2006 Fantasy Camp Diary
Day Three Action & Sam Perlozzo Interview
Wednesday, February 1
by Meg Goldsmith for Kerry
Today the campers only played one game, getting the afternoon off as a rest period from all the action they've been involved in so far. Following the game, they had a Q&A session with Sam Perlozzo.
Prior to their game, Etch pulled the team aside before they took batting practice and chewed them out a bit. He told them, "We're probably not as good as we looked in the first game, but we're probably not as bad as we've played since then. Come Friday morning I'm going to take control of what's going on and who plays where." Then he gave them permission to play whatever position they wanted to play, for instance if someone wanted to try out a new position. He also told them that he and Mo would be getting together to set the pitching rotation for the playoffs. Gary Kendall followed this up by giving the speech Kerry had formulated in his mind, reminding the hitters that they need to be patient at the plate and not swing at the first pitch all the time. Kerry commented that he couldn't help noticing that guys were over anxious in their plate appearances in the second game yesterday.
The Thumpers played better defense and this helped as they won their game against the Diamond Jim's by a score of 5-3. Since they were playing under Veteran's Tournament Rules all of the pitchers on their team threw an inning. Kerry pitched the first inning and gave up one hit but no runs. He got a ground ball out, a fielder's choice, and a popup. He was also credited with the win. At the plate, he went 2 for 3, with a single to lead off the game and he came around to score. In his second at bat with a 2-0 lead in the game and two out, he doubled and drove in two. In his final at bat he popped up. He said the umpire robbed him in this at bat. On a 3-0 count he had to get out of the way as the pitch was coming right at him and the umpire called it a strike. This made him defensive at the plate and he wound up popping out.
He played short and turned what would've been a 6-4-3 double play into a 6-3 double play. The guy on first didn't slide and didn't get out of the way. Kerry said he clearly just forgot to slide. But this meant Kerry got knocked down on the play.
On the side, Kerry worked with Mo Drabowsky on how to grip the changeup properly. Kerry has very small hands and can't grip a circle change so Mo showed him a different grip that allowed Kerry to throw the changeup better. Kerry siad it worked for him and he is now equpped with five pitches-- two different fastball, a changeup, and two breaking balls (curve plus a slider speed pitch).
They spent the afternoon in a Q & A with Sam Perlozzo. As for other highlights, Kerry said that one of the coaches (Tom Brown, a minor league pitching coach for the Marlins) has been wearing Elrod's jersey as a tribute to him. The subject of Elrod's funeral came up during breakfast and during the Q & A but it's still a sensitive subject to a lot of people.
STATS
| Date, Game | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | TB | R | RBI | TBB | CS | SO | HBP | SH | SF | BA | OBP | SLG |
| 1/28, G1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .000 | .333 | .000 | ||||||||||
| 1/28, G2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.000 | |||||||||
| 1/29, G1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .333 | .000 | |||||||||||
| 1/29, G2 | 2 | 1 | .500 | .500 | .500 | ||||||||||||
| 1/30, AM | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | .667 | .750 | 1.000 | |||||||||
| 1/30, PM | 2 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | ||||||||||||
| 1/31, AM | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .000 | .667 | .000 | ||||||||||
| 1/31, PM | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 1.000 | ||||||||||
| 2/1, AM | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .667 | .667 | 1.000 | |||||||||
| TOTALS | 17 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .412 | .583 | .588 |
| Date, Game | G | GS | IP | H | R | ER | HR | SH | SF | HB | TBB | SO | W | L | Sv | ERA |
| 1/28, G1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6.00 | |||||||||
| 1/28, G2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.00 | ||||||||||
| 1/29, G1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0.00 | ||||||||||||
| 1/30, AM | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0.00 | ||||||||
| 1/31, AM | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0.00 | |||||||
| 2/1, PM | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | ||||||||||
| TOTAL | 6 | 0 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.60 |
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