Former Threshers re-sign with Phillies as Minor League Free Agents

The Phillies announced the signing of 13 minor league free agents over the weekend and several of the names should look familiar to Clearwater Threshers' fans.

Returning to the Phillies organization are: RJ Swindle, Jake Blalock, Branden Florence, Mike Spidale, Orlando Guevera, and John Suomi.

RJ Swindle | He was 0-1 with a 4.80 ERA in 12 games for the Threshers in 2007. Swindle also saved three games.

Jake Blalock | He hit .264 in 42 games with the Threshers in 2007. Blalock also had six homer and 26 RBIs. He also spent the entire 2005 season with the Threshers.

Branden Florence | He hit .327 with seven homers and 86 RBIs for the Threshers in 2006.

Mike Spidale | He hit .275 in 58 games with the Threshers in 2007.

Orlando Guevera | He has spent at least part of the last four seasons with the Threshers.

John Suomi | He hit .258 in 20 games with the Threshers in 2007.

Huge Game Tonight versus Blue Jays

Game Time: 7:00pm      Gates Open: 4:30pm

Tonight's Lineup
TBA

Tonight's starting pitcher is Andrew Cruse.

Dollar Dogs
Got a buck? Get a hot dog.

Happy Hour
Drop by Frenchy's Tiki Pavilion tonight and take advantage of some great drink specials. Ladies drink free from 5:00pm-6:00pm.

Road Trip Recap
The Threshers made a quick trip over the bridge to Tampa on Wednesday, August 22 and lost to the Yankees 8-4. Brad Harman, Jeremy Slayden, Matt Thayer, and PJ Antoniato each had two hits. Scott Mathieson made a rehab start and struck out two in two innings.

The Threshers went down the street to Dunedin and swept a doubleheader on Thursday, August 23. Brad Harman had three hits and five RBIs to lead the Threshers to a 12-7 win in Game One. Freddy Garcia made a rehab start and gave up just two hits in three innings. Game Two was much closer, with the Threshers winning by a score of 3-2. Brad Harman was two for two, while Jason Donald had two RBIs. John Suomi provided the rest of the offense with a solo home run (2).

The Threshers traveled back to Dunedin on Friday, August 24 and were beat 6-5 despite two home runs from Brian Burgamy (5) and a blast from Jason Donald (8). Lou Marson and Jake Blalock each also had two hits on the night.

Rain was an issue on the Threshers trip to Ft. Myers. The Threshers ended up playing one game on Sunday and two on Monday. The Threshers lost on Sunday, August 26 by a score of 3-1 despite Zac Stott's four strikeouts in five innings and Jeremy Slayden's RBI double.

The Threshers swept the Miracle in a doubleheader on Monday, August 27. Matt Thayer and Brian Burgamy provided the offense to lead the Threshers to a 9-2 win. Thayer was three for four with two runs scored while Burgamy was two for four and hit his sixth home run of the year. He also had three RBIs in the game. Andrew Carpenter picked up his record-breaking 16th win in Game Two by throwing a seven-inning perfect game. He struck out seven. Brad Harman provided all the offense with an RBI double and his 12th HR of the year.

Quench your Thirst
Tomorrow is our last Thirsty Thursday of 2007. Thirsty Thursday, where all drinks are 2 for 1.

Silver Sharks Club Meets Tomorrow
Tomorrow is the last Silver Sharks Night of the 2007 season. Seniors 55 and over receive 2 for 1 Senior Field Box tickets on Thursdays. That's 2 tickets for just $4.


Special Thursday Giveaway
Bright House Networks is sponsoring the Threshers replica jersey giveaway on Thursday, August 30. The first 1,500 fans through the gates will get this great item!


Bonus Baseball
Due to heavy rains in our region throughout the month of July and August, we are playing a doubleheader here against the Lakeland Flying Tigers on Friday, August 31 and Saturday, September 1. They are seven-inning games. Game 1 on both nights will now start at 5:00pm with Game 2 scheduled to start approximately 30 minutes after the completion of Game 1.

Playoff Picture
The Threshers are still chasing that elusive playoff berth and have it in sight.

Current Standings
The Dunedin Blue Jays (41-24) stand atop the West Division. The Threshers (38-25) are two games back, while the Tampa Yankees (38-26) are just a half game behind the Threshers.

Remaining Schedule (number of games left in parentheses)
Clearwater (7) - The Threshers face Dunedin on Wednesday and Thursday. Lakeland comes in on Friday for five games in three days to close the regular season.

Dunedin (5) - See above. They close with three home games against Ft. Myers.

Tampa (6) - They travel to Lakeland on Wednesday and Thursday. They close their season with four games in three days at Sarasota.

Playoff Schedule
The first round of the playoffs will pit the winner of the first half (Sarasota) with the winner of the second half. The second half winner will host Game One which is scheduled for Tuesday, September 4. Sarasota will host Game Two on Wednesday, September 5 and Game Three on Thursday, September 6 (if necessary).

Bonus Baseball Tonight

Game Time: 5:00pm (Game 1)      Gates Open: 4:30pm

Tonight's Lineup
Game 2 - Burgamy, CF; Harman, 2B; Thayer, LF; Slayden, RF; Blalock, DH; Donald, SS, Suomi, C; Harris, 1B; Made, 3B

Villarreal is the starting pitcher

Dollar Dogs
Got a buck? Get a hot dog.

Happy Hour
Drop by Frenchy's Tiki Pavilion tonight and take advantage of some great drink specials. Ladies drink free from 5:00pm-6:00pm.

Road Trip Recap
The Threshers and Flying Tigers finally were able to get a game in at Lakeland and it just happened to be a doubleheader.

Zac Stott threw five shutout innings on the way to a 5-0 Threshers victory in Game 1. Six Threshers batters had two hits in the game, and Clay Harris hit his ninth home run of the season.

J.J. Trujillo pitched three innings in relief and was credited with the victory. Jake Blalock had two hits in Game 1, but was the lone Threshers batter who didn't get a hit in Game 2. John Suomi (1) and John Urick (10) both had sixth inning home runs en route to the 6-2 win.

Quench your Thirst
Tomorrow is a Thirsty Thursday where all drinks are 2 for 1.

Silver Sharks Club Meets Tomorrow
Tomorrow is a Silver Sharks Night. Seniors 55 and over receive 2 for 1 Senior Field Box tickets on Thursdays. That's 2 tickets for just $4.

Bonus Baseball
Due to heavy rains in our region throughout the month, we are playing a doubleheader here against the Flying Tigers on Wednesday, August 15 and Friday, August 31. The third game is TBD. They are seven-inning games. Game 1 on August 15 and August 31 will now start at 5:00pm with Game 2 scheduled to start approximately 30 minutes after the completion of Game 1.

Roster Update

It's been a few days since our last roster update.

Here are the recent transactions:

June 23
Nic Jackson placed on the DL.

June 25
Arlon Quiroz sent to the GCL Phillies.

June 26
Javon Moran sent to Reading.

Cory Willey promoted to Reading.

Alex Concepcion promoted from Lakewood.

Shaun Boyd signed as a minor league free agent.

John Suomi acquired in a trade with Washington.

Some background on our new players:

Alex Concepcion - Concepcion is a 6'1" 180lb right-handed pitcher from the Dominican Republic. He signed with the Phillies in 2003 and spent his first two professional seasons in the Dominican Summer League with Guanuma. He played for the GCL Phillies in Clearwater in 2005 and with Batavia in 2006. Prior to his promotion, he spent the 2007 season coming out of the bullpen for Lakewood. He was 3-1 with a 3.83 ERA and 44 strikeouts in 40 innings.

Shaun Boyd - Boyd is a 5'10" 175lb outfielder from Las Vegas. A former first round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals, Boyd spent seven years in their minor league system starting with Johnson City (Rookie) in 2000 to Memphis (Triple-A) in 2006. The Cardinals released him after the 2006 season. Prior to his signing with the Phillies, he had been playing for the Bridgeport Bluefish of the indepedent Atlantic League. He leaves the Bluefish with a .345 batting average and an active 11-game hitting streak.

John Suomi - Suomi is a 5'11" 199lb catcher from Toronto. He played his college ball in Canada at Caribou University-College in British Columbia. He was drafted by the A's in the 22nd round of the 2000 draft. By 2004, he had risen as high high as Modesto (Single-A) where he was a California League All-Star. His career came to crashing halt when he suffered a major knee injury during a play at the plate during the playoffs. The injury caused him to miss the entire 2005 season. By 2006 he was back in Single-A in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Prior to the trade between Philadelphia and Washington, he had been splitting the season between Harrisburg (Double-A) and Columbus (Triple-A).