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Senior Captain Shortstop Brett Korporal looks to lean the Lions in 2009.

 The Patten University Lions are looking forward to the start of their fourth season since the school resurrected the sport of baseball, after a six year hiatus, in the 2005-06 season. Plagued by rain and intense competition, the Lion’s finished the season with a 7-32 record. After the Lion’s finished their first season, Head Coach Darin Wright set out to turn the program around. In the Lion’s 2006-07 season, led by a strong offense and a more experienced pitching staff, the Lion’s improved their record to 25-23, earning them the right to a berth into the NAIA Region II Playoffs. However, the Lions took a step back in the 2007-08 season as they finished with a lowly record of 11-42. But with some strong off-season recruiting, in addition to some incoming transfers and key returning players, the Lions look to build a winner in 2008-09 season.  They look to instill a winning attitude and a sense of responsibility, both aspects that were missing from last season’s squad. With a more experienced team: lineup and pitching staff, the Lions look to contend for a conference title and a possible berth to the NAIA World Series at Lewis-Clark State University in May. 

 Lions Projected Lineup for 2009:

1 Jeremy Wells 2B/Senior        .352 Avg. 3HR 15 RBI, 27 SB

2 Anthony Phillips LF/Junior .206 Avg. 1HR 5RBI, 4 SB

3 Deandre Walker 3B/ Senior  .215 Avg. 1HR 10RBI, 3 SB

4 Ryan Davis RF/Senior            No Stats in 2008

5 Luke Heil DH-Util./Junior  .150 Avg. 1HR 5RBI, 2 SB

6 Brian Peat 1B/Junior .304 Avg. 0HR 15RBI, 0SB

7 Max Burnett C/Junior .292 Avg. 0HR 19RBI, 1 SB

8 Phillip Gonzales CF/Junior  No Stats in 2008.

9 Brett Korporal SS/Senior  .208 Avg. 1HR 16RBI, 8 SB

Projected Rotation for 2009:

SP1 Chris Duke RHP/Senior

SP2 Kurtis Brown RHP/Senior

SP3 Larry Collins RHP/Soph.

SP4 Michael McCormack LHP/Soph.

SP5 Graig Whelan RHP/Senior

   Bullpen:

LRP6 Jay Beachom RHP/Junior

LRP7 Phillip Gonzales LHP/Junior

MRP8 Kevin Cheechov RHP/Junior

MRP9 Charlie Baker LHP/Senior

LRP10 Chris Berens RHP/Frosh

LRP11 Billy Moss RHP/Frosh

MRP12 Beau Delis RHP/Frosh

SU Brian Peat RHP/Junior

CL Joe Salazar RHP/Soph.

Patten University joins Cascade Collegiate Conference.

  Patten University Baseball will join the Cascade Collegiate Conference for the 2009 season.  The Cascade Collegiate Conference will consist of 9 teams, 2 divisions, and 1 independent team.  In the North Division, it will be: College of Idaho (Caldwell, ID), Concordia University (Portland, OR), Corban College (Salem, OR), and University of British Columbia (Kelowna, BC). In the South Division, it will be: Bethany University (Santa Cruz, CA), Oregon Institute of Technology (Klamath Falls, OR), Patten University (Oakland, CA), and Simpson University (Redding, CA). The independent team in the conference will be Cal State University-San Marcos (San Marcos, CA).

The top 4 teams out of the 9 teams in the CCC will square off in the Regionals, a three game playoff series each round.  The winner of the Regionals will advance to the NAIA World Series in Lewiston, Idaho at Lewis-Clark State University. 

The favorites to win the Cascade Collegiate Conference Championship and Regionals based on last year’s statistics and rankings, is College of Idaho (30-26), or Cal State University-San Marcos (22-16-1).

Only time will tell who the Final Four in the CCC will be. Let the games begin!

  With Thanksgiving Holidays coming up, the hot stove cools down and players, coaches, managers, general managers, etc. spend time with their families, but also each team is hoping their offers get accepted by the players they gave them to. For me, I am hoping the Giants make an aggressive run at C.C. Sabathia and furthermore empty their pockets out in getting Rafael Furcal, rather than Edgar Renteria, who is a cheaper alternative at short, but is few years older than Furcal. 

 Those are my wishes for the holidays. I want that workhorse Cy Young starter in C.C. Sabathia and that speedy Furcal, who would add another dimension to our lineup with his speed and feistiness and fulfill that leadoff role that we have been lacking since the likes of Darren Lewis.  This also would allow Randy Winn to move to the two hole, which gives us a solid 1,2 punch.  As I am enjoying the Turkey Dinner with my family, those things are on my mind. C.C. Sabathia and Rafael Furcal. I could care less about Manny Ramirez or Mark Teixeira, who are great players, but aren’t fits with the Giants.  Sabathia is a perfect fit, regardless if the Giants strength is their rotation. This move would increase payroll but it would allows us to trade one of our young pitchers Jonathan Sanchez or even the recent untouchable Matt Cain, who hasn’t had great numbers in the win-loss column with the Giants. However, we could trade either Sanchez or Cain to get another bat to add to our lineup, whether that player is J.J. Hardy or Prince Fielder of the Brewers or even Chris Davis of the Rangers. Either way, signing Sabathia may turn some heads, but it definitely gives the Giants arguably the best rotation in baseball and turns Giants from pretenders into contenders in the weak and inconsistent NL West.  So only time will tell, what future deals happen as the hot stove heats back up again after the holidays. 

Edgar Renteria hit .270 with 10 HR and 55 RBI’s in 2008.

   Edgar Renteria didn’t have a great year in 2008 and struggled for most of the year. However, if the Giants were to sign him, Renteria would fill a major hole in the infield for the Giants in 2009 and would be a major upgrade at shortstop.  And if Renteria can return to his old form when he was with the Braves in 2007, then Giants would be getting more than what they bargained for.  Renteria had a tremendous year in the National League with the Braves, hitting .332 with 12 HR and 57 RBI’s.

 Giants shortstops (Omar Vizquel, Emmanuell Burriss, and Ivan Ochoa) combined to hit only 1 HR and in the low .200 average in 2008.  So signing Renteria, would come cheaper than signing Rafael Furcal, and would allow Burriss to move to second base where he would fit nicely for the Giants there.  And Burriss would cost nothing than signing Orlando Hudson, who is an elite second baseman and will want a big contract, but is injury-prone and Burriss could put up similar numbers besides home runs and play slick defense there for the Giants at second base.  This move would also allow Kevin Frandsen, a leading candidate at second base, to move to his natural position at third base where he played in his college days at San Jose State. Frandsen is an interesting player to keep an eye on because he made some major strides at second base in 2007 and hot .270 with 5 HR’s and played some solid defense there and was ready to be the everyday second baseman over Ray Durham until an achilles tendon injury pretty much cost him the whole season in 2008 until the last game of the year. Frandsen could be the Giants third baseman in 2009, pending any deals through free agency or trades.  Pablo Sandoval, who is penciled in as the everyday first baseman for the Giants could move to third base if the Giants trade for a first baseman, like Prince Fielder.  So Renteria’s signing would fill a hole at short and allow the Giants to be more creative internally or via trade to fill their hole at one of the corner spots.  However, I feel if Giants get Renteria on board and win the bidding war for C.C. Sabathia, the Giants will be contenders in 2009 and be the undisputed favorite to win the NL West.  And with Sabathia on board like I said on a previous post would strengthen an already strong rotation and draw some serious fans and packed houses in 2009.  And your talking about a four-headed horse rotation full of Cy Youngs (Sabathia, Lincecum, Cain and Zito) and anchored by the Giants 2007 leader in wins in Noah Lowry (14 wins in 07′). Only time will tell what the Giants will look to do in 2009, either contend and continue their rebuilding or try to win it all.

C.C. Sabathia will most likely take a hometown discount to pitch for Giants in 2009.

         The San Francisco Giants already are busy this offseason. They have released players, such as pitchers Brad Hennessey, Tyler Walker, and Kevin Correia, to shed salary. Gone are infielders Rich Aurilia and Omar Vizquel’s salaries. Giants’ payroll last season was 77 million and currently sits at 57 million.  So far they have shedded 20 million off their books and look to spend this offseason and push their budget up to 80 million.  They just recently signed lefty reliever Jeremy Affeldt to a two-year deal worth 8 million (4 mil. annually) to help shore their inconsistent bullpen and help bridge the gap to closer Brian Wilson.  And Giants have their eyes set on C.C. Sabathia to strengthen their starting rotation even more, which could feature three Cy Youngs in Lincecum, Zito, and Sabathia.  Sources have said Giants will give an offer to Sabathia in the area of 6 years and 100-120 million (about 20 million annually). So their going to be aggressive and in the Yankees and some people’s eyes, it might seem like a hometown discount, but Sabathia wants to be in California and be in the National League, narrowing it down to the Giants and their rival Dodgers in Los Angeles.  But if Giants do sign Sabathia after Thanksgiving sometime, this will send an incredible buzz to San Francisco Fans that are still hungover over Lincecum winning the Cy Young that they might be thinking playoffs already.  But I cannot imagine a bigger Big Three than Sabathia, Lincecum, and Cain with Lowry and Zito anchoring the staff and rising studs Bumgarner and Alderson waiting in the wings in the minors. Meaning the Giants will trade Sanchez and some prospects (maybe Pucetas or Alderson) to the Brewers for Prince Fielder or J.J. Hardy.  Most likely J.J. Hardy depending if Giants don’t sign free agent shortstop Rafael Furcal or Edgar Renteria, who the Giants are currently negotiating contract numbers with.  Either way, Giants will be more improved next season and have some punch in the lineup. If Giants choose the free agency route and obtain a player like J.J. Hardy, then they might try to sign Orlando Hudson and move Kevin Frandsen, a leading candidate for second base to third base and implanting rookie sensation Pablo Sandoval as their everyday first baseman.  Well, I am looking forward to see what players Giants land through free agency or trade and can’t wait till the 2009 season begins and I am thinking division title for the Giants if Sabathia is on board.

My Projected lineup for the Giants in 2009:

C- Bengie Molina

1B- Pablo Sandoval

2B- Orlando Hudson or Emmanuel Burriss

3B- Kevin Frandsen

SS- J.J. Hardy or Edgar Renteria

LF- Fred Lewis

CF- Aaron Rowand

RF- Randy Winn

Projected Rotation:

SP1 C.C. Sabathia

SP2 Tim Lincecum

SP3 Matt Cain

SP4 Barry Zito

SP5 Noah Lowry or Tim Alderson

Bullpen:

RP Keiichi Yabu or Billy Sadler

RP Merkin Valdez

RP Alex Hinshaw

RP Justin Miller

RP Jeremy Affeldt

SU Sergio Romo

CL Brian Wilson

Coaches:

Darin Wright- Head Coach

R.J. Farrell- Asst. Head Coach/Hitting Instructor

Pitchers

SP Chris Duke     RHP/Senior          San Diego City College/ St. Mary’s University (D-1)

SP Larry Collins  RHP/Soph.           Beaumont HS (CA)

SP Kurtis Brown RHP/Senior         Antelope Valley College

SP Mike McCormack LHP/Soph.   Banning HS (CA)/ Central Methodist Univ. (MO)

SP Graig Whelan   RHP/Senior       Oklahoma University (D-1)

RP Charlie Baker   LHP/Senior       San Diego Mesa College

RP Kevin Cheechov RHP-1B/Senior  Sacramento State Univ. (D-1)

RP Chris Berens RHP/Frosh       Falcon HS (CO)

RP Billy Moss RHP-3B/ Frosh    Silver Stage HS (NV)

RP Jay Beachom RHP/Junior     Central Methodist Univ. (MO)

Catchers:

Max Burnett C/Junior                 Saddleback JC

Jordan Wesley C/Senior              Berean Christian HS (CA)

Joe Salazar C-P/ Soph.                 Beaumont HS (CA)

Chris Brigham C-3B/Senior         San Diego Mesa College

Infielders:

Brian Peat 1B-P/Junior                Cerro Coso College

Phil Nyhoff 1B/Frosh                     Colorado Springs (CO)

Jeremy Wells 2B/Senior               San Diego City College

Anthony Phillips 2B-OF/Junior  San Diego Mesa College

Brett Korporal SS/Senior            San Jose City College

Luke Heil  SS-3B/Junior             Cerro Coso College

Deandre Walker 3B/Senior         Texas College(NAIA)/Chabot City College

Outfielders:

Phillip Gonzales OF-LHP/Junior  Fresno City College

Ryan Davis  OF/Junior                  Los Angeles City College

Beau Delis   OF/Frosh                    Mesquite HS (AZ)

Nick Robertson  OF/Junior           Mendocino JC

Ryan Fukishima OF-P/Soph.       Solano JC

David Deyess   OF/Soph.              Silver Stage HS (NV)

Tim Lincecum won the NL Cy Young for 2008 season.

   I have been pulling for this kid since Day 1.  I knew he would be something special since he got called up for his first start last April of 2007.  He didn’t have a great rookie campaign, but showed flashes of his dominance in finishing 7-5 with a 4.00 E.R.A.  However, in 2008, Lincecum had one of those storybook years and dominated hitters and it showed in his results as he finished with a record of 18-5 with a 2.62 E.R.A. and led the major leagues in strikeouts with 265. 

Lincecum, 24, picked up 23 first-place votes and 137 points in balloting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Webb finished 64 points back, counting four first-place votes, as did Santana.

Ryan Dempster of Gibsons, B.C., collected four third-place votes after leading all Chicago Cubs pitchers with 17 wins this season in his conversion from closer to starter.

“I was definitely surprised. I thought it was going to be a lot closer,” Lincecum said on a conference call.

Lincecum was the big story this past season for a Giants club that finished 12 games out of first place in the NL West Division with a 72-90 record.

His 18-5 mark was impressive enough, but he added a league-best 2.62 earned-run average and major league-leading 265 strikeouts in 227 innings covering 34 appearances (33 starts).

Lincecum, at 24 and 5 foot 11, has shown that he has a bright future ahead of him and possibly will add a few more Cy Young Awards to his resume before his career is over. 

“People have been doubting me my whole life,” he said. “I don’t let them bring me down.”

The baby-faced Lincecum, nicknamed “Franchise,” is an aberration in almost every way. He eats junk food before he starts and doesn’t ice his arm ever. When he was called up from the minors in May 2007, ballpark security workers in San Francisco thought he was a bat boy. That is how young this kid looks and when he is on that mound he is more ways than none a Giant portraying a repertoire of high 90’s fastballs, devastating curveballs, effective sliders, and jawbreaking changeups in making major league hitters look foolish up there.

Hence, the Giants were lucky to draft this kid with 10th pick overall in 2006 and they look to have their ace and franchise player for many years. He is the new face of this young Giants squad and looks to spearhead this team and its strength: the starting rotation in 2009 and beyond.

Patten University Lions baseball team beat Laney College in a nine-inning scrmmage game, 11-1 in dominating fashion on Friday. The Lions put on an offensive fireworks show, hitting 5 triples and many extra base hits on the day. Second Baseman Jeremy Wells (San Diego City College) went 3 for 4 on the day with a Sac Fly, two triples and 2 RBI’s. Shortstop Brett Korporal (San Jose City College) went 3 for 4 on the day with 2 RBI’s and did a good job defensively for the Lions. Left Fielder Anthony Phillips (San Diego Mesa College) also had two hits on the day including a triple and a double. Third Baseman Deandre Walker got his first two hits of the fall season and hit a triple and double as well. The Lions as an offensive produced 11 runs, getting production from almost everyone in the lineup. Catcher Jordan Wesley went 1 for 1 with a walk and a hit by pitch on the day and caught 5 innings. Catcher/ Pitcher Joe Salazar (Beaumont HS) caught the remaining 4 innings of the game and went 1 for 1 with a walk at the plate for the Lions.

As for the pitching side, the Lions pitchers threw a gem, giving up only one run on the day. Starting Pitcher Kurtis Brown got the nod for the Lions (Antelope Valley College) and went three solid innings and gave up only one run on a bloop single by one of Laney’s hitters. In relief came Senior Pitcher Graig Whelan, who went two shutout innings and had 2 k’s in his outing. Next came newcomer/transfer Senior pitcher Chris Duke (San Diego City College/ St. Mary’s Univ.) and he threw a shutout inning and had 1 K on a nasty slider. Sophomore Pitcher phenom Larry Collins pitched a shutout 7th inning and had 1 strikeout and only threw 11 pitches. Lefty southpaw Senior pitcher Charlie Baker (San Diego Mesa College) threw a 1,2,3 shutout 8th inning on only nine pitches. And Junior First Baseman/ Pitcher Brian Peat (Cerro Coso College) shut the door in the ninth inning and had two K’s to complete the gem for the Lions. In the end, the Lions won 11-1 and their record went to 3-1 on the fall season.

    As the offseason begins, the hot topic are the three free agent prizes available in the market right now: C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, and Manny Ramirez. 

    The Giants are in need of a power hitter and lack punch in their lineup. Ramirez, even at 36, could fill a hole their for the Giants but only if the price is right.  Giants fans would love him and he would put seats in the stands with Tim Lincecum and would make the other hitters in the Giants’ lineup better. However, Giants have a surplus of outfielders in Aaron Rowand, Fred Lewis, Randy Winn, and Nate Schierholtz, with Winn being trade bait for the Giants. So there could be a fit for the Giants and Manny being in orange and black instead of D  Manny’s agent Scott Boras wants 5 years and atleast an annual salary of 25 million a year.  However, it is unlikely Manny would get that kind of lucrative of a contract. Maybe 4 years at 100 million at the most. Giants probably could afford that in getting Manny Ramirez but it is highly unlikely the Giants will get Ramirez, but they definitely have their eye on him, as well as on Mark Teixeira. 

     Manny Ramirez’s agent Scott Boras wants five years and the Dodgers aren’t going to offer that. But, L.A. probably will make a huge short-term deal, and Manny has to look at that. Tom thinks the Dodgers want two, but could go to three.  Dan Patrick and Tom both agree that the Dodgers are best served by offering Manny something short term, and if he says no, then use that money to go after CC Sabathia. Tom said there’s only a 5 percent chance the Brewers keep Sabathia. Verducci says CC is from California, and all things being equal, that’s where the big pitcher wants to be. 

Verducci think the Giants may be the surprise team this free-agency period. They need to make a splash and bolster their offense, so they could go after Mark Teixeira or even C.C. Sabathia if they trade one of their young starters Matt Cain or Jonathan Sanchez for a hitter like Prince Fielder or J.J. Hardy.  My guess is the Giants are the sleeper in anyone of the sweepstakes for these three players: C.C. Sabathia, Manny Ramirez, and Mark Teixeira. 

Sophomore Larry Collins looks to be one of the starters in the rotation for the Lions in 2009.

    (10-31-08) Patten University Lions (Oakland, CA) had their third scrimmage game of the fall season.  The Lions fell to College of Marin in their first fall game in a high-scoring affair by both teams.  Last Friday, the Lions edged Laney College (Oakland, CA) 15-11 in another high-scoring affair.  And today the Patten Lions squared off against Diablo Valley College (Pleasant Hill, CA).  Patten Lions (2-1) were victorious as they edged DVC 11-8 in a 16-inning affair.

Sophomore pitcher Larry Collins (Beaumont HS product) started the game for the Lions and went 3 plus innings and gave up 3 runs and two earned runs overall in his outing. He left the fourth inning after walking two batters after a couple DVC hitters battled to a full count and eventually walked. Collins threw 69 pitches in the outing. Junior pitcher/outfielder Phillip Gonzales (Fresno City College) came in relief for Collins and got the first two batters out on flyballs and then gave up a two-run double. Gonzales finished with two innings of relief. He also got two hits playing centerfield in the scrimmage making a couple nice grabs in the outfield.  Freshman pitcher Chris Berens (Falcon HS in Colorado) and Senior pitcher Charlie Baker (San Diego Mesa College) came in for relief and pitched the next two innings (6th and 7th) for the Lions. Lions trailed 4-1 through 7 innings.

Freshman pitcher Billy Moss (Silver Stage HS in Nevada) came in to pitch a shutout 8th inning. The Patten Lions then struck for 3 runs in the ninth inning to tie the game at 4. Senior pitcher Graig Whelan came in the ninth and threw a shutout inning to keep the score tied at 4 apiece through nine innings of play. Whelan pitched the tenth and eleventh inning and gave up only one earned run through his 3 innings pitched. Senior pitcher Kurtis Brown (Antelope Valley College) who also is looking to be in the rotation for the Lions in Spring (when the regular season begins in January) pitched the 12th-14th innings and gave up 2 runs, one earned in his 3 innings pitched. Junior pitcher/first baseman Brian Peat pitched a shutout inning following Brown’s outing.  To close out the pitching, Junior pitcher/first baseman Kevin Cheechov threw an inning and gave up an unearned run throwing only nine pitches (8 strikes to only 1 ball) and Sophomore Closer/Catcher/Outfielder Joe Salazar (Beaumont HS) threw a 1,2,3 shutout inning only throwing 10 pitches for the Lions.  The final score ended up being 11-8 through 16 innings, making the Patten Lions victorious.

A few standouts for the offensive side of things for the Lions was: Freshman first baseman Phil Nyhoff went 4 for 7 on the day with 2 RBI’s and couple runs scored, Joe Salazar went 2 for 3 with an RBI, a run scored, and a walk on the day, Ryan Fukishima had two hits on the day for the Lions and pinch ran throughout the long scrimmage scoring some runs for the Lions, and Kevin Cheechov went 2 for 3 with an RBI groundout that produced a run and moved a runner over. Overall, the Lions pitched well, hit better as the day went on, and played some solid defense for the most part after starting off slow with a few errors on the day.  Senior shortstop Brett Korporal made a nice diving catch in the 15th inning.

The Lions haven’t had a field to play on these past couple weeks due to a drought in the city of Alameda, where the Lions usually have a field there to practice on, so the Lions have had to do individuals in the cages for hitting and tee work and pitchers have been throwing bullpens on campus and hitting the weight room to continue their workout/ strengthening program that Head Coach Darin Wright has instilled in the beginning of the fall.  So the Lions still have a lot of work to do and still have a lot of room for improvement.

What’s on Tap in November: The Lions have a couple more scrimmage games against Laney College in the month of November and they have their annual scout day Monday, November 10th at College of Marin (Kentfield, CA), where some of the players can showcase their talents in hopes of getting scouted and possibly drafted next June.