Former Thresher Kyle Kendrick focus of Philly Inquirer story

Former Thresher Kyle Kendrick is the focus of this story from Philadelphia Inquirer columnist, Jim Salisbury.

In the story, Salisbury describes Kendrick's decision to play professional baseball instead of being a quarterback at a major college football program like Washington State. Kendrick could have been in the same class of QBs as Dennis Dixon (Oregon), Colt Brennan (Hawaii), and Brian Brohm (Louisville). Instead, he's now pitching in the thick of the playoff race and shooting for his 10th win of the season tonight against the Atlanta Braves. The Braves are starting future Hall of Famer John Smoltz.

Throughout the story, Salisbury describes Kendrick's path to the big leagues including a decision made by Kendrick while he was a member of the Clearwater Threshers that may have led to his current success on the big league mound.

Read Jim Salisbury's whole column here.

Updated at 2:50pm: Kendrick will be signing autographs at the first Phillies “All-Star Ladies Night” pre-game party at Citizens Bank Park. The event is set for tomorrow (Friday). For more information or to order tickets visit www.phillies.com/allstarladiesnight.

Updated at 10:50am on 9/28/07: The Phillies are now tied with the Mets on top of the division as Kendrick picked up his 10th win of the season. He now leads all NL rookies in wins and has a 7-1 record at home.

Jim Salisbury covers the Phillies Minor League System

Philadelphia Inquirer writer Jim Salisbury takes a look at the whole Phillies minor league system in this article on Philly.com.

Many current Threshers such as Jason Donald and Josh Outman are mentioned, and former Threshers Mike Zagurski and Patrick Overholt are also among those with ties to the Threshers who were discussed.

Check out the rest of the names at the whole article here.

Former Thresher Tim Moss released by Phillies

Was just reading Todd Zolecki's Phillies Notes column from the Philadelphia Inquirer from April 3rd and saw that former Thresher Tim Moss has been released from the Phillies organization.

Moss spent the entire 2005 season as well as half of the 2006 season with the Threshers before getting called up to Reading (AA).

Updated just a few minutes later: I completely forgot to post the good news in that same article. It's old news now, but in case you missed it, former Thresher Joe Bisenius was added to the Phillies 25-man roster.

Media reaction from John Vukovich's funeral

John Vukovich's funeral took place yesterday at St. Andrew the Apostle Roman Catholic Church. Hundreds of people from all over the baseball world were in attendance. Threshers GM John Timberlake and Assistant GM Dan McDonough made the trip from Clearwater, and a number of former Threshers were also there.

Jim Salisbury of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Ken Mandel of MLB.com each have stories about it. You can find Jim Salisbury's story at the Wilkes Barre Times-Leader web site here. Ken Mandel's story on MLB.com can be found here.

Media reaction from Happ's start yesterday

Michael Radano from CourierPostOnline.com got these quotes from J.A. Happ:

"I'm happy to get the opportunity, but unfortunately it didn't work out," said Happ, who allowed six runs, all earned in two-plus innings in the Phillies' 6-6 tie. "I'm a realistic guy, maybe almost to a fault where maybe I look negatively on things. At the same time, my goal is to make an impression. If there's any shot, whether it's in the bullpen or wherever, I want to stay with the club. I'm hoping to stay here for as long as I can. Hopefully, I'll put my name on the radar."

Read his whole story here.

The AP has this story on the wire:

After two impressive outings in spring training, manager Charlie Manuel and pitching coach Rich Dubee wanted to get a better look at Happ, a tall, lanky left-hander who doesn't throw appreciably hard - his fastball hovers a tick above or below 90 mph - yet he strikes out batters like a power pitcher (162 strikeouts in 160 2-3 innings last season).

"We're going to watch him and see what we think of him," Manuel said. "We have interest in him. The brass says that he misses bats, so that's a good sign."

Happ's start against the Astros didn't go so well. After a relatively smooth opening two innings, he didn't get an out in the third, as four hits and a walk led to five runs.

You can read the whole story via the Biloxi Sun-Herald here.

Marcus Hayes from PhillyNews.com also had a story that can be found here via the Wilkes Barre Times-Leader.

Todd Zolecki from the Philadelphia Inquirer had this story.

Jon Lieber is coming to Clearwater

but is he going to get a rehab start with the Threshers?

Todd Zolecki of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports in his article today (via the Times-Leader) that Phillies pitcher Jon Lieber is supposed to be flying to Clearwater tonight to make a rehab start tomorrow with the GCL Phillies. The same article says that he should start for the Threshers on June 27th, which would be over at Legends Field in Tampa.

I have heard that Lieber is going supposed to see action tomorrow night for the GCL Phillies. That game is scheduled for a 7:00pm start and will be taking place at Bright House Networks Field. There is no charge for Gulf Coast League games. No word yet on whether or not he will rehab with the Threshers at a later date.

Mathieson to make Major League Debut

The Philadelphia Inquirer speculated earlier, but now it's been made official.

Former Threshers' pitcher Scott Mathieson is being promoted from Reading (AA) to Philadelphia to start on Saturday. The roster move should occur tomorrow sometime prior to the game on Saturday.

The Threshers Official Site should have a release up shortly has a release up now.

Updated 6/15/06 at 10:30am: More news outlets have stories about Scott today. Here is the note from the Philadelphia Inquirer (via the Times-Leader). MLB.com has a longer story here. The Scranton Times-Tribune had this to say. The Allentown Morning Call also had something about Scott. We'll wrap up this linkfest with the Delaware News-Journal.

Randy Wolf ok after being hit on knuckles

We received a scare last night when Phillies pitcher Randy Wolf was knocked out of the game early after being hit on the hand by a batted ball. It happened in the third inning of the first game of the doubleheader between the Threshers and the Miracle.

According to a Philadelphia Inquirer story, he was taken to Morton Plant Hospital (Clearwater) and received X-rays which came back ok.
Updated 4:21pm According to Phillies officials, his next rehab start was scheduled for 6/18. That has now been pushed back to a date to be determined later.

This same story also speculates that former Thresher Scott Mathieson might be brought up to Philadelphia from Reading (AA) to start on Saturday. The Phillies rotation has been hit hard by injuries over the last month or so and is waiting for Jon Lieber and Randy Wolf to get healthy again.