Results tagged ‘ Travis Blackley ’
Blackley ready to step in and help Astros
By Brian McTaggart/MLB.com
HOUSTON — The Astros didn’t only get a left-hander capable of multiple innings when they traded for reliever Travis Blackley on Thursday, they got themselves a colorful character.
Blackley, who’s an Australian with a thick accent, joined the club in time for Friday’s game against Oakland, which traded him to Houston in exchange for Minor League outfielder Jake Goebbert. He flew in Friday from the Bay Area, where he was hanging out after being designated for assignment a week ago.
“It’s just like changing schools,” he said.
While he was awaiting his next move, Blackley took in an exhibition game at the Oakland Coliseum from the stands. His girlfriend and his family had an extra ticket to the game and invited him to go along, even though he wasn’t playing on the team anymore.
“Why not?” he said. “I got to hang out with the guys in the right-field bleachers. They’re always yelling ‘Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!’ when I’m pitching, and I might as well go say ‘G’day’ to them.”
Blackley placed some pictures of his viewpoint in the stands on the internet, which were met by mixed reactions.
“I got an abnormally high amount of Tweets and messages on Twitter and Instagram from A’s fans, some of them upset about it and some of them wishing me good luck,” he said.
Blackley was eager to see what the Astros can do, saying no one expected the A’s to compete in the American League West last year.
“Anything can happen in these games,” he said. “It’s always like that. Teams expected to win the division don’t, and teams that aren’t come out of nowhere and win. It’s too early in the season to make any kind of thing about that, but I’m excited. I have a new family now, and I’m excited to do what I can do to help.”
Blackley was 6-4 with a 4.10 ERA in 28 games, including 15 starts, with San Francisco (four games) and Oakland (24 games) last season.
Ps. Travis is presently on the DL with a strained left shoulder.
Blackley greets old teammates in new guise
Travis Blackley drops by the A’s dugout before Friday’s game.
By John Hickey
Travis Blackley was all over the place, as always, talking up a storm, as always.
It was almost as if he’d never left. But of course he has, traded by the A’s to the Houston Astros for whom he’s in uniform tonight for the first time.
He spent time on the first with A’s manager Bob Melvin after the Astros batting practice session was over and hung out to say high to most of his old teammates. And it’s not like this is new to Blackley, who had to face the Giants last year just after San Francisco put him on waivers and Oakland claimed him.
Blackley says he’ll take fond memories of Oakland with him, including the last day, when he’d been waived but took the opportunity to sit with family and friends in the stands, where he was embraced by Oakland fans, most of whom were sorry to see him go.
“I didn’t think anything of it, but some guys came over and invited me out to the right field stands,’’ he said. “Actually, it was really cool. I’d never seen the game from that.’’
Those fans were ones who’d great the Australian pitcher with chants of “Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! OiI’’ when he’d come in the game.
“They’re a fun bunch of fans out there,’’ he said. “Some of them were upset with the move, some wished me well. It was nice to get that kind of reaction. I didn’t expect it.’’
It may be that the A’s see Blackley this weekend, but while he’s been working out after he’d been designated for assignment, he hasn’t faced batter is a while and the Astros may give him a little time to work his way back.
If it happens, Blackley would welcome it.
“I’ve been around so many years that I’m always facing old teammates,’’ he said. “This would be different, facing nine of them in a row.’’
Travis Blackley strains shoulder – 15 day DL
The Astros have placed Travis Blackley on the 15-day disabled list. He joined the Astros on Friday via a trade with Oakland.
The 24-year-old strained his left shoulder during a bullpen warmup session at Minute Maid Park.
His DL stint is retroactive to Friday.
Travis Blackley – comfortable in Houston
By Susan Slusser/SFGate.com
As you’d expect, Travis Blackley feels entirely comfortable here despite arriving at 2 p.m., dropping his stuff off at the hotel and coming straight to the ballpark. Blackley, traded from the A’s to the Astros yesterday, can make friends anywhere, just as he did last weekend. A day after being designated for assignment, he was watching games from the right-field bleachers with A’s fans.
“They always ‘Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi!’ at me, so I may as well go say ‘G’day’ to them,” Blackley said with a grin. He’d gone to the game with his girlfriend and her family, because they had an extra ticket, and the fans lured him to right field via Twitter.
“It was a lot of fun out there,” he said. Plenty of fans offered to buy him beers but he declined because he was driving.
Blackley said he’s pretty used to changing teams than immediately facing his previous club – the first team he pitched against last season when the A’s picked him up on waivers from the Giants was…..the Giants.
He spent his week after being designated seeing much of the Bay Area, including Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay, but he was disappointed that he still hasn’t gotten to see Alcatraz. He clearly needs to make reservations well ahead of time for the Astros trip to the Bay Area the week after next.
Travis Blackley could pitch against the A’s this weekend
With the bullpen struggling through three games, Jeff Luhnow (Astros GM) went to get help from his new division mates. Since Luhnow has decided that he needs a new AL trading partner after the league switch, he has picked Billy Beane to be his partner (sorry Ruben Amaro Jr.). So with Beane on speed dial, the Astros worked out a trade in which they acquired Travis Blackley for Jake Goebbert.
So who is Travis Blackley? Blackley, 30, was born in Australia. He has been a west-coast guy (when in the MLB) throughout most of his career, and has been in the majors just a few times before 2012. In 2004, Blackley struggled in six starts (10.04 ERA) for the Mariners. In 2007, he struggled in two starts (7.27 ERA) for the Giants. He then spent time in the minor leagues for the Phillies, D-Backs, Mets, and A’s until 2010. When the A’s didn’t work out, Blackley tried out the Melbourne Aces, and then the KIA Tigers (Korea).
In 2012 the Giants signed him to a minor-league contract. After pitching four games, all in relief, the Giants designated him for assignment. The Athletics picked him up a few days later, and he stayed with the A’s the rest of the year. Blackley had a 3.86 ERA and 1.18 WHIP in 15 starts (24 games) for the A’s in 2012.
Luhnow mentioned that the Astros will be facing many left-handed hitters, so having a lefty long-reliever is something that is good to have with four out of five starters being righty. In his career, Blackley has held righties to a .269 AVG and lefties to a .243 AVG…
The Astros will need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster before Friday’s game for Blackley. Blackley hasn’t pitched in around two weeks, so I wouldn’t expect to see him until Saturday or Sunday the earliest (against Oakland).
Astros acquire Travis Blackley from A’s
By D J Short/hardballtalk.com
The Astros just announced that they have acquired left-hander Travis Blackley from the Athletics in exchange for minor league outfielder Jake Goebbert. According to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, he is expected to join the active roster tomorrow.
Blackley was designated for assignment by the Athletics last week. The 30-year-old Aussie owns a 5.37 ERA in the majors, but he posted a 3.86 ERA and 69/30 K/BB ratio in 102 2/3 innings over 15 starts and nine relief appearances after coming over from the Giants last season. The Astros are expected to use him as a long reliever initially, but he could be an option for the rotation before long.
Goebbert, a 25-year-old corner outfielder, owns a .285/.363/.431 batting line over four seasons in the minors. Baseball America didn’t include him among the organization’s Top 30 prospects coming into the year.
Travis Blackley – “You’ve got to be making a lot of money to get away with the spring I had,”
By Alex Espinoza / Special to MLB.com
SAN FRANCISCO — For a man who was just designated for assignment, Travis Blackley sounded like a grateful man on Friday night at AT&T Park.
The affable Aussie was sad to say goodbye to the fun-loving Oakland clubhouse after he and first baseman Daric Barton were designated for assignment. In related moves, the A’s claimed right-handers Danny Otero and Josh Stinson, while reassigning lefty reliever Jordan Norberto to Triple-A Sacramento.
The A’s have 10 days to place Blackley on waivers, trade him or release him. While Blackley said he would prefer to play “at the highest level possible,” he didn’t rule out a return to the Minor Leagues, where has spent most of his 13-year professional career.
The southpaw reliever was still adjusting to the news when reporters approached him in the locker room before Friday’s exhibition game against the Giants.
“We have such a … well, they have such a good staff,” Blackley said. “I shouldn’t say ‘we’ anymore. They have such a good staff, and it’s so deep up and down, from the starting rotation through the bullpen, that I knew it was going to be tough. Day 1 of camp, you size up everyone in the room and you know it’s going to be tough.”
After posting a 15.43 ERA in 11 2/3 innings of spring work, the writing was on the wall.
“You’ve got to be making a lot of money to get away with the spring I had,” Blackley said.
Without Blackley and Norberto, A’s camp now features southpaws Jerry Blevins, Sean Doolittle, Pedro Figueroa and non-roster invitee Hideki Okajima. Fellow non-roster invitee Mike Ekstrom and Evan Scribner appear to be in competition with Figueroa and Okajima for the final spot in the Oakland bullpen.
While Barton declined to speak to reporters after learning of the roster move, Blackley was eager to thank the organization and its fans for supporting him since he latched on as a long-relief man and spot starter in 2012. Blackley also said he got to know Otero when the two were teammates with San Francisco’s Triple-A affiliate in Fresno last year.
“I feel like the A’s are kind of imprinted on my DNA now,” Blackley said. “I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for Oakland.”
Blackley, Spence get cut -Will the A’s lose Travis?
The A’s announced Friday that they have designated left-hander Travis Blackley for assignment, meaning he has been moved off the 40-man roster and must be traded, released or accept an assignment to the minor leagues within the next 10 days.
Blackley had a nice season for the A’s last year, going 6-4 with a 3.86 ERA in 15 games, including 15 starts. But he was brutal in spring training, posting a 14.21 ERA and allowing 27 hits in 12 2/3 innings. Opponents hit .450 against him.
The A’s got Travis last season when the Giants designated him for assignment and there is a chance they may well lose him the same way if there is another club who is prepared to take a risk with him in the hope that he might find his last season’s mojo.
Josh Spence was sent back to minor league camp today as the Yankees finalise their opening day roster. He will no doubt play in AAA, hoping for an opportunity to get back up with the Yankees during the season.
A puzzled Blackley faces demotion to minors
By John Hickey/bayareanewsgroup.com
Travis Blackley says he’s as befuddled as he’s ever been throwing a baseball. He says all four of his pitches — fastball, changeup, two-seamer and slider — are working, but he’s still getting lit up.
It happened again Tuesday when Blackley, asked to hold a two-run lead in the ninth, blew the save. He got another two-run lead in the 10th, and gave one back before shutting down the Indians. His spring ERA is 14.21.
“Neither (inning) was pitched very well,” Melvin said. “He will tell you that.”
Actually, he won’t.
“I’m making all my pitches,” Blackley said. “I can’t wrap my head around this. Imagine my surprise giving up those runs. It’s very frustrating. I talk to (pitching coach) Curt Young and there’s nothing he can tell me, because the location (of the pitches) is good. I don’t know what is going on, but I won’t give up.”
Six weeks ago Blackley was considered a shoo-in to make the roster, but he’s no better than 50-50 now, and that estimate may be on the high side.
Spring Training – Aussies in action – Balfour, Blackley, Moylan, Oeltjen
Travis’ spot on the opening day roster is looking a little less certain
For the Aussie A’s (Balfour/Blackley) it was as Charles Dickens once said “the best of times, the worst of times”.
Grant Balfour had the best of times throwing a 1-2-3 7th inning against Cleveland. He’s looking good for the opening day roster. But perhaps Travis Blackley is not looking as good as he was at the start of spring with another below par outing today when he blew the Save in the 9th and then went on to collect the Win in the 10th. We know he is not happy with the number of runs he has given up recently. He said this on twitter after today’s game:-
@Travis_Blackley: I had quit dipping for 4 weeks, 6 days, 1 hr and 32 mins. Over that stretch I’ve been crap. Im bout to jump off the wagon now #bringonthe0′s
His line today was 2INN, 4H, 3R, 1BB, 2K and a 14.21ERA. We would like him to have a healthy ERA but we hope he stays off the dip and has a healthy mouth as well.
Peter Moylan had a good outing when he threw the 9th for the Dodgers against the Rockies. He faced 5, gave up a hit and struck out one. He also intentionally walked a lefty to get at a righty who he struck out to finish the inning.
Trent Oeltjen walked for the pitcher in the 8th today. Encouraging to see that the Angels are keeping him with the team in the dying days of spring training.
