3 innings they pitched.

Manager Darren Bush is proud of the way his pitching staff has played as of late.

“The pitching staff did a great job,” said Bush. “They gave up a run early and then just shut them down. They’ve done it for the last three games. They did a great job of keeping those guys off-balance and attacking the zone.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF:

STEVEN CHEA

Rosales and Hernandez keys in Cats comeback win, 7-4 over Bees

2011-06-03T02:09:02Z

Oakland A’s second baseman Adam Rosales was itching to get back on the field, so much so that he just arrived in town to begin his rehab stint with the River Cats and found himself in the starting lineup.

After he collected a single, double and triple by the sixth inning, one had to wonder — after he got pulled in the eighth — if he was even a little upset at not getting a chance to go for the cycle in his first game since August.

“No, it’s just fun to get out there and play,” said Rosales, who has been out for nine months rehabbing a broken bone in his ankle. “It’s fun to bump elbows with these guys and to enjoy playing at this level again.”

He got a chance to do more than bump elbows, as Rosales had three of the Cats’ 10 hits along with an RBI in Sacramento’s 7-4 comeback win over the Salt Lake Bees Wednesday at Raley Field.

After the dreaded rain delay of almost 90 minutes, the Bees opened the first with a sharp two-strike single by left fielder Tyson Auer. After a sacrifice by Chris Pettit, power hitter Jeff Baisley strode to the plate and dinked a bunt to Cats pitcher Carlos Hernandez. Hernandez promptly threw the ball in the dirt and, as it went by first baseman Shane Peterson and rolled to the wall, Auer hustled around the bases and scored from second. Baisley, who got to third on the throw, scored a batter later on a sacrifice from Bees first baseman Efren Navarro.

It first appeared that the River Cats would start clawing their way back from the early 2-0 deficit when leadoff hitter Rosales took the second pitch he saw into left for a single. After stealing second, Rosales was stranded in the heart of the diamond after the next three Cats-made outs.

Most guys would be lamenting over the missed playing time as if a younger player were ready to make a run for the player’s spot.

Not Rosales. He found different ways to keep his head in the game.

“It’s been a long road, but a road that’s taught me patience,” said Rosales, who has been with Oakland since 2009. “(It’s taught) me how to slow the game down a little bit. I get to study video a lot. I had so much time of my hands, I’d try and get as much baseball knowledge as I could when I wasn’t playing.”

The second started off just like the first for the Bees, as the first two batters singled again and sacrificed the runner to second. After that short run of duplicity, Cole Armstrong doubled in Gil Velazquez from second on the first pitch he saw. A batter later, Auer plated Armstrong on his second single of the game.

While Salt Lake put up two in each of the first two innings, Sacramento was still looking to dig in their spikes and scratch something onto the towering scoreboard.

That’s when Anthony “Home” Recker ripped the first pitch he saw over the wall in left field and watched it hit off the clubhouse wall for his ninth homer of the season.

“I had good fortune today,” he said later. “I put a pretty good swing on the ball.”

After a quiet third inning, the Cats finally busted out the whipping sticks. Following a fly out by Recker, the Cats unleashed back-to-back-to-back doubles by Michael Taylor, Eric Sogard and Jai Miller that scored two and got Sacramento to within a run.

Shane Peterson walked after Miller’s double to get Sacramento runners on second and third. Miller scored a moment later on another Cats double — this one by Rosales. Scott Sizemore continued the scoring barrage with a sacrifice fly that plated Peterson.

After a four-run fifth, the Cats led 5-4.

Considering the shaky start Cats pitcher Hernandez got off to — four hits, three sacrifices and two earned runs in the first two innings — the following four innings he pitched were nearly flawless. In frames three through six, Hernandez struck out five and gave up only two hits while keeping the Bees from pasting anymore runs onto the scoreboard.

“I threw a lot of fastballs,” Hernandez said of his change in the game. “I went in and out on hitters and mixed speeds when I needed too. Recker called a good game too.”

The Cats put two more runs on their side of the ledger in the game. Rosales scored on a throwing error by Bees second baseman Dwayne Bailey after his leadoff triple in the sixth. Later, in the seventh, Miller knocked in Recker, who had walked to start the inning.

Three scoreless innings were the work of the Cats bullpen — an inning each by Jerry Blevins, Fautino De Los Santos and Willie Eyre, who, after a leadoff walk in the ninth, struck out the side to end the game.

After the game, the question still begged to be asked: How does a guy who has not picked up a bat for nine months get a single, a double, a triple and steal a base in his first game back? Seriously? After ankle surgery?

“A true hitter is always trying to improve himself,” Rosales said smiling. “I’m still getting completely comfortable at the plate.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF:

http://www.nabityphotos.com/

Timmons, Carson and pitching staff shine - Cats win fourth in a row

2011-05-10T01:09:57Z

Wes Timmons just wants to play ball. That is, with God’s blessing, of course.

Timmons had a conversation with his wife before Sunday’s Mother’s Day contest at Raley Field and thinks he may have figured it out. After Saturday night’s game Timmons felt horrible. He told his wife Jennifer that he feels like he hasn’t been in the batter’s box for a year rather than the three weeks it’s been. She then told him what he already knew.

“You need to check yourself and get back in the word and trust in God,” said Jennifer.

So, after his pre-game one-on-one with the man upstairs, a rejuvenated Timmons promptly hit the field and went 3-4 with an RBI, helping the Sacramento River Cats beat the hot-hitting Colorado Springs Sky Sox 5-3 in front of 7,908 moms and family members alike. The win gives the Cats four W's in a row.

“I can’t tell you that God’s blessings are the reason I got hits,” said a thankful Timmons, “but it’s just (about) having confidence - knowing that there are way more important things in life than getting a few knocks out here.”

Speaking of hitting, Colorado came into the game hitting well above .300 as a team. That didn’t faze Sacramento’s pitching one bit as the combined efforts of starter Bobby Cramer and relievers Joe Bateman, Vinnie Chulk and Joey Devine kept the 3-6 batters in the Sox lineup to an amazing 1-for-14 at the plate.

Cats pitching coach Scott Emerson, affectionately known by his players as Emo, has been impressed at what he’s been seeing lately.

“Anytime you can get the meat of the order out is a bonus,” said Coach Emo from his office after the game. “The guys are attacking the strike zone and making the hitter put the ball in play. We are getting good defense behind them and anytime you do that, you’re going to have a lot of success.”

The Cats side of the ledger would start being filled first after a John Donaldson walk and a Shane Peterson single that put two on with one out in the second, Sky Sox starting pitcher Sean White picking Horton off of first base. After a short delay, the decision was overturned and a balk was called on White, allowing Donaldson to score and Horton to go to second. The early confusion gave the River Cats a 1-0 lead after two.

In the third for the Sky Sox, Brad Emaus led off with a single. After a hard line out to center by Willy Taveras, Eliezer Alfonso, the ninth hitter in the order, took a fastball over the left-center field wall on a string as it just cleared the fence for a two-run homer that gave the Sox a 2-1 lead.

Matt Carson led off with a walk for the Cats and a batter later, Adrian Cardenas stroke a shot into center that Sox center fielder could not get a bead on, changing directions several times while tracking the ball before it finally went over his head and bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double RBI that tied the score at 2-2.

Carson led off the fifth with a moon shot that landed on the green tarp that connects the Home Run Terrace and the Cats clubhouse.

Anthony Recker, who has been seeing the ball very well lately, followed with a double and then stole third. Peterson then squirreled one up the first-base line that pitcher Andrew Graham could not run down. Recker scored on the play, giving Sacramento a 4-2 lead.

On Josh Horton’s single moments later, Donaldson would round third and start the charge home. There was a bang-bang play at the plate, but Donaldson’s attempt to run over Sox catcher Alfonso was unsuccessful.

After the Sox scored again, the Cats would look to increase their lead with back-to-back singles by Horton and Weeks to lead off the eighth. Timmons got up and, after trying to sacrifice bunt both base runners over before getting two strikes, ended up slicing one to right for his third hit of the day. Timmons efforts allowed Horton to score a sorely needed insurance run.

In speaking with Timmons after the game, you could tell that his heart and mind were one with his creator as he joked about how seriously players take this game that’s meant for kids.

“Stats are stats,” said a smiling Timmons. “What I believe is that God has a plan for me and I think that he laughs and finds it funny that so many guys take so much into this game. This is fun, it is. For many it is a career, so it is important. I’m not trying to downplay that at all. But in the scheme of things, there are a lot more important things in this lifetime.”

Timmons, nearly a ten-year vet of the minor league system, spends the end of this game like all the preceding contests in which he’s played - signing for the young fans along the third base railing until there are no more.

“These little kids look up to you whether you get no hits or three hits. I got two little girls back home and after the game, they love me for being Daddy. It’s not about how I played. I feel like the kids are the same way. For that moment, maybe you can give them that glitter of excitement. Maybe be a role model that they don’t have. Maybe they don’t have a dad in their lives, but if I can be one little kid’s hope - as corny as that sounds - I really think it’s worth it.”

Good God(frey)! Cats pitch their way to 17th win on Cinco de Mayo

2011-05-07T00:34:50Z

This time around, a slightly re-tooled Graham Godfrey was ready.

Ready to show that the changes he made in the offseason were paying off. Ready to pop the glove with the hard stuff.

And after striking out the side in the first inning, he knew that he couldn’t let this great start go to waste.

“It sets the tone for the rest of the game,” said Godfrey. “I think the guys playing behind me picked up on that and they feed off that. It’s a good way to start things off.”

On a sunny and warm Thursday evening at Raley Field, the sombreros were out and the margaritas were flowing as the fans in attendance this Cinco de Mayo witnessed a great pitching performance as the Cats cruised to a 7-1 victory over the Salt Lake Bees.

As for Palmer - Godfrey’s counterpart - he had given up two walks, two wild pitches and one run on a hit in just the first two innings! Palmer pitches were everywhere.

Immediately, a contrast in starting pitching was evident.

The theme would continue the entire game as the Cats would garner a baserunner in each inning and were constantly putting the Bees on the defensive.

Graham Godfrey came out throwing darts and Manager Darren Bush was quite impressed.

“He did a great job,” said a smiling Bush. “He attacked the strike zone, he went at hitters and he made them swing the bats. He had command so he was able to get them swinging and then move the ball around. Great job!”

For the Cats, Eric Sogard lead off Sacramento’s part of the first with a walk. One wild pitch later, he’s on second. After a Steve Tolleson ground out moved Sogard to third, he scored on another wild pitch by Bee starter Matt Palmer to get the Cats out to an early lead.

In the second, Adrian Cardenas ripped a sharp single down the first base line that just got under Efren Navarro’s glove and into right field. Anthony Recker, who had walked to lead off the inning, had to pull up at second as he wasn’t looking at third base coach Darren Bush who was waving him around.

At first glance, it appeared that it would have been easy for Recker to get to third and then have runners on first and third with no outs. Recker knew that the first baseman was an excellent fielder and thought there was a chance he had fielded the ball and was throwing to second to get him out. Adding to that, the shortstop - Andrew Romine - was moving towards second as if he had a play on Recker.

Bush understood why Recker played it safe.

“He went into the bag and looked at the middle infielders to see what they were doing,” said Bush, “and the middle infielder was coming towards the bag so he thought the throw was going to come in there. I’d rather him do that than not go into the bag and try and make a round and get tagged out.”

Moments later, Recker would get caught at third in a rundown on double steal attempt. The Bees caught a break and Sacramento would go quietly the rest of the inning.

In the third, Matt Carson torched a 2-0 pitch over the wall in left center that hit the top of the field house. The rocket must have gone close to 450 feet and gave the Cats a 3-0 lead after three.

“It worked out pretty good you know, I haven’t been swinging the bat real well lately but to get a couple across the plate today, it felt good,” said Carson.

After a quiet fourth, Josh Horton lifted a flailing fly ball that dropped in front of left fielder Chris Petit for a single. He would later score on a sacrifice fly by Carson, who got his third RBI of the day.

The first damage by the Bees occurred in the sixth as Paul McAnulty lifted a shot that drifted over Cardenas in left and bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double. The well-placed hit scored Willits, who had walked to lead off the inning.

The Cats tried to etch some more runs onto the big board in the sixth. Two are out when Peterson walked, took second on his first steal of the season and then scored on a single from Horton. Again, Bush was being very aggressive on the base paths as he waved Peterson home on what appeared was going to be a very close play at the plate. The throw from the third baseman was just enough off-line that Peterson could slide his way around the tag and slide safely into home for the score.

Josh Donaldson, who had been struggling at the plate and already had struck out three times, capped the scoring with a two-run single in the eighth.

Godfrey was pulled after six very strong innings of work. Final line: 6 IP, 2 H, 1ER, 2BB and 7 K’s. As his stats are piling up, he seems to be getting better each game.

Sacramento's bullpen pitched well also as Fautino De Los Santos and Willie Eyre pitched three scoreless innings

Godfrey acknowledged that the coaching staff and the teammates that are playing behind him have attributed to his early success. He also noticed that his delivery was not what it should be and worked on his mechanics in the off-season. The extra work is paying off.

“My mechanics were a little off last year and it affected all my pitches,” admitted Godfrey. “This year, I’ve worked with Emo (pitching coach Scott Emerson) and our pitching coordinator to raise my arm slot a little bit and everything is coming out a little bit better, a little bit harder and that’s definitely helping.”

Cats commit four errors in loss to Bees, 8-1

2011-05-05T18:39:07Z

With the River Cats’ (16-11) good times seemingly rolling along — winners of six of their last seven — a midday contest against the stumbling Salt Lake Bees — losers of the first two games of this match-up — should have been just what the doctor ordered.

Unfortunately for the Cats, the house call wasn’t made and no medicine could have helped them, as Sacramento was their own worst enemy by making four errors en route to an 8-1 loss to the Bees on Wednesday afternoon at Raley Field.

After a quick 1-2-3 first inning by both teams, the Bees headed to the plate in the second and struck first.

With two outs, left fielder Chris Pettit reached first on an error by Cat right fielder Adam Heether. A high looper tailed away off Pettit’s bat, veered toward the chalk line and just hit the edge of a charging Heether’s glove to fall onto the ground in right field. Salt Lake first baseman Efren Navarro singled in Pettit to etch the first run of the day onto the scoreboard.

Onto the fourth when Bees power hitter Jeff Baisley walked to lead off the inning. After a fly out by right fielder Jeremy Moore, Pettit ripped a scorching liner down the left field line that rolled to the wall for a run-scoring double. Navarro then took a 1-0 pitch into center for a single that scored Pettit.

After four frames, the Bees led 3-0.

In the fifth, after an error by River Cat shortstop Eric Sogard that allowed lead-off hitter Tyson Auer to get on base, Andrew Romine singled on a drag bunt that first baseman Anthony Recker had to field. As he got ready to toss to pitcher Travis Banwart, who was running to cover first on the play, Banwart suddenly slowed his running and Recker had no one to throw to. Romine would be safe at first.

Part of the confusion on the play was caused by the fact that second baseman Josh Horton was also running to cover first, and River Cats manager Darren Bush could understand the incertitude.

“When that’s a push bunt situation, that’s a tough play, because the second baseman is playing at double-play depth,” Bush said. “He squared a little early but just got a bad read. Once you get a bad read, now you’re in trouble because you’ve got to cover some ground there.”

Paul McAnulty went to the plate next and reached base because of a fielding error by Horton. When Horton let the ball get under his glove, Tyson Auer scored.

That was it for Cats starter Banwart, as Joe Bateman replaced him on the mound. Banwart allowed five hits and five runs, but only two of the runs were earned.

The first batter Bateman faced Baisley, who promptly took a 0-1 pitch into center field for a single that plated Romine and gave the Bees a 5-0 lead.

Bateman allowed a single to Jeremy Moore that went right at Recker. Recker scooped it up and tossed a rifle shot to catcher Donaldson to catch McAnulty at home plate, who was trying to score from third. After a pop out and then an intentional walk to Navarro, Cole Armstrong ripped a two-run single to center that gave the Bees a big 7-0 lead going into the bottom of the fifth.

One of the few bright spots for the Cats this day was Shane Peterson. Peterson, who led off the bottom of the fifth with a sharp double into the gap in right center, finished the day 3 for 4. Two batters later, Sogard took a pitch down the first baseline for a single that scored Peterson.

After five, the Cats were still down by six runs.

The fourth Cats error happened in the seventh when Moore knocked a simple ground ball to first baseman Recker. He fielded it cleanly and tossed it to pitcher Bateman, but Bateman dropped the ball as he crossed over first base.

By now, Bush had to wonder why the mental errors were starting to pile up.

“The physical errors, they happen. It’s baseball,” he said. “But we made a couple of mental errors today that could have changed the game a little bit. Those are the ones that we need to make sure we don’t make. You know, it’s baseball. Bad day. Didn’t play well. Tomorrow we come out and play another baseball game.”

In the Cats part of the seventh, Heether scared Salt Lake as he stroked a shot that was headed over the wall until right fielder Jeremy Moore made an outstanding over-the-wall catch that kept it from being a home run.

After Horton, Carson and Recker had back-to-back-to-back singles with two outs in the eighth that loaded the bases, Cats catcher Donaldson ended the rally by hitting a sharp liner back to pitcher Cassevah for the out.

Cleanup hitter Baisley added to the pain by taking a 1-0 pitch deep over the center field wall for a solo shot with one out in the ninth that ended the scoring for the game.

Baisley was happy to get the win as Salt Lake had been struggling lately.

“It’s good for us,” Baisley said smiling. “Before this, we’ve haven’t been winning too many ballgames, so it’s good to get in the win column.”

Baisley is killing Pacific Coast League pitching early this season by batting near .400, and he has eight homers and 27 RBI already this season.

“It’s always good to get off to a good start,” he said. “I’ve never started off like this. Let it keep rolling and see how long it can last!”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF: Ron Nabity

More photos available here: http://www.nabityphotos.com/SRC20110426/

Cats fall behind early and can't claw back, lose to Padres 7-5

2011-04-26T02:07:36Z

Considering that the Sacramento River Cats have been on a roll lately – winners of eight of their last ten - you would hope that, along with all the kids finding prizes in the plastic eggs that were scattered across the grass in the Kinder BBQ area, the Cats would find a way to scatter enough hits to keep the good times rolling along.

The visiting Tucson Padres cut the good times short by providing solid starting pitching and timely hitting to best Sacramento 7-5 on Easter Sunday, despite comeback attempts in each of the final four innings by the River Cats.

A weakness of the Cats early this season has been allowing the opposing team to put up multiple runs in the opening frame. Falling behind early is not part of manager Darren Bush’s game plan.

“I feel strongly that these guys are ready to take the mound as soon as they get out there,” said Bush from his office after the game. “It’s just right now, we’re not making the pitches in that inning to get the outs.”

Combine those stats with starter Josh Outman’s stats from his first three games this season - eight of his ten earned runs allowed occurred in the first inning of play - and the table was set for Tucson to get out to a hot start.

After getting Padre lead-off hitter Everth Cabrera to pop out to the catcher, Outman’s day took a turn for the worse. The next two batters walked before first baseman Anthony Rizzo strode to the plate. Rizzo, who entered the game hitting .431 and has driven in 24 runs already this year, sent a blooper into center that dropped for a single and loaded the bases.

Jesus Guzman, who had a cup of coffee with the San Francisco Giants in 2009, came up with the bags full and roped a double down the left field line that cleared the bases and gave the Padres a 3-0 lead.

Light-hitting Tucson catcher Eddy Rodriguez led off the second inning with a solo shot that carried well over the Toyota sign in left and gave the Padres a 4-0 lead after two innings.

Padre starter Jon Leicester (1-0) kept the Cats from scratching their way back into the game by pitching five strong innings of work. In allowing only three hits, striking out four and giving up no earned runs, Leicester proved to be a formidable force on the mound. It wasn’t until he was yanked from the contest that Sacramento would begin their comeback, but not before Tucson would score two more.

In the fourth, after quickly getting the first two batsmen out, the ninth hitter in the Padre order, Luis Durango, hit a clean single into center which was followed by a walk to Cabrera.

Aaron Cunningham then lifted a 3-1 pitch into left that just kept drifting. Left fielder Steven Tolleson, who’s filling in for an injured Chris Carter, seemed to lose the ball momentarily as he faded back. The ball would just miss Tolleson’s glove and dropped in between him and recent call-up Shane Peterson, who was in center. It was ruled a three-base error and two more Padre runs would score.

Normally an infielder, Tolleson was eager to help his team where needed and knows the outfield on a bright, sunny day in Sacramento can be tricky.

“I lost it in the sun for a little bit,” said Tolleson after the game. “When I found it again, it was about 10 feet behind me, the wind just kept blowing it. I’ve only been out there a couple of games, so it will get better.”

All three starting outfielders for the Cats were out with various injuries. Matt Carson (lower back tightness), Chris Carter (sprained thumb) and Jai Miller, who tweaked his knee the day before, all missed the game.

After two quick outs in the fifth, Outman was pulled after a bad call. First base umpire Matt Schaufert ruled that Cat first baseman Mitch Canham pulled his foot off the bag when he didn’t. Matt Clark took first on the bad call and Outman headed for the clubhouse.

Speaking of Canham, the sparingly played catcher was 2-for-3 with two singles and a run scored in the contest and felt comfortable against his former team.

“I was just looking for something to drive,” said Canham on his way to the showers. “Obviously, being from the Padres (organization) the last few years, I’ve seen the guys and I kind of know the approach. They are all really good pitchers and I know they have a lot of speed all over the field, so you really have to put it in the right spots. I was happy to put the barrel on the ball today.”

In the sixth, the Cats got Tolleson and Adrian Cardenas on with walks. Josh Donaldson torched a 2-0 offering from Tucson reliever Aaron Poreda that hit off the wall in left field and scored both base runners. After a base on balls was issued to Peterson, Adam Heether would fly out to center to end the threat.

Another rally in the seventh began as Canham walked and then Jemile Weeks singled. That was followed by two straight strikeouts before an Anthony Recker liner to center off Padre reliever Greg Burke that drove in Canham. The hot-hitting Cardenas kept the rally going with a line drive to right that plated Weeks and got the Cats to within two runs.

That lit the fuse for a fuming Burke, who let home plate umpire Dixon Stureman hear it about his balls and strikes calls before making his way on the long walk through the outfield wall in left center.

Another unearned run scored for Tucson in the eighth, when Cunningham lifted a sacrifice fly to center that scored Luis Durango. Durango was hit by a Joey Devine pitch and had advanced to third on a Weeks error.

Again the Cats would not go quietly. Three of the first four Cats batters in the eighth walked to load the bases before Eric Sogard lifted a sacrifice fly to center that scored Peterson to get the Cats within two runs, who now trailed 7-5.

Sacramento’s rally in the ninth - starting with back-to-back singles and ending on a double play - would fall short.

Manager Darren Bush knows the Cats had their chances to claw their way back in.

“The game is nine innings long,” said Bush. “They put up a few runs in the first and you have to be able to bounce back and try and pick away at whatever they put up. Tonight we did the same thing. We had more than enough opportunities to take the game back over but it just didn’t work out that way.”

PHOTOS COURTESY OF STEVEN CHEA

River Cats lose in ninth on wild pitch, Las Vegas wins 5-3

2011-04-14T08:45:08Z

Since the River Cats pushed Josh Outman’s start back one more day, a spot came open for another player from Oakland’s outstanding minor league system to make an appearance before the 5,327 in attendance at Raley Field Tuesday evening.

This time it was Graham Godfrey’s number that was called. Godfrey, a player whom Cats Manager Darren Bush has had the pleasure of managing at several of the A’s farm clubs, got the spot start. Even though Godfrey pitched well enough to win, he gave up three runs in the first inning that crippled the Cats’ chances of pulling off the win.

In the end, the River Cats lost a tough one, 5-3 in the ninth inning to the Las Vegas 51s.

For the third consecutive game, the River Cats pitchers allowed the visiting team to score in the first inning.

After Las Vegas center fielder Darin Mastroianni led off the game with a strikeout, the 51s had back-to-back singles by Mike McCoy and Brett Lawrie. After left fielder Eric Thomas walked to load the bases, first baseman David Cooper, who came into the game hitting .409, ripped a line-drive single that plated two runs and gave the 51s an early 2-0 lead after one inning of play.

That brought on a quick trip to the mound by Cats pitching coach Scott Emerson in an effort to settle down his freshly called up starter Godfrey. Godfrey allowed another run-scoring single before getting right fielder Adam Loewen to ground into the ever-popular 6-4-3 double play.

After facing seven batters in the opening frame, it looked like an early hook was in the making for the 26-year-old right-hander.

That didn’t happen as Godfrey settled in and, after a rough start, pitched four scoreless innings before being replaced by Danny Farquhar, who started the sixth.

For the Cats, after going down quietly in the first inning, center fielder Jai Miller opened the second with a walk. Steve Tolleson then stroked a single that dropped well in front of Las Vegas left fielder Eric Thames. Miller tried to stretch an extra base out of Tolleson’s single but was caught in a close play at third on the superb throw by Thames.

Once Wes Timmons grounded into a 5-3 ground out, it was time for the Cats’ hottest batter to come to the plate in the form of Tuesday’s designated hitter, Adrian Cardenas.

Cardenas entered the contest with a team-high .467 batting average and is showing a great eye early this year. Cardenas took a four-pitch walk to bring the 0-for-the-early-season (15 at-bats) Josh Donaldson to the plate. Donaldson, who played a bit with the big club last year filling in for an injured Kurt Suzuki, has been eager to rip his first meaningful shot into the Raley Field outfield. With two outs, Donaldson torched the second pitch he saw for a line drive into center that scored Tolleson from second base, allowing the scorekeeper to put the first Cats runs on the big board.

That seemed to open the flood gates, at least temporarily, as Adam Heether stroked a ground ball into center field that scored. Cardenas quickly followed by leadoff hitter Jemile Weeks’ single that plated Donaldson.

Shortstop Eric Sogard concluded the second inning with a groundout to the first base that left the score tied at 3-3.

Onto the fifth, where in between a couple of singles, Godfrey closed his strong performance with striking out the side.

With the scored still tied at 3-3, things got interesting in the eighth when Tolleson walked, and then Anthony Recker, pinch-hitting for Timmons, smashed a double into left field. With two on and two outs, Donaldson struck out to end the Cats threat.

Cats reliever Trystan Magnuson entered the game to start the eighth and promptly shut down the 51s in 1-2-3 fashion.

Jason Lane, who had been hitless in the game and was batting well under .100 early this season, led off the ninth with a bang by taking a 1-2 pitch on a rope into center field for a clean single.

The ninth hitter in the order, Brian Jeroloman, took the sixth pitch from Magnuson into left field. The ball curled toward the line and Cats outfielder Chris Carter just couldn’t catch up to it as it dropped in for a seeing-eye single, allowing pinch runner Manny Mayorson to race his way to third on the play.

Moments later, Lane scored on a wild pitch from Magnuson that also put Jeroloman on second base. After back-to-back strikeouts by Magnuson, Brett Lawrie punched a single to right that scored Jeroloman to make it a 5-3 advantage for the visiting 51s.

Heether led the ninth with a walk for the River Cats, but 51s reliever Josh Roenicke struck out the side, with Weeks swinging while Sogard and Carter went down looking. The 51s pulled off the late inning rally to win, 5-3.

Even though Godfrey got off to a rough start, he knew it would just take a bit to settle in again at Raley Field.

“That first inning, their hitters are pretty good,” Godfrey said. “They didn’t try to over-swing, and they just took what they got and put the ball in play. But I adjusted and got with Donaldson, and we reworked our game plan and went back to work, and it worked out.

“Emo (pitching coach Scott Emerson) came out to give me a breather and said, ‘Keep throwing strikes,’” he said. “My stuff was there. I just had to work on the sequences and I felt like I finished strong.”

Getting a change to show his wares at the AAA level last season, Godfrey now feels like he belongs and thinks he knows much better how to stay here this time.

“This year I feel like I belong here”, Godfrey said. “I feel like I’m good enough to be here. There are still a couple of things that I’m trying to work on, but I felt really comfortable out there tonight, and I’m looking forward to a strong season.”

Images are of pre-game warmups and festivities at the ballpark

Cats run (and walk) their way to blowout win over Tacoma, 11-3

2011-04-12T06:13:07Z

If you follow the River Cats even the slightest bit, you know that they’re known for putting up runs on the board in bunches, especially in their wins. The final game in the season-opening series with the Tacoma Rainiers was no different.

On a beautiful Sunday afternoon in Sacramento, Cat right fielder Jai (pronounced Jay) Miller found his groove. Even though Miller is in
Triple A working on fixing the holes in his swing, a lot is expected of the big man - known for either ripping the cover off of the ball and sending it screaming over the wall for all to cheer, or tying himself in knots trying.

Miller’s strong arms and powerful swing helped him go 2-for-3 with two walks and five RBI including a rain-bringing shot that easily cleared the wall in the second inning. Add that to two RBI a piece from Matt Carson, Wes Timmons and Adrian Cardenas, and the hometown River Cats (2-2) laid waste to the visiting Tacoma Rainiers (2-2) in an 11-3 shellacking at Raley Field.

River Cats starter Gary Daley Jr. didn’t shine last year at Double A Midland. Considering his 3-11 record last season and his ultimate release by the St. Louis Cardinals organization in July of 2010, not much was expected of a guy making a spot start for the Triple A club, knowing he would probably be sent right back down after the game.

As he was having some control problems during the first inning - an issue that has kept him from being promoted - he must have been wondering if the return trip to Midland was going to be a quick one.

After giving up a lead-off walk, a double, a single and another walk to the first four batters, Daley settled into a groove. He finished up the inning by giving up a sacrifice fly and then a 1-3-2 double play, happy with only giving up two runs in the opening frame.

Luckily for Daley and the rest of the River Cats, Tacoma’s starter Chaz Roe was battling his own demons. He escaped the first frame untouched, even though he gave up a walk and a hit by pitch, after Cats catcher Anthony Recker left two on when he struck out swinging.

Just as Daley was tightening up his performance, the wheels were falling off for Rainiers starter Roe. Daley would only allow a solo shot in the fourth before being pulled after five solid innings.

Comparatively, Tacoma starter Roe got hammered. Roe gave up a single to Cats first baseman Wes Timmons in the second, then a walk to Adrian Cardenas before Jai Miller strutted to the plate and took a 2-0 pitch over the left-center field wall. The monster shot bounced off the top of the clubhouse and gave the River Cats a 3-2 lead.

Tacoma manager Daren Brown made his way to the mound several times to console his starter during the first couple of innings. Looking back, I’d bet he wished he would have made the pitching change because Sacramento kept getting to Roe. A total of 13 Cats got up to bat in the second inning before he got knocked out of the game. Before the second inning was over, the home team plated seven runs on five hits, three walks and two hit by pitches. Talk about control issues! The Rainiers staff gave up nine walks and two hit by pitches. That's 11 free passes in the game to go along with the 11 strikeouts dealt.

Other scoring in the second included Matt Carson smacking a sharp single to left center that scored a run, followed not too much later by a two-run single to right by Timmons. It was Timmons’ second hit in the inning.

The River Cats weren’t done making the Raley Field scoreboard operator work up some calluses on his fingers as they scored three more in the third, giving them a 10-2 lead before Tacoma would score its final run in the fourth.

Some great pitching by Cats relievers Willie Eyre and Trystan Magnuson closed out the game as they only gave up a combined two hits, no walks and struck out three in four solid innings of work.

Jai Miller would get another RBI in the fifth on a single to left-center that closed out the scoring and gave the Cats an 11-3 win over the visiting Rainiers.

Miller was the offensive star of the day and said it was great to see his team even up the series.

“It’s the last game of the series,” said Miller. “We let them get ahead and we just wanted to see if we could get a split and finish up this homestand strong.”

Manager Darren Bush is happy with the way the guys are swinging the sticks.

“We swung the bats well and took advantage of our opportunities tonight,” said a smiling Bush. “It was a good game all around.”

As for the problems of the opposing pitcher Chaz Roe, Bush knew patience would be the key in benefitting from his bad fortune.

“Take advantage,” Bush quickly answered, ”take advantage because their bullpen the last few nights has done a good job, so take advantage of our opportunities and let our bullpen do their job.”

Longtime minor leaguer Timmons is following his great spring up with a hot start to the regular season. Timmons is batting .400 after the first series of the year and knows that this year’s Cats team is an explosive one.

“I don’t expect us to score, what is it, 11 runs every night,” said Timmons, “but there is no reason why we shouldn’t be able to put runs on the board with the guys we’ve got throughout this lineup.”

River Cats lose tough one to Tacoma, great pitching on display

2011-04-10T20:27:16Z

Jose Yepez’s strode to the plate with the game tied 2-2. Moments later, Yepez stroked a seeing-eye single that broke a 2-2 tie in the ninth inning and was the difference in Tacoma’s 4-2 win over the hometown River Cats. The Rainiers catcher cracked a sharp shot straight up the middle that just got by the outstretched hand of Sacramento pitcher Vinnie Chulk and skipped off of both shortstop Eric Sogard and second baseman Jemile Weeks' hands before it slowly rolled into the outfield to give Tacoma the win.

A smaller than average crowd was on-hand for the River Cats first Saturday game of the season. Maybe it was the cooler temperatures from the previous couple of games or maybe it was the first Second Saturday in a while that was being held downtown that kept Raley Field from being filled to capacity.

Either way, it didn’t stop the 8,987 in attendance from being loud and into the game. Especially when the “Groove Crew” and their fancy dance moves perform near each dugout after the sixth inning. This group of guys drag the field every three innings and stop what they are doing to bust out choreographed dance steps in between their work. A crowd pleaser that started late last season had carried over to this year as well.

Cats starting pitcher Yadel Marti, in his first professional game in the United States since defecting from Cuba, was effective in his first start of the season yielding only four hits to go with five strikeouts in his six innings of work before getting the hook. Even though pitching well, first year Cat Manager Darren Bush had Marti on a pitch count and decided to pull him after he pitched six strong innings.

In came Danny Farquhar to relieve Marti and, during his second inning of work, Farquhar became his own worst enemy. He cost his team a run when he overthrew first base for an error while trying to pick off Alex Liddi who was late tagging up on the play. Farquhar’s toss went well over the head of Cat first baseman Wes Timmons allowing Liddi to take second. Liddi would later score on Rainiers shortstop Sean Kazmar’s double in the seventh inning giving Tacoma a two run lead after seven.

Tacoma starter Chris Seddon was just as sharp as Marti. Seddon pitched six strong also giving up six hits and striking out five. Seddon even gave up a couple of walks but never a run and handed over a scoreless line to Manny Delcarmen and two other relief pitchers.

The pitching was truly at a premium this game with Sacramento’s pitchers striking out seven with only two walks and Tacoma’s pitching corp striking out 10 River Cats.

It wasn’t until the bottom of the eighth when the Cats scored for the first time in the game. After second baseman Weeks opened the eighth with a single, followed by Sogard with another single, the big man Chris Carter strolled to the plate with no outs and two on.

Just as the River Cats were getting to Tacoma reliever Royce Ring, who relieved Delcarmen, in came Dan Cortes. Carter promptly smacked a line drive off of Cortes and into left centerfield. The ball rolled to the wall and allowed both Weeks and Sogard to score. The bad news for the Cats was that it was the only hit Cortes would give up as he proceeded to strike out the next two batters he faced. Cortes closed out the eighth and Sacramento had to settle for a temporary tie.

Vinnie Chulk entered the game in the ninth to hold the fort down for the Cats. He was not able to keep the Rainiers at bay. Chulk allowed a single to Carlos Peguero, followed by hitting Mike Wilson with a pitch. After getting Kazmar to ground out, Yepez cracked that two-run single off of both middle infielders hands that put the visiting Rainiers out front for good.

Jai Miller started the ninth off with a single to left field only to be caught in a double play on a grounder by Josh Horton. The next batter was Weeks and he promptly struck out to end the game.

Despite the loss, Manager Darren Bush was pleased with his starter’s work off the mound.

“Marti did a great job,” said the soft-spoken Bush. “He threw the ball well, packed the zone. He did a really good job of getting early contact and getting us into the sixth inning giving us a chance, really good.”

After Carter’s two-run double, Bush thought things were lined up for the Cats to take the lead.

“A big hit, right there, put us in a good position to have three shots with some guys coming up to swing the bat. We just didn’t push it across.”

PHOTO ESSAY: River Cats Media Day 2011

2011-04-07T23:28:47Z

It’s that time again!

Spring is in the air and the tri-tip is cookin’ at Raley Field.

The Sacramento River Cats kick off their 2011 season Thursday at home against the Tacoma Rainiers at 7:05pm and SacramentoPress.com has you covered.

This season, the Press will have some of our most enthusiastic writers and photographers covering the action. Writers include Lindol French, Mark Needham and a few interns. Working the cameras for some great action shots will be Steven Chea, Ron Nabity and some of the other great shot-takers on our roster.

For the Cats, a new manager and several new faces fill out the roster. They hit the field with renewed vigor in pursuit of another Pacific Coast League championship.

Here are a few of the River Cats thoughts during Media Day:

Cats Manager Darren Bush on what he's looking for out of his team - “I want them to have success, individually and as a team, that’s my expectations. They will have the best opportunities for success if they play the game hard.”

Infielder Eric Sogard on his time with the big club last year - “It was a blast getting up there (Oakland) and getting my feet wet. Unbelievable experience getting my first hit in my first game. Even though we were on the road, the crowd really appreciated that and gave me a nice ovation.”

Outfielder Jai Miller on his background - “I’m from Montgomery, Alabama. My mom went to Auburn and my dad played football at Auburn so growing up I was a big Auburn fan. I like the Atlanta Braves but my favorite player was Ken Griffey Jr.”

Outfielder Chris Carter on taking on the missing piece to his personal puzzle - “Working in the outfield since it’s new for me. I just want to get as good as I can out there and just be ready when they call me back up (to Oakland).”

Outfielder Matt Carson on what it will take for him to stick with Oakland - “I don’t really feel like it is something I can change. It’s a situational thing. You just have to wait for your opportunity and be ready when you get that opportunity. I think that’s the key - just stay consistent.”

The River Cats will be at home to begin the season. The Tacoma Rainiers are in town starting tonight through Sunday and then the Las Vegas 51’s play at Raley Field from April 11-14.

Get your tickets now by calling 916.371.HITS (4487) or going to Rivercats.com for more information.