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Binghamton’s Harvey Selected To Play In All-Star Futures Game
By Tom Robinson

Matt Harvey, a first-year professional who was recently added to the Binghamton Mets pitching staff, has been selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game Sunday night in Phoenix.

Harvey made it to Class AA in a hurry after excelling at Class A St. Lucie of the Florida State League.

A first-round pick by the New York Mets out of North Carolina in the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft, Harvey went 8-2 and struck out 92 in 76 innings while posting a 2.37 earned run average in 14 starts for St. Lucie.

Harvey went 0-1 with a 5.59 ERA in his first two starts for Binghamton.

The Futures Game is for the most highly regarded prospects in all of minor league baseball.

MORE ALL-STARS

The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees and the Binghamton Mets each had three players selected for their all-star games.

First baseman Jorge Vazquez, relief pitcher Kevin Whelan and catcher Jesus Montero were named to represent Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on the International League team for the Triple-A All-Star Game July 13 in Salt Lake City.

The International League team will take on a team from the Pacific Coast League.

Vazquez is batting .257 with a league-leading 20 homers and 52 RBI.

Whelan leads the IL with 18 saves and is 1-1 with a 1.61 ERA in 26 games.

Both Vazquez and Whelan were on the disabled list at the time of their selection, jeopardizing their chances of actually playing in the game.

Montero is hitting .286 with six homers and 27 RBI.

Infielders Joshua Satin and Jordany Valdespin and pitcher Jeurys Familia were picked for the Eastern Division team in the July 13 Eastern League All-Star Game in New Hampshire.

Satin leads the team in batting average (.316), runs scored (45) and RBI (49).

Valdespin leads the team with 24 stolen bases while batting .289.

Familia is 0-2 in eight starts with a 3.35 ERA but has 51 strikeouts in 45 2/3 innings.

LOCAL CONNECTION

Rich Thompson, the only active professional baseball player from Susquehanna County, has played a big role in keeping the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in the International League North Division lead.

Thompson, a 32-year-old outfielder, is second in the league in stolen bases with 27 while being caught just four times.

The Montrose graduate has raised his average to .270 through 64 games. Thompson batted .328 during June, including a late four-game stretch in which he was 9-for-17 (.529) with five runs scored and three stolen bases.

The Lackawanna League has another player making an immediate impact just weeks into his professional career.

Cory Spangenberg, who led Abington Heights to the 2009 state Class AAA championship, was selected 10th overall in this year’s Major League Baseball Draft by the San Diego Padres.

Spangenberg was named Player of the Week after the short-season Northwest League’s first full week. He leads the league with a .407 batting average and .571 on-base percentage while helping the Eugene Emeralds to an 11-game winning streak and 14-2 record.

"It's been a great start so far," Spangenberg said. "I'm just trying to keep it going."

Spangenberg is among the league leaders in doubles (7), RBI (17) and walks (20).

TOM ROBINSON writes a weekly local sports column for the Susquehanna County Transcript. He can be reached online at RobbyTR@aol.com.

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NASCAR Racing
By Gerald Hodges

Carl And Kyle Hot, Others Not

Carl Edwards is the NASCAR Sprint Cup leader. His third-place finish at Sonoma was his third top-10 in seven races.

As the season reaches the midway point, Edwards looks strong.

In 16 starts this season, he has accumulated one win, nine top-fives and 12 top-10 finishes.

He has also won $3,874,703.

Carl Edwards

Not bad for a country boy from Missouri that some fans still call “Cuz.”

Like him or not, he’s the fan favorite behind Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Edwards is in the final year of his contract with Roush-Fenway Racing. He has declined comment on his contract status, as he has throughout the year.

“As far as my contract status, it is the same as the beginning of the year,” Edwards said. “We are working hard on it and we do all that stuff behind closed doors. We are making progress and hopefully we will be able to tell you guys what my plan is soon.”

Asked about the oft-repeated rumors that he would go to Joe Gibbs Racing next year to replace Joey Logano, Edwards added, “I have heard rumors about all different teams for the last two years. The thing I am going to do is keep working on it and working on it privately. I think that is the best way for me.”

Need a short track ace? Well, Kyle Busch is your driver with 12 wins on tracks of a mile or less. Those include Bristol Motor Speedway, Dover International Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, and Phoenix International Raceway.

If short tracks aren’t your cup of tea, Busch is pretty good on the intermediate ovals, as well, with five total wins on the 1.5-mile and 2-mile tracks. Those include Atlanta Motor Speedway, Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Ill., and Busch’s hometown track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Need a driver who can get it done during the two road-course stops on the schedule? No problem there, either, as Busch has one win apiece at both Sprint Cup road-course venues in Sonoma, Calif., and Watkins Glen (N.Y.).

And, last but not least, you need a driver to navigate the two restrictor-plate venues on the circuit? Busch has won twice on the 2.5-mile high-banked ovals at Daytona and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Dale Jr. has 18 career Cup wins, but has found himself winless in 109 races. Currently he sits seventh in the point standings with three top-five and eight top-10 finishes this season.

He got his second DNF this season at Sonoma when he was caught up in a mess of cars that caused catastrophic engine failure to his No. 88.

He may or may not contend for a NASCAR Sprint Cup title this year, but he is not going anywhere, and a title could well be in his future.

Winning races would silence those who claim he is an overrated driver because of his name. A series championship would elevate his driving record to the elite group who can claim they won a title.

For Dale Jr., it would be vindication for the struggles he has faced personally and as a Cup driver.

Though many think the driver of the No. 88 has it all, it really isn't easy, because of the constant scrutiny he is under and the ever-present critics.

His following of fans, known as Junior Nation, have supported him regardless of his driving record, by voting him the Most Popular Driver in NASCAR for eight years.

After recovering from a DNF in the season opening Daytona 500, Earnhardt has looked to be poised to break a losing streak stretching back to 2008; only three weeks ago he finished second at Kansas and found himself third in the championship standings.

With a 41st place at Sonoma, Earnhardt tumbled four spots in the standings to seventh.

“I’m not looking forward to going to Daytona, not with the way the drafting is there,” Earnhardt said. “But, we’ll just have to see if we can get lucky. What is after Daytona? New Hampshire. Will be glad to go there. I love that place.”

Tony Stewart is another driver that is not doing so hot, but part of Stewart’s problem is that he self-destructs. He made his point last week at Sonoma, when he said, “Block me, face the consequences.”

The only problem with Stewart’s action during the race at Sonoma is not only did he end up dumping Brian Vickers, who was holding up Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet, but he also took Dale Earnhardt Jr. out of contention and slowed the progress of Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon and Kevin Harvick, all innocent drivers.

Tony Stewart

“I dumped him (Vickers) earlier for blocking and he got me back later on,” said Stewart. “If they block, they are going to get dumped. It’s real simple. I mean I don’t blame him. I don’t blame him for dumping us back. But, I don’t race guys that way, I never have. If guys want to block, then they are going to get wrecked every time. Until NASCAR makes a rule against it, I am going to dump them every time for it. He did what he had to do. I don’t blame him. There is nothing wrong with it.”

While Stewart laid down the law, his point standing suffered. He dropped one position to 12th and now has 460 points, 113 points behind series leader Carl Edwards and 14 points ahead of 13th place Greg Biffle.

Weekend Racing: It will be a tripleheader of night races for all three of NASCAR’s major series at Kentucky Speedway, a 1.5-mile facility located in north-central Kentucky, halfway between Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio.

Thurs., July 7, Camping World Trucks UNOH 225, race 9 of 24, Starting time: 8 p.m.; TV: SPEED.

Fri., July 8, Nationwide Feed the Children 300, race 18 of 34, Starting time: 7:30 p.m.; TV: ESPN.

Sat., July 9, Sprint Cup Quaker State 400, race 18 of 36, Starting time: 7:30 p.m.; TV: TNT.

All times are Eastern.

Racing Trivia Question: How many NASCAR Cup championships did Bobby Allison win?

Last Week’s Question: Which team did Bobby Labonte drive for when he won the 2000 Cup championship? Answer. Joe Gibbs Racing.

You may contact the Racing Reporter at hodges@race500.com.

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