honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 2:06 p.m., Sunday, July 8, 2007

Baseball: U.S. Future not bright against World

By Josh Dubow
Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO — Chin-Lung Hu is known for his slick fielding at shortstop more than a big bat. The Los Angeles Dodgers' prospect showed today he can hit a little too.

Hu had a pair of RBI hits and stole a base to lead the World team to a 7-2 victory over the U.S. team in the All-Star Futures game.

"I want to be able to do both," Hu said. "I'm not a power hitter. I'm a good opposite field hitter. I'm not an A-Rod who's going to hit 40, 50, 60 homers."

The Double-A shortstop from Taiwan showed off some of his talents for former Giants great Juan Marichal's World team that featured players from 11 countries and territories.

He hit an RBI double off Tampa Bay's Jeff Niemann in the first inning, stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly by Seattle's Wladimir Balentien to give the World team a 2-0 lead. Hu added an RBI single in the third off Yankees prospect Joba Chamberlain to make it 3-0.

Cincinnati's Joey Votto hit a solo homer against Boston's Clay Buchholz in the sixth inning and Houston's James Van Ostrand added one in the seventh against the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw to make it 6-2.

"I took a good swing and got a good pitch to hit," Votto said. "It was a fun day. I had a good time. I just had an awesome time playing with all these guys. I love playing with these guys. Playing against the U.S. team was just fun. Great stadium and the fans were awesome."

Arizona's Justin Upton, whose older brother B.J. played in this game in 2004 and '05, hit a solo homer in the third off Fautino De Los Santos of the White Sox for the first run for Dave Winfield's U.S. team.

Texas' John Whittleman added a solo shot in the fifth against Deolis Guerra of the New York Mets. Guerra, who turned 18 in April, was the youngest player in the game.

"To hit a homer here was a surreal experience," Whittleman said. "I thought if I could get it in the wind. I felt it might go. Hitting a homer like that can be a change of life experience. It was surprising to do it. I was saying to myself 'Get up! Get Up!'"

Rick Vanden Hurk allowed one hit and struck out one batter in the first inning to get the win. Unlike most of the other players who are still waiting for their call to the majors, Vanden Hurk has already been there, going 2-2 with an 8.38 ERA in seven appearances with the Florida Marlins before being sent back to the minors last month.

"I think pitching in the majors got me good experience for being here," Vanden Hurk said. It's just a lot of fun. This is a great opportunity. Everyone is here, all the scouts are here, the whole world is watching. So it's a great opportunity to show what I can do."

Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury was another player in this game with major league experience, playing six games with the Red Sox before being sent back to the minors on Friday. With Detroit's Cameron Maybin sidelined with an injury, Ellsbury got his chance to play in the Futures game after all.

"It's been a crazy week," Ellsbury said. "It means a lot to me to play with these guys. There are a lot of guys who will be in the big leagues in the near future."

If history is an indication, the future really should be bright for many of these players as 22 of the All-Stars are Futures alums even though the game was first played in 1999. In all, 39 players have gone from the Futures game to the All-Star game.

Thirteen players from last year's game have played in the majors this season, including Houston's Hunter Pence, Milwaukee's Ryan Braun and Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki.

Florida's Chris Coghlan had a difficult first inning at second base, booting Michael Saunders' grounder for an error to lead off the game and then dropping a fly ball by Max Ramirez. But right fielder Jay Bruce saved Coghlan from a second error when he alertly caught the ball after it deflected off Coghlan's glove but before it hit the ground for the third out.

Cleveland's Chuck Lofgren, a Bay Area product who went to the same high school as Giants star Barry Bonds, pitched a scoreless second inning for the U.S. team, striking out Freddy Sandoval. Lofgren also was an accomplished hitter at Serra High School, hitting 10 homers as a junior to tie Bonds for fourth most in a season at the school.

"I lived out my dream and got to strike someone out," Lofgren said. "It was a great experience, especially for someone who grew up here. It was the best feeling of my life, even better than when I was drafted."

The World team scored its fourth run in the fourth when Ramirez doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Arizona's Carlos Gonzalez. Balentien had an RBI double in the seventh.