|
|
2003 season November 9, 2003
The Week Six Arizona Fall League baseball action was overshadowed by the league's greatest tragedy in its 12-year history. The games didn't seem to matter as much after the horrendous news of the murder of Scottsdale Scorpion outfielder Dernell Stenson, of the Cincinnati Reds organization, early Wednesday morning in Chandler, Arizona. The Scorpions-Desert Dogs game on Wednesday night was cancelled as were all three games on Thursday. It was a little chilling this morning to look at the league leaders in preparation for completing this weekly report, only to see Stenson's name at the top of the league batting leaders. Our sincerest condolences go out to Stenson's family, friends, teammates and coaches. Hitting highlights : Mike Vento (Yankees - OF) is
quietly sneaking up on the league leaders in all three triple crown
leaders, as the right-handed hitter finished the week with three doubles
and five RBIs in the Rafters - Javelinas game yesterday at Scottsdale
Stadium. Vento, who hit over .300 at both the AA and AAA levels in 2003,
is batting .351/.392.670 with 11 doubles and five homers in 94 at bats ...
David DeJesus (Royals - OF), projected by many observers to move
into the Kansas City center field job if Carlos Beltran doesn't return, had a power boost this week, with homers in three consecutive
games. The left-handed hitter from New York has six big flies in 78 at
bats to go with solid batting numbers (.308/.372/.641). Best of all, DeJesus is a gamer and a lot of fun to watch ...
Delmon-mania:
With larger than normal crowds in the stadiums over the weekend, in part due to the annual First Pitch fantasy baseball conference being held in the Phoenix area, many fans were attracted to the games at Mesa to see 18-year-old wunderkind Delmon Young (Devil Rays - OF) performing for the Solar Sox. The 2003 #1 overall draft pick didn't disappoint, with a pair of hard hits in Friday afternoon's game. Several observers commented about how the ball just explodes off Young's bat when he makes contact. The opposing pitcher was booed late in the game when he walked Young intentionally; this show of fan emotion may have been a first in the normally laidback Arizona Fall league. Young finished the week at .410/.439/.667. Aces of the staff: The quartet of top AFL pitchers didn't disappoint in their respective starts this week. Ramon Ramirez (Yankees - P) remains at the top of the heap, as a five-inning, one-hit scoreless performance lowered his league-leading ERA to 1.44. The Dominican right-hander has now struck out 25 batters in as many innings, while walking only two (yes, only 2!) hitters ... Ben Hendrickson (Brewers - P) continued his dominance of AFL hitters with another shutout performance. The big right-hander's ERA is now at 2.03. He also has issued only two walks all season ...
The Final Week: With the MLB General Managers in town for meetings this week, expect to see a lot of familiar baseball faces out at the ballparks for the final week of the regular season. Game times on Monday are 1:05, as usual, with the exception of the Scottsdale Scorpion game, which was cancelled so that the players and staff can attend the funeral of Dernell Stenson. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday games have been switched to either 2:30 pm or 7:00 pm to accommodate the GM meetings. Friday is an off-day, followed by the 1:05 pm championship game on Saturday at Scottsdale Stadium. The two Mesa teams are both close to clinching playoff berths in their respective divisions. --- Bill Mitchell All photos on the Arizona Fall League Report are credited to Bill Mitchell, unless noted otherwise, and are not to be used for any other purpose without express permission.
| |||||||
