Hermida just took Volquez deep.
Hermida just took Volquez deep.
Volquez to Maybin:
strike 1
ball 1
ball 2
ball 3
strike 2
Volquez K's Maybin looking
Volquez: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Thanks for the updates, 44.
The DR plays the Netherlands at 11:00 AM Saturday. Volquez will most likely start that game. It'll be televised though I'm not sure whose carrying it.
That was Volquez's final line.
The Marlins announcer said Volquez will start that game against the Marlins pitcher Rick Vandenhurk.Originally Posted by OnBaseMachine
ESPN2 has it. The schedule is HERE for those interested.
Thanks.
I was hoping it would be Volquez vs Juan Carlos Sulbaran.The Marlins announcer said Volquez will start that game against the Marlins pitcher Rick Vandenhurk.
Whole lotta 3 ball counts from Edinson. I was hoping to see him take a step forward with his pitch efficiency this year. Of course it's still early, so he may very well take that step, but I just don't wanna see him throwing 125-130 pitches because Dusty thinks "starters should go 7."
Hairstons celebrate heritage at Classic
Brothers represent Mexico, where father played and married mother
By Jesse Sanchez / MLB.com
TUCSON, Ariz. -- Big league brothers Jerry Hairston Jr. and Scott Hairston were born in the United States but are a natural fit for Team Mexico in this year's World Baseball Classic.
Call it their birthright.
"It is a tremendous honor to be asked to play for Mexico," Jerry Hairston Jr. said. "We understand the culture and how important this team is to the country. It's a tremendous opportunity, and I'm very thankful."
Junior should probably thank his dad first. You can argue Hairston's father, former Major League player Jerry Hairston Sr., made it all possible. Baseball also probably deserves a little credit, too.
Hairston Sr. played most of his summers in his 14-year career during the 1970s and 1980s with the Chicago White Sox, but he spent every winter in Mexico, playing primarily for the Hermosillo Naranjeros.
The elder Hairston smiles when he thinks of his time south of the border. He is especially proud to be the first player to hit a home run at Hermosillo's famed Hector Espino Stadium in 1972.
"I don't know if people really know how much I appreciated being down there and what the Mexican people mean to me," said Hairston Sr., now the hitting coach for the White Sox Rookie League team. "When you go down there as a young kid at 21 having never experienced another culture, you embrace it. They knew I wanted to learn the language, and they tried to help me."
Hairston Sr. became a baseball hero in the country, winning a Mexican League batting title and playing on a pair of Caribbean Series teams for Mexico.
He also became a husband.
Hairston Sr. met his wife-to-be, then known as professor Esperanza Arellano, at a dinner party after one of his Winter League games. The attraction was instant. She was pretty, smart and kind. Fortunately for Hairston Sr., she was also bilingual. Arellano was born in Navojoa, Mexico, in the northern state of Sonora and moved to Hermosillo to teach English. She's been teaching her husband Spanish ever since.
"There was this teacher friend of Esperanza's that was always at the ballpark with the children, and I would sign autographs for the kids," Hairston Sr. said. "I guess she thought I was a nice guy, so she invites me to this party and I meet Esperanza there. We hit it off, and I get her number. I guess you can say the rest is history."
The couple married on Jan. 6, 1974, at a church named Santuario Guadalupano in Hermosillo. A few hours later, the newlyweds were recognized in a ceremony near home plate at Hector Espino Stadium, complete with bridesmaids and an aisle created by players' raised bats.
The Hairstons returned to the United States, and Jerry Jr. was born about two years later, on May 29, 1976, in Des Moines, Iowa. Scott was born on May 25, 1980, in Fort Worth, Texas. The couple also has three other children, all born in Illinois.
"They were all born in different places, but my children know where they come from and what their heritage is," Hairston Sr. said. "We Hairstons, we just fly under the radar. Live life, play our game and do what we do. I'm very proud of them."
Papa should be proud.
Hairston Jr. is currently an infielder with the Reds. In 11 big league seasons, he has a .260 batting average in 898 games. In five seasons with the Diamondbacks and Padres, Scott Hairston has a .246 average in 344 games starting in 2004.
Hairston Jr. will see some action at second base for Team Mexico but can also play in the outfield. His brother will likely start in the outfield on Sunday, when Mexico opens up World Baseball Classic play against Australia in Mexico City's Foro Del Sol.
But first, Team Mexico will play three exhibition games, including a matchup against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday in Hermosillo on the same field the Hairstons celebrated their nuptials 35 years ago. This week also marks the first time the brothers will play on the same team as adults.
"A lot of people think because I don't speak Spanish that I'm not proud to be Mexican, but I am," Scott Hairston said. "It just turned out that growing up we spoke English at home and at the schools we went to. I want to learn. I'm committed to learn Spanish so I can better communicate with my family in Mexico and my teammates."
If it seems as if Scott is starting to sound like his father, it's because he is. And it's fitting because it is going to be like the 1970s all over again. Look for Esperanza in the stands at Hector Espino Stadium cheering on a Hairston. Only this time, Hairston Sr. will be seated next to her.
"My wife is so happy and so excited about them representing Mexico, her country, their country," Hairston Sr. said. "She was a little upset they weren't selected the first time around, but she can't wait to get down there for this one."
http://www.worldbaseballclassic.com/...&vkey=wbc&team
Reds in WBC today
Posted by TimCurtis at 3/3/2009 8:12 PM EST on Cincinnati.com
A look at what Reds-affiliated players did in today’s WBC exhibition action:
Joey Votto, CAN – Batted third and played left field (could see this a lot with former AL MVP Justin Morneau, also a 1B and also left-handed, on the team) and first base in 6-4 win over Toronto; 0-4, BB
Johnny Cueto, DOM – DNP in 10-1 win over Florida
Willy Taveras, DOM – Batted 10th and started in center field in 10-1 win over Florida; 1-3, R, K
Pedro Viola, DOM – Pitched in relief in 10-1 win over Florida; 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 0 HR
Edinson Volquez, DOM – Started in a 10-1 win over Florida; 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 1 HR (to Jeremy Hermida)
Luca Panerati, ITA – Pitched in relief in 9-6 loss to Washington; 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR (to Elijah Dukes)
Jerry Hairston Jr., MEX – Team DNP
Alexander Smit, NED – DNP in 5-4 loss to Pittsburgh
Juan Carlos Sulbaran, NED – DNP in 5-4 loss to Pittsburgh
Yen-Wen Kuo, TPE – DNP in 13-2 loss to Seibu Lions
Ramon Hernandez, VEN –Batted ninth and started at catcher in 7-5 loss to Detroit; 0-1, 2 BB
Ramon Ramirez, VEN – DNP in 7-5 loss to Detroit
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs...cincinnati.com
Volquez brings new laurels to Classic
Reds right-hander will open tournament Saturday for Dominicans
By Steve Dorsey / Special to MLB.com
JUPITER, Fla. -- Edinson Volquez ranked among the National League leaders in most pitching categories last year, his first full season in the Major Leagues. He was the Reds' lone representative in the All-Star Game and was voted by the Cincinnati chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America as the winner of the Johnny Vander Meer Award for the staff's Most Outstanding Pitcher.
Despite his stats and accomplishments, Volquez did not receive any votes in the NL Cy Young Award balloting. Volquez does not seem to harbor any bad feelings toward the voters for the snub, however.
"I think [Tim] Lincecum was better," Volquez said Tuesday, referring to last year's winner. "That's the way I look at it."
Dominican Republic manager Felipe Alou said that Volquez, 25, will be the starting pitcher for the team's World Baseball Classic opener Saturday against Puerto Rico in San Juan. Alou gave Volquez two innings of work Tuesday afternoon in the Dominicans' 10-1 exhibition win against the Florida Marlins at Roger Dean Stadium, the team's first of three tuneup games for the tournament.
Volquez threw 35 pitches, including 19 strikes, struck out two, walked none and gave up only one hit, a second-inning home run by Marlins left fielder Jeremy Hermida. Volquez then struck out Cameron Maybin to end the inning and also his workload for the day.
The right-hander was upbeat about his abbreviated outing Tuesday and seems intent on having an even better season this year, hinting that 20 wins could be on the horizon.
"I hope so. I want to win 20 games or more," Volquez said. "I think [Reds manager] Dusty Baker is going to be happy, too. I'm going to do the best I can. If I win the Cy Young, all the better."
Alou said he liked what he saw in Volquez's two innings of work Tuesday and might give the right-hander another short stint -- no more than 15 or so pitches -- again on Thursday when the Dominicans play the Cardinals at Roger Dean Stadium, the final exhibition game before they leave for Puerto Rico and the start of the Classic.
The Dominicans play the Orioles on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with right-hander Johnny Cueto, also a Reds teammate of Volquez's, the scheduled starting pitcher.
Volquez's 2008 season was in stark contrast to his inaugural Major League stint four years ago with the Texas Rangers, when he posted an 0-4 record and a 14.21 ERA after his first callup from the Minors. Volquez toiled for most of '06 in the Rangers' Minor League system to work on his control. He was traded to the Reds -- along with Danny Herrera -- in a deal for Josh Hamilton after the '07 season, setting the stage for his remarkable turnaround last year.
Volquez was 7-1 with a 1.33 ERA in his first nine starts for Cincinnati in '08. He allowed no more than one earned run in all but one of those starts, the first Reds pitcher to do that in 96 years.
By the All-Star break, Volquez had a sparkling 12-3 record, a 2.29 ERA and 126 strikeouts, earning him his first selection to the Midsummer Classic. He slipped slightly in early August, but finished the season with a 17-6 record and a 3.21 ERA, eighth best in the NL.
Even though he was ineligible for the NL Rookie of the Year Award, the BBWAA inadvertently placed Volquez on the ballot after the season, and he received three second-place votes for the honor, which went to Geovany Soto.
Volquez also said he has enjoyed being around his Dominican teammates the past two days.
"It's unbelievable, being with those guys, like A-Rod [Alex Rodriguez] and David Ortiz," Volquez said. "It's amazing to play with those guys."
http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...=.jsp&c_id=mlb
Batted 10th?
"Reality tells us there are no guarantees. Except that some day Jon Lester will be on that list of 100-game winners." - Peter Gammons
Batting 10th? Perfect spot for Taveras.
I have no problem with him batting 10th and playing rover!
To the good fortune of the Cincinnati Reds, Mario Soto is the Dominican pitching coach and he says, "I'll be watching them like a cat. I'll keep 'em out of trouble and working hard."
Hopefully that cat isn't Garfield.
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