The Huskers have invaded the NFC East

Out of the 7 University of Nebraska Huskers football players drafted into the NFL, 5 of the players are headed to play in the NFC East. Prince Amukamara (CB) was drafted by the New York Giants in the 1st round, the 19th player drafted overall. 3 players were drafted by the Washington Redskins; Roy Helu Jr (RB) was drafted in the 4th round, DeJon Gomes (DB) in the 5th round, and Niles Paul (WR) also in the 5th round. Alex Henery (K) was drafted in the 4th round by the Philadelphia Eagles.

As a Cowboys and Huskers fan I have mixed feelings. I'm glad to see Husker players make it to the next level but to rivals not so much.

Prince Amukamara in his 4 year college career recorded 155 tackles (95 solo and 60 assisted), 4 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 5 interceptions. Prince was a unanimous selection to the First-Team Big 12 in 2010.

Roy Helu Jr. in 4 years of college collected 3,404 rushing yards and 27 rushing touchdowns. On October 30th the University of Nebraska Huskers played the University of Missouri Tigers when Roy beat out the former school record held by Colvin Jones (294 rushing yards) for rushing yards in a game with a 307 rushing yards game.

Alex Henery also played all 4 years in college. He made 68 field goals out of 76 attempts and he made 193 extra points out of 194 attempts. He was 92% accurate on field goals with the Huskers. Alex holds the Nebraska school record for scoring (397 points), most consecutive made field goals (18), most made field goals in a season (24 in 2009), most made field goals in his collegiate career (68), and he holds the record for longest field goal at Memorial Stadium (and school record) 57 yards vs Colorado.

DeJon Gomes collegiate carrer was only 2 seasons. Gomes had 145 tackles (76 solo and 69 assisted tackles), 1 sack, forced 5 fumbles, 7 interceptions, and 1 touchdown.

Niles Paul played all 4 years, in his freshman season he only had 1 reception though. In his career he had 103 receptions for 1,532 yards and 5 touchdowns. He had 9 carries for 56 yards and 1 touchdown.

*Keith Williams (OL) was drafted in the 6th round by Pittsburgh Steelers
*Eric Hagg (DB) drafted in the 7th round by the Cleveland Browns

Some facts from the Huskers twitter feed (@Huskers):

• Prince Amukamara is the 334th Husker to be drafted 1st round in the NFL Draft
• This is the 42nd consecutive year that the Huskers have had 2 or more players picked in the same draft
• 1st time that the Huskers have had back-to-back years of 1st round picks since 1997 & 1998
• Most Huskers (7) drafted in the NFL Draft since 7 was drafted in 2001
• Last time at least 2 players were drafted by the same team in the same draft was in 2003 and the last time at least 3 players were drafted was in 1995

Photo Credits:

• Prince Amukamara- http://www.christianpost.com/
• Roy Helu Jr.- http://www.jodatoa.blogspot.com
• Alex Henery- http://www.huskers.com/
• DeJon Gomes- http://www.huskers.com
• Niles Paul- http://www.bettor.com/

 Links:

• Huskers twitter feed: http://twitter.com/Huskers 
• Helu Jr. runs past Mizzou for school record; Mizzou vs. Nebraska- Biased Sports: http://bit.ly/kJlFBQ
• Player stats: http://www.espn.com/ and http://huskers.com/



Marlins score 5 in the 1st as they win after a 9th inning scare; Florida Marlins vs. Cincinnati Reds

The Marlins had 10 at bats and hit for the cycle (the team) in the top of the 1st inning versus the Reds. Emilio Bonifacio lead of the game with a triple. Infante brought Emilio in for the 1st run of the game and long inning while sacrificing himself with a ground out. Hanley Ramirez doubled to right field, his 5th double on the season, Gaby Sanchez was walked by Reds starter Travis Wood and Mike Stanton popped out for the 2nd out. John Buck for the 2nd time in the season took the baseball out of the park, this time a 3 run home run (the other was his grand slam on opening day). The Marlins were up 4-0 at this point with 2 outs. Wes Helms singled to center field and Scott Cousins was walked. Javier Vazquez, Marlins starting pitcher, kept the inning going with an RBI single giving the Marlins the 5-0 lead. Emilio who started off the inning, ended the inning with a ground out to shortstop who got the force out at 2nd to end the long top of the 1st. Travis Wood had 45 pitches in the 1st inning.

The Marlins would get 2 more runs in the top 4th from a 2 RBI single off the bat off Hanley Ramirez bringing in Javier Vazquez (lead off the inning with a single), and Emilio Bonifacio (doubled after Vazquez).

The Marlins, as a team, batted .444 against starter Travis Wood and .176 off the Reds bullpen, Carlos Fisher, Jordan Smith, Nick Masset, and Bill Bray. Lead off man Emilio Bonifacio went 2-5 in the game with a double and triple. Gaby Sanchez went 2-3 with 2 singles and a walk. Javier Vazquez went 2-2 with 2 singles and is batting a respectable .500 (3-6 on the season).

The Reds first 4 runs were off home runs; a solo home run in the 1st by Jay Bruce and a 3 run homer by Jeremy Hermida in the 4th. The game would stay 7-4 until Leo Nuñez would come into close the game off for the Marlins in the bottom of the 9th. Leo got the lead off batter in the 9th out but faced trouble in the next batters to come up. Ramon Hernadez with a 1 out double to center field, Paul Janish then brings Hernadez with Reds back-to-back doubles (7-5 Marlins), pinch hitter in Chris Heisey struck out swinging for the 2nd out, Drew Stubbs singled in Janish (7-6 Marlins), but Leo got Jay Bruce looking for the last out. Leo would still secure the win and a save. Leo is 8-for-8 for saves.

No Reds player had a multiple hit game while the Marlins had 4 players with multiple hits (2); Emilio Bonifacio, Hanley Ramirez, Gaby Sanchez, and Javier Vazquez.

Javier Vazquez (2-2) recieved the winning nod after pitching 6 innings allowing 4 hits, 4 runs all earned, 2 home runs, walking 3, and striking out 3. Travis Wood (1-3) recieved the loss after pitching just 3.1 innings allowing 8 hits, 7 runs all earned, 1 home run, walking 2, and striking out 3.

Dodgers avoid a Marlin sweep in the 10th inning; Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Florida Marlins

Anibal Sanchez's first start since throwing a complete game where he had a no-hit bid going into the 9th. Anibal pitched for 5 innings allowing for 4 hits, 3 runs all earned, 1 home run, walked 1, and striked out 4.

The Marlins scored 4 runs in the 2nd to give them a 4-0 lead thanks to an RBI single by Brett Hayes and a bases loaded 3 RBI double by Chris Coghlan. The Marlins held on to this lead until the top of the 4th where the Dodgers scored 3 thanks to a 3 run home run by Rod Barajas off of Anibal. The Dodgers go on to tie the game at 4 in the top of the 7th as Juan Uribe doubled bringing in Aaron Miles from 3rd. Miles was at 2nd but was awarded 3rd as Ryan Webb balked.

The Marlins looked to have a rally in the 9th as lead off man in Greg Dobbs singled off of Matt Guerrier (Dobbs then replaced by a pinch runner, Osvaldo Martinez), Emilio Bonifacio singled on a bunt, Brett Hayes sacrificed himself and got the runners to 2nd and 3rd with now just 1 out, Scott Cousins struck out, and John Buck came into pinch hit and grounded out to shortstop.

Top of the 10th Brian Sanches came to the mound and allowed a lead off home run to Andre Ethier giving the Dodgers the 5-4 lead. Sanches got the next 3 out in order with a strike out. The Marlins offense couldn't pull off another come-from-behind win as Vincente Padilla came into close for the Dodgers and pitched a perfect 10th. Omar Infante grounded out to shortstop, Hanley Ramirez grounded out to 3rd base, and Gaby Sanchez grounded out to 2nd base to end the game. Brian Sanches with the losing decision, Matt Guerrier with the win, and Vincente Padilla with the save.

Dodgers avoid the sweep and get back to .500 on the season with a record of 13-13 while the Marlins fall to 15-8 and to 2nd place in the NL East as the Philadelphia Phillies won 8-4 versus the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Suns come from behind to win in the 9th; Tennessee Smokies vs. Jacksonville Suns

The Suns starter Darin Downs pitched a great 6 innings of work allowing 4 hits, walking none, striking out 3, but did allow a run, the only run of the game until the 9th. Jhan Marinez pitched in relief in the 7th allowed only a walk and a strike out, Dan Jennings pitched a perfect 8th, and Sandy Rosario despite a rough 9th in Monday's game was able to throw a perfect 9th with a strike out and recieve the winning nod.

The Smokies starter Robert Whitenack pitched 6 innings as well and allowed 3 hits, no walks, struck out 3, and gave up no runs. Blake Parker came into relief for 2 innings allowing only 1 hit, walking none as well, struck out 1, and gave up no runs. The Smokies closer David Cales would blow the save and recieve the loss as he allowed 3 hits, walk 2 (1 was intentional), strike out none, and allow 2 earned runs in 0.1 innings of work in the bottom of the 9th.

The Smokies 3 hits of 4 and only run came in the 2nd inning. Rebel Ridling lead off with a ground out, Josh Vitters singled off Downs to left field, Blake Lalli singled to right field, James Adduci grounded out and reached 1st safely as it was a fielders choice to get the out at 2nd, Nate Samson then with the only RBI on a single to center field, and Robert Whitenack, the Smokies pitcher, left 2 on base as he grounded out to 2nd base.

Whitenack had a perfect game going until the bottom of the 4th when Jake Smolinski singled with 2 outs but was left on base by Kyle Skipworth. 5th inning was another perfect inning for Whitenack. In the 6th Alex Romero singled with 1 out and Kevin Mattison singled right after him but Mattison misjudged the ball and tried for 2 and was tagged out inbetween 1st and 2nd for the 2nd out as Romero got to 3rd, and Chris Gutierrez popped out to 2nd base leaving Romero in scoring position. Smolinski would lead off with a single in the 7th, off of Blake Parker, but then was out in a double play from a grounder to 2nd base off the bat of Skipworth and Jorge Padilla would get the 3rd out for the Smokies on a ground out to shortstop. A perfect 8th for Blake Parker has he got Ben Lasater, Paul Gran, and Jim Negyrch out in order.

The Suns down 1-0 headed to the bottom of the 9th with Erik Lis in to lead off. Lis singled to right field off of David Cales, Mattison hits a grounder to 1st base and the Smokies 1st baseman Josh Vitters elected to get the out at 2nd, Gutierrez walked,  Smolinski hit the game tieing single that brought in Mattison, and Cales intentionally walked Skipworth to fill the bases for Padilla. Padilla then knocked the ball into right field to bring in the game winning run in Gutierrez with 1 out.

Marlins Beat the Dodgers Dramatically in the 9th

The Marlins strike first in the bottom of the 3rd by a solo home run by Chris Coghlan. The Dodgers answer back in the top of the 4th with lead off single by Jamey Carroll and then 2 outs later Jerry Sands brought him home on a single to center field.

Coghlan hit another solo home run in the bottom of the 6th to give the Marlins the lead back at 2-1. Dodgers again answer back in the next half inning with a ground out that brought in Tony Gwynn Jr. by Aaron Miles and an RBI single by Jamey Carroll to first tie the game and then to give the Dodgers their first lead at 3-2. James Loney hit an RBI single in the top of the 8th to extend the Dodger lead to 4-2. Gaby Sanchez got the Marlins deficit back to 1 with a RBI single with 1 out in the bottom of the 8th bringing Coghlan in, 4-3 Dodgers. Coghlan at this point had scored all of the Marlins runs.

Brian Sanches comes into relieve in the top of the 9th and throws a perfect inning. In the bottom of the 9th Greg Dobbs struck out hitting lead off and John Buck grounded out for the 2nd out, looked like Jonathan Broxton would recieve the save. Broxton then walked Emilio Bonifacio, the Marlins bring in Hanley Ramirez to pinch hit for Donnie Murphy as Hanley had the day off since he had been in a slump, Hanley gets the off the bench single continuing hope for the Marlins, Scott Cousins reached 1st due to a fielding error on Jamey Carroll and the Marlins tieing run in Emilio Bonifacio scored, Broxton intentionally walked Coghlan, and Omar Infante hit a walk off single bringing in the game winning run in Hanley Ramirez.

Marlins win 4-3. Brian Sanches recieved the win and Jonathan Broxton with the loss. Marlins are now 14-7 on the season.

Graham Taylor falls in his 2nd appearance since Tommy John surgery; Tennessee Smokies vs. Jacksonville Suns

Graham Taylor last appearance pitching, before having to get Tommy John surgery during the 2009 offseason and missing all of the 2010 season, was in a win versus the Tennessee Smokies in the 2009 Southern League Championship series where the Jacksonville Suns would wind up winning the championship in Tennessee.

Taylor got the loss in this particular regular season game after allowing 11 hits, 6 runs, 5 earned runs, 2 home runs, and struck out only 2 in 6 innings. In the 2nd, after Taylor had given up a lead off double to Blake Lalli, Nate Samson hit a 2 run home run tieing the game at 2 after the Suns had a 2 run shot of their own by Jake Smolinski in the 1st. Taylor gave up another single right after the home run to Marwin Gonzalez but was able to get the 1st out of the inning by picking him off at 1st base with the help of 1st baseman Ben Lasater. In the 3rd Taylor gave up another lead off single, to DJ LeMahieu, the next 2 batters flew out, but then with 2 outs Josh Vitters homered off of Graham to give the Smokies the lead at 4-2. Lalli backed up the home run with a double. Nate Samson singled on a fly ball to center field, Lalli scores as Jorge Padilla, center fielder, threw in time to catcher Luke Montz who tagged in time but without the ball in his glove, error on Montz and an unearned run for Taylor (6-2 Smokies). Taylor would then go on throwing perfect 4th and 5th innings and just allowed 1 hit, a double, in the 6th.

Luke Montz made up for his error in the 3rd with a solo home run in the 5th, sadly this wasn't enough to spark the Suns offense and start a rally. The Suns only runs were off home runs by Smolinski and Montz. The Suns as a team batted a .278 in the game with 10 hits versus the Smokies 13 hits with a team average of .342 in the game. Daniel Jennings gave up a solo home run to Matthew Spencer, supposedly known as the Morsetown Masher as he likes to hit home runs, which was the 3rd Smokie home run in the game and 5th in the game including the 2 Suns home runs.

The Suns fall 7-3 to the team they have beaten twice consecutively in the Southern League Championship series to win back-to-back championships.

Anibal jinxed out of a no-hitter by MLB Network; Colorado Rockies vs. Florida Marlins

Anibal Sanchez pitched a no-hitter through 8 innings even though the Rockies had a run in the 1st. The run came off an missed catch error on Gaby Sanchez to get a routine out at 1st off an assist from Emilio Bonifacio. Dexter Fowler the leadoff hitter for the Rockies in the 9th ended Anibal's no-hitter with a single. Edwin Rodriguez, Marlins manager, allowed Anibal to finish the game which was the first complete game for any of the Marlins starting pitchers on the season. Anibal recieved the winning decision as the Marlins won 4-1 and as he pitched a 1-hitter.

MLB Network yesterday kept repeating and repeating that Josh Beckett and Roy Oswalt were pitching no-hitters. In the top of the 6th with a lead off single Beckett lost his no-hit bid after MLB Network analysts said 6 times in 3 sentences that he was pitching a no-hitter. After that then they said that Oswalt was the #1 story so since I was angry at them I helped them also jinx Oswalt. Later one of the analysts was talking about a good game a Mariners pitcher was pitching, not a no-hitter, and asked the other analysts not to jinx him too. The host says well he's not pitching a no-hitter, so they know they were doing wrong yet the continued to persistently announce they are pitching a no-hitter instead of using different wording or just showing the box score and circling the 0 hits. They also did the same thing to JJ two times, the 1st game I was able to watch the actual broadcast so didn't have to hear MLB Network jinx him and the 2nd game I was watching a Red Sox game and following the Marlins game on Game Day. So today since the Marlins game was telecasted and I was told that MLB Network was showing the game while Anibal was pitching. So when the Marlins were batting and during breaks all they were saying was Anibal is pitching a no-hitter and showing stats of when he had pitched a no-hitter as a rookie in 2006 vs. the Diamondbacks.

On a side note; Chris Coghlan hit his 5th career lead off home run (2nd home run of the season) and Gaby Sanchez hit his 2nd season home run, both solo shots. Omar Infante went 2-3 who has been a little off offensively, batting an overall average of .233. Scott Cousins started in left field due to Logan Morrison being put on the disabled list after the game last night, he went 0-4 in the game after going 2-4 last night with his first career home run, a grand slam.

Rockies' sluggers Carlos Gonzalez went 0-4 with 2 strike outs and Troy Tulowitzki went 0-3 with no strike outs.


Link to box score- MLB.com: http://atmlb.com/eBpkSi

The Fish almost hit for the home run cycle; Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Florida Marlins

In Fenway Park on April 11, 2011 going into the game a somewhat of a nobody to baseball fans and Tampa Bay fans, Sam Fuld, but after his performance he was being known on twitter by "The Legend of Sam Fuld" has he made several highlight reel catches and almost hit for the cycle. Sam Fuld (in order) hit a home run, double, triple, and another double making him a single short of the cycle.

I think I maybe the only one who thinks it would be cool for a team to hit for the home run cycle, as I call a team hitting a solo home run, 2 run home run, 3 run home run, and grand slam in the same game. Anyways the Marlins were off a 2 run home run for hitting for the "home run cycle." In the 2nd inning, after Gaby Sanchez lead off the inning with a walk, Greg Dobbs then singled, and Mike Stanton walked, this loaded the bases with no outs for Scott Cousins who becomes the hero of the game with taking his first pitch into the right field stands! This was Scott's first home run of his major league career on his 12th at bat of the season, Mike Stanton also hit a grand slam for his 1st home run last season. In the bottom of the 3rd, after Mike Stanton walked with 1 out and Scott Cousins doubled, Brett Hayes hit a 3 run home run to left field. In the bottom of the 5th Mike Stanton lead off with a solo home run, his first home run of the season. Mike's home run was the last run of the game for the Marlins, they lead 9-2 at this point.

The Pirates had a home run of their own in the top of the 2nd, a solo home run by Pedro Alvarez. Marlins starter Chris Volstad was taken out of the game in the top of the 6th after allowing a single and 2 walks with only 1 out in the 6th. Volstad was replaced by Randy Choate. Choate then allowed a RBI single to the first batter he faced. Choate was then replaced by Ryan Webb. Webb also gave up a RBI single, Webb then hit Josh Rodriguez with a pitch walking in a run. All runs scored were put onto Volstad's ERA as they were all placed on base by Volstad. Pirates would make what used to be a 7 run lead for the Marlins to a 4 run lead.

Marlins win 9-5. Chris Volstad got the winning decision despite allowing 4 hits, 5 earned runs (1 home run), walked 3, and striked out 5. Volstad is 1-1 on the season. Leo Nunez went into close in the top of the 9th but it wasn't a save opportunity, therefore no save, but he allowed 1 hit and striked out 1 while clinching the Marlins win. With this win the Marlins are tied with the Phillies for 1st, though the Phillies may retake full possession of 1st with a win in San Diego as their game began right after the Marlins game ended.

Also if anyone uses twitter or cares, Scott Cousins trended worldwide after he hit the grand slam.

Link to box score/videos of the home runs- MLB.com: http://atmlb.com/eZjEEy

Links to Marlins days headlines:
Marlins sweep the Pirates- Marlins.com: http://atmlb.com/fG6dsq
Marlins outfielder Logan Morrison out 2-4 weeks with left foot sprain- Marlins.com: http://atmlb.com/fQhEBA
Cousins may get expanded role- Marlins.com: http://atmlb.com/i9Q3oE

Reponse to "Know when you've out grown the uniform" by John Steigerwald

As every sports fan and even non sports fans know, on MLB Opening Day a Giants fan, Brian Stow, was beaten into a coma by a Dodger fan in Los Angeles after the Dodgers defeated the Giants. I came across a horrendous article about this incident that made me sick to my stomach.

In an article for Observer-Reporter.com, John Steigerwald talks about what happened to Brian Stow and pretty much blames him for what happened. Steigerwald says grown adults shouldn't be wearing their favorite teams jerseys and that they all need to grow up because they aren't part of the 'team'.

How can you blame a person for being attacked for just wearing a teams jersey? According to his friends account he didn't do anything besides try to get to his car peacefully and the Dodger fan attacked him from behind. They knew that they'd have to watch their backs and every fan knows they do if they go see their team in rival territory but this was beyond anything other fans have done to each other without both sides saying or doing something to each other it was just out of the blue. On the part about not wearing your favorite jersey, that's just bull shit. Every fan wants to show their support to their team by wearing a hat, shirt, or a jersey. I really don't see what is childish about wearing your teams jersey to a game. Fans know we aren't part of the team and most players, mainly young ones, love seeing fans wearing their jersey. This guy is just absolutely ridiculous and should of never posted this article. It's his opinion but he should of known it would blow up and that 99.9% of people would not agree, and especially the way he wrote it. I hope the Stow family has not read this article.

I will continue to wear my teams gear to games even if it's at a rival of my teams park. If I ever was to see the Red Sox play at Yankee stadium, I'd still wear my Kevin Youkilis jersey and Red Sox hat but I would just be careful what I say and what I do. It was a great thing the Giants and Dodgers did pre-game of Game 1 in the next series between each other this time in San Francisco telling the fans to be civil and leave the rivalry on the field and between the players. I hope Brian Stow recovers, he won't be 100% the same though, and my thoughts are with his wife, kids, and whole family.

Link to article by Steigerwald- Observer-Reporter.com: http://bit.ly/fcXqVv
Link to Stow's friends account of what happened- ESPN: http://es.pn/ggR2kp

The Suns and Generals split their first double header of the season; Jacksonville Suns vs. Jackson Generals

In the 1st game of the 7 inning double header, the Generals starting pitcher Erasmo Ramirez was perfect through 5.2 innings. Jim Negrych of the Suns was able to get a 2 out single in the 6th to stop the perfect game for Ramirez. Ramirez wouldn't have a shut out game either as he gave up a run to the Suns in the top of the 7th; Alex Romero reached 1st by way of a fielding error made by 1st baseman Rich Poythress with 1 out, Jorge Padilla popped out to 2nd baseman Scott Savastano for out #2, and Erik Lis hit an RBI single tieing the game at 1. Lis was replaced by Ben Lasater as a pinch runner and as Jake Smolinski batted Lasater was able to reach 2nd from a passed ball by catcher Brandon Bantz but Smolinski left Lasater at 2nd as he grounded out to first base. The Suns and Generals weren't able to score in the 7th to end the game so it went into extra innings, which normally wouldn't be but since it was a 7 inning game due to it being a double header. In the 8th inning neither team could put up a run, but in the 8th inning the Suns Alex Romero lead off with a single, Padilla reached 1st on a throwing error by the shotstop Nate Tenbrink and brought Romero to 3rd base, Lasater in his first at bat of the game hit an RBI single giving the Suns a 2-1 lead in the top of the 9th, extra innings, Smolinski hit a sac bunt to first to move the runners to 2nd and 3rd, the Generals intentionally walked Kyle Skipworth loading the bases, Paul Gran flied out to right field for the 2nd out, and Negrych leaves the bases loaded as he grounds out to 1st base. The Suns lead 2-1 and Jhan Marinez looks to hold the Generals to no runs in the 9th to get the save and a Suns win in Game 1 of the double header. Marinez couldn't hold the Generals and gave up the lead and the win. Generals won in the 9th with 2 runs with a score of 3-2.

The Suns starting pitcher Joseph O'Gara pitched 7 innings allowing 5 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, and struck out 3. Corey Madden came in to relieve O'Gara in the 8th, throwing a perfect 8th. Jhan Marinez comes into the game in the 9th and allowed 3 hits (a double and 2 singles), 2 earned runs, a walk, and Marinez recieves the loss.

Suns drop Game 1 of the double header to the Jackson Generals.


Game 2 also went to 9 innings, extra innings, but this time the Suns get the win. The game was tied at 6 all the way until the top of the 9th when Chris Gutierrez lead off with a walk, Kevin Mattison reached first on a bunt single, Ryan Curry hits a RBI single (7-6 Suns), Alex Romero hit a 2 RBI double (9-6 Suns), Jorge Padilla walked, Erik Lis hits a RBI single (10-6 Suns), Luke Montz strikes out for the 1st out, and Ben Lasater hit a 3 run home run off Brian Moran (13-6 Suns). Moran is pulled after pitching 0.1 innings. Scott Savastano came into relieve (was 2nd baseman in Game 1); gave up a single to Paul Gran, walked Gutierrez (who lead off the inning with a walk), Mattison popped out in foul territory for the 2nd out, and Ryan Curry grounded out for the 3rd out. Suns score 7 in the top of the 9th and lead 13-6 as they go into the bottom of the 9th. Peter Andrelcyzk to pitch the bottom of the 9th, his 4th inning relieving, he gave up a solo home run but that wasn't enough to give up the win. The Suns win in game 2 by 7 runs.

Both teams decided to use usual relievers as starters; the Generals used Andrew Carraway and the Suns used Jeff Allison. This wasn't Allison's first time starting a game though, he started 20 games for the Suns last season. Allison had a rough start as he allowed 9 hits, 6 earned runs, and struck out 2 through 3.1 innings. Chris Hatcher pitched 1.2 innings; gave up his first hit of the season (this being his 4 appearance, the other 3 were just 1 innings, all perfect innings), he only gave up 1 hit and struck out 3. Peter Andrelczyk pitched the last 4 innings giving up 2 hits, 1 earned run (the solo home run in the 9th), walked 3, struck out 3, and recieved the win.

With this win the Suns split the double header and win the 5 game series against the Generals. They still have Game 5 to play tomorrow but they have won 3 games of the series already. The Suns are 5-4 on the season as the Generals are 4-5 on the season.

After 13 games the Red Sox get their 3rd win; Toronto Blue Jays vs. Boston Red Sox

This was Josh Beckett's first start since his 8 inning shut out vs the Yankees for the Red Sox 2nd win on the season. Beckett is 2-1 on the season. Beckett pitched 7 innings allowing only 3 hits, 1 earned run, walking 2, and striking out 9 (5 called strike outs). Beckett gave up a double to Aaron Hill in the top of the 2nd and then a RBI single to Travis Snider for the Blue Jays only run on the game. The only other Blue Jay hit Beckett gave up was in the 5th, a single from Jose Molina. Beckett pitched 3 perfect innings; the 1st, 3rd, and 7th. For once the Red Sox bull pen was able to back up the starting staff, though only 2 innings in relief were needed. Daniel Bard came in the start of the 8th gave up a lead off single to John McDonald but he was caught stealing 2nd by Jason Variteck for the 1st out, Yunel Escobar struck out swining for the 2nd out, and Corey Patterson grounded out for the 3rd out. Jonathan Papelbon came in for the 9th and the attempt of a save. Papelbon got the 1st 2 batters out, Kevin Youkilis commited a fielding error allowing Aaron Hill to occupy 1st who then took 2nd and 3rd on defensive indifference, and Travis Snider flew out for the final out. Papelbon protected the Red Sox 4-1 lead and got the save.

The Red Sox offense scored their only runs in the 1st and 2nd innings. Jed Lowrie lead off the 1st with a single, Dustin Pedroia walked, Adrian Gonzalez brought in Lowrie with a single to give the Red Sox the 1st run of the game, and then Youkilis an RBI double bringing in Pedroia. David Ortiz walked with no outs loading the bases but not shocking to Red Sox fans the Red Sox leave the bases loaded. In the 2nd inning Jacoby Ellsbury lead off with a walk and Jed Lowrie hit a 2 run home run, last run of the game (4-1 Red Sox). Every inning besides the 6th the Red Sox had a hit with in the inning. In innings 1, 4, 5, and 8 the Red Sox lead off with a single. The only extra base(s) hit for the Red Sox was from Youkilis in the 1st inning, a RBI double.

The Red Sox are 3-10 on the season, 3-4 against American League East rivals and at home, Fenway Park.

From pessimism to optimism back to pessimism; Toronto Blue Jays vs. Boston Red Sox

As I was starting to write a post on how absolutely awful the Red Sox pitching was in this game, which it was, the Red Sox offense started a rally in the 8th with the help of 2 walks by Blue Jay relief pitcher Marc Rzepczynski scoring 3 runs adding to their 3 runs from the 3rd inning as they still trail the Blue Jays 7-6.

The Red Sox had a 3-0 lead until the 5th inning when Clay Buchholz gave up 2 runs by a 2 RBI triple from Corey Patterson. Alfredo Aceves came into relieve Buchholz in the 6th and gave up a run off a RBI double from Travis Snider. Bobby Jenks gave up 4 runs in the 7th and was replaced by Felix Doubront after Jenks only recorded 1 out. Doubront got the next 2 batters out for no more damage but was stolen off of by Aaron Hill. After all of this the Blue Jays had a 7-3 lead and all hope for a 3rd win for the Red Sox was disappearing until the 8th when Rzepczynski came in relief of Blue Jays reliever Jason Frasor.

Rzepczynski was able to get Adrian Gonzalez to ground out to first base. Rzepczynski then walked back-to-back Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz. J.D. Drew struck out swinging for the 2nd out.  Jed Lowrie came to pinch hit for struggling Jarrod Saltalamacchia as he batted Rzepczynski threw a wild pitch that moved Youkilis and Ortiz both into scoring position for Lowries RBI single to shorten the Blue Jays lead to 3. Blue Jays then took Rzepczynski out of the game and put in Casey Janssen who gave up a 2 RBI double to Marco Scutaro shortening the Blue Jays lead over the Red Sox to 1 (7-6 Blue Jays). Janssen was able to get the 3rd out and stop the Red Sox rally when Jacoby Ellsbury flied out to right field.

Jonathan Papelbon was able to do his part and get 3 outs without allowing a run. Sadly the Red Sox top of the line up couldn't do anything to either win the game or put it into extra innings. Carl Crawford struck out, he went 0-5 in the game as lead off hitter, Pedroia grounded out to short stop, and then Adrian Gonzalez, with his newly signed deal with the Red Sox keeping him in Boston for at least 7 years, grounded out to 1st base for the 3rd out. A perfect 9th for Blue Jay closer Jon Rauch and a save as the Red Sox fall to 2-10 on the season.

It's really hard to be optimistic watching the Red Sox play now. The pitching is giving up runs like nothing and the offense can't keep up with it. I'm wondering when they can snap out of this and start winning. I'm not the type of fan to jump ship so I'll still watch the games on game day since I can't get NESN and I am still a Red Sox fan, a very depressed Red Sox fan.

Brad Hand dazzles in 2nd start of the season; Jacksonville Suns vs. Jackson Generals

After Sean West was injured while on the Marlins Triple AAA, New Orleans Zephyrs, roster Suns starter Dallas Trahern was promoted just before his spot in the Suns rotation. Since Trahern was promoted and the Suns had an off day all the starters on the rotation were moved up a spot. Omar Poveda pitched yesterday, Wednesday, April 13th, instead of today meaning Brad Hand got the start today.

Brad Hand pitched a 2-hit shut out. Hand allowed a single in the 1st and a lead off single in the 2nd. The 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th were all perfect innings by Hand. Hand only walked 1 and struck out only 1, both in the 4th inning. Hand is 1-1 on the season, this being his first win as the Suns offense put 3 on the board as he pitched.

The Suns put Jhan Marinez to set up for Sandy Rosario in the 8th. Marinez gave up a lead off single, but the next batter, Eddy Martinez-Esteve, grounded to shortstop, Chris Gutierrez, for a 6-4-3 double play. The 3rd batter, Jake Shaffer, struck out swinging. Marinez only gave up 1 hit, no runs, no walks and struck out 1. Sandy Rosario came in the 9th to finish the game off with a perfect 9th; lead off batter, Nate Tenbrink, with a 6 pitch long at bat lined out to center fielder Kevin Mattison, in the 2nd hole Kyle Seager also had a 6 pitch long at bat but grounded out to shortstop Gutierrez, and the 3rd batter of the 9th, Carlos Triunfel, flied out to right field, Alex Romero.

On the offensive side. Kevin Mattison, lead off hitter, led off the game with a triple and was then brought in by a ground out with 1 out to 1st baseman Rich Poythress, the 2nd out, from Alex Romero. Mattison's 2nd triple on the season (playing all 7 games) and Romero's 2nd RBI on the season. In the 5th, Gutierrez led off with a double to center fielder James McOwen off Generals starting pitcher Steven Hensley. Jim Negrych grounded to 2nd baseman Kyle Seager who had a fielding error allowing Negrych to reach 1st safely and Gutierrez to reach 3rd. Mattison then grounded out to shortstop Triunfel to bring Gutierrez home,Mattison's 2nd RBI on the season, and was the 1st out of the 5th. Ryan Curry then doubled to left field, Shaffer, to bring Negrych home and to give Curry 3 RBI on the season. The Suns lead 3-0 at this point and there would be no more scoring after this point. To end the inning; Curry was left at 2nd base by Romero and Jake Smolinski.

The Suns are now 4-3 on the season and 2-0 on the road. 3 more games in the series versus the Generals and then a 5 game series in Mobile to play the Bay Bears.

Andrelczyk blows the save in the 9th inning; Huntsville Stars vs. Jacksonville Suns

The Suns had a 1 run lead (1-0 Suns) coming into the top of the 9th inning. Peter Andrelczyk came into the 9th inning after allowing no runs and only 1 hit in the 8th, to then allow back-to-back singles Sean Halton and Brandon Jones with no outs. Chuckie Caufield hit an RBI ground rule double tieing the game at 1. Dayton Buller popped out to 2nd base which brought in no runs for the Stars. The Stars brought in a pinch hitter, Anderson De La Rosa, for the pitcher Michael Fiers which then hit a triple which brought Brandon Jones and Caufield in to give the Stars the lead (3-1 Stars). Yancarlos Ortiz couldn't advance De La Rosa when he flied out in foul territory caught by the shortstop, Chris Gutierrez, but Sergio Miranda advanced De La Rosa to home for the 4th run of the inning off Andrelczyk on a single to right fielder Jorge Padilla. Andrelczyk was able to get Stiffan Wilson to strike out swinging, for the 3rd out, before he faced the lead off hitter of the 9th Sean Halton again in the 9th. Sadly, Stars closer, Roque Mercedes, was able to get the save in the bottom of the 9th (that should of never had to be played) by striking out Jim Smolinksi for the 1st out, getting Mattison to fly out to left fielder Brandon Jones, and getting Gutierrez to ground out to shortstop Ortiz for a perfect 9th inning for Mercedes.

The Suns fall to in the series closer 4-1 and they fall in the series vs. the Stars 3-2.

Link to boxscore: http://bit.ly/fVVTx6

Suns offense came alive as they tie the series with the Stars; Huntsville Stars vs. Jacksonville Suns

The Stars starting pitcher, Cody Scarpetta, helped boost the Suns to an early 2 run lead in the 1st. Scarpetta walked lead off hitter, Kevin Mattison (who stole 2nd as Chris Gutierrez batted and 3rd as Jim Negrych batted) and also walked Gutierrez (stole 2nd as Mattison stole 3rd while Negrych batted). Negrych then proceeded to ground out to 2nd base, Sergio Miranda, for an RBI (1-0 Suns) and in the clean up spot Jorge Padilla grounded out to 3rd baseman, Steffan Wilson, for an RBI (2-0 Suns). Ben Lasater then striked out with no one on base. In the 2nd inning Scarpetta was pulled after only putting up 1 out and giving up a lead off single to Paul Gran, walked Luke Montz, and Suns starting pitcher Joseph O'Gara reached first on an error on the throw by Scarpetta which brought Paul Gran home for an unearned run (3-0 Suns). Now back to the top of the line up with Mattison, Scarpetta gave up a 2 RBI single to him (5-0 Suns) and then threw a wild pitch which let Mattison occupy 2nd for just a few minutes because then came up Gutierrez who hit a single bringing in Mattison for a 6-0 Suns lead. All of this in the 2nd inning happened with just 1 out on the board, lead off hitter grounded to short stop, Juan Sanchez and after all of that Scarpetta was replaced by Chase Wright. Wright then struck out Negrych for the 2nd out leaving Gutierrez still at 1st, and as Padilla batted Gutierrez was picked off by Wright for the 3rd out. Suns continued to collect 1 more run and 7 more hits after the 1st and 2nd innings. The Suns won 7-4.

Lead off hitter Kevin Mattison, CF, went 2-3 with a walk, 2 singles, a double, 2 runs and a RBI. Short stop, Chris Gutierrez went 1-3 with 1 run and 2 RBI. Jim Negrych was 1 of the 3 Suns that didn't get a hit in the game but he did get a RBI (4 at bats with 2 strike outs). Clean up hitter, Jorge Padilla, RF, went 1-3 with a strike out and a RBI. Ben Lasater, 1B, and Joseph O'Grara, starting pitcher, were the other 2 Suns that went hitless (1 strike out for Lasater and O'Gara reached on an error and fouled a bunt with 2 strikes in the 4th on his 2nd and last at bat). Luke Montz, catcher, went 2-3 with a 1 run home run in the 6th off Chase Wright, 2 runs, and a RBI from the home run. Both pinch hitters for the pitchers hit; Ryan Curry, pinched hit for Chris Hatcher (after having a perfect 6th inning in relief for O'Gara), singled but was left at 3rd and Eric Lis, pinched hit for relief pitcher Garrett Parcell (who pitched in the 7th and 8th), doubled with 1 out but was left on by the 2 to batters.

Joseph O'Gara recieved the winning decision after pitching 5 innings allowing 8 hits, 4 earned runs, walking none, and striking out 2. Sandy Rosario recieved the save after pitching a perfect 9th; striked off the lead off hitter of the 9th Matt Cline, Lee Haydell then grounded to 1st, and Miranda flied out to left field. Stars Cody Scarpetta recieved the lossing decison after pitching only 1.1 innings and allowing 3 hits, 6 runs, 5 earned runs, walked 3, and only struck out 1.

The Suns win in Game 4 tied up the series to 2 a piece. Tomorrow is the deciding game of the series.

Link to boxscore: http://bit.ly/hzyxw8

Only runs by the Suns were off a Kyle Skipworth 2 run home run as the Suns fall to the Stars; Huntsville Stars vs. Jacksonville Suns

The Suns struggled on offense only had 4 hits in the game. The first hit didn't occur until the 4th when Chris Gutierrez hit a lead off single to Stars left fielder Brandon Jones and after 2 outs in the 4th Kyle Skipworth homered to right field for 2 RBI. Gutierrez singled again in the 8th with 2 outs but was left on base, when Erik Lis grounded out to 1st baseman Sean Halton. The Suns didn't even try to rally back in the 9th; Jorge Padilla lined out to Matt Cline in the lead off spot, then Skipworth flied out to center fielder Chuck Caufield, Ryan Curry did single with 2 outs, but Alex Romero grounded out to 2nd baseman Sergio Miranda for the 3rd out.

While the Suns struggled on offense they also struggled on defense. Brad Hand was the starting pitcher for the Suns and gave up 8 hits, 4 earned runs, 1 walk, and struck out 4. Hand gave up 2 doubles to Brandon Jones (went 2-2 with  against Hand) and gave up a double to Miranda (went 1-2 with a walk against Hand). Brad Hand received the loss as he left the game trailing 4-2 and the Suns never could tie it up or get the lead in the game. Jeff Allison came in to pitch 1.2 innings; the 5th inning wasn't so great Allison gave up 2 hits (a double to Brandon Jones, 3rd in the game, and a single to Jesus Sanchez, starting pitcher for Stars), walked 1, and striked out 1, and in the 6th inning he gave up 3 hits (singles to Miranda and Green and a 2 run home run to Steffan Wilson) and walked 1. In the 6th with no outs, after Miranda had gotten on base by a single off Allison, as Lucroy was at bat Miranda stole 2nd, Skipworth tried to get him at 2nd but an error on his throw as the ball went in to center field, Kevin Mattison the center fielder then retrieved the ball and attempted to get Miranda at 3rd but he made a throwing error as the ball went into the Suns dugout which allowed Miranda to score a run.

The Suns fall hard to the Stars on Game 3 of the series to a score of 9-2.

Link to boxscore: http://bit.ly/hFqZbF

Suns win on a walk-off single by Gutierrez; Huntsville Stars vs. Jacksonville Suns

The Suns started much better in Game 2 of the opening season of the season. Omar Poveda started the game: the 1st inning was 3 up 3 down; in the 2nd he gave up a single to the lead off batter, Taylor Green, the next 2 batters, Sean Halton and Brandon Jones, advantaged him all the way to third on sac flies, Steffan Wilson reached 1st on an error by the 3rd baseman, Paul Gran, but received the RBI for bringing in Taylor Green; Poveda didn't encounter anymore trouble until the 5th inning Matt Cline hit a 1 out double, Poveda walked Lee Haydell and then Sergio Miranda loading the bases, Jonathan Lucroy then hit a 2 out 2 RBI double to left field, Alex Romero, and this shortened the Suns 4-1 lead to 4-3. Garrett Parcell came into relieve Poveda in the 6th but didn't relieve the fans. Parcell gave up 4 hits and gave up 1 earned runs which tied the game at 4. Jhan Marinez had a perfect 7th inning, with 1 strike out, and throwing nasty fastballs (fasted 96 mph). Peter Andrelzyk pitched in the 8th and 9th inning, only allowing 2 hits and struck out 2, and received the winning decision.

Unlike yesterday the Suns offense started out strong and had 11 hits as opposed to yesterdays 2. In the first inning lead off hitter, Kevin Mattison, hit a double, stole 2nd while Chris Gutierrez batted (struck out looking in his at bat), and Jorge Padilla hit a 2 out 2 run home run over the left field fence off the Stars starting pitcher, Dan Merklinger. In the 2nd Ben Lasater hit a 2 out double who was left there by Poveda, grounded out to the 2nd baseman, Ryan Curry. Mattison the lead off batter in the line up, leaded off in the 3rd inning with a single and again stole 2nd while Gutierrez batted (poped out to short stop), Ryan Curry then hit a single which brought Mattison home for the 3rd Suns run of the game, Padilla doubled bringing Curry home and was left at 2nd after Paul Gran walked after him, Kyle Skipworth struck out, and Alex Romero popped out to 2nd base. The Stars tied the game in the 6th; after a lead off double by Ben Lasater, Jim Negrych grounded out to shortstop, and Mattison (swinging) and Gutierrez (looking) struck out freezing Lasater at 2nd. The game remained tied til the bottom of the 9th; pinch hitter Erik Lis hit a single and stole 2nd while Mattison was batting, Mattison winded up being hit by a pitch, and Gutierrez after a bad offense night hit the walk off single bringing Liz in. Suns win 5-4 in the bottom of the 9th to avoid extra innings. Suns are now 1-1 as are the Stars.

Link to boxscore: http://bit.ly/fkCv0K

After giving up 3 runs in the first, the Suns can't bounce back on offense; Huntsville Stars vs. Jacksonville Suns

The pregame began with the presentation of the 2010 Southern League flags and trophy. They gave all the front office staff present their rings and had the players from the Championship team come out for the crowd of 7,336 people. Those players that we're on the Championship team and now on this seasons team are Jeff Allison (pitcher), Peter Andrelczyk (pitcher), Chris Hatcher (now a pitcher was a catcher), Brad Hand (pitcher only with us for the post season and a few regular season games), Jhan Marinez (pitcher), Garrett Parcell (pitcher), Ryan Curry (infield), and Kevin Mattison (outfield, was with us for only a few weeks). (Coaches that were with us last season John Duffy (pitching coach) and Corey Hart (batting coach).

The opening day pitcher, Dallas Trahern, for the Jacksonville Suns started very slowly. The Huntsville Stars lead off hitter, Lee Haydel, did ground out to Suns' third baseman, Paul Gran. Then trouble began, Trahern walked both Sergio Miranda and Jonathan Lucroy back to back which allowed the clean up hitter, Taylor Green, to receive 2 RBI on a double to center fielder Kevin Mattison. Green didn't sit at 2nd very long since the next batter Sean Halton hit a ground rule double that brought Green home extending the Stars lead to 3. The Stars almost made it through the whole line up in the 1st inning (8 spots batted) with 3 runs scoring, 2 hits allowed, no errors, and 2 left on base. Trahern stayed in for 6 innings allowing 4 hits, 3 runs (all earned), walked 3, and only struck out 2. Chris Hatcher, a former catcher for the Suns last season and catched a few games with the big league club the Marlins at the end of the season, had a great debut as a pitcher allowing no hits, runs, walks, but did not strike out any. He faced 3 batters, 2 grounded out and 1 flied out, it was 3 up 3 down inning in the 7th. Darwin Downs gave up the 4th Stars run in his 1 inning of work in the 8th. Corey Madden pitched the role of the closer in the 9th and did pretty well allowing 1 hit, while only pitching to 3 players.

The Suns offense lacked extremely in this game. The 1st 2 innings were 3 up 3 down for the Suns offense. No Suns were on base until the 3rd when 2 of them got on virtue of a walk. The Stars pitcher was pitching a no-hitter until the 6th when the Suns scored there only run. Kevin Mattison with 1 out hit a standing triple then was brought in by a sac fly to center fielder Lee Haydel from Chris Gutierrez. Suns only recorded 1 more hit in the game in the 7th, a single by Jorge Padilla.

Dallas Trahem received the loss while Wily Peralta received the winning decision.

The Suns fall to the Stars with a final score of 4-1 in the season opener as the Suns try to 3peat as Southern League Champions. Game 2 of the 5 game series is tomorrow at 7:05 in Jacksonville.