Reflections: Goldpanners @ Miners, 7/30/2010

DJ Crumlich: his glove really is gold

Yesterday's doubleheader between the Goldpanners and the Miners at Hermon Brothers Field in Palmer was a pivotal one. At stake in this four-game, back-to-back doubleheader series is first place in the Alaska Baseball League. It's come right down to the wire and this is it. The Panners and Miners split the twin-bill, which sets up a dramatic finish today. On the one hand, the Miners have to win both of these final games to clinch the championship, and the Goldpanners only have to force a split. On the other, the games will go down on the Miners' home turf. So the title really is up for grabs.

Before we get into the nuts and bolts, I'll share a little tale with you. I give the Goldpanners bullpen credit for being classy. After reading The Bullpen Gospels, I expect talk of boobies, lots of poop jokes, and all sorts of hijinx from bullpen crews. Imagine my surprise when I rounded the corner to walk down the left-field line when I overheard the pen having a civil and seemingly informed discussion comparing the religions of the world and sharing opinions on the afterlife. I was impressed, if not a little disappointed to miss my daily dose of boob jokes. So, kudos to the Goldpanners bullpen for being more mature than I.

Anyway, when I wasn't fielding trash-talk from Goldpanners who apparently thought I was a spy for the Miners, or trying to get my daughter to quit playing in the giant mud puddle near the Panners bullpen (unsuccessfully, I might add), I got some good notes on some players I need to round out my reports on. So on that note, I'd like to share some quick observations on strengths & weaknesses of some players.

Let's start with the visiting team. One guy I paid close attention to was shortstop DJ Crumlich. I had a little bit of video on DJ but for whatever reason I hadn't really paid close attention until these games. Unfortunately I'm not terribly organized when I "target" players and just seem to focus on whoever grabs my attention. When Crumlich was named gold glove I figured I'd better get on the case and figure out if his glove is so golden after all. Well, for what it's worth -- it's not like my opinion really matters as far as award voting goes, right? -- it is. I can see why he was tapped for the award. The best way I can describe the guy's fielding skills is "slick". Great footwork, nice hands. Gets a good jump on the ball, has a great approach with light feet, and makes the pick-up-and-throw swiftly. If I had to pick on a weakness, just to be balanced and not sound like a total fanboy, it would be his throw. He didn't seem to have quite the live arm that I expect from a shortstop. But other than that, Crumlich really is a great defensive player who flashed the leather on a couple occasions yesterday.

Martin Medina was another one of those guys who I played catch-up on, who I should have been watching more closely through the season. If Crumlich is "slick", Medina is "power". I knew he had a power swing from video and that he's knocked a few out of the park, but seeing him crush the ball in person simply confirmed what the stats suggested. He can spray the ball all over the park. Great power to all fields. Another one of his strengths is with the glove. He's another quick-hands guy who can turn the ball around in a hurry.

A couple more quick notes: Derrick Chung showed off some great range and grit at second base. He made several diving attempts, like three in a row, and came up just short on all three. But lesser fielders might not have even had a chance to come close and he gets bonus points for the effort. One of the arms I really liked for the Goldpanners was Simon Kudernatsch's. I think he probably had the liveliest OF arm of the bunch, even though he was playing in left, I thought he showed a right-field arm (understanding, of course, that I am in no way qualified to second-guess Jim Dietz). Finally, I think that Chase McDowell demonstrated some pop in his bat; even though he's listed as a starting pitcher on the Goldpanners roster, he's a two-way guy and got into the lineup on Friday.

Across the field to the Miners side of things, how about Bret Schwartz's range in the field? He made a couple plays he had no business making, including a couple foul-territory catches -- including a sliding catch -- that were further out than your typical shortstop could have tracked down. Great speed and hustle by Schwartz. Of course, Bret was named ABL Player of the Year, so I made a point to round out my look at him and catch him on the D end. He definitely showed off his skills yesterday. He can be a speedy guy too; I clocked him running a 4.09s time from the box to first base which is very good.

Nick DeBiasse is another player I took a good look at. I wanted to gauge his batting ability a little more and he showed some great ability to hit for power and use the whole field. Another thing I caught was a glimpse of his arm. I don't usually look too hard at first basemen when they make throws because it's not as big of an asset to them as it would be for a third baseman. But for what it's worth, DeBiasse made several sharp, live throws during warm-ups so that's definitely a plus to his credit.

That's what I got. I'm going to probably make it down to the park for part of today's doubleheader, but as usual I'm trying to shoe-horn baseball into an otherwise packed schedule, so who knows when I'll arrive and when I'll leave. I would really love to be there for the inevitable dog-pile, though, and grab a photograph of it! And of course I'll try to grab some more notes while I'm there.