Spring Training 2018 – Week 3

The third week of spring has come and gone. It was a mainly positive week for me that outside of two pitches I had three good innings on the mound.

During spring each organization rotates playing through the closest organizations. Last year the Red Sox played the Rays, Orioles, and Twins on a rotation throughout the week. This year with the Cards our rotation is Miami, New York Mets, Houston, and Washington.

Up to this point I have thrown against every team except New York but that could change this week as they are scheduled for Wednesday and Friday. My throwing schedule over the past week was a two inning appearance and a one inning appearance. My three innings went pretty good as I only gave up two hits. The problem with my two hits were they were both home runs. Both in 2-0 counts, and right when I threw the pitch I had a feeling it was going to leave the park.

The feedback I have been receiving throughout camp is that I need to retrain my brain to become a slider pitcher. No longer am I a guy who pitches off a fastball. I use my slider to set up my fastball. I use my slider all the time in any count any time to any hitter. That is what the coaching staff here has been trying to get me to do. After my first 2-0 homer the coaches said hey maybe next time depending on the situation throw a slider. Then the same situation came up yesterday in our intersquad game. I thought to myself here is a good situation to throw the slider that they mentioned last time. Then my catcher called a fastball and I for some reason said ya you know what let’s throw a fastball and see if I can make a better pitch than last time. I did not. It was a worse pitch. It looked like I put it on a tee for him to hit and he said well thank you for that let me repay you with not missing this gift.

That means the tally so far for hits I’ve given up is fastball 3 and slider 0. These coaches might know something about what I have to do to succeed.

The last week of camp is always a stressful time for campers. It is the last chance for coaches to make decisions about who stays and who goes. Last year the rosters for teams were not set until the last day of camp. This morning there is a list posted with a more refined working group than before. However, it still is not the final list. There are more than 25 guys on each working group which means that moves need to be made both roster wise and numbers wise. There is saltiness from guys who think they are placed too low on the rosters. Wouldn’t everyone think they are placed too low unless they are in the big leagues?

The tricky part with the working groups is that on Tuesday an equipment truck heading north is taking gear to the affiliates. How can they expect guys to put their gear on a truck north when the rosters are not set in stone? Also, the full team players last day is Wednesday. I would predict by tomorrow or at the latest Wednesday the rosters for the earlier teams will be finalized. If I am on a full season club heading north I’ll know soon, and if I am not on a club or the A+ team I will be staying here.

The good news is that I’ve done what I’ve done so far and I can only do my best pitching this last week. I feel way better about my spring than I did last year, and now it’s just about separating myself somehow to become a member of a full time club.

In the final week tensions are always running at a higher clip. The coaches recognize this and I think they take it easier on the guys knowing the level of stress they are feeling. The common thought about spring training is that the rosters are already set from the beginning. Then the coaches make a few adjustments based on what they are seeing. The few surprises and the few regressions they see from different guys. Which brings it full circle because if it is already predetermined then why would anyone stress about it? If all else goes wrong around here I’ll have a few new shirts to add to my collection of major league teams.

I’m looking forward to ironing out the details this next week and seeing what the Cardinals have in store for me.

Spring Training 2018 – Week 2

The second week of spring is in the books.  This week we started exhibition games as well as games against other opponents.  I was fortunate enough to pitch in two games this weekend and hope to carry that into the rest of spring.

After the paperwork, the meetings, and all day practices have begun to wind down it is now time for the game portion of spring training.  It is a stressful time for most players as this is the time to sink or swim.  There are exceptions the rules, and there are guys ho are already locked into certain roster spots based on their previous performances or their relation with the big league club.  These players do not have anything to prove when games start and are here to get their work in before the season starts.

I have never been a player that has the luxury to coast through a spring.  It would be nice one day to have a multiple year deal with a major league team and could consciously work on my game without the fear of the axe.  The cuts in spring training have already started after our first exhibition game.  I always wondered about why they would invite someone to spring training and make them sit through all the meetings and only toss them out into one exhibition game.  If clubs didn’t think a guy was qualified to be there wouldn’t they tell them sooner than later and let them try to get picked up with another team?

As for my throwing and pitching schedule this past week I threw in our first game against an opponent that was not the Cardinals.  I was on the bus to the new Astros and Nationals complex about 20 mins down the road.  It was a nice complex from what I could tell, and the Astros have money to spend coming off of their World Series.  There is not one back field at the Cardinals complex that has a Trackman set up to scout.  All four of the Astros back fields came equipped with a Trackman for the Astros to scout opposing teams and collect data on their own players.

Not sure what to do with my hands

After watching the first eight innings come and go, it was my time to pitch.  I was nervous and I could feel myself speeding up when I got out to the mound.  The game was speeding up on me, and the first three pitches I fired were all out of the strike zone.  The hitter bailed me out with a 3-0 swing and hit a single.  I like this more than a potential walk.

The nerves started to wear off after the first guy and I got the next three hitters to end my inning with no damage done.  It felt good to get the first inning under my belt with the new club and take the good vibes I felt from my live batting practice into the first appearance.

I was granted one day off then was surprised when I saw my name pop up again on Sunday for an inning against our friends across the complex, Miami.  The Marlins and the Cardinals share the complex together and share the big league field.  I like the idea of sharing with another club because it is a short walk over and you don’t have to travel on the bus.  The Marlins also share the field with the Cardinals during the minor league season, and swap off who is on the road and who is home.  It has to be difficult to keep that field nice after 140 games on it each year when most fields only get 70.

With that being said I got to see an old bud of mine with the Marlins.  I had not seen him since we went to high school together and it was fun to say hello before we went to our respective areas for the day.  When the Marlins come over to play we had four games going at a one time which was new to me.  It is usually two on the road and two at home. With all that being said I followed up a few veteran guys and was tasked with the eighth inning of the ballgame.

Anytime the first guy swings at the first pitch and makes an out I count that as a win for the day.  It sets the tone and gets me hyped up because I say thank you sir I only have two more to go and you have given me the confidence to get the job done.  The Marlins were hacking that day, and I only threw seven pitches in the inning to get the job done.  The other pitchers who threw in the game and I went back to see what the Marlins did against us and we found out that the first hitter of the game had a single.  That Marlin was the only one to get a hit the entire game over nine innings. It felt good to keep the good vibes rolling and handing the ball off to the next guy.

My first two appearances are in the books and I am hoping to take that momentum into the next two weeks of spring.  After the Sunday game the entire organization had an off day on Monday which was nice for recovery sake.  I did not pitch today in the games on Tuesday, but should be ready to go for tomorrow if called upon.  My day consisted of throwing a bullpen under the watchful eye of a few coaches and telling them that I am ready to go tomorrow.  The most exciting part of the day was when I was walking around the fields and someone approached me with their binder of baseball cards. This man had a card of myself that I had never seen before.

Fancy indeed. I knew there was a card made from when I played in the league but I didn’t know how to get one.  This guy had a handful and wanted to let me keep one.

The exciting part of today was getting to see Adam Wainwright throw six innings in the AAA game.  It was great watching him warmup and seeing how he handled himself before going into the game.  It was quite the parallel between two minor leaguers that were warming up beside him.

I am looking forward to this next week of action where I will hopefully throw 2-3 times and keep improving upon what I have been doing so far.

Spring Training 2018 – Week 1

The first week of spring is in the books for the Cardinals minor league  teams.  It has been an eventful week for everyone, including myself even though it is my fourth time this block.

This is a new block for me which adds a new layer to my fourth spring.  The Cardinals have been unique so far in how they are handling the days.  It is a new spin on the way spring is handled but it is fun so far and I like the way they do it around here.  In springs of the past the way it works is you are assigned to a field and spend all day on that field working and going through the workout in the morning.  Then you go eat lunch get ready and usually have a meeting or two before heading out for the day.  The Cardinals do it where there is a morning group and an afternoon group on the fields.  While the morning group is out frolicking around the afternoon group is in meetings from 9-11.  When the morning group comes in the to eat, then afternoon group has already eaten and they head out from about 12:30-3 each day on the field.  I like it because it gives more coaching time to the group rather than only being in front of one coach I get it work in front of 3-4 coaches.

The schedule for the first week was the same as everywhere else. Physicals on the first day, then nothing. Come back the next day and half the pitchers throw a bullpen. The other half throw the next day. This alternates and culminates in live batting practice over two days. My bullpens had been going well, and today was my live batting practice day. I wasn’t as intimidated as I had been in the past during live batting practices. This is the second time that hitters had been in the box and they are the ones wh should be nervous. With pitchers not seeing a hitter who knows where the ball will be going.

When I came into camp I met with the director of analytics. His job is to look at the data that each pitcher produces and then tell them what was working and what wasn’t. In the age of technology this is the way that baseball is going. Each stadium is equipped to read statistical data and provide all 30 clubs with the info. If you ever go to a minor league stadium and look behind home plate there will be a black rectangle behind home plate. This is called a Trackman. It is the key to all the statistical data that records every pitch and every result. There is no hiding from our new Trackman overlords.

This statistical data is what gave me the opportunity for the Cardinals. When I left the Florida camp, the scout kept calling his bosses and the first thing they did was go look and see what my sabermetric data was saying. Potentially showing them that yes there is something inthis data that if we exploit it and hone that skill then I can be a successful pitcher. What they landed on was looking solely at my slider. If my fastball was the inconsistentcy last year, my slider was my consistent pitch. This lead them to talking to me on day one in camp saying to me, when in doubt throw your slider. Throw it morning, afternoon, and night. Throw it in your sleep if you have to.

#27

I took this information, I haven’t seen the raw data, but I took this information and said to myself ok this is what they want I will give it to them. This is my fourth spring with my fourth team what do I have to lose? If the slider is as good as they think it is then I’ll throw it until they ask me to make an adjustment.

Them telling me about my slider and what they expect from me culminated in this live batting practice today. Up to this point in camp whenever I introduced myself to someone they mentioned how I am the slider guy. They heard that my slider is a good pitch. Instead of saying eh or we will see I respond with saying yes I am the slider guy, its a great pitch for me. I become one with the slider.

In my live batting practice today I wanted to show them what they expected. The slider. The only problem I saw was my catcher didn’t speak english. I only shook off a few times when he wanted to double up on fastballs, which is typical of most pitchers, and I was going to tell him I wanted a lot of sliders. He got the message when I was shaking off his fastballs and moving towards more sliders. The two outs I got in the infield were two groundballs. One to short stop and one to third base both of them were on fastballs. Besides that there wasn’t a bunch of contact and the slider was doing weird things that made the hitters look like they had a hole in their bat. With that being said, it was the young group of hitters as I am with the young bucks. Showing them the way and what it looks like to be an older guy. Talking with them about baseball and their careers lending any helpful words I can because they are nervous for their first spring training. The field coordinator mentioned how most minor leaguers play 3 years. I am past the average and feeling better than I have in previous springs.

Snagged a big league ball – the Cards do not endorse this peanut butter

I was talking with the director of player development and he told me that when you get to AA and even sometimes A+ it is time to perform. You’ve been around long enough to say you know a thing or two but now it is time to show everyone what you have against good competition. This spring for me it is time to perform. They aren’t look at a project, a conversion, or a young player. It is time for me to step into the pticher’s life, perform to my ability, and show the Cardinals they made a good choice signing me.

This weekend the games against other teams start. This schedule will continue until the end of spring. I’d estimate I have about 4-5 outings to show them I am worthy of a spot. I counted 94 pitchers in minor league camp, not including the minor leaguers in big league camp. 94 pitchers and I know there are not 94 spots on rosters come April.

Cool hat patch

I have been working on controlling what I can control. In spring, that isn’t a whole lot. You are told where to go, where to be,how long to be there, who to be with, and a plethora of other rules. That takes a lot of thinking and control away from me, and lets me focus solely on throwing baseballs. I am looking forward to this upcoming week facing other teams hitters and building on what I did today against my fellow Cardinals.

Spring Training 2018

I can’t call it a comeback, because I never left. Am I the mighty Phoenix rising from the ashes or am I Sisyphus pushing my boulder up the hill? I could also be just Mitchell.

This blog in no way shape or form expresses the ideas of the Cardinals. These are my views, the Cardinals are great.

Now that the disclaimer is over – The off season is over and with the first days of spring right around the corner I worked myself back into employment. This year I will be with the Cardinals in spring training, and if all goes to plan then I will be a member of their organization for years to come. This off season was similar o the others, where I was unemployed for most of the year, and then at the midnight hour I swoop in for an opportunity in February. What was different about this year is that I am not alone in my quest for employment. This has been one of, if not, the slowest moving free agency market for MLB players as well as MiLB players. That is an entire other story for another time.

This off season I spent my time training, working on myself, and figuring out how I can be my best self going forward. In the past I have had doubts about my ability, and this year I will allow myself the ability to succeed. The story of how I got signed was almost exactly the same as last year. I asked if I could come pitch in a tryout camp, knowing that a few teams, including the Sox, would be at. I thought this would be my best chance for a team to see my improvement, as well as be in Florida getting sun. It was great to be outside in February practicing baseball as well as seeing guys from last year that have not given up pursuing their goal of playing baseball. This time I arrived for the second half of camp when last year I was there for the beginning. Funny how that worked out and now over two years I have made it through a whole camp. I threw twice, just like last year, and then made my mark on the coaches there.

The Cardinals guy that I spoke with had good things to say, and he saw that I was improving, not just physically. To him the biggest change was the way I was walking around, showing confidence, having my shoulders pulled back and believing that I belonged in spring training somewhere. He liked me last year, but the Sox snapped me up first. I wonder what could have been. That doesn’t matter as much as the fact that he likes me now and he believes the Cardinals will benefit from what I went through last year. There was good and there was bad, they were able to look past that for now and say hey this guy might be turning a corner and we would like to be on the positive end of his career.

After the camp I had a week at IMG that was from two years ago when I signed with Colorado. It is always fun to head back to Bradenton after being there eight years ago. Eight years! It can be overwhelming to think about all the places and people I’ve met throughout the years but when I sit down and see the path, it is only going to help me in the future. It was also fun to see the next generation of IMG player that is there. When I was there it was 3 teams. Post Grad, High School, Junior Varsity. We went across the street to practice sometimes and now they have about eight baseball fields. There are also about 5-6 full teams of 25+ guys. The growth has been good for IMG, and it is fun to see how it changes every year.

When I left for Florida I packed with the intention of not returning home until September. That is always the goal to have a full season and stick with a team from March to September.  I am going to go into this spring confident with a pep in my step that shows I am ready to compete.  I have been given another opportunity to showcase myself and help and organization.

I haven’t updated in a long while and it has been tough deciding if I am going to continue writing or if last year was in fact my last year.  I am looking forward to providing more content and updates throughout the next month and, fingers crossed, through September.  Another set of cities, another set of teammates, another set of bus rides, all of that will be coming to a blog near you. As I get more information and can snoop around the complex I will be reporting back what is going on down here in Florida.

Thank you everyone who has been keeping up with me and sending me good energy. It will be a fun month.