Offseason League Update – Dec. 4, 2012
Here is a look at how some Grizzlies from the 2012 season are performing in their respective offseason leagues:
Yusmeiro Petit – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-3 with a 6.60 ERA in 3 starts
Petit has remained winless in three starts with Margarita. He suffered the defeat in his last outing on November 28th against La Guaira, allowing four earned runs in the first inning. The right-hander allowed four of the first five batters he faced in the first frame to reach safely with a base hit. San Francisco Giants catcher Hector Sanchez eventually doubled off Petit to cap the inning’s scoring and make it 4-0. Petit allowed an unearned run in the second before finally settling down and surrendering one hit over his final three innings pitched. His final line read five innings, six hits allowed, five runs, four earned, one walk and five strikeouts.
Jean Machi – Navegantes de Magallanes (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-1 with a 7.71 ERA in 9 games
Machi made two appearances last week, and the two games tell different stories for the right-hander. In his first outing, Machi entered in the seventh inning of an already-pretty-much-decided 6-1 game. He forced the first batter to fly out, but after three straight batters reached safely to load the bases, Carlos Colmenares hit a bases-clearing triple. Machi closed out the inning without any more damage, but three runs on three hits and one walk ballooned his ERA to 9.82. On December 1st, Machi was the Machi Grizzlies fans saw most often in 2012 as he threw two scoreless innings in a 14-5 Magallanes victory over Cardenales de Lara.
Francisco Peguero – Gigantes del Cibao (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.231/.273/.346 with 6 RBI in 13 games
Peguero batted .222 (4-for-18) with one walk in five games last week. His only multi-hit effort came on November 27th when he went 2-for-3 with a double and run scored. The speedy outfielder added two steals to give him three in 13 games. Since November 28th, Peguero has struck out eight times in four games.
Boof Bonser – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-2 with a 3.65 ERA (10 er, 24.2 ip) in 6 starts
Bonser has not pitched since November 17th.
Mitch Lively – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-2, 1 save with a 7.71 ERA in 12 games
Lively has not pitched since November 18th.
Todd Linden – Estrellas de Oriente (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.256/.393/..522 with 7 HR and 13 RBI in 29 games
Linden did not play last week, but he is still second in the league in home runs and third in slugging percentage.
Roger Kieschnick – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.228/.308/.391 with 4 HR and 18 RBI in 24 games
Kieschnick has not appeared in a game since November 17th.
Winter League Update – Nov. 27, 2012
Here is a look at how some Grizzlies from the 2012 season are performing in their respective offseason leagues:
Heath Hembree – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
0-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 2 saves in 9 games
The Arizona Fall League season ended on November 17th when the Peoria Javelinas beat Salt River for the 2012 AFL Championship. Hembree and the Scottsdale Scorpions finished second in the Eastern Division as the team posted a 15-16 record. Hembree, though, did not pitch in the final week of the AFL season. His last appearance came on November 10th when he threw one inning and allowed no runs or hits against the four batters he faced. The right-hander finished the fall season with 12 strikeouts and three walks over nine innings. He also held opponents to a .229 batting average against.
Dan Runzler – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 10 games
Runzler’s 2012 season ended like Hembree’s: he did not appear in any games for Scottsdale entering the final week of the AFL season. The left-hander ended his fall season with 11 strikeouts and seven walks over eight innings. All seven of his walks occurred in his final four outings when he posted a 4:7 strikeout-to-walk ratio across three innings.
Chris Dominguez – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
.317/.364/.585 with 3 HR and 8 RBIs in 10 games
Dominguez went 1-for-4 as the designated hitter in his last game with Scottsdale in 2012, keeping alive his nine-game hitting streak. He ended the season in a tie for the most home runs on the team with three. In six of his 10 games, he played left field while he served as the designated hitter in three games and played third base in one contest. Dominguez, who entered 2012 having played in 303 of his 334 career games as a third baseman, switched primarily to outfield during the 2012 regular season. He played outfield in 84 of his 92 games between Richmond and Fresno.
Boof Bonser – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-2 with a 3.65 ERA (10 er, 24.2 ip) in 6 starts
In his only start of the week, Bonser suffered his second loss of the season after he lasted 1 2/3 innings in a November 17th start. The right-hander allowed two runs on three hits and three walks while striking out one. The outing was Bonser’s shortest of the VWL season.
Mitch Lively – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-2, 1 save with a 7.71 ERA in 12 games
Lively was roughed up on November 13th against Cardenales de Lara. In what eventually became a 9-1 loss for the Bravos, Lively surrendered four runs without recording an out in the top of the eighth inning. The right-hander allowed back-to-back singles (including a bunt single) to start the inning before issuing a walk to load the bases. Lively then surrendered a two-run single to Jairo Perez, which forced Lively from the game. Silfredo Garcia spelled Lively, but Garcia proved just as effective when he allowed a two-run double to the first batter he faced (the runs were charged to Lively). Lively came back in his next outing on November 18th and did not allow a run over 1 2/3 innings. He struck out two in the November 18th outing, his first multi-strikeout performance in the Venezuela League this season.
Yusmeiro Petit – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-2 with a 6.30 ERA in 2 starts
One of the Grizzlies’ most effective starters from 2012 made his VWL debut on November 16th, allowing one run and scattering eight hits over five innings. Petit would go on to suffer the hard-luck loss after the Bravos fell to Navegantes 1-0. In his second start, Petit threw five innings and suffered the loss once again. Only this time, Petit allowed six runs on six hits while striking out five and walking one on November 22nd.
Jean Machi – Navegantes de Magallanes (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-1 with a 7.11 ERA in 7 games
Machi made his VWL debut on November 13th, surrendering one run on two hits in a blown save. This set off a string of three straight outings – over three consecutive days – for Machi in which he blew a save opportunity. The right-hander took a couple days off, though, and returned to the mound on November 18th. He promptly struck out two of the three batters he faced in one inning of shutout baseball. In four appearances from November 18-23, Machi allowed one run over four innings to lower his ERA from 15.43 to 7.11.
Todd Linden – Estrellas de Oriente (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.256/.393/..522 with 7 HR and 13 RBI in 29 games
Since starting the season batting .419 through his first nine games, Linden has seen his batting average fall to .256 through November 26th. In his last 29 at-bats, the switch hitter has five hits (or a .172 average). However, Linden has proven his worth with an on-base percentage of .385 over that same 29 at-bat stretch, helped by eight walks and two hit-by-pitches. His 18 walks in 29 games are tied for third most in the DWL. Linden also added two home runs between November 20th and 26th, keeping him in second place in the league for most home runs with seven.
Roger Kieschnick – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.228/.308/.391 with 4 HR and 18 RBI in 24 games
Kieschnick has not appeared in a game since November 17th when entered the game originally as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. After striking out, he stayed in the game as a defensive replacement in right field, but he did not bat again. Over his last 20 at-bats, Kieschnick is hitless with two walks.
Francisco Peguero – Gigantes del Cibao (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.235/.257/.353 with 4 RBI in 8 games
Peguero, who along with Jean Machi were with the Giants but not active during the World Series run, played in his first game with Cibao on November 16th. He went 2-for-3 with a double, RBI and a walk. In his second game, Peguero went 2-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a stolen base. With the bar set high, he has cooled off a bit, going 4-for-27 from November 19th-25th – including a 0-for-8 performance during a 16-inning game on November 20th. Defensively, Peguero has played center field in all eight of his games with the Gigantes.
Wilmin Rodriguez – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
0-1 with 1 save and a 4.50 ERA in 5 games
The southpaw has not pitched since November 4th.
Manny Moves On
Photo from Don Davis/dadphoto.com
This slipped by last week (#ThanksgivingProblems), but former Grizzlies player Emmanuel Burriss was signed by the Cincinnati Reds to a minor league contract (via Matt Eddy from Baseball America).
Burriss, who elected free agency earlier in the month after the San Francisco Giants outrighted him to Triple-A, suited up for the Grizzlies for parts of five seasons from 2008-2012.
The switch-hitter made his Major League debut in his third professional season in 2008. He started that year in Fresno, playing in 14 games.
His 2009 and 2010 seasons featured left foot injuries, with the 2009 campaign ending in July after he fractured a left toe rounding second base at Chukchansi Park.
By the time the 2012 season ended, the 33rd overall pick from the 2006 Draft had played in 172 games with the Grizzlies in his career. He batted .281/.343/.357 over the 172 contests with 29 doubles, seven triples, three home runs, 48 RBI and 48 stolen bases (62 attempts).
Speed was Burriss’ signature attribute while with the Giants organization. The 48 steals with Fresno place Burriss tied with Calvin Murray for fifth-most in franchise history. On April 8, 2011 against Las Vegas, he became the first player in Grizzlies history to steal four bases in a game.
Photo from Don Davis/dadphoto.com
He also placed his name in the Fresno history books once again last season after recording the walk-off sacrifice fly in the organization’s 1,000th all-time victory.
Burriss, who will be 28 years old by 2013 Opening Day, gets a fresh start with a new organization for the 2013 season. The Grizzlies organization wishes Emmanuel the best of luck in the new chapter of his career.
I Hate The Off-Season 4, Episode 3
Parker is a champion. Well, at least he partied like one. From the World Series Watch Parties at Chukchansi Park to the World Series Parade in San Francisco, Parker was there during every step of the San Francisco Giants run to the 2012 championship. In Episode 3 of I Hate The Off-Season 4, Parker shares his entire journey (including seeing some friends from Fresno during the parade in San Francisco!).
Winter League Update – Nov. 12th
Here is a look at how some Grizzlies from the 2012 season are performing in their respective offseason leagues:
Heath Hembree – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
0-0 with a 3.00 ERA and 2 saves in 9 games
Over two appearances last week, the right-hander did not allow a hit or a run in two total innings. The one base runner he allowed was via a leadoff walk on November 10th, but he successfully nullified the leadoff runner with three consecutive outs to pick up his second save of the AFL campaign. Each of Hembree’s nine appearances this season have been to end the game, which places him in a tie with three others for most games finished entering November 12th.
Dan Runzler – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 10 games
The southpaw’s week got off to a rough start. He allowed two runs on one hit and three walks without recording an out against Mesa on November 5th. He also allowed another two runners he inherited to score in the game as a 3-1 Scottsdale advantage evaporated into a 5-4 loss after the four-run seventh inning. Runzler redeemed himself three days later when he did not allow Peoria to score in the ninth inning. The only issue: Scottsdale was already trailing 12-4 entering the ninth after Peoria erupted for 10 runs in the top of the eighth. Runzler did walk two batters on November 8th, giving him five over the week. He had two combined walks in his first eight appearances of the season.
Chris Dominguez – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
.324/.375/..622 with 3 HR and 8 RBIs in 9 games
Dominguez only appeared in one game last week, going 1-for-5 against Mesa on November 7th. Dominguez’s hit occurred in his third at-bat and was a two-out single to load the bases. The threat ended one batter later, though, when Austin Romine struck out. Strikeouts were a theme for Dominguez during the game as he struck out four times, adding to the 12 total strikeouts by Scottsdale batters in the 4-3 loss.
Boof Bonser – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-1 with a 3.13 ERA (8 er, 23.0 ip) in 5 starts
Bonser made one start last week, allowing two runs on six hits over six innings against Tigres de Aragua on November 7th. He did not walk a batter in the start – a first for him in an outing with Margarita this season – while he struck out four. The start was Bonser’s second straight outing of six innings pitched. Bonser is 10th in the league with a 3.13 ERA.
Mitch Lively – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
0-2, 1 save with a 4.70 ERA in 10 games
Lively’s first outing of the week was on November 7th in relief of Bonser. If you noticed, Bonser did not factor into the decision. That is because Bonser left the game with a 2-2 tie. Lively, however, did factor into the decision: a loss. Lively entered the seventh inning and struck out the first batter he faced. Lively walked the next batter, Rossmel Perez, and then surrendered a double to Carlos Colmenares that plated Perez. Lively was subsequently removed and was eventually tagged with the losing decision in the 3-2 game. It was his only appearance of the week.
Todd Linden – Estrellas de Oriente (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.286/.408/..571 with 5 HR and 10 RBI in 20 games
Linden went 3-for-16 at the plate in five games last week. He did walk five times, though, giving him 12 on the season and helping him maintain a .400+ OBP. On November 6th, Linden hit his fifth homer of the season, which places him second in the league in that category. His 12 walks are also second most in the league, trailing teammate Felix Pie.
Roger Kieschnick – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
.250/.326/.429 with 4 HR and 18 RBI in 21 games
After going hitless in his first game of the week on November 5th, Kieschnick enjoyed a three-game stretch between November 6th-9th in which he went 7-for-11 with one home run, four RBIs and seven runs scored. His week tailed off after he went 0-for-12 with four strikeouts in the final three games. Kieschnick reached base one time in his last three games of the week, an intentional walk on November 11th. His team-leading 18 RBIs are second most in the league.
Wilmin Rodriguez – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
0-1 with 1 save and a 4.50 ERA in 5 games
The southpaw did not appear in any games last week.
Offseason League Update – November 5th
Here is a look at how some Grizzlies from the 2012 season are performing in their respective offseason leagues:
Heath Hembree – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
Season: 0-0 with a 3.96 ERA in 7 games
The right-hander threw his fifth scoreless outing of the season in his first appearance of last week, but in his second game, he surrendered two runs on three hits in one inning on November 1st. Before his November 1st outing, Hembree had a 1.50 ERA and .217 batting average against in his first six games of the AFL season. Overall, Hembree has 11 strikeouts against two walks with Scottsdale.
Dan Runzler – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
Season: 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in 8 games
The left-hander made only one appearance last week, and he allowed a run for the first time in the AFL season. He surrendered one run on two hits, one walk and one hit batsman in one inning against Phoenix on October 31st. Against left-handers, Runzler has a .400 batting average against (4-for-10) while he is limiting right-handers to a .077 average against (1-for-13).
Chris Dominguez – Scottsdale Scorpions (Arizona Fall League)
Season: .344/.400/..688 with 3 HR and 8 RBIs in 8 games
After his regular season was cut short due to injury, Dominguez has been playing every few days for Scottsdale, including two games last week. He went 4-for-8 with a home run and two RBIs over the two games. After going 0-for-5 in his AFL season debut on October 10th, Dominguez has a hit in each of his last seven games, batting .407 (11-for-27) over the stretch.
Boof Bonser – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
Season: 0-1 with a 3.18 ERA in 4 starts
The right-hander made one start last week, holding Cardenales de Lara scoreless over six innings. Bonser struck out five and walked one while also hitting a batter in the start. The five strikeouts were more than he had recorded in his previous three starts combined.
Mitch Lively – Bravos de Margarita (Liga Venezuela Beisbol Profesional)
Season: 0-1, 1 save with a 3.68 ERA in 9 games
The Grizzlies’ bullpen innings leader from 2012 made three appearances last week, allowing one run over 1 2/3 innings. In his last appearance of the week, he allowed two runs (one of which was an inherited runner) in his first loss of the season.
Todd Linden – Estrellas de Oriente (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
Season: .319/.418/..638 with 4 HR and 7 RBI in 15 games
After posting a .407 batting average in his first eight games of the Dominican League’s season, Linden went 4-for-19 in seven games last week. Two of the week’s four hits came in the October 29th game when he hit two solo home runs. Entering November 5th, Linden is seventh in the league in batting average, fourth in OBP, third in slugging percentage and second in home runs.
Roger Kieschnick – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
Season: .246/.313/.439 with 3 HR and 14 RBI in 14 games
Kieschnick is pacing Escogido in hits, home runs, RBIs and runs scored so far this season. His 12-game hitting streak to start the Dominican season was snapped last week after he went hitless for the first time on November 2nd. He drove in five runs (despite going 1-for-3) on October 31st and followed that performance up on November 1st by hitting his third home run of the campaign.
Wilmin Rodriguez – Leones de Escogido (Liga de Beisbol Dominicano)
Season: 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in 5 games
The southpaw appeared in one game last week, suffering the loss after not recording an out against the three batters he faced on November 4th. Rodriguez allowed one unearned run on two hits in the appearance. Rodriguez, who threw one inning or more in 29 of his 37 games with Fresno in 2012, has only lasted a full inning in a single appearance once with Escogido.
I Hate The Off-Season 4 – Episode 2
Parker looks to shape up and improve himself this off-season with his friends from the Fresno Dance Collective.
Where Champions Are Grown
When the final out was recorded on Sunday night in the San Francisco Giants’ World Series clinching win, baseball’s focal point was on two players: Buster Posey and Sergio Romo. Romo finished off the Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera with an unanticipated fastball while Posey received the season’s final pitch to erupt a night of celebrating.
Romo and Posey were two of the 17 players that played for the Fresno Grizzlies at one point in their careers on the Giants’ 25-man roster. The list of 17 is a mix of draft picks, free agents and MLB Rehabbers, but nevertheless, the stamp of the Grizzlies was prevalent on this World Series run.
Torture reigned in 2010. Every night for the Giants seemed like a tall mountain to climb during that season.
In 2012, it was a team-wide never-give-up attitude that carried them to the end. This is not to suggest the 2010 version was a just a group of individuals, but this season, it felt as if each player on the 25-man roster had a moment to shine.
Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain, Madison Bumgarner and Posey are the more well-known Grizzlies alums, but there are others with stints in Fresno during their careers. Each had a unique moment or moments that introduced them to fans of this band of characters.
Before Xavier Nady drove in three runs in his first game with the Giants on September 1st, he played in 25 games with the Grizzlies. Nady was signed as a minor league free agent after being released by the Washington Nationals. The Nationals, of course, fell in the first round of the playoffs.
Joaquin Arias recorded the final out in Matt Cain’s perfect game, nearly falling over in the process, but he also registered two RBIs in the Grizzlies first game of the 2012 season to help the team to a 3-0 win over Tucson. Arias was a member of the Texas Rangers during the 2010 season when Texas eventually lost to the Giants in the World Series, but Arias was traded to the New York Mets during the season. He had never played in the World Series prior to 2012 and spent most of his career in the minors.
George Kontos was traded at the last possible moment before the start of the 2012 season to the Giants organization from the New York Yankees. He started the season in Fresno, appearing in 23 games and fashioning a 1.71 ERA. Once Kontos earned the Major League promotion in June, he never looked back. In fact, he became a valuable asset for the Giants in the playoffs. Kontos previously pitched in the bigs with the Yankees in 2011, but he did not make their playoff roster. The Yankees eventually lost to the Detroit Tigers in the 2011 playoffs after New York won 101 regular season games.
Ryan Vogelsong, an epitome of hard-work and perseverance, made his first appearance for the Grizzlies during the purple-and-black, home-games-at-Beiden-Field era in 2001. After being the Grizzlies Opening Day starter in back-to-back seasons in 2011 and 2012, he stood on the largest stage and consistently delivered standout performances in 2012 postseason. The Giants originally drafted Vogelsong in 1998 out of Kutztown University. It took Vogelsong many miles traveled, 14 different professional baseball teams and 15 years since he was drafted to taste the nectar of a World Series title.
Santiago Casilla (played for the Grizzlies in 2010 and 2011), Guillermo Mota (2012), Barry Zito (2011), Hector Sanchez (2011-12), Brandon Belt (2010-11), Brandon Crawford (2011), Aubrey Huff (2012) and Pablo Sandoval (2011-12) complete the list of 17 Farm Grown stars on the Giants roster.
When the Giants won the 2010 World Series, 16 of the 25 players on the postseason roster at the time played in Fresno (14 came up through the system while another two appeared with the Grizzlies on MLB Rehab assignments).
Posey was one of only two three positional players on the Giants’ World Series roster in 2012 that was also on the 2010 championship-winning team (Huff was a starter in 2010 but a bench player in 2012). Sandoval, though, was relegated to a bench role in 2010, but he totally redeemed himself in a monstrous way in 2012 with an MVP performance. It is only fitting the likely 2012 MVP from the regular season paired up with the 2012 World Series MVP to guide the Giants offense, banking off experience (positive and negative) from two years ago.
Two World Series titles in the last three years is quite an accomplishment. The Giants are now the first National League team to claim MLB’s championship in two out of three years since the Cincinnati Reds did so in 1975 and 1976.
The Giants deserve each title, but each crown should serve as a moment of pride for the Central San Joaquin Valley community as well. It is one of the few regions in the country that can say they were able to see the World Series champions of tomorrow, today.
Romo threw pitches for the Grizzlies before he jumped to the Majors. Posey was a backstop at Chukchansi Park before a catcher at AT&T Park. The list goes on and on, and we should all be happy to be a part of it all.
Fresno is where champions are grown.
I Hate The Off-Season 4 – Episode 1
The season premiere of “I Hate The Off-Season 4″ has been released. Parker and the Grizzlies front office are once again joined by the unwelcome guest, The Offseason, and in the first episode, they show their disdain for him…or it. Not sure what to call it.
The Drag Kings Performances From 2012
The Drag Kings returned to Chukchansi Park in 2012, doing what they do best: dragging the infield…uh, wait; no, that’s not right. Dancing? Yes, dancing, that’s what they do best.
Did you miss one of their performances from 2012? Not a problem. Through the power of YouTubes, below are the performances from The Drag Kings, including viral sensations “Call Me Maybe” and “Gangnam Style.” Which one is your favorite?
We Run The Night (By Havana Brown)
Call Me Maybe (By Carly Rae Jepsen)
Don’t Drop That Thun Thun (By Finatticz)
Yard Work - Fresno Grizzlies
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