It’s not a comeback, I never left – Week ??

I think my spirit animal is a cockroach. A cat. An opossum. I am not sure which one fits the bill entirely and perhaps I am a mash up of both.

As my posts indicated I had a rough time in Reno. I thought I was ready to take on the challenge and the challenge reminded me I was not ready. I had some good moments sure but overall it was not productive.

Tacoma

Fourth of July weekend in Tacoma was fun and the team played well, unfortunately for me I did not play well. What I did do during the series is turn 30 which solidified me as an Abuelo on the team. I’m AAA being 30 is not as uncommon but I like the Abuelo nickname for my grey beard.

I thought about writing and reflecting on everything in Tacoma but it doesn’t matter at this point. If anything I’d like to move on from it and turn the page to better things. I always have this inkling of when a team will say hey thanks but no thanks let’s move on. To me that is better than keeping you around with no chance of moving up. I said it in 2015 with the Braves and I still believe it now.

No caption needed

When the team returned to Reno I had the feeling my days were very limited. I hadn’t pitched well. I had a few opportunities to show them I still had some value but with the way the big club is playing they were making moves left and right. I am thankful for the opportunity with the Diamondbacks because I met great people I’ll be friends with going forward. If there is one thing I’ve seen in baseball is that I’ll run into the same guys multiple times either as a teammate or as an opponent going forward.

The weekend and days following the release from Reno were quick and blurry. My mom was in town for the homestand so that plan went out the window right away. I thought originally to give it a day or two to situate and then we would fly back, but then I saw a midnight flight to Chicago that got us home around 11 am the next day. I had never flown overnight like that, but Friday into Saturday was flying and a long nap.

When I woke up Saturday I had a few texts and calls from various places but the biggest one was from the Minnesota Twins. They wanted me to come in to fill a spot in AA. Same league as Springfield and Amarillo. Who knows how many teams I’ll play for in this league before it’s said and done. The Twins wanted me to fly into Wichita on Monday and be ready to rock on Tuesday.

I wanted to spend a few more days at home because something wasn’t right with my pitching and I couldn’t figure it out. I wanted to make sure if I did commit somewhere else that I would be in the right state of mind to get the job done. In my short time at home, shoutout K’s Academy, we had a nice game of catch and talked about the issues and what was going on. There were some mechanical flaws that I had going on and couldn’t feel right away, and more than anything it gave me confidence that when I do things correctly I am ready to rock and get back to what I was doing in Amarillo.

After the pit stop at home it was onto joining the team in Wichita. I got lucky because my friend Adam Lau is on this team and we played together in 2017. Always nice to see a friendly face on day one and have someone to show you the ropes of a new team.

My first with Wichita went well by all accounts. My first appearance was less than ideal but I was still ruminating and the second outing was much much better and more in line with what I want to be doing on the mound. I want to believe that the team has a plan for me and after talking with both pitching coaches I believe they have a good plan. It is always up to me as the player to get it done and make the pitches and put the plan into place, but them having my back helps.

At this point in the season and my career I know what I have to do, now it’s doing it. I’ve gotten more chances than most guys and their buddies get combined. Which tells me there is something there and it is time I start believing it. Heck I don’t even have to believe it just fake believe it when I’m out there and fake it till I make it.

Cool Uniform

I’m entering my sixth organization on the fly. If I play for a team in the AL West I will have hit all six MLB organizations. If I had pitched the first two days in Amarillo I could have been the first guy to pitch against and for the Wind Surge. The trivia questions are writing themselves. My claim to fame so far in Wichita is my grip strength. I have claimed the top spot on the leaderboard and now I am a part of Wind Surge lore forever.

The long and short of the last few weeks is that I have been given another chance. A fresh start. I told the coaches here they are catching me at my lowest point and they said it doesn’t matter because I am here now and that is what matters to them. I will let them see what they want to see and do my best to reward their investment.

The team and I will be in Arkansas for the next two weeks to play the Travelers and the Naturals. I have been to Little Rock but not Springdale so a new place to explore and experience.

Thank you again to everyone who has been keeping up with me and I apologize for the delay. I’m excited to report on the newest chapter with the Twins.