Adopted - Kole Strayhorn

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

We adopted Kole because we saw him pitch in St. Lucie shortly after he came to the Mets organization in 2003, and we were impressed with his strong left arm. Said strong arm had surgery after his 2004 season with the B-Mets, and Kole is currently back in St. Lucie and getting up to speed.

My son wrote to Kole last summer, and received a note and two autographed baseball cards from his adopted sibling. Edgy promised a Mets ice cube tray to the first Pooler to get a reply from his/her adoptee, but from what I understand he's welching on that promise. But that's a separate issue.

Anyway, the Mets are in need of a lefty reliever, and Kole is on the way!

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

I have an xtra Mets ice cube tray if ya want it. Warning: They don't work.

[MFS62]

]Warning: They don't work.

what doesn't work? You fill it with water and put it in the freezer. The freezer does all the work. Is this a training issue?

Later

[Guest Edgy DC]

It's getting the cubes out of the tray without melting them that's the issue.

[MFS62]

Oh.
You have one, too?
Sounds like there's a story there.

Later

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

We actually have a couple that I bought on eBay. If you pour some hot water on the outside before you try to get them out they work much better.

It's not the tray so much as it was the promise of the tray. I had his word, you know!

[Guest Edgy DC]

Frankly Scarlet, I don't give a damn.




























The kid will get his tray July fourth weekend in sunny and historic Washington, DC.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Thanks Edgy :)

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

I posted this on 11/12/03 - it's the only remaining post about any of my prospects at the old place -


D-Dad and I saw Kole Strayhorn pitch for St. Lucie shortly after he was acquired from the Dodgers in the Jeromy Burnitz deal. Young Mr. Strayhorn was impressive - striking out the side in the 9th inning for a save, and looking strong while doing it.

The 6'1", 185 pound righthander was born October 1, 1982 in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and was the Dodgers' 4th round draft pick in the 2001 draft.

I'll keep an eye on the kid.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Since [url=http://www.tcpalm.com/tcp/fsl_baseball/article/0,2543,TCP_10757_3953915,00.html]this nice article about my adoptee[/url] requires registration, I'm copying it below -



Cowboy right at home in bullpen

Strayhorn thrives on the pressure of being St. Lucie's closer.

By Bill Whitehead
correspondent
July 26, 2005

PORT ST. LUCIE — The name Kole Strayhorn sounds like it's straight out of a Larry McMurtry novel or maybe has the ring of a champion bull rider — which would be fine with Kole Strayhorn the pitcher.

"I wish I could go ride a bull. I love that," said Strayhorn, who lives on a ranch he bought after turning pro. And the hard-throwing right-hander has tackled the job of relieving much like how a fearless rodeo star approaches those manic eight seconds on a bull — all out.


"I'm a max effort guy. It's more my mentality," the 22-year-old native Oklahoman said. "I really found my niche coming out of the bullpen. I never could pace myself, even in high school."

Strayhorn signed with the University of Texas early in high school but opted to turn pro after being selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fourth round of the 2001 draft. He pitched at Vero Beach in 2003 but was traded to the Mets in July in a deal that sent Jeromy Burnitz to the Dodgers.

And Strayhorn's opponent in his first outing at St. Lucie two days after the trade? His former team, Vero Beach.

"Now that was weird," he said of his first Mets appearance. "It was a morning game, and I came in with two guys on, two out and up by one (run). But I closed it out."

Closing games became a familiar role for Strayhorn on that St. Lucie team, which went on to win the league championship. In 16 games, he recorded 10 saves and had a miniscule 1.17 ERA. In all, he combined to save 17 games in 2003 in stints at Vero and St. Lucie.

But while Strayhorn experienced one of the highlights of his life this past offseason — getting married in December — he did it while still rehabbing from September surgery to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder.

"It was a pretty big setback, but I came back about two and a half months early, so I'm ahead of schedule," said Strayhorn, who topped out at 98 mph before the surgery. "I'm throwing around 88 to 91 (mph), maybe 92 every now and then. But they say it could take up to two years to get everything back fully.

"But now, I'm having to learn how to pitch. They say in the long run it could be a lot better for me because when the velocity comes back, I should be in really good shape."

[Guest SI Metman]

your boy struck out the side in a perfect inning of relief for St Lucie tonight.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Excellent - thanks SI :)

It was an inning like that two years ago that prompted us to adopt him in the first place.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

[url=http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20050816&content_id=1172431&vkey=news_nym&fext=.jsp&c_id=nym]Mets.com Features My Boy Working His Way Back From Surgery[/url]

[Diamond Dad]

I'd love to see him pitch in Trenton next year for the B'Mets. Kid's got some stuff!

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

We missed him by a week - Kole is back up with the B-Mets.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Bump. I'm stll following Kole, even if he hasn't been in the news lately.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

[url=http://www.nypost.com/sports/mets/63797.htm]The Mets Have Cut Cole Loose[/url]

I guess he's no longer a prospect, so I'll bid Kole goodbye and wish him well in his post-Mets career.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Kole has landed [url=http://oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3293070]in the Nationals organization[/url].

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

[url=http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA/MGArticle/LNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137836476455&path=]Kole's new parents are NOT taking proper care of him :( [/url]

]In a scary moment, Potomac reliever Kole Strayhorn had to be taken off the field on a stretcher and to the hospital after being affected by the heat. The reliever, who pitched 2 2-3 innings, was reportedly in and out of consciousness on the Potomac bench while the Nationals were in the field during the eighth, the inning after he left the game. An ambulance was summoned and the game delayed 17 minutes while medical personnel attended to him.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

[url=http://www.stluciemets.com/index.cfm?method=PressReleases_detail&id=630]This article[/url] indicates that the Mets have re-acquired Kole, and that he's pitching for St. Lucie.

[Guest Edgy DC]

I think your being flimflammed by Google News, which has been returning results the last few days that are months old, sometimes years.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

Damn.

ON EDIT - you seem to be correct Edgy. The [url=http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/stats/stats.jsp?n=Kole%20Strayhorn&pos=P&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=461912]Potomac Nationals[/url] have him listed on their current roster.