Posted By NYFS Staff
April 13, 2008 -

If you haven't been to Savannah, you should consider going. There are not many things better than taking in a Sand Gnats game, then roaming around Downtown Savannah checking out the historic downtown, incredible architecture, and fantastic restaurants. It's right on the coast at the southern most end of Georgia, and the Gnats are fielding an incredibly talented team.

Grayson Stadium is an historic stadium dating back to 1926. During the off-season, the new ownership group fixed the left outfield wall, resurfaced the entire field and bought a new batting cage. The field is in mint condition, and probably will help minimize the number of both errors and injuries for the Gnats.

One of the first things you notice is the age of this year's Sand Gnats compared to their opponents. The Gnats started only three players over the age of 20 and one of those - shortstop Matt Bouchard - was subing for 19 year old Juan Lagares. The others were Raul Reyes (21) and Darren Clark (23). The Columbus Catfish only have one player on their entire roster under age 21. Their starter Jason Ragan is 25, one of 17 players on the Catfish roster age 23-25. By comparison, Gnats starter Nathan Vineyad is 19. That's a HUGE gap. Watching this game was equivalent to watching a super talented high school team play a Division 1 college team.

That said, you can't really put too much weight into Vineyard's statistical line on the night. This is his first full professional season. He was drafted in 2007 out of high school. Though he gave up 7 hits and allowed 9 runs, in the 1st, 3rd and 4th innings showed flashes of being able to pitch to more experienced players. the bulk of the evening he was able to keep the ball down and induce a lot of grounders. His release point was inconsistent, in part because a rain delay at the beginning of his game, so his warm up was atypical. He threw in the low 90s.

Vineyard Wind Up Video: CLICK HERE 

After Vineyad had tired, manager Donovan Mitchell gave his young Gnats a break when he brought in Nick Waechter in the fifth. Waechter (23) is one of the more experienced pitchers on the roster and was able to compete more consistently with the older hitters. Though he gave up a double (resulting in 2 inherited runners scoring), he gave up no additional runs and struck out four giving the Gnats a chance to settle down and play solid baseball the rest of the way.

Jose Jiminez had a few great picks at first. In the 1st, in a pick off situation, Vineyard threw to Jiminez who made a pretty throw to Bouchard to nail the runner. Then in the 8th, Bouchard started a double play that Greg Veloz made a great turn on showing tremendous agility for his size, and Jiminiez finished the play with a nice scoop on Veloz's throw.

The physical development of the guys who were at Kingsport last year is amazing. They've physically matured a lot from last year. Francisco Pena has thinned out notably from last season and Veloz, Jiminez, and Richard Pena all look bigger and stronger. As they continue to fill out and compete with older more experienced players, their natural ability will translate into more wins, but despite the inconsistency the more than occasional brilliance is worth the cost of admission.

Note: In the bottom of the 6th, Richard Pena hurt his left ankle trying to beat out a bunt. He was helped off the field, not putting any weight on his left foot. He appeared to roll his ankle pretty bdly stretching for the bag. Gnats say they'll have an update tomorrow.