Can anyone post this article from espn? http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blo...name=olney_buster&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1 "Chris Sampson can relate to the transformation and ascension of Rick Ankiel. Sampson broke into pro ball as a shortstop, but struggled to hit and retired -- and four years later, he was encouraged to try pitching. Now he's in the big leagues with the Astros. We e-mailed questions, he e-mailed answers. " I didn't know he was a shortstop or even retired. Thanks!
Yeah, I had heard he tried out at one of those camps major league teams have and they signed him up. Started in A ball, then was in the majors like 2 years later. Almost like that movie "The Rookie", except he wasn't as old.
Would you rather have a Barry Bondy-type guy who gets the job done (assuming he hasn't taken steroids, although I believe he has) but is a complete jerk to anyone and everyone?
I think part of the reason Sampson retired was his now former wife. Apparently, she was a b*tch and since he wasn't hitting .400 and in the majors by the age of 20, she hapred on him to give it up. He did. They got divorced. He tried again as a pitcher. It's something along those lines...
I'm still gutted we traded Taveras for this guy... Willie T was my favorite and could have been a long-term staple of our team... Sign me up as not a Tim P fan... We had young arms that could have filled the roll that Sampson was to fill. I don't dislike him, but I really dislike the trade.
heres the article: Chris Sampson can relate to the transformation and ascension of Rick Ankiel. Sampson broke into pro ball as a shortstop, but struggled to hit and retired -- and four years later, he was encouraged to try pitching. Now he's in the big leagues with the Astros. We e-mailed questions, he e-mailed answers. 1. When you initially retired as a position player, was that a difficult choice? How agonizing was that? How did you arrive at your decision? CS: Yes, it was a very difficult decision. There were a lot of heart-to-heart talks with close friends and family, not to mention many sleepless nights before coming to my decision. My priorities in life have always been: God is No. 1, Family is No. 2, and then Baseball. So when things weren't working out with my wife, (now ex-wife), I felt obligated as a husband to stay back and try to work on things. 2. How did you come up with the idea of pitching? Was it right from the start, when you were throwing batting practice? Can you remember the day when the idea of pitching popped into your head? CS: I came up with the idea to pitch shortly after a practice game we had at the junior college (Collin County Comm. College) where I was an assistant coach. We had a pitcher get a sore arm, so I pitched his two innings for him so our hitters could get their at-bats in. I ended up striking out 5 out of 6 batters I faced. After the practice game the head coach Greg Dennis and pitching coach Tim Peters called me over to talk. They both told me that it looked like I could still play, and at 24 years of age, was still young enough to give it another shot. They both knew I was getting divorced and had no ties left there, and both were encouraging me to go back and play. Tim actually worked with me during bullpen sessions at the college before I called the Astros to let them know I was interested in coming back to play, or pitch I should say. 3. What kind of response did you get from your friends and family when you raised the idea? CS: I remember the night I told my family. They thought I was just coming to Houston to visit from Dallas. Little did they know I had already called the Astros to set up a workout at Minute Maid Park. When I told them their eyes opened wide with the look of shocking yet very exciting news. My family and close friends have always believed in me, and have stood behind every decision I have made. My dad has always told me that I can do anything I want to do in life as long as I put my mind to it. 4. One of your catchers, Brad Ausmus, has a reputation for having the ability to receive the ball with extraordinary skill. From your perspective, how much of a difference does it make? CS: Brad is one of the best, if not the best defensive catchers in the game. He goes to great lengths to prepare himself so he knows each hitter's strengths and weaknesses. It always seems like he knows the right pitch to call at the right time, which a huge help for a young (young in experience) guy like myself. When Aus receives the ball, he catches the ball in the center of his body to make it look as though he never had to move his glove to catch the ball. Which, in return, gets a lot of called strikes from umpires on borderline pitches. And every pitcher loves that. 5. If you had a skills competition among the Houston pitchers, who would win for: Bunting; hitting; outfield play (in batting practice); a 100-yard dash. CS: Bunting I would say me. Hitting -- If Brandon Backe is included, I would say Backe. Outfield play: again Backe, then me. 100-yard dash: Me. Ugliest Swing: Roy Oswalt. 6. You went to Texas Tech, and your former teammate, Roger Clemens, was, of course, a huge Longhorns fan. Was there any razzing going on between you and he about this, and when the teams played in sports, was this a topic of conversation, either through e-mail or phone calls? If not Clemens, any other Texas-based teammates who take their alma maters very seriously? CS: Hahah.. No, there wasn't too much razzing going on between Roger and I about that. But we both agree that Texas Tech and The Longhorns could crush Vanderbilt though … hahaha … [Blog writer's note to self: Chris Sampson just took a cheap shot at me and my kind. Not happy about it. Must plot revenge&] Now it's Jason Jennings (Baylor Bear) and I who sometimes talk about who we think will have the upper hand when our teams play one another. 7. You were never mentioned in trade rumors, but as a bystander, with so much talk about Dan Wheeler, Brad Lidge, Chad Qualls, Mark Loretta, Jennings, Mike Lamb, Morgan Ensberg in the papers and on TV, what was it like in the Astros' clubhouse in the days leading up to the deadline? Was there much conversation about it? CS: There wasn't too much talk going on about the possible trade rumors. I had a conversation with Lidge, and he told me it seemed like his name comes up in trade talk every year, and that he was used to all of this. And I know Ensberg was excited about getting traded to the Padres, because he is from that area. And there is nothing like playing in the big leagues for your hometown team. I should know … 8. You recently saw the Braves for a few days. How will the addition of Mark Teixeira impact them, in your eyes? CS: The Braves' lineup was good before Teixeira, and now it's one of the best in baseball. I look for the Braves to be the team to beat in the NL. 9. I always thought, in covering teams, that the largest clubhouse cultural gap was between position players and starting pitchers; they tend to do stuff together (and separate from the other group), and they tend to look at the game differently. Because you were once a position player, in your heart, which group do you relate to more now? How does it help you to have been a position player? CS: I definitely relate better with the pitchers now. And like Trevor Hoffman [who, like Sampson, was once a shortstop in the minor leagues], having been a position player growing up and my first year in pro ball, I understand how hard it is to hit. A Hall of Fame hitter has a career .300 batting average or maybe a little better. That's only succeeding 3 out of 10 times at the plate. That means the pitcher succeeds 7 out of 10 times. Understanding this has really helped me stay aggressive by throwing a lot of strikes, and striving to keep my walks low. 10. Describe the best pitch you've made in your career. CS: The best pitch of my career was the day after my son was born, against the Giants. We were winning 2-1 late in the game, Bonds was up with bases empty. I decide to go after him and challenge him. I threw him a slider down and in that he swung over the top of for strike three. • Sampson played catch on Saturday, by the way, and could come off the disabled list shortly. • Brandon Webb is absurdly good right now, and has pushed his streak of consecutive scoreless innings to 33 -- and is 26 scoreless innings away from Orel Hershiser's record of 59 straight. In this Nick Piecoro story, he compares Orel's record to that of Cal Ripken's 2,632 consecutive games. Webb's ERA since May 21: 2.04. Despite the recent success of the D-backs, their attendance remains low, writes Dan Bickley -- but the lines for walk-up tickets are getting longer. Mark Reynolds has been raking. • Jeff Reardon says he has hatred for the man who was the last to see his son alive, as Kelsie Smith writes. As a parent of two young children, I can't even imagine what Reardon has endured. • The Scott Podsednik trade talks are dead, writes Gordon Wittenmyer. • The Kei Igawa talks are expected to continue today, between the Yankees and Padres; the chances of a deal are 50-50, in all likelihood. Pitching in Triple-A Saturday, Igawa allowed two runs in six innings against the Rochester Red Wings. • The Padres have fallen to four games out of first place. Brian Giles is hitting, but Marcus Giles has been benched. • Ankiel has earned every bit of the success he is achieving these days. Tony La Russa isn't talking about his job status, writes Joe Strauss. Ankiel is the Cardinals' feel-good story, but Bernie Miklasz writes about another story in St. Louis -- the franchise's issues related to alcohol and drugs this season, and Miklasz fears there will be more of this. • The Royals may not sign their No. 1 draft pick, writes Joe Posnanski. It'll be interesting to see how many of those unsigned will be players picked by teams whose owners are close allies of Commissioner Bud Selig; the Commissioner's office is strongly encouraging teams to stick to its signing bonus recommendations. And Kansas City owner David Glass is generally considered to a strong supporter of the Commissioner. • The Mets' home run apple may be history when the teams leaves Shea Stadium, writes Saki Knafo. • A Rays' farmhand is having a great week, writes Marc Topkin. Joe Maddon foresees great things for Tampa Bay, based on his words here. Carl Crawford, by the way, has eight consecutive multihit games. • Leo Mazzone believes Tom Glavine will be the last 300-game winner. Said Leo: "What we've done as far as Little League on up is created a mind-set of five- and six-inning pitchers. And you aren't going to get 300 wins pitching five or six innings." • Andruw Jones wants his elbow examined, but won't ask out of the lineup, and got a cortisone shot, as David O'Brien writes. The Braves' bullpen came up huge, especially Ron Mahay. • Adam LaRoche splashed down Saturday. The Pirates are considering making Ryan Doumit their right fielder of the future. • Raul Ibanez might be the hottest hitter on the planet, and Larry Stone is there to see it. Jose Vidro is among the hottest hitters on the planet. • The Mets are having some bad days, and Saturday ended with Paul Lo Duca being placed on the disabled list, after he aggravated his hamstring. Guillermo Mota offered no excuses. • The Cubs were taken down by a landslide of runs. • Top prospect Ian Stewart was called up to replaced an injured Colorado teammate. Reporters crowded around the locker of Jamey Carroll, who had a very good day. Matt Holliday has to be in the MVP discussion, says teammate Todd Helton. • The Jays lost to Kansas City, but there is good news: A.J. Burnett will get the ball on Sunday, as Cathal Kelly writes. • John Rheinecker threw effectively but got some bad news after the game. Rusty Greer got a big honor in Texas, writes Dave Sessions. • The signs of improvement for Edwin Jackson had been there, and he put it all together Saturday, as Marc Lancaster writes. Crawford is doing something nice for kids. • Josh Willingham got a nice greeting at home plate Saturday. Daniel Barone had a gift for his grandfather, writes Clark Spencer. • The Twins had their guts ripped out. Carlos Silva deserved better: He faced 22 hitters, and of those, only two saw hitters' counts of 2-0 or 3-1. August deals don't always work out, writes La Velle Neal, while assessing the Twins' options. Here's why I think the Twins should trade for Mike Piazza: What they have is not working. It makes sense to try something different. Put him at DH for a couple of weeks, and maybe it'll help. Especially now that Jason Kubel is hurt. • Two batters into Saturday's start, Derek Lowe was a beaten pitcher, as it turned out. Within the same story, there is word that the Dodgers have added a veteran catcher. The Dodgers have scored 32 runs in their last 13 games. • Maicer Izturis got a huge hit. Gary Matthews cannot wait to get back on the field, writes Mike DiGiovanna. Within the same notebook, there is word of what one Angel player called a near-death experience. • Mike Mussina is on a roll, and is well aware of the standings, as Tyler Kepner writes. Mussina becomes the ninth pitcher all-time to win at least 100 games with two different teams (and six of the others are in the Hall of Fame), according to Vince Masi of ESPN Research: 100 wins, two different teams Pitcher Teams (wins) Mike Mussina Orioles (147); Yankees (100) Pete Alexander Cubs (128); Phillies (190) John Clarkson Cubs (136); Braves (150) Lefty Grove A's (195); Red Sox (105) Randy Johnson Mariners (130), D-backs (107) Greg Maddux Braves (194); Cubs (133) Dennis Martinez Orioles (108); Expos (100) Nolan Ryan Angels (138); Astros (106) Cy Young Red Sox (192); Cleveland (240) At the end of May, the idea of picking up Bobby Abreu's option for 2008 seemed preposterous. Now it seems like a given. For the flush Yankees to have a good veteran player on a one-year deal is a no-brainer, in the current market, especially because of the potential of adding draft picks when the player walks away. • Joe Torre is the best man to be the Yankees' manager, writes Mike Lupica. Brian Cashman doesn't look so dumb anymore, writes John Harper. Ian Kennedy, another of the Yankees' good pitching prospects, could get the ball in a big-league start this week. • The anchor of the Red Sox staff maintained Boston's lead in the AL East. Josh Beckett was bummed that he couldn't finish what he started, writes Amalie Benjamin. The pitcher with the lowest ERA since June 1? Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Red Sox could have a fatal flaw, writes Tony Massarotti. • These are not good times for Adam Eaton, who may be dropped from the Philly rotation. • Chris Ray is beginning his rehab. Garrett Olson saw what the guy pitching for the other team was doing, and learned. • Pals Bobby Livingston and Jeff Keppinger shared some good times on Saturday. Bill Bray took the mound in the big leagues for the first time this season, writes Kevin Kelly. Matt Belisle was shipped to the minors. • There probably is a good way to pitch to the Brewers' Ryan Braun, but nobody has figured out what that is yet; he got a huge hit on Saturday, and now has 59 RBI in his first 69 games. That's the most for any player in his first 69 games since Albert Pujols racked up 62 RBI in 2001, in his first 69 games. • Tom Haudricourt talked with members of the '82 Brewers, the last Milwaukee team to make the playoffs, and noticed that a lot of them have something in common, years later. • Leo Nunez is forcing the Royals to make a decision. Joey Gathright saved the day. • Lidge got lit up in the ninth inning. • Gavin Floyd was pummeled. Bobby Jenks is three outs away from tying a major league record, and here's part of the reason why -- the man can finish off hitters better than almost any pitcher in the game. Consider these's numbers: When Jenks has gotten ahead in the count to hitters by throwing Strike 1 with his first pitch, opposing batters are hitting .133 against him; they're 11-for-83, with 29 strikeouts and no home runs. And after the count has reached 0-2, opposing batters are 0-for-27, with 18 strikeouts. • The Tigers need to find a way to move Carlos Guillen to first base, writes Drew Sharp. Magglio Ordonez reprised his role of hero against Dan Haren. • The Indians need to find a way to get back on track, says Paul Byrd. Fausto Carmona is frustrated with himself. • The Nationals were done in by a fastball that simply disappears. The Nationals have had a change of heart about Shawn Hill. • Haren got to re-live an ugly moment. • Big innings are killing Tim Lincecum and the Giants, says their manager. Jonathan Sanchez was shipped out. • Scott Ostler reminisces about one interesting aspect of the Barry Bonds chase, and how Bonds handled it, and how it affected teammates. Within the same column, Ostler wonders if might have been more appropriate for Josh Towers to throw at Howie Clark, rather than Alex Rodriguez. Bonds doesn't make calls to a friend in prison, writes Christian Red. On The Rise Ian Stewart, Rockies: He has been promoted right into the middle of a pennant race. A.J. Burnett, Jays: He's coming off the disabled list and getting the ball today. Joel Zumaya, Tigers: He could be back a week from Tuesday, writes John Lowe. On The Decline Paul Lo Duca, Mets: Lands on the DL. Not exactly what the Mets need, with their lead in the NL East shrinking. Ryan Dempster, Cubs: He's lost his job as closer, apparently; Bobby Howry and Carlos Marmol will finish games. Adam Eaton, Phillies: The team will discuss whether to dump him from the rotation. (all rights reserved ESPN.com Buster Olney)
