Lugnuts finish season with 11-0 rout of Captains

EASTLAKE, OH – The Lansing Lugnuts (34-36; 70-69) finished the 2010 season with an 11-0 romp over the Lake County Captains (33-37; 77-62), led by four hits apiece from Jake Marisnick and Brad Glenn and a seven-inning, two-hit, shutout performance from starting pitcher Casey Lawrence.

Lake County starter Trey Haley (5-11) lasted only two-thirds of an inning, reached for three runs on two hits, two walks, a wild pitch, and a hit batsman.

The Lugnuts scored four more runs in the fourth inning against reliever Mike Rayl before putting the game away on Randy Schwartz's first home run of the season in the sixth inning.

Lawrence (1-1) cruised from there, allowing only a Chase Burnette infield single and one of two Adam Abraham doubles.

Ryan Tepera pitched the eighth inning and Scott Gracey and Matt Wright combined for the ninth, with Wright striking out Ben Carlson and Dwight Childs to end the season.

The Lugnuts offense combined for 16 base hits in the easy win, half of those provided by McElroy and Marisnick. Schwartz and Oliver Dominguez added a pair of hits each, and leadoff Dominguez scored three runs.

Lansing also stole five bases in the game, two by Marisnick and one each from McElroy, Michael Crouse, and Jon Del Campo.

Here is what Jake had to say on Twitter after the game:

Last game of my first season went good.. Flying home tomorrow.. Had a lot of fun this season and learned a lot

Our boy Jesse caught up with Lugnuts manager Sal Fasano a few days ago. Some of the highlights include:

• Sal mentioning the organization having All Stars at the catcher position in every level
• Doc having the best sinker he had every seen
• A shout out to the Italian fanbase in Toronto
• Him owning the White Sox during his playing days
• Glowing words for both SS Ryan Goins and C A.J. Jimenez

Sal does say "whether I'm here or not" which leads me to believe he may be making a move this offseason. He may get the opportunity to manage at a higher level next year and it wouldn't be a complete shocker if he ended up in the Majors, perhaps as a pitching coach.

Jesse also caught up with Sal before the season started. They discuss how he ended up getting the job as the manager of the Lugnuts and what it was like to be in spring training as a coach and not a player. Gotta love the singing of God Bless America in the background.

Is this the face of your Toronto Blue Jays next manager? There was this story not too far back.....

Interview With Michael Crouse

Michael Crouse was selected by your Toronto Blue Jays in 16th Round (489th overall) of 2008 Amateur Draft.  He was given a  $150,000 signing bonus by scout Kevin Briand.

"Great body kid, he actually looks like (Alex) Rios physically," said Blue Jays scouting director Jon Lalonde at the time he was drafted. "Athletic, a bit of a project, he's going to take time in development and patience, but you can really dream on him. He's got a really high ceiling." 

Our boy Jesse - who in all fairness has only been watching him for not even a week - says this:

First thing that occurs to me is athleticism.  I haven’t seen anything mind-blowingly awesome… but he’s 19, he’s growing, he’s fast, he’s got a quick bat, he works hard, he’s smart, he can play the outfield, he can throw… He’s very clearly the sort of player whose ceiling is really high.

This embedded stats table comes courtesy of Baseball Reference.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	Lev	Aff	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB
2008	17	Blue Jays	GULF	Rk	TOR	7	20	15	2	2	0	1	0	0	1	1	3	7	.133	.316	.267	.582	4	1	1	1	0	0
2009	18	Blue Jays	GULF	Rk	TOR	55	214	188	28	41	9	4	2	17	25	5	23	53	.218	.308	.340	.649	64	5	2	0	1	1
2010	19	2 Teams	2 Lgs	Rk-A	TOR	32	121	109	19	35	8	3	4	20	9	7	10	37	.321	.388	.560	.948	61	1	2	0	0	0
2010	19	Blue Jays	GULF	Rk	TOR	28	107	96	17	32	7	3	4	20	9	6	9	32	.333	.402	.594	.996	57	1	2	0	0	0
2010	19	Lansing	MIDW	A	TOR	4	14	13	2	3	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	5	.231	.286	.308	.593	4	0	0	0	0	0
3 Seasons						94	355	312	49	78	17	8	6	37	35	13	36	97	.250	.336	.413	.750	129	7	5	1	1	1
Rk (3 seasons)						90	341	299	47	75	16	8	6	37	35	12	35	92	.251	.338	.418	.756	125	7	5	1	1	1
A (1 season)						4	14	13	2	3	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	5	.231	.286	.308	.593	4	0	0	0	0	0

That looks very encouraging and all but......

What if I now told you he is a Canadian boy from out West?

Team: North Shore Twins (B.C. Premier Baseball League)
Hometown: Port Moody, B.C.
High School:  Centennial (Coquitlam, British Columbia)  "Centaurs"

Lansing Lugnuts Roster Transaction

Hat tip to Batter's Box for the pic

LANSING, Mich. – The Lansing Lugnuts, in conjunction with the Toronto Blue Jays, announced Saturday that outfielder Mike Crouse has been received from the GCL Blue Jays (Rookie – Gulf Coast League) while outfielder Chris Hopkins has been promoted to Dunedin (A-Advanced – Florida State League).

Crouse, 19, was the Blue Jays’ 16^th round selection in the 2008 Draft.  In 28 games in the GCL, he batted .333 with four home runs, 20 RBIs, nine stolen bases, and an OPS of .996.

The Lugnuts roster comprises 25 active players and three players on the DL. 

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ADD:  OF Mike Crouse, received from GCL Blue Jays (Rookie – Gulf Coast League)

DELETE:  OF Chris Hopkins, promoted to Dunedin (A-Advanced – Florida State League)

Analysis: 

Heard great things about this young OF. 

You can find his stats courtesy of Minor League Splits by clicking here.

Stay tuned for an interview at some point in the not to distance future.