Brooks Hatch

Production duties, the G-T’s 100th birthday celebration, Little League playoff games in Salem, staffers on vacation, the birthday of one  of The Blog’s oldest and truest friends from East Aurora High School … busy day down at the corner of SW 6th Street and Jefferson Avenue in downtown Corvallis.

Yet we persevere. The early-morning sunshine told me all I need to know, but here’s some stuff you should know …

————————————

Here’s some encouraging news on OSU junior-to-be pitcher Greg Peavey, now playing in the Cape Cod League, from ESPN’s MLB draft blog. It’s the third item.

—————————–

Old news for some, but good news, nonetheless, for former Oregon State shortstop Darwin Barney. He’s been promoted to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs of the Pacific Coast League from double-A Tennessee of the Southern League.

Here’s the word from the Knoxville paper. This means Dawin will miss the Southern League all-star game, but now he’s another step closer to the major leagues and positions himself for a September call-up when the rosters expand to 40.

——————————-

Here’s an update on ex-Beavers outfielder Aaron Mathews, now at triple-A Las Vegas (Toronto), from the Las Vegas Journal-Review.

—————————–

Here’s an update on former Beavers soccer player Ryan Johnson, now with the San Jose Earthquakes, from MLSnet.com.

Speaking of soccer, the Blog is meeting with new OSU men’s coach Steve Simmons on Thursday morning and we’ll have a story on his plans to upgrade and improve the program sometime in the near future.

———————————-

And finally, Friday is one of the biggest nights of the season for the Corvallis Knights: Fireworks Night, starting at 7:05 p.m., one-half hour later than customary.

The 2007 game drew 1,308, and that jumped to a franchise-record 1,632 last season. President Dan Segel says reserved seats are going fast. It also concludes their 16-game homestand.

The Knights have drawn 10,419 this season, ahead of 2008 (10,198) and 2007 (6,011) at a corresponding point in the season, with Friday night still to come.

The next home game after Friday is a non-leaguer on July 16 against the Portland Ports. The next home West Coast League game is July 20 against Bellingham.

According to the WCL office, more than 100 WCL alums are in affiliated baseball this season and nine have played in the major leagues.

And finally, we saw a lot of familiar faces at the G-T’s birthday party today, guys like ex-sports editor Roy Gault, the man who hired me; ex-G-T photographer  Paul VanDevelder, the ex-Bismarck Tribune co-worker who recommended me to Roy; Rod Deckert, the city editor at the time of my hiring; Tom Jenks, the publisher when I was hired; ex-copy editor Tony De Meo, who sat across from me in the old newsrom for many years,  and so many others.

To them I say, thanks for the memories and all they taught me. The G-T’s been here for 100 years and the Blog is happy to say we’ve been a part of it for almost 25.

Tweet This Post 

We’ve got production duties tonight so not much is cooking.

But, as always, we want you to stay in the habit of coming here so here’s a few items of note.

* Former Beavers catcher/placekicker Jamie Burke’s time with the Mariners might be limited, according to this story from MLB.com. He’s the odd-man out in the Mariners’ catching rotation and could be bound for triple-A Tacoma in the next week or so.

* It’s also been rumored that ex-Beavers’ tailback Yvenson Bernard might have a hard time making the Winnipeg Blue Bombers final cut, which is Thursday. If so, the B.C. Lions might be interested, according to this story in the Vancouver Sun.

Tweet This Post 

The Corvallis Knights will remember June 17 as the Night the Lights Went Out in Kitsap.

The Knights and Kitsap BlueJackets played 16 full innings on Wednesday night and were in the top of the 17th, trying to resolve a 1-1 tie, when the lights at the Kitsap ballpark automatically switched off at 11 p.m. They could not be restarted and the game was suspended until July 17, the next time the Knights visit Silverdale.

It will be resumed at the point of suspension (a good rule the OSAA should adopt with its playoff games, which instead are started over if the game is suspended for any reason before its conclusion).

Some statistics and stuff:

* It took only 3:55 to play 16 full innings, and change. The official box score says 4:13, but that includes the time everyone stood around waiting before it was officially suspended.

* Corvallis pitchers Matt Andriese, Liam Baron and Nick Struck struck out 14 and walked only two. The Knights held Kitsap to two runs in 34 innings in the series; their starters have allowed only three runs over the past 35 innings.

* Kitsap first baseman Bucky Aona had 24 putouts; Corvallis first baseman Taylor Ard had 16. Knights’ catcher Matt Parker had 13, and caught the entire game.

* Corvallis did not make an error in the series.

* The Knights play the Portland Ports of the affiliate WCL Portland league at 6:35 p.m. today in the opener of a 16-game homestand. It’s a Block 15 Thursday, with reduced prices on your favorite summer beverage.

* Freshman All-American Sam Gaviglio starts Friday’s 6:35 p.m. series opener against Bellingham. He shut them out for seven innings last Saturday but was not involved in the decision in an eventual 2-1 loss.

Friday is also Kids Dash for Cash Night; $1,000 in $1 bills will be released on the field for children 14 years of age and younger to chase.

—————————————

Coworker Cliff Kirkpatrick just talked to Joey Wong about his (Joey’s, not Cliff’s) decision to turn pro and sign with the Rockies. That story will be in Friday’s paper, and online.

We just got news that Kelso-Longview definitely will play in the WCL next season. Here’s the release from the WCL office:

Longview/Kelso Franchise Awarded To Businessman Tony Bonacci
Portland, Oregon, Thursday, June 18 2009 - The West Coast League, a leading summer collegiate league, has awarded the Longview/Kelso franchise to Tony Bonacci, a successful businessman and longtime manager and sponsor of amateur baseball programs.  League president Ken Wilson made the announcement Thursday, praising Bonacci as having “the perfect combination of grassroots experience in baseball and success in business.”

Bonacci has been pursuing a WCL franchise in the Longview/Kelso market since early in the year.

“The league and the community leadership throughout this process has been outstanding, and I’m excited about the things we’ll be doing here,” said Bonacci.  “We have to earn support and I believe we will with top-notch baseball and affordable family entertainment.”

Bonacci plans to name a general manager as soon as possible.  “Once we get our general manager in place, we’ll have a name the team contest and begin taking ticket deposits.”

Bonacci has a law degree in economics from the University of Notre Dame and is a graduate of Notre Dame Law School.  He’s married with four children and makes his home in Phoenix.

The Longview/Kelso team will begin play next season in the West Coast League.

Story Field in Longview will be the site of a Kitsap home game this summer as the BlueJackets take on the WCL defending champion Corvallis Knights on Sunday, July 19 at 5:05 pm.  Tickets for that game are on sale at various ticket outlets in Longview/Kelso.

Tweet This Post