There’s a six-game series beginning tonight(7pm) in Winston-Salem, featuring the Greensboro Grasshoppers(22-28) and WS Dash(26-25), at Truist Stadium…..
We were able to catch up with the Hoppers’ skipper/manager Callix Crabbe this afternoon, and we asked him a few questions about the Hoppers and the work they have turned in, at this stage of the season….
(This will be like our pregame interview prior to tonight’s game.)
Ten Questions for Greensboro Grasshoppers leader Callix Crabbe…..
1)GreensboroSports.com:Is this team anywhere where you thought they would be, when you all first came together in Greensboro, back in April???
Callix Crabbe:We have stuck together, and we have had to regroup after we had player movement…We were just two games under .500 when we lost Matt Gorski to Altoona…By losing both Henry Davis, and Gorski to Altoona, we have had to get back on track, and get some help to fill the voids…We are one of the younger teams in this league(South Atlantic League), and as a team, we are still coming together…We have been playing good baseball, we just need to keep on creating our own breaks, and take care of the little things, that make you a better team…We also lost Tyler Samaniego, a very good left-handed relief pitcher to Altoona…
2)GreensboroSports.com:How big was the win over the Wilmington Blue Rocks, back on Sunday???
Callix Crabbe:It was HUGE!!! We were struggling, but that was a win where we needed, and got key runs, and the way we won, shows all kinds of team character…Some kind of ending to the home stand, with that win back on Sunday…
3)GreensboroSports.com:Who do you look to, to become the team leader, now that Matt Gorski has moved on to Double AA Altoona???
Callix Crabbe:We need, and we look to young men like Abrahan Gutierrez to step up, and be a team leader…Jacob Gonzalez has been at Low A, and has moved up in different systems, and with his outstanding baseball background, we look to him for leadership too…Endy Rodriguez is still a young player, but his numbers will keep improving, and those solid numbers will help lead us too…On the mound, Cameron Junker has become a leader, and we look for that to continue from him…
4)GreensboroSports.com:You’ve had some solid pitching efforts from say, Jared Jones and Sean Sullivan as starters, vs. Wilmington, talk about their work from the starting rotation???
Callix Crabbe:You can throw Nick Garcia in there too…But, with Sullivan, he has responded…Jared Jones is developing a better understanding of his game, and learning to know when to lay off of the 95-96 mph stuff, and come with his changeup…He has to, and is learning how to mix up, and mix in his pitches…Nick Garcia is getting to the point where he can give you around five innings, and is getting to that stage of the game, on around 85 pitches…And that is very good work…For those three, and for our entire starting staff, it is coming…
5)GreensboroSports.com:Is there an established closer??? (Cameron Junker seems to be your setup man, and a very good one at that, but he is finishing some games too)…
Callix Crabbe:Oliver Mateo is the man we are grooming to be our closer…Mateo needs to ready to be in a position to close games for us…Junker is very strong, but he can not do it all, and that’s where Mateo comes in…We just lost Nick Dombkowski to Altoona, and we are not sure how long he will be gone….Losing Dombkowski leaves us currently with no lefties on the staff…
6)GreensboroSports.com:After the first couple of games vs. Wilmington(Blue Rocks) your guys(Hoppers) were very competitive, showing they can compete???
Callix Crabbe:After the first two games, 5-0, and 10-4 losses, we were in the Wilmington games…In so many of our losses this season, and even in the Wilmington series in particular, we were just one or two hits away, from being on top, and coming out on top, at the end…Our mistakes helped us get better…We often times need just one or two situational moves that can put us in front to stay…In reality, we are such a young team, maybe the youngest, if not the second youngest team, in the South Atlantic League, this season….Most of the other teams are much older than us, and in tight games, that extra experience has a tendency to show up, on the winning team’s side…We are improving our game, but it will take time and patience to make the overall plan work, to our advantage…
7)GreensboroSports.com:Jacob Gonzalez and Fabricio Macias, in what ways will they help this team???
Callix Crabbe:They are our more experienced players…Macias gives us a great calming effect…He is a calming soul…He has been as high as the Triple A Indianapolis Indians, and for the most part, he does not get rattled…Jacob Gonzalez trusts the scoreboard, and he just loves the game…Gonzalez comes from a great baseball family, with his dad, Luis Gonzalez, having spent all that time in the majors, with the 2001 World Series Champions, the Arizona Diamondbacks…
8)GreensboroSports.com:First National Bank Field, what do you like about that ballpark???
Callix Crabbe:It is a beautiful ballpark…It is much better that most of the High A ballparks that you will play in…It is a hitter’s ballpark and it is a ballpark, that will make your pitchers learn to pitch better…This is just a great experience being in Greensboro, my sister has lived here for 24 years, as she attended N.C. A&T State University…I love this place, and I like the support that we have seen from the Greensboro Grasshoppers’ front office…They are a super group to work with…This really has been a lot of fun, being here this season…
9)GreensboroSports.com:To win the WS Dash series, what do the Hoppers have to do on the field???
Callix Crabbe:We need to focus on the small things…We need to be clean on the dirt…We need to drive the ball to right field, instead of going for all of the home runs…Our pitchers must attack the strike zone…We must make the plays we are supposed to make…I would say one of the biggest keys of all, would be, We Need to Score Early…If we make the plays we are supposed to make, and if we take care of the little things, we will win…
10)GreensboroSports.com:Off of the field, do you see these young Greensboro Grasshoppers, growing and developing???
Callix Crabbe:This is a good clubhouse group…They are all different personalities, but they respect each other, and have learned how to try and lift each other up, when somebody is on a downer…The all know the Ups are easy, but the downs are a different story…But, they are responding to what we are teaching them, and they react well to adversity….They do work hard and respond to the challenges that have put in front of them…Every kid on this team, is looking to move up…They all know that the ultimate goal, is to get to the next level, and they want to know, and learn each day, what it takes to get there….
Ups:Sunday afternoon go-ahead Home Run from Sammy Siani…Huge positive, we were looking for success from him(Sammy) and we/he found it…Sammy had been fighting through some struggles, but he was willing to fight, and willing to learn and he found the answer on Sunday…Very sweet…
Downs:Jackson Glenn struggled last week, but he will be in the starting lineup tonight vs. the Winston-Salem Dash…He has a strong faith, and he will be able to handle it…He has not given up, and he will persevere…He is responding, and just hasn’t been through many tough times like this in his career previously…He was in college last year, and it was a very smooth road for him there…Last week the ball was chasing him, and troubles mounted, but like I am saying, Jackson Glenn will be OK…He is ready, and he will produce in a positive way for us…He has had some issues off the field this year, that have really challenged him, but though it all, God is on his side…Jackson will get the job done for us…We have faith in him, and his faith is for real….