GatewayRedbirds.com

Excellent. I'll be able to get a firsthand view of the kid.

article mentioned they want him to adjust to springfield living before having to play.

They seem to have the "kiddy" gloves on for him. I know nothing of his personality, or his background but every spot they put him in they talk about the importance of him adjusting to "living" and "lifestyle." Though I don't pay that much attention to all prospects but I don't seem to remember them talking about that with other players from other countries. Makes me wonder about his mental makeup, or if they are just see a star and are going out of their way to make sure there are no mishaps.

They usually don't talk about it much, but rest assured that there are all kinds of harsh adjustments going on behind the scenes. You are giving a 19 year old kid a job in a foreign country that doesn't speak his language. I'm sure some adjust better and more easily than others, like anything else. The movie "Sugar" depicted this issue pretty well, IMO (even if they completely depicted QC incorrectly in the movie, for Hollywood purposes).

Last year was Jonathan Rodriguez's 2nd season in QC, and I know he took several of the spanish speaking new kids under his wing. I'm not sure who is filling that role in QC this year. It's tough. There used to be a booster club that would also help out with showing these kids around town and helping them out with anything they needed. The head guy died unexectedly a couple years ago and we've had some turnover in the front office, so it hasn't gotten going again. I wish it would, but it is a big time commitment. I'm part of the booster club for the minor league hockey team in town, but that is way easier. Those kids speak my language, and only play 2-3 games per week, and are usually "home" in between games. So they have a lot more time to get acquainted with people and the area. Baseball is a lot tougher IMO because these kids play every day, don't speak the language, and are on a bus out of town half the season.

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He's only been in the US for a couple years now and is only 20. I've heard of other teams being focused on getting young latin players adjusted to living in the US. It's a pretty huge cultural change to go with the major life change of becoming a professional athlete.

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Springfield News-Leader said he's only in Springfield to rehab. Take it FWIW.

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Freese Game 6 Home Run
Relive the 2011 World Series

This was his third appearance. Just went 3 innings two times before. Looks like they are easing him into the rotation.

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While he's only thrown 11 innings in AA, only walking 1 over that span is pretty impressive.

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Martinez's line from Sunday:
6IP, 4H, 1ER, 2BB, 3K

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phins...what's your impression so far? I guess I had overlooked him getting bumped to AA. I saw the start last Tuesday. Live arm for sure, but he seemed to be Miller-esque in terms of just relying on his fastball a lot. He would top out at 98 here and there, but sat 95-96 with the fastball, at least according to the fast gun at Springfield.

Arkansas hit him and hit him hard. I think he gave up 3 or 4 ER through five innings. But even the outs were either very hard hit or K's.

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