July 19, 2009 — I met a lovely gentleman, Kent, a couple of weeks ago. (I must admit part of his charm was his declaration that 50 years old is still a very young life.) We struck up a conversation while sort of standing around and it didn’t take long to discover our baseball connections. A long-time little league coach here in Utah, he’d been an early guide/mentor for drafted ballplayers Scott Pratt and Zach Sorensen. When his now-adult daughter decided she wanted to play baseball, they “shaved her head” and signed her up to play side-by-side with the boys. He promised the next time they came to a Bees game, he’d send her down to share hardball stories. I certainly hope they do, and she does.
It was a wonderful afternoon, well spent. Although I can’t recall exactly how we got to there, we found ourselves chatting about the joy of watching young minor leaguers develop into polished pros. The old coach chuckled in warm agreement when I declared there is nothing sweeter than witnessing the epiphany, the “aha!” moment, when all the hours of grinding away at drills and practice suddenly bear fruit.
What’s interesting about these moments is they can be simultaneously subtle and obvious. Subtle in that they rarely show up with the highlighted authority of a grand slam or double play. Obvious, though, if you’ve been following a particular athlete or spent some time coaching them. I liken it to how parents can recognize their children, even when they are too far away for facial recognition. The brain is a marvelous observer, picking up a multitude of visual clues, all of which add up to, “Oh, there’s Sue, over there on the berm,” or “No, I don’t think that’s Pete, he runs differently.”
The best part is the feeling you’ve stumbled upon a suddenly revealed treasure, a gift from heaven. And for athletes in organized baseball, this gift is more literal than figurative. Each moment is a step forward on the inside—physically and mentally— which is hopefully mirrored on the outside by a progression up the minor league ladder. Triple-A coaches are quick to note these moments are smaller and less frequent at this level. Subtle. At the same time though, they harbor the potential of a momentous reward—a spot on the major league roster. Obvious.
Bell showed up in Salt Lake mid-June, amidst a flurry of pitcher promotions and demotions. His first start was certainly memorable, a two-hit, complete game shut-out. His latest start was, for yours truly, unforgettable. The game was against their division rivals, the Colorado Sky Sox, who were leading Salt Lake by 4.5 games just prior to the all-star break. In short, a full-game gain or loss was at stake for both teams.
Amidst this crucial division rivalry, a more personal contest was developing between the Triple-A rookie Bell and 11-year MLB veteran Sal Fasano. It was a bit of a surreal sight, the contrast in their physical appearances mirroring their baseball experiences.
Sal Fasano is a bear of a backstop at 6’2″, 250 lbs, with dark, shaggy hair cascading from his head and Fu Manchu mustache flowing down his face. He’s logged over 400 games in the big leagues.
Trevor Bell, 6’2″, 180 lbs, is our California Golden Boy, with wisps of blonde hair sticking out from under his ballcap. This was only his 6th start in a Bees uniform since being promoted from Double-A Arkansas on June 16th.
In the 5th inning, on a 1-1 count, Fasano hit a very long ball to left field, foul. Bell turned and looked at the video board for the replay. He walked back to the mound, eyes down.
Fasano looked at Bell like a wolf eyes a baby lamb. His face said it all, “Kid, you’re meat.”
Bell looked impassively towards the plate as Fasano dug into the batter’s box. The next pitch was a high fastball—fouled back. Followed by another, fouled again. Fasano stepped back out of the box and banged his fist on the handle of the bat in frustration.
“Come on kid. You’ve got him now,” I whispered to no one in particular.
Next pitch, fastball, swing and a miss. Fasano didn’t even look up as he turned and headed down the dugout steps. Bell stood on the mound without a hint of emotion. Cool Baby Bell.
For Fasano’s next two at-bats, including the final at-bat and out of the game, the kid didn’t give an inch to the veteran.
I’m certainly not making any long-term career predictions from one “aha!” moment. I will, however, be happily looking forward to the next one from our promising young pitcher…Your friend in baseball.
July 15, 2009 — We’ve officially entered the PCL All-Star break, a much needed rest for our hard-working team. Sunday’s game definitely helped enter the break on a positive note, with the Bees beating division-leading Colorado Sky Sox in a 5-0 shut-out, masterfully pitched by the youngster Trevor Bell.
While most of team is heading off to rest and recreate, a couple of Bees have gone to Portland, OR, to participate in the Triple-A All-Star Game, which pits the Pacific Coast League All-Stars versus the International League All-Stars in a one-game, winner takes all championship. In preparation of tonight’s game, which will be broadcast at 8 p.m. MDT on ESPN2 and MiLB.TV (MiLB.TV viewing requires $6.95 month subscription or $29.95 for a year), let’s take a closer look at our All-Stars, shall we?
Brandon Wood
Although he was selected to participate, Wood won’t be playing in this year’s All-Star game. Wood was called up to the Angels on July 10th, along with Bobby Wilson, and was immediately inserted into the starting lineup at 3B. Facing the Yankees, Wood showed his chops by drawing a walk during his first at-bat, on five pitches from starter Andy Pettitte. Later, he helped chase Pettitte in the 5th inning with a two-run homer. If you’ve been listening to the radio, you would have noticed Wood played 1B for a few games on the road. On Sunday, still against the Yankees, he started at 1B—no hits, but he did sacrifice in a run in the 4th.
Of course, Wood has hardly lacked press coverage from the day he was drafted. Rather than retread the many fine articles already written on Wood’s career, I’d recommend the curious reader simply Google a few keywords and read to your hearts content.
One last thought arises that does seems worth mentioning. Yours truly is of course, well aware of the many seasons of grumbling over how the Angels have held him back at Triple-A. Until last summer, I honestly didn’t think he was quite ready. Now I do. He’s coming to the plate and thinking about “hitting the ball” instead of “hitting the long ball.” He’s using his natural quickness and keen eye to adjust his swing, instead of reacting to whatever shows up. The more he sticks to the plan, . . .the better he’ll be able to close up those holes in his swing, . . .which will force pitchers to start making adjustments to get him out, . . .and will present him with more “fat” pitches down the road. And goodness gracious, he knows very well what to do with those.
I believe in the long run, Wood will become a premiere ballplayer because the Angels kept the long-term goal in mind while developing his athletic skills. It’s hard to remember, particularly in athletes having so much natural talent, the most important and slowest-to-develop performance factor sits between the ears. It’s a simple fact of human biology that the motor skills develop far earlier than the cognitive skills. In short, it takes time and experience to learn how to hit the ball for average and power, under all sorts of conditions. Wood is 24 years old. And I wish for him a long and successful career.
Terry Evans
“When Evans hits in the lead-off position, good things happen, ” said broadcaster Steve Klauke during the last game prior to the All-Star break.
And indeed our 6’4″ lead-off/slugger has been enjoying one heck of a comeback season after missing most of last year due to a shoulder injury. In the aforementioned game, Evans went 2-3, with an RBI-scoring double and a walk, and stole his 19th and 20th bases. Klauke noted that with 17 home runs thus far in the season, Evans could quite possibly join the 20-20 Club (20 home runs and 20 steals within the same season). That would be a Salt Lake franchise first. Evans is already a member of the Minor League 30-30 Club, one of only 13 players to do so. Even more impressive is the fact he achieved this record in 2006, the same year he was traded from the Cardinals to the Angels organization.
In addition to being selected to play outfield for the All-Star Game, Evans was one of the three PCL representatives in the Home Run Derby, held on Monday. He advanced to the second round, and eventually finished fourth among the eight contestants. Look for him in center field, batting 5th during tonight’s game. Last but certainly not least, Evans was this lady’s pick for May.
Jeremy Hill
Our 2009 PCL All-Star closer was acquired by the Angels via free agency this winter from Acereros de Monclova in the Mexican Leagues. Originally drafted as a catcher by Kansas City in 1996, he converted to pitching in 2000. He had some early success, including a short stay with the Royals during 2002. Otherwise, as noted in a Salt Lake Tribune article, his career has taken him to the far corners of baseball world, including Taiwan, Independent Leagues and Mexico before landing a spring training invite with the Angels.
Hill earned a Double-A roster spot, and made just two appearances before getting the promotion to Salt Lake on April 16. While the promotion was largely in response to an epidemic of pitcher injuries at the parent club, Hill promptly started building his case for it to stick. He was lights out through May, with a stingy 1.46 ERA, and earned the closer spot with 13 saves by mid-June. He struggled in the latter half of June, racking up an 11.56 ERA over four particularly rough outings that included a blown save. Ouch, and then some. Still, he fought back, earning four more saves through that rough stretch, and as we know, an spot on the PCL All-Star Team. Not bad for a man who was wondering last winter whether his 14-year baseball career might be over at last.
Hill is not a power thrower, although his fastball can touch the low 90s. His most effective pitching weapon is his ability to fool hitters and get them to swing at the wrong pitches. He’s got a short delivery, hiding the ball well behind his body until he swings around to face the plate. As a closer, his job is to get three outs as quickly as possible, and that includes keeping runners off the bases. His SO:BB for Marvelous May was 10:4 (2.5:1). Comparing the first half of June to the second half, his SO:BB ratio was 11:4 (not quite 3:1) and 4:4 (1:1) respectively. No one knows the ups-and-downs of a long season better than this well-traveled veteran, and he came fighting back during the first half of July, producing a 4.16 ERA over four appearances and bringing his season ERA down to 4.13.
Hill will be pitching out of the bullpen tonight, although it’s hard to say when manager Randy Ready will bring him in. All-Star teammate Jess Todd from Memphis is leading the PCL in saves with 21. My guess? Hill will come in for short relief in the 8th, to set up Todd.
If you tune into watch the game on TV or internet, you’re in for a special treat. Rich Burk, Portland Beavers broadcaster, will be handling the play-by-play, along with color commentator, Eric Young, Sr. Burk knows our Bees players very well, having covered games between the Beavers and Bees since 2001, and seen the two teams square off for two series already this season.
Hey, I just realized that Evans and Hill won’t have to leave after the game, cause the Bees will be visiting Portland for a four-game series immediately following. Sweet!…Your friend in baseball.
July 01, 2009 — Note: Many thanks to Jason for pointing out the obvious pick for this month’s Lady’s Choice. Usually, mid-point of the season I’m faced with the decision of choosing one standout athlete over another, or several others. It is most certainly not typical to find myself casting about for inspiration. If you’ve been following the team, though, you know this been an unusual season for our Triple-A ballclub.
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 thewell-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.”
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.
Sal Fasano is a bear of a backstop at 6’2″, 250 lbs, with dark, shaggy hair cascading from his head and Fu Manchu mustache flowing down his face. He’s logged over 400 games in the big leagues.
“When Evans hits in the lead-off position, good things happen, ” said broadcaster Steve Klauke during the last game prior to the All-Star break.
Our 2009 PCL All-Star closer was acquired by the Angels via free agency this winter from Acereros de Monclova in the Mexican Leagues. Originally drafted as a catcher by 
Hill is not a power thrower, although his fastball can touch the low 90s. His most effective pitching weapon is his ability to fool hitters and 
So, this month’s pick is 
“Hi! Do you want this?” he called out, energetically gesturing for them to come over.
He’s still the young man who makes the 
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