Monday 6/1/09 Minor League Game Updates

Alonso is going to be the Reds Opening Day 1st baseman. One of the best pure hitters I've ever seen come through the Reds system. What that means for Votto, I don't know. If he's not going to LF it will probably means he is traded. I hope he can man LF and the Reds can have Votto, Alonso, and Bruce in the same lineup. If the Reds can get a guy like Dye for Bailey at the deadline, it'd be a perfect stop gap.

Speaking of Homer
Homer:
51 IP, 4.38 ERA, 57 H, 20 BB, 47 K,

Maloney:
67 IP, 2.00 ERA, 60 H, 9 BB, 58 K

I fully understand the thought that Maloney may not have the stuff to be a major league pitcher, but he's a 25 year old 6-4 lefty dominating AAA hitters. Eventually you have to see what he has. IMO, he should be the next call up to get a start.

Maloney kinda reminds me of Sean Marshall. Another guy that never really gets a chance.

Dayton playing better, but they’re ‘not quite there yet’

By Marc Katz
Staff Writer
2:22 AM Tuesday, June 2, 2009

DAYTON — It has turned around, a little, for the Dayton Dragons.

The Dragons have won 10 of their last 16 games, although the results are a bit misleading. During the turnaround, they have winning records only against teams with losing records.

Since the start of the season, Dayton has acquired a new first/third baseman in Carlos Mendez, who is leading the team in hitting; two new outfielders with power promise and better defense in Stephen Chapman and Andrew Means; and a top pitching prospect in J.C. Sulbaran, who is 2-0 with a 3.48 ERA.

Tonight, Sulbaran is scheduled to take the mound as the Dragons begin a four-game series with South Bend, important because not only are the Silver Hawks .500, they are 2-2 against the Dragons. South Bend is one of the teams Dayton will have to beat out to make the playoffs.

“Subtle differences have added up to something,” Dragons manager Todd Benzinger said. “We did have a couple of nice additions. It all started with the first change, having Carlos coming here. That was under the radar and didn’t make waves. He’s not a showy type of player.”

Mendez is leading the team with a .316 batting average after being summoned from extended spring training 32 games ago. He also is second to teammate Cody Puckett with three homers and 19 RBIs.

“At the start of the season, we were getting blown out,” Puckett said. “Everybody was nervous with these big crowds. Now, we’re trying not to press. Relax, do what got you here.”

Center fielder Dave Sappelt feels the team is ready to win.

“We’ve seen every team in the league, and I don’t think we’ve been overpowered,” Sappelt said. “We play hard. We have a new feeling late in the game we can win.”

Having the feeling and actually winning are two different things. Against Cedar Rapids, a team strong on fundamentals in the Angels’ chain, the Dragons made late-inning comebacks in three games over the weekend, but lost them all. The Dragons are fifth in the Midwest League’s Eastern Division, six games behind South Bend.

“We’re playing better, but we’re not quite there yet,” Benzinger said.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayto...et-143303.html

Stewart is starting the same night that Volquez starts, hmmm.

Stewart's not on the 40-man roster, is he? Maloney is and Saturday seems like it would be the right day for him to start.