Grizzlies Continue Homestand Tonight/Early Season Notes

We are 17 games into the season and the Gateway Grizzlies have a raced out to an 11-6 start.
After an 8-2 start, Gateway has gone 3-4 in their last 7 games. Nonetheless, a solid start for Phil Warren's team.

Gateway will continue their homestand tonight with Game 2 against the Rockford Aviators at GCS Ballpark. Right-hander Aaron Newcomb, the only local player (Carlyle native) on the Grizzlies roster, gets the start tonight. Newcomb is off to a hot start with a 2-1 record and a 0.47 ERA. Warren preaches series wins and so far the Grizzlies have won 4/5 series.

Early season notes:

• Gateway is second in the league in runs (87) through 17 games.
• The Grizzlies have the third best ERA in the league (2.97).
• Gateway has shown the ability to steal bases early in the season with 27 swipes in 17 games.
• After this series, Gateway will play their next 6 games on the road.
• Closer Richard Barrett has yet to allow a hit in his 6 innings of relief (4 saves).

Below are radio highlight montages from recent games. Go Grizzlies!

Grizzlies/Rockford June 3 Radio Highlights

Grizzlies/Schaumburg May 29 Radio Highlights

Grizzlies/Rascals May 25 Radio Highlights

       -Voice of the Grizzlies Adam Young

What Keeps You Striving For Greatness?

Time to take a pause from my usual Grizzlies/College Athletics posts and post about something that I've

been thinking about. Just some thoughts.. 

What keeps you going? That's a question that a lot of people should ask themselves on a daily basis. When life/your career gets hectic, who helps you push through? 

I know in my career I often overlook it and take it for granted. When I started my broadcast journey in college my parents supported me and helped me get through the stressful and tough times then and they still do today. Nobody can achieve success on their own. They need support. You need support, a pat on the back, a little push now and then and sometimes you need to hear some constructive criticism.

For me, my parents have always been the people to do that. I have a mother who has never missed listening to one of my broadcasts and a father who may care more about my career than I do. If it wasn't for them, I know I wouldn't be in my current position. They do the same for my sister and I know she appreciates it just as much.

It doesn't just end with my parents. I have friends/family that continue to support me and my career. When you have people behind you, the last thing you want to do is let them down. Therefore, you keep plugging away and working towards an end goal. After all, you always have certain people you want to make proud.

For me, that's to broadcast games at the highest level. I dream of the day I can call up my parents and tell them I got that 'dream job', knowing they plugged away with me.

Don't take those people for granted. Take some time to thank for them for being there for you. Because after all, those are the people that keep you striving for greatness.
 
    -Adam Young

Grizzlies Prepare For Start Of Spring Training

Hello all! We are less than a week away from the start of preseason practice for the Gateway Grizzlies. The first workout is Thursday morning and the Grizzlies open up Exhibition play Tuesday, May 6th @ Southern Illinois. The season is almost here!

Our first broadcast on the Grizzlies Radio Network will be the final home Exhibition game on Saturday, May 10th vs. the Wichita Wingnuts of the American Association.

Here are some notes leading up to the season:


*Grizzlies manager Phil Warren heads into the 2014 season with 358 career wins. He has the most wins in franchise history and is sixth all-time in league history.

*The Grizzlies have added former slugger Mike Breyman to the coaching staff, giving them arguably the best coaching staff top-to-bottom in the league. Breyman was the manager of the Joliet Slammers a year ago.

*Landon Hernandez will start the season on the suspended list and miss the first 2 weeks. Hernandez will not report to Gateway until May 25th as he finishes up the season with the University of Hawaii, where he's an assistant coach.

*Position player wise, the Grizzlies will start the season with only 2 returning position players (Johnson and Wing). Wing was acquired in a late season trade in 2013 and only played in 19 games for the Grizzlies.

*4 (Vasquez, Wing, Faulkner, Macklin) of the Grizzlies position players were drafted out of HS and entered the drafted or entered the draft after their junior year of college.

*Starting pitching questions: It will be interesting to see which five pitchers finish up camp in the Grizzlies starting rotation. Candidates for the rotation appear to be Aizenstadt, Barrett, Bos, Jensen, Newcomb, Oliver, Stephens, Stiles and West. Certainly some of these guys could also go to the 'pen if they aren't in the rotation.

More notes coming as Spring Training opens up Thursday!

    -Voice of the Grizzlies Adam Young

  

Grizzlies Radio Network Ready For 2014

Baseball is back in MLB and before we know it Grizzlies baseball will be back as well. Thanks for checking in to www.AdamYoungOnTheAir.blogspot.com. I hope you enjoy today's blog post.

Monday was a big day on the radio side of things as the Grizzlies signed a deal with 590 AM KFNS in St. Louis to be the flagship station on the Grizzlies Radio Network. 1400 AM KJFF in Festus, MO will serve as the Affiliate station, teaming up with KFNS to form the Radio Network.

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This is an exciting deal for us as 590 moves back to all-sports. Grizzlies games have been on 590, one way or another, since 2010. Last year 590 aired weekend games only. We're thrilled to have them on board for all games this season.

Our first broadcast will be the final home Exhibition game on May 10th when the Grizzlies welcome in the Wichita Wingnuts of the American Association. Click the link below for the entire 2014 Grizzlies Broadcast Schedule.

GATEWAY GRIZZLIES 2014 BROADCAST SCHEDULE

I'm happy to welcome Sam Levitt to the broadcast team for the upcoming season. The recent Northwestern grad will be the No.2 broadcaster, Media Relations assistant and GTV talent for the upcoming season. He will be on the air with me for all home games and select road contests. Sam most recently spent two seasons as a play-by-play broadcaster in the Cape Cod League. While at Northwestern he broadcasted nearly a dozen different B1G sports and served as Sports Director of WNUR-FM. Sam grew up just outside of New York City.

Sam will be a great addition to our Broadcast team. He's an extremely talented young broadcaster who I feel will excel from the start. He's very advanced for his age and I'm going to have him doing the middle innings play-by-play from day one.

In case you missed it, I sat down with Grizzlies 8th year manager Phil Warren yesterday for the April Manager's Chat. Listen to the entire INT at the link below.

APRIL MANAGER'S CHAT WITH PHIL WARREN

Hope you enjoy the games this season. Sam and I are looking forward to bringing them to you.

  Go Grizzlies!
 
         -Adam Young

Grizzlies Make Big Splash: Sign Vasquez & Newcomb

Grizzlies manager Phil Warren was busy this week adding two players who figure to play a vital role in the team's 2014 success.

Centralia, IL native and former Angels 19th rounder Aaron Newcomb signed with Gateway Thursday while former Cardinals 3rd rounder Niko Vasquez was traded to the Grizzlies from the Joliet Slammers Friday afternoon. 

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Let's start with Vasquez, who comes to Gateway with a lot of hype.  He was a High School draft pick in 2008 out of Durango HS (Las Vegas, NV).  Vasquez reached Double-A Springfield in the Cardinals system in 2011 and 2012, combining to play in 56 games at that level.  He was the 91st overall pick in '08 and as recent as 2011 he was considered to be a top 50 prospect in the Redbirds system.

Vasquez by the #'s: 

• 603 professional games over the course of 6 seasons.  
• He has 218 games at High-A.  
• His career average isn't eye-popping (.235) and the only stop with an average over .300 was Rookie Ball Johnson City in '08 during his first pro season.  
• Decent power numbers for Vasquez who plays all 3 infield spots.  He has 44 career HR's and collected 12+ in 2010 and 2011.  He also smacked 8 in only 59 games with the Slammers last season.

This is a huge signing by the Grizzlies because of the recent loss of 3B Chris McClendon.  Vasquez can play SS, 2B or 3B, but it looks like he'll be the everyday man at 3B for the Grizzlies going into Spring Training.  Ironically, this is the position he has more experience in at the pro level.

Vasquez played for Grizzlies bench coach Mike Breyman last season when Breyman was the manager at Joliet.

Newcomb, who turned 24 on March 2, was drafted by the Angels after finishing up his collegiate career @ Division II powerhouse Delta State University.

"I'm excited to join the Grizzlies this year," Newcomb said.  "I've been working hard this offseason trying to improve my mechanics.  I'm ready to see my progress."

Newcomb went a combined 4-5 in 2012 & 2013 in the Angels system.  The 6-2 right-hander appeared in 27 games (15 starts).  He pitched for Rookie Ball Orem in 2012 and Single-A Burlington in 2013.

Newcomb has an impressive college career at DII Delta State University, winning a combined 18 games in 2 seasons and helped guide the Statesmen to a DII College World Series Runner-Up finish in his senior season.  He led the team with 11 wins during his senior season while notching a 3.07 ERA.

The name is familiar to a lot of local baseball fans because of his days at nearby Centralia HS.  Judging by #'s, talent and upside, I expect Newcomb to have an impact in the Grizzlies starting rotation in '14.  We'll see come May.

Go Grizzlies!

   -Voice of the Grizzlies, Adam Young

SIUE Battles Mid-Major Power Belmont Wednesday Night

The Saint Louis Billikens are starting to catch the eye of national college basketball fans (deservedly so), but another team in the St. Louis area is on the rise and few people are recognizing it.  In year two of being full-fledged D1 members SIUE is catching fire and playing solid basketball in 2014.

Tonight, the Cougars will play one of the biggest home games they've had in the D1 era as they battle mid-major power Belmont (21-8, 12-2 OVC) @ 7 p.m. @ Vadalabene Center.  I have the play-by-play on radio with the Voice of the Cougars Joe Pott working the TV side.  The game will air live on Fox Sports Midwest. 

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How many people are aware that the Cougars have won 6 straight home games and are an impressive 9-3 @ home this season?  The last Cougar home loss?  January 2nd in their Ohio Valley Conference opener vs. Morehead State (a game that was winnable down the stretch by the way).

I'm a HUGE SLU fan..if you know me well you are aware of that.  I grew up in the Spoonball era and became a Billiken fan when I was 4-5 years old.  I bleed Billiken Blue.  My wardrobe is full of SLU gear.  To be quite honest, SLU still isn't getting enough attention.  Undefeated and 19 wins in a row..remarkable season for Jim Crews' team.  SLU is established..people know them..people love them.  The Billikens are the talk of the town and selling out Chaifetz Arena.  

I quickly became an SIUE fan when I began school there in 2006 and started working the games.  I've seen a lot of Cougar basketball since then.  The transition from D2 to D1 is tough..any school that has done it will tell you.  It's enjoyable to see the Cougars having success, especially at home, defeating mid-major powers such as Murray State.  They are in a great town & a great market.  Fans are noticing, but there are still some people out there that are missing out on the fun.  

When will the rest of the area take notice?  There's plenty of room for BOTH SIUE and SLU.  The two schools technically aren't rivals..geographically they are, but it's no secret the Billikens are a Top 25 program and SIUE is just settling in at the D1 level.  With Missouri and Illinois struggling, why not hop on the Cougar bandwagon folks?  The Cougar catching staff, led by OVC coach of the year candidate Lennox Forrester, are bringing in high-level talent and working tirelessly to turn the Cougars into a consistent power.  Belmont and Murray State are established mid-major powers in the OVC..can the Cougars follow suit?

Tonight, the Cougars take on Belmont @ home and tomorrow SLU tangles with Duquesne @ home.  2 games, 2 nights, 2 surging college basketball programs.  You enjoy college basketball?  Take in some great college basketball on back-to-back nights.  You better believe I'll be at both!

NOTES ON BELMONT (from their game notes)

• Belmont has won 20+ games 9 of the last 11 years.
• Belmont and Kansas are the only 2 programs in the nation to win 12 or more conference games in each of the last 12 seasons.
• Belmont is 4th in the nation in FG% and 5th in 3 point FG made.

       -Adam Young

SIUE Cougars Men's Basketball On A Roll

SIUE Cougars Men's Basketball wrapped up arguably their best week @ the Division I level with a 67-60 upset win over the Murray State Racers Saturday afternoon in Edwardsville.

SIUE/MURRAY STATE RADIO HIGHLIGHTS

After coming back from an eight point deficit with two minutes to go on Thursday against Austin Peay, the Cougars showed no signs of fatigue despite a quick turnaround.  Murray State came into the game as the only unbeaten team in the Ohio Valley Conference (5-0).  The win was the second straight for SIUE against Murray State..both coming at home.

SIUE is now 3-0 @ home in conference and in second place in the OVC West Division.  They have put themselves in a good position to make the conference tourney through the first six games.    

The biggest question now is can SIUE win on the road?  The Cougars are currently 0-8 on the road with three straight road games coming up starting Thursday @ Southeast Missouri State.  In my postgame interview with Associate Head Coach Matt Laur (found below) on Saturday, he called SEMO the most talented team in the league despite their struggles early on in conference play.  After SEMO, the Cougars have road games @ struggling UT Martin and the improving Eastern Illinois Panthers.

MATT LAUR POSTGAME INTERVIEW VS MURRAY STATE

There was a lot of energy in the Vadalabene Center (nearly 3,000 fans) Saturday and down the stretch the VC was about as loud as I've heard it late in a game.  Right now the Cougars are playing with energy and confidence.  Great to see the hard working players and coaches taste success.  The players and this coaching staff deserve this success.

GO COUGARS!

  -Adam Young