Harrisburg to Host 2010 EL All Star Game

The rumors, speculation, and waiting are over. The Harrisburg Senators along with Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed announced today that the Senators will host the 2010 Eastern League All-Star Game.

Buzz about the Senators possibily hosting the 2010 All-Star game has circled Metro Bank Park (and Commerce Bank Park before that) since the Senators released plans to renovate the stadium last season. Senators GM Randy Whitaker said “We’re very excited about the opportunity to host the All Star game for 2010, especially as it coincides with the completion of the Metro Bank Park renovations next year. The game is an iconic highlight of any baseball season and will be the centerpiece of what promises to be a fantastic year for the Senators.”

This announcement is exciting news for many local establishments. Eastern League fans will make the journey to Harrisburg, so local business could also see a boost from the Senators hosting the All-Star game. When fans and players aren’t participating in the All-Star festivities they will probably be site seeing around the city, eating at local restaurants, staying at local hotels, and shopping in the community.

Over 7,000 fans were in attendance for the 2009 All-Star game hosted by the Trenton Thunder. The game was own by EL South All-Stars (which the Senators are a part of) 5-3 (box score).

Whitaker says “The entire staff has been hard at work planning the events that will take place and we are confident that the 2010 Eastern League All Star game will be a memorable one for everyone - from the fans and players to the entire region.”

Specific details surrounding the 2010 All-Star game will be posted here when the become available.

Official Senators Press Release regarding the All-Star game:
2010 EL All Star Game

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Return to the Stadium****Updated with Photos*****

Weather this season has been not favorable to photographers; not to mention the 7 PM start times (dont' see that changing considering attendance has increased this season). Ongoing state budget negotiations and other work issues have limited my trips to the park this season. After a few weeks away from Metro Bank Park I made my way back last night to see the Senators face-off against Bowie (Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles). With all the player moves since last weeks all-star break I wanted to check out the ‘new’ look Senators.

I know this is a Senators site but in all honesty my primary reason for attending the game was to see Baysox starting pitcher Brian Matusz (2008 1st round Draft Pick, 4th overall). Scouting reports on him are overall pretty positive but some people have issues with his delivery and command of his low-to-mid 90’s fastball; his delivery was pretty average but he didn’t show any command issues with his fastball last night. Only mistake he made was hanging an off-speed pitch that was drilled off the scoreboard in left field by Senators SS Freddie Bynum.

Scouts say he has 4 pitches in his arsenal, an above average fastball and changeup to go along with outstanding curve and slider. One thing I noticed is he works fast. He takes only a few warm up pitches before the inning starts and he is ready to go. During the inning, when he receives the ball back from the catcher he is ready to fire the ball back in. He knows what he wants to throw and usually has no problems locating his pitch. Fielders tend to ‘get the night off’ when he pitches.

So far this season Matusz, 22, has a combined record of 10-2 with a 2.06 ERA with Frederick (4-2, 2.16) and Bowie (6-0, 1.88). He pitched 105 innings and struck out 114 batters. Opposing hitters have a trifling .212 average vs. Matusz so far. He has earned Pitcher of the Week honors twice this season.

Two of Matusz's six starts for Bowie have been against the Senators (7/7 and 7/21). In those two starts he combined for 15 IP, 1 run and 15 strike outs. The game on 7/7 he 1 hit the Senators in 8 IP.

His days in Bowie are numbered. I highly expect him to be promoted very soon, with a possible call up to Baltimore in September. Predicting a pitchers long-term future is always difficult but I see him as a 1 or 2 starting pitcher at the MLB level.

PS - Photos will be posted in the next few days.

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Senators Offer State Employees Discount Tickets

From the Harrisburg Senators:

Recognizing the current state budget issues, the Senators are offering all state employees deeply reduced $1 tickets to Tuesday and Wednesday night’s games against the Bowie Baysox (Baltimore Orioles). Game time is 7:00pm for both games with gates opening at 6:00pm.


All the state employees have to do is show their state employment ID at the box office to receive the discount. The GA ticket allows fans to sit in the new outfield seats or simply hang out on the Capital BlueCross boardwalk


“These are tough times for the state employees. If coming out to the ballpark with their families for a few hours can help in some small way, then that would be great,” said Kevin Kulp, Senators president.


Tickets are available online at senatorsbaseball.com or by calling 231-4444. Tickets are also available at the Little Red Box Office built by Home in Hand located across from the stables on the Walnut Street Bridge landing. For the most current information about the Senators including their roster, please visit the Senators online.

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Player Moves....

The Harrisburg Senators announced today that LHP Yunior Novoa has been promoted to AAA Syracuse. In addition, RHP Brad Meyers has been placed on the disabled list retroactive to July 14 with a sore left foot.

The Senators are receiving from Potomac RH Jeff Mandel and LHP Atahualpa Severino. Both pitchers are joining the Senators for the first time.

Mandel was 8-4 with a 3.61 ERA in 17 starts with Potomac. He was selected in the 19th round of the 2007 draft by the Nationals.

Severino was 4-0 with a 2.54 ERA and 13 saves in 29 appearances. He was originally signed as a non-drafted free agent 2/13/04 by the Nationals.

With these moves the Sens roster stands at 24 active, 2 on the DL and 1 MLB rehab.

Other player moves from last week:
7/16/09 - SS Ian Desmond was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs
7/16/09 – 2B Jemel Spearman was activated from the DL
7/16/09 – SS Freddie Bynum was also activated from the DL
7/16/09 - SS Michael Martinez was assigned to Potomac
7/16/09 – Catcher, Sean Rooney was promoted from Potomac.
7/16/09 – Catcher, Javi Herrera was released.

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7/7/09: Player Moves

The Harrisburg Senators announced today that RHP Zack Segovia has been promoted to AAA Syracuse and INF Matt Whitney has been activated from the disabled list. In addition, RHP Brad Meyers has joined the Senators from Potomac and RHP Matt Avery has been released.

Segovia was 1-3 with a 2.36 ERA in 24 outings with the Senators. He struck out 39 batters in 44 innings while allowing 57 hits. Avery was 1-1 with a 4.53 ERA in 47.2 innings striking out 35 and allowing 54 hits.

Meyers is in AA for the first time. He was 6-2 with a 1.43 ERA in 14 starts/15 games for Potomac. He had struck out 65 in 88.1 innings while allowing just 71 hits.

With these moves, the Sens roster is at 24 active, 3 on the DL and 2 MLB rehabs.

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3 Senators Named to 2009 EL All-Star Team

The 2009 Eastern League All-Star rosters were announced today. The following players will be representing the Harrisburg Senators.

P Jack Spradlin* Harrisburg - Spradlin has posted a 4-1 record, 3 saves and a 2.22 ERA so far this season. He has pitched particularly well over his last 10 appearaces where he is 2-0, 2 saves and a .96 ERA. His days in Harrisburg could be coming to an end if he continues to pitch like this.

P Josh Wilkie Harrisburg – Relief pitcher Josh Wilkie is a combined 5-1 with a 2.68 ERA this season for the Harrisburg Senators. Wilkie will be making his second consecutive All-Star appearance (2008 Carolina League Mid-Season All-Star).

INF/OF Leonard Davis* Harrisburg – Davis is hitting .285 with 11 HR’s and 38 RBI’s in 70 games played. Davis, the Nationals 2008 Player of the Year, had a rough start to the 09 season hitting only .239 in April but has increased his productivity in May (.294) and June (.309).

*= Fan Vote

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Roster Moves: Dimitri Young, Novoa join roster; Whitney to DL

The Harrisburg Senators announced today that LHP Yunior Novoa has been activated from the disabled list while INF Matt Whitney has been placed on the disabled list. In addition to that move, INF Dimitri Young has joined the Senators continuing his MLB Rehab after appearing in three games with the GCL Nationals.

The Senators currently have two players on their roster on MLB Rehab (Matt Chico and Young).

When I talked with GM Randy Whitaker this past weekend the hope was that both players would be with the team when they return to Harrisburg this weekend (July 4-6).

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