My Day in Double-A

I was able to enjoy a trip south to Arvest Ballpark in Springdale, Arkansas with some friends on Sunday.  We were all geared up to head to Kansas CIty and see the Royals sweep the Reds, but we couldn't get a babysitter to get the kids at the appropriate departure time.  So, being the resourceful Royals fans we are, we changed the destination of the trip.  We decided to check out our hot-playing Double-A team The Naturals who are actually pushing for a playoff spot with just 9 games remaining in the first half of the Double-A season. 

We filled the PT Cruiser and headed south on 71 Highway.  I should mention at this point that this is not my vehicle.  We got out of driving but had to pay for the $3 to park.  Good trade.  It was a relatively easy drive with just a few red lights heading into Bella Vista, AR.  Who puts red lights on 4 lane highways?  Anyway, it was a straight shot to Springdale where I have never been before.  If the drive scares any of you off, it shouldn't. 

The ballpark was very nice.  Parking was very easy and the crowd was rather small as there had been some thunderstorms pass through delaying the start of the game.  We were able to secure tickets in section 118, row A which is right next to the tarp on field level.  We basically sat 30 feet behind Poldberg when he was out coaching third base.  To me, it was like bringing your lawnchair to a ballgame and sitting right against the fence. 

So being behind Poldberg, you would have realized that we were on the third base side.   The Naturals sit on the first base side so we dealt with The Drillers all afternoon.  Bryan Harvey was the pitching coach for the Drillers and he made several trips up and down the line.  At one point my friend yells, "Hey Fireman" and sits down leaving me standing there and Bryan Harvey and his intimidating fu man chu staring at me from 3 feet away.  I was petrified.  But he smiled and said "How are you doing"?  To which I said fine and sat down. 

The game was delayed about 30 minutes to get the infield ready and the water out of left field where the tarp had drained.  But once that happened and the sun came out for good, it was game time.

I had no idea, but Robinson Tejeda was making a rehab start for the Naturals.  This was his second appearance for the Naturals and he appeared to be working on his change as he threw it twice to start the game.  Anthony Jackson was leading off for Tulsa.  This guy is intriguing to me as he is listed at 5'8".  In pregame as the Drillers walked from their warm up area down the left field line back to the dugout, I stood and compared my 6'1" frame against his.  The top of his hat came to my shoulder which would make him at the most 5'6".  And when he jogs, his top half leans forward and his center of gravity appears to be about 8 inches in front of his belly button.  I made the comment, if he stopped running right for some reason he'd fall on his face.  But the guy has a good eye and a decent left handed bat.  And speed.  He's very fast. So Tejeda walks him and he promptly steals second base after the 2 hole hitter strikes out on a devestating change.  The 3 hole looked bad against Tejeda and grounded out to first base moving the runner to third.  The next batter up does a decent job sitting fastball and hits a 94 mph heater up the middle for a solid single.  1-0 Drillers.  Tejeda retires the next batter. 

Tejeda looked almost ready to move back to our bullpen with what he did to finish his outing.  He faced two batters in the 2nd inning and made both look silly.  Tejeda ranged from 91-96 with his fastball and 79-83 with his change.  He looked strong and composed out there and after his slow start, he really pitched well.  He was locating low in the zone and moving the ball around well.  Like I said earlier, he appeared to be working on the change as he threw it about every other pitch. 

Jordan Parraz looked like a ballplayer.  Parraz extended his hitting streak to 18 games I believe in the first inning.  He had an all or nothing approach on the first hittable pitch of each of his ABs.  His single was a flair down the first baseline the dropped in for an easy single. 

Cody Clark was our only other player to get a hit in the game.  Clark's hit was also a blooper/flair type hit that dropped in to a deep outfield.  If the left fielder is playing shallow, he makes an easy catch but he was extremely deep.  I guess playing the no doubles defense in a 6 run game?

There wasn't much else to cheer about other than some nice glove work from 2B Kurt Mertins and SS Chris McConnell.  Both worked a walk in an at bat but were both very smooth in the infield.  McConnell turned a tough backhand into a great DP feed.  Mertins gets rid of the ball faster than Callaspo on the turns making me think his D could be MLB caliber already. 

Jose Duarte in center field has an absolute cannon.  He held the aforementioned Jackson at second base on a ball I thought he could easily tag and advance to third on.  Instead he threw from mid-right center on a line to our SS in the cut position.  Jackson didn't take more than a step which tells me Duarte is known around the league as a guy you can't advance on.  He also seems to have a few tricks up his sleeve as he nochalantly fielded a solid single to CF and quickly threw behind a runner rounding second almost getting him.  His arm is very impressive.

Kniginyzky looked decent on the mound.  He did give up a few runs but had his team in position to be successful most of the game.  He appears to be a guy who works 89-91 and has to move the ball around.  He has a decent offspeed pitch repitoire but needs to control the inside of the plate better.  He seemed a little bit predictible which is why he got hit.  He had Paulk fooled on a 1-2 pitch (I belive 1-2) with two outs and Paulk got that left handed golf action going by getting to the breaking ball in front with a wrist flip depositing the ball into the grass on the berm for a 3 run homer.  Other than that, I thought Kniginyzky did a great job and did what he had to do.

Chris Nicoll didn't look good to me.  He worked in the the 85-89 range and got the ball up early.  But once he got it down, he had some swing and misses.  I think he threw a slider (tough to tell from 3B) that was a decent pitch. 

We ended the disappointing loss by celebrating at Abuenos about ten miles north.  It's an upscale type of mexican resturante for those who don't know.  And it is really good.  Really good.  We hope to go back someday soon and enjoy the sights and sounds of Springdale once again.  And you can bet that I'll be there often once Moustakas gets there!