Month: January 2017

T-Bones add infielder and pitcher

The Kansas City T-Bones have signed Jordan Edgerton and Cody Winiarski to contracts for the 2017 season.

Edgerton, 23 (08-30-93), is a 6-foot-1 and 190-pound third baseman from Belmont, N.C. He played for Atlanta’s high-A affiliate at Carolina last season, batting .215 with 97 hits in 121 games.

The Braves selected Edgerton in the ninth round of the 2014 June MLB Draft out of the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. In three seasons, Edgerton is a .239 hitter with 259 hits, 57 doubles, five triples, 11 home runs, 155 RBIs and 102 runs scored in 287 games.

“Jordan is a player that is looking to have a bounce back year and I believe he will, and will do it in Kansas City,” T-Bones manager Joe Calfapietra said.

Winiarski, 27 (08-27-89), is a 6-foot-3 and 205-pound right-handed pitcher from Union Grove, Wis. The Chicago White Sox selected Winiarski in the 36th round of the 2011 June MLB Draft out of the University of Virginia, where he pitched for the Cavaliers in the 2011 College World Series.

Winiarski spent parts of three seasons, 2013-15, at double-A Birmingham before his ’15 season came to an end in July of that year for “Tommy John” surgery. He pitched in just one game in 2016. During his five-year career, Winiarski is 4-7 with 26 saves and a 4.00 ERA in 114 games (one start). In 157 2/3 innings, Winiarski has 197 strikeouts and 60 walks.

“With Cody, I’m very excited to acquire a big piece to our bullpen,” Calfapietra said.

Additionally, the T-Bones have signed infielder Eddie Newton and outfielder Daniel Rockett, each of whom they acquired in a trade with New Jersey last week. The club announced, also, that it has released catchers Nolan Johnson and Tyler Moore.

Kansas City now has eight players — four pitchers — signed for 2017.

The T-Bones open the 2017 regular season at home on May 19 against Lincoln.

– Story from Matt Fulks, T-Bones

NCLR takes president-elect to task over lack of Latinos in cabinet

NCLR today took the president-elect to task over the absence of a single Hispanic in the Trump cabinet, top White House staff and president’s inner circle.

It is the first time in 30 years that a presidential cabinet will be without Latino representation, the organization stated. NCLR is a Hispanic civil rights and advocacy group.

According to a NCLR spokesman, it is the latest signal of the president-elect’s lack of engagement, seeming lack of interest and lack of respect for 60 million constituents and the nation’s largest minority group.

“This is not about political correctness; it is about representative democracy. The lack of Latino cabinet representation is an embarrassment on every level to the incoming administration. Any number of qualified, talented and capable Latino professionals could have been named to any cabinet post,” stated NCLR (National Council of La Raza) President and CEO Janet Murguía. “This is not just a symbolic error.”

“The president-elect has made evident since the beginning of his campaign that he lacks knowledge and awareness of the Latino community and has no real interest in establishing a relationship with a community upon whose labor and contributions America’s future greatness rests. So it is in both his interest and the country’s interest for the president to have an expert voice and the community’s perspective in his administration. To choose not to have that voice—combined with the least diverse cabinet in recent memory—exacerbates our longstanding concerns and speaks volumes about this administration’s troubling attitude on our diverse communities, who now make up more than half our country,” Murguía said.

“We have continued to look for signs of common ground and hope that President-elect Trump is sincere about his pledge to be the president for all Americans, to no avail. We remain extremely disappointed. The president-elect’s cabinet, now complete, is a clear example why we must remain vigilant in our commitment to protect and defend our community and any others not represented in the White House,” Murguía said.

Three-vehicle crash reported on I-70

A three-vehicle collision on I-635 northbound, just south of K-32, on Wednesday night resulted in injuries.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol trooper’s report, a Ford Explorer was traveling at a high rate of speed around 8:40 p.m. Wednesday and rear-ended a Chrysler Town and Country. The Town and Country hit the right barrier wall, the trooper’s report said.

While the Ford Explorer was stalled in the lane, a Chevrolet Impala hit the Explorer, the trooper’s report stated. Then the Chevrolet Impala also hit the right barrier wall, according to the trooper’s report.

The driver of the Ford Explorer, a 32-year-old woman from Kansas City, Mo., was not injured, according to the report. A 5-year-old boy in the Explorer was taken to the hospital. A 2-year-old boy in the Explorer also was taken to the hospital.

The driver of the Town and Country, a 33-year-old Shawnee, Kan., woman, was taken to a hospital with a possible injury, according to the report.

The driver of the Impala, a 47-year-old woman from Belton, Mo., had a possible injury, according to the trooper’s report.