PhoulBallz.com

Keoni De Renne played 11 seasons in professional baseball.  Since 2012 he's been a coach with the Pirates organization. In his playing days, the University of Arizona product spent time in the Yankees, Braves, Phillies and Red Sox organizations in addition to playing independent ball.  The Hawaii native was a switch hitter that was listed at five-feet-seven, 170 pounds. This week, De Renne was in Trenton, NJ for the Double-A Eastern League All-Star Game, representing the Altoona Curve as part of the Western Division coaching staff.  I chatted it up with the native of Hawaii about his whirlwind 2010 season when he went through 13 different transactions within the Phillies' system, his path to coaching, relating to his players, facing a highly touted Stephen Strasburg in the minors and plenty more. It's been some time since I posted audio of an interview, and since this discussion is a bit of a throwback, you can check out the recording as well as a handsome image of ...

Keoni Ruth is currently an infielder with the Phillies' Class A affiliate, the Lakewood BlueClaws. Singed as a free agent this month, while playing independent ball in Maui, the 25 year old Hawaiian is a versatile fielder who can play multiple positions. Ruth, a righty batter, was drafted by San Diego in the 21st round of the 2007 amateur draft. He played 3 seasons in the Padres system before finding himself as a free agent this year. Ruth is a friend and off-season training partner of another Hawaii native Keoni DeRenne, who has had three stints with Lakewood this season. In 18 games thus far with the BlueClaws, Ruth has posted a .224 batting average, laced 6 doubles and driven in 10 runs. In 109 games at 2 minor leagues levels last year, Ruth batted .284 with a .670 OPS. I had the opportunity to speak with Keoni recently about his transition back into affiliated baseball, his time with the Padres organization and plenty more. Check out the media player below to listen to the full...

Many phans seemed to adore the Lakewood BlueClaws' fancy "BruceClaws" jerseys (pictured above) that the team wore on Bruce Springsteen appreciation night. With that in mind, I was sure to capture some photographs for those same people, so that they didn't miss the defending South Atlantic League champions' latest wardrobe variance. Last week the BlueClaws held a tribute night, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the film "The Goonies". Have a look at the style that the players and coaches were soooo excited to wear. Sebastian Valle "The Boss" Jon Singleton Colby Shreve Anthony Hewitt Michael Dabbs Keoni DeRenne Jiwan James ________________________________ Follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter HERE .

Combine Phillies minor leaguer Keoni DeRenne with Babe Ruth and what do you get? Keoni Ruth, of course! The Phillies are expected to announce on Friday that they've signed Hawaii native Keoni Ruth and will assign him to Class A Lakewood to fill the void left when the organization traded All-star shortstop Jonathan Villar to Houston, along with two other players, for Roy Oswalt on Thursday. Ruth, who plays multiple infield positions, was drafted in 2006 by the Padres and played as high as Triple A in their system. In 3 season of minor league ball with the Padres, Ruth posted a .277 batting average in 239 games. DeRenne and Ruth are close friends, as the two are from the same state and train together in the off-season. The addition of Ruth could very well mark the first time that two Keoni's have played for the same professional team at the same time. Keoni DeRenne told me, in an exclusive interview, that on Wednesday the director of Phillies minor league operations Steve Noworyt...

Following a day loaded with trade rumors, the Lakewood BlueClaws had to battle back from a deficit. They did so with the help of the man who filled in for the individual who was ultimately the expendable piece in the parent club's latest trade. Overnight, names like Jonathan Singleton and Brody Colvin were mentioned most frequently among BlueClaws players who would be included with last season's Rookie of the Year runner up and current Phillies starting pitcher "Jay" Happ. By the time the fuzzy speculation became clear facts, neither of those prospects were involved. It was last season's speedy BlueClaws center fielder and current South Atlantic League All-star shortstop Jonathan Villar who would be part of the package sent to the Astros. A brief rain storm forced the cancellation of batting pracitce and allowed the players some extra time to relax and cope with losing a teammate. It also allowed versatile infielder Keoni DeRenne some time to prepare to start in p...