Even with the ‘Cats on the road, there was still plenty of baseball going on at “The Joe” on Tuesday. The Houston Astros regional scouts held their annual open tryout at the ballpark yesterday morning. Players from Massachusetts, western New York, New York City, and of course the Capital Region were on hand to display their skills.

Evan Valenti talks with ValleyCats Manager Stubby Clapp about the team’s dominance after a 5-1 win against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, the emergence of catcher Tyler Heineman, and much much more! Remember to post your questions to the blog in the comments section, on our Facebook page, or tweeting @ValleyCats using #AskStubby to get your questions in for next time!

We couldn’t have asked for better weather during our second matinee game of the season. Comfortable temperatures, a nice breeze, and intermittent cloud cover made for a great Camp Day game on Monday, August 6th.

Good morning, ValleyCats fans! Your “Pregame Meal” today should be breakfast, as the ‘Cats and Scrappers will get underway at 11am, for this year’s second Camp Day here at “The Joe.” Tri-City will look to sweep Mahoning Valley here today, and improve to 5-1 on this home stand before the team hits the road. This will actually be the ‘Cats last home game until August 15th, as the upcoming road trip is a prelude to the All-Star break. The game itself is August 14th at Mahoning Valley.

-The ValleyCats came from behind last night to knock off the Scrappers 5-4, in what was truly a wacky game. Luis Morel, the starter for Mahoning Valley, had one of the oddest starts I’ve ever seen. After a nightmare start in which he walked 4 of the first 5 hitters he faced, resulting in a 2-0 lead for the ‘Cats, Morel instantly flipped the switch. On Superhero Night at the ballpark, Morel went into the phone booth and came out as Superman for the next 9 hitters. However, Morel then ran into more trouble in the 4th, and his night was done. It was as much of a “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” start, if I’ve ever seen one.

-The most amazing thing from the game last night? The ValleyCats, who lead the league in home runs and slugging percentage, had 9 hits, all of them for singles. Over the previous two games, the team had 10 extra base hits. That’s why you can’t predict baseball, even in the slightest.

-Going through some notes on the players before the game, I came across a little factoid: Andrew Aplin was drafted in the 33rd round of the 2009 MLB draft by the Yankees. I asked Aplin about that and he said, “It really made me think. I just really wanted to go play at Arizona State though.” He added that mostly, his choice to enter the draft was more or less to see where he’d be picked. I’d say his decision has turned out pretty well, and the time he spent at ASU increased his draft status by a mere 28 rounds.

-Brady Rodgers starts today for the ‘Cats, in search of his 5th win of the season. Now go back a few weeks, folks, to the last 11am game. Who started in that game for the team? I’ll give you a few seconds…..that’s right, Brady Rodgers. In that game, Rodgers got the win in his longest start of the year as he went 7 strong against Connecticut. For the ValleyCats sake, let’s hope Brady is a morning person for the second time in a row.

-I feel like I write about him every day, but Tyler Heineman is just on another planet right now. In his last 14 games, the ‘Cats catcher has 8 multi hit games, and has boosted his average all the way up to a stunning .373. He still doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title, but when he does, Andrew Aplin might have some competition.

-Like I mentioned earlier, the NYPL All-Star game is a week from tomorrow. You could easily make a case for at least 7 ValleyCats to make the NL affiliates roster. Aplin, Elkins, and West I’d say are the locks. In addition, I think one of the trio of Holmes-Rodgers-Velasquez will make the team, and so probably will Blake Ford, who leads the league in saves. I’d say its a good bet for at least 5 ‘Cats to make the roster, if not possibly more.

-No BP today, because who in their right mind would want to take batting practice at 9 in the morning. So, without further ado, here is the ValleyCats lineup for today’s action:

Sclafani SS

Elkins 2B

Aplin CF

Wierzbicki 1B

Heineman C

Tucker RF

Dineen 3B

Morales DH

Gulbransen LF

Brady Rodgers RHP

Superheroes Night at “The Joe” featured special appearances by some of our favorite super friends, including: Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Wonder Woman, and even one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

By Matt Appel (@mattappel)

The ValleyCats will aim to clinch yet another series win Sunday night with a victory of Mahoning Valley. Rain might have something to say about that, but as of right now, the plan to is play this ballgame, which is scheduled for a 5pm start. It’s Community Heroes night at “The Joe”, and in honor of that, players’ head shots on the scoreboard in left will be super-hero themed. Holy promotion, Batman!

-Hitters did not take BP before today’s game, but in what is becoming a Sunday home game tradition, the pitchers took some rips in the cage. The hurlers are divided into two teams: starters and relievers. Once the ball is put in play, it is up to Stubby Clapp, who is throwing the pitches, to decide if they contact would, in a real game situation, get down for a hit. The worst place for one of the pitchers to hit the ball is anywhere near center, because Stubby will typically say that Andrew Aplin would have ran it down. The starters hung on for a tough-earned 5-4 win over the relievers in today’s action. The highlight of the game was pitching coach Rick Aponte pinch-hitting and laying down a beautiful sac bunt. In warm-ups, Brady Rodgers went yard.

-There are some ‘Cats pitchers that actually have pretty-good looking swings. Vince Velasquez leads that group and the last time these two sides matched up, the righty hit 3 doubles. He is also the only one of the bunch that can switch-hit. For every Velasquez, there is a Juan Minaya, who by the way he swings, probably hasn’t hit in quite a long time. Probably a good call by Juan to decide to pursue the pitching route.

-While he was getting ready to hit, Jamaine Cotton approached me with a bit of an issue. Cotton, who pitched 2.1 spotless innings of relief last night, was a little upset that he didn’t get a mention on Twitter last night for his valiant effort. My apologies, Jamaine. Cotton has really excelled out the pen this year, with an ERA of 1.19 in 15 appearances.

-Huge night last night for the ValleyCats, as their three home runs powered their 8-3 win. The three bombs, including back to back shots by M.P. Cokinos and Dan Gulbransen, gave the ‘Cats the outright NYPL lead with 26 home runs. That’s really surprising to me, because when I think of the team offensively, I think of aggressive base running and timely hitting. The ValleyCats now lead the league in home runs, stolen bases, average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and on-base plus slugging percentage. It’s not hard to see why they are 33-13.

-I was so impressed with Neiko Johnson’s performance last night. Johnson, who doesn’t start more than twice a week at the most, made the most of a great opportunity to play second, his natural position. Neiko went 3-for-3, his first home run of 2012, and stole two bases as well. Stubby Clapp added after the game that he’s stuck with a pretty good problem right now: not enough spots in the lineup to play everyone who’s hitting. Neiko’s forced his way into tonight’s lineup, and how could he not after the way he played last night?

-Another good start for Lance Day Saturday night. Day improved to 3-0 in 4 starts for the team. With Day winning last night, the current 6 ValleyCat starters are a combined 23-6. Once again, not hard to see why they have been the best team in the league pretty much since the get-go.

-Joe Bircher starts tonight for the ‘Cats. The lefty only has one win this year, but as received two or three no decisions in games that he pitched well enough to win. He enters the game with a 3.86 ERA, the highest of any ‘Cats starter, but still respectable. He will oppose Luis Morel, who has bounced around between the staring rotation and ‘pen this year for the Scrappers.

-Batting Practice Hero: Today’s unconventional BPH award will go to Brady Rodgers, who not only went yard in the warmups, also added a key RBI single for the starters. Brady can hit, as this is his second impressive “Pitchers BP” performance. The former Sun Devil apparently can do no wrong.

Tonight’s Lineup:

Sclafani SS

Johnson CF

Elkins 2B

Wierzbick 1B

Heineman DH

Tucker RF

Dineen 3B

Morales C

Gulbransen LF

Bircher LHP

ValleyCats righty Lance Day during Pitcher’s Batting Practice Sunday

Time Warner’s Annual Customer Appreciation Night has become one of the biggest nights at “The Joe” each summer as fans are able to show their cable bill at the Box Office to receive four free tickets and concession vouchers. Saturday, August 4th, continued that trend as 5,304 fans packed the ballpark.

Time Warner Cable (TWC) set up interactive displays in the Picnic Pavilion that included a Whole House DVR, the Live TV app, IntelligentHome, Remote DVR Manager, Ultimate Internet, HBO and Max Go and more.

The YNN Stormchaser vehicle was also on hand offering fans their own chance to make a forecast.

A number of Cable Guys and Girls greeted fans as they entered the ballpark. They assisted customers throughout the night and also provided a number of prizes/giveaways.

Marcie Fraser from YNN tossed out a Ceremonial First Pitch and Innae Park, also from YNN, provide a wonderful rendition of the national anthem.

Special thanks to Greg Bobbitt and his staff as last night’s game was broadcast statewide on TW3!

The team on the field did not wilt on the big stage as they downed the Scrappers by a score of 8-3. Back-to-back home runs from M.P. Cokinos and Dan Gulbransen powered the offense early with Neiko Johnson adding a two-run shot for some insurance later in the game. Lance Day turned in another quality start from the rotation as he racked up 6 K’s in 6+ innings of work.

Join the ‘Cats this evening for Sunday Funday at “The Joe!” Family 4-Packs are still available and as always, there will be a pre-game catch and post-game run the bases for the kids. The team is also home for a matinee game on Monday morning. Don’t miss your last chance to catch the first-place ValleyCats before the All-Star break!

By Matt Appel (@mattappel)

After taking two of three from the Batavia Muckdogs, the ValleyCats will take on another Pickney division opponent, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. Over 7000 people expected to be in attendance tonight for the 3rd annual Time Warner Cable Customer Appreciation Night. The game is going to be televised, so this is a great opportunity to see the winningest team in the minors this year from the comfort of your own home. Now, to share what tidbits were picked up before the game, in the first weekend edition of the “Pregame Meal”:

-Late scratch from the lineup, as Jesse Wierzbicki will sit tonight. Whether this is related or not, both Andrew Aplin and M.P. Cokinos were taking turns fielding grounders at first. M.P. even made a few nice plays on line drives. If this illness of Wierzbicki’s carries a few more days, it might be interesting to see if one of those two gets a look at first. Preston Tucker will take Jesse’s spot in the field tonight. It is Tucker’s first appearance in the infield this season.

-Before the game, both myself and my broadcast partner Evan Valenti (@EvanValenti) were shooting a video with M.P. Cokinos, part of a series we will be bringing to you about how to keep your body in shape to play baseball. M.P. was showing us what he does to warm-up, what he does during the work out, and what he does afterwards. The latter part was quite awesome. Cokinos was talking about how he uses Muscle Milk to recover, but it turned into more of an ad for the protein shake than a lesson to young ballplayers. At one point, M.P. looked directly into the camera and said “Muscle Milk helps me refuel after a game or a workout, and that’s why I use Muscle Milk!” Priceless. Stay tuned for the finished product.

-If the ValleyCats can get a win tonight, they will be 33-13, 20 games over .500. For a team at any level to be 20 games over and not even 50 games into a season is simply incredible. The way they have pitched this year makes teams like this slump-proof more or less, because if you only give up 2-3 runs a night, your odds of winning are pretty darn high. For those who are curious, Tri-City’s best record for a full season is 50-25 and that came back in 2004. This year’s squad is well on their way to surpassing that mark.

-Last night, the ‘Cats as a team were just 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position, which was a rare off night for them in that department. As a team this year, the ‘Cats are hitting a very impressive .297 with runners on 2nd and 3rd. Amongst the players who have at least 25 at bats in those situations, no one is excelling more than Tyler Heineman, who has a robust .393 clip. Timely hitting has been one the most important features of the ‘Cats offensively in 2012.

-In the 9th inning of last night’s game, Andrew Aplin made a full-extension dive for a sinking liner in center for the second out of the inning. I think it was the best play any ValleyCat has made this year, at least at home. During BP, I asked Andrew how that felt, and he told me it “knocked the wind out of me for a second.” When then prompted about whether or not it was the best catch he ever made, he told me he made a better one in the Cape Cod league last summer, and told me to ask his then (and current, of course) teammate Kenny Long about it. When I approached Kenny, he told me that Aplin jumped over the fence, which was about shoulder-high, and landed on the other side, while securing the ball. The best part? It would have been a walk-off home run for the other team. Kenny said, “As soon as we saw he caught it, we all ran out there and made sure he was ok.”

-Catfish Elkins will make his first start of the year at short tonight. Elkins did play there during his college days at Dallas Baptist, but it should still be interesting to see him in maning the area between 2nd and 3rd.

-Batting Practice Hero: For the second time is as many BP sessions, today’s honor goes to Jarrod McKinney. In his final round, the ‘Cats right fielder tonight hit a long shot to left that was clearly leaving the park. But then it kept going and going and going, until it hit off the scoreboard. It was an absolute blast that stopped everyone in their tracks. Without question, it is the longest homer a righty has hit this year at The Joe.

-Lance Day taking the bump for the ‘Cats tonight. Since joining the rotation, Day has been very solid, recording a win in two of his three starts. The righty enters tonight with a 2-0 record and an ERA of 3.06

Tonight’s lineup:

Aplin CF

Johnson 2B

Elkins SS

Tucker 1B

Heineman C

McKinney RF

Dineen 3B

Cokinos DH

Gulbransen LF

Lance Day RHP

Buongiorno! Come Stai? (Translation: Good morning! How are you?)

Italian Night at “The Joe” is always a festive occasion and Friday, August 3rd was no different. Our friends from Home Brewed welcomed fans with some pre-game entertainment outside the main gate. SouthPaw even got into the act as he joined the jam.

 

 

Ciao, ValleyCats faithful! I’m greeting you in Italian because tonight is Italian Night at The Joe. Very large crowd expected here in attendance tonight for the finale of this three game set against the Muckdogs of Batavia. No batting practice today, as the ‘Cats players took the first part of the day to make a pilgrimage to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. But don’t worry, still plenty of news, notes, and nuggets to pass along:

-The ‘Cats, as you probably already know, snapped out of their mini-slide last night with a strong 6-2 victory, led of course by the sensational Aaron “Kanye” West (no one actually calls him that, fyi). It was West’s 6th victory of the season, which leads the NYPL, and the 5th straight start in which he walked away with the win. Here’s proof of how good the former Washington Huskie has been in 2012: by allowing only one run in 6 innings of two-hit ball, his era actually rose, from 0.97 to 1.05. West has been the most consistent hurler for Tri-City this year, and is beyond deserving of an All-Star nod. Like I mentioned yesterday, I think he should wind up starting the AL-NL matchup August 14th at Mahoning Valley.

-Catfish Elkins got the ‘Cats on the scoreboard last night with a solo blast in the third. That home run also accounted for the ValleyCats first run of the series. But did you know that it was the first home run Elkins had hit right-handed this year? Well, now you do. The switch-hitting second baseman had three previous homers, all from the left side. Catfish said after the game, “I hadn’t squared up a ball well from the right side in a while, so that one felt good.”

-Tonight’s game is the rubber match of the series, as these teams split the first two games. The ValleyCats, as you might expect from a team with the best record in all of Minor League Baseball, have an incredible record in series’ this year. Tri-City 10-1-5 in series play this season, with their only series loss coming during the three-game sweep at home versus State College. Winning series after series is a good way to compile the kind of record the ‘Cats have this year, so we shall see if they can continue their torrid series-winning pace with a victory tonight.

-I’m definitely stating the obvious here, but the ValleyCats, like most teams, play better when they play good defense. Last night’s ballgame was the 16th game that the ‘Cats did not make an error, and have a 15-1 record in those contests. On the contrary, Tri-City is only 16-12 when the commit an error.

-How much can change in a year? Well, on this date in 2011, the ValleyCats were in the midst of a losing streak, and found themselves at 17-27. 365 days later, they are 31-13, an improvement of 14 games. Good news for not only the ValleyCats (obviously), but Houston as well .

-I mentioned that the ValleyCats have the best minor league record, after they briefly lost that title yesterday. The Elizabethton Twins of the Appalachian League had the highest winning percentage Thursday after Tri-City dropped their game on Wednesday.

-Brian Holmes takes the bump for the ‘Cats tonight. Holmes is coming off what was arguably the best start in the entire league. On July 27th, Holmes took a perfect game into the 7th and final inning of the 2nd game of double header versus Hudson Valley, before allowing a single to the leadoff hitter. Holmes has quietly become one of Tri-City’s best starters, a very crowded discussion, and comes into tonight’s start with a 4-1 record and a 2.55 ERA. Interestingly enough, those are the exact same numbers as Vincent Velasquez.

Tonight’s lineup:

Sclafani SS

Elkins 2B

Aplin CF

Wierzbicki 1B

Heineman DH

Tucker RF

Dineen 3B

Morales C

Gulbransen LF

LHP-Brian Holmes

Thursday was Summer Olympics Night at “The Joe” as the ‘Cats defeated the Muckdogs by the score of 6-2. Aaron West allowed just one run as he turned in another sparkling performance. Catfish Elkins started the scoring in the 3rd with his 4th home run of the season. Heineman, Tucker, Morales, and Dineen all had multi-hit games to help pace the offense.

By Matt Appel (@mattappel)

Hey ‘Cats fans! Back again with the second installment of the “Pregame Meal.” Here’s all your pre-game info and coverage as the ValleyCats try to break their mini 2-game slide against Batavia with first pitch at 7 pm:

-Aaron West, who, for my money, has been the ValleyCats best pitcher this year, takes the mound tonight. West has won his last 4 starts consecutively entering this start. On the year, West is 5-0 with an ERA of 0.97, and very well might be the starter in the NYPL All-Star Game for the NL team. At the very least, he has a great case to do so. Opposing him is Tyler Melling, a lefty for Batavia.

-Bit of a locker-room mess up before batting practice today, as the jerseys of Neiko Johnson and Joe Sclafani were swapped. Needless to say, I was a little bit confused to see Neiko wearing #4 and Joe wearing #3, as each wears the other number. I would imagine this snafu probably won’t carry into actual game action. However, it could be a good decoy to confuse opponents. I’ll see what Stubby thinks.

-Over the course of the past month, both Jarrod McKinney and Catfish Elkins have been very vocal about their displeasure with the BP music, and requested we play more country. So today, we debuted a playlist helped put together by those two, which resulted in McKinney taking the field and dancing. Sadly, I do not have video evidence of this. However, it seems those were the only two that enjoyed the switch. Andrew Aplin and Jesse Wierzbicki were the biggest critics of the playlist. Neiko Johnson, upon request, gave us some hip hop to play in the future. Stay tuned folks.

-For those who have been to The Joe since Preston Tucker joined the team, you might have noticed that he is the only ‘Cat who hits without batting gloves. In today’s game, this style of hitting is a tad unconventional, especially for players at this level. I wanted to know if there was any real reason for Tucker’s lack of gloves, or maybe where he got it from. He told me it was a “comfort thing” and that it started in his junior year of college to help him get out of a slump. He used it from then on, and has only used the gloves in select games since then. I asked him if it ever hurts his hands to hit like that and Preston told me, “Yeah of course, I get blisters all the time.”

-Batting Practice Hero: I guess his lack of batting gloves is indeed a comfort thing, as today’s BPH is Preston Tucker. Tucker had the most impressive stretch out of anyone in BP today, hitting a home run in his 3rd set and then following it up with two balls off the right-center field wall. The ball really does jump off of his bat. Day in and day out, Tucker catches your eye just about as much as anyone on the roster. A close second for BPH today goes to Joe Sclafani, who according to Jesse Wierzbicki, hit his first right-handed BP homer of the year today.

-Following up a tidbit from yesterday, after last night’s loss, the ‘Cats no longer have the best win percentage in all the minors. That accolade now belongs to the Elizabethton Twins of the Appalachian League. But hey, let’s not look down on Tri-Cities .698 clip, which is still pretty darn good.

-Player to look for: Tyler Heineman has been red-hot of late. He has 4 multi-hit games in his last 10, and is now 2nd on the team with a .345 average. Heineman, tonight’s DH, is hitting 5th.

Tonights Lineup:

Sclafani SS

Elkins 2B

Aplin CF

Wierzbicki 1B

Heineman DH

Tucker RF

McKinney LF

Morales C

Dineen 3B

RHP-Aaron West

Andrew Aplin, the NYPL’s leading hitter, might try his luck with two bats tonight.

You guys have brought up some great questions. We’ll be having another Stubby Session later this week. Place your questions in the comments section and we will ask him the best ones!

The ValleyCats 5th Annual Going Green Night with the first 1,200 fans receiving a reusable grocery bag as they entered the stadium. Our green vendor fair featured a number of local and regional companies displaying on the concourse.

By Matt Appel (@mattappel)

Hey ValleyCats fans! Today we are excited to unveil the newest ‘Cats Corner feature: Pre Game Meal. I’ll bring you all the pre-game and batting practice tidbits I can uncover, as well as going through the ValleyCats starting lineup for each game.

-Through hard work and hours of extensive research, we have found that the ValleyCats, at .714 have the highest winning percentage in all of Minor League Baseball. Pretty impressive, huh? The ‘Cats enter tonight’s ballgame against the Batavia Muckdogs at 30-12, and have a 10 game lead in the Stedler Division. In fact, Tri-City is the only team in the Stedler with a record above .500

-42 games into this season, the ValleyCats leader in RBI’s is…….Joe Sclafani. You read that right, folks. The ‘Cats shortstop has surpassed Jesse Wierzbicki, Jobduan Morales, and Dan Gulbransen, all who have 24 ribbies, with 26 of his own. I asked Joe what he thought about leading the team, and he gave a pretty good answer. “It’s pretty easy to lead the team in RBI’s when every time you come up, there are guys on 2nd and 3rd.”

-Emilio King slugged his first home runs of the year while the team was on the road in Auburn. When I asked him how that long ball felt, he put on a huge grin, and simply said “Good” with a chuckle. I’m sure Stubby & Co. would love to see King, who has struggled at points this year, start to show some power.

-Behind the cage today, Chris Sale, the left-handed fire throwing stud for the Chicago White Sox, was brought up in conversation. ‘Cats outfielder Dan Gulbransen, upon hearing Sale’s name, interjected with his own experience facing Sale. The at-bat came when Sale was a junior at Florida Gulf Coast. According to Gulbransen, “I fouled one ball off of him, and that was about it.”

-Batting Practice Hero: Today’s Batting Practice Hero award goes to none other than Jarrod McKinney. During his final round of batting practice, on what was I believe his final swing, McKinney went down on one knee to reach for a pitch from Stubby, and lined it over the left-field wall for a home run. McKinney’s homer was lauded as being “Adrian Beltre’d” as the Rangers third basemen is known for hitting dingers in a similar manner.

-Conflicting reports out of the ValleyCats clubhouse about what happened yesterday on a fishing trip between Jarrod McKinney and Catfish Elkins. According to McKinney, after Elkins caught, get this, a catfish 5 minutes into their adventure, the ‘Cats 2nd basemen told McKinney he did not properly know how to unhook the fish. McKinney’s gripe with Catfish was “if you’re name is Catfish, you should know how to unhook one.” Elkins defense was that before they went out fishing, he had alerted Jarrod that he would need his assistance, and then from the first catch on, he would be good to go on his own. Catfish also noted, something McKinney failed to mention, that the catfish he caught was the only catch between the two of them the entire day. More to follow.

Tonight’s lineup:

Sclafani SS

Elkins 2B

Aplin CF

Wierzbick 1B

Heineman C

Tucker RF

McKinney DH

Gulbransen LF

Johnson 3B

RHP-Vincent Velasquez

M.P. Cokinos gets some batting tips from Houston Astros instructor Ty Van Burkleo