It’s been a while since I posted any photos, so here are two from Sunday's game. This weekend I made it to 3 games (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). I still have to upload Saturday's photos and finish editing Sunday's photos. Not to mention that I would like to see Jesus Flores in this MLB Rehab stint with Harrisburg this week and I have a trip planned to Hagerstown on Wednesday.
Baseball photography, like life, is about being in the right place at the right time. This photo was taken from the first base ‘photog well/cubby’. For this photo I was in the right place to photograph Joel Guzman moving to his right in to shortstop territory to throw a runner out at first base.
This is a case of being on the wrong side of a play – I moved from the first base ‘cubby’ to the 3rd base ‘cubby’ anticipating a plate appearance by Baysox's prospect Brandon Snyder. I photographed Snyder's at bat but I also captured this….
Robert Valido, Bowie Baysox is safe at home. Harrisburg Senators catcher Luke Montz is air born trying to catch a high throw from right fielder Marvin Lowrance. Just image how good this photo could have been seeing Montz face in mid-air, mask flying, dirt dropping from his cleats and Valido’s face sliding home in a cloud of dust. Okay, it's not exactly a cloud of dust but you get the idea, it would have been much better.
Shortly after each photo was taken both Guzman and Montz were removed from the game by manager John Stearns for displaying “suspicious effort”.
According to The Patriot News “Senators manager John Stearns yanked two veterans from the starting lineup for showing suspicious effort on the field and probably would have pulled even more if he had the resources to replace them. Guzman was axed after he managed just a single on a ball off the wall in the third inning, a hit that scored Ofilio Castro from first. And C Luke Montz was erased after casually throwing the ball back to RHP Zack Segovia as Baysox baserunners Daniel Figueroa and Dave Krynzel stole third and second base in the sixth.”
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Tuesday, May 26, 2009
A Few Game Photos....
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7 comments:
Harrisburg is so HORRIBLE and the coach is calling out his players
“That was embarrassing and totally unacceptable. Play like that does not go unnoticed. For some reason this club sometimes plays ball like it's Rookie League. We've had way too many meetings, and when you have this many meetings, you'll have a record like we've got. These are things we shouldn't have to address at this level, but we'll address it like they're first-year players." -- Stearns.
http://blog.pennlive.com/patriotnewssports/2009/05/lackadaisical_senators_bounced.html#more
That is the same link I posted in the article. From what Penn Live reported it sounds as though Stearns in not happy.
This is a good group of players with a lot of talent but it's just not amounting to wins. It seems pretty safe to say that frustration has set in for all involved (players, coaches and fans). There is still hope that things could turn around.
It's never a good thing when media is starting to call them the "worst Double A team maybe in the history of baseball." According to an article published by Ken Rosenthal with Fox Sports:
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/9589536/Blue-Jays'-home-grown-strategy-pays-off
The main purpose of AA baseball is to DEVELOP players for its major league affiliation. DEVELOPMENT is more important than winning! A WIN is the icing on the cake!!
Jane
Jane,
Have to agree with you, the minor leagues in general are about developing players. The problem is Harrisburg/Nationals are having issues developing players at the AA level right now. The line up in Harrisburg has a lot of talent but is having problems executing baseball fundamentals.
I was in the first base 'cubby' for most of Sunday's game. Honestly I can't remember either Jones or Segovia attempting a pick off. When Montz was pulled for casually throwing the ball back to Segovia I was surprised. The double-steal was Segovia's fault. Montz didn't have a chance of throwing out either runner. He could have made a better effort at throwing the ball back.
As for Guzman, he doesn't run very well to begin with but I was surprised to see him not even attempt to take second.
The Nationals are having developmental problems at ALL levels, including the majors!
Jane
You are correct. The Nationals organization is having issues developing players despite having talent in the system. This is evident as the Nationals minor league teams have a combined record of 76-90, but Harrisburg is the only team with fewer than 20 wins (Sens only have 11). Potomac is the only team with a winning record 25-17.
So we agree that players are supposed to develop in the minors and that the Nationals are having development issues. Does failure to get the players to execute fundamentals ultimately fall on the coaching staff and the Nationals player development/roving instructors? The coach is responsible for getting the most out of each player. The players accept responsibility for poor execution as well.
I think most would agree that the Expos had a great run in developing players for the better part of the 90's; they just had problems keeping players once they reached the MLB level. During that time the Senators had winning teams. Part of player development is instilling a winning mentality.
Good player development/coaching and proper execution of fundamentals ultimately equals winning baseball games.
It's not all Stearn's fault. He is a good guy and a decent coach. It's just difficult to look at all of the talent on the Senators and wonder why they have issues executing fundamentals and why they're not winning more games.
Good comments, Will, but I stay with my previous comment...developing is more important than winning in the minors!
I will NOT blame anyone for the losses in Harrisburg...the wins will come!!
Jane
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