Sep 14
PCL Championship series Game 1, a set on Flickr.
Here are my pictures from last night, on Flickr. The game was a great one, with good pitching and some excellent defense on both sides. Omaha won 3-2, and will face Sacramento in Game 2 of the five-game series tonight at 7:05.
Sep 13
Lorenzo Cain
Cain has hit in every postseason game, including FIVE hits on Friday night, and has continued to play defense like a gazelle.* His hits include two doubles and a triple.
*I wish I could remember who described Cain’s defense like that to me after he joined the Royals. “A [gosh darn] gazelle” was the phrase, and it’s true. Omaha’s outfield is so fast and so rangey…it’s awesome to watch, isn’t it?
After going 0fer in the first game of the series, Arias caught fire, collecting six hits in the other three games of the series. He did make a defensive boner at first base Friday night that opened the door for Round Rock to score three runs in the 11th, but really, he should not have been at 1B in the first place. In the 10th, Mike Jirschele pinch-ran for Kila Ka’aihue, bringing Lance Zawadzki into the game for no discernible reason. That shuffled the whole infield around and put Arias at first, where he let a ground ball go through his legs, Buckner-style. There were two outs, and all three Round Rock runs scored after that.
That error aside, Arias has had a good postseason. He is versatile, and he atoned somewhat for the big error by reaching base twice on Saturday afternoon – a close game in which every baserunner counted.
Manuel Pina
Manuel “not Manny” Pina doubled and scored on Wednesday, singled and homered on Thursday, and singled and walked twice on Friday. Not too shabby.
Even if Kila’s only contribution was the game-winning homer on Saturday, he’d belong on this list. But he also doubled and homered in the game Friday to keep the team in it before he was lifted for a pinch runner. I still wonder what he would have done if it had been him, instead of Zawadzki, batting for Omaha in the 11th.
Robinson has hits in every postseason game, including a first-inning homer on Wednesday that set a nice tone for the whole series.
The Chasers bullpen had to throw eight innings on Friday night, so it was important for O’Sullivan to go deep in the game Saturday. He could barely have been better, given that he took a perfect game into the 7th, and a no-hitter into the 8th.
Kelvin Herrera
The PCL Pitcher of the Year threw seven shutout innings to start the postseason, and will take the mound again for Game 1 of the upcoming series.
It took Herrera 22 pitches to get through two innings at Round Rock on Wednesday. He struck out four Express hitters, and threw only four balls. His arm should be fresh and ready to go for Sacramento, five of whom have struck out against Herrera in 2.2 innings of work earlier this season.
The Storm Chasers take on the Sacramento RiverCats starting Tuesday. Games 1 and 2 will be at home, Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:05. You can buy tickets here, or try your luck at the ticket window the day of each game. I’ll be roaming around with my camera on Tuesday, and working the Wednesday game. The weather is supposed to be autumn-glorious both days, so bring a jacket and be sure to say hello if you see me at the park!
Sep 12
I was on Facebook earlier today, and up in the corner of one page was a “This Date in 2009” post, allowing me to travel back in time and see what I was up to in 2009, my first senior year of college. This was my status that day:
Lots of the guys from those three teams are out of baseball – such is the nature of the minors. But a bunch of them are making a playoff run again, this time for the Storm Chasers, just one level away from the Majors. (Did you see Lee Warren’s photos from Saturday’s champagne celebration? You really should.)
Jarrod Dyson – Played for Burlington and NWArk in 2009 – Let’s see if I can get through a paragraph without referring to him as “speedy.”
Dyson’s having a good season for the Storm Chasers, increasing his walk rate while cutting his strikeout rate. And, you know, he runs…not slowly. Manager Mike Jirschele loves him some sac bunts, so Dyson has thrown himself on that altar many times. But because he is so speedy (dang it!), lots of what would be sacrifice bunts turn into bunt singles. He also has hit three random home runs, so that’s neat.
Kelvin Herrera – Played for Burlington in 2009
If you want to smile about something, watch Kelvin Herrera pitch. It’s fun! He started the season at Wilmington, but now spends his evenings making Triple-A hitters look stupid. The 21-year-old is known for regularly hitting 100 mph with his fastball, but he changes speeds effectively and when he is on, he is a flat-out joy to watch. On one hand, I’d love to see him get a September callup once the playoffs are finished, but on the other hand, he is just a wee baby and has thrown more innings this year than ever.
Mike Montgomery
Mike Montgomery – played for Burlington and Wilmington in 2009
Montgomery, like Herrera, is awfully young for Triple-A. He was the 7th-youngest player in the PCL at the beginning of the season, and has struggled to some extent for pretty much the whole season. Some of his starts have been real stinkers – he walked more than he struck out seven times, and gave up five or more runs eight times in 28 games (27 starts).
David Lough – played in Wilmington and NWArk in 2009
Lough, in his second season in Omaha, is having a much better year than last year. Most of the improvement, I think, can be traced back to the huge cut in strikeouts – his K rate this year is 9.5%, by far his lowest career mark.
Clint Robinson – played in Wilmington in 2009
Robinson is one of the players I had in mind when I wondered whether players really want to be in the minor league playoffs. I’m not entirely sure that Robinson would get a September callup if not for the playoffs, but his line of .326/.399/.533 this year would make it hard to not at least give him a few MLB ABs. (Yes, even with Hosmer and Butler up there. It’s September.)
Brandon Sisk – played in Wilmington in 2009
Sisk has been quite good at AAA this summer, giving up just one hit every two innings so far. His walk rate is higher than at any level he’s pitched at before, so it’s a good thing he has been able to strike batters out, limit base hits, and keep the ball in the ballpark.
Cody Clark – played in NWArk in 2009
Catcher Cody Clark has shared a lot of playing time with Manuel Pina and even Sal Perez for a short while. With such inconsistent playing time, Clark’s numbers have suffered quite a bit.
Kurt Mertins – played in NWArk in 2009
Mert had to spend part of this year back down at double-A, but with Johnny Giavotella in the majors, he’s back in Omaha. The only times Mertins has ever had an OBP below .300 were his two partial seasons in Triple-A, which is sad because he’s awesome.
Federico Castaneda – played in NWArk in 2009
Castaneda just rejoined the Royals organization last week after spending most of this season in the Mexican League. He has only thrown 3 innings so far for the Chasers, but they’ve been good ones: No walks, three Ks, no runs, one hit. Castaneda is pretty much a long reliever, but can make spot starts if the need arises. That’s a good piece to have handy, just in case.
Robinson Tejeda – played in NWArk in 2009
What do you think will happen to Tejeda after this season? He was hurt in May and spent some time rehabbing with Omaha, and was only back in the bigs for two outings before being demoted. He has been quite useful for Omaha, going more than one inning at a time quite often. But is “useful in AAA” good enough for the Royals to keep him around next year? He’s arb-eligible this offseason and made $1.55 million this year. His few MLB appearances this year were pretty awful, but he probably still has some value, somewhere.
Welp, this list got lengthy in a hurry. The Chasers are American Conference champions, which is awesome. A lot of them have been in other playoffs as teammates, which I guess is awesome for The Process. The most awesome part, though, is that it’s mid-September and Omahans can still go see games. The next series begins Tuesday at 7:05. You can buy tickets here, or probably just walk up for them at Werner Park.
Sep 09
1) I’m about to change up the look of the site, so you have my sincere apologies if things look wonky during the change. I’m at a dangerous level of HTML knowledge – I know enough to want to tinker with everything, but not enough that it always works smoothly.
UPDATE: The makeover is done. Holler if you love it/hate it/whatever!
2) I mentioned this on Twitter already, but: It came to my attention that the Omaha catcher Manuel Pina – who drove in four runs in Omaha’s 7-2 victory tonight – actually hates being called Manny. So, I have started calling him Manuel. The Manny tag on Flickr still lives, because that’s what people search for. I’m just putting it out there that he prefers Manuel.
Sep 05
Late Wednesday night, the Omaha Storm Chasers clinched a division title. Fans had already all been cleared out of Werner Park, because it took Albuquerque 11 innings to finish beating the pesky 2nd-place Memphis. But the players waited in the clubhouse with champagne and beer. They waited more than a half hour after their own win before finally getting to pop those bottles. From the pictures* and videos the team shared the next day, it looks like the players enjoyed themselves.
*check out photographer Brad Williams’ gallery from the celebration. Not team-affiliated, but awesome nonetheless.
But.
BUT. I always wonder how awesome it really is for the players who, after a long season in the minors, could finally be somewhere else if they hadn’t made the playoffs. The ones who would otherwise be September callups, or the ones whose exhausted bodies just need some rest. The season is long, and the playoffs make it longer. I’m curious as to whether there are players who secretly (or even openly) wish someone else had earned the division title instead.
Disclaimer: I don’t know. I’d be lying if I said I was close friends with any of these guys, so I can’t emphasize enough the fact that this is just conjecture on a Monday afternoon.
If you were Clint Robinson or Lorenzo Cain or David Lough or anyone who had been looking for a September callup, would you rather go for a PCL title or spend those days in the Majors? I have heard in the past from minor leaguers who had mixed emotions about the playoffs. Even if they weren’t eyeing a callup, they were ready for the long season to be over so they could see their wives, children, and their own beds.
Obviously, as a Chasers fan, I want them to win it all. Why not? Bringing home hardware would be the perfect way to cap an unquestionably successful opening season at the new ballpark. And it would be SO much fun to take pictures of a championship celebration. But I can’t help but wonder if any of the guys on the field will be wishing they were somewhere else.
Sep 01
Jarrod Dyson stopped and did jazz hands, originally uploaded by Minda Haas.
…or something. Jarrod Dyson actually just got really excited when he saw my camera. And he did jazz hands. Highlight of my week.
More about the Chasers’ entrance into the postseason later.
Aug 28
Sometimes I take a camera to things that are not baseball games. Yesterday was one of those times. Check out Air show at Offutt AFB, 27 August 2011, a set on Flickr.
Aug 21
Storm Chasers vs. Nashville 8-20-11, a set on Flickr.
This is merely a sampling – be sure to click through above to see the rest on Flickr!
Aug 18
When the inevitable happened last winter, I wrote:
Let’s take consolation in a few things:
1) This was not a trade; we did not lose any prospects.
2) It is one year.
3) More specifically, it is for 2011, which was going to be an ugly season anyway.
The first bullet point still applies, which is still nice. I have few goals in life, but one of them is “get through life without giving up prospects for Jeff Francoeur.”
Beyond that, I was ready to be livid if he was extended – or even if his one-year mutual option was exercised. The way I figured it when Frenchy was signed, smoke would be coming out of my ears today. But again, here’s a disgustingly positive numbered list.
1) Frenchy is actually having a decent season, his best in years. He has already out-earned his $2.5 million salary several times over, according to FanGraphs.
2) This is one that I keep forgetting – he is still only 27. It’s not ridiculous to think that he can be good for another 2.5ish WAR again in the next two seasons.
3) That arm. It doesn’t add a bunch of wins or anything, but it’s fun to watch. Fun is still important.
4) I do love MITCH, but he’s not the answer in right field every day, and he’s almost two full years older than Frenchy.
5) Most importantly, Frenchy is not blocking a bunch of right field prospects right now. I’m all about David Lough* (maybe to an unhealthy extent), but I was skeptical as to whether the Royals would give him a good shot anyway – and I’m still not sure what he would DO with that shot. So really, Frenchy is just keeping the throne warm until Wil Myers makes it up to the Majors. Somebody had to do that.
*While we’re thinking about David Lough, have you seen his career BABIP? It’s been up and down and up and down and there’s really no way to know the extent to which luck on balls in play is contributing to his improved slash line this year. However, the two years when his BABIP was close to normal – .285 in 2008 and .307 last year – do correspond with his worst batting average, worst OBP, AND worst slugging percentages of his career. He’s doing well this year, with a .310/.359/.481 line, and a not-unreasonably-fluky .329 BABIP. So there’s that.
From the Royals’ perspective, that “somebody” may as well be someone the casual fan is familiar with, somebody marketable, somebody who won’t cause trouble in the clubhouse or shoot any reporters or call his teammates a bunch of effing babies. Francoeur is marketable and well-liked, and even though contract details haven’t been released yet, we can be pretty sure he’ll be cheaper than Jose Guillen, for example, was.
*I’m not saying roster decisions should be made based on the casual fan. But extending Francoeur was something that GMDM was likely to do anyway, and it doesn’t hurt that the Average Fan – who is awfully dumb but whose dollars are mighty important – really likes the guy.
Wow, this post is ridiculously positive. Don’t get me wrong; I’m still not thrilled that we have two more years of Frenchy to look forward to. Why?
His .329 OBP is one of the best of his career.
Wait, that’s not good enough. Let me try again.
That’s still not forgivable. It’s a roughly average figure, and it is still one of the highest of Jeff Francoeur’s career. And we have two more years of that coming our way. Leadership, baby.
Aug 11
That’s all, really. Kila jacked the first pitch of his 3rd-inning at bat, and drove in 3 runs – but he appears to derive no joy from it.
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