Travelerocity

First-half summary

Travelers lead the Texas League in stolen bases.

Travelers are last in the Texas League in wins.

It's the Angels way, and you can see where the priority is.

-- Travelerocity reporter

Corvette show coming to Dickey-Stephens Saturday night

When you enter Dickey-Stephens for the ballgame Saturday night you will see something never before promoted by the Travelers.

Lots and lots of America's Sports Car will be parked in the entrance plaza for you to see and drool over. The event is being co-sponsored by the Central Arkansas Corvette Club and the Travelers and more than fifty Corvettes are expected to be on hand. 

 The Corvette Club is one of the biggest in the southwest and member cars from vintage to '09 will be parked in the plaza, like this '03 Torch Red 50th Anniversary model.

Enjoy, and pray for no foul balls.

-- Lonesome Traveler

O'Sullivan back down, Francisco Rodriguez and Stu Cole go up

It was a night at the "Show" to remember. But after a one-night-stand in the big leagues, RHP and former '09 Traveler Sean O'Sullivan was optioned back to Salt Lake today and another former Traveler, Rafael Rodriguez was recalled to the Angels.

 

But what a night for the 21-year-old O'Sullivan, who started the season in the Travelers' rotation. O'Sullivan kept the Angels' victory streak alive with a win over the San Francisco Giants Tuesday night in his Major League debut. (Complete coverage prior Travelerocity post.)

There was another promotion late last week involving the Texas League, but this time it was a manager.

 

Former Tulsa Driller Manager Stu Cole (above) Is now calling the shots for the Triple-A Colorado Springs Sky Sox. The recent firing of Colorado Rockies manager Clint Hurdle got Cole the promotion and caused a string of managerial changes for the Colorado system.

Stepping in for Cole at Tulsa as the new Drillers manager for the remainder of the '09 season will be 44-year-old Ron Gideon.(above) Gideon had been the Roving Field Coordinator for Colorado since 2006 and has been involved in the Rockies' system for 14 years. He has ten years experience managing in the minors and was also a player in the Texas League.

Cole replaces former Sky Sox manager Tom Runnels, who was promoted to the big leagues as bench coach for the Rockies replacing Jim Tracy, who was named manager of Colorado after Hurdle was fired.

At the time of his promotion Cole, seen above at Dickey-Stephens, had the Drillers in second place in the Texas League North Division. He spent more than three season seasons as manager of the Drillers, but his new job will be a homecoming of sorts. He played for the Sky Sox from 1993-95 and helped the club win a PCL Championship.

--Lonesome Traveler

Two former '09 Trav pitchers have great nights in debuts

Talk about coming through. Wow! 22-year-old Trevor Bell did just that Tuesday night in his Triple-A debut for the Salt Lake Bees.

  

Bell was called-up from Arkansas to Salt Lake Sunday night and in a masterful  performance against the Colorado Springs Sky Sox (Rockies), the right-hander pitched a 2-hit complete game shutout. Trevor struck out four and had no walks while facing the minimum 27 batters. Only three Sky Sox hitters reached base. Two were wiped out in double plays and the other was caught stealing. Bell was quoted as saying he was nervous before the start, but battery-mate and former Traveler Bobby Wilson helped settle him in.

 

The likeable Bell had a Texas League leading ERA of 2.23 when he was promoted with a 4-3 record at Arkansas and a team high 51 K's. He was also named along with five other Travelers to the Texas League All-Star squad, which was released Tuesday. 

 

Another former Traveler pitcher who was promoted from this year's team also has a smile on his face this Wednesday morning. Burly Sean O'Sullivan (above) got the call to the Angels to fill in for Ervin Santana and won his debut Tuesday night in an interleague game at San Francisco against the Giants.

 

O'Sullivan, who was 5-2 in ten starts with the Bees, earned the victory over the Giants with seven strong innings while giving up one run on five hits, with one walk. He had five strikeouts along the way. The Angel hitters gave him plenty of run support in the 8-1 victory for the club's fifth win in a row. Sean had to know there was some magic in the air because of all things, it was Irish Heritage Night at AT&T Park.

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Back from the DL---

I'm not sure if it was my scanner or my back/shoulder that broke down first. Then as if taking a cue, my computer slowly sank in to oblivion right before my eyes one night as I was trying to post for this blog. It really didn't matter because the pain just sitting at the keyboard was so severe I couldn't do it anyway. And so with that I, along with my computer, went on the DL.

Although not completely recovered and still not able to sit very long, (and yes I've missed attending games because of it) I am better and thanks to the guru Tommy Apple at Northwest Arkansas Techs in Fayetteville, my computer obviously is much better. (Yes, Tommy Apple is his real name.)

So it's good to be back posting, and I have a stack of stuff to share, like congrats to G.M. Pete Laven for putting together the best looking set of Traveler Team Cards I can remember, and a month earlier than normal. I'd feature one, but still don't have a scanner as the old one is in a trash can in Fayetteville. But no matter....it's good to be off the DL.

--Lonesome Traveler

Five questions with #4 prospect, LHP Trevor Reckling

When 18-year-old Trevor Reckling took the hill and fanned the first two batters he faced in his '07 pro debut with the Rookie League Arizona Angels, heads probably turned. And they have been turning ever since.

 

Reckling (3-1), who just turned twenty, is currently leading the Texas League with a 2.12 ERA and has 26 strikeouts. The Angels #4 prospect was called-up to the Travelers on April 23 from High-A Rancho Cucamonga after dominating the California League in three starts. In 19 innings for the Quakes the opposition was just hitting .138 against him and he had only given up three walks, with a 0.90 ERA. The Newark, New Jersey native was the youngest player in the Texas League went he was sent-up and sparkled in his debut win for the Travs a few days later.

 

Trevor was taken in the eighth round of the '07 draft by the Angels out of St. Benedict's Prep School in Newark and was the second New Jersey high schooler taken. After his rookie campaign he spent '08 at Low-A Cedar Rapids and was the Midwest League's youngest starting pitcher.

  

Reckling led the Kernels with 10 wins and during one stretch had a 29-inning scoreless streak using his smooth delivery and three-plus pitches. The 6' 2" 205 pound left-hander didn't turn twenty until May 22 and possesses possibly the best changeup in the Angels' system along with a low 90's fastball that he keeps down and locates beautifully. If that wasn't enough, he has a fall-off-the-table curveball. So when I recently met with him before the club left on the current road trip I asked the obvious question first.

Q: How did you learn to pitch so well, so young?

A: It's the work I've been doing in the off-season. It's paying-off.

Q: You were the Angels' "Minor League Pitcher of the Month" for April and now you have the lowest ERA in the Texas League with a 3-1 record. Are you surprised at your success so soon?

A: You know it was just both teams I've been playing with. Good chemistry on both teams and good defense behind me and again, hard work that's been paying-off in the off-season.

Q: You have three legitimate pitches. Is your changeup your best?

A: First would have to be my fastball. After that it would have to be my changeup.

Q: You probably had never been to Little Rock or Arkansas before you got here. What's the best thing you've seen about Little Rock so far?

A: Well actually I have. I was in Fayetteville. I tried out for a Perfect Game Showcase for high school kids coming up, and college, and draft status.  Around here I like the scenery with the games being downtown. I really like the scenery.

Q: What's your latest status update on Facebook?

A: Well, I just put put one in. It said, "We just got a win! First one in awhile." (Note: The Travelers had just broken an eight game losing streak with a win in the second game of a doubleheader on Memorial Day .)

 

Reckling is scheduled to take the mound tonight (Sat.) for his seventh Arkansas start against the Missions at San Antonio.

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Just when you think you've seen it all, then this.

 

Long time Traveler fan Tommy Green facing-up former Trav big Corey Smith for a foul ball whack he took off Smith's bat during the final home stand game between the Travelers and the Naturals.

 

I held my breath as Green tossed his bloody towel aside and showed the burly Northwest Arkansas infielder the dirty-deed that had required medical attention.

 

 

But it was all in jest, as Green was yanking the chain of the former Traveler fan-favorite, who had responded with genuine concern. Green said he was yakking instead of paying attention when he got whacked, and being as nimble as he is, normally would have darted out of the way.

 

-- Lonesome Traveler

Coby Smith stops losing streak with Memorial Day walkoff hit

 

With the blossoms from Cottonwood trees and not rain drops pouring over Dickey-Stephens Park, Arkansas finally picked up a win late Monday afternoon.

The Travelers had lost the first game 2-1 and so by taking the second game of the Memorial Day doubleheader against Northwest Arkansas, the team picked up its first win since May 15, and snapped an eight game losing streak when Nate Sutton came streaking home (below)in the first extra inning of the seven inning contest.

 

The Travs' utility player scored the only run of the game on a single by left fielder Coby Smith, who was Arkansas' "Player of the Month" for April.

 

Sutton led the inning off with a walk against Naturals' reliever Greg Holland and then given a second chance because of extra innings, center fielder Peter Bourjos extended his hit streak to 18 games on this swing (above)to advance Sutton to second.

Holland hadn't given up a run in more than eleven innings and was bringing his fast ball at 95-96 mph on the Dickey-Stephen's gun before Smith (seen above #11, from first game of doubleheader) connected for his winning hit with one out to score Sutton.

 

Arkansas' pitching was outstanding in the win over the Naturals, and basically it was an "all-reliever" corps that got it done. Left-handed Barret Browning (above) had made 128 appearances in his Minor League career from the bullpen and had never started, until Monday. He pitched five scoreless innings with just two hits and no walks before giving way to right-handed Robert Mosebach (below).

 

Mosebach allowed only one hit in two innings and David Herndon, who relieved Mosebach, got the win after striking out the side in the eighth.

There was also another stellar relief performance Memorial Day.

    

 

Once again the grounds crew and interns saved the day after a twenty-two minute rain delay in the first game of the doubleheader. Pushed to the wall with the weather conditions over the holiday weekend this crew gets my vote as the "Most Valuable Players."

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As requested by The White House, all Americans were asked to stop what they were doing Memorial Day at 3:00 p.m. CST and to pause and honor our service men and women, who lost their lives fighting for freedom. This is how that moment looked at Dickey-Stephens.

 

 

 

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There was a new record set in Chicago Monday night at Wrigley Field and it was bad. I didn't think it possible anyone could top Mike Ditka for the all-time worst rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" but it happened when Mr. T sang or barked his version during the seventh inning stretch.

A close honorable mention (is honorable the right word to use here) would be Ozzy Osbourne's version but he was so stoned and/or drunk he basically just hummed it and really never sang, so I rank Mr. T's the worst over Ditka's.

Being a Chicago native, at least Mr. T knew he was at Wrigley Field, not Stadium as NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon pathetically called it when he sang his version drowned out by boos before he could finish.

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Coming Soon, "Five Questions" with Angels' #4 prospect and Traveler left-handed starter, twenty-year-old Trevor Reckling.

   

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And finally....here's a family that sticks together and plays together.

 

-- Lonesome Traveler

You win some, you lose some, and the rest are rained out

For the third time this season Mother Nature washed out another game at Dickey-Stephens that was to have been played Sunday night against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals.

 

This is where the scoreboard stood when play was stopped at 6:00 p.m. You think it may be hard on the players, especially the pitchers, wondering when to warm up again after a delay and how much? That's nothing. It's these guys who have the nightmare to deal with.

 

After a day of soaking rain there was a little window of let-up prior to game-time, and the grounds crew and interns had to scurry around and somehow get the field ready in time for play.

 

The first step is to take all the tarps off that have been covering the infield and start painting lines and cursing.

 

And just observing what was going on you could almost imagine the conversations that might have been occurring between the boss and the slaves.

"But wait, isn't that another huge, big black cloud rolling in?" To which the reply probably was, "Shut up and keep working. Who asked you?  Laven's got hot dogs to sell."

 

 

An by golly they got it done and the Travelers' starter and #2 Angels' prospect, Jordan Walden actually got five batters out in order. And then.....

Remember that really big, black cloud?  Well it had its way, and umbrellas went up, and the players scattered to the dugouts.

And....and guess who has to do this all over again?

  

More cursing.

 

When it rains and blows sideways and you don't think it's going to quit, it's time to vamoose to the club house and maybe hold a session of "Kangaroo Court" or update Facebook, which are all good possibilities as to what the players may have had on their minds as they trudged off the quagmire of a playing surface. Let's just hope they didn't Twitter.

 

And what do the fans do during an almost two hour rain-delay? Well, a lot just move back to drier seats and you know.....watch it rain.

 

Some stand in the concourse and contemplate buying a funnel cake.

 

Or watch these guys again cavort in the outfield while being shown on the big screen as the video director has an animated character dance along with them.

 

 

Anything to beat the boredom of this.

 

But alas all hopes for a Sunday night ball game leading-in to watching a huge fireworks display from Riverfest while in your comfortable seat at Dickey-Stephens was halted when the game was called.

By the way, they almost did start the game again at one point, and guess what came off, and then had to be put back when it was an official rain out?

  

 Right. (Lots more cursing.)

-- Lonesome Traveler

Comeback snuffed out at the plate in the bottom of the ninth

A colleague called it, a "freak-show" kind of game. It was that Saturday. Why? Well the game featured eight pitchers; 15 combined runs on 21 hits and five errors; one side batting-around in the eighth; the other side batting-around in the ninth; a wild bottom of the ninth comeback rally from the Travs when they looked for sure to be out of it; and an equally wild play to end it when a kid, who flew all day to get there, was thrown out at the plate on what would have been the sixth and tying run in the frame. Even a guy in the dizzy-bat-race got knocked cold when he crashed in to his fellow-contestant and lay on the field for some time before being assisted off.

 

  

 

In the end the Travelers lost another one-run game 8-7 to Northwest Arkansas, its  seventhstraight loss and 14th of the past 18. It also marked the first Double-A loss for the Angels' #4 left-handed prospect, Trevor Reckling (3-1), who turned twenty Friday.

 

 

Reckling had only thrown 49 pitches with no runs through the first four innings, but in the fifth alone he threw 30 pitches and allowed three runs on a double, two singles, two walks ,and a balk. He faced the first two batters in the sixth, who reached on an error and a single, before he was removed.

 

His counter-part, #2 Royals' prospect Daniel Cortes although giving up six walks, which the Travs never cashed in, left after five without allowing a hit on 98 pitches with 2 K's.

 

   

Ironically it was Cortes (2-4) and Reckling who matched up back in April during Trevor's Double-A debut at Dickey-Stephens, which Reckling won.

 

Despite the loss center fielder Peter Bourjos stretched his consecutive hit-streak to 16 games.

 

He entered the game hitting a team-leading .322 and was 2-for-6 for the day. One of those hits with two outs in the bottom of the ninth brought home one run run and nearly another.

 

And who is this guy, #17? That's twenty two-year-old, 5' 9" 155 pound switch-hitting Ivan Contreras, who flew all day to get to the park for the game and got a hit his first time up, and then contributed to the ninth inning rally with another single before being tagged out at the plate on the play that ended the game after Bourjos lined his hit to deep right-center.

 

Contreras, a Dominican native, was called-up from extended spring training to replace second baseman Ryan Mount, who sprained his right wrist fouling off a pitch Friday night. Mount has been placed on the 7-day disabled list.

 

In case you've been wondering, and I know I have, the reason Hank Conger (#24 above and below) isn't playing is because he has a hurt right wrist also. He hasn't played since last Monday on the road, and as far as I could tell no other source has reported on his absence, so I asked him. He has not been placed on the DL and wasn't sure when he would see action. He called it minor, so maybe he'll see action tomorrow (Sunday.)

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There was a surprise in the Travelers' lockers Friday when the team arrived at the park for the start of the four-game home stand against Northwest Arkansas. New alternate, red jerseys that look great but didn't help as the team gave up a lead late and lost to the Naturals 4-3 in ten. Left fielder #5 Nate Sutton (above) had a very nice Friday night at the plate going four-for-four with a triple, a double, and two singles.

 

 

General Manager Pete Laven said the team really didn't have an alternate jersey besides the batting practice jerseys and said these were designed to be especially cool during the hot-humid days approaching.

 

Happy Memorial Day everyone and God bless our troops.

-- Lonesome Traveler

New single released by leader of Travelers' Halos dance team

 

The Halos dance team debuted at Dickey-Stephens Park on Saturday night May 9th and will be performing each Saturday night home game throughout the season.

Now the leader of the Halos, Brittany Campbell, has a debut of her own. A brand new single just released called, "If You Only Knew". It's a hot tune and was also written by her.

   

How did all this happen? Well you may recall from a previous post, Campbell won the Arkansas Idol contest last year sponsored by Central Arkansas radio station Alice 107. As the winner, Brittany's prize was a studio session to record her song. She's got a great voice, so maybe in addition to dancing at the Travelers' games, we suggest the club let her sing with the Halos as well. A music track to "If You Only Knew" while she sang it live and the Halos danced, would be very cool. Click on the link to hear it for yourself.

 

This Memorial Day weekend the Halos will be back in action on Saturday night when the Travelers take on Northwest Arkansas.

-- Lonesome Traveler

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Late word has come that the Halos will not be performing as usual on Saturday, but rather at Sunday's game instead, which is scheduled to begin at a special time of 5:30 p.m. All games this weekend are at special times because of Riverfest. Here is the schedule:

Friday night--6:00 p.m.

Saturday--2:00 p.m.

Sunday night--5:30 p.m.

Memorial Day--2:00 p.m.

In this observer's opinion Dickey-Stephens has the best viewing sites in the twin-cities after the game on Sunday night for the huge fireworks show to conclude Riverfest.

L.T.

Wallace zooms up to Memphis from the Springfield Cardinals

Springfield had barely left town last week from its first visit to Dickey-Stephens in '09 when the St Louis Cardinal's #2 prospect Brett Wallace (below) got the call-up to Triple-A Memphis.

 

Signed for $1.84 million, Wallace was the 13th overall draft pick by St. Louis last June and in a fact pointed out in a St. Louis Post-Dispatch blog post , is the first of the '08 top 15 to make it to Triple-A. And in less than a year's time as a pro, Baseball America says he "Already is one of the best pure hitters in the minors." Wallace won the Pac-10 Conference triple crown in '07 and '08 for Arizona Sate so hitting is his gift. It's his defense that will really be scrutinized now that he is with the Red Birds.

 

Wallace came in to Dickey-Stephens playing third and will do so at Memphis for the time being. He's replaced David Freese, who is on the DL with and ankle injury. In his first game for the Red Birds this past weekend, Brett went 3-for-4.

   

To me, Wallace's defense is adequate at best. Since he hasn't even played a full season in Double-A and skipped High-A, his glove will be put to the test at the hot corner in Memphis.

  

But whether the 22-year-old 6' 1" 245 pound prospect, who bats left and throws right, is at third or moved to left you can bet he won't be going back down. Derrick Goold in his above-referenced blog post says, "the club is certain of only the place they don't expect him to go again--back in Class AA."

-- Lonesome Traveler