Turn Around

TR ...

He jacked one against my son last week ... son had a shut out going into the 9th and Chris' team won the game because of his 2-run homer ...

Let me tell you about Lubanski. I watched him in every one of his home games into late May. I was speaking with a local area scout that knew him. I asked the scout, how in the world did someone draft this guy in the first round. At that time, he had over 100 AB's and was hitting .178

The scout told me that Lubanski was a legit first roundeer and that he would be hitting .300 by the end of the year. Lubanski looked so bad in his at bats, I mean he didn't have a chance of making contact. He was striking out and looking bad doing it. I bet that scout a steak dinner that Lubanski would not get to .300

Mathematically and from what I saw of him in two months, I knew it was easy money. The very day I made that bet, Lubanski had his first multi-hit day. I thought it was a fluke but it kept going. I called that scout and asked him if he called Chris and told him about our bet and made him mad. He said he didn't. Chris looked like a totally different player overnight!

The next day in the paper, the reporter asked him about his apparent turn around. Lubanski said something to the effect that he quit thinking and started seeing the ball and hitting it.

I'm glad I lost the bet. I understand Chris is a great kid.

wvmtnr ...

Good to meet you tonight (9/2). Best wishes to your son in his pro career. Hopefully, if you get to see AJ again, you can see him throw a good game ...

FutureBack.Mom

I enjoyed meeting you too. AJ didn't pitch bad last night. The conditions were ripe for hitting. Lancaster and HD are tough parks to look good. You know that though. I haven't seen too many low scoring games there. He'll do well. Thanks for your kind words for Kevin.

FBM,

From Baseball America:

Diamondbacks righthander A.J. Shappi allowed 11 hits and six runs over six innings on Saturday in High Class A Lancaster's 13-11 win over High Desert, but did earn credit for the win, giving him 16 wins overall and tying him with Toronto's Zach Jackson for the minor league lead.

kjktj ...

And the funny thing ... he and Zack are former teammates from when they played for Hyannis in the Cape in 2003. They stayed in touch thru college but haven't had a chance to hook up as much since turning pro. It is a small small world, this baseball life.

FutureBackMom,

Congrats to AJ! "...giving him 16 wins overall and tying him with Toronto's Zach Jackson for the minor league lead." That is very exciting!

TR ...

Don't know if you watched his stats during the recent 3 game mini-series, but Chris was phenomenal ...
1st game 4 for 4 with 2 HR and 4 RBI;
2nd game 5 for 6 with an RBI (the Lancaster fans cheered when one of their pitchers actually got Chris out);
3rd game 4 for 5, hitting for the cycle with 4 RBI

He finished the series batting .867 ... I swear he was awe-inspiring. When a kid is on fire like that, you almost wish his team could advance ... but alas and alack, it was a tough series and the Dbacks' affiliate won the series by one run in the top of the 11th inning. So Chris will get some much needed rest (these guys are all tired)

Matter of fact I heard his on line interview yesterday--the kid is on fire