SethSpeaks:
Alright, the first time we had a Q&A was right before you
were off to minor league training camp in March. Just last
week, you found out that you were added to the Twins 40 man
roster which means that you not only get to, but are
required to go to Major League Spring Training. How excited
were you to hear the news that you were added to the 40 man
roster?
Pat Neshek: Again Seth, thanks for having me answer
some questions on your site. It’s always a pleasure! Getting
added to the 40-man roster was probably some of the best
news I have ever heard in my life. It ranks right up there
with getting drafted or signing a letter of intent to play
D1 baseball. I think it is even more sweet than getting
drafted or anything because I really put a lot into this
season and the past off-season. You also have every guy in
the organization striving to get on the roster and these are
some talented guys not college guys or rookie ball players. So when you add all that together and the level where we
compete it really means a lot.
SethSpeaks:
What was the reaction to those closest to you, those who
know how hard you worked to get to where you are?
Pat Neshek:
Well I think everyone in my family knew
what it meant because I have been talking about it for the
last three years. My dad and I would always talk on the
phone and 40-man roster speculation came up a bunch of
times. We both knew I had an excellent year but wondered if
there were so many spots open, who they were keeping and
what the Twins were thinking about me. You never really
know until they actually put you on. When I got the call I
immediately called my dad and let him know the good news. My girlfriend Stephanee knew that I wanted to get on the
roster and that was one of our goals this past year. When I
got off the phone I smiled really big and she knew exactly
what happened. My mom messed around with me and said “what
does that mean?” I wanted to hang up the phone because I
thought she was serious but then she turned it around and
said she was joking. My brother Paul was pumped because he
knows that I pretty much have to be on the 40-man to get
called up to the Twins. He told me that if I can hurry up
and get up to the Dome we would be the only Player/Grounds
Crew combo in the Big Leagues. My brother Jake was also
excited more so because I get to go to Big League camp! My
friends for the last couple years ask me when are you going
to get called up or questions like that and I would reply
whenever I can get on the 40-man roster. Not a lot of
people understand that you pretty much have to be on the
roster to get called up, if you’re not on it you’re going to
have to have a lot of luck and a hell of a season. Most of
my friends were pretty fired up when I told them the news,
hey why not give some shout outs!!! Shane Stegeman,
Ryan Lundervold, Paul Beck, Rex Eaton and
Jason Cierlik, you guys
rock!
SethSpeaks:
On your site, you commented that with this, you are working
twice as hard at this point as you were a year ago. What
does your offseason workout consist of? Have you developed
your own training program, or do you use a program set up
for you by the Twins?
Pat Neshek:
Well it’s a little of both. The Twins
always give out a workout program that the strength coach
made. It’s a very good work out and I usually stick to
this. Right now I am running about 6 days a week usually
around 30 mins right now. In the next couple weeks I am
going to mix in sprints during two days a week. I pretty
much am right on que with the Twins strength program, lift 4
days then an off day and back on again for 4 days. The main
difference in last year is the running and some of the lifts
I have been doing. Last year was pretty much the first year
I took the off-season pretty serious. Another thing that I
am building on this year is what I eat. I have been
shifting more towards eating whole foods…natural foods…stuff
that comes from the earth. I started doing this last year
and to be honest I don’t really get tired or out of energy
anymore. I’ve been juicing vegetables 2-3 times a day
focusing on mostly carrot/kale/spinach (it sounds terrible
but it’s not too bad and probably the best stuff in the
world to drink.) Stephanee also cooks me some great meals
every night!
SethSpeaks:
OK, let's just talk for a few questions about your 2005
season. Overall, how happy were you with your performance
this year?
Pat Neshek:
Very happy, I never felt tired, my arm
didn’t hurt and I pitched A LOT not to mention the many
times I got up and never went in. It was an excellent year
and I think I was most proud about how consistent I was with
everything that was thrown at me.
SethSpeaks:
You had 24 saves in the Eastern League. However, how often
did you just pitch one inning? From a distance, it appears
that the closers in the Twins farm system are pitching two
or even three innings. It made your job tougher and yet the
results more impressive. Do you think that those
experiences, often coming into the game in the 7th or 8th
inning prepares you more for a role with the major league
club?
Pat Neshek:
I think from June on I really didn’t
have too many outings that were only 1 inning long, 2 inning
outings were pretty normal. What was tough was pitching
back to back to back days doing more than one inning and
this happened a couple times. Stu is really easy to play
for, he always told me if I feel tired or pain just to let
him know and I could take a day off. I think there was one
time this season where I asked him to have a day off. I
think coming into games early in the game definitely helps
because ultimately my role in the big leagues will probably
not be closing!
SethSpeaks:
Do you look at your statistics throughout the season? If so,
which stats do you look at?
Pat Neshek:
Yeah I’m pretty obsessive about stats. I always look at era, hits per inning, k’s per 9, bb’s per 9
and avg against. That’s pretty much it for me. Other guys
and coaches care about other things but me it’s def the
above. At the level I’m at if I can have a k ratio that’s
over 10 I’m happy. If I can walk 1 guy every three innings
or more I’m happy. If I can give up a lot less hits than
innings pitched I’m happy. If those things are where I want
them the ERA should be fine. I also look at first pitch
strikes, total strikes and pitch selection. The Twins keep
these stats and after every game you can check them out. Radar gun speeds are also fun to look at:)!
SethSpeaks:
Saves are nice and Wins are great, but they really don't
tell the story of how well a pitcher pitches. Your WHIP was
1.09, which is excellent. You averaged 10.4 strikeouts per
nine innings which is right up there with the tops in the
Twins organization. 4.5 K/BB is also very good. Do any of
these types of numbers mean anything to you, or do you maybe
just track that you did your job in X games out of the 55
games that you pitched in?
Pat Neshek:
Well I guess individually you want to
do those things well and that’s what I strive to do, those
stats you mentioned are on the top of my lists. But really
what you are doing out there is competing. When you get on
the mound you don’t think about any of that stuff…walking
guys, giving up hits blah blah blah, you want to close out
the game and get out of there no matter what it takes. Everything is fueled by your competitiveness and instinct to
win when you get on the hill. When the game is over I
usually look at the stats and see where I need to improve. From this you can change things when you get on the mound or
try to get better. Your stats tell a story and it’s your
job to figure out what type of pitcher you are and master
your game. You can always get better and that’s what makes
baseball awesome. I also think a big part of my game is
studying hitters and seeing what type they are. Do they
swing first pitch, will they be up there hacking, are they
quick and like to bunt. When you understand what type of
hitter they are you get a plan. Mix all this together and
can kind of see how I approach the game.
SethSpeaks:
You have pretty much solely been a reliever in your pro
career. What is your mentality when you go into the game?
Pat Neshek:
Get outs, strike outs, ground outs,
whatever, just get outs. If you make the pitches, the hitters
will get themselves out and that’s what I try to do. Whenever I go into the game I have a lot of nervous energy
and that is what I live for, it’s do or die late in the game
and I know they are going to bring everything at me and they
know I’m coming at them hard. The game is a lot about luck
and a lot about being prepared. Even the best closers in
the game get beat up and you have to accept this. If you
have a bad night, throw it away and get ready tomorrow. It’s kind of scary if you sit back and think about a bad
outing because you question yourself. The quicker you can
realize it’s just a game and you lost that night the better
you will be!
SethSpeaks:
Tell us a little about the other guys that you spent much
time with in the New Britain bullpen.
Pat Neshek:
Great guys, never a dull moment, always
a laugh. We like to have a lot of fun and that’s what
happens almost every night. If we didn’t have fun we would
go insane!
SethSpeaks:
Any PG-13 rated stories that you can tell us about?
Pat Neshek:
There’s a bunch but I think the
funniest of the year involved the bullpen and the grounds
crew. We would get bored a lot of times and design images
on the bullpens and sometimes we would get cup games going
with the goal of seeing how many cups you can float in the
air and get to stand in the dirt. Well we thought it would
be cool to make a cup game “Hole” We dug a three foot by
three foot hole about 8 inches into the ground and played
cups for a couple games. Well the grounds crew got mad and
filled in the hole. Well we dug it back up and kept
playing. Also we designed a cool logo of New Britain in the
mounds…(Yes we get bored easy and it sounds really dumb but
to us it was relief!) Well the next day the grounds crew
spray painted “Grow up” on the mounds. Stu our pitching
coach flipped out and said something like what the heck is
going on. Well we stopped playing cups and stopped the
designing on the mounds. The next day on the bullpen bench
was a bunch of writing talking crap about all the players. Well it took about 2 seconds to see who wrote it (grounds
crew.) We kept writing back until pretty much the entire
bench was covered in…lets say crap talk haha. Well to make
a long story short Stu talked to the head grounds crew and
we settled our differences. Just one of the funny little
stories from the year.
SethSpeaks:
Alright, when the season ended, the team asked you to play
Winter League ball down in Venezuela. Many of your New
Britain teammates, and others in the Twins organization are
playing down there. What were the factors you used to decide
not to go down there to play?
Pat Neshek:
The main factor was that I wanted to
get some rest. Two years ago I played in the Arizona Fall
League after a long season of getting promoted twice and
playing on three different teams it got old. When the fall
league got over in December I felt worn out. Next thing you
know it’s late February and spring training is coming
around. I really just needed a rest. So when Venezuela
came around this year I thought about and really wanted to
do it but I knew I would get burned out. Plus I wanted to
lift all the time and run and do other things away from the
field. I’m very happy that I did not go this season and can
rest my arm and get ready for the upcoming season!
SethSpeaks:
Just asking for an opinion here, but I have noticed that
when pitchers have moved from Ft. Myers to New Britain, they
generally struggle with control. Maybe I'm wrong, but we
have seen it with numerous players. What is that jump from
Hi-A ball to AA like? Are strike zones smaller? Are the
hitters just more advanced and professional? Maybe some
combination of the two?
Pat Neshek:
Basically bigger crowds, guys who take
the game a lot more serious and are older players. The
balls fly more in the EL and the parks are smaller. It’s a
hitters league. Guys will crush mistakes and when you make
a mistake, you know, and pray they don’t hit it.
SethSpeaks:
Baseball is a game of frequent adjustments. Have you found
that you had to adjust from last season, from the beginning
of the season, or even from game to game?
Pat Neshek:
It’s game to game for the most part at
least for me. Sometimes it’s team to team. Like I said you
have to know your game and make adjustments when you feel
they are needed.
SethSpeaks:
Scouting reports are obviously a big part of the game, even
in the minor leagues. Do the pitchers and catchers meet
before each game or each series, and generally, what types
of things are discussed?
Pat Neshek:
Not really, sometimes when a guy is on
a tear or has kicked our butts earlier in the season the
coaches will say something. It’s basically up to the
pitcher to make their own scouting reports and not many guys
do. I usually discuss what pitches I want to throw a
hitter. Such things like “I’m going to go fastball,
fastball slider” or “This guy cannot touch the slider, lets
go at him hard and see what he does.” I like meeting with
the catcher to discuss the first pitch of the inning and who
is coming up, I’m not sure if other guys are like this.
SethSpeaks:
When you're on the mound, and the hitter is a highly touted
prospect like Lastings Milledge or Eric Duncan, do you think
anything different or can't you really afford to?
Pat Neshek:
To me a name really doesn’t mean much
when I’m on the mound. I kind of think it’s funny how some
guys are prospects and how some guys don’t get any credit. For the most part every player is the same and really
doesn’t stick out too much from the other. What you have to
look out for is a guy with a hot bat, that’s scary. I use
to always watch for big names my first couple years in pro
ball and think they were better. Things have changed a
little!
SethSpeaks:
Since I brought it up. Who are some of the guys that you
faced this year that you just know are going to be stars?
Pat Neshek:
Man there were a lot. I liked Chris
Ray, Mike Jacobs, Brad Snyder, Ryan Zimmerman,
Brett Harper,
Anderson Hernandez, Joel Zumaya, Donald Kelly,
Chris Begg,
Brian Wilson, Chris Durbin, David Murphy,
Jon Lester,
Bronson Sardinha and Ben Julianel to name a bunch
SethSpeaks:
When you see guys like Jeff Franceour or Jeremy Hermida
or
others called up from AA and be so successful, what does it
make you think? Eager for a shot? Confidence, knowing you may
be closer than you thought?
Pat Neshek:
It’s cool seeing guys you played
against do well and wish that you could someday get the
call. It’s funny because we played Franceour in his first
minor league game. I came in to close the game with 2 outs
in the 9th and bases loaded. I hung a change up
and he crushed it to the warning track (I thought it was
gone) and the outfielder caught it!
SethSpeaks:
Along those lines, you've played with a number of the Twins.
How do you feel when former teammates get "The Call"?
Pat Neshek:
Awesome because I know that it’s
everyone’s dream that plays this game to get up there.
SethSpeaks:
Being relatively close, are there a few things that you feel
you still need to work on technically, mechanically or
other, or is it really just about getting the opportunity?
Pat Neshek:
There are a lot of things to do,
basically stay in shape and staying on top of the game. When you have those in place then it becomes just getting
the opportunity.
SethSpeaks:
How has the website been going? Do you still enjoy writing
for it when you have a chance?
Pat Neshek:
Yeah, I think I enjoyed it a lot more
this year than the previous year. The first year I felt
controlled to write every night. Now I write whenever I
feel like it and the fans have been excellent. I like where
it has went!
SethSpeaks:
Do you ever worry about saying "too much" and someone from
the Twins organization reading it and getting upset?
Pat Neshek:
Not really. I’m pretty good, I think, with
what I say and if I think I went too far I usually ask my
mom what she thinks.
SethSpeaks:
What kind of feedback have you received from other players,
coaches or the Twins management?
Pat Neshek:
They love it and ask me how I set it up
because they want one for themselves. I think some guys are
jealous jk. I bet in the next 20 years it will be very
common for most players to have sites and I bet most of them
will try to interact with fans. It should be interesting to
see.
SethSpeaks:
Do you have any plans for it throughout the offseason?
Pat Neshek: Too update whenever and see how the
autograph scene is treating people and also to be there to
answer questions for fans.
SethSpeaks:
Finally, I'm going to do a little more of the
"Lightning-round" as we did last time. Just 10-20 words on
the following players, if you don't mind. I know that you
answered this on some of these guys a year ago, but after
another year, probably know them even better:
Pat Neshek:
Francisco Liriano – Like I said before dominating, will be a
good one
Levale Speigner – Gamer, competes and is hard nosed on the
mound
Justin Olson – Throws gas and is RIPPED
Jim Abbott – Man he pitched awesome during the 2nd
half
Matt Yeatman – Red Neck, Wore The Same Blue Shirt style the
entire year
John Thomas – Funny funny guy, it’s very hard not to like
him
Kevin Cameron – Underrated – Deserves a shot – Probably best
cutter in the minors –
Jason Miller – Same as Cameron – Sneaky – Funny funny guy
also
Daylon Childress – Competes, never gives up, funny guy in
the bullpen
Jannio Gutierrez – coolest VZ guy I ever met, he’s one to
watch if gets chance
Errol Simonitsch – Smart – Cool, laid back guy, Can’t say
anything bad about!
Nick Blackburn – Knows how to pitch, good guy
<And the hitters:>
Dan Matienzo – Probably the funniest guy on the team, Can
Hit, He’s been my sleeper to make it up to the bigs since
the Cape Cod league.
Doug Deeds – Best hitter on the team, really really
underrated…I don’t know why
Alex Romero – Great hitter will be in bigs soon
James Tomlin – Fast, funny can track down nearly any ball
Denard Span – Same as Tomlin, can track down nearly
anything, love how he plays.
Luis Jimenez – Big dude, Probably hit the farthest balls in
BP I have ever seen in my life
Gil Velasquez – Excellent infielder, saved my butt many
times
JR Taylor – Can flat out hit, he always gets left behind a
level and I was pumped to finally play with him again this
year. He’s going to surprise some people
Tommy Watkins – Team captain, funny guy, community guy,
Could run for mayor of New Britain people love him wherever
he goes.
Matt Moses – Young, plays hard, darn good power
Felix Molina – Another underrated guy who can hit, wouldn’t
surprise me if he hit over .300
Luis Maza – What can I say the best fielder I have ever
played with and he can hit.
Bryan Kennedy – Gamer, always played no matter how hurt he
was, Leader
Kyle Phillips – Young guy, great catcher, picked me up
nicely and helped my game
Gabby Torres – Leader, good guy, good player and excellent
catcher, knows how to call a game
SethSpeaks:
Finally, do you have additional plans or goals heading into
next spring training than you did a year ago?
Pat Neshek:
Not really just keep doing what I’ve been doing and I should
be fine.
SethSpeaks:
That's it. Really, I promise! I thank you again, very much, for this.
Pat came through with a really
great 2005 season at AA New Britain. He spent the entire season as
the Rock Cats closer. Overall, he went 6-4 with a 2.19 ERA. He led
the league with 24 saves. His WHIP was 1.09, and he struck out about
10.5 hitters per nine innings. As we know, Pat is a side-winding
righty blessed with a fastball that reaches 93-94 miles per hour.
His website,
On the Road
with Pat Neshek, is one of the great places to learn
first-hand the life of a minor league ball player. As you know, last
Friday, the Twins made it official that they decided to add him to
their 40 man roster, protecting him from the Rule V draft. Really,
what it means is that the Twins are very high on his abilities and
what he can be and how he can contributed to the Twins major league
club. Essentially, he now gets three options, or three years to
stick with the Twins. Fact is, he would probably be ready to help
the Twins bullpen in 2006. At this point, it is really about getting
an opportunity and a roster spot opening up to him. It is yet
another case of how strong the Twins pitching staff is. It isn't
just starting pitchers, but guys like Travis Bowyer,
Willie Eyre and Pat Neshek are ready to help in the
bullpen too.