Pronk Needs to Keep With It

Sounds like Pronk's second opinion on his ailing shoulder was quite a bit like the first one.

The doc said he probably wouldn't need surgery, but should get his shoulder examined again in 7-10 days.

Click here to read the AP story.

A new campaign

As of today, I'm starting a campaign.

In this PC world, it is about time we get some PC that the populus can get behind.

With that, I introduce my new campaign, a PC rally cry I'm sure you you can relate to: Play Coste.

Playing primarily as a backup this season, Coste has seen his average dip under .300 over the course of four days. Let that sink in a minute. As a catcher, one of the hardest positions in all of professional sports to play, Chris Coste is hitting at an All-Star clip.

Coste has played in just 40 games this season, but has 37 hits in 120 at bats (.308) with 6 home runs and 17 at bats. With an on-base percentage of .366 and a slugging percentage of .533, his OPS is sitting right at .900. Very very good.

In the last 10 games he has 6 hits in 32 at bats, which isn't exactly off the charts and has watched his batting average fall from .341 to its current possition. It also appeared as though he started eight of nine straight games, a significantly heavy load.

If he was given a little more consistent playing schedule, Coste has proven he can hit at the major-league level. Against lefties this season he is hitting at a .344 clip, and is hitting .333 at home this season.

He has proven he can play. Now all he needs is a consistent schedule. If there is a GM in the majors that needs a batterymate that can rake on a day-in, day-out level with a break every fourth or fifth day (which is doesn't seem too out of the ordinary to me), trade for Coste. If you are a GM in the American League, plug him in as a DH and let him bat second. He'll get on base, he'll move guys along. He is the piece to the puzzle you need.

Quick Check on Ersty's Game Played This Season

So, prior to Wednesday's game, Jamestown native Darin Erstad has played in a total of 69 games this season.

He versatile Houston Astros player has pinch hit 32 times and was a pinch runner once this season. He has also logged 7 games at first, 18 games in left, 7 games in center and four games in right.

He has yet to commit an error this season, in 157 innings in the field. He has 36 put outs at first base and 33 put outs in the outfield. He is a plus defensively, I tell ya.

Offensively, he's still holding his own, hitting .316 with a .830 OPS to go with 2 home runs and 14 RBIs.

Pronk's Return Nixed

Travis Hafner's return has been put off, and the Cleveland Indians' slugger now has a date with a surgeon in Alabama. This is definitely not a good development for the Sykeston, ND, native.

Apparently surgery is an 'unlikely' option, according to an MLB story, but the surgeon will evaluate what needs to be done next to speed up Hafner's recovery.

He has been on the 15-day disabled list since May 30 and had been projected to rejoin the Tribe this week.

To give the full MLB story a read, click here.


Cleveland added another bat to their AAA lineup on Tuesday, acquiring Morgan Ensberg who had been designated for assignment by the Yankees. Ensberg can play either first or third base and might be an option to DH.

Pronk Swinging a Bat Again

Sounds like Travis Hafner is able to swing a bat again after taking a bit of time off to let his aching shoulder heal up a bit. Definitely a good sign, but how good of one really remains to be seen.

Click here to read the story from MLB.com.

Trib Story on Carr, Post Draft

The Trib's Mike Weber did a follow-up story with Kyle Carr, the Linton native taken in the 12th round of the MLB Draft.

The story talks about how at the end of the season Carr needed surgery on his knee and that may have hurt his draft status a bit, but he ended up going about where he thought he would go, and he's happy with the Twins' organization and that they are showing him continued support.

Good stuff. Click here to read it.

Twins take Carr, A's take Elgie in MLB draft

The Minnesota Twins continued showing some love for Kyle Carr, drafting the Linton southpaw on the second day of the MLB draft. Carr, who has been with the University of Minnesota since graduating high school, was taken in the 12th round.

No idea what the future holds for Kyle, if he is going to join one of the Twins' minor league clubs or if he will finish out his college career with the Gophers. Either way he will have a connection with the state of Minnesota, and of course he will always have a connection to North Dakota.

Fellow North Dakotan Zacary Elgie, who just graduated from Minot High, was also taken on the second day of the MLB Draft. Elgie, who is tabbed to play first at the next level, went two picks prior to Carr and joins a franchise that, like the Twins, builds from within and counts on prospects to earn their way through the minors.

Elgie will likely not go to the minors as I believe he had planned to go to college. Tough to say though, if he can play in the minors that is a pretty tantalizing prospect.

Either way, congrats to both. North Dakota has plenty of talent and it is always good to see when that talent gets a chance to go to that next step.

If you want to read the AP article on both being drafted, click here.

Ersty on the Radio

If you have the capability to pull in KQDJ on Saturday morning (that would be 1400 AM) and you have your eyes open at 9:06 a.m., you should tune in.

The pride of the Buffalo City, Jamestown (ND), will be on the airways talking about how his career is going this season with the Houston Astros.

Taking a look at Erstad's season (through June 4), he has 74 at bats in 50 games. He's hitting .311 (23 hits), 1 home run and 12 RBI.

In May was hit .300 (10-for-30) with four doubles, the home run and 8 RBI. He had four games in which he had more than two official at bats (two of those games during interleague play at Texas), and in two of those four games with four at bats, he had a pair of hits.

Basically a .300 hitter for his career, his postseason resume includes hitting .339 (40-for-118) in 29 games. He hit 3 homers and had 12 RBI while collecting 5 walks and striking out 17 times. He was also 4-for-4 in steal attempts.

This is all while playing plus defense either in the outfield or at first.

I am pulling for Ersty to become a bench coach when he decides to retire from being an MLB player, I think the guy just IS a leader.

Pronk Hoping For Return Friday

The Cleveland Indians' Travis Hafner has been out of the lineup for a couple of days, but it looks as though there is a chance he could return soon.

From a release on the Cleveland Indians' web site, Pronk got a cortisone shot on Tuesday that may help his shoulder inflammation. When asked about his return, Hafner hoped to be back on Friday.

The shoulder problems could go a long way towards explaining Pronk's production slippage so far this season.

After having MVP-type numbers in 2005 and 2006, Hafner's home run total dipped from 42 in 2006 to 24 in 2007.

So far in 2008 Hafner is hitting just .217 with 4 home runs and 22 RBI. Now granted, he also has a stolen base (he has 7 total in his career), but I'm assuming most pitchers don't feel they need to keep Pronk too close to the bag. Normally Hafner starts the season like a fireball and the last two seasons he has had slower months of April and May.

With any luck Hafner, who turns 31 on June 3, can get his shoulder problems straightened out. He was an absolute game-changer when he was healthy and if the Indians want to have any shot at a postseason run, Pronk is going to have to be healthy.

Darin Erstad - May 21

Major League Baseball's pride of Jamestown, Darin Erstad, recently passed a career hit total of 1600 recently. Gotta say, that is a pile of hits. No, we aren't talking about breaking the MLB record in hits or anything like that, but Ersty has had one heck of a career.

Considering he spent parts of a couple of seasons on the disabled list, his career numbers probably will never reflect the offensive impact he's had over his career. And, because he was such a standout defensive player (the only major league player to get gold gloves in the outfield and infield) a lot of his offensive contributions will likely be overlooked.

For his career he's played in 1,448 games and is a .284 hitter (1602-for-5633). He has 300 doubles, 31 triples, 119 home runs (a .751 career OPS), 668 RBI and 178 stolen bases.

As a part-time player and pinch hitter for Houston this season he's found a bit of a revival in his career. Take the last 10 games he's played in for instance: He's hitting .375 (6-for-16) with 7 RBI, 1 HR, 2 runs, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts. Of hose 10 games he's started three of them, pinch hit in five of them and was a defensive replacement in two without an at bat.

On the season he's hitting .308. Split that between righties and southpaws, he's hitting .300 against right-handed pitching and .400 versus lefties. He gives you quality at bats, drives in runs, and doesn't look foolish with the glove.

Injuries have been his one bugaboo, and it remains to be seen if he'll play throughout the entire season, but he's off to a fabulous start in 2008. Here's to him continuing to provide solid production throughout the entire season.