Tyler says "Oh, you're doing their guys too?" Well, yeah, some of them. I like the Tigers. They're my second favorite team.

These use the Baseball Grunge Paper Mini from Scrap Girls. The Tiger's logo is a hand made gif from their masthead, and the little gold brads on the Below piece are from Raspberry Road Designs' Freedom Rings kit.

The Metal Alpha are from Scrappin' Dead Girls, and while it includes upper and lower, I only used the upper on these pieces.

These are all created to 8 x 10 so I can get them printed out and signed. As with any of the pieces on this blog, if you click on them, you can see a bigger version.

Click on image to enlarge.

The original Canadian Crusher - Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins. The 2006 league MVP hails from British Columbia.


Click on image to enlarge.

The Fort Myers Miracle version of the Canadian Crusher, Rene Tosoni. Tosoni is also from British Columbia and is in his second year of Professional Ball. He is being rushed a bit through the system as he was signed as a 21-year-old, so we shall see if he can handle the play at the High-A level.

Tosoni is a little bit more versitile than Morneau or Waltenbury as he can also play 3rd base and outfield.

Last season he hit a combined average of .300 in games spit between rookie Elizabethton and Low-A Beloit.


Click on image to enlarge.

Jon Waltenbury from Ontario, picked by some to be Morneau's likely replacement despite the number of good first baseman at the upper levels. Minnesota would like to hang on to Morneau for as long as they can, which would allow Waltenbury time to develop. He had some trouble connecting during his first year of professional ball, hitting only .244 for the rookie level Gulf Coast League Twins, but is reportedly tearing the cover off the ball in extended spring training this year.

And a bonus...Ed and Justin on Opening Night


Click on image to enlarge.

If found it somewhat strange that our News Press blogger should show up for opening night in Owls gear and wearing RED no less, when the Miracle were playing the Reds, but what can you do?

You can find Ed's blog online Here. (Note that the link moved from last year.)

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I was wishing for a Canadian kit last night, ran a google search and was routed to Scrap Girls and there it was. More impressive was the fact they had the other kits I'd actually been wanting - a Mardi Gras kit and a "Crime Scene" kit. Plus some other ones that looked interesting.

All the Canadian Crusher pieces were completed with the Canadian kit, while I used Digital Freebies Family Man on the opening night piece.

I also wish to note that I'd been crediting the African Beat kit to Digital Freebies when in fact, it is a Scrap Girls kit. I'll try to remember that from now on.

Iris wanted the roster and schedule for instructs because "I'm the most important person who needs them." I corrected her, as I'm the one that provides the info to people I'm the one that needs them the most.

In any case, in an attempt to yank her chain, I walk by later and say "Dog the Bounty Hunter is coming to instructs."

"Who?"

"Dog. The Bounty Hunter." I was wondering if she lived under a rock or something.

"You mean that guy from TV?"

"Yeah."

"Who's he coming to catch?"

"He's not coming to catch. He's coming to watch."

"Well, why would he do that?"

"Because we signed his nephew."

"Wait a minute," says Ed, breaking into this conversation. "Who signed him? The Miracle or the Twins?"

"The Twins." It was a stupid question. The Miracle don't sign players but it's kind of pointless sometimes to argue with Ed.

"What's his name?" Iris asks. "Puppy the bounty hunter?"

"Lehmann," I answer.

"What's he play?" Ed wants to know.

I thought that was obvious.

"Catch. He's a puppy. He plays catch."

Geez.

The St. Lucie Mets came into town with a fellow named Jacob Ruckle taking the start for the Mets.

He allowed 1 run (unearned) on 5 hits while striking out 4 in 5 innings for a no decision. What was interesting about him was his delivery.

It's been described as resembling a combination of the "herky-jerky" delivery of Dontrelle Willis and the high leg kick of Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez. In watching it, the natural question that pops up is "where did it come from?"

Ruckle credits a scout in developing the pitch. "I have a scout that signed me with the New York Mets; his name is Dave Birecki," said Ruckle in an online interview. "When I was just coming out of high school he asked me to try and create some deception or something and I asked him what I should do and he said, ‘Just try to flare your front arm up,' and I kind of exaggerated a little bit and I've always had kind of a high leg kick, so I started doing that and I liked it; it felt comfortable right from the get go. So far it's worked for me and I'll continue to use it. I like it, it's different. You don't see any other guy like that."

The Mets drafted Ruckle in the 41st round of the 2004 draft.

Ruckle's had some success in the minors to date, throwing a fastball around 88 miles an hour. It has hit 91 on occassion. He mixes in a curve as well, although he doesn't throw for strikes, going more for ground balls.

"I just try and throw strikes, change speeds and locate pitches," said Ruckle said in an interview after throwing eight innings of shut out ball against the Staten Island Yankees on July 6 of 2006. "I did the same thing in St. Lucie and I'll continue to do the same thing wherever I go."

Anyway, I want to learn to pitch like this:



Here's the view from the other side...



Weird, isn't it?

I found another bit on youtube as well called The Ruckle Shuffle. Kind of amusing, although I certainly wouldn't call it a shuffle movement.