Miami Palms Blog

Were it not for the league he played in, Eddie Black might have had the chance to be a perennial all-star, however with Joe Mauer in the league, its a constant struggle to fill that last spot on the roster. He certainly was a break out player in his first full season behind the plate, batting 290 and leading the team in homers with 25. He will likely be played more when Omir Santos catches, with an outfielder or Randy Winn taking a day off to fit Black's powerful bat into the lineup. He may be the first Palm to hit 30 home runs in 5 years if he can continue last year's pace and pick up some more at bats.

Dave Balierough was the 4th starter for the Palms last season. He is typically a solid pitcher and is reliable for over 200 innings a year. His low strike out total makes him very hittable, but at the same time extremely durable. He doesn't throw particularly hard and relies on movement, and isn't a liability in the rotation, but is hardly an ace. He will move down to the 5th spot in the rotation this season as Dallas Chastanet moves up.

Troy Tulowitzki is now officially a "former Miami Palm" as he signed a contract with the Atlanta Braves today. This will also officially open the path for Jaspero Gonzalez next year to be the opening day starter at short, and for one more year keeps Ryan Henning as the starting second baseman after a couple years in a row of his competition finding employment elsewhere at the end of the year. This also sets the lineup for the 2010 Palms, barring a major trade. Right now the opening lineup projects to be this: 3b Prado SS Gonzalez DH Winn C Black 1b Dupont RF Sohn LF Sadan 2b Henning CF Crisp

Things were fairly dormant for the Palms at the winter meetings, though they made one move that may signal another. Perhaps seeking infield depth, the Palms acquired former Reds shortstop Paul Janish for cash. Janish is not expected to contribute much on offense, but he will be able to play the field. This also signals what was perhaps already suspected. Troy Tulowitzki likely will not be back next year, especially as the number of left infielders grows on the team. Expect Jaspero Gonzalez to take over in a full time role next season.

Breck Smythe, utility infielder last season for the Palms who spent most of his time on the corners, has elected to take a role with a team that will give him some more playing time. Today, the Royals announced that Breck Smythe has signed a contract to play with them in Kansas City. Smythe stands to gain more playing time at first, especially, where the Royals split Billy Butler and Mike Jacobs. Jacobs has been rumored to be trade bait, so Smythe will provide some depth there. With the Palms acquisition of Josh Fields, Smythe became expendable in Miami, though his clubhouse demeanor will certainly be missed.

The Palms will not follow the Rays schedule, save for the length of series and off days. Instead, they will play their own schedule, so they can play those very same Rays with more regularity. The schedule is found below. Angels away 3 Twins away 3 Red Sox away 3 Angels home 4 Mariners home 3 Indians home 3 Angels away 2 Rangers away 4 Rays away 3 A's home 3 Orioles home 3 White Sox home 3 Orioles away 2 Rays home 2 Cubs home 3 Yankees away 3 Rays away 4 Orioles away 3 Mariners away 3 Twins away 3 Yankees home 3 Braves away 3 Brewers away 3 Reds away 3 Phillies home 3 Nationals home 3 Twins home 2 White Sox away 4 Tige...

Despite being a free agent, Billy Dupont has signed a new deal to stay in Miami. The Palms would have had their 4th 1st baseman in as many years had Dupont elected to sign elsewhere. Dupont had this to say about his new contract, "I think I began to mature as a hitter and really began to learn the position as the season went on last year. I think most people still see me as an outfielder though." Dupont's speed is unusual for a 1st baseman, however the current outfield in Miami is very swift, making Dupont's transition to 1st base more palatable. In the end, his enjoyment of the position may have been the deciding factor in coming back to Miami.

With the potential departures of Troy Tulowitzki, Breck Smythe and Billy Dupont, the Palms need to shore up the infield, and started that process today, signing former White Sox utility man Josh Fields. Fields is primarily a third baseman, but has had trouble breaking into the starting line up in Chicago thanks to a poor batting average. He will also come off the bench for the Palms to spell Martin Prado and other members of the offense.

Reflecting the desire for stability behind the plate and depth in the outfield, the Palms made their first moves of the offseason. Omir Santos was a pleasant surprise, signed after spending very little time in the majors with the Orioles in 2008. He was good behind the plate and adequate at the plate hitting .256 with 3 home runs. Additionally, Steve Drysdale came back for another season in the Palms outfield. He was mostly a spare part in his first year in the league, but excelled when he was in the lineup, hitting .337 with 4 home runs.

The Palms have three unrestricted free agents, two of whom were key players this season. First baseman Billy Dupont, short stop Troy Tulowitzki and utility infielder Breck Smythe will all be free agents. Dupont was in his first year as a starter, moving from the outfield to first base. Troy Tulowitzki was brought in for one year from Colorado, but the emergence of Jaspero Gonzalez and still relative inexpense of Ryan Henning meant they can spend money elsewhere. Breck Smythe, after a fast start, broke down late in the season. Players with options were back up catcher Omir Santos and spare outfielder Steve Drysdale. With so much turnover in the past few seasons, expect the Palms to excersize the option on Santos. Drysdale exceeded expectations this past year in limited time. Expect his option to be picked up as well.

Here in spreadsheet form are the stats in their entirety for all the players on the Miami Palms. BATTING Player Position G AB H AVG 2b 3b HR RBI Run K BB GIDP LOB/3outs TB SLG OBP OPS Sac OPS + Billy Dupont 1b 147 628 180 0.287 33 9 22 94 81 79 26 2 128 297 0.473 0.310 0.783 11 99 Ryan Henning 2b 136 520 131 0.252 16 1 12 41 63 64 37 9 126 185 0.356 0.299 0.655 4 70 Jaspero Gonzalez 2b 39 160 52 0.325 10 1 6 18 12 13 7 1 33 82 0.513 0.351 0.864 1 120 Martin Prado 3b 140 631 197 0.312 38 10 10 63 72 92 41 7 123 285 0.452 0.351 0.803 6 107 Omir Santos C 49 176 45 0.256 9 1 3 16 23 23 13 1 42 58 0.330 ...

Here is a look at some of the team leaders for this past season with the Palms. If two players are listed, the second is the player that has "qualified" for listing in the league leader boards. BATTING Games: Coco Crisp, 150 Batting Average: Steve Drysdale, .337... Randy Winn, .327 Doubles: Winn, 32 Triples: Martin Prado, 10 Home Runs: Eddie Black, 25 RBI: Billy Dupont, 94 Runs: Winn, 83 Strikeouts: Troy Tulowitzki, 94 Walks: Ayoz Sadan, 49 Slugging: Jaspero Gonzalez, .513, Winn, .505 On Base Percentage: Drysdale, .379, Winn, .367 PITCHING Wins: Troy Munoz, 17 Saves: Buddy Carlyle, 44 Innings: Munoz 231.67 ERA: Blake Johnston, 2.87, Munoz 3.46 Strikeouts: Javier Vazquez, 166 WHIP: Dennis Sarfate 1.21, Munoz 1.21 Batting Average Against: Sarfate .241, Munoz .238

He didn't put up gaudy statistics over the course of the month, but Martin Prado came through in key spots. His big games came at opportune times, and he was the player of the game 5 times through the month, thanks to his ability to get on base and drive in runners. He even had 3 home runs, bringing his season total to 10. With the departure of Darren Jones last season, his presence has been a welcome one. For the season, however, the MVP award has gone to the player that has excelled for the course of the year. While other players have proven to be streaky, Randy Winn has excelled through the season, hitting .327 with 22 homers, 77rbi and 83 runs. His veteran presence definitely aided in the clubhouse, and he is the Palms MVP.

The Palms closed out their season with a series sweep in New York. Unfortunately, the Yankees will be playing more games this week, while Miami will get to head to the golf course. Billy Dupont hit the final homerun for the Palms on the season, his 22nd, while Jaspero Gonzalez scored the final run with Eddie Black driving him in. Javier Vazquez netted the last win, and Buddy Carlyle threw the last pitch, securing his 44th save. It resulted in a Melky Cabrera fly out to Coco Crisp, who had the last put-out of the year. Now begins a long offseason, trying to figure out what it will take to get over the hump, given that this is a very good team with a few holes to patch. Either way, the team and I are looking forward to next season! 3b Prado 0-4 BB K GIDP 2b Gonzalez 1-5 R K DH Winn 4-5 2R C Black 2-5 2b 1bi (86) R RF Sohn 2-5 2b (32) 1bi (62) R K 1b Dupont 2-5 HR (22) 2b (33) 4bi (94) R SS Tulowitzki 0-3 BB LF Drysdale 1-3 2b (3) BB CF Crisp 1-4 2K Pitcher W-L S IP H ...

The Palms won their second game in New York against a depleted Yankees team resting for the playoffs. The big hit for the Palms came off the bat of Billy Dupont, who hit a bases loaded double to drive in two. Troy Munoz won his last start of the year and finished his outing with a pair of strikeouts. Tomorrow afternoon, the Palms will finish their season and prepare for an offseason that aims in particular at bolstering the starting pitching. 3b Prado 3-4 2b (38) R BB K RF Sohn 1-4 R BB DH Winn 1-4 1bi (77) BB K 1b Dupont 1-5 2b (32) 2bi (90) LF Sadan 1-4 BB GIDP SS Tulowitzki 0-5 K CF Crisp 2-4 R K 2b Henning 0-4 C Santos 2-3 1bi (16) R BB Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Munoz W 17-12 7 4 2 2 5 5 0 Sarfate 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 Carlyle S 43 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Player of the Game: Martin Prado 86-75

The Palms managed to put a dozen runs on the board, matching their highest total for the season. Ironically, the first time they did this was the 2nd game of the season, and this game provided a nice bookend. Miami shelled Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia and hit three homers on the way to their easy victory. 3b Prado 3-6 R 2K RF Sohn 2-6 3b (7) 1bi (61) 2R 2K DH Winn 3-6 2bi (76) 2R C Black 0-6 1b Dupont 4-5 HR (21) 2b (31) 3bi (88) 3R K LF Sadan 3-5 HR (18) 2b (28) 4bi (77) R K SS Tulowitzki 2-4 HR (18) 2bi (77) R BB K CF Crisp 1-4 R BB 2b Henning 1-4 R BB K Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Chastanet W 13-12 5 10 2 2 0 4 1 Schoppe 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 Johnston 2 3 0 0 1 2 0 Player of the Game: Ayoz Sadan 85-75

Dave Balierough's last start of the season proved to be one of his best. The veteran pitcher capped off his somewhat disappointing 2009 campaign with an 8 inning, 1 run appearance. Buddy Carlyle made things interesting, allowing a run and leaving the bases loaded as he earned a save, his 42nd of the year. RF Sohn 1-4 2b (31) 2bi (60) BB 3b Smythe 2-5 1bi (20) DH Winn 0-5 K C Black 1-4 1b Dupont 0-4 3K SS Tulowitzki 1-4 R K CF Crisp 2-4 HR (11) 1bi (51) R 2b Henning 2-4 2b (16) R LF Tiropez 2-4 2b (4) R K Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Balierough W 13-10 8 5 1 1 2 7 0 Carlyle S 42 1 4 1 1 0 0 0 Player of the Game: Dave Balierough 84-75

The staff for the Palms had an excellent game, as Manny Parra held the Orioles to one run, a Nick Markakis homer, while Blake Johnston and Felix Gonsales held Baltimore scoreless for the final 4 innings. The Miami offense also excelled, with Martin Prado and Frank Sohn hitting solo home runs and the team scoring in 6 of the nine innings. 3b Prado 2-5 HR (10) 3bi (63) R 2b Gonzalez 0-5 DH Winn 2-5 3b (3) 2b (42) R C Black 2-4 2b (30) 1bi (85) R SAC RF Sohn 3-5 HR (14) 1bi (58) 2R K SS Tulowitzki 2-5 R CF Crisp 3-4 2bi (50) LF Tiropez 0-4 2K Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Parra W 8-13 5 4 1 1 2 4 1 Johnston 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 Gonsales 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 Player of the Game: Martin Prado 83-75

Javier Vazquez pitched well, allowing a pair of solo home runs to Ty Wigginton and Melvin Mora and otherwise shutting Baltimore down. Troy Tulowitzki was the star for Miami, driving in all three runs for the Palms, first on a ground rule double, then with a 2 run blast to left in the 6th. Ayoz Sadan managed 4 plate appearances without putting a ball into play, with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts. 3b Prado 2-5 K RF Sohn 0-5 K DH Winn 1-4 1b Dupont 1-4 R LF Sadan 0-2 2BB R 2K SS Tulowitzki 2-4 HR (17) 2b (31) 3bi (75) R CF Crisp 1-3 BB 2b Henning 0-4 C Santos 1-4 2b (9) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Vazquez W 12-9 6 2/3 6 2 2 3 8 1 Sarfate 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 3 0 Carlyle S 41 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 Player of the Game: Troy Tulowitzki 82-76

Miami continues to slide towards the end of the season, dropping another one as their starter struggled. Troy Munoz gave up 4 in the first, thanks in part to a 3 run homer by Melvin Mora and three runs in the 3rd. The Palms were held to only 4 hits by Mark Hendrickson. 3b Prado 0-4 K RF Sohn 0-4 DH Winn 1-4 R K C Black 0-3 BB K 1b Dupont 1-2 2b (30) 2BB LF Sadan 1-4 SS Tulowitzki 1-3 2b (30) 1bi (72) BB CF Crisp 0-4 K 2b Henning 0-3 Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Munoz L 16-12 3 6 7 7 2 3 1 Johnston 2 1 0 0 0 3 0 McLoughlin 2 4 1 1 0 0 0 Schoppe 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Player of the Game: Melvin Mora 81-75

The bullpen broke down late for Miami, with Art McLoughlin and Felix Gonsales allowing the Rangers to pile on. The loss was Dallas Chastanet's, as he gave up 5 runs, with Elvis Andrus, one of the instigators in last month's brawl, hitting a 2 run homer and getting another RBI. Randy Winn drove in all three runs for the Palms in this losing effort. 3b Prado 0-5 RF Sohn 1-4 R BB DH Winn 2-3 HR (22) 3bi (74) R BB K C Black 0-4 1b Dupont 1-4 LF Sadan 0-3 BB CF Crisp 1-4 2b (23) R SS Smythe 1-3 BB 2b Henning 1-4 Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Chastanet L 12-12 6 8 5 5 4 3 1 McLoughlin 2 3 1 1 1 2 0 Gonsales 1 2 2 2 0 0 1 Player of the Game: Elvis Andrus 81-74

The Rangers dominated this game early, knocking out Dave Balierough in the 3rd inning. Texas batted around in the first inning, including a 2 run homer from Marlon Byrd. The Rangers hit two more home runs, by Chris Davis and Hank Blalock. Kevin Millwood scattered 9 hits. 3b Prado 2-4 K RF Sohn 1-4 DH Winn 1-4 GIDP C Black 0-4 K 1b Dupont 2-3 BB LF Sadan 1-4 K SS Tulowitzki 1-4 K CF Crisp 1-4 2b Henning 0-4 Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Balierough L 12-10 2 11 6 6 0 1 1 Johnston 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 McLoughlin 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 Schoppe 2 2 1 1 0 1 1 Gonsales 1 3 2 2 0 1 1 Player of the Game: Hank Blalock 81-73

The Palms had an exciting game, going ahead in the bottom of the 8th when Martin Prado had a two run homer to go ahead homer. The win brought the team to 81 wins, securing at least a .500 record for the season. In addition, closer Buddy Carlyle earned save number 40 on the season. 3b Prado 1-5 HR (9) 2bi (60) R K RF Sohn 3-5 2b (30) R DH Winn 1-5 R K 1b Dupont 1-5 SS Tulowitzki 1-2 2bb R LF Drysdale 1-4 1bi (15) R CF Crisp 2-4 1bi (48) 2b Henning 2-4 2b (15) 1bi (41) K C Santos 2-4 1bi (15) R Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Parra 4 11 4 4 1 4 2 Johnston 1 1 1 1 2 0 0 Gonsales 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 McLoughlin W 3-3 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 Carlyle S 40 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 Player of the Game: Martin Prado 81-72

A pitchers duel between Brendan Morrow and the staff of the Palms spilled into the 11th inning where Troy Tulowitzki drove in the go ahead run with a two out single that saw Randy Winn cross the plate. Buddy Carlyle had a harrowing bottom of the inning, but managed to escape with the save. Jack Wilson hit his third homer of the 2 game series while Billy Dupont hit #20 on his season. The teams' last off day of the season comes up tomorrow, followed by a 10 game push to the end. 3b Prado 1-5 RF Sohn 2-5 DH Winn 1-5 R C Black 1-5 1b Dupont 3-4 HR (20) 1bi (85) HBP R LF Sadan 1-5 2b (27) GIDP SS Tulowitzki 1-5 1bi (71) K CF Crisp 1-5 2b Henning 0-4 K Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Vazquez 4 4 1 1 2 2 1 Johnston 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 McLoughlin 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 Sarfate W 4-2 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 Carlyle ...

The Palms again jumped out to an early start, scoring 5 of their runs in the first 4 innings, including three on a 3 run blast from Martin Prado. Prado ended up driving in 4 of the Palms runs, while Frank Sohn knocked in the other two, with Prado being one of those runs. Jack Wilson drove in all three runs for the Mariners, hitting two homers off of Palms ace Troy Munoz. 3b Prado 4-5 HR (8) 2b (37) 4bi (58) 2R RF Sohn 3-5 2b (29) 2bi (57) K DH Winn 0-5 C Black 1-5 1b Dupont 0-5 LF Sadan 0-4 BB K CF Crisp 0-3 HBP R SS Smythe 2-4 2b (6) R K 2b Henning 2-3 2b (14) BB 2R Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Munoz W 16-11 8 5 3 3 3 5 2 Carlyle S 38 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Player of the Game: Martin Prado 79-72

The Palms jumped out to a quick lead, thanks to 12 hits in the first three innings, easily one of Roy Halladay's worst outings in his career. Ayoz Sadan and Eddie Black each had a 2 run double in the first third of the game. The Palms got a quality start from Dallas Chastanet, while Dennis Sarfate pitched the final two innings to complete the shut out. 3b Prado 3-5 2b (36) K RF Sohn 3-4 1bi (55) BB R DH Winn 2-5 2b (41) 2R C Black 4-5 2b (29) 2bi (84) 2R K 1b Dupont 1-5 1bi (84) K GIDP LF Sadan 1-5 2b (26) 2bi (73) SS Tulowitzki 1-5 K CF Crisp 0-4 K 2b Henning 1-4 R Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Chastanet W 12-11 7 8 0 0 1 4 0 Sarfate 2 2 0 0 0 2 0 Player of the Game: Eddie Black 78-72

Marco Scutaro lead off the bottom of the 1st with a home run, and Aaron Hill added a two run shot in the 5th, giving rookie Ricky Romero all he needed to defeat the struggling Palms. Miami was able to scrape together a pair of runs in the 6th, but it was not enough as Toronto continues to have Miami's number. 3b Prado 3-4 R BB RF Sohn 1-4 BB R K DH Winn 0-4 K 1b Dupont 0-3 1bi (83) SAC K LF Sadan 2-4 2b (26) 1bi (71) SS Tulowitzki 0-4 CF Crisp 0-4 2b Henning 1-3 BB C Santos 0-3 BB K Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Balierough L 12-9 8 10 5 5 2 2 2 Player of the Game: Aaron Hill 77-72