Tag Archives: charlotte knights

July 1, 2010 · 16:59

Padre Steve is Back in Town: Tides and Orioles Notes

Josh Bell was promoted to Baltimore to replace Luke Scott now on the 15 Day DL

Well I am back and yes sports fans I will be back at Harbor Park tonight as the Tides return to face the Charlotte k-nickets or Knights if you don’t watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Although the ugly Charlotte K-nickets split the two games with the Tides in Charlotte winning by a paltry score of 2-1 on Wednesday after being hammered by the Tides on Tuesday by a score of 12-3 which makes the total score in Charlotte 13-5 in favor of the Tides.  Tonight as I said the teams will meet again at Harbor Park with the visiting K-nickets sending Carlos Torres (6-4 3.04 ERA) against Zach Britton making his AAA debut with the Tides after spending the first part of the season at Bowie where he went 7 and 3 with a 2.48 ERA.

In Tides and Orioles news Chris Tillman and Jeff Salazar were selected to play in the AAA All Star Game next week.  Tillman is 7-4 with a 3.07 ERA for the Tides and a no-hitter and Salazar is hitting .280 with 13 home runs and 34 RBIs.

Cla Meredith remains with the Tides after being designated for assignment and dropped from the Orioles 40 man roster while Josh Bell was promoted to Baltimore to replace Luke Scott who was placed on the 15 day disabled list for a strained hamstring. While this is a good thing for Bell it is a bad thing for the Tides who will definitely miss his bat in the lineup.

Speaking of the Orioles but don’t look now but the Birds are 6-4 in their last ten games and slowly but surely working their way out of the Marianas Trench of the Major Leagues. They still have a lot of injuries but they seem to be improving as a team.

So until tonight,

Peace

Padre Steve+

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June 30, 2010 · 00:58

Padre Steve’s Road Trip

David Thomas rips a 3 run home run in the bottom of the 4th inning

Well friends, countrymen and baseball fans Padre Steve was able to take in one last ball game in Mudville aka Stockton California before flying back tomorrow to the home of the Navy and site of the first landing by English Colonists in the New World, Norfolk and Virginia Beach Virginia.  While I look forward to coming home and being with my wife Judy, the Abbess of the Abbey Normal, I shall miss the lack of humidity here in the “Big Valley” aka the Central Valley of California.

The weather has heated up to the kind of weather that I remember growing up with, 100 degrees plus but low humidity which if you ask me makes all the difference in the world. Even though I have adapted to the mugginess of the East Coast and Mid Atlantic region I am always amazed when I can sit comfortably through a day game with temps in the high 90’s and low 100’s without much effort other than adding copious amounts of 50 weight Banana Boat sun screen to my fragile Northern European genetically engineered skin.

Grant Green gets tied up and struck out while Jermaine Mitchell attempts to run, Mitchell was thrown out at second base

Today I attended the second game of the Stockton Ports series against the Bakersfield Blaze with my old high school classmate and US Navy Master Chief Petty Officer, retired Tony Melendez. It was great to see the game with Tony sharing what was happening in our lives and talking baseball while enjoying Tecate beer and an Alpine Hot Dog.  The game was interesting because it was an 1105 AM start, early by my books but with the heat of the Central Valley not a bad idea as the temperatures only get hotter until about 5 PM when they begin to cool down.  The game was the first Ports game ever televised on the Major League Baseball Network and Comcast Sports Hometown.

Lance Sewell got the Win for the Ports

In preparation for the game I wore my Norfolk Tides road jersey and the orange and black hat which has been worn interchangeably at home and on the road this season.  Additionally I made pilgrimage to Wally World to get some poster board and black and orange Sharpies to make a double sided sign with one side saying “Padre Steve’s Road Trip….Go Tides!” and the other “Steve Loves Judy” only with a heart in it.  I think that I got on TV at the 7th inning stretch so if anyone saw it let me know. Since I was the only person in the park with a sign I figured that I should get on at least once.

Paul Smythe got his 11th save for the Ports

The game was much more of a hitters show today than the pitcher’s duel of the preceding night and was error free.  The Ports had 8 runs on 9 hits with no errors leaving 3 men on base. The Blaze, the affiliate of the Texas Rangers in the California League had 6 runs on 10 hits and no errors leaving 8 runners stranded.  Lance Sewell (2-0 3.12 ERA) pitching 2.1 innings of perfect relief got the win for the Ports and Paul Smyth, (3-2 1.80 ERA) got his 11th save of the campaign.  Kennil Gomez (2-6 6.24 ERA) got the loss for the Blaze.

The Blaze led early scoring 2 in the 2nd inning and 1 in the 3rd inning but the Ports scored 4 in the 4th to take the lead. The Blaze would take the lead again in the 6th inning but surrendered it in the 7th when Ports shortstop Grant Green pounded a two run shot while Jeremy Barfield added a solo blast in the 8th inning.

The hitting was driven by the long ball with each team having three apiece the difference that the Blaze homers were single shots with no runners on base and two of the Ports homers came with men on base, one a three run homer by David Thomas with 2 on and 2 out in the bottom of the 4th inning.

Shipmates: Master Chief Tony Melendez USN Retired and Padre Steve also classmates from Edison High School Class of 1978

After the game I met Pat Filiponne the President and General Manager of the Ports through Tony. Pat knows the Tides Owner Ken Young and General Manager Dave Rosenfield and is also the owner and President of the Del Marva Shorebirds in the Orioles organization.  I was able to take in a light dinner at Arroyo’s Café, a Stockton fixture and tradition for many years and enjoyed some really excellent California Mexican Food.  It was interesting to listen to the men at the bar talking about the state of the city, state and country.  If they are any barometer there is a lot of discontent in the country and anger at politicians of all stripes as well as the corporations they feel they are in cahoots with.

Tomorrow I head home the road trip to help my mother and brother following the death of my father and to honor his memory.  When I get back I still have some leave and the Tides who won in Charlotte this evening defeating the Knights by a score of 12 to 3 will return home to Harbor Park on Thursday to play three at home against their southern division rival Knights and I expect to be there.  So see you there.

Peace,

Steve+

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May 1, 2010 · 16:40

Tides Fall Thursday and Friday to Braves to End Road Trip Even

Just a short article as I didn’t get a chance to post anything about the last two games of the Norfolk Tides southern road trip to Charlotte where they faced the Knights and Lawrenceville Georgia where they faced the Gwinnett Braves.

Chris Tillman dominated the Knights and no-hit the Braves on the road trip

In Charlotte the Tides took three out of four from the Knights with dominant pitching and excellent hit production including 9 home runs.  Against the Brave the Tides did not fare as well dropping three of four games to the Braves and only hitting well in the second game.  Against the Braves the Tides left significant numbers of base runners in scoring position.  The highlight of the series in Georgia was Chris Tillman’s no-hitter on Wednesday night.

The Tides dropped the final two games of the series against the Braves.  Each night the Tides had good numbers of runners in scoring position and they left 20 men on base. On Thursday Jake Arrieta got his first loss of the year as the Tides lost 6-1.  Jake gave up 4 runs, three of which were earned on 5 hits with 4 walks in 6 innings pitched for the loss.  Three runs came on a home run by Mitch Jones who has 237 minor league home runs to his credit since being drafted by the Yankees in 2001.  In the final game Chris George making his first start for the Tides gave up 2 runs on 2 hits including and was victimized by Mitch Jones for a two run homer.  Jim Miller coming in during the 7th gave up 3 runs on 3 hits including a home run by Barbaro Canizares.  The Tides lost the game 5-1.

Tonight the Tides begin a four game set against the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees at Harbor Park. The Orioles will have Koji Uehara pitch an inning tonight as he continues his rehab in the minor leagues. See you there.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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April 28, 2010 · 20:13

Tides Lose Opener in Georgia 7-2 Leave 9 Runners in Scoring Position; Orioles defeat Yankees 5-4 at Camden Yards

Brandon Hicks went 1 for 3 on Tuesday Night

The Norfolk Tides went down to Georgia to open their series against the Gwinnett Braves in cool and windy weather under a cloudy night sky more reminiscent of Norfolk than suburban Atlanta in front of 2547 fans at Gwinnett County Coolray Field.  The Tides hoped to come off of a loss in the final game of their series against Charlotte on Monday to restart their recent winning streak against the Braves but that did not happen as the Braves defeated the Tides 7-2 behind the solid pitching of four Braves pitchers who allowed just 2 runs on 6 hits despite walking 7 Tides batters.

Brandon Erbe fell to 0-4 continuing to struggle at AAA

Tides starter Brandon Erbe went down to Georgia seeking his first win of the season but got in trouble early walking Matt Young to lead off the inning followed by a single to Gregor Blanco, another walk this time to Freddie Freeman and a bases loaded single to Brent Clevlen which drove in Young and Blanco.  He gave up a third run in the 2nd inning when Wes Timmons and J C Boscan both singled and Timmons was driven home by a sacrifice fly off the bat of Matt Young.

The Tides would get a run back in the top of the 4th inning when Josh Bell doubled on a sharp line drive to center and was advanced to third on a single by Scott Moore.  Braves catcher J C Boscan allowed a pitch by Braves starter Tim Gustafson to get by him giving Moore the chance to take second base. With two on and no outs Brandon Snyder grounded out to short scoring Bell.  The Tides mustered nothing else in the fourth as Corey Patterson flied to left and Justin Turner grounded into a Fielder’s Choice in which Moore was out at third.

Joey Gathright went 2 for 4 with a double

The Braves took that run back in the bottom of the fourth as Brandon Erbe’s woes continued.  Erbe walked Brandon Hicks and Wes Timmons. J C Boscan dropped a perfect sacrifice bunt that Tides Catcher Adam Donachie fielded but who only had a play at first.  This advanced Hicks and Timmons and brought Matt Young to the plate.  Young hit a sacrifice fly to Left Fielder Joey Gathright scoring Hicks.  Erbe want to the showers when he gave up a walk to Gregor Blanco.  Chris George entered the game to get the final out.

In the top of the 5th the Tides got another run when Adam Donachie singled, Joey Gathright doubled and Robert Andino hit a sacrifice fly to right which scored Donachie.

With the score 4-2 and the Tides looking to get back into the game the Braves literally “stole” the game and put a stake in the heart of the Tides hopes for the night. Chris George who has been a solid middle reliever this year walked the first batter Brent Clevlen and then got Mitchell Jones looking.  George then walked Joe Thurston.  The Braves then pulled off a double steal which advanced Clevlen to third and Thurston to second.  George then got Brandon Hicks to strike out and intentionally walked Wes Timmons.  With the bases loaded J C Boscan hit a soft fly to right which fell for a hit and scored Clevlen and Thurston and advanced Timmons to third.  With Matt Young batting Wes Timmons did what is seldom done and on a double steal attempt stole home for the third run of the inning.

The game would finish with the Braves using three relievers beginning in the top of the 6th inning to shut down the Tides.  The Tides would make an 8th inning rally attempt which fell short with the bases loaded.  Ross Wolf came on for the Tides to pitch the 6th and 7th innings and Frank Mata closed out the game with neither pitcher allowing any Braves runs.  Braves pitching was adequate Tim Gustafson (1-1 6.75) got the win giving up 2 runs on 4 hits and two walks. Both teams committed an error.

For the Tides Joey Gathright went 2 for 4 with a double and a walk. Brandon Snyder and Jeff Salazar each had an RBI.  Brandon Erbe got the loss dropping to 0-4 on the season with an 8.35 ERA.  Brandon gave up 4 runs on 6 hits walking 5 in 3.2 innings work. Chris George (1-0 4.50) had his first bad outing of the year going only one and a third innings giving up 3 runs on 1 hit with two walks.  The story for the Tides was the inability to score runs. They left eleven men on base and had eleven in scoring position of which only one the Tides brought home.

The Tides and Brave meet tonight at 7:05 PM with Chris Tillman (1-3 6.11) taking the Hill for the Tides and James Parr (1-1 3.48) on the hill for the Braves.

Alberto Castillo got his first win of the year in Baltimore against the Yankees

Meanwhile at Camden Yards the Orioles got their first home win of the season as well as their first winning streak by defeating the Champion New York Yankees and their wrecking crew holding on to win 5-4.  It was a night where former Norfolk Tides shined to secure the win.   In the 6th inning Rhyne Hughes continued to shine beginning an Orioles rally with a RBI single, this was followed by one by Nolan Reimold and Cesar Izturis.  Recent Tides Alberto Castillo got the win and Alfredo Simon in his appearance as an Oriole got the save.  Tonight the Yankees send C C Sabathia against the Orioles Jeremy Guthrie.

We’ll see how the night goes.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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April 27, 2010 · 21:21

Tides Fall to Knights in Final Game of Set 9-7 despite Bell’s Dingers


Tides 3rd Baseman Josh Bell shown at Harbor Park hit 3 home runs in two games against Charlotte

In front of an early rising crowd of 4996 on a beautiful sunny Carolina morning with temperatures in the high 60s the Norfolk Tides met the Charlotte Knights at Knight’s Stadium in Rock Hill South Carolina Monday in the final game of a four game set.  The Tides had dominated the first three games on outstanding pitching performances by Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta and Brad Bergeson as well as an 18 run attack that featured 8 home runs.  However, on Monday the Tides were outslugged by the Knights who used the long ball effectively to prevent the Tides from completing a series sweep.

Troy Patton got hit hard on Monday against the Knights

Tides starter Troy Patton (1-3 8.00) was hit hard giving up 7 runs on 10 hits including three home runs in 6.1 innings worked. Dayan Viciedo was a nemesis to Troy hitting two home runs and driving in two runs. Patton also gave up 2 doubles in the game before exciting in the top of the 7th inning. Troy was relieved by newly acquired Pedro Viola (0-0 10.80) who surrendered 2 runs on 2 hits and two walks pitching two-thirds of an inning. Tyler Flowers drove in the runs with a triple.  Jim Miller (1-0 5.59) back in a closing role got the Knights out in the 8th surrendering a walk but no runs.   Patton got the loss and Matt Zaleski (3-0 4.13) the win giving up 4 runs on 5 hits including two homers by Josh Bell.  Former Tide Greg Aquino got the save for the Knights, his second of the year taking the Tides down in order in the top of the 9th to secure the win for the Knights.

Scott Moore shown here at Harbor Park doubled twice in the loss

The Knights had pulled out to a 9-4 lead at the top of the 7th but the Tides did not go quietly scoring three runs in the top of the eighth in a rally that unfortunately fell short.  The Tides offense continued where it had left off Sunday afternoon.  Josh Bell led the attack with 2 home runs with 3 RBIs in his biggest game of the season.  Justin Turner, Scott Moore and Michael Aubrey all had doubles for the Tides with Moore getting two of the two baggers driving in a run.

The big story for the Tides was 3rd Baseman Josh Bell who in the last two games has hit 3 home runs and driven in 5 runs.  Bell who came to the Tides after a year split between the Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate Chattanooga Lookouts of the Southern League and Orioles AA Eastern League affiliate Bowie Baysox where he hit .295 with 20 home runs, 35 doubles and 5 triples.  After a slow start Josh appears to be coming around under the tutelage of Tides Hitting Couch Richie Hebner and is now “Bell ringing” as you may  using his bat to make some offensive music and by offensive I mean offensive if you are the Tides opponents.

Overall the Tides hit and run production in coming up. In the four games against the Knights the Tides scored 25 runs on 31 hits including 10 home runs and 7 doubles which means sport fans that if you are mathematically challenged that the Tides hit for extra bases 55% of the time in Charlotte.  The Tides team batting average is still low at .232 but coming up and the slugging percentage has improved to .391.  The Tides 18 home runs for the season have them tied for second in the International League in this category.  Jeff Salazar leads the Tides in the hitting department with a .291 average with 4 home runs 3 doubles and 11 RBIs. On the mound the team ERA has improved to 4.31 and though the Tides still are among the lead leaders in runs and hits allowed many of these runs came in only a few games where the Tides gave up double digits in losses.  Jake Arrieta leads the league in pitching at 2-0 with a 0.36 ERA allowing just one earned run in 25 innings pitched.   The fact is that this means despite the loss and the Tides falling into a three way tie with Charlotte and Gwinnett for second in the International League South that things are beginning to look up for Tides in 2010.

Tonight the Tides are in suburban Atlanta to face the Gwinnett Braves.  The Tides will start Brandon Erbe (0-3 7.98) who is still seeking his first win at the AAA level against Tim Gustafson (0-1 8.64) who gave up 3 runs on 5 hits in 6.1 innings work against the Tides on the 22nd of April.  The weather could be problematic with temperatures in the high 50s, 15 mile an hour winds and a 50% chance of rain.

Alberto Simon was called up to Baltimore

On the personnel side of the house the Orioles optioned relief pitcher Kam Mickolio back to Norfolk and purchased the contract of pitcher Alfredo Simon who has done yeoman’s work for the Tides as a starter and reliever over the first two weeks of the season.  Up in Baltimore the Orioles go for their first home win of the season against the World Champion New York Yankees who are fresh off of their visit to the White House yesterday.  The O’s will pitch Kevin Millwood against the Yankee’s Phil Hughes, more tomorrow.

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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April 25, 2010 · 21:18

Tides Win 4-2 and 7-2 in Charlotte: Pitchers Dominate and Home Runs Fly

Jake Arrieta Continues to dominate opponents

After a slow start to the season with a fair number of disastrous outings the Norfolk Tides pitchers and hitters seem to be back in sync and performing to the level expected at the beginning of the season.  Playing  in cloudy and cool conditions On Saturday night the Tides took on the Knights at Knight’s Stadium in Rock Hill South Carolina in front of 3621 Charlotte fans. Tides starting pitcher Jake Arrieta dominated the Charlotte batting order Tides hitters continued to hit the Knight’s pitching staff hard.  Arrieta has been as close as perfect to perfect a pitcher can be this early in the season and absolutely dominating in each game that he has pitched.  Jake won his second of the season against no losses pitching seven innings of scoreless ball bringing his ERA down to an International League leading 0.36 ERA.  Jake gave up two hits and a walk and struck out eleven in getting the win.  Armando Gabino (0-0 2.70) pitched the 8th inning giving up a run on one hit and a walk while striking out two. Frank Mata (0-0 S3 2.00) closed the game notching his third save while giving up a run on two hits and a walk.  Tides pitchers allowed no extra base hits and only 4 hits during the game.

Josh Bell homered against the Knights

The Tides made the most of their hits in this game being very efficient and got their four runs on five hits while playing error free ball during the win.  Catcher Adam Donachie hit his second home run in two days off of Knights starter Carlos Torres and Scott Moore got his second of the season a solo shot also off of Torres.  The Knights had two runs on four hits also with no errors in the loss.

Jeff Salazar continued to pound opposing pitchers

On Sunday afternoon in front of 2835 fans in ideal weather conditions of cloudy with 75 degree temperatures and 14 MPH winds blowing out to Center field in this very hitter friendly park. Sunday’s game Brad Bergeson (1-0 2.57) making his first start for the Tides after being sent down by the Orioles to get back “in the groove” got his grove back dominating the Knights in seven innings scattering 7 hits and allowing 2 runs with a 4 strikeouts and gave up a solo home run to Robert Hudson in the 5th inning.  Alfredo Simon made his first relief appearance after going 1 and 1 and a 1.59 ERA in three starts. Simon pitched a one two three eighth inning and was followed by Ross Wolf (0-1 2.38) in the ninth who also put the Knights down in order with 2 strikeouts.  Knight’s starter Jeffrey Marquez (1-3 6.00) got the loss giving up 4 runs on 6 hits including 2 home runs, one to Jeff Salazar his 4th of the year and one to Robert Andino in five innings work.  Clevelan Santeliz gave up a run on two hits including a home run to Josh Bell and Ryan Braun gave up a run on one hit.

Alfredo Simon made his first relief appearance for the Tides

The Tides hitters were once again very efficient producing seven runs on eight hits with no errors and once again hammering Charlotte pitching with the deep ball with Jeff Salazr, Robert Andino and Josh Bell all hitting dingers from the Tides with Blake Davis adding a double.  The Knights scored 2 runs on seven hits and an error. The error came in the 9th inning on a ground ball off the bat of Robert Andino to C.J. Retherford which scored Blake Davis.

So far in this three game series the Tides have produced 8 home runs which is the largest number of homers in a three game period than I can remember in recent times.  The Tides pitching staff has been superb with the three starters, Chris Tillman, Jake Arrieta and Brad Bergeson pitching 22 innings and only giving up 5 runs on 14 hits.  The Tides have also played error free ball and not been their own worst enemy.

The Tides and the Knights will conclude this series on Monday with an 11:45 start at Knight’s Stadium. Troy Patton (1-2 6.94) will make the start for the Tides and face Matt Zaleski (2-0 3.50) before travelling to Gwinnett County in suburban Atlanta to face the Braves in a four game set beginning Tuesday.

During the series the Tides had Rhyne Hughes move up to Baltimore on Saturday and saw Justin Turner return to the team from his sojourn in the show to make room for the bat of Hughes.  In Hughes’ first two games with the O’s playing in Fenway against the Red Sox Hughes went 4 for 9 including a double with 2 RBIs.  Hughes was one of the best acquisitions made by the Orioles during the latter part of the 2009 season coming from the Durham Bulls in the Tampa Bay system. (See the video of Hughes’ RBI single on Sunday here http://baltimore.orioles.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=7658009

The Orioles broke a five game losing streak against the Red Sox defeating the Bosox in extra innings 7-6.  This was the first win in ten games for the O’s against the Red Sox.  Although the O’s dropped 2 of 3 to the Sox their bats caught fire for the first sustained time in the 2010 campaign scoring 16 runs on 40 hits against Red Sox pitching in the 3 games and were competitive in the series. The O’s return to Camden Yards where they have yet to win a game this year to face the Yankees on Tuesday getting a day off tomorrow.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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April 24, 2010 · 14:12

Tides Win in Charlotte 5-3: Rhyne Hughes Promoted to Baltimore

Chris Tillman pitched 8 innings and got his first win of the year

The Tides began their 8 game road trip through North Carolina and Georgia with a win in Charlotte with a 5-3 victory over the Knights.  The Tides won in front of a Charlotte crowd of 4359 in ideal conditions partly cloudy with a temperature of 81 at game time and light winds.  The win was highlighted by Chris Tillman’s (1-3 6.11) best start of the season.  Chris pitched 8 innings giving up 3 runs on 7 hits striking out 5 allowing no walks.  He threw just 90 pitches of which 62 were strikes.  Chris seems to have gottn his confidence and mechanics back as he pitched with control and efficiency. The Knights runs came with 2 outs in the bottom of the 6th on a three run home run by Knight’s Catcher Tyler Flowers.  Frank Mata (1-0  S2  1.13) got the save retiring the Knights in order striking out two.  Charlotte reliever Vince Elarton (0-1 2.84) got the loss.

The Tides offense showed power again with Brandon Snyder, Michael Aubrey and Adam Donachie going yard on three solo shots. Snyder also had an RBI double and it seems that Brandon is getting his time and mechanics back after a dismal start.  The Tides and Knights will face off tonight at 7:15 at Knights Stadium with Jake Arrieta (1-0 0.50) facing Carlos Torres.

Brandon Snyder had a home run and double in the win

On the personnel side of the house Rhyne Hughes who has helped lead the Tides offense was promoted to Baltimore.  The move is not official but according to the Orioles news site was posted on Hughes’ brothers Facebook page and confirmed by a source “close to the situation” on Saturday morning.  No corresponding roster moves have been announced by the O’s but the Orioles news speculates that relief pitcher Alberto Castillo, Shortstop Julio Lugo or reserve infielder Justin Turner.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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April 23, 2010 · 01:01

Tides fall to Braves 8-3 Erbe gets Third Loss

Jeff Salazar seen on Tuesday hit his second home run in as many days

After winning convincingly on Wednesday night the Norfolk Tides could not repeat and fell to the Gwinnett Braves 8-3 on a sunny spring afternoon at Harbor Park in front of 4375 fans.  While fog enshrouded the home of the Tides in the morning it had dissipated by game time to reveal a beautiful day for a baseball game. I personally don’t give a kilo of Limburger cheese if the rest of the country is focused on the NFL Draft tonight as I prefer Gordon Biersch draft beer, preferably Czech Pilsner and the Church of Baseball to football in general.  However I also enjoy the seasonal so long as it is not a Weizen and my mind and heart still believe the baseball is the true love of the Deity Herself and that she finds football in all forms only a mildly interesting metaphor for the Valley of Megiddo, but I digress.

After a convincing win on Wednesday night Tides starter Brandon Erbe (0-3 7.98) gave three runs in the top of the first inning on three hits and two more in the fourth on three hits.  All told Erbe gave up 5 runs on 7 hits however he gave up two home runs to Tides killer Freddie Freeman who hit his third home run of this series and doubles to Gregor Blanco, Mitch Jones and Jean Boscan.  The Braves would score 3 runs off of reliever Andy Mitchell before Jim Miller stood into his closer role in the bottom of the eighth giving up one hit and no runs.

Brandon Erbe continues to struggle

The Tides did have some hitting; Jeff Salazar hit a two run shot in the bottom of the third driving in Joey Gathright.  Rhyne Hughes hit a solo shot to lead off the bottom of the fourth.  The Tides would muster no more runs although Joey Gathright would double in the fifth.  The Braves had 8 runs on 13 hits with no errors and the Tides 3 runs on 8 hits with two errors one of which a throwing error by Second Baseman Blake Davis resulted in a Braves run.

Brandon Erbe took the loss, his third of the young season and one has to wonder if it is a matter of confidence or mechanics that is the root cause of his lack of success. I would lean toward being uncomfortable in his first start and then lost his confidence and has not regained it. Andy Mitchell gave up one earned run on 3 hits in two innings of relief work and Jim Miller reprising his closer role from the first half of 2009 where he made the International League All-Star team allowed no runs on one hit.

With the loss the Tides fall to 5 wins and 10 losses falling 7 games behind the Durham Bulls who appear to a be the league Leviathan who are 12-3 and have scored 98 runs on 155 hits devastating many of their opponents with lopsided double digit wins.  Their pitching has been equally dominating allowing the fewest hits and the second best ERA in the League.  With the Tampa Bay Rays looking good and appearing deep the Bulls could well be on their way to repeating their 2009 AAA Championship and lead their nearest division competitor the Charlotte Knights by five games.

International League Southern Division April 22nd 2010

TEAM         W      L      PCT       GB

Durham     12      3     .800         –

Charlotte    7       8     .467     5.0

Gwinnett    6       9    .400      6.0

Norfolk       5     10   .333       7.0

Unfortunately I had to work and had to catch snippets of the game between meetings and patient visits on MiLB Game Day.  The Tides will travel to Charlotte for a four game set against the Knights beginning Friday night which kicks off an eight game road trip which will also take them to Gwinnett. Chris Tillman (0-3 8.38) will try for his first win of the year going up against Charlotte’s Lucas Harrell (1-1 5.82) who defeated the Tides on the 13th allowing no runs and five hits in six innings work.

The Tides have added Left Handed Pitcher Pedro Viola who the Orioles picked up off waivers from Cincinnati.  Viola provides a badly needed left handed arm for the Tides bullpen and will be on the Orioles 40 man roster.  With Alberto Castillo and Kam Mickolio called to Baltimore and Dennis Sarfate on the DL the Tides bullpen has lost some of its power pitchers and the Tides have but two left handed pitchers on their roster.

The Tides for better or worse are inexorably bound to the fortunes of their parent club the Baltimore Orioles who have taken some major losses to injuries and are struggling.  While I believe that they will recover for the time being they have been forced to call upon the Tides incredibly early in the season for position players as well as pitchers, something that was not expected.  will return to Harbor Park on May 1st to face the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees.

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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April 14, 2010 · 23:28

Tides Bats Come Back to Life: Tides Crush Knights 9-0

Jake Arrieta Got his First Win of 2010

Well sports fans I was not able to make the afternoon game at Harbor Park this afternoon a little thing called work got in the way, however between counseling young sailors I was able to listen to the game in the internet and thus still kept my finger to the pulse of the Tides.  Speaking of the “pulse” the Tides bats which were dead on arrival last night came back to life as if resurrected by the Lord himself.  Part of this may have been due to the weather which was a bit more temperate and a whole lot less wet than last night proving once again if you don’t like the weather in Hampton Roads wait five minutes.

Tides starter and Orioles hot prospect Jake Arrieta pitched seven innings shutting down the Knights allowing only 3 hits while striking out five.  Knight’s starter, International League MVP and White Sox prospect Carlos Torres who had shut down the Gwinnett Braves last week in his first start of 2010 allowed 4 runs on 6 hits giving up 3 walks taking the loss in front of 3002 fans and one that was not in the ball park.  Guess who?

The game was a study in contrast compared with the last two games against the Knights.  Today the Tides could do nothing wrong and the Knights; well their day was very dark, much like the Tides outing last night only this happened in broad daylight.  The Knights only got 4 hits and were held to no runs by Arrieta and Ross Wolf and had their usually solid Shortstop Brent Lillibridge make two errors on the way to the loss and the Knights left 6 runners on base.  I guess that their prayers to Jobu didn’t get answered.

The Tides barrage began in the bottom of the second inning when Rhyne Hughes singled to right and Michael Aubrey doubled to right.  If this had happened last night they would have died on the bases but not today.  Robert Andino singled to break his hitless streak and drove in Hughes to give the Tides their first lead in three games.  Adam Donachie hit a sacrifice fly to right which scored Michael Aubrey and the Tides were up 2-0.  Joey Gathright walked and then Jonathan Tucker flied to center advancing Andino to third.  Jeff Salazar singled to center scoring Andino and advancing Gathright to second.  Scott Moore kept up his solid hitting singling on a soft line drive to left scoring Gathright.  Salazar was out at home trying to score to end the inning.

The third through the bottom of the 7th inning were uneventful for both teams with Arrieta continuing to take down Knights batters although the Tides left 2 runners on base in the bottom of the sixth. Wes Whisler replaced Torres for the Knights in the top of the sixth.  In the bottom of the 7th the Tides started took advantage of Whisler surrendering two walks to Jonathan Tucker and Brandon Snyder bringing Rhyne Hughes.  Hughes has hit well for the Tides and today crushed a drive over the right field fence for a three run home run making the Tides lead 7-0.

In the 8th the Tides brought in Dennis Sarfate to relieve Arrieta and following his last warm up pitch he came out of the game with an apparent injury to his side. No details have been released on the Tides website or Facebook page so we will have to wait and see what the injury is and hope that it does not stop him as he has pitched magnificently in his first two relief appearances.  Ross Wolf then came in to relieve Sarfate. Wolf gave up a single but no runs and the Tides returned in the bottom of the 8th to continue their drubbing of the Knights.  Charlotte closer Ryan Braun came in to relieve Whisler and found no success. Robert Andino reached on Lillibridge’s second error of the game going to second on an errant throw to first.  Adam Donachie was out on a fly ball to Jordan Danks in center and both Joey Gathright and Jonathan Tucker walked to load the bases.  Jeff Salazar then walked to bring Andino across the plate and Scott Moore hit a sacrifice fly to center which scored Gathright.  The inning ended when Brandon Snyder flied out to Knights Right Fielder Josh Kroeger.

Wolf came out to finish the game in a non-save situation in the top of the 9th inning striking out Stefan Gartrell and Josh Kroeger to start the inning. Dayan Viciedo singled to right to prolong the inning before Brent Lillibridge grounded to Third Baseman Scott Moore who threw to Jonathan Tucker at second to force out Viciedo to end the game.

Arrieta and Wolf pitched one of the best games for the Tides in recent memory combining for the shutout striking out 8 Knights and walking only 2 while scattering 5 hits. Scott Moore, Michael Aubrey and Rhyne Hughes continue to lead the Tides offense with big hits in key situations.

With the victory the Tides put an end to a three game losing streak and brought their record back to 3 wins and 4 losses.  The Tides travel to Durham where tomorrow for a four game series where they will face the Bulls with Alfredo Simon on the hill for the Tides and Jeff Bennett who the Tides kicked around last week on the hill for the Bulls.

On the personnel side of the house Kam Mickolio was promoted to the Orioles to replace closer Mike Gonzales who was placed on the 15 day disabled list by the O’s joining Justin Christian who was promoted when Brian Roberts went on the DL.  The Tides return to Norfolk on Monday for a four game home stand against the Gwinnett Braves.  In Baltimore the Orioles lost their sixth straight game losing to the Rays 9-1 prior to traveling west for a series with the hot Oakland Athletics and the Seattle Mariners.  The O’s are struggling early to find their center.  They have a tremendous amount of talent and one wonders what is going on in the minds of the Orioles coaching staff and management.  My guess is that if Manager Dave Trembley does not right the ship soon that he may be out sooner rather than later because frankly the Orioles are not this bad of a team.

See you at Harbor Park on Monday where the Weather Channel is predicting a high of 66 with clear skies and evening low of 52.  Of course this is Hampton Roads so keep your weather guessing skills sharp as we might have a blizzard or hurricane instead. If you are around section 102 at Harbor Park come up and say “hello” to me.

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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April 14, 2010 · 20:09

Tides Bats go Silent: Tides Lose 6-1 to Charlotte

Chris Tillman got the Start and the Loss

It was a dark and murky night and it seems that with the return of our typical April Hampton Roads weather the bats of the Norfolk Tides have gone on vacation.  For the third consecutive night the Tides were outhit by their opponent and sports fans the game was about as pretty as the weather for the home team. After putting up 12 runs and 14 hits on Saturday night the Tides seemed flummoxed as to how to come up with key hits when they have men on base in scoring position.

There was little positive in tonight’s outing as a sparse crowd of 2456 thinned out to about 20 fans plus the ushers and the remaining vending staff who were cleaning up their stands and kiosks by beginning of the 9th inning.  Even the obnoxious drunk heckler up in one of the luxury boxes was cold and lonely until the lovely Heather of the Tides staff ever so deftly shut him up.  The weather which was cold and breezy to start the game continually got worse until by the 7th inning a heavy and steady mist buffeted by stronger winds made playing and viewing the game unbearable and even the most loyal and diehard fans wrapped in blankets and jackets took to flight as the game slipped away from the Tides.  Of course I stayed to the bitter end making me one of the game’s “bitter enders.”

In the midst of the miserable weather the Tides started Orioles prospect and potential future starter Chris Tillman against Lucas Harrell of the Knights.  Harrell would allow no runs and give up 5 hits striking out 7 on the way to the win.  Tillman pitched 4.2 innings giving up 3 runs on 8 hits and a walk, striking out 4.  Chris did not seem comfortable and the Knights kept the pressure on Tillman with solid hits finally breaking through to score their first run in the 3rd inning.  Tillman allowed a two out triple in the 1st inning to Stefan Gartrell but retired the side and got the Knights in order in the 2nd.  In the 3rd after getting Javier Castillo to ground out gave up a double to Robert Hudson who scored when Jordan Danks singled to right. Tillman then retired Gartrell to end the inning.  The Tides went down in order in the bottom of the third.

The Knights started the fourth with singles from Josh Kroeger and Tyler Flowers but Tillman was able to pitch his way out of trouble.  In the bottom half of the inning the Tides attempted to get a two out rally going when Scott Moore singled and Brandon Snyder drew a base on balls but the runners died on the base paths when Josh Bell grounded out to Second Baseman Rob Hudson.

Andy Mitchell who holds the Tides record for Victories made his first appearance of 2010

In the fifth inning Tillman got into trouble when Hudson and Brent Lillibridge singled to lead of the inning but Hudson was forced at third on a bunt by Jordan Danks.  Tillman struck out Gartrell but then gave up a walk to Lillibridge to load the bases.  This would bring Tides Manager Gary Allenson to the mound and end Tillman’s outing with the bases loaded.  Tides veteran Andy Mitchell who was activated earlier in the day made his 2010 debut at Harbor Park. Mitchell has the all time record for number of victories as a Tide and Knight’s catcher Tyler Flowers welcomed Andy back to Harbor Park by lacing a single to right scoring both Lillibridge and Danks with the runs being charged to Tillman.  Mitchell then struck out Virgil Viciedo to end the inning. The Tides threatened in the bottom of the fifth when Michael Aubrey doubled to lead off the inning and advanced to third when Joey Gathright delivered a two out single.  However both were left stranded when Harrell struck out Robert Andino for his third strike out of the inning.

The few the Proud the “Bitter Enders”

The Knights went back to work in the top of the sixth scoring three more runs beginning with a leadoff single by C. J. Retherford. Mitchell then got Javier Castillo to fly out to right but gave up a single to Rob Hudson which advanced Retherford to second. Brent Lillibridge then doubled to deep right scoring Retherford and putting runners on second and third with only one out.  Mitchell then intentionally walked Jordan Danks and struck out Gartrell.  Josh Kroeger then hit a ground ball to deep second which Scott Moore made a great spot but was unable to get the out and both Hudson and Lillibridge.  Tyler flowers was retired by Mitchell on a ground ball to second which hit the bag and popped up allowing Michael Aubrey to make the play and possibly save an extra base hit.  The Tides went down in order in the bottom half of the inning as a heavy swirling mist began to come down driving off almost all remaining fans.

In the seventh Mitchell gave up singles to Viciedo and Retherford but got Javier Castillo to ground into a double play and stuck out Rob Hudson.  In the bottom of the 7th the Tides scored their only run of the game after Justin Cassell came in to relieve Harrell.  Josh Bell struck out to begin the inning and the sharp eye of Michael Aubrey gained him a base on balls. Rhyne Hughes singled to right advancing Aubrey to second. Catcher Adam Donachie walked and Joey Gathright hit into a force which scored Aubrey and Robert Andino grounded out to end the inning.

Another One Bites the Dust…Rhyne Hughes grounds out

The Knights went quietly in the 9th with Mitchell giving up a single to Jordan Danks as did the Tides who went down in order.

Frank Mata came in to replace Mitchell in the top of the ninth and promptly hit Tyler Flowers with a pitch.  Dayan Viciedo walked and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Retherford then popped out to Robert Andino. Javier Castillo reached on a fielder’s choice when Scott Moore took the ball and caught Flowers between third and home.  Moore ran across the diamond to make the play on the third base line.  Robert Hudson then was out on a foul tip after fouling off two balls into my hands behind home plate.  Not a bad haul for Padre Steve.  In the bottom half of the inning the Knights brought in Clevelan Santeliz to finish off the hapless Tides taking them down in order to end the game.

In all the Knights had 6 runs on 16 hits and left 12 men on base. The Tides scored 1 run on 6 hits leaving 7 on base.  Knight’s pitchers struck out 11 Tides in the game with Lucas Harrell getting the win and Chris Tillman the loss.  The two teams will play Wednesday afternoon with Jake Arrieta pitching for the Tides and Knights ace and White Sox prospect Carlos Torres facing each other.  I won’t be there as I have to work.  Such is life.  Wish I could see you there.

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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