CSU-Pueblo alum Mike Massaro is on the cusp of becoming the first Pack alum to get a shot with a Major League Baseball team.  Massaro, who has spent time with the Sacramento River Cats, the AAA affiliate in the Oakland Athletics organization, is now playing for the Stockton Ports, the A's class-A affiliate, waiting for the call that could give him a shot as the A's' centerfielder.  Mike has been kind enough to share his experiences with his friends in Pueblo.

Hello everyone!
Mike Massaro coming to you from Stockton, Califorina for the last time in this 2008 season. We are currently in the Championship Series of the California League Playoffs battling the Lancaster Jet Hawks (High A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox). Its been a tough series so far. We jumped out to and early 2-0 game lead but Lancaster battled back last night sending the series to Game 4 of 5 tonight. The winner will be crowned the California League Champions.

Looking back, it has been a very interesting and eventful year and I will get to take home some great memories. Getting to play in a few big-league games in spring training was a great experience. Starting the season in Double A and playing with the Triple A Sacramento River Cats for a month was another awesome experience, as I got to see what it will take to be successful at the higher Minor League levels.
 
With the dog days of summer winding down and playing in the Cal League Championship, I have really enjoyed this experience and everything that has come along with it. From the long bus rides, to flying, and all of the stadiums that I have been able to play in. Now I wake up each day and my body aches a little bit more as the 140+ game schedule takes its toll. It's been awesome though, each day is now a day closer to coming home and a day closer to winning a Ring and a League Championship.
 
With only a few days left, I am torn between my feelings of 'I can't believe it's over' and 'I can't wait to go home and relax.' It is a bit bittersweet. With a 140+ game season I am both mentally and physically tired, and I know that the off-season will give me some much needed rest for my body and my mind, and get me ready for another great season in 2009.
 
Thank you to everyone who has followed me throughout my journey this season. It really does mean a lot to me. Thank you.

By Anthony Sandstrom, CSU-Pueblo Sports Information Director

The effect of July 9th's blockbuster trade between the Oakland Athletics and the Chicago Cubs, which sent Rich Harden to the Cubs in exchange for several players, does more than just shore up the Cubs' pitching staff as they push for a world championship, or allow the A's to get the highest value possible for a high-market pitcher.

It actually effects every bit of both organizations.  Specifically, the trade, which sent two outfielders, Matt Murton and Eric Patterson, to the Athletics, impacted the fortunes of former CSU-Pueblo outfielder, Mike Massaro, now playing for the Stockton Ports, Oakland's high-A affiliate.

Massaro, who was a step away from joining the Major League club last month while he spent time with the AAA Sacramento River Cats, now finds himself likely lower on the A's radar with addition of two outfielders, each of which have been slotted ahead of him on the organization's depth chart.  Murton has been called up to the Major League club while Patterson is now with Sacramento.

"When we heard about the trade and who we had got from the Cubs, it was a little frustrating," Massaro said.  "We already had too many outfielders [in the organization] as it is, and then we get another one."

"Its frustrating, but what can you do about it?" he added.  "So I just stop thinking about it right then and there and just go about my business."

Massaro's business has been good since rejoining the A-club this month.  In the month of July, Massaro has been hitting the cover off the ball, hitting .432 with seven-multi hit games so far in the month.  Over his past four games, Massaro is a ridiculous 10-for-15, and he has gathered hits in eight of the Ports' past nine games.

As well as he's been doing, it is tough to see that your accomplishments may not earn any rewards when new pieces are added to the equation.  Murton has flirted with the Cubs lineup four nearly five seasons, even starting in leftfield for the Cubs in 2005.  Patterson, who also plays some infield positions, has hit .237 in 38 at bats with the Cubs this season.  In 2007 with the Iowa Cubs, the Cubs' AAA-affiliate, Patterson was a AAA all-star.

With the added competition, all Massaro can do is play even better.

"I want to be the best and I want to stand out," Massaro said.  "So this is just a little bit more motivation for me.  It's out of my control, so I just go out there and continue to play hard and let the chips fall where they may."

Hello Everyone,
Welcome back to another journal. I just wanted to start off by saying thank you to all of you who have taken the time to read this and send comments about my journey. I honestly appreciate that. It means a lot to me.

I am writing this time, on our day off, from scorching hot Bakersfield, CA., where we (the Stockton Ports) are playing a four-game stand against the Bakersfield Blaze, the High A affiliate of the Texas Rangers.

First, a little bit about how I got back to the Cal League, and the Stockton Ports.
The last time I wrote, around two weeks ago, I had explained my journey of changing teams throughout the first half of the season. At the time I was in Sacramento with the AAA Rivercats. I ended up staying there about a week longer. Long enough to go on the road to beautiful Salt Lake City, to play the Salt Lake Bees, and then home for two more games. On the 27th of June I was making my daily walk from the Holiday Inn to the ball park when I received a call from our trainer Brad LaRosa, telling me that I needed to come see him as soon as I got to the field. Once again I think to myself, what now? When I finally arrived at the park I headed straight to Manager Todd Steverson's office. He told me I'm headed down to Stockton ASAP because two of the guys were injured and they needed me right away. So, here I go again, on the move. I checked out of the hotel and made the forty-five minute drive down to Stockton to meet the guys, yet again. And that brings us to now.

You may be thinking that this move back to High A Stockton from AAA is all bad. To be honest, it's not all bad. Would I love to still be up in AAA with Sacramento? No doubt about it. Everything is better up there: the traveling (by airplane), the spread (food that we eat before and after the games), the stadiums, the atmosphere and just everything that comes with AAA. I mean, you're one level away from your dream of playing in the Big Leagues. It was definitely an awesome experience that I will use to help and motivate me throughout the rest of the season. I had figured my days up there would be numbered anyway because the other outfielders were becoming healthy, and would be game ready soon. And another Big League guy would be coming in for rehab. So my trip back to Stockton was for the most part expected. Plus now that I am back I have been able to play everyday, something that didn't happen as often in Sacramento. Although I would still love to be in Sacramento, I love to play and to play everyday. So this is definitely something that I look forward to.

I arrived with the Ports on the night of the 27th, one game into the start of the second half of the season. We have not played up to our potential so far this second half sporting a 7-10 record, 6 games back of the Division leading San Jose Giants. We just left Lancaster, CA, losing two out of the three games. We are trying to get back to playing the game, the right way, by trying to do all of "the little things" correctly. Now the "little things" that I refer to really aren't so little when it comes down to it. They are pretty much all of the things that take no skill. Like doing what you're supposed to do when you're supposed to do it and being where you're supposed to be at the right time. Just playing the game hard, and then letting everything else take care of itself, because when you think about it, what else can you do?? In the game of baseball you cannot control much, you can only control what you can do. If you play the game right, the wins will come.

So here we are on our first day off of the month, during our eight-day road trip through Lancaster and Bakersfield, CA. Today we are just trying not to think about baseball. We are just going to relax and have a little fun, and hopefully catch up on some much needed sleep. Unfortunately, there is not much fun to have in Bakersfield, which is honestly the worst stop of the Cal League. This is my first experience of the place, but just hearing stories from the guys who have been here before, it doesn't sound pleasant. The games have to start at 7:45 because the sun sets right behind center field and the hitters aren't able to see, and the locker rooms were built during the time Babe Ruth was playing. The showers seem to always back up. And there are big spiders running all over the place, so you have to leave all of you're gear and clothes zipped up in you're bag. So I am pretty excited (not really) to see how it turns out. Anyway, I think we are planning on heading to the movie theater to see a few movies on our day off. It looks like there are a few good movies out to see right now. Maybe if we get lucky, we'll pay for one and then see two or three. Hopefully it works out for us. Haha. I'll keep you informed on how it all goes.

As for me, I'm doing well. Trying to battle through a few glitches in my swing and trying to work on my pitch selection. Lately, for some reason I have not been swinging at good pitches to hit. So I have been getting with our hitting coach Timmy Garland for some early work to try and fix a few things and get me back to normal. As of right now I'm hitting .353 with the Ports and my overall average with all three teams that I have been with is right at .300. So I definitely cannot complain. I just need to keep working hard and doing those little things right, and let everything else just fall into place.

Hello everyone, Mike Massaro coming to you from sunny Sacramento, California, home of the Sacramento Rivercats, Triple A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. I will be writing a journal entry every few weeks taking you through what life is like as a professional baseball player, on and off the field.

I played for Colorado State University-Pueblo for three years as a centerfielder and pitcher. The Oakland A's drafted me in 2005 in the 13th round. It was a blessing to be drafted and to be given the opportunity to play professional baseball for such a great organization.

After being selected in the 2005 draft, I played my first season of professional baseball in the Northwest League with the Vancouver Canadians. Over the next two seasons (due to a broken wrist sliding into second base in 2006) I played for the Kane County Cougars in the Midwest League. I finished up the 2007 season as an All-Star for the Cougars.

This year has been quite a different story and experience for me. The day before breaking Spring Training is when it all started. I was supposed to break camp with the High A Stockton Ports team, but found out some exciting news the morning before leaving. One of the outfielders from the Double A team was injured and unable to break camp, so I was selected to take his spot. I was excited and a little surprised when I heard the news. Nonetheless, I was off to Midland, Texas to play for the Midland Rockhounds, Double A affiliate of the Oakland A's.

My stint in Double A lasted around a month and a half where I did well, hitting .268 over 24 games. It was a good experience for me to play at a higher level, since I had played Low A ball for the last two seasons. It allowed me to see what I was able to do with my game and what I needed to work on. I had felt pretty good about my game and it gave me confidence for what would come down the road.

I was then sent to Stockton, CA to play with the High A team, the Stockton Ports. I was very comfortable with the transition to this team because I had played with most of the players last season. Although I was disappointed about being sent down, I was excited to see all of the guys again that I had played with last year. Little did I know this wouldn't last long. In my short 2 1/2-week, nine-game stint with the Ports, I did very well, hitting .344 with two doubles and five RBI's.

Over the course of my two weeks with Stockton, there had been a lot of player movement throughout the organization. Whether it was players being hurt, players being promoted, or players being released (when the organization lets you go), there was a lot of things happening. Now, as a Minor League baseball player you are really never safe. This meaning that you can be promoted, demoted, or released in the blink of an eye. Well, I am not going to lie, this scares me. It can be very stressful. We had just finished up a game at home against the High Desert Mavericks (High A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners), a game that I did well in going 2-4 with two doubles, and as I was walking down the right field foul line headed to the clubhouse, the manager Darren Bush walked past me and said, "Mass, I need to see you in my office." My heart instantly dropped into my stomach. What is going to happen? I'm thinking to myself. Am I going to get released?? I, being the worry wart that I am, was prepared for the worst.

I reluctantly head into the office and sit down on the couch. "Well....," Bushy (manager Darren Bush) says, "you're leaving." Great, I am thinking to myself. Where am I going now?? Bushy then begins to smirk a little bit. "You're headed up to Triple A," he says. Wow, I am in complete shock. So I asked him why, and what was going on? He told me that they had just sent four guys up to the big leagues and they needed some outfielders. Still in complete shock, he then adds that I will be flying out the next morning to meet up with the team in Portland, Oregon. Then he says, "Guess where next? Colorado Springs to play the Sky Sox." I don't know if I have ever had a bigger smile on my face. I get to come home and not even just that, I get to play the Sky Sox. I already start to get nervous but also very excited for this great opportunity that is ahead of me. This is another chance for me to prove myself, to prove to people that I am able to play at a high level. And where better to do it than in my own back yard, thirty minutes from home town and against Colorado's own Sky Sox?

The next four days in Colorado Springs were probably the best four days of my professional career so far. Just to have the chance to be home and play in front of family and friends meant a lot to me. It was very exciting. It was also good to see everyone again. I was lucky enough to play well over the four game series, going 4-5 with a triple my first game, and 6-13 throughout the series. So not only did I get to play at home, but I played well. This experience will be one that I will not soon forget.

The madness of moving teams continued these last three days. With big leaguers becoming healthy and others struggling allowed more moves to be made. And who do you think was that low man on the totem poll, the player that would be moved??? Of course, it was me. On Monday, June 16th, I was again called into the manager's office. This was just after we beat the Tacoma Rainers (Seattle Mariners) and I had a good game going 2-4 with a double and three RBI's. Manager Todd Steverson tells me that I have done a great job for the team while I have been up here, but that I was being sent back down to Stockton. I had a feeling that this was coming, so I wasn't too upset about the situation. I knew that it would probably be for just a short time that I would be here; the only bad thing is that I was doing so well. But I felt like I had once again proven myself at a high level of play.

Wait....... It's not over.

After last night's game in Stockton, I am once again called into the manager's office. For what now, you may be wondering? Manager Darren Bush sits me down again to tell me, "Your headed back up to Sacramento, thanks for stopping by." It turns out that one of the outfielders came down with pneumonia and is out for who knows how long. So here I am, on the 18th of June, in Sacramento, CA. The best part is the season is only half over. God only knows what lies ahead for the second half!