The countdown is on folks! T minus 3 days and counting until the Defensive Specialist gets back to where he belongs – at the yard. The Deep in the Hole bus will be in action and the notebook will be primed to capture all the action between NSW and Claxton Shield leaders South Australia. The plan is to take in all 3 games and provide comprehensive breakdowns as soon as humanly possible after the action. The Defensive Specialist is particularly keen to see how the lads from South Australia handle being top dog since it’s unfamiliar territory up at the top of the table for them.
It’s all well and good talking about plans for the weekend, but the Defensive Specialist has been running a little project to determine Australia’s best Major Leaguer. We’re in the home stretch and reader participation in the polls has been high so lets drive this run home with the first part of Pool D.
Pool D
Peter Moylan
By now everyone is familiar with West Australian Moylan’s story. Signed as a youngster by the Twins in 1996, he was quickly released less than 2 years later. Between 1998 and 2006 Moylan worked as a shepherd tending to his flock and secretly slinging rocks from a new ¾ arm angle that enabled him to generate groundball inducing fastballs in the mid to upper 90’s. This skill was particularly useful when combating one-eyed giants. Whilst working in the fields, Moylan was spotted by an Australian scout who fell in love with the run on his fastball. He recommended that Moylan shave his impressive beard, shed his robes, and play for Australia at the World Baseball Classic. It was during this tournament that he was pitted against the Major Leaguer laden Venezuelan team whom he skillfully mowed down in order. Major League scouts in attendance were impressed not only by his fastball but by his ability to pitch in sandals.
Moylan chose to sign with the Atlanta Braves in 2006 and made his big league debut after only 35 games at the AAA level. Debuting as a 27 year old, Moylan worked in 15 games putting up an ERA of 4.80. In 2007 Moylan put together a sparkling year with a 5-3 record, a 1.80 ERA and one save in 80 games. 2008 didn’t get off to a great start with Moylan serving up a game winning homerun to Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals on opening day. He appeared in another 6 games before his elbow exploded, requiring Tommy John surgery and a year’s holiday.
Moylan contemplated heading back to his flock but instead decided to give Major League baseball another crack. In 2009 he set an Atlanta Brave record by working in 87 games. He had become more of a specialist reliever, working primarily against right-handed hitters who had great trouble with his tailing fastball. He posted a 6-2 win loss tally while posting an ERA of 2.84. He also made his YouTube debut showcasing his extensive tattoo work:
Strange having a pitcher pose with a bat:
Stranger posing with your nipples erect:
Moylan’s career numbers to date: 11- 6, 2.45 ERA and 2 saves over 183 innings.
Travis Blackley
Signed as an amateur free agent in 2000, Blackley quickly vaulted through the Mariners organization as a top prospect, being named #63 prospect in Baseball America’s top 100 in 2004. He made his first appearance in the Major Leagues in 2004 going 1-3 in 6 starts. He yielded 29 earned runs in 26 innings. 2005 saw Blackley shut down while recovering from labrum surgery.
In 2007 Blackley was traded to the San Francisco Giants for Jason Ellison. He returned to the big leagues and started 2 games without a decision and an ERA of 7.27. Blackley has not returned to the big leagues since 2007 and played last season in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization
Justin Huber
Victorian Justin Huber signed with the New York Mets in 2000. He was a highly regarded catching prospect when he was packaged to the Kansas City Royals for Jose Bautista (not that impressive) who was then moved for Kris Benson (a lot more impressive at the time). Huber injured his knee, requiring surgery. He made his debut with the Royals in 2005. Now no longer regarded as a catcher, Huber played in 25 games (first base and DH) hitting .218 with 6 RBI’s and 6 runs. In 2006 he played in 5 games, hitting .200 and in 2007 he played in 8 games hitting .100.
Huber was traded to the San Diego Padres in 2008 for an ice cream machine. As much as the Padres loved soft served ice cream, they loved Huber hitting his first career homerun against future Hall of Famer Randy Johnson more. He played in 33 games as an outfielder hitting .246 with 2 homeruns and 8 RBI’s.
Granted free agency, Huber was signed by the Minnesota Twins after the World Baseball Classic. He played all season at the AAA level, hitting 22 jacks before gaining a late season call and having 2 at bats with the Twins.
Ok, that’s the first part of Pool D done and dusted. The Defensive Specialist will have the second half up on Thursday morning along with the last poll. Now if you don’t mind, the Defensive Specialist has to go and recalibrate the Deep in the Hole radar and stopwatch in preparation for this weekend.
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