Grizzlies Make Moves; Infield Looks Strong

Hello all!  Opening Day will be here before you know it!  Only 54 days away from the Grizzlies preseason opener.  While some moves will certainly still be made, it's getting to be the time when we have a good idea of what the Grizzlies Spring Training roster will look like.

Photo courtesy of Paul Baillargeon/ActionImaging.com

Overall, the current roster looks outstanding.  What jumps out to me is the Grizzlies infield experience.  Chris McClendon is penciled in as the starter at third, Vlad Frias at shortstop and Jonathan Johnson at second.  Landon Hernandez, who manager Phil Warren says can be the best player in the league, returns as the catcher.  The only question mark right now is who will start at first base after the Jerod Yakubik trade?  The natural first baseman would be rookie Trey Holmes who had a stellar collegiate career at Appalachian State, but he will certainly have to earn that spot.  Two other options could be experienced guys Jet Butler OR Jon Myers.  Warren has said he might flirt with Myers at first base.  Whether he's at first or in the outfield, we know his bat will be in the lineup.  The starting infield for the Grizzlies projects to be strong.

Photo courtesy of Paul Baillargeon/ActionImaging.com

Rogelio Noris was traded recently to the Washington Wild Things for their first round pick in 2013 and a player to be named later.  Rogelio was a fan favorite and a big part of the Gateway surge in the second half of the 2012 season.  He smashed 18 home runs in just 58 games for the Grizzlies and recorded a three home run game in Traverse City in the final week of the regular season when the team needed a win.  Phil Warren has said this is a financial move that needed to be made.  While Phil would love to keep him, the bottom line is you can't keep everyone, especially experienced players.  Rogelio will be missed on and off the field.

Minor League veteran Jose Flores was acquired by the Grizzlies in late February.  He will serve as a utility infielder/outfielder and Warren says he can truly play anywhere on the field.  The 25-year-old Venezuela native has seven years of MILB experience, all coming with the Giants from 2006-2012.  He appeared in a combined 81 games @ Double-A Richmond in 2011 & 2012.

Be on the lookout for Mananger's Chat with Phil Warren for the month of March.  It will be posted on Friday.

Here's the audio I have for today.  Below is the broadcast open on radio for Game 5 of the Divisional Series last season.  Hope it helps you get ready for baseball season.  Go Grizzlies!

   Grizzlies Broadcast Open Game 5 Divisional Series
   
    -Voice of the Grizzlies, Adam Young

 

Grizzlies Bring Back Hernandez, DeJesus & Brown

Hello all!  The Grizzlies and manager Phil Warren have been busy the last couple of weeks re-signing a trio of players who were key members of the 57-win team in 2012.  Landon Hernandez, Antone DeJesus and Tim Brown are all returning to the Grizzlies for the upcoming season.  Below is my interview with the Grizzlies skipper, regarding the signings.

Adam Young Chats With Grizzlies Manager Phil Warren

2013 will mark the fourth season @ Gateway for Hernandez, who was an all-star last season.  Hernandez has hit 36 home runs and driven in 107 runs in 206 career games over three seasons with the Grizzlies.  Last season he put .247/16/49 in 75 games while dealing with an injury midway through the season.  Known for his defense as well, Hernandez has thrown out 36% of attempted base stealers in 3 seasons.  The veteran catcher has had a steady career, but Warren is challenging Hernandez to be even better in 2013.  He thinks 'Lando' can be the best player in the league.

DeJesus returns for his second season.  He was a solid player for the team playing in 93 games and batting .270 with 5 home runs and 46 RBI, which is right at his career averages.  DeJesus has hit .271 in his six-year career with 98 extra base hits and 66 stolen bases in 481 games.  He was drafted in the 16th round of the 2007 MLB Draft by St. Louis, reaching Double-A Springfield in 2010. 

Brown was arguable the leagues top pitcher in 2012, going 12-2 with a 2.27 ERA in 20 starts, finishing second in the Frontier League Pitcher of the Year voting.  He led the league in wins and ERA while finishing second in innings pitched and complete games (4).

How about these numbers on Tim Brown.  He went 8-1 in his last 11 starts and didn't lose at hitter-friendly GCS Ballpark during the regular season.  Tim suffered his last regular season loss on June 6th and pitched into the seventh inning in 19 of his 20 regular season starts.  Brown was named the Grizzlies Pitcher of the Year.  He is currently pitching in Australia during the offseason. 

More news coming soon.  Go Grizzlies!

    -Voice of the Grizzlies, Adam Young

Sportscasting Advice to College Students: Part II

Picture of me calling a game in Fayetteville, N.C. right after college

Hello all!  Nearly everything I write on here is regarding places I broadcast for..mainly Gateway Grizzlies related.  But every once in a while I'll throw in something else.  About a month ago I had a post that featured advice to college sportscasting students.  It received a lot more attention than I expected (mainly through twitter) and I love talking about the business so I thought why not issue a follow up?  So here it goes...just how competitive is this business? 

This week I finished up judging play-by-play entries for the Broadcaster's Education Association.  They have a broadcast competition for college students and I began as a judge last year and continued this year.  I enjoy it..one of my favorites things to do is to take a listen to a college students demo and try to help them improve through critique.  This competition is one of many available to college students now a days.

I'm one of 10 or so broadcast professionals critiquing the demos..they were solid last year..and this year, I was amazed at the talent in this competition.  There were about 5 demos in particular that I really enjoyed, but nearly every entry was solid.   Many of the students were from Marshall, Ball State and Rowan University..three Universities that are known for their outstanding broadcasting students.  The future in this business is extremely bright. 

Next week I'm heading back to SIUE to speak to one of their radio classes that is taught by my former boss in college at the campus radio station.  Question is, how do you talk to them, without completely scaring them away?  As many know, I'm passionate about the business.  I've seen many college students throw away their broadcasting careers before they even begin, because they don't do anything or do just enough to get by.  If you are just doing the bare minimum to get by, you aren't going to have success..period.  In order to be at the industry standard, you better be going above and beyond.  In order to be one of the people that makes it, you better have an unbelievable drive and desire 'to make it.' 

It seems like this business gets more competitive/better every year because of the resources available to these students in college and the amount of on-air time they 'should' be getting.  This certainly doesn't mean they are all taking advantage of it (far from it), but nearly every University has a campus radio station in which students can get their feet wet and make their mistakes before they venture out into the 'real world.'

I hate seeing people throw away a great opportunity.  If you're an aspiring sportscaster in college, you better be busting your tail to get better every day and take advantage of all the resources available to you.  Wear out the teleprompter in the production studio, wear out the tape recorder at the local high school/college gyms and look to make contacts with every possible person you can think of in the business.  If you don't???  Well, good luck.  If you go to Northwestern, get to know their Voice Dave Eanet..if you go to SIUE, pick the brain and have the Voice of the Cougars Joe Pott listen to your tapes.  If you're a student at Mizzou, then you sure as heck better introduce yourself to Tigers Voice Mike Kelley and see if he will help you in your career.  Making connections and networking is vital in this business.

Joe was one of the guys who took me under his wing and taught me the art of play-by-play when I was in college.  I've also reached out to an insane amount of College/NBA/MLB/NFL play-by-play voices to see if they will listen to my tapes and give me a critique.  Through this, I've been able to garner a lot of contacts in this business and I have a large amount of guys who I stay in contact with on a monthly basis.  Sure it takes time, but it's certainly worth it!

The talent around the nation is phenomenal at the college broadcasting level...remember, THESE are the people that you will be competing with when you enter the job market.  Syracuse, Northwestern and Fordham are renowned for churning out talented sportscasters every year, but that doesn't mean you can't be successful if you don't go to one of those schools.  If there are resources available to you, if you have the drive/dedication to be successful, then you can be just that.

Doing all of these things right doesn't guarantee success, but at least you can say you gave it your all.  If you don't go after it hard in college, talent won't bail you out after college.  Do you really want to be successful?  Do you have the motiviation/drive/dedication to make it?

Once again, just my thoughts on how to get it done in this business when you are in college.  After all, I was in that position just two years ago.  

    -Adam Young

Updated Gateway Grizzlies Player Signings

It's only mid-January, but the Gateway Grizzlies and manager Phil Warren have already been active with player transactions.  Some key players have been re-signed in recent weeks and the Grizzlies made a big trade with the Joliet Slammers and their new manager Mike Breyman (former Grizzlies hitting coach) yesterday. 

The current Grizzlies roster has 8 position players and 9 pitchers, more than many of the teams around the league at this point.  Nearly all of the names are familiar to Grizzlies fans with a few newcomers trickled in.  Warren is making an attempt to bring back many of the players from the 57-win team of 2012.  I'm assuming there will be roughly 35 players in camp again this spring training, making for an exciting preseason.

Paul Baillargeon Photo

Recent signings include Landon Hernandez, Vladimir Frias (pictured right), Richard Barrett, Jon Myers, Chris McClendon, Chris Enourato, Jonathan Johnson and Zac Treece.

The return of Frias is exciting.  He had a 15-game stint with High-A Daytona in the Cubs organization after playing in 32 games with the Grizzlies last year.  He's one of the best defensive infielders the Grizzlies have ever had and his offense started to come around as well.  The Dominican Republic native should be a star in 2013.

Hernandez returns as the Grizzlies starting backstop.  Warren told me earlier today, he thinks Hernandez could AND should be a 20+ HR guy..he hasn't played a full, consistent season yet.  If he does, he could be one of the top players in the league.

Barrett and Enourato are experienced right-handed pitchers who are proven in the league.  Both are great clubhouse guys.  Barrett collected a team-high 17 saves last season while Enourato went back and forth between the 'pen & rotation.  He made a big playoff start and delivered in Florence, KY..

Paul Baillargeon Photo

Myers, McClendon and Johnson (pictured left) were three of the most important pieces to the Grizzlies offense last season.  Myers had a monster second half and in my opinion is as talented as they come.  McClendon returns for his fifth season in the league and has the chance to be one of the leagues best again year.  Meanwhile, Johnson was the team MVP a season ago and many fans would say no player is more fun to watch than JJ.  He's Gateway's anchor on offense and a dynamite defensive infielder.

Paul Baillargeon Photo

Finally, Treece (pictured right) returns for his second season after dominating the league in his rookie campaign.  Known for his devastating slider, Treece is a star in the making.

Gateway has also made two trades.  They sent right-handed starter Alex Kaminsky to the Lake Erie Crushers for right-handed reliever, Jason Sullivan.

That move brings Kaminsky closer to his hometown of Fostoria, OH.  He will play his games only about an hour and a half away from Fostoria in Avon, OH.  Best of luck to Kaminsky, who won 10 games for the Grizzlies in 2012.

Courtesy of Joliet Slammers

Gateway also sent infielders Jerod Yakubik and Nate Wilder and pitcher Brett Zawacki to the Joliet Slammers yesterday for right-handed reliever Rey Cotilla, a 2013 first round draft pick and future considerations.

Cotilla (pictured left) is an exciting young pitcher.  He was drafted three times, most recently in 2009.  In fact, he was drafted 15th round in 2007 out of High School.  The Grizzlies manager is excited to have a healthy Cotilla for the 2013 season.  

Go Grizzlies!

     -Voice of the Grizzlies, Adam Young

Zach Borowiak New Gateway Grizzlies Hitting Coach

Photo courtesy of Paul Baillargeon

Hello all!  It didn't take long for the Gateway Grizzlies to name their new hitting coach.  Nearly one week after it was announced that Mike Breyman was leaving the Grizzlies to become the new manager of the Joliet Slammers, Nashville, IL native Zach Borowiak has taken his spot and is the new hitting coach of the Grizzlies.

I had a chance to sit down and talk to Zach earlier today about his new position.  Below is my interview with the man who now has the controls of the Grizzlies offense.

Zach Borowiak Interview

Borowiak is no stranger to the Grizzlies.  He spent 2011 as the bench/defense coach and helped bring star shortstop Ryan Khoury to the organization.  After being away from the game in 2012, he has picked up his best job yet.  Borowiak is close with Grizzlies manager Phil Warren and the there is no doubt the two guys will work great together, along with longtime pitching coach, Randy Martz.

Photo courtesy of Paul Baillargeon

Here's some background on Borowiak.  He was a star three-sport athlete at Nashville Community High School (baseball, basketball and football), a town that is roughly 40 minutes from GCS Ballpark.  In a where basketball is religion, the 31-year-old earned a baseball scholarship to Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) after high school and enjoyed a stellar career for the Red Hawks from 2000-2003.  Borowiak was a teammate of Warren's @ SEMO in 2000.

Borowiak was drafted in the 14th round of the 2003 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox & played his entire career in their system (2003-2009).  As a player, he compiled a .231 career batting average with 25 home runs and 205 RBI in 604 games.  Borowiak spent the majority of his career at shortstop and second base.

Grizzlies fans should be thrilled about this hire.  Borowiak is a local guy with high level playing experience and previous coaching experience.  I saw him interact with players in 2011..when he talks, they listen.  He knows how to teach, how to coach and how to get the players to perform at a high level.  With Warren, Borowiak and Martz the Grizzlies have one of the best coaching staffs in the league.  Congrats to Zach and congrats to the Grizzlies for getting a great guy/coach to fill this role.  Go Grizzlies!

        -Voice of the Grizzlies, Adam Young 

Mike Breyman Named Joliet Slammers Manager

Photo courtesy of Paul Baillargeon/ActionImaging.com

After spending seven seasons with the Gateway Grizzlies as a player or a coach, Mike Breyman is off to to the Joliet Slammers for his first managerial gig.   Congrats to Mike..well deserved!

Breyman thought he would be at Gateway for at least a couple more years before getting his first shot as the head man of a ball club..he told me that in this audio interview I recorded with him recently.  The decision to leave couldn't have been all that tough.  Opportunities like this don't come open often.  When a manager job comes open, you have to jump at the opportunity, and Mike did.  Always fun catching up with the Attica, OH native..here's my interview with him..

Mike Breyman Interview

Breyman played for the Grizzlies for five seasons..he was the face of the organization.  If you know the Grizzlies, you most likely know Mike Breyman.  #33 served as the Rascals hitting coach for two seasons after a one year stint with the Grizzlies as bench coach in 2009.  The move back to Gateway made sense..after all, Breyman has said he will always call Gateway home.  The fans know him..and they love him.  He's an entertaining, passionate, hard-working guy who knows the game of baseball as well as anyone.  Here's a few stories I have on Mike from the 2012 season..

Photo courtesy of Paul Baillargeon

Mike has some great traits, but to me his best trait is he's a hard worker.  Few people care as much as Mike.  In fact, some around him could argue that he cares too much!  As a coach, he prepared like he did as a player, and I know he'll do the same in a manager role.  His video camera was his best friend in 2012.  He had a little flip cam that he took everywhere.  He recorded players at bats during games and then went back and re-watched the tape, often with particular players alongside.  I can recall many encounters on the bus (I sat across from Mike on the bus) where Mike sat with Chris McClendon, John Shelby and others, trying to help them get better.  It was entertaining to watch him break down a guys swing..he does it as good as anyone.

The players love him.  He isn't much older than many of the others (31) so like manager Phil Warren, he has a great relationship with the players.  He can relate to many of them.  Breyman, like many of the players, was a star player at a big college (Kentucky) but for some reason he never got a shot in affiliated ball.  When Mike talks, players listen.  They value what he has to say and you can't say that about all player/coach relationships.  Breyman admitted to me that the player/coach relationship might change a little bit now that he's the manager and not a coach.  Either way, he develops a solid relationship with his players.  That won't change.  The Joliet Slammers player's will enjoy playing for Mike Breyman.

Congrats to Mike on the advancement.  Well deserved for a guy who I call a friend.  It will be neat seeing him call the shots in 2013 and beyond!

       -Voice of the Grizzlies, Adam Young 

A look back at the 2012 Gateway Grizzlies

Hello all!  With 2012 coming to a close in almost one week, it's time to take a look back at the year that was in Gateway Grizzlies Baseball.  Here's a 'Best Of' list for 2012.  Hope you enjoy! 

Photo courtesy of Paul Baillargeon

Best moment of 2012: This one is an easy selection.  The best moment came on a day when the Grizzlies didn't even play a game.  It was August 31st and the Grizzlies magic # to win the division was at 1..the Grizzlies had their first and only rain out of the season, but with the magic # at 1, the team gathered at a local bar and listened to the Washington/Schaumburg radio broadcast together.  The Wild Things cruised to a win and all the players, coaches and staff celebrated when the final out was recorded.  It was an unbelievable night that I will never forget.  The night the West was won - 8/31/12. 

Worst moment of 2012: It still pains me to listen to this clip.  The Grizzlies were one out away from advancing to the Championship series.  They led Game 4 of the Divisional series 5-1 before Florence scored 6 unanswered runs, including a 3-run walk off HR by Drew Rundle with the Freedom down to their final out in the game AND series.  Here's the Radio Highlight from the Rundle HR..notice the tone in my voice.  I was frustrated..to say the least.
Drew Rundle Walk Off HR Game 4 Divisional Series

Best play of 2012:  Jonathan Johnson, you are superman!  'JJ' made a thrilling catch near the home team bullpen at GCS Ballpark during the season.  This was one of many great plays from Johnson during the season, but this one certainly sticks out.  Here's the Radio Highlight..
Jonathan Johnson Defensive Play of the Year 2012

Photo courtesy of Paul Baillargeon

Best game in 2012: It was the first playoff game for the Grizzlies since 2008 and Gateway delivered in a big way.  Phil Warren's team jumped out to a 1-0 series lead with an impressive win @ GCS Ballpark in Game 1 of the Divisional Series against the Florence Freedom.  Here's Radio Highlights from that playoff win!   
Grizzlies Game 1 Divisional Series Radio Highlights

Best series in 2012: With the West Division as tight as ever, the Grizzlies picked up a HUGE road sweep @ Windy City in late August to grab the lead in the West Division.  Some would say it was the biggest series for the team in recent memory, and boy did they deliver.  Below are Radio Highlights from the series.  
Grizzlies Radio Highlights @ Windy City

Photo courtesy of Paul Baillargeon

Best individual performance in 2012: Rogelio Noris tied a Grizzlies franchise record w/ 3 HR's in a game @ Traverse City late in the season to lead Gateway to a BIG win that helped them avoid getting swept.  Wuerfel Park is a big yard, but Rogelio treated it like his backyard that night in late August.  One of the best performances in team history!

Best trade in 2012: Ahh, Mr. Noris.  Rogelio was acquired by the Grizzlies roughly 25 games into the season, and boy was he exactly what the team needed.  Noris became the big bat the Grizzlies needed in the middle of their order and the team took off when he came to town.  This is an easy selection..some would say it's the biggest trade in team history.  Here's a highlight of one of Rogelio's many HR's in 2012!   Rogelio Noris HR @ Southern Illinois 

Surprise player in 2012: Rookie reliever Zac Treece came to Gateway after an impressive college career, but no prior pro experience.  No one knew how this tall, lanky right-hander would handle the transition from college to the pro's.  Boy did he handle it well.  Treece finished the season with an ERA just over one and was named the Frontier League Rookie of the Year.  He was one of the best pitcher's in the league in 2012..can't wait to see what he has in store for an encore in 2013.

Hope you enjoyed this post.  Looking forward to 2013..here's hoping this is the year the Grizzlies capture a Championship!

    -Voice of the Grizzlies, Adam Young