BlueClaws Quotables: Manager Greg Legg Talks New Season

Earlier this weekend, I sat down with Class A Lakewood manager Greg Legg, who has been in the Phillies organization for the past 33 years, after being drafted by the club in 1982. He managed the BlueClaws in their inaugural season in 2001, managed Double-A Reading from 2002 to 2004, was the skipper for Class A Advanced Clearwater from 2005 through 2006 and managed short-season Class A Williamsport in 2007. He then acted as hitting coach in Lakewood from 2008 through 2013.

The former infielder played in the big leagues for just a handful of games in 1986 and 1987. He now grooms the Phillies' stars of the future.

Greg spoke with me about the roles of some of his players including Gabriel Lino, Carlos Tocci, Samuel Hiciano and Willians Astudillo, the BlueClaws' start to the new season, his own goals for this year plus plenty more. Read ahead for his thoughts.

-The team started the season on the road before having its opening home stand this weekend. What were your thoughts on how the team opened the season, winning two of six contests?

For what happened on the road, we played pretty good baseball. We could have won five of the six. J.P. (Crawford) missed two games. He could have been the difference in at least one of them. But, I thought we played pretty good ball on the road trip.

-The BlueClaws have just a small amount of returning names this year. What can you tell me about how you expect those guys to help the team this year?

Well, (Carlos) Tocci was so young last year, he almost had to come back here this year and he should patrol center field for us pretty good and get the job done out there. And we're hoping he's a little stronger, he's a bit heavier- six or seven pounds heavier- so far, he's swung the bat really good. He hasn't gotten much results for it, but he's driven some balls better than last season. I look for him to have a pretty good year. Larry Greene got out of the gate slow last year, joined us (late) and didn't have the year that he wanted and he's back here repeating and, hopefully, this year he'll have a nice season for us.

-How will the playing duties be distributed among the catchers on the roster?

Well, (Gabriel) Lino's our number one catcher for right now and he's done a great job for us. He had a great spring. (Willians) Astudillo's our first baseman-slash-third baseman-slash-DH-slash-catcher. He creates a lot of energy for us, with his enthusiasm for the game and his ability to put the ball in play and be a threat with the bat.

-Any details on the roles for any other offensive players?

(Samuel) Hiciano is our fourth outfielder and DH. He can play all three positions and he can do a little bit of everything. He throws well, runs well, shows a little bit of pop in his bat, so he's a pretty complete player. He's just got to get some at bats and grow as a player.

-Can you share some thoughts on Mark Leiter Jr., who has performed strongly for you guys?

Yeah, he pitched great last year and the two games he pitched on the road trip really rested our bullpen and gave us a shot in the arm. He could be 2-0 real easy.

-How about that bullpen...are there any defined roles for a lot of those guys?

No, I don't think you can, down here in the Sally League. At least not at the beginning. If we get a chance to be a playoff type team, maybe at the end, we'll do a little more of that, but for right now, we're going to try to get some guys a couple innings here and there and let it play itself out, see who the guys are. Maybe give them all a chance to close and find out who the right guy is.

-Last thing...your role. You're new to the role, but not new to the role. Just talk about that a bit and what is your outlook for the year?

Well, I'm here to try teach them as much as I can about playing pro ball, but a lot of them are new to it, it's their first full year. Some of them have a little more experience, (they know) what to expect, how to handle it the correct way. I'm supposed to be there for them, but, hopefully, I start the season with these 25 guys and end the season with 25 different guys. That's kind of my goal.

Diekman a Late Addition to Mesa AFL Roster

On Wednesday, Phillies lefty pitching prospect Jacob Diekman made his Arizona Fall League debut. Diekman, who was drafted in the 30th round of the 2007 amateur draft, was assigned to Mesa late, in order to increase his 2010 innings total, according to Mesa hitting coach Mark Parent, who managed Diekman in Lakewood this past season. Diekman, 23, posted a 2-0 record with 1.90 ERA in 21 games with Class A Lakewood before being promoted to High-A Clearwater on June 24th. In 24 games with the Threshers, Diekman went 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA. Combined, Diekman tossed 55 2/3 innings and held opponents to a .187 batting average against at two levels in 2010. However, after not pitching in an official game since he threw a shutout inning to wrap up the Clearwater season on September 5th, Diekman was unable to record an out as all seven batters he faced reached base, six with hits, one on an error. Diekman was charged with 5 earned runs in the outing. Diekman had spent time at instructional ball from

McGwire Stays Phony, Despite Admitting Drug Use

Mark McGwire made an effort to publicly come clean today, admitting to the world that he took performance enhancing drugs during his playing career. Steroids and human growth hormones were among the drugs that McGwire admitted to using. MLB Network featured a one on one interview with Bob Costas and McGwire on Monday evening. The broadcast was virtually garbage, thanks to McGwire. Ahead is a list of quotes from McGwire's interview. McGwire repeatedly stated his point of view that there were no dishonorable intentions involved when taking steroids, and that he was merely using them as a means to recover from varying ailments. When asked if he felt like he cheated... "As I look back now...I can see how people would say that. As far as the talent goes and the hand-eye coordination, the ability, the genetics I was given...I don't see it." "I did not take this for any strength purposes." Denial. Read on for similar B.S. He whined about the abuse he's taken at

Bubby Rossman's long awaited MLB debut

Eight years after he initially signed a professional contract with the Dodgers and a five-year stretch playing away from affiliated ball, Bubby Rossman became a major leaguer on Wednesday. Added as a substitute for pitcher Kyle Gibson, who is restricted from travel to Canada for the Phillies' series in Toronto, due to his medical inability to be vaccinated from COVID-19, Rossman took the mound for the first time in the majors. Rossman, who was a 22nd round draft selection in 2014 had pitched in 200 professional games before his one-inning outing in the Phillies' 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays. In 27 appearances with Double-A Reading this year, the 30-year-old right-hander has performed well, tallying a 2-2 record with a save, a 3.32 ERA and a .200 batting average against. The embedded video below features a media session with Rossman from prior to opening day this year, in which the California native discusses his journey through independent baseball and back to affiliated ball wi

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