Lamb good again...Rocks take the series!

John Lamb gave his Wilmington Blue Rocks a chance to win with his 8th start of the year in the Carolina League. It is can always be somewhat of a challenge to pitch on the road, but Lamb continues to be steady with the numbers home or away during his first full season in professional baseball.

Lamb had a high pitch count during his work tonight due to patient Frederick Keys hitters and again the high strike-out count. The line on Lamb was 4 innings, 6 hits, 1 run, 0 earned runs, 1 walk and 7 strike-outs in 86 pitches. When Lamb handed the ball to the bull-pen the Blue Rocks had a 3-1 lead, but unfortunately could not qualify for the win.




Hodgson and Mozingo both teamed up to hold off a late inning surge in the bottom of the 9th to take the series from the Keys in Frederick, MD. Ivor Hodgson had a very solid performance into the 9th and qualified for the win, while Harold Mozingo came in and got the save.



Adrian Ortiz hit his first Blue Rocks home run during his 4-for-5 night at the plate. Another note, worth mentioning was the Christian Colon debut that was very quiet at the plate. He finished the night 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. It is very safe to say that this will not be the only night he has nothing to show at the plate, during his career, but the kid can simply play the game and he is a wonderful addition to the organization.

The Blue Rocks return home to fend off the Lynchburg Hillcats, Advanced Class A team of the Cincinnati Reds organization, for a short 3 game stand. The current rotation has Lamb pitching the next two starts on the road and he will not be throwing at home until July 15. At least he won’t be a teenager the next time he pitches in front of the Wilmington crowd.
 
 
- - - James Lamb
 
Baseball Prospect Guide

Lamb grabs his 2nd "POW" honor...

Very proud of my son, John Lamb, and his second "Pitcher of Week" Award during his young professional baseball career. The weekly honors were announced much earlier today on Minor League Baseball and throughout all of the leagues.

Lamb will get the ball tomorrow night in Frederick, MD against the Keys, Advanced Class A team of the Baltimore Orioles organization. Tuesday's start will be his 16th of the season and just another day at the ballpark for him, I am sure. However, it will match his number of starts in the Midwest League earlier this year prior to his call-up to the Wilmington Blue Rocks.

Congratulations again to all of those minor league players that received the honors today for their recent performances.



- - - James Lamb

Baseball Prospect Guide

Next Carolina League start on Tuesday for Lamb...

John Lamb is back on the road again, Tuesday, in Frederick against the Keys for his 16th start of the season. Radio broadcast will be available on the Wilmington Blue Rocks site at http://www.bluerocks.com.

Meanwhile, I am staying busy with scouting and coaching in the Southern California area. Recently, following permission by the Marlins, I have returned to the dugout with a Connie Mack baseball team called the OC Giants. We have a wide variety of talent on the team and continue to struggle with the "one bad inning" bug almost every game.

Our family has also decided to welcome a 16 year-old from Florida into our home and the opportunity to play in California during the summer, on the OC Giants team. We felt a sense of responsibility to the game when asked to help and we are grateful for the chance to give back, as so many have done for our son over the years.


- - - James Lamb

http://www.4-domain.com/

RC Organizational Report: June 24, 2010

RC Organizational Report: June 24: "Six affiliates were in action on Thursday, but only the Wilmington Blue Rocks and Arizona Royals managed wins. The Blue Rocks were led to victory by starter John Lamb, who was brilliant while picking up his third win of the season. Click inside to read Thursday's minor league report."

Just another opinion out there about his most recent professional baseball perfomance in the Carolina League as a teenager!

Lamb and Blue Rocks solid to start second half of season!

A solid start to the second half of the Advanced Class A level season for the Wilmington Blue Rocks, Kansas City Royals affiliation, came off the arm of John Lamb. You can’t do much better than the 2-0 win over the Salem Red Sox in front of the home crowd on Zack Greinke bobble-head night.

John Lamb pitched his longest outing of the season by going six and two-thirds and starting the combined shut-out effort with the Blue Rocks bull-pen. Lamb matched a season high mark of 9 strike-outs during tonight‘s contest, with 2 walks and 4 hits. He did receive some solid help with a defensive effort on an 8-4-2 play at the plate which saw Salvador Perez hold onto the ball following a collision at the plate early in the game. Just enough hitting during this Carolina League pitching duel gave the Blue Rocks the win, which included a big-fly from Eric Hosmer.



Got some encouraging news from the stands, via text messages, that Lamb was 90-94 on the radar guns and commanding all 3 pitches in his pocket during his 15th start of his first full season assignment in professional baseball. The news came from one of the Royals best retired pitchers, Bret Saberhagen, so I am comfortable sharing the back-stop updates on the velocity of my son’s pitches.



The household took a big sigh of relief as Lamb begins the uncharted territory of his minor league career. This is his first full-season since signing with the Kansas City Royals following the 2008 draft selection and we couldn’t be more proud of his 19 year-old efforts.



So now we get to sit back and relax for the next four days until his next start on the hill.



GO BLUE ROCKS!


- - - James Lamb


Baseball Prospect Guide

A little Father's Day reflection...

As a professional baseball fan, scout and father of a prospect, yesterday was more than just a Father’s Day celebration to me. My son, John, started my day off with a phone call from Wilmington, DE. It is always great to hear his voice as he continues his journey in professional baseball. He sounded a little eager to relax following Sunday’s afternoon game with a 3 day mid-season break from the first full-season of his career. Sure, I wish he had received some love from the Carolina League coaches that determined the All-Star roster, but he has plenty more years for that type of acknowledgement for his performance on the field.

Recently, I have returned to the dugout in the Southern California area with a local Connie Mack team. Our game yesterday, brought some emotions while watching some of the Dads get hugs from their boys following the order by the head coach. Bobby Gould, a long time friend, through professional baseball, has always been a true pleasure to share a dugout with through some of his special antics he is known for.



Reflecting on the drive home, I remembered that I have not had my son, or daughter for that matter, around me on Father’s Day for the last five years. John was busy playing baseball in Ohio with the Midland Redskins organization, on their Mickey Mantle team the Braves, for two years, starting in 2006 and obviously on the road in pro ball the last three years. My daughter, Cayla, is another long story, but not for this site. I am very proud of both of my kids for their accomplishments.



Not sure when John Lamb will be on the bump again, but you can be rest assured we will be listening on the radio with tremendous pride and excitement as he starts the second half of the 2010 season. Our left coast side of the family wishes the Blue Rocks well during the break and a successful second half of the season in the Carolina League.



GO ROCKS!
 
 

- - - James Lamb
Baseball Prospect Guide, Inc.
Founder and CEO  
Baseball Prospect Guide

Lamb good in Salem, but not not enough for the win...

With John Lamb getting the ball tonight on the bump against the Salem Red Sox in Salem, VA he has matched last year’s effort of 14 starts. Although still a pup by most professional baseball standards, Lamb continues to perform at all levels in the minor leagues.





Wilmington Blue Rocks versus Salem Red Sox was seen by more than 3,763 fans with two of the league’s best pitchers. Lamb and Huntzinger both did their jobs entertaining the crowd and giving their respective team an opportunity to win.

The Rocks have struggled all year to beat the Sox and tonight was no different. Lamb pitched well to hold the Sox to only 2 runs, 1 earned, 6 hits, 6 strike-outs and 1 walk during his six innings of work. Lamb handed the ball to Mozingo with a 2-1 deficit in the bottom of the 7th. Mozingo took the loss later in the game when the Sox took back the lead in the 8th inning.




Huntzinger pitched exceptionally well for his seven inning performance. Without taking anything away from his strike throwing ability, it must be mentioned that the Blue Rocks continued aggressive approach at the plate allowed Huntzinger to use only 56 pitches to get his 21 outs. Not sure why he did not continue to throw in the 8th inning with such a low pitch count, but surely a surprise when the Sox went to their bull-pen.




Adam Frost who was just recently called up from Burlington, IA tied the game with a solo home-run in the top of the 8th inning for the Blue Rocks. However, the lead was short lived due to the Sox taking back the lead in the bottom of the same inning. The Rocks lost the game and were swept in the series to put an end to the eight day road-trip.




The Blue Rocks return home tomorrow for a short series and the All-Star break before another short series with the same Salem Red Sox in Wilmington, DE to start off the second half of the professional baseball season in advanced a level.




LETS GO ROCKS!

 
 
- - - James Lamb

 
https://baseballprospectguide.com

Tonight, Lamb will be pitching on six days of rest!

John Lamb is scheduled to be the starting pitcher for tonight’s game in Salem, VA against the Red Sox. This start will match last year’s efforts for Lamb with his 14 appearance on the mound. With an extra day off between starts due to an off day this past Monday, we are looking forward to hearing the game on the Blue Rocks radio broadcast starting at 7:05 ET.

Kansas City Royals affiliates page!

Wilmington has struggled in all of the previous games versus Salem this year. The Sox have taken eight of their nine meetings with Wilmington this season. The lone loss for Salem came in the first meeting, by one run. Two of its subsequent seven straight successes also saw a one-run final margin. Salem has averaged 7.6 tallies per game against the Blue Crew in nearly doubling Wilmington's scoring output, 68-35.


The Lamb family wishes all the Blue Rocks the best tonight as they conclude their last road trip before the All-Star break.
 
GO ROCKS!
 
 
- - - James Lamb

Lamb runs into 1 tough inning and suffers loss...

Road starts for my son always seem to ignite more nerves than usual. Following the Blue Rocks Thursday night beating, of the Dash, only added to my fears based on a typical occurrence that bats seem to sleep after those types of performances.

A large crowd was not an issue for John Lamb in North Carolina Friday night, I am sure. The challenge of a successful minor league line-up turned into some reality in the 2nd inning, as witnessed by more than 6,000 fans. The Winston-Salem Dash, High A team of the Chicago White Sox, has the 3rd highest team batting average throughout all levels of professional baseball and they simply proved that stature in one inning.


Lamb was unscathed in the first inning, but needed every bit of the 33 pitches in the second inning to get three outs for the Wilmington Blue Rocks. The four earned runs matched all runs allowed in four previous outings by the 19 year-old since coming to the Carolina League. Despite giving up the runs, Lamb did record 3 strike-outs in the frame. The second inning was the only blemish of the lefty's five inning performance, but certainly nothing to be ashamed of by most standards.


During the shortest start of his Carolina League career, Lamb threw 84 pitches with seventy percent as strikes. He allowed 7 hits, 2 walks, 4 earned runs and struck out 5 before handing the ball off to the bull-pen to finish the game.


The Blue Rocks 4-3 loss also witnessed the hitting streak for Jamie Romak come to an end, at 18 straight games. Romak is now a single game shy of equaling the longest hitting streak in franchise history. Corey Hart established the franchise mark by hitting safely in 19 straight from July 30-September 1, 2001. His streak was matched by Justin Cowan from June 29-July 26, 2002.
 
 
Good luck Blue Rocks trying to stay alive for a first place finish in the first half of the season.
 
 
 
- - - James Lamb

Lamb dazzles again as Blue Rocks take the series!

Wilmington Blue Rocks took the series from the Potomac Nationals in front of a nearly 4 thousand fans earlier today with a 9-4 victory. Starter John Lamb (2-1, 1.50) was given an early lead by his team. Lamb matched a season high nine strike-outs and allowed only one run during the six inning performance.

Five of the six frames Lamb faced the minimum to get the outs. The only inning of miscue started with a lead-off triple in the fourth, but the threat was closed by a couple of strike-outs to leave two Nationals’ base-runners on the pond. Lamb finished the game strong by retiring the last eight batters he faced and getting five consecutive whiffs in that process.



I believe that every Blue Rocks hitter contributed with a hit during today’s win, except one. Salvador Perez was a home-run shy of hitting for the cycle. Eric Hosmer continues to hit the Carolina League pitching and Jamie Romak extended his streak to hitting safely in 14 games.



Next series will start tomorrow night in Wilmington, DE against the Kinston Indians at 7:05 ET.



GO BLUE ROCKS!



Some extra thoughts:



We were all simply losing our mind today, just prior to the scheduled first-pitch, due to the technical troubles on the Blue Rocks radio broadcast. Fortunately, the Nationals feed of the game was working and we would sincerely like to thank them for the kind words rendered during the game, while my son was shutting them down. I have always believed that the game of baseball encompasses a tremendous class of people and the opposing broadcast crew, reassured that stance.



The Lamb family would like to thank all of you that are involved with professional baseball, both on and off the field. Without your efforts the challenges associated with the lives of young men in professional baseball would be even more difficult. We look forward to meeting some of you in the very near future to thank you in person for all your services to the game.



- - - James Lamb

http://www.4-domain.com/

Lamb has a quality start on road in Kinston, NC.

With my son getting his first start on the road in Kinston, NC, I had some extra Dad nerves keeping me on edge throughout the day. Some pitchers only throw well on their home mound, while others really don't seem to care. Sure glad he falls into the last of the two mentioned categories.


John Lamb had his first Carolina League start away from Wilmington, DE tonight and he was up to the challenge against one of the leagues toughest teams to play in their home park. The Kinston Indians, High Class A team of the Cleveland Indians, has been extremely hard to beat in the historic ballpark.

Grainger Stadium in Kinston, NC.

Lamb and the Wilmington Blue Rocks played well enough to hold of the 9th inning rally by the Indians to win by a final 3-2. Keaton, the first Blue Rocks reliever, got the official win taking his record to 2-0 out of the bullpen. Bowden picked up his 5th save of the year by getting the final two outs of the game with runners in scoring position.

Lamb pitched the first 6 innings while facing a total of 23 batters. He gave up 4 hits, with 1 earned run, struck out 7 and walked 2. Although Lamb, whom might not agree with this overall analysis of his performance, really only made one bad pitch to Karexon Sanchez, form Venezuela, that left the yard.

Lamb managed to get out of trouble a couple of times during his performance that simply demonstrates his ability to work with, or without, base runners. He managed to keep his Carolina League Earned Run Average at 1.50 through his first three starts as the youngest ball player in the Advanced A level professional baseball league.

Needless to say the nerves settled down in the household as the game progressed and the ball was handed to the Blue Rocks bullpen, leaving John Lamb with a no decision effort.

Good luck Blue Rocks with the rubber match tomorrow night before heading back home to Wilmington, DE.
 
 
- - - James Lamb
 
https://www.baseballprospectguide.com/