Matsu Miners Baseball

Entering the Alaska State Fairgrounds in the minutes prior to the call "Play Ball", you can almost hear the voice of the late John Chancellor booming from the public address speakers as if he were still narrating "Ken Burns: Baseball"...in Alaska, they rooted for the Anchorage Bucs, the Fairbanks Alaska Goldpanners, the Peninsula Oilers, the Anchorage Glacier Pilots, and the Matsu Miners...for the Miners enjoy an almost mythic existence here in the Matanuska-Susitana Valley.

Owned and operated as a non-profit organization by the community, the Miners play ball at Hermon Brothers Field where a game has the feel of a bygone era. The diamond might as well be a field of dreams, carved from a thicket of pine trees with mountains serving as a backdrop. Dotting the land surrounding the white lines are dotted with wooden equipment sheds housing balls and bats while the locker rooms provide very similar accommodations for the players. The concessions are manned by grandmothers and teens alike, both allowing commerce to take a back seat to conversations with the patrons. The whole operation would resemble a high school operation in other parts of the country if not for the high quality baseball being played on the field.

The Alaska Baseball League (ABL) is comprised of some of the best baseball players the collegiate ranks have to offer. The six teams in the ABL compete for the league championship and a place in the National Baseball Congress (NBC) World Series. The Miners are the defending ABL champs and winners of the NBC World Series in both 1987 and 1997. Currently the Miners are a half game back in the standings behind the Fairbanks Alaska Goldpanners.

Columbus Clippers

Whatever happened to Carlos Carrasco this year prior to his trade from the Phillies organization to the Indians is baffling. Since he has been in Columbus, the man has won all four of his starts including yesterday's game at Huntington Park. If he can channel whatever he has been doing since his arrival into some consistency, the Tribe may have quite a find on their hands. Yesterday, he mixed a fastball that topped out at around 94 mph with a devastating change-up that had the Indianapolis Indians hitters laughably way out in front of a ball that dipped down to 78 mph. Carrasco did this without altering his delivery in any perceivable way. The performance was a pitching clinic that he can hopefully carry on to the big league level.

Dime A Dog

Cold fries, cold dogs, cold beer. They got 1 out of 3 right but that's not so bad considering a cold beer is one of the great things on earth.

Columbus Clippers

Though the performances came during a loss to the Gwinnett Braves, the Cleveland Indians have to feel good about a lot of what they saw today in Columbus. Matt LaPorta's ability to play the outfield has been a topic of concern as the Tribe tries to determine just where he fits into their future. Some of those questions may have been answered today as LaPorta manned left field. Two nice running catches and a rifle throw home to hold a runner on third were augmented by his talent that was already known. At the plate, he crushed a ball off the wall in dead center highlighting his immense power. As impressive as he was, it may have been the batterymates Hector Rondon and Lou Marson that provided the most hope this afternoon. The Indians deperately need pitching; today Rondon showed why he should compete for a spot in the rotation on the big league club next year. Other than hiccup he had on a home run to Clint Sammons in the fifth inning, Rondon was in complete control of the flow of the game. He did not allow any baserunners fluster him and was rewarded when two of them were thrown out by Marson as they attempted steal second base. Marson, one of the players the Tribe received in exchange for Cliff Lee, may not hit enough in the majors to be a starting catcher, but that arm should make him a valuable defensive back-up for years to come. If not for a balk call Greg Aquino in the 10th that ultimately cost the Clippers the game, it was not a bad day highlighting the future of Cleveland Indians Baseball.