2015 Houston Farm System Handbook

Some of my long-time readers may have noticed that I haven't posted nearly as much during this off-season as I normally do. There is a reason for that, and it's not because I've been lazily enjoying my downtime.

For a long time, I've been trying to figure out how to better utilize all of the information that comes my way during a season. I generally have tons of extra information from all of the interviews that I conduct that doesn't really fit with the posts that I write on a day-to-day basis. Then, in a "Eureka!" moment, I thought to myself, "Why not put together a farm system handbook?" It seemed like a good idea at the time so I forged ahead.

I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I don't think I had any idea precisely how difficult the process would be. I feel as though I have given birth (without the epidural). I am at once as proud, as exhausted and as trepidatious as a new mother would be as well.

The other factor in writing the book was that, although the status quo applies for the time being in regard to my job, an element of uncertainty has crept into the picture. My company may very well still be around when I'm ready to retire, but the likelihood of that has lessened considerably with the untimely passing of one of the company's owners. As a result, I have started cutting back on some of my expenses. And my biggest discretionary expense is the travel I have indulged in for my minor league fix. A little income to offset some of those expenses will help me justify that indulgence.

With that said, I hope that you will considering buying my new book, the "2015 Houston Farm System Handbook." I have come to think of it as a media guide on steroids, including basic profiles on 257 players in the Astros farm system (with expanded profiles on dozens of those players).

The book contains basic stats, reports on many of the players as obtained from coaches, managers, fellow players and my own observations (among other sources), links to available interviews and video, dozens of quality player photos, a good dose of humor and much more.

It is meant to introduce you to the players with whom you may not be quite as familiar. Yes, there is information about Carlos Correa, Mark Appel and other top prospects, but you will also learn more about names you may not be quite as familiar with, such as Frankeny Fernandez, Andy Pineda, Erasmo Pinales and Carlos Pizzolato.

The book is available on Amazon, and should now be compatible with the iPad using the kindle app for iPad.



Thanks to all of you for your kindness and support over the last few years and your indulgence over the last few months. I promise that things will start getting back to normal around here very soon!