Miguel Tejada on moving to Baltimore from Oakland “I played a lot of games against Yankees and a lot of games against Boston, and a lot of people watched them play. I became a better player.”
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Climbing the Ladder: A look at prospects in the Astros’ minor league system
(This was written a few weeks ago for publication in the Greeneville Astros 2008 Gameday Program by Spikenstars.com minor league moderator Duman)
When you attend a game at Pioneer Park, you never know if the player you are watching today will make it to the big leagues in a few years. In 2007, the Greeneville Astros saw their first alumni make it to the Major Leagues. In fact, not just one, but four former Greeneville Astros made it “the Show” last season. Pitchers, Juan Gutierrez (‘04), Troy Patton (‘04), and Felipe Paulino, (‘04) joined catcher J. R. Towles (‘04) in making their MLB debuts in 2007. The climb to the Major Leagues is a difficult one. You must have talent, work hard, stay healthy, and have a little luck on your side. Every player who puts on the Greeneville uniform dreams of being one of the few who are able to climb the rungs of the organizational ladder and make it to the top.Read More
Towles Working on His Swing, CC Lets Game Drop, Cusick Gets Praise, Short Season Teams Get Started
Round Rock
The Express lost to Memphis last night 8-2. The Statesman focused more on J. R. Towles working out his swing than on the game report. That gives us some pretty decent quotes to share with you.
Towles on what was happening in Houston:
“My mind overloaded,” he said. “It was just one of those things that they were telling me to do a lot and it’s not like it was necessarily wrong but I was trying to put everything together at once.”….Read More
Distractions A-Plenty
This week in Astros’ baseball has been so horrific, so remarkably putrid, it’s almost beyond words. I haven’t checked the Chronicle or Astros.com today, but I fully expect to see some perspective pieces soon…the kind that make you realize that baseball is just a game and in the grand scheme of things doesn’t mean all that much. Like the one about the transgendered left-handed midget albino eskimo kid fighting against the odds to get grass to grow on the Tundra just to honor the memory of his parents who were killed when a truck full of rancid blubber caught fire while they were trying to get him to a try-out for the Mat-Su Miners. When you read about all of the issues kids like that have, how can you be upset that Wesley Wright grooved a couple of meatballs to the Yankees sunday? This is what we call a distraction.
For instance, you might not notice that the paragraph you just read doesn’t make a whole heck of a lot of sense after seeing this:
TWiB: Now with even more losses!
Sorry, but my intensity isn’t real high for this column – some of the regular contributors are out of the lineup, and I’ve been getting squeezed on my cell phone minutes, so don’t blame me if I allow 7 or more mistakes in this edition.
3 UP:
1. Whoever is playing the Astros – this should be self-evident.
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Weekend Update
Round Rock
The Express put together a rally using long balls and long at bats. After being down 6-0, the Express tied it in the 7th with HR’s by David Newhan & Mark Saccomanno. The grabbed the lead for the first time after Thomas Perez battled through a 10 pitch at bat to bloop a two out hit to center. After the Redbirds tied it up in the 8th, J.R. Towles homered in the 9th to give the Express a 9-7 victory.
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