Numbers Fib & Stay Classy, Pensacola

The Biscuits continued their tailspin during the ten game homestand, tossing three to the Ms.Braves and four of five to the P-Cola Blue Wahoos.

Braves P Cornelly

The Skitz have been terrible the past six weeks, capped off by the seven losses on the homestand.

Brady's Boys have struggled to hit the ball, kicked it around afield and been ineffective as pitchers and baserunners. Every aspect of the game has fallen apart for this team, and is in a sad state heading into the second half of the season.


HIGHLIGHTS
The ten game homestand featured some notable events - rainouts, an unplayable field, a pair of doubleheaders, Big Mo passing out from the heat, Guest of Honor Mountain Man almost passing out from the heat, coaches away from the team.

Also there is Jeremy Moore getting hit in the head while caught in a rundown, Reds top prospect Stephenson getting drilled on a comeback line drive, several late inning losses, an Emcee falling down on the field, the GM barefoot in the rain, the owner with her pig and a whole pile of Biscuits striking out.
  

MO-SKITZ MOVES
Taylor Motter was activated from the Disabled List. On the seven day DL since May 3Oth with a shoulder injury, Motter was quickly inserted back into the lineup on his return.

To make room for Motter Reliever Mortensen was sent to the DL with a sore arm. After his last appearance, I may hit the DL with a sore ass - it chafed me to have to watch it. He wont be out long, meaning we can hope to see some roster changes soon.

 WHERE ARE THESE GUYS?

Only the Lookouts score fewer runs than the Biscuits and on the pitching side Chattanooga is also the only team with a worse ERA than ours.

Can't wait to play them, should be lots of people running the bases!






NUMBERS DO FIB
We are in the middle of the pack in most other stats, which sounds better than it actually is - we were among the league leaders in the first thirty days. That means that we have been at the bottom of the stats lists since, averaging us out to simply mediocre instead of registering the "barely living" level that we have been playing at the past six weeks.

Ryan Brett and Cam Seitzer during warmups

INSULT TO INJURY

Exacerbating the frustration of the doubleheader loss, bloodthirsty Blue Wahoos supporters were relentless in their fandom. Vocal during the whole series vs Pensacola, the Monday afternoon pair of contests became a blowout but the Wahoos fans were merciless as a cheering section.

Even worse, it was a family of fans doing the incessant encouragement - installing in the children a concept that there is never enough, that your team should pad the score and you should shout about it while visiting another's ballpark.



HEY MEAT!

Heads up Wahoos fans, get out your pencils, I'm gonna teach you something here....

The old "Lets Go Wahoos" Clap-Clap-Clap is a fine way to show your support.
However when your team is up 9-0 in the last inning its not acceptable.

There is no need to cheer every pitch or out-shout the home fans in a blowout game between two teams out of the race.




HERES THE CLUE

When the first baseman stops holding the runner on, its time to lay off telling EVERY Wahoos player that they had a good cut on every swing and miss.

Its great to applaud hits by your batters, strikeouts by your pitchers or nice catches by your defenders. You should cheer that.

Don't yell at the ump for not giving you the corners when you have more runs than outs left in the game.

Winning by nine runs not enough? Is your team so bad that nine isn't a big enough lead?

It got to the point that even the Pensacola players would cringe on hearing their own fans. At that point the fans are doing their own team a disservice and disrespecting the host team and its fans.


NOT A SORE LOSER
The Wahoo cheering guy said to me, Thanks for being good losers about it, but I didn't even offer a reply to him.
People in Montgomery are simply nice enough not to lower themselves to that level. Its not that we are "good losers" about it, its that we know how to respect the game.

In other ballparks you will be yelled at, abused and insulted, for less than what the Pensacola fans brought out at Riverwalk. Its the equivalent of standing in the batters box too long to admire your homer off of us, of stealing bases with an eight run lead or spiking us on a late slide into second on a double play in a meaningless game.


Sometime in the future, maybe this season maybe next, maybe later - we will be there to return the favor.
Everyone loses games, has a tough stretch and gets blown out.
Biscuit fans will be cheering loudly when Montgomery gets to give it back. If your goal was to create a rivalry, Pensacola fans, you have succeeded.

And don't expect a second chance in Montgomery, the fans here are already arming themselves with cowbells and Air-Horns to drown out opposing fans. There may be times we lose 9-0, but we won't let anyone else's fans be louder in our own park again. 
Ever.

TODAY IN MGM BASEBALL HISTORY

JUNE 10 1906 

Bert Maxwell

Montgomery pitcher Bert Maxwell shuts out the New Orleans nine on 3 hits.


Bert wins 17 games for the oh-six Sens which would propel him to the majors later that year - in September Maxwell makes his big league debut for the Pirates. He takes the loss in his cup of coffee and returns to Montgomery in 1907 to have another good season, winning 18 of his 27 decisions.

Maxwell. an Arkansas native, will spend parts of four seasons in the majors with Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, the New York Giants and the Brooklyn TipTops of the outlaw Federal League.

Biscuits Owner puts foot in mouth, Guevara Returns

The Return of Hector Guevara


It happened quickly.
Riccio Torrez decided a seven game losing streak was the last straw on the back of the camel that carried his big league hopes. Torrez hung up the spikes, cleared his locker and headed home to the ranch.

The Biscuits were without an infielder to start the ten game homestand.

Seitzer, Shortstop

Cameron Seitzer played shortstop.

He handled his chances cleanly, a six-three putout was his first game action at short. Later he would field a grounder and step on second base to get the force out as he threw to first in a double play attempt.

He had no hope of getting the runner at first, but he threw a 95 mile an hour missile to first in his exuberance - nearly taking 1B Jeff Malm's arm off at the shoulder to complete the fielders choice.

A roster spot open, a phone call already made.

Hector Guevara is a Biscuit.
Again.

The Venezuelan utility infielder was a Skit last summer, batting .230 with two steals in 34 games.

Hector will worry about what he is arriving to, last time his promotion brought him into a heated series and he took a beanball in his very first double-A at bat.

Welcome to the team, Hector

BUT WHY?
Here in Montgomery, fans should be wondering why we are getting Hector.
Like so many of the previous promotions in recent years, we see the parent club send us less of what we need and more of what can be termed "roster filler".

Guevara is a decent guy, I have no beef about him, but we have to look at the numbers.

At Charlotte, Guevara is hitting .204, just 19 hits in 24 games with one stolen base. Sure, Hector plays three infield positions, Shortstop, second base and third base, but his career fielding percentage is just .962 and already he has more errors this year than he did all of last year.

How does a guy hitting .204 on his way to a career high in miscues get promoted?


WHO ELSE IS THERE?
Overlooked in the promotion to replace 24 year old Riccio Torrez is 24 year old Leonardo Reginatto.

Leo plays the same Shortstop, Second base and third base, is hitting .339 with 11 stolen bases in the Florida State League. Sure, hes been liable to make errors for the Crabs with 13 already this year, but he would seem to have the stats to warrant promotion.

How about Pat Blair down in Bowling Green, hitting .275 with two homers and twenty RBI in 45 games at shortstop. Blair is 23 years old and a collegiate out of Wake Forest, likely enough experience to make the jump over a level. Bowling Green has two Shortstops on their roster, they might survive with just one with Blair promoted.

Other than the fact that he was here last year and knows how to find the ballpark, I don't see alot of help coming from the Hector Guevara promotion.



HOW NOT TO ENDEAR YOURSELF TO THE FANS

I don't usually flat out complain about the Biscuits owner Sherry Myers, but sometimes she says or does something that sticks out more awkwardly than her frontward-facing fanny pack.

In a newly published interview with a writer covering sports logos, Sherry makes it obvious what she thinks about the people she wants to support the team.

The rest of us...

I was always taught to be inclusive, not to draw verbal lines excluding people or putting myself above or apart from others. I find this to be a continuing trend of Biscuits ownership putting down the fans of the team and the people of Alabama as a whole.


Tolerance and honesty go a long way in building trust, qualities that we have often been disappointed in where Biscuits ownership is concerned. If Sherry Myers doesn't want to be seen as a carpetbagger, she should learn to stop putting down southerners.

Even MLB owners have had serious backlash for their personal biases when they affect the bottom line and start causing bigger problems for the league as everyone realizes the bigotry and hatred they harbor.

Its not like female baseball owners have the best reputation to begin with, she should be careful with the stereotypes she uses or risk being one herself.

 

Biscuits flaking out

BISCUITS FLAKING OUT

The team that started so strong fans were ready to print playoff tickets by the end of April has fallen off quickly after losing seven straight and even second half hopes are fairly doused.

The dreaded elimination number for the Biscuits is 11, any combination of Skitz losses or BayBears wins means we are out of the race. Also, in order to win the half we need to vault both Mississippi and Jacksonville, one of whom just beat us like a dirty rug and the other of which has their turn next!


THAT WAS THEN...

Casali

Who knew we were being propped up by Curt Casali and Jake Thompson? Yet that is what it appears to be, as we have struggled at the dish and on the hill since the departure of the veteran reliever and the Vandy backstop.


Even the victory that halted the Biscuits franchise high seven game losing streak was almost handed over in the ninth inning. With a firm lead late the bullpen did everything it could to give up the game but the Suns just barely ran out of outs.


WHATS NEXT?
The May version of the Biscuits is the polar opposite of the April Biscuits - its back to being tough to watch and fans now wait for the glass to spill before deciding if its half full or half empty.

As the Miss.Braves and Wahoos arrive for a ten game homestand to begin June, Biscuits fans wonder what will their glasses be filled with this month?

no doubt about it

MO-SKITZ TEAM NOTES

Taylor Motter has been sent to the Disabled List, Jeff Malm was activated from extended spring training to fill his spot on the roster.


Grayson Garvin was activated from the Disabled List and pitched two innings in a start against Jville.

At 27-28 the Biscuits would be in second place if they were in the North Division, instead of fourth place in the South. However the team would be even farther behind the division leader, a full ten games back of the Huntsville Stars, who just swept the powerful Smokies in a five game series.


PITCHING FITS
Andrew Bellatti leads the team in getting swings and misses, be they in the strike zone or out of it, with Runion and Patterson close behind. All are over 80% swinging strike rate.

Reliever Jimmy Patterson leads the team in getting swings and misses in the strike zone, always a strong part of his game.



GLAESMANN COMEBACK

Former Biscuits outfielder Todd Glaesmann, traded for Heath Bell in the offseason, has announced he is being reinstated and will be returning to baseball on June 8th with the Dbax.

It couldn't happen to a nicer guy, or a better rain turtle artist.

G-man announced his retirement earlier this year but recently tweeted that he wasn't quite ready to give up the dream.

A talented player, one of our faves, we wish him the best!



SAINT HENRY

Another former Biscuit having a baseball time of it, Henry Wrigley is back to doing what he does - hitting homers and playing great first base. 

Wrigs is hitting .263 with three homers for the Saint Paul Saints of the American Association. True to his usual habits, he has driven in 16 runs in 14 games.

Henry is just ten home runs shy of 100 for his career, a nice milestone!


THOMAS APPEARS

Former Biscuits catcher Mark Thomas was assigned to the Mobile BayBears from extended spring training this week. He returns to the Southern league after being caught by the leagues witch hunt drug program.

I'm glad of it, he is an excellent catcher and I look forward to seeing him on the division leader BayBears roster.


SAD NEWS OF REBELS PASSING

Moose Morton

Morton played for the Rebels in 1955, catching and filling in at third base for Montgomery in 106 games. He hit .263 with ten homers for the Rebels that season. In his career Moose was a solid bat in the lineup, hitting .282 and hitting 79 homeruns in nine seasons.

Morton, a Tuscaloosa native, had exactly one at bat in the major leagues, striking out for the Red Sox on September 17th 1954 against the Washington Senators. At that time the Rebels were affiliated with the Red Sox and they farmed Moose to Montgomery in '55.

Morton had attended UofA on a baseball scholarship and signed with the RedSox as a pitcher - an arm injury led him to move to catching. His career was put on hold for the Korean war, and after his playing days were over he went back and earned his BA from Alabama and then his Masters.

Morton

Later, Moose would be known by folks near his home in Ohio as Rev. Guy Morton Jr, pastor. Guy Morton Jr passed away in early May.

Moose's dad Guy Morton Sr. was a major league pitcher with Cleveland with over ten seasons at the big league level, winning 98 games. Guy Sr. died when Moose was just five, but the pair is one of the rare Father-Son Alabama natives to make the major leagues.


Leo Marentette

Leo Marentette was a 19 year old rookie getting his first chance at pro ball when he got to Montgomery in 1960. 

Leo Marentette

Born in Detroit the kid was pitching against Alabama-Florida league hitters and doing well, winning seven games and losing seven with a fine 3.98 ERA. Leo started 15 games and relieved in another 13 as he put in over 120 innings pitched.

Leo gets a little more MLB time than Moose Morton, but not much. In 1965 Marentette is given the call by the Tigers. He gets into two meaningless late season games, allowing just one hit in three innings. 

He won't get back to the Bigs until 1969, when the Montreal Expos need arms. Leo pitches in three games and is rocked for four earned runs, including a Bobby Bonds homer at windy Candlestick park. He even gets an at bat and while he doesn't get a hit he also doesn't strike out.

Leo Marentette passed away on May 8th 2014.

Mo-Skitz, Two-Lukes & How to win a game without throwing a pitch

 

The Biscuits fell to the Stars on Saturday to even the series at two games apiece. The "best team in the Southern league" has been less than bulletproof in Montgomery.

The rubber game on Sunday could prove interesting, as the Stars are not used to having to press to win series and the Biscuits have had no problem hitting the Huntsville bullpen. The Huntsville team has the talent, but the fiesty Skitz have been unwilling to roll over.


If that is the hallmark of Brady Williams management style, I like it. This team doesn't know the meaning of the word Quit.

They do know the meaning of the word Run.

This may be the year of the GoGo Skitz, but the numbers don't exactly reflect what we see between the chalk.

RUNNING THE NUMBERS

This year the Biscuits are running wild, stealing bases and executing the hit-and-run often. With nearly 40 stolen bases already, this team stands to blow past last years steal total of 88.

But everyone in the league is running more, the Skitz will likely drop from 6th in stolen bases last year to seventh in spite of the extra steals.

However only one team has been caught stealing less than us, a category we led the league in last year. All in all I would say that we have been better at choosing our spots for steals, optimizing our opportunities. Also that there are no catchers who can throw out baserunners raises the stolen base totals for everyone!

MO-SKITZ FACE TIME

Putting the Mo in Mo-Skitz, the Biscuits have enjoyed a nice run at "Moustache May" and have some very good facial appendages working.

Williams

The coaching staff leads the way, though if Brady Williams keeps his lip sweater all year he will need to do a new opening announcement video or it will look like we fired our manager mid-season and hired a new one with a mustache.

Among the other face hair growing guys - Matt Lollis is well on his way to the intimidating closer 'stache. Taylor Motter has a blonde shock of tough scruff that isn't apparent from a distance but seems to grow longer the closer he gets.

The catchers Maile and Bailey have both got the look of classic era players and have impressed me in many ways - more on that below!

Several other guys have great facial hair working, its a pleasant change from the clean cut/shaved head look. I find it makes it easier to root for a guy when I can recognize him and its great to see the team encourage a little individuality!

TWO-LUKES

We miss Casali's bat in the lineup, but his Durham departure has allowed us to enjoy seeing the two-Luke catching tandem.

Mustachioed battery Matt Lollis and Luke Bailey

I mean of course, Bailey and Maile, who have been in the squat for the Skitz since Curts callup.

Both these guys follow the play to first base, running in foul territory behind the runner in case of an overthrow.


Its a small thing, but when I see a catcher actually come down the line more than a few steps it tells me they have a respect for their game and a drive to win.

Most catchers don't get twenty five feet down the line, yet we see Bailey and Maile chasing the action as far as 75 or 80 feet down the first base line. Already this year they have pulled in errant throws and prevented runners from advancing on potential errors.


Also they are great at blocking balls in the dirt. They aren't afraid of using their body to block a pitch on the bounce and keep the play in front of them. Both are probably black and blue from ankle to neck from knocking down balls that hit in front of the plate. As any Biscuits fan knows, we often see our balls in the dirt, so its great to have a couple guys who can really reach down and dig them out.


WANT MORE?
How about their hitting - the two-Luke catching tandem is the best hitting catcher pair we have had maybe ever. Hitting a combined .290 with 19rbi, the pair also lead the squad in Line Drive %. Both are in the top half of the team in OPS. Yes, Casali was excellent, but as a pair we could certainly have worse than two-Lukes!

COMING UP....

JVILLE STEALS OUR GAME!

The Biscuits hit the road for a series in Jacksonville, Florida against the Suns. If you check the schedule online you would see that its become a SIX game series instead of the usual five. The May 9th Friday night rainout at Riverwalk was changed to a road game in order to get it played in the first half.

Just another example of the league office giving us the shaft - this is where we can point the finger when prices go up and low attendance is cited as the issue. Here's hoping we sweep and thumb our noses at them on the way out!

The Biscuits return on Saturday May 31st against the Ms.Braves, including a guest appearance by "Mountain Man" from Duck Dynasty. Mountain Man has come down from the hills of popular TV to make appearances at quite a few minor league parks already this season. Its a ten game homestand, after the Braves we welcome the Wahoos for the last home games before the Southern League AllStar Game.

Will Cameron Seitzer get a chance to defend his Home Run Derby title? I think so!

Cameron taking a mid-at-bat break on his way to winning the HR Derby

HISTORY LESSON -

MONTGOMERY'S MEMORIAL DAY CONNECTION TO MAJOR LEAGUE VETERANS

MAY 24, 1918  
RALPH SHARMAN DROWNS 

Ralph with A's 1917

Ralph Sharman, drowned on May 24 while swimming in the Alabama River at Montgomery near Camp Sheridan. Sharman was only 23 years old and had temporarily left a promising big league career with the Philadelphia Athletics to join the Army. He was captain of the Camp Sheridan team.

Ralph Sharman

Sharman is one of just five major leaguers who are killed in service during World War One, and is the only one to die in the United States. The others were killed overseas and include Alex Burr, Eddie Grant, Bun Troy and Larry Chappell.

Sharman signed and appeared with the A's in 1917, playing in just 13 games. He collected 11 hits, a pair of RBI and stole a base. He is buried in his home state of Ohio.


MAY 24th, 1941
SELMA PITCHER WINS GAME WITHOUT THROWING A PITCH

Selma Cloverleafs (Southeastern League) 

Toenes

Leafs pitcher Hal Toenes relieves in the top of the ninth inning against the Jackson Mississippians with a runner on 1B and two out.  

Without throwing a pitch to the batter, he picks the runner off at first base. The Selma Cloverleafs, four runs down in the 9th inning, score six runs in the bottom of the ninth to give Hal Toenes the pitchless win. 

(from "baseballlibrary/chronology/1941MAY")

see you at the park!

Time Factor Creeps In

Yes indeed, time is a factor for the Biscuits. Last week we got to the one-quarter pole in the MLB season, containing deeper importance for a team in a split season - the first half is halfway complete. Make sense?

Its tough on the Skitz but they did enjoy a day off, skiing, mountainclimbing, catching spies and all other things a player can do on an offday and free netflix from the apartment complex's unsecured WiFi.

Or maybe get something for the grill and just have dinner.

Good for them, because the work starts again today- the North Division sends their beastly Stars to face off on Military Wednesday to begin another five game assault. Last time here they took four of five games, pounding out over 35 runs on us. And that was before the roster moves that sunk the lineup into the slump its been in this month. A strong showing will be needed in the next three weeks if a first half victory is to be had.


The MoBiscuits are currently tied for second place with the Ms.Braves, both three games behind division leader Mobile.

HAK JU LEE HAS A NICE RING TO IT

Congrats to Hak-Ju, not only is he getting back on track with his career prospects after his injury last year, but he also got his Durham Bulls 2013 Championship Ring. Nice!

MAY 21 1906
Montgomery hosts New Orleans in a record setting game, it takes just 2 hours and 22 minutes to play all nine innings. There's something you don't see anymore!