Tracy Ringolsby notes that Ricardo Ferrer signed for $250K, $40K less than what the Mariners offered. And, most importantly, that the Rockies are able to do this because of the relationships the scouts develop with the kids.
Colorado Springs: With a combined total of 26 hits last night between the Springs and Salt Lake, the Sky Sox won 4 to 2. And they had fewer hits than Salt Lake. Ryan Spilborghs and Ryan Shealy had 1 RBI each, while Carlos Rivera had 2. Jayson Nix had three base hits, but was picked off first and caught stealing second. Mike Esposito gave up 10 hits in 6 innings and K'ed 1. Manny Corpas went 1 1/3 innings and K'ed 2. Nate Field recorded his 15th save.
Tulsa: The Drillers lost this close one 2-1 as no runs were scored after Tulsa's one in the bottom of the fourth. Jordan Czarniecki had the lone RBI. Emmanuel Ulloa had a nice start as he K'ed 6 in 7 innings and allowed 2 runs. Of course, that's a run too many, but still. . . .
Modesto: This one was a 4-1 loss for the Nuts. Matt Miller hit his 12th homerun and now had 70 RBI for the 2006 campaign. Samuel Deduno took the loss after allowing 3 runs to cross home plate in 6 innings. He K'ed 9 but also walked 5.
Asheville: The Tourists split the double header. In the first game they lost 5-1. Will Inman and Dane Rekert combined to strikeout 14 Tourists in the 7-inning game. Outside of the Ks, Nelson and Paulk were able to get doubles, while Young was caught stealing for the 20th time. Xavier Cedeno walked 4 and K'ed 4.
It took an extra frame for the Tourists to win the second game and they scored 6 in the top of the 10th to win 9-5. Chris Cook hit a grand slam in the 10th to seal the deal, while Fowler, Young and Becktel also had RBIs. Fowler also walked twice. David Patton pitched 3 innings of relief and K'ed 5.
Tri-City: Not a good night for the Rockies' affiliates as the Dust Devils lost 5-1 on the road to Boise. Geoff Strickland had the lone RBI. Josh Sullivan took his second loss after giving up 4 runs. He also K'ed 3. Thomas Baumgardner K'ed 3 in his only inning of work.
Casper: The highes level (the Springs) and the lowest level (Casper) both won last night. Casper believed in scoring early, late and often in the 9-5 victory. Jay Cox made his debut and went 1-for-4 with a run scored. David Christensen picked up 2 more RBI for 10 on the season. Steven Suarez added 3 RBI and Jhaysson Agustin 1. Yull Silano made his first professional (stateside) start and hewas quite effective. He went 4 innings allowed 2 runs and K'ed 3. He made an error on a pickoff throw and allowed a homer, but he didn't labor out there and had, to my count, four batters get out on their first pitch.