Extended 2016 – Week 2

The second full week of extended is in the books. 

It was a good week for me as I threw three times this week. It feels good to get multiple chances during the week to work on my game. 

The first game of the week was at the LA Angels and we cruised over in mini vans. No busses for the extended life. However, we were treated to playing on the big league field. Looks nice, but I think the grounds crew has been focusing on the back fields. By the time I got round mound there were craters everywhere. Either way cool experience being in a big league atmosphere. 

The view from the bullpen was nice but it was also a scorcher that day. I spent most of my time in the dugout before I was summonses to pitch. Also, you can see the bullpens are located on the field. I do not like this. I’ll have to get over it at some point and maybe that’s part of the problem with my game. I instantly think about missing the catcher and causing a delay to the game rather than chucking the ball. We ended up winning the game 9-3 and I pitched alright.  I had some shaky defense behind me on some double play balls but that’s all part of the game. 

My second outing was Wednesday against the Cubs and it also went okay. I’m not going to say things are awesome for me on the mound but I do feel like there is progression happening. 

The last outing was a intersquad on Saturday and like I said I am progressing. I was in the zone a lot more but gave up some hits here and there. Couple hard hit, couple not to hard hit, but being in the zone for me is what matters. 

We recently introduced the players of the week in extended. You get a sweet hoodie and you also get $25. At the end of the week on Saturday the winners are announced to the sweet tune of a highlight tape. When I was watching the highlight tape of the pitcher it looked like he was in fast forward compared to my motion on the mound. At this point I’m thinking about trying that strategy and selling out into every pitch. If that gets me the higher velocity we are looking for then I can harness in the strikes.

Off the field this week we had some great meetings about pitching as well as visualization for baseball players. Jason Motte is here rehabbing and was nice enough to talk with us about his approach to pitching. It all makes sense, and he told us that his sole focus is on each pitch. He throws each pitch with conviction because of you don’t that’s when things go bad. He told us about game 6 of the World Series with the Cardinals. He gave up a 2-run HR to Josh Hamilton top of the 9th. He said his exact thought was welp, just lost the World Series, that sucks. Then it was back to locking in on each pitch because he knew if he didn’t focus the lead could stretch beyond two and give the Cardinals no chance.

The pitching staff had a long meeting about what the pros and cons are of throwing a first pitch strike. We came up with nine pros and two cons. The shortest summary of the nine pros is that hitting is hard. When you factor everything that goes into hitting a ball the odds are with the pitcher every pitch. Round bat, round ball, the defense, you know the pitch, all of that goes into a first pitch strike. 

On a non baseball related note Jason Motte has offered to take the entirety of extended on a paintball trip. He also put up money for whoever paintballs in the best costume. It was funny listening to him talk about getting a group together because he thought guys wouldn’t be into it. Once he saw the majority of hands shoot up his smile was contagious. I am looking forward to talking with him about his conversion to  pitcher like I am making. He went fast in his rise to the majors but there is still time for me to make moves.

I’m chugging along down here and with only a handful of healthy pitchers I should see action 2-3 times a week every week going forward. It has only been two full weeks of extended but it feels like I have been down for much longer. One of the trainers mentioned how some guys are skipping workouts, and also said how you don’t  to be in extended. That resonated with me. I don’t want to be here and the goal is to be on a full season club. Extended is a nice alternative to other baseball options but ultimately you don’t want to be here. My time is coming soon and j know when I get to a club and the lights are shinning I will be locked in and ready to pitch. 

Week three – coming in extra hot. 

Extended 2016 – Day 11

The first full week of extended has come and gone. The routine for the upcoming weeks is now set in motion. 

Extended here is a different than last year in Orlando. We start at similar times in the morning, but here we play at 10 am or 10:30 am. This is an upgrade from the 1:00 pm games in the Florida sun. The weather is getting warmer here, and the morning starts help us counteract that. 

This past week I pitched a couple of times. My inconsistency is frustrating, as I will make a good pitch, made a bad pitch, make a good pitch and so on. The rhythm and timing has not been there for me but now that I am back in the routine I will be fine. 

My first outing on Monday one of our pitching coaches noted that I was setting myself up for a difficult time. I could not feel that my feet were set up open which caused my shoulders to open up before I even started my motion. I was set up to throw to a left handed batters box rather than the lane straight through the plate. 

With those adjustments in mind my bullpen on Wednesday was much better and I felt in control. This transferred over to my live batting practice in the extra game on Friday. I was more consistent that I have been and I was making quality pitches that guys weren’t making good contact with. That has been the most frustrating part that when I am in the zone nobody has hit the ball hard, but my lack on consistency in the zone is allowing base runners. 

There have been five players moved up to different affiliates in the eleven days we have been here. We has two minor league teams throw play 17 innings and needed bullpen help. I have not done enough in my eyes to warrant moving from extended. Last year I was here almost five weeks so I still have time to get to a full season club. I have time, but also as the new free agent guy I don’t have time. 
I had my first player plan meeting on Friday. It was four coaches and myself. We talked about my strengths as a player and then what opportunities I have for growth. Strictly tangible strengths, as I tried to slip in the fact I am a coachable player. 

We all agreed that my arm strength is a strength of mine, as well as my durability, and angle on pitches. 

Growth opportunities have remained constant, which is the same for most pitchers. Throwing offspeed for strikes when you need it, and for me my rhythm on the mound. 

I mentioned that my mentality needs to improve on the mound as sometimes I can become timid. Lucky for me we have a mental skills coach who makes his rounds but he hasn’t been around to extended yet. The coaches thought I meant that I was having problems that I needed to talk about, but I made sure to let them know this is on me. Eventually I have to walk the walk out here to prove my worth. 

The player development meeting is something that I haven’t done as a player in a long time, if ever. Going forward it gives me an idea of where the coaches stand with me as well as what adjustments they want to see from me. It also allows me to make daily adjustments during throwing program. 

With a few pitchers moving out and a few more having some arm trouble I anticipate throwing a lot in the coming weeks. Throwing 2-3 time a week is better for me than throwing every 4-5 days. Being able to get in a rhythm and turn the page from each outing is easier. 

I remain steadfast in my approach and with the coaches here as well as my own desire to pitch, I see good outings in my future. 

Extendo Bullpen #1

The four days of slugging are over. The extended season has begun. When you get days off its great, when you get four in a row guys start to complain. Funny how that works out. 

Yesterday was the first workout of extended. The team as a whole has around 25 pitchers on it. Age wise I’m near the top and experience wise I am somewhere in the middle. A few guys pitched in AA last year but most of the guys are rookie ball pitchers from last season. 

The workout yesterday was very laid back. Helping us get back into the “swing” of things.  Ground balls here, PFPs there, shagging here and we called it a day. I saw something I have never seen before on the field. One of the pitchers brought out his camelback water for shagging. What a genius move. As the weather starts heating up carrying around a bottle in the outfield is cumbersome compared to chilling with the camelback on. 

Today was my first bullpen after spring training and first time throwing on the mound since last week. It had been too long since being on the mound but you have to take advantage of the rest days while you have them. One of the challenges going forward will be learning my catchers that stuck around. I’m used to throwing to the same guy but now I’ll have to break in a few new guys. 

The bullpen went well. I moved my front foot closer to the mound to simplify delivering the ball. The goal of this is to keep the weight on my back leg rather than what I did in my poor outings when the weight is on my front foot. When I pick it up it cause my front shoulder to dip and a wild arm action. Four days off either makes your arm feel great or feel terrible with rust. I’m in the feel good camp at this current juncture. If they told me hey you are throwing 3-4 a week to get you as much action as possible then yes I am all for it. 

I had two coaches watching me and even stood in on my pitches. It made me feel like I was back at my tryout in St. Louis proving myself again. As long as the coaches think there is something there and I prove to them there is then I’ll stick around. 

Also, the bullpen was in the cages because we somehow had rain yesterday. I have hardly seen a cloud in six weeks and when we arrived at the fields today there were puddles. Quite the change of pace for Arizona. 

I haven’t had my player plan meeting yet but I imagine the pros and cons are similar to what I know about myself. When I figure out what style of pitcher I’m going to be then I can hone in on a good plan. 

We have about 4-5 games each week against other clubs extended teams. There are 25 or so guys who need to get their work in but I also know we do double headers so there shouldn’t be a shortage of opportunity for me to improve. 

After the workout today we had a meeting about the expectations of extended. Our pitching coaches talked about how objective number one is establishing your fastball. There could be outings where you can only throw fastballs. One reaso for this is to get the fastball down and also show you how effective the fastball can be. In my time with the Rockies I’ve thrown 85% fastballs anyway so that shouldn’t be a problem for me. Another big goal of extended is to establish throwing in on hitters to open up the outside part of the plate. I’ve been hit or miss with my fastballs inside and I look forward to developing it. 

The Rockies have been strong advocates of changeups. I think this because in Denver the sharp sliders and curveballs do not have the same bite to them. However, a change and its deception is based on your arm speed and the change of timing. In throwing program everyday we throw a lot of change ups to get the feel and I can say mine has improved since day one. 

My final note is on the first day of extended Kibler approached me about how him and a few guys had found out I write about my experience. They have a bet going on who would be mentioned in it first. I guess they are aware of the blog but haven’t read anyt yet or they would know that I talked about Kibler a week or so ago. He won the bet whatever it was. This leads me to taking the time to mention my throwing partners to this date. 

In order of appearance:

Ryan Arrowood

Matt Flemer

Devin Burke

Christian Talley

Scott Firth

Shout out to my throwing partners so far as a Rockie, wouldn’t be here without you. If they Google themselves they will have his surprise shoutout waiting for them. 

I remain steadfast in my approach towards a full season club. 

Day of Judgement

The day that the entire camp has been waiting on has arrived. The opening day rosters for each affiliate have been posted. 

Good news for me I still have a job with the Rockies. The job I have is extended spring training. A similar experience to what I went through last year. This time around I am wiser, a veteran. 

Last year I was upset that I was in extended because I thought I threw well enough and was more equipped to pitch than the opening day guys. This year after a poor outing on Wednesday I am in a different place on my pitching. Extended is what I need to get the best grasp on my career.

Each player checking the board took the news of their placement differently. I felt for a guy who checked the board and looked to his buddy and said hey my name isn’t on here anywhere what does that mean? Coaches let him down on that one not letting him know what was happening. 

If a guy is going somewhere he was expecting there isn’t much to say. It is the guys who are going above their expectation or guys who are here in extended with me that wear their emotions on their sleeves. Some guys are skipping whole levels which gives me hope for when I get the call I am going to be jumping up to a level I have not pitched at. If I went somewhere that was below Rome, that’s okay too. Get my innings where I can.

After my inconsistency this spring I am happy to be a member of the extended squad. I can get the innings I need more frequently than if I was with a club, and a more hands on approach to developing my game. My two poor outings this month overruled my five or six good outings this spring. If I can make my bad outings short and kept to a minimum I should be out of extended soon. 

I was in the extended program last year for a few weeks before I had a chance to make my full season debut against the Rockies of all teams. This year I expect the same if I take care of my business.

The only bad part of extended is that for someone to move up from it then someone has to go down. I don’t root against other guys, I know some guys do which is messed up, but I also know it has to happen for me to have my own chance. 

Extended spring is a new start for me – the bad I did in camp is gone. The positives I did in camp are the building blocks for a positive spring campaign. I believe 100% I could throw for any team on an opening day, and the small changes I have to make are going to benefit me tremendously going forward. I have my good outings to fall back on and channeling those going forward is key. The capability is there. The stuff is there. The only thing standing between me and success is myself. 

I don’t have my else to report at this time. There is a lot on my mind but the focus is on tomorrow if I throw in our last intersquad – some redemption. If not, then we recieve four days off to prepare for extended while the clubs break camp to their affiliates. I’m sure my fellow extended players and I can find something to do over the next week before camp starts up again. 

For those that are pulling for I thank you for the continued support going forward. I’m giving it my all everyday at the ballpark and if I continue to do that then what do I have to lose? I’ve already gotten a second and third chance with baseball. All part of the journey.  

Coming in hot!