Offensive Pitching in Corpus Christi

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Duman in From the Bus Stop

If your offense produced 31 runs in a 4 game series, you might win more than one game. Right? Not if you have the Hooks’ pitching. The Hooks surrendered 53 runs in the 4 game series, giving up double digits in the 3 games they lost. They gave up 8 in the one game they won. Here are some of the numbers from the starters for the series:

Brad James – 2 1/3 IP, 9 ER, 2 HR
Sergio Perez – 4 1/3 IP, 6 ER, 1 HR
Casey Hudspeth – 4 IP, 7 ER, 3 HR

It’s not that the bullpen was that much better. Here are some of their numbers from the weekend:

Wilton Lopez – 4 IP, 7 ER
Rob Semerano – 3 2/3 IP, 8 ER
T. J. Burton – 1 IP, 4 ER
Andy Van Hekken – 3 IP, 3 ER
Chris Salamida – 1 IP, 2 ER

The one bright spot from the weekend is Daniel Meszaros, who in 3 IP didn’t give up a single run. He has only give up 2 hits in his 5 IP since his promotion from Lexington up to Corpus Christi.

Brad James, Meszaros, Sergio Perez

‘Round the Bases with Jeff Lasky: The Voice of The JetHawks

Posted on May 22, 2009 by Duman in Bus Ride

Last year, The Bus Ride started a series of interviews with the guys who bring many of us the games from the minor league parks. The voices we hear on the radio or for many of us these days, the voice out of the computer speakers. We want to help you get a feel for the person behind the voice and a taste of what they may be thinking as you are listening. Since Lancaster joined the Houston Farm System this season, we thought we would invite the play by play announcer for the JetHawks for a trip ‘round the bases. Jeff Lasky, the radio broadcaster for the Lancaster JetHawks, agreed to an email interview with Spikesnstars.com. Lasky was indentified by the Los Angeles Daily News as the 8th best sports play by play guy in the region. He came in just behind Dodgers play by play guy Charlie Stiner.

The interview has not been edited for content but formatted for the website. Join us as we go ‘Round the Bases’ with Jeff Lasky

First Base

SnS: We would like to give our readers a sense of where you came from and how you got to where you are now. Please describe for our readers your journey to land behind the mic in Lancaster. Specifically other teams you have called for and any other work if applicable away from the mic that may have helped lead you to your current role.

JL: I was very fortunate that we had a little “radio station” at my high school in the suburbs of Los Angeles, so I decided when I was 14 or so that I wanted to be a sports broadcaster. Many L.A. area sportscasters were gracious enough to let me shadow them, so got to learn from some of the best. I got my journalism degree at the Walter Cronkite School at Arizona State where I called games for the student station. I was hired shortly after graduation to be the sports anchor for a NBC station in Bozeman, Montana, but always wanted to move to play-by-play. I did fill-in work at the local radio stations as a sideline reporter for football and doing pxp for high school basketball and legion baseball. That helped lead me back home to the California League where I spent a season as the #2 broadcaster for Inland Empire before moving here to Lancaster for the 2006 season. Starting in 2007 I became the pxp voice of Montana State football and basketball for Learfield Sports. I’m probably the only one dumb enough to live in the Mojave Desert in the summer and in the Rocky Mountains in the winter.

Touching Second

SnS: Following up on that what in your opinion are the best and worst parts of broadcasting minor league baseball games?

JL: I’m a very verbal person, so I really enjoy the challenge of delivering a clear and concise yet descriptive broadcast. In radio much more than television you really get to weave a story through the course of the game and it get great pleasure from hopefully bringing people along the ride of each game, so to speak. I also have access to some very knowledgeable and interesting people from each sport and it can be fun to tap into their experience. I try to share with listeners what may be going on in the minds of those playing or coaching, as well as compare and contrast that with past players and coach’s when certain situations come up.

Rounding Third

SnS: . Can you describe some of your most memorable moments behind the mic in your career? Also which ballplayers were your favorite to call and why?

JL: Sadly, I’ve done this long enough that individual moments and games are starting to meld together. One memorable weekend came in 2007 during a three game series with Lake Elsinore. We lost the first game 30-0, a record for the worst loss in league history. The next night, Aaron Bates became the first player in Cal League history to hit four home runs in a game. Then Yordany Ramirez (now with the Houston organization) hit for the cycle in the third game. That same year we tied for the first half crown with Inland Empire and the tie-breaker happened to fall on July 4 at home with two future big leaguers dueling (Justin Masterson for us against James McDonald). Having 6,200 fans there to watch us win the half was fun. Just this year scoring seven runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie Rancho Cucamonga, then getting a homer from Koby Clemens in the 10^th was fun. And just last night I called 17 innings in a win for us. When a game goes that long, I like to play a game on the air called “Are You Still Listening?” where people write in to say why they’ve stayed tuned in so long and what else they’re doing. It’s fun to read those e-mails on the air and makes our listenership into a community.

My favorite players tend to not always be the stars, but the guys I just happen to enjoy talking with. As far as great players go, I loved watching Greg Smith and Michael Bowden pitch. Emilio Bonifacio’s speed was very exciting and watching sluggers like Mark Reynolds, Lars Anderson, and Josh Reddick has been fun. Amongst my favorite personalities are Greg Smith, Bubba Bell, and Lars Anderson. This first group from Houston has a great personality.

Bringing it home

SnS: Finally, as The Bus Ride highlights Astros prospects we would like to know one pitcher and one position player who you have seen this year that stands out. We’d like to know in your view those players’ strengths and areas for improvement.

JL: There’s no question that from a pitching side, Chia-Jen Lo stands out. His fastball was dominant as it normally sat 91-94 (on stadium radar guns-take with a grain of salt) but with some movement. He could also command it. He’ll need to get more consistent with his secondary pitches at the higher levels. In High-A ball, a guy who throws hard with that kind of command can still mostly get away with overpowering people with his fastball. He won’t be able to do that at AA. But he looks like a big leaguer to me.

Offensively, it’s a little tougher to say. I suppose the one I’ve enjoyed watching the most is J.B. Shuck. He’s a little unorthodox in how he handles the bat, but he really controls it well. I’ve seen a lot of guys who like to slap it the other way, but he can also drive it the other way. He runs very well and is aggressive. I think if he continues to make general improvement and be able to pull the ball a little bit more when it’s appropriate, he should be a fun one to watch as he develops.

You can hear the JetHawks games online at www.jethawks.com . Spikesnstars.com and The Bus Ride thank Jeff Lasky for the interview.

Jeff Lasky, Round The Bases

The Scouting Life

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Duman in From the Bus Stop

John Kosciak, scout for the Houston Astros, was interviewed by his local paper. Kosciak is the amateur scout for the North East US and does some college scouting in warmer climates before baseball can be played in the New England, Ney York and Eastern Canada.

How many games does he watch? A bunch:

“They played the Big East-Big Ten challenge in Clearwater. They had several games going on at the same time,” said Kosciak. “There were days when I saw three games in the same day.”…

“I try to see a game every day,” he said. “Because a lot of night (amateur) baseball isn’t played in this area it’s tough to see more than one game in a day. Sometimes it’s possible to watch two games in a day during the weekend.”

How often does he see pro talent? Not as much:

“Sometimes you might go 3-4 days without seeing anyone who is a pro prospect. There are weeks when I might send in 5-6 reports on players, but that doesn’t happen all the time,” said Kosciak.

His opinion of baseball beauty pagents showcases for prospects:

The players have to pay a lot of money to attend the showcases. It makes it easier for me, but if a player is good he’ll be found. He doesn’t have to attend a showcase to be seen.”

His best contribution so far? Look at what Drew Locke is doing in Corpus Christi:

Los Angeles opted not to protect Drew Locke, a former Boston College standout who had played in its minor league system, ahead of last year’s Rule 5 Draft. Kosciak had originally signed Locke and recommended that he be selected by Houston in the minor league phase of the draft last December.

Lex Pitchers Highlighted By BA

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Duman in From the Bus Stop

Baseball America highlights a Legendary Staff in the daily dish today.

Here is what they said about the young pitchers on Lexington’s roster:

Ross Seaton:

He’s done a nice job so far. I think he’s a little bit more mature at his age than some of the other kids,” Lexington manager Tom Lawless said. “He’s got major league pitches, there’s no doubt about that. It’s just a matter of getting experience pitching, getting his 30 starts. He’s going to get bigger and he’s going to get stronger. He understands what he wants to do. He’s pretty close to being a professional right now.

Jordan Lyles:

He’s pretty much just like Ross (Seaton),” Lawless said. “He might be a little bit behind Ross with the maturity level, but he’s got a major league arm. He’s got a tremendous fastball and a good breaking ball.

“This is all new to him, too, a full year getting 25-30 starts. It’s just a process. I think he’ll be fine as the year goes on.”

Bono & Greenwalt:

“Both those guys bring a lot of energy to the game,” Lawless said. “They work fast. They throw strikes. The defense is going to play good behind them wherever they pitch because they work fast, get the ball and throw strikes. They have movement on their fastballs. They’re not afraid to challenge hitters. I think that’s a big thing today.”

Brad Dydalewicz:

He generates tremendous movement on his pitches, a low-90s fastball, a curveball and a changeup. His delivery needs some refining, but Lawless was impressed by how few good swings hitters had against him.

Bono, Dydalewicz, Greenwalt, Lyles, Seaton

Pitch Count? What Pitch Count

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Duman in From the Bus Stop

It looks like there is a new way of doing things in the Astros’ farm system. In the last week, Corpus Christi pitchers, Casey Hudspeth and Douglas Arguello have each thrown a 9 inning complete game. Prior to these two, a complete game had not been thrown by a Hooks pitcher in almost 2 years (Ronnie Martinez 6/9/07).

What has changed?

“I wanted to give him (starter Casey Hudspeth) a shot to complete his game,” Pujols said. “I believe that they’re not even looking at the dugout anymore. They’re just pitching until we take them out. And they know that. They see that we’ve already proved that if they pitch well enough to complete a game, they’re going to do it.”

To put it another way

“He (starter Douglas Arguello) finished the eighth pretty fresh,” Pujols said. “The thing this year is there are no (set) pitch counts. I felt he was throwing the ball pretty well and gave him a chance to finish the game.”

Meszaros Saves The Day, No Single Lifestyle for Fixler

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Duman in From the Bus Stop

Daniel Meszaros wasn’t drafted until the 48th round. That means over 1400 players were taken ahead of him. It also means he feels he has something to prove.

“I was pretty disappointed when I got drafted that late,” he said. “But, you know what, I felt like I was just as good as any of the other people drafted, high or low.”

Meszaros is leading the South Atlantic League in saves with 9 saves. He has yet to allow a run to score and has only allowed 6 base runners in 11 inning pitched. In the mean time, he has sent 16 batters back to the bench with their bat in their hands.

Meszaros was available so late because he missed his junior year after shoulder surgery and then didn’t have a great senior year coming back. He also doesn’t fit the profile of a power pitcher, being only 6 feet tall and about 170 pounds. So what is the Legends closer throwing besides his low 90’s fastball?

“What he’s done has been great,” said Travis Driskill, Lexington’s pitching coach while Charley Taylor recovers from surgery. “And what he does is attack the strike zone. He is very aggressive with his fastball.

“He’s got a curveball that we haven’t gotten to see a whole lot of because they’re either putting the fastball in play early or they can’t catch up to it.”

Any thoughts of making him a start?

“I just think it fits me better. As a starter, you kind of have to have three pitches to get through (when) you get late in the game,” he said. “And right now my change-up, or third pitch, just isn’t there. So I like just the one inning. Go in for one inning and kind of throw max effort and go after hitters that way.”

What The Fixler?

When you see a .195 batting average, you don’t expect to see a .585 slugging percentage. But that is what you get with Jonathan Filxer. The Hooks’ catcher is 8 for 41 on the season with 4 doubles and 4 HR. He has yet to reach on a single. Filxer was slated to start the season in Lexington but due to Lou Palmisano’s injury, he was called to Corpus Christi to be the back up. Then when the catcher shuffle started due to then injury to Q in Houston, he was moved up the depth chart in Corpus Christi. He has also reached on 6 walks which gives him a OBP of .306.

Middle Infield Movement

Wlad Sutil was activated from the DL in Corpus Christi and Mike Diaz was re-assigned somewhere in the Astros organization. I bet he lands in Lexington now that Legend’s SS Richardo Bonfante seperated his shoulder this weekend.

Fixler, Meszaros, Sutil

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