Normally we don’t post these every week but we figured we’d make an exception this week. This was announced earlier today by SAL President Eric Krupa.

Player of the Week: Bryce Harper, who went 12-24 last week for Hagerstown, was named the league’s Player of the Week for the first time. Harper started 9-39 but is hitting .466 (27-58) since April 19th (17 RBIs in 16 games). He’ll be at FirstEnergy Park this weekend with the Suns for the first (and perhaps only time). Click here for the promo rundown.

Pitcher of the Week: Anthony Ranaudo, who threw six shutout innings for Greenville. Ranaudo is a local guy, having gone to St Rose High School in Belmar (he’s from Jackson). After going to LSU, he was a supplemental first-round pick of the Red Sox last year. With Greenville this year, he has allowed seven ER in 27.1 innings pitched, but six of those ER came in one bad outing. He could be the rare Shore Conference player to play at FirstEnergy Park in July, but it wouldn’t be a shock if he was called up before then.

Yes that is a lame title, but Bryce Harper, baseball’s top prospect and the #1 overall pick in the 2010 draft will be in Lakewood with Hagerstown for a four-game series beginning Friday night (yes, Friday the 13th).

It should be a very exciting weekend and the first chance for the Jersey Shore fans to see Harper, who is off to a scalding start, hitting .357 (10th in the league) with 7 HRs and 23 RBIs (both second).

He started the year 9-39 but is 21-45 since with six HRs and 16 RBIs in his last 13 games.

Also, earlier this week in West Virginia he was involved in a bench-clearing incident (not a brawl – no punches were thrown). You can watch video here, but Harper said something to the catcher after homering in his first AB and then someone said something after he struck out in his second AB.

Harper went 2-11 against Lakewood in Hagerstown on the first road trip of the season.

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Here’s the promo rundown for next week:

• Friday at 7:05: post-game fireworks thanks to Toyota/Scion World of Lakewood
• Saturday at 4:05: Bark in the Park thanks to Magic 100.1 and 95.9 WRAT…bring your dog to the game!
• Sunday at 1:05: Kids Eat Free / Kids Character Sunday
• Monday at 6:35: Kids Eat Free / Preakness preview

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Here’s your order tickets link (or call 732-901-7000) but note that tickets for this series are filling up fast.

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Where did the title of the post come from? Here are the shirts that the staffers wear at Municipal Stadium in Hagerstown.

Five years ago today (April 26th), the BlueClaws played 17 of a 22 inning game against Hagerstown which was finished in early May, an 8-7 BlueClaws win. Lakewood won it when John Urick walked with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 22nd. It’s the longest game in SAL history. Here’s the box (in two images).

You can enlarge the pictures by clicking on them. The final time of the game was 7:47.

There was a bunch of media coverage from last night’s game worth perusing . Here are a few stories. First, from the Washington Post:

“I don’t think it’s a slump at all,” said Harper, the top overall pick of the 2010 draft. “I’m not stressed out about it at all. I feel good up there. It just takes time. . . . I feel like it was easier [to hit] at the higher level, because the pitchers were right around the [strike] zone every single time.”

From MASN Sports:

“Not really frustrated about anything, actually,” Harper said. “I am more frustrated that we lost. I am having good at-bats. I feel good up there. I feel strong up there. It is just going to take me a minute to get going. I am really excited to get going. I am going to swing it.”

Here’s his post-game from CSNWashington.com:

The BlueClaws have arrived in Hagerstown, Maryland for the start of a four-game series and the home debut of top overall pick Bryce Harper.

A pic of the field taken 5 minutes ago is on the right, and you can see they have installed a new video board here at Municipal Stadium.

Here are today’s game notes. A few snippets:

On the Road Again…The BlueClaws hit the road for a nine-game (season long) road trip to Hagerstown and then Asheville…Last year, the BlueClaws went 43-26 away from FirstEnergy Park (best record in the South Atlantic League) and they were 41-25 away from home in 2009 (also the best record in the league).

BlueClaws and Top Overall Picks…OF Bryce Harper, the first overall pick in the 2010 draft, plays for Hagerstown, marking the fourth time the BlueClaws have faced a top overall pick: Bryan Bullington (2002 w/ Hickory in 2003), Delmon Young (2003 w/ Charleston in 2004), Tim Beckham (2008 w/ Bowling Green in 2009).

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The Hagerstown mayor will throw out the first pitch tonight in front of a sold out crowd. They will also have Bryce Harper jerseys for sale in the team store. Of course.

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Some comments via today’s APP.

“Obviously they’ve got something going with his debut there,” said Lakewood manager Chris Truby prior to the BlueClaws’ Thursday home stand finale vs. Greensboro (N.C.) at First Energy Park.

”But that’s really the last of our concerns,” Truby said. “‘We’re just going out there to try to win some ball games.”

“He’s obviously a great ball player,” Buchanan said. “‘I’m looking forward to facing him, it’ll be an experience.

“But I’m not going to get too psyched out about it. It’s a long game and there’s eight other hitters in the lineup I’ve got to face.”

BlueClaws RHP Jonathan Pettibone returns to the rotation on Sunday. He has been on the disabled list since his last start (May 20th), which he left after five innings and 64 pitches and having allowed two runs. Lakewood will put Pettibone in the day after Julio Rodriguez (who replaced him) so everyone else slides back a day. The rotation for the Greensboro series:

Saturday: RHP Julio Rodriguez (1-0, 3.12)
Sunday: RHP Jonathan Pettibone (2-1, 4.69)
Monday: RHP Jarred Cosart (6-1, 3.38)
Tuesday: RHP Brody Colvin (3-6, 5.63)

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This I find potentially fascinating…if Lakewood and Hickory tie (the BlueClaws are two games back with 15 to go), they will have done so without playing each other. Therefore, by league rules, the first meeting of the second half (August 25th at Hickory) will serve as a de-facto “First Half Championship Game.”

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All-Stars will be announced on Monday.

And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.

The BlueClaws will open the season at McCormick Field in Asheville. Built in 1924, it’s the oldest ballpark in the South Atlantic League.

After four games, it’s off to Hagerstown for four games at Municipal Stadium. Built in 1930, it’s the second oldest ballpark in the South Atlantic League.

I might be the only person who finds this interesting, but that’s ok.

What’s the newest park in the league? Flour Field in Greenville opened in 2006.

Baseball America recently put four 2009 BlueClaws among their top 20 South Atlantic League prospects in an annual post-season ranking (see ranking here). We wanted to take you a little bit more in-depth on those player, so we sat down for a Q&A with Matt Forman of Baseball America, who made the list.

We’ll start with the offensive players (13. Anthony Gose, 17. Travis d’Arnaud, NR. Harold Garcia). Next week, we’ll talk about the pitchers.

Q: You were here for Gose’s home run in game one of the finals against Greenville. What was your take on him?

A: I was very impressed. Just reading the scouting reports before I saw him, I thought he was in the Michael Bourn mold. But he’s got more upside than Bourn does…He’s a hard-nosed guy that doesn’t wear batting gloves. He’s got some pop, and plays a shallow center. He can track anything down. His arm is strong. He’s the complete package.

Q: Is there a comparison with a current big leaguer?

A: He’s like Carl Crawford, in that he has the four tools now. For Crawford, the power came later in his career. You think he (Gose) can hit for power down the line, though I’d like to see a little more from him in playing the small ball game. He could wreak havoc with his speed.

Q: What did you see from Travis d’Arnaud?

A: If he were in a more hitter friendly park it wouldn’t surprise me if he hit .275 with 20 home runs. His doubles  number (38, led league) was very impressive. His hands are good and he has a very compact approach…

(more…)

Just finished the SAL Championship Series media guide (click here)…There’s a ton of stuff in there, from pitcher day-by-days, to quotes, nuggets, and a lot more. Worth thumbing through to get you ready for the series.

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Ticket Note…Any unused ticket to Friday’s game or ticket to the unplayed game three on Saturday can be exchanged (in person) for tickets to games one or two of the Championship Series.

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League President Eric Krupa will be in town for the finals. He was slated to be in Lakewood on Friday but his plane was delayed by the horrible weather.

Might be worth taking a look tonight at game one from the Southern Division between Asheville and Greenville. They were rained out last night in game one and will go three days in a row.

Asheville has the three leading hitters in the league in OF Scott Robinson, 1B Kiel Roling, and C Jordan Pacheco (Pacheco was the league’s MVP). RHP Juan Nicasio (9-3) starts today.

Greenville has a good power-hitting catcher from Yale in Kyle Lavarnway, but they were gutted at the break and went 34-36 in the second half. First-half P Casey Kelly (6-1, 1.12) is hitting .224 as a SS in the second half.

Their rain out last night was a huge break for whoever wins the North. Now, game one starters, if they are to pitch in game one of the finals, would pitch on three-days rest (unlikely). So that could mean that they can no longer go in games one and five (Monday / Saturday), or again, unless they pitch on three days rest.

Congrats to BlueClaws manager Dusty Wathan and centerfielder Anthony Gose, who have been named to the 2009 South Atlantic League All-Star team.

Wathan is the first BlueClaws manager to be chosen, and his selection comes after he led the BlueClaws to the 2009 first-half title in the SAL’s Northern Division.

“It’s an honor to be selected by my peers but this is a team honor,” said Wathan. “You’re only as good as your players and staff and we’ve had a great group this year.”

Gose leads all of Minor League Baseball in stolen bases 74, and broke the BlueClaws franchise record on August 4th when he stole number 60.

“Gose has been outstanding all year,” added Wathan. “He provides a tremendous presence both in the box and when he gets on base.”

Game notes for Sunday here.

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When the BlueClaws won game one yesterday, it tied a season-high four-game win streak on the road this season…Last night, Lake County won the nightcap 10-1, scoring five in the first and one in the 2nd through 6th (that would be every inning).

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Kannapolis’ magic number is just three to clinch the second-half title…Looks like we can go ahead and book those hotel rooms down in North Carolina. They’re six up with nine to go against West Virginia.

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We’re going to dive into this coming up, but here’s an article from the APP on Ryan Ragan, Central Jersey Blood Center COO who will head to the roof for a week while we collect blood beginning next Monday.

These next two days mark the final three home games the Lake County Captains will play ever against the BlueClaws. Lake County moves to the Midwest League next year, which of course makes some sense, since Eastlake, OH, a Cleveland suburb, is neiter South nor Atlantic.

Last night, Lake County raffled off various prizes from the different teams around the South Atlantic League, including a Ryan Howard hat from Lakewood, a Clay Buchholz bobblehead doll from Greenville, and others.

Lake County has made the playoffs twice, including last year, when they took the first game at West Virginia but got knocked out by losing two straight at home.

Best Captain of all-time? Probably Fausto Carmona, who went 17-4, 2.06 here in 2003.

Lake County vs Lakewood memory…Nick Weglarz hitting one off the fence behind the WRAT Trap in 2007.

Inside of two weeks to go until the 2009 SAL post-season, and the BlueClaws, it appears, will be meeting the Kannapolis Intimidators in the first round. Spoke with Kannapolis broadcaster, and former BlueClaws broadcaster, Alex Gyr for some of his thoughts on the way the Intimidators (White Sox) have been playing, which is to say, quite well.

Entering play Saturday, the Indimidators are 40-19 in the second half, having losts last night after 12 straight wins, and they’ve won 19 of their last 23. Lake County has won 14 of 20 and lost ground. West Virginia, who had a 10-game win streak not long ago, got to within one game, has fallen back. Kannapolis’ five-game lead with 10 to play looks pretty tough to overcome.

“This is a massively different team than it was just weeks ago,” said Gyr, who noted that 1st round pick OF Jered Mitchell (.301) reached in his first 25 games and C Josh Phegley has hit nine home runs to lead the team.

“The bullpen has been dominant more often than not,” he added. Kannapolis has a 3.03 bullpen ERA, best in the league.

This is a team that lost Dexter Carter, their best pitcher, who was traded in the Jake Peavy deal. But they haven’t missed a beat.

“Joey Serafin,” said Gyr, “has really looked sharp. He’s a 37th rounder out of the now defunct University of Vermont baseball program,” who is 2-1, 3.18 over five starts.

They can throw Charlie Leesman (12 wins), Serafin, and Stephen Sauer (6-5, 3.56) at you in three games, with a great bullpen. That’s a tough team to matchup against.