Tulsa and Springfield – Week Fourteen and Fifteen

The final two week road trip of the season has come and gone. On the road to two familiar places for me including my old stomping grounds of Springfield.

The first stop was Tulsa to continue the Propeller Series. The series was 9-9 at the start of the week and ended 12-12. A classic and timeless battle of two evenly matched teams. I only made one brief appearance against the Drillers and unfortunately for me it didn’t go as well as I had been hoping.

I came into the game with the bases loaded and nobody out and got singled out of the game after recording two outs. It certainly isn’t ideal to come in and not even make it out of an inning, and they have shown trust in me to come into a game with base runners and work out of it.

I’m not sure if I have been throwing meat balls or what lately but I have been giving up a lot of hits. Too many for liking. The good news I was in the strike zone this outing but also when I had a chance to put guys away they were hitting two strike pitches.

The Drillers have been my nemesis this year and my struggles at their field continued. What was fun about this trip was for the weekend Tulsa was the Tulsa Noodlers. Noodling is when you stick your arm into a hole in the water and the catfish bits your arm and you pull them out. The cool thing was they wore these sweet Noodler jerseys and almost won all their games as the Noodlers until we rallied on Sunday.

The Noodlers were also dealing with a bit of Covid that sidelined some of their players and coaches. They just so happened to be in Springfield the weekend before and that meant Springfield was dealing with their own bit of Covid. When the Wind Surge rolled into town we were playing against a Skelton crew of Cardinals.

It was great seeing some of my teammates from 2019 and being back at Hammons field. The only part of the trip that I wish went differently was my performance on the mound. I was nervous and stressed going into the series because I knew that I was going to throw on Tuesday and get right in there.

You may say it is silly to be anxious about pitching against the old club and that it is still the same game. You are correct. My mind does not work that way when I am playing. I was ready to pitch and it is funny because I didn’t even pitch against the guys I would consider my friends from the Cardinals. As I said, they were dealing with Covid and had a few guys out, which meant they called up guys from different levels to fill the roster.

The view from the other side

It was weird being on the other foul line and other bullpen, and patrolling areas of Hammons field I was not used to patrolling. The view was different but the goal of pitching well remained the same. My second appearance was a grind it out appearance because I came in the game in the second inning. I was ready, but wish I was more effective and efficient out there compared to what I did.

One thing I have been joking and saying a lot this year is “X amount of games left, can’t hold back now”. I still say that. After this road series, we have four series left and potentially the playoffs. The more I say it, the more it sets in that the season is almost over and that’s always a bummer. I haven’t had the best results or best year so far, and knowing I have 8-10 more regular series appearances adds to the urgency of pitching well for 2022.

That is called anxiety when worrying about the future or trying to project into the future. I am doing my best to remain present for the next 24 games, help the Wind Surge in any shape or form that I can, and leave a good last impression when October rolls around.

My fastball they have been teaching me is making progress, and as that progress and I am in the strike zone more I will have success. There are so many variables in baseball out of my control and especially when the ball leaves my hand, so I will do my best to execute each pitch. I remind myself to enjoy it too while I am out there I have been on the outside looking in, and while I am physically capable I want to keep playing as much as a team wants me. The Diamondbacks opened the door back up this year and now the Twins are expecting me to continue to improve.

What I am trying to say is I have four weeks left to show myself I am capable and then we ride from there. As of right now I am walking way too many people. The most I’ve walked in a long time which is never fun. The second I think I have something figured out with mechanics or mindset I get brought back to normal. As a 30 year old AA player, it is the most frustrating thing this year. I have had my control issues before but this year has been very bad for the first sixteen weeks. These final four weeks is about showing that I can be competitive in the zone and be efficient. There isn’t much we can improve on going forward until the pitches are landing in the strike zone.

Whether it be winterball to get looks, a good movement plot chart to get looks, or just finishing healthy and being a body for somebody next year I will do my part to stay present and have fun.

As always, thank you everyone who is following along and I look forward to covering the finale of the Propeller series, and a Wind Surge playoff push.

Wichita – Week Fourteen

The Wind Surge return home after a long two weeks in the furnace of Arkansas. A one week reprieve in Wichita before heading on the road for two more weeks.

This week we were home against a Midland team that I was familiar with from the southern division of the AA-Central. I made my 2021 season debut against the Rockhounds and was looking forward to pitching against them.

I got in there immediately on Tuesday with runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. After back to back singles, I went strikeout and then double play. Ideally I’d come into the game and leave all runners stranded, but as we know, the hitters get paid to play as well. I went back out in the 6-5 game and my catcher Roy, a former foe in indy ball last year, threw out a potential runner to end the inning.

As you can see, I was excited. In the moment I forget I do some of this stuff and it’s nice to see the camera is always watching. The mannerisms and the in between pitch stuff is always interesting to me and how conscious guys are of what they are doing.

The next time I pitched it didn’t go as well for the team, but I felt fine. It was another situation with runners on base that this time they scored and then I went back out for my first extra innings appearance. I was nervous with the guy on second to start the inning but after a strikeout I was ready to rock. It didn’t work out in the end, and we lost 13-12 but hey it happens.

I was having a conversation with a fellow bullpen mate about how it is wild how much can change in our pitching from each day. Tuesday I felt like I could pitch in the MLB and then Thursday it wasn’t coming out quite as well. Then my mind wonders okay have I been sleeping enough, am I taking care of my nutrition between outings, am I working out to promote recovery? All this goes through my mind because at this juncture in the career I don’t have a lot of leeway. I know my role but also I know that I’m knocking on the door if I keep pitching well.

Walk Off City

The week ended up 5-1 for the Wind Surge with the one loss being my game in extras. We also won two games on walk offs of our own, including a runner tagging from second with the bases loaded to score on a deep sac fly. That was exciting stuff. I don’t remember the last time I was jumping for joy in a bullpen.

That’s part of what has been different for me this year. Instead of too cool for school guy, I’m in the moment soak it like a sponge guy. This is my major leagues. It feels like Minnesota or any other big league team is miles away from my current location, but I treat everyone game here like I would treat a major league game because what other option is there? The moment you think you’re too good for a level or team is when things start spiraling. With 36 games left to go there is a sense of yes the finish line is coming, but also hey I should sprint through that line, not jog through it.

I am thankful to the Sod Poodles for sending along my baseball cards. Even though I was only there a month I enjoyed my stay and they didn’t have to get me a card. I’m hoping that Wichita does an end of the year order and I snag two different cards in one year that would be sweet.

The next road trip is onto my old stomping grounds of Tulsa and then Springfield. We are currently in first place in our side of the division and with 36 games left every game counts. If we make the playoffs it is a 5 game series and then I could get two rings in one season if Reno hangs onto their lead. The consensus is we are here we might as well win it.

The Tulsa / Wichita series is being called the propeller series I found out. There is a trophy and everything for the eventual winner of the 30 game series between ball clubs. 30 out of the 120 games this year against the same team. I wonder if the Covid scheduling of 6 games a week and only playing your half of the division will continue into 2022. We will know the conclusion of this series in a few weeks as we play Tulsa when we get back from Springfield.

Also, quick shout out to my guy Chris Nunn. We played together in 2011 for the Terre Haute Rex. Baseball is a small world. He passed through Wichita and is on his way to St. Paul.

The goal remains the same going forward. It is printed on the t shirts here. Throw nasty stuff in the zone. If I do that then good things will happen. With 36 and a few more potentially to go I am excited for the home stretch. This will be the latest I’ve played baseball as the season normally ends on Labor Day weekend. I appreciate everyone continuing to follow along and I look forward to posting about the road trip.