Vechionacci’s Turning Japanese

After eight seasons in the Yankees organization, Marcos Vechionacci has signed in Japan.

Have seen this reported in a variety of places now, but my friends over at River Ave. Blues have got the story…Marcos Vechionacci has signed with the Hanshin Tigers in Japan.

In eight seasons with the Yankees organization, Vechionacci — still just 24 years old — never advanced past Double-A.

After an abysmal 2009 season in which he hit just .213 in 422 at-bats, the man known simply as “Nacci” seemed to turn things around last year.  Vechionacci seemed to be revitalized after an early season move to first base, and turned in a .283/11/55 campaign for the Thunder last season.

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

Great Auction For An Even Better Cause…

It’s that time of year again, kids.

Veteran Thunder clubhouse manager Tom “Tonto” Kackley is holding his annual charity auction to benefit Domestic Violence Project.

Among the items, all of which you can see here, are signed baseballs from legends like Reggie Jackson and up-and-comers like Jesus Montero, Casey Kelly, Kyle Drabek and others.  But the real neat stuff, and there will be more items to come, can be found towards the bottom, as Austin Romine’s game-used catching equipment is up for grabs.

A lot of these items would make for great Christmas gifts, and it’s for a great cause, so bid early and bid often.

Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com

Vacation

Between covering the Trenton Devils and my 3 1/2 week vacation that I’m in the middle of, there hasn’t been a lot of time to write on here since the season ended. 

But I’ll be sure to get back to work once I get back to New Jersey right around Thanksgiving.  I’ve got a bunch of stuff in the can for you guys — like alumni features, the Minor League Memories series and so on — that I think you’ll enjoy, and I’ll try my best to keep track of current events as well.

You can always get a hold of me at mashmore98 AT gmail.com in the meantime.