Jewish ballplayers 2010—Bay Area version

A couple of weeks ago in the Celebrities column, ace Jews-hound (and news-hound) Nate Bloom of Oakland gave us a most excellent rundown of this year's crop of Jewish Major Leaguers.

Another Jewish player  has entered the majors since then, pushing the 2010 list of big-league Jews up to 11 members: first baseman Ike Davis of the New York Mets. Meet him here. Read a little bit more about him here. Check out his stats here.

However, Nate didn't have space in his column to cover off some players of local interest. I'll do that here.

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Brian Horwitz, who had a "cup of coffee" with the San Francisco Giants in 2008 (check out the article I wrote about him), went to spring training with the Cleveland Indians this year, then started the season with their Triple-A team in Columbus, Ohio. But less than a month into the season, disaster: He was released by Columbus on April 20 to make room for another player.

Horowitz, 27, spent all of the 2009 season playing for the Giants' Triple-A team in Fresno. He batted .290 with four homers and 26 RBIs in 76 games in 2009 with the Grizzlies, missing the last month of the season with a left rib cage muscle strain.

Then during the offseason, he was claimed in a special Triple-A draft by the Cleveland Indians. He had a decent spring training, but as a light-hitting, right-handed batting corner outfielder, he didn't stick with the big club. Then he didn't stick with the minor-league club either.

Now, I'm not sure where he is. He might have decided to just hang 'em up (something he talked even a few years ago) or he might be trying to latch on with a team in one of the many independent leagues out there. If anyone knows his whereabouts, let me know.... Or if anyone really, really wants to know, I did have his cell phone number from an interview in 2008, so let me know and I'll call him!

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Aaron Poreda, who grew up in Moraga and went to Campolindo High School, was part of a big trade last season, when the San Diego Padres dealt all-star Jake Peavy to the Chicago White Sox. At 6-foot-6 and left-handed, Poreda, 23, was expected to maybe be a starter for the Padres this season.  (Check out my blog item about him from last fall. Read about how he wears a chai !!)

However, toward the end of spring training, the Padres sent him to their Double-A team, the San Antonio Missions - where he isn't even a starting pitcher.

As of midweek, he had appeared in seven games, all in relief. His ERA looked good at 0.87, but opponents were hitting .258 off him and he was still struggling with his control, issuing eight walks compared to five strikeouts in 10 1/3 innings.

He was also wild in spring training, allowing nine earned runs and seven walks in 2 1/3 innings (that's a 34.71 ERA). In one Cactus League game against the Cleveland Indians, he faced seven batters and didn't retire any of them.

Poreda was a first-round draft pick in 2007 and first the White Sox and then the Padres had high hopes for him. Indeed, he had an eye-opening stint with the White Sox last season, eventually pitching in 10 games with them. Then came a demotion back to the minors, the trade to San Diego, more time in the minors (this time in Portland, Ore.) and then a late-season call-up to the Padres (where he walked five of the 17 batters he faced, failing to impress his coaches or the front office).

Click here to see his major league stats

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Ryan Sadowski, a Florida native, pitched in six games for the San Francisco Giants last season, bursting on the scene with 13 consecutive scoreless innings to start his career, but then fading and posting a 2-4 record in six starts. In short order, he was sent not only sent to the minors in September, but also taken off the Giants' 40-man major league roster.

During the winter, he signed a minor league contract with the Houston Astros, but then had a change of heart and begged out of it: He decided to pitch in Korea (yes, Korea) this season. So now the 6-foot-4, 27-year-old right-hander, known as "The Big Sadowski" or "The Dude" during his short tenure with the Giants, is on the roster of the Lotte Giants, who play in a 30,000-seat ballpark in Busan, Korea, in the Korean Baseball Organization. (That's their logo atop this blog entry).    Sadowski is the only American on the roster, although the manager is former L.A. Dodgers (and other teams) star Jerry Royster.

The official website of the Korean league is in, uh, Korean, so I'm not sure how Sadowski is doing this season.

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Ari Ronick  of the San Jose Giants. I just found out about this guy, a 6-foot-4 left-handed starting pitcher for the S.F. Giants' Single-A minor league team in San Jose.

A Colorado native who went to college in Portland, Ore., he had two frankly lousy starts to begin the season, and then landed on the disabled list with a sore elbow (maybe he's off it by now).

Check out his stats right here.

He had a pretty stellar year last year, going 7-6 with a 2.65 ERA for Augusta in the Single-A Sally League (South Atlantic League). He also struck out 114 batters in 136 innings, with only 34 walks, and opposing batters only hit .215 off him. His ERA and average allowed both ranked No. 2 in the league

Ronick, 24, was taken in the 12th round of the 2008 draft by the Giants. Keep checking up on his status, and then head down to San Jose to see him pitch.

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Charlie Cutler is a 6-foot, 200-pound catcher from San Francisco who was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 14th round of the 2008 draft after playing across the bay at Cal.

This year, he's playing at Double-A Springfield in the Texas League, where he was off to a slow start, hitting .167 with no homers through nine games.

He had good year last year, hitting .351 in one minor league stop. You can check out his career stats and current stats right here.

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There are a couple of other local Jewish baseball players to note:  Scott Feldman of Burlingame High School is a standout pitcher with the Texas Rangers ... and Craig Breslow is a relief pitcher with the Oakland A's.

But Nate Bloom gave a rundown on both of them in his Celebrity Jews column. --- so I'll leave them alone in this venue.

To keep up with their progress, check the "JML Update" (Jewish Major Leaguers) update on Kaplan's Korner or visit the impressive Jews in Baseball blog.

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