Baseball Post Season Holds Familiar Faces

By Ken Lipshez | Sports Correspondent at October 5, 2012 | 9:15 am | Print

As the Major League Baseball season moves into its playoff mode, New Britain Rock Cats fans should see some familiar faces on the game?s greatest stage.

No fewer than six former Rock Cats are on active rosters of teams hoping to enjoy the traditional champagne shower if their teams can run the postseason gauntlet to a World Series title.

Two of them ? Baltimore Orioles outfielder Lew Ford and Oakland A?s closer Grant Balfour ? contributed to the Rock Cats? only Eastern League title in 2001. A?s right-handed relief specialist Pat Neshek spent parts of three season here and ranks among the most fan-friendly players to pass through.

The Orioles also have utility infielder Steve Tolleson, once a slick-fielding New Britain infielder/outfielder, on their active roster. Jose Mijares, a flame-throwing but erratic southpaw, wore out his welcome with the Rock Cats? parent club in Minnesota, but has surfaced in the San Francisco Giants? bullpen.

And perhaps the most unusual case is that of St. Louis Cardinals right-handed starter Kyle Lohse, whose stint in New Britain is one he wouldn?t care to discuss. Please read on.

Jose Mijares ? San Francisco

Mijares pitched in 26 games for the Giants this year and was 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA. If the Giants choose to include him on their postseason roster, his role would be as a left-handed specialist.

Mijares? arm strength has never been in question. He was among the top pitching prospects in the Minnesota Twins organization when he arrived in New Britain in 2007, but questions lingered about his commitment to training. He was listed at 230 pounds going into the 2009 season.

The Venezuelan went 5-3 for the Rock Cats with a 3.54 ERA in 46 games in ?07. The quality of his stuff is evidenced by his ratio of innings pitched (61) to hits (40), his strikeout total (75) and that EL hitters batted just.183 against him. His downfall was the 48 walks he issued. He had 14 save opportunities and converted nine.

He went 1-1 with a 2.93 ERA in 11 games in 2008, saving two games in three chances before departing Double-A.

The Twins grew tired of his act despite his great potential and he was granted free agency last December. He was signed by Kansas City, but the giants subsequently plucked him from the waiver wire on Aug. 6.

Steve Tolleson ? Baltimore

Tolleson is a second generation player, his father Wayne having served as a utility infielder for Texas, the Chicago White Sox and finally the Yankees from 1981-90.

When Orioles starter Robert Andino was injured, the right-handed hitting Tolleson platooned with Ryan Flaherty as manager Buck Showalter?s team amazed the baseball world by hanging in the American League East pennant race.

Tolleson, signed by the O?s as a free agent last November, batted.183 with two homes and six RBI in 54 games this year.

Tolleson established himself as a legitimate major league prospect when he played at a variety of infield slots for the Rock Cats in 2008. His range was suspect at shortstop, but he graded out as a candidate at second base, or perhaps even center field.

He batted.300 in 93 games for the Cats, slamming nine homers and driving in 50 runs. He returned in 2009 and batted.258 with two homers and 13 RBS in 38 games before moving onward and upward.

Lew Ford ? Baltimore

Ford, the subject of a feature story on these pages last month, ranks as one of baseball?s great reclamation stories.

Ford, 36, appeared to be playing out the string solely for his love of the game, trekking to such outposts as Japan and Mexico to ply his beloved trade. Five years had elapsed since he last saw major league duty with the Twins in 2005.

Although hampered by a groin injury late in the season, Ford appeared in 25 games and batted.183 with three home runs, one of which came against the Yankees on Sept. 8.

Ford was originally drafted by the Red Sox, but he made his way to New Britain in 2001 after the Twins acquired him in a 2000 trade for pitcher Hector Carrasco. He was an integral part of the ?01 Rock Cats? powerful run to the EL Northern Division pennant. The team?s hopes for an outright EL championship were dashed by the events of Sept. 11.

Ford hit.218 with seven homers and 25 RBI in 62 games for New Britain in 2001. Four of the homers came in one memorable game in Binghamton on Aug. 19.

He proved himself above the EL in 2002 when he hit.311 with 15 homers and 51 RBI in 93 games.

Pat Neshek ? Oakland

Neshek, a righthander, remains distinguishable by his unorthodox sidearm-style delivery that has made life miserable for right-handed hitters at every level. Thus, his role for Oakland is coming in from the bullpen to retire a right-hander or two, and he has excelled by posting a1.37 ERA and 2-1 record in 24 games.

Neshek became very popular with fans through his appreciation for baseball card collecting. During his days in New Britain, Neshek would answer every request for an autographed card, but as his fame grew, the request list became far too long. He still maintains a blog.

Neshek was 1-1 with a 5.87 in five games for New Britain at the end of the 2003 season. He appeared in 26 games in 2004, posting a 2-1 mark and a 3.82 ERA. In 2005, he showed that he had earned a shot at the big time by pitching in 55 games, logging a 2.19 ERA, saving 24 games and posting a 6-4 record.

Grant Balfour ? Oakland

I?ve been asked numerous times about the best pitcher to ever take the hill for the Rock Cats and I point to two ? relievers Grant Balfour and Jesse Crain (Chicago White Sox).

Balfour blew away the EL in 2001. In 35 games, he pitched in 50 innings, allowed just 26 hits and six runs and struck out 72. He was 2-1 with a 1.08 when the Twins deemed that he was ready for Triple-A.

Balfour, from Sydney, Australia, clinched a postseason spot for the A?s Monday night with a powerful 1-2-3 ninth inning against the hard-hitting Texas Rangers. The save was his 23rd in 25 opportunities.

He?s pitched in 73 games and has a 2.60 ERA and a 3-2 record.

The Twins granted him free agency in 2005. Perhaps they should have waited for him to mature, which is exactly the case with ?

Kyle Lohse ? St. Louis

Few Rock Cats fans who saw Lohse pitch here in 1999 and 2000 would have regarded him as a potential major leaguer, never mind a candidate for the Cy Young Award.

Lohse possessed a major league arm but struggled with his composure when things went wrong. He numbers for the Rock Cats in 2000 ? 3-18 record, 6.04 ERA in 28 starts, 23 homers allowed, 196 hits yielded in 167 innings ? were enough to convince Minnesota that he wouldn?t pan out.

Lohse has the last laugh. With one start remaining in the regular season, Lohse is 16-3 (a league-leading.842 win percentage) with a 2.86 ERA. Last year, he was 14-8 with a 3.39 in 33 starts. He has proven to be everything a team could desire in a starter, and the very commodity that the Twins sorely lack.

Astute Rock Cats fans could put the numbers aside when they heard the catcher?s mitt pop with his velocity, but the question wass would he ever mature mentally. When St. Louis pitching wizard Dave Duncan got hold of him, well, thenumbers tell the story.

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The Sports Journal

Source: http://nbcityjournal.com/archives/5537

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