This ‘N That
The Quakes lost 8-7 in 11 innings yesterday at Lake Elsinore, but I filmed plenty of offense for highlight clips. Click Here to watch Mark Trumbo’s homer. You need Windows Media Player and a broadband Internet connection (cable modem, DSL) to watch. I’ll try to put more footage on line in the next couple days.
Mark homered Saturday night too. I wasn’t there, but his teammates said his first homer cleared the 425′ sign in left-center field. Yesterday’s homer struck the scoreboard in straightaway left field. It’s 380′ to left and about another 40-50 feet to the scoreboard, so those are two impressive pokes.
In the four-game series at Lake Elsinore, Trumbo was 6 for 19 with two homers, three doubles and 5 RBI. I’ve seen a few people post on fan boards that Mark is a “bust” and the Angels should move him back to the mound. After those two prodigious shots, I think Angels management will listen to their coaches who actually have knowledge of the game.
The Los Angeles Times updates us on Chris Bootcheck’s status:
Reliever Chris Bootcheck, on the disabled list because of a strained muscle in his left side, threw two innings in an extended spring training game Saturday and Scioscia said he was making progress toward rejoining the team. Bootcheck could throw three innings his next time out and if everything goes well, Scioscia said, he’ll probably be sent out on a minor league rehabilitation assignment.
I’ll be in Salt Lake April 11-14, so maybe the stars will align and I’ll be able to film Boot pitching on rehab.
Speaking of Salt Lake, hitting coach Jim Eppard was interviewed yesterday on the Angels’ pre-game show. Among many topics, he talked about their tinkering with Brandon Wood. He said Brandon’s hands are so fast that he’s “in and out of the zone” too fast. They want Brandon to wait longer so he can recognize the pitch. Eppard also said they’re trying to level his swing so he’s hitting more line drives and not arc shots. If you visit the FutureAngels.com Video Gallery you’ll see eleven of Wood’s homers from 2005 at Rancho Cucamonga, excellent examples of Brandon’s hitting mechanics — three years ago, anyway.
When I’m in Salt Lake next weekend I’m going to try to record interviews with Wood and Eppard on this subject. Unfortunately most of the “analysis” you get from fans on the Internet is of the “he sucks, trade him!” variety. I’ll go to the source and get you the facts.
FutureAngels.com 