Monthly Archives: April 2010

Robinson Chirinos is one of the hottest hitters in the Southern League (Photo by Roger C. Hoover)

For two seasons and a total of 80 games, Robinson Chirinos was known as an integral part of the double play combination for the Tennessee Smokies. However, when the 2009 season began, fans were looking around the infield with Chirinos not to be found.

He could not be found because he was donning a catcher’s mask. In the off-season Robinson had made the switch from middle infielder to catcher. Playing as an infielder most of his life, Roberto Alomar was a player he grew up following. With the switch to catcher, Robinson didn’t have to look very far to find the catcher he wanted to model his game after.

“When I started making the adjustment, it was Henry Blanco of the Cubs,” said Chirinos. “He was a great catcher and I was just trying to be as good as him.”

The 2009 season would be somewhat of a transition year for Chirinos as he learned the position but he still put up great numbers at single-A Daytona. In 69 games, Chirinos hit .300 with 11 home runs and 47 runs batted in. Then on August 4^th, Chirinos returned to Tennessee for the first time as a catcher.

Robinson finished the season with Tennessee hitting .294 with 52 runs batted in. Heading into the 2010 season, he was garnering a lot of attention from the Chicago Cubs as he was beginning to flourish in the new position. When the Cubs started inviting players to spring training, Chirinos was one of the Tennessee Smokies who got the call for the first time.

In 2010, for the first time, Chirinos began the year in double-A with Tennessee. The career milestone seemed to give Chirinos extra motivation as he hit .379 with 3 home runs the first week of the season en route to being named the first Southern League Hitter of the Week for the 2010 season. The hot start to the season has caught the eye of everyone involved with the Smokies organization and Chirinos credits the position change for his success.

“I have more of an idea of what the pitcher is trying to do when I’m hitting,” said Chirinos.

So far through 20 games, Chirinos is batting .351 with 5 home runs and 18 runs batted in. The next series for Tennessee is against Chattanooga, a team that Chirinos is anxious to see again. In the first 5-game set against the Lookouts he went 6-14 with three home runs and seven runs batted in. You can listen to Chirinos and the rest of the Smokies take on Chattanooga on The Sports Animal WNML-AM 990, FM 99.1, 99.3 or here on smokiesbaseball.com.

Hey Smokies Fans!

It’s time for the finale of the Birmingham series. After the Barons’ 5-4 win yesterday the series is all tied at 2, so today’s 11:30 a.m. game is the rubber match. Tennessee has not lost a series so far this year.

We’re internet only for the broadcast, so you can listen here on smokiesbaseball.com.

Here are the lineups for tonight’s game.

Birmingham Barons (4-14)

1. Dale Mollenhauer, 2B
2. Greg Paiml, SS
3. Jim Gallagher, 1B
4. Christian Marrero, DH
5. Salvador Sanchez, RF
6. Cole Armstrong, C
7. John Shelby III, CF
8. Justin Fuller, 3B
9. Tyler Kuhn, LF

Pitching: Justin Cassel (0-1, 2.84)

Tennessee Smokies (15-4)

1. Brandon Guyer, CF
2. Starlin Castro, SS
3. Ty Wright, LF
4. Blake Lalli, 1B
5. Robinson Chirinos, C
6. Tony Thomas, 2B
7. Russ Canzler, RF
8. Ryan Flaherty, DH
9. Jake Opitz, 3B

Pitching: Austin Bibens-Dirkxs (0-1, 4.09)
We’re glad to have another great morning for baseball and hopefully you can listen in!

Listen Live

Hey Smokies Fans!

It’s great to be at the ballpark for some day baseball. We’ve had some rain at Smokies Park but the tarp is coming off the field and it looks like we’re going to get underway at  12 noon.

We’re internet only today as Mick, Roger, and Alex will handle the play-by-play. You can listen to the game here on smokiesbaseball.com.

Thanks for listening!

Hey Smokies Fans!

Only one tonight at Smokies Park as Tennessee takes on Birmingham in Game 3 of the series. Fans are already lining up for the first Dollar Hot Dog night of the season, and the Smokies will be fighting to take control of the series after splitting the doubleheader yesterday.

Here’s a look at tonight’s startling lineup:

Birmingham Barons (3-13)

1. John Shelby, CF
2. Dale Mollenhauer, 2B
3. Jim Gallagher, 1B
4. Brent Morel, 3B
5. Christian Marrero, LF
6. Lee Cruz, DH
7. Cole Armstrong, C
8. Salvador Sanchez, RF
9. Greg Paiml, SS

Pitching: Jhonny Nunez (0-1, 4.80)

Tennessee Smokies (14-3)

1. Tony Campana, CF
2. Starlin Castro, SS
3. Ty Wright, LF
4. Blake Lalli, 1B
5. Robinson Chirinos, C
6. Steve Clevenger, DH
7. Tony Thomas, RF
8. Ryan Flaherty, 2B
9. Jake Opitz, 3B

Pitching: Marco Carrillo (2-0, 3.72)

News and Notes

Baseball’s Best: Tennessee’s 14-3 record is tops in baseball. Here’s a look at the other teams in the game with similar records.

1. Tennessee Smokies (14-3) Southern League(AA)…Next Game: vs Birmingham (3-13)
2. Durham Bulls(14-4) International League(AAA)…Next Game: vs Gwinnett (7-11)
3. Lake County Captains (14-4) Midwest League(AA)…Next Game: vs Dayton (9-9)
4. Quad Cities River Bandits (14-4) Midwest League(AA)…Next Game: vs Kane County (9-9)
5. Tampa Bay Rays (14-5) American League(MLB)…Next Game: vs Oakland (12-8)

Do the Wright Thing: At the start of today, Ty Wright leads all of Class AA baseball with 20 runs batted in. Wright leads the Southern League in the RBI category by two, with the next closest teammate Robinson Chirinos with 18. Wright made a huge jump in the category on Friday night when he collected 7 RBIs against Carolina. Wright went 3-5 in the game with two home runs. Wright is currently hitting .338 with three homers and the 20 RBIs.

Tennessee Bat Factory: The Smokies lead the Southern League with a team batting average of .302. Tennessee’s average is best in the league by a full 22 points, as the next closest team is Huntsville as the Stars are hitting .278. Tennessee also has a comfortable lead in the team RBI category, as the Smokies have 104 RBIs in 2010 with the next closest team West Tenn with their 84. The Smokies also lead the league in runs, hits, doubles, triples, slugging percentage, on base percentage, on base plus slugging percentage and total base hits.

Chirinos SL Hitter of the Week: Tennessee Smokies catcher Robinson Chirinos was named today by the Southern League as its “Hitter of the Week,” for the duration of April 8 – 18. The award is Chirinos’ first of the season. Through April 18, Chirinos led the Southern League with a .759 slugging percentage and was tied for the league home run lead with three. Chirinos, who is currently riding an eight-game hitting streak, went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs Friday night against the Chattanooga Lookouts.

Homers at Home: Tennessee has hit seven of their 12 home runs at Smokies Park. Robinson Chirinos has especially enjoyed hitting at home, with four of his five homers happening at 3540 Line Drive.

Campana first up in “On the Road”: Tony Campana was the first to take part in a new addition to the Smokies Radio Network blog. Campana wrote the first “On the Road” entry, which will be a series this season where players blog their thoughts on the team and life on the road. To check out Tony’s blog entry, go to http://smokiesonradio.com and click the “On the Road” category on the right-hand side of the page.

Our coverage will begin at 7 p.m. with the Pilot-Oscar Mayer Pregame Show hosted by Roger Hoover and Alex Powell. Mick Gillispie will anchor the play-by-play for the game, which begins at 7:15. You can listen to the game here on smokiesbaseball.com, or on the Sports Animal WNML-AM 990, FM 99.1, 99.3.

After dropping a stunning game 1 to the 2-12 Birmingham Barons, the Tennessee Smokies needed to bounce back to take game 2 of the Sunday doubleheader if they wanted to avoid 2010′s first losing streak. Just like in game 1, and the majority of their games this season, the Smokies would grab the early lead on Birmingham. However, in baseball no lead is safe and anything can happen. So would the Smokies bullpen hold the lead and could the offense provide enough insurance runs?

With no score in the bottom of the 2nd inning the Smokies continued their domination of the 2nd inning with a 6-run outburst. The offensive onslaught was headed by a total of four doubles which plated 3 runs. Ty Wright added to his team-leading RBI total with a 2-run single putting him at 20 RBI for the season. The Barons would counter with three runs of their own in the next half inning cutting the Smokies lead in half, 6-3. The third inning would also be the last inning of work for starter Chris Carpenter, who was making his 2010 Smokies debut, giving way to Scott Maine also making his 2010 Smokies debut.

With the score still at 6-3, Robinson Chirinos would double in Ty Wright tin the bottom half of the fifth inning to make it 7-3. Chirinos finished with 5 total RBI in the twin bill, leading all players. Facing a now 4-run deficit in the top of the sixth, the Barons would stage a rally.

Leading off the top of the sixth was Jared Price and he wasted little time cutting into the Smokies lead. He sent a Scott Maine fastball over the wall in left center to  make it a 7-4 ballgame. Dale Mollenhauer would single next and later score on John Selby’s third triple of the season trimming the Smokies lead down to two. Three more singles in the inning would plate two more runs before Jake Muyco got the Smokies out of the inning and the game would be tied heading to the bottom half of the sixth.

Joe Torres would start the sixth for Birmingham off with a cardinal sin of baseball, walking the leadoff hitter Tony Thomas. Ryan Flaherty would then get to second on a throwing error made by Torres sending Thomas all the way to third. With one out and the go ahead run just 90 feet away, Tony Campana would score Tony Thomas on a fielder’s choice to give the Smokies the lead. Flaherty would later score to add some insurance for the Smokies as they went to the 7th and final inning with a 9-7 lead.

Jake Muyco and Dustin Sasser combined to retire the Barons in order sealing the Smokies victory, 9-7. With the win it improves the Smokies record to 14-3 and gives them a 4-game lead in the Southern League standings. Jake Muyco got his first win of the year for Tennessee, Joe Torres took the loss for Birmingham. The Smokies are back in action Monday against Birmingham with first pitch set for 7:15 PM(EST). As always, you can listen live on SmokiesBaseball.com where Mick Gillispie will bring you the action with the Pilot/Oscar Meyer pre-game show beginning at 7:00 PM(EST).

The Barons took the first game of the doubleheader from Tennessee with a 4-3 win in game one.

The loss did feature a big highlight for Tennessee, as Robinson Chirinos blasted a three-run homer in the bottom of the first to give the Smokies a 3-0 lead. Chirinos now has five home runs, which leads Tennessee and is second-best in the Southern League.

Game two of the doubleheader is underway at Smokies Park, listen live to Mick and stay tuned after the game for the Tenth-Inning Wrap-Up Show with Roger and Alex.

Listen Live

Hey Smokies fans!

As if two games on Thursday weren’t enough, the Smokies are back in double-header action as they begin the series against Birmingham with today’s two games. Both games will be seven innings long, with a 30 minute break in-between games. Our coverage begins at 1:45 p.m. on WNML-AM 990 with the Pilot-Oscar Mayer Pregame Show with Roger Hoover and Alex Powell.

Here are the lineups for Game 1 of the series, which begins at 2 pm here.

Birmingham Barons 2-12

1. John Shelby, CF

2. Dale Molenhauer, 2B

3. Jim Gallagher, 1B

4. Brent Morel, 3B

5. Christian Marrero, LF

6. Lee Cruz, DH

7. Cole Armstrong, C

8. Salvador Sanchez, RF

9. Greg Paiml, SS

Pitching: Matt Long (0-2, 6.91)

Tennessee Smokies (13-2)

1. Tony Campana, CF

2. Starlin Castro, SS

3. Ty Wright, LF

4. Blake Lalli, 1B

5. Robinson Chirinos, DH

6. Brandon Guyer, RF

7. Steve Clevenger, C

8. Ryan Flaherty, 2B

9. Jake Opitz, 2B

Pitching: Andrew Cashner (1-0, 2.60)

It should be a great two games against the Barons, and as our friend Ernie Banks always says, “Let’s Play Two!”

Due to inclement weather, Saturday night’s Tennessee Smokies game against the Birmingham Barons has been postponed.  The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader tomorrow, April 25 at 2:00 p.m., which will consist of two (2) seven-inning games.

Fans with tickets to Saturday night’s game can exchange them for admission to a future Smokies’ regular season home game of their choice at the Smokies’ ticket office.  Fans can contact the Smokies front office at (865) 286-2300 for more information.

The Smokies Radio Network will provide full coverage of the doubleheader, beginning with the Pilot-Oscar Mayer Pregame Show at 1:45 p.m. with Roger Hoover and Alex Powell. The duo will return for the “In-Between Games” Show following the conclusion of the first game. Mick Gillispie will anchor the play-by-play from Smokies Park.

Here are the lineups for tonight’s game at Smokies Park.

Birmingham (2-12)

1. John Shelby, CF
2. Dale Molenhauer, 2B
3. Jim Gallagher, 1B
4. Brent Morel, 3B
5. Christian Marrero, LF
6. Lee Cruz, DH
7. Cole Armstrong, C
8. Salvador Sanchez, RF
9. Greg Paiml, SS

Pitching: Matt Long (0-2, 6.91)

Tennessee (13-2)

1. Tony Campana, CF
2. Starlin Castro, SS
3. Ty Wright, LF
4. Blake Lalli, 1B
5. Robinson Chirinos, DH
6. Brandon Guyer, RF
7. Steve Clevenger, C
8. Ryan Flaherty, 2B
9. Jake Opitz, 3B

Pitching: Andrew Cashner (1-0, 2.60)