SB Nation User Blog: PinchHitLancePainter

Top Ten Minor League Parks to Groupies/Food Night Life

PinchHitLancePainter — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:43:40 -0000

Someone asked me this the other day so I thought I would share. Now understand this is pre 1984, so times were different. Now I apoligize if this is politically incorrect or offends the younger generation. This is from personal experience:

1. Clearwater (FSL): Number one and none is even close. All the girls were pretty and looking for a future star to latch unto. The place was near a pristine beach and provided great party atmosphere during the day when waiting to play at night. Played many a night game after downing a couple of beach drinks. The rest of the Gulf side stunk though.

2. Pompano Beach (FSL years ago and home park): Pretty and rich girls. Not in the Clearwater class. The ballpark sucked but the female fans were great.

3. Old Durham Park (Carolina League at the time). Nice southern ladies at the time, great old park in Bull Durham. You might see my bloodstains on the CF wall if you can blow it up. Face first on long fly from Brad Komminsk. The park was always nearly full and the mystique was great.

4. Bluefield (SAL) Great place make sure all the teeth were accounted for though. Some really great BBQ.

5. Ft. Lauderdale (FSL) Enuff said. Played an MLB spring game here and took Ron Guidry deep with Dave Winfield simply turning and watching it go. Has to make the list.

6. Midland (TexL): See one above. Texas ladies with a twang and a two step boogie. All yearned to escape from the oil fields.

7. Shreveport (TexL) Great food, polite ladies and anyplace that serves gumbo in the clubhouse has to make the list.

8. Tulsa (TexL and home park) Other than the heat, this place was great. You hoped that the homestands would not last too long though. They had a sirloin snadwich in the clubhouse that ruled. Ladies were above average.

9. El Paso (TexL) I used to love and be able to eat Mexican food when I was younger (now I cannot). This place had greatr food and plenty of chicas.

10. Miami FSLL: Yes itr was a minor league towm back in the days but the O's played there in the Spring and so did their high A club. Cuban cigars, great rum, cuban food, and the smell of the cigars floating in the OF was great. Ladies pretty good as well.

The Trade

PinchHitLancePainter — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:06:10 -0000

looking somewhat suspect now. Three for one with two most likely headed to the minors. Once again the Rocks trade performance for "potential". Another in a long line of salary dumps by O'Dowd. Granted this may be more than they get from supplemental picks but right now it looks like another Rockies dump job. Why no starter was not obtained is beyond me. You think a runner up MVP, Batting champ, RBI champ, and three time all star could get more.

Who are the other 103????

PinchHitLancePainter — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:43:01 -0000

This A-Rod implication bears some serious issues. I saw one guy post on ESPN the other day that every baseball player he beloved of his generation (Bonds, Arod, McGwire, Clemens, Sosa, etc) has been put to the task and he questions the legitimacy of the sport. I have a 15 year old who begs me to buy him creatine so he can bulk up and swing for the fences. I refuse to let him citing health issues and dad never did it so you don't have to either. Where does that mindset come from?

My concern is that an entire generation of fans have no knowledge of the game when it was pure. They have never seen Willie Mays runs so graceful in the OF, Mickey Mantle smash a ball 500 feet on two bad legs, Hammerin Hank ignite those explosive wrists, Bob Gibson working so fast and effective. Their baseball memories of a wonderful game are a fraud home run race, a congressional hearing, the Mitchell Report, or the latest offering from the new ladder-day prophet Jose Canseco.

There are 103 names yet to be divulged. One wonders when suspect participants such as Todd Helton and Nomar Garciaparra, whose numbers fell off the table post -testing, may be implicated.

One can argue the Union goofed up or someone leaked grand jury information (it has happened throughout history). At the end of the day the truth always seems to worm itself our of any forced cocoon created for it.

Baseball leadership must be forced out (Selig, Fehr, Orza) the whole lock ,stock, and barrel. Baseball should put itself under the guise of the World Doping Association where independence, control and accuracy is at a premium. The Feds and Mitchell Report realize that the baseball testing plan is a sham. They have pushed for independent testing but baseball refuses to comply. Why is that? What more do they have to hide? How much more damage lurks behind the curtains?

Legitimize the game before the game destroys itself. The game is a great game but the people who run it stink!

Things to Look For in 2009 and beyond....

PinchHitLancePainter — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:23:22 -0000

1. Added pitching depth = more wins in 2009. Should have happened two years ago but additional arms will mean more wins, more Q starts in 2009. Based on pitching alone I would say this team is at least .500. There will be less bullpen strain, more innings eaten, less patchwork starts in 2009. I see the Rockies team era in the low to mid 4s this year. Many close one run games which brings me to...

2. The dilemma of the offense though.... The Rockies offense will be slow, station to station and have proven to be not so run productive(see % in RISP, Sac Fly etc). Baseball is evolving back to a run producing game. The Rocks may have the slowest lineup in baseball. Few bunters of any quality, limited SB potential, and issues with contact (i.e.. less hit and run ops). How will they produce runs? Will the better pitching offset the less run production. Rocks have many guys with lots of swing holes. Atkins, Hawpe, Stewart, Tulowitzski. There best contact guys Helton/Ianetta/Smith/Spilborghs are not (save Helton) at the top of the list. I suspect there will be many low run games they are involved in this year. Can they manufacture runs to win?

3. Speed evolution. This is coming from several angles. 1. The drop in power post roid era. 2. A needed refocus on african american players coming into baseball. 3. Due to the financial situation, older more expensive players are being squeezed out. I love the speed game. The last 15 years have been difficult to swallow with the emphasis on driving balls and big innings and lack of fundamental run manufacturing and aggressive style. I played in the speed era and it was great and exciting. Rockies need to get their fast and may need to elevate Young, Fowler, etc quickly to adapt. It has been truly sad to see talented african american kids playing basketball and football over baseball the last generation. I am excited to yearn for the day when base stealing is once again a major offensive threat. Guys pushing 100 steals per season. Give me the Vince Colemans, Willie Wilsons, Tim Raines's, Willie McGee's, Rickey Henderson's back. Bring back the 2 hole guys who take pitches, hit the ball to the opposite side, can bunt the ball into a soup can etc. Thank god for RBI program and a renewed emphasis on getting the african american kids on the baseball field. They produced so many of the great players in history and are sorely needed back in the sport.

4. Defense. Another real question mark in 2009. The outfield will have coverage issues. We are suspect at 3B, 2B, and in the entire OF. Quite frankly if I were the manager I would open with Fowler in CF from the start as the gaps in Coors Field will look very large with the sloths we have in the OF. I need to see more of this Gonzales kid and will be watching the Carribean Series with interest. If Helton plays well in 2009 the infield will be improved as he eliminates errors and makes plays other 1B don't. I think either Gonzales or Fowler must be in the lineup though as speed is needed.

Prediction: 85-77 and a third place finish behind the Giants/Dodgers.

Check out the 2009 Schedule

PinchHitLancePainter — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:28:02 -0000

Weird. It is very home laden from April-June and then become home laden in July-Sept. Sept is virtually a home month. Hopefully they will not be buried early and never recover. Otherwise the schedule shapes up well for them down the stretch.

Here is the breakdown:

April: Home = 9, Road = 11

May: Home = 14, Road = 15

June: Home = 9, Road = 19

July: Home = 16 , Road = 10

August: Home: 14 , Road = 14

September: Home = 18, Road = 9

October: Home = 1, Road = 3

Things that need changed...

PinchHitLancePainter — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:46:44 -0000

General observations over the year.

1. Offensively:

a. OBP from leadoff. This year has been really bad. Lineup needs table setters with good OBP guys in 1 and 2 slots with good speed. This year it did not happen.

b. Too many Ks. This lineup has struck out way too much this year. There needs to be plate discipline and an aproach beyond swing at everything. Too often these guys are behind in counts and having to hit pitcher counts is a recipe for failure.

c. Too much pull hitting focus. The Rocks have been way too focused on driving balls and pulling balls this year. So few actually have a solid approach. It is time to get back to basics. Opposite field hits are hits too.

d. Get more men on base. More walk, more baserunners = more runs. Run production plummeted this year. When you have fewer chances you score fewer runs.

2. Defense

a. Pitching. The bottom end of the rotation has lacked depth for several years now. They need to focus the attantion on getting some production there via some quality arms and stop the retreads.

b. Strikes. Too many walks this year and too many deep counts. Need to focus on getting ahead early next year. Opponents offense capabilities rapidily diminish when behind in the count.

c. Bullpen. Need to get a couple of lefty arms down there and do more switch offs late in the game. The Rocks used to do this regularly but went away from it this year for whatever reason.

Overall Approach

a. Too much love for some minor league prospects can lead to a paralyzed approach. You build your system for two reasons. 1. To replenish at the MLB level and 2. To create trade bait to fill your existing gaps. The wisdom and foresight needs to be there to evaluate properly the stars from the journeymen from the hangers on. This needs to be made at the AA and AAA level (I myself was a casualty of this). There are several positions of depth in the organization, corner OF, 2B, 3B, 1B and the depth must be used to fill pitching gaps. Koshansky, Nix, Q, Smith, all these guys need to be showcased over the next two weeks to drive market value to others.

b. An alarming recent activity. It appears that the players have tuned out management post Renck article. Their approaches have been horrendous in the last week and it appears they have nearly quit. They need to look long and hard at their culture and perhaps enject a hard nosed skipper into the equation.

c. Use the recipe that works. They Rockies have had success in past. The keys were speed at the top, solid bullpens, productive bats in the middle and solid defense. This needs to be the focus moving forward. Who fits there is up to management. Don't be afraid to chase ingredients (and the prerequisite $$) at the expense of minor league prospects.

d. Insert team first. Too many tried to do too much and as a result everybody failed. Team approaches need to come first. Do not look for the homer at all times when behind, string together hits, and always focus on picking up each other. This was lost in 2008. It needs to be re-focused moving forward. Hit behind runners, hit and run, take the extra base, make the play, etc.

e. Avoid risk aversion attitudes. Those that stay there tend to never see the ceiling.

I was wrong!/25 Man roster

PinchHitLancePainter — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:46:09 -0000

Admit and will gladly feast crow. Glad to see the team come of age down the stretch. I have slammed Hurdle and O'Dowd for years but their formula has began to pay dividends.

My only request is no Ortiz and Julio on the postseason roster and a strong vote for Seth Smith to be on the 25 man.

Here is my take on the 25 man roster:

Pitchers:

Francis
Fogg
Morales
Jimenez
Bucholz
Herges
Hawkins
Fuentes
Corpas
Speier
Affeldt (over Morillo)

Catchers:

Ianetta
Torrelaba

Infielders:

Helton
Matsui
Tulo
Atkins
Carroll
Baker

Outfielders:

Holliday
Spillborghs
Sullivan
Hawpe
Smith
Taveras

Looking toward next year..

PinchHitLancePainter — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 15:14:29 -0000

as this year is basically running out.

Things accomplished in 2007:

1. Stayed in race until mid Sept.
2 Added some young arms.

Solidified defense
Began to realize who needs to stay and who needs to go both starters and bench personnel.
Emerged with a never quit mentality and winning attitude after years of losing is OK.

Things for future pondering:

Mental toughness increase. This team needs a Don Baylor/Paul O'Neill/Dusty Baker veteran type former champion in the clubhouse. This could help when the 1-9 road trips start to happen or the losses to SF on the road. The Rockies play well against good teams but this season fell out of reach losing 3-4 to the Pirates at home, failing to beat the Giants at better than a 500 clip, etc.
Center Field Needs a better solution:

Willy has been injury prone, suspect defensively, and unrealible day to day. That is a problem. They have been able to fill the gaps with Spilly and Sullivan but I would love to see a guy like Aaron Rowland out there. A winner, a tough guy, a great defensive player with a big stick. He would cost $10-12M a year but he is an Edmunds type and relatively young entering his prime.

3. Look for an innings eater somewhere.

Need more innings from the starters. Need a Pedro Astacio type to eat innings and save the bullpen. The late season collapse of the pen is simply too many 4-5 innning nights all the time. Need a low end guy who can give up 3-5 runs and get you to at least the sixth or seventh every night out. They ran out of pitching seeking the internal organization solutions.

4. Welcome to the Monfort O'Dowd Postseason Cheap Report. (Should be the FSN annoucement after the Rockies are eliminated officially from contention).

The interesting que this post season for players that may be looking long term here will be if the Rocks spend money in some fashion. Will it be a Kaz for Stewart, Stewart for Atkins salary dump type offseason or will it be adding some payroll and quality (as described above)to make this team a championship level contender. I have never respected the Monfort's and most media in this town do not either. They seem to make every move on the cheap. Will they show commitment to winning?

The Matsui resigning is tied to Willy's future, Atkins, Helton, Stewart, all of them. Maybe Stewart needs a season of spot starting bench work before making this decision. His at bats lately have been pretty woeful but he has not gotten enough of them. Not sure if he is ready to be just handed the 3rd base job after a so so Springs defensive performance and an incumbant who has knocked in 300 runs and hit 290-310 for three years running with 25 plus homers. Helton will now never be moved so this whole Stewart, Kaz, Atkins triangle is something to look forward during the Stove league. Can Stewart play 2nd?

Do you trade some offense for pitching? (Atkins or Hawpe). Since you are fearful of losing Holliday after next year (big payday coming there), do you trade him ala Jennings to a Red Sox/Yankees for multiple players and pitching help.

5. Catching Position:

Rocks have some serious production issues. Iannetta although hitting better upon his return is still a question. Yorvit wears down after 90-100 games. Need to come up with a workable platoon next year to keep both sharp and possibly bring in someone who can play there on an emergency basis to give you some options in late innings. We have had many rallies killed by a DP from the eight spot this year. Then the pitcher leads off the next inning.

Overall there are not as many holes as in the past. The big issue this off-season is will the Rocks stay put or try to take the next step. Time will tell. The past two years they have done very little in season to upgrade the team (other than dispose of their own garbage). Where will they go now and from here?

Watershed Moment?

PinchHitLancePainter — Sat, 19 May 2007 13:46:09 -0000

Last night highlighted the never-ending saga of the Clint Hurdle tenure. His decision to remove Francis was one for the ages. One has to question the reasoning. Lifting Francis after two batters and one out in the eight and allowing him to hit with two runners on in the bottom of the seventh defies explanation. If he was going to lift him in the eight, why hit him in the seventh with a potential game breaking situation at the plate. The potential to send up Hawpe and orchestrate a double switch was in order. As it was it played out in the worst case scenario.

This shows in my mind an inability or gut feeling regarding certain game nuances. I would have thought that given only 79 pitches (the number on the Coors Field pitch tracker) and a shutout he would have allowed Francis to face at least the on deck righthanded hitting Grudz.

The next few days may see the end of the Hurdle era. It was pretty ugly in the stands last night following the debacle.

Sure Hurdle stepped up and faced the music as he always does. The question remains is to how long will Rockies management accept his apologies. The man has a very losing record as a manager. Was a bust as a player. He has shown no inclination or flashes or brillance as a manager.

Joe Girardi looms as a strong candidate. Given the situation in NY and the potential for an implosion there any day, how long will Rockies management wait to make a move? Or do they have no interest in Girardi given his management struggles last year in Florida?

Girardi has proven he can produce maximum results with minimum talent. He would seem tailor-made for the Rockies situation.

Was last night the straw that broke the camels back? Or yet another bad decision, by a bad organization that seems to accept losing and poor performance as the rule rather than the exception.

Is this a watershed moment or just another day at the office for an organization that cannot produce results?