James Robbins
April 29, 2012

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Lakeland Local

Lakeland Breezes Past Yankees 7-3

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Dixon Machado
May 9, 2012

Flying Tigers Play Small Ball to Defeat the Yankees 4-2

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Tyler Collins
April 29, 2012

THE SERIES …. All four games of this series will be played at George Steinbrenner Field in Tampa with game one on Saturday at 6 pm. After taking Mothers’ Day off, the two clubs go at once again on Monday and Tuesday at 7 pm with the series finale being an 11 am contest on Wednesday.

THE FLYING TIGERS (17-16, 3rd, 5.0 GB) … Lakeland is coming off a 7-2 loss to Palm Beach on Friday that saw Cardinal starter Andy Benes strike out 12 Flying Tiger batters in seven innings of work. The Flying Tigers continue to lead the league in hitting with a .274 mark.

THE YANKEES (16-19, 4th, 7.0 GB) … Tampa shutout Jupiter 4-0 last night on the strength of six scoreless innings by Michael O’Brien who limited the Hammerheads to just one hit on four strikeouts. Nik Turley, currently on the 7-day disabled list, is seventh in the FSL with a 2.23 ERA to go with his 2-0 record. Rob Segedin is tied for third in the league with 64 total bases. The Yankees have the second lowest team batting average in the league with a .239 mark and rank 10th out of 12 teams with a 4.08 staff ERA.

PROBABLE STARTERS
5/12 – LHP Alex Burgos (1-4, 5.67) … Alex Burgos will be looking for his first win since opening the season with a victory over Tampa on April 5. He has not gone more than 4.1 innings in his last three starts with 16 walks in his last 16.1 innings. This will his sixth road start of the 2012 season.
5/14 – RHP Jacob Turner (1-2, 1.66) … Jacob Turner got his first win of the season with 7.0 shutout innings against Palm Beach on May 8. The 6’5” righty struck out eight and walked one while scattering four hits. He has not allowed an earned run in three of his four starts.
5/15 – RHP Kevin Eichhorn (3-2, 4.17) … Kevin Eichhorn saw his three-game win streak snapped in his last start on May 9. Allowing five runs, four earned, in 5.0 innings, he struck out four and walked one while giving up nine hits.
5/16 – LHP Brian Flynn (4-1, 3.32) … Brian Flynn got back in the win column in his last start surrendering just one run on five hits to Palm Beach on May 10. Flynn struck out three and walked two in earning his fourth win against one loss this season.

THIS YEAR … The Flying Tigers opened the 2012 season with a three-game sweep of the Yankees on April 5-7. Tyler Collins had three hits in each of the three games while Nick Castellanos and Avisail Garcia each had five hits in the series. Alex Burgos, Brian Flynn and Bruce Rondon all took wins in the series with Rondon getting his in one inning of relief work. Lakeland outscored Tampa 17-9 in the three games.

STILL ON TOP … Although he has cooled off a little, Nick Castellanos still has a comfortable lead atop the minor league baseball rankings. At .403, the Flying Tiger third baseman is the only minor leaguer hitting above .400 with Darin Ruf of Reading trailing by some 20 points with a .380 mark. Castellanos leads the league with 52 hits (eight more than Dunedin’s Kevin Nolan) and 73 total bases, is second with a .451 on-base and .566 slugging percentages as well as 15 extra base hits, and is fourth with 24 runs batted in.

HANGING TOUGH … Avisail Garcia and Tyler Collins remain in the top ten in the Florida State League with .328 and .325 batting averages, respectively. Garcia is fourth while Collins is fifth. Garcia is also tied for third with 43 hits.

LUCKY 13 … With his last at bat on Friday, Nick Castellanos singled to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, second longest active streak in the Florida State League. Castellanos is 21×50 (.420) during his streak with nine runs scored, three doubles, two triples and a homer. He has also driven in 10 runs during the streak. He has only had two games this season in which he has failed to get at least one base hit.

STEPPING IN … With Daniel Fields on the disabled list, Luis Castillo has stepped into the lead-off spot while taking Fields’ center field role. Castillo is 16×58 (.276) since taking over the #1 spot in the line-up on April 26 and is 6×16 (.375) his last four games with hits in each game.

OH SNAP … Hernan Perez was held without a hit on Friday, snapping a six-game hit streak in which he went 11×24 (.458) at the plate.

SNAPPING OUT OF IT … Avisail Garcia was swapping the top spot in the FSL batting average race with teammate Nick Castellanos, but then couldn’t buy a base hit, getting just three hits over seven games. He has snapped out of the mini-slump with six hits in his last four games.

CAN’T WE PLAY AT HOME ALL THE TIME? … Avisail Garcia tears up the Joker Marchant Stadium turf for a blistering .446 home batting average, but it’s a different story on the road where the right fielder in hitting just .240 on the year. He is not alone as Tyler Collins has a .393 average in 15 home games and a .269 in 17 road games. James McCann dips to .204 on the road after hitting .333 at home. As a team, Lakeland has a .302 average in 15 home games with an average of 5.3 runs scored per game. On the road, the team batting average drops to .251 and run production falls to 3.9 in 18 games. Thirteen of Lakeland’s 18 home runs have been hit in the cavernous Joker Marchant Stadium.

SEEING PINK … Lakeland wore their special pink jerseys on Saturday for breast cancer awareness. They’ll get to see their opponents in pink on Saturday as the Yankees don custom pink jerseys that will be raffled off following the game with proceeds benefitting the H. Lee Moffit Cancer and Research Center.

THE BEST UP NEXT … The Flying Tigers’ next series opponent will be the St. Lucie Mets on May 17-20 at Joker Marchant Stadium. The Mets, at 28-7, take the best record in baseball into Saturday’s series with Bradenton. St. Lucie has a 10-game lead over Palm Beach in the South Division.

CLOSING IN ON 1700 … Manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who entered the 2012 season as the second winningest active minor league manager, brings a 1,689-1,551 record into the Palm Beach series.

SONS OF THEIR FATHERS … Friday’s game featured three sons of former Major Leaguers in the starting roles. In addition to the Flying Tigers’ Shawn (son of Tim) Teufel and Marcus (son of Chet) Lemon, the Cardinals countered with starting pitcher Drew Benes, whose father, Andy Benes, spent 15 years pitching in the majors.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LUIS … Lakeland pitcher Luis Castillo will celebrate his 23rd birthday on May 15.

Flying Tigers Head to Tampa to Face the Yankees

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Alan Ahmady, Nick Castellanos
Joker Marchant Stadium. Lakeland, Fla. May 10, 2012

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Lakeland Local

Fast Start Propels Lakeland Over Cardinals 4-1

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Hernan Perez
May 9, 2012

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Cardinals Play ‘Small Ball’ to Defeat Lakeland 5-3

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Magnificent Applesauce at Underground Polk

photo credit: Chuck Welch for Lakeland Local

Off the Beaten Path at Underground Polk

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Lakeland Flying Tigers v. Palm Beach Cardinals
Joker Marchant Stadium July 17, 2010.

THE FLYING TIGERS (15-14, T3rd-North, 5.0 GB) … After racking up nine wins in 13 games, Lakeland saw the wheels come off its express with back-to-back losses at Fort Myers. Taking game one comfortably by a 6-1 score, the Flying Tigers squeezed out a 4-3, 11-inning win in game two. The Miracle then got revenge in style with wins of 13-3 and 12-3 to even the series, collecting 30 hits in the two contests. Responsibility for the runs allowed was event split as the starters gave up 12 earned runs with the bullpen roughed up for 13 runs, 10 of them earned. Lakeland continues to lead the Florida State League with a .275 average.

THE CARDINALS (16-15, 2nd-South, 9.0 GB) … Palm Beach is coming off three straight wins over Brevard County in its last series and have now won nine of the last 11 games. Mike O’Neill is second in the FSL with a .342 average – some 79 points behind Lakeland’s Nick Castellanos – while Jonathan Rodriguez is tops with 11 doubles. The Cardinals have three pitchers in the top ten in the league in Seth Maness (3-0, 1.32, 3rd); Richard Castillo (1-3, 1-42, 4th) and Carlos Martinez (2-1, 2.17, 9th). The Cardinals are fourth in the league with a .262 team average, but have hit just 10 home runs as a team – fewest in the league. Palm Beach has the third lowest earned run average in the FSL with a 3.12 mark.

PROBABLE STARTERS

5/08 – RHP Jacob Turner (0-2, 2.45) … Lakeland fans will finally get their chance to see Jacob Turner pitch at Joker Marchant Stadium after making his first three appearances on the road. In his last outing on May 3 at Dunedin, he allowed four runs on five hits over 4.2 innings and struck out six and walked three in that outing. He is looking for his first win of 2012 after dropping his last two starts.

5/09 – RHP Kevin Eichhorn (3-1, 3.75) … Winner of his last three starts, Kevin Eichhorn is coming off his best start since his season debut. At Fort Myers on May 4, Eichhorn surrendered just one run on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks over 6.2 innings. In his previous start he worked a team-long 8.0 in a win over Daytona.

5/10 – LHP Brian Flynn (3-1, 3.63) … Brian Flynn is looking to recapture the magic that allowed him to open the season with a 3-0 record and a 0.92 ERA. In his last three starts, he has a 0-1 record and a 7.20 ERA. He may have snapped out of his mini-slump with his performance in his last start, allowing three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work. Despite his efforts, he did not factor into the decision.

5/11 – LHP Shawn Teufel (1-2, 8.25 ERA) … Shawn Teufel got a rude “welcome back” in his last start on May 6 at Fort Myers. After a two-game stint at AAA Toledo where he was 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA, Teufel made his first start for Lakeland since April 15 and was tagged for six runs on 10 hits in just 2.2 innings of work. Teufel was 0-1 with an 8.44 in two starts versus Palm Beach in 2011.

LAST YEAR … Palm Beach won five of the eight meetings last season, including the last three contests in Lakeland. The Cardinals cranked out five homers in a 10-3 win on July 26 in Lakeland.

DESERVED HONOR … Nick Castellanos has been named the Florida State League player-of-the week for the week of April 30-May 6. The Flying Tiger third baseman went 13×28 for the week for a .464 average with two doubles, one homer and seven runs batted in. Castellanos brings a nine-game hit streak (17×35, .486) into this series and has hits in 27 of Lakeland’s 29 contests. He has had two or more hits in 15 games this season and continues to lead minor league baseball with a .421 average. He also leads the Florida State League with 48 hits, 68 total bases and a .489 on-base percentage.

ROCKIN’ ROBBINS … James Robbins may want to play out his season at Hammond Stadium. In the four-game series at the home of the Miracle, the Flying Tiger first baseman went 10×18 (.556) with three hits in each of games one and three and two hits in each of games two and four. He also knocked in five runs with three doubles and a homer.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS? … Kevin Eichhorn has a 0.71 ERA in his first outing of a month in April and May. In his season debut on April 6, Eichhorn allowed one unearned run over 6.0 innings with four strikeouts. In his first appearance of May, he allowed one earned run with four strikeouts in 6.2 innings. For the rest of April, Eichhorn had a 5.40 ERA.

HIM AGAIN? … Fort Myers’ Anderson Hidalgo slugged a grand slam in a six-run fifth inning on Monday. It was the first grand slam allowed by Lakeland this season and the first allowed since … the same Anderson Hidalgo hit one on July 20, 2011.

Hernan Perez (left)
April 7, 2012

WHERE’S THE GOOSE EGG? … Lakeland and Daytona are the only two teams yet to shut out an opponent this season. St. Lucie, which has the league’s best record at 25-6, has tossed six shutouts in 31 games.

ROSTER SHUFFLIN’ … Daniel Fields was placed on the disabled list retroactive to May 2 and Wade Gaynor was added to the roster on May 7 from AA Erie.

YO-YO MAN … Edgar Corcino sure knows the way to and from the back fields of Tiger Town. The Tiger infielder was added to the Lakeland roster from extended spring training on May 1 only to return on May 2. The next day on May 3, he made the trip back across the landing strip to the Flying Tigers. After an extended stay of four days, he once again rejoined his Connecticut teammates on the back fields. To add a little salt to the wound, Corcino had homered in his only start for Lakeland.

CLOSING IN ON 1700 … Manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. Huppert, who entered the 2012 season as the second winningest active minor league manager, brings a 1,687-1,549 record into the Palm Beach series.

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Lakeland Local

The Cardinals Fly into Lakeland for a Four-Game Series

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Nick Castellanos
April 30, 2012

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Flying Tigers Hate Mondays in 12-3 Loss to Miracle

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Frances Langford Promenade

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James Robbins
April 26, 2012

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Long Sunday Afternoon for Lakeland in 13-3 Loss to Ft. Myers

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The headline is in red and all caps:

STOP LAKELAND FROM ADOPTING LIBERAL,
WASTEFUL SAN FRANCISCO STYLE VALUES – ACT TODAY!

That’s the headline above a letter recently addressed “Dear fellow conservative” and footnoted as “Political advertisement paid for and approved by Jack Myers, Republican, for State Senate.”

The text of the letter has been addressed elsewhere (Dockery, Townsend) and discussed in city meetings and on social media. There’s no need to replay that discussion, but there are a pair of questions I have about the piece of art that tops the letter. The words “Family First” have been added above the Great Seal of the State of Florida from the Florida State Flag.

Using that seal could be a problem for the Myers campaign. Take a look at Florida Statute 15.03(3):

(3) Only the Department of State shall be authorized to affix the seal to any document for the purpose of attesting, certifying, or otherwise formalizing such document. Any facsimile or reproduction of the great seal shall be manufactured, used, displayed, or otherwise employed by anyone only upon the approval of the Department of State. The Department of State may grant a certificate of approval upon application to it by any person showing good cause for the use of the seal for a proper purpose. The Department of State may adopt reasonable rules for the manufacture or use of the great seal or any facsimile or reproduction thereof. Any person violating the provisions of this subsection is guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

I read that as only the Department of State has the authority to approve or display the seal. If you want to use it, you have to fill out form DS-19 and get approval.

You also have to follow a particular set of rules to use the seal. Florida Administrative Rule 1-2.0021 — Use of the Seal of the State of Florida, to be exact.

Let’s look at some pertinent paragraphs from that rule:

No person, without express written authorization from the Department, shall manufacture, use, display or otherwise employ a facsimile or reproduction of the Great Seal of the State of Florida (Great Seal), except as provided in this rule.

(5) Definitions. The following words shall have the following meanings for the purposes of this rule:

(a) “Political or campaign purposes” shall include all uses related to a past, present, or future political campaign;

(7) In no event shall approval be given for the use of the Great Seal for the following:

(a) Political or campaign purposes;

(b) Stationery other than official government stationery;

It’s hard to read those rules and see how a “Political advertisement paid for and approved by Jack Myers, Republican, for State Senate” would be given permission to use the Great Seal of the State of Florida.

The questions that come immediately to mind:

1) Did Jack Myers get permission to use the Great Seal?

2) If he didn’t get permission, would he be charged and found “guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083?”

Questions on Myers’ Use of the Great Seal of the State of Florida

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Marcus lemon
April 29, 2012

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No Miracles Needed as Lakeland Beats Fort Myers 6-1

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Senator Paula Dockery speaks to a citizen
November 30, 2009

Today I urge your support of extending city benefits to same-sex partners. I would also like to commend the Commission as a whole for your sober, careful, and respectful approach to this issue.

Your staff’s thorough analysis indicates that there is virtually no fiscal or administrative burden associated with this policy. It simply allows a few city employees a level of family security approaching their peers. That’s a successful conservative policy, one that strengthens families and makes for better employees.

It is disappointing that a candidate for the Senate seat I will be vacating, who does not even live in Lakeland, has sought to politicize this issue and divide Lakelanders for his own selfish gain. There is no reason for it. Voters are tired of the divisiveness and the injecting of social personal agendas into what should be a thoughtful business decision. Trusted and valued employees should be treated equally with respect and dignity if we want to attract and retain them.

Supporting a policy of fairness in the benefits packages of all City employees is in line with what many others cities are doing. It does not reflect a personal opinion toward same-sex partners as Mr. Myers would have you believe, but rather an acknowledgement that all employees should be treated equally.

I trust you will do the right thing and not be bullied or swayed by self-serving political rhetoric.

Warm Regards,

Paula Dockery
State Senator, District 15

Senator Paula Dockery on Benefit Equality

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The circumstances are a little odd, so let me explain briefly:

As The Ledger reported a few weeks ago, city staff performed a thorough review of other cities that have some form of benefit equality, including Orlando, Tampa, and Gainesville.

Karen Lukhaub, director of risk management and purchasing for the city, said she’s received comments from employees from five cities that offer the benefits. They say the cost is minimal.

City commissioners voted 4-2 recently to move forward by providing the information about same-sex partners in a yearly actuary study.

What Lukhaub’s excellent work revealed is that benefit equality is not a fiscal or administrative headache. It is, in fact, a virtual fiscal and administrative non-event. This is not about money or staff time. It’s only about doing the right thing.

The direction from that last meeting was to build benefit equality into the city’s annual actuary study for its regular health insurance plan. That would save about $7,000, which is the cost of doing a benefit equality actuary study by itself. Unfortunately, the actuary deadlines for the coming benefit year did not allow for building benefit equality into the regular study. That means we’re back to the $7,000 one-time actuary study if benefit equality is to take effect in the next benefit year.

City Manager Doug Thomas told me yesterday that staff wants direction from the commissioners before giving the go-ahead on the study. And he’s going to raise the issue at Friday’s agenda study.

I personally feel pretty strongly that the commission should hold this vote in the commission chambers during its regular meeting on Monday. The agenda study conference room is small, and members of the public — pro and con — have little opportunity to address the commissioners before they give informal “thumbs up/thumbs down vote.” I don’t like that, but I’m not in charge.

At this point, it seems the City Commission has three options:

1) Vote to move ahead with actuary study and benefit equality.

2) Vote to wait until next year’s study and save the $7,000 by including benefit equality in the overall actuary study.

3) Kill the whole thing.

I obviously prefer the first. And if you do, too, now is the time to let your commissioners know.

I trust they won’t vote behind closed doors, but now is the time to let them know you care about this issue. Before the agenda study on Friday at 8:30 a.m. you should certainly take the time to contact as many commissioners as possible.

Here’s where all the contact information dwells: http://www.lakelandgov.net/CityGovernment/CityCommissioners.aspx Or click to email links below…

Keith Merritt, Don Selvage, and Justin Troller have each shown support for benefit equality. I encourage you to thank them for their common sense, decency, and backbone.

And then you should focus closely on the question marks that remain: Mayor Gow Fields and Commissioner Edie Yates. Both agreed to move ahead with studying this issue when I first raised it back in February. Edie voted for the actuary study in the more recent vote. Gow did’t attend the meeting.

At one point in the meeting a few weeks ago, Edie said she wasn’t sure if there was any demand for benefit equality from city employees. I should have publicized that long ago, and I’m sorry that I didn’t. But if you’re a city employee who can benefit from this, let Edie know directly. It’s time to step up.

Again, here’s her e-mail address: edith.yates@lakelandgov.net. Copy Karen Lukhaub.

Remind Gow and Edie that at this point, city staff has made it clear that with the exception of the one-time study, this is a non-event from a fiscal and administration point-of-view. It’s only a question now of right and wrong, of strengthening and investing ever so slightly in your workforce.

I had hoped that we’d make it through this entire process without any political immaturity. I, for instance, have not criticized Phillip Walker or Howard Wiggs for opposing benefit equality. Phillip and I even had a pleasant lunch to discuss it.

But Jack Myers had other ideas. His nasty mailer is full of sneering references to “they” and “liberals” and “San Francisco values”. And it’s also full of begging for $23 for “stamps”. It is the essence of divisiveness. He’s looking to build and finance a campaign by vilifying gay city employees and the people who respect or love them. It’s disgusting.

And Gow and Edie, this gives you an uncomfortable but clear choice. Are you going to side with wasteful Jack Myers, who took $50,000 per year from Marshall Goodman in nebulous taxpayer-funded “consulting”, who is one of the men most responsible for driving USF out of Lakeland, who never cared about benefit equality until he had a campaign to finance? Are you going to reward his divisive cynicism?

Or are you going to side with what’s right? And you both know what’s right.

Not so long ago, conniving politicians like Jack Myers would have used the insults and the “theys” and the lies against blacks and women. Some of them still do. That doesn’t mean Edie or Gow are somehow obligated to vote the right way because of who they are. They should vote the right way because it’s right. But it is useful to remember what it’s like to be used and scapegoated by dishonorable men.

Years from now, commissioners, when you’re thinking about your career and sharing memories, let this be a proud one, when you took a tiny political risk and made your government and city a better place.

Benefit Equality Vote Friday or Monday; Simple Choice for Gow and Edie

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Nick Castellanos, Dave Huppert.
April 26, 2012

Dunedin’s Ryan Schimpf, batting in the #9 spot, hit a pair of 2-run homers to power the Blue Jays to a 6-4 win over Lakeland on Wednesday. The Flying Tigers took a 4-2 lead in the top of the seventh scoring three times on four hits before Schimpf tied the game in the bottom of the frame. The Blue Jays’ second baseman ended the game on a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth. Nick Castellanos led Lakeland with three hits including his second homer of the year while James McCann and Marcus Lemon each had two hits for the Flying Tigers. The two teams have split the first two games of the series with game three slated for Thursday at 6:35 pm.

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Lakeland Local

Jays Jolt Flying Tigers 6-4

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Sevil Aliyeva painting as part of a volunteer project.

Q. What are your natural parents names and what do they do?
A. My mother is Gulnara and she works as a clerk. My father is Hafiz and I really have no idea what he does.

Q. Do you have any siblings?
A. Yes, I have a younger sister.

Q. What do you do in your free time in your home country?
A. I spend most of my free time hanging out with my friends.

Q. What are some of your favorite sports or hobbies?
A. Reading books, volleyball, gymnastics, and shopping!

Q. What has been your biggest surprise about life in America?
A. It’s such a totally different life here; the culture, the customs. It’s way easier here.

Q. What is the biggest difference between America and your home country?
A. A large part of the population in Azerbaijan is still old-fashioned. They think that men are supposed to play a better role in society than females. Also, females are expected to dress much more conservatively than they do here.

Q. How do you compare the education you receive in your home country to your school here?
A. School is much easier here. I rarely have to spend much time doing homework.

Q. What is your favorite food in your home country? America?
A. My favorite Azerbaijani food is dolma (beef in grape wraps,with tomatoes and eggplant). I love almost all American dishes; pizzas, hamburgers, Subway, donuts, and candies.

Q. How is the food different here?
A. In my country, we eat a lot more fruits, vegetables, and greens. I would eat fast food maybe once every two months.

Q. What has been the most fun since you got here?
A. Definitely the cruise to the Caribbean!!!!

Q. What do you miss about your home country?
A. I do miss my friends, our people sometimes, and my city, but I am very used to being here now.

Q. What did you expect from your stay in the U.S.?
A. I didn’t really think about it that much before coming here. The USA seemed to be totally perfect, but after living here, I saw that it’s more real than perfect. You have both happiness and sadness.

Time to try the donuts...

photo credit: Steve Munson for Lakeland Local

Meet Exchange Student Sevil Aliyeva

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Heart disease isn’t for grown-ups any more. If you have overweight kids and preteens, they can have heart disease by age 15 or 16, according to new research. And although girls’ heart health seems to bounce back to normal if their weight does, in boys, heart dangers can hang on.

Ready? Help your child get healthy now:

Do as I do: Kids are often like a video camera with the sound off and tune out what you say, but watch everything you do. If you are obese, there’s an 80% chance your kids will be, too. So ditch the junk and be a role model.

Relax as you eat: Family meals should be fun with playful conversation (“Hear any good jokes today? What superpower do you wish you had?”), which allows everyone to slow down and savor the meal, so the brain has time to signal, “You’re full” way before you overeat.

Make life a playground: Finding an activity is critical to losing weight. Turn off the TV, and get the whole family outside for a game of touch football or a walk around the block.

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Lakeland Local

Three Steps to Help Prevent Childhood Obesity

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Nick Castellanos
April 24, 2012

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Lakeland Rallies to Defeat Blue Jays 5-3

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Matt Crouse

THE FLYING TIGERS (12-10, 2nd place, 5.0 GB) … Lakeland is coming off a series win over Daytona and has now won three straight series. With wins in each of the last two games, the Flying Tigers have won six of their last eight games. A big reason for the good play is the offense. In the last 10 games, Lakeland is hitting .310 as a team with 27 doubles and eight homers.

THE BLUE JAYS (18-6, 1st place, 0.0 GB) … Dunedin dropped a 6-4, extra-inning loss to Tampa on Sunday and have lost three of the last five games, including a pair of defeats at the hands (or paws) of the Flying Tigers. Jon Talley is tied for eighth in the Florida State League with a .313 average as the Blue Jays rank eighth with a .240 team batting average. Dunedin has scored 19 more runs than any other league team and has drawn the most walks of any team. Pitching has been the strong point as the club is third in the FSL with a 3.03 staff ERA. Egan Smith is tied for the most wins in the league with four while closer Danny Barnes is tied for the most saves in all of minor league baseball with nine.

PROBABLE STARTERS
5/01 – LHP Matt Crouse (0-0, 1.59) … Matt Crouse will be making his second start after four scoreless appearances out of the bullpen in which he allowed one total hit. In his first start on April 26 at Dunedin, he lasted just 2.2 innings, giving up two runs on three hits.
5/02 – LHP Alex Burgos (1-3, 4.78) … Since winning his first start on April 5 at Tampa, Alex Burgos has three losses and a no decision in his last four outings. He has surrendered two or more runs in each of his five starts and has given up eight earned runs over his last two.
5/03 – RHP Jacob Turner (0-1, 0.00) … Jacob Turner dropped his last start on April 28 at Daytona as he was victimized with four unearned runs and eight hits over 6.0 innings pitched. Turner pitched in three games for Detroit in 2011 and was 4-2 with a 2.93 ERA for the 2010 Flying Tigers.

THIS YEAR … Lakeland took two of three meetings in the two clubs first series on April 25-27 at Joker Marchant Stadium. The Blue Jays won the opening game, 9-3, while the Flying Tigers took the next two 9-6 and 6-4. The Flying Tigers hit .330 in the series with Nick Castellanos, Avisail Garcia and James McCann each having six hits while Tyler Collins and Hernan Perez each had five hits. Garcia and McCann each scored five times in the three games. Jake Marisnick knocked out eight hits for Dunedin.

AVISAIL-ING ALONG … One of the hottest bats in the Lakeland line-up is that of Avisail Garcia. In his last 11 games, Garcia has safely in each game for a .444 clip with three doubles, a triple and three home runs. His 11-game hit streak is tied with Dunedin’s Kevin Nolan for longest active streak in the FSL. Garcia has been especially hot in his last eight games, he has 16 hits for a .485 mark. The 20-year old has had two or more hits in seven of the last eight games and has scored at least one run and driven in at least one run in seven straight games. Overall, he leads the Florida State League with a .400 average – a mark that is sixth best in minor league baseball – and also tops with a .565 slugging percentage. Garcia is second with 34 hits and tied for second with 48 total bases and is third with a .440 on base percentage and 18 runs scored.

NICK KNOCKS … Another hot bat has been carried by Nick Castellanos who has 19 hits in his last 11 games for a .422 average with five doubles and a triple. On April 27, he collected a team season-high four hits. The Flying Tigers’ third baseman is second in the league with a .398 average which is the 11th highest average in the minors. He leads with 35 hits and is tied for first with eight doubles. He is second with a .545 slugging percentage and tied for second with 48 total bases and fourth with a .433 on-base percentage. Castellanos has hit safely in 11 consecutive road games, the longest streak in the Florida State League this season.

CALLING COLLINS … Tyler Collins has collected 11 hits, including four doubles and a triple in his last seven games for a .344 average. He is fourth in the league with a .337 average.

JAMMIN’ JAMES … Although he has not played the last two games, catcher James McCann has gone 9-for-18 in his last five games played with a pair of doubles and two stolen bases. He has also scored six times in the last five games.

IT’S A HP … Infielder Hernan Perez has come alive as of late going 7-for-19 in his last six games for a .368 average. He has also driven in seven runs in the last six games and has scored at least one run in five straight games.

FINISH STRONG … Lakeland is 10-2 when having a lead after six innings and 11-1 with leading after seven innings. The Flying Tigers are a perfect 12-0 when taking a lead into the ninth inning.

WHERE ARE THE RALLY HATS? … Conversely, Lakeland is 1-8 when trailing heading into the seventh inning and also 1-8 when behind going into the eighth inning and have yet to win a game in eight tries when the other team has the lead heading into the ninth inning.

ROSTER SHUFFLIN’ … Corey Jones was promoted to AA Erie on April 28 with Marcus Lemon added to the roster from extended spring. Lemon was originally drafted by Texas in the 4th round of the 2006 draft. After receiving a $1,000,000 signing bonus, Lemon played four seasons in the Rangers’ organization before being released. Last season, he played in the Braves’ organization splitting time in the Carolina and Southern Leagues. Lemon, the son of former major leaguer Chet Lemon, signed with Detroit in February. On Monday, Shawn Teufel rejoined the Flying Tigers from AAA Toledo where he was 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA. To make room, Brian Stroud was sent back to extended spring training.

REASON TO BE SMYLY … Drew Smyly, who pitched for Lakeland in 2011, picked up his first major league win on April 28 working 7.0 strong innings against the Yankees. He struck out seven strikeouts and walked two while allowing a single run on two hits.

CLOSING IN ON 1700 … Flying Tiger manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. He brings a 1,684-1,545 record into the Dunedin series.

THE AMAZIN’ METS … Over in the South Division, St. Lucie has the best record in baseball at 20-4 on the year. The Flying Tigers will face the Mets in Lakeland May 17- 20.

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Lakeland Local

Facing the First Place Blue Jays as Lakeland Heads to Dunedin for Three

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No other candidates were considered, no resumes accepted. Just Marshall Goodman’s good word.

As The Ledger put it at the time in a pretty good editorial:

The Auburndale real estate broker, who once voted for a $5 million appropriation of county tax dollars to speed the building of the University of South Florida’s Polytechnic campus at the eastern intersection of Interstate 4 and Polk Parkway in Northeast Lakeland, has been hired by USF Poly as a consultant.

College officials said the two things were not related. It was simply that Myers “has an extraordinary combination of expertise and background very well suited for the work [USF Poly CEO] Marshall Goodman is asking him to do,” said David Steele, the university’s director of external affairs.

If you’re not entirely clear what Myers did all day to earn that money, well, neither am I.

But when he resigned a year or so later, here’s what The Ledger said about the work he performed:

The terms of his contract said that Myers would be assigned to community and economic development, property evaluations and facilities planning and implementation.

“Basically, he was supposed to promote the incubators and the Polytechnic in communities,” said Interim Regional Chancellor David Touchton.

Hmmmm. Let’s read the Tampa Bay Times summary of the Goodman report.

Among the findings:

• USF Poly leaders laundered state education dollars through building rental payments to pay for unauthorized perks, such as a soda fountain in one of its Polk County business incubators.

• State education money was also used to pay for thousands of dollars in household appliances, including microwaves, coffee makers and vacuums.

• Technology purchases, including a $400,000 video and audio wall that some said was too advanced for students, were made without approval from the main USF Tampa campus.

• There was no proper accounting for thousands of dollars in building rentals and improvements.

You would think Jack Myers’s “extraordinary combination of expertise and background” might have prevented some of these things from happening in the incubators, facilities, and communities with whom he was consulting.

Pausing for a giggle….Done? Good.

Through it all, Myers’ entire stated purpose — indeed the entire stated purpose of the USFP/FPU adventure — was to create a new Silicon Valley along I-4. Innovation would flow like milk and honey and raise all of us backward Polk Countians out of our of wretched circumstances.

Now, let’s pause again for a brief geography lesson. Where is Silicon Valley? To which major metropolitan area is it attached? That would be San Francisco, California.

I mention this because Myers is now a candidate for Florida Senate in whatever senate district eventually includes him. And he has recently sent out a fundraising letter that opens like this:

Dear fellow conservative: If we’re not careful, liberal & wasteful San Francisco values will creep into our city hall.

This is amusing on a lot of levels.

One of my favorite examples comes Marshall Goodman’s own son, who grew up in Silicon Valley and brought his San Francisco values to Polk County and presumably worked closely with Myers at various times. Check out this Poly puff piece from 2010:

According to Goodman, USFP’s Blue Sky business incubator and accelerator can help bolster economic development in central Florida.

“Blue Sky has been successful at bringing in new businesses to central Florida. Not only do many local entrepreneurs have great concepts, but individuals from Tampa have also seen this region as a future place to do business. Universities from around the world, particularly France, have an interest in what is occurring at USF Poly and at Blue Sky.

Goodman points out that Silicon Valley’s culture of innovation developed during the Bay Area’s countercultural hotbed of the 1960s.

“Out-of-the-box thinking inspires innovation,” he says. “You need a culture open enough for the freedom to experiment and innovate. Silicon Valley companies changed the world through devices to make life easier. They believed that if you make a great product the money will eventually come.”

If you see Jack on the street during his campaign, ask him why on earth he would take more $50,000 from a taxpayer-funded institution so fond of “San Francisco values.”

Because it was green. Trust me, there’s no other reason, no other value involved. He doesn’t care about values, San Francisco or family. This mailer isn’t offensive so much as stupid and lazy and amoral. So you can draw your own conclusions about the guy who put it out.

I’m not going repeat all the tropes, but the mailer drones on for three pages. It’s pegged to my request that Lakeland city government allow gay employees to add their partners and children to health insurance just like anybody else’s family. The whole silly mailer is a repetition of the same uncreative, anti-gay silliness that Republican candidates have trotted out for years. And it makes clear that Jack thinks gay people have no role in our community other than as fodder to raise money for his campaign. It also makes clear that Jack thinks you “fellow conservatives” can easily be made to jump at his command. Just say gay. We’ll see. This gets less and less effective every year.

And, of course, Jack Myers is running for state senator, a position that does not get a vote on the city commission. So he’s going to spend a bunch of campaign donations focused on a city in which he does not live and on an issue with no fiscal impact for the state — or even the city for that matter.

This is the kind of clownishness you get from one-party rule or from taking a person’s self-declared “values” at face value.

photo credit: masochismtango

Let’s Talk About Jack Myers’ Values

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Luis Castillo and Dixon Machado hit back-to-back 2-RBI singles with two outs in the eighth inning to lift Lakeland to a 8-6 win over Daytona on Monday. Machado also singled and doubled in the game while Nick Castellanos singled twice for the Flying Tigers. Avisail Garcia hit his third homer of the year in the fourth and singled in a run in the sixth to extend his hit streak to 11 games. Lakeland now hits the road for a seven game road trip starting with a 6:35 pm game Tuesday in Dunedin.

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Lakeland Local

Flying Tigers Take Down Blue Jays 8-6 Before Hitting the Road

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After a trip to New York City, a friend of ours brought us a book back called P.S.- I made this… This book inspires and encourages everyone to embrace the author Erica Domesek’s creative motto: “I see it. I like it. I make it.”

In Fall of 2010, Domesek’s first book was released. Part designer DIY, part fashion and lifestyle inspiration guide, P.S.- I made this… features more than 25 projects inspired by iconic fashion looks, runway trends, and celebrated style mavens for readers to create themselves.

P.S.-I made this… also has a blog that we fell in love with. One of our favorite items posted recently was a DIY version of Burberry’s beaded wedges. These wedges carry a retail price tag of $1095.00. Perfect for summer, you can afford to rock this look by making your own! Here is a photo as well as a link to the P.S.-I made this… blog for further instructions. If you do decide to make a pair, send us a picture that we can share!

PS: Here are the Burberry shoes that inspired this DIY project.

You’ll Love ‘P.S. I Made This’

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Marcus Lemon, James Robbins, Luis Castillo
April 29, 2012

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Lakeland Local

Gaynor’s Three RBIs Pace Lakeland to 6-4 Win Over Daytona

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Avisail Garcia
April 24, 2012

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Lakeland Local

After Quick Start Daytona Defeats Lakeland 7-2

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Children Running the Bases
April 7, 2012

THE SERIES …. These two clubs open their three-game set with a 7:05 pm game at Daytona on Saturday before returning to Lakeland for the first Sunday afternoon game. (1 pm start). The series concludes Monday at 10:30 a.m. at Joker Marchant Stadium in the first of two Education Days hosted by the Flying Tigers. All three games can be heard on the Cub’s internet broadcasts. Visit www.daytonacubs.com for details.

THE FLYING TIGERS (10-9, 2nd place, 5.0 GB) … Lakeland is coming off a series win over North Division leading Dunedin. After dropping the first game, the Flying Tigers powered back with 9-6 and 6-4 wins. Lakeland has now won two in a row and four of their last five and has climbed into second place in the North Division. The club is tops in the FSL with a .280 batting average, some 21 points higher than the next team and is tied with two other teams for second with 92 runs scored. The Flying Tigers are also the top basestealing team with 29 swipes. Lakeland has a 3.58 staff ERA to rank fifth in the league.

THE CUBS (6-15, 6th place, 10.0 GB) … Daytona fell 4-3 at Clearwater on Friday, losing for the second straight game and fourth time in the last five games. The Cubs rank seventh in the league with a .242 average and are tied with Lakeland and St. Lucie with 92 runs scored. Daytona has the highest earned run average in the league with a 4.36 mark. Rubi Silva leads the Cubs with a .328 average (which ranks fifth in the FSL) while John Andreoli is second with a .308 mark (and ranks third in the FSL with a .446 on-base percentage. Greg Rohan has hit the most homers of anyone in the league with five while also leading with 23 runs batted in and ranking third with .537 slugging percentage. Matt Szczur has swiped a league-leading 11 bases and is tied for the FSL lead with 18 runs scored.

PROBABLE STARTERS
4/28 – LAK: Jacob Turner (0-0, 0.00) … Jacob Turner is making his second start of the season after shutting down in spring training with tendonitis in his throwing shoulder. In his first start on April 23 at Daytona, Turner threw 4.0 no-hit shutout innings at the Cubs.
4/29 – LAK: Kevin Eichhorn (1-1, 4.22) … Kevin Eichhorn earned his first win of 2012 on April 24 against Daytona in Lakeland, working 6.1 innings. He allowed three runs on nine hits, but struck out five and walked just one. This will be just the second home start for Eichhorn who has three road starts.
4/30 – LAK: Brian Flynn (1-3, 4.43) … After opening the season with three straight wins, Brian Flynn tasted defeat for the first time in his last outing on April 25 at home versus Daytona. The Cubs tagged Flynn for five earned runs on 11 hits in 4.2 innings. Flynn entered that game with a 3-0 mark and a 0.92 ERA.

THIS YEAR … Lakeland won two of three games earlier this season, splitting the two games in Daytona (2-6 and 7-2) and winning in Lakeland 13-5. Nick Castellanos led the Flying Tigers with a 6×13 series driving in four runs while Avisail Garcia was 5×13 with three RBI. James Robbins hit two solo homers for Lakeland on April 24. Rubi Silva and Matthew Szczur each had four hits for the Cubs in the series.

SCORING BIG … Although four runs may not sound like a lot, Lakeland is 8-2 when crossing the plate four or more times in a game. When the Flyings are held to three runs or less, their record drops to 2-7. In games in which the Lakeland pitchers have allowed four or more runs the team is 2-7. When holding foes to three or less runs, the record is 7-1.
TOP THREE … Lakeland boasts the top three hitters in the Florida State League in Nick Castellanos (.413), Avisail Garcia (.384) and Tyler Collins (.356). Castellanos and Garcia have traded the league lead over the past three games with Castellanos retaking the lead after a 4×5 effort on Friday. The Flying Tiger third baseman leads the FSL with 31 hits, eight doubles and a .560 slugging percentage while ranking second with a .452 on-base percentage and third with 42 stolen bases. Garcia is second in the FSL with 28 base knocks, fourth with a .430 on-base percentage, and fifth with a .507 slugging mark. Collins is fifth with a .427 mark.

CLAWING AT THE PLATE … The Flying Tigers must think the baseball coming across home plate is the size of a grapefruit as the club has rapped on 81 hits (245 AB) over the last seven games for a .331 clip.

EIGHT IS GREAT … Nick Castellanos went 4×5 in Friday’s game to extend his hit streak to eight games. The Flying Tiger third baseman is 15×32 during the streak for a .469 tear with six doubles and seven runs batted in. Castellanos has hit in 18 of Lakeland’s 19 games this season.

ANOTHER AT EIGHT … Avisail Garcia has also hit safely in his last eight games including five games with two or more hits. The 20-year old outfielder is 14×33 for a .424 average with two doubles, a triple and a pair homers. He has also scored eight runs and driven in seven runs.

COOL COLLINS … Tyler Collins has hit safely in his last five games with nine hits (22 AB), including four doubles, for a .409 mark.

DANDY DAN … Although he was a last minute line-up scratch on Friday, Daniel Fields has hits in five straight games with two doubles, a triple and four stolen bases. He is second in the FSL with eight stolen bases.

JAMES McCANN CAN … Catcher James McCann has hits in each of his last four games and is 9×15 for a hefty .600 average with three doubles and two stolen bases for six runs scored in that span.

TWIN-BAGGERS … Lakeland has hit at least two doubles in seven of the last eight games and has 22 doubles in those seven contests.

TO THE VICTOR GOES THE WIN … Reliever Victor Larez tossed four shutout innings at Dunedin on Friday to pick up his first win of the season. The 6-foot-3 righthander struck out a season-high six batters and held the Blue Jays to just two hits.

CLOSING IN ON 1700 … Flying Tiger manager Dave Huppert is in his second season with Lakeland and his 24th season as a minor league manager. He brings a 1,682-1,544 record into the Daytona series.

ALUMNI SHUFFLIN’ … On Thursday, Brayan Villarreal and Luke Putkonen were both called up to the majors while Adam Wilk and Thad Weber were sent down to Toledo. Rawley Bishop, who was hitting .293 with AA Erie, has earned a trip to AAA Toledo on April 27 to take the roster spot vacated with Brad Eldred’s addition to the big league roster. In addition, Brent Wyatt, has announced his retirement. Wyatt had played in the Tigers’ organization since 2008 including two seasons in Lakeland in 2010 and 2011.

photo credit: Tom Hagerty for Lakeland Local

Sunday and Monday Early Starts with the Daytona Cubs

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