This was ugly. Like, really, really ugly. I don’t think we should even talk about this.

Basically, we looked horrible. See? Five runs each were on Dana Eveland and Tommy Hunter, and we weren’t able to answer very well. We just scored five overall.

Oh, but we did get Jim Thome, so now I can say JI-

JIM THOME a lot. He’s expected to be activated tomorrow, so I should honor The Dugout and write tomorrow’s recap in caps lock. Right? Of course I should.

And now…I think I’ll find a way to make this loss feel better. Fortunately, I have sheepdogs and cats for times like these…

She doesn’t like this game very much, but I do.

This was supposed to go up yesterday and…well, I ran out of time. I’ve had a strangely busy week and I’ve sadly gotten behind on work. Therefore, you get two prospects today instead of one.

The first one we’ll mention here is Gabriel Lino, a catcher who will likely be starting this season in Delmarva. There’s not much information out there on the kid – he spent 2011 in the GCL. Lino was born in 1993 – the same year my kid brother was born – which makes me feel old, but he’s got a good build for a teenager and it’ll surely improve as he grows more. Baseball America says he “shows a promising ability to work with pitchers,” which warms my battery-loving heart.

Right now, the big issue is his defense; BA reports that he is “unrefined” and made five errors and four passed balls in twenty-six games in 2011. He also threw out 28% of base-stealers, which isn’t a bad percentage, but when you’ve got Matt Wieters as your MLB-level catcher you tend to become spoiled.

As a hitter, he’s pretty solid, and he’ll only get better as he grows and adds more strength and experience. Since he’s a catcher, don’t expect him to run, but you can expect him to hit, at the very least. Keep an eye out for him in Delmarva this year and see how he does!