What Has Gone Wrong With Jeremy Sowers?

Jeremy Sowers made his first appearance in a Bisons uniform at the end of the 2005 for one game. In 2006 Sowers was dominated the IL opponents. He was the best pitcher the Bisopns have seen in their time with Cleveland. He was better then Bartolo Colon, better then Jaret Wright, better then Fausto Carmona, better then current AL Rookie of the Year candidate Jeremy Guthrie. Then Sowers got the call to Cleveland where he continued his winning ways, making it look like he would never see Buffalo again unless on rehab.

So who would have ever guessed he would be struggling so bad he may see Akron again, maybe even Kinston or Lake County. Sowers like so may other big leaguers struggled in his second season. So he was sent to Buffalo where everyone thought he would get his confidence up and quickly make a return trip to Cleveland. Well, things have went no better in Buffalo. Each game the IL hitters make it look like batting practice when Sowers is on the mound. So what is next for Jeremy Sowers?

Instead of letting him get beat up game after game I would send him down, and not to Akron either. He has no confidence at all, so send him to Lake County where he can dominate the game and let him get some confidence back. Remember Roy Halladay was in Toronto and got sent all the way back to Single A and had to work his way back up through the minors. I am just saying Sowers should go down to get his stuff back. He is the worst pitcher on the Bisons staff right now. And he really don't have much time to waste. Fausto Carmona has locked up a spot in the big leagues and looks to be the number two man behind CC Sabathia. When healthy Adam Miller has been the ace of the Bisons staff, and the Indians can't wait to get him to Cleveland. With Cliff Lee and Jake Westbrook locked into the Indians rotation, that could leave Sowers on the outside looking in for a long time. But he has way to much talent to trade away. Everyone saw it in Buffalo and Cleveland last year, he is needs the confidence back. Let him go to single and and get that back.

Thoughts about Niagara Power

I admit I have never been to a collegiate baseball game before this season, or for that matter I have never seen one on TV either. Actually I only knew of two leagues, the Cape Cod League, the most famous, and the New York Collegiate Baseball League, just because it is sorta local. So this year at the start of the Buffalo Bisons seasons, Doug Smith comes up and starts mentioning a new baseball team playing at Sal Maglie Stadium. It turned out to be the Niagara Power, an expansion collegiate league team that Doug was going to be the PA announcer for (he was the PA announcer for the Niagara Falls Rapids, among other baseball related jobs). So a few weeks ago my buddy Kevin and I made the trip to the Falls to see a game. We realized this was going to be a low budget operation and the baseball would not be great. But I must admit, the team is ran well and the baseball is not that bad. Granted the playing field at Sal Maglie sucks, so it creates a lot of bad plays because of the bounces. Sal Maglie Stadium was pretty much torn down a few years ago and rebuilt as a High School Football Stadium for Niagara Falls High School. There was a press Box added for baseball as the Niagara Falls baseball team plays there too. So the field gets pretty beat up during the football games, and the high school runs the stadium so it does not get the care that Pro baseball stadiums get.

First you must know the team is partnered with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, but unless it is faith night it is nothing over the top like I expected. Really all it is the Doug saying things are sponsored by the FCA. It is not like there is a pregame prayer most nights. They have a concession stand with $1.50 dogs and burgers, pop and other things. Don't expect to sit down with a cold beer, you won't find it here. They sell shirts, hats, and programs at another stand, so you can look cool in Power gear. Doug does a great job on the PA. It is a very light atmosphere, so in the middle of the game Doug will say something to someone in the crowd over the PA and the will yell the answer back up. He does all his own sound affects, so you get a laugh about some of them. But beware of the seventh inning stretch, Doug has no singing voice at all. It is like nails being dragged across a chalk board.

The baseball can be laughable at times. I really don't know why the outfielders play so shallow, because a lot of balls are hit over their heads. But don't expect to see a home run, the Power have one, yes combined the whole team has one home run. But you will see some nice plays too. Seve Alvarez seems to be the best player the Power have. He plays left field and is a speed little spark plug at the plate. But like in college baseball, he also comes in to pitch. While a lot of guys in this league play at colleges that nobody has heard of, Alvarez plays at South Carolina, so he is playing against better players in the spring.

I would recommend anyone to head out to Sal Maglie and check out a game. The season is coming to an end soon, and the Power is fighting for a playoff spot, so head out soon. If you go, guys you got to check out the men's room water. When you stick your hand under the faucet in the left sink, the water in the middle one comes on. Put your hands in the middle sink, and you guessed it, the water in the left sink comes on. It makes you look for a hidden camera.