Lots of former Silver Hawks are mentioned in the latest blog post by Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic. Click the link to read it for yourself, or read my very short summary below.
Wade Miley is impressing, Justin Upton is a competitor, Clay Zavada is happy, Miguel Montero is vocal, Barry Enright is good, Yonata Ortega is wild, Tyler Skaggs is nasty.
Yeah, that summary doesn't do it justice. Just visit the link already.
Showing posts with label Clay Zavada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Clay Zavada. Show all posts
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Clay Zavada's Comeback Trail
Steve Gilbert from mlb.com has an article about Clay Zavada and his ups and downs over the past few years. It's a good read about the lefty who revived his career right here in South Bend with the Silver Hawks.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Digging Out from the Snow
For those of you not in this area, consider yourself blessed. South Bend and the surrounding communities got blasted with roughly two feet of snow over the weekend. Below are a couple of pictures of the stadium taken today (the construction crews took a day off from their work it appears. I can't blame them...they can barely find their equipment).
I don't have a whole lot else for you today. However, if you want to read about former Silver Hawk Clay Zavada returning to the Diamondbacks, may I recommend Nick Piecoro's latest blog entry at the Arizona Republic.
I don't have a whole lot else for you today. However, if you want to read about former Silver Hawk Clay Zavada returning to the Diamondbacks, may I recommend Nick Piecoro's latest blog entry at the Arizona Republic.
Monday, May 24, 2010
'08 Silver Hawks Pitcher has Tommy John
I'm a few days behind on this, but Clay Zavada had Tommy John surgery last week, ending his season. Zavada pitched for the Silver Hawks in 2008.
You can read more information on Nick Piecoro's Blog at the Arizona Republic.
This is my third post of the day, so scroll down to read them all. I'll be back with lineups in less than an hour hopefully.
You can read more information on Nick Piecoro's Blog at the Arizona Republic.
This is my third post of the day, so scroll down to read them all. I'll be back with lineups in less than an hour hopefully.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Former Hawks Battling for Final Roster Spot?
According to Steve Gilbert they are.
He has some more at the link, but here's the interesting excerpt:
SPEAKING OF NORBERTO: It looks like it could come down to he and Clay Zavada for a spot in the bullpen and Zavada did not help his case by walking the first batter he faced -- to force in a run -- Wednesday.
He has some more at the link, but here's the interesting excerpt:
SPEAKING OF NORBERTO: It looks like it could come down to he and Clay Zavada for a spot in the bullpen and Zavada did not help his case by walking the first batter he faced -- to force in a run -- Wednesday.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Pete's Report -- Day One
Unfortunately, I was not able to go to spring training this year. However, loyal blog reader and Silver Hawks official scorer Pete Yarbro made the trip to the desert, and I've asked him to send reports that I can put on the blog. I told Pete that he could write about the games, the players, or anything he wanted. As you will read, he clearly took me up on the "anything you wanted" part of the deal. Enjoy!
"My alarm went off at 3:30 Sunday morning. Actually, two of my alarms went off. Unfortunately, I set four. The first thing I need to do when I get back to South Bend is buy a new alarm clock. And remember that when I set the alarm on my cell phone I need to switch it from vibrate mode. That's why you set four alarms. With that hurdle behind me, it was off to the airport.
My first leg was from South Bend to Chicago. The flight is only 48 minutes, so accounting for the time change, we landed before we took off. Flights like that always remind me of Bob Costas' story about ABA player Marvin "Bad News" Barnes who refused to board a similar flight from Louisville to St. Louis, protesting, "I ain't getting on no time machine!"
Every one of my flights was on time. So, with a couple of naps along the way, I got into Tuscon about the time today's game started. Off the plane, through baggage claim, past the rental car counter and straight to Tucson Electric Park, spring training home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. I'll worry about checking into the hotel later. There's nothing quite like a day when you can wake up in northern Indiana, facing a 36 degree temperature, and by the middle of the afternoon be soaking in the Arizona sun, enjoying 75 degrees and sunny --- watching the Diamondbacks play baseball against the San Francisco Giants.
The game was already in the third inning by the time I got to the park, but the crowd was still filtering in. With a total attendance of 10,601, today's game is close to a sellout. When I came into the park there were still lawn seats available, but that's about all. I just hope I can find my rental car after the game. Somewhere on the other side of ten thousand people there's a silver Toyota Carolla. I may give the crowd a headstart before I go looking for it.
It's a beautiful view from my seat in the pressbox. Right in front of me is a patch of the greenest grass I've seen since last summer --- not to mention the baseball game being played. Past the left field wall is Mt. Lemmon and the Santa Catalina Mountains. If all that gets boring, today there's an airshow at Davis Monthan Air Force Base here in Tucson. So there are A-10 Thunderbolts and F-16 Falcons twisting through the air over the right field wall. On top of all that the smells drifting up from the barbeque stand under the pressbox are making me really hungry.
Late in the game, former Notre Dame pitcher Aaron Heilman and former Silver Hawk Clay Zavada both made appearances. Heilman pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit. Zavada followed that with a one-two-three inning, punctuated by an impressive strike-out. My binoculars are still packed in my luggage, but Zavada appears to be sporting an impressive mustache. The Giants beat the D'Backs 4-3.
In the morning I'll be checking in over at the minor league camp before coming back over to TEP for the game against the Padres. In the meantime, I'm headed over to the Mexican take-out around the corner from the stadium to pick up dinner. I'm leaning toward a chili relleno. Then back to the hotel to check in and have a couple of margaritas before what I expect will be an early bedtime. But not before I buy some sun screen.
I just hope I get to sleep a little later tomorrow."
Thanks for the update Pete!
"My alarm went off at 3:30 Sunday morning. Actually, two of my alarms went off. Unfortunately, I set four. The first thing I need to do when I get back to South Bend is buy a new alarm clock. And remember that when I set the alarm on my cell phone I need to switch it from vibrate mode. That's why you set four alarms. With that hurdle behind me, it was off to the airport.
My first leg was from South Bend to Chicago. The flight is only 48 minutes, so accounting for the time change, we landed before we took off. Flights like that always remind me of Bob Costas' story about ABA player Marvin "Bad News" Barnes who refused to board a similar flight from Louisville to St. Louis, protesting, "I ain't getting on no time machine!"
Every one of my flights was on time. So, with a couple of naps along the way, I got into Tuscon about the time today's game started. Off the plane, through baggage claim, past the rental car counter and straight to Tucson Electric Park, spring training home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. I'll worry about checking into the hotel later. There's nothing quite like a day when you can wake up in northern Indiana, facing a 36 degree temperature, and by the middle of the afternoon be soaking in the Arizona sun, enjoying 75 degrees and sunny --- watching the Diamondbacks play baseball against the San Francisco Giants.
The game was already in the third inning by the time I got to the park, but the crowd was still filtering in. With a total attendance of 10,601, today's game is close to a sellout. When I came into the park there were still lawn seats available, but that's about all. I just hope I can find my rental car after the game. Somewhere on the other side of ten thousand people there's a silver Toyota Carolla. I may give the crowd a headstart before I go looking for it.
It's a beautiful view from my seat in the pressbox. Right in front of me is a patch of the greenest grass I've seen since last summer --- not to mention the baseball game being played. Past the left field wall is Mt. Lemmon and the Santa Catalina Mountains. If all that gets boring, today there's an airshow at Davis Monthan Air Force Base here in Tucson. So there are A-10 Thunderbolts and F-16 Falcons twisting through the air over the right field wall. On top of all that the smells drifting up from the barbeque stand under the pressbox are making me really hungry.
Late in the game, former Notre Dame pitcher Aaron Heilman and former Silver Hawk Clay Zavada both made appearances. Heilman pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit. Zavada followed that with a one-two-three inning, punctuated by an impressive strike-out. My binoculars are still packed in my luggage, but Zavada appears to be sporting an impressive mustache. The Giants beat the D'Backs 4-3.
In the morning I'll be checking in over at the minor league camp before coming back over to TEP for the game against the Padres. In the meantime, I'm headed over to the Mexican take-out around the corner from the stadium to pick up dinner. I'm leaning toward a chili relleno. Then back to the hotel to check in and have a couple of margaritas before what I expect will be an early bedtime. But not before I buy some sun screen.
I just hope I get to sleep a little later tomorrow."
Thanks for the update Pete!
Friday, March 19, 2010
701 and Counting
As I went to post this entry, I noticed that I had previously posted 700 blog entries. I started this blog on March 14th, 2009, and have posted 700 times in 370 days. This is entry number 701. So if you've been reading this blog since the start, imagine how much useless information you've read about in the last year.
A few tidbits for you today:
-Mark Reynolds has signed a contract extension with the Diamondbacks. He's a former Silver Hawks infielder, a great power hitter, but really needs to cut down on the strikeouts.
-This post by Nick Piecoro talks about Jordan Norberto battling Clay Zavada for a bullpen spot, and about Eric Smith looking good in a minor league game (Smith pitched for the Silver Hawks at the end of 2009).
-Mark Haley has another blog entry up, and they actually played a game yesterday. Click here for the report, including a potential Silver Hawks player getting injured.
A few tidbits for you today:
-Mark Reynolds has signed a contract extension with the Diamondbacks. He's a former Silver Hawks infielder, a great power hitter, but really needs to cut down on the strikeouts.
-This post by Nick Piecoro talks about Jordan Norberto battling Clay Zavada for a bullpen spot, and about Eric Smith looking good in a minor league game (Smith pitched for the Silver Hawks at the end of 2009).
-Mark Haley has another blog entry up, and they actually played a game yesterday. Click here for the report, including a potential Silver Hawks player getting injured.
Friday, February 26, 2010
On Zavada's Intensity
Steve Gilbert of MLB.com has a blog post about Thursday's workouts for the Diamondbacks, and again, I encourage you to just bookmark his blog and visit it frequently: http://taoofsteve.mlblogs.com/
However, when I see something on there that strikes me, I'll bring it over here for you to read as well.
The note that struck me today was about Clay Zavada:
"Clay Zavada threw some good curveballs during his batting practice session. His intensity during the session drew laughs from his teammates. Whether it's batting practice or not, Zavada treats every time on the mound like it's Game 7 of the World Series."
I was working with Dayton at the time Zavada was in South Bend, but I always thought he was very intense and intimidating on the mound. Looks like he still has it, even in February!
However, when I see something on there that strikes me, I'll bring it over here for you to read as well.
The note that struck me today was about Clay Zavada:
"Clay Zavada threw some good curveballs during his batting practice session. His intensity during the session drew laughs from his teammates. Whether it's batting practice or not, Zavada treats every time on the mound like it's Game 7 of the World Series."
I was working with Dayton at the time Zavada was in South Bend, but I always thought he was very intense and intimidating on the mound. Looks like he still has it, even in February!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Q and A with Nick Piecoro (Part One)
Nick Piecoro is the Diamondbacks beat writer for the Arizona Republic. I frequently link you to his blog. A little bit ago, I sent him some questions about the Diamondbacks, and also about the Minor League system. Since these are somewhat lengthy, I decided to break it into two parts.
Today's focus is on the Diamondbacks, and tomorrow, we'll focus on the minors.
And away we go....
1) Can the Diamondbacks turn it around in one season and compete for a playoff spot next season? Or are they looking at a multi-year rebuilding process?
Nick Piecoro: Can they? Sure. Will they? We’ll see. You can say what you want about the moves they made this off-season, but nothing approaches the importance of having a healthy Brandon Webb. Before 2009, he had been among the top two or three best pitchers in baseball for three years running. There’s no understating the importance of having a pitcher of that caliber make 33-34 starts for a team. If he’s close to the Webb of old, they probably contend.
Edwin Jackson is probably an upgrade over Max Scherzer in the rotation. A healthy Conor Jackson (and his .370ish on-base percentage) will be a huge lift. And if guys like Stephen Drew and Chris Young and the recently acquired Kelly Johnson can have some form of bounceback seasons, they’re going to be much improved offensively.
That’s a lot of ifs, but if some of them come in – most importantly Webb, of course – then, yeah, they can contend.
2) Did you see a lot of growth in A.J. Hinch as a manager throughout the season? Is he the right guy for the job?
NP: I think Hinch’s comfort level increased with every game. It seemed like he was able to develop a better relationship with his players as the year went on and after an off-season in which he put a lot of energy into building relationships, things should be even stronger there. Is he the right guy for the job? Again, we’ll see. He’s certainly more on the same page with General Manager Josh Byrnes than the previous manager, Bob Melvin. It’s pretty hard to judge Hinch based on the club he was running out there last season, but if everyone’s healthy we should get a better understanding of his capabilities.
3) I was greatly impressed with Gerardo Parra when he played for South Bend in 2007. What were your overall impressions of Parra this season? Are we looking at a future MVP? A future All-Star? Or just a solid player that fills out a roster?
NP: My guess is he’s closer to just a solid player who fills out a roster, but there are people in the organization who feel otherwise. I’m going to need to see Parra hit left-handed pitching better, something he was never able to do even in the minor leagues, before I’m willing to call him anything more than a nice fourth outfielder/platoon partner type. I will say this: He plays a very good left field and has an excellent arm and I like the skills he brings -- like hitting for average and putting the ball in play – particularly in how it compares to his teammates. He’s a nice fit for the roster.
4) How important was it for the young pitchers (Zavada, Gutierrez, Vasquez, Augenstein) to get big league experience this year?
NP: Pretty important. We’ll see what kind of roles those guys end up with this season, but it’s good for the organization – and for the pitchers themselves – to know they can get big league hitters out. It’s not out of the question for any of those guys above not named Gutierrez to start the season in the minor leagues. The additions of Bob Howry and Aaron Heilman give the Diamondbacks better depth than they enjoyed last season. But it wouldn’t surprise me if Gutierrez ends up being the most important pitcher in the bullpen in 2010.
Again, we'll have part two for you tomorrow with the focus more on the minor leagues. My thanks to Nick for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer these questions and provide some great content for this blog.
Today's focus is on the Diamondbacks, and tomorrow, we'll focus on the minors.
And away we go....
1) Can the Diamondbacks turn it around in one season and compete for a playoff spot next season? Or are they looking at a multi-year rebuilding process?
Nick Piecoro: Can they? Sure. Will they? We’ll see. You can say what you want about the moves they made this off-season, but nothing approaches the importance of having a healthy Brandon Webb. Before 2009, he had been among the top two or three best pitchers in baseball for three years running. There’s no understating the importance of having a pitcher of that caliber make 33-34 starts for a team. If he’s close to the Webb of old, they probably contend.
Edwin Jackson is probably an upgrade over Max Scherzer in the rotation. A healthy Conor Jackson (and his .370ish on-base percentage) will be a huge lift. And if guys like Stephen Drew and Chris Young and the recently acquired Kelly Johnson can have some form of bounceback seasons, they’re going to be much improved offensively.
That’s a lot of ifs, but if some of them come in – most importantly Webb, of course – then, yeah, they can contend.
2) Did you see a lot of growth in A.J. Hinch as a manager throughout the season? Is he the right guy for the job?
NP: I think Hinch’s comfort level increased with every game. It seemed like he was able to develop a better relationship with his players as the year went on and after an off-season in which he put a lot of energy into building relationships, things should be even stronger there. Is he the right guy for the job? Again, we’ll see. He’s certainly more on the same page with General Manager Josh Byrnes than the previous manager, Bob Melvin. It’s pretty hard to judge Hinch based on the club he was running out there last season, but if everyone’s healthy we should get a better understanding of his capabilities.
3) I was greatly impressed with Gerardo Parra when he played for South Bend in 2007. What were your overall impressions of Parra this season? Are we looking at a future MVP? A future All-Star? Or just a solid player that fills out a roster?
NP: My guess is he’s closer to just a solid player who fills out a roster, but there are people in the organization who feel otherwise. I’m going to need to see Parra hit left-handed pitching better, something he was never able to do even in the minor leagues, before I’m willing to call him anything more than a nice fourth outfielder/platoon partner type. I will say this: He plays a very good left field and has an excellent arm and I like the skills he brings -- like hitting for average and putting the ball in play – particularly in how it compares to his teammates. He’s a nice fit for the roster.
4) How important was it for the young pitchers (Zavada, Gutierrez, Vasquez, Augenstein) to get big league experience this year?
NP: Pretty important. We’ll see what kind of roles those guys end up with this season, but it’s good for the organization – and for the pitchers themselves – to know they can get big league hitters out. It’s not out of the question for any of those guys above not named Gutierrez to start the season in the minor leagues. The additions of Bob Howry and Aaron Heilman give the Diamondbacks better depth than they enjoyed last season. But it wouldn’t surprise me if Gutierrez ends up being the most important pitcher in the bullpen in 2010.
Again, we'll have part two for you tomorrow with the focus more on the minor leagues. My thanks to Nick for taking the time out of his busy schedule to answer these questions and provide some great content for this blog.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Zavada Wins an Award
Thanks to our official scorer Pete for notifying me of the incredible accomplishments of former Silver Hawks pitcher Clay Zavada. He is officially the "Mustached American of the Year."
He won the award at something called 'Stache Bash 2009, which sounds like one heck of an event. Believe it or not, the award even has a sponsor (Thank you Quicken).
The Silver Hawks get a mention in the story at the link, although they spelled it wrong (Silver Hawks is two words, both capitalized, not one). Also, former teammate Josh Collmenter gets credit for his awesome stache as well.
Finally, Zavada beat out a number of other contestants for the award, including Sully Sullenberger, the pilot who landed the plane in the Hudson River.
He won the award at something called 'Stache Bash 2009, which sounds like one heck of an event. Believe it or not, the award even has a sponsor (Thank you Quicken).
The Silver Hawks get a mention in the story at the link, although they spelled it wrong (Silver Hawks is two words, both capitalized, not one). Also, former teammate Josh Collmenter gets credit for his awesome stache as well.
Finally, Zavada beat out a number of other contestants for the award, including Sully Sullenberger, the pilot who landed the plane in the Hudson River.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
A Bunch of Former Hawks in One Game
Obviously, the Diamondbacks have a handful of former Silver Hawks on the team, but Florida has a couple of them as well, and a lot of them performed well tonight. Here's the rundown, or click here for the box score.
-Mark Reynolds with a two run home run and 3 total RBI
-Justin Upton with a walk and a run scored
For Florida:
-Emilio Bonifacio with two hits and a run scored
-Dan Uggla with a solo home run
Always good to see the alumni doing well. Full D'Backs system report tomorrow (Friday) along with pictures from Community Field in Burlington
For Arizona:
-Clay Zavada gets the win for Arizona in his major league debut. One inning, two strikeouts, no hits, no walks. Nice work by Zavada.-Mark Reynolds with a two run home run and 3 total RBI
-Justin Upton with a walk and a run scored
For Florida:
-Emilio Bonifacio with two hits and a run scored
-Dan Uggla with a solo home run
Always good to see the alumni doing well. Full D'Backs system report tomorrow (Friday) along with pictures from Community Field in Burlington
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Some BA Love for Zavada
Want to read the interesting story about Clay Zavada's journey? Baseball America broke it down earlier this week at the following link: http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=3895
Zavada has not yet pitched for the D'Backs, but likely will at some point this weekend.
Zavada has not yet pitched for the D'Backs, but likely will at some point this weekend.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Three Former Hawks to D'Backs
South Bend, IN – The Arizona Diamondbacks have added three former Silver Hawks to their major league roster in recent days, with all three having a chance to make their debut in tonight’s game against the Cincinnati Reds.
Bryan Augenstein was a pitcher for South Bend in 2008. The right-hander was 5-0 with a 0.78 ERA in six games for double-A Mobile, and will make his major league debut in a starting role tonight against the Reds. Augenstein will be facing a former Midwest League star as Cincinnati sends former Dayton Dragons pitcher Johnny Cueto to the mound tonight. Augenstein was 5-1 with a 2.16 ERA in 13 starts with South Bend in 2008.
Also joining the Diamondbacks is left-handed reliever Clay Zavada. Zavada pitched for South Bend in 2008 as well, going 3-1 with a 0.51 ERA in 24 appearances. He allowed just two earned runs in 35.1 innings for the Silver Hawks in 2008. This season with Mobile, Zavada was 1-0 with a 2.51 ERA in nine games. He is expected to join the Diamondbacks bullpen and will be in uniform for tonight’s game.
Finally, joining the offense for Arizona is outfielder Gerardo Parra, a Silver Hawk from 2007. Parra was hitting .361 in Mobile at the time of his promotion. While with South Bend, Parra batted .320 with six home runs and 51 RBI. Parra was a Midwest League all-star in 2007 and had a career average of .319 in four minor league seasons heading into 2009.
Arizona recently fired manager Bob Melvin and named A.J. Hinch to the managerial role. Hinch was the Vice President of Player Development for the Diamondbacks, and is very familiar with each of the three players that have been recently added to his team.
The Diamondbacks will be in action tonight at 9:40 PM Eastern Time.
The Silver Hawks were rained out Wednesday, but will play a doubleheader Thursday with a special 10:30 AM start for a School Day at the Cove. For more information on the Silver Hawks or to purchase tickets, fans are invited to visit www.silverhawks.com or call the front office at (574) 235-9988.
Bryan Augenstein was a pitcher for South Bend in 2008. The right-hander was 5-0 with a 0.78 ERA in six games for double-A Mobile, and will make his major league debut in a starting role tonight against the Reds. Augenstein will be facing a former Midwest League star as Cincinnati sends former Dayton Dragons pitcher Johnny Cueto to the mound tonight. Augenstein was 5-1 with a 2.16 ERA in 13 starts with South Bend in 2008.
Also joining the Diamondbacks is left-handed reliever Clay Zavada. Zavada pitched for South Bend in 2008 as well, going 3-1 with a 0.51 ERA in 24 appearances. He allowed just two earned runs in 35.1 innings for the Silver Hawks in 2008. This season with Mobile, Zavada was 1-0 with a 2.51 ERA in nine games. He is expected to join the Diamondbacks bullpen and will be in uniform for tonight’s game.
Finally, joining the offense for Arizona is outfielder Gerardo Parra, a Silver Hawk from 2007. Parra was hitting .361 in Mobile at the time of his promotion. While with South Bend, Parra batted .320 with six home runs and 51 RBI. Parra was a Midwest League all-star in 2007 and had a career average of .319 in four minor league seasons heading into 2009.
Arizona recently fired manager Bob Melvin and named A.J. Hinch to the managerial role. Hinch was the Vice President of Player Development for the Diamondbacks, and is very familiar with each of the three players that have been recently added to his team.
The Diamondbacks will be in action tonight at 9:40 PM Eastern Time.
The Silver Hawks were rained out Wednesday, but will play a doubleheader Thursday with a special 10:30 AM start for a School Day at the Cove. For more information on the Silver Hawks or to purchase tickets, fans are invited to visit www.silverhawks.com or call the front office at (574) 235-9988.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Zavada to D'Backs
It appears as if Clay Zavada ('08 Hawks pitcher) has been promoted to the Diamondbacks. He is on their active roster. http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/team/roster_active.jsp?c_id=ari. I'll see if I can find out more and post after the game.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)