April 11, 2008
More players added to roster
The Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball have agreed to terms with three more players for the 2008 season.
The team brings back pitcher Chad Bentz and added former Atlantic Leaguers Jeff Sparks and Branden Florence.
Bentz, 27, was drafted in 2001 by the Expos in the 7th round. Bentz became the second pitcher, after Jim Abbott, to play in the Major Leagues after being born without one of his hands. He saw Major League time in 2004 and 2005 with the Montreal Expos and Florida Marlins, respectively. In 2004, he pitched 27.2 innings and struck out 18 batters for the Expos before moving to the Florida Marlins minor league system. After playing for the Marlins, Chicago White Sox and Cincinnati Reds affiliates, Bentz came to the Bluefish in 2007. He finished the season 1-1 and struck out 15 batters in 12.1 innings.
Sparks, 35, was drafted in 1995 by the Cincinnati Reds in the 24th round. In 1999 and 2000, he played throughout the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization. In 2000 he pitched 20.1 innings at the Major League level with 24 strike outs and posted a 3.54 ERA. In 2004 Sparks entered into the Atlantic League with the Nashua pride going 5-4 with a 2.70 ERA. He recorded 10 saves and struck out 69 batters in 53.1 innings.
Florence, 29, was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the San Francisco Giants in 2001. In 2004, Florence played for the Lancaster Barnstormers in the Atlantic League and batted .345 in 20 games. Florence had 19 runs, 5 homeruns and 20 RBIs before moving on to the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies affiliates.
Posted by Bustraan on 4:55 PM
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April 10, 2008
4 more added to Bluefish roster
The Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball have announced the signing of four more players to the 2008 roster. The team re-signed pitcher Matt Ford and added catcher Brian Peterson along with pitchers Barry Hertzler and Mike Connolly.
Ford, 26, was drafted in 1999 by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 3rd round. In 2003, he pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers and struck out 26 batters in 43.2 innings. After playing for the Brewers, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins minor league affiliates, Ford came to the Atlantic League. In 2007, Ford finished 2-4 with the York Revolution. He struck out 27 batters in 41.1 innings before coming to the Bluefish late in the season.
Peterson, 29, was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Cleveland Indians in 1999, and has played for the Indians, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, and the Pittsburgh Pirates affiliates. In 2007, Peterson played for the Pirates AA team in Altoona and finished the season with a .272 batting average, 30 RBIs, 30 runs and 68 hits in 83 games.
Hertzler, 26, was drafted in 2003 by the Boston Red Sox in the 11th round. Since 2003, he has played through the Sox farm system up to the AAA level in Pawtucket. In 2006, Hertzler went 4-2 in 40.2 innings pitched in Pawtucket. He recorded 2 saves and struck out 19 batters.
Connolly, 25, was drafted in 2000 by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 19th round, and has played in the Pirates minor league system for nine years. In 2007, Connolly played for the Kansas City Royals AA affiliate in Wichita and struck out 72 batters in 110.1 innings. He finished the 2007 season 4-7.
Posted by Bustraan on 11:15 AM
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April 9, 2008
Bluefish sign ex-major leaguers
The Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball have announced the acquisition of two players with Major League time to the 2008 roster. The team added infielder Alex Prieto and pitcher Eric Dubose.
Prieto, 31, comes to the Bluefish after a trade with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs for future consideration. He was signed as a nondrafted free agent by the Royals in 1992. He has two seasons of Major League experience with the Minnesota Twins as an infielder. Along with the Major League time, he also has eight seasons of AAA experience. Last season playing for Pawtucket (AAA affiliate of the Red Sox) he finished with 22 runs, 3 homeruns and 21 RBIs in only 59 games.
Dubose, 31, was selected by the Athletics in the first round (21st overall) of the 1997 draft. Dubose brings five seasons of Major League experience to the Bluefish pitching staff. He has seen time with the Baltimore Orioles from 2002 – 2006 with his best year coming in 2003. During that season he appeared in 17 games with ten starts. He finished with a 3-6 record, 3.79 ERA, 44 strikeouts and one complete game in 73.2 innings of work.
Dubose is the fourth first round draft pick signed to the Bluefish roster this season, joined by outfielder Shaun Boyd, pitchers Tim Drew and T.J. Tucker. The two new Bluefish also increase the number of players with Major League time to four.
Posted by Bustraan on 2:32 PM
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April 4, 2008
Bluefish sign new assistant coaches
Bridgeport, CT – The Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball have named Jeff Scott and Glenn Murray as Bench and Hitting coaches for the 2008 season, respectively.
Scott is no stranger to the Atlantic League, spending time as pitching coach for the then Pennsylvania Road Warriors and Long Island Ducks before managing the always traveling Road Warriors in 2006 and 2007. The Road Warriors had their most successful seasons in their team history under Scott’s tutelage. After the conclusion of the 2007 season, Scott was named Atlantic League Manager of the Year in 2007.
Scott began his managerial career with the Bellingham Mariners from 1979 to 1983. He stepped into the role of assistant director of player development for the Seattle Mariners in 1983 before moving up to director of player development in 1984-1985. After his three seasons with the Mariners, he moved to the Cleveland Indians as director of player development in 1986-1987 and Scouting Director in 1987-1988. Scott was the scouting director of the Detroit Tigers in 1994-1996 and director of player procurement for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1999-2001. During his time with the St. Louis Cardinals he was responsible for acquiring now All-Star Albert Pujols in the 13th round (pick 402 overall) of the 1999 draft.
Murray was drafted in 1989 by the Montreal Expos in the 2nd round, 40th overall. After playing at Class A for a few years and traded on two occasions, he arrived at the AAA affiliates for the Boston Red Sox and later the Philadelphia Phillies. In 1996, Murray split time between the AAA and major league levels for the Phillies.
After spending two years with the Cincinnati Reds’ system, Murray found himself in Nashua where he became a perennial powerhouse. Over his seven seasons in the Atlantic League he hit .272 overall with 158 homers, 86 stolen bases and 528 RBIs. He stayed with Nashua in 2006 when they moved from the A.L. to the Can-Am League and added another 40 hits and 31 RBIs to his career totals in 53 games that season.
His success in the Atlantic League was widely noted when he was named to the All-Star squad in both 1999 and 2000. Murray was named Atlantic League Player of the Year in 1999 when he smashed out 29 home runs, 102 RBIs, a .272 average and had 22 stolen bases on 24 attempts. Murray currently holds the record for most homeruns in a career for the Atlantic League.
Posted by Bustraan on 6:15 PM
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