Armada-Capitals preview

EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Long Beach Armada (1-3) continues its season-opening 10 game road trip north of the border with a three-game series against the newly named Edmonton Capitals.  Both teams won their respective 2nd half division titles and lost in the divisional playoff round in 2008.  The Armada went 8-10 against the then-Edmonton Cracker Cats in 2008, with all 8 wins coming at home.  The Fleet was 0-7 at Telus Field.  

The Armada dropped the first game of 2009 to the Calgary Vipers, 4-0.  Jose Lima pitched 8 innings giving up 6 hits, recording 6 strike outs without walking anyone.  Long Beach got its first win the following night as Chad Miller hit a 3-run homerun in the first inning en route to a 10-9 Armada win.  Miller hit another 3-run round-tripper in the third game of the series on Saturday in Calgary, part of a 7-run Armada 3rd inning.  The Vipers retaliated with a 9-run 4th inning, and despite the Armada getting 2 runs in the top of the night, they stranded 3 in the final frame, losing 12-10 on Saturday.  On Sunday, the Armada led 4-0 going into the bottom of the 3rd, but the Vipers tied the game at 4-4 with home runs by Terry Mermer and ehlandt Lentini in that frame.  Long Beach’s Casey Garrison put the Fleet back on top, 5-4, with a solo homerun in the top of the 4th, but the Vipers stormed back en route to a 14-8 win.  

All three games in Edmonton will be broadcast live by Josh Feldman through Free Teamline accessible via www.longbeacharmada.com.

PITCHING MATCH-UPS
Monday, May 25– Telus Field – 7:00pm MDT
RHP Jamie Arneson (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Paige Dumont (1-0, 9.00)
Tuesday, May 26– Telus Field – 7:00pm MDT
RHP Jose Lima (0-1, 4.50) vs. RHP Lou Pote (1-0, 0.00)
Wednesday, May 27– Telus Field – 7:00pm MDT
LHP Ben Fox (0-0, 10.38) vs. RHP Justin Jordan (0-0, 3.86)

MEDIA RELEASE:
http://www.goldenbaseball.com/Files/F462/ArmadaRelease2009-05-25.pdf

View from Calgary Press Box

Here's the view from the Calgary Vipers press box, an overhung setting that's 200ft above the playing surface and about 200ft back. Check it out...

PROJECTED LINE-UP (CALGARY)

Here's a peak as to who will be in the field for the Vipers when the Armada open the season against Calgary tonight.

LF: Drew Miller
CF: Fehlandt Lentini
RF: Mark Okano
3B: Carlos Duncan
SS: Nelson Castro
2B: Jorge Mejia
C: Rick Guarno
1B/DH: Colin Moro, Terry Mermer, Ivan Reyes.

Opening Day

CALGARY, Alberta -- The Long Beach Armada (0-0) begins the season on the road making the organization’s only trip to Calgary for the 2009 season followed by the first of two trips to Edmonton. Long Beach opens with back-to-back series against the Calgary Vipers (0-0) and Edmonton Capitals (0-0), last year’s North Division first- and second-half champions respectively, before a series against the expansion Victoria Seals (0-0). All 10 games will be broadcast through Free Teamline accessible via longbeacharmada.com.

PITCHING MATCH UPS
Thursday, May 21– Foothill Stadium – 7:05pm MDT
RHP Jose Lima (0-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Joe Sergent (0-0, 0.00)

Friday, May 22 – Foothill Stadium – 7:05pm MDT
LHP Ben Fox (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Evan Greusel (0-0, 0.00)

Saturday, May 23 – Foothill Stadium – 5:05pm MDT
RHP Scott Lonergan (0-0, 0.00) vs. LHP Dallas Mahan (0-0, 0.00)

Sunday, May 24 – Foothill Stadium – 1:35pm MDT
LHP Keith Ramsey (0-0, 0.00) vs. RHP Hideki Nagasaka (0-0, 0.00)

PROJECTED STARTERS
1B - Daryl Jones
2B - Steve Young
SS - Omar Bramasco
3B - Chad Miller
OF - Casey Garrison
OF - Josh Womack
OF - J.J. Sherrill
C - Andy Bouchie
DH - Matt Edgecombe

Lima sings at LAX

Jose Lima sings Sweet Home Alabama - or was it Sweet Home Dominicana ? - at LAX before the team gets on the plane for Calgary. LHP Keith Ramsey accompanies Lima on guitar as other members of the team listen.

Training Camp Day 5

The list of training camp invitees is being trimmed down today as the competition heats up. We'll work to have updates on the guys still at camp for yall as soon as we get the official word. To keep the mood light, however, here is some funny clips of the guys at camp. Should have some of that strong baseball goodness for you later in the weekend.

David Ramirez does his "Go Ninja" catchers dance


Watching Jose Lima pitch


Josh Womack demonstrates his crazy bat skills


Hitting coach GT2 tries to duplicate Womack's bat-spinning magic

Training Camp Day 3: You gotta Love it

You never know who will show up at Armada training camp this season. With more than twice as many players as there are roster spots at this years camp, there's bound to be a few two-sport athletes in the mix, including Minnesota Timberwolf and former UCLA Bruin Kevin Love.

The 5th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft stopped by this morning to throw a bullpen session and see the guys. No word yet if he's looking for a contract, but with all the big names joining the Armada this season, it doesn't seem that far-fetched, does it?