Mitchell Throws Clunker in Tampa Debut

D.J. Mitchell was making his first year of pro ball look pretty easy at Charleston, so the Yankees promoted the Clemson product to Tampa. Things were a little different for Mitchell in his first start for the Yankees' representatives in the Florida State League earlier today.

Mitchell was charged with 6 runs in 4.1 innings in the Yankees 9-6 loss to the Daytona Cubs. He allowed 2 runs in the 1st inning and seemed to have settled down, but the Cubs put a 6-spot on the board in the 5th inning, with most of the damage done against Mitchell. He finished his day with 8 strikeouts.

Prior to his promotion, Mitchell went 4-1, 1.95 in six South Atlantic League starts. He allowed less than a hit per inning and walked just 6 while striking out 42 batters in 37 innings pitched.

On the bright side, Über prospect Jesus Montero was 4-5 in today's game to raise his average to .336 and infielder Mitch Hilligoss is now hitting a robust .353 after today's 3-hit game.

Nice Assignment Mr. Phelps

With a talented roster, the Charleston RiverDogs are expected to have some very well pitched games this season. Today was one of them. Starter David Phelps limited the Rome Braves to three hits over 5.2 innings in the RiverDogs 2-0 victory.

Phelps didn't walk a batter and struck out four before turning things over to Dan Kapala and Pat Venditte, who allowed only one more hit over the final 3.1 innings. Venditte picked up his second save.

Carmen Angelini and Abe Almonte each drove in a run and Garrison Lassiter had three of the 'Dogs nine hits.

	April 12, 2009
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Rome 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 Charleston 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 X 2 9 2 W: D. Phelps (1-0, 0.00); L: R. Delgado (0-1, 5.40); SV: P. Venditte (2) HR: None.

When playing Rome, Win

Very corny..but the Charleston RiverDogs got 2 RBI from Ray Kruml and four pitchers limited the Rome Braves to seven hits in Charleston's 6-1 win on Saturday.

Starter Manny Banuelos tossed 4.2 innings before reaching his pitch limit. He allowed a run on three hits and struck out six while not walking a batter. Casey Erickson picked up the win with a scoreless inning and a third of work.

Catcher Mitch Abeita added 3 hits for the RiverDogs, who play the Braves once again this afternoon.

	April 11, 2009
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Rome 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 1 Charleston 1 1 3 0 0 0 0 1 X 6 10 2 W: C. Erickson (1-0, 0.00); L: P. Clemens (0-1, 16.87) HR: None.

Brackman roughed up in season debut

Plenty of eyes will be on the RiverDogs this season and they will mainly be looking up. That's because 2007 first round pick, 6'10" Andrew Brackman (seen here between fellow pitchers Manny Banuelos and D.J. Mitchell), will be starting the season in South Carolina.

Brackman was drafted by the Yankees despite knowing he would need Tommy John surgery. Some thing it was a mistake, but the Yankees are confident they knew exactly what they were doing.

You can bet though that Brackman would like to put his season debut last night behind him. The 6'10" right-hander allowed 5 earned runs (6 total) in 5 innings pitched in the RiverDogs 8-2 loss to the Rome Braves. Brackman gave up 5 hits, walked 3, and struck out 5. He was handed a 2-0 lead, but with his team clinging to a 2-1 margin, gave up four runs in the fourth inning.

The River Dogs played a sloppy game, committing 5 errors, including a pair by shortstop Carmen Angelini. He did try to make up for it at the plate by leading the RiverDogs with 3 hits and also drove in a run.

	April 9, 2009
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Rome 0 0 1 4 1 0 0 0 2 8 7 0 Charleston 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 13 5 W: R. Sullivan (1-0, 3.60); L: A. Brackman (0-1, 9.00); SV: E. Spruill (1) HR: None.

The Post and Courier has more on the Charleston pitching staff that comes with high expectations this year.

RiverDogs GM Dave Echols maintains a blog on the team's official site and was excited about Thursday's opener.

Opening Day is almost here! MLB has started and our turn will be here on Thursday. Don’t miss arguably the best time of the year and don’t be late as we introduce your 2009 Charleston RiverDogs via and Opening Day Parade – with a little taste of NY in Charleston brought to you this year by Comcast.

A few familiar faces (Angelini, Almonte & Baisley), a 6’10” RHP (Brackman), a Clemson Tiger (DJ Mitchell) and an ambidextrous pitcher (Venditte) help fill out our roster. Take advantage of our first, meet the team party / practice tonight from 6pm – 8pm. A new opportunity to mingle with the players for a short period of time then watch the open practice.

Every team is different but we trust Torre will be use his past success in managing the RiverDogs to help guide this team thru the summer season. You’ll be catching his blog throughout the summer as well.

Come out and enjoy the start of a relaxing summer of RiverDogs baseball. Thursday, April 9^th we battle the Atlanta Braves affiliate from Rome, GA and begin a 140 game quest to bring a championship to Charleston.

We will introduce a few new food items (Mellow Mushroom pizza, sushi), a few new promotions but with the same Fun Is Good approach. Who knows, maybe you’ll see Bill Murray walking the concourse, get a chance to tell Mike Veeck your favorite promotion or see future New York Yankee make a great play.

Baseball is back in Charleston, come out to The Joe, relax and let us entertain you.

Dave

The Daily Yankeeland - 3/31

The last day of March is here, which means opening day is less than a week away. The Yankees are in Sarasota today to play the Cincinnati Reds at 1:05 pm. Joba Chamberlain will be starting for the Yankees. We'll try to Twitter as much of today's game as we can.

Believe it or not, Joba's arraignment on DUI charges has been postponed for a 4th time. In this case it's only for a day though, so Joba can pitch this afternoon.

Beginning May 4, the Yankees will offer tours of the new Yankee Stadium to anyone willing to fork over $20. The money will be going to charity.

1998 Superman Shane Spencer is now a minor league hitting coach for the San Diego Padres.

Former Yankees pitcher Ross Ohlendorf, included in the Xavier Nady/Damaso Marte trade, has made the Pittsburgh Pirates starting rotation. He's allowed just 2 earned runs in 20.2 spring innings.

The Yankees Single-A affiliate, Charleston River Dogs, are working in conjunction with "Teacher’s Supply Closet" to help educators in the area. The Teachers Supply Closet assists educators in getting school supplies to children who can't afford them. The River Dogs are running a program to exchange $1 seats for anyone donating school supplies at their games.

The YES Network grabbed 13 Emmy Awards in ceremonies held Sunday night. It included 5 awards for the Yankeeography series.

Here's some info on Yankee Stadium catering (we weren't awake enough to read it).

Down on the Farm - 8/8

Before we get into how the Tampa Yankees are doing, kudos to them for holding Breast Cancer Awareness Night at GMS III Field on August 15. The players will be wearing blue jerseys with pink lettering, like that Joba guy once did, that will be auctioned off with partial proceeds going to the Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute.

On a lighter note, the team is also holding a Jimmy Buffett tribute night on the 16th.

It's been an up and down season for the Florida St. Leaguers, who have had a number of winning and losing streaks. Their current two game slide has left them 58-57, 21-24 in the second half. They obviously miss the pitching of Eric Hacker (Trenton) and Al Aceves (Scranton), who were a combined 6-3, 1.98 before being promoted. Zach McAllister's 6-6 record doesn't reflect just how well he's pitched. The right-hander has compiled a 2.17 ERA in his 12 starts. Overall, between Charleston and Tampa, McAllister is 12-9, 2.30 in 22 starts. Jon Hovis has excelled in the closer's role, recording 10 saves, and has an 8:1 strikeout to walk ratio.

Offensively, 1st baseman Kevin Smith leads the team with 50 RBI while posting a .283 average. DH Andres Perez has added 8 home runs and 41 RBI to a team that misses Edwar Gonzalez, who was promoted to Trenton after 27 games. Mitch Hilligoss, who hit in 38 straight games en route to a .310 season, has been a disappointment. The third baseman is batting just .241.

The Charleston RiverDogs battled a number of injuries to put together a fantastic 45-25 first half in the South Atlantic League. Things haven't gone so smoothly since, as the Dogs have put together just a 22-23 record. Granted, they have lost stars like starters McAllister and Jason Stephens to Tampa.

The big name on the RiverDogs is of course Jesus Montero. The 6'4" catcher fought off a bad May and came back strong, hitting .293 in June and .341 in July. He's topped that with a .387 average in 8 games in August. Montero has hit 13 home runs, 30 doubles, and driven in 69 runs in 430 at-bats. He's also done a good job of making contact, having struck out 69 times. He's also hit an impressive .350 with runners in scoring position and has an .844 OPS.

Montero is not alone, though. 3rd baseman Brad Suttle (.280-10-33, .828 OPS in 72 games), fellow catcher Austin Romine (.283-7-34 in 82 games), Justin Snyder (.290, 52 RBI), and Brandon Laird (17 HRs, 60 RBI) have all put together solid seasons.

Jon Ortiz has been a stud at closer, recording 28 saves, while striking out 73 batters in 52.2 innings. Starter Wil De la Rosa, a converted position player, has compiled a 7-3, 2.29 mark with 110 strikeouts in 90.1 innings. Dellin Betances and Lance Pendleton have each had solid seasons, with 7 wins apiece.

Tomorrow - the Staten Island and GCL Yankees

Down on the Farm - 8/8

Before we get into how the Tampa Yankees are doing, kudos to them for holding Breast Cancer Awareness Night at GMS III Field on August 15. The players will be wearing blue jerseys with pink lettering, like that Joba guy once did, that will be auctioned off with partial proceeds going to the Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute.

On a lighter note, the team is also holding a Jimmy Buffett tribute night on the 16th.

It's been an up and down season for the Florida St. Leaguers, who have had a number of winning and losing streaks. Their current two game slide has left them 58-57, 21-24 in the second half. They obviously miss the pitching of Eric Hacker (Trenton) and Al Aceves (Scranton), who were a combined 6-3, 1.98 before being promoted. Zach McAllister's 6-6 record doesn't reflect just how well he's pitched. The right-hander has compiled a 2.17 ERA in his 12 starts. Overall, between Charleston and Tampa, McAllister is 12-9, 2.30 in 22 starts. Jon Hovis has excelled in the closer's role, recording 10 saves, and has an 8:1 strikeout to walk ratio.

Offensively, 1st baseman Kevin Smith leads the team with 50 RBI while posting a .283 average. DH Andres Perez has added 8 home runs and 41 RBI to a team that misses Edwar Gonzalez, who was promoted to Trenton after 27 games. Mitch Hilligoss, who hit in 38 straight games en route to a .310 season, has been a disappointment. The third baseman is batting just .241.

The Charleston RiverDogs battled a number of injuries to put together a fantastic 45-25 first half in the South Atlantic League. Things haven't gone so smoothly since, as the Dogs have put together just a 22-23 record. Granted, they have lost stars like starters McAllister and Jason Stephens to Tampa.

The big name on the RiverDogs is of course Jesus Montero. The 6'4" catcher fought off a bad May and came back strong, hitting .293 in June and .341 in July. He's topped that with a .387 average in 8 games in August. Montero has hit 13 home runs, 30 doubles, and driven in 69 runs in 430 at-bats. He's also done a good job of making contact, having struck out 69 times. He's also hit an impressive .350 with runners in scoring position and has an .844 OPS.

Montero is not alone, though. 3rd baseman Brad Suttle (.280-10-33, .828 OPS in 72 games), fellow catcher Austin Romine (.283-7-34 in 82 games), Justin Snyder (.290, 52 RBI), and Brandon Laird (17 HRs, 60 RBI) have all put together solid seasons.

Jon Ortiz has been a stud at closer, recording 28 saves, while striking out 73 batters in 52.2 innings. Starter Wil De la Rosa, a converted position player, has compiled a 7-3, 2.29 mark with 110 strikeouts in 90.1 innings. Dellin Betances and Lance Pendleton have each had solid seasons, with 7 wins apiece.

Tomorrow - the Staten Island and GCL Yankees

Let the Yankees Go to the Dogs

The Charleston RiverDogs that is. In the bottom of the 7th inning, Charleston leads the Greenville Drive 19-2 in South Atlantic League action this afternoon. The Dogs put up 12 runs in the 4th inning and another 7 in the 6th. Brian Baisley has 4 hits, including a home run, and 6 RBI.

UPDATE - 2:37 P.M. EDT - Brian Baisley added a 5th hit, 2nd home run, and 7th RBI in the 9th inning. A career in a day.

Let the Yankees Go to the Dogs

The Charleston RiverDogs that is. In the bottom of the 7th inning, Charleston leads the Greenville Drive 19-2 in South Atlantic League action this afternoon. The Dogs put up 12 runs in the 4th inning and another 7 in the 6th. Brian Baisley has 4 hits, including a home run, and 6 RBI.

UPDATE - 2:37 P.M. EDT - Brian Baisley added a 5th hit, 2nd home run, and 7th RBI in the 9th inning. A career in a day.

Pope on a Rope

Minor league baseball tries many different things to put fans in the seats, but the Yankees class 'A' Charleston River Dogs may have come up with one of the most unique. Pope Benedict XVI will be visiting the US shortly, and will be making a much ballyhooed stop at Yankee Stadium. The River Dogs would like to have the Pope make a visit to South Carolina while he's here.

In order to entice the Pope, the River Dogs held a "Pope on a Rope" promotion this past weekend against the Rome (very appropriate) Braves. It's a normal bar of soap on a rope, but this soap comes with a likeness of the Pope right on it.

Minor League Dugout described it's aroma as "reasonably good – somewhere between church incense and urinal cake". We're not sure that means reasonably good, but we'll go along with them on this one.

Pope on a Rope

Minor league baseball tries many different things to put fans in the seats, but the Yankees class 'A' Charleston River Dogs may have come up with one of the most unique. Pope Benedict XVI will be visiting the US shortly, and will be making a much ballyhooed stop at Yankee Stadium. The River Dogs would like to have the Pope make a visit to South Carolina while he's here.

In order to entice the Pope, the River Dogs held a "Pope on a Rope" promotion this past weekend against the Rome (very appropriate) Braves. It's a normal bar of soap on a rope, but this soap comes with a likeness of the Pope right on it.

Minor League Dugout described it's aroma as "reasonably good – somewhere between church incense and urinal cake". We're not sure that means reasonably good, but we'll go along with them on this one.

You Better You Better You Betances

Dellin Betances made his 2008 debut a very successful one tonight for the Single-A Charleston River Dogs. The 6'8" right-hander, who made just 6 appearances last year due to elbow inflammation, struck out 8 in 5 innings of work. The Dogs won 10-4 over Rome as Bettances allowed 2 runs on 3 hits.

Austin Krum, who struggled at Staten Island last year, had a pair of hits and 4 RBI.

You Better You Better You Betances

Dellin Betances made his 2008 debut a very successful one tonight for the Single-A Charleston River Dogs. The 6'8" right-hander, who made just 6 appearances last year due to elbow inflammation, struck out 8 in 5 innings of work. The Dogs won 10-4 over Rome as Bettances allowed 2 runs on 3 hits.

Austin Krum, who struggled at Staten Island last year, had a pair of hits and 4 RBI.