Because how can you not love a baseball player named "Bubba"?
Pinstriped Bible has an article about Andy Phillips in a series (or Storystream, as SB Nation lamely terms it) called Where Are They Now?
I'd forgotten how unlucky the poor guy was. Family issues, ill-timed injuries, and of course, the Yankees - a team that doesn't give prospects a very long leash.
Labels: Andy Phillips
Braves beat writer David O'Brien had an update of sorts on Paul Janish.
[Ramiro] Pena is penciled in as the primary middle-infield backup to begin the season. Paul Janish is taking batting practice and fielding in workouts, but isn’t expected to be cleared to play until late March or early April.Be interesting to see what they do when Janish is cleared to play. I can't see them carrying both Janish and Pena. Janish has options can could be stashed in AAA. Pena doesn’t. Janish is better with the stick and the glove than Pena is, but Pena has the advantage of being a switch-hitter.
One possibility: they signed Pena to a big league deal with the understanding that he would accept an assignment to Gwinnett if he clears waivers when Janish comes back. And if he doesn’t clear waivers, they’re off the hook for his salary. Kind of like what the Yankees did with Jayson Nix.
Or Janish could be the one sent to Gwinnett. Seems like a good chance he'll start the season on AAA, on rehab assignment if nothing else.
Labels: Paul Janish
Tony Cingrani's start yesterday did not go well. He pitched one inning, giving up three earned runs on three hits (a double and two singles). He walked one and struck out one, and now owns a 27.00 ERA.
But he says he is not discouraged. He thinks he'll be successful if he can keep the ball down more.
Sounds like the Reds still hope he can be a starter. I'm guessing he'll be in Louisville this year, though he's hoping to make the big league roster.
Labels: Tony Cingrani
Tony Cingrani will be the starting pitcher in the Reds' first spring training game of the year today.
I don't think it means anything. While some teams put their top relievers in first, so they get to face the other team's stars, it sounds like Dusty is putting prospects in because he thinks his big league guys aren't ready yet. (This is a record early start for spring training, due to WBC scheduling.)
But the fact that Cingrani has been ranked one of the Reds' top prospects might be a factor.
The game will not be televised, but there's audio via the Internet (Reds.com should have it).
Labels: Tony Cingrani
Joe Savery
The Reds' Photo Day was Saturday. The Phillies' was Monday, and the Braves' was today. These photos are from the wire services.
Tony Cingrani:
Paul Janish, looking like his puppy just died:
I'm sure they took some of him smiling, but they haven't been released yet.
UPDATE: Here's one.
Labels: Joe Savery, Paul Janish, Tony Cingrani
Ramiro Pena, Andrelton Simmons, Tyler Pastornicky and Paul Janish
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published some photos from the Braves spring training workouts, including the above pic of their shortstops.
Someone asked the Braves beat writer, David O'Brien, when Janish would be back. He replied, "They're not sure, but likely back in April, perhaps early April." Looks like he's doing fielding drills already, though. He's got his glove on.
Labels: Paul Janish, Ramiro Pena
The Brooklyn Atlantics are a vintage base-ball team modeled after an original 19th century team.
A baseball card for the original Brooklyn Atlantics sold for $92,000.
Paul Janish was asked some "hard-hitting questions" in this video.
I put "hard-hitting" in quotation marks because the questions aren't all that hard-hitting. He likes country music - not a shock to anyone who's heard his at-bat music (or saw him playing "Name That Tune" in that Reds show). He'd pick Kate Upton over BJ Upton. He picked Dan Uggla as most likely to be on the cover of GQ, and Ben Sheets as least likely.
The interviewer, Ricky Mast, said Janish is one of the nicest people he's ever met in baseball, a "really awesome guy."
Labels: Paul Janish
Slate has this interesting piece about a Civil War baseball found at Shiloh. According to the article, baseball was played by Civil War shoulders because it was so portable, requiring only a bat and a ball. (Funny, since baseball's drop in popularity in the U.S. is often blamed on needing too much equipment.)
The antique baseball is one of the exhibits from a new online museum that will open on Opening Day, called TheNationalPastime.com.
Labels: baseball history
