inaugural post
hey everyone,
ok so this post officially kicks off the daniel moskos blog. spring training is just around the corner for me, big league camp has already started and the baseball buzz is in the air. i personally cant wait for the spring to start, anything mroe than 3 months away from baseball is too much for me.
due to the fact that i reside in bradenton i do not have to stay in the dorms during spring training, and this spring i actually have a roommate. his name is jimmy barthmaier, im sure you all know who he is. he is a really good guy.
now on to the blog. i think we are gonna have some fun with this. everyone can ask me questions, and it isnt gonna be strictly about baseball. if anybody sees a new movie, new tv show, new video game. anything that interests you guys and girls.
i hope we can make this really cool and interactive, i encourage participation from everybody, as i will try to get to everyones comments and questions. i only have one rule and that is to be respectful with the language you use, and to be respectful to me. i am doing this because i thought it would be something that would be a great experience and fun for all of us. as well as giving fans a chance to get to know me and the life of a minor league pitcher.
so thats it for the first post, im off to the field to throw a bullpen, run, and workout.
until later
Moskie Madness 
Hey Daniel – Welcome to MLBlogs! Okay – I’ll admit it – I’m a Red Sox fan (thank you for Jason Bay!) but I love keeping up with the other teams! I’ll be sure to check back frequently to see how your season is going. Have a great Spring Training and stay healthy!
Julia
http://werbiefitz.mlblogs.com/
hey julia,
thank you for being my first comment. and you are very welcome for jason bay. i have personally been to fenway, and can admit that i got goosebumps when i walked into the stadium. so much history. thank you for the good wishes and please continue to check out the blog
Hey, Daniel, we’re all excited to see your new MLBlog. Thanks for being part of the MLBlogosphere and best wishes this spring and season.
Mark/MLB.com
http://mlblogs.mlblogs.com
Daniel ! Pretty cool to see yet another (future) Major Leaguer here, blogging away. I’m looking forward for some upcoming posts! It’s always nice to read what’s going on with you guys..
– Donnie
http://donnieanks.mlblogs.com/
Hi Daniel!
I’m a Mets fan here but I started rooting for the Pirates when Xavier Nady was traded there and I still root for them even though Xavier is with the evil empire. I’m looking forward to reading this blog because I really like the player blogs and now there is a one for a team that I follow! I am so ready for real games to start.
-Ellie
http://mrmetbro.blogspot.com
Oh yeah! Good Luck this season and hopefully the Pirates can finally have a winning season. I think they should finally be able to!
-Ellie
Dude, it’s AWESOME that you have your own blog. My mom is from State College, and we make a trip up there every summer (and obviously I always make sure it is when the Spikes are in town). Anyway, during the ’07 summer, I begged my mom to have our trip coincide with your stay in State College. It didn’t work out, but I did get to see you pitch last summer in Frederick. So yeah, good luck with this blog, and lastly, thank for the autograph you gave before your start that game.
Aaron
http://districtboy.mlblogs.com/
Hi Daniel,
I am from pittsburgh and i big pirates fan. I was wondering if the pirates have said anything about putting you back in the bullpen? I believe that you and matt capps could be a devistating 1-2 punch in the back end of the bullpen.
Thanks!
John
hey everyone,
thanks for all the good luck wishes.
ellie- glad to have a pirates fan follower. sorry to here about xavier nady going to the darker side. you wont find me rooting for the yankees anytime soon.
aaron- thats awesome man. state college is a great place. i had a really fun time there. and the fans are great. glad i was able to catch up with you in frederick tho.they set that place up really well for fans that want autographs.
john- also great to have another pirates fan. from everything that ive heard i will still be in the rotation this year. however this year will be a more results oriented year whereas last year was about letting me get a certain amount of innings and most of all staying healthy. thank you for thinking that i could fit in the back of the bullpen with matt capps. he is a bulldog
Hey Daniel! Good luck with the blog and your Pirates career. Check out The ‘Burgh Blues when you have a chance.
http://theburghblues.mlblogs.com/
I wonder if Matt Wieters has his own blog.
thank you very much, ill have to check it out when i get a chance.
i dont know orrington, why dont you go check it out.
and read my rules. dont come in here to disrespect me. thank you
Daniel…
Good luck this season. Been a Pirate fan for 25 years and looking forward to following your season and wish you lots of success. Hoping to see you in the big league soon!
Nah, no disrespect intended. Just some ribbing, and also figured Id mention the elephant in the room and get it out of the way. Truth is, I feel for you and believe youre getting a raw deal from fans who still have issues with Littlefield. But dont for a minute believe that true Pirate fans like myself arent rooting for you and wishing you the best.
hey ian, glad to see a long time fan. i hope to see you in the big leagues soon as well.
orrington, i understand completely and dont think i was trying to disrespect you either. you jsut have to understand some of the people out there that can be downright rude. i really appreciate the kind words and glad we got the ice breaker out of the way. the truth is that i know pittsburgh fans love their sports teams, and i want to contribute to that.
Hey dude. I’m from Southern California so obviously I havnt been able to see you pitch yet. Just one question, high pants, low pants, or stirrups?
whats up man. i actually grew up there. rancho cucamonga. went to damien high school in la verne. where you from?
my personal pref is long pants. we have an organizational rule this year to wear our pants up. so i might have to rock some stirrups
Greetings, Daniel! Just popped in to wish you well from a longtime Bucs fan (geez – almost forty years, now). I visit a half-dozen or so Pirates sites daily, even in the offseason, and will definitely be adding yours to the list. Hope you have a great season!
wow long time fan. you got to see the glory days. thats awesome, i am honored. you will have to let me know how i compare. thank you for the good luck. im sure we will be talking back and forth a bunch in the forthcoming months
Well, in a manner of speaking. Being from Nebraska I mostly got to see the glory days on TV, but you’re absolutely right: It was awesome. It’s been a long dry spell. Here’s hoping that you’ll be a big part of the next glory days.
amen to that my friend
Hey Daniel,
We are out here in So. Cal. We have been following you since you were just leaving the Cal Rockies…Our son Chris actually caught for you over at Kaiser High School in Fontana just before the draft for Denny, the Chicago scout. We keep tabs through a mutal friend, Kathie C. Good luck, stay healthy and we’ll be cheering you on.
Your Fans
The LeFay Family
of course. i remember chris. and kathie. oh the good memories of the cal rockies. i ant believe you guys still keep track. thanks for stopping by my blog. i hope you guys keep up with the blog
Daniel I would first like to say thank you for taking the time out of your day to talk to your fans. I for one very much appreciate it.
Where do you see yourself playing this year?
Hey daniel good luck this season and looking forward to seeing you in Pittsburgh soon. I know that you are a college hoops fan. Who is your team?
crow you are more than welcome. i think its a really cool idea by mlb.com.
as for this year it is still undecided, it will be either altoona or lynchburg. i should get a better idea once spring training begins
gergs i look forward to seeing you there.
hmmmm my team would have to be clemson. once you go to clemson, its pretty hard not to be a huge fan of all their sports teams. thus my blood runs orange.
whos your team?
Yeah i pref long pants too. Luckily our rule is ONLY long pants so thats good. I’m a junior at Palm Desert High School. just saw the comment about Kaiser High School. They knocked us out of the playoffs last year. Small world huh?
yea i just think its more comfortable to play in and looks a little better.
wow that is a really small world
Dan,
Great idea on the blog!
Good luck this year! I’ll be making the trip from Pittsburgh to Altoona a couple times this season, so i hope that we get to see you do that thing you do there!
Any deep dark secrets you can tell us on your roomie? (all in fun of course!!)
What are the video games and movie you like?
I did see Mall Cop a couple weeks ago..Kevin James is a hysterically funny fat guy!
I’ll be checking your blog daily and feeding it into my Pirates site
http://www.pittsburgh-pirates.org and our blog http://www.pittsburghpirates.buccoblog stop in and say hi, if you get a chance.
hey jim,
thats awesome, hopefully thats where ill be. honestly i dont really have anything on him just yet. ill keep you updated tho. ive wanted to see mall cop for a while now, i heard it was really funny.
halo was an all time favorite game of mine, as well as guitar hero, call of duty.
for movies i basically like all of them. i have a huge movie collection and really enjoy watching movies. tough to narrow it down i guess, but i always enjoy a good comedy
ill have to check out those different sites. there seem to be a bunch of them out there
i respect the fact that you have chosen not to capitalize any of the words in your inaugural post. i roll like that too (hahahahahaha) because, you know, who has time for that junk? nerds, that’s who. i am a fan of punctuation, however, because otherwise how would you know if i was asking a question? telepathy? U don’t even know what that is, yo. speaking of questions, here’s one – what do you think of joe kerrigan thus far? us he particularly hands-on? does it seem like he’s at least done his homework coming into camp? also, has his daughter nancy made an appearance yet? I hear she always does. thanks bro. keep the faith.
whats up slosh. that was a pretty funny post. i hate having to push the shift key. so you probably wont see any caps in here. ill try to remember about the ?
um i have not had the opportunity to work with joe yet. although we are bing taught alot of the same things that he preaches. everyone that i speak with says they really like his mindset and how he teaches. and as far as i know he has definitely done his homework. no nancy sightings just yet
nice. thanks for responding. ok, one more question and then i’ll leave you alone. so, it’s 11:30pm on a friday night, and you’re on here responding to my lame questions. i have to imagine you’re under some sort of curfew with spring training starting up and all… but how hard is it to be trapped in bradenton for the past few months? between the lost kangaroo and dives with names like ‘skippers’ and ‘the fisherman’s wharf,’ i have to imagine the night life leaves something to be desired.
Daniel,
Hey, thanks for the blog! What are your favorite pitches and did the pirates staff place any sort of limitations on the types of pitches which you were allowed to pitch last year? For instance, were you only allowed to throw fast balls sometime, or were you basically allowed to throw any pitch in your arsenale? Thanks,
hey slosh very interesting question. i actually dont have a curfew. but i dont really go out too much. there is plenty of stuff here to do if you want to go out. not in bradenton tho, you need to go to sarasota. i dont feel trapped either, its not as bad as it seems.
belford- im glad you asked this question. while i do like all my pitches, my favorite pitch is gotta be my fastball. i throw 2 different ones. the pirates limitation on my was that i was not allowed to throw my 2 seam fastball. which is my better of the 2. they wanted me to focus on my 4 seam fastball, which is good for me, i just struggle more with the command of that particular pitch. other than that there werent really any limitations.
hey daniel, this blog is a really cool idea. ive always thought itd be cool to be able to interact with professional athletes like this.
dont take this the wrong way, but i always hear about the whole matt wieters thing and im sure youre sick of it. the way i look at it, im glad we have a pitcher with as much potential as you have. ive kept track of your progress in the minors and i really hope you make it to the bigs soon. i think youll be involved with the next group of young players to make it with the bucs.
sorry if this is a bit long, but i wanted to know what kind of music you listen to. any specific bands? whos got the best music taste on the team?
thanks and good luck man!
hey moskie, it was great having you and tony in state college in ’07 – we can’t wait to see you guys in altoona in ’09!! scott
Cool information about the different kinds of fastballs that you throw. Do you expect management to put the same sort of restrictions on you this year?
Daniel: I am in Charleston WV which is the new low A affiliate for the Pirates so I doubt we see you this year, but do know about when they will set the rosters for here this year? My son and I will be down to watch some spring training games around the 18-21st of March, and wonder if the rosters will be set by then. Love the Q&A format and am looking forward to following your blog!
Daniel – thanks for creating the blog and – more importantly – keeping up with it. Here’s a non-baseball related question since you said anything’s fair game. You mentioned you live in Bradenton and since I’m thinking of moving from IL to FL I was wondering what’s it like there? Would you reccommend Bradenton as a good place to raise a family? Thanks and good luck this year – I’ll be tracking every start eagerly! Would love to see you in the bigs ASAP.
im a huge Pitt fan and its cool that you like Clemson. Might even be a NCAA matchup that would be sweet. both teams are playing well right now. thanks for responding.
jlazis- thank you so much for the kind words. i do hear alot about it, but you cant let that stuff bother you. hes a great baseball player and ill be the first to support him, i know his family and hes a good guy.for music i listen to anything and everything, from country to rap and from jam band to metal. i have to have 2 ipods to hold lal my music.
mr rawson- good to see you on here, i had a blast living with you in st college. i hope tyo see you in alltoona this year.
belford- this year there arent supposed to be any restricitions. but still too early to tell for sure. ill keep it updated
blkwel- the rosters wont be officially set by then, but they will have tentative rosters. each day by that time there will be games for short season all the way to AAA. so there will be some rosters.
demond- fl is very nice. as far as bradenton goes i have seen nicer places. i would recomend st pete or sarasota. but there are places near bradenton like lakewood ranch that are very nice. those should give you a start, but definitely do some research. the weather here has to beat that if ill.
gergs- go figure, a pitt fan on a pirates blog. hahah. honestly i hope we dont play pitt, they looked unstoppable against uconn. i dont think we have anybody to play with blair, hes a beast
Daniel – thanks for the quick reply and your comments on Bradenton. Just got 4 inches of snow dumped on me last night so it’s definitely time to do that FL research! You mentioned your love of TV in your profile. What’s your top 5 shows (if you can whittle it down) ?
I may be an old foggie, but your blog would be much easier to read if it had some punctuation other than periods. Capital letters would also help. If you need rules on using the English language, I would be glad to help.
Other than that I laud you for getting out there and giving it the old college try. I expect that we will see some great things from you in the future…both on the field and in the blog.
It’s spelled “fogey”, o master of the English language.
Hey, welcome to MLBlogs! I hope you have a great season!
http://kaybee.mlblogs.com
If Dan’s willing to pitch inside, i dont give a hoot how he punctuates.
hey danny, big bucco fan here… im pulling for you and the other big prospect young pitchers (lincoln and morris) to have great years. you guys have the potential to be a potent rotation at the show in the not so distant future. how has your fastball been clicking these days? are you still getting it to about 93-94mph? also, do you have any big league pitchers that you try to model yourself after or compare your stuff with? this blog is a great idea! -matt
Hey Dan,
Life-long Pirates fan. I was 9 years old in 1990, when the Pirates started their three-year NLCS streak. The loss in 1992 about killed me. My parents always let me stay up late to watch the playoffs, so the losses hit worse than if I had just read about it the next day.
Even though the Pirates have had lots of problems since then, I’ve never stopped rooting for them or watching the games. I think the fact the team was so good when I was young created a kind of unbreakable attachment. I moved back to Pittsburgh three years ago, and I get the feeling that younger kids don’t really feel an attachment to the club since all they’ve known is losses. But I think the club is on the right track and hopefully in a few years the Pirates will be contending again. Good luck, and I hope you’re a big part of that revival. With guys like you, Tabata, Alvarez, McCutchen, Lincoln, and others, the future looks a lot brighter than it did a few years ago. It’s cool you’ve decided to let us fans have a window into your thoughts on that journey.
Since I’m a golfer, I have to ask if you’ve had a chance to check out any of the courses in Pittsburgh, particularly Oakmont?
–Ignore my post above, I forgot to make it readable…is there a way you can let us edit our posts after we submit?–
Hey Dan,
Life-long Pirates fan. I was 9 years old in 1990, when the Pirates started their three-year NLCS streak. The loss in 1992 about killed me. My parents always let me stay up late to watch the playoffs, so the losses hit worse than if I had just read about it the next day.
Even though the Pirates have had lots of problems since then, I’ve never stopped rooting for them or watching the games. I think the fact the team was so good when I was young created a kind of unbreakable attachment. I moved back to Pittsburgh three years ago, and I get the feeling that younger kids don’t really feel an attachment to the club since all they’ve known is losses. But I think the club is on the right track and hopefully in a few years the Pirates will be contending again. Good luck, and I hope you’re a big part of that revival. With guys like you, Tabata, Alvarez, McCutchen, Lincoln, and others, the future looks a lot brighter than it did a few years ago. It’s cool you’ve decided to let us fans have a window into your thoughts on that journey.
Since I’m a golfer, I have to ask if you’ve had a chance to check out any of the courses in Pittsburgh, particularly Oakmont?
-cory
Hey Dan,
First off, good luck this season. When you make it to AA, I’ll be sure to make my annual trip to Altoona on a day which you pitch.
Second, I was wondering what player you would compare yourself to (past or present, reliever or starter).
Thanks for keeping us fans involved, and stay injury-free!
Moskos – I’d love to do an interview with you for my blog. I’m guessing you’re pretty busy this time of year, but if you ever have free time. let me know with a comment on my blog. Thanks man.
http://theburghblues.mlblogs.com/
Welcome to Mlblogs
http://thewrightway.mlblogs.com/
Hey Burgh Blues!! How ya doin, old timer? Best Bucco fan blog on the web!!
hey daniel,
have to admit, i hate using the shift key too! i saw you pitch last summer in lynchburg several times. i have two questions for you….
1. what is the worst thing about being in the minor leagues for you
2. what is the the thing you like best about being in the minor leagues
hope to see you pitch again this spring in lynchburg, but if not good luck in altoona.
all the best and have a great season….
geez, i could not deal with that. i can do snow every now and then, but not a whole like 4 months of it. its definitely time for you to get out of cold town. im actually gonna make my next post about tv shows. so we will get to that
vmays- ill do my best
demond- hahah that was hilarious
orrington- i can promise you that i will pitch inside this year. that was something that i really struggled with in the latter part of the year last year. and is a main focus of our management this year
hey matt(the doc)- you are very right, that does have the chance to be a potent rotation. the other two guys have big time arms. my fastball, while being down towards the end of the year last year is feeling really good right now. havent been clocked yet but i can tell its feeling live. thats a tought question, but due to stature the best answer i can give you is maybe scott kazmir. similar repetoire and stuff.
toasty- you are a true fan, and i love it. and i really think that the organization is going in the right direction, and fans have something they should be excited about, we will be good again. funny thing about that 92 series is that i was actually a braves fan growing up. oops. sorry to rub it in. i havent had a chance to play any courses in pittsburgh, but i do love golf.
gjs- i hope to be in altoona when you stop through. as a starter i would have to say maybe scott kazmir or eric bedard. as a reliever maybe bj ryan or billy wagner. if you guys think im way off dont bash me though. im not good at comparing myself.
the burgh blues- no matter how busy i am, ill find time for fans. so whenever you want to do an interview just let me know.
uci- worst thing is probably the lack of off days. 142 games in 150 days is really a grind.
the best thing is that im doing what i love as my job, so i cant really complain. dont take it the wrong way but i would much rather see you in altoona.
5 favorite TV shows of all time… 1)The Honeymooners 2) Bilko 3)Dick Van **** 4) The Prisoner 5) Buffalo Bill…
And of course, greatest movie of all time for any real Pirates fan… the original Angels In The Outfield!!
Wow, they didnt let me say Dy—ke. Geez, that was his name!!
orrington you are a character
Stop. You turn my head. 🙂
Hey Daniel, glad to have the opportunity to chat. Are the Pirates going to allow you to throw all your pitches this season and basically turn you loose more than last year? How did your arm feel after all the innings you put in last season?
Danny,
I have been a Pirates fan since 1960 when Maz was still a young player. Say Hi to him for me. 2B was a favorite postion because of him.
Good luck this year. We are pulling for you to play in PNC real soon.
What was the biggest adjustment to playing pro ball over college ball? Was there something that really surprised you?
How fast is Don Veal fastball? We hear it is in the upper 90s.
I live in Rochester NY so I hope to see you when you move up to AAA and visit here.
Check out Burn Notice-great TV show:
http://tv.yahoo.com/burn-notice/show/39262/videos;_ylt=AsxNqRa8GE5CYABrv0R8xmwBxI54
whatsup Daniel.. huge fan here.. just wondering what are your expectations for this season? what are your main goals? Thanks and good luck!
Erik Bedard is actually a good comparison, in terms of your “stuff”. Your both lefty power-pitchers, I’ve heard you have good command of your slider, a decent curveball and change-up, and you mix all your pitches well.
2 more questions for you:
What pitch have you improved most since being drafted, and are you trying to add a 5th pitch?
What teammate has helped you develop the most?
hey mang. what’s your thoughts on rinku and dinesh? I think theyre the real deal.
Welcome to MLBlogs!
Aaron
http://mlbtribefan.mlblogs.com
Hey Daniel!!
I’ll be honest…I don’t really follow the Pirates…But I’ve always wanted to be able to talk about each team for 3-4 minutes straight.
I’ll watch this blog frequently, and I almost forgot….Welcome to the MLBlogosphere!!!
Please blog as or more frequently than a pro blog like Bengie Molina. Most Pro player blogs are blogging sparingly…Have fun!!!
Dan,
long time pirates fan, 40 years worth. i wish you the best in your career with the pirates. don’t let the naysayers beat you down and blame you for being our first round pick. the fans here are just waiting to bust loose for a playoff run. keep working hard and ignore those who have negative comments.
my family, will be visiting spring training in late march and would like you input on favorite restaurants and golf courses in the area. can you give your top five. we’ve been to spring training before but would like to try some new venues.
all four of our kids are truly big bucco fans and will look for you at pirate city.
keep up the good work and see you in pittsburgh soon
Brhode- I should be able to throw all my pitches this year.
Lee- Veal’s fastball is really hard, I mean really hard. I will let Maz know that you said hi. The biggest adjustment would have to be the everyday grind of things, and not playing to win really. In college winning is everything.
Mark- My main goal is to stay healthy. Second goal is to have a better month of July, and finish the season. I haven’t made numbers goals yet.
Gjs- I thought that Bedard was a decent comparison. My pitch with the most improvement is definitely my change up. I have worked really hard on it, and it has become a pretty good pitch for me. Not working on a new pitch just yet, maybe look for a knuckle ball in the future, hahahah.
The big- I think that Rinku and Dinesh are great kids that work really hard. I hope we see them in the bigs someday. They are hopefully the start of something great.
Aaron and Figgi thanks for the welcoming.
DJ- Thats awesome, be sure to let me know when you are down there, I will get the kids some autographs. Golf courses to play would be Legacy Country Club, Waterlefe, Riverstrand, I don’t know how much golf you plan on playing. Let me know if you need any more courses.