Let’s be fair. He’s full on whacko about many things.
Strom addressed this in an interview with Verducci earlier this week:
"Asked if the Astros used a propriet[ar]y recipe, Strom replied, “The pine tar rag was right there for anybody. We have no formulas or anything like that. Firm Grip was used. Pine tar was used. Not a [recipe such as] ‘30 percent resin, 22 percent pine tar …’
“Our organization never went to an outside chemist. Never went to get like certain percentages of sticky stuff. Pine tar was used? Yes. It was used, okay? It’s been used for the last 50 years and hitters don’t complain. If you hang a 28 [hundred] revolution curveball as opposed to a 26 they’re going to hit it anyway."
In addition to being masters at identifying tipped pitches and devising schemes to communicate stolen signs to batters, Beltran and Cora were famous amateur chemists. In fact, while playing youth ball in Puerto Rico both of them moonlighted at classes in the Departamento de Quimica at UPRM. At the University of Miami Cora was often spotted lurking around the Cox Science Center pestering chemistry majors to give him notes about a clear sticky substance he carried around in an air tight tennis ball canister.
It’s a well know fact Breaking Bad was inspired by Beltran/Cora.
I know it’s spring and it’s not that important, but damn the Astros offense has been pretty bad.
Meanwhile, according to Chandler Rome, JD Davis got a lot of cheers, but they booed Jake Marisnick (game is in Port St. Lucie). Make up your damn minds, morons.
Emphasis on morons.
Article is paywalled so I can’t read it, but Whitley is apparently quoted as saying that he’s not trying to impress anyone.
A major criticism of him has been what scouts call “makeup,” which includes competitiveness and mental toughness. SMH if he thinks he does not have to impress folks.
I think he has succeeded. He hasn’t impressed anyone.
Mark Appel number two?
Shit.
I thought of Appel too. A window existed for Whitley, and he was deemed untouchable in trade negotiations
ISWYDT
He was a really good kid in HS, I got to watch a few of his games, sat next to Nolan at one.
I have no fucking idea what is going on with him…I’m completely bumfuddled.
Thanks, Guys,
I had to ask. Baseball - and life - are crazy at times.
A couple related questions:
How do ML clubs monitor the conditioning of their players? Do they? Or do the stars (see Verlander, Correa) hire their own?
How about roster fillers (see White) and hot prospects (see Whitley)? Lower minors?
Not unique to the Astros, a Boston writer is concerned that the Yanks are falling apart…
Much appreciated!
At the end of each season, the teams sit down with minor league players and give them feedback. A part of that are things that encourage them to work on for the next season.
For minor leaguers, you are totally on your own. Many of them end up giving lessons at baseball facilities in exchange for cage time. They try to find other players in the same town to work out together.
Diet and conditioning suggestions are given but there is no monitoring other than random drug test that can happen at any time. That means you have to be able to respond for the test within 24 hours. So if you go on vacation, you have to give the the team how to contact you during that time.
Minor league players don’t get paid for spring training either.
As for MLB guys, they too are given feedback and recommendations to follow but there is no monitoring unless it is included in their contract (see Panda from a few years ago).
There’s a lot of really fucked up things about how minor leaguers are (not) compensated, but I did not know that. That’s fucking crazy. Do they at least get a per diem to cover housing/food/transportation?
I believe they do provide some housing help (I think they make deals with hotels and put the guys two to a room).
They also don’t get paid during instructional league in the fall. Only during the season until you are on the 40 man roster.
Once you are on the 40 man, you life changes some and you do get paid for spring training.
If anyone read this article, a summary of the highlights would be appreciated.
I saw him on Saturday, but he only threw one inning, which was odd. Then this article came out and I’m wondering what the hell is up with him.
The high level theme is that Whitley came to camp unprepared:
- In the offseason, he warmed up by throwing a softball. He didn’t pack the softballs when he came to spring training, assuming that there would be some there. There were not. He blamed his lackluster first outing on not having warm-up softballs.
- Strom said Whitley hasn’t gotten many opportunities to pitch in ST because he “was not ready to come into camp and compete for a position”
- Whitley lightened his offseason training regimen over the offseason and ate more. He’s now at 230 lbs., as compared to 190, when he showed up in 2019.
Whitley plays all this off as part of a plan to see “some longevity this season rather than coming to spring training where stats don’t count.” I honestly can’t tell if that’s the truth or if he’s just rationalizing the results on the field. If I synthesize the article, I’d say Whitley’s under the impression that his injuries over the last two seasons have been due to (a) not having the prototypical durable/beefy physique, (b) not getting enough rest in the offseason, and ( c) over-exerting himself by ramping up too quickly and trying to “impress” people in Spring Trainings past.
Regardless, Strom & Co. have had Whitley revert to something closer to his high school throwing motion, i.e., “what got him drafted in the first place.” I usually read this kind of thing as a last-ditch desperation move, but YMMV.
Baseball is not considered a full-time job, it’s a seasonable job, and minor leaguers are classified as “apprentices”. Many of the labor laws don’t apply to them. Most teams provide some sort of housing, either team provided or an allowance. Locals often put guys up, two or three or four guys living together. They also get something like $120/week for food, in addition to whatever they scrounge at the team’s facility, so there’s a lot of fast food and peanut butter sandwiches to fulfill that fitness requirement. It’s not glamorous for the guys not on the 40-man, unless you got a pretty hefty signing bonus.