Skip to main content

BlueClaws Ready For Repeat Run

By now you have heard that the Phillies are back in first place, atop the National League East standings. There's a long road ahead for the big club, with 22 regular season games remaining, as the Phils try to reach the post-season for the fourth straight year. However, the A Level Lakewood BlueClaws begin their quest to repeat as South Atlantic League Champions tonight, as the playoffs get underway in Hickory, North Carolina.


Trevor May, a right-handed pitcher who was recently ranked as the #4 prospect in the Phillies organization in a poll done by The Reading Eagle, was a member of the BlueClaws championship roster last year. May is slated to be the BlueClaws' game 1 starter, as they face the Rangers Class A affiliate, the Hickory Crawdads.

May, who was also on the Gulf Coast League Phillies roster that won the GCL title in 2008, recently spoke about the team's playoff push. "As of late, we've been playing really well, trying to go into the playoffs running. I've had a ring every year I've been in the minors and if I had another one, it would be great!"

The 20-year-old righty May, who was a 4th round draft pick in the 2008 amateur draft, has a 7-3 record and a 2.91 ERA with 92 strike outs in 65 innings (11 starts) as a BlueClaw this season.



Julio Rodriguez, who was named Phillies minor league pitcher of the month for August, is not scheduled to start for the BlueClaws in the first round of the playoffs. In 6 August games with Lakewood, 2 of which were starts, Rodriguez posted a 1-1 record with a 1.17 ERA while striking out 38 batters in 23 innings pitched.

Manager Mark Parent loves having the 20-year-old Rodriguez at his disposal in case one of his starting pitchers isn't effective or becomes injured. "(Rodriguez) has done nothing but impress us. Anything he does...starting, long relief- he's done very well. I'm impressed with him," Parent said of the Phillies' 8th round draft pick from 2008.


Top prospect Jonathan Singleton, who turns 19-years-old the day that the deciding game 5 of the championship series (if necessary) is scheduled, on Saturday the 18th, is ready to help his team in the 'Sally' post-season. "I've never won a championship and this is my first chance. I'm excited and I'm ready to play," Singleton stated. "(Our confidence level is) very high. We've won a lot of games, so we know what we're capable of. We just have to go out there and play our game."

Singleton, a left-handed hitting first baseman, posted a .290 batting average with 14 homeruns and 77 RBI in 104 games this season with the BlueClaws.

Lakewood finished both halves of the 2010 season as the top team in the SAL Northern Division, and became the first team since Capital City in 2004 to win its division in both halves of the season. A repeat for the 'Claws would clinch their 3rd SAL title in 10 seasons of existence and would mark the first back-to-back league champions since Savannah won in 1993 and 1994.

Phans can listen to all BlueClaws playoff games online on ShoreSportsNetwork.com. Tickets are also still available to catch the home games in person at FirstEnergy Park. Click here for ticket information.

______________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Eric B Needs to be Cut (and My Name is Rakim)

While the Phillies are on a hot streak this month, one player on the team is not. Eric Bruntlett is 1-for-12 in July. Since the start of May, Bruntlett's apex in batting average has been .167 on June 14th. Bruntlett's ineptitude can be tolerated no longer. Get rid of this guy NOW! Eric B. is the 2009 Endy Chavez. Remember Endy...the guy who in 2005 managed just 2 hits in his final 42 games played as a Phillie? That is about the sort of output the Phillies are getting from Bruntlett, and it's time to fix this void. Julio Lugo was designated for assignment last week by the Red Sox and is expected to become a free agent. The Metropolitans are rumored to be interested. Why wouldn't the Phillies be interested in a guy who could surely outhit Bruntlett? Lugo was hitting .284 through 37 games played this season with Boston. Suspended Lehigh Valley IronPig Pablo Ozuna is eligible to return next Wednesday. Ozuna is batting .294 through 51 games at triple A. Miguel Cairo is also...

Yankees Fans Misled By Pepsi Promotion

**** Today, New York Yankees fans attended a Pepsi promotion in Times Square hoping for chances to win opening day tickets to the new stadium, but the tickets, which were difficult to track down due to poor organization on Pepsi's part, were actually for a game in June. Furthermore, the 250 pairs that were promised were actually only 100 pairs. The fans, who were made to sprint through traffic over multiple city blocks when locations for the promotion changed, quickly turned against the soda brand by pooring out their beverages and chanting anti-Pepsi phrases. Yankees fans are even threatening a boycott of Pepsi. An appearance by Yankee great Goose Gossage could not even settle the angry mob, as he had to be whisked away, as a precaution, according to the Daily News . Ooo , I'd hate to see what "the worst fans in sports" (Philadelphia fans) would have done to their free Pepsi cans and beloved reliever in that situation. Because this happened in a non-Philly city, th...

5th spot, Wall, Old timers, Links

The race for the Phillies' fifth starter spot is still on. While it's not fully fair to compare Grapefruit League stats, when some of the pitchers have had "B game" and scrimmage outings mixed in, Kyle Kendrick and Carlos Carrasco look to be falling behind Chan Ho Park and "Jay" Happ. Happ added to his solid Grapefruit League stats (2.45 ERA, 1.09 WHIP in 4 games) today against the Rays. Pitching coach Rich Dubee had been displeased with Kendrick even before he surrendered 8 earned runs in 3 innings of work yesterday against the Braves. Park has been working on improving his change up, with (Coach) Jamie Moyer. Park noticed Moyer's location control on his change, so he sought out Moyer to teach him the grip and positioning of the ball. Moyer, of course, feels good about helping anyone on the Phils' staff. Park has been coached by greats like Nolan Ryan with the Rangers and Sandy Koufax with the Dodgers, so Moyer is in great company. Park is working h...