Wily Mo Pena to rehab in Lowell TONIGHT

Red Sox outfielder Wily Mo Pena is scheduled to make rehab starts with the Lowell Spinners tonight (Friday) at 7:05 p.m. and tomorrow (Saturday) at 5:05 p.m.

Standing room tickets are available at the Lowell Spinners box office, so come on down to cheer on Wily Mo!

Spinners Walk Off with Extra Innings Win!

Deages Delivers in 12th

With one out in the bottom of the 12th inning, Spinners left fielder Zach Daeges delivered again, driving in the winning run from third base to give the Spinners their most dramatic win of the season.

Defensive replacement Jason Twomley belted a double to centerfield in his first at-bat of the night to start the inning. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Ryan Khoury, who had gone 2-for-3 in the night. Then Zach Deages belted a line drive to right field to score the winning run.

The Spinners are back for more fun tomorrow night, when they begin a three-game series against the Oneonta Tigers. Come on down to LeLacheur Park! Standing-room tickets are still available!

Sanchez is first ‘04 Spinner to make The Show

Sanchez a winner in Debut

Anibal Sanchez, who became the first pitcher ever to claim th New York-Penn League's ERA title and lead the league in strikeouts during his 2004 season with the Lowell Spinners, made his Major League debut yesterday, defeating the Yankees.

The Florida Marlins needed an emergency starter for their double-header against the Yankees. Sanchez had a 3.15 ERA with 92 strikeouts in 85.2 IP for the Marlins Double-A Carolina Mudcats this season.

Sanchez shutout the Yankees during 5.2 innings of work, recording two strikeouts and allowing no walks. The Marlins became the first team to shutout the Yankees this season.

Sanchez was named Pitcher of the Year in the Red Sox farm system after his stellar 2004, which included 101 strikeouts in 76.1 IP and an ERA of 1.77. Sanchez, along with 2002 Lowell Spinner Hanley Ramirez, was traded to the Marlins this winter in exchange for current Red Sox Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell.

    Congrats, Anibal!

Catch Up on Spinners Opening Day Win

Lowell defeated Vermont, 4-1, in a crazy Season Opener that began with great festivities. 

If you missed any of the action, you can catch a wrap-up from Lowell Sun sports blogger Teddy Panos, who covers everything from the helicopter landing, the introduction of Millie-Gator, and of course, the game. 

Click here for Teddy's Sports Blog. 

And so it begins…!

It's finally June 20th, and that means it's Opening Day! The fun at LeLacheur Park begins tonight with a 7:05 start against the Vermont Lake Monsters.

A special pre-game announcement awaits all fans, as do magnetic schedules. And get yourself ready for treat — Little Big Town performs the National Anthem.

Don't worry if you don't recognize the Lake Monsters name — tonight marks the first game in Vermont Lake Monsters history. They used to be the Vermont Expos, and they're still a Washington Nationals affiliate.

Get ready for a whole new season of Spinnertainment, starting today!

Who’ll be a Spinner?

In the same interview quoted below, Mcleod says that he expects fourth-round pick Jon Still to "probably be the number one catcher in Lowell this summer."

Still was primarily a first-baseman last year at North Carolina State because another catcher was ahead of him in the depth chart.

Papelbon Closing in Lowell?

And the Papelbon saga continues…!

There's been a lot of buzz around Boston and Lowell about the Red Sox drafting Josh Papelbon in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft. Jonathan Papelbon, a Spinner in 2003, is one of the best releivers in baseball as the Red Sox closer.

Now it looks like there's a good chance Josh will be here in Lowell and closing games. In a great post-draft interview with Red Sox Director of Amateur Scouting Jason Mcleod on RedSoxNation.net, Mcleod states that "If he signs, I expect he’ll get the opportunity to close in Lowell this summer. He performed well in that role at North Florida."

Like his elder brother, Josh might just begin his career in Lowell. It would be the first relative of a Spinner to become a Spinner.

2005 Spinners Named South Atlantic League All-Stars

Two members of last season's Spinners team have been named All-Stars in the Low-A South Atlantic League. Pitcher Chris Jones and catcher Mark Wagoner both played important roles on the Spinners franchise-best 2005 season.

In 24.1 innings of work as a Spinner last season, Jones struck out 26 batters en route to a 2.59 ERA. Jones is now 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA for Greenville. He is averaging almost a strikeout per inning pitched.

Wagner, who batted .203 in Lowell last year, is off to a great start with a .314 batting average and five homeruns in 41 games for South Atlantic League's Greenville. 

Both will represent the Drive in the 47th Annual All-Star Game on June 20th.
Congratulations, Chris and Mark!

Draft Leaves Possibilities Spinning

It's now one day after the completion of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, and although the Spinners roster has not been announced, we have a decent idea of who could be playing in Lowell this summer.

For the Red Sox complete draft, check out the Sox Prospects Draft History page.

As you can see, Boston again drafted quite a few college players, and those are the most likely to be future Lowell Spinners. Included in the list of college-drafted players is first-round pick Daniel Bard, who had a 3.46 ERA in 14 starts for UNC this season. The highly-touted right-hander struck out over a batter per inning pitched in 2006 and is known as a power pitcher. Last summer, he played for Wareham in the Cape Cod League and dominated with the league's third-best ERA. 

And in case you haven't heard, at the other end of the draft was 48th-round draft pick Josh Papelbon. Josh, along with twin brother Jeremy (who was drafted in the 19th round by the Cubs) pitched for the University of Northern Florida. Josh was their closer last year. 

Between those picks are many, many other college-drafted players. Some of them, along with some players moving up from the Red Sox Gulf Coast League club, will take the field on June 20th as your 2006 Lowell Spinners.

It’s Draft Time

The MLB Draft begins tomorrow, which means the Lowell Spinners season is right around the corner.

As a short-season team, the Spinners are comprised mostly of college-drafted players. So for a good idea of who the Spinners might be rostering in 2006, pay attention to the Red Sox college draft picks.

But we won't know who will be a Spinner in 2006 for sure until the team arrives early the following week.

You can follow the draft live at www.mlb.com.