The Two Pitch Tango

The tale of two pitches.

This week we were on the road in North Carolina and then across the parkway to Lynchburg.  We were scheduled for a Tuesday-Thursday meeting with the Astros, then a Friday-Monday round up with the Hillcats.

When we arrived in North Carolina on Tuesday there was heavy rain in the area and it was expected to go all night.  The second we got on the 3:00 pm bus for the field and were getting situated our manager said that the game was cancelled, and we would have a double header the next day.  Okay no problem, I probably wasn’t pitching on Tuesday anyways, and now we would be at greater strength heading into the double header.  The only problem was that the rain was forecast for the next few days and that meant we were not even guaranteed the double header.  I was not the first guy up in the rotation on Wednesday for the first game of the double header.  I had just thrown on Sunday and figured that other guys would get the nod before I did.

My name was called in the 3rd inning and the situation was first and third one out.  We were down 6-2 at this point if I remember correctly.  I came into the game and got the first hitter to strike out. Then during the next hitters at bat the runner on first base was caught stealing and I was out of the inning.  I went back out for two more innings, my first full inning went okay, I had a runner on second base with no outs and was able to get through the inning with no runs.  Then in my second full inning it started raining a lot harder than the sprinkles I had been pitching in.  The mound was soaked, I was soaked, everything was soaked but we needed to get through the fifth inning to make it a full game.  I saved some bullets by hitting the first guy, then a quick double play.  Then my one bad pitch of the appearance was a solo home run.  I was doing well up to that point and then had my scoreless streak broken.

The second game of the double header was cancelled due to rain.  The weird part about the rain outs was that the field is entirely turf which does not usually get rained out.  Then, when we rolled back into the hotel we did not see a drop of rain for the rest of the night.  It definitely shifted the momentum into our favor the next games and we were able to go 2-1 on the series.

The next stop was our commuter trip to the Hillcats.  This is a good test for us because the Hillcats are in second place, and coming into the series we had a four game lead on them.  We also play them next week early in June and will be looking to distance ourselves from them as much as we can.  Coming into the series and knowing that we could potentially be in a tie for first afterwards, or have a commanding lead going into the stretch run of the all star break.  We ended up salvaging a game at the end of series to go 1-3 against the Hillcats.  My outing came yesterday and it got a little weird.  My outing would once again come down to one bad pitch I threw and cost me two runs.  It is always a bummer to get past three innings then have it spoiled by one pitch.

There was something weird from the get go with the game as our normal starter was not available.  That meant that the bullpen was going to have to cover nine innings from the get go without having the cushion of a starter.  When I came into the game, it was bases loaded, two outs down 5-3 in the second inning,  I was able to secure a strikeout, work my way out of the inning, and save my fellow bullpen mates runs.  I then went out and had two more quick innings.  I wasn’t feeling my best, and did not have my best stuff, but I knew that I had to give the team as many outs as possible, and that is my role on the team.  At the end of the day I did what was required of me, and outside another home run, I feel okay about how it went.  I’ve been steadily improving throughout the season, and even if the numbers don’t reflect how I’ve been doing, I feel more confident in my pitchability.  My stuff is the best it has been, the results and payoff just have not been there yet.

I am doing my best to maintain focus and confidence going into what is the final stretch before the All-Star break.  I’m not sure what my fate is going to be when that time rolls around, or even what my fate is going to be after the off day we have tomorrow.  The next set of games is a nice home stretch where I am in familiar territory.  It is crazy to think we are already one third of the way done with the season.  We just activated a middle infielder who was suspended for 50 games, which means we are over one third of the way done with our 144 games.  It would be awesome to start separating ourselves from the pack going into the All-Star break, and be part of a team that will be playing into the post season. On another positive note I received my first ever baseball card.  I have never had one before as I have always been in extended but now I can officially no matter what say that I had a bonafide baseball card.  With a halfway decent picture too.

A couple more weeks before the break is here, and whatever the team and organization asks of me I will do my best to get the job done.  No pitcher goes out there trying to give up runs or allow free passes.  We are all doing everything we can each pitch.  The team is is a weird stretch right now, but we are looking to finish strong going into the break.

 

Goon

 

245…Yea..Let’s go with that

Opening Day 2.0

I have returned from my three week vacation one the Lowell roster.  I have returned to the Salem roster after a few moves had to be made which opened up a spot for me.

When I was told that I was back on the active roster it dawned on my brain that I would be up to pitch.  Actually pitch in a game rather than go through my work during batting practice, then sit around until the game was over.  When this happened my brain went into full on sabotage mode.  I felt nervous sitting in the bullpen thinking about how my outings could go, or how I would do after a longer hiatus than I expected.  It is not the reaction I was looking for and most of my energy in the bullpen was focusing on controlling my emotions throughout the game waiting for the phone to ring and start throwing.

After being activated I thought that I would throw that night and get the ball rolling again but my name was not called until the Sunday game against Myrtle Beach.  The Pelicans are the Cubs affiliate and my name was called when we were down 5-1 in the 8th inning.  The team needed me to go the last two innings and keep them at five.  I came into the game and had a quick 1-2-3 inning which was nice to get my ball rolling again.  My second inning was a little sketchier mixing in a couple of walks but I was able to get out of the inning with another zero.  My numbers thus far have not been the best but anytime a zero is behind your name for an inning it is a good sign.

The last few weeks have been a good learning tool for me.  In the bullpen I have been a lot more observant when I knew that I had no chance of pitching.  I was able to take a step back from being locked into the game and look at it from an observers perspective on how I would pitch each hitter.  I was able to look at my fellow relievers more closely and watch their process.  I was able to see the way we all interacted and how our bullpen is a family unit that has each others backs.

Through the first four games of the homestand my old bud Keith Foulke was back in town.  We talked a lot during the four days especially during batting practice when we have time to banter.  It was also great having him down in the bullpen to share his experience with us and how he went about his business back during his playing days.  How lucky is the bullpen to get to hangout with a guy who closed out a World Series? There are only a handful of guys that have ever done that in the history of baseball and we get the chance to talk with him for four games about his approach to hitters and his approach when he warmed up.  I did not get the chance to pitch in any games while he was here but I am sure that the word gets around about how each level and each pitcher does.  The coordinators all talk.

Another face in town over our eight games was Dave Dombrowski.  He is the General Manager of the Red Sox and makes all the decisions.  The shot caller himself was in town to see how the young bucks in Salem were doing.  One thought that we had in the bullpen is how as the season is developing in the big leagues that he is looking for potential trade candidates to improve the big league team.  I have not been on a team that people have left for a trade during the season but it is always a possibility, and I think that possibility increases as you go up the ranks and the competition levels increase.  He was locked into conversation most of the time I saw him and unfortunately I did not get a chance to say hey.  The first night that he was here, he was sitting behind home getting ready for the game.  Before the first pitch, he was asked by an usher to move out of his seat because he was in a season ticket holders seat. He politely accepted the request and went about his business a few rows up.  Even the General Manager of the Red Sox can go unrecognized and asked to move seats like the rest of us.

On Saturday night we were wearing these cool pink jerseys for a pink night in the ballpark.  During the game fans were able to place their bids on the jersey and get a chance to take the game worn jersey from the players after getting their picture with them.  Saturday night pink night had 5,000+ people there even after an hour and half rain delay.  Friday night the scoreboard said that we had 8,847 people at the game.  I’m not exactly sure if there were about 9,000 people there but the crowd was live.  We ended up winning the game with a 3 run 9th inning, and then a walk off in the 10th.  It was awesome listening to the crowd roar and ooh and ahh on each pitch.  I could close my eyes and follow the game without seeing what happened based on the reaction of the crowd.

 

This week the team is heading back to North Carolina to play the Astros, then the commuter trip back to Lynchburg.  After the eight games at home it is going to feel weird heading out on the road.  It feels like I just arrived in Salem and here we are heading into the month of June. The season is still young and we have been playing well up to this point.  There are still personal and team goals within reach, and now that I am back active I can help contribute to the team. The All-Star break is within a month, and currently we are playing good baseball.  If we can keep up this pace of taking series and minimizing the losses we will be in a good position heading into the All-Star festivities.

Working on my tan

Next stop, Campbell University.

The Bullpen Life

The ix game road trip has concluded and now the Red Sox are back at home.  There is an eight game home stand including two four game series.  One against the Fredrick Keys who we have played before, and one against the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, a team that we have not seen this season.

The latest road trip started out in Dunn, NC where we stayed while playing against the Astros.  The Astros team is new to the Carolina League and when they were looking for a temporary home Campbell University took them in.  The field is all turf, decent amount of seating, and generally a good college feeling stadium.  It is right on campus for students to go catch a game, but now that school is over it was eerily quiet when we were playing.  Campbell’s claim to fame is that Jim Perry pitched there and went on to have a good big league career.  His brother Gaylord Perry did not play baseball there, but was a student, and ended up having an even better major league career.  The Campbell mascot Gaylord the Camel is named after him.

The locker room set up was strange.  The visitor locker room was connected to a recreational pool that had regular people going about their swimming.  Unbeknownst to our team on the first day when guys went to go in and clean up before the game and they saw a bunch of 12 year old boys in their swimsuits staring back at them.  It was definitely a first for me and most of the guys in the team sharing a shower with other people outside the team.  The home locker room was the Campbell basketball locker room which was across the street from the baseball complex.

Baseball is an interesting sport.  I was doing my normal lurk around the bullpen and dugout when I went and looked at the scouting report for the opposing pitcher.  He was making his first start in A+ after a month of domination of A ball.  When he left his first A+ game he was on the hook for seven runs.  He went an entire month without giving up seven runs and then in one start he happened to get knocked around for seven.  AS we all know the season is still in its infancy and there is plenty of time to normalize numbers.  My scoreless streak is at two.

The Astros are in the first place in the South division of the Carolina League.  When we went to play them we were the first place team in the North division.  Before the series began our coaches wanted us to make sure that we didn’t try and do too much.  If you throw 90 you are not all the sudden going to throw 95  because you are hyped up against good competition.  What we have been doing all year is good enough for the record that we have compiled, and that is enough to beat any team in the league.  When we took care of business we looked up and had three more wins in our books against the opposing first place team.  I threw my bullpen like I was pitching in the game, and I am learning to be out of control, while in control.  I am working on being a a high effort while in the bullpen and then transferring that effort into the games.

The second part of our trip was heading up to Woodbridge, VA to play against the Potomac Nationals.

This early in the season the overnight trips are not too hard on the body.  When the dog days of July and August roll around the overnight trips will start to get old.  This trip we rolled into Woodbridge around 4:30 am and when that happens the lobby chat is quiet.  Everyone is in a daze and looking for room keys so they can sleep as much as possible before the game tomorrow.  The way this league is set up there is not as long of trips as most leagues and the longest drive is probably 6-7 hours compared to 12-15 hours in different leagues.

The Potomac stadium was interesting to me, it was part of a park set up or something like that.  Around the stadium were little league fields and not much else.  They also had seats on the field that we dubbed the Shark Tank because they were closer to the field than we were when we sat in the bullpen.

The playing surface was nice, but the stadium was old and they are trying to move out to a new complex if they can find the money.  The seating was up above home plate and the trees provided a good backdrop.  These pictures are from the dugout, which you can see in their dugout was exposed and not very spacious.  There also isn’t any netting to protect a distracted player from wearing one in the face.  The home team bullpen is down the left field line and another exposed bullpen.  Salem’s bullpen is nice because we are hidden from view, and can sunbath and do other crazy bullpen antics. We were rained out the first night after our overnight trip and then we played a double header on Saturday which we split.  Then we played a single game on Sunday which as per most getaway games it took the longest.  We came away this week going 5-1 which is a good road record and now look forward to the eight games at home.

Off the field, my good friend Dan Blewett was in the neighborhood visiting his old stomping grounds.  While he was here we recorded a podcast episode just talking about baseball and a quick summary of how I have worked my way onto Salem’s opening day roster. It is about an hour long and we recorded this in Dan’s hotel room.  I am pleased with how it turned out and that for the most part I sound like I know what I am talking about. I put the link for Dan’s personal website, and then also the link that will hopefully take you to iTunes if that is easier.

http://www.danblewett.com/ep08-throw-99-mitch-osnowitz/

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ep08-when-you-throw-99mph-they-make-you-a-pitcher/id1223852512?i=1000385423711&mt=2

Starting this home stretch the plan is bullpens Monday, Wednesday, Friday, or for however long they will keep me around throwing pens.  Right now it is all I have to look forward to and I take it more seriously than I ever have.  It is good for me and where I am at with my career right now to take a step back and get a chance to improve without the pressures of a game.  That way I can come back into the games and be as sharp as ever.  I look forward to seeing how this home stretch goes and as we know things can change very quickly from day to day depending on a wide variety of uncontrollable variables.  With that being said I know I haven’t been pitching to the level expected, and if I was taking care of business I would not be in this predicament in the first place.  What has happened so far this year is out of my control and the only thing I control is getting better each day.

 

The Tale of Two Apperances

This is the story of two appearances that went sour.  The first one was my opening day appearance and the second was my first outing of this week when I forgot to cover the base. Combined these two appearances have cost me over half of my runs allowed this year, while my other 12 innings have been pretty solid.

The first three games this week were up in Wilmington, DE.  I have never been to Delaware before, and I wasn’t exactly sure what part of the map we were going to.  I always thought it was up near Vermont, but it is tucked in there below Philadelphia.

The stadium was nice, and I encountered something here that I’m not sure any other ballpark in America has.  The third base dugout is connected to the visitor clubhouse.  That is normal, as well as having the first base dugout connected to the home clubhouse.  However for some reason we use the first base bullpen, and the Blue Rocks use the third base bullpen.  The third base bullpen is located in the left field wall, nice and cozy.  The visitors bullpen is located on the field down the right field line tucked in an alcove.  When our starting pitcher was warming up, their position players were warming up on the same side of the field as us.  It was one of the stranger set ups that I have seen, but I guess if it is their ballpark they can set the bullpens up however they want.

I was able to navigate my way through three innings in a game we ended up losing, and outside my first inning where I struggled, it went well.  I came back out after a rough first and was able to give the team two more innings, and I thought I would take us through the end of the game to save another arm in the bullpen.  On Wednesday, we were the only teams playing at 6:30 that night and had a six hour bus ride to follow.  They were heading to Kinston, which is an even longer trip.  The thing about the long bus rides after a game is that depending on how the game goes it can be a relaxed trip or you have a bunch of guys who are upset about a loss. Good news for us is that we took the series 2-1 and finished Wednesday with a win thanks to a solid pitching effort and timely hitting performances.

When we returned to Salem it was around 4:30 in the morning.  As per tradition the next day we had our report time pushed back to about as late as possible in the afternoon.  When I arrived for the game I noticed that not a whole of people were getting ready and then I checked the weather forecast.   Normally after a 1-2 outing appearance we get one day off, then we throw a small bullpen, then ready to go the next day.  I threw three innings last time and because of this I did a longer bullpen session to get me ready for the game in two days at the earliest, and now with the rain possibly Sunday or even next Tuesday.  I want to believe my coach when he says I did a good job.  I really do but it is hard for me when I know what I’ve been doing on the field.  The two bad appearances can skew an entire months worth of work, as I know first hand.  As long as I am checking the boxes that they Red Sox want me to check I am in a good spot.  The tough part is not knowing what those boxes are and how close or far away I am from each box.

Whoa is right.  I hadn’t noticed that the weather was creeping in.  I never like rain outs because what else is there to do?  I am here to play ball and put my work in each day not have it postponed to different days.  Especially now that I need to keep this scoreless streak alive I want to get on the mound as soon as possible. The game was cancelled and now we had to look forward to a double header on Saturday.

The opponent for the weekend was the Winston-Salem Dash.  They are an affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.  The White Sox are another team that I thought had some interest in me but when it came down to it they did not pull the trigger.  After watching their relievers this weekend I am still perplexed that they could not find a spot for me.  Anyways, we went 3-1 on the weekend and the 1 game we lost was started by a MLB rehab player.  The bullpen did not even have to throw on Sunday because we had our normal starter throw the last five innings of the game in a loss.  The bullpen was certainly checked out at that point when our regular starter was moving the game along into the later innings of the game.  The offense made it interesting again and it gives me confidence in the team knowing that we as pitchers do not have to be perfect to win games.

My current status on the team is a bit of a limbo situation.  The way this works is that we have 27 guys here in Salem and there are 25 roster spots.  When one of our pitchers went down to the disabled list for an injury we called up a pitcher from Low A.  When our original Salem pitcher came off the disabled list, the decision was made to place me on the disabled list to free up the roster spot.  This can happen for a variety of reasons and right now it is probably because of my latest pitching performances.  My numbers could easily be flipped but that is not how baseball works.  You can’t go back and change pitches that bit you in the butt. But I digress.

Anyways, this means that I have zero chance of being in a game until further notice.  I am still here in Salem, I still do everything the pitchers do, except I am not listed as an available player for games.  Until someone else is removed from the current roster I am on the outside looking in on the games.  Obviously this is not where you want to be but it is also out of my control who they put on the DL, and if I would have handled my business I would not be the guy who they put on the outside.  My schedule until further notice is refining my game in the bullpen and throwing everything as hard as I can.  Working at game speed and refining my command in the bullpen is going to be crucial for me to get back on the field.  This is a stress free environment to improve myself rather than repeating the same mistakes during games that have put me in this position.

The next step of the season is a six game road stretch to the second new team in the league and then migrate up to Potomac to face the Nationals.  The newest team is the Houston Astros, located down in North Carolina, then going to the Nationals in Woodbridge, VA for a second appearance against Potomac.  I will be hanging out on the perimeter waiting for a second opportunity to get in the game, and also refining my craft in the bullpen.  I am not sure the minimum or maximum time I can be on the phantom disabled list, but it is is certaintly better than making the commute home being released from the team.  I still have a chance going forward, I almost said to salvage my season, but realistically 13 innings on the mound is nowhere close to a season.  The season is still super young, and yes it would be nice to have a 0.00 ERA but I can only build on my two inning scoreless streak at this point.  Turn the two innings into four, the four into six, the six into eight and so on.

It is a new perspective for me sitting in the bullpen knowing there is no chance to participate.  It gives me a mental workout in the bullpen treating the games like my games in the bullpen, and picturing the imaginary hitters during practice.  I’m looking forward to hitting the road, and seeing two new towns that I have never seen before.

That is where I am at right now and until further notice just controlling my controllables and pondering the famous mantra of: If you don’t like it, play better.

April Runs Bring May…

Somethings. I wasn’t sure what rhymes with runs that fit into the sentence. April has come and gone which means I can put my woes behind me and start fresh in May. 

My last post had quite the negative tone in it. As my mother pointed out I may not be as well equipped to deal with my negative woes yet and find that balance you need as as the season develops. It is a long year and I’m on the plan that the coaches will say well outside that first outing he made good strides. 

I had four innings this week on the mound and overall it went pretty good. I’m getting more consistent in my delivery and my pitches are going where I want. The break of my slider is improving and my fastball is getting to a velocity I am happy with. When I had my player plan before spring training started one of the goals that we discussed was developing a reliable offspeed pitch outside a curveball. After playing around with grips, releases, and pressure on the ball I’ve found something that is working for me. One comment our coaching staff makes is that we aren’t trying to develop pitches that will get the hitter out, we are developing pitches that are going to get big league hitters out. The hitters here will let you know right away if your pitch is good or bad. 

Another side note this week was listening to sports radio and heard an interview with Rick Ankiel. For those that do not know the story of Ankiel, he was a young major league pitcher that lost his ability to pitch because of a mental block known as the yips. He lost the feel for the baseball and tried everything to get it back. Then after stepping away from the game he returned to the major leagues as an outfielder. Quite the story. He is one of two players that has 10 wins on the mound and 50 home runs. The point of my story is that he said when he was given advice on how to pitch all he got was “relax and throw it”. Well thanks. I was unsure of what the pitcher was trying to accomplish. I’ve been trying different things on the mound and finding what works with these hitters after a month is going to set me up for success going forward. 

This home stand some of the head honchos were in town scouting things out. I always want to pitch well but then to do it when the coordinators are in town is always a plus to show them in person what you have been working on. My conversation with the pitching coordinator was brief and it went something like this. 

Hey Oz where were you last year at this time? 

I was in extended. 

Well then this is a nice upgrade. 

Yeah I agree. 

Why do you think you’re here?

Well I’ve been working hard etc etc etc 

You’re here because you throw hard

That was the extent of our conversation before he saw me pitch that night. When you show that you can throw hard you are expected to do that every time. It makes sense. 

I wasn’t sure who was here for my first outing of the week but it was in a role where I know I am the last guy to pitch that day. The team isn’t going to want to use someone when they can save them for the next day. I came in when we were down 4-5 something like that in the 8th inning. I already knew that I’d be going two innings based on the situation and that when I try to aim the ball it doesn’t work. Today was the first day I’d try actively throw it hard style and see what happened. Before I knew it the two innings were done and I had started a scoreless streak again. I needed a pleasant outing after my first few and the adjustments I made worked out. One of the coordinators told me good job which is always nice. 

The next time I pitched was Saturday and it was against a team that I had potential to sign with this off season. The Potomac Nationals rolled into town. When the dust settled on my outing they had one run off me but the good news is that we play them as well as every other team in the league like 50 more times. You would think that with 10 teams the scheduling would be more balanced but up to this point it feels like I’m back in the USPBL. 

Before each pitchers stretch we do our dry work to get a mental sweat going on the mound. After that we talk about whatever Abbott has on his mind that day and we go from there. With the coordinators in town they add their two cents in and then we go from there. One of the topics this week was being checked in when you come to the field. It can be easy on days when you’re 99% sure you aren’t pitching to go through the motions, but like Abby says all we are really asking for is 30 mins or so of hard work. Playing catch the right way and doing the drills doesn’t take that long. Then when you get in the game the outing for relievers is only a few innings. When the game is going we as relievers usually don’t lock it in until we see the starter starting to struggle or it is getting close to the time where a change would be made. Ideally we don’t move around too much until the fifth. 

Our next series is against Wilmington who if you look at the schedule it seems we play the most frequently of any other team. By the end of the summer our teams should have a good understanding of each other. The team as a whole has been playing well in April and I think we ended the month in first place but I’m not actually sure of our overall standings. Right now my focus has been to handle my business and that will give the team the best opportunity to win games. I like to think the pitching coach here identifies with me somewhat from what I’ve heard of his career path. The other guys said that him and I are similar pitchers and that makes me feel good about where my development is heading. The coordinators before I left told me good work and that I have made good strides. 

I am glad that Aprils learning experience is over. Now I can go forward with the rest of the season and continue making strides toward the ultimate goal of helping the big league club win ball games. Right now we are on the way to Wilmington, Delaware which is one of our in division rivals. Also, it is not in Wilmington, North Carolina near the other teams in the league. 

Three games in Delaware, then four back home, then another Monday offday before a six day road trip. May is coming in hot. 

Light at the end of the tunnel