Archive for the ‘ Spring Training 2011 ’ Category

Monday aftermath–Nats and Astros

Hope you all caught me at 4:45 “On The Block” with Brent Axe on our new flagship, The Score 1260.  I shared some of these thoughts from the Nats’ 14-9 win today with Brent….

-Bryce Harper’s second double literally quieted his critics.  Harper came up twice in the eighth and doubled to right both times.  Prior to the 1-2 pitch which he mauled in his second at-bat, a few fans seated down the first-base side started a grassroots “overrated” chant.  Not 30 seconds later, Harper’s torpedo clanged into the right-field corner.  The chant stopped.  He’s now 4-for-13 with three RBI for the spring.
-Cole Kimball, outlier.  Five Nats pitchers took the mound today and Kimball was the only one not to surrender a run.  The would-be AAA rookie (and MLB rookie for that matter) flashed good downward movement through the zone and struck three out in two innings.  The only hit he allowed was an infield single for Rick Ankiel-contemporary Brian Bogusevic.
-Danny Espinosa makes the simple look simpler and the difficult look simple.  The Astros hit two ground balls Espinosa’s way in the second inning.  On one, he sprawled, knocked the ball down and zipped an on-target throw Adam LaRoche’s way to retire J.D. Martinez.  The second ball was a bleeder to the left of first-base.  Espinosa casually pursued it nearly directly behind the bag, scooped and bettered catcher Carlos Corporan by a step-and-a-half.  That play didn’t look sensational, but it was likely the sturdier of the two plays.
-Roger Bernadina is bigger, but not slower.  Pictures of Bernadina as he arrived in camp rendered him muscularly-unrecognizable.  The Washington Post reported that he put on more than ten pounds during the offseason.  Today, he bunted on in the first, stole second and reached third on a wild pitch.  He also walked in the second.  We’ll see Nyjer Morgan soon, but Bernadina is 5-for-14 this spring….
-Brian Bixler’s bat.  Last year, he played with three AAA teams.  This year, he’s 5-for-7 in the spring with three doubles, including a bases-clearing, game-tying right-center field double in the 8th today.
Be on the lookout for a quick chat with Drew Storen in our Inside Pitch podcast.  More to come tomorrow.  Follow us @ChiefsRadio on Twitter for updates from Viera, FL.

Monday in Viera

High of 76 today.  Snow unlikely.

A few notes about today’s starting lineups for the Nats and Astros.
-Former Chief Yunesky Maya is pitching for the Nats…..Jim Riggleman was impressed with him last time out.  Found his fastball again in winter ball.  One of maybe five guys who could be either a starter with the Nats or a starter in Syracuse.
–Roger Bernadina leading off.  He’s in a mess of outfielders with Rick Ankiel, Michael Morse and a bunch of others….
-….including Jeff Frazier, an IL All-Star last year who’s seemingly made a positive impression on the Nats so far this summer.
-The Nats have chosen to use the DH today, despite in being an NL game vs Houston.  We’ve seen Yunesky Maya bat once.  That’s likely enough.
-On the subject of the Astros, their starting third baseman is Chris Johnson, the son of former PawSox manager Ron Johnson.  Here’s a nice story on RJ from NESN:
More as the game progresses here and on Twitter @ChiefsRadio.  Check out Inside Pitch postgame for interviews…..

Off to spring training

The closest airport to my offseason home in North Carolina is Greensboro’s Piedmont Triad International.  It is one of those airports which offers a flight to Toronto once every six months and, thus, labels itself “international.”  It has slightly less true overseas verve than Outback Steakhouse.  

I normally have better luck flying direct out of Raleigh or Charlotte, each about an hour and a half door-to-door from Winston-Salem.  To fly to spring training today, I chose Charlotte and a 10:21 direct flight to Orlando.  So, I got in my car this morning and began my Sunday drive to CLT.  It rapidly became apparent that today was, indeed, Sunday.   The first four stations I clicked to on the radio (including an NPR station) provided me religious music.  The fifth station offered “Don’t Fear the Reaper.”  There’s something faintly symmetrical there.

The final destination is Viera, Florida, the spring training home of the Nationals.  As of this writing, the Chiefs’ parent club is 4-2 this Grapefruit League season, which gives the Nats exactly four more wins than they had in their first 11 games last March. 

Keep an eye on the blog and our Inside Pitch podcast for news and notes from Viera along with interviews with former and soon-to-be-Chiefs all week.  Also, once Kevin joins me on Thursday, we’ll be filling our YouTube page with video updates from Florida.  Drop me an email at jasonbenetti@syracusechiefs.com and let me know who you’d like to hear from.  If you’re nice, I think I can probably take your suggestion and run with it.

Here’s hoping my flight this morning is significantly less turbulent than DePaul’s basketball season.  


Jason

NATS GAMES BEGIN TODAY

The Washington Nationals begin spring training exhibition games this afternoon as the take on the New York Mets in St. Luce, FL.  Game time is 1:05 PM with coverage beginning at 1:00 PM on SNY – channel 54 on Time Warner Cable.

Seven former Chiefs players will be in manager Jim Rigglemans lineup that includes:

Nyger Morgan CF

Ian Desmond SS

Roger Bernadina LF

Mike Morse RF

Matt Stairs DH

Wilson Ramos C

Kevin Barker 1B

Danny Espinosa 2B

Jerry Hairiston JR 3B

Chad Gaudin P

The Nationals take on the same New York Mets tomorrow when they open their home slate at Space Coast Stadium at 1:00 PM.

 

 

 

 

30 FORMER CHIEFS LISTED AS NON-ROSTER INVITEES

Spring Training is just a week away for pitchers & catchers and with the weather outside less than appealing to the baseball fan we thought we would give you an up-date on former Chiefs listed on major league rosters as non-roster invitees.

A non-roster invitee is not listed on the 40 man roster and usually is assigned numbers in the 60′s or 70′s.  He’s usually the first player cut or he is a veteran who waited too long to sign his contract and is desperate for a job.

Anyway, here’s the up-to-the minute list, less of course the parent Washington Nationals:

Boston-Jason Bergmann, Hector Luna
Baltimore-Mark Hendrickson
Detroit-John Bale
Chicago (AL)-Lastings Milledge
Florida-DeWayne Wise
Chicago (NL)-Reed Johnson
Houston-Gustavo Chacin
Los Angeles (AL)-Kevin Melillo
Milwaukee-Zack Segovia
Minnesota-Chase Lambin, Chuck James
Philadelphia-Erik Kratz, Peter Orr
New York (NL)-Mike O’Connor, Russ Adams, Willie Harris
New York (AL)-Gustavo Molina
Tampa Bay-Felipe Lopez, Ray Olmedo
Texas-David Bush, Kevin Cash, Zach Jackson
San Diego-Guillermo Quiroz, Gregg Zaun
Oakland-Vinnie Chulk
Toronto-WilLedezma, Corey Patterson
San Francisco-Brad Eldred

Enjoy Ft. Myers, Florida, Jason Bergmann.

 

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