ABL Wrap Up & Anthony Alford's Thoughts

 
   The Canberra Elite Cavalry topped the Sydney Blue Sox 7-2 on Sunday, to wrap up their Australian Baseball League schedule.  The Cavalry had the same won-loss record as the Sox, but Sydney gained the last ABL playoff spot by virtue of a better head-to-head record with Canberra, which was all but sealed when they took 5 of the first 6 games of the season from the Cavalry.

   The Blue Jays sent four players to Canberra, including fan favourite C Jack Murphy, back for his third stint with the Cavalry, and first timers 2B Christian Lopes, 1B LB Dantzler, and OF Anthony Alford.  Lopes tore up the league, hitting .371/.421/.581, including a batting average of .450 over his last 10 games, before suffering a season-ending hamstring injury with three rounds left to go in the regular season.  His injury left a huge hole in the Canberra lineup as they battled for that final playoff spot.  The veteran Murphy was his usual dangerous down under self, hitting .353/.413/.542, providing leadership and deft handling of the Cavalry pitching staff.  Dantzler was just starting to come around at the plate until back and hip injuries sidelined him for the final month, and he wound up hitting .267/.316/.425.

   The player most Blue Jays fans wanted to see was Alford.  The toolsy outfielder abruptly gave up college football for baseball in late September, and was sent to Australia to make up for lost playing time.  Alford has just over 100 plate appearance as a pro, spread out over three abbreviated minor league seasons, and his inexperience showed against the mostly veteran pitching in the ABL, hitting .207/.327/.319, along with 9 stolen bases in 11 attempts.

  We had a chance to speak with Alford as league play was wrapping up this weekend.   Considering that other than brief trips to Florida for extended spring training (after spring football ended), Alford probably hasn't been out of Mississippi that much, let alone travel to the other side of the world, so we asked him how he found living in a foreign country.  "It was very nice experience playing here in Australia," he observed.  "The only adjustment I really had to make was driving on the other side of the road."

   We noticed that Alford didn't get a whole lot of strikes to swing at as the season progressed.  The veteran ABL pitchers fed him a steady diet of breaking balls on the outer half of the plate, followed by fastballs on the inner half.   Alford agreed, and suggested that he was partly to blame for putting himself into bad counts:

The pitching wasn't really overpowering. You were right, I saw a lot of breaking balls and fastballs out of the zone. I put myself in a bad situation a lot of times by being too aggressive. But they did do a good job of mixing pitches up on me. Most of the guys I faced had at least 6 or 7 years of experience on me.

   With all of 25 PA's above rookie ball in his career, Alford likely had never faced pitching on a level with what he faced in Australia.  Even though many commented that the quality of pitching was down this year in the league compared to other years, most of the pitchers in the league rely on pitching smarts and their breaking stuff far more than pitchers in rookie ball do.  Still, Alford was upbeat about the experience he gained:

I really just came over here to learn and get caught up as much as I can. I wasn't really worried about the stats. I know they will come.  This experience definitely benefited me in a lot of good ways. I've learned that the pitchers over here don't pitch like the pitchers in the states. It's like they pitch you backwards here.

   When we asked him what part of his game he was most pleased with as a result of his Australian experience, he came up with the answer quickly:

 I was more pleased with my improvement on defense. It's like I'm a totally different person on defense from the time I first got here and where I am at now. But I definitely need to keep getting at bats and be consistent with my approach at the plate. 

  As the ABL season ends, Alford and his Blue Jays teammates will be heading back home.  Alford will have about a month to rest and get ready for the upcoming season, and told us that he reports for spring training on February 26th.  It will be interesting to see how this experience benefits him.  Our bet would be that it will be in the form of improved pitch recognition.  Even against the advanced competition, and despite his occasional aggressiveness, Alford had a walk rate of 12% - still not good enough for a leadoff hitter, but impressive considering his resume to this point.  It will also be interesting to see where Alford is assigned after spring training.  Our initial thoughts had him starting with Dunedin, but he may need to at least start the season in Lansing - which is good news to those of us in Southern Ontario, who were about to scrap our travel plans after Franklin Barreto was dealt.

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  We also had a chance to correspond with David Polkinghorne (@Super_Couch on Twitter), who covers the Cavalry for the Canberra Times.  In light of the injuries suffered by Lopes and Dantzler, and given some of the concerns expressed by Murphy about the import rule, we have to wonder if the Blue Jays are all that thrilled about sending their prospects to Australia.  Polkinghorne's response:

I guess injuries are injuries and could happen anywhere. The import rule doesn't really take away playing time from the Jays players as they're given preference in selection, it's unaffiliated guys like (Canberra IF Marcus) Lemon who miss out on playing time. So the ABL is no longer a way for American guys to get back into the MLB system. Lots of people feel it has lowered the standard of play this season though which might make MLB clubs hesitant about sending guys down under. The Cavs are a lot weaker this season but that is partly recruiting on their behalf as well.

   All in all, the ABL was entertaining to watch this winter.  Listening to commentary from the Aussie television guys was fun - they don't take things too seriously, and make observations like, "I reckon that pitch was about 75."  The live stream was much more reliable this year, and the highlights on the ABL YouTube channel were updated regularly.  It's interesting to see the variance in stadium facilities from one city to another - some are obviously makeshift diamonds on cricket grounds, while others are not that far removed from parks in the low minors in the U.S.


   

Minor League Notebook

   It's that time of year.  There is snow on the ground, and a bitter chill in the air.
But the days are starting to get just a little bit longer, and the warmth of the sun can sometimes be felt through the biting wind.  Baseball can't be far away.

  We have gathered a fair number of tidbits of information about the Blue Jays farm system that, so we thought we would resurrect the old Notebook and share them with you.

Christian Lopes wielding a hot bat
Canberra Times photo

   Christian Lopes took a few weeks  to adjust to the veteran pitching in the Australian Baseball League, but he caught fire, as the above photo shows, and has been a mainstay in the Canberra lineup.
   Through January 9th, Lopes was hitting .371/.421/.581 for the Cavalry, mashing at a .450 clip over his last 10 games, and with fellow Jays farmhand C Jack Murphy, was the main reason Canberra was still in the playoff picture as the Australian Baseball League season winds down.
  Rainy weather invaded the Cavalry's homestand last weekend, and may have been responsible for ending Lopes' season.  Lopes was rounding third when he heard a pop in his left hamstring as he slipped on muddy ground on the baseline.  He was shut down for the remainder of the weekend (which was washed out by the rain, anyway), and according to our source in Australia, is done for the season, and has likely headed back to the U.S.
   Lopes has had a mostly nondescript minor league career.  Once a prominent prep prospect, Lopes' stock slipped to the 7th round in 2011, and he has put up pedestrian numbers in four minor league seasons.
   We've learned, via the Canberra Times, that Lopes is tri-lingual.  He has a Brazilian background, and his mother is from the Philippines, and he speaks English, Portuguese and Tagalog.
   According to Manager Michael Collins, Lopes' performance this year has been a result of increased patience at the plate.  He told the Times:
  

  "The big thing I've noticed is when he gets a good pitch to hit, he's not missing it at this point," he said.

"If you miss those good pitches to hit, or swing at bad pitches, you put yourself in a hole.

    "In the last couple of weeks, each time he's got a good pitch, he's put a good swing on it and had success."

   A hamstring injury can be a tricky thing.  It can take a few weeks or months to recover from, depending on the severity of the injury.  The Blue Jays likely wanted him shut down immediately after the injury, and he likely is rehabbing in Florida at the moment.  He may not be ready for the start of spring training, again depending on the extent of the strain.
   Lopes should start the season with AA New Hampshire, unless he misses time in the spring, which might see him return to Dunedin.  His success down under should set him up well at AA, where he will face the same type of pitchers he faced in Australia, although with higher FB velocities and better command of their secondary pitches.

  While the Blue Jays must be pleased with the relationship they've had with the ABL over the past several years, we can't help but wonder if they are still as content after the events of the past few weeks.  LB Dantzler has been out of the Canberra lineup for several weeks with back and hip issues, while Anthony Alford had to come out of the game yesterday after injuring his jaw while trying to make a diving catch in the outfield.  You can't necessarily blame the playing conditions for Alford's injury, but we've noticed that some of the fields in the league are not nearly of the same quality as those stateside.  We don't know about Dantzler, but those conditions may have played a factor in Lopes' injury.

   We thought we would include some action between Lopes and lefthander Matt Boyd.  We've been in touch with Boyd to see how he has been doing this offseason.  Here's our interview with him:

Clutchlings:  How much are you able to train in the off-season ?  Do you have to get a job?

Boyd:   I am able to train as much as I want to. I do have a job giving lessons and camps as well as some odd jobs here and there but you can always find time to get your work in, sometimes that means getting up a little earlier.

Clutchlings: What is the focus of your training? Cardio/strength/flexibility/agility, or some cross-training?

Boyd:   The focus of my training shifts throughout the off-season. Early on this year it was recovering from the surgery I had after the season.  It flared up during the last month of the year. It was a clean up…I had a big chip taken out of my elbow.  In the beginning it was just rehab, getting my body healthy and cardio.  So winter ball wasn't an option. After I was able to work out fully again my focus has been to just get stronger, especially in my lower body. The main focus for it all is to stay athletic and do all that you mentioned.  I feel better than I have in the last three seasons now...I am excited for this upcoming season.

Clutchlings:   What type of training do you do? Has your attitude toward nutrition changed since turning pro ?

Boyd:  You know it hasn't much. I was very fortunate to have a great strength and nutrition coach at OSU that helped me build good habits that carried into pro ball. But it is hard to always eat healthy when you are on the road. And as for training its a combination of agility/ cardio work and just in the gym with weights.


   Boyd, who was married a few weeks ago, had a better April than Daniel Norris and Kendall Graveman, posting a 4-0 0.29 record with Dunedin.  Florida State League hitters were overmatched against the lefthander, who fanned 37 in his first 31 innings.   Boyd was promoted to AA in May, but hurt his foot in his first start for New Hampshire, and he had trouble getting his mechanics back. Sent back to Dunedin, he pitched well and earned another shot at AA, but was sent back to the D-Jays to help with their playoff push in August.  Obviously, the bone chip must have been affecting him in his August return, as he did not pitch as effectively in the Florida State League playoffs.
   A 6th round pick out of Oregon State in 2013, Boyd pitched out of the bullpen until his senior year of college, when he led the Beavers to the College World Series semi-final.  Boyd has pitched almost exclusively as a starter since joining the Toronto organization.  His FB sits between 90-92, and touches 94 on occasion.  He does not have one outstanding pitch in his arsenal, but commands all four of his pitches well.  We have wondered if Boyd might not be converted to relief, but he lacks that power fastball, so the club appears to be content to let him continue as a starter.  Boyd profiles as a back of the rotation starter, but we're encouraged that he feels healthy, and are eager to see how he fares this year.
   Boyd should get a chance to try things again at AA this year.  We have to admit that he's one of our favourite prospects.  He responds quickly to questions we've asked, and he seems like a level headed young man.  We hope he earns a promotion to Buffalo this season, so that we can watch him pitch in person.

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 Just before Christmas, the Blue Jays announced the coaching staffs for their minor league affiliate.

The Buffalo staff will remain intact.  Gary Allenson returns for a second season, along with hitting coach Richie Hebner, and pitching coach Randy St. Claire. Bobby Meacham returns for a second season at the helm with New Hampshire, and will be joined by Canada's own Stubby Clapp, who served as hitting coach for a pair of seasons with Dunedin, and Bob Stanley, who was the bullpen coach with the big club in 2014.  

  Omar Malave, the 2014 FSL Manager of the Year, returns to pilot the Dunedin Jays, and will be joined by hitting coach John Tamargo Jr, who managed Lansing for the past three seasons, and another Canadian, pitching coach Vince Horsman, who moves up from Lansing as well.  Former Blue Jays C Ken Huckaby moves from hitting coach to manager at Lansing, with pitching coach Jeff Ware moving up from Vancouver to join him, along with Kenny Graham, who managed the GCL Jays last year, and is tutoring Jays prospects in the Australian Baseball League at the moment.

   John Schneider will return for a second season as Vancouver's manager, and will be joined by holdover hitting coach Dave Pano, and Jim Czajkowski, who was at New Hampshire last year.

  Dennis Holmberg will be back to manage Bluefield again this year, while Jose Mateo takes over the complex league team.

   On the administration side, Dane Johnson moves from minor league pitching co-ordinator to bullpen coach in Toronto, with Sal Fasano moving from roving catching instructor to assume Johnson's duties.  Darold Knowles, who was Dunedin's pitching coach, takes over the role of rehab pitching coach (working with Clinton Hollon and Jeff Hoffman, among others), and Rick Langford becomes senior pitching advisor.
   We also learned last week that Clayton McCullough, who led the Vancouver Canadians to back to back titles before being promoted to Co-ordinator of Minor League Instruction for the system last year, has left to become the Dodgers new Minor League Field Co-ordinator.

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   Numerous sources are reporting that a 20-second pitch clock will be implemented at AA and AAA in 2015, but not the majors just yet, thanks very much.

    There can be little doubt that the pace of play in MLB has slowed considerably:

   Where does this slowdown come from?    From numerous sources.   With today's hitters taught to be discerning at the plate, pitchers are throwing more pitches:

     Which leads to more pitching changes per game:

    If the average pitching change, from the moment the manager calls time to stroll out and remove him, to the time the incoming relief pitcher throws his first pitch to a batter, takes ten minutes, times two teams, that's a game that is a minimum of 20 minutes longer than it was less than 20 years ago.

  Factor that with the increasing number of pitches thrown in a game, and you have one that's about a half an hour longer, on average, than it was prior to 1990.

   We do like the idea of a pitch clock.  It forces batters, pitchers, and catchers to work faster.  We don't expect every pitcher to work as quickly as Mark Buehrle, who takes an MLB-low 17.3 seconds, on average, to deliver a pitch, does, nor do we expect every hitter to be a human rain delay, like David Ortiz, who has three of the top 10 slowest home run trots of all time. 

   The Arizona Fall League implemented several measures to speed up game times, including a pitch clock of 20 seconds.  Realizing that was only one part of the problem, other time-saving measures were introduced:

• Hitters had to keep one foot in the batter's box throughout each at-bat, except in the case of a foul ball, wild pitch, inside pitch that made a hitter sprawl out of the box, passed ball or a handful of other minor disruptions.

• On intentional walks, the catcher showed four fingers and the hitter immediately jogged to first base.

• Teams allowed a total of three mound conferences per game. 

• A maximum 2:05 break was in effect between innings; hitters were required to be in the box by the 1:45 mark.

• A 2:30 break applied during pitching changes. Like the 2:05 stoppage between innings, that's the same guideline used in MLB regular-season games.  Umpires tried harder to enforce it in Arizona.

   The results of the experiment were mixed.  Teams would often find a way around the rules: did a visit to the mound by a catcher to go over signals with the pitcher count as a conference?  Just the same, baseball was encouraged by the outcome of the games to implement the pitch clock in the minors this season, meaning that it likely is on its way to MLB in the future.

   

Aussie League Notebook

   With play in the Australian Baseball League, a loop designed to give some added reps to MLB prospects, and to give homegrown players a chance to develop, heading into the final month of its season, we thought we would take a look at how several Blue Jays prospects are faring, and examine some general issues with the league.


Blue Jays Prospects

    The player everyone is asking about is CF Anthony Alford.  And that's understandable, given that the 2012 draftee was labelled a 3rd round pick with 1st round talent, but dropped in the draft due to his commitment to college football.
  For the past three seasons stateside, Alford has reported to extended spring training after school (and spring football camp) had ended, and then was assigned to a short season team for several weeks of play before returning to school in early August.  The Blue Jays tried to convince Alford to give up the gridiron this summer, and after initially spurning their contract extension, he agreed to switch to the diamond in late September.  As a result of his truncated baseball experience over the past three years, Alford has been limited to 107 plate appearances, only 25 of them at the full season level.

Anthony Alford photo - @ajalfor1

   As might be expected, Alford has struggled at the plate against the more experienced pitching in the ABL.
One of the youngest players in the league, Alford has posted a line of .206/.325/.309, and is hitting only .179 over his last 10 games.  His 35 strikeouts are tied for the league lead, and his 32% K ratio is a concern. Pitch recognition was a problem earlier in the ABL season for Alford, but he has started to work the count more often.  Our viewing of his AB's over the past weekend showed that the opposition was giving him a steady diet of breaking balls on the outer half of the plate, and fastballs low on the inside part.  Alford was doing a better job of laying off the breaking balls, but swung at several fastballs outside of the zone, resulting in weak groundball contact.  Word obviously has gotten around the league, and Alford isn't being thrown a whole lot of strikes.
   When he has shown some patience, and has attacked pitches in the strike zone, Alford is starting to drive the ball better, and is getting some more line drive type contact.  We can't find a stat for it, but Alford has to be among the league leaders in hit by pitches.  Ordinarily, that might be indicative of a player who crowds the plate, but we think it's more of a reflection of Aussie pitchers pounding him with those inside fastballs.  Alford has worked on his bunting, and it has paid off, as he has dropped a number of successful ones along the third base line, and the 3rd baseman in almost every situation has had no chance to get him at 1st.
   On the basepaths, Alford's speed can be a distraction, but it hasn't translated into huge SB totals. Again, veteran pitchers know how to hold runners on, and the Canberra coaching staff likely prefers Alford to pick his spots.  Alford is tied for the league lead in runs, which granted is sometimes more of a reflection of the hitters behind him in the lineup, but to us, it shows that Alford is getting on base (not as much as we would like for a leadoff hitter, but at a better rate than we had expected), and is using both his speed and baserunning smarts to get into scoring position.   He made a heads up play over the weekend and impressed us.  Taking his lead from 2nd,  Alford froze for a second as Christian Lopes hit a weak chopper to the 3rd baseman, who didn't look over at him before he threw to 1st, and Alford alertly took 3rd as a result.
   In the outfield Alford has made some highlight reel plays.  He also booted a fairly routine flyball that led to a run in his last game.  He shows good reaction to the ball, and a strong arm here:

   The Blue Jays likely expected Alford to have some struggles at this level.  The experience of playing every day from Thursday to Sunday, and having to cope with travel and adjusting to life in a country that's just a little bit different from living in America is probably just as important. We're sure the Blue Jays would rather his first 100 AB-season had come in the GCL two years ago, and not against pitchers who have a plan.


Christian Lopes, IF
  Lopes was a 7th round pick in the 2011 draft, and was a fairly high profile high school player.
We wonder if he would have been better going the collegiate route, because his numbers after 4 minor league seasons are those of an org guy's: .251/.321/.367.
   Something about the Southern Hemisphere has agreed with Lopes, however, and next to Jack Murphy, he has been Canberra's most consistent threat, hitting .343/.384/.471.
   Lopes has a compact stance at the plate, and puts the ball in play, striking out only 8 times in 110 PA's (he doesn't walk a whole lot, either). The pop has not been there, but  the ABL seems to be more of a groundball pitcher league, and Canberra's home stadium, Narrabundah Park, is a tough home run place, with LF and RF lines 330 feet down the line, and has the usual high Milb outfield walls:

Austadium.com

 
      Just the same, Lopes has been a pleasant surprise, and while he's been off the Top Prospects radar for a while now, his Australian experience will set him up nicely for AA.


Jack Murphy, C
    Something happens to Murphy in the rarefied air over the Pacific Ocean on the flight to Australia every fall. He turns from a Crash Davis-type career light-hitting (.230/.310/.373) journeyman catcher to one of the most feared hitters in the ABL.
   This is Murph's 3rd go at playing down under, and he continues to mash, hitting .356/.417/.545 this year.
According to David Polkinghorne, who covers Canberra for Canberra Times Sport, Murphy is a beloved figure in the Nation's Capital because of past heroics.  He led the Cavalry to the Claxon Shield, emblematic of ABL supremacy, in 2013, and hit a key grand slam to lead them to victory in the now-defunct Asian Championship tournament.
   Murphy is a big guy (6'4", 230), and looks downright menacing at the plate.  Polkinghorne lauds his leadership abilities, and calls him, "a true leader of the team both at and behind the plate."
   The obvious question is how a guy who has always been a minor league back up turn into Mike Piazza when he crosses the International Dateline?  It likely has everything to do with the quality of pitching in the league.  Many of the veteran types have breaking balls the likes of which younger players like Alford have never seen before, but not the velocity to get players out who have the patience to lay off pitches outside of the strike zone.  The younger ABL pitchers tend to have less control, so they eventually have to give in to hitters who are willing to wait them out.
   Murphy is a great handler of pitchers, and likely has been a good mentor to the younger players on the team.  He seems to have a place to play as long as he wants to.

LB Dantzler, 1B
   The 2013 14th rounder was the Northwest League's MVP that year, but struggled in his first try at full season ball, hitting .245/.328/.361 between Lansing and Dunedin.
   His struggles at the plate continued through his first month in Australia, but he appears to have started to figure things out, hitting .293 over his last 10 games.
  Like Lopes, Dantzler puts the ball in play.  His swing tends to get a little long at times, but he's hit several towering home runs.


The Import Rule
   Canberra is currently in a three-way battle for the ABL's final playoff spot.  If they come up short by a game, they can point to a game before Christmas as the culprit.
   The Cavalry and Brisbane were tied at 4 before Canberra exploded for 7 runs in the top of the 13th to secure a victory. Or so they thought.
    The import rule dictates that an ABL team have at least 5 Aussies in the 10-man lineup at all times. When outfielder and homebrew Adam Silva was hit by a pitch in the 6th inning and couldn't continue, Canberra Manager Michael Collins was faced with a dilemma.  The only available Aussie on the roster was pitcher Wayne Ough.  Collins, perhaps mindful of when Adelaide broke the quota in a game against the Cavalry last year and only received a fine, took a chance, and substituted American OF Alex Hudak in the lineup.
   The league decided to take the victory away from Canberra, much to the surprise and frustration of Murphy.  He told Polkinghorne that the only reason US players had become an issue was because Canberra won the league title in 2013 with a number of them in the lineup, which caused other clubs to complain.  The import rule was at two players at that time, and has now risen to 5.  And that's not good for the game, says Murphy:

   "(The ABL) should be more focused on putting the best possible product on the field from a baseball standpoint.  Isn't that what people come to see?  They pay to watch these games because they feel they're watching the best possible baseball they can watch in Australia.  Once (MLB) teams start to realize it's no longer a competitive environment then they're going to pull their talent from the league, and then what will be left? - you're going to be left with what you had before the ABL started."

  A rule is a rule, but Murphy does raise a good point.  Some teams have trouble attracting Aussie players, particularly if there is not a strong amateur baseball program in the area.  Many Milb Aussie-born players prefer to play in their hometowns, not necessarily where their major league teams assign them - as Polkinghorne noted, the only MLB-affiliated local player on the Cav's roster is C Robbie Perkins, and the rest are "players the  other (Aussie) states don't want".  And MLB teams likely would be less than thrilled at the prospect of having playing time taken away from their players.
  Just the same, the rule was put in place to help develop Australian talent.  On the other side of the coin, having to put a pitcher in the lineup at any spot other than the mound makes a bit of a mockery of the game, and also increases the risk of injury to that player.  The problem with any such sort of quota is that assumes a level playing field, and equal access to talent. Such is not the case in Australia, and the league needs to address this issue in the off season.  As long as Aussie players can pick and choose where they play in the league, there's an uneven distribution of talent.   An annual draft of native players, to us, seems like a logical step.

The Future of the ABL
   Unequal access to talent and unstable franchise ownership doomed the first edition of the ABL, which lasted from 1989 to 1999.
  MLB and the Australian Baseball Federation re-launched the league in 2010, with MLB retaining a 75% stake in the funding of the partnership.  The league owns all of the franchises, which has lent the league more stability than its previous incarnation.  Sponsorship from local businesses helps to defray expenses.
   The concept behind the league is to help develop Australian talent, as well as giving MLB and Asian prospects additional playing experience.
   The league published attendance figures for each game in past years, but appears to have stopped the practice.  From what we have seen, most parks are half full at best, meaning that attendance likely is averaging something just shy of 1 000 spectators per game. We're not sure if that makes the sport viable in the long term.
   According to Polkinghorne, baseball is still very much a minor sport in Australia, ranking far behind cricket, and it probably ranks with soccer and women's basketball with the sporting public.  If MLB were to pull up stakes, he notes, it would deal a serious blow to the Aussie game.
   The original five year agreement MLB and the ABF signed is up for renewal after this season, and it will be interesting to see where they go from here.  With the announcement by President Obama of a gradual restoration of diplomatic relations between the USA and Cuba, we wonder if the Serie Nacional, which mostly fits MLB's off season, might become the desired location for major league teams to place their prospects.  It's closer, meaning that teams can keep closer tabs on their investment, and the cost of transporting players would be less.  This is a scenario that is several years away, at best, though.  Just the same, the ABL is at a bit of a crossroads.  The direction it takes from here is dependent on how happy MLB is with their current arrangement.
   The Blue Jays, for their part, have to be pleased with the arrangement.  Jon Berti used a successful 2013 ALB campaign to vault himself into fringe-prospect status.  Other Toronto farmhands like Michael Crouse, Kenny Wilson, and Marcus Knecht have had successful stints in the league.  And Alford's struggles now will likely pay dividends when he starts full season play this year - he will be a more polished, patient hitter after this experience.

Catching the Cavalry

   The Australian Baseball League, according to a release on its website, is  "revolutionizing the way fans across Australia and around the globe will witness baseball Down Under," with live streaming of its games, and a youtube channel.

   Play in the ABL started yesterday, and continues until the league championship the first weekend of February.  The majority of its games area played from Thursday to Saturday.

   The Blue Jays have had a working agreement with the Canberra Cavalry for several years now, and the relationship has been quite successful.  The Jays send prospects who need additional playing time, and the Cavalry get a reasonably steady supply of players.

   This year, the Jays have sent perennial fan favourite (and former league MVP) catcher Jack Murphy, as well infielders LB Dantzler,  and Christian Lopes.  Outfielder Anthony Alford, who decided to forego his college football career, has reported to Australia, and will get an opportunity to accelerate his development with the Cavalry.  

  Every one of the Cavalry's 48-game schedule will be televised, starting with their season opener on November 6th.  Canberra is 15 hours ahead of Toronto, so watching games live will mean some early morning wake up calls for Blue Jays fans.  

A Night at the Nat

 A recent west coast road trip found us at Vancouver's venerable Nat Bailey stadium, to watch the hometown defending Northwest League champs take on last year's runner-up Boise Silverhawks on a beautiful early July evening.
   The Blue Jays and Vancouver first reached a player development agreement in 2011, and the results have been nothing short of spectacular.  The Canadians also won the NWL title that first year, and with a mix of recent college draftees and players from extended spring training on this year's roster, are competitive again this year, just two games out of first at game time.
   Vancouver has a lengthy minor league history, dating back almost a hundred years.  The city hosted a Triple A team in the Pacific Coast league for most of the last half of the previous century.  When the franchise relocated to Sacramento after the 2000 season, the NWL relocated its Southern Oregon team to the lower mainland.  The Canadians were affiliated with the A's from 2001 to 2010.  Locally owned since 2007, the Canadians have drawn significantly better as a Jays affiliate, attracting over 162 000 games in their first season.  After 14 home dates this season, they're averaging just over 4 600 fans per game, trailing only Spokane. The C's are very popular in Vancouver - many people we encountered during our stay were thrilled to hear we were taking in a game, and most indicated that they had either recently attended a game, or were about to in the near future. With a PDC in effect until the end of the 2016 season, it's hard to see the Jays giving up on this market, where their farmhands can play in an enthusiastic environment.  It helps to further grow the brand, too.
   The Canadians make their home at Nat Bailey, nestled up against green space in a central Vancouver neighbourhood.  The Nat was originally named Capilano Stadium, and was built in 1951.  It was renamed in 1978 to honour a local restaurateur who had been pivotal in bringing minor league ball back to the city.
The new ownership invested heavily in renovations upon taking over the club.  The stadium now hosts the Canadians and the UBC Thunderbirds, and seats over 5 000, with a kids play area down the left field line, and other family-friendly amenities that are in vogue in milb parks today.  There are a few obstructed views because of several pillars which support the grandstand - we were behind one with our grandstand seats.  We didn't know the seats were obstructed when we purchased them online, and while we were able to shift down a bit after the 2nd inning in order to get a clearer view of home plate, the club should indicate the view for purchasers, or discount the seats.  The Nathan's famous hot dogs and selection of local craft beer helped make up for having to peer around the pillar.
   The evening's game featured a pair of celebrities.  One was former Expo and Canadian Baseball Hall of Famer Tim Raines.  Raines, who was known as the Rock, is more like a boulder now.  He was in town in his role as a roving Jays minor league baserunning and outfielder coach, working with the young Canadians on the finer points of the game.  Raines patiently sat under the grandstand, signing memorabilia from mostly middle-aged men until the 7th inning.
   Another famous name was that of Gretzky.  Not Wayne, in this case, although he was in town for a game a few days later, but rather his son Trevor, who was chosen by the Cubs in the 7th round of the 2011 draft.
The younger Gretzky reminded spectators that this was Class A (short season) ball by taking a bad route on Chaz Frank's leadoff double in the home half of the first, then robbing LB Dantzler of another double by making a sliding grab along the left field line two batters later.  Frank repaid Gretzky the favour by getting caught stealing at third, breaking a baseball cardinal rule of not making the third out at third base (taking the bat out of NWL player of the week Jordan Leyland's hands).
   Starting for Boise was Edmonton native Rob Zastryzny, the Cubs' 2nd round pick last month.  Zastryzny, who grew up in Texas, was making his pro debut, and was limited to only that first inning of work.  His successor, James Pugliese, was touched up for four runs by the Canadians in the third, not helping his own cause by booting a routine double play ball.  Frank again showed his aggressiveness on the base paths, scoring from third on a ball in the dirt that Boise catcher Cael Brockmeyer couldn't control.  The ball bounced only a few feet from home, but Pugliese couldn't handle the toss from Brockmeyer, and Frank slid across with the third run of the inning.
   Starting on the mound for the Canadians was Matt Dermody, a 6'5" beanpole with the build that the Jays are so fond of.  Dermody was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 28th round of the June draft out of the University of Iowa.  The lefthander had been drafted previously by the Pirates, Rockies, and Diamondbacks. Dermody was making his first start as a pro, after a pair of long relief outings for the Canadians.  Dermody was clocked around 89-90 with his fastball, reaching 92 in the 3rd.  His offspeed stuff was coming in around 76-77, and he was successful in keeping the Silverhawks' hitters off balance as a result.  Dermody was really only in trouble during 3rd inning, when he gave up a one-out single to Brockmeyer, followed by a double to the left field wall by Gretzky.  Brockmeyer showed again his inexperience at the pro level when he attempted to score from third on a groundball to 3rd base by leadoff hitter David Bote.  Canadians 3rd baseman Andy Fermin easily threw Brockmeyer out at home. Second baseman David Harris made a nice play to end the inning, quickly stepping in front of Bote to field a slow roller and throw out the batter at first.
   Dermody pitched 5 scoreless innings, giving up only those two hits.  The Silverhawks' Pugliese was followed by a pair of relievers, who kept the Canadians off the scoreboard for the rest of the game.  Lefthander Scott Silverstein relieved Dermody in the 6th, and may have been the most impressive pitcher of the night.  Silverstein was the Jays' 25th round pick last month out of Virginia.  Silverstein had previously made one start with Bluefield of the Appy League prior to his promotion to Vancouver. With his fastball mostly around 92, Silverstein pounded the strike zone down low, and retired the first six hitters he faced.  In the 8th, he got into a bit of a jam, allowing a pair of singles around a strikeout. Bote hit a one-hopper right back to Silverstein, who promptly wheeled and threw to shortstop Dickie Thon Jr who was covering 2nd.  Thon's relay to first wasn't in time to nail Bote, but for some reason, Boise shortstop Danny Lockhart, who was on 2nd when the ball was hit, didn't move on the play, even though he was forced.  By the time he realized his error and bolted for 3rd, Canadians first baseman Dantzler had thrown to Fermin to nip him for the thrid out.  Silverstein blanked Boise in the 9th to preserve the shutout and the win.
    The Canadians in-game entertainment staff do a great job.  On the video scoreboard, there's a good balance between information and entertainment.  The grounds crew has quite a YouTube following - they put together a nice little choreographed routine to Michael Jackson's Beat It when they had completed their 3rd inning raking of the infield.  Here's a sample of their work:

All in all, it was a good night at the ball park.