Random Observations: RHP Akeem Bostick and RHP Austin Chrismon

A Tale of Two Pitchers ...

RHP Akeem Bostick was promoted from Quad Cities to Lancaster on June 28th. In three appearances (two starts) since then, he has a 2.30 ERA and a 1.277 WHIP in 15.2 innings. Pretty good, right? BUT all of those starts have been on the road and none have been at either of the two most hitter-friendly parks in the League (Lancaster and High Desert).

RHP Austin Chrismon was promoted from Quad Cities to Lancaster on June 14th. In five appearances (three starts) since the promotion, he has a 4.12 ERA and 1.583 WHIP in 24 innings. Fairly mediocre, right? HOWEVER, Chrismon has a terrific record of 3-0 with a 0.47 ERA and a 1.158 WHIP in his three starts on the road. At Lancaster's home ballpark, The Hangar, Chrismon has not fared quite so well; he is 0-1 with a 18.00 ERA and a 3.200 WHIP in 2 relief appearances (5 IP).

The moral of the story? Context is always important. It will be interesting to see if Chrismon can start adjusting better to his home ballpark (he's scheduled to start at home tonight) and whether or not Bostick will become another pitching victim of The Hangar when he finally pitches there in a game situation.

Random Observations from My Corpus Christi Trip

Timing is everything. I had planned a short trip to Corpus Christi several weeks ago. And it just so happened that I would get the opportunity to see Mark Appel and Brady Rodgers get the starts in the two games I attended. Kismet.

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 ...

But don't be fooled by Tyson's propensity as a jokester. He may appear to be a bit of a character, but according to Doug Brocail, Perez is laser-focused during games and has emerged as a team leader in the bullpen.

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.

Random Observations from my Tri-City Trip

My recent trip to Tri-City was more challenging than usual as far as getting to know the players. My first day at the ballpark saw no BP because the team had arrived home from a road trip shortly before dawn and were, frankly, walking zombies most of the afternoon. Rain cut early work short on my second day (and canceled BP completely) so there wasn't much of a chance for observation on that day either. Finally on the third day, I was able to observe early work and BP and get just a tiny sense of some of the player's personalities.

Overall the Tri-City team is on the quiet side. There are a few outgoing personalities such as Alex Hernandez ...

And the Latin players always seem to enjoy themselves ...

Ariel Ovando and Juan Santana

And I was told that pitchers Jay Gause and Ryan Thompson are on the colorful side, but I didn't get the chance to talk with them.

The 'Cats lost the first two games while I was in Troy and it looked as though they were pressing at the plate. The recent loss of the bats of A.J. Reed and Ryan Bottger seemed to have impacted the line-up in that they were trying to do too much at the plate instead of just being themselves as hitters. By the third game, they appeared more relaxed and they made it back to the win column where they have stayed for four straight games.

I always forget how imposing a figure Joe Musgrove is. Listed as 6'5" and 230 pounds, he is the very definition of a big-bodied pitcher.

Except for heavy rain one afternoon, the weather was fantastic (I'm not used to wearing a jacket in the evenings in summer). It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the troops (ballpark staff) assemble when rain is in the offing. And let's just say that Media Relations Manager Chris Chenes showed some moves, leaping into action at the first sign of rain with catlike reflexes. That tarp went down fast!

The evening after the rain was cool and damp and by the end of the game a fog settled on the field.

Jordan Mills

I was surprised by the crowd mid-week. The 'Cats staff does a fantastic job with bringing in the casual fan with promotions to supplement the diehards chanting "Vamos Gatos" at a high decibel reading.

Diehard Fan Robert Witt with Derek Fisher

There's always one guy to whom I blurt out something inadvertently and inappropriately. Aaron Vaughn was my recipient this time. Those eyes!

Thank you to Chris and Sam for your help and hospitality. It was great seeing and talking to Brendon as well. Thanks also to the ValleyCats and Astros fans who always give me a warm welcome and a kind word.

I will be posting some interviews from my trip this week and next and am also planning a post about my visit to Cooperstown during induction weekend with advice for those who may be interested in going next year when Biggio will (!) be inducted (he'd better be!). In the meantime, keep your eye on the ball.

Raul Rivera

I have uploaded WAAAAAYYYYYY too many photos as usual and have not weeded them out or labeled them yet, but if you're game, you can go here. As usual, the players and coaches are free to use these photos for personal uses. All other uses require permission and acknowledgement.

Random Observations from my Greeneville Trip

As many of you already know, I just made the journey to Greeneville, Tennessee over the last few days to see the Astros Rookie League team in action. First of all, I'd like to thank GM David Lane, Assistant GM Hunter Reed, the always warm, friendly, charming and welcoming Manager Josh Bonifay (who incidently awaits the birth of his first child any day now and is shown here modeling the fantastic Astros Hawaiian night jersey), and unofficial Team Manager and Super Fan Tiny Thomas Hurley for their hospitality.

There was a huge crowd at Pioneer Park on July 4th and every detail was perfect, including this nice touch from the groundskeeper, providing some stars and stripes for the occasion.

Unfortunately, the crowds were much smaller for the Saturday and Sunday games which is really a shame because Pioneer Park, located on the Tusculum College Campus, is simply a beautiful venue inside ...

and out ...

and the weather could not have been more beautiful for the three games.

I did conduct a few interviews while I was there, but mainly I just wanted to get to know the players a little bit better. A whopping 14 of the 2014 draft picks are on the roster, plus numerous other players that I hadn't met yet. Just getting a feel for who they are was a major undertaking, but I feel like I have a much better understanding of their personalities and the team dynamics.

One thing that really stood out for me was the incredible chemistry on a team that has only been playing together for a very few weeks. It is a tightly knit group. The other thing that stood out was that there doesn't appear to be the typical cultural divide that I often see on teams, particularly young teams, between the Latin players and the U.S. players. Everyone seems to be reaching out across that cultural divide and it shows in the team chemistry.

C Jacob Nottingham is the team character. He works hard, but he's going to have fun in the process. He has taken over Brett Phillips' role from last season in teasing Cesar Cedeño for his habit of throwing his leg over the rail.

OF Ramon Laureano has the best nickname of the bunch. The similarity of his first name to the word Ramen has resulted in this serious-looking young man being dubbed "Noodles."

RHP Brock Dykxhoorn is listed as 6'8" while OF Sean McMullen is listed as 5'9" on the roster. It is slightly jarring to see them together.

It was really good to see former Astros minor leaguer (2004-2011) Wladimir Sutil back in the Astros fold. He is hard at work as a member of the coaching staff in Greeneville.

I was waiting for OF Jason Martin to get a restraining order against me for stalking him with my camera, but those eyes ...

Although Juan Santana (on right) is known as "Smiley" on the club, I fell in love with Ydarqui Marte's broad grin as well.

Speaking of Santana, he is not even close to being the same player I saw last year. His BP that I watched was VERY impressive. I would not be the least bit surprised to see him (and a couple of the other players I met this past weekend) in Tri-City when I get there at the end of the month.

The level of play on the field was uneven, but that is to be expected from a Rookie League club that has been together less than a month. I saw flashes of great things from numerous players (particularly the pitching from Josh James and Zach Davis), but consistency is always the hardest thing to find for young players. Give it time.

The game on the 4th of July was a crazy one. The Greeneville Astros won 14-1 as the Kingsport Mets pitchers were just a tad bit wild, issuing 13 walks and recording seven wild pitches and two passed balls. Things like that happen in rookie league ball. I didn't get to see any fireworks on the field until the next night when "Noodles" Laureano hit his first professional home run, but there were plenty of fireworks off the field that night.

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I hope to have a couple of my interviews up this week (did I mention how much I hate transcribing?) and the other two next week. I have done the initial cut of my photos and have uploaded them to Flickr here. They aren't labeled yet and I still need to cut a couple hundred of them, but if you're feeling adventurous, go for it.

Random Observations From My Quad Cities Trip

As always when I travel to some of the minor league venues, I conduct a few interviews. And, as always, I dread the chore of transcribing them. But I hope to have a couple of interviews posted this week and a couple more next week. In the meantime, I'll just share a few random observations from my recent trip to Quad Cities.

Watching Michael Feliz and Jandel Gustave throw long toss is pretty awe-inspiring.

Particularly when Gustave throws from here without bouncing it.

And, although I already knew this about myself, I was reminded what a baseball nerd I am. I absolutely love watching Pitchers Fielding Practice (which some people might find as exciting as watching paint dry). Pitching Coach Dave Borkowski also does a dexterity drill with his pitchers that was a lot of fun to watch. Time and again, the bullpen outlasted the starters on a "one and done" challenge. Here are relievers Tyler Brunnemann, Albert Minnis, Chris Cotton, Patrick Christensen and Andrew Walter showing how it's done.



I was glad that I finally got to see Brett Phillips in game action. He was hurt when I was in Greeneville last year so I've only seen him in Spring Training simulated games. Not only did I get to witness his cannon of an arm on an outfield assist, I also got to see his speed as he was literally flying down the line after bunting.

Lefty pitcher Chris Lee has got some skinny legs.

The team defense was simply excellent and it didn't matter who was in the line-up. The work that Manager Omar Lopez and his coaching staff do on fundamentals clearly shows.

I wasn't a huge fan of Modern Woodmen Park when I visited last year. The view of the bridge is fantastic, but it just seemed to be missing something for me. To me, it lacked character. The ferris wheel beyond left field has remedied that. Here's the view from right field now.

However, with that said, if I was a season ticket holder, I would have to sit on the third base side. After dark, the lights on the ferris wheel are downright mesmerizing. I couldn't take my eyes off of the ever-changing light patterns.

One of the fun parts of traveling to the different venues is that I invariably meet players' parents or girlfriends and end up having some terrific conversations. I often offer to take photos of them which I send to them privately and never post, but I'm going to make an exception because this one of Brian Holberton and his Mom is just too good. I don't think they'll mind.

Aside from a few weather issues and a delayed bag, the trip was definitely a success and I enjoyed myself immensely. Many thanks to Scott Kornberg who took very good care of me in Marco LaNave's absence. And many thanks to Manager Omar Lopez and Pitching Coach Dave Borkowski for their time.

And, as usual, I took far too many pictures and I'm still in the process of weeding them down to a manageable number to post on Flickr. In the meantime, enjoy one of my favorites from the trip.

Austin "Catfish" Elkins and Ronnie Mitchell

All Photos by Jayne Hansen

All Rights Reserved

Random Observations From My Corpus Christi Trip

I haven't had time to write up much from my Corpus Christi trip yet, but I hope to have my interview with Andrew Aplin ready tomorrow. Interviews with Brady Rodgers and Preston Tucker will follow. In addition to those interviews, I talked with interim Pitching Coach Doug Brocail about Rodgers, Luis Cruz and Tommy Shirley. Brocail was very generous with his time and his thoughts on those players and I will be sharing those as well.

In the meantime, let me leave you with some random observations.

Speaking of Luis Cruz, I was disappointed that I wouldn't see him pitch while I was in Corpus Christi and I told him, "Well, I guess I won't be seeing a no-hitter this trip." That was in reference to the tandem no-hitter that Cruz tossed with Kyle Hallock in Lancaster last year. He grinned and told me, "When you come back, I'll throw one for you." He does not lack confidence and is a bulldog on the mound, but a laid-back sweetheart off the mound.

Jorge de Leon and Luis Cruz

The fun and camaraderie of last year's Lancaster team definitely carried over to this year's Corpus Christi team. This team works hard, but they also have a lot of fun. Watching the pre-game antics and rituals in the dugout is a show unto itself. And you can usually find Leo Heras and Jio Mier in the middle of it all.

Jio and Leo in a pre-game ritual

Heras is a high energy guy, zipping back and forth in the dugout, jumping up on the railing, dangling from the dugout overhang. It made me almost dizzy to watch him. He's also a fun player to watch on the field. Keep your eye on this guy!

The Corpus Christi bullpen has done some excellent work this season. Now we know the reason. They are all secretly superheroes!

Jordan Jankowski, Andrew Robinson, Alex Sogard

and Travis Ballew reveal their true identities

I didn't think I would like the baby blue jerseys, but I absolutely LOVE them.

M.P. Cokinos models the light blue jersey

Delino DeShields is looking oh-so-much better and he's getting antsy to get back on the field. He's been taking BP and is participating in most baseball activities so it shouldn't be too much longer (I hope).

Delino DeShields

Similarly, David Rollins is on the road back from an oblique injury and tossed for what I believe was the first time on Sunday.

David Rollins

All in all, it was a great trip (until somebody turned the heat up at Sunday's game). I would like to thank Michael Coffin, Chris Blake and Travis (whose last name I unfortunately don't remember) for all of their help.

I have uploaded my photos from the trip, but I haven't finished weeding them out and labeling them yet. If you're game to look through almost 400 pictures, go for it! As always, I just ask that photos only be used for personal use by the players and their families. Otherwise, use of the photos requires permission and acknowledgement.

One final thought. This team may currently be in third place in their division, but they are definitely not a third place team. Things are really starting to come together for them as a team and I'm looking for them to put up a lot of W's in the not so distant future.

Random Thoughts From My Trip To Tri-City

I am officially on vacation so I don't plan to post a lot from my Tri-City trip this week. But I did want to leave you with a few random observations.

First of all, the staff at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium, more casually known as "The Joe," was nothing short of amazing. Chris Chenes, Matt Appel and Brendan Phillips, in particular, literally formed a welcoming committee for me and helped me more than I probably deserved! Keep in mind that my first credentialed day at the park just happened to be the day that number one overall draft pick Mark Appel made his professional debut (here's my story on that in case you missed it). I know they had more important things to attend to than helping me out, but they did so with good humor and overwhelming grace.

And that was just the staff members whose names I learned. Everyone was simply wonderful, from the ushers to the vendors to those keeping the stadium running to Manager Ed Romero. And, of course, talking to the Tri-City super fans who I have interacted with on twitter and by email was a great deal of fun as well.

And The Joe itself is a very nice ballpark. The exterior is quite attractive, the outfield trees and landscaping give it a park-like feel and there's nothing quite like watching the sun set behind Adrian Houser on the mound.

I'm always interested in seeing how the players interact, who the cheerleaders are on the team and other such peripheral details. I didn't get a really good feel for many of the players because so many of them are brand new to me, but I did get this much ~

Zach Morton and Chan Moon are the clowns on the team. You can't stay in a bad mood around either of them. Unfortunately, I did not get video myself of Moon doing Gangnam Style, but I saw the video and it was an inspiring performance!

Zach Morton

Mike Martinez and Luis Alvarez appear to be the cheerleaders, the guys who keep the dugout loose and get people pumped up (or at least they were trying very hard to do so).

Mike Martinez and Luis Alvarez

And Thomas Lindauer can seriously crush sunflower seeds. He puts them away. Actually, there may need to be an intervention at some point because I think he may actually be a sunflower seed addict.

Who stood out on the field? Michael Feliz impressed me to no end. He was routinely hitting mid-90's with his fastball and he made it look effortless. Several other pitchers looked great as well, including Andrew Thurman, Adrian Houser and Kyle Westwood. I hardly recognized Houser; he has really filled out and is definitely not a teenager anymore. Everyone was solid defensively, but I saw some excellent plays from Tony Kemp, Ronnie Mitchell and James Ramsay in particular. Offensively, they were a bit inconsistent in the games I saw and no one really stood out for me except I can say that Mike Martinez can seriously crush a ball when he gets a hold of one and Tony Kemp is blazingly fast on the basepaths.

Seeing Vince Coleman work with the outfielders the last day was a special treat. I hope to post some video on that at some point. In addition, I will have interviews with Tony Kemp, Ronnie Mitchell and Andrew Thurman coming out, but I'm going to try not to kill myself on vacation so those may not come out until next week.

If you're going to auction off jerseys for charity (American Cancer Society), why not make them attractive? I probably would have bid on one, but I didn't see the point since I would have to keep it in a lead-lined box away from my retinas.



One final observation. As I was waiting on the field for the game to begin, trying to get some candid player photos, I glanced into the dugout and saw a very hot and very tired looking Southpaw resting in a chair with his head in his lap. I could have taken a photo and totally outed Southpaw, but that isn't my style. The mystery of Southpaw shall remain a mystery. But it occurred to me that the man inside the mascot costume must really love baseball and people and just being around the game in order to put on that hot, most likely smelly, costume in mid-90's heat and humidity and go out and bust his tail to entertain people. But even Southpaw needs to take a break.

Similarly, as much as I love baseball and people and being around the game, I am metaphorically taking off my head for the rest of the week and getting out of the sun and the heat and the humidity and the stinky clothes. I will still bring you recaps and birthdays and tweets of the day, but this blogger is taking a much needed vacation to recharge and reinvigorate before I put the head back on and go out and try to entertain you for the rest of the season. Thank you for your indulgence. If you need me, I'll be sitting on this porch in the middle of nowhere, contemplating my navel.



Thanks again to Chris Chenes in particular for making my trip very enjoyable and very memorable.