Throughout the Astros minor league system on Friday, players, coaches and managers wore high socks in honor of Gordan McKenzie, a long-time instructor, scout and minor league coach in the Astros system who passed away last week.
A moment of silence was observed for the man affectionately known as Gordy.
I was very impressed with Mark Appel's start. None of the trauma or drama surrounding Appel's season was in evidence on Friday. He came out and pitched his game with confidence, mixing his pitches well and hitting his spots. His fastball sat in the mid-90's and routinely hit 97.
Corpus Christi Interim Pitching Coach Doug Brocail said of Appel, "What he went through [earlier this season] is going to make him a way better pitcher." Brocail would rather see Appel struggle in the minor leagues than on the major league stage. In any event, he was adamant that Appel never stopped believing in himself through any of it.
Unfortunately for Appel, he left the game with a 1-0 deficit and wasn't in line for the win. Enter Jordan Jankowski. Apparently Jankowski wanted to impress me. It worked. He struck out eight batters in three innings and allowed only one hit and no walks.
Brocail called Jankowski's performance "complete dominance" and went on to tell me that he has seen several no-hitters in his career in which the pitcher wasn't as dominant as Jankowski was on Friday. I believed him.
Fast forward to the bottom of the ninth. The good guys had been held to one hit. Kemp and DeShields had both drawn walks and advanced on a force out. With two outs, Telvin Nash came to the plate and did something I hadn't seen from him in the past. He showed very good discipline at the plate. Down to his final strike, he stroked a two-run double and secured the walk-off win.
A celebration ensued ....
And naturally an ice bucket dousing, courtesy of Chris Devenski ...
I spoke with Nash the next day and asked him, "Who are you and what have you done with that guy who had no plate discipline? I like this guy better!" Yes, Nash still strikes out a lot, but he showed more situational awareness than I'd ever seen from him. And he seems to have matured both as a baseball player and a human being. I liked what I saw from him.
The next night wasn't quite so dramatic. Brady Rodgers took the mound and did what Brady does. He works quickly and uses all of his pitches to his advantage. He isn't going to hit 97 like Appel so according to Brocail, the key for Brady has been the development this season of his "put-away pitch" which has been coming along nicely. Unlike several other times this season, Rodgers got run support early and came away with the win.
Teoscar Hernandez showed off his skills in right field during the game, making a couple of spectacular catches, and prompting someone sitting behind me to ask, "Who is this guy?" I turned around and told him Teoscar's name and told him to remember that name. Hernandez is such a talented player and so exciting to watch. And he's just a genuinely nice young man as well. You can't help but want him to succeed.
Now, some really random thoughts.
Colin Moran is really tall. And really thin.
I didn't interview Moran, but I did get his information in the hopes that I can do so in the off-season.
Tyler Perez is really funny. After I posted this unstaged photo from Friday ...
Perez decided to recreate it on Saturday with a little help from Travis Ballew ...
And finally, when I saw Kyle Weiland in the dugout on Friday, I was actually startled. Yes, I knew that he was in Corpus Christi on a rehab assignment, but as I told him the next day, "It's almost like seeing Big Foot. You hear the stories, but you don't really think he exists." For that, I received a tip of the cap.
In closing, the entire Hooks team participated in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge on Saturday night after the game.
For more information and to donate, click here.
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