(Photo Provided by Curt Mitchell)

Matt Mitchell’s dad, Curt, recently stopped by the Desert Dispatch office and gave us an update on his son.

The former Barstow pitcher has helped the Burlington Bees, the Kansas City Royals’ Class-A Affiliate in Burlington, Iowa, into first place in the Midwest League Western Division.

After spending a few months getting used to the Burlington, Iowa landscape, Curt said his son is settling in nicely. No one’s sure where he’ll end up next season, but he looks to be progressing pretty well. His numbers and wins have picked up as of late.

If you can’t get enough Matt Mitchell or Burlington Bees information and our Matt Mitchell update boxes aren’t enough, here are some other links to help you follow Matt and the team.

 The Royal Tower calls Matt’s selection by the Royals in the 14th round of the 2007 MLB draft a “steal.”

Check out what Baseball America had to say about him after a June start.

Minorleagueball.com gives Matt a C for his performance so far (none of the Royals top 20 prospect got higher than a B+).

Take a look all his stats, including that 1.79 ERA against left-handed hitters.

You can follow every Bees game on Web radio at the Bees home page.

… or you can check out the team’s official blog.
On a side note, isn’t the Bees’ logo one of the coolest logos in all of baseball?

— Matthew Peters, sports editor

Post from: Barstow Sports Blog

We reported about Derrick Jones and his long road to play professional football last week. He has almost made it through the first three weeks of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. The Silver Valley and Victor Valley Community College grad is fighting for a spot on the team as a defensive lineman. As an undrafted free agent, the odds are against him, but Derrick has been impressive so far, according to several accounts.

He got some significant playing time during Sunday’s preseason opener against the Saints. Derrick started out on special teams in the first half and played the entire fourth quarter on defense. However, Derrick was added to the team’s injury list on Tuesday.

He’s got some of the Pittsburgh-area media talking though. Here’s what they have said …

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports Derrick recently impressed special teams coach Bob Ligashesky during drills.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Ed Bouchette said in an online chat that Derrick has shown “some pass rush ability”

The Tribune Democrat in Johnstown, Pa. reported Derrick is a part of the Steelers future plans and might have moved ahead of Shaun Nua, seventh round pick from 2005.

AOL Sports blogger J.J. Cooper described Derrick as being “pretty active with a non-stop motor” but isn’t sure if that will ensure him a roster spot.

There was also quite a bit of information left out of the feature story on the former Trojan. Here are some of quotes that didn’t make it in the story.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he makes it in the NFL or if he works for a Fortune 500 company.”— Grand Valley State defensive line coach Matt Yoches

“He’s a good young man. He works his butt off, and he’s done all that I asked. It’s just a matter of time. … He pays attention, asks questions and asks very intelligent questions.” — Steelers defensive line coach John Mitchell

“The first practice was a big eye-opener. The size of the lineman, the speed, the practice tempo. It’s a whole different world just being in the locker room. Pretty much, they are all men at that level.” — Derrick, on attending Steelers minicamp

“It’s so gratifying for kids like that to be successful. Derrick Jones is an absolute blessing to our program. He’s a quality human being. You can’t do a lot better than that.” — VVCC coach Dave Hoover

“Don’t listen to people who tell you because you’re from Silver Valley you can’t be successful.” — Lucerne Valley coach Doug South, on not letting your school size determine success

— Matthew Peters, sports editor

Post from: Barstow Sports Blog

The Angels finished up their series with Oakland on 25th and were off on the 26th before beginning their explosive sweep of Tigers.

The oddest part of the baby news might be where else it landed. Brady’s birth made the Celebrity Baby Blog. You can find the Ebel’s entry right below one on Christina Aguilera.

Dino might be the last person you’d think of as a celebrity. Sure, he has a prominent position with the AL-West leading Angels, but he often returns to his hometown, can go practically unnoticed at Barstow sports events and preaches hard work to make it in life. I don’t know any other celebrities with those qualifications.

— Matthew Peters, Sports Editor

Post from: Barstow Sports Blog

— Matthew Peters, sports editor

Post from: Barstow Sports Blog