Birds take one from Coyotes

(Photo of Jon Syrnyk courtesy gothunderbirds.ca)
I would first like to say, that I am writing not only for this blog anymore, but for Oz (Chris) at Notesfromthenat.com. I will post everything that I write at NFTN over here, and will likely change some postings here and there, but don't worry if you don't want to update your bookmarks, like I said, I'll re-post everything I write there over here, and vice-versa!

Today UBC took on the Albertson Coyotes, looking to take the first two games of a four game series.

Game 1 Lineup for UBC:
2B Sean "Mount" Everest
RF Jon "K-Lutch" Syrnyk
3B Brett "Versatile Vet" Murray
C Brendan "Korny" Kornberger
LF Nic "Do the Dew" Lendvoy
1B Fletcher "Konsistent" Vynne
CF Tyler "Gone" Willson
DH Mike "Fright" Styrna
SS Ted "Zilch" Wilkie (Who returns to the lineup after missing the Oregon Tech series due to an injury)
SP Doug Grant

UBC first got on the scoreboard with a huge Fifth inning. Mike Styrna lead off the inning with a walk, followed by a Sac Bunt by Ted Wilkie which advanced Styrna to second base. Sean Everest was up next and singled, bringing Styrna to Third. K-Lutch Syrnyk hit a double to left field, knocking in Styrna, and advancing Mount Everest to third base. Brett Murray then hit a single, with Syrnyk heading to Third and Everest coming home. At that point, 2-0 UBC. Brendan Kornberger was next and hit an RBI Single to Center Field, that scored Jon Syrnyk. Brett Murray scored on the ensuing Double by Nic Lendvoy, which brought Pinch-Runner Craig Leebosh (PRing for Korny) to Third base. Fletcher Vynne wound up into a double play, but Leebosh scored, 5-0 UBC after Two and a half.

Albertson managed to get a run back in the Bottom half of the inning, but UBC still lead by four.

Jon Syrnyk continued his great day, by Homering down the Left Field line in the Top of the 5th, which meant UBC regained their 5 run lead. 6-1 T-Birds.

The next inning Tyler Willson, a Senior, knocked Nic Lendvoy, a Freshman, home 7-1 University of British Columbia.

After a lead-off TRIPLE by Jon Syrnyk, in the Top of the 7th, UBC only managed to knock "K-Lutch" in, despite 3 runners being left on base when the inning came to a close on Tyler Willson's Fielder's Choice. 8-1 UBC!

In the final inning of this 7-inning-game, Albertson knocked in two runs, before Greg Chong, with two outs, came into finish the game for UBC. Chong got Casey Oliver to finish the game with a Fielder's Choice, which meant UBC wins!

By a score of 8-3 the 'Birds knocked off the rival Coyotes, with Doug Grant going 6 innings before three hits!

Jon Syrnyk was incredible for UBC, hitting the CYCLE! What a game for the sophmore OF!

Game 2 Batting Order:
2B Sean "Mount" Everest
RF Jon "K-Lutch" Syrnyk
3B Brett "VV" Murray
C Brendan "Korny" Kornberger
LF Nic "Do the Dew" Lendvoy
DH Fletcher "Konsistent" Vynne
1B Matt "Emcee" Chester
CF Tyler "Gone" Willson
SS Ted "Zilch" Wilkie
SP Brendan Rolfe

Albertson got off to a quick lead, unlike the First game, as they managed Four runs off of UBC Starter Brendan Rolfe in the second inning. Brett Murray, Jon Syrnyk, and Nic Lendvoy scored in the Top of the 4th for UBC, bringing the deficit to only one run heading into the Coyotes half of the 4th.

Jon Syrnyk continued his great day, this time in the Top of the 7th when he knocked in Matt "Emcee" Chester, tying the game at four. Up to this point, it was a pretty even game, with UBC getting some hits, followed by Albertson, and so on and so on.

With Mark Hardy on the hill in the Bottom of the inning, UBC allowed 3 runs, which meant that Albertson lead 7-4 right after the Birds tied the game up.

The next half inning, thanks to a couple of errors, Nic Lendvoy came home, but that was as close as UBC would get, losing the second game by a score of 7-5. This was not the way Manager Terry McKaig probably thought the game would go, but a guy like Ben Millar or Ben Hoekstra need to see some innings, just in case a guy like Mark Hardy or Kurt Schumacher get injured.

There's a Double-Header to finish off the series tomorrow in Idaho.

AL West Division Preview 2007

Here is the Final full MLB Baseball Division Preview (AL East was out a week ago), and since the AL West and AL East are the two divisions this blog will be covering over the next 6 months, I will only do short previews of the other divisions.

Oakland Athletics:
Projected Rotation: Danny Haren, Esteban Loaiza, Rich Harden, Joe Blanton, Joe Kennedy Closer: Huston Street
Projected Opening Day Lineup: 1B: Daric Barton (Unknown who will be at 1B with the Dan Johnson injury), 2B: Mark Ellis, SS: Bobby Crosby, 3B: Eric Chavez Backup IF: Marco Scutaro, Todd Walker, Adam Melhuse, Nick Swisher, Dan Johnson (Will be at 1B when is off the DL)
LF: Shannon Stewart, CF: Nick Swisher, RF: Milton Bradley, Backup OF: Bobby Kielty, Mark Kotsay (Will be at CF when is healthy)
C: Jason Kenndal Backup C: Adam Melhuse, DH: Mike Piazza

The Good: Oakland has almost the same lineup as last year, excluding Barry Zito and Jay Payton (Along with DH Frank Thomas) but Mike Piazza brings another veteran bat to the A's, replacing Thomas at DH. Oakland has many good prospects waiting to be called-up, like 1B Daric Barton, OF Travis Buck and pitching star Jason Windsor. If Oakland is in a jam once Mark Kotsay and Dan Johnson return from injuries, Oakladn should still be in good shape! And of course, you have Huston Street as your closer!

The Risky: Having Joe Blanton and Joe Kennedy as the #4, 5 pitchers is risky because neither have proven they can be good MLB Starters. Shannon Stewart hasn't been the dominating force he once was in the OF, and he needs to have a good opening month to prove he is not washed-up.

Projected AL West Finish: 1st

Seattle Mariners:
Projected Pitching Rotation: Felix Hernandez, Jared Washburn, Horacio Ramirez, Miguel Batista, Jeff Weaver Closer: JJ Putz
Projected Opening Day Lineup: 1B: Richie Sexson, 2B: Jose Lopez, SS: Yuniesky Betancourt, 3B: Adrian Beltre Backup IF: Willie Bloomquist, Ben Broussard, Jose Vidro
LF: Raul Ibanez, CF: Ichiro Suzuki, RF: Jose Guillen Backup OF: Mike Morse, Jeremy Reed
C: Kenji Johjima, Backup C: Rene Rivera, DH: Jose Vidro

The Good: Seattle has done a major re-shuffle, bringing in guys like Horacio Ramirez, Miguel Batista, Jeff Weaver, Jose Guillen and Jose Vidro. Richie Sexson is back to bound the ball this year for the M's and Adrian Beltre returns at the Hot corner. JJ Putz had a great first season as a closer, and if he is 100% healthy, he can and will be deadly. Felix Hernandez as the Opening Day Starter is just another plus to this team.

The Risky: The M's don't have a great backup infield, with Willie Bloomquist and Ben Broussard, two guys who have struggled in the past. Rene Rivera isn't a great backup Catcher, and if called-upon it may be risky to put him into the game. Jose Lopez and Yuniesky Betancourt didn't have great seasons last year, and can be risk factors if they're relied upon to win the game.

Projected AL West Finish: 2nd

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim:
Projected Pitching Rotation: John Lackey, Kelvim Escobar, Ervin Santana, Jered Weaver and Bartolo Colon (Once both are healthy) Closer: Francisco Rodriguez
Projected Opening Day Lineup: 1B: Casey Kotchman, 2B: Howie Kendrick, SS: Orlando Cabrera, 3B: Macer Izturis Backup IF: Rob Quinlan, Dallas McPherson, Shea Hillenbrand
LF: Garrett Anderson, CF: Gary Matthews JR RF: Vladdy Guerrero Backup OF: Tommy Murphy, Reggie Willits, Nick Gourneault
C: Mike Napoli, Backup C: Jose Molina, DH: Shea Hillenbrand

The Good: Shea Hillenbrand joins Vladdy, Garrett Anderson, Orlando Cabrera and another newcomer Gary Matthews JR, and once Jered Weaver and Bartolo Colon are back from their injuries, they can be deadly for the Angels.

The Risky: Alot of prospects in the lineup. You have your Howie Kendrick, Mike Napoli, Casey Kotchman and then on the bench there's Quinlan, McPherson, Murphy, Willits and Gourneault. If there is any serious injuries, the Angels won't be in a good spot.

Projected AL West Finish: 3rd

Texas Rangers:
Projected Pitching Rotation: Kevin Millwood, Vincente Padilla, Brandon McCarthy, Robinson Tejeda, Kameron Loe Closer: Eric Gagne
Projected Opening Day Lineup: 1B: Mark Texiera, 2B: Ian Kinsler, SS: Michael Young, 3B: Hank Blalock, Backup IF: Jason Botts, Jerry Hairston
LF: Brad Wilkerson, CF: Kenny Lofton, RF: Nelson Cruz Backup OF: Sammy Sosa, Frank Catalanotto, Marlon Byrd
C: Gerald Laird, Backup C: Miguel Ojeda DH: Frank Catalanotto, Sammy Sosa

The Good: With Eric Gagne as the Closer, as long as he stays healthy, the former NL Cy Young winner could help Texas win alot of close ball games. Kenny Lofton in Center brings some veteran play, and hey anytime you have Sammy Sosa as a backup OF tells you how much your OF is depth-oriented.

The Risky: Frank Catalanotto wasn't the most consistent Blue Jay during his Toronto stay, but who knows maybe a fresh start as a DH will be good for him. Gerald Laird has been waiting for years to be the starting Catcher in Texas, and the former Southern Oregon player finally has that opportunity, but can't slack off at all this year. Nelson Cruz a former Canadian, is starting in RF ahead of Sosa, and he has been shifted alot in his career, so hopefully Texas is good for the 2002 alum.

Projected AL West Finish: 4th

Here is the full projection:
AL West Division Winner: Oakland Athletics
AL Central Divison Winner: Detroit
AL East Division Winner: Boston
AL Wild Card Winner: Toronto

ALCS winner: Toronto

NL West Division Winner: Los Angeles Dodgers
NL Central Division Winner: Chicago Cubs
NL East Division Winner: New York Mets
NL Wild Card Winner: San Diego Padres

NLCS Winner: Chicago Cubs

World Series: Toronto vs Cubs
World Series winners: Cubs

Chilliwack Eliminated; Giants advance; Glennie heads off with head down

As the Vancouver Giants looked to eliminate the Chilliwack Bruins in their expansion year Friday, Donnie Glennie of the Bruins GUARANTEED that the Bruins would win Game 5. Pretty big words for someone who is a target throughout the WHL.

After Tim Kraus opened the scoring at the Twelve minute mark, Josh Aspenlind tied it up for the Bruins with his 3rd of the Series, while Short-Handed. Before the end of the period, Kenndal McArdle gave the Giants the lead once again, as he scored his third of the playoffs as well.

In the Second, Spencer Machacek scored his Third this series, with Mario Bliznak and Kenndal McArdle receiving assists.

A huge brawl broke out in the final seconds of the game, when the Bruins were Officially eliminated. Patrick Bhungal, Matt McCue and guess who? Glennie received Majors for the Bruins, while Milan Lucic, JD Watt and Mike Wuchterl had the penalties for Vancouver.

Anyways, Vancouver won the game 3-1 and now advance to play probably the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Second Round of the playoffs (IF the Birds win their next game, and if Spokane loses their game against Everett).

Here is the box score from across the league:
Swift Current downed Regina 3-2
Tri-Cities rebounded beating the Thunderbirds 5-4
Medicine Hat shutout the Rebels 4-0
Everett beat Spokane by a score of 5-1

Forest a Phillie, UBC at Albertson Preview

(Picture of Forest courtesy tbirdbaseball.net)

OK, after some serious thought (and some work that got in the way) I won't be doing the full recaps of ALL WHL games that I said I would at the start of the playoffs. It's too tough to say how many saves Jesse Deckert had in PA or how many shots the Rebels had in Red Deer, so until the Conference Finals (Two rounds from now) I'll only post quick scores of WHL Games, and full recaps of the Giants, starting tonight as they look to beat the Chilliwack Bruins in 5 games at home.

First off, I read today that Jonathan Forest (Former UBC Pitcher) has signed with the Philadelphia Phillies. Now I don't know if this is the same Forest that was with UBC but I'm pretty darn sure. We'll see in the coming days when the Minor League Rosters come out.

Now, here is UBC's preview for their series against Albertson College, starting tomorrow and running through Sunday.

Games:
Saturday March 31st, 11 AM Double-Header Conference Games
Sunday April 1st, 10 AM Double-Header Game 1 is Conference, Game 2 is an Exhibition.

UBC Preview: After winning 5 straight at home, UBC returns on the bus as they look to face one of their toughest Conference rivals, the Albertson College Coyotes. Albertson as of Friday, stands two games behind UBC in the Conference Standings, looking to tie things up after Saturday's Double-Header. UBC is looking great both offensively and defensively, with the arms of Andrew "Guy" LaFleur, Doug Grant, Brendan Rolfe and then the great bullpen which contains Kurt Schumacher, Greg Chong, and 3B/P Brett Murray. On Offence, Murray, Sophmore Jon Syrnyk, 1B Fletcher Vynne, Tyler Willson and Nic Lendvoy have been key contributors, with Brendan Kornberger and Dave Dick playing in the background. UBC SHOULD take at least three of the four games this weekend.

Albertson Preview: The 'Yotes are ranked #23 in the NAIA Baseball Rankings, and have guys like Casey Oliver and Pat Burke helping them out on Offence. (Oliver has Four Homers) Pat Lyon, Jason Roach and Kris Bittner have been stars on the mound for Albertson, but going up against guys like Murray and Vynne, is not an easy task. Look for Albertson to manage one game maximum.

Oregon Tech at UBC: March 28th Single Non-Conference Game Recap

(Photo of Sean Everest courtesy tbirdbaseball.net)
UBC was looking to sweep Oregon Tech 4-0 this series, as well as win all of their games this homestand. (Including last Tuesday's game against Lewis-Clark State) Mark Hardy for the Birds went up against Kevin Huntley of the Owls.

Batting Order:
2B Craig "Spidey" Leebosh
SS Sean "Mount" Everest
1B Matt "Emcee" Chester
RF Nic "Do the Dew" Lendvoy
DH Scott "Doc" Webster
CF Jon "K-Lutch" Syrnyk
C Dave "Mullet" Dick
3B Mike "Fright" Styrna
LF Zack Ross (Yet to earn himself a nickname)
SP Mark "Hearty" Hardy

Mark Hardy pitched two HITLESS innings, before being replaced by Toronto Freshman Greg Chong in the Top of the 3rd. Chong lasted one inning, allowing no hits as well. In Kurt Schumacher's first inning (The Top of the Fourth), the Owls managed their first hit of the game, but luckily no one scored.

In the Bottom Half of the inning, Sean Everest lead things off by doubling to Right Field. After an error, Matt Chester wound up at Second, and Sean Everest went home, UBC lead 1-0.

Schumacher let in another hit in the Top of the 5th, but no harm done.

Jordan Anderson came in for Schumacher in the Top of the 6th, and didn't allow a hit in either of his two innings of work on the hill. UBC had a good 8th inning (After Scott Webster came into the game, not allowing a hit in his first inning) with Sean Everest having another Lead-off Double. Aftet Emcee Chester grounded out, Everest advanced to Third. Then, on a wild pitch scored his second Unearned run of the game, and the final run of the ballgame, UBC wins 2-0.

They swept O-Tech, they beat LC-State, this team is on a roll! No joke, they're for real. Connor who? Who Schaefer?

Kurt Schumacher (1-0) had the win, while Scott Webster earned his first save of the season, and his first career NAIA Save.

Hit line:
2B Craig "Spidey" Leebosh 0-4
SS Sean "Mount" Everest 2-2, 2 R, 2 2B
1B Matt "Emcee" Chester 1-4 SO
RF Nic "Do the Dew" Lendvoy 0-3 BB SO
DH/CP Scott "Doc" Webster 0-4
CF Jon "K-Lutch" Syrnyk 0-3
C Dave "Mullet" Dick 1-2, BB
PR Sammie "Ontario" Starr 0-0
3B Mike "Fright" Styrna 0-2, Sacrifice Hit
LF Zack Ross 0-2 SO, HBP

Pitching Line:
Mark "Hearty" Hardy 2 IP, 2 SO, 7 AB
Greg Chong, IP, 3 AB
Kurt Schumacher, 2 IP, 2 H, 2 SO, 7 AB (Win 1-0)
Jordan Anderson, 2 IP, 2 BB, 5 AB
Scott "Doc" Webster, 2 IP, BB, SO, 7 AB

WHL Playoff Recap tomorrow morning including Tuesday and Wednesday's games.

Oregon Tech at UBC: Tuesday Recap DOUBLE-Header...former C's released

(Photo of Brendan Rolfe courtesy tbirdbaseball.net)
Today's first game marked the debut of 2007 for Junior 2B/OF Matt Chester, who had Mono for the good half of the season up to now. "Emcee" Chester was in the lineup as a DH Today but should return to the OF soon, but it is tough to tell who he'll replace, my money however is on Nic "Do" Lendvoy.

Before I get into the games, a couple of famous Canadians were released today from Oakland's Minor League Camp.
Andre Piper-Jordan, a late addition to the 2005 team was a mainstay in 2006, and will be remembered for his last game as a Minor Leaguer, where in a game against Everett, caused a battle between both teams after a controversial slide by P-J. (That originated in Everett earlier in the week) and yours truly had a front row seat for the "brawl" as I was bat-boy. Piper-Jordan's "Dangerous" slide occured when Pitcher Anthony "Suga" Rea (who was forced into Pinch Hitting) hit a grounder to the infield and PJ broke up the Double-Play. The significance with Rea, is that he was also released by Oakland. He only appeared for Vancouver last season, but he was one guy my family really liked, it's sad to see him go. Anthony, class act sorry to see you go.

Steven Obenchain, a 2002 pitcher, Justin Crowder, also a C's alum from the 2002 pitching staff, Ryan Ford a 2004 Pitching Graduate were also let go, as were Tim Rall and Sam Walton who have no connection with the C's. The only other guy who was cut recently, was Wilbur Perez, who was with Vancouver in 2005 as a 2B but left the team with a week remaining, and then re-joined Vancouver a couple weeks (A month IIRC) into 2006 where he was 2B/3B. Perez was called-up with Larry Cobb to AAA Sacramento near the end of the season but didn't see any action.

The Road Kill Sports Blog wishes all of them the best.

Now onto UBC...Game 1 on Tuesday against Oregon Tech of a Double-Header:
Batting Order:
2B Craig "Spidey" Leebosh
3B Brett "Versatile Vet" Murray
RF Jon "K-Lutch" Syrnyk
C Brendan "Korny" Kornberger
LF Nic "Do" Lendvoy
1B Fletcher "Konsistent" Vynne (I know that's not how you spell it but Vynne has been Consistent yet strikesout on occasion (more than)
DH Matt "Emcee" Chester
CF Tyler "Gone" Willson
SS Sammie "Ontario" Starr
SP Andrew "Guy" LaFleur

This game was only scheduled to be 7 innings, while Game 2 be a full 9 innings of play.

UBC almost scored a run in the Bottom of the First, with Craig Leebosh at Second Base, but Brendan Kornberger and Nic Lendvoy got out, before "Spidey" Came home. The Fourth Inning created some runs for the T-Birds, despite the inning almost being a bust three batters in. Brendan Kornberger and Nic "Do" Lendvoy were out to start the inning, and Fletcher "Konsistent" Vynne was safe at 1B just because of an error credited to the SS. Matt Chester hit his first of the year next sending Vynne to Second, and then Tyler Willson landed on base after the 2B got the error. Willson knocked in Fletcher Vynne, and advanced Chester to Second. Emcee was later tagged out on the next play, when Sammie Starr reached on a Fielder's Choice. 1-0 UBC.

After Craig Leebosh drew a walk to lead off the Bottom of the 5th, Brett Murray hit a Homerun (That's right in Nat Bailey Stadium!) sending Leebosh home, and bringing UBC's run total to 3 on the day. 3-0 Birds.

In the Top of the 6th, Oregon Tech managed two runs off starting pitcher Andrew "Guy" LaFleur, which was the last inning for the Ancaster, Ontario native, who in the Top of the 7th was replaced by 3B/P Brett Murray.

Murray allowed one hit, but that was all as UBC won the first game in Tuesday's Double-Header. LaFleur took the win, Murray the save, UBC 3, Oregon Tech 2.

Game 2 Batting Order:
2B Sean "Mount" Everest
3B Brett "Versatile Vet" Murray
LF Nic "Do" Lendvoy
C Brendan "Korny" Kornberger
1B Fletcher "Konsistent" Vynne
RF Jon "K-Lutch" Syrnyk
DH Mike "Fright" Styrna
CF Tyler "Gone" Willson
SS Sammie "Ontario" Starr
SP Brendan Rolfe

With Errors, wild pitches and more, Brett Murray scored UBC's first run, coming all the way from First to Home on One At-Bat, while Nic Lendvoy was standing at the dish. 1-0 UBC after the 3rd.

In the 4th, UBC broke out into a huge lead, with RBI from Mike "Fright" Styrna, Tyler "Gone" Willson, Sammie "Ontario" Starr and then Sean Everest knocked in two. 6-0 University of British Columbia.

A bit of a scare for the Thunderbirds in the 8th, after Brendan Rolfe (5 innings, 1 Hit) and Greg Chong (2 innings 2 hits) shutout the Owls in the first seven innings, Kurt Schumacher allowed three runs in his only inning of work, which is a bit surprising considering he is usually a key player, like in last Tuesday's win over LC-State. Anyways, the Owls managed three runs off of the Midland College Transfer, three away from tying the game.

Brett Murray came onto try and get his second save of the day, and did so not allowing any hits or walks in the Top of the 9th, the only things that'll come up on the box score, were that he struckout two of the three he faced.

T-Birds win!

UBC swept Oregon Tech in this Conference Series, 3-0 which is very good for UBC. Wednesday the two teams will wrap up the series in Vancouver at Noon, in a Non-Conference game. Expect Mark Hardy or Ben Hoekstra to start for UBC.

EDIT: No WHL Recap tonight, I'm combining Tuesday and Wednesday's action for one WHL Post Recap. The other two American League Division Previews are coming your way, Thursday and Friday.

UBC vs Oregon Tech Monday Recap

Once again no box score at the moment, and i'll edit this post once it's found.

EDIT: Found Batting Order:
2B Craig "Spidey" Leebosh
3B Brett "Versatile Vet" Murray
RF Jon "K-lutch" Syrnyk
C Brendan "Korny" Kornberger
LF Nic "Do" Lendvoy
1B Fletcher "Konsistent" Vynne
CF Tyler "Gone" Willson
DH Scott "Doc" Webster
SS Sammie "The Ontario" Starr
SP Doug "Error Bug" Grant


After having 8 days inbetween pitching for UBC, Starter Doug Grant took the hill Monday at the Nat, to face Casey Burton of the Owls.

Grant allowed Two runs in the Top of the First which didn't put UBC in a great start early on, but the 'Birds came back strong. Fletcher Vynne doubled in Nic Lendvoy during the Bottom of the 2nd, followed by Freshman Scott Webster who knocked Vynne home, suddenly the game was tied once again.

For the second time during the game, two innings later, "Business" Vynne hit another double, knocking in Lendvoy once again. 3-2 UBC and luckily they'd never look back.

UBC put the finishing touches on the cake in the Bottom of the 7th, when Freshman Lendvoy, Sophmore Jon Syrnyk and Senior Brett Murray each hit in runs, 6-2 UBC.

The T-Birds were in a jam during the 8th inning, that was completed with a 1-2-3 Double Play, a sight that happens not so often in baseball. (Pitcher throws to Catcher, who throws to first base in time)

After being shaky in the early stages, Grant finished 8 innings of work, allowing just two runs and seven hits in the game. He earned his first win of 2007, improving his record to 1-2 on the season.

UBC won Monday 6-2, and face the Owls in Two Conference games tomorrow, starting at 11:00, finishing up before Six at the latest we figure. Brendan Rolfe and Andrew LaFleur are the probable starters for the 'Birds.

Photo Courtesy tbirdbaseball.net

American League East Preview

It's that time of year again, the MLB Season is just about underway and here is the Inagural Road Kill Sports MLB Season Preview. Today we bring you the AL East preview and in the coming days, previews of all other AL and NL divisions will surface.

Road Kill Baseball presents AL East Preview 2K7:

AL East (In Order of Road Kill Sports Projected Finish):
Boston Red Sox Projected Position Players Opening Day Lineup:
1B: Kevin Youkilis, 2B: Dustin Pedroia, SS: Julio Lugo, 3B: Mike Lowell, IF Bench Players: Alex Cora, Eric Hinske
LF: Manny Ramirez, CF: Coco Crisp, RF: JD Drew, OF Bench Players: David Murphy, Willy Mo Pena
C: Jason Varitek, Backup C: Doug Mirabelli, DH: David Ortiz
Projected Rotation: Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, Taverez Closer: Papelbon

The Good: Any time they have Ortiz and Man-Ram in the lineup it's great, but with JD Drew replacing Trot Nixon (Now with Cleveland) in RF, they have a lot of power. Eric Hinske and Willy Mo Pena bring some great hitting and defensive skills to the bench, and Doug Mirabelli is a great Catcher if Jason Varitek is out. Their rotation has added 2006 Closer Jon Papelbon and former Japanese Superstar Daisuke Matsuzaka, and they are so stacked they brought former Seattle Starter Joel Pineiro into the Bullpen! No word yet on who their closer maybe.

The Risky: Dustin Pedroia is starting his first MLB Season, after batting under .200 in a month's time with Boston last year. It's going to be risky bringing the 23 year old into the batting order. Daisuke Matsuzaka was the most talked about FA Signing, but time will tell if Boston's 100+ million dollars shelled out for Dice-K was worth it.

Projected AL East Finish: 1st

Toronto Blue Jays:
Toronto's Projected Position Player Opening Day Lineup:
1B: Lyle Overbay, 2B: Aaron Hill, SS: Royce Clayton, 3B: Troy Glaus, IF Bench Players: John McDonald, Jason Smith
LF: Reed Johnson, CF: Vernon Wells, RF: Alex Rios, OF Bench Player: Adam Lind
C: Greg Zaun, Backup C: Jason Phillips, DH: Frank Thomas
Projected Rotation: Roy Halladay, AJ Burnett, Gustavo Chacin, Tomo Ohka, Josh Towers, Closer: BJ Ryan

The Good: The Jays finished a surprising Second in the AL East last year ahead of Boston, and with the addition of Frank Thomas have a better shot of making the playoffs in the upcoming years. Royce Clayton was added as a Shortstop (Although it's uncertain if he has the guaranteed Opening Day spot) and Vet Jason Smith joins the Jays Infield as a backup. Ohka and Josh Towers are projected to be the #4, 5 guys in the Rotation, an upgrade from the Janssen/Marcum/Downs/McGowan era from last year.

The Risky: Having only Adam Lind as a backup OF is risky because Lind doesn't have ONE MLB season under his belt. A guy like FA Bernie Williams could be helpful as a Second Backup, instead of keeping too many Relievers.

Projected AL East Finish: 2nd (A full Jays Preview will be up before Opening Day)

New York Yankees:
Projected Position Players Opening Day Lineup:
1B: Doug Mientkiewicz, 2B: Robinson Cano, SS: Derek Jeter, 3B: Alex Rodriguez, Backup IF: Miguel Cairo, Josh Phelps
LF: Hideki Matsui, CF: Johnny Damon, RF: Bobby Abreu, Backup OF: Melky Cabrera
C: Jorge Posada, Backup C: Wil Nieves, DH: Jason Giambi
Projected Rotation: Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina, Andy Pettite, Carl Pavano, Kei Igawa, Closer: Mariano Rivera

The Good: After acquiring him Mid-Season last year, Bobby Abreu enters his first official Yankees season as the RF and joins an already stacked Outfield, and stacked team all together. Andy Pettite and Japanese Import Kei Igawa join the Rotation, giving hope to the Yankees Post-Season Quest.

The Risky: First off, there's Doug Mientkiewicz who has not proven himself as a key MLB Player, and he is already 33 years old. Bringing back Mariano Rivera and Catcher Jorge Posada is risky also, because of their ages (Rivera is 37 while Posada is turning 36 in August). Rivera has been known to Blow Saves in the past, and with age he will just deteriorate even more.

Projected AL East Finish: 3rd (Call me crazy but I don't see them making the Playoffs)

Baltimore Orioles:
Projected Position Players Opening Day Lineup:
1B: Kevin Millar, 2B: Brian Roberts, SS: Miguel Tejada, 3B: Melvin Mora, Backup IF: Chris Gomez, Aubrey Huff
LF: Jay Payton, CF: Corey Patterson, RF: Nick Markakis Backup OF: Aubrey Huff, Adam Stern, Freddie Bynum
C: Ramon Hernandez, Backup C: Paul Bako DH: Jay Gibbons
Projected Rotation: Erik Bedard, Kris Benson, Daniel Cabrera, and #4, 5 between Jaret Wright, Adam Loewen, Steve Trachsel Closer: Chris Ray

The Good: Bringing Aubrey Huff in as a Versatile Backup, Jay Payton in the OF and moving Jay Gibbons over to the OF. Alot of talent on this team, the question is though, do they have good Team Chemistry?

The Risky: Chris Ray has yet to prove himself as a great pitcher and having either Jaret Wright, Adam Loewen or Steve Trachsel as the bottom two Starting PItchers is risky as all three are shaky at times.

Projected AL East Finish: 4th

Tampa Bay Devil Rays:
Projected Position Players Opening Day Lineup:
1B: Ty Wiggington, 2B: Jorge Cantu, SS: Ben Zobrist, 3B: A. Iwamura, Backup IF: Greg Norton, BJ Upton
LF: Carl Crawford, CF: Rocco Baldelli, RF: Delmon Young Backup OF: Elijah Dukes, Jonny Gomes
C: Dioneer Navarro, Backup C: Josh Paul, DH: Jonny Gomes
Projected Rotation: Scott Kazmir, Jae Seo, James Shields, Casey Fossum, J.P. Howell, Closer: Unknown

The Good: Thye have a stacked OF with Crawford, Baldelli and Young, and then at DH they have Gomes. BJ Upton is an up and coming prospect, as is Ben Zobrist who will start at Short Stop. Jorge Cantu is proven Defensively, and Dioneer Navarro (Catcher) is out of the Yankees Farm System.

The Risky: Having Navarro as the Starting Catcher because he isn't yet proven to be a good MLB Player is a risk, but one Tampa needs to take. Too many prospects may be the problem also, with Upton, Iwamura, Zobrist, Dukes and somewhat Josh Paul. At pitching they have three vets in Seo, Kazmir and Fossum but Howell and Shields NEED to shine in order for Tampa to have somewhat productive season.

Projected AL East Finish: 5th

That's the AL East Preview...stay tuned for other AL Divisions later this week.

Saturday Night WHL Playoff Recap+UBC vs Oregon Tech Series Preview

UBC vs Oregon Tech
Monday March 26th, 1 PM Single Conference Game (Doug Grant Projected UBC Starter)
Tuesday March 27th, 11 AM Double Header Conference Games (Andrew "Guy" LaFleur and Brendan Rolfe Projected Starters)
Wednesday March 28th, Noon Single Non-Conference Game (UBC Projected Starter Mark Hardy)

The Preview: UBC is coming off a week where they were scheduled to play a 3 game series at home against the Lewis-Clark State Warriors. After UBC won Game 1 on Tuesday, the games scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday were cancelled due to heavy rain. Riding on their momentum from last Tuesday's win against Beau Mills and the Warriors, UBC should be coming out of the gates with a lot of power this week when they face the Owls.

The Oregon Tech Owls are struggling pretty badly this season already. With a 4-10 overall record, combined with a 2-7 Conference Record, O-Tech relies on the playing of Pitcher Kyle Koontz and Derek Jacobson. On the offensive side of the game, power wise they have Chris Curtis, and consistency wise they have Kenny Simmons.

Projection:
UBC to take all 3 Conference games, as well as the Non Conference game.

WHL Recap of Saturday night action:

The Swift Current Broncos tied up their series with the Regina Pats Saturday night at the Brandt Centre, after scoring an overtime goal on the Road. Kyle Bortis scored the Game Winner in OT on Linden Rowat, as the Broncos celebrated their first win of the Post-Season. Geordie Wudrick, Ryan Molle and Jeremy Schenderling had the earlier goals for the Broncs, while Troy Ofukany and Michael McAngus scored for the Pats (Ofukany with two on the night).

Series: 1-1

Brandon Wheat Kings Captain Mark Derlago scored his second of the game as Raiders Goalie Jesse Deckert let in his Third goal of the night, when Brandon won their second game of the series, this time a 3-2 contest finished in OT. Andrew Clark also had a goal and an assist in Brandon's win. Ashton Hewson and Lukas Zeliska were the only Raiders lucky enough to find the back of the net on the night.

Series: 2-0 Brandon

The Medicine Hat Tigers showed why they deserve to head into the Second Round of the WHL Playoffs, winning Game 2 in their series against Red Deer. After losing Game 1, Medicine Hat shutout the Rebels Saturday night, by a score of 5-0. Matt Keetley saved all 20 shots he faced on the night, while counterpart James Reimer had 30 saves on 35 shots. Colton Grant, Darren Helm, Daine Todd and Tyler Ennis each had goals on the night (Ennis had two) as the Tigers cruised to victory at home.

Series: 1-1

After jumping out to a 2-0 lead early in the game, the Calgary Hitmen saw the Kootenay Ice make a giant comeback, winning on home ice for the first time this post-season. Brodie Dupont and Ryan White had goals in the First for Calgary, but a Dustin Sylvester goal, along with a Hat-Trick from Ryan Russell won Kootenay the game. Taylor Dakers made 39 saves in the win, while Dan Spence had 27 in the loss.

Series: 1-1

After nearly getting the win the night before, the Chilliwack Bruins won their first WHL Playoff Game in their expansion season, as they beat the defending WHL Champion Vancouver Giants 3-1 at the Pacific Coliseum. Vancouver first got on the scoresheet in the Second thanks to a Michal Repik goal, but Josh Aspenlind tied things up, then Donnie Glennie scored the eventual game-winner, and to wrap things up Mark Santorelli scored his second of the post-season enroute to the victory. Tyson Sexsmith allowed 3 pucks to go past him, and made only 15 saves on the night. Alex Archibald on the other hand, made 32 saves on 33 shots.

Series: 1-1

In what was almost a re-run of the Vancouver-Chilliwack game Friday night, the Prince George Cougars extended their post-season win total to two games after beating the Kamloops Blazers 5-4 in OT. The game was back and forth all night, but Devin Setoguchi scored the OT Winner for the 'Cougs sending Kamloops fans home disappointed. Eric Hunter had a pair, and then Nic Drazenovic and Richard Rapac also scored goals on the night, and who can forget Setoguchi's game winner. For Kamloops, Terrance Delaronde, Reid Jorgenson, Keaton Ellerby and Ivan Rohac scored Saturday night. Real Cyr made 30 saves in the win, while Dustin Butler made 25 saves in the loss.

Series: 2-0 Prince George

The Spokane Chiefs tried, they really did, but they did not beat the Everett Silvertips in Overtime. David Rutherford opened the scoring up for the Chiefs in the first, but was quickly answered by Everett's Lukas Vartovnik. Shane Harper gave Everett the lead, but Adam Hobson tied the game up late for Spokane sending things into OT. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, despite their huge effort, Zach Hamill scored after more than half a dozen minutes into the extra frame.

Series: 2-0 Everett

In the other WHL Game Saturday, the Tri-City Americans answered back to being Shutout Friday night, beating the Seattle T-Birds 2-1. Radek Meidl scored for Seattle to kick things off, but a tying goal from Taylor Prochysen and then the winner from Aaron Boogaard was all the Ams needed to win the game. Carey Price made 32 saves in the win, and opposite Goalie Derek Yeomans had 28 saves during the game.

Series: 1-1

Rod Pedersen Interview

Today I'm posting an interview Road Kill Sports had with Saskatchewan Roughriders and Regina Pats Radio Play-By-Play guy Rod Pedersen (In the Photo he is on the right). In addition to broadcasting on sports in Regina, he also keeps a blog which can be seen at rodpedersen.com. He is truly a class act, and was nice enough to grant us an interview.

Road Kill Sports: You have covered both the CFL's Riders and the WHL's Pats, what has been
the most memorable moment for you out of covering the two teams?

Rod Pedersen: - There are many moments that come to mind with the Pats: broadcasting the WHL's
longest game in 1996 (four overtimes, and it was on TSN), calling the 1998 WHL
All-Star game with Rich Sutter, broadcasting the 2001 Memorial Cup and personal
moments like the night I MC'd the jersey retirement of Pats' legend Doug
Wickenheiser just months after he died of cancer. His widow and two young
twin girls were on the ice with me.

- As for the Riders, every game is a thrill because it's such a big deal, and
pro sports. The highlights I suppose have been broadcasting the playoff
games and being a part of the national radio broadcasts of the Grey Cups.

RKS: In the CFL you can have a guy like Lui Passaglia in BC for instance, who
spends his whole career that can span 10, 15, 20 years, compared to in the
WHL you have Tommy Tartaglione who spends two years maximum in Regina, or at
most for a guy 5 years in a Pats uniform, is it harder to get to know one of
the 19 year old or 20 year old newcomers like Myles Stoesz, knowing that
they'll be gone after the summer, compared to a Chris Szarka?

RP: I know Myles Stoesz as good or better than any of the Roughriders because we
spend so much time together on the bus, in hotels and at meals. With the
Riders, once you leave the stadium, you rarely ever spend time with the
athletes.

RKS: Since you were a kid, has broadcasting always been your dream, or was it
when you were older you realized it was what you wanted to do?

RP: I've wanted to be a broadcaster since I was old enough to talk. In grade 4 I
did a presentation on 'what I want to be when I grow up' and took a pair of
headphones and microphone made out of tinfoil to the front of the class and did
a radio show.

RKS: The Press Box Sports Bar, which is recently opened, was one of
Sportsnet's Bars U need 2 know, and you hosted the 2 minute long segment,
what can you say about the Bar that's not even at the 6 month point, and
already is one of the best bars in Canada?

RP: It's everything a sports bar should be: lots of big screens, tons of
memorabilia, a wonderful decor that makes you feel at home, and all the local
athletes hang out there so you never know who you're going to run into.

RKS: What is the average work day for Rod Pedersen?

RP: I get to work around 5:30am and record sportscasts which run from 6:00am to
3:00pm, plus record our daily 90 second sports features like Pat Chat, CFL
Report, Curling Report, and Hockey Trivia. I usually leave by 8:00am and
workout for an hour. All the travel and crazy hours take a toll on your body
so you need to keep fit. Then I generally pop into Mosaic Stadium and Brandt
Centre for interviews and various meetings. At 3:30 everday I get my daughter
and spend the afternoons with her. If it's a game day, I'm at the arena two
hours prior to faceoff or kickoff, and get home five hours later.

RKS: In just a couple of words how would you describe former Roughrider Paul
McCallum's 2004 West Division Final miss kick in Overtime?

RP: Brutal, and everlasting.

RKS: If you were to only cover one of the two, between the Pats and Riders who
would it be?

RP: I enjoy hockey more to call because it's second-nature to me - like breathing.
But the money and the profile is in football. However I have to have the
mind-to-mouth filter on at all times because listeners are ready to jump on your
mistakes.

RKS: Thanks Rod!

I really want to thank Mr. Pedersen for the interview, it's great hearing from such a famous broadcaster, and follow the Pats Post-Season on his blog, rodpedersen.com.

WHL Playoff Recap Game 1

Here is the first of many WHL Playoff Recaps.

East Divison:
Brandon (1) vs Prince Albert (4):
The Brandon Wheat Kings took a 1-0 series lead over the Raiders in Brandon, emerging victorious after Overtime. After Ryan McDonald of the Raiders tied the game up with just over a minute to go in the 3rd scoring his first of the playoffs, it wasn't enough to get past Tyler Plante and the Wheat Kings. 5 minutes into OT, Daniel Bartek scored his second goal of the game as the home team emerged victorious. Despite being the losing Goaltender, the Raiders Jesse Deckert saved 36 of the 40 Wheat Kings shots.

Series: 1-0 Brandon

Regina (2) vs Swift Current (3):
The Regina Pats made sure the Swift Current Broncos didn't take an Early series lead at the Brandt Centre, winning by a final score of 4-0. Linden Rowat stopped all 23 shots he faced, while opposing Goalie Kyle Moir stopped 26 of 30. Kaspars Saulietis, Michael MacAngus, Jared Jagow and Garrett Festerling scored for the Pats. No goals were scored after the 8:12 mark of the Second period, but the intensity continued until the last second of the game, with a fight between the Pats Levi Lind and the Broncos Zack Smith.

Series: 1-0 Regina.

Centreal Division:
Medicine Hat (1) vs Red Deer (4):
One of a few upsets on the night, Red Deer absolutely stunned the WHL defeating the #1 team in the Eastern Conference by a score of 6-2. After five goals were scored in the opening frame (all of which were on the PP), 3 in favour of the Rebels while the other two went to the Tigers, Red Deer didn't ease up, scoring a quick goal in the second period, another power-play goal in the third. Luke Egener added an Empty-Netter later in the game, as the Rebels prevailed, thanks to a 38 save performance from their goalie James Reimer.

Series: 1-0 Red Deer

Kootenay (2) vs Calgary (3):
A tight game, shown across Western Canada on Shaw, the Calgary Hitmen beat the Kootenay Ice 2-1 on the road in Cranbrook. Although superstar Forward Ben Maxwell was in the lineup for the first time since the New Years for the Ice, Dan Spence and the Hitmen were too tough of a task. Brodie Dupont opened the scoring during the first period for Calgary, at about the Seven minute mark. Tylan Stephens was next on the scoresheet, with a second period goal for Kootenay. With the game tied and just minutes remaining, Derek LeBlanc scored a last minute goal for Calgary as they beat Taylor Dakers and the Ice.

Series: Calgary 1-0

BC Divison:
Vancouver (1) vs Chilliwack (4):
In one of the more exciting matchups of the Regular Season last Sunday, Vancouver came back from a 4-0 deficit to beat the Chilliwack Bruins in the Fraser Valley. The two teams met Friday night in Game 1 of the playoffs, and what a matchup it was. Just a minute into the game Cody Smuk got the Bruins on the board, scored on the Powerplay. Two and a half minutes later, Spencer Machacek scored for the G-Men, tying the game up after the PP marker. A minute and a half later, also on the Powerplay, Bruins captain Josh Aspenlind netted his first of the playoffs, 2-1 Chilliwack. At this point, I should mention that the two Bruins goals were scored after just Three Bruins shots! Bad Sexsmith! In the Second period, Wacey Rabbit tied the game back up for Vancouver, on somewhat of a breakaway attempt, as he beat Alex Archibald. Ken Petkau next scored for Chilliwack, another Powerplay goal, on the Bruins fourth shot of the night. 3-2 Bruins. Chilliwack would score their Fourth goal with a minute remaining in the second, this time scored by Mark Santorelli. This marked the end for Tyson Sexsmith, who allowed Four goals on Seven shots, and marked the start for Blaine Neufeld. After scoring his second of the game, Spencer Machacek brought the Giants within one early in the Third. It was then up to Mario Bliznak's Third Period Penalty shot with minutes remaining to decide who would come out victorious. Bliznak made the shot, and the game headed to OT. After dominating the first 5 minutes of OT, with so many opportunities, Jon Blum ended the game scoring his first playoff goal, and the Giants fifth of the night, en route to their 5-4 victory.

Series: 1-0 Vancouver

Kamloops (2) vs Prince George (3):
Another OT game in the WHL, this time between the Cougars and Blazers. After scoring the first goal of the game, Prince George gave up a goal to Reid Jorgenson. Followed by that, Prince George took a 2-1 lead. It was in the Third period, on the Powerplay that Kamloops tied things up again, with a C.J. Stretch goal. The game headed to OT, and Nick Drazenovic scored on Dustin Butler, to give PG Game 1 of the Best of 7 series.

Series: 1-0 Prince George

US Division:
Everett (1) vs Spokane (4):
The Everett Silvertips proved Friday night at the Everett Events Center, that not only can they play well in the Regular Season, they can kick butt in the Playoffs too. Zach Hamill had one, Moises Gutierrez had two, Zack Dailey scored once en route to the Everett victory. Spokane scored twice on the night, both in the Third Period. Spokane's Rookie Goalie Dustin Tokarski had 22 saves on the night, but it wasn't enough compared to the Silvertips Leland Irving who allowed just two goals. 4-2 final.

Series: Everett 1-0

Tri-City (2) vs Seattle (3):
One of the tightest WHL games on the night, the Seattle Thunderbirds edged out a win against Carey Price and the Americans. After scoring a goal at the 15:30 mark of the Third Period, Seattle added another goal, scored on an Empty-Net as they shutout the Tri-City Americans in Pasco, Washington. Bud Holloway had the game winning marker for Seattle. Derek Yeomans had a quiet night, saving 19 shots enroute to the shutout.

Series: 1-0 Seattle

WHL West Playoff Preview

Before I get to previewing the WHL Western Conference's First Round playoff matchups, I'd like to say to readers to make sure that you come back and check-in on the blog this week every day. Now I know I've said this alot, but in the next Seven days, we have a couple of interviews, UBC has their series against Oregon Tech starting Monday, then play Albertson, on the road the following weekend. In addition, we will provide daily recaps of the WHL Playoff action, starting tonight, as well as all of our 2007 MLB Previews, and a prediction of where some 2006 Vancouver Canadians may start their '07 campaign. Expect 1-2 posts a day, so check back often!

WHL Western Conference Playoff Preview:
BC Division:
Vancouver (1) vs Chilliwack (4):

Projected Game 1 Goalies:
Chilliwack: Matt Esposito
Vancouver: Tyson Sexsmith

Key Players:
Chilliwack's Mark Santorelli is the player every coach dreams of. He had 82 points in his rookie campaign with the Bruins, and despite most of the points being assists, he is known to score goals, in fact he found the back of the net 29 times in 2006-07.

The Giants Cody Franson is the anchor of the Giants D. Franson went to the World Juniors and won a Gold Medal for Canada, and has been a real team player for the Giants now into his 3rd WHL Season.

Prediction: Giants in 4.

Kamloops (2) vs Prince George (3)
Projected Game 1 Goalies:
Prince George: Real Cyr or Scott Bowles
Kamloops: Dustin Butler

Key Players:

The Cougars Eric Hunter is into his final WHL Season and wants nothing more than a WHL Title to finish his Junior Hockey career. Hunter is a force on the ice, and can be the difference in a hockey game.

Kamloops' Keaton Ellerby is known to be a tough physical presence on the ice. What some may not know is the 2007 NHL Draft eligible player is a good scorer too. If he can bring both his elements into the First Round of the Playoffs, the Blazers should burn the Cougars up.

Prediction: Kamloops in 5.

US Division:
Everett (1) vs Spokane (4):
Projected Game 1 Goalies:
Spokane: Kevin Armstrong
Everett: Leland Irving

Key Players:
Spokane has a couple great scorers and play-makers, but this year David Rutherford has been the real story. The 19 year old who spent last year with the Giants had a breakout year, scoring 31 goals.

Everett's Peter Mueller has been the talk of the WHL and NHL for years. He is a Phoenix prospect who is IMO a year away from the big leagues. Mueller was on Team USA for the World Juniors this year, and is expected to be the key to Everett's post-season success.

Prediction: Everett in 4.

Tri-City (2) vs Seattle (3):
Projected Game 1 Goalies:
Tri-City: Carey Price
Seattle: Derek Yeomans

Key Players:
Tri-City relies on Goaltender Carey Price to win games, and the Canadiens prospect would love to lead the Ams to a WHL Title.

Seattle has Aaron Gagnon, a 20 year old forward who is known for scoring goals. Having never won a WHL Title before, Gagnon will be eager to battle the Ams in the First Round.

Prediction: Americans in 6.

Oakland A's Spring Training Update: March 22nd

Just finished the UBC Cancellation post, but am bored so will continue with some Oakland A's news. First off however, OZ at Notesfromthenat.com is back posting and has some clips from the Vancouver Sun about marketing that has to do with a certain "Disco" night back in the MLB a while ago. I've been forgetting to mention lately, but Bob at tbirdbaseball.net has been giving us some info on UBC before the Box Scores came in. Tip of the hat to him and his site for letting T-Bird fans know the score of the game before the Box Scores come in.

Today I'll be giving you an update of Former Vancouver Canadians in the Oakland system, or on the A's with their performance since the start of Spring Training.

Danny Putnam, a 2004 alum, tore the field up in his one Spring Training appearance, going 3 for 4, with a double and 2 RBI. Remember his name, and remember he was a C because he is one guy who will make a name for himself in the Majors some day.

In his first MLB Spring Training game, Richie Robnett, another 2004 alum, went 1-2 driving in two runs on his only hit of the game. Robnett could be the corner stone of Oakland's future OF which could include ALL 2004 Canadians someday. (Putnam, Robnett, Herrera).

Kurt Suzuki, yes you guessed it another former C from 2004, is Oakland most consistent hitter this spring, with an average of .500 in 14 Ab's. If he keeps this up, Suzuki could be looking at a Backup position in Oakland this year or a Starting one in Sacramento (AAA) outhitting A's starting Catcher Jason Kendall.

The streak of 2004 Canadians continues, this time with 2B Kevin Melillo. Melillo was injured for the later part of the '04 season but has since turned into one of the most well rounded players in Oakland's system. Melillo is hitting .444 in 18 AB's for Oakland in the Spring, with 8 Hits and has knocked home on RBI.

Jon Baker was a catcher in 2002, and this spring has gone 2 for 5. Baker was a powerful threat heading into the spring, but is a couple years away from the Majors yet.

Travis Buck is one of the more recent C's to appear in an Oakland Spring Training game. Buck was a 2005 Canadian, and has emerged as one of, if not the top Prospect in the A's system. This spring, Buck has hit .361 in 15 games! Buck should be one of the newer faces in the A's Outfield come 2008 (At the latest IMO).

Landon Powell was a 2004 Catcher that wasn't high on everyone's radar list despite that he was one of Oakland's top picks in '04. Powell suffered an injury in 2005 before the season started, and has had to watch fellow 2004 C's Catcher Kurt Suzuki shine in the A's system ahead of him. Powell is hitting just under .340 this spring and should start the year of in AA Midland.

Nick Swisher who briefly played in Vancouver during the 2002 season has guaranteed himself a spot on Oakland's opening day roster once again, but whether he'll play the OF or 1B is anyone's guess. Chances are though he'll be in the OF for the start of the year. Swisher has been impressive this spring, hitting over .300 with 4 dingers and has knocked in 14 Runs all-together.

If Swisher starts in the OF, Dan Johnson who played for Van-City in 2001, will start at First Base. Johnson brings Power over consistency and can be a good defensive player. This spring he has hit 2 Long Bombs, and has hit .310 in 17 games.

Jeremy Brown stepped into Vancouver during 2002 before being promoted, but isn't going to be in the Majors full-time before Kurt Suzuki. Brown lacks speed, and isn't the consistent hitter Oakland is looking for. This Spring he has a Homer, and is 3 for 12 at the plate.

Javier Herrera re-enters the mix into a Backup job in the A's outfield after sitting out the 2006 season. Herrera had Tommy John surgery weeks before Opening Day, and has had to sit out since. Herrera brings a great defensive edge, with a ton of speed, and great power, along with consistency. The 2004 Northwest League Player of the Year is batting .250 this spring, but with time will be back to his old (before the surgery) self.

Jeff Baisley, a 2005 Fan-Favourite, was a late call-up to Oakland's main camp, and in his only two AB's has gone hitless. Baisley has a lot of power, and can be consistent. For him, the Majors will have to wait until Eric Chavez has finished his career, or one of the two has been traded.

Now heading over to the pitching aspect of the A's, Rich Harden (2001 Canadian) will probably be the #1 or 3 Pitcher in the A's rotation this year (I remember hearing 3 for some reason) but has excelled this spring after an injury-cut 2006 season. With an ERA of 1.32 in 13.2 innings of work this spring, Harden has only allowed 2 Runs and is yet to allow a Homer, unlike fellow teammate Danny Haren who's allowed FOUR.

Joe Blanton, a 2002 C, is one of those excel in the Minors, suck in the Majors kind of guys. No offence to the Kentucky native, but I saw him play last year and Oakland won, but he needs to mature before he can take on a huge role in the Majors. His 9.69 ERA can tell you what he does on the Mound...allow runs. Blanton is supposed to be the A's #4 pitcher in the Rotation.

Dallas "Screwball" Braden, a 2004 Canadian is back and is ready to kick some AL butt. Braden has had trouble with command this spring, allowing 6 runs in 9.2 innings of work, yet at the same time has managed to K 7 batters. Braden is expected to start in AA Midland or AAA Sacramento.

Ron Flores was with the C's in their Nwl Inagural season back in 2000 and has experienced the Ups and Downs many Minor League players face. Flores isn't as good as Braden, yet not as bad as Blanton from what I've heard, you never know but I'd say a life in AAA suits this player who's spring ERA is at 7.71.

Jason Windsor, a 2004 Canadian, is vying for the Fifth starting job in the A's rotation. After a stint with the A's last year Windsor wasn't as good as in the Minors but is a good Fifth starter potentially. This spring he has an ERA of 6.48 in 8.1 innings of work on the mound, and he has only started one game out of his 4 apperances.

Mike Mitchell, a 2005 Canadian, is excellent. Nothing more to it. He was drafted years ago in the 36th or 38th Round IIRC, and has since climbed his way up to A's Spring Training camp 2007. Mitchell has gone 7 innings without allowing a run, has allowed two hits and struck out FIVE. A potential Setup man for the A's, but could be a great Closer somewhere else in the MLB.

We call him a former Canadian, one from 2004, yet he didn't make one appearance. Connor Robertson has been pretty good in ST this year, with an ERA of 2.25 in 4 innings of work. Robertson could be in AA or AAA this year, but preferably for Oakland AA.

Shawn Kohn who played in Vancouver during the 2002 season won't ever be in the MLB any time soon at least. Kohn allowed one run in 0.2 innings of work this spring, and the side arm has been like that his whole career. I remember seeing him give up a couple runs in the NWL 5 years ago but havn't really followed him since so I can't tell you how he's done in '03 etc. But Kohn won't be in the MLB this season.

There ya go, I went from Box Scores to just the Stats from the Spring, I havn't watched an Oakland ST game yet this Spring, but will Sunday as they face the Mariners on the New CW channel 14 on Shaw in Vancouver. Sunday is a double header, with Toronto hosting Cincy in the Morning on Sportsnet, followed by the A's Mariners on CW at 1PM. The Jays are also on Sportsnet for some people Saturday, check your local listings.

UBC vs Oregon Tech series postponed

All I can say is yes the weather won't be great this weekend, but not a huge fan at all of the weekday afternoon games DURING the school year...meaning I along with many other UBC fans can't make the four games this week without playing hookey. I don't know why a 4pm start for at least one of the days wasn't possible.

The four games were a scheduled TWO double headers Saturday and Sunday against Oregon Tech and now this is how the series will play out.

Monday at 1 pm will be the first game of the series, counting towards the Conference standings.

Game 2 will surface on a Double Header day, Tuesday with Game 1 starting at 11am and Game 2 starting shortly after the completion of game 1. Both games will count towards the Conference standings.

The Final game of the series is Wednesday at 12pm at the Nat, finishing off the series with a Non-Conference game.

Come back later today to look for the WHL West Playoff Preview.

UBC cancelled

UBC's games on Wednesday March 21st and Thursday March 22nd have been cancelled due to inclement weather. Wednesday's game was cancelled with about 20 people in attendance, while the LC-State bus will now head back to Lewiston.

No word on whether the two games will be made up for.

Look for 2-3 posts before UBC's Double Header weekend against Oregon Tech at the Nat.

Lewis-Clark State at UBC Thunderbirds, March 20th Home Opener Recap

That was a great baseball game. Here's the starting Lineup but can't remember the Batting Order, will edit it with the B.O. once a Box Score is found.

EDIT: Found the batting order, UBC finally has their stats of all year on their website!:)
2B Craig "Spidy" Leebosh
LF Nic "Do" Lendvoy
3B Brett "Vetsatile Vet" Murray
C Brendan "Korny" Kornberger
1B Fletcher "Business" Vynne
RF Jon "K-lutch" Syrnyk
CF Tyler "Gone" Willson
DH Dave "Mullet" Dick
SS Ted "Filth" Wilkie
SP Mark "Hearty" Hardy

UBC had a tough test of hosting Lewis-Clark State, a team that was 19-1 overall (WOW) heading into today's single game. The Birds were looking to hand Lewis-Clark state their First Conference Loss in a long long time. They would have to get past Warriors Starter Chris Schwinden however, who 1.50 ERA heading into Tuesday's matinee.

UBC got off to a quick start, in the Bottom of the first, with Brendan Kornberger knocking home a run. In the Bottom of the Second, Craig Leebosh continued the score fest by knocking in a run of his own. In the Third, Freshman 2B Sammie Starr was courtesy running for Korny Kornberger (see how to Enjoy UBC Home game from yesterday) when he was picked off at First base, which ended the consecutive scoring innings.

By this time, Greg Chong had made an appearance pitching, taking over for Starter Mark Hardy. Chong was pretty impressive, as was Hardy, keeping the Warriors HITLESS through 4. In the 5th Kurt Schumacher came into the game and ran into some trouble. In the Top of the Sixth, the Warriors scored their first run of the ball game off of Schumacher, which spelled the end of the day for the Midland College transfer.

In the Top of the 7th Andrew "Guy" LaFleur came into pitch, and did alright in his first inning of action. In the Top of the 8th however, "Guy" allowed a run, tying the game up at 2. In the Bottom of the 8th, with the fans on their seats, Coach Cav Whitely ready to kill Warriors Pitcher Will Morgan, Jon Syrnyk came up big in a huge way. Syrnyk who was criticized on this blog recently because of some slumpy play, just about clearned the Left Field fence (which was the old Nat Bailey fence, the new one won't be up until after UBC's season but before the C's season) but missed, dropping in for a 3! RBI Double. This brought the fans out of their seats applauding, and rightfully so it was a great hit by the Sophmore Outfielder.

I should add, in the Top of the 8th Mike Styrna (Who came into the game at Third for Brett Murray who replaced Guy LaFleur at Pitcher) had an Error, and another in the 9th inning so don't expect Manager Terry McKaig to give Styrna some playing time in the next week...

Anyways, Brett Murray allowed one run in the Top of the 9th but it wasn't enough for the Warriors to win the game, with UBC coming out on top 5-3 final score. Craig Leebosh accounted for one Rbi, Kornberger had one and then the big hit by Jon Syrnyk.

NOW, this was awesome to see UBC win because they were going to take this series "lightly" in a way because going up against a 19-1 team isn't easy, but since they did do such a great job today expect to see Regular Starter Doug Grant get the nod on the hill tomorrow for the Birds and he will probably face All-American (Although he's Canadian) Warriors Pitcher Chris Kissock.

A couple things noted about Today's game

-The new Nat Bailey Fence ISNT up yet, due to some issues there so expect to see it first when the Vancouver Canadians open their season June 19th.

-UBC is GREAT defensively aside from a bobble from Fletcher Vynne, and two costly errors from Mike Styrna they were phenomenal especially Ted Wilkie, a player who lacks Offensive talent but makes up for it defensively.

-Although UBC did win the game and Syrnyk's hit was awesome as well as the UBC Pitching, the best part of the day was seeing the Warriors run laps around the big Nat Bailey Stadium after the game...in fact they're probably still going now, an hour and a half after the game ended!:)

-Warriors "Superstar" Beau Mills was 0-5 and grounded into a double play. Didn't get much better than that for a supposed Second Round MLB Draft Pick

-If you want to see some great baseball head out Tomorrow because thursday will be rainy (as will Saturday) so if I were to advise people to go two more days this week, Wednesday and Sunday for the Double Header.

Go Birds, and see YOU at the Nat.

Guide to UBC Thunderbirds Baseball Home Games

As tomorrow is UBC's Home Opener, why not tell you how to enjoy yourselves at the T-Birds games? Welcome to the Road Kill Sports UBC Thunderbirds How to enjoy the Home game:

First off there's the Stadium. If you're missing Nat Bailey today's your lucky day. The T-Birds occupy Nat Bailey from when the C's end their season to pretty much when they start the season back up. When you arrive at Nat Bailey for a UBC game you'll walk in through one of the main gates (which will be open when you get there) walk up the First Base stairs, pay your admission and find a seat.

The first thing you notice once you've entered the gate, is that 3 quarters of Nat Bailey's concourse is closed. From the 3rd base Dressing Room door all the way to the Steps on the First Base side, you cannot walk there as it is "out of bounds". There are two bathrooms conviently located beside the stairs to get to your seats to make your stay "comfortable".

The admission is cheap. The best thing, you sit where you want to sit for ONE price. I forget exactly how much it was to get in but I think it's 5 dollars. At the admission table there are paper printed programs with both teams' rosters and stats as well as an article written on UBC most of the time, other times their opponents'. UBC also sells team Hats at the stand, for 20 bucks IIRC. One is blue (the one I have) while the other is White (for those feminin baseball lovers)

Make sure when you get to your seat that you sit where you want. There's no 6'7 300lbs security guards like at Vancouver Canadians games, just 6'7 Freshman Pitcher Scott Webster that can hurt you if you're disrupting the game. Anyways, you CAN sit where you want. If it's sunny I subject sitting in the 3rd base box seats (where I usually sit) compared to in the rain under the Home Plate Bleachers.

Most games last 9 innings, but usually in a 4 game series (3 of which count towards the Conference standings) there is ONE game that lasts 7 innings. Last year I remember attending a game against Oregon Tech if I'm not mistaken, and Connor Janes hit a Walk-off homer in the 9th inning of a game that was supposed to be 7 innings. Therefore, the next game only lasted 7 instead of the originally planned 9.

If the day you are attending features a double-header, one game will more than likely be 7 innings. Now, there is a 30-45 minute gap between Games 1 and 2, in which players usually hang out by the stands talking to their families while eating Lunch (you have to remember No eating during the game for the players). It is at this time you may be willing to spend the close to Six dollars on a Thunderdog, the equivalent of a BC Place Footlong Hot Dog. Thunderdogs are delicious but don't plan on buying one every game you go to or you'll be broke by the time Albertson comes around in May.

The courtesy runner is one thing most people don't understand. In the NAIA a team can Pinch Run for their Catcher to get him ready in his Catching gear for the next inning. So say if Brendan Kornberger hit a Double, Craig Leebosh could Pinch Run for him as the courtesy runner, and then Kornberger could come back in the game the next half inning.

Finally, during the games listen closely, try not to have too many conversations with your friends at the game because hearing baseball players talk to each other isn't common due to large crowds. However with the usual crowd of 50 people at UBC games, you can hear each players nickname, and listen to encouragement from his teammates. It is one thing you'll never get at a Vancouver Canadians game.

Hope some people can get out to at least ONE UBC game against Lewis-Clark State this week, and even though the chances of UBC winning are slim, seeing Projected MLB Draft Top Prospect Beau Mills and BC born Chris Kissock for LC-State is a reason to head back to Nat Bailey.

The games are NOT Double-Headers like this weekend's series against Oregon Tech, with game times Tuesday and Wednesday being at 1:00 PM and Thursday's game will start at Noon.

Chris Kissock is supposed to get the start in Tomorrow's game, while it's my guess that Ben Hoekstra, Mark Hardy or Ben Millar will get the Three starts this week for UBC, with Doug Grant and Andrew LaFleur pitching an inning or two in relief.

SEE YOU AT THE NAT!

WHL East Playoff Preview

First off, to answer a reader's question...Mitch Czibere WAS wearing the "A" in last night's game against Chilliwack because regular Assistant Captain Cody Franson was given the day off. Czibere is not going to be wearing the "A" for the Playoffs but will probably be wearing one next season.

Now onto the WHL East Conference Playoff Preview (The West is coming tomorrow)

Brandon (1) vs Prince Albert (4):
Game 1 Goalies:
PA: Jesse Deckert
Brandon: Tyler Plante

Key Players:
PA: Mike Hellyer is heading into his final WHL Playoffs as a 20-year-old and will look to continue his WHL Regular Season success into the Playoffs.

Brandon: Mark Derlago reached the 80 point plateau this season and led Brandon with 46 goals and received under 40 PIM. If Derlago can continue scoring key goals into the playoffs, Brandon could go far.

Projection: Brandon in 5 games

Regina (2) vs Swift Current (3):
Game 1 Goalies:
Swift Current: Kyle Moir
Regina: Linden Rowat

Key Players:
Swift Current: Levi Nelson lead the team in points this season but there are a few players that nearly reached him in the stats columns giving Swift Current a ton of talent but Nelson seems to be the foundation of the group.

Regina: Garrett Festerling the 20-year-old Forward almost traded to the Vancouver Giants in January lead his team in Scoring with 73 points and would like no other way than to finish his WHL Career winning a Memorial Cup.

Projection: Regina in 6 games

Medicine Hat (1) vs Red Deer (4):
Game 1 Goalies:
Red Deer: James Reimer
Medicine Hat: Matt Keetley

Key Players:
Red Deer's Martin Hanzal was 6th in League Scoring this season but led the WHL for most of the season. If Red Deer wants to upset Medicine Hat, Hanzal is the guy you'd want to have on your team.

Medicine Hat's Kris Russell is an Offensive D-Man for the Tigers who won a Gold Medal at the World Juniors this Christmas, and is the main player in the Tigers Offence.

Projection: Upset! Red Deer in 7

Kootenay (2) vs Calgary (3)
Game 1 Goalies:
Calgary: Dan Spence
Kootenay: Taylor Dakers

Key Players:
Calgary's Ryan White amazes D-Men and Forwards with his play and the recently turned 19 year old is looking to explode against the Ice.

Kootenay's Steve DaSilva took over the hype of the Ice after an Early January injury to Montreal Canadiens prospect Ben Maxwell and DaSilva ended up finishing in the Top 5 for WHL Scoring in the Regular Season.

Projection: Kootenay in 5.

Guide to UBC Home Games coming before tonight...

Sunday Wrapup

First off let's get to some hockey action. After being down 4-0 on the road, the Vancouver Giants found themselves in a situation they've been in quite a few times this WHL Season, and it was such a fitting way to end the Regular Season "This Way". This way was winning a hockey game, and in total after their 72 game WHL Schedule for 2006-2007 they had done it 45 times. The last one, being Sunday night in Chilliwack, the first a long 6 months ago as they shutout the Portland Winter Hawks. Vancouver scored Four unanswered goals in the Second and Third Periods, including the Game Tying goal in the Third by 15-year-old callup Evander Kane (His first Career WHL Goal) and the game winning goal in Overtime scored by Spencer Machacek, bringing Vancouver's point total on the season to 100.

This was the last WHL game of the season for both the Bruins and Giants and it was a great game to watch. These two teams will meet up in the First Round of the WHL Playoffs which start Friday in Vancouver (WHL Playoff Preview coming to you tomorrow). Here are the matchups in Round One of the WHL Playoffs:

East Division:
Brandon (1) vs Prince Albert (4)
Regina (2) vs Swift Current (3)

Central Division:
Medicine Hat (1) vs Red Deer (4)
Kootenay (2) vs Calgary (3)

BC Division:
Vancouver (1) vs Chilliwack (4)
Kamloops (2) vs Prince George (3)

US Division:
Everett (1) vs Spokane (4)
Tri City (2) vs Seattle (3)

Now onto UBC...
Another two games without the box score so I'll just give the facts. Today was another Double-Header against Concordia-Portland, but only the First game counted for the Region I Conference Standings.

In Game 1 UBC put Brendan Rolfe on the hill to counter the Cavs Kyle Corwin. The Winning run actually came in the First Inning, on a Sac Fly by Veteran 3B/P Brett Murray for UBC. Murray had the game winning RBI and came in for the 9th inning Save for the Thunderbirds, which is quite the accomplishment for one game. (Murray was one of the best UBC Players yesterday) Brendan Rolfe pitched EIGHT SHUTOUT innings for UBC and then of course Murray came in for the save. Corwin, Chad Lucas and Kyle Well combined for allowing just the one run, although UBC had bases loaded TWICE. UBC took the Conference series (The First three games) 2-1, leaving Game 4 of the Series as in the words of the great Simon Cowell "Rubbish".

Mark Hardy got the start in Game 2 and was followed by Scott Webster. The Pair gave up 3 runs, but it was Jordan Anderson who really didn't do a great job, allowing 5 runs. Kurtis Schumacher pitched a scoreless 6th for UBC. Offensively for UBC Mike Styrna and Sean Everest drove in Runs while Jon "Turnin" Syrnyk drove in Two with his Home-Run. UBC did lose the contest by a score of 7-4 but it didn't count in Conference and that's what matters.

Monday this blog will have a Preview of the WHL Post-Season, as well as a Guide on how to enjoy a UBC Thunderbirds baseball game at Nat Bailey Stadium (Commonly refered to as "The Nat".

Friday and Saturday Sports Recap

The Vancouver Giants beat the Prince George Cougars Friday night to close out the G-Men's regular season home schedule, with Spencer Machacek and Wacey Rabbit scoring their goals in the 2-0 win. Tyson Sexsmith had the shutout, and Cougars Goalie Real Cyr was named the 1st star of the game after saving over 40 shots!

Vancouver travelled to Everett Saturday where they played in another 2-0 game, except this time losing to the Silvertips. Vancouver finishes the Regular Season Sunday in Chilliwack and that game can be seen across Canada on Rogers Sportsnet TONIGHT!

UBC was in Portland this weekend to play the Concordia-Portland Cavaliers and unfortunately for readers on my blog, neither site has provided a Box Score or Play-By-Play on the Double-Header yesterday so I'm going to have to just recap in a shorter version than usual.

In Game 1, UBC's Doug "Bug" Grant took the hill against Cavaliers' Bryan Goff, and both were exceptional. Jon "Turnin" Syrnyk opened the scoring in the Top of the 2nd with an RBI hit, giving UBC a 1-0 lead. In the bottom half of the inning, Concordia tied the game up and two innings later scored the eventual Game-Winning-Run, on an RBI Single by Casey McLeod. Both Grant and Goff (The Starters) went 9 innings, and it's too bad for the Thunderbirds that they didn't come out on Top in Game 1, as they played pretty well as did the Cavs. 2-1 final in favour of Concordia.

Andrew LaFleur for UBC and Ben Rue for Concordia got the starts, both playing very very well. UBC first gained the lead after Brett "Versatile Vet" Murray and Craig "The Quebec" Leebosh hit Solo shots. UBC added to their lead with a 2-RBI Hit by "Turnin" Syrnyk, and later a Fletcher Vynne RBI Base hit. Ted Wilkie also had a Squeeze bunt. UBC won the game 6-0 after LaFleur went 8 strong innings, and Greg Chong came in relief in the 9th not allowing a run. The Cavs Rue struck out 11 Thunderbird Batters in 5 2/3 innings, allowing 5 hits. Zack Ross had his First UBC Hit in the 9th inning.

UBC and Concordia play a final game Today, before UBC comes home preparing for their Mid-Week series with Lewis-Clark State as well as the weekend home stand against Oregon Tech.

I should also add (Thanks to UBC's Fan Site Admin Bob Broughton) that although posted in Thursday's UBC Preview against LC-State, Doug Grant, Andrew LaFleur and Brendan Rolfe WON'T start against the Warriors, but will against Oregon Tech. LC-State is pretty much being handed Region One (They had a 16-1 Record heading into this weekend...YIKES) and that means that Oregon Tech is one of a few Key Rivals of UBC as they look to get to the NAIA World Series, in which LC-State is already guarenteed a berth because they're hosting. And for that, it will probably be the Middle Relievers who start against the Warriors this week, meaning that we'll see Mark Hardy, Ben Hoekstra, Kurtis Schumacher and Scott Webster (Three of the Four) get the Starting nods this week. I wouldn't be surprised however, if Doug Grant or LaFleur start Wednesday's game, because they could also play against Oregon Tech on the weekend even if they do start Wednesday. Time will tell...speaking of UBC tomorrow I am not only posting the WHL Playoff Preview, but a guide as to how to enjoy a UBC Thunderbird home game. Come back tomorrow night, and maybe Tuesday morning when you're HOPEFULLY on your way out to Nat Bailey to watch the Home Opener. I myself don't know if I'll be in attendance Tuesday, but will be Wednesday so you can expect a huge recap Tuesday and/or Wednesday.

If you want to read more about UBC or Region I head over to the UBC Fan Site (Link on the Right hand page of this site) to read Superfan Bob Broughton's Point of view.

UBC Recap for Today and Giants vs Chilliwack recap coming your way later tonight.

UBC Preview through March 22nd

March 17th and 18th in Portland, Oregon against the Concordia-Portland University Cavaliers.

The UBC Thunderbirds Baseball team return to the field Saturday in Portland against the Concordia-Portland Cavaliers. UBC was 2-1 last week against Corban College, and this week remain in Oregon but against a Cavalier team that is last in the NAIA Region I standings with a Conference record of 1-5. According to the UBC Website, they will play 4 games against the Cavs, with only three of the four counting towards the Conference standings. Look for Doug Grant, Andrew LaFleur, Scott Webster and Brendan Rolfe to get the four starts for UBC.

Concordia including their Conference Record, have a season total of 2 wins and 10 losses. That gives them Tampa Bay Devil Ray status right there. Last year UBC managed 6 wins against Concordia in 7 games. This year, Concordia shouldn't be much of a test for UBC, but with the T-Birds managing only 3 wins to date all season, this series could be the difference between making it to the NAIA World Series again, or not.

Tuesday March 20th, Wednesday March 21st and Thursday March 22nd against the Lewis-Clark State College Warriors at Nat Bailey Stadium.

The domination continues...the Lewis Clark State College Warriors return to Nat Bailey Stadium to kick off UBC's Home Schedule next week and will look to terrorize UBC in any way they can. In the Three game series, the Warriors look to maintain their Unbeaten Conference Record and as of March 15th, they are 16-1 overall this season. UBC managed one win last year in six games against Lewis-Clark State and that means that they need to step things up this year.

UBC will probably put Doug Grant and Andrew LaFleur on the hill for two of the games, but as for the Third who knows. Webster? Rolfe? Hoekstra? Schumacher? Bottom line, this is UBC's chance to shine against Lewis-Clark state and if they mess it up, it's that much more difficult to make it to the NAIA World Series if you can't manage wins against the Host Team.

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WHL:
Now profiling the WHL Central Division:

First Round:
Medicine Hat (1) vs Red Deer (4):
Red Deer is a young team compared to Kris Russell and Darren Helm's Medicine Hat Tigers. The Rebels have a great Coaching Staff and a lot of "Sutter's" on their team along with European Powerhouse Forward Martin Hanzal, but can Hanzal score against the Tigers? Can Russell be the Offensive D-Man he is known for in the Playoffs? This series could go a long ways perhaps...(My estimation) 6 games AT LEAST.

Kootenay (2) vs Calgary (3):
When Ben Maxwell comes back healthy for Kootenay after more than two months watching from the sidelines, he can be deadly in sending the Hitmen home. Calgary relies on Goalie Dan Spence, while Kootenay has Taylor Dakers in net, and Ryan Russell, brother of Medicine Hat's Kris. Kootenay has the better shot in this series no doubt.

WHL East Division:
Brandon (1) vs either Prince Albert, Moose Jaw or Saskatoon: The Wheat Kings will run away with this series. Juraj Simek, Mark Derlago, face it they're stacked and the teams that are vying for Fourth in the Division have the slimmest chance at advancing. If Brandon doesn't win the series, they need to learn how to play well in the playoffs because they have no reason not to advance.

Regina (2) vs Swift Current (3):
This could be one of the more interesting series in the WHL. Regina acquired guys like Myles Stoesz and have Kyle Deck and so on and have some real veteran guys in the Locker Room. SC has Michael Wilson and Jeremy Schenderling who are not only great scorers, great defensively and on the PP as well as the PK. If this game isn't tight then I'd be shocked because this is one of the best matchups the WHL could hope for.

News&Notes March 14th

First off, I'd like to say "Sorry" for not posting in the last four days. Havn't had much to post on with pratically no WHL games in action (exclduding tonight) and I Have stopped Continuous MLB Spring Training Reports because of lack of info. Not enough on when in the game things happened and until Opening Day there won't be much.

Before I get into the WHL here are some other N&N's:

- The Rogers Sportsnet Baseball TV Sched for the Jays should be out in the next week at the latest, and they are one of (if not) THE last team to have their Broadcast Sched out already. (20 less days to Opening Day) TSN and Sportsnet will be the TV hosts (Sportsnet primarily) yet it sounds like CBC will be back broadcasting some Jays games, probably in the range of 1-10. In this blogger's opinion, DONT switch to CBC for a couple, keep them on reliable networks for Sports, like Sportsnet and a Hopefully Rod Blackless TSN.

- MLB 2K7 is an awesome video game, and if you have the console I suggest buying the game. No more freezing, no more bad gameplay, it's awesome. Former Vancouver Canadians and Current minor leaguers Travis Buck (2005), Kevin Melillo (2004), Kurt Suzuki (2004) and Jason Windsor (2004) are all in the game, and all of them are under fake names (yet with the same initials) excluding Windor who in the game is known as Jason Windsor.

- There are 11 (Yes that's 10 plus 1) UBC Thunderbirds baseball games spanning from this Saturday (March 17th) against Concordia on the road, before playing the Lewis-Clark State Warriors and Oregon Tech in the next 8 days at home. Tomorrow will be preview's of all three series' and info on how to enjoy and get to a UBC Thunderbird Home game, and hopefully the home opener next Tuesday against Lewis-Clark State at 1:00 PM at Nat Bailey Stadium.

- Minor League Baseball Spring Training action for the Oakland A's Farm Teams gets underway Friday. There will be a AAA, AA and two A team'd for Oakland's system (Sacramento AAA, Midland AA, Stockton and Kane County A), which will have the likes of 2005 & 06's C's Jimmy Shull, Brad Davis, and many more...
For a list on where the teams are playing around Arizona...head here: http://springtrainingonline.com/teams/oakland_athletics_4.htm

Now onto WHL Playoff situations:

In the BC Division, with Vancouver already guaranteed 1st place, Kamloops 2nd, and Prince George 3rd, it was a battle between the Kelowna Rockets and expansion Chilliwack Bruins. The Bruins headed into Wednesday night action with a three point lead on Kelowna with two Rockets games remaining, meaning if Chilliwack beat Spokane Wednesday night, they would play opponent to the Vancouver Giants starting Friday March 23rd in Round 1 of the playoffs.

After being down early, the Bruins rallied for FOUR goals in the Third Period to take the game away from the Chiefs. Chilliwack has now clinched 4th place in the division, ending Kelwona's playoff chances. The BC Division matchups will now look like this for Round 1:
Vancouver (1) vs Chilliwack (4)
Kamloops (2) vs Prince George (3)

The Giants have dominated the Bruins this year, winning all 7 matchups (They have another one this Sunday in Chilliwack) by a combined score of 39-7, including back to back shutouts in December. Vancouver should dominate this series, but it is good to spark up the rivalry between the Bruins and Giants.

Kamloops looked like they were going to clinch 1st earlier in the season but have since dropped and will face the Cougars. Kamloops needs to get their scoring touch back and stay out of the box, while Prince George just needs to come out hard and they should be able to get goals on the Blazers.

US Division:

Everett (1) vs Spokane (4)
Seattle (2 or 3) vs Tri-City (2 or 3)

The Everett Silvertips have been one of the hottest WHL teams all season long, and will look to advance to the Memorial Cup this season. Spokane won't be tough but the Chiefs who started out strong out of the gate have Michael Grabner and Ex-Giant David Rutherford and both can work some net magic. Everett will rely on Peter Mueller, Kyle Beach and Goalie Leland Irving more importantly.

Seattle vs Tri-City will be an even matchup as they both can play real well, or real bad. Seattle will have to beat World Junior Gold Medalist Carey Price in net for the Americans, while Tri City's Colton Yellow Horn will be the key guy against Derek Yeomans for Seattle.

I will post tomorrow a Preview for UBC's games through Sunday March 25th, as well as a WHL East and Central Playoff "Preview" although the real playoff preview post will come next week after the WHL Regular Season.

UBC at Corban College Game 3 Saturday March 10th Recap

After splitting Games 1 and 2 on Friday, Game 3 was a matchup between UBC Pitcher Brendan Rolfe and the Warriors Starter Brett Timmerman.

UBC's BO (Batting Order):

2B Sammie "Ontario" Starr
3B Brett "Versatile Vet" Murray
LF Nic "Bomb" Lendvoy
1B Fletcher "Business" Vynne
C Brendan "Korny" Kornberger
DH Sean "Mount" Everest
CF Tyler "Clutch" Wilson
SS Ted "Silch" Wilkie
RF Jon "Turnin" Syrnyk
SP Brendan "Sub" Rolfe

Despite many great chances through the first two innings, neither UBC or Corban College managed any runs. UBC was so determined to take the lead, that in the Top of the 3rd they wouldn't let up. The Versatile Vet Brett Murray singled to start off the inning, followed by Nic Lendvoy's Double advancing Murray to 3rd base. Fletcher Vynne was next up and doubledin Lendvoy and Murray, giving UBC a Two-Run advantage. Korny Kornberger was next and hit a single advancing Vynne to second. During "Mount" Everest's at-bat, Kornberger stole Second...men on Second and Third none-out. Everest singled scoring Fletcher Vynne. And finally, Tyler Wilson flew out in a Sac Fly to score Craig Leebosh who Pinch-Ran for Kornberger. 4-0 UBC going into the Bottom of the 3rd.

In the Bottom of the 3rd I should add, Zack "Cross" Ross took over the position in RF for "Turnin" Syrnyk. Now in the Top of the 8th, Jon Syrnyk re-took his RF position, in the same inning that the Corban College Warriors scored their only run of the game off of UBC starting pitcher Brendan Rolfe.

In the Bottom of the 9th, Brett Murray moved to Pitcher and Mike "Fright" Styrna to Third when UBC won their second conference game of the year in Three tries.

Brendan Rolfe took the win, and Brett Murray the Save.

Pitching Line for Brendan Rolfe: 8 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO

UBC Player of the Game:
Fletcher Vynne had another great game, going 3-4 with 2 RBI's.

Later tonight will be an MLB recap with a Vancouver Giants recap as well.

Friday Recap

UBC...MLB...Giants...lots to cover...one post...here it goes:

UBC had a Double Header against Corban College Warriors today in Salem, Oregon and with Doug Grant and Andrew LaFleur on the hill for UBC, the Birds didn't want to disappoint.

Game 1 Batting Order:
DH Craig "The Quebec" Leebosh
3B Brett "Vet" Murray
LF Nic "Bomb" Lendvoy
C Brendan "Korny" Kornberger
RF Jon "Burnin" Syrnyk
2B Sammie "Ontario" Starr
1B Fletcher "Business" Vynne
CF Tyler "Slump" Wilson
SS Ted "Zilch" Wilkie
SP Doug "Bug" Grant

Corban Pitcher Jordan Emery got off to a great start, striking out "The Quebec Leebosh", Brett Murray and "Bomb Lendvoy" to kick off the game. After Korny and Burning struck out to start off the inning, Sammie "Ontario" Starr drew a walk, followed by a Business class single by Mr. Fletcher Vynne. Then came Tyler "Slump" Wilson who struck out. That's right, to start off the game the first 6 outs were all Strikeouts pitched by Jordan Emery..remember that name for when Corban comes to UBC.

Corban managed a run in the bottom of the 2nd, and in the Top of the 3rd, "Zilch" Wilkie (Noted for his poor offensive performances) and Craig Leebosh struck out, meaning the first 8 outs of the ballgame for UBC offensively (Somewhat offensively) were all strikeouts. It wasn't all bad for UBC though as Brett Murray doubled with Two out. "Bomb" Lendvoy knocked him home with a single of his own and Brendan Kornberger flew out to Center breaking the Strikeout streak at 8 batters.

1-1 tie going into the Bottom of the 3rd. Brett Timmerman singled home two runs for the Warriors, re-gaining the lead this time 3-1 Corban College. Jon Syrnyk and Sammie Starr kicked off the Top of the 4th with outs, but once again the Two-Out T-Birds came through strong, this time with Fletcher Vynne and Tyler Wilson on base (Both struggling heading into this game) Ted "Zilch" Wilkie (NO long Zilch after this game) hit them both home with a double, tying the score once again.

In the Bottom of the 4th, Corban managed another run off of Doug Grant, his 4th so far in the ballgame. It was in the Top of the 7th (This game was only scheduled for 7 innings) with Corban leading by a run, that UBC tied the game sending it into extra innings. To lead off the inning Tyler Wilson doubled, and when Ted Wilkie was up next he did a Sac Bunt advancing Wilson to Third. Craig Leebosh singled scoring Wilson but Leebosh didn't score so we were heading into extras...

In the Bottom of the 8th Doug Grant was finally replaced, by Greg Chong who allowed only a hit in his first inning of work. It wasn't until the Top of the 11th when some action took place, with Fletcher Vynne hitting a lead-off double, after him came Tyler Wilson who layed down a Sac Bunt advancing Vynne to Third base. Next at the plate was Ted Wilkie who popped out to the Second Baseman. Sean "Mount" Everest pinch hit for Craig Leebosh next, and how worthwhile that was. Everest hit a single scoring Vynne. 5-4 T-Birds.

Mike "Fright" Styrna came into the game as the new 3B for Brett Murray who moved to Pitcher to attempt the save. Murray finished off Corban in three batters, and got his first career NAIA Save, and Greg Chong received his first NAIA win.

UBC WINS! UBC WINS!

Since Game 1 was supposed to be 7 innings but went longer, Game 2 was only going to be 7 innings.
Starting Pitching Line for Doug Grant: 7 IP 10 H, 4 R, 3 ER, BB, 4 So
Player of the Game: Fletcher Vynne stepped up his game today and I along with the T-Bird fans appreciate it.

Game 2 Lineup for UBC:
3B Brett "Versatile Vet" Murray
2B Mike "Fright" Styrna
LF Nic "Bomb" Lendvoy
1B Fletcher "Business" Vynne
C Dave "Junior" Dick
CF Tyler "Clutch" Wilson
DH Scott "Doc" Webster
RF Jon "Tearin" Syrnyk
SS Ted "Silch (Not Zilch)" Wilkie
SP Andrew "A" LaFleur

Jeremy Frantz homered for the Corban College Warriors in the bottom of the first in Game 2, a 2 Run blast that was the Warriors first of the season. 2-0 Warriors early in the game.

UBC regained some ground, cutting back the gap the next half-inning. After Scott Webster hit into a Double-Play, Jon Syrnyk was walked. During "Silch" Wilkie's at-bat, Syrnyk stole Second and "Tearin" advanced to Third Base on a Wild Pitch. This all while Ted Wilkie was standing at the dish. So, it was easy for Wilkie when he hit Syrnyk home on that same AB. 2-1 Corban.

Now in the Top of the 3rd, we will bring you the series of events. First, with one out, Nic Lendvoy singled. Next up was Fletcher Vynne who was hit by a pitch. Men on 1st and 2nd. Dave Dick was Walked giving there bases loaded. Craig Leebosh Pinch-Ran for Junior Dick. Scott Webster (who was up after Tyler Wilson popped out) hit home two runners (Lendvoy and Vynne) handing UBC a 3-2 lead.

In the bottom of the fourth, Corban re-gained their lead, 4-3 Warriors. The next half inning UBC scored a run. 4-4 tie. The Next half-inning the Warriors from Salem scored again, 5-4 Corban College Warriors. However, it was the bottom of the 6th that put the game out of reach, when Corban scored 5 runs. 3 off of Andrew LaFleur, and the last two off relieve Jordan Anderson.

10-4 Corban College Game 2 Final.

Pitching Line for Andrew LaFleur: 5. 1 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO
Player of the Game for UBC: Nic Lendvoy once again

Now onto MLB Spring Training Action:
The Oakland A's got more confident in themselves after their 5-3 win over their Bay Area rivals San Francisco Giants. Yes Oakland won, but the main highlight of the day for any baseball fan, was Barry Bonds' First Home Run of Spring Training. A Fourth inning blast off of Esteban Loaiza. Bonds was having Back issues earlier in the week and this blogger is very mad that Bonds has found some new success.

The Toronto Blue Jays had other thoughts on their mind than winning Friday night as they fell 9-7 to the Houston Astros. Toronto's Starting Batting Order was just like the Regular Season one is projected to be, except Russ Adams CAN and MAY take Aaron Hill's 2B spot or Royce Clayton's SS. Toronto put newcomer John Thomson on the hill who wasn't all that bad. Toronto had a total of 3 Homers in the game, something you don't see too often in ST.

Giants:

The Vancouver Giants clinched their second straight WHL BC Division title tonight, with a 8-0 win over the Chilliwack Bruins in front of a crowd of just under 12,000 at the Pacific Coliseum. The Giants got off to a quick start, when Milan Lucic scored his 30th goal of the season Twenty-Nine seconds into the hockey game. Vancouver next answered from Jon Blum at 6:10 of the first frame, and then from JD Watt Three minutes later. Michal Repik and JD Watt each scored with a Minute and a half remaining in the first period on Bruins Goalie Alex Archibald, giving Vancouver a 5-0 lead going into the Second Period.

Vancouver managed just one goal in the middle stanza, a Shorthanded marker from Spencer Machacek. In the third, Mitch Czibere and Michal Repik had goals giving Vancouver a final score of 8-0 over their BC Division Rivals. Prince George slaughtered Kamloops tonight, giving Vancouver the division, Kamloops Second Place, the Cougars Third place and currently the Bruins and Kelowna Rockets are battling over the final spot in the BC Division.

If the Playoffs were to start tomorrow Vancouver would face Chillwack. The Cougars and Blazers are 100% going to meet in the first round.

In the WHL US Division, Everett is going to play the Spokane Chiefs or Seattle Thunderbirds, while the Tri-City Americans will play whatever team of those two Everett doesn't face.

Out east it is anyone's guess who will make the playoffs.

More on the WHL tomorrow...

The next couple weeks...

For this blog, the next couple weeks will be huge, so make sure you come back every day or every second day if you want a big read, to find out what we're covering next.

Tomorrow night will be huge, with a recap of the UBC Thunderbirds Double-Header with the Corban College Warriors, a recap of the Vancouver Giants-Chilliwack Bruins game, and to top it all off a Spring Training recap earlier in the day or maybe even together with the Giants Recap, UBC recap etc.

Over the next oh I don't know three weeks, we will cover the UBC Thunderbirds (ONLY 12 days till home opener:D) the A"s and Blue Jays in Spring Training, the Vancouver Giants, And starting March 19th a WHL Playoff Preview and nightly recaps all the way through the Memorial Cup.

We hope you come back often as the next couple months will be huge, leading up to the Vancouver Canadians season that starts June 19th. If you want to hear what new Co-Owner Jake Kerr has to say head over to Bcbuzz.ca click the Sports Bar and listen in as Dave Michael Garg talks to the new owner about the C's and the operational point of view.

March 6th and 7th Spring Training Reports posted but cannot be found!?! March 8th Spring Recap and UBC Thunderbirds Series preview against Corban

Well last night I posted a recap of Tuesday and Wednesday's Spring Training Action but can't seem to find it, so I'll just leave it at this, coming into Thursday's action Oakland had lost two straight (Tuesday and Wednesday) and Toronto is 1-1 in their last two games.

Today, the A's met up with the Texas Rangers while the Toronto Blue Jays battled the Boston Red Sox in Florida.

The A's have been on a Two-Game slump ever since news surfaced that CF Mark Kotsay may be out with an injury until June. This news was both shocking and upsetting for the A's who went into Thursday's game against Texas with a Two-Game losing streak. Shannon Stewart and Milton Bradley were scheduled to be the two corner OF's for Kotsay, but now the A's may have to use Hiram Bochachica or Bobby Kielty in Kotsay's absence. Oakland continued their losing skid against the Rangers losing by another close score, this time it was 7-6 for the A's AL West Division Rivals. Danny Haren went Three Innings for Oakland, allowing just one run, while Texas Starter Vincente Padilla allowed Three Runs in his three innings of work. Former Canadian Franklyn German pitched for the Rangers and was almost as bad as Padilla. Milton Bradley hit a Triple for Oakland while Texas' Nelson Cruz (Played for the C's in 2002) had one of his own against his former club. Dan Johnson, Kevin Melillo, Mike Mitchell and Ron Flores (All former Canadains) made appearances for Oakland in the loss.

The Toronto Blue Jays faced off against a Split-Squad Boston Red Sox team Thursday that included such Stars as David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, JD Drew, former Jay Eric Hinske, Alex Cora and Coco Crisp. The Jays were without all of their "Stars" as it was a Road Game, so all the key players were back in Dunedin preparing for their next game. Toronto came up just a little short, surrendering a run in the Bottom of the 9th giving Boston the lead and the Win handing Toronto another loss. Two Doubles in a row against Jays Pitcher Jean Machi was the difference, as Boston beat the Jays in which will not be the last time before October Toronto will be beat by their AL East opponents. Tomo Ohka was on the hill for Toronto surrendering just one hit in Three Innings of work.

The UBC Thunderbirds play a Three Game series against the Corban College Warriors in Oregon Friday and Saturday, in what should've been UBC's Home Opener, but was postponed due to changes at Nat Bailey Stadium. The Warriors were 0-3 in last weekend's series against Albertson, and have a 4-8-1 record overall. Look for Doug Grant and Andrew LaFleur to really standout pitching wise for UBC this series because in their first starts of the season they were less than stellar even against NCAA Division I and II teams. Offensively, Tyler Wilson needs to step it up. Before UBC's long break between games, he was on a huge slump battling the Flu but he needs to lead by example, and Nic Lendvoy (A freshman of all things) is awesome. Favourite player for me this year. Go Nic GO!

On a roll: Nic Lendvoy has been awesome in UBC's first couple games, look for him to try and continue that success against the Warriors.

Slump: Tyler Wilson and Fletcher Vynne need to play better otherwise UBC may replace them with Younger players.

Invisible: Scott Webster was in three games I think it was (UBC's site is screwed up with the stats so I don't know for sure) but didn't do anything special at the plate or on the mound. Same goes for Pitcher/3B Brett Murray a Senior.

Spring Training Report: March 4th and 5th

Yesterday for some reason the post didn't go through so I'll include both Yesterday's and Today's Spring Results.

The Toronto Blue Jays continued their Winning ways Sunday, beating the Tampa Bay Devil Rays by a score of 7-4. Curtis Thigpen had a Homer for the Jays and improves his chances of making the Jays 40-Man Roster. Newcomer Pitcher John Thomson got the start for the Jays and allowed a hit in his two innings of work before handing things over to the Bullpen. Victor Zambrano (Another guy aiming for the 40-Man Roster) got the win for Toronto pitching One Inning allowing a run. Ryan Houston picked up his Second Save for Toronto, who are saving Full-Time Closer BJ Ryan. Former Kansas City Royal Steve Andrade picked up the loss for Tampa, who's hottest hitter was Dioner Navarro, a former New York Yankee prospect.

The Oakland Athletics picked up another win in Spring Training Sunday beating the San Diego Padres 4-3. 2004 Vancouver Canadian Conor Robertson picked up the Athletic win, against a Padre team that had Greg Maddux start the game. Maddux went Two innings, allowing 2 hits and two walks, and struck out Three. Esteban Loaiza and Rich Harden were on the hill early for Oakland, with Loaiza going the first two innings, and Harden pitching the next two. Erubiel Durazo stood out Offensively, hitting Twice in four AB's against the Padres.


Monday:

At least they didn't lose...The Toronto Blue Jays ended up tying the Pittsburgh Pirates Monday in Spring Training action, 8-8 was the final score. Josh Towers started for the Jays, and only allowed a run in Two innings of work. Closer BJ Ryan pitched the Third inning, while 7 other pitchers played the rest of the game. Vernon Wells was the Offensive star for Toronto, hitting a Home-Run and going 2-3 at the dish. Ryan Roberts deserves an honourable mention, as he tries to crack the Opening Day roster. Chad Mattola and Matt Stairs had some pop in their bats but it's going to take alot more than that to be named Player of the Game. A tie isn't exactly what Manager John Gibbons had in mind, but with Today's lineup of mostly all MLB Starters, he has to be somewhat satisfied with the results.

Although the game didn't get off to a great start with Oakland Starter Brad Halsey, (Compared to Ervin Santana with Three shutout innings) Oakland managed to beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim by a score of 8-7 on the Road. Two former Vancouver Canadians, Dan Johnson and Nick Swisher went deep for Oakland in two Consecutive innings, while Travis Buck and Eric Chavez each doubled in the game (Twice for Chavez) en route to the Victory. Speedy Chone Figgins grounded into a rare double play for the Angels, and when Figgins gets out on a DP, you know the opposition is playing well. Converted Pitcher Marcus McBeth got the save for Oakland and in my opinion, he has a really good shot at making the Majors this season, despite having Pitched for a few years.

Spring Training Report Day Three

In a Rain filled game Saturday, the Toronto Blue Jays dropped to a Win-Loss record of 2-1 during Spring Training. AJ Burnett got the start and went Two innings allowing a Home Run to Jonny Gomes, and striking out two Devil Ray batters. Tomo Ohka came in and blew the Save, and took the loss as he allowed Four Tampa Bay runs during his stint of 2 innings off the hill, in which he also allowed a homerun to Jonny Gomes (His second of the game). The game was completed after just 6 innings due to rain giving Tampa Bay the 5-4 win. Troy Glaus hit a Two Run Blast early for the Jays, and finished the day having Two Hits in two At-Bats, improving his Spring Average to .667. Toronto plays Sunday against the Devil Rays once again.

Over in Phoenix, the Oakland A's ended up tying the "Stacked" Chicago Cubs who were without the services of Alfonoso Soriano and Matt Murton for Saturdays game. Danny Haren got the start for the Athletics, allowing a run in his two innings of work. Wade Miller was on the Hill for Chicago in the First Inning and allowed a run. Michael Barrett of the Cubs and Mike Piazza of the A's were the hitting stars, Piazza going 2 for 2 with Two Runs scored and an RBI, while Barrett went 2-2 with a walk, an RBI and two Runs (One of which came off his 6th Inning Home Run). Oakland is back at it Sunday as they face the San Diego Padres.

In former Vancouver Canadian action, Baltimore Oriole Freddie Bynum was hitless going 0-3 but knocked in a run, Colorado Rockie Omar Quintanilla had a Hit in his only at bat in which he had an RBI, Kansas City Royal Mark Teahen went 1-3 with an RBI, and also scored a run. The Oakland Athletics were filled with former Canadians Saturday, Catcher Jeremy Brown was 0-1 with a Walk, OF Javier Herrera was 0-0 after he Pinch-Ran for Brown, Kurt Suzuki replaced Herrera but didn't get up at bat, Nick Swisher was 1-3 with Two RBI and struckout, and Kevin Melillo was 1-2. Pitching for Oakland were Dallas "Screwball" Braden (2004 Canadian) who pitched Two Innings allowing 3 hits, 2 Runs, a Walk and Struckout Three. Ron Flores (Class of 2000) pitched an inning allowing a hit. And finally, Mike "Standout" Mitchell (Early 2005) pitched in two innings, allowing two hits and a Strikeout.

Spring Training Report: Day 2

First off, to answer a reader's question Road Kill Sports will not be featuring the WHL or the Giants until the 9th of March (Next Friday) when it becomes playoff stretch time. From then on, until the end of the Memorial Cup we WILL be doing daily reports on activities in the WHL and later on, the OHL and QMJHL. But for the next week you'll have to bear with me and focus on baseball!:)

Today was Day Two of our Spring Training Reports, and featured both Oakland and Toronto winning their respective games.

For the Second time in two days, the Toronto Blue Jays beat a Split-Squad Boston Red Sox Team (One half on one team the other half on the other) on a day when their match was overshadowed by the other Red Sox team's Pitcher...Daisuke Matsuzaka making his North American Spring Training debut in an Exhibition game against Boston College.

The Jays improve to 2-0 on the Spring Season, with Tracey Thorpe picking up today's win, and Kevin Barker had a Home Run in the 10th Inning 9-6 Thriller. Alex Rios was the only MLB Starter in the lineup for that game, which tells you that even if the opposition has David Ortiz in the lineup, the Jays can get it done.

Thanks to a Three Run Eighth inning, Oakland managed a 7-6 win over Milwaukee, as they improved to .500 during Spring with a 1-1 record.

These Former Canadians were playing today in Arizona and Florida...here's how they did:
2004 Catcher Landon Powell was 0-1 in his Oakland debut, while fellow 2004 Pitcher (He Pitched in a game or two) Connor Robertson pitched to just one batter in his 0.1 IP. 2002 Canadian Nick Swisher continued his drought going 0-3 while 2005 Vancouver Player Travis Buck maintained his 1.000 average going 1-1 with a Run and he knocked in a Run with an RBI. 2001 Player Dan Johnson went 0-2 with the A's.

Onto the rest of baseball, where 2001 "Player" Jeremy Bonderman pitched 2 Innings, allowing 2 hits, a Run, a Walk, 3 Strikeouts and a Homer in Detroit's win (That was credited to Bonderman)...while still in Florida, Freddie Bynum struck out in his only At-Bat. 2003 Alum Andre Ethier went 1-2 with a Strikeout while 2001 Pitcher Neal Cotts allowed 4 Hits and Three Runs for the Cubbies in just an Inning, and was credited with BS (Blown Save).

Tomorrow at 10 if you have Shaw Digital Cable you can watch the Dodgers Brad Penny battle the New York Mets in ST action, as well as Sunday with the battle of Chicago, the Cubs and Sox. If you don't have Shaw Digital, you'll have to wait until Monday on Sportsnet to get your first baseball action of the season.

Spring Training Update: Former Canadians Day 1

Here is the first of a 30 day segment (Spring Training) of how former Vancouver Canadians (Single-A not AAA) are doing with Oakland and their other respective MLB Teams.

Jason Windsor gave up 5 hits, 6 runs (Five of which were earned), a Walk, A homer and Struck out one batter in just 1.1 Innings Pitched as Oakland fell 14-8 to the Brewers.

2001 Canadian Dan Johnson went 0-2 at the plate, but was walked. 2002 C (Catcher and Canadian) John Baker was walked in his only AB of the night, a good start for the former College standout. A fellow 2002 Canadian this time Nick Swisher was struck out and didn't get a hit in his three at Bats.

The 2004 Version of the Canadians was well represented (Windsor the Pitcher was a 2004 Van-City pitcher) with Kurt Suzuki, Kevin Melillo and Javier Herrera all taking reps in Oakland's first Spring Training game. Suzuki was 1-2, Herrera went 0-1 and Melillo was very surprising going 1-1 with a walk and he scored one of Oakland's 8 runs.

The lone 2005 Canadian in the game was OF Travis Buck who was 1-1 with a walk.

Other former C's were in action Thursday, like 2003 Grad Omar Quintanilla who was 1-1 with a walk batting for the Rockies, 2002 Alumni Mark Teahen had a hit in Three At-Bats and was struck out playing RF (Usually 3B) For the Royals of Kansas City. Teahen did that when 2000 Player Freddie Bynum was hitless in two AB's with a Strikeout for the Orioles, and finally 2003 Player Andre Ethier had a hit in two at bat's for the LA Dodgers.

News and Notes: Spring Training Stars: March 1st Edition

First off, the Vancouver wasted no time in Finding a new Team President (After Dan Kilgras resigned last week), and the C's have hired Marketing Guru Aileen McManamon originally from the States, now residing in West Vancouver. Thanks to OZ at Notesfromthenat.com for the story, and head over to NFTN for more info on the Team Personnel Changes in recent days.

- Speaking of the C's, the construction for the new Curling facility (for the 2010 Olympics) has begun in the Nat Bailey Parking Lot, meaning yes fans will have to park behind the Outfield fences in order to park AT the Stadium not on the roads next to it that offer FREE parking...now why would anyone wait to get there late when they could get their early, watch Warmup, and get free parking? Who wouldn't love that?:P

- The CFL has announced that for the Second Straight year it will broadcast all 77 of its games on TSN and CBC along with Montreal Alouette games on RDS as well. This is a huge plus for CFL fans, being able to watch any and every game they wish to watch, the best thing is that at least 35 games (IIRC) will be broadcast in High Definition!

- The Oakland A's kicked off their Spring Season with a 14-8 loss to Milwaukee, while the Toronto Blue Jays got off to a good start, beating the Split Squad Boston Red Sox by a score of 4-1. The two teams play again Friday and hopefully the MLB.com won't be so screwed up, so I can give you an actual recap