Tonight, I will be attending a minor league baseball game in Florida! Although Everything Cubs readers are probably not going, I will provide you with a game preview to give you more information about the Cubs' Class-A affiliate.
Match Up
Charlotte Stone Crabs (Rays' Class-A) VS Daytona Cubs
First Pitch: 4:35 PM CT
Location: Charlotte Sports Park
League: Florida State League (Class-A Advanced)
About Charlotte Sports Park
The stadium is the home of the Tampa Bay Rays during Spring Training. It was built in 1988 but underwent major renovations before the 2009 season. The spring of '09 was the first time the Rays called Charlotte Sports Park their Spring Training home. The Stone Crabs also started playing there in the summer in '09, so it's just their second season at this ballpark. It served as the spring home of the Rangers from 1988 to 2001. Then, Charlotte Sports Park was without a tenant until 2007, when the Charlotte County Redfish of the independent South Coast League, spent just one season there.
D-Cubs Season to Date
The Cubs season has been up and down so far. They went just 34-36 in the first half for a fifth place finish out of six teams. However, since the standings reset at the midway point the D-Cubs have played better with a 12-10 record to bring them up to .500 on the season. Daytona is in third place, just two games out of first in the North. They dropped three of four at home against Fort Myers in a series that wrapped up yesterday.
Stone Crabs Season to Date
The Stone Crabs won the FSL South in the first half with a record of 43-26. They have already clinched a spot in the postseason, so they're not too concerned with their 9-14 start to the second half, which puts them in fifth. The Stone Crabs are in a losing streak of their own, dropping three in a row in Brevard County Thursday-Saturday.
Daytona Players to Watch
Michael Brenly is the D-Cubs starting catcher and has a .298 batting average. DJ LeMahieu, Rebel Ridling, and Kyler Burke are among the other big boppers for Daytona. LeMahieu is an infielder who played shortstop for LSU in the College World Series. After a great season a year ago, Burke has had a down 2010 at the plate. Ridling, a first baseman is heating up and leads the club in homers with 9.
Charlotte Players to Watch
Stephen Vogt has been terrific at the dish this year. He's mostly used as the DH and is hitting .341. Also keep an eye on third baseman Greg Sexton and catcher Matt Spring.
D-Cubs Starting Pitcher: Dae-Eun Rhee, RHP
Rhee has a 2-9 record but his ERA is decent at 4.46. This will be his 18th start (19th appearance). Rhee, who's from South Korea, is 21 years old. He pitched for Mesa and Boise last season.
Stone Crabs Starting Pitcher: Shane Dyer, RHP
Dyer has made 11 starts since being promoted from the Midwest League, where he start the season. He has a record of 4-6 with a 3.31 ERA with Charlotte. A sixth round pick in 2008, Shane was the FSL Pitcher of the Week for the week of June 7.
Radio Broadcast
Locally in Daytona on 1340 AM and on www.daytonacubs.com.
Up Next
This is the first of a four game series between the two clubs. The set will continue tomorrow night at 6:05 CT.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment