Ballpark News, Biscuits Nicks and Pics, Bullpen Life

 

Time for news! I keep my ear to the ground and have picked up a few items of interest for the casual as well as the die hard fanatics.

BALLPARK WORK TO BEGIN

Coming soon we will see construction at the ballpark as the new clubhouse is built in centerfield. Players will enter and leave the field by crossing to centerfield, which should prove interesting when a player or manager is ejected! I have not seen plans or renderings but am told that its a done deal.

 
NO NETS!!

Also coming are the dreaded pole-to-pole nets, encasing fans in a cage and ending an era of enjoyable baseball because SOME people can't be arsed to pay attention to the event they paid to get into. Tell your city officials we don't want more than they have already done.

 

GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

Speaking of paying lots of money to see in person something you can get a better view of for free on tv - did you hear how much tix for that Rickwood Field of Dreams game are? Someone told me they start at a thousand bucks! 

The Biscuits and Barons play the annual Rickwood Classic next year, just days before the MLB game, and its expected to be a dress rehearsal of sorts as the game will be broadcast nationally. I am sure many will show up for that, either in Slagtown early for the Field of Dreams game or to take advantage of the somewhat lower ticket price!

Obviously the huge up-side to the Field of Dreams game is the renovation of historic Rickwood Field that will allow the annual throwback game to continue to enthrall baseball fans for years to come.

RESEARCH AND PRESENTATION UPDATE

For those that don't keep score at home, I am helping to organize a baseball history conference here in Montgomery next spring. I was asked to help in bringing together groups for an event that is the first of its kind, the Alabama chapter of SABR, along with the Southern Association Baseball Researchers group, the Alabama Dept of Archives and History, the Montgomery Biscuits and the city of Montgomery will all be pulling together to highlight our local baseball legacy.

 

My own research topic is the 1954 Montgomery Rebels, our first integrated team. And quite frankly, I am going to blow the roof off the place. I will be answering questions that have never before been asked and those answers will startle you. I guarantee it. This will be more than the usual baseball history talk.

Known among researchers for not wanting to bore listeners, I try to make history discussions a more lively experience, encouraging active participation from the audience in a way that is fun and educational for everyone, myself included!

This lecture is one I hope will open eyes about the amazing hidden history of Montgomery baseball's darkest secrets and shine the light of truth in a dark corner that hasn't been looked at in over fifty years.

HOW BOUT THEM BISCUITS?

These Biscuits are good Biscuits. Not great Biscuits but not bad either, somewhere in between. With the summer winding down I felt it was time to share some info that I have gleaned about the guys wearing Montgomery togs this year. Not all biographical information was fully vetted, some stories may be enhanced and/or fabricated for entertainment value, statistics via fangraphs, BREF and MiLB.com .

Ronny Simon - smiles A LOT, enjoys bubblegum and is able to carry the team for a couple weeks at a time, once purchased a Ford Gremlin because he "liked its face", Ronny Simon's .278 BABIP is among the lowest on the team though his WRC is fourth among active Biscuits so Ronny gets it done without knocking down fences

 

 

 

 Junior Caminero - nickname: El Maximo, prospecty and knows it, displays collection of rare gold chains, solid defense and line drive hitter, listed at 6'1 157lbs its obvious he is most of a hundred pounds heavier and at least three inches taller, Caminero's High-A bat was a lot more potent than his Double-A bat has been so far, look for Junior to finish the season strong as he adjusts to Southern League balltossers.

Mason Montgomery - nickname Mace, Biscuits best hurler has trouble getting deep enough into games to earn the W, probably shoots 68 at golf but loses his clubs on the 17th fairway and is denied final score, so far the only Biscuits pitcher to log 100K's this season, third in the Southern League in K-9 at 11.20

Eric Ostberg - nickname: Lord of Girth, Bergie, couldnt buy playing time after pissing Ensberg off in April by showing up relief staff in early mop up appearances, owns a luxury condo in Maui and is just playing baseball during the busy tourist season to have somewhere to stay during the summer.

 

 

 

Patrick Wicklander - nickname Big Wick, stingy with the free passes and once he learns to miss a few more bats Big Wick will be wearing a Bulls uni.

Carlos Garcia - been to Durham and back so many times this year he bought an extra set of clothes to keep there, hard throwing reliever is perfecting his slider and forcing the big club to find room for him in their plans, brings bling to the bullpen along with a sparkling 16.6% swinging strike ratio.

Jeff Belge - nickname Bulge, formerly nicknamed Beige after opening-day jersey typo, lefty reliever deals heat from the hill and witty sarcasm in the pen

Tristan Peters - nickname Stinky P, wallclimbing parkour outfielder plays shallow to show off his ability to chase deep flyballs, Peters has been challenged by Southern League pitchers but shows signs of making the adjustment in the second half, Part of the trade that sent Brett Wisely to the Giants, Peters was flipped by the Giants after they got him from the Brewers, Peters has done much to shake scouts notions that he was lackings defensively and continues to make solid contact

Graeme Stinson - nickname Donkey, the ginger bearded lefty from Georgia is learning how to navigate the late innings, tho he has shed the long whiskers that earned him a Yukon Cornelius nickname last season. Leading the staff in groundballs, the southpaw likely has a long career ahead once he finds a way to miss just a few more bats, prefers PBR to PFP.

Biscuits pitchers Gau (l) and Belge(r)

Chris Gau - nickname Holy Gau/Gausser, earning fine marks for his low opponent batting average and high baseball IQ, Gau's wit is as fast as his four-seamer, sub 1.00 WhIP likely tickets him to Durham next spring if not before

Nate Soria - newest Biscuits catcher on the roster, splitting backup backstop time means Nate spends a lot of time in the bullpen warming up pitchers and honing his wit, while we are still waiting for Sorias first base hit the silver lining is that he is just 1 for 5 in GIDPs, listed at 5'8 he catches while standing upright and is looking to put a hit out on whoever it was that drastically underestimated everyones height and weight on the Biscuits media handouts.

 

 

 

Logan Driscoll - nickname Bufalo, brings power and 70's era chesthair displays to the catching postition, takes over as BigBiscuit in the lineup after Moose Shenton's promotion, listed at 6'1 195 the beerbarrel backstop is obviously using a fake ID at weigh-in, Logan's .373 BABIP might indicate he is living large and due a regression but those pecs dont look at numbers so expect a strong finish - possibly in Durham

 

 

Nelson Alvarez - his strikeouts are up and his infield fly balls are at a career high, so you know that means he is probably throwing high heat effectively, Nelly also leads the squad in swinging strikes and has been more dominant than his 4.20 ERA would suggest.  

Antonio Jimenez - nickname Frijolito, listed at 5'11 145 lbs, Jimenez is at least two inches and thirty pounds above that estimate, the Dominican southpaw has numbers this year that are a painful result of surrendering eight home runs in just twelve relief appearances, in his first season converting from being a starting pitcher, being in a new role likely gives Frijolito plenty of leash for learning and won't be punished for having bad numbers in his limited action this season. 

 

 

Heriberto Hernandez - nickname The Kraken, leads active Biscuits regulars in On-Base Percentage at .372 in large part owing to his excellent understanding of the strike zone, Heriberto seems able to earn a walk in every game and has collected over fifty to lead the club in free passes, Hernandez hits well when he does swing and posts a .345 BABIP good for second on the team among regulars.

 

 

 

Cole Wilcox - nickname Big Country, Wilcox has been a staple in the Skitz rotation this summer and provides quality work, with a career high in innings approaching nearly double his workload in 2021 and second on the Montgomery staff in pitches thrown one has to wonder if he will be shut down or moved to a relief role in the final weeks, though that would be a real blow to the Biscuits pitching staff but would help the Rays protect a big piece in the deal that sent Blake Snell to the Padres.

 

Johan Lopez - nickname The Johan, Dont mess with the Johan, back with a vengance!

John Doxakis - nickname The Warden, but could also be the Punisher for leading the Skitz staff with 10 hit batsmen, Doxakis is one of the main men skipper Mo Ensberg turns to when the Montgomery team needs relief on the bump, sure he walks too many batters and he hits a few and yeah he is sometimes good for coughing up a longball but John Doxakis doesn't allow teams to pepper the field with hits and that is what brings Mo out of the dugout to wave in The Warden.

Apologies to the guys who didn't get mentioned due to lack of time and space! 

 

#BULLPENLIFE

 

BISCUITS ROLLERCOASTER FIRST HALF WINDING DOWN

The Montgomery roster is in its usual state of midseason flux, with occasional trouble in the bullpen and limited starting pitching. And of course theres plenty of catching and middle infield gloves to spare. A long streak of playing lousy has the Skitz on the ropes for the first half, no surprise to longtime Montgomery fans who have seen the team rally in the second half in about a half dozen recent campaigns.

Greg Jones was promoted and the general consensus is that the Biscuits are a better team without him. Hitting around .220 for most of the season, Greg has enough speed to steal 40 bags but can barely make enough contact to get on base enough to swipe half that. Jones views himself as a multi-talented infielder/outfielder with power and speed, but in fact his hits are to be found on the ground instead of the launch-angle routine flyouts and weak contact grounders we saw in his time in the Gump.

Hitting up and down the order, Jones was given every chance to thrive and then tossed to Triple-A to sink or swim. The talent is there but unless he learns to make contact Greg Jones will have trouble carving out a career.

Sean Hunley, the league leader in fewest baserunners per inning, was promoted to Durham, then sent back. Mason Montgomery and Cole Wilcox are fantastic hurlers but the Skitz are hurting the deeper into the rotation you look. Hunley is a welcome return.

Also on the silver lining end of things, Mason Auer and Evan Edwards have broken out of season-long slumps, injecting much needed baserunners onto the pillows. Newguys have arrived to reinforce the ranks and help sweep the infield clean of baserunners. Infielder Junior Caminero has potential and Gionti Turner also adds a versatile glove to the infield mix.

FRESH NEWS FROM AROUND THE PARK

Two items of interest in and around the ballpark - first up, a dead armadillo was spotted on the railroad tracks beyond the outfield fence. Not a big deal now, but by the next homestand everyone will know if it has been left to decay. *update* be on the lookout - the funk is already starting to creep in!

In other news we hear that Biscuits announcer Chris Adams-Wall will get the promotion to the bigleagues next month. Of course this means a new voice in the radio booth for Montgomery. No word yet on the replacement, and of course we wish Chris the best in his adventures!

This weekend the Biscuits got a visit from Ben Hill, author of the popular minor league blog Bens Biz. Ben was here in 2015 and I enjoyed catching up with him during rain delay that preceded the rain-shortened second game of the days doubleheader. 

 

The pre-tacked MLB baseballs the Southern League has been using in the first half will go away. For the second half of the season teams will use MLB baseballs prepared with the more traditional rubbing mud. Pitchers I talked to had less concern about using pretacked baseballs versus mud, but were unanimous in being unhappy as guinea pigs in a lab experiment that required a mid-season change in something so important as how the baseball is gripped.

INSTAGRAM

Dude I have no clue over there. But I post pictures. I am terrible with tagging or hashtags or witty captions. If you are down for Biscuits baseball and Montgomery history images, I invite you to check out the IG since I am obviously slacking here! Same name, DrMiraculous is easy to find.

The pics here today are all classics from the files because blogspot has made it a little more difficult to upload. I will try to get it back to normal as we move into the second half!

HISTORY CONFERENCE COMING

I met with the State Department of Archives last week and previously talked with the Biscuits front office and I am happy to report we seem to be progressing well towards the 2024 Southern Baseball Research Conference. 

The Archives Dept is awesome and I was allowed to view some of early baseball cards in their collection, which may be displayed during the conference. If you are a baseball card fan, their exhibit will be nothing short of breathtaking.  

We have a speaker - tentatively, a former MLB pitcher who was a Montgomery Rebel! With an assist from the Biscuits, though the scheduled date might be a factor so we probably can't throw his name out there.

 

My presentation is slowly progressing. Focusing on a whole team is not my usual M.O. but I think it will come together nicely the time its due. Already I have learned lots about my chosen subject that I previously didn't know, but that is not at all unusual. The more you learn the more you realize you don't know!

We are also working to include a tour of Montgomery's three standing structures that have hosted MLB exhibition games. I'm not sure how many other cities can make that claim, but with Riverwalk, Paterson Field and Cramton Bowl all closely situated near the Archives Dept it's hoped that a field trip can be included.

The Buttery Buzzsaw, Montgomery Baseball History, Numbers Game

 

A flaky, home baked, steaming hot buttery buzzsaw. That's what this Montgomery Biscuits club has been so far, chalking up victory after victory and able to dismantle Southern League opponents with five different weapons: hitting, pitching, defense, mojo and swagger.

Mojo and swagger, not technically a metric for analytics but certainly part of the eye test and this Biscuits squad is leading the league in both. The Gumpskitz look to keep the good times rolling at home with a ten game homestand against Pensacola and Biloxi. 

So far the Biscuits hurlers have combined for one no hitter and are chucking a combined ERA under 4.00, good for third in the circuit, which longtime Montgomery fans have rarely seen in early season stats. "Give the bullpen time to gel" has been the annual mantra through the end of May as long as most of us can remember. But these guys have turned the tables, pitching top shelf stuff and looking good doing it.

The Biscuits haven't even needed an opener in the first three series! 

 

THERE GOES JOE

Joe LaSorsa was promoted to Durham, continuing a tradition of not making it thru the series that the coverboys face adorns the program cover for. At least this guy went the right direction!

MANFREDS TREATED BALLS

The Southern League this year is using pre-tacked baseballs. Well, they are pre-tacked but they aren't exactly pre-tacked baseballs. What I mean is, the balls are normal MLB standard orbs. But in order to improve grip they have been sprayed with a chemical treatment developed by 3M and MLB in an experiment that would end the tradition of using mud to rub baseball before the game.

Upsides include better grip, more uniform application, makes baseball extra white

Downsides include short-lasting, sometimes spray obscures logo, makes baseball extra white

 

NUMBERS GAME

Graham Spraker

Biscuits pitchers are punching out opponents at a rate of over 12 per nine innings and are tied for fewest free passes in the league.

1.249 Biscuits pitchers lead the Southern League in WhIP.

32 203 .762 Biscuits hitters lead the league in stolen bases, total bases, OPS

6  Stolen bases thru fifteen games for Greg Jones and Ronny Simon, tied for third in the SL.

Heriberto Hernandez has more walks (11) than hits (10).

Starter Sean Hunley has been posting eye-popping numbers through three starts, allowing just one earned in 13 innings while punching out 17 against only six hits and has yet to allow a free pass. 

Want more eye popping strikeout numbers? Montgomery reliever Mike Mercado has whiffed 13 men thru just five and two-thirds innings!

Logan Driscoll

.361 Logan Driscoll's batting average, good for third in the circuit. Logans four homers also gives him a share of the league lead in round trippers.

Biscuits reliever Victor Munoz is a work in progress through three games. His strikeouts (12) are great for his number of innings (7 2/3 IP) but Victor has surrendered a whopping 16 hits and six walks resulting in a ballooning ERA over 14.00 in the early going.

NEXT TIME:

THE RETURN OF YUKON CORNELIUS 

Graeme Stinson returns to the Biscuits after a short absence. More later as it becomes available.

#BULLPENLIFE

HISTORY TIME

 

No we have not stopped having history! Here is this weeks history file, with the ever-dangerous Ike Durett involved in his infamous ump-beating that led to a ban from the Southern circuits. Also Steve Trella's No-Hitter vs the Suns and the Negro league great Cuban Stars visit!

APRIL 24 1976 Steve Trella no hits Jacksonville 1-0

April 25, 1966 Southern League/ Michael D. Kilkenny of the Montgomery Rebels had 5 wild pitches v the Macon Peaches.

APRIL 25 1926 Montgomery Grey Sox host Cuban Stars in two game series at North Side Park

APRIL 26 1906 Montgomery manager Ike Durett, in a game at Birmingham, assaults umpire Buckley. This would be a factor two days later, when Durett is refused permission to sit in the dugout during the game and results in a forfeit when Durett refuses to leave.

APRIL 26 1916 Grey Sox vs Cuban Stars of Havana in Montgomery.

APRIL 27 1893 Montgomery Colored Baseball Club organized in Montgomery Alabama

Ike Durett

APRIL 27 1956 The Rebels host the Augusta Tigers in Sally League play, losing 6-4 in a game that takes 4:24 to play, finishing at 12:09 am

APRIL 28 1906 Montgomery forfeits to Birmingham Barons after manager Ike Durett is refused permission to sit in the dugout by an umpire he attacked two days before. Durett will be fined $300 by President Kavanaugh and eventually released by Montgomery.

Happy New Year! Opening Day 2023

 

 

Its Opening Day for the hometown Biscuits who welcome the Tennessee Smokies to town for the first home series of the year. The Biscuits are off to a fine start with a pair of wins in their first road series and look to extend their luck in front of the home fans.

Biscuits ballpark has gotten a fresh coat of paint and is ready for a new tilt around the southern loop.

BISCUITS WELCOME SMOKIES FOR GRAPE JELLY SERIES

Among the Smokies arriving its expected that top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong will be with the visiting ursine franchise that is well-laden with potential. Outfielder Owen Cassie and infielder Chase Strumpf and catcher Miguel Amaya pepper the prospect list as well as the Smokies batting order. 

Also with the Smokies for the first installment of the 2023 Grape Jelly Series, lefthanders Jordan Wicks and DJ Hertz and righthanded Ben Brown along with fellow righty Daniel Palencia, are all possible future members of the Chicago rotation. Porter Hodge and Ryan Jensen also find themselves listed among top arms in the Cubs stable assigned to Tennessee. 

Smokies manager Mike Ryan is a five year major league veteran with the Twins and Angels. Smokies development coach Tyler Ladendorf, who was in the majors with Oakland and the Cubs, has a long minor league career as an infielder, and also has one MLB appearance as a pitcher!

PRE-TACKED BALLS

The word on the street is that the Southern League is the testing ground for Manfreds sticky balls. We will soon get a look at the orb in play and I wouldn't think it would take long to know if sticky balls are a good thing or not.

A similar experiment took place last summer with a ball coated with sticky stuff being forced up the games in the Southern League. The result of that foray was uniformly failure, as the spheres were yanked from use in less than a week and never even appeared at Riverwalk.

OVER ON IG

I do post my pics of game action on Instagram and have begun working together with a Biscuits fan page there, be sure to check them out @ BiscuitsRising on IG and hopefully they enjoy reading the blog!

Once we get a look at the team in action I will have lots more info to share. Happy New Year!

 

Cooking Something Good!

 

I'm cooking something. Of course we will all get to taste it when it's done, but first lets catch up.

 

I thought I had been traded to ASU but after a few attempts to get in touch with them I was met with noticeable apathy which abated my own ambition to pimp their team and ballpark. It's a shame as they have a long baseball history that I am not sure even they are aware of, with pedigree ties to the game that are unrecognized today. Perhaps they will yet decide to work together but I admit my desire to force myself on a scholastic athletic club is somewhat lacking. 

 

In other news the Biscuits look to break the bank with their jersey sales this year, including, but not limited to, Star Wars, Marvel superhero, camo jersey. In the past its been noted that the same group of fanatics go hard for the jersey auction and its thought the team often trys to give as many opportunities as possible to get fans shirts. Or they make money on the deal. Or both. Either way they are going all-in this year to fill fans closets and empty their wallets. Sadly, no throwback uni for Montgomery this year.

COOKING UP GOOD NEWS

The big news from my offseason wasn't just compiling the team roster for Montgomery to fill out a decade-wide gap in the history books. Okay, it was for me but everyone else will probably be more excited to learn that Montgomery will host the 2024 Southern Association Baseball Research Conference!

The conference, known as the SAC, brings together the top baseball historians, authors, researchers and enthusiasts as concerns the game in the southern USA. Usually held in Birmingham at historic Rickwood Field, the conference offers a chance to meet and compare notes, networking among the attendees and viewing displays of rare memorabilia. Speakers give presentations to share their research among their peers and baseball history is the focus. 

 

Other cities that have hosted the SAC include New Orleans, Atlanta and Memphis with this years meeting being held in Nashville, all cities in the former Southern Association. After nearly twenty years of exploring the history of the segregated Southern Association, its teams, players and ballparks, organizers agreed there is a need to branch out to cover all types of baseball in the area of the city hosting the conference. That includes Negro League, independent teams, industrial leagues, barnstorming games and a wide variety of places and individuals that have been too long overlooked by historians.

The organizing committee has asked me to be the point-of-contact for the SAC in Montgomery.

The planning is for the SAC Montgomery 2024 is moving along swiftly, with a huge assist from the State Dept of Archives, who recently added new items to their collection and agreed to display them during the SAC. Their curators have even been kind enough to invite me to personally help select items for display, and I have a few choice requests that I am sure will be fascinating, ones that even my good friends in the Archives may not even have noticed in their storage!

Also on board is the fantastic Biscuits front office and owner Lou DiBella, who kindly took the time to take my call concerning the SAC and made the experience even more fun than I could already imagine. Having the Biscuits as a part of the conference seemed a must, as the most important part of Montgomery baseball history has been its pro teams.

 

In fact, 2024 marks 70 years since Montgomery's first integrated team in 1954 and will be the focus of my presentation for the SAC, and after ten years of study on the Rebels clubs, I have some real surprises in store! 

Also it's the twentieth season of Biscuits, having lost one to that recent unpleasantness. It's my hope we can tie in the history of the Biscuits with the integration of the Rebels and Montgomery's other great teams, players and games in a way that fans can digest easily and appreciate fully.

BULLPEN LIFE