Long games, injuries, technical difficulties and halloween!
Hi fans, sorry it took me a couple of day to post I had some difficulties with the internet provider in the condo I’m renting in arizona, so if you missed me i only hope i wasn’t gone long enough. its been a wild week in arizona but the javelinas (or the pigs as we call each other) are playing well. I had a rough week on the mound, but we are still playing around the top of our division and most important we are working on whatever aspects of the the game we are here to work on.
This past week feature some of the longest 9 inning games i ever been a part of. I swear we play a 15 hour game the other day!!! hahahahaha. a little exaggeration of my part but that’s how it felt. My yankee compadres have enjoyed a very solid fall league. Kevin Russo told me about a week ago that he has not gotten 2 hits in a game since i joined the trenton team. He of course of kidding and just 2 days later he collected 5 hits in a game!! I made sure to remind him of his comments and threw some of my stuff in his locker. Phil has pitched a lot better than his number will tell, he had 1 tough outing and that kind of escalated his number a bit, he started the rising start game which our division one on a walk-off walk by Drew Stubbs of the Cincinnati Reds. Austin Jackson has continue to develop in front of our eyes and he in my opinion is not very far of the ultimate goal. Jeff (Hommie) Marquez is pitching well while working of fine tuning some aspects of his game. Kevin Whelan has been our most reliable reliever, numbers wise he has not giving up a run which is pretty hard in this league, so I’m counting on him to continue the good work. As for myself lets just say i’ve seen better days and better results. I had a real tough outing this week in which i gave up 6 straight hits with out retiring a batter. I must admit that’s the first time that has ever happened and hopefully the last, is not a good feeling to walk off the mound like that. After the outing i went in the clubhouse and took a long look in the mirror and told myself the following ” At this time last year you did not know if you would ever get back to a mound again” me realizing that 1. this was a first in my career 2. I was physically fine and my arm felt great 3. Days like this are bound to happen to the best of us, help me put this weird experience behind me and move on with the fall league.
We played in some weird games this week, in one game there were 3 injuries to guys on the field. Jeremy Jeffress had to come out of a game because of sore arm, moments later taylor green got hit on the nose with a pitch. Luckily it also hit the tip of his helmet before hitting him on the nose which took away a lot of the impact. He’s fine now and should start playing soon, we also lost Wade Thousand to arm problems, I want to wish him good luck and a quick recovery. Winning is great but I come to understand that this league is not so much about how many games you can win as it is a league in which you can showcase your abilitie, fine tune your skills or in my case make up for lost time on the field. I’m greatful to be here and I wish all of my injured team mates a rapid recovery because I’ve been on the other side of that street for a long time and know that is not fun!
The upcoming week should be really fun. I get to take my son trick or treating for the first time. Us the Whelans are taking our boys out in halloween suits which should be fun. Aiden is dressing up as chicken hahahaha Gavin Whelan will be a turkey. i’ll make sure to post pics to get coments from you guys. Also this week i’ll have a surprise guest blogger on here for you guys telling you about his experiences in the AFL,
Yankees in the AFL 
Wow this is an amazing update Humbe, you can’t find something like that in any blog, because you actually are there in the clubhouse with those guys.
About your rough outings, I think you need to keep eating up innings, you haven’t pitched in a while, so the rust must be there. Those outings happen men.
About Russo, he’s an underrated prospect. The guy has hitted for average in his first two professional seasons. He’s a great defensive player in 2B and 3B. He’s underrated because he doesn’t hits for power, but that’s not always neccesary. If he can play a good SS, we might see him in New York for next season.
Austin Jackson, A-Jax, Action Jackson, AJ, A-Jack, and other names. He’ll be a great player.
About Phil, let me ask you something. Is the Yankees pitching coordinator Nardi Contreras traveling with you guys? Because he’s the one that can help Philly, he fixed him in AAA earlier this year. His command is off, he looks like he needs to keep pitching to refine his pitches. That’s what happens when you lose all that time in the DL.
Whelan is great reliever. My only issue with him is, that he needs to throw more strikes.
Well good luck Humbe, and keep us updated.
safacon que mas!!! no creas que nos hemos olvidado de ti whaooo que blog tan chevere mira safacon sigue luchando bastante y recuerdad que siempre hay un horizonte y nunca mirar hacia atras solo para aprender de las experiencias cuidate mucho y aporate que aquiles y yo ya te queremos ver en tampa cuidate saludos a jenn y al baby ( safaconcito) y espero que difrutes tu primer halloween con el!!! HUMBERTO U R THE BEST !! esperamos tu respuesta con carino geraldine la safacona
Umberto your are a great player ,also big inspiration to us Dominican boys with big dreams , enjoy the ride and best of luck with the yankees, What are your off season plans? Dominican winter league?
My man! Yankee Universe is very excited to see what you can do next season. Get in the best shape of your life, dude, you only have one career. The stronger and more fit your entire body is, the more likely your arm will stay healthy. Don’t waste this opportunity. Make us forget Gary Sheffield, please. Work hard this winter, we need you.
Mr Sanchez I tip my cap for you for being a fellow Yankee fam..or a least being someone who went to yankee games as a kid and his dream come true. It would be very nice if you have some good years with the yankees. Congratulation and good luck in Arizona, this is a very good update well done.