Recently I was given the opportunity to interview via email a couple announcers from ESPN Deportes who cover Latin American baseball and the winter leagues. Oscar Soria is an ESPN Deportes analyst who covers the Mexican Pacific League, and Kevin Cabral is a play-by-play announcer covering the Dominican Winter Baseball League. I tried to give them some general questions about the winter leagues and then some specific questions about Braves players. The PR firm which arranged this also arranged to have my questions translated into Spanish and their answers translated back into English, so there may be some funny phrasing. Because of the translation delay these questions are also a bit old. I originally sent the questions to them just before Thanksgiving, so there's a question about Hampton and Brandon Jones who are no longer playing in the winter leagues, but this should still give you some good insight into winter baseball south of the border.

Q: What differences, if any, are there between baseball in the winter leagues of Mexico, and the Dominican Republic, and baseball in the United States? What's the equivalent level of competition - triple-A level, double-A level, or another?

Oscar Soria: Baseball is the same wherever you go. However, in Latin countries, including Mexico, going to a game is not only about watching the team's strategy; it's about enjoying yourself too. That's why when you go to a game in the US and there are Mexican fans, they always want to create a party/celebration from the stands and most of the time, they are asked to quiet down by security at the park. They definitely enjoy watching the game, but the party always takes over. The Dominican league is three times as exciting and intense. During their playoffs, you could compare the excitement to the MLB World Series; people really get into it! In Mexican Baseball, you'll see this mostly during the playoffs because that's when the major-leaguers come to play.

Kevin Cabral: In the case of Dominican Republic, it is at least AAA level. In my opinion, when the semifinals start and many of the Dominican Major Leaguers are playing, it might be better than AAA.

Q: How difficult is it for non-Spanish speaking players to play in the Latin winter leagues?

Oscar Soria: Being that there are so many baseball players who play in the minors and majors who don't speak either English or Spanish, when you're on the field, all that matters is your talent. Curt Schilling from the Boston Red Sox has a funny story about his experiences playing baseball in Mexico. He was out to a restaurant and saw the name Tres Quesadillas-Three Quesadillas- and thought it was the name of the dish. He goes on to order three of the dish thinking he was going to get three quesadillas, but in turn was served nine quesadillas. Off the field, you may need to practice a little more, but on the field, it's all about your game.

Kevin Cabral: It is not difficult at all, at least in Dominican Republic. Teammates, team executives, attendants at hotels, etc. speak English.

Q: For a player like Mike Hampton who is rehabbing in Mexico, what kind of training facilities do teams like Navojoa have?

Oscar Soria: The facilities are far from what he could have available to him if he was in the US. There are few teams in Mexico that have training centers, but what Hampton is receiving right now is personal training as well as the opportunity to play against ball players in the AAA level which will prepare him for his comeback to the Major Leagues.

Q: How is Willy Aybar doing in his comeback from substance dependency issues?

Oscar Soria: Aybar has had an OK season so far with the team, Aguilas del Licey in the Dominican Baseball league. He's been walked more than struck out so far.

Q: Brayan Pena is listed as a catcher, but the Braves seem to think more of Clint Sammons as a backup catcher next year. Is Pena playing other positions in the Dominican, or does he still have value as purely a catcher?

Oscar Soria: Peña is playing mostly catcher with the team, Gigantes del Cibao in the Dominican Republic and with that said, he's only had five walks so far.

Q: Brandon Jones is also having a great season. Does he have a shot at winning an everyday job next year for the Braves? We hear that Jones is playing some centerfield for Navojoa, do you think he has what it takes to play center in the major leagues next year?

Oscar Soria: At the beginning of the Mexican Baseball season, Jones was playing all the games as a left fielder, however, soon after that they switched him to center field. He's playing much better now which gives him the opportunity to shine and maybe become the Centerfielder for the Atlanta Braves next year. He's still struggling to get on base though and that may hinder his chances.

Many thanks to Ben Mann of Formula PR for arranging this interview opportunity and furnishing the pictures posted above.

So, apparently I did do an interview with Jo-Jo Reyes this spring. I guess I just never got around to posting it, but I dug it up and here it is. There is a bit of static noise that comes from the wind blowing over the microphone, but overall the audio is pretty clean.

Go here to download the mp3 file of the interview. (Size: 2.54 MB / Running Time: 2 minutes 46 seconds)

After an early flight this morning I am here in Cleveland and at the Jake. It's my first time to Cleveland, and after walking around the ballpark, it's a pretty nice stadium - reminds me a little of Coors Field without the views.

So far through the first inning, the team likes playing loud random rock songs - but not the usual stadium rock songs. Cleveland is seemingly too cool for "standard" stadium rock songs, so they've been playing anything from the Beastie Boys to Akon. It's all a bit annoying as every PA sound bounces off the big scoreboard in left field and echoes back across the stadium. And someone(s) in the bleachers in left brought a drum and continues to bang on it relentlessly - perhaps that will let up just a tad.

Anyway, more thoughts from Cleveland as the game goes on.

Update [2007-6-15 20:0:45 by gondeee]:

Sitting in the press box above home plate and looking around the stadium, there are a lot of open seats in the outfield upper deck and on around to behind home plate. The lower decks are pretty full, and so are the luxury suites – of which there are tons of; multiple decks, almost like a football stadium. I mention the open seats because Atlanta and her fans always get dinged for not selling out games. Well the Indians are a first place club and tonight is fireworks night – and one thing about Atlanta fans is that they can at least sell out fireworks night.

This crowd is also 99% white, which sort of freaks me out a bit. That’s probably another reason this stadium reminds me of Coors Field.

Also, much like the Chop House is to the Ted, the Jake has a bar area called the batter’s eye behind the right field stands. And also like the 755 Club at the Ted, there is a white tablecloth restaurant in the left field area.

Update [2007-6-15 20:27:15 by gondeee]:

I know there’s a lefty on the mound, but McCann is batting behind Salty tonight, in the eighth spot… and he’s looking like he deserves to be there. I really wish he would break out of the funk he’s been in for the past month.

Update [2007-6-15 22:11:48 by gondeee]:

It was another nice start from Buddy Carlyle. He wasn’t on his game, but unlike our other 3rd-4th-5th starter options, he "managed" the game well, keeping the Braves close and giving them a chance to come back - and come back they did… twice.

There was not much of a reaction when Bob Wickman entered the game in the ninth. There was a tiny amount of booing, and a few people clapping, but not a big response for the big guy. By the way, the Cleveland rally video they played on the jumbo-tron (can we still call it that) was not very motivational and didn’t do too much to rally the crowd. Honestly, this crowd doesn’t need much external prodding to get it to make some noise – just a very annoying drum beat coming from the outfield.

Anyway, Wickman got into a little trouble in the ninth, but closed it out for the win… finally, a win. I would think it would be pretty embarrassing for Andruw Jones to be hitting .215, but his ugly and unproductive at-bats continue. Oh well, that was just a final jab on the night. Tomorrow I’ll be in Toronto at the Nationals-Blue Jays game, eh.

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I was fortunate enough to catch up with Braves outfielder Willie Harris over Memorial Day weekend before a game in the Braves clubhouse. Willie is having a heck of a year, batting almost .400 in the month and a half he's been in the majors. Like most Braves players he is very cordial and laid back and was happy to take some time to talk with me. In my two or three minutes with him I could tell that he has a great sense of humor and seems like he might be quite the jokester.

Q: What do you attribute to your very good success so far this year?

A: I'd have to lean towards the off-season program I was on; hitting twice, sometimes three times a day, breaking my swing down from 2001 all the way to 2006 on film, and really just trying to find something that worked for me from a comfort standpoint. Then when I got to spring training I told Jack Maloof  (roving minor league hitting instructor) and Terry Pendleton what I was trying to do this off-season and they came up with this new batting stance for me, and it worked in spring training. So I was like, "what the heck, I'm going to try it here in Richmond." It worked in Richmond, so I get here and I say, "what the heck, try it," and it's still going pretty good for me so far.

Q: What's different about your new stance from your old stance?

A: I don't want to talk about that. <both laughing> I can't tell that.

Q: Well, we could watch film and find out!

A: Yeah, if you knew what you were looking at, yeah, you could!

Q: Are you having a lot more fun this year with all your success?

A: Yeah, a lot more fun. I'm also closer to home, closer to my family. They can come here whenever they want to, and I can go home whenever I want to; I think that has a lot to do with it - being close to home and in the state of Georgia, I think that helps a lot.

Q: Did you grow up a Braves fan?

A: Oh yeah! If you're in the state of Georgia and you like baseball then you're going to be a Braves fan. I grew up a big time Braves fan; I love the Braves. You know when I was with other organizations I kept an eye on them and I pulled for them.

Q: Who was your favorite player for the Braves, growing up?

A: Dale Murphy. I'm sure he's a lot of people's favorite player.

Q: How is the attitude of this team verses the other teams that you've been on?

A: Same. I've been fortunate enough to have a great group of guys wherever I went. The attitude's no different here than it was in Chicago or Boston. I mean, it's fun everywhere.

I was able to catch up with second baseman Kelly Johnson in the Braves clubhouse on Memorial Day Weekend.

Martin Gandy: We talked during spring training, and you were confident about playing second base, but you just didn't know how it would go. It's gone pretty well, so how settled indo you feel at second base?

Kelly Johnson: I feel very good, but it's still going to take this entire year and maybe even another year just to get all the different things that could happen, like the way the ball bounces, or how to deal with situation with the runners, there's always going to be something. So, it's going to take another year or two to get all those things to come out in a game, because you can only get them in game situations. But as far as the other stuff goes, the fundamental stuff, standard day to day stuff that's going to happen each game, I feel really good, I feel confident, I feel like I have a routine set and I'll go forth from there.

MG: You started out slow but patient, and then you caught fire for the last three weeks towards the end of April, but since then you've slowed down a little bit this month. This is really your first full-time big league experience, how are you making adjustments?

KJ: The league's made adjustments, so it's my time to make adjustments too. It's a long season so it's going to be a roller coaster - offensively, defensively - things are going to be hot and cold. It's the same way it is in the minor leagues. There's going to be days when your body hurts a little more. There are going to be days when you're facing a string of really good teams and really good pitchers. It's one of those things where you just have to bear down and stick with your routine and don't change anything and don't get too panicky.

MG: How have you handled left-handed pitching?

KJ: It's been fine. Actually it helps a lot of times I've noticed when I get into funk when I can get some lefties, when I can get in there against some lefties, it kind of helps me get locked back in because I don't try to do too much; I let them come to me. Then when I get some righties I feel like I'm locked-in again. Facing the lefties actually helps. Like right now we're in the middle of a streak where we're going to face a bunch of lefties and to be honest with you it's perfect timing really.

MG: So you're looking forward to it?

KJ: Yeah, I don't mind the lefties. I look forward to it, because like I said, I feel like they get me back on track...gets me right again for the most part just getting back to being myself and not trying to be too much.

MG: Any advice for Saltalamacchia, switching positions to first base part-time?

KJ: It's something that a lot of people have speculated about for a while now and he looks like he's willing to do whatever just to be up here. He's got such a big bat you want to try and get his bat in the lineup somehow. I just tell him to do it every day. I've already told him once to get with the infield coaches and try to make it a point to get something going each day.

MG: Have you noticed a difference in the way the team plays when they're facing winning teams versus when they're facing losing teams?

KJ: No, not really, I think it's all just kind of random and coincidental how you seem like you don't play as well and get into some kind of funk. I just think, we have so many other good teams in our division, and we know that, so I think we definitely are a little more focused and a little more up to the task when they come to town and when we go there. I don't think anything that we purposely do, I just think it's human nature.

MG: Do you all think you'd be this close to the Mets at this point in the season?

KJ: Yes. Absolutely! We have a really good team and they do too, but I feel like with our pitching and if we just continue to do the things that we can do offensively, as far as scoring runs and getting on base, we'll hang with them all year and it will be a good race all the way to the finish.

MG: Well, thanks a lot and good luck to you.

KJ: Okay, thank you.

I had a chance to speak with Atlanta Braves center fielder Andruw Jones this past Saturday in the Braves clubhouse before the game. He was much more forthcoming than I thought he would be, and I actually appreciated his answers a bit more than the Atlanta press has let on the last few weeks. I hope you will also see a bit of a different side of Andurw. (And he only says something is "no big deal" once.)

Martin Gandy: How happy have you been with the team's performance this year?

Andruw Jones: We're doing good.

MG: What do you think about the level of play of the other teams in the division?

AJ: They're all professional baseball teams, they're all going to go out there and play and try and win games just like we do. So , the competition is the same.

MG: The Braves seem to be winning against good teams, but not playing well against bad teams, can you attribute that to any particular thing?

AJ: I don't know, they just play better than we do. When we don't hit, or we don't pitcher, we're not going to win. We get up for every game - we're professionals.

MG: What players on this team have surprised you this year?

AJ: No surprises. We all know the ability that everybody's got on the team.

MG: Did you think that Kelly Johnson would be as good as he's been?

AJ: Yeah. Well, the adjustment to second base, yes. He worked hard on it and has proven it. But he has the ability. He was an infielder before, he got drafted as an infielder, and he made a good adjustment to play second base.

MG: A lot of people have asked you about your performance. How do you handle those questions on a day to day basis?

AJ: I don't know. We're winning and we're playing good baseball, and that's what the key is. As far as me, it's a long season, so, it really doesn't matter what kind of number you put up there - you play to win, you don't play for yourself. Whatever numbers you've got are the numbers you've got - there's always next year.

MG: When you're not going well as a player like you have been here recently, do you lean on anyone, do you rely on anyone for advice or support?

AJ: No, not really. When you're down, you're down. It's you, it's nobody else. You just have to keep playing and you'll come out of it. I've been playing this game in the big leagues for 11 years and I've been struggling for whole months before.

MG: So you're pretty confident you'll come out of it?

AJ: You always have to be confident. This is the game, it's a mental game. If you're not mentally prepared for this game, you're not going to be successful. I've been successful for years before, so I really don't see me struggling as a big deal.

I caught up with he Braves backup catcher and top prospect Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the Braves clubhouse before Friday night's game. He's a real easy-going kid who seems to be fitting right in. If you'd like to read the interview I did with Salty this spring click here.

Martin Gandy: When I talked with you during spring training I asked you where you thought you were going to be assigned, double-A or triple-A, and you said it didn't matter because you could get called up from either place. It turns out you were right. What did it feel like when you got called up?

Jarrod Saltalamacchia: It felt great man. It was just one of those things, I wasn't expecting it. Got the call and I've been enjoying every moment since.

MG: What about the decision to have you stay?

JS: No, I'm excited. I'm doing everything I possibly can to try and stay and do what I can to help the team. I came up here knowing there was a chance of going right back down, and I was going to take advantage of every minute I had up here, and I feel I've done that so far.

MG: How have you handed the diminished playing time?

JS: Yeah, I mean, it's tough, but it's one of those things where I know my role, I know what I'm here for, and I've just got to do the best I can at whatever role I have.

MG: How has the adjustment to major league pitching been?

JS: It's been fun, I mean, the pitching's obviously going to be around the plate so you know you've got a chance. I don't know what it is, I just can concentrate more, the fields are so much better, the lights, the atmosphere, it's just a great thing to be in, but you just got to go out there and play the game the same way you did in double-A.

MG: You've just missed two or three homeruns that went all the way to the wall. Do you feel like you're dialed in?

JS: Yeah, I feel good at the plate, I'm doing my part just trying to get on base and help out. If there's runners in scoring position do what you can to get them in. So yeah, its...I feel good.

MG: You said this spring that you were just trying to be injury free and have a good start to the season. You did that, are you still feeling good and injury free?

JS: Yeah, I feel strong, I feel healthy. It's two months into the season, and I feel healthy still, I haven't been really doing anything to take that away. So, feel good, feel healthy.

MG: How is working with Brian McCann?

JS: It's been great. He's a great guy, he knows how to call a game, he knows how to play the game. It's good to sit and listen to him and listen to Smoltz and sit down with Roger [McDowell].

MG: Has there been anyone in particular that has helped you make the adjustment to the major leagues?

JS: No, you know I just kind of sit on the bench and watch the game, and a lot of hitters I don't know, so I sit next to Roger or whoever's pitching that night and listen to what they have to say about hitters and how they would throw to them, and you know, kind of learn that way.

MG: How about adjusting to the role of a pinch hitter?

JS: It's tough, you know, it's one of the toughest jobs in baseball to come off the bench - sitting there for eight innings and then be expected to do something. But a lot of people make a lot of money in this game doing that, Julio Franco's one of them. It's one of those things where you've just got to be mentally ready the whole game - you don't whether you're going third, fifth, seventh, or when, just be mentally ready.

MG: You said in spring training that you didn't think that playing first base was in your future, but here it is in your present?

JS: Yeah, I haven't got a chance to play there yet, but I've been taking ground balls; Bobby asked me to take ground balls. Hopefully I can get in there sometime. I'm just trying to find a way to play and trying to find a way to help the team.

MG: Is there anyone in particular helping you make the transition?

JS: I'm trying to pick up a little bit from everybody, you know, whoever's willing to give me some information.

MG: Okay, well thanks a lot I appreciate it.

JS: Thank you.

MG: Good luck to you.

I got a chance to talk with Bobby Cox before the game today. I asked him who he thought was the biggest surprise on the team this year. His answer will probably not surprise many Braves fans, "Kelly Johnson, and I don't know if it's a surprise," he siad. "The work he did all winter with Hubbard, you know, he became an excellent second baseman."

When asked if either Johnson or Marcus Giles was better at this point in their development, Bobby replied "I don't know, Hubby had Giles ready too."

With Bobby Cox's ejection last night he is now two away from the record for most ejections by a manager in baseball history. What does Bobby attribute all of the ejections to? "I don't know, just moment of the game, that's all," he said. When I followed up by asking him if it was any particular word he said, he cracked a bit of a smile and repeated the word "sometimes."

He wasn't forthcoming about the status of Willy Aybar, or when if at all he would be back this year.

I asked him about putting Salty at first and when he would do it, and this was his response: "Well, right now, Thorman's hitting lefties so well I hate to mess with it, but we can though. Yeah, he's hitting the ball hard against them. I don't know what his average is, but he's hitting it hard." When I asked if he was worried about the prospect of having two converted players on the right side of the infield Bobby replied, "I'm not worried about anything, Johnson's great."

Bobby also said that they are going to have to rely on everyone in the bullpen to fill Mike Gonzalez's role. Interestingly, he e also mentioned that Gonzo's injury is similar to the one that Smoltz had several years ago before he went under the knife. In both cases the pitchers really didn't feel much pain, but at the same time they couldn't throw hard.

I was able to speak with Andruw Jones and Kelly Johnson before the game today, so I'll have those interviews along with the three guys I spoke with yesterday, Salty, Prado, and Harris, coming up later on today and throughout the next few days.