There is something about all-star games. They’re meaningless. The level of competition is rarely about grit and intensity. You’re there to watch great players be great. It doesn’t matter what level we’re talking about, from Little League to High School or all the professional levels.

If you watched the Futures Game on Sunday afternoon you got a taste of what we’re talking about here. It was the top 25 USA minor leaguers vs. the top 25 World minor leaguers (mostly Latin players). Jesse Biddle got credit for the win. He was supposed to pitch Continue reading →

Source: Reading Eagle, Jeremy Drey

Today, Jesse Biddle is in New Britain to be part of the Eastern League All-Star festivities with teammates Seth Rosin, Albert Cartwright, Jr., and Jim Murphy. He will not play in tonight’s game since he’s slated to start for Reading tomorrow (Thursday). He and Maikel Franco will be in New York City over the weekend to play in the Futures Game (nationally televised at 2:00 PM, Sunday on ESPN2).

After that, there’s no telling what Jesse’s schedule will be for the rest of Continue reading →

Tough outing for Jesse on Saturday night in New Britain. He had decent command but a bit of bad luck after several scoreless innings. He gave up nine hits in the game and walked two, but finished his portion of the game only allowing two runs. A bases loaded fifth inning stand with only one out was high drama.

Jesse had been throwing a lot of balls and not enough strikes. He’d given up two walks and a single and a double. The Rock Cats had already squeezed a run out in the 4th. With one more run already scored (thanks to the first walk), they had the bases juiced and just one out. And it looked pretty grim. Nate Hanson got three straight balls. Jesse had just walked the last batter. One more ball and Jesse walks in a run. No telling how he was feeling right Continue reading →

Okay, so Jesse is NOT pitching next on Sunday the 30th in New Britain. Because he only threw 32 pitches on Tuesday night before the game was called because of rain, the Fightins have bumped him up to Saturday night (6/29) in New Britain. In theory, that also adjusts his schedule for his next outing to July 4th in Trenton. More on that early next week.

The great news for Jesse this week, though, is that he was named to both the Eastern League All-Star Eastern Division Team (thanks to all who voted for him) and the USA team in the Futures Game. The Eastern League game will be on July 10th in New Britain, CT. The Futures Game will be at Citi Field in New York Continue reading →

Nothing like a symbolic image of a minor league pitcher

We’ve been following a very interesting set of posts at The Paris Review website from a special project called Bull City Summer. As far as I can tell, a number of PR writers and photographers are focusing on the minor league stadium experience for the Durham Bulls in North Carolina. This summer is the 25th anniversary of one of the greatest baseball movies of all time — Bull Durham (click on the photo for a dose of baseball reality).

The Paris Review posts are thoughtful, erudite and not the standard baseball and meaning of life stuff that you find everywhere at this time of year. In fact, the article that caught our eye was called “When Baseball Isn’t Baseball.” The Bull City Summer site can be visited by clicking here.

If you’re wondering about Jesse’s upcoming schedule, he is slated to pitch on Continue reading →

After the game last night against the Richmond Flying Squirrels (SF Giants), Jesse texted that he didn’t have his good stuff. He battled through five innings anyway, only giving up one run (in the 1st) and striking out seven. It was a tough night. He threw 102 pitches, about half balls and half strikes (he’s usually at a 2:1 ratio, at least) and only had one inning where he set down the side in order. But a starting pitcher’s job is to keep his Continue reading →

Source: Fightin Phils FB page

Jon Lannan is definitely scheduled to pitch a rehab game for the Fightin Phils on Wednesday (6/13) as he gets ready to climb back on his horse for the Big Club later this month. That pushes Jesse’s start to Friday, which is an away game in Richmond. This must be minor league baseball!

So, here’s what Jesse’s next two starts in the region currently look like:

Thursday, June 20 – Portland vs. Reading – 7:05 PM (in Reading)

Friday, July 5 – Reading vs. Trenton – 7:05 PM (in Trenton)

We don’t want to project out Continue reading →

Hold onto your horses if you’re planning on a Thursday night (6/13) at Reading to watch Jesse pitch. The Phillies are scheduling John Lannan for Wednesday night as he tries to rehab and move back up to the bigs. There is talk about Carlos Zambrano getting another start on Thursday now, which would push Jesse Continue reading →

Due to rained out games the past two nights, Jesse’s pitching schedule has changed. He is throwing tomorrow at 5:35 PM in Reading (go here for more details).

The good news for this shift is that he pitches a lot more at home in June, and Continue reading →