{"id":14287,"date":"2011-06-02T15:12:08","date_gmt":"2011-06-02T22:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.seamheads.com\/?p=14287"},"modified":"2011-06-02T15:12:08","modified_gmt":"2011-06-02T22:12:08","slug":"cochran%e2%80%99s-first-major-league-trip-a-short-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2011\/06\/02\/cochran%e2%80%99s-first-major-league-trip-a-short-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Cochran\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s First Major League Trip a Short One"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Anyone who had ridden a roller coaster should be able to relate to what Independent Baseball veteran Tom Cochran <\/strong>has experienced in recent days.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never had a bigger smile on my face,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he told MLB.com<\/em> last Sunday after the Cincinnati Reds <\/strong>gave the 28-year-old lefty his first call-up to the major leagues.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I jumped out of bed, my wife jumped out of bed.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never had such a good feeling in my life.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Some buddies from Middle Georgia Junior College<\/strong> got to see Cochran in uniform that day in Atlanta.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>He also got to experience a home game the next day, but did not pitch either time and the Reds designated him for assignment.\u00c2\u00a0 The Wilmington, DE <\/strong>resident was awaiting news of the waiver claim Thursday.\u00c2\u00a0 It would determine whether he would join another organization or return to Louisville, <\/strong>where he has a 5-1 record and a 4.08 ERA for a combination of eight starts and relief appearances.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Cochran, who largely relies on a cutter and changeup, was named the top left-hander in the Southern League <\/strong>(Class AA) last season, two years after a breakout 13-3 campaign at Worcester, MA<\/strong> which earned him the top spot for a southpaw on Baseball America\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s <\/em>all-Independent team.\u00c2\u00a0 He also has pitched for Lancaster, PA (Atlantic League) <\/strong>and Ohio Valley <\/strong>and Washington, PA (Frontier League).<\/strong><\/p>\n

* * * *<\/p>\n

FOR ADDITIONAL INDEPENDENT BASEBALL COVERAGE?<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.AtlanticLeagueBaseball.com<\/a> ADDED TO www.IndyBaseballChatter.com<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

* * * *<\/p>\n

Cancel Back in Majors, Helps Rookie Hurler<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Veteran Indy catcher Robinson Cancel <\/strong>landed back on the national stage this week, getting his first major league opportunity since 2009 when Houston <\/strong>catcher Humberto Quintero <\/strong>injured his ankle and finding himself in the Astros\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 <\/strong>lineup because he had caught the team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Jordan Lyles<\/strong>, who was making his major league debut.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 It was quite a debut for the Lyles-Cancel battery, which took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the eighth at the Chicago Cubs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Wrigley Field.<\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0 The Cubs got two runs and knocked Lyles out although Houston rallied for a 7-3 win.\u00c2\u00a0 Cancel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s experience played a hand, though he was 0-for-3 at the plate.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0 \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Cancel exceeded his robust weight by hitting .304 with 14 dingers and 81 RBI for the Long Island (NY) Ducks (Atlantic League) <\/strong>last season, then getting signed late in the winter when Houston needed depth at the catching position.\u00c2\u00a0 The 35-year-old, who had 43 previous major league games spread over 11 seasons with Milwaukee <\/strong>and the New York Mets<\/strong>, had his bat singing at Oklahoma City<\/strong> with a recently-ended 17-game hitting streak and a .457 average for his last 10 Triple-A games.\u00c2\u00a0 Overall, he hit .324 in 30 games in the Pacific Coast League.\u00c2\u00a0 <\/strong>Cancel also has played for Somerset, NJ <\/strong>and the Road Warriors <\/strong>in the Atlantic League along with Edinburg, TX <\/strong>before the Roadrunners <\/strong>moved from the United League <\/strong>to the new North American League.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two Games, Two Teams, Two Sites<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 New Worcester (MA) Tornadoes <\/strong>Manager Ed Riley <\/strong>is no doubt used to a little chaos in his life since he was the youngest of 16 children.\u00c2\u00a0 Now 41, the hectic days are at least somewhat self-inflicted since Riley is leading his alma mater, St. Peter-Marian High School<\/strong>, <\/strong>in its tournament play as well as the Can-Am League <\/strong>team.<\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Thursday\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s schedule was typical of recent days.\u00c2\u00a0 The Tornadoes played a morning game, then St. Peter-Marian was to open state sectional play at 4 p.m.\u00c2\u00a0 At least, the sites were only a few miles apart, a luxury compared to two recent days when the Tornadoes played in Brockton, MA<\/strong>, and Riley had to travel the 60 miles between towns to manage the next game. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0(This is an excerpt from the column Bob Wirz writes year round on Independent Baseball.\u00c2\u00a0 Fans may subscribe at newly reduced rates at <\/em><\/a>www.WirzandAssociates.com<\/em><\/a>, enjoy his blogs, <\/em>www.AtlanticLeagueBaseball.com<\/em><\/a> and <\/em>www.IndyBaseballChatter.com<\/em><\/a>, or comment to <\/em>RWirz@aol.com<\/em><\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 The author <\/strong>has 16 years of major league baseball public relations experience with Kansas City and as spokesman for two Commissioners and lives in Stratford, CT.)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 Anyone who had ridden a roller coaster should be able to relate to what Independent Baseball veteran Tom Cochran has experienced in recent days. \u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never had a bigger smile on my face,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he told MLB.com last Sunday after the Cincinnati Reds gave the 28-year-old lefty his first call-up to the major leagues.\u00c2\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":452,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,4746,78],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-indy-baseball-insider","category-minors"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t