Shortstop Michael Garciaparra (Nomah's brother) didn't have too bad a night in his Lynx debut -- 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI -- but it was small cheese in a 9-4 loss (boxscore, play-by-play) to the Richmond Braves, who pounded 18 hits to complete a five-game sweep.
The Lynx could be excused for thinking it was the 1993 Atlanta Braves they were facing. Pete Orr, the Canadian, broke out with a 4-for-5 night.
Garciaparra, 24, is replacing Joe Thurston, who's been summoned to the major leagues by the Phillies. The move -- along with the Phils' trade for Tad Iguchi -- was set in motion by Chase Utley's injury last night. Thing is, being allied with the Phillies is still so new to us that when Utley went down, the connection wasn't made that it meant roster movement for the Lynx.
With the exception of Gary Burnham, there's probably no one on the Lynx roster fans are happier to see get a promotion to the majors than Thurston. The lefty-hitting second baseman has been a ballplayer's ballplayer -- good defence, respectable hitting (.278 with a .740 on-base plus slugging between Reading and Ottawa), and he's hustled, as evidenced by a team-high eight triples.
Garciaparra, 24, who's hitting .243/.348/.323 on the year coming into tonight, can get on base, but like a lot of minor leaguers, the power stroke hasn't come around. Thurston wasn't on Philadelphia's 40-man roster so Danny Sandoval, the regular Lynx shortstop, has been designated for assignment by the big club. To be honest, I'm not sure as a fan what that means for his future with the Lynx: The Jays DFA'd Sal Fasano earlier this season and he ended up being able to go to Syracuse.
The Phillies have also sent left-handed reliever Mike Zagurski (1-0, 4.58) to the Lynx, who are no doubt happy to get out of Richmond and start a series in nearby Norfolk (the city in Virginia, not the county yours truly once lived in).
Thanks to Pete Toms for the update.
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6 comments:
Hey N, Sandoval has been "Designated for Assignment", which I think, in laymens terms means he's gone. I guess Leon will be playing more.
Myers is coming off the DL and the Lynx are getting Zagurski. Zagurski should be fun, he gets a lot of K's.
Too bad about 07 for the Lynx. I thought they would have a decent team this year but I should know better than to predict the fortunes at the Triple A level. After 15 years it would have been nice to watch a competitive team for the final season but......oh well....the pitching staff is looking better but the offence...is that a misnomer when applied to the Lynx lineup?
Neate,
You absolutely nailed it - if I had to pick a guy to make it to the bigs from the Lynx, it would be Gary first, Joe second. Hey, first and second....
Anyway.
I'm stunned by the take the "hater" over at beerleaguer.com has on this one: http://www.beerleaguer.com/beerleaguer/2007/07/phillies-purcha.html
Pete: IIRC, Clay Condrey was designated for assignment earlier this year. He survived and lived to pitch again for Ottawa. (and now Philly).
And then they go out and get a second baseman from the White Sox, Iguchi. Go figure. You'd think they'd wait a few hours and hold on to Danny Sandoval. Now they've got Iguchi, Nunez AND Thurston. I'm not sure Thurston could be sent back without clearing waivers (i.e. he may be out of options).
Ok, I learned something today. Designated for Assignment is not an automatic ticket out of town. Thanks Carl. I haven't a clue though what IIRC means.
Let's talk a little Triple A...Syracuse is coming to town next weekend...should we care if Chacin pitches? Would anybody consider replacing either Litsch or Towers with Gustavo? Does Russ Adams matter? Will Lind play next year in Toronto? Will Banks, Taubenheim, Vermilyea ever be more than 12th men? Is there even a remote chance that A.J. would make a rehab apperance here?
Ok, the transactions are happening more quickly than I can keep track of. My first knowledge of Iguchi going to the Phillies is Carl's comment. I guess Gillick thinks he's in the hunt for the Wild Card. Why not? Myers & Gordon are back, Howard is the best hitter in the NL again and most importantly the NL is inferior.
That's really interesting with Thurston...
As for The 'Cuse... I don't think AJ's ready yet, Adams hasn't hit well, and Litsch seems to have more upside than 'Stavo.
For all the time I spend on the Net, I didn't figure out "IIRC" until a couple weeks ago until it hit me like a very hard object thrown by Jon Papelbon from about six feet away... holy crap, "If I remember correctly!"
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