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June 2, 2007 was the last time the Mahoning Valley Thunder won a road game.  July 17, 2009  will go down as the beginning of a new streak, a road winning streak as the Thunder upset the Manchester Wolves, 41-39 in front of nearly 5,000 fans hoping to see their Wolves clinch a playoff spot.  The Thunder also canned a 13-game losing streak to pick up their second win of the season.

Tom Zetts, making his first start,  was voted the Russell Offensive Player of the game on 12-24 passing for 236 yards with five TD’s and just one INT.  Manchester QB Mike Potts had better numbers on 31-48 for 337 yardswith four TD’s and one pick.  Zetts, however, continually made the big play when he had to in leading the Thunder upset of the Wolves.

Remember four short weeks ago when the Thunder had a 20-0 lead on the Wolves at the Covelli Centre?  They had a 19-0 lead in this contest, and actually trailed 39-35 with :53 left in the game.  Zetts found Pat Clark for a 34-yard TD lifting the Thunder to a 41-39 lead with ten seconds left.  Mahoning Valley unsuccessfully attempted a two-point conversion.  Mike Alston blocked a 27-yard game-winning field goal attempt to secure the victory for the Thunder.  Alston finished the game with that blocked kick, four tackles, a sack, and a broken-up pass.

Jermaine Moye caught 5 passes for 93 yards and two TD’s.  CJ Brewer injured himself (dislocated finger) on the opening kickoff and never returned.  The Thunder were already playing the game without their biggest weapon, Quorey Payne, who was placed on IR earlier in the week. 

The Thunder close out the year against Green Bay at home this weekend.  Can Zetts lead the team to a two-game season-ending winning streak?  Should be a good week to catch the game.

There was no shortage of power, walks, errors, or hits.  The fireworks were supposed to start after the game, but there were plenty of explosions before the game ended.  The Mahoning Valley Scrappers and Oneonta Tigers played a long contest which started fifteen minutes late due to rain.  In the end, the Scrappers came away with a 10-8 victory.

Tigers starting pitcher Jeff Gerbe only lasted two-thirds of an inning as the Scrappers loaded the bases on a walk and two hit batters.  A Kyle Bellows groundout to short drove home Jordan Henry.  A Greg Folgia groundout plated Kyle Smith.  Ben Carlson then drilled one toward the pitcher that deflected into left field driving in Bellows and giving the Scrappers the early 3-0 lead.

Oneonta scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game at 3 apiece.  In the bottom of the fifth,  Juan Aponte homered to reclaim the Scrapper lead at 4-3.  Henry later singled, stole second, and scored on a Smith double pushing the lead to 5-3 in favor of Mahoning Valley.  Bellows then homered to left to push the lead to 7-3.  Rafael Vera got in on the action and drove home Folgia making it 8-3.

The Tigers tacked on a couple of runs in the sixth cutting the Scrapper lead to 8-5.  Guido Fonseca came in to pitch with the bases loaded with just one out and got out of trouble with an inning-ending double play minimizing the Tigers potential threat.

Oneonta clawed back into the game tying the score at 8 runs each on a two-run double from John Murrian.

The Scrappers took a 9-8 lead in the bottom of the eighth when Henry scored again on an error from the Tigers shortstop, Jim Gulliver.  Jason Smit stole second and scored on another Gulliver error to close the scoring at 10-8.

Bellows spoke about the Scrappers being a team that got two home runs in the game, but only have eight for the entire season.  ” It’s great to hit home runs, but we’re pretty much a small ball team.  It just feels good to win.”

Travis Fryman was mostly pleased with his team.  “We need to continue working on consistency.  It was nice to put the losing streak behind us against a hot team.  Oneonta and Staten Island are probably the two hottest teams in the league, so it felt good to get the win tonight.  I like winning the first game of the series.”

Smit-O-Meter:  0-4, Run Scored, SB (5), HBP, Currently Hitting .299

Travis Fryman was fun to watch as a Detroit Tiger and a Cleveland Indian.  The Travis Fryman coaching the Mahoning Valley Scrappers is patient, clever, and a great motivator.  Having followed the Scrappers very closely this season, I can really respect the job that Fryman does.  Fryman took a few minutes from his hectic schedule to talk about anything and everything with me.

The name Squeaky Parker triggered a smile from Fryman’s face.  Parker was someone who helped Fryman’s development as a hitter.  “When I first signed, I struggled with the bat.  Squeaky Parker told me he would work with me by throwing me batting practice all Winter.  In return he wanted a new car when I signed my first big contract”, chuckled Fryman.  The Parker promise lasted for three years.  Parker would throw pitches to Fryman all Winter for three seasons to make him a better hitter.  The catch was that the type of car he would ask for when Fryman got that first big contract was upgraded and a little more luxurious each year.  When Fryman finally got that big contract, he delivered on his end of the deal and parked the new vehicle in Parker’s garage as a Christmas present.  That story told me some stuff about Fryman that I suspected but wasn’t sure about.  He is as honest and loyal as they come.  Without hesitation, here is my interview with Travis Fryman.

Paneech:  Tell me about a day in the life of Travis Fryman.

Fryman:  Well, when we are on a homestand, there is a pretty hectic and normal pattern to my day.  I usually get up at about nine and have my morning coffee on the deck.  I then start to play around with the starting lineups for that night’s game.  I make a couple of different starting lineups because sometimes the pitching gets switched up, so I want to be ready.  I spend time with my wife and kids.  We usually go to eat a good lunch and share some valuable family time at around noon.  I usually get here to the ballpark at around 1:30 or 2:00 and start working on other things.  We stretch and take batting practice, then we have a little downtime before the game.  At 7:00 we hit the field to play the game.  After the game is over, I talk to you, and then I can head home.

Paneech:  I know your three sons are in attendance showing the importance of family to you.  How important is it that you coach a short-season team compared to going for eight straight months?

Fryman:  Very important.  I feel baseball has given me plenty and I want to give some back.  We live in a house for the Summer not far from here and there is a good balance between the important time I spend with my family and the amount of time required to coach here.  The shorter season has enough flexibility to allow me more quality time with my family.

Paneech:  Who can we expect to see in an Indians uniform out of this year’s Scrapper team?

Fryman:  Well, I think if all of them didn’t have a shot, they wouldn’t be here.  I see good in all of these guys.  There is such a big learning curve in such a short period of time.  Jordan Henry is probably the best baserunner I have ever coached here, he also hits good deeper into a count. 

Paneech:  Is winning more important than individual statistics at this level?

Fryman:  Actually, player development is the most important thing at this level.  Winning games is always a good thing, but our job is to make these guys better players so that the Indians can win games, which is more important than us winning games here.  Individual statistics don’t always tell the story on how a player is doing.  To me, the development is the most important thing at this level.

Paneech:  I have learned by watching you that you don’t expect these guys to do everything right.  Where is the line between “He is still learning”, and “He should make that play”?

Fryman:  Again, they are learning things every day.  If a player makes the same mistakes over and over and over again, then it is our job as a coaching staff to work with that player to correct the problem.  Understanding that this is A-level baseball helps me get through mistakes a little easier.  Expectations at this level are not what they would be at higher levels because development is the key.

Paneech:  Tell me your thoughts on steroids in baseball and whether or not they exist at this level.

Fryman:  The steroid issues that Major League Baseball are dealing with are being monitored better than they were.  There was a year when Cal Ripken [Jr.] and I were the only two shortstops to hit 20 HR and have 90+ RBI.  Ten years later you see the numbers for shortstops and everyone is hitting at least that many home runs and you start to realize that there is a problem.  I don’t think there are problems at this level.  There are a bunch of safeguards in place to make sure that it doesn’t happen and I feel that baseball is doing better with the problem.

Paneech:  Did getting traded from Detroit to Arizona in 1997 come as a shock?

Fryman:  Yes it did.  I was told by Detroit that I would be offered something to stay but it never materialized.  They [Detroit] brought in Cecil Fielder as a high-dollar free agent and didn’t want to have to pay too many guys large amounts of money.  I got a call out of the blue that said I was traded to Arizona, and then I got another call two weeks later out of the blue that said I was traded to Cleveland.

One Word Answers

Favorite Meal Of The Day:  Lunch

Favorite Music:  Country

Favorite Area Restaurant:  Yoder’s Amish Restaurant

Player You Got To Be Close With:  Paul Shuey

What Do You Watch On TV:  Fox News

Who Was Your Favorite Player Growing Up:  Dave Concepcion

I Love What I’m Doing -or- I Need To Move Up:  I Love What I’m Doing

Do You Play Video Games?  No

In conclusion, Travis Fryman has his life prioritized the way he wants it.  He is giving back to the game of baseball and able to spend quality time with his family.  The players know when it is time to work, and when it is OK to kick back and have a laugh.  He takes his position as a developmental league manager to heart and wishes nothing but the best for every player he has.

Fryman is a class act and the Mahoning Valley is lucky to have him here.  I hope he stays for many years because his mission is so well-spelled out.  He is a refreshing alternative to the arrogant athletes on display in so many sports.  He stays grounded and will make these guys better players, but more importantly, better people.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are happy to see Staten Island go home, especially Yankee prospect Neil Medchill.  Medchill homered for the third consecutive game helping the Yankees complete a three-game sweep of the Scrappers.

Medchill put Staten Island on the scoreboard in the second inning with a two-run bomb to deep right field.  “I thought he [Clayton Cook] was going to throw a change-up, he ended up coming with a fastball inside and I just reacted to it”, said Medchill after the game. 

The Scrappers got it going in the third as Jordan Henry and Kyle Smith singled to start the inning.  Henry scored on a Jason Smit sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 2-1.  A Ben Carlson single scored Smith to tie the game.   Chun Chen scored on a Kyle Bellows fielders choice coupled with a throwing error to give the Scrappers  a 3-2 lead. 

The Scrappers added a run in the fourth as Tim Palincsar doubled and later scored on a Kyle Smith double-play groundout to up the Mahoning Valley lead to 4-2.

In the sixth, Scrapper-killer Medchill doubled and scored as SS Kyle Smith mishandled a throw that would have ended the inning.

With the score at 4-4, Staten Island struck in the top of the eighth when Luke Merton delivered with an RBI single to give the Yankees the lead for good at 5-4.

“It’s frustrating getting beat by a team’s seven, eight, and nine hitters, and they have been coming through the whole series.  It [this series] gave me a feel for where we are at as a club”, remarked Scrappers Manager Travis Fryman after the game.

Smit-O-Meter:  1-4, 3B (4), RBI (14),   Currently batting: .311

All of this grumbling about Lebron James leaving Cleveland after this season is starting to really get on my nerves.  Don’t get me wrong, King James can pretty much pick his destination whether it be New York, Miami, or Australia.  I just don’t see Lebron wanting to leave Cleveland unless they really do stupid things in the front office between now and the end of the season.

Bringing in Shaq is a good thing.  Do you think Danny Ferry acted without first calling James and asking him for his opinion?  Danny Ferry is one of the puppets who Lebron controls.  If a player were out there and Ferry were to sign him without first contacting James, he would have a reason to pack his bags at the end of the season.  Fortunately for Cavs fans, that doesn’t happen because James is basically the GM of this team.

Mike Brown won Coach of The Year.  Brown replaced Paul Silas.  Lebron didn’t like playing for Silas because he actually tried to coach the team.  E=MC2?  Catching on yet?  Danny Ferry replaced Jim Paxson because Paxson got fired.  He could not be puppeted out like Ferry.  Mike Brown was basically hand-picked by James to coach the team.  So now Lebron is not only the GM, but now he is the head coach and has a puppet for each hand.

Besides being the GM, Head Coach, and player, James also is basically playing in his backyard.  A home game for the Cavs is a home game for Akron.  Lebron’s mother can come up to watch.  Granted, if he went somewhere else it’s not like he couldn’t afford to relocate his mother to watch games.  However, an incredible amount of the people who own season tickets in Cleveland are people who were following James’ magical run at Akron SVSM.

We all know that Anderson Varajeo is not even close to earning the money thrown at him last week by the Cavs.  He runs a good pick-and-roll with Lebron, so GM James said, “Pay the man“.  Coach James said, “Pay the man“.  Oh, and teammate Lebron James said, “Pay the man“.  So guess what… the man got paid.

Anyone who thinks that Lebron James isn’t running every dimension of Cleveland Cavaliers basketball to some extent is naive and/or blind.  This all raises the point that there is absolutely no reason for James to go anywhere for any reason.  Lebron James will be in Cleveland as long as he has control of all of his toys and titles.  Mario Lemieux owns the Penguins.  Don’t be suprised is Lebron turns around and buys the Cavs someday.  Then he can be owner, GM, Coach, player, vendor, etc…

Congratulations to Prince Fielder!!!  The Brewer won a couple of contests.  The obvious win was Tuesday night at Home-Run Derby where Fielder did well and captured the title of Home-Run King 2009.  Those doughnuts on the bat will disappear from that picture if there is no meat in them.  An advertised vegetarian has a tendency to get skinnier.  Fielder doesn’t seem to have lost much weight since going “Vegan” last summer.  How many grams of fat are there in asparagus anyway?

Here are some stories from other great sites:

• PacMan Jonesin’ has the scoop on why Richard Jefferson left his own wedding and didn’t bother to tell anyone.
• My Sports Rumors caught the rookie players for the New York Knicks blogging vlogging from Vegas.
• Bootlegger Sports warns it is time to step-it-up, baseball fans.
• Josh Q. Public takes a look at the 2009 baseball season that is now halfway over.
• No Guts No Glory asks the question, “Hey Bud Selig, are you drunk?”
• Sports Rubbish reveals which athletes resemble characters from Harry Potter movies.
• PSAMP brings news of a Sidney Crosby wannabe.
• The Fifth Corner reminds us “Don’t Give Up, Don’t Ever Give Up.”  A tribute to Jim Valvano.
• Detroit4lyfe says Derrick Mason has gone Barry Sanders on Baltimore’s Ravens.
• Babes Love Baseball writes about the Mets finding their savior, Jeff Francoeur.
• The Legend of Cecilio Guante praises Matt Cassel for “playing the system” so well in his new lucrative contract.
• Rootzoo takes a look at the All-time All-Star Game performers.
• Sharapova’s Thigh asks who throws a better middle-finger: Megan Fox or Mike Ditka?
• MoonDog Sports found that Senator Hatch wants the BCS investigated.

Is the young mistress / wife the new O J Simpson?  First Steve McNair’s 20 year-old mistress kills him and then herself.  Now yesterday, 37 year-old Arturo Gatti was strangled by his 23 year-old bride on their honeymoon.  Check out the video above, maybe one of the best fights I have ever seen in Ward vs Gatti.

Stories from other great sites:

• Bugs & Cranks points out that the average Yankee makes more money than an All-Star.
• Josh Q. Public takes a look at 2004 Padres draft pick Matt Bush to see what he is up to.
• PSAMP finds Steeler player Lawrence Timmons unable to remember his coach’s name. (Hint – It’s Mike Tomlin.)
• Major League Jerk comments on the cheap shot that Henderson gave Bisping when the outcome of the fight was clearly decided.
• Hugging Harold Reynolds talks about the real Rock & Wrestling Connection, and it isn’t Roddy Piper and Cyndi Lauper.
• Babes Love Baseball proves that a vote of confidence means nothing in this day and age as Manny Acta gets canned.

The Mahoning Valley Thunder traveled West in hopes of ending their losing streak to take on the Peoria Pirates.  The team was optimistic about their chances in Illinois, but the way this year has gone, optimism is a tough sell.  Mahoning Valley trailed 49-7 at halftime and ended up losing 76-34.  Two offensive mistakes in the first quarter, a fumble in the end zone recovered for a touchdown, and a 31-yard interception return created a hole too big for the Thunder to pull out of.

The Thunder played a much more respectable second half, as each team scored 27 points.  For Peoria, Brando scored three defensive touchdowns in the game on interception returns of 31 and 45 yards and recovered the fumble in the end zone for another.

For Mahoning Valley, Brad Roach started the game and went 4-7 with 2 INT’s.  Tom Zetts was inserted for the Thunder and went 19-36 for 256 yards and two TD’s.  Zetts also was picked off three times. 

I am sure the abscence of Quorey Payne in this game hurt Mahoning Valley’s chances.  CJ Brewer did his absolute best to pick up the slack finishing the game with 10 catches for 187 yards and a TD.  Brewer also added three rushing touchdowns for the Thunder.

New kicker, YSU’s Brian Palmer, was 5-6 in PAT’s, a glaring improvement over the shoddy kicking the Thunder had become accustomed to in games past. 

For the Thunder it is the 13th consecutive loss this season.

The Batavia Muckdogs got the best of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers Saturday night in Batavia, winning the game 5-4.  As a result of the loss, the Scrappers five game winning streak comes to an end.  Batavia pushed all five of their runs across the plate in the bottom of the third and held on for the victory.

The Scrappers got on the board first in the top of the third inning on a Jordan Henry RBI single to make it 1-0.  Brett Brach, the Mahoning Valley starter,  then had a nightmare of an inning in the bottom of the third as the Muckdogs offense exploded for five runs.  The five runs given up by the Scrappers were the most scored in an inning this season against them.

The Scrappers tried to fight back, scoring two runs in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Jason Smit and a throwing error to cut the lead to 5-3 in favor of Batavia.  Smit added an RBI double in the seventh, his third hit of the game, driving home another Scrapper run and slicing the lead to 5-4.  Unfortunately, Mahoning Valley could not tie the game in their final two at-bats, and ultimately came out with a loss.

The Scrappers wrap up the short road trip with a 5:05 game in Batavia before returning home to the friendly confines of Eastwood Field.

Smit-O-Meter:  3-5, 2 RBI, currently batting .333

Every once in the while, I am lucky enough to meet an athlete who is talented, charismatic, and a joy to talk with.  Jason Smit is all of the above.  He is a ball of energy who somehow ended up in America playing baseball for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.  We talked for a half-hour about baseball, Travis Fryman, and the differences between the United States and his home country, Australia. 

Paneech:  Talk to me about what it meant to be drafted at the age of 16 and having to leave home.

Smit:  Well, I was sixteen, I was at the Major League Baseball Academy.  A few scouts at the camp were interested in me and talked with me about signing.  It ended up narrowing down to three teams – Cleveland, The Rockies, and Atlanta too.  I liked Cleveland because they have a lot to do with player development, so I chose Cleveland and I am very grateful for that.  I was seventeen when I first came over here, which was pretty hard.  I had been away from my family before, but not for this period of time.  Well, I left, I remember it was the fifteenth of February and I ended up going home somewhere in October.  It was difficult, I didn’t get to see my family.  You know, some of these guys can pick up the phone and call their parents, call their mates and stuff like that, but for me it’s different.  The twelve hour difference, when I’m awake they are sleeping.  At the end of the day I am doing what I love and I’m loving every minute of it.

Paneech:  Tell me what it is like living with a host family and how you like the family you are with.

Smit:  It’s been neat to have a host family.  I’m very grateful, I’ve got two very nice host parents, they’re very good people, they open their house to us.  It’s actually me and [Chun] Chen rooming together.  It’s basically like living at home, it’s a home feeling and like having a mom and a dad – they look after you and they supply stuff for you.  Me and Chen have been together for a few years now, we had two years at instructional ball.  I know Chen pretty well, he is not bad when it comes to English, when there is a little joking on he is quite a character.

Paneech:  Growing up in Australia, there is Rugby, Cricket, Aussie Football, how did you take such a liking to baseball?

Smit:  Well, T-Ball is pretty big for youngsters there.  As soon as you hit twelve, it’s that conversion to pee wee baseball.  I was playing Australian Rules Football at that time too, which I loved playing.  I went from T-Ball to peewees and really enjoyed myself.  That next year, I made the Colt World Series, and that was the stage where I was like, ok, hold on, I’m not bad at this, I wanna try to keep going with this.

Paneech:  I know there are some cultural differences betwen here and home.  Have you taken a liking to things you see on American television?

Smit:  To be honest, it’s pretty much all the same.  We get the same soap operas and stuff like that.  I’ll watch anything on TV, I’m a big Sportscenter fan.  Back home there is Sportscenter, but there is no baseball on it whatsoever.  There’s sports, I’ll watch anything, I’m not too picky.

Paneech:  How about music, what do you listen to?

Smit: I like Kings of Leon, I like a lot of rock bands, I’ll listen to some rap here and there.  I will not listen to country at all.

Paneech:  Have you found a favorite restaurant to go eat at yet?

Smit:  Station Square definitely.  My host family is very good friends with the owner, but so far it’s been the winner, their chicken parmesian was pretty good.

Paneech:   Who is your favorite athlete of all-times?

Smit:  That’s a tough one.  I didn’t grow up watching baseball, so I can’t say it would be a baseball player.  It would be an AFL (Australian Rules FB) player that you guys don’t know.  Nick DelSanto, he’s a footballer I liked watching him and the way he plays.

Paneech:  You get teased by your fellow Scrappers about the accent and being from Australia, does it anger you or have you been able to deal with it?

Smit:  Not at all, at the end of the day I know they are all joking around and having a crack at me.  Right now, I’m the only Australian on the team so I do cop it pretty bad.  I kind of get back at them pretty good too, so it’s not too bad.

Paneech:  Have you taken a liking to any of the current Cleveland Indians?

Smit:  I really like watching Asdrubal Cabrera a lot.  I love the way he plays and how smooth he is, his hands.  he is one of those guys you want to watch.

Paneech:  Tell me about your shoulder injury and conversion to outfielder.

Smit:  Well it was actually in Spring training last year. I was playing second base, came across behind the pitcher’s mound and tried to throw to home plate,  and my shoulder pretty much popped out, and I did some damage to my labrum in the back and I was rehabbing for a long time, about four or five months.  Thanks to the guys here, I came back really strong, mayber even stronger.  Last year at the end of the year, I went to the outfield and proved I could play the outfield and proved that I was strong enough which was a good thing.  In Spring trining, I got outfield work, I think they are pretty happy with the way it’s going.

Paneech:  Has your family talked about coming here to catch a few games?

Smit:  It’s difficult, dad is an engineer, he’s pretty busy at work.  We have spoken about it, but the thing is if you are coming here, you have to come for at least a couple of weeks.  The flight is expensive and stuff like that.  I mean, they definitely will, within the next year, will come and see me wherever I go and catch a few games, it should be good.  I’ve got an older brother, 22 years-old, his name is Rene.  He’s actually a very smart guy.  He’s a software engineer, he’s in his last year at University, he’s like my dad, very smart guy.

Paneech:  You guys finally get a day off on July 12th.  What will you do all day?

Smit:  I’m definitely going to have a little sleep, catch up on some sleep, go watch a movie, go out to lunch, and actually get a good dinner for once.  It’s pretty hard playing at 7:00, I’m looking forward to it.

Paneech:  What is it like playing for Travis Fryman?

Smit:  Ah, I love it.  I’ve had him for a couple of years now, he’s one of, if not the best coach I have ever had the chance to play for.  I love the way he goes about the game.  He knows the right times to be hard, and he knows when to lay back and have some fun.  He’s done a hell of a job so far and he will go a long way with coaching, he’s a good guy.

So there you have it, Jason Smit, a good guy who is having fun doing what he loves.