Category Archives: Game Reports

Arrival and Dodging a Bomb

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Early April. Warming up in Durham for the Gwinnett Stripers

Jesse Biddle began the 2018 season pitching out of the bullpen for the newly named AAA Gwinnett Stripers (they had been the Gwinnett Braves for a number of years). In four early spring games for the Stripers, he gave up a total of three hits, walked one, and struck out eight. He did not allow a run — earned or otherwise. If you were paying attention last year before he got injured or even during spring training this year, he was more than ready for that final step up to major league competition. It was no surprise that he would begin 2018 able to pitch at such a high level.

So, finally, after more than eight years of hard work and rehab as a professional ballist, Biddle gets the phone call from his AAA manager, Damon Berryhill, and is told that the Atlanta Braves need him to come on up to the Big Time. He’d made it — after a 2013 season with whooping cough and plantar fasciitis; half of the 2014 season recovering from post-concussion syndrome, Continue reading →

One Inning and Miles to Go: Braves vs Phillies Spring Training 2017

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Pitching against the Phillies, spring training 2017.

One of baseball’s quirks is that players have to take everything  — EVERYTHING! — one pitch at a time. Doesn’t matter if you’re hitting, fielding, catching, running the bases, or pitching. That quirk gets its completion in the fact that players are judged over the long haul. Statistics show the results of one pitch at a time over the course of six or seven months. Or even one pitch at a time for years and years and years.

Yesterday, Jesse Biddle came back after 555 days of dealing with a torn elbow ligament — resting, surgery, rehab and extremely patient ramping up — to finally get some time on the mound Continue reading →

Good Times on the Mound: Early Spring Training 2017

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Early bullpen with coach Marty Reed looking on

We’re posting this so that those of you who follow Jesse with a subscription here get a heads up. He is scheduled to throw an inning tomorrow (Saturday, March 4) in his first competitive game since August 2015. It’s just spring training, but still…

Baseball’s a funny game. That inning will be in Clearwater against the Philadelphia Phillies. You can watch it if you are either in the Phillies’ viewing region or have a subscription to MLB.TV. Game time is 1:05 p.m. We don’t know what inning the Braves want him to go in.

Some of us were down in Orlando last week and got to watch Jesse finally throw against live hitters for the first time in 18 months. He faced Nick Markakis, Freddie Freeman, and Matt Kemp in practice. Jesse threw about 15 pitches, mostly in the zone. He looked quite ready to compete. We watched him throw in a sim game three days later as well. Again he looked strong and ready, his motion was loose, free, and easy. No arm pain to speak of, according to him, and as long as he kept the ball down the hitters were struggling to get their barrels on the ball.

We’ll have more to say after tomorrow’s outing in Clearwater. Just wanted those of you who have committed your email addresses to Jesse to know you may be able to catch a glimpse of him in your living rooms this weekend.

Go Braves! Chop On!

Working on Stuff: Adding Sinkers and Sliders to the Arsenal

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Green Night at Reading (Credit: Tug Haines)

We note this all the time, but minor league baseball is about working on your game and developing into a well-rounded player. For starting pitchers, that means seeing what you can do with more than just a straight fastball and breaking ball.

After the first few games of the 2015 season, Jesse Biddle gradually went to work on seeing what he could do with two-seam fastballs (sinkers) and the slider that he’s been throwing Continue reading →

2015 Baseball Season Underway in Reading: Finding the Groove and Walk-Off Wins

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Reading Fab Five (l to r): Zach Eflin, Ben Lively, Jesse Biddle, Tom Windle,

Reading Fab Five (l to r): Zach Eflin, Ben Lively, Jesse Biddle, Tom Windle, Aaron Nola (Source: Reading Eagle)

Jesse Biddle’s first 2015 home start was last night (Saturday) in front of a Reading crowd of about 7,000, with a slight breeze and game time temperature in the 70s. It was deemed the match-up of the night by many minor league prognosticators around the country. Biddle was going head-to-head with the Richmond Flying Squirrels’ Kyle Crick, the San Francisco Giants’ #1 prospect. Crick has electric stuff. Continue reading →

Second Post for Spring Training 2015: Biddle Sharp But Still Optioned

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Day 8 Bullpen. Throwing to Andrew Knapp.

Day 8 Bullpen. Throwing to Andrew Knapp.

Jesse Biddle has had a great spring training this year. His game was honed and razor sharp fairly quickly and he reported having quality bullpen sessions from the start. As the photo above shows, by the end of Week 2 the Phillies pitching brain trust was paying close attention to his side work. He got a fair amount of support with positive statements to the press by Ryne Sandburg, Bob McClure, Dan Plesac, and others. Continue reading →

A Report from Clearwater on a Pretty Good Evening

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JTB 2014 Thresher Game 1

On the mound again in Clearwater. (Source: BaseballBetsy.wordpress.com)

This is one of those times it’s far better to read an eye-witness account than our distant musings. Baseball Ross provides personal reports on minor league baseball at his blog written mostly out of Clearwater, Florida. If you want to know what’s really happening in the minor leagues (especially in the Phillies’ organization), this is one of the best sources of information we know of. Baseball Ross calls it as he sees it. Not much supposition and hearsay (like most so-called journalists out there). If you’re a Jesse Biddle fan, you’re going to enjoy reading this one.

Members Of The Phillies Starting Rotation of The Future Jesse Biddle, Aaron Nola And David Buchanan All Pick up Wins Last Night

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Baseball Ross

Jesse Biddle overmatched the Daytona Cubs last night. It was just that simple. He pitched like he belonged at Citizens Bank Park not Clearwater’s Bright House Field. Aaron Nola had a nice debut with Reading but is was not as impressive.

With a low 90’s fastball, the change up and the big curve, Biddle kept the left-handed dominated D-Cubs lineup off balance. He retired 15 of the 16 batters he faced, allowing only a base on balls in the five innings he worked. He struck out …Read The Rest Here…

You should also check out the thoughts of Baseball Ross’s better half, Baseball Betsy. She ran a great piece on Jesse’s Wednesday night herself here.
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No-Decision But Biddle Sharp: Fightins Feisty and Fun

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Source: Reading Fightin Phils' Facebook Page

Source: Reading Fightin Phils’ Facebook Page

Jesse pitched on Tuesday night in front of a very sparse crowd in Reading. It was his old nemesis, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Here’s the line: 7 innings, 93 pitches, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk, 6 hits, 4 runs, 1 home run. The Fightin Phils would win 6-5 with a walk-off single by Anthony Hewitt in the bottom of the 9th.

A couple blog posts out there say Jesse had a “rough start” and/or was “shaky.” Apparently they weren’t at the game. Yes, he gave up two singles in the 3rd with one out and then left a change-up hanging, belt-high for a three-run homer. He would also allow a single to lead off the 6th, then a one-out triple. Tough innings happen.

Other than the 3rd inning, though, he pitched a good game. Even in the 3rd Continue reading →

A Special Night: 19 Consecutive Outs, 16 Strikeouts, and a Battle in the 7th

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Jesse in Early Spring BaseballtownSometimes years of training click for a couple of hours. You don’t just hope to get to the zone, you walk onto the mound at the beginning of the game, strike out the first batter, and realize you’re already there.

The evening of April 22, 2013 was special for Jesse and the few people who braved the cold Harrisburg night to watch the Fightin Phils take on the Harrisburg Senators (the Washington Nationals’ AA affiliate). Pitchers who have good games often say that their bullpen warm-up sessions are far less than spectacular. Jesse threw four straight balls to end his warm-up session that night.

It took 73 pitches to get through the first six innings. That’s about 12 Continue reading →