Tag Archives: MiLB

Rochester Red Wings Report: This Team is Good

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During the 2022 season, I’ll have occasional reports on games I’ve attended of the Rochester Red Wings, the AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals.

This isn’t about any specific game- I didn’t do a post on the doubleheader I went to on Saturday. Instead, it’s about the season thus far for the Red Wings.

And, to be blunt, the season so far has been… very good! Earlier this month I said that the team could be good. Now, I feel safe in saying that the team as it is now is good. As of the morning of May 12, the Wings are 20-12 and first in the bizarre new International League East division (MLB’s takeover has made everything weird). They also are currently in a three-way tie for second-best record in all of AAA (only Milwaukee’s Nashville affiliate has a better record). They have a five-game win streak and have won eight of their last ten. They are 12-6 at home even without poor weather keeping the crowds lower than they should be.

The hitting has held up. As a team, they remain second in batting average and fifth in OPS. Luis Garcia, as mentioned before, has been extremely impressive, but other hitters have also contributed. Longtime minor league 1B/OF Joey Meneses is hitting .316/.354/.538 with 6 HRs, behind only Garcia on the team. OF Nick Banks hasn’t seen too much playing time, but what he has had he’s used well, slashing .355/.395/.566 in 81 PA. Andrew Stevenson, who has a long history of bouncing between AAA and the bigs, is unexpectedly tied for the league lead in stolen bases with 12.

What has really powered the Wings to their current first-place spot, though, has been the pitching. It has improved sharply since earlier in the month. Since May 2, the team’s ERA has plunged from 5.37 to 4.50, sending them from 17th in the league up to eight. At the start of the month, they were 19th in WHIP (second-to-last), now they have moved up to 10th. The opposing batting average of .237 is fifth in the league. While they still have been walking too many people (4.40 BB/9, 15th in the league), that is still an improvement over the 5.20 BB/9 they had back in early May. The relief corps especially has been impressive: the team’s relievers have a 2.88 ERA, third in the league. They are fifth and fourth in WHIP and opposing Batting Average, respectively.

Individually, long-time MLB reliever Carl Edwards Jr. was recently called up (although his debut didn’t go well), and looking at his stats it’s not hard to see why: he was absolutely shutdown. He had a 0.63 ERA and 0.49 WHIP in 14.1 IP. His call-up came after a perfect week that also saw him get a World Series ring from the Braves for his short stint with them last season.

The relievers that remain in Rochester, though, are hardly slouches. Sam Clay has gone 9.2 IP on the season thus far and still hasn’t given up an earned run. Francisco Perez has gone nearly as far (9.0 IP) without an earned run outside of his stint with the big club. Alberto Baldonado, Reed Garrett, and Jordan Weems haven’t given up runs in over two weeks. Old Nationals mainstay Tyler Clippard‘s season 4.73 ERA is a bit deceiving and is the result of two particularly bad games back in April: he has a 0.75 WHIP and non-existent ERA in May.

In my post early in May, I said that ultimately the Red Wings fortunes would depend on the hitting remaining good and the pitching improving. That has happened. Now the question becomes: can it keep up?

There is surely no way to answer that, and there are definite causes for concern. Sooner or later, Garcia will finally get called up for good, and the bullpen will presumably regress to the mean. What’s more, the teams that the Wings play will be better: the last 15 days have been against Scranton, Syracuse, and Worcester. All three of those teams are under .500 right now. The Wings are currently only .500 against teams with a winning record. So while it is safe to say that the team is good, just how good is still an open question, as most of their wins have come against weaker opponents.

So when will we get a better idea if the Wings truly belong with the big boys of the IL? The start of that answer will come next week against Lehigh Valley (Philadelphia), who are above .500, but the real answer may not come until the start of next month, when Buffalo (Toronto) comes to town. By that point, the roster may be different, and we’ll get a better idea of just how the Wings may do in the pennant chase.

Related To Somebody Famous For Something Else: Pat Riley’s dad, Lee Riley

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Like many people, I’ve been watching the HBO show Winning Time, about the start of the Showtime-era Lakers. Not surprisingly, one of the main subjects of the show is Pat Riley, played here by Adrien Brody.

In one episode, Riley is shown to have a mental breakdown that leads him to smash much of his shed with a baseball bat. He then tells his wife (played by Gillian Jacobs) that he’s haunted by the missed opportunity of his father (who the bat belonged to), who was only able to have one hit in the majors despite playing the game for years.

While I have no idea if that actually happened, what Pat Riley says about his father is true. Lee Riley (also known as Leon Riley) played professional baseball for 22 seasons, but only briefly made it the majors. It was at the old age of 37 during the 1944 series for the Phillies, and even then it was largely because most of the younger players had joined the war effort. In 12 plate appearances over four games, the outfielder got one single hit: a double off Boston’s Ira Hutchinson in late April.

YearAgeTmLgGPAABRH2B3BHRRBISBCSBBSOBAOBPSLGOPSOPS+TBGDPHBPSHIBBPos
194437PHINL412121110010000.083.083.167.250-3020000/7H
1 Yr1 Yr1 Yr1 Yr412121110010000.083.083.167.250-3020000
16216216216216248648640404000400000.083.083.167.250-30810000

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/8/2022.

Of course, that was just his MLB career. His minor league career was far longer. While somewhat incomplete, you can see what Baseball Reference has below:

Register Batting
Year Age AgeDif Tm Lg Lev Aff G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH IBB
1927 20 2 Teams 2 Lgs D-A 33 103 103 23 4 3 2 .223 .379 39
1927 20 -7.1 Lincoln WL A 10 26 7 0 2 1 .269 .539 14
1927 20 -5.1 Ottumwa MSVL D 23 77 16 4 1 1 .208 .325 25
1928 21 -5.7 Pueblo WL A 141 489 181 43 17 13 .370 .607 297
1929 22 -4.5 Pueblo WL A 159 606 185 41 27 24 .305 .581 352
1930 23 -3.2 Pueblo WL A 147 527 175 27 18 20 .332 .566 298
1931 24 -2.9 Pueblo WL A 139 534 161 39 16 16 .302 .524 280
1932 25 2 Teams 2 Lgs A-AA 151 546 546 184 40 11 15 .337 .533 291
1932 25 -3.3 Rochester IL AA STL 78 257 71 9 5 6 .276 .420 108
1932 25 -2.2 Omaha WL A 73 289 113 31 6 9 .391 .633 183
1933 26 2 Teams 2 Lgs A STL 130 450 450 114 21 11 7 .253 .396 178
1933 26 -0.4 Elmira NYPL A STL 128 448 114 21 11 7 .255 .397 178
1933 26 -0.6 Houston TL A STL 2 2 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 0
1934 27 2 Teams 2 Lgs A-C STL 105 373 373 100 15 6 11 .268 .429 160
1934 27 1.0 Davenport WL A 87 300 81 14 4 8 .270 .423 127
1934 27 2.8 Huntington MATL C STL 18 73 19 1 2 3 .260 .452 33
1935 28 3.0 Davenport WL A 112 413 132 23 7 12 .320 .496 205
1936 29 2.9 Davenport WL A BRO 123 431 129 24 6 12 .299 .466 201
1937 30 7.6 Beatrice NESL D BRO 114 393 146 27 19 14 .372 .644 253
1938 31 8.8 Beatrice NESL D BRO 115 524 425 117 155 30 15 17 122 15 82 28 .365 .480 .626 1.106 266 12 5
1939 32 3 Teams 3 Lgs A-A1-AA 81 204 204 58 8 3 7 .284 .456 93
1939 32 4.9 Baltimore IL AA 38 52 11 3 0 1 .212 .327 17
1939 32 7.2 Elmira EL A BRO 23 84 23 3 1 4 .274 .476 40
1939 32 5.0 Knoxville SOUA A1 PIT 20 68 24 2 2 2 .353 .529 36
1940 33 9.5 Oneonta CAML C 116 394 134 21 10 14 .340 .551 217
1941 34 9.5 Rome CAML C 120 404 158 27 6 32 .391 .725 293
1942 35 2 Teams 2 Lgs B-A1 PHA 132 414 414 107 16 8 7 .259 .387 160
1942 35 7.5 Memphis SOUA A1 61 203 64 8 4 4 .315 .453 92
1942 35 11.1 Wilmington ISLG B PHA 71 211 43 8 4 3 .204 .322 68
1944 37 12.1 Utica EL A PHI 125 515 383 69 98 18 5 5 70 2 117 54 .256 .435 .368 .803 141 4 11
1944 37 8.2 PHI NL Maj PHI 4 12 12 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .083 .083 .167 .250 2 0 0 0 0
1945 38 17.3 Bradford PONY D PHI 107 466 334 82 104 20 6 13 82 9 121 43 .311 .504 .524 1.028 175 9 2
1946 39 16.0 Bradford PONY D PHI 73 274 182 46 49 11 1 4 36 5 87 33 .269 .515 .407 .921 74 5 0
1947 40 16.8 Schenectady CAML C PHI 30 96 70 15 18 4 0 2 12 0 24 10 .257 .453 .400 .853 28 1 1
1948 41 17.6 Schenectady CAML C PHI 12 31 20 6 7 1 0 1 5 1 11 2 .350 .581 .550 1.131 11 0 0
1949 42 18.9 Terre Haute IIIL B PHI
Year Age AgeDif Tm Lg Lev Aff G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS TB GDP HBP SH IBB
Majo Majo Majo Majo Majors 4 12 12 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .083 .083 .167 .250 2 0 0 0 0
Mino Mino Mino Mino Minors 2265 8187 7695 335 2418 460 195 248 327 32 442 170 4012 31 19
All All All All 2269 8199 7707 336 2419 461 195 248 328 32 0 442 170 4014 31 19 0
AA ( AA ( AA ( AA ( Minors 116 309 309 82 12 5 7 .265 .405 125
A (1 A (1 A (1 A (1 Minors 1269 4664 4532 69 1399 284 120 131 70 2 117 54 .309 .511 2316 4 11
A1 ( A1 ( A1 ( A1 ( Minors 81 271 271 88 10 6 6 .325 .472 128
B (2 B (2 B (2 B (2 Minors 71 211 211 43 8 4 3 68
C (5 C (5 C (5 C (5 Minors 296 998 961 21 336 54 18 52 17 1 35 12 .350 .606 582 1 1
D (5 D (5 D (5 D (5 Minors 432 1734 1411 245 470 92 42 49 240 29 290 104 .333 .562 793 26 7
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/8/2022.

Lee Riley would ultimately die in 1970 at the age of 64, living long enough to see his son win stardom in the NCAA and begin his NBA career.

Rochester Red Wings Report: Three things from Thursday

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During the 2022 season, I’ll have occasional reports on games I’ve attended of the Rochester Red Wings, the AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals.

Three things stick out in my head from last night’s Wings victory over Scranton:

Garcia rounding third during his first-inning home run trot.
  1. Luis Garcia continues to impress. The SS accounted for both of the Red Wings’ runs in the victory. First, he took Scranton Luis Gil deep in the first inning on a solo shot. It was a home run to right of which there was no doubt. As soon as the bat hit the ball, the very sound it made could tell you it was going to be gone. Later, he tripled in the fourth before scoring on a Jake Noll sacrifice fly. For a hot second, the thought on everyone’s mind was that maybe we’d see a cycle. While that wasn’t to be (he struck out his other two ABs), it says something about how Garcia’s season has gone thus far that it felt as if it were a possibility. He’s now hitting .351/.406/.650 with 6 HR.

    One worry about Garcia has been his fielding. In fact, it’s one of the reasons why he has not yet been called up. No such fielding issues existed on Thursday, as he cleanly handled everything hit at him and made some nice throws to get a few close putouts at first.

    What’s more, Garcia just brings an energy to the lineup. Whenever he has stepped to the plate this season, there is just a vibe that something good could happen. There have been other more touted and more talented prospects to come through Rochester, but in the still-young “Nationals Era,” Garcia is unmatched.

  2. Of course, a team doesn’t win a 2-0 game unless the pitching does well. And for the most part, that was true on Thursday. Outside of one runner reaching third in the 4th only to be left stranded and a hairy 7th inning that saw Scranton load the bases with two outs before Alberto Baldonado came in and forced an inning-ending groundout, the Wings pitching held up. Particular praise should go to the starter, Jackson Tetreault. Tetreault struck out four while going 5.2 innings of three-hit ball. He also picked off a man. This was by far his best start of the season, and hopefully is a good sign of things to come.

    Aside from a poor performance by Patrick Murphy in the 7th (0 IP, H, 2 BB), the bullpen was completely shutdown, culminating in an easy 1-2-3 inning by Carl Edwards Jr. to get the save. Sam Clay and Reed Garrett also had scoreless frames.

  3. Finally, the time of game last night was one of the shortest 9-inning games I’ve been to in person in a long time. In the stadium, it was announced as two hours and 13 minutes. On MiLB.com, they say it was two hours and 15 minutes. Regardless, it was a quick game. While part of this was because of the low-scoring pitching duel that occurred, some credit must also be given to the increased emphasis on the pace of play and pitch-clock rules in Minor League Baseball this year. The dead time between pitches is severely cut, the action happens more, and it all happens quicker. And yet, despite worries by some, it is not discernibly lesser for it. The faster pace isn’t stopping pitchers from pumping out fastballs in the mid-to-high 90s, nor is it stopping hitters from hitting. It just all happens overall in about a half-hour to an hour less time. That said, one does have to wonder if team executives may get worried that the shorter game times may hurt concession sales! I’m sure, though, that that is a problem that people like Red Wings GM Dan Mason would love to have should those shorter game times mean that more and more people overall come to games once the weather warms up.

The Red Wings continue their series against Scranton through the weekend, including a double-header on Saturday.

Rochester Red Wings Report: This team could be good

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During the 2022 season, I’ll have occasional reports on games I’ve attended of the Rochester Red Wings, the AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals.

The idea of whether a minor league team is “good” is a hard one to answer.

For one thing, there’s the basic fact that the ultimate purpose of a minor league team is not to win games but to develop players for the parent club. Sure, an MLB team would prefer that their affiliates are doing well, but that’s at best a secondary concern. I, however, am going to go with the more on-the-field and in-the-standings definition of “good,” since that’s easier to figure out.

For another, the composition of a minor league team changes drastically over the year. During the season, players are called up, sent down, injured, released, traded, or in some cases even begin or end their careers. By the end of the season, the team may only superficially resemble the squad that began the campaign.

Take, as an example, the two people in the picture below: Luis Garcia and Dee Strange-Gordon. Dee Strange-Gordon, as mentioned before, is only in Rochester on a rehab assignment. Garcia is one of the Nationals top prospects and has been tearing up opposing pitchers, so it is doubtful he’ll still be here when the season ends.

That said, there is reason to believe that, at least as the team is now, the Rochester Red Wings are good. Or at the very least good enough to have a good shot at a winning record.

First, the obvious: the Red Wings are 13-11 after yesterday’s 8-3 win over Syracuse, one game back of Buffalo in the International League East. That is, obviously, a winning record.

Even looking beyond that, though, the Red Wings have been doing well. As a team, they are second in the league in batting average (.270, behind only Jacksonville’s .271). They are fifth in OPS and sixth in runs scored. They have the fourth fewest strikeouts, and are fourth in total bases. All very good places to be, even if the team’s best hitter (Garcia) is unlikely to remain in Rochester very long.

However, the pitching has been a cause for concern. The team has a 5.37 ERA, an ugly 17th in the 20-team league. They are 19th in WHIP, and tied for 12th in opponent batting average. They’ve walked too many people and are 18th in the league for BB/9, averaging 5.20 walks every nine innings.

Given that the hitting has been good and the pitching hasn’t been good, it is perhaps not a surprise that the team isn’t too far away from being simply .500.

It also speaks to how the rest of the Red Wings season will turn out. If the hitting falters, the team will too. If the pitching gets better, so will the team.

It’s that simple.

Rochester Red Wings Report: Past and future on a cold night

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During the 2022 season, I’ll have occasional reports on games I’ve attended of the Rochester Red Wings, the AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals.

It was a cold night on Tuesday as the Red Wings played the Syracuse Mets in front of a small but hardy crowd. That crowd grew thinner as the night went on and the temperature dipped ever-closer to 40, and it didn’t help matters that the Red Wings fell behind 8-1 in the first half of the game. Ultimately, though, those who stayed received a treat in the form of an epic comeback.

That, however, is not what this report is about. At least, not really. No, this is about how the past and future were both in Rochester on Tuesday.

To call Dee Strange-Gordon the past is perhaps not fair. He is still very much a present player. He’s no longer the All-Star he was in the mid-2010s, nor does he possess quite the quickness that makes him the active stolen-base leader. He’s moved into a more utility role at the age of 34, primarily playing in the outfield, unlike in the earlier parts of his career where he was mostly a middle infielder. Since leaving Miami after 2017, he’s hit .265/.292/.342 in 1094 plate appearances, a definite downgrade from the .293/.329/.367 of his career before. He spent 2021 entirely in the minors, and there was some thought that he’d start this season in the minors as well until he won a job in spring training.

Pity the poor equipment manager for the Rochester Red Wings, who had to fit his name on the back of the uniform.

Still, he’s Dee Strange-Gordon (the Strange added to his name in honor of his late mother). While never a superstar to the public (no doubt hurt by the fact he was traded to Miami from Los Angeles, as well as a suspension in 2016), most baseball fans know him, and for a few years he was one of the premier infielders in MLB. So when it was announced he’d begin a rehab from an undisclosed illness in Rochester just a few hours before game time, it was a pleasant surprise.

Wearing the number 1 once worn by his half-brother Nick Gordon during his time in Rochester as a Twins prospect, Dee was well-covered for the cold and wore his Nationals helmet to the plate for the game. Playing at shortstop for the first time this season (having been in the outfield and once in a garbage-time mound appearance in the big leagues), he was 0-2 with a strikeout and a walk at the plate, but still made an impact as he scored twice and reached base in the fifth on a fielders choice. He also made an impact in the field, taking part in a double-play.

It was clear that he wasn’t going to steal when he was no base (this was, after all, a minor league game to which he was essentially a special guest coming through on his way back to the show), but his speed still played a definite factor in keeping the fielders choice from becoming a possible double-play. He left the game in the 6th, but stuff like this is common for rehab appearances, particularly early on in the rehab stints. One game isn’t much to go on, but he seemed to be perfectly healthy and it is presumably only a matter of time before he joins the Nationals once again.

Strange-Gordon reaching base in the 5th, in hindsight, would prove very important, because the next batter was Luis Garcia, who was playing 2B on Tuesday. He’s the future in this tale. While he’s already played in parts of 110 MLB games, he’s still not even 22, and is almost certainly the top position player prospect on the Red Wings this year.

If his play on Tuesday was any indication, he probably shouldn’t be on the Red Wings much longer. Having already singled twice in the game, Garcia went deep in the fifth off Jake Reed, bringing home Strange-Gordon and himself to make it 8-3 in a much-needed sign of life for the Wings.

His next at-bat would come in the 7th, when he drew a walk. Little did we know at the time, but that would be start of the true comeback rally. A 2-out single by Joey Meneses moved him to third, and he then scored on a Josh Palacios hit right after. The next batter, Donovan Casey, then hit a home run to deep center (at first it was called a double, but that changed) to drive in three more and make it 8-7 Syracuse.

Finally, in the 8th, the culmination of the comeback and the culmination of Garcia’s jewel of a game came. Tres Barrera tied it with a solo shot to left with one out, leading to pandemonium among the small-but-hardy crowd. Then, after a fielding error allowed Alfredo Rodriguez (who had come in for Gordon) to reach, Garcia stepped to the plate again and hit his second home run of the night to make it 10-8. His totals for the night: 4-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 3 R, 10 total bases. His batting average now stands at .360, his OPS at 1.020.

The Wings would ultimately hold on to win 10-9, moving to 10-9 on the year in the process in what may forever be known as the Luis Garcia Game. The future is bright.

Someone Not to Forget

Although much of the attention no doubt goes to Garcia, Strange-Gordon, and the other hitters who got the Wings back into the game, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Sterling Sharp. In four innings of relief, he gave up only two hits and two walks while striking out four. His shutout innings kept what was a Syracuse blowout from becoming even more out-of-hand, allowing the comeback to take place. He received no win for the performance, but in some ways it can be argued he is the one who deserved it.

The Red Wings continue their series against Syracuse throughout the week.

Rochester Red Wings Report: Four good innings of Cade Cavalli

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During the 2022 season, I’ll have occasional reports on games I’ve attended of the Rochester Red Wings, the AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals.

Cade Cavalli is the top pitching prospect of the Washington Nationals. Some lists have him as top prospect for the Nationals overall. For four innings on Thursday, he showed why. Working in the high 90s with off-speeds in the 80s, Cavalli struck out seven Buffalo Bisons while walking only one and giving up an earned run on four hits.

That Cavalli would rack up K’s (including three in the 3rd) isn’t surprising. He led the Minors in 2021 with 175 across three different levels while also being chosen for the Futures Game. However, he has struggled in AAA and didn’t have a good spring with the Nationals this year, including one game where he gave up 10 earned runs to the Cardinals.

The Cavalli of the first four innings on Thursday appeared to have put that behind him. The problem for Cavalli, though, is that he didn’t stop pitching in the 4th inning. He also came out in the 5th. There, the Bisons jumped on him for four straight hits. He was taken from the game after 82 pitches. A few batters later, Samad Taylor hit a grand slam off Jace Fry to put Buffalo up for good. Cavalli’s final line: 4+ IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO, season ERA after two starts: 9.00. The final score would ultimately be 10-1 Buffalo as the Wings fell to .500 on the year.

Despite how the game ended, however, Thursday spoke well of Cavalli and his future. He’s only had a small sample size of two starts this year, but his strikeout-to-walk ratio has improved (last season across three levels: 2.92 strikeouts for every walk, this season so far: 5.50 strikeouts for every walk). Plus, he certainly seemed more comfortable and less “raw” on the mound, although admittedly that is an intangible thing that is in the eye of the beholder. Doubtless he and the Nationals are hoping that he’ll be MLB-ready by mid-year. Until then, though, he’ll be in Rochester.

The Red Wings continue their series with Buffalo through the weekend.

Rochester Red Wings Report: It’s good to be back, shame about the ending

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During the 2022 season, I’ll have occasional reports on games I’ve attended of the Rochester Red Wings, the AAA affiliate of the Washington Nationals.

–

The last few years have, frankly, stunk for Minor League Baseball. MLB was able to succeed in a plan (which some fear is not yet over) to decrease the minors, eliminate teams and entire leagues, forcibly shift surviving teams from long-held positions in the hierarchy, and impose certain scheduling restrictions that are a mixed bag for players, front offices, and fans. Add in COVID, which eliminated the 2020 season in its entirety and caused the 2021 season to have a hodgepodge of various restrictions and generally depressed attendance, and it has been a total bummer.

Which is part of the reason why last night in Rochester was so special. It still wasn’t as big of a crowd as it could have been (it was, after all, a school night), but the crowd of 8,170 was still larger than any crowd from 2021. And it was loud, into the game, and ready to cheer.

A good boy.

And the thing is, as an advertisement for Minor League Baseball, last night’s game was better than most. A back and forth game took place. The Bisons would pull ahead, the Red Wings would pull back even, and then it’d happen again. The promotions, as always, were on point, most notably an appearance by very good boy Milo the Bat Dog. He is, after all, a very good boy. I’m still waiting for an MLB team to have a bat dog. It needs to happen eventually, right? The dog would instantly go viral, would put butts in stands, and no doubt there’d be some great moments pre-game when players give the dog much-deserved head-pats. Make it happen, Major League Baseball.

Alas, the only thing that went wrong was the end of the game, as Buffalo took a 6-4 lead that the Red Wings couldn’t make up in the bottom of the 9th.

Other than that, though, it was perhaps the best night at the ballpark in Rochester since 2019.

Clippard not long for AAA

One highlight last night was the performance of Tyler Clippard. As I mentioned back in my one-line-look, the reason why the two-time All-Star with 803 MLB game appearances under his belt is in Rochester to begin with is largely because he signed late. He’s just in AAA for now to build up his arm.

If his performance last night was anything to go on, it won’t be too long. In the top of the 8th, Clippard sent down the Bisons with ease in order, including no-doubt strikeouts of Joshua Fuentes and Cullen Large.

So if you live in Rochester and want to see Tyler Clippard, make sure to head to Frontier Field soon, since he won’t be there long.

The Red Wings continue their long series against the Bisons through Sunday.

One line each on every member of the 2022 Rochester Red Wings opening day roster

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One line (or at least a sentence- it could be longer than a line depending on your screen) on every member of the opening day roster of my hometown Rochester Red Wings. They range from statistics to trivia and everything in between. Of course, it’s possible that this roster will change drastically in just a few days once MLB begins its season.

  • Alberto Baldonado made his first MLB appearance late last season, striking out Bryce Harper during his debut.
  • Cade Cavalli is considered the Nationals’ top pitching prospect and should be the top man in the Rochester starting staff to begin the season.
  • Tyler Clippard was a two-time All-Star for the Nationals earlier in his career and will begin in Rochester primarily due to the fact he was signed late and needs more time to build his arm up.
  • Carl Edwards Jr. won a World Series title in 2016 with the Chicago Cubs.
  • Jace Fry played in the 2006 Little League World Series for Oregon.
  • Reed Garrett returns to North America after pitching two seasons in Japan for the Seibu Lions.
  • Hunter Harvey has pitched in 26 career games with the Orioles and joined the Nationals organization in late March.
  • Gabe Klobosits had a 2.45 ERA in 18.1 innings last season for the Wings while also spending time in Harrisburg and Washington.
  • Francisco Perez made his MLB debut last season for Cleveland.
  • Erasmo Ramirez has pitched in 216 career MLB games, primarily for Seattle and Tampa.
  • Luis Reyes was signed by the Nationals in Aug. 2012, when he was just 17.
  • Jefry Rodriguez split time between Rochester and Washington last season.
  • Seth Romero missed time this spring with a stiff back, hampering an attempt to start the season with the big club.
  • Aaron Sanchez was the 2016 AL ERA leader and made the All-Star Game that season for Toronto.
  • Curtis Taylor was acquired off waivers from the Toronto organization in December.
  • Lefty Carson Teel primarily played with Harrisburg in 2021 but did make five appearances for the Wings.
  • Jackson Tetreault threw all six innings in the Wings’ 4-0 rain-shortened loss to end the 2021 season.
  • Logan Verrett has pitched in 57 career games in MLB and has also had time in Korea and the independent leagues.
  • Jordan Weems split last season between the Oakland and Arizona organizations, including seven games in MLB.
  • Tres Barrera split time between Rochester and Washington last season, and actually hit better in MLB than he did in AAA!
  • Although he reportedly retired, longtime MLB catcher Welington Castillo is listed on the team’s roster, albeit not listed as not being with the team.
  • Chris Herrmann is no stranger to Rochester, having played here for parts of three seasons during the Twins era.
  • Wilmer Perez played some winter ball during the off-season in his native Venezuela.
  • Luis Garcia is once again the youngest member of the Red Wings (born: 5/16/00), and is considered one of the top prospects in the Nationals organization.
  • Bahamas-born Lucius Fox may be the fastest man on the team with 142 stolen bags during his minor league career so far.
  • Joey Meneses was the IL MVP in 2018 and played for Team Mexico in the Olympics last season.
  • Jake Noll was last season’s team MVP and was named to the league’s All-Star Team at the end of the season.
  • Adrian Sanchez hit well in Rochester last season while splitting time between here and Washington.
  • Richard Urena was with the Buffalo Bisons the last several years and so is likely familiar to many Red Wings fans.
  • Andrew Young played in 58 games for Arizona last season before being selected in the MiLB Rule 5 draft by the Nationals.
  • Nick Banks is from Chris Herrmann’s hometown of Tomball, Texas.
  • Donovan Casey was one of the player acquired in the Max Scherzer trade last season.
  • Matt Lipka hit .291/.352/.449 between AA and AAA in the Arizona and Milwaukee organizations in 2021.
  • Cole Freeman has twice been named to Washington’s organization All-Star Team by MiLB.com, but this will be his first season in AAA.
  • Andrew Stevenson has played 248 career MLB games, all with Washington.
  • Princeton grad Alec Keller is said to have retired according to MiLB.com, but is still listed on the team’s roster- albeit not with the team.
  • Manager Matt LeCroy returns for his second year as manager and third overall (he played for the 2007 team).
  • Hitting Coach Brian Daubach hit 20 or more HRs for four straight seasons in Boston from 1999 through 2002.
  • Pitching Coach Rafael Chaves has MLB pitching coach experience, as he held the Mariners job in 2006 and 2007.
  • Development Coach Billy McMillon was the skipper of the Worcester Red Sox last season

How to forfeit a game

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Last night, the Rochester Red Wings were shellacked by the Buffalo Bisons, 20-3. As the game dragged on in its last innings and the Red Wings turned to a position player to pitch, Wings’ announcer Josh Whetzel wondered if maybe baseball should have a mercy rule or maybe a way to forfeit when things get too ugly.

Well, there is one way to forfeit. Sort of.

Take a look at the MLB rulebook. Now, head down to pages 85 and 86, the part on unsportsmanlike conduct. Make note of rule 6.04(a)(4), which says that no one can “Make intentional contact with the umpire in any manner.”

You’ve doubtless seen this rule in action before: a manager or player is arguing with an umpire after a bad call, and touches them. They are then usually immediately ejected.

So, in theory, you could have your players line up in a row and start touching the umpire until enough players are ejected that there aren’t enough to continue, thus ending the game.

Of course, there are other easier ways to forfeit (see rule 7.03). You can just refuse to come out and continue playing, for example. Or you could continually break rules. Or the thing that, if properly enforced, would probably lead to a wave of forfeits, rule 7.03(a)(2):

Employs tactics palpably designed to delay or shorten the
game;

Yeah, like that will ever be enforced…

Why the Rochester Red Wings Should Stay a Twins Affiliate

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The Rochester Red Wings’ affiliation agreement with the Minnesota Twins ends this year. And while it’s entirely possible that it will be renewed, it’s also entirely possible it will not, as there is some discussion that, with the future of the Twins’ front office uncertain after the firing of Terry Ryan, now may be the time to again switch. This speculation is especially occurring because the New York Mets, one of the most popular MLB teams in the area, will also likely be available in the affiliation shuffle after this year, and the Mets are desperate to get a new affiliate closer to home, as opposed to distant Vegas.

However, I’m here to argue that the Red Wings should stick with the Twins, at least for another two years. Here’s why:

1. Don’t mess with success.

While it is true that the Red Wings have not had much postseason success during the Twins’ years, with only two appearances and no titles. However, this forgets that the Wings have been competitive for most of the Twins era and probably would have reached more postseasons if not for the tough IL North division and some bad luck. In 2014, for example, they were not eliminated until the final weekend of the year. 2015 saw something similar, and had the Red Wings finish with the same record as the previous two seasons, including the 2013 year where they made the playoffs. This season may see the Red Wings miss the playoffs despite currently having the third best record in the league.

It’s not the Twins fault that Rochester geographically lies in the International League’s toughest division, nor is it their fault that the IL doesn’t have a rule that kicks any team under .500 out of the playoffs, to be replaced by the Wild Card runner-up:

#ContractTheILSouth

#ContractTheILSouth

2. The Twins are a Better Farm System, from a winning perspective.

Here’s a look at the winning percentages of farm systems, as of August 3:

Screen Shot 2016-08-03 at 5.12.40 PMAs you can see, the Twins are a respectable 10th place. This is the entire organization, from AAA all the way down to the lowest of Rookie leagues. The Mets, meanwhile, are sub-.500 and are at 19th. And if you go level by level, the Twins have a better team in most of them: The AAA Twins (the Red Wings) have a better record than the AAA Mets (Las Vegas). The AA Twins (Chattanooga) have a better record than the AA Mets (Binghamton). The low-A Twins (Cedar Rapids) have a better record than the low-A Mets (Columbia). The rookie-ball Twins (Elizabethton) have a better record than the rookie-ball Mets (Kingsport). The Twins even have a better record in the Gulf Coast League! The only minor-league level where both organizations have teams and the Mets have a better record than the Twins affiliate is the High-A Florida league.

It’s been said that the two biggest determinants of minor league team attendance are also the two things the local GM (in the minors, the GM is more of a business position, not like the position in MLB) has the least control over: how the team is doing, and how the weather is. Except that isn’t really true, as the Minor League team CAN decide who it affiliates with. And when you look at the success on the field up and down the minors, the Twins clearly are the better choice when it comes to wins than the the Mets.

3. The Twins have better prospects overall than the Mets.

One of the neatest things about Minor League Baseball is that you can see the stars of tomorrow. And in this case, the Twins have a better case than the Mets. At the beginning of the year, MLB.com listed the Twins as the fifth best farm system in baseball. While obviously this has likely changed as players like Max Kepler and Byron Buxton have headed to the big leagues, it should be noted that the Mets were nowhere to be found in the top ten this year, and another site (which ranked the Twins 8th) put the Mets all the way down at number 20.

4. The Mets probably wouldn’t cause the big attendance boost some people think.

My fellow Rochester seamheads will remember the Empire State Yankees. In 2012, as their stadium was being renovated, the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Yankees (now the Scranton RailRiders) played their home games on the road, mostly in Rochester. Before the season, some Yankee fans were declaring that the people of Rochester would love them and support them even more than they did the Wings, that it was a dream come true, etc. etc.

Well, here’s the secret: The Empire State Yankees were a bust. Look at this news report from back then:

Yes, the Baby Bronx Bombers were in town and, with the exception of a Andy Pettitte rehab assignment, they drew flies, despite the fact they had a very good team. And the Yankees are definitely far more popular in Rochester than the Mets.

Now, admittedly, the fact that they were the “Empire State Yankees” and not the “Rochester Red Wings, AAA Affiliate of the New York Yankees” probably had a lot to do with it. But when you consider that attendance wasn’t particularly skyrockety for the Buffalo Bisons when they had the Mets affiliation (although to be fair, the Mets system was even worse back then), I think it’s safe to say that in general the affiliation doesn’t drive attendance all that much- winning and weather does. And as I showed with number two and number three, the Twins are a better choice for that.

5. The Mets have horrible owners.

Red Wings fans still speak in hushed tones about Orioles owner Peter Angelos. Why, the only people who hate Peter Angelos more than Red Wings fans are Orioles’ fans! GET IN LINE, NATS FANS, THIS SPOT IS TAKEN! Peter Angelos’ interference with minor league operations, general incompetence, breaking of traditions, and favoritism (intentional or not) to other teams in the Orioles’ system (especially the AA Bowie Baysox) led to the end of one of the longest affiliations in baseball. Well, say what you will about Angelos, but to the best of my knowledge he never ended up drowning in debt after being caught up in a massive Ponzi scheme and as a result been unspeakably cheap for his team that was in the World Series last season and plays in New York City. Nor, to the best of my knowledge, has Peter Angelos been sued for firing somebody because she had a baby out of wedlock and then resolved it before it reached trial. And while I’m sure he (like, sadly, seemingly every single MLB owner) would sign somebody who was suspended for domestic abuse, he hasn’t as far as I know. Yet.

But you know who has done all of this? The owners of the New York Mets! Now, full disclosure, I own a very small (essentially symbolic) portion of the Rochester Red Wings (I covered this before). Not enough to make a difference, but I do own some. But let’s say I did own enough. Would I want to do business with the Wilpons?

No. No I would not.

6. The Red Wings shouldn’t be like other Minor League teams

Many minor league teams change affiliation with relative regularity. The Red Wings don’t- they were Cardinals affiliates from the late 20s to 1960, and then spent the rest of the 20th century and the first two years of the 21st with the Orioles. That means that it should still be another decade or two left with the Twins. Perhaps I’m just being a romantic, ignoring the business nature of modern baseball. And, to be sure, if everything was bad and the Red Wings were doing horrible with no good hope in the lower minors, I’d agree that perhaps it’s time to move on. But the Wings have been one of the most successful minor league franchises in history by not changing course at the first sign of trouble, and I see no reason to start swapping every decade or so now.

So… I say: stick with the Twins and nix the Mets. The reasons to stay with Minnesota lay in the evidence, and the reasons to go to the Mets are nowhere near as high as they seem.

And, besides, if the Mets want to be in Rochester so damn bad, maybe they can call back in two-to-four years. By that point, maybe whoever has replaced Terry Ryan will have shown how he will treat the minor leagues. And maybe they won’t be owned by the Wilpons either.