The Manhattan College Athletic department has launched it inaugural web blog on GoJaspers.com entitled ?Jaspers on Deck' which tracks the progress of former baseball standouts in their quest to reach the Major League. Jasper alumni Chris Cody ?06, Nick Derba '07, Matt Rizzotti ?07 and Jesse Darcy '07 will be featured in this blog series, as each player will keep Manhattan fans updated with their progress throughout the 2008 season. Additionally, the blog will enlighten Jasper fans on the everyday life of a minor league baseball player.
Chris Cody - September 15, 2008
Jaspers and fans,
It's been almost a month since my last installment. A lot has been going on since then. The ?08 season has come to a close. Although my Manatees finished below .500, I see the year as a success. A lot of our players were promoted to AA, and just about everyone got better... and that's what its all about in the minor leagues. The 2008 season was also a success for me personally. After starting the year on the DL, my goal all season long was to remain healthy and finish on a good note.
“It's not how you start. It's how you finish that matters.” This was the point that the staff drove home during spring training as all of the players got ready to start the season. I knew it was important for me to stay true to that thought. With some luck and a lot of help, I was able to put together a nice season between two levels (low A and high A) and finished with a long string of quality starts that I was quite proud of.
After the season finished on August 31st, no one could have raced up I-95 any faster than I did. Having been away from home since February 22nd (without an all-start break to boot), I was anxious to get home and see my family and friends. Hanging out at home and being back in New York with my dad, brother, girlfriend, and friends has been very relaxing and rewarding after all the hard work this season.
It is now September 15th, and I am back in an airport waiting to go to the home away from home, Phoenix , AZ. This time it's because I have been selected by the Brewers to play in the Hawaiian Winter Baseball League. The plan is for me to go to our facility in Phoenix for about ten days to get ready for the short 40 game season, and then its off to the islands for two months (Not sure why they call it the Hawaiian Winter League... it's over before Thanksgiving.) The league is made up of four teams which are comprised of a mixture of all the MLB teams. It's a place for organizations to send their players to get more experience and a taste of better competition. Players are generally a mix of single A and double A prospects. There will also be some professional Japanese players in the HWB league. I'm looking forward to the whole experience. The Hawaiian league has seen players like Todd Helton, Ichiro, and most recently, Joba Chamberlain on their way to the big leagues. It's a great thing for a player's career, not to mention the idea of spending two months in Hawaii and getting paid for it! I couldn't be more excited about this opportunity. Hopefully I can continue the success I finished the regular season with. I'll try to send updates on my Hawaiian experience as soon as I can.
I want to thank all my family, friends, Jasper fans and everyone else who has followed me and the other Jaspers in pro ball throughout the ?08 season. Knowing that people are back home keeping tabs on what we're doing makes all the long days and hard work that much more rewarding.
Another big thanks goes to the Jaspers' SID, Steve Dombroski, for puting this blog together.
Thanks again. Go Jaspers!
Chris Cody
Jesse Darcy - September 1, 2008
Jasper fans,
Well, the end of the season has arrived. I am writing to you all on the bus coming back from our final game of the season in Rome, Ga. We won the final game of the season, as well as the final game of the Columbus Catfish franchise by a score of 5-2. It was great to end the season on a positive note, although we did not make the playoffs. We ended the second half strong, almost recovering from a terrible first half to finish 2 games under .500. A lot of credit goes to my teammates as we never gave up and worked our butts off to turn the year around and make it a successful ending.
Personally, I ended the season on a positive note winning my last game (Thurs 8/28), to finish the year 8-3 with a 3.05 ERA with 133 IP, 98 K to 15 walks. I am pleased with my results as it was my first taste of a full 142 game season, and going in, did not know what to expect. It was a very fun and enjoyable year, and it feels like it flew by. My flight back to New York leaves tomorrow morning, and I can't wait to get back to see everyone.
I want to take a second to congratulate my former Jasper teammates. Mike Parisi was up and down in the big leagues after just a few years in the minors. Chris Cody bounced back from early injuries to absolutely dominate hitters to the tune of a sub 2 ERA. Nicky Derba hit 2 homers in his last game of the year, ironically against my High A affiliate, and Matt Rizzotti hit his 10th homer of the year in his last game of this season. Seems like us Jaspers are hard to overlook. Congrats on the season guys.
As for everyone who has been keeping up with me and the blog thank you and I hope my teammates and I can continue to produce and get that call to the bigs! Thanks!
Jesse
Jesse Darcy - August 23, 2008
Jaspers,
I am writing to you all from Charleston, S.C. We're down here playing the Charleston Riverdogs (an affiliate of the New York Yankees) for a six games in five days. We're getting the tail end of tropical storm Fay, and it already delayed one game, canceled a doubleheader Thursday, and delayed my start about two hours yesterday. I guess it worked out though because I threw my first complete game shutout of my pro career, albeit a 7 inning game because of a double header. My line was 7 inning, 2 hits, 0 strikeouts, 0 BB, 72 pitches. I don't normally write about specifics of my games; however this is a big accomplishment for me. The second game of that doubleheader was postponed when the rain from Fay started falling again. Today (Saturday), we will finish the last 4.1 innings of that game, and then play another 7 inning game. Then Sunday, we have another doubleheader planned. A lot of baseball for the Catfish. As far as the playoffs are concerned, Augusta has run into a little bump losing two of their last three, and hopefully we can capitalize. Ideally they lose another and we take the remaining four games of this series and make up some serious ground on them. We've been playing great baseball, so nothing is out of reach! Take care.
Jesse
Jesse Darcy - August 17, 2008
Jasperville,
Well, we're half way through the last month of the season, and right in the playoff race. We went on a hot streak winning 9 in a row, 8 on the road. Unfortunately, we came home and got swept by the first half North Champion Lake County Captains. Augusta, the first place team in our league has been winning almost every game, so we can't make up too much ground on them. As of today, (8/17) we are 4.5 games back with about 15 games to go. We need to take care of our business first, and then hope that Augusta gets beat a bunch of times and hopefully we'll get in the playoffs.
My dad made a trip down to see me throw the other night, luckily I threw pretty well so he didn't waste a trip down. We ended up winning the game 3-2 in the bottom of the 14th on a suicide squeeze play. Exciting, free baseball. It was a big win for us to stop the 4 game skid and not lose any more ground to Augusta. That's all for now, hopefully I'll have some more good news to report in my next blog. Feel free to visit www.columbuscatfish.com to check up on the playoff race!
Jesse
Chris Cody - August 9, 2008
Hello Jasper Fans,
First off, I want to say congratulations to Ryan Darcy on his promotion. I'm looking forward to following another successful year for the Jaspers.
August is going by quickly, along with the remainder of the season. Only 22 days left. It looks like its going to be a battle down the stretch for a playoff spot in the Florida State League's East Division. With all the East teams playing each other, things could get interesting.
My team is in the middle of a week long road trip, sort of. We've been playing Daytona and Vero Beach, which are commuter trips. We ride the bus an hour and 15 minutes there, play the game, then we drive right back and sleep at home. Commuter trips are ok every once in a while, but a week straight can get a little monotonous. We're playing pretty well lately, so who knows what will happen.
Talk to you all soon.
Chris
Jesse Darcy - August 6, 2008
Hey Jasper Fans,
Sorry about the long delay between this and the last blog. The internet has been down in many hotels on the road and there's been a lot of traveling going on. July obviously ended, and if you ask me, it was about time. It was a rough month for me, although the positive is that the team held its own in the playoff race. We're currently 2.5 games out of first, after a sweep of the first half winners, the Asheville Tourists, at their place.
As mentioned, I had a tough month of July, although I did scatter a few good outings. I fell into a little rut where I wasn't using all of my pitches in the right situations, but I've worked with my pitching coach and catcher and hopefully fixed the problem.
Again, sorry the delay and I'll make sure to keep everyone updated on our playoff hunt. Last game of regular season is Sept. 1st, so as long as we keep playing good baseball, I think the Catfish will be in the running for back to back Sally League Champs. Talk to you soon!
Jesse
Nick Derba - August 1, 2008
Hello fellow Jaspers,
It has been awhile since I have given an update. I am currently in Brevard County, home of the Milwaukee Brewers High A team and former teammate Chris Cody. I will get to face Chris for the second time of the season this Saturday. It's a very weird feeling playing against former teammates especially when they are pitchers, but nonetheless fun. My season is finally on the up swing, but the team is struggling at this point. We are two games below .500 but I'm confident we will make a turn around. That's all I have for now, take care and keep reading.
Nick Derba
Chris Cody - July 30, 2008
Jasper fans,
Just wanted to touch base with everyone and fill you in on what has been happening. My team, The Manatees, just got back after a week long road trip from Tampa (Yankees), and Palm Beach (Cardinals). It was neat to go to Tampa and play on Legends Field (now named George M. Steinbrenner Field). I remember being fifteen years old in Florida on vacation with my dad and brother, going to as many spring training games as we could fit in. In Palm Beach, I got to meet up with Jasper teammate, Nick Derba. It was very weird seeing him in the batters box wearing bright red and white colors rather than the normal Jasper, kelly green. Then again, he probably said the same thing about me. Our teams actually play each other a few more times before the end of the season, so I will get to hang out with him again starting tomorrow when his Cardinals come to Brevard County.
I'm getting ready to pitch tonight against the St. Lucie Mets. Hopefully, the weather holds up. July and August are usually the worst months for rainouts in the Florida State League.
I will talk to you all soon. Don't be afraid to check out Milb.com or the Manatees' website to see how we're doing. (www.manateesbaseball.com)
Take Care,
Chris
Chris Cody - July 12, 2008
Hey everybody,
I'm just hanging out here in Sarasota, Florida playing the Reds in a four-game set, I've been pretty busy for the last week or so with some friends and family coming down from New York to visit me. It was great to see them and it's always a great way to get away from the monotony of going to the field everyday and seeing the same faces day in and day out.
We just got through a series with the Lakeland Flying Tigers, which happens to the team I played for last year before I was traded. Of the 25 guys on the team, I had played with about 16 of them. It was a lot of fun to see them and hang out with them for the first time in over a year. We grabbed dinner a couple times while they were in town and I even got a chance to pitch against them in the third game of the series, something I was looking forward to. I ended up pitching very well and I thought it was my best outing of the year so far.
It's amazing to me that July is almost halfway over. In another couple weeks, we'll be playing the Palm Beach Cardinals and my college catcher Nick Derba. I'm really looking forward to seeing him and catching up. Hopefully I won't have to face him in a game.
I'll talk to everyone soon, keep on reading!
-Cody
Jesse Darcy ? July 3, 2008
Hello again, it's Jesse writing to you from Hickory, North Carolina. We are currently in a four-game series with the Hickory Crawdads, an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
We've started off the second half on a hot streak, although the last few games have been tough. We started this half off 9-1, but have dropped our last three games, two of them by one run.
I've had two starts since my last post, one good one, one bad one. I had my rematch against Charleston Yankees and this time we came out with a 2-1 win. It was a seven inning game, the second game of a double header, I threw 6 1/3 innings, before my roommate Austin Hinkle came in to shut the door. Our bullpen has been really solid this year, which gives the starters a good feeling when we leave a close game. It was nice to finally have some success against the Yankees since they always seem to have my number.
My last start a few days ago was not as good as the one against Charleston.. I was up in the zone a little and it showed as I went only 4 2/3 innings and gave up 5 runs, 4 of them earned. We ended up coming back late in the game to score 4 runs, but lost 5-4. It is more frustrating because if I had let up 1 less run it would have been a tie game. However, the good thing about baseball is that there are plenty more opportunities to succeed. I'm not really too worried about the loss; I'll put this one behind me, work hard during the next few days, and come out next time ready to get back on track.
Hope all is well and I will talk to you in a few days.
Jesse
Chris Cody ? (June 27, 2008)
Hello all,
I'm in Ft. Meyers, Fla. We're playing a four game series with the Miracle (affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.) Right now I'm just chilling in my hotel room browsing the web while I wait for the bus to take us to the ballpark. I'm pitching tonight, so as usual, I have a few butterflies in my stomach. I suppose it's a mixture of nerves, anxiety and excitement. I usually try to get my mind off of the game by listening to music or taking a walk. Today, I was able to keep myself busy in the Barnes and Noble bookstore across the street from the hotel. I'm usually not much of a reader, but I guess butterflies and boredom make me do strange things to keep my mind occupied. As it gets closer to game time, and I get to the field to start getting ready to pitch, the nerves turn more into excitement and a little extra adrenaline boost. I sometimes catch my mind running in different directions about the other team, about my previous outing, about what I need to work on, and what my pitching coach told me two minutes ago. Making sure I stay relaxed enough to focus on my game plan is sometimes a challenge. I guess that's the sort of thing that separates the men from the boys in this game, the major leaguers from the minor leaguers.
Again, hopefully tonight goes well. I'll talk to everyone in a few days.... And as always, thanks for reading.
Chris
Nick Derba ? (June 25, 2008)
Hello fellow Jaspers and Jasper fans,
I would first like to congratulate Kevin Nieto on his excellent season and accolades he received. Also, Dom Lombardi for signing an Independent contract. I hope to see him with an affiliate soon. Good Luck Mooch.
I'm writing you from my home clubhouse in Palm Beach, Fla. The second half for myself has commenced on an up note, but for the team has been a little shaky. We are right around .500 which isn't too bad but after our playoff clinching first half I guess I got used to winning the majority of the time. Right now I have my sights set on our series with the Brevard Manatees where I will get to see and hopefully face my long time teammate and friend Chris Cody. I am really looking forward to this second half after a very poor first half offensively. It's okay though, it doesn't matter how you start but how you finish. Minor League baseball is a grind but I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else with my life at this point. We are currently in the midst of a four game series with the Western first half champs, the Fort Myers Miracle. They are an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. We currently lead the series 2-1 and have our final game today at 7 p.m. Today could really get us on a role if we win. We had our first doubleheader yesterday and my first in pro ball. I forgot how tough double dips are. That's about all for today. Talk to you guys soon.
Nick Derba
Jesse Darcy ? (June 21, 2008)
I'm writing from Columbus, Georgia again, as we are in the middle of a four-game set with the Charleston Riverdogs. Last time I wrote in, we had just finished a rough first half of the season, hoping things would turn around in the second half, and so far, so good.
We started the half 2-0 versus a really good Charleston team which finished the first half a game out of first place. I had a start last night (Friday); the final score was 11-8. It wasn't one of my best outings as I had a rough first inning and gave up two solo homers in the third. However, I managed to work six innings and left the game with it tied at 5-5. The offense really picked me up on this one, and I credit them for fighting back all game long. Every time Charleston scored a few we'd come right back. Charleston scored two in the top of the eighth; before we broke out for a six-run bottom of that inning and held on to get the win.
I feel like we might be about to get on a roll and rattle off a bunch of wins in the next few weeks. My next scheduled start is this coming Wednesday, against Charleston again. Hopefully, this time I'll throw a little better so the offense doesn't have to score double digits to get us the win. But, if they want to score 10+ a game, feel free, I definitely will not stop them.
Until next time...Jesse
Chris Cody ? (June 20, 2008)
Hello again, I'm writing to you from Viera, Florida, home of the Brevard County Manatees. It's great to be back where I left off last year in High A ball and the Florida State League.
I was promoted about five days ago and made my first appearance Tuesday night in relief of Randy Choate, who was making a rehab start in the minors. Choate is a lefty specialist reliever for the Brewers. For those who don't remember, he also pitched for the Yankees during their championship run a few years back. It was neat to be in the same clubhouse with him and to watch how he prepared for the game. I even had a chance to chat with him a little about his time in New York and being in the big leagues. Not surprising to me, he admitted that his time in New York were his fondest years of his career. As for my '08 Manatees debut, it didn't go the way I planned. I had a rough first inning of relief and my night was shortened due to heavy rain -- welcome back to Florida. Actually, we have had rain every day since I've been here.
I'm scheduled to start Sunday and I expect to get back on track. These first few days back in Florida have been quite hectic. Getting settled in a new place to live, getting to know my new teammates and getting re-adjusted to the Florida heat definitely takes some time.
I'll be sure to keep you all updated as the season goes on. Thanks for reading!
See ya, Chris...
Matt Rizzotti ? (June 20, 2008)
How we doing? This is Matt Rizzotti, former Jasper and current Lakewood Blueclaw in the Philadelphia Phillies' organization. First, I would like to extend my sincerest apologies for my lateness! Not to make any excuses, but I recently broke my hand in a battle with the ground, and as you can tell I lost! Anyway, moving on, I was drafted in the 6th round by the Philadelphia Phillies in last year's draft and I played my first year of professional baseball in lovely Williamsport, Pennsylvania, which is home of the Little League World Series.
It was a great first year, getting to meet different players and I learned a great deal about what minor league baseball is all about. It happens to be a little bit different from high school and college baseball for those who were wondering.
For those of you who don't know, the Lakewood Blueclaws are located in South Jersey. It's an unbelievably beautiful stadium and great fans, basically the only things we as minor leaguers can ask for.
Anyhow, the season has been pretty tough on me. I'm not doing that badly, but I'm not doing as well as I feel I can do. But I guess that's part of our learning experience, going out there and dealing with failure. We all come from a program or a league where we have all been successful. We now are put into a situation where everyone you play with is the same player you are, coming from a different program and just as successful as you. The minors is where we learn until we get good enough where the learning is surpassed by ability and when that happens it's called Major League Baseball.
And I would like to finish up with that I am sure that my former coaches Mike Cole and Ryan Darcy will be reading this and picking it apart and making fun of some of the things I have said. That's life, and I'm proud I have given you guys something to read during your day boys. And I hope everything is well with those who read this and those who don't.
Till next time...Matt
Jesse Darcy - (June 17, 2008)
Jasper Nation,
This is former Jasper pitcher Jesse Darcy; currently playing for the Columbus Catfish in the South Atlantic League, Low A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Make sure you always address them as the Tampa Bay Rays these days, not the Devil Rays, or apparently they will find you and kindly ask you to donate $1 to a charity of their choice. Anyway, I'm writing from the greater Columbus, Georgia area, as we are currently on the all-star break. This is my second season with the Rays, and my first full season since being drafted in the 38th round of the 2007 MLB Draft. Last season I played with the Hudson Valley Renegades in Fishkill, NY, former home to the MAAC Playoffs. I finished my first season with the Renegades, making 12 starts in 14 appearances, leading the team with six wins.
As mentioned, the first half of this season is over. We finished with a record of 27-43, obviously not as good as the team would like to have finished. Luckily, the SAL league resets each team's record to 0-0 at the start the second half. The winner of the first half and winner of the second half make playoffs from both the North and South Divisions. As long as we have a strong second half, we'll have a shot at back-to-back SAL Championships. As far as my performance so far this season, I started the year in the bullpen and threw well, earning a spot in the starting rotation a few weeks ago. The team is full of some very talented players, most of which I played with last year at Hudson Valley. We're going to take these next few days off, recharge the batteries, and come back ready to turn things around in the second half. Time to get going, but you all can follow me and the Catfish at www.columbuscatfish.com or at www.milb.com.
Nick Derba - (June 16, 2008)
Hello Jasper fans,
This is Nick Derba, the current catcher of the Palm Beach Cardinals of the St. Louis Cardinals' farm system. I am writing to you from Daytona, Florida where I am on a four game road trip against the Class High A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. I am playing in the Florida State League. This is my second professional season, both with the Cardinals. I was drafted last year in 2007 after the culmination of my senior year. I was a 30th round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals. I started last season in the NY/Penn League in Batavia, New York. Batavia is upstate near Buffalo. I spent 21 games with the Batavia Muckdogs before being promoted to Class Low A Quads City Swing. The Swing, now currently the Riverbandits, are in Iowa. I finished out the season in Davenport. This year with the Palm Beach Cardinals has been slow offensively for me, but my defense is still there. Our team recently clinched a playoff berth with nine games left in the first half. We have a good bunch of guys, some of which I have played against either in college or summer ball. Most notable among my teammates are the alum from the University of Nebraska: Luke Gorsett, Brandon Buckman and Andrew Brown (who was just promoted to Double A). I enjoyed watching the college regional games of late because I had the luxury of asking them who beat them in 2006. It's a trivial fact that everyone in the clubhouse rubs in the Cornhuskers face. It's about that time; I have to get going to my game tonight. I should be in the lineup, hopefully get my bat together tonight. You can follow me and the first place Palm Beach Cardinals on http://www.palmbeachcardinals.com/ or http://www.milb.com/.
Chris Cody - (June 12, 2008)
Dear Jasper fans,
This is Jasper alum, Milwaukee Brewers farmhand, and left handed starting pitcher, Chris Cody. I'm writing to you from Charleston, West Virginia, home of Brewers' single A affiliate, West Virginia Power of the South Atlantic League. I am in my third professional season, and my second season with the Milwaukee organization. I was originally drafted as a senior out of Manhattan College by the Detroit Tigers in June ?06. After a season and a half with them, I was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers on July 1, 2007. I've been with the Power for about three weeks now after spending the first two months of the season in Phoenix, AZ, getting my arm back to full health in extended spring training (not a pleasurable experience). I expect to make a few rehab starts here before returning to where I was last year: Advanced A level, Brevard County Manatees of the Florida State League. So far, my 2008 campaign has gone well. It's great to get back into action with a team and to get out on that mound every five days. I seem to have bounced back well from the elbow injury that set me back since the end of the '07 season. I'm scheduled to pitch tonight (Thursday 6-12-08) so hopefully I throw well and I continue to build up my pitch count and arm strength enough to earn that promotion back to Brevard County. You can follow me and my team, The Power on our team's website www.wvpower.com
or simply go to www.milb.com.
Thanks for checking out our new blog and I hope you continue to check out future entries to see how all the former Jaspers are doing.
Thanks again and I'll talk to you soon.... Go Jaspers!
Sincerely,
Chris Cody
