Major League Draft

[tmh8286]

Hefner will likely end up in the Northwest League with the Eugene Emeralds this season, and pass through Boise sometime during the summer.  Chad Rothford is in town this week with the Giants affiliate, and I'm hoping to get to the ballpark before he leaves town.

When I was in high school my orthodontist's office was right by the Emeralds' stadium.  Just thought you'd like to know . . .

[Bogus Smith]

Information on some ex-ORU players bolded below...

Pena finally gets major career boost

by: BARRY LEWIS World Sports Writer

7/1/2007  5:32 AM

It's taken five years longer than expected, but former Tulsa Drillers phenom Carlos Pena appears to finally be on his way to being a big-league standout.

Pena, 29, who would not have made Tampa Bay's opening-day roster if University of Oklahoma product Greg Norton had not been injured at the end of spring training, is batting .281 with 45 RBIs and leads the Devil Rays with 17 homers (through Friday).

Until this year, Pena's major league career had been a major disappointment. He was a journeyman first baseman with a .243 career batting average. It was a long way from the stardom projected for Pena when he arrived in Tulsa in 2000.

This year, for the first time in his career, Pena came to spring training without the burden of others' high expectations and the pressure of being in the media spotlight.

Tampa Bay, a perennial loser and off the media radar, was the perfect place for Pena to jump-start his career. With many teams, Pena's slow start this year may have relegated him to the bench or the minors, but the Devil Rays kept giving him chances and have been rewarded.

Pena is one of the most popular players in Drillers history, not just for his on-field performance but for his sunny personality that earned him the nickname of "El Presidente" from then-Texas Rangers farm director Reid Nichols.

Pena set a then-Drillers record with 105 RBIs in 2000 and fell just short of the team homer record with 28.

In 2004, he showed flashes of fulfilling his potential in the majors with a career-high 27 homers and 82 RBIs for Detroit, but batted only .241.

Last year, his career reached a low point as he spent most of the season in the minors for the first time since 2001. He played in only 18 major league games, with Boston.

Locals in the minors: Colorado Springs' Joe Koshansky, who broke Pena's Drillers RBI record last year, is tied for second with OU-ex Val Pascucci of Albuquerque (Marlins) in the Pacific Coast League with 64 RBIs. Iowa's Micah Hoffpauir leads with 69. . .

Another Ex-Driller, Ryan Speier, leads the PCL with 20 saves for Colorado Springs (Rockies). Tulsa-born Marcus Gwyn of Salt Lake (Angels) is sixth with 11 saves and a 1.89 ERA. . .

Former Oklahoma State outfielder Deik Scram was the Midwest League All-Star Game Most Valuable Player on June 19. Scram is batting .338 for low Single-A West Michigan (Tigers). . .

The Arizona Diamondbacks promoted Stillwater product Brett Anderson from low Single-A South Bend (Ind.) to high Single-A Visalia (Calif.). Anderson was 8-4 with a 2.21 ERA at South Bend. . .

Former Oral Roberts infielder Tim Torres was promoted by the Houston Astros from low Single-A Lexington (Ky.) to high Single-A Salem (Va.) recently. Torres is batting a combined .323 with seven homers and 30 RBIs. . .

ORU's top two pitchers from this year, Chance Chapman and Jeremy Hefner, are off to good starts in their pro careers. Chapman, an eighth-round draft choice by the Phillies, picked up his first pro win with five shutout innings on Wednesday in his second appearance for the Phillies' short-season Williamsport (Pa.) affiliate. Hefner, a fifth-round pick by San Diego, has opened with two scoreless relief outings for short-season Eugene (Ore.).

Tough-luck Tulowitzki: Ex-Drillers shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is the first major leaguer in more than 40 years to hit three go-ahead homers in the ninth inning or later in a season and have his team (Colorado) lose all three games. Those all occurred in the past week.

Up and down: OU-exes were coming and going from major league bullpens Saturday as the Cubs called up Rocky Cherry while the Phillies sent down Geoff Geary.

Bad idea: Super-agent Scott Boras' proposal for a nine-game World Series is a terrible idea from a pure baseball standpoint. More isn't always better. Major League Baseball found that out when it held two All-Star Games from 1959-62. The World Series was a best-of-nine in 1903, and 1919-21.

No matter what the sport, there is something special about a "Game Seven." Under Boras' proposal of having a neutral site host the first two games, there also is the real possibility of a team potentially not playing its first Series home game until it was down four games to none.

But Boras' proposal has a lot of financial potential for major league owners, so it will probably be passed eventually.

One part of Boras' proposal is good -- announcing all the season award winners at a gala before the Series opener.

Baseball and fireworks: For those who like to celebrate July 4th with baseball and fireworks, the Triple-A Oklahoma RedHawks host Nashville (Brewers) on Wednesday at Oklahoma City's Bricktown Ballpark. There also will be fireworks after their games on Thursday and Friday. Starting times are 7:05 p.m.