Random thoughts on Travs from correspondent Lonesome Traveler

By now, I'm sure most everyone has heard about Travs center fielder Adam Greenberg's incredible story.

Here is the pitch from Florida Marlins left hander Valerio de los Santos that struck Greenberg in the back of the head on that fateful day July 9, 2005. It was Adam's first appearance at the plate for the Chicago Cubs after having been called up a few days earlier along with teammate Matt Murton.

Greenberg had to be helped off the field and the pitch was the first and only one he ever saw in the big leagues, which brings up an interesting and extremely rare statistic.

Greenberg consequently has a major league on-base percentage of 1.000 with no official at-bats, and he never took the field. The only other player with that same stat, at least in the modern era, is Fred Van Dusen, who was playing with the Phillies on Sept. 11, 1955, when he was struck by a pitch.

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The Travs' '08 card set arrived about two weeks ago to mixed reviews from the players. "I don't like them," first baseman Michael Collins said. He wasn't alone. When asked, several players said they would have preferred more action type shots than tight or "goofy" ones. 

Travelers hurler Brok Butcher said there was more than one set of pictures taken. After the more serious ones were shot, he said the players hammed it up and apparently in the end more of those types were chosen for release.

To tell you the truth, I like them although I was puzzled by the sad and forlorn looking shot of outfielder Chris Pettit (#19 Angels prospect) sitting in the dugout with his crutches and broken foot in a cast. An injury that occurred unbelievably on opening night at Dickey-Stephens.

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Card set ADD.........................................

And why doesn't Shelly have a card? Aftershock, his cohort at Rancho Cucamonga, has his own card. What an insult to Shelly that in AA ball he's not allowed to keep up.

Hey, Bill Valentine had his own card. Why not Shelly, and radio announcer Phil Elson for that matter? Elson, '07 Traverlocity MVP, last had a card in '05. The best radio guy in the Texas league certainly deserves one if the trainers have one!

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Has anyone noticed the right side of the diamond near first base tilting a little bit? That's because the biggest man in the Texas League, (nobody could be bigger right... particular not a posistion player?) San Anonio's Kyle Blanks, 6' 6"/270 pounds (and looks bigger) played first over there during the recently completed series with the Missions.

Blanks, the Padres' #10 prospect, took care of business at the plate as well, blasting Travelers pitching throughout the series.

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Speaking of the Missions... rewind to the Sunday (6/1) rain out against San Antonio and the all-time wrestling match with the tarp that took 26 men to subdue in the 60-70 mph wind gusts. One of the last to leave the field, bedraggled and soaked, was Travelers General Manager Pete Lavin, who had rushed in to help his boys fight the monster.

Years from now ten thousand people will be saying they were there for the "tarp game," which Pete said was videotaped by the park's cameras and was going to be posted on YouTube. Haven't ventured to the on-line site to see, since I witnessed the melee in person, but if it is, it's a "can't miss."

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Wouldn't it be nice if the team would invest in a smaller balls/strikes/outs scoreboard somewhere on the right side of the diamond, like up along the edge of the facade over the Traveler's dugout? I know, I know... Dickey-Stephen's is truly a beautiful, modern place, but that certainly would be a nice addition as most parks have at least two for the fans on both sides.

Hey, at least the radar gun has been moved to a better spot and is working this year. Although, does it seem a little fast to anyone but me? 

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Did you know the Travs have two #1 draft picks on the team, who were both taken by the Cleveland Indians in consecutive years?

In 2000, Travelers third baseman Corey Smith was the first choice by the Tribe, followed by pitcher Dan Denham the next year.

By '02, Corey had moved all the way up to the Indian's #1 overall prospect according to Baseball America.

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It has been rumored by more than one source that hurler Robert Mosebach's days are numbered as a Trav. His promotion to Salt Lake is imminent, one source ventured.

I wondered if that was the case, so I asked him.

Not so, says Mosebach, who was one of four Travelers just named to the Texas League All-Star game. He says the rotation at Salt Lake is "solid," and he would not be on the move any time soon.

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More bad news for #4 Angels catching prospect Hank Conger, who signed for $1.35 million in '06 and has battled a quagmire of injuries ever since.

A Rancho Cucamonga spokesman says Conger has been diagnosed with a labral tear and will eventually have to have surgery.

So it could be some time before the highly touted prospect appears as part of the battery at Dickey-Stephens.

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Did any one but me realize that the Twisters and Travelers share the same P.A. announcer? That could explain why things are uh... well, so loud at the park this year. Having to shriek above the din of Arena 2 football is necessary for any public address announcer at the indoor contests where the music blasts contantly, and the noise level inside the dome just about takes the roof off.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to sit in a suite for a recent Twisters game and I was told later the P.A. announcer, who was right below us, is also the Travs' new guy. Except on Twisters home game nights, when the old Travelers announcer comes back to sub at Dickey-Stephens.

The next day (the Tarp Game) during the rain delay I was visiting with an "insider," who mentioned how he missed the old announcer's, shall we say, more graceful and sedate style.

He was right. Shrieking doesn't transfer over to baseball.

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Finally, I heard this from former Texas Ranger manager Buck Showalter during ESPN's Baseball Tonight, where he now works. Showalter explained how when he was a minor league manager, he had witnessed a triple play that never touched a glove.

Any guesses?

If you saw the broadcast please don't tell. The correct answer will be revealed in a later post.

Post by Travelerocity Correspondent Lonesome Traveler

Comments

[Mars]

my own random thoughts..
bummer about Hank and how else should Pettit look? poor guy has played all of about 9 outs this year..

Made the Saturday night game at NWA...here's some thoughts. (Sorta') Sorry if it seems harsh on the ballpark up north. I'm a homer.

1) It will suck the big one to be a NWA Natural bullpen pitcher in July and August. Their pen is down the RF line and takes a direct beating from the sun until about 8 or 8:15. Meanwhile the visitors pen is in the shade the whole time. I ain't gonna be fun to pitch after sweating bullets and swatting flies for 5 or 6 innings.

2)I had never seen the Travs play in their road greys. It was more than a little disconcerting to be rooting against the team in white and for the team in grey. Totally threw me off.

3)Arvest Ballpark's concourse looks like a supercenter..just sayin..some of the lettering looks leftover whatever monstrosity was build recently. The "guest services" sign really made me look around for surly people in blue vests. Luckily, the Nats employees had on red Hawaian shirts and were quite nice.

3) They were out of programs on Saturday. Whoever heard of a ballpark running out of programs? No scorecards, nothing. Okay they had two pieces of copy paper stapled together. I think it had the rosters and a 0.25 square inch box to keep score in. I guess the nouveau fans there don't keep score. Give me DSP and its diehards any day of the week.

4) Man, it bothers me to hear the fans talking smack to my third baseman. That ain't cool at all. "Hey, that's my third basemen, you shut the hell up!"

5) What on God's green earth do I do with this porn-stache havin' Brian Poldberg bobblehead doll?

6) Bobby does the exact same stuff on the road he does at home. I guess I hoped Phil was making it all up when the Travs are out of town. Phil's just calling it as it happens. First Travs caught stealing was at 7:08. I think first pitch was at 7:05

7) Remember the tricycle race from the last year at RWF? Well the Nats had it, with slightly bigger trikes and it worked out much better.

8) Arvest Ballpark really is in a freakin cowpasture. No, that's not an exaggeration. It's the truth.

9) It's a nice park, it's new, it should be nice, but there is no real signature to it. The food lacked any taste of NWA. There was nothing equivalent, that I saw anyway, to Pig-n-Chik or DGP slices. There was standard ballgame fare.

10) BV and the Travs continue to do us right. EVERYTHING was more expensive there. Cokes were 50 cents more, dogs were more, the gift shop seemed overpriced ($6 for a minor league team magnet? is that a joke?).

11) Our mid-level walkaround is nice touch that other ballparks don't have.

12) I guess I'm a homer, but give me the friendly confines of DSP and home whites any day of the week.

13) It wasn't Corey's fault, the fresh face from A ball had to have missed a sign. Sorry Corey. Why exactly were we trying to squeeze with a guy at the plate who probably had all of 10 minutes to learn the signs?

14) NWA fans, you are supposed to get louder as the game wears on. The more you drink the more you should be riding the third baseman. After about the 5th inning, they were pretty quite. It wasn't a blow out. There is no reason to pipedown until the embarrassment of running your mouth outweighs the buzz.

15) What's the worst thing about seeing the Travs out of town? No Phil Elson post game show.

16) Going into NWA and smacking them around to tie for first place this late in the half is a good thing. Being one of about 20 Travs fans (outta 6500?) to clap during the silence following a Traveler base hit is a better thing. Being able to walk out of NWA with my head high and, well let's just say that it sure feels good, feels good to me.

[Mars]

oh, and here's the link to the tarp fiasco/extravaganza...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=2q5CuiEImYg

[Yellow Tail Swine]

haha.. nice. Thanks for posting that Mars.

I was unaware that the Travs had become YouTube-literate. Whoever has put some highlights from the homestands on there, keep it up. That would probably a nice thing to embed on the website as well.

[cozmosis]

Yeesh. Who criticizes their own employees in public more than Bill Valentine?

[Green grass around Arkansas]

Bill,
Why does the grass still look horrible where it was re-sodded? We were promised that it'd "take off" once the tempatures got warmer. At what point do we get the explanation on the scoreboard like we did last year? That is one area the DS or RW most certainly didn't win awards for.

The man running the "show" on the field is one of the few WITHOUT a college degree. (Greg)

What is the answer to the triva? How'd the triple play happen without the ball touching a glove??

[Voice of Treason]

"The man running the "show" on the field is one of the few WITHOUT a college degree. (Greg)"

Wrong, the person in charge of the grass is some "expert" that had been working at Alotian. So if you want to point fingers be sure you point at the right person.

That comment I'm pretty sure was in regards to Bills Comment on the YouTube video. Listen to Bill and try again.

[Poster formerly known as NLRfan]

I had the pleasure of catching the games Friday and Saturday night in Springdale. I was delighted to see a few other Travs fans in attendance. It was a real vocal travs crowd (all 6 of them) during Friday night’s home run derby.
There isn't much more I can say about the experience that Mars has already said.
One thought...
I got lost on a gravel road after the game. I wasn't the only one. I was following traffic. Me and about 5 other cars had to turn around in a mobile home's yard. It's a work in progress.
One second thought....
I sure did enjoy getting to enjoy a cold Bud Light as the game. Just like the good ole days! On the flip-side, I sure do save a lot of money at DSP by not have beer available to buy.

[The Natural]

There's no beer at DSP? Really?

Nope. No beer. That's why it's so odd that they have an area designated as "The Beer Garden."

Geeze...some people don't catch on to very quick.

I guess we should give the guy a break. NLRfan did not word his sentence well. The Natural is from Rogers, and I believe he is the one who does a blog for the Naturals. He has a lot to learn about MiLB. Need proof? Check out his lack of understanding of the purpose of the 40 man roster. We should probably go slow for the newbies.

Anyone who throws a fit over cheap beer is a moron. Cry a f'ing river.

[Yellow Tail Swine]

I'll take a draught Boulevard Wheat or Diamond Bear Pale ale 24 oz for about the same price as a 12 oz bottle at NWA

[VOR]

I seem to remember a post that was sarcastically titled "Thanks For The Great Season Angels" from about six weeks ago.

Whatcha got to say now that the Travs are in first place all alone?

[The Travelerocity reporter]

How about, "Thanks for the marginally above .500 season, players lifted from the independent leagues who have virtually no shot of making it to Anaheim."

[VOR]

A team that started 0-7 with no prospects to speak of. Your minor league player of the year hurt in the first four innings of the season. The farm director finally cares about fielding a winning team at AA and signs good AA and AAA caliber players and gets you into a pennant race. You've beaten Springfield and NWA more times than they've beaten you. And you simply throw it off as a marginally over .500 team that isn't worth a positive post from the constant critic that is TR? Get over yourself my man. This has become a fun team to watch. And for those of you who continue to cry about the Angels "not caring about winning" then please have a look at the Travs' record since the month of May started. This team wins...smile and enjoy it. And then bite your lower lip and thank the Angels for caring about winning at AA!

[VOR]

You know I thought it might be a coincidence that whenever the team starts winning, the amount of posts by TR shrinks. When the team stinks and is losing he's got a lot to say.

Coincidence? Not anymore!

[Karch]

Been thinking the same.

[The Natural]

Rogers? Hardly. I'm actually a bit curious, what makes you think I'm from Rogers?

I will totally admit that I lacked understanding about the 40 man roster. I was actually pleased to get some comments that helped illuminate it for me.

As for the beer thing - forgive me for the fact that I tried my hand at a little sarcasm - your responses made me very sad and hurt.

I hated to see the Nats go down to the Travs this past week, but there's still time to regain the lead. Go Nats!

[The Travelerocity reporter]

VOR, you summed up the season so far perfectly. It is simply amazing that the Travs are in first place after the way things started. Trust me, there is no coincidence amount posts and winning. I just haven't had a lot of time. There should be a post up today celebrating first place and throwing it in the face of NWA, but it will have to wait.

[Mars]

marginally over .500 and half full of indy-ballers is better than 0-70. After the first homestand, you could have convinced me we wouldn't win a game the first half.

Sure I would rather have a team of aybars, kendricks, morales', rasmii (that plural of rasmus and thrown in for you Cards fans)etc. But I also enjoy being in the Texas League playoffs.

This team had all appearances of being well on its way to sucking rocks. Instead the brass, be it BV, Pete, or the Angels or a combination have given us a team that, as of today, is in first place by a game. The rest of our games this half are against teams within our division. We effectively, provided a certain someone doesn't muck it up, control our own destiny. The opportunity to secure a playoff spot is there. And if it gets done the Texas League vets will probably have a large role to play. "Prospects" or not, Czarniecki, Stavinsky, and Greenberg, have contributed greatly to the success of the team.

[Yellow Tail Swine]

Agreed. I'm actually keeping up with this team on the road and planning for their next homestead... i.e. I am caring about the outcome of their games.

No doubt about it, this is fun.

[Karch]

Suit Gibbons up in a Trav uniform? What would you all think?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3437067

[Mars]

put 'em all 3 on the payroll. I bet Bonds would jack-slap BoMaggs into next month for trying to send him.

[The Travelerocity reporter]

Sharpshooter Todd gunning for promotion

By Derrick Goold, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Called in to finish off what closer Jason Isringhausen started, it took Jess Todd only three pitches to assert his ownership of the game.

Isringhausen threw his 22nd pitch to get his fifth out of his rehab start and then turned the game over to the Todd, the scheduled starter for Wednesday’s Class AA game at Hammons Field. Todd, the Springfield Cardinals’ supernova prospect, threw three consecutive cut fastballs to Arkansas’ Corey Smith. Smith didn’t have a chance.

He whiffed at an 89-mph cutter that snapped away and out of the zone.

A few scouts I was sitting with nodded; one said: “That’s pretty good.”

http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/bird-land/bird-land/2008/06/sharpshooter-todd-gunning-for-promotion/

[The Travelerocity reporter]

I post this because man does this sound good, especially the Tuscan meatloaf...

Valentine's Will Make Dad Happy
Valentine's Restaurant Taking Reservations
For Father's Day

Treat your dad to a special Father's Day at Dickey-Stephens Park with the Travs and Bill Valentine's Ballpark Restaurant. A special menu has been created just for Sunday, June 15 and we're taking reservations from 4 p.m. through 9 p.m. The Travs will be hosting the Tulsa Drillers beginning at 6 p.m. so don't miss any of the fun. Call Valentine's Restaurant at (501) 324-2255 to make your reservations now!

Valentine's Restaurant is open at 5:00 p.m. through closing, Tuesday through Saturday and all Mondays the Travs are in town. Don't miss the Tuscan Meatloaf special this weekend!

Valentine's Special Father's Day Menu

Roasted Rack of Lamb
with Wild Mushroom Risotto, Grilled Eggplant, Sautéed Dunbar Gardens Kale and Chervil Butter

Pan Seared Atlantic Coast Marlin
with Soft Polenta, Dunbar Gardens Sugar Snap Peas, Proscuitto-Wrapped Asparagus and Spicy Olive Tapanade

“Valentine’s Father’s Day Surf and Turf”
8 ounce Certified Angus Beef Filet and Poached Maine Lobster Tail with Mashed Potatoes, Roasted Pearl Onions and Drawn Butter

[The Travelerocity reporter]

Who's hot and not from the Travs...

Who’s Hot: OF Brian Stavisky is hitting well since joining the team, batting .412 in his last five games. He also has at least one hit in six out of his last seven games. Wil Ortiz is hitting well after his promotion from Rancho Cucamonga, batting .333 in his first four games up. Brok Butcher pitched seven innings without permitting an earned run in his last start. He also struck out six.

Who’s Not: 1B Michael Collins is struggling at the plate, hitting just .161 in his last 10 games. OF Jordan Czarniecki is also in a little bit of a slump, batting only .167 in his last five games. Czarniecki should be looking forward to returning to Dickey-Stephens Park, he has hit .426 at home this year. Bobby Mosebach lasted only 3.1 innings in his last start and allowed six earned runs.

[Yellow Tail Swine]

So Izzy, Mulder and Clement are all getting work with Springfield right now...

Gee, maybe they could throw us a bone and have one of those guys pitch here.

[The Travelerocity reporter]

Yeah, meanwhile the Angels take away the Travs all-star closer in the final week of a battle for the first-half playoff spot.

[Mars]

I'd argue with you TR, but I think moving Jepsen up stinks too. I understand that Bootcheck got DL'd and they called up ODay leaving the Bees 1 short. Sorry, but screw the Bees for two weeks. Call up Edwards (I saw where somebody here thinks he deserves a shot AAA) let us have our closer for 2 weeks and try to get into the playoffs.

[Mars]

I wouldn't get all thrilled about a Matt Clement and Mark Mulder rehab. I suppose that's nice, but I ain't making a special trip to the ball park to see either one of those guys pitch. They were good once, but that was sooooo loooooong ago.

[The Travelerocity reporter]

I was never high on Mulder but I still have hopes for Clement.

More importantly, what is the deal with the game still being on delay on 101.1????!!!! I thought this was finally supposed to be fixed.

[The Travelerocity reporter]

And why in the heck hasn't the Travs schedule on MiLB.com been updated with box scores in a week?

[The Travelerocity reporter]

From SI.com:

Fantasy Friday: Guardian Angel

Fantasy Friday: Guardian Angel
Rookie righthanded reliever Jose Arredondo of the Angels is making quite an impression in his first taste of big league action. After being called up in May as bullpen filler, he's been so impressive that even in a very experienced and accomplished pen he's been getting many of the eighth-inning setup calls from manager Mike Scioscia. On May 14 Arredondo allowed a home run to the first big league batter he faced, Chicago's Nick Swisher, but has been lights out since, tossing 13 consecutive shutout innings while allowing just seven more hits, striking out nine and walking no one. What's the secret to his success? Despite a slight frame (6 feet, 175 pounds) he has abnormally large hands, which allows him to throw a mean split along with a 94 mph fastball. With Francisco Rodriguez's free agency looming, Arredondo (left) looks like the leading candidate! to take over as closer next season should K-Rod bolt.

Visited with Judge Reinhold (Beverly Hills Cops and Fast Times at Ridgemont High) at the game last night (Thursday). He was very cordial and talked about how much he liked Liitle Rock as compared to LA-He married a LR gal-He was at the LR Film Festival few weeks ago--along those lines did you know there was a short film at the festival that featured DS and even had BV in it--I didnt get to see it but would love to see before the game sometime-its only a few minutes- its about a hot dog vendor I think.

Was dissapponted to have the radio delay back last night.

ps-Phil I could text you the jersey number when you cant read them in the bullpen ie dark jerseys like the Drillers like last night

dogtown dodger

"let us have our closer for 2 weeks and try to get into the playoffs."

Mars, you need to remember that Jepsen does not play for the LR Travs, he plays for the LA Angels... so he is not "our" closer. He needs to go where the team sees fit. I think its so stupid when you people get on here and say you want them to hold a player back because they are good for the travs. This isnt about you or this team. Its about the Angels, and these guys' careers.

[Mars]

dear 6:09 poster...

wow, thanks for the discussion. I'd say that I am pretty well versed in the in and outs of minor league baseball as well as why the players are here. I'd wager that I have a fairly strong grasp on the fact that the minor league system exists for the development of players and ultimately for the good of the parent organization. So your assessment of my lament for Jepsen is pretty meaningless to me. How about you bring something useful to the table and let me sing Jepsen's Lament.

And what do you mean "you people"?

Thanks for pointing out that it's not about me, clearly I was too busy whining profusely. For arguments sake, if it was about the players career Jepsen's call up wouldn't have been dependent on an injury ripple effect. He would have been called up earlier.

So, take your holier than thou attitude and go back to playing world of warcraft.