Johnson City Cardinals Lose The Hill

On my drive to work today, I heard on "The Sports Monster" an interview with East Tennessee State head baseball coach Tony Skole (pronounced like the dip - what a great baseball name). He mentioned that the hill that stretched from the right field line almost to the corner of center (yes, there is a corner in center field) had been leveled.

The Johnson City Press followed that interview up with a story. They described the berm this way:

Perhaps 15 feet high and banked at 55- or 60-degree angles in places, the hill turned outfielders into mountain goats. And because it doubled as a football stadium perimeter and continued to arc in from the right field corner, the berm also made straightaway right-center field some 310 feet from the plate.

Shopping at the right-center field gap could provide cheap home runs for batters who often circled the bases almost apologetically after slicing balls through the breeze and over the hill while pitchers cursed the baseball gods.

Skole said there were seasons their home ERA was 2.50 points higher because of the short field in right. So much for a home field advantage. He added:

From a fan’s standpoint, you don’t see a 20-foot hill in the outfield,” East Tennessee State coach Tony Skole, who has managed some 300 games there. “It added a lot of charisma. But if you pitched there on a consistent basis you could end up pulling your hair out. I know a lot of the purists are probably disappointed … but from a coaching standpoint I really applaud the city for taking it down and making the adjustment.

There are other great recollections of the hill in the article. I encourage you to check it out.

Howard Johnson Field at Cardinal Park used to back up to Steve Spurrier Field where the Science Hill Hilltoppers played their football games. That created the short right field. Now, with Science Hill having it's new on campus stadium, the football stands were leveled and so was the hill.

Here are some links to pictures of "the hill" - pic 1 , pic 2.

Personally, I am glad my son got to attend a game in that park last season so he could see "the hill" . With "the hill" leveled, now the high walls in left and the deep corner in center are the only character left in what otherwise is just an old nondescript stadium.

Five Former G-Stros Pitchers To Watch

We are just a few days away from pitchers & catchers reporting for Spring Training. Several Astros players have already arrived in Kissimmee and are getting ready for it to begin. Here is my list of the top five former Greeneville Astros I will be watching this spring.

Jordan Lyles - He has been named the #1 prospect in the system by everybody and his brother. He reached AAA last year as a teen and is now going to Major League Spring Training.

What I am watching for: How does he handle facing big league hitters in spring games? How does he handle the increased attention that comes with being with the big club? How quickly will he be reassigned to AAA?

Fernando Abad - The big lefty dominated the Dominican Winter League this season, after spending 22 innings on the field in the bigs last fall. He has been talked about as a lefty specialist out of the pen and a 5th starter for the Astros this year.

What I am watching for: How is his sharpness? He was wild in his last start in the Dominican (4 walks and 2 wild pitches). He should be ahead of most other players because of the time in winter ball. How is he used first? Bullpen or starter? Can he keep the ball in the park? That has been a problem at times for him in the past.

Carlos Quevado - The 21 year old lefty from Venezuela only got ten innings in the liga parralela (minor league winter ball) because the Astros had him on the "fatigued list." He had outstanding control in Tri Cities last year, only walking 8 out of 328 batters faced.

What I am watching for: Who will he break camp with? I am expecting him to be in Lex. How will he adjust to better competition and a full season?

Mike Foltynewicz - Last year's top drafted pitcher was one of the top three Astros prospects on almost every list.

What I am watching for: Will he be in Lex this year? How is his velocity on his fast ball? How does he handled to older, better competition?

Pat Urckfitz- The underdog NDFA lefty, who rocks the rec-specs, moved back to the pen for the Arizona Fall League after starting 12 games in Lancaster in 2010. The result of his good work was the he got a chance to play in the AFL Rising Stars game.

What I am watching for: Will he be a starter or reliever in AA this year? How will his arm hold up a year after throwing twice as many pitches as he ever had in a pro season before?

Here are a few other former Greeneville Astro pitchers to keep an eye on as the season progresses:

Jorge De Leon - Short stop turned closer should get a shot in Lexington this year.
Luis Cruz - With his return from surgery a year behind him, can he build on his solid year in Lexington last year.
RJ Alaniz - Will he break camp with Lexington or get another year in extended spring?
Brad Dydalewicz - Can he bounce back from a rough season last year?
Kyle Greenwalt - Can he build off of his strong AFL performance as he moves to AA?
Ross Seaton - Was his bad season a product of Lancaster? How will he handle AA?
Arcenio Leon - Made a big jump from Lex to Corpus Christi last year. Can he cut down on the walks?
Henry Villar - Made the bigs late in the season after performing well at AA. Will he be in AAA or the Astros pen this spring?

Nidiffer Hoping To Be A Legend

Marcus Nidiffer played his college ball at the University of Kentucky. He was signed as a non drafted free agent by the Astros who happen to be affiliated with the Lexington Legends. If things work out, Nidiffer would be the first former Kentucky Wildcat to play for the home team Legends. Mark Maloney, of Kentucky.com caught up with Marcus at a Legend's Caravan stop last week. Here are some quotes worth sharing.

On the adjustment from college to pro ball:

"The adjustments that you make between college and pro ball are a lot quicker because you play every day," Nidiffer said. "You don't have that kind of 'dead time' to gather yourself and work on some things as you would in college.

"Pro ball, you 'do this' and then you're done. Then you'd better wake up and you do it again. You can't dwell on anything. ... You've just got to go do it and make those adjustments quick because you're going to play the next day and, after that day, you're going to play again."

If Marcus is on the roster in Lexington this season, it will mark his second "home coming" season. Last year, while playing for Greeneville, he got to play games in his hometown of Bristol, TN. Not many players get that opportunity.

Abad Has Solid Start

Fernando Abad started for the Dominican Republic verses Puerto Rico last night in the Caribbean Series. He went 4 2/3 IP giving up four hits, three walks and two runs (only one earned run). He struck out four batters. He appeared to struggle with his control. Both runs were aided by wild pitches. The Dominican Republic came back to win 4-3. They are 2-1 in the round robin tourney and all their games have been one run affairs.

Feel Good Story From Last Year

Indulge me while I tell my favorite minor league story from 2010. Last May, the family and I were heading to North Carolina to tend to some family business. After checking the schedule, we decided to spend the night near Greensboro in order to see the Grasshoppers play the Lexington Legends. We were pumped to see former G-Stros such as Altuve, Mier, Meyer,Martinez, Bray, Hinze, Garcia, Leon & Hogue on the diamond.

The starter for the Grasshoppers was Curt Peterson. I didn't know anything about him and the Legends lit him up for 4 runs in 5 innings. After he was removed from the game, they brought him out to the mound and made a presentation to him.

Here is the story behind the presentation according to the Greensboro News & Record. Peterson had gone to WalMart to by some toilet paper (I am not making this up). As he is coming out of the store he reports he saw the following:

"This guy came up behind her and grabbed her purse and her keys," Petersen said. "She was yelling, 'Help! Help! Help!' I thought maybe it was just a joke. ... I thought maybe they were messing around. But then she got knocked down, and I knew it wasn't a joke."

Petersen said he dropped his things, ran to Dixon's car and grabbed Conrad before he could get in.

"I was like, 'What are you doing?' And he said, 'I'm taking her car.' And I was like, 'No, you're not,' " Petersen said. "I had a hold of him, and he threw the keys back to the lady and said, 'All right, all right, just let me go.' And I said, 'I don't think so.' "

Petersen said a crowd gathered, including Walmart employees, and they detained Conrad until police arrived...

"It was interesting," Petersen said. "I just went to the Walmart for toilet paper, and then all this happens."

In honor of his good deed, WalMart had sponsored Curt Peterson night. They gave away 1000 tickets to local charities and presented him with a plaque and a gift card. The crowd gave a nice standing ovation to Peterson.

By the way, Peterson got revenge on the Legends about a week later when he held the Legends scoreless for 7 innings.

If you ever get a chance to go to Greensboro and catch a game, they have a nice ball park and great bat dogs. Scotty Smalls over at Minor League University wrote about the canines recently. Check out his article here.