The last week of spring training is over. The Houston Astros 2008 roster is set, and it’s been a frenzy in the clubhouse.

I’ll say that its been tough on everyone to handle all of the packing and unpacking, and now we have to do more to get to San Diego. Not to mention trying to get everything set up with our places to stay for those of us who dont have a house yet.

All that aside, when we get to San Diego the games will finally count. I know that the media and all the so called “experts” are stacked up against us because of pitching. I’ll say that this team is going to fight, and there’s way too many gamers in that locker room for this season not to surprise people.

My hat is off to Ed Wade, Cecil Cooper, and all the Astros staff for how they changed the attitude of the team and the accomplishments in the offseason. Everyone asks me what I think of all the changes, and there’s my answer.

We got a team full of guys who are a little crazy, and I think everyone is going to have some fun watching us go at it this season. When I say crazy, I mean it in an intense competitor beyond the norm crazy. Just like me. =)

I would like to thank everyone for stopping by and checking out my blog this Spring Training. This will be my last one this season so I can focus on the season itself. Thanks again to b5 media and to all of the fans who stopped by. I hope you enjoyed it.

Hunter

Post from: EveryJoe

From Hunter – This team is going to fight

We are down to our last week of spring training and for me the season can’t start soon enough. The games get more intense at this time and the bell has rung so to speak.

You really can’t tell how the season is going to go from spring training, but I can tell you that I definately have some fuel for the fire. I came across a question and answer that I found interesting and motivating. With a question asking if the Astros “can” make the playoffs … Not even asking if we WILL make the playoffs but if we “CAN.” The answer was “Put me down for a No.”

This fires me up more than anything. I love it when I’m doubted and my team is doubted, because now we have even more to prove. This gives a little extra motivation.

On another note, it’s been good to see Tejada these last couple days. It’s unbelievable how he flipped the switch right after our off-day. I’ll be honest I wasn’t sure about his swing until now, but he is playing a different game than before. That’s what is so amazing about the veterans, they know just how to get themselves right in spring training. Most of them work on things until the last week then amp it up to a new level whenever they want.

Every at-bat early in spring he wasn’t in good rhythm and now all of a sudden, he hasn’t had a bad at-bat in three days. You could say that’s just the ups and downs of baseball, but he literally told us “Now it’s time to get it going.” And that’s just what he has done.

I have learned so much from this spring training, seeing how it’s my first one to be on the major league team. Every year before this has been completely different. It’s nice now, because I can use what I learned this year to better prepare for next year.

My goal is to maximize my strength, speed and baseball feel for the season. If I had it to do over again, I might focus a little less early in spring on hitting and use more of that energy in the weight room, because we have such a long time to let the game sink in.

I was in a rush to feel mid-season form this year and probably over did my cage work. All in all I’m very happy with where I’m at and soon all the talk will be over and the season will be here.

It’s go time! =)

Hunter

Post from: EveryJoe

From Hunter: It’s Go Time!

It feels good to finally be drawing near the season. Everyone in camp is starting to get to know each other, and the team even though it’s not set is having a lot of fun together. To me, it’s important to have a team that gets along in the clubhouse because your around each other so long and I honestly believe it effects the play on the field. Things change when the season starts, and we still dont know who all exactly is going to be on the team, so there’s a lot of questions as far as that’s concerned.

The talent on this team is tremendous and my expectations are high when the bell rings for the season to start.

As far as myself, I’ll be honest to say that my swing is just now starting to feel proper again. I haven’t felt like my normal self in the batters box and in batting practice early this spring. But I am getting a good feel now. Despite not feeling great, I have still managed to get hits. So that’s a good sign.
Now that I feel good I’m going to be able to have more of an approach at the plate and get myself properly prepared to go by the time the season starts.

Off the field, I regret to tell everyone that I lost a bet with Reggie Abercrombie. Because Duke lost to North Carolina in college basketball, Reggie will be suiting me up in some Hip-Hop gear on one of the upcoming road trips.

Had Duke won, you better believe Reggie was going to be wearing some Wrangler’s with a HUGE belt buckle, a cowboy hat and some nice cowboy boots. I figure it was worth a shot to see him in that gear!

We’ll see if I can post a picture, I’m not sure what he has in mind for me, but hopefully it’s appropriate. =)

-Hunter

Post from: EveryJoe

Hip Hop Hunter Pence

So, we are just three short weeks away from our season opener in San Diego and I’m already itching to get on that plane to head out west.

I made a couple of appearances on ESPN this week, starting by doing a phone interview on ESPN News and finishing up on First Take on Friday. Doing interviews is actually a lot of fun, especially on ESPN because I still have to pinch myself somedays that I’m lucky enough to be playing this game everyday … and being on ESPN is pretty cool.

To recap the past week, we played some pretty good teams from the American League, starting off with the Bronx Bombers on Monday. There’s always a different kind of energy out there when those guys are around. Jeter, A-Rod, Rivera and Posada … seeing them across the way is pretty special. Tuesday I had the day off but we played against Detroit and their high-powered offense. That lineup has to be one of the top two in the entire American League. They are stacked from top to bottom and I would not want to be a pitcher facing that lineup!

Wednesday, I was back in the lineup against the Tampa Bay Rays. They are going to surprise some people this year as they have some pretty good starters on their pitching staff and Carlos Pena came out of nowhere and hit over 40 homers last year … keep your eye on those guys. Thursday, we faced a strong Cleveland Indians club – man can they hit! They were so close to reaching the World Series last year and facing the reigning AL Cy Young Winner in CC Sabathia wasn’t easy.

He held us scoreless for the three innings he was on the mound and was pretty impressive. Friday we had a rematch against the Yankees on the road and ended up walking out of there with a win. Shawn Chacon pitched against his former club and threw groundball after groundball and that’s always great to see.

Over the next couple of weeks, you will start to see the starting pitchers go longer and position players go a little deeper into the game in preparation for the regular season – which is fine by me because i’ll take all the at-bats I can get!

Until next week!

Hunter

Post from: EveryJoe

From Hunter: Itching for the Season to Start

First of all, I’d like to thank all of you for the great feedback on the Erstad nickname and all the good questions.

For the record, I have been calling Erstad “Dadio” because it’s really funny to me. Someone asked if he has a nickname for me and in fact he does, he calls me “son”. It’s turned into quite the joke and we both have fun with it. I did like D-Stud as well but, I’ve grown attached to Dadio and it’s a lot of fun to mess with him like that … so it’s probably going to stick.

Today, I am going to answer your questions by regarding what I do on game days. Let’s see, a typical game day during the season is somewhat of a process for me. I have a ritual routine. I start first thing in the morning with a HUGE breakfast to get some fuel in the system. My breakfast generally consists of fruit, eggs, pancakes, bacon, and coffee.

For a night game (7:00 p.m.) I usually head to the field at around 1:30 pm so that I have plenty of time to get loose and make sure I’m prepared before team practice (around 4:30 pm). When I get to the field, I’ll always read over the scouting report covering the pitcher that will be starting. Then, I head to the hot tub to loosen up my muscles. After the hot tub and stretching, I head to the batting cage to go through my hitting routine which consists of tee work and front toss with our hitting coach, Sean Berry. I’m consistent with every part of this routine because, in my mind, it’s how I get my swing right before the day starts.

After I’m happy with my swing, I will watch the last start of the pitcher we are facing until batting practice begins. After batting practice, I eat a banana, one grilled chicken breast and down a lot of water to get hydrated. By 6:00 pm (one hour before game time) I’ll go through one more short hitting routine that generally ends at 6:15. Then I just try to relax for fifteen minutes and mentally prepare for the game before I head to the field to stretch at 6:30 pm.

When the game is over I grab a protein bar and head to the weight room for a 30-45 min workout. Needless to say when I get home, I’m ready for bed. It’s all going to start over as soon as I wake up the next morning. =)

Talk to you soon!

Hunter

Post from: EveryJoe

From Hunter: Game Day Routine

Finally spring training is here and I have some baseball to talk about! Even though I haven’t been able to do much in spring training, other than watch, there’s still a lot going on. And for the record, I’m healing quickly and rather excited because I am supposed to be back at practice tomorrow!

It’s been a bummer that the accident had me sidelined, but I was very fortunate that my injuries were not serious and that my recovery has been quick. So back to spring training …

When I arrived, I was happy to see that my locker was right between Bourn and Erstad. It’s been nice getting to know Bourn. I was also excited to talk to Erstad and found it interesting to hear what his impression of me was last year. You see, Erstad is one of my favorite players to watch so it’s weird to think that he has seen me play. I found out that he initially I thought I was some know-it-all rookie!!

I asked him why he thought that and he said that when we played against the White Sox, last season, he saw me taking my 100 practice swings before the game. During my swings, he saw me walk over to the home plate where I started talking to the umpires. So it appeared to him as though I was acting like I ran the show. Keep in mind, he saw me doing this when I hadn’t been in the League for long. Little did he know that the umpires had called me over and I was just following their orders.

For whatever reason, last year, the umpires got a kick out of picking on me, in good nature. I remember the day Erstad referenced, the umpires had called me over to tell me that they heard I was a big trouble maker and to watch it because I was on a tight leash. I just laughed and said, “Yes sir.” Anyways, I got that all straightened out with D-stad and have gotten to know him pretty well now. As a matter of fact, I’m actually debating on what his nickname is going to be and I figured I could ask you guys for some help? Any suggestions would be good!

As a joke, I told Erstad I was going to call him by his first initial and the last two letters in his last name “Dad” or possibly even Fred Derstad. I don’t think either of those are going to stick, so help me out and send me some suggestions =) In baseball, you can’t call anyone by their regular name, everyone has to have a nickname.

Just to wrap things up, I wanted to share that there is a great feeling in the locker room this year because everyone has high expectations and a new attitude. On the field, I’ve mainly been standing behind the cage watching all of our pitchers and I’m excited because, as I’ve mentioned before, we are going to have a solid staff this year. In addition, with a little more help from the defense, things are looking good for the Astros this year.

The thing is we can’t just talk about it, we have to do it. I really liked how Tejada put it to me when I told him we were going to have a lot of fun with this team, I think I’ll stick with his plan. Next week I’ll gladly get to talk about PLAYING in spring training! haha, ’til next week.

Thanks.

Hunter

Post from: EveryJoe

From Hunter: Erstad Needs a Nickname

I had just come home from dinner with some friends, and decided to jump in the hot tub to loosen up my muscles before bed. As we were walking out to the hot tub, I took about three steps toward the tub (leaving the door open behind me) and decided I needed to use the restroom before hopping into the hot water … I did not realize that my friend had closed the door behind me.

Because the ground was cold outside and I was barefoot, I turned around quickly to run inside. As I tried to hop inside from the step, I went straight through the glass door. It all happened so fast that I am just going to have to slow down and be more cautious in the future. The good news is that I will be back on the field soon and I did not have any severe injuries.

Hunter

Post from: EveryJoe

Hunter Pence: “I did not consume any alcohol”

The off season is finally over! I cant wait to get to Kissimmee and meet all the new Astros we have signed. I’ll be making the drive from Arlington, TX which is a good 18 hour drive. I’m not looking forward to that, but we are finally going to have some baseball to talk about.

It’s going to be really exciting to get on a baseball field with the new team and see how everything is going to play out. We have a lot of options this year, so it is going to be interesting to see how Cooper puts us together.

Everyone keeps asking me how I feel about hitting 6th in the lineup? My answer to this question is that I’m excited to be a part of the team and wherever I can help us win, is fine with me. I’m also going to give my prediction that Berkman is coming back this year with the usual thunder in his bat from day 1. If that’s the case its going to be a fun year because we have a lot of fire power around him.

I’m not sure if I mentioned this before, but the other thing that’s going to be exciting to see play out is the speed of the defense this year. The addition of Bourn, Tejada and Matsui up the middle is a great bonus to all of our pitchers. There’s a lot to look forward to this year and it all begins next week.

Until next time …

Hunter

Post from: EveryJoe

From Hunter: Ready for Kissimmee!

It’s somewhat of a culture shock to put all my training into legs and core and explosive movements. I don’t have the big upper body that I’m used to, which is mainly only good for looking in the mirror, as it turns out.

This week was also my first opportunity to hit on the field. I was curious to see how well I was really hitting, mainly because I haven’t gained any weight this off-season. We hit at Northlake College on Wednesday, then at UT Arlington on Thursday. I was very happy and pleased with how the ball was coming off my bat.

My fans will just have to wait until spring training to see if I’m right. =)

There’s been a few things that happened this week that has urged me to explain a few things about myself. I wanted to let my fans know that I often reflect on the story of Paul Potts because he inspires me to always believe in myself. I also watch my favorite movie “Cinderella Man” to remind me how much I really have and to never take things for granted.

I always want to stay grounded because all the success is great, but in the end baseball is what I do, not who I am. By no means does it make me or any ballplayer better than anyone else.

Sometimes that is forgotten somewhere along the way … I will continue to work for everything I have and there is only one way to play the game – Pete Rose, George Brett and Craig Biggio style. That’s all I have for this week.

Thanks!

Hunter

Post from: EveryJoe

From Hunter: Almost Ready for Spring Training

It’s been another solid week of workouts and practice for me. My swing is finally starting to feel good. I haven’t had a chance to hit on a field yet, which is an entirely different feel than hitting in a cage. Our workouts at REPS are starting to tone down. We are doing a lot of running and coordination drills and less of the heavy weight power lifting.

Basically, we are trying to just maintain until spring training and the season, and get our bodies in condition to handle the every day running that baseball entails. It’s only two weeks until I head to spring training and I cant wait to get back into it again.

One of the questions this week was if I get to face any live pitching? The answer is yes. Every year, I hit off the owner of Cover All Bases, Chris Gay. He was a pitcher at UTA and made it to AA with the White Sox. I’ve been hitting at his batting cage since I was 13 years old, so as I’ve said before, it’s my second home.

Chris throws us all batting practice until the end of January and then mixes us up in February. This is great for me because when I go to spring training, I’m somewhat prepared for off-speed pitches and it helps me make some adjustments to my swing that I can’t get off machines. It’s all about balance, timing and your eye.

The other thing I’m doing this year is working off a machine that shoots tennis balls up to 120mph with numbers on them. The numbers are either red or black. The point of the drill is to read the color first and as you get better, start seeing the numbers. It’s amazing how much better you get from day to day. That’s the jist of my hitting training before I go to spring training.

Until next week …

Hunter

Post from: EveryJoe

From Hunter: More About Hitting