Minor Musings from Fitch, week of 3/11

[karenmac]

Hi All!

 

We flew to sunny AZ late on Saturday and enjoyed an absolutely lovely day here on Sunday. Thought I'd jot down a few thoughts for you based on what I saw at Fitch before heading over to HoHoKam for the big league game. We're headed back to Fitch this AM, so will be sure to post again tonight. I'll have pictures too, but won't be able to upload those until this evening.

 

- Jeff S is impressing at big league camp. Right now, he's expected to land at AA

 

- Robinson Chirinos was getting substantial reps at 3rd base yesterday. Not sure what this means, but didn't see him at 2nd at all. I was pretty sure that he played some SS in a pinch at Peoria last year, but don't remember him playing 3rd. With that said, he looked pretty good there.

 

- For someone who had such a hot 2nd half last year, Donnie Veal couldn't hit a broad side of a barn in fielding drills yesterday. Perhaps he was still waking up, but in fielding bunts or squib hits in the mound's general vicinity, it took him about 6 tries to get it to 3rd and a couple to get to 1st. Didn't get to see him pitch, but I found this curious. Hope it was just that he got up on the wrong side of the bed

 

- Saw Mitch Atkins and Jesse Estrada pitch to Jake Muyco. They both looked strong. Mitch seemed to be hitting his spots with consistency. Jesse, a little less so. Jake seems to be a true leader behind the plate...I love watching him provide feedback to the pitchers as he goes. I'd love to see him start at AA, but am guessing he'll be in Daytona.

 

- For those that didn't see the other thread, Davy Gregg has elected to retire. He was in the media guide, so obviously made the decision recently. I know he'll be great at whatever he decides to do

 

- Mark Reed still looks skinny. I know they had him on a program to try and gain weight in the off-season, but it doesn't look like he has at all. I know he lost weight in Peoria during a full season, so perhaps he put a bit back on, but I'm not sure where he's hiding it. It still looks like he's got the littlest pants on, and he's got room in those. Hopefully the trainers have him drinking whole milk and eating all the time.

 

Guess that's it for now. Will post more later tonight! :)

[Guest]

Thanks, Karen!

[NCCubFan]

For someone who had such a hot 2nd half last year, Donnie Veal couldn't hit a broad side of a barn in fielding drills yesterday. Perhaps he was still waking up, but in fielding bunts or squib hits in the mound's general vicinity, it took him about 6 tries to get it to 3rd and a couple to get to 1st. Didn't get to see him pitch, but I found this curious. Hope it was just that he got up on the wrong side of the bed

Maybe he just forgot about the early start to daylight savings time this year and lost an hour of sleep. :D

[Athletics36]

Player moves were made today with players moving from Ho-Kam to Fitch.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

Player moves were made today with players moving from Ho-Kam to Fitch.

 

Any scoop on who was moved?

[Athletics36]

Players moved, Gallagher, Colvin, Walker, Patterson, Moore and I heard others with more to follow after todays game. All these moves were expected with minor lg games starting soon....

[karenmac]

For someone who had such a hot 2nd half last year, Donnie Veal couldn't hit a broad side of a barn in fielding drills yesterday. Perhaps he was still waking up, but in fielding bunts or squib hits in the mound's general vicinity, it took him about 6 tries to get it to 3rd and a couple to get to 1st. Didn't get to see him pitch, but I found this curious. Hope it was just that he got up on the wrong side of the bed

Maybe he just forgot about the early start to daylight savings time this year and lost an hour of sleep. :D

 

Excellent theory, if they observed Daylight Savings here in AZ :sunny:

[karenmac]

Well, day 2 at Fitch was a ton of fun. Just a couple of comments (and promise to get pictures up soon!

 

- After spending yesterday at 3rd, Robinson Chirinos promptly spent all day today at 2nd.

 

- Donnie looked *much* better today. Thank goodness.

 

- They spent about an hour yesterday doing situational hitting. We watched the Jodys vs the Rynes, although they had the low-A and high-A talent mixed up. Essentially, it was getting some live-ish fielding and baserunning, along with working on putting the ball in specific places when at bat. Norwood and Carter were making excellent contact and putting the ball where told. Carter also looked better in the OF, which bodes well.

 

- During the scrimmage, Alberto Garcia was playing at 1st - not sure what that means, but it was interesting. I almost didn't recognize him, as he had shaved his long, flowing locks from last year and now has more of a napolian haircut. Reynolds and Lansford were playing 3rd, and the catching duties got split.

 

They're starting to play intersquad on Thursday, with live pitching instead of BP...followed by games against other minor league teams on Saturday.

[Bear Cub]

I talked to Jody Davis last week. Asked him about Samardzija. He said that Jeff was pitching well enough to skip Daytona and could wind up in Tenn.

[kalarmac]

I talked to Jody Davis last week. Asked him about Samardzija. He said that Jeff was pitching well enough to skip Daytona and could wind up in Tenn.

 

Samardzjia was indeed working with the Tenn pitchers when I saw him on Friday. Also on Friday, Jody came up and spoke for a minute or two with me. I asked him to PLEASE spair some talent for Rhyno and Peoria. He laughed, then in all seriousness said that Rhyno was going to receive some players that Jody wished he could have.

 

Although I am not yet familiar with the names, I watched quite a bit of Rhyno's practices and the guys are playing well together. Most of the team from Boise is sticking together thus far, which bodes well for Peoria next year.

 

Pawelek was throwing for the most part with Daytona, although as Karen stated we noticed the pitchers were mixed up quite often. The only time that the pitchers seemed to be with their "teams" was when fielding drills were running, and Pawelek was with Daytona then. We should get a little better picture as to who is looking where during Saturday's games.

[goonys evil twin]

Ryno

[Chris]

Much appreciation on the first hand info

[NCCubFan]

For someone who had such a hot 2nd half last year, Donnie Veal couldn't hit a broad side of a barn in fielding drills yesterday. Perhaps he was still waking up, but in fielding bunts or squib hits in the mound's general vicinity, it took him about 6 tries to get it to 3rd and a couple to get to 1st. Didn't get to see him pitch, but I found this curious. Hope it was just that he got up on the wrong side of the bed

Maybe he just forgot about the early start to daylight savings time this year and lost an hour of sleep. :D

 

Excellent theory, if they observed Daylight Savings here in AZ :sunny:

Oops, I forgot that Arizona doesn't observe DST. I knew most of Indiana didn't until a year ago.

[Chris]

Oops, I forgot that Arizona doesn't observe DST. I knew most of Indiana didn't until a year ago.

 

:wtg:

[craig]

Thanks tons for the observations. Many of us fans appreciate any observations or comments, sometimes no matter how obscure. Keep them coming, and if some of you can add more from your visits, we'd love it. I like reading the impressions that different personalities make, etc..

[karenmac]

Ryno

 

Yea, yea.. I noticed that after I posted. At least I was consistant and used the improper spelling everytime ;)

[goonys evil twin]

Ryno

 

Yea, yea.. I noticed that after I posted. At least I was consistant and used the improper spelling everytime ;)

 

Well good marks for consistency then.

[Bear Cub]

The minor lge process is the greatest thing in the world. I will process my notes shortly.

[Danny82]

Thanks for the updates.

 

What ever happened to Mark Reed? I'd actually forgotten about him. Is he still at catcher? How did he do last year and where is he likely to start this season?

[Guest]

Thanks for the updates.

 

What ever happened to Mark Reed? I'd actually forgotten about him. Is he still at catcher? How did he do last year and where is he likely to start this season?

Mark is still a catcher. His defensive skills have progressed well since he was drafted and should stick behind the plate. He played at Peoria last year and did...okay. He's likely to start at Daytona this year. The Cubs still have hopes for him to be the hitter they envisioned when he was drafted, but he needs to start showing it soon.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Thanks for the updates.

 

What ever happened to Mark Reed? I'd actually forgotten about him. Is he still at catcher? How did he do last year and where is he likely to start this season?

 

Yeah, he's still a catcher. Last season, he was in Peoria and started off really well but had a major slump the final two months of the season (but he didn't display much power even when he was hitting well). He's supposed to have improved defensively a bit.

 

Anyways, here are his 2006 stats. He'll be at Daytona next season.

[Guest]

beat ya :)

[CaliforniaRaisin]

beat ya :)

 

That's what happens when I'm more informative!

[craig]

The minor lge process is the greatest thing in the world. I will process my notes shortly.

 

I'm really looking forward to that, Bear.

[karenmac]

Happy to oblige - and I know how to spell Ryno, even if my husband doesn't :)

 

We're now in Tucson through Friday and had a chance to catch the game at Tucson Electric Park today. Am trying to remember...I think the fresh air must be getting to my brain. I'm struggling to stay awake, and it's not even 8pm here.

 

- Most of the guys that came to Tucson today were the B team - no Soriano, DLee, or Aramis. Despite that, it was a good game to watch - the Cubs kept coming back.

 

- Jake Fox seemed to do a good job behind the plate today. He caught Rocky Cherry's tough inning, but didn't let things get by him and made a couple of good blocks in the dirt. He did OK at the plate, but nothing as dramatic as the HR we got to see on Sunday!

 

- Rocky didn't look nearly as strong as he did on Sunday. He had a tough time - not sure if he just wasn't hitting his spots, or what, but he wasn't fooling anyone

 

- Dempster looked decent again

 

- Jesus Valdez (played for the Chiefs last year) got in for the 7th-9th. He played left, spelling Murton. He hit into a double-play at the plate, which was tough, but I was really glad he got the opportunity to play today.

 

No baseball for a couple of days - just rest and relaxation, but we'll be at the White Sox vs. Cubs game on Friday.