Tag: Ryo Shinkawa

What are these guys up to?

 

Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Ryo Shinkawa pound on the door to get in,

Another beautiful day in Fort Myers, Florida, it was 73 when I got up this morning and it was a sunny albeit muggy 81 degrees when I left the ballpark to go home to hit the swimming pool. No day is complete without me making some comment about the Twins star import from Japan. In the picture above you see Tsuyoshi Nishioka and his interpreter Ryo Shinkawa trying to get back into the Twins minor league complex workout facility after a half hour or so of easy jogging on one of the practice fields. As is normal, it was just Nishioka, Shinkawa and his personal trainer. Nishioka continues to work out on his own most of the time, you just never see him with his teammates until spring training officially begins. Star Tribune reporter extraordinaire La Velle E. Neal III had a quick interview with Nishioka and we asked La Velle what Nishioka had to say, La Velle laughed and said that Nishioka told him “that he doesn’t see himself in a utility role”. That is funny, I don’t either and maybe that is why no one is answering the door when Nishioka and Shinkawa pound on the door to be let in. Maybe the Twins are hoping he just goes away. Last year Nishioka was driving a big black Escalade SUV, this year he is driving a shiny white Porsche that you can see in the pictures that I took today along with the rest of my 2012 spring training pictures.

I didn’t see any pitchers doing any throwing today, maybe they are all saving themselves for this week-end when they need to officially report for training camp. The number of players working out continues to grow every day but I still see no sign of Justin Morneau who in past years (not in 2011) was always an early arrival in Fort Myers. I also have not seen Jamey Carroll, Danny Valencia, Denard Span, Josh Willingham, Ben Revere, Carl Pavano or Gardy for that matter. I am sure we will see the many of them on Monday.

One guy I really like is catcher JR Towles. The man is working his butt off out there very day, you never see him standing around chatting, he is always doing something. The last couple of times I have been out here I have seen him fielding grounders at 1B, 3B and shagging flys in the outfield. I really hope that the Twins give this guy a legit shot to make this Twins team as a back-up catcher.

Let’s see what else happened today? Oh, I had a foul ball hit to me, actually it rolled up to where I was standing. The ball was stamped “official minor league baseball” and I had no use for it so I gave it to a youngster that really enjoyed getting a baseball. The ball put a smile on his face and that little boys smile made my day. I sure hope that stamp on the ball that said “official minor league baseball” is not a sign of things to come for the Minnesota Twins this year. And so another day at the ballpark is in the books.

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February 25, 2011 – Another day and another trip to the ballpark today to watch the Twins as they prepare for their spring training opener just two days away. On a beautiful albeit a windy late February day the fans were out in droves to watch the Twins as they prepare for the 2011 season. Most of the fans watched as TK put a number of players including Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Alexi Casilla through infield drills on two different fields today. During the first infield session people were actually 4-6 deep and that is the first time I have ever seen that at the Hammond Field. TK doesn’t just run drills; he seems to hold court out on the practice fields and actually seems to put on a show for the spectators, sometimes even interacting with the fans. TK isn’t ready for his own stand-up comedy routine just yet but he can be funny at times. In the past I have even seen him out there with his cigar but I have not seen that so far this year. He runs his practice like a drill sergeant but make no mistake, not much slips pass TK. If he doesn’t like what he sees on the field he has no problem stopping the drill right then and there and telling or showing the offending player the error of his ways. With TK, you get a lot of arm gestures and a loud gruff sounding voice, but never to a veteran player. If a veteran makes a mistake TK usually just walks up to him, puts his arm on him and they turn away from the fans and the message is passed on and then TK walks away having gotten his point across with no one being embarrassed. With TK in spring training it is not about the results, it is all about the process and doing it the right way, the Twins way.

In the past I have not been a fan of TK due to how poorly he treated fans that questioned or second guessed his managerial moves on call in radio shows but in spring training these days he seems to be a totally different person, maybe it is the fact that he no longer wears the reins or bears the stresses of being a big league skipper. After practice he does a great job of signing autographs, talks to the fans, particularly the kids and just seems to enjoy his time in the sun. On the practice fields he catches all the mistakes but he is also the biggest cheerleader on the field, always telling players how nice that play looked and how they made a professional big league play. TK even pokes fun at himself whenever he himself makes a mistake.

Today TK seemed to focus on Nishioka and his interpreter. I don’t know how many times TK strolled out to second or short where Nishioka had just completed a play and the three of them would have a little chat. Sometimes you could see a smile cross Nishioka’s face and other time you could see him just nod his head before TK walked away to observe the next play. It is very strange to see Nishioka’s interpreter out at second base or shortstop behind Nishioka during fielding drills but it is a way of life for the Twins these days. With spring training games slated to start on Sunday I will be limiting my visits to probably once a week or so because workouts change so dramatically when the games begin.

Checking out the action at the ballpark

 

February 7 – I arrived in Cape Coral a couple of days ago and I decided that it was time for me to make my first visit to Hammond Field this morning and see what is going on out there. It was a windy but sunny day with the temperature in the low 70’s when I arrived at about 10:30 AM. There were just a handful of fans when I parked next to the minor league complex and there were no players on any of the practice fields. But just a few minutes later a couple of players I could not identify came out and did some agility drills and a bit later I could hear someone taking batting practice in the batting cages so I headed over to check it out. As I was approaching the cages I could see a small group of Japanese press that had assembled and they were watching Tsuyoshi Nishioka take some practice swings. I only saw Nishioka hit from the left side but and he seemed to be putting some good wood on the ball. This was the first time I had seen Nishioka up close and he was bigger than I had expected him to be. He is built solidly and to be honest he is a lot bigger below the waist than what I would expect from an infielder that is known for his base stealing skills. Later I watched Nishioka walk to another field to do some running and on the way I asked if I could get a picture but his interpreter (I assume) just waved his hand saying, no pictures. Later Nishioka’s agent joined him on the field and watched as Nishioka and he interpreter ran some sprints but obviously not at full speed. After that workout I again asked for a picture and again got the shake-off. I guess that is understandable as he did not want to be bothered during his workout session. About 15 minutes after he finished practice he came out to the parking lot where four fans asked for autographs but he and his interpreter just walked right past them towards a group of about a half dozen Japanese press that had assembled next to his car. Nishioka spent about 5-10 answering their questions as his agent looked on. One of the fans struck up a conversation with Nishioka’s agent and asked him if he would ask Nishioka to sign autographs for the four fans. When the short press conference for the Japanese press ended, Nishioka again headed for his vehicle but his agent whispered something to Nishioka and he walked over to the four waiting fans and signed an item for each of them without a smile or a word being said. He then turned around and jumped into the driver’s seat of his shiny new black Cadillac Escalade with his agent and interpreter in tow and he was gone. I hope that Nishioka is as fast on the base paths as he was in leaving the parking lot in his shiny Escalade. Today, outside of Nishioka, I saw no other Twins from the big league club.