The roster for the Biscuits is set and the team begins its first homestand tonight. If you saw the Skitz last year during the playoffs, you will recognize a majority of the players on this seasons squad. A few new additions round out the club and the guys appear confident that they are a competitive force in the league this summer.
NO CANNONBALL
Learned this week that there would be no Human Cannonball for the opening festivities. Kind of a bummer as that was their highly touted "Big Bang" for the new ownership. Ouch!
REBELS TO GET NOTICED
The Biscuits Gm assured me that while they weren't ready to announce anything yet, the two Hall of Fame Rebels, Allan Trammell and Jack Morris, will be recognized in some way this season. Ted Brazzell was mentioned as a possible spokesman, "since Trammell is coaching".In fact it appear that Trammell is a Special Assistant to the GM of the Tigers, so it would be polite to ask him before assuming he can't come.
Jack Morris is a part time announcer with the Twins and no longer calling games for the Tigers, we should check with him too.
MEET THE TEAM AT THE BAR
It is always an interesting event, the first day of fan interaction with the players. Montgomery loves its baseball team and the usual rabid group turns out to shake hands and get an early autograph. Its been held in past years at Eastdale Mall and various locations around the ballpark, this year it was a meet and greet at the Alley Bar.
Moved inside to avoid what was described by some as "fine Disney weather", parents urged their kids into the trendy nightspot and at least one young fellow got an advanced education from the pictures of nude women on display in the mens room of the upscale tavern.
The individual introductions were made, each player taking their place on the raised podium as their resume was read aloud, touting their prospect status, college affiliation and on-field achievements.
After the announcements, then mingling with the crowd. Autographs were signed as players and fans alike relaxed in what is probably a more familiar atmosphere than a shopping mall could provide. After about an hour and a half the crowd was melting away, the Biscuits bar tab was rising over $300 and a new season was set to begin.
BREAKING DOWN THE MONTGOMERY ROSTER
# switch hitter
CATCHING:
Brett Sullivan*Mac James
Brett Sullivan and Mac James return to handle the tools of ignorance. Last year Sullivan hit .272 in 24 games but has yet to hit a home run for Montgomery.
Mac James was in about fifty games and batted in the .240 range, he did contribute a homer as well and should split time with Sullivan for the foreseeable future.
INFIELD:
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| Dalton Kelly |
2B Brandon Lowe*
SS Jake Cronenworth*
3B Michael Brosseau
Dalton Kelly, Brandon Lowe and Jake Cronenworth return to the infield positions they played in the second half of last year when the Biscuits came within three outs of a Co-Championship.
Third base is a position to keep an eye on. Listed officially as a DH, newcomer Mike Brosseau split time between third and second base last year. While his fielding percentage is markedly lower at third base, Brosseau will move up on the strength of his bat - last year he punished pitchers to a .321 average and knocked seven homers. Improved defense and maintaining a good average would lead Brosseau to Durham quickly.
BENCH:
2B Nick Solak
SS/Util Andrew "Squid" Velazquez #
UT Michael Russell - with the team but not yet rostered
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| thats Squids bat, of course! |
Having two quality starting second basemen in Brandon Lowe and Nick Solak, both highly thought of by the Rays, could mean a platoon situation at second. Expect Manager Brady Williams to go with the hot hand in deciding who gets the start on any particular day.
OUTFIELD
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| Nathan Lukes |
CF Thomas Milone*
LF Nathan Lukes*
These three guys will get regular work in the outfield, spelled occasionally by Velazquez or Russell. If there is a place the Biscuits lack depth, it could be here but what they lack in numbers they make up for in ability.
Nate Lukes racked up seven outfield assists and made just one single error in over 350 innings in left field.
New Guys Ryan Boldt and Thomas Milone also bring solid defense to the Montgomery outfield, Milone put in over 500 innings of errorless ball last summer. Boldt was charged with two miscues in seventy games but his stout .295 batting average and 23 stolen bases earned him forgiveness.
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| Genesis Cabrera |
Genesis Cabrera*
Matt Krook*
Benton Moss
Eduar Lopez
Travis Ott*
This years lefty-heavy pitching staff is led by stud prospect Genesis Cabrera, a lefthander with filthy movement and good heat.
Travis Ott, part of the trade that sent Wil Myers to the Padres, is one to watch. Last summer the young lefty posted a stellar 2.06 ERA and struck out over 130 batters, losing just once after a mid-May promotion to the StoneCrabs!
Matt Krook, another southpaw, comes to the Biscuits courtesy of the Evan Longoria trade, features a strong fastball and excellent curveball. He was moved to the bullpen last summer, so he could be headed back to the pen or used in a starting role.
Benton Moss brings reliability, tossing consistently good outings by throwing strikes and letting his fielders do the work. The bearded righthander was a tough luck hurler last year, posting a losing record of 5-6 in spite of his fine 3.25 ERA.
Right handed pitcher Eduar Lopez was dealt to Tampa for David DeJesus, straight up, in 2015. He doesn't strike guys out in huge numbers, but he doesn't walk them either.
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| Edwin Fierro |
Kyle Bird
Jordan Harrison*
Reuben Alaniz
Edwin Fierro
Mike Franco
Kevin Gadea
Zach Lee
J.D.Martin
Dalton Moats*
Austin Wright*
Some familiar names, some new ones. If Krook is ticketed for bullpen work, Mike Franco or Edwin Fierro could slide into the starting rotation.
In the next post we will go over the bullpen crew in more detail, but we can look for some talented arms bringing the relief.
Pitching coach R.C. Lichtenstein said that pitcher Chris Kirsch was close to resuming game action when he was struck by a foul ball just a couple days before spring camp ended. Kirsch has broken bones above the eye and will be out of action for some time.
Pitcher Greg Harris has had labrum surgery, though I am not sure how far along he is in his recovery.
Grant Kay also starts on the DL but I was so bummed out about the two previous injuries I didn't even ask.
Knuckleballer J.D. Martin has a harder knuckler with a little better control of it than the Skitz previous tosser of the butterfly pitch, Jared Mortensen, according to Lichtenstein.
THIS DAY IN MONTGOMERY BASEBALL
A long list of exhibition games take place during early April as teams barnstorm on trains that pass through Montgomery, taking on opponents along the way to their northern MLB ballparks.
Among the standouts during this three day period are the 1898 game pitting Montgomery against Auburn University, a rare exhibition doubleheader and the very first integrated Montgomery team taking the field.
APRIL 5 1928
INDIANS FEATURE LOCAL BATTERY
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| Joe Sewell 1918 University of Alabama |
Indians defeat Montgomery 6-1 in exhibition, a local battery of George Grant pitching, Luke Sewell catching is the feature.Born in Titus, Alabama, Allstar catcher Luke Sewell and his Hall of Fame bound brother Joe are two of the Indians top players.
Formerly of the University of Alabama the Sewell brothers are obviously a very popular draw locally, as well as the pitcher Grant, who was born in nearby Tallassee.
APRIL 5 1941
Cardinals defeat Montgomery, 4-0 in exhibition game.
With Johnny Mize, Enos Slaughter and Marty Marion leading the club, the Cards go on to win more than 90 games that summer. They tuned up by shutting out Montgomery.
APRIL 5th 1949
Rebels host the Richie Ashburn led-Phillies, get beat 2-1 in rain shortened six inning match. Although both teams had a few hits, the three runs in the game are scored without the benefit of a hit. Sacrifices and wild pitches account for all three runs and rainstorms end the game after six innings.
APRIL 5 1969
Cincinnati vs Detroit in exhibition game in Montgomery is rained out.
Bummer.
APRIL 6 1898
MONTGOMERY VS AUBURN
Montgomery hosts Auburn (alabama polytech) in an exhibition game covered by a very long article that described the game much deeper than any 1800s game in this area.
I have posted it in the past, it described the Auburn teams excellent pregame practice drills, easily outstripping the Montgomery pros. Aaaand then the varsity allows 14 runs to Montgomery hitters in the first inning and never has a chance to win.
Cubs - Phillies game rained out.
What a game this could have been! The Cubs with Stan Hack, Gabby Hartnett and Billy Herman are a mighty 90-win beast that year. The Phils have Chuck Klein and Dolph Camilli, truly fans were robbed of a fine exhibition here.
APRIL 6 1946
Cinci Reds face RedSox in exhibition DoubleHeader, RedSox win game one 10-0, Reds win game two 7-5
APRIL 6 1953
Rebels host Phila A's and lose 13-5 to pitcher Bobby Shantz, backed by homers by Clark and Zermal.
Phila. A 300-032-320 13-11-2
Mont, SAL 000-010-004 5--7-2
APRIL 7 1954
A's beat Pirates 17-10 in Montgomery exhibition game slugfest.
April 7th 1954
FIRST INTEGRATED MONTGOMERY TEAM
The Montgomery Rebels have their first black players, John Davis OF, John Mackley Catcher and George Handy 3b. Shortstop Price West, a Montgomery native also is among the first black Rebels. Also, the popular Charlie Metro is replaced as manager.Davis, Mackley and Handy are longtime stalwarts of the negro leagues, reliable veterans with deep pedigrees in the game.
Price West was just a local kid getting a chance to break the color barrier in his hometown, a story that surely deserves more attention than it ever got.
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