It looks as though Chris Salamida has been released

Given that he has just signed with the Winnipeg Goldeyes.

Fixler Files, Vol. 2

Over at Farmstros, Jonathan Fixler has been providing updates from Spring Training. Here's a pull from Fixler on Tyler Lumsden and Chris Salamida:

This afternoon, one of the pens I caught was for Tyler Lumsden. He appears to be at full strength (last years suffering from some arm soreness) and with his clean bill of health he is throwing with greater velocity, had great control over his off speed pitches, and seems to be right on track for the season. The first day of live batting practice I was extremely impressed with Chris Salamida. In the past year Sal has changed his arm slot to throw from underneath, and it is apparent he has grown more comfortable, having become more precise with the location of his fastball and increased the depth on his slider.

Good stuff - so head over to Farmstros and check out the previous post.

Eddie's Farm: August 30

Round Rock
Nashville used a 6-run 4th inning to beat the Express 7-3. Matt Kata was 3x4 with 2RBI, Reggie Abercrombie (2x5), and Bogusevic (2x4, RBI) had multi-hit games. Josh Muecke threw 5IP, 9H/4ER (7 total) and four relievers followed - three of them major-leaguers (Wright, Brocail, and Sampson), while Chad Paronto closed out the game. This was the second time Sampson has pitched since August 20, and surprise surprise, allowed 0ER in his those two games. So, rest. Who knew?

Corpus Christi
Corpus scored a go-ahead run in the 8th to defeat San Antonio 11-10. Jhon Florentino was 3x5, while JVO was 2x3 with a 2-run homer and 3RBI. Felix Molina and Nick Moresi had 2RBI each. Klingin' Kenny Baugh threw 2IP, 6H/7ER, 0K:3BB, and Ryan McKeller came in with 4IP of relief, 4H/2R (1ER), 4K:1BB. Weatherby blew the save, but got the win, while Evan Englebrook got his 8th save of the year.

Lancaster
Despite out-hitting San Jose 9-6, the JetHawks lost 4-1. Jack Shuck and Ebert Rosario had two-hit games. Chris Salamida threw 6.1IP, 5H/4R (1ER), 3K:3BB. Four errors (Rosario - 2, Cabral, and Salamida) led to the three unearned runs

Lexington
Lexington scored a run in the 12th to defeat Greenville 4-3. Jay Austin was 2x6 with an RBI, Brandon Wikoff was 2x5, and Suttle and Pellegrini each added RBIs - Suttle's RBI double providing the winning run. Jordan Lyles thrwe 5IP, 7H/3ER, 6K:0BB while Henry Villar, Brian Wabick, and Matt Nevarez threw 7IP, 5H/0ER, 7K:0BB in relief - Nevarez picked up the win.

Tri-City
Tri-City beat Aberdeen 6-3 thanks to Nick Stanley's 3x4 day, with a 3-run homer and 4RBI. J.D. Martinez was also 3x4 with a solo homer. Colton Pitkin threw 5IP, 4H/1ER, 2K:4BB for the win.

Greeneville
A 5-run 5th inning for Princeton was what sunk the Gastros 7-3. Kyle Miller was 2x3 with two doubles, Our Boy Aaron Bray was 2x4 (hitting .436 in his last ten games, .316 in August). Jiovanni Mier hit a solo homer, and Carlos Mojica had the other two RBI. Luis Cruz threw 4.2IP, 8H/7ER, 3K:0BB while Jeiler Castillo and Scott Migl threw 4.1IP, 1H/0ER, 6K:2BB in relief.

Eddie's Farm: August 25

Eddie's Farm followed up an 0-6 day with a 2-4 one. Baby steps...

Round Rock
At least we know one team in this organization can win a 1-0 game, as Round Rock did against Memphis last night. J.R. Towles hit a sac fly in the third, scoring Jose Vallejo (who was 2x3, and is 5x15 with 3 doubles since the Pudge trade) for the lone run. Bogusevic had two more hits, and Brian Esposito provided the 5th and final hit of the contest. Josh Muecke threw 7IP, 1H/0ER, 5K:0BB while Casey Daigle struck out the side and Chad Paronto got his 22nd save of the year.

Corpus
The Hooks were taken down by Midland 11-6 last night. Drew Locke was 3x4, Jason Castro was 2x4 with 2RBI, and Jhon Florentino had the other multi-hit game. Felix Molina hit a 2-run shot in the 7th. Four Hooks errors led to five unearned runs, Kenny Baugh threw 5IP, 6H/4ER (6 total), 4K:6BB; T.J. Burton threw 2IP, 5H/2ER (5 total), 1K:3BB; Charlie Weatherby III (screw it, I'm never putting the "III" again) and Evan Englebrook threw 2IP, 1H/0ER in relief.

Lancaster
Wild one in High Desert last night, Lancaster took leads of 1-0 and 6-5, only to see it vanish time and again. The JetHawks tied the game at 11-11 with 2 runs in the top of the 9th before High Desert got it back in the bottom of the 9th with Jose Duran on the mound. High Desert's Joseph Dunigan got on with a 1-out double, and then advanced to third on a balk, who then scored on a sac fly. Ouch. It's the California League, so there's bound to be hitting. Ebert Rosario was 4x6, Jon Gaston was 3x6 with 3RBI, Koby Clemens was 2x5 with 4RBI (3-run jack), Ronald Ramirez was 2x5 with 2RBI, and Craig Corrado was 2x5. Chris Salamida went 4.2IP, 9H/10ER, 5K:1BB.

Lexington
The Legends got two runs in the bottom of the 8th for a 3-2 win over Hickory - no word if Gene Hackman was managing. Federico Hernandez and Michael Diaz were 2x4 with an RBI each. Brad Dydalewicz threw 6IP, 3H/1ER, 6K:3BB, but it was Henry Villar who got the win with 2IP, 1H/1ER. Matt Nevarez got his first save with Eddie's Farm after a scoreless ninth.

Tri-City
Tri-City managed just three hits in a 2-1 loss to Hudson Valley. Brian Kemp, who has been hitting all over the lineup was 2x4 in the 2-spot. The ValleyCats only had three starters last night hitting over .235 (Martinez - .303; Altuve - .289; Kemp - .278). Colton Pitkin took a hard-luck loss, going 5IP, 4H/1ER, 7K:2BB, lowering his ERA to 3.98 and his record to 3-8.

Greeneville
Elizabethton was all over Greeneville in a 10-4 win. Carlos Mojica was 3x3, Grant Hogue was 2x4, as were Nathan Metroka and Kyle Miller. Our Boy Aaron Bray was 1x4 for a five-game hitting streak. Luis Cruz threw 4.1IP, 8H/5ER, 3K:5BB, while Jeiler Castillo and Scott Migl threw 4.2IP, 10H/3ER, 5K:3BB.

Eddie's Farm: August 20

Everybody played last night - and went 2-4.

Round Rock
A 5-run 4th inning from Las Vegas pretty much did it in a 8-2 loss for the Express. Reggie Abercrombie and Lou Santangelo had two hits, and Mark Saccomanno hit his 13th homer of the year. The Express left nine on base and were 1x9 with RISP. Josh Muecke gave up 6H/5R (though 0 earned) in 5.2IP. Geary threw 1.1IP, 2H/0ER, and Chris Sampson - why is he still pitching! - gave up 3H/3ER in 1IP. This drives me crazy. Someone should do an intervention and shut him down for the year before his career blows up at the hands of Cecil Cooper and Ed Wade.

Corpus
Heartbreaker last night as the Hooks fell in 12 innings, 2-1 to Arkansas. Well, not so much of a heartbreaker. The Hooks left 17 men on base and were 1x12 with RISP. Sutil, Locke, Castro, and DeLome had two hits each, with DeLome had the only XBH with a double. Kenny Baugh threw 6IP, 3H/1ER, Danny Meszaros threw 3IP, 2H, with 6K:0BB. Charlie Weatherby III took the loss with 2IP, 4H/1ER, allowing a ground rule double and a single for the walk-off.

Lancaster
First win for the young'uns as Lancaster beat Lake Elsinore 5-2. Koby Clemens was 3x4 (homer shy of the cycle), while T.J. Steele had two hits. Brandon Barnes had a 2-run homer of his own. Chris Salamida went the distance: 9IP, 4H/2ER, 1K:2BB for his 4th win of the season (4-1).

Lexington
Kannapolis scored two runs in the bottom of the 8th, giving them the final margin in a 7-5 win over Lexington. Suttle, Wikoff, and Williams had two hits each. Jeff Hulett had a 2-run single. The limp RISP average continues, as the Legends were 2x14 with RISP. Robert Bono threw 5IP, 6H/2ER, 4K:0BB. Antonio Noguera and Kyle Godfrey combined for 2.2IP, 4H/5ER, 3K:3BB in relief.

Tri-City
The ValleyCats put the whoomp on Staten Island 7-2 last night, despite going 3x17 with RISP. What the heck is it with these teams? Erik Castro was 2x5, while Goebbert (2), Martinez, Castro, and Medrano all had RBIs. Dallas Keuchel got his first win of the season with 5IP, 5H/2ER, 3K:1BB, and his ERA is now 1.94. Sarisky and MacDonald threw 4IP, 4H/0ER in relief.

Greeneville
The Gastros and Danville were locked in a 2-2 tie for seven innings until Danville scored one in the bottom of the 8th to win 3-2. Greeneville scored two runs despite only getting two hits - from Oscar Figueroa and Ben Orloff. Our boy Aaron Bray was 0x2 with 2BB and a run scored. Luis Cruz threw 5IP, 5H/2ER, 3K:1BB, and Murillo Gouvea got his 3rd loss of the season with 3IP, 1H/1R (unearned), 4K:0BB.

Eddie's Farm: August 15

Round Rock
Round Rock pounded out 10 runs on 14 hits as the Express beat the Reno Aces 10-4. Reggie Abercrombie was 3x4 with 4R, a triple, and a homer. Edwin Mayonset had two hits, and 4RBI, while Saccomanno and Manzella had two hits each. Jose Capellan started the game, but gave up 4H/3ER, 1K:5BB in 3IP. Josh Muecke came in in relief, threw 3IP, 4H/1ER for the win. Chad Paronto got his 20th save.

Corpus
Corpus scored the final four runs of the game, defeating Springfield 5-2. Drew Meyer was 3x4, Collin DeLome 2x4 with 3RBI, and Wladimir Sutil also had two hits on the night. Sergio Perez threw 6IP, 6H/1ER (2 total), while Meszaros, C-Lo, and Evan Englebrook combined for 3IP, 2H/0ER, 3K:0BB.

Lancaster
Bakersfield took it to Lancaster with a 5-run 3rd, and rode it out for a 9-3 win. Matt Weston and Ronald Ramirez had two hits each (Ramirez: 2RBI), and Brandon Barnes hit a solo homer in the 1st. Chris Salamida threw 2.2IP, 7H/6ER, 4K:0BB (3HR) for his first loss in Lancaster. Bryan Hallberg threw the next 5.2IP, holding the Blaze to 5H/2ER.

Lexington
West Virginia scored two in the top of the 9th, and Lexington could only get one back in a 5-4 loss. The Legends managed just seven hits, but four of those were courtesy of Brian Pellegrini, and two of those hits were solo homers. Chris Jackson was 2x4, as well, though he struck out looking with runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs in the bottom of the 9th. David Duncan threw 6.1IP, 6H/2ER, 5K:0BB, while Arcenio Leon and Brian Wabick combined for 2.1IP, 3H/2ER (3 total, one scored as a result of Wabick's wayward throw), 1K:2BB. The game-winner scored on Urckfitz' wild pitch.

Eddie's Farm: August 9

I'm trying to remember a day in which the minor-leaguers had a winning record for the day. That day was yesterday, as teams from Greeneville to Round Rock went 4-3.

Round Rock
Erick Abreu improved his age to 26, and his record to 2-0, as the Express beat Portland 6-4. Lou Santangelo was 2x4, and the other seven hits were scattered among seven other Expressists. Mark Saccomanno was 1x4 with 2RBI, Chris Johnson had a sac fly, and Tommy Manzella walked three times. Abrew threw 6IP, 5H/4ER, 4K:1BB while Gervacio, Daigle, and Paronto threw 3IP, 3H/0ER, 5K:1BB in relief.

Corpus Christi
Corpus scored two runs in the bottom of the 7th, but it wasn't enough as Midland won 3-2. Sutil and Florentino had two-hit games, with Sutil and Felix Molina getting the RBIs. Sergio Perez took the loss, throwing 6IP, 6H/3ER, 4K:0BB, mainly because all three Midland runs came on homers. C-Lo threw 2IP, 0H/0ER to lower his Double-A ERA to 3.00.

Lancaster
The JetHawks took a 4-3 lead into the 7th, but a run in the bottom of the 7th and five in the 8th gave Bakersfield a 9-6 win. The only JetHawk without a hit was Jon Gaston, who was 0x5 with 4Ks (ouch). Rosario, Weston, and Corrado had two hits each. Chris Salamida threw 6.1IP, 6H/4ER, 4K:2BB, while Francisco Abad took the loss with a 3ER, three-out performance. Jordan Powell also gave up 2ER in 0.2IP.

But it's good news from here on out!

Lexington
The Legends held off a late Asheville charge and won 7-6. Michael Diaz was 3x4 with a double and a triple, Brian Pellegrini and Steve Brown had two hits each - Brown had three RBI on a 2-run single and a solo homer. David Duncan threw 6IP, 8H/4ER, 5K:1BB.

Tri-City
Well, almost. Tri-City had a 2-0 lead in the sixth, but a 4-run inning will end that pretty quickly, and Williamsport emerged victorious 6-2. Barry Butera had two hits, Sean Barksdale hit a double, and J.D. Martinez hit his 4th homer of the season. Wander Alvino threw 6IP, 7H/4ER, and gave up 2HR in the loss.

Greeneville
Double-header for the Gastros...
Game 1: Jose Altuve was 3x4 with two doubles, Jiovanni Mier was 2x4, and Jonathan Meyer was 2x2 (each had an RBI). Juri Perez threw 5.2IP, 4H/1ER, 6K:3BB to improve to 3-0 and Travis Smink got his 5th save of the year in a 6-2 win.
Game 2: The Gastros took both games, this one with a 5-3 win, thanks mostly to Jonathan Meyer's first two professional homers, accounting for three of the Gastros' runs. Grant Hogue was 2x3 with a triple. Luis Cruz threw 4IP, 3H/2ER, 3K:2BB and Joan Belliard got the win with 3IP, 2H/0ER. The pitching staff induced four GIDPs, and got 13 groundball outs, compared to two flyball outs. Our boy Aaron Bray was not in the lineup in either game.

Eddie's Farm: August 4

Round Rock
Nice shutout for the Express in a 4-0 win over Oklahoma City last night. Manzella, Yordany, and Maysonet had two hits each, with Brian Esposito providing two RBI. Erick Abreu threw 5.2IP, 7H/0ER, 5K:2BB while Gervacio and Paronto threw the last 3.1IP, and didn't give up a hit.

Corpus
Corpus enjoyed a 4-run first inning, and while San Antonio got two back in the bottom of the first, Corpus cruised to an 8-3 win. Patience was the virtue as all eight runs scored on only eight hits, but the Hooks drew ten walks. Or, a month's worth for the Astros. Drew Meyer had five RBI on a two-run single and a three-run homer. Sergio Perez threw 5IP, 6H/3ER, 4K:2BB; Danny Meszaros and Charlie Weatherby III thre the final 4IP.

Lancaster
The JetHawks jumped all over High Desert, and won 10-1. Every JetHawk had a hit. Clemens got a two-run single, while Matt Weston, Brandon Barnes (3RBI), and Ronald Ramirez had two hits each. Chris Salamida ran his record to 3-0 with 6IP, 7H/1ER, 5K:0BB.

Lexington
Exciting game in Lexington last night. Greenville took a 1-0 lead in the first, Lexington got it back in the 4th. Greenville took a 2-1 lead in the 6th, Lexington got it back in the 8th. Then went up 3-2 in the 9th, and gave it up in the bottom of the 9th and then lost in the bottom of the 10th 4-3. Albert Cartwright was 3x5, Brandon Wikoff was 2x5 (and is hitting .438 since coming up from Tri-City). Kyle Greenwalt threw 7IP, 6H/2ER, 5K:1BB. Godfrey and Villar threw 2.1, giving up 3H/2ER, with Villar getting the loss.

Tri-City
Mahoning Valley scored six of their seven runs after the 5th inning, defeating Tri-City 7-4. Nick Stanley was 4x4, Russell Dixon 3x5, and Jake Goebbert had two doubles on the night. Brandt Walker threw 5.2IP, 5H/3ER, 5K:3BB. Max Fearnow threw 0.2IP, 3H/3ER, 0K:1BB and Brendan Stines threw 2.2IP, 2H/1ER, 3K:1BB.

Greeneville
Greeneville pitcher Murillo Gouvea gave up a run in the 9th, and Bluefield defeated the Gastros 3-2. Frank Almonte was 2x4 with an RBI, and Bubby Williams had an RBI, as well. Juri Perez threw 5IP, 4H/1ER, 7K:0BB. B.J. Hyatt made a scoreless appearance in relief, and the aforementioned Gouvea gave up the 1ER in 3IP. Our boy Aaron Bray was 0x3 with a strikeout.

Minor League Transactions

Some transactions of note over the last few days as I deal with the Swine Flu/SARS...

Round Rock
July 1: Brendan Donnelly filed for free agency
July 2: It's official, Polin Trinidad promoted from Corpus
July 3: Chad Paronto activated from 7-day DL

Can't say I blame Donnelly, he wasn't exactly rewarded for pitching really well this season for the Express. In 24 games (25.2IP), Donnelly was 2-0 with a 1.75 ERA / 1.09 WHIP, 21H/5ER, 23K:7BB. Best of luck to him.

Lancaster
July 1: Placed Reid Kelly on the 7-day DL
July 2: Assigned Casey Hudspeth to Lancaster from Corpus
July 2: Assigned Chris Salamida to Lancaster from Corpus

Eddie's Farm: June 22

Only Corpus and Tri-City played games last night, so let's take a look:

Corpus
Big time offensive game between Corpus and San Antonio last night, with the Missions scoring three runs in the 10th to win 12-10. Drew Locke did what Drew Locke does, getting three hits, including a two-run homer, while Jimmy Van Ostrand and Jason Castro also went yard. Locke, Van Ostrand, Castro, Florentino, DeLome and Moresi each had two hits in the loss. Pitcher Casey Hudspeth had a two-run single, but went 4IP, giving up 7H/6ER, 1K:3BB. Ryan McKeller threw the only perfect inning, while Van Hekken and Meszaros each gave up a run in 2IP. Chris Salamida gave up 4H/3ER, with 1BB in the 10th to suffer the loss. He has now given up 9ER in his last 4.2IP.

Tri-City
Tri-City endured some jitters, striking out 12 times, committing three errors in a 5-4 10-inning loss. Catcher Pedro Gonzalez was 2x4 with 2RBI, Russell Dixon was also 2x4. Hits from Barry Butera, Brandon Wikoff, and Jhonny Medrano also provided some offense that resulted in four runs in the top of the 9th. David Duncan gave up 3ER in 5.2IP, but struck out seven. Robby Donovan, with three walks and the unearned run, took the loss.

Hang on. The Astros lost to the Hooks?

At least it wasn't Wandy's fault. To quote baseball historian Randy Jackson, "Dude blew it out the box."

Check it out:
Wandy: 6IP, 1H, 0R, 11K
Capellan: 1IP, 4H, 4ER, 5BB, 1K (ouch)
Salamida: 0IP (2BF), 2H, 2ER

For the Hooks:
Felipe Paulino: 6IP, 4H, 2ER, 1BB, 3K

And Brian Esposito cracked a 2-run trot-off off Chris Salamida for the Hooks win, 6-5.

Good capsule from George Vondracek, who pointed out that three Hooks homers went to right field, where a 19-mph wind was blowing out. But who did that not affect? Wandy.

And Coop also made apologies and explanations for the Curse of Tim Purpura:
“Well, you know what, I think they’re all dead wrong. I’ve heard all the talk,” Astros manager Cecil Cooper said. “We had a chance this spring to see a lot of our young kids play. Yes, we do have some young kids in the system, we do have somewhat of a void at a couple of the levels. But it’s just because we didn’t sign a lot of guys in ’06 and ’07.”

The Astros, of course, are going to insist that life in the sub-major league level isn’t as dire as Baseball America contends — i.e., No. 30 out of 30 organizations. The numbers from last season can’t be ignored, however, because the six Houston affiliates combined for a 278-422 record.

“Well, I think there’s no doubt we’re thin or probably as thin as we’ve been in a long time with our minor-league system,” admitted Astros first baseman Lance Berkman, who served as Houston’s designated hitter Thursday night. “But that doesn’t mean that we don’t still have guys that are talented that are going to be knocking on the door and helping us out.

“Right now I think for so long our system has had so many good players in it. Inevitably every system is maybe going to go through a little bit of some hard times,” Berkman said. “But there are some guys out there that are going to be competitive at a high level.”