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Trenton Thunder Playoff Preview

BaseLines for September 7
By JED WEISBERGER
www.trentonthunder.com

TRENTON – Thunder manager Tony Franklin, who directed the Yankees’ Class-AA farm team to its third Eastern League Division title in four years, knows what will decide this playoff series with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

“Pitching is the major key,’’ said Franklin, whose club opens its best-of-5 Eastern League Eastern Series with the Fisher Cats in Waterfront Park Wednesday night. “You don’t win playoff series without good pitching.’’

During the regular season, in which the Thunder rolled to an 83-59 mark, the only team Franklin’s bunch could not handle was New Hampshire, against which they were 7-16.

“We just didn’t play well against them,’’ said Franklin. “Maybe it was because our first 11 games against them were in their ballpark, and their confidence level was established early, but it didn’t seem to make any difference.

“To win a playoff series against this team, we are going to have to do better.’’

The pitching numbers in the series confirm Franklin’s analysis. While New Hampshire pitched to a 3.71 ERA against the Thunder, Trenton pitchers were hit at an ERA level of 4.56. Righty Kyle Drabek, who will start Game 1 Wednesday against the Thunder’s Dellin Betances, was 4-0, 1.36 vs. Trenton, allowing just four earned runs in 26 innings.

“Trenton is a great club,’’ said Drabek, now a top Toronto prospect who was 14-9, 2.94 overall “They are really patient and not all that easy to pitch to. I was really able to work my curve and mix it up against them.

“I know they can put hits together at any given time with that lineup. They are thinking just like us. They want to win a championship.’’

Spot starter B.J. LaMura was 2-1, 1.89 against Trenton, while righty reliever Vince Bongiovanni was 2-0, 1.17 in five appearances. Another thorn in Trenton’s side, Bubbie Buzachero, who was 2-0, 1.17, was traded to Houston a few weeks ago.

On the Trenton side, righty David Phelps was 2-0, 1.10 in five starts against New Hampshire, while fellow righty Lance Pendleton was 2-0, 2.42 in five starts. Both now pitch for Triple-A Scranton.

“Phelps was really tough to hit against,’’ said New Hampshire outfielder Darin Mastroianni, who batted .318 (28-for-88) in 22 games against Trenton. “I can see why he was promoted. He’s an outstanding pitcher.’’

So, it will be up to Betances, who allowed two earned runs in 4.2 innings in his lone start against the Fisher Cats, Adam Warren 0-1, 2.00, who allowed two earned runs in nine innings, and Manny Banuelos, 0-1, 9.53 vs. the Fisher Cats, to anchor the Thunder pitching staff.

Righty Zach Stewart, who was 1-0, 3.29 in five starts against Trenton, and righty Randy Boone, the one NH pitcher who struggled against Trenton – at 0-3, 3.98 in three starts – are the opening three starters for manager Luis Rivera’s squad.

Franklin knows how Trenton’s pitching matches up against New Hampshire will decide this series.

THE SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Sept. 8 - Game 1 – New Hampshire at Thunder, 7:05 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 9 – Game 2 - New Hanpshire at Thunder, 7:05 p.m.
Friday, Sept. 10 – Game 3 – Trenton at New Hamphsire, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 11 – Game 4 – Trenton at New Hampshire, 7:05 p.m. (if necessary)
Sunday, Sept. 12 – New Hampshire at Trenton, 5:05 p.m. (if necessary).

THE PETTITTE FACTOR: Add Yankees left-hander Andy Pettitte, who is scheduled to start Game 2 Thursday for the Thunder on a rehab assignment to the mix, and the intrigue and interest grows.

Pettitte will throw 65 pitches or four innings, but will his appearance – huge in fan and media interest – actually affect the series that much?

“He’s a Hall-of-Fame pitcher,’’ said Mastroianni, “but he won’t be the deciding factor.’’

Mastroianni is correct. Most times, a rehabbing big-leaguer doesn’t affect a playoff series outcome. Over the past few years, Hideki Matsui played for Thunder, pitcher Jeremy Sowers threw for Akron and Cleveland designated hitter Travis Hafner batted for Akron.

Neiither Matsui nor Sowers had any effect on the series they were in. Hafner did hit key home runs that helped Akron past Bowie in 2008.

THE CHRISTIAN FACTOR: Losing a veteran like Justin Christian, promoted to Scranton over the weekend when former Thunder star Colin Curtis was summoned to the Yankees, could be a major factor in this series.

Or is it?

Christian batted just .211 (12-for-57) in 14 games vs. New Hampshire in 2010. The biggest loss was Brandon Laird, who hit .347 (25-for-75) with two homers and 13 RBIs in 20 games vs. the Fishers.

Yet, the Thunder still have the two other most effective hitters against New Hampshire. Catcher Austin Romine tagged New Hampshire hurlers at a .363 (29-for-80) rate with a homer and 14 RBIs. Outfielder Dan Brewer batted .280 (23-for-62) against the Fisher Cats.

Thunder pitchers need to stop not only Mastroianni, but the catching trio of Jonathan Jaspe, Matt Liuzza and Brian Jeroloman, who, among them, hit four homers and drive in 18 runs. Outfielder and former big-league pitcher Adam Loewen batted just .243 against Thunder pitching, but drove in 12 runs.

Then there is Eric Thames, who simply bashed Thunder pitching. His cousin, the Yankees’ Marcus Thames, would be proud of his .318 (29-for-91) effort that produced five homers and 20 RBIS in 22 games vs. Trenton.

New Hampshire out-homered the Thunder 19-8 in the 23 games. Many of them decided the 23 games between the teams.

“We allowed them to come back on us with some big home runs in some games,’’ said Franklin. “We can’t do that in a playoff series with them.’’

MEANWHILE: Harrisburg is facing Altoona for the Eastern League West crown. The Senators finished the season hot, while Altoona cooled off … Tampa, the Yankees’ Class-A Advanced club, which won the Florida State League title last season, is also battling a Toronto affiliate – Dunedin – in the first round of the FSL playoffs.

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Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Jeremy Hellickson named Baseball America minor-league player of the year

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
In Print: Wednesday, September 8, 2010

BOSTON — For a guy who appeared in only 21 games for Triple-A Durham, RHP Jeremy Hellickson had a pretty impressive season.

Impressive enough that Tuesday he was named minor-league player of the year by Baseball America.

"I played against a lot of really good players down there so to win it means a lot," Hellickson said. "I wasn't really expecting it. It's definitely a good feeling."

Hellickson went 12-3 with a 2.45 ERA, 123 strikeouts and 35 walks in 118 innings before being called up by the Rays Aug. 2, then demoted to Class A for 11 days to get acclimated to the bullpen before being recalled last week.

Knowing he'd spend most of the season in Durham, Hellickson said his main goal was to become more consistent and reduce the poor starts that tended to occur after three to four good ones.

"All I could do is go down there and stay consistent and develop further down there," he said. "And I think I did a good job of that."

Hellickson is the third Rays prospect to win award, joining Rocco Baldelli (2002) and Delmon Young (2005). He is the just the fifth pitcher to win in the past 22 years of the award and eighth overall since its 1981 inception.

"That's awesome," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "We saw what he did up here (in his three starts), and I'm sure it looked a lot like that down there. That's great for him and that's great for the organization.''

Hellickson's next assignment continues to be a challenge, however, as he struggled again Tuesday when used in relief, allowing three runs on three hits and a walk in 12/3 innings.

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NEW YORK -- Yahoo! Sports reported Tuesday that 2005 Heisman Trophy winner Reggie Bush is expected to be stripped of the award by the end of the month.

The former Southern Cal running back would become the first player in the 75-year history of the award to have the Heisman Trophy taken away. The report also said the award would be left vacant for '05.

The NCAA found major violations in USC's football program and levied serious sanctions against the school in June.

"I can tell you the Heisman Trophy trust has made no decision regarding the Reggie Bush situation," Robert Whalen, executive director of the Heisman Trophy Trust, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The website cited two anonymous sources close to the Heisman Trophy Trust, who say the group's investigation is almost complete and would agree with the NCAA's finding that Bush was ineligible during the '05 season.

Bush now plays for the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints, who said Tuesday that they would have no comment on the report.

Typically, the Saints have declined comment on Bush's NCAA violations because they have no bearing on his pro career.

Team headquarters also were closed to reporters on Tuesday.
Bush's Los Angeles-based lawyer, Shawn Chapman Holley, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the AP.

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Minnesota Wild centre James Sheppard was in an ATV accident on Monday while training in Vail, Colo., and sustained a serious knee injury which will sideline him for up to four months, according to a report in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Wild coach Todd Richards told the Tribune that the injury was to Sheppard's kneecap, and the 22-year-old player has already had surgery.

The Wild had re-signed Sheppard to a one-year contract in June. He had two goals and four assists in 64 games for the Wild last season. He has 11 goals and 38 assists in 224 games over his three seasons spent in the NHL, all with the Wild.

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Since before my time of heading up FB&G, the mantra of this site has been that the Lakers will go as far as their defense takes them. Because while the Lakers offense (with Kobe being the centerpiece of it all) has often positioned them as a successful team and one of the true glamour franchises, it’s been the Lakers’ ability to get stops that has truly propelled them into contention. No more evidence is needed than what’s been shown in the past three seasons where the Lakers have won two championships on the back of their ability to defend (at least in the key moments of games) and lost a title because their offense was flummoxed while their defense couldn’t secure the needed stops to earn the needed victories.

What’s had me thinking about the Lakers defense in the past couple of weeks are two specific things. First is my re-watching of the Lakers’ game 7 win over the Celtics. In that epic slug fest of a deciding game, the Lakers’ held the Celtics to a 45.1 EFG% while allowing an excellent 95.1 offensive rating from the C’s (stats via basketball-reference). In no quarter did Boston score more than 23 points (and that was the opening period) and the Lakersessentially tightened the D en route to an NBA title. (The Lakers’ offensive rebounding helped a bunch too, but securing stops, I think was just as important. The ability to get secondchance points means nothing if the other team has built too big a lead for those second chances to really matter.)

The second thing that has had me thinking about defense are the series of excellent postsput together by Henry Abbott over at TrueHoop exploring the why in the definitive statement that defense wins championships (give them all a read – they’re well worth your time). For the basis of his posts, Abbott used an article from Neil Paine at Basket Ball-Reference where the past 50 years of data were explored to show that when a team’s defense improved their chances of winning a championship also improved.

One person that provided feedback to Abbott’s posts was David Thorpe (whose basketball insight is always appreciated):

David Thorpe has been reading all this, and loves the idea that good defense may be a marker for team cohesion. However, he also thinks we have been missing a major point, which is that good defense leads to good offense, and the opposite is less true.

And, as usual, Thorpe is right in that good defense typically does lead to good offense. Whether by forcing turnovers (that lead to fast break points and easy baskets) or by forcing misses that lead to rebounds and the ability to transition to offense against a scrambling defense, good defense is a great offensive spark for the team transitioning from defense to offense. One only need to remember how successful the OKC Thunder were against the Lakers when they were able to force misses and then use their athletic advantage in the open court to ram the ball down LA’s throat for easy buckets and trips to the FT line.

However, when Thorpe says that “good D leads to good O while the opposite is less true”, one team that this doesn’t necessarily apply to is the Lakers. You see, the Lakers run an offensive system that is supposed to allow an easy transition to defense. Said another way, when run correctly, the Triangle should allow the Lakers to transition to defense very effectively and set up their half court defense. This is true even without producing a made basket; a made basket that should slow down the opposing offense by forcing them to take the ball out of the net before getting into their own offense.

And the reason for this easy transition is offensive spacing and a balanced floor. The Lakers strive to achieve both of these principles every time they set up their offense andby doing so, they are trying to position players on the court in a manner that leads to success both offensively and defensively. For example, on nearly every offensive possession, the Lakerslike to set up in a two guard front where both guards (I use the term “guard” here loosely as any player – from Odom to Artest to Gasol – can be in this position) are above the three point line and outside the lane line. Even when an entry pass is made and these top side guards cut through, the natural motion of the offense leads to players filling into these spots on the floor to allow for that spacing to remain intact. And with this spacing and floor balance in place, any time a shot goes up the two top side guards can then retreat to the defensive end in order to slow the ball down and allow for the rest of the team to get back and join their defensive mates. Essentially, when the Lakers play good offense, good defense follows.

I’ll use the OKC series as an example again. In that series, many credit the switching of Kobe Bryant onto Russell Westbrook as the major change that increased the Lakers’ defensive effectiveness as a unit. And while that is true, what also made a difference was the Lakers’ commitment to executing their offense at a higher level. As we described in this post, the Lakers return to running the Triangle was a major theme of their Game 5 win. And with that return of the offense we also saw the Thunder’s offense suffer through one of the worst games of their season. I mean, the Lakers focusing on spacing, cutting, floor balance, and inside play directly led to OKC having to face the Lakers’ set defense for the majority of the game andthe results weren’t pretty – a series high 20 3pt FGA, their second lowest point total of the series, and their 2nd lowest FG% of the series.

It’s no coincidence that the Lakers defense has proven to be stronger when their offense is executed better. In fact, it’s actually a testament to the individual defense of the Lakers and their greater commitment to that side of the ball that they were able to maintain a high defensive efficiency this past season (4th in the NBA) even though their offensive execution was not up to the standard of past years. I give a lot of credit to Artest, an improved Bynum, Kobe, and the still underrated-defensively Pau Gasol for helping the Lakers to thrive on that side of the ball this past year. Next season, I hope to see a greater commitment to offensive execution which should only lead to an even better defensive year. And if that does occur, I think we’ll finally see the full potential of this Lakersteam on both sides of the ball – with a win total to match.

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Anyone who's ever been transferred to another city by their employer knows the expense involved with the possibility of paying two rents or mortgages.

It turns out ballplayers are no different.

After being sent to Triple-A Reno earlier this season, Arizona Diamondbacks utilityman Ryan Roberts(notes) decided to borrow a page from Rudy Ruettiger and make the Aces' clubhouse his home instead of subletting another place.

Yup, with his wife and son preferring to stay behind in their leased apartment in Phoenix — he thought he'd be with the D'Backs all year — Roberts figured he'd save a few bucks by bunking near his locker for about two months.

Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic has all of the story's details:

"You just couldn't let anybody see you," Roberts said. "After the game, I'd sit on the couch in my uni until Bugsy (Reno manager Brett Butler) would leave, so everybody would think I was just hanging out. Then I'd shower up and hang out with the cleaning crew."

Really?

"Yeah, they'd come in around 11:30. They were cool. There was Vic and Dave, this guy J.J. They'd be in there 30-45 minutes. I'd hang out with them [...] It was kind of fun."

It's not as bad as it sounds. Roberts, of course, stayed in a hotel when the Aces went on the road. He also sprang for a room when his wife and son came to visit. When he had to stay in the clubhouse, he could play video games on the clubhouse TV and make sandwiches from the supplies in the kitchen.

Such a life probably sounds like the dream of 72 percent of people currently reading this article (and 100 percent of those who write for this blog), but Roberts is still hoping that time has come and gone for him. He was just recalled by the D'Backs and has returned to his more traditional domestic trappings in Phoenix.

[Related: Baseball greats who were paid like benchwarmers]

But considering that he just gave up his secret to Reno management, he better be sure that he's going to stick with the major league team this time.

Otherwise, he's probably going to need the number for the nearby 'Y'.

Or at least a reliable pup tent.

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When you're an NBA player, sometimes you just have to remind your fans how good you are. You know, really prove to them that you're the athlete and they're the spectator. Pau Gasol(notes) — he knows how to show a bunch of kids what's what.

Yeah, that's Pau Gasol Michael Jordan-ing over some unlucky kid in New Delhi, India. Color me impressed that Pau can jump that high. Based on every single one of his NBA dunks which just barely make it over the rim, I'd have put money on that child getting a face full of legs.

Surprisingly, this is part of an NBA Cares outreach trip that Gasol's on right now. Dubious that dunking on youngins would win over fans? Perhaps this account of Gasol's basketball wizardry from SLAM's Karen Madhok will convince you.

Gasol again turned into a quiet crowd-pleaser in Delhi, speaking softly and letting his skills do the talking. He worked with the kids on dribbling drills, showed off his pivot, Hakeem-esque fadeaway, and of course, did a variety of dunks at the DPS basketball court, including doing a "jumpman" style dunk over a hapless kid in a ‘Starbury' t-shirt!

You know what they don't say — if it's not the dunking on kids that'll get 'em, it's the low post moves. Kids looooooooooove pivots.

But really, Pau's doing a good thing performing for these kids, and it's always fun to learn about a far-flung country that's NBA crazy. Furthermore, it's also pretty amazing that Pau Gasol can jump that high. The guy in the tie needs to lighten up and realize he's just witnessed a miracle.

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Chris Mannix: Nets waive forward Sean May, almost one month after signing him. Twitter
Rumors tagsNew Jersey Nets, Sean May | share Share on FacebookShare on twitterComment on HoopsHype forums

Chris Mannix: May broke his left foot in basketball workouts last week and GM Billy King said recovery time would not provide legit chance to make team Twitter

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