Where's Yorman?

[OnBaseMachine]

From John Fay:

With minor leaguers getting a lot of action, it's a little surprising that outfielder Yorman Rodriguez hasn't made an appearance. There's a good reason for that. He's not in camp "We worked him really hard toward the end of last year," player development director Bill Bavasi said. "He was a little burned out."

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2...news|text|Reds

[lollipopcurve]

With minor leaguers getting a lot of action, it's a little surprising that outfielder Yorman Rodriguez hasn't made an appearance. There's a good reason for that. He's not in camp "We worked him really hard toward the end of last year," player development director Bill Bavasi said. "He was a little burned out."

I know he played some in the Liga Paralela down in VZ this winter (the junior winter league down there), but his appearances were few and strangely sporadic. This probably followed a stint in instructionals. I guess it's not all that surprising to hear he needed a break.

[mace]

On the other hand, he played only 43 games during the 2010 season. "Toward the end of last year," as Bavasi referenced, is kind of a long time ago, it seems. I dunno. It all sounds just a little odd.

[lollipopcurve]

It all sounds just a little odd.

I agree. Trying to remember what his injury was at Billings -- I think it was his wrist. Maybe that has lingered.

[mace]

http://billingsgazette.com/sports/ba...cc4c002e0.html

This is a story from the Billings Gazette in July that refers to an early-season rib injury, sustained in an outfield collision. However, it says he only missed a couple weeks, so I wonder if there was a subsequent injury.

The article also speaks glowingly of Yorman's passion, which, if accurate, might dispel some of the concerns raised by his absence.

[camisadelgolf]

At his age, pretty much all of us were in high school. I think it's okay if the kid wants/needs a break.

[mace]

OK, there was a later injury to his hand. Baseball America had an item that I couldn't get to, but there is a mention here, in the notes at the bottom of the story (also from the Billings Gazette).

http://billingsgazette.com/sports/ba...cc4c03286.html

[bucksfan2]

At his age, pretty much all of us were in high school. I think it's okay if the kid wants/needs a break.

He can vacation all he wants in Goodyear, Arizona. As a high schooler I would have loved that in January and February and early March.

I have always found it odd that the minor leaguers report after the major leaguers. Seems like it should be vice versa.

[redsof72]

The Reds invited a number of lower level minor league players into camp early to work on fundamentals. Thus, the appearances by minor league players who were not invited to big league camp as non-roster players in big league exhibition games BEFORE the minor league report date had even been reached (position players report tomorrow). You saw Torreyes, Rojas, LaMarre, Vidal, Sierra, Duran, Barnhart, and many others in big league games. Yorman did not participate in this early "mini-camp." I believe he was invited.

[bellhead]

Also people need to remember that for almost 8 months of the year he is separated from his family and mom. Being a 18 year old kid when I was in the service the one thing I missed most was mom..

[dougdirt]

He can vacation all he wants in Goodyear, Arizona. As a high schooler I would have loved that in January and February and early March.

I have always found it odd that the minor leaguers report after the major leaguers. Seems like it should be vice versa.

The minor league season starts about a week after the Major League season does, so that plays a factor into it as well.

[camisadelgolf]

Granted, baseball is Rodriguez' job, but expecting him to show up earlier than required is like asking an accountant to show up to his job at 7:50 AM instead of 8:00 AM. Is it really that big of a deal? Would you really judge someone negatively for that? They may play a game for a living, but they're also human beings.

[lollipopcurve]

Not a big deal, IMO, unless it's an injury that keeps coming back.

[redsof72]

Couple thoughts here. First, giving a 16 year old kid with awesome talent a pile of money does not guarantee that he will have the same desire and drive as Joey Votto to become great.

Secondly, when teams schedule fall instructional league programs, or in this case, mini-camps, they are not cheap for the organizaton. They are major undertakings that require the organization to pay coaches, pay for housing, feed the players, insurance, all that stuff. When players, particularly players that were given a $2.5 million signing bonus, elect not to attend, it usually does not make the organization very happy unless there is a good excuse.

Staying with the comparison to the accountant coming in at 7:50, I would counter that this is more like the company scheduling a special training seminar for some of its employees prior to the start of the work day and hiring people to come to the office and train said employees on using the software that they will work with in their jobs, and then having one of your accountants, maybe the one that you invested the most money in for travel expenses to relocate him to your city from another town, not attend the training.

Rojas, Means, Buchholz, Torreyes, Sierra, Duran, LaMarre, Barnhart, Vidal, Hamilton, Waldrop, and Arias (and some I am forgetting) all were there. Good for those guys for getting an early start on their seasons and hopefully that will help keep them one step ahead of the opposition all the way through spring training and then after the bell rings.

[lollipopcurve]

Couple thoughts here. First, giving a 16 year old kid with awesome talent a pile of money does not guarantee that he will have the same desire and drive as Joey Votto to become great.

Secondly, when teams schedule fall instructional league programs, or in this case, mini-camps, they are not cheap for the organizaton. They are major undertakings that require the organization to pay coaches, pay for housing, feed the players, insurance, all that stuff. When players, particularly players that were given a $2.5 million signing bonus, elect not to attend, it usually does not make the organization very happy unless there is a good excuse.

Staying with the comparison to the accountant coming in at 7:50, I would counter that this is more like the company scheduling a special training seminar for some of its employees prior to the start of the work day and hiring people to come to the office and train said employees on using the software that they will work with in their jobs, and then having one of your accountants, maybe the one that you invested the most money in for travel expenses to relocate him to your city from another town, not attend the training.

Rojas, Means, Buchholz, Torreyes, Sierra, Duran, LaMarre, Barnhart, Vidal, Hamilton, Waldrop, and Arias (and some I am forgetting) all were there. Good for those guys for getting an early start on their seasons and hopefully that will help keep them one step ahead of the opposition all the way through spring training and then after the bell rings.

There's a lot of merit to this, but without knowing the particulars of Rodriguez's case, we don't know if his reason for not attending is a good one or not. And, even if it isn't, it's generally true that teenagers "grow up" at different rates. Bavasi's comments did not suggest the organization is upset with Yorman, so maybe that's a good sign. But I don't deny that this could also be a faint sign that the kid has some makeup issues.