Skip to main content

Aussie League Rolling Again

The second season of the revamped Australian Baseball League gets under way this weekend. Over the years, the ABL had previous incarnations that failed. The current version debuted in 2010 as a new entity that is jointly owned by Major League Baseball (75%) and the Australian Baseball Federation (25%). The league features many American players and coaches, plenty of which are employed by MLB affiliated clubs in the United States.

The league down under consists of six teams and has the potential to grow in the coming years, provided the fan attention progresses with it.

According to former Phillies minor league hurler Mike McGuire, who will pitch for the Canberra Cavalry, he's enjoying the exposure to a different culture and the popularity of the sport is growing greater.

"The experience has been great so far," McGuire said. "I'm staying with a great family and the people and Aussie players are so helpful, making sure (American players) are comfortable here. We start our season Friday night and, from what I've heard, we have the best fans in the league. The support here is tremendous, as baseball is getting more and more popular each year. They really appreciate Americans coming over and playing for the community."

McGuire, who pitched in relief for the Class A Advanced Clearwater Threshers and the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws in 2011, stands 6-feet-7-inches tall and weighs around 250 pounds. The big University of Delaware product will serve as the opening day starter for the Cavalry, according to manager Steve Schrenk, who was McGuire's pitching coach with Lakewood.

Schrenk, who pitched in the Major Leagues with the Phillies, has been coaching in the Philadelphia organization since 2004. The 42-year-old is excited for the new season to get underway and almost feels right at home, as he is surrounded by familiar settings at the baseball field and has some countrymen by his side.

"We have several pro players from the USA. Looks like our team is going to be good offensively with some strong starting pitching. Weather has been great. Ready to get going. Opening night is (Friday), Nov 4th."

The Cavalry's opening night contest is against the Brisbane Bandits, who are managed by another former Phillie, Kevin Jordan. The 41-year-old has been coaching in the Phillies organization since 2007.

Jordan's club also includes some players with Phillies ties, including catcher Joel Naughton, infielder Alan Schoenberger. Naughton and Schoenberger, both native Australians, have played in the Philadelphia developmental ranks in recent years.

Canberra and Brisbane were the two teams that missed the playoffs in last season's ABL action.

Stay tuned to PhoulBallz.com throughout the off-season for more updates from the Australian Baseball League and other winter organizations.

__________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Rappers in Phillies Caps

Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

Drabek Preparing For Next Step

The transition has been easy for Kyle Drabek. In December, he was part of a package of young prospects that was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for ace pitcher Roy Halladay. Now, as though nothing has changed, he's right back where he was last season...the star prospect on the pitching staff of a team in the Double A Eastern League. Drabek has often stated that he wanted to stay in the Philadelphia organization, who drafted him in the first round of the 2006 amateur draft. The 22-year-old thought after the midseason trade rumors, that surrounded him possibly going to Toronto last year, passed with no action that all the turmoil was over and that he could simply relax and focus on getting to the big leagues with the Phillies. That wasn't the case, as the deal eventually came to fruition over the off-season. In the Blue Jays system this season, Drabek doesn't have to worry about being dealt. He only has to concern himself with opposing batters and working on his secondary pit...