So a couple days ago, I asked Eric Stephen of True Blue LA to ask Carl Crawford about his hitting mechanics, and he did so for me, primarily because he’s awesome.

Why, you ask? Because of my article for Baseball Prospectus back in October broaching that exact subject. Basically, I wanted to know if I was right so I could pat myself on the back.

:o

Anyway, he allowed me to publish the convo.

—–

Are you going back to your style and/or stance from 2010?

“I’m pretty much trying to get back to how I was doing things then.”

“When I got to Boston, my stance was more open. I’m trying to get back to being more square to the pitcher, and my batting stance isn’t as wide. Those are two of the little things I’m trying to focus on.”

On Going The Other Way

“Batting more square, more closed, instead of being more open. When I’m open the ball away looks far away, so I’m trying to get more square so everything looks closer to me.”

—–

I AM A GENIUS!

But seriously though, it’s positive that he’s trying to get back to his 2010 stance, because there’s a gigantic difference between his approach then and in 2011.

My hopes that he would carry on with his 2012 adjustment seems valid, as he appears to acknowledge that it’s something he could benefit from. Now all that’s left is to see whether he can stay healthy enough to implement it and whether or not he can stick to the plan.

—–

Amazingly, the evil dictator Mike Petriello picked up on Crawford’s comments and wrote about Crawford’s mechanics as well, though he picked up on one thing that I didn’t.

So what impact did the stance shenanigans have? Among other things, it made him unable to get to the outside pitch. Using the Baseball Prospectus heat maps, we can see that when Crawford was having his career year in 2010, with his stance slowly opening up, he was quite good at getting to pitches on the outside part of the plate. In 2011, fully open, he had absolutely no prayer. (And, it should be noted, even in September of 2010 he was beginning to have trouble getting to outside pitches.)

This is a cool finding because it expands on my point that he was struggling with hard stuff due to his timing errors. So now we have another specific thing to watch, which is his plate coverage.

In the end, a major-league player confirmed that I am an absolute genius…

…or maybe that he’s just trying to go back to the last time he was successful.

I had the opportunity to speak with Chris Reed before his Nov. 8 Arizona Fall League game.

Edited for sanity, because nobody wants to read “uh” and “um” and laughs and transitions and crap.

—–

Pitching in the AFL is always difficult, so are you making any conscious adjustments to that or is it just specifically working on things beyond results?

“Yeah, we’re working on a few things. Working both sides of the plate and throwing off-speed in fastball counts. And I’d say adjusting to the hitters too because that’s who you’re going to be facing in the future.

Is there a mental aspect to that due to the increased competition or the hitter’s environment there in Arizona?

“Guys are looking for fastballs here, so you have to throw off-speed in fastball counts, and you have to be consistent with the fastball. Also, taking a mental approach where you have to pound the zone and make them hit it, hopefully right at somebody.”

As far as adjustments go, were there any mechanical or mental things that the Dodgers have made with you or wanted out of you?

“Yeah, I made a few mechanical adjustments. We’re trying to work them out because we didn’t want to make them in-season, so I’m working on that here. It’s more about repertoire and facing hitters here, but yeah, a few mechanical adjustments.”

Is there anything more specific you can say about it?

“Staying behind the ball and taking my hand behind me versus towards third base, shortening my arm path up, and hiding the ball a little better.”

You talked about pitch selection and what not, so as far as that’s concerned, what pitch do you have the most confidence in and what pitch needs improvement going forward?

“I’m most confident in my two-seam fastball, that has been my go-to pitch, both inside and outside. It’s been my best pitch and my best command, but also, I’ve been working on getting my slider back, so when I have that, I’m most confident in using that in two-strike situations or even like getting ahead of lefties. I like to use that pitch. In terms of what pitch I need to work on the most, it’s my change-up, but I felt I came a long way with that here so I feel I can use that next season as well.”

As far as your change-up goes, do the Dodgers have an organizational philosophy to teach that or is that more of your own work?

“We’re working with individual coaches that throw similar to you or have an idea of what you’re going through, so I’ve been working with Matt Herges here in terms of putting more pressure on the inside of my middle finger and the circle part of the change-up. So that’s what I’ve been working on, is just putting more pressure on the inside of the ball.”

—–

Chris Reed was great to talk with because he seemed conscious of what I wanted to know and even provided extra details to questions without me asking. I thought it was a pretty revealing conversation because I was personally interested to see what the Dodgers were having him do mechanically so I could look at it later.

The last question I asked was because I know readers here and commenters at True Blue LA have speculated that the Dodgers hate the change-up and don’t teach it, speculation primarily based on the lack of pitchers that use the pitch in the system. However, it seemed to me that if you do throw the pitch, they don’t mind and find coaches that can work with them. Maybe it’s a new switch in organizational philosophy? I dunno, but if they did have something against it before, it certainly didn’t seem like there was an organizational mandate on it now.

I had the opportunity to speak with Joc Pederson before his Nov. 8 Arizona Fall League game.

Edited for sanity, because nobody wants to read “uh” and “um” and laughs and transitions and crap.

—–

You admitted that you scuffled to start 2011, but that you made adjustments that helped shape your breakout in 2012, specifically what mechanical changes were implemented by the Dodgers or what did you do to change things up?

“There were a couple things I worked on, there were a couple things that we addressed, and I just tried to fine tune my movements that I was doing, and one of the hitting coaches I had in Ogden helped me with that.”

You mentioned that you looked at Carlos Gonzalez and those types, so was there anything specific in your swing or was it just balance or something of that nature?

“Yeah, I don’t think my swing has changed, it’s just the position I’m getting into. Like allowing my swing to work, and my body was not allowing my swing to work.”

You said that playing for Team Israel in the WBC was a great experience for you, but after full-season ball and then going to the WBC qualifiers, and now you’re in the AFL, has fatigue become a factor at all?

“I mean it’s a grind but I’m enjoying every day of it, and I’m learning as much as I can and taking it all in so that it’ll help me with my season next year and throughout my career.”

As far as your batting approach goes, the approach you take at the plate is often lauded as advanced, but is that something you’ve worked on over the years or is that an innate feel for hitting?

“I have an approach that Johnny Washington helped me with to stay through the middle and stay inside the ball. My approach changed when I got to Ogden. I didn’t really have an approach before, I just went out and was relying on my ability, but he helped me have a plan in going up to the plate and what not.”

Speaking of adjustments, do you anticipate having to make any adjustments as you move up to AA or even now in the AFL?

“Yeah, I’m just trying to keep it simple. Get a good pitch and put a good swing on it, and obviously it’s a game of adjustments, so guys are going to pitch you differently and guys are going to adjust, so you’re gonna have to adjust to the game and still put together a quality at-bat.”

Is it more like the speed of the game as you move up through the levels or it is more like the mental aspect?

“Yeah, I’m really focusing on the mental aspect of the game and controlling what I can control. So that’s the learning process, it won’t come overnight, so you just have to stay with it and eventually it’ll come.”

—–

Not sure if he didn’t want to talk about his hitting mechanics so specifically or if he didn’t know the specifics or if he assumed I wouldn’t understand, but I couldn’t get much out of that. He did talk a bunch about refining his approach at the plate and where he needed to be though.

I thought the comments about his mental adjustments were particularly interesting, because it seemed like the typical path of a guy who had all the physical tools but needed to refine them into baseball skills, and it’s probably beneficial that he learned the difference early on in the process rather than later when it might have been too late.

For what it’s worth, he came off as amicable and friendly.

Photo Credit: Hans Gutknecht of the Los Angeles Daily News.

I had the opportunity to speak with Onelki Garcia before his Nov. 8 Arizona Fall League game, a conversation that was translated by Rodney Linares, manager of the Mesa Solar Sox and a manager in the Houston Astros system.

Edited for sanity, because nobody wants to read “uh” and “um” and laughs and transitions and crap.

—–

After all the hardships he’s gone through to get to where he is now, has it affected the way he looks at or plays baseball?

“He said he feels really good even though he’s been through a lot, and that he’s happy and he’s a little impressed with the amount of talent of the players he’s playing with right now, but he’s learning and getting a lot of experience and he says he’s thankful for the opportunity.”

After the extended layoff and his oblique injury, does he have any concerns about durability or rust going into the 2013 season?

“He says that after he had the oblique he had a little bit of a bicep issue, but that he doesn’t envision that it’ll be anything that hampers him for next year. He’s been here in Arizona with the Dodgers and he’s been here working out. He says he still feels it a bit after pitching but he doesn’t envision it being a big problem for next year. He’s ready and happy to be here.”

He still feels the bicep or the oblique?

“Yeah, the bicep, he says he still feels it after he pitches, a little bit, but not before he pitches.”

Can he describe what pitches he throws?

“He says he has a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, sinker, a curve, which he uses a lot, and his change-up is developing. He says he doesn’t use it a lot but it’s coming along.”

—–

Short but informative, as I previously had no idea that he threw all those pitches. Perhaps most importantly though, people were unable to confirm previously why he wasn’t throwing in the AFL, but it turns out that he had both an oblique and bicep injury.

Overall, he seems like a good guy and is just genuinely excited to get back on the field. Also, Rodney Linares is awesome.

The name might not immediately ring a bell, but most of you know him as the Dodgers minor leaguer who runs the entertaining and insightful Dear Tommy John Letters blog.

In the interview, Brian dishes about dealing with major injuries, the minor league environment, reading Dodger blogs, and gives lots of other random insights.

The interview is rather long, but I think it’s well worth the read.

—

I guess a good place to start would be to inquire about how your recovery from Tommy John surgery is coming along. Also, where do you expect to be playing in the organization, and what are your expectations?

Wow, it took a great deal of self-restraint to not respond with a graphical illustration of my recovery. I will say that had I drawn a graph, there would be a high level of variance but the trend line would indicate a successful surgery. With injuries, I guess I always thought that you just gradually got better until one day, you woke up and you were back at 100%. My recovery was definitely not like that. Some days, even early on, my arm would feel great – like I was ready to compete. Other days I felt like I would be better off trying to throw left-handed. In hindsight, I may have entered into games a bit prematurely last year but I think it was good for me – I have no regrets. Now, 18 months removed, I feel totally normal and am ready to be evaluated that way.

As for where I’ll be this season, I really can’t speculate. We’re always reminded that “it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish” (especially when we’re being told that we’re going to have to repeat a level). I’m prepared for anything and I’m just excited to compete for a job.

In one of the entries on your blog, you mentioned that while you were surprised by the amount of positive experiences you’ve had with minor league teammates, there were specific instances where strife frequently occurred, like with the bitter veterans who didn’t want kids reading Baseball America type publications. What were some other causes of clubhouse strife? Were there any other types of players you noticed who would constantly rub you or others the wrong way?

Unrelated to that question, how helpful has minor league coaching been to you? There is a sense among fans that most of the real coaching occurs in the minor leagues, do you believe this to be the case? Have you noticed a different type of coach or coaching style as you’ve advanced levels?

Without a doubt, the number one catalyst for clubhouse strife would have to be the card games. I’m convinced that some players are more concerned about their win percentage in Spades than they are about their batting average.

In all honesty, I really haven’t witnessed many problems in the clubhouse. Sure, there have been a few quarrels, but for the most part we get along. On a scale of 1 – 10 measuring clubhouse togetherness, (1 being Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton brandishing weapons, and 10 being the team in ‘Remember The Titans’ rehearsing their choreographed pregame dance) the teams that I’ve been a part of would probably operate at about a 7. It doesn’t make for a very exciting answer to your question, but it’s the truth. I know that resentment among players exists, but the feelings usually don’t result in anything that I would characterize as strife.

The coaches that the Dodgers have in place at the minor league level are tremendous. From top to bottom. It really is a surreal moment in spring training when Dejon Watson introduces the staff. The success that some of these guys have had at the major league level is astounding. When you’re joking around with Charlie Hough in the stretching lines, it’s easy to forget that he won over 200 big league games. Then when he throws you a knuckleball during warm-ups, you are quickly reminded of how he acheived that feat. Outsiders might think that these guys are hired because of their names and their playing careers, but they are all truly great coaches. It is invaluable to have a mentor that has been through your same problems and come out on top.

The coaching style does change a bit as you move through the system. At the lower levels, coaches tend to come to you with advice, and at the higher levels, the players typically seek out the coaches for advice. I guess the assumption is that by the time you get to the AA and AAA levels, you have a pretty good handle on your delivery. That’s not to say that the help isn’t available at any level, there just seems to be a different etiquette as you move along.

I would have never known that about card games. I always thought those two fighting over cards was one of the most ridiculous things i’ve ever heard.

Anyway, in your career, you have advanced as far as AAA. How frustrating was it to get so close to the majors only to be setback by a significant injury? You mentioned before that you’ve had doubts like any minor league player would, how advanced did those doubts get?

As far as your injury is concerned, many who go through the surgery say that their velocity commonly bounces back, but fine control is usually the last thing to return, is that what you have experienced thus far? Were you able to pinpoint any mechanical reason for your arm troubles, or do you believe it was just a matter of typical attrition that occurs?

This may sound strange, but the news of my injury was actually kind of a relief. At the time, I was in AAA but I was pitching horribly. Technically it was the closest I had ever been to the big leagues, but I had never felt so far away.

Mechanically, I felt like I was all over the place. To borrow a phrase from Roy McAvoy, my delivery felt “like an unfolding lawnchair”. I can’t pinpoint when it started, but the last time I remember feeling right was in spring training. I was never pitching in pain, I just felt like something was off. It felt like I had to put forth way too much effort to sustain my normal velocity. What made it particularly tough though, was the fact that I didn’t look much different in any of the videos I watched. And I watched a ton of video. I can probably recite every pitch sequence that I had filmed that year. This is when the doubt really began to set in. I had certainly struggled at different points in my career, but never this badly. One of my strong suits has always been the ability to figure out what was causing me to struggle, but at this point, I really had no idea.

Any pitcher that has a reputation for being smart has heard “it looks like you’re thinking too much out there”. That was easily the most common advice that I received from those trying to help me. After a while, I began to wonder if maybe they were right, if maybe the problem was mental. Just considering this was devastating to me. If I never make it to the big leagues, I’ll be extremely disappointed, but I’ll get over it. After all, it’s not an easy thing to accomplish. But if I didn’t make it and I thought that it was because I was weak-minded – I’m not sure how I would deal with that. That’s where I felt like I was heading and it was hard. I was starting to think that it was turning into something that would haunt me the rest of my life. Writing this now, it sounds so melodramatic, but at the time it was all I could think about.

Then I started to notice something… I couldn’t straighten my arm. It had felt stiff between outings, but I still didn’t have anything that I’d describe as pain. Now though, I was actually losing range of motion. I decided to show our trainer and he recommended an MRI. He and the doctor agreed that I probably had developed some bone spurs. About a week later, the results showed that I did indeed have some spurs, but my UCL was also torn. I was shocked, but strangely relieved.

Not to harp on the negative feelings one might go through in the minor leagues, but have you ever considered quitting, or have you ever lost faith in your career path? Have you seen teammates have to make that decision? If so, what do you think influences somebody like Justin Orenduff (mid-20s, relatively close to the majors) to retire, but guys like Mitch Jones (early-30s, career minor leaguer, eventually made it) to push on?

On a lighter note, i’ve realized by reading your site that you’re into the statistical aspect of the game. Has sabermetrics helped your approach to pitching in anyway? If so, how? And how many teammates do you believe actually care or understand how players are valued in today’s market? Like do you think there’s been a premium placed on plate discipline instead of being free swinging to maintain a batting average?

During the worst of it, just before finding out I needed surgery, I did consider quitting as an option. I know the opportunity cost of bouncing around in the minor leagues all too well (it would be awesome if I could pick up a tab for my successful banker/lawyer/doctor friends every once and a while). But for me to actually quit, I would have to know that I wasn’t good enough to pitch in the big leagues. In 2008, I knew that this was the case – what I didn’t know was that I was pitching without a functioning UCL.

To quit anything that you are passionate about without regret, I think you have to come to the realization that your best efforts are not going to be enough. I’ve seen several close friends make this tough decision and I think that all of them had this realization at some point. Pushing on (as in the case of Mitch Jones) is just a product of still believing in your ability. And if you ever see Mitch hit during one of his hot streaks, he will make you a believer as well.

I’ve always been into statistics, but I can’t really say that they have influenced my approach to pitching very much. Most of the metrics for pitchers are pretty intuitive (such as the focus on BBs, Ks, and HRs) so learning them didn’t really change anything for me. With hitting, I could definitely see how a knowledge of sabermetrics could be beneficial. I have seven career at-bats and have not yet drawn a walk, even though I’m fully aware of the importance of OBP. I think that this has less to do with me being a free-swinger, and more to do with me being a really bad-swinger.

So I know that you’ve mentioned to me in the past that you do read certain Dodger blogs, and I was wondering what you thought of us, or just the medium, in general. Is it awkward to hear outsiders give their opinion on an organization that you are a part of?

I subscribe to several Dodger blogs and I really enjoy reading them. More often than not, I’m impressed by how well the writers use their resources to make accurate predictions about the players. The posts that I really enjoy are those that are informative, but also hint at how passionate the writer is about their team. Even if that means being angry with them from time to time… but not all the time. There are way too many bitter sports bloggers out there. Sometimes I think that, deep down, those guys want their team(s) to lose so that they have something to complain about. It’s like they aren’t happy unless they’re miserable. (I realize that makes no sense whatsoever, but I’m sticking with it.)

The only time I’ve ever felt uncomfortable reading an opinion was when that opinion involved Jason Schmidt. I understand why fans were unhappy with his production, but that guy worked his tail off every day to try and make good on his contract – even when it was clear that he wasn’t going to be able to. He could have easily shut it down and collected pay checks at home, but he’s not that kind of guy. Instead, he came to Camelback Ranch every morning and went through all of the monotonous drills and all of the conditioning in the 115 degree heat. It was Jason Schmidt, 8 or 9 rehabbers (like me), and about 80 rookieballers fresh out of high school. I know people will read this and think, “that’s the least he could do given how much he was earning” – but that’s not my point. My point is that he didn’t have to do it, and the truth is, most guys in his position would not have done it.

Thanks, Brian. Understood on both points, and I think the people reading it will understand the sentiment as well.

Thanks again for agreeing to this, it was informative and interesting for me to get a player’s perspective on things, especially from a fellow blogger.

No problem, Chad. I enjoyed it.

—

It’s worth noting that this interview was conducted through e-mail.  I feel that should be mentioned because some of the questions were long, and I didn’t want you guys to get the impression that I was just sitting there asking him a ten minute long question on the phone while he was on the other end contemplating why he ever agreed to do the interview in the first place.

I’ll just let you read the interview transcript for now, but I’ll give my thoughts on it afterwards.

What I’m saying is in bold, and the interview jumps around a lot, but that’s mainly because I suck.

—

How does the talent in the Arizona Fall League compare to what you saw at the AA level?

It’s about AA because when I saw the rosters I saw a lot of AA or AAA guys, or guys that got called up, so I would compare it to about AA.

Is the environment at the AFL relaxed and casual between players or have you noticed a lot of competition between prospects?

It’s both casual and competitive. It’s not laid back or anything, but it’s like a big showcase like in high school or something.

I noticed that you just finished a game in which there were about 40 runs scored, do you believe that’s a reflection of the conditions up there?

No, I just think there’s a lot of good hitters in the game today. Just good players, basically.

I saw you play back in 2007 or so, and while you had tools to succeed, the performance never seemed to pan out as well as it it in 2009. Was there anything in particular that sparked the change in results?

I just made some adjustments. This year I just wanted to put out the full potential of what I can do. You know, I can run and hit, and I got a little bit of power, and this year I just wanted to put it all together.

I picked up a bigger bat and I really worked on my fear of getting caught baserunning. I think this year I didn’t have that fear.

On that note, I know there’s a lot of people that focus on, or are worried about, your stealing percentage, but in the minor leagues it seems like it’s more of a learning process than anything. Was it that way for you this past year, or is it just something you need to work on going forward?

I had the green light and every time I got caught I learned something new. I got caught 20 times this year and I learned something new every time. They gave me the green light to see if I could get better jumps, and especially stuff like running off of slide steps. Comparing the year before and this year, it was just like “don’t hold nothing back”.

Was it about running as much as possible to get used to it?

It was a learning process, but at the same time, I think I did well under the circumstances.

Addressing the change to the bigger bat, a concern is that the strikeouts will carryover to the advanced pitching in AA. Is that something we should be concerned about as fans, or are you confident that it won’t be an issue?

I would not put it on the big bat. I’ve been striking out for a while, and i’ve been striking out anyway, but when I got to AA, my strikeout to walk ratio actually got a little better. To me, I struck out 147 times, but it really didn’t register in my head until the end of the season. To me, a strikeout is like a line out, a pop out, a rollover, it doesn’t really matter to me.

Right, one out is one out regardless of how it comes.

Yeah. I mean, i’m not looking at no 10 for 10 in strikeouts, like strikeout-strikeout-strikeout, but one thing I tried to learn this year is to turn the page.

Is that a change in mentality or approach?

Oh yeah, even with a home run, you have to come up with another at-bat. There’s time I had 3 strikeouts and the winning run is on second base, so I gotta focus on that at-bat. I can’t care about the 3 strikeouts before and what it means. The more negative thoughts you have, the more it’s gonna come up negative.

Does that change reflect on your consistency? In another interview, you said that “consistency moves you up through the minor league levels”, so how have you tried to become more consistent?

It’s daily routines and approach, that’s what I think personally. I didn’t think so much about consistency in at-bats, but like game plan, what type of player you want to be, and not letting results change who you are.

Both on and off the field?

Yeah.

Later in the season, the Dodgers rewarded your performance by moving you up to AA. A lot of people view that league as a true test of a prospect because a lot of guys jump from that league to the majors.

That league is pretty good man (laughing).

Right, and you seemed relatively unfazed by any perceived gap in talent, but did you notice any significant differences between high-A and AA?

As far as talent, nah, not really I don’t think. There’s a lot of big names but not necessarily more talent. I would think the biggest difference is that the guys are smarter.

So the difference is more in the approach than being more talented players? Is it because they’re older?

Yeah, they’re older, and I thought about that too when I got to the locker room and a lot of guys were like 28 or 29. They know because they’ve been around the game a while.

On a random note, some people, including me, wanted to know if you’re faster than Devaris (Dee) Gordon.

(Laughs) Man, that’s one of my best friends, I don’t know. If you look at me and him, i’m twice his size (laughing). I don’t know, i’m a real big supporter of Dee, and I like the way he plays and works hard. I’m like his fan, so i’m gonna choose him.

So you guys aren’t gonna set up a race anytime soon in Spring Training or something?

You know what, maybe, but it’s gonna be private. It’s gonna be closed (laughing).

After your breakout year, you’re having a lot more attention being paid to you. Do you read what people say about you in print or on the internet?

I got my agent who tells me stuff, but I try not to pay attention because a lot of that stuff is negative. To be honest, I haven’t even looked at a computer in a while. They all talking about my temper and some stuff I can’t be worried about.

Even in 2008, I had a pretty good year as a 20-year-old in high-A, had no clue in my second year switch hitting, but I try not to think about stuff like that. Even my agent just said Baseball America said nothing good about me, so I can’t focus on that. I just gotta keep going.

You mentioned difficulty with switch hitting, so I was wondering whether that was something that came naturally or if it’s still a work in progress.

Not natural (laughs). I wasn’t forced to do it or nothing, and they gave me a choice to stop. I look back on it and I can probably say that I probably wanted to stop switch hitting at least 10 times.

Are you glad you stuck with it?

Yeah, because I got more power left-handed than right-handed (laughs).

People now have increased expectations of you, and some even want you to replace Manny Ramirez in 2011, does that kind of pressure affect you at all?

I don’t know. I mean, Manny Ramirez is a good player, and nobody should be saying that. I hope Dodgers fans wouldn’t want me to replace Manny Ramirez, but just be glad to have another Robinson in a Dodgers uniform (laughs).

I actually played with [Manny] when he came down to rehab, so that was fun, but to replace him is not something i’m thinking about (laughing). I’m just trying to get up there and play, you know? I’m just trying to get up there and be on a parade. I’m from [Los Angeles] so I want a parade.

People say a lot of things, but I just keep going. It seems like it’s more and more pressure each year. More and more challenges each year, but I try to stay the same.

I was pretty surprised that people were saying negative things about your makeup or whatever, because among Dodgers fans, there’s a pretty popular video circulating around of you beating up a gorilla mascot…

That was all fun man, thanks to Lake Elsinore Storm for letting that happen.

How did that come about? Because we all got a good laugh out of it.

The guys come into the dugout before the game and tell us what’s going on and gave us stuff to hit back with. So he comes into the dugout and everybody is whacking him, getting some pretty good hits on him, so he tries to leave the dugout. That’s when I ran out of the dugout, just ran out, and tripped him (laughing). After I tripped him running out of the dugout, they’ve been calling me the “Gorilla Killa” ever since.

As far as your teammates go, you obviously know a lot about them, but which pitcher in the organization would you least like to face?

Actually, he’s right next to me right now, Kenley Jansen, he just got turned into a pitcher, I would not like to face him (laughs).

Okay, I think that’s about it. Thanks for your time, Trayvon.

Alright. Hey, make sure you write some nice things about me (laughs). I’m not a mean guy (laughing). Okay, okay, bye.

—

Admittedly, I’m not yet a good interviewer, but it was a good experience. I also learned that transcribing an interview is a huge pain in the ass.

As far as Trayvon Robinson goes, he was great. Not only did he not seem to mind that he had to give an interview to some dumb site, he seemed genuinely happy to talk about stuff with me. He came off as a rather happy-go-lucky type of guy that was focused on reaching the major leagues.

As far as I know, this isn’t anywhere else yet, so I guess I have the scoop. :o

I got the information from a source in the MLB offices, so hopefully it’s legit.

NL Gold Glove Winners

P – Adam Wainwright
C – Yadier Molina
1B – Adrian Gonzalez
2B – Orlando Hudson
3B – Ryan Zimmerman
SS – Jimmy Rollins
OF – Shane Victorino
OF – Matt Kemp
OF – Michael Bourn

The source also provided me with a full breakdown of the voting at second base and outfield.

Second Basemen

Hudson, Orlando (50)
Utley, Chase (17)
Phillips, Brandon (17)
Eckstein, David (7)
Matsui, Kaz (5)
Sanchez, Freddy (2)

Outfielders

Kemp, Matt (72)
Victorino, Shane (70)
Bourn, Michael (31)
Francoeur, Jeff (25)
Cameron, Mike (24)
Morgan, Nyjer (19)

Awesome.

Other Dodgers of note include Randy Wolf finishing tied for fifth with six votes, Russell Martin in fourth with two votes, and Casey Blake in fourth with six votes.