I decided I wanted to improve the blog for 2008 and to do that I need to move the blog off of WordPress.com onto a domain of its own.
So here’s the new site (and my apologies to all for not getting the word out BEFORE the 2008 draft).
Hopefully, you enjoy the new clean look to it.
UncleLar Take:
Be sure and check out the link. Guy Cipriano has down a great job of updating how each of the ex-Spikes are performing with their current teams.
UncleLar Take:
I got a kick over Fisher’s reaction to the environment here in State College.
If he’s worried about anything, it’s the risk of putting a group of young men into an idyllic setting — he said the park here spoils the young players, who advance to lesser facilities within the organization — not to mention the distraction of Penn State, the setting for the team.
Dan Fox, on of the authors at the Baseball Prospectus announced in his column today that he would be leaving BP to join the Pirates front office staff. It looks like the Pirates will be embracing some of the statistical analysis approaches that BP is famous for.
In a related topic, I’ve been flirting with the idea of adding a twist to this site. This season rather than simply acting as a repository of information about the Spikes, I intend to add some sabermetric analysis. Hopefully readers will find the new stuff as interesting as I do and embrace it the way that it appears the Pirates might be.
(STATE COLLEGE, PA) – The Pittsburgh Pirates recently announced Brian Tracy will become the newest member of the State College Spikes field staff by serving as the pitching coach for the 2008 season. Tracy replaces Wilson Alvarez, who was originally named to the position.
Tracy spent the entire 2007 season as a member of the Spikes’ pitching staff. The right-hander tossed 22 2/3 innings in 14 games for the Spikes, earning a 3-2 record with a 4.37 ERA. Tracy was drafted by the Pirates in the 20th round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft.
In a kind of lame press release today, the Spikes announced that they will be announcing their promos for the upcoming season on Tuesday through Friday of this week.
Specifically, the schedule for announcements is:
They’re obviously adopting the three part public speaking strategy of “tell them what you are going to tell them”, “tell them”, and “tell them what you just told them”, so I would expect another release on Saturday recapping the week’s announcement.
For more info, go read the press release.
He looked down at his spit-shinned black shoes.
They were black, after all.
Brad Fischer spent the first 28 years of his coaching career wearing white shoes.
The white shoes were his only work treads.
You work for the Oakland Athletics, you wear white shoes.
Fischer, the State College Spikes’ new manager, looked down more than once during a Pittsburgh Pirates’ minicamp earlier this month in Bradenton, Fla. At times, he still doesn’t fully believe he doesn’t work for the A’s.
By Guy Cipriano – gciprian@centredaily.com
Besides padding the pockets of owners and providing fans with affordable entertainment, the New York-Penn League exists to produce future major-leaguers.
The State College Spikes received their first look at the league’s big-league goals last summer when they received current St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Brendan Ryan on a rehabilitation assignment, and played against New York Mets reliever Joe Smith and Cincinnati Reds outfielder Josh Hamilton.
Smith was sent to Triple-A New Orleans in August after beginning his first full professional season in New York. He is due back in New York later this month.
It’s unlikely anybody the Spikes have faced this season will be pitching in the major leagues next year.
Still, some intriguing prospects have passed through Centre County. Here are four prospects who played at Medlar Field this summer who could be performing on television in the future.
Ballpark certified enviromentally friendly
By Guy Cipriano – gicprian@centredaily.com
UNIVERISTY PARK — The big university, general contractor, aggressive baseball ownership group and expanding architecture firm had little in common besides two goals when construction started at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in 2005.
The groups were expected to finish the stadium by June 2006 while not adding significant costs to the $31.4-million project.
As they forged a symbiotic relationship, the four entities realized a third goal might be obtainable: With some adjustments, they could construct a certified “green” ballpark.
The idea recently became a reality when the U.S. Green Building Council approved Medlar Field for a Leadership in Energy and Environmental status. Medlar Field is the first professional ballpark to earn a LEED certification.
SawBuck Series Knotted at 5
August 25 – The Williamsport Crosscutters beat the State College Spikes 12-3 Saturday night in State College. The Cutters tallied a season-high 18 hits against five Spikes pitchers.
By JIM RIGGS
8/25/2007 – Fundamental baseball led the Jamestown Jammers to a New York-Penn League win over the State College Spikes on Friday night at Diethrick Park.
The Jammers scored two runs in the third inning with the help of two sacrifice flies and two more runs in the eighth with three straight bunts en route to a 5-2 victory.
UNIVERSITY PARK – The State College Spikes will close out the home portion of their 2007 regular season with two upcoming homestands with tons of action on and off the field. The Spikes will take on the Williamsport Crosscutters for a pair this weekend before welcoming the Batavia Muckdogs on August 28 – 29. After a quick jaunt of the road, the Spikes will return home for a five-game set to close out the season from September 3 – 7.
The homestand will include several one of a kind giveaways, four post-game fireworks spectaculars as well as the final Spikes Retro Celebrity Series and Spikes Idol Series appearances of the season.
Last 10 Games
