Just a Business

All too often, you hear someone saying that this game is “just a business.”  This was all too apparent yesterday as our parent club was trying to bolster its starting rotation by making one last addition before the rosters freeze on September 1.  While the trading deadline passed on July 31, trades can still occur through September 1 if players clear waivers.

We got to the stadium yesterday amidst rumors of the Angels and Tampa Bay Rays being close to a deal that would send starting pitcher Scott Kazmir to the Angels in exchange for some Minor League prospects.  What brought these trade talks closer to home was that one of the prospects on the trading block was teammate Matt Sweeney.  Sweeney had apparently heard about these rumors from teammates through an MLB.com article before he even got a call from his agent.  While we set out to begin our daily routines, Sweeney was off to get a physical.  After coming in from batting practice, ESPN was reporting the story that the Angels and Rays were close to completing this trade; all the while Sweeney is sitting in our clubhouse waiting to hear his fate.  Right after our game started that night against Stockton, Sweeney got word that the deal went through and he packed up his things and left.

The other big component of this deal was starting pitcher and former teammate, Alex Torres, who was in Double-A Arkansas.  What awaits to be seen for the ultimate conclusion of this deal is the “player to be named later,” which is the selection from a list of agreed upon names that the Rays will choose at a later date.

As I have discussed in the past, you never know when teammates are coming or going.  It is infrequent that a significant trade like this hits as far down the Minor League ladder that it did.  But, this is just another instance that supports the notion that in the end, baseball is not a game; rather, it is a business.  Free agents sign with teams that pay them the most money and give them the best shot at winning a World Series.  Teams out of contention deal away top players in the attempt to gain enough younger prospects to compete down the road.  Owners dismantle teams after winning a World Series to ensure their pockets stay lined with the fruits of their recent labor.  As long as baseball has been played, there have always been people in it more for money and prestige than wins and losses.  While there are arguments both for and against this ideal, it is one that will always be present as long as money drives the game.

And the Hits Just Keep on Coming

After a brief writing hiatus, I am reporting live from a vehicle heading due west that will not stop until it reaches the water.  A few teammates are taking advantage of our second to last off day of the young season by going to the beach.  This off day comes at the conclusion of a nine-game home stand that has us one game behind the divisional leader and in the thick of the playoff race.

The last week has brought a lot of activity to Quakesville.  Last week’s off day was spent at Angels Stadium for Quakes Day.  This publicity stunt had us signing autographs outside the stadium for about 40 minutes, getting announced on the field prior to game time, and watching the Angels beat the Tampa Bay Rays from a left field suite.  This was my first time to Angels Stadium and it was an interesting experience.

Joining the team during the home stand was Torii Hunter, the Angels centerfielder rehabbing an adductor strain prior to his return to the Big League club in Baltimore.  Hunter is very personable and could always be found talking to players, discussing the finer points of our craft.  He had a lot of enthusiasm and knowledge to offer the team and everyone benefited from his time with us.  After arriving on Wednesday, he played centerfield that night, was the designated hitter on Thursday, and player centerfield again on Saturday.

Hunter’s absence on Friday was attributed to discomfort felt from a stomach virus that has been plaguing several players (myself included), coaches, and rovers.  Four players, two coaches, and two rovers got sick Thursday night, with some others getting pulled down over the past few days.  In what was first thought to be food poisoning, this bug has left everyone extremely uncomfortable and made eating undesirable.  I was scratched from my start on Saturday after feeling lightheaded and dizzy, but was felt well enough to grit it out during Sunday’s finale against Lake Elsinore.

Apparently after my performance on Sunday, I might want to consider getting sick more often as it seems to boost my power numbers.  In what is a rare feat for me, I hit my first homerun in two years to give us a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning.  This was my third professional homerun (which was erroneously reported by the Quakes as my first—I know the two I previously hit were two years ago in Orem, but they still count), and ironically, the second one I hit feeling under the weather.  During the game of my first homerun, our entire team was dealing with food poisoning from a tainted postgame meal the previous night.  Somehow, I got my first that day (on a hit and run, good thing I protected the runner). 

I know that it is said when you are sick you are not trying to do as much because you are not feeling up to it, and there may be some truth in that.  However, I would rather figure out how to do this when I am feeling healthy because only hitting homeruns when sick is a little absurd.  Regardless of my offensive output, the most important thing is that we pulled out a 5-2 victory and my work behind the plate aided the pitching staff overcome nine walks by scattering four hits and limiting the Storm to only one hit in 13 runners-in-scoring-position opportunities.  This was definitely not the best performance of the season, but it was a win nonetheless.  And this late in the season, you will take wins any way you can get them.

Men in Blue

Ball or strike.  Fair or foul.  Safe or out.  Umpires have the arduous task of making a fast game that black and white (yet they wear blue).  There is little room for subjectivity, except for maybe a balk call.  Of course, as players, it does not seem hard at all to make these calls and are the first to become irate when we feel we have been slighted.  “How could you miss that call?”  Granted, we are a little biased, and always feel that we are correct.

As a catcher, the next most important thing to handling a pitching staff is being about to build a positive rapport with umpires that will hopefully benefit us when there is a close call.  One way to do this is by making sure he does not get hit with balls in the dirt.  Blocking balls, even with no one on, can give the umpire more confidence that he is not going to get hit, and may help him track a pitch the split-second longer you need for it to be called a strike.  Another way to go about developing this relationship is through conversation.  Baseball games take a long time to complete, and things can get pretty lonely as an umpire, with two teams battling each other and at the same time, hating the men in blue.  This need for some friendly conversation is what enables a catcher to connect with the home plate umpire for the few hours he is back there.

What exactly is talked about?  Pretty much everything.  A popular topic is usually “where have you come from (with respect to what city you were just in) and where are you going?”  That lends itself to the tangents of stadiums, accommodations, game issues, etc.  Talking about the weather is always good for an inning or two: complaining about how hot or cold it has been is very popular (although last night, I was talking to a base umpire in between innings when I was down in the bullpen and marveling about how pleasant the weather was in San Jose this past weekend).

Whatever the topic of conversation, part of our job description as a catcher is to get the umpire on our side.  This can become difficult when you feel he has just punched you out on strikes on what you thought was a ball, or if he just blew a call at the plate that you cannot believe actually happened.  However, we must try to let it go or diffuse the situation in the attempt to get him back on “our” side.

For example, in San Jose on Sunday, we had a runner called out at the plate on what looked to be a pretty easy safe call to make.  Our manager argued very adamantly about this call and was probably very close to an ejection.  The call ended the inning, so I was faced with the peril of going back there while that blow up was still lingering.  What was my go-to?  “So, where are you guys [umpires] going next?”  That led to a discussion about them staying in San Jose for the next series, that they were staying in the Wyndham downtown, and where they had just come from. 

Did this abate any of the animosity that was stirred up by the questioning of the call in the previous inning?  I will never know for sure.  However, I know that it could not have hurt.  Umpires (and officials in any sport) have the thankless job of interpreting and applying the rules of the game.  Despite their imperfections, some tend to be good guys just trying to chase their dreams and make a living.  Others can be arrogant and make it seem that everyone is there to see them when they go on power trips.

We are not perfect, and neither are they.  Unfortunately for them, they are expected to get every call right and cannot just have an error chalked up on the scoreboard if they mess something up.  The struggle between players and perceived correctness will continue as long as the game is played.  But, the relationships made on the field are enduring.  You get to know some of the umpires pretty well, and these are the ones you look forward to working your games.  For it is these men in blue that can make the painful sight of a bad call a little more bearable.

“If You’re Goin’ to San Francisco…”

Well not quite that far north.  We just wrapped up a three-game set in San Jose against the San Francisco Giants’ affiliate and are set to head home.  A trip that started at 6:00am Friday morning will end around the same time three days later.  Fortunately, we have our second off-day of the second half tomorrow, an off-day nearly three weeks since our last.

We had a tough series with the first-half Northern Division Champions and current second-half leaders, dropping the first two games 3-1 and 2-0.  However, we were able to salvage game three, winning an extended affair 5-3 in 11 innings (extra innings always seem to be a feature of getaway days).

This was only our second overnight road trip of the season, since most of the season is played within our division and all of those games are commuters.  Some players like the lack of overnighters that are common in most of the other minor leagues; I, on the other hand, do not like this format.  I see commuters as a lot of time wasted on buses, and I find the changes in scenery from overnight trips to be good from time to time.

You can learn about your teammates during road trips.  You find out who has the least patience while waiting 15 minutes for your dinner check when the server has to split it into eleven separate tabs.  You find out who insists on eating toast with grape jelly, and being appalled when the only choices are strawberry and blackberry jam, and orange marmalade.  But, aside from these nuances, you also find out who has your back and who will pick you up when you are down.

As players, we spend half the year away from our friends and family (for those that still reside around their families) to pursue our profession and chase a dream.  When we take the field every night, we are a family and we are all each other has that given night.  When we battle the other team, the umpires, and the fans, we can only turn to each other for guidance and support.  This long season is starting to near its homestretch, and we are banding together to grind our way through the completion of another season.