I May Be Wrong, But… Steve Matz, Chad Zurcher, Alex Panteliodis, Hunter Carnevale

·         LHP Steve Matz checked in after his bullpen session on Friday: 

“…bullpen went good, so far so good…”

The best thing this kid has going right now is the fact that most people have forgot he’s still around. He’s always been kind to me as a writer and I wish him well, though I have no idea where he would pitch come April. My guess is they will hold him back to make sure everything works well, and start in his home town with the Cyclones.

·         SS Chad Zurcher also filled us in on his plans in March: 

“My goals for spring training are just to go back and show the staff I worked on the things they told me to during the off season. My main goal is to earn a spot on a full season team. I've been able to put on about 10 pounds so hopefully I'll be able to drive the ball a bit better. I just want to be able to give great effort every day and show what I'm capable of. I feel at my age I have to be pushing for a full season spot and I want to show the organization that I am able to do the things they want me to. I just need to go out and prove my worth to this organization.”

 Zurcher is a dark horse in the system. He was drafted last year in the 31^st round, after hitting .443 for the University of Memphis (it will always be Memphis State to me). I had him projected much higher. He went on to finish the season with Kingsport, hitting .283/.386/.336/.723 in 113-AB. No power here, but a good bat and great defense.

·         We also spent a few minutes with one of my  favorites, P Alex Panteliodes.  His comments caught me off-guard: 

This preseason I just want to get back out on the field and pick up from where I left off. My hip is feeling a lot better and I am just looking forward to starting my career as a New York Met.

Pants had a torn labrum in his hip, but had successful surgery and is now 100%.

·         I also spent a few moments with Hunter Carnevale. He was well on to a great season (2011) with Brookyn, going 1-1, 1.08, 19-K, 16.2-IP, in 12 appearances, when his arm gave out. I wanted to see how the process is going and Hunter was happy to fill us in:

“Hey Mack. My goals for spring training are pretty simple. Since I had Tommy John in August, I'm really focused on getting healthy and getting back into live action as soon as I can. I know that the earliest that I could get into a game would be later in the season, so that's what I'm shooting for.”

At worse, we won’t see Hunter in 2012; however, don’t bet on it.