Wednesday was a long day and today (Thursday) was a short day, but as the Northwoods League plan of action goes, both days were very successful. Yesterday we were able to visit two ballparks, seeing the Pirates and Twins in Bradenton and the Reds (who were playing The Netherlands) in Sarasota. Today we made a quick visit to Tigers camp in Lakeland.

We interviewed both Jason Jaramillo and Tom Gorzelanny of the Pirates. They both played for the St. Cloud River Bats but a year apart in 2002 and 2001, respectively. Jaramillo thinks he has a good chance to make the Pirates opening day roster. He was traded to Pittsburgh from Philadelphia during the offseason and is on the Pirates 40-man roster. Gorzelanny started on the mound in the game for the Pirates and pitched two innings, allowing one run.

We left in the middle innings of the game in Bradenton and made the 15-20 minute drive south to Sarasota’s Ed Smith Stadium. There we interviewed Daniel Herrera who is currently the most recent NWL player with regular season Major League Baseball experience. He pitched for the La Crosse Loggers in 2005. We also chatted with former St. Cloud catcher Chris Denove who was in St. Cloud for parts of three summers from 2002-2004 and Ben Jukich who was a pitcher for the Rochester Honkers in 2005 and briefly again in 2006. I spoke with Sam Lecure, who appeared in two games for the Brainerd Blue Thunder in 2005, but we determined that his Northwoods League experience was so brief that he wouldn’t have much to offer in an interview. Denove and Jukich are non-roster invitees and Lecure is on the 40-man roster. It was also great to chat with former Thunder Bay Border Cats general manager Dan Wolfert who is the GM for the Sarasota Reds. He spoke on camera about how starting the franchise in Thunder Bay has helped him as he’s moved on in his career. 

Today, at Tigers camp, we did something a little different. I was able to coordinate a roundtable discussion involving three up and coming prospects in the Tigers system. [From left to right] Andy Dirks had two great summers with the Blue Thunder in 2006 and 2007 and holds the NWL record for consecutive games on base with 52 in ’07. Robbie Weinhardt earned a championship ring while playing for the St. Cloud River Bats in 2007. Danny Worth won the NWL batting title in 2006 with the Alexandria Beetles. They spoke about the great times and great experience they had in the Northwoods League and why every college baseball player should experience it for at least one summer.

Tomorrow night we’ll head to Dunedin for the Toronto Blue Jays game against the Philadelphia Phillies. The players we’re hoping to speak with are Jays pitchers Casey Janssen and Jeremy Accardo and Phillies pitcher Joe Bisenius. 

-Curt