Onetime Independent Reliever Leaves Emphatic Message In Confidence on Way to American League Championship Series

The latest lesson in the confidence needed for an Independent player to succeed on baseball’s greatest stage was delivered emphatically this week when Boston’s Craig Breslow marched out of the Red Sox bullpen and struck out four consecutive Tampa Bay hitters to keep the Beantowners’ deficit at a single run, 1-0, until their offense could scratch out a couple of runs and send the determined Rays to the sidelines for the remainder of the postseason.

Breslow, who likely would be a doctor today instead of a major league pitcher if not for turning his career around in a couple of months with the New Jersey Jackals nine years ago after he had flamed out at Class A with the Milwaukee Brewers , struck out James Loney, Evan Longoria, Ben Zobrist and Desmond Jennings in the sixth and seventh innings, then got a ground out and gave up an infield single, but by that time the Red Sox had taken the lead in the eventual 3-1 victory that decided the American League Divisional Series.

One person who thoroughly enjoyed watching the game unfold on TBS was Joe Calfapietra, who gave Breslow the second chance by signing him in July of 2004, and still manages the Jackals , who call Yogi Berra Stadium in Little Falls home.

Calfapietra, who spends his offseason giving lessons at his Baseball Instruction at Its Best school in Hatfield, PA and is already “setting my sights on the (Can-Am League) 2014 season”, saw the southpaw throw basically the same pitches as in ’04 but perhaps with even more confidence.

“When he was with me he already showed…a certain relaxation,” Calfapietra tried to explain this week.  “He was concentrating on getting outs.  He’s very analytical.”

Breslow has now pitched in more than 400 major league games with a sparkling 2.83 ERA, and there has been no medical school.

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Sounding Confident, Peterson Watching St. Louis Mates on Couch at Home

Had a few more hits fallen in during Brock Peterson’s mid-season and late-season opportunities with the St. Louis Cardinals he might be a right-handed bat off the bench this postseason instead of watching the Redbirds on television from his home in Virginia Beach, VA , but the soon-to-be 30-year-old (November 20) does not seem to be losing any sleep over that situation.

“I felt I was part of the team”, Peterson said via telephone.  More importantly, “I didn’t feel overmatched”.  It did not hurt that he debuted to a standing ovation in July because the knowledgeable St. Louis fans knew he had been pounding the baseball for the Cardinals’ top farm club in Memphis.  “That first at bat was pretty special,” he admitted, and it resulted in an RBI ground out on the ninth pitch, which brought high-fives from his teammates.

“It (the major league experience) means more now”, the 11-year pro confirmed, despite only going 2-for-26 with two RBI in 23 games, and he has a bunch of friends among the National League Divisional champions, starting with shortstop Pete Kozma , who invited Peterson to share his apartment.

Peterson said his year and a half (2011-12) in the Atlantic League (Bridgeport, CT) “was a lot of fun” and “changed my future”.  He gave special accolades to Manager Willie Upshaw , who “made me believe no one should be able to get me out.”

Ottawa Okayed; El Paso Rights Move On

Miles Wolff was a happy man this morning as he boarded a plane in Ottawa because the City Council, by a top-heavy vote, had approved a 10-year lease of Ottawa Stadium to the Can-Am League commissioner’s circuit starting with the 2015 season.

“We’ve got time now to find good owners”, said Wolff, who hopes by the same time to have Montreal and possibly an unnamed Pennsylvania community jump the Can-Am from its current five teams to a more stable eight.

In the meantime, the American Association , the other league the Independent Baseball founder heads up, has agreed to continue some inter-league play with the Can-Am for a third consecutive year (2014) despite the fact it now has 12 teams instead of 13.

El Paso, TX folded after this season and Wolff revealed that rights to the franchise have been obtained by a group headed by El Paso staff member Sean Suarez “and a couple of Texas investors”, who hope to place a team in the Midwest or Southwest two years from now.

             (This is an excerpt from the column Bob Wirz writes year round on Independent Baseball.  Forty columns are planned during 2013.  Fans may subscribe at reduced rates at www.WirzandAssociates.com , enjoy added stories on the blog www.IndyBaseballChatter.com , or comment to RWirz@aol.com .  The author has 16 years of major league baseball public relations experience with Kansas City and as spokesman for two Commissioners and lives in Stratford, CT.)