Happy Birthday - 9/10

RHP Gerardo Juarez (20)
Juarez spent the majority of his first professional season with the DSL Astros compiling a 3-2 record with a 1.86 ERA and a 0.881 WHIP in 13 games (five starts). Juarez received a late promotion to the GCL where he appeared in two games with a 1.42 ERA and a 1.105 WHIP. For the season, he walked 10 batters while striking out 58 in 59+ innings.

RHP Kyle Smith (21)
Obtained in the July 2013 Justin Maxwell trade with Kansas City, Smith was originally drafted by that team in the fourth round in 2011. In five regular season starts with Lancaster after the trade, he was 1-1 with a 7.33 ERA and a 1.500 WHIP. In the Carolina League prior to the trade, Smith was 5-4 with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.169 WHIP in 19 starts.

LHP Luis Cruz (23)
Drafted in the 9th round in 2008 out of high school in Puerto Rico, Cruz split the 2013 season between Lancaster and Corpus Christi. Between the two venues, he was 10-6 with a 4.56 ERA and a 1.228 WHIP. In May, he combined with Kyle Hallock in a no-hitter at Lancaster and in his next to the last start of the regular season for Corpus Christi, he had a complete game two-hit shutout in which he struck out a career-high 14 batters. Cruz led all Astros minor league pitchers in 2013 with 150 strikeouts for the season.

3B Angel Ibanez (23)
Drafted in the 28th round in 2012 out of University of Texas Pan American in Edinburg, Texas, Ibanez spent his second season with Greeneville in 2013. In 33 games, he hit .239/.302/.292.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

LHP Randy "Big Unit" Johnson (50)
Randy is well-remembered by Houston fans for his dominance during the 1998 playoff run. Obtained at the trade deadline, he went 10-1 in 11 starts with a 1.28 ERA and a 0.984 WHIP. He helped to get the Astros to the post season, but even with an impressive 1.93 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP, he went 0-2 and Houston lost the NLDS to San Diego 3-1. Johnson appeared in 22 major league seasons for six teams, with the vast majority of his time spent in the Mariners and Diamondbacks organizations. Among many other accomplishments, Johnson was a 10-time All-Star, MVP for the 2001 World Series and a five-time Cy Young Award Winner.

1B Craig Cacek (59)
Originally drafted by the Mets in the ninth round in 1972, Cacek came to Houston in a December 1975 trade with the Mets. His sole major league experience consisted of seven games played for Houston during the 1977 season. He did manage to get his one hit in the bigs, but that's about it.

RHP Lance Pendleton (30)
A first round pick by the Yankees in 2005, Pendleton was picked up in the Rule 5 draft from the Yankees in 2010, returned prior to the 2011 season and ultimately claimed off waivers from the Yankees in September 2011. In four appearances he had a 17.36 ERA and a 2.357 WHIP.

Random Observations on my Greeneville Trip

It will take me a while to transcribe the interviews from my Greeneville trip so let me leave you with a few random observations to tide you over.

As I noted last year, Pioneer Park is simply beautiful. Located on the campus of Tusculum College, the park is first class all the way. One of my favorite things about the park are the concourse banners commemorating the MLB debut of players who have gone through Greeneville. Here you see the banners for Sammy Gervacio, Jose Altuve, Brandon Barnes and, if you look closely, the last one is for Izzy Hinojosa, the groundskeeper who made his Houston debut last September.

Josh Bonifay runs a tight ship in his first year as Manager. Everything is organized and everyone seems to know what is expected of them. There is virtually no wasted time or effort. Most of these players are only starting their careers and need that structure. With that said, the players also seemed relaxed and loose during practices. I liked the field dynamic that I was seeing.

One player who impressed me both on and off the field was Gonzalo Sanudo, the right-handed pitcher from Tabasco, Mexico, who came to the Astros in the Mike Kvasnicka trade. His command was impeccable the night I saw him and he easily worked around two hits over his two innings as he struck out six. And the sound his fastball made when he hit the catcher's glove was music to my ears. Off the field, he is a character with personality plus. His reaction as Kevin Ferguson came into the dugout before the game wearing a bright orange cap (on a day when the uniform called for dark caps) was priceless.

I was also very impressed by Jandel Gustave's and Chris Lee's work on the mound, and I loved watching Juan Santana, a Dominican infielder who won't turn 19 until later this week, who plays with joyful abandon. Santana's easy smile has earned him the nickname Smiley, according to Bonifay. I think it's appropriate that he currently wears Jose Altuve's number 27 because he is destined to be a fan favorite much like Altuve.

Now for a few VERY random observations. Chase McDonald is HUGE. Could there be a better cheer for someone named Parker Hipp than Hip Hip Hooray? Brett Phillips is another larger than life personality, very funny and charismatic. Here he does a deadpan imitation of Hitting Coach Cesar Cedeno.

And finally, I loved watching Tanner Mathis' great range playing centerfield and I enjoyed talking with him about our mutual college experiences in Mississippi, but the best thing about Mathis is his walk-up ritual. The toe dig, bootie wiggle, side kick and bat toe tap is repeated throughout every game. I particularly enjoyed one ardent female fan who "Wooooo'd" for every bootie wiggle. Highly entertaining.



I would like to thank Josh Bonifay for his time and generosity. I really enjoyed talking with him about his team. His energy and enthusiasm are infectious. And having met his lovely wife Tiffany as well, I can only say this. He done good!

Let me leave you with one of my favorite images from the weekend -- Angel Ibanez engaging in a deep discussion with one of his fans.

Greeneville Astros - August 2012

Over the last couple of weeks, I've attempted to cull through and organize hundreds of photos I took at the various minor league venues during the 2012 season. Here are a few you may enjoy. I have also uploaded photos to Flickr. You can find my Greeneville photos from August 2012 here. Unfortunately, I haven't tagged the photos yet, but hope to do so at some point during the off-season. I promise I will try to upload and post pictures in a more timely manner in the coming season!

Ariel Ovando

Adrian Houser

Marc Wik

Angel Ibanez

Richard Rodriguez

Photos by Jayne Hansen

 All Rights Reserved*

*The players and coaches featured in these photos are hereby granted permission to use these photos for personal uses. All other uses require permission and acknowledgment. 

Happy Birthday - 9/10

LHP Luis Cruz (22)
Drafted in the 9th round in 2008 out of high school in Puerto Rico, Cruz spent the 2012 season at Lexington where he ended the season with a 9-8 record over 28 appearances (24 starts) with a 4.05 ERA and a 1.357 WHIP.

3B Angel Ibanez (22)
Drafted in the 28th round in 2012 out of University of Texas Pan American in Edinburg, Texas, Ibanez spent his first season with the organization at Greeneville. In 60 games, he hit .264/.310/.317 with a .305/.330/.389 batting line in his final 24 games in August.

Former Astros with birthdays today ~

LHP Randy "Big Unit" Johnson (49)
Randy is well-remembered by Houston fans for his dominance during the 1998 playoff run. Obtained at the trade deadline, he went 10-1 in 11 starts with a 1.28 ERA and a 0.984 WHIP. He helped to get the Astros to the post season, but even with an impressive 1.93 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP, he went 0-2 and Houston lost the NLDS to San Diego 3-1. Johnson appeared in 22 major league seasons for six teams, with the vast majority of his time spent in the Mariners and Diamondbacks organizations. Among many other accomplishments, Johnson was a 10-time All-Star, MVP for the 2001 World Series and a five-time Cy Young Award Winner.

1B Craig Cacek (58)
Originally drafted by the Mets in the ninth round in 1972, Cacek came to Houston in a December 1975 trade with the Mets. His sole major league experience consisted of seven games played for Houston during the 1977 season. He did manage to get his one hit in the bigs, but that's about it.

RHP Lance Pendleton (29)
A first round pick by the Yankees in 2005, Pendleton was picked up in the Rule 5 draft from the Yankees in 2010, returned prior to the 2011 season and ultimately claimed off waivers from the Yankees in September 2011. In four appearances he had a 17.36 ERA and a 2.357 WHIP. He is currently in the Tampa Bay organization.

Tweet of the Day

Angel Ibanez ‏@AI_Astro30

3 hrs from being home and my mom has no idea :) Only bad thing about surprising her, is that she won't have food ready! #hungry#excited