Yardbarker: Mitch Canham

Cubs Trio Help Solar Sox Glow to Victory

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:09:29 -0500

Starlin Castro jacked-up his AFL league-leading batting average to .423 as he ripped two singles, knocked-in two runs, and scored one, Josh Vitters tripled and scored, and John Gaub tossed a 1-2-3 7th, leading the Mesa Solar Sox (Cubs, Marlins, Red Sox, Angels, and Twins) to a 7-2 victory over the Peoria Saguaros (Padres, Reds, Indians, Braves, and Astros) in Arizona Fall League action this afterenoon at HoHoKam Park in Mesa.

box score

AFL leading hitter Castro was the Solar Sox DH today and hit 2nd, getting four ABs.

Facing Saguaros starting LHP Mike Minor (Braves 2009 #1 draft pick out of Vanderbilt) with a runner at1st base and no outs in the bottom of the 1st. Castro lined a single to LF on the first pitch he saw, advanced to 2nd uncontested on the back-end of a double-steal, and then scored on a two-out two-run RBI single to CF by Hank Conger (Angels).

Castro bounced out weakly to the third-baseman in his second PA against Minor in the 3rd, before lacing a two-run RBI single past the SS into left-center off RHP Mike Leake (Reds 2009 #1 draft pick out of Arizona State) with two outs in the 5th. In his final AB of the day, Castro struck out looking to end the 7th, only his 5th K in 55 AFL Plate Appearances.

Vitters played 3B and hit 6th, grounding out on a first-pitch broken-bat roller to the second baseman his first time up leading- off the 2nd. before popping out to short RF in his 2nd PA the 5th. But the 20-year old really tagged one leading off the bottom of the 7th against Padres RHP Mike DeMark, juicing a laser-liner stand-up triple into the right-centerfield gap that rolled all the way to the fence. He then scored on an error. In his final AB, Vitters flied out to CF.

Vitters had only one chance in the field today, handling a routine grounder without incident, as he back-handed the ball, squared himself, and made a strong & accurate throw to 1st base to nail the batter by two steps. .

LHP John Gaub entered the game in relief in the top of the 7th and was unhittable, striking out Mitch Canham (Padres) swinging and Josh Rodriguez (Indians) looking, before retiring Lance Zawadzki (Padres) on a lazy pop up to the 1st baseman in foul territory. This was certainly Gaub's best AFL outing (so far), as he alternated a 94 MPH heater and filthy breaking ball.

The 24-year old Gaub was one of the three minor league pitchers the Cubs acquired from the Cleveland Indians in the Mark DeRosa trade last-off-season. He figures to get added to the Cubs 40-man roster on 11/20, because otherwise he would be eligible for selection in next month's Rule 5 Draft. .

And Michael Brenly made his AFL debut this afternoon, entering the game as a defensive replacement at catcher in the top of the 9th.

RHP Andrew Cashner is scheduled to make his 4th AFL start tomorrow, as the Solar Sox travel to Peoria Stadium for a rematch with the Saguaros.

San Diego Padres Writers Roundtable Vol. 1: July 30, 2009

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:23:56 -0500

Seizing upon the brilliant concept used by B/R Indians columnist Slammin Samantha Bunten (Thank's Sammi, You rock!!"), I am starting with what I hope will become a regular item here on Bleacher Report, The San Diego Padres Writers Roundtable. At the Roundtable, we will discuss Padre news, and post our opinions of where the Padres are headed, and what can be done to get the team rolling in the right direction again. Or, at least get some Pizza... Joining the Roundtable today for our f...

Henry Blanco headed to the DL

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:44:35 -0500

Henry Blanco headed to the DL Strained right hamstring. Hundley won't be back until after the All-Star Break, and with no other catchers on the 40-man, so some other moves will have to be made. Jose Lobaton (.241) is at AAA and Mitch Canham (.271) is at AA.

Week in Review #3

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:42:00 -0500

I've been on the road since late last week doing amateur coverage on the East Coast, so I'm once again delinquent with my week in review. Quite frankly, it wasn't a great week to review anyway.HittingOverall, we were 2-5 since I last wrote. Offensively, we hit .258/.321/.395 as a team, which isn't too bad, but we reached the critical four run threshold just three times (going 2-1 in those games). For the season we're 10th out of 16 in the NL in runs scored and have a 103 O...

Week in Review #2

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 11:59:00 -0500

I'm exhausted!What a week of games for the Pads, resulting in a 4-2 record through New York and Philadelphia. To summarize the week one way: our four wins came from Peavy, Meredith, Meredith, and Mujica. Here's a quick and dirty recap:Monday - Jump out on top 5-1, lose the lead giving up four runs with two outs in the 5th, but take the lead 6-5 on a balk and hang on to win.Thursday - Down 3-0 after the first with Peavy on the mound but claw back to win 6-5.Friday - Down 5-0 after the ...

Week in Review (Plus One) #1

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:20:00 -0500

This offseason I thought about implementing a weekly review once the season started. It's week number one, and I'm already a day late. Not to be deterred, I'm pushing forward.The GoodHeck, we're 6-2. That's good.Offensively, we won every game in which we scored four runs or more, and overall we posted a .238/.330/.419 batting line. Too many fly balls led to the low average, but we drew our share of walks and had some timely extra base hits to boost both the obp and sluggin...

Opening Day #2

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:00:00 -0500

Yesterday was Opening Day for each of our full-season minor league affiliates:Portland Beavers (AAA)San Antonio Missions (AA)Lake Elsinore Storm (A)Ft. Wayne TinCaps (A)Fortunately, we took three out of four games yesterday with the only loss coming in a 6-5 game in Lake Elsinore in which the Storm had to face big league starter Max Scherzer. Some highlights included six innings of one run ball from Josh Geer in AAA and Stephen Faris in AA, six innings of shutout ball from Anthony Bass in Ft....