Wednesday Bantering: Bits on Pompey, Leadership and more

You would think there would be more news, I mean baseball players are running around and swinging bats and throwing pitches and all. One would think bits of information would sneak out.

We have heard that Dalton Pompey is going to be playing a lot in the first few games of spring, to ‘showcase’ for a possible trade.

I’m not all that thrilled, I think he should play a lot to show he should get the fourth outfielder job. Keeping him on the 40-man roster just to try to trade him doesn’t seem a good use of the roster. They could have had an extra spot to keep Jordan Romano. Will they be able to do better in a trade? I guess we will see.

Pompey really could be a very nice 4th outfielder, he can play all three spots, he has speed, can pinch run and steal a base (or at least keep the pitcher’s attention), has a bit of power. I know he seems to have the injury gene but I think it would be worth it to try him.

I always get the feeling there is more to the story than we know.

Want a first look at Elvis Luciano? Ok.

John Lott has a story in the Athletic (yeah you need a subscription) talking to John Axford, Kevin Pillar, Kendrys Morales and Lourdes Gurriel about ‘veteran leadership’. Axford told a story:

“Trevor Hoffman calls me over and sits me down and we talk about my warmup routine and how I actually prepared to go into the game,” said Axford, who’s auditioning for a job in the Blue Jays bullpen. “I may have thrown 25 pitches in the ‘pen or something like that. And I remember he asked me, ‘How long does it take you to get ready? Like, how many pitches do you need to feel good?’ I said 12 or 15. He said, ‘Do that then. You don’t need to throw those 10 extra. You have eight more when you go out there on the mound.”

I think that’s a great story and all, but why wouldn’t a pitching coach have said this at some point. Why wouldn’t this be standard information to tell relievers on their way up the ladder?

But there are more stories, Gurriel tells how great Morales has been to him. And Axford talks about how Hoffman would organize group dinners for the relievers so they could discuss their craft.

I’m always curious about the value of leadership. I don’t doubt there is a value. I do disagree with the idea of giving up a roster spot to a player whose only value is leadership. Kevin Millar is a fairly recent example. And I think the coaches should be able to give some of this leadership. Charlie Montoyo has been around the game for a long time. So have many of his coaches. I get that Stroman was speaking up for friends and old teammates (and I have nothing against him speaking his mind), but maybe it is time that he took on a leadership role.

Nice Freddy.

I’m going to become a Dee Gordon fan. Dee

So there is a charity to help out minor league baseball players.

This is hard to believe. Forbes has a story on it. I’m trying to decide if it is satire or not. Mostly because of this line:

As little as $10 can properly feed a minor leaguer for a night, and More Than Baseball encourages fans and well-wishers to give just one time or on a regular basis.

Manfred complains about negative baseball stories? FIX THIS. Don’t whine that people are pointing out obvious problems with the game. Fix the easy stuff.

Stuff like this hurts my baseball fandom.