Hooks Meet and Greet

     Last Friday the Corpus Christi Hooks held a meet and greet for season ticket holders.  It was a way for the season ticket holders to meet their 2009 Corpus Christi Hooks.  After checking in we were given a Corpus Christi Hooks baseball cap that had 2009 Season Ticket Holder sewn into the back.  We were given refreshments and beverages.  Quite a few of the players did a superb job of greeting those individuals who were waiting in line.

                                                  (Pitcher Chad Wagler)
                                                    
     A majority of the season ticket holders took advantage of this opportunity to get to know their players better in a more personable setting.

                                                 (Outfielder Mitch Einertson)
     I talked with Mitch for around 10 minutes and inquired about the status of a couple of players from the 2008 team and a comment from roundrock15 from the blog A Misplaced Astros Fan pointed out that pitcher, Tip Fairchild had been released.  Two other players had also been released with him, Infielder Ole Sheldon and Outfielder Billy Hart.  Hart's release came as a surprise since he won the Carolina League Batting title in 2006. 


     The season ticket holders had an hour of time with the players and the coaching staff.  Voice of the Hooks Matt Hicks introduced skipper, Luis Pujols, he addressed one of the major concerns that many fans had in the 2008 which dealt with the pitching.  He stated that the Astros organization was going to take a more agressive approach in player development and he stated "were going to play to develop and play to win".  Players will have to perform in order to play and the release of three veteran Hooks players was an eye-opener to many.  Over the years the Astros farm system had gotten low grades.  They were recently ranked in 30th place in drafting and player development.  What was evident in the Hooks/Astros exhibition game was that there was a different mindset when compared to last year. 

                                                         (Skipper Luis Pujols)
     What is evdient is the Astros GM, Ed Wade is changing how things are being done in the lower levels of the farm system and if a player shows potential to excel at a higher level they will give that player the chance.  What he wants to change is that certain players made stops at each level before proceeding.  He pointed out the success of Infielder Chris Johnson and Pitcher Bud Norris members of the 2008 Hooks squad.
 
                                               (Outfielder Jimmy Van Ostrand)
      Members of the 2009 Corpus Christi Hooks are:

Pitchers:
Erick Abreu
Douglas Arguello
T.J. Burton
Paul Estrada
Casey Hudspeth
Brad James
Jeremy Johnson
Felipe Paulino
Sergio Perez
Chris Salamida
Rob Semerano
Polin Trinidad
Andy Van Hekken
Chad Wagler

Catchers:
Brian Esposito
Lou Palmisano

Infielders:
Jhon Florentino, Mark Ori, Drew Meyer, Felix Molina, Chad Spann, Wladimir Sutil

Outfielders:
Collin DeLome, Mitch Einertson, Josh Flores, Andrew Locke, Jimmy Van Ostrand

(L to R: Pitchers Brad James & Casey Hudspeth and O/F Jimmy Van Ostrand & Josh Flores)