Tagged: Florida Marlins

Catching up …

Countdowns – T-minus 58 days until the home opener, 56 days before the season opener, and don’t ask about the Osprey record book. The best guess is that it will be ready before the end of May. So that is like, what, 35 days or so … there we go, now that we have that all taken care of, time to play catch-up.

– Adam Eaton (2010 Osprey) is featured in this Nick Piecoro blog entry.

– Mr. Versatility for the Florida Marlins, Emilio Bonifacio (2003 Osprey), may see more time in left field after the Marlins made a roster move on Saturday. Bonifacio has been filling in both at third base and left field this season, and is hitting .317 with two RBIs and two stolen bases for the season.

– Pedro Ciriaco spent 24 hours on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ 25-man roster over the weekend. Ciriaco (2005)  was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis, but was sent back the following day after the Pirates claimed Brandon Wood off of waivers. It’s Ciriaco’s second option – which means the Pirates will have one more left to use on him. Ciriaco is hitting just .143 in 15 games with Indianapolis.

– Wilkin Castillo (2004) had a career run-producing day for Triple-A Gwinnett on Sunday. Castillo had struggled so far this season at the plate for the Braves, but doubled his hit total with the four-hit outburst.

– Any time we see a chance for fans of the feathered to vote for a current or former Osprey, we make sure we pass along the info … hence, the Reno Aces Bobblehead Vote, which runs through this coming Saturday (April 30). John Hester (2006) is among the candidates. Go now and vote!!!

Now on to the Daily Recap:
– Triple-A Reno: The Aces lost to Fresno, 12-5, on Sunday. A pair of former Osprey pitchers struggled in this one – Tom Layne (2007) allowed a pair of runs in 2 2/3 innings pitched for the Aces, raising his ERA to 8.22, while former Osprey Casey Daigle (2000) allowed a run in an inning and 2/3 of work, which actually lowered his ERA this season to 9.35.

– Double-A Mobile: The BayBears lost at Jackson, 15-3, on Sunday. Paul Goldschmidt (2009) had two hits and plated his 20th run of the month in the loss.

– Class A Advanced Visalia: The Rawhide dropped a 10-3 decision to San Jose on Saturday, then had a day off on Sunday. Bobby Borchering (2009) had a double and 2 RBIs, while Kyle Greene (2008) also doubled and drove in a run in a three-run first inning for the Rawhide.

– Class A South Bend: The SilverHawks split a twinbill with Fort Wayne on Saturday, which enabled the Hawks to take their first series win of the season. Bradin Hagens (2009) went six solid innings in the lidlifter to pick up his first win as a pro as a starter, while Blake Cooper (2010)  notched his first save of the season in the 4-2 triumph. RayWilly Gomez (2009) and Bobby Stone (2008-10) each had a base hit for the Hawks in the win. In Game 2, JR Bradley (2010) had his best start of the season, but did not get much support from his offense in a 2-0 setback in the nightcap. Chris Jarrett (2010) tripled, but could not come around to score – it was one of just two Hawks hits.

Today’s Games (and former Osprey who will make starts):
AAA Reno (11-6) at Fresno
AA Mobile (11-6) at Jackson
A Adv. Visalia (6-11) at Bakersfield. Mike Belfiore (2009) will make his second start of the season for the Rawhide.
A South Bend (5-11) at Bowling Green. David Holmberg (2010) gets the ball for the Hawks.

Roster decision time

There are a few days that we here at the Missoula Osprey office look forward to which take place before our season begins. One of those – or, actually, more like three of those days – would be around the First-Year Player Draft.

Another one of those days is shortly after, when the D-backs announce who will be coming to Missoula, and the following days when we relay those announcements.

The third time begins … now.

This is the time that Major League teams announce their 25-man Opening Day rosters, and the minor-league teams also inform all of us who is headed where this season.

Unless you know one of the minor-leaguers, or keep tabs of them through social media means, the announcement of the rosters are the first indication of the progress they are making through the spring, unless they end up playing in a game or 10 with the parent club during the spring.

But, on occasion, we do get some inside information that we can pass along … with that in mind, as promised in the comments section of a prior post, we at Bird Droppings have found these nuggets:

– Derek Eitel has long suspected that he would start the season in South Bend, but the 2010 former Osprey will begin the season in the SilverHawks bullpen. Patrick Schuster (2009-10) will also open the season in South Bend.

– Robby Rowland, also a member of the 2010 Osprey, will not be on a full-season roster to start the minor-league season. Instead, Rowland will stay in extended spring training.

There’s other items of suspicion, like that 2009 Osprey alum Bobby Borchering will start at Class A Advanced Visalia. The Arizona Republic penned a very interesting story on Borchering’s youth. We have to admit, we’re all a little jealous of his backyard field …

And the battle that former Osprey Emilio Bonifacio (2003) find himself in while trying to earn a roster spot with the Florida Marlins.

– Adam Eaton (2010) informed his friends on Facebook on Tuesday night that he will start the 2010 season in the Visalia outfield. Not a surprise, with Eaton making the most of his looks in games he appeared in with the D-backs in Cactus League action.

– Former Osprey catcher Wilkin Castillo (2004) will start the season in Georgia, just not the destination we were hoping for.

– It looks like former Osprey reliever Daniel Schlereth (2008) will be standing on the line at Yankee Stadium with his Detroit Tiger teammates on Thursday. The official announcement is expected to happen today, but it’s pretty apparent he’ll be in the bullpen for the Tigers this season, barring injury. Which, if you have followed the Tigers at all, seems to go with their bullpen.

– Back to the D-backs, as it is now apparent that the final spot on the 25-man roster is in the Mibullpen, with former Osprey pitcher Esmerling Vazquez (2004), who has put together a solid spring, in contention for the spot. Especially with former Osprey left-hander Jordan Norberto now at Triple-A.

This means the following former Osprey (pending official announcements) will likely be on Major League Opening Day Rosters:
– Miguel Montero, Arizona
– Gerardo Parra, Arizona
– Lyle Overbay, Pittsburgh
– Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado
– Jorge De La Rosa, Colorado
– Jose Valverde, Detroit
– Daniel Schlereth, Detroit
– Sergio Santos, Chicago White Sox
– Tony Pena, Chicago White Sox
– Emilio Bonifacio, Florida
– Scott Hairston, NY Mets

Tomorrow, more roster news, and some updates on former Osprey who managed to get in some looks with the parent club in the last few days of Spring Training, as well as one former Osprey who will be back behind the plate soon enough – albeit in Michigan.

It’s Spring … Training

Your official Osprey countdowns – 93 days until Opening Night at home, 91 days until the season opener, and about 80-some days before the team arrives.

– A reminder for Season Ticket holders – you need to have your tickets paid for in full by March 31st to receive a voucher for a free popcorn and pop for each home game this season.

– Former Osprey slugger Paul Goldschmidt (2009) received a start on Sunday for the Arizona Diamondbacks back in big-league camp on Sunday, going 1-for-4 with a double. That moved his average to .429 in Cactus League play, with four doubles, a home run and seven RBIs in 14 games. Goldy and Adam Eaton (2010), who struck out in the ninth inning of the 5-3 loss to the Cleveland Indians, will likely be regulars in the call-up-to-fill-out convoy from minor-league camp for the next week or so. Yup, the breaking of camp is coming soon …

– Speaking of Eaton, sports writer David Jablonski of the Springfield News Sun likes keeping up with the Kenton Ridge High grad, and pens another update on Eaton. Eaton – who is now 2-for-6 with a double and home run in Cactus League play, is more than likely headed to Class A Advanced Visalia, but there is some thought that if there is a need, he may be moved ahead to Double-A Mobile. Eaton has been working out with the Double-A minor-league camp, accoring to Jablonski’s story.

– You can add former Osprey second baseman David Nick (2009) to that convoy – he had an RBI triple that helped the D-backs put away the Oakland A’s in a split-squad game on Sunday, 4-2. Nick has doubled and tripled in four Cactus League at-bats this spring. Nick’s triple capped the ninth-inning uprising, which was started with a one-out double by fellow former Osprey infielder Chris Owings (2009).

– There’s also growing speculation that it could be one of two former Osprey – left-hander Jordan Norberto (2006) and right-hander Esmerling Vasquez (2004) – who could end up with one of the available spots in the D-backs’ bullpen. According to Nick Piecoro, both are possibilities.

– From the video category comes the former Osprey who may very well be the fastest former Osprey of the bunch – Emilio Bonifacio. If you haven’t seen it, it’s the Opening Day 2009 inside-the-park home run Bonifacio hit in his Florida Marlins’ debut.

It was the first such Opening Day home run since Boston Red Sox outfielder Carl Yastrzemski did it in 1968.

– Bonifacio has also taken a step in the utility direction, and is looking to earn a Major League roster spot by being versatile.

– It’s also beginning to look like the 31st Osprey to make his Major League debut last fall will make his first Opening Day roster at the Major League level as well. That would be former Osprey infielder Pedro Ciriaco, who is showing enough to all but lock up a spot on the Pittsburgh Pirates Opening Day roster.