The Spinners continued their comeback magic last night by staging a late game rally and beating the Staten Island Yankees 6-5 in the bottom of the 9th. Joantoni Garcia’s single plated Chris McGuiness with the winning run. Ryan Westmoreland was 3-5 with a run scored and an RBI, his third hit started the Spinner rally in the bottom of the ninth.
A big hand for our grounds crew who has had to work hard this week to get the field playable for game time. There has been days where there was standing water on the field and the grounds crew has made the field pristine for game time. As of right now we are seeing sun for the first time in a while, it is a great feeling!
We are working hard on new in game entertainment for all of our fans out there, as well as bringing you the best minor league baseball experience you will find. For those of you who are looking for something to do this week, why not come out and see the Spinners? Tonight we are featuring “Mystery” Bobblehead night, who is the bobblehead for tonight? Come to the park to find out. We also have plenty of tickets available for our next homestand, including Lowell night on July 7th. Call or visit or ticket office for your tickets.
The Spinners go for the sweep tonight with Ryan Pressly opposing Trenton Lare.
Last night the Spinners bats came alive in an 11-0 drubbing of the Staten Island Yankees. Michael Almanzar was 3-3 with 3RBI’s, and Jose Alvarez pitched 6 scoreless innings in the win. Fans were treated with an amazing post game fireworks display as the weather cleared just in time to get everything in last night.
The Spinners go for their third win in a row Thursday for Jed Lowrie Bobble Head Giveaway Night sponsored by Sovereign Bank and 980 WCAP. LHP Cesar Cabral (0-2, 5.40) gets the ball for a 7:05 first pitch.
Here’s a treat for all you fans out there, below you can watch Michael Almanzar stroke his first hit of the day. (Courtesy of SoxProspects)
SoxProspects.com Player of the Week June 22-28 Derrik Gibson
Congraulations to Spinner Derrik Gibson, who was named SoxProspects.com player of the week for June 22-28. In 10 games played this season, Gibson is hitting .471/.600/.735 with 5 doubles, 2 triples and 5 RBI. Gibson, 19, a second round pick in 2008, is in his second professional season.
Ryan Westmoreland, one of the more highly touted prospects in the Red Sox system, who was drafted in the 2008 draft but did not make his debut until this season in Lowell, hails from Portsmouth, RI. Westmoreland is excited to get his career underway and hopes to one day live out his dream of playing for the Red Sox. Like current Red Sox outfielder, Rocco Baldelli, also from Rhode Island, Westmoreland is known for his all around game which includes, speed, elite hitting and solid defense. Westmoreland recently spoke with WPRI in Providence about the beginning to his pro career.
The Yankee elimination program has been one of our most popular promotions in recent years. The Spinners are proud to announce that one team that chose to change their team name from the Yankees to the Spinners has had incredible success. The Highland Park Spinners of the Lowell Girls Softball League, went 16 and 1 last year and won the city championship. This year they improved to 17 and 0 and defended, and retained thier title. The team is now the two time Lowell City Champion.
This group of eleven and twelve-year-old ladies have worked very hard under the guidance of thier coaches, Val Higgens, Ken Crawford and Helen Sweeny, to do themselves and the Spinner name proud. This is just another example of the Spinner organzation reaching out and touching our community in a positive way.
Congratulations to the Highland Park Spinners, we hope other teams realize that the Spinner name leads to success and thank you for shrinking the presence of the evil empire in Red Sox country.
The Spinners look to finish up June on a high note and end the month at .500. The team has recently lost 2 out of 3 to both Oneonta and Tri-City. Derrik Gibson continues to hit at a torrid pace now hitting .471 with a 1.335 OPS through last night’s win vs. Oneonta. Tonight the Spinners finish up their series in Oneonta as Jose Alvarez takes the mound at 7:05. You can catch the game on WCAP by clicking on the following here at game time.
The Spinners return home tomorrow to begin a three game set vs. Staten Island. Wednesday we will feature fireworks after the game and honor those in the armed forces. Thursday and Friday are both bobble head giveaways here at the park. Thursday we will be giving away Jed Lowrie bobble heads and Friday is a “mystery” bobble head. Be sure to come out to the park and take in some great baseball and get to honor our armed forces and get some bobble heads!
The Spinners have dropped 2 straight games. Losing 5-2 on Sunday to Vermont and dropping a tough extra inning game 4-1 to Oneota last night. Tonight is our politically incorrect night which will be plenty of fun for everyone involved, come out to the park and see what we have in store. If you were here last night for politically correct night, expect the opposite of what you saw last night.
We have two new players that we would like to welcome to Lowell who just recently were assigned here. First, Michael Almanzar, who had been playing in Greenville. Almanzar is considered to have a very high potential and is still only 18 years old. We look forward to seeing Michael play in Lowell this season.
The other recent addition to our team is Chad Povich. Chad played in Lowell back in 2007 going 1-1 with a 3.52 era. Chad had started the season with Salem, but is now working his way back from injury. We would like to welcome Chad back to Lowell and look forward to seeing him pitch.
A big thank you goes out to our fans who have endured some long nights and some terrible weather this week during our home stand. Thank you for your loyalty and support, everyone here can see the dedication and spirit of our fans is unlike any other fan base around.
Working here is definitley a learning experience every day, no two day are ever the same. We usually get here early in the morning, even for a night game, and have a whole lot of game preparation before fans arrive. Everything you see every night is the product of hard work on the part of both the full time staff in the office and game day staff that works our games. Our grounds crew has been doing an amazing job getting the field ready after some rough weather.
To give everyone an idea of what a typical 7:05 game day looks like, I will outline what usually goes on during the course of the day.
Early Morning- Arrival, Meeting, Assign Tasks to be completed before game time
Late Morning Early Afternoon- Complete all tasks, make sure all promotions, signs, banners are ready and in place, help with any tasks that need to be completed to get ballpark ready for the game, including field preparation, ticket sales, updating of website, coordinating media, sponsors, birthday parties and special groups. Work on any projects that need to be completed for our in game entertainment.
Gates Open- Make sure everything is ready to go for the game, coordinate special parties and all pregame first pitches, anthem singers, special guests etc. Help ensure that all groups and birthday parties are having an amazing experience, make sure that all entertainment is ready to go for game time.
Right before first pitch- Pregame ceremonies take place, it seems so coordinated to the outside eye but trust me there is a lot of work that goes into all game presentation and ceremonies that you see take place.
First Pitch- Game is underway, everybody is spread throughout the stadium to provide the best experience for our loyal fans.
Postgame- Thank our fans for coming out to the game, make sure that all gameday items are put away and accounted for, go over how the game went and see how we can improve.
I hope you are all enjoying the season so far, and that the weather improves soon! See you at the ballpark!
The Spinners made it two in a row yesterday in their exciting last at bat win 6-5 over the Lake Monsters yesterday evening. Chia-Chu Chen again was in the middle of the action as he delivered the game winning hit in the bottom of the 9th. Jose Alvarez pitched well going 6 innings allowing 1 run and striking out 7. Will Latimer picked up the win, pitching a scorless 9th inning.
Yesterday was also a special day because Hall Of Famer Wade Boggs threw out the first pitch and was a guest bartender. Today the Spinners go for the sweep, first pitch is scheduled for 1:35. The Spinners have won 9 of the last 10 games against the Lake Monsters including 7 straight games at LeLacheur Park.
The fans have been really great so far in the first 2 games, i’m sure the players would agree that they are a big reason why we are 2-2 in the win column. Come out to the park today and see Patriots players Chris Hansen and Stephen Gostkowski as they will be kicking footballs into the stands.
Last night was an amazing night, getting to meet Wade Boggs, seeing the Spinners come back for the win and to just be a park of all the excitement here in the park. See you all soon
Spinners outfielder Wilfred Pichardo played in just one game at LeLacheur Park before injuring himself in the Spinners Stedler Division clinching win. However, Pichardo showed in his two at-bats his incredible blazing speed, turing routine groundballs into bang-bang plays at first base. In the GCL this season, Pichardo led the GCL Red Sox with 60 hits and 42 stolen bases, setting a new league record for stolen bases. In three games with the Spinners, the 18-year-old Pichardo was 2-for-7 with a stolen base.
Pichardo does not look like your typical player, standing 5′9″ and weighing 146 pounds. Despite his diminutive stature, Pichardo is a very talented prospect. Congratulations, Wilfred.
Large delivers a pitch during the 2006 Spinners season.
Former Spinners pitcher TJ Large was flawless in his Arizona Fall League debut Oct. 7. Pitching for the Scottsdale Scorpions, the 2005 and 2006 Spinners closer pitched two scoreless innings, allowing just two hits. Large did not walk or strike out a batter. His battery mate for the Scorpions was also his catcher during his first season in Lowell, Mark Wagner. Wagner went 0-for-3 to start the Fall League season, but did draw a walk.
Large and Wagner are two of six former Spinners on the Scottsdale roster. They are joined by Clay Buchholz (2005), Aaron Bates (2006), Ryne Lawson (2006, 2007) and Beau Vaughan (2003). Check back often to follow their progress throughout the fall.
When Greg Montalbano pitched for the Lowell Spinners in the summer of 2000, he was already on his way to becoming one of the top pitching prospects in the Red Sox organization. Drafted out of Northeastern University, Montalbano made a pit stop in the GCL before finishing his first professional season in Lowell. In two games, Montalbano was 0-1 with a 1.74 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 10.1 innings pitched. In 2001, Montalbano would go on to be named the Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year and seemed destined for success.
The story of Montalbano does not end in the Major Leagues however. After overcoming testicular cancer as a freshman at Northeastern, Montalbano was drafted by the Red Sox in 1999. However, after his breakout 2001 season, Montalbano was slated to start the 2002 season in Pawtucket. Unfortunately, a frayed labrum was detected in Spring Training and cost him the entire 2002 season.
Healthy to start 2003, Montalbano won his first two games before injuries struck again and wiped out the remainder of his season. In addition to his injured shoulder, Montalbano also had surgery to remove five non-cancerous tumors in his groin.
After he was released by the Red Sox in spring training of 2005, a finally healthy Montalbano launched a comeback with the independent Worcester Tornadoes. After a year of domination in the Can-Am League, Montalbano was receiving calls from Major League scouts when he received a phone call from a familiar number. He had cancer for a second time.
Greg Montalbano had two tumors removed in January of 2007. He had beat cancer twice, although his baseball dream was over. In May of 2008 however, doctors again delivered bad news to Montalbano. They had found six new tumors and all were cancerous.
Montalbano is currently undergoing treatment for his latest battle in New York and the entire Spinners organization wishes Greg the very best to a member of our baseball family.
To read more about Greg and his fight, read Stan Grossfeld’s touching story on Boston.com by clicking here.
Quianna Roy, a senior at Central Catholic who was a participant and Top 12 Finalist in “Lowell Spinner Idol” last year, recently got the word that she was selected to sing at the Sox – Yankee Game on Saturday April 25. Spinners Idol has featured some of the very best talent in the Merrimack Valley in finding anthem singers for the 38 Spinners home games. Sponsored by MusicWorks Studio and MusicBall Entertainment, the two-night contest has been the only way to place yourself in a coveted anthem date.
Quianna performed the second game of one of last year’s double headers. Congratulations, Quianna!
Dennis Neuman (29) jumps into the arms of a teammate following the Netherlands shocking upset of the Dominican Republic in the 2009 WBC (AP Photo).
If you have been following the World Baseball Classic online a pitcher for the Netherlands may have seemed familiar in their shocking upset of the Dominican Republic team. Pitcher Dennis Neuman (2008 Lowell Spinners) was on the mound for the eighth inning, protecting a tenous lead against the mighty Dominican line-up. Neuman responded with the guile of a long-time major league veteran, pitching himself out of a jam, including a strike-out of All-Star outfielder Jose Guillen. Neuman is no stranger to the big stage, winning televised games in the Little League World Series and again in 2008, picking up the win with a scoreless inning of relief in the Spinners extra-innings walk-off win at the Futures at Fenway.
Just 19-years-old, the future is very bright for Dennis Neuman!
As with offices across the world, March Madness has captivated the Spinners front office. Bragging rights are on the line in the annual Spinners Front Office and Family Tournament Bracket Challenege, as the front office puts their college basketball knowledge to the test.
It was a harrowing opening afternoon for Spinners owner Drew Weber, as well as G Money and Boz as they watched their projected National Champion Memphis Tigers narrowly push by 15th seeded Cal State North Ridge.
Pittsburgh and North Carolina join Memphis as popular selections amongst the front office, while video production intern Al Bundy predicts a back-to-back championship for the Kansas Jayhawks.
Pittsburgh – Heals, Ticket Intern Kevin and Jeff Cohen
Memphis – G$, Boz and Drew Weber
Boston College (????) – Jon Goode (e-mail him at jgoode@lowellspinners.com to ask what he was thinking)
Louisville – Justin Williams and Priscilla Harbour
Kansas – Al Bundy
Dan Beaulieu, Drew Weber, Boz and Priscilla are off to rough starts, keeping each other company in the bottom of the standings, but in March, things can change in an instant!
Canaligator had another busy weekend, returning to Lowell after a Spring Training trip to Ft. Myers. Over the Weekend Canaligator traveled to Historic Fenway Park to help his friend Wally celebrate Kids Weekend. You were going crazy if you thought you saw your favorite gator wandering the concourse or atop the Green Monster and several of you may have even seen Canaligator atop the Green Monster with some of his best friends. Below are some pictures from the event.
Hello Spinners Fans, My Name is John, a PR/Media relations intern and this season I will be posting about life as an intern here for the Spinners. Throughout the season I will give you a behind the scenes view of what working in baseball is like and help you to understand how things operate here in Lowell. This will be an exciting season and I hope you will learn about the game of baseball and everything that goes into it from my postings.
Today is Day 3 for me here in Lowell, we are working hard to get everything ready for the season, including spreading the word about this upcoming season and coming up with entertainment for all of the fans out there.
The park is looking great, the weather is wonderful and we are all having fun here. Leading up to the season we are working all day in preparation for the season. So far my department has been working on various outreach programs in the community and working on videos and media. I have to say that so far I am having a blast working here, everyone is great to work with and we have a fun time everyday. I am learning all that I can about working in baseball, it has always been my dream and here I am.
These past few days I have been working in the video room and press box getting video and music ready for the video and scoreboards. Yesterday we made a video for the souvenier store with Canaligator and the sumos, you’ll be seeing it soon. I can’t wait until the season starts so we can share all the fun with the fans and watch some great baseball.
The countdown to opening day continues as we are busy getting ready for the season. Being an intern here with the Spinners is amazing, it is more than I ever could have imagined and the games haven’t even begun. This week I have been busy shooting promotional videos, planning special giveaway nights (your gonna love them), and updating our website. This has included a few trips in the “Mystery Machine”, our new vehicle for this upcoming season. The Mystery Machine is even funner than it looks and everybody should come and check it out. You can even rent it out, check out our website for details.
Today is a very special day for the Red Sox organization, and the Spinners. The MLB Draft begins today and continues until Thursday. We will be welcoming many new players into the organization, and quite a few will begin here in Lowell. I will be following the draft for you on the blog, so you can find out all the latest information on who we will be welcoming into the organization.
The days have been long, the job isn’t always glamarous but I am sure glad that I am here in Lowell this summer. Continue to follow us as the season approaches, it is sure to be an exciting summer, and one that you can get a look at behind the scenes with me. As an added bonus you can see info on me and all the other interns on our homepage under the About Us Section.
Today marks the third and final day of the 2009 MLB Draft. The Red Sox have thus far had a very impressive draft, taking a number of players that fell due to signability issues (players asking for money comparable to the top players taken in the draft because they think they can get picked higher next year or have a strong college commitment, so they would need a large bonus to sign).
We will recap who the Sox have taken thus far and who is likely to play here in Lowell this season.
In the first round the Red Sox Selected Reymond Fuentes, a CF out of Fernando Callejo High School.
Fuentes is a relative of Mets CF Carlos Beltran. He is a fast, runner who plays solid defense and projects to have decent power and hit for average at the plate. In the best of projections, he is similar to Johnny Damon.
In the second round the Sox selected Alex Wilson out of Texas A&M
Alex may be here in Lowell this season. Wilson projected as a possible first-round pick before he blew out his elbow in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2007. His control has been sharp (105-18 K-BB ratio in 75 innings) for a pitcher in his first season back after elbow reconstruction. He has touched 94 mph with his fastball before his elbow surgery and most recently sits around 88-91. He will most likely be used as a starter in the minors.
In the third round the sox selected the highly touted David Renfroe.
Renfroe is one of the top high school players in the country and plays shortstop. He also pitches and features a fastball that sits at 93 mph. Renfroe is projected to be a quality hitter that hits for power and who the Red Sox see as an impact bat in the future.
The fourth round saw the Sox select Jeremy Hazelbaker. A Center fielder out of Ball State. Jeremy may play for Lowell this upcoming season. Hazelbaker is adept at getting on base and hitting for average, he profiles as a lead off hitter. He just recentley started playing the outfield after playing as a second baseman.
In the fifth round the Sox selected Seth Schwindenhammer, a power hitting outfielder from Limestone Community High School.
The rest of the draft so far went as follows:
6
Branden Kline
RHP
Governor Thomas Johnson HS (MD)
7
Madison Younginer
RHP
Mauldin HS (SC)
8
Shannon Wilkerson
OF
Augusta State
9
Kendal Volz
RHP
Baylor
10
Brandon Jacobs
OF
Parkview HS (GA)
11
Jason Thompson
SS
Germantown HS (TN)
12
Michael Thomas
C
Southern A&M
13
Chris McGuiness
1B
The Citadel
14
Willie Holmes
OF
Chaffey College
15
Michael Bugary
LHP
UC-Berkeley
16
Luke Bard
RHP
Charlotte Christian (NC)
17
Kraig Sitton
LHP
Oregon State
18
Renny Parthemore
RHP
Cedar Cliff HS (PA)
19
Tom Ebert
RHP
Florida International
20
Alex Hassan
RHP
Duke
21
Randall Fant
LHP
Texas HS (TX)
22
Jordan Flasher
RHP
George Mason
23
Chris Court
RHP
Stephen F. Austin
24
Dan Kemp
SS
Tantasqua Regional (MA)
25
Austin House
RHP
La Cueva HS (NM)
26
Miles Head
3B/C
Whitewater HS (GA)
27
Reed Gragnani
SS
Mills E Godwin HS (VA)
28
Eric Curtis
RHP
Miami Dade CC South
29
Cody Stubbs
1B
Tuscola HS (NC)
30
Jeremiah Bayer
RHP
Trinity College (CT)
Players you may have a chance to see in Lowell include college draftees such as Shannon Wilkerson, Kendal Volz, Michael Thomas, Chris McGuiness, Willie Holmes. Michael Bugary, Kraig Sitton, Tom Ebert, Alex Hassan, Jordan Flasher, Eric Curtis and Jeremiah Bayer.
The actual assignments to teams for all draftees is contingent upon them signing before the August 15th deadline, and is also completley speculation, as we have no direct information as of yet where the draftees will be assigned. Also of note is Luke Bard is the brother of current Red Sox pitcher Daniel Bard. We will post about the rest of the draft later today, and will keep you updated about player movement.
Today is the third and final day of the MLB Draft, and while the later rounds of the draft are often overlooked, there are some intresting tidbits to follow from the later rounds. Possibly the most intresting part of day three was the Red Sox selecting Michael Yastrzemski from St. John’s Prep, Red Sox Legend Carl Yastrzemski’s grandson.
Michael is shown here with grandfather Carl, in a recent workout.
The draft finished up for the Sox as follows:
31. (948) Shaughn Webb 6′0 175 LHP Palm Beach CC
32. (978) Michael Clark 6′3 LHP American Heritage School (FL)
33. (1008) William Tart 6′3 193 RHP The Pendleton School (NC)
34. (1038) Jimmy Patterson 6′0 195 LHP Central Arizona College
35. (1068) Matthew Milroy 6′2 RHP Marmion Academy HS (IL)
36. (1098) Michael Yastrzemski 5′11 185 RF St. John’s Prep (MA)
37. (1128) Matthew Koch 6′3 185 RHP Washington HS (IA)
38. (1158) Ezekiel Devoss 5′10 170 CF Astronaut HS (FL)
39. (1188) Frank McCourt 5′9 160 OF Harvard-Westlake HS (CA)
40. (1218) James Dykstra 6′4 195 RHP Rancho Bernardo HS (CA)
41. (1248) Kyle Rutter 6′3 176 RHP NC State
42. (1278) Gera Sanchez 6′0 170 RHP New Mexico JC
43. (1308) Luke Maile 6′3 195 C Covington Catholic HS (KY)
44. (1338) Derrick Thomas 6′4 205 RF Roswell HS (GA)
47. (1428) Jordan Sallis 5′8 165 2B Arkansas-Fort Smith
48. (1458) Brian Heere 5′11 175 RF Kansas
49. (1488) Chris Constantino 6′3 235 3B Bishop Hendricken School (RI)
50. (1518) Drew Hedman 6′1 200 1B Pomona-Pitzer
That wraps up the draft for this year, stay tuned for further information on the newest members of the Red Sox organization and come out and see us at the ballpark!
Who would have thought that we would be experiencing weather like this in June?
Today was an exciting day here at the ballpark we saw the arrival of the majority of our team for their first workout. The ballpark is beginning to look ready for opening day. We are looking to bring you a wonderful experience this summer and we have some exciting events occuring opening night as well as throughout the season. Tickets are selling fast so be sure to stop by the ballpark or order by phone or on our website.
This past Saturday saw the MIAA State baseball championships take place here in Lowell. We would like to congratulate the winners and recognize all teams for some excellent play.
These are the days that I have been waiting for ever since I knew I would be working here in Lowell this summer, the days will be long but they will be filled with baseball which is my passion. I have recently been busy preparing for the arrival of the season by putting together new and exciting promotions (wait until you see), readying player bios and rosters (I have to keep this a secret) and lining up many exciting community nights for various towns around the area.
I would like the readers of this blog to feel free to ask me any questions and I will try and answer them to the best of my ability.
The 2009 Lowell Spinners season started off strong last night with a 10-6 win over the Vermont Lake Monsters. Roberto Feliz had 2 hits including a home run and every Spinner reached base in a strong offensive performance.
Tommy Hottovy was the player of the game, shutting down the Lake Monsters for 2 innings in relief and striking out 5 in a dominating performance.
The series with the Lake Monsters continues today at 5:05, special guest Wade Boggs will be throwing out the first pitch as well as helping to serve beer at the first base concessions stand. Jose Alvarez will face Juan Jaime.
Opening week has been busy for all at the ballpark, in getting the stadium ready, creating new videos, sounds, promotions and making sure that all of our loyal fans have the best time they possibly can at the ballpark. Our Media Day was on Wednesday and many of our players met with media members for the first time. Our team is very talented and excited for the upcoming season.
A typical game day for us usually starts early in the morning, we go over what tasks need to be done to prepare for game time and make sure that everything runs smoothly during and after the game. Leading up to game time we sometimes will have events (like today’s Season Ticket Holder Luncheon) and also work on new projects in all aspects of the organization. The Spinners are constantly looking to improve the quality and experience for all fans, during the course of the season you will see all this hard work manifest itself and this is why we believe our fans continue to reward us with a long sell out streak.
If you have not been to a Spinners game, come check us out, you will not only see quality baseball being played, but you will have a game experience unlike any other. I would like to reach out to any readers of this blog to become more involved, we would like to interact with our fans as much as possible. Any suggestions, ideas, things you would like to see, are more than welcomed and we will try and accommodate them as much as possible.
Ryan Westmoreland, one of the more highly touted prospects in the Red Sox system, who was drafted in the 2008 draft but did not make his debut until this season in Lowell, hails from Portsmouth, RI. Westmoreland is excited to get his career underway and hopes to one day live out his dream of playing for the Red Sox. Like current Red Sox outfielder, Rocco Baldelli, also from Rhode Island, Westmoreland is known for his all around game which includes, speed, elite hitting and solid defense. Westmoreland recently spoke with WPRI in Providence about the beginning to his pro career.
The 2009 Lowell Spinners season started off strong last night with a 10-6 win over the Vermont Lake Monsters. Roberto Feliz had 2 hits including a home run and every Spinner reached base in a strong offensive performance.
