San Antonio Missions/Texas League Playoffs Thread

[Melmart1]

Anyone watch or follow minor league ball? I follow the Rangers farm teams including the Frisco RoughRiders, who will be here in San Antonio tonight to take on the Missions. I cheer for the Missions though, since they are the hometown team. I'll also be at the game tonight, should be fun.

And in case anyone hasn't read it yet, one of the relief pitchers from the Missions, Dirk Hayhurst has a blog on Baseball America called "Non-Prospect Diary" it is really great stuff, in case you guys want to read. He started off in Single-A Lake Elsinore and got promoted in May to the Missions. Read it here:

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today...es/264668.html

Read the entire archives (its only about ten or so entires), all are excellent reads and well-written. I am actually jealous, he gets paid to play baseball AND write for a living, and has great perspective on both. Even if he never makes it to the majors, you have a feeling he will still win at life.

[Melmart1]

So I went to the game again last night and had a grand ole time. The Missions won again, they have a superb team. Of course, it will likely get blown up by the time spring training comes, as surely some of these guys ar going to AAA or even the majors.

Tonight is the last home game of the season, no matter what happens. The next three games are all in Springfield after tonight. I won't be going as I have already spent like $200 on tickets and concesions and souvenirs for my nephews over the last two games but I highly recommend it for anyone.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

You and your nephews were probably the only people who went.

That attendance number was pretty damn disappointing last night.

[Melmart1]

You and your nephews were probably the only people who went.

That attendance number was pretty damn disappointing last night.

Yeah, it pisses me off cus they are on the verge of winning a championship and people could care less. There were actually more people at the game from last week than last night. I realize the last game was a Friday but still -- be nice to see more support.

This team is damn good, they get timely hits, run the bases well and seem to enjoy playing together. It was a lot of fun to watch. My nephews really got into it, and my sister did too, though she still claims to hate baseball. I will make them all fans yet.

[fyatuk]

I would like to go to more games, but the stadium location sucks and I hate driving. I go whenever I can talk my friends into driving, which unfortunately didn't happened this season.

[samikeyp]

Stompale Missions!

[FromWayDowntown]

I really should go more often.

I'm toying with the idea of going tonight, but don't think I'll actually make it because crazy clients are making work so much harder than it needs to be!!!

[Melmart1]

Damn, that's too bad if you dont' get to go. Last home game of the season, no matter what happens in Springfield. My nephew won tickets to a game next season, and he is already talking about it I would go but I have spent entirely too much money on baseball already this month.

[FromWayDowntown]

Well, I used to go to SA Dodgers games all the time when I was a kid because a neighbor with kids the same age as me and my brother was the marketing director for the club. He would just take us out there most nights during the summer and tell us to do whatever we wanted as long as we behaved ourselves. It was great -- we got to hang in the outfield during batting practice, sit in the dugout during games, sit in the left field hot tub (though we were certainly not yet ready to take full advantage of that amenity!), run the scoreboard at times, sit with the PA announcer, and I even got to be official scorer one night. It was fabulous for a kid. And enough of those guys made the big leagues (Larry See, Stu Pederson, and Cecil Espy were some of my favorite players back then) to make it even more fun.

I'm going to think hard about heading out there. I guess I have about an hour to decide . . . .

[Melmart1]

You have longer than that. If it's anything like last night there will be excellent seats wherever you want them just by going up to the window. Sad really, its embarassing to me that these players come in and out and prolly think San Antonio sucks and doesn't support their team. I used to live in Seattle and that is a GREAT town for baseball, I am envious of baseball towns.

[FromWayDowntown]

You have longer than that. If it's anything like last night there will be excellent seats wherever you want them just by going up to the window. Sad really, its embarassing to me that these players come in and out and prolly think San Antonio sucks and doesn't support their team. I used to live in Seattle and that is a GREAT town for baseball, I am envious of baseball towns.

My ridiculous client just sealed the no-go for me.

[Melmart1]

Damn. Well, there is always next season! lol ... I will definitely be taking the nephews to several games next season. Maybe I will see you there!

[FromWayDowntown]

Damn. Well, there is always next season! lol ... I will definitely be taking the nephews to several games next season. Maybe I will see you there!

maybe you can take me too!

[Melmart1]

maybe you can take me too!

A baseball game -- with an adult? I wouldn't know what to do with myself, I think I was either a child or always had a kiddo with me. You mean, I could actually drink a beer and not be responsible for someone and not miss entire innings taking them to the bathroom or to get cotton candy?

[FromWayDowntown]

A baseball game -- with an adult? I wouldn't know what to do with myself, I think I was either a child or always had a kiddo with me. You mean, I could actually drink a beer and not be responsible for someone and not miss entire innings taking them to the bathroom or to get cotton candy?

What? You wouldn't get me cotton candy?

[Melmart1]

What? You wouldn't get me cotton candy?

Ok, I might do that, but I draw the line at taking you to the bathroom.

[FromWayDowntown]

Ok, I might do that, but I draw the line at taking you to the bathroom.

Well, fine. Take all of the fun out of it!!

[Melmart1]

Hey Hey Hey ... you are already freeloading, having me take you to the game, buy you cotton candy -- you can't expect bathroom servicing as well.

[FromWayDowntown]

Hey Hey Hey ... you are already freeloading, having me take you to the game, buy you cotton candy -- you can't expect bathroom servicing as well.

[Melmart1]

Pouting does not work with me. I hang around kids much too often to fall victim to that.

[FromWayDowntown]

Pouting does not work with me. I hang around kids much too often to fall victim to that.

Fine, just take my best play out of my playbook . . . .

[Melmart1]

Guess you will have to try harder.

[samikeyp]

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/n...milb&fext=.jsp

Texas League Finals preview
Cardinals, Missions to battle for championship
By Kevin T. Czerwinski / MLB.com

Springfield vs. San Antonio
Cardinals [73-63] vs. Missions [73-66]
[Best-of-5 series]
The established veteran vs. the virtual rookie -- that is what the Texas League Championship Series will be about. San Antonio has a long, storied history in the circuit, while Springfield has fewer seasons in the league than the Missions have les. While that history, or lack thereof, won't help either club when it comes time to play the games, it serves as a fine reminder that the Texas League is one of the oldest and most celebrated circuits in all of Minor League Baseball.

REGULAR-SEASON SERIES
Using the regular season as a gauge won't do much good because the teams split 12 games. The Cardinals hit .270, while the Missions batted .253. Springfield posted a 4.43 ERA, while San Antonio pitched to a 4.27 ERA. The Missions won four of the six games played between the teams last month.

Head-to-head stats
Springfield: OF Colby Rasmus had a huge impact on the season series, hitting .395 [15-for-38] with five homers and 14 RBIs. He had a two-homer game and a pair of three-hit games. OF Juan Richardson, out for this series, batted .415 [17-for-41] with two homers and four RBIs. Jose Martinez also hit .400 [10-for-25] with two homers. Bryan Anderson hit .333 [14-for-42] with a homer and eight RBIs. ... Mitc Boggs made four starts, going 2-1 with a 5.96 ERA. Eric Haberer made three starts and was 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA. Overall, Springfield starters posted a 5.06 ERA, while the bullpen had a 3.40 ERA. Jason Motte recorded two saves and a 1.29 ERA in seven appearances. Matthew Scherer didn't allow a run in 8 1/3 innings over six appearances.

San Antonio: Missions starters were 4-3 with a 3.73 ERA, a number that was inflated by the fact that Sean Thompson allowed 11 runs over 6 2/3 innings. Mike Ekstrom made four starts, going 1-1 with a 2.45 ERA. He struck out 17 over 25 frames and walked 13. Wade LeBlanc tossed five shutout innings in his only start. San Antonio's bullpen posted a 5.09 ERA against the Cardinals and Edwin Moreno earned three saves while tossing 3 1/3 scoreless frames. ... 3B Chase Headley hit .368 [17-for-44] with four RBIs. Nick Hundley provided the pop, hitting two homers and driving in 10 runs in eight games. Will Venable hit .342 with two homers and six RBIs.

PROBABLES
Game 1: Missions RHP Josh Geer [17-6, 3.20] vs. Cardinals RHP Mitc Boggs [11-7, 3.84]

Game 2: Missions LHP Cesar Ramos [13-9, 3.41] vs. Cardinals RHP Cory Rauschenberger [11-8, 4.68]

Game 3: Missions LHP Wade LeBlanc [13-8, 2.95] vs. Cardinals RHP P.J. Walters [12-6, 2.55]

Game 4: TBD vs. TBD

Game 5: TBD vs. TBD

ON THE MOUND
Springfield

Mitc Boggs and P.J. Walters were sharp in Games 1 and 2 of the divisional round, allowing only two earned runs over 13 innings. They walked just one batter, but Eric Haberer struggled in the clincher, allowing three runs on five hits in 3 2/3 innings. He has a 7.71 ERA over his last three starts and it is not known if he will start during the Finals, having lost his turn in the first three games. Cory Rauschenberger will take his spot, starting Game 2. He finished the regular season strong, winning his last three starts and posting a 2.25 ERA in his last four outings. He didn't pitch in the opening round. Poor performances by Motte and Zach Zuercher skewed the bullpen's numbers, inflating its ERA to 6.10. The duo combined to allow six runs in 2 2/3 innings. Scherer and Kyle McLellan were sharp though. Scherer was 1-0 and didn't allow a run in 2 2/3 innings, while McLellan pitched three scoreless frames. Springfield [4.07] finished with the second-best team ERA in the circuit behind San Antonio [3.81]. Haberer, however, has not looked sharp of late. Over his last three starts [two regular season, one playoff] he's pitched to a 7.71 ERA and has gone only 14 innings. He's allowed 19 hits over that stretch. Conversely, Walters, including his playoff outing, has a 1.08 ERA in his last five starts, striking out 25 and walking eight. Luke Gregerson, promoted from Class A Advanced Palm Beach before the series, was effective in his only appearance, throwing a shutout inning and recording a save.

San Antonio

San Antonio pitchers proved nearly untouchable in the sweep of Frisco, allowing only four runs while holding the RoughRiders to a .196 batting average. The bullpen didn't allow a run over eight innings. Overall, the Missions struck out 33 and walked only four. San Antonio has a formidable starting three with Josh Geer, Cesar Ramos and Wade LeBlanc. Geer and Ramos have received much of the publicity this season, but Ramos deserves kudos as well. He's 8-3 with a 3.13 ERA in 12 starts for San Antonio, striking out 10 and allowing only two hits over six frames against Frisco. Of the nine pitchers who took the mound vs. the RoughRiders, only Geer and Ramos allowed runs. Geer has a 1.82 ERA over his last four starts [29 2/3 innings].

AT THE PLATE
Springfield:

So much about worrying where the Cardinals would find offense. Sure, Springfield was hammered by injuries heading into the postseason, losing Rico Washington, Sean Danielson and Juan Richardson, but the Cards exploded for 24 runs against Tulsa, with 1B Mark Hamilton leading the assault. He had a club-record three homers and a record-tying seven RBIs in Game 3. Led by Hamilton, Springfield racked up a club-record 21 hits in Friday night's clincher. C Bryan Anderson hit .462 [6-for-13] with five RBIs, while OF Cody Haerther went 5-for-8 with a homer and two RBIs. Jose Martinez hit .417 [5-for-12] with a homer and three RBIs. Even Allen Craig, who was called up from Palm Beach to help bolster the offense, got into the act, going 3-for-10 with a homer and three RBIs. Colby Rasmus, the league home run leader, didn't have to provide as much offense. He hit .286 [4-for-14] with a homer but must have a bigger output, regardless of the effort put forth by his supporting cast, against the Missions.

San Antonio

The Missions may not have had the type of offensive outburst that Springfield had in the opening round, but they scored 16 runs in the sweep of Frisco. Brett Dowdy had the hottest bat, hitting .455 [5-for-11] with two homers and three RBIs. Will Venable hit .417 [5-for-12] with two RBIs. The biggest surprise might have been Chase Headley, the league's Most Valuable Player, who was not much of a factor, going 3-for-13 with a homer and two RBIs. He did, however, have two hits in the clincher.

HISTORY LESSONS
San Antonio has won or shared 10 league championships, the last in 2003. That year, the Missions topped Frisco in five games to capture the crown. Overall, San Antonio is 97-99 in the playoffs after its opening-round sweep. The franchise first appeared in the Texas League postseason in 1933. ... Like the RoughRiders before them, the Cardinals can't match the Missions in playoff history. This is the first time they've reached the postseason since joining the league in 2005. But they are off to a rousing start. Manager Ron "Pop" Warner guided Palm Beach to a Florida State League le in 2005 and to a playoff berth last year.

SERIES COULD TURN ON
If the Cardinals can remain hot at the plate, they will be formidable. Warner's charges keep finding new ways to score. If they can produce offensively like they did against Tulsa, they will negate San Antonio's pitching.

PREDICTION
While the Cardinals have proven they can score, how can you not like San Antonio's pitching? The thought here is that the Mission pitchers have the edge, allowing San Antonio to win in four.

[samikeyp]

Well, I used to go to SA Dodgers games all the time

Me too. I loved those games.

One time my friends and I went and I got an autograph. My buddies were like "who cares about that guy, he is just one of the coaches"

I corrected them.

It wasn't just a coach...it was a roving instructor.

His name?


Sandy Koufax.


Game, set and match..me!

[Melmart1]

They lost last night, 6-2 I should have gone, I am like a good luck charm. I believe they have only lost once in the games I have attended, and even then they came from four runs down to force extra innings.

Next three games are all in Springfield. GO MISSIONS!