A good day in the minors

In case you haven't seen it by now, Pedro Alvarez hit three homers for Team USA against Chinese Taipai in the World Cup yesterday. And if that weren't enough, the Lynchburg Hillcats clinched the Carolina League championship with a win over Salem. I'm not sure of the last time a Pirate affiliate won one of their leagues, but I know I have a very old On Deck magazine in my closet back in Hermitage that has a story about Jason Kendall leading the Carolina Mudcats to a Southern League title back in 1995 and that year's iteration of the Augusta Greenjackets winning the Sally League. A quick glance of the rosters from either of those two teams should make it immediately clear that minor league success (in terms of wins and losses, at least) does not necessarily portend big league success. Still, I'm more than happy to have a minor league affiliate with Tony Sanchez, Rudy Owens, Ron Uviedo, Bryan Morris, Jeff Locke, and Chase D'Arnaud and the fact that they've w...