LumberKings Announce Coaching Staff

The Clinton LumberKings announced their coaching staff for 2011 yesterday. If you go to the link, you can read where their new manager once played in the Midwest League, as well as some biographical information on all the coaches.

If that doesn't interest you, allow me to just list the staff for you below:

Manager - Eddie Menchaca
Pitching Coach - Rich Dorman
Hitting Coach - Terry Pollreisz

Lake County -- 2010 Midwest League Champions

I tell you what, the Midwest League playoffs had a little bit of everything. Every series went the maximum number of games, and every game had drama and intrigue. The only thing missing was the Silver Hawks.

Here's the recap links for game five on Monday night:

Lake County 3, Clinton 1 -- Lake County wins series 3-2

Game story can be found here.

Box score is at this link.

MWL Finals - Game Four Summary

Here's tonight summary:

Clinton 3, Lake County 2 - Series tied 2-2

The LumberKings scored twice in the top of the eighth on RBI singles from Mickey Wiswall and Blake Ochoa. The win means that a deciding game five will take place tomorrow at Lake County.

Oddly, every series of the MWL playoffs has gone to the maximum number of games.

No blog updates on Monday because of all day meetings. I'll be back on Tuesday with a recap of game five and any other information that is relevant.

MWL Finals - Game Three Summary

Game three was Saturday night. Sorry for the late update.

Lake County 7, Clinton 3 -- Captains lead series 2-1

Summary: The Captains basically dominated from the beginning, taking an early 4-0 lead and never looking back. Brett Brach struck out 9 in 6.2 innings for the win. Tyler Holt had two hits, a homer, three runs scored, and two RBIs.

Game four is tonight (Sunday) at 6:30 PM Eastern. I have an all day meeting tomorrow, so I'll try to update the blog tonight before I call it a day.

MWL Finals Game Two

Whoa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you count them up, that's 18 exclamation points. One for every inning played in game two of the Midwest League finals last night. Let's get to the recap....

Clinton 8, Lake County 7 (18 innings) - Best-of-5 series is tied at one each

Clinton led 4-0 heading to the seventh. Lake County scored two in the top of the 7th to make it 4-2. Clinton scored two in the bottom of the inning to make it 6-2. Lake County then scored two runs in both the eighth and ninth to force extras. Delvi Cid hit a two run homer in the top of the ninth to force the tie.

Neither team scored in the 10th or 11th. Roberto Perez homered in the top of the 12th to make it a 7-6 Captains lead (their first lead of the game). Clinton answered in the bottom of the 12th on a RBI single by Carlos Ramirez. One run scored, but Greg Folgia threw out a runner at the plate to end the inning and keep the game going.

The 12th through the 17th innings were all scoreless. Finally, in the bottom of the 18th with two outs, the LumberKings worked back-to-back walks from Giovanni Soto. Mario Martinez then reached on a fielder error by third baseman Adam Abraham, allowing the winning run to score from second.

The game took 5 hours and 37 minutes to complete. Yikes.

The two teams will have a much needed off day today, and the series resumes tomorrow in Lake County.

MWL Finals - Game One

I'm sorry for not posting sooner, but we had some meetings this morning to discuss the season and where we are headed for next year. Here is the summary from game one last night:

Lake County 9, Clinton 6 -- Captains have 1-0 lead in best-of-five series

A big win for Lake County on the road last night, overcoming a 6-3 deficit with 2 runs in the seventh and four in the eighth to rally for the victory. Casey Frawley, Jason Smit, and Greg Folgia all had two RBIs to lead the offense. Clinton's second baseman Kevin Mailloux committed two errors which led to four unearned runs. James Jones had a homer and three RBIs for Clinton. Preston Guilmet pitched two scoreless innings at the end of the game to earn his fourth save of the postseason.

Game two is tonight @ Clinton. It's basically a must win for the LumberKings unless they plan on sweeping three straight games at Lake County.

The MWL Finals are Set

Last night's recap:

Lake County 6, Great Lakes 1 -- Captains win series 2-1

Summary: The Lake County Captains completed an improbable comeback, winning two games on the road at Dow Diamond to eliminate the Great Lakes Loons. Casey Frawley homered and Argenis Martinez had two RBIs to lead the Captains offense. The Loons stranded 11 runners on base, being eliminated in the Eastern Division Finals for the second year in a row.

The Finals begin tonight with the Clinton LumberKings hosting the Lake County Captains in game one of the best-of-five series. Games 1 & 2 are at Clinton, with the final 3 at Lake County. Vote for what you think the result will be on the right side of the page!

Monday's Playoff Results

This has been a fascinating postseason in the Midwest League thus far. Let's get to last night's results:

Lake County 7, Great Lakes 6 - Series tied 1-1
The Captains chased Allen Webster after just 2.2 inning, jumping out to a 6-0 lead. They then held off the Loons rally, and Lake County forced a deciding game three with a 7-6 victory. Two lefties will go in game three tonight with Greg Wilborn facing off against Vidal Nuno at Dow Diamond in Michigan.

Clinton 4, Kane County 1 - LumberKings win series 2-1
The LumberKings advance to the Midwest League Finals for the first time in 17 years with a 4-1 defeat of Kane County. Mickey Wiswall had a two run homer to lead the Clinton offense and Tom Wilhelmsen pitched 7.0 scoreless innings for the L-Kings.

Sunday's Playoff Results

Hope everyone enjoyed their first weekend without Silver Hawks baseball. I know it's a weekend too early, but it's just what we have to deal with this year. Here are last night's results around the Midwest League Playoffs:

Great Lakes 10, Lake County 8 -- Loons lead series 1-0

Summary: The final score made the game appear closer than it really was, as Great Lakes at one point led 8-2 and took a 10-5 lead into the bottom of the ninth before holding on for the win. Brian Cavazos-Galvez had four hits (including a home run and triple) and five RBIs to lead the Loons offense. Jonathan Burnette had two homers for the Captains to bring them back into the game, but it wasn't enough. The series shifts to Dow Diamond in Midland, Michigan on Monday night.

Clinton 6, Kane County 2 -- Series is tied 1-1

Summary: The LumberKings protected their home field and avoided elimination with a strong showing on Sunday evening. Mario Martinez went 4-for-4 with two RBIs to lead Clinton at the plate and force a deciding game three on Monday night. The LumberKings will host tonight with the winner moving on to the Midwest League Finals.

Saturday's Playoff Results

The first night of the division finals was Saturday evening, let's see how it turned out:

Great Lakes @ Lake County, PPD Rain
Summary: The rain that poured on South Bend all morning and early afternoon made it's way to Lake County last night, keeping the two teams from getting started. They will have game one today.

Kane County 4, Clinton 0
Summary: Daniel Straily struck out 11 in 7.0 shutout innings, leading the Cougars to a series opening win at home. Michael Choice (three run shot) and Rashun Dixon (solo homer) went back-to-back in the first inning, giving Kane County the only runs they needed. They'll continue the series in Clinton on Sunday.

Playoff Recap - Round One, Game Three

The first round wrapped up last night, here's what happened (with a quick summary today because it's my first weekend off of work since early April):

Great Lakes 6, Fort Wayne 4
Quick Summary: The TinCaps couldn't hold on to the 3-2 lead on the road, and the Loons rallied to eliminate the defending champions. Rafael Ynoa had a homer and two RBIs to lead the Loons.

Lake County 3, West Michigan 2
Chris Kersten had two RBIs and Jason Smit had a solo homer as the Captains escaped the Whitecaps in Lake County. Preston Guilmet worked 2.2 innings for the save -- his second of the series.

Up Next: Great Lakes will be at Lake County in game one of the series tonight. Josh Wall battled Giovanni Soto in the pitching matchup.

Clinton 6, Cedar Rapids 2
The LumberKings lost game one at home, but then won two on the road to knock off the Kernels. Tyler Kehrer was an emergency starter for Cedar Rapids, but didn't get out of the first inning giving up three runs on two hits and three walks. No official word yet on what happened to their scheduled starter Stephen Locke.

Kane County 15, Quad Cities 7
The Cougars did the same as Clinton -- lose game one at home then win two on the road. They routed the River Bandits last night, with eight different players picking up a RBI.

Up Next: The Cougars host the LumberKings in game one of the Western Division finals tonight. Dan Straily on the mound for Kane County against Clinton's Taylor Stanton.

Playoff Recap - Round One, Game Two

Well, well, well, isn't this interesting? All the losers from game one came back and won game two. All four matchups are going to a deciding third game tonight. Below are last night's results...

Great Lakes 10, Fort Wayne 5
Main Storyline: The Loons scored eight runs in the eighth inning to rally from what was once a 3-0 deficit to post a 10-5 victory and keep their season alive.

Secondary Storyline: Both teams have won at home. The Loons host tonight.

Up Next: Game three is at Great Lakes tonight at 7:05 PM. RHP Jerry Sullivan goes for Fort Wayne against RHP Matt Magill for the Loons.

West Michigan 8, Lake County 0
Main Storyline: The Whitecaps avoided elimination by pounding out eight runs on 19 hits in a shutout of the Captains.

Secondary Storyline: Trevor Feeney (WP, 1-0) went 8.1 innings without allowing a run in the winning effort for the Whitecaps.

Up Next: Game three is at Lake County tonight at 6:30 PM. Neither team has won at home in this series. Jared Wesson goes for the Whitecaps against Jason Knapp for the Captains.

Kane County 5, Quad Cities 4
Main Storyline: Kane County had homers from Conner Crumbliss and Rashun Dixon as part of a five-run second inning, and then held on late to stave off elimination.

Secondary Storyline: The Cougars tried to blow the big lead, but stranded the tying run on base in the ninth. Kane County used three different pitchers in the ninth inning to stay alive.

Up Next: Game three is at Quad Cities tonight at 8:00 PM Eastern Time. Chris Mederos goes for the Cougars against Daniel Bibona for the River Bandits.

Clinton 8, Cedar Rapids 2
Main Storyline: Clinton methodically dismantled the Kernels by scoring runs in five of their nine at-bats to force a decisive game three.

Secondary Storyline: Like two other teams in the league, the Kernels failed to wrap up a series on their home field, and now must go against a tough pitcher in game three.

Up Next: Game three is at Cedar Rapids tonight at 7:35 PM Eastern Time. The pitching matchup will feature Erasmo Ramirez for Clinton and Stephen Locke for Cedar Rapids.

Ballpark Photos - Alliant Energy Field

If you go to this link, you can see the pictures I took of Alliant Energy Field last year when we visited in July. The ballpark looks pretty much the same this season.

Lineups a little bit later on today.

Friday Fun

It's been a good week here at Coveleski Stadium as we continue to prepare for the 2010 season. Expect some information next week on the homepage of http://www.silverhawks.com/ about the promotional schedule for the season. Also next week, we'll check in with Ryan Babineau on his recovery from hip surgery in the latest installment of "Catching Up With".

Believe it or not, we are only 76 days away from Opening Day 2010 as I write this blog post.

A few things to get you in the mood:

-First, Nick Piecoro is weighing the pros and cons of the Diamondbacks trying to trade catcher Chris Snyder.

-After you check out that, head over to http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/ to catch up on all the latest signings.

-Baseball America has the Mariners top 10, who are now affiliated with the Clinton LumberKings.

I leave you for the weekend with a baseball quote:

"If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there are men on base." ~Dave Barry

That Time of Year

A trade between the Mariners and Pirates resulted in two pitchers the Silver Hawks just faced last week in Clinton being dealt. Aaron Pribanic and Brett Lorin are headed to the Pirates organization as part of an Ian Snell/Jack Wilson to Seattle deal.

Here's the story.

Photos from Clinton - Part Five

Hot dogs and Cracker Jack not good enough for you? Stop by Granny's Sugar Shack for Mini Donuts, Fried Oreo's, and Funnel Cakes.


Bored with the LumberKings game? Head down the left field line, turn around, and watch a little league game behind you. This may be the only place in the league where you can watch two baseball games at once. Beloit has a similar setup, but I'm not sure the view is as good.


The shot of the stadium from the left field lawn section. In addition to the backstop net, a fence extends over the roof of the stadium, keeping more balls from leaving the stadium. I'm sure this is a protective measure to keep the church in the background from getting pelted with foul balls. And yes, that is the steeple of the church you see, but it is being worked on right now so a lot of scaffolding surrounds it.

Photos from Clinton - Part Four

Although looking through some trees in left field, that's the riverboat casino that sits behind center field. Again, it actually extends above the top of the batters eye, thus making it difficult for a player to pick up the ball out of a right handers arm. Then again, it didn't seem to impact the Hawks last night, as they had no trouble finding the ball.


The left field lawn section/picnic area. Two things to notice here: 1) The left field wall has an S curve in it. 2) Odd looking light towers, and they are awfully low compared to other fields.


Kids play area down the left field line. Apparently some of the bark has spilled out onto the sidewalk. Clean up in aisle 5.


Another view of the S curve wall in left field. Why not just make the wall straight out there? If I was a left fielder, I'd be annoyed by this. But I'm not, so I won't complain.


The LumberKings bullpen mound and a general shot of the stadium from foul ground in left field.

Photos from Clinton - Part Three

A picnic garden down the left field line. The only thing I don't like about this area is that some of the tables sit in places where you can see the plate/mound area because of the seating bowl. The tables right along the fence are fine though and give you a good view of everything going on.


The same picnic area, from a different angle. Again, if you were sitting in the tables on the far left of this picture, there is no way you can see the field.


I was standing up in the Silver Hawks dugout when I took this picture. Unlike most other dugouts, this one doesn't really have a way to see the field without looking through a chain link fence. Only one person on each end of the dugout can stand on the stairs and see the field without the fence in front of them.


This is the batters eye. You can't tell from this picture, but the wall is actually about 20 feet tall. It's probably the weakest excuse for a batters eye in the league. If you look at it from the plate, there is actually a white riverboat casino that sits directly behind it, and thus makes it hard for hitters to pick up the ball out of a right handed pitchers delivery.


The view from the Lumber Lounge beyond the right field fence. I could enjoy watching a game here.

Photos from Clinton - Part Two

This is the "Lumber Lounge" as you can see, and it's located beyond the right field wall. It is built entirely out of wood (aka lumber), and has a lot of picnic tables. A great area for group outings and picnics. It gives you a good view of the field too, which you'll see in a minute.


The Hawks taking batting practice. Just a general view of the stadium as well.


Does this picture look familiar? It should. I used it on the website last night for the game story. Hey, these pictures don't just automatically appear on the website...some of us actually do some work to get them up there. I wish I could put an action photo up for the game stories each night, but traveling by myself, I can't leave the booth and take photos during the game obviously.


Down the right field line, shooting back towards the plate area. Again, notice how the entire seating area is covered by a roof.


This is an example of one of the walkways that you take from the concourse up to the seating area. I chose section E to take a picture of, but I can't really explain why. There's also an A, B, C, and D. Imagine that!

Photos from Clinton - Part One

We start our journey outside the seating bowl. Believe it or not, when I took this picture I was actually inside the stadium. This is the concourse, behind the seating area. The awning on the left side is a concession stand (although I took the picture before the windows were open). Alliant Energy Field does not have an "open" concourse, meaning you cannot see the game from the concourse area.


A view of the press box. The windows on the left (under the Midwest League logos sign) is my radio booth.



From inside the booth, taken through a window looking at the seating area. You can see how the seats are all covered by a roof. A lot of protection from the weather for the fans. Good on rainy days, bad on days with beautiful weather.


The view from my booth, although this shot is angled a bit towards the left field line. I actually sit directly behind the window on the left and look straight towards home plate. The next picture shows my actual view a lot better.


This is my actual view....what I see when I'm calling the game. You can't get a great idea from this picture, but I am very close to home plate. In fact, I'd have to say that I'm closer to home plate in Clinton than at any other ballpark in the Midwest League.