First of all, to my followers I would like to say that I am sorry for not posting in such a long time. I ran into some problems with the website for about two weeks and after that I was never able to get back on the posting wagon. I am back now and ready to start up again.
Well, the last time I posted was the last start of the regular season for Kane County. My actual last start of the year came in the first round of the playoffs against Burlington in which I ended up throwing 1.2 innings and giving up 7 earned runs. Needless to say, it was not the best start of my life. I find it funny how I can still remember every pitch I made that game( two months later), and how I cannot recall one single pitch I had the outing before. A quote from one of my favorite movies, Rounders, kind of sums it up; "Few players recall big pots they have won, strange as it seems, but every player can remember with remarkable accuracy the outstanding tough beats of his career." We ended up losing that game and losing the next day as well, which left us all packing up our lockers and heading home. It was the end to a truly great season for our team.
After the season ended, I immediately went to my Grandpa’s house and started to spend some quality time with him. Not even a week into my off season, I was missing baseball. My Grandpa, being my biggest fan can never keep quiet about baseball, which makes it even tougher. It is good to have a break from the everyday grind but now that we are a couple of months into the off season, I am almost pulling my hair out in anticipation for spring training. I truly cannot wait for March to roll around, and to be back out on that field in beautiful Arizona spring weather. Until then, all I can do is continue to work out and prepare myself for next season.
I have had a couple suggestions on topics to write about, so I will be writing about those for the rest of the off season. Some of the suggestions I have received have been about my work outs, what it is that I do in the off season, and my view point on retaliation in baseball. They are all topics I look forward to writing about.
--Kenny
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Last Start of the Regular Season
First of all, I would like to apologize for not posting the last couple of days. I haven’t been able to take the time and sit at my computer long enough to write.
Last night was my third start since I have been posting on this site and different from the first two, I finally felt like I was getting back on track. Although I didn’t have my best command and best stuff, I was able to work out of a few jams when I needed to. Like I mentioned a couple posts back, there are one or two moments in a game which define that outing. One of those moments came in the third inning when I hit Brett Jackson , walked Flaherty, and again hit Rebel Ridling to load the bases with nobody out. I was able to get the four hitter to fly out to center, which resulted in a sacrifice fly. After that, it seemed as the pressure was off of me and I was able to get out of the inning without any further damage. The sacrifice fly ended up being the only run I surrendered in the outing. The box score says, 5 innings, 2 strikeouts, 1 earned run, and 3 walks.
My command wasn’t the best yesterday, but it wasn’t as bad as the stat sheet says. My game plan was to pitch hard inside all game, so as a result, I hit more people than usual. I also decided to pitch around Flaherty twice, which resulted in two of the walks. I told myself before the game that I wasn’t going to let him hurt me at all. He is one of the best hitters in our league and usually sees the ball pretty well off of me.
I felt like last night was a good outing for me because, I needed to start picking up some steam for the playoffs. It was a real confidence booster to pitch well against the best hitting team in our league right before the playoffs start. Confidence is one of the most important assests a pitcher needs,
The coaching staff has decided to skip over my next start, which is supposed to be on the 7th. Instead I will be pitching the first game of the playoffs, which will probably be against Burlington on the 9th in Burlington.
Last night was my third start since I have been posting on this site and different from the first two, I finally felt like I was getting back on track. Although I didn’t have my best command and best stuff, I was able to work out of a few jams when I needed to. Like I mentioned a couple posts back, there are one or two moments in a game which define that outing. One of those moments came in the third inning when I hit Brett Jackson , walked Flaherty, and again hit Rebel Ridling to load the bases with nobody out. I was able to get the four hitter to fly out to center, which resulted in a sacrifice fly. After that, it seemed as the pressure was off of me and I was able to get out of the inning without any further damage. The sacrifice fly ended up being the only run I surrendered in the outing. The box score says, 5 innings, 2 strikeouts, 1 earned run, and 3 walks.
My command wasn’t the best yesterday, but it wasn’t as bad as the stat sheet says. My game plan was to pitch hard inside all game, so as a result, I hit more people than usual. I also decided to pitch around Flaherty twice, which resulted in two of the walks. I told myself before the game that I wasn’t going to let him hurt me at all. He is one of the best hitters in our league and usually sees the ball pretty well off of me.
I felt like last night was a good outing for me because, I needed to start picking up some steam for the playoffs. It was a real confidence booster to pitch well against the best hitting team in our league right before the playoffs start. Confidence is one of the most important assests a pitcher needs,
The coaching staff has decided to skip over my next start, which is supposed to be on the 7th. Instead I will be pitching the first game of the playoffs, which will probably be against Burlington on the 9th in Burlington.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Daily Grind
I have been getting some requests lately to write about the daily routine of professional baseball based on my experiences so far. I’ll talk a little bit about the living situations, the road travel, and the workout schedules. This is a good way for people to find out more about the grind of being a professional athlete, and just how not-so-glamorous it is sometimes.
To start it off, lets just say I may be one of the luckiest minor league baseball players to be playing, because I have had the opportunity to play at home in front of my family and friends this whole season. Whether it is fate or just plain luck, being drafted by Oakland inevitably secured a chance to play in Geneva, IL for Kane County. The Cougars are Oakland’s low a affiliate, and are located five minutes from my home town of Saint. Charles, IL. While I am lucky to be at home, my teammates are all living in host families around the area. Oakland has a pretty good host family program for the lower levels so it makes it as easy as can be on the players. Transportation is sometimes hard though, because not everyone has access to a vehicle. Once we have graduated from A ball and move on to AA, we will have to find living on our own.
The travel of professional baseball is about as big of a grind as it gets. It is not so much the amount of games we play on the road (71), but more the travel itself. Despite the popular misconceptions, we are not treated like kings in pro ball, and that’s especially true on the road. Sometimes we are lucky enough to stay in average hotels, but most of the time we don’t stay in the nicest of places. From my experience so far, the travel will become better the higher up the ladder I get.
Going to the gym and lifting weights has become part of baseball these days. Everyone one of us are put on some sort of a schedule. Since I am a starting pitcher, my schedule consists of working out my lower body the day after I pitch and working out my upper body the following day. I also condition every other day in-between starts by running long sprints the day after I throw and short sprints on my bullpen day. Relievers and position players are on a different schedule based on when they pitch or play. Working out during the season is more to keep us in shape and keep us healthy until the very end. We dont lift to make any significant gains in our strength at this point in the season.
Being a professional athlete is a lot of hard work, but if it were easy, everyone would be doing it. Sometimes people have the misconception that we are all living life glamorously and don’t have any worries in the world. In reality, our day usually starts at about 10 in the morning at the weight room, and ends at bout 10:30 p.m. at the field. While it might be a lot of hard work and not the greatest some of the times, we are still lucky enough to have the opportunity to do what we do. Besides, it all comes down to us playing a game, and getting paid for it.
To start it off, lets just say I may be one of the luckiest minor league baseball players to be playing, because I have had the opportunity to play at home in front of my family and friends this whole season. Whether it is fate or just plain luck, being drafted by Oakland inevitably secured a chance to play in Geneva, IL for Kane County. The Cougars are Oakland’s low a affiliate, and are located five minutes from my home town of Saint. Charles, IL. While I am lucky to be at home, my teammates are all living in host families around the area. Oakland has a pretty good host family program for the lower levels so it makes it as easy as can be on the players. Transportation is sometimes hard though, because not everyone has access to a vehicle. Once we have graduated from A ball and move on to AA, we will have to find living on our own.
The travel of professional baseball is about as big of a grind as it gets. It is not so much the amount of games we play on the road (71), but more the travel itself. Despite the popular misconceptions, we are not treated like kings in pro ball, and that’s especially true on the road. Sometimes we are lucky enough to stay in average hotels, but most of the time we don’t stay in the nicest of places. From my experience so far, the travel will become better the higher up the ladder I get.
Going to the gym and lifting weights has become part of baseball these days. Everyone one of us are put on some sort of a schedule. Since I am a starting pitcher, my schedule consists of working out my lower body the day after I pitch and working out my upper body the following day. I also condition every other day in-between starts by running long sprints the day after I throw and short sprints on my bullpen day. Relievers and position players are on a different schedule based on when they pitch or play. Working out during the season is more to keep us in shape and keep us healthy until the very end. We dont lift to make any significant gains in our strength at this point in the season.
Being a professional athlete is a lot of hard work, but if it were easy, everyone would be doing it. Sometimes people have the misconception that we are all living life glamorously and don’t have any worries in the world. In reality, our day usually starts at about 10 in the morning at the weight room, and ends at bout 10:30 p.m. at the field. While it might be a lot of hard work and not the greatest some of the times, we are still lucky enough to have the opportunity to do what we do. Besides, it all comes down to us playing a game, and getting paid for it.
Friday, August 28, 2009
A Rainy Day
Tonight was one of those nights where if I fell out of a boat, I wouldn't have been able to hit water. Yet again, my arm felt as good as it has all year, maybe in my life, but the end of the night's box score didn't justify how I threw the ball. Just to get it out of the way, the box score shows 4 innings, 6 runs, 5 earned, and 3 walks.
My goal as a pitcher is to go out there and give my team a chance to win every time I take the mound. I have been able to do that a lot this year, but tonight just wasn't one of those outings. It started with the first batter of the game, when he dropped a 0-1 change up in the dirt over the shortstop's head to lead the game off with a hit. After that, it felt like I was taking part in some sort of Chinese water torture. I kept giving up hit after hit on balls that were landing just in front of my outfielders. I was making good pitches but the Beloit squad found holes everywhere. To give Beloit credit, they had a good game plan coming into this game. I could tell right from the start that they were really working hard at staying back on my change up. I guess this is something that happens when pitching against the same team for the second time in six days. Tonight was frustrating, but I am not going to sit here and try to make excuses for myself. Sometimes in baseball, having my best stuff and not performing as well as I usually would with my worst is part of the grind.
On a lighter note, we got to experience some fun tonight even though we were getting shellacked. Dusty Napoleon (usually catcher/first basement) recorded his second professional appearance on the mound. Just as he did in his first outing, he sliced and diced the opposition. He kept Beloit off balance with a plethora of pitches, most notably his 'lob ball.' Maybe sometime soon, I will be asking Dusty for some advice.
Like I end every post, I try to relate it to being on the grind. my grind this week will be exactly like last week. I cannot wait to get back out on the mound and prove that I am better than what my box score shows, but I will have to wait five days. This week I will forget this outing and concentrate solely on my next one. Sometimes it is good to think back and learn from my mistakes, but I think this i just one of those nights to forget.
My goal as a pitcher is to go out there and give my team a chance to win every time I take the mound. I have been able to do that a lot this year, but tonight just wasn't one of those outings. It started with the first batter of the game, when he dropped a 0-1 change up in the dirt over the shortstop's head to lead the game off with a hit. After that, it felt like I was taking part in some sort of Chinese water torture. I kept giving up hit after hit on balls that were landing just in front of my outfielders. I was making good pitches but the Beloit squad found holes everywhere. To give Beloit credit, they had a good game plan coming into this game. I could tell right from the start that they were really working hard at staying back on my change up. I guess this is something that happens when pitching against the same team for the second time in six days. Tonight was frustrating, but I am not going to sit here and try to make excuses for myself. Sometimes in baseball, having my best stuff and not performing as well as I usually would with my worst is part of the grind.
On a lighter note, we got to experience some fun tonight even though we were getting shellacked. Dusty Napoleon (usually catcher/first basement) recorded his second professional appearance on the mound. Just as he did in his first outing, he sliced and diced the opposition. He kept Beloit off balance with a plethora of pitches, most notably his 'lob ball.' Maybe sometime soon, I will be asking Dusty for some advice.
Like I end every post, I try to relate it to being on the grind. my grind this week will be exactly like last week. I cannot wait to get back out on the mound and prove that I am better than what my box score shows, but I will have to wait five days. This week I will forget this outing and concentrate solely on my next one. Sometimes it is good to think back and learn from my mistakes, but I think this i just one of those nights to forget.
Monday, August 24, 2009
A New Pitch and Dog Day
As the end of the season is approaching, one of my biggest goals is to maintain my health and arm strength. I have been focusing on my conditioning lately to keep my legs under me for the last part of this season. The conditioning also helps flush out my body and my arm. There is really only one way to keep arm strength up throughout a season, and that is by long tossing. Our pitcher’s throwing program has us throwing out to around 200 feet on the second day after we pitch. Lately, I have been trying to extend that and get out to about 260 feet. Today, my arm enabled me to throw a few from around 280 feet, which I think will be beneficial for the end of this season. I have been trying to really focus on keeping my flexibility and getting a good stretch during my long toss. Tomorrow I will throw shorter and finish off with a light flat ground to get ready for my start on Thursday.
Before I got my work in today, our pitching coach came up to me and told me that I should start working on a cut fastball. For some reason that pitch has been tricky for me to learn. During instructional league last year, Shawn Haviland and I would spend about ten minutes a day throwing it over and over again to try to perfect it. It seems as though he has figured it out lately, while it is still evading me. I can see the success Shawn is starting to have from the cutter and it has inspired me to start working hard on mine again. Pitching is all about missing the barrel of the bat, and a cut fastball is a good way to do that. Mariano Rivera has over 500 saves in his career, and he only throws one pitch- The cutter.
Trying new things to get better is a big part of the grind. Our organization wants to get everybody to the show and has a plan for everyone. If their plan is for me to learn a cut fastball to help me succeed at the higher levels, then I am willing to take on the challenge. As in any job, I have to continue to learn everyday on my grind to the top. “Don’t fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things.” Anonymous
Also, tonight was dog day at the ballpark and we were able to pull out our second straight victory. Dog day is always fun, and the fans were able to see Jake the Diamond Dog in action. Anyways, hopefully things are starting to turn around for the Cougars, and we can start picking up steam for the playoffs
Before I got my work in today, our pitching coach came up to me and told me that I should start working on a cut fastball. For some reason that pitch has been tricky for me to learn. During instructional league last year, Shawn Haviland and I would spend about ten minutes a day throwing it over and over again to try to perfect it. It seems as though he has figured it out lately, while it is still evading me. I can see the success Shawn is starting to have from the cutter and it has inspired me to start working hard on mine again. Pitching is all about missing the barrel of the bat, and a cut fastball is a good way to do that. Mariano Rivera has over 500 saves in his career, and he only throws one pitch- The cutter.
Trying new things to get better is a big part of the grind. Our organization wants to get everybody to the show and has a plan for everyone. If their plan is for me to learn a cut fastball to help me succeed at the higher levels, then I am willing to take on the challenge. As in any job, I have to continue to learn everyday on my grind to the top. “Don’t fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things.” Anonymous
Also, tonight was dog day at the ballpark and we were able to pull out our second straight victory. Dog day is always fun, and the fans were able to see Jake the Diamond Dog in action. Anyways, hopefully things are starting to turn around for the Cougars, and we can start picking up steam for the playoffs
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Thirdly
Tonight is the first time that I have the chance to post about my pitching performance. To sum it up from the beginning, it was frustrating. It was a frustrating performance because I believe the end of the game box score doesn’t do justice for the way I threw the ball tonight. From the moment I stepped on the field to warm up I felt as if it was going to be a good night. Honestly, by the way my arm felt, I thought I was going to dominate. If you look at the stat line, it wasn’t much of a dominating performance, but more of an average outing for my standards.
The first two innings went by fast but I ran into a little bit of trouble in the third. I gave up a leadoff base hit to left field on the first pitch. I then fell behind the next hitter, and he hit a 1-0 inside fastball that broke his bat over the left field fence. This is a perfect example of how the last three weeks have gone for our team. I made a good pitch and the hitter got enough of it to drive it out of the ball park. After that, I was able to settle down and get into a groove.
In a baseball game there are usually one or two moments which decide the outcome of the game. The first of those moments was in the 5th inning when the bases were loaded with one out and I was able to get out of the jam unharmed. The second occurred when I went out for the 6th inning, I told myself that I needed to get through this inning because I hadn’t been able to in my last four starts, but yet again I was unable to get out of the 6th. Instead I had to walk back to the dugout after giving up two more runs, albeit unearned runs. In the end I went a very frustrating 5 2/3 innings, 4 runs, 2 earned, 3 walks, and 8 strikeouts.
Although this was a frustrating outing for me, it was also a good one for my confidence. Usually this is the time of year where a pitcher’s arm starts to get fatigued, but my arm and body still feel strong and ready for the home stretch of our season. From every performance, good our bad, a pitcher has to take the positives, and be ready for the next one. Frankly, I cant wait for my next outing, which will be against Beloit again next week.
At the end of every post, I will try to relate the post to the grind of minor league baseball. Frustration is something a minor league baseball player has to deal with but for a starting pitcher it is even more difficult because I wont get the chance to pitch again for five days. I don’t like it but it is one of those things that I have to get through, and continue to work hard for the next four days until it’s my turn to throw again. Grinding out these next five days will be tough, but it comes with the job title.
The first two innings went by fast but I ran into a little bit of trouble in the third. I gave up a leadoff base hit to left field on the first pitch. I then fell behind the next hitter, and he hit a 1-0 inside fastball that broke his bat over the left field fence. This is a perfect example of how the last three weeks have gone for our team. I made a good pitch and the hitter got enough of it to drive it out of the ball park. After that, I was able to settle down and get into a groove.
In a baseball game there are usually one or two moments which decide the outcome of the game. The first of those moments was in the 5th inning when the bases were loaded with one out and I was able to get out of the jam unharmed. The second occurred when I went out for the 6th inning, I told myself that I needed to get through this inning because I hadn’t been able to in my last four starts, but yet again I was unable to get out of the 6th. Instead I had to walk back to the dugout after giving up two more runs, albeit unearned runs. In the end I went a very frustrating 5 2/3 innings, 4 runs, 2 earned, 3 walks, and 8 strikeouts.
Although this was a frustrating outing for me, it was also a good one for my confidence. Usually this is the time of year where a pitcher’s arm starts to get fatigued, but my arm and body still feel strong and ready for the home stretch of our season. From every performance, good our bad, a pitcher has to take the positives, and be ready for the next one. Frankly, I cant wait for my next outing, which will be against Beloit again next week.
At the end of every post, I will try to relate the post to the grind of minor league baseball. Frustration is something a minor league baseball player has to deal with but for a starting pitcher it is even more difficult because I wont get the chance to pitch again for five days. I don’t like it but it is one of those things that I have to get through, and continue to work hard for the next four days until it’s my turn to throw again. Grinding out these next five days will be tough, but it comes with the job title.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The Second One
The name I have given to my site is the most appropriate way to describe minor league baseball. It is a grind. As I sit on the bus on my way back from Beloit, a commuter trip, I think to myself about how much of a grind it is.
First off, we are not allowed to stay in a hotel when we travel to Beloit because it isn’t far enough away from our home city of Geneva, IL. That being said, we have to pack up and travel back and forth every day for the four game series. The bus departs at 2 p.m. every day and we will arrive home at approximately 12 a.m. just in time to get into bed and wake up for the gym at 10 a.m. until noon.
If the travel situation wasn’t hard enough to overcome, our team is also in the midst of overcoming the ‘ups and downs’ of a season. Throughout a full minor league season there are many ‘ups and downs’ to experience in the win/loss column; about as many as Batman the ride at Six Flags. Currently we are trying to come out of the twists and turns to begin our climb back to the top of the rollercoaster.
Basically, I’d say we have not been playing well as a team lately for a couple of reasons. Without a doubt, bodies are tired, people are homesick, and the end date is near. What it comes down to is the grind of minor league baseball is beginning to wear on us. I believe at the stage we are all on right now, learning how to control the grind is one of the most important lessons we must absolve.
Sometimes it seems as if it is too tough to handle, but there is one way too look at it in my eyes. Appreciate the opportunity we have to be grinding it out; because without a doubt, the 26 of us are a group of some of the luckiest people on the earth. We get paid to put our cleats on every day.
I am going to try and keep up with my ‘road roomie’ Shawn and post about once every two days. My next outing is Saturday and I will definitely submit a post after I pitch; good or bad.
First off, we are not allowed to stay in a hotel when we travel to Beloit because it isn’t far enough away from our home city of Geneva, IL. That being said, we have to pack up and travel back and forth every day for the four game series. The bus departs at 2 p.m. every day and we will arrive home at approximately 12 a.m. just in time to get into bed and wake up for the gym at 10 a.m. until noon.
If the travel situation wasn’t hard enough to overcome, our team is also in the midst of overcoming the ‘ups and downs’ of a season. Throughout a full minor league season there are many ‘ups and downs’ to experience in the win/loss column; about as many as Batman the ride at Six Flags. Currently we are trying to come out of the twists and turns to begin our climb back to the top of the rollercoaster.
Basically, I’d say we have not been playing well as a team lately for a couple of reasons. Without a doubt, bodies are tired, people are homesick, and the end date is near. What it comes down to is the grind of minor league baseball is beginning to wear on us. I believe at the stage we are all on right now, learning how to control the grind is one of the most important lessons we must absolve.
Sometimes it seems as if it is too tough to handle, but there is one way too look at it in my eyes. Appreciate the opportunity we have to be grinding it out; because without a doubt, the 26 of us are a group of some of the luckiest people on the earth. We get paid to put our cleats on every day.
I am going to try and keep up with my ‘road roomie’ Shawn and post about once every two days. My next outing is Saturday and I will definitely submit a post after I pitch; good or bad.
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