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)

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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

 

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Random History Note of the Day…

August 12, 2010 Leave a comment

So…I was browsing the interwebs today and stumbled on some notes about base coaches.  The blog Deadspin had a note on it about the lack of diversity among base coaches (minorities tend to coach first more than third – with 3B tending to be a higher position).  T’was an interesting note, but not too Pirates related.

The Pittsburgh note comes from the New York Times.  So it seems the Pirates actually hired the first African-American thirdbase couch in baseball history.  Gene Baker was hired for the position in 1963.

Thanks to Keith Olbermann (this blog’s namesake) for the research cited in the NYT’s post.

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Who’s Afraid of the Dark…

August 9, 2010 Leave a comment


Field-of-Screams-Haunted-Tales-from-the-Baseball-Diamond-the-Locker-Room-and-Beyond.jpgAs many readers know, we have an email that anybody can use to get in touch with us on the Marauders broadcast (Feel free to fire away at MaraudersRadio@pirates.com by the way).  It’s always fun to hear from fans and players relatives and the like.  One of the other neat things is the information you can sometimes stumble upon through the open inbox.

I received an email last week from an author named Dan Gordon.  He just released a new book titled Field of Screams: Haunted Tales from the Baseball Diamond.  The email was 11 pages when I printed it out and it was full of some interesting stuff.  There are details about all sorts of ghostly encounters in baseball with several involving Pirates players.

So that being said, it’s time to assemble the Midnight Society and dive into some ghost stories.  Everybody has their favorites.  My story of choice is the haunted practice cabin at New England Music Camp in Maine.  That one always got me as a kid.  But to be honest, one in this book is giving it a run for its money in the top spot.  There’s something going on in Scranton, PA – and it’s not just “that’s what she said” jokes by Steve Carrell at Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company. 

If you’re not one to believe in ghost stories or just think it’s all a crock to sell books, I can assure you some of this stuff is legit.  One of the larger excerpts I received was about the Radisson Lackawana Hotel in Scranton. 
Radisson.jpgWorking with the Buffalo Bisons last year gave me the chance to stay at said hotel.  There are ghost stories – all sorts of things – creepy things.  Mets infielder Nick Evans talked about seeing a young boy running down the hall in a trench coat.  The boy then stopped, looked back and turned its head 360 degrees.  I also was told about finely dressed hotel employees coming by rooms to ask how one’s stay was going.  Weirded-out players called the front desk to report the occurrences only to find that no such employees exist at the hotel.  This new book also details odd mechanical issues (TV’s and lights going on and off) as well as players having woken up next to ghosts.

So with that being said we turn our attention to Pirate City.  This is odd because I’m sitting in PC as I’m writing this…but the new PC, not the old one – so I think we’re okay.

THE LEGEND OF ROOM 232

Roberto Clemente stayed in room 232 while with the Pirates.  It was a corner suite.  Bronson Arroyo is interviewed in the book about his stay in the room.  The pitcher details the picture of Clemente who’s eyes seemed to follow you around. 

“Nobody will stay in that room,” PC equipment manager Pat Hagerty is quoted as saying.  “None of the Latin kids, for sure.  Because they are scared of the ghosts-honestly.”

“I remember when I got traded over from Toronto,” said Abraham Nunez – a former Pirate and teammate of Jordan Newton with the New Jersey Jackals.  “One of the first things the guys told me was, ‘Listen, if they put you in Clemente’s room, don’t take it because everybody says there are ghosts.'”

There are also stories of ghosts appearing.  Just FYI, women are not allowed back in Pirate City.  So it would certainly be a shock when a player sees one in his mirror.

“There’s no doubt I saw her,” said reliever Jeff Bennett.  “There are several people who have seen things like that there.”

“I see a long dark-haired, dark-skinned woman,” said infielder Bruce Pelfrey.  “I look back and nobody is there.  I go look out the door and nobody is there.”

But don’t necessarily believe everything you hear.  Aramis Ramirez said he once stayed in room 232 for a month and a half and had no issues (at least that’s what the ghosts told him to say…).

—

The book also goes into detail of ghosts in Tampa at George M. Steinbrenner Field and the story of a disappearing fly ball at a Florida state League game in 1974.  It was a game between the Key West Conch and St. Petersburg Cardinals.  A pop-up went up and never came down.  It was ruled a homerun. 

Current Pirate Delwyn Young also makes an appearance in the book.  He’s quoted talking about the ghosts that haunt Dodger Stadium – especially  the batting cages. 

If you want more info about the book it looks like it might be a good read…Fieldofscreamsonline.com is its website.  Thanks to Dan Gordon for the stories and the spooks!

Till next time,

Joel

 

 

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Aaron Pribanic to Pittsburgh…in a way

August 5, 2010 Leave a comment

Aaron Pribanic has been one of, if not the best, Marauder pitcher (at least statistically) over the last six weeks or so.  Prib has a 1.39 ERA in his last nine starts and has allowed fewer hits than innings pitched – something that hurt him earlier in the year.  The Marauders are also 7-2 over those nine starts.

So with so much success, Pribanic has garnered some attention from Pittsburgh…at least the Post-Gazette.  Chuck Finder has a story here on Aaron and Jeff Locke.  He writres how the duo has risen near the top of the Pirates pitching crop.

Prib.jpgSome other notes on Aaron:

  • He was aquired from the Mariners last season in the Ian Snell/Jack Wilson trade
  • His grandfather is Jim Coates – he pitched in the bigs with several teams including the Yankees.  Coates won a World Series with New York in 1961 and was an all-star the year prior.
  • Prib was a third round pick by the Mariners in 2008 out of Nebraska
  • Prior to Nebraska Pribanic attended Hutchinson Community College with Marauders closer Noah Krol

Till next time…

Joel

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Winning, Losing and Standing Alone

July 31, 2010 Leave a comment

Going into Saturday’s game at Daytona there were a couple interesting notes in the Florida State League standings…As follows….

  • Daytona has the longest winning streak among full-season minor league teams (12)
  • St. Lucie has the longest losing streak among full-season minor league teams (10)
  • The two streaks are the only double-digit streaks in the minors
  • Other runs of note include:

Triple-A Durham: 9 Wins

Triple-A Louisville: 9 Wins

Triple-A Syracuse: 9 Losses (ended Friday night)

Low-A Dayton: 9 Losses

—

Just found it funny that both the longest winning and losing streaks were in one league.  Also interesting that they are the only double-figure streaks active.

Another note – Bradenton entered Saturday at 18-15 and with the only winning record in the FSL South.  The division is the only one in full-season minor league baseball that can only boast one team over .500.  After finishing in Daytona the Marauders host Brevard County for four.  From there on out Bradenton hosts only division opponents until the end of the year.

Just some food for thought…

 

Til next time…

Joel

 

 

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Marauder Mad Libs

July 27, 2010 Leave a comment

Ladies and Gentlemen…Welcome to the first edition of MARAUDER MAD LIBS!  It’s the game where Bradenton’s baseball stars fill in the blanks with the bests of the Florida State League.  Here’s your host…Arthur Wedgewood!!! {Applause}

{Cue theme music…open curtain}

“Thank you….thank you…thank you…stop it…cut it out…you’re all too kind….Welcome again to Marauder Mad Libs.  Let’s meet the contestants…

First…He’s an outfielder from Oklahoma, please welcome Austin McClune!!! {Applause}

Second…He’s a pitcher from Kentucky…Nathan Adcock!!! {Applause}

Please welcome two catchers Eric Fryer and James Skelton!!! {Applause}

And finally a hand for a dynamic duo of outfielders…Robbie Grossman and the ‘Double-Duce’ Quincy Latimore!!! {Applause}

So here’s how the game works…I’ll throw out a topic…you fill in the blank…First on the board {sound effect}…Ah…The best thing about the FSL is _____.

Austin: “Travel, for sure.  The furthest trip is roughly three hours.  In the Sally league we had 10 hour bus rides from Hickory to Lake County.”

Nathan: “Heat.  No I hate the heat.  It’s the travel.  Three hours is the most we travel.  I played in the Midwest League were some trips were seven or 11 hours.”

Eric: “The ballparks.  Most ballparks are pretty good.  The fields are immaculate and most of the time they’re just spring training sites for teams.”

James: “I like the rain, so I would say rainouts.  I wouldn’t call it an extra day off, but sometimes you just need one night off.”

Quincy: “HOT.  No the travel.  I love the three hour max I think.”

Now Quincy, follow up question.  How is it traveling for the commuter games?

Quincy: “That’s fine.  An hour at the most, that’s not bad.  I would love to stay everywhere if we could, but definitely the travel is great coming from the South Atlantic League last year having a nine hour bus ride.  It would seem like you never get there.”

Okay…second topic…{sound effect}…The best name in the FSL is _____.

Austin: “Stonecrabs.  “It’s a little bit different.  A little more original.”

Nathan: “Marauders.  I like it because it’s something new.  It’s something different.”

Eric: “Threshers.  It’s the first name that came to mind.  It’s the most creative right there.”


images.jpg{Sound effect} Oh wow…that sound means it’s time for the “FACT OF THE ROUND” {echoing voice}.  Often mistaken for the Thrashers, the name is indeed Threshers.  The team was renamed and rebranded from the Clearwater Phillies upon the opening of the new Bright House Field in 2004.  Mike Schmidt was the team’s first manager.  A Thresher is a type of shark with a long tail that is sometimes as long as the rest of its body.  The tail is used as a stunning weapon to attack prey.  Quincy, you’re up…

Quincy: “Flying Tigers.  I think that’s pretty funny…or the Brevard County Manatees.  Either one of those.

Robbie: “Lakeland Flying Tigers.  They’ve got pretty sweet hats.”

Alright team…Question number three.  Many of you talked about the travel in the league.  The topic is twofold…The Best Roadtrip in the FSL is _____ or The Best Ballpark in the FSL is_____.

Robbie: “Tampa — playing where the Yankees big league team plays.”

Quincy: “Clearwater.  Great crowd, great field, one of the newest stadiums in the league – that’s why.” 

{Production Note} Quincy also likes Daytona Beach…Altoona Curve player Josh Harrison (a former Cub) highly recommended the atmosphere.

Eric: “McKechnie Field.  The home crowd’s amazing.”


McKechnie.jpgJames: “Daytona Beach.  The hotel is on the beach.  I like to even out my sun tans.  I’ve told a few guys [about the trip – James played in the FSL in 2008].  They’ve got this putt-putt area down the street.  They draw good crowds.  It’s got to be top three in the league.

Nathan: “Palm Beach or Jupiter is the nicest park.  I like that park a lot.  It’s real nice.  It’s well kept, has a nice playing surface.  Not a lot of fans but it’s still a nice place to play.”

Austin: “Clearwater.  We swept them and it’s a sweet place to play.  There are a lot of fans.”

Alright guys…we’re almost home.  Question for the catchers and the base stealers…The hardest guy to run on is_____.  The second part is…The hardest guy to throw out is_____.”

James: “Melky Mesa (Tampa_.  He just seems like he gets good jumps.”

{Production note} Melky Mesa has one of only six stolen bases against James this year.

Eric: “Anthony Gose (Clearwater).  He steals a lot so he gets a lot of stolen bases.  He gets good jumps and he goes every time.”

Robbie: “A lot of relievers because they’re all quick to the plate.”

Qunicy: “Frank Gailey (Dunedin).  He was…man.  We were talking about at the plate you can’t even get ready to hit he was so quick to the plate.” 

Alright boys we’ve reached the FINAL ROUND {echoing voice}.  The winner gets 3,000 points.  Actually the points matter less than on “Who’s Line is it Anyway.”  So to the winner goes 4,432 points.  Mad Lib is…{drum roll}…The best pitcher or batter you’ve seen in the FSL is _____.

Austin: “Zach Quate (Charlotte).  He’s got a nasty slider.  It starts off at you.  He’s got a fastball at 90+ MPH it just keeps you honest.

Melky Mesa.  He hits the ball to all fields and he hits for power.”

Nathan: “The Corban Joseph (Tampa) kid was a pretty tough out.  He’s just real scrappy.  He fouls a lot of pitches and makes you throw a lot of pitches which I don’t like.

Chris Archer (Daytona).  I thought he was pretty impressive.  Him and the Moore kid from Port Charlotte, especially with how young he is (20) and how he’s doing in the league.”

James: “Jonathon Ortiz (Tampa).  He’s got a nasty changeup.”

Quincy: “Henderson Alvarez (Dunedin).  I faced him in the All-Star Game.  Out of the pitchers I faced he came at me with three pitches.  He threw me his changeup for a strike his slider for a strike and he threw about a 95 MPH fastball up that I chased and I was like ‘wow this dude’s pretty decent.'”

Robbie: “Matt Moore (Charlotte).  He’s a good lefty.  You don’t see too many of those guys that throw hard and throw more than one pitch for a strike.”


Moore.jpgStefan Welch (St. Lucie).  He always has a good approach.  He didn’t try to do too much.  He just did with what he was pitched with.”

—

Alright everybody!  That concludes today’s game.  Thanks for playing…We’ll see you next time right here on Marauder Mad Libs! {Appluase} {Roll credits}

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Name Your Favorite Newton

July 23, 2010 Leave a comment

When July began my favorite Newton was far and away the fig…everybody’s favorite childhood snack.  There were so many choices.  There was the snack pack — two Newtons a little bit larger than those found in the ordinary package.  There was the original — rows of Newtons stuck together in plastic wrapping.  Then they threw in strawberry Newtons.  What next?  I’m sure the snack has evolved further since I grew up and began eating the more adult chocolate chip cookies and Nutter Butters.

But the Fig Newton has always been challenged.  I’m also a fan of Isaac and this whole gravity idea.  Who doesn’t like Olivia Newton John?  I mean, didn’t we all grow up singing Grease while walking to school?  Newton, MA is near Boston.  That’s a fine city.  And how can we forget Wayne Newton?

 


Newtons.jpg(Clockwise from top: Fig, Olivia John, Wayne, Mass, Jordan and Isaac)

 

America’s favorite snack cookie now has a new challenger: Jordan Newton.

The Marauders, in need of catching depth, went to the independent Can-Am League earlier this month and picked up Newton.  The Western Kentucky product hit .364 with the Can-Am League’s New Jersey Jackals.  He blasted two homeruns and drove in 20.  Who knew what Bradenton was going to get from its newest addition.

“No expectations,” said Marauders hitting coach Dave Howard after Newton joined the club.  “I think it’s unfair when you bring guys in to have any expectations at all.  The expectation is to go out there and play hard and do the best you can.  Here’s an opportunity for you now to be back in an organization, so make the most of it.”

Newton hasn’t just made the most of it.  Since he came on board he’s been one of, if not the best Marauder at the plate.  It started with a rocket single in his first at-bat (he scored), and it’s continued with a double and his first RBI Thursday.  The catcher is batting .375 (15-40) and is hitting .555 when he puts the ball in play.

“I guess that means I need to be putting it in play more often,” Newton said.  “I’m excited to be here and just make the most of my opportunity.  I just try to keep it consistent.  That’s what you try to do as a hitter. The less you have to worry about it the better you are.  I’ve been fortunate enough to swing the bat well early.  I’ve got a lot of things to keep working on.  I just try to go day-by-day and see what happens from there.”

Newton’s success probably shouldn’t come as a surprise.  He did finish spring training expecting to be the starting catcher at Detroit’s Double-A Erie affiliate.  Things didn’t pan out and he was released.  He went to the Jackals an played with ex-big leaguers Argenis Reyes, Abraham Nunez and former Rays catcher Shawn Riggins.  The Jackals have a history with producing first-time MLB talent as well.  Oakland A’s reliever Craig Breslow played for NJ in 2004.  He made his Major League debut a year later with San Diego.   

A few people have given Newton solid reviews since he arrived in Florida.

“He’s real athletic, has a good arm and he can hit,” said Marauder catcher James Skelton, a teammate of Newton in the Tigers organization.  “No it’s not [a surprise how well Newton’s done].  I’ve seen this kid play and he can hit.  He’s a little stocky guy with a lot of pop.”

One scout told me he thought Newton “is a player.”  In scout speak that means he’s good.

Here’s how Newton stacks up against the FSL since his arrival…He’s played in 11 of 20 games for Bradenton in July (keeping in mind his first game was July 7th).

Ryan Mollica – STL – .423 in 12 games (11-for-26)

Myron Leslie – TAM – .388 in 14 games

Bryan Holaday – LAK – .385 in 11 games

Hector Pellot – STL – .384 in 15 games

Jordan Newton – BRD – .375 in 11 games

Alex Castellanos – PMB – .375 in 18 games

Rafael Fernandez – STL – .364 in 15 games

Tim Kennelly – CLR – .359-2-14 in 22 games

Michael Brenly – DAY – .358 in 18 games

Jon Murrian – LAK – .349 in 17 games

 

 

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The Tale of Tim’s Delivery

July 18, 2010 Leave a comment

Whenever the Marauders add a player (and for players on opposing teams) the first thing I do to learn a bit about them is turn to Google.  The goal is to find any article written about them that can lend some insight about who these guys are.  The next thing I do is open up my handy Baseball America Prospect Handbook.  None of this stuff is the Bible…but it’s a good starting point.

So Tim Alderson comes down to the Marauders from Double-A Altoona and to the “Handbook” I went.  One of the intriguing things I found was this:

“He’s still had success because of his deceptive delivery…”


Tim%20Alderson.jpgThe obvious question follows — What is his delivery.  Is he Dontrelle Willis?  Is he Orlando Hernandez?  What does this thing look like?  Well the deception comes from the leg kick…and here it is…

I had a chance to talk with Alderson and got the scoop on his delivery.

“When I’m bringing my leg back down to go to home plate my knee and my lower calf and everything underneath my knee goes parallel to the ground.  It’s very different and I don’t know where I learned it and I feel I’m being as smooth as can be.  I saw it for the first time on film when I was a senior in high school and I had no idea what was going on.  I don’t know idea where it started or how it came about, it’s just something my body does.”

One of the things I head read about Alderson was that he doesn’t think he could bend his body the way he does to pitch if he wasn’t actually throwing a baseball.  It’s something he said to me as well.

“If you told me to do it [while not pitching] I probably couldn’t do it because it comes natural…It’s just a matter of being comfortable.  It gets me in a good position to throw the ball so that’s all that matters.”

The delivery got me thinking about some other guys with interesting hitches in their stride to home.  In no order and I know I’m missing some big ones (Fernandomania and Oil Can Boyd)…but some from the current era…

1 — Ryan Dempster

I’ve always been curious what this silly hand flip thing was that Dempster does.  When a minor league hitter told the pitcher he was tipping his split finger during spring training a few years back he began “fluttering” his glove.  Once in his windup, Dempster shifts his glove back and forth over his pitching hand.  The motion covers his grip and distracts the batter.  Dempster’s joking reaction to the New York Times when asked what he tells people about the motion: “I tell people I do it to fan myself, because I’m a sweater and I get hot out there.”

2 — Hideo Nomo

His delivery coined the name “Tornado” with the way Nomo lifted his arms back over his head, twisted so his back faced the plate and then unfolded himself to fire home.  Just about every kid growing up in the 19990’s tried to imitate Nomo at some point, right?  I did…kind of thought what he did was normal.

3 — Dontrelle Willis

Another guy I imitated once or twice when he first burst on the scene, Willis does something that resembles pitching.  Flailing himself back into his windup with a huge leg kick, Willis caught eyes when he debuted for the Marlins earlier this decade.  The Tigers tried to dim down the action, but it returned.

4 — Orlando Hernandez

I always marveled as a kid that El Duque never kneed himself in the face while going home with a pitch.  A leg kick so high it looked like he could lick his knee, Hernandez was a Yankees sensation before bouncing around baseball.

5 — Tim Lincecum

A hero to me because I too am a 4-foot-6, 117 pound 14 year old (really 5-9, 150 and 23…but you get the idea), Lincecum’s delivery helps him generate nasty velocity for his tiny frame.  Tom Verducci wrote a story for Sports Illustrated that says an average pitcher’s stride to home plate is about as long as 77% to 87% of his height.  Lincecum’s in 129% covering seven and a half feet.

OTHER NOTES 

Austin McClune had another OF assist last night.  It was his 15th of the year and he passes Clearwater’s Anthony Gose for the FSL lead…Jeremy Farrell, out since mid-June with a left leg injury, was at batting practice in his warm-ups Saturday…Eric Fryer, out since the July 2nd with facial fractures, took BP for the first time Saturday.  Fryer wore a face guard attached to his batting helmet…Nate Baker made his Marauders debut Saturday throwing a quality start

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Checking In With Tony…

July 12, 2010 Leave a comment

Had the chance to talk to Tony Sanchez this morning after his workout at Pirate City.  Even with his jaw wired shut he’s still able to engage in physical activity.  Every morning he comes to PC to hit, throw and/or lift from about 8:15 to 10:30.  He does have to pace himself though — it can be hard to get enough air with your jaw wired together.

The good news for Sanchez is that it shouldn’t be that much longer.  He has just 11 days left until he can get his jaw opened up (July 23rd).  He said it will be at least another three weeks until he could think about a return to the playing field after the wiring comes off.

As for Sanchez’s health, he’s lost 13 pounds since he was hit, which when you think about it isn’t nearly as much as you might have thought.  His daily diet consists of anything from smoothies to soups (he mentioned tomato) to blended dinners.

The blending of the dinners is actually kind of interesting.  Last night Sanchez said he had Chef Boyardee lasagna blended into a liquid.  What makes it possible for him to do that is that there’s already kind of a liquidy base to Chef Boyardee (if you’ve evechef.jpgr opened a can of it you know what I’m talking about).  That fact makes it easier to blend.  Tony couldn’t go to the Italian restaurant, buy lasagna and then go home and blend it — it would be too thick to take through a straw.  In order to do that you’d have to add something…and lasagna and water in a smoothie doesn’t sound too good.

His workouts ending at 10:30ish, Tony has a ton of free time for the rest of the day.  Most of it is spent with a remote controller in his hand.  He’s taken to playing FIFA World Cup Soccer with injured shortstop Brock Holt.  Tony called it a frustrating endeavor and said jokingly that “when Brock beats me I hate him.” 

Other than playing video games Tony also watches Holt eat.  That’s the less fun of the two activities.

There are a couple other things to think about.  Tony can’t yawn.  Sneezing is a challenge and “eating” makes him “look like a caveman.”  He said you can easily end up wearing a lot of liquid – especially when using a spoon.

Other than that Tony seemed in good spirits as always and is counting down the next 11 days.

Till next time…

Joel

Filed under Dailies Tagged with , ,

Catchers, Masks and Your Turn to Get Involved…

July 5, 2010 Leave a comment

A few things here…but first things first…

A good friend of mine is the broadcaster for the Syracuse Chiefs in the International League.  On his blog there are a couple of interesting ideas — the first is IL Man v. Food and the second is Rate that IL Hotel.  Wanted to add something of that nature on here.  Rate that FSL Hotel is out because, well, there aren’t many.  Most trips are day trips.  Man v. Food could work, but I’m not really up for a Chickwurstburgdog (see a few entries back).

So it’s your turn as Marauders fans…we gotta figure out something here for the FSL. 

Some ideas….

·         Marauders Punk’d (would require work, but see Kyle Kendrick)

·         Marauders Idol (anybody got a karaoke machine?)

·         Marauders Got Talent?

·         Top Chef – Marauder’s Edition

·         Dream Job…but I like my job…wouldn’t want somebody to take it

·         Marauders Top Model?

Drops some comments below or email me at MaraudersRadio@Pirates.com and let me know if you have any ideas…

—

Now down to business…Caught up with Eric Fryer today.  The Marauders catcher was struck in the face by a pitch Thursday at Charlotte. 
Knuckleball.jpgHe’s looking better and he was in good spirits.  The swelling in his face seemed to have gone down a bit too.  If you caught him from the right you’d never know he’d been hit.  He does bare one striking scar, though.  Just below his eye you can still very distinctly see where the seems of the baseball hit.  It kind of gives him an Abe “Knuckleball” Schwartz look (right).  For those non-wrestling fans, Abe Schwartz went on to become the more famous Brooklyn Brawler.

Fryer’s immediate future is still uncertain.  He told me he still was going to see another doctor as early as Tuesday.  So best wishes go out to Fryer.

I did joke with Eric on whether or not he would be able to play with a fractured face.  I then told him about Dave Parker with the Pirates from 1978.  Check out the full story from ESPN’s UniWatch.

Here are the Cliff’s Notes:

Parker fractured his jaw in 1978 during a home plate collision.  Parker was on his way to an MVP season and didn’t want to miss any time.  So he and trainer Tony Bartirome devised a plan: Parker would play with a mask.  But what kind of mask?  This type of thing was unprecedented in baseball.  The first idea was supposedly a plastic mask like Rick Hamilton wears for the Detroit Pistons.  Parker didn’t like the feel of it though and how it inhibited his view…so it was out.  What originally got settled on was something straight out of a horror movie (although Friday the 13th was not yet produced).


Jason.jpgThat look was soon ditched.  Parker went to a football facemask and finally shed the headgear in 1979.  The article says that Parker is believed to be the first MLB player to wear a facemask in a game.  Fryer did say he would probably end up with some sort of contraption when he does return to the lineup.  You would imagine Tony Sanchez might do the same (haven’t gotten a chance to pick his brain yet.

On the note of Tony…did bump into him at Pirate City a few days back.  He was drinking his lunch in the dinning hall.  His jaw is indeed wired shut and not just wired shut, but Fort Knox wired shut.

This spring I had the opportunity to call games for the USF Bulls.  The team’s star shortstop Sam Mende broke his jaw March 13 when he was struck in the face by a pitch against Eastern Illinois (oddly enough that’s where Erik Huber went to school).  Mende’s jaw was wired shut by putting just a few brackets on his left side and a few on his right side and then wiring them down.  Tony appeared to have a full rack…something straight out of Ugly Betty.

On the note of Mende by the way — Sam actually played with his jaw wired shut.  He missed only six games.  Had the chance to follow him around when he got his jaw un-wired shut and you can see that video here…It follows Sam to the doctor and to one of his first meals after being able to open up.  It should give you a feel of what Tony may be going through.  We’ll try to get Tony on here in the next few weeks.

Till next time…

Joel 

 

  

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