Fish will look to new leaders in 2016

The 2016 camp makes its formal debut in Winnipeg tomorrow with the Goldeyes annual open house at Shaw Park. This will certainly be a different team front the 2015 edition. The Fish were hit with a slew of retirements in the off-season: Casey Haerther, Matt Jackson, Nick Hernandez, Brendan Lafferty, Ryan Babineau are among the Fish who bid adieu to pro ball. Josh Mazzola signed with Fargo in an off-season shocker and Luis Alen was traded to Lincoln. So that leaves 2015 AA All-Star Adam Heisler (pictured with the departed Haerther), Casio Grider (who looked great during an injury plagued season last year) and Reggie Abercrombie becomes the elder statesman in the clubhouse. On the mound, we only have three returning hurlers: Edwin Carl, who showed all sorts of promise last season, Kyle Anderson and closer Jailen Peguero. First baseman Jacob Rogers and outfielder Josh Romanski are among some highly-regarded new recruits. Lots of new faces to learn, but that's indy ball in a nutshell. Come down to Shaw Park tomorrow and meet the lads, it should be a great day!

Haerther will be back in 2016

Big news from the Winnipeg Goldeyes clubhouse this week: 1B Casey Haerther has signed to play for The Fish once again in 2016. Haerther, who was an American Association All-Star for the second time this past season, is a leader on and off the field and signing him was an obvious priority. One of the foundational building blocks the Goldeyes roster starts to take shape.

2015 American Association All-Star Team

A special wave of Digital Gum, on the heels of yesterday's 2015 All-Star team announcement. Sadly, this is an incomplete set: Outfielder Denis Phipps and the Laredo Lemurs never came through Winnipeg this year. And I struck out on both pitchers...Sioux City's Patrick Johnson and Joplin's Winston Abreu. Abreu did pitch an inning's worth of relief here, but this was pre-blog and I missed him on the mound. Johnson did not start in Winnipeg, but I borrowed a shot from xsbaseball.com for his card; if I can dig up shots of Abreu and Phipps, I'll include them here later.

Alen's heroics provide Turkey Night triumph over Sioux Falls

It was shaping up to be a Turkey Night Tragedy in Winnipeg. Sioux Falls were riding an impressive pitching performance by Shawn Blackwell, who had held the Fish scoreless for eight innings of ball; The Canaries held on to a two run lead heading into the last inning. That set the stage for a bottom of the ninth miracle: Sioux Falls kept Blackwell in, which resulted in Casey Haerther getting on first with a beanball. Tillman Pugh singled in Haerther and then Luis Alen took it home with a double shot homer. Final Score, Goldeyes 3, Sioux Falls 2. Pictured here are: (1 -3) Adam Heisler and Matt Jackson de-shirt Luis Alen; (2) Casey Haerther gets beaned; (4) The Casio Grider Show; (5) The Fish celebrate; (6) Canary Chris Grayson crushes the ball; (7) Shawn Blackwell on the mound. All photos taken by Dan LeMoal at Shaw Park, Winnipeg, Aug. 11.

Fish tenderize Beef in Game 1

In what promises to be a series chock full of food metaphors, the Kansas City T-Bones are in Winnipeg for a three game series. The Goldeyes handed the T-Bones a 7-1 loss thanks to solid pitching from Coby Cowgill and some nice work at the plate throughout the batting order. Pictured here are: 1) Tillman Pugh sliding home; Casey Haerther connecting; 3) Cowgill winding up; 4) Casio Grider chasing down Jake Blackwood; 5) Brad Boyer reaching second; Adam Bailey chalking up Kansas City's lone run. Photos taken by Dan LeMoal at Shaw Park, Winnipeg, August 1.

Casey Haerther, Winnipeg Goldeyes

The versatile Haerther, who normally plays 1B, is pictured here at 3B. He also pitches on occasion, usually when the Goldeyes are being shelled--although his ERA is a respectable 0.00 in three trips to the mound this season! The four plate shots are in glorious "Stopamatic Motion" -- just click on the first shot and use your arrow keys to create your own Haerther-vision motion picture! (File photos by Dan LeMoal)