Then Matt Palmer pitched himself into a starting slot for the Angels. Sean O’Sullivan arrived from Double-A Arkansas to fill out the starting rotation in Salt Lake, until he pitched his way to Los Angeles as well. The next pitcher called up to bolster our Triple-A rotation was Trevor Bell.

When the transaction-go-round starts spinning as fast as it has this season, it seems awfully quick to the trigger to select a ballplayer who’s only been at Triple-A for just one-and-a-half months. On the other hand, Bell has been as steady as they come, even when he hasn’t gotten the run support he deserves. So

Trevor Bell was selected by the Angels in the first round, 37th overall, a supplemental pick to compensate for the loss of free agent Troy Percival. His development from Rookie through Advanced-A was steady, albeit unspectacular, with ERA stats of 3.50, 4.14, 4.22, respectively. Bell made the Double-A roster out of spring training this year, and it seems as though something clicked. In 11 starts for Arkansas, he relinquished only 54 hits and just one homer in 68.2 IP for a 2.55 ERA.

Pitcher injuries among the Angels resulted in a mid-June spot start for O’Sullivan against San Francisco and subsequent promotion for Bell, who got his first Triple-A start against division-leading Colorado. And what a start it was; a two-hit, complete game shut-out. Since then, the 21-year-old has pitched like he’s been with us all season: 2.81 ERA, 52 H, 36 SO, 14 BB, 64.0 IP. Best of all has been his ability to go deep into the game, averaging 7.1 innings per start, with two 9-inning complete games. Bell doesn’t have a blazing fastball, and relies heavily on ground-ball outs. Mentally, he is one tough competitor. One of my favorite moments from this season was a five-pitch duel between Bell and major-league veteran Sal Fasano.

Much has been made of Bell’s off-season acting career, as well as his relation to the original Bozo the Clown. And while these are interesting media bytes, they aren’t nearly as intriguing as a couple of other extracurricular activities engaged in by the youngster from North Hollywood, CA.

At the start of the 2008 season, Bell joined Barry Zito’s “Strikeouts for Troops” campaign, in which he pledged to donate funds to the charity for every strikeout he made. Later that summer Bell was sent down to Single-A Cedar Rapids shortly after horrendous flooding had devastated the Kernels home city, along with several other Midwest cities along the Iowa and Cedar Rivers. During his short stay, Bell took a tour of the area and wrote a personal check for $2,500 towards rebuilding efforts.

What is noteworthy about these contributions is how uncommonly rare it is for low-level minor leaguers to be thinking of something other than their on-field performance. For yours truly, it’s yet another reason to cheer on our latest young gun…Your friend in baseball.

Thinking aloud then. . .Jeremy Hill, of late, is having some trouble holding leads. I love Francisco Rodriguez. Too bad he wasn’t around for half the month. Matt Brown and Bobby Wilson have been struggling at the plate. Reggie Willits spent two weeks nursing a sore hamstring. Freddy Sandoval and Chris Pettit are out with injuries until late July at the earliest. Oh have I mentioned, the weather’s been lousy too? Sigh!

It’s true, Brandon Wood has been his consistently awesome self. And I’ve noticed significant improvement in plate discipline, particularly his 23:47 BB:SO (a ratio of 1:2). In all honesty, though, it’s not like yours truly is going to add anything revelatory to the well-deserved praise for this kid’s ongoing development. And yes, I had noticed Brad Coon is steadily upping his offensive production after a slow start. Not to mention, just like last year, he’s an excellent guardian of our 420-foot-deep center field. Trevor Bell? Tempting. His awesome debut is slowly turning, start-by-start, into a Triple-A stay of real merit.

And then I was reminded of having overlooked the bright ray of sunshine in our uncharacteristically cold and dreary June. . .

So, this month’s pick is Adam Pavkovich. Pavkovich was selected in 2003 from the University of Alabama by the Angels in the 11th round, 330th overall pick. He came straight to Provo for his professional debut, where the Crimson Tide alumnus figured out wood bats rather quickly, well enough to earn a mid-season promotion to Single-A Cedar Rapids.* He continued to move up the farm system without a hitch; a full season with Advanced-A Rancho in 2004, and just the briefest of time with Double-A Arkansas before arriving at Triple-A for good in 2005.

*Apparently he suited up for one game as a Salt Lake Stinger that year, although I don’t remember it personally.

Yours truly readily admits having wanted an excuse to showcase Pavkovich for a couple seasons now. He stands out for me not only as a good ballplayer, but one who makes an extra effort to bond with his fans, particularly the young ones.

A BeesGal memory. . .One afternoon in 2007, after a long wait for players to come out onto the field, one young fan literally wilted in his spot. He put his head down, cradled in his arms atop of the concrete wall, and closed his eyes. And there he rested, oblivious to the now-arrived ballplayers talking with and signing for fans along the wall.

Pavkovich stopped and bent down, lowering his head to peer upward into the downturned face.

“Hey,” he said gently. Getting no response, he asked again, “Hey there. Are you OK?”

The small head popped straight up, a startled look upon the youngster’s face. Pavkovich laughed warmly, and spent a few extra minutes chatting before moving on.

Another from 2007. . .Pavkovich appeared a full 30 minutes prior to gametime. He walked along the wall, scanning the rows as if he was expecting to meet someone. Halfway between the dugout and bullpen he stopped. He called up to a boy who looked eight or nine years old, standing with his father about 10 rows up in the stands. The boy and father looked around, and then behind them. They looked back at Pavkovich, who was now holding up what looked to be a brand-new bat, its gleaming walnut finish unblemished by pine tar or ball marks.

“Hi! Do you want this?” he called out, energetically gesturing for them to come over.

The boy remained frozen until finally his father half-pushed them both down the stairs and to the wall. The precious gift signed and delivered, Pavkovich returned to the clubhouse to get ready for that evening’s work.

In 2008, Pavkovich had a break-through year on the diamond. He flashed some power—25 doubles, 4 triples, 22 HR, 80 RBI and  225 TB—while maintaining a nice .280 AVE. That sort of production earned Pavkovich his first invite to the Dominican Leagues this winter and big-league training camp this spring.

Fast forward to Opening Day 2009, and Pavkovich begins his fourth season with the Bees. There have been, of course, a few changes over the seasons. Harper and Nagy are gone. Mitchell and Bennett are in their second seasons as manager and pitching coach.

On April 15th, Pavkovich played his 425th game in a Salt Lake uniform, passing former Buzz outfielder Chris Latham to become the franchise leader in games played. As noted by longtime Salt Lake broadcaster and “voice of the Bees” Steve Klauke, this is a bittersweet achievement, one that underscores a long tenure in the bush leagues. Pavkovich also has taken over the lead in career two-base hits (98), and tied in sacrifice flies (20) with Buzz/Twins infielder Todd Walker. His 19 sacrifice bunts leaves him just three short of Buzz infielder Mike Moriarty (22) and two short of Stinger/Bees infielder Casey Smith (21). Thanks to last year’s bomber run, he also holds sixth place in career homeruns (45).

On the other hand, some things haven’t changed at all. #25 still arrives early to meet his fans at the wall, every day, win or lose, play or sit. He talks, he smiles, he jokes, he inspires.

He’s still the young man who makes the Knothole Club something special. According to local lore, the 23-year-old infielder voluntarily assumed the role of Knothole Club “camp director” soon after his arrival in 2005. This spring, Camp Director Pavkovich once-again led kids and parents on a guided tour of a day in the life of a professional ballplayer.

During the tour he was asked how many bats players receive from Anaheim.

He replied, “Two dozen, which for a good hitter will last all season.”

There was a pregnant pause, and his next sentence was accompanied by that warm smile, “If you’re a not-so-good hitter, you’ll need more.”

He is a man of many gloves, having played all nine defensive positions including catcher (2006) and pitcher (2009). He’s our bottom-of-the-ninth, clutch hitter—whether ripping a walk-off grand slam or laying down a suicide-squeeze bunt for the only, and winning, run of the game.

What more can I say? Save perhaps, it’s been a delight having this young man in a Salt Lake uniform for all these seasons. I believe Pavkovich is eligible for free agency after the end of this year, his seventh since being drafted by the Angels. In that case, I certainly wish him all the best, with just the tiniest selfish hope of getting to meet again for Knothole Club, 2010…Your friend in baseball.

The tricky part is gleaning out the category of information you want. For example, some websites focus on trades and/or fantasy; others offer stats, trends and forecasts;  still others provide debate and discussion. So, in an effort to guide you through the maze, or perhaps just to sort them out for myself, I offer this short list, with a word of warning. Per usual, my choices might be on the eccentric side. Of course, you knew this already, yes?. . .Your friend in baseball.

The Show

Triple-A

Double-A

Advanced-A

Single-A

Rookie

Independent Leagues

A random assortment of stuff

A handful of blogs by players and their better halves

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube

Still, despite our revolving-door roster in April, one name clearly stands out thus far. . .Chris Pettit. Yours truly must admit being a bit surprised. What I mean is, after following our Bees players during big league spring training, I expected to be writing about Brown, Figueroa, Rodriguez or Wood after the first month of the season.

So where has he been hiding, anyway? Well, part of his low profile was due to a rather painful 2008 season. After an impressive season with Cedar Rapids and Rancho Cucamonga in 2007, Pettit didn’t get much of a chance to play at the Double-A level. On Opening Day with the Travelers, he broke his foot and didn’t rejoin the team until the end of June. This photo, BTW, has to be the worst front-office, PR decision I’ve seen in, well, like forever. . .?

Coming back, Pettit found it harder than he expected to find his swing again. He kept at it, making the most of his playing time in the Arizona Fall League and by the end of the season was named to the 2008 All-Prospect Team. In February 2009, he was invited to the Rookie Career Development Program. Followed by an invite to big league camp this spring.

In fact, his rise in the farm system has been punctuated by awards:
05/08/2009 Angels’ Minor League Player for April
12/04/2008 AFL All-Prospect Team
11/18/2008 AFL Stenson Sportsmanship Award Finalist
11/10/2008 AFL Player of the Week
10/23/2008 AFL Rising Stars
08/08/2007 Angels’ Minor League Player for July
06/19/2007 MID Mid-Season All-Star
06/08/2007 Angels’ Minor League Player for May
08/31/2006 PIO Post-Season All-Star

As of yesterday Pettit was hitting .448 BA (1st in PCL), 96 AB (tied for 18th), 43 H (1st), 20 RBI (tied for 8th), 61 TB (6th), 1.121 OPS (4th). Last night in Portland, he pushed his hitting streak to 17 games with his last at-bat. During the streak, BTW, he’s kept up a .536 BA and multiple-hit games for all but five!

How did I not hear more about this prospect, sooner? Seems as though I’m not the only one, though, who’d been a little slow to take notice. At the beginning of the season, Salt Lake Bees broadcaster Steve Klauke was told Pettit is most highly regarded for his defense. It’s true he’s got wheels in the outfield. Yeah, but, . . .35 hits in 29 games. . .those are some crazy offensive numbers.

I already was looking forward watching our major-league infield this spring—Brown, 1B | Rodriguez, 2B | Wood, SS | Sandoval, 3B. Looks as though we’ve got a pretty hot outfield as well, with Brad Coon, Terry Evans and that new kid, . . .Chris Pettit. . .Your friend in baseball.

A bit of not-so-good news from the same LA Times article, Darren O’Day has been diagnosed with a labrum tear and will try rehab rather than surgery. Take care…

Lastly, the Angels announced their minor league organizational awards for 2008. Freddy Sandoval won Player of the Year and Anthony Ortega was named Pitcher of the Year. Efren Navarro (Cedar Rapids Kernels/Rancho Cucamonga Quakes) was named Defensive Player of the Year. Nice!

Bye for now!

September 15, 2008 — Now that the congratulations have been taken care of, it’s time to offer some thanks as well.

First and foremost, I’d like to thank all of you out there who took the time to stop by for what I hope has been some entertaining reading. I am particularly grateful to those readers who went to the extra trouble of posting a comment. Your input often leads to an inspiration for later posts, or new perspectives on the ones already up. Thank you again!

Rich Barker broke his own rule about ignoring these d*mn bloggers to post some insightful comments about our PCL Pitcher of the Year.

Lisa Winston threw caution to the wind by publically endorsing TSJ in her blog and adding it to her blogroll. Girlfriend, we HAVE to meet up during Arizona Fall League.

Jonathan Mayo, for putting his heart and soul into raising public awareness, as well as $$$, for victims of the Iowa Floods of 2008, including the Cedar Rapids Kernels staff, boosters and host families. You da’ man JonB3!

Chris Rosenbaum put in a really nice plug for TSJ at his blog on September 04. In fact, his post reminded me I needed to do the same. Hey Rosey, can’t wait to see you in a Bees uniform!

Dirk Hayhurst resisted deleting my snarky comments at his very popular blog, and even went so far as to plug TSJ, whereupon site visits immediately quintupled from like 5 to 25.

Rich Burk, Portland Beavers broadcaster, was incredibly supportive of my blogging efforts. Guess I’ll have to make plans for a trip to PGE Park someday, just so I can see for myself what Burkie “is really like.”

John Wolff, former minor-league infielder and owner of eFieldHouse. On a lark I sent him an email inquiring about his site, and WTF?. . .he emailed back! No doubt it’s been downhill for his inbox ever since.

Aaron Wells, Matt Gittins, Jason Taylor of the Orem Owlz always welcomed me to their home yard, always with a smile.

Extra-special thanks to Brenton Del Chiaro for letting me pester him long enough to get an interview for eFieldHouse. [Plus my eternal gratitude to the baseball gods, who allowed me to catch up with the Owlz Hitting-Coach-Come-Manager before the news media started their en masse assault on his Caller ID!]

Another warm thanks to Owlz Pitching Coach Zeke Zimmerman (who will never read this online, so someone go tell him for me) for introducing Tako-sensei and for, . . .well, just being Zeke.

Stephen C. Smith, an invaluable source for Angels’ information and photos. Inspiring, honest and a cherished friend (despite his efforts get me to leave the Triple-A team).

Rick Dykhuizen and Linda Giger, Franklin Covey Irregulars and amateur photogs who helped boost the glam factor of this site by graciously allowing me to post their work for all of you to enjoy.

Dave “Netman” Pratt. Thanks for reminding me that every day spent at the ballpark is a GOOD DAY. More importantly, for teaching us that game balls are far too precious to be kept as mere souvenirs; they were meant to be given away, like love. Dude, when I get to that place, we are going to get in some BP!

Marc Amicone, Brad Tammen, Linda Luchetti, Hannah Lee, Tony Parks, Brian Prutch, Larry, LaRue, Paul, Erin, Joe, Mort, Kevin, Jose, Vern, Katie & the Honeybees and EVERYONE in the Salt Lake Bees front office. You all know how I feel about you already; this is just a shout-out to ensure the rest of the whole d*mn world knows too.

Ryan & Company. Without you guys, there’d be no ballgames at all; the playing field never looked better!

Bumble, for running/jumping/climbing/clapping/riding around in that hot, stuffy suit until his knees (literally) wore out! You’ll always be da’ Bee for me!

Salt Lake Bees team photographer Brent Asay is in a class by himself. I’ve said it already, but it deserves an encore. No one shoots action like Brent!

Steve Klauke, Mr. 2000, what can I say? We’ve been through a lot of seasons together. How about, I’m just not completely present at the ballpark without my radio on and tuned to KJQS 1230 AM?

Bobby Mitchell and this season’s coaching, conditioning and training staff. Welcome to the ballclub fellas! Nice job taking care of this bunch of hard-driving, high-octane, boys-learning-to-be-men. A special thanks to Mitch for a splendid job of media relations, best I’ve seen in years.

Jim Eppard, my favorite coach, for helping #8 get his swing straightened out and #25 produce new career stats in almost every category. Oh, and for making me look like a rock star by lobbing a few soft tosses my way.

To all the ballplayers who spent time this summer in a Salt Lake Bees uniform. Early in the season, our PCL PioY (time marker 07:40) described noticing something special about this group of guys. That thought kept coming back over and over again during the course of the season. I’ve watched a lot of ballplayers come and go over these many summers. And there was definitely something about this team that went beyond BA, RBI, ERA and SO. Best of luck to you in baseball, and everything else.

Saving the best for last. . .my ballpark-bud Jackson was always on top of the game—reminding me who was in the box/on deck/in the hole, what happened their last at-bat, how to turn a triple-play, which ballplayers we liked (Bees) or disliked (other guys), and most importantly of all, why I love this game. Thanks so much for the present! (Dad tells me you spent a ton of time on it.) Hopefully you’ll get to watch your two favorite Bees-now-Halos ballplayers on TV, all the way into Halloween!

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Well, . . .only 199 days until the Opening Day 2009. Bye for now!

It’s been quite a year for the Angels’ farm system. All the affiliates, save Advanced-A Rancho Cucamonga, qualified for post-season playoff berths. In addition, all contributed ballplayers (and a couple managers) to the various All-Star/All-League Teams. Take a gander at this star-studded tally:

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The best and brightest achievement of the 2008 has to be Kevin Jepsen and Matt Brown being selected to play for Team USA Baseball and their winning of the Bronze Medal at the Beijing Olympics.

I’d like to take a moment to show a little extra love for Matt Brown, who’s had a season for the ages. In addition to the accolades noted above, there’s first cycle of the PCL season, PCL Batter of the Week and Angels Minor League Player of the Month. And my favorite corner infielder was a big part of the Bees’ record-setting, 23-and-2 April.

In Beijing, Team USA faced some truly odd IBAF rules—such as 10-run mercy forfeits, extra-inning tiebreakers and umpiring via translator. In the high-stakes, winner-takes-all tournament format, top prospects LaPorta and Fowler, and seasoned veterans Hessman and Gall didn’t fold exactly. But they didn’t live up to their highly publicized billing either.

Matt, on the other hand, put up offensive numbers that topped his teammates in several categories: .281 BA (4th highest), 32 AB (5th highest) and leading in RBI, SLG%, TB (tied) and BB. In short, he got dropped into the pressure-cooker and didn’t even singe an eyelash. Well, except maybe a few belonging to opposing pitchers.

Seeing Matt for the first time since Beijing, I noticed a new gleam in his eye. A glimpse, perhaps, of the coming-of-age for a promising young ballplayer. Ask any coach dedicated to developmental athletics; these are the moments we live for.

Remember to have fun up there in Anaheim, Brownie! Bye for now!

End of Part 1
Check back tomorrow for Part 2!

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September 12, 2008 — Just discovered the Salt Lake Bees added a whole bunch of medals pix to their Photo Gallery. Check ‘em out! Bye for now!

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• EPILOGUE•

September 10, 2008 — Yours truly must have been sleep-writing when I announced the last of the Olympic posts. Du-oh! Of course, . . . gotta give our returned Olympians the chance to flash their stylin’ new bling-bling. Bye for now!

Salt Lake Buzz Manager Phil Roof was our highly respected and rather conservative skipper. He frequently commented that his job was to teach these young men how to be professional ballplayers. Longtime broadcaster Steve Klauke occasionally noted that Phil seemed to place particular emphasis on the “professional” part, with rules such as athletes being required to show up 10 minutes early for interviews and take turns sitting at the pre-game player autograph table. He was old-school, and believed players should interact with fans. A former catcher who’d logged in 15 years in the major leagues, Phil would sign autographs and graciously chat with fans prior to every game.

Funny thing was, Midre seemed to have been granted an exemption from this policy. He shied away from signing before games. If a youngster managed to catch him alone, he would usually stop; however, he clearly wanted nothing to do with the adult autograph hounds seeking his signature on the Pirates and Red Sox cards they brought by the handfuls. It got to be a battle of wills between the fans and Midre.

A few went so far as to complain to Phil one day, “Hey, Phil, that Midre Cummings never comes over and signs anything. What’s up with THAT?”

I watched, wondering what Phil’s response would be. Phil looked the complainer right in the eye and said, “He’s a good kid. And he’s a good ballplayer.” Then he smiled and that was the end of that conversation. I was intrigued.

People started booing when Midre struck out, their feelings bruised by his insistence in staying as far away from us as possible. They cursed him, in English and French. As the summer wore on, his hitting heated up. By July, he was helping the Buzz through a long winning streak and getting serious notice throughout the league. Knowing how time and a plus-300 BA tends to heal all wounds, I was curious to see what would happen if he kept at it after the All-Star Break.

And then in late July Midre disappeared. I mean literally. For two weeks, Midre was on the roster without appearing in the lineup or dugout. Finally, around the second week of his mysterious absence, Steve mentioned on the radio that Midre had to take care of some family matters. Unless you were listening to that particular broadcast, you wouldn’t have known even that much. Then just as suddenly, Midre was back. Unfortunately, he had lost his groove. People were booing louder.

In the meantime, it soon became apparent that the Buzz were in a playoff race for the PCL title. The booing lessened as people started to rally behind the team in anticipation of the 5-game showdown with the Vancouver Canadians. The PCL Championship series was a thrill-a-minute, screaming ride all the way. The Buzz started the series by going 0-2 at home, tied the series 2-2 on the road, and came home for the deciding Game #5. We went into the 9th inning with a two-run lead and, . . .blew it.

Our season was over. Everyone in the ballpark sat in stunned silence and disappointment. A couple of players stood in the dugout, looking over the field for a very long time before they disappeared into the tunnel. Quite a few fans, including yours truly lingered as well. I perched on the wall next to the field, listening to the postgame “lowlights” show and feeling like a bride who’d been left waiting at the altar for 3-1/2 hours and then dumped.

A player walked up behind me and handed me a bat, “This is for you, because you are the ultimate fan. It’s for you.”

I jerked my head up to find myself staring (and undoubtedly with mouth attractively agape) at the least approachable player on the entire team. Midre Cummings. The player who wouldn’t sign for fans. The player who hid in the dugout until the last possible moment and then sprinted out onto the field while avoiding all eye contact.

I barely managed to stammer out, “Um, . . .thank you.”

He reached out, shook my hand and walked away. Unbeknownst to me at the time, Midre got his MLB call-up that evening. I looked down at my gift. The heavy black-lacquered bat had been well used, heavy with pine tar on the grip, ballmarks on the barrel and large crack along the handle. I turned it over and read the custom engraving, “Geniune C271, Midre Cummings, Boston Red Sox.”

Disappointment was replaced by confusion. Why the h*ll would a ballplayer go to the extra effort of making a connection with a complete stranger; a person with whom he has never exchanged a single word prior to this one and only moment? I went home and started digging through the Internet. Sadly, I didn’t save any of the stories or else I’d link to copies. (Who knew I’d be blogging about it nine years later? Did we even have weblogs back then?) Here’s what I found. After the Red Sox released him on the last day of March, Midre had trouble finding a team to pick him up. He finally found a place with the Twins, providing, he was willing to sign a minor league contract with their Double-A team and earn his way back up to the parent club.

OK, nothing special there, except it made his sudden disappearance in the midst of a white-hot batting streak all the more puzzling.

Then I discovered the real shocker. In 1999, a minor flu epidemic swept across parts of Florida. Midre’s wife and two boys, who were only one and two years old, had been stricken with the bug so badly they had to be hospitalized. Midre asked the Twins for permission to return to Florida, where he stayed until his family was released from the hospital.

OK, so now I understood the full measure of the man. The prima donna, when faced with the choice between a shot at making the big leagues and taking care of his family, went home. The jock who was too good for us bush-league fans, noticed a woman who never asked for autographs, cheered his successes and “ignored” his failures.

The very next morning I found a FedEx office and overnighted a card to the Minnesota clubhouse, thanking Midre for the incredible gift and wishing him all the success in the world as a ballplayer, husband and father. Two years later, pinch running for catcher Damian Miller, Midre scored the tying run for the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game #7 of the 2001 World Series, which Arizona eventually won. It doesn’t happen often enough, nonetheless it is comforting to know that nice guys (and gals) do finish first.

Bye for now!

See Part 2

• RELIEF UPDATES •

August 05, 2008 — Hi folks! Jonathan Mayo, reporter for MiLB.com, has been working his you-know-what-off on behalf of Midwest Flood Relief Efforts—from promoting, to organizing fund-raising, to turning wheels behind the scenes. His latest effort is a Charity Auction that ends on August 6th at 4pm EDT. Some nice items up for auction include memorabilia from a couple of ex-Buzz players.

Let’s help him, to help Cedar Rapids. PLEASE get the word out to as many people as possible!

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