The Trenton Thunder are having their annual sale/auction of their 2008 game worn jerseys. Jerseys from top prospects and rehabbing big leaguers will be auctioned off, while other jerseys are available for direct purchase.
For more information and a complete list of which jerseys and players are available, go here.
Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com
In an effort to drag this out as long as possible so that I make sure I get people coming back here for the next few days provide you with the best Thunder coverage around, I’ll be presenting my exclusive, one-on-one interview with New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman over the next week.
In the first part of our chat, I asked Cashman to talk about the job that Tony Franklin and his staff have done over the past two seasons…
Brian Cashman: “I was talking to (Tony) about it (Monday), and was congratulating him on everything he and his staff have accomplished. Your job as a manager and a coaching staff in a minor league system is about executing a player development program. And if you win on top of that, it’s like a bonus. But they’re executing specific innings usages, and prospects have to hit in certain spots, and he has to manage the people inbetween and make sure he’s managing the program as well as the games within in the program, which is different. It’s completely different. But to keep everybody motivated and hungry and successful as he’s done there, it’s been tremendous. We’re so proud of him and that he joined us, and more importantly, players have gotten better under him. That’s the biggest compliment I can give him — is that players enjoy playing for him and they get better under him. And that’s great.”
Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com
The Thunder have asked me to pass along this gallery of photos of Tony Franklin during his very first visit to Yankee Stadium.
Couldn’t be happier to do it. I only wish I could have been there to see it for myself.
Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com
It wasn’t too long ago that Phil Coke was one or two bad starts away from possibly being sent down to Single-A Tampa.
He was 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA in the month of April, and the Eastern League was hitting at a .340 clip off of him. In 26 innings of work during the first month of the season, he allowed 18 earned runs.
Over the next three months, he allowed just fifteen.
His velocity started slowly creeping up from the 88-89 MPH readings he was posting at the start of the year. With that, the strikeouts started coming in bunches. Over his final three months with the Thunder, he posted four double-digit strikeout games before eventually being converted to a reliever shortly after the infamous trade, no-trade debacle.
At the end of July, Coke was summoned to Scranton. He was a much different pitcher than he was when everyone saw him in April, now pitching with more confidence and a fastball that touched 94.
After a largely successful month in Triple-A in which he put together a string of 11 consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run, he got the call to go to the big leagues, adding a chapter to an unpredictable story that you wouldn’t have believed if you saw him pitch over the first few weeks of the year.
In the span of five months, he went from a player in danger of being exiled to Tampa to a guy who hasn’t allowed a run in eight big league appearances…
I was able to catch up with Coke in the Yankee Stadium clubhouse before the game on Monday night — and if you know him at all, you know he’s always very willing to talk. Here’s how the conversation went…
Mike Ashmore: What has the whole experience up here been like?
Phil Coke: “Amazing, absolutely amazing. Every day, I’m just in awe of the way the season has gone and the opportunities I’ve been given to prove myself at each level. And then to have the opportunity to come up here and prove myself here, its just been a dream come true. I’m just in awe of it every day.”
Ashmore: You weren’t necessarily on a lot of the prospect lists, and there were a lot of people who probably didn’t expect you to get up here, at least not this quickly. Was getting up here a goal that you had set for yourself at the beginning of the year, or is this something that not even you expected?
Coke: “Of course it’s everybody’s goal to get to the big leagues, however you’ve got to get there. Whether it’s through a role change like I did, or it’s through sheer luck or having somebody at this level go down…for me to be up here at this time of year and contributing when I’ve been able to contribute, it’s really huge for me. More on a personal level, because I’ve put in the time and I’ve put in the effort and I feel like I’m being rewarded for it. I really see myself as being extremely fortunate, and I’m just glad things happened the way they happened.”
Ashmore: Is it a little bittersweet to be up here in a sense? Trenton went on to win a championship, and you were on that team. Same thing with Scranton. I know you’re happy to be where you’re at, but…
Coke: “It’s always difficult to leave a team, just because you make friendships with everybody on the team. For me to have been really close with everybody in both clubhouses, it’s been difficult. But at the same time, it was a stepping stone, and you have to be able to put certain things behind you. Sometimes, that’s one of them. Unfortunately, that’s how this game works. You’ve always got to be looking at the future and looking at tomorrow, so that’s what I really try and do for me personally. Yeah, it was difficult, but at the same time I’m beyond happy for both teams. They put in the time, they put in the effort, and they got themselves the best pat on the back that you can get in this game, which is winning a championship and showing everybody that you are as good as you set out to be at the beginning of the season.”
Ashmore: You’ve been getting some ink lately, considering the impressive start you’ve gotten out to — you haven’t allowed a run in your first seven big league outings. Did you expect to do as well as you have up here?
Coke: “You always aspire to do as well as you can. As I said, I’ve been fortunate and have guys in the right spots. I threw a fastball down and away to (Akinori) Iwamura down in Tampa, and it was elevated and he got good wood on it. But he hit it right at A-Rod. If A-Rod’s not playing there, you never know. Obviously hits happen, but the fact that he was standing there and got a great hop and turned and made a perfect throw and got me the out in that situation…you’ve got a guy like myself with adrenalin just raging through my body and I’m just trying to throw strikes. When you’ve got guys like A-Rod and Jeter and Cano and Giambi in your infield, and then you’ve got Damon, Nady and Abreu in the outfield and Pudge or Molina behind the dish, you know that you are just the tiniest part of the big picture, but you’re in the picture. So for me to go out there and do what I’ve done, having the incredible defense out there has made it that much easier to just go out there and concentrate on throwing strikes. It’s kind of hard to put it in any other words than that.”
Ashmore: With so many guys for so few spots, do you kind of view this opportunity as kind of an audition to start 2009 in the Yankees bullpen or have you not really thought about it that way?
Coke: “That’s an interesting question. I just view it as an opportunity to be here today and make sure that I do what I have to do and to be able to contribute to this team moving on, and just getting better every day, however I have to do that. I said earlier this year, that if they were going to call me up — which I’d be surprised by — I’d go swing a set of purple pom-poms and wave them in the end of the dugout, but they don’t let the bullpen guys sit in the dugout unless they’re in the game. So, no I didn’t go buy any.”
Ashmore: You do have the pink backpack though… (Note: I’d assume Humberto Sanchez may have taken over the responsibilities, but as the least experienced member of the bullpen at the time, Coke was in charge of carrying the seeds, gum, and other snacks for the rest of the relievers. He was given a bright pink backpack with a Yankees logo on it to do so.)
Coke: “And don’t get me wrong man, it’s supposed to be a rookie deal, but I’m absolutely appreciative of it. I love the fact that they’re willing to put some sort of trust in me, regardless of whether it’s pink or any other color, to make sure that we have seeds and stuff like that out there in the bullpen. It’s like they’re handing me responsibility rather than kind of like a rookie hazing, that’s how I view it.”
Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com
Stay tuned over the next few days for portions of my exclusive one-on-one chat with New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman. Cashman and I talked about the job Tony Franklin and his staff have done over the past two seasons, the status of the PDC the Yankees have with the Thunder, his expectations and impessions of the two most recent call-ups from Trenton (Cervelli and Sanchez), his thoughts about Austin Jackson’s season, and if the championships won by Scranton and Trenton and the overall success of the teams in the farm system as a whole give him hope for the future of the organization.
If you follow the Thunder or the Yankees farm system, this is a chat you’re not going to want to miss.
Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com
Chad Jennings has all the info on the Triple-A Championship game in Oklahoma City. The kids call it the Bricktown Showdown, but I think we all know what it is.
Anyway, looks like Ramiro Pena’s getting the start after winning a championship in Trenton. The game’s televised on ESPN 2, so make sure you check out all your favorite Thunder alums.
Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com
It’s 1:20 in the morning, and only now have I returned home from my final big league call-up of the season.
Over the course of the next few days, you’ll see a feature on Phil Coke and an EXCLUSIVE one-on-one five minute chat with New York Yankees GM Brian Cashman.
As you already know by now, Francisco Cervelli was unexpectedly called up to the big leagues. I was rather surprised to see him in there, and he said he wasn’t really expecting it either.
Another surprising face in there was Austin Jackson, who was making the rounds in street clothes. He was chatting with Phil Coke, Brett Gardner and Joba Chamberlain and various points.
Also got to bump into Humberto Sanchez, who seemed very happy to be up there.
Worth mentioning as well — and something I should have brought up when mentioning what you’ll see here in the offseason — is that I added Ozzie Guillen’s name to the list of people you’ll see in a series of Major League Baseball’s biggest names talking about their experiences at Yankee Stadium.
Ken Griffey, Jr., Jake Peavy, Trevor Hoffman, David Ortiz, Mark Teixeira, Jered Weaver, Edinson Volquez, Luke Hochevar, Aaron Harang and Bronson Arroyo all will talk about what it’s like to play in the place where the Thunder have sent so many players…and these aren’t quotes I got from listening into other people’s conversations, these will all be answers to questions I asked each player or manager.
Could I have picked a better game to cover? Alfredo Aceves, Phil Coke and Joba Chamberlain all pitched, and Brett Gardner made two outstanding plays. Getting to see Coke’s first win and see him strike out Ken Griffey, Jr. was just tremendous as well. He was hitting 96 on the stadium gun, by the way. If you like/cover the Thunder, this was the game for you.
In any event, I’m exhausted from not only tonight, but the past couple of days. But I’ll have some new stuff on here during the week…
Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com
Check out this article to find links to a few of Thunder radio broadcaster Steve Rudenstein’s calls from the final game of the Eastern League Championship Series.
It includes his dramatic call of the last out…definitely worth checking out.
Steve’s very good at what he does, and the Thunder are lucky to have a group of two talented broadcasters in Rudenstein and Josh Landsburg, especially after Dan Loney left the club following last season’s championship.
Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com
Just because the Thunder’s season has ended doesn’t mean that this blog will be going on hiatus. In fact, as you read this, I’m likely on a train heading back from Yankee Stadium after hopefully working on stories on Phil Coke and Humberto Sanchez.
I’ve also still got my alumni feature with Brett Gardner, tons of leftover stuff from the season, and a championship winning team-signed baseball to give away.
Not to mention my annual awards, which I’ve given out through my paper since I first took over this beat before the 2006 season. MVP, Cy Young and Good Guy awards will all be handed out.
So there are plenty of reasons to keep checking this blog out.
I’m going to make a thank you post sometime in the near future when I have the chance to sit back and really collect my thoughts about all of the countless people who have helped me out and made this blog what it’s become.
As for me, my season isn’t over. One thing that probably 98% of the people who read this blog don’t realize is that the Thunder aren’t the only team I cover during baseball season…I also cover a team in the independent Atlantic League, and that team has also clinched a playoff berth. So I’ve got at least another two weeks of work ahead of me.
In the meantime, keep checking back for updates on the blog, and make sure you check out the Bricktown Showdown tomorrow night.
Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com
An amazing season was capped off by an amazing celebration both on the field and in the clubhouse following the Thunder’s 5-1 Game Four victory over the Akron Aeros to win the 2008 Eastern League Championship.
Music was played at eardrum shattering levels, certainly some awful dancing took place, and there was plenty of collective hooting and hollering that could be heard echoing through the underbelly of the stadium after the final out.
Every square inch of the home clubhouse was covered in large plastic sheets, and so much champagne was sprayed inside that players were leaving wet footprints as they emerged and walked on the carpet in the hallway.
But the focus eventually shifted back to what the team accomplished on the field, and the participants couldn’t have been happier to talk about their long and successful journey.
TONY FRANKLIN
“Fantastic, it was fantastic. They’re all special in their own way. It’s special. After last year’s season, you think that with it being such a magical season, you’re not going to surpass it. To surpass what we did last year with championships in consecutive years, man that’s just fantastic. It just doesn’t happen, I’ve spent a lot of time in this game. I’ve been in this game a long time and won a couple championships here and there and gone to the playoffs a few times, but this is far and beyond what I ever thought could happen to me. It’s still a lot of fun for me, and I guess that’s why I still do it.”
“You know what I think is special about them, is there ability to compete. They’re a young club, I had a young club in terms of experience. But I also had some guys in key positions who were back, like P.J., Colin Curtis, Jonesy. But what impressed me most about these guys was their ability to compete. These guys battled their butts off out there. When you’ve got young guys, you’re just not sure what they’re going to do. And here comes AJ with all of these press clippings and people touting him as being the next so and so, and in the back of my mind, I’m saying I’m not sure because I hadn’t seen him play except for that one week. I see the tools, I see the ability to run, hit, throw. Is he going to be able to do it consistently over 140 games? He surprised the heck out of me, man. He pulled it off. The game last night was indicative of what you’re going to see for maybe 15-20 years in a Major League career. That’s pretty special stuff.”
“(Winning it in Trenton) is even more special, just in front of the hometown fans. Where else would you want to win it? These are the people who support you all year, why would you want to win it somewhere else. We did it (in Akron) last year because of the schedule and it dictated that. But the people here in Trenton are very supportive, they love their baseball. They are very, very compassionate about what we do. I’m just happy we were able to win them a championship.”
P.J. PILITTERE
“It’s nice to do it at home in front of the fans and the all the people that have supported us for how many years here in Trenton. I’m sure a part of them missed out a little bit last year, but I’m sure it was great for them tonight to be a part of this.”
“It’s a great feeling. It’s been a lot of hard work, it’s not easy. We expected this to be a championship season, but I’m just glad it turned out the way it did. It just shows you if you work hard enough, we can do this two years in a row. It was nice to come out on top.”
“There’s been a lot of opportunities (in the clutch). The ones you have success with will show up in the box score more than the ones you get out on. I felt really confident up there. I faced that guy a few times earlier in the series, and I was actually excited to have that matchup and get a chance to drive in a big run for us and get a chance to put a crooked number up there for us.”
JASON JONES
“I was just happy to get some innings in the playoffs this time around, it’s good to be a part of the championship. It’s been a good year, and it was a great ending to my year.”
“Timely pitching, timely hitting and we had a great coaching staff. Put it all together, and it’s still hard to go back to back. All the guys did their part throughout the year.”
“Everything’s come together, everything’s been really good. It’s great to win in front of our home crowd. We have great fans, they’re just a great bunch of people. It was awesome to win it in front of them.”
JEFF MARQUEZ
“Jones came in and did an awesome job, and the offense came through and did a good job. I just had a good team behind me overall, and it was a good team win today.”
“(Being hurt) is stuff that you don’t want to happen, obviously. But I’m healthy now, and I’m feeling good now, and that’s in the past. Hopefully I can just keep on moving forward.”
“(Last year’s team and this year’s team) are very similar. Good group of guys, tremendous staff. Everyone’s like a big family, so that always helps going into playoffs and championship series like tonight.”
Mike Ashmore, mashmore98 AT gmail.com
 | tdevils on Austin Jackson, Still Goo… |
 | Ralph on Austin Jackson, Still Goo… |
| tdevils on Arizona Fall League Starts… |
 | yanksince57-was this… on Arizona Fall League Starts… |
 | Ty on Austin Jackson, Still Goo… |
