A Prince of a Man

Here it is, this is the blog that I promised. . .

I have told you previously that one of the best things about my job is the people I get to meet. This past season, I had the extreme honor of meeting and visiting with former Negro League player Prince Joe Henry. The Grizzlies did a salute to the Negro Leagues Night on August 3rd against the Chillicothe Paints. Hopefully people know the story of Prince Joe, but probably not everyone.

Joe is a Brooklyn, IL native who played roughly four full (parts of eight) seasons in the Negro Leagues, beginning with the Memphis Red Sox in 1950. Injuries forced him to leave the game in 1952, but he resurfaced with the Indianapolis Clowns in 1955. His nickname comes from some of things he did while "playing" with the Clowns, like turning his back to the pitcher before spinning around when the pitch came. When he hit a home run he would slap the catcher's hand, slap the umpire's hand, even have a conversation with a fan before circling the bases. He once came to the plate in the middle of the summer in a full tuxedo, tails and all. He was Clown Prince Joe Henry. Or Prince Joe. When it was decided in the early 2000's that Negro Leaguers would get a pension from MLB, Joe applied, only to be denied, numerous times, for various reasons. I won't get into the full story, though I will include some links to a couple of really nice stories regarding that issue.

The reason I wanted to write is because of what Prince Joe did for me. He transported me to a time I can only now read about. We talked for two half innings (one of them a long inning) on that humid, hazy August night, and it wasn't enough. I usually keep guests for a single half inning, yet I could have spent hours visiting with Joe about the things he saw, the players he played with, and what he called a better education than you could get at any college in America.

He told me the Grizzlies brought him back to a game he loved, and a game that he thought he was through with, yet I think anyone that had a chance to visit with Joe felt the same about him. Joe reminded all of us what the game is meant to be and why we work in this wonderful game. He was eloquent and nostalgic and just a true joy to visit with. Of all the interviews I have had the chance to conduct, this was my favorite. Hands down.

Price Joe still lives in Brooklyn, IL. He suffers from rheumatoid arthritis and, I believe, he is confined to a wheel chair. Don't let that fool you, he is as sharp as I assume he ever was. He writes a column for a weekly newspaper, the Riverfront Times. It is called Ask a Negro Leaguer. Fans write in with questions and he answers. I haven't seen the column for a couple of weeks and I hope they haven't discontinued it.

I think there are plans to repeat our salute to the Negro Leagues next season with the Grizzlies. I am sure, if at all possible, Prince Joe will be part of our night. If you're a baseball fan and in the area, or you're a Grizz fan and you missed the first night, don't miss it again. It will be well worth it. Trust me.

Below are some of the articles I mentioned, as well as a link to our audio page, which I included part of that interview-where he talks about his situation. It is mostly the second half-inning we spent together, simply because it was shorter.

http://riverfronttimes.com/2004-11-17/news/prince-joe-s-lament/

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1999290

http://www.gatewaygrizzlies.com/team/archive/

More to come

So I've changed the layout/color scheme. Let me know if you like, or not. . .
If you don't know, I have had A TON going on since the season closed. I apologize for not getting more up here. I have a blog planned that I have been wanting to do for a while. I'll get that up soon. I swear!

Above is part of what has kept me so busy recently. That is Katherine Marie (Katie) Pott. She was born on the 13th. She is our second daughter. She joins big sister Madeline (2) at home in St. Louis. Katie, and wife Emily are doing fine.

As I said more to come, so stay tuned. . .

Saturday

Just back from Washington. . .

I was wrong. Not about the guys being optimisitc, or about spirits being up, just that the Grizz would still be playing. I certainly didn't think the umpires would play such a prominent role. Not making excuses, just saying way too much influence on a game that should have been decided by the players on the field.

I'll write some more about the season in a day or so. For now thanks to everyone who listened on a nightly basis, and for those that sent e-mails from all over! I certainly appreciated it. I hope I accurately conveyed the games, and emotions/feelings that go along with them! I had a great year. This was a talented and dedicated group of players/coaches!

Friday night pre-game

Backs against the wall. . .or something like that. Use whatever cliche you care to, the Grizzlies need to win, or their tremendous 2007 season will come to a disappointing end. I have a good feeling about tonight. I didn't say the series. . .I said tonight. The guys are in great spirits and nobody seems ready to be finished. Hollenbeck has pitched well against the Grizzlies this year-14 innings, 15 strikeouts. But, they beat Hollenbeck once this year (with Toro on the mound and in this park!) and the other time the Grizzlies faced him-they won the game though Hollenbeck didn't get the loss. Plus remember Albert Ayala with the Rascals? He shut the Grizzlies down twice. The third time, he lasted 1.1 innings the third time he faced this team.

The playoffs are weird, in any sport, often it is a team that does something they haven't done all year and they win because of it. Sometimes a team that isn't supposed to win does. (See '06 Cardinals or '03 Grizzlies) Only time will tell what this team can do. These guys aren't thinking about anything but tonight.

I'm optimisitc. I think everyone is. I'll write again post-game.

Not time to panic

It was a rough series in Chillicothe, there's no two ways about it. Runs were hard to come by, unless someone was going deep. Tough way to start with the blown lead in the ninth on Friday, probably set the tone. The thing to remember is this team is still 10 1/2 games up in the division and one of the better relievers is on the injured list, but could come off by the start of the next roadtrip. That will be a huge help.

Big home stand, a chance to put more distance between the club and the rest of the divison, and a chance to get some revenge on the ol' Paints.

Should be a fun home stand. The one-millionth fan could be as early as tomorrow night. Quite an accomplishment. Happy to say I was part of it from the start.

Hopefully see you at the ballpark. If not, tune in on 1490 or gatewaygrizzlies.com. Drop me a line or two if you're tuning in!

On the road. . .

The road trip continues in Chillicothe. Always a great place to see a game. Evidently I'll be broadcasting from the stands. Can't say that I have done too much of that. Anyway, here are some notes I've done heading into the Chillicothe series this weekend. Tune in in 1490, or online, and keep sending me the e-mails!

The Grizzlies. . .
Are coming off a series win at Florence. The Grizzlies won the first and last game of the series. The Freedom took the middle game. The Grizzlies are now 6-6 since the All-Star break. They lead Windy City by 1/2 game for the best record in the Frontier League. They lead the West Division by 13 1/2 games over the Southern Illinois Miners. Their team batting average of .275 is fourth best in the Frontier League. Their team ERA of 3.93 is the lowest in the league. The Grizzlie won their 40th game on Sunday July 22. This is the fastest the Grizzlies have ever reached 40 wins in a season. The previous best was 2004 when they won their 40th game on August 2nd.

The Grizzlies are. . .
42-16 overall
24-8 at home
16-7 on the road
26-6 vs. the West
14-9 vs. the Central
2-1 vs. the East

Series stuff. . .
This is the first meeting between the two teams this season. Last season the Grizzlies were 3-8 against the Paints, and just 2-6 at V.A. Memorial Stadium. The Paints swept a five-game series in Chillicothe in August where they outscored the Grizzlies 25-4. The Grizzlies are just 11-22 all-time against the Paints. They are 7-11 at V.A. Memorial Stadium.

Last time out. . .
Chris Gibson's two-out RBI single in the ninth inning Thursday night lifted the Gateway Grizzlies to a 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Florence Freedom at Champion Window Field in Florence, Ky. The at-bat was Gibson's first of the night, after entering the game an inning earlier as a pinch runner. The ninth inning was kept alive on a two-out error by former Grizzlie Jesse Acosta. The Grizzlies trailed 3-2 in the fifth when Stephen Holdren connected on his 17th home run of the year to right center. The blast tied the game at three. The Grizzlies took an early lead, getting a run in the second inning. Holdren tripled off the right field wall with two outs. Josh Dietz followed with a base hit to make it 1-0 Grizzlies. The Freedom evened the score with a run in the bottom of the inning. Holdren walked with the bases loaded in the third to put the Grizzlies up 2-1. Holdren finished the night 3-4 with two RBIs. Dietz was 3-4 with an RBI. Brandon Kellbach (6-0) earned win in relief. He tossed the eighth, allowing one hit and striking out one. Eric Ridener gave up a hit and struck out one for the save. The save, his 17th of the season, ties a Grizzlies single season record set last season by Todd Pennington. Erik Dessau started for the Grizzlies. He went seven innings, allowing three runs, one earned, on 10 hits. He struck out five.

On the hill. . .
Friday: RHP Jason Herman (2-1, 3.13)-Began the year in Winnipeg (Northern League) where he was 0-1 with an 8.31 ERA.
-Tossed a season-high eight innings July 22 vs. Evansville.
-Is 1-0 with a 1.17 on the road.
-Is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA as a starter.

Saturday: RHP Jeremy Dow (1-0, 5.59)-Made nine relief appearances before his first start.
-Is 1-0 with a 2.16 ERA as a starter.
-Is 0-0 with an 8.41 ERA in 10 relief appearances.
-Allowed a season-high 11 runs in 1.2 innings in relief vs. Windy City July 13.

Sunday: RHP Nathan Roush (4-3, 4.91)
-Placed on injured reserve at the end of June for shoulder discomfort.
-Tuesday was his first start since June 28, went seven innings in a win at Florence.
-Longest outing of the year was June 28-eight innings.
-All seven decisions have come in seven road starts this season, where he has a 3.20 ERA.
-Struck out career-best nine in complete game 5/28 at River City (Game 2 of DH)

Going deep. . .
The Grizzlies homered four times in the previous series at Florence. They have now hit a league-high 85 home runs this season. 58 of those homers have come at home. They are on pace to hit 139 home runs this season. The league record is 124, set by Florence in 2005. The Grizzlies record is 114 set in 2004.

Don’t walk. . .
Grizzlies pitchers have allowed a league-low 177 walks for the season.

Comeback kids. . .
25 of the Grizzlies’ 42 wins have come after the team was trailing at some point in the game. Five times this year the Grizzlies have won when trailing after eight innings. The Grizzlies have 11 wins, including last night, in their final at-bat this season. Both totals are tops in the FL.

Taking attendance. . .
The Grizzlies have now drawn 124,410 fans for the season through 32 games. Their average of 3,888 places them third in the league. The Grizzlies are over 100,000 fans for the fifth consecutive season. They were the second team this year to break the 100,000 mark. The Grizzlies will welcome their one-millionth regular season fan during the next home stand. To date, the Grizzlies have now drawn 991,171 fans for their history.

Holding down the fort. . .
Stephen Holdren enters the series among the league leaders in quite a few categories. . .
Hitting (10th-.330), home runs (2nd-17), RBIs (Tied 4th-47), triples (Tied 1st-7), on-base pct. (3rd-.435), slugging pct. (1st-.684), extra-base hits (Tied 1st-32). His seven triples are a new single-season franchise record for the Grizzlies.

“Mike”d up. . .
Mike Breyman now has 314 hits for his Grizzlies’ career, making him the club’s all-time leader. He has 48 home runs for his career, making him the all-time leader in that category. He also has 196 RBIs for his career to lead all-time. Breyman began the year within striking distance of 12 Grizzlies’ career offensive records, most of which held by Phil Warren. He has already broken or tied nine of those records. He is also the all-time leader doubles, extra base hits, runs scored, and walks. He is tied with Warren with three career grand slams. He hit his third earlier this year. Breyman has reached base safely in every road game he has played in. His 25 game road on-base streak is the best in the league.

Riding the wave. . .
Eric Ridener has continued the Grizzlies tradition of dominant closers. The former Pirates farmhand saved his 17th game last night, tying the Grizzlies single season record set last year by Todd Pennington. His next save will also tie him with Mike Golden for the career save record. Golden had 18 in two seasons with the Grizzlies. Ridener’s 17 saves have come in 17 save opportunities. He has not allowed a run in a save situation this season.

Great Scott. . .
Former Grizzlies pitcher Scott Patterson is now pitching for the Double-A Trenton Thunder in the New York Yankees organization. He has appeared 32 times this season, including three starts, and is 3-1 with a 0.98 ERA. He also has three saves. In 55 innings he has 69 strikeouts and 12 walks.

Up Next. . .
The Grizzlies return home for a six-game home stand against Florence and Chillicothe July 30-August 4.

Baseball and the Fourth. . .

Baseball and the fourth of July really are a tradition, and since 2002 that tradition has included the Grizzlies at GCS Ballpark. It is one of my favortite nights of the year, every year. Last night was no different. There's always a big crowd and then there's the fireworks at the ballpark and then the fireworks in downtown St. Louis. No weather worries last night either. Actually there were probably some worries, but nothing ever materialized! And last night the Grizzlies even offered something rare on the fourth-a win!

This team is exciting and if you haven't see it, you should. Not just because they hit a lot of home runs and score a lot of runs, which they do both of, but because they play good baseball. They find ways to win, even when not playing their best baseball. Four wins when trailing after eight innings this year. That's rare, but that's the attitude of this team. It's fun to be around. Two more with the RiverHawks then off to Chicago for a three-game set with the Windy City ThunderBolts-the only team in the league with a better record than the Grizz! I think you'll really be able to judge this club following the All-Star break. Windy City comes to GCS for the three games right after the break too. Then we'll see where this club stands. Either way, I imagine it will be a good second half! Stay tuned. . .