{"id":7952,"date":"2010-09-09T15:33:14","date_gmt":"2010-09-09T22:33:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.seamheads.com\/?p=7952"},"modified":"2010-09-09T16:03:03","modified_gmt":"2010-09-09T23:03:03","slug":"newest-la-dodgers-16-years-pay-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2010\/09\/09\/newest-la-dodgers-16-years-pay-off\/","title":{"rendered":"Newest LA Dodgers’ 16 Years Pay Off"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was raining in Quebec <\/strong>and the first Can-Am League <\/strong>playoff series was being delayed by 24 hours, but New Jersey Jackals <\/strong>Manager Joe Calfapietra <\/strong>did not seem at all distressed.\u00c2\u00a0 In fact, his mood was clearly that of a happy man.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Joe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s year already was a success, and only in part because the veteran field boss had seen his struggling team that had been beset with season-ending injuries and player sales win three of four from their first-round postseason hosts to squeeze into the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Calfapietra had a right to be proud on another front because three of his former players, who played their home games at Yogi Berra Stadium <\/strong>in the village of Little Falls<\/strong>, are now in the major leagues.\u00c2\u00a0 The Jackals, who Calfapietra has guided for the last eight years, are the only team in the Independent ranks with that many major leaguers today.<\/p>\n

Craig Breslow <\/strong>has been an effective part of Oakland\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s <\/strong>bullpen all season, and the lefty off the \u00e2\u20ac\u212204 Jackals, who were members of the Northeast League <\/strong>at the time, has been in the majors fulltime the last three seasons.\u00c2\u00a0 Another southpaw, Raul Valdez<\/strong>, rejoined the New York Mets\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 <\/strong>bullpen this week.\u00c2\u00a0 He pitched in New Jersey in 2006.<\/p>\n

<\/strong> <\/strong>The big celebration came this week when 16-year minor leaguer John Lindsey, <\/strong>New Jersey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first baseman for much of \u00e2\u20ac\u212205 and again in \u00e2\u20ac\u212206, got his first promotion to the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153bigs\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, joining the Los Angeles Dodgers <\/strong>for the final four weeks of the National League <\/strong>season.<\/p>\n

Lindsey got his name in the record book Wednesday night in San Diego <\/strong>when he was called on to pinch hit for Scott Podsednik <\/strong>in the eighth inning, but when former Independent lefty specialist Joe Thatcher (River City, Frontier League) <\/strong>came out in favor of Luke Gregerson, <\/strong>Dodgers Manager Joe Torre <\/strong>countered with Andre Ethier <\/strong>for Lindsey.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I just gave him (Lindsey) the lineup card,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Torre told CBSSports.com <\/em>later.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153I told him he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get an at-bat, but he was in the game.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153First, he (Lindsey) is a great person\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, Calfapietra said, minutes before leaving the hotel to get his team out and into a mall to pass some rainy-day time.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u0153We still have constant communication.\u00c2\u00a0 He wants you to feel a part of everything.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153He was as good a player as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen at this level\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, Calfapietra recalls of the \u00e2\u20ac\u212205 season when Lindsey drove in 62 runs in 56 games and appeared well on his way to smashing various Can-Am records when the Florida Marlins <\/strong>stepped in and purchased his contract.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just proud to be involved in some way,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Calfapietra, who hopes to see the Pacific Coast League <\/strong>batting champion (.353 with 25 homers, 97 RBI) in LA before the National League season ends.<\/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

Five More Indy Players in Majors, Prior Signed<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The promotions of John Lindsey <\/strong>and Raul Valdez <\/strong>were part of a very impressive week for the Independent leagues since three other players also landed in the major leagues.\u00c2\u00a0 Right-handed pitcher Brandon Kintzler <\/strong>came up to Milwaukee<\/strong> and another righty, Robert Coello, <\/strong>to Boston, <\/strong>both in the majors for the first time, and veteran catcher Mike Rivera<\/strong> joined Florida. <\/strong>Twenty-eight players with Indy experience have been in the majors this season, with six of them for the first time.<\/p>\n

Former National League All-Star<\/strong> Mark Prior<\/strong> used a month with Orange County (Fullerton, CA) <\/strong>to get his once highly-touted career back on target.\u00c2\u00a0 Prior, 42-29 in the majors, struck out half the 44 Golden League hitters he faced in nine relief appearances (11 innings, five hits, five walks, one unearned run) <\/strong>before Texas <\/strong>purchased his contract.\u00c2\u00a0 Prior, who turned 30 this week, pitched one scoreless inning for Oklahoma City <\/strong>(two hits, two strikeouts), which now is in the Pacific Coast League <\/strong>playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0153He came here to face competitive baseball and see if his arm would hold up, and he passed that initial test,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Flyers <\/strong>Manager Paul Abbott.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lincoln Owner Gets It Right That \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcFun\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Is Necessary<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Perhaps it is more a generational thing, but I was touched by a recent column by The Lincoln (NE) Journal Star\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s <\/em>Steve Sipple <\/strong>explaining how the hometown Saltdogs\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 <\/strong>owner, Jim Abel<\/strong>, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153often holds a radio to his ear\u00e2\u20ac\u009d as he sits by the family cabin, trying to listen to the American Association <\/strong>team\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s games as the evening signal fades.\u00c2\u00a0 The column also focused on Abel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s insistence that baseball \u00e2\u20ac\u0153absolutely needs to be fun\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

I know it would not have been overwhelming fun sitting beside the diversified Lincoln businessman as the defending champions tumbled out of the first round of the playoffs recently because of his competitive nature, but he gets the big picture, the fun part, which is exactly why the Saltdogs have had a successful first decade in the National Pastime.<\/p>\n

(This is an excerpt from the column Bob Wirz writes year round on Independent Baseball.\u00c2\u00a0 Fans may subscribe at <\/em><\/a>www.WirzandAssociates.com, 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

<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It was raining in Quebec and the first Can-Am League playoff series was being delayed by 24 hours, but New Jersey Jackals Manager Joe Calfapietra did not seem at all distressed.\u00c2\u00a0 In fact, his mood was clearly that of a happy man. Joe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s year already was a success, and only in part because the veteran […]<\/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],"tags":[2135,542,7621,9159,871,10724,508,10725,10047,7391,10723,60,3619,2311,7384,535,7385,10722,414,9390],"class_list":["post-7952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-indy-baseball-insider","tag-andre-ethier","tag-can-am-league","tag-craig-breslow","tag-field-boss","tag-first-baseman","tag-first-promotion","tag-frontier-league","tag-gregerson","tag-joe-thatcher","tag-john-lindsey","tag-la-dodgers","tag-los-angeles-dodgers","tag-manager-joe-torre","tag-minor-leaguer","tag-new-jersey-jackals","tag-new-york-mets","tag-raul-valdez","tag-scott-podsednik","tag-yogi-berra","tag-yogi-berra-stadium"],"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\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