mindahaas.net

Your first (?) look at Wil Myers in Omaha

Minda Haas — Fri, 18 May 2012 00:10:37 +0000

Wil Myers started tonight in CF, batting third. He told me I can take as many pictures as I want, as long as they’re good. Well, uhh….sorry about this first one, Wil.

Uh. gross. I didn't even mean to.

Myers went on to single in his first plate appearance. Here’s a few shots of that at bat.

this swing produced his first AAA hit. THE LEGEND GROWS.

Cruising into first. Click on this or any of the pictures to see more shots of Myers on Flickr!

Bloggers, you know the deal – you’re welcome to use these and anything else from my Flickr, same as always. Just attribute responsibly.

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Link of the Day: Storm Chasers player cards, by me!

Minda Haas — Tue, 15 May 2012 03:25:04 +0000

For some reason, I didn’t shout this off the rooftops, even though it has been extremely exciting for me: The Storm Chasers hired me to take the photos for their 2012 player cards.

So, for the first homestand-plus, I ran all over the ballpark, taking pictures of each player. It was actually the project I used to justify the purchase of my new lens, and I’ve been giddy with anticipation, waiting to see my work on the cards.

They’re here!

Go buy a set?

Unrelated: I think that it is necessary to post the following picture every time Jonathan Broxton earns a save.

You’ve got to be kidding me

Minda Haas — Sun, 13 May 2012 20:38:22 +0000

Below is a screengrab from a Royals.com story. I can’t even wrap my head around this editorial decision.

I'm sorry, what did you say? Am I misreading that headline?

Let's take a closer look. Yeah, that says what I thought it did. But let's look a tiny bit closer.

Yep. It's official. They think we are that stupid.

Photos of the day: ANOTHER walkoff win in Omaha!

Minda Haas — Sun, 06 May 2012 22:50:36 +0000

The Chasers await Cody Clark at home plate after Clark hit a homer to right field for the club's 13th consecutive home win. Jason Bourgeois (#30, wearing a helmet) also scored on the homer.

Clark getting mobbed at the plate. Click the photo to go to Flickr and see more celebration pictures.

Mike Montgomery gave up 3 homers tonight: Problem?

Minda Haas — Sun, 06 May 2012 03:57:22 +0000

Mike Montgomery could have been pulled after his 103rd pitch, which was ball 4 to Angel Sanchez in the 7th inning. That was Montgomery’s 3rd walk of the night and his 2nd of the inning. No one would have faulted Mike Jirschele for pulling him, but he elected to leave Monty in the deep water to see if he’d swim. He did not. Instead, he walked OKC third baseman Scott Moore to load the bases with two outs.

On the radio, Mark Nasser and Brett Pollock described that batter as a “developmental moment” for Montgomery. Again, hey, pulling Monty after the walk to Sanchez would have been totally fine, and I doubt anyone on earth would have questioned the move. But it was good to see what Montgomery would do with a bit of pressure and a high pitch count. Kudos to Jirsch for having the guts to find out. (Ultimately, none of those runners scored. Brandon Sisk came through with a clutch strikeout to end the 7th.)

Montgomery’s line tonight: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R (all earned), 4 BB(3 in the 7th inning), 3 K, 3 HR.

The Storm Chasers led by two heading into the 9th, but OKC strung together 4 singles among three strikeouts. Those four singles somehow turned into four runs, and all of a sudden Omaha trailed by two heading into the bottom of the 9th. They got the two back on home runs by Max Ramirez and Anthony Seratelli.

Another home run by Johnny Giavotella won the game for Omaha in the 10th – hooray!

The fact that Omaha hit three home runs should provide some context for the three that Montgomery gave up – the wind assisted any ball that was hit in the air. Werner Park was a launch pad tonight, so Monty giving up 3 long balls isn’t necessarily as bad as it looks at first blush. It’s still not a number you WANT to see from a top prospect, but not a reason for full-fledged panic.

Photos coming sometime…soon?

Y’Know Meter: May 3 (4-3 W vs NYY)

Minda Haas — Fri, 04 May 2012 04:10:20 +0000

People who have had knee injuries: Did you just die inside every time FSKC (and ESPN and MLB Network and so on) showed Mariano Rivera writhing in pain? Awful to watch. Obviously I’m no Yankees fan, and I do think closers are overrated, but Mo is Mo, and horrific injuries are hard to watch.

Anyway, here are tonight’s Y’Knows. No surprise, Francoeur pulls out a solid 10 per minute, in a lengthy interview. Duffy matched Frenchy’s rate, but in a smaller amount of airtime.

Name - number of Y'knows - time on the air - Y'Knows Per Minute

Y’Know Meter: April 27 (7-6 W @ MIN)

Minda Haas — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 03:50:17 +0000

Thanks to a migraine, I caught the last few innings tonight. I was supposed to be at wedding-related stuff (not MY wedding; relax). Tomorrow, I will be thrilled to watch two of my best friends marry each other. This is so exciting, because I know with certainty that TWO of my closest friends will not marry some creep. What a relief!

ANYWAY, on to the task at hand. I included the on-field interviews tonight, just for kicks. However, since it was a co-interview with Jeff Francoeur and Mike Moustakas, I couldn’t get a proper Y’Know Per Minute (YPM) figure. Alex Gordon was the runaway winner, taking only 21 seconds to top everyone else’s marks. Jonathan Broxton defied logic by not saying it at all!

Name: Number of Y'Knows - Time - YPM

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The triumphant return of the Y’Know Meter

Minda Haas — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 02:35:01 +0000

Lots of people say Y’Know a lot. It’s a handy filler word, y’know? But not everyone is interviewed on camera, and it is our duty to gently mock those who are for leaning on Y’Know.

TONIGHT:

True to tradition, I only did the clubhouse interviews with Yost and Hosmer, not the on-field ones with Gordon and Butler. This is how I took notes:

Name - number of Y'Knows - time of interview - Y'Knows Per Minute

Yosty is more of an “ummmm” guy than a “Y’Know.” But Hosmer – sweet, blessed Hosmer – dropped two in the first clause he spoke. It was glorious.

Please consider supporting the Family Resource Center by doing your regular Amazon shopping via my Affiliate link. ALL proceeds from the month of April will go to the Center. Seriously, just go shopping tonight. Buy some Royals stuff!

I had actually forgotten what not-losing, even for one night, felt like.

Minda Haas — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 02:12:17 +0000

It feels AWESOME.

Also, Rex Hudler is extremely orange. Like Snooki, or an Oompa-Loompa. Whatever he’s paying for his tanning, it’s too much.

Pics and notes from another extra-inning win

Minda Haas — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 04:47:44 +0000

Omaha wins yet another game (yay!), and yet again they took extra innings to do so (boo.). Enjoy some celebration photos, hot off the presses.

Tony Abreu congratulates Jarrod Dsyon, who drove in the winning run.

Where did his other leg go?

Tony Abreu (6) and David Lough (right) celebrate with Anthony Seratelli, who scored the winning run.

Nashville pulled their left fielder and brought in an extra infielder on the left side to defend against Dyson with the bases loaded in the 13th. Naturally, he hit it he other way for the win.

Kevin Kouzmanoff was apparently bored, and wandered away from the dugout.

Some notes before I head home:
- With Greg Holland going on the disabled list, Jeremy Jeffress was called up. That’s super for him, and I suppose it’s a logical choice, but Omaha can’t really afford to lose more arms. Will we get a replacement arm for him – or Louis Coleman, for that matter?

One option might be Blaine Hardy, who has spent a significant amount of time at Omaha. The rest of the bullpen at Northwest Arkansas is pretty green, and probably not ready for Triple-A. Another possibility might be Patrick Keating, or perhaps Kendal Volz. (if it’s Volz, I have to give credit to the World-Herald’s Rob White for the prediction.)

-Catcher Ryan Eigsti anticipates being activated from the disabled list soon. But that will give Omaha three catchers, along with Max Ramirez and Cody Clark. What are they going to do with three catchers?

-Max Ramirez was hit in the head with a pitch in the 6th. He stayed in the game, but later in the dugout I spotted him rubbing his head in the spot he was hit. I will keep an eye on that – and let’s hope that doesn’t answer the question of how to deal with having too many catchers around! (Concussions suck. I know this too well.)

-Many of you saw this on Twitter, but my mom isn’t on Twitter so I’ll repeat it here: Johnny Giavotella just about killed me with a foul ball. The place where I was standing to take pictures is in a perfectly straight line between home plate and this mark on the dugout wall where the ball hit:

I'm SO glad those laces aren't on my head. Or my camera.