High Heels On The Field

Checking In With Yankees Prospect Saxon Butler

There was no hitter more impressive for the Staten Island Yankees, than first baseman/DH Saxon Butler.

His quick adjustments in pro ball and solid power numbers led to a promotion from Class-A SI (short season) to Class-A Charleston after hitting .296 with 36 RBI and 10 home runs. He led the league with 10 home runs until teammate Peter O'Brien caught him, tying him, in the last two weeks of the season.

For the season, Butler,22, finished hitting .273 in 61 games, knocked in 45 runs, scored 38 runs, with 18 doubles, and 20 walks.

The Yankees 2012 33rd round pick is currently participating in instructional league in Florida and here's what he had to say about the season and what he's working on improving.

On his progress with Charleston: I did decent. I thought I could do a lot better. But my mind was saying one thing and my body was saying no, just from the wear and tear. I started to feel the effects. But now I know what to expect heading into next season.

On making adjustments at higher level: I didn't really think it was harder. There were times I was getting myself out. But nothing overwhelmed me.

On getting selected to go to instructs: I was hoping [for it]. I wanted the opportunity. Physically the two weeks off were good for me. I feel refreshed. I really love being here and working on just hitting and just defense.

On what he's focusing on: Defense and offense. Because if you look at what a player does wrong, his offense mirrors his defense. If you watch me play, where I go wrong at the plate is when I don't control my lower half. And then defensively, I jump off too early to ground balls. Controlling my lower half is really the main thing I'm working on in both areas.

On where he expects to be in 2013: My goal is to just have a good spring training and see where it takes me. I put high expectations on myself. I'd like to start at Tampa. But if not, hopefully Charleston.

On his off-season program: I'm definitely going to try to eat better. Not a strict diet, but just eat healthier. I'm not trying to lose weight, but get stronger and in better playing shape for [a full season].

Read my New York Penn League coverage & interview with Saxon Butler http://www.going9baseball.com/2012/06/29/gotham-baseball-minor-league-report-si-yankees-saxon-butler/#.UF5cnzQIUpc.twitter (slight typo at the end of the story, final paragraph should have been edited out)

Also, follow Saxon at @SaxonHolt33. He made the cut here in the Twitter Twenty as an Honorable Mention http://www.going9baseball.com/2012/08/31/twitter-twenty-twenty-best-minor-league-players-to-follow/

Amazin' Art of 'Knuckleball' Explored

Slight departure from the minors to bring a review of the much-talked about baseball documentary...

Brooklyn, New York - It's referred to as 'The Brotherhood' in the 93 minute documentary about knuckleball pitchers. And what a brotherhood it is.

How were any of the men featured in the film able to build and sustain careers throwing what is effectively, always, a wild pitch?

The just-released documentary sets out to ask that question and does so by going to the source - the game's living legend knuckleball pitchers.

The focus is on the two most current knuckleballers, Tim Wakefield, recently retired from the Red Sox, and the only one left standing, R.A. Dickey of the New York Mets. The trajectory of their careers by way of the knuckler makes clear that this is no game. The pitch is one that both men developed when all the chips were down. It is what saved them, because they had nothing else as good. In the beloved era of the power pitcher (Aroldis Chapman's 106 mph fastball makes an appearance) a knuckleballer is an "alien", as Dickey puts it.

The film doesn't profess to be about analysis and it doesn't explore the depths of the pitch in a broad sense. The humanity of the story is center stage. Those two men and how they survived and succeeded is what you get.

The historical aspect is also tied in to the overall journey, with conversations with baseball's most famous knuckler, known as 'Knucksie', Phil Niekro. Of the group, he's the only one that was brought up through his early career and into his professional career as a knuckleball pitcher. His brother Joe, who died in 2006, was also a knuckleballer and they owe it to dad. Their father taught them the pitch from the time they were young boys.

The directors, Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, have been perfectly honest about their lack of baseball knowledge. And, perhaps, in the hands of more knowledgeable baseball minds this documentary would dig deeper. But that's part of it's charm. And, also, not out of the ordinary. People make movies and write books all the time about subjects they have to research. Not every person writing a legal thriller is John Grisham.

Ultimately, the film isn't about the science, but the heart (sweat, heart attack inducing, anxiety-causing) of throwing the knuckleball for a living. The pitchers devotion to baseball and desperation to achieve led them to a question with one answer.

Thanks to 'Knuckleball' their passion, and oddity, is honored.

My interview with Phil Niekro will run tomorrow on 'Going Nine Baseball'.

UPDATED: Instructional League Report: White Sox Prospect Kevin Vance

New York, New York - There are guys that are cut out for the bullpen, it's a mentality, and stop me if you've heard this, and the bullpen mentality is different from anything else.

But that argument consistently proves true.

In Kevin Vance's case, where he'd started, and where he's come back to really is his place in the pitching landscape.

"I'm just better at it," he said, speaking from Arizona where he's participating in instructional league. "I'm a full force kind of guy. I like the high pressure situations."

Not every pitcher can handle that. But for him that's where he excels. Or, if you're familiar with his Twitter account, where he has maximum feel. (It's a whole complex system you can look into. Follow him @SorryBoutIt10)

Selected by the White Sox out of the University of Connecticut in the 19th round, he spent 2011 pitching in the Pioneer League, where he went 2-1 with a 4.54 ERA.

He entered the 2012 regular season in the South Atlantic League, but struggled in the nine games he started. After being promoted from Class-A Kanapolis to Advanced-A Winston-Salem, he lowered his ERA from 3.05 to 1.66, striking out 29 over 21 innings. He walked just five. The move back to the bullpen proved to the big club exactly where he was best used.

"They came to me and said they felt that's where I should be. It was a big adjustment to start. Mentally and physically it's totally different."

Despite the unsuccessful experiment, it was not a waste of time.

"I learned a lot," Vance said. "It forced me to use all my pitches. My changeup improved."

Upon returning to a starting role, he says his velocity increased. The report on him is that he has an above average fastball, with the ability to touch 94-95 mph, and a plus curveball.

For the better part of the season he worked on making his curveball sharper and harder.

"Plus, I was throwing more strikes. I felt like everything clicked for me."

He wasn't surprised about being selected to go to instructional league after being asked last year and declining. He'd wanted to go back to school and couldn't do both.

"I'm happy to be here and work on some things."

*After finishing playing in the Arizona Fall League, Kevin Vance spoke about his time there.

"I feel like I got more comfortable with my changeup," he said. "Now instead of it being just a third pitch, I turned it into more of a weapon."

He also said he "cleaned up" his mechanics and said he felt his fastball command was there all season.

He's currently finishing a 12-credit internship at the University of Connecticut, coaching baseball. As for 2013...

"My personal goal is to break Double-A next year."

See Kevin Vance's ranking on the Twitter Twenty.

http://www.going9baseball.com/2012/08/31/twitter-twenty-twenty-best-minor-league-players-to-follow/

Padres Prospect Cody Decker Proudly Represents With Team Israel

Cody Decker's successful, sometimes challenging season, is capped off with an experience he pursued and hoped for.

The Jewish infielder was named to the Team Israel roster and will play in the September 19th double-elimination game against South Africa. The winner will participate in the World Baseball Classic, a 28-nation tournament,in March.

It's exactly where he wants to be.

"When I heard about it and knew there was going to be a Team Israel, I seeked them out," he said Tuesday from Florida. "I called Brad Ausmus and told him I would really love to play."

It was discussed at length throughout the year, while Decker split his time between Double-A Texas League and Triple-A Pacific Coast League. He hit .263 with 25 home runs during his time with the San Antonio Missions, before being promoted to Tuscon. He had his ups and downs in his short time there.

"I started off great and then I just hit a rough patch. Baseball is baseball wherever you go. I started squaring the ball, but I ran into bad luck and got sent back to Double-A."

He finished the season hitting .252 with 29 home runs,81 RBI, and 65 walks overall.

If he had to guess he's say he'll start 2013 in Triple-A, but that's something he doesn't put much focus on.

For now, it's all about Team Israel.

"This means a lot. There's a lot of pride involved."

His teammates include Mets minor leaguer Josh Satin, as well as former major league players Gabe Kapler and Ausmus, who was chosen to manage the squad.

Shawn Green is also on the team and that's no small thing to Decker. Green was one of the Santa Monica, California native's favorite players growing up a Dodgers fan.

"It is surreal," Decker said. "Being in the same lineup with him and hitting back to back is sweet. If you'd told me when I was fourteen years old that I would be doing that, I'd have said you were crazy."

With the regular minor league season over, Decker sees the bigger picture of being part of something so special and personal.

"It's bigger than the team. It's a very cool experience."