Sunday, June 21, 2009

Seal Blubber Bits - Summer Solstice Edition

It's the longest day of the year, so you'll need lots of sustenance. Here are some Seal Blubber Bits to gnaw on:
  • The Seals showed great resilience in yesterday's game. They got out to a quick 3-0 lead, but Edmonton scored one in the fourth and four in the fifth to jump out in front 5-3. After Friday's heart-breaking 11-inning loss, I was half expecting the Seals to pack it in. But they showed just how emotionally tough they are by coming right back and scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth and three more in the sixth to pull away.

  • The Seals released pitchers Mike Reeves and Ezekiel Ruvalcaba yesterday. Reeves had a 10.66 ERA, while Ruvalcaba's was 12.60. Both pitchers had significant struggles last season in the Golden League as well.

  • Victoria activated offensive spark plug Sergio Pedroza from the Inactive List. He batted third yesterday and got on base in four of his five plate appearances.

  • The Seals have also signed right-handed pitcher and Saskatchewan native Phil Sobkow. Sobkow is the second Canadian on the team, along with Victorian Graham Campbell. Sobkow had an ERA last season of 8.56 with two teams in the Golden League. In 2007, his ERA with two squads in the independent Northern League was 6.83.

  • Trevor Davidson remained on the active list following the activation of Pedroza. He played CF in place of Chris VanRossum yesterday, so a battle for playing time in center field appears to be underway.

  • I'm not sure why Carlos Duncan was batting eighth in Saturday's lineup, but the slugger responded with a two-run homer, a single and two runs scored.

  • Brian Rios went back to third base after Duncan committed his seventh and eighth errors of the season on Friday night. As Bubba so accurately pointed out in his Wednesday post ("Errors In Judgement"), the team is better served with Rios at 3B and Duncan at DH.