Quick Texas League All-Star Game Recap

by Flashfire on Jul 3, 2009 8:59 AM PDT Comment 29 comments

Hot night in Frisco but it was nicer once the sun set. The ballpark was everything I thought it'd be in terms of how it looked. I love it.

As noted, lots of RockHounds represented. Chris Carter mashed ten homers during the home run derby, which I almost missed. I'd read something about it starting at 6:45 with the game at 8 PM, but the game notes indicated 5:45 (gates opened at 5:30) with the game at 7:15. I'd picked up a few things at the team store and went back to my much cooler hotel room to chill for a bit, then I looked out the balcony window facing the ballpark and sure enough, it was going on. About five minutes later I was down on the field snapping away. Oops. Carter didn't homer in the second and final round and ended up coming in second, but he was hitting some monster shots before that.

The North beat the South 2-1. If it's good enough for the Civil War, it's good enough for this as well. RockHounds were involved in all the scoring, both good and bad. Jason Fernandez came in to pitch in the second and unfortunately for him, he gave up three straight singles before hitting HR Derby winner Mark Trumbo with a 2-1 pitch to force in a run. He escaped further damage by starting a nice 1-2-3 double play and finished it off with a strikeout, then he worked a 3-up, 3-down third.

It stayed 1-0 until the eighth inning and it was looking like the only run of the game would be thanks to that HBP. That turned out not to be the case as Mike Benacka allowed a run. The home side would get it right back in the bottom of the inning thanks to a Josh Horton double that plated Josh Donaldson. They threatened further in the inning and again in the ninth but couldn't get anything else.

Here are the totals for our guys.

Hitters:

Adrian Cardenas - 0-for-2
Chris Carter - 1-for-4, 2 K
Corey Brown - 0-for-2, K
Josh Donaldson - 1-for-2, R
Josh Horton - 1-for-1, 2B, RBI

Pitchers:

Jason Fernandez (L) - 2.0 IP, 3 H,1 R, 0 BB, 2 K, HBP
~~Wolverine~~ Graham Godfrey - 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Mike Benacka - 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 SO, HBP

I got a lot of pictures I'm happy with and hopefully I'll have them up in a few days. Flying back home tomorrow.

0 recs | Comment 29 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Is it just me or is Chris Carter underperforming a bit

by T-Money on Jul 1, 2009 11:37 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Not to me.

Hes hitting 300.. still has power. Cut down Ks. Hes had a great year.

"Their Triple-A rotation, led by Trevor Cahill and Brett Anderson, could be better than some big-league rotations; Michael Ynoa is the best Latin American prospect of the decade; 2008 draftees Jemile Weeks and Rashun Dixon bring much-needed tools to an advanced group of hitters." - BaseballProspectus.com

by Syphon on Jul 2, 2009 12:21 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

His average last year was a concern to me, only .259 with his OBP .361. This year his average is up to .302 so far, OBP up to .408, and though his slugging percentage is down (.569 to .525) his OPS is up slightly (.930 to .933) and he’s hitting more doubles (32 in 506 AB last year, 26 in 301 this year, putting him on pace for about 44 if he gets 500+ ABs). This is going from a notorious hitter’s league (Cal) to what I believe is more of a pitcher’s league (Tex) or at least a league that’s not as high on offense overall.

The biggest difference? Last year: 77 walks, 156 strikeouts (2.03 K/BB). This year: 50 walks, 77 strikeouts (1.54). Again, if he gets the same ABs as last year, he could be on pace for 84 walks (+7) and 129 strikeouts (-27).

He’s still got the pop in the bat but he’s growing as a hitter.

Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog

by Flashfire on Jul 2, 2009 4:56 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

By the way

Carter’s 13 homers are tied for second in the Texas League behind Corpus Christi’s Collin DeLome, who has 14.

Of those with 10 or more homers, he is the only one with an OPS above .900 (there are a few others whose OPS is higher but they’ve all played fewer games than Carter, whose OPS is the highest of anyone with 70+ games played). He’s also the only one with 10+ homers with an OBP above .400 and one of two hitting over .300 (there are 7 players in double digits in homers at this point).

Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog

by Flashfire on Jul 2, 2009 6:55 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

So what you're saying is that he's awesome.

Some motherfcukers are always trying to ice skate uphill - Blade.

by OldhamA on Jul 3, 2009 9:25 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Seems to be the case in that league, yep

Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog

by Flashfire on Jul 3, 2009 9:30 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Carter is decidedly NOT underforming,

and looks to be breaking out as the season wears on. His OPS splits by month are .832/.920/1.028, with 7 homers in June.

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=1B&sid=milb&t=p_pbp&pid=474892

Further to Flashfire’s post, its especially nice to see the improved BA , OBP and BB/K considering the knock going into the season was that his numbers were artificially held up by the HR happiness of the Cal league.

by NRC on Jul 2, 2009 10:09 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

The "Experts" that Kevin Goldstein talked to at BP seem to disagree on Carter:

http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=9154

“Another player putting up big numbers recently is Oakland slugger Chris Carter. After leading the minors in total bases last year, Carter hit just one home run in April, but he’s been especially hot of late, as he goes into the final day of June with a .324/.440/.558 batting average on the month. Still, one scout had more concerns about Carter’s propensity to swing and miss than anything positive to say, noting that he’s “so big and strong, and it is absolutely enormous power. But if the ball is not in his immediate bat path, he misses.” The scout added, “He’s bad at seeing the slider, and bad at laying off the slider, and that’s a very tough combination to overcome,” admitting there are some fears that Carter will be just an up-and-down player in the end. “He’s going to keep putting up big numbers, but he has holes above and below the barrel, and lots of areas that big-league pitchers can go to get him out. With what the A’s have done with Jack Cust, you’d never want to say never, but I think when he gets to the big leagues, he’s just going to strike out a ton.”

I think that this seems like a scout didn’t do his homework on Carter and just overlooked his overall improvements this year. There’s no doubt that Carter is a very streaky hitter and may always have high strikeout totals relative to “normal players” but with his type of power and ability to take a walk, I think he’ll be fine long-term.

I'm never gonna do it without the fez on!

by Taj Adib on Jul 2, 2009 10:47 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Ya I don't know how much I buy into what that "expert" says.

But if the ball is not in his immediate bat path, he misses.

Is this ~~retarded~~ confusing to anyone else? If the ball isn’t going to hit his bat, he’s not going to hit the ball? What?

He’s bad at seeing the slider, and bad at laying off the slider, and that’s a very tough combination to overcome

I can’t imagine that those two are related. Or maybe even the same freaking thing.

With what the A’s have done with Jack Cust, you’d never want to say never, but I think when he gets to the big leagues, he’s just going to strike out a ton.

Now I’m just confused.

"True fact: In a global thermonuclear war, the only human who would survive would be David Eckstein" -PT

by travdog6 on Jul 2, 2009 6:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think the implication is he always has a certain zone he swings through and doesn't adjust well

There could be SOMEthing to it, but it’s hard to say without me getting the chance to see him a lot more. The few times I did get to see him last year he looked overmatched and slow to catch up to pitches, but he got a few good swings in on some balls. That was early in the season and I know he put up stronger numbers as the season went on. He’s also doing quite well this year but without seeing the types of pitches he’s hitting I can’t really say how he’s getting his hits, whether they’re on fastballs, how many are on breaking balls, etc.

Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog

by Flashfire on Jul 2, 2009 7:02 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Haha, nicely stated.

The overall “take” of the supposed “scout” is really confusing all the way around. He even highlights Carter’s strengths in his overall assessment – “He’s so big and strong, and it is absolutely enormous power…He’s going to keep putting up big numbers…”

So he’s a big guy with eye-popping power who will probably continue to produce on the stat-sheet…ok, so what’s the problem?

I'm never gonna do it without the fez on!

by Taj Adib on Jul 2, 2009 7:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's what Nico was talking about with Cunningham.

His swing is such that he can’t adjust his bat to any late movement of the ball like the top hitters can. If the ball is not in his immediate swing path he’s going to swing through it.

Some motherfcukers are always trying to ice skate uphill - Blade.

by OldhamA on Jul 3, 2009 9:27 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Stat sheets are over rated? Haha!

I don’t know……I have never seen Carter play but us A’s fans have been pretty high on him ever since he got here in our system.

Hopefully, this is one of those things that Carter works on and continues to make adjustments with, specifically with pitch recognition and laying off the slider out of the strike zone.

Zeigler to Geren…."A-Rod? He’s my bitch." -alox

by mrod on Jul 2, 2009 7:59 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

A pitching sequence from last night's game

This is comprised of 22 shots of Midland pitcher Jason Fernandez, who I got to know a little last year when he was with Stockton. It was good to catch up with him a bit again.

Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog

by Flashfire on Jul 2, 2009 9:36 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

That's awesome.

"I’m Joey Devine, I’m what Joba Chamberlain would be if he was good and nobody had ever heard of him."

by mikev on Jul 3, 2009 9:09 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

What you fail to understand in your joyless myopia is that baseball is the key to life-- the Rosetta Stone, if you will. If you just understood baseball better all your other questions your, your... the, uh... the aliens, the conspiracies they would all, in their way be answered by the baseball gods.

by winchester5 on Jul 3, 2009 9:21 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

to your +1

You have to include smiley faces - Poppy
;- ) :- ) :-O : -> : -] : -}

by micdog2001 on Jul 3, 2009 12:25 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

I’m getting into these animated gifs a bit more now.

Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog

by Flashfire on Jul 3, 2009 9:31 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow!

Excellent mechanics. One of the first pitchers in our system I’ve seen in a while where I didn’t go, “uh oh, looks like his arm’s gonna fall off.” Nice driveline, his elbow doesn’t get to high, good timing, I’m happy.

"Life is a horizontal fall" -Jean Cocteau

by King Richard on Jul 3, 2009 9:41 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

This is where I really like doing stuff like this

Sure, I could grab a video camera and have it look even better, but I’m a photographer. ;-) Putting a bunch of shots together in a sequence lets me show off the camera’s burst mode but it also lets people actually get a sense of how someone’s delivery looks in motion.

I don’t know what Fernandez’s ceiling is – he’s more of a control pitcher than a hard thrower – but I guess that’s part of what this is all about, right?

Last of the Ninth - Photography Site / jamesvenes.com - Blog

by Flashfire on Jul 3, 2009 9:59 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs