Delmon Young’s First Major League Home Run

We can’t get enough of this clip!

Apparently Delmon can do more with a bat than hit umpires…

D-Rays vs. Seattle Mariners Tidbits

• Did anybody notice that Delmon Young can hit? Neither did we. The most impressive thing is his ability to take what is given to him. Lots of power hitters refuse to give in to pitchers, waiting for their pitch. As with many young hitters, Delmon is agressive, and most pitchers and managers take advantage of that by feeding them a healthy dose of breaking pitches on the outside half of the plate. Young just keeps pounding those pitches into right field. It usually takes a player two years to learn how to do that and many players never learn it. Is there a whole in his swing? Only time will tell, but we don’t see one yet.
• Joe Maddon hopes the home crowd won’t boo Delmon when he makes his debut at the Pit.
• After having Freddy Garcia hit Delmon Young and being critical of the stares coming from Young, Guillen gave Delmon the ultimate praise, calling him a “future hall of famer.“
• Did anybody notice that the Rays stole a bullpen from another team yesterday? After Jason Hammel gave up a 2-run home run to A(ss) J(ack) Pierzynski, the bullpen came in and retired 13 of the 14 batters they faced. Where the hell did that come from and did it turn back into a pumpkin at midnight?
• Ty Wiggington missed his final rehab test as both games of a double-header were rained out in Durham, but he is expected to rejoin the team and be in the lineup for tonight’s game. No word yet where he will be in the lineup, but our guess is either second base (to give Jorge Cantu a day off) or first base, with Kevin Witt at DH.
• Joe Maddon used Carl Crawford at DH and may do so more down the stretch to give him some rest. He also may have Delmon Young sub in centerfield for Rocco Baldelli.
• The rotation is full of AAAA-level talent, and the bullpen’s down to…a bunch of guys who probably couldn’t pick themselves out of a lineup. The downside of this is that the team’s going to allow a bunch of runs before the end of the year. The upside is that we’ll learn a lot more about certain guys than we would’ve if things were different. Sound familiar? That is not a quote about the Rays pitching staff. It is a quote about the Mariners staff
• Another similarity? The Mariners are the second youngest team in baseball.
• The Mariners have won 7 of 9 despite their loss to the Angels on Wednesday night. Of course Tuesday’s win was more painful as Rafael Soriano took a line drive off the head from Vlad Guerrero. We aren’t sure how pitchers don’t shit themselves when standing that close to Vlad the Impaler.
  

Probable Pitchers
Friday, 7:15 et
Seattle Gil Meche, RHP (9-8, 4.56)
Devil Rays James Shields, RHP (6-6, 4.59)

Saturday, 7:15 et
Seattle Cha Seung Baek, RHP (1-0, 4.22)
Devil Rays J.P. Howell, LHP (0-1, 7.53)

Sunday, 1:15 et
Seattle Felix Hernandez, RHP (11-12, 4.54)
Devil Rays Casey Fossum, LHP (6-6, 5.33)

A Look At The Future: Yesterday On The Farm

Beloit 1, SW Michigan 0, gm 1. Normally we would start with the Durham Bulls, but Ernesto washed them out again, and Wade Davis’ performance last night deserves top billing… Wade Davis pitched a 7 inning no-hitter last night but lost 1-0 when 2 errors lead to the only run for Beloit in the 4th inning. Davis booted a ground ball by the leadoff hitter allowing him to reach first base. The runner then stole second and moved to third on a throwing error by catcher Chritian Lopez. After a strikeout, the runner scored on a sacrifice fly for the only run of the game. Davis walked 2 and stuck out 7.

SW Michigan 5, Beloit 2, gm 2. Michael Wlodarczyk overcame some early troubles and fielding miscues and settled down to pick up his 9th win of the season. In 6 innings he allowed 5 hits, 2 walks and 2 runs (1 earned). Greg Dupas struck out 3 in the 7th to pick up his 25th save and center fielder Jackson Brennan hit a 3-run home run.

Durham Bulls vs. Columbus, ppd. rain. Well it appears as though Hurricane Ernesto feels sorry for the Durham Bulls fans. For the second straight day, the Bulls were rained out (this time a double-header) and for the second straight day the Durham Bulls faithful were not subjected to the pitching atrocity known as Doug Waechter. Maybe the powers that be will get the hint and just skip Waechter in the rotation, forever. Of course, maybe this entire season has just been punishment for this…In other news, Darnell McDonald joined Kevin Witt on the International League’s postseason All-Star squad.

Mississippi 4, Montgomery 2. Eliot Johnson appears to be out of his mini-slump. He is 11 for his last 32 with 5 2-hit games in his last 7. Last night he went 2-4 with a double and a run scored and has his average up to .282. Reid Brignac went 1-5 with an RBI triple. Evan Longoria was 1-4 with his 2nd stolen base. Tony Peguero took the loss, but was let down by his defense. Two errors led to 3 unearned runs in 7 innings.

Visalia 5, Stockton 4. Catcher Josh Arhart went 2-5 with an RBI, and for the second straight night he drove in the winning run in the ninth with a walk-off single. Fernando Perez went 2-5 and started the 9th inning rally by leading off and reaching first on an error. With the win, the Oaks remain 1 game up in the California League’s North Division.