Red hatted Champs

As the Traveler players staggered out of the clubhouse for Wednesday's game after a night of celebrating, there was something noticeably different about them. No, it wasn't the hangovers. It was the new red caps the players were wearing instead of the traditional blue.

General Manager Pete Lavin said the players had been wanting them, and so what a better time to reward the players with the new bonnets than the day after clinching the first-half title in one of the most thrilling ball games this observer has seen in a long time.

In fact when asked the next day Trav skipper Bobby Mags exuberantly called it, "the best game ever!"

I will long remember Bobby sprinting down the third base line to join his team for the victory celebration even before pinch runner Anderson Rosario crossed home plate with the winning run. 

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There's an old saying "Nothing is constant but change," and in professional baseball that expression was never more true. Players come and go, especially in the minor leagues and the fans and teams get used to it. But it will be sad to see Traveler reliever Bill Edwards go. Edwards, who has been with the team for parts of three seasons now and who is a heck of a nice guy, has asked the Angels for his release and it was granted.

We say good luck to Bill, who it's reported plans to catch on with another team in hopes of advancing.

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Traveler first baseman and native Australian Michael Collins called his two out shot over the right field wall with two outs in the bottom of the ninth against Springfield that tied the championship game and forced it to extras, the biggest hit of his career. I call it the biggest hit of the first-half in the Texas League.

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Look for more changes, especially in the outfield as Angel #19 prospect Chris Pettit returns to the Trav line-up after the Texas League All-Star break.

Pettit out of Loyola Marymount broke his foot on opening night at Dickey-Stephens. He is described by Baseball America "with a makeup off the charts."

So it will be interesting to see what kind shuffling will have to occur in the outfield to make room.

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Here's one for the Traveler interns, who work endless hours during the season. You may not know, but as part of ultra-modern Dickey-Stephens, the interns have their own dormitory complex to live in during the season.

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Most interesting autograph of the first-half goes to former Razorback and #12 Cardinal pitching prospect, Jess Todd.

 

Todd has "Big League" written all over him and entered Tuesday night's championship game with a minuscule 0.83 ERA as a Springfield starter. He  was pulled after the 7th with a 4-2 lead because of a pitch count limit.

 

If he had stayed in the ballgame for one more inning, would it have made the difference? We'll never know.

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Speaking of autographs, here's a tip getting cards signed. Ditch the Sharpie and go with the Staedtler Lumocolor permanent medium. The marker pens are made in Germany and work so much better than Sarpies, especially on chrome or glossy cards. You can order them on-line at www.imageshoponline.com.

 

WARNING:  NEVER use a Staedtler or any other type of marker on a ball because it could possibly smear. Always use a ballpoint on a baseball. 

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Have you tried listening to the live Traveler broadcast on KWBF-FM, 101.1 while at Dickey-Stephens park? It's impossible. That's because the radio station has a six second delay on all its programming thanks to the station's morning show where listeners call in. So if you are listening live to Phil Elson describe the action while in your seat at the game, everything is six seconds behind and its maddening.

Keep in mind it's certainly not Elson's fault, but he says he's received "lots of complaints."

I have a solution RTN Radio. When the team is home, teach someone to turn it off at night during Traveler broadcasts so fans at the park can listen and enjoy as they should.

Can you imagine the uproar that would occur if a similar situation happened during a Razorback football broadcast? Why should loyal Traveler fans have to put up with it?

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Player notes...... Trav center fielder Adam Greenberg said before the first-half championship game he was"about 80%," with his knee after returning to the team for the DL. Greenberg says he had a cyst rupture and there was no structural damage.

And catcher/DH Brian Walker, who has really come around at the plate especially with power via long-balls, attributes it to work in the cage with hitting instructor Eric Owens. He said they had corrected a "shoulder rotation" approach and the results have been obvious.

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Care to guess what Bill Valentine's nickname was growing up? One of these choices is correct. See if you can guess.

A. Poor boy

B. Sharkey

C. Clam

D. Jar Head

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And finally.....did you ever wonder how the BULLPEN got its name. No it's not for the obvious, shall we say chatter that occurs out there among pitchers during games.

But rather according to historians the term bullpen came from advertising of "Bull Durham" tobacco on billboards in the outfield corners where relievers warmed up, and was said to have been first used in 1888.

 

Post by Lonesome Traveler

 

   

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Comments

[Yellow Tail Swine]

Didn't Elson post here fairly recently that the delay had been removed for Travs games?

[Phil Elson]

Here is the deal on the radio delay:

The delay was removed for about a week because the piece of equipment KWBF used to place the delay broke. It is now fixed, and unfortunately the folks at KWBF have told me that the delay must stay. So we're looking into a way to broadcast a signal throughout DSP that will allow fans to listen to the PBP without experiencing a delay.

Wouldn't it easier to just break the delay-kizmo again..?!?

[The Travelerocity reporter]

I used to work at a radio station. There are two buttons on the delay machine -- one to turn it on/off, and one to "dump" a caller (that's why they call it the dump button). What antique piece of equipment is 101.1 using that it doesn't even have an on/off switch?

[The Travelerocity reporter]

The Naturals claim 5,900 were at the game Sunday? From the picture in the paper, it looks more like 1,900.

Steven Shell went up to the Big Leagues on Saturday for the Naturals. Pitched the ninth. three up three down. Good for him.

[Arky]

Is this the reason Travelerocity Reporter gets upset about the Angels not sending players to Little Rock....(Ooops!) NORTH Little Rock for rehab?

From the LATimes:

Minor leaguers feed off rehab stints
When players from the big club come down, they pay for postgame meals.
By Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
June 19, 2008
When the Angels decided to cut Erick Aybar's minor league rehab assignment a day short and reactivate the infielder Wednesday, the reverberations were felt in the clubhouse of the Angels' Class-A affiliate in Rancho Cucamonga. That's because every time a big league player goes down to the minors to work through an injury, he's expected to buy the postgame spread, replacing takeout burgers, pizza or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with something more substantial.

"It is a big difference," said Morris Sipes, the clubhouse manager for the Quakes.

Francisco Rodriguez blows save for AngelsAnd the players in Rancho Cucamonga have been eating well most of the season, because Aybar was the sixth Angel to play there this spring. But none, Sipes said, was more generous than pitcher John Lackey, who sprung for a half-dozen $500 meals from local restaurants during his three-game rehab assignment.

"He'd come in for his workout and have me set something up and then he'd be gone before they even threw the first pitch. He'd pay for the food anyway," Sipes said.

For Lackey, it was simply payback. When he was a minor leaguer, former Angels pitchers Jarrod Washburn and Ken Hill, among others, did the same thing when they came down to rehab.

"I definitely think it's something that's passed on," Lackey said. "And you appreciate it as a minor league guy because those guys don't have a lot of money.

"It means a lot to them. And it's not going to hurt me any. So why not?"

Link: http://www.latimes.com/sports/baseball/mlb/angels/la-sp-angrep19-2008jun19,0,1951281.story

TR, are you expecting a lavish meal with rehabbing players?

(Just kidding!)

Arky

[The Travelerocity reporter]

"And the players in Rancho Cucamonga have been eating well most of the season, because Aybar was the sixth Angel to play there this spring."

That says it all. Great find on the article. Thanks for posting it here.

Did Morris Sipes used to have the same job with the Travs?

MoTown got fired from the Travs for "Bad ratings from visiting clubs, and umpires..." According to BV. I'm glad to hear he's doing well out there in Rancho, at least someone appreciates his hard work and recognizes him.

Mo-Town...he's nationwide!!!

Same old tired complaint that the Angels don't send their rehabs to Arkansas when it makes no sense to do it.

By the tones of most of what TR posts, he is going to be mighty disappointed when the Travs and Angels resign their PDC.

[Mr. Shucks]

Thanks for dropping by, Mr. Flores. ;-)

[Mars]

From Buster Olney blog on ESPN.com

ANGELS HAVE A HANDLE ON PITCHING

There is little margin for pitching mistakes in cozy Citizens Bank Park, little margin for error against the Phillies' lineup, and yet, the Angels shut down Philadelphia over the weekend: Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders and Jered Weaver helped limit the Phillies to five runs in three days.

They all are homegrown pitchers. And so is John Lackey, who shut down the Nationals on Monday. And so are Francisco Rodriguez (the closer with 31 saves), set-up man Scot Shields and others. The Angels consistently produce one of the best pitching staffs in the game, largely through their player development system, with their staff ERA ranking in the top half of the big leagues. Since 2002, they have ranked fourth, 15th, 13th, fifth, fourth, 11th and, in 2008, eighth.

The Mariners tried to fashion a rotation in recent years by spending about $110 million on free agents Jarrod Washburn, Miguel Batista and Carlos Silva, and by swapping a boatload of prospects for veteran Erik Bedard -- but the Mariners still don't have much stability around homegrown right-hander Felix Hernandez. Meanwhile, the Angels just keep churning out pitching. They know pitching.

Tony Reagins, the Angels' general manager, recently explained some of his organization's core pitching principles:

1. The Angels like pitchers with athletic deliveries that "create direction toward home plate," Reagins said.

Like every organization, the Angels draft or sign pitchers who have been taught a range of mechanics as amateurs, and the team tries to introduce the motion of the hands going over the head in the delivery. "If the delivery is stagnant," Reagins said, "arm injuries are more of a factor. Athletic deliveries tend to lead to a healthier arm."

Reagins cited the recent example of Jordan Walden, a 20-year-old right-hander currently pitching in low-A ball Cedar Rapids. "He had a stagnant delivery," Reagins said. "We just made some changes with him" -- the hands going over the head -- "and we've seen his velocity pick up and his command improve."

2. The Angels focus on fastball command, from their prospects in the Dominican to Triple-A. Pitching coaches in the organization maintain charts for the pitchers to see who is demonstrating the best command and who is throwing the most strikes; the idea behind this, of course, is to foster competition. "We have a real focus on first-pitch strikes," Reagins said.

3. There is a consistent pitching program throughout the entire organization, developed by Mike Butcher -- the Angels' pitching coach in the big leagues -- and Angels manager Mike Scioscia. This can help pitchers make the transition from stop to stop, because at every level, the message and the throwing programs are essentially the same.

The Angels got a couple of gifts from the Nationals. The team has been winning, but the offense has been an issue....