Spring Training 2019 – Finale

The second week of spring is upon us.  This week featured games for the first time in spring and a few more live batting practices for me.

The week started on Wednesday with a live batting practice.  I was the sole live thrower for the day, which was weird, but we made it work . I was scheduled to throw around 10:15 am and ended up throwing at 11:45 am due to scheduling conflicts.  The reason it was pushed back was the big league team was using the field I was scheduled to throw on and the minor league coaches didn’t know that.  We weren’t in a position to tell them to kick rocks, and that meant I was hanging out for a bit.  When the batting practice actually started I felt good.  I did my warm up bullpen on the game mound and then it was water break time.  After the water break I saw who I was facing and it was Harrison Bader for the big league team.  He was in the box ready to go which threw me off a bit, and in retrospect I should have taken a few more warmups before starting the live.  This live was special in more than one way.  The big leaguer was a nice touch and I got to throw my breaking pitches for the first time to a hitter.

I was worried the slider had left me, and that it would take a time or two to make it dance.  Fortunately for me it was still dancing.  The hard version of the slider was doing hard slider things, and the bigger slider was moving.  It even got an “ooooo” from the crowd the first time I threw it.  I was the last person on the fields doing anything, and the crowd that was watching the big league team stuck around to see if I looked the part. It sounds silly to be nervous or anxious before throwing a baseball in a controlled environment like a live batting practice.  There were flashes in my head during my downtime about what if I drilled this guy on accident and messed up the starting center fielder for the Cardinals?  What a bad look that would be for the team, a rehabbing minor leaguer taking out their starting center fielder.  Those subconscious thoughts crept in a bit at the beginning when my first few pitches were off the plate down and away.  I knew I was rushing the delivery, and it took me a pitch or two to recognize it.  Without the first five pitches or so I think the next fifteen went well.

I think the experience went well for both of us.  I was able to work on getting my arm where it needs to be and he gets to see live pitching in a controlled environment.  it is a win win win experience for both of us. Was it a coincidence he got a few hits in the next game? Probably, but the mystery remains.

I’ve had this blog post on draft for a week or so now because I had my first setback of rehab.  Luckily for me it was not my arm.  Instead, a smaller muscle in the groin that his given me trouble in the past. It was last Sunday and I was two days away from making my debut.  My live batting practice the day before went great, I felt locked in, commanded my pitches, and overall felt like I was ready for the next phase.  My body had other issues.  I’m not sure what happened besides when I turned and planted my leg, the groin stuck some and it felt a sharp pain.  I shut down for a few days from normal activity but overall it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. Since the setback, I’ve been playing catch normally without pain.  I’ve had issue in the groin in the past where I feel full strength and I am about to take the next phase, then bam groin acts up.  I do think it has to do with stress manifesting itself and identifying the groin as a weaker area.  There is a lift we do called a “Copenhagen Adductor”.  It is an adductor workout and this past week I have been doing them as part of the strengthening process.  If those feel good, I know there isn’t much else that is going to aggravate it. The next phase is getting on the mound again and getting my pitching legs under me again.

Copenhagen Adductor

The second to last week of spring has less meetings than the first two weeks.  The meetings about drugs, violence, security, etc are all done and over with.  The security meeting is always fun, they showed a video of a drone with a rocket launcher attached to it.  The rule for us is if you see a drone, don’t go near it.  Also, if a fan runs onto the field do not intervene, just keep your distance and keep your vision on them. The other change this year was more morning meetings instead of an afternoon/morning schedule.  Last year with the team we had a 9-11 am group and a 1-3 pm group.  The older guys practiced in the AM while we sat into meetings, and then we would swap.  This year we have a new field coordinator who has smoothed out the process and is wasting less time.  The phrase in spring training is “hurry up and wait”. We are told to hustle, move from place to place, but when we get there we stand around.  The first world problem of being in camp.

The third week of spring has been a long week of hanging around not doing a whole lot. I have chased down more foul balls than most this spring, but I am glad that I am still here to contribute.  The plan going forward is to keep building up my arm strength, and get innings in extended spring training.  I am no stranger to the extended spring life, and I know that people move up and out of spring very quickly.  There are always guys like me getting hurt in the first week or something going wrong that allows a guy like me to move up through the ranks. When I was rehabbing I knew that extended was my likely destination to being with as I am only going to be eleven months out of surgery a month into extended. The correct mindset in extended is to go into it with a growth mindset.  A man can get lost in extended spring but after my time on rehab island my mind is sharp.  I can be the shepherd of the newly minted extended crew.

This camp has been different than any camp I have been in before.  The usual schedule of releasing guys is about two weeks in.  Then at the end of camp another second cut is made.  The pattern changed this year.  The brass said that we brought in a smaller group of guys, 150, like I mentioned before.  It has been unusually quiet in the releasing players department which has cause a different kind of stress.  We all know it is part of the game and part of the process.  The fact that no releases happened in the first three weeks built up more pressure for guys than if they knew the regular schedule was being followed. It seems now that they started releasing guys on Monday that the gates are open.  There are a couple guys each day, a slow burn of releasing players. You know that things are going down when all the doors are locked to the complex except one.  That means everyone has to go into the same entrance and you can’t sneak into the locker room without walking past the offices.  I think that is a better setup than grabbing guys at their lockers in front of everyone mid change.  This way you can still be in your clothes, walk in, grab stuff, say see ya, and hit the road. When I was released at the end of extended with the Rockies I was packing my bag.  One of the other guys comes up and says hey good job finally getting out of here, where ya heading? Home, but that is how it goes sometimes.

The last and final week of spring has been a long one for me and the rest of the guys.  In my case, it is knowing that I am still in rehab when if I wasn’t sidelined with the groin I had a chance of opening with a club.  I threw three bullpens this week and they went well.  The first one was as tester that was a light bullpen. After that, we thought originally that I could throw in the game on Wednesday.  After the Monday bullpen I was told that I was going to be in extended anyways even if I pitched on Wednesday.  The rational I was given was that I am giving my arm time to build up. My Wednesday bullpen was my best yet as far as command went all spring.  It was good to know I still have it after a week off from the mound.  The Friday bullpen was interesting.  It started like Wednesday, where I was auto piloting through it and hitting the low and outside corner. The last ten or so, I thought about having runners on base.  I visualized them well enough because I could tell my heart rate went up and my mechanics changed.  It was a good lesson for me knowing that even after all this time, I still get a rush in game like situations.  The next step is controlling those emotions and channeling them into pitching. The rosters change on a daily basis, and can change at anytime.  Just the other day we picked up a guy and sent him to Springfield, which causes a Springfield guy to be bumped down to extended.

In general, all of this is fine with me.  How rehab has played out, how my body is feeling, what the next phase is, everything is going fine.  From the offset of surgery we targeted April 1 as a return to baseball, and if I was on a team April 1 I would be ready to go.   If I do my thing in extended, show that I am healthy, and generally do the right things, it will be a good thing in the long run.  April 8 I will certainly be at full strength with my leg, and my arm gained another month of rest. After April 8, the first game of extended, it is five or six games a week.  There will be plenty of opportunity for me so work on my craft. My classification right now is “rehab” but when I am in extended I will once again blur the line of the halfway house between groups.

Spring Training number five is in the books for me.  While it wasn’t exactly a true spring experience, I am glad that I was involved.  I have learned a lot this past year on Rehab Island.  This will be a good opportunity for me and I am looking forward to writing about it.

Spring Training 2019 – Week 1

The first week of camp is in the books.  The 2019 spring season has started for myself and the other 150 minor league players that descended on Jupiter.

This first week has been about reestablishing the basics and explaining the expectations of the coaching staff.  The first week has a lot of meetings and reviewing the basics.  The basics including bunt defense, cut off and relays, pitcher fielding practice, and other standard baseball activity.  It has been great being in a spring training for the second time.  I know where the facilities are, I know the coaching staff, I know other players to talk with while we wait for meetings, and overall it is much more fun than being a new guy each year.  I make sure to go and talk with the new players to make sure they know I am available if they need help with anything around the field.

What does this mean for Rehab Island? This is a first for me.  What does rehab do when everyone else practices? When does rehab lift? Where do we throw? All of these questions were answered this week.  I am still in rehab as far as I know.  My orthopedic checkup was done by Dr. Paletta during physicals and he says we are still on track for our April 1 “clearing” phase of the program. A question I had for him was do I see him before I am officially “cleared” or is it a transition from one day to the next.  Ultimately who makes the decision on my health.  To this point I have checked every rehab box along the way with no problems. What I want to know is that if I pitch in a minor league backfield game, does that conclude rehab?  The fact that the team is putting me on the field is them saying that I am healthy?  Do my rehab back field outings count as “rehab” appearances?  This is all during spring training, where there are no actual rosters, so I am not sure what my classification is.  The mindset in each situation should be the same, and the main thing is being a competitor on the mound.  In theory that sounds good, but in reality I think the mental side will be different depending on what classification that I am in. If the classification is that I am deemed 100% healthy I would like to know.  If these are considered rehab island appearances then I would like to know that. Until I get confirmation, I am in the grey area.

I am in a halfway rehab island.  I get to practice with the teams on the back fields, but I am also not cleared 100% for game activity yet.  I have been throwing live batting practice every other day and I have two more coming up this week. I am the furthest along in my rehab compared to the other guys who are starting their throwing programs, or are not far enough along to be out with the teams.

The calm before the storm

The live batting practices started with 10 fastballs.  I went from throwing every other day with no throwing between my working days. Dr. Paletta was good with the original schedule, but we changed it to give me an extra day off.  My new schedule is throwing live, off completely, throwing normally, and then live again.  My past two live batting practices have gone well.  I threw 20 fastballs the first time and 25 the second time.  It is good going into the bullpen that I know it will be a fastball, and the hitter knows it will be a fastball.  It has given me confidence that when they know it is coming they are still foul tipping the ball, still mishitting the ball, and my command is improving each time I throw.  The rest of the pitchers get two bullpens, a live practice, and then it is game time.  I have the advantage from my halfway house that I will throw 6-7 live batting practices before a game.  This upcoming week is fastball/slider combo.  I know the coaching staff will be looking forward to seeing the slider again, and I’m happy to show them.  I’ve thought about telling the hitters that it is once again all fastballs just to see the reaction of the first guy who swings and missed over a bender he isn’t expecting.

Camp has been going smooth so far as I transition away from my rehab brothers.  It feels good to be in uniform, be with the team, and be in front of the coaching staff.  As long as they know I am working hard and still in their minds, I think that I have a good shot going forward.  I’ve maintained a realistic outlook throughout this whole process, and now that process is transforming itself into a new process.  The process of competing in games and making sure I am showcasing myself. It has been said this is a smaller group than previous years even with 150 guys.

I am looking forward to updating the next few weeks as the next phase of rehabilitation begins.

STEP Life

This week was the first week of STEP.  STEP is Spring Training Early Program.  I have mentioned in the past how I am not part of STEP, and Rehab Island is their own unit.  I also mentioned how I would get to use the STEP catchers for my bullpens, and Monday was my first day doing that.

The first day of camp went well, and I was surprised when I walked in to see my jersey hanging in my locker.  The campers wear jerseys, and I was not going to be the only guy walking around with shorts on.  It was different than rehab in many ways, and basically spring training lite.

First things first, and Monday started with a media meeting with Dan McLaughlin.  Dan is the voice of the Cardinals for Fox Sports Midwest.  HE was tasked with telling us how to act when approached by the media and common traps that the media might try to pull on a player.  He mentioned how even after you have a bad outing, his example of giving up three home runs, you know that the questions like “How do you feel?” are coming.  He recognizes that is a lame question, and the best way to respond is to say something along the lines of “I didn’t have my best stuff, and I am looking forward to my next appearance”. A sufficient and good answer to move onto a better question.  There were other rules he told us such as: never bury your teammates in the media, act like your parents are asking the questions, clean yourself up before the interview, and say hello to the beat writers everyday and they will in turn create a positive narrative in the papers for you.

After the meeting it was time to head out and warm up.  In rehab we go out, throw, condition, then come back in.  I thought it would be similar but I was wrong.  It was the full stretch and warmup.  The full set of PFPs and bunt defense for the whole group.  After that, it was time to throw.  The moment I’d been waiting for.  It was good to throw in front of the pitching coordinators, my manager from last year, and not feel left out of the group.  Up until this point I have only been with rehab, and now it was six guys throwing bullpens at the same time just like spring.  I was nervous, because I know that I can’t go 100% like everyone else, but I wanted to hang and show the coaches that I am improved from last year mechanically.  I think I did that today.  My effort level was similar to the last bullpen I had in the upper 80s, and I was able to control my heart rate.  It sounds silly that my heart beat would be going wild during a regular bullpen but for being out of the game for a year and only have a small impression in the coaches minds I wanted to come out hot. The flip side of that is my protocol says not to come out too hot yet, but I knew later in the week I’d be coming in real hot.

My week was split between camper life on MWF, and rehab life on TTH.  The rehab days were what I have been doing for the past few months, and that was nice to stick with my schedule.  It gives me an opportunity to reflect on how the bullpen and catch went the day before.  My Wednesday and Friday this week were exciting.  When I walked in on Wednesday morning I was told that I had 10 pitches for a live batting practice.  I was originally scheduled for a 35 pitch bullpen, including sliders for the first time on the mound since April. The 35 pitch bullpen transformed into a 20 pitch bullpen, then a 10 pitch live batting practice.  This was the same schedule I used for Friday this week.

As I mentioned a few days ago, the Cardinals are going big in to Rapsodo.  Anytime someone is throwing against hitters, they are using the Rapsodo to evaluate metrics.  I felt like on a few pitches they didn’t even watch the pitch, but only looked at the feedback from the tablet.  It ties into the meeting that we had on Friday morning with the Cardinals front office.  They gave a presentation about how they are using the technology to help us, and how the technology will be used to evaluate players.  For pitchers, the metrics they were focusing on are GB%, K%, and BB%.  How many ground balls do you get, how many guys do you strike out, and how many walks do you give to hitters.  There are other evaluations they are looking at but they felt these three were important to stress.  The hitters main metric and most readily available is OPS.  OPS, On-base plus slugging, is how many times you get on base, and do you hit the ball hard.  The explanation against batting average that we were given was batting average treats a single and a home run the same.  On base treats a home run and a walk the same, and the best of both worlds is your OPS.

Sample Pitching Chart

The next part of the presentation was explaining how the trackman data reports look.  This includes your tendencies as a pitcher, the results of the pitches you are throwing, heat maps to look at, and generally any statistic you could want about your performance will be listed. The main message was that they know there is more to the game than your ERA and your batting average.

Trackman Graph Sample

With all that being said, I have thrown a total of 20 pitches with a hitter in the box.  I hope that the 20 look good on the Rapsodo, even though March 15 will be my 10 month check up with a doctor.  I don’t know if 10 months is enough time to declare a full recovery, and be “activated”, but I know that this month is big.  I am scheduled for five more live pitching sessions, eventually using fastball and slider.  From there I am tentatively scheduled for throwing in spring training games.  I don’t know if you have to be cleared 100% for these or what the rules are, but I plan on being on the same page as my trainers going forward. My arm is feeling healthy after being tested with a hitter in the box.  it isn’t 100% speed yet, but I am getting close to where I want to be.  The main thing is communicating with the staff about how I am feeling so they know how hard to push me on the mound.

Spring training starts Tuesday, and I am ready for my fifth.  Five springs so far, who would have thought?