Interviewed to Overviewed: The Players of Spring Training

It’s been close to a month since the beginning of regular season baseball, so let’s check up on how our interviewees have been doing so far.

Clint Barmes – SS – Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB)

The Vincennes, Indiana native has struggled thus far with the Bucs.  He’s played in 19 of the teams 21 games, starting 18 at Shortstop.  He’s batting an abysmal .148 and has a horrifying 7.0 K/BB ratio in 56 plate appearances.  By all standards of the MLB, Barmes is performing in the bottom tier.  A relegation to AAA may soon be in order if his hitting woes continue to set the Bucs back at 8th spot in their lineup.

Ivan DeJesus Jr. – 2B/SS/3B – Indianapolis Indians (AAA)

DeJesus Jr. has starting only 7 of the Indians 19 games, according to baseball-reference.com.  The Indians have been using DeJesus as mainly a utility player to fill in anywhere on the infield when they give him a chance.  So far he’s performed up to par, holding onto a .345 OBP in his first 29 PA.  He hasn’t gotten many chances, so his statistics at this point are not very significant.  However, if DeJesus can show defensive strength at all three positions, he will be set up nicely for a future utility spot on with the Pirates late in the season.  He’s been rock solid so far (0 errors in 19 attempts).  If DeJesus can keep finding ways into the lineup with his defensive versatility, he may be able to make a comeback after tearing his oblique last spring training.

Alex Dickerson – RF – Altoona Curve (AA)

Defensively, Dickerson has been solid at his new post in Right Field.  The bat, however, has been some cause for concern.  He’s known to be an all around solid hitter, so his early season struggles should wear off (.206 BA).  Expect Dickerson to bounce back from a rough start.  AA is a whole new ballgame from A+ and his change of position doesn’t make the transition any easier.  Dickerson has the ability to make a jump to AAA late in the season, but MLB should be out of the question this year.  If he can’t pick up his power numbers however, his ETA of mid-2014 won’t look so promising.  Last year was a big season for him in Bradenton, now he needs to show us the evidence to back up those numbers (.295 BA, .451 SLG)

Jim Paduch – RP – Durham Bulls (AAA)

Paduch looks to have fallen into the “veteran AAA relief pitcher” category for the rest of his days.  While a string of good outings may lead to a promotion to the big club, don’t expect him to stay up there too long.  His career 4.58 ERA and 6.6 K/9 is really nothing to write home about.  As a 30 year old pitcher who has experienced some wear and tear, his career, unfortunately, is on it’s decline.  This year has not gone as planned for Paduch, as he has surrendered 5 ER in 7.1 IP.  Statistics show that he has even been extremely luck this season (76.1% strand rate).  At this point, it’s all up to how much the Rays value having a veteran pitcher like Paduch in the clubhouse.  Who knows…maybe he’ll get a call sometime this year and make a feel good story come to light.

Kevin Kiermaier – CF – Montgomery Biscuits (AA)

Kevin’s played in 18 of his teams 19 games, primarily playing CF (14).  A .406 OBP along with 3 triples and 3 doubles in 70 plate appearances is boasted by the young man from Fort Wayne Bishop HS.  He’s performing well and we should expect to see him to make a jump to AAA or the MLB by the end of the season if he can maintain his pace.

Justin O’Conner – C – Bowling Green Hot Rods (A)

Justin has played in 12 of his teams 17 games thus far, splitting time between catcher and DH.  He’s 2 for 6 on throwing out runners, which is his strong suit.  Justin hasn’t ben able to find his stroke the past 3 years in the minors and while this season’s early .261 BA may look like improvement, it’s likely too optimistic of his true BA over the course of the season.  Justin hasn’t shown much sign of power early in the season either, 3 doubles in 46 AB is no cause for excitement.  (especially from a supposed “power hitter”)

World Baseball Classic Exhibition: Spain vs. Baltimore Orioles….and other stuff too!

A member of the Spanish squad awaiting a pitch.

Yesterday we went up to Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota to catch the Orioles playing Spain in a World Baseball Classic exhibition game.  Spain plays in their first World Baseball Classic game against Puerto Rico on Friday.  They will be playing in pool C, along with The Dominican Republic and Venezuela.  If anyone has any common sense, they would bet a few pesos on Spain being first out and not winning a game.

We showed up to the game just in time for the first pitch, which was just late enough for me to decide not to keep score of the game.  Instead, many of us went into the official gift shop and perused the fine quality memorabilia that was offered.  I personally bought a $35 Orioles cap for my hat collection.  Once we got our newfangled items, some of us scurried up to our seats to catch the game while others headed straight for the concessions.  After watching one and a half innings of absolutely terrible baseball, which included many poor fielding plays, lack of hustle, poor pitching, and a mediocre base running decision, a pitching change provided for a perfect opportunity to grab some food and give my eyes a break from the lack of effort on the field.  (As a passionate baseball player and coach, it’s hard to endure such poor play.)

A close up of an Ed Smith Stadium dog.

At the concessions, I grabbed two franks which were gone within 5 minutes of me getting back to my seat.  From there on, the game started to show some signs of life.  While Spain was still clearly getting manhandled by what could be described as the Orioles farm system (plus a few major leaguers), they were able to put a some runs across the board by stringing a few hits together against Zach Britton in the top of the 5th and another in the 6th.  At this point in the game, the crew was ready to leave to head over to Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg.  Lucky for us, we missed out on a 9 run shellacking in the bottom of the 6th, where I can only imagine Spain displayed their true colors as a baseball country.

To be honest, I was unenthusiastic about going to Poynter.  Quite frankly, I had no idea what it even was.  Not even the slightest concept.  Guess what?  I left still having no idea what it was, but it was definitely something.  The environment was friendly and easy-going.  Deep-minded and though-provoking quotes covered the walls of the hallways.  Once we finally were settled into the meeting room, Al Thompkins, our host and guest speaker, became a mentor to all of us.  He dove into any topics that we were concerned about and offered his insight in a thoughtful manner that made us put our mind’s to work.  I was personally touched by the insight he had on work ethic and following through.  Building a reputation for yourself through hard work, good connections, and good character.  He provide incredible information on writing sports stories and, without mentioning anything about other professions, made me realize how important effective journalistic writing is for my profession. (and truly any profession)

We capped the day out by eating at a fantastic Italian restaurant in downtown St. Petersburg.  Tomorrow we will be visiting the Tampa Bay Rays minor league facility in Port Charlotte where I will, hopefully, interview Fort Wayne native Kevin Kiermaier about his transition to the MLB and winning the 2A State Championship with Fort Wayne Bishop.

Monday Recap

Our first full day on the job couldn’t have been much more eventful.  With interviews galore and spirits high, we found ourselves with more footage, laughs, and fun than anyone could have imagined.  The Pirates organization was overly hospitable towards us and a big shout out goes to Dan Holt from Public Relations.  We were able to interview any player that we wanted to, as long as they weren’t at Pirate City.

A Tiki Bar was part of the 2013 renovation project.

Security employee Marina Jardo at work.

While half the of our Spring Training crew was working with the player interviewing, I personally spent my time going around the stadium talking to fans and vendors about a variety of topics, strongly focusing on the new renovations to McKechnie Field.  Everyone that I talked to was very enthusiastic about the new renovations.  The fans and employees of the park seemed most enthusiastic about the tiki bar and the walkway around the perimeter of the outfield.  Marina Jardo who is part security at McKechnie Field provided us her insight about the renovations, “It’s organized, more organized…better access.  Plus there’s a lunch place up there!”

Otto “Ott” Linn helping out a customer during the game.

The personal highlight of my day was talking to fellow Hoosier vendor Ott Linn.  Ott is a graduate of Indiana University and was the “black sheep” of his Purdue-based family.  He now lives in Bradenton and works as a vendor for the Bradenton Maruaders, Pittsburgh’s Advanced-A affiliate, as well for the Pirates during Spring Training.  Stay tuned for more about Ott in a feature post.

A Weekend Behind Us

No one could have predicted what happened in the first weekend of BSU’s immersive Spring Training class. It’s amazing what people can think of to quell what would otherwise be an intensely boring two day drive to Florida. A group of students who would have never thought to know so much about one another after a single weekend. As I hinted at in my earlier blog post, “Expectations Aside…” there has only been one way to go about our time in Florida: have limited expectations and be open towards this new-formed community.

As we venture towards our first destination in Bradenton, we hope to become an even closer group through a team effort to develop as many quality stories as possible. It hopes to be a day full of good interviewing, excellent footage and maybe a few unexpected surprises. Let the News 397 reign free over Pirates camp!

Expectations Aside: A Week of Grapefruit League Baseball

For the past 11 years, I have traditionally fled to the safe havens of Arizona or Florida for a weekend of baseball and good times.  This year, through Ball State University, I have the incredible opportunity of spending the entire week down in the heat of the Grapefruit League to cover a variety of stories about the players, the teams, and whatever we can fit in.  I will be traveling southward with my 15 colleagues on March 3rd for what hopes to be a week full of hard work and great times.

Although I am one of the few non-News majors, my role on the team involves working with all groups on the statistical front.  As an Actuarial Science/Mathematical Economics double major, I have been deemed “numbers guy”.  Over the next few weeks, I will be updating the blog with the latest happens, interesting statistical research for our stories, and pretty much anything I feel like writing about.  Until next time…