Red Sox FSL Update…Yes, they used to have a team

March 19, 2011 1 Comment

The Boston Red Sox don’t have a Florida State League affiliate.  They did.  But now they don’t.  In fact, the Marauders used to be the Red Sox.  Before the Marauders were purchased by the Pirates and moved to Bradenton for 2010, the franchise operated as the Sarasota Reds.  Before that it was the Sarasota Red Sox.  The affiliation ended following the 2004 season.

Since being in the FSL the Red Sox have bounced out to the Lancaster Jethawks of the California League and now the Salem Red Sox of the Carolina League.  Fortunately for Andrew Miller that means there is no possible way (barring him switching teams) that he could pitch in the Florida State League this summer.

See Miller owns a fairly dubious piece of trivia.  In five professional seasons, Miller has pitched in both the Major Leagues and the FSL every year.  This isn’t a fact but I’m just going to say he’s the only player in Major League history to hold that statistic (I’m sure he’s not). 

A first round pick of the Tigers out of UNC in 2006, Miller has also spent time with the Marlins and threw the Florida State League’s only no-hitter last season with Jupiter.  It wasn’t exactly a pretty affair – six walks in six innings, combining with the bullpen for history.

“It was exciting for the team I guess,” Miller said, “but it’s not nearly as exciting as doing it at a higher level.  It was a little bit of fun.  It’s one of those things you can smile when you look back on.”

Overall pros and cons on playing in the FSL for Miller?  Well he’s pretty similar to other things we’ve heard.  It’s almost like ‘for answer A press this button’ by this point.  As a pro Miller pointed out travel and as a con he mentioned overall smaller crowds than at other levels.

“One of the side effects is that you don’t have too many fans so it’s not like there’s a huge crowd rooting the team on,” Miller said.  “It’s just something you deal with.  It doesn’t matter one way or the other.  In the Florida State League everybody’s working to get better. It’s a very personalized level you’re just kind of concerned with getting yourself better and moving onto the next level.”

The lanky southpaw has battled injury and sometimes ineffectiveness throughout his career, leading to his back and forth journey.  Those issues have caused some to maybe write Miller off.  The pitcher will quickly remind you he’s only 25.

“If I could do it all over again I certainly wouldn’t choose anything different,” Miller said.  “I had incredible experiences and I got to pitch in a pennant race right out of college.  I don’t think you’ll hear too many guys complain about time they’ve spent in the Major Leagues.  I wouldn’t trade it for the world.  Would I say I would have rather thrown 500 innings or 700 innings in the minor leagues before I got called up?  I would say absolutely not.  I’m still 25 years old and I’ve got some time to work out kinks and hopefully I’m doing that right now.”

I’m not pointing this out to ridicule Miller.  Actually, I’m doing it for quite the opposite.  Miller’s had a fine spring and is hoping to make the Red Sox roster.  My point was to try and relate some of what Miller’s had to go through to the Pirates.

The Marauders had two pitchers on their roster last season that got me thinking and were the reason I spoke to Miller in the first place.  Both Tim Alderson and Craig Hansen are trying to regain the magic they once had – Hansen as a 1st round pick by the Sox in 2006 and Alderson a 1st round pick by the Giants.  The former made it to the bigs right out of the BIG EAST and St. Johns.  The latter had great success at A-Advanced ball in his first full season.  Both were in Bradenton last year trying to get that back.

Hansen is returning from injury.  Sidelined all of 2009 and a large chunk of 2010 with Parsonage Turner Syndrome, Hansen sticks out like a sore thumb at minor league camp these days.  There amongst all the hopefuls stands the one-time top prospect trying to retrain his body to throw.  Hansen is the first baseball player to ever come back from the injury that can take anywhere from seven months to five years recovery.

“It feels like I’ve never thrown a baseball in life before,” Hansen said last year when he began his comeback with Bradenton.

Alderson is just trying to regain his spark.  A dominant amateur pitcher and early pro, the lanky righty fell off course the last year and a half or so.  His velocity dipped and his effectiveness dwindled.  ESPN the Magazine even featured him in an article.  In that piece Alderson drops this fairly poignant quote after his high school coach gave him an honest assessment of his current ‘stuff.’

“Everything we’d worked for, everything he developed is gone,” Alderson is quoted as saying.  “It’s hard to look at myself and think, I was a better pitcher when I was 15.”

So with those two guys in mind – indeed very different cases, and for that matter very different from Miller – I was curious as to what the Red Sox arm thought about trying to make a comeback – trying to bounce back and solidify himself.

“I think that’s huge,” Miller said of needing to have confidence.  “Anybody that’s playing professional baseball has the talent to pitch in the Major Leagues but the ones that are most successful are probably the most confident ones – the ones that trust their stuff and believe in their abilities and limit their doubts.  It’s huge.  It’s one of the most important things if not the most important thing.  Otherwise you’re going to go out there and dig yourself a hole.

To be honest with you it’s something that everybody deals with,” Miller continued.  “The ones that succeed are the ones that handle it the best or the ones that fight through it.  We’re not saving lives or anything but it is a hard game and it’s tough.  You’ve gotta block out those negative thoughts and move on and stay positive and attack the hitter.”

VARITEK LOOKS BACK

While I was in the Red Sox clubhouse I figured I wouldn’t waste the opportunity to pick at least on other brain.  Thought it might be neat to see what one of Boston’s stars remembered about his minor league career.  Enter Jason Varitek.

“As bad as some of the bus rides are it’s also fun,” the veteran backstop said.  “Guys having a ball watching a movie to playing cards to playing games to whatever.  You bond over a long period of time.”

Varitek never played A-Advanced ball.  He jumped right to the Double-A Southern League out of Georgia Tech.  He’s played just two games in the minors since his big league debut in 1997.

“I was overmatched, outtalented and humiliated,” Varitek said quite frankly about his early minor league career.  The catcher hit .224 in his maiden voyage for Port City.

“I learned to face adversity right away,” Varitek continued.  “The level of competition day in and day out was different than I had ever seen.  Part of development sometimes is you’re starring down a black hole and you don’t see any light and then all of a sudden some light appears and then some more and some more and some more.  That’s the encouraging thing for anybody is that there’s going to be some light at the end of that tunnel.  You just have to find where it is.”

ERIN ANDREWS NOT HERE

I had a small curiosity with the Red Sox in town.  Would Erin Andrews be on Boston’s pass list?  Essentially would there be a ticket left for her at will call?  She is a Florida native after all.

If you’re now scratching your head in confusion, allow me to start from the top.

Red Sox outfielder Daniel Nava has a small crush on Andrews.  It’s nothing new – been chronicled in USA Today, the Boston Herald etc.  The story first ‘broke’ when Pawtucket Red Sox broadcaster Dan Hoard (one of the best in the biz by the way) posted this picture (scroll down the link) of the PawSox pass list last year.  Turns out Nava’s always left a ticket for the ESPN star just in case she was in town.

Anyways, not that I was expecting Andrews to show up at McKechnie Field, I was kind of excited to see if there was a ticket left for her at will call.  Long story short…there was not.

Till next time,

Joel

 

 

Filed under Dailies Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Writing a Blog When You’re Missing Half the Story

March 17, 2011 Leave a comment

It seems the story of two brothers playing against each other does in fact lose some of its luster when one of the brothers is absent.  So too does that of the father-son duo without the son.  So what better than to just go ahead and write the stories anyway.

We begin with the brothers d’Arnaud (pronounced darn-OH).  A brief story to start.  My first broadcasting job was with the Orleans Cardinals of the Cape Cod Baseball League (summer collegiate).  The third baseman on that team was now Pirates prospect Chase d’Arnaud.  While meeting with manager Kelly Nicholson before the season he was running down his lineup and said ‘at third base we’ll have darn-OH.’  I looked at him confused and politely replied that my roster had no player with that name.  When we both got on the same page I said ‘Oh!  You mean dee-are-nod?’  One of my favorite mispronunciations of all time.
Darno.jpg 

Anyway, the brothers’ teams faced each other yesterday at McKechnie field.  Travis is a catching prospect for the Blue Jays and played in the Florida State League last season while Chase played at Double-A Altoona for Pittsburgh in 2010.  This was a much cooler blog until I remembered that Chase was reassigned to minor league camp a few days ago and the brothers would not be playing against each other.  They did the last time the Jays were in town so I guess it counts.    (Photo Credit: WOWK TV)

Funny thing is that stories like this are usually unique.  You know it’s always the brothers who went to different colleges and their teams meet in a critical NCAA Tournament game requiring their parents to wear awkwardly mismatched clothing as to not favor one child over the other.  Turns out that the d’Arnaud brothers play each other all the time though.

“It’s something obviously both of us were talking about when we were 10 and 12,” Travis said, “and when you’re growing up it kind of fades away and when it happens you can’t really absorb what’s going on.”

Growing up in California, Travis and Chase went different high schools and played against each other when Travis was sophomore and Chase a senior.  The first time Chase stepped up to hit with Travis catching, he got hit in the shoulder.

“I called for a fastball away and it went high and tight,” Travis said, shaking any responsibility.

The d’Arnaud duo has gone on to play against each other in the New York-Penn League, South Atlantic League and could see each other in the Eastern League this year (depending on where both players end up).

As for a friendly rivalry between the two, there isn’t much trash talk.  The brothers just let their play do the talking.

 “It’s more, I guess you could say competitive rivalry,” Travis said.  “It’s pretty much who steals off.  If he steals of me then we keep talking back and forth and if I throw him out than I just keep getting at it.”

To the best of his memory Travis thinks he and Chase are about even in steals and caught stealing against each other.

LIKE FARRELL LIKE SON

Also not present yesterday was Jeremy Farrell, a Pirates prospect and the first third baseman in Marauders history.  Present was his father John…who might also happen to be the Blue Jays manager.  Jeremy has not played in either game between the teams at McKechnie Field this year but did twice travel to Dunedin.

“The one thing that has really been appreciated is what the Pirates have done given our situation,” John Farrell said.  “That’s always been appreciated.  In this game you get some rare opportunities to see your son but it’s really a unique opportunity to be in the same ballpark.”

Farrell did play in front of his father at McKechnie last year.  While John was the Red Sox pitching coach Jeremy stepped to the plate and promptly homered in the ninth inning of a one run game.

While baseball was never something forced upon Jeremy or his brothers, the family took to the game and it’s given John a nice way to be around his family working through the rigors of a season.

“Anytime you can have your family or your kids in your work setting it can be a good diversion but it’s also forged a bond that’s unique in its own right,” Farrell said.  “I’m thankful for the opportunity to spend that time with them.”

THERE HE GOSE

Anthony Gose earned a reputation when he stole 76 bases in 2009.  The kid can flat out fly.  The problem was that some knocked him for only being able to flat out fly.  See, base stealing is an art to many and Gose was forced back to finger painting in 2010.

“I’ve taken a lot more studying to it these last few weeks,” Gose said of his time in his first Major League Spring Training.  “One, so I don’t come out here and embarrass myself and two so that I…the first year I did it just running and last year I just thought it was going to happen again and it didn’t.  So this year I’m really going to dedicate myself and focus on things in that area.”

Gose was gunned down 32 times in 77 tries between Dunedin and Clearwater last season in the Florida State League.  So this year Gose has dedicated himself to learning and studying and really understanding his art.  To do so he’s latched on to big leaguers Cory Patterson and Rajai Davis.

“Anything from on the bases to out in the outfield,” Gose said of their discussions.  “We talk about the plate, what they’re thinking, what they think pitchers are doing to them, especially Cory being a left handed hitter and batting at the top of the lineup.  I find myself similar to them so I talk with them a lot and see what they went through and what they do now.”

Gose wouldn’t put a number on his stolen bases for 2011.  He has no goal really.  He just wants to run and be successful as often as possible.  Oh, and he’d also like to steal home at some point.

“When I’m on there I want to get the next base,” Gose said.  “The coaches let me know the situation and I’ve been learning over the last few weeks what situations are better.  [I want to steal] every base I can.  If I could steal home I would.  I want to steal al bases equally.”

Gose will be only 21 in August, so a return to the Florida State League isn’t out of the question for the outfielder.  Wherever he goes he’ll have less travel than he did in 2010.  Gose was part of two deadline deals that sent him from the Phillies to the Astros and then to the Blue Jays.  He was a member of the Astros for all of about 45 minutes.  It might have been 30 or maybe an hour.  Either way he’s with the Jays now and likes the feeling of being wanted.

“As long as I do what I need to do and take care of my business it’ll all take care of itself in the end,” Gose said.

We’ll keep up with our FSL check-ins throughout Spring Training.

Till next time…

Joel

Filed under Dailies Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Stumpo’s Surprise and Howard’s Look Back

March 12, 2011 Leave a comment


The look in his eyes and the breathlessness in his voice kind of gave it away.  Bob Stumpo was the new kid in town.

Among the likes of Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Ross Gload and even Cory Sullivan, there was the 23 year old kid named Stumpo.  McKechnie Field was his candy store Saturday.

A 33rd round pick by the Phillies out of Division-III West Chester last June, Stumpo’s born and raised a Philadelphia fan.  His family lives just a half hour outside the city in Delaware.

Stumpo made his pro debut in the Gulf Coast League in 2010, playing four games before being promoted to A-Advanced Clearwater after an injury to Joel Naughton.  He started his second game with the Threshers and played against the Marauders July 15th, his first of now two trips to McKechnie.

The second one came Saturday when the Phillies put Stumpo on the big league taxi squad, shuttling him from minor league camp to play against the Pirates.

“It’s unbelievable actually,” Stumpo said of spending the day with the big club.  “It’s a dream come true.  It’s what a lot of young guys look forward to their entire life.”

Stumpo was one of three catchers on a split-squad Phillies team with Erik Kratz (a former Pirate) and Tuffy Gosewisch.  He was one of seven minor leaguers Philadelphia brought to Bradenton though he didn’t get into the game.  Kratz took the start and Gosewisch came off the bench, but just being there for batting practice was enough of a treat.

“I was standing in right field and Ryan Howard was hitting,” Stumpo said.  “I’ve been watching Ryan Howard on TV as a fan for a long time now.”

Stumpo knows the call-up is only a temporary move and that tomorrow he’ll likely be back in minor league camp.  His placement in the minors for 2011 is still unknown, but Stumpo’s grateful not only for Saturday’s brush with bigs but also his time with the Threshers last season.  In 18 games the rookie picked up six hits and an RBI.

“Not too many guys get to go up that quickly,” Stumpo said.  “There was an injury and they needed and extra spot and it just happened that I got to stay.  It’s a humbling sport that’s for sure.  You just have to keep learning.  Going up to Clearwater and High-A right away I learned a lot from the pitching coaches.  I learned a lot from the manager.  I learned a lot from other guys on the team.”

FIRST TASTE FOR ELLIS

Jordan Ellis is famous in McKechnie Field lore for the hits he didn’t give up.  Just promoted from Low-A Lakewood last summer Ellis took the loss in the sixth of seven wins the Marauders had over the Threshers.  It also just so happened that Bradenton beat Ellis in the ninth inning without a hit.  The Marauders scored on a strikeout in the dirt, walk, sac bunt, sac fly and wild pitch.  The final was 8-7.

“Yeah, it was [nuts], but that’s part of the game,” Ellis said.  “You never can expect to win a game even when you’re up because things change quickly.”

Just out of his second full pro season Ellis, also a Philadelphia native and Villanova product, got a kick out of the big league experience.

“It’s a good experience anytime somebody in minor league camp can get involved with big league camp and pick their brains and see how it really is up here,” Ellis said.  “I’m just trying to take it all in and talk to everyone and see how everything goes.  I guess it will help me relax someday.”

HOWARD RECALLS THE FLORIDA STATE LEAGUE

It was a long while back that Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard played in the Florida State League in 2003.  Howard won league MVP and torched opponents to the tune of a .304 average, 23 homeruns and 82 RBI.  The season, his third, marked his best as a pro.

“For me I was just being me,” Howard said.  “I guess everybody else will look at it in a different light but I was just out there playing ball, doing me.”

And that’s the advice Howard has for other Florida State Leaguers and minor leaguers in general.  Just don’t put too much pressure on yourself.

“Sometimes you’ll catch yourself kind of thinking too much,” Howard said, “and then sometimes you just have to let it go and go out there and swing just kind of let what happens happen.”

As for the biggest perk of playing in the FSL?

“You got to sleep in your own bed every night,” Howard said.  “All the towns were very close.  We played Dunedin and Tampa.  Fort Myers was one of the only teams we had to stay overnight within our division.”

The less than good?

“It was hot,” Howard said.  “You get a lot of rain and you have to be very patient.”

In something of a light moment I asked Howard about the show he put on at the ’03 home run derby in Fort Myers.  Kris Koch, a former Assistant General Manager for the Miracle and now a Pirates employee, informed me he was pretty sure Howard had won the derby.  The slugger was less sure (with a laugh).

Howard: I did alright.

Me: I thought you won?

Howard: I don’t think so. 

Me: Oh.  Then I guess I got bad information.

Howard: Then I guess I won.  I don’t know it was a while back.

 

I scoured the internet looking for the actual answer and failed.  So if you know the correct answer please let the both of us know.

 

Till next time…

Joel

 

Filed under Dailies Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Crabs, Keith and Manny (Oh My!)

March 7, 2011 Leave a comment


Crabs Logo.jpgWe’re almost midway through the Pirates home slate for Spring Training – eight down and nine to go.  I figured now is as good a time as any to dive into our ‘Florida State Leaguers in Big League Camp’ series.  With the Rays in town today it gave us a chance to catch up with a couple former Charlotte Stone Crabs.  We’ll round out our coverage when the Phillies come to McKechnie Saturday, the Blue Jays next Wednesday and the Twins on the 21st.  We’ll make some stops at minor league camps over the next couple of weeks as well.  And in case you have a thirst for info on Marauders with the big club – feel free to check out or previous coverage on M’s TV.

Our first edition takes a look at the Stone Crabs (Rays), represented in Major League camp by catcher Stephen Vogt and shortstop Tim Beckham.  Former Daytona Cub Chris Archer (acquired in the Matt Garza trade) is also in camp but did not make the trip.  Matt Bush is there as well, but never appeared against Bradenton in 2010.

This season marks the first time Vogt has been sent a spring invite.  After missing almost all of 2009 because of an injury, Vogt had to play his way into the everyday lineup last season.  After batting over .300 in April, hitting a .404 May average goes a long way to help in that department.  By midseason Vogt had found a home in the order, playing catcher, DH, first and outfield along the way.

“It was very exciting and very honoring and I’m just excited for the opportunity to experience something new,” Vogt said of the Big League experience.  “You get treated a lot differently up here. It’s been a lot of fun so far.  It’s been really nice.”

That answer of course begs the next question of ‘What’s so different?’  The answer was surprisingly simple.

“The clubhouse guys take care of you and the food and the travel is much better,” Vogt said.  “The clean shoes…exactly!  You don’t have to clean your own shoes.”

As silly as not having to clean your own shoes sounds, it’s actually a nice bonus.  You see baseball dirt is no ordinary dirt.  It’s more like Hawaiian red dirt.  If you’ve ever bought a “Red Dirt” shirt you know they make them by using the dirt as dye, you know, because it stains.  I have many a pair of khaki pants with ‘dirt’ stains from when I used to drag the infield as a gameday employee for the Somerset Patriots growing up.  Long story short is some guys use Scrubbing Bubbles to clean cleats and catcher’s equipment.  It’s less than fun.  Having it done for you kind of rocks.

On a different note, if you saw Vogt last season you probably noticed his awesome moustache.  A lot of the Charlotte players grew them in (especially for the playoffs), with most being inspired by Rocco Baldelli’s facial faux pas from his brief stint with the team.  Vogt no longer has the moustache so I felt compelled to ask where it went.

“I like to start every year fresh,” Vogt said.  “Every guy has their style and mine’s pretty plain.”

I did go one step further and ask about the hairstylings of Vogt’s new teammates Manny Ramirez and Jonny Damon.  The duo sports dreadlocks and a mohawk respectively. 

“Oh it’s awesome,” Vogt saidof Manny’s hair.  “I asked him how long it took him to grow it.  He said he hasn’t cut it in five years.  But you know things like that – getting to watch arguably the greatest right handed hitter of all time, it’s awesome.”

As for Beckham, the shortstop was in the starting lineup Monday, playing alongside Evan Longoria on the left side of the infield.

“I’m playing alongside of Evan Longoria – it’s a great learning experience,” Beckham said.  “I know Jonny Damon, Manny Ramirez and Evan Longoria but when I’m on the field I try not to think about that.  If I think about that I’m just bringing pressure top myself.”

After striking out in his first at-bat, Beckham singled in a run in the fifth.  The 21-year old also played a decent shortstop, kicking a double play ball to himself before flipping it to Joe Inglett at second for the throw to first.

Beckham mentioned the key thing that he’s taken from being in Big League camp is learning about routine and consistency.  Basically he’s trying to figure out how the stars go about their business and then emulate that.  It’s not an uncommon quote from younger players.  My next goal is to find out what the heck it means.  How does one routine differ from another and how can eating a banana before batting practice serve you better than eating a peach?  I’m sure it’s stuff more important than that, but you get the idea.  It’s about mental preparation.  It was actually stumbling upon that last sentence when my interview subject turned magically into Yogi Berra.

“I think the game is 85 to 90 percent mental and the other half is physical,” Beckham said with a laugh and a smile.  I think he had realized his math just added up to about 140%.  “I think everybody in the minors has the physical ability to play in the majors.”

THE BRADENTON RIVALRY

As the 2010 season went along the Marauders began to more and more cement their first rival.  The obvious choice turned out to be the most geographically logical choice.  The Marauders and Stone Crabs became rivals. 

The fans were the ones most responsible I think, and really that’s what it’s all about after all, is it not?  Both teams got excellent support from their fans when travelling to each other’s parks.  The chants from Stone Crab fans of ‘Reid – Fronk’ were answered by ‘Strike – Out’ from the Marauder faithful.  The teams also just happen to compete with each other all season for a South Division title and just so happened to meet each other the Division Series.  It was a nice twist that Bradenton clinched the second half title in Charlotte.

“I did start to feel a rivalry,” Beckham said.  “But in the playoffs if you go about it like every team being a rivalry then it just gets you pumped up and motivated to play.  It gives you the extra boost to really look at that pitcher on the mound and think that’s the enemy.  Let’s go.  Let’s play.”

“It was pretty heated and we got into it pretty good,” Vogt said.  “We had some battles.  It seemed like every game we played against Bradenton last year was a one run, two run game – back and forth, back and forth an all the way into the playoffs.  Even that final game, we were sitting on our toes that’s for sure.”

The final game was a 2-1 win for Charlotte and the deciding game of the Division Series.  A rain delay was almost as long as the game itself – 2:16 to 2:24.  The rain also gave birth to one of the season’s funnier moments when the entire Marauders bullpen shuffled to the dugout from the ‘pen under one tiki umbrella.  Unfortunately the rain also cut short Nathan Adcock’s day.

His last couple of starts ravaged by rainouts, including one against Charlotte August 27th, Adcock watched from the dugout after throwing just one perfect inning before the rain.

“Yeah, it actually I think worked into our favor getting Adcock out of there,” Vogt said.  “We had hit him well one time earlier in the year but he was pretty lights out down the stretch.  At the same time it was amazing to me how lights out the pitching was.  [Matt] McSwain came in and pitched great and [Frank] De Los Santos pitched the game of his life, which none of us saw coming – he’s a great pitcher, but you know…”

Adcock indeed allowed only five runs in his last 11.1 innings against the Crabs – good for an ERA below four.  As for De Los Santos, he fired 6.2 scoreless innings with four hits sprinkled between for Charlotte.  He was just a few starts removed from allowing nine runs on 12 hits to St. Lucie and had coughed up seven runs to Bradenton back in May. 

“I was happy Adcock got bumped,” Beckham said, only after learning Vogt had already voiced that opinion.  “He’s a great pitcher and I think he’ll be a great player in the future.  Me personally, I was happy.”

“It kind of summed up the Florid State League – you know rain, rain, rain, rain, rain, fly by the seat of your pants.  It was a fun game and to celebrate at midnight on your home field and it always feels good to be celebrating, especially since we watched Bradenton celebrate on our field about 5 days earlier.”

The Marauders open 2011 against the Stone Crabs.  The two play a one game set at Charlotte Sports Park April 7th and move to McKechnie Field on the 8th.

OLBERMANN IN TOWN

On a completely separate note, former MSNBC and Sportscenter anchor Keith Olbermann was at McKechnie field Monday.  He writes an MLBlog that you can find here.  Anybody’s politics aside he was a genuinely nice guy and we may or may not have more from Keith later this month.  We’ll keep you posted.  We can tell you, however, that Keith is now the proud owner of a Bradenton Marauders hat.  If you’re interested he’s a size 8. 

This was also a cool moment for me because Ketih happens to be this blog’s namesake.  “It’s deep and I don’t think it’s playable” was an Olbermann saying from his Sportscenter days.  I learned today it was actually a Dan Patrick line – Keith always heard him using it in the newsroom and put it to goo use.

‘Till next time,

Joel

 

Filed under Dailies Tagged with , , , , , , ,

The Most Annoying Sound in the World (and other things you learn on Photo Day)

February 21, 2011 Leave a comment

We continue along today with my continuing journey of learning what actually happens during Spring Training.  If you missed our last edition, read it here, or here’s a brief recap:

As a kid Joel thought Spring Training involved games.  As he grew older he thought it was workouts and games.  As he grew older he realized minor league pitchers and catcher don’t report when pitchers and catchers do, that’s only the big leaguers.  He has also had the childhood belief dispelled that meals were like summer camp and involved all players coming into the mess hall, listening to announcements then going outside for the flag raising.  Well, the last one wasn’t much of a staple in my mind, but it had been fleeting thought when I was 12 or so, so there you go.

Today’s edition talks about photo day, which begins at about 7am.  This was early for me because I had been broadcasting a Pitt-Iowa college baseball game Saturday night and didn’t get to my hotel in Clearwater until about 12:30.  I woke up at four to ensure I could get showered, dressed and back to Bradenton by six.  While this may seem insane, it is, but I trained my body to learn to work on three hours sleep while in college (and cue my mother calling me concerned).  It wasn’t for bad reasons, I just worked a lot, but anyway.

So I arrived at Pirate City and took my position, swinging a bat to be used as a prop while waiting for players and coaches to arrive.  My job was to cross off the names of players as they came to the dining hall for pictures.  We all took our guesses at who would be first.  With Pirates Media Relations Director Jim Trdinich informing us it’s always a coach in first, I guessed hitting coach Gregg Ritchie.  Gregg let me down.  Actually it was Wally Whitehurst, 2010 Marauders pitching coach, that came through the door first.  Trevor Gooby, the boss, promptly changed his guess from whatever it was to Wally.  I guess he won.

As the morning went on my job grew to include “Hat Finder,” asking each player what size hat they wanted and then finding it.  There are a couple of issues here.  Hats are in sizes by the eighth inch but are reduced fractions (think elementary school).  This makes finding sizes much more difficult.  When you’re moveing quickly it’s hard to tell the difference between 3/8 and 1/2.  After all, three is bigger than both one and two and it’s just too much math in the morning.  Also of note here is that the most common size of hat is 7 and 3/8 inches.  It was also the hardest hat to find in our pile, causing Garrett Jones to yelp with glee when one was found in the haystack.  Yes, yelp, he didn’t want anybody else taking that hat.

Once fitted with hats the players go from station to station taking pictures for headshots, baseball cards and whatever else.  Some also stopped at the signing table and autographed I believe three dozen baseballs.  The authenticator was on hand to verify them all.  This was pretty cool because I’ve only ever read about this man (or his kind).  Now I know he does (they do) indeed exist. 

From there I toured around with Rule 5 Draft pick Josh Rodriguez and walked him into the board room where it looked like the dentist from Little Shop of Horrors had set up.  The photographers put Rodriguez in their chair contraption and took his picture with this funky looking column of cameras, slowly rotating him in a circle for the next shot.  I learned this was for MLB The Show.  They were shooting his 360 degree body shot so it can be perfectly replicated in the game.  And who said video games aren’t realistic?  Or maybe they’re too realistic haha.  Hey, soon will come the day when your video game will be rained out.

(PHOTO: Matt Diaz on the green screen)

diaz green screen.jpg

I then took Rodriguez upstairs where he shot all of his stuff for the PNC Park scoreboard.  We previewed this on last week’s Monday Morning Minute.  The two of us walked in on Aaron Thompson’s question and answer shoot.  While I don’t want to reveal too much I will say that Thompson was asked the following two questions back-to-back.  What is your favorite movie and what is the most annoying sound in the world?  He responded with Dumb and Dumber and, of course, this.

Some players were also asked about their celebrity crushes for the shoot.  I heard anything from Biel to Bullock and figured I would take the opportunity to tell GLEE star Diana Agron that she’s welcome to a Marauders game anytime.  Anyway, moving on.

I don’t want to reveal too many secrets, but some of the stuff they shoot for the scoreboard is really very cool.  And yes, it did involve fire, although it’s all digital. 

By the time photo day ended it was maybe 10:00.  All that in less than three hours.  File it away as another thing that goes on during Spring Training.

Till next time,

Joel

 

 

Filed under Dailies Tagged with , , , , , , , , ,

Spring is Here (And so’s my prospect handbook!)

February 16, 2011 Leave a comment

With pitchers and catchers reporting, not only does this week mark the official beginning of Spring Training, but it also marks my first Spring Training in baseball.  And to be honest, this is pretty cool.

Alrigh, alright, you’ve caught me in a lie.  I did take in a few Spring Training games on a family vacation a few years back.  I went to a Cardinals vs. Mets game and Orioles vs. Twins game.  I still have the autographed Yadier Molina (in red Sharpie, it’s kinda sweet) and Mike Piazza baseball cards.  The Piazza one comes complete with my dad’s thumbprint over the P.  I also got a Lou Brock autographed baseball, Justin Morneau signed card and Andres Galarraga signed ticket stub.  I also got waved at by Sammy Sosa.  He might have told me that “Baseball has been very, very good to me” but I don’t remember.  It was a pretty good haul that spring.

I did also go to a Yankees-Nationals game last March and got into the Houston Astros complex disguised (by credential) as somebody else.  So much for this being my first Spring Training, but we can still count it.

So being that this is my “first” spring, I have learned quite a few things.

1.       Pitchers and catchers report doesn’t mean all pitchers and catchers.  It’s only the big league guys.  Now maybe I look like an idiot for not knowing that, but I didn’t know that.

2.       If you want autographs games aren’t the way to go, workouts are.  You get much more up close and personal to the players and there are FAR fewer fans there so it’s easier to nab that signature.

3.       This isn’t so much something I’ve learned, but just my favorite part.  Being in the minors you don’t get to watch pitcher’s BP that much, but so far I’ve witnessed the session twice in three days.  I’m always a fan of pitchers taking batting practice.  It’s the greatest gym class hero moment in sports – all the pitchers trying to show that they can hit with the position players…one sometimes hits a homer (I didn’t see any so far) and then gets bragging rights forever.  Pitcher’s BP is a great reason to come by workouts.  Let the trash talk ensue.

On an aesthetic note, I happen to be a big fan of the Pirates new BP tops.  The look’s been sported at Spring Training and has had some joking that you don’t need the lights on in the clubhouse to see them.  I’m sure somebody has also made the obligatory “Hey! Turn your shirt down.  It’s a little loud,” remark.  I happen to think they’re pretty awesome.  I’m always a big fan of cool and different looks and thusly am usually a fan of whatever the University of Oregon decides to wear.  I was also a fan of this, which unfortunately didn’t last at my alma mater.


 
Morris.jpgNext topic change.  I was psyched this week to discover that my Baseball America Prospect Handbook had come in the mail.  Turns out the 2010 Marauders are well represented in the system.  We put out a release several weeks ago when the club’s top 10 prospect list was announced and included several Bradenton players.  Here’s the rundown.

2. Tony Sanchez

“He has the potential to become Pittsburgh’s first Gold Glove catcher since Mike LaValliere in 1987.”       

 4.       Starling Marte

“He could push Andrew McCutchen to an outfield corner when he arrives in Pittsburgh in a couple of years.

6.       Bryan Morris

“He rebounded in a big way last year, pitching in the Futures Game and helping Altoona win the Eastern League championship.”

8.    Jeff Locke

“Locke looks like he might be the best of the three players acquired in the 2009 Nate Mclouth trade with the Braves.”

12. Diego Moreno

“He uses a wipeout slider at 87-88 mph to keep hitters from sitting on the fastball.”

17. Nate Baker

“[His slider and changeup] both have come a long way in a short period, abd that has Pirates officials encouraged.”

19. Ramon Aguero

“The stuff is too good to ignore…”

21. Quincy Latimore

“Latimore has been a favorite of some in the Pirates front office since his draft year, partly because of a fiery competitiveness but mostly because of what they see as legitimate power.”

25. Robbie Grossman

“He was raw power, including gap to gap, from both sides of the plate.”

28. Aaron Pribanic

“Pribanic’s sinker was too good to stifle, though, and he was allowed to strut it.”

31. Phillip Irwin

“Irwin is more consistent then flashy, but he gets results.”

There is also an organizational depth chart listed in the guide.  Outside the players ranked among the 31 the guide lists, Jeremy Fall is at the top of the third base crop with Brock Holt fourth at shortstop behind Chase d’Arnaud, Jordy Mercer and Pedro Ciriaco.  Shelby Ford is listed amongst the second basemen and Calvin Anderson is fourth at 1B.  Eric Fryer checks in second behind Sanchez a catcher.  Pitcher listed include Tim Alderson, Hunter Strickland, Kyle McPherson, Tom Boleska, Brian Leach, Casey Erickson and Tyler Cox.

Of course you do have to take all of that with a grain of salt – it’s not an official listing or how guys really sit in an organization.  It’s just how Baseball America sees it.   For example I just opened my 2008 guide and flipped to a random page.  The Chicago White Sox list contained only 10 guys from the year before, with none of the 20 that were gone having made the bigs, they had all just dropped off the list (were no longer ‘prospects’), or were with new organizations.   None of this really gives us a definitive look at anything, but it’s still fun to read about it.

That’s all for today.  Until next time –

Joel

 

Filed under Dailies Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , ,

Eric Fryer Movin’ On Up

January 27, 2011 Leave a comment

Eric Fryer just looks beyond his years.  Walk around Pirate City when the Major Leaguers are in town and he just kind of fits in.

“Look!  It’s Andrew McCutchen, Garrett Jones, Joel Hanrahan…Eric Fryer?”

To be honest, it took a while for me to get used to the fact that Fryer wasn’t this wily vet down in A-ball coaching others on their way to the Show.  I just always got the feeling he was some kind of Crash Davis.  After all, Fryer is on his third organization (because of trades, not releases), he’s married with a son and he’s, well, balding.  But then you check the vitals.

Last year was only Fryer’s third full professional season, and the first in which he only played one position.  The catcher found a home with Pittsburgh and is only 25, nothing more.  Next month the Ohio native is going to his first Major League Spring Training. 

“I was out taking batting practice and [Pirates Director of Player Development Kyle Stark] just kind of pulled me aside and said ‘Hey you want to come to big league camp?'” Fryer said very matter-of-factly.  “I said sure and he goes, ‘Yeah well we’re going to invite you.'”

Ho Hum.  But then again that’s Eric Fryer.  He just kind of takes everything in stride.  He goes about his business and he gets it done.  He falls under the category of a ‘Lunch pail guy;’ somebody who grabs the pail and just goes to work.

And Fry worked last year.  He hit .300 with the Marauders, heating up late in the year despite coming back from a broken face.  Yes, a broken face.  Fryer took a pitch to the orbital bone while batting against Charlotte in July and missed a month.  When he came back you could still see a little imprint of where the seams hit.  A big league Spring Training call is well deserved.

“Nothing really changes except when I’m going to arrive,” said Fryer.  “The goals are still the same: Go out and just improve every day that I can and get better leading up to the season.  It will be neat to gain a little bit more experience from the older guys, see a little more from [Chris] Snyder, [Ryan] Doumit and [Jason] Jaramillo.  I can see what they do really well and try and take it to my game.”

Fryer is one of 22 Non-Roster Invitees to Pirates camp.  He’s officially listed as an outfielder but says he hasn’t been told he’ll be doing anything other than catching.  Several other Marauders will be with Fryer, including fellow catcher Tony Sanchez, pitchers Jeff Locke, Bryan Morris, Ramon Aguero and Kyle McPherson.

“It’s nice that there are several guys I know from playing with them during the season or having been around them at instructs,” Fryer said.  “So it won’t be as awkward.  I feel like I can belong and they invited me for a reason so it’s just a matter of going out and playing and hopefully the results go in my favor.”

And it’s kind of nice because of the perks you get too.  Fryer said he’s already been ordered some bats, a nice change from the generic Pro Stocks he uses regularly.  He makes out just a bit better financially as well.

“I get a little more meal money up on the major league side so I’m going to take advantage of that and live off it a little bit,” Fryer said.  “Aside from that it’s just a chance to play against top tier competition and I think that’s just what everybody wants the chance to do.”

Pitchers and catchers report to Pirate City the third week of February.

 

Fryer, Eric - Bat Pose.JPG

 

Filed under Dailies Tagged with , , , , ,

All the World is Waitin’ For the Sun

August 26, 2010 Leave a comment

We begin today with some more YoutTube primer just to get you in the mood to talk about rain.

So, as promised I was able to get in touch with the good folks over at the Elias Sports Bureau (the guys who do all the crazy funky stats you see on the four letter network.  Check out the Bureau’s daily column here.  As always, stats nerd alert if you click the previous link.

Elias.jpgAnyway, I was told there aren’t any really solid records kept about rainouts.  Everything on hand is sketchy at best, but there were some interesting notes.

  • In 1903 the Philadelphia Phillies had nine consecutive games postponed.  It is not known if all of the games were pushed back because of rain.  The “rain”outs were from August 10-19, which does coincide with the great Paris Metro fire…but which probably didn’t cause the delay.
  • In April of 1952 the Washington Senators were postponed in seven straight games.  It is again not known if this is all because of rain.  There is speculation the entire team took three of the days off to think about the idea of one day scouting Stephen Strasburg.
  • In 1911 the World Series was rained out for five straight games.  The dates were October 18-23.  The 22nd was not rained out – it was Sunday…as we talked about in the previous post, baseball was not played on Sundays back in the day.  It was illegal until 1934 in the City of Brotherly Love.
  • In the 1962 World Series there were four rainouts…three of them coming in san Francisco prior to Game 6.
  • In 1975 there were three consecutive rainouts prior to Game 6.  The series famously pitted the Reds and Red Sox.  If you remember, Game 6 was the one in which Carlton Fisk waived his homer fair.  It is urban legend he was waiving non-stop throughout the entire rJanus.jpgainout stretch…he and the St. Joe’s Hawk.  And no, that part’s not true.

Just some more food for thought for you.  On another note, today is Wingfest at the park.  The record for most wings eaten (according to Major League Eating) is 7.72 pounds in 12 minutes by Eater X (right) back on May 8th.  That’s the boneless record.  Joey Chestnut holds several chicken wing records.  Believe it or not there are long form and short form categories.  Something like in ice skating I think…just don’t trust the French judge.

On that note…Till Next Time…

 

Joel  

Filed under Dailies Tagged with , , ,

And I Wonder, Still I Wonder…

August 25, 2010 Leave a comment

Umps.jpg

A starting note…this is Take-2  of this entry.  The lovely Internet Explorer closed as I finished writing the first one.  Hooray for that.

Now for the good stuff – We begin with some YouTube primer.  If you are not from New Jersey, are more in favor of the original song, or are from New Jersey and dislike the greatest man to ever grace the great state, then click here.

So now for some breaking news…IT’S RAINING IN FLORIDA!

This is probably not news to those of you that live in Florida, but for those of you from out of town, well, it’s raining.  That might explain why Bradenton has not thrown an official pitch since Saturday.  It was a 1-1 toss from Fort Myers closer Dakota Watts to Austin McClune to finish off a double-header split. 

Sunday’s game at Fort Myers was suspended and then cancelled along with Monday’s game due to rain.  Tuesday’s game was pushed to Wednesday because of rain.  One of Wednesday’s games was pushed to Thursday because of rain.  The other will be made up in St. Lucie next week…because of rain.  This is all going under the assumption that it stops raining anytime in the next 58 hours (arbitrary number).

Here’s the good news…as I write this…there is a 50 percent chance of thundershowers tomorrow night.  Thunderstorms could continue through Tuesday.

Here’s the fun news.  Palm Beach has done nothing but lose and get rained out during this rainy stretch…so Bradenton went from being 2.5 out to just one game out without ever throwing a pitch.  What a world!

Anyway – my mind got churning about some rainout statistics, so I took to the interwebs and found some cool nuggets.  I’ve also put in a call to the good folks at the Elias Sports Bureau, so we’ll see what kind of update I can come up with tomorrow.

In the meantime, here we go…

Major League Baseball went until April 23rd without a rainout this year.  That was the longest run since May 20, 1985.  Technically the game this year wasn’t a rainout either.  Snow and cold cut down a Rockies Marlins game in Denver.  Hilariously, USA Today wrote a story that day about how there had not yet been a rainout.

The Twins were rained out for the first time in 30 years back in May.  Playing in a Dome until this year may have helped in that area.

The Grapefruit League cancelled all its games on March 11th this year.  It was the first time there was a total wipeout since 2005

The Marauders have had 16 games delayed or postponed this season.  Fifteen of those have come after June 6th.

Five FSL games have been completely cancelled in the last four days – that includes two Marauders games.

The Tuesday attendance for the entire league was 1,102 – only two games were played and certainly impacted by the rain.

FINALLY…the best nugget so far….

After three straight rainouts in 1926, Connie Mack got a court injunction to allow his team to play on a Sunday – and he got a 3-2 win.  Lefty Grove got the decision in….drumroll….a rain soaked game.  It was the first Sunday game in Philadelphia history.  A city law outlawing the practice was taken off the books in 1934.

Till next time…Happy rain dancing!

-Joel

 

Filed under Dailies Tagged with ,

Quincy Latimore, M.V.P.?

August 23, 2010 3 Comments

Today’s the day postseason all-star ballots are due into the league office.  Every team submits three ballots — one from the manager, scorer and sports writer — and each ballot has a spot for a Player of the Year, Pitcher of the Year, four pitchers, two relievers, two catchers, one position player at each spot, a DH, two utilities, and three managers/coaches.

My choice for league MVP would be Quincy Latimore, except you cannot vote for your own players.  So I voted for Tampa’s Melky Mesa.  It’s a tough call between the two, so I figured we’d break it down.

Here’s the Diagram:

                          MELKY MESA     l       QUINCY LATIMORE

AVG                   .267                            .262

HR                      19                               17

RBI                     74                               91

SB                      31 of 40                      7 of 8

OBP                   .342                            .320

GMS                   116                             123

ERRORS             4                                 7

 

Now some rankings fro these guys:

Latimore:

1st: 91 RBI (leads by 16)

2nd: 123 GMS; 208 TB; 48 EXBH

3rd: 17 HR; 30 2B; 78 R; 

4th: 28 AB per HR; 477 AB

Mesa:

1st: 19 HR; 22.6 AB per HR, 49 EXBH, 211 TB

2nd: 79 R, .490 SLG

3rd: 9 3B, 74 RBI

4th: 31 SB

(Each player is among the top four in nine offensive categories)

It’s a fairly close call – so you be the judge – leave us a comment on who you think is the MVP and why.

Another note for Quincy.  He will not break the RBI record for the FSL.  That sits at 140 and was set in the 1940’s.  But….Wuincy is the best run producer at Class A-Advanced for the Pirates in recent memory.  The bad news is that all of the below since 2005 have not advanced beyond AA.  Jordy Mercer will likely buck that trend, and the hope would certainly be the same for Latimore.   

2009: Jordy Mercer – 83

2008: Jared Keel – 81

2007: Brad Corley – 89

2006: Mike Carlin – 74

2005: Pat Magness – 92

(WARNING: Continuing beyond this point means you are a stats nerd…which is okay) 

2004: Brad Eldred – 74

2003: Walter Young – 87

2002: Josh Bonifay – 102

2001: B.J. Barns – 57

2000: J.J Davis – 80

1999: Derrick Lankford – 88

1998: Morgan Walker – 68

1997: Aramis Ramirez – 114

1996: Jose Guillen – 94

1995: Reed Secrist – 75 (no not Ryan Seacrest)

—

So it looks like Quincy Latinmore will most certainly be a post-season All-Star…if not the MVP.  Now let’s go back to the middle of the season.  Remember, Bradenton scored eight mid-season All-Stars.  Can the team do better in the post-season list?

Here’s the list of candidates…let’s start with those I think would be locks…

Quincy Latimore, Diego Moreno*, Aaron Pribanic, Jeff Locke*

**Moreno and Locke may be hurt by time spent in Double-A, but numbers are numbers.  Both have been very solid.  Locke has 86.1 innings under his belt in the league and left as the FSL leader in wins with nine.

And now those that I think have a solid case…

Nathan Adcock

He’s 10-7 with a 3.40 ERA (8th best in the league).  He’s also a midseason All-Star.  The only reason I don’t have him as a lock is that he did struggle a bit in July and may have fallen off some voter radars.

Eric Fryer

 He’ll be hurt by the fact that he missed July.  But let’s be honest.  The guy is hitting well over .400 since returning off the DL at the end of that month.  That’s not a small sample size.  He’s hitting over .400 over a span of 17 games.  The rush has pushed his avergae to .298. He also has eight homers.  He’s got a really good shot.  I marked down Daytona’s Michael Brenly and Dunedin’s Travis d’Arnaud on my ballot.  Fryer has player in more games then the later and 16 less then Brenly.

Calvin Anderson

It’s hard for Calvin.  Rebel Ridling has this spot pretty much locked up.  Daytona’s corner man is hitting .291 with 12HR and 69 RBI.  Calvin has an average in the .260 range with 10HR and 66 RBI.  The numbers aren’t that far off, so we’ll see.

Noah Krol

He was a midseason All-Star and leads the league in saves.  His 31 saves are seven off a league record last set in 1998 by New York Met R.A. Dickey.  He didn’t throw a knuckleball back then.  His high ERA might hurt him (3.34).  Now, that’s not a high ERA, but for a closer it could be considered that way – especially because Charlotte’s Zachary Quate’s is 1.38.  David Carpenter has a 2.36 ERA but is no longer in the league after being traded to Houston.

That adds up to eight All-Stars, but we’ll have to see how the Marauders do in the voting.  One thing that does hurt Bradenton is that All-Star locks Brock Holt, Tony, Sanchez, Jeremy Farrell and Starling Marte are all either on the DL, or spent too much time on the DL.

Your turn.  You decide….

Till next time,

Joel

 

Filed under Dailies Tagged with , , , , , , , ,

← Older posts

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started