Melo to Fargo « Barnstormin’

Melo to Fargo

June 24, 2007 by Jason Guarente

Former Barnstormers infielder Juan Melo has signed with the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks of the Northern League. The Barnstormers had discussions with Melo and for a while it appeared that he was going to return to Lancaster, but he ended up with Fargo instead.

Interestingly, Melo — who started the season with the Double-A Harrisburg Senators before being released earlier this month — took the roster spot vacated by former Stormer Keith Maxwell, who was cut by the Redhawks.

The Where are they Now page is updated through Sunday.

Also …

– The Barnstormers Weekly page in this evening’s New Era includes a feature on Josh Stevens with some interesting comments about why pitchers who don’t throw hard have so much trouble getting a chance.

– The Q&A is with Gustavo Martinez, who talked about why young players from the Dominican lie about their age.

Interesting stuff.

Posted in Atlantic League, Harrisburg Senators, Lancaster Barnstormers, Northern League, Pennsylvania, Sports, baseball, minor leagues | 27 Comments

27 Responses to “Melo to Fargo”

on June 25, 2007 at 9:04 am1 Scottie

former ‘Stormer?
how was he when he played here?
on June 25, 2007 at 9:10 am2 Jason Guarente

Melo hit .299 with two homers and 15 RBIs in 22 games for the Barnstormers in 2005. He’s a valuable guy to have on a team because he’s a switch hitter and can play all four infield positions.
on June 25, 2007 at 9:33 am3 Stormin' in York

Look forward to reading it if I can remember to buy it.
on June 25, 2007 at 11:52 am4 Mr. Barnstormer

I heard Pujols was really 45!
on June 25, 2007 at 1:08 pm5 Barney Stormer

There was a question the other day that nobody seemed to be able to answer ….
Is Vince Blue related to Vida Blue? The same question was posted on a Tigers website on 5/6/05 without an answer …

http://www.tigerscentral.com/minors_comments.php?id=651_0_4_0_C

I don’t know the answer but here is some info on our “new Quincy”!

http://tigerscentral.com/players.php?pnum=20260
on June 25, 2007 at 1:14 pm6 southernalfan

Melo would have been a great addition to the Barnstormers.
on June 25, 2007 at 1:45 pm7 Stormin' In York

Jason, If he was going to be such an valuable addition to the team, do you know what happened to make him choose the Northern League over returning to Lancaster?
on June 25, 2007 at 1:47 pm8 Barney Stormer

Could it be another personality clash with the manager?
on June 25, 2007 at 2:14 pm9 Jason Guarente

I’m not sure why Melo went to the Northern League. More money, perhaps? It has nothing to do with the manager. Klebe and Melo were never in Lancaster at the same time and I don’t believe they even know each other.
on June 25, 2007 at 2:18 pm10 Stormin' in York

What is the max a player can make in the Northern League compared to 3,000 here?
on June 25, 2007 at 2:30 pm11 Barney Stormer

Anything on the Vince Blue / Vida Blue connection?
on June 25, 2007 at 2:31 pm12 Jason Guarente

I don’t know the max salary in the Northern League. I know players in the Northern League are sometimes offered perks like a rent-free apartment during the season or a car to use.

Also, very few Atlantic Leaguers — outside of Long Island — make $3,000 a month. No one on the Barnstormers does.

I don’t believe Vince and Vida Blue are related.
on June 25, 2007 at 2:35 pm13 Barney Stormer

Here is some salary info:

“The Northern League, like other independent leagues, has a total team salary cap of $105,000, which breaks down to a monthly paycheck of $850 to $3,500 for each player. The pay is modest, but Ehrenreich doesn’t like to hear complaints. “The ballplayers are the easiest employees to replace,” he says. “I’m not sympathetic when they complain about the long bus rides or that they only get enough meal money to buy McDonald’s. They’re living out a dream most people would pay us to live.”

The full article was found at http://www.satisfactionmag.com/index.php/2006/09/running-a-minor-league-baseball-franchise/
on June 25, 2007 at 2:39 pm14 Stormin' in York

I figured no one on the Barnstormers made the max unlike our Duck friends to the north who almost all probably make the max.
on June 25, 2007 at 2:42 pm15 Stormin' in York

I actually went to a Harrisburg Senator game this year with the purpoose of getting him to sign his 2005 Barnstormer card. I had to wait till after the game, but like AA, I got it signed. It was against the Thunder and I was hoping also to see Patterson pitch which never happened.
on June 25, 2007 at 2:59 pm16 Jason Guarente

The Northern League has a lot of first-year professional players who drive the pay scale down, so the best players make a little more.
on June 25, 2007 at 3:56 pm17 Scottie

Ehrenreich (in the Northern League article) sounds like the perfect boss
on June 25, 2007 at 4:11 pm18 Jason Guarente

I’m a little disappointed there wasn’t a single “Fargo” reference in this thread. Someone could have at least typed … “Yer darn tootin!”
on June 25, 2007 at 4:17 pm19 Stormin' In York

That’s Mr B’s area of expertize.
on June 25, 2007 at 4:39 pm20 Scottie

we’re more high-brow than that.
to reference pop-culture in a serious news thread
on June 25, 2007 at 4:39 pm21 Harold B. Whipasnappa

I only talk about baseball here!
on June 25, 2007 at 4:40 pm22 Mr. Barnstormer

CRAP!
on June 25, 2007 at 5:05 pm23 Jason Guarente

Mr. B needs to cut back on his aliases. He can’t keep track of them all.
on June 25, 2007 at 5:29 pm24 Mr. Barnstormer

I don’t even know who I am anymore! AUGH! Looks like it’s back to burning myself with cigarette butts!
on June 25, 2007 at 5:39 pm25 JP

Sorry to hear about Maxwell. I got to know him a little bit while he was here. He seemed like a decent enough guy. Hopefully somebody else will pick him up.
on June 25, 2007 at 10:13 pm26 packmule

“I told you all the cars were accounted for. I’m cooperating here. You want me to do an inventory. I”ll do an inventory. I’m cooperating here.”
on June 26, 2007 at 7:51 am27 Pat Pending

I hear a lot of the Fargo players are “funny lookin’”, yeah?