THE MINOR LEAGUES
August 8, 2007
We just finished a six day road trip to New Haven, Connecticut and Nashua, New Hampshire. Upon our arrival in New Haven we checked into the Quality Inn for our brief two night stay. We were a little bit early and some of the rooms were still being cleaned. Lucky me, the maids were just getting started on mine, so I headed back into the living room-sized lobby to wait for a little bit. Ten minutes had passed and my roommate and I went back to check, but it was still being cleaned. After poking my head in and seeing an absolute mess on the floor I was greeted with a pungent odor of smoke. I looked at the room number and right next to it was a No Smoking sign. Odd. I say that sarcastically because from the looks of the hotel they could care less what happens in those rooms.
My roommate and I were hungry so we put our bags in another player’s room and headed to lunch at Friendly’s Restaurant, which also doubles and an ice cream shop. We sat down and enjoyed a delicious lunch followed by a sundae for dessert and headed back to our room, which was clean but still reeked of smoke. It was a very strong odor when I walked in but I kind of got used to it as it didn’t bother me after a few minutes. The bed was nice and springy, which was typical of a hotel such as this one. You can certainly tell the difference between a nice, soft, comfortable expensive hotel bed and a normal run-of-the-mill springy hotel bed.
I made my third start for the Skyhawks on Sunday afternoon at Yale Field, home of the New Haven County Cutters. I was feeling great and had done my visualization earlier in the morning and was ready to have a great game. Warming up in the bullpen I felt great. I had good command of all my pitches and was throwing them exactly where I wanted. It was a little different story when I took the mound in the first inning. My warm-ups went as usual and I was ready to pitch. I had a 1-2-3 first inning and was off to the races. As the game progressed, I noticed that I had no command of my offspeed pitches. I had a get-me-over curveball and a slider which I couldn’t throw for a strike. I didn’t need my changeup because they had trouble hitting my fastball, so no reason in speeding their bats up and giving them a chance for a base hit. I felt great and had thrown 6 solid innings but ran into trouble in the 7th. I left the game with no outs and the bases loaded with a 6-2 lead. Our bullpen struggled in the inning as we used two different pitchers to get out of the jam, unfortunately surrendering the lead as they scored 6 runs to take a 7-6 lead. Our last ditch efforts were rewarded with a 3rd straight loss to the Cutters, completing the sweep. I was happy with the way I had thrown and knew that my legs tired out before my arm. All in all, it was a great outing after my previous atrocity against the Quebec Capitales. My final line doesn’t describe the way I threw, but nonetheless, I went 6+ innings giving up 5 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits while walking 5 and striking out 2.
After the game we left for Nashua, New Hampshire, our final stop before we went home. Needless to say it was a night and day difference between the hotel in New Haven and Nashua. Upon stepping out of the bus I looked up to see a castle of a hotel. We had arrived at the Radisson Hotel of Nashua, formerly known as the Sheraton Hotel. I got to my room and found the soft, comfortable, expensive hotel bed that I’ve come to love. This was by far the nicest hotel in the Can-Am League and is one of the top two hotels I’ve stayed at this year. The other was the Double Tree in Bridgeport, Connecticut.. As I crawled into bed it felt like I was floating on a cloud. I pulled the heavy, expensive hotel comforter over me and drifted away to sleep.
I’m now on the 5 hour bus ride home after out dismal 1-5 road trip. We have two more road trips this season, a four day trip to Brockton and a weeklong road trip to Worcester (pronounced “Wooster”) and North Shore to finish the season. I’m excited because my parents are on their way to the airport as I speak to catch a redeye flight into Newark, New Jersey to come watch me pitch. I make my next start on Saturday against the first place North Shore Spirit. It’ll be the first time my dad has seen me throw professionally, so I’m quite excited for him to see me pitch. My mom and grandma came out to see me when I was in Rookie ball with the Greeneville Astros but my dad couldn’t make the trip. They fly in tomorrow morning, which is an off day for us, so we’ll be able to have a nice relaxing day. After Stefanie and my parents leave, we only have two weeks left in the season. So far, it’s been a season of ups and downs. The Skyhawks are my third team this year, but as the saying goes, “It’s not where you start, it’s where you finish.” I started in affiliated ball but now I’m in Independent ball. My goal is to get back into affiliated ball and I’m hoping that by pulling a few strings in the off-season, I’ll have an opportunity to get invited to spring training to compete for a job. All I’m asking for is an opportunity. Is that so much to ask for?
July 24, 2007
As I wandered into the trailer we called a clubhouse in York on Monday afternoon I thought it was just like any other day. I got dressed in my Revolution shirt and shorts and headed over to the other trailer to get some baby powder for my feet. I was just about to go up the steps when Ryan Minor told me that Tippy wanted to talk to me. I didn´t think too much of it and went about my business getting the baby powder for my feet before I went to the coaches office. I thought to myself while I was putting my socks on, “Maybe it´s about why I haven´t been pitching so much.” The thought of my release crossed my mind for a minute but I thought that with the recent release of Charlie, they wouldn´t be making any more moves. Little did I know their plans when I went in and sat on the couch. Chris (Hoiles) and Tippy (Martinez) were sitting there and as I sat down I had this eerie feeling that something was going to happen. As soon as Chris spoke I knew it. A feeling of sadness and disbelief stung me right in the heart. He told me that they needed to make a move; and guess who it was. I couldn´t believe what was happening right before my very eyes. I had been there from the start, so this one hurt a lot more than the last one (with the Cardinals). On the outside I remained calm, cool, and collective, but on the inside I was hurt. I was hurt because I had made so many good friends and was having the time of my life with this new team. I didn´t care about the trailers or about the incomplete stadium. I had a place to play and great fans, which is all I needed. Not to mention I had the best host family a player could ever as for.
As much as it hurt, I knew it was for the better. After being pulled out of the starting rotation I thought I was going to the bullpen to work on some things before I had another chance to get back into the rotation. I think my best relief appearance came against one of the best teams in the league, the Long Island Ducks. I went 3 innings giving up 1 hit, 1 run, 1 walk, and struck out 3. I felt this appearance was probably my best of the season because I had felt mentally focused and retired the first 6 batters I faced. The Ducks are made up of primarily ex-big leaguers and knowing that and what I did against them just proves that I have the stuff to get guys out at the highest level, but now its just a matter of being consistent. Chris and Tippy both told me in the office that I needed more work and more innings. I agreed with them on that but Chris told me that with the direction of the team, I would not be able to have that chance. It had been 8 days since I had thrown in a game, so I decided to throw one last bullpen before I headed out. I said my goodbyes to all the guys on the team and they all wished me luck with my future endeavors. This was an especially hard goodbye. I had been there from the beginning; spring training, the first month and a half on the road, and the opening of the stadium. It was a dagger in my heart to say the least, but I guess it was all for a reason. There´s the saying I´ve heard a million times, “Everything happens for a reason” and I sometimes wonder why these things happen to me just when I start to get comfortable. It seemed to have been that way in York. The first half of the season was over and we finished dead last in the South Division with a 26-37 record. I was excited to start the second half because we had started to figure it out and were starting to win. Just when I started to get comfortable they went and pulled the rug right out from under my feet.
I look back on my time in York as one of growth and excitement. I was a little guppy swimming with the sharks in the Atlantic League. Some would say that I didn´t belong there because of my age and inexperience and I would agree with that statement. The Atlantic League is chock full of veteran guys with a lot of experience. In the beginning I was a little intimidated but that turned into confidence after my first few outings. If I was able to get these guys out then I would be able to get anybody out and pitch at the highest level in the Major Leagues. I had my struggles, which only made me a better pitcher. I learned something new from each outing that helped me the next time I threw. I had grown so much as a pitcher from my first outing and I can take that experience into this league (the Can-Am League).
After my meeting with Chris and Tippy, I threw my bullpen and packed my stuff up and headed back to my host family´s house. I actually went to the game that night with my girlfriend Stefanie and Don (my host dad). The feeling I had sitting in that plastic chair was one of jealousy and envy, for I had no longer played for the York Revolution. I was jealous that everybody but me got to stay and play.
You often hear of guys getting released by teams and being picked up within the next few days by another team in need. I happened to be one of those guys. After I updated my website with the news of my release, I received a few emails from some fans and one from Mike Ashmore, who runs the Atlantic League Blog website. He told me he would send out emails and make phone calls to all his contacts to see if anything would turn up. I received an email from him the night before I was suppose to leave back to California saying that I needed to call him ASAP because he had some important information for me. I gave him a ring and lucky me, the Sussex Skyhawks of the Can-Am League were in need some pitching. I called one of the coaches, Jeremy Booth, and within the hour I had a job. I had to cancel my flight home and rent a car to drive up to Augusta, New Jersey, which is about 3.5 hours north of York. I was literally all packed up and ready to go to the airport at 4am for my 6:15am flight home with Stefanie when I called Jeremy. Lucky me, my girlfriend Stefanie decided to come with me and be my co-pilot on my journey to my new team in Augusta.
Even though I am taking a major pay cut to be here with the Skyhawks, it doesn´t matter right now. I´m not here to make money. I´m here to pitch and this is a better opportunity for me to get the innings I need and to have success against a little easier competition. The Can-Am League has been comparable to High-A ball, where as the Atlantic League is comparable to Double-A and Triple-A competition. So I guess everything does happen for a reason and for me, it was only my destiny that I ended up with the Sussex Skyhawks.
I would like to take this time to thank my host family Don and Kris Kain for their extreme generosity in opening their home to myself and Stefanie. I couldn´t have asked for a better host family. There are few people in this world that are as nice and as generous as Don and Kris. I didn´t just feel like a player staying with a host family, rather, I felt like part of their family. The love and kindness they showed me was like none other and I thank them from the bottom of my heart. We (Stefanie and I) feel as though they are an extension of our family and we love them as we do our own family. I´m going to miss you guys.
I would also like to thank Stefanie for being there for me through this rough time. She has stuck by my side no matter what. She is always there to love and support me and for that I cannot thank her enough. As rough of a time as this has been, she has been there to make me feel better and to look at this as a better opportunity. Thank you for everything you´ve done Stef. I love you.
July 2, 2007
It´s been a while since I last wrote and a lot has happened since then. For starters, I´ve moved back to the bullpen to work on control issues I was having. I´ve been walking a lot of guys lately and the guys in the bullpen have been doing a stellar job, so they switched spots with me and Byron Batson. I don´t mind the move back to the bullpen though. It gives me a chance to come into a no pressure situation and get my work in. I´ve come out of the bullpen twice now since being “re-assigned” so to speak, and so far the results have been pretty successful. My first outing in Bridgeport was stellar, if you don´t count the 2nd inning. My first inning of work I threw 7 pitches and was out of the inning with 3 ground balls. The 2nd inning however wasn´t as successful. I gave up a lead-off homerun followed by a 4-pitch walk. I then proceeded to hit the next two batters on consecutive pitches before I was pulled. A lot has happened since then though. I figured out my problem was all mental and that I was thinking too much. I talked to Alan Jaeger (Jaeger Sports) and he got me back on track. I´ve been doing my mental training everyday now for at least 20 minutes and have seen immediate results, even though I hadn´t pitched in 6 days. I could tell a difference out on the field just practicing and warming up. I feel a lot more focused and relaxed and when I got out on the mound tonight I felt the same way. I threw a scoreless 9th inning and felt great. I gave up a lead-off double but then got two fly balls and struck the last guy out to end the inning. I noticed that taking a deep breath before each pitch helped me relax and hit my focal point a lot better. I felt 100% better than I did in the second inning of my last outing in Bridgeport.
I´m not too concerned with being moved to the bullpen, just as long as I´m able to get my work in and am given a chance to succeed. I´d have to say things are looking great now, except for the fact that we´re losing. We´re on a 6 game losing streak and have lost the last 7 of 8 games. We´re a hit or miss team right now. If our offense is on then our pitching is off and vice versa. We can´t seem to put it all together right now but I have a feeling that our second half is going to be a little better than our first half. We were on the road for the first month and a half of the season and that definitely took a toll on the team. I think being at home will definitely be an advantage for us.
As far as our facilities are concerned, they don´t seem to be improving as much as they could be. We´re getting a new trailer next home series, which means we´ll have two trailers for ourselves and one for the opposing team. With the given conditions, it´ll make things just a little bit more comfortable around the “clubhouse.” They seemed to have put up one of the most important things in the stadium after our last road trip; that being the radar gun. I say that sarcastically because that´s what everybody loves to see; how hard guys are throwing. It doesn´t work at the moment, which I think is a good thing. I´m curious to see how hard I´m throwing, but at the same time it doesn´t really matter. Another thing is they put it in the worst possible place; behind home plate. Now I get to see how hard every pitch is after I throw it. Horray! Anyways, the stadium seems to be at a standstill as far as construction goes, even if they say they´re working on things. We sure don´t see any improvements on our end. Oh well. It´s just nice to be playing at home where we have fans cheering for us. I really don´t mind the trailers too much. They´re more of a hassle than anything.
That new “Ask the New Guy” segment on the Atlantic League Blog website seems to be getting a lot of positive feedback. The questions are getting more and more interesting and I think the fans are enjoying them. There´s a new question every week, so be sure to visit the website. I´ve posted a link in the Links section so be sure to check it out.
June 14, 2007
The day has finally arrived; opening day for the York Revolution at Sovereign Bank Stadium. I don´t quite know how crazy it´s going to be but from what I´ve been hearing I think it´s going to be pretty nuts. Our month and a half road trip has finally come to an end, which couldn´t be sooner. I think it´s time to settle down and get to business and start winning some ballgames with fans cheering for us, rather than the other team. Although our current home conditions aren´t ideal, for example, no clubhouse for either team, it´ll be nice to get settled in to our new park. I get the nod for Sunday´s game against the Newark Bears, which just so happens to be Father´s Day. It´s pretty exciting for me, but would be even better if my dad could be there to watch. My last start didn´t go so well against Patriots. I lasted only 1.1 innings giving up 6 runs on 5 hits and walked 3. My temper got the best of me in the first inning because of some calls that could´ve gone either way, which cost me a few runs. Not to mention the 1 hour and 6 minutes in rain delays which took place over the first 2 innings, which made it hard for me to get settled in and get into a rhythm. There´s only one thing you can do about a start like that: flush it down the toilet and focus on the next one. My arm felt great on Tuesday and I made some quality pitches, but they just happened to make quality swings and put the ball in play. There´s nothing you can do about that but tip your cap to the hitters. Although I was pretty frustrated, there were still a few positives to take away. I don´t think I was hit very hard at all. I had some bad calls come my way, which led to runs scoring, but all in all I think I gave up maybe 2 hard hit balls. I did walk 3 guys, but I was getting squeezed a little bit by the home plate umpire. I know what I have to do for my next start so that´s what my focus is on right now. We just finished a 3 game series with the Patriots and took 2 of 3, which is pretty big for us. It´ll be nice to come back home on a high note with 2 straight wins under our belt and morale being that much higher. I think we´ve done a pretty good job with the given conditions though and things will start to come around. Our next 60 out of 90 games will be played at home, so I have a strong feeling we´ll be a good second half team.
Last weekend we had a day off and the Rockies just happened to be in town playing Baltimore, so I got a chance to hang out with my brother. My girlfriend and I drove down from York to see the game, which they lost, but we did go to lunch with my brother and walked around the Inner Harbor for a little bit. It was actually a pretty miserable day because it was about 95 degrees with about 1000% humidity, so needless to say anywhere with air conditioning was the place to be. We had a double header with Long Island in Camden for Sunday, the day that my brother was pitching. I was talking to one of my coaches and he asked if I was going to see the game which I told him no. He asked why I wasn´t going and I told him it was because of our games. He said he would talk to the manager and see if he would let me go to the game since I wasn´t throwing. I got permission to skip the games, so my girlfriend and I headed back down to Baltimore to catch the game. We got there in the second inning and the score was tied at 0. The 3rd inning rolled around and Jason gave up a quick run on two hits, but then settled in. After the 4th inning only one batter reached base as he retired the last 19 of 20 batters to record his first career complete game. It was the best game of his short big league career and I was glad I was there to watch it. There´s nothing better than watching my brother dominate in the big leagues. He was rewarded after the game by having to wear a dress to the airport, but I don´t think that ruined his mood. He was in high spirits when I saw him after the game. Although it was only a brief minute I got to see him, it was still good to see him again and I´ll be going to Philly and possibly Washington to see them play when I can.
I´m also doing an “Ask the New Guy” segment on the Atlantic League blog website (www.atlanticleaguebaseball.com) run by Mike Ashmore, who works for Somerset. Fans can submit questions about anything they want to know about the team or in general and I answer them and he posts it on the website. From what he´s told me it´s been a hit so far. So, if you have any questions that you want answered, send me an email and it might be the next question I answer.
June 2, 2007
We just finished our 11 day road trip in Camden and needless to say we´re on a losing streak. We´ve dropped our last 5 games in a row, not scoring more than 3 runs in any one game. Our bats are dead asleep right now. Our pitching is doing it´s best to keep us in the game but it´s hard when we´re not scoring runs. I made my third start of the season last night against Camden. It was my first quality start of the season as I went 6 innings allowing 3 runs on 7 hits, walked 3, and struck out 4. At one point I even retired 11 batters in a row. It´s all starting to come together for me. I seem to improve in some aspect each start, even though I´ve only had three starts. I´ve also noticed that it all clicks in one inning. Let me explain myself a little bit. What I mean by everything "clicking" is that for some reason or another I feel like I can throw any pitch in any count for a strike in any location. In the first three innings of last night´s game I was doing ok, missing a spot here and there and losing my focus and concentration from time to time. In the fourth inning everything came together for me. When the first batter came to hit, I threw him a first pitch strike it felt different than it had all game. I felt like I could throw him any pitch and he would swing. It´s a great feeling, yet unexplainable. This was all part of my 11 straight batters retired. I think my focus and concentration kicked in during this span because the only thing I could see was the catcher. I was hitting my focal point on pretty much every pitch. A focal point is pretty self-explanatory, but it´s basically the spot that I focus on where I want to throw the ball. For example, if I wanted to throw a curveball in the dirt, I would focus on starting that pitch at the catcher´s chest, knowing that it will break into the dirt. I was in the zone for the last three innings. I gave up two hits with two outs because I fell behind and/or left a pitch up. The last batter I faced I was quickly ahead 0-2 and got him to fly out to the first baseman to end the inning. I might have been able to go another inning but I could feel that my legs and arm were tired, so I decided to call it quits. To my surprise, I had only thrown 101 pitches, which I thought would´ve been much higher. Overall I was really happy with my performance. It´s a great feeling to know that I threw well, especially with my given circumstances; that being I haven´t been pitching on a consistent basis. Everything is coming together for me, both mechanically and mentally.
I have a set routine that I follow before I take the mound and I´d like to share it with you guys. When I get to the stadium I just hang out and play cards with some of the guys until they have to go out for batting practice. Once they go out to take batting practice I start locking in and getting focused. I find a spot on the floor and lie down and put my headphones on, which starts my first process. I have an audio track on my ipod that is from the Jaeger camp. It basically takes me through what we normally do when we start our yoga workouts. I start tuning into my breath and put all of my focus on that and being present. If my focus is on my breath and being present then it can´t be anywhere else, which in turn relaxes me because I´m not focused on anything but my breath. The audio track is about 25 minutes long. After that I feel very relaxed and focused. Once I´m done with that I do about 20 minutes of yoga and stretching exercises before I hit the floor for another meditation. During this meditation, I listen to yoga music. I have two yoga CDs on my ipod; Liquid Mind III: Balance and Liquid Mind IV: Serenity. I listen to tracks from these CDs and relax and again, focus on my breath. After about 20-25 minutes of this mediation, I get up, feeling refreshed and focused. I get dressed and head out to the field about 30 minutes prior to game time. Once out on the field, I stretch for about 10 minutes and then do my J-Band exercises. J-Bands can be found at www.jaegersports.com. Those exercises take about 5 minutes or so and then I´m ready to start warming up. I normally like to get in about 10-15 minutes of long toss before I start warming up in the bullpen. Once in the bullpen, I throw about 30-40 pitches and then I´m ready to go for the game.
No matter how I throw the previous game, I always stick to my routine. It´s what I´m comfortable with and it makes me feel relaxed and focused before every start. This is the reason I like to start. When I´m starting I can go through my routine like I normally do. When I´m a reliever, it´s hard to know when I´m going to throw and I don´t have as much time to get myself prepared. Also, I like starting better because it takes my arm a little longer to get loose than most other pitchers. When relieving, I´m forced to get loose within 15 pitches or so and I feel rushed, which is not a good feeling, especially when I come into a tight situation and knowing that I have to be on top of my game.
As you can see, my routine takes about an hour and half, and is focused on nothing but breathing and relaxing. I think that is the key to pitching because when I get in a tight situation I can always go back to my breath. My breath relaxes me and allows me to focus. When I´m in a tough situation, I´ll take a step back, close my eyes, and take a deep breath. Once you do this routine enough times your body will recognize this and help you relax in stressful situation. Whenever I take a deep breath, my body realizes that and allows me to relax and get focused again. I know it sounds a little confusing but once you get the hang if it you´ll want to do it everyday. Even if you don´t play a sport, if you just relax and focus on breathing for just 30 minutes a day with no distractions, you´ll feel calm and relaxed all day. I know I preach the Jaeger program so much but I can´t help it because it´s given me such an advantage both mentally and physically that I can´t do anything but succeed. Baseball is 99% mental and if you´re not mentally prepared, 9 times out of 10 you will fail.
May 16, 2007
We just got done with a two game "home" series against the Road Warriors and we´re on the bus back to York. The total attendance for both games was about 75 people, most of which showed up last night. We won the first game 7-5 and then again today in 12 innings 3-2. I´ll tell you guys it´s really discouraging to play in front of nobody. It felt like I was back in high school when we only had the parents of the players in the stands. We just wanted to play the games and get out of there. We were lucky to get our game finished today before it started pouring rain. We also did get to don our red “home” jerseys, which I think will be our Sunday uniforms. I think they made a mistake in putting white mesh underneath the arms because when they were washed all the white turned out pink. Oops. Oh well. We´re headed back to York for another day off tomorrow before we head to Lancaster to play our cross-river rivals. It´ll be the first meeting between us and it should make for a good game. From what I´ve heard, York season ticket holders have a reserved section at Clipper-Magazine stadium to watch us play, which will be quite exciting. At least we´ll have some fans at the game cheering us on.
Two of our own, Tike Redman and Wayne Franklin, have left the team. Tike was signed by the Baltimore Orioles on Monday and sent to Triple-A in Norfolk, Virginia, while Wayne Franklin left today to play in Taiwan. It shows that the system works here in Independent ball. Tike was hitting over .450 through our first 8 games and I don´t quite know how Wayne got in contact with Taiwan, but it goes to show that people are watching and are looking to sign players. I just have to keep my head up and keep on doing what I´m doing. I´ve only thrown twice for a combine 3.2 innings, but I still have a lot of work to do. My first start of the year came last Saturday against the Somerset Patriots. I went 3+ innings giving up 7 hits, 5 runs, 4 walks, and struck out 1. I thought I pitched well, except for my walks. I threw a total of 80 pitches in those 3+ innings. It was my first start in a professional game in 2 years. So considering all the factors, I thought I threw well. I was throwing strikes, but ran into trouble in the 3rd inning, which is where I threw a lot of pitches. I had two men on base when I gave up my first homerun and then gave up a solo shot in the 4th inning. The 3-run homerun pitch was right where I wanted it, up and in but the guy just turned on it and it flew out. The second homerun I just left a fastball up in the zone and he made me pay for it. I thought I was being squeezed by the umpire in the first few innings, which I was, but you can´t argue balls and strikes. Overall in the league I would have to say the umpiring is just like any other league, you got some guys who are pretty good and then guys who are just ridiculous.
For those of you interested, I´ll give you a perspective on what a typical bus trip is like here in the Atlantic League. However long it is, be it 2 hours or 5, most of the same goes on. After we load up the bus and get on our way we usually pop in a movie (usually from my collection) about 10 or 15 minutes after we leave. While some are watching the movie, others are on their phones talking to friends and loved ones. Others choose to play cards, sleep, listen to music, play their PSP or watch movies on their own personal DVD players. I will say that the headphones of choice are the Bose series headphones. I have the Quiet Comfort 3 headphones, which, to me, are the best commercial headphones money can buy. They have their patent noise-canceling feature, which blocks out all background noise and sends you off into your own little world. You really do feel like you´re in your own little world when you´re wearing these things. When I put them on and turn the music up and I can´t hear anything anybody says to me. They are especially good when I´m meditating and doing my breathing exercises because then I can´t hear any background conversation and nobody can bother me. Anyways, I digress. Other guys have little ear buds and I´ve even seen some of the Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones. When I´m on the bus, depending on how long the trip is, I´ll play some cards, watch a movie on my DVD player, or listen to my ipod and do the crossword from the USA today, or attempt to for that matter. I also have a PSP, which I play on occasion. The card game of choice to play on the bus and in the clubhouse is called pluck. It´s a pretty simple game to learn and can be quite fun. Other games played are be casino, hearts, or euchre. That usually keeps everybody pretty busy for the time we´re on the bus. It´s nice that our longest bus ride is only 5 hours, as opposed to some teams in the minors who travel 10+ hours on a bus, which can be very exhausting. On our 5 hour bus ride to Bridgeport, Connecticut, the driver was nice enough to stop off at McDonalds so we could get some food.
May 8, 2007
Well the season hasn´t started as we wanted to and we´re still looking for our first win. Starting the season off with four straight losses isn´t exactly ideal, especially after going 5-0 during spring training. We´re right there and I think it´s only a matter of putting everything together. We´ll start winning soon. It´s still the beginning of the season so there is plenty of time. It´s been a while since my last journal so I´ll give you guys a quick rundown of what´s been going on for the past week.
We couldn´t have left Tigertown fast enough. It was so nice to actually leave that place. I don´t know how the guys in extended spring training could stay there for two months, especially eating at the cafeteria. Let´s just say they don´t provide the healthiest of choices for food. Anyways, so we left Tigertown and flew back into Philadelphia with the Lancaster team and took a team bus back to York. On the way back we had to drop the Lancaster guys off at their stadium and I got a glimpse of what there stadium looked like. From my first impression it looked pretty nice and from what I´ve heard the people that built that stadium are the ones building ours. So we got back to York around 6pm and I met up with my host family. Lucky for me, they only live about two miles from the stadium. As I entered their house (which they just moved into) I was greeted by their two dogs, Scout and Boot, and their fat cat named Ditto. After they greeted me at the door I was introduced to Don´s wife Kris. I immediately felt welcomed in their home as they showed me up to my room and gave me a key to the front door. The room was a perfect fit for me and will suit my needs just right for the season. It´s a good sized room with a full-size bed, desk, and closet and view of the small back yard. The house sits right on an alley, which I can see from my room as well. The house is small and cozy and is now my home away from home. I couldn´t be happier with the choice that I made. On top of everything, they have also let me borrow their other car to use for home games, which is very nice of them. Granted we´ll be on the road for the first month and a half, Don drops me off and picks me up from the Yorktowne Hotel, which is where we meet to take the bus to away games for now. It´s great to be in York playing baseball and its even better to have a host family like Don and Kris. The kindness and generosity they´ve shown me in this first week has been like none other and they treat me like I´m one of their own. I can´t thank them enough for what they´ve done.
After I got settled in with Don and Kris on the first night, I had to get some sleep for our morning workout at York College. When we arrived at the college in the morning we were greeted by the media. It was a big ordeal and the local TV stations were there to take some video and do interviews with the players and coaches. After our workout we had to stay there for another half hour or so to allow the media to ask questions and do interviews with whomever they wanted. I was interviewed by Jason Bristol of the local news station about my website. He asked a few questions about the website and about baseball, which would later be shown on the local news and then I was on my way back to the house. We only had an hour and a half to shower up and meet back at the hotel to walk over to Cobblestone´s Sports Emporium and bar. When we arrived we went to the upstairs bar and ate dinner as a team before we had a meet and greet with the fans. Local news stations were there to cover the story along with our new mascot DownTown, who is a spin off of the famous Philly Fanatic. After our meet and greet with the fans we had an hour to pack the bus and hit the road for our first series against the Bridgeport Bluefish in Bridgeport, Connecticut, which was a 5 hour bus ride.
Our first three games were a bust as we were swept by the Bluefish. We had the first game in the bag but one bad inning led us astray. We were up 8-3 going into the bottom of the 6th inning. To say the least, that inning wasn´t our friend. The Bluefish scored 12 runs on 11 hits in the inning and spoiled our first win. The second game was a lot closer, but we lost 3-1. We dropped the final game on a frigid and windy Sunday by a score of 12-7. We had a day off to rest on Monday and then it was back to Camden, New Jersey today for a three game set against the Riversharks. Tonight´s game was a pitcher´s duel as the score was tied 2-2 going into the 8th inning. We gave up 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th and couldn´t come back in the 9th. Again, it´s still early in the season and we´re still coming together as a team.
I´d like to take a little time to address an issue that I´ve noticed a big difference in between rookie ball and this league; the clubhouses. When we arrived in Bridgeport the clubhouse was pretty small, but still roomy enough so that people weren´t cramped. Now compared to what I was used to in the Appalachian League, this clubhouse was like being in the big leagues. I was used to little chicken coupes and crammed lockers along with ancient showers that flooded and had spiders crawling in them. The lockers there were good sized and had enough room for everything. Another thing I wasn´t used to on the road was food. Being at the lowest level in rookie ball, things aren´t always the best, especially in the clubhouse. There was a table in the clubhouse that had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, a never ending pot of coffee, and sodas in the fridge. This was all a luxury to me, but was the standard for most the guys on the team. After the games, we have a post-game spread that consists of some sort of meat, side dish, salad, and drinks in the fridge. Another thing I´m not used to doing, paying club dues. In rookie ball we had to pay dues every two weeks to our clubby, but here, we pay dues on the road as well as at home. It doesn´t bother me one bit to have somebody do my laundry and put food on the table for me for a mere $3 a day. When we arrived in Camden today, I noticed the clubhouse was a lot bigger, but the lockers were a little smaller. In the middle of the clubhouse there are two couches along with a TV, fridge, and vending machine for our Gatorade needs. Again, there was a table with peanut butter and jelly, fresh cold cuts, coffee, chips, orange slices, and a fridge full of water and Powerade. I feel so privileged to be playing alongside these guys and in this league, but I know I belong here.
The last thing I´ve noticed and that I´m really excited for is our mascot. As funny as that may sound, I think having a good mascot is essential to the crowd. It also provides some good entertainment for the guys in the dugout not playing. I´ve noticed in the past two cities we´ve been to (Bridgeport and Camden) that the mascots are pretty bad. They don´t seem to be animated or get the crowd going at all, rather, they just seem to walk around and wave to the kids and take pictures. From what I saw at Cobblestone, I think our mascot will be the best in the league hands down. From what I´ve heard, he´s been given the blessing from the greatest mascot in professional sports today; the Philly Fanatic. DownTown is very lively and animated and I think he´ll be great at providing entertainment for fans during the game. To me it just seems like he cares about entertaining the crowd and keeping everybody in good spirits, even though I only caught a glimpse of what he´ll be doing normally. I was fortunate enough to have a great mascot in rookie ball, that being Tennessee Tex. He was very animated and kept the crowd going, which I know is what DownTown will do. I look forward to opening day in York. From what I´ve seen so far I know it´s going to be crazy and the fans are going to be awesome. Only another month or so to go.
April 25, 2007
The first-ever spring training for the York Revolution is now underway. The whole Atlantic League is here in Lakeland, Florida with the exception of the Newark Bears, which means a very crowded locker room with 8 teams here along with the extended spring training guys for the Tigers. Let me give you a little overview of what I´ve been doing the past few days. I left California Sunday morning at 9:15 and got in to Philadelphia at 5:30pm; a long and tiring flight to say the least. I did watch Borat though, which was hilarious. When I got there I was picked up by a woman that works for the Camden Riversharks and she took me to the Holiday Inn in Cherry Hill. I got settled in and then went to eat dinner at Red, Hot, and Blue; a BBQ restaurant connected to the hotel. I ate dinner and then went back to my room and met my roommate Tike Redman. He went to eat soon after he put his bags in our room and I looked up some info on him and found out he played 3 years with the Pirates in the Major Leagues, which was pretty cool. We had to be ready in the lobby of the hotel at 7am the next day to go to the airport so I hit the hay at around midnight.
The next morning I got up and got my stuff ready and we were off to the airport at 7am promptly. Our flight wasn´t until 11:30 so Tike and I had some time to kill. We went to the airport early because we were with a bunch of the Camden players who were flying out at 9:30. We went through security and got to our gate about 3 hours before our flight left, so we went to the local restaurant/bar and ate some breakfast. I had a breakfast burrito and some bacon, which was actually quite good and best of all it was only $7. We arrived in Tampa, Florida after a 2 hour flight in which I met some of the players from the Lancaster team. I talked to one of them for a while before popping a movie in my DVD player. He gave me some pretty good insight as to what I was in for in this league. He told me it was pretty much Triple-A hitting with Double-A pitching. This is a big step up for me because I have only thrown against Rookie level competition. However, I am a much better pitcher than I was two years ago and think that I´ll be able to handle myself pretty well in this league. I would say I´d rather be here than in any MLB organization right now because the competition is much better than Single-A ball and I wouldn´t have the opportunity to pitch against guys who´ve been playing for 5-10 years professionally. Not only that but I wouldn´t be pitching against guys who have played in the Major Leagues either. Also, from what I´ve been told, guys get picked up by MLB organizations all the time, which is very promising. This will only allow me to get better as a pitcher and prove that I belong here.
Anyways, I digress. After our flight got in we all got our bags and hopped on a bus bound for Lakeland, home of the notorious Tigertown complex. I learned that we´d be staying in dorms with three players to a room. I was the first to check into my room and therefore got first selection as to what bed I wanted to sleep in. When I opened the door, much to my surprise, I saw a VERY small room with three beds; two full-size and one twin. Without hesitation I took the first full-size bed and got myself settled. After I put my bags down I took my equipment bag to the clubhouse and put my gear in my locker. The surprises just kept on coming. I got to my locker and saw two names on a piece of tape to go along with the two sets of clothes hanging up. It read HIRSH / GIL. I thought to myself, “This is going to be a long 9 days. Not only do I have to share my room but my locker too.” After I put my things away I ate dinner at 5pm in the cafeteria (where all meals will be served) and then was free for the rest of the night. I went to bed around midnight because we had to be up at 6:30am for physicals at 7.
6:30am came by pretty quick and I was tired to say the least. I got up and went to the locker room only to have to fill out 12 pages of medical questions before I got my physical. Not only that but I can´t tell you how many times I filled out my social security number. Too many if you ask me. After I finished my paperwork I jumped in line and waited an hour for a 2 minute physical. They took my blood pressure and then the doctor listened to my heartbeat on my back and chest, probed around my stomach area and then sent me on my way. I sure hate doing all the paperwork and physicals during spring training but the sooner it gets done the sooner I can get out on the field. After my physical I went to eat breakfast and returned to the locker room to get ready for our first practice, which started at 10am. I got out there around 9:30 to do some stretching and my tubing before everybody else got out there. I met our pitching coach Tippy Martinez and a few other players before we started stretching. The caliber of players here is in a sense intimidating to me because here I am having played one short-season of Rookie ball and here these guys are who´ve been playing anywhere from 6-12 years anywhere from Double-A to the Major Leagues. I almost felt like a child in a land of giants.
Our first practice went pretty smooth and we were out there for about 2.5 hours before heading back to the locker room to shower up and grab some lunch. After practice we were done for the day so I ate lunch and came back to my room and crashed. I took a nap for 1.5 hours and went to get some dinner around 6. After dinner I came back to the room and watched some TV until I went to bed. It is nice however, because one of my roommates went to stay with a friend in Tampa, so there´s only me and my roommate in my room now. I went to bed around midnight and woke up this morning at 8:30 and went to get some breakfast before heading to the locker room.
We had another morning workout at 10am and again I headed out early to do some tubing and stretching. On my way to the field I was greeted by a reporter and photographer for the local York newspaper and did a short one minute interview or as he called it a “video trading card.” He just asked me my name, position, where I played last year, and my best day in baseball. After that he followed me to the field and as I was doing my tubing he asked me some questions about it, so I told him about the whole Jaeger program and gave him a little background on the long toss and yoga program. Practice started soon thereafter and we did pretty much the same thing as yesterday. I threw 16 pitches of live batting practice in preparation for a one inning stint during tomorrow´s game at 1pm. I will also be throwing two innings in Saturday´s game as well. After practice I showered up and ate some lunch and came back to the room to hang out and watch some TV.
So far I´m really excited to be here. I think this will be a good learning opportunity for me so I´m going to be like a sponge and soak up as much information as possible. There is no doubt a plethora of knowledge and experience around me so it would be wise of me to take advantage of it as much as I can. I´m itching with excitement to get the season started and start playing ball again. It´s been one VERY long year without playing in a pro game and I´m jumping at the chance to get out there and pitch. There is no doubt that I´ll enjoy this season. Although we´ll be on the road for the first month and a half of the season, I´m still pumped. Our stadium opens its gates for the first time on June 15th and will no doubt be a great crowd. In the mean time we´ll be playing our “home” games at the Camden Riversharks stadium two hours away in Camden, NJ.
Finally, I just want to say thanks to everybody for their support and encouragement, especially from my girlfriend Stefanie. Being on the road and away from loved ones is very tough and I just want to say thanks to her for being so supportive of me. I love you baby. I also want to thank my parents, brother, Pam, Kathy, Ursula, Bob and Kath, Nana, the Clarks, and everybody else for their support and words of encouragement.
March 21, 2007
Well, its back to square one for me. I was released yesterday from spring training with the Cardinals. Although it didn't sting as much as being released from the Astros, it still sucked. I knew it was over when I got to my locker and my jersey was gone and there was a note that said I needed to see Jeff Luneau (Director of Minor League Development) in the Coordinators office. So I strolled in and saw all the upper management guys in there and knew it was over. They told me I wasn't throwing hard enough for them. My velocity was 84-87, which was a direct effect of their throwing program. They told me that I had to come in there and show them something in order to make a team. I though I was doing well and was under the impression that I had a decent shot, but I guess not. I didn't give up any runs until my last inning of work, which I only gave up 2 runs. In the 6 innings I threw during spring training I gave up 2 runs, 4 hits, 4 walks (none of which hurt me), and struck out 4. I was told to just throw strikes and get guys out and I'll be ok. I guess that wasn't the case. Being low man on the totem pole going in there I don't think I had any chance anyways. It was a great experience going there however. I got a feel for what regular spring training was like and met some really great people.
I also got to talk with Dennis Martinez a few times while I was there. For those of you who don't know who Dennis Martinez is, he threw for about 20 years in the big leagues and also threw a perfect game for the Expos. He told me when he saw me throw that he liked my composure out on the mound and the way I carried myself. He also told me he thought I have what it takes to get to the big leagues, which I took to heart. Coming from someone of his stature, that sure means a lot. I know its not the end of the road for me because teams are always looking for pitching and I will never give up on my dream. I know I have what it takes, I just need the right team to give me the opportunity I'm looking need. I had a great time with the Cardinals, however, I don't think I had quite the opportunity I was looking for there. I think what I need is to actually play a season and show somebody that it doesn't take all the velocity in the world to get guys out. Look at Greg Maddux. He tops out at maybe 86 or 87 now but he gets guys out. Granted he's been throwing for 15+ years in the bigs, he's a prime example of spotting up your pitches to get guys out.
I'm not discouraged that I was released. It does suck but I'm just going to get back out there and work hard and look for another opportunity to come along. I know a lot of people in pro ball so I'll make some phone calls and see if I can make something happen. All of these things have happened to me for a reason and I believe that the right opportunity will present itself at the right time. Whatever it takes to get there I will do it. Thats for damn sure. I will never give up. NEVER!
March 13, 2007
It´s been a good first week for me this year at spring training. After talking to my coaches I am now allowed to throw long toss whenever I need it, which is really nice. Today was our first game of spring training, a scrimmage against the Palm Beach team (high A), and I was scheduled to throw the 5th and 6th innings. I did my normal routine; stretched, a quick breathing session, followed by my tubing and then about 15 minutes of long toss. I warmed up and was ready to go with 2 outs in the top of the 5th inning. Once the last out was recorded I got my glove and jogged out to the mound to start my career as a Cardinal. My arm felt good and all my pitches were working well. In the first inning I threw 8 pitches. I struck out the first batter and then got the next batter to line out to the first baseman, followed a ground ball to end the inning. The second inning went just as good as the first. I struck out the first two batters and then got the next guy to hit a swinging bunt to third base, which turned into a hit with a throwing error, so the runner advanced to second. With a man on second and two outs, I got the last batter to ground out to the shortstop, thus completing my first outing. I was very happy with the outing because I did what I needed to do; throw strikes and get guys out. I was also very happy that I threw all my pitches for strikes and had the confidence in each pitch to throw it in any count. After I put my running shoes on I did my tubing and went over to the other field to do my running. All in all I think I made a great first impression on the coaches and staff and I look forward to throwing again. We have our first official spring training game tomorrow against the Marlins, so it´s just a hop, skip, and jump over to the other fields.
I really feel like I´m starting to fit in around here as well. I´ve met most of the guys here and they´re all friendly and nice. I also had a little chat with one of our coaches who will be the pitching coach and Batavia this year, Al Holland. Al pitched in the big leagues for 10 years. He is totally on track with the long toss program, but apparently they butt heads about it in this organization, but what else is new? I talked to him for a few minutes and he told me to just do my thing and take as long as I need to get ready for a game, which was good to hear. This organization is very friendly and very accepting about things that other organizations are very strict about. My pitching coach from Quad Cities even asked me yesterday if I need to throw more long toss that he´d throw with me after he was done with the guys throwing bullpens. I was pretty excited to hear that and it seems like they are very lenient about doing what you need to do to get warmed up, which I couldn´t be happier about.
They currently have me on a starter´s running and lifting program, so tomorrow morning I have to be ready in the training room to lift at 7:30am. I´m really glad to see that hey have me on a starter´s program because that´s what I love most. It allows me to get myself prepared and ready to throw my best game every time. I´m excited to get into regular games now and look forward to showing the coaches that I definitely belong here.
March 6, 2007
Well it´s that time of the year again; spring training. This year is my first regular spring training and so far it´s going pretty well. I had a physical this morning and then we practiced this afternoon and I threw my first bullpen. It was 30 pitch bullpen, consisting of 15 fastball, 5 changeups, 5 curveballs, and 5 pitches of my choice. I almost busted out laughing today when I heard I only had 6 minutes to warm up for my bullpen. I´ll repeat that, only 6 minutes to warm up for my bullpen. Are you kidding me? 2 minutes at 60 feet, 2 minutes at 90 feet, and 2 minutes at 120 feet. What a joke. I really hope they only did that because it was the first day, otherwise my arm might be in some trouble. It´s tough going from throwing for 40 minutes before my bullpen to throwing 6 minutes. Who are they to say when my arm is warm? I understand it´s spring training and all but at least give us 15 minutes. Needless to say my arm felt like it still wasn´t loose after my bullpen and my velocity certainly suffered. It felt like I was throwing about 75mph, but I will say my curveball was looking pretty good. Other than that my bullpen was ok. I didn´t feel loose at all and everything felt rushed because I wasn´t able to warm up properly.
After my bullpen we went over to do our ab work and conditioning, which was pretty easy. Our running was 4 sets of 4 gassers in less than 37 seconds a set. It wasn´t anything that I couldn´t handle, but I was winded when we finished. It was definitely a good start to spring training. We start tomorrow morning at 9:15, which means I have to catch the 7am bus to the field. I´m used to getting up early so it´s no big deal. It doesn´t help that the hotel is about a 25 minute drive from the field, but I can´t complain. I will say that the facilities with the Astros were a little nicer, but it isn´t too bad here. I think it´ll be a nice fit for me. Everybody here seems to be pretty nice and I´m looking forward to getting to know everybody. I met a bunch of the guys today and they all seem pretty accepting, which is a nice feeling. All in all it was good first day and I´m looking forward to the rest of spring training and hopefully we´ll be able to throw for more than 6 minutes. Other than that, things are looking good.
September 21, 2006
It´s been a while since I last wrote. I´ve been quite busy in the mean time. I have a job that I´ve been working 4 days a week, which is soon to be 5 or 6. I´ve done a few Jaeger clinics as well; one down at Palomar College, Chaffey College, and Mt. San Antonio College. It will never get old to see the looks on the players´ faces when I start doing pull-downs at 70 feet. They are completely amazed and shocked. Again, I can´t say enough about Jim and Alan and the program they´ve put together. My pitching has been cut off so to speak; as now the season is over and things begin to wind down. The Cardinals scout team has started up and I´ll be throwing in those games once a week until November. Other than that it´s just been going to work and staying in shape at the gym. I started training with my trainer again once a week. The one day I train with him is leg day and it´s always a killer. It feels good to be back training legs with him.
In other news, hirshbrothers.com has got some publicity from the Astros.com website. It was plugged in one of the Astros Notes pages under the Odds and Ends section. To view it click HERE. My brother called me a day or two before and told me that Alyson Footer, a reporter for MLB.com, was going to plug the website in the next edition of Astros Notes. I was pretty excited to see that. The website has been pretty popular with a lot of people and I try my best to keep it updated as much as possible. T-shirt designs are also in the works. I have a few initial designs but am going to wait until I have a few more to post them up on the website.
I recently received my first email questions from my journal:
I live in Corpus Christi, Texas and having AA ball, it has made me think of a few things: What exactly does it mean when a guy get put on the 40 man roster? Does it do anything for him financially? Also, what is the average salary for a guy in AA? Can they live comfortably, or do they usually have roommates, as a way to save money?
Mike, Tish, & Olivia Florence
When a player gets put on the 40-Man Roster it means that the player is protected from all other teams. By protected I mean that he cannot be drafted in what´s called the Rule 5 Draft. The Rule 5 Draft is to prevent any one team from stockpiling too many talented young players in its minor league affiliates. Any player that has played professional baseball for more than 3 years (or more than 4 years if signed at the age of 18 or younger) is eligible for the draft, provided he is not on a team's 40-man roster. Click HERE for more info on the Rule 5 Draft. Financially, the first year the player is on the roster he receives an additional $250 per month in his paycheck (not taxed). The second year the player is on the roster he will receive the Minor League minimum, which around $50,000. The average salary for a guy in AA varies. Base salary is about $1600 per month before taxes. Depending on what state he claims residency in taxes may vary. They usually have 2 or 3 other roommates so they can split rent to save some money. Other players who are in AA but are on the 40-Man Roster will make more money depending on how long they've been playing and how long they've been on the 40-Man Roster.
August 22, 2006
Well as everybody knows I am going to be playing for the St. Louis Cardinals. I can´t tell you what a relief it is to finally sign again. It feels like I´ve been given a new life and I couldn´t be happier. Hearing Derron Spiller tell me that Chuck wanted to sign me was the culmination of all my hard work this summer. All the long tossing, pitching for the Terror, and staying in shape at the gym has all paid off. I could´ve easily sat at home and did nothing and gave up on baseball, but I didn´t. I´m too good to just give up on my dream. People always ask me why the Astros released me and they don´t believe it when I tell them what they told me.
I was so fortunate to have this opportunity because it came out of left field. I met Derron Spiller through my brother´s tax broker, Jimmy Kirkland. He and Derron are good friends and Jimmy brought my name up to him saying I was recently released from the Astros. A few days later I received a phone call from Derron saying he wanted to see me throw and it went from there. I´m very thankful to have thrown for the Tinseltown Terror and the MLB Urban Youth Academy; and especially Jaeger Sports this summer. I accredit much of my success in signing to Jaeger Sports. Without their long toss program I would´ve still been throwing 84mph. Again, I´m thankful to everybody that has helped me get back on my feet and get back into pro ball. Its the greatest feeling to know that I´m back playing pro ball again after being out this summer.
Although this summer didn´t go the way I wanted it to go, I´m glad it happened. It showed me that I couldn´t take my talent for granted and just assume that I would always be playing pro ball. It also gave me other business opportunities as well. Also, last but certainly not least, I wouldn´t have met my wonderful girlfriend, Stefanie, had I not been released. As the saying goes "Things happen for a reason" and I believe that this did happen for a reason. It was quite unexpected but now I´m back on my feet and ready to get back in the loop. Also, I´ll have a partner in the organization as well in Cody Haerther. I may not be playing with him for a while but it will be nice to already know somebody.
I´m definitely looking forward to my opportunity to playing with the Cardinals. I will definately show Houston that they made a HUGE mistake in releasing me when I´m pitching against my brother in the Majors someday. It´s also kind of funny that I signed with the Cardinals because now Jason and I are in the same division, which means we´ll be facing each other quite often. It´ll be the battle of the Hirsh´s and our parents will have to choose who they love more. haha. Just kidding. Pitching WITH my brother in the big leagues would be my ultimate dream come true. Pitching AGAINST him is the next best thing.
August 19, 2006
Well today was a success for me. I went to the Cardinals scout team tryout to throw for their cross-checker (the guy right below the Scouting Director), Chuck Fick and a bunch of other scouts. Apparently there were 8 different organizations out there, according to Derron Spiller, the guy that called me and asked me to come out. I got there at 1:30pm and it was a circus. There were about 200 kids out there from high schools all over Southern California. I probably should´ve showed up around 3pm because when I got there they were running behind and it took a LONG time for the pitchers to get up and pitch. I was told that they had a few groups left to finish batting practice then they had to take infield and then the pitchers would throw. Little did I know there were 4 different groups for infield/outfield, each group comprised of about 30 or more players. That took about an hour and a half for them to all take infield and then I got to throw. I made the mistake of playing long toss towards the end of batting practice. I had no clue I was going to sit around for another 1.5 hours before I actually got out on the mound, which by the way was very small. It might as well have been a flat mound because it wasn´t more than 6 inches tall.
I finally got out on the mound after warming up in the bullpen twice. My arm still felt good but I know that if I had thrown right after I did long toss I would have thrown a lot harder. Anyways, I got out on the mound with all the scouts behind the cage and did my thing. My velocity was consistently 88-90mph; something I hadn´t done in a long time, if ever. My secondary stuff (changeup, curve, slider) was also working very well. I threw about 10 fastballs before throwing my off-speed stuff. My curveball was on and had some nasty bite to it. Chuck Fick came out to the mound after I threw about 5 pitches and asked me how many innings I had thrown this year. I told him I was released before the season started, which surprised him. He then sat behind the mound and watched me pitch until I was done. Afterwards he pulled me aside and asked me how old I was. It was funny because he couldn´t believe that I was only 21 years old. He asked me about 3 or 4 times how old I was. He must have thought I was lying. He then told me to go to one of the other area scouts and to give him all my information; name, phone number, address, height, weight, etc and then said he´ll definitely do something for me. I thanked him for his time and shook his hand along with Derron Spiller and went to give my information to the other scout. Derron told me before I left the mound that he would definitely be giving me a call soon, which was nice to hear.
After I gave all my information to the scout I thanked all the guys for letting me come out and throw and then went to do my tubing and finish off with a little running. Right before I left I asked what my velocity was and they told me 88-90mph and that they liked my fluid and consistent mechanics, which also made me pretty happy. After I finished running I went over to Jeremy, the guy that caught me who I know from the Jaeger Camp and from Crespi, told me he over heard them saying that they liked my mechanics and that they were very fluid and consistent. He also told me they said that they liked my curveball. Overall it was an excellent outing for me. I threw all 4 of my pitches for strikes and showed them consistency and threw strikes. I´m very pleased with my performance will hopefully be getting a call soon. I´m not going to get my hopes up like I did with the Twins, but I think this might actually go through. I think I impressed a lot of people today. Maybe, just maybe I´ll be getting a call soon. Only time will tell.
August 14, 2006
WOW! That´s all I can say about my trip to Houston this past weekend. Watching Jason live his dream was awesome; especially in front of a sell-out crowd of 43,591. I had such a good time this weekend. After staying up all night on Friday I headed to my grandma´s house to pick her up. From there we drove to the airport and parked the car and headed in to get our tickets. All was quiet on the lower level, otherwise known as the baggage claim area. It wasn´t until we got in the elevator and went up to the departures level that it was pure madness. I couldn´t believe what I had seen. At 4:15am the line to check in for Continental Airlines stretched all the way down to the next terminal. Stupid me, I forgot to check us in online and print out our boarding passes, which would have saved us an hour of standing in line to get our tickets. What was even worse was that we had no bags to check either. Then, once we got up to the computer to check-in there was a computer that was for people who had no bags to check. Talk about frustrating. After we checked in and got our boarding passes we sat and waited for a wheelchair for my grandma for about 40 minutes, which only built on the frustration I already had. We then got on the plane and as soon as my head hit my pillow I was out like a light. The only thing I remember was taking off. I woke up with about 30 minutes left and ate some Cheerios they gave me and a banana. After getting a cab to the Four Seasons hotel we met up with Jason, Pam, my parents, Jimmy, and Matt at the Quattro restaurant on the 3rd floor. I ate a quick lunch and then headed to my room where I took a little nap for about an hour or so before heading out to Minute Maid Park. Once we got to Minute Maid I met up with Wade, Evan, Roy, Strickler, and Krista, who made the drive from Thousand Oaks all the way to Houston just to watch Jason pitch. After we talked for a while I headed over to our seats, which were just to the right of home plate; great seats. When they announced Jason´s name in the lineup the crowd with nuts screaming and clapping for him.
After the game we met up with Jason down by the family lounge. Phil Garner actually popped his head out and said hello to all of us and I got to shake his hand. I couldn´t help but still feel a little bitter about being released. Oh well. We headed back to the hotel to get changed because we were going to Vic & Anthony´s Steakhouse for dinner. Albeit it was a late dinner but it didn´t matter. We sat down at about 10:30pm and enjoyed a nice meal. There were 15 of us, so it was quite a lot of food. I ordered the 12oz filet mignon and Jason, Pam, and I split a 20oz Australian Rock Lobster Tail, which was the BEST lobster tail I´ve ever had. The filet was also very delicious. To top it all off for desert I had some of the best bread pudding I´ve ever eaten. All in all it was a great meal with our close family and friends to celebrate Jason´s ascension to the big leagues. The only thing left is for me to make it now.
After our delicious meal I went back to the hotel and hit the hay at about 1:30am, only to wake back up at 5am to catch a cab to the airport with my grandma so I could get back to California and pitch. I wasn´t stupid this time and checked in and got our boarding passes at the hotel. Even though there wasn´t a line at the airport in Houston it was still nice to just walk in and go through security. Again, once I got on the plane I passed out and woke up with about 30 minutes of our flight remaining. After we got back I hung out at my grandma´s house for a little bit then came back to my house, ate lunch, and then headed to my game. I threw quite well going 4 innings giving up 2 hits, 1 walk, and striking out 5. Even though their team only had 9 guys for the whole game it was still good to get some work in and throw all my pitches. I´ll be throwing for the Cardinals on Friday night and then again for the Terror on Sunday. I´ll also be going to Canada with the Terror if I don´t sign before then, which I think isn´t likely to happen. I think I´ll sign in the off-season when teams make releases and look for new players. All in all the trip was exciting and exhausting at the same time, but totally worth it. It was great to see my brother pitch in the big leagues and live his dream. Only time will tell me where and who I´ll be playing with.
August 9, 2006
It´s been about 2 weeks since I last wrote and a lot has happened since then. I´ve been throwing quite well for the Terror. I threw 3 innings on Sunday and gave up 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, and struck out 6. I´m also throwing for the MLB Urban Youth Academy tonight against the Astros scout team. It´ll be fun to show Houston what they´re missing out on by releasing me. The Scouting Director, Paul Ricciarini, will be there as well as an Oakland Athletics scout. I think it would be hilarious if the Astros wanted to resign me. It would be a tough decision. On the one hand, I would want to go back because I miss all my friends and I know everybody there. On the other hand, they didn´t treat me very well at all. I didn´t get any opportunity to show them what I was capable of doing and for that they should pay. I really don´t know what is going to happen though so I´m not going to rush to any conclusions. I´m just going to go out and throw my game.
I also received a phone call this morning and was informed that the St. Louis Cardinals were interested in seeing me throw. I will be throwing for them next Friday in West Hills. I´m very excited for all the opportunities that I´ve been given. I know that one of these teams will see something and take a chance on me. It´ll be the best decision they can make. Then again, the proof is in the pudding. I have to show them what I´m capable of doing. A lot of scouts look for velocity, which I have increased since I was released. Personally, I think I´m a hidden treasure that has yet to be discovered, but I´ll let the scouts decipher that. It´s only a matter of time before something happens and I´m keeping an optimistic point of view on all of this. I was released for a reason, but now I´m better and stronger than before and am just waiting to get back in the game. I have the support of so many people and for that I couldn´t be more thankful. Thanks to everybody who has made a phone call or sent me an email of support. I really appreciate it and thank you very much. I´ve been told by many people to never give up on my dreams. I find it ironic that I also wear a red bracelet on my wrist that says “NEVER GIVE UP.” I will never give up on my dream and I´ve been told by many people to never give up as well. I will continue to work hard and do whatever I can to keep myself prepared because I could get a phone call tomorrow. It´s all a matter of time.
Even bigger news is that Jason was just called up last night. He starts on Saturday opposite the Padres and I will be there to watch. I fly out Saturday morning at 7am and come back Sunday morning at 9:15am so I can throw for the Terror in the 2nd game of a double-header. I´m very excited to watch Jason pitch on Saturday. It´s been our lifelong dream to pitch in the Major Leagues and I´m glad it has come true for at least one of us. I couldn´t be more proud and happy for Jason than I already am. He will be a great Major League pitcher. All the hard work we´ve put in over the years of pushing ourselves, going to the gym when we didn´t want to, and going running when the couch was right there has paid off. I know when I watch Jason throw on Saturday that there will be a little bit of jealousy there, but that will be out shadowed by how proud and happy I am for him. He has worked his butt of to get where he is, and soon enough I´ll be there too.
July 24, 2006
Well it was a pretty interesting weekend for me. I first learned early last week that my Terror games were cancelled for the weekend due to certain circumstances and arranged to throw a bullpen Friday afternoon. On my way out to my bullpen in Encino I received a phone call from Alan Jaeger of Jaeger Sports. He asked what my plans were for Saturday and I told him I had nothing specific planned, except for spin in the morning. He then asked if I would be willing to do another clinic down at the Major League Baseball Urban Youth Academy for some of the inner city kids down at Compton College. He also told me I wouldn´t be getting paid for this clinic like I did for the last one at Orange Lutheran High School. I told him it wouldn´t be a problem and that I would love to do it, even if I weren´t getting paid. I can´t dispute how good I feel after I do long toss and mental training, so of course I would participate in the clinic. I called my buddy who I was throwing the bullpen with and told him I wasn´t going to make it, which he was cool with because he was out in Encino to workout anyways, then turned around and went home. I met up with Alan at 12:30 at the Academy in Compton and we walked into the front office and met up with Doug Takaragawa. Doug was the Scouting Director for the Angels, former Pirates scout, and former Pacific Rim supervisor for the Phillies. He currently runs the Urban Youth Baseball Academy in Compton, CA. After talking with Doug for a few minutes my long toss partner and fellow Jaeger Sports student China McCarney showed up with his dad. We all sat down and started talking and then, to my surprise, Lewis Wolff, Co-Owner/Managing Partner of the Oakland Athletics, came and said hello. I don´t quite know what he was doing there but it was a very nice surprise. He´s a cool guy. After Lewis left, David Frost, former Major League pitcher and current Urban Youth Academy coach, came into the office and we all had a nice conversation about long tossing and the benefits for the arm.
After we were done talking about long toss it was time to get down to business and start the clinic. We had about 15 kids, ages 15-19, and a few parents and the coaches from the academy as well. Alan gave a quick lecture about throwing and long tossing and then it was show time. We went outside to the field and Alan taught the kids/parents all about arm circles and tubing. Meanwhile, China and I were getting ourselves prepared for a sick long toss. After about 15 minutes of prep work it was show time. China and I started the long toss program and the kids followed China as he got further back. Alan was there talking to them as well while they were watching. We went further and further out and ended up at least 300 feet away. China was about 15 feet from the right field wall and I was on the third base foul line. We long tossed for about 25 minutes before starting our pull downs. China started to make his way in when we started pull downs. He eventually made his way in to about 70 feet away, which is when the real fun began. We started doing pull downs and were throwing absolute gas. The looks on the kids´ faces were priceless. Of course, for me, it was just another day of long toss. After the long toss program one of the guys that works at the Academy came up to me and asked "You're not playing anywhere right now?" and I told him I wasn´t. He replied with, "Are you kidding me, why not?" My response was, "I honestly don't know. You tell me." It was funny and flattering at the same time. It was funny because he was totally amazing at what he just saw and flattering because obviously he thought I should be playing somewhere with the way I was throwing.
After the long toss session Alan led the kids back into the locker room to review and do some mental training, which is the best part of the Jaeger program. We did about 15 minutes of mental training and I can´t even describe how I felt after. It's like a whole different world. Before the mental training I was tired and out of focus. After, I felt totally awake, refreshed, and more concentrated and focused. The kids were totally amazed at how they felt too. After Alan asked the question, "How many of you would rather go out and play a 9 inning game right now as opposed to before?" I saw one kid smile from cheek to cheek. It was at that point when I knew that the kids had bought into the program. All of the kids raised their hands in agreement. Alan makes the best point about mental training too. Baseball is 90% mental and 10% physical. As you get higher and higher in professional baseball the game becomes more mental. In the Major Leagues the game is about 99% mental and 1% physical. So if the game is all mental then why is that the least concern for players? The answer is it shouldn´t be, it should be their first concern. The mental approach to the game is the most important thing. I could go on and on but I won´t. Just know that the mental approach to the game is the most important aspect of baseball. Think and focus in the present moment because if you don´t then you will lose your focus and think about boosting your average rather than seeing the pitch and hitting it, or if you´re a pitcher thinking about your ERA rather than focusing on throwing a strike.
So once we finished the clinic the kids thanked us for coming out and showing them the program on our own free will and time. It was nice to get a round of applause from the kids and parents to show their appreciation for us. It made me feel good inside to know that I just opened their eyes to the key to their success and future. I didn´t care about not getting paid; I cared more about the kids and showing them what the program could do for them. After it was all over I went outside to my car and said goodbye to everybody. Just as I was putting my bag in my car I saw Doug was over at Alan´s car, so I went over to say goodbye and thank him for letting me come out. He asked if I wanted to throw for the Academy team because they play scout teams and it would be good exposure for me to throw in front of scouts. I told him I was really interested and went back into his office and filled out a player information card. Next thing I know, I get a phone call this morning and I´m going to be throwing tomorrow night at the Academy against a local scout team.
On my way back out to my car I was stopped by the father of one of the kids and he wanted to ask me a few questions about my past experiences and also for some advice. He asked a wide range of questions including things about college ball, pro ball, working out, and the long toss program. It was really nice talking to him and I think I left a lasting impression on him and his son. That also made me feel really good inside. Knowing that I´m doing something to help these kids pursue their hopes and dreams makes me feel so good because I know what it´s like because I was one of those kids. It´s one of those experiences that you´ll never forget I know that I´ll remember this clinic for a long time.
Overall, Saturday was a great experience and wouldn´t trade it for anything. Seeing the amazement on the kids´ faces and showing them what the program was about was a reward in itself for me. It was great to both get a good long toss in and show a group of teenage kids, who one day hope to play college or professional ball, what long toss and mental training can do for them. I know I sound like a broken record but without this program I know I wouldn´t be as good of a player as I am today; period. This program is a career changing program and will make you an even better player than you are today.
July 16, 2006
I got my first start for the Terror today and did pretty well. I threw 6 innings giving up 6 hits, 2 runs, 0 walks, and 6 strikeouts. I had a perfect game through 3 2/3 before giving up my first hit and base runner of the game. After retiring the first 11 of 12 batters of the game I started to feel fatigued. I hadn´t thrown more than 3 innings since last August, but I´ve been keeping my arm in shape with long toss. It was my legs more than my arm that was tired, but both were pretty tired. If I had to guess I´d say that I threw between 80-90 pitches. I gave up 2 runs and 4 hits my last inning of work. I gave up 6 hits total, but only 2 were hit hard. The others were just jam shots and shemps that fell in for base hits. Overall I was quite satisfied with my performance today. I attribute much of my arm strength and stamina again to the Jaeger Sports camp. I did a clinic at Orange Lutheran High School yesterday and threw long toss for about 45 minutes. I have to say I probably had the best pull down throws I´ve ever had yesterday. Of course I knew my arm wouldn´t be sore today and that yesterday was a good tune-up for my start. I threw long toss for about 15 minutes and then warmed up and threw 6 innings. At no time while I was pitching today did I feel soreness or tightness in my arm. In fact, after I was done my arm felt great; tired, but great. I think this is the new key to my success on the mound and warm-up routine. Playing long toss stretches my arm out and gets it really loose for when I warm up. A good 15-20 minute long toss before my warm-up is going to be the key to my success.
I also learned something new yesterday at the Jaeger Sports clinic while Alan was talking about mental training. I learned about being more process-oriented on the mound. Rather than thinking about the consequences of the next pitch, I focus more on where I´m throwing the next pitch and look for a focal point. A perfect example of that happened today when I had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs in the 6th inning. The go-ahead run was on second base and I was tired and fatigued. Rather than focusing on what would happen if the batter got a base hit, I focused more on throwing pitches where I wanted. I got the batter 0-2 and was going to throw a fastball up and in the next pitch. I took a deep breath and looked at my focal point; the catcher´s chest. As I went into my windup I was focused on releasing the ball at the catcher´s chest because I knew that it would end up at the batter´s head. I´ll explain that in a second. He swung right through the eye-level fastball for strike three and broke his bat on the ground in anger. I had successfully escaped a tough situation without thinking about the consequences of my pitches; rather, gathering my breath and having a set mind of throwing a good pitch.
I can best explain the focal point through an example of yesterday´s clinic. I was doing pull down throws and everything kept going up at my partner´s head. Alan threw a water bottle down on the ground about 10 yards in front of my partner and told me to hit the bottle on my next throw. I focused on hitting the water bottle on the ground 10 yards in front of my partner and threw a knee-high laser that felt like it was going 95mph. It was probably the best pull down throw of my life. Focusing on that bottle made my release point a little bit later and more out in front, which in turn made me throw the ball at my partner´s knees; thus proving the power of the mind and importance of mental training.
It felt great to get back out on the mound and compete. Although I´m not playing pro ball right now this is the next best thing. Baseball is and always will be part of my life and I won´t give up my dream. I´ve got quite a few people doing me favors and making phone calls to people they know (area scouts and front office people) because they want to see me playing pro ball again and believe that I have the ability to succeed. It feels great to have all this support and I know an opportunity will come my way.
July 8, 2006
Well its here, All-Star weekend in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The players are here and the stage is set. Jason will be the starting pitcher tomorrow for Team USA opposing Humberto Sanchez (Toledo Mud Hens) of Team World. We got into town yesterday and met up with Pam and Jason today at the Omni Hotel. They really treat you like royalty when you make one of these All-Star teams. Upon entering Jason´s room I saw a bag full of goodies given to him by Major League Baseball. Along with that he was given an Ipod Shuffle, all for just making it to the Futures Game. After we met up we headed out to get some food. When we came down to the lobby and were about to leave Jason was swarmed by a group of fans wanting autographs. It was amazing to see how many fans were there getting autographs from the players. At this point, a little jealousy started to settle in. I mean come on, who wouldn´t be jealous. He gets to play in the Futures Game and I get to watch. It´s bittersweet though. I´m happy for him and all his success. I haven´t seen him pitch as a professional yet so this will be exciting. At the same time I want to be playing ball so bad right now it hurts. It´s like the world´s biggest tease in a sense, like someone holding a $100 bill that´s just out of your reach. It´s right there but you just can´t reach it. Seeing this whole event happen as a fan is great, but I would love to experience it as a player. I sometimes get down at the fact that I still haven´t signed with another team and that I´m not playing pro ball at the moment, but I realize that I can´t do that and that I have to keep my head up and work hard. Negative thoughts lead to negative action. It´s just another struggle I have to work through to achieve my dream. It´s the road less taken by many, but is the one I must take. Tomorrow will be a lot of fun.
The city of Pittsburgh is very old. We walked over to Market Square today before meeting up with Jason to get some lunch. We ended up at Primanti Brothers Bar and Restaurant, which is famous for their sandwiches. The restaurant is quite unique in that they don´t serve their sandwiches on plates; rather, they serve them on wax paper. They are known for putting fries and coleslaw on everything they make. I ate a sweet sausage sandwich, which had a sweet sausage, lettuce, tomatoes, coleslaw, and fries on it. A guy sitting behind us ordered a salad and it had fries on it too, which was pretty unique. Market Square isn´t really in a good part of town either. We walked around after we finished eating just to see what was around. The city is full of beautiful old buildings with great architecture. I was a total tourist and took a bunch of pictures of the city, buildings, and river. After we met up with Jason we walked over to Station Square, which was just across one of the 400+ bridges in the city. It was a nice 15 minute walk from the hotel. We were going to eat at Buca Di Beppo but the wait was over 2 hours. We then tried The Melting Pot only to find out the wait was 2.5 hours. We finally came across Houlihan´s, which was a nice laid back restaurant/bar. I ate some chicken enchiladas, which were delicious, and then we had some dessert and walked back to the hotel. Jason had a signing to do of about 7 dozen baseballs and a dozen bats so we went to that. While we were there Joel Guzman was also signing some photos of himself. Joel Guzman is a prospect for the Dodgers and made his debut in the big leagues just a short time ago but is now back in Triple-A. It´s really motivating to see all this happening to my brother because I know one day it will happen to me. All I need is that one opportunity.
July 10, 2006
Wow. That´s all I can say about this weekend. Probably one of the best baseball experiences of my life; as a spectator that is. Jason started the game and breezed through his inning getting two quick fly balls, giving up a little shemp into center field, and finished by striking out the last guy. It was awesome to see him pitch; especially for the first time. Our seats were pretty bad, right under the scoreboard in left field in fact. We ended up sitting right in line with the first base line for the whole game. The US Team won the game by a score of 8-5. After the game we met up with Jason and went out to Morton´s Steakhouse with our agent, Joel Wolfe. The fun really began when we sat down for dinner. First off, as soon as we sat down Joel pointed out that Cal Ripken Jr was sitting just a few tables over. I thought to myself, "Wow. That´s Cal Ripken Jr, a legend in the game of baseball and soon to be Hall of Fame inductee." So while we were eating and continuing to converse, Joel points out that The Swami himself, Chris Berman, had just walked in and was sitting down. For those of you who don´t know who Chris Berman is, he is a sports commentator for ESPN. He also does commentating for the Home Run Derby. He´s the guy that goes "BACK BACK BACK GONE!" So I thought to myself, "Wow, not only have I seen Cal Ripken Jr but now Chris Berman." I didn´t think the night could get any better. Low and behold, I was wrong. We had finished dinner and were waiting for dessert when none other than Alex Rodriguez walks in with some of his friends. So not only did I see Cal Ripken Jr and Chris Berman, but now A-Rod. I was like a kid in a candy store. I see all these guys on TV everyday and now I get to see them in person. Once we finished our dessert we headed back to the hotel. After the game my brother had received a few guest passes for the MLB.com party hosted by David Wright and Alex Rodruiguez, to be held from 9pm-2am at the ´33 Club at Heinz Field. So after dinner Jason, Pam, and I caught a cab over to the field and went to the party. Jason got VIP access because he was a player. Only players got VIP access. I felt like Wayne and Garth in Wayne´s World with my pass; the part where they got backstage at the Alice Cooper concert and were showing everybody their passes. So we got up to the party and it was awesome. DJ Skribble was there mixing some good dance music and it was an open bar with free drinks for everybody. They also had a few XBOX 360s with MLB 2K6 that people could play. I played Jason and ended up losing, but still had a blast. I also saw Harold Reynolds at the party. For those of you who don´t know, Harold is a commentator on ESPN's Baseball Tonight along with John Kruk. After we played the game we decided it was time to go because Pam had to leave for the airport at 4am and Jason had to leave at 8am to fly to Toledo, Ohio for the Triple-A All-Star Game. On our way out we received a little bag of goodies that had a MLB.com shirt with ´33 Club on the back, some Budweiser beads, and a David Wright Foundation bracelet. While we were waiting for a taxi to go back to the hotel, we ended up seeing David Ortiz, otherwise known as Big Papi, leaving the club with his entourage of girls and a few security guards. We then caught a cab back to the hotel and said our goodbyes and went to sleep.
Overall this weekend was so much fun. I had a famous Primanti Brothers sandwich, tried Pittsburgh´s own Iron City beer, which by the way was delicious, watched Jason throw in the Futures game, and saw a few famous players. I also saw some crazy fans. When we got to the airport there were autograph hounds itching to get all the Futures player´s autographs. They were then camping out at our hotel to catch them when they arrived. When we arrived with Jason he signed about 50 autographs before we even got to our rooms. It was nuts. Some of these fans ask him to sign 10 cards, which for one fan is quite a few. Then at the game it was even more insane. At least 200 people were lined up along the 3rd baseline to get anybody and everybody´s autographs. I guess it comes with being selected to the Futures Game and being a top prospect. I wouldn´t mind that. Again, I couldn´t help but feel a little jealous of my brother. Part of the reason for that is because I´m not playing right now. I think if I were playing right now it might be a little different, but the given circumstances have proved otherwise. However, I am extremely happy and proud of my brother for achieving this goal. Not many people get invited to the Futures Game. It´s a feat in itself because you have to be chosen. I´ll get my shot. I know I will, but for now I´ll keep working my ass off and just hope that opportunity comes along soon, and if not, then I´ll try next year. I´m not giving up and that´s for damn sure.
July 1, 2006
Some good news for me as I now have a summer team to play with. I got lucky and hooked up with them through my buddy Jim Vatcher, who is with Jaeger Sports. I´ve been throwing long toss with Jim for the past month now and my arm feels great. I threw with him on Tuesday for 50 minutes and again on Thursday for a good solid hour. It´s amazing how good your arm will feel after doing long toss for that long. A lot of people doubt that your arm can feel good after throwing for an hour straight and not be sore the next day but they are wrong. My arm felt the best its felt since I´ve been home on Friday, the day after I threw for an hour. It´s all part of the Jaeger Sports program and I HIGHLY recommend it. I've been doing it for 3 years now and can honestly say there is no other program out there that does a better job of getting and keeping your arm in throwing shape. Long toss is something that I definitely missed in Extended Spring Training. The throwing program for the Astros is a strict 10 minute warm-up, which is definitely not long enough to get loose. It´s amazing to see the difference in how your arm feels after throwing only 10 minutes everyday as opposed to a good hour throw every other day. After I got done throwing with Jim on Thursday he showed me his watch (he times the throws) and I was shocked to see it say 59 minutes. I could´ve thrown all day with the way my arm was feeling. Many people don´t believe you when you tell them that we just threw for 45 minutes, but the proof is in the pudding when you see the watch.
Today we went to the sand dune in Manhattan Beach and it was insane. It was a big group of about 12 or so that included Jimmy (owner of Natural Sports), his daughter, Jason Leach, Jim Vatcher, my mom and myself. The men and the women split into two different groups and did two different workouts. The guys´ workout was tough to say the least. We started out by walking to the top of the dune to warm up, which is a little more than 100 yards. I´m telling you this dune is HUGE and is pretty much impossible to run up. After we walked up the dune we rested for a minute before walking back down. There were 4 cones setup each about 10 yards apart. We started off with some sprints to each cone. Then we did leap-frogs to the second cone and sprinted to the third cone and again to the last cone. After that we did karaoke to the middle of the second and third cones and walked back down. We did that for both sides then the last one we did karaoke on one side to the middle of the cones then switched and did it to the last set of cones. Finally, we walked half way up the dune then back down and enjoyed a nice water break. After the water break we did mini skips to the second cone and sprint to the third cone, then again to the last cone and walk down backwards. Once we finished that we did ladders, which consisted of sprinting to each cone and walking down backwards. Finally, the last task of the day was to walk half way up the dune again and back down. Doesn´t sound like too hard of a workout does it? You´d be wrong to say yes. Running in the sand is probably one of the hardest things to do. I feel like I´m running in place when I sprint up that dune. Along with the difficulty of running in sand, it was EXTREMELY hot today. We got there pretty early, but not early enough. After our warm up of walking up and down the dune the sand turned into hot coals. My feet were on fire, especially walking up half way and back down. It seemed as though right after the last cone the sand turned into a fire pit and lit my feet on fire. As much as my quads were burning I really didn´t care because the sand was so hot it was burning my feet. I´ll tell you that´s some good motivation for getting up that thing. Afterwards everybody was tired out and my legs felt like absolute jello. They felt as if they each weighed 100 lbs. Overall it was a good run and I'm happy I went. I hate that dune, but in a good way.
I also found out today that the games on Monday were cancelled. It seems as though Justin (our coach) thought that everybody would be get July 3rd off for the holiday but I guess not. I got the call today on my way out to the dune so I couldn´t really pitch in today´s game. I´ll also be gone next weekend because we´re going to the Futures Game, so I won´t pitch again for another 2 weeks. I´ll be keeping my arm in shape and doing what I need to do. Vatcher will be gone on from July 3rd till the 13th so I´ll have to find someone to throw with. That pretty much sums up the past two weeks for me. Still waiting to hear back from a few teams but nothing significant has happened. I just have to play the waiting game, which sucks, but hopefully I can sign and salvage this season by playing at least a month of ball. I´ll leave you with a quote from my favorite movie of all time, The Shawshank Redemption, "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."
June 19, 2006
Hey everybody. It´s been about two weeks since I last wrote and quite a bit has happened. I went to a bunch of tryouts in the past 2 weeks. There was a Major League Scouting Bureau tryout on the 10th at Pierce College that I went to. I threw to 4 batters and did quite well. Then there was a Padres workout on the 12th which went very well. I was 86-89mph. The last tryout was another Major League Scouting Bureau tryout on the 14th at Compton College. I was 87-89mph at that tryout so things are shaping up for me. I have yet to hear back from any teams though. I did get an interest from the Twins however. They were looking to sign a free agent pitcher to fill in for their rookie ball team but I was told that chances were slim. I have yet to hear back from them. I´ve got myself back in the gym as well. I weighed in after not having been in the gym for two weeks and dropped down to 225lbs. I´m now back up to 230lbs and feeling not as lazy as I did before. Jason is still kicking ass in Triple-A as well. It´s only a matter of time before he gets the call. Other than that, things have pretty much been the same. I was really lazy for the first two weeks after being released but now have gotten myself back into the gym and back to keeping in shape. I went running at Zuma beach on this past Saturday, which was a lot of fun. I also was just hired by Natural Sports to do their website. It´s a great company and I´m eager to start. My brother´s trainer, Jim Beilowitz, owns the company, which is focused on making kids lives better through training and sports. Kids looking to get into pro ball as well as college ball or anybody just looking to take themselves to the next level are our main focus, along with their families as well. The website will be coming soon and I will post a link to it when it´s finished. The next few weeks should hopefully bring some good news. I hope to sign and get back to playing ball. I just have to keep a positive attitude and outlook and I know things will shape up just fine.
June 5, 2006
Well it´s been a week since I was released and I haven´t signed yet. I did hear some good news from my agent today in that he should be hearing from a few Independent teams pretty soon. There are also the two workouts for the MLB Scouting Bureau coming up so hopefully someone will like me. Since I´ve been home I´ve just been staying in shape and throwing as much as possible. It´s nice to be home under the given circumstances. I can´t say I miss Florida, but I do miss playing baseball. It´s hard going from playing everyday to not playing at all. I just have to stay tough, mentally and physically and keep my head up. The opportunity will be there and I plan on taking full advantage of it. But like I said, it´s good to be home in beautiful California. It´s nice to get out of the heat and humidity of Florida. It was beginning to get ridiculous out there. Other than that there´s nothing else to report. Jason is doing well and on his way to the Majors and should get the call soon. Clemens signing might push his debut back but we´ll see. I wish him the best and hope he gets up there. He definitely deserves it. I will keep everybody posted on what happens with me. It might be possible that I´ll be playing in the New England area, but that´s just preliminary. The draft is also tomorrow and Wednesday, so everybody will be loading up on new talent, which just makes it that much harder for me to sign with a professional team. I´ll probably end up playing Independent ball this summer and sign in the off-season with a Major League team. From what my agent has told me that sounds to be a lot easier. Hopefully I´ll get lucky.
May 26, 2006
Extended Spring Training is beginning to wind down and we finish playing games next Tuesday. There are only 3 weeks left and I couldn´t be happier. The daily grind of being down here has really set in. Eating at the Ponderosa for breakfast every morning has grown beyond old. I´m starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel though. Having been here for 7 weeks already I´m finally starting to get excited to get out of here. I know as the time grows smaller and smaller I´ll be more excited. I can honestly say that I am fully prepared and ready for a season of baseball. I´ve had enough of playing in front of nobody and am ready to begin playing games in an atmosphere that gets me excited and pumped up. I don´t quite know where I´m going yet and nobody will until they post the rosters sometime in the next week and a half. It´s not the Houston way to tell anybody where they might be going; rather they keep it a secret. I can only hope that I´ll be going to Tri-City this year. I think I´ve shown enough improvement and progress to make the decision easy for them, but then again, nobody really knows. I know that they still have to make a few more releases, which I´m sure won't be fun. I´ve become good friends with most everybody here and I´m sure it won´t be fun to say goodbye to them when they´ve just had their hopes and dreams shattered by being released.
Being down here in Extended I´ve seen some familiar people come in and out, whom I met while I visited Jason in Salem two years ago in Virginia. They just sent us two more players on rehab assignments today. I knew they were coming when I saw they had made two extra lockers. They sent us Mark McLemore and Mark Saccomanno. They have both played with my brother and I know them from Salem. It´s always nice to have players who have had experience come down for rehab assignments. It allows me to pick their brains and ask them questions about whatever I might want to know.
We have three days off next week on the 1st through 3rd of June. I&acut;em really excited to get those days off. It will allow me to rejuvenate my body and just relax. I don´t know quite what I´m going to do yet but playing golf will probably be one of them. Hopefully I won´t be sitting around the hotel too much and I can keep myself busy. After those three days off there´s less than two weeks of camp left then it´s off to start the season.
As I reflect on the time that I´ve spent here in Kissimmee I can´t help but think that things happen for a reason. My goal for this past off-season was to come into spring training and make a full season squad. When I got the letter in the mail saying that I was coming straight to Extended Spring Training I was kind of upset and angry, not knowing what the benefits of that were. It turns out that there were quite a few benefits to me getting that extra month to prepare. I got to stay at school for an extra month and participate in the Multimedia show, which was basically our senior project as a class. Not only did I get to do that but I also was able to finish up some other business that would´ve been really hard to do if I were at regular Spring Training. After arriving here I didn´t really know what to expect because from what I had heard about the people who were in Extended Spring Training last year it was not a place you wanted to be. I fully understand now why it´s not where you want to be. The first month or so wasn´t too bad because I was getting my arm in shape for the season, but now being here for almost two months I can see why nobody would want to be here. Who would want to play games that don´t mean anything in the blistering heat and humidity of Florida when you could be playing on a full season team and be playing games that mean something in front of thousands of people? The choice is obvious. Although it wasn´t my choice to come straight to Extended Spring Training I´m kind of glad I did now. I´ve learned a lot and have had the opportunity to get to know some new faces in the Astros organization. If there´s one thing I´m looking forward to you can be sure that it´s playing games in front of thousands of people. Watching my brother make his way to the majors just makes me want to work that much harder to get up there too. There´s nothing that would make me happier than to play in the Major Leagues alongside my brother. I don´t think it can get any better than that.
May 20, 2006
Well its back to the daily grind of getting up at 7am getting back to my routine. It was nice to get away from my daily routine last weekend but it´s also nice to be back and doing what I love most; playing baseball. I jumped right back into the swing of things on Monday as I threw 2 innings against the Indians. I didn´t do that bad, but if you looked at the box score you might think otherwise. I gave up 4 runs on 5 hits, but that´s not what I'm worried about. I know those things will happen. I was more focused on my mechanics and the feel of my pitches. My arm felt the best it had felt since I´ve been here. It also showed in my velocity as for the first time during Extended Spring Training I hit over 90mph on the radar gun. But again, the radar gun isn´t what is most important down here. Granted, an increase in velocity is nice to see and I´m sure the coaches like to see that as well. I´m more focused on developing my pitches and working on my mechanics down here than on what some stupid radar gun says. I know what my velocity is and I´m not going to try to pump it up so it looks good on the charts. That is known as throwing, not pitching. Pitching is an art form. It's knowing the hitters and making adjustments. It´s knowing what to throw and when to throw it and having confidence in all your pitches. Throwing is just getting out on the mound and throwing the ball as hard as you can and not caring about anything else but what the radar gun reads.
I recently called Jim Vatcher, one of my pitching coaches from back home, and talked to him about pitching for a little bit. He brought up a good point that I have been neglecting and lost track of. He brought up the focal point. Since I´ve been down here I´ve kind of lost track of what I did back in January and February when I worked with the Jaeger Sports Camp. I haven´t been using focal points, rather just been throwing the ball in hopes that it´ll go where I want it. When I threw bullpens at the Jaeger Sports Camp I always had a focal point and mental focus during my bullpen sessions. I´ve lost track of that and am going to start getting back on that. I´ve also lost touch with my breathing and yoga. I attribute part of that to lack of time at the field and constraints with getting a ride back to the hotel. That also doesn't mean that I can't do it in the hotel, which I probably should be doing, but haven´t been. I know that once I get into the routine of the normal season I´ll have a lot more free time before the games to do some breathing exercises and a few yoga poses, especially on days I start; that´s if I´m a starter.
There is a little less than 4 weeks left for Extended Spring Training and I´m getting anxious to start my season. I still don´t know where I´ll be yet, but I should find out at the end of this month when they post the rosters. I've been down here for about a month and a half already and I must say that its time to get out of this place. I´ve become all too familiar with the Ponderosa and Havana Café. It´ll be nice to finally cook for myself and be able to control what I eat, rather than having a choice from 3 different restaurants. We also have 3 days off coming up at the end of this month as well, which I´m looking forward to. I was thinking about going home but it would´ve cost more than $300, which I can´t afford right now. I think I might just hang around the hotel and relax and maybe go play some golf. All in all I´m looking forward to getting out of this place and getting my season under way.
I´m also really proud of my brother, Jason. He started the season on a bad note and was struggling in the month of April. His last 4 starts have been pretty much lights out, giving up only 2 runs in 28.2 innings. It´s good to see him bounce back from his slump and I can´t wait to see him up in the bigs pretty soon. I know it´s only a matter of time before he gets the call.
May 14, 2006
I´m sitting here on my flight back to Kissimmee and watching Mythbusters on the TV in the headrest in front of me. This weekend was much need for me. Coming home to graduate from college and see all my friends was just what I needed. It was nice to get away from my daily routine in Extended Spring Training to see my family. I´m finally done with school. I have closed a chapter in my life and opened a new one. Graduating college is such a great feeling that not many people can say they have had. As I sit here and reflect on my educational career I can honestly say that it´s going to be a lot different when I get home. I will actually miss being at school. While I still don´t miss my high school days I can certainly say that I´ll miss my college days. Hanging out with my friends, going to class, and going to parties was such a blast and I will definitely miss it. The past 16 years of my life I have been in school and getting my education. College was an experience of a lifetime for me. I made friends and developed relationships that will last a lifetime. The feeling of being done with school is one that is hard to describe. My education is complete and I have a degree in Multimedia to show for it. Now that I´m done with school I can really focus on baseball; not that I haven´t been already. The off-season will be even more intense and I´ll have to find a job and make some money while still training and preparing for the next season. I do look forward to it though.
I´ll also look forward to hanging out with my best friend Alex again. He´s been up in Santa Cruz, California going to UCSC. He´ll be back in town for good and we´ll be able to hang out again when I get back in September. It´s been weird not being able to hang out with him that often. I see him once every three or four months as opposed to high school where we hung out everyday. It´ll just be nice to be at home again when I get back.
I couldn´t believe how much I missed being in California. Being in Florida and going through the same routine gets monotonous and boring but it´s something I have to do. I had grown accustomed to living in Florida for the past month and forgot what it was like in California. I missed everything about California; from the weather to the mountains, and even the smog. Everything in Florida is so much different. The weather is hot and humid and there are absolutely no mountains. When I took off from Orlando on Friday night I realized how flat and different Florida really is. All I saw were small lakes and marshes. I´m used to seeing mountains and having the most beautiful weather in the United States and now I´m in the heat and humidity. It really is a big difference living in California as opposed to Florida. I can honestly say that California is the one and only place to live. I´ve traveled all over the country from Washington to New York to Florida and can honestly say that California is the one place I´d rather be. Don´t get me wrong, the others states are beautiful and all, but there´s no better feeling than when you´re in California.
I also really missed driving my mustang. My dad worked his ass off to get it running before I left for Extended and I can´t thank him enough for it. Driving it for the first time was a feeling I won´t soon forget. It was the culmination of a lot of hard work put in by both my father and I and even though it was still a little rough around the edges there was no other car I would rather have driven. When I came back this weekend he had added some new stuff and made it look badass. For starters he put the front grill and fog lights in, which is my favorite part of the car. A close second is the new steering wheel he put in. The original steering wheel was decent but this new one is awesome. He also did some technical things that make the car run better like fix the vacuum leak in the exhaust and put in a new steering pump. One other thing he put on the car was the charcoal chrome exhaust tips, which look awesome. The last thing he did was buff the car, which makes it look really clean. I thought he had washed it when I got home Friday night but he told me he had buffed it out. It makes the whole car look sparkling and I love it. Driving that car this weekend was even better than when I first drove it. Everywhere I go people are always have a double take and compliment me on what a nice car I have. I´ve always loved mustangs and to have this one, the 1967 Mustang Fastback GTA, one of the rarest mustangs is a feeling that´s hard to describe, not to mention driving it. I can´t thank my dad enough for all the hard work he has put into getting that car put together for me. I can definitely say that it was worth the wait because everywhere I go the car turns heads.
May 8, 2006
Well it´s been a week and there isn´t really anything too new to report. Being down here is definitely getting monotonous and boring. I really just want the season to start because I am very eager to start playing games that mean something. Tom Wedenbauer, or Weedy as we call him, came by and visited us for about 4 days. We were stretching on Friday morning and when we were finished we were told to go into the clubhouse because we were going to have a meeting about something. We get to the conference room and Weedy is there and decided he wanted to talk to us about a few things. He told us he really didn´t have an agenda but that he just wanted to give us a break from the heat and to just talk. He gave a very informative speech which covered many spectrums. We were talking about what kind of things scouts look for in prospects and one big thing that scouts cannot see is make-up. He really emphasized this because to the Houston Astros it´s very important. Now a lot of you might not have a clue what I´m talking about. I´m not talking about make-up that girls wear. Make-up in this sense is how a player carries himself. Is this guy a good teammate? How does he carry himself off the field? Does he get along well with the coaches? These are just a few questions covered in the speech by Weedy about make-up. He told us that guys that have good make-up will advance in the system. Houston likes good guys; guys that take care of one another and don´t do stupid things on or off the field to disrespect the game or the organization. I´ll spare you the rest but for the most part it was a very inspiring speech. I just happened to be throwing that day as well and although my performance was good, I thought it was ok.
I was more focused on my mechanics rather than my performance in the game, which I guess was a bad thing. I was having trouble throwing strikes because my mind was too preoccupied with going my mechanics right. I talked to my coaches about that today and they told me that when I get out on the mound just compete and don´t think about that stuff. With enough repetition of the new mechanics during practice and bullpens the new mechanics should take over the old ones, but for now I´ll just stick with working on that stuff during practice. I´m set to throw again in a camp game on Wednesday. This time I get 2 innings, which is always nice. I don´t really like throwing 1 inning because it doesn´t give me a chance to work on the things that I really want to work on. I'm a pitcher and naturally I want to throw more than 1 inning but that´s the way the schedule works. Overall I was pleased with my performance as I didn´t give up any hits or runs, but did give up 1 walk. I´m not so much worried about the walks at this point because like I said earlier I´m working on different things in these games. Hopefully my performance during Extended will earn me a spot on the Tri-City roster, which would be really awesome. My goal during the off-season was to make the Lexington team this Spring Training. Once I found out I was going straight to Extended my goal changed to making the Tri-City team. I want to show this organization that I deserve to move up in the system. I´ve been putting in a lot of hard work here and hopefully it´ll all pay off in the long run. Also, this just came to mind, you never know who is watching you. Weedy talked about this too during his talk. You really never know who is watching you on a day to day basis. We´re constantly being evaluated by the organization. People we might not know that could be high up in the organization could be watching us and we don´t even know it. That´s why I always put my best foot forward and just be myself everyday. I try to stay out of trouble because I don´t want to be put in a situation where I have to explain myself. I´m here for one reason: to play baseball. I´m not here to drink beer or get in fights. This is what I want to be doing for the rest of my life so I better do what I have to do, both on and off the field. Jason said it best in an article printed on the both of us in the newspaper, "We don´t go out and sacrifice our day life for our night life, respectively." That statement defines why we´re here.
On another happy note, I´m graduating from college on Saturday. I´m so happy I get to come home. Even though I´m only home for a day it´ll be really nice. I want to do so many things but I know I won´t have time. I´d like to see all of my friends and hang out with them but I know it´s impossible. As I look back on my experiences at CLU I can´t help but smile. I can´t believe four years have gone by already. They seemed to have flown by so fast. I´ve had so many great memories from college that I´ll never forget. The people I´ve met and the experiences I´ve had I´ll treasure forever. I´ve definitely made friends and developed relationships that will last a lifetime. I wouldn´t trade my college experience for anything in the world. I went into college a young and adolescent 18 year old and came out the person I am today. Without those experiences and relationships I wouldn´t be who I am today. I have grown up in the past four years and it´s now time to enter the real world, which is kind of scary because school has been the only thing I´ve known for the past 12 years of my life. I´m closing a chapter of my life and beginning a new one. I look forward to what the future holds and can´t wait to see what happens. There are new places for me to go and things for me to do and new experiences to be had. To all my friends and family, I thank you for your support throughout everything I have done. It really means a lot to me to have you in my life and without you I wouldn´t be the person I am today.
May 1, 2006
Well it´s been almost a week and a few things have happened since I last wrote. First off, I threw 2 innings today. I did well but struggled in the first inning. My arm angle in the first inning was messed up and I was throwing from over the top rather than 3/4. That having happened I was having trouble spotting my fastball, which led me to get behind every batter of the inning. Thankfully I got out of the inning without giving up a run. I did walk the lead-off batter but ended up getting out of a sticky situation with men on 1st and 2nd and 1 out. The second inning was like night and day compared to the first one. I didn´t fall behind one batter and I threw less than 10 pitches, which is always nice. Overall I was pleased with my outing and was happy that I could make the adjustment in the second inning to get back on track. Today and Friday brought the arrival of two new people to Extended Spring Training. Our pitching coordinator Dewey Robinson arrived on Friday to take a look at how the pitchers are progressing. He´ll be here for probably another day or two to see everybody throw and then he´ll be on his way. The departure of Rick Aponte brought the arrival of Bill Ballou or as we like to call him, Doc. Doc was my pitching coach in Greeneville last year and also coached my brother in Tri-City. Doc is an awesome guy and is a pleasure to be around. He was our pitching coach in the New York-Penn League for 13 years before being moved down to Greeneville last year. Immediately after my first inning Doc came over to me and explained what I was doing wrong and what I needed to do to correct it. It´s good to see Doc again.
Yesterday was our day off and I didn't really do much. I went to lunch with Cory [Lapinski] at Chevy´s and then headed over to Steve and Barry´s University Sportswear store in the Osceola Mall across the street from the hotel. That store is pretty awesome because everything in the store is $7.98 or less. They have collard shirts, shorts, t-shirts, shoes, pants, wallets, hats, and lots more. I ended up buying a pair of shorts, a collard shirt, and a new wallet. When I got back to the room I tried the shirt on and noticed it had a small hole near the buttons, so I have to take it back sometime, hopefully tomorrow or the next day. The shorts and wallet are awesome. I don´t know how everything in the store is $7.98 or less but I´m definitely not complaining. I also gave myself a haircut yesterday, which I needed. I hadn´t cut my hair since I left home and it was getting pretty long. For dinner we decided to go gourmet. Cory [Lapinski], Drew [Himes], and I ended up going to Arby´s. We had to eat kind of quick because the Sunday night lineup was all new with The Simpsons, The War at Home, Family Guy, and American Dad. I opted not to watch The Simpsons and The War at Home and instead chose to watch Mythbusters; one of my favorite shows. Family Guy was hilarious as usual and American Dad wasn´t too bad either. I went to bed around 11pm and that was it.
I also received a care package from my parents last Thursday that contained some snacks and protein bars. Those are a lifesaver because I didn´t really having anything to snack on in the clubhouse or in the hotel room. There is also some really cool news in that I bought the domain name www.hirshbrothers.com. It´s only $9 per year from GoDaddy.com. I also got my friend Pat to host my site for free on his servers, which was really nice of him. It´ll be really cool now to tell people about my website instead of having to email them the address because it´s too hard to remember. I´m getting a good response from people about the website and that makes me pretty happy to know that people are interested in how we´re doing during our season. I would like to thank everybody for supporting my brother and I and visiting my website. That´s about all I have for now. Take care everybody.
April 26, 2006
Today we had an intersquad game and I threw the last 2 innings. I have to say that my felt the best it has felt since I have been here. My fastball was getting good velocity (86-88mph) and my slider was at its best today. I credit that to Monte after throwing with him before we pitched. He told me to just throw it as hard as I can and to get more sling out of my arm. I threw a few to him that felt really good. I was trying to work on slinging it more in my warm-ups today and what do you know, it was getting some pretty good movement. Once I got in the game I felt very confident in throwing it and ended up getting all 3 of my strikeouts using that pitch. I feel that today I have learned more about the art of pitching and using all my pitches effectively. My mechanics felt good and I was getting good pop on my fastball. My changeup was decent today as I only threw 1 of 4 for strikes. It was nice to hear however, that after my 2 innings I had thrown only 5 balls. I threw 30 pitches, 25 of which were strikes. Overall I was very pleased with my performance today. My slider improved, my velocity is getting there, and I was working ahead of batters.
I am really blossoming here in Extended Spring Training. So far, while here I have found my changeup, improved my slider and mechanics, and have been throwing more than 60% strikes in all of my outings (except my first). I can only think that I´m going to have a stellar season this year. All the work in the off-season that I put in is definitely paying off. Getting up at 5am to workout with Tom, going to the Jaeger Sports Camp and doing yoga and long toss, improving my diet and eating well; it´s all coming together. I think I forgot to mention the body fat test when I got here. Every season we, as professional athletes in the Houston Astros organization, must come into spring training with a body fat of 14% or below. Last year when I arrived at Greeneville my body fat was 12.3%. When I left I was at 13.7%. Wanting to get in shape and better myself for next season, I started eating better and working out with Tom (my trainer). Tom gave me an eating plan and I did my best to follow it. Anxiously awaiting the body fat test when I got here, I was very pleasantly surprised to hear the results. I came into camp at 11.3% body fat. All the hard work I put in to eating better and training had paid off for me. I was very happy to hear that I had lost 2.4% body fat in the off-season. I think this year is going to be my breakout year and that I´m going to have a very good season. I´m very anxious for the season to start and to start playing some games. Although being here in Extended Spring Training wasn't my first choice, it´s where I am and I´m doing whatever I can to better myself for the season. I would like to thank everybody who helped me achieve my goals this past off-season, including Tom, my parents, my brother Jason, Nana, Pops, Danny Stein, Ross Gould, Kathy, Allan Jaeger, Jim Vatcher, Barry Burns, Tim Hengst, Dan Restuccio, and all my other friends and family. I thank you guys for everything that you have done for me. You don´t know how much I appreciate all your help and support. That´s all for this entry. I´m headed out to lay by the pool. Until next time.
April 21, 2006
Well it´s been a little over a week since I last wrote and there´s not really much to report. I´ve had 2 outings since my last entry and they have both been pretty good. During these outings I´m not so much worried about giving up runs and hits because I know those happen. I am more concerned with my pitch selection, mechanics, and the art of pitching, which is learning how to use my pitches effectively and wisely. I am also trying to fine tune my pitches to get them ready for the season. My fastball is working pretty well but after viewing video of myself from a previous outing, I have noticed that I have slipped back into my old mechanics and am not keeping with the current ones I developed at the Jaeger Sports Camp. I have also come to gain control over my changeup. I have total confidence in throwing it in any situation or count. I don´t know exactly what happened but I was throwing a bullpen last week and it just clicked, so I´m pretty happy about that. I´m still working on my curveball and slider, which are developing pretty well. I am scheduled to throw two innings tomorrow against the Tigers. It´s an early game starting at 10:00am, so we´ll be done early and then we´ll have the rest of the weekend off to do whatever. I didn´t really do much this past Sunday, which happened to be Easter. I just sat around my room and watched Mythbusters all day and just took the day to relax. It was the first day off we had since we started Extended. I have to say that the games here aren't too bad but they do suck because they don´t mean anything. I just want the season to start so we can play games that mean something. It´s hard to get motivated when we play games that don't count for anything. On the other hand, I wasn´t here for regular Spring Training, so I´m using these games to get myself prepared for the season.
The weather here has just started to really suck. The past few days it´s been 90+ degrees with a lot of humidity and I don´t see it stopping anytime soon. The weather at night is perfect. It´s around 70 degrees with not too much humidity, which is really nice. The weather has been pretty good when we go play golf too. It is pretty hot but there is usually a nice breeze that picks up and makes for a nice day. We went golfing today after practice since we had a camp day today. We get to play golf for free at the Kissimmee Bay Country Club. We go inside and they give us some rental clubs and we´re out on the course in a matter of minutes. I´m not that great of a golfer but I shot decent. Today I shot a 100 with par being 71. I try to play bogey golf (1 stroke over par), so shooting 29 over par was decent. I had a few bad holes that cost me some strokes but I was pretty happy with how I played today. I´m showing some signs of improvement. I also finally booked my flight back home for graduation. I fly in Friday night (May 12th) and leave Sunday morning (May 14th), so I won´t be home for very long. It will be nice to see my family and friends again because I do miss them. Living in the hotel for the past few weeks hasn´t been too bad actually. It has its ups and downs but for the most part I don´t really mind. I actually sleep really well in the beds here. I think it might be the pillows. Waking up at 6:15am every morning still sucks but it´s so much better now that I don´t have to do extra running before practice starts. I passed the 1.5 mile run last Friday (April 14th) with a time of 10:16, so I was pretty happy with that. My routine is pretty much the same thing everyday. I wake up at 6:15am and eat breakfast by 6:30am with Mitchell at the Ponderosa. I get to the field a little after 7:00am and get my workout in before practice starts at 9:00am. Practice is usually done around 12:00pm and we´re back in the clubhouse to eat lunch. My day usually ends around 1:30pm or so and if there is a game that day then we´re usually done by about 4:00pm. Then I come back to the hotel or go golfing, go eat some dinner and then come back and watch some TV or surf the net on my computer until it´s time for bed.. Not a very exciting day but it´s my routine nonetheless. I think that´s all for now. I´ll try to keep this updated at least once a week so until next time, adios.
April 11, 2006
A lot has happened since Thursday. For starters, we began playing games yesterday. I threw live batting practice on Saturday and got to throw 2 innings in yesterday´s game. I didn´t do so well to say the least. Warming up in the bullpen I was hitting my spots with all my pitches and when I got out to the field I had a total brainfart and it seemed as though I forgot how to pitch. I couldn´t throw a strike to save my life. Then once I started throwing strikes it was too late because I was falling behind guys so I had to feed them a fastball right down the pipe. I gave up 4 hits (which just happened to be the cycle), 3 runs, and hit a batter in the first inning. It didn´t help that the wind was blowing about 15-20mph straight out of dead center field. Routine pop flies ended up being doubles and homeruns. The second inning was a little better. I didn´t give up a hit but got pulled due to my pitch count. I was all over the place with my pitches and couldn´t spot up a fastball to save my life. I was a head case to say the least. However, I was quite surprised with myself on how I handled the whole situation. Usually I would be mad about pitching that way but for some reason I was calm and didn´t let it get to me. I knew that it was my first outing and I hadn´t thrown against live hitters since the end of last season. I´m not going to let it get me down because that´s the way it goes sometimes. Sometimes you pitch well and sometimes you don´t, so I´m chalking that outing up as being rusty and it also being my first time pitching to live hitters in a long time. I know that the only way to go from here is up and to just have a stellar outing next time I pitch, which is Friday, oddly enough against the Indians again. The past few days I´ve been going to dinner with Victor and Jose at the Havana Café. I've been eating a different dish every night and have yet to have an average meal. Each meal there is outstanding. The chicken and steak is nothing but great and I will continue to eat there every night. I´ve also noticed that going with them is different than when I went with Jake and Eric. The Latino guys definitely get taken care of. Breakfast at the Ponderosa has already gotten to be old and mundane. I eat pretty much the same thing every morning. I missed the 1.5 mile run by 2 seconds, so I have to endure a whole week of extra running in the morning before practice then run it again on Friday. I´m a member of what they call the "Breakfast Club." That means that I have to get up early every morning at 6:15 to go eat breakfast and get to the field early so I can do my extra running at 7:30. I can´t believe that I missed the run by 2 seconds. I tried to pace myself but I was too slow. I only had a minute and twenty seconds to finish the last lap (1:45 is the pace for 1.5 miles) and I finished in 1:22. You don´t know how frustrating that is to me. I´m not off to a good start down here but I know that things will get better. Conditioning twice everyday (before and after practice) sucks and I wish I was playing games right now, but this is the hand I was dealt, so I have to deal with it. The weather down here has been kind of windy the past few days. It´s been in the upper 70s and low 80s with mild humidity. I know that this nice weather won´t last come May and June. This place will be hell when those months roll around. A good note to end on, I do get paid my whopping $70 tomorrow so I´m pretty excited about that. I also am anxious to get back on the mound and start dealing like I know how.
April 6, 2006
Well today we had our first workout and I have to say it was pretty easy. We have the 1.5 mile run tomorrow, which I´m not too worried about. I´ve been keeping in good enough shape that I don´t think it´ll be too much trouble. I also threw a bullpen today and it was pretty good. I´ll be throwing live batting practice on Saturday and then we start games on Monday against Cleveland. I also found out today, to my surprise that we also get paid a mere $70 a week and we also get Sundays off, which is pretty cool. $70 isn´t much, but it´s a lot better than nothing. The life of a minor leaguer has definitely set in; that is, living in a hotel, playing baseball and getting minimal pay. I don´t think it can get any better than this (other than making more money of course). I´m also pretty happy to be speaking Spanish again with my buddies Yamber and Victor. I guess it´s something that I really enjoy. ´'m happy that I have the opportunity to make really good friends from different countries and bridge the gap between Latinos and Americans. Victor and Yamber are my two really good Venezuelan friends from my team in Greeneville last year. I´m so happy I took Spanish in high school because it´s really paying off. The bond that I have formed with these two guys is something that I will carry throughout my life. It´s like having the best of both worlds, having great friends and getting to play baseball with them. It´s something pretty special. Anyhow, tonight Sheridan, Hurry, and I ate at the Havana Café, which was excellent. I will definitely be eating there more often. The food was great and the portions were huge. After dinner we went to the Mall at Millennia, which is in Orlando. I have to say that it´s a very impressive mall and it´s pretty big. Once we got back to the hotel I was pretty tired so I´ve just been chatting online and surfing the internet. Oh, also to my surprise today I found a pair of cleats that my brother left behind for me. As an added bonus, my brother also left me two gloves as well, which will definitely come in handy. I´m really excited to be here and can´t wait until games start. I really can´t wait until my season starts either. I´m so pumped up to be here and to be playing ball again and seeing all my friends that I couldn´t be happier. Yes, I guess you could say that I like the life of a Minor Leaguer; however, the life of a Major Leaguer is my ultimate goal.
July 3, 2005
So we´re off to a 4-8 start in our first 12 games. I´ve pitched 3 times and have totaled 7 innings. My first outing was alright. I think I was just a little rusty since I hadn´t thrown in a game in over a month. My last two outings have been lights out. We just lost 2 of 3 games against Danville. We won the first game 7-2 then got shutout the past two nights. Last night we got no-hit for 7 innings. Their guy threw a perfect 7 innings except for the one error in the 6th inning. I didn´t get to pitch tonight, but I have a feeling I´ll probably be the first guy out of the bullpen tomorrow against Elizabethton. A lot has happened in the past few weeks. For starters, after our last home game against Kingsport (which we won and I got the save) Sheridan got moved up to Tri City. Then, two days later Lopez moved up, which made me kind of sad. I liked having him around and talking to him in Spanish. Even though we have only been here two weeks I became really close friends with him and then he got moved up. I will email and keep in touch with him. He is my pana. Since Sheridan moved out I´m going to move into his room with Ralphie because I can´t stand the roaches in my bed. We´re on the bus now and we just left Danville. It´s going to be a 4.5 hour ride back to Greeneville. I´ll probably watch a movie then try to get some sleep.
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