Friday, June 8, 2007

was this Decker?

Phenomenal Smith (Brooklyn): Hi Kevin. Is Pat Venditte, the ambidextrious pitcher for Creighton, expected to be drafted at all? I've no idea why a team won't at least take a late-round flyer on him based on his numbers (which look pretty good with the caveat that I know nothing about the quality of his competition) and given the fact that he could potentially be two roster spots for the price of one.
Kevin Goldstein: He's going to go for sure. His numbers are good, his stuff isn't. He's in the mid-80s righthanded and drops to sidearm when he pitches lefty, and only in the upper 70s. Nobody is thrilled with him, but somebody in the teens is going to take a shot and see what happens.

1 comment:

Smiff said...

Sounds like a Smiff...

According to the Museum of New Hampshire History, Smith lived most of his life in New Hampshire and got his nickname when he struck out 16 batters in a game in 1885 while pitching for the Newark Domestics. On June 17, 1885, while playing for the Brooklyn Grays, his team decided to punish him and his perceived brash and cocky demeaner by intentionally committing 14 "errors", losing the game 18-5. All 18 runs against the brash lefthander were at first scored as unearned‚ but record books indicate that 11 of the runs were earned. Having been nicknamed "Phenomenal", he reportedly claimed that he was so good that he didn't need his teammates to win. The intentional misplays of his teammates caused club President Lynch to fine the guilty players $500 each‚ but he reluctantly agrees to release Smith to ensure team harmony.