Monthly Archives: August 2010

Jeremy Papelbon will start tonight for Tennessee.

Hey Smokies Fans!

After a day off on Monday, the first and second half North Division champion Tennessee Smokies hit the road for the final seven games of the regular season. The Smokies will first stop in Jacksonville for three games against the Suns, before finishing the regular season with four against the Carolina Mudcats.

Tonight Tennessee will face the Jacksonville in a rematch of the 2009 Southern League Championship Series, and possibly a preview of the 2010 SLCS. Jacksonville native Jeremy Papelbon will start for the Smokies. Papelbon is 1-2 with a 5.03 ERA in 2010, and he’ll be opposed by Jacksonville’s Jose Rosario, who is 4-4 in 2010 with a 3.07 ERA.

Here are more notes on tonight’s game against Jacksonville:

Second Half North Division Champions: The Tennessee Smokies clinched the second half North Division championship on Sunday afternoon. Huntsville’s loss to Mobile in the first game of a doubleheader clinched the title for the Smokies, marking the second North Division title for the Smokies in 2010. Tennessee went wire-to-wire in the first half to win the North Division with a 42-27 record. This division title is the third straight half the Smokies have claimed the North Division championship, as Hall of Famer and manager Ryne Sandberg’s 2009 Smokies club took the second half title, before winning the North Division Championship Series over Huntsville and finishing two games short in the Southern League Championship Series.

Back to Jacksonville: This is the second series in 2010 that the Smokies have been back to the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville since the first two games of the 2009 Southern League Championship Series. The Suns won both games over the Smokies on their way to a Southern League title. The first game was shadowed by controversial calls as the Suns went onto win 5-4 in ten innings. Jacksonville also won game two, a tightly contested pitchers‟ duel between Tennessee‟s Jeremy Papelbon and Jacksonville‟s Graham Taylor. The Suns came away with the 2-1 victory. Jacksonville clinched the title in game four at Smokies Park. In the first series between these two clubs in 2010 at the Baseball Grounds, the Suns took the four game series with three victories, with Tennessee winning the finale 11-3.

Hometown Hero: Tonight’s Smokies starter Jeremy Papelbon makes his home in Jacksonville. Papelbon has pitched in his hometown park before, including this season when he took a loss on July 9. Papelbon pitched collegiately in Jacksonville as well, pitching for the University of North Florida. Papelbon is 1-2 this season with a 5.03 ERA in 29 games and seven starts in 2010.

Canzler Near the Top: Smokies third baseman Russ Canzler is in second place for the Southern League home run lead. Canzler blasted his 21^st homer of the season on Sunday afternoon as the Smokies fell 16-1 to the Barons. Canzler has hit 14 of his 21 homers in the second half of the season, and he began the year on the bench as a key pinch-hitter for the Smokies. Canzler’s 21 is second only behind West Tenn’s Carlos Peguero’s 22. While Peguero has hit one more homer and driven in four more runs than Canzler, Peguero has 131 more at-bats than Canzler in 2010. Canzler is hitting .288 in 2010 with his 21 homers and 60 runs batted in. His 21 homers is the most he’s had in a season as a professional, eclipsing his previous high of 16 in 2006 with Boise.

Our coverage begins tonight at 7:00p.m. with the Pilot Oscar-Mayer Pregame Show.

You can listen to the game here online on smokiesbaseball.com or on the Smokies Radio Network’s flagship station,  The Sports Animal. We will be on WNML AM-990 until 8 p.m., then all signals (FM 99.1, 99.3) after 8 p.m.

Thanks for listening!

Hey Smokies Fans!

With Mobile’s 5-3 win over Huntsville, the magic number is erased, and the Tennessee Smokies are the second half North Division champions in the Southern League.

This is the third straight half that the Smokies have won the North Division, and now Tennessee will host games 1, 2, 4, and 5 of the North Division Championship Series, beginning on September 9 at Smokies Park.

We’ll have more coverage throughout the night on Tennessee’s second half run, including a special highlights piece of the sounds of the second half title run, which you can listen to here:

Second Half Champions Story, August 29, 2010

Thanks for listening, and for the second time this year, congratulations to the North Division champion Smokies!

Hey Smokies Fans!

The Tennessee Smokies need just one more win or one Huntsville Stars loss to clinch the second half North Division championship.

The Smokies will look to wrap up the title today in the last home game of the regular season, as Tennessee tries to sweep Birmingham.

Pitching for the Smokies will be Ty’Relle Harris, who is 1-0 with a 0.90 in the Southern League this season. Pitching for the Barons is Matt Long, who is 6-8 this season with a 5.16 ERA.

Here are more notes on today’s final home game of the regular season:

Magic Number: 1 . With the Smokies nine games up with only eight games left to play, it’s time to look at Tennessee’s magic number for clinching the second half North Division crown. The magic number is currently at one, and the number can be erased with a Smokies win or the next Stars loss.Last night, the magic number shrunk from two to one, with Tennessee beating Birmingham 8-7, while Mobile and Huntsville were postponed. The earliest Tennessee can clinch the second half division crown is tonight. Tennessee won the first half title by going wire-to-wire in the first 69 games of the season, posting a 42-27 record. If Tennessee wins the second half, it is the third consecutive half Tennessee has claimed the division title.

Dancy Reaches 1600: Smokies manager Bill Dancy put himself in exclusive company on Saturday with Tennessee’s 8-7 win. The win was Dancy’s 1600^th in his career, putting him fourth-best in wins among active minor league managers. Dancy began his managing career with the 1979 Spartanburg Phillies, where 2009 Smokies manager and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg played shortstop. Dancy managed Peninsula to a Carolina League title in 1980, Reading to a Eastern League title in 1984, and a split title with Reading in 1995. This is Dancy’s first season managing in the Southern League.

What a Home: Today the Smokies will play for the last time in the regular season at Smokies Park. Tennessee has gone 43-26 at home this season, with a league-best 25-9 record in the second half of the season. However this will not be the final time Tennessee plays at home in 2010, as Smokies Park will host the first two games of the North Division Championship Series on Sept. 9 and 10, and possibly games 4 and 5 if Tennessee wins the second half.

Seven Straight vs. Barons: The Smokies carry a seven-game winning streak against Birmingham into tonight’s game. The streak began on June 1, as Tennessee took the second game of the second series of the year between the clubs. The second win in the streak was an 11 inning victory for Tennessee at the Rickwood Classic at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham. In the winning streak, Tennessee has outscored Birmingham 36-23.

Our coverage begins tonight at 4:45 p.m. with the Pilot Oscar-Mayer Pregame Show, featuring a recap of Bill Dancy’s historic 1600th victory.

You can listen to the game here online on smokiesbaseball.com or on the Smokies Radio Network’s flagship station,  The Sports Animal.

Thanks for listening!

Hey Smokies Fans!

Last night was a special night at Smokies Park, as the Smokies won 8-7 over the Birmingham Barons.

While the win is Tennessee’s third straight and shrinks the magic number from two to one, manager Bill Dancy collected his 1600th victory as a minor league manager.

You can listen here to the final moments of the game, as well as the presentation of a plaque to Dancy with a postgame interview with the Smokies Radio Network’s Roger Hoover and Dancy.

Bill Dancy gets his 1600th Victory

The shaving cream pie tradition continued with win no. 1600, as Dancy was hit by Tony Thomas and Hoover was hit by Steve Clevenger after Tennessee's 8-7 win.

Here is the official game release from smokiesbaseball.com:

Hey Smokies Fans!

Last night the magic number went from three to two, as the Smokies picked up a 5-2 win over the Barons. Huntsville’s game was rained out in Mobile. Today the Stars will face the BayBears in a doubleheader at Hank Aaron Stadium, while the Smokies take on the Barons in the third game of the series at 6:15 p.m.

Tonight the Smokies will start Trey McNutt, who is making his Smokies Park debut. Pitching for the Barons is lefthander Justin Edwards, who is 3-9 this season with a 6.14 ERA.

Here are more notes on tonight’s game with Birmingham:

Blake Parker earned the save on Friday night for the Smokies.

Magic Number: 2 . With the Smokies eight and a half games up with only nine games left to play, it’s time to look at Tennessee’s magic number for clinching the second half North Division crown. The magic number is currently at two, and the number can get smaller with any combinations of Smokies wins or Huntsville Stars losses. Last night, the magic number shrunk from three to two, with Tennessee beating Birmingham 5-2, while Mobile and Huntsville were postponed. The earliest Tennessee can clinch the second half division crown is on tonight, with a combination of a Smokies win and a Stars loss or two Stars losses in their double header. Tennessee won the first half title by going wire-to-wire in the first 69 games of the season, posting a 42-27 record. If Tennessee wins the second half, it is the third consecutive half Tennessee has claimed the division title.

Dancy One Win from 1600: Smokies manager Bill Dancy can put himself in exclusive company with a win tonight against Birmingham. Dancy is a win away from the 1600-win mark as a minor league manager. Dancy’s 1599 wins puts him fourth-best in wins among active minor league managers. Dancy began his managing career with the 1979 Spartanburg Phillies, where 2009 Smokies manager and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg played shortstop. Dancy managed Peninsula to a Carolina League title in 1980, Reading to a Eastern League title in 1984, and a split title with Reading in 1995. This is Dancy’s first season managing in the Southern League.

Six Straight vs. Barons: The Smokies carry a six-game winning streak against Birmingham into tonight’s game. The streak began on June 1, as Tennessee took the second game of the second series of the year between the clubs. The second win in the streak was an 11 inning victory for Tennessee at the Rickwood Classic at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham. In the winning streak, Tennessee has outscored Birmingham 28-16.

Swinging Above the Rest: Tennessee leads in nearly every offensive category in the Southern League. The Smokies have the team lead in all the triple crown categories in batting average (.287), home runs (114), and runs batted in (653). The Smokies also lead the league in runs (709), hits (1279), doubles (272), triples (43), total bases (1979), on-base percentage (.354), slugging percentage (.444), and on-base plus slugging percentage (.799).

Our coverage begins tonight at 6:00p.m. with the Pilot Oscar-Mayer Pregame Show, featuring an “20 Questions” segment with Tony Thomas.

You can listen to the game here online on smokiesbaseball.com or on the Smokies Radio Network’s flagship station,  The Sports Animal.

Thanks for listening!

Hey Smokies Fans!

Tennessee’s “magic number” shrunk from 5 to 3 last night, as Tennessee beat Birmingham 4-3 in 11 innings, and Montgomery beat Huntsville 3-2.

The Smokies have won five straight games against Birmingham, and will go for a sixth straight tonight at Smokies Park.

Taking the hill tonight for Tennessee is Rafael Dolis. Dolis this season in 10 starts with Tennessee is 4-3 with a 3.92 ERA. Pitching for Birmingham is Johnnie Lowe, who is 6-4 with a 3.94 ERA.

Here are more notes on tonight’s game against Birmingham:

Rafael Dolis will pitch tonight for Tennessee.

Magic Number: 3. With the Smokies eight games up with only 10 games left to play, the magic number talk for the second half has begun. The magic number is currently at three, and the number can get smaller with any combinations of Smokies wins or Huntsville Stars losses. Last night, the magic number shrunk from five to three, with Tennessee beating Birmingham 4-3, and Montgomery topping Huntsville 3-2. The earliest Tennessee can clinch the second half division crown is on Saturday night, the third night of the Barons series at Smokies Park. Tennessee won the first half title by going wire-to-wire in the first 69 games of the season, posting a 42-27 record. If Tennessee wins the second half, it is the third consecutive half Tennessee has claimed the division title.

Dancy Two Wins from 1600: Smokies manager Bill Dancy can put himself in exclusive company with two more victories. Dancy is two wins away from the 1600-win mark as a minor league manager. Dancy’s 1598 wins puts him fourth-best in wins among active minor league managers.

Five Straight vs. Barons: The Smokies carry a five-game winning streak against Birmingham into tonight’s game. The streak began on June 1, as Tennessee took the second game of the second series of the year between the clubs. The second win in the streak was an 11 inning victory for Tennessee at the Rickwood Classic at historic Rickwood Field in Birmingham. In the winning streak, Tennessee has outscored Birmingham 23-14.

Successful Debut: A whirlwind day ended in a successful Southern League debut for Smokies reliever James Leverton. After getting called up to Tennessee from Daytona, Leverton pitched a scoreless inning in relief against the Barons in the eighth for his debut. Leverton this season overall is 9-1 with a 2.67 ERA, and has collected nine saves on the season combined for Peoria and Daytona.

Our coverage begins tonight at 7:00p.m. with the Pilot Oscar-Mayer Pregame Show. You can listen to the game here online on smokiesbaseball.com.

Thanks for listening!

Chris Archer will start tonight for Tennesse.

Hey Smokies Fans!

This is it! Tennessee has shrunk the magic number down to five, and the Smokies have four games at home to try and clinch the second half title in front of the hometown fans at Smokies Park.

Tonight Tennessee and Birmingham will begin the final home series in the regular season, and for the Smokies they will send Chris Archer to the mound. Archer is 8-1 this season with a 1.45 ERA in 10 starts for the Smokies. Birmingham will start southpaw Charlie Leesman on the mound, and this season Leesman is 6-7 with a 3.02 ERA.

Here are more notes on tonight’s opening game against Birmingham:

Magic Number: 5. With the Smokies seven games up with only 11 games left to play, the magic number talk for the second half has begun. The magic number is currently at five, and the number can get smaller with any combinations of Smokies wins or Huntsville Stars losses. The earliest Tennessee can clinch the second half division crown is on Saturday night, the third night of the Barons series at Smokies Park. Tennessee won the first half title by going wire-to-wire in the first 69 games of the season, posting a 42-27 record. If Tennessee wins the second half, it is the third consecutive half Tennessee has claimed the division title.

Dancy Three Wins from 1600: Smokies manager Bill Dancy can put himself in exclusive company with three more victories. Dancy is three wins away from the 1600-win mark as a minor league manager.

Four Straight vs. Barons: The Smokies ended their last series against Birmingham with four straight wins, including a victory in the Rickwood Classic at Birmingham’s historic Rickwood Field. Tennessee is 6-4 this season against the Barons, although the Barons took three of five from Tennessee at Smokies Park in late April.

Final Homestand: This series against Birmingham is the final homestand in the regular season for the Smokies at Smokies Park. Tennessee has posted a 40-26 record at home in 2010, including a 22-9 mark in the second half. Tennessee has only lost one home series this half, dropping a three-game set against Huntsville from July 4-6.

Our coverage begins tonight at 7:00p.m. with the Pilot Oscar-Mayer Pregame Show, featuring an interview with Barons broadcaster Curt Bloom.

You can listen to the game here online on smokiesbaseball.com or on the Smokies Radio Network’s flagship station,  The Sports Animal. We will be on WNML AM-990 until 8 p.m., then all signals (FM 99.1, 99.3) after 8 p.m.

Thanks for listening!

Hey Smokies Fans!

The Smokies are back in town for the final home series of the regular season. Tennessee will welcome in the Birmingham Barons,  the Class AA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox for a four-game set at Smokies Park.

Here is a look at all the exciting promotions coming up at the ballpark. To purchase tickets, simply click the blue link to get tickets. You can also find this preview on smokiesbaseball.com.

Click on any of the date links below to purchase tickets to that game.

Thursday, August 26 – Throwback Thursday is taking you a whopping 20 years back to the ’90s; we’ll have a ton of sitcom clips from some of the best shows of the decade! Make it a family night by bringing the kids for our “Kids Eat Free” promotion and post-game “Kids Run the Bases” promotion, courtesy of Shoney’s Family Restaurants and Star 102.1 FM.

Want more value? Then please bring in a canned food donation to our ticket office (there will be a table set-up right outside of it) and get one FREE ticket to tonight’s game for every canned item donated to help the Sevier County Food Bank! A special thanks to SunTrust Bank for partnering with us on this very worthy initiative.

Thursday night’s are always about the Pilot scratch-off cards and “Pilot Prize Night,” where everyone’s a winner! And all residents and employees of Knox County get $2 off each ticket purchased at our ticket window for tonight’s game; make sure to show I.D. or bring a paycheck stub to the game.

Friday, August 27 – Are you wondering what our 2011 schedule is looking like? Catch a glimpse with the 2011 Smokies magnet schedule the first 2,000 through the gates will get one, courtesy of Kroger and KRAFT Singles.

Tonight’s also a bonus Smokies Kids Club Night, where all Kids Club members receive free field level tickets! Parents of Kids Club Members will receive $2 off their tickets at the box office. A special thanks to our Kids Club sponsors, Holiday Inn Express – Sevierville/Kodak and the Citizen Tribune.

We’ve got another round of “Hardball Bingo” as well tonight, courtesy of U.S. Cellular. The first 2,000 fans in with paid admission will get a bingo card (baseball-themed of course) where someone will win big!

Not convinced yet? If you’re a fan of all things Chicago then make sure to come on out tonight as its “All Things Chicago Night” here at the ballpark!

And make sure to stay after the game for another fantastic fireworks show, courtesy of Pepsi, Coors Light, Knoxville News Sentinel, WVLT-TV 8 and WIVK-FM!

Saturday, August 28 – Sensational Saturday here at the ballpark is bringing the first 2,000 fans in with paid admission a 2011 Smokies dog calendar, courtesy of Frontline/Heartgard and Young-Williams Animal Center. If you can’t make it out to Friday’s game for those magnet schedules, this is your next best chance to display next year’s Smokies schedule in style!

After the game, test your arm in our “Post-Game Ball Toss.” Make sure to pick up those tennis balls for the post-game toss on our stadium concourse behind home plate.

Sunday, August 29 – Our last hurrah of a very memorable season is bringing you “Fan Appreciation Night” at the ballpark! Come on out early as the Smokies players will be signing on the concourse from 4:00-4:30 p.m. And during the game, we’ll be giving away lots of great prizes to show our thanks to you for a great season!

Want another reason to get out here early? We’ve got a very cool Smokies jersey t-shirt giveaway tonight for the first 1,000 kids 12-and-under in with paid admission, thanks to Little Debbie, WBIR-TV 10 and B97.5 FM. Whose jersey are we featuring? Tony Campana, complete with dirt marks on the front!

Tonight’s our second Smokies Kids Club Night of this week’s series, where all Kids Club members receive free field level tickets and the opportunity to run the bases after the game! Parents of Kids Club Members will receive $2 off their tickets at the box office. Another special thanks to our Kids Club sponsors, Holiday Inn Express – Sevierville/Kodak.

And finally, if you’re looking to score in our 2010 Smokies Jersey Auction, tonight’s your chance as we’ll give all fans in attendance one last chance to bid on the game-worn jersey of their favorite 2010 Smokies players, including current Cubs Starlin Castro and Andrew Cashner. Bidding will take place on our stadium concourse behind home plate and will conclude with the first pitch in the top of the sixth inning.

So there you have it! You can learn more about Smokies ticket deals by visiting the team’s Facebook and Twitter pages, and signing up for text alerts by texting “SMOKIES” to 62447. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.smokiesbaseball.com or at 865-286-2300.

Hey Smokies Fans!

Be sure to listen today as Tennessee takes on West Tenn in the rubber match of the series at 1:05 p.m. Craig Muschko will pitch for Tennessee against West Tenn’s Anthony Vazquez.

The broadcast will air on our affiliates ESPN 106.3 FM in Sevierville, as well as WJFC-AM 1480 and FM 102.9 in Jefferson City.  You can also listen to the game here online on smokiesbaseball.com.

Thanks for listening!

Ty'Relle Harris will make his first Smokies start tonight.

Hey Smokies Fans!

Last night the Smokies saw their two-game winning streak come to an end with the Diamond Jaxx pulling out a 7-4 win in the opening game of the three game series at Pringles Park.

Despite the loss, the “Magic Number” shrunk to seven, thanks to Huntsville’s loss to Montgomery.

The Smokies will look to even the series tonight against West Tenn with Ty’Relle Harris on the mound. This is Harris’ first start on the mound for the Smokies, and he’s pitched two and two thirds scoreless innings since joining Tennessee on Wednesday. Steve Bray (7-9, 4.38 ERA) will pitch for the Diamond Jaxx.

Here are more notes on tonight’s game against West Tenn:

Clevenger SL Hitter of the Week: Catcher Steve Clevenger earned the Southern League Hitter of the Week Award for his exemplary hitting this past week. Clevenger led the Southern League this past week in seven offensive categories. His numbers were anchored by a career-weekend against the Mississippi Braves that saw him first go 5-for-5 with 5 RBIs in the Smokies 7-2 win Saturday night. He followed that up with a 3-for-3 performance with four more RBIs in the Tennessee’s 11-2 win over Mississippi on Sunday. Clevenger went 2-4 against West Tenn on Monday night with an RBI.

Magic Number: 7. With the Smokies seven games up with only 13 games left to play, it’s time to start the magic number talk for the second half. The magic number is currently at seven, and the number can get smaller with any combinations of Smokies wins or Huntsville Stars losses.

Marwin Gonzalez is tonight's guest on the Pilot Oscar-Mayer Pregame Show

Tough Openers vs. D-Jaxx: For the fourth time this season, the Diamond Jaxx took the opening game of a series against the Smokies. Tennessee is now 0-4 in openers against West Tenn, however the Smokies have rallied to never lose a series against the Jaxx. Tennessee won the first series at Smokies Park three games to two, while the teams split the second series, a six-game set at Pringles Park. After losing the opener in the last series, Tennessee won the final four games against West Tenn i at Smokies Park from July 28 to August 1.

Our coverage begins tonight at 7:45 p.m. with the Pilot Oscar-Mayer Pregame Show, featuring an interview with Smokies shortstop Marwin Gonzalez.

You can listen to the game here online on smokiesbaseball.com or on the Smokies Radio Network’s flagship station,  The Sports Animal.

Thanks for listening!