On my recent trip to Tri-City, I was in my last day of the trip and had concluded all of my interviews, had taken all of my photos except for that night's game and was ready to sit back and relax for a few minutes in the media room at "The Joe." The door opened and in walked Media Director Chris Chenes accompanied by a petite ball of energy by the name of Doris Gonzalez.
I had heard about Doris (in glowing terms) from Assistant Director of Player Development Allen Rowin two years ago when I interviewed him about the Astros Dominican Academy. Doris is in charge of helping the Latin players learn English and refine their language skills as a part of acclimating them into playing in the U.S. (among other things).
Doris knew that I had done a video interview with Danry Vasquez and Teoscar Hernandez when I was in Lancaster in May. Danry was eager to do the interview, but Teoscar required a little coaxing. The result was a combined interview which helped Teoscar feel more comfortable speaking with me (by the way, his English was quite good).
Doris saw that as an opportunity. She would like all of her students to be able to handle interviews and saw me as a willing partner. We briefly discussed the language skills of the Latin players on the Tri-City team and quickly settled on RHP Francis Ramirez and C Alfredo "Fredo" Gonzalez and before you know it, I was back in the clubhouse with my video recorder at the ready.
I'm really looking forward to working with Doris again and determining which players are ready for
the big time a simple blog interview. Even if the questions and answers aren't exactly hard-hitting, it will help me (and my readers) get to know some of these players a little better.
First, a little background on the two.
Francis Ramirez, 22, has been with the Astros since signing as an international free agent in November 2008. He is from the Dominican Republic.
Fredo Gonzalez, also 22, signed with the Astros out of Venezuela in July 2008. Fredo actually stood out for me in watching the players during workouts. He is very strong and deceptively agile. His catching skills this season have been very good as well, throwing out 50% of would-be base stealers.
Without further ado, here is a brief interview with the two. Note that the sound isn't very good ... turn the volume up to high for the best results.
