TODD DEVLIN -- Chris Robinson, .325 mark await Cubs call

July 29, 2009

Chris Robinson has an Iowa average which would seem attractive to the Cubs ... Geoff Wendt's wise men select Ontario Youth Team ... Welland's Royce Consigli signs with A's ... Blue Jays amateur players of the month ... In the Majors ... Russell Martin reason for Dodgers success ... Scott Richmond took the right fork in the road ... Jason Bay becomes dual citizen ... Felipe, Moises Alou back in Montreal ... Matt Stairs helped open doors ... Joey Votto very candid about absence ... Chris Leroux recalled again by Marlins ... In the Minors ... Eric Gagne on comeback trail ... Pete LaForest hits three-run HR for Quebec ... Victoria Golden ball ... Nick Weglarz helps Indians to 5th place ranking ... Marc Bourgeois, Twins draft ... In College ... Adam Loewen, Russell Martin, Rene Tosoni all ex Chipola Indians ... LSU recruit Chad Stang signs with Milwaukee ... Luis Castillo wins all-Nebraska honours ... Bob Broughton: Okotoks, Swift Current lead divisions ... Andy Williams, Andre O'Conner joins Regina ... Team Canada ... Evan Grills, National Junior Team veteran ... On the Sandlots ... R.I.P. Roméo LeBlanc, Canada 25th GG, Expo fan ... Brodie Ross homer helps Blue Jays win at Heartland ... Garbage strike costs Windsor senior eliminations ... Alan Cattrysse operates like a machine ... Ball booming in Cornwall ... Moncton's Serge Vatour leads batting race ... Chris Sorensen Slam helps Fredericton beat Chatham ... '54 Fort Erie juniors made WOF ... Taylor Phillips, Kevfin Sawatzky honoured at Campbell River.

By Todd Devlin

Above all else it seems, baseball is a game of ups and downs; of highs and lows: both statistically and emotionally. So it was for Chris Robinson (Dorchester, Ont.) in 2008.

Last year, Robinson experienced the highs of competing for his country in an Olympics for the first time in his career. But he also experienced the lows of a disappointing second season as a catcher in the Cubs’ organization. At the Beijing Games, the Canadian catcher went 5-for-16 (.313) in six contests (unfortunately, Team Canada finished just 2-5, dropping five of their last six games by just one run).

In his primary job at Double-A Tennessee, meanwhile, played in just 49 games, batting a meagre .214 with a .284 on-base percentage. Needless to say, he entered 2009 hoping to turn things around at the minor-league level.

“Minus the Olympic experience, which was unbelievable, the rest of last year wasn’t a whole lot of fun,” Robinson said. “I didn’t want to have another season like that. So, heading into [this] season I wanted to keep things as simple as possible and really focus on enjoying the season and having fun.”

Things got off to a good start for the 25-year-old catcher at Triple-A Iowa this season. In April, he batted .378 in 13 games to open the year. And he followed that up with an even bigger May -- .388 with seven doubles and 16 RBIs in 21 contests.

Despite a swoon in June (.175 in 19 games), Robinson regrouped in early July and finished with a .315 average, 23 runs scored and 32 RBIs in the first half – numbers good enough to earn him a starting spot on the Pacific Coast League all-star team.

Though it was his second all-star selection in pro ball, class-A Florida State League, 2006, Robinson admitted this one meant a lot more.

“After going through a season where I struggled like last year, to bounce back and have the managers, fans and media members of the league vote me in as the starting catcher is a great honour,” he said, before going 1-for-2 and scoring a run in the Triple-A version of the midsummer classic, which was won 6-5 by the International League.

Leading up to the event, there was some question as to whether Robinson would end up playing in the game or not. After all, two days before at the big-league level, Cubs’ starting catcher Geovany Soto was placed on the disabled list with a left oblique strain. That left the team with Koyie Hill as its starter and an apparent hole to fill at backup catcher. Robinson did not get the call.

Instead, Cubs general manager Jim Hendry said he would look outside the organization for catching help. In the meantime, Jake Fox got the nod as the ‘emergency catcher’ at the big-league level.

Did Robinson expect to get the call?

“I was fortunate enough to learn quickly in my career that in this game you can’t assume anything,” he said. “Looking at box scores, injury reports and reading papers can drive you crazy. Sometimes it’s tough, but you really have to focus on what you can control and let everything else fall into place.”

Perhaps Hendry was hesitant to call up a catcher who had only half a season above Double-A ball under his belt. Maybe he preferred to look for a catcher with big-league game-calling experience. At any rate, his comments could have been taken as a slight to Robinson, or at least a lack of confidence in his Triple-A backstop.

Said Hendry: “It’s a very difficult position to find on the streets. We’ll get to the break and re-evaluate it. We’ve got some young guys at Iowa who aren’t bad. We’ll just keep looking.”

For his part, Robinson wasn’t phased by the comments. He said he’s just concerned with getting better every day in the minor leagues.

“My goal is to keep the same approach ... continue to focus on having good at-bats and helping the team win behind the plate,” Robinson said. “Hopefully staying consistent throughout the rest of the season will get me a shot at playing in the big leagues in the future.”

Having said that, Robinson does believe he has the talent to play in the major leagues today.

“I think for someone in my position, you have to believe you can play at the next level, otherwise you won’t last in this game,” he said.

It’s now been two weeks since Soto went on the DL, and the Cubs have made do with the combo of Hill and Fox behind the plate. But one never knows when things will change. And if they do, Robinson will be ready.
But in the meantime, he’ll be focused on the task at hand.

“My job right now is to help the Triple-A club win a PCL title and to continue to play, stay sharp and get better so that if the big club does need me, I’ll be ready to step in and help them win.”

The Iowa Cubs are a 52-52, four games back of Nashville in the PCL’s North division.

As for Robinson, the former London Badger, who played for coach Mike Lumley before attending the University of Illinois, he’s maintained his status quo at the plate: .355 over his last 10 games, with five RBIs. At Illinois, Robinson earned earned first-team All-Canadian team honours in 2004 and duplicated the honour again in 2005.

On the season, he's hitting .325 with a home run and 37 RBIs in 71 games.

In other words, he’s continuing to make a case for his first call up to the big leagues.

Final Ontario roster: Manager Geoff Wendt and coaches Nathan Bliewas, Ryan Johnston and Jeff Sharpe made their final selections for the Ontario Youth Team which will compete in Kindersley, Sask.
Lefty Evan Grills (Whitby, Ont.), entering his fourth term with the Canadian National Junior Team, is the most expierenced arm on the staff.
The breakdown ...
From the Ontario Blue Jays (8): OF Jordan Boston (Brampton), OF Ryan Clarke (Mississauga), OF Philip Diedrick (Ajax), INF Cameron Mattice (Mississauga), INF Jose Torralba (Mississauga), INF Scott Wilcox (Burlington), LHP Kyle Willard (Brampton) and Grills.
From Team Ontario (3): INF Troy Black (Mississauga); C Chris Robinson (Uxbridge) and RHP Eric Wood (Pickering).
From the Tecumseh Thunder (3): INF Andrew Cooper (Belle River), CF Eric Cunningham (LaSalle), RHP Joel Pierce (Windsor).
From the Toronto Mets (3): OF Michael Foster (Pickering), LHP Brian Smith (Pickering), 1B Nick Studer (Toronto).
From the Intercounty Terriers (2): INF Brandon Dailey (Brantford), Lucas Scocchia (Thunder Bay).
From the London Badgers (1): LHP Ryan Zimmer (London).

Blue Jays Players of the month: The Toronto Blue Jays amateur players of the month for May, who were honoured at the Rogers Centre:

Connor Hicks, Markham Minor Baseball--Citytv Rookie Division

Michael Falcone, Vaughan Minor Baseball--Jays Mosquito Division

Casey Jones, Bolton Minor Baseball--Blue Jays Pee Wee Division

Nicholas Chow, Richmond Hill Minor Baseball--Blue Jays Bantam Division

Jason Rubinstein, Thornhill Minor Baseball--Rogers Wireless Midget Division

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We've seen most of the months and the photography is excellent.

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