Indy Baseball News

(Nippon Professional) The Ham Fighters stroked 11 hits on their way to a 7-2 win over the expansion Eagles at the Tokyo Dome. Itsuki Shoda put Hokkaido on his shoulders with a seven inning outing giving up just a two run homer to Hidemitsu Saito.

(Atlantic League) Silly alliteration aside, Newsday reports on a "mature" John Rocker who's ready to use Long Island as a stepping stone back to the big leagues. Personally, I'm a fan of second chances. Now before you all jump on me, even Uncle Charlie gets a parole hearing every once in a while.

According to Rocker:

To say I'm a lot more mature at 30 than I was at 24 or 25 is an understatement. I'm more grown up. There's not a whole lot I haven't been through...My goal is to pitch as well as I can and get to the big leagues as soon as I can. I've set a timetable of July 1st to be on a big-league roster.

Since Rocker's epic demise several years ago, he has undergone shoulder surgery and pitched very unsuccessfully in Venezuela.

But he has three buisness ventures doing well (including as noted, a computer company financed by a black man). And in the last two and a half months his fastball has come back into the low 90's neighborhood.

With his arm feeling strong, and a 93MPH fastball, the Ducks could be Rocker's first step back to the big leagues. He's ready for a comeback. The question is: Are the fans ready?

(Northern League) Here it is. I'm a total dork for 80's baseball. I miss powder blue road unis, Mike Schmidt, a real pennant chase and even astroturf (but just a little bit).

If you remember baseball from the 80's keep an eye on eBay. The Jackhammers are hosting this year's I-55 Classic, a not-quite-oldtimers' game between the Cubs and the Cardinals.

Rosters will feature players like Bob Dernier, Andre Dawson, Lee Smith, John Tudor, Tito Landrum and - here's where the eBay auction comes in - two fans who have way too much money in their pockets.

The eBay auction will be for, wait for it, a roster spot on either team. Two winners, who are responsible for getting to Joliet, will experience the game and festivities and apparently get some field time.

I might be forced to bid on NOT playing. I mean, can you imagine standing on the mound and looking down at Andre Dawson?

(Nippon Professional) It took consecutive homers from Nobuhiko Matsunaka, Kenji Jojima and Julio Zuleta to push the Softbank Hawks past the Marines 4-3 and regain first place in the Pacific League. Naoyuki Shimizu ate all three homeruns and took the loss for Chiba. Benny Agbayani earned all three Chiba RBI's.

Who is Karim Garcia? He was the man last night, going 3-3 with a solo homer to help his Orix Buffaloes over Seibu 9-4.

Hiroshima's Kenjiro Nomura knocked a grandslam out and starter Yasuhiro Oyamada went full pull as the Carp beat the BayStars 5-3. Oyamada's complete game shutout was broken up with one down in the third when Kevin Witt cracked a three run homer of his own.

(Nippon Professional) Kazuhiro Sasaki recorded his 250th save in Japan, ten shy of the NPB record. Kaz finished off a 3-2 win over the Swallows to cinch a win for Cedric Bowers.

The Giants put their hitting shoes on and hung an 8 spot on Hanshin. Three Giants homered to lead Yomiuri out of the cellar for the first time this season. Koji Uehara took the win pitching seven strong recording seven K's and allowing one earned run. He's 2-0 on the year, despite Yomiuri's tough start.

(Central League) Conroe Texas decided late on Wednesday to end talks with Southern Independent Baseball and has killed the proposed 206-acre development that would include a stadium for a Central League team in the Houston suburbs.

The Sentaors announced the hiring of Reid Vance into their communications department. Reid will be the voice of the Senators as he'll broadcast every game on ESPN 1240 radio.

(Nippon Professional) Lee Seung Yeop's eight inning homerun propelled the Marines over the Buffaloes 4-3. For Chiba it was their sixth straight win pushing them into first place in the Pacific League with an 11-4 record.

Gabe Kapler, member of last year's World Champion Boston RedSox singled in the GWRBI for Yomirui to help the Giants beat the Tigers 4-2.

(Atlantic League) Leo Mazzone's influence will be all over the Atlantic League. Brad Clontz, who has a World Series ring via Atlanta signed today with the Patriots. They also signed infielder Jhonny Perez.

(Northern League) Darwin Soto was suspsended yesterday for seven games for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy. He was suspended by MLB for 15 games while on Seattle's AA roster and was released by the Mariners before the suspension was announced.

(Central League) Two new developments in the Central League involve the Ft. Worth Cats who are proposing a 35-acre development plan that would see townhoses, offices and stores built on Cats Island. The "Island" would be a link to the new Tarrant County College to LaGrave Field.

In Conroe, progress is being made. The City Council is considering a ways to raise the proposed $15million for the ballpark pitched by Southern Independent Baseball, LLC (owners of the Shreveport Sports).

(Frontier League) Lee's Summit is courting the Frontier League. The Kansas City suburb is proposing a stadium as part of an 800,000 square foot center that would also include a hotel, shopping and a convention center. The question is whether Kansas City is big enough for the Royals, the T-Bones and a third team. If I were the Frontier League, I would stay far away from Northern League territory.

Too sick for proper updates.
Check again tomorrow.

(Mobile-Weblog) DoCoMo 3G mobile phones will soon have a new service that will bring Japanese and American games nearly-live to cellphone screens across Japan.

DoCoMo's will relay the play-by-play through an animation engine that will pixelate the game and make it easier to to view on the tiny screen and presumably save bandwidth.

(Northern League)
St. Paul - Resign Justin Hall (All Star 2B), sign David Shepard (Starting Pitcher).

(Can-Am League)
Bangor - Recieves Casey Clary (Pitcher) from Winnipeg (NL) to complete an earlier deal.

(Atlantic League)
Somerset - Resign Jeff Nettles (All Star 3B).

(Frontier League)
Evansville - Trade Grant Williams (P) to Mesa (GL) for Graig Frydendall (P). Recieve Jeff Sues (P) from Chico (GL) to complete ealier trade.

(Central League) Bernie Carbo needs to get hip and hit up eBay.

Instead, fans of the Pensacola Pelicans can place their bid via phone, but only if they know Pensacola's exchange at ??? 934 8444. The 2002 Dodge Stratus, which was given to Carbo by the team has logged 177,000 miles. Apparently there was no room on the team bus and no budget for a dust buster as the car comes complete with infield clay and memory of his sweat. (Pensacola News Journal)

This item not so much for the baseball fan, but for Carbo's one creepy stalker girl who somehow got a hold of a lock of hair from the Pelican's skipper late one night in Shreveport.

Lesson learned. There are always ways around restraining orders.

(Nippon Professional) Nippon Ham has removed starting pitcher Carlos Mirabal from their active roster. Mirabal complained of shoulder pain after Friday's 8-2 loss to Chiba. Fighters' trainer Seiichiro Nakagaki told reporters Mirabal will not pitch until inflamation in his shoulder subsides, which could take up to two weeks.

The Swallows announced the signing of Rick Guttormson to a one year deal. Guttormson was a Seattle farmhand assigned to AAA Tacoma. The deal is worth an initial 30 million yen ($287,000).

(Nippon Professional) Masahiro Yamamoto pitched seven innings of shut-out ball behind an 18-hit break-out day to lead the Dragons to a 10-0 shutout over the struggling Giants. Masahiko Morino capped off a 5 run eigth with a two run homer and 4 Dragons had 3 or more hits on the day (including one time Baltimore Orioles draft pick Alex Ochoa).

Hiroshima jumped out to an early 5-0 lead on Yakult and never looked back. Swallows' starter Katsutoshi Ishido was knocked out after just 1.2 innings of work and Carp starter Kan Otake pitched a two-hitter and struck out eight in seven innings. The Carp won 5-3 to end Yakult's 5 game winning streak.

Atsushi Fujimoto's two run double in the "dream scenario" (bottom 9, two on & two out) helped the Tigers come from behind for an exciting 2-1 win over the BayStars. Jeff Williams' earned the run moments after giving up back to back doubles to break-up the dual shutouts. Kazuhiro Sasaki blew a second save opportunity this season.

Julio Zuleta's three run homer lead the Hawks to a 4-1 win over Seibu. Matching Chiba's 5-1 win over Nippon Ham helped Fukuoka stay one game back in Pacific League play. Hiroyuki Kobayashi struck out eight and pitched perfect through six to earn his second win in three decisions.

Takeshi Hidaka's game winning RBI in the sixth helped Orix send the expansion Eagles to their sixth loss in five games.

(Can-Am League) Pop Quiz. What do you do when you rank 41st out of 44 in independent league average attendance? How do you catch up when you're over 146,000 fans behind your league's attendance leader?

Four words. George "The Animal" Steele.

The New Haven County Cutters of the newly christened Can-Am League were dead last in attendance last year (when the CAL was called the Northeast League). This year the Cutters will possibly set an all time record for number of promotions during the regular season. Right now there are only 9 open dates. So if you have an idea, put it in an envelope and send it Early AM, because the door is closing quickly.

For a list of all Cutters' promotions for the 2005 season, click here.

(Northern League) League Commissioner Mike Stone is in Fort Worth this weekend deciding whether or not the independent Northern League is obligated to honor Minor League Baseball's 15 day suspension imposed against Darwin Soto earlier this week for a positive drug test. Soto was released by the Mariners and signed by Winnipeg before MLB released a list of 38 minor-leaguers who tested positive for banned substances. Soto's name was on the list.

Stone's decision will have long-lasting ramifications in independent baseball. Says Winnipeg GM Andrew Collier:

They're putting a lot of thought into it, because there are a lot of ramifications any way they go. If they impose a suspension, there will be questions. If they don't, there will be questions. They just want to be sure in their mind they're making the right decision.

Pundits are calling for the league to honor the suspension and make a firm statement "No cheaters are welcome in the Northern League." That is a statement that will go a long way with fans who remember Darryl Strawberry and Steve Howe who both attempted career mulligans in the Northern League. It would also be a way for the league to take steroids seriously. More than their optional, team administered drug testing. Especially since no teams are testing.

(Nippon Professional) Hanshin's Tomoaki Kanemoto hit his 300th career homerun yesterday, the 30th in NPB history to do so, as the Tigers beat the BayStars 4-1. The Tigers lead the CL by 1.5 games.

Noriyuki Shiroishi lead the attack for Yakult as the Swallows ate up the Carp 8-2. Shiroishi drove in three on a bases clearing double two outs in the seventh, and finished the day 3 for 5. Yuhei Takai earned the win striking out nine in just six innings of work for Yakult.

Yomiuri seem to be getting their act together, they put together back to back wins for the first time this year. Kazuhiro Kiyohara popped off a three-run homerun and was followed by Tuffy Rhodes hitting a solo shot as the Giants jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first. Yoshinobu Takahashi added a solo shot in the bottom of the third for the 5-3 win over Chunichi. Daisuke Yamai ate all five earned runs in the loss.

File photo of Kanemoto property of The Japan Times.

(Nippon Professional) Okay, I forgot all about timezones. Japan is something like seven months ahead of the east coast, so we'll be getting nightly scores early in the morning. So Saturday's games are already in the bag.

Two scores according to our primary source JapanBall.com.

The Marines put a hurting on the Fighters putting up seven runs on starter Brad Thomas who lasted 4 outs. Matt Franco knocked a homer and posted 3 RBI's helping Chiba stretch out to a comfortable 10-2 victory. Shunsuke Watanabe pitched a three hitter with eight strikeouts for the win.

Orix knocked the ball around at the Osaka Dome. The Buffaloes scored six runs on 13 hits led by Arihito Muramatsu who was 4 for 5 with a pair of RBI's. Atsuhiro Mitsuhara earned the win, his second career victory.

image from Japan Times and is a file photo from last season

(Nippon Professional Baseball) Benny Agbayani's fifth inning grand slam lifted his Chiba Lotte Marines over the Nippon Ham Fighters 8-2. The win puts the Marines into a tie for first in the Pacific League. Starting pitcher Naoyuki Shimizu notched seven strikeouts and allowed two runs on six hits in his 7.2 innings of work.

Elsewhere in the NPB...

Daisuke Matsuzaka earned a win for the Seibu Lions giving up one run in seven innings. Toru Hosokawa drove in four RBI's to lead the Lions' attack against the Fukuoka Hawks in the 8-2 win.

The expansion Rakuten Eagles defeated the Orix Buffaloes 8-2 at Osaka Dome. Koichi Isobe was 3 for 5 with a homer leading the Eagles and reliever Matt Skrmetta earned the win over Jeremy Powell.

Yomiuri came back from a 2-1 deficit and beat the Dragons 6-4 behind the Hiroki Kokubo's grandslam - first homer of the season. Koji Uehara spread out eight hits and allowed just two runs in seven innings and Tuffy Rhodes added a solo homerun to aid the ailing Giants who are 2-5 in the young season.

Yakult earned a 7-5 road win over the Carp behind two RBI performances from Atsuya Furuta, Ken Suzuki and Mitsuru Manaka. Hiroshima starter Hiroki Kuroda lasted just 3.2 innings in the loss.

BayStars and Tigers fought to a 12 inning tie (yes, Japanese baseball has ties). Shinobu Fukuhara was two outs away from a complete game win when Hitoshi Taneda hit a one out RBI single to force extra frames.

(Nippon Professional Baseball) If this week's posts have been any indication, I am nothing if not a fan of baseball from off the beaten path. Since the 1994 strike I've ignored Major League Baseball, for the most part, and have in the last two or three years become a fan of minor and independent league baseball.

I'm going to take the next few weeks to add coverage of the Nippon Professional Baseball which consists of the Central and Pacific Leagues.

A brief overview.

The Central League is comparable to football's NFC. Traditional, and dominant. To the CL's NFC is the Pacific, comparable in turn to the AFC. The Pacific, which uses the DH is described as dynamic and faster paced (japanball.com).

At the end of the regular season the league champions meet in the Japan Series. Starting this year Central and Pacific League teams will meet during the regular season with inter-league play.

Every league needs a storied franchise for everyone to hate. The US has the Yankees, England has Manchester Utd., Japan has the Yomiuri Giants. The Giants are one of six teams residing in Tokyo. The Giants routinely sign the top free agents which causes clutter in Japan's scaled-back minor league system.

There was a little shake-up in the offseason as the Kintetsu Buffaloes and Orix BlueWave merged becoming the Orix Buffaloes and opened up space for the expansion Ratuken Golden Eagles.

For a more indepth introduction into Japanese baseball, go to Japanball.com.

(USA Baseball) Team USA takes the field this weekend in the 2005 IBAF World Cup Qualifier against Canada, and the Czech Republic. The 24 man team includes 10 players from indy leagues.

Each team will play four games over the next three days in Bradenton, Florida. USA kicks off the weekend at 11am against the Czechs.

(CentralLeague) Southern Independent Baseball LLC, owners of the Shreveport Sports have been in negotiations with several north Houston suburbs in hopes of adding a Central League team in 2006. After failing to secure deals with The Woodlands and Shenandoah areas, SIB is now looking to Conroe, TX.

The deal would for 206 acres of land, 24 being used for the stadium and the rest for commercial development. SIB is trying to push forward in hopes of breaking ground and having the stadium complete by Opening Day 2006.

(Northern League) "It's an exciting time -- new sod and a new manager." That's what Sioux City's Stadium Operations Manager (and former head groundskeeper Jim LeMoine told the Sioux City Journal today when he learned that the City Council had approved the returfing of Lewis and Clark Park.

L&C for many years was the top sod in the Northern League, but over the past few years it has slowly declined into a poor shadow of it's former self. The new turf will be installed by J&R Sod by April 25th, and the field will be game ready for the X's exhibition season starting May 13th.

(Atlantic League)
Somerset - signs pitchers Brian Tollberg (58 major league apperances) and Hayden Gardner

Lancaster - signs pitcher Edisbel Benetiz and infielder Ramiro Chamizo both played for the Road Warriors last season.

(Northern League)
Fargo-Moorhead - resigns Kelley Gulledge, Joe Sergent and Mel Spivey and sign Brandon Culp. Trade Adam Shorster to Calgary for future considerations.

(Frontier League)
Windy City - signs Mike Lynch, Aaron Bolton, Keith Bohanon and Scott Balster

(Atlantic League) Newark announced today that if they do not win their April 27th home opener against Somerset, ever fan will recieve a free ticket to any other Bears-Patriots game this season.

Sr. VP & GM Dean Rivera

Opening Night is going to be a special night for the Bears organization as we launch our new look and re-brand our team. We want to make it a special night for our fans, as well, and by guaranteeing victory we think we will accomplish that.

Not exactly Broadway Joe predicting a Super Bowl win, but a win or a free game sounds like a deal to me.

(Atlantic League) The rumors are true. The Long Island Ducks have signed John Rocker (left). Rocker was a lights-out lefty closer for the Atlanta Braves before letting off with a venemous missive about riding the subway system in New York City where he bashed just about every group one man could commit hate crimes against.

After the article, and unavoidable back-last, Rocker's numbers ballooned, and he was traded to Cleveland, and was unable to regain his control in subsequent seasons with Texas or Tampa Bay. And when you can't hitch a ride with the Devil Rays, you have definitely lost your stuff.

The Ducks made no mention of Rocker's past in a very short press release:

(Central Islip, N.Y., April 7, 2005) � The Long Island Ducks, members of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, today announced the signing of pitcher John Rocker to a contract for the 2005 baseball season.

�John Rocker wants to pitch on Long Island,� said Ducks pitching coach Dave LaPoint. �He had opportunities to pitch elsewhere and he chose to pitch here. We look forward to putting the best product on the field possible in order to defend our Atlantic League title and John is excited to be a part of that.�

Rocker, a native of Statesboro, Georgia, owns a 3.42 ERA and 88 saves in 280 appearances (255.1 innings pitched) at the major-league level. His best season came in 1999 when he went 4-5 with a 2.49 ERA and 38 saves for the National League champion Braves. In 20 career postseason appearances at the big league level (20.2 innings pitched), Rocker is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and three saves.

John Rocker and the Ducks start their title defense in three weeks at Bridgeport. Tickets are availible.

(Atlantic League) Rumors on the internets are starting to swirl about the possibility of former Braves reliever John Rocker and Pete Rose, Jr (yes, the son of that Pete Rose) could be joining the Ducks for the '05 season.

RePete is a decent indy league player, earning himself a 2003 All-Star selection for the Joliet Jackhammers (Northern). He hit .260 with 38 RBI's, but his strength is his glove, committing just 4 errors in '03. Rose, Jr's MLB career was not as bright, he was a pinch hitting September call-up for Cincinnati in 1997 going 2-14 in 11 games.

John Rocker, on the other hand, was a proven Major League pitcher with the Atlanta Braves until he assaulted damned near ever race and orientation ever to be born of this earth. Rocker went from a sub 3.00 ERA closer to 5.50+ hanger-on with Cleveland then Tampa Bay.

The Ducks are good about updating their on-line roster, and neither Rocker or Rose, Jr. are listed as active Ducks.

I'll keep you posted if that changes.

(Northern League) Terry Bevington was dissapointed with the turnout, and the quality of this week's Northern League tryout in Surprise, Arizona. Bevington, skipper of the expansion Edmonton CrackerCats was expecting in the neighborhood of 400 ballplayers and somewhere around 100 pitchers to look over. But of the 160 players in attendance, Bevington saw two - a left handed pitcher and an outfielder - who could be decent ball players.

He told the Edmonton Sun he was, "Kind of shocked" at the whole thing, and swapped Tuesday's first round pick to the Saints for St. Paul's '06 first round pick.

All told, twelve ball players were selected by the other 11 NL teams during Tuesday's draft.

(Central League) Larry Berthea will rejoin the Pelicans for the 2005 season. Berthea, a power hitting first baseman, was a Central League All-Star and was top 3 in all power categories in the '04 campaign for Pensacola.

(Golden League) The Yuma Scorpions signed former Royals #1 pick Juan LeBron. A strong outfielder sometimes compared to Juan Gonzalez has had consistency problems, but there is no doubt, if he can put the bat head on the ball this year, the Scorps will have no problems moving runners around the bases.

(Frontier League) The Washington Wild Things aquired the rights to 2004 FL All Star J.D. Foust from the Florence Freedom as part of a three-team deal. Here's a graphical depiction of the trade:

To Washington:
J.D. Foust (from Florence)

To Florence:
Brandon Cornell (from Washington)

To Richmond:
Jared Howton (from Florence via Washington)

Evansville was also active today, as they announced the return of Ryan Burnau. Burnau was an integral part of the Otters in 2003 when he 3-1, 3.07ERA with 50 strikeouts versus just 10 walks in 41 innings. The strong reliever spent three years in the Cubs system and was with Florida last season.

(Golden League) Amid what some internet pundits are calling a comedy of errors, the Golden League announced it's 8th team will be a travelling squad called the Japan Samurai Bears. The Samurai Bears will field 24 Japanese ball players, and a Japanese coaching staff led by American born Yomiuri Giants veteran Warren Cromartie.

This is the first time a team comprised entirely of Japanese ball players will be fielded in a professional American league. I wonder what the Samurai Bears will do when they're offered a trade for a top-flight American (or Canadian, for that matter) pitcher.

(Northern League) The Winnipeg Sun (canoe.ca) is reporting that newly signed Winnipeg Goldeyes closer Darwin Soto (left) was among the 38 minor league players named earlier this week as having failed league drug testing. Soto was released by the Seattle Mariners before the list was made public and the news was a surprise to both the Goldeyes and manager Hal Lanier who literally said, "Really?" in the Sun interview. The team was told by Seattle Soto was cut because they didn't have room for the 23 year old righty. Soto's agent was just as forthcoming with the information. Which is to say everyone managed to leave the Goldeyes in the dark.

This puts Lanier and the league in a precedent setting situation. Lanier is on record as saying he would cut any steriod user from the team. But if the Goldeyes do leave Soto on their opening day roster, are they under any obligation to honor MiLB's 15 day suspension?

I'll keep an eye on this developing situation.

(Northern League) The Edmonton CrackerCats traded pitchers Derek Bennett and Jason Cierlik to Schaumburg for future considerations. The C-Cats selected Bennett and Cierlik in the November expansion draft in the seventh and sixth rounds respectively from the Flyers.

The CrackerCats, by the way, have possibly the oddest logo in minor league baseball. Why does the cat have a a golf bag?

(Atlantic League) The Riversharks announced the signing of 19 players for the upcoming campaign. Among them 2003 AL Pitcher of the Year Jamie Stewart and reliever Todd Rizzo, who led the team with a 1.80 ERA last season.

Camden, Lancaster and Atlantic City will conduct a joint try-out at The Sandcastle in Atlantic City on April 28th.

Read the press release here.

(Atlantic League) The proposed York baseball team isn't dead yet. The York Outdoor Recreation Complex Committee (convienently enough, spelling YORCC) was working under the pressure of a July 1st deadline to secure plans and matching funds for a $12million state grant to build a 6,000 seat stadium on Arch St. A representative for Governor (and confirmed sports nut) Ed Rendell corrected YORCC this week, telling them the grant doesn't expire until October 31, 2008.

What does this mean for Atlantic League fans? It could mean that there will be a York team (owned by the same group that's bringing us the Lancaster Barnstormers), but we may not see it until 2009 or even 2010, depending on when construction actually begins.

Farther north in the Atlantic League, the Bears announced today the signing of former Oakland A's outfielder Jose Herrera. The 32 year old is a lifetime .283 minor league hitter who spent the last few years playing in Mexico.

(Northern League) Twelve players were drafted following a league-wide tryout on Monday and Tuesday. Pitchers were the hot commodity of the day, seven were selected including lefty Samuel Jansen who was the first pick by the expansion Calgary Vipers. The Saints traded their 2006 first round pick to Edmonton for the #2 pick today and selected 25 year old pitcher Jeff Reboin from the University of Miami.

More coverage here.

(Northern League) The Flyers resigned Matt Baillie this afternoon. Baillie lead the Southern Division champs in wins last year with a 9-5 record with just 1 no decision, he also put together four post season wins helping Schaumburg to their first division series win in team history. The 29 year old righty is a high school teacher and baseball coach in Oregon during the off season.

Schaumburg also added 26 year old right hander Blake Williams. The former St. Louis first round pick had Tommy John surgery in 2002 and spent last season in the Atlantic League splitting time between Camden and Somerset.

(Atlantic League) The Connecticut Post is reporting that the Bridgeport Bluefish could be for sale. The team renegotiated it's lease agreement with the city lowering to $150,000 per year and eliminating a failure to sell naming rights penalty. The team is expected to pay $206,000 is back rent later this week, which leaves $225,000, the tilt of their rent for 2004. A new $2 parking fee is expected to help alleviate some of the debt, but the team's principle owner Mickey Herbert has mentioned that he would listen to offers. Nobody has stepped up.

The Bluefish open the season at the Ballpark at Harbor Yard hosting the defending champion Long Island Ducks on Thursday April 28th.

(Northern League) The Saints announced today that defending NoL batting champ Adam Olow will return to the St. Paul line-up to defend his title. The 26 year old outfielder's contract was sold to the Devil Rays, but he was cut from the team last week allowing him to return to the Northern League for his third season. Olow recorded a husky .376 average and also set team records in hits (126) and HBP's (15). His 11-33 performance in the post season helped the Saints to their first league title in 8 years.

Gary Southshore added reliever Nathan Stone to their roster today. Stone was 2-1 with 8 saves for the Frontier League's Mountain Ducks last season and an impressive 2.23 ERA in 33 games.

(Central League) Ft. Worth signed RHP Mike Snapp. Snapp posted a 2.42 ERA with 18 strikeouts versus 4 walks in 14 games with the GCL Red Sox last season.

(Frontier League) The Redcoats announced today that Lorain, Ohio will host their Spring Training Camp and three regular season games. The Redcoats are a barnstorming team in the FL this season filling the whole left by the Springfield/Ozark Mountain Ducks departure. Ohio Valley will play what looks like a reduced home schedule in several different stadiums across Ohio and Indiana. This approach proved moderately successfull for the Can-Am league who ran a three game series in Utica, NY last year still hoping to move a franchise into that long lost baseball town.

Just a couple house keeping things. The site design will change, I want to clean up the links and try to find some room for team links. I'm also working on finding all the logos I need to create an icon set to add a little eye candy to the page. There's nothing more boring than reading a site with no graphics save a few requisite exchange buttons.

I also want to thank a couple guys for linking back to IBN including Tim who runs the River City Rascals boosters club site and the Unofficial Frontier League history page and Scott Stanchack, who could qualify as the Sommerset Patriots #1 (or #2) fan.

(Atlantic League) Michael Ashmore of atlanticleaguebaseball.com is the first to report (that I know of) that former Camden Riversharks catcher Chris Widger has been signed by the Chicago WhiteSox. Widger is listed on the Sox' opening day roster and will back-up A.J. Pierzynski. More proof - quality ball players are in the indy leagues.

(Golden Baseball League) First, let me say that Sin City is possibly one of the best films ever. Immediate placement in my top 10.

But now, on to baseball news. To catch up on what happened over the weekend (aka: before IBN was online).

The Yuma Scorpions were active over the weekend. Thirty-seven ballplayers attened a tryout at the Scorpions' home field, Desert Sun Stadium. Yuma lists 25 players on their roster, including player/pitching coach Rusty Meacham (8 years MLB service) and former Major Leaguer Alex Arias. 10 players made the Saturday night cut and are hoping for an invite to Yuma's spring training camp which gets under way on May 10th.

The Scorpions also announced on Sunday the aquisition of Dustin Kupper from the Richmond Roosters (FL) for a player to be named later. Kupper was 1-2 with a 1.83 ERA for the Roosters last year in 13 games. Kupper was a 9th round Florida Marlins pick in 2001 but was never promoted past A-ball and was released by the Reds last April before being picked up by Richmond in July.

Welcome to Indy Baseball News. This blog will endeavour to cover the six current independent baseball leagues (Atlantic, Can-Am, Central, Frontier, Golden and Northern). These leagues are important to baseball. They bring high quality game to regions that may not otherwise see organized ball.

This year is one of growth overall for indy ball. Two travel teams are replaced by franchises, a former affiliated team joined the Central League, the Northern League added two Canadian teams, and a new league in California is expected to field 8 teams.

If you're a ball player looking to hitch a ride for the 2005 campaign, all six leagues will be holding tryouts now that all MLB teams have their rosters set for opening day.

And I'll try to cover all those roster moves as soon as I get home from seeing Sin City.