Minor League Blogs

Well the season has officially come to an end for myself and the rest of my Whitecap teammates. As you the reader probably knows, we suffered a tough game three loss to South Bend by one run at home. Was it a little sad? Yeah, it was. Saying goodbye to everyone right there after the [...]

The White Caps took care of business with their backs against the wall in a 11-0 win over South Bend.  The win forces a winner take all game three tomorrow.  Thad Weber was outstanding and he gave up just two hits and a walk with seven strikeouts in six shutout innings.  Andrew Hess threw a [...]

Aaron Fuhrman fell to 0-1 in the White Caps 5-4 loss as the regular season wound to a close.  He gave up five runs (four earned) on eleven hits with six strikeouts in four strikeouts.  Andrew Hess threw three shutout innings of relief and that allowed the White Caps to pull to within one run [...]

As I write this, I am relaxing due to the fact that I am not participating in this week’s All-Star festivities. Yes, I know it’s a shame and a travesty, but I’m not complaining about the non-selection. Anyway, this past weekend I got to experience my first professional post-game celebration after we clinched a post-season [...]

I have said before that getting away from the game for a little bit is never a bad thing. Don’t get me wrong we ballplayers can be criticized for loving the game too much because of the time it takes away from family and friends. Today myself and a few of the other guys had [...]

Playing baseball in a cold Michigan spring is about as fun as playing baseball in a scorching Florida summer. On the flip side, baseball is much more enjoyable in the winter and spring in the south along with the summer months in the north. However, this year has seemed to be slightly different in that [...]

The White Caps managed just four singles as they were shut down in a 4-1 loss to South Bend.  Christopher Carlson was the the only White Cap to reach base twice with a single and a walk.
Brandon Hamilton took the loss and he fell to 0-1.  He gave up three runs on five hits and [...]

Nutrition is very important for any athlete at a high level to achieve maximum performance. This is why we always look for the best options on the road to grab a bite. Places include, Taco Bell, Subway, gas stations, and any local corner bar (if you didn’t catch the sarcasm there, pay attention). With a [...]

As I was pulling into the parking lot this past monday to leave for our four game road trip to Fort Wayne, my phone rang. It was one of the other pitchers, Rudy Darrow, calling to ask where I was. I thought it was a little odd that he was calling me when I was [...]

Being demoted in any line of work is never fun, nor does it lend much room for confidence in any further hope for success. But in baseball whenever a player is hurt or gets sent down a level, it is especially hard because once again you are back at square one. For me I had [...]

There’s only one sound in the universe that when you hear it, one is immediately taken back to their fifth grade cafeteria. This is the sound of 5,000 excited school kids all gathered in one place on a field trip. The field trip location today was Fifth Third Ballpark, also known to me as home [...]

Anyone who has ever gone to any minor league baseball game knows that there are endless festivities going on between innings. These games are usually created and thought up by the marketing staff to further entice the fans’ interest in the game. Before I go on, I have to give our staff credit for what [...]

One of the great parts of playing minor league baseball is all the different places you get to see and people you get to meet. Unfortunately one of the more difficult parts of this profession is having to be away from home all the time. For me this isn’t as hard as some of the [...]

One of the main qualities of a good team is there ability to come together and bond as a team. So far we have not had much time outside of the confines of the respective stadiums to really spend some quality time together. So one of the ways in which we improve our friendships and [...]

Well we finally proved that we could win without Curtis Granderson, and following with the trend of the week ended the game the only way we know how. It really is amazing what winning will do for a team, from improving attitudes, breaking slumps and building momentum. Going into a week long road trip we [...]

The White Caps took care of Beloit but they needed thirteen innings to do it.  Kyle Peter singled home Audy Ciriaco for the game winner and it capped off a four for six game for Peters.  He finished the game with two RBIs and a run.
Rudy Darrow picked up the win with a shutout inning [...]

There are many things that we as ballplayers try to make happen aside from bettering our own careers. One of these things is keeping fans coming to the games and make the games worth watching. Now part of that is the responsibility of the marketing staff, but there are things that the players do which [...]

It seemed fitting that Curtis Granderson would get a triple in his first game but what didn’t fit was that he did it in Grand Rapids.  Still, Granderson had two of the White Caps four hits including that triple, which was West Michigan’s lone extra base hit in the 3-0 loss.
Emmanuel Miguelez took the loss [...]

After a long and for the most part, disappointing road trip (6 days, 1-5) we get to return home for some much needed rest and support. It never is that difficult playing in other team’s parks, because the fans don’t play the game, we do. However there is something to be said for playing at [...]

This past weekend marked the first test of adversity for the Whitecaps in the early stages of 2008. It is never easy to go on the road and win especially when you have to go so far from home. Also it is never fun losing, but it hurts a little deeper when you know you [...]

Jonathan Kibler had a decent enough start but Wilton Garcia was roughed up and the hitters never really got it going in their 6-2 loss to Clinton.  Kibler gave up two runs on six hits and one walk with five strikeouts in six innings.  Wilton Garcia gave up four runs in his relief appearance.  Andrew [...]

So far this season has started off on the right foot for the Whitecaps. Everyone seems to be finding their groove and settling into their roles quite nicely. Some of us are getting acclimated to taking on a new role, myself included. However, with the coaches and support staff our organization has in place, these [...]

These days it is pretty hard to know much about your favorite players beyond their stat line. With that in mind, every so often I will feature a piece titled the ‘Pen Profile. This gives you, the reader, a chance to get to know your favorite Whitecaps players. Due to the fact that I am [...]

The White Caps continued their perfect start to the season with an 11-1 drubbing over the Loons.  Casper Wells put on a show for the crowd in the home opener and he went four for five with two homers, four RBIs and two runs.  Marc McBratney went three for five with a double, an RBI [...]

The White Caps made it three straight against South Bend although the games are getting tighter. This time it was 5-4 even though they had more then twice as many hits. Marc McBratney went three for four with a double, two RBIs and a run. Ron Bourquin doubled, walked twice, drove in a run and [...]

My first goal for Thursday’s activities was to make sure that I was on time for the bus leaving to South Bend, so I wouldn’t have to be the first fine of the year. Once that was taken care of, my teammates and I began to think about baseball, after all this was our first [...]

Growing up in Michigan and being a lifelong Tigers fan, I had an idea of what spring training was all about. You get to beautiful Lakeland, Florida, kick back, throw some bullpens, play some golf, hang with the big leaguers, and then when it’s all said and done you go pretty much where you think [...]