All Purpose Spring Training 2011 Thread

[Guest Edgy DC]

"This here pitch I called 'Deafening Thunder'."

[Ceetar]

Going down to Spring Training is always so much fun. I love watching all the workouts and stuff before hand, and you get to see all sorts of interesting things and your seats are closer and it's just cool.

I saw the starters (and Carrasco..hmm, long man favorite?) working on bunting, and then also pitchers working on wild pitches. They'd fake throw home, and then dash towards the plate yelling "One One One!!" field a throw from the catcher and swipe at the plate.

Minor leaguers rotating doing turns at second, or pitchers practicing backing up home or backing up third.

Minor leaguers practicing baserunning instincts, Teufel hits a ball, and they have to judge whether to advance or not from second.

Valdespin acting as the guy that has to lug the basket of baseballs around and hand them to coaches to hit. Meija acting as the ball boy in a minor league game (literally going out to the umpire to hand him balls and picking up the balls that got by the catcher)

I saw Mets all over Port. St Lucie too, at Duffy's, and Vine and Barley. Kai Gronauer, Scott Hairston, Justin Turner, Kirk Nieuwenhuis and unnamed players with him (Duda, Russ Adams?) not to mention the ones that I didn't notice/recognize.

[MFS62]

Sounds like you have a good view of the action, both on and off the field.
Nice reports, some stuff we never read about (a top pitching prospect running balls out to the umps).
Thanks,
Later

[Ceetar]

MFS62 wrote: Sounds like you have a good view of the action, both on and off the field. Nice reports, some stuff we never read about (a top pitching prospect running balls out to the umps). Thanks, Later

yeah, the casual nature of it all is pretty cool. I almost didn't notice that he was acting as ball boy either, but every once in a while a coach would yell "Mejia!" and fling more balls over to him.

There was also an incident with a little snake at home plate on one of the fields. I couldn't determine if it was a prank or not, but everyone started laughing at one point and rushed over from the other field to stare until Sean Ratiff rescued the snake and tossed it in the grass.

[MFS62]

Ceetar wrote: but everyone started laughing at one point and rushed over from the other field to stare until Sean Ratiff rescued the snake and tossed it in the grass.

How far did he toss it?
Ratliff only had 2 outfield assists in about 125 minor league games last year, and I had questions about his arm.

Later

[Ceetar]

Can you spot Chris Young?

[Ceetar]

I think someone lost their blue uniform.

[metirish]

So Ceetar , how would you rate the trip overall?, I'd love to do it and hopefully will one day.

[Ceetar]

metirish wrote: So Ceetar , how would you rate the trip overall?, I'd love to do it and hopefully will one day.

Considering this weekend I was sitting out in the sun and watching baseball and drinking beer and now i'm at work and it's snowing and raining?

It was a blast. I kinda of regret only going down for three games. Watching the pregame workouts was probably as much fun as the games too. Watching all these prospects running around, and everyone's doing drills. And there are so many guys there that it's almost a game of where's Waldo. "Hey, that's Reese Havens, I know him!"

The game of Where's Waldo gets more difficult later, when all 300 or whatever players in the Mets system change into street clothes and are eating and drinking in the same restaurants and bars as you all over Port st Lucie.

[Ceetar]

[bmfc1]

If there was a "like" button next to the preceding picture, I would have clicked it. Nice job, Ceetar.

[Ceetar]

If there was a "like" button next to the preceding picture, I would have clicked it. Nice job, Ceetar.

:-) It's also cool being so close too, makes the pictures easier to get.


I didn't know D.J. Carrasco occasionally threw sidearm either:

[TransMonk]

Is it just me, or does Angel seem to have to have a little more swagger this season? He just seems to have a much more easy-going-yet-confident attitude this spring.

Maybe it's because he has a starting job this year...or maybe I just never noticed it before. Either way, I like it.

Ceetar's picture captures it for me.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I didn't know D.J. Carrasco occasionally threw sidearm either:

I think what they like about carrasco is that he has a shitload of different looks, pitches and deliveries.

[Guest The Second Spitter]

If you're wondering what's up with flame-throwing righty Elvin Ramirez who the Nats nabbed in the R5D - not much apparently. He rocked-up to ST late because of "visa issues". Then got himself injured pitching in the bullpen, officially diagnosed as "arm trouble" (possibly the combination of "visa issues/"arm trouble" you get when you don't want to move cities).

But the Nats, being the snarky bunch of c*nts that they are, instead of giving him back to the Mets, are putting him on the DL and then are presumably putting him on the big league roster with 0 IP in spring training. Dumbasses.

[Frayed Knot]

There's a limit to how long a team can store a Rule 5 guy on the DL for purposes of "hiding" him.
Eventually the Nats will either have to actually activate him or offer him back.

[Guest The Second Spitter]

Frayed Knot wrote: There's a limit to how long a team can store a Rule 5 guy on the DL for purposes of "hiding" him. Eventually the Nats will either have to actually activate him or offer him back.

The Nats may be just stupid enough to put him on the big league roster without Spring Training -- they'll probably rationalize it as "out-of-the-box" thinking.

[MFS62]

The Nats are building a fine collection of young pitchers on the DL, including their wunderkind (name escapes me). You can keep a player on the 60 day DL for an entire season, and he only has to be counted on the 40 man roster prior to the next year's Rule V Draft. But I'm not sure how that works with a prior year Rule V draftee as to whether he would have to stay with the club's 25 man roster for a full year next year.

Later

[Guest The Second Spitter]

RVDees can be put on the 60-Day DL but they must be be active for 90 days in the season.

[MFS62]

Thanks.
Later

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

"Hey, Beato!"

Yeah, coach?

"Come say 'hi' to my frothing dog!"

[Guest The Second Spitter]

I'm pretty sure there's also a frothing Greek in Baltimore.

[MFS62]

Paulino shut down because of a "blood disorder", not related to PEDs.

Nickeas may be here longer than anyone thought.

Later

[ashie62]

Martino tweets that Willie Harris has made the team.

Heymann tweets that Beato is in and Emaus has been named starting 2B.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Scuttlebutt is that the last BP slot-- as expected-- is an Acosta-Boyer-Isringhausen horserace.

Boyer and Izzy with clean sheets today, with Izzy's FB in the low 90s. Hoo boy.

[ashie62]

I'm guessing Boyer goes north and Izzy stays at PSL "on hold."

[Frayed Knot]

Nats deal Nyjer Morgan to the Brewers for former draft pick and Lenny progeny Cutter Dykstra.

I guess the Brewers wanted two speedy CFers who can't hit because Morgan is going to compete with Carlos Gomez




Also, Carlos Silva joins Ollie in the: 'dumped in ST because you were pitching lousy and refusing to work it out in the minors despite being owed a ton of money club'.
Cubs released him today.