Rehabbin' Petrick Gets Some Game Action
Like the MLB regular season, there is a rhythm to Extended Spring Training.
Players get Sundays off, play games versus the EXST squads from other organizations on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, and Thursday is "Camp Day."
Camp Day is the day when the entire EXST squad comes together for a work-out and an intrasquad game, and the Camp Day intrasquad game is where pitchers and position players who are rehabbing from injuries are most-likely to see game action, because the conditions are more controlled.
An inning can be terminated early ("roll it!") when a pitcher reaches his maximum pitch count for that inning before there are three outs, or an inning can be extended if the pitcher gets three outs before reaching his minimum number of pitches for that inning.
And such was the case today...
RHP Billy Petrick is on the Cubs 40-man roster and was at big league camp during the early days of Spring Training '08. However, he pitched in only one Cactus League game, and then was optioned to AAA Iowa on March 7th because of "shoulder weakness" that extends back to last August when he was up in the big leagues with the Cubs, And then he was left behind at Fitch Park (EXST) to try and build-up shoulder strength when the Iowa Cubs left Mesa at the end of March.
So it's news that Petrick threw in today's EXST intrasquad affair, going 1.1 IP, allowing one hit, while getting three ground outs and an infield pop up. He didn't appear to be throwing particularly hard, but If he can get the strength back in his shoulder and reach and maintain adequate velocity, he should be able to leave Fitch Park pretty soon and (probably) get some rehab action at warm-weather Daytona before rejoining the Iowa Cubs.
RHP Rafael Dolis is "Jose Ceda Lite." He's about the same size as Ceda (slightly taller and not quite as heavy) but doesn't throw quite as hard. Dolis had TJ surgery last year, and is presently rehabbing at Fitch Park. Today he got his first game action in almost a year, throwing two innings (both terminated early due to high pitch counts), officially going 1.0 IP, allowing a hit and a walk, while striking out one. His fastball did touch 95 on the gun, although he had a lot of trouble commanding his breaking ball.
RHP Billy Muldowney had TJ surgery last July. Prior to that, he was one of the Cubs top pitching prospects. Today, Muldowney went two innings, allowing a hit while walking two and striking out one. Like Dolis, Muldowney struggled with command and you could see he was frustrated with his performance.
And although it wasn't a rehab outing, 18-year old 6'4 Australian LHP (and ex-cricket player) Cody Hams got his first U. S. game action this morning, going two innings. I expected him to struggle with his control, but while he did hit Leon Johnson with an 0-2 pitch (and then promptly picked Johnson off 1st base with a real nice pick-off move), he mostly stayed ahead of the hitters and didn't walk anybody. His delivery is similar to Rich Hill's.
Among the rehabbing position players, Leon Johnson (finger), Tony Richie (rib cage), Brandon Guyer (shoulder surgery), and Jeffrey Rea (unknown-type injury) all got ABs, with Richie, Guyer, and Rea serving as DHs, while Johnson played CF.
3B John Contreras (who hit a 420-foot home run yesterday) just missed hitting another one, blasting a triple off the top of the CF fence in the 5th.
17-year old Dominican LHP Jeffry Antigua continues to be the most-impressive of the young Latin pitchers who are making their U. S. debut this year. He threw three shutout innings today, and got a ton of ground balls along the way.
And catcher Alvaro Sosa is now switch-hitting. (He used to be a left-handed hitter only). Like Carlos Perez, Sosa is a very good defensive catcher with a strong arm.
Here is the abridged box score for today's EXST Cubs intrasquad game
LINEUPS:
SQUAD "A"
1. Leon Johnson, CF: 0-1 (K-s, BB + R, HBP + PO)
2. Elvis Lara, LF: 2-3 (1B + SB, 1B, F-8)
3. Brandon Guyer, DH #1: 0-3 (1-3, P-5, 5-3)
4. John Contreras, 3B: 1-1 (BB, F-8 SF-RBI, 3B + R)
5. Tony Richie, DH #2: 1-2 (F-7, 2B + R)
6. Bryan Jost, 1B: 0-2 (6-3, F-7, F-9 SF-RBI)
7. Kevin Soto, RF: 1-3 (4-3, P-6, 1B + SB)
8. Dwayne Kemp, 2B: 2-3 (1B, 1B-RBI, 3-U)
9. Junior Lake, SS: 0-1 (P-6, BB)
10. Jose Guevara, C: 0-2 (5-3, 6-3)
SQUAD "B"
1. Starlin Castro, 2B: 0-3 (1-3, 5-6 BUNT FC + SB, 5-3)
2. Gian Guzman, SS: 1-3 (1B, 6-3, P-6)
3. Josh Vitters, 3B: 0-2 (6-3, F-8)
4. Nelson Perez, RF: 0-2 (F-8, L-4)
5. Luis Bautista, 1B: 1-2 (6-3, 2B)
6. Andres Quezada, CF: 0-2 (1-3, K-s)
7. Luke Sommer, LF: 0-1 (P-4, BB)
8. Roberto Sabates, DH #1: 1-2 (1B, K-c)
8. Alvaro Sosa, C: 0-2 (4-6-3 GIDP, F-7)
9. Jose Made, DH #2: 0-2 (K-c, 1-U)
10. Jeffrey Rea, DH #3: 1-1 (BB, 1B)
11. Carlos Perez, DH #4: 0-1 (F-8)
PITCHERS:
SQUAD "A"
1. Jeffry Antigua - 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 WP, 1 GIDP (6/2 GB/FB)
2. Billy Muldowney - 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 WP (2/2 GB/FB)
3. Dionis Nunez - 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (2/3 GB/FB)
SQUAD "B"
1. Rafael Dolis - 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 BALK
2. Billy Petrick - 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (3/1 GB/FB)
3. Rogelio Carmona - 1.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 0 K
4. Cody Hams - 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP, 1 PO (3/2 GB/FB)
DEFENSE: No errors!
CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Guevara - 0-1 CS
Sosa - 0-2 CS
WEATHER: Cool and VERY breezy
ATTENDANCE: 3
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