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.

June 12, 2009 — In case you hadn’t noticed, Opening Day for the Orem Owlz is fast approaching, June 23. Last year’s batting coach, Brenton Del Chiaro, has moved up the ladder to the Single-A Cedar Rapids Kernels. I’m thrilled to note former Salt Lake first baseman Mike Eylward will be this season’s hitting coach for the Rookie-A team. For a nice memory of Mike’s hitting prowess, visit the 6-4-2 blog and scroll down to 2007-07-18: Tacoma 9, Salt Lake 10 (12 innings).

Last and certainly not least. . .I have described the valuable service provided by host families. This season Benjamin Hill has written a lovely reminder, “Host Families Make Players Feel at Home.” If you’re a baseball fan (or someone who likes having kids around) living in the Orem area, consider reaching out and offering a helping hand to these youngsters. For more information, contact the Knight Owlz Booster Club via the Owlz front office, 801.377.BALL (2255) . . .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

After leaving school behind, I discovered the charisma of coolness manifests in other ways—money, power, sex, fame.

It’s the last type that seems to have the most influence over bloggers of baseball. If you crave public acknowledgment as a sabermetrician, chances are your blog will boast of comprehensive and/or practical stats. Armchair scouts will highlight in-depth interviews of players and coaches. Armchair GMs can boast of knowledgeable analyses and professional expertise.

Me? Oh, my motives are fame-based as well. I’m a writer; this is another page of my portfolio.  I suppose I could have picked any topic to blog about. Considering how many hours I spend each spring/summer at the ballpark, though, I’d be crazy to waste all that data collection. Besides, what better way to learn the finer points of the game I love than to turn in a weekly homework assignment?

It’s not all about fame, I must admit. It’s certainly about sharing ideas and experiences that extend beyond the playing field. Like it or not, we Americans put an inordinate social value on victory, sports-related in particular. And so when I think about sports, I am also thinking about life. I can’t help it.

And this “other agenda” is what leads me to write about athletes who might not be the bonus babies or five-tools guys or clubhouse leaders (although the last reason is more likely to catch my interest). Nor am I always looking for the underdog either, because let’s face it, life doesn’t follow a Disneyland script.

Take for example last year’s Pioneer League Championships. The “good guys” didn’t win the final game. There were no stories of redemption or inspiration. There’s nothing in the boxscores to indicate anything wonderful happened back in September of 2008. In fact, most of the press coverage focused on what went wrong with the team having the season’s best win-loss record. However, having been there, I would summarize what happened to be something else entirely.

In late August, Orem Owlz manager Tom Kotchman had to leave the team for a family emergency. Brenton Del Chiaro, in his first season coaching organized baseball, was promoted to interim manager. The rookie manager and his rookie ballplayers finished out the regular season playing .500 ball (10W-5L). The team advanced through the playoffs and into the final three-game championship series against the Great Falls Voyagers.

The second game of the Pioneer League championship series was an amazing extra-innings, come-from-behind victory for the Owlz that forced the series to the third and deciding contest. The next evening, I drove back to Orem and watched the Voyagers win game three and the championship. The ensuing media coverage predictably attributed the defeat to a few factors: vulnerability of a three-game series to a few strokes of good/bad luck, too many defensive mistakes and not enough hitting by the Owlz, and the missing Kotchman, whose decades of experience might have saved the day.

Perhaps. . . .

It seems to me that focusing on why the Owlz lost misses the point of minor-league baseball, or any developmental athletic league. The purpose of a minor-league organization is to build championship individuals, not baseball dynasties; it’s the polar opposite of a major-league organization.

It’s easy to forget this fact while reading, hearing or watching sports blogs and news feeds. Analysts make their living deconstructing boxscores down to one at-bat, sometimes even a single pitch. In April, they chart the progress of the latest crop of prospects, calculating their statistical strengths and weaknesses to the third power. As October draws near, they look for historical trends, comparing the first half to second half of the season. It all seems so clear, so logical, so concrete. The bottom line is the numbers don’t lie.

Except, since when is anything in life that reliable? You know the answer already, of course. Never. Life is messy. We screw up. A lot. And quite often, life screws us up through no fault of our own doing.

For yours truly, at any rate, quantifying a loss down to a statistical probability misses the larger view of athletic competition as a process. From this perspective, loss begets opportunity. In other words, “What have we learned about ourselves through failure? And are we able to grow beyond our personal disappointment?”

One unforgettable night in Orem, I watched a 13-inning rite of passage, cleverly disguised as a baseball game. The next night, during late innings of the losing end of a championship game, free-swinging-power-slugging-19-year-old Angel Castillo drew a base on balls—out of just 18 BB for the entire season. That private victory could have professional value in the future of a young ballplayer.

We’re humans, not robots. We make mistakes because we’re imperfect. And we grow emotionally, mentally and spiritually as a result of hardships, not ease. And it’s our response to these challenges that determines what life lessons stick with us, and ultimately what sort of winners we are in the bigger picture of being parents, spouses, citizens, neighbors and friends.

Likewise, the coach who says, “In order to win, you need to execute,” has already put the cart before the horse. My idea of a better developmental philosophy comes across thusly, “You need to execute because that’s your job.”

So why is this difference in coaching styles so important? Because for those of us privileged enough to have worked with young athletes, this attitude defines our multiple roles as coach, guide, mentor and role model.

I believe this is the larger message affixed to Branch Rickey’s famous quote, “Luck is the residue of design.” It’s all about being ready when that window of opportunity appears. I believe this message is at the core of organized baseball as well. Do your job right, live up to your responsibilities and good things will follow.

Whether it’s on the diamond, at the grocery store or in the boardroom, it’s all about how we execute, day-in, day-out, until we draw our last breath on this earth. Bye for now!

Featured Link
At the sidebar to the right, you’ll notice a “Featured Link.” There’s no schedule, rhyme or reason for how a link ends up getting special attention; although I would consider donations in the spirit of the “Amazon.com Recommends” scandal a few years back. Just kidding! (On second thought, I guess it depends on the donation.) At any rate, the number one criteria is whatever happens to catch my fancy. For now, it’s Jimmy Scott’s High & Tight, a fascinating blog that covers a whole bunch of topics you don’t usually hear coming out of ballplayers mouths, or read off their keyboards in this case.  At any rate, highly enjoyable and thought-provoking stuff. But don’t take my word for it, see for yourself. Here are a few of my faves:

Audio “Welcome Message” (top of page)—the who & why of JSH&T

Paul Byrd: Choosing Family Over Baseball

Taking On The Readers: The End Of A Career & Gabrielle Schoeneweis

End of the Story: A Conversation With Brian Boehringer’s Former Agent

System Of A Downward Spiral – Dealing With The End

Many of these posts got the wheels spinning (go hamsters, go!) and I hope to create some point/counterpoint off these topics. For now, though visit, browse, and I promise you’ll enjoy it.

Win a Few, Lose a Few. . .
Most of this is old news, covered thoroughly at places like FutureAngels.com, MiLB.com and MLB.com.  Nonetheless, just in case any of you were holding your breath to read it here (hello-o-o-o-o! ?), here’s a recap of some of the organizational roster/staff changes from the last few months. I think the biggest news is the loss of Bruce Hines, Minor League Field Coordinator. Hines’ responsibility was to take the “grow your own” philosophy developed by Stoneman and Scioscia, and make it happen on the field. Or rather, all of the fields from SoCal to Cedar Rapids. (OK, it really should include Orem. Notice though, what a nice alliteration you get this way.)

Rodriguez, Teixeira, O’Day, Mosebach, Gonzalez and Bootcheck are off to other teams. Andersen and Garland are in free-agency, considering their options. Santana, Izturis, Quinlan and Napoli are awaiting arbirtration hearings. We have a new halo in the bullpen, Brian Fuentes, who pitched for Colorado the last four seasons. Guerreo, Lackey, Oliver, Figgins and Riviera are back for one season, or in Rivera’s case three. It appears as though Arte really, really likes LA manager Mike Scioscia, putting him in the dugout through 2018. Sad news—GM special assistant, Preston Gomez, passed away just recently.

The minor league staff acquired a one new face, and one very familiar one. Former MLB outfielder, Eric Owens is the newcomer to the Angels’ organization. Owens will manage Rancho Cucamonga, replacing Ever Magallanes who went to the White Sox organization. Former Salt Lake Bees infielder, Mike Eylward will be Hitting Coach for the Orem Owlz in 2009. (Woohoo! Yours truly will definitely be making some visits to Brent Brown Park this summer.)

We’re famous! Well, sorta.
One of the truly enjoyable experiences to come along this winter was being a guest blogger at Ben’s Biz Blog, where I wax cynically (you were expecting a different adverb?) about the bestselling, homerun book, “Moneyball.” The most noteworthy point about the book review is I am probably one of only eight readers in the entire baseball-reading world who didn’t rave wildly about it. Blasphemy, you shout?! Well, what can I say? Wait a sec, I did say. Read for yourself why I felt like Michael Lewis cheated.

It also gets reposted with an even more inflammatory intro by the 330-win flamethrower and ballplayer pundit, Jimmy Scott. What guys? Are you trying to get me lynched?

Klauke’s Spring Preview
Another fun evening was spent listening to a recent (14JAN09) interview with Steve Klauke on MiLBradio.com. Bonus! Listen closely for the rare opportunity to hear the dulcit tones of my sweetness. At any rate, Steve offers his thoughts on who’s a prospect, who’s in the pen and most importantly, who’s on first.

OK, I think that about clears out the cranial attic. Check back soon. And remember, pitchers and catchers report on February 14, 2009! 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!

SPACER TEXT
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:

SPACER TEXT

SPACER TEXT

SPACER TEXT

SPACER TEXT

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!

SPACER TEXT

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!