Hagerstown Swats Savannah in Game One!

The Hagerstown Suns held serve in game one of the SAL Championship series with a 6-1 win over the Savannah Sand Gnats at the beautiful and sparcely attended Muni.
The Suns scored first as Pedro Severino would score in the third inning after doubling and then moving to third and then home on groundouts.
Hagerstown would add another run in the fifth after Stephen Perez walked and then scored after back to back doubles by Tony Renda and Wander Ramos.
Savannah would cut the lead to 3-1 with a run in the seventh before the Suns would put the game away with a three run eighth paced by a two run double by Stephen Perez.

Jake Johansen allowed just three hits in five scoreless innings to pick up the victory.
Hagerstown completes its home schedule for 2013 with the second game of the title set before the series switches to Savannah on Thursday.
Free tickets for Tuesday's game at the Muni....

Photo Credit:Glenn Gaston-Auburn Citizen

Another year,another Browns lost opener

I didn't expect the Cleveland Browns to improve after I typed out the Browns preview and I wasn't surprised when the team delivered a disappointing loss to the Miami Dolphins in Cleveland 23-10.
Brandon Weeden finished with 288 yards but was picked off three times,while the key cog in the offensive engine was tight end Jordan Cameron,who grabbed nine Weeden passes for over 100 yards and the only Cleveland touchdown.
The now 0-1 Browns will travel to Baltimore for a rested and hungry Ravens squad.

Brownie Bits

1) Brandon Weeden just played poorly.
Do not be deceived by his near 300 yard passing day.
Weeden earned much of that in garbage time,threw the ball poorly and generally gave the Dolphins every chance to rush his throws...

2) Weeden's interceptions were bad,but the offensive line was little help.
Mitchell Schwartz had his problems with Cameron Wake,but O'Neil Cousins was simply awful .
Cousins,who I didn't even mention in the preview, was overwhelmed in blocking,was called for three penalties and a false start.
Maybe the worst performance I've seen from a Browns lineman in a while and easily the worst from a guard.

3) Trent Richardson's numbers were mediocre ( 47 yards) ,but he ran with toughness and heart,often turning losses into gains.
Richardson still needs to be the focus of the offense and ....

4) And yet,he was not.
Richardson carried the ball just 13 times and rarely in the second half.
Richardson is the type of back that needs lots of carries to wear down a defense and 13 carries is simply not going to do that.

5) For all the hype about Norv Turner being such a great play caller,I didn't see it.
Brandon Weeden throwing 53 times in a game that the Browns were down just three points until midway through the fourth quarter?
Not smart strategy to me.

6) Some good news,the Browns put heat on Ryan Tannehill and it was their newcomers that did it.
Two sacks from Desmond Bryant and one each from Paul Kruger and Quentin Groves provided the hoped for rush.
I am hopeful that this can continue.

7) I don't blame the defense for the fourth quarter scores.
They were simply out of gas and exhausted by that point as Miami dominated the fourth quarter time of possession...

8) Cleveland did lock the door on a bad running team holding the Dolphins to just 20 yards on 23 carries.
Really liked what I saw from the front seven,but I'll see how things go against Baltimore.Stopping Lamar Miller is a different task than stopping Ray Rice...

9) Buster Skrine suffered again in coverage,but I still believe that the Browns could use Skrine better covering the slot receiver than on the outside.
Skrine just needs to be put in a position to succeed and right now he is not.

10) Looks like Jordan Cameron will be the best friend for Brandon Weeden.
Cameron's game was the best of his career and looks to be living up to his physical skills.

11) Finally,the Browns were 1 of 14 on third down conversions.
That not only is putrid,it will win few games...

Photo Credit;Joshua Gunter-Cleveland Plain Dealer

Cleveland Browns Season Preview

This is a shortened version of our usual Browns preview as our attention has been on the Hagerstown Suns.
I also missed the second half of the Ohio State blowout of San Diego State (it was 35-0 when I left for the Muni),so unless I have time later in the week to look at the tape,I would guess that I will not have time for a Buckeye review of their 42-7 victory over the Aztecs.

The Cleveland Browns enter,Sigh,another new era of Browns football that sees another persons personnel shipped out in favor yet another rebuilding program.
The problem is that I just don't have a ton of confidence in what is being done thus far under the Joe Banner and Mike Lombardi front office.

At quarterback,Brandon Weeden returns as the starter in what is likely his last gasp at the job.
As bad as that sounds for a player in his second season,it's true.
I do have some hope for improvement under offensive coordinator Norv Turner,but the weapons that Weeden has are the same as last season other than Davone Bess and that did not work so well last season.
Veterans Jason Campbell and Bryan Hoyer are the backups and it would not surprise me at all,if one or both see playing time as the season progresses.

Trent Richardson returns for his second year after an injury plagued rookie season.
Richardson had better stay healthy as the only back behind him is former Raven Bobby Rainey,who played very well in the Baltimore pre-season.
Richardson might be the main piece of any success from this offense.
Former halfback Chris Ogbonnaya converts to fullback,which helps in the passing game,but the jury will be out on his full time blocking effectiveness.

The Browns return the same group of receivers as last year with one exception.
Josh Gordon shows the skills of a possible elite receiver,but will miss the first two games due to a suspension.
Greg Little starts on the outside and faces a key season.Little has the tools,but despite improvement last season,still dropped too many passes.
The only addition is former Dolphin Davone Bess,who should thrive in the slot position and be the safety valve for Brandon Weeden.
Speedy Travis Benjamin will see plenty of time,Josh Cooper returns as the backup to Bess and Tori Gurley was one of the seeming thousand personnel moves before the season to be added.

Jordan Cameron is a popular sleeper to break out this season as the starting tight end.
Cameron has the ability to do so,but has had issues staying healthy,so we will see he can do so.
Gary Barnridge was added from Carolina as a blocking type and former 49er MarQuies Gray was added recently to the team.

The offensive line is again paced by Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Thomas,who is among the best in the game at his position.
Mitchell Schwartz was very strong at right tackle last season in his right year as he shored up a weak spot on the line.Rashad Butler and Martin Wallace are the pedestrian backups.
John Greco had a huge season last year at guard and put himself as a starter after a career spent as a backup.
Shaun Lauvao is back after struggles last year at right guard with former starter Jason Pinkston pressing him for his job and rookie Garrett Gilkey will see the field often as well.
Alex Mack is very solid at center and will give the interior line the foundation for the inside running game...

The Browns moved to an aggressive 3-4 defense after piling up linemen for a 4-3 defense.
The defensive line is the strength still after the Tom Heckert moves,despite the change the Browns still have that depth.
Cleveland will start Ahtyba Rubin on one end and former Raider Desmond Bryant on the other.Second year men Billy Wynn and John Hughes will rotate in and out and I think Winn might have a good year on tap.
Phil Taylor will be the regular on the nose with Ishmma'ily Kitchen backing him up.Kitchen is a developmental project that the team hopes can give Taylor a rest when needed.

The Browns needed to upgrade the linebackers if they were moving to the 3-4 and they attempted to do so.
Jabaal Sheard was converted from defensive end to start at one outside slot and pass rushing star Paul Kruger was signed to an expensive contract to start at the other.
Both will need to produce to show that the decision to switch defenses were successful.
First round pick Barkevious Mingo will miss the first game,but will see plenty of action as will former Cardinal Quentin Groves,who is coming off his best season in the league.
D'Qwell Jackson will start at one inside spot with Craig Robertson starting at the other.
Jackson's best seasons were as the middle linebacker in a 4-3,so keep that in mind.
Second year men Tank Carder and Brandon Magee are the backups.

The secondary still has questions for me as the team did not address issues at both corner and safety.
Joe Haden is back as a number one corner,but neither of the teams two corner additions could beat out the oft' beaten Buster Skrine at the other corner.
Skrine has ability,but is better suited for nickel back duty.
Leon McFadden was drafted in the third round and former Falcon Chris Owens will be on the field,but not beating out Skrine makes me wonder.
T.J. Ward is solid at one safety but second year man Tashaun Gipson is being given the chance to start at the other.
A veteran might have been a better idea.
Johnson Bademosi and Josh Aubrey are the less than inspiring backups.

The kicking game features two new kickers are Billy Cundiff replaces the great Phil Dawson.
Cundiff replaced Dawson a few years back when Dawson was injured,so he has Cleveland experience.
Cundiff's weakness is kicking long field goals,so keep that in mind.
Spencer Lanning will be the punter and hold for Cundiff on placement kicks.

The Browns will rotate returners,but look for Bobby Rainey to see lots of kickoffs and the elusive Travis Benjamin will get plenty of punt returns...

Now we reach the time that Ryan loves-prediction time.
He asks if I have ever predicted a winning record and the answer is no.
It won't start this time either.
I fail to see what the huge upgrades are to see big improvements.
Davone Bess is a help on offense and Paul Kruger will be a defensive gain,but Desmond Bryant as the other big free agent signee is a quality player at the teams deepest position.
Barkevious Mingo looks to be the only player to help from the draft,so I just don't see the improvement on the overall.

I see six winnable games,four at home and two on the road.Let's give them three or four of those,another surprise win and you get 4-12 or 5-11.
I'll go with 5-11 and plenty of changes next season,especially on the offense and in the secondary.....

Suns grab SAL North title!

 The Hagerstown Suns pulled off a surprise as the Suns upset the West Virginia Power in the decisive game of the SAL Northern Division playoffs 6-2 at Hagerstown.

Hagerstown broke open a tight 3-2 lead with a three run sixth inning that was started by a strikeout by Stephen Perez of all things.
The Jason Creasey pitch escaped Power catcher
Kawika Emsley-Pai and allowed Perez to reach first base safely.
Four hits by the next four batters ended in three important insurance runs and essentially ended the game.
Issac Bellew finished the evening with four hits,while Tony Renda had three hits and two RBI on the night.

The Suns were able to get five good innings from winning pitcher Kylin Turnbull and with a tired bullpen,Hagerstown was able to receive a tremendous performance from Ronald Pena,who allowed just two hits without a run in pitching the final four innings of the win.

The Suns will now play the Southern Division champions-the Savannah Sand Gnats with Game one being in Hagerstown on Monday night.

A few bullet points on the night.

The crowd was enthusiastic,but not as large as one might have thought with free tickets,but the fans that did arrive were true Suns fans and cheered accordingly.
If I had to wager a guess,the crowd was likely down due to the announcement on Friday that the Suns were likely gone for the 2015 season by Bruce Quinn (who was not in attendance).
It is very tough to attract fans that feel slapped in the face and the announcement surely did not help in that aspect.

West Virginia had their fans as well and they were very involved as they had their fan leader "the toastman" in attendance with a group of a dozen or so.
I found their organized heckling obnoxious,but I'm not a huge fan of that type of stuff anyway.
I do give them credit for driving four hours and supporting their team in the series and were certainly spirited.

On another note-for the people that think the Suns do not contribute to the local economy-think about what group spent in the local economy on food,lodging,gas etc.
That is what the team brings into the area and to those that think that is a small sum-would you want to do without it?
That is what you will do without pro baseball....

West Virginia starter Luis Heredia didn't seem to have his best stuff,but the Suns did very well in working the count and taking the pitch count higher to keep Heredia from pitching deep into the game,much like the team in game one against another heralded prospect in Tyler Glasnow.
Heredia allowed 10 hits in three plus innings and picked up the loss...

I am sure that most of you know that I root for the Power when they hit Hagerstown as they are a Pirates affiliate,but I did not this time.
I rooted for the Suns because I do believe that this town deserves baseball and it would be very nice as the sun sets (pun intended) on the time in the SAL for the fans that have come out and supported the team so often through the years are allowed to get a championship before the SAL era ends.

A final note on the upcoming series.
It has been an urban legend that the New York Mets throw weight around in the SAL office to have their team in Savannah not have to come and play at the Muni against the Suns.
I have never thought that was true as every team under the dunderheaded schedule that the league uses misses teams each year,but it does seem fishy.
Some of you might recall reading my fix to this issue to be found here.
However,if this is true-You cannot get out of this one,Savannah!
See you on Monday..... 

11 inning loss evens SAL series

The Hagerstown Suns went 11 innings before a winner was declared in game two of the South Atlantic League's Northern Division playoff series.
Problem was that it was the West Virginia Power getting the verdict 6-3 at the Muni.
The series is tied at one and will see a champion crowned tomorrow night.The Power originally slated Clay Holmes to start a possible game three,but have changed to top prospect Luis Heredia against Kylin Turnbull for the Suns on Saturday night.
Uh,Oh.....

The Suns led back and forth for the game until the seventh inning when the Power scored a run to tie the game.
The run should have never occurred as the Suns Stephen Perez dropped an easy throw from Pedro Severino on a sacrifice bunt that would have forced Chris Diaz at second.
Diaz would be the runner that scored on a Josh Bell groundout later in the inning to tie the game.

Hagerstown had taken the lead in the fifth after a Pedro Severino double,Perez dropped a sacrifice bunt that saw Severino roar around third and beat the return peg (and WV catcher Kawika Ensley-Pai) to the plater for a 3-2 Suns lead.

Hagerstown did manage to stay alive in the 10th as Estarlin Martinez gunned down Jordan Steranka at the plate as Steranka attempted to score on a Jonathan Schwind fly ball.
Martinez's throw beat Steranka by a hair at the plate despite the protests of the Power players on the call.

Tripp Keister caled on Justin Thomas to pitch for the Suns in the 11th and Thomas put two runners on base with a strikeout sandwiched in between.
Cody Davis then allowed a single to Walker Gourley to load the bases before going to the bullpen for Bryan Harper to face Josh Bell with the bases loaded.
Bell then smashed a two run double on a deep shot to left center to effectively end the game,despite Martinez throwing another runner out at the plate.
The Suns went out meekly in the bottom of the inning to allow the series to be tied and send us into a Saturday night finale.

Hagerstown has its work cut out for them tonight as heralded prospect Luis Heredia will start for West Virginia against veteran Kylin Turnbull.
On paper,this appears to be a huge mismatch,but the Suns did defeat Tyler Glasnow in the first game of the series,so this is not impossible,but this is asking a lot of the team for sure.


On a day that saw Suns owner Bruce Quinn pretty much confirm that he was going to move the team to Fredericksburg VA,it was nice to see the team draw a nice crowd to the game and see the Muni rocking in a atmosphere that brought back memories of a town that put Bruce Quinn,city councils and politicians aside for an evening and give the town the most important thing-playoff baseball.

I have plenty to write on Bruce Quinn's Friday meeting with city council members,but for now,I will keep things on the on field game.
Trust me,early next week,I'll have plenty of opinions ranging from all the political players to the full season vs short season debate and wrapping up with short season baseball vs independent baseball.
I hope that you will enjoy reading it more than I will writing it....

Pigskin Picking Machine

The PPM is back with a full slate of NFL and college games.

Ohio State hosts San Diego State in a game that I thought might be close until the Aztecs dropped a 21 point decision to a 1-AA team last week.
This one might be a little closer,but that was not a good sign for this one.

Texas Tech hosts 1-AA Stephen F.Austin.
Look for Kliff Kingsbury to roll the pts up here.

Bowling Green travels to Kent State in what might decide one of the MAC divisions down the road.
Both teams enter 1-0,but I like what I have seen from BG in their win over Tulsa.

The game of the week is number 6 South Carolina in Athens against 11th ranked Georgia.
Georgia appears to need some defense help,but they will put points on the board,while South Carolina looked sluggish against North Carolina in a win last week.

In the NFL,the Browns host the Miami Dolphins in what looms to be an important home opener.
A loss will make the fan base shudder,Brandon Weeden's play will make the difference one way or another....

The Saints host Atlanta in what will be a real shootout.
Lots of points and one defensive stand makes the difference.

The game of the week has the Packers visiting San Francisco.
As a Jim Harbaugh hater and a non believer in Colin Kapernick,keep those facts in mind.

Last Week: 3-1

Picks
Ohio State over San Diego State 43-14
Texas Tech over Stephen F.Austin 46-21
Bowling Green over Kent State 23-20
Georgia over South Carolina 46-38

Browns over Dolphins 16-13
Saints over Falcons 38-35
Packers over 49ers 28-20

Suns take Game one in Charleston

The Hagerstown Suns took a huge leap in winning the Northern Division playoffs as the Suns went into Charleston for game one of the three game series and strutted out with a 6-1 win over the second half champion West Virginia Power.

Going into the series,West Virginia seemed to have an edge in game one between the home field advantage for the game as well as having Tyler Glasnow on the hill.
Glasnow,who would have led the league in ERA had he thrown one more third of an inning this season,looked to be very difficult to beat,but Hagerstown took advantage of some wildness and sent the touted prospect to the showers in a four run third inning.

Hagerstown used two singles,two walks,a wild pitch and then a double by Wander Ramos to provide a 4-0 lead that would not be lost,despite West Virginia loading the bases in two different innings against Suns relievers.
Austin Voth earned the victory with five shutout innings for Hagerstown,while Pedro Severino and Stephen Perez each had two hits on the evening.
Voth,a draft choice from the University of Washington,allowed just three hits in his outing.


The Suns will attempt to sweep the Power Friday night at the Muni with Pedro Encarnacion facing West Virginia's John Kuchno at 7:05.
A West Virginia win would force a winner take all game three at the Muni on Saturday night.

Meanwhile in the battle of the bugs,also known as the Southern Division playoffs,the first half champion Savannah Sand Gnats took a 10-2 win over the Augusta Greenjackets,winners of the second half in Augusta.
Savannah,a New York Mets affiliate, are in the same situation as the Suns as they just need to split two games at their home park to advance to the championship series.


Photo Credit;Joshua Bessex