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2008: "A Game of
Inches";
Volcanoes Finish An
Inch Away From Third Consecutive NWL Championship
It is said that baseball
is "A Game of Inches", and the 2008 Salem-Keizer Volcanoes
certainly lived up to that famous quote in their quest for a third
consecutive Northwest League Championship after winning the coveted title
in 2006 and 2007. Finishing league play with a record of 40-36 (.526
winning percentage) which was matched by the Eugene Emeralds at 40-36, the
Volcanoes won the tie-breaker by "an inch" with a better record
than Eugene against the third place team -- the Vancouver Canadians, thus
qualifying the Volcanoes to meet the Eastern Divisional Champions, the
Spokane Indians, who sported the best record in the league at 51-25
(.671), for the 2008 Northwest League Title. And speaking of inches,
the Volcanoes found themselves in 24 one-run games, nearly 1/3 of the
season schedule, and being triumphant in 14 of those games.
The "Game of Inches" began
immediately in 2008 as the Volcanoes went 8 and 6 in June, continued with
a 14-15 record in July, a 17-13 record in August, and finished with a 1-2
league record in September. With Volcanoes Manager Tom Trebelhorn having
to deal with a rotating lineup, as over 50 players wore a Volcanoes
uniform in 2008, partly due to substantial injuries to several key players
such as Michael Ambort, Francisco Peguero, Skyler Stromsmoe and others, it
is absolutely amazing that the Volcanoes were never out of first place
from game one thru the last game of the regular season -- tied on several
occasions -- but never out of first place.
And
true to form, the "Game of Inches" continued in the 2008 Northwest
League Championship Series. The Volcanoes opened the best three-of-five
playoffs with a very hard fought 5-3 victory in Spokane with pitcher Andy
Reichard leading the way with one of his best performances of the season
going 5.1 innings, not allowing any runs on 4 hits, and striking out 4.
In the bottom of the 9th, closer Edwin Quirarte struck out all
three Spokane batters to seal the victory.
Game 2 in Spokane, the "Game of Inches"
was still present as the Indians rallied in the bottom of the 10th
inning to break a 10-10 score to win 11-10. Both teams had 15 hits.
And the series was tied 1-1.
The Volcanoes felt like they were in a
great position returning to "The Crater" and the loyal, highly-supportive
and energetic Volcanoes fans behind them for Game 3. The Volcanoes
struck early and often, and led 10-2 after the completion of five innings,
and it was looking good for the home team. Then disaster struck in the 6th
inning as the Volcanoes bullpen was unable to corral the Indians. They
scored 5 in the 6th, 1 in the 7th and 2 in the 8th
to tie the score at 10-10 for the second consecutive night. In the 9th
inning, with ace closer Edwin Quirarte on the mound and two outs, the
Indians got a single, a Volcanoes error and a single to score the winning
run, and once again the Volcanoes lost a "Game of Inches" 11-10
despite outhitting the Indians 13-5.
Down 2 games to 1 entering game four, the
Volcanoes trailed 4-3 after five innings, however, took a 5-4 lead after
the seventh inning. Spokane tied the game at 5-5 in the eighth inning
setting up another extra-inning game. With Volcanoe runners on second
and third and two out, a screaming liner heading to rightfield to score
the winning run, hit the base umpire to cause a dead ball, and put the
batter at first base. With bases loaded, the Volcanoes grounded out to
end the comeback, and Spokane scored one in the tenth inning to win the
game and the NWL Championship 6-5. Yes, indeed, it was not just a
"Game of Inches", but a "Season of Inches". So close, yet so
far away from a three-peat.
The Volcanoes fans got a look at both of
the Giants 1st round draft picks -- catcher Buster Posey of
Florida State, college player of the year, who was promoted to the San
Jose Giants just prior to the playoffs, and third baseman, Conor Gillaspie
of Wichita State, who was called up to the San Francisco Giants after game
two of the playoffs.
Mike
Loberg (.292, 8 home runs, 49 RBI's) was the Volcanoes lone NWL
All-Star. His 49 RBI's led the league and he was second in runs scored
with 53. Teammate Michael Ambort was second in the league for homeruns
with 11 despite missing many games due to injury.

Pitcher Mike Loree led the league in
Innings Pitched with 87, second in ERA at 2.44 and third in the league in
strikeouts with 75. Wilbur Burcardo was tied for second in Wins with 6,
and Andy Reichard was third in the league with an ERA of 2.87.
The Volcanoes drew 112,425 fans during the
season, bringing the team's total attendance over 12 years to more than
1.49 million fans (3,212 per game).
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Here are the totals for
former Salem-Keizer Volcanoes who played in the Giants system in 2008:
San Francisco Giants:
Record: 72-90 - .444, 4th Place, 12.0 Games Back
Pitchers: Kevin
Correia (3-8,6.05, 25 games), Brad Hennessey (1-2, 7.81, 17 games),
Tim Lincecum
(18-5, 2.62, 34 games), Jonathan Sanchez (9-12, 5.01, 29
games), Jack
Taschner (3-2, 4.88, 67 games), Alex Hinshaw (2-1, 3.40, 48
games), Sergio
Romo (3-1, 2.12, 29 games), Geno Espinelli (2-0, 5.06,
15 games).
Position Players:
Fred Lewis (.282, 9 HR, 40 RBI), John Bowker (.255, 10 HR, 43 RBI)
Emmanuel Burris (.283, 1 HR, 18 RBI), Pablo Sandoval (.345, 3 HR,
24
RBI), Travis Ishikawa (.274, 3 HR, 15 RBI), Stephen Holm (.262,
1
HR, 6 RBI), Nate Schierholtz (.320, 1 HR, 5 RBI), Connor Gillaspie
(.200, O HR, 0 RBI).
LINCECUM SETS NEW GIANTS STRIKEOUT MARK
With
a strikeout of Colorado slugger Matt Holliday to end the 4th
inning on Tuesday night, September 23rd, former Salem-Keizer
Volcanoes pitcher, Tim Lincecum (2006) established a new Giants,
single-season strikeout record. Lincecum's nine punchouts at AT&T Park
against the Rockies brought his season total to 252, eclipsing Jason
Schmidt's club record of 251 in 2004. Lincecum ended the season with 265
strikeouts against only 84 walks.
Source: Fresno Grizzlies Website
Fresno Grizzlies:
AAA Record: 67-76 - .469, 3rd Place, 15.5
Games Back
Pitchers: Geno
Espinelli (1-1, 2.66, 38 games), Jesse Foppert (2-1, 7.62, 24 games),
Pat Misch (6-5,
5.38, 20 games), Matt Palmer (6-10, 4.18, 26 games), Nick
Pereira (7-8,
5.70, 19 games), Ryan Sadowski (8-4, 4.80, 31 games),
Position Players:
Brian Bocock (.163, 0 HR, 3 RBI), John Bowker (.237, 2 HR, 9 RBI),
Ben Copeland (.341, 0 HR, 4 RBI), Brian Horowitz (.277, 7 HR,
29
RBI), Daniel Ortmeier (.206, 1 HR, 9 RBI), Nate Schierholtz
(.320, 18 HR, 73 RBI), Clay Timpner (.245, 3 HR, 46 RBI).
Connecticut Defenders:
AA Record: 68-73 - .482, 4th Place ND, 18.5 Games Back
Pitchers: Garrett
Broshuis (13-9, 3.78, 28 games), Joe Martinez (10-10, 2.49, 27
games), Adam
Cowart (8-7, 3.76, 32 games), Dave McKae (8-9, 4.57,
28 games), Ben
Snyder (1-6, 5.98, 13 games), Kelvin Pichardo (2-4, 2.48,
46 games), Paul
Oseguera (3-2, 4.58, 19 games), Daryl Maday (1-1,8.35)
Position Players:
Pablo Sandoval (.337, 8 HR, 37 RBI), Eddy Martinez-Esteve (.298,
6
HR, 42 RBI), Ryan Rohlinger (.296, 6 HR, 19 RBI), Travis Ishikawa
(.291, 8 HR, 48 RBI), Jake Wald (.262, 2 HR, 15 RBI), Adam Witter
(.238, 20 HR, 77 RBI), David Maroul (.230, 10 HR, 35 RBI), Carlos
Sosa
(.253, 10 HR, 53 RBI), Ben Copeland (.261, 5 HR, 42 RBI).
San Jose Giants:
Advanced Long-Season A Record: 85-55, 1st ND First Half,
2nd
ND Second Half
Lost Division Playoff
Pitchers: Jesse
English (13-4, 2.79, 26 games), Kevin Pucetas (10-2, 3.02, 24 games),
Clayton Tanner
(10-8, 3.69, 24 games), Ben Snyder (8-3, 2.00, 15 games),
Steve Edlefsen
(8-5, 3.36, 40 games), Juan Trinidad (1-1, 1.53, 43 games),
Joe Paterson (3-2,
3.11, 34 games), Danny Otero (1-1. 3.67, 34 games),
Daryl Maday (3-0,
2.05, 4 games), Taylor Wilding (1-6, 3.39, 46 games).
Position Players:
Pablo Sandoval (.359, 12 HR, 59 RBI), Brad Boyer (.348, 7 HR,
45
RBI), Matt Downs (.304, 17 HR, 75 RBI), Mike McBryde (.295,
5
HR, 46 RBI), Brock Bond (.297, 0 HR, 19 RBI), Ryan Rohlinger
(.285, 7 HR, 46 RBI), Bobby Felmy (.283, 6 HR, 58 RBI), Brett Pill
(.266, 9 HR, 65 RBI), Tyler Graham (,264, 2 HR, 29 RBI),
Tyler
LaTorre (.253, 2 HR, 8 RBI), Sharlon Schoop (.246, 7 HR, 52 RBI),
Jackson Williams (.231, 3 HR, 16 RBI).
Augusta Greenjackets:
Long-Season A Record: 88-50, Won South Atlantic
League Title
Pitchers: Scott
Barnes (3-2, 1.38, 6 games), Steve Calicutt (2-3, 4.25, 10 games),
TJ Brewer (10-4,
2.95, 6 games), Craig Clark (8-4, 3.51, 23 games),
Chance Corgan
(4-5, 2.93, 13 games),Andy De La Garza (6-2, 3.33, 53 games)
Oliver Odle
(10-7, 3.77, 24 games), Wilmin Rodriguez (2-1, 2.45, 18 games).
Position Players:
Garrett Baker (2.64, 9 HR, 63 RBI), Dayton Buller (.281, 5 HR,
17
RBI), Andrew Davis (.253, 3 HR, 56 RBI), Shane Jordan (.253,
0
HR, 29 RBI), Thomas Neal (.276, 15 HR, 85 RBI), Angel Villalona
(.263, 17 HR, 64, RBI).
Arizona Giants: Rookie
A Record: 36-20 Won Arizona Rookie League
Pitchers: Kelvin
Marte (2-1, 1.78, 8 games), Ryan Verdugo (1-0, 2.08, 8 games),
Andrew Bowlin
(1-0, 12.10, 7 games), Carlos De La Rosa (1-2, 5.06, 7 games)
Postiion Players:
Brooks Lindsley (.349, 0 HR, 14 RBI), Carlos Quintana (.333, 0 HR,
10
RBI)
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