Posts belonging to Category Griffin Phelps

Lefty pitchers are baseball’s equivalent of kickers in the NFL.  They are just a little bit different.  However, because we lefties are such a minority in the realm of baseball, it allows us to provide the rest of you with a unique perspective on the game.  Since I have this special ability to provide a different look, I will be giving that to you each and every day.  So, without further ado, here is the first ever issue of “Changeups and Screwballs: A Southpaw’s Perspective.”

–       While it may not be the most honorable reaction, I was thrilled to find out that Bryce Harper’s season was ended early due to a hamstring issue.  I suppose that is what happens when you decide to run hard for a full 90 feet.

–       Seeing Joe Mauer play right field made me laugh.  Any coach that is worth his paycheck could probably teach a monkey to play a corner outfield spot.  Mauer looked like a natural by the third fly ball he caught.

–       Watching A-Rod make a nice barehanded run-through play to get Ben Revere out on Sunday makes me think he will be just fine post surgery.  Did you realize that he is already 36?

–       Big ups to Jered Weaver on that healthy new contract.  Here’s hoping that he turns out to be more like Cliff Lee or C.C. Sabathia, and does not turn in to John Lackey or A.J. Burnett.

–       It finally appears that someone really does want to win the A.L. Central.  The way the Tigers beat down Cleveland, coupled with Justin Verlander leading that staff, leads me to believe that they will find themselves in the ALCS.  Just don’t let Miggy have any champagne.

–       Even though the Astros have the worst record in the bigs, I still believe that they are only the second worse team in the league.  The Cubs are pathetic.

–       I am so happy that my Astros will be getting the first overall pick next June.  I have to find some sort of light at the end of this tunnel.

Having not written anything recently, I feel completely lost as I try to put together something for Sombrero Nation.  I checked the files on both my work computer and home computer, and found out that I have eight different blog posts started, just waiting for me to finish them.  For whatever reason, I just have not finished anything I started to write.  It is time to fix that.  Forget the lead in.  Forget fluency.  Forget about even reading a “true” article.  All this is going to be is a collection of my thoughts on baseball.  I call them…Randoms.

–       Tim Kurkjian recently said he believes that the Astros will lose 300 games over the next 3 years.  Oddly, I am not surprised by, or in tears because of, this estimate.

–       Bubba Starling choosing the Royals over the Huskers makes me smile.  For one, I hate watching phenomenal athletes waste their time playing other sports when they could be playing baseball.  Secondly, Nebraska is where college quarterbacks go to die, and that would be a terrible endgame for such a gifted athlete.

–       I tried to explain that opinion to my mom at dinner last night.  All she could do is smile and nod her head.  At least she checks the blog on a daily basis.  Love you, mom!  Thanks for your support.

–       I wish Brettsta would write more for the Sombrero.  He has nasty wordplay skills.  (Editor’s note: I agree and welcome any and all submissions.)

–       Being an Astros fan is finally exciting again.  As much as I will miss competing, I find the direction the club is heading to be fulfilling enough right now.

–       Why is Carlos Zambrano so far removed from his own sanity?  Was he dropped on his head as a newborn?

–       I had a legitimate discussion with one of the 6^th graders in my classroom about how Justin Verlander should win the AL Cy Young.  I was very impressed, to say the least.

–       Will somebody please kick Bryce Harper in the junk already?  Seriously, this is inexcusable at the professional level.

–       Why do I keep falling for Ricky Nolasco’s Jekyll and Hyde routine?  That 33 era he posted the other night might have finally done it for me.

–       I really wish I had learned how to throw a cutter when I was in college.  It is just such a nasty pitch from the left side.

–       The Fantasy Focus baseball podcast on ESPN is excellent.  I listen to it everyday at lunch and thoroughly enjoy listening to the hilarity interspersed with fantasy analysis.  If you have not listened to it, I suggest you check it out.

–       I would really like to find out how many other people are tired of the Brian Wilson “I’m Trying Really Hard So Somebody Please Look at Me” show.  He should really just sit down with Timmy Jim, burn one down, and relax.

–       This was a fun piece to write.  Let me know if I should do something like this once a week.

This year’s Cardinals took the field Friday night following a day of pictures, opening ceremonies, and a parade.  The first Friday of the CMWS is a grind, and unprepared teams who happen to draw a Friday evening game always get trounced for not managing the day properly.  The host team has no excuse for this since they know exactly what to expect and rarely plays poorly on Friday night when they draw that game.  This Friday Dominic Moreno will take the ball, and he is no stranger to either the CMWS or opening ceremonies prior to a big start.  The annual Knothole Day event includes the last regular season meeting between rivals Farmington High and Piedra Vista High as well as the FABC opening ceremonies for the 12 and under age groups.

For the FHS and PV players, that typically means standing in line and high-fiving each of several hundred players as they run across the diamond at Ricketts.  It can take over an hour and has a way of delaying the game a couple of hours.  Moreno threw the Knothole Game in 2011 and won, so he’s dealt with distractions before and succeeded in doing so.  Dominic has had a stellar career here in Farmington, and, if Friday night is his last start at Ricketts, he will be remembered fondly.  Moreno was also a member of the 2010 Cards and started their 4^th round game against the Arizona Firebirds.  While he took the loss that night, he threw well enough to keep the game tight and flashed the quality stuff that ultimately led to his signing at Howard College in Big Spring, TX, one of the finest JUCO programs in the United States.

Moreno was not the only standout pitcher on the Cards CMWS roster, a staff that will go down as the finest a host team has ever produced.  Led by pitching coach and manager Griffin Phelps, the Cards’ Series staff also included Jake McCasland who was drafted by the Giants in the 38^th round and later offered second round money, which Jake turned down to attend UNM where he collected 15 starts as a true freshman.  The staff also included Eli Freese who signed at UNM out of FHS before transferring to NMJC where he threw 53 innings before injury ended his season.  Tim Bailey also attended UNM in 2011 and tossed 53.2 innings following a terrific relief appearance against the Firebirds after Dominic left the game.  Freese and Bailey both posted ERA’s in the 4.50 realm and both were considered weekend starters.  Adrian Houser, a regional pickup, won a state title in Oklahoma in 2011 after signing at the University of Oklahoma.  That commitment never materialized, however, as Houser was drafted by the Astros in the 2^nd round of June’s draft and signed a week or so later.  Houser currently has a 4.33 ERA in 6 professional starts and has a very bright future in front of him.  Joining the Cards out of the 2010 South Plains regional was Philip Wilson, who had a nice relief outing against DBAT in the third round.  Wilson is back for the 2011 Series and is projected to start the Cards 2^nd game.  Philip is signed at Oral Roberts and, with three effective pitches and quality command of all three, should be one of the better freshmen arms in the Big XII.  The Cardinals staff also had a strong lefty presence in 2010 with Robbie Ingram from Flagstaff, AZ.  Ingram started against DBAT and had a solid outing in a game the Cards eventually lost in large part due to not producing enough offense against Archie Bradley (7^th overall to the DBacks), a common problem nationwide.  Ingram pitched for Yavapai College in 2011 and was drafted in the 45^th round by the Pirates in June.  Starting catcher and 2-way standout and starting catcher, Andrew Castillo, did not step onto the CMWS mound, but he certainly was a huge reason they were there in the first place.  Castillo spent 2010 with Eastern Arizona, but was injured early on after a hot start as a 2-way guy.  Rounding out the staff were Castillo’s teammate at Eastern Arizona Jesus Carlos, Durango’s Austin Rochford (Trinidad State), and Shiprock’s Bryce Rockwell, the first Shiprock player to ever appear on a CMWS roster.

It’s not so much that this staff had more upside than other staffs individually.  For instance, the 2002 Sky Sox had Danny Ray Herrera who has reached the Big Leagues.  The 2003 host team, the Farmington Virus, featured Mike Dunn who is currently setting up for the Marlins.  Josh Karp (Bandits, 2008) was a first-rounder and tossed a shutout against East Cobb for Christ’s sake.  It was that the Cardinal staff had remarkable depth.  The Cards had 6 guys who had reached 90 mph, 4 guys who were 6’4” or taller, quality secondary offerings, good command, multiple draft picks and D1 signees, and past success against good opponents.  Their staff was very capable of getting the best hitters in the United States out consistently.  The CMWS is won and lost largely on the mound, and 2011’s Cardinals pitchers have big shoes to fill.  It’s a blessing to have players like Moreno and Wilson to hand the ball to at the beginning of the game who know what the CMWS stage is like, and we at the Sombrero are psyched to see how they do their second time around.

Each season I always manage to make at least one deal where I move a large amount of players, vastly altering the look of my team.  As I have mentioned before, trading players, and acting like a GM, is one of my favorite parts of fantasy baseball.  Thus, it is logical to see that I derive immense amounts of pleasure from trading big name stars.  To get a deal of this magnitude done, it requires extensive negotiations, a willing partner, and usually some adult suds to push the deal through.  (Sounds vaguely familiar to late-night exploits during my freshman year at U of A.)  Fellow writer and Denslow Cup league member, Dee, and I finally swung a deal through last night and if weight is the term I am using to describe it, this deal is heavy.  Let’s take a look and break down the trade.

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It has been announced that Drayton McLane and Jim Crane have reached an agreement on the purchase of the (my) Houston Astros.  This sale brings closure to the end of an era that has seen the Astros reach the World Series, and then become the laughing stock of all MLB organizations. (Except maybe Pittsburgh…maybe.)  McLane took over the Astros in 1993.  While Drayton is leaving this franchise amidst one of it’s lowest points, he also gave Astros fans plenty to be thankful for.  While my view on things tends to lean towards the more cynical, I am always, always, always grateful for baseball and what baseball brings to my life.  So instead of focusing on where Drayton has left us, I want to thank him for what he brought us during his tenure as owner of the Houston Astros.

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