Miami Palms Blog

It will break tomorrow morning, but word is leaking that the Palms have reached an agreement with Frank Sohn. The long time Palm will resign with the team after exploring free agency, but he felt the Palms would continue to offer him the best opportunity to be a major contributor. Sohn will continue to patrol right field for the Palms, unchanged from last season. With Eddie Black's departure this offseason, his role as a middle of the order bat will be more important in the 2011 season

One of the questions was answered earlier today, when the Palms announced that they expected Ivan Fernandez to take a spot on the 2011 roster. Fernandez was primarily a starter in triple A Jackson last season, and the thought is that he will take over a spot in the Palms rotation. It seems likely that he will occupy the spot vacated by Dallas Chastanet when he left for Houston.

The Palms' closer of the past two years has clamored to be moved back into a rotation somewhere. Having no spot for him, and little faith that he could fill the role vacated by Dallas Chastanet the Palms elected to non-tender Buddy Carlyle. Carlyle found a new home, however, in Washington, with the Nationals, where he will compete for a role in the rotation behind young stud Stephen Strasburg. The Palms intend to look internally for a replacement in the closer role.

The Palms knew going into the offseason that their rotation was going to be rebuilt, and the first hint at what it might look like next season was given yesterday evening, as former Palms starter Dallas Chastanet signed with the Houston Astros. After having a break out year in the bullpen two seasons ago, then pitching well for the 2009 season, but he fell off severely in 2010, with his ERA rising almost a full point, and his peripherals matching the decline. Still, Chastanet is a young pitcher that will be well served by going to the lighter hitting National League, and should serve the Astros well in 2011, especially when he gets a chance to face his old battery mate, Eddie Black, who is now with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Palms’ all-star catcher, Eddie Black has decided to leave the team. After bouncing between the minors and Miami while Kyle Vic was the starter and Jon Bogaard was on board as the backup, Black became the full time back up to Gerald Laird in 2008 before becoming the full time starter in 2009 and 2010, where he broke out as a power hitting star.. Black’s decision was based on family. He grew up in in Latrobe as a Pirates fan, and he wanted to return closer to home, especially in the prime of his career, hoping to help a struggling team move back to relevancy. The Palms will now have to search for a catcher to complement Omir Santos, whose option was picked up this season, the second of two options he had when he came to the team in 2008. The Palms will be looking not necessarily for an offensive powerhouse like they had in black, but a veteran game manager to help a pitching staff that languished in 2010.

With free agency jut getting underway, Ryan Henning was the first of the roster questions to be answered for the Palms. Long time Palm and recently starting 2nd baseman Ryan Henning has decided to stay in Miami. Terms of his deal were not disclosed. It's likely that Henning will not be the starter at 2nd this year, but he still decided to remain with the Palms.

With the World Series underway, the Miami Palms had to come to decisions on players in their option year. Both center fielder Coco Crisp and catcher Omir Santos saw their options picked up and will return to the Palms next year. Furthermore, negotiations with free agents Frank Sohn and Ryan Henning are going well, and it appears that the two veterans are on their way to re-signing with the team for 2011.

The Miami Palms' 2011 schedule has been released! Some highlights: - The season opener will be at home against the cross state rival Tampa Bay Rays - The first road game will be in Minnesota against the Twins - The Interleague games will feature road games to play the Cubs, Mets and Pirates, as well as home contests with the Giants, Diamondbacks and Astros. - The longest road stretch is 12 games. - The longest home stretch is 13 games. - The season will close against the A's in Oakland Without further ado, here is a look at the 2011 schedule! Rays Home 3 Twins Away 2 Mariners Home 4 Tigers Away 3 Blue Jays Home 4 Royals Home 4 A's Home 3 Red Sox Away 3 Royals Away 3 Mariners Away 3 Indians Home 3 Yankees Home 3 Rangers Home 3 Orioles Home 2 Red Sox Home 2 Cubs Away 3 ...

Here is a look at the entirety of the Palms' 2010 stats. 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 140 607 193 0.318 32 4 20 84 82 67 15 7 129 293 0.483 0.330 0.813 8 100 Ryan Henning 2b 128 518 137 0.264 14 2 15 60 48 62 28 5 102 200 0.386 0.301 0.687 3 71 Jaspero Gonzalez SS 132 603 196 0.325 32 4 25 84 91 64 29 5 96 311 0.516 0.353 0.869 5 114 Martin Prado 3b 134 574 176 0.307 44 2 20 83 72 87 51 5 97 284 0.495 0.359 0.854 7 111 Omir Santos C 57 174 44 0.253 9 6 29 19 30 13 2 43 71 0.408 0.302 0.710 2 76 Eddie Blac...

Below is the list of statistical leaders. Players who failed to "qualify" for league leaderboards will be listed first, if someone leads a category, with the highest qualifying player behind. Batting: Games: Frank Sohn - 150 Batting Average: Steve Drysdale .372... Jaspero Gonzalez .325 Doubles: Eddie Black 46 Triples: Coco Crisp 12 Homeruns: Black 26 RBI: Sohn 95 Runs: Gonzalez 91 Strikeouts: Martin Prado 87 Walks: Crisp/Randy Winn 52 Slugging %: Black .524 On Base %: Drysdale .419.... Prado .359 Pitching Wins: Javier Vazquez, 17 Saves: Buddy Carlyle, 35 Innings: Vazquez 251.67 ERA: Troy Munoz 3.92 Strikeouts: Vazquez 239 WHIP: Vazquez 1.28 Batting average against: Vazquez .261

The Palms weren't impressive in their season finale. As has plagued them so many times this year, a grand slam did the Palms in. Edwin Encarnacion had the big blast off of Javier Vazquez. The final pitch thrown by the Palms was from Felix Gonsales, which resulted in a flyout to Frank Sohn. Josh Fields got the last homerun, run and RBI for the Palms, while Jaspero Gonzalez netter the last hit. Frank Sohn was the last batter, and ended the season with a lineout to Adam Lind. SS Gonzalez 3-5 RF Sohn 1-5 K 3b Prado 0-4 2K DH Black 0-4 1b Dupont 1-4 LF Winn 0-4 CF Crisp 0-3 BB 2b Fields 3-4 R C Santos 1-3 BB 2b Gonzalez (32) Dupont (32) HR Fields (5) RBI Fields (19) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Vazquez L 17-7 6 6 5 5 1 4 2 McLoughlin 2 4 2 2 0 1 0 Gonsales 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Player of the Game: Edwin Encarnacion 83-79 14GB

Troy Munoz wanted desperately to earn a .500 record this season, and he pitched admirably. In his final outing of the year, he was able to pitch until the 11th inning, before he gave out and Blake Johnston came in. He allowed a solo home run to John Buck for the go ahead run in the top of the 12th, and the Palms couldn't equal it, robbing Munoz the chance at .500. SS Gonzalez 3-5 BB RF Sohn 1-6 LF Sadan 1-4 2BB R K C Black 2-6 K 1b Dupont 0-6 K DH Winn 2-4 SAC R CF Crisp 1-5 2b Henning 1-5 3b Fields 0-5 K 3b Winn (5) HR Winn (11) RBI Winn 2 (60) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Munoz 11 5 2 2 3 6 2 Johnston L 1-6 1 2 1 1 0 0 1 Player of the Game: Troy Munoz 83-78 13GB

Jaspero Gonzalez continued his late season tear for the Palms, hitting 7 more home runs since the end of August, buoying the team as they tried to finish the season strong. He has been the driving force on offense as players like Eddie Black and Frank Sohn fell off. ' The season MVP was one of the most consistent influences for the course of the season. While Eddie Black started strong and Jaspero Gonzalez finished strong, Martin Prado was a force for the entire season. He was constantly on base early, but late in the season he developed a power stroke, and now has 20 home runs. His was a reliable bat as well, often ensuring that runs were scored or at the very least, nobody was left on base. Martin Prado is the Palms, season MVP!

Today's game was a thrilling pitcher's duel. The Jays got an early home run from Yunel Escobar, the second batter of the game, but were otherwise shut down by Dave Balierough. The Palms, on the other hand, couldn't get any traction, only managing a few hits off of Rickey Romero before the 9th inning. With two outs and Coco Crisp on third and Paul Janish on first, Jaspero Gonzalez only needed a base hit to bring the Palms into a tie. Instead, he hit one over the fence, for a three run, walk off home run. SS Gonzalez 2-5 R RF Sohn 2-4 3b Prado 1-4 K C Black 1-4 LF Sadan 1-4 DH Winn 0-4 2K CF Crisp 2-4 R 2K 2b Janish 1-4 R 2K 1b Fields 1-4 K 2b Prado (44) HR Gonzalez (25) RBI Gonzalez 3 (84) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Balierough W 10-16 9 7 1 1 1 4 1 Player of the Game: Jaspero Gonzalez 83-77 12GB

The season continues to wind down, with the Palms looking less and less impressive as time goes buy. Dallas Chastanet made what could be his last start forMiami, and did fairly well. He allowed three early runs but still pitched a full nine innings, giving the bullpen a much needed break. Don Schoppe finished the game, but allowed a run in the 12th to spoil the game Miami and hand it to the Blue Jays. SS Gonzalez 0-4 2BB 2R RF Sohn 4-5 BB R 3b Prado 1-5 BB 2K C Black 3-5 SAC 1b Dupont 3-6 K LF Sadan 0-6 2K DH Winn 0-6 CF Crisp 2-6 R K 2b Henning 0-5 2K 2b Sohn (30) Crisp (24) RBI Prado (83) Black 2 (94) Dupont (84) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Chastanet 9 7 4 4 2 4 1 Schoppe L 2-5 3 7 1 1 0 3 0 Player of the Game: Vernon Wells 82-77 13GB

The Miami Palms may have a few holes to fill this offseason. In addition to needing to improve their pitching, some vital components to their defense are on their way out the door as well. The most notable free agent is Eddie Black, the all star catcher who has hit .309 with 26 home runs and has the second highest team total in RBI with 92. The team leader in RBI, Frank Sohn, is also a free agent at the end of this year. Other notable batters that are reaching free agency are Ryan Henning and Josh Fields. Black's back up, Omir Santos, is in an option year, as well as gifted center fielder Coco Crisp. On the pitching staff, there are only two players reaching free agency. Starter Dallas Chastanet could be on his way out the door, as could closer Buddy Carlyle. However, the performance given by these two players in the last year makes it easier to part ways with them, if necessary.

It's not often that a team can get a grand slam and still lose, but this was the case for the Palms. Ryan Henning hit a big blast in the 6 run third. The very next inning, Carlos Pena hit a grand slam for Tampa. This turned out to be Manny Parra's final batter of the season. It was a 7-6 game going into the 9th when Buddy Carlyle allowed a sacrifice ground out to blow his second game in a row, while Blake Johnston gave up the game winning two run shot in the top of the 10th to Carl Crawford. SS Gonzalez 2-6 R RF Sohn 2-5 BB R 3b Prado 2-5 BB K 1b Dupont 4-5 R DH Winn 0-4 SAC K CF Crisp 1-4 BB R K LF Sadan 1-4 BB R 2K 2b Henning 1-5 R C Santos 1-5 2K 2b Dupont (31) HR Henning (15) RBI Prado (82) Winn (58) Sadan (86) Henning 4 (60) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Parra 3 1/3 9 6 6 4 3 1 McLoughlin 1 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 Gonsales 2 1 0 0 0 2 ...

The major league season is in it's last five days. Manny Parra's start tonight will be his last of the season, as it will be for every starter for the remainder of the year. The Palms have nothing to play for, however certain players are still striving for single season milestones, like 100 RBI for Frank Sohn who is stuck on 95, or one or two more home runs to reach certain plateaus. Even with only 5 games left and the team being left out of the post season, expect the team to play out the string as hard as possible.

The Palms held the lead for most of the game, taking a 3-2 lead into the 9th inning. Buddy Carlyle tried to pitch his way through the 9th, but with Dan Johnson on first, Carlos Pena hit a 2 run homer to give the Rays the lead. Two batters later, Reid Brignac hit a solo shot to add to the lead. The Rays clinched a postseason berth with their victory in Miami. DH Winn 3-5 R 2K SS Gonzalez 1-5 LF Sadan 1-4 2K C Black 1-4 R K RF Drysdale 2-4 K CF Crisp 0-4 K GIDP 2b Henning 3-4 1b Santos 0-4 2K 3b Fields 0-3 BB R K 2b Winn (39) Black (46) RBI Sadan (85) Drysdale (7) Henning (56) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Vazquez 8 5 2 2 1 8 1 Carlyle L 1-4 1 4 3 3 0 0 2 Player of the Game: Carlos Pena 82-75 12GB

With only two starts left on the season and the beginning of the season's last home stand, Troy Munoz shined. He scattered 4 hits, though one of them was a homer to BJ Upton. The Palms scored 6, and Ayoz Sadan was nearly impossible to keep off the basepaths, with three hits an a sacrifice fielders choice. One of those hits was a home run in the 5th, his 23rd blast on the year. Incredibly, it was Sadan's first sacrifice of the year. DH Winn 1-4 BB R 2b Janish 1-4 BB R SS Gonzalez 2-5 K C Black 1-4 BB K 1b Dupont 1-5 GIDP 2K LF Sadan 3-3 SAC 3R RF Sohn 2-4 CF Crisp 0-2 2BB R K 3b Fields 2-4 2b Janish (19) Sadan (32) HR Sadan (23) RBI Janish 2 (24)Gonzalez (81) Sadan 2 (84) Sohn (95) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Munoz W 10-11 9 4 1 1 0 4 1 Player of the Game: Troy Munoz 82-74 11GB

The Miami Palms secured a .500 record for the season with their final road game of the season, which turned out to be a 6-3 victory in Toronto. Dave Balierough went 7 strong innings, allowing runs only on a Jose Bautista home run, an affliction that has beset many pitchers this season. Martin Prado had a three run shot of his own, while Coco Crisp had a solo blast off of Shaun Marcum, who has been a favorite target of Palms hitters this season. SS Gonzalez 2-4 2R RF Sohn 1-4 2K 3b Prado 1-4 R C Black 2-4 1b Dupont 0-4 K LF Sadan 0-4 DH Winn 1-4 R K CF Crisp 1-4 R K 2b Henning 0-3 BB R K 2b Gonzalez (31) Black (45) Winn (38) HR Prado (20) Crisp (19) RBI Gonzalez (80) Prado 3 (81) Black (92) Crisp (70) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Balierough W 9-16 7 7 3 3 2 5 1 McLoughlin 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Carlyle S 35 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Player of the Game...

The Palms jumped out to an early lead with a 2 run second. The Jays scored three of their 4 two innings later, only to have Miami retie the game a half inning later. Despite an excellent outing from Blake Johnston in relief, a Yunel Escobar home run put the Blue Jays in front for good. Coco Crisp was a home run away from the cycle. SS Gonzalez 2-4 BB RF Sohn 0-4 BB 3b Prado 1-4 BB K DH Black 0-4 BB 1b Dupont 1-5 R 2K LF Winn 2-4 HBP R K CF Crisp 3-5 R 2b Henning 1-4 K C Santos 1-4 K 2b Gonzalez (30) Winn 2 (37) Crisp (23) Santos (9) 3b Crisp (12) RBI Crisp 2 (69) Santos (29) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Chastanet 5 9 3 3 0 4 0 Johnston L 1-4 2 1 1 1 0 3 1 Gonsales 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 Player of the Game: Yunel Escobar 80-74 13GB

Jaspero Gonzalez has been on fire for the last half of the season. It took him a while to get his feet under him as an every day player, but in the months of August and September, he has hit 10 home runs to pull into the second spot for team home runs. Troy Tulowitzki , the man he replaced, is doing similarly impressive numbers, but Gonzalez's future and high batting average make him an exciting asset the Palms can build around.

The Palms went north of the border on Friday to begin their last road series of the year. Manny Parra had a solid outing, continuing a recent Miami trend for quality pitching. The Palms rode two 4 run innings, including a three run homer from Jaspero Gonzalez. SS Gonzalez 3-6 R RF Sohn 2-4 BB R 3b Prado 0-3 BB SAC R 2K C Black 1-5 LF Sadan 3-5 R 1b Dupont 3-5 K DH Winn 0-4 BB R CF Crisp 1-4 BB K 2R 2b Janish 2-4 BB 2R 2b Black (44) Sadan (31) Janish 2 (18) HR Gonzalez (24) RBI Gonzalez 4 (79) Sohn (94) Prado (78) Black (91) Sadan (82) Dupont (83) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Parra W 8-10 5 6 1 1 3 3 0 Sarfate 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 Schoppe 1 2 0 0 1 1 0 Player of the Game: Jaspero Gonzalez 80-73 12GB

For the second game in a row, the Palms got an excellent starting pitching outing. Tonight's was from Javier Vazquez, who shut down the Red Sox to take the 4 game set and bring his season total to 17 wins. Ayoz Sadan and Josh Fields hit home runs for the effort. Two of Fields' 4 homers this year have been off of Jon Lester. SS Gonzalez 2-5 R K RF Sohn 2-5 R K 3b Prado 0-5 2K C Black 1-4 SAC K LF Sadan 1-4 R DH Winn 1-4 CF Crisp 1-3 BB K 2b Henning 1-4 1b Fields 2-3 BB R K HR Sadan (22) Fields (4) RBI Black (90) Sadan 2 (81) Fields (18) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Vazquez W 17-6 9 7 2 2 2 8 1 Player of the Game: Ayoz Sadan 79-73 12.5GB

One of the biggest disappointments this season was the fact that with such a dynamic offensive team, the Miami Palms were kept well out of the playoff picture. Part of the problem was the starting pitching staff, notably Troy Munoz, whose ERA climbed from 3.46 to 4.15 this season, and Dallas Chastanet who bounced from 3.86 to 4.87, almost entirely because of all the home runs he has given up. Additionally, almost every pitcher in the bullpen has seen their ERA climb this season. The Palms were able to ramp up their offense this season, but one player has fallen off dramatically. That would be Randy Winn, who has seen his home run total plummet from 22 to 10, and his batting average from .327 to .315. Still formidable, but not the same middle of the order threat he was in 2009.

Were it not for some solo home runs, the Red Sox would have been kept completely off the board. Troy Munoz scattered three hits, including a solo homer to Adrian Beltre, and the Buddy Carlyle, who got the save, allowed a solo bomb to Mike Lowell, however the Palms were able to score a run in 4 different innings to give them the win. There was a scary moment in the 8th when DH Randy Winn was hit in the head by a John Lackey breaking ball. He was able to stay in the game. SS Gonzalez 1-4 BB RF Sohn 1-4 BB R K 3b Prado 0-4 SAC K C Black 0-5 1b Dupont 1-5 LF Sadan 2-5 R DH Winn 1-3 HBP CF Crisp 1-2 2BB 2b Henning 2-3 BB 2R 2b Gonzalez (29) Sadan 2 (30) HR Sohn (19) RBI Gonzalez (75) Sohn (93) Prado (77) Winn (57) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Munoz W 9-11 8 3 1 1 3 5 1 Carlyle S 34 1 1 1 1 0 2 1 Player of the Game: Troy Munoz 78-73 14.5GB

The list of candidates for most improved player could be quite lengthy. There is Orlando Tiropes (who has confirmed an 's' at the end of his name, rather than a 'z'), who raised his batting average from .255 in 2009 to an astounding .333. There is Paul Janish, who was expected to be a liability at the plate when he came over from Cincinnati, but instead has hit a remarkable .313. Felix Gonsales has brought his win total up to 13 wins, more than doubling his career total. Martin Prado, by season's end, will likely have doubled his home run total from 10 to 20. Frank Sohn added 30 RBI to his. The only player, though, that has substantially improved his number in multiple categories is Ayoz Sadan. The left fielder has driven his batting average from .277 to .309, his home run total from 18 to 21, and his RBI total is higher already than last seasons 77. It has been an historic season at the plate for most of the Palms hitters. It's hard to find anyone who has been ...

The Red Sox jumped all over Dave Balierough, scoring a run in 3 of the 4 innings he pitched, including a two run homer from David Ortiz and a two run triple from Lars Anderson. Clay Buchholz shut the Palms down, but Jaspero Gonzalez was able to stroke a three run homer in the 9th to make the game more respectable. SS Gonzalez 1-5 R GIDP RF Sohn 1-4 R BB 3b Prado 2-4 DH Black 2-4 1b Dupont 1-4 LF Sadan 0-4 CF Crisp 0-3 BB R K 2b Henning 2-4 R C Santos 1-4 K 2b Sohn (29) Prado (43) Black (43) HR Gonzalez (23) RBI Gonzalez 3 (74) Prado (76) Balierough L 8-16 5 9 5 5 2 3 1 Gonsales 2 4 2 2 0 0 1 Johnston 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 Player of the Game: David Ortiz 77-73 14.5GB

The Palms began their last road trip of the season with a victory at Fenway Park. The Palms managed to spray the ball all over the field, getting 19 hits but leaving 12 on base. The big hit was a two run triple off the bat of Frank Sohn, though the Red Sox scored their six runs on three two run homers off of Dallas Chastanet. The Palms have 12 games left on the season. SS Gonzalez 3-6 2R RF Sohn 3-5 R K 3b Prado 2-5 R GIDP C Black 3-4 2R BB 1b Dupont 2-5 R DH Winn 0-5 K C Crisp 2-4 BB LF Tiropes 2-5 R 2b Henning 2-5 2b Prado (42) Dupont (30) 3b Sohn (9) Crisp (11) HR Black (26) RBI Sohn 2 (92) Prado (75) Black (89) Dupont 3 (82) Crisp (73) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Chastanet W 13-13 8 7 6 6 2 3 3 Carlyle S 33 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 77-72 13.5GB

Another day, another grand slam for the Yankees. For the second game in a row, the Yankees seized control with a grand slam, this time from Austin Kearns, who blasted a Manny Parra pitch out of the park to chase him from the game early. The Yankees added 4 more in the 9th when Don Schoppe imploded. SS Gonzalez 2-5 R RF Sohn 0-4 3b Prado 0-3 BB K C Black 0-4 1b Dupont 2-4 LF Sadan 2-4 K DH Winn 2-4 K CF Crisp 0-3 BB K 2b Janish 0-4 K 2b Gonzalez (28) HR Gonzalez (22) RBI Gonzalez (71) Pitcher W-L S IP H R ER BB SO HR Parra L 7-10 3 2/3 7 6 6 0 2 1 Gonsales 1 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 McLoughlin 2 1 0 0 0 3 0 Schoppe 2 6 4 4 1 1 0 Player of the Game: Austin Kearns 76-72 13.5GB