Miami Palms Blog

The Rangers swept their double header with the Palms on a walk off home run by Mike Napoli off of Ivan Fernandez. It was likely Dave Balierough's last start with the Palms. He was in control, until his final inning, the 7th, when, with two outs, Elvis Andrus put the Rangers in front. Steve Drysdale got Balierough off the hook with a solo blast, but Napoli won it with nobody out in the 9th.  Texas Rangers 5, Miami Palms 4  Sunday, September 30, 2012  Miami Palms (77-82)                                      Texas Rangers (6-5)                                      Player      ...

The Palms and Rangers had a game delayed Saturday as rain washed away the Arlington area. In the regularly scheduled game at 1pm on Sunday, Kevin Correia made perhaps his last start with the Palms, and it was short and fairly disastrous. He didn't make it out of the 2nd inning, after getting pulled after giving up a grand slam to Jon Bogaard.  Texas Rangers 8, Miami Palms 6  Sunday, September 30, 2012  Miami Palms (77-81)                                      Texas Rangers (5-5)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P...

The Palms were able to overtake the Texas Rangers thanks to 2 home runs, a two run shot from Nick Markakis and a solo blast from Martin Prado to put the Palms ahead for good. The Rangers tied the game when David Murphy hit a 2 run blast, capitalizes on Troy Munoz's only mistake. The Rangers made it dicey at the end when they left the bases loaded on closer Manny Parra.  Miami Palms 3, Texas Rangers 2  Friday, September 28, 2012  Miami Palms (77-80)                                      Texas Rangers (4-5)                                      Player          AB R...

The Palms slide into oblivion and a sub-500 record continues, but this time, there was only one swing of the bat that destroyed the Palms hope. Former Palm Jon Bogaard hit a bases loaded triple that gave the Rangers most of their runs. The Palms had a tough time getting on base, but strung together a walk with three doubles to score their runs in the 7th.  Texas Rangers 5, Miami Palms 3  Thursday, September 27, 2012  Miami Palms (76-80)                                      Texas Rangers (4-4)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB...

At this point, it appears that Troy Munoz will maintain his spot in the rotation next year, b ut that is the only sure thing. Javier Vazquez is retiring, while the disappointing Kevin Correia is a free agent, and the consistent Dave Balierough is expected to leave as well. Felix Gonsales will be with the team next year, but his first season as a starter has been nothing short of brutal, and his spot in the rotation is not guaranteed. There is no doubt that the Palms need to dabble in the free agent or trade market this offseason in order to bolster their pitching rotation. Blake Johnston has had a strong year in the bullpen, and his ability to keep balls in the yard will likely mean a spot in the rotation next year. After that, it's three open positions. There may be a call up from the minor leagues thrust into a starters' role, and there will likely be at least one free agency add. Will Gonsales keep his spot? Will another member of the bullpen claim a starting spot? There ar...

The Palms split their final series with the Yankees with a solid offensive and pitching outing. Felix Gonsales simply out pitched CC Sabathia, strange as that sounds, and was helped immensely by Eduardo Nunez's 10th and 11th home runs against his former team. The Palms begin their final road trip of the season tomorrow.  Miami Palms 10, New York Yankees 4  Wednesday, September 26, 2012  New York Yankees (11-4)                                  Miami Palms (76-80)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave...

Philip Hughes has been masterful against the Palms this season, and again pitched a complete game shutout. A combination of Dave Balierough, Ivan Fernandez and Dennis Sarfate pitched very well for Miami, but they were no match for Hughes' dominance over the Palms.  New York Yankees 2, Miami Palms 0  Tuesday, September 25, 2012  New York Yankees (11-3)                                  Miami Palms (75-79)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player    ...

The Palms couldn't complete the sweep, with Royals pitcher Jake Odorizzi overcoming some first inning jitters and shutting down Miami the rest of the way. Former Palm Joe Gras hit a 2 run homer that proved to be the difference between the two teams in this one.  Kansas City Royals 5, Miami Palms 3  Sunday, September 23, 2012  Miami Palms (75-78)                                      Kansas City Royals (4-3)                                 Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player     ...

The scoreline may take away from Troy Munoz's performance. He scattered 7 hits and struck out 4 over 7 innings, giving way to 2 perfect innings from Blake Johnston. The score was respectable until the 9th, when Coco Crisp and Frank Sohn homered and scored 6 of Miami's 13 runs.  Miami Palms 13, Kansas City Royals 0  Saturday, September 22, 2012  Miami Palms (75-77)                                      Kansas City Royals (3-3)                                 Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player  ...

The Palms were an offensive foce early, scoring a run in each of the first 4 innings. Javier Vazquez scattered 4 hits through nearly 9 innings of work, striking out 8 in the process. Coco Crisp, as he is wont to do, homered twice, because he doesn't just homer once in a game.The Palms need to go 7-4 or better to finish better than .500 this season.  Miami Palms 6, Kansas City Royals 2  Friday, September 21, 2012  Miami Palms (74-77)                                      Kansas City Royals (3-2)                                 Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LO...

The Palms had a huge game from Billy Dupont, who went 4/4 on the day last Thursday. but the Blue Jays had one huge inning, the 6th, in which they scored 8 runs. The big hit was a bases loaded triple from Kelley Johnson. Aaron Laffey allowed a couple of solo home runs, but pitched the entire game.  Toronto Blue Jays 10, Miami Palms 3  Thursday, September 20, 2012  Toronto Blue Jays (8-12)                                 Miami Palms (73-76)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Pla...

I was gone for the weekend and unable to post game recaps for the Palms' final game of their series with the Blue Jays, or any of their three game set in Kansas City. Games will continue to be posted in order until all is caught up, which may push the mid week 2 game set with the Yankees back as well.

While the scoreline may have suggested an equally challenged pitchers duel between Ricky Romero and Dave Balierough, Romero was actually much better. He struck out 7 and scattered 3 hits, compared to Balierough's 2 and 9, respectively. The Jays ended up sweeping the double header on the road, exasperating the Palms late season slide.  Toronto Blue Jays 2, Miami Palms 1  Wednesday, September 19, 2012  Toronto Blue Jays (8-12)                                 Miami Palms (73-76)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB  ...

The Jays set to the Palms in short order in Game 1 of the double header in Miami. The Palms were unable to score early, as Henderson Alvarez scattered 4 hits over 7 innings. The Blue Jays gutted the beginning and end of the game, scoring 6 off of Kevin Correia, and then 6 more in the final two frames, including a bat around in the 9th to seal the blow out.  Toronto Blue Jays 12, Miami Palms 3  Wednesday, September 19, 2012  Toronto Blue Jays (7-12)                                 Miami Palms (73-75)                                      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A...

This offseason will be a very tumultuous time this year. The Palms have one player who has already announced his retirement (Javier Vazquez), 7 players are free agents and 5 are entering option years. The 7 free agents are some key players from the 2012 season. 4 every day starters, including Jaspero Gonzalez, Matt Holliday, Omir Santos and Eduardo Nunez are free to walk after this year. Gonzalez, Holliday and Santos especially would be tough to replace, though Holliday has been a mild disappointment in left field this year. Bench player Orlando Tiropez is also a free agent, while pitchers Dave Balierough and Ivan Fernadez also hold expiring contracts. Players with an option include one more starter in the field, Nick Markakis, and one more starter on the mound, Kevin Correia. Bench guys Johnny Giavotella and Jose Molina could also opt out, while reliever Art McLoughlin may depart this year as well. The Palms know that there is a lot of work to do, but their team in Triple A Jackson...