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Watching AA level players from bad seats
in AAA Last night I went back to the worst seats in all of baseball, the aluminum benches at the Diamond in Richmond. I don’t know what it is about the darn things, but even with a seat cushion, they are the most uncomfortable things in the world to sit on! I have sat on bleacher seats at a high school football stadium which were more comfortable than the seats at the Diamond. After 20 years of use, some of them actually tip downward at the front, making a really uncomfortable night at the stadium. I think the Atlanta Braves realize the Diamond is in bad shape; the Braves' souvenir program devotes a tremendous amount of space to their feelings about the place. Last year Hurricane Gaston dumped so much water on the field, 15 of the remaining games had to be cancelled or played elsewhere. The R-Braves' late season surge, which carried them into the Governors Cup, was wasted on local fans since all of the games had to be played at Buffalo's stadium. The program has two pages of pictures showing the devastation of the field and the conditions it was in. Even though the Diamond itself is only 20 years old, the field dates to 1954. Over the years, right field had sunk two feet lower than left. At one point last season, the water managed to force a piece of steel plate covering a drain pipe which had been buried long ago, to finally give way and created a crater in right center. It would have been something to see if the darn thing had given way during a game! Elsewhere, another story in the program details the death of the Greenville Braves and their resurrection in Pearl, Mississippi, where they now play in a brand new state of the art stadium --- one which the Greenville City Council would not agree to build. Also included are the Braves plans for a new stadium in Shockoe Bottom and a discussion of the $330 million development the team and its partners plan to sink into the city! The handwriting is on the wall ---no new stadium, no Braves in Richmond. Right now, it is up to the Richmond City Council. Since it was September 2nd, the day after major league rosters could expand, all of the major league-ready prospects were gone, headed to the majors to fortify their teams for a stretch run. This season, the R-Braves made 134 roster moves. Six players on the current roster were called up from Mississippi (which had the balance of its season canceled due to hurricane Katrina) and only one has played at AAA before. 11 R-Braves have been called up to Atlanta this season and seven remain there: Kyle Davies, John Foster, Kelly Johnson, Brayan Pena, Andy Marte, Jim Brower and Macay McBride (AFL fans will remember him from last season). he Richmond roster at this point does not resemble the one at the beginning of the season. Compare the starting lineups from opening day to last night’s game:
8 April 2 September P Kyle Davies Adam Bernero C Brayan Pena J.C. Boscan 1B Carlos Mendez Scott Thorman 2B Jason Bourgeois Jon Schuerholz SS Tony Pena, Jr. Tony Pena, Jr. 3B Andy Marte Wes Timmons LF Bill McCarthy Josh Burrus CF Esix Snead Carlos Duran RF John Barnes Scott Pratt DH James Jurries Josh Arteaga Tony Pena, Jr. is the only regular remaining. Pena, played for Grand Canyon last AFL season and hit .314. Of the Braves 2004 AFL contingent, McBride, Brian McCann and Jeff Francoeur are with Atlanta. Francoeur made the jump from AA to the majors this season and did not stop off in Richmond. Matt Coenen finished the season with AA Mississippi and Thorman moved to AAA from AA and is having a fine season. The former #1 pick, #30 overall in 2000, had an 18-game hitting streak at Mississippi earlier this year. He is currently hitting .289 with six home runs since his promotion on July 14. Last nights game was a 5-4 Richmond win over visiting Charlotte. The Knights featured current White Sox prospect Brian Anderson, as well as several former prospects, Jorge Toca, Joe Borchard and Jon Adkins, a former Oakland A’s prospect who was part of the trade which brought Ray Durham to the A’s for their stretch run in 2002. The Knights drew first blood in their half of the first when Toca hit his 24th home run of the season over the center field wall, driving in Guillermo Reyes and Greg Norton. Richmond answered with two of its own in the bottom of the inning when Thorman smoked an RBI double off the center field wall driving in Josh Burrus and Wes Timmons. The Knights got one of the runs back in the second, as Norton drove in Wally Rosa. That was the last run of the night for the Knights, as Roosevelt Brown ended the inning by striking out, stranding two runners. The Braves pushed their third run over in the second, as Pena scored from third on a Wes Timmons sacrifice fly which Toca caught in the right field stands. Timmons also doubled in the Braves fourth run in the fourth inning and drove in Pena again in the sixth. All told, Timmons ended the evening with two hits and three RBIs. Adam Bernero went six innings, striking out five hitters to get the win. He gave up seven hits and walked none. Taking the loss for the Knights was Felix Diaz. The R- Braves contingent heading to the AFL this season are Jonathan Schuerholz, Ryan Basner, Glen Tucker and Josh Burrus. --- John
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