SCRAPPERS NOTEBOOK | From Cafaro Field

Summer tour: Cafaro Field will be the host site of a summer-celebration baseball tour, sponsored by TicketAdvantage.com/Baseball USA and benefiting the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The tour, which will travel through 36 states, is a product of 13 students and recent graduates of Clemson University in South Carolina. At each ballpark, the group sets up in the parking lot, offering a "Fun Zone," a focal point for fans to congregate for three hours prior to the game. There also will be live family entertainment and an interactive video competition. TicketAdvantage.com/Baseball USA also will take a local Make-A-Wish child to the game. The tour will set up at the Cafaro Field parking lot at 5 p.m. Friday before the Scrappers play the Oneonta Tigers.
Recognition: Scrappers outfielder Mike Conroy has been named the New York-Penn League's "Batter of the Week," for the week of June 30-July 6. In seven games, Conroy batted .467 (14-for-30), with four doubles, a triple and home run. He also scored five runs and had eight RBIs. During the streak, Conroy slugged .767 and had a .484 on-base percentage. Going into Wednesday's game, Conroy was batting .309, with one home run and 19 RBIs. He is in his third season in the Indians organization, the second with the Scrappers.
Discipline at the plate: When Anthony Lunetta connected on his game-tying home run in the ninth inning Wednesday, the count was full. After fouling off one pitch, he picked the right one to hit. "If you watch in this league, or in any league, when counts get to 3-2, guys are swinging at everything," Scrappers manager Ted Kubiak said. "For some reason, they just can't hold back. But he's got some composure in that count, which is a nice sign for me to see because I don't see that very much."
Interpreting the rules: In the third inning, Kubiak had a discussion with home plate umpire Manny Gonzalez. Kubiak questioned why the umpire allowed Oneonta pitcher Virgil Vasquez to touch his mouth prior to his delivery. "They're starting to confuse me with the way they're interpreting the rules," Kubiak said. Earlier this season at Cafaro Field, New York-Penn League umpires had awarded automatic balls in the pitch count after pitchers touched their mouths. A rule disallows pitchers from touching their mouths and aims to prevent them from throwing spit-balls. Kubiak said he was given conflicting information Wednesday. "It's not that they're throwing spit-balls," Kubiak said. "But a rule's a rule, and they might as well teach them here that they can't do it. Enforce the thing or rewrite the rule book."
Pre-game activities: Mike Ackelson, a sports anchor for WFMJ-TV (21), and his son, Brendan, threw out the first pitch of Wednesday's game. Ackelson's daughter, Lyric, sang the national anthem.
Promotion: Entertaining the crowd throughout the game was Myron Noodleman, who used Scrappers players T.J. Burton and Scott Threinen and home-plate umpire Manny Gonzalez in his comic routine. Noodleman was dressed in a black suit coat, white shirt and black bow tie, and gray pants. His hair was slicked back and parted down the middle. He wore black-rimmed glasses, and his eye brows were a bushy black. Noodleman also had large fake white teeth. His routine included on-field dancing, and he walked throughout the crowd, using a variety of props to incite laughter.
Upcoming schedule: The Scrappers began a six-game home-stand, which continues tonight and Friday before the Lowell Spinners arrive for a three-game series. Pitching tonight for the Scrappers will be T.J. Burton (0-0, 11.81 ERA). The promotion is an Adult Cap Giveaway.