Clemens and Ori were charged with disorderly conduct and Goethals with assault and battery. All three were taken to the Roanoke County-Salem Jail before being released on bond, according to a news release from the Salem police….The release does not describe any of the events leading to the arrests. It states only that Clemens and Ori were arrested on the scene and that Goethals was charged “after an employee of the restaurant obtained a warrant for his arrest” from the Roanoke County/Salem magistrate’s office.

As for the team’s play this year, Jordan Parraz had this to say to sum it all up.

“We all wish we could be on a winning team,” Parraz said. “But we just didn’t have the players or the talent or the chemistry or whatever.”

This is not to say that there weren’t memorable times in Salem.  Here is one of the funniest stories of the Astros’ time in Salem.

Who could forget back in 2003 when Houston Astros’ farmhand Todd Self, frustrated by a bad at-bat, slammed the dugout bathroom door shut so hard that he locked himself in?

“I was hollering [for help] and they were laughing at me,” Self reported at the time.

Self was stuck in that bathroom at Kinston’s Grainger Stadium so long he actually needed a fielder to take over for him at first base and wasn’t freed until after the game ended.

So let’s see how the last Astros farmhands faired in Salem.

The Good

The Hitters

Salem was second in the league in On Base Percentage (.327) and also had the second most hits (1221).  They were third in triples (36) and doubles (294).

Mark Ori, who made the post season all star team, was third in the league with a .304 average. His OPS was 9th best (.824).  Ori’s OBP was ranked 6th (.374).  Ori had the most hits of anyone in the league (151).  He also registered tied for third most doubles (32).  Ori also was in the top three of RBI with 89.  He was #4 in total bases with 224.  His slugging percentage was a team best .451 but was only tied for 13th best in the league.

Jordan Parraz, who joined Ori on the All Star team, tied for the third highest On Base Percentage (.399).  He finished 4th in runs scored (82).  He took 64 walks which placed him 7th in the league.  His 21 steals lead the team but placed him tied for 11th in the league.

Jimmy Van Ostrand finished with the 9th highest average (.292)

Koby Clemens reached base enough for his OBP to register at #9 (.369).  He tied for 10th most triples with 5.  He also took 61 walks for 9th most.

Jhon Florintino had his best year yet, knocking out 131 hits which placed him at #10 in the league.  He tied for 7th with six triples.

Tim Torres was also tied for third most doubles (36).  He walked 62 times for 8th most.

Greg Buchanan tied for 10th most triples with 5.

The Pitchers

Douglas Arguello finished with 10 wins (T-5th) and an ERA of 3.30 (3rd). His WHIP was 10th best (1.32)

Chris Salamida finished with 11 saves which placed him 5th most.

Erick Abreu struck out 92 batters to lead the team (17th in the league)

The Bad

The Hitters

The power wasn’t in Salem this year.  They finished next to last in homers (68), slugging (.377) and OPS (.704).  Their plate discipline also left something to be desired.  The finished 3rd worst in walks (452) and strike outs (966).  They also had the second fewest stolen bases (103)

Ceasar Quintero fanned 105 times which tied him for 7th most.

Jordan Parraz’s 10 caught stealings tied him for 10th most.

Fielding

John Florentino lead the team with 21 errors but he only made one after July 18th according to the local paper.

Koby Clemens allowed 31 passed balls in his first year as a catcher.

The Pitchers

The pitching staff struggled for most of the year save for a few bright spots.  Their ERA ranked next to last (4.61).  They gave up the second most hits, runs and earned runs.  They allowed too many free passes.  They finished with the third most hit batters (71) and walks (482).  They were dead last in strike outs with only 760 in 1227 1/3 innings pitched.  They were 43 K’s behind the nearest team.  Their WHIP was next to last.

Cory Bass lead the league with 15 losses in 27 games.  He surrendered 166 hits (2nd), 110 runs (1st) and 96 earned runs (1st).  He tied for 4th most Hit Batters (10)

David Qualbin had 11 losses (T-5th).  He plunked 9 batters tying him for 8th most.  He was tied for 10th most walks (48)

Erick Abreu surrendered 141 hits (10th)

Douglas Arguello tied for 4th most Hit Batters (10) and lead the league in most walks (69).

The Crowd

Salem finished 4th in attendance with a total gate of 235,832 for an average attendance of 3417.

The Future

Where do we go from here?

“Realistically, we’re going to have to go through the process of trying to find another affiliate, preferably in that league,” Astros assistant general manager Ricky Bennett said. “We won’t know if one is available until after the season.”…“The only other option is the California League, but our first choice is to stay in the (Carolina) League,” Bennett said.

The Good:

The Hitters

As a team, Salem tied for 2nd with 190 doubles and ranks 3rd in total hits and walks.

Mark Ori is ranked 4th in average (.314), 8th in OBP (.391), 2nd in hits (96), tied for 3rd in doubles (24) and he leads the league with 59 RBI. He is tied for 7th with 137 total bases.

Jordan Parraz leads the league in runs scored (65). He has the 3rd most hits (93) and 9th most total bases (136). He has taken the 4th most walks and is tied for the 4th most stolen bases. His .400 OBP is good for 6th and his .296 average is good for 10th.

Tim Torres’ 22 doubles is good for a tie for 6th best. He the 10th most walks taken (38).

Koby Clemens has fallen out of the league leaders except for triples where his 4 is good for a tie for 6th.

The Pitchers

Salem’s pitchers have tossed 5 shutouts which is tied for 2nd most in the league. Not much else to brag about here.

Douglas Arguello is 4th in ERA with 3.04

Erick Abreu is 8th in ERA with 3.30

Bryan Hallberg has 5 saves which puts him in a tie for 8th most.

Casey Hudspeth leads the league in innings pitched with 100 even.

The Bad:

The Hitters

Salem is at the bottom of most of the power stats. They are next to last in HR (36) and third from the bottom in slugging. They have struck out 603 times which is the 3rd most. The most surprising bad stat is OBP where their .322 is next to last in the league. That combined with their poor slugging percentage puts them next to last in OPS.

Cesar Quintero has 72 K’s are the 7th most.

Jordan Parraz has been caught stealing 7 times (26 attempts) which puts him in a tie for 8th most.

The Pitchers

There is plenty to talk about here. Salem has given up the 2nd most hits, runs, and earned runs. They have the 3rd highest ERA, hit batters, walks and WHIP.

Cory Bass has taken the most losses with 10. He given up the 2nd most hits in the league (106). He has also given up the most runs (73) and earned runs (60)

Casey Hudspeth has given up the 3nd most hits (104). He has given up the 9th most runs (53) and is tied for 9th most earned runs (44). His 6 hit batters tie him for 6th most.

David Qualben has been tagged with 9 losses (2nd). He has gave up the 8th most runs (54). Only 27 of the runs were earned (Tie -7th). His 5 HR surrendered places him in a tie for 9th most.

Chris Salamida’s 11 HR surrendered places him in a tie for 2nd most.

Erick Abreu’s 6 hit batters tie him for 6th most.

Douglas Arguello’s 6 hit batters tie him for 6th most. His 35 walks puts gives him the 7th most.

Joel Santo’s 31 walks ties him for 9th most.

The Crowd

Salem is drawing an average of 3135 fans a night which is 4th most in the league. However, in Salem’s cavernous 6300 seat stadium, that means the stadium is half full every night.

First Base

Spikesnstars.com – We would like to give our readers a sense of where you came from and how you got to where you are now. Please describe for our readers your journey to land behind the mic in Corpus Christi. Specifically other teams you have called for and any other work if applicable away from the mic that may have helped lead you to your current role.

Jason Benetti – This is my second year with the Avalanche. I made it to the Roanoke Valley after spending a season as the number-two announcer for the Syracuse (Sky)Chiefs of the AAA International League. Prior to that, I was the play-by-play announcer for the independent Windy City ThunderBolts of the Frontier League.

In the baseball offseason, I am the play-by-play announcer for men’s basketball at High Point University in North Carolina. I also am the studio host for Florida State football and basketball through a company called ISP Sports.

Second Base

SnS.com – Following up on that what in your opinion are the best and worst parts of broadcasting minor league baseball games?

Benetti – The best part for me is the opportunism that comes along with it. When one pitcher struggles, it gives another the chance to improve on his technique, strategy and, thus, statistics. It’s also the most pure sport when it comes to perfect information. I get to see these guys compete 140 times. This gives me a vast set of knowledge about how the players like to attack certain situations.

The worst part about calling baseball in the minors, to me, is watching players that I truly hope will go far not be able to. Having “nice guys finish last” play out in front of one’s own eyes is rather depressing.

Third Base

SnS.com – Can you describe some of your most memorable moments behind the mic in your career? Also which ballplayers were your favorite to call and why?

Benetti – I don’t know if you can even refer to my stint in baseball as a career, what with it spanning all of three years. My favorite moment isn’t necessarily a moment at all…..last April, Mitch Einertson hit well below .200. Four months later, the league was in grave trouble every time he stepped to the plate. Mitch came a hit shy of the batting title in the league last year. It was an inspiring tale. I understand the word “inspiring” sounds trite, but I’ve had a player come up to me this season after April and say he was going to try to be this year’s Mitch.

As far as favorite players to call goes, I really enjoyed the team speed we had in Salem in the first half last season. Watching the carousel of Josh Flores, Wladimir Sutil, Eli Iorg and the like was great.

If I had to pick one player from the mound and plate, though, I’d say Tommy Manzella and Brad James. Tommy was a statistically average hitter in Salem, but some of his at-bats, to my eye and others’, were of a caliber well above the Carolina League. His defense was impeccable, too. I’d be shocked if he wasn’t, simply by brute hard work, a Major-Leaguer.

Pitchers are sometimes, in a derogatory way, referred to as “adventures” on the mound. With as positive of a light I can shine, Brad James was an adventure. Players would find ways to get on base against him, only to be left with their hands at their sides on the path when the inning ended. He had fun with the game.

Heading for Home

SnS.com – Finally, as The Bus Ride highlights Astros prospects we would like to know one pitcher and one position player who you have seen this year that stands out. We’d like to know in your view those players’ strengths and areas for improvement.

Benetti – On the mound, Polin Trinidad was superb when he was here. Every five days, the Avalanche was guaranteed to be in the ball game, it seemed. Also, in his three months or so with the team this year and last, I did not see him display any “bad body language” on the mound. That’s huge for coaches in a league like this one (and overall).

Position-player-wise, Jimmy Van Ostrand has worked very hard on some technical things with hitting coach Keith Bodie and has reaped the benefits. He’s just finished an 11-game hit streak during which he drove in nearly half of the runs he’s plated this year. He’s played both at first and in left this season and has not been a liability at all in either location.

You can hear the Avs games on line via MILB.com or at SalemAvalanche.com. Spikesnstars.com would like to thank Jason Benetti for the interview.

The Good:

The Hitters

As a team, Salem leads the league with 120 doubles. The 20 foot tall outfield fences at Salem Memorial might have something to do with that. Salem is 3rd in total hits and in walks taken.

Mark Ori is ranked in a tie for 4th in most RBI (30). Ori is currently 6th in OBP (.392) and 10th for batting average (.289). He is tied for 9th in runs scored (28) and is tied for 10th in most hits (48). His 13 doubles place him in a big pack tied for 10th.

Koby Clemens is 7th in Slugging (.492) and tied for 7th in OBP (.388). Combine those two, and he is 7th in OPS (.880). His 13 doubles place him in a big pack tied for 10th. His 2 triples place him in a tie with 10 other Carolina Leaguers for 8th.

James Van Ostrand is 7th in most hits (50) and is tied for 4th most RBI (30).

Tim Torres’ 15 doubles is good for a tie for 4th best. He is tied for the 7th most walks taken (24).

Jhon Florintino has two triples good enough for a tie for 8th.

Orlando Rosales, although called up to Corpus Christi, still ranks in a tie for 6th most doubles (14)

Jordan Parraz leads the league in runs scored (35). He has taken the 6th most walks (28) and is tied for 6th most stolen bases.

The Pitchers

Salem’s pitchers have tossed 4 shutouts which is tied for 2nd most in the league. They have surrendered 26 homer runs, the third fewest in the league. They have only allowed 144 walks, good for 2nd fewest in the league.

Polin Trinidad’s 4 wins is good for a tie for 6th most and his 2.32 ERA is good for 4th. His WHIP (0.92) places him in a tie for 3rd best.

The Bad:

The Hitters

Salem’s OPS is the next to last in the Carolina League (.681). Their 15 HR are also next to last in the league.

Cesar Quintero has 45 K’s which ties him for 7th most.

Jhon Florentino has been caught stealing 6 times (13 attempts) for 5th most.

The Pitchers

The Avs pitchers have only struck out 276 batters which is the worst tally in the league. They have hit 28 batters which is the 3rd most. They have surrendered 443 hits, the second most.

Cory Bass has given up the most hits in the league (66). He has also given up the most runs (38 – tied). However, only 27 of those runs are earned which drops him to a tie for 7th most.

Casey Hudspeth has given up the 2nd most hits (62). He is tied for 7th most runs (33).

David Qualben gave up 38 runs which ties him for most and earned him a trip down to Lexington. Only 27 of the runs were earned (Tie -7th). His 5 HR surrendered places him in a tie for 9th most.

Chris Salamida’s 6 HR surrendered places him in a tie for 5th most.

Erick Abreu’s 5 HR surrendered places him in a tie for 9th most.

Douglas Arguello has hit 5 batters (Tie – 4th). His 20 walks given up are the 9th most issued.

Josh Appell has given 19 free passes tying him for the 10th most.

The Crowd

Salem is drawing an average of 2828 fans a night which is 5th most in the league. However, in Salem’s cavernous 6300 seat stadium, that crowd must appear smaller.

The Good

Hitting

The Avalanche lead the league with 205 hits, 57 of which are doubles which also leads the league. The team is ranked 2nd with a .252 average, 299 total bases and 93 RBI. The Avs are also tied for 2nd in runs scored (105). They are 3rd in OBP (.325) & OPS (.692).

Mark Ori is the offensive star so far this season, he leads the league with 18 RBI. He is tied for 5th in homers with 3. Ori is ranked 5th with a .909 OPS. His .402 OBP and his .507 slugging are the 6th best in the league. He is tied for 6th in total bases (38). Mark is currently ranked 7th with his .307 average. Ori is tied for 8th most runs scored (14) and most hits (23).

Jordan Parraz leads the league with 19 runs scored. He is tied for 5th with 3 round trippers. Jordan has the 8th most total bases (37). Jordan also has the 8th best OPS (.882). He is 9th in most walks (12). His Slugging (.493) and OBP (.389) are also good for 9th.

Tim Torres is tied for 3rd most doubles with 8. He is tied for 7th in RBI with 14 and also in most BB (13).

Wlad Sutil is tied for 5th most runs scored (15). He is tied for 7th most steals (6).

Orlando Rosales is tied for 5th most doubles with 7.

Jhon Florentino is tied for 4th with 2 triples.

Pitchers:

Polin Trinidad, is the sole bright spot for the Avs pitching staff. He leads the league in innings pitched (31). He is 4th in WHIP (0.84). He is 6th in ERA (1.74)
The Bad

Hitters

Cesar Quintero has fanned 25 times which ties him for 3rd most in the league.

Pitchers

As a team, the Avs have surrendered the most hits in the league (216) and have struck out the fewest batters (131). Those result lead to the worst WHIP (1.40). They have surrendered the second most runs (116) and earned runs (94)

Casey Hudspeth has surrendered the most hits (34). He has given up the 2nd most runs (19) and is tied for most earned runs (16). He is tied for 6th most walked batters (12).

David Qualben has given up the most runs (20) and earned runs (19). He is tied for surrendering the 3rd most hits (28)

Cory Bass is tied for surrendering the 7th most hits (26). He is tied for 6th most runs (16) but only 7 are earned.

Chris Salamida is tied for surrendering the 9th most hits (25). He has given up the 5th most runs (17). He tied for giving up the 4th most earned runs (15). He is tied for the most homers surrendered (4).

Douglas Arguello is tied for 10th most walks surrendered (9).

Of course Koby Clemens is highlighted because he sells tickets and papers. Other new players of note are:

Jordan Parraz
Jimmy Van Ostrand
Jhon Florentino (article notes had 27 errors last year, most on team but has played an errorless spring)
Jason Dominguez makes the jump from Tri Cities
David Qualben
Josh Appell – acquired in the trade for Ralphie Henriquez and pitched in the NYPL last year.

Notable repeats are:
Wlad Sutil
Polin Trinadad
Cesar Quintero
Raymar Diaz – who is moving to the bullpen

Notable names not mentioned:
Bud Norris – who may make the jump to AA
Sergio Severino – who may repeat Lexington

Quotes of note:

On Parraz- “Pankovits said, “has a lot of tools. He’s a tool box.” Pankovits said will play mostly center and right fields to take advantage of his “absolute cannon” of an arm.”

On Clemens – “He’s getting better every day,” Pankovits said. “Obviously he has a ways to go, but I like his enthusiasm. He seems to work at it. He’s been swinging the bat well this spring, and hopefully that will help him with his catching.

“He’s got a huge challenge ahead of him, but I wouldn’t bet against him.”

Quote

“The big thing for me is that he and I are getting back together,” Ruby said. “It’s kind of a nice little reunion for us. We respect each other tremendously.”

Wade, a Carbondale native, and Ruby have been friends ever since Ruby worked with Wade in the Phillies organization. Ruby joined the Phillies in 1998 when Wade was the team’s general manager. Ruby went on to serve as Triple-A pitching coach, minor league pitching coordinator and minor league director before leaving for the Pirates in 2002.

Quote

“It’s a disappointing finish to a really good season,” said Salem manager Jim Pankovits

“It’s sad,” said Salem shortstop Wladimir Sutil.  “I got on base, but we didn’t hit to score runs,” Sutil said. “[Monday] we had 15 hits and only four runs. You cannot win that way.”

Wlad Sutil was impressive in the lead off spot going 4-5 with 2 RBI and a SB.

The turning point in the game may have been the 8th inning when the following occurred as reported by the Roanoke Times:

Quote

Salem was down 5-2 going into the bottom of the eighth when Pat Osborn and Cesar Quintero singled and Justin Tellam walked to load the bases. Tellam was replaced by pinch-runner Greg Buchanan. Orlando Rosales struck out; then Sutil singled to bring in two runs.

Hart, who went 2-for-5, struck out. Einertson, who went 3-for-5 with an RBI, singled to left field. Buchanan raced for home but was thrown out at the plate by left fielder Chris Amador.

Pankovits vigorously argued that Buchanan was safe, but to no avail.

“I didn’t think it was going to be close,” Pankovits said. “I turned my attention to Sutil to get him to third as the go-ahead run. … I turned back, and he was called out.

“I thought he was safe.”
Polin Trinadad takes the mound tonight hoping to extend the series to game 5.