Nine rally to topple Visalia, 6-5

By Lori Gilbert
Record Staff Writer

April 11, 2001

Mark Burnett said the word "character" best describes the Mudville Nine, a group of Cincinnati Reds prospects who largely played together in Clinton, Ohio last season.
Now wearing the local red and black, the group rallied from behind once again to beat Visalia 6-5 on Tuesday night at Billy Hebert Field.
Actually, the Nine took a 3-0 lead in the first, marking the first time in the team's opening six games in which it has scored first.
But a towering three-run home run by Kirk Asche in the fifth off starter Rob Pugmire tied the game, and Visalia went ahead in the sixth on a single by Mitch Gregg and an RBI single by Omar Rosario.
Not to worry. Showing the character of which Burnett speaks, the Nine rallied for three in the seventh as Fernando Rios tripled in the tying run and Burnett blasted a two-run shot to right off left-hander Matt O'Brien (0-1) for a 6-4 lead.
"I was surprised," Burnett said. "I'm not really a home run hitter. I was hoping it would hit the wall, maybe take a funny bounce and I'd get another triple."
If the second baseman didn't know it was out, the 464 in the stands knew on contact.
It was the first home run of the season for the Nine, 3-2.
"I was called out on a fastball inside on my previous at-bat and I wanted to make sure I protected that part of the plate," Burnett said. "After he threw me a curve for a ball, I was looking for the fastball."
The rally made a winner of releiver Brett Gray (1-0). Mike Neu, who worked the ninth after a lead-off walk to Omar Rosario by Casey DeHart, picked up his first save, despite giving up a run-scoring double to Matt Bowser.
Manager Dave Oliver was wondering what his team would ever do if it scored first and he got his first glimpse.
"Yeah, we gave it back and had to come back again," he said, smiling. "But a win's a win. We got a couple big hits when we needed them, first by Rios, then Burnett."
It was the second consecutive night in which Rios delivered in the clutch, having doubled home three runs in Mudville's 8-4 win on Monday.
Unlike that game, though, Mudville scored early. Burnett opened the bottom of the first with a triple, then scored on Ray Olmedo's infield single. Andy Burress doubled to put runners at second and third, and Ben Broussard drove in Olmedo with a sacrifice fly.
The first of two errors by third baseman Marshall McDougall allowed the third run to score. The 3-0 lead stood until the fifth when Visalia tied it.
"Part of our style of play is not giving up," Burnett said. "You play nine inning sfor a reason. If you let down, that's the sign of a weak team, one with no character. We won't give up."

This story appeared in The Record of Stockton, CA.

Burnett gains material

ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

July 28, 2002

FAYETTEVILLE -- Oh, the stories Mark Burnett could tell.

Actually, Burnett plans to tell his stories, just not until his playing days are over.

Burnett, 25, is the former Arkansas Razorbacks second baseman who became almost as well-known for his voracious and eccentric reading habits as his baseball talents. Coach Norm DeBriyn once stopped in his tracks while walking the aisle on a bus trip, having spotted Burnett reading a book on the philosophy of religion.

These days, Burnett spends more time writing than reading.

"When I first started playing pro ball, I decided to keep a diary or a journal," Burnett said. "Every day I write down the interesting things that happened -- players I've known that have moved on to the big leagues, a story I heard or whatever. Now I'm actually considering writing a book about my experiences.

"You can go in a Barnes & Noble and find all kinds of books of baseball anecdotes. But [professional baseball] is kind of like a double-edged sword. There's not a better job than getting to play a game, and I'm very thankful every day for what I get to do, but the business side of the game is so negative. Most kids don't see that. They see the lights, the money.

"I think it would make an interesting book to blend some of the things I've seen and the stories I've heard with the truth about the business side of things, too, almost like a book of advice."

Burnett got his first taste of baseball's business side at the end of spring training with Cincinnati, the team that drafted him in 1999. Expecting to head back to the Reds' "high" Class A team in Stockton, Calif., Burnett instead found his name on the extended spring training list. He later learned from a team official that a trade had brought in a new second baseman, who likely would be the full-time starter at Stockton.

Burnett, who had set a goal of reaching Class AA ball by the age of 25, chose to be placed on waivers.

"The Cardinals came calling in about a week," Burnett said.

Burnett was assigned to the Potomac Cannons, another Class A team, in Woodbridge, Va. Roughly six weeks later, Burnett suffered a broken finger that resulted in a six-week stay on the disabled list.

Shortly after coming off the DL, Burnett benefited from a quirky twist of fate. The second baseman for the Class AA New Haven (Conn.) Ravens broke a thumb, and Burnett was promoted. In 11 games there, he's hitting .346 as an everyday player.

As Burnett has learned in his short pro career, timing and a little bit of luck are everything.

"It's like when I was with Cincinnati," he said. "There were a lot of good outfielders in that organization, some that are good enough to play in the major leagues. But they'll never get called up as long as [Ken] Griffey Jr. is there."

Burnett is anything but bitter. He said the chance to be a professional baseball player, even a minor-leaguer, has been mostly a wonderful ride.

"I remember when I was a kid listening to my grandfather tell war stories about being in Korea," he said. "Someday if I have kids, I'll get to tell them my own stories about the places I've been and the things I've seen."

Maybe Burnett will talk about nights spent playing the guitar with Ben Broussard, who went from playing at Stockton last season to hitting his first big-league home run off Pedro Martinez at Fenway Park this season.

Maybe Burnett will talk about the time he was hit in the head by a baseball and had to have brain surgery. Maybe he'll talk about some legendary locker-room tale passed down over the years.

Maybe you'll read it in his book.

Aug 14, 2002

Burnett flirts with cycle in win

BY DAVE UTNIK

WOODBRIDGE - Two weeks at Double-A New Haven taught Mark Burnett one thing about minor league baseball: A nine-inning game can be played in just over two hours.
The second baseman's recent return to the Potomac Cannons provided another - and perhaps more meaningful - insight: A three-hour nine-inning game can still be fun if it's played the way Burnett and his teammates did on Tuesday afternoon.
Even in 95-degree midday heat.
With Burnett back in the leadoff spot for the sixth consecutive day, the Cannons continued to play the type of inspiring baseball that makes them a true wild card in the Northern Division pennant race. After batting .308 in 16 games during his recent stint at New Haven, Burnett came within a home run of hitting for the cycle on Tuesday to lead the Cannons to 4-1 victory over the Frederick Keys.
"We're enjoying it," Burnett said, after Potomac held on to second place by clinching its fourth consecutive series victory. "The biggest thing is we're playing good baseball."
It is a distinctly different brand of baseball than Burnett was accustomed to when he went on the disabled list with a broken finger on May 27. Back then, the Cannons were in the midst of a 46-loss first half - the worst in franchise history.
Now, with less than three weeks remaining in the regular season, the Cannons are on the verge of completing a remarkable turnaround. With their 10th victory in 14 games, the Cannons (28-22) moved to a season-best six games over .500 and inched closer to clinching their first Carolina League playoff berth since 1995.
"It's fun right now," Cannons manager Joe Cunningham said. "It's fun and intense and you know you're playing for something."
The Cannons have at least 19 meaningful games remaining. Maybe more, if they can overtake first-place Wilmington or hold off third-place Lynchburg to claim a spot in the four-team Mills Cup Championship Series.
That might have seemed like a farfetched notion when the first half ended on June 26. Not any more.
Everything about these Cannons is different now: the roster, the effort, the attitude. Even with their best hitter, Aaron Fera, sidelined with a back injury, the Cannons keep finding a way to win.
On Tuesday, in the finale of a quickie three-game homestand, victory came in the form of a 3-for-4 afternoon by Burnett and another dominating pitching performance from Josh Axelson.
One of the many free agent acquisitions that Cardinals farm director Bruce Manno added to the organization this summer, Burnett drove in two runs and scored once in front of a sun-baked gathering of 4,097 day campers and die-hard season-ticket holders.
"Burnett's the kind of guy who's going to make contact and that's the kind of guy I need in the leadoff hole," Cunningham said.
Burnett is hitting .244 for the season but, like the Cannons, he's been especially hot of late. He missed five weeks because of the hand injury and returned to the active roster on July 6.
In between two short trips to New Haven, Burnett has helped rejuvenate the Cannons. His 14 hits over the past 11 games are second only to left fielder Johnny Hernandez, who went 2 for 4 Tuesday with an RBI double.
Burnett singled in the first inning against Frederick starter Jancy Andrade, had an RBI triple in the third and doubled home a run in the fifth. He came to bat for the final time in the sixth with a chance to complete the cycle - a thought that crossed his mind - but he flew out to deep center field.
"I was thinking about that a little bit," Burnett admitted. "I probably should have swung at the first pitch. My only power is to pull, if you can call it power."
Even without hitting one out of the park, Burnett supplied all the power Axelson needed to earn his fourth consecutive victory.
After being dropped from the starting rotation in early May following a string of ineffective outings, the 23-year-old right-hander has emerged as one of the season's most pleasant surprises over the past six weeks. He held the Keys to one run on six hits in seven innings on Tuesday and has allowed only two runs in 21 1/3 innings this month.
"He's been throwing pretty well lately, not just this start," Cunningham said. "He's had a complete turnaround."
Axelson's fortunes have paralleled the Cannons' climb into pennant contention.
The Keys took a 1-0 lead when Mike Seestedt, Mike Fontenot and Cory Keylor put together consecutive singles in the third, but Axelson allowed only two hits over the next four innings as Frederick (21-31 second half) set a franchise record with its 82nd loss of the season.
Kevin Sprague needed only 13 pitches to toss a 1-2-3 eighth inning and John Novinsky worked around a two-out walk in the ninth to earn his sixth save of the month and eighth overall.
The Keys managed only four base runners over the final six innings and that allowed the Cannons to wipe out a 1-0 deficit. Ramon Araujo walked ahead of Burnett's triple in the third and Christopher Morris' leadoff three-bagger in the fifth sparked a three-run inning.
Morris scored easily on Burnett's double. Hernandez ripped a double to left field to drive in Burnett and then Dan Moylan capped the rally with a two-out single.
Axelson and the Potomac defense did the rest. Burnett robbed Cory Keylor of a base hit with a leaping catch in the first inning and Hernandez ran down a hard smash off Alfredo Leon's bat in the sixth.
Right fielder Skip Schumaker, who needs 27 hits to set a new single-season franchise record, contributed with his glove on Tuesday by snaring a pair of smoking Mamon Tucker line drives.
Timely hitting, solid defense and effective pitching has become a dangerous combination for the Cannons - one they hope to carry with them on an eight-day road trip to Myrtle Beach and Kinston.
"They're all big games," Cunningham said. "Every game from now on out is a big game."