PEORIA, Ariz. – It was a sight you never want to see and certainly not in the first game of the spring. Ji-Man Choi leapt in the air to try to grab a high throw and came down awkwardly on his right leg. He did not get up. He was taken from the field on a cart with trainers stabilizing his leg and the preliminary diagnosis is a fractured fibula. He will be re-evaluated tomorrow. Tough news for a young player who should have seen a number of reps at first base early in the spring.
The Mariners went on to beat the Padres 4-3 in 10 innings with Patrick Kivlehan sending a laser single to right that was misplayed, allowing the winning run to score. It was the second hit of the day for Kivlehan, who entered the game at third base in the sixth inning and moved to first after Choi's injury. Kivlehan put up three good at-bats, going to the opposite field in each.
Box score: Mariners beat Padres 4-3 in spring opener D.J. Peterson also made a good first impression with the bat as he hit a home run in his first at-bat.
"I wasn't trying to do that, it just kind of happened," he said of the ball, which landed on the left-center field berm. "Just trying to hit a line drive and make good contact. It is so early. I'm not trying to do too much; get base hits, square it up and make good contact."
That he did. Peterson was kicking himself for a ball he failed to catch at third. There was a good amount of that going around today, but manager Lloyd McClendon was not too worried about it.
"I thought our guys showed a lot of fortitude. A little sloppy, but that is to be expected. I thought our young players played extremely well," he said before singling out Peterson, Jordy Lara, Kivlehan, John Hicks and Jesus Montero as having caught his eye.
Taijuan Walker also was the recipient of good words from the skipper. Walker threw 32 pitches in two scoreless innings. He stranded a runner at third in the first inning and allowed only one hit to a Padres lineup that featured mostly regulars. This was not an establish-your-fastball first outing for Walker. He threw his fastball, changeup and the slider he has been working on. Throwing bullpens before he arrived at camp this spring put him ahead of the game.
"I wanted to start early because I didn't have a spring training last year," he said in the clubhouse following his outing. "I thought if I started early, got a head start, that would help me. I feel strong, confident."
As for the slider, there is still work to be done with the pitch but it is coming along.
"It felt good," he said. "The movement is good but I have got to place it better, figure out where I want to start it so I do get a swing and miss or a called strike."
Walker realizes every outing is important for him this spring.
"I am fighting for that fifth spot so I am going after them throwing everything," he said. "I'm not working on anything. When it is game time, it's game mode."
Walker believes that the Mariners want to see him healthy and focused this spring. If he is to win the competition for the fifth spot, he understands it will not just be about the numbers.
"It's about going out there and competing, not giving in to anyone, any big names, not looking at other teams' names on the back," he said. "You almost have to flip a switch and focus in on the catcher only. Don't worry about who is in the box and just have the confidence, attack hitters, don't try to mess around with them, don't try to pick the corners, just attack them.
"It's about going out there and competing and giving all that I have."
One opportunity is behind him, and he made a good showing.
Notes
• "The Cactus League Report" will air tonight from 6-7 PST on 710 ESPN Seattle. Guest scheduled to appear include McClendon, Kyle Seager, Tom Wilhelmsen and Charlie Furbush. The show will be taped at the Salty Senorita from 6-7. Stop by if you are in the area.
• Good news for Dustin Ackley, whose wife and baby have joined him in Arizona. Parson Ackley made a surprise appearance as Dustin and his wife Justine drove from their home in Michigan to Peoria. Young Parson had to spend some time in an Oklahoma City hospital after arriving six weeks early but was discharged yesterday.
• Roenis Elias will get the start tomorrow against the Padres.
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Saturday, March 7, 2015
Friday, March 6, 2015
Peter Gammons Gammons Daily Cardinals , Red Sox and Marlins Speed.......
Gammons Notes: Marlin’s new speed piece, Cardinals, Red Sox, Mets and more
March 6, 2015 by 0 Comments
JUPITER, Fla.—Dee Gordon’s first bunt of the spring came in his second at-bat. Perfectly laid down on the ground. Base hit. Just the way Brett Butler has taught him every day.
The idea, according to Butler and Gordon, is to try to get a bunt down every day, if that’s what it takes to be comfortable and drive his learning process. “I’ll do whatever I have to, and work as long and hard as I have to,” says Gordon. That, as anyone who knows him, is no surprise.
The Marlins acquired Gordon in a three-way deal with the Angels and Dodgers, giving up three young players (C Austin Barnes, Inf Kike Hernandez, LHP Andrew Heaney) they expect will end up helping both Los Angeles teams. But Miami wanted the speed piece in front of Christian Yelich and Giancarlo Stanton. They needed a second baseman to fit in what has turned out to be an overhauled infield, with Martin Prado and Mike Morse at the corners and Adeiny Hechavarria at shortstop. “And we did a lot of research on Dee,” says General Manager Dan Jennings. ”We know he’s a great kid with a tremendous work ethic.”
What Butler points out is that Gordon is not a finished product. Until his junior year in high school, he was a basketball player seemingly headed to college as a point guard, and even when he started playing baseball the hoops left him very skinny. Then there was the polish.
From the time Butler began working with Gordon, he altered the way Gordon bunts, softing his hands and trying to get him to make contact as if he were catching the pitch, deeper in the box. “Working at it,” says Butler, “is not a problem.”
Then there was his slide. “What amazed me is that he said that he got caught stealing ten times because he overslid the bag,” says Butler. In a little show-and-tell, Gordon lay down on the ground and demonstrated how his top, stretched leg would be off the ground and ended up getting him tagged out. So the slide directly into the bag has been a daily practice routine.
Doug Melvin has long believed that the speed tools players often develop later, such as in their late 20’s, beginning his examples with Otis Nixon. The Reds cite that with Billy Hamilton in mind.
It isn’t as if Gordon has been some kid found running track at Dwyer High School. He did make the All-star team last year, and his .326 on base percentage wasn’t horrible given the offensive context of 2014. But after a .344 OBP before the All-star Game, it was .300 in the second half. He stole 64 bases, but was thrown out stealing 19 times. He had 31 walks, 107 strikeouts.
“I get it,” says Gordon. “First, I’m not going to be a high walk guy, because pitchers aren’t going to walk me. They’re going to pitch to me, and I have to continually learn to make more consistent contact on strikes. When he went after first pitches 69 times, he batted .379 with a .382 on base percentage. But when counts got to 2-and-2, he had a .194 on base. He got to 3-and-0 16 times all season. Still, he has shown development, as his OBP has gone from .561 to .612 to .704 his three seasons.
Batting in front of a potential batting champion (Yelich) and Stanton, Gordon knows pitchers will be very careful about walking him. “So I need to maintain a consistent game plan and approach,” he says. Now, he led the majors with 20 bunt hits last season. He attempted 47 bunts, second only to Hamilton’s 52. If he makes the improvements with his changed technique bunting and sliding, he can be a significant upgrade at the top of an order that is far deeper than last season.
“Dee can be a big part of what we’re trying to accomplish,” says Jennings. “He knows what he has to work on, he’s tireless in working to get better. It will be fun to watch his progress.”
***************************************************************************
–The Cardinals have stuck to the plan of starting Carlos Martinez, not trade for another starter over 30, and in his spring debut Friday he was brilliant. He threw a first inning, two strike changeup, flashed extraordinary gas and a curveball. One Marlins likened the outing to a July masterpiece.
–One of the things Mike Matheny enjoys most is catching bullpens for a different perspective on young pitchers. One this week was Sam Tuivailala, an extremely impressive 22-year-old reliever. Catching him, Matheny felt that if he moved over to the first base side of the rubber he could keep his slider down and away from righthanded hitters and not make mistakes in the middle of the plate.
–Part of the reasoning in the Yoan Moncada deal is that the Red Sox aren’t restricted to any timetable before bringing him to the big leagues, without roster restrictions. To the contrary, by giving Dylan Bundy a major league contract when he signed out of high school, he will be out of options next spring and have to be kept in Baltimore, even though he goes into this season with a grand total of 145 minor league innings.
–Boston is looking not for a front end starter, but depth in case there is injury to one of their five projected starters. There is a good chance knuckleballer Steven Wright makes the staff as a long reliever/swing starter, but they are looking for a veteran to add to that depth to prevent having to rush Matt Barnes, Brian Johnson, Henry Owens or Eduardo Rodriguez, who comprise what they hope is an all-prospect Pawtucket rotation.
–Rusney Castillo’s pulled oblique is likely a two week setback, but the medical staff feels it’s a comparatively mild injury. They have been extremely happy with Castillo, but the fact that Castillo has never experienced a full major league season, Hanley Ramirez has missed time over his career, so has Mike Napoli and 39-year-old David Ortiz has, as well, means the Red Sox will hold on to their outfielders as long as they can, plan on DH and first base time, and see where they go. Four different GMs have suggested the team that should make a run at Shane Victorino is Seattle to give them defense and an intrepid makeup on a team that hasn’t been in the post-season since 2001. But the M’s are not often easy trade partners.
–What is interesting about the Mets is their young talent on the horizon. Catcher Kevin Plawecki has the makings of an all-star, Brandon Nimmo keeps maturing physically and is not far from taking his place at Citi Field and Dilson Herrera—acquired for Byrd—looks like a dynamic second baseman. And that’s before thinking about all the pitching, especially Steven Matz.
*************************************************************************
One club got the report from San Diego that before he left for the IMG Academy in Bradenton that Brady Aiken was “up to 97” in his throwing program. “The top picks in the draft are going to be very interesting,” says one scouting director. (Virginia LHP) Nathan Kirby is up to 95 and pitching really well, and he’s the most advanced. Arizona has the first pick and could go for the polished college lefthander, although they love Brendan Rodgers (the Orlando power-hitting infield comped to Evan Longoria) and may have a hard time passing on Aiken.” Houston has the second pick, but cannot take Aiken, followed by the Rockies, Rangers and, again, the Astros. Right now San Clemente LHP Kolby Allard and Vanderbilt SS Dansby Swanson are expected to round out the first five picks…One GM says “the player that I still cannot believe got traded is Trea Turner (from San Diego to Washington in the three-way that sent Wil Myers to the Padres). “He’s going to be a good shortstop, he’s got an unorthodox swing but can hit and he’s got top-of-the-line speed. Having Turner and Anthony Rendon on the left side of the infield beginning next season is going to give them longterm stability.”
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Los Angeles Daily News MLS Work Stoppage Averted
MLS, players avoid work stoppage, agree to new CBA
Major League Soccer and its players’ union agreed in principle to a five-year labor contract, averting a possible strike ahead of Friday’s season opener.
The deal, the culmination of talks that began last weekend in Washington, D.C., was announced Wednesday night and would replace the contract that expired Jan. 31.
Under the agreement, players 28 and older could become free agents if they have eight seasons of MLS service and their contracts have expired, a person familiar with the details said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the details had not yet been announced.
The minimum salary would rise to $60,000, the person said. The minimum generally was $48,500 last year, but the prior deal contained a provision in which some players could be paid as low as $36,500.
“This agreement will provide a platform for our players, ownership and management to work together to help build Major League Soccer into one of the great soccer leagues in the world,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement.
MLS’s 20th season begins this weekend, with the defending champion Los Angeles Galaxy hosting Chicago in the opener. The Fire traveled to California on Wednesday for the match.
“We are pleased to finally turn our fans attention back to our players and the competition on the field as we get started on the 2015 season,” Bob Foose, executive director of the MLS Players Union, said in a statement.
Orlando and former FIFA Player of the Year Kaka host New York City and former Spanish World Cup champion David Villa on Sunday in the debut of the expansion teams that raise the league’s total to 20 teams.
The league and the U.S. Soccer Federation are in the first year of eight-year broadcast agreements with ESPN, Fox and Univision Deportes that they hope will increase MLS’s exposure and ratings.
MLS was established as a single entity in which the league owns all players’ contracts. While stars such as Seattle’s Clint Dempsey earn up to nearly $7 million, half the league’s players last September had salaries under $100,000, according to the union.
The previous labor contract, in 2010, was reached five days before the season opener. This deal, like the 2010 agreement, was reached with the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. MLS has never had a work stoppage.
The deal, the culmination of talks that began last weekend in Washington, D.C., was announced Wednesday night and would replace the contract that expired Jan. 31.
Under the agreement, players 28 and older could become free agents if they have eight seasons of MLS service and their contracts have expired, a person familiar with the details said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the details had not yet been announced.
The minimum salary would rise to $60,000, the person said. The minimum generally was $48,500 last year, but the prior deal contained a provision in which some players could be paid as low as $36,500.
“This agreement will provide a platform for our players, ownership and management to work together to help build Major League Soccer into one of the great soccer leagues in the world,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber said in a statement.
MLS’s 20th season begins this weekend, with the defending champion Los Angeles Galaxy hosting Chicago in the opener. The Fire traveled to California on Wednesday for the match.
“We are pleased to finally turn our fans attention back to our players and the competition on the field as we get started on the 2015 season,” Bob Foose, executive director of the MLS Players Union, said in a statement.
Orlando and former FIFA Player of the Year Kaka host New York City and former Spanish World Cup champion David Villa on Sunday in the debut of the expansion teams that raise the league’s total to 20 teams.
The league and the U.S. Soccer Federation are in the first year of eight-year broadcast agreements with ESPN, Fox and Univision Deportes that they hope will increase MLS’s exposure and ratings.
MLS was established as a single entity in which the league owns all players’ contracts. While stars such as Seattle’s Clint Dempsey earn up to nearly $7 million, half the league’s players last September had salaries under $100,000, according to the union.
The previous labor contract, in 2010, was reached five days before the season opener. This deal, like the 2010 agreement, was reached with the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. MLS has never had a work stoppage.
Call to the Bullpen Edward Overend MLB affiliate Site Ollie Connolly
The mismanagement of closers
Getty Images/Brian Garfinkel – Why do managers insist on running their closers just one inning?
As we all know, an MLB roster is made up of 25 players at any time yet all of our attention is focused on the everyday players and the starting pitching. Sure, the accumulator of that most arbitrary of statistics, the save, is known to most fans too but what about the other 6 or 7 arms that sit away from the dugout, only called upon on the whim of a manager? The bullpen.
Over the years, this has possibly been the last thing sorted when assembling a squad, almost an afterthought. Throw a few guys together with live arms , perhaps a limited arsenal, a couple of LOOGIES and ‘voila’ there you have it, a major league bullpen.
However, ask what the biggest strength of the American League Champion Kansas City Royals was last season and a lot of informed people will tell you it was their 1,2,3 punch at the back end of games. Greg Holland, Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera were practically unhittable, especially down the stretch, and propelled the Royals to their most successful season in more than 20 years.
The stats back this up. Kansas City’s pen contributed a WAR in 2014 of 5.9 games, best in MLB. World Series Champions, the San Francisco Giants, ranked 5th in team bullpen ERA in the majors.
However, there is an argument that managers misuse their relievers by saving their ‘closer’ until the team has a lead and finds itself within spitting distance of the end of a game.
Statistically, the ninth inning is more likely to feature a closer facing lineup spots 6-9, while the eighth inning guys, the ‘set up’ men handle the 2-5 spots.
It’s just the way things are done in baseball. Closers, usually regarded as the best relievers are for the ninth inning. Set up men are for the eighth inning, with seemingly very little wiggle room. Everyone else be on your toes no matter the time or score. The thinking is archaic and no data seems to be able to shift how bullpens are used.
Why are teams so reluctant to change this? It may be as simple as a fear of failure, of being different, of being the subject of ridicule. Baseball is full of so many ‘truisms’ that are true only because they have been drummed into us for so long that they must be so.
Remember when a run producer was the clean up guy who drove in runs, who provided RBI, guys like Ryan Howard? Ryan Howard had 95 RBIs last year, good for 4th in the National League. Great, yes? Not so much. Howard’s WAR, admittedly taking into account his fielding and base running, in 2014 was -1.1. He cost the Phillies a game compared to if they had just had a league average player at 1B, a total nobody.
In football, the stats men would argue in a lot of cases, that when faced with a fourth down, the most prudent thing to do is go for it. However, more often than not, teams opt to punt. What if we don’t make it? Then what? Then the media and Twitter will call into question the coach’s very sanity. Why risk it when one can hide behind years and years of ‘proof’ that that is the thing to do?
To understand why saving a closer for only the final three outs isn’t always a wise strategy, you must first understand game leverage theory.
The basic premise: The first pitch of the game has low leverage because there still is an entire game to be played, and just about any situation in a blowout game is low leverage. But when a game is close (a deficit/advantage of three runs or fewer) in the seventh, eighth, ninth and any extra innings, the leverage situations go way up because one play can drastically effect each team’s win probability.
In a one run game with nobody out and runners on first and second in the seventh inning, the pitcher from the team leading the game is facing a high leverage situation. A hit or an out then changes the chance of a team winning hugely
Save situations – ninth inning leading by three runs or fewer – are high leverage in their own right with nobody out. By definition ‘save situation’ means the game is close and it won’t take much to alter the win probability. However, nobody on and nobody out in a three run game in the ninth inning carries a lower leverage than a one run game in the eighth with two runners on and fewer than two outs.
It’s a little common sense, a lot of maths and a great deal of ‘new school’ thinking.
The ‘ace’ of a rotation is its best pitcher, and ‘true aces’ are the best starters in the sport. But managers can’t use these guys at will because starters need rest.
But if a manager has a ‘relief ace’ he can use that pitcher in just about any situation in which the game is in the balance. And he can use him three or four days in a row if the situations call for that.
Past, current and probably future baseball thinking stifles this idea, though. Baseball is built on routine because there are games just about daily for six months. Managers like to have order. Players like to have defined roles. Otherwise, for some reason, chaos happens. This is the belief of certain baseball people and players, at least. Shouldn’t the best pitcher be in when the game is most on the line? Shouldn’t the best pitcher come in for the highest leverage situations? He is the team’s best guy, regardless of situation. He is the guy who keeps the game where it is and helps improve win probability by getting outs, especially when they are needed against the opposition’s best hitters.
Otherwise, there is the risk of coughing up a game before the ninth inning with a lesser arm on the mound. In that scenario, the bullpen’s best option isn’t used because he is being saved for a situation that never materialises – a save situation.
There are times when the ‘relief ace’ wouldn’t be needed until the start of the ninth, as a traditional closer is currently used. But there are times when he would be needed sooner and with the outcome in the balance.
As mentioned earlier, there is data saying that a team’s 3-4-5 hitters are more likely to hit in the eighth inning rather than the ninth. Teams and relievers could actually prepare for such times. Around the sixth inning, a closer could look at the score and the place in the other team’s lineup and calculate his chances of being needed before the ninth to face the opponent’s best hitters.
There is an advantage in players knowing their roles, especially out of the bullpen. However, one thing missing in today’s game is the use of a closer for more than one inning, something that would negate the closer-by-committee approach. Just because a pitcher throws throws in the eighth inning shouldn’t prevent him from throwing in the ninth.
Managers shouldn’t be afraid to use closers for more than just the last three outs. That kind of narrow thinking can hurt clubs. Health certainly factors into how the best relievers are used, and some managers believe overusing a guy will result in a drop in production. However, results suggest the opposite. That begs the question, why can’t dominant closers pitch more than one inning in a high leverage situation?
The answer is there is no good reason.
These days, it seems there is a relief specialist for every situation. Or at least that what we are led to believe. If you need a ground ball, there is a guy for that. If you need someone to get out a left handed hitter, there is a guy for that. If you need a strikeout, there is a guy for that. If you need someone to give you more than one inning, there is a guy for that – as long as he isn’t the closer.
It doesn’t make a lot of sense to handcuff your best pitcher. Teams wouldn’t limit a rotation ace to 85 pitchers a game. If you have a reliever who can dominate in short bursts, whether it be two innings or one time through a lineup, take advantage. It’s understandable if availability issues creep up and a manager can’t use a guy for more than three outs on a certain day, but team’s don’t win every day. If the ‘set up’ man is reliable, he can step into the ‘closer’ role every 7-10 days to help this strategy.
Every relief pitcher, pitching coach and manager interviewed for this story said something about the ninth inning being the toughest in baseball. However, that might be more baseball cliché than anything else. The numbers say those tough outs often come before the ninth inning. Maybe there is something to be said about the pressure of a ninth-inning save situation. Players tend to work deeper into counts in the ninth in an attempt to somehow reach base and extend the game. The crowd might be standing, it might be loud. Mentally pitchers might think differently about the ninth inning.
Still, if you can be trusted to get high-leverage outs in the seventh and eighth, you can get them anytime. That would make some of those bullpen parts interchangeable enough that your best arm can be used when needed.
The ‘save’ stat is now used for awards and in contract negotiations. It’s an incentive, and managers, many of whom are former players, understand how valuable those numbers can be. That has altered how managers use their bullpens and underuse their closers.
This might never change, but neither will the meaning of wins and how they are achieved. Some players understand that and that and don’t pigeonhole themselves to a certain role or speciality.
Just give them the damn ball.
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Miami Destination Ace Peter Gammons
Peter Gammons: Miami’s Destination Ace
March 2, 2015 by 1 Comment
JUPITER, Fla.—The bullpen session lasted 15 pitches, maybe three minutes. “There were more cameras clicking and rolling and more media members and fans than we often see at the peak of spring training,” said one Marlins official.
Because it was Jose Fernandez. “And,” says General Manager Dan Jennings, “Jose is one of the most unusual pitchers I’ve ever seen.”
In this period when Yoan Moncada, Jose Abreu, Yasiel Puig, Yoenis Cespedes, Rusney Castillo and Yasmany Tomas have created a buzz around Cuban baseball, Fernandez is arguably the best pitcher to defect to the United States from Cuba since Luis Tiant (and Orlando Hernandez was really good). Tiant’s 1968 season with Cleveland (21-9, 1.60. 258.1 IP 152 H 73 BB 264 K led league in ERA+, FIP, H/9, WAR) may have been the greatest season ever posted by a Cuban pitcher.
It was a memorable session for the Marlins finally planting the baseball flag in Miami, because, at 22, Fernandez may be to this franchise what Clayton Kershaw and Adam Wainwright are to theirs. Look what’s happened to the Phish: the best player in their history, Giancarlo Stanton, made it clear to ownership that he wanted the Marlins to work in South Florida and would sign if they spent to build around him, and when he asked to backload his $325M deal, they added Martin Prado and Mike Morse, Mat Latos, Dee Gordon and others, and Stanton opened spring training the seventh highest paid player on the team and one of the focuses of the 2015 season. Welcome ESPN the Magazine, Sports Illustrated…
Oh yes, and on Saturday the Marlins think they may have had a record media day for Ichiro Suzuki taking the field in a Miami uniform. And Ichiro is here to be a fourth behind Stanton, Marcell Ozuna and Christian Yelich, arguably the best outfield in the National League. And Ichiro has already struck up a comic friendship with Ozuna, teaching him one Japanese word a day.
Welcome to the 2015 world of the Miami Marlins. They are one of this spring training’s destinations, which they were not when they won the World Series in 1997 and 2003, which happens to be more World Series titles than the Astros, Mariners, Rays, Rockies, Padres, Rangers, Nationals and Diamondbacks, combined. “This really is fun,” said Fernandez Monday, less than 24 hours after the 15 fastball bullpen session. Fun, and very important, because it was the first time he’d thrown off a mound since undergoing Tommy John Surgery last May 16.
“The ball really felt great coming out of my hand, just like 2013,” said Fernandez. “Clean, really perfect,” said Mike Redmond. “About as good as you could dream,” said Jennings. “Now we just have to make sure he doesn’t get too excited. He’s so enthusiastic, so confident, he probably thinks he could pitch Opening Day. But we have to be cautious.”
“I understand,” said Fernandez. “I’ve thrown breaking balls on flat ground, and it’s been fine; in doing it I’ve actually gotten a much better changeup. But I know the process. I probably won’t throw breaking balls off a mound until the end of this month. We all know that I need to be completely healed before I pitch in games.” And if he’s back right after the All-Star Game and is close to the Jose Fernandez of 2013 in August and September it is possible that the Marlins will go down to the wire with a shot at the playoffs.
“One thing we know is that Jose is very smart, very tough, fearless,” said Jennings. “He was once asked if he was worried about something like a big game, and he said, ‘I’ve been in jail three times trying to get here and pitch in the major leagues. I know what tough is.”
And when he finished that 15 fastball session, he walked over and hugged his mother and grandmother Olga, whom he calls “the love of my life,” a woman who got here on a visa and surprised Fernandez in November, 2013, the day before he was named Rookie of the Year. And a couple of days after finishing third in the Cy Young balloting behind Kershaw and Wainwright.
The one semi-controversy Fernandez has encountered was in September, 2013, when he homered against the Braves. Brian McCann took issue to the way Jose went around the bases and the dugouts emptied. “The way we play baseball in Cuba is with so much enthusiasm and joy and fun that in this country sometimes people think it’s disrespectful,” Fernandez said. “That’s something we have to learn. In Cuba, people aren’t offended by flipping bats or having fun, but we can’t do all that here. I respect that. I respect every major league baseball player.”
It is a different baseball culture. Puig has taken his share of criticism, although when Puig’s name came up around the batting cage at Fenway one day, a Red Sox executive said, “I love him. He has a passion. He loves the game. He plays baseball the way my eight year old plays it.”
Fernandez is exceptionally intelligent, one who studies people and the game. “Baseball is what I’ve loved my entire life,” he said. “When I was a little kid I watched games. Of course I went to playoff games in the Cuban league. People have so much fun, with the music and the dancing girls on the dugouts…”
When he was learning the game, Fernandez wanted to be an everyday player. He was a third baseman, and, as the Braves learned, he could hit. By the time he was 12 he was enrolled in a Cuban sports academy, where elite track, boxing, fútbol, baseball and other sport athletes live five nights a week, study until noon, are fed handsomely and get training. He went to the same academy where in 1999 I spent a day and watched two 15-year olds named Kendrys Morales and Yulieski Gourriel (a great player who now plays in Japan).
Coming up in the Cuban system, Fernandez was too young before he defected to play with Puig, Tomas or any of the players who defected to the U.S. and became recognizable names. When he arrived in Tampa to go to high school and continue his education, he did get the chance to go to a Rays game at The Trop, and calls it “a dream come true. I couldn’t believe what it was like.”
He was the 14th player picked in the 2011 draft, one that began with Gerrit Cole and saw high school phenoms Dylan Bundy and Archie Bradley selected earlier. Less than two years later he was pitching for the Marlins and put together one of the greatest seasons for an age 21 (which he turned on July 31) pitcher: 12-6, 2.19, 172.2 IP, 111 H, 58 BB, 187 strikeouts, 9.7 strikeouts per 9 innings, the fewest hits (5.8) per nine innings in the league and praise from Joe Maddon that he “is about the best young pitcher I’ve ever seen.”
Fernandez feels “what happened to me last year is that I altered the mechanics that I had in 2013, the mechanics that got me to the big leagues. I studied a lot of video after the operation and found what I changed. I will not let that happen again.”
He now has long toss, flat ground and simple games of catch recorded, and studies them. “He’s very disciplined,” said Jennings. “He asks questions, he studies video of other pitchers and opposing hitters. He wants to know everything.” And, while he escaped Cuba, he is proud of the culture, proud that his native country has the highest literacy rate in the world, proud of all the baseball players.
He has never forgotten the discipline he encountered at the academy. In his first two spring trainings, he rode his bicycle all around Jupiter, both to get the park and for the conditioning racing bikes require. “I stopped riding about six months ago when a friend of mine was hit by a car and injured in an accident,” Fernandez said. Now? “I run, do cardio and a lot of swimming. Not only is swimming great for conditioning, but the arm strokes are similar to the throwing motion.”
Maybe Giancarlo Stanton becomes baseball’s Lebron James in South Florida, a responsibility he willingly accepts. Maybe Yelich is a batting champion in waiting, as many suspect.
And maybe Jose Fernandez returns for two great months and helps carry the Marlins into October. They all are part of baseball’s dream, extraordinary players, bright, articulate, passionate. Stanton told Jeffrey Loria “I don’t want to be making all that money and be in last place in September. I want to be competing for championships.”
Fernandez’s motto is “every five days I go into a start as if it’s the last game I’ll ever pitch.”
Two years ago, Loria tried to buy a winning team, and when it turned out to be a Mercenary Territory, he conceded it was “a mistake” and rebooted. Then, out of his own system emerged a franchise player who accepted the role of franchise leader and franchise pitcher with what Hemingway called “duende,” whose first 15 fastballs of the spring were the heralded highlight of the week the Marlins became a destination.
Monday, March 2, 2015
Sunday, March 1, 2015
My Latest Audio Work The Oliver Hamilton Show Recorded Feb 28th 2015
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/59379034
http://tvsb.tv/ TV Santa Barbara media Center Santa Barbara California
http://tvsb.tv/ TV Santa Barbara media Center Santa Barbara California
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