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| Trevor Bettencourt, image- Jay Floyd |
Bettencourt, though, has missed time in recent weeks, sidelined with an injury that was announced by team as a shoulder strain.
Recently, I talked with Trevor about the removal of his signature mustache, changes brought on by Gabe Kapler's regime, plus he described some shortcomings this year that could have led to his time on the disabled list. Read ahead for that full interview.
-You’re sporting a new look of late. The team wants the ‘stache back. Do you feel any pressure?
It’ll come back quick. Some people
are born with it and I think the mustache is just in my genes. But, I
mean last spring training I shaved it at the end and restarted and I got
a lot of pressure this year to not do it and I didn’t do
it. I just felt like it was time to restart, so it’ll be back soon.
It’ll be back in full force for sure.
-Do you feel any sort of superstition attached to that, or is it just the look?
Uh, both. You know, it was weird to
shave it. It took me a couple tries. I picked up the razor a couple
times and couldn’t do it. I was actually in the bathroom and (Zach
Coppola) was standing there and he was laughing at me. He was
like, “I feel the same way too.” It’s just my thing and I had it all
last year, so it’s hard enough, thinking of that.
-I understand. Thanks for humoring me with those questions. How’s the season going? How do you feel?
Not bad. A little different than last
year right now. Just working on some little mechanical things, some
kinks. I’m not at the same level as I was last year with (velocity) and
movement. But, I definitely feel close, but I’ll keep
working and hopefully I can find that thing and make it click.
-Is that typical that it can take some time to fully ramp up and hit your max levels with everything?
Last year, I felt pretty good all
year. I had some ups and downs, but it was pretty easy to bounce back.
I had my queues to fix it. This year is just a little bit different.
Velo’s down a little bit and I’m learning how to pitch a little
bit better since that’s down, so I gotta be smarter with my stuff and
(pitching coach Steve) Schrenk’s definitely helped me out with that. I
hope it comes back soon, but I feel fine.
-So the silver lining there is you’re
improving in other aspects while you’re building the arm strength to get
your velocity up. You’re learning when you’re not as sharp in other
aspects.
Right. I mean last year I was really
into analyzing everything and studying batters. But, not having as much
velo this year and curve ball’s not as sharp, I have to kind of play a
little different. It’s fun. It’s fun and different,
especially against these Double-A guys. They have better eyes, so I
have to be a little bit smarter.
-I talked to a couple guys on this
team previously about new analytics being focused on with the new
regime. Have you noticed any differences, changes or upgrades with the
info that you get?
I’ve noticed against me, some guys
taking different approaches than last year, so that’s actually made me
have to change my game, but personally, they show me my analytics, my
numbers and show me where my strengths are. I sort of already
had an idea about that, but it’s sort of helped me realize what other
hitters are going to do against me, so I can try to do the opposite.
It’s gonna be a little uncomfortable for me, but it’s going to be a way
for me to get guys out. So, I think it helps
for sure.
-Another question about that new
regime focus is one of the things Gabe Kapler was known for elsewhere
was a dietary focus. A focus on the foods the players consume. Have
you noticed any changes related to that?
Definitely. They’ve been starting to
give us more of kinda Whole Foods stuff. I enjoy it a lot. They’re
pushing: get all your vitamins through foods, rather than supplements. I
mean, I have no problem with it. I like eating better and
I feel better. I’m actually on an anti-inflammatory diet right now, so
I’m kind of eating like a rabbit and I like it. It’s awesome. I like
it a lot.
-How about the Reading coaching staff this year? Any thoughts on them and how they’re helping you?
Schrenk’s helping us out a lot.
Legger (Greg Legg) is a great manager. I’d run through a wall for that guy. Rico (Brogna)’s
a new guy and it’s awesome. He had a postgame speech the other day and
it was great. He keeps it lively and (Kevin) Riggs is another great
guy that has a lot of info to learn from. Even us pitchers, we can
learn stuff from a hitting guy. So, it’s a lot of info to help us and
it’s a fun time.
-I know Brogna managed the team
recently for a series while Legg was off for personal reasons. Not
asking you to cross any lines and reveal too much, but what was so
outstanding about that Rico postgame speech and how was he as the
manager?
It’s very loose. It’s, “You’re here?
Get on out there and do your work!” There’s a lot of trust he has in
us, ‘cause he knows we’re going to go out there and work and get our
stuff done. It’s very loose, having fun. And we were reviewing
the series and he talked a little bit about baseball and it was kind of
just about keeping us loose for the next series. So, it was some fun
stuff. It was awesome.
-You’re holding back, and I’m not
trying to push or anything, but what’s the difference maker in this
awesome speech that makes you smile? Were there vulgarities involved?
Were there extreme levels of energy?
Just a lot of energy and you know, if
you talk to Rico you know he’s a funny dude and he’s always happy and
always positive. And so we ended up not winning the series and one
(game) was rained out, but we had the chance to win all three
and Rico was talking about the New Hampshire one as well, our series,
and he was talking about him(self) trying to make it to his son’s lacrosse
game. And it was just a good review of the series. It kind of kept us
loose when we went in and we won that game that
day. It was just one of those things, that’s what we needed and he
knew that.
-Did he make it to the lacrosse game?
No, he ended up making it right at the
end. His son scored a goal and everything. It was awesome. We were
all pumped up and everything, so it was cool.
-Do you feel a rivalry with the Yankees teams at all because you play them so much at all these different levels? (the interview was done following a game at Trenton, the Yankees' Double-A affiliate)
A little bit. I’ve already seen some
guys from last year that we’ve played against. So, it’s kind of
familiar faces, but honestly, it’s just my second season, so I can’t--
-Do you feel it with other teams? I
think Rhys Hoskins and someone else told me before that they felt it
more with the Pirates teams.
Yeah, I could see that with the
Pirates for sure. For me, I almost think it’s the Blue Jays,
personally, because when I went up to High A, we played them so much.
We play them also in instructs and now we’ve played them a couple times
in Double-A. In spring training we play the Pirates a lot and it’s
always really good games. Especially in spring training because even
though it’s not about records, those are always intense games.
-Last thing for you…Trenton often plays comedic songs or music for opposing batters. Do you guys notice that?
We
do. We actually find it kind of funny because we like some of those
songs. So, it’s like, “You messed up, man. This is a great song!”
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