The International League-champion Bulls beat the Pacific Coast League champs from Memphis, 5-4, in 11 innings in the fourth annual Triple-A Baseball National Championship Game in front of 6,777 fans at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark. Durham ended the Pacific Coast League’s three-game winning streak in the Triple-A title game and also kept Memphis from sweeping all seven of its postseason games. Shown celebrating here, the Bulls became the first International League team to win the crown.

In the bottom of the 11th, Michel Hernandez doubled to left-center field. He was replaced by pinch-runner Rashad Eldridge, the only player in the game who had played for the host city. Eldridge took third on Royce Ring’s wild pitch and then crossed the plate when reliever Oneli Perez’s only pitch of the game also was wild.

“We hung together,” said starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson, pictured here, who was awarded the Bobby Murcer MVP trophy. “We didn’t lose too much offense when we lost all those players (since Aug. 31), and we were never out of any ballgame.”

Since the final week of the regular season, the Bulls had lost their only International League All-Star, outfielder Jon Weber, and relief pitcher Jason Childers (9-6, five saves), to the USA’s World Cup team.

Tampa Bay has called up seven Durham players since August 31, including home run and RBI leader Chris Richard, wins leader Wade Davis and saves leader Dale Thayer. And in the Bulls’ run to the International League’s Governors’ Cup, they lost Thayer’s successor, Winston Abreu, to an aneurysm in his pitching arm.

“It’s a compliment to the whole team that the guys that stayed back did a helluva job,” said Durham manager Charlie Montoyo. “Because I played so many years in Triple-A, I made sure everybody played. So whenever somebody was called up, somebody else was ready to play. Nobody goes two days without playing. I did that all year, and I almost got everybody to play in this game.”

Hellickson allowed two hits and a walk and fanned two over five shutout innings. He left with a 4-0 lead. “This is definitely an honor, but anybody could have got it today,” the right-hander said. “We played great, we played as a team. We went 11 innings, so everybody contributed. “Hellickson pitched lights-out tonight and all year,” Montoyo said. “He did his job for five innings and that was good enough.”

Memphis, the top farm club of the St. Louis Cardinals, tied the game with four runs in the first two innings after Hellickson left the game.

Durham’s Ray Olmedo had two doubles, two walks, scored twice and drove in a run. Desmond Jennings was 3-for-5 with an RBI and Elliot Johnson had two hits and scored once. The only player with more than one hit for the Redbirds was Allen Craig, who smacked a two-run homer. Durham took a 1-0 lead on inning-opening doubles by Olmedo and Jennings in the third. The Bulls pounded Memphis starter P.J. Walters for three more runs on five hits to go up 4-0 in the fourth.

Memphis pitchers had allowed only 10 runs – six earned – in the Redbirds’ six wins over Albuquerque and Sacramento en route to the Pacific Coast League title.

Memphis came back with three quick runs in the sixth inning when Jon Jay and Craig sandwiched home runs around a Tyler Greene single. The Redbirds tied the game on David Freese’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the seventh.

DeFrancesco typically calls a team meeting, pretends he’s talking about something else and then announces the promotion. “I make it a big point, how important it is,” Tony said. “I want guys to appreciate how much I appreciate them here, how hard we worked. It’s kind of a tradition we have.” One his players appreciate. “His high comes from coming in the clubhouse and saying, ‘Congratulations,’” River Cats outfielder Matt Carson said. “That’s a good feeling, playing behind a guy like that. He genuinely cares that you advance your career.” Pictured here is DeFrancesco, left, coaching third base and talking with Daric Barton.

DeFrancesco, 46, reached a milestone of his own the evening of July 30, recording his 1,000th minor league managing victory when the River Cats beat the Salt Lake Bees 8-5 at Raley Field. “It’s a great accomplishment,” he said. “These players, without them and the coaches and the organization…it’s been a very special night.”

His 1,000-871 record includes a 478-347 mark in six seasons with the Triple-A Cats, a tenure that includes Pacific Coast League championships in 2003, 2004 and 2007. “He loves to win,” infielder Gregorio Petit said. “He hates losing. He will freak out sometimes. … We want to win every game, too. He’s a little bit more … emotional about winning.” Catcher Eric Munson said, “When somebody wants to win that bad, you want to play hard for him.”

DeFrancesco’s intense side is balanced by a player-friendly style that emphasizes staying loose. “He keeps the clubhouse light, pretty, uh, not stressful,” Carson said. “I’ve played for a lot of managers that were uptight. Players feed on that and they get uptight.”

Munson said DeFrancesco knows how to relate to his players. “To me, he’s great at it,” Munson said. “He’s not too much older than us, so he relates to us. He’s still in on the latest. We kind of give him some trouble sometimes, some of the shirts he wears. He’s trying to stay hip.” Said Petit, “Whatever he wants to say to us we listen. He listens to us. … It’s a good relationship.”

DeFrancesco, a New York native who enjoys hiking, biking and attending concerts, said he learned from being too uptight early in his managing career, which began in 1994. “I think that’s what keeps this clubhouse fresh every day – a lot of jokes, a lot of cards, a lot of backgammon,” he said. “Unity in there is what keeps this thing going. When I was a younger manager, I was probably too firm. I had a lot of rules. The players didn’t respond well. They were so uptight, afraid to make a mistake.”

Ask DeFrancesco how close he came to the majors as a player and he talks about the 1991 season, when the former catcher recalled hitting about .315 and closing in on a spot with the Cincinnati Reds. But the call didn’t come. “I was hoping,” he said. “I got off to a great start. … Unfortunately, it didn’t work out.”

DeFrancesco did punch his ticket to the majors last season when the A’s brought him up to coach third base and work with their infielders. He was moved to first-base coach before being sent back to Sacramento after the season, the A’s opting to go with former major league infielder Mike Gallego instead.

Oakland general manager Billy Beane said Gallego fit a specific need. DeFrancesco said he’s not sure what happened. “It’s hard to say,” he said. “Maybe it wasn’t a good fit. I’m very proud to say I got to be a major league coach. Hopefully there’s more room down the road.”

For now, though, he’s back with the River Cats. His family – wife Adriene and children Genevieve, 15, and Anthony, 11 – visit when they can from their home in Mesa, Ariz., with DeFrancesco staying in an efficiency hotel when he’s not flying home on off days. “That’s probably the toughest part of this job,” he said. “People don’t realize you’re away from home for five months.”

DeFrancesco says this season has renewed his fire to manage. “I missed it last year,” he said. “I missed the relationship with the players, just watching these guys have fun and competing every day. I think I have a little more passion this season.”

LaMar is now the Philadelphia Philies’ assistant general manager for player development and scouting. That allows him to watch the development of another Drabek from close range.

LaMar’s view: The son, Kyle, is cut from the same cloth as his father.

“All the pieces are there,” LaMar says. “Kyle grew up around the game. He has great athletic ability. The next step is to get consistency. When he gets consistent, there’s no telling what will happen.”

Apparently, the Toronto Blue Jays agree. According to several published reports, Toronto wanted right-hander Kyle Drabek to be included in a trade package for ace right-hander Roy Halladay. Philadelphia GM Ruben Amaro Jr. chose another direction, picking up left-hander Cliff Lee, the defending American League Cy Young winner, from the Cleveland Indians and keeping Drabek.

Drabek has rocketed to prominence with the Phillies this season. Entering the week of August 10, he was a combined 11-3 with a 3.14 ERA with 132 strikeouts in 140.1 innings at Class A and Class AA levels.

While most 21-year-old pitchers are still baffled by the basics of control, Drabek has advanced command of a darting, low-90s mph fastball. Like his father, Kyle Drabek hs exceptional command of the fastball. He gets ahead in the count with the fastball, and that makes his developing secondary pitches more effective.

The 18th overall choice in the 2006 draft, Drabek pitched 109.2 innings in his first three professional seasons. He missed much of the 2007 and 2008 seasons because of Tommy John elbow surgery. LaMar said Drabek returned with increased strength and maturity. That has pushed him to the brink of being major-league ready.

“When you’re in Double-A, that’s definitely in the back of everyone’s minds,” Drabek says. “But you’ve got to put that away and make sure you go out and compete so that you have a chance to go up.”

“I was recruited a lot more to play football than baseball,” Nieuwenhuis said. “I wasn’t really recruited that much to play baseball at all – I think maybe one or two Division I programs for baseball in Colorado. I wanted to get away from home a little bit and go to California. I loved football, but I knew baseball was going to be it. I knew a bunch of people at Azusa so it seemed like a good fit.”

Nieuwenhuis’ first full pro season couldn’t have been scripted much better. The left-handed hitting center fielder batted .274/.357/.467 along with 16 steals in 20 attempts at high Class A St. Lucie. He spent the final week of the season at Double-A Binghamton when Ike Davis, Shawn Bowman and Jonathan Malo left the Eastern League club to participate in the World Cup. Niewenhuis had 13 hits, five for extra bases, in 32 at-bats with the B-Mets.

The Mets named the 22-year-old Nieuwenhuis as their Sterling Award winner as the top player with St. Lucie.

“I’m not a player that goes up there trying to knock it out of the park every time,” Nieuwenhuis said despite producing solid power numbers in 2009, which included 17 homers in 514 at-bats between the two levels.

One American League scout who observed Nieuwenhuis recognized the football-type qualities in the 6-foot-3, 210-pound outfielder. Kirt played first base his senior year of high school and freshman year of college before moving to the outfield.

“He’s big and strong for a center fielder and will go after anything,” the scout said. “He’s not afraid of the wall and runs well."

A half-step behind that duo is 2008 Supplemental first-round pick Kyle Lobstein who finished in the top 10 in many pitching categories in the short-season New York-Penn League for his professional debut. Lobstein, the 20-year-old lefty who came out of the Arizona high school ranks, is more than just a strong arm, however. His feel for pitching, his command of his three-pitch arsenal, is a big reason why he was allowed to make his debut in the short-season NY-Penn League, rather than down a level with Princeton in the Appalachian League, the Rays’ usual course of action for their young arms.

“Kyle Lobstein had a head start because he could throw strikes from day one,” explained Rays farm director Mitch Lubevics. “Does he have to sharpen his breaking ball? Absolutely. Does he need to work on his arm speed for his changeup? Yes. But because of his ability to throw strikes, with all three pitches, we felt he could take on the NY-Penn League.”

“I’m not sure if I am more advanced than other guys as far as knowing the game and the mental side of the game,” said Lobstein, who had a 2.58 ERA, a .204 batting average against and better than a strikeout per inning with Hudson Valley this summer. “It’s definitely a huge part of it. As far as me going to Hudson Valley as opposed to Princeton, I thought it was going to be a huge jump. After my first couple of stays, when I had some trouble, then I calmed down, used what I know to get through the season. Every day in pro baseball you’re learning something. You try to reinforce what they’re teaching you with what you already know and just try to build on it.”

That process has continued in instructs. With more than 20 pitchers in camp and just a 15-game schedule, there weren’t exactly an abundance of innings to go around. At instructs, though, that was secondary as the Rays instructors could work on things like delivery and tempo with Lobstein more closely in bullpen sessions.

“To be honest, it’s nicer,” Lobstein said. “It’s more laid back, you get more time off, especially after my first season. It’s nice to get more rest in between outings. The big things are throwing bullpens on the side. During the season you get in the routine, you want to maintain and stay where you’re at, rather than try to work on a lot of stuff. Down here, it’s a great time to work on what you really need to. The games don’t matter as much. It’s a working environment.”

Between extended Spring Training and his time at Hudson Valley, Lobstein was pretty much at his innings quota anyway, so it works out for everyone. It was a fantastic way for Lukevics and his staff to take stock and continue to cultivate this next wave of progress, hopefully to be the next Price, Niemann, Shields or Davis.

“It’s great,” Lukevics said. “It all starts with the selection process. They do a great job in the Draft and in international selection. You see these guys progress and it’s very gratifying from top to bottom.”

And it’s a great motivator. It’s not just the coaches and staff who look up and see those young arms contributing in Tampa Bay. There’s no question Lobstein and his fellow prospects watch what’s going on at the top with great interest and that it works as a serious motivator. “It really does,” Lobstein said. “All those guys in the starting rotation came through the system. It really opens your eyes and helps you see that they went through all the things you’re going through right now. It helps you stay focused and buy into what they’re doing down here. If you’re struggling, you think about it. It helps put you at ease and you keep pushing to work hard for it. You know there’s room for you to do it as well.”

“The thought is that once you institute something in the Minor Leagues, those habits will carry over (to the Majors),” said MLB vice president of public relations, Pat Courtney.

The new helmet regulations were instituted in response to a series of frightening head injuries that have occurred around the Major Leagues this season. Players such as Edgar Gonzalez, Scott Rolen and David Wright have all suffered ill effects as a result of getting hit in the head by a pitched ball. The added safety is regarded as a plus by all, but the appearance and comfort of the new model is what some players may question.

The Minor Leagues, which has been used in the past to test stricter drug testing and tobacco use policies, will again serve as a guinea pig and possibly help integrate the new helmet into the Majors. By phasing in the helmet at the Minor League level, the next generation of players will be familiar with S100, making it more likely that they will continue to use it upon arrival to The Show.

“If it’s about the safety of the players, then I’m all for it,” said Reds prospect Yonder Alonso, who will suit up in the AFL as a member of the Peoria Saguaros. “Something like this could make us all a little bit better, because we’re not going to be up there thinking about the dangers of getting hit by a pitch.”

Pirates’ farmhand Brian Friday – who joined the Scottsdale Scorpions in October – has been hit in the head with a pitch on two occasions, so he appreciates any attempt to minimize injury. “I have heard that the current helmets can only really withstand a 70-mph pitch, so in that regard I was really glad to hear about this,” he said. “I just hope they’re not too enormous.”

Angels prospect Peter Bourjos, who was assigned to the Mesa Solar Sox, expressed similar sentiments. “As long as it’s not too big, I’m all for it,” he said. “There have been times I’ve been at-bat wishing I had something extra, because you can end up feeling pretty defenseless up there.”

There will certainly be some growing pains when it comes to the S100, and adjustments may be needed in response to player feedback on both the Major and Minor League levels. But, sooner or later, a comfort level will be attained.

“A helmet is a helmet,” said Alonso. “Eventually we’ll all get used to it.”