More stories have been posted

More stories about the Storm Chasers and Royals are up on the Yahoo! Contributor Network:

• Alex Gordon Visits Die-hard 10-year-old Fan in the Hospital
• Royals OF Alex Gordon Attributes His Turnaround to Hitting Coach Kevin Seizter
• Royals 2B Johnny Giavotella Talks About Adjusting to the Major Leagues
• Royals CF Mitch Maier Says It's About the Team

Moving to YCN

We had a great 2011 season here at Omaha Baseball 360, didn't we? I'm excited to announce that I'll be covering the Omaha Storm Chasers in 2012 for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. My first article is up:

• Omaha Storm Chasers Manager Mike Jirschele Will Return for 2012 Season

I'll have another story up tomorrow or the next day after interviewing one or more players who are making a Royals Caravan stop in Omaha tonight. I hope you'll join me over on YCN (where I'll also be covering other sports as well). You can subscribe to the content by visiting my YCN profile and clicking the "Subscribe" button.

Clippers down the Chasers in Triple-A Championship

The 2011 Pacific Coast League Championship
trophy was on hand at Fire Barn in Omaha where
fans gathered to watch the game
(Photo: Lee Warren)

Albuquerque, N.M. – If it wasn’t already clear that the Triple-A National Championship Game was primarily an exhibition, it became so on Tuesday night when Luis Mendoza started for the Kansas City Royals rather than the Omaha Storm Chasers.

While Mendoza was mowing down the Tigers in a 10-2 win at Kauffman Stadium, Sean O’Sullivan struggled, after having nine days off, in an 8-3 losing effort for the Storm Chasers against the Columbus Clippers.

The one-game, nationally-televised playoff showcase started out well for Omaha, but the offense and pitching stalled out after a first-inning display reminiscent of performances throughout this year’s championship run.

Steve Rosenblatt says his dad would be thrilled with Werner Park

Steve Rosenblatt poses next to photos of Rosenblatt
Stadium in the Werner Park press box
(Photo: Lee Warren)

History roamed Werner Park recently.

Steve Rosenblatt, the son of Johnny Rosenblatt – the former mayor and city councilmember who also played a little baseball (he once faced Satchel Paige) and was the namesake for Rosenblatt Stadium – was at Werner Park to see the Omaha Storm Chasers take on the Round Rock Express in the PCL American Conference Championship Series.

Johnny died in 1979, but his legacy lives on through his son and through the efforts of the Storm Chasers’ staff, who named the first base concourse at Werner Park, “Rosenblatt Way,” in addition to installing Johnny Rosenblatt Legacy Seats. They’ve also displayed photos of Rosenblatt Stadium in the front office and in the press box.

The Storm Chasers win the PCL Championship

Mike Montgomery tossed five shutout innings
and picked up the win in Sacramento
(File photo: Brad Williams Photography)

West Sacramento, Calif. – On April 7, Eric Hosmer stood in left field at Werner Park and fielded questions from a few reporters. He was aware that Omaha fell just one game short of the playoffs in 2010, prompting him to tell us, “Really, everyone in this clubhouse has one goal – and that’s just to win a championship.”

Even though Hosmer was probably rooting the team on from Kansas City after hitting a walkoff RBI double to give the Royals a 7-6 victory over Chicago, the mission was still accomplished.

The Omaha Storm Chasers defeated the Sacramento River Cats 11-6 Friday night to sweep the series and become the Pacific Coast League champions, giving the team its first league title since 1990 and first ever PCL championship since joining the league in 1998.

Q & A with Clint Robinson

Clint Robinson has done about everything a guy can do in the minor leagues.

The 2007, 25th round draft pick has played on two championship teams (with the 2008 Burlington Bees and the 2010 NW Arkansas Naturals) and is currently one win away from another one with the Omaha Storm Chasers.

The 26-year-old designated hitter/first baseman was the Idaho Falls Play of the Year in 2007 and he won the Triple Crown (.335 / 29 HR / 98 RBIs) for the Naturals in 2010. He had another great season for Omaha in 2011 (23 HR and 100 RBIs), earning the right to represent Omaha at the PCL All-Star game this summer and he was named to the All-PCL team.

Unfortunately for him, he’s stuck behind Billy Butler and Eric Hosmer at the big league level and it doesn’t look like he’s going to get his shot with the Royals. All year long he has told media that until he gets to the big leagues, he feels like he has something to prove. On Monday, before the Chasers worked out at Werner Park for the PCL Championship Series, he spoke with Omaha Baseball 360 about his season and the position he finds himself in.

Chasers win Game 2 of the PCL Championship Series

Jarrod Dyson finished 4-for-6 with a homer,
four RBIs, three runs, a double and a stolen base
(Photo from Game 1: Minda Haas / Royal Blues)

Omaha, Neb. – The Omaha Storm Chasers drew one step closer to winning its first Pacific Coast League championship Wednesday night at Werner Park when they trounced the Sacramento River Cats 15-4 in front of 4,039 fans.

The Chasers fell behind early. Omaha starter Vin Mazzaro struggled with his command in the first inning, in which he threw 30 pitches (16 balls). He gave up a single to Jermaine Mitchell to lead off the game. Mitchell stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Josh Donaldson. Adrian Cardenas then took Mazzaro deep to right field to give Sacramento an early 3-0 lead.

“I wasn’t real happy – you give them three runs in the first,” said Omaha manager Mike Jirschele after the game. “But you know what? Our guys battled back and got us one right away to put us within two. We had eight innings to go after that, so we were still in the game.”

Sean O'Sullivan's Michael Jackson impersonation

Since shooting the video of Mark Nasser dancing in celebration with the Storm Chasers after they won the American Conference Championship on Saturday, several people have asked me if I shot video of Sean O'Sullivan doing his Michael Jackson impersonation that took place just moments before. Sadly, I did not. But thankfully, the Storm Chasers did and they just uploaded the video to YouTube. So, here's what inspired Nasser's dance:

Omaha wins Game 1 of the PCL Championship Series

Luis Mendoza picked up his second win of the postseason
(File photo: Minda Haas / Royal Blues)

Omaha, Neb. – The Omaha Storm Chasers continue to win in the most unlikely of ways.

On Tuesday night, during Game 1 of the PCL Championship Series, David Lough ripped a ball down the right field line, but stumbled and fell on his way to second base in the seventh inning. He scrambled back to first in time and was followed by Lorenzo Cain, who hit a blooper into right field that Grant Greene was unable to corral and Lough was able to score what turned out to be the winning run all the way from first base.

The 3-2 win for the Chasers gives them a 1-0 lead over the Sacramento River Cats in the best of five, PCL Championship Series. And the 4,203 fans who were in attendance couldn’t have been happier. As has been the case throughout the playoffs, fans gave players standing ovations and were engaged with every pitch. Rob White, from the Omaha World Herald, wrote a blog post about this. Check it out if you get a chance.