I wasn't sure whether to mention this in the Blake Beavan/Goldstein thread, but decided it was worth its own fanpost... I assume it isn't mentioned anywhere else because of LSB opinion of BaD radio, which I don't disagree with. I swear, I was just flipping through the stations!

Anyway, I took a half day off yesterday, and when I was on the road, I caught the interview in-progress so I missed the beginning. It took me quite a while to figure out who was being interviewed. They were talking baseball, and asking this dude how the firings of the ML pitching coaches has affected things further down the system, so I knew they were talking to a Rangers minor league pitcher, but it took forever for me to figure out who. I had heard that Blake had a much changed personality, but to hear him in this interview was shocking. He is reserved, well-spoken, humble. Answered every question, talked extensively, had a good sense of humor. The whole thing was befitting of someone 25-30 yo, not a formerly cocky-beyond-belief 18 or 19 yo.

Topics I caught were of how striking the difference was with being completely surrounded by professionals instead of the man-amongst-boys situation of HS.

He indirectly rescinded his statements of how he would fast-track to the ML team, saying instead how he figured to finish the season with Clinton because he'd learned so much already and still had more to go to be comfortable at the next level. Basically said he'd be happy to move a level per year, and is a lot more aware of what a long shot it is to make it to the majors; so his goal is just to get there.

Confirmed his loss of velocity, but said his coaches and coordinators have told him not to worry. Said he'd never pitched this many innings ever, so they've assured him the velocity will come back over time. Not hurt or tired, just doesn't have it when he calls on it. He said it initially bothered him to rear back and expect mid-nineties but all he has is 89. "Now I've got to find new ways to get these guys out", and it has forced him to be a better pitcher.

Along the lines of never having thrown this many innings, they have lowered his pitch count from 85 to 70, IIRC. And that motivates him to be more efficient because if he jacks around and tries to strike people out, he can't go very deep in games.

Then he said he was going to go get some Subway, then get ready to pitch that night (last night). Dan asked him if the minors were really like Bull Durham, and Blake said yeah, it sort of is. The small town aspect of it, and some of the people... I have to wonder if he ran into a Crash Davis type, because this guy was Nuke Laloosh after the draft, and now he has all the right answers.

All in all, it was a great interview, wish I had caught the beginning of it. I really like this guy because we all knew he had skills that should project, but now his head is on straight. I think he's winding down already for this year (unless they give him a promotion/pat-on-the-back), but I'm really looking forward to next year.