As we kick off the second half, let’s look back at Kids Eat Free from the first. The BlueClaws gave out over 30,000 hot dogs, bags of chips, and a soda. From a hot dog standpoint, it’s enough to go three times across mid-town Manhattan. But here’s a better way to look at it.

Last year, in the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, American Joey Chestnut ate 59 hot dogs in 10 minutes, or 5.9 hot dogs per minute. How long (at that rate, whihc would be impossible to maintain) would it take Joey Chestnut to eat the 30,125 hot dogs given out by the BlueClaws? Only 85 hours.

Other breakdowns: The amount of potatoes used to make all the chips equals 11,000 bobblehead dolls, or the weight of a Hummer H3…The amount of soda given out, if taken in water, is enough to water the average lawn for 22 hours.

The start of the second half always brings several new players to minor league rosters, and the start of this BlueClaws second half is no different. Welcome to the following players…

OF Vladimir De Los Santos: 2nd in GCL with 10 home runs last year (to Lake County’s Abner Abreu)
C Ryan Gugel: Just signed as NDFA from the University at Albany
RHP Jordan Ellis: Drafted in 28th round last year out of Villanova University
RHP Freddy Ballestas: 4-5, 6.18 with Williamsport last year as a starter

Sebastian Valle is off to Williamsport, where he will benefit from catching every day, also freeing up at bats for Jeremy Hamilton at DH. Valle departs in addition to Steve Susdorf, Jon Velasquez, and Santo Hernandez, who are all with Clearwater.

Susdorf is 6-13 with the Threshers and Santo Hernandez picked up the save last night.

At the upcomming June 25th BlueClaws game, scheduled to start at 7:05 pm, the BlueClaws will give away Reusable Grocery Bags for the first 2,000 fans 18 & older, thanks to Ocean County Recycling. Here is Kyle showing off what the bag looks like, come on out! Remember, post-game fireworks too thanks to Toyota/Scion World of Lakewood!

He blew the save, but he got the win. Justin De Fratus gave up a home run to Ebert Rosario (Lexington) in the top of the 9th to tie the All-Star game at seven, but the North got the win on a Calvin Anderson single to win the 50th SAL All-Star Game 8-7.

Ron Welty scored from first when Scott Robinson (Asheville) made an errant throw to third base, allowing the winning run to score.

Lakewood’s Anthony Gose had two hits and a stolen base. Travis d’Arnaud added a two-run single and Tyler Cloyd pitched a shutout inning for the North.

Recap here. Box score here.

Folks, here is a Thirsty Thursday update for you. We sent this out to the members of our Thirsty Thursday Facebook group (click here), but we’re nice so we’re passing it out to everyone.

• We’re putting in another DRINK RAIL, along the batters eye railing. Should be ready to roll this Thursday (June 25th). It’s the same rail that you’ll find along the railing in front of the tiki bar.
• This Thursday is the next Thirsty Thursday, gates and party at 6 pm, game at 7:05, fireworks post-game.
• Click here for a band schedule.
• Food and drink specials on Fridays for Friday Happy Hour (Happy Friday).
• Fireworks and drink specials Thursday 6/25, Friday 6/26, Thursday 7/2, and Friday 7/3.
• This Thursday…a ticket raffle for Def Leppard/Poison on July 1st at PNC Bank Arts Center.

So there you go. See you out there.

To listen to tonight’s SAL All-Star game, which features six BlueClaws players, click here. This pulls up the MiLB audio archive. Then just click on West Virginia’s audio link and listen to our friend Andy “Bull” Barch bring you all the action. Enjoy.

Giants farmhand Garret Broshuis has penned a great cheat sheet for autograph seekers though Baseball America (click here). It’s a must read for all autograph hounds at ballparks across the country. Here’s a snippet…

Rule 2: Play the name game

This tells a player that you don’t even care what name you get, you’re just after a signature. You’d be just as happy with the batboy’s signature. And we sure aren’t giving our gloves or bats away. We have to use them!

Read the whole thing…it will help!

The BlueClaws and the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) will be hosting a Peanut-Free Night at the August 4th BlueClaws game. To promote awareness of food allergies, the BlueClaws will not be selling peanuts or Cracker Jacks at the game that night.

For those interested in booking a group on Peanut-Free Night, or with any questions, call Ross Pibal at 732-901-7000 or email him at rpibal@blueclaws.com.

Peanut allergies are estimated to affect .4 – .6% of the population, which in a nation of 300 million people, is about 15 million people. For more information on the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, click here.

This is neat, found it digging through the Baseball America archives. It’s a pitching scouting report on current BlueClaws OF Anthony Gose (click here). A snippet…

Gose, who physically resembles Mickey Rivers, is a delightfully quirky and enormously talented player.

He takes only three of four warm-up pitches between innings and works so quickly he often appears to be winding up for a pitch before he’s received the ball back from the catcher from the previous pitch. After one foul ball, Gose caught the new ball from the umpire with his bare pitching hand.

Gose has electric, raw stuff. Early in this game against Millikan High, his fastball sat between 94 and 96, and he added a 77 mph curve and a 75 mph change. As a professional pitcher, Gose profiles as a left handed relief specialist or closer, since he loses 5-7 mph on his four seamer as a game progresses. In this game, Gose allowed one run on three hits with no walks and fanned nine.

Gose, however, didn’t like pitching, and that’s why he’s an outfielder now. He said he told teams that if was drafted to pitch, he was going to play for the University of Arizona. He plays tonight in the SAL All-Star game as a starting centerfielder.

PhuturePhillies.com takes a great look at BlueClaws catcher Travis d’Arnaud, using some stat metrics that not too long ago were consistently ridiculed by those in the main stream.

Take a read, it’s definately worth it.

We’ve released the summer band schedule for the Coors Light WRAT Trap (click here). Back again are the Billy Lawlor Band, Enjoy, The Snakes, and more.

You’ll notice a few open dates. These dates can be filled by your band or the band of your friend. Contact Hal Hansen, BlueClaws Director of Promotions, at 732-901-7000 x 105 if you would like to participate.

Remember: every Thursday is Thirsty Thursday, with $1 beer and soda + 50-cent wings in the Coors Light WRAT Trap. And every Friday has Friday Happy Hour, with food and drink specials from 6 pm – 7 pm before first pitch, and post-game fireworks following last pitch.

Finally, join our Thirsty Thursday Facebook group here.

We’ve gotten some questions on Jon Velasquez and whether or not he is in fact leaving since he is back on the BlueClaws official roster.

Since Lakewood is not playing until Thursday, the BlueClaws roster at the moment is not of 100% importance, and his re-appearance on the roster could have something to do with the exact day he is activated by Clearwater. He has to be on someone’s roster, after all.

The 2009 Lakewood BlueClaws opened their season on April 9^th on a beautiful night for baseball with a beautiful sight on hand. The BlueClaws welcomed the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies World Series Trophy to FirstEnergy Park for pre-game festivities, with the 25-man BlueClaws roster hoping to attain glory of their own in the first half of the season; they would.

Despite losing the game 2-1, Tyler Cloyd pitched six innings, allowing two runs and displaying the stuff that would make him the ace of the team’s starting rotation by mid season. Anthony Gose also stole his first base of the season, 43 more to follow in the first half, just 15 shy of the single season record, and the bullpen pitched three shutout innings, dominance on their part became instrumental.

Then, on April 11^th, after a 0-2 start, D’Arby Myers came to the plate in a tie ballgame, with a runner on third in the bottom of the 11^th inning and his single to center field was the first win for the BlueClaws this season, and they would become a team with a flair for the dramatics, earning the nickname the ‘Cardiac Claws’.

(more…)

As we expected, the BlueClaws have made some All-Star break moves, and so far we know who’s going up to Clearwater but we don’t yet know who is replacing them. Either way, we congratulate the following players and wish them the best in Hi-A…

Steve Susdorf (.333-2 HRs-15 RBIs)…He played just 21 games but he was outstanding. The lefty power bat in the middle of the lineup that Dusty Wathan and Greg Legg were looking for, Susdorf earned his call-up in about a month. Greg Legg said last week that he’s not sure if the BlueClaws would have even won the division without Susdorf, and Lakewood won the division by six games and Susdorf only played 21! Certainly, without him, the BlueClaws would not have clinched on Thursday.

Santo Hernandez (4-2, 2.13 ERA)…One of the big four relievers for Lakewood, Santo has been exceptional since early May, having allowed four earned runs over his last 34 innings. The 25-year old will be missed, as he was good for 2-3 innings at a time on nights when the starting pitchers were laboring to get through five or six innings. He will be much tougher to replace than some may think.

Jon Velasquez (9-2, 4.26 ERA)…It looks like Matt Maloney’s wins record is safe. Velasquez, signed out of a tryout camp in March, has been one of the surprise stories in the Phillies system this year, the way he’s stepped right in and pitched quite well for Lakewood this season. He had an 8 ERA in May and went through a rough stretch after moving into the rotation, but over his last three starts, he’s allowed just three runs in 20 innings. Not sure if he’ll start of come in out of the pen in Clearwater. He’s been successful in both roles with Lakewood.

Good luck fellas.