Baseball in Fort Wayne

Archive for December, 2008

If you check the front office page of the Fort Wayne TinCaps website, you’ll see that there are many new names and faces. One of them is Dan Watson, who joined the team as the Radio Broadcast Manager in November.

He’s wasted little time in getting to work, having put together his own blog, The Watson Files, where he dishes on pretty much everything. He recently was kind enough to answer my 3 Strikes.

Here goes:

STRIKE 1: This is your first season In Fort Wayne. Tell us a little about yourself and your experiences in professional baseball so far.

Well, I’m 24 years old, originally from northeast Ohio in a small town called Conneaut. I went to school at Otterbein College near Columbus, OH. During college I was the sports director of the campus radio station, the lead broadcaster for a wood-bat summer collegiate league team (the Delaware Cows) and a news/sports reporter/anchor for a commercial radio station in Columbus. This will be my third year in professional baseball; in 2007 I was with the Daytona Cubs of the Florida State League and last season I called games for the Harrisburg Senators in the Eastern League, alongside former Wizards broadcaster Terry Byrom.

STRIKE 2: You’ll be the lead radio announcer in the upcoming season, what might we expect from you and your crew when we listen in?

Good question… This is my first time being the lead broadcaster for a 140-game schedule, so your guess is as good as mine! Seriously, a night of baseball is fun and (usually) exciting and I hope people will be able to feel that enthusiasm when they listen to TinCaps games. I grew up listening to Tom Hamilton on Cleveland Indians broadcasts and his energy, ability to “see everything” and storytelling ability are things I try to emulate. Last year in Harrisburg, we had a player who grew up around the corner from Burl Ives and another who had his father-in-law as his field manager earlier in the year (luckily for him they were on good terms!). Not every game is going to be a nailbiter and not everybody is a die-hard baseball fan, but most people I know will stick around for a good story.

STRIKE 3: You recently started a blog, The Watson Files. How’s the fan repsonse been so far? 

I’ve gotten a few e-mails here and there, mostly people welcoming me to town. I think it takes a little while for the general public to realize it’s there and that it’s worth taking a few minutes to read. We’re looking at doing some podcasts as the season gets closer. My hope is that it gets people excited about Parkview Field and baseball in general.

Photo courtesy of the Fort Wayne Tincaps.

Former Wizard, Matt LeCroy will manage the Hagerstown Suns, a Single-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals (hat tip to the TinCaps).

Lecroy, who began his career with the Minnesota Twins and also played with the Nationals, spent eight seasons in the Majors and will be making his coaching debut. Rich Gale, Tony Tarasco and Ramon Aviles round out the team’s coaching staff.

“Playing with the Nationals, I got to know a lot of those guys, the coaching staff and the General Manager, and I loved the staff,” Lecroy said. “It was a good fit for me and I am looking forward to it.”

LeCroy was selected in the first round (50th overall) by the Minnesota Twins of the 1997 draft. While a member of the Wizards in 1998, he appeared in 64 games. He hit .276 with 9 home runs and 40 runs batted in and drawing 34 walks over 225 at-bats. LeCroy made his big league debut with the Twins in 2000 and played them until signing with Washington as a free agent prior to the 2006 season. LeCroy closed out his playing days in the Atlantic League following a brief stint with the Oakland A’s in Spring Training last year.

Photo is courtesy of the Fort Wayne TinCaps

It’s cold outside. Rally cold. And to make matters worse, the so-called Hot Stove League has been little more than agent posturing, absurd rumors and barely keeping the burner warm for Springtime longing baseball fans. At least things will be warming up in January when Chicago Cubs General Manager Jim Hendry takes the podium as the featured speaker at the Fort Wayne Sports Corporation’s (FWSC) Annual Banquet on January 29. The banquet and sports memorabilia auction take place at Ceruti’s Reception Hall starting at 6 p.m. and is open to the general public.

Fort Wayne native and current Cleveland Indians manager, Eric Wedge, will also be on there to talk about his team and the Eric Wedge Baseball Camp, which occurs on Saturday, January 24 at the ASH Centre.

Those who are interested in attending the event can RSVP for $85 per person (75 for Fort Wayne Sports Corp. members). Organizations can reserve a table of eight for $525. Proceeds go to the Special Olympics of Allen County, the World Baseball Academy that is planned for Fort Wayne, and the Fort Wayne Sports Corporation to provide Eric Wedge Baseball Camp scholarships for kids.

Contact the Fort Wayne Sports Corporation at (260) 420-1305 to make reservations. For more information, please visit EricWedgeBaseballCamp.com.

Lots of items being written about Wizards alumni lately. I’ve been sitting on a few of the links, so they may be a bit older, but are still relevant and worth the read. Feast on these:

Anthony Contreras (Former Saltdogs Still Chasing Big-League Dreams) is one of a handful of former Lincoln Saltdogs who have gone from Indy leaguer to minor league prospect.

Matt Teague (Relief on the way with Teague) discusses his transition from starting pitcher to reliever, changing his mechanics and his unexpected adventures at Triple-A.

David Freese is the subject of a solid Prospect Watch at rotoprofessor. Cardinals’ general manager John Mozeliak has also stated that Freese may see time at several positions during Spring Training; which is why they aren’t pursuing a backup at first or third during the offseason.

Kyle Blanks’ future with San Diego may be as trade material due to being sandwiched between Adrian Gonzalez and Allan Dykstra according to Marc Hulet at FanGraphs. Speaking of Blanks, he is number three on Project Prospects top five prospect risers in the San Diego System. Kellen Kulbacki, Cedric Hunter, Chase Headley and Steve Garrison are the others. Observers will also note that local native, Jarrod Parker makes the cut ont he Arizona list.

Luis Cruz, according to Black and Gold, still remains a viable option for the Pirates’ infield; especially if Jack Wilson is traded.

Jon Link’s walk rate went up a bit when he went from High-A to Double-A ball. SoxMachine has a theory.

JJ Furmaniak got his MLB cup of coffee with the Pirates and A’s then played 2008 in Japan after refusing his outright from Oakland. He’s back in the homeland. The Phillies gave him a non-roster invite to Spring Training. Speaking of Japan, Dirk Hayhurst’s latest NonProspect Diary talks about the Japan route a minor leaguer might take.

Freddy Guzman was traded by the Rangers to the Tigers for Chris Shelton in 2007. The Dalla Observer rates that trade a C and thinks Guzman still has a chance to be a qualify fourth outfielder.

Cory Doyne was granted free agency from Baltimore.

Matt Bush has added a new pitch. Changeup.

Former Wizards pitching coach, Steve Webber will serve in that role with San Antonio in 2009. JoJo Tarantino, who has worked with the Wizards the last three seasons, will be the Missions’ Athletic Trainer next season. former Wizards skipper, Randy Ready, is back for another round at Triple-A Portland after flirting with the job in Seattle during the offseason. Another former Wizards pitching coach, Wally Whitehurst will serve the role for the Pittsburgh Pirate’s High-A Lynchburg squad.

Finally, several former Wizards pop up on top prospect lists all over the web. Some of them include; Baseball Intellect [1-5] and [6-15], Padres Rundown [top 25], MadFriars’ (subscription required) Denis Savage [top 60] and John Conniff’s [top 30], Ducksnorts’ [top 10],

The Fort Wayne TinCaps have introduced a wider selection of t-shirts and sweatshirts for children and adults, including the team’s full line of New Era on-field baseball caps

“We were crossing our fingers that the order would come so fans could get their fitted caps before Christmas,” said Assistant General Manager, Brian Schackow.

Read the full story at TinCaps.com.

Join us each Saturday morning at 10:30 for Talkin’ Sports on FM100 Talks, WNUY-100.1FM.

Scheduled guest on Talkin’ Sports this week include:

• Gym Rats Basketball owner Todd Hensley.
• Mad Ants VP of Sales and Marketing Jeff Johnson.
• Turnstone Coach and Adaptive Sports Player/Coach Kevin Hughes.

We’ll also be recapping scores and highlights from high school, collegiate and professional sports in the Fort Wayne area, as well as previewing upcoming sporting events in Northeast Indiana.

Got a question, comment rant or opinion regarding local sports? Give us a call at 1-800-946-9689.

If you know of a potential local guest or topic for an upcoming Talkin’ Sports show, e-mail us at this address or talkinsports@wnuy.com.

Every Saturday we’re Talkin’ Sports on FM100 Talks! WNUY-100.1FM.

Talkin’ Sports. Local Guests. Local Topics. Local Opinion.

Taylor University will conduct a baseball skills camp on three consecutive Sundays (January 25, February 1, February at the Kesler Student Activities Center on Taylor’s campus in Upland.  Offerings include sessions on hitting, pitching, and catching. 

Instructors are Taylor head coach Kyle Gould, his staff and players.  Each participant will receive a Taylor Baseball Camp T-shirt. 

For camp registration, contact Coach Gould at (765) 998-4635 or kygould@taylor.edu.  Visit www.taylor.edu/athletics/baseball for more detailed info.

I’m going to break from the normal thing I do here at Baseball in Fort Wayne and introduce you to a company called Vintage Blue. This vintage-inspired women’s sportswear clothing company is unique because it brings fresh designs that are rooted in timeless traditions while using eco-friendly materials on an enterprise-wide scale. That means we’re not just talking about fabrics, but the catalogues, tags and everything else.

So where’s the Fort Wayne connection you ask? Well, I’m glad you did!

Vintage Blue also holds an exclusive license to the All American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). That means Fort Wayne Daisies. I’ve posted a picture of one of the Daisies oriented tee-shirts here, but I encourage you to visit the website to view more styles, check out their blog, and peruse the Vintage Blue Magazine. VB is also on MySpace, so friend them.

Now, if that isn’t enough to get you there, as a loyal Baseball in Fort Wayne visitor, you are entitled to a discount!

That’s right, use the promo code holiday1 with your on-line order and you’ll receive a 20% discount. Plus, Vintage Blue will donate 5% of their sales to Kiva.org.

Dan Watson, radio voice of the Fort Wayne TinCaps, has launched a blog at the TinCaps website. In his first two posts at The Watson Files, he introduces himself and talks about his background in addition to pointing out some facts about Fort Wayne baseball history. He also provides a YouTube video for Loverboy’s “Working for the Weekend” video. You know you love it

Baltimore Sun blogger/Journalist Peter Schmuck is reporting that the Baltimore Orioles will bring former Wizards catcher, Chad Moeller to Spring Training camp:

…we’re hearing that one of the catchers the Orioles will bring to camp this spring is 33-year-old journeyman Chad Moeller, who appeared in 41 games for the Yankees last season. According to a club source, he has agreed to terms on a minor league contract.

Orioles president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said at the winter meetings that he’s looking for a couple of veteran catchers to add to the list of catching prospects that will be in major league camp.

Moeller was a Wizard during the team’s days as a Minnesota Twins affiliate. Personally, I thought Moeller would have been a good fit as the veteran backstop the Padres are rumored to be seeking as a mentor to the up and coming former Wizards Nick Hundley and Luke Carlin.

Speaking of Hundley, MadFriars recently posted an interview with the catcher (subscription required).

Related BBIFW Chad Moeller posts:

• September Callups Feature Former Wizards
• Could Moeller be on the Move?
• Yanks’ Backstop Injuries Could Bring Moeller Call-up