_____BrianGump

Check One Off The List

2012-01-01T10:12:00.000-08:00

One of our off season performance goals, increasing my vertical jump (explosiveness and leg strength) enough to dunk with ease. Start of the off season I was about 3-4 inches away if not more (I'm barely 6'2"). Got it just in time for the new year!

It may not seem like much or be very impressive, but that's not really the point. To me it represents progress and is a tiny validation of all the time I have put in this off season straining to get stronger and more explosive which are obviously big keys for success for baseball players.

So I guess it turns out white man can jump! :)

Interview with Baseball Digest (By Jessica Quiroli)

2011-12-29T07:49:00.000-08:00

As promised, here is the link to my interview with writer Jessica Quiroli. She always has good questions that elicit insightful answers. She does that again here in her installment of "5 Questions with..." Enjoy!

Warming Up As It Cools Down

2011-12-27T17:43:00.000-08:00

It's been a somewhat extended hiatus since I last posted here. I have been busy hard at work in the gym, on the sand, on the grind working odd jobs to make ends meet and hard at work soaking up my family and friend time while I can.

Winter is in full swing and so are resuming baseball activities for myself and many other ball players around the world as spring training approaches. Everyone I talk to is starting to "get the itch", as we say. I have been casually hitting and throwing for about a month now but as the new years comes, so does the full time baseball activity (ie throwing and hitting 4-5 times a week on top of the lifting and running that has been in progress all off season).

I recently did an interview with one of the better baseball bloggers that I have encountered thus far in my career, Jay Floyd of PhoulBallz.com

Here is the Interview for more insight on the recent activities of myself and as a sneak peak at a little bit of what most of us ball players do around this time of the off season.

Hope everyone is having the Happiest of Holidays. Have a very safe and enjoyable New Years Eve!

Upcoming: Interview post with another great baseball writer who is great at what she does, Jessica Quiroli, who writes for several baseball publications including her own Blog

Movember!

2011-11-01T09:41:00.000-07:00

Alright folks, as you know, I enjoy a good mustache. With that being said, the month formally known as November is upon us. This year I am joining the worthy cause known as "Movember". Starting today, my mustache will make its glorious return, and this time, it won't just be looking pretty, it will be growing for a cause, to raise money for prostate cancer research and awareness.

Movember has become a world wide movement over the last few years and the time has come for me to go from being a curious spectator on the sidelines, to becoming a serious participant and join the global community of Movember citizens. The way it works is men and women form teams, they grow out their mustaches for the month of November (hopefully just the men do the growing of the stache's) and each teammate attempts to raise money for their team from family, friends, etc...It is obviously for a great cause and it is pretty fun too.

So I guess its time to unveil our team name for our inaugural participation year....don't laugh either..okay laugh.

We are to be called "Team Lumberjack Lips". We chose this because we have 2 to 3 members committed to the team already that have the ability to grow out 5 tool mustaches, which if you are being scouted to be a lumberjack, is the holy grail of lumberjack mustaches and will probably get them picked in the first round of the lumberjack draft.

Anyways, enough with the silliness. Here is the link to our page where you can securely donate to our team and more importantly to the cause of fighting Prostate Cancer and raising awareness for men's health across the globe. Any donation, whether its $1 or $1,000 is amazing and will be wholeheartedly appreciated by our team and this cause. Let's see what we can accomplish. I appreciate your help in advance!

TEAM LUMBERJACK LIPS

I will let you know if any other Phillies get involved ( I know this is a big deal down in Australia so I'm hoping some of our Aussies will be participating) and will be sure to post my own team's pictures up so you can get to know more of the Lumberjack Lips' members. We have some promising talent to say the least.

End of the Year

2011-09-09T18:33:00.000-07:00

Even though I was on the DL for the last week of the season, I think the last day may have been the best day I've ever wrapped a season up with. Not only did we win on a walk off HR (which I called was going to happen before the inning), but we brought a special teammate (who I befriended during my experience with the miracle league and who became a friend of many of the guys during the season) on the field with us to go through our pregame stretch routine and the National Anthem with us.

My teammates agree, it was the most fulfilling pregame stretch we had all year. Thanks for making it happen Zach!

Here is a video of our experience that Zach's Dad, Rusty Morris, whipped up. Enjoy!

The Playoff...Joust?

2011-09-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

The regular season is winding down and it looks it is going to finish in nail biting fashion. For those of you that haven't been following the Threshers that closely, we are 1.5 games back after strong play down the stretch. There are 4 games left, all of which come against the first place Dunedin Blue Jays. If you do the math, and believe me, we have 100 times over, we have to win 3 games out of the 4 game series to send us to the playoffs or else we pack our bags and head home.

These last few days have been riddled with rain delays, cancelled games as a consequence of all the rain and double headers due to the cancellations. So naturally, we have had a ton of down time in the clubhouse. With all this down time, a new card game has swept through our clubhouse like wild fire, its called Camelot. It seems like there are 4 separate, intense games going on in our clubhouse at any one time throughout the pregame period. Even the guys that don't normally play cards are jumping in on the competition. Although sitting around the clubhouse for hours on end waiting for rain to clear so we can play, or not play even after all the waiting, is a bit annoying at times, to be honest, these last few days have been a lot of fun despite the delays. A lot of team bonding, playing music and cards and joking around with each other has happened. Oh yea, and this...Enjoy!

August

2011-08-24T10:35:00.000-07:00

Well, its August. Its the time of year for ball players when the season is winding down and seemingly any ache or pain from injuries past and present are most certainly making themselves felt in the present. I am not an every day player and I have some aches and pains, those guys like Jiwan and Valle that play every single day are certainly feeling it much worse. Its the time of the year when the training room is much busier than normal, the ice and heat tubs are loaded with players before and after games and the weight room that was once crowded at the beginning of the year isn't nearly as popular of a place as it once was in the beginning of the season. It is the last leg of the marathon and this is the time of year when the mental part of the game seemingly plays an even bigger role in every day.

This is the furthest I have gone in a season in my professional career so far because my injury shortened last year for me, so its slightly uncharted territory for me. It is a particularly exciting time of the year for us on many accounts. Playoff races are coming down to the wire, thoughts of finally returning home and seeing your loved ones are becoming ever more tangible, closer to becoming a reality with each passing day. It's the time of the year when things get real goofy in the clubhouse, guys have been playing with each other through 120+ games, so the hair has been let down, everyone is comfortable with each other and probably slightly loosing their minds from the every day repetitions of the job which makes for a really fun time in the clubhouse and in the dugout every day.

We are 3 games back from first place at the moment with our last 3 games of the year against the current first place team, the Blue Jays. If you are following the Threshers, those 3 games are certainly marked on your calendar as must watch games assuming the race continues to stay close to the end.

It is about time for me and the roommates to head to the field to take another "step" towards the finish line. The countdown to the end of the season has begun and there is a lot left to take care of, in the training room, in the weight room and most importantly on the field, before we reach our finish line.

A Quick Update

2011-08-15T21:55:00.000-07:00

As you can see, I have made a few changes to the site and by a few, I think I mean a complete overhaul. I've been meaning to change up the look for a while now, but I have been having computer issues for a while not, but they are all ironed out now so I will be able to do a better job of pumping out content.

Here are a few quick thoughts...

- I would love some feedback on how you think the site looks now, so comments and opinions are greatly appreciated (I was pretty frustrated with the templates and design options while I was reworking things, hopefully I continue to learn more about web design, CSS, and code and script writing so I can continue to improve it. I am extremely new to all of it and just started teaching myself)

- I am now a pretty regular Twitter user and am enjoying the interaction it allows for between myself and my fans/followers. I try and avoid meaningless updates about trivial things I'm doing throughout my day because I realize no one cares that I'm eating a BLT at the moment or brushing my teeth so you don't have to worry about that. So add me if you would like (My Twitter) and we can tweet it up whenever you want! My latest collaboration with my followers has been "Stump the Gump" where people send me riddles and I do my best to answer them without cheating and looking them up. So as you can see, I'm usually pretty good about getting back to people on there.

- We are getting close to wrapping up the season and in the middle of a 3 team playoff race so things are going to be really exciting coming down the final stretch so stay tuned!

- Last but certainly not least, those of you who enjoyed "the mash stache", I've got some exciting news, its making a glorious glorious come back so keep an eye out for sweet photo updates and stories.

Time to get this thing cranking again!

Adventures from the Mound: Part Deux

2011-07-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

I made my bi-annual pilgrimage back to the pitching mound on Monday, to revisit my past where as a youngster and teenager my baseball career flourished. Unfortunately, it was a similar situation that got me on the mound two years ago in Low A, we were getting blown out. In an effort to save an arm in the bullpen our manager, Dusty Wathan, called on his trusty, seldom used, lefty sinker baller right fielder (Me). It's never fun getting blown out, but when a position player gets to pitch, it adds a little bit of amusement to games that, for the last few innings or more, have already been decided and can get pretty boring or painful for the team that's on the losing end.

That being said, we were playing the St. Lucie Mets(the Mets drafted me my junior year of college so, for me anyways, it is always a little extra interesting playing them). Not only were all of the Mets' bats hot all series long, but they also had their big league All-Star third baseman, David Wright, rehabbing with them which didn't help things at all. As the hits kept falling for the Mets and the runs started to pile up throughout the game and it started to get late, I kind of had the feeling I might be making an appearance on the mound. As I came in after the end of the 7th inning, my hunch was confirmed as our manager told me to go warm up in the 'pen and get ready to go in. At this point, everyone in the dugout starts grinning as its been a few innings since anyone has had something to smile about as the game got more lopsided. So I grab my glove and head down to the bullpen. As I jog down, all the pitchers sitting on the bullpen bench lean forward to see who's coming down and they all start laughing and getting excited to see what kind of stuff I have on the bump. Keep in mind, pitching in the last innings of blow outs is pretty undesirable for bullpen pitchers because they like pitching in tight, "meaningful", situations where the game is still in reach, plus its always fun to do a little role reversal and see what one of the position players can do on the bump.

As I arrived and said my hello's, one of our two lefty's out of the pen, Andy Loomis (who also taught me his slider a few days before when I inquired about it), tosses me his glove so I can look like a real pitcher out there instead of using my outfield glove and looking like a goofball. I don't know what he did to his glove, but that thing was one of the most comfortable things I have ever worn.

Our catcher ran down and I started throwing some warm up pitches. Luckily, I prepare myself for situations like this, as I'm pretty sure most position players do, because pretty much every day when I am warming up with Singleton, I mess around with my sinker, slider and changeup. I threw of couple of sinkers to start and the pitchers and catcher were all pretty surprised that I was hitting the glove and that I had some good movement on my fastball. Then I threw a couple Andy Loomis sliders and again, I got some good reactions from the 'pen. After I flipped my first changeup in there, the catcher did a bit of a double take because the bottom dropped out of it and he kind of smiled and nodded as if to say, alright, that was a little more than I expected. We got our last out at the plate and it was my turn to go pitch. I took a deep breath, smiled at the guys in the bullpen and asked them for any last words of advice, they said just have fun and throw strikes and with that in mind, I started my jog from the bullpen to the mound.

As I arrived on the mound, I looked over to the Mets' dugout and saw them starting to realize what was going on. David Wright had climbed to the top step to see what I had and had a big grin on his face along with the rest of the other team. I finished my warm ups, talked to our catcher, Torre Langley, about the signs and then got ready to face the middle of their lineup (the 3, 4, and 5 hitters). My approach going into the inning was to say here it is, see if you can hit it. I know that as a hitter, squaring up fastballs that sink and tail is pretty hard, so I was confident about going right after the hitters and not trying to be too cute with where I placed each pitch, after all, my job in this situation is to throw strikes and get the inning over with. No one cares if I give up a few hits or runs, but being the competitive person I am, of course I wanted to go in there and see how well I could do instead of just throwing it right down the middle. That being said, and I'm sure much to the disappointment of the opposing hitters, I also made sure not to throw any straight 4 seam fastballs, only 2 seam sinkers. I quickly got ahead of the 3 hole hitter and got a ground out to the shortstop. Next up was the 4 hole hitter, He took the first two pitches to get to a 1-1 count. I threw my first slider of the inning and missed up. with a 2-1 count I went back to the sinker and he fouled off 2 or 3 sinkers before hitting a lazy fly ball to right field for the 2nd out. The 5 hole hitter strolled to the plate, he was a lefty, the other two hitters were right handed, and is the first baseman whom I had gotten to know fairly well. Our team agrees, Welch is the nicest guy in the league, he's always got something nice to say when you get on first base and he always checks up on you to see how everything is going. That being said, he stepped in with a little smirk on his face and I gave him a bit of a head nod and the battle got under way. I think I missed down with the first sinker and then threw one for a strike on the outer half that he took for strike 1. I threw another sinker away for a ball and then got him to foul off the next one to even the count. With a 2-2 count, our catcher put down the sign for slider. I remembered how I had missed up earlier in the inning because I didn't get on top of it when I released it, so I wanted to make sure I executed this slider better and really finish it as I released it. I came set and threw the sharp Loomis slider and got Welch to strike out swinging for my first career strike out from the mound (Ive been the victim of plenty on the other end of things so there was a strange feeling of satisfaction getting to turn the tables). To the hitters defense, they probably weren't expecting me to throw any off speed and furthermore, were probably expecting me to be throwing straight fastballs right down the pipe, so I think I caught them a bit off guard with my strategy.

The inning was quickly over and I walked off the field and was greeted by my very enthusiastic and supportive teammates and congratulated on a job well done. After the game was finished I had to go in to the training room and do some post pitching exercises to help keep my arm healthy and try and prevent soreness the next day, which turned out to be a bit of a losing battle as my shoulder was a bit tight the next day (which was expected and normal). I later got word that I was throwing my sinker from 84-87 MPH. I'm pretty sure I can throw a bit harder, but unfortunately, I didn't have the presence of mind to air a few out when I was on the mound, I forgot the radar gun was going to be on me! So i guess I have to just wear it when my teammates tease me and tell me they thought I would throw harder than that.

I guess I might just have to wait for my next bi-annual pilgrimage to prove them otherwise.

Nature of Off Days

2011-07-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

In the month of July we were supposed to have one day off. That scheduled off day has not come yet, but we have already had two days off from games because of intense rain. It's summer time here in Florida, but its also the hurricane season. I've never seen anything like the 10 day forecast that the weather channel presents for our area, the little picture that accompanies the weather stats is the same every day, a dark cloud with thunder and rain.

This little rain icon on the forecast comes with a grain of salt for us because our stadium and most stadiums here in the FSL (Florida State League) dispose of water like I've never seen before. It can absolutely pour for an entire half of a day and when we get to the field it will look like nothing had happened, its pretty amazing to say the least. Our grounds crew does an amazing job at keeping our field looking perfect despite the amount of rain it gets.

This is why yesterday and the day before was such an anomaly for us. We had two rain outs in row which hadn't even come close to happening all year long. Needless to say, everyone's bodies have enjoyed the unusual amount of rest that nature has provided us these last two days. That's not to say that when we get rained out that we don't do anything.

Typically a team will run through almost all of its pregame routine even if there is a torrential downpour going on outside because we always assume that the park staff and GM will find a way to wait out the storm so the game can be played. We hit and stretch out and if you want to take advantage of the time, get a good lift in, then we wait. Its not unheard of to get to the field at the normal time, say around 3pm and to look at the weather radar which shows storms coming for the next 10 hours and still having to wait until 7pm or later to finally hear that the game has been cancelled. So obviously, a lot of down time on rainy days can mean a lot of goofy stuff happening in the locker room. Mostly a lot of card games and listening to music and reading, but sometimes delirium sets in and some pretty funny stuff can go down.

So its time to get back to the grind, we have a double header today to make up for lost time.

Baseball Marathon

2011-06-04T08:36:00.000-07:00

This post comes slightly delayed as it took me a few days of rejoicing being back from the 8 game road trip that saw lots of rain, a double header and to cap it all off, a 23 inning game that would seemingly never end.

I have had quite a few people ask about that 23 inning game so I thought I would cover it and shed more light on what that actually feels like.

To start, the game felt like any other game. We had plenty of scoring opportunities and great pitching performances. The difference was, the numerous scoring opportunities that we generally cash in on as a team were not being taken advantage of. Thus we were locked into a 1-1 tie for 22 innings. Tip your cap to the opposing pitching staff, and ours as well, on that one because they finagled themselves out of quite a few sticky situations.

After around the 13th or 14th inning everyone started to get that unsettling feeling that this game might last for a long time. It just seemed that both sides were at an NFL lockout style stalemate and neither side was budging. Games like this give pretty serious weight to the fact that hitting, or lack there of, is contagious. With that being said, the guys in the dugout who were not playing (I was included in this because I was lifted for a pinch hitter in the 8th or 9th because a lefty reliever was on the mound and there was a runner on second) tried just about everything to switch it up and get the bats going. I'm sure you have seen at some point, baseball players donning "rally caps" in an attempt to coax an offensive rally from the dugout, well we started with that and eventually ended up inventing new rally starters throughout the remaining 14 extra innings, obviously, none of them worked. In a game that goes that long with no scoring, the guys who have to sit through it become quite delirious which is why all the ridiculous rally hat stuff starts in the first place. Here is a laundry list of our antics that I can remember: It started with traditional rally hats, we went with the shark fin hat, folding out hats back to front like they are when they are on a retail shelf and then placing them on our heads, bill sticking straight into the air, next inning we added Oakley sunglasses despite the fact that the sun had gone down hours ago, next inning we turned the Oakleys upside down, then at some point we tried backwards helmets in the dugout, then we tried huddling in a group of chairs and not talking to the guys that were in the game when they were in the dugout, then we tried freezing in the dugout like statues (pretty much like a flash mob), we made a tunnel for them to run through when they came off the field into the dugout and lastly and probably most original, we put our folding chairs together in rows of two to form a fake bus to"drive in runs". This all sounds so stupid now that I am going back over it haha, but at the time, when you have been sitting there for well over 3 hours, it seemed like the logical thing to do to keep things light and shake things up in the dugout and get our offense out of the mini funk it was in.

On top of all maniacal rally starting antics, the game also saw two of our position players throw scoreless outings from the mound. Well, Joe Savery is a position player now, but if you ask the opposing team, they would tell you otherwise. Admittedly, this is Joe's first year playing the field again after being a pitcher in our system for a few years. It was pretty funny, when he was walking out to the mound the other team was probably licking their chops when they realized our DH was about to pitch, but then he faced the first batter and was painting a 90-92 MPH fastball on the corners from the left side. Their heads must have been spinning. Joe threw 2 scoreless innings and gave way to our first baseman, Darin Ruf. Darin proceeded to come in and throw another 2 scoreless innings. There were a couple balls hit pretty hard off Darin to the outfield, but that field is a graveyard and the balls were easily run down by our outfielders.

Our only pitcher that was left in our bullpen who could throw was our closer Justin Friend. Of course, with how bizarre this game had been so far, and with the umpires and managers agreeing, that after the 23rd inning, we would suspend the game and finish it the next day, our closer who is leading all the minor leagues in saves and hasn't been touched all year got the loss. To Friend's defense, he didn't really get hit hard at all. He gave up a soft line drive that got through the middle infielders, they sacrifice bunted the runner to second. I think he struck the next guy out, and then the dagger that lost the game was a perfectly placed jam shot blooper that dropped in behind our first baseman and in front of our right fielder and our right fielder, Leandro Castro, still almost threw out the runner at home plate. Also, not to mention, Friend was probably running on fumes because he had already been summoned to warm up a few times in the bullpen when we had runners in scoring position earlier in the game and it looked like we were going to take the lead.

It was a marathon game and a dagger to the heart when it finally ended and we came up on the short end of a 2-1 game. The disappointing feelings didn't last too long though because in baseball, and especially when you play a 23 inning game that lasts into the early morning, you have to get ready for tomorrow, or later that day in this case. Plus, everyone was exhausted and didn't have enough energy to think about anything but sleep once we got on the bus.

The Miracle League

2011-05-09T09:52:00.000-07:00

I felt a little uncomfortable about writing this blog post at first because I believe that when you volunteer your time or do something for others, that you are doing it for THEM and not for any recognition or outside praise. As I thought about it more, I decided that writing a blog post about my experience with The Miracle League would be a chance to expose more people to its existence and hopefully help more people get involved in or start their own Miracle or Challenger Leagues in their communities.

Since I came here a month before spring training, I have been introduced to an incredible group of baseball players. They are mostly small in stature, because they are children, but their determination and heart is nothing short of Big League to say the least. The Miracle League (http://www.miracleleague.com/) "is a youth baseball league where special needs children have the opportunity to excel and play baseball". My good friend, Chuck, who I wrote about earlier, introduced me to it shortly after I arrived here before camp and every Saturday that my schedule has been open since, we have been at the Miracle League field helping out. By helping out, I mean that I am usually the honorary pitcher and I have yet to record an out, these kids seem to have my number. When they aren't hitting triples down the line or executing perfect base hit bunts, they have a knack for lighting me up with come backers off my back or butt, luckily the baseballs are squishy so I don't get too banged up.

The league is ran by a few generous volunteers and parents and the games are played on a special field made of rubber tiles to make it safe for all the players. It's simple to get involved, all it takes to volunteer is your time, Chuck and I just showed up, walked right on the field and started helping out. Some of the Tampa Bay Rays can be found there from time to time and also have made monetary donations as well. There were two teams this year, the Yankees and the Rays and each team was probably made up of about 9-14 boys and girls ranging in age from about 4-16. The games are typically very high scoring, maybe because I'm the all-time pitcher when I'm there, but more likely because every player gets to hit each half inning. Each game lasts for about an hour and a half or so. Unfortunately, last Saturday was the last game of the season for the children because the Florida summer is coming, and that means extreme heat and humidity which are not necessarily ideal conditions for these kids to be playing in.

The moniker, Miracle League, couldn't be more appropriate, in my time playing ball with these kids, I have seen at least 2 big time miracles. Allison, pictured above in the middle, was apparently in a wheelchair last season, I was completely shocked, because this season, the wheelchair is nowhere to be found and she was running all over the place and hitting my pitches right back at me.

Ty, who is pictured above hitting, needed the walker that is down the first base line in the picture almost exclusively to help him walk and run, but the last two Saturdays that I was there, he started to walk and run without the aide of his walker or anyone but himself. In fact, on closing day, to everyone's surprise, he RAN down the third base line and scored with a little fake slide into home. Everyone was just kind of looking at each other with the same quizzical, did I just see that look, on their faces. It was a pretty special moment to say the least and it demonstrates why stimulating programs like the Miracle League are so important for helping special needs children grow and gain experiences and have fun that they otherwise wouldn't have to opportunity to enjoy.

I've become a huge fan of these kids and their boundless enthusiasm for the game of baseball and the pure joy that they play the game with, its changed the way that I play baseball (My buddy Zach and Me, Zach has made it out to a few of my games and made me this awesome poster this weekend. I was so pumped about it I made sure all my coaches and teammates saw it up in stands throughout the game.).

As I stated above, I want to encourage everyone to seek out a Miracle League or Challenger League near you and help out. Go check it out and see what I''m talking about, and like me, you'll probably be the one doing all the learning.

Miracle League

Challenger Division

The Mustache Diaries

2011-05-01T18:26:00.000-07:00

While it admittedly isn't the best look I have ever sported, this picture documents my first attempt at a mustache in my young life. For those of you that are wondering, yes, I used dye, "Just For Men - Brown" for those of you that may want to emulate the style. (Picture courtesy of Mark Lomoglio, the Tampa Yankees photographer and also professional cool guy)

To those readers that have been following this blog from the beginning, I am delivering on a promise almost two years old now. I said it would be documented when I finally attempted to grow the illustrious mustache that has been so elusive for me up until this point in my life and now that time has come.

Its surprising that it has taken me this long to dabble in the only facial hair allowed by Phillies Minor league policy, after all, it is in my blood. My Father had a full beard for my entire life until I was 21 years old and he graciously let me shave it off as a Christmas present because the realization that I didn't know what my Dad looks like without a beard was beginning to bother me. Needless to say, this mustache that I have going feels like more of a destiny thing than anything and to prove it, ever since I have grown it, I have been doing pretty well at the plate. According to some of my teammates, these two occurrences happening together clearly means I cannot shave it, no matter how questionable it looks, until the hot streak cools a bit. In fact, they just started calling it "The Mash Stache".

When I first started growing it, I needed a little push, so I started a "Support the Stache" campaign amongst my teammates and got enough moral support from them to dive into it head first. So much so that I enlisted our roving infield coach, affectionately known as Manzo, as my mustache coach because he has a very strong and distinguished mustache. I figured he could give me useful tips and he has. I have to say, since I've been growing it, my life has been a bit more fun, possibly because I have been doing well at the plate while this has been going on, but more likely because my days are peppered with way more laughs and smirks every time someone looks at me or when I talk to my teammates/coaches/anybody. Coincidentally, and I think completely independent of my actions, our bullpen has decided to do "Mustache May" so all of them are sprouting great looking mustaches as we speak. Well done gentlemen. If its possible to learn something from an entity as awkward as a poorly grown mustache like mine, its that it has taught me to be a bit more comfortable in my own skin and to not take things or myself too seriously.

So men, if you have the itch for some upper lip awesomeness, I'll support your stache and women, don't be too hard on your man if he continually misses that spot above his lip when he is shaving.

Well Stated My Friend

2011-04-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

This quote comes yet again from my buddy Kyle Kaveny, who is living his dream playing professional soccer in Germany and also writes a blog. We are great friends and if you knew the guy, it would be easy to see why.

Here is something that he wrote about himself and his personal "game" that he brings to the table when he hits the field. It struck a chord with me to say the least. I can certainly relate.

Kyle muses, "This is the game I play, but I wouldn't say it's my game. What is my game then? Well, that's something I'm still learning. The only thing I do know is that there's more inside of me than that B/B+ game. I believe that if a person is able to play whole-heartedly, without any reservations, than their character is shown on the field. Over the next 4 and a half months I plan to let people start seeing my game, and hopefully my character as well. Otherwise, what's the point, right?"

So good.

A Special Thank You

2011-04-01T17:19:00.000-07:00

I missed the boat on writing this blog post while I was experiencing it mostly because I didn't have Internet access at the time. I want to write about one of my good friends, a beloved college teammate, co captain and also one of my coaches my senior year. I owe an enormous thank you to my boy Matt McColgan (that's us back in the day during my senior year when he went from being my teammate to my coach). I could write a book about him and the exceptional type of guy he is, but I'm sure he would kill me if I rambled on about him more than I'm already about to. Matt, affectionately known as "Chuck" by friends and teammates, made it possible for me to come out to Florida a month early and get some extremely important work in at the complex before the start of camp. Since college finished for him he has landed a great job with the company Vology Data Systems (vds.com) that has brought him to the Tampa area and coincidentally, its actually close to our complex so we get to hang out and he gets to come watch me play whenever he wants.

As he settled in to his place here, he made it clear to me that any time I needed a place to stay or if I wanted to come out early to workout at the complex, that I could stay with him at no cost in his extra room, well I take that back, the only thing he asked for was some phillies gear which I was happy to give him. He is a big baseball guy and understands how important it is to have a strong, productive offseason so he made it clear that it was no hassle if I wanted to crash with him. Unannounced to me, he completely went above and beyond my expectations and proceeded to let me use his car every day to drive to and from the complex while he hitched rides to work each morning with various co workers AND he spoiled me with great cooking and took me out to dinner quite a bit.

On top of being thankful for the room and board that he provided me and everything else, I also got to see how hard my buddy works and was more inspired than he probably realizes watching him take the same attitude he had when he played baseball, of being the first to the field and the last one to leave, into the work place. In a short amount of time in his new job, his work ethic and drive have led him to become one of the top performers in his company and he is being rewarded nicely. Watching this guy bring the level of work ethic and drive that he does to his job every day (a technology sales job that he admits is way more boring than my job) has been a real treat and stands as another valuable example of how hard work and ambition leads to success. It was also a solid and constant reminder of how lucky I am to get to do what I do. For example, this was one of my favorite text conversations I had with him while I was leaving the complex one day and he was at the office, it went something like this...

Me: Hey Chuck hows your day at the office going?
Chuck: Just got hung up on like 5 times in a row. How was your day at "the office"?
Me: It was really rough. Got a good lift in, did some running, and took batting practice with Ryan Howard, Jimmy Rolllins, Dom Brown and some of my teammates...
Chuck: haha you're such an a&*hole

See what I mean when I say solid reminder.

Anyways, its always nice to have a familiar face or two around when you are on the opposite coast from your family. This is one of the reasons I wanted to share this story, to give an example of how lucky I am to have met, befriended and added people like Chuck to my extended family because of baseball. It is also an example of how tight of a family a baseball team can become even years beyond when you play together, especially the UCSB Gauchos. I also want to point out once again that ball players don't make it to where they are by themselves, just like it takes a village to raise a child, I would argue the same holds true for a ball player and I'm lucky to have been surrounded by a hell of a lot of great people throughout my life and career.

Chuck, I can't thank you enough for all you've done for me this offseason. I'm looking forward to paying it back by putting together a great season.

*GFY*

2 Rings in 2 Days

2011-03-21T18:00:00.000-07:00

In the last two days I have had the distinct priviledge of participating in two different championship ring ceremonies. I realize that I am lucky to have not only had the opportunity to play in three championship series' in my first two years of professional baseball, but to win all three as well. The luck only goes so far though, I know these three championships are a stronger reflection of the strength of players, in regards to both skills and strength of character, that I get to take the field with every day and the quality of coaching and mentoring that we recieve in the Phillies minor league system. You don't win championships on accident or by being lucky, especially in baseball when a season is 142+ games.

The ceremonies were both short and sweet, with personel, coaches and players being introduced and given their rings on the field prior to the big league game's start. The last two days, the big team has been playing the Yankees and the Red Sox, so needless to say, the crowds were both large and supportive of our efforts and gave both teams nice ovations as we walked on and off the field. It was yet another example of the impressive support that Phillies fans give our organization.

Today was the Gulf Coast League ring ceremony and admittedly I am slightly lucky to be on the list of players recieving rings, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that its really just a matter of perspective. From most people's perspective, yes, its lucky, I showed up at the right place at the right time. From my perspective, I had to enure having my ulnar snapped in half in order to end up rehabbing with the GCL team. Im happy that I played well and got to help all those guys, who endured a grueling season of 12pm games in the Florida sun for more than two months, win a championship. I made some great friends in the process too. Not only did I have to endure the breaking of my arm, but I also had to work very hard and stay very focused when I was at home rehabbing and healing my arm in order to put myself in position to return to the field before the season was over instead of shutting it down for the rest of the year, which many people told me I should do and which it appeared medically speaking would be the only possibility.

Im proud to say that today and yesterday's ring ceremonies and the rings themselves, serve as personal reminders that when life throws you a curveball, its all about how you handle it that makes you a champion.

Spring Training the Second Time Around

2011-03-10T13:46:00.000-08:00

Now that I got my first spring training under my belt last year, this years spring training has been much easier so far. Knowing what to expect and how to go about preparing yourself for the season was definitely a valuable lesson that I learned last year and this year I am continuing to refine my preparation.

The beginning of camp is a little throw back to the first day of school back in high school, mixed with a little bit of a family gathering. Everyone is coming back together and the question "How did your off season go?" probably gets asked a million times, just like high schoolers inquiring about each others summer breaks. There's a lot of hugs, daps and handshakes going on. Guys generally come back either looking bigger and stronger or more lean and in shape than when you last saw them and there is a general buzz of excitement to be around your extended family once again.

Spring training when compared to the season, looks like a short sprint. But you cannot go about it with that mind set. It is a mini marathon and you have to pace yourself. It's 30 or so days in a row of early mornings and long days at the field, challenging conditioning tests, lots of swings, lots of throwing, lots of sun block, lots of baby powder and lots of time being spent continually standing up with cleats on which makes your feet bark at you a bit through out the day. As exciting as it is to get back on the diamond and start playing ball again, you have to remember that you are ramping up for a full season of 142 games and you want to be peaking towards the end of camp going into the season. As far as I can tell, especially after listening to the AAA guys that have been around for a while, the progression should go something like, get mechanics locked in, get your swing stamina up, start seeing pitches, get timing back and lastly, start feeling comfortable at the plate in games and making consistent good contact.

Right now, we are just starting to get into the seeing pitches and getting your timing down part of camp. Things are continuing to go well for myself. I feel like its time to reap what I sowed this off season with all the hard work I put it. There is still some sowing to be done, but its almost time to do the fun part, play.

If you have any questions about spring training, feel free to ask and I will do my best to thoroughly answer them.

The "Off" Season

2011-03-04T19:02:00.000-08:00

The off season is a time when the spotlight moves from baseball to the other major sports. But, when the proverbial spotlights go off, we don't stop working. This is a time for players to reload, physically and mentally. A time to log as much time with our families, and for minor leaguers, to find odd jobs to keep our heads above water until our paychecks start coming in again in April (for me it was a month long stint working at the BevMo near my house for the holiday season and giving hitting lessons to younger players)

Large steps can be made in the off season towards bettering your game and these steps are all done out of the view of fans and observers. I think this is what makes each upcoming season so exciting for fans and players alike. Each season holds the potential to be a break out year for a player or team. Often times when you see a guy have a break out year, it is in large part due to what he did with his off season, whether it was his workouts, diet change , mechanical changes or mentally something clicking after getting another year of experience under his belt.

Some guys just need to rest, others need to lose weight, and some need to gain it. As for myself, I was focused on putting on a few pounds of muscle, increasing my core strength and making some mechanical changes to my swing that my coaches in Lakewood, Greg Legg and Mark Parent suggested at the end of last year, which I am very excited about.

I am coming off of a season where I faced a lot of adversity, it ended well with a championship on the team I was rehabbing with and another championship once I returned to my team in Low A. I parleyed the momentum of how the season wrapped up into an extremely productive off season. On top of gaining a lot of valuable experience from the adversity that was last season, it provided me with a new level of focus and determination going into the off season. As hard as it was to do, I moved away from my home and family in southern California for about 3 months of the off season, up to Mill Valley which is in the San Francisco Bay area. I moved up there to workout with one of my college teammates and good friend, Steve Domecus, who was drafted this year in the 9th round by the Dodgers. We were workout partners in college and from our time together at college, I knew we would be on the same page when it came to work ethic and pushing each other day in and day out. The move proved to pay off as I met my goals for the off season and am feeling great.

Each off season is a season in itself, a season of family time and a season of weight lifting and countless hours in the cage. It is a time when no one is watching you but yourself and a time when you have the opportunity to focus your efforts on certain parts of your game that you feel you need to improve upon. The off season is what makes the beginning of the actual season so exciting. It holds an unparalleled sense of excitement and expectation for players and fans alike...ESPECIALLY Phillies fans.

Post was featured on baseball-ladies.com, a great blog about Philadelphia sports written by a dedicated group of Philadelphia women.

My Host Mom

2011-01-17T20:12:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, January 6, many of the minor leaguers in the Phillies organization tragically lost a great friend and a second mother. Kathy Palamara, my East coast Mom (and host mom), as myself and many of the other players affectionately called her, passed away, at age 54, after being ambushed by bacterial meningitis during the holiday season and succumbing to it shortly after despite a hard fought battle with the aggressive illness. The tragic news hit myself and many of my teammates hard along with the huge number of people that Kathy considered loved ones.

Kathy was my host mom in Lakewood this past season, but our relationship stretches back to the year before when I got called up for Lakewood's first of two consecutive championships. I especially wanted to commemorate her life and legacy on my blog because she was always so enthusiastic about my writing and was always supporting me to continue to develop my writing voice and skills and I think she would be very pleased to see me continue, especially in her memory. Everyone leaves a legacy once they pass on from this world and Kathy's is especially inspiring and important to so many of us. It is my hope that this reaches Phillies and baseball fans far and wide to tell the story of her legacy and shed light on a very personal side of minor league baseball; the relationship between players and their host families. I have reached out to my teammates, inside the Phillies organization and some now in other organizations, who had the honor of getting to know her from years past to present and will include their thoughts and memories of Kathy at the end of my entry and as they come in.

The first time I met Kathy was in my first year of professional baseball shortly after my first call up. It was in Haggerstown, Md (Yes, she very occasionally made it to some of our road series, a testament to her dedication to her “sons” on the team, just as any other proud mother would travel to watch and support her son). I had just gotten off my flight from Florida and was joining the team for their playoff run. As I scrambled out onto the field to stretch, I saw a lady who was surrounded by my new teammates standing near our dugout. There were smiles all around and guys kept hugging her before they headed out to stretch. Her magnetic personality and happy enthusiasm for us was always on display, right from the start for me. I was quickly called over to her by some of the teammates to be introduced and upon giving her a hug, one of the first things Kathy did was offer me a place to stay at her home with her family and the other couple of players she was hosting. I had already decided to live with a few of the other guys on the team in their apartment so I politely declined but told her if I returned next season I would hope I would be on the top of her list of players to host. The next day she had a huge snack bag put together for me. This is something Kathy routinely did for many guys on the team to help the long bus rides pass more pleasantly. Prior to this past season, I went out of my way to contact her months before spring training to ask if she and her wonderful husband, Bob, would have me if I was assigned to Lakewood and she quickly confessed she was hoping I would ask. I got assigned to Clearwater for the beginning of the season, but around the half I was moved down to Lakewood so I could start and get in more at bats. She was one of the first people I called and despite her house being full with Adam Buschini and Jiwan James, she said she would make room for me.

Upon showing up, I found that Kathy had gone out and bought a bed for me and converted their den into a bedroom for me. I was blown away. Not to mention, Kathy and Bob never charged us rent, and she constantly made food for us almost on call. I really hope she enjoyed it, which I have a strong feeling she did, because she was always whipping something up for us. When I broke my arm, she was genuinely heartbroken for me and was at the airport every other week in Philadelphia to pick me up and take me to my checkups with the surgeon. She was even there to take me to surgery and bring me home and take care of me like the most loving of mothers until I flew home to rest and be with my family back home. Kathy was there to comfort me and encourage me through the entire process, which was hard at times. She didn't just do this for me though, she did the same for Buschini when he had surgery on his hand shortly after I had left and all the ensuing appointments he had, as well as one of our new draft guys, Guantlett Eldemire, who ended up having surgery on his wrist before he ever played an inning of pro ball and is fully recovered and ready to do work this year. When I shocked the doctors and returned to the Blueclaws before playoffs even started, well before my prognosis said I would, which was next year, she was again like a proud mother and quickly welcomed me back into her home and “my room”, as Adam's spot was quickly filled when he left after surgery and Micheal Dabbs arrived. She was there for me, Adam and Gauntlett for our entire recovery and was undoubtedly partly responsible for our healing progress.

Outside of baseball, Kathy's character was no less selfless, as she was a nurse for many years and was still serving the local school district as a substitute nurse for school children whenever needed. She had a masters in Nursing Education on top of an undergraduate degree in nursing. Helping others was undoubtedly her passion, even more so outside of her baseball life which is hard to believe because of the generosity she relentlessly showed us. As another testament to Kathy and her husband's love for helping others, she and Bob adopted two of their children from Columbia years ago and raised them along with their other children and other kids from around the neighborhood.

I could go on and on about the great memories I have of Kathy, her husband Bob and their family, but I want to leave room for my teammates to write about theirs. Kathy did get to proudly see and be there when one of her “sons” made it to the big leagues, in the form of Dominic Brown. I am so happy to say she also got to enjoy and be a part of back to back Lakewood Blueclaws championships prior to her passing, something she savored for us almost as much as we did. I last talked to her on Christmas day and luckily got to tell her I loved her before we hung up. She will be missed greatly and undoubtedly has a large group of professional baseball players, myself included, dedicating their upcoming seasons to her memory and her family. I love you Kathy, thank you for changing my life, and countless others' lives for the better. Rest In Peace.

(Kathy and me, “one of her guys”, after we won the 2010 South Atlantic League Championship.)

D'Arby Myers wrote, “Kathy is one of the most caring and kindest people I ever met. Her love for her boys and other people was greater than I could have ever imagined. She will always be my New Jersey mom.”

Zach Collier wrote,”Never ever would of thought, one of the nicest people I know is gone now. Honestly I loved you like family and I know you truly loved us the same! Kathy I love you so much and appreciate everything you've done.. may you now rest in peace.. this upcoming season is for you...”

Gauntlett Eldemire wrote, “She was like another parent. She cared deeply about the players and the team and the Phillies organization. She was just such an overall wonderful person.”

Adam Buschini wrote, "Kathy was my host Mom at Lakewood in 2010. After only a few months of knowing her, I did not see her as my host mom, but as family. Kathy was such a nice and caring person and I am honored that I had the chance to know her. She was always there for me through the thick and thin and I will always remember her forever.

I played hurt for part of the past season with my injured right hand and Kathy was always so concerned and supportive. (Her favorite saying was “You guys get a double dose, I am a nurse and a mother”) My roommates were Jiwan James for the whole season and Brian Gump, and Michael Dabbs for about a month. Once I had to get surgery, Kathy took care of me like I was one her own children. She drove me to Philadelphia, had the surgery, and drove me back to New Jersey to recover at her house. My parents were going to fly out for my surgery from California but they knew how loving Kathy was and knew how much she cared about my health.

After surgery I flew home to California in the middle of July. I flew back to Philadelphia five times, (once a month) to get a check up from the Doctor. Each time Kathy would take me to my appointment and we would spend the rest of the day together visiting the city. One day we went to the National Constitution Center, Independence Hall, and the Liberty Bell. Another one of my favorite days was a tour through City Hall, which is the largest municipal building in the United States. But the time I visited in October I told her, “Kathy, I will remember this for the rest of my life, you have no idea.” Kathy got us tickets to the Phillies vs. San Francisco Giants NLCS Game 2 from probably her favorite host son, Phillies Right Fielder Dominic Brown. We got to talk to Browny before the game and had seats behind home plate. I am from California and grew up a Giants fan and now playing for the Phillies. I got to watch both of my favorite teams play at game 2 of the NLCS (I was rooting for the Phillies of course.) After all of these great times I spent with Kathy, her passing away came as such a shock and it has been a rough past couple of weeks. We spent so much quality time together, I can’t really explain all the great memories and conversations we had.

I flew out for Kathy’s funeral and made it to the visitation and service. I could not imagine what her husband Bob and the rest of her family was going through. Mike Durant, another Phillies player, lived with Kathy and Bob a few years past and was there as well. Mike and I were talking about how Kathy and Bob were our family and they would of done anything for us. I feel so lucky to have had such good people in my life, like Kathy and Bob, affecting it in a positive way. Bob told both of us to stay over for the night and we both slept there. Bob said, “you guys are family, you got to stay with us.” After the funeral, I got to spend the day with the whole family and it felt great to be with them. Bob said he is flying to Spring Training and I will be looking forward to seeing him along with many of the other players. It was really hard to say goodbye to everyone, but I am glad I was there to support the family and I know they appreciated it. I know Kathy is in a better place right now and watching over me. I am so blessed that she was part of my life." -Adam Buschini

2010-12-09T11:58:00.000-08:00

This comes as a repost from my good friend Kyle Kaveny's blog (Kyle writes a similar blog about his experience playing professional soccer in Europe in thier "minor leagues" and is one of the raddest guys I know). I liked it so much I thought I would put it here.

Archived Quote - Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,

black as the pit from pole to pole,

i thank whatever god may be

for my unconquerable soul.

in the fell clutch of circumstance

i have not winced nor cried aloud.

under the bludgeoning of chance

my head is bloody, but unbowed

beyond this place of wrath and tears

looms but the horror of the shade;

and yet the menace of the years

finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

it matters not how strait the gait,

how charged with punishments the scroll,
i am the master of my fate;
i am the captain of my soul.

Invictus, William Ernest Henley

2010-10-10T23:40:00.000-07:00

If the dream is big enough, the odds don't matter...

Work is in progress

Interview

2010-09-09T22:49:00.000-07:00

This is an interview I did a week or so before I got injured. Hopefully you enjoy it!

Finding My Swing

2010-08-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

   I have come a long way in my recovery from my fourth of July broken arm. After the surgery, the healing and the rehabilitation I have arrived and the most challenging part of making it back, and that would be finding my swing and timing. I think this is so challenging because I have maintained a fair level of patience throughout the process of healing and I am so close to making it all the way back before the season is over, but in order to do so I have to wade through some rehab games with the GCL team and go day to day 4 at bats at a time. This has been especially difficult because Florida has a tendency to produce a lot of rain which in turn produces a lot of rainouts which means I haven't gotten the opportunity to string together more than two games in row, which is essential for developing timing.

   Each day I have gotten a step closer to getting my swing mechanically right and I feel its about there, now its just a matter of timing and rhythm, which so far seems to come and go. I haven't gotten the results I want in just 12 at bats, but I have to keep reminding myself that I just sat out for a month and a half and its natural to struggle for a bit until I get acclimated again. Our pitching coach Chuck Hernandez explained to me how it is a lot like getting older, you expect your body to pick up where you left off and do the things it used to do, but you have to give it some time now before that happens. He explained how he used to be quite the basketball player and could cut and dunk and knock down some shots and now when he plays his mind still works the same, telling himself to cut or crash the boards, but unfortunately, his feet just don't move anymore. Lucky for me, unlike the aging process, my skill set will return shortly and not be a permanent installment in my game, I just have to be patient and cut myself a little slack despite the frustration.

   The good news is, I am seeing the ball well which is the last thing I expected to return to normal. Typically when you are out for a period of time, the first few times you get in the box, the ball seems like it is coming at 100 mph. This hasn't really been the case for me which is great, but almost adds to the frustration because usually when I am seeing the ball well I am hitting it well too.

   I have had SOME good timing though, the Gulf Coast League team which I have been playing with just clinched a playoff spot and I arrived just in time to take part. This means I have been a part of both the Lakewood and GCL playoffs clinching games and subsequent celebrations, each time arriving just a few games prior to the clincher. Call it good timing or call me a lucky charm, but its been fun to share those experiences with multiple levels of the organization. The Gulf Coast celebration was concise yet rich with emotional release as the GCL experience is one of the most grueling seasons a ball player will ever go through. A box of Champagne (non alcoholic, but don't tell the underage players that because that might ruin their fun) awaited us as the team gathered outside the locker room to celebrate the team's right to compete in the playoffs for a championship ring and a champagne spraying mob jumped up and down with some yells of elation and lots of hugs and feet being stepped on by cleats. Best of luck to those guys and a special shout out to Bernie (who is the wife one of our most beloved Clubbys, Buck, and is one of the many supporters that are constantly pushing for me to keep the blog updated)

P.S. - I just started reading "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. It's a classic, but its 1200 pages long, easily the longest book I will ever read...if I can even make it all the way through. Wish me luck.

Joining a New Team

2010-08-15T12:56:00.000-07:00

   No, I didn't get traded. Nope, didn't return to the field of play...yet. I have, however, joined the ranks of "Team Rehab" which is stocked with a full range of position players to pitchers that have been forced on the shelf by an unusually amount of freak injuries like my own. This team is an accumulation of temporarily broken baseball players that do funny looking exercises, stretches and verbal jockeying of each other on a daily basis. The funny thing about team rehab, and this reflects nicely on the Phillies organization, is that even our disabled list, like our affiliates top to bottom, makes up an incredibly talented team of ball players.

   My arrival back in Clearwater was preempted by a cross country flight to Philly for one final x-ray and check up with my incredibly professional and talented surgeon Dr. Culp and his therapists. The check up went great and had a general theme of being slightly shocked at how quickly my injury had healed in only 4 weeks. The therapist was pretty funny, she just kept laughing when she was trying to think of exercises to give me because everything she kept coming up with was too easy for me at this point in my healing process. After my triumphant appointment, I got to hang with Buschini, our newly drafted outfielder Gauntlet Eldemire (who were both there for check ups for similar freakish hand injuries) and my east coast Mom, Kathy Palamara (my host mom in Lakewood) in Philly for a bit before we had to hit the airport yet again and jet set to our next locations. Upon arrival in Clearwater, I found out I was going to be rooming with my buddy and fellow outfielder/Californian, Zach Collier. Zach and I actually played for the same travel ball team back in Cali when we were growing up, baseball is a small world and becomes increasingly so as you move up the ranks.

   My first day of rehab elicited reactions from our trainers that were similar to those of my surgeon and therapist, slight shock at how functional and strong my forearm and wrist had become in such a short healing time. I breezed through my initial day of rehab, doing all the exercises to continue to foster strengthening of my hand, wrist and forearm as well as a good lower body work out and some running. Each day is pretty exciting for me because it allows for new "firsts" since my injury as well as acting as another step closer to making it back.

Team Rehab is hard at work every day, doing what we can do...to leave Team Rehab

Dealing with Injury

2010-07-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

I have to admit, I haven't done a very good job of keeping you updated throughout the season. Its been an interesting season for me personally to say the least. It definitely has not played out how I had envisioned it, but in life not many things go according to plans and rightfully so because it makes things interesting, it forces growth, it fosters maturity and perspective.

My season took a serious blow on a night when the whole country was celebrating. The 4th of July. I was so excited and proud to be playing America's game in front of 10,000 fans on the birthday of our great country, but that excitment quickly blurred into intense pain more mental than physical. During my second at bat of the game on a 1-2 pitch, a fastball around 90mph struck me on my forearm, when I barely check swung, in the perfect spot where there is just skin and bone and not a whole lot of muscle to absorb the impact. I dropped the bat and started to walk to first trying hard to play off the pain that was shooting through my arm. In my peripheral, I could hear the opposing manager shouting at the umpire that the ball had struck the bat due to the sound it made upon impact and that it didn't really hit me and to get me back to the plate. After a quick inspection of my forearm while walking down the line, I realized that noise the coach had thought was the ball hitting the bat was my bone cracking, I came to this conclusion for two reasons, I had never felt a pain quite like this before and there was a slight depression in my forearm where the bone was. After coming out of the game I sat in the lockerroom while I iced and compressed the injury and realized that I was more mentally in pain because I knew this injury would cost me playing time, I can deal with physical pain at a fairly high threshold, but the pain of missing time (Something that is actually very new to me because I have always been an extremely durable player, knock on wood). Everything began to set in and as I sat in the ER alone on the 4th of July in Greensboro, North Carolina, waiting to be taken in and treated, the devastation hit me and I broke down for a minute or two as I realized most if not all of the rest of my season had been taken from me just as it seemed I had finally found my swing and had begun to really tap into my potential on both sides of the ball, hitting had never felt that simple before and I really started to tap into the strength that Legg says I dont realize quite how strong I am. (Legg had just tweeked my swing a few weeks ago and ever since the day we made some mechanical adjustments I had been going off at the plate. Despite the injury, I have all of these new fixes firmly ingrained in my head and I make sure and practice them every day while im at home resting).

After my short self pity moment, I quickly decided that now was as good a time as ever to start my recovery process so I quickly picked my head back up and began thinking about my road to recovery and all of the things I could do to expediate the process, here is what I came up with: Eat extremely healthy (after some research on bone healing, I found time after time that healthy eating habits are the number one influence on recovery time), sleep as much as possible, work out legs and core to stay fit and continue to improve while my upper half was essentially shut down (which it turns out is only half true about my upper half), and keep a positive attitude. I also thought about watching as much stand up as possible because I hear laughter is the best medicine...

After my first check up which was last monday, t-minus 2 weeks after the injury and LESS than 2 weeks after surgery, all signs pointed to my recovery efforts working quite effectively. They took my cast off after only having it on for about a week and half and gave me exercises to get my range of motion back and a week later, I can honestly say my range of motion is probably back to about 90% already. The docotrs were extremely pleased with how everything was lookinig and said its about as good as it can possibly be this quickly after an injury. I am shocked at how good my arm feels for only being 3 weeks past breaking it. Medical technology and technique is amazing these days, it helps that the Phillies have done an exceptional job of providing me with the best doctors and treatment available, much appreciation and thanks for that.

I was told I would not make it back to play this season, but in my head I have maintained that I will, maybe even if that is just to keep me motivated and locked in. With my arm already feeling this good, it is becoming hard for me to imagine spending too much more time at home before I head to Florida to officially start my rehab which looks like it will be in about 2 more weeks.

I have take a lot away from this experience already. First, I have never missed an extended amount of games in my career professionally, collegiately or in youth baseball so this is quite a new experience for me. Second, it further reinforced the truth that in life a lot of times you can't control the things that happen to you and around you, but you can control the attitude and approach that you take towards these situations and this often times makes all the difference and even lends you pretty significant control after all. This is especially important in the worldof baseball. Third, I have always maintained that injuries are almost a blessing sometimes because they take you away from the game you love and give you a fresh perspective of how lucky you are to be out there every day playing, this a point that I have hammered home when talking to my teammates in Clearwater and Lakewood when I talk to them since Ive been injured. It has left me EVEN MORE hungry, you always appreciate things more when they are taken away from you and now its my job to do everything I can to take it back and run with it. Fourth, I have had the opportunity to travel back home for a few weeks while I rest and heal and it has been bitter sweet. It is nice seeing my family and friends and being surrounded by so much love and support, but many times the bitter part of the equation hits me because I know I shouldn't be here, I should be playing and so my mind almost remains in and on Lakewood eagerly dreaming up my return and another playoff run for a championship if I can be so lucky to make it back in time.

With my new bionic arm, I'm starting to feel a lot like the terminator...I'll be back...before you know it

Archived Quote

2010-06-27T23:20:00.001-07:00

"What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal" - Albert Pine

The Quarter Game

2010-05-19T08:03:00.000-07:00

   Whoever said baseball players couldn't be carnies was dead wrong. Well, I'm not sure that's every actually been said, but in case it was, here is an anecdote that shatters that hypothesis...

   The bullpen is always somewhat of a circus in terms of what goes on in the first few innings of a game when the pitchers have nothing to do but watch the game, while fans try their hardest to connect with them and interact with them. So being the entertainers that we are, our pitchers invented (I don't think they actually invented it, I think this has been a long standing bullpen game) a game to cater to the fans interest in interacting with them as well as their unquenchable thirst for game balls and other memorabilia.

I believe it is called the quarter game and here is how it goes. This game is only implemented at Thresher home games and can be very lucrative for our team funds. Our bullpen is sunken into our outfield concourse in left field and butts up against Frenchy's Tiki Bar, which is generally packed with enthusiastic and thirsty fans. This is key as the location of the bullpen allows for fans to look down at the bullpen and often heckle, ask for autographs, just watch the guys as they sit there or warm up or play the quarter game. The quarter game consists of three plastic water cups set up about 2 to 3 feet from each other in a straight line, the first cup being closest to the participant and the third being the farthest.  People can walk up and take a stab at this game however much they want as long as they have quarters to throw. Each cup has its coinciding prize written in the dirt next to it. People then proceed to throw quarters at the cups, if you make it in the first cup, you get a game ball, if you make it in the second cup, you get a brand new ball and if you make it in the third cup, you get the apparent holy grail of in game souvenirs, a broken bat.Keep in mind, the bullpen is about 20 feet below the concourse so making a quarter in any of these small cups isn't an easy feat. Its almost like a mutual fund for the bullpen guys, because they set it up and then turn their backs and pay attention to the baseball game while the money piles up on the ground behind them without any effort. Occasionally, they will hear the clank of a quarter making it in the cup, in which case, they hold up their end of the deal and either give the fan their prize immediately, or tell them to wait after so they can get a bat or a fresh ball. You might be surprised at the revenue that gets generated on a night when we have good attendance, maybe teams that are struggling with revenue in these tough times should think about implementing the quarter game for some relief.

   See, baseball players can be honorable carnies too, who would have thought.

Upcoming Topics:

- Taking on the Heat
- Ping Pong Tales
- Travel: Florida State League Style
- D'arbyisms: The Legend Grows Every Day

Back On It

2010-05-03T11:06:00.000-07:00

   My unofficial/unintentional hiatus from blogging is over as I am on the bus writing this en route to Bravard County and our first real road trip of the season. After spring training ended I have been busy getting adjusted and settling in to my new place, the new team, new stadium, routines, etc...In fact, yesterday I finally got a bed of my own to sleep on. I made a pretty big upgrade saying goodbye to our leather couch with no back support and hello to a barely used king size Serta pillow top mattress that I located on craigslist and bought up for only $90. The first night of sleep on it was nothing short of amazing, anyways, on to the important stuff.

   The team is great; great guys, coaches, stadium, the die hard fans that are here are great and brave for coming to every game despite the heat, and its only going to get hotter by the way) and we happen to be extremely talented. I believe we are in first and just finished a three game sweep of the Daytona Cubs. It starts with our pitching which has been superb on both ends, starters and bullpen. The offense is well balanced and still not even firing on all cylinders yet and our defense has been pretty spectacular thus far. I can't stress enough how many quality guys we have on this team, which is convenient because we spend an almost unhealthy amount of time together on and off the field, and on the ping pong table...that's right, we pooled our money together and got a clubhouse ping pong table that has been in constant use ever since it's arrival. Lidge even got in on the action when he was down here rehabbing, he quickly revealed to us that he was ping pong champion on a few of his teams when he was coming up in the minors.

   For me personally, the season has been nothing short of a huge learning experience so far. I have struggled at the plate in limited plate appearances as we have 5 outfielders on the team and three of us are rotating in and out on an almost daily basis (D'arby, Mitchell and myself). This situation has forced me to revisit some of the key aspects of being a professional that are important in playing at your highest level, namely, patience, preparation, consistency, timing, patience, believing in yourself, making adjustments and patience. I'm sure I missed a few things, but those are the ones that come to mind the quickest. Although the first month of the season has been a struggle at the plate, I have still brought the glove and the arm everyday. I feel like I am becoming a better ball player because of it, adversity breeds growth, I don't think anyone can argue with that, and I certainly still have a lot room for growth and a lot left to learn.

Coming Soon:

-Bullpen Quarter Game
-First Real Road Trip
-Ping Pong Tales
-Taking on the Heat
-Travel: Florida State League Style

Guest Blogger: 3B Adam Buschini (2009 Phillies 4th Round Pick)

2010-04-08T08:31:00.000-07:00

   Hello everyone. First off, I would like to thank Brian for giving me the opportunity to make a guest blog appearance. I have only known Brian for one month and he has become one of my best friends in the Phillies organization. Congrats to Brian on making the High A Clearwater Threshers team, I am pumped for you bud. My name is Adam Buschini and I play third base for the Lakewood Blueclaws. I played second base for Williamsport last season, and made the transition to third base over the off-season. Brian has asked me to talk about routines, preparation, and what goes through the mind of an infielder. Before I talk about infield, I wanted to talk about our past.

   Brian had probably his best collegiate game of his career vs. my team in 2008 and hit one of the farthest balls I have ever seen hit against us in 2009 when he blasted a game and series winning grand slam against us. I had some success as well in 2009, but not like that. With the Blue-Green rivalry game coming up this weekend, (My school Cal Poly vs. Brian’s school UCSB, same conference and only an hour apart.) I had to throw out this statistic. The three years I have played against Brian, (Redshirted in 08 due to Tommy John and did not play.) Cal Poly was 7-2 vs. UCSB. Sorry Bout it Gump! Lol. My team is struggling this year, but I got a feeling they will take the series and Brian will owe me dinner.

   Playing multiple infield positions has helped me develop as an infielder. Turning a double play is one of the most important plays to make in baseball. Playing second base last year made me realize how import a good feed (Or throw) is. A throw that is too low is hardest to turn, a throw too far towards first base may get your second baseman clocked, and a throw too high may not even get the first out. So I really focus on good throws to the chest of the second baseman on the front corner of the bag. Over the off-season I really put an emphasis on increasing my arm strength since there are longer throws from third base. My hard work in that department has allowed me to make the transition to the other side of the diamond fairly smoothly this spring.

   During Spring Training I had a meeting with the Phillies Minor League Infield Coordinator about getting a routine for everyday at the park and picking three things to improve on before the all-star break. The three areas in which we chose to work on in pre-game workouts were backhands, timing my set-up with the pitcher, and practicing like you play. My daily routine consists of 10-20 ground balls straight at me, to my left, and to my backhand. I end it with 5-10 slow rollers. I will usually throw 20 total throws across the diamond, but the main thing I do is take each ground ball like it is a live ground ball in the game. Some people think if you take 100 ground balls you are getting better, but what the coaches’ want is 25-50 ground balls with 100% effort, its always quality of quantity, especially with such a long season ahead. Timing my set-up with the pitcher is extremely important in order to get a good read on the ball while. It is crucial that I am on my toes when the ball is crossing the hitting area. If I am a second too early or late, I will either end up either on my heals or leaning too far forward. Your body weight should not only be on your toes, but also on the inside of your feet so you can move side to side and read the ball off the bat. Any advantage I can get at third base (aka “the hot corner”) will help me become a better player and help my team win more ball games.

   Brian, you are the man, miss you dude. I am in Ashville, NC getting ready for the season opener. I am excited about this year and feel like the work I did in the off-season will show. Thanks for the Blog time, I hope this short infield talked helped shed some light on the infield side of things and hope to be back on here in the future. If I don’t see you sometime later this season Brian, I will see you in the off-season for sure. (Go Cal Poly!)

AB26

Visual Training

2010-04-03T17:31:00.000-07:00

   Okay, I have teased my older brother John for long enough. His curiosity, and I'm sure many others, were piqued when I first mentioned our visual training that we have been receiving this spring and he has been waiting for an explanation for a few weeks now. So, the time has come to discuss and elaborate as best that I can on the visual training techniques and ideas that we have been taught this spring.

   This topic begins with a little side story. The two specialists whom the Phillies brought in to introduce and train us in visual techniques are from the same area that I am back home. In fact, one of my workout buddies (and mentors and Andy Tracy's, our AAA 1st baseman, roommate here in Clearwater) from this offseason, Howie Clark, knows the two specialists very well and was working on setting me up with them before I ever came out to spring training. Due to scheduling I never got the opportunity and when I showed up in Florida and they introduced us to the specialists, I had no idea that they were the guys who I was supposed to meet back home. I quickly found out though, when they walked up to me smiling and called me by name before I had ever met them. Anyways, the relevance of that side story is debatable but it does serve as anecdotal evidence of how small of a world it is and it allowed me to be a little more comfortable with them and talk to them more.

   The eye specialists are a father son team, the father is Dr. Bill Harrison and the son is Ryan Harrison. Their company is called Slow The Game Down: Visual Performance Training (check their sites out, sportseyesite.com which has some sample drills and slowthegamedown.com). They work in tandem and compliment each other quite well filling in details when one skims over them and offering different perspectives and descriptions of concepts. They talked about how we as players focus so much on training our physicals skills and our mental skills, but we hardly ever pay any attention to our eyes. If we can't see, we can't hit, so maybe we should take a little time to develop our visual skills and sharpen our vision and depth perception.

   Some of the biggest concepts that Bill and Ryan introduced to us are the facts that when you think, you can't see and when you're eyes are moving, you can't think and you see as clearly as possible. This is why guys who are in the batters box thinking about mechanics, tend to not hit very well because it takes their focus from seeing the ball and shifts it internally to what their bodies are doing. This struck a chord with me immediately, because I was in the process of incorporating a new mechanism into my swing and was struggling a little bit at the plate for this reason exactly. I was really focusing on my mechanics in the box and was in fact, not seeing the ball well at all. The other idea of when your eyes move you cannot think and you see things in the highest definition you are capable of is also extremely relevant because often, as batters, we get caught staring at the pitcher. They ran us through some demonstrations to hammer it home. If you want, try picking a spot on a picture on your wall or something on your desk and stare at it, you will notice that your vision can begin to get fuzzy, unfocused or un-detailed. So in order to combat this, they suggested we develop a visual routine when we are in the box of switching our eyes from shoulder to should and then to the pitchers hat and then to his release point in order to keep our eyes moving so that we can relax, not over think and see the ball as clearly as possible. This has really worked for me and I had already been doing something similar, but now that I know more about why this is important, I am more aware of doing it EVERY pitch.

   Bill and Ryan gave us some packets that included visual training cards "that are sort of like weight lifting for your eyes". These cards have identical pictures that are separated by an inch or two all the way up to 4 or 5 inches of separation. Our job is to be able to control our focus point and depth perception and create a third 3D picture in the middle. It is very difficult to explain, but it feels like your looking at one of those magic eye pictures when you are doing it correctly. In addition to these cards, we were provided membership to their site that has an online training regimen of visual drills that you can do any time as long as you have a computer with internet. They are extremely challenging and seem almost impossible when you first start them, but believe it or not, your eyes do get stronger and they begin to slow everything down see more clearly. This brings me to my next point.

   When someone is under pressure or stress, they tense up and their eyes strain and thus everything appears to be happening faster and in less detail. This is why it is so important to relax when you are in the box and these drills they give us are very effective and training you to relax and see detail under duress.

   Lastly, they had some drills for us involving hand eye coordination and tracking the ball. Those were pretty fun and involved ping pong balls getting rapidly shot at you while you are in your hitting position and you having to catch them deep by your back hip which is only possible to do consistently if you are tracking them all the way into your hand. It's very hard to explain all the things they had us doing because there is such detail involved and many of the exercise you simply have to do to understand how it works and what you need to do with your eyes in order for them to work.

   I could go on more and more, but I have given you the floor plan of what we have been doing. It has been very interesting and beneficial. These guys have worked with legendary baseball players and many current big leaguers and all-stars so it was awesome to get access to that kind of technical training that the big leaguers use. I would definitely recommend checking out their site and trying out their drills, they are fun and will give you a better idea of what I have been talking about here.

   Big thanks to Bill and Ryan for working with us. I hope this explanation is sufficient and gave you a good idea of what our visual training is all about.

Spring Training Part 2

2010-03-29T18:18:00.000-07:00

   A lot has happened since my last spring training installment. The most noticeable occurance is the empty lockers that are scattered about the clubhouse these days. Its a sad and tough truth of the job, every year, a pretty large number of guys have to be released to make room for up and coming players and new prospects.

   Today marked the second round of cuts and when the dust settled, 12 more guys had been released. Some of the guys I knew very well and others I didn't know well at all. Either way, the clubhouse is always a somber place on these days and it all starts on the walk up to the complex when one of the coaches is waiting outside to pluck the guys out who are on the cut list. Every player has to walk by the coach on his way to the clubhouse and hope to God that he doesn't call you over. It can be a bit nerve wracking, but again, it comes with the territory of the job. I want to wish my buddies and other players who have left the organization the best of luck in the future with baseball and life.

   As far as the rest of the business being conducted at spring training, it has been busy as expected. Several meetings ranging from player security to nutrition to visual training to sports psychology have occured. If we have meetings scheduled, they are usually in the morning before we get going on the field.

   A typical day goes like this, early work and breakfast, meeting if scheduled, then orientation, then we hit the fields to stretch, throw, work on the fundamental of the day and then take batting practice before we break for lunch. After lunch the teams that are traveling to play hop on the bus and leave a bit early to get to the opposition's complex (sometimes they leave before the teams that are staying at the complex to play their games even get in for lunch). The low and high A teams have done most of the traveling, but we get home games occassionally too. All the drives are nice and close, none longer than 30 or 45 minutes. Once we get to where were going, we stretch again, throw again, play some pepper and run some sprints before the game starts. We play all 9 and then condition after the game ends and then drive home. Myself, Dugan, Barnes, Buschini, and McConnell all ride to the field together every morning at 6:15 AM and typically we don't get back to the hotel until around a bit before 5 PM so as you can see, the days can be pretty long. Sometimes we stay after to put more time in the cages or weight room too. I glossed over all that pretty quickly, but believe me, there is a ton of physical exertion going on every day and you really have to take care of your body and monitor is closely. One nice thing is that falling asleep is never a problem, in fact, it's one of the easiest parts of the whole experience.

Speaking of which, it's just past 9 o'clock here and my eyelids are getting heavy...

Coming Soon:

- Adam Buschini guest blog (He is pretty excited about it and I'm excited to see what kind of writing skills a Cal Poly alum (we were college rivals) can come up with, don't let your school down big guy!)

- Visual Training

- The Definition of a Prospect

Guest Blogger - Thomas Phelps: Orioles Minor League Pitcher

2010-03-24T15:08:00.000-07:00

Well to start off my official “guest blog,” I’m proud to say I’ve known Brian for quite some time now—in fact, I can honestly say I’m honored to be the inaugural guest blogger. I figure I should ease into things seeing as how my blogging skills are quite novice, but here is a little background information. I was drafted in 2008 by the Orioles. I am a Right-handed pitcher. And yes, I am indeed the Thomas Phelps who broke Brian’s bat this off-season. Brian requested I write about the mind set and preparation of a pitcher in my day-to-day routine. (Since I'm( Brian speaking) not at home, this is the only picture I can find of me and Thomas, and its only slightly embarassing haha. That's Thomas and me posing during our senior year of high school, in our clearly distorted idea of getting dressed up, on our way in to our school awards ceremony. Needless to say, we've come a long way in many aspects.)

   The day of a pitcher isn’t far different from a position player. We all show up for breakfast at the field, we all do our stretching and throwing at the same time, and we all do individual and team defensive work. The biggest difference is the lack of batting practice. We as pitchers like to think we don’t need the batting practice because we ARE that good; however, the position players may sing to the contrary. The key is finding ways to break up the monotony of standing around for an hour of BP. So we often play 500, a game where catching a ball in the air rewards 50 points, a one-hopper 25 points, and an error deducts 100 points. This is fairly standard. The other alternative is the philosophical conversations that truly never lead to anything except an old fashioned, “Cool. Clown Guy” at the end. Truth be told, some of the best conversations take place within the boredom of shagging BP.

    The real upside of being a pitcher is when the game starts. We have the ultimate advantage. To think a hitter will get about 27 hits in 100 at-bats is an exciting thought for pitchers everywhere, which is why the Orioles stress to us not to give hitters any credit, which is a fair statement because generally hitters only hit mistake pitches anyways. Knowing this makes pitching quite fun, especially as I have learned to analyze hitters’ swings, understand tendencies, and gain control over my pitching. While on the mound I look for several things, the first of which being how confident the hitter looks. A confident hitter is often a prepared hitter, which means as a pitcher I know I have to make quality pitches. To the other side, a hitter who is real fidgety or tense is easy to pick apart because his mind is occupied by something other than the ball coming out of my hand. The second is where and how he stands in the box. Being a sinker/cutter pitcher, I love when batters crowd the plate because it often means I am getting firewood that night.

   Now the important part comes…pitch execution. Regardless of how big, strong, intimidating, fast, sneaky a batter is, a well-executed pitch is tough to hit. If there was one goal I could say for any pitcher anywhere it is this: “My goal is to throw a specific and aggressive pitch to a specific and aggressive location.” And many more times than not, the hitter will get himself out. The second most important part of pitching is being unpredictable. Hitters and base-runners look for patterns, and if as a pitcher I can hold runners by varying my looks, and keep hitters off balance by mixing speeds and throwing fastballs in off-speed counts and vis-à-vis, I am positive that regardless of the result, I have done everything I need to in order to get this batter out.

   The toughest part of being a pitcher is the fact that hitters do indeed succeed some of the time, and regardless of how bad they “pimp” a homerun, or how far the ball goes, or even how many errors your defense has made behind you, it all has to end. Knowing this, it is imperative to realize that every day is a new day, and we are only as good as our next pitch (not our last pitch, but in fact our NEXT pitch). But seeing as how this is my first guest-blog, I will avoid rambling on forever, but I’m certain I’ll be back for more.

   Thanks to Brian for the Blog Time, and everyone who reads this should truly feel blessed to have Brian in your lives because he is an unbelievable guy, and by far my best friend.

Crowning the Champs

2010-03-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

On Friday night in Clearwater, we, the South Atlantic League World Champions, were honored just before the big league game against the Orioles. It was a pretty cool experience having the entire team back together including all the guys who helped lock up the first half and a playoff bid, who then moved on to higher levels or were traded. Travis D'arnaud made the trip from Dunedin to Brighthouse field to pick up his ring with the rest of us. It was good to see him and great that he made it since he played such a huge part in the teams championship run.

All the guys were dressed up and looking sharp as we took the field. The stadium was about half full as it was still early, but the fans that were there were very attentive and supportive. As we were walking down the 3rd base foul line, many of the Philly fans who were in town to catch some spring training games were congratulating us and giving us a heartfelt reception.

Steve Noworyta seamlessly MCed the ceremony and we were greeted by several high ranking front office personel who were there to congratulate each of us as we recieved our rings. After everyone was introduced and we got an ovation from the crowd, we snapped a few team photos showing our rings off and then that was it. We were all taking it all in and pretty happy when we opened the box to see that big sparkly ring inside that was personalized with each of our names.

After we left the field, most of us stuck around to catch a few inning of the big league game and see the big guys do what they do best.

(Thats me and thee Steve Susdorf in the snazzy shades on the field before we were given our rings)

Reader Q & A

2010-03-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

Ryan from the Philly suburbs asked:

During spring training what do you and your roommate do after practice on a typical day? And during the little down time you have do you ever play video games?

A: Unfortunately, mine and Kelly's typical day after our spring training workouts are pretty unexciting. Typically we get back to the hotel around 3 or 4 and are extremely worn out which means we crash on our beds and take a little nap or watch tv. Then we wake up and go to Lenny's around 5 for dinner. When we get back I usually do some visual training stuff for 20 minutes to an hour and usually watch some tv (a lot of espn lately because of march madness! My Alma mater UC Santa Barbara is in the big dance after their conference championship, so I'm pretty stoked, although we are facing the 2 seed Ohio State in the first round and that will be a tough match. I gotta believe in my boys though, we have some athletes that can run and score and we have a center who is 7' 3" that can change the way an entire teams offense runs along with another center that is very physical and athletic. Enough about the Gaucho scouting report though). Anyways, when were not watching tv we definitely get down on the video games with the other guys. Madden and Call of Duty are the two favorites amongst all the guys. We get pretty into madden, I like to talk a lot of trash to guys who are really good (Carl Uhl and Adam Buschini) even though I suck just to make it fun and interesting. I've never been great at video games, but I am honing my skills and got my first big upset yesterday when I handily defeated Uhl. I haven't stopped letting him hear about it since.

Long time fan, Michael, asks:

Everyone always talks about the different types of pitches and pitchers.. Can you tell us about difficulty of pitches and how to hit them?

A: There are an endless amount of pitches that pitchers can throw. I say this because pitches are almost like snowflakes, no two are exactly the same. Everyone's "stuff" is a little different from the next guy and that's what makes hitting so challenging. Each guys has their own arm angle(s), they are a different height, they are lefty or righty, they have their own unique arm action, etc...To break it down and make it simple though, a majority of the pitchers we face throw a 4 seam, and sometimes 2 seam fastball, a changeup and a breaking ball (slider or curve). I feel like cut fastballs are gaining popularity amongst pitchers and have no idea why everyone doesn't throw them as they are pretty nasty when used correctly. Left handed pitchers typically only throw changeups to right handed hitters and sliders to left handed hitters when it comes to secondary stuff and it is reverse for right handed pitchers. I am a lefty, so I typically only see fastballs and changeups from right handed pitchers, although it is certainly possible to see their breaking stuff too, but I'm more likely to see changeups. Again, this is one of those long standing traditions that I'm not sure I understand and I have heard many coaches who don't really agree with it either.

As far as what the most difficult pitch to hit is, it all depends on what the pitcher's best pitch is. For me, a good straight changeup is very hard to overcome because it has the same spin as a fastball, but appears to stop in front of you (this is an optical illusion obviously, but sometimes it literally feels like you swung and the ball waited for your bat to go by before it proceeded to the catchers glove).

Pitch recognition is the key to hitting any pitch. Believe it or not, we (hitters) can pick up the spin on the ball, the pitchers arm slowing down and sometimes even different release points or arm angles that pitchers have for their different pitches, and all this in the .2 seconds we have from when the ball leaves his hand to when it hits the mit. As Derek Zoolander would say, it's mind bottling. Sliders and curveballs usually have a sideways spin on them and often this creates a red dot on the ball, changeups that cut or fade typically have a slightly slower spin on them than a fastball, knuckles have very little to no spin. The key to hitting each pitch is recognizing it as early as possible and your brain kind of does the rest in calculating trajectory and depth of where you ideally want to make contact. Now that I'm thinking about it, I''m not really sure how we do it, we just do. Years of repetition and practice have made it so that it is basically a natural reaction now and we are fine tuning that reaction and developing our mechanical, visual and MENTAL approaches in order to continue growing and getting to the bigs.

I will write more about the visual side of things later as this is a relatively new practice for me and as I wrote in the above answer, we are now getting coached on it and have drills and exercises at our disposal to develop it.

Those are just some of the questions I have received. Again, feel free to email me with any questions or ideas about something you would like me to explain or write about. The response so far has been great and I appreciate the support, not only from the people who have written in, but from everyone who has been following me and pulling for me. I genuinely appreciate the love and have been blown away by the support that I have gotten from the fans thus far, it really is great to be a Phillie.

***Exciting news by the way, I was asked to do an interview with Phillies TV about my blog tomorrow morning so that will be cool. Hopefully I can get the clip and post it on here. I'll post more when I have more about that when I get details!***

On the slate for my next few entries
- Friday's Lakewood Championship Ring Ceremony at the big league spring training game

- Spring Training Part II

- Kelly Dugan Guest Blogging

- Visual Training

Spring Training Part I

2010-03-12T13:22:00.000-08:00

     I have been here at the complex in Clearwater for 9 days now, but it seems like far less. Since spring training officially started on Monday, each day has been packed with workouts, introductions and orientations and by the time its over, usually around 3 pm, we are ready for a nice pre-lenny's nap.

   This first week is the conditioning phase of camp and my legs can certainly attest to that. Maybe I'm weird, okay I am, but I really enjoy coming back to the hotel after a hard days work and being exhausted and knowing I put forth a great effort and took some positive steps in learning my craft each day. So far the conditioning has been tough, but my off season training regimen has allowed me to excel to the point that players and coaches are noticing and that feels good.

   We have had our two main conditioning tests. The first was a three part circuit of base running, abs and the crown jewel that we call "The Philly Run". The Philly Run is an exhausting test of...well...physical fortitude. It is a 10 yd by 10 yd box (although it looks a lot more like 15 yd sides). one side you sprint, one side you side shuffle and pick a ball up that is rolled to you and drop it in a bucket, then the next side is a backwards run and the last side is a side shuffle the opposite way with another ball rolled to you. We continuously run in one direction for 5 minutes then switch and go the opposite direction for another 5 minutes making this beastly circuit 10 minutes of feeling like your legs are on fire and possibly being stabbed. The Philly Run induces all kinds of reactions, from vomiting, to severe decreasing in speed as it wears on, to just giving up and laying on the ground. I happily completed it at the front of the pack with none of these happening to me. We all quickly recovered for maybe a minute or two and then went to the base running station where we ran a series of singles, doubles, triples, first to thirds, inside the park home runs, etc. and then on to the ab workout station for a circuit of abs.

   Our second conditioning test was a timed running test where we ran, 2 300 ft sprints under a certain time with about 40 seconds rest in between, then 4 200 ft sprints under a certain time with 20 seconds rest and lastly 4 100 ft springs in under 4.5 seconds with 15 seconds rest in between. Each position had a different time expectation for their sprints as outfielders are obviously faster than catchers and corner infielders, or at least they usually are. Again, this running brought a few guys to their knees, or spread eagle on their backs after and even elicited some vomit from a few. Again, my training paid off as I breezed through the testing and finished front of the pack every time. I'm sorry if it comes off as bragging, I'm certainly not a bragger and this will be one of the first and last times I talk about my personal results, but I am extremely proud of the work I put in this off season and wanted to note that it is paying off.

   Rumor has it that we have 2 more Philly Runs in line before we are done with our conditioning phase so a few more physically challenging hurdles still remain. Also, we have been doing much more than just conditioning, everyday typically consists of cage work, batting practice, live batting practice off of a pitcher, and a fundamentals rotation. Many guys, including myself and roommate, Kelly Dugan, go in early, around 7 am and put in extra work in the cage and in the weight room. As for me personally, I know I have some really great opportunities in front of me and its only making me more and more hungry.

   Stay tuned for more from Philly spring training and feel free to ask any questions if you have anything on your mind! You can leave it as a comment or email me at bbrian_16@hotmail.com

Archived Quote

2010-03-10T16:19:00.001-08:00

"Its easy to make a buck, but hard to make a difference" - Tom Brokaw

My Life in Two Bags

2010-03-09T14:41:00.000-08:00

   My life has begun to follow an alarming habit. It started in college and has only gotten more concise and ever-present as the years have ticked on. This habit is much more than a habit, its an ability and a lifestyle that a pro ball player quickly learns. What I am writing about is of course the ability to travel light, to identify the necessities (ie. collared shirts and mustache trimmers) of life and to fit them and the rest of your worldly possessions in two duffel bags. This ability is an obvious product of the constant travel that our profession demands of us.

   College is a nice warm up as you typically only have to pack for weekend trips or the occassional week long road trip, but once your arrive in professional baseball, you better be ready to cut ties with your favorite blanket and teddy bear and all those extra white tshirts and baseball hats because there wont much need for them or space for them either. Another anomaly is that more often than not, you have to leave space for your return trip because throughout a season, you undoubtedly will accumulate stuff like gear, memorabilia and those sweet new plaid shirts you just couldn't pass up at the strip mall you were hanging out at before the last game of one of your road series'.

   Of course, there is the possibility of using three or more bags, you just have to be willing to pay the price because the Phillies or any other organization certainly won't be paying it for you, and for good reason as a well travelled ball player can probably get along just fine fitting their life in one bag.

So as I was packing, it came down to fitting the most important and neccessary 100 pounds of my life into two duffel bags and jumping on a plane to go to work, pretty sweet. Of course, at this point it wasn't too hard because I had just recently finally gotten unpacked from my last quarter at college...

Spring Training

2010-03-05T07:01:00.000-08:00

March 3rd came and went... and I went with it to my first spring training here in Clearwater, Florida. The day started with a bang as I misread my flight ticket only to realize with an hour before its actual departure time that I had for some reason been identifying the aririval time of the first leg as the departure time. So, I quickly hollered at my dad and explained my mistake and I promptly got dressed, skipped breakfast and shower(that was the hardest part for me because I'm a shower freak), threw my bags in the car, jumped in and took off to John Wayne Airport with less than an hour before my flight left. Now usually I like to think of myself as pretty sharp, so im going to blame this gaff on the fairly bad cold I have been fighting for about a week now that has tampered with my sleep habits and zapped my energy at times. Needless to say, I somehow managed to make my re-routed flight on time and consequently made it to Tampa after hanging out in chicago for an hour or so. My buddy who is on the Blue Jays kindly picked me up and dropped me at my hotel even though he was throwing the next day against the tigers, what a guy.

After crashing in the hotel and getting to grab dinner with my buddy Mike Bolsenbroek, I woke up and grabbed my first breakfast of the season at Lenny's which was chalked full of Philly Phanatics. I then caught a ride with my soon to be room mate and I later found out locker neighbor, Kelly Dugan. We headed to the field for a voluntary workout because position players don't report till the 7th. On the way there, we got a little taste of the spring training fan fare as the big club was playing the Yankees and huge crowds were pouring into the stadium in anticipation as we drove by. Upon arrival, we played a little catch in some uncharacteristically chilly Florida wind and then proceeded to hit and get a short lift in. It was great getting to see a bunch of teammates from last year and all the great clubbies and trainers and some of the coaches. The new minor league facility is awesome, its going to be housing a ton of guys, but at first look, it appears it will be up to the job as its quite a nice facility.

Another voluntary workout today, except for the pitchers, today is their first day. Have a good one...

Live Hitting

2010-02-17T20:19:00.000-08:00

   Today I got a few live at bats against minor league pitching at USC. For those of you who are stat oriented people, I think I ended up going 1 for 3 with 2 walks and a questionable strike out. I didn't feel particularly comfortable until my last few at bats when I started to relax. None of that really matters at this point though, its more about getting to track pitches at game speed and starting to get your timing worked out. Its a pretty cool atmosphere that is littered with minor league hitters and pitchers from all levels from rookie ball to triple A with the occasional big leaguer dropping by. Two weeks ago I got to meet Cole Hamels and Ian Kennedy while I was getting some live AB's, both of which were hangin out and getting some workouts in with pitching guru, USC pitching coach and catcher of Hank Aaron's famous record breaking home run, Tom House.

   These workouts are especially cool for me as I get to face one of my best friends and high school teammate, Thomas Phelps, who I also carpool with to get to SC. He is a 6'3", 230 lb pitcher with the Orioles and we go way back all the way to battling one another in little league. Last week he broke my bat in our first battle since high school intrasquads on a nasty cutter. Today I walked and barreled one but on the ground right to second base. Everyone who is participating knows about our little duel so whenever we face off everyone is watching with a little extra interest which plays it up even more.

   I will most likely get 1 to 2 more of these live hitting sessions in before I leave for Clearwater on March 3. One of the interesting things about these live hitting sessions is the increased sensitivity to bean balls. No one wants to get hit and possibly hurt right before spring training starts up so everyone has their protective gear on and is unusually nimble in the batters box on inside pitches. This is one of the non fun parts of being a professional athlete, you have to check the risk factor of every activity you do and in a number of cases, completely cut out many activities that you used to enjoy but are to risky to take part in now. Although its not very fun, im not going to sit here and complain.

The season is approaching and Im getting excited...with its approach my urge to write is getting stronger and stronger so stay tuned!

Uncharacteristic

2010-02-10T22:44:00.000-08:00

So this is a bit of an uncharacteristic entry, but my college roommate from sophomore year needs your help and its very simple.

Cody is currently teaching english to junior high kids in Thailand. He is an amazing guy and in his time over there his brilliant personality has touched numerous people from the land of smiles (Thailand). He has since found an opportunity to spread his infectious positive energy across the globe through a traveling/blogging internship opportunity with STA travels.

It's a contest and all he needs is to get the most votes out of all the other applicants (which will be very difficult, but because of the amazing person he is, I would like to do anything I can to help him and it's my hope that you will take my word, and about 5 seconds of your time to give him your vote)

Just click here and press the vote button and thats it! He made a video that is very cool and captures his essence as much as a video really can... Ill post it below

Thank you so much and I would really appreciate it if you want to tell your friends or post the link on your facebook or blog or anything else. I'd love to help make his dream come true and I hope you would too.

I'll be blogging soon about the impending spring training and updates on what I've been up to...

A peak into my weight training

2010-02-03T17:45:00.000-08:00

I have been working very hard this offseason, visiting the gym 4-5 days a week. There is a big difference in the way that athletes on the east and west coast train, so myself and the other ball players took some time out to make this video that will give you an inside look into our gym at how professional athletes on the west coast train during the winter when the east coast guys are snowed in...enjoy :-)

Okay, so maybe thats not really what we do at the gym, we decided to take some time off from training to have a little fun though.

In the video: Anthony Seratelli (Royals), Howie Clark(Blue Jays), Matt Morizio (Royals), Marc Rzepczynski (Blue Jays), Brian Wolfe (Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters -Japan-), and Me (Phillies)

Graduation

2010-01-03T18:27:00.000-08:00

My apologies for the long delay. I hope everyone had a great holiday season and is not dreading the return to work/school/their normal routines too much.

Well, my long hiatus from blog writing has rendered me full of life experiences that range from the school to family to holidays to friends. I wrapped my college educational career up in December with a flurry of finals in the same week that I was left to handle the entire ticket office pretty much by myself. Luckily, it was a pretty slow week as no teams play during finals week, thus not too many people are trying to buy up tickets. I had essentially wrapped up my other duties that came with the job, (like inviting and scheduling community groups to come see games, and organizing and running a community outreach program for the basketball team, etc...) and gotten all the information organized and filed away for the person who takes over those duties next. Needless to say, there was a lot of studying going on at work while I was working 6 hours in the office and then going directly to my finals on three separate days.

I have received my final grades and am happy to say that despite a little bit of "senioritis" I comfortably passed all my classes and now have a college degree in English from the University of California Santa Barbara. I'm also proud to say that I achieved my goal of graduating college with a 3.0 cumulative GPA or above. It certainly wasn't easy and I am very proud of my 3.1 cumulative while playing 4 years of Division I baseball which is essentially like having a full time job, that requires travel, while going through school.

As for my baseball activities, they were pretty spotty throughout December as I hit and threw maybe once or twice a week and lifted 3 to 4 times a week. Due to the importance of finals week and the importance of a few of my finals on overall grade, I had to severely limit my training. Upon returning home, I began working out with my new trainer, Scot Prohaska, 5 times a week. His gym is about 7 minutes from my house so I can spend quite a bit of time there everyday and he is one of the best in the country as numerous professional athletes (mostly baseball, but certainly not limited to just baseball) train with him. I'm extremely excited about the work I have put in so far with him and excited about how I feel after only training with him for about a month, which I will most likely focus on in a later blog.

Graduating college has been quite an experience and it is still setting in that I am completely done with my degree and am entering into "the real world" (which I consider a half truth because I am playing baseball for a living and that isn't necessarily a normal job/lifestyle). It was a great quarter and it provided new perspectives and insights into life as a college regular college student. It also gave me the opportunity to see my old teammates and get to spend time with them (albeit not as much as I would have liked) on the field and around town. I'm looking forward to the alumni game and getting to match up with them on the other side of the diamond for the first time, they definitely have their work cut out for them as a few big leaguers will most likely be there and a plethora of minor leaguers will be filling out the roster as well.

I'm going to go ahead and predict an Alumni victory right now, you heard it here first.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

2009-12-23T20:59:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to wish everyone a very happy holiday season. Now that I am back home and graduated from college I have more free time, so as my gift to all I have some stories loaded up in my mind and ready to be told so keep an eye out.

Enjoy your family and friends and the time off from work!

Archived Quote

2009-12-02T21:15:00.001-08:00

"If you roll out the red carpet for a billionaire, they won't even notice it. If you roll out the red carpet for a millionaire, they expect it. If you roll out the red carpet for a thousandaire, they appreciate it. If you roll out the red carpet for a hundredaire, they tell everybody they know." - Patricia Fripp

Nov. 1

2009-11-06T09:57:00.000-08:00

Well, it is upon us, November 1st has come and gone. This may not mean much for most people, but for me, that was a deadline that I set for myself to have all my fun and do all my "resting" before I get down to business and commit myself to a few regimens and eating habits. Don't get my wrong, I am still going to enjoy myself, but the number one priority (besides God, family and friends which always comes first) is now school and training.

I have started conditioning and lifting heavier. I am not taking any supplements what so ever (although I will probably start using protein shakes soon to help get my body the protein it needs to build, I take that back I use a typical multi vitamin and fish oil). In my first week of my new diet and workout schedule I am already seeing results. I have put on almost 3 pounds, which is unheard of me for because I have always had trouble putting on weight, maybe my metabolism is slowing down, or maybe my new diet is really working for me. I like to think the latter is true.

I have been eating about 5-6 times a day. Smaller portions but more frequently and I'm eating good, healthy foods, mostly unprocessed stuff like carrots, tuna, cottage cheese, fruits, legumes, avocados, bell peppers, chicken and turkey, almonds, oatmeal and things like that and more importantly, I am eating them at the right times. The reason I am eating a lot of high (good) fat foods mixed with high protein and high glucose foods(like fruit) is to help me gain some weight. My goal is to get up to around 200 lbs by spring training, which at my current rate should be accomplished in two more weeks haha, I don't think I'll be able to keep up the 3lbs a week pace though. I'm currently 194 right now if you didn't do that math.

The reason for this weight gaining goal is fairly straight forward for two reasons, A) My junior year in college I was the heaviest I have ever been at about 203 and I really liked the way that I played and felt, I was strong and explosive and felt good all the way around. I worked extremely hard to get to that level (lifting hard 4-5 times a week and conditioning 3 times a week). I would really like to show up in great shape and right where I physically want to be. B) I also want to have some extra weight on because the season is long and guys undoubtedly lose weight as the season progresses due to the travel and schedule of playing everyday. Its hard to meet the caloric needs of the body everyday during such a long season, so dropping a few pounds is pretty normal. So I would rather go from optimal level to a level where I still feel good, than go from a weight I feel good at but not great and drop to a weight were I feel light and maybe a little frail.

So that's where I am in a nutshell when it comes to my workouts and staying in shape. Ill see if I can grab some pictures of our weight room here and some conditioning shots. I failed to mention, my roommate, Pat Rose, is starting to get with me on this through osmosis. He is a very hard working guy too, but I'm still selling him on the eating right part. We try and work out together and condition so we can push each other and compete everyday, which is essential.

Have a great day.

Archived Quote

2009-11-06T09:55:00.000-08:00

“Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purposes.” -- Kenneth Hildebrand

Returning to Nature

2009-10-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

This weekend was quite an experience to say the least. I am not sure where to start.

I suppose I will relate it back to baseball a bit as I begin. The last 4 years of my life have been ruled entirely by college baseball. Practices and school and games and social life would constantly fill my free time and leave me little to no opportunity to enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings that Santa Barbara has to offer. Growing up I was very into nature and camping and fishing and unfortunately I began to overlook how much I enjoyed being out in nature in the following years. This summer I realized that my off season would for once, include an extended period of time where I did not have as many obligations and I quickly began to salivate at the possibility for multiple camping and fishing trips with family and friends.

My uncle had been trying to get me up to Santa Cruz (where he lives) for the last few years to go fishing with him on his boat in the ocean, but the scheduling never worked. So we had finally worked out a trip that was to be this last weekend. I invited two of my best buddies up here to come with me and enjoy the experience. Patrick Rose, who plays for the Rockies, and Kyle Kaveny, who played soccer here in our great program and just got back from Germany where he played professionally with a team and upon returning worked out with the MLS team up in San Jose.

Upon inviting these two fellows, Kyle quickly found that he had a scheduling conflict. He said that he had been invited on a fly fishing trip to the Sierras for that same weekend by a good family friend, Bob Nunez, whom I also knew via Kyle. Somehow Bob learned of Kyle's predicament and generously told him to invite our whole party to join them! This was quite an offer, extremely thoughtful and generous of Bob and I told my uncle (who is a pretty avid fly fisherman) about the new opportunity. Uncle Dean had no problem pushing our plans aside to go stay at a cabin and fish about 3 miles of pristine, private property which the Owens river just so happens to run through.

On top of all of this, we learned that accompanying us on this trip would be the legendary fisherman Neal Taylor who is in the fishing hall of fame and is a 7 time casting world champion among a long list of other amazing accomplishments. He has been a good friend of Bob for many years and was kind enough to hang out with us novices.

After my Friday midterm at 1pm we packed up and headed out. We finally got on the road around 4 after picking up Kyle and trekked 6 hours past bishop and up into the high Sierras to the Arcularius Ranch where our cabin was tucked away (visit arculariusontheriver.com if you want to learn more about it this great place).

The drive was a lot of fun with a lot of ribbing going on between the guys and possibly some speeding involved when we got on the open road. I handled the entire drive up because I would need to study for a midterm on the return trip on Monday. Upon arriving at the ranch around 10pm we did some donuts in the open dirt road before we drove through the gate to our lit up cabin where the rest of our party was waiting for us and apparently watching in amusement as we celebrated our arrival Nascar style.

We parked and were greeted with a night sky that was exploding with stars, the milky way was clearly visible. The men came out and we said our hellos and promptly got us in out of the cold and warmed up what remained of their dinner which was an amazing denizen chili.

It was getting late and we had a long day of fishing ahead of us so after dinner we had a glass of wine and listened to Neal tell some stories of his past experiences. Listening to Neal was one of the many favorite parts of the trip, he has fished with 3 U.S. presidents on multiple occasions (Ike, Carter and Ford I believe) and pretty much seen and fished the whole world. What an amazing man. Getting to be around him and listen to him talk was truly a privilege.

On Saturday we leisurely woke up to a breathe taking day, not a cloud in the sky and a backdrop of majestic snow capped mountains which the night kept a secret from us. Neal prepared one of the most amazing omelets I have ever had and we went outside to rig up out rods and get some quick knot tying and casting lessons in from a legend. We got on the river around noon and the young guys spent a lot of time being tangled in their own lines and fighting the breeze while trying to hone our new casting skills. While we were up to all of this, my Uncle Dean and Bob were combing the river and pulling out a few really gorgeous fish. Dean pulled a 21 inch and a 19 inch German brown trout this day, both of which is excitedly exclaimed were easily the biggest and most gorgeous browns he'd ever caught (we promptly released these graceful fish as we practiced catch and release all weekend, partly because those are the rules and partly because it is much more ecologically responsible, I would recommend practicing this method when going fishing, it is very rewarding to fight a fish and catch it and then respectfully release it back into its environment so it can procreate and continue living).

We traversed the short trip over rugged terrain in our trucks, driving through a few cattle gate and shooing the cows away so they didn't escape through the gate when we opened it. When we got home, Neal was waiting for us with an amazing pasta dinner that he had spent most of the day preparing. Neal is getting up there in the age and experience categories so he picks and chooses the times he makes the trek out to the river and so he saved it all up for Sunday. Dinner was again of the highest quality food as was the company. Another evening capped off my Neal story telling (a real lost art I fee like) and some card playing. We retired to our quarters via flashlights and propane lamps (there was no electricity in the cabin, it was strictly propane fueled). Dean and I hit the river early to get a full day of fishing in and take in some of God's greatest creations on this gorgeous Sunday while Bob, Pat and Kyle went to Mass in a nearby town.

The second day proved much more fruitful for the younger guys in the fish catching department as we had gotten a better grasp on the art of the cast. I caught the most fish on the day topped off by a beautiful 13 inch rainbow trout. We got a full 12 hours of fishing in and were thoroughly exhausted when we got back to the cabin. To cap off the weekend of great eats, we had baked pheasant and game hen that Bob had hunted. It was my first experience eating this game and it was pretty darn good, well prepared too. We extracted a few more stories from Neal before we all hit the sack.

Monday morning was an early one as Pat, Kyle and I had to get up at 5 AM in order to get on the road and get back to Santa Barbara in time for my comparative literature midterm. I studied on the way home and we got back with about an hour and a half to spare even after stopping in at Denny's for some brunch. I took the test and really feel like I did well, especially given the circumstances of my only study time coming from the return leg of a road trip.

Quite a weekend indeed. I wish I could convey even further how much fun it was and what a once in a lifetime experience it truly was, but this elongated entry will have to do... Once Dean sends me our pictures of the fish we caught I will be sure to put them up.

What a Weekend

2009-10-26T23:36:00.000-07:00

I was going to blog this evening but it is getting late and I have work tomorrow so you will have to keep your eyes peeled tomorrow for an update. I have quite a bit to write about from this weekends adventures. I've been awake since 5 am and I owned a midterm upon my arrival back to SB. Anyways, here's a little sneak peak...

My uncle Dean and I on the river

View from the front of our cabin (High Sierras)

Archived Quote

2009-10-26T23:33:00.001-07:00

"Always love, hate will get you every time" -Nada Surf

Grand Re-opening

2009-10-21T10:33:00.000-07:00

Back by popular demand.

I have had numerous fans request that I make better use of my free time and keep my blog updated and fresh. (Thats me and three of my best Friends, Mike Zuanich: Rockies, Me, Chris Fox: Former Angel, Pat Rose: Rockies)

This feedback is extremely important to me as I cannot stress enough how much feedback and input for readers and fans drives my ambition to keep writing.

I was suffering from feelings of inadequet blog material due to a lack of baseball action in my off season. You have made it apparent though, that you were not reading this blog for insights to baseball, but rather, you were interested and entertained by the non-baseball activities and stories that my life as a minor league baseball player contains.

Special thank you to my good friends and supporters John Stafford and Matt McColgan(college teammate and then Assistant Coach), among many others, of Network Liquidators for giving me the literal and figurative wake up call.

Matt I will never forget that you came all the way out to Tampa to visit with me, and do your week long job training, during the summer. I am sorry that our visit didn't make it into the blog back in August and that I let you down haha.

Anyways, I'm back and I have stories to tell about my work, my progress in the gym and life in Santa Barbara while finishing and living/hanging out with my old college teammates who are all professional baseball players as well for the Rockies, Giants, Angels, Tigers and Reds...

Workouts

2009-10-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

After going home this weekend to spend some time with family and friends I recieved my workout booklet from the Phillies. I havent gotten to take a really in depth look at it yet, but its pretty thick and looks extremely thorough.

This week marks the first week where I will pick up a bat and ball again and start running and lifting three times a week. Im pretty excited about it. It's pretty challenging to sit around for two or three weeks and force yourself to not do anything, but I'm feeling great at this point and I am excited to get back in the cages and start refining the swing and making some small adjustments.

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-10-05T09:51:00.000-07:00

"Words have an incredible power, they can make people's hearts sore, and they can make people's hearts soar" - Dr. Mardy Groathe

Workin' Out

2009-09-30T11:57:00.000-07:00

Well the past week has been hectic to say the least. Trying to find a place last minute, getting settled in at my job, going to classes and trying to get some quality rest between all this.

Now that the week has passed, its all workin' out. I found a very nice apartment with my good friend Pat Rose who plays in the Rockies organization and is also back finishing his degree. That was a huge weight off of both our shoulders as it was seriously looking like we would be homeless for the entire quarter.

I have also gotten settled into a routine at my work and have started coming in an hour earlier to accommodate for the extra hour plus I will need to get my workouts in at lunchtime before my classes. After doing a week of busy work around the office, I now have a sense of direction as to what my job will really be dealing with and its a great feeling. Its great to be put in this position where I get to act as somewhat of an interface between UCSB athletics and the beautiful community that our school is tucked away in. This really is an exciting time for our athletics here because our new Athletic Director has really kicked things into gear and we are seeing a great response from not only our students but our community members too. Our season ticket sales are through the roof and we have switched from Adidas to Nike. We have also re-branded our logo, which looks awesome, and have made some great improvements to our facilities as well. We have also launched a ton of new programs and traditions and I am happy to say that I am a major part of one of those new programs.

I am working/heading the Gauchos Give Tix program. I basically get to give away free tickets to community organizations and charities that apply. I don't mean give away a few tickets, I'm talking hundreds at a time. I feel like I'm in a pretty cool position to be able to introduce a huge number of people (both young and old) to the excitement and tradition of college sports. Today I actually dropped some tickets off at one of our local radio stations, KJEE, and got to talk with the DJ's and producers a bit. They are doing a ticket give away for our big showdown against #11 Indiana this Friday (we are ranked #7 by the way).

On to baseball. I worked out for the first time this off season yesterday and it was intense. Light weight but very fast paced. Its called circuit training and I like it a lot. My next post will go far more in depth into the baseball side of my workouts and training. I have yet to pick up a bat or ball, but I am planning on getting some hitting in later this week and starting a throwing program as well. I have been trying to rest everything and let all the aches and pains heal before I really get into it, so I'm taking it slow right now, despite wanting to be out there going full bore. My calf is almost back to normal from the severe knot and swelling that it was suffering due to a ball I fouled off it in the first round of playoffs. A few training room sessions have brought it along quickly.

Alright, well I've got to get going. I am going to do a better job of keeping this updated. I also encourage you to go check out our new website at UCSBgauchos.com. Even if your not a fan, which most of you probably aren't because your on the east coast, it is still an interesting and good looking site. Take a peak if your bored.

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-09-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

"Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go" - T.S. Eliot

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-09-25T11:24:00.000-07:00

"Failure is just another way to learn how to do something right" - Marian Wright Edelman

The Offseason

2009-09-24T10:09:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone,

Well let me first start by announcing the obvious, we WON the Championship! The entire post season run was awesome, our team was really playing well and everything just seemed to fall in place. I've got to say though, our pitching was the reason we won it. Our entire staff from starters to bullpen were simply in shut down mode all post season and that makes it very easy for a teams offense to put up numbers and just go out there and play. I'd like to say to our BlueClaw fans, and I'm sure I speak for my teammates as well, Thank you for all of your support and interest, you make it a lot of fun to play and your support and enthusiam really makes for a special atmosphere to play in. We couldn't have done it without you.

I have had a few people ask me about my offseason plans so let me fill you in. The days following our win were extremely hectic, long bus rides back up with long plane flights back up with a long day of driving back to school. Unfortunately, I only got to spend one night at home, as bittersweet as it was, it was so nice getting to hug my parents and brothers and spend some quality time with them even though it was short. In the midst of those past few days I hadnt really thought about my immediate future. My brother asked me when we were hanging out, when I was going to head back up to Santa Barbara for school and I asked him, "what day is it today?" He replied, "The 20th". Then I quickly realized I would only be home for one night because I had to be up in Santa Barbara for my job that awaited me on the 21st and school starts today, the 24th. I still dont have an apartment, but I have a hot lead and I'm crashing at a few of my friends' house.

I am working in the Athletics Department here at school in the ticketing and sales office and I was notified by our Athletic Director, Mark Massari, who has really started a renaissance here, that my title would be "Marketing Coordinator" for out new Gauchos Give program. So it looks like I get to showcase my business skills this offseason and connect with out community and give away tickets to great foundations like the Boys and Girls Club, local schools and churches and other organizations. Im excited about the challenges and learning experiences that are going to come with this job and I like the fact that my office is right next to our athletics weight room and the field is a 5 minute walk away! More on my training and baseball goals in the offseason later. Im taking a week or so off to rest before I get going again.

Well, Im about to clock in so I've gotta run. Im going to try and keep this updated as I see fit so stay tuned. Thank you for all the support this summer. It has been such a great experience and it has been greatly enhanced with all the support that I ahve recieved through this blog and encouraging emails. Thanks again.

-Brian

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-09-24T10:06:00.000-07:00

"People become attached to thier burdens sometimes more than thier burderns are attached to them" - George Bernard Shaw

Listen to the Championship Series

2009-09-16T13:32:00.001-07:00

Here is the link to our website if you are interested in listening in on game 3 of the Championship series tomorrow at 7 PM eastern time...

http://www.blueclaws.com/

Click on the "listen now" link on the right side of the page and that should take you where you want to be!

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-09-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

"One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself." -- Lucille Ball

Playoffs?! Your talking about the Playoffs?!

2009-09-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

This is a bit delayed as we are in the Championship series now, but better late than never right? (That's Sebastian Valle crossing home plate after his 3 run homerun in our 9-0 clincher against Kannapolis. I was on deck, so that's me in the middle, congratulating and getting ready for my at bat. Me and Valle hit 5 and 6 hole and we have a joke that were the two Mexicans on the team, because he is from Mexico and the Dominicans call me Mexican because I'm from California, Hermano's de Mehico)

The Playoffs started for us about a week ago with a first round series against the Kannapolis Intimidators for the Northern Division championship. We won game 1 in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Upon making our 8-9 hour return trip home for game 2 our bus broke down at 5:30 in the morning. We had an off day for the travel, but that was effectively zapped when our bus broke down. Luckily, we made it to a holiday inn and checked in. Our new bus arrived at 12 pm and we got back on the road at 1pm. We finally got back to Lakewood around 7pm, fairly groggy and cranky from the return trip that turned into a 20 hour journey. It wouldn’t be a playoff run if there wasn’t some adversity mixed in though right?

We won game 2 in convincing fashion, beating Kannapolis 9-0. The clubhouse celebration was something special; I have never been a part of anything like that. It was the exact same scene that you see when big league teams clinch a spot in playoffs or win a playoff series. So much fun and so unlike anything I have ever experienced. We knew what was waiting for us back in the clubhouse as we took a commanding lead in the game and the remaining innings served as a climactic build up of anticipation. Right when the game was over, we did a little mini dog pile and then rushed through the tunnel to get to the plastic covered clubhouse.

We had two days between that series and the Championship series, so we had short practices both days to stay sharp. I have never been on such a loose team. If you were on the field with us, you would never guess that we were one day away from starting a 5 game series for the title of champions. I have spent the last two days nursing a swollen and severely tight and sore calf because in my last at bat of the last game I fouled a ball of my right calf. My ability to play was in question, but thanks to the work of our trainer, Mickey, and a lot of ice and elevating, my leg loosened up enough to be able to function at almost full capacity. Everyone has their aches and pains at this point in the season, I am by no means the only one, so those two days of short practice were great to get some rest.

The playoffs have been a ton of fun so far. The strategy is different now as there is even more emphasis put on every run we push across. We are sacrifice bunting early in the game now in order to get an early lead and our starting pitching has been outstanding. Well executed baseball has a heightened value now and having the stakes raised makes things even more fun. It has been a while since I have had the chance to play playoff baseball so I am trying to take it all in and enjoy it, but to be honest, it doesn’t feel a whole lot different than the regular season. There are differences, but I think because our team is so loose and has so much fun that it almost feels like just another day at the park, except each win is a huge step towards a ring.

I called one of my old coaches from college and personal mentors, Brian Bowles, before the game today to talk a bit and I asked him about his experience with playoffs in pro ball and he told me something that made me really appreciate the situation we are in. He played 13 years in professional baseball, with time in the big leagues and he said that in his 13 years, he never got to play in a playoff game or have a clubhouse celebration like the one I was telling him about that we had a few days ago. That really made me realize how lucky I am to be experiencing this in my first year of pro ball and how lucky I am to be in an organization like the Phillies, where winning is a habit and a standard.

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-09-14T21:13:00.000-07:00

"The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment; it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone." -- Orison Swett Marden

My Professional Pitching Debut

2009-09-12T15:19:00.000-07:00

If you hadn’t seen or heard about my pitching debut let me be the first to tell you. During one of our last games of the regular season we gave up 9 runs in the 7th inning and were effectively out of the game. This condition led to my pitching debut for the BlueClaws! Here is how it went down… (Unfortunately, I didn't get an pictures of me on the mound so this will have to suffice)

I was enjoying a day off on this particular day and we were playing fairly well. As the 7th inning rolled around the game was close, but I think we had a 2 run lead. The bottom of the 7th proved to be an inning from hell as every ball that touched the Shorebirds bat found a hole or dropped for a hit. They quickly piled up 9 runs in the inning. During the course of this drawn out inning, myself, Travis Mattair and Jeremy Hamilton were standing on the top step watching. We began to talk about the possibility of a position player throwing since the game was getting out of hand and it wouldn’t make sense to burn up our bullpen. I told the guys that I came into college as a two way guy, but pitching didn’t work out, yet every summer of my collegiate career I was called upon in a similar situation to pitch. Every time I was called upon I did well too.

A few minutes after we started talking about this possibility, Dusty called me over. I started to think that it really might happen, but told myself not to get my hopes up as I walked over. Dusty quickly looked at me and asked if I knew how to pitch and if I could throw strikes. I told him yes to both and he quickly said, go warm up and walked away. I grabbed my glove with a smirk on my face and all the guys in the dugout started to get excited. Despite being blown out, we were going to have some fun with it anyways, especially since the season was almost over and we had already clinched a spot in the playoffs. As I jogged down to the bullpen all the pitchers leaned forward off their bench to see who was coming down. Once I got down there they had an idea of what was going on and when I told them I needed to warm up on the bump they all got very excited and started watching me throw to see what kind of stuff I had. Diekman quickly told me that I couldn’t go out there with my outfielder glove on, so he tossed me his and I gave him my outfield glove. As I started really getting warm some of the pitchers had stood up and were standing beside me watching me throw and telling me to throw some sliders and curves, after breaking a few off they seemed to be pretty impressed with my strike throwing ability and the actual quality of my off speed pitches. Having them “ohh” and “awe” behind me was definitely a confidence booster and helped get me ready to go out there and do my thing. Bob Milacki, our pitching coach, ran down real quick as I was warming up and told me to just take it easy and throw strikes and to not try and throw super hard because I wouldn’t be able to lift my arm the next day if I did.

The bottom of the 8th quickly rolled around and it was my turn to get my first professional inning in on the bump. I walked from the bullpen onto the field for about 5 steps and then jogged the rest of the way. As I got to the mound, my boy D’arnaud who was catching, jogged out to great me with a smile and to see what pitches I would be throwing. I told him 4 seam and 2 seam fastball and a cutter. My pitch is actually my slider but after Bob’s speech, I decided to not tell Travis that I had one. As Travis ran to the plate to get ready to catch my warm up pitches I glanced over at our dugout where our entire team was on the top step hollering at me. I flashed them a quick smile and began warming up. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous, but I quickly reminded myself that I’ve done this before and that my task was simple, throw strikes and get some outs. I threw a few warm up pitches in the dirt and actually drilled the umpire in the thigh with one haha. I finished up and Travis threw it down to 2nd base and the inning began.

As I stepped on the rubber and got the sign, I remembered what our pitching coach in college would always tell our pitchers, take a deep breathe before your pitch and compose yourself. So I inhaled deeply, got the sign and let it rip. The first batter was a lefty, so my first thought was to not hit him. I quickly reversed this thought, because I know when you tell yourself not to do something, your mind doesn’t hear the “don’t” and you end up doing exactly what you were trying to avoid doing. I went down 2-0 to him and then threw two strikes and then ran the count full. I told myself that I’m here to throw strikes, not to walk people and get to cute out there so with the 3-2 count I just threw a fastball on the outer half and he hit a routine fly to left field for the first out. The next batter was a righty. I got ahead with a fastball and then threw a ball. My next pitch was swung on and missed so I had the guy in a 1-2 count. Normally, in my pitching days I would break off a slider middle in and keep it down to get a strike out, but since Travis didn’t know I had a slider, he called for my cutter. Just to mess with the hitter, Travis didn’t put any signs down and shook his head at me. I didn’t know what this meant at first, but I quickly caught on, he was trying to get me to fake like I was shaking off his pitch call, so I shook twice and then he put the cutter sign down. I threw a backdoor cutter and the hitter swung and hit it to right field for another routine fly and out number two. The next hitter was a righty and I quickly got ahead of him with a fastball. I threw a ball and then my next pitch was a 2 seam in and I got in on his hands and jammed him. He hit a weak fly ball to our shortstop and my inning was over.

As I walked off the mound and towards the dugout I looked up and saw most of my teammates waiting for me at the top step to high five me on a job well done. Bob and Dusty both walked over and shook my hand and told me I did a great job. After the game was over my arm was starting to tighten up a bit, but luckily we have a great trainer who told me to come in and do the post throwing exercises that all the pitchers do after they pitch. Once I finished the exercise and got my arm stretched, my arm felt great and the next day it was only slightly sore.

The guys had a lot of fun with it and were messing around with me afterwards about how I should be a pitcher instead of a hitter. I’m glad it all worked out and that we could have a little fun with the game despite losing like we did. It dawned on me a little bit later in the evening that I am able to say that I pitched professionally, that’s an honor that most people, even professional ball players who are hitters cannot claim. I was kind of taken back at this thought, especially when I considered all the great pitchers that I had played with growing up and in college that never got a chance professionally. I’m extremely lucky to have had this opportunity and I’m grateful that it worked like it did.

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-09-12T15:16:00.001-07:00

"Life is like a taxi. The meter just keeps a-ticking whether you are getting somewhere or just standing still." - Lou Erickson

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-09-10T18:48:00.001-07:00

"Your dream is not big enough if it doesn't scare you." - Matthias Schmelz

The New Guy

2009-09-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

This promotion has been a bit like moving schools late in the year. These guys have spent 100 plus games together already and have formed bonds that can only be formed by repeatedly going into battle alongside one another night after night.

As I have already said, it's a GREAT group of guys and they have been very good to me, allowing me to come in so late and still make me feel a part of the team. Obviously, there are a few things that I have to just wear because I'm the new guy, like not having my own bunk on the bus, etc. Not to mention, after spending so much time together going through such a grind that can get terribly monotonous, my arrival and presence is almost like a new source of entertainment. It's been really fun so far and I'm settling right in just in time for a run, hopefully, deep into the playoffs. After going through so much to get to this point in the season, it's safe to say that these guys, including myself, really don't want to go this far and have “nothin' to show for it”. Everyone is on board to get after it and win a big fat ring and that's a great feeling. I hope/know I can make a positive contribution to this goal and I'm looking forward to playing playoff baseball again, its been a few years!

A few guys have really opened up to me and “taken me under their wing” which is kind of strange because I am still older than a lot of my teammates and I am the one that is used to being the guy who takes someone under my wing. I would be a fool to buy into that last statement with pride and not accept their gracious gestures. To many people let pride get in the way of personal growth and especially athletes who develop ego's, I try and stay away from both for the most part. Travis D'arnaud and Jeremy Hamilton have been nice enough to offer me room and board in their apartment for my short amount of time that we will actually spend in Lakewood. They almost invited me before I had even thought about where I would be staying, that is how nice they were about it. I played against Travis' older brother, Chase, in college and we started to get to know each other a bit because he would come visit some of my teammates in Santa Barbara and we would all hang out. That being said, I knew Travis was good people before I actually got to meet him, turns out he is also a hell of a player too.

After games I have been hanging out with pitchers more so than position players. For some reason, I have always had a tendency to do this and this team is no exception. Justin De Fratus Jacob Diekman and I usually go grab dinner together after games. Those two are some of the funniest guys I have ever met. They remind me of my two brothers because they share the same weird sense of humor that we have at home. I am constantly laughing till I cry when we hang out, they just play off of each other, it is very entertaining and has played a large part in making my experience/transition here so fun and easy.

First Road Trip

2009-09-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting settled in here and getting the daily routine down, so I can assure you that from here on out I will be back to normal when it comes to updating the blog. Sorry if I let anyone down this past week with my lack of literary production!
My first road trip with the team has concluded and we are currently on the bus on our way home. We are 3 hours into a 9 hour bus ride from Lakeland County, Ohio to Lakewood, New Jersey. I am fairly excited to finally see what home is like. Throughout this entire trip, I kept hearing from everyone, “just wait till we get home”. Apparently we have GREAT fans in Lakewood and our facilities are amongst the best in the league. After spending that extended amount of time in the GCL, I already feel spoiled on this road trip, but apparently it just gets better!

I have already gotten a little taste of the nature of BlueClaw fans as one of the host Moms, Cathy (sorry I'm not sure whether she spells it with a C or a K) was at all three of our games in Hagerston. She would take her boys out to dinner after the game and all of the guys were always excited to see her. She even asked me what kind of snacks I liked and brought me a bag of snacks for this bus ride home. I was pretty blown away by her kindness and relationship with all of the guys. She is a sweetheart and definitely a superfan.

Some other new experiences that really stood out on my first road trip...

- At the end of each three game road trip, we would pay the opposing clubby for his services while we were there. This includes laundry, food spreads and maintaining the clubhouse.
The food spreads that we have after our pregame and before the actual game starts seem to be pretty standard everywhere. It's usually an all you can eat PB & J and ham sandwich free for all with some fruit and candy mixed in. Since today was an early game we had cereal with milk and ego's as the spread.

- There are actually fans at our games. I LOVE playing in front of big crowds and this was one factor that was missing from the GCL that really made things hard at times. We didn't necessarily play in front of any huge crowds this road trip, but some of the games had decent sized crowds of a few thousand. One of my favorite parts about being a professional baseball player is the ability that I have to genuinely make a person's day just by talking with them at a game, signing an autograph, taking a picture with them or giving them a ball. I still (and always will) remember how it felt to be a kid at a ball game and how amazing those ball players looked out there and how even the slightest gesture from one of those guys (whether it be a head nod or an autograph) would make my day and add to the grandeur of the game. It's an amazing ability and I think sometimes people forget that we all have the ability to do that, you don't have to be a pro athlete to make a positive impact on someone's day (that is why I like that video that I posted last week so much because it shows that recording artist, Bluey Robinson, using one of his talents to reach out to people and put a smile on some faces in an otherwise jaded subway scene).

- The fine system is in place here and is thriving. So far I am fine free, but I feel like its kind of like the police, if they really want to pull you over, they can find something your doing wrong, if Dusty or any other coach really wants to, he could find something to fine you for. Luckily, all the coaches here are awesome and have a good grasp on the team despite allowing us a reasonable amount of freedom within the rules. They are all very reasonable and aren't here to baby sit anyone, we are all men and are responsible for ourselves.

That is it for now. I'm looking forward to making my home debut tomorrow night in Lakewood! Last home series of the year and I have one of my college teammates and good buddies, Shane Arslan, coming to visit. It's going to be a lot of fun.

Coming soon

2009-08-31T22:14:00.000-07:00

Ill have a few new posts up soon once I can get them off my travel laptop. I've been having some technical difficulties, my appologies! Having a great time though. 8 thousand people were at my first home game with the team and I got to catch the first pitch and my jersey sold for $200 in a post game silent auction for the cancer society, what a great start.

Lovin it.

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-31T09:30:00.000-07:00

"Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain cool and unruffled under all circumstances." - Thomas Jefferson

My New Team

2009-08-28T11:41:00.000-07:00

Today is my fourth day with my new team and I am starting to get settled in. I have had a great time so far and it's safe to say that these guys are a ton of fun.

My first impression of the general character of the team was that these guys were very entertaining and know how to keep it light and enjoy each other, this impression hasn't changed a bit so far. When my taxi arrived at the clubhouse in Hagerston, MD after a long day of travel I was quickly heckled by a few of the guys to hurry up and get in here and then when I got to the door which was quickly closed as I walked up, it was clear someone was holding it shut and so my introduction to the fun began. I had a pretty hilarious welcome when they let me in after a second or two of holding the door. It's always tough learning all the new names when you arrive to a new team so when you walk in and shake everyone's hands and meet everyone you typically don't remember a single name from all the introductions. Everyone's been through it and understands how it works.

After speaking with Dusty Wathan, my new manager, and getting the run down on how things work and the new signs and team rules I got on the field and took some early batting practice in the cage in order to get the blood flowing after sitting on planes all day. I had a nice reception for the rest of the night with a few more "rookie hazing" incidents like everyone stayin on the line when were getting our jumps and me being the only one running then quickly stopping while everyone laughed at me haha. It's all in good fun and got me comfortable with everyone very quickly. One of the first things I learned about the other team was that the starting pitcher we were facing that night throws 99 mph. I thought this was another BS thing they were telling me to try and rattle me at first, but it turns out he really was throwing gas. The rest of my night went fairly well and I shook the nerves pretty quickly once the game started and I got a few innings under my belt.

I've gotta get ready for the bus to leave soon, much more to come as there is a lot of new experiences to be had here and with the guys here, I'm sure there's gonna be numerous funny stories produced as well.

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-28T11:33:00.001-07:00

“Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.” - T.S. Eliot

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

"In the end the great truth will have been learned, that the quest is greater than what is sought, the effort finer than the prize, or rather that the effort is the prize, the victory cheap and hollow were it not for the rigor of the game." - Benjamin Cardozo

Another First in My Professional Career

2009-08-24T16:59:00.001-07:00

Well, to be honest, I have been waiting to write this specific blog ever since I had arrived down here in the GCL. I had to earn the right to be able to write it though and today I have.

After today’s game I was informed that I am being promoted to the Phillies Low A affiliate the Lakewood BlueClaws for the remainder of their season and their playoff run. Obviously, I am pretty excited about getting to make a move like this and join a team that is about to make a run at a getting a ring and my family is extremely proud as well. Not surprisingly I could hear my mom’s voice beginning to tremble towards the end of our short conversation when I told her the news. Yesterday was her birthday so the timing is nice since I didn’t get to celebrate with her and the family or give her a present (Happy Birthday MOM! :-). My brothers were both super stoked as was my Dad. It felt really good to be able to call all them and hear the smile on their face when I told them the good news.

I was actually in the ice bath when our manager, “Rolle” de Armas came in and told me to come to his office after I was done. When that happens there are only two possibilities of what that meeting will be about, either you’re in trouble/ getting released or you’re getting a promotion. I have a very clear conscience about my time here so I was eager to finish up my contrast (switching back and forth between ice bath and hot bath) session so that I could find out where I was headed. I had 4 minutes left in the bath to have my mind race and think of the possibilities, it was between Lakewood and Williamsport (short season A). Our trainer, Troy, then walked in after Rolle had left and had a smirk on his face asking what had happened and I told him I didn’t know yet. When I got out of the bath and dried off I walked out into the main training room and “Manzo” our roving infield instructor asked me when I was leaving and I replied that I hadn’t even been told what was happening yet. He laughed and said that we’ll almost be on the same plane (referring to a joke I had made with him a few days ago when I asked him to take me with him when he goes to AA Reading on Tuesday). I then walked out to go down the hall to Rolle’s office and was intercepted by Mike Compton (our roving catching instructor) and he gave me the news prematurely and I shook his hand as well as Joe’s (our head equipment manager) hand and thanked them for all they had done while I was there. I finally made it into the coaches’ office where I got the news and congratulations from Rolle. It was kind of funny because as I went around saying my “thank you’s” and “goodbye’s” it seemed as though everyone on the staff had known for a while and it was all a big secret.

Good news travels fast apparently as my teammates were congratulating me without me even telling them what had happened. I’m really going to miss my teammates here; we had built up some great chemistry. They make everyday at the field a pleasure. I’ll see them again in spring training in March.

To my GCL cronies, Enjoy the rest of the season and thank you for all the great times on and off the field. It’s a tough schedule down here, but you guys made it into a great time. Good luck the rest of the way and have a great offseason enjoying your family and friends and working out hard. Here’s to coming back next spring training with 10 lbs of muscle added on like we all talked about haha.

Well my flight leaves tomorrow morning and I still have some packing to do. Have a great evening!

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-24T16:11:00.001-07:00

"If you are not failing now and again, it's a sign you're playing it safe." -Woody Allen

My New Roommate

2009-08-23T17:31:00.000-07:00

Well, this is a little delayed, but after a nice run of having my own room, like a big leaguer, I officially have a new roommate. His name is Steven Inch and he is a high school pitcher (right handed) from Alberta, Canada. He was our 6th round pick in this years draft and could pass for my younger brother with his strawberry blonde hair and devilish good looks. This is especially exciting because he completes the red head trifecta of myself, Bollinger and now Inch. We are gaining numbers rapidly and it looks like the Phillies have adopted a revolutionary draft strategy of looking for the legendary "red-head power" in their prospects, pretty smart if you ask me. (Thats Steven chillin on his bed catching up with his friends back home while we watch the red sox-yankees game)

Steven and I have been roommates now for about a week and so far so good. He is very neat and has a good head on his shoulders. Like Jakub, Steven seems to be a big fan of sleep as it appears he is still a victim of jet lag as has not gotten on the eastern time zone schedule yet.

It's been fun getting to know him so far as we have had numerous nice talks already, it's nice to have a roommate that is easy to talk to and has a keen appreciation for the value of education. He is planning on going to college this offseason and getting a start on his degree which is great to hear.

Steven is a lanky right handed pitcher and has had one outing so far. He pitched well in his one inning start and will probably have one, maybe two more outings before the season is over. Time is definitely on his side when it comes to developing and getting a lot of professional experience under his belt as he is just 18 years old. His makeup would indicate that he is older though as he seems to be one of those rare guys that is wise beyond his years.

I'm excited to watch him develop and to see how our last week as roommates goes. It's been a pleasure so far, I'll let you know when he gets on the eastern time zone schedule, if he ever does...maybe that was his plan all along to stay on the western time zone so when he goes back home there won't be any need for adjusting back.

Talents

2009-08-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

If we all used one of our god-given talents like Bluey Robinson does here once a day, the world would be a much happier place...

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

"I think the one lesson I have learned is that there is no substitute for paying attention." - Diane Sawyer

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-22T12:37:00.001-07:00

"Work and live to serve others, to leave the world a little better than you found it and garner for yourself as much peace of mind as you can. This is happiness." - David Sarnoff

Ode to Lenny's Diner

2009-08-21T13:14:00.000-07:00

Any person who has come down to Clearwater, Florida to see spring training has most likely had the privilege of grabbing some food at the world famous Lenny's Diner. If you have been down here or come down here regularly and have not paid this establishment a visit then I would highly advise you to do so.

Lenny's is the hangout for all of us on the GCL Phillies team. We eat there almost every night and most of the time we choose to go to breakfast at Lenny's on the weekends as well. The people at Lenny's have been generous enough to make a nice business agreement with the Phillies and allow us to eat most of our meals there for about 5 bucks a day. It comes directly out of our paychecks. Its an extremely reasonable price, especially because the food is good and it is essentially all you can eat and let me tell you, there are a few guys on this team that can really eat (I'm looking at you on this one Phil Aviola).

Lenny's is a special place to all of us and it is one of the most unique diners I have every been to. The inside is decorated with random articles of "americana" type pieces including headshots of famous people who have visited, ceiling panels that have funny slogans on them, stuffed animal section, world clocks, and a bunch of baseball memorabilia. Due to its great reputation for good food and its close proximity to our complex, a number of big leaguers over the years have been regulars at Lenny's and that is apparent by the game used bats on the walls and signed pictures.

Some of my best memories so far are tied to our daily time at Lenny's. Like clockwork, at 5pm every weekday, you can find almost the entire GCL Philly team dinning here and then hanging out after to recount the days activities and share funny stories about interactions that happened that day in the dugout or on the field. This is probably the best part of dinner, its the desert after the desert. A table or two of the guys after we have all finished eating just sitting there and laughing about all the ridiculous things that happen on a daily basis like what Kevin Angelle said today (he has a knack for saying things that makes everyone's head spin) or conjuring up prank schemes or just going over the game and making fun of anyone that deserves to be made fun of for anything funny they did on the field.

Needless to say, if you're a GCL Phillie, Lenny's Diner is the place to be. If your not, then I suggest you check it out when you get a chance. Its a unique place that has its small place in baseball history and the food and atmosphere are rich.

I have to cut it short because Mike Bolsenbroek is freaking out about his bank account and needs me to drive him to the bank in Shreve's car immediately. Have a great day....8 days left in the season! The FINAL final countdown is in full swing.

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-21T12:58:00.001-07:00

From our dinner last night. When asked how he wanted his burger cooked, Todd Van Steansel, who is one of our pitchers, replies dead seriously, "could you cook it good for me" and the waitress just stares at him and laughs. What did I tell you about pitchers haha.

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-19T15:00:00.001-07:00

"You can't help someone get up a hill without getting closer to the top yourself." - Norman Schwarzkopf

Umpires

2009-08-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

Umpires are always an interesting subject when you talk about baseball. It’s a curious profession where invisibility is the apex of performance. If you ask any number of players about umpires, you will get an extreme variety of answers. Answers will range from derogatory to positive to impartial.

It has been interesting to get to know some of the umpires here and to hear their stories and it is pretty interesting that the umpires in the minor leagues are essentially in the same boat as the players. Umpires in the GCL are rookies just like most of the players in the league. It has been interesting, entertaining and comforting seeing them make rookie mistakes as well. As you move up the ranks, so do the umpires and as the players and competition gets better, so do the umpires.

It’s a thankless job really. The umpires down here take some abuse because that is the nature of their job, they don’t get a pat on the back for making a good call, but when they mess one up, or are perceived to mess one up, they get to hear about it. The fact that they are rookies means that they are making even more mistakes than you are used to seeing in the bigs and the coaches who are down here have been around for a while. So, you can imagine the power dynamic between a veteran coach and a rookie umpire who is in their early twenties when an argument breaks out. The coaches are generally pretty merciful with them, but at times tempers wear thin and confrontations occur.

We have the same essential rotation of umpires for each half of the season so we get to know them a little bit. It also means that you begin to know when a certain guy is behind the dish that you’re going to have to be a little more aggressive on that given day.

As we move up the ranks in the minor leagues, the umpires here will as well. Coincidently, I have actually taken this last step in my career from college to pro ball along side one of the umpires here. I don’t remember his name, but I do remember walking up to the plate that first game that he called for us and thinking that he looked eerily familiar. Upon walking up to the plate for my 3rd at bat, he finally asked me if I played in the Northwoods league last year and I said yes and I thought he looked familiar. I congratulated him on making it to the pro level and he returned the congratulations to me. It was pretty cool and made me realize that the umpires are a lot more like the players than we might think. So far, after having a few conversations with a number of the umpires while I am warming up in right field between innings, I have gathered that most of them are just like the college players, like myself, who have finished up school and are pursuing their dreams of making it to the big leagues. Most of these guys that I have talked to are around 23 or so and they have finished school and went to work somewhere until they decided that the cubicle wasn’t for them so they took what was always a dream/hobby and decided to pursue it as a profession.

As we continue to chase our dream and polish our game, so to do the minor league umpires that become increasingly invisible as they get better and better at their jobs.

- If you want to learn more about the behind the scenes life of a professional umpire, there is a book out called, As They See ‘Em, by Bruce Weber. I have yet to read it, but it looks very interesting. It is a memoir written by Weber after he accompanies a few professional umpires on their job for a year or so.

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-18T13:27:00.001-07:00

“Life is ten percent what happens to you and ninety percent how you respond to it.” - Lou Holtz

Earning Our Paycheck

2009-08-14T16:26:00.001-07:00

This week has seemed to last a little bit longer than most weeks. Normally the days fly by down here because we stay busy at the field and then we are fairly exhausted when we get home. The time that we spend at the field is the part of the day that really flies by though. Most days we have already spent 5 hours at the field before we even start the game. These 5 hours literally feel like 2 hours because we are staying fairly busy and we are playing baseball! After the game is done, it’s either time to hit the showers or get a lift in. After this we get home and usually have about 30 minutes before dinner.

With all this being said, it would seem that this week would fly by especially fast due to the nature of the work load. On Monday we played an extra inning game, Tuesday we had extra early work with our roving instructors before we played a double header, Wednesday we played another extra inning game, Thursday we did our entire pregame routine, with some more early work thrown in and made it to the field where we sat around for a while waiting for a storm to pass before the game finally was called off. This meant that today was another double header and it was an away game. To top it all off, we play tomorrow in Orlando against the Braves. This is an especially appropriate end to the week because Saturday games start at 10 AM and Orlando is a 2 plus hour drive which means the bus will be leaving around 7:30 AM which means that we will have to wake up even earlier to get to the field and hit in the cage before we leave.

This may sound like I’m complaining, but I’m definitely not. I just wanted to use this weeks schedule as an example of how much minor league ball players REALLY earn their paychecks. This also serves as an example to why big league players are privileged enough to be paid so much. Although the salaries are getting pretty ridiculous, the guys who are in the big leagues really had to work and work and work to get there. They have survived one of the most intensive job interviews on the planet and the rewards are huge.

If you don’t know, minor leaguers wages are fairly miniscule, especially for the hours that are logged per week. It’s a more than full time schedule and weeks like this really test a player’s resolve and love for the game. It all comes with the territory and weeks like this make our normal weeks seem easy and fast. Again, there are no complaints on this end, I’m still livin’ the dream and getting paid to play a kids game. At the end of the day, that’s the bottom line and we’re all grateful to be able to say that.

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-14T16:21:00.001-07:00

"A person who aims at nothing has a target he can’t miss." - Unknown

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-13T15:56:00.001-07:00

"Adversity causes some men to break, others to break records." - William A. Ward

Bad Timing

2009-08-12T16:21:00.000-07:00

Let me first start by saying that I typically try and avoid writing about my personal performance on my blog. I do not write this to pump myself up or glorify myself. I’m a firm believer that someone’s play should speak for itself; therefore, they shouldn’t need to draw attention to their personal performance. Today, however, was an interesting and funny anomaly.

On that note, let me begin.

After an hour plus bus ride to Bradenton, we exited the bus into the Florida heat and humidity. It is fairly typical to hear one or two guys complain everyday about how hot it is, but today seemed to be slightly more uncomfortable than normal as many guys were issuing complaints prior to the game. On top of that, we have had a fairly exhausting week so far that has included a double header and an extra inning loss, so amid the heat and humidity complaints there were also a number of guys who were noting noticeable fatigue. Now lets zoom ahead to bout the 4th inning, familiar storm clouds began creeping up behind left field that looked extremely imposing. The clouds lingered for most of the game, never dumping on us like we expected. In the 8th or so, it did begin raining a little bit, but most of the storms presence was all bark and no bite, as we had a great deal of thunder rumbling off in the distance with occasional flashes of lightning that were fairly far away.

With all of these changing and generally miserable conditions surrounding the game, we continued to play on. We were down 2-1 going into the top of the 9th inning and everyone was either hoping for a comeback to take the lead, or to just have the game be over with so we can get back on the road and rest up. This means that there is one situation that no one wants (I mean no one; the other team, our team, the coaches, the scouts, the few fans that are there and even the umpires). This situation is of course, a tie, which would lead to extra innings and an even longer game, not to mention we had conditioning after the game as well.

With all this being said, I stepped to the plate to lead off the 9th inning, down 2-1. I hit a homerun that tied the game up. As the ball went over the “grey monster” a collective sigh could be heard around the field. This is the funny part, as I walked into the dugout, everyone did the typical congratulatory high fives and stuff, then about a minute later after I got some water and sat down with the rest of the guys, we made two outs and were on the verge of going to the bottom of the 9th and most likely extra innings. With this realization setting in, I started catching a bunch of crap from all the guys for tying it haha. All around the dugout guys were half joking and half seriously chiming in saying things like “thanks a lot Gump, now we have to play another extra inning game”, “Gump you owe me an apology”, "Good one! (sarcastically)" and even some friendly middle fingers. It was all in good fun and a big joke as guys began feeding off each others remarks. It was pretty funny and we got a good laugh out of it, but the displeasure with actually going to extra innings was real.

This was definitely the strangest and probably funniest reception I have ever gotten after hitting a home run by my own teammates. It’s one of those GCL moments that I will never forget. We ended up losing in the 10th inning and after the game and conditioning the guys were still cracking jokes, but they were also shaking my hand and congratulating me on a good performance.

Another example of something that a fan would completely not expect or think about, but is probably true at most low minor league levels.

I just want to remind you that we ALWAYS want to win, we just hope for the best situation. Once we tied it up and went to extra’s all the displeasure goes out the window and we want to win it even more.

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-12T15:03:00.001-07:00

"If money is your hope for independence, you will never have it. The only real security that a man can have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability." - Henry Ford

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-11T13:46:00.001-07:00

"The only difference between stumbling blocks and steppingstones is the way in which we use them." - Unknown

Nicknames

2009-08-10T15:07:00.001-07:00

Today we were talking about nicknames in the dugout before the game and going through the laundry list of nicknames that we have for everyone. So I decided to make that my topic for today. (Picture: Hangin in the dugout with El Caballo and Johnathon Villar and the rest of the guys)

It's funny how it doesn't take very long for guys to start giving each other nicknames. Baseball players are highly observant when it comes to giving nicknames. These names usually come from either a guys last name, his looks, some physical characteristic, an inside joke, a funny memory of him or a combination of any number of these. Nicknames are funny things because they have a strange way of evolving into new nicknames that are hardly relevant to the original nickname. Here is a list of names on the team and explanations of how these guys got the name.

Nick Name - Players real name

- El Caballo - David Hissey: The Latin guys say that he runs like a horse, no one objects to this statement, besides Hissey probably.

- Ivan Drago - Cory Wine: We all agreed that when we first met him we thought he was the Russian boxer from "Rocky IV"... seriously he looks just like him.

- Señor Dinosaur - Louis Paulino: Louis has a knack for making dinosaur noises at the most random of times.

- Robocop - Phil Aviola: Phil is built like bull and when you see him with all his catchers gear on and the Oakley visor on his mask covering his eyes, he has a curiously striking resemblance to Robocop.

- Izzy - Ely Izturriaga: Self explanatory

- Tiger - Marlon Mitchel: He does a great Tiger Woods impression and has a striking resemblance to him.

- Eddie Munster - Windor Torres: Another striking resemblance, widows peek and all.

- Rojo Grande - Me: Also self explanatory (Big Red in Spanish, referring to my hair color if you haven't seen a picture of me). We are currently searching for a funnier one though because Rojo Grande isnt very imaginative.

- Big John Coffey - John Singleton: He has the same name and he also bares a striking resemblance as he is very well built and a man child in general, yet, he is well mannered and a very gentle guy, except when your an opposing pitcher.

As you may have noticed, a number of the nicknames derive from movie characters. This is because most professional baseball players are movie connoisseurs due to the large amount of hours that they have logged on the bus watching movies throughout their careers. If you spend any amount of time around a clubhouse, it wont take long to hear a movie quote, or a script from an entire scene being re-created between numerous players. See Phil Aviola for a perfect example of this, It is widely believed that he has every movie script of every movie ever created memorized.

Well I think I'm going to keep it short today, there are a few more nicknames that I'm either not thinking of right now or that are more appropriate for the confines of the clubhouse(were baseball players, what did you expect?! haha)

Have a great day!

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-10T15:00:00.000-07:00

"Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish.” - Sam Walton

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-08T16:22:00.001-07:00

"Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone." - Gladys Browyn Stern

Streaks and Slumps

2009-08-07T12:33:00.000-07:00

Some of the best and worst things about personal performances on the field are streaks and slumps. Both pitchers and hitters can enjoy or anguish through a streak or a slump and some interesting behavior can ensue. (This picture isn't very relevant, but that's me and some of the guys during one of my diversity days on the bus, we have a good time)

Let’s talk about slumps first.

There is a distinct difference between the nature of a slump and a cold streak. A cold streak is usually a period where the player sees a lack of production. This lack of production is due to a combination between a mechanical flaw, bad luck and or a flawed approach. A cold streak becomes a slump when the player mentally buys into the cold streak and begins pressing and getting away from his routines in a panic to get out of the perceived slump.

This pressing can lead to behavior that sometimes borders on maniacal. A player in a slump can often be caught asking anyone and everyone what they are doing wrong. It also leads guys to get away from their normal working routines and try and adopt everyone else’s habits, a little bit like in Bull Durham when one of the players in a slump begs his teammate to let him rub his bat with the lucky voodoo chicken bone in order to get him some hits and break out of his slump. Slumps can cross over into off the field behavior as well. Superstitions begin to manifest themselves and on the other end of that, sometimes guys will trash their whole routine entirely. Most of the time a slump will continue until the player identifies a bad mechanical habit that they have developed or they just subconsciously revert to their old successful form. There is one good thing about slumps, they are great teachers. No player is immune to having a slump. Slumps allow a player to learn more about their own mechanics or just themselves so in the future they will know what to look/feel for when their mechanics aren’t feeling quite right.

The behavior that accompanies a hot streak can be very similar to slump behavior because superstitions can start to pile up. When a guy gets hot, sometimes he begins to attribute his success to things that have nothing to do with it, like a lucky shirt or oddball routines like brushing your teeth between innings or wearing the same underwear, etc... It can get pretty hilarious what people come up with as superstitions. The guys thought it was pretty funny when we were talking about superstitions and I revealed that I make sure and get out of the bed on the left side every morning. That’s right, I have a few superstitions too and I don't even consider myself superstitious. Some of the Latin guys can be extremely superstitious, tapping the catcher’s knee pad every time they walk up to the plate is a popular one and there is even talk of some of the guys believing in voodoo! Pretty serious stuff right?!

I would say that most superstition comes in the form of routines. Players get extremely attached to their routines and when they for some reason cannot follow their exact routines, they mentally panic which sometimes leads to bad performances and further reinforces their perceived necessity of practicing their routine to a tee. When a guy makes a small change to his routine, either accidentally or purposely, and has success, the same thing occurs and they add it into the daily routine.

Here some superstitions that are either very common or ones that I have come across that are the funniest/most unique...

- Never step on the foul line. It's bad luck apparently.

- Never play catch in front of the dugout. Also supposedly bad luck.

- In high school, my coach buried a dead crow that was found on the field in the visitor’s bullpen. I’m not really sure what the thought process was behind that, but it was pretty funny that he made such a big deal about how it was going to help us win.

- Many players like to wear the same undershirt underneath their jerseys, that is more a comfort thing though.

- A lot of guys listen to the same playlist of music before games either in the clubhouse or on the bus. Music is huge. My teammates in college began to catch on to my routine when every time we were about to get off the bus they would hear Notorious B.I.G.'s song "Juicy" blaring from my headphones.

(That's Caesar Hernandez, Esmelvin Jimenez and Kelly Dugan getting their pregame jam session in)

- Lucky bats and batting gloves. Socks that are considered lucky that have become holy (in a non religious way) and tattered because the player refuses to get a new pair.

- Never talk to a pitcher who is in the midst of throwing a no-hitter or perfect game about his no-hitter or perfect game. In college, we had a pitcher, Chuck Huggins (now in the Blue Jays system), that was working on a no-hitter. He had made it all the way to the 6th inning when the coaches son walked up to him in the dugout and excitedly chimed in, "Hey Chuck, did you know that your throwing a no-hitter?!". The next inning he gave up a leadoff hit and then surrendered a couple runs. We still get a good laugh out that story, especially the way Chuck tells it, to this day.

-One of my old teammates would walk up to the plate and kneel down and grab a handful of dirt and drop it as he moved his hand from one shoulder to the other in a knightly fashion.

- A number of guys have lucky necklaces

- Some guys have to do a new tape job on their bats before every game (Kelly Dugan) haha

- In college, one of my buddies, Robbie Blauer (played in the Padres system after college), whom we called lunch box, would eat corn dogs before every game, (shocking how he got that nickname isn’t it haha). The number of corn dogs he ate would consequently determine the number of hits he would get that day. It turns out he must have been eating a lot of corn dogs because he was a phenomenal hitter.

Slumps and streaks are both productive parts of a players career. Just like in life, slumps or failures lead to great personal growth. Streaks are a result of this personal growth and superstitions are just humorous mental crutches that are part of the fun of the game of baseball. I assure you that there are far crazier superstitions out there that I have either forgotten to mention or haven’t come across yet.

Feel free to comment if you have any funny stories of superstitions that you know about.

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-07T12:22:00.001-07:00

"Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That’s truly about the game, and in some ways that’s about life too." - Michael Jordan

High Heels on the Field

2009-08-06T16:28:00.000-07:00

I just thought I would post this link to an interview with me about my blog and experience here by Jessica Quiroli. She writes an excellent baseball blog and is also a freelance writer as well as a beat writer for the Trenton Thunder. Check it out if your interested...

http://highheelsonthefield.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/08/brian-gump-rises-to-the-offspeed-challenge.html

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-06T16:08:00.000-07:00

"The best portion of a good man's life is the little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love." - William Wordsworth

USF UCONN Dance Off

2009-08-05T18:47:00.001-07:00

USF UCONN Dance Off

Lightning Delay

2009-08-05T17:35:00.000-07:00

Today was another first for me. In baseball, and especially in Florida, rain delays are a fact of life. Today though, we had a lightning delay.

Around the 4th inning or so we took a peak over our shoulders in the dugout and saw a dark ominous front of clouds approaching. After a number of experiences with this scene since we have been here, we figured a rain delay was going to be coming and very soon. As we took the field in the 6th without a drop of rain having fallen, the umpire quickly told the players to clear the field. Apparently he had seen some lighting within a fairly close proximity to the field and he deemed the game unsafe to play at that point. Both teams quickly took shelter in the large batting cage down the right field line and began waiting for the menacing gang of clouds to move along. After some light rain (nothing hard enough to warrant a stoppage in normal circumstances) and bit of lightning and thunder, we continued to sit there to make sure the coast was clear and the threat of lightning had passed.

While we were hanging out in this huge batting cage, a number of memories began to float around in my head from rain delays past. In baseball, the rain delay can either be a thing of extreme boredom or extreme entertainment. This particular rain/lightning delay was mildly entertaining. As we sat there we got to talk with some of the guys from the Braves. We also got the privilege of witnessing a hilarious impersonation, by Miguel Alvarez, of how David Hissey (aka El Caballo) hits and then runs down the line.

Much like when the actually baseball game is being played; the players are quick to entertain in the midst of a rain delay as well. Here in the GCL we entertain each other, in other pro leagues, college and summer ball leagues the players are usually quick to provide some entertainment for the fans that choose to stick around. Here are some of my favorite rain delay experiences...

Summer '08, Northwoods League: On one occasion we dressed up one of our pitchers as upside down man. By placing his pants on his arms and head, putting his cleats and socks on his hands and placing his legs through the arm holes of the jersey he attained the appearance of a player walking on his hands. We paraded him around in front of the fans and I acted as his spotter. The illusion that he is walking on his hands and struggling to keep his balance kept the fans entertained and coincidently made the local evening news.

Summer '08, Northwoods League: We had a "riddle off" with the other team. I’m not sure how the idea started but we wrote a riddle down on a baseball and threw it across the field to the other team’s dugout. They wrote the answer down and then wrote their own riddle and tossed it back. That ball went back and forth for a surprisingly long time with the other team finally stumping us.

UCSB '07: During a long rain delay in Santa Barbara, a few of us got involved in an intense game of hangman on the white board that is at the end of our dugout. It quickly turned into one of the most entertaining games of hangman ever because half the team was playing and the mystery words usually turned out to be a joke at the expense of one of the guys who was playing.

A few other rain delay shenanigans come to mind, but they all pale in comparison to what went down at the Big East conference tournament last year. Check it out if you haven’t seen it already, its pretty classic.

Oddly enough, it actually happened here in Clearwater at the Threshers' stadium, I just realized that.

I posted the clip above, hopefully it works...

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

"Lack of money is no obstacle. Lack of an idea is an obstacle. " - Ken Hakuta

Unsung Heroes of the Clubhouse

2009-08-03T14:29:00.000-07:00

In the clubhouse, there is a group of guys that operate beyond the view of the public eye. This group of diligent workers is largely responsible for the functionality of every professional team, from the big leagues all the way down to the GCL. The players refer to our behind the scenes heroes as “Clubbys” and Equipment Managers. The Clubbys range in ages from college age guys all the way to father and grandfatherly figures. These professionals keep the players looking respectable by cleaning the jerseys and laundry loops, they keep the clubhouse clean, they make sure we get fed, they add to the clubhouse atmosphere by injecting their personalities in the mix and they make sure everyone has all the equipment they need. If it was just players, the clubhouse would be a pig sty and we would wear dirty jerseys and unders most days, we would probably weight 10 pounds less because we wouldn’t bring enough food, and we would all have different looking gear. (Thats our spotless clubhouse along with the laundry bins, where the laundry hardly hits the bottom of the bin before it is swooped up and thoroughtly cleaned and returned to our lockers by our boys)

The clubbys are the definition of professional. They are organized, clean and incredibly efficient. Every day, I throw my jersey and laundry loop in the laundry bins after the game before I go and lift or shower. By the time I get back to my locker my pants and jersey are almost always already cleaned and dried and hanging in my locker. I was blown away the first few days that this happened. In college, we got our stuff cleaned for us but we would have to dig through the bins everyday before practice to find our gear. The first few days I was here, I kept checking my locker for some kind of laundry fairy that magically cleaned and hung up my gear in record time, turns out it was one of our boys, Luke Hensley just doing his job. No big deal to him, I, on the other hand, was blown away. These guys are legit, besides handling their job, they keep the players in check. Whether its jawing or joking back and forth with one of the guys or encouraging one of the players after a good or bad performance, they are as an important part of the team as anyone.

(Thats my locker, as you can see, everything is neatly hung and remarkably clean, Thanks guys)

The Equipment Managers work fairly closely with the Clubbys. Joe and Buck are the kings of the equipment room, which is a highly coveted location that needs to be properly protected and managed. The equipment room is essentially a pot of gold and these two guys make sure this pot of gold stays stocked with the proper gear. Upon arriving here, Joe is one of the first guys you speak with because he hooks it up with all your gear and jerseys. They also make sure that bats are in stock and they even keep a supply of bubble gum and bags of sunflower seeds in there so that we have something to munch on during the game. Buck is a clubhouse favorite, he’s a generous older man that has an incredibly amount of energy. He loves to hang around the players and check up on the guys to see how they’re doing. Joe also has the duty of making the food arrangements and he keeps us very well fed.

Both of these guys and the Clubbys make everything run smoothly in the clubhouse and around the complex. If a player ever needs anything, they are the guys to talk to. It’s pretty nice having that kind of person around, it also helps that they are fun guys who are fairly light hearted and great at their jobs. The hours they work, from what I can tell, are pretty long and somewhat erratic as I have heard some of our boys don’t leave the complex till late at night. There are a number duties that I am sure I have overlooked or am completely oblivious to, but none the less, the clubbys and equipment managers are the unsung heroes of the clubhouse that have some of the most important, yet publicly overlooked, jobs in the organization. Big thanks for a job continually well done.

Archived Quote of the Day

2009-08-03T14:27:00.001-07:00

"Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think." -- Benjamin Disraeli

_______________BrianGump__________

Check One Off The List

Interview with Baseball Digest (By Jessica Quiroli)

Warming Up As It Cools Down

Movember!

End of the Year

The Playoff...Joust?

August

A Quick Update

Adventures from the Mound: Part Deux

Nature of Off Days

Baseball Marathon

The Miracle League

The Mustache Diaries

Well Stated My Friend

A Special Thank You

2 Rings in 2 Days

Spring Training the Second Time Around

The "Off" Season

My Host Mom

Interview

Finding My Swing

Joining a New Team

Dealing with Injury

Archived Quote

The Quarter Game

Back On It

Guest Blogger: 3B Adam Buschini (2009 Phillies 4th Round Pick)

Visual Training

Spring Training Part 2

Guest Blogger - Thomas Phelps: Orioles Minor League Pitcher

Crowning the Champs

Reader Q & A

Spring Training Part I

Archived Quote

My Life in Two Bags

Spring Training

Live Hitting

Uncharacteristic

A peak into my weight training

Graduation

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Archived Quote

Nov. 1

Archived Quote

Returning to Nature

What a Weekend

Archived Quote

Grand Re-opening

Workouts

Archived Quote of the Day

Workin' Out

Archived Quote of the Day

Archived Quote of the Day

The Offseason

Archived Quote of the Day

Listen to the Championship Series

Archived Quote of the Day

Playoffs?! Your talking about the Playoffs?!

Archived Quote of the Day

My Professional Pitching Debut

Archived Quote of the Day

Archived Quote of the Day

The New Guy

First Road Trip

Coming soon

Archived Quote of the Day

My New Team

Archived Quote of the Day

Archived Quote of the Day

Another First in My Professional Career

Archived Quote of the Day

My New Roommate

Talents

Archived Quote of the Day

Archived Quote of the Day

Ode to Lenny's Diner

Archived Quote of the Day

Archived Quote of the Day

Umpires

_____BrianGump