Before Tuesday’s game at Delmarva we sat down with BlueClaws RHP Colby Shreve for a new ClawCast. Shreve, who did not allow an earned run in 17 innings during July, has allowed just seven in his last 40 innings pitched.

A starter with the BlueClaws this year, he has pitched out of the bullpen this season.

Click here to listen to the full interview, and find some snippets below.

On pitching out of the bullpen: It was a tough decision they made, but they were concerned about my velocity late in games but out of the pen I’m a lot more aggressive, the slider is sharper and I’ve added a cutter too which has helped me out a lot.

The transition to the pen: I wasn’t surprised, being a Tommy John guy, guys that have had a surgery (I’ve had two) tend to be better suited in a reliver role because you can keep the innings down a bit. I had a feeling it was coming too, but I like it. It’s an adrenaline rush when they call down. I had a tendency to overthink on the days I was starting but now there’s no time.

On the cutter: The thing I really like about it is that you have more room for error. You can miss with it up or over the plate and it’s that 3 or 4 inches of movement that misses barrels. They pop it up or ground it out rather than hitting a seed somewhere.

Compared to last year: I think I’m a lot better. I’m not trying to be so perfect, I’m just throwing strikes and let them get themselves out. My velocity is up and I’ve added the fourth pitch. I think I’m a lot better than last year.

His brother Chasen plays for Rome: We talk mostly every day. He tells me how he’s doing and he’s pitched well too lately. It’s his first full season so I can kind of provide some brotherly advice about keeping a level head and not getting too worked up about any outing. He’s getting a dose or reality but he’ll be better for it.

He also talks about knowing Bryce Harper, who Shreve noted in a Philadelphia Daily News interivew is the “most famous name in my cell phone.”

Sean Houston sat down with BlueClaws 1B Jim Murphy, who last night hit his 20th home run of the season last night, two off the single-season franchise record.

Click here to listen to the interview and below find a few snippets.

My girlfriend said I’d look good in a moustache, about two months ago. I grew it out, it looked ok so I kept it. My average went up about 40 points in the process too so I kept it.

Coaching. I don’t like anything else. This is what I grew up wanting to do and when I can’t play anymore I want to coach, be involved somehow, something in the game. I’d like to manage in the minor leagues.

The fan support is great, especially of late. They’ve responded well. I hear my name called out a lot, it’s a lot of fun. There’s a buzz when I come up to the plate and I really enjoy that.

Murphy has played first base in all but three games this year.

BlueClaws LHP Jesse Biddle threw seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts to beat Greenville last night, not allowing his first hit until there was one out in the sixth inning. On Sunday, before the series opener in Kannapolis, we sat down with Biddle for a new ClawCast.

You can listen to the ClawCast by clicking here.

Biddle is slated to pitch next on Thursday at FirstEnergy Park against Greenville again. Below are some snippets:

On his start: I felt great. Just, the first hitter I had to shake the nerves a bit but after that I settled in and was able to get some outs.

On his curveball last night: It was real nice to be able to go to that. I had been charting the last few games in the stands and saw some of their strengths and weaknesses. It seemed like they liked to chase the curveball and especailly early in the game they were able to bite at that.

On the first inning, getting around a runner at 2nd base with nobody out: The first out of that inning, a good friend of mine from Philadelphia (Sean Coyle) was up and he’s had my number before. I was really trying to make sure I got that out, but I knew he had seen me before and I wanted to get that out.

Chris Truby came out in the seventh inning with two outs: He just asked me how I was feeling. I kind of talked him down from taking me out. I had just struck the guy out and was feeling great. All my pitches were working. He asked what I was going to do if I left him in and I said I would strike him out. Unfortunately I lied to him about that (he grounded out to second).

Turning point for him?: I can’t really pinpoint what exactly has changed, but mentally I’ve become a bit more intense and agressive in the strike zone. I’m pitching more to contact but it’s a matter of sticking with it and knowing that I can play in this league and against these older guys. Having that confidence has enabled me to pitch pretty well.

Throwing strike one: Yes. I pretty much wasn’t trying to trick anyone. As soon as I was getting ahead ahead I was going to throw the curveball and strike them out, that was my plan and it worked out. That’s basically what the plan has been lately.

Before Friday’s game in Greenville, we sat down with Phillies minor league pitching coordinator Gorm Heimueller for a new ClawCast which you can listen to in full by clicking here.

Here’s a brief snippet:

On Jesse Biddle, changeup: I saw him in spring training working on it. He was very frustrated at times, which all young pitchers do. he’s not a first round pick if his change-up is his best pitch. His number one priority is still command his fastball and after that go the off-speed pitches.

On 2010 BlueClaw Jonathan Pettibone: He was very steady and consistent. He knows his ability and he’s gotten a lot stronger. He’ll get better and all of those guys (in Clearwater)…are very young. They’re all good young arms. With Jon, he picks things up very well and has a great pitchers body and he’ll continue to throw well.

On the new guys: The draft this year hasn’t gotten that many pitchers, more position players. Two lefties, Adam Morgan in the 4th round and Austin Wright in the 8th round. They have nice arms. Ryan Duke here has done a good job. I try not to evaluate too much. I just want to watch them from the spring and this summer and get them ready for next year.

Ryan Duke picked up his first BlueClaws save last night, and we sat down with the right-hander before today’s game in Greenville.

Click here to listen to the full interview.

At Oklahoma: My brother went to Texas and my dad went to Texas Tech so I grew up rooting for those schools but in the end the best choice for me was going across the border, going to Oklahoma. Playing time, stuff like that made that the best option for me.

Faced Cameron Rupp (at Texas)? I faced him a few times. i can’t remember it all that well, but he said I struck him out once so that’s what I’m going on.

Draft process: I was driving home from Norman to Corpus Christi. The Phillies called and asked if I wanted to play baseball. I said yes. I got home and turned on the computer to hear my name called. Me and my brother were just sitting at the table. It was a big weight off my shoulders, and it’s great to be a part of the organization.

Surprised how quick you moved up? Yes definitely. Most of the guys that you see end up satying in short season ball for the full year. It’s a real privilege and a blessing to come up to Lakewood.

Favorite pitcher growing up? Nolan Ryan, I was actually named after him. That’s one of the best pitchers of all time so I guess I’d have to say him, and lately when I was in high school I liked watching Roy Oswalt.

For between games today, Sean Houston sat down with BlueClaws catcher Cameron Rupp, an interview which you can listen to by clicking here.

Subjects include the current season, his time at Texas, working with the current pitchers, and much more.

Enjoy.

Before Wednesday’s game in Hagerstown, we sat down with BlueClaws 3B Travis Mattair, who re-joined Lakewood two weeks ago after opening the season with Clearwater.

“Moose” spent a year playing basketball at Boise State and talks about that and his transition back to baseball, his first love.

Click here to listen to the full interview.

When did you decide that this game was your first love? Watching playoff baseball and the Phillies were in the playoffs. I couldn’t keep my eyes of baseball tonight. It was like I had to have it. I was talking to my roommates in Boise, started talking with Brian Gump, Matt Rizzotti. And thought it was feasible that I could play the game again. I don’t regret going to Boise one bit and I’m fortunate I got another opportunity.

When you went to Boise, did you think you had fielded your last groundball? I really never thought I’d be playing baseball ever again. I was going to play basketball and go to school but it’s crazy how life works. It’s a roller coaster ride but I’m glad I’m on the right tracks right now.

What’s the attraction to basketball for you? It’s a different game. I grew up playing it, playing on my dad’s rec team as a kid. I loved it. It’s not like baseball where if you mess up at the plate, you have to wait an hour. In basketball you can go make up for it right away.

How did you have to change the workouts from basketball when you decided to come back to baseball? I lost 25 pounds right away in basketball because of the running. So my workouts changed from running to bulking up. It’s definitely night and day.

Where do you fell you are compared to when you last played baseball? I actually feel like I’m ahead of where I was then. I’m more committed. I want to be here, at the field every day. I couldn’t really say that before…Now every morning I want to go hit and I want to take ground balls. When you’re committed to something it’s amazing what you can do.

Who was the guy you liked watching at third growing up? Scott Rolen. People say I resemble him a lot, even the way I walk, he was a basketball player too. But I’m trying to be my own guy, but he’s not a bad guy to emulate.

During the rain delay on Friday, Sean Houston sat down with volleyball legend Karch Kiraly, in town for the Corona Light Wide Open to be held today and tomorrow in Seaside Heights.

Click here to listen to the full interview, or see below for a few snippets:

• Beach volleyball had its birth in Southern California, but as the tour grew and one of the first places it went to was the coast of New Jersey. It turns out a lot of us players loved coming here. The fans are great, the beaches have great deep sand.
• My dad came over from Hungary and met my mom at the University of Michigan. He gave me my start when I was six. He had never seen beach volleyball in Hungary and fell in love with it.
• They should certainly expect to have a lot of fun. It’s a great family sport. People talk about how our country needs more exercise, and there’s no better way to do it. People tell us “I can’t even walk in this stuff. How do you jump 2 and a half or 3 feet…You have to be in tremendous condition.”
• I got my start on the beach so that was my first love. When I got to high school I got to play indoors and played in two Olympics. But they added beach volleyball in Atlanta so I got to win the first ever gold medal in beach volleyball Olympics. There’s something special about being a part of a team of 15, but there’s also something special about being out there two on two with your partner. One of the great challenges is that if you are having a bad day, there are no substitutes. You have to work through it.
• I was aware of some of the greats in beach volleyball, like Ron Von Hagen. One of best indoor players, a guy named Larry Rundle. When I was around 10 or 11 years old, Sports Illustrated did an article on him and said he entered his first adult tournament when he was 11. So I entered my first tournament when I was 11, with my first coach, my dad. I saw the fear in the eyes of my opponents, they didn’t want to lose to an 11 year old kid. That was one of the experiences that hooked me on the game.

Karch was going to throw out a first pitch at the game on Friday, but unfortunately the game never got going.

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There is a double-header today that starts at 6:05. RHP Garett Claypool throws for Lakewood in game one against RHP Luis Noel (Friday’s starters) and game two features Lakewood RHP Lisalberto Bonilla and Delmarva LHP Cameron Roth.

Two BlueClaws, Jim Murphy and Anthony Hewitt, will participate in the South Atlantic League Home Run Derby before the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Salisbury, Maryland, home of the Delmarva Shorebirds.

Murphy, who hit two home runs last night (Friday), now has 16 in the first half. He’s second in the league in that category and set the franchise record for most HRs in a half, breaking Juan Richardson’s 15 from the second half of the team’s inaugural 2011 season.

Below, Murphy and Hewitt share some thoughts on the upcoming HR Derby.

For audio: Anthony Hewitt (click here) and Jim Murphy (click here).

Murphy: It will be fun. I did one in 2007 in a summer league (with the Corvallis Knights) and hopefully I do better this time (he went 0-for). In Safeco in 2001 I went to the Derby. My mom asked if I wanted to go to the All-Star Game or the HR Derby and I picked the HR Derby. I saw Giambi knock out 13 in one round and that was pretty cool.

Will you make any adjustments? No. I’m not going to change anything. I just want to have a good time and knock some balls out. I’ve heard horror stories about guys changing their swing a little and then having horrible second halves so I’m not interested in doing that.

Hewitt: It should be lots of fun. This is the first one I’ll play in. I’m pumped and excited to participate in it. I’m going to alter something a bit but I’m not going to stray from the regular season string.

All of your home runs have come since May 1st. What’s been the difference? Relaxing more and trusting my hands. I’ve been able to see the ball a bit deeper and let it fly.

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The five derby participants from the Northern Division will be: Bryce Harper (Hagerstown), Jim Murphy (Lakewood), Brady Shoemaker (Kannapolis), Trayce Thompson (Kannapolis) and Anthony Hewitt (Lakewood). The five derby participants from the Southern Division are: Adam Duvall (Augusta), Kyle Parker (Asheville), Adam Bailey (Lexington), Chris Wallace (Lexington) and Bryce Massanari (Asheville).

Read Delmarva’s official HR Derby release here.

Before Friday’s game in West Virginia, we sat down with BlueClaws LHP Jay Johnson, who threw 3.1 innings (career long outing) of scoreless relief last night for the BlueClaws in a 4-3 loss to the Power.

You can listen to the whole interview here.

Johnson, from Sussex Corner, New Brunswick in Canada, played for Texas Tech in the Big 12 after spending time at a Canadian Junior College. He was drafted by the Orioles and Blue Jays previously but never signed and he joined the Phillies this year. Find a few snippets below:

Last night, his longest outing of the season: “I felt good. This is a team that I’ll hopefully be successful against because they have all the lefties in the middle of the lineup…I haven’t run out there that many times in a while so it’s nice getting extended a little bit. I was rolling a little so they let me stay out there.”

Did you play hockey growing up? “I played hockey for a year. I didn’t play a whole lot of hockey. I did play basketball but the seasons intertwined so I didn’t play that much. My older brother played baseball so I just followed him around.”

Where did you go after high school? “After high school I went to Prairie Baseball Academy and then from there I went to Texas Tech and was drafted last year.”

How does Canada compare to Lubbock, Texas? “I went to JC in Alberta and that was prairies too but just not as many dust storms as West Texas in Lubbock. It was pretty nice. Not much to look at but the school was fun and it was fun being around all those guys.

The intermediate nine months from the end of his season last year until he signed with the Phillies this year? “It was long. I wasn’t playing. I worked with my dad (a fisherman) and worked out to get ready for the season. I was out in Arizona with the Mariners at the start of this spring, and I threw for them but failed my physical so they couldn’t sign me. I got a hold of Pat Gillick and he got a scout in Arizona to look at me and they flew me to Clearwater and I signed 2 or 3 days later. Nothing really happened but I have bone chips in there. But I feel good and it’s never really bothered me.”

Before today’s game is resumed against Hagerstown (11th inning), Sean Houston sat down with both Anthony Hewitt (click here) and Jim Murphy (click here).

They talk about their upcoming trips to the All-Star Game in Delmarva among other topics.

Sean Houston sat down with BlueClaws RHP David Buchanan earlier today for a ClawClast that will air between games today but your sneak preview is right here.

BlueClaws OF Anthony Hewitt has hit seven home runs since May 1st, including one last night in Greensboro. Before Sunday’s game in Hickory, we sat down with Hewitt, a former first-round pick of the Phillies from 2008 who grew up in Brooklyn.

Click here to listen to the interview, or read the snippets below.

Difference between this year and last year? The biggest difference is I’m relaxed and I’m having a lot more fun.

How important is it to relax and have some fun? That’s the most important part. Find something to laugh at and something to make you happy. If you don’t, it’s a long year. Whatever you do, find a reason to smile…That clicked in at the end of last year. I thought about it a lot in the offseason…I took a month off, went on a cruise to get my mind off the game, and then game back and went after it.

Vs Last year…Physically I’m a little stronger, but mentally, it’s a totally differnet ballgame.

Do you look back at the draft (draft starts tomorrow)…I look back at it a lot. I was watching the draft from my brother’s bed and I got the call and the rest is history…I told them (Vandy) that if was picked in the first round I’d think about it. But being picked in the first round is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that might not be there. Education will bethere.

Favorite player growing up?…It used to be Soriano, but he got traded. A-Rod, Mariano, Bernie Williams…I love baseball. I like watching it. I enjoy watching the players and learning how they go about their business.

What can you learn then when a Shane Victorino comes in…I just want to pick his brain mentally. When 7:05 hits, I want to learn where he is mentally and how he stays even-keel. That’s all I’m focused on.

BlueClaws 1B Jim Murphy leads the South Atlantic League in home runs (13) and RBIs (41) and entering play Thursday night, has driven in 16 runs in his last 13 games. Before Thursday’s game in Greensboro, we sat down with Murphy for this ClawCast.

Click here to listen to the full interview, or read a few snippets below:

How do you feel at the plate right now? I feel solid. My approach is simple and I don’t think about mechanics at all. I get a good pitch to hit and I’ve been getting some good results.

What’s been the difference for you from the early part of the year until now? Early, I was trying to find a swing that was going to work on a daily basis. Wroking with Legger (hitting coach Greg Legg), Hendo (hitting coordinator Steve Henderson), Manso (IF coordinator Doug Mansolino) on a lot of stuff, like the swing and approach and it’s been pretty conssitent since the second or third week.

What have you been working on? I just want to stay in the zone as long as I can with a flat plain and try to cover as much of the plate as you can. I think I got something pretty good right now and hopefully it stays that way.

Hitting is contagious? Absolutely. You see someone get hot, it doesn’t matter who it is, and you’ll feel confident yourself. The early part of the year we had a lot of double-headers and rain outs and that stuff. We got into a groove lately. Collier’s been awesome lately. Hewitt and Santana too, Dabbs had two HRs last night. We’ve had a lot of guys step up lately.

How have you guys played your way back into the race? The starting pitching has been unbelievable. We haven’t been playing too much different but the starters have been great and we’ve been cashing in when early in the year we weren’t.

Is this as well as you’ve played since being drafted? Definitely. I think over the last month or so is probably the best ball I’ve played in awhile.