Cleveland Sports Forum

" [I guess?? He has certainly had a surprising and outstanding half year. I don't things like if he has an arm for RF or the range for CF. Any OF who's limited to Left is downgraded. How's his power? His speed?]"

Longo had 20 steals this year in 218 at bats. 29 doubles and 3 triples in 355 at bats in his career.

He has a very good arm and has played almost exclusively in RF. But he did play 4 games in CF this year.

I'm glad you "guess??" it is OK that I placed him where I did on my personal list.

Game 1 of Hillkitties series has been postponed due to rain. All games pushed back one day.

Mother Nature, sure could use some rain in Montana, please.

Scrappers win game 1 of their series against the Black Bears 7-5!

They scored 5 runs in bottom of 8th for a nice late rally.

F.Perez got the start and did well. 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K.
Jean Carlos Mejia pitched 1.1 shutout innings. 2 K. ... In 22.2 innings for Scrappers he has allowed 6 hits, 5 walks, and no runs. 31 K.
Teaney pitched a perfect 9th for save. 2 K.

Clement 2-4 with double. ... Benson 2-4 with stolen base. ... Jones 2-4 with double and 2 RBI. ... OscarG 2-4. ... Wade 1-4 with double. ... Reeves 2-3 and a walk. Between AZL and MV Reeves is on an 11 game hitting streak. .485/.571

Game 2 tomorrow in Mahoning Valley. Sam Hentges gets the start.

Convincing case made for Longo! " I guess he's ok wherever you rank him behind the super two

If I read the Vindicator correctly today, those were still regular season games for the Scrappers last night, one more tonight, and playoffs start Friday. But Vindicator is not the very most reliable news source.

the box score shows regular season stats so I'm assuming the Vindy got it right this time.

Nolan Jones and Will Benson each with another pair of hits. Jones is now batting 317, included his 18th double, Benson stole his 7th base. But Jones also committed his 22nd error which is an incredibly high total in short season ball. Mitch Reeves 2 hits same for Oscar the singles-hitter.

Playoff-bound Scrappers rally past Bears

Nothing, it seems, can slow down the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. Not Mother Nature. (Back-to-back rainouts earlier this week resulted in a doubleheader at Batavia, which the Scrappers swept.) Not a division-clinching celebration. (The Scrappers clinched the Pinckney Division of the New York-Penn League with Monday’s doubleheader sweep, celebrated into the night, and came back and beat the Muckdogs on Tuesday.)

Not the West Virginia Black Bears. (Two weeks ago the Black Bears held a three-game lead in the Pinckney Division, but fell from the top spot after losing five of seven to the Scrappers.) On Wednesday, the Scrappers (44-29) continued their late-season surge with a 7-5 come-from-behind win over the Black Bears in front of an announced crowd of 1,500 at Eastwood Field.

The start of the game was delayed by nearly two hours because of the threat of rain, which never materialized. Once the game did start, the Scrappers displayed their playoff-bound grit.

Trailing 2-0 in the sixth, the Scrappers tied the game with a two-run frame. Nolan Jones plated Will Benson with a one-out double. Jones then scored on an Oscar Gonzalez base hit. Then, after the Black Bears took a 5-2 lead in the seventh, the Scrappers responded with a five-run eighth, leading them to their fifth straight win.

The Scrappers strung together five consecutive hits in the decisive frame. Austen Wade knocked in a pair of runs with a two-run double. Jones and Dillon Persinger each plated a run.

The victory was just the latest of a series of Scrappers wins which will send the club soaring into the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

“It’s nice to see this club still fighting, still not backing down,” said first-year manager Luke Carlin. “It’s important to be playing well heading into the playoffs, so to see these guys continue to battle as if they haven’t won anything yet, it’s just a great sign.”

Carlin said that the Scrappers’ play during their playoff drive has been indicative of theway the team has approached the game since early June.

“I remember coming out of spring training thinking that we had a really solid core of players,” Carlin said. “Really, right from the start, this team has never backed down, they have always had a never-quit attitude.”

Carlin said that the Scrappers have been able to mix business with pleasure en route to their division title.

“It’s been fun, this is a great group of guys and I have a great staff, so we’ve had a lot of fun so far,” Carlin said. “Everyone has been locked in since day one. This is a very dedicated group.

“They are very business-like in their approach to the game, but at the same time they love playing the game. They enjoy what they’re doing, so it has been a rewarding experience all the way around.”

Carlin said that Tuesday’s sweep of Batavia helped solidify his belief that the club is both focused and deep in talent.

“We gave some of our regulars a day off after winning the division, and we still went out and played really hard and really well,” Carlin said. “That’s the beauty of this team. When you look at good teams, you find that it’s everybody that contributes. That’s what we have with this group.”

The Scrappers and Black Bears conclude their brief two-game series (and the regular season) tonight at 7:05. The Scrappers will then head to either Vermont or Hudson Valley to play the first game of a best-of-three playoff series, which begins Saturday.

BA notes:

CLE MAJ Allen, Greg PR-LF 1 1 0 1 .214
CLE MAJ Diaz, Yandy 3B 2 0 1 0 .260 2 BB (20)
CLE MAJ Gonzalez, Erik 2B 0 0 0 0 .272
CLE MAJ Zimmer, Bradley PR-CF 1 0 0 0 .247
CLE SS Benson, Will RF 4 2 2 0 .238 SB (7)
CLE SS Clement, Ernie SS 4 1 2 0 .280 2B (9)
CLE SS Gonzalez, Oscar LF 4 1 2 0 .283
CLE SS Jones, Nolan 3B 4 2 2 2 .317 2B (18)
CLE SS Wade, Austen CF 4 1 1 2 .255 2B (5)

Oh crap, that is totally my fault. I just assumed that since every other league was ending that NYPL did too. And that the WV games must be start of playoffs. I'm sorry for confusion, fellas. I should have checked to make sure. My bad.

So Mahoning Valley is going to play either Vermont or Hudson Valley on Saturday. Vermont is another team with unique name I love. The Lake Monsters. Not to be confused with hockey team in Cleveland, the Lake Erie Monsters. I'm all about a good lake monster too.

OK, so I consulted with Scrappers twitter to get the facts and am straightened out now. Here are the scenarios that could play out tonight.

MV Scrappers‏ @mvscrappers 53 minutes ago

MV win + SI win = Vermont (home game 9/11)
MV win + SI loss =HV (home game 9/10)
MV loss + SI win =Vermont (home game 9/11)
#TheMoreYouKnow

games 2 and 3 are in Niles.

For some reason, the NYPL season always extends beyond every other minor league.

Update on Lynchburg series ...

lynhillcats
**PLAYOFF UPDATE** Due to Hurricane Irma, the NDCS will now be a Best-of-3 series with Game 2 and Game 3 (if necessary) in Lynchburg starting tomorrow at 6:30pm. Due to the uncertainty of the situation we will not have fireworks tomorrow night. Please contact our Box Office for any questions about tickets.

(they also announced they were taking money they were going to spend on fireworks and send it to relief efforts in Houston. Pretty cool)

Players of the Month, August announced:

CAROLINA LEAGUE: Lynchburg Hillcats (Indians) right-hander Aaron Civale led the Carolina League in wins (six), innings pitched (42.0) and WHIP (0.81). He walked one batter and struck out 31 while holding opponents to a .216 average. Civale, 22, was selected by Cleveland in the third round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Northeastern University

Other playoffs affected, e.g.


CLEARWATER, Florida -- Florida State League President Ken Carson today announced the 2017 Finals in the Florida State League have been cancelled due to the potential danger of Hurricane Irma. Florida Governor Rick Scott has declared a State of Emergency for the State of Florida.
"Safety is our first concern for our players and staff," said Carson. "After consulting with the Major League Clubs of the participating teams, it was unanimously decided this was the proper thing to do."
The Division Playoffs will be played today (Tuesday) and a doubleheader on Wednesday, if needed, in the best of three series. The winners of the Division Series will be crowned Co-Champions.
The last time the finals were not played because of a hurricane was in 2004 when Daytona Cubs and Tampa Yankees were named Co-Champions.

from a couple days ago:

there's a nice of the happy team but I can't copy it; at milb.com

Jones lifts Scrappers to Pinckney title

Indians No. 5 prospect collects six hits in doubleheader sweep

Nolan Jones' breakout campaign isn't over just yet.

Cleveland's No. 5 prospect collected six hits, including two doubles, as Class A Mahoning Valley clinched the New York-Penn League's Pinckney Division title with Monday's doubleheader sweep of Batavia. He went 3-for-4 in the Scrappers' 4-3 victory in Game 1 and repeated the feat with two runs scored in a 6-2 win in Game 2.
"It was awesome. It's been a pretty long season from extended spring training to now. We have a really close team and I think we were expecting to have a really good season. To see it happen is really cool and shows that all the hard work has paid off," Jones said.

In the opener, the 2016 second-round pick lined a double to right field in the first inning. After lining out sharply to first in the third, he worked the count full in the fifth before driving a single back up the middle. Jones completed his fifth three-hit game of the season by lining a one-out single to left in the seventh.

Mahoning Valley needed a win in the nightcap to clinch the division for the first time since 2009. After a one-out base knock to left in the first, Jones doubled to right in the third. The Pennsylvania native stands second on the circuit with 17 two-baggers in 61 games.

"I just was looking to put the ball in play and hit it hard," Jones said. "So those three hits in both of the games kind of just happened

After striking out in the fifth, the 19-year-old dropped a one-out single to center in the seventh. He is third in the league with 67 hits and second in OPS (.906), batting average (.313) and on-base percentage (.429).

"That's new to me," Jones laughed. "I don't really look at my stats or anything, but hearing that is pretty cool. I've learned a lot this year and I think there's still a lot of room for improvement."

While Jones helped the Scrappers log the New York-Penn League's third-best batting average at .252, Mahoning Valley's pitching staff also was vital clinching a postseason spot.

Gregori Vasquez (5-3) capped a stellar campaign with his seventh consecutive quality start in Game 1. The 19-year-old allowed three runs on seven hits and a walk with six strikeouts over six innings. Kirk McCarty started Game 2 and surrendered one hit with five whiffs in three frames before giving way to James Karinchak and three other relievers. The Scrappers are second in the league with a 2.91 ERA.

After going 0-for-3 in the opener, Indians No. 9 prospect Will Benson jacked a pair of two-run homers in Game 2. The 2016 first-round pick stands tied with Tri-City's Jake Adams with 10 long balls for the New York-Penn League lead.

Jones' August line was 371/477/596. Could have qualified as player of the month, but for all those errors, and also fanned a lot.