The Saints made a number of moves throughout the first week of the second half. Here’s a rundown:
- Pichi Balet and John Wesley activated from the inactive list
- Ben Thomas activated from the disabled list
- Tony Mansolino and Lonnie Robinson signed
- Charlie Ruud placed on the disabled list
- Andrew Bennett released
…the primary cause of concern here is charlie ruud’s shoulder — he did not make the trip down south with the team, but he optimistic that he will be able to return once the team returns home for the sioux city series. we’ve already discussed balet and mansolino, so that leaves bennett, thomas, robinson, and wesley left for discussion. first, happy trails to andrew bennett. he was a great success story as a local product from hamline university, and actually played very well when given a chance. he’s a gritty kid, and came up with some big hits, including the game-winning fielders-choice against wichita in that controversial 5-4 saturday night win at midway. as for thomas, he’s one of the critical components of the saints, and he is one of the primary reasons that the bottom of the saints order is able to be so productive. he’s a professional hitter with a beautiful swing from the left-side and is one of the best defensive third baseman in the american association — simply put, he’s one of my favorite players on the saints. lonnie robinson, like bennett, is another local product, with robinson recently graduated from st. thomas university. he’s a hard-throwing righty with a hard, tailing two-seam fastball and sharp breaking curveball. look for robinson, who was a starter at st. thomas, to provide some length out of the bullpen for george tsamis. finally, the saints get back their hard-throwing reliever, john wesley. he threw two crucial perfect innings on saturday night which gave the saints to come back and eventually beat lincoln by the score of 9-6. wesley, who was scheduled to be the saints pitching coach before signing a contract with the new york mets organization, brings a veteran presence and a very serviceable arm to the bullpen, and he will most likely work with mike bille to navigate the saints through the middle innings before craig molldream and tony pierce take over…
Tags: Andrew Bennett, Ben Thomas, Charlie Ruud, Injuries, John Wesley, Lonnie Robinson, Pichi Balet, Releases, Signings, Tony Mansolino
