Wednesday, July 25, 2007

BUSCHER HEADED FOR THE SHOW?

Third baseman Brian Buscher likely will become the first member of the 2007 New Britain Rock Cats to make the leap from the Eastern League to the American League, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported on its Twins Dugout website Wednesday.

Buscher, who is hitting .319 with six homers and 20 RBI with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings since leaving New Britain June 20, will replace outfielder Darnell McDonald on the Twins roster, according to the report.

While the Twins said the move won’t be made until Friday, Star Tribune reporter La Velle E. Neal III quoted manager Ron Gardenhire as hinting, “It is a position player, we do know that. “He plays in the infield. Not in the middle.” The news was corroborated on the Red Wings’ web site. Buscher left Wednesday’s game after two at-bats.

Buscher, a Rule 5 acquisition from the San Francisco Giants organization at the winter meetings in December, hit .308 with seven homers and 38 RBI in 63 games for the Rock Cats before swapping spots with current New Britain third baseman Matt Moses.

Third base has been a trouble spot for the Twins this season. Nick Punto, a long-time utility player who won the slot last year, is batting just .218, has made baserunning mistakes and has failed to deliver in bunting situations.

Monday, July 23, 2007

ANYTHING BUT MINOR LEAGUE

July is always a compelling time at New Britain Stadium.

The major league trading deadline is July 31 so the seats behind home plate are filled with scouts, evaluating the players’ skills and searching for intangibles that may influence their general managers to either include or eliminate them as keys to the future or “players to be named later” in last-minute deals.

But this July has seen more than just scouts.

San Francisco Giants general manager Brian Sabean paid a visit along with vice president of player personnel Dick Tidrow when their Double-A Connecticut Defenders were in town.

They watched with abhorrence as the Defenders stumbled their way to three straight losses. Sabean’s reaction was making the unusual midseason decision to relieve Defenders manager Dave Machemer and assign him to major league scouting duties. Basically, that’s a way of saying we don’t like the job you’re doing but we don’t want to humiliate you with a flat-out dismissal.

Sabean, who recently had his term extended, has been vilified by bloggers for the Giants’ descent into National League purgatory and he’s got to get it going in the right direction. The Giants successfully hosted the 2007 All-Star Game and continue to bathe in Barry Bonds’ race for the sports world’s most revered record. Now it’s time to start thinking of the future and the seeds were planted in New Britain.

When Sabean and the Defenders left town, they were replaced by the Trenton Thunder and an entourage of Yankees brass that had local keyboards, voice recorders and TV cameras whirring at a frenetic pace.

There may not be a more visible man in all of baseball than Hall-of-Famer Reggie Jackson, and while he wasn’t interested in addressing the media on the record, he was congenial and effectively exercised his role as an exalted ambassador of the game.

Following in Reggie’s massive wake was Yanks general manager Brian Cashman, who did everything he could to accommodate the local media and assure fans that the crown jewels of the organization’s future – pitchers Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy – would not be dangled for any quick-fix veterans.

On the other side of the field, virtually obscured by Yankee aura, were Minnesota Twins resident Hall-of-Famer Paul Molitor and the organization’s top two scouting luminaries, venerable director Mike Radcliff and pro scouting coordinator Vern Followell.

Radcliff and Followell could walk the corridors of Westfarms Mall and not attract attention like Jackson and Cashman would, but they are the architects of a farm system that has treated local fans to reigning AL MVP Justin Morneau and batting champion Joe Mauer.

Twins minor league director Jim Rantz slipped in and out of town after Cashman and Jackson departed. Minnesota general manager Terry Ryan will be here in early August making three GM visits in a span of three weeks.

There’s no escaping that the baseball is minor league but there was nothing secondary about the excitement, chatter, speculation and innuendo that distinguishes New Britain as a summer venue that’s anything but minor.