Hello all!

I've just picked up a new gig with Examiner.com, the citizen news portal and content aggregator. As the Salt Lake Baseball Examiner, I'll be writing about baseball and softball from all along the Wasatch Front, covering professional, college and JUCO programs, with an occasional high school prep story as it catches my eye. Most of my posts will show up at Examiner.com, with The Sporkball Journals being reserved for longer articles or creative pieces. You also can follow my baseball tweets on Twitter: BeesGal_SLC. Thanks and I'll see you at the ballpark. As always, …your friend in baseball.

The following night, Friday, four Salt Lake pitchers gave up just 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 SO in a pitchers' duel that ended with a Bees victory 2-0. The score was locked at 0-0 for seven innings before center-fielder Drew Heid belted a two-run homerun into right field to score the only runs of the game for either team. The homerun was Heid's first at the Triple-A level and broke up a no-hitter by Tacoma starter Erasmo Ramirez. Bees starting pitcher David Pauley threw six innings of one-hit baseball before being pulled for relievers Kevin Johnson and Francisco Rodriguez. Ryan Brasier closed out the game for his eigthth save of the season. BOX SCORE GAMEDAY

Miracle League 2010

Miracle League 2012

Juvenile Justice Services 2012

South Salt Lake Juvenile Detention Center 2012

Shriners' Hospital for Children 2012

Shriners' Hospital for Children 2009

Knothole Club Clinic 2010

Tyler Wagner

Parker Morin

Brady Lail

Chris Capper

Goose Kallunki

Austin Hall

Connor Williams

     Connor Williams    

Perhaps the most intriguing story involves the player who didn't get drafted this year, Kayden Porter of Spanish Fork (video). Projected by many sources as the top Utah prospect and a top-10 round pick before the start of the draft, the high school senior was named the ESPN/Gatorade Utah Player of the Year. A two-way ballplayer, Porter is a slugging first baseman who hit .368 with 10 home runs during his senior year. As a power pitcher, he finished the season 5-1 with a 1.79 ERA. His fastball has been clocked as high as 97 mph.

Porter was completely bypassed by MLB teams during the three-day selection process. One reason for the lack of interest from MLB teams could very well be due to questions about his signability. The high senior announced earlier this spring that unless he was selected in the top three rounds, he would play college ball for the University of North Carolina.

Porter had a white-hot 2011, during which he was projected as being the #9 national prospect for the 2012 MLB Draft during the 2011 Perfect Game National Showcase. That year he qualified to participate in the Triple-A All-Star Game Home Run Derby, along with senior Sam Hall of Bonneville High School. Competing side-by-side with the best hitters in Triple-A baseball, Porter came in second to the professional ballplayers. He hit the longest homerun of the evening, albeit using a metal bat, that sailed over the advertising banner sitting well beyond the left field fence and marking 474 feet from home plate .

Video from Martin Reinhardt

Former Salt Lake Bees outfielder Kole Calhoun got the full rookie treatment by being selected to compete in a cow-milking promotion before last night's game against the Rangers. Kalhoun walked away with the victory after collecting 2 lbs. of milk, while his opponent, Rangers' rookie Robbie Ross, collected a meager 0.25 lb. Calhoun's May 21st promotion to the Los Angeles Angels was his first major-league call-up, hopefully not his last.

Calhoun's pre-game heroics inspired the Angels to a 4-2 victory over division rivals, the Texas Rangers. Former Salt Lake ballplayers contributing to the win included starting pitcher, Jerome Williams, who collected his sixth win for a 6-2 record. Top-ranked Angels' prospect Mike Trout drove in three runs, including a two-run single that put the Angels ahead for good in the seventh inning. Catcher Jon Hester, promoted on May 11 to fill in for the injured Chris Ianetta got a hit, raising his average to .294 AVE.

And many thanks to AngelsWin.com for this video clip. . .

I was ready to do anything to get to the big leagues. . . .So I went to the gym, went over to the biggest gym rat/muscle head guy I could find and said, 'I need to get big.' He said drugs were the way and I said, 'Where do I sign?' —Dan Naulty, Salt Lake Buzz (1995, 97-98)

In 1997, pitchers Dan Naulty, Dan Serafini, Brett Roberts, Shane Bowers, Kevin Legault, and catcher Jeff Horn were members of the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, the Salt Lake Buzz. Only two of them, Naulty and Serafini, managed to make it to the major leagues and stick for more than a handful of games. Naulty even won a World Series ring pitching for the New York Yankees in 1999. As for their teammates, Bowers appeared in five games in 1997 and never returned to the major leagues. Roberts, Legault, and Horn never played higher than the Triple-A level.

Naulty and Serafini shared something else besides major league careers. They used steroids to get there. Naulty regrets his decision. Serafini doesn't.

Most of the discussions about the fall-out from the steroid era focus on how cheating ruined the game of baseball. In Naulty's case, however, the devastation was much more personally damaging. In person and in print, Naulty openly shares the story of his descent into a personal hell that began with being sexaully abused as a child, progressed through steroids, speed, and alcohol, and nearly ended with suicide. The thread through all of this, Naulty explains, was a desperate need for acceptance and love. By the time he hit bottom, he was taking speed to recover from the hangovers, and HGH and testosterone to stay healthy and bulked up.

Miraculously, he made the decision to quit the PEDs and baseball before they killed him. Since his retirement, Naulty has been trying to make amends for the sins of his past. After retiring from baseball, he entered the seminary and became a pastor. And now he uses his life story to preach about the real-life dangers of temptation. When contacted by the Mitchell Committee in 2007, Naulty admitted to using PEDs and spoke candidly about the details of his own usage.

Just because I have become a Christian doesn't mean I can give back all that I took from those so-called friends, as I stabbed them in the back on the way out the door, to another year of chopping rocks in the minors. —Dan Naulty, doctoral candidate in Biblical Studies, 2007

First baseman Efren Navarro went 3-4 with an RBI from a solo homerun. The other hot hitter of the night was shortstop Andrew Romine, who went 3-4 and scored two runs. Romine also stole a base, giving him a total of 15 for the season and placing him in a three-way tie for third in the league. Right fielder Doug Deeds broke out of his recent batting slump by going 1-3 and 2 RBI s from a 2-run homerun shot.

Kevin Johnson pitched for the Bees in the eighth inning and held the Sky Sox scoreless. Ryan Brasier closed out the ninth inning, allowing 2 hits and 1 run, losing the shutout but preserving the win. The Bees are currently the only team in the PCL without a shut-out victory this season.

The Bees play the Sky Sox at 6:35 p.m. on Friday, June 01, at Spring Mobile Ballpark for the last game of the series and homestand. On Saturday, the Bees leave for a nine-day road trip to Fresno and then Tacoma before returning to Salt Lake City.

Game Promotion: The Zero Fatalities Post-Game Kids Run, which allows kids 12 and under to run the bases after the game ends, will be held every Friday and Saturday throughout the season.

Box Score

Gameday Animation

Video (requires paid subscription)

David Pauley cleared waivers on May 25 and accepted assignment back to the Bees. He is scheduled to start the game on Friday, June 01, against the Colorado Sky Sox. Pauley is sorely needed as the Bees are currently short one regular starter. Eddie McKiernan was called up from the Double-A Arkansas Travelers to take Richards spot in the starting rotation and had a rough first outing. McKiernan lasted just over two innings, giving up 11 hits and 8 earned runs before being pulled from the game in the top of the third with no outs. Major league veteran Juan Rincon has also filled in for two spot starts, resulting in a record of 0-1, with a 7.94 ERA, 4 BB, and 3 SO in 5.2 IP.

Catcher Hank Conger was activated off the DL and returned to the lineup on Thursday, May 31. Conger went 1-4 with an RBI, extending his current hitting streak to 14 games with at least one hit. To make room on the roster, catcher Alberto Rosario was sent back to the Double-A Arkansas Travelers. During his 13-game stay with the Bees, Rosario hit .212 AVE with 4 RBI, 0 HR, 3 BB, and 14 SO. He also stole three bases.

Also returning to the Bees on Thursday was shortstop Andrew Romine, who spent nine days with the Los Angeles Angels parent club but did not play. Romine was the Bees primary leadoff hitter this spring, batting .323 AVE, 17 RBI, 2 HR, and .765 OPS before his call-up. Despite the down-time, Romine showed no rust in his swing, going 3-4 and scoring twice.

Baseball Camp Still On!

August 20, 2008 —You may have heard by now that Nick Gorneault was assigned to the Arkansas Travelers. Have no fear, however, matters are all neatly in hand. Terry Evans has graciously agreed to take over the role of Camp Director, should our high-flying outfielder be unavailable. Evans is another longtime Bees outfielder, and was a featured Player of the Month in 2009. If you haven’t turned in your registration and medical release forms yet, (and why haven’t you?!?), remember there is a $10 discount for early registration!

I went to last year’s camp last with my 8-year-old baseball pal, and everyone there had an absolute blast. Don’t just take my word for it. . .seeing is believing, right?

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Photo Credit | Brent Asay (c) 2010

July 18, 2010 — Hey young ballplayers! Salt Lake Stingers/Bees ballplayer, Nick Gorneault, is offering an advanced baseball clinic at Spring Mobile Ballpark next month. Click on the flyer below to download a printable flyer and registration form.

A bit of background on our veteran outfielder. In 2005, Gorneault led the Salt Lake Stingers in most offensive categories, including home runs, runs batted in, runs, hits, and slugging percentage. He led the PCL in RBIs for much of the season, finishing the year with 0.293 BA, 108 RBI, 26HR, 179 H (36 for extra bases) and 268 TB.

Upon his return to the Salt Lake Bees this year, Gorneault was voted Team Captain after Ryan Budde was called up to the Angels. It is important to note, unlike football or hockey, in professional baseball, the choosing of a captain is left completely to the discretion of the team. Most baseball teams simply don’t have one. Thus, when the “C” gets sewn onto a player’s uniform, it is truly an emblem of honor and respect, as determined by a his professional peers. …Your friend in baseball.