September 29, 2008 — Just a couple of short updates to announce. The biggest news is Kevin Jepsen has notched another career first, by getting named to the postseason roster for the Los Angeles Angels. With nine of the ten pitching slots spoken for well in advance, it was a tough battle for that last opening among Jepsen, Jason Bulger, Shane Loux and Justin Speier. Brandon Wood and Kendry Morales also secured spots for the playoff run. According to an article in the LA Times, Sean Rodriguez and Bobby Wilson will travel with the team in the event the Angels decide to make a roster change. Teams are allowed to make changes between series if they advance. Go get ‘em!
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 29th, 2008
Read Part 1
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!
September 15th, 2008
September 14, 2008 — It’s a tough transition for yours truly as the minor league season winds to a close. After getting used to watching or listening every day, I always end up going through some DTs when baseball up-close-and-personal ends so abruptly. This is the time of year when I “cheat” a little and watch some Major League games. It fills up the hole in my evening schedule, and it’s fun watching the guys who’ve been called up.
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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| End-of-Season All-League Teams |
|
Pacific Coast League
Matt Brown, Brandon Wood,
Shane Loux, Jason Bulger |
Pitcher of the Year: Shane Loux |
Texas League
Ben Johnson |
|
California League
Sean O’Sullivan, Mark Trumbo |
|
Pioneer League
Jayson Miller, Will Smith,
Roberto Lopez, Luis Jimenez,
Angel Castillo
Honorable Mention: Jose Perez,
Ivan Contreras, Donato Giovantto,
Tom Kotchman (manager) |
Pitcher of the Year: Jayson Miller
League MVP: Roberto Lopez |
Arizona League
Tyrone Boykin (manager) |
Manager of the Year: Tyrone Boykin |
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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 14th, 2008
