8/29-9/1 Series Preview, Harrisburg vs. Bowie

Today marks the start of the final series of the 2008 season. Harrisburg just missed the playoffs this year but still look to finish with a winning record. Hopefully the Senators can finish the season with a strong series this weekend.

Harrisburg welcomes the Southern Division leading and playoff bound, Bowie Baysox’s to town for a 4-game series. Many of Bowie’s staff and players have recently received awards: catcher/DH, Steve Torrealba was the EL Player of the week last week, Brad Komminsk was named EL MGR of the Year, Brad Bergesen was named EL Pitcher of the Year and recently promoted to Baltimore, outfielder, Lou Montanez was named the EL Player of the Year. Bergesen and Montanez, along with Nolan Reimold were named to the 2008 Season Ending EL All-Star team. They also have a handful of prospects, lead by catcher Matt Wieters. Wieters, who is in his first year of pro baseball, might be the best prospect in all of baseball at this point. He has combined to hit .349 / 26 HR /88 RBI /85 Runs at Frederick and Bowie. Even more impressive is his plate discipline as he has walked 81 times and only struck out 73 times.


Harrisburg Prospects – Baseball America (BA) and John Sickles (JS)

P – Jordan Zimmermann – 7 (BA), B (JS)
OF – Justin Maxwell – 8 (BA), B (JS) (Injured)
P – Adam Carr – 13 (BA), B- (JS)
SS – Ian Desmond – 14 (BA), C+ (JS)
OF – Mike Daniel – 23 (BA)
P – Adrian Alaniz – C+ (JS)

My players to watch on the Senators:

1B – Bill Rhinehart (has struggled since his promotion but produced at each level before coming to Harrisburg)
OF – Marvin Lowrance
P – Yunior Novoa
INF – Seth Bynum – Not a real prospect but you have to love watching him play as he always gives 100%.

Bowie Prospects – Baseball America (BA) and John Sickles (JS)
C – Matt Wieters – 1 (BA), A- (JS)
OF - Nolan Reimold – 4 (BA), B- (JS)
P – Chorye Spoone – 8 (BA), B- (JS) (Injured)
P – David Hernandez – 15 (BA), C (JS)
P – Brad Bergesen – 26 (BA), C+ (JS)

My list of players to watch on the Baysox:
P – Jason Berken (not scheduled to start but went 12-3 with a 3.37 ERA)
P – Wilfredo Perez (has a 2.49 ERA in 14 games with Bowie this season)
SS – Blake Davis (young SS batting .283 but has 20 errors).
3B – Jeff Nettles (veteran power hitter has 23 homeruns this year).


Pitching Match up’s: Harrisburg vs. Bowie
Friday, August 29, 6:35pm, RH Jordan Zimmermann vs. RH Brad Bergesen
Saturday, August 30, 6:05pm, LH Cory VanAllen vs. RH David Hernandez
Sunday, August 31, 1:05pm, RH Bobby Brownlie vs. RH Chris Tillman
Monday, September 1, 1:05pm, TBA vs. RH Zach Clark

Final Thoughts:

Harrisburg may not have made the playoffs but they still have a chance to finish the season with a winning record, the first time since 2002. Senators’ fans saw quality talent on City Island this season, as proof by the very productive first half of the season. The mass exodus of players around/after the All-Star break shows two things: we had good talent to start the year and, the Nationals are still working to build the farm system as proof by the sub par second half. The Nationals are committed to building a solid farm system but that will take time. Overall, things are looking up in the organization as top prospects are on the rise and before you know it they will be playing in Harrisburg. All signs are pointing to a decent team for 2009….


Look for my 2008 Season Review coming next week.

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2008 Eastern League Awards

Bowie Sweeps Eastern League Awards

Bowie Manager, Brad Komminsk, is the 2008 Eastern League Manager of the Year.

Bowie outfielder, Lou Montanez, is the 2008 Eastern League Most Valuable Player.

Bowie pitcher, Brad Bergesen, is the 2008 Eastern League Pitcher of the Year.

Harrisburg finishes the 2008 season with a 4-game series vs. Bowie starting tomorrow night at 6:35PM. Series Preview coming tonight/tomorrow morning.

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Senators Headed to Arizona

Below is a list of Harrisburg Senators that will play in the Arizona Fall league this year.

Season Starts: Tuesday, October 7

Team: Peoria Saguaros

RHP: Adam Carr
LHP Cory VanAllen (Pictured above)
TBA – Nationals Pitcher
1B: Bill Rhinehart(Pictured above)
SS: Ian Desmond
OF: Leonard Davis

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8/22-8/24 Series Preview vs. Portland

As my faithful readers know this is something that I originally started at the beginning of the season. I plan on posting ‘series previews’ for the final two series of the seasons (Portland and Bowie).

Harrisburg Prospects – Baseball America (BA) and John Sickles (JS)
P – Jordan Zimmermann – 7 (BA), B (JS)
OF – Justin Maxwell – 8 (BA), B (JS) (Injured)
P – Adam Carr – 13 (BA), B- (JS)
SS – Ian Desmond – 14 (BA), C+ (JS)
OF – Mike Daniel – 23 (BA)
P – Adrian Alaniz – C+ (JS)

My players to watch on the Senators:
1B – Bill Rhinehart (has struggled since his promotion but produced at each level)
OF – Marvin Lowrance (.287, 6 HR in 37 games)
P – Yunior Novoa (2.06 ERA in 28 games)
INF – Seth Bynum – Not a real prospect but you have to love watching him play as he always gives 100%.

Senators Notes:
Daniel hit over .300 from April-June but has struggled since the all-star break hitting only .202 in July and .167 so far in August. Desmond missed all of June and most of July but has hit .283 during the month of August (.324 over the last 10 games). Carr has struggled during 2008 with over 6 ERA. Alaniz was 9-0 prior to his promotion to Harrisburg, since arriving he is 0-5 (some of his losses are due to lack of run production). Zimmermann has continued to impress, over his last 10 appearances he is 4-1 with a 3.38 ERA.

Portland Prospects – Baseball America (BA) and John Sickles (JS)
P - Clay Buchholz – 1 (BA), A (JS)
1B - Lars Anderson – 3 (BA), B+ (JS)
OF – Josh Reddick – 10 (BA), B- (JS)
SS – Argenis Diaz – 12 (BA)
P – Kris Johnson – 13 (BA), C (JS)
P – Daniel Bard – 19 (BA)
C – Mark Wagner – 20 (BA), C (JS)
1B – Aaron Bates – 21 (BA), B- or C+ (JS)
P – Dustin Richardson – 22 (BA), C+ (JS)
OF – Bubba Bell – 25 (BA), C (JS)
P – T.J. Large – C (JS)
P – Adam Mills – C (JS)
OF – Zachary Daeges – C+ (JS)

Typically I add my list of ‘players to watch’ in addition to those listed above. Considering most of the team is listed above I'll give a brief review of the prospects. Senators’ fans might not get a chance to see pitching prospect Clay Bucholz who was optioned to Portland after his start for Boston on 8/20. Bucholz next start should be on Monday or Tuesday, unless he pitches in relief. He has struggled this season but is considered by many scouts to be the best prospect in the Red Sox organization. Aside from Bucholz, I’m looking forward to watching Anderson and Reddick as both are considered top level prospects too. Both are capable of hitting for power but Anderson is more patient and should end up hitting for average in the future. Catching prospect, Mark Wagner, defensively he has a good arm; offense is his weakness as he has some power but otherwise has problems getting on base. Argenis Diaz is an intriguing young player (only 21) who is hitting over .300 since his call up in late July.

August 22 - 6:35pm RH Jordan Zimmermann (6-2, 3.32) vs. LH Dustin Richardson (7-7, 7.03)August 23 - 6:05pm LH Justin Jones (2-4, 4.53) vs. RH Adam Mills (0-4, 4.53)
August 24 - 1:05pm TBA vs. LH Kris Johnson (8-8, 3.58)

Final Thoughts:
The Senators are on the outside looking in, in terms of the playoffs. They lost their last 5 games. They have to start winning series try to and build momentum down the stretch. Every game counts. The starting pitching has been weak as of late. On offense, the power that was so evident at the start of the season seems to be gone. The inconsistent play can in part be attributed to the frequent player moves and injuries to key players.

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2008 EL All-Star Team (Season Ending)

The EL just released the list of players voted to the 2008 season ending All-Star Team. No Harrisburg Senators made the list.

The Eastern League of Professional Baseball is pleased to announce the selections for the 2008 Eastern League All-Star Team, as voted on by respective Eastern League team managers and coaching staffs, sportswriters, radio and television broadcast personnel and other members of the media.

Catcher: Lou Marson, Reading Phillies
1st: Mike Carp, Binghamton Mets
2nd: Scott Campbell, New Hampshire Fisher Cats
3rd: Wes Hodges, Akron Aeros
SS: Jason Donald, Reading Phillies
OF: Lou Montanez, Bowie Baysox
OF: Wilkin Ramirez, Erie SeaWolves
OF: Nolan Reimold, Bowie Baysox
Utility Player: Daniel Murphy, Binghamton Mets
DH: Travis Snider, New Hampshire Fisher Cats
Right-Handed Starting Pitcher: Brad Bergesen, Bowie Baysox
Left-Handed Starting Pitcher: Phil Coke, Trenton Thunder
Relief Pitcher: Eddie Kunz, Binghamton Mets

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Return to Posting

After taking over a month off to grieve over the tragic and sudden loss of my brother I am planning my return to posting. While the grieving process continues it’s a good thing for me to return to things I love doing (enjoying family and friends, baseball and photography). I will always miss and love my brother but he would want me to enjoy what I have.

I want to thank my family, friends, co-workers and the readers of Senators Fans Unite for their continued prayers and support during this difficult time. I want to sincerely thank each of you who, out of the kindness of your heart, donated money to the various charities in Shawn’s name. Your money and efforts will go a long way in helping change lives.

I made a brief appearance on City Island on Sunday, August 10th to see Harrisburg vs. Altoona. I wanted to use that game to get back into the swing of things. I managed to take a few photos; of which MLB, the Pittsburgh Pirates and MiLB have used about 10 photos from that game. I left around the 7th inning as rain looked like it was going to move in (rain and camera’s don’t go together very well). Harrisburg ended up winning and the rain stayed away....

With only 7 home games left in the 2008 season I plan to return to posting various things I originally started at the beginning of the season. Some of the thoughts and ideas I posted on here ended up elsewhere and that is fine. I plan to be more cautious with my ideas for the off season. I will post my series preview for the final 2-series of the season (I finished writing Portland and will be posted as soon as the starting pitchers are announced). Hopefully I can update the slideshow and post a few photos from the final 2-series of the season. My plans are to attend roughly 5 of the final 7 games (weather permitting).

See you at the game!!!!

Thanks,
Will

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