The boys of summer are gone.  The Hickory Crawdads ended their 2006 season today in Hickory with a rained out game.  They guys were all ready to go home, so some of them will get an early start and others are leaving in the morning for about 10 days of R&R before reporting to the instructional camp in Florida.

The ‘Dads did hold an autograph session on the field after the game had been cancelled, so I got an opportunity to wish everyone luck in their future baseball careers. 

Note of Interest in Today’s News:

Former Hickory Crawdad Brent Lillibridge (pictured), who moved to High-A ball in Lynchburg back in July, has been taken on by the Altoona Curve AA club.  He, along with former Crawdads Kyle Bloom (LHP) and Yoann Torealba (RHP) begin their play with the Curve tonight at 6:05 against the Bowie Baysox (Baltimore).  Altoona begins playoffs on Wednesday against Akron (Cleveland).  A big congrats goes out to Brent and the gang

John M. Setzler, Jr.
(the guy with the camera)

Tonight was a night I have been waiting for during the last few games in Hickory.

Brad Corley has been knocking on the 100 RBI door for a week or so now.  This is a rather amazing achievement for Brad, and it’s only the third time it’s been done in the Crawdads 13-year history in Hickory. 

In the bottom of the 4th inning of tonight’s game against the West Virginia Power, Cameron Blair led off the inning with a popup to West Virginia’s shortstop Ryan Barba for the first out of the inning.  Shelby Ford stepped up to the plate and singles on a grounder to WV 2nd baseman Michael Bell.  Corley steps up and homers off West Virginia’s Will Inman over the left field wall to score Shelby Ford (RBI 99) and he became his own 100th RBI. 

My congratulations go out to Brad and his parents, Mary and Blandon, who I know were listening tonight via the Crawdads webcast.  The above photo shows Shelby Ford (left) and Brad Corley in the dugout after the big hit of the night. 

The Crawdads beat the Power tonight by a score of 5-3.  Another note of interest is that Todd Redmond pitched 7 innings of scoreless baseball. 

My minor league baseball season here in Hickory ends tomorrow with a Noon Labor Day game against the West Virginia Power.  I have had a great year in photography with the Hickory Crawdads, and I’m really enjoying writing my briefs here on the Bucco Blog.  I’m not sure what I’ll be doing here during the off season.  I’ll talk to Jake and see if he has any ideas for me.  I may spend a little time gathering some information about players in Bradenton and Williamsport.  A good number of those guys will be here in Hickory next April, so it might pay to get to know some of them ahead of time.  I may do some player profiles of those guys here in the near future.

Tomorrow will be my last post of the season for the Hickory Crawdads, so thanks to all of you who are reading.  I would love to hear from you.  If you have a son playing for the Crawdads, please keep me up to date with news and information about where they are going and what they are doing so I can include it in my future writings here.  There are a few current Crawdads who may be back here next season, but I know a lot of them will not.  For those of you who I have met this season, it has been a pleasure.  I wish I could meet all of you

Cheers

John M. Setzler, Jr.
(the guy with the camera)

The ‘Dads, as we lovingly say in the South, opened up a can of whoop-**** on the Lexington Legends tonight in Kentucky.  The final score was 14-4. 

Looking at the BOX, it seems that Cameron Blair (pictured on the left) had an outstanding night at the plate.  In 6 at bats, he had 3 hits that included one double and one triple, and 2 RBIs.  Interestingly enough, both of those RBIs were with two outs. 

Tony Mansolino picked up his 6th homer of the season as well. 

Go ‘Dads

John M. Setzler, Jr.
(the guy with the camera)

On August 6th, 2006, Brad Corley launches a ball into the next county while his parents watch from behind home plate…

Born: 12/28/1983 – Lexington, KY
High School: Pleasure Ridge Park HS – Louisville, KY
Positions: Pitcher/Outfielder
4-Year Stats: .433 Batting Average, 35HR, 180 RBI, 22-2 Pitching, 0.81 ERA
2002 Gatorade Kentucky Player of the Year
4-time Kentucky Player of the Year Honoree
2-Time East Coast Professional Showcase
2-Time member of the NABF National Team
2002 16th Round Draft by Colorado Rockies
2003 – Hit .321 as a freshman with Mississippi State University
2003 – Named to innaugural SEC Baseball Freshman Academic Honor Roll
2004 – Ranked 4th in SEC with .380 batting average
2005 – 2nd round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates
2006 – Hickory Crawdads Low-A Pirates Right Fielder

2006 Stats:

Games: 126
Batting Average: .284
At Bats: 504
Runs Scored: 79
Hits: 143
Doubles: 30
Triples: 2
Home Runs: 15
RBI: 91
Strikeouts: 100
Stolen Bases: 9
OBP: .324
SLG: .440
OPS: .765

I think Brad’s stats speak for themselves.  I can’t really add much here other than my opinion that he may be one of the biggest "sleepers" on the Crawdads roster.  I don’t think outfielders get the attention they deserve sometimes. 

Tonight’s Game Recap:

The ‘Dads bullpen took another shelling tonight in Lexington.  Mike Crotta gave up 5 in the third and 1 in the fourth.  He got relieved by Derek Antelo, who gave up 2 in the sixth and 2 more in the seventh inning.  Matt Swanson took the mound in the 8th and didn’t give up anything.  Only four shellfish managed to collect hits tonight against the Lexington pitchers.  Mike McCuistion went two for four at the plate with one run scored.  Eddie Prasch was one for two with two walks, a double, and a RBI.  Wanell Macia was one for four with a RBI.  Chris Jones went one for three with a walk. 

We suffered a 10-3 loss overall.  We had 3 runs, 5 hits, and no errors while Lexington finished with 10 runs, 17 hits, and one error for the night. 

I’m gonna have to talk to Brad Corley’s parents and make sure they aren’t feeding these guys too much cornbread and chicken while they’re hanging out at Brad’s house

John M. Setzler, Jr.
(the guy with the camera)

Hickory Crawdads Eddie Prasch dives back to first base ahead of the pickoff attempt on May 28, 2006… Photo by John M. Setzler, Jr. (click the photo to see a larger copy)

I didn’t get to listen to the game online tonight, but I did browse the LOG and BOX when I got home.  Even though the ‘Dads lost by a score of 4-8 against the Lexington Legends, Hickory’s third-baseman, Eddie Prasch, picked up his 5th home run of the season in the bottom of the ninth inning.  This was a two run dinger tonight with two out in the bottom of the ninth with Steve Lerud on base. 

This doesn’t sound like a huge deal to most, but I recently witnessed Eddie’s first and second home runs as a professional baseball player.  Eddie was drafted by the Pirates in 2004.  After 509 trips to the plate, he managed to collect is first professional home run here in Hickory on Friday, July 21 against the Lakewood BlueClaws.  Big deal?  I think so.  However, Eddie didn’t think it was enough.  On his next trip to the plate, he picked up his second professional home run   Back to back dingers was a big deal and it was a huge monkey off his back as well. 

Congrats Eddie! 

The Hickory Crawdads start a five-game road trip tonight.  The first three games are in Lexington, KY against the Legends and the remaining two are in West Virginia against the Power. 

While I’m taking a break from baseball photography over the next six days (the sixth day is an off day for the ‘Dads), I thought I would write up a few profiles to give you some background insight into a few members of the Hickory Crawdads organization.

Jeff Branson – Manager

Jeffrey Glenn Branson was born on January 26, 1967, in Waynesboro, Mississippi.  Jeff attended college at the University of West Alabama.  On June 1, 1988, Jeff was drafted in the second round by the Cincinnati Reds.  He made his major league debut with the Reds in 1992 and played there (infielder) until mid-season of 1997.  He was traded to the Cleveland Indians on July 31, 1997.  Jeff was granted free agency in October of 1998 and re-signed with the Reds in November of 1998.  After another season with the Reds, Branson signed as a free agent with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he played until 2002.

In 2003, Jeff was hired by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a batting coach for the Williamsport Crosscutters (New York/Penn League).  In 2004, Jeff was named the Manager of the Crosscutters.  In 2005, Jeff moved to Hickory to manage the Hickory Crawdads.

Game Notes:

The ‘Dads managed to beat Lexington tonight by a score of 5-3.  Todd Redmond got the win (11-6 2.78ERA) and Justin Vaclavik gets the save (15).  Jason Delaney picked up his 9th home run and 68th RBI of the season with a 2-run swat off Lexington’s Garrett Murdy in the 6th inning. 

Check out the BOX and the LOG by clicking on the links.

Our next profile will be on Brad Corley (sometime in the next couple days).

John M. Setzler, Jr.
(the guy with the camera)

Hickory Crawdad Tony Mansolino gets burned at second base as Greensboro’s Agustin Septimo turns the double play to first base… Photo by John M. Setzler, Jr.

I made a quick count and tonight was the 64th game I have covered as a photographer for the Hickory Crawdads since the beginning of the season in April.  I’m actually tired, but not tired of the game. 

I’m not even gonna discuss tonight’s game other than by saying that the ‘Dads pitching staff got burned once again and we suffered a 7-1 loss against the Greensboro Grasshoppers.  We close this series with one in the bag and giving up three.  The ‘Dads won’t be returning home again until next Tuesday to start a seven-game home stretch that will wrap up the season for me in Hickory. 

During this coming week of downtime, I plan to add some photos to the gallery here, so stop in and take a look if you get a chance.  If there are any specific Crawdads you would like to see in photos, drop me a note here and I’ll put them in first.

I’m going to bed early tonight…

John M. Setzler, Jr.
(the guy with the camera)

Hickory Crawdads RHP Jared Hughes got a real taste of a shelling in tonight’s game against the Greensboro Grasshoppers in Hickory. 

He looked strong in the top of the first with a 3-up 3-down performance.  He gave up one run in the second and things changed for the worse in the third.  With two outs in the top of the third, Jared gave up two singles and then hit a batter to load the bases.  He walked the next batter and scored one for the Hoppers.  The next batter up for the Hoppers got on due to a bobble by Hickory short stop Cameron Blair, and a second run scores before the ‘Dads manage to end the inning. 

In the top of the fourth, I didn’t expect to see Hughes return to the mound.  That just goes to show how much I know about the inner-mechanics of the game. 

Enter Jared Hughes for another attempt.  Through various methods and a collection of errors, Hughes and company manage to load the bases for Greensboro’s Trent D’Antonio.  Hickory right fielder Brad Corley could do little more than watch that ball head for the next county. 

The ‘Dads are now down 7-4 before Jeff Branson goes to the bullpen for Derek Antelo.  Antelo gave up one and Jake Cuffman gave up two more as the shellfish managed to tally only one more run in the bottom of the ninth for a 10-5 loss. 

Tonight’s best performance at the plate came from Jason Delaney.  He was two for three at the plate with one run scored, a double, an RBI, a walk and a K. 

I couldn’t see these stats before the game was over and I inadvertently gave the Big Leage Chew to Shelby Ford.  I’ll make it up tomorrow.  Delaney should have gotten this award tonight

Anyway… We have one more game with the Grasshoppers in this series tomorrow night.  Hopefully we can split the series before the ‘Dads hit the road for three games in Lexington and two more in Greensboro. 

That will bring us down to the final stretch with 7 home games to wrap up this season in Hickory.  We’ll host Lexington for three and West Virginia for four, ending the season with a noon game on Labor Day.

John M. Setzler, Jr.
(the guy with the camera)

Tonight in Hickory, Mike Crotta took the mound for his first time at L.P. Frans Stadium. The right-hander comes to Hickory as a Pirates 2006 17^th round pick after starting in Williamsport. Crotta went 7 innings tonight without giving up a run until the 6^th. He finished with 7 innings under his belt with only one earned run. Being the new ‘Dad in the hole, He got my Big League Chew Player of the game award and went home with a new pack of Swingin’ Sour Apple in his pocket. Crotta is gonna have a good time in Hickory. He’s rooming with Shelby Ford. I hope Shelby doesn’t lead him off the straight and narrow…

In the 8^th, Derek Drage stepped to the mound and didn’t give up any runs, but he struggled. He walked a couple and it looked rough. He managed to get out of the inning without any severe damage. In the 9^th, Justin Vaclavik gave up two runs but snagged his 14^th save of the season. The ‘Dads downed the Greensboro Grasshoppers 4-3 today. We have two more games in this series to be played on Monday and Tuesday.

At the plate tonight, the Crawdads weren’t stellar.  No one racked up more than one hit.  Cameron Blair, Shelby Ford, Mike McCuistion, Jason Delaney, and Wanell Macia each connected once.  McCuistion, Corley, Delaney, and Prasch each had single RBIs to tally the ‘Dads four runs scored this game.  Tonight’s performance was rather uneventful, but the win was needed.  The ‘Dads are nine games out of the lead, so I’m officially tossing in the towel for a championship this season.  We have 14 games left , which I believe will create an impossible task for the shellfish.  We’ll just continue to play hard and see if we can knock off Lake County for 2nd place.  We are currently two games behind them.  The Lakewood Blueclaws are burning up the boards with a second-half record fo 38-18 (.679) at this point in the season.

The New Cards Are Here!

The second set of baseball cards for the Crawdads hit the streets today as fans received uncut sheets on their way into the park. I have enjoyed providing these photos to the Crawdads this season. CLICK HERE to see the photos used on the second set of cards this year. In this photo, Brad Lincoln signs autographs for fans prior to the start of Sunday’s game against the Greensboro Grasshoppers.  I picked up an extra set of cards for Bucco.  I’m gonna get Lincoln and Ford to sign for him, but he’s gonna have to come up with McCutchen’s on his own

Sidenote:

Mr. Andrew “Bucco think’s he’s in over his head” McCutchen smacked another two-run dinger today. He’s now 7 for 16 at the plate with seven RBIs in his four starts in Altoona. My only disappointment with Andrew is that he didn’t play this hard in Hickory

John M. Setzler, Jr.
(the guy with the camera)