As the Hawks get set for the final game (and rubber game) of the series at Avista Stadium, it’s time to take a quick look at life here in Spokane – as the first two games here have had monster crowds of 6,913 and 7,012, the first crowd over 7,000 fans in the Northwest League since August 1, 2009 (7,088 fans for a game in Spokane against Eugene).

Before we get into life here in the Inland Northwest – big news coming out of Los Angeles today, as two former Hawks, Brett Jackson (who hit .330 with a homer and 15 RBI in 2009) and Josh Vitters (who earned Northwest League All-Star honors in 2008 after .312 with five homers, 37 RBI, 25 doubles and a 25-game hit streak) were called up by the Cubs.  Both made their Major League debuts – Jackson (pictured left, courtesy MLB) going 2-for-4 and Vitters flying out in a pinch hit role, becoming the 98th and 99th former Boise Hawks to play in MLB.  Jackson also becomes the first member of the 2009 class to make it to The Show.

Back to here in Spokane, one of the neat things at the ballpark that has been added in the past couple years is “The Depot” – a group area in right-center field where fans are able to sit right on top of the action.

The group area is a part of the larger “Grotto” that was built at Avista Stadium during the 2004 season – a true homer porch that was elevated so fans can sit and mill while watching the game.  It is only 296 to the right field corner – where Dong-Yub Kim hit a solo homer in the series opener that might have gone 305 feet total.

I checked out the concession prices here in Spokane – as one of the things that fans in Boise complained about when we had our “Rant” a month ago was that it was too pricey for hot dogs, beer, pizza, and sodas at Memorial Stadium.  Beer here at Avista Stadium is $5.50, Sodas are either $3.00 or $4.00, while a simple hot dog (which I am not a fan of their hot dogs) are $3.00.  A slice of pizza (which is from Pizza Pipeline, which used to have Boise locations) is $5.00.  Their condiment bar is basic, with ketchup, mustard, some relish, onions, and sauerkraut – no pickles or peppers.  Another downer is the basic pre-game meal option – a hot dog, a hamburger, or a chicken sandwich (just 1), nothing else added (though their PR man Bud is awesome and brought me some popcorn on Friday night), though the soda fountain in the booth (with cold water) is a plus.

Took a four-plus mile walk each of the last two days from Georgio’s Gym – where we have held our team lifts each of the past two days, walking down Sprague Avenue back to the hotel.  I was amazed at how many businesses have gone under here in Spokane, along with the concentration of tattoo parlors and Asian restaurants.  I did come across one of the more unique businesses – the White Elephant Toyland, complete with a huge white elephant on top.  There was a Jimmy John’s, a 5-Guys Burger, and your typical fast food joints along the route.

NOTES – Dong-Yub Kim left the game in the fourth inning with a knee sprain, he is day-to-day…Matt Iannazzo was solid last night, tossing 2 2/3 innings of shutout relief…he has not allowed a run on the road this season, but has a 27.00 ERA in Boise…Marco Hernandez had a bunt single last night, extending his hit streak to a team-high nine games – the third longest current hit streak in the league…the team will not overnight to Everett, they will spend the evening in Spokane and travel across the state of Washington tomorrow morning for the 7:05 p.m. game.

 

A total of 16 former Boise Hawks are currently on rosters of Rookie teams, while 20 others are currently on Low-A rosters of Major League teams.

Of the group in the complex leagues – pitchers David Cales, Mike Hamann, Amaury Paulino, Andrew McKirahan, Ben Wells, and Jose Rosario, infielders Jonathan Mota and Brad Zapenas, and outfielder Reggie Golden – all with the Mesa Cubs, are currently rehabbing injuries, as is Casey Lambert with the Orioles Gulf Coast League affiliate.

Rookie Level

RHP Jin-Young Kim  9 G  0-1 2.00 ERA, 2 saves, 6 K in 9.0 IP

C Justin Marra  13 G .333 0 HR 6 RBI, 4 2B

OF Shawon Dunston Jr.  18 G .266  1 HR 6 RBI, 3 2B

Coaches – Oscar Bernard (Spokane Hitting Coach), Ryan O’Malley (Spokane Pitching Coach), David Macias (Mesa Staff Coach)

Low-A

LHP Jeff Antigua  28 G  2-2 3.21 ERA 57 K in 56.0 IP

RHP Michael Jensen  23 G  9-4  3.34 ERA, 102 K in 124.o IP

RHP Pete Levitt  15 G  1-2 8.10 ERA, 12 K in 20.0 IP

RHP  Luis Liria  31 G  1-4  4.56 ERA, 42 K in 47.0 IP

LHP  Sheldon McDonald  25 G  0-3  1.91 ERA 42 K in 47.0 IP

RHP  Austin Reed  31 G  4-5  3.68 ERA, 41 K in 51.1 IP

RHP Bryce Shafer  26 G  2-3  3.68 ERA  37 K in 36.2 IP

RHP Larry Suarez  31 G  2-5  7.36 ERA  31 K in 44.0 IP

RHP Yao-Lin Wang  32 G 3-3  3.16 ERA, 12 saves, 53 K in 51.1 IP

RHP Joe Zeller  27 G  2-4 3.00 ERA, 49 K in 75.0 IP

C  Yaniel Cabezas  45 G  .195 0 HR 9 RBI, 4 2B

C  Chadd Krist  34 G  .315  2 HR 18 RBI, 11 2B

IF  Wes Darvill  93 G  .225 2 HR 30 RBI, 12 2B

IF  Zeke DeVoss  101 G  .231 4 HR 29 RBI, 20 2B, 29 SB

IF  Paul Hoilman  103 G  .240 7 HR 59 RBI, 30 2B

OF  Pin-Chieh Chen  101 G  .269  2 HR 42 RBI, 13 2B, 26 SB

OF  Bijan Rademacher  31 G  .330 2 HR 11 RBI, 10 2B

OF Oliver Zapata  88 G  .237 4 HR 24 RBI, 7 2B, 13 SB

A total of 16 former Boise Hawks are currently playing professionally in the six indepedent baseball leagues (Atlantic, CanAm, Frontier, NAPBL, Pecos, American Association).  The following are the players in the independent leagues.

OF Chris Walker  (Camden)  81 G  .246  9 HR 32 RBI, 11 2B, 26 SB

RHP Jon Hunton (Long Island) 20 G 2-1 5.57 ERA, 13 K in 21.0 IP, 7 saves

RHP Josh Lansford (Long Island) 15 G 0-1 7.54 ERA, 13 K in 14.1 IP, 1 save

OF Ryan Harvey (Lancaster) 63 G .309 11 HR 28 RBI, 12 2B

LHP Andy Sisco (Somerset) 4 G 0-0 9.00 ERA, 6 K in 4.0 IP

OF Runey Davis (Evansville) 29 G .204 2 HR 10 RBI, 3 2B

IF Pierre LePage (Florence) 46 G .222 2 HR 24 RBI, 6 2B

OF Drew Rundle (Florence) 48 G .204 9 HR 29 RBI, 7 2B

LHP Ben Klafczynski (Lake Erie) 19 G 0-0 3.08 ERA 18 K in 26.1 IP

RHP Steve Grife (Southern Illinois) 21 G 0-2 4.37 ERA, 23 K in 22.2 IP, 6 saves

OF Alvaro Ramirez (Southern Illinois) 66 G .269 2 HR 24 RBI, 20 SB

Pitching Coach Carmen Pignatiello (Joliet)

RHP Jake Renshaw (Joliet) 5 G 1-2 6.23 ERA, 23 K in 21.2 IP

IF Ryan Cuneo (Windy City) 47 G .267 4 HR 30 RBI, 7 2B

RHP Aaron Shafer (Fargo Moorhead) 15 G 7-4 5.42 ERA, 75 K in 83.0 IP

IF Uriak Marquez (Laredo) 52 G .271 3 HR 25 RBI, 2 2B

There is always something new for this blog, and maybe since we’ve hit the 20,000 page view mark, we’d need to try something – writing from the side of the road on the bus.  Literally, I am sitting on a guardrail next to Interstate 84 in Eastern Oregon (mile marker 207 is about 100 yards in front of me), as our team bus broke down around 2 a.m. this morning (pictured left).  When Hal our bus driver, Bob Grimes, and I checked out the damage in the back (bus engines are in the back of the bus), we could smell coolant and see tons of liquid sprayed atop the outside of the bus.  Four hours later, we are still sitting here, waiting for another bus to make its way to Pendleton (and just got word that the replacement bus is still 100 miles away and has a possible air leak).

 

It was an interesting time as a lot of the Extenders – guys who played together in Extended Spring, were outside the bus around 3:30 and relaxing as the temperature on the bus was warm (until I made the startling discovery to open the escape hatches on the roof to let in the air).  Twitter pictures and video blew up everywhere (you can see a lot of it on @BoiseHawksRadio).  We also found out on the side of the road that Rock Shoulders has made the final of the Minors Moniker Madness tournament on MILB.com – he will square off against Rougned Odor (who was the second baseman last season for the Spokane Indians) in the final.  Look for a chat with him on MILB.com later today.

This morning brings back all of the bus problems I remember over the years – including my first ever ride on a bus as an eight year old.  My family went to Disneyland and had a transfer from LAX to our hotel in Anaheim and the charter broke down on the side of the 605 – it made me never want to be on a bus again (those charters in the early 80s weren’t to plush).  We’ve had a couple bus issues while I have been at The College of Idaho – those, however, weren’t so much breakdowns as weather related.  We got stuck for an hour about two miles east of here in a Wendy’s parking lot – when we couldn’t get up a small hill due to the ice.  A couple years later (day of the first New England-New York Super Bowl), it was a bit more serious, as we hit a patch of ice and slid off the road 40 miles outside of Klamath Falls – landing at a 30-degree angle in a snowbank (which kept us from tipping over completely).  The only way out of the bus was through the emergency windows with the temperatures around zero outside – where we waited for over five hours.  I also remember our first trip home from Eugene during the 2003 season, as we were halted by a head-on car crash east of Bend for two hours in the middle of the night.

97 GUYS IN THE MAJORS: With the trade deadline shuffling – and former Hawk Geovany Soto getting shipped off to Texas, some movement went on in the Cubs organization.  Casey Coleman got called up for a spot start and then sent back to Iowa, with former Hawk Alberto Cabrera getting his first call to the Show.  Cabrera, who posted a 3-3 record and a 5.68 ERA with Boise in 2007, made his MLB debut on Wednesday, tossing a scoreless inning in a Cubs 8-4 loss to Pittsburgh, becoming the seventh former Hawk to make his debut this season (joining Flaherty, Gonzalez, Lalli, Parker, Downs, and Beliveau) and the 97^th in franchise history.

5 STRAIGHT WINS AND…: A five-game win streak has been rare for the Hawks – a lot of three and four game runs over the last couple years, but the 14-10 win on Wednesday pushed the streak to five for the first time since July of 2008.  The luck ran out last night, as the Spokane bats, which recorded 34 runs and 47 hits in the series, finally scratched out a win.

Getting a bit nippy out here from the big rigs rolling by, so going to get back on the bus – hopefully talk with you tonight at Avista Stadium as the road trip begins in Spokane.

UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – A second bus, which was brought in all the way from Boise (which surprised many of us since there are charter companies in both Pendleton and the Tri-Cities), arrived in at the scene just before 8 a.m. Pacific Time – five hours and fifty minutes from the time we pulled off the road.  We were visited about 30 minutes prior by an Oregon Department of Transportation worker, who loaned us some cones to set up a safe work area (which I set up – using my years of experience as a worker in the Pierce County Traffic Operations Division from 1994-2001, in fact, was happy that my taper of cones was perfectly straight).  The bus was unpacked and repacked in about 20 minutes – with pitching coach David Rosario and I doing a lot of the packing (loading a bus is like loading the back of a car for a vacation), and we were headed on the road after six hours and nine minutes.  Another three and a half hours later, I walked into my hotel room at the Mirabeau Park Hotel at 11:45 a.m.

Thanks for the countless tweets and mentions from friends, members of the media, and loved ones for myself and the guys on the team – I honestly think people coast to coast knew what the Boise Hawks were doing early this morning.

Rock Shoulders is in the semifinals of Minor League Baseball’s Minors Moniker Madness contest for the best name in Minor League Baseball.  Every vote counts in his semifinal matchup against Cedar Rapids’ Caleb Bushyhead.  You can vote for Rock as many times as you wish online at http://www.milb.com/milb/fans/moniker_madness/y2012/index.jsp?redirect=monikermadness

Watch the promotional “Vote for Rock” video produced by the Hawks online at  http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=3666557540787&saved

It is a big week for the Boise Hawks staff – as we will be giving our evaluations for all of the interns, while the front office will be giving us all of our yearly evals…wish me luck.

The Hawks will gun for their fifth win in a row tonight – they have not won five-straight since July of 2008 (when the team had Ryan Flaherty, Marwin Gonzalez, Andrew Cashner, Josh Vitters, Jeff Beliveau, and Chris Carpenter – all at the same time).  (Click Here for Wednesday’s Boise-Spokane Game Notes)

Memorial Stadium magic showed up for a fourth time this season last night, as the Hawks blew a 9-1 lead in the fourth and a seven-run lead in the eighth, only to win it on a Jeimer Candelario RBI double in the ninth – his second walk-off winner this season (Rock Shoulders and Stephen Bruno have the others).  The squad made a couple moves after the game, as RHP Roderik Pichardo was released by the Cubs, while OF Izaac Garsez was activated from the DL (had been out since July 18 with an infected bursa in his left elbow)

The win featured three-hit games from both Candelario and Stephen Bruno and the first Boise homer for slugger Dan Vogelbach.

NWL News – Interesting news coming out of Milwaukie, Ore., yesterday, as the Northwest League missed a deadline to “place” a team in Milwaukie for their stadium project to move on – with City Council members feeling the stadium issue may be dead.  (Click Here for the Oregonian article on the issue)

Just a quick hitter today as the 10 day, nine game homestand continues tonight against the Spokane Indians, as the Hawks and Indians are deadlocked atop the East Division with 4-2 records.  Boise has won a season-best three-straight games – thanks to their first back-to-back shutout wins since 2006.

Ian Dickson was honored yesterday as Northwest League Pitcher of the Week after tossing 11 shutout innings, allowing just four hits and striking out eight in two wins.

It is a who’s-who of Cubs brass in town, as former Boise manager and Cubs Minor League Hitting Coordinator, Tom Beyers, Infield Coordinator Bill Dancy, Catching Coordinator Marty Pevey, and Outfield/Baserunning Coordinator Lee Tinsley are all in town.  They picked the perfect five games – two vs. Tri-City, the off day (in which the group went rafting on the Payette River), then the three vs. Spokane.

For my off day, I spent it in the office at The College of Idaho, migrating web pages for our new athletic web redesign.  Was able to grill chicken and vegetables, and took a nice walk last night (though the mosquitos got me).

FOOD UPDATE: They have changed things up here at home, as both radio guys are fed by Home Plate Food Services, while the rest of the pressbox gets vouchers for what they want in concession fare.  The food has been solid throughout this trip…Food Standings through 7/29 – Chicken Sandwich (5), Pizza (5), Ham/Turkey Sandwich (5), Hot Dogs (5), Smoked Sausage (4), Pulled Pork Sandwich (4), Hamburger (4), No Food (2), Pulled Pork Nachos (2), Meatball Sandwich (3), Chicken Caesar Wrap (3), Salisbury Steak (1), Philly Cheesesteak (1), Fish & Chips (1).

A Saturday night crowd of 2,436 fans watched the Hawks throw their first 1-0 shutout in 122 games, dating back to the end of the 2010 season (a victory over Spokane at Memorial Stadium – with 2,900-plus fans in attendance during football season).  Tayler Scott was solid, gutting through a tight strike zone to put up five zeros, helped by a pair of double play balls, while Hayden Simpson had his best outing of the season, retiring 9-of-10 men.  Eddie Orozco slammed the door with a pair of strikeouts in the ninth to pick up his first save.

The win featured a ton of ground balls – as 16 outs on the night were the direct results of outs on the infield, and featured the Hawks winning for the first time when Mark Johnson had been ejected (fifth time he’s been tossed, this time for arguing a debated ball/strike call with home plate umpire Louis Williams).  Video replay seemed to back up MJ’s claim, but it is the beauty of baseball – the judgment call.

Speaking of attendance, it has been a grind at the gate for the team – most pointing to the 16-27 record this season as to the reason that fans have stayed away, as the community “only supports a winner”.  The Hawks have had only three crowds in 24 home dates this season above the 3,000 fan mark – while last season (with a losing record), the team had six 3,000 fan crowds at this point; and in 2010 (with a losing record), the team had nine 3,000 fan crowds by July 28.  The thought of a winner was prevalent in 2010, as Boise was in a first-half pennant chase vs. Yakima – drawing three-straight 3,000-plus crowds in late July (on a Tuesday-Thursday), drawing 10,192 fans during the series – more fans than the first five games of the current five-game series combined.  Even in 2003 – the worst record ever by a Hawks team (which, ironically, had a 16-27 mark through 43 games), had five 3,000-fan crowds.  Has the hot weather this summer (day after day of 95-105 degree days over the last three weeks) been the issue, as the nice weather in Everett (and the best team in the NWL) has helped the Aquasox to a huge jump in attendance, while Vancouver leads the league with 11 sellout crowds of 4,900 or more.

But where do the Hawks stand amongst other short-season teams in the MILB?  The team sits in sixth place among the Northwest League teams and 21st among the 34 short-season affiliates in attendance – ahead of towns like Great Falls, but behind Ogden, Billings, and even Idaho Falls.

Short Season Attendance – Aberdeen (NYP) 6,487, Brooklyn (NYP) 6,479, Spokane (NWL) 4,587, Lowell (NYP) 4,610, Hudson Valley (NYP) 4,290, Tri-City (NYP) 4,242, Vancouver (NWL) 4,122, Staten Island (NYP) 4,083, Ogden (PIO) 3,683, State College (NYP) 3,537, Billings (PIO) 3.418, Mahoning Valley (NYP) 3,117, Eugene (NWL) 3,000, Grand Junction (PIO) 2,821, Salem-Keizer (NWL) 2,747, Vermont (NYP) 2,701, Idaho Falls (PIO) 2,656, Everett (NWL) 2,513, Orem (PIO) 2,484, Missoula (PIO) 2.481, Boise (NWL) 2,388, Tri-City (NWL) 2,165, Williamsport (NYP) 1,946, Great Falls (PIO) 1,720, Connecticut (NYP) 1,612, Yakima (NWL) 1,598, Greeneville (APP) 1,456, Jamestown (NYP) 1,158, Burlington (APP) 1,151, Kingsport (APP) 1,132, Bluefield (APP) 1,025, Bristol (APP) 991, Danville (APP) 975, Johnson City (APP) 975, Elizabethton (APP) 949, Batavia (NYP) 928, Princeton (APP) 903, Helena (PIO) 879, Pulaski (APP) 811 (pictured left).

Despite the attendance woes (as typically, the Hawks average between 2,500-2,700 fans a game), they are outdrawing many teams at the long-season levels – including Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Beloit, and Burlington  in the Midwest League (Burlington IA would be second to last in the Appalachian League – and is pictured right), Asheville, West Virginia, Hickory, Savannah, Kannapolis, and Hagerstown in the South Atlantic League (Yakima actually outdraws Hagerstown – where Bryce Harper made his pro debut), Rancho Cucamonga, Lancaster, High Desert, Visalia, and Bakersfield in the California League (Bakersfield draws just 686 fans a game), 10 of the 12 teams in the Florida State League, ahead of Mobile, Huntsville, and Jackson in the AA Southern League, and just behind Tucson in the Pacific Coast League – who would fall in the middle of the short-season pack.

Though we’d all hope for better attendance, we can see that it could be a whole lot worse.

Things got a bit chippy in the final game of the series with Yakima on Thursday night – a night after the Bears blew up Hawks catcher Willson Contreras not once, but twice at home plate.

It started with Contreras getting plunked by Yakima starter Blake Perry (one of the best control pitchers in the Northwest League), then Boise starter Jose Arias hit Josh Parr with two out and no on in the third.  The next time Contreras came to the plate, he was drilled again by Perry, which forced the umpire crew to warn both benches (meaning any other “intentional” hit by pitch would result in an ejection of both player and manager).  Arias, who tossed six shutout innings, went “out” for the seventh – but his purposeful first pitch hit Shaun Cooper, with the big righty and his skipper each being ejected.

Was it over…no, as in the bottom of the inning with two on and two out, Xavier Batista singled, with Contreras bowling over Yakima catcher Ronnie Freeman (who hung onto the ball) in a violent collision to end the inning – earning Contreras an ejection as well (and both dugouts spilling onto the warning tracks in front of them).  I would think the series August 19-21 in Yakima may be interesting.

It brought back memories for me of some benches clearing situtations I have seen, along with the one “Base Brawl” I witnessed.  The last time the Hawks cleared the benches was in 2009, when Everett manager John Tarmago took offense to a bunt by Hak-Ju Lee with Boise up 7-2 in the eighth inning – having his pitcher buzz Logan Watkins with the next two pitches, earning an ejection.  During his rant with the umpires, he popped off with Hawks skipper, Casey Kopitzke, as the duo went toe-to-toe, emptying the benches, as you can see from the amateur video.

The previous benches clearing moment was way back in 2005, this time against Yakima, as a Boise pitcher Edgar Baez plunked the Bears Lester Contreras with a pitch – taking two steps to the mound while pointing his bat at the hurler.  What was memorable about it was Hawks’ third-baseman Elvin Puello and Yakima’s Ricardo Sosa going nose-to-nose without a punch being thrown.

I did witness a full-fledged baseball fight in my younger days at the Kingdome, when the Mariners were playing the Brewers (back when they were an American League team).  It was mini bat night and we had moved from the cheap seats down behind the Brewers bullpen.  Not one, but two benches clearing altercations took place, the second one moving down the right field line into the aforementioned bullpen – punches and wrestling taking place right in front of some 12-year-olds at the ball park.  It was crazy!!!

ATTENDANCE NOTE – The Hawks had 2,310 fans at Wednesday’s $1 night, while across the parking lot at Les Bois Park, the track attracted 3,937 fans (having drawn just under 5,000 fans last Saturday).

It was a great way to open up the longest homestand of the season – as the Hawks “took” a no-hitter into the eighth inning and eventually defeated the East Division first half champion, Yakima Bears, 2-1.  However, when one looks at the box score this morning, things will look a bit different.  Ian Dickson was outstanding – by far the best outing of the season for the former Lafayette start, retiring the first 15 men in order.  However, officially, he allowed one hit – as an error charged to Stephen Bruno on a grounder into the hole by Ronnie Freeman was changed this morning to a hit.

If you were listening to the game last night, I was very critical of the scoring decisions – which are not easy on a regular night, let alone when a no-hitter is in the making.  My thought is that you have to take everything surrounding a play out and rule on whether or not it was a routine play that should have been made without any extra effort – which is what the scorer decided on after the fact, as Bruno was on the outfield grass with a backhand and Freeman is a catcher that runs well.

So, instead of the first two-hitter by the Hawks since J.R. Mathes and Jon Hunton combined on a 2-0 shutout in Everett in 2004, it is the second three-hitter of the season by the Boise staff.

Nonetheless, it was fun for me as a broadcaster – as one thinks, do you mention the perfect game (through five innings), do you mention the no-no through seven?  Many broadcasters say no, I mentioned it, but in a round about way – using not allowed a hit, no base-runners, shutout, etc., but I don’t think I used the no-hitter or perfect game cliches.  The Hawks as a franchise have yet to throw a no-hitter, though the team was no-hit by Tri-City in 2001.  I have never called a no-hitter in baseball, but can remember a couple intense fastpitch softball perfect games – including one at Pacific Lutheran University in 1997 in the District title game to send the team to the NAIA Women’s World Series.

Roster moves continue – as the Hawks roster has been maxed out with the addition of Dan Vogelbach (boy does he have a quick, strong bat) and the addition of Justin Amlung (12th Round, Louisville) today.  Though the Hawks do not have the full allotment of players in Boise, they are hamstrung by the Cubs farm system, who has too many players in Mesa – which means there are players on the Hawks roster (Pierce Johnson, Brian Smith, Rashad Crawford) who have never came to Boise, but are on their DL to free up space in Mesa.

Wanted to share a great picture from the trip home on Monday night from Eugene, as skipper Mark Johnson allowed my son, P.J. to ride the bus back to Boise with us.  He was so excited to be on the same bus as the “Cubbies” and for a four-year-old, he was very well behaved – didn’t goof off and even did a great job making it to the back of the bus when he had to use the facilities.  As you can see, he also crashed extremely hard (which made it a long night for sleep for his Dad) – but it is a memory he’ll always have.