Get well Peter Gammons!  Please. 

            With the short season teams starting, it’s a busy season for roster movement up and down the minor league system.  At the upper levels, Jason Scobie and Juan Tejeda were released from AAA.  Yusaku Iriki was promoted from St. Lucie to Norfolk and I believe Willie Collazo was also promoted to AAA.   Ambio Concepcion earned a promotion from St. Lucie to Binghamton while catcher Yunir Garcia headed the other way.  This is a big second half for the 24-year old Concepcion at AA.             

            The Mets acquired Rich Rundles from the Cardinals for “future considerations.”  Rundles was 5-6 with a 4.60 ERA for the Springfield Cardinals of the AA Texas League.  The southpaw turned 25 at the beginning of this month and is listed at 6’5”.  Rundles is scheduled to start game 2 Wednesday for Binghamton.  I doubt I’ve covered all of the recent player movement, but it’s a start. 

            Adam Rubin of the Daily News writes that Pedro Beato and the Orioles agreed on a $1 million bonus for the 32^nd overall pick while the Mets offered $750,000 based on a slot recommendation from Alan H. Selig’s office.  That apparent pettiness irritates me. 

            Now “Manny Being Manny” includes playing defense too?  Weird. 

            I bought two cds today and I like ‘em both.  However, I’m surprised that on Day One, after a listen to each, I prefer the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs’ “Show Your Bones” (an impulse buy) to The Raconteurs’ “Broken Boy Soldiers,” which was my original target when I walked into Tower. 

Stars of the Day:

AAA: Chris Basak/John Maine & Royce Ring

AA: Rain

A+: Rain

A: Rain

SSA: Nelson Portillo

R (APP): Greg Mullens/Ivan Naccarata
R (GCL): Rain

Norfolk (AAA - International League)

Norfolk 5, @ Toledo 1

            Chris Basak drilled three run HR in the second inning helping  Norfolk build a 5-0 lead.  Jeff Keppinger stayed hot with a 2-4 night with his second HR of the season.  Jacob Cruz added two hits as well.

            John Maine gave up one run in his 5.2 innings on five hits.  He walked three and struck out four.  On the numbers, it was his best start since June 1^st against Charlotte.  The Tides bullpen of Juan Perez, Steve Schmoll and Royce Ring were a hit away from perfection in the final 3.1 IP.  Ring hasn’t allowed a run since April 17^th.  Starting with his next outing on April 19^th, in his 19 appearances and 22 IP he’s struck out 25 batters.

Binghamton (AA - Eastern League)

Reading, @ Binghamton

            Postponed due to rain.  They’ll play two Wednesday.  Miguel Perez (2-4, 4.31) will take on Allen Davis (1-5, 3.84) in the opener and it’ll be Rich Rundles (0-0, 0.00) against Zach Segovia (3-4, 4.01) in game 2.

St. Lucie (A+ - Florida State League)

St. Lucie, @ Brevard County

            Postponed due to rain.  They were supposed to play two on Tuesday, but instead, the Mets and Manatees are now scheduled for a pair of twin bills on July 12^th and on August 18^th. 

Hagerstown (A – South Atlantic League)

Hagerstown @ Delmarva

            Postponed due to rain.  Likely to be made up in August.

Brooklyn (SSA – New York Penn League)

@ Hudson Valley 6, Brooklyn 3

            The D-Rays top draft pick, Evan Longoria homered twice and drove home 5 runs in a 3-5 night in what I believe was his final game in the New York Penn League as his Renegades dropped the Cyclones to 0-7.

            Nelson Portillo, whose debut in Hagerstown I was excited about around a month ago, showed some promising flashes on the hill.  He allowed eight hits and three runs, two earned in 5.1 IP.  I was impressed by the six strikeouts without a walk.  Josh Appell, who had a rough time in Hagerstown, gave up a two run HR to Longoria in the seventh that broke a 3-3 tie. 

Kingsport Mets (R – Appalachian League)

Kingsport 4, @ Bristol 0

            Greg Mullens shut out the White Sox for the first five innings.  Jusef Frias, dealt three scoreless innings with three punchouts while Dustin Childress worked a 1-2-3 ninth.  

            Ivan Naccarata’s first HR, a solo shot in the fourth began the scoring, while his second, a two run blast in the sixth, completed the evening’s scoring. 

GCL Mets (R – Gulf Coast League)

GCL Mets @ GCL Dodgers

            Postponed due to rain.