Show and Go

Crunch time during the final few weeks of the semester has caused my post frequency to dwindle.  However, I will have things wrapped up by the end of the first week of May and that will leave more time to get after some the posts. 

The team has been hovering around .500 throughout the first two weeks of the season with the injury bug seeming to be the prevailing theme throughout the organization.  We have had three pitchers and a position player injured already, with other pitchers getting called up to replace injured and underachieving arms at higher levels.  Of the seven original bullpen pitchers on opening day, we are down to three (and one of them has already been on the disabled list and recovered).  Time will be the only indicator of whether things will stabilize or if this season will continue to be a revolving door of personnel.

Today was the last game of a three-game set at High Desert (Seattle Mariners affiliate), but with an added wrinkle.  Walking out of the clubhouse with the field already chalked and watered with morning radio talk shows going on can only mean one thing: a 10:35am start time.  This is the earliest game I have been a part of since rain forced The University of Tampa to play a 9:00am game as part of a doubleheader my junior season.  This is the type of day perfect for a “show-and-go.”

Usually reserved for day games or night games after long extra-inning affairs the previous night, the show-and-go is pretty much what it sounds like: we show up to the field and play.  There is no formal batting practice, no early work, and no ground balls.  You show up to the field, stretch, throw, and get ready to play.  Ironically, these days are the days where players or teams find a way to break out of slumps. Sometimes, taking all of the thinking and extra work out of things are what people need to clear their heads and break out their funks. 

Unfortunately, today was not the case for us as we dropped the game 6-3 and lost the series 2-1.  We currently sit two games under .500 and begin a four-game series at Lancaster (Houston Astros affiliate) tomorrow night.

Kids

Tonight’s home opener did not go as well as planned with Visalia hanging 13 on us tonight to our no-show.  It is baseball.  It happens.  It is just disappointing we did not put on a better showing for the many fans that came out tonight.  It is nice to be back in the atmosphere of the home ballpark after being gone for seven months (and the four road games to start the year).  Playing where you are appreciated definitely makes things easier, and players definitely feed off the fans’ emotions.

My favorite part about the crowds is seeing the kids, especially the younger ones.  It does not matter if you are a prospect or an organizational player trying to stick around; they want to be just like you when they are older.  Their admiration is unwavering.  Even in your tough times they still want you to sign a ball for them or just give you a “high-five.”  It fascinates me to see how excited they are to run out on the field with you for player introductions or if you come over and actually talk to them for a few minutes.  I try to make it a point to do this when I have a free moment because you never actually know how rough a child has things going for them.  Going to that baseball game might be the high point of their day, week, or month, and your interactions can be the world to them.

We are all dreamers, and that starts in our youth.  I am an adult playing a kid’s game.  Baseball was so much easier at that age: you were sometimes more concerned with what the after game snack was than what you did at the plate that day.  And that error you made late in the game is by the wayside before you even get home to play with your friends.  The game definitely changes as you get older, but the roots of it remain the same.  Taking this game too seriously will wear you out and age you beyond your years.  Laughing about some mistakes, at times, can be just as important as learning from them.  A big key to success in baseball is respecting the game, and making sure to have fun doing it.  Whether you are up or down by 13 can be a laugher or an embarrassment, but if you are still playing like a kid, it is still better than any other job I will ever have.

Opening Day, NA 34

Groundhog Day is upon us.  Those who have followed my blog since its inception or those familiar with some inside jokes of baseball understand this reference.  A quip in the business is that every day is “Groundhog Day,” referencing that every day is pretty much the same. The only things that matter are if we are home or away and if it is a day or night game.  Unfortunately, this day is not like the others.

This Minor League Opening Day, in what is supposed to be full of excitement and optimism does not have that feel.  The Angels’ 22-year old rookie right-hander, Nick Adenhart, was killed by a drunk driver last night.  This tragedy has cast a dark shadow over baseball, especially the Angels and its affiliates.  While I did not, personally, know Nick, many of my teammates did an either spoke with him or played with him just weeks prior during Big League camp and spring training.  Despite this, whether I knew him or not is irrelevant; it still pains me that he is gone and will not have a chance to live the dream he had finally achieved.

Despite the heartbreak, the games will continue.  It is likely someone will get called up to fill the void, and it will follow down the minor league chain. We will play tonight against Inland Empire (Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate) and kick off our 2009 campaign.  However, whether we win tonight by ten or lose a heartbreaker late, the outcome just is not going to have the same meaning.  Our family lost a brother today and Nick will be sorely missed.

Odds and Ends

And we’re off.  I compose this post as I travel north to Rancho Cucamonga, California.  A few days ago, I was assigned to our Class A-Advanced affiliate, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League.  Getting team assignments can be a bittersweet day; some people are placed where they were expecting to go, while others are placed at a lower level than they were expecting.  However, there is always the possibility of getting released, which was the unfortunate fate of about ten players this year on this second “cut-day.”  This day takes a somber tone as some former teammates are headed home and people are sometimes left wondering, “Why?” 

The process is simple.  The rosters are waiting on the bulletin boards at the complex that day next to the daily schedule and various other notices, and you search for your name.  Your name is on one of the four minor league affiliates, the extended spring training list, or not at all.  In the case of the latter, you know that your time with the organization is finished, and there is a note taped to your locker “see Abe” ([Flores], minor league director).  You stop by his office, get an explanation, and then pack your things for your trip home.

But, for those that survive, business continues as usual and we finish out the rest of the spring training schedule and prepare to report to our affiliates.  That brings me to today, which involved getting all of my things on the 6:30am bus over to the complex so we could leave immediately following our 9:00am game.  We are bussing (or driving if you have a car or ride with a teammate) to Rancho, while the Cedar Rapids and Arkansas affiliates have Monday morning flights (Salt Lake has alternate arrangements that vary as well).

It will be nice to have a change of scenery in California (and enjoy some added moisture in the air).  I took a brief escape from the hotel and baseball on Thursday night with a trip to the Phoenix Coyotes hockey game.  Leave it to me to find the only sheet of frozen water in the desert, but I did.  My close friends know that I am very big into hockey and follow it closely.  But, it was good to get away from the field and see something other than a red and white ball.

Ironically, I ended up sitting behind the clubhouse manager for the Great Falls Voyagers (Pioneer League Advanced Rookie affiliate of the Chicago White Sox).  We ended up talking for a bit and I learned he has been the “clubbie” in Great Falls for over 20 years.  The conversation was split between the present, as well as recollecting the 2007 Pioneer League Championship.  That Championship involved the Orem Owlz (the team I played on my first year of pro ball) and the Great Falls White Sox (before their 2008 name change).  We ended up winning game two 3-2 in 16 innings to clinch the series and complete the upset of the favored White Sox.  This was just another instance that you never know who you are going to come across in your travels.

This concludes the posts from Arizona.  Hopefully, I will not be making any from this state until next year.  While spring training was long and tiring, it was constructive and beneficial.  The season will begin on the foundation of habits that have been drilled into us for the past few weeks with the idea that work has only just begun.