Jaime D'Antona replaced the injured Colby Rasmus on the U.S. Futures roster,
playing all nine innings as their designated hitter. He went 0-for-4 with
two strikeouts and three men left on base, but that performance was
understandable, given the circumstances. Not only was D'Antona facing some
of the top pitching prospects in baseball, but the Tucson sidewinders had
finished their Friday game at 10:15 pm before he caught a 5 AM flight to New York
City.
"So, I'll be working on pretty much no sleep," he laughed before his flight.
"Whatever. Sleep when you die, right?"
Although D'Antona did not do much to help his US teammates, the Sidewinders
have certainly missed his presence in their batting order. They have gone
0-3 in the games that the PCL's second best hitter has been absent.
D'Antona will also start at third base in the PCL All-Star game on Wednesday.
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Coincidentally, one of D'Antona's outs was a fly ball to right field, when he
right fielder at the time was fellow Diamondbacks prospect Gerardo Parra.
Parra did not start in the game, but fared better overall. He went
1-for-2 with an opposite-field single off a 97 MPH Casey Weathers fastball.
"I've got no words for it," Parra said through interpreter Orlando Mercado.
"It's like a dream come true, especially in the last year of Yankee Stadium, to
get a chance to play there."
Parra might have been an All-Star as well, but he earned a promotion from
Hi-A to Double-A earlier in the season. He considers himself very close to
major league ready.
"I know I'm really close, but I just put it in God's hands and take it
day-by-day, step-by-step, league-by-league," Parra said. "When I'm ready,
they'll know and they'll call me up to the big leagues."
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Second base prospect Emilio Bonifacio got that call to the majors earlier
this month after batting .302 with 17 steals for the Sidewinders.
Hopefully that honor sufficed, as Bonifacio did not appear in the World team win
despite being selected to that team.
Send questions or
comments for Keith Glab to
future_backs@yahoo.com
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