Another Former Tourist On The National Stage

Former Asheville Tourist Juan Uribe came up big on the national stage when he hit the game winning two run homer for the Los Angeles Dodgers series clinching 4-3 win over the Atlanta Braves in the NLDS. Uribe spent the 1999 season with the Asheville Tourists batting .267 with 9 homeruns and 46 RBI's. He was a Shortstop when he played for Asheville and committed 38 errors in his lone season there. He first appeared for Colorado in 2001 and was in the majors for good in 2002. He has fashioned a 13 year career in the majors and the homerun stroke really didn't appear until he became a member of the Chicago White Sox. He has had four 20+ homerun seasons (those with the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants). He has won World Series titles with the 2005 Chicago White Sox and the 2010 San Francisco Giants so he is no stranger to the big stage. He has primarily played third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers for the past three seasons. He had a comeback season this year with the Dodgers batting .278 with 12 homeruns and 50 Rbi's after only batting .204 with 4 homeruns and 28 RBI's in 2011 and .191 with 2 homeruns and 17 RBI's in 2012 in two mostly injury filled seasons.

Todd Helton

Todd Helton of the Colorado Rockies announced his retirement from Major League Baseball yesterday, effective at the end of the season. Todd Helton started his professional career with the 1995 Asheville Tourists after being a First Round, Pick #8, by the Colorado Rockies out of the University of Tennessee. He played 54 games for the Tourists after he signed with the Rockies and he hit .254 with only one homerun and 15 RBI's in 201 at bats. It was a unremarkable debut by a First Round Draft Pick with such high expectations. The real star of the 1995 Tourists was Outfielder Derrick Gibson who hit 32 homeruns and drove in 115. Todd Helton was on the fast track to the Rockies, however, and he was in Colorado to stay by 1998. He exhibited much more power in Colorado and hit 25 Homeruns and drove in 97 to finish 2nd in the Rookie of the Year balloting that season. He played 17 seasons in the majors, all with the Colrado Rockies, and has a career Batting Average of .317 with 367 Homeruns and 1397 RBI's in 2235 games to date. Those are Hall Of Fame worthy numbers. He appeared in one World Series with Colorado in 2007 against the Boston Red Sox. He went 5 for 15 with one RBI in that Series. The Boston Red Sox swept them in 4 games. Derrick Gibson made it to Colorado for a total of 17 games in 1998-99. His career totals were 14 for 49 for a .286 average with 2 homeruns and 8 RBI's. He spent a total of 14 seasons in the minors. I remember watching both of them play that season and the comparison between those two players is proof of how fickle a career in baseball can be. I remember being in awe of Gibson's raw baseball skills and I kept waiting on Helton to show me anything outside of being a First Round bust. It is a good thing I am not a baseball scout.

Turn Out The Lights

The Asheville Tourists turned out the lights on the 2013 season after yesterday's 6-2 Labor Day loss to the Augusta Greenjackets. That was a continuation of Sunday night's suspended game and there was an announced crowd of over 6,200 people. The Tourists scored their first run in the bottom of the second inning on a wild pitch and David Bergin tied the game at 2 with an RBI double in the sixth. Jayson Aquino (0-9) couldn't hold the lead and gave up four runs in the seventh to make the final score 6-2. The Tourists and Greenjackets did not bother playing the regularly scheduled game for reasons unbeknownst to me. The Tourists really took their lumps in the second half of the season to the tune of a 25-43 record and last place in the South Atlantic League standings. The offense struggled to score runs down the stretch and that was a big contributing factor to their record in the second half, an opinion that was shared by Tourists Manager Fred Ocasio in an article in the Asheville Citizen-Times last week.

A Rain Delay

One hard fact about baseball is that you cannot play baseball in a monsoon. Therefore the Greenjackets and Tourists made it to the bottom of the second inning last night before the rains came and the Greenjackets holding a 2-1 lead. They had to suspend the game and continue it today as part of the season finale. It has rained this summer like it never has before. I do not know the meteorolgical stats behind it but, I was talking to a few fans after the game and one older gentleman told me that he had only been able to come to five games this year and everyone had ended up being a rainout. I remember when Catcher Rick Dempsey of the Baltimore Orioles was playing in the 1980's, he used to entertain the fans during rain delays by coming out and doing a pantomime homerun routine where he finished up by sliding headfirst into a big puddle of water to a standing ovation to those fans that were left. The only entertainment we got last night was the Augusta Greenjackets bullpen throwing a football around. Where are the characters in baseball these days?

Stolz's Career Day

Asheville Tourists Shortstop Jason Stolz drove in a season high five runs with a bases clearing double over the Centerfielder's head in the fourth inning and a 2 RBI triple in the eighth inning. He also scored the winning run on Second Baseman Zach Osborne's RBI single with the next batter. Third Baseman Matt Argyropoulos went 4 for 4 with 2 runs scored. Tourists Manager Fred Ocasio shiffted the defensive lineup around a little bit as he had Jason Stolz at Shortstop, Zach Osborne at Second, and Matt Argyropoulos at Third. Newcomer David Bergin, who also had two hits, operated out of the Designated Hitter spot in the lineup. Tourists starter Ben Hughes went 6 innings, gave up 5 runs, 4 earned, and two homeruns but did not factor in the decision. Reliever Alving Mejias pitched two scoreless innings to get the win (5-5). Closer Raul Fernandez pitched a scoreless ninth to get his team leading 16th save.

Ocasio Sounds Off

Asheville Tourists Manager Fred Ocasio sounded off on his teams woes in the second half of this season that has lead to the worst record in the South Atlantic League, 24-42 in the second half and 62-72 overall after last nights loss to Augusta. He cited the fact that the "offense has really struggled" in the second half due to "not getting two-out RBI's." This lack of production is in spite of the fact that the Tourists lead all of professional baseball in stolen bases with over 200 and have the league MVP, Rosell Herrera, in their lineup as well as leading the SAL in team batting average (.273). In the games I have been to, I have seen the Tourists aggressiveness on the base paths run themselves out of several potential big innings. David Bergin getting thrown out at second base in the bottom of the 8th inning in last night's game cost them the opportunity to tie it up as the next batter, Max White, hit a double off of the top of the rightfield wall that probably would have scored Bergin. I do not know if someone missed a sign or if it was a botched hit-and-run but it wasn't even a close play at second base. Ocasio was professional enough to not name any of the teams players but it has been a frustrating second half for both the Manager and the players.

A Good Show

Last night's baseball game between the Augusta Greenjackets and the Asheville Tourists was a really good game and featured some of baseball classic matchups. The Tourists were down 4-3 going into the bottom of the ninth inning and put two on base with two outs. The Tourists got the matchup they wanted. It was Greenjackets closer and power pitcher Tyler Mizenko versus Tourists slugger Francisco Sosa who had already hit his 20th homerun over the rightfield wall in the 6th inning. I don't think that Mizenk really wanted to give him anything good to hit so he nipped around the plate and ended up walking him on a 3-2 count. Sosa showed great patience and did not bite on the 3-2 pitch that was low and outside. That brought up clean up man David Bergin with the bases loaded and two out. He grounded a ball in between third and shortstop that Greenjackets Third Baseman Mitchell Delfino really had to stretch for the grounder and threw wide to First Baseman Joseph Rapp and pulled his foot off the bag. He still had the time and the where with all to reach back with his left foot and touch the bag a split second before David Bergin's foot landed on the bag. It was a close play but I had a very clear view of it from my spot in Section A, Row B, Seat 10 along the first base line and he was out by a half of a step. Tourists starter Andrew Brown absorbed his first loss of the year (7-1), giving up 4 runs in 7 innings, with the big blow being a three run homer by Right fielder Charles Jones in the fourth inning. Reliever Shane Broyles came on to pitch shutout baseball over the final two innings and got out of a bases loaded jam in the top of the 8th inning.

Shut Down Pitching

The Asheville Tourists got a solid start from Andrew Brown (5 innings, 1 earned run) and 4 innings of shutout relief- 2 from Shane Broyles and 1 inning a piece from Trent Blank and Jacob Newberry- in an 8 -1 win over the Charleston River Dogs. Brown won his 7th game without a loss. The Tourists were powered by 2 Derek Jones homeruns (his 17th and 18th) and 3 RBI's and a Ben Waldrip homerun (his 3rd) and 3 RBI's. The Tourists improved their overall record to 61-67 but just 23-37 in the second half.

The Last Thirsty Thursday Of The Season

I made it to the first Thirsty Thursday of the season (although it was a rain out) and I made it to the final one last night. In last night's final edition, the Tourists were victorious over the Hickory Crawdads 7-4. I was very interested to see the Crawdads because of all of the power numbers they were putting up and in that respect, they did not disappoint. Tourists starter Matt Flemer held the big bats of the Crawdads without a hit for 4 1/3 innings until an error by Shortstop Zach Osborne put a man on first and Crawdads First Baseman Kevin Torres followed that with a homerun to right field that bounced off the top of the fence and over for the Crawdads first hit and a 2-0 lead. The Tourists came storming back in the bottom of the fifth with 5 runs of their own, led by a leadoff homerun by Third Baseman Jason Stolz, his third of the year. The Tourists scored two more in the bottom of the sixth for a 7-2 lead. Flemer went 6 2/3 innings, giving up 2 runs and 1 earned run, with 11 strikeouts. He kept the Crawdads off balance with a great curveball and a sneaky fastball. Reliever Alving Mejias came on in relief and gave up back-to-back homeruns to a couple of the Crawdads big bombers in the top of the eighth. Catcher Jorge Alfaro hit his 14th and Third Baseman Joey Gallo hit his league leading 31st on the season. Gallo's homerun had to be one of the longest I have ever seen hit at McCormick Field. It cleared the bank of lights behind the right field fence. Tourists closer Raul Fernandez came on to strike out 4 in the ninth inning to earn his 14th save on the season. Catcher Michael Ramirez allowed a third strike to get by him on the first batter of the top of the ninth and allowed Fernandez to accomplish this baseball rarity. Flemer got the win and improved to 3-4 on the season.

The Hit Parade

There was a hit parade in Augusta, Georgia last night and unfortunately for the Tourists, it was the Greenjackets that were conducting the band. Augusta pounded out 23 hits in a 10-3 win and stranded 15 runners as well. The Tourists were lucky it wasn't much, much worse. The Greenjackets were 9 for 24 with runners in scoring position. That's 24 at bats with runners in scoring position in one game. That stat astounded me. Rosell Herrera drove in 2 for the Tourists giving him 65 on the season with a .360 batting average. Ben Hughes (7-9) absorbed the loss for the Tourists and when a team is hot like that, sometimes there is not a lot you can do.

The Streak Is Over

The Asheville Tourists beat the Augusta Greenjackets last night 7-5 in 11 innings ending their 5 game losing streak. Rosell Herrera doubled in Juan Ciriaco and Matt Wessinger in the top of the 11th to drive in the winning runs. Derek Jones homered for the Tourists, a solo shot in the 7th inning, his 13th, and drove in 3. Rayan Gonzalez got the win in relief (2-2) and Ryan Arrowood pitched the bottom of the 11th for his first save on the year.

The Slump Continues

The slump continues for the Asheville Tourists in a 3-2 loss to the Augusta Greenjackets yesterday. 7 hits and 2 runs. A return trip to McCormick field on the 25th will hopefully help snap the slump. They wasted another good starting performance, this time by Matt Flemer (6 innings, 2 earned runs) who fell to 1-2 on the season. Francisco Sosa had the lone RBI, his 64th, for the Tourists.

One More Loss

The Asheville Tourists' are getting pitching to good enough to rack up some wins, but are struggling to score runs, with defensive lapses at the wrong time, and this all adds up to long losing streaks. In last night's 4-1 loss to Augusta, the Tourists pitchers gave up only one earned run led by starter Jayson Aquino's 6 1/3 innings, 4 runs and the one earned run. The Tourists only had 6 hits and one run with Righfielder Derek Jones scoring on a sacrifice bunt by Juan Ciriaco in the top of the fifth, giving the Tourists a briefly held 1-0 lead. The Tourists made 3 errors, all in the bottom of the seventh inning, that allowed the Augusta Greenjackets to score 3 unearned runs and steal the win. Asheville's lack of offense is really hard to figure out. They are leading the league in several key offensive categories. They are leading the league in Batting Average, Slugging Percentage, OPS, stolen bases, and have fallen to second place in runs scored to Hagerstown thanks to their recent inability to touch home plate. Hopefully the answer will appear out of thin air real soon.

An Exorcism Is Needed On The Bats

I remember a scene out of the movie Major League in which they were looking to perform a ceremony on the bats to take the curse off of them and I am thinking the Asheville Tourists need the same thing. The character Sorano used golf head covers for his bats ("hats for bats") to try to solve his problems with hitting the curveball but the Tourists can't seem to hit anything thrown their way for over the past week. They were shut out by the Greenville Drive last night 6-0 and could only muster 6 hits. Team slumps are hard to explain and happen to just about every team over the course of a season. Hitting Coach Mike Devereaux has the pedigree and has had success in the pastand I would attribute the team slump to several new players, a lot of young players, and several who might be hitting the proverbial wall. Baseball, if anything, is a long season and it has been a rainy one with a lot of rain outs meaning a lot of makeup games and doubleheaders.

The Bats Remain Quiet

The Asheville Tourists were swept by the Greenville Drive yesterday in a doubleheader 4-2 and 5-2. The Tourists only managed 5 hits in the first game and 7 in the second game. Ben Hughes (7-8) pitched a complete game in the 5-2 loss only giving up one earned run. Ryan Arrowood took the loss in the other game giving up 3 runs in 3 innings.

Playing On Your Day Off

The Tourists beat the West Virginia Power 3-1 in a continuation of Sunday's rain-shortened game. I know the players have to hate playing on their day off. You get up for a game, the adrenalin starts flowing, and then you have to shut it down and pick it up again the next night. Starter T.J. Oakes (8-5) pitched 6 innings giving up 1 earned run for the win and Rayan Gonzalez struck out two in the top of the 7th to nail it down for his 9th save. Rosell Herrera and Tom Murphy had RBI's for the Tourists and the Tourists plated two runs in the bottom of the 5th to give the Tourists all they needed. They have a three game series at the Greenville Drive next.

A Power Outage

The Asheville Tourists offense has hit a little bit of a slump as the Tourists could only manage 1 run on 6 hits last night in a 5-1 loss to the West Virgina Power. Tourists starter Jayson Aquino took the loss (0-1) but he only gave up 2 earned runs in 6 innings and Andrew Brown, Trent Blank, and Patrick Johnson all pitched an inning a piece. Blank gave up 2 unearned runs and 3 of the Power's 5 runs were unearned. Patrick Johnson was used as a spot starter his previous two seasons in the minors and this is his first season as a full time reliever and his stat line is pretty impressive. 22 games, 25 innings, 8 earned runs, a 3-3 record, and a 2.66 ERA. His opponents only have a .184 batting average against him. His fastball hits about 90 MPH and his breaking pitches are showing some improvement. He was a 25th round draft pick in 2011 by the Colorado Rockies out of the University of North Carolina so he is a fairly local product.

A Rare Gem

I finally got to attend another Asheville Tourists game last night. I was not going to miss the "Moonshiners" throwback uniforms they were wearing. The uniforms date back to 1897 when Asheville was known as the Moonshiners. Then that nasty thing known as Prohibition occurred in 1919. They should have had the Moonshiners throwback uniforms on a Thirsty Thursday. That would have been apropos. Four Tourists pitchers combined on a five hit shutout, 3-0 over the West Virginia Power, led by starter Matt Carasiti's 6 2/3 innings. He struck out one and walked three. He worked his way out of jams on two or three different occasions, and even had one of third with only one out and did not allow him to score. He also picked a West Virginia runner off second base that eliminated one threat. Carasiti started tiring in the top of the seventh and Tourists manager Fred Ocasio brought in reliever Patrick Johnson, a UNC alumni, who struck out the only batter he faced. Left hander Michael Mason came in and pitched a scoreless top of the eighth and came in to close it out in the top of the ninth. He struck out two of the three batters he faced, including the final out to earn his 8th save and the second day in a row he has earned a save. The Tourists manufactured two runs in the bottom of the second to go ahead 2-0. Tom Murphy drew a walk, took second on a botched run down by West Virginia, Dillon Thomas singled and took second on the throw home, putting men on second and third with no one out. First Baseman Ben Waldrip drove in Murphy with a groundball to second base, his 4th RBI in two games with the Tourists. Second Baseman Juan Ciriaco drove in the second run with a sacrifice fly. Tom Murphy drove in Matt Wessinger with a bad hop single over second base in the bottom of the eighth inning to add an insurance run. The Tourists made several stellar defensive plays in support of the pitching. Third Baseman made a diving stop of a ground ball and threw out the runner at first, Rightfielder Derek Jones made a diving grab of a line drive in the right centerfield gap in the top of the fourth inning, and Leftfielder Dillon Thomas caught a long drive to left Centerfield in front of the 370' mark for the last out of the 8th inning. It was a good game and Asheville's pitching has really come alive in the last three games. Before the game, starter Matt Carasiti's ERA was was in the stratosphere at 9.20 and he came out and pitched his best game of the year. He located his pitches well, got tough when it counted, and let the defense do their jobs.

Let's Play Two

Ernie Banks was famous for saying "Let's play two..." meaning baseball is such a great game, let's play a doubleheader. That should be the Asheville Tourists battle cry this season as they have played several due to all of the rain outs. They swept a doubleheader from Delmarva yesterday 3-2 and 5-2. Stellar pitching was the key for the Tourists in both games. The first game was a continuation of the game that was started the night before and Ryan Arrowood came on in relief and pitched the middle four innings,giving up 1 run, for his fifth victory against zero losses on the season. Rayan Gonzalez lasted through a shaky ninth, where he walked the bases loaded, to get his 7th save. In the second game, starter Ben Hughes pitched a seven inning complete game, giving up 2 runs, 1 earned, struck out 3 and didn't issue a walk. Hughes evened his record at 7-7. The complete game was important as it saved the bullpen for another day. They have been battered and knocked around a little bit. The Tourists were led at the plate by First Baseman Ben Waldrip, playing his first game as an Asheville Tourist, who hit his first homerun and drove in three and Francisco Sosa hit his 12th homerun and accounted for the other two runs.

The Bats Come Back To Life

There is something about coming home to McCormick Field that bring the Tourists bats back to life. An eight run 6th inning pushed the Tourists to a 13-6 win over the Delmarva Shorebirds and it was highlighted by First Baseman Matt Argyropoulos bases clearing double. Rosell Herrera, Francisco Sosa, and Julian Yan all drove in two runs a piece and Yan hit his 5th homerun. Reliever Andrew Brown (5-0) was the beneficiary of the big inning as he came on in the top of the sixth and threw two innings of one hit baseball, striking out two. The Tourists had 11 hits, drew 5 walks, and were aided by two Shorebirds errors to score their 13 runs. Tourists starter Matt Flemer had a tough outing giving up 5 runs in 5 innings but the relievers- Brown, Trent Blank, and Rayan Gonzalez- only gave up 1 run in 4 innings.

A Doubleheader Sweep

The Asheville Tourists were swept by the Rome Braves yesterday 8-2 and 3-2. In game one, Shortstop Rosell Herrera had 3 of the Tourists 5 hits, boosting his average to .359, and drove in 1 of the 2 runs. He also made his 25th error. The Tourists were never really in contention in the first game. The Tourists gave up two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to lose the second game. The Tourists could only manage 4 hits in the second game as did the Braves but Rome's Designated Hitter Edison Sanchez had 3 of the 4 hits and drove in the two runs that counted in the bottom of the sixth. The Tourists only scored 5 runs in the three straight losses to Rome. Rhey have a day off and then take on Delmarva in a three game set starting on Tuesday, July 9th.

Mostly Bats And Few Arms

The Asheville Tourists season is over halfway over and they are currently 44-38. The South Atlantic League plays two halves and the Tourists are 6-8 in the second half. The Tourists have been all about the hitting to this point in the season. They lead the "Sally" League in batting with a .283 average and are a distant second in homeruns with 74, far behind the Hickory Crawdads' 124. The Tourists are led by Rosell Herrera's .354 batting average, 14 homeruns, and 55 RBI's. Catcher Tom Murphy leads the team with 17 homeruns and 65 RBI's. Asheville also leads the league with 160 stolen bases with the top man being Juan Ciriaco with 32. He is currently tied for 4th in the league. The pitching isn't faring as well but it never really does in Asheville. The Tourists are third from the bottom with a team ERA of 4.53 but you have to take into consideration the McCormick Field factor. It is the minor league version of the "Launching Pad" when it comes to homeruns being hit out of there. The Tourists are led in wins by starter T.J. Oakes with 7 and in ERA by reliever Jesse Meaux (currently on the Disabled List) with 0.90.

A Short Week

The Asheville Tourists and the South Atlantic League have been socked in by rain almost all week as the Tourists have only played 3 games since July 1st. They swept a "doubleheader" over Greensboro on July 2nd, 5-3 and 3-2, and lost to Rome on Friday night 3-1. The rest of the games were lost to rain including a doubleheader last night against Rome. They have another doubleheader scheduled today against Rome. They return home against Delmarva on Tuesday night. This amounts to a week off in the middle of a long baseball season and this can only help young players who might be hitting the proverbial wall and help a pitching staff rest some tired arms.

Bullpen Woes Continue

For the third time in the past five games the Asheville Tourists bullpen took their lumps and gave up leads late and lost all three. Today the Tourists bullpen gave up 8 runs in the last three innings to lose 9-7. They wasted a great start by Ryan Arrowood (5 IP, 9 K's, 1 Earned Run) and a solo homerun by Third Baseman Jason Stolz in the 8th inning.

A Rainy Night In Asheville

I got to go see my second Asheville Tourists game of the season last night and the outcome was not what I had hoped for. The Tourists took a 5-4 lead into the top of the 6th inning on the strength of a solo homerun by Shorstop Matt Wessinger and a three run homerun by Catcher Tom Murphy in a four run third inning. Starter Shane Broyles went 5 innings and gave up 4 runs but reliever Roberto Padilla could not hold the lead. He gave up 5 runs in 2/3 of an inning, including a grand slam that cleared the right field wall with room to spare by Third Baseman Shayne Houck, and the Tourists could mount any sort of a comeback after that. The play of the night had to come with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth inning. Tourists batter Juan Ciriaco hit a dribbler down the third base line that hugged the foul line until it slowly rolled into third base and bounced gently off the third base bag. It reminds me of the time when Lenny Randle playing third base for the Seattle Mariners, got down on his hands and knees and literally blew a ball foul when it was gently rolling down the third base line. At that time, there was not a rule in place to prevent such action by a player. It rained off and on throughtout the game, nothing torrential like the home opener, and the game was never stopped. The field conditions helped contribute to four errors by Augusta and one by Asheville. There was an announced crowd of over 3,000 and it was a great atmosphere to watch a baseball game. Hopefully I can go to a few more games on this homestand.

Baseball Is My Mistress

I hate to admit it but I have pretty much ignored the Asheville Tourists this season. I have not even looked at the stats in about two months and I am a stats freak if there ever was one. I don't even know their record. All because of a woman I was dating. She was not a big baseball fan although I was able to talk her into going to opening night which was a thirsty Thursday. She was a beer fan. We are no longer together so now it is time for me to turn my attention back to my one true love- baseball. Although I am sure I am not the first to use this phrase or analogy, baseball is my mistress and the one thing I can always depend on when things go bad and they have gotten about as bad as they could possibly get. Baseball can give you the euphoric highs and heartbreaking lows of a relationship but is always a constant. Baseball is friends and family, fathers and sons, and occasionally husbands and wives, but it is consistently there for you, season after season. I am already planning on going to tomorrow nights Asheville Tourist game and I can't wait. The anticipation is killing me.

A McCormick Field Game

Last night's Kannapolis Intimidators 13-12 win over the Asheville Tourists was the type of high scoring, close game that I have come to know and love at McCormick Field. Its much better if the Tourists win but it was still a real good game. The Tourists had three homeruns (Tom Murphy, Francisco Sosa 2) and scored 12 runs on 11 hits and 9 bases on balls. The Tourists were only 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position and left 9 on base. They left a lot of opportunities on the field. The game also featured Tourists manager Fred Ocasio getting ejected in the 8th inning. They have two more games with the Intimidators and then the Greenville Drive come in for three.

Catching Up With The Tourists

It has been a while since I have had a chance to blog about the Asheville Tourists so I have some serious catching up to do. The Tourists stand at 18-13 but a recent winning streak of 11 out of 12 games has brought the Tourists to within 1 1/2 games of the first place Savannah Sand Gnats in the South Atlantic league's Southern Division. They defeated the Augusta Green Jackets last night 9-3 with a 7 run top of thee first inning and staff ace David Butler on the mound, all the Tourists had to do was hang on. Butler only allowed one hit in six innings, striking out 5 but also walking 5. He can really light up the radar gun, topping out at a reported 100 MPH, but he is alos battling a few control issues at times. He has a 3-1 record, 1.76 ERA, with 41 innings pitched, 38 K's, and 22 bases on balls. Even with all of the walks, Butler is sporting a 0.98 WHIP. Offensively the Tourists are being led by Catcher Tom Murphy. He is leading the Tourists in all of the Triple Crown categories with a .415 Batting Average, 7 Homeruns, and 23 Runs Batted In. Shortstop Rosell Herrera is not far behind with a .362 Batting Average, 6 Homeruns, and 20 Runs Batted In. The Tourists return home for another Thirsty Thursday on May 9th to take on the Kannapolis Intimidators. I was able to attend the rained out first Thirsty Thursday of the season and hopefully I can make tomorrow's game.

The Tourists Home Opener

I made it to the Asheville Tourists home opener and the first Thirsty Thursday of the season. Mother Nature had her own Thirsty Thursday in mind. It had been threatening rain most of the day and the forecasts varied as far as if and when it would rain and it rained sporadically throughout the game but nothing serious up until the top of the fifth inning. The Tourists were behind at that point 4-0 and only had one hit, a long single off the right field wall in the bottom of the fourth inning by Catcher Tom Murphy, when the skies opened up and the rain poured down. The tarp crew did their job and quickly covered the infield. It is usually a well coordinated effort and I have to wonder how much time they spend practicing this. The rain showed no sign of letting up so my party and I decided it was time to go. The crowd was pretty good in spite of the forecast and outside of the monsoon, I am glad baseball is back for another season in the sun.

Tourists Power Surge Against West Virginia

The Asheville Tourists broke out the bats against the West Virginia Power last night in a 15-6 win. The Tourists hit four homeruns, two by second baseman Matt Wessinger and one each by Rosell Herrera and Francisco Sosa, and had 18 hits. Asheville Tourists starter T.J. Oakes couldn't get out of the fourth inning (3 1/3 IP, 5 runs, 3 earned, 1 K and 4 walks) but the Tourists bullpen picked him up with 5 2/3 innings of 1 run relief pitching. Reliever Ryan Arrowood got the win with 3 2/3 innings of 1 run relief, striking out 5, and Jesse Meaux and Brook Hart pitched one scoreless inning a piece.

The Season Opener

The Asheville Tourists won their season opener on the road against the West Virginia Power last night 3-0 behind the pitching of First Round Supplemental draft pick out of Radford, Eddie Butler. He is the #6 Prospect in the Colorado Rockies organization according to Baseball America. He pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing only one hit, struckout 7 and walked only 1. He consistently stayed in the high 90's and one pitch even hit the 100 MPH mark. Relievers Roberto Padilla (1 2/3 IP), Rayan Gonzalez (1 IP), and closer Raul Fernandez, who struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth for his first save, finished off the shutout. The Tourists were led at the plate by Catcher Tom Murphy (the #14 prospect) and Third Baseman Jason Stoltz with two hits a piece. The Tourists did strike out 12 times but it was not the best of weather conditions. Designated Hitter Kyle Von Tungeln and Rightfielder Julian Yan (the #20 prospect) drove in a run a piece. #2 Colorado Rockies prospect David Dahl, had a rough Asheville Tourists debut going 0-4 with 3 strikeouts but every hitter is going to have games like that. I am excited about the numbers he is going to put up at McCormick Field.

The New Manager

The Colorado Rockies finally got around to naming former Asheville Tourist player Fred Ocasio as the new Manager for the 2013 season. Ocasio has been a manager for the past six seasons at Tri-City in the Colorado Rockies system with an overall record of 232-224. He is joined by Last years pitching coach, Joey Eischen, and hitting coach Mike Devereaux. Ex-major league catcher Marv Foley was named as the director of player development. Ocasio played 55 games for the Asheville Tourists as a middle infielder in 1994-95 and had a .317 Batting Average with 1 Homerun and 14 RBI's. He also pitched in 2 games, throwing 1 2/3 innings, and giving up 0 runs. The major advantage to him taking the step up to Asheville is that he will already be familiar with a lot of the Tourists players. First Pitch is a little over two months away.

QB Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks

My favorite NFL team has always been the Seattle Seahawks. Since Day One. Since the first exhbition game of their expansion season in 1976. Jim Zorn and Steve Largent. All of the trick plays on Monday Night Football. Ground Chuck. Brian Bosworth. Cortez Kennedy. I never imagined that when I was watching Russell Wilson struggling with a .220 batting average with the Asheville Tourists last season, that I was watching the future QB of the Seattle Seahawks and one that was going to win the starting job and lead them to an 11-5 record and the playoffs in his first season. When I first saw him, I watched him with a certain amount of awe. He came to Asheville with quite the reputation as the athlete and everything I heard about him said he picked the wrong sport when he went with baseball. Wasn't that the truth. I have watched every Seahawks game this season (thanks the NFL Sunday ticket on Directv) and the progression he has made throughout the season has been amazing. Coach Pete Carroll really reigned him in at the beginning of the season but has unleashed Russell Wilson over the course of the past 4 games and the Seahawks have scored 170 points. That is only slightly lower than Russell Wilson's batting average in Asheville. Lets see how far he can take them in the playoffs.