Tampa Yankees Hitting the Highway

In a move that has been in the works for quite a while, the Tampa Yankees (Florida St. League 'A+' ball) have reached an agreement to move north to Ocala, FL.  George M. Steinbrenner III will continue to host Spring Training for Derek Jeter, CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and the rest of the Major League Yankees.

The city council of Ocala, a 90 minute straight shoot up route 75 from Tampa, will be presented with plans Tuesday for a proposed $45MM stadium and entertainment complex. The city's mayor, Ken Guinn, said a half-cent sales tax for a five year period would pay for the new ball park, though the tax would have to pass referendum.

If all goes as planned, the Tampa Yankees could begin play in Ocala in 2016. The reason for the move is a reported lack of interest in Single-A baseball in the Tampa area, especially with a Major League team located nearby.

The Steinbrenner family owns the Kinsman Horse Stable, which is located in Ocala. There is no word on future plans for GMS III Field outside of Spring Training use. While it will mean the loss of several jobs, the county and Tampa Sports Authority will not be affected since there are no ticket surcharges on Tampa Yankees tickets.

It's Just a Fantasy

Yankees Fantasy camp is underway in Florida and I am so envious.

Minors Get Some Majors

Congratulations are in order for the Tampa Yankees (FSL) and Staten Island Yankees (NYPL), aka "Baby Bombers", who both won their respective league championships.

Tampa was tied 2-2 in the Best of Five Florida State League series with the Charlotte Stone Crabs (who came up with that name?). Trent Lare tossed five scoreless innings in the finale to boost the team to a 5-2 win.

David Adams delivered a key 2-run single and the bullpen trio of Hector Noesi, Pat Venditte, and Noel Castillo shut things down.

Ben Watkins got it done when needed most.

The Baby Bombers captured the New York Penn League title for the 5th time, and first since 2006. Pitcher Ben Watkins kept the Yankees within a two run deficit to the Mahoning Valley Scrappers with five innings of 1-hit ball and his teammates rallied. Star player Neil Medchill (who will have off-season wrist surgery) knocked in the winner in the 8th inning and Staten Island went on to a 5-2 win.

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.

Tampa Fryers Lakeland

Okay, we are definitely getting corny (cornier) as the day goes on. Eric Fryer (to quote A-Rod, "HA!") had three hits and two RBI to lead the Tampa Yankees over the Lakeland Flying Tigers on Monday, 4-2.

Singles by Addison Maruszak and Fryer, who also stole his third base of the season, snapped a 2-2 in the sixth inning. Noel Castillo picked up the win in relief of Lance Pendleton, who pitched very well, and Jonathan Hovis earned his first save of the season.

April 13, 2009
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Lakeland 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 1 Tampa 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 0 X 4 12 1 W: N. Castillo (1-0, 2.08); L: T. Feeney (0-1, 9.00); SV: J. Hovis (1) HR: None.

Tampa Yankees lose in 9th

Jonathan Ortiz is as reliable as any minor league closer, but the Lakeland Flying Tigers scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Tampa Yankees,5-3.

The Yankees had taken a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth on Jesus Montero's first home run of the season. The Tigers stole home to tie the game before Chris Carlson hit a walk off 2-run home run to win the game.

Jeremy Bleich allowed two runs on six hits in 4.2 innings, with two walks and four strikeouts. Brandon Laird led the Yankees with three hits and an RBI.

	April 11, 2009
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Tampa 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 9 1 Lakeland 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 3 5 12 2 W: S. Green (1-0, 9.00); L: J. Ortiz (0-1, 20.25) HR: TAM: J. Montero (1). LAK: C. Carlson (1).

Betances Dominant in Tampa Win

All eyes have been on Dellin Betances since the Yankees drafted him out of high school in 2006. The Yankees know what he's capable of and he showed some of it yesterday in Tampa's (FSL) 2-1 victory over the Lakeland Flying Tigers. The Tigers had won the series opener 6-4.

Bettances allowed three hits in six innings, walked two and struck out seven while limiting the Tigers to one run. Jonathon Ortiz came on to pick up the save.

April 10, 2009
	Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Lakeland 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 3 Tampa 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 X 2 9 2 W: D. Betances (1-0, 1.50); L: T. Weber (0-1, 0.00); SV: J. Ortiz (1) HR: None.

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