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Ashmore
Column: Trenton Season Ends Too Early
by Mike Ashmore
September 14, 2006 - Hunterdon County Democrat
The New York Yankees may have 26 World Championships at the
Major League level, but they played a large role in ensuring
their Double-A affiliate would continue to be stuck at zero.
The Trenton Thunder were nothing more than an afterthought
for the Yankees when their minor leaguers needed the
organization the most.
The Portland Sea Dogs -- affiliated with the Red Sox of all
teams -- defeated Trenton three games to one in the Northern
Division Series, a division the Thunder won handily in the
regular season. But the roster they won with wasn't the
roster that showed up in the playoffs. That roster was
nowhere to be found.
Outfielder Vince Faison found himself sitting on the bench
in the decisive Game Four, the same place he watched Game
One from. If he ever wondered why his 14 home runs and 66
RBI weren't in right field, he only needed to glance towards
the press box to see about 100 members of the Japanese
media, watching the every move of Hideki Matsui.
Yes, Matsui was sent to Trenton to rehab during the
playoffs, meaning one of the players who helped get the
Thunder to the postseason would have to take a seat. Nobody
would dare question the move; not Faison, not Brett Gardner,
who sat in Game Two or Justin Christian, who didn't play in
Game Three.
Their season now over, there's plenty of time for questions
for a franchise now 0-for-their history in winning a playoff
series.
Perhaps the biggest question came when Game Four was delayed
by rain for 90 minutes after just one inning of play.
Matt DeSalvo was Trenton's starter in the final game, but
could only pitch that first inning. DeSalvo, who struggled
through a season in which he posted a 6-10 record and 6.40
ERA, is still considered a prospect by the Yankees. His
team's season on the line, his organization wasn't willing
to let him go back out there.
Conversely, Portland's starter Frank Brooks is a 28-year-old
journeyman, a career minor leaguer. There are no
restrictions on a guy like that.
He lasted six innings.
After Jason Jones allowed two runs, Charlie Manning made his
third appearance of the series in Game Four, pitching three
innings for the second time in four days. It was also the
second straight day he'd pitched.
Ideally, J.B. Cox would have pitched in at least one of
those games, taking some of the load off of Manning.
But Cox was also nowhere to be found.
Ranked as the number eleven prospect in the organization by
Baseball America entering the season, Cox was allowed to
leave the Thunder in mid-August to pitch for Team USA in an
Olympic qualifying tournament.
Cox wouldn't return to the team until Game Two, and manager
Bill Masse said Cox wouldn't be available for the game.
Little did he know that Cox would be lost for the series and
perhaps much, much longer.
Prior to Saturday's disaster in Portland, Cox was placed on
the disabled list with what the team described as right
elbow stiffness.
So instead of Cox pitching in Game Two, which Trenton lost,
Jeff Kennard was sent to the hill. Kennard promptly
imploded, allowing five runs without ever getting an out.
As for Game Four, Manning allowed the game-tying run in the
eighth. Scott Patterson finished the eighth, pitched all of
the ninth and came back out for the tenth.
Patterson said before Game Two that he struggled when he had
to pitch in three innings. He was forced to pitch in three
innings, and the results were expected.
Brandon Moss hit a walk-off home run off of Patterson and
the overworked bullpen to eliminate the Thunder at
Portland's Hadlock Field for the second year in a row.
But why did the Trenton Thunder lose the Northern Division
Series?
As the Yankees T-shirts say, do the math.
Yankees 26, Thunder 0.
Contact Mike: mashmore@mikeashmore.com
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