Q and A with Ben Chiswick

Ben Chiswick is the director of broadcasting and media relations for the Quad Cities River Bandits. He handles the play-by-play which you can catch for free at the River Bandits site. Some of you may have also read his post game recaps at milb.com, which provide some much needed color to the box scores, and I wish I could say all the affiliates provided the same. I asked Ben to if he’d be up for some Q and A regarding the River Bandits and some of their players seeing that he gets to watch them play everyday, and he graciously agreed. Here are his responses.

A lot of changes have transpired since this season and last with the new name, new stadium name and new ownership. How is the new ownership group working out so far?

A lot of changes is right. The new ownership group and the new management have been nothing short of amazing. I’ve been around this team for a few years now and the opportunity to be a part of reviving baseball in the Quad Cities has been great. From the new name to a new culture around the ballpark, the fans have really responded to all the changes and shown up in force. It’s hard to believe that attendance is up 64 percent, but being a part of making that happen and initiating all of the changes has been very fulfilling. The fans have really embraced all of the changes, and baseball in the Quad Cities is showing signs of returning to its glory days of the mid-90s.

How has the team coped with the flooding this summer?

All of the flooding has been crazy, definitely not the kind of thing you ever expect to have to deal with. But such is life on the Mississippi River. Really, we’re fortunate that the City of Davenport put in such great flood protection when they renovated Modern Woodmen Park in 2004. The two floods we’ve had this summer would have probably wiped out our whole season before the renovation, but because of all the great flood protection we only lost four openings.

There were a couple of games that we actually played in a ballpark completely surrounded by water. The city build a temporary bridge that extended from the entrance of the ballpark all the way to the edge of the flood waters. People were clicking pictures on their camera phones and we played in front of a packed house both nights. I’ll never forget the atmosphere and energy that were in the ballpark on those nights.

The well-traveled Steve Dillard replaced Keith Mitchell as manager this year. What does Dillard do well, and how does he differ from Mitchell?

They are both pretty aggressive managers, so it’s fun baseball to watch regardless. They both like sending baserunners home around third, etc. Personality-wise, Steve is a very even keel guy. He never gets too high or too low and is very good at going with the flow. You can certainly tell the guy has been around this game for a long time. Mitch was more of a rah-rah guy. He had a competitive side to him that really got the players up and ready to play. Both are very good managers and also very good people to work with. They have very different personalities but similar managerial styles.

The team now features two first round draft picks on the left side of the infield. What can you tell us about Pete Kozma, and what are your early impressions of Brett Wallace?

I can tell you that it is pretty fun to watch those two guys playing together. They are both pretty down-to-earth guys that you would have no idea are first-round picks if you ran into them in public somewhere.

Pete is an all-around talent. The scouting report coming in was that he doesn’t stand out at anything but does, but all five tools are a tic above average. That may be an understatement. He hits the ball to all fields with a line-drive stroke and controls the strike zone well. I think most impressive is his defense, though. His range is exceptional at shortstop, and the guy makes plays behind the bag at second that most shortstops have no chance of getting to in this league. He also has a strong arm, but he only shows it when he really needs to.

I’ve only seen Wallace for six games at this point, but he has seemed to hit the ground running. When he first got here I was really impressed by the way he handled himself with all of the media attention. He was very accommodating to every media request, handled himself with poise and confidence, and had well thought-out responses that were more than just your typical stock answers. He has also seemed to hit the ground running offensively and defensively. He has made a couple of nice snags at third base and his only errors have been throwing errors. So far, I have seen nothing to indicate the claims that some scouts made coming in that he wouldn’t be able to handle the hot corner.

How excited should we be about Richard Castillo? He’s only 18, and so far the results have been pretty good. What does he throw, and how is he achieving those results so far?

Very. You hit the nail on the head when you said he’s just 18. I’ve only see him make three starts, but from what I’ve seen his biggest asset is fastball command. He can put the ball where he wants to, which can get most guys by in this league. Perhaps the most encouraging thing is that he really hasn’t shown a good feel for his curveball, which I’m told can be his best pitch. What he’s done so far has been pretty much fastball-changeup, so if he can start throwing the curve for strikes he can really take off.

Speaking of lesser-known pitchers with results, what can you tell me about Mark Diapoules and Nick Additon?

By all accounts, Diapoules has a big-league sinker. He was able to throw it down in the zone effectively and nobody in this league could touch it. He had a couple of rough outings that pitching coach Ace Adams attributed to a problem getting off the rubber quickly, but they worked that out and he was back on track when the Cardinals promoted him.

For Additon, the name of the game is control. He doesn’t throw hard, but he can spot the fastball on both sides of the plate. Like Castillo, the more he improves that curveball the more effective of a pitcher he’ll be. The pitch can be very good at times and he seems to be throwing it more and more as the season progresses.

Tommy Pham is a tantalizing talent, but also a bit of an enigma. Being that you get to see him nearly everyday, I was interested in what your impressions were of him.

My impressions of Tommy are that he has got one of the most impressive set of tools of anybody I’ve seen here. Four of his five tools are well above average and probably pretty close to major league ready. He can flat out go get the ball in center and his throwing arm is both strong and accurate. His speed is the best on the team and his only caught stealing this year was really more of a pick-off play. And that’s not to mention the fact that he has tremendous power to all fields. The issue for Tommy has been making consistent contact and putting the barrel on the ball. He strikes out a lot and has a tendency to muscle up before he swings. The Cardinals have been working with him on getting better separation in his swing and staying loose. If he can start making consistent contact, there is no telling how quickly he can move.

What can you tell us about Francisco Rivera? I’ve seen him on a few occasions and came away very impressed; in fact I’ve dubbed him on the blog as my own favorite “personal cheeseball” for the 2008 season. Please tell me if my personal fascination with this player is justified.

Rivera is another really impressive player Erik, it’s not just you! It’s hard to believe watching him that he’s only a 19-year-old that made his pro debut earlier this season. He’s a gamer. He homered in his sixth pro at-bat and has been off to the races ever since. To me the most telling thing about Francisco is the way he raises his game with men in scoring position and two outs. He seems to have an instinctual knack for driving in runs.

Outside of the players we’ve discussed, who is the best River Bandit player that we don’t know about yet? Are there any other players that have attracted your attention?

I love the way Charlie Kingrey plays the game. He’s up in Palm Beach now, but the guy has a smooth left-handed swing and hits the ball to all fields. My favorite part about Charlie is that he never stops hustling, regardless of the game situation. Paul Vazquez has also stood out. He’s an older guy but he’s become a real leader on this team. The guy has been taking a beating behind the plate and in the batter’s box – he was hit by a pitch in the face in Clinton and was frustrated that they held him out of the lineup for the next two games – but has still managed to lead the team in batting average.