OUA Baseball Finals – Game 2
Vs.
After Brock dropping the first game of the best of 3 series at home, the OUA baseball finalshifted to LondonforGame2 and Game 3 vs. old rival WesternMustangs(if necessary).
To start off, I will give you a Game 1 recap. This game was over before it began really, with Western starting tall righthander Sean Grimes. Some of you might remember Sean as being a 6th round draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays and pitching vs. a young Jeremy Bonderman in the 3 Nations Cup back in 2000 (and winning). This year he sports a 0.83 ERA. Brock was able to light up Western’s reliever Andrew Bergman late in the game, but it was too little, too late. Now on to Game 2 at London’s famed Labatt Memorial Park.
It was a beautiful day for baseball with a game time temperature of 25C and not a cloud in the sky. Brock’s ace, LHP Nathan Penrose toed the rubber against Western RHP Jon Rubin.
Penrose was sharp from the get-go, mixing speeds and levels well while being able to reach back and throw heat when he needed to. I was quite impressed. He got stronger as the game went on and his curve missed many bats.
Things were quiet for the most part until the 5th when Brock scraped together a rally. With runners on first and third and one out, Rubin pulled out a classic Hentgen-esque fake to third throw to first and was able to pick off Jeremy Fernandez. Brock’s Coach Lounsbury was visibly incensed, screaming “Jesus!” and throwing his hat down while kicking a helmet. With that, the rally was killed.
In the 6th, Western laid down consecutive sac bunts and Penrose fielded them both cleanly. In the home half of the inning (Brock in this game – don’t ask why) Rubin tired and lost his control. Western brought in an LHP named Jeff Edmonson. He was none too impressive, an above average fastball yet flat and straight. Brock was able to capitalize with an RBI from Jeff Gruchy.
In the 7th inning Penrose looked like he was beginning to tire but he gutted it out by making his pitches when he needed to. In the home half, Western began to crumble in the form of third baseman Alexander Carducci. He made at least 3 errors in the inning allowing Brock to score and load the bases. Edmonson was replaced by Matt Grasby, who had control issues and walked in a run.
In the 8th, defensive liability Alexander Carducci was replaced by Brad Hill.
Penrose managed to record one out in the ninth before walking the bases loaded. TC Murray came on in relief of Penrose and prompty walked in a run. No worries though as Murray strikes out the next hitter, closing out the first game of the double dip with a win for Brock, 4-2.
How can Grimes be eligable to play in the OUA? He must have had to sign a professional contract when drafted and did play in some RK games?
Here are his stats: http://minors.baseball-reference.com/players.cgi?pid=21216
Looks like he might have lost a year due to injury? Looks like Pulaski cut him loose after a brief stint. He might have been a draft and follow type.
Wait, what I just said made no sense. Perhaps playing in the minors/rookie league isn’t considered professional?
I know that NCAA football players get their milb on, although I’m not sure if they are drafter and/or paid. I assume that Grimes was paid.
CIS allows players who play professionally to reenter the amateur ranks. However, they have to sit out one scholastic year between the end of their pro career and the start of their univerity sporting career. This happens occasionally with hockey players.
That’s a joke. Canadian amateur’s are already at a lower talent level on average (otherwise they’d get a free ride in the states). Having an ex-professional come in seems unfair to me.
I believe the CIS is underrated (at least in the hockey world) which this rule is made to protect. Major Junior hockey clubs can make big $$ of amatuer players (see Lon, Ott, Cgy, Van, Sea, Port, Halifax and many others) they attract better players than they did 15 years ago by saying they will pay their way in any post secondary venture. Of course NCAA still considers Maj Junior a pro league. Therefore, graduates of Canadian Maj Junior who do not go to the pros can go play 4 more years in CIS hockey and get an education for free after trying to make the NHL as a jr. However, some guys try to grind out a living in the CHL, ECHL, AHL etc and never really make it, quit hockey at 25yrs old and then go back to CIS, sit out a year. I like the rule but I would assume it only benefits the quality of CIS hockey. As for baseball, all Canadians go to NCAA as it is. I cannot think of any draft picks from a Canadian high school since the 1970s..
I agree with the OHL kinda stuff, as that’s not really a professional league were one can maintain a living.
On the other hand, signing to a major league club, even on a minor league contract, is a professional commitment in my eyes. The only technicality that I would allow is signing with an independent league or milb independent team.
Your technicality is the norm. It is not uncommon for such things to happen. I am not aware of any players who played in the NHL, sat out a season, then played CIS. The vast majority of these cases play in the ECHL or CHL or UHL etc then go to college.
What about a player that has been drafted by an NHL club, signed a contract, never appeared in a pro game? Somewhat like what Grimes has done.
Wow, that is pretty obscure and specific Did he play for Pulaski? Is Pulaski pro? I cannot give you an anwser, maybe he is ineligible and his club should be disqualified, do we have something here?
I don’t think there’s too much to it.
Whatever Rk league club that he played for, I would have to venture to say that he is a pro if, A) he signed a pro contract upon being drafted and B) the team that he played for was 100% affiliated to a proffesional club (ie no indepents).
I doubt the rules see it that way.
I am not sure what you are inferring here. Are you trying to say that some rule has been broken? I am no expect in this field and I just know that the CIS has such a rule in place. I do not know the ins and outs of this rule. And I can’t see there would be a difference for him playing on an affiliated or unaffiliated team. I would assume this rule recognises professionalism as professionalism and may only make consession for very low or very high levels of play.
No broken rules here. I just feel that it creates an unfair playing field for some Canadian teams to be grabbing Ex-pros. As i’ve said earlier, the talent level isn’t all that high to begin with (otherwise they’d be in a junior college or NCAA 1A on a free ride), this would help to create an even higher unbalance.