July 24th, 2012
‘Caps alums dealt to Miami brings Infante home
Brantly with the Whitecaps, sporting the Autism Awareness jersey for a very good cause. There is nothing good about the horrid jerseys on Miami. Nothing…
Sometimes being a top prospect is a good thing, and sometimes it simply makes you a target. Just one day after earning his first Major League victory, Jacob Turner is packing his bags and heading south. Instead of wearing the classic English ‘D’ of the Detroit Tigers, Turner will now have to don the gaudy Miami Marlins unis and put up with crack-pot manager Ozzie Guillen. Welcome to the real world, kid. Also going to the Miami organization are catching prospect Rob Brantly, who just participated in the All-Star Futures Game, and pitcher Brian Flynn. In the deal, the Tigers acquire starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez and former Tiger and West Michigan Whitecaps infielder Omar Infante. Sanchez gives the Tigers that extra man in the rotation, and Infante will fill the second base role that has never been successfully filled since the departure of Placido Palanco. In all, Sanchez is the only player in this deal who did not play for the Whitecaps at some point. Turner pitched for West Michigan in 2010, going 2-3 with a 3.67 ERA in ten starts. Brantly and Flynn both suited up for the ‘Caps last season, with Brantly hitting .303 in 75 games. Flynn, a seventh-round draft pick in 2011, started 13 games with a 7-2 record and 3.46 ERA. Infante played in West Michigan as an 18 yr-old way back in 2000, playing in only 12 games and hitting .229. He was traded to the Cubs in 2007, only to be traded to Atlanta shortly after. In 2010 he hit .321 for the Braves, with eight home-runs and 47 RBI’s. Infante was traded to the Marlins in 2010, and is having a solid year batting .287 with eight home-runs and 33 RBI’s. I think the player the Tigers will miss most out of this deal, actually, is Brantly. I like Alex Avila behind the plate, but he’s struggled this season at the plate, and still has to prove that last years’ All-Star performance wasn’t a fluke. However, if the deal does help Detroit get into the post-season and excel there, then I’m all for it. All the best to Turner, Flynn, and Brantly, though!
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Whitecaps win with walk-off!!!
Jason Krizan celebrates with with teammates Ramon Labron and Brandon Loy after driving in the winning run!
Going 20 innings without scoring a run, the West Michigan Whitecaps were due. Facing the best team in the West Division the Burlington Bees, the ‘Caps won last nights’ game 3-2 with a walk-off bloop single by outfielder Jason Krizan in the bottom of the ninth. Manager Ernie Young had the ‘Caps playing ‘small ball’ that inning, with Eugenio Suarez getting hit by a pitch (and would score the winning run), a bunt by clean-up hitter Aaron Westlake, and a sacrifice by Jeff McVaney.
“We didn’t know much (about Bees pitcher Macias) other than he threw a two seamer,” Krizan told MLive.com. “So, it was late in the game, I had a feeling he was going to throw it away the entire at, and the first pitch was there.”
West Michigan started its comeback in the eighth inning, scoring three runs to tie the game. Pat Leyland and Lance Durham earned the RBI’s. The team was also helped by relief pitcher Ramon Lebron, who pitched three scoreless innings to earn the win. As stated in yesterday’s post, winning these close games is so important, and the Whitecaps are now 16-14 (52-48 overall). This was a great game to finish the current home stand, too. The team has today off to travel to Eastlake, Ohio for a series with the Lake County Captains.
Photos courtesy of Cory Morse/MLive.com
Minoring In Baseball
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