Tagged: Tug Hulett

March 21, 2010

Seatless Spring Training Crusade: Orioles vs Red Sox 3/20/10

Driving two-and-a-half hours to a game that I did not have tickets for was actually familiar territory. Last year, during Spring Training, my mother and I drove up to Jupiter, FL to catch a Red Sox vs Marlins Spring Training game. I bargained for the tickets myself, and I probably paid twice the actual price. You can read about that day here.

The main difference between that game and the one I went to yesterday was that my mother and I actually had somewhere to go had that game not worked out. Her parents live in Stuart, which is only about 20 minutes away from Jupiter, so if the game did not work out, we would have just gone up there earlier than planned.

The closest family I have to Fort Myers is my Uncle Jim (a Red Sox fan, of course!), who lives in Venice Beach, FL. We had no backup plan. It was either get tickets (which meant buying tickets from overcharging scalpers since the game was sold out) or dejectedly go home.

My friend Marissa Goldstein accompanied my father and I to what was our third Spring Training game of the Grapefruit League season. I was so happy that I could finally take her to a baseball game after all she and her family have done for me. She lives in Miami, but she is originally from Boston, and she visits her dad up there every summer. For the past three summers, I have spent a week with her and her father, Larry, up in Boston.

It was through her family’s generosity that I was able to experience my first time at Fenway Park (which I should extensively describe sometime, now that I think about it)–and with great seats too. We literally sat seven rows behind the Red Sox batters’ box. Larry, Marissa, and I also experienced our first time on the Green Monster in the summer of 2007, and that was an experience that I’ll never forget. It was also through her father’s generosity that I was able to go to Pawtucket last summer and interview Dan Hoard, Steve Hyder, and Michael Bowden. I owe so much to them, so the least I could have done was to take Marissa to her first Spring Training game.

Marissa, of all of my friends, knows what going to a baseball game with me entails. I will let her explain that when she guest blogs and writes “10 reasons never to go to a baseball game with Elizabeth.” She received nothing less than the full Spring Training experience. We left my house at 8 am, arrived at the park by 10:30, and we were looking for tickets.

The first scalper we encountered was asking for more than twice the price for bleacher and reserved seats. We decided to try our luck somewhere else. With scalpers, you are never in a position of power. I am a decent bargainer, but when it comes to tickets I am easily manipulated.

My father got in line to see what the box office had, and Marissa and I were going to go down the block to see what other scalpers were offering. Before we had taken three steps, my father called us back. A man had three standing room only tickets that he was selling for the fair price of $12. None of us had had standing room tickets before, but we decided to take the chance so that we could get into the stadium quicker.

Marissa and I went down to the dugout. I decided that it would be best if we stood at opposite ends of the dugout, so that there was a higher probability of getting some signatures. Since many of the non-roster invitees had already been cut, acquiring a multitude of autographs was a tough endeavor.

Jeremy Hermida ran in from the field to get his bat for batting practice. He waved to me when I called his name, and I asked him if he would sign. He said he would after batting practice. “Oh great,” I thought despondently, “That’s basically code for: ‘I’m not coming back,'”

I guess I judged him a little too harshly. Believe me, I know that baseball players have jobs to do, but this is Spring Training. It’s the only time of year that the players can get somewhat close to the fans. I know signing autographs is just a nice bonus, but sometimes they forget that we pay their salaries.

Jeremy was true to his word, and he came back, and signed my ball first. I told him that I remembered watching his first Major League at-bat: a grand slam. He smiled when I mentioned it. “First pitch?” I asked as he was signing my ball. He responded, but unfortunately, I couldn’t hear amongst all of the “JEREMY” calls of the fans.

Pedroia stopped to sign for a second, just not in front of the dugout. My Dustin Pedroia salsa has yet to be signed. I always wonder how I’m going to throw that glass container of stale salsa over the dugout, but I’ll find a way. As Jacoby jogged back into the dugout, he waved to me. I may not have gotten his signature, but a wave was good enough. As the Orioles were taking BP, Tug Hulett appeared in the dugout, and once again signed for everyone who wanted an autograph. I got his autograph for the second time this Spring, and I still can’t believe how good he is about signing autographs.

Jacoby signed for a couple of people before heading out to stretch, but he was the only regular who did. I noticed Angel Sanchez, a non-roster invitee still in camp, so I called to him and he signed for me. A lot of players from minor league camp had been called up for the day, so I did not recognize a lot of the numbers. Even the numbers that I did recognize were different players. 76 was not Jose Iglesias, 79 was not Dustin Richardson, 82 was not Adam Mills, 92 was not Ryan Kalish, and 97 was not Kyle Weiland.

Not having an actual seat at a baseball game was a very different experience. Most of the standing spots along the wall had already been taken, so we tried to stand along the handicapped railing even though there was a sign that clearly read “Please do not stand along the railing.” We were shooed away almost immediately. We were forced to split up.

After the second inning, we noticed a bunch of empty seats around home plate, so I decided to inquire. Those seats were reserved for scouts. I was a little bit offended because I like to consider myself an amateur scout. So we went up to the upper bowl, and found some empty seats up there. My dad found a seat behind home plate with some empty seats next to him, but we weren’t sure if people were sitting there or not.

I was starving at this point, but you guys know me during a baseball game: I don’t get up to eat or to go to the bathroom. So Marissa was kind enough to go get sausages because she is OK with missing five minutes of a game. She claims to be the rational one. We had these amazing, foot-long sausages. Although we were high up, we were still behind home plate, so I could see the lack of spin (I mean this in a good way) of Wakefield’s knuckleball.

I don’t like to settle for seats though. So I called my dad to see if seats were still available next to him, and they were. So we snuck down, pretended we had been in the bathroom (for like, five innings). We were right behind home plate. The view was fantastic. I could see into the Red Sox dugout, and I could see the pitchers’ motions whether they were right handed or left handed. We never got kicked out.

Wakefield pitched five, scoreless innings of two-hit ball. Looks pretty nice on paper, right? However, personally, I did not think that he had his best stuff. I know the majority of his pitches he pitched for strikes, but he bounced more than one of them in there, which is not something typical of Wake. Granted, he hit most of his spots, but he would miss by a lot when he didn’t hit them. Obviously, he had a great outing (albeit against what was basically the Orioles’ minor league squad), but the fact that he bounced more than one pitch in concerned me a bit.

Adrian Beltre reached first on a dropped third strike, which is something that you don’t see everyday. I have seen some really cool plays this spring: a triple play last weekend, and Beltre reaching on a dropped third strike this weekend. He swung at a terrible, wild pitch, but I guess that’s OK as long as he gets on base. Beltre also made a really nice play at third by tagging a guy out. Not only does he always know where the play is going to be, but he also knows which play is the best to make (if there is more than one guy on base). He is going to be a very valuable defensive asset. The guys sitting next to me (not sure if they had tickets) commented that Beltre should perform offensively as well considering that Fenway is much more conducive to hitters than Safeco Field is.

Both Kevin Youkilis and Marco Scutaro connected for their first home runs of the Spring, which was great to see. The minor league call-up who impressed me the most was Peter Hissey. He connected for two line drives into center field, one of which produced two RBIs. He played in Single A Greenville last year, and I am unsure of where he will play this year. I was very impressed with him, and he will be one of my projects in progress; definitely a guy to keep your eyes on. Aaron Bates, Marissa’s first project, also had two hits, and played some nice defense at first.

Manny Delcarmen relieved Wakefield and pitched one inning of scoreless relief. There has been some speculation about him because his clocks out at around 90-91 mph rather than his usual 95. This is obviously a result from his shoulder problems that hindered his performance during the second half of last season. I think that this is only a matter of building up his arm strength, which is what Spring Training is all about.

Brian Shouse had a nice outing, and his delivery continues to fascinate me. It’s very different, but it looks good as long as he gets outs. Fernando Cabrera also pitched an inning of relief, and I was pretty impressed. He was up at Fenway last September, so don’t be surprised if you see him again during the course of this season. Joe Nelson, the man with the Vulcan pitch, was very shaky at first putting two men on without recording an out, but he was able to finish the game with a strikeout and without allowing any runs.

Towards the end of the game, I noticed Michael Bowden was leaning on the railing in the dugout. After Nelson had recorded an out in the ninth, Marissa and I decided to head over towards the dugout to see if I could talk to him for a second after the game.

After Nelson struck the last guy out, Marissa and I started calling to him. He waved briefly as he went out to high five all of the guys. On his way back in we called to him again, and his face lit up with recognition when he saw me. The conversation went something along the lines of this:

“Hi! How are you?” he said. “I’m great, thanks, yourself?” I replied.

“I’m pretty good. It’s so good to see you!”

“You’ve been doing so well this Spring!”

“Thank you! How’s your writing going?” I could not believe he remembered me, let alone that I was an aspiring writer.

“Pretty good! Did you ever check my blog out?”

“Yeah I did! I really liked it!” Wow, I could not believe that he had read it.

“You know, everything you had to say about pitching really changed my perspective on it. It really helped me out”

“Oh, good! I’m glad it did!”

“So thank you very much”

“You’re welcome! It was great to see you!” “It was great seeing you too!”

I was so happy that he remembered me. It was not just a “Oh, hey I remember you” wave sort of deal. He leaned over the dugout to talk to me for a bit. I had actually thought that he may have been annoyed when I sat down and talked to him throughout the game in Pawtucket. The next night, when the security guard discouraged me from talking to the pitchers in the stands, I thought that maybe Michael had said something to him.

Apparently not. I was so happy that I had a chance to talk with Michael again. I know that he struggled at Fenway last year (which was NOT his fault), but this year he is fighting for the bullpen spot. I know that I may be a bit partial, but I truly think that he deserves the it. I think that he would have a great, positive impact because he has the same versatility that Masterson had: the ability to be both a starting pitcher, and a reliever. I will always be supportive of him, no matter what happens.

March 14, 2010

Spring Training Odyssey: Pirates vs Red Sox 3/13/10

You guys will be proud of me (or maybe disappointed): I did not trespass onto “private” property, nor did I climb fences nor did I open doors that said “authorized personnel only”. That’s not to say the day wasn’t filled with adventures, stories, and a farmer’s tan. My agenda was much more similar to what you’re used to: autograph hunting. For those of you who are new to this blog, I am not one of those autograph sellers; I am merely a collector. For me, there is a story behind every autograph, and a story behind the baseball that the autograph is on.

The gates open two-and-a-half hours before the game, and it takes two-and-a-half hours to get to the park. If you do the math right, we had to leave at 8 a.m. to arrive when the gates opened. We parked about a block away from the park outside of a church; the money was benefitting the Salvation Army. We were the first car in the parking lot.

My normal spot (or should I say, last year’s spot), which was at the corner of this lower level area right next to the dugout was already completely full of fans. I guess I should not have been too shocked considering it was a sold-out game on a Saturday. Hope was not lost though, so I parked myself right behind the dugout. The weather was beautiful, much better than Friday’s, which caused rainouts all across Florida and attacked my car. The sun was shining, and I had of course overestimated my skin’s immunity to sunburns.

One of my favorite parts about getting autographs is the fans you meet. I had the pleasure of meeting Kip, Julie, and their son Zack. They were down from Massachusetts to see a couple of Red Sox games. We were side-by-side identifying players’ numbers and calling their names.

The first autograph of the day was from Mike Cameron. He signed for a lot of people before his turn in the cages. His signature is a work of art. He is surely one of the nicest guys on the team, and he has a big characteristic smile that is indicative of his personality.

Then, Marco Scutaro came jogging in, and he signed for about three people. He was in a rush, so it was really nice that he signed.

Then I noticed Tug Hulett all the way at the end of the dugout. So I employed my vocal abilities and called to him. He came right over and signed for everyone who wanted a signature. Then he really went beyond his call of duty and literally signed for every single fan down the line in that lower level area. When he came back, he continued to sign for people along the dugout and he even threw bubble gum to a couple of fans. I had never seen anything like it! I told him that I awarded him with the good guy award.

I spotted Darnell McDonald in the dugout, so I called to him, and he signed for a few people. I also spotted Gil Velazquez in the dugout, so he signed for a few people too.

Then my sunglasses buddy, Lars Anderson, came back into the dugout after stretches, and after signing for some fans down the line. I knew that he was going to come over because as he was signing down the line, I called his name and he waved. I think it was then that he recognized me because I didn’t even have to say anything at the dugout and he remembered me. Of course we talked about my sunglasses! I told him we could trade, or that he could just have the glasses. As he was walking back into the dugout after he had finished signing, I offered one more time, and he came back up smiling and said that it was OK.

The game was about to start, but I wasn’t ready to go back to my seat just yet. One of my friends, Colleen, was at the game, so I finally got the chance to meet her! We became friends on Facebook through this site, actually. Colleen is a fantastic Red Sox fan who made the long trek across the state with her family to see the game. It was so great to meet her, and I hope we can talk for longer next time. Baseball really does bring people together.

Clay Buchholz was the starting pitcher, and he looked as confident as I had ever seen him. There was a big difference in his presence on the mound from last year to this year. He truly proved himself during the second half of the season last year, and I think that he belongs in the rotation. His first start of the Spring was a little bit shaky, but like I have said, that is completely normal and to be expected. That was all out of his system, and he had a good, dominant demeanor on the mound, and he simply exuded confidence. He focused on his fastball and changeup, but he also worked on his slider and curveball. He hit his spots for the most part, but you could still notice that he would get a bit discouraged if he walked someone.

Jonathan Papelbon, Manny Delcarmen, Boof Bonser, Brian Shouse, and Michael Bowden also got their work in. Papelbon and Delcarmen looked solid, Boof’s only hiccup was the leadoff home run that he gave up, and Brian Shouse had a nice inning of work.

To me, Michael Bowden is at the stage that Clay Buchholz was at last Spring. I don’t think that he fully trusts himself yet, so he is not completely confident. It’s not like he had a bad outing (he only gave up one run), but you could tell that he was struggling a bit. He was missing low, he was more often behind in the count, and he was getting frustrated with men on. He has an interesting delivery that seems to work for him, but he really doesn’t use his legs. I feel like pitchers get a lot of power from those leg kicks, and his kick is more like a step. Then again, he has never had a big leg kick, and when you’re a pitcher, you do what works for you. When I talked to him, he told me that he never tried to emulate any other pitcher, and I hope that he never does.

Big Papi continues to be fooled by changeups and breaking balls. He was also getting behind in the count, and he was not hitting much out of the infield. Drew also had some problems with the breaking ball. Good guy award winner Tug Hulett produced a two run single to give the Red Sox the lead.

The defense was absolutely spectacular. Victor Martinez had a great pickoff throw to first, and he also demonstrated great defense on a bunt. Adrian Beltre displayed fantastic range with a backhanded play. Ryan Kalish also impressed defensively out in left field, and he did some great base running too. The most outstanding play was the play that ended the game: one of baseball’s most rarest feats, a triple play. Gorkys Hernandez popped up to Red Sox shortstop Jose Iglesias. Iglesias not only caught the ball, but also caught former Red Sox Jonathan Van Evry (who had moved too far off second base) by throwing to second baseman Tug Hulett. The guy at first base was also off the bag so Hulett fired to first, but over threw the base! Luckily, catcher Dusty Brown backed up the play so he was able to complete the triple play by throwing back to Hulett at second. What a way to end the game!

Baseball was not done for the day though. Because Friday’s game had been rained out, an intrasquad game had been scheduled so that the pitchers did not fall too far behind schedule. I had a feeling that the Red Sox would win the second game, so I just had to stay.

The almost babies (that is how my psychology teacher described a “fetus”, I kid you not) were stretching on the field, and the pitchers were warming up. I was able to get Nate Spears’ autograph, and I mentioned I had seen him last weekend and in Portland.

Then I walked over to where the pitchers were warming up. Daniel Bard, Robert Manuel, and Casey Kelly were warming up. “Hey, Casey, did you ever tell Kris Johnson how to spell analysis?” I asked. He smiled, laughed, and said, “Yeah, I did!” I then proceeded to thank him for arranging to pitch on Saturdays.

Kris Johnson and Kyle Weiland emerged from the bullpen area to warm up. “Hey Kris, have we learned how to spell analysis yet?” I asked. He smiled a bit and said, “Nope”. Kyle asked how I was doing before they started to warm up. After they finished, Kris tossed me the ball.

The “B” game was a totally different atmosphere. Fans were invited to stay, but only about 200 did. There was not assigned seating, so my father and I sat right behind the dugout. It was really quiet, so you could really hear the echo of the ball being caught, or the crack of the bat against the ball. The scoreboard was off, the concessions were closed–there wasn’t even an umpire. The scene was serene and sacred: I was attending a special sermon at my church, the church of baseball.

Hideki Okajima, Fernando Cabrera and Daniel Bard looked solid in their outings. Bard has a nice Papelbon-esque stare. Ramon Ramirez pitched well, but he gave up a home run to Nate Spears.

Let me talk about Nate Spears for a second. He may not be one of the non-roster invitees this Spring, but I believe that he will be next year. He was fantastic on defense, and he certainly demonstrated power behind the plate. Keep your eye on him during the year.

Casey Kelly pitched, and he looked real good. He was working quickly and effectively, and he was consistently getting ahead in the count. He also displayed a fantastic breaking ball.

One of my favorite moments of that B game was when catching prospect Luis Exposito hit a home run off of Kelly. Like I have said, Exposito has a very powerful bat, and he also has a gun for an arm. I think he has the potential to throw out a lot of runners.

Robert Manuel pitched and he got ahead of the count, had good pacing and good placement. He pitched excellently.

My buddy Kris came in, and his only problem was that he left a couple of pitches up. Other than that, he looked really good.

Then Kyle Weiland came in, and I really liked what I saw from him. I like the way he keeps his glove tucked in for his delivery. He knows how to use the corners, he hit his spots, and he exhibited a good fastball. His only problem was that he looked a little uncomfortable pitching from the stretch.

After the B game, I was able to get three autographs. Jeremy Hazelbaker, who played in the game last Saturday signed.

Ryan Khoury was kind enough to sign, and he even posed for a picture with me. I told him that I had seen him in Portland, and that I was excited to see him this year as well.

I was also able to get Luis Exposito’s signature, and he posed for a picture as well. We talked about Twitter. We were the last car to leave.

Before I end, I need to address some very serious news that the Red Sox released Saturday night. The Red Sox’s top position-player prospect, Ryan Westmoreland, was diagnosed with cavernous malformation in his brain, and will be having brain surgery on Tuesday. This is especially hard for me to hear because I have become somewhat close with him. It is an unprecedented event like this one that makes you realize that there are things beyond baseball. We realize that regardless of whom we root for, we are baseball fans, and we come together to support Ryan. This was out of his control, and all we can do is keep him in our thoughts and prayers. There is not a lot of news out there, so I do not know how soon he will be back on the diamond, but that should not be in any of our minds right now, especially not his. He needs to focus on getting healthy again before he thinks about playing baseball. He has my full support (as he always will), and I truly admire him for his courage. I will always be a fan of his no matter what, and I wish him the best of luck. I actually heard about this via Twitter on my way back from the game. Five minutes after finding out about this, I saw a shooting star. I think you all know what I wished for, and I think I made it on behalf of Major League Baseball fans everywhere.

March 7, 2010

Spring Training Adventures: Twins vs Red Sox 3/6/2010

I think that I’ve developed a new mantra for the Spring, and maybe a new mantra for life in general: It’s not my fault if it’s open. With the kind of industry that I want to go into, you have to be a little gutsy, and you can’t take no for an answer. “Authorized personnel only”? Please, that term is subjective. If a door is open, I’m going to walk through it. If a fence is half open and half closed, I’m going to sneak through it. And if it’s closed, then I’m going to climb over it. If I can find a way to “trespass”, then I deserve to! (I do respect boundaries though, especially baseball boundaries. I know how sacred this game is).

You could not have asked for better baseball weather than the kind of weather that was at City of Palms Park. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the sun was shining amidst a cool breeze: it was perfect.

As many of you know, I typically have quite the agenda for Spring Training games: arrive when the gates open, collect autographs until the game starts, and then not moving until the game is over. This time was no exception, it’s just that the agenda was a little bit different this time. Instead of going to get autographs, I went to the players’ development complex again to interview one of the Red Sox’s top outfield prospects, Ryan Westmoreland. Little did I know that they had early morning physicals, so I ended up missing him. That’s OK though, there is always next weekend.

Walking around the empty players’ development complex was a cool experience itself. It was a ghost town. It was a completely different atmosphere compared to the weekend before. Walking around reminded me of this scene from my favorite book, Shoeless Joe. Archie Gram, J.D. Salinger and Ray Kinsella all decide to head down to the empty Minnesota ballpark. I know that this players’ development complex isn’t exactly a ballpark, but there are still five baseball fields and bleachers.

There was something “both eerie and holy” walking around the empty fields. It was “more like a church than a church.” Baseball is a sacred entity to me, and I had its synagogue all to myself. The orange dirt on the field and the green of the grass were especially brilliant. The empty complex was like “the inside of a pyramid”. I was “an archeologist exploring new territory.” There was an audible silence without the fans. I could hear the wind whistling, and I could hear the grass against my shoes. I finally felt it: “the thrill of the grass”

No players were in sight, but I went into the office area just in case. Guess who I saw again? Sarge! The same guy who was there when I snuck into both clubhouses the week before. He remembered me and we had a nice chat. I swear that guy is either going to be putting me in jail or bailing me out. Before we left, I ran into the international scouting coordinator, Fernando Tamayo. I talked to him for a bit, and told him about my whole project program. The funniest part was that he actually graduated from my high school. I guess it is a small world.

We arrived at the game about 45 minutes before the first pitch, so I really had no chance to get autographs. I didn’t have my spot, and I was too far away from the players who were stretching. It’s always nice to watch them warm up though, and it was really cool to see John Lackey walk out to warm up for the first time in a Red Sox uniform.

We had seats down the right field line, so we could see into the Red Sox dugout. It was a little bit hard to see home plate, so judging whether the ball was a breaking ball or a slider was harder than usual. It was a fantastic ball game though.

John Lackey’s first pitch in a Red Sox uniform was a strike. His outing was certainly the best of all the starters so far this spring. He already had that game day mentality. I had noticed with some of the other starters like Beckett and Lester so far this spring that they took a little while to get back into that kind of midseason mentality, and I think that’s okay. We should not be overanalyzing their every pitch. These are practice games for them: they are trying out new pitches and new techniques, and they aren’t going to be perfect.

Nevertheless, Lackey was very impressive in his Grapefruit League and Red Sox debut. Obviously, he is focusing on remaining healthy throughout the Spring to be ready for Opening Day since he has had some problems with that in the past. He got ahead in the count for the most part, and even if he was behind in the count he didn’t have any problems.

Michael Bowden, who is competing for a spot in the bullpen, pitched after Lackey. Bowden has definitely realized that if he wants to make the Major League roster, he’ll have to be a relief pitcher for the time being, and I think that he has become more open to that. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: he could have the Justin Masterson role of this year, and Masterson’s versatility was a very important component for the Red Sox. Bowden pitched well from the stretch, and overall he had a real nice outing. Manny Delcarmen followed, and he also pitched well.

Then it was Brian Shouse’s turn. He has the submarine sidearm delivery, and not much velocity. He got into some trouble, but managed to escape with one unearned run.

Joe Nelson got racked a little bit. He’ll always have my respect though for the Vulcan pitch. Yes, Vulcan as in Star Trek. I was never a true Trekkie, I’ve always been a diehard Star Wars fanatic, but Star Trek is still legit. Nelson may have the Vulcan grip, but he did not have the Vulcan mentality. Vulcans do not have feelings, they are all about making the logical choice. It looked like Nelson was getting a little mental because he was getting hit (he also had a wild pitch), but if he can master the Vulcan mentality in the same way that he’s mastered the Vulcan grip, then I think he will certainly be able to live long and prosper.

Junichi Tazawa was the final pitcher of the day. I absolutely love his delivery, and he worked well even when he was behind in the count. Some of you may remember him from Spring Training last year, but if not, he is definitely a guy to keep your eye on.

Many of you know that I have a bit of a problem with calling grown men who are twice my height ‘babies’. This mainly applies to the minor league prospects, but it’s not like I mean it as an insult; coming from me, it’s the highest of compliments. The game I was at was a split squad game (there was another game going on in Port Charlotte against the Rays), so I was lucky enough to see some guys from the minor leagues who were called up for the day. Babies? Zygotes? Embryos? Projects of the future? I’m not sure yet, but I certainly enjoyed watching them play. These guys were Jeremy Hazelbaker, Matt Sheely, Nate Spears, and Jason Place.

In his first at-bat of the Spring, Jeremy Hazelbaker was walked, and he did a nice job in right field. I was also really impressed with Matt Sheely’s arm, and his and Nate Spears’ speed. Since these guys aren’t technically non-roster invitees, they don’t really have a chance to consistently impress just quite yet. But mark my words, some of these guys will be back next year as non-roster invitees, or even on the 40-man roster next spring.

Here are some other things that I noticed from the batters: Bill Hall has a really wide stance, and he needs some more plate discipline. Gil Velazquez has been doing well in clutch situations, and he is a great baserunner and utility infielder. Angel Sanchez has a nice drag bunt technique that I would like to see more of this spring. I really liked Tug Hulett’s aggressiveness at the plate when he pounced on the first pitch he saw of the Spring and launched it over the right field wall for a three run homer. The Red Sox have been batting Mike Cameron at the top of the lineup in his two games, so I’m wondering where he is going to bat when the regular season comes around.

One person I have been especially impressed with in Spring Training is catching prospect Luis Exposito. He made this incredible catch right by the Red Sox dugout, and he also has a really nice arm for throwing runners out at second (even though he didn’t get the opportunity to do so this game). When he hits the ball, he makes solid contact. I watched him during batting practice last Saturday, and he was belting the ball over the fence and into the other field. He is even a pretty good baserunner, so he has it all!

I was really glad that I had found the notebook I was taking notes in because it was the same notebook that I had taken notes at the Portland Sea Dogs game that I had attended over the summer. Here are some more notes on some of the players you’re seeing in Spring Training:

-Adam Mills was the starter. He didn’t have that much speed… his fastball clocked out mid to upper eighties. What I really liked about him though was that he worked quickly and he let his defense do the work. He has quick innings.

-At the game I was at, Ryan Kalish had actually reached base in 18 straight games. He hit a two run homer at the game, and I noticed some serious power.

-Even Matt Sheely was at the game as a pinch hitter, and he demonstrated some good speed.

A couple of other notes from the first week of Spring Training: First of all, I don’t think that we can get to hyped up over the numbers. We have to remember that these numbers don’t count and that these are practice games. Everyone is easing back into the baseball mentality so that they can be ready for Opening Day. Pitchers are working on adding a new pitch to their arsenal, and batters might be trying out new stances.

I have been really impressed by Josh Reddick, and pitchers Casey Kelly, Kyle Weiland, and Felix Doubront. We have plenty of more Spring Training games coming our way, and I’ll be back at City of Palms Park next Saturday.

February 25, 2010

Taking you Behind the Scenes of a Red Sox Spring Training Workout

32 autographs and Spring Training games haven’t even started yet; I guess I’ve gotten kind of good at this. You guys know how I got six of them, but here is a refresher if you need one. Tonight, I will share with you the stories behind the other 26 autographs. 20 of them occurred today at the Players’ Development Complex, and five occurred quite unexpectedly (I think I’ll share those on another day though).

Today was probably the most fantastic, unforgettable day of my life. There was supposedly an open house at City of Palms Park, with family events, tours, and autographs. As many of you can probably guess, the latter was my inspiration. I didn’t really know what to expect at this event, especially with the autographs situation. Were the players really going to take an entire day off just to sign autographs for the fans? The answer was no, so it was a good thing that my father and I arrived early. There were lots of big buses around the stadium that were shuttling fans to and from the Players’ Development Complex right down the street. I had never been there before considering parking is absolutely forbidden, and I didn’t really know what exactly went on around there. I had never been to a workout before; in the past, I had only gone to games. Hopefully this will become a yearly ritual though because the workouts are almost as fun as the games.

The emotions I’m feeling right now can’t be put into words: I’m on cloud nine. So I’ll just take you through my day, and hopefully, you can live vicariously through me, and experience the kind of elation that I feel right now.

When you think of Spring Training, you normally think of warm, sunny Florida or Arizona, right? Well, that was certainly not the case today. It was cold and rainy, but as most of you know, that wasn’t going to stop me. My teeth were chattering the entire time, my lips were probably blue, but I didn’t care because there was no place on earth that I would have rather been. So we walked in, and I immediately recognized one of the security guards, John. He had worked at Spring Training last season, and he is a security guard for the Pawtucket Red Sox. He’s a great guy! We got to talking a bit, and as we got on to the topic of Spring Training games, he mentioned that he had some extra tickets to games on April 1 and 2. They are the first row behind the dugout, and he offered them to us at face value. Not only that, but he also trusted us enough to send him a check because we didn’t have enough cash on us to cover both tickets.

After that, I wandered around a bit to try and find the best spot for collecting autographs. It was very hard because unfortunately, I can’t be in three different places at once. Unfortunately, guys like Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, David Ortiz, Marco Scutaro, Adrian Beltre, and Jed Lowrie weren’t too into signing at that point. They went straight from the field to the cages, but I guess we remember that they have a job to do. So I moved to a small, uncrowded path between Fields 1 and 2. Perfect! All of the players had to walk to the other field at some point, so most of them stopped to sign.

It all started as Ramon Ramirez (the one you’re familiar with, not the non-roster invitee) walked off the field. He quickly signed for me, as well as some of the people around me. I met an especially nice, young couple from MA, who had been living in the Ft. Myers area for the past few years, but were moving back soon. The woman was having the players sign her “Wally the Green Monster” book for her baby.

Then, Daniel Bard came jogging along. He signed for a couple of people quickly, but had to move on.

Adam Mills followed, a guy who I am very excited to watch this spring. Well, I let him know what I thought about him, and he certainly appreciated it. Not many people around me knew who he was though, so I was boasting about him as he was signing, and he had a big grin on his face.

Hope was not lost for a photo with Daniel Bard. On his way out, he was kind enough to pose for a quick photo with me. He seems to be twice my height, much taller than I thought he would be.

We watched Dustin Richardson throw some batting practice, and I told everyone how excited I was to see him pitch this spring. It was great that I was getting all of these pitchers’ autographs because I rarely have a chance during the actual games since the bullpen is hard to get to. Dustin Richardson jogged by despite my “You’re my favorite pitcher!” plea. I haven’t decided if he’s officially my favorite pitcher, but he’s certainly up there. He said he had to run, but that he would come back. I was determined to hold him to his word, but I was worried for a bit because a lot of the players were leaving through an alternative exit.

Well as he finished up his drills, I called to him. He came right over, and I was able to tell him how much I enjoyed watching him during the spring last year, and how well he did during September, and how excited I was to see him this spring. He definitely appreciated it, and I gave him my card with the link to this site.

Then, the guys from Single-A and Double-AA who weren’t invited to spring training started warming up for their practice. I got autographs from some of them, and even a few pictures. Before their practice, they watched the big league guys practice. Hopefully they’ll be up there soon.

I looked to my right and saw that s
ome of the big leaguers were signing on their way out. I ran over to Field 3, grabbed my Dustin Pedroia salsa, and stood in what was probably the most inconvenient spot possible. “Dustin, I have your salsa!!” I yelled. He looked over and chuckled, and that’s all that I needed.

Then Victor Martinez started to walk out with his two, adorable children. He was kind enough to sign, but somehow managed to skip over my ball. The fence was so high, so it was hard to get a good angle. Autographs are much better when you can see the player’s face anyway.

I gave up on that endeavor when I noticed that Kevin Youkilis was signing. I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity, so I ran over to what I think was Field 4, and patiently waited. He was great about signing! Not only did he sign for me, but he also posed for a picture!

I walked over to the area outside of Field 2, and I managed to snag Luis Exposito’s signature on his way out. He has promised me before, so he kept his word as well!

Then, I noticed that Lars Anderson, Zach Daeges, and a few other guys were standing in a circle talking. I asked them to come around the fence for a second to chat, and they obliged. Lars said that he liked my glasses, I told him that he could have them, but he said they looked better on me. He was happy to wear them for the picture though.

Zach Daeges remembered me from when I last met him, and he said that he was real excited to start the season. He had yet to check out this site though, even after I informally interviewed him!

It seemed like it was over after that, but it was a good thing we stayed because a few more players were coming out. I was able to catch some of Josh Reddick’s batting practice, and he said he would meet me at the bleachers afterwards to sign and talk for a bit.

Meanwhile, I was able to catch Tug Hutlett, Gil Velazquez and Aaron Bates on their way out. Tug said I deserved an autograph for waiting in the rain.

Perhaps my favorite conversation was the one I had with Josh. For some reason, I remember his very first at-bat during Spring Training of last season, so I asked if he remembered it. We talked about it, and I told him that I knew that he was going to be my project just from watching that at-bat. He seemed to enjoy that, and I also gave him my card.

Practice seemed to be over for the day, so we hopped on the bus back to City of Palms Park to see what was going on. Most of the activities were cancelled because of the rain, but it was mostly stuff for the little kids anyway. Then again, I’d go in a bounce house if one of the players went with me.

We were allowed to check out the dugouts though, so I thought that would be pretty cool. I didn’t stop at just the dugout though. I noticed the little path that leads to the clubhouse, and so I decided to check it out.

It’s not my fault if people leave doors open. That’s right folks, I went inside the Red Sox clubhouse. The clubhouse: the final frontier. Well, that frontier didn’t last very long. The clubhouse guy, Sgt, (he used to be in the military) asked me to leave, but he let me take a quick picture.

I was thinking about leaving until I saw a long line of people. They were waiting for Kris Johnson, Casey Kelly, Kyle Weiland, and Ryan Kalish. It took a while for things to get started, and apparently we weren’t allowed to pose for photos. Really? I had just snuck into the clubhouse; I could easily get a photo.

These were actually the most amusing guys of the day. They signed my baseball (a new one, because I filled my others and the hat up) and smiled for pictures. I gave them the link to my blog and Kris Johnson said, “What is this? Are you writing good things about me?” “Yes, yes of course!” I said. “Oh that’s what they all say,” Kalish said jokingly. Well, if they do end up checking it out, then they’ll see all the nice things that I say about them.

It was real nice meeting them, but they were the only autographers for the event. I went back down to the field and decided to check out the visitor’s clubhouse, and to see which doors were open down there.

Sgt. was there again! We actually talked for a bit, and he let me stay for a bit longer that time. I have officially been in both clubhouses.

Then we started talking to this really nice security guard, Tom. He showed us the bullpen area, and he mentioned that I should try and get a press pass for Spring Training. I’m definitely going to get on that. You see, I don’t just want it as a fan, or anything like that. I’m really serious about this.

Then we saw those Single-A and Double-AA guys, and I spotted Ryan Westmoreland, or rather, he spotted me. He waved to me, so I went down and talked to him for a second. He was real nice!

As we were getting ready to go, I spotted Ryan Kalish and Casey Kelly walking around with some italian ices. I stopped them to talk to them. “Kris was looking for you…” Casey said. “You spelled analysis wrong on your card”.

“Analyses is the plural of analysis!” I said. “Can you please tell him that? Make sure he knows!” Kelly promised me he would, but then I got to talking to him a little longer, and he was really down to earth.

“How was it deciding between being a shortstop and a pitcher?” I wanted to hear it from him.

He said it was easy once he sat down with the guys and talked about it. They said he would rise faster as a pitcher, so it was easy from there. I asked him if he knew when he was going to be starting during the Spring, but he didn’t. I asked him to start on Saturdays though so that I could see him, and he said that he would ask the organization if he could start on Saturdays for me.

Well folks, that was the day! I hope that you were able to live vicariously through me, and I hope that my words were able to bring my experience to life–at least to an extent. I know that many of you live up North, so I hope that I can be your vehicle to Spring Training. You can read the recaps and the story lines, but this is one of the only places where you’ll get the true experience of the spring.

I’ll end this entry by quoting Star Trek: These are my voyages. My ongoing mission: to boldly go to strange new worlds (the clubhouse), to seek out new life-forms (discover prospects) and new civilizations (?); to boldly go where no one has gone before.