Of the several hundred photos I took over the last week, this one ranks as my favorite:
It's another way of saying that I'm completely caught up with photo galleries over the final four days of the trip. Direct links:
Also, I got a chance to process some Jordan Danks video. I had shot footage of both Danks and Dayan Viciedo, not knowing which player would be worth the immediate attention. Viciedo just happened to make my decision for me.
In fact, Danks has been in a tailspin in August, with just four hits over 42 at-bats and a double the lone extra-base hit. His problems could stem from the wrist injury he suffered in mid-June, as his batting average and slugging percentage have dropped precipitously since.
He's sat the last two games after going 0-for-13 with three walks over the previous three games. At least the acquisition of Alex Rios makes this development a minor matter at this point.
At any rate, it was a lot of fun spending the week in the Carolinas, as well as trying to relay as much as possible of what I saw. A few notes:
*I'd recommend it to anybody. It's fun (Charlotte's fine if you golf), it's easy to get around (if you can tolerate extremely slow mergers), and dear God, it's cheap. Because it was 2-for-1 Tuesday in Kannapolis, it cost a whopping $10 for my dad and I to park and get third-row seats.
*Thanks for the pointers, especially in the Triangle area. We visited both the Duke and UNC campuses, and snuck around a barricade to actually see the court at Cameron (they were painting). The Smith Center was closed for maintenance, but the basketball museum next door made up for it.
*Big ups to my dad, who kept the scorebook every night and noticed plenty of things while I was taking video, pictures or distracted by shiny objects.
And yet, it's good to be home. I'll catch up with the major-league recaps and notes later today.
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Minor league roundup:
- Norfolk 4, Charlotte 3
- Lucas Harrell struggled with control, walking five over five innings. He limited the damage to just two runs on four hits, and he struck out four.
- Justin Cassel allowed two runs over two innings; Derek Rodriguez pitched two scoreless.
- Tyler Flowers got the day off, perhaps due to the hand.
- Josh Fields went 2-for-4 with a double.
- Carolina 4, Birmingham 3
- John Shelby went 1-for-4 with a double; C.J. Retherford had one hit in three at-bats.
- Dayan Viciedo wore the collar; Jordan Danks didn't play.
- Johnnie Lowe allowed two runs over six innings, allowing six hits and a walk while striking out five.
- Frederick 5, Winston-Salem 3
- Brent Morel was perfect at the plate: a double, two singles and a walk.
- Justin Greene had two hits and an RBI; Tyler Kuhn went 1-for-4.
- Jacob Rasner allowed five runs on eight hits and two walks over five innings, striking out four.
- Kannapolis 7, Asheville 2
- Jon Gilmore went 4-for-5, leading an 18-hit attack.
- Two-hit games for Kenny Williams Jr., Drew Garcia, Brandon Short, Kyle Shelton and Eduardo Escobar.
- Jared Mitchell doubled, drove in a run and struck out twice in five at-bats.
- Dan Remenowsky struck out four over two perfect innings for his 20th save.
- Bristol 6, Bluefield 1
- Brady Shoemaker hit his ninth homer, a two-run shot.
- Kyle Davis went 2-for-5, Shaydon Buckridge went 2-for-4.
- Phil Negus allowed one run on three hits, three walks and three strkeouts over five innings.
- Christopher Zagyi, Matthew Heidenreich and Goldy Simmons combined to throw four scoreless innings.
- Idaho Falls 5, Great Falls 3
- Joucer Martinez gave up two runs on eight hits and two walks over six innings, striking out five.
- Kyle Colligan went 1-for-3; he was replaced by Nick Ciolli, who doubled.
