Season 13, Episode 8: The Finale...?
Series Finales are never what you want them to be. They never leave you satisfied. Even if they do appropriately break your heart, they rarely feel complete. Personally, I hate Series Finales.But have you ever imagined what it must be like to write one? I mean, you literally get to decide how everything ends. But how do you possibly recall all the highlights of what feels like a lifetime of stories AND wrap up all the relevant loose ends AND adequately imply that everything works out in the future just like you have always hoped it will …all in one last episode?
I don’t know.
What I do know is that I’ve started to write this piece a handful of times, and if I was writing with pen to paper, I’d have an entire waste basket full of crumpled up bad ideas.
See, today has the distinct possibility of being the Series Finale of the Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright show. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve been mourning it for days already. So, why don't you and I celebrate it instead?
Adam Wainwright has thrown 1,927 innings in his major league career. Yadier Molina has caught 1,626.1 of them. Today will be the 286th game for the two… which, if you’re keeping track, is way more episodes than necessary for six seasons and a movie. And while someone like Zach Gifford could probably tell you what that means in Xs and Os (and obviously, a good graph or three), all I can tell you is that it means there are far more highlights to recount than one last episode can possibly provide.
It's easy to go back to the first highlight.
The 2006 season was a wild one for the Birds. A young Adam Wainwright took over the closer role late in the year, as has become Cardinal tradition. But no one could have expected the youngster to throw that pitch at that moment. Except Yadi. Just a baby himself, Molina called for Uncle Charlie to Carlos Beltran in the NLCS... but not before surprising even Wainwright with the setup to that moment.
“The first pitch set up the whole at-bat,” Wainwright said. “Changeup, bases loaded, my fourth best pitch? There’s no possible way anyone could ever look for that. I would have never thought of that."A few moxie-filled pitches later, and the legendary duo had their first Finale Flashback.
The 2007 season gave us the duo's first of an eventual 22 complete games, although this one didn't have the storybook ending like we'd see later on. It was August 10, at home against the Dodgers. Wainwright threw a total of 121 pitches that night, holding LA scoreless through 8.1 innings. Then, with 1 on and 1 out in a 0-0 game, James Loney launched a 2-run homer that cost Waino and Yadi the shutout... and eventually, cost the Cardinals the win.
But not to worry. The two were just getting warmed up.
(Sidebar: How do they not have a duo name? "Molinwright"? "Adaier"? "Wai-lina"? Ok... maybe that's why. Nevermind.)
The 2009 season was the first of many award hauls for both players. Molina was an All Star, while Waino picked up Cy Young Award votes for the first time. Both would earn Gold Gloves, and both would land on Most Valuable Player ballots -- something that would become a bit of a trend over the course of their parallel careers.
The 2010 season was when things really started to get good. With a fascinating supporting cast that included Chris Carpenter, Albert Pujols, Jaime Garcia, Skip Schumaker, Colby Rasmus, and Brendan Ryan, Molina caught five Wainwright complete games, including the first two shutouts of his big league career. One came on June 4th in a 8-0 victory over the Brewers, the other on August 6 in a 7-0 defeat of the Marlins. Combined, the battery mates worked 18 innings of 4 hit baseball, striking out 15 on just over 100 pitches per game (103 and 110 respectively).
Alas, that season also foreshadowed what we'll call "the lost seasons" that were to come. Wainwright was scratched from his final start that year with elbow trouble. As we all know, he'd miss the entirety of the next season due to Tommy John surgery. And that meant it would be someone else leaping into the arms of the then- 3-time All Star backstop when the World Series confetti rained down in October 2011.
But, every good series has its dark days. They make the comeback that much sweeter.
That was the 2013 season. The Cardinals won 97 games that year to win the National League Central by three games over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wainwright posted a sub-three ERA for the third time in his career while throwing the most innings he'd ever thrown -- 241.2 total -- 216.1 of which were thrown to Molina. There were five more complete games, two more shutouts. Both guys were All Stars, and again, both received MVP votes.
And that was before the postseason.
Wainwright pitched games one and five of the National League Division Series against the Pirates. While many of the postseason pitching accolades from that year go to Michael Wacha (and rightfully so) it was Wainwright who bookended the series with ace-like performances. Seven innings allowing one run in the first game, nine innings allowing one run in the fifth and deciding game.
That, however, is when things went terribly off script, or the writers fell into some deep, dark hole and decided to rain torment down on Cardinal Nation (or maybe they simply ran out of magic). While Wainwright would pitch again in the NLCS and later the World Series, then again in the 2014 playoffs, he'd not pick up another postseason win.
Then there was the Achilles season. Then another elbow year. Molina would nearly sever his thumb, and suffer the consequences (and the battle wounds) of trying to pilot many a young flamethrower to the kind of success Wainwright has had.
And that brings us here. One last time.*
The 2018 season has been unlike any other. Wainwright has made just seven starts prior to today. Molina's Hall of Fame case has been called into question despite the 36-year-old's resurgence both at the plate and behind it. The Cardinals' fate is mostly out of their hands now, but don't think that means Molina and Wainwright -- the heartbeat of St. Louis baseball for so many years -- don't have something to prove.
It's nearly impossible to script the perfect Series Finale. (The "Scrubs" writers came pretty close, though...) It's futile to try to condense a decade of moments into the perfect end cap. Is it a perfect game? A shutout? Simply five innings that keep the Cubs at bay? I couldn't begin to do this story justice.But if this is, in fact, the end of the Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright show, one thing is for certain: we're all incredibly lucky to have watched it. As far as I'm concerned, there are no two competitors more relentless, no two Cardinals more committed, no two humanitarians more invested, and no two teammates more complimentary of one another than Waino and Yadi. It's hard to imagine one becoming everything they are without the other. And perhaps that's the only Final(e) thought we really need.
I don’t know.
What I do know is that I’ve started to write this piece a handful of times, and if I was writing with pen to paper, I’d have an entire waste basket full of crumpled up bad ideas.
See, today has the distinct possibility of being the Series Finale of the Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright show. And I don’t know about you, but I’ve been mourning it for days already. So, why don't you and I celebrate it instead?
Adam Wainwright has thrown 1,927 innings in his major league career. Yadier Molina has caught 1,626.1 of them. Today will be the 286th game for the two… which, if you’re keeping track, is way more episodes than necessary for six seasons and a movie. And while someone like Zach Gifford could probably tell you what that means in Xs and Os (and obviously, a good graph or three), all I can tell you is that it means there are far more highlights to recount than one last episode can possibly provide.
It's easy to go back to the first highlight.
The 2006 season was a wild one for the Birds. A young Adam Wainwright took over the closer role late in the year, as has become Cardinal tradition. But no one could have expected the youngster to throw that pitch at that moment. Except Yadi. Just a baby himself, Molina called for Uncle Charlie to Carlos Beltran in the NLCS... but not before surprising even Wainwright with the setup to that moment.
“The first pitch set up the whole at-bat,” Wainwright said. “Changeup, bases loaded, my fourth best pitch? There’s no possible way anyone could ever look for that. I would have never thought of that."A few moxie-filled pitches later, and the legendary duo had their first Finale Flashback.
The 2007 season gave us the duo's first of an eventual 22 complete games, although this one didn't have the storybook ending like we'd see later on. It was August 10, at home against the Dodgers. Wainwright threw a total of 121 pitches that night, holding LA scoreless through 8.1 innings. Then, with 1 on and 1 out in a 0-0 game, James Loney launched a 2-run homer that cost Waino and Yadi the shutout... and eventually, cost the Cardinals the win.
But not to worry. The two were just getting warmed up.
(Sidebar: How do they not have a duo name? "Molinwright"? "Adaier"? "Wai-lina"? Ok... maybe that's why. Nevermind.)
The 2009 season was the first of many award hauls for both players. Molina was an All Star, while Waino picked up Cy Young Award votes for the first time. Both would earn Gold Gloves, and both would land on Most Valuable Player ballots -- something that would become a bit of a trend over the course of their parallel careers.
The 2010 season was when things really started to get good. With a fascinating supporting cast that included Chris Carpenter, Albert Pujols, Jaime Garcia, Skip Schumaker, Colby Rasmus, and Brendan Ryan, Molina caught five Wainwright complete games, including the first two shutouts of his big league career. One came on June 4th in a 8-0 victory over the Brewers, the other on August 6 in a 7-0 defeat of the Marlins. Combined, the battery mates worked 18 innings of 4 hit baseball, striking out 15 on just over 100 pitches per game (103 and 110 respectively).
Alas, that season also foreshadowed what we'll call "the lost seasons" that were to come. Wainwright was scratched from his final start that year with elbow trouble. As we all know, he'd miss the entirety of the next season due to Tommy John surgery. And that meant it would be someone else leaping into the arms of the then- 3-time All Star backstop when the World Series confetti rained down in October 2011.
But, every good series has its dark days. They make the comeback that much sweeter.
That was the 2013 season. The Cardinals won 97 games that year to win the National League Central by three games over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wainwright posted a sub-three ERA for the third time in his career while throwing the most innings he'd ever thrown -- 241.2 total -- 216.1 of which were thrown to Molina. There were five more complete games, two more shutouts. Both guys were All Stars, and again, both received MVP votes.
And that was before the postseason.
Wainwright pitched games one and five of the National League Division Series against the Pirates. While many of the postseason pitching accolades from that year go to Michael Wacha (and rightfully so) it was Wainwright who bookended the series with ace-like performances. Seven innings allowing one run in the first game, nine innings allowing one run in the fifth and deciding game.
That, however, is when things went terribly off script, or the writers fell into some deep, dark hole and decided to rain torment down on Cardinal Nation (or maybe they simply ran out of magic). While Wainwright would pitch again in the NLCS and later the World Series, then again in the 2014 playoffs, he'd not pick up another postseason win.
Then there was the Achilles season. Then another elbow year. Molina would nearly sever his thumb, and suffer the consequences (and the battle wounds) of trying to pilot many a young flamethrower to the kind of success Wainwright has had.
And that brings us here. One last time.*
The 2018 season has been unlike any other. Wainwright has made just seven starts prior to today. Molina's Hall of Fame case has been called into question despite the 36-year-old's resurgence both at the plate and behind it. The Cardinals' fate is mostly out of their hands now, but don't think that means Molina and Wainwright -- the heartbeat of St. Louis baseball for so many years -- don't have something to prove.
It's nearly impossible to script the perfect Series Finale. (The "Scrubs" writers came pretty close, though...) It's futile to try to condense a decade of moments into the perfect end cap. Is it a perfect game? A shutout? Simply five innings that keep the Cubs at bay? I couldn't begin to do this story justice.But if this is, in fact, the end of the Yadier Molina and Adam Wainwright show, one thing is for certain: we're all incredibly lucky to have watched it. As far as I'm concerned, there are no two competitors more relentless, no two Cardinals more committed, no two humanitarians more invested, and no two teammates more complimentary of one another than Waino and Yadi. It's hard to imagine one becoming everything they are without the other. And perhaps that's the only Final(e) thought we really need.
The Elehuris Montero Story
August 27, 2018
In the year 2000, one Albert Pujols played 109 games as a Peoria Chief. In his first year at the full-season level, the baseball world was treated to an eye-opening glimpse at what the 13th rounder could become.
Pujols carried a .953 OPS over the course of the season, notching 128 hits (which included 32 doubles, 6 triples, and 17 home runs), while driving in 84 runs, walking 38 times, and striking out 37 times in 395 at bats.
The next year, he played 161 games in St. Louis.
In the year 2018, one Elehuris Montero became the first Peoria Chiefs player since Pujols to be named — on his 20th birthday — the Midwest League MVP.
A relative unknown coming in to the season, Montero made quick work of changing that narrative. In 103 games at Class A Peoria, he slashed .322/.381/.529, spraying 123 hits to all fields, including 28 doubles and 15 home runs.
But the numbers — impressive as they may be — are merely the foreword to the story the teenager’s work wrote this season.
“Very quiet, very soft spoken, but very observant and paying attention to details,” Peoria Chiefs Manager Chris Swauger said of Montero. “Even though he wasn’t saying a lot, you could see the wheels turning in his head, and then you could see it by the adjustments he would make at bat to at bat, and even pitch to pitch.”
That ability to adjust was the first indication to the Peoria staff that Montero was a hidden gem. In a world where information and data abounds, the knack for translating and applying the material is as valuable an asset as quick hands or measured steps.
“Everybody’s given the same information about their strengths, about their weaknesses, about what they should do, what type of player they should be,” Swauger said. “But not everybody can take it and then apply it. Some can, but it takes a little bit of time. With Elehuris, it was almost like an immediate processing and application in the game.”
While big picture ideas like exit velocity and launch angle are popular in this chapter of baseball’s story, it was all about the details for Montero. Even when his other tools combined to rank him low on prospect lists, his hit tool kept him in the conversation. But even that was raw, and underdeveloped. Swauger’s staff combed through the data and found in the details a clear path to improvement for the promising young hitter:
Keep hammering fastballs, but learn to pass on breaking balls outside the zone. Breaking balls up, and in or just above the zone — those would be the pitches Montero must learn to hit in order to compensate for opposing pitchers abandoning their hittable fastballs against him.
“I think he really, really grasped that and took ahold of that and kind of owned it a little bit to where you could see really significant improvement on just how he took pitches and how he went about at bats and paid attention to what pitchers were trying to do to him,” Swauger said. “Consequently, he found himself in better counts and was then getting better pitches to hit.”
Perhaps no one had a better view of Montero’s development than Director of Media & Baseball Operations and voice of the Peoria Chiefs, Nathan Baliva, who watched day in and day out as Montero’s story became impossible to ignore.
“To me the biggest thing with him was his consistency — especially as a kid that was 19 the entire time he was here — to have consistent at bats never give away an at bat,” Baliva said. “He always had hard contact and really played like a college guy and not like a 19-year-old who is just in his second year of pro ball in the United States.”
Consistent, but ever-changing. A balance rarely found in one so young.
“Nearly everyone of his rates and counting stats showed improvement from month to month,” [Birds on the Black] prospect expert Kyle Reis said. “K-rate? He lowered it from month to month. BB-rate? He raised it from month to month. His hard hit rate? Well, the theme continues. Montero made gains in every category in a league that was too advanced for his age by 2.3 years on average.”
And lest you think Montero might become content to rely on his proficiency at the plate alone, Swauger volunteered plenty of examples of improvement in the defensive chapter of the Elehuris Montero story, too.
“He’s had good hands, he has a good arm, but he could never link the two up,” Swauger said. “So, his general rhythm with fielding ground balls and playing third base, and his positioning and what he needs to do as far as timing of contact and then where he needed to move and how he needed to move to let his well-above-average arm show off… that was a big adjustment for him.”
But similarly, an adjustment that began with data and ended with tangible results. Montero was charged with 14 fielding errors in the 63 games ahead of the Midwest League All-Star break. He had just six errors in the 40 games that followed, ahead of his promotion to High-A Palm Beach.
“His ability to process the information and learn and get better is far beyond a lot of guys we’ve seen at this level, so it makes you really optimistic about what he can do defensively,” Swauger said, and later added, “It was fun to coach a guy like that because there was no limit to the amount of information you could give him.”
And perhaps, no limit to the success story he can become.
Undoubtedly, the Albert Pujols symmetry creates an unfair comparison for the 20 year old. But, as Natasha Bedingfield once said, "Today is where your book begins...The rest is still unwritten."
In the year 2000, one Albert Pujols played 109 games as a Peoria Chief. In his first year at the full-season level, the baseball world was treated to an eye-opening glimpse at what the 13th rounder could become.
Pujols carried a .953 OPS over the course of the season, notching 128 hits (which included 32 doubles, 6 triples, and 17 home runs), while driving in 84 runs, walking 38 times, and striking out 37 times in 395 at bats.
The next year, he played 161 games in St. Louis.
In the year 2018, one Elehuris Montero became the first Peoria Chiefs player since Pujols to be named — on his 20th birthday — the Midwest League MVP.
A relative unknown coming in to the season, Montero made quick work of changing that narrative. In 103 games at Class A Peoria, he slashed .322/.381/.529, spraying 123 hits to all fields, including 28 doubles and 15 home runs.
But the numbers — impressive as they may be — are merely the foreword to the story the teenager’s work wrote this season.
“Very quiet, very soft spoken, but very observant and paying attention to details,” Peoria Chiefs Manager Chris Swauger said of Montero. “Even though he wasn’t saying a lot, you could see the wheels turning in his head, and then you could see it by the adjustments he would make at bat to at bat, and even pitch to pitch.”
That ability to adjust was the first indication to the Peoria staff that Montero was a hidden gem. In a world where information and data abounds, the knack for translating and applying the material is as valuable an asset as quick hands or measured steps.
“Everybody’s given the same information about their strengths, about their weaknesses, about what they should do, what type of player they should be,” Swauger said. “But not everybody can take it and then apply it. Some can, but it takes a little bit of time. With Elehuris, it was almost like an immediate processing and application in the game.”
While big picture ideas like exit velocity and launch angle are popular in this chapter of baseball’s story, it was all about the details for Montero. Even when his other tools combined to rank him low on prospect lists, his hit tool kept him in the conversation. But even that was raw, and underdeveloped. Swauger’s staff combed through the data and found in the details a clear path to improvement for the promising young hitter:
Keep hammering fastballs, but learn to pass on breaking balls outside the zone. Breaking balls up, and in or just above the zone — those would be the pitches Montero must learn to hit in order to compensate for opposing pitchers abandoning their hittable fastballs against him.
“I think he really, really grasped that and took ahold of that and kind of owned it a little bit to where you could see really significant improvement on just how he took pitches and how he went about at bats and paid attention to what pitchers were trying to do to him,” Swauger said. “Consequently, he found himself in better counts and was then getting better pitches to hit.”
Perhaps no one had a better view of Montero’s development than Director of Media & Baseball Operations and voice of the Peoria Chiefs, Nathan Baliva, who watched day in and day out as Montero’s story became impossible to ignore.
“To me the biggest thing with him was his consistency — especially as a kid that was 19 the entire time he was here — to have consistent at bats never give away an at bat,” Baliva said. “He always had hard contact and really played like a college guy and not like a 19-year-old who is just in his second year of pro ball in the United States.”
Consistent, but ever-changing. A balance rarely found in one so young.
“Nearly everyone of his rates and counting stats showed improvement from month to month,” [Birds on the Black] prospect expert Kyle Reis said. “K-rate? He lowered it from month to month. BB-rate? He raised it from month to month. His hard hit rate? Well, the theme continues. Montero made gains in every category in a league that was too advanced for his age by 2.3 years on average.”
And lest you think Montero might become content to rely on his proficiency at the plate alone, Swauger volunteered plenty of examples of improvement in the defensive chapter of the Elehuris Montero story, too.
“He’s had good hands, he has a good arm, but he could never link the two up,” Swauger said. “So, his general rhythm with fielding ground balls and playing third base, and his positioning and what he needs to do as far as timing of contact and then where he needed to move and how he needed to move to let his well-above-average arm show off… that was a big adjustment for him.”
But similarly, an adjustment that began with data and ended with tangible results. Montero was charged with 14 fielding errors in the 63 games ahead of the Midwest League All-Star break. He had just six errors in the 40 games that followed, ahead of his promotion to High-A Palm Beach.
“His ability to process the information and learn and get better is far beyond a lot of guys we’ve seen at this level, so it makes you really optimistic about what he can do defensively,” Swauger said, and later added, “It was fun to coach a guy like that because there was no limit to the amount of information you could give him.”
And perhaps, no limit to the success story he can become.
Undoubtedly, the Albert Pujols symmetry creates an unfair comparison for the 20 year old. But, as Natasha Bedingfield once said, "Today is where your book begins...The rest is still unwritten."
Catchers in Waiting: Preparing for Life After Molina
August 10, 2018
Finding the heir-apparent to the catching thrown in St. Louis has been none too urgent a task. For the last decade plus, Yadier Molina has been building his Hall of Fame case in front of millions of loyal fans sporting his jersey, spouting his stat line, and celebrating his age-defying consistency. Praised for his work with the never-ending line of pitching prospects in the Cardinals organization, perhaps overlooked is Molina’s efforts with young players of all kinds… including those who might someday come for his job (but certainly not until he’s ready to relinquish it).
For a while, it was Tony Cruz. Then Carson Kelly. Now Andrew Knizner. But Molina has outlasted them all, thus far.
It might be wise, then, too look further down the prospect pipeline for an heir that may not be quite so apparent just yet.
About 170 miles north on I-55, a duo of Big League hopefuls are making cases worthy of consideration at a park that has seen the best at work. Molina himself donned the Chiefs logo in 2002, setting a precedent for catching success in Peoria.
Dennis Ortega and Julio Rodriguez share more than just a birthday (both turned 21 on June 11). They’ve shared the catching responsibilities at Class-A Peoria this season, and they share one more thing - something Ortega learned first-hand from Molina at Big League camp this past spring.
“I talked with [Molina] one day and he told me, ‘I don’t like when I’ve got runners on base,’” Ortega recounted. “So, it’s what I don’t like - we don’t like - to let runners on base. So when we’ve got time to get them out, we do it, because we like to help the pitchers get outs.”At the mere mention of Molina, both young catchers’ eyes light up. Genuine smiles break their serious character. And the adoration flows freely.
“All the time, we watch Yadier Molina on YouTube and the games on TV,” Ortega said. “He’s impressive, you know?”
“The part I like most of Yadi is his focus,” Rodriguez said insightfully. “He focuses on the small things. If any runner is slipping a little bit, he’s watching that. He watches everything. Everything.”
“I learned from Yadi to be a leader on and off the field,” Ortega followed, thinking back on his time with Molina in the spring. “Doing the small things. I learned that from him.”
What they’ve learned — and applied — has turned heads in the Midwest League this season. Together, they lead the league in runners thrown out, catching would-be base stealers at a 46% clip. Rodriguez alone has thrown out 33 of 69 attempted thefts, for a 48% success rate. That rate trails just one former Peoria backstop in franchise history (with at least 40 games)... Molina's 2002 campaign, where he thwarted 52% of stolen base attempts.
Ortega's numbers fall just shy of those marks, thanks to a DL stint that cost him opportunities. And yet, he's in the books with 10 pick-offs in limited playing time, tying him for most by a Chiefs catcher since at least 2003.
They’ve each caught headline-grabbing starts, too (one from Alex Reyes, the other from Paul Balestrieri). And they’ve played an important part in providing consistency for a pitching staff that has fluctuated almost weekly throughout the season, featuring 29 different pitchers and counting.
Asked about being behind the plate for the Balestrieri no-hitter, Ortega admitted he was unaware of the potential history until the 7th inning, when he caught the string of zeros on the scoreboard.
But did that newfound knowledge change anything? No.
“I just kept doing what I was doing with Balistreri,” Ortega said, showing the wisdom and poise that he’ll need to potentially follow in Molina’s footsteps.
As for Rodriguez, having the opportunity to catch the much-anticipated Reyes rehab start was more a lesson in temperament than talent.
“For me the most impressive is his character, you know?” Rodriguez said. “When you see a big leaguer, you see a difference.”
For both young catchers, success in Peoria is just one step on the way to a potential Big League opportunity. And that chance is still an additional three levels away, assuming they make stops in Palm Beach, Springfield, and Memphis on their journey. But that gives them plenty of time to learn and to grow.
A recent addition to the Dirty 35, Ortega caught the eye of resident expert, Kyle Reis with his defensive skill set, despite the offensive numbers that still need to come around.
“…about a month into the season Ortega started to make consistent hard contact and that's helped him put up a season long slash line before the hamstring injury of 284/344/390/734 in 144 at-bats. That stat line isn't the most impressive that you'll find in the system, but if Ortega can continue to hit like that as he moves up the organization then he'll be a major leaguer.” That improved hard contact? Not an accident.
“Last year I tried to hit the ball as hard as I can,” Ortega said. “This year I’m just trying to get good contact. I can see the results.”
And while Rodriguez is more of an unknown as far as prospect lists go, he goes back to what he saw in Molina - focus.
“For me, the biggest thing is learning with the pitchers,” he said. “Learning to call a better game, trying to stay focused every time, thinking about the hitter at the plate, and on deck… think about it all.”
Such is the life of a catcher, isn’t it? No plays off. No time for lapses in focus. No wonder catchers are hard to develop and evaluate.
Maybe the good ones are just born that way. Seems to hold up when using the Molina genes as an example. But maybe, the next generation of catching royalty is just now on its way.
A Baseball Kind of Family
August 29, 2014
Life in the Minor Leagues.
It’s a subject that has gained steam as of late, what with the Senne vs. MLB lawsuit making headlines, and Minor Leaguers and Major leaguers alike sharing their struggle to survive the system to get to the Show.
It’s a hard knock life for most. Living arrangements are only one piece of the budgeting puzzle. Finding a furnished apartment with a short-term lease option is tough on any budget. On $1,100 a month? Brutal.
“They come with a bag of clothes for living, and they come with a bag of baseball stuff, and that’s all they’ve got,” Peoria Chiefs Booster Club President Karen MacKenzie said. “You see, honestly, how some of them ended up having to live together in order to make ends meet.”
MacKenzie and the Booster Club have for years provided the basics for their players – linens, pots and pans, toilet paper. It wasn’t much, but it was at least a start. Then, for the 2013 season, the Chiefs instituted a Host Family program. Karen and husband Keith were happy to oblige.
“Just knowing all the stuff they’ve had to go through to try to eek out an existence, and honestly, how difficult the apartment managers can be in this city … it was an easy choice for us,” MacKenzie said. “We’ve had six guys live with us over the last two years, and we’ve had nothing but great, respectful, awesome guys in the house.”
Life in the Minor Leagues.
It’s a subject that has gained steam as of late, what with the Senne vs. MLB lawsuit making headlines, and Minor Leaguers and Major leaguers alike sharing their struggle to survive the system to get to the Show.
It’s a hard knock life for most. Living arrangements are only one piece of the budgeting puzzle. Finding a furnished apartment with a short-term lease option is tough on any budget. On $1,100 a month? Brutal.
“They come with a bag of clothes for living, and they come with a bag of baseball stuff, and that’s all they’ve got,” Peoria Chiefs Booster Club President Karen MacKenzie said. “You see, honestly, how some of them ended up having to live together in order to make ends meet.”
MacKenzie and the Booster Club have for years provided the basics for their players – linens, pots and pans, toilet paper. It wasn’t much, but it was at least a start. Then, for the 2013 season, the Chiefs instituted a Host Family program. Karen and husband Keith were happy to oblige.
“Just knowing all the stuff they’ve had to go through to try to eek out an existence, and honestly, how difficult the apartment managers can be in this city … it was an easy choice for us,” MacKenzie said. “We’ve had six guys live with us over the last two years, and we’ve had nothing but great, respectful, awesome guys in the house.”
Joe Kelly, Forgotten No More
August 7, 2013
Remember when Joe Kelly was the Ferrari stuck in the garage? Without a defined role, without many opportunities. He was jumped over for spot starts by the AAA flame throwers like John Gast and Tyler Lyons. Meanwhile, Kelly sat.
Remember that?
Now, twice in the last week Kelly has been the guy. The stopper … literally. He stopped the Cardinals’ seven-game losing streak last Thursday, then last night he stopped the Dodgers’ 15-game road winning streak. And, he out-dueled one Clayton Kershaw in the process.
The once-forgotten son silenced the hot Dodgers bats through the first five innings, due in part to three double play balls, giving up just one run in the sixth. That run ended Kelly’s own streak of scoreless innings, but the “fill-in” starter has an 0.78 ERA over his last four starts. Not too shabby.
Remember when Joe Kelly was the Ferrari stuck in the garage? Without a defined role, without many opportunities. He was jumped over for spot starts by the AAA flame throwers like John Gast and Tyler Lyons. Meanwhile, Kelly sat.
Remember that?
Now, twice in the last week Kelly has been the guy. The stopper … literally. He stopped the Cardinals’ seven-game losing streak last Thursday, then last night he stopped the Dodgers’ 15-game road winning streak. And, he out-dueled one Clayton Kershaw in the process.
The once-forgotten son silenced the hot Dodgers bats through the first five innings, due in part to three double play balls, giving up just one run in the sixth. That run ended Kelly’s own streak of scoreless innings, but the “fill-in” starter has an 0.78 ERA over his last four starts. Not too shabby.
Opinion Palooza: Was Yadi Right or Wrong?
June 3, 2013
My dad always used to tell me, “Opinions are like armpits – everyone has a couple, and they usually stink.”
Opinions on yesterday’s Yadi drama have been spreading like wildfire (thanks, social media) and very few of them are alike. Very few of them matter, either. So naturally, I’m going to add one more.
First, though, here are a few of the common opinions thus far:
The call was absurdly bad, and should be labeled as such.
KMOX’s John Rooney called it a “minor league call,” to which Mike Shannon responded with, “by a minor league umpire!”
(Clint Fagan is, in fact, a substitute umpire without much big league experience)
The TBS announcers agreed, saying the call was worthy of discipline from Major League Baseball.
My dad always used to tell me, “Opinions are like armpits – everyone has a couple, and they usually stink.”
Opinions on yesterday’s Yadi drama have been spreading like wildfire (thanks, social media) and very few of them are alike. Very few of them matter, either. So naturally, I’m going to add one more.
First, though, here are a few of the common opinions thus far:
The call was absurdly bad, and should be labeled as such.
KMOX’s John Rooney called it a “minor league call,” to which Mike Shannon responded with, “by a minor league umpire!”
(Clint Fagan is, in fact, a substitute umpire without much big league experience)
The TBS announcers agreed, saying the call was worthy of discipline from Major League Baseball.
Bandits Buzz: Casey Rasmus
June 25, 2012
The name and the number on the back of the jersey might be the same. They may have been drafted by the same organization, and even started their professional careers in the same place. But that is where most of the similarities between Casey Rasmus – the third of four Rasmus boys – and his oldest brother, Colby Rasmus end.
First of all, Casey, in his first full professional season, is a catcher for the Quad Cities River Bandits, who are currently one game back of the Midwest League West leaders. Colby, an outfielder, is settling in nicely for the Blue Jays in Toronto.
Regardless of the differences, playing in the Quad Cities does hold some weight within the Rasmus family history – as Cardinal fans will recall, Colby played at the riverfront stadium in in 2006. But Tony Rasmus, the boys’ father, also played in Davenport when the team was an Angels affiliate in 1988.
Rare as that fact might be for other baseball players, though, for Casey, it fits.
“It’s really neat,” Casey said. “Obviously I’ve heard a lot about the Quad Cities over the years. It’s really cool just to be able to play somewhere that has a little family history about it.”
That seems to be the Rasmus way — family, and baseball.
The name and the number on the back of the jersey might be the same. They may have been drafted by the same organization, and even started their professional careers in the same place. But that is where most of the similarities between Casey Rasmus – the third of four Rasmus boys – and his oldest brother, Colby Rasmus end.
First of all, Casey, in his first full professional season, is a catcher for the Quad Cities River Bandits, who are currently one game back of the Midwest League West leaders. Colby, an outfielder, is settling in nicely for the Blue Jays in Toronto.
Regardless of the differences, playing in the Quad Cities does hold some weight within the Rasmus family history – as Cardinal fans will recall, Colby played at the riverfront stadium in in 2006. But Tony Rasmus, the boys’ father, also played in Davenport when the team was an Angels affiliate in 1988.
Rare as that fact might be for other baseball players, though, for Casey, it fits.
“It’s really neat,” Casey said. “Obviously I’ve heard a lot about the Quad Cities over the years. It’s really cool just to be able to play somewhere that has a little family history about it.”
That seems to be the Rasmus way — family, and baseball.
Kolten Wong -- From Hawaii, with Promise
August 26, 2011
If I had to guess, I’d say playing professional baseball would qualify as a dream come true for a long list of youngsters (and even some not so young!) with a developing love affair with America’s Pastime.
Hawaii’s Kolten Wong is no exception.
Then again, maybe he is. Because his dream is coming true.
Wong — who will turn 21 in October — was the Cardinals 1st round pick in the 2011 draft. Regardless of anyone else’s expectations or opinions, for Kolten, it was the culmination of work that began as a 9-year-old.
“There [are] no words to really explain it,” Wong said when I spoke with him on Monday. “I was just super excited and it was a dream come true for me. And to have the opportunity to play, especially for the Cardinals was something I always wanted to do and I was ecstatic that I got the opportunity.”
If I had to guess, I’d say playing professional baseball would qualify as a dream come true for a long list of youngsters (and even some not so young!) with a developing love affair with America’s Pastime.
Hawaii’s Kolten Wong is no exception.
Then again, maybe he is. Because his dream is coming true.
Wong — who will turn 21 in October — was the Cardinals 1st round pick in the 2011 draft. Regardless of anyone else’s expectations or opinions, for Kolten, it was the culmination of work that began as a 9-year-old.
“There [are] no words to really explain it,” Wong said when I spoke with him on Monday. “I was just super excited and it was a dream come true for me. And to have the opportunity to play, especially for the Cardinals was something I always wanted to do and I was ecstatic that I got the opportunity.”