SB Nation User Blog: LoveDemAs

Vancouver @ Eugene (8/23/2006) -- Strange Days

LoveDemAs — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 16:28:28 -0000

There's an old baseball canard to the effect that every time you go to a ball game, "You may see something that you've never seen before." Well last night the 3384 faithful who turned out for the Vancouver/Eugene tilt at historic Civic stadium sure got their money's worth, because they actually got to see two things (maybe three) they'd never seen before. However, I suspect that the last of these events passed unnoticed by nearly all in attendance.

The pitching matchup looked like we might have a pitcher's duel on our hands with Vancouver's Scott Deal going against Matt Buschmann for the Emeralds. Buschman's been solid for the Ems despite his 3-3 record going into last night's game (3.12 ERA, 63K and 11BB in 60.2 innings), but Deal has been flat out dominant for Vancouver. So it was a bit surprising when Emeralds left fielder Chad huffman led off the second inning with a triple, coming in to score two pitches later on a sac fly by right fielder Michael Campbell. Deal is an extreme ground ball pitcher, but the Ems were doing a good job last night elevating a lot of his pitches. Still, Deal managed to get through the first 3 innings throwing only 33 pitches, 28 for strikes.

Which brings us to the top of the 4th inning and "thing you've never seen before" #1. The inning did not start well for the Ems' Buschmann. Hit-by-pitch, single plus E4 allowing the runners to reach 2nd and 3rd, RBI single, foul-out sac fly to the second baseman, and then a 2-run home run that was just smoked by Vancouver right fielder Ramiro Mendez. Four runs and only one out so far.

Buschman's very next pitch sailed up and in and dumped Vancouver catcher Gustavo Rosendo in the dirt. My opinion is that the ball just slipped out of Buschman's hand, but home plate umpire Ben Robinson didn't see it that way and immediately ejected Buschman. Em's skipper Doug Dascenzo was out of the dugout in a split second and much argument ensued. It's worth noting here that Eugene has had trouble with Robinson in other games this year, so there's no doubt a huge resevoir of frustration that's been built up.

Dascenzo and Robinson wrangle for a bit, and Dascenzo brings in Jon Kirby to start warming up. Dascenzo decides he isn't finished with Robinson however, and ends up planting himself on home plate arguing with Robinson while Kirby is trying to warm up. Kirby eventually turns 90 degrees and starts making warm-up tosses to the FIRST BASEMAN, but believe it or not, this is not the "thing you've never seen before" (although up until that point, I never had).

What was totally over the top for me was Em's President and GM Bob Beban coming on to the field of play (while Dascenzo and Robinson were arguing-- Dascenzo would later be tossed himself) with a cell phone that was connected to Northwest League President Bob Richmond, who was apparently ready to give Robinson a verbal spanking (or his walking papers, which would have been really interesting in the middle of a game). Beban tried to make Robinson take the call but Robinson, correctly, refused and ordered Beban off the field. I'm guessing Robinson had a few messages on his own cell phone after the game though. Wow.

Kirby managed to get out of the inning with no further damage, and Scott Deal came on in the bottom of the 4th after a long, long time in the dugout. The delay clearly cost Deal some of his normally pinpoint command because he actually walked a batter and ended up throwing significantly more balls than he had in the first three innings. Deal gave up a run in the inning on two singles and a walk, and Kirby retired the side in order in the top of the 5th.

Deal came on in the bottom of the 5th, retired Ems lead-off hitter Mike Epping on a weak grounder to short, gave up a bloop hit to Ems third baseman (and Padres #1 draft pick) Matt Antonelli, and then first baseman Craig Cooper slammed Deal's first pitch over the left field wall for a two-run home run. And I can say with certainty that this was something the Eugene faithful had never seen before because that was the first home run Scott Deal has given up in the entire 66 and a third innings he's pitched this season. Again wow.

As I mentioned in a previous diary, Scott Deal's family has been traveling around the Northwest League to watch all of his starts. I actually got to meet them (and briefly Scott) at Scott's start in Salem on July 27th. I ended up sitting with them last night for the latter part of the game and they were bemoaning the home run, but I assured them that if the kid only gives up one home run this season, he's doing pretty darn good.

I could go one about the rest of the game (which Vancouver eventually won 10-5). Every Vancouver batter reached base at least once and every Canadian except lead-off man Larry "don't call me Ty" Cobb either scored a run or had an RBI or both. But let me wax rhapsodic about Scott Deal instead.

Physically Scott Deal reminds me of Tim Hudson. The Canadians roster lists him at 6'4", 190lbs, but there's no way the kid is 6'4". Deal is also an extreme groundballer like Huddy, throwing 2- and 4-seam fastballs primarily while working in a good changeup and the occasional slider. Deal doesn't yet throw a split-finger pitch, but if he learns to use a splitter as a strikeout pitch, he could be devestating. Deal has 31 strikeouts in 66.1 innings, but remember this is short-season low-A ball and I think Deal's going to need a better out pitch to succeed at higher levels.

Deal succeeds right now by inducing an endless chain of ground ball outs. As a "pitch to contact" guy, he's incredibly efficient. In the July start at Salem, Deal threw 58 pitches (36 strikes) in his first six innings of work, and of the 18 outs, 14 were groundballs. Deal ended up being the hard-luck loser in that contest, after Vancouver third baseman Alexander Valdez booted a ball in the 7th inning and let the inning get out of control, but it was an amazing performance for Deal nevertheless.

The other thing I love about Deal is that he works quickly. As in, "has the ball and is ready to throw before the batter gets back in the box." He clearly likes to control the pace of the game and get a quick rhythm going to keep the hitters off-balance. Hitters are starting to step out on him to disrupt his timing, and he's going to have to adjust to that, but if the batters let him control the pace of the game they have no chance.

Deal was a high school pick in the 2005 draft. He'll just turn 20 in December. After instructional league in the Fall (grandpa Deal confirms that Scott already has his invite), Scott will probably be assigned to one of the full-season A leagues next year. Clearly, it's risky to project a kid this early in his career, and I'd like to see him facing some higher-quality hitting, but let me just say I hope he ends up pitching for Oakland as well as Tim Hudson did. The kid is clearly 2-3 years away from the majors, but I'm going to be following his future career with great interest.

Minor League Report: Canadians @ Eugene, 7/22

LoveDemAs — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 14:56:49 -0000

It was 100 degrees at first pitch-- at 7pm in the evening-- but the on-field action promised to be much hotter as Vancouver's Scott "I'm the man" Deal (5-0 with a 0.92 WHIP and a 1.64 ERA) matched up with Eugene's Aaron "Strike throwing machine" Breit (11.16 K/9). Deal, perhaps bolstered by a large contingent of friends and family who'd made the four hour trip down from Tacoma to watch him pitch, held up his end of the pitchers duel, but Eugene was ultimately done in by a couple of defensive miscues and lost to the visitors 5-0.

When you're pitching in 100 degree temperatures, you need to work fast, throw strikes, and get your team back in the dugout as quickly as possible. Deal ran into a little trouble in the 2nd inning with a leadoff walk followed by a single but wiggled out of trouble with a strikeout with runners on the corners and one out followed by a soft lineout to second. Deal, working quickly and trusting his defense, then proceeded to mow Eugene down for the next four innings, giving up only a dunk single in with two outs in the 3rd and a one-out walk in the 6th, before ending his night with the final line 6IP 0R 3H 5K 2BB 1WP. Deal threw 37 pitches in the first two innings (22 in the 2nd), but only threw 47 in his remaining 4 innings (56/28 strike/ball ratio). Deal absolutely pounds the bottom of the strike zone, mixing a live fastball with a wicked changeup and a dead fish breaking ball. The Eugene hitters were looking pretty silly last night with all five Deal strikeouts being of the swinging variety.

On the other side of the coin, Breit got through his first two innings with 3 strikeouts and only a harmless two-out single in the first and a two-out walk in the 2nd. Vancouver led off Breit's third inning with two sharp singles, however, putting Breit in a "first and third, no outs" situation. Vancouver shortstop Samuel Hernandez then proceeded to have the best AB of the night, coming back from an 0-2 count and ultimately working the count full before hitting a sac fly to center on the 9th pitch of the AB for the first run of the game. Hernandez's AB may have also set up Vancouver's second run of the inning as well.

With one out and a runner on first, Breit now had to face the A's #2 draft pick, Matt Sulentic. We may not be "selling jeans" in the A's organization, but you can't help but be struck by how much Sulentic matches the old cliche "looks like a ballplayer" when he stands in at the plate. After laboring through the Hernandez AB, however, Breit walks Sulentic on four pitches. But the second pitch was particularly costly as Breit spiked it into the dirt to the right of home plate where it skittered away from catcher Luany Sanchez allowing Hernandez to move to 2nd. Sanchez then uncorked a wild throw to 2nd, which ended up sailing into center field, as Hernandez scampered to 3rd. This was a costly error for the Ems, as Hernandez came home on a sac fly to right by the very next batter. Sulentic may "look like a ballplayer at the plate", but he committed a baserunning gaffe by allowing himself to be caught off first base on the sac fly and the inning ended on the 9-3 double play.

It turns out that was it for Breit-- Eugene tends to be very conservative with pitch counts, and Breit had labored through 56 pitches in three innings. Eugene turned it over to lefty Matt Farrington for the 4th and lafty slinger Brooks Dunn (hey, I didn't name the kid) who cruised through the 5th, 6th, and 7th (on 11 pitches, 8 pitches, and 8 pitches) before being the second hard-luck pitcher for the Ems as his defense let him down in the 8th. Dunn gave up a leadoff walk in the 8th, but retired the next batter on an easy pop-up to the catcher. Canadians leadoff man, Larry "Don't call me Ty" Cobb then hit a hot shot to Ems shortstop Jesus Lopez who failed to get his body behind the ball and let it roll into left field for an E6. If Lopez makes that play, it's two outs (possibly even a DP) and Dunn stays in the game and finishes strong. As it was, the situation was now runners on the corners with one away and Eugene went to its bullpen for righty Rolando Valdez, who unfortunately allowed the inning to spiral out of control. Valdez went single-walk-single on the next three batters, allowing three runs to score and it's 5-0 Vancouver.

The three runs Vancouver tacked on in the 8th may not have mattered, because Deal gave way to Jason Fernandez who scattered two hits (one of them a ringing double by Ems center fielder Mike Epping with two outs in the 8th) in his final three innings of work, putting himself in line for the save. All in all, a well-pitched game for Vancouver. Epping's double and a loud out to the left fielder by Ems third baseman Abraham Aguilar on the first pitch of the 5th inning were the only balls hit hard by the Ems all night. But without the defensive miscues by Eugene, the score may well have been 1-0 instead of 5-0.

Other game notes: Vancouver was not rocking the socks last night-- only shortstop Samuel Hernandez was showing any sock at all, and his pants were barely calf-high. Still, one can only assume that his "high sock mojo" contributed to his huge AB in the 3rd inning... Despite the fact that it was 100 degrees at first pitch, some poor guy had to don the Padres "Swinging Friar" costume for the game (the Ems are the Padres NWL affiliate)... Sulentic had a decent night at the plate (1-2 with 2 BB), but managed to lose his grip on the bat during his first AB, sending the bat rocketing into the padding to the right of home plate. He singled cleanly up the middle on the next pitch, so all's well that ends well, I guess...

Should we DL Chavez?

LoveDemAs — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 13:02:27 -0000

I'm not questioning Chavez's desire by any means-- I think the guy is playing through a tremendous amount of pain right now, but:

-- He seems very upright and stiff at the plate and is mired in a pretty bad hitting slump right now

-- Late last night he missed a ball in the hole that I thought a healthy Eric Chavez would have gotten to

-- He runs like his leg could fall off at any moment, and I wonder if the collision at the plate last night was at least partly due to the fact that he's not comfortable enough to slide

So I think Eric needs some time off to heal up. If he sits through the All Star break, that's basically three weeks of healing time. I'd rather send Eric to the DL right now and have him healthy (or healthier) in Aug/Sep (and hopefully October).

Yeah, the offense doesn't look to good with Frank Thomas and Bradley out and Crosby still nursing the bruised hand. But Chavez isn't contributing a lot now (except his presence in the lineup, which I don't completely discount) and I worry about a catastrophic injury that would cause him to miss the rest of the season.

Poll

What should we do with Chavez?

Let him DH for a while

11 votes

Let him tell Macha and Davis when he needs a break

6 votes

Play him until the leg falls off

2 votes

FIRE MACHA NOW and let Chavez be player-manager

8 votes

Put him on the 15 day DL

19 votes

46 votes | Poll has closed

Baseball Vacations

LoveDemAs — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 17:13:35 -0000

Well, it's another slow news day during the off season, so I thought I'd propose the topic of baseball vacations.

Currently my wife and I are planning a two-week vacation this summer that revolves around seeing a game in all of the home ballparks in the Northwest League (short-season single A-- there are only 8 teams, so two weeks is manageable). We've also done other baseball-related vacations like Spring Training.

Does anybody else on the blog do these kinds of baseball-related trips? Any favorite memories? Any "dream trips" that you'd like to take but haven't gotten around to?

I'd love to do all 30 MLB ballparks, though I doubt I'd ever get enough consecutive time off to do it in one shot (I'm working my way through them slowly). I have a fantasy about taking the whole season off and trying to attend all 162 A's games, but I fear that's a pipe dream. I'm personally ambivalent about Cooperstown, but suppose I'll end up there eventually. What about you all?

McCovey Chronicles thread for 6/26 game

LoveDemAs — Mon, 27 Jun 2005 03:11:02 -0000

The gameday thread on the McCovey Chronicles site for the 6/26 blowout game is borderline hilarious-- in a "gallows humor" sort of way. Makes me feel bad for the Giants fans on that site. No trolling on them folks... please! They've had a rough enough day as it is.

http://www.mccoveychronicles.com/story/2005/6/26/144511/678

Kotsay Speaks?

LoveDemAs — Sun, 26 Jun 2005 13:53:46 -0000

From http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2005/06/26/SPGM9DDRRV1.DTL

Briefly: Center fielder Mark Kotsay said no official proposals have been exchanged with the A's on a two-year contract extension; the talks have been "hypothetical,'' he said. National reports that Kotsay is looking for $8-$9 million per season are too high, according to Kotsay, who is making $7 million this year and has a player option for $7 million next year. He's believed to be seeking roughly similar numbers.

$7mil for two years? Heck yeah Billy! Sign him up!