OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post

bcimmet · 01-03-2004, 06:52 PM

The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Double-A)

MAY 1, 2004

My old Wilkes-Barre friend Ron Reaper was traded to Oakland the other day. He was hitting .345 for our AAA club, and I’m surprised we gave him up. But our end of the deal was getting first baseman Baltasar Pena, who hit 37 homers for Oakland last year. Hopefully he can help us out on offense. Our big league team hardly looks like the squad that contended for the NL Central last year.

At the end of April, I was tearing up the Baby Circuit. For the month, I hit .429 with 14 RBI and six stolen bases (caught five times, though – yikes!). But the big news came as I was in the locker room after the last game of April. My cell phone starting ringing, which was weird because I don’t usually get good reception in the locker room. (Okay, if I’m in that fourth stall, the one with the green graffiti over the toilet saying COACH EATS RECTAL WARTS FOR LUNCH – I get good reception in the stall, and don’t you dare ask how I know that.)

Anyway, I got a call from the AA club – I’ve been promoted! I drove to Kingston last night, and we played Arizona today. I batted 7th and played second base. My first AA plate appearance came in the first inning, we were leading it 2-1, two outs, men on second and third. I managed an infield single that oddly held the runners in place. Our catcher, Oriol Arnau smacked a single to center, and we all advanced. The next guy struck out, and we were stranded. The rest of the game just flew by. Somehow, I went 5-5 (all singles), and we won 9-4 (we had 21 hits!). I scored two runs, but couldn’t manage a stolen base.

I look around the locker room after the game (I’ve made a great first impression – five hits!), and recognize only a handful of faces. Where did these guys come from? I miss my friends from Wilkes-Barre, but things are looking good here. After the game, I go out for drinks with Larry Langhorne; we shared a few infields together in A-ball last year before he got bumped up. Angel Jimenez and Ramon Corpuz join us – we all were teammates for a stretch last year. The basic word here is that the pitching is just as thin as in A-ball, and it’s in AAA that things get difficult. Ramon and Angel have both had a breath of AAA in Plainfield, but none of them have stayed long enough to really know it. Larry things the competition is just too stiff right now, especially for the middle infield. Even though Tuma got released, they still have two second basemen and three shortstops up there. It’s going to be a challenge to break in.

MAY 5, 2004

Already, I’ve been moved up to the leadoff spot. In my first few games here, I’ve gone 7-11 (that 5-5 first game isn’t going to hurt my stats) with a homer and 4 RBI.

My first game as the leadoff hitter for AA started well – I bunted an infield single on the first pitch to get on right at the start. By the end of the day I was 4-5, but I didn’t score, I didn’t drive in a run (despite having two opportunities with men in scoring position), and we lost 3-2.

01-03-2004, 06:52 PM	#15
bcimmet Registered User Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: New York City Posts: 65	The Journal of Christopher Quinn (2b, Pittsburgh Double-A) MAY 1, 2004 My old Wilkes-Barre friend Ron Reaper was traded to Oakland the other day. He was hitting .345 for our AAA club, and I’m surprised we gave him up. But our end of the deal was getting first baseman Baltasar Pena, who hit 37 homers for Oakland last year. Hopefully he can help us out on offense. Our big league team hardly looks like the squad that contended for the NL Central last year. At the end of April, I was tearing up the Baby Circuit. For the month, I hit .429 with 14 RBI and six stolen bases (caught five times, though – yikes!). But the big news came as I was in the locker room after the last game of April. My cell phone starting ringing, which was weird because I don’t usually get good reception in the locker room. (Okay, if I’m in that fourth stall, the one with the green graffiti over the toilet saying COACH EATS RECTAL WARTS FOR LUNCH – I get good reception in the stall, and don’t you dare ask how I know that.) Anyway, I got a call from the AA club – I’ve been promoted! I drove to Kingston last night, and we played Arizona today. I batted 7th and played second base. My first AA plate appearance came in the first inning, we were leading it 2-1, two outs, men on second and third. I managed an infield single that oddly held the runners in place. Our catcher, Oriol Arnau smacked a single to center, and we all advanced. The next guy struck out, and we were stranded. The rest of the game just flew by. Somehow, I went 5-5 (all singles), and we won 9-4 (we had 21 hits!). I scored two runs, but couldn’t manage a stolen base. I look around the locker room after the game (I’ve made a great first impression – five hits!), and recognize only a handful of faces. Where did these guys come from? I miss my friends from Wilkes-Barre, but things are looking good here. After the game, I go out for drinks with Larry Langhorne; we shared a few infields together in A-ball last year before he got bumped up. Angel Jimenez and Ramon Corpuz join us – we all were teammates for a stretch last year. The basic word here is that the pitching is just as thin as in A-ball, and it’s in AAA that things get difficult. Ramon and Angel have both had a breath of AAA in Plainfield, but none of them have stayed long enough to really know it. Larry things the competition is just too stiff right now, especially for the middle infield. Even though Tuma got released, they still have two second basemen and three shortstops up there. It’s going to be a challenge to break in. MAY 5, 2004 Already, I’ve been moved up to the leadoff spot. In my first few games here, I’ve gone 7-11 (that 5-5 first game isn’t going to hurt my stats) with a homer and 4 RBI. My first game as the leadoff hitter for AA started well – I bunted an infield single on the first pitch to get on right at the start. By the end of the day I was 4-5, but I didn’t score, I didn’t drive in a run (despite having two opportunities with men in scoring position), and we lost 3-2.