June 30th articles, notes, and recaps from previous day

Going Nine with Brad Salmon

Brad Salmon has been one of the more pleasant surprises for the Louisville Bats the past two seasons. The 26-year-old right-hander has developed into a solid middle reliever after a few nondescript minor league seasons. The Pensacola, Fla., native and Daphne, Ala., resident recently took time to face an interrogation for Morning Briefing:

1. Can you tell us about growing up in Pensacola?

Answer: We lived kind of out in the country. Our high school was called the Aggies, and we had cows on campus. It was not too small but not too huge, which was nice. We lived about 10 minutes from the ocean, and in the summertime all we did was go to the beach.

2. What do your parents do?

A: My dad is a UPS driver. He's been there for 26 or 27 years. My mom is a secretary for the union at BellSouth. They both have good hours, so they could watch all my games growing up.

3. Your pitching seems to have gone to another level the past two years. What's the key to that improvement?

A: I think it's just growing older and learning more. I worked on a few mechanical type things. My pitching coach and I saw something on video where I was kind of leaning forward on my delivery. We corrected that, and my velocity went up. Plus, I finally got command of my slider, which helped a lot, and I added a splitfinger in 2004. It seemed like everything kind of clicked.

4. The Cincinnati Reds seem high on you, but you haven't gotten much hype as a so-called "prospect." Why do you think that is?

A: I don't know. We've got a lot of good arms around here, but I don't have an answer for that. I just try to go out every day and do the best I can, and hopefully (the Reds) or some other scouts will see me. There's always somebody watching. I'm just trying to get that opportunity.

5. Even though your name is pronounced SAL-mon, do you get a lot of seafood-related jokes?

A: I'm used to it, so it doesn't bother me. Most guys call me Fish.

6. Do you like to eat salmon?

A: Actually, yeah, I do. (Laughs). Wherever we go, it's always on the menu at restaurants. I always get the joke that, "Hey, you're on the menu." But I love fish.

7. What's your best baseball moment?

A: Probably winning the Florida state high school championship in 1998. We were ranked No. 1 in the nation at one point but No. 2 in Florida. There was a team in Miami that everyone likes, and we ended up beating them in the semifinal, so that was cool.

8. You've shuffled between Chattanooga and Louisville the past couple of seasons. Is it tough moving all the time?

A: It's not when you're by yourself and you've only got a little bit of stuff. But my wife, Jennifer, came with me this year. It's nice having her here instead of having a relationship on the phone. I would talk about guys on the team, and she couldn't put a name with a face. Now she knows them and can kind of root for them.

9. What do you like to do away from baseball?

A: I love to hunt and fish. We go up to Auburn, Ala., to hunt deer because they have some big ones there. My wife killed one deer, but she doesn't have the patience for it. But she'll go fishing with me. There's really good fishing where we live. Last October we went out on the bay and caught a bunch of king mackerel. That was pretty neat.

-- Brian Bennett

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/...606300442/1036

Dragons win 5th consecutive game
By the Dayton Daily News

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The Dayton Dragons might just be playing their best baseball of the 2006 season.

The Dragons spotted Cedar Rapids a 3-0 lead early and then came back to beat the Kernels 4-3 in front of 2,950 at Veteran's Memorial Stadium on Thursday night. The Class A Midwest League win gives the Dragons five straight after opening the second half of the season with three straight losses.

Cedar Rapids got on the board first in the bottom half of the third inning with three unearned runs against Dragons starter Robert Manuel.

The Dragons chipped away at the lead and at Cedar Rapids starter Andy Hill.

Shortstop Adam Rosales led off the Dayton fourth inning with a double and came home on Jay Bruce's RBI single to left to cut the lead to 3-1.

Dayton tied the game at 3-3 with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning. With one down, Chris Denove and Josh Holden hit back-to-back doubles. Holden's two-bagger knocked home Denove with Dayton's second run. After Holden scooted to third on Mike Griffin's ground out, he came home on a single to center by Rosales.

Dayton picked up the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning as the Kernels' Daniel Hawkins walked the leadoff batter Eric Eymann.

Denove moved Eymann along with a sacrifice bunt, and the Dayton third baseman went to third on an infield single by Holden. With one down and runners on the corners, Mike Griffin doubled into the left field corner to score Eymann.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/sport...06dragons.html

Mustangs blank Great Falls, 2-0
By The Gazette Staff

GREAT FALLS -- Billy Rojo drove in the tie-breaking run in the eighth inning and three Billings pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout as the Mustangs won their third straight, 2-0 over the Great Falls White Sox Thursday night.

Billings (7-3) moved into sole possession of first place over the White Sox (6-4) in the Pioneer League's Northern Division. The teams play the second game of their four-game series tonight at 7.

The game was scoreless until the eighth inning when Rojo extended his hitting streak to 10 games with a run-scoring triple. Maikol Mesa scored on the hit, and Chris Valaika drove in Rojo on a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.

Anthony Gressick, making his second start for the Mustangs, went six innings. He gave up just three hits and struck out five, while not walking a batter. In his two starts, Gressick has not allowed a run in 11 innings. Marcos Mateo (1-0) pitched two innings to pick up the win, while Terrell Young threw a perfect ninth to pick up his third save. It was the second shutout of the season for the Mustangs.

Billings had just three hits in the game. First baseman Logan Parker sat out the game after tweaking his hamstring in Wednesday's game.

Also on Thursday, the Cincinnati Reds, the parent club of the Mustangs, made a series of moves involving the Pioneer League club.

Pitcher Daniel Guerrero was moved to Single-A Dayton (Ohio) of the Midwest League. In two starts, Guerrero was 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in 12 innings. Moving from the Mustangs to the Reds' rookie team in the Gulf Coast League were pitcher Chris White, shortstop Kevyn Feiner and first baseman Jason Winkler.

Joining the Mustangs are pitcher Wes Smiley and infielder Ryan Brown from the Gulf Coast League, while the Reds signed draft picks Justin Turner (second base, 7th round) and Danny Dorn (outfielder, 32nd round) and assigned them to the Mustangs. Both Turner and Dorn just completed play in the College World Series for Cal State-Fullerton.

http://www.billingsgazette.net/artic...5-mustangs.txt

Rojo's 23 already, and with his early-season success as well as 7th-rounder Justin Turner joining the team, I have to think Billy's becoming a Dragon.

RHP Terrell Young punched out 2 batters in a perfect 9th inning of work to notch his 3rd save, as Billings (CIN) blanked Great Falls (CHW), 2-0. The Mustangs have won 3 games in a row to up their Northern Division-leading record to 7-3. Young has been hitting the high-90s on the gun with the heat, making him a prospect worth watching. The 20-year-old right-hander has K’ed 6 batters in 4 scoreless innings of work in his 4 appearances thus far.

RHP Chris Gruler surrendered 4 runs — 3 earned — and 4 hits in 3 innings pitched to take the ‘L’ in the GCL Reds’ 4-3 road loss to the GCL Red Sox. He would walk 2 batters and strike out 4. Gruler is attempting to overcome serious shoulder problems. It’s one of the toughest things to do for a pitcher. The 22-year-old right-hander has a 5.40 ERA after 2 starts. He’s whiffed 7 batters in 5 innings

3B Juan Francisco drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the GCL Reds a 7-6 victory over the GCL Twins on Wednesday. Francisco would go 2-for-5 with 2 doubles, a run scored, and 2 RBIs in the game. The 19-year-old switch-hitter has struggled a bit in the early going, hitting .226 in 7 games. RHP Richie Gardner fanned 4 batters in 2 hitless, scoreless innings of relief for the Reds. Gardner is in the process of recovering from shoulder surgery. He posted a 6.97 ERA in 5 starts with High-A Sarasota, which is one of the biggest reasons why he’s now working in the GCL. He needs to build up his arm strength in a less stressful environment. The 24-year-old right-hander has yielded just one hit and one walk in 5 scoreless frames in his 2 appearances in the GCL.

http://www.ondeckbaseball.com/