Archive for the ‘2009 BlueClaws’ Category

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Today’s Inquirer on BJ Rosenberg

Monday, March 8th, 2010

Matt Gelb in today’s Inquirer on BJ Rosenberg, a 2009 BlueClaw closer.

When B.J. Rosenberg arrived at the Lakewood BlueClaws clubhouse and saw teenagers Anthony Gose and Jason Knapp fresh out of high school, he had an idea he was a little out of place.

Then the players started talking.

“Some guys would be talking about their girlfriends coming to town,” Rosenberg said. “They asked, ‘Do you have a girlfriend?’ I said, ‘I have a wife.’ “

Read the rest of the article here, and read our Q&A with BJ from earlier this off-season here.

Posted in 2009 BlueClaws, BJ Rosenberg, Past BlueClaws, Phillies, Spring Training | No Comments »

With One Ring in the Books, Legger Goes For Two

Friday, March 5th, 2010

leggFor Greg Legg, the 12 months from October 2008 through September 2009 were about as good as it gets. First, the Phillies, the only organization that he’s ever known, wins their first World Series since he began his time in the organization, back in 1982. Then, the BlueClaws win the 2009 SAL title, the first for “Legger” in all his time in the minors.

“I think [the best part] is the journey,” he said in a ClawCast the night the BlueClaws clinched the title. “27 years, losing to Clemens 2-1, Erik Bedard 1-0. I could tell you horror stories.”

The first was in 1983, when Legg played for Double-A Reading and reached the playoffs, only to be knocked out by a hot shot right-hander just drafted out of Texas.

The second was 2000, when he managed Piedmont (the Phillies SAL affiliate before Lakewood). He thought he was set up with Brett Myers and Ryan Madson, but they lost game three of the first round to Delmarva and Bedard 1-0.

(more…)

Posted in 2009 BlueClaws, Q&As, Spring Training | No Comments »

Nice Start for Sanchez

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

sanchezbruceclawsJesus Sanchez struck out the side in his Phillies debut last night as part of a 13-6 win over Florida State. He pitched the 8th inning and perfect innings from Joe Savery and Drew Naylor (two, got the win).

Sanchez, who has just pitched for one year (2009 with the BlueClaws), was added to the Phillies 40-man roster this year to protect him from the Rule-5 draft, which is how he got to big league camp.

The transfer from catcher to pitcher came at the end of 2008, when he was a struggling catcher with the BlueClaws. He came back in April of 2009 and by the end of the year was one of the better pitchers in the league (he had a 2.40 ERA in the second half).

“He’s opened up some eyes, and you pull for him because he’s got outstanding makeup, just a fine young man and a great worker,” Phillies AGM Chuck LaMar said. “He comes out every day trying to get better. He will tell us whether he’s a starting pitcher or a reliever, but he will start in 2010.”

Sanchez added: “I think you’ve got to take every opportunity in this business. You do your best and see what happens. It’s worked pretty well for me. I thought it was going to be harder, but changing positions isn’t easy. I pitched a couple times when I was little, but that was the thing that scared me. I had never done it before. It’s been OK. I’ve been learning every day and I try to practice everything they tell me.”

From last year…

We did a ClawCast with Sanchez (here), where he noted that he’s been able to benefit from his background as a catcher: “It’s a little bit easier looking at swings and figuring out what kind of pitches can hurt hitters. It helps a lot.”

And another ClawCast with Phillies minor league pitching coordinator Gorm Heimueller (here), who said: “He’s not only a hard worker but he’s very smart. He picks up stuff.  A lot of it has been fastball change-up, he needs to improve on his breaking ball, he knows that. From a year ago, his improvement has been great to see.”

–

By the way, Sanchez pitched in the Mother’s Day jerseys, BruceClaws jerseys (pictured), and the Irish Heritage Night green jerseys.

Posted in 2009 BlueClaws, Past BlueClaws, Phillies, Spring Training | No Comments »

Sign of Spring: the Bios Are Here

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

pink-flowerOne of my favorite signs of spring, like the flower on the right, is the massive file of player bios that the Phillies send over. This year: 64 pages in Microsoft Word. Draft information. Statistical information, and so much more.

Some of the good stuff…

  • New BlueClaws manager Mark Parent caught 24 innings in a doubleheader on July 24, 1998, at age 36. Two 12 inning games because starter Mike Lieberthal was injured and Parent was the only other catcher on the roster.
  • Ernie Whitt, who managed Clearwater in 2009 (Dusty Wathan manages them in 2010), led the 2004 Canadian Olympic team to a 4th place finish (ironically better than their hockey team might do at these Olympics). He also managed them in the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics.
  • BlueClaws coach Greg Legg begins his 29th straight year in the system after being drafted in 1982. That is truly amazing when you think about it. Even more amazing was that last year’s championship with Lakewood was his first!
  • Luis Arzeno, who was a system catcher for six years, and spent part of 2009 with the BlueClaws, is now a coach for the Guanama Phillies in the Dominican Summer League.
  • Jeremy Barnes, who played SS for Williamsport last year, is the only player in the system who went to Notre Dame (and would be the first BlueClaw to have played there, unofficially).
  • Kelly Dugan, a 2nd round pick last year, went to Notre Dame HS, however.
  • While he was just 10-66 with Lakewood in the early part of last year, Leandro Castro ended up leading the Penn League in hits and total bases. Would expect him to be here this year again.
  • Siulman Lebron pitched for Williamsport last year. I smell a Lebron Chooses BlueClaws Over Knicks, Cavs press release right around the time of July 1st.
  • Last year, the BlueClaws had Tyler Cloyd and Jacob Diekman from the baseball powerhouse state of Nebraska. Could 2010 bring Darin Ruf here? He hit .207 between GCL and Williamsport (176 ABs) after being drafted in the 20th round out of Creighton.

We’ll sift through these bios and start to build some mock BlueClaws rosters. Also, this year’s media guide will be made available on-line, likely around April 1st.

Posted in 2009 BlueClaws, 2010 BlueClaws, Around the Farm, Mark Parent | No Comments »

The Evolution of Trevor May

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Sometimes expectations can rise and you can move up prospect rankings by doing, well, nothing. And that’s what happened to Trevor May this off-season.

A 4th-round pick in 2008 from Kelso, Washington, May joined the BlueClaws in June, and lasted a total of 6.2 innings in his first two starts. But from there he was lights out, going 4-1, 2.25 over the second half. He gave up three runs in his last 36 innings, including 11 shutout in the playoffs.

Then, with the trade of Kyle Drabek (in the Halladay deal), the expectation level and status of May have now gone up. He is now the premier starting pitching prospect in the organization.

Todd Zolecki of MLB.com caught up with May (read here) last week:

“There are a certain level of expectations,” May said recently. “You get bumped up [after Drabek left the organization]. Even though I haven’t pitched in the offseason, more is expected of me. It’s kind of exciting to me, because as a person I personally like to set high goals and expectations for myself. Having other people joining in on those expectations gives you more determination to get it done. I knew Kyle. He was a great guy, but it’s exciting to be held in high regards in the organization. I hope to fulfill those expectations.”

You can read our Q&A with May here (part one and part two). May heads down February 30th, and has been running a lot this offseason in preparation for the Florida heat he’ll experience this summer.

I’ll be there February 30th to get acclimated to the heat. People think, “Oh well it’s hot,” but you have to be in great shape to go eight innings in Florida. In June it’s literally 95 in degrees and humidity…I know from being there in the GCL and instructs. I ran in the offseason to get into better shape than I was going into last year.

Posted in 2009 BlueClaws, Around the Farm, Past BlueClaws, Spring Training, Trevor May | No Comments »

Ring Ceremony

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

883We had this on Twitter yesterday and in our newsletter on Wednesday but neglected to put it up here.

BlueClaws players and coaches will receive their championship rings from last year’s SAL victory on March 19th before the Phillies spring training game against Baltimore.

Like in 2007 (honoring the 2006 champs),  there will be a ceremony at about 6:30 before the 7:05 game. This is on a Friday night.

The ring you see here is a 2006 ring. I have not seen the 2009 ring yet, but we’ll be sure to get it up here soon.

Posted in 2009 BlueClaws, Spring Training | No Comments »

Q&A: Trevor May (Part Two)

Monday, February 1st, 2010

trevormay2Trevor May, a 4th round pick of the Phillies in 2008, joined the BlueClaws in June of 2009 and went 4-1, 2.56 over 15 starts and gave up just two earned runs in two playoff starts. He was recently ranked 5th in the system by Baseball America, we had a chance to sit down with May recently as he prepares for his third season in the system, likely with Hi-A Clearwater in just a few months. You can read Part One here.

  • What was it like to pitch in a playoff game: It’s always helpful if you can get that experience in that big game where people are counting on you. I was there four days later and we clinched but I didn’t feel like I did anything. I had one start. There was a little good-natured ribbing, having been there for only four days. Eventually winning, it felt good.
  • You only gave up three runs in your last 36 innings. Safe to say you had it all working by the end of the season: I don’t know. Even in High School I stopped worrying about confidence. The way we played, we were confident and we knew we were going to win. I kind of had that. We were on a really good team. The bats and defense were good, and if I threw well we had a good chance to win the game. If I had my stuff I knew the other team knew that and I started to work on everything and I didn’t think things would go wrong.
  • Going into the season you had a couple power arms in the organization in Drabek and Knapp…now their gone. Does that boost your confidence knowing that you are one of the big time guys now: I had this asked by my family and friends, but it’s two things: one, I don’t want to see them go. I was real good friends with Knapp and I knew Drabek well. There’s no set depth chart. But at the same time it’s good that the Phillies hold me in high enough regard to keep me and it does give you confidence that you’re here when those things go down. It’s nice that some of the other right-handed pitching prospects that I was going to be competing with for big league spots got traded, so yes it does give you a lot of confidence.
  • Looking forward to getting the Championship Ring: Oh yeah…that’s the best thing about Spring Training!
  • Minor league pitchers report March 6th, when will you be in Clearwater: I’ll be there February 30th to get acclimated to the heat. People think, “Oh well it’s hot,” but you have to be in great shape to go eight innings in Florida. In June it’s literally 95 in degrees and humidity…I know from being there in the GCL and instructs. I ran in the offseason to get into better shape than I was going into last year.

Posted in 2009 BlueClaws, Q&As, Trevor May | No Comments »

Q&A: Trevor May (Part One)

Saturday, January 30th, 2010

Trevor May, a 4th round pick of the Phillies in 2008, joined the BlueClaws in June of 2009 and went 4-1, 2.56 over 15 starts and gave up just two earned runs in two playoff starts. He was recently ranked 5th in the system by Baseball America, we had a chance to sit down with May recently as he prepares for his third season in the system, likely with Hi-A Clearwater in just a few months.

  • What was the first two months of 2009 like for you, down in Florida with the back injury? It’s tough to be down there. It’s real hot during the summer and spring. A lot of the guys you played with got the call up and started the season early and they don’t have to get up at 8 in the morning. You feel like you weren’t good enough, but finally getting the call up was exciting and relief.
  • Was it tough transitioning right into a pennant race? It was tough. A first-place team, they want me to be a starter so there’s no easing into it with an inning here or an inning there. They told me to be ready but I didn’t know that much about Lakewood. I knew some of the guys but I hadn’t met a lot of the guys before. So it’s the first time meeting and playing with a bunch of guys. It’s a nervewracking start, stadium, actual fans, but you get used to it.
  • What would you say is most important to your success? With Bob (Milacki), and it started right at the end of the spring, we were working with Tom Filer (from Williamsport) and Carlos Arroyo (who works with rehabbing players), plus Gorm (Heimueller, minor league pitching coordinator). We worked on arm slot. I dropped my elbow a lot and would throw high, and that’s where a lot of the walks would come from. I tweaked a few things with separation in my leg kick. I always had a curveball and Bob worked with me on that. But by the end, I was throwing my change-up a little more than the curveball. Sometimes I’m effectively wild, and the changeup set that up.

(more…)

Posted in 2009 BlueClaws, Q&As, Trevor May | 3 Comments »

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