Archive for September, 2009

Jason Kipnis (pictured) is proving why being drafted in the second round of the 2009 MLB Draft was a wise choice for the Cleveland Indians.  Kipnis gave Mahoning Valley some breathing room with a towering two-run homer in the third inning and the pitching staff was up to the task as the Scrappers advanced to the New York/ Penn League Finals with a 3-1 victory over a good Brooklyn Cyclones team.

The Scrappers got on the board in the bottom of the second inning.  Casey Frawley walked on four pitches.  With a one-ball, no-strike count, the Scrappers executed a perfect hit-and-run as Jesus Brito singled and Frawley advanced to third.  Ben Carlson then singled up the middle to plate Frawley and give the Scrappers a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third inning, Argenis Martinez singled with one out.  Kipnis then unloaded to deep right center with his first homer at Eastwood Field to put Mahoning Valley up 3-0.

The Cyclones scored a run in the seventh inning on a John Servidio RBI-double to cut the Scrapper lead to 3-1.  After walking the the bases full, Austin Adams was bailed out of a jam when Jordan Henry made a beautiful running catch in centerfield to end the inning.

Vidal Nuno was a workhorse for the Scrappers.  Marty Popham was scheduled to start but was out with the flu.  Nuno stepped up and came through making the absolute most of an important start.  In his five innings pitched, Nuno gave up just a walk and a hit while striking out five Cyclones.  Austin Adams threw the next two innings.  Tyler Sturdevant pitched a scoreless inning.  Guido Fonseca pitched a perfect ninth to record the save. 

Cyclones Manager Pedro Lopez and 2B Jordany Valdespin were ejected in the top of the second inning for arguing with the home plate umpire Jose Rivera.

Kipnis commented on his home run.  “Felt great, was my first one here.  I was actually glad to finally hit one at home.  I’m just happy I could score some runs for this pitching staff.”  Kipnis was also very complimentary of center fielder Jordan Henry and the Scrapper defense.  “The kid [Henry] is a tremendous cenerfielder.  And what’s new?  Henry made another great play tonight.  The infield also did a good job knocking balls down.  With good pitching comes good defense, everyone is on their toes and ready to play behind them.”

Travis Fryman was very pleased with the efforts of Nuno and the defense.   “He’s [Nuno] been lights-out.  He wasn’t supposed to be in the rotation for the postseason.  Marty Popham got sick and we had to change the rotation up, so Vidal, again, has stepped in and pitched extremely well.  Obviously there is more than one way to contribute to a win and we saw that tonight with two plays in my opinion.  Argenis Martinez made an over-the-shoulder catch early which really changed the momentum.  The play Jordan made, that’s way too much drama for me, I don’t like drama in a baseball game.  Jordan is struggling at the plate but is playing lights-out in centerfield.”

It was also a night where the Scrappers raised money for Luke Holko.  Before the game, a collection from the players and coaches raised $1700.  There were firemen in full uniform passing a boot in honor of Chad Holko, (Luke’s father is a fireman) to aid the cause.  There were also several people selling Daffin’s chocolate bars for $1.

The attendance was listed at slightly over 1200, but it felt different tonight.  The people who showed up tonight were baseball fans.  I have been there on Buck Night when 5,000 people go nuts over the throwing of soap and pizza boxes, but barely make a peep when the Scrappers have the bases loaded and nobody out in a tie game.  Hats off to the attendees of this game for clapping and screaming for the Scrappers at the right times.

Tonight also marked the return of a player I figured to be shut down for the year.  Jason Smit was a surprise starter in right field prompting me to bring back something that I enjoyed doing, the Smit-O-Meter, playoff style.

Playoff Smit-O-Meter:  1-3, batting .333

***Lowell defeated Staten Island 3-2 to even their series at one win each.  The Scrappers will play the winner of this series to be decided on Thursday.

It’s been a whole week, feels like a year to some and just yesterday to others, since 4-year old Luke Holko was hit in the head with a line-drive foul ball at a Mahoning Valley Scrappers game.  Luke is currently at Akron Children’s Hospital in a comatose state.  Every reaction he has, every movement he makes and all he can do without the help of machines is being very closely monitored by the specialists caring for him.

I got a chance to talk with Chad Holko, Luke’s father.  Chad shared some heartfelt thoughts about the overwhelming amount of support, the unselfish volunteer work and fundraising taking place, and also how hard it is to always think the best.

Chad first told me how thankful he is from the public support.  “It’s been amazing.  People we don’t know have shown support and we are thankful.  When I start donating to charities after this is over, this place [Akron Children’s Hospital] is going to be first on the list.  The Ronald McDonald House has also been very helpful.  The Mahoning Valley Scrappers people have also been very supportive and we thank them as well.”

Chad is a Greene Fireman and said he has trained for CPR and standard First Aid but has never encountered a situation like this in his line of work yet.  He also commented on how religion and prayer have been powerful aides to his entire family during the past week.

At all NYPL Playoff games in Niles, Lowell, Staten Island, and Brooklyn, collections are being taken up to help the Holko family offset the medical costs.  There will also be firemen from the area, as well as New York,  at the Scrappers game against Brooklyn who will assist in gathering donations.  A playoff game is important, but I think if you have not gotten goosebumps on your arms yet, then you just don’t get it.

A cookout at Sam’s Club on Labor Day to benefit Luke raised over $3,000.  There are other ways to donate if you cannot make it to an event or fundraiser.  All local Cortland Banks are donation points for a fund established by the family. 

Luke’s mother was happy to reveal a sign of positive progress.  “He squeezed my hand twice this morning.”  The hospital room is filled with letters from everywhere from all sorts of people.  There are balloons and stuffed animals, colored pictures, posters, and right in the middle of it all is Luke. 

Status updates can be gotten at the following site: helpluke.com.  There are also pictures, and links to other places here.

My trip today was rough.  The family thanked me for not hastily printing information or pursuing the story.  I will continue to update local happenings and fundraisers as we all pray and wait.  The family said it best when they said it is in God’s and Luke’s hands now.

Please leave a comment on this story by clicking comments at the bottom of the article.  It is my request that this article be used as a get-well card, all comments will be printed, unlike the original story, where I have received over 180 comments but only printed 20.

Chad and Nicole, as well as extended family and friends: Please stay strong, everyone is rooting for Luke to pull through this.  Prayer will get you through it.

To read the original Paneech.com posting, The Saddest Thing I Have Ever Seen, click here.

Youngstown State is dealing with plenty coming off of the 38-3 loss to Pitt last week.  The flu bug has spread pretty rapidly and Coach Heacock hopes a day off will help the ill heal up to prepare for the home opener against Austin Peay this week.  Austin Peay (1-0)  is coming off of a 33-24 victory over Newberry last week.  This will be Youngstown State’s 69th home opener with kickoff scheduled for 4 o’clock.

At the weekly press conference, Coach Heacock commented on the Penguins performance against Pitt.  “Our guys played pretty hard, I think we have a team of young people who want to do well.  They [Pitt] caught us a couple of times out of alignment.  We need to work on that this week and we’ll know right away whether we are improved as a team or not.  We had some guys that played pretty solid in that game.  Winning performances?  Probably not, but solid performances.  We prepared very hard for that game, I think everyone is a little bit salty.  Deep down, I think it [the loss] really bothers them.”

Heacock was impressed by what he saw of Austin Peay on film.  “They have 16 starters back, their tailback is outstanding.  [Terrence] Holt is a tremendous back.  He is about five foot eight and 160 pounds.  he is a hard guy to see, find, and tackle and is also a great return guy.  They are very methodical in what they do, they test you, and you have to be very fundamentally sound.  The more we have studied them this afternoon, the more impressive they have become.” 

Freshman Taylor Hill spoke about the defense and what to expect in the future.  “I think we have a real good defense despite the outcome.  I think our biggest problem was alignment.  We could have made plays if we were just aligned right.  The speed of the game is something we are not used to.  We have to better prepare for the speed of the game.  Everything is correctible.”

Austin Peay features a couple of real exciting running backs.  Ryan White had 23 carries for 218 yards for the Governors last weekend.  Terrence Holt also had 156 rushing yards on 15 carries and a pair of touchdowns.  Both backs averaged over 9 yards per carry and can pose problems for the Penguins.  The Governors disguise their plays and rely on misdirection to keep a defense honest.

Look for YSU QB Brandon Summers to have a good week.  Summers was constantly pressured against Pitt’s front seven and should get more time to make his reads and get good passes away.  Kevin Smith looked good against Pitt and earned every yard he gained.  He and Jabari Scott should both have better numbers this week.

Side Notes

• YSU is 44-22-2 all-time in home openers, 20-6-1 at Stambaugh Stadium.
• Since 1989, YSU is 17-1-1 in home openers and have won 13 straight.
• The last meeting between these two teams was on 10/10/87 with YSU prevailing 20-18.
• YSU kicker Stephen Blose had a 48-yard field goal against Pitt, longest at YSU since 2003.
• Crispin Fernandez ended up only playing about a dozen snaps against Pitt because he was feeling flu-like symptoms.

If anyone reading this saw Happy Gilmore and enjoyed the Bob Barker appearance in the movie, then hold on to your hats because Bob Barker is hosting Monday Night Raw on Labor Day.  Barker has been retired for almost two years from The Price Is Right.  Drew Carey is doing well, but he is not Bob Barker and does things a bit differently.  Here are my five predictions for Barker’s appearance.

1.  Barker will order Hornswoggle the midget to play the “Mountain Climber Game”.  He will have a random audience member guess the prices of pre-selected items and every dollar they are off will have Hornswoggle ascend up the ramp a step.  If the contestant is off by too much, Hornswoggle will fall over the side of the entrance stage.

2.  Barker will reveal at the end of the show that he is a secret advisor to Degeneration X as he crotch chops and tells the audience about his secret passion for Rage Against The Machine music.

3.  Barker calls out Drew Carey, and much to the crowds delight, Carey shows up and accepts Barker’s challenge to a “Steel-Cage Showcase Showdown Submission Match”.  Barker would be the good guy and brings long-time model and Barker Beauty Janice out while Carey, playing the heel, arrives with Mimi as he is booed heavily.

4.  At about the midway point of the show, Barker brings out George “The Animal” Steele to remind the viewing audience to always have their pets spayed and neutered.

5.  Conan O’Brien interferes in the “Showcase Showdown Steel Cage Match” between Barker and Carey to assist Carey.  When no one is looking, Conan emerges through the floor of the ring and hits Barker with one of those thin foot long microphones.  He then throws the microphone to the announce table where Andy Richter and LaBamba catch and hide the evidence.  Conan than reaches into his trousers, and like Mick Foley had a sock, O’Brien has a Triumph The Insult Comic Dog hand puppet that he uses to help Carey choke Barker out with.

 Youngstown area night life is about to get a big shot in the arm.  Eric Ryan has teamed with Kelly Pavlik to bring Kelly Pavlik’s 13th Round  to downtown Struthers.  This is not a normal mom and pop neighborhood bar, but more an event. 

Formerly known as South Bridge, a place where people went to play pool, hear some live music, or eat a decent meal upstairs at Fat E’s, the conversion to Kelly Pavlik’s 13th Round is nearly complete and the doors to a whole new nightlife experience open to the public on September 11. 

The only thing that will stay the same is the lower level, aka The Cellar.  Eric Ryan and staff will continue to feature the best local and national musical talent to this exclusive venue.  Anyone who has been to The Cellar for a Disco Inferno night understands the level of entertainment you can still get for a few bucks.

The mid-level, formerly South Bridge, a pool hall and bar is undergoing the biggest makeover.  There will be a boxing ring right in the bar.  The bar itself will be huge and there will be a kitchen open to serve food to the patrons in the form of hamburgers, wings, fries, and many other menu items.  The big menu item will be called “The Knockout”.  The Knockout sandwich weighs three pounds and is basically the size of a loaf of bread.  Anyone who purchases the sandwich will also receive a T-shirt.  Kelly Pavlik was even contacted by the popular show Man vs Food to showcase the new sandwich. The customer can order food and will be given a blinking light box that will activate once an order is prepared and ready for consumption.  The bar itself will also feature 13 flat screen TV’s and will carry mostly any sport on any day.  My personal favorite feature will be something I cannot really comment about until the bar opens, but I will give you a hint in that I am a sports memorabilia fanatic.  If you even remotely care about sports this is your place. 

The top level has also undergone many upgrades both in appearance and class.  Chef Jeff Chrystal of Chrystal Catering notoriety will be in charge of the top level food.  Alligator is an appetizer choice, duck is also an option, but the menu will have several other “normal” selections such as steaks.  The picture above denotes one of the cool ideas incorporated into the new establishment.  A designer has painted, in different colors and fonts on the wall, quotes from several notable boxing legends.  There is a similar project associated with this concept downstairs which I will save as a surprise to the clients. 

Alan Drennen is the general manager for the entire complex and talked about what a great menu Jeff Chrystal is going to provide.  “It’s going to be a well-rounded unique menu.  There are unbelievable pasta dishes, steaks, steakburgers that are hand-pattied not bought processed.  It’s going to be really good food yet still be affordable.”

Ryan is pumped about the new establishment and said that Kelly Pavlik is more involved than people may think from an insider standpoint.  “It’s something Kelly and I have been talking about for a long time.  It is a way for him to generate some income without getting punched in the face.  We have business meetings and when he is in attendance, he certainly is no dummy.  I’m the manager of the place, but Kelly has had input on the menu, he has had input on the look of the place.  We have transformed the billiards room in to the most incredible sports bar you are ever going to see.”

I am really excited for the premier of this establishment.  Eric Ryan brings a spotless track record and a resume filled only with success to a higher level yet again.  The Covelli Centre is hot right now, don’t think it’s because Ryan didn’t have anything to do with it.  This guy does not hide in his office.  He has a knack of putting the right people in place to oversee facets of every project he attempts.  More importantly, the guy follows through on everything.  Kelly Pavlik’s 13th Round is going to be special. 

Thank’s Kelly and Eric for giving the valley another shot in the arm!

With tonight’s win, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers have clinched home field advantage throughout the playoffs.  The playoffs will start on Tuesday as Mahoning Valley will either travel to Brooklyn or Staten Island to play Game 1 of a Best of 3 Semi-Final Series.  The Scrappers will return home to play Game 2 on Wednesday regardless of who the opponent is with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05.  If necessary, Game 3 will be played at Eastwood Field on Wednesday at 7:05. 

All fans who already bought playoff ticket packages should use Semi-Finals-Game A tickets for Wednesday and if there is a game on Thursday should use Semi-Finals-Game B tickets.

Ticket packages for the entire playoffs are still available.  With a maximum of four home games possible, each box seat playoff package costs $28, an $8 savings off of individual game ticket prices when purchased in advance.  Fans will receive a refund or a 2010 credit for any unused playoff game tickets.

Individual tickets are now on sale for Wednesday’s Game 2.  Individual ticket prices are $9 for box seats and $7 for general admission.

Tickets can be purchased in-person at the Eastwood Field box office or by calling 330-505-0000.  The box office will be open at 12:00 noon on Sunday as well as Labor Day from 8:30-5:30.  Tickets can also be purchased online by clicking here.

These are the games that Division 1-AA players have dreamt of playing for years.  They are David’s shot at Goliath and they are taking place in many stadiums this week.  For Youngstown State, it is their fifth chance at an FBS school in the past five seasons.  The past four efforts have not yielded a touchdown, a monkey the Penguins hoped to get off of their backs this year.

Unfortunately, YSU failed to score a touchdown against a very talented defense in losing to Pitt, 38-3.  At times, YSU showed their potential, and even won the time of possession battle for the game.  Sadly, the winner of a football game doesn’t always have the ball the longest. 

Don’t think less of Youngstown State because of this score.  I can almost guarantee Pitt will beat at least one Big East opponent worse than they did YSU.  The showing for Youngstown State was gutty and heartfelt, but was marred with mistakes and penalties at the most inopportune times.  This team from Youngstown showed alot of fight against a Division-1 favorite to win a conference and perhaps compete in a BCS game.

YSU had the ball first and went three and out.  Pitt took the ball, got a first down, and then was forced to punt.  A good Pitt punt pinned the Penguins on their own 10-yard line where they started their second possession.  The Pitt defense stiffened up and drove YSU back four yards before they were forced to punt.

With great field position on the YSU 41-yard line, Pitt went on the attack with 9:17 remaining in the 1st quarter.  In four plays, Pitt got on the scoreboard when true Freshman Dion Lewis scampered 16 yards for a Pitt score to make it 7-0. 

YSU showed some offensive prowess and ate up the rest of the first quarter with the drive yielding a 48-yard Stephen Blose field goal to make it 7-3 in favor of Pitt with 14:04 left in the second quarter.

Pitt wasted no time responding as Dion Lewis had four carries for 58 yards in a five-play drive accented by his 1-yard TD run with 11:23 left in the half to make the score Pitt 14, YSU 3. 

Pitt went up 21-3 with 1:05 left in the half.  The 8-play, 61-yard drive took 3:08 and ended with Lewis catching a flare pass from QB Bill Stull for a three-yard touchdown.  On the drive, Lewis carried the ball 6 times for 42 more yards.  Lewis carried the ball 15 times for 135 yards in the first half.

Pitt got the ball to start the second half.  QB Bill Stull was picked off by YSU’s Brandon Ross.  After an illegal block on the return, YSU took the ball on their own 39 but could not move the ball and was forced to punt.

After an exchange of punts, Tino Sunseri entered the game as Pitt’s QB.  Sunseri hooked up with Jonathan Baldwin for a 42-yard completion giving Pitt a first-and-goal at the YSU 9-yard line.  The YSU defense held Pitt out of the end zone and forced the Panthers to settle on a 26-yard field goal by Dan Hutchens to extend the Pitt lead to 24-3.

With 24 seconds left in the third quarter, Stull found Dorin Dickerson for a 13-yard TD pass to bolster the Pitt lead to 31-3.  The score capped off a 63-yard drive.  On the first play after the kickoff, YSU QB Brandon Summers was intercepted giving Pitt the ball on YSU’s 35-yard line.  The third quarter came to a close with Pitt ahead by 28 points and threatening to increase the margin with the ball on YSU’s 33.

On third down and 5 yards to go at the YSU 6-yard line, Sunseri found Andre Wright for a touchdown pushing the Pitt lead to 38-3 with 12:05 remaining in the game. 

YSU drove and had the ball for 8:31 but failed to convert the effort into any points as Summers was picked off in the end zone.  Pitt took the ball and basically ran out the clock to end the contest at 38-3.

After the game, Coach Heacock gave his impressions of his teams efforts.  “That team [Pitt] is pretty good and there is a reason they are picked to win the Big East Championship.  I don’t know if we did enough good things to win a game.   We have got to do things to win football games, and I’m not just talking about Pitt.  You have to line up right and do the little things.”

YSU was flagged for nine penalties, to which Heacock referred to as “ridiculous”, stressing how dificult it is to win when you keep digging holes to fall into.

For the Penguins, Kevin Smith carried the ball 17 times for 52 yards.  QB Brandon Summers finished 11 for 22 passing for 113 yards and was sacked six times.  Donald Jones led Penguin receivers with 4 catches for 34 yards.  Sir Demarco Bledsoe recorded 9 tackles, one for a loss.

Pitt Freshman Dion Lewis had 20 carries for 137 yards and 2 TD’s.  QB Bill Stull was 11-16 for 123 yards with 2 TD’s and an interception.  Dorin Dickerson caught 4 passes for 26 yards and had one TD.

YSU will try to regroup and set their attention to Austin Peay in next week’s home opener.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers set a new standard for wins in a season with their 49th, the old record was 48.  With their 3-0 victory over State College, the Scrappers clinched home field advantage throughout the playoffs.   The Scrappers got outstanding pitching from Brett Brach and Tyler Sturdevant and put up enough offense to claim the win.  

The Scrappers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard and for the second consecutive night tallied in the first inning.  Casey Frawley (pictured, on left) walked with two outs.  Frawley would later score on a Jesus Brito RBI single to give Mahoning Valley a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, Ben Carlson (pictured, on right) singled and Chun Chen walked.  Rafael Vera then bunted the two Scrappers into scoring position.  Carlson scored on a wild pitch to make the score 2-0.  Argenis Martinez then bunted for a single with two outs knocking in Chen to cap the scoring at 3-0.

Brett Brach had a good start for Mahoning Valley.  Brach went six innings giving up three hits and walking none.  He also struck out six Spikes batters in lowering his ERA to 2.19 and boosting his record to 5-2 for the season.  Tyler Sturdevant pitched the last three innings and didn’t surrender a hit or a walk in picking up his third save of the year. 

Casey Frawley, who was the designated hitter Saturday,  talked about the importance of going after 50 wins for the year.  “We want to go hard and get this ring.  Tomorrow is a big game, we set a goal as a team to win 50 games at the beginning of the year.  It’s what I heard when I came up here, and it has been stressed more and more as we get closer.”

Travis Fryman commented on the potential to win 50 games also.  “This is something the players really want, 50 is a nice round number and sounds better than 49 to me.  It’s something to shoot for and a great accomplishment for a 76 game season.  I think they really want that, and they have earned it.”  Fryman also confirmed a possible return for Greg Folgia if he can hit and run the bases without pain during batting practice.

The Scrappers wrap up their regular season with their final game scheduled for Sunday at 5:05 against State College.  I will post the playoff schedule and ticket options in a seperate article tomorrow.

On Browns-Steelers promo night, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers played the role of Pittsburgh, and Jamestown got to be Cleveland (at least thats how its been for a few years now).  The Scrappers were not at their sharpest, but were able to come away with a 7-5 victory and tie a franchise record for victories in a season (48).

Greg Pruitt was at Eastwood Field representing the Browns, and Robin Cole was also on hand to represent the Steelers in front of 2,969 fans.  Browns and Steelers highlights were shown on the scoreboard and plenty of fans wore team jerseys of their choosing.  I would guess the crowd was 60-40 Pittsburgh.

The Scrappers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first. Argenis Martinez walked, stole third, and scored on a Chun Chen single to put the Scrappers ahead 1-0.

Jamestown answered in the top of the second scoring a run on a long sac fly from Mark Wyatt to tie the score. The Jammers had the bases loaded with nobody out, but starter Vidal Nuno did well to limit the visiting team to a single run.

In the bottom of the fourth, Chun Chen reached on an error, stole second and would score on a Ben Carlson RBI single to put Mahoning Valley up 2-1. Carlson would later score in the inning on a Moises Montero groundout making it 3-1 in favor of the Scrappers.

With one out in the third, Martinez, Jason Kipnis, and Chen all walked. Martinez scored on a passed ball to push the lead to 4-1.

Jamestown would take a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning on a three-run homer off of the bat of Jamestown DH Carlos Paulino.

The Scrappers tied the game at 5 in the bottom of the sixth inning when Martinez singled home Tim Palincsar who walked earlier.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Chen led off and was hit by a pitch. He would score as the next batter, Jesus Brito, tripled to deep right center putting Mahoning Valley back on top 6-5. It didn’t take long for Brito to score as the next batter, Carlson, hit a sac fly to deep right center to extend the Scrapper lead to 7-5, where the scoring would end.

Austin Adams picked up the win for the Scrappers, hoisting his record to 3-1.  Adams relieved Scrapper starter Vidal Nuno who lasted 5 1/3 innings.  Guido Fonseca picked up the save, his 5th,  pitching a perfect 9th inning.

For the Scrappers, it was their fifth game in three days.  Jordan Henry (pictured) talked about the rough three days.  “It’s tough.  I’m not used to doing that. It’s a grind and we have played alot of games all season and we are prepared for that.  We know we just have to go out there and play.”

The Scrappers finish up their regular season with a two-game series against State College with games on Saturday and Sunday.

LeGarrette Blount got the NCAA Football’s heavily advertised Sportsmanship Week promo off to a flying start.  Having earlier discipline problems, Blount should just be sent home for acting like an animal in defeat.  Was he provoked? maybe.  That still doesn’t give you a reason to cold-cock your opponent during the postgame handshakes.  The game itself stunk as Boise State beat Oregon in a yawner. 

If that wasn’t bad enough, he swung on his teammates, attempted to go after fans, was unrestrainable despite the efforts of coaches and players, and needed police to prevent him going to jail for attempting to assault some fans. 

Yep, LeGarrette Blount is definitely the posterchild for Sportsmanship Week.  Nice promo NCAA!