Pissed-Skitz, Wheres Ascher?

The Biscuits are fighting to stay in the hunt but have been at a loss to score for two straight days against Jackson. Shut out in back to back games for the first time in almost two seasons, the Biscuits starting pitchers have been excellent but they can't win with zero run support.

The quote of the series came in the seventh inning of Wednesdays tilt with Montgomery down 4-0 when a little girl in the stands behind me asks "Daddy, why are they STILL playing?"


PISSED-SKITZ

Justin Williams wears smiley face wristbands

How frustrated are they?
Justin Williams, so cheerful he has smiley faces on his wristbands, took his bat to something down the tunnel after the last out of Wednesdays game. Its not known what he beat up with it, but when I saw the bat afterwards it looked like a badly organized pile of toothpicks.


Just a couple weeks ago the Biscuits appeared to be a dominant force, now they look to be struggling to stay afloat.

Lets hope it turns around again soon, there isn't a lot of time to waste if Montgomery wants to get back into the playoffs.



WILLIAMS SUSPENDED FOR TIRADE

Biscuits manager Brady Williams was so unhappy with the officials during the series against Jackson that after his outburst the League insisted he should not have to suffer watching the final three games.

The reason cited was contact he made while arguing with the umpires after they ejected Chih-Wei Hu for throwing at a Jackson batters head following a home run.

Brady was not punished for his tossing of bats and balls onto the field following his ejection. While kicking dirt onto home plate umpire David Arrieta's shoes Williams managed to land one kick on the umps shinguard.

The crew of umpires working this series has given Brady Williams fits in the past, last year he was ejected four times by the same group of field arbiters, and twice this year as well. Chih-Wei Hu has a previous ejection by this crew earlier in this season, also while facing the Jackson Generals.

Biased? Hard to question an umpires integrity, but there probably aren't any other managers in the league who have been sent to the showers early six times in 18 months by the same three umps.

CHASE WHITLEY REHAB AGAIN
If you missed Chase Whitley in his rehab start last series, you get another chance to see the big league Troy Trojan pitching at Riverwalk. The former Yankee will make his second Biscuits appearance on Thursday.

Chase Whitley

O'CONNER COMING SOON

I asked pitching coach RC Lichtenstein when we might see catcher Justin O'Conner. RC said "You usually know better than I do where those guys are!"

Justin O'Conner

Okay, RC, I got you.

Listed on the Biscuits DL since opening day, O'Conner reportedly hurt his back driving to spring training. He was sent to the GCL Rays for rehab and has made five appearances, going 4-for-16 with two homers and three RBI's since July 26th. His rehab has included catching games behind the plate, not just being a DH.


Not sure how long a rehab he needs, but as soon as he shows he is fully healthy its expected he will rejoin the Montgomery squad, possibly as soon as Friday.



ROSTER SHUFFLE

Q and Dement discuss the roster

Infielder Juniel Querecuto was sent to Durham, right behind him went reliever Adam Kolarek.

Activated was Tommy Coyle, though Coyle never showed on the league website or was listed as DL'ed on the Biscuits web page.

Coyle didn't spend a whole 7 days out, so there is no telling what shell game the team played to shuffle the roster.

Its been that way all year, leaving fans guessing as to who is active or injured due to nebulous roster activity.


Fans ask me nearly every day where some player or another is, was, or has gone. And its not just me they ask.

WHERES ASCHER?

I was hanging around by the bullpen last week when a kid comes up and interrogates the players about where his favorite pitcher was. It was almost like an Abbot and Costello routine.

"Wheres Ascher?" he asked, addressing anyone within earshot.

"Hey! Where's Ascher?" he repeated several times, increasing in volume until it was no longer impossible to ignore him.

"They needed him in Port Charlotte" one of the pitchers said, hoping it would end the youthful cross examination.

"So Ascher was traded?" kid asks. "No, just reassigned" another pitcher offers.

Where have you gone, Steve Ascher?

"So Ascher was promoted?" kid asks, obviously annoyed now that he has learned Steve Ascher wasn't going to be at the game today.

"Well, uh, no, just re-assigned, he's in Florida" came the reply, nobody wanting to use the dirty word "demoted".

"So Ascher is in Tampa now?" kid asks, inducing cringes from pretty much every uniformed guy in the bullpen.

"Uh, well, no. He's with the Stone Crabs right now, they needed him" was the answer, but it wasn't going over well with the kid.

"Is that even a pro team? Are they a college team?" kid asks. Eyes roll in the bullpen and players start to find anything else to do anywhere but near this kid.

"Its okay, he will probably be back in a couple weeks" another player offered up, hoping it would end the probing interview.

Kid was standing there trying to work out the logistics of what he was being told when his friend bounced up next to him and said....

"Hey! Where's Ascher?"