Travelerocity

Why was Pete Laven fired?

Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

Do you have any information regarding the unexpected firing of Travelers general manager Pete Laven and ticket manager David Kay?

Here is your chance to post what you know, what you think you know, or what you want to know completely anonymously.

We need to get to the bottom of this. We cannot let the Travelers executive board pull this garbage one more time. It's time they started acting like an open board accountable to the fans and less like the WCW executive board led by James J. Dillon.

Laven and Kay fired this late after the season and fired at the same time? I call BS.

The Arkansas Times story by Lindsey Millar is a great start. Now let's answer the outstanding questions and put Laven back in the general manager's office if warranted.

Prospect Battle: Trout vs. Miller

Centerfielder Mike Trout, the Los Angeles Angels' No. 1 prospect, took on pitcher Shelby Miller, the St. Louis Cardinals' No. 1 prospect, on June 15, 2011. Here's how it went.

Round 1: Trout strikes out swinging. (Miller -- 2 points)

Round 2: Trout surprises Miller with a bunt and makes it to first. (Trout -- 2 points)

Round 3: Trout grounds into double play. (Miller -- 2 points)

Round 4: Trout pops out to first. (Miller -- 1 point)

Judge's scorecard: Miller 5, Trout 2

Probably won't be the last time they meet, but might be the last time in the Texas League.

-- Travelerocity reporter

Angels fans should be excited about Trout and crop of pitchers named as Texas League all-stars

The Arkansas Travelers lead the Texas League in all-stars with nine on the just-announced list. The Travs are also in first place in the North division, and are leading rivals NWA in the Car-Mart Cup and Springdale in the Jocketty Trophy competitions.

On the pitching side, five starters -- Matt Shoemaker, Orangel Arenas, Garrett Richards, Trevor Reckling, and Drew Taylor -- are within the league's top 12 in ERA. Richards leads the league in wins and innings pitched, and he is within eight strikeouts of the tops in the league. Closer Ryan Brasier is second in saves.

Offensively, Travs Ryan Mount and Mike Trout are in the league's top 10 in batting average, and phenom Trout is also in the top 10 in runs, hits, and stolen bases.

It has been a banner two-and-a-half months for Arkansas' only legitimate professional sports team with a rich history dating back a century, and besides getting it done with pitching that has been so good even Bill Valentine wouldn't complain, the big story of the season, and it is a major story, is Mike Trout.

Other than maybe not living up to some fans' expectations for home runs, the 19-year-old Jersey boy has shown that he has all the tools to be a perennial Major League all-star and is a special talent that does not come around too often.

We are talking possible Hall of Fame material here.

That's why it is such a shame he goes so largely unnoticed by the media and sports fans in Central Arkansas. He does not have a Razorback on his jersey, so most people don't even have a clue who he is. The local television stations give the Travs minimal coverage as it is, so any mention of Trout's name is pretty relegated to game highlights or Steve Sullivan throwing in a brief line about him as he is kicking it back to Christina Munoz.

I know it is a risky proposition to heavily promote players who could be called up the next week, but in a case such as this, the Travelers front office could also maybe do a better job of getting the word out.

And so could Trout. Next time an early morning radio interview is set up for him, he could act like a professional, wake up, and be engaged in answering questions with more than a sleepy one-word answer instead of sounding like a teenager who will be a sophomore in college (oh, wait).

All said, the Travs have a nice team currently assembled here with a major star roaming the center field. Los Angeles Angels fans should be excited about what is happening at their Double-A stepchild that never gets a rehab assignment.

Besides Trout, the Texas League all-stars from Arkansas include second baseman Mount, third baseman Luis Jimenez, shortstop Darwin Perez, and the afformentioned pitchers Arenas, Reckling, Richards, Shoemaker, and Brasier.

Too bad the Angels will dismantle this team within the month.

-- Travelerocity reporter

Top draft pick spurned Yankees to attend UCLA instead and increased bonus by $5 million

The New York Yankees selected pitcher Gerrit Cole with their first draft pick and were prepared to offer the young Yankees fan an estimated $3 million to sign out of high school.

Cole and his parents told them no thanks.

They analyzed the probability of high-school pitchers making the big leagues and reaching free agency versus college pitchers, added in the value of attending college, and determined Cole was much better off heading to UCLA instead of turning pro after high school.

These parents looking out for the best interest of their son rather than the instant gratification of a $3-million bonus were right.

Three years later, Cole was the first player taken in the 2011 MLB draft and is expected to be signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates for an amount exceeding $8 million.

Cole told MLB.com how going to UCLA boosted his stock: "There are a lot of things that you learn and you really don't expect to learn, and that's not something that shows up in the box score or the statistics."

Mark Cole described in a great story from Yahoo Sports last summer his son's decision to go to college instead of become a Yankee: ""We took measurements and weighed variables all in a very unemotional way. We included academics and did some financial planning."

Even with agent Scott Boras ready to deal for them, Mark Cole told the Yankees they wouldn't even entertain an offer: "We said, 'We appreciate the opportunity, but if we were to entertain a discussion of finances, it would give you the impression you had a shot.'"

Slam, Cashman (an appropriate casting name for a character trying to lure high-schoolers to the pros).

It's so refreshing to hear from parents and their child who understand the value of going to college rather than turning pro after high school.

And good thing they didn't listen to the baseball guys like Voice of Reason. It would have cost them $5 million and three years of a really great experience at UCLA.

-- Travelerocity reporter

Kids doing themselves no favors skipping college to be used by Major League Baseball system

Breakdown of current Travelers roster:

• Went to college -- 10 players

• Went to community college -- 2 players

• No college (turned pro after high school) -- 6 players

• No college (from foreign countries) -- 9 players

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Every June, Major League Baseball convinces hundreds of kids coming out of high school to skip a promising college baseball scholarship for the allure of signing a contract for thousands of dollars to go be stuck in the lowest levels of Minor League Baseball with the dream of making it to the bigs.

While it is hard to argue with the large signing bonuses many of these high-school kids are receiving, the case could be made that they are giving up something more valuable than whatever is going in their new bank accounts -- their college years.

It is very difficult for most of these kids to see past the pile of money some MLB general manager has put at their door step, and their parents seem to have the same trouble. But someone needs to provide these 18-year-olds with a little more perspective as to what they are going to miss in exchange and how it will impact the rest of their lives.

College is a great experience both for development as a person and for having some really fun years that you will never have the chance to experience again. These kids don't know what they are missing in exchange for selling their bodies to professional baseball.

Baseball isn't everything, and if you prove yourself in college, you will still be pursued by MLB scouts and will have improved your baseball ability while becoming a more mature person ready to handle the rigors of a difficult professional life. Plus, you will have some fun memories to take with you.

Let's take a look at the players on the current Travs roster who did not go to college and how much money they were paid to sign with a Major League Baseball team instead:

• Mike Trout -- $1,215,000

• Ryan Mount -- $615,000

• Clay Fuller -- $227,500

• Robert Fish -- $140,000

• Trevor Reckling -- $123,300

• Eddie McKiernan -- $80,000

Again, it's very hard to say to Mike Trout that he should not take $1.2 million and instead go to college. But imagine the time of his life he would be having at whatever college he picked to attend. And will his maturity be forever arrested like so many NBA players who made the jump straight out of college?

But Trout is the exception (however, if I were his parent, I would have directed him somewhere like the University of Virginia because making yourself a smarter person is worth even more than $1.2 million -- and the money will still be waiting three years later).

Look at the next in line, Ryan Mount. He is now 24 and has toiled in the minor leagues for seven years. His window of opportunity to make it to Los Angeles seems to be closing. He is a smart guy (I have observed this based on how good he is at the kids clinics) and will be fine, but I wonder about some others who don't have such a good head on their shoulders.

What do they do after their baseball career stalls and they've spent a decade giving themselves to the sport?

Take Eddie McKiernan as another example. He signed for $80,000, which probably seemed like a lot at the time but after taxes and five years in the minors probably isn't quite so much. Was that worth foregoing a rare period in his life for fun and personal development that he will never get back?

The guys who go to community college are another problem. These community colleges are nothing more than the minor leagues for the minor leagues. The high school kids who go to community college go there solely to play baseball, not to learn or do anything else.

Unfortunately there is one large problem for Minor League Baseball if more American kids go to college first -- it probably opens the floodgates for the influx of more foreign players, virtually none of which went to college in their home country and in some cases you wonder if they even went to high school because of how young they are.

You can't knock these foreign players for not going to college because baseball is a means of survival for so many. Getting even a small contract to play baseball in America is a life changer.

So because of the foreign players, Major League Baseball could never institute requirements that force these kids into college like the NBA and NFL have done. Those two organizations have realized that preventing an 18-year-old from turning pro is in the best interest of the league and the kid.

MLB teams, meanwhile, have rosters to fill on seven other teams besides its own and constantly throw money on the table hoping a gamble on a teenager based on scouting reports will pan out early and in the long run save the franchise money on salaries until free agency hits.

It's a shame because this system is doing the high-school kids no favors and leading to a generally dumber dugout where the professional baseball culture is never challenged.

That's how we ended up with such a steroids problem.

-- Travelerocity reporter

Coming home: An on-deck guide and open thread for the fourth home stand on May 25-30

(Dickey-Stephens Park painting by Steve Spencer. Find his work at Spinadelic.com, buy on Etsy, or visit Facebook.)

 

San Antonio Missions (San Diego Padres)

Read up on the Missions at the San Antonio Express-News

Schedule:

Wednesday, May 25, 7:10 p.m. -- $3 discount coupons from Reddy Ice and AT&T stores

Thursday, May 26, 7:10 p.m. -- Strike Out Stroke T-shirts to first 1,000 fans

Friday, May 27, 6 p.m. -- Hank Conger bobblehead dolls to first 500 adults, early start time for Riverfest

 

Players to watch:

23 Casey Kelly, starting pitcher -- No. 31 prospect in Minor League Baseball, Padres' No. 1 prospect, Red Sox top draft pick in '08, signed for $3 million (Red Sox record at the time), part of trade to Padres for Adrian Gonzalez, offered scholarship to play quarterback for Tennessee Volunteers

10 Jaff Decker, left field -- Padres' No. 7 prospect, signed for $892,000

12 Drew Cumberland, shortstop -- Padres' No. 9 prospect, '10 Futures Game selection, '10 California League all-star

25 James Darnell, third base -- Padres' No. 12 prospect, played for South Carolina Gamecocks

31 Juan Oramas, starting pitcher -- Padres' No. 17 prospect

27 Antony Bass, starting pitcher -- Padres' No. 22 prospect, '10 California League all-star

Nick Schmidt, starting pitcher -- Padres' No. 29 prospect, signed for $1.2 million, played for Arkansas Razorbacks

30 Brad Brach, relief pitcher -- Padres' No. 30 prospect, '10 MLB.com Class A Relief Pitcher of the Year, '10 Arizona Fall League Rising Stars, '10 California League all-star

 

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Corpus Christi Hooks (Houston Astros)

Read up on the Hooks at the Corpus Christi Caller Times

Schedule:

Saturday, May 28, 4 p.m. -- Reusable grocery bag to first 500 adults, early start time for Riverfest

Sunday, May 29, 5:30 p.m. -- Watch Riverfest fireworks beginning at 9 p.m.

Monday, May 30, 2 p.m. -- Ford Drive One tour outside the ballpark

 

Players to watch:

20 J.D. Martinez, left field -- Astros' No. 6 prospect, '10 Topps Class A all-star, '10 South Atlantic League MVP

24 Jimmy Paredes, second base -- Astros' No. 7 prospect, part of Lance Berkman trade to Yankees

30 Ross Seaton, starting pitcher -- Astros' No. 17 prospect, signed for $700,000

29 Dallas Keuchel, starting pitcher -- Astros' No. 23 prospect, played for Arkansas Razorbacks

37 Kyle Greenwalt, starting pitcher -- Astros' No. 24 prospect

Chia-Jen Lo, relief pitcher -- Astros' No. 26 prospect

 

-- Travelerocity reporter

Arvest Ballpark in Springdale wants high-school playoffs since Dickey-Stephens and Little Rock don't think it is worth hosting

As detailed in the post below, Travelers officials turned down an opportunity to host the high-school baseball playoffs at Dickey-Stephens Park.

They were offered a turn to host by the Arkansas Activities Association only because there was already a scheduling conflict at Baum Stadium in Fayetteville and Arvest Ballpark in Springdale.

Not sure if Baum Stadium will be the first choice of the AAA for next season, but if it is unavailable, officials from the Northwest Arkansas Naturals are definitely interested in hosting the championship games for all seven classifications, according to Naturals general manager Eric Edelstein in the Twitter interview below.

Too bad, North Little Rock and Little Rock area businesses. You obviously don't need the extra business this might generate and Central Arkansas doesn't need the attention to bring in more tourism revenue not to mention the prestige of hosting the state championship.

Travs front office passing on high-school playoffs at Dickey-Stephens Park is giant mistake

The Arkansas high-school baseball finals are being held on May 20-21, but not at two venues where they maybe belong.

UCA's tiny Bear Stadium -- with a whopping seating capacity of less than 1,000 and an artificial turf that even includes fake dirt -- will host four games in those seven days as players and fans of 14 high schools descend on the Conway campus.

So why aren't the high school baseball finals being played in Dickey-Stephens Park, the best baseball facility in the state that as a bonus is in a prime central location with the highest population?

The Arkansas Activities Association asked. The front office at Dickey-Stephens Park said no thanks.

That's right, after years of the baseball finals being held way up in northwest Arkansas, we finally had a chance to land it thanks to a conflict at both Baum Stadium in Fayetteville and Arvest Ballpark in Springdale... and Dickey-Stephens people TURNED IT DOWN???

It's an insult that the Arkansas Activities Association would even have those two stadiums as preferred sites over Dickey-Stephens in the first place, and the Travelers organization said no thanks when finally offered???

May I remind some that Dickey-Stephens Park was made possible thanks to a generous grant from North Little Rock taxpayers, many of them business owners who would appreciate a return on their investment from the extra revenue generated by all the people coming to town for the games.

Yes, the Arkansas Activities Association (and they are a whole other problem) demands all the gate revenue, but the Travelers organization still could have made money off SEVEN games from concessions even without beer sales.

The high-school baseball finals should be in a showplace of a stadium with a beautiful backdrop of downtown Little Rock on a field with real grass and real dirt where real baseball is played.

So where is the other venue the baseball finals might have worked?

Oh yeah, Ray Winder Field.

-- Travelerocity reporter

Fans react to seat giveaway Saturday morning at Ray Winder

As you may have heard, City Hall unlocked the gates of Ray Winder Field on Saturday morning and let scavengers come in to claim the historic chairs from the old ballpark. I didn't go because I got two years ago, and then I got two more later on. Word to the wise -- they rot if your plan is to put them in the ground outside but are fine under a covered porch.

I didn't go, but here's some reaction from some who did as recorded on the Arkansas Times website...

It's a piece of our history that some people disregard and want to get rid of. You can build another ballpark in Chicago, but it wouldn't be Wrigley Field. You can build another ballpark in North Little Rock and name it after two rich people, but it's not going to be the greatest game on dirt. -- Citizen

So sad. It makes me think of that old Joni Mitchell song Big Yellow Taxi.. " UAMS paved paradise and put up a parking lot" -- MondoLilRocker

I wasted 2 hrs standing in line this morning waiting on free seats from Ray Winder Field. They handed out tickets AFTER the doors open. Then only 440 tickets were given out (out of 500) because of the way the seats were removed. Very poor planning on someone's part. Why not hand out tickets as people are walking up to stand in line, or maybe create a website that let people get a "first come first service" ticket? Lots of angry people waited 2 hrs. (over 1000 showed up) I would have been fine driving up and someone says "sorry, all tickets are gone", but make me wait around for 2 hrs is ridiculous. -- Chad

I too was there this morning and was not lucky enough to get anything but an old old board, a cup, and a poster. Bill signed all of them and took his picture with me and anyone else who wanted to. To plainjim, I would bet a two week paycheck that the people in that line were there to commemorate their memories and their parents memories of being at Ray Winder. It was worth it to stand in line and get in one more time and hear the stories of the people around me. One lady had lied to her husband and if she got a seat was giving it to her husband on Monday for their wedding anniversary. I"m sure a few are gonna sell theirs and shame on them, but the majority were there for the same reason this bleacher creature was. It was cloudy today, but still didn't rain at Ray Winder Field. -- Tilly

That was a miserable experience. We arrived at 6:30 a.m. and waited in line over four hours. They eventually gave out tickets numbered up to 440. They told us that we weren't guaranteed to get seats but that there should be that many. I was number 362 and dead leaves and dirty screws were all that were left by the time I got inside. I do not agree with Mr. Moore. I was not glad that we were able to "have this day." I agree with Ron that their should have been an auction or web site to sell them and they could have raised tens of thousands of dollars. For a city with such a poorly run budget, that seems like a no-brainer to me. Everyone I spoke to at the park said they would have paid for them. I would guesstimate that over 1,000 people left disappointed. -- SkyBo53

Complete list of all MLB players who spent time in the Texas League now updated for 2011

The complete listing of all Major League Baseball players who spent time in the Texas League is now updated for 2011. The is the most extensive (and only) list of its type that you will find anywhere on the Internet. Not even the Texas League office can give you this kind of information.

Some of the top names on the list that you might have seen come through town on other teams include Bobby Abreau, Carlos Beltran, Adrian Beltre, Lance Berkman, Shin-Soo Choo, Johnny Damon, Andre Ethier, Zack Greinke, Travis Hafner, Josh Hamilton, Matt Holliday, Tim Hudson, Ubaldo Jimenez, Joe Nathan, Hunter Pence, Nick Swisher, Mark Teixeira, and Troy Tulowitzki, among many others.

Additionally you will find the complete list of every Major League Baseball player who can be slugged with the "former Trav" label, notable MLB players with Arkansas connections, and the list of alumni from the NWA Naturals and Springfield Cardinals now in MLB.

All of the above can be found on the scroll in the column to the right. ------------------------------->

You are welcome, America (especially NWA and Springfield).

-- Travelerocity reporter