This is starting to be a tough stretch of the year for the extended spring group of guys. Our last game in extended is in just over a week. The guys will have a few days off and then find out where their season will start, the AZL Rangers or the Spokane Indians. Everyone has been busting their tails since the full season squads started about 2 months ago trying to win a spot on one of those clubs. We have had a fair number of guys get promoted out of Arizona. A few have stuck and a few have returned only to know that they want to get back. Everyone is trying to impress the staff now trying to get on the Spokane team so they can leave the heat of Surprise, and the heat is coming. Triple digit temps are just about to be the norm.
I know I am looking forward to the end here because that means school is out and I get to spend a lot of time with my family. I will be able to head home for about 4 days after we finish and then I will make the long drive up to Spokane to start out our season. The good things about starting the regular season are numerous. The biggest one is that we get to play night games. That means no more 5 am wake up calls to be at the field. Another thing is that the games count. Don't get me wrong, the extended games count, but they aren't official. We can have rehab guys lead off every inning if they need at-bats. Pitchers can throw to extra hitters to get the pitch count up or just end an inning if it is too high. During the season we are playing for real. Winner at the end gets a ring. Weather is huge too. I am pretty sure we will not hit 100 on the thermometer in the pacific northwest. Warm afternoons are cool nights will be nice after, hot mornings and scorching afternoons. It is a nice change of scenery from the desert when we get to go along the coast from Eugene, OR up to Vancouver, Canada.
Let's hope this last week and change runs smoothly and get ready for the real thing.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
'Dad's Dugout
Check out my guest blog post about my time spent with the Hickory Crawdads. The blog belongs to Jeff Bodenhamer who is the ATC with the team there.
http://dadsdugout.mlblogs.com
http://dadsdugout.mlblogs.com
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Home Run Trot 5k Race
So I get into Hickory on Thursday night and am asked by Ryan McNeal, the strength and conditioning coach, if I want to run a 5k on Saturday. If you don't know, I'm training for a marathon in October. I needed to run 3 miles on Saturday anyway, so I figured I would do it. I wouldn't have to figure out a route and I have never run in a race before, so what better place than here.
Now, having never run in an actual race before, I had no idea what was going on. I got there about 30 minutes early, changed in the clubhouse, and headed out. The GM had already gotten our numbers for us so I pinned it on and headed to the start line. There were probably about 150 people or so running so it wasn't too bad. They told us to start and we were off. It was kind of strange starting out with a bunch of other people. I usually go at a slower pace, but since this was just 3 miles I was able to pick it up a bit, especially with the adrenaline of competition. It was a bit of weaving and winding around people at the beginning for about half a mile where it started to spread out a bit. The other challenge for me today was the hills! Everywhere I have ran in the past has been flat. This was my fist experience with a hill. The ones at the beginning weren't too bad, but just over 2 miles in there was a doozy for me. I made it up, but when I rounded the corner I have to walk for about 10 seconds. After that it was smooth sailing. It was flat for a bit and then a small hill before heading downhill into the stadium for the finish.
It was a pretty cool race to run in and having people cheering you on and seeing the time on the big clock was fun. I know it was just a small little race, but I enjoyed it as a first experience. My finishing time was 26:36 which was way better than my goal of 30:00. My next race will be in Spokane where they have an 8k. I think it will be a little better having this one under my belt. Running 26.2 is going to be an adventure for sure.
One more thing. As a bonus I was announced as 2nd in my age group. I also didn't hear them announce a 3rd, so there may have only been 2 entered! I like to think that I was so excited about hearing my name that I just didn't hear anything after that.
Now, having never run in an actual race before, I had no idea what was going on. I got there about 30 minutes early, changed in the clubhouse, and headed out. The GM had already gotten our numbers for us so I pinned it on and headed to the start line. There were probably about 150 people or so running so it wasn't too bad. They told us to start and we were off. It was kind of strange starting out with a bunch of other people. I usually go at a slower pace, but since this was just 3 miles I was able to pick it up a bit, especially with the adrenaline of competition. It was a bit of weaving and winding around people at the beginning for about half a mile where it started to spread out a bit. The other challenge for me today was the hills! Everywhere I have ran in the past has been flat. This was my fist experience with a hill. The ones at the beginning weren't too bad, but just over 2 miles in there was a doozy for me. I made it up, but when I rounded the corner I have to walk for about 10 seconds. After that it was smooth sailing. It was flat for a bit and then a small hill before heading downhill into the stadium for the finish.
It was a pretty cool race to run in and having people cheering you on and seeing the time on the big clock was fun. I know it was just a small little race, but I enjoyed it as a first experience. My finishing time was 26:36 which was way better than my goal of 30:00. My next race will be in Spokane where they have an 8k. I think it will be a little better having this one under my belt. Running 26.2 is going to be an adventure for sure.
One more thing. As a bonus I was announced as 2nd in my age group. I also didn't hear them announce a 3rd, so there may have only been 2 entered! I like to think that I was so excited about hearing my name that I just didn't hear anything after that.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Hickory, NC
Right now I am sitting in my hotel room in Hickory, NC. I made this same trip last year for a few days. The athletic trainer here is taking a few days off so I get a break from Arizona to come up here and cover for him. I flew out of Phoenix yesterday morning into Charlotte. Hickory is about an hour drive from the airport there, so after I picked up my bags and a car I hit the road and arrived in Hickory about 5:00. I checked into the hotel and headed to the ballpark. It is always nice to walk into the clubhouse and see the guys I haven't seen since spring. A good chunk of the guys here played in Spokane at some point last year so I know a lot of them. Last year was my first year with the Rangers, so when I came to cover I only knew a couple of the guys that started in extended or that I got to know a bit from spring training. After saying hello to the staff and getting dressed, it was back to work. One of the good things here is that there is only about 25 guys compared to the over 50 in AZ. The injury report is not too big and there are only a handful of guys that need some maintenence work, so the workload is also getting a break for me. Unfortunately, the Crawdads 9 game win streak came to an end last night so I took plenty of heat for coming in and changing things. At least the outfield/baserunning coordinator also came in yesterday so it did not all get put on me.
The difference between extended spring and Hickory baseball-wise is not that big (tehy are basically just 1 level apart), but the atmosphere is worlds apart. The main difference is the fans. I think the most I have seen in AZ is probably about 10 people and that was a HUGE crowd. I think one of the Padres guys had his whole family at the game. The noise at the game is nice here also. There is the buzz in the stands, the announcer introducing the hitter, the music between pitches and batters, and all the usual dugout chatter. The guys that haven't played out at an affiliate definitely have a reason to get out of AZ once they experience this brand of minor league baseball. The Hickory Crawdads are also a class organization that treat the players and staff awesome along with L.P. Frans stadium being a great place to watch a game.
I will be here through Monday's 11 am game, so I will get some pictures and post at least one more time while I am up here. Here are a few Hickory guys you can follow to get their perspective this season.
Pitcher Josh Lueke - @josh_lueke on twitter
ATC Jeff Bodenhamer - @BODE_ATC on twitter, http://dadsdugout.mlblogs.com, 'Dads Dugout on Facebook
The difference between extended spring and Hickory baseball-wise is not that big (tehy are basically just 1 level apart), but the atmosphere is worlds apart. The main difference is the fans. I think the most I have seen in AZ is probably about 10 people and that was a HUGE crowd. I think one of the Padres guys had his whole family at the game. The noise at the game is nice here also. There is the buzz in the stands, the announcer introducing the hitter, the music between pitches and batters, and all the usual dugout chatter. The guys that haven't played out at an affiliate definitely have a reason to get out of AZ once they experience this brand of minor league baseball. The Hickory Crawdads are also a class organization that treat the players and staff awesome along with L.P. Frans stadium being a great place to watch a game.
I will be here through Monday's 11 am game, so I will get some pictures and post at least one more time while I am up here. Here are a few Hickory guys you can follow to get their perspective this season.
Pitcher Josh Lueke - @josh_lueke on twitter
ATC Jeff Bodenhamer - @BODE_ATC on twitter, http://dadsdugout.mlblogs.com, 'Dads Dugout on Facebook
Monday, May 3, 2010
Extended Off Days
Like I said in the last post, we have every Sunday off during extended. This sounds like a good thing, right? Finally a day to sleep in and enjoy a day to yourself after 6 straight days of waking up at 5:00 am. Nope. If I can sleep in until 6:30 it is a good thing. Our bodies just get so used to waking up early, that it just happens naturally. Plus, unless I go out somewhere on Saturday night I am still tired at about 9:00. Well, you say, at least you have the whole day Sunday to yourself. Sure. Sounds like a good idea, but when you are used to spending 9-10 hours of the day at the ballpark, a whole day alone in the house is pretty boring. Add in to that the waking up at 6:30 and that is a TON of day to use up. Don't get me wrong, I love the off days, and when my family was here it was a busy day, but when I am alone it is a lot of wasted time.
Yesterday I decided to pass my time at the casino. It takes up about 90 minutes of driving time there and back and I spent about 8 hours sitting at a poker table. Long story short, I lost. I did, however, use up most of the day doing something that I enjoy. It was definitely much better than sitting at home in front of the TV all day. There are other things to do too....play golf, sit by the pool, do some grilling, watch a movie. Funny thing is, most of these involve getting out of the house that all during the week you just want to be in. Is that irony?
Back at it tonight with a rare night game against the Royals. Slept in til 6:30 this morning......
Yesterday I decided to pass my time at the casino. It takes up about 90 minutes of driving time there and back and I spent about 8 hours sitting at a poker table. Long story short, I lost. I did, however, use up most of the day doing something that I enjoy. It was definitely much better than sitting at home in front of the TV all day. There are other things to do too....play golf, sit by the pool, do some grilling, watch a movie. Funny thing is, most of these involve getting out of the house that all during the week you just want to be in. Is that irony?
Back at it tonight with a rare night game against the Royals. Slept in til 6:30 this morning......
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Extended Spring Training
Ok. I figured it has been over a month and I have not posted anything new. Guess I have a lot to catch up on.....
Since the last time I wrote spring training has ended and extended spring is not just about a month in. Extended spring is exactly what it sounds like, an extended version of spring training. In regular spring, every player in the organization is here. We have a workout in the morning and a game in the afternoon....every day.
Once the full season teams start playing, there are only so many roster spaces that need to be filled. This year that left around 50 young players with nowhere to go. It sounds like a bad situation, but every team does the same thing. Also, the long-term rehab is based out of here. That leaves the 50 young guys, about 8 or so minor league rehabbers, and about 5 major league rehabbers. Makes for a full clubhouse.
Anyway, back to extended. It is starting to get hot in AZ right now so we get our work in early. A typical day goes something like this.......wake up at 5:00 am and dressed and in the athletic training room by 5:30. Put coolers out on the field and get everything set up for the day. Breakfast at 6 and players start showing up. Position players have weight room activity at 6:45, pitchers stretch at 7:30. We will be out on the field until about 10 and then head inside for a quick snack and change for the 10:30 game. Since position player work out in the morning, after the game the only ones that have to finish up a workout are some of the pitchers. Lunch is at 1ish and usually everyone is gone by 2. Then we clean up, get our reports in, and close up shop. Usually about a 9 hour day, but since we start so early we get done earlier. It is not too bad if you can stand early mornings. The other good thing is that we have Sundays off. Something to look forward to and also a day to reset your week. All the days are the same here and now I know why there is a feature on my watch that shows me what day it is!
We have a lot of good young players down here this year. I believe we have about 5 or 6 guys that haven't even had their 18th birthdays. There aren't too many guys that are of legal drinking age in the USA, so it make for an interesting dynamic now that I am up to about 15 years older than some of them. I guess working with kids (let's face it, that's what they are) keeps me young too. I get to stay current and keep my street-cred. The flip side of the youth is that they have a lot to learn about the game, being professional, and general baseball fundamentals. If you think watching an extended game and a major league game are similar I invite you to come down and watch one. We get to see a lot of interesting things.
Next week I am heading to Hickory, NC to cover for our low-A, South Atlantic League team down there and I will be sure to have some updates from the east.
Since the last time I wrote spring training has ended and extended spring is not just about a month in. Extended spring is exactly what it sounds like, an extended version of spring training. In regular spring, every player in the organization is here. We have a workout in the morning and a game in the afternoon....every day.
Once the full season teams start playing, there are only so many roster spaces that need to be filled. This year that left around 50 young players with nowhere to go. It sounds like a bad situation, but every team does the same thing. Also, the long-term rehab is based out of here. That leaves the 50 young guys, about 8 or so minor league rehabbers, and about 5 major league rehabbers. Makes for a full clubhouse.
Anyway, back to extended. It is starting to get hot in AZ right now so we get our work in early. A typical day goes something like this.......wake up at 5:00 am and dressed and in the athletic training room by 5:30. Put coolers out on the field and get everything set up for the day. Breakfast at 6 and players start showing up. Position players have weight room activity at 6:45, pitchers stretch at 7:30. We will be out on the field until about 10 and then head inside for a quick snack and change for the 10:30 game. Since position player work out in the morning, after the game the only ones that have to finish up a workout are some of the pitchers. Lunch is at 1ish and usually everyone is gone by 2. Then we clean up, get our reports in, and close up shop. Usually about a 9 hour day, but since we start so early we get done earlier. It is not too bad if you can stand early mornings. The other good thing is that we have Sundays off. Something to look forward to and also a day to reset your week. All the days are the same here and now I know why there is a feature on my watch that shows me what day it is!
We have a lot of good young players down here this year. I believe we have about 5 or 6 guys that haven't even had their 18th birthdays. There aren't too many guys that are of legal drinking age in the USA, so it make for an interesting dynamic now that I am up to about 15 years older than some of them. I guess working with kids (let's face it, that's what they are) keeps me young too. I get to stay current and keep my street-cred. The flip side of the youth is that they have a lot to learn about the game, being professional, and general baseball fundamentals. If you think watching an extended game and a major league game are similar I invite you to come down and watch one. We get to see a lot of interesting things.
Next week I am heading to Hickory, NC to cover for our low-A, South Atlantic League team down there and I will be sure to have some updates from the east.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
