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bcimmet · 01-02-2004, 10:22 AM

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b)

APRIL 1, 2003

It's opening day, believe it or not. Our lineup has me penciled in the #8 hole, playing second base. I know it's just A-ball, but they're giving me a place to eat, a place to sleep, a place to play ball and $250 a week. Plus the signing bonus, which I have to force myself not to spend frivolously. Maybe some extra training and study to help my game. A better bat, perhaps. For now, nothing... I'll be patient.

We're hosting Milwaukee. Haven't been able to catch wind of whether Bays is on the team there, or if he got sent straight to Double-A.

I forget about Bays as we take the field for the top of the first inning. First batter goes down swinging. Our pitcher, Patrick White, is actually two weeks younger than I am. Not a bad debut. Second batter is Simon Fernandez. On a 2-2 count, he grounds a fastball up the middle. I scoop it up easily and toss to Eladio Henriquez at first (this guy is HUGE. He's like 6'7"). The out is made, and I have my first professional statistic.

In the second inning, the first pitch is a change to Milwaukee's catcher, Tanjirou Yoshifusa. He breaks his bat, and lines the ball directly at me. Of course, there's pieces of bat everywhere, but somehow I snare the screaming ball. I'm out of breath already... This is exciting and terrifying all at once.

In our half of the second, Albert Martinez tears a homer to right, giving us a 1-0 lead. Larry Langhorne and Ron Reaper (a second basemen by nature, starting today at third) hit back-to-back doubles making it 2-0. After Big L (Eladio Henriquez) grounds out to third, I'm up to the plate with a man on second. With one out, we're considering a sacrifice bunt to move the runner along. But it's the first, and the sign comes in to just put the ball in play. I run the count to 2-0, and then swing hard at a fastball low and away. Before I can even look to see where it went, I hear the sound of ball against glove. Line drive to the shortstop. Career batting average: .000.

Patrick starts getting wild in the third. Two walks, a wild pitch, another walk, and the bases are loaded with no one out. A strikeout and a line drive to first base, and White might be on his way out of the job. But then a single brings in a run. A walk brings in another. A single brings in two more. And we trail 4-2.

I ground out to second in my next plate appearance, but I smack a single to center in the bottom of the seventh. I know I've hit baseballs a million times before, but there's something special about this one. My first real hit. I may have had a .630 career average in high school, and set the team records for hits in a season and hits in a career, but right now, I'm 1-3 for Pittsburgh's Single-A team, and nothing could be sweeter.

The rest of the seventh is uneventful -- Landreneau and Gonzalez both strike out swinging on three pitches each, and I'm stranded at first base. Before I know it, the game is over. We've lost 8-6. Palacios pinch-hit for me in the ninth, and struck out swinging badly on a curve ball in the dirt. My day was a clean and neat 1-3, no errors (turned one double-play), but nothing special.

That night, I'm checking the scouting reports and doing some stretches when Larry Langhorne comes in to tell me about some internet poll, in which I'm in a list of Top 100 Big League Prospects. I'm ranked #23. Bays is #13. Why do I feel like I'm setting us up for some kind of competition? There's another second baseman ahead of me on this list, Santiago Ramirez. He's on Tampa Bay's Single-A team. The only other Pittsburgh representation on this list is Benjamin Mandujano, a center fielder who's on the major league roster this season. He was 8-26 last year in 14 late season games.

Currently, in the Pittsburgh system, they've got two second basemen on their major league roster: Joseph Bowden and Willard Gray. Bowden's in his second year with the team, having spent his first five seasons with Cincinnati. Last year, he his .264 with four homers, 50 RBI and 12 stolen bases. He's under contract for four more years... Not a great sign. Gray has never appeared in the big leagues, but he's a switch-hitter, which is a built-in attraction. I'll have to keep tabs on these guys.

I'll also have to keep an eye on the middle infielders in AAA and AA as well. Up in AAA, there's one guy, Gerald Carmody. He's actually been in the show every year since 1997, but he's recovering from a torn back muscle, and is rehabbing in AAA. In six big league seasons, he's a .235 hitter with five homers, 69 RBI and 25 steals in 400 games. In AA there's Joel Hunt and Jared Wilner, neither of whom seem to have a whole lot going for them.

Just to stay up to date, our current major league roster features ultimate mediocrity. We have one star, Cristobal Ortiz. He's a ten million dollar left-fielder with a two-million dollar attitude. Last year he hit .298 with 38 dingers and 103 RBI. Decent numbers, but not worth ten mil, in my opinion. And the pitching rotation? Six starters on the opening day roster with a combined four years of Pittsburgh experience. Lots of new blood.

01-02-2004, 10:22 AM	#4
bcimmet Registered User Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: New York City Posts: 65	The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b) APRIL 1, 2003 It's opening day, believe it or not. Our lineup has me penciled in the #8 hole, playing second base. I know it's just A-ball, but they're giving me a place to eat, a place to sleep, a place to play ball and $250 a week. Plus the signing bonus, which I have to force myself not to spend frivolously. Maybe some extra training and study to help my game. A better bat, perhaps. For now, nothing... I'll be patient. We're hosting Milwaukee. Haven't been able to catch wind of whether Bays is on the team there, or if he got sent straight to Double-A. I forget about Bays as we take the field for the top of the first inning. First batter goes down swinging. Our pitcher, Patrick White, is actually two weeks younger than I am. Not a bad debut. Second batter is Simon Fernandez. On a 2-2 count, he grounds a fastball up the middle. I scoop it up easily and toss to Eladio Henriquez at first (this guy is HUGE. He's like 6'7"). The out is made, and I have my first professional statistic. In the second inning, the first pitch is a change to Milwaukee's catcher, Tanjirou Yoshifusa. He breaks his bat, and lines the ball directly at me. Of course, there's pieces of bat everywhere, but somehow I snare the screaming ball. I'm out of breath already... This is exciting and terrifying all at once. In our half of the second, Albert Martinez tears a homer to right, giving us a 1-0 lead. Larry Langhorne and Ron Reaper (a second basemen by nature, starting today at third) hit back-to-back doubles making it 2-0. After Big L (Eladio Henriquez) grounds out to third, I'm up to the plate with a man on second. With one out, we're considering a sacrifice bunt to move the runner along. But it's the first, and the sign comes in to just put the ball in play. I run the count to 2-0, and then swing hard at a fastball low and away. Before I can even look to see where it went, I hear the sound of ball against glove. Line drive to the shortstop. Career batting average: .000. Patrick starts getting wild in the third. Two walks, a wild pitch, another walk, and the bases are loaded with no one out. A strikeout and a line drive to first base, and White might be on his way out of the job. But then a single brings in a run. A walk brings in another. A single brings in two more. And we trail 4-2. I ground out to second in my next plate appearance, but I smack a single to center in the bottom of the seventh. I know I've hit baseballs a million times before, but there's something special about this one. My first real hit. I may have had a .630 career average in high school, and set the team records for hits in a season and hits in a career, but right now, I'm 1-3 for Pittsburgh's Single-A team, and nothing could be sweeter. The rest of the seventh is uneventful -- Landreneau and Gonzalez both strike out swinging on three pitches each, and I'm stranded at first base. Before I know it, the game is over. We've lost 8-6. Palacios pinch-hit for me in the ninth, and struck out swinging badly on a curve ball in the dirt. My day was a clean and neat 1-3, no errors (turned one double-play), but nothing special. That night, I'm checking the scouting reports and doing some stretches when Larry Langhorne comes in to tell me about some internet poll, in which I'm in a list of Top 100 Big League Prospects. I'm ranked #23. Bays is #13. Why do I feel like I'm setting us up for some kind of competition? There's another second baseman ahead of me on this list, Santiago Ramirez. He's on Tampa Bay's Single-A team. The only other Pittsburgh representation on this list is Benjamin Mandujano, a center fielder who's on the major league roster this season. He was 8-26 last year in 14 late season games. Currently, in the Pittsburgh system, they've got two second basemen on their major league roster: Joseph Bowden and Willard Gray. Bowden's in his second year with the team, having spent his first five seasons with Cincinnati. Last year, he his .264 with four homers, 50 RBI and 12 stolen bases. He's under contract for four more years... Not a great sign. Gray has never appeared in the big leagues, but he's a switch-hitter, which is a built-in attraction. I'll have to keep tabs on these guys. I'll also have to keep an eye on the middle infielders in AAA and AA as well. Up in AAA, there's one guy, Gerald Carmody. He's actually been in the show every year since 1997, but he's recovering from a torn back muscle, and is rehabbing in AAA. In six big league seasons, he's a .235 hitter with five homers, 69 RBI and 25 steals in 400 games. In AA there's Joel Hunt and Jared Wilner, neither of whom seem to have a whole lot going for them. Just to stay up to date, our current major league roster features ultimate mediocrity. We have one star, Cristobal Ortiz. He's a ten million dollar left-fielder with a two-million dollar attitude. Last year he hit .298 with 38 dingers and 103 RBI. Decent numbers, but not worth ten mil, in my opinion. And the pitching rotation? Six starters on the opening day roster with a combined four years of Pittsburgh experience. Lots of new blood.