SB Nation User Blog: Flashfire

Pics from the Texas League All-Star Game

Flashfire — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 05:38:51 -0000

From Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, TX. The North Division won, 2-1. Corey Smith of Northwest Arkansas was the only player with 2 hits as pitching dominated. He also scored a run and drove in another late in the game. Midland's Josh Horton doubled in the only run for the South Division. Springfield's Trey Hearne started and pitched 2 innings to get credit for the win while Midland's Jason Fernandez, who also went 2 innings, gave up an early run that saddled him with the loss.

Ever since I saw pictures of this ballpark a couple years ago I'd hoped to get a chance to see a game there in person. When I found out earlier this year that the Texas League All-Star Game would be played there I made it a goal to cover it. Fortunately that worked out, I took my trip to the Dallas area last week, caught a Rangers game on Monday (and marked one more MLB park off my list of places to visit), then worked this one on Wednesday.

When a league has an All-Star Game where just its own divisions face each other it means a lot more players from those teams are involved than you get with the California/Carolina League game or the Pacific Coast League/International League game, which has a max of three players per team this year. Maybe it waters down the talent a bit but in this case it gave me the chance to see a number of A's prospects from Midland's team along with others as well. I'd been thinking of trying to catch a game in Midland but the timing didn't work out, though they do have an airport nearby so I wouldn't have to drive five hours or so once I got into Texas.

So far that's two minor league ASGs with 2-1 finals. I'd bet the last one I'll be at in Portland will have a few more runs scored than that. The dugout steps were a little steep and I wanted to be a bit safer from foul balls so I shot from inside the dugout itself, close to the steps, and it let me get ground-level angles for everything I did from the sides. I like being that low if I can. One thing I did more of this time was take shots of pitchers from off to one side of home plate as they warmed up between innings. I also like them wearing their team uniforms so much better because it makes it a lot easier to remember who's who later on when you have more than just a hat to go by. There are 115 shots here, including a number of ballpark pics, and some of my favorites follow.

Having a hotel so close is great. This was the view from my room:

Here's the main entrance:

Midland's Chris Carter (OAK) was bombing in the home run derby, at least in the first round when he hit 10 out:

Carter watches another one go:

Other Midland RockHounds (Corey Brown, Adrian Cardenas, Jason Fernandez and Mike Benacka) are entertained:

Kasey Kiker of Frisco (TEX):

Trey Hearne of Springfield (STL) with one of the pavilions in the background:

Jason Fernandez of Midland (OAK):

Chris Carter singles:

Trevor Reckling of Arkansas (LAA):

Craig Cooper of San Antonio (SD) goes down swinging prior to a throw to first:

Jhoulys Chacin of Tulsa (COL):

~~Wolverine~~ Graham Godfrey of Midland (OAK):

Don't worry, nobody's hitting one to the hotel:

Eric Sogard of San Antonio (SD) throws to first with Peter Kozma of Springfield (STL) sliding in:

After nearly getting hit by a foul ball smoked off the railing, Mat Latos of San Antonio (SD) borrows Chris Carter's glove just in case another one comes his way:

Mike DeMark of San Antonio (SD) came on in the 8th to get the last out with two runners on base and keep the score close:

The "visitors" win:

Pics from the Texas League All-Star Game

Flashfire — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 04:51:28 -0000

Having a hotel so close is great. This was the view from my room:

Here's the main entrance:

Midland's Chris Carter was bombing in the home run derby, at least in the first round when he hit 10 out:

Carter watches another one go:

Other Midland RockHounds (Corey Brown, Adrian Cardenas, Jason Fernandez and Mike Benacka) are entertained:

Kasey Kiker of Frisco (TEX):

Trey Hearne of Springfield (STL) with one of the pavilions in the background:

Midland's Adrian Cardenas:

Midland's Jason Fernandez:

Chris Carter singles:

Trevor Reckling of Arkansas (LAA):

Craig Cooper of San Antonio (SD) goes down swinging prior to a throw to first:

Jhoulys Chacin of Tulsa (COL):

Midland's ~~Wolverine~~ Graham Godfrey:

Don't worry, nobody's hitting one to the hotel:

Eric Sogard of San Antonio (SD) throws to first with Peter Kozma of Springfield (STL) sliding in:

After nearly getting hit by a foul ball smoked off the railing, Mat Latos of San Antonio (SD) borrows Chris Carter's glove just in case another one comes his way:

Mike DeMark of San Antonio (SD) came on in the 8th to get the last out with two runners on base and keep the score close:

The "visitors" win:

Quick Texas League All-Star Game Recap

Flashfire — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:53:16 -0000

Hot night in Frisco but it was nicer once the sun set. The ballpark was everything I thought it'd be in terms of how it looked. I love it.

As noted, lots of RockHounds represented. Chris Carter mashed ten homers during the home run derby, which I almost missed. I'd read something about it starting at 6:45 with the game at 8 PM, but the game notes indicated 5:45 (gates opened at 5:30) with the game at 7:15. I'd picked up a few things at the team store and went back to my much cooler hotel room to chill for a bit, then I looked out the balcony window facing the ballpark and sure enough, it was going on. About five minutes later I was down on the field snapping away. Oops. Carter didn't homer in the second and final round and ended up coming in second, but he was hitting some monster shots before that.

The North beat the South 2-1. If it's good enough for the Civil War, it's good enough for this as well. RockHounds were involved in all the scoring, both good and bad. Jason Fernandez came in to pitch in the second and unfortunately for him, he gave up three straight singles before hitting HR Derby winner Mark Trumbo with a 2-1 pitch to force in a run. He escaped further damage by starting a nice 1-2-3 double play and finished it off with a strikeout, then he worked a 3-up, 3-down third.

It stayed 1-0 until the eighth inning and it was looking like the only run of the game would be thanks to that HBP. That turned out not to be the case as Mike Benacka allowed a run. The home side would get it right back in the bottom of the inning thanks to a Josh Horton double that plated Josh Donaldson. They threatened further in the inning and again in the ninth but couldn't get anything else.

Here are the totals for our guys.

Hitters:

Adrian Cardenas - 0-for-2
Chris Carter - 1-for-4, 2 K
Corey Brown - 0-for-2, K
Josh Donaldson - 1-for-2, R
Josh Horton - 1-for-1, 2B, RBI

Pitchers:

Jason Fernandez (L) - 2.0 IP, 3 H,1 R, 0 BB, 2 K, HBP
~~Wolverine~~ Graham Godfrey - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Mike Benacka - 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, HBP

I got a lot of pictures I'm happy with and hopefully I'll have them up in a few days. Flying back home tomorrow.

Photos from the California/Carolina League All-Star Game

Flashfire — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:04:02 -0000

Earlier this week I covered the Single-A All-Star Game between these two leagues, held in Lake Elsinore.

From Lake Elsinore Diamond in Lake Elsinore. The California League won, 2-1 in 10 innings. Lancaster's Jon Gaston hit the first pitch he saw in the 10th for a walkoff homer off Salem's Derrick Loop. San Jose's Buster Posey had an RBI single in the 1st before Frederick's Pedro Florimon tripled in the 8th and scored on an error off the bat of Kinston's Cord Phillips. Salem's Ryne Miller was the top pitcher of the game, striking out 5 hitters in 2 innings of work. Visalia's Pat McAnaney got credit for the win.

Most of this is just hitter/pitcher shots because I needed to get something of everyone for Scout.com, but there are a few action shots in there. Not as many as I'd like, though. Did get a few nice ones at the end of the celebration after the walkoff homer and a water bucket shower.

I'm flying out to Dallas on Monday and will probably see one or two Texas Rangers games before working the Double-A All-Star Game in Frisco. That's a beautiful ballpark.

6/23/09: California League vs. Carolina League (Single-A)

There are 105 photos in the gallery. Some follow after the jump.

A look from the front entrance:

A few of the things baseball players use:

San Jose's Buster Posey (Giants):

The National Anthem:

Lake Elsinore's Cory Luebke (Padres):

Another of Posey before his RBI single:

Salem's Ryne Miller (Red Sox):

A wider shot that shows some of the ballpark design:

Caught looking:

Thunder, Lake Elsinore's mascot, has some fun:

Lancaster's Jon Gaston (Astros) gets a winner's welcome:

Gaston's about to get it:

Splash!

Photos from the California/Carolina League All-Star Game

Flashfire — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:01:44 -0000

Earlier this week I covered the Single-A All-Star Game between these two leagues, held in Lake Elsinore.

Local participants included San Jose's Posey, Thomas Neal and Roger Kieschnick, plus Stockton's Yusuf Carter.

Most of this is just hitter/pitcher shots because I needed to get something of everyone for Scout.com, but there are a few action shots in there. Not as many as I'd like, though. Did get a few nice ones at the end of the celebration after the walkoff homer and a water bucket shower.

I'm flying out to Dallas on Monday and will probably see one or two Texas Rangers games before working the Double-A All-Star Game in Frisco. That's a beautiful ballpark.

6/23/09: California League vs. Carolina League (Single-A)

There are 105 photos in the gallery. Some follow after the jump.

A look from the front entrance:

A few of the things baseball players use:

San Jose's Buster Posey (Giants):

The National Anthem:

Lake Elsinore's Cory Luebke (Padres):

Another of Posey before his RBI single:

Salem's Ryne Miller (Red Sox):

A wider shot that shows some of the ballpark design:

Caught looking:

Thunder, Lake Elsinore's mascot, has some fun:

Lancaster's Jon Gaston (Astros) gets a winner's welcome:

Gaston's about to get it:

Splash!

Photos from the California/Carolina League All-Star Game

Flashfire — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 01:36:23 -0000

Earlier this week I covered the Single-A All-Star Game between these two leagues, held in Lake Elsinore.

Local participants included San Jose's Posey, Thomas Neal and Roger Kieschnick, plus Stockton's Yusuf Carter.

6/23/09: California League vs. Carolina League (Single-A)

There are 105 photos in the gallery. Some follow after the jump.

A look from the front entrance:

A few of the things baseball players use:

San Jose's Buster Posey (Giants):

The National Anthem:

Lake Elsinore's Cory Luebke (Padres):

Another of Posey before his RBI single:

Salem's Ryne Miller (Red Sox):

A wider shot that shows some of the ballpark design:

Caught looking:

Thunder, Lake Elsinore's mascot, has some fun:

Lancaster's Jon Gaston (Astros) gets a winner's welcome:

Gaston's about to get it:

Splash!

Hammel, Rockies Humble A's, 4-2

Flashfire — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 05:19:01 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

Fortunately none of these people confused Jack Cust in his attempt to catch this particular fly ball.

Browse more photos »

I could go on the kind of tirade The Manager should, but chances are The Manager will give the usual "I was happy we fought back late in the game" line, or a variation of it.

What The Manager should actually do point to the fact that if not for two more errors (the A's have now made six in their last three games) this game could still be going on instead of us talking about a lackluster 4-2 loss that once again featured a late tease.

Things got off to a bad start right away as the second hitter of the game, Ryan Spilborghs, reached on a throwing error by Jack Hannahan, who bounced one Daric Barton couldn't pick. He'd score on a double by Garrett Atkins, who came into the game batting .216. Then in the fifth, Dallas Braden forgot about the speed of Dexter Fowler on a bunt, pausing to glance toward second long enough that his throw to first may or may not have pulled Barton's foot off the bag. Either way, Fowler was called safe, an error was credited to Braden, and it came back to hurt them on a two-run single inside third base by Todd Helton and a single by Atkins, who had three hits to raise his average to .226.

Meanwhile, Jason Hammel had very little trouble with the Oakland offense. This is no real surprise but apart from two doubles by Matt Holliday and a walk to Jason Giambi, nobody else did a thing against him until a Kurt Suzuki homer in the seventh. After that walk to Giambi in the fourth, Suzuki lined out to left and Holliday, who'd been running on the pitch, was easily doubled off second. Hammel would pitch into the eighth before the Colorado bullpen made things a little, ahem, rocky, but Suzuki fouled out with the bases loaded after a walk to Giambi forced in a run. Although Huston Street took one off the right arm in the ninth, he pitched a 1-2-3 inning for the save.

Braden was neither very good nor very bad tonight but the mistakes were what hurt them the most and he couldn't limit the damage. It could've been worse in the sixth when Clint Barmes, the first hitter Brad Ziegler faced, lifted a pop fly to right field. Jack Cust and Adam Kennedy both converged on it before it fell next to Cust. It was another example of poor communication and confusion leading to a ball dropping that had no business not being an out, but Ziegler was able to get out of it and at least give the A's a chance to mount some kind of comeback without it really turning into a blowout. Craig Breslow, Santiago Casilla and Andrew Bailey worked a perfect inning apiece to close out the pitching line for the A's. I'd questioned using Bailey tonight but hadn't realized the last time he got into a game was on the 20th. In that case I understand getting him an inning.

In the end it's just another uninspiring loss by a team that shows very little to get excited about apart from a brief rally or two at some point in the game. They went down 1-2-3 five times and left a total of six runners on base, half of them in the eighth. They only had 4 ABs with runners in scoring position, coming up empty each time (the Rockies were 3-for-11 in theirs). Colorado got what they needed early and kept their lead, making it 18 wins in 21 games. It wasn't pretty at times but in the end the only thing that matters is the final score, not how you arrive at it. When sloppy play contributes to another loss, that IS going to stand out as a problem.

Open Thread: Game 72 - A's vs. Rockies (cont)

Flashfire — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:18:54 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

Get the feeling pitchers could get the A's out even from this position?

Browse more photos »

Sloppy defense? Check.

Bad offense? Check.

Breaks not going our way? Check.

Typical A's game so far? Check.

Dallas Braden fails to avoid the big inning this time. Halfway through and the A's are in big danger of losing their first home game to the Rockies in over a decade, down 4-0.

Open Thread: Game 72 - A's vs. Rockies

Flashfire — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 17:53:57 -0000

More photos » by Jeff Chiu - AP

Is Dallas Braden praying for some offense? You never know.

Browse more photos »

As the Colorado Rockies come down to earth (literally - look at the altitude in Denver!) A's fans hope for the same thing on the field over the next three days. Given their struggles in interleague play this season they could certainly use two or three wins this weekend. Heading into the series they're just 5-10 against the NL West. This year that's tied for the second worst interleague record with Milwaukee; Philadelphia and Cleveland are both 4-11. Conversely, the Angels have gone 11-4. The worst the A's have finished in interleague play is 8-10 so only a sweep will prevent them from establishing a new low mark since the format was introduced.

In the 19 games the A's have played Colorado they're 10-9, going 7-1 at home (winning every game since losing their first back in 1997) and 3-8 on the road. Many of us probably remember the 18-3 loss on 7/18/00 in which Mark Mulder got lit up early and Frank Menechino took part in the slaughter as well, getting an inning on the mound and finishing with an ERA of 36.00. If you don't remember or managed to purge that from your mind, sorry.

This is also just the second time since the 2001 season in which the A's have faced Colorado (2006). Before MLB opened it up to mixed-division matchups, the teams squared off every year from 1997-2001. The last time the A's were in Colorado they actually got shut out in consecutive games. I don't know if even our offense could pull that off. In that series someone by the name of Matt Holliday went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI in the first game before going just 1-for-9 in the last two.

Speaking of Holliday and the others involved in the trade this past offseason, it is the first and only chance they'll have to see each other this year. Huston Street has rounded back into form as Colorado's closer, most of his numbers in line with his 2006-07 seasons in Oakland even though he's allowing more homers (5 already with his career high 6 last year). Carlos Gonzalez tore it up in Colorado Springs but has been slow to carry that over to the big club while Greg Smith has thrown a total of just 20 innings between three levels in the minors due to injuries. His most recent outing with Double-A Tulsa a few days ago was not a good one: 8 hits and 5 ER in just 3.1 innings against Northwest Arkansas, with no walks and a strikeout. Prior to that he'd had two starts in Single-A Modesto and one in Triple-A Colorado Springs, pitching well.

As for Holliday, he's gone cold again since looking like he'd turned things around. After six 2-hit performances in seven games from May 31 to June 6, he's had a pair of hits just twice since, batting 12-for-61(.197) with no homers and 2 RBI since June 7, all but the first five of those games coming against NL West teams. Add in the series against Arizona and he's just 14-for-57 (.246) with 1 homer and 3 RBI against his old division. So much for familiarity helping. Looks like he's part of the problem once more.

The Rockies have been as hot as can be under new manager Jim Tracy, having won a remarkable 17 of 18 games before dropping their last two to the Angels. Street racked up eight saves during that run including four in a row from June 8-11. Brad Hawpe and Todd Helton lead the offense. While Ubaldo Jimenez has been recovering from a horrible start to the season, the A's will miss (or not, I guess) him this series along with Jason Marquis, who has 9 wins.

Brett Anderson had been scheduled to start tonight but due to inflammation in the biceps he's been moved to Monday. That makes our matchups as follows:

Tonight: Dallas Braden vs. Jason Hammel, who is undefeated this month and pitching well overall, without a loss since May 19
Tomorrow: Trevor Cahill vs. Jorge De La Rosa, who has not had a good month statistically but is now 3-7 since losing his first six decisions
Sunday: Vin Mazzaro vs. Aaron Cook, who has been very good this month and most of May as well after a rough April, winning his last four starts

Of course, that information isn't much of a surprise when you've been playing .850 ball for the last three weeks, is it? We could be in for three more well-pitched games to close out interleague play.

Remember, tomorrow's game is a 6:05 start with the beer festival that afternoon for those of you who need an easy excuse to drown your sorrows away, or more like sampling different beers in small cups for a few bucks.

Lineup

Colorado Rockies @ Oakland Athletics

06/26/09 7:05 PM PDT

Colorado Rockies	Oakland Athletics
Dexter Fowler - CF	Adam Kennedy - 2B
Ryan Spilborghs - LF	Jack Cust - RF
Todd Helton - 1B	Matt Holliday - LF
Garrett Atkins - DH	Jason Giambi - DH
Brad Hawpe - RF	Kurt Suzuki - C
Troy Tulowitzki - SS	Orlando Cabrera - SS
Chris Iannetta - C	Ryan Sweeney - CF
Ian Stewart - 3B	Daric Barton - 1B
Clint Barmes - 2B	Jack Hannahan - 3B

How are our relievers being used, and how are they handling it?

Flashfire — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:13:50 -0000

I'd begun writing this as a comment in the Geren thread but I thought it might develop into something that can branch off into a closer look at the relievers as a whole. Please feel free to take a look at the splits that are linked to. I'm getting ready to cover the minor league All-Star Game in Lake Elsinore tonight and just wanted to get something quick up here to look at.

I don't have the specifics of how many times, say, people pitched two days in a row effectively then had a day off and struggled a day after that, but here's something to start with:

Michael Wuertz: days of rest - he's pitched best with 1 day of rest but he's looked more effective with 0 days of rest. It happens to be that both of the homers he's allowed were after 1 day of rest, though. He's thrown the most with 1 or 2 days of rest. Overall May looks like it's been his best month, June his worst. He's on pace to pitch a similar amount of innings in each of the first three months right now.

Russ Springer: days of rest - he's pitched almost the same number of innings from 0-3 days of rest and he hasn't been much different in any situation. He's had the most appearances on 0 days rest, though. I believe he's gone through the "used a lot, then used a little" scenario. However, comparing his numbers by month May is the outlier with April and June better (though he's pitched half as many innings in June so far as he did in April).

Brad Ziegler: days of rest - fairly evenly split in usage between 0-2 days of rest with most of his workload coming on 1 or 2 days off. So far, he's been most effective by far with 1 day of rest. It'd be interesting to see how much that happens to coincide with his first time facing a team in a series. May was his really rough month but that was impacted by him coming down with the plague.

Santiago Casilla: days of rest - this is kind of interesting. He's been used most often on 2 days of rest and that's his worst split. He's pitched more innings on 1 day of rest and that's his best day. Best month this year is April and it's no comparison. May and June have been terrible and he's hardly pitched at all this month.

Craig Breslow: days of rest - going by his A's stats only (I can't link directly to them here, so you get the overall totals for 2009), he's been used the most with 0 days of rest (as many times as the others put together) and it looks like that's where he's been his best. There may be a correlation between that and how he does after a day or two off. His June hasn't been as good as May but it's still respectable.

Andrew Bailey: days of rest - may be a little harder to look at because he didn't start out in the role he's got now (like Ziegler) but he's worked the most by far on 0 or 1 days of rest. His best split is 2 days of rest followed by 0, with 1 day off not as good (though it's his heaviest use by innings and appearances). He had some struggles in May but was still all right, and the other two months have been excellent. Will probably end up with about the same workload this month as the first two (16-17 IP).