RRS solid, Oeltjen hits again

Ryan Rowland-Smith made his 6th start of the season today, against the Yankees at Seattle. Facing up against veteran lefty Andy Pettitte was a tough matchup for the Mariners, and a challenge for RRS against the AL-East leading lineup. However, he was solid - going 7 innings and giving up only 3 hits and 2 earned runs. He struck out 5 while walking 2. Unfortunately, the Yankees staff was equally effective, and the Mariners could not get enough runs to win the game. The Yanks scored a couple off the Mariners' bullpen, and eventually New York went on to win 4-2, with RRS getting a no-decision.

With the Mariners trading away Jarrod Washburn, and with Erik Bedard suffering ANOTHER injury, Ryan is now effectively the third member of the Seattle rotation. It is great to see him finding some form again after being on the DL for so long. His next start is on Thursday (Friday in Oz) at Detroit, where he will matchup against Washburn. Should be a good battle!

Meanwhile, in Arizona, Trent Oeltjen got another hit (he was 1-for-4 on the day). This time against the Dodgers. The D-Backs won the game 4-1. Trent will line up for the D-Backs again tomorrow, as Arizona face off against Hiroki Kuroda. You can watch the game live on One HD.

Also, here is a bit of linkage for some articles about Trent - there are plenty of them at the moment:

• Sydney's Daily Telegraph features the Wizard of Oz
• The Phoenix New Times profiles Trent and has some good photos
• Ninemsn details Trent's call up to the Bigs
• Trent made it to the SMH's Fitz Files
• He will feature on This Week in Baseball this week (on air at 7pm Monday AEST)
  

Trent Oeltjen: hottest rookie in years?

So, Trent Oeltjen did it again today, going 4-for-4, and falling a homerun short of hitting the cycle. He had 2 singles, a double, and a triple, and also had a sac bunt, and a real solid catch.


After five starts, he is now hitting .500 (12-for-24) with 2 doubles, a triple and 3 home runs.

Wow! That is amazing.

Looking back at the start from recent Rookie of the Year winners, Oeltjen stacks up well. After 5 games he seems to be well ahead of the pack when it comes to the well renowned rookies of recent years.

For comparison purposes, lets compare how Oeltjen is doing against how some recent ROY winners did after 5 games:


This speaks for itself and is completely full of awesome. The issue of course will be how long Oeltjen can keep up his run, and whether he can balance out to post any sort of decent numbers in the long term.

Also worth noting is the fact that Oeltjen has hardly faced top of the league pitching. In his five games he has faced off against two widely recognised terrible teams in the Pirates and the Nationals, and another team rapidly descending into farce: the Mets. Now, I have nothing against Kevin Hart, Collin Balester, JD Martin, Mike Pelfrey and Livan Hernandez, but this is not exactly an allstar lineup. This weekend the D-Backs face LA before heading to Philadelphia next week; so Trent is likely to face some better pitching. These games are likely to give a fairer insight in to his abilities.

That said, someone like Oeltjen seems to be just what Arizona needs right now. For that matter, he could be just what Australian baseball needs right now too. It has been a pretty forgettable season for Arizona, they are well under .500, have been hit with some key injuries and dismissed their manager. But they have seemed to turn a corner of late; they have won 7 of their last 10 games, and have one 14 out of 25 games since the All Star break (.560). Realistically they have barely the slightest of chances of making the playoffs this year. All this explains perhaps why Oeltjen has been received so well.

And why wouldn't he be received well. He plays hard, can hit for contact and smack homeruns, can throw and catch, is quick as lightning, and plays the game with a smile on his face. Twitter is all a fluster with Arizonan women swooning over him. He has all the makings for being a superstar if he can keep the numbers game going.

And for Australian baseball, this would be another great shot in the arm. The Aussie team, which Oeltjen played a key part in, had some moderate success at the World Baseball Classic this year; there is talk of a new national league in Australia; and Major League Baseball finally has a home on free to air TV. With other sports like NRL constantly under criticism and bad press; and with the Aussie cricket team losing some of its aura, the time is ripe for baseball to grow into a power house sport again. Oeltjen could just be the man to head up this charge.

So, it remains to be seen whether he will live up to the early hype, but it is clear that this is a heck of an opportunity for Oeltjen, and for Australian baseball.

Trent Oeltjen making waves for the D-Backs

Trent Oeltjen has burst onto the MLB scene with a bang!


After being called up last week when the Diamondbacks placed regular outfielder Justin Upton on the DL, he has gone an amazing 8-for-20 with 3 homeruns, a double, and two stolen bags. Plus he picked up an outfield assist in his first game, throwing out Delwyn Young at second base.

It's a pretty hot start! And well deserved. Oeltjen has slogged it out in the minors for 9 years, in recent times having some pretty solid seasons at AAA for both the D-Backs affiliate Tucson Sidewinders/Reno Aces.

It is fantastic to have an Aussie positional player in MLB again. It has been more than a year since an Aussie position player had a game at MLB level; the last being Justin Huber for the Padres on 15 June 08. While it is nice and all to have a few pitchers doing the rounds, its great to see someone getting a start close to every day. And with Upton injured, and Chris Young dropped to AAA, this looks like a sweet opportunity for Oeltjen to make a good impression and land a spot for the future. It is clear that he has worked hard over the past few years, and you can tell from the smile on his face that he is happy to be in the big show.

"The last couple of days, I have to wake up and pinch myself," Oeltjen said. "They are getting to see highlights back home. I'm getting a lot of phone calls and messages. Everyone here has made me feel comfortable. I'm glad I can go out and help the team win a few games."

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Oeltjen's parents are looking to head over to the States to join in the fun. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but SMH reported that Oeltjen's dad John said that his debut was statistically the best debut since 1954.

You can watch an interview with him after today's win against the Mets, during which he smacked his third homer here. Funnily enough, he chose the classic Down Under by Men at Work to be his welcome music. Nice one.

With a bit of luck and more hard work, hopefully Oeltjen can cement a spot on the D-Backs roster.



To keep up with all the latest Aussie MLB news, it is well worth subscribing to Baseball Australia's The Pitch. You can do so by emailing majorleaguebaseball AT bigpond DOT com.

International Dave Nilsson Day

Three Aussies make opening day rosters, Balfour picks up first save

After all the challenges and preparation of spring, three Aussies made it onto opening day rosters in the Bigs - and all three are pitchers:

Balf picked up a save already, going 1.1 innings and striking out one against the Red Sox. Rowland-Smith is due to start tomorrow (just a few hours away) against the A's.

Eight Aussies in action today; Snelling, Moylan solid

A whopping eight Aussies appeared in spring training games today! Big effort.
It was a bit of a mixed bag though. Chris Snelling was good, hitting a three-run double and scoring a run for his new team the Padres. Also, Peter Moylan picked up a win, after not giving up any hits in one inning of work. Also appearing were Trent Oeltjen, Rich Thompson, Luke Hughes, Brad Harman, Grant Balfour and Scott Campbell. You can find links to the relevant box scores at the right of this page!

Interestingly Luke Hughes, who has usually played third base for the Twins, had a game a second base today. This could be a promising sign for him, as the Twins recently signed Joe Crede to play third, perhaps they are checking out whether Hughes can cut it at second? He is getting the job done with the bat though - he went 2-for-3 today and is batting .444 through spring training.

And yes, I have said nothing about the Aussies' loss to the Mexicans the other day. I'm hanging out for the 2013 Classic!

Ryan Rowland-Smith snaps M's losing streak, picks up two hits

Ryan Rowland-Smith pitched a solid 4 innings, giving up 5 hits and 2 runs, while striking out 3 and walking none, as the Mariners beat the Rockies 10-5. What's more, taking his first at bats in nearly ten years, Rowland-Smith went 2-for-2!

Fantastic.

Check out his second hit in the video below, and for more info check out the Seattle Times blog, which includes some commentary and an interview with Ryan.

Chris Snelling signs with the Padres

After a pretty solid WBC performance, Chris Snelling has signed a minor league deal with the Padres. Its a similar move to the one the Friars made last year with Justin Huber. The Padres are looking pretty woeful this year. Apparently Snelling will be given a chance to make the MLB roster. Their outfield is crowded, but you wouldn't say it is filled with stars. Fingers crossed he can replicate some of the pop he had at the WBC and at the Phillies last year.

Card Tribute to Aussies in Spring Training - Part 2 - WBC Edition

So the Aussies got done by the Cubans today. Big bummer. But, they played outstandingly, it really only came down to one (perhaps lucky) hit, from a big bopper on the Cuban team.

So we meet Mexico again tomorrow....can we do it again.....OF COURSE WE CAN!!!!!

So here is the WBC tribute!

Travis Blackley

What an awesome game from Blackley today. Outstanding pitching over 5.2 innings, only giving up one run. Great job from the fiery lefty.

David Welch

The man with the next tough job, Welch will face off against Mexico tomorrow, with Australia's future in the WBC on the line. Welch has pitched well this spring and this is a fantastic opportunity for him to make a name for himself.

Michael Collins

Try doing a search for Michael Collins cards on ebay! See how much luck you have!

Justin Huber

Come on Huber, you have been there before, you have been an all star, you are on a GOLD card, you can do it!

Chris Snelling

Snelling has shown some real good swings so far in Mexico. He has had horrible luck with injuries in recent years....could 2009 be his year?

More on Australia's defeat of Mexico at the WBC

Weellllllllll. Had some time to let the amazing victory sink in.

The good news is that it is actually making some news:

Almost hidden under Phil Hughes' headline you can see the World Baseball Classic line at the SMH. You can also read about it at MLB.com, where Andrew Graham said 'We're a force, a team that's going to bring some force. We're going to try to win every game we play.' Or, at the Baseball Radio National Forums you can read coach John Deeble's thoughts, or at the Australian, Yahoo Sports, or ESPN.

Mexico is a strong side. They have plenty of major leaguers in their midst and won their pool in the 2006 Classic. Their starting pitcher Oliver Perez signed a 3-year $36m contract with the Mets this year. And their closer, Francisco Rodriguez joined the Mets on a 3-year $37m contract. Against the Aussies - who don't have any current major leaguers - Perez and Rodriguez gave up 10 hits and 6 runs over 2.2 innings combined.

The Aussies, who are largely a bunch of fringe-MLB players and prospects, showed that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts today. There were some outstanding performances, and a cursory glance at the box score highlights these:

• Trent Oeltjen: 4-for-5 with a walk and an RBI, and an excellent sliding catch in centerfield
• Luke Hughes: 2-for-6 with 3 RBIs
• Chris Snelling: 3-for-5 with 2 homers and 3 RBIs
• Ben Risinger: 2-for-5 with 3 RBIs
• Brett Roneberg: 3-for-4
• Brad Harman: 3-for-5 with 4 runs
• Andrew Graham: 4-for-6 with 3 RBIs
• (20-year-old!!!) Liam Hendriks: 1.1 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs
• Damien Moss: 1.2 IP 1 hit, 0 runs
• Rich Thompson: 2 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 3 strikeouts

What a game! And we mercy-ruled them. I didn't even know you could do that once you stopped playing T-Ball!

We have Cuba up next - Wednesday Aus time, with Travis Blackley taking the mound

Aussie Baseball team beats Mexico in World Baseball Classic

WOW!!!!!
What can you say!!!!

Australia 17
Mexico 7

22 hits

WOW

4 home runs

WOW

Team average of .489

WOW

Knocking off the Tournament hosts at their home ground
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More on this later, but for now check out the box score!

EPIC WIN! Channel Ten's One HD to show MLB games

If you haven't heard of it already, Channel Ten in Australia is set to launch a new digital channel in late March. Called One HD, it will be a 24-hour-a-day sports channel. Although it is not easy to find, their website is now showing that they will show 5 games of MLB per week, PLUS "live prime time" coverage of the playoffs and World Series!!!!! I'm not sure how the "live prime time" coverage will work, as most East Coast games in the States are over by mid-afternoon here...but WHO CARES :)


That is absolutley fantastically awesome.


Free to air Major League Baseball, 5-times-a-week. WOW!!!!!! Bring it on.

Card Tribute to Aussies in Spring Training - Part 1

With so many Aussies in Spring Training camp at the moment, what better way to kick off some card related posts.

Rich Thompson 2008 Triple Threads

This is a sweet looking GU card from the 08 Triple Threads set. There are a whole bunch of parallels with different colours, including green and white I think. Can't see too many on ebay at the moment.

Phil Stockman 2005 Donruss the Rookies Auto

This is a good looking card. Purple and green somehow go well together.

Luke Hughes 2004 Bowman First Year

It's been a few years since this 'first year' card was printed, and after having a stellar 2008, 2009 could really be Luke's first year in the Bigs.

Grant Balfour 2001 Bowman

Bit more old school action here, with Balf in his Twins threads, and looking a bit younger.

Brad Harman 2008 Bowman DPP XFractor

Shiny!

2009 Spring Training underway; WBC Roster announced

Alright, things are ramping up for the 2009 season, teams are playing again, roster battles are underway and Topps and Upper Deck are battling it out to see who can have the worst gimmick. It's an exciting time.

After much thought, I am going to try and post a lot again this season. I have started a new job this year and am working a lot longer hours. So that makes it tough, but I will try and post at least once a week. I also want to get more into the card side of things - something I didn't really do last year.

The rosters for the World Baseball Classic have been announced, with games set to commence in a couple of weeks. Both Grant Balfour and Ryan Rowland-Smith opted out of the WBC, which is not really a surprise. Balf is a genuine contender in the Rays bullpen this year, and RRS is battling it out to make the Mariners' rotation for opening day. It seemed that RRS was genuinely tossing up about playing the WBC, but in the end he chose to give Spring Training his full attention. I think this is a smart move. No matter what happens this time round, he should be in a good place to play the WBC next time. It makes sense for him to capitalise on the success he had at the end of 2008 and really stake a claim for the Seattle rotation.

There are stacks of Aussies in and about Spring Training. We have:

• Pete Moylan and Phil Stockman at the Braves: with Moylan looking real good, and possibly set for an early return after his surgery last year. The two Aussies met up with Marcus Ambrose at the Nascar Daytona 500, which sounded like a hoot.
• Ryan Rowland-Smith with the Mariners
• Trent Oeltjen has backed up with the Diamondbacks again this year, and Travis Blackley has also signed with them. With some injuries to some of Arizona's regular bullpen arms, Blackley is apparently a bit of a good shot - although it seems he may have done himself no favours by showing up late one day
• Luke Hughes is back with the Twins, although his chances of cracking the bigs at third base were dealt a blow when they signed Joe Crede recently - although Luke will be looking to repeat his 2008 successes. Justin Huber will join him in the Twins organisation after the WBC, after signing a minor leauge contract
• Brad Harman is on the roster for the Phillies spring training, and
• Rich Thompson is back in action for the Angels, and
• of course Grant Balfour is back with the Rays.

So that makes TEN Aussies in or about the mix at this time of the year. That's good stuff. And there were truckloads of Aussies in the minors last year, so there seems to be a steady supply of young Aussies headed to the show. There were some awesome results last year, and hopefully 2009 can offer some more great stories.