Happy Holidays

Wishing the best to all this holiday season! Happy Birthday Jesus!

Disturbing Search Criteria

As the webmaster I can see a variety of reports related to the people who access this webpage, and how they found the site. One of the reports I can see is a listing of the search terms people used to find the site. Normal search terms would include: “clearwater threshers” – “phillies” – “brett harker” – etc…

Today I noticed one search which seemed a bit unusual. Someone had found the site by searching for the term: “sam walls pitcher of the week threshers republican cross dresser”.

Now I can see why they would find this sight based on that search criterea. Sam Walls has been a Threshers pitcher of the week in the past, but the republican cross dresser part? It seems a bit odd that someone would have used that term in conjunction with a search for Sam Walls. Of course I don’t know a lot about Sam Walls’ activities outside of the ballpark….

Follow the link to vote in the Sam Walls poll: Sam Walls – Republican Cross-Dresser or Regular Guy?

Clearwater Coaching Staff Announced

Manager- Ernie Whitt:   Whitt’s coaching career first came to prominence in his capacity as manager of the Canadian national baseball team. In the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, he guided the team to a 4th-place finish in the baseball tournament. Whitt also managed the Canadian national baseball team to a 3rd place finish in Pool B at the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

Whitt also served as both the Blue Jays’ bench coach and first base coach starting in 2005, and was rumoured to be a potential replacement for then-encumbent manager John Gibbons until Gibbons and several coaches were fired midway through the 2008 season. He currently coaches in the Philadelphia Phillies’ minor league system.

Pitching coach:  Dave Lundquist:   Originally drafter by the White Sox in the 5th round in 1993 he made his major league debut with the Sox in 1999.  He appeared in 37 game total in his major league career, and 250 in the minors.  Began coaching in the minors in 2006 and was the Lakewood Blueclaws pitching coach in 2008.

Coaches:  Ramon Henderson & Kevin Jordan.

Ramon Henderson was the bullpen coach Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1998-2008. He has since been reassigned to an undetermined minor league coaching position. Henderson also played minor league baseball as an infielder in the Phillies organization from 1982 until 1989.  Ramon has become best known, however, for his role in the 2005 and 2006 Major League Baseball All-Star Games, where he pitched to the Home Run Derby champions both years (Phillies outfielder Bobby Abreu and Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard, respectively). His performance in the 2005 Derby led to the well-publicized requests of Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz and Baltimore Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada to have Henderson pitch to them as well in the 2006 Derby [1].

Henderson missed most of the 2008 season for personal reasons.

Kevin Jordan spent his entire major league career with the Phillies, playing with the club for seven seasons (1995-2001). A career .258 hitter with 23 home runs in 560 games, Jordan played first, second and third base. He last played professionally in 2004 for the Camden Riversharks in the independent Atlantic League. That season, he hit .248 with two home runs and 34 RBI in 67 games.

Three Ex-Threshers Taken in Rule 5 Draft

The Rule 5 Draft was held yesterday in Las Vegas as part of the Baseball Winter Meetings. Three ex-Threshers players were taken in the AAA phase of the draft. John Suomi was taken by the Kansas City Royals, and both Brett Harker and Ron “Bear” Hill were taken by the Florida Marlins. The players must all remain on the respective team’s AAA Roster for the 2009 season or be offered back to the Phillies for half-price ($6,000).

2009 Schedule is Announced

The 2009 Threshers schedule is available here.

Here is a quick overview by month.

APRIL: 10 Home and 10 Away – The season opens on the 9th at home vs. the Dunedin Bluejays.

MAY: 13 Home and 16 Away.

JUNE: 9 Home and 18 Away
The FSL All-Star Game will be June 20th at Ft. Myers
The first half ends Wednesday June 24th on the road at Tampa.
32 home games and 38 away games in the first half.

JULY: 17 Home and 13 Away.

AUGUST: 15 Home and 13 Away.

SEPTEMBER: 6 Home and 0 Away
The season ends on the 6th at home vs. the Daytona Cubs.
38 home games and 32 away games in the second half.

The 2009 FSL Playoffs will begin September 8th.