Hanging with the Boys

Monday night, which was the first game back from All-star break I was sitting in the Resop's seats and Miracle GM Steve Gliner had come over to talk to me about the All-Star game.

Kevin Slowey was holding court over behind the plate and we watched for several innings as people came by and paid their resepcts. I had the All-star shots, so I figured I should go and pay my respects as well.

Several of the GCL boys had showed up as well, including Loek Van Mil, who showed up alone and left alone. I don't get that -- they usually travel in packs and he doesn't strike me as the lone wolf type.

Anyway, Kyle Aselton was sitting in the row in front of Slowey and Brian Duensing was on Slow's left. So I came in from the right, nod at the GCLers as I go past and go sit down next to Aselton.

"They take that arm off yet?" I ask him. I haven't seen him since he went on the DL, so I've no idea what they've been doing to him.

"That's not nice!" Slow says. "You need to be nice to him!"

"Who every told you I was nice?" I shoot back. This backs Slowey up for a minute.

I fish out Slow's All-star shots and hand them back to him.

"Besides, I love Kyle. He's Ace. I don't call too many players around here Ace. Do I Ace?"

Aselton laughs.

Being my favorite is a tough job, but you know, someone has to do it.

"Are these from the All-Star game?"

"Yeah, your father broke my hand."

"Yeah, well...he has this Rambo thing going on..."

"After he left they people behind me wanted to know who that young man was. I told them it was your dad. 'That young man Kevin Slowey's Dad?' they said."

"Yeah, he's well preserved. Like I said he has this Rambo thing going on.

"Here we go, this is my All-star delivery," he says, showing a shot to Duensing. "This is my favorite."

"Let me see." He shows me the worst one in the lot.

I say "Tell Duensing not to worry about dropping his first two starts. Tell him how many games it took you to pick up a win."

"Too many," he says. Like six or ten."

"How many wins do you have?" Aselton asks.

"Four," Slowey says.

"That's it?" Aselton doesn't believe that.

"Well I keep blowing them late."

"You get no decisions," I point out. "You don't blow anything." I look at Aselton. "Three guys, nine pitches on Saturday and he says he blows things."

"Are these all nine pitches?" Slow asks.

"Your teammates hate you," I said. "I can't figure out why, you're such a nice guy."

He doesn't argue this one with me. "Let me see the rest of the pictures." I had them back and admonish him not to get the out of order.

"Of course, they don't hate you as much as Garza. They hired an assassin to take him out of the game."

"THAT was painful," Slow says, as he gives the rest of the pictures back.

So then I said goodbye to Slowey. "I'm not going anywhere," he says.

"You're going to New Britain."

"No, only Casilla went up."

"Well, you need to go too."

"No I don't. Besides you only have four starters, they put Powers back in the bullpen."

"What about Colby?"

"He's still in the bullpen."

I look at Aselton. "Well, Ace here is coming of the DL."

"Not for two more weeks," Aselton says.

"I'm staying here for the rest of the season," Slowey says.

"No, you're not."

"He got Twins minor league pitcher of the month," Aselton says.

"I did not," Slow returns.

"He got FSL Pitcher of the Week," I say, "twice".

"I'm going to win Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Month and give it to him," Aselton says.

Riiiightttt. He offers to go up to New Britain and sit on the DL.

"You should go up to New Britain and take pictures," Slow tells me.

"They have a photographer. He's not as nice as I am."

"Figures," Slow says. I have no idea what Duensing is making of this whole conversation and I'm not sure I care.

I decided I had to leave at this point as I'd been down there a LOT longer than the break between innings. I'm surprised none of us got yelled at.

"Don't worry," Slow tells me, "You'll have lots and lots of time yet to waste your film on him," he says in regards to Aselton. I don't consider it a waste, actually.

Anyway, I saw Aselton later in the concession line and we had a serious conversation on his arm, but he stills says two to three weeks.

That's the last time I've seen him, because we got the card sets on Tuesday and I've been trying to find Aselton because he needs to sign his card.

I don't see where having a sore elbow should prevent him from operating the camera or charting or something similar.

So, I went back up the stairs, gave Van Mil shots -- I had a lot, since I'd snapped that one week, forgot to pace myself and had nearly shot a whole role of him before I realized what I was doing.

Spoke briefly to Joe Benson, who's a total sweatheart of a kid -- and he can swing a bat too! What is it with the second rounders, that they are always so nice?

God, if Chris Parmelee comes in and is an ass I'm going to be so unhappy. Moses was such a prick when he was here. Garza was alright, but I heard he'd become a much bigger prick when he got to AA.

I hope that doesn't happen to Slow either, and that he stays as nice as he is now.

Span is real nice, but he's a Florida boy, so of course he's gonna be nice. He's almost a local Florida boy too. Plouffe is real nice.

Anyway...Aselton was an 11th rounder (2004). (I guess I should scan the card in for Eden, as I'm sure she'll want to see it.

So Eden says the nickname post was the funniest one I've done in along while and that she will definately be calling the guys by those nicknames. I'm sure that will go over really well, especially if you tell Pleasing Pie Miss Dianna made them up. LOL!

She also says "Sexy Poohbear is, well, just that (definitely my fave by the physical factor)."

You keep your grungy little mitts off Sexy Poohbear.

Of course, she's not the only one who noticed because ETwins also said "So tell me...is Brandon McConnell any good?" which I thought was a loaded question.

Okay, okay, okay....Brandon was drafted in 2003 and missed the whole 2004 season with a torn labrum. But when I walked into spring training in 2005, I noticed him right off the bat. How could I not? He was to die for. Besides, he was standing there in his rookie whites grinning at me.

Which made me very, very nervous. We finally determined it was a case of mistaken identity, but that didn't stop him much. Anyway, they finally made him cut his hair, and in retaliation grew the mustache. I hate those things. If you want to do nice full goatee, fine, I like goatees. Mustaches don't do a damn thing for me.

I don't like David Gassner much, but the goatee is great. Really.

It's okay, Brandon is still my buddy, and I miss Sexy Poohbear very much and he won't set up a myspace account so I can't stay in contact with him. ::cry::

(Just think...he could www.myspace.com/sexypoohbear!)

Um...anyway, in answer to ETown's question, if you can get him to shave off the caterpiller under his nose and grow his hair back to surfer length again...yeah...

He's not just good or even "any good".

He's to friggin' die for.