Thursday Morning “Scouting Report”

Last night there was lots of hubbub at the Class A+ ballgame in Jupiter, the Hammerheads playing the Charlotte Stone Crabs, as Christian Yelich from the Miami Marlins who’s been on their DL was making a rehab appearance.  As an established major league player he drew much attention, some of the crowd not remembering he played for the Hammerheads only a few years.  When I saw him as a minor leaguer one could see the potential.  He reminded me of Jacoby Ellsbury, then with the Red Sox and now with the Yankees.  He has that lanky look, a quick left-handed bat, and speed around the bases.  He went 2 for 4 in the Hammerheads 3-2 loss to the Crabs, a double and a single – stealing 2^nd base and going around to 3^rd on a throwing error.  He flew.  I guess he’s ready to go off the DL

A couple of other interesting items  The Hammerheads started a lefty, Alex Burgos who seemed to have ordinary stuff, went three innings, gave up four hits but no runs and had no BB or SOs.  What I found interesting is that he was born in Regensburg, Germany, a beautiful city that we’ve been to on the Rhine. (Not many BB players can claim that distinction.) He played his college baseball here in Florida though. He’s knocked around the minors for five years now, and he’s going to have to develop some finesse pitches with pinpoint placement to make up for his lack of an overpowering fast ball.

 

On the other side of the coin, Esmerling De La Rosa, the losing pitcher (gave up one run in two innings, but with two SOs), was bringing heat at 95 mph, and although he has had control issues in the minors, he seems to be improving.  It helps to be able to throw in the mid 90s.  So, who knows, maybe one of these guys will make it to the majors, but there is work to be done!

I should add that Buddy Borden, who pitched for the Crabs (Tampa Bay affiliate), threw like a mature pitcher although only 23 years old, fast ball in the low 90s, a good curve ball, moving the ball around.  He gave up one run in five innings and thus far this year has shown great control with only 5 walks and 21 strikeouts in 21 innings.  Looks like Tampa might have a future starter.

Beautiful night last night for BB!

 

Silver Slugger Opening Day

It’s that special time of year as baseball rises with the spring Crocuses, throwing off the winter and March madness.  For us in Florida, it’s the end of Spring Training games but the beginning of the minor league season.  In Palm Beach Country we have the A plus league playing in Jupiter’s Roger Dean Stadium, fielding teams from Florida’s west and east coast.  Although the official opening day at the stadium was the week before, for us “Silver Sluggers” Wednesday night was our opening day.  It was a lovely spring/summer early evening, in the low 80’s with a light breeze, the Jupiter Hammerheads (the Marlins’ farm club) playing the Clearwater Threshers (Philadelphia’s farm club).

Less important than the outcome of these games (either the Hammerheads or the Palm Beach Cardinals play; both share the stadium, one being the home team while the other is on the road), is the game itself, how it’s played, major league in every respect, the pristine field, the beauty of the game.  “Silver Sluggers” – 55 and over – get to enjoy all those Wednesday games, $25 for the entire season, including a hot dog and soda!  How can you beat that?  And there we share the experience with similar minded friends, all of us sitting practically on the field behind third base.  Unlike the big leagues, it’s an opportunity to really feel part of the game.

The flag was at half mast, in honor of the 150^th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s death, history and baseball inextricably intertwined.

I’m particularly interested in some of the left handed pitchers, as my high school fantasy was to pitch in the big leagues.  So, I was thrilled to see a lefty pitch, Jarlin Garcia of the Hammerheads who started Wednesday’s game, working 6 innings, giving up no runs with 4 strike outs and 2 walks.  Not a flame thrower, but he was bringing his fast ball in the low 90’s balancing those pitches with off speed stuff.  The 22 year old kid from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic has potential.

Some excitement at the game was the presence of  Domonic Brown, the big Philadelphia Phillies regular right fielder who was playing on rehab assignment.  He went 1 for 4.

The game itself was decided in the ninth inning when Clearwater scored all 7 of its runs, beating the Hammerheads 7-4.  But, as I said, that was less important than just being there.  Let the games begin!

Field of Dreaming

Looking back at some entries written over the years, I’m fascinated by how things evolved vs. expectations.  I normally don’t note when predictions come true, but this one feeds into a childhood fantasy of pitching in the major leagues.  I never made it out of the Babe Ruth league or whatever passed for that kind of league in the 1950s.  It wasn’t for lack of effort.  l practiced or played most days or even into the twilight trying to perfect my pitches (luckily, I had two neighborhood friends during my childhood years who fancied themselves catchers and had catcher mitts).  I fashioned my assortment of pitches and delivery after my childhood idols, particularly Whitey Ford and Bobby Schantz. 

Never heard of Bobby?  Pitched for 16 years in the majors with a 3.38 ERA, and won the MVP when he had 24-7 record and a 2.48 ERA in 1952.  Those kinds of numbers would have made him a mint in today’s baseball world.  I wonder how much Bobby made during his career.  Chump change compared to today’s multiyear contracts that approach a quarter of a billion dollars!  Are today’s stars worth any more than Schantz or Ford (who also had 16 year major league career, a 2.75 era and of course an incredible winning record given he was with the Yankees mostly during the 1950s and early 1960s)?

They were both lefties, as I am, and I wanted to be just like them.  Physically, I matched up to Bobby Schantz at 5’6”.  I figured if he could pitch in the big leagues without an overbearing fast ball, I could too.  So I worked on my control and off speed stuff, particularly a screw ball (most lefties have a natural fade away from a right hand batter with their fast balls).  Alas, such ambition also needs extraordinary talent, and other interests found me drifting away from baseball by college.

Still, I love to follow the game, and even pride myself on being a “closet scout” particularly when it comes to lefty pitching.  This brings me to my observation about a year ago when I first saw Andrew Heany pitch for the Marlins’ Class A Plus Jupiter Hammerheads.  At the time I said “I'll go out on a limb and predict he will make the majors in 1-2 years, maybe sooner depending on the Marlin's pitching needs.  It was a pleasure to see him work the other night.”

Since then he has gone to AA and then AAA ball.  According to last Sunday’s Palm Beach Post, “since joining Class A Jupiter last season, he has shined at each level with a 0.88 ERA in 61 2/3 innings in Jupiter, a 2.58 ERA in 87 1/3 innings in Jacksonville (AA) and 0.82 ERA in 11 innings in New Orleans (AAA).  Heaney, 22, will be in Miami soon.”  Mark your calendars for the end of June, sort of what I predicted.  This guy has it all.

Soon after seeing Heaney, I watched lefty Justin Nicolino pitch and said: “The Marlins farm club is loaded with lefty pitching talent and it will be interesting to watch Nicolino's and Heaney's rise to the majors."

Nicolino is now in AA with a 4-2 recorded and a 3.30 era.  He recently took a no hitter into the seventh inning in a win over Montgomery.  He’ll be up soon as well.

The Marlins have all sort of farm talent and it’s good to see them first in Jupiter.  I count it as one of the reasons this area is so appealing – one of Florida’s big pluses.

And the Marlins farm club shares Roger Dean Stadium with the Palm Beach Cardinals.  Last night I went to see their highly touted left hander Kyle Helisek.  With an ERA of 2.59, he’s made the Class A All Star team.  Looking at his record, he has had some control issues striking out about only 50% more than he’s walked.  This game he had control, no walks as I recall, but his fast ball is not domineering and he left some pitches too close to the heart of the plate, therefore giving up seven hits over five innings, and two runs, but striking out six.  With better control, he’s yet another lefty who could make it all the way, maybe within a couple of years. It was a pleasure to watch Helisek’s form on the mound, as these photographs attest. Classic stuff.  

Opening Day

Well, not actually, the Class A Advanced Florida baseball games were already underway.  But last night was the first night for the "Silver Slugger" series of games  -- each Wednesday night a hot dog, soda, and general admission for us 55 and older crowd who subscribe.  Twenty-five bucks for the entire season!  You can't beat that, and our Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, FL is pristine, a true field of dreams and we've watched many minor leaguers come and go there over the years, some making it to "the show" such as Giancarlo Stanton and most recently Christian Yelich both now starting for the parent team, the Miami Marlins.  St. Louis also fields a Class A+ ball club at the stadium.

Strange to be a "silver slugger" as my own dreams of baseball seem less than a distant memory. By the time I was in college, my playing days were over as a pitcher. But, then I had other priorities -- like getting an education.

The first night welcome-back for us "silver slugger" crowd usually includes a promotional item as well.  This year an umbrella, but my favorites were the hats and the tee shirts of years gone by.  The tee shirt amuses me as a Urologist placed an advertisement on the back.  Talk about knowing your market. You're out!

Last night's game was played after a mild cold front had gone through so it was a breezy, cool night (low 70's at game time I figure), but as usual, I had to hold my breath as we walked to our seats to see the beautiful field in full once again.

The game though was uneventful, a 5-2 loss by the Marlin's Hammerheads, but I enjoy watching the pitchers, in this case Trevor Williams who pitched well enough, hitting 93 mph on the gun, looking very professional in his delivery.  The Marlins have a lot of pitching talent in their pipeline.  Last year I wrote about Andrew Heaney and Justin Nicolino who have gone up the ladder in the minors.  Expect to see one of them with the parent club soon.

But Williams gave up three runs in the third inning, in spite of ostensibly having some good stuff. The Marlins selected him in the second round (44th overall) of the 2013 Draft, so they must see potential there.

Ironically, while we were watching that game our son, Jonathan, was at the Yankee game seeing Masahiro Tanaka's debut in the Bronx, a 5-4 loss for my Yanks.  Tanaka pitched well (in fact, very well after giving up a 3 run home-run) and I thought Williams did too, if you discount the third inning. Frankly, I now enjoy watching Class A+ ball more than going to Yankee Stadium.  It's as professional as the Majors -- this is no bush league other than the contests they invite fans to participate in between innings.  Furthermore, you are right on the field, up close and can watch the game as it was intended, not from nosebleed territory.  And, finally, the last Yankee game we went to cost us almost $100 per seat, and that was from StubHub at a discount (and that's relatively cheap -- try to get seats on the field, near the dugouts).  It's just gotten out of hand, at least in the NY market.

So the Silver Slugger games are now underway.  How did I become one so quickly?  Time to see the Urologist!