Posada delivers 500th hit as a Posse to move Wainwright's steak to 14

Adam Wainwright delivered one of his worst starts of his career, but as often is the case, the Posse offense supported their pitchers with a huge seventh inning. As mentioned earlier, Wainwright has started his career by winning 13 straight games but things were not looking good in this game. He headed to the dugout after recording the last out of the sixth inning down 6-3 to the Melbourne Beach Manatees. In the top of the seventh the Posse were able to load the bases for Jorge Posada, who entered the game needing a hit to get his 500th in a Posse uniform. Jorge delivered the big hit, a double over the centerfielder's head to score two runs and put the Posse down by one. After an intentional walk to Chone Figgins the managers got into a battle of the wits contest which was won by the Posse manager. Wilson Betemit was brought in to pinch hit with the bases loaded, but did not get to swing the bat as the Manatees brought in Jimmy Gobble which forced a change to slugger Sammy Sosa. Sosa delivered with a grand slam homerun to give the Posse the lead which they would not lose, winning the game 10-7. Posada became the fifth Posse hitter to get 500 hits in their uniform, following Aramis Ramirez, Derek Jeter, Torii Hunter and Bobby Abreu.

Strat-O-Matic Report

---

BOXSCORE: 2008 Oak Ridges Posse At 2008 Melbourne Beach Manatees     6/3/2008

 

  Posse              AB  R  H RBI AVG     Manatees           AB  R  H RBI AVG

  D.Jeter SS          5  1  3  1 .349     E.Byrnes RF         4  2  2  0 .284  

  B.Abreu RF,CF,LF    4  2  1  0 .237     B.Harris 2B         5  0  1  1 .284  

  P.Polanco 2B        4  0  1  0 .369     R.Belliard 3B       5  1  2  2 .296  

  B.Bonds LF          5  2  3  2 .292     P.Fielder DH        4  1  2  0 .278  

E-R.Johnson LF,CF     0  0  0  0 .298     M.Byrd CF           4  1  2  1 .383  

  F.Thomas DH         3  0  1  0 .255     B.McCann C          5  0  1  2 .243  

A-J.Giambi PH         1  1  0  0 .443     J.Payton LF         4  0  0  0 .327  

  J.Posada C          4  1  1  2 .305     S.Hillenbrand 1B    4  0  0  0 .000  

  A.Ramirez 3B        3  0  0  0 .336     T.Pena Jr SS        3  2  1  1 .272  

B-C.Figgins PH,3B     1  1  0  0 .294                                          

  T.Hunter CF         1  0  0  0 .295                                          

C-W.Betemit PH        0  0  0  0 .207                                          

D-S.Sosa PH,RF        2  1  1  4 .227                                          

  C.Kotchman 1B       5  1  1  0 .250                                          

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      

         Totals      38 10 12  9                 Totals      38  7 11  7

 

A-Pinch Hit For Thomas In 7th Inning

B-Pinch Hit For Ramirez In 7th Inning

C-Pinch Hit For Hunter In 7th Inning

D-Pinch Hit For Betemit In 7th Inning

E-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Bonds In 8th Inning

 

Posse........... 2 0 0  1 0 0  7 0 0  - 10 12  1

Manatees........ 2 0 2  1 0 1  0 1 0  -  7 11  0

 

Posse (52-11)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA

A.Wainwright WIN(12-0)    6 2/3   9   6   6   2   5   0 121   2.76

M.Corpas                  1 1/3   2   1   1   0   3   1  17   1.69

J.Nathan SAVE(23rd)       1       0   0   0   0   1   0  16   2.88

Totals                    9      11   7   7   2   9   1

 

Manatees (15-39)         IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR  PC    ERA

S.Trachsel                6       6   3   3   3   0   1  94   4.84

O.Villarreal LOSS(1-2)    0 2/3   2   5   5   3   0   0  25   6.69

J.Gobble BS(4th)          0       1   1   1   0   0   1   3   9.33

D.Brocail                 1 1/3   3   1   1   0   0   0  25  10.32

R.Betancourt              1       0   0   0   0   0   0  10   5.68

Totals                    9      12  10  10   6   0   2

 

ATTENDANCE- 29,610 DATE- Tuesday, June 3rd 2008 TIME- Night 

T- 3:29

LEFT ON BASE- Posse: 8  Manatees: 8

DOUBLE PLAYS- Posse: 1  Manatees: 0

ERRORS- D.Jeter

DOUBLES- J.Posada(15th), E.Byrnes(9th), R.Belliard(17th), B.McCann(19th)

TRIPLES- C.Kotchman(3rd)

HOME RUNS- B.Bonds(12th), S.Sosa(1st), T.Pena Jr(4th)

STOLEN BASES- D.Jeter-2(6th), B.Abreu(3rd)

CAUGHT STEALING- T.Hunter

WALKS- B.Abreu, P.Polanco, J.Giambi, J.Posada, C.Figgins, T.Hunter, P.Fielder,

       T.Pena Jr

HIT BY PITCH- T.Hunter, E.Byrnes, M.Byrd

STRIKE OUTS- B.Harris, R.Belliard, P.Fielder, B.McCann-2, J.Payton-2,

             S.Hillenbrand-2

GIDP- B.McCann

WILD PITCHES- S.Trachsel, D.Brocail

Looking toward tomorrow's MLB Draft

As is the case every year, one of the Posse managements favorite days of the year is the MLB draft. Each year, the Posse have a good group of prospects in the draft and this year is no different.



This year the Posse expect to have at least four players chosen in the first round, including a couple in the top ten selections. The number in the first round could reach as high as six if signability concerns decrease.


Leading the charge this year is shortstop Tim Beckham. Beckham is a probable top five pick in this draft and could go as high as first overall. He brings a complete game to the field with very strong defensive skills and a complete game with the bat. Posse management see Beckham competing with Justin Jackson as the future after Derek Jeter.


Also expected to go in the top ten selections is recently drafted Kyle Skipworth. Skipworth will be drafted as a catcher and brings a very strong bat to the field. He has the ability to hit for both average and power. He also has very good defensive abilities and the only concern with him sticking at catcher is whether he gets too big for the position. Posse management hopes he can stay at catcher and compete with Chris Snyder as the successor to Jorge Posada.


The third of the first round probables is pitching prospect Tim Melville. Melville is probably the top rated high school pitcher in this draft with both a plus curveball and plus fastball which he delivers cleanly from hit 6'5" body. Historically teams do not like to take prep pitching prospects in the first round, but that mold was shattered last year with eight selected last year and many of them are seen as top of the rotation starters.


The next four prospects will be really interesting to see where they end up, and for very different reasons. Aaron Hicks leads that group as probably a first round candidate as a toolsy outfielder or a first round candidate as a power pitcher. The question is not whether he goes in the first round but whether he is drafted as an outfielder or pitcher. Posse management is hoping as an outfielder, and that Hicks will have a future role in either centerfield or right field.

Casey Kelly could go in the first round or could go completely undrafted. Kelly brings great defensive skills at shortstop and also brings a potential power bat to the position. He is a great athlete, which is part of the problem as he is also a highly recruited quarterback and could go to Tennessee as a starting shortstop and quarterback. Posse management is hoping he could become a third shortstop prospect with Jackson and Beckham.


Alex Meyer is probably the one that will fall the most from this group. He is still a first round talent, as the 6'7" righthander has a plus fastball and nasty breaking ball. The challenge is he wants to go to college and many will waste a high draft pick on that risk. Meyer will probably either go undrafted or will be taken with a 5th-10th rounder by a team willing to spend. The only way he will not go to Kentucky is if hr is offered first round money.


Isaac Galloway has long be thought of a first round talent, but some concern over his ability to hit has decreased his stock this spring. Galloway has the tools to be a strong offensive player as he has plus bat speed and typically makes solid contact. Whichever team drafts him will probably have to adjust his swing to bring some power into his game. Defensively, Galloway is a gold glove potential centerfielder. Posse management hopes this Torii Hunter clone can make the necessary adjustments to become their Torii Hunter of the future.


Daniel Webb is a power pitching prospect that currently is a work in progress on his secondary pitches. Webb has the ability of being a top of the rotation starter if he learns to throw some secondary pitches or could end up being a closer. Posse management expect he will be drafted in the second to fifth rounds, will start of as a starter but will eventually make the majors as a reliever.


Oh how one's stock can drop...from the next ARod to the next University of Miami third baseman. That is the story of Harold Martinez. Six months ago Martinez was a first round talent that had the tools to become a top five selection. After a horrible senior season, he will most likely be drafted late and will head to Miami. The only way that path will be changed is if someone believes a few tweaks could take advantage of his raw skillset.

Posse take series over Sea Dogs

The Oak Ridges Posse moved to 4-2 on the season after taking 2 of 3 from the Portland Sea Dogs.

The first game of the series was highlighted by three plays in the game. The first was an inside the park homerun by Jorge Posada, when Gary Sheffield and Grady Sizemore ran into each other on a ball hit to left center. This gave the Posse a 2-0 lead. After the Sea Dogs got one of those runs back, the second highlight occured in the bottom of the ninth inning as closer Joe Nathan blew the save by giving up a lead off homerun to Kevin Youkilis. The score remained tied until the 12th inning when the third highlight won the game for the Posse. Derek Jeter hit a homerun to the give the Posse a 3-2 lead.

Game's 2 and 3 were not close games at all. In game 2, the Posse scored seven runs in the first inning off starter Jason Bergmann, and took an 11-0 lead by the seventh inning. The Sea Dogs got 5 runs back but lost the game 11-5. The first inning runs were scored on a Jorge Posada 2 run homerun and a Torii Hunter grand slam. Hunter was the star of the game going 3-4 with a run scored and five RBI's.

Game 3 was the reverse as Brad Penny could not stop the Sea Dog offense. Penny gave up 13 runs in 5 innings, and took the 13-7 loss.

Posse get busy in Minor League Draft

Unlike past years, the Posse entered the MDBL minor draft with only four spots available to be filled but that did not mean they were not busy. Posse management made three selections in the draft portion and also completed two trades that brought some additional young options to the fold and some picks for the future.


"We entered this draft with specific players we wanted to acquire and we are happy to say we got many of the guys we were targeting", stated GM Luddington.


The Posse had two selections in the first round (including the 9th overall selection) and then had to wait until the compensation round to make their third selection. With their first selection they went for 17 year old Seattle shortstop Carlos Triunfel. Triunfel was signed as an internation free agent in 2006 by the Mariners and was assigned to Low A Wisconsin, which is quite rare for a young 17 year old. Baseball America currently projects Triunfel to be a 5-tool premium position player, and so far he is demonstrating many of the tools. Currently Triunfel is showing he has a very mature bat as he has demonstrated the ability to hit both fastballs and offspeed pitches and uses the whole field. He also has demonstrate very good range defensively and a great arm. What Carlos has not shown yet is the ability to take a walk, which may never come, and the ability to hit for power, which is expected to come. "We are extremely excited about Carlos. Only one other player on our list received a rating similar to Carlos. We expect he will replace Derek Jeter in a few years.", claimed GM Luddington.


To conclude the first round the Posse went the usual route they go for during the draft and that is to select the top talented "next draft" prospects. California High School junior Isaac Galloway was the first target on that list. Galloway is a 5-tool prospect that has the ability to hit for both power and steal bases. His package seems to be very similar to current Posse prospect Andrew McCutchen. Posse management then orchestrated a trade, which could not be completed until after the draft, by sending recently acquired prospects Carlos Gonzalez, Joel Guzman and CJ Henry to the Rampage for the next pick after Galloway, a compensation pick, a player acquired through the auction and the Rampage 2008 1st round minor league draft pick. With the sandwich pick just acquired they Rampage selected on behalf of the Posse, California high school junior Aaron Hicks. "To be honest, the direction of the first round really forced us to react.", stated GM Luddington. "So many high schoolers went in the first round, and when the Millers took Eric Hosmer (who we rated #3 on our 2008 high school list) we got worried that we would not get our top two 2008's. We got Galloway with one, but did not think Hicks would make it until our next pick in the compensation round. Giving up Gonzalez was difficult but with current outfield youngsters Quentin, Maybin, McCutchen and Marrero we figured we could afford to. Guzman and Henry were really throw in's to balance out the rosters to 36. In return, we got Hicks who we covet, we got what should amount to a top 3 pick in the 2008 draft and we knew we probably would get a couple solid pitching prospects late".


The Posse did not pick again until the compensation round where they made two selection. The first one was made by the Posse and they took another high school junior, but this time it was Harold Martinez from Florida. "We have been following Martinez probably longer then any prospect since we took over the reigns in Oak Ridges. In our opinion Martinez and Triunfel are very similar players, and both have the tools to be superstars. This allows us to be extremely deep at SS as both join Justin Jackson on our depth chart" With the second compensation pick, the Posse had the Rampage select Yu Darvish from Japan. This is actually the second time GM Luddington has drafted Yu Darvish, with the first time being when Darvish was a high school senior in Japan and GM Luddington was running the show for NAFTA. "There is no pitcher I wanted in this draft more then Yu, but I also knew I could get him later in the draft. I first draft Darvish because I knew he had the talent and rolled the dice that he may come to the majors instead of the Japanese league. That did not pay off, but I knew that in a few more years I would re-acquire him.", claimed FM Luddington. Darvish was draft 1st overall, and at the age of 20 is already in his third full season in Japan. So far he is the "next one" in Japan as he already has started 10 games, tossed 80 innings, allowed opponents to bat only .167 against him, walked only 19 batters, struck out 9.11 players per 9 innings and compiled a 2.03 ERA....and he is only 20! Darvish cannot become a free agent for 6 more years, but he is expected to be posted earlier then that. When asked about how long it will be until Darvish will be in a Posse uniform Luddington stated "It is worth the wait. Any high schooler is probably 4-5 years away anyways, wo there is not much of a difference. Just a more experienced and proven option."


In the midst of the compensation round, the Posse made another trade, but this one was much more surprising as they dealt top high school senior Matt Harvey to the Pioneers for Los Angeles Angels Korean youngster Young-Il Jung and the Pioneers 1st and 2nd rounders in the 2008 minor league draft. "Basically we were approached by the Pioneers about acquiring Harvey. We love Harvey's talent but also recognize that Matt's family are very close with the Pioneers management. We actually feel that Jung has as much talent as Matt and were able to acquire another 1st round pick for next year.". Sounds like a win-win trade! Jung is a 17 year old pitcher that has three above average offerings and has the ability to become a #2 or #3 starter. He currently is pitching extremely well in extended spring.


In the auction round the Posse picked up two more players, taking high school junior Casey Kelly and high school senior Neil Ramirez. Ramirez was the final player acquired in the Rampage trade and has the pure stuff to be a top of the rotation starter but so far has not shown any consistency. Casey Kelly was ranked 5th on the Rampage's high school junior draft board, but also brings a ton of doubters with him. Kelly is an incredibe athlete who can be a top notch baseball prospect as either a pitcher or as a hitter. He has a large frame and will probably outgrow shortstop, but a move to either third base or right field is an option. He has all the tools to do either. He also happens to be one of the top pitching prospects, as evidence by taking the ball in the Florida 6A finals and throwing a complete game 2 hit shutout including striking out top high school senior Michael Main 3 times. What raises questions around Kelly is that he also plays quarterback in football and may not be willing to give up that sport. The good news is he is not being recruited by many top football programs (Alabama, Duke, Ole Miss, Rutgers, South Florida, Tennessee and UCF).


"We are extremely happy with this draft. We acquired top talent at key positions which is always our goal", stated GM Luddington. The Posse also have three first round picks and two second round picks in 2008.