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The following summary is of transcribed material provided to Batter's Box by Ed Gonser (Contributing Writer, he covers the Syracuse SkyChiefs for the Associated Press and the Syracuse Post-standard as a freelance writer). Ed is fast becoming an invaluable source of information for our site (source photos also provided by Ed Gonser). Here's what members of the Skychiefs think of Gabe Gross's promotion to the majors and the acquisition of Eric Crozier from the Indians.



On Eric Crozier

Julius Matos, multi-position player:

"It's kind of weird that our last series was against Buffalo. We had a little bit of hot tempers going and it was with Eric (Crozier thought he was hit intentionally by Talley Haines). It will be weird to see him come in the clubhouse tomorrow. But that's baseball and everyone knows what happens on the field and what happens off aren't related ... I think he will be a good addition, and we'll welcome him to the team. We just lost Glenn Williams (to the Australian Olympic team) our biggest power source; Eric will come in and fill that hole well."


Russ Adams, shortstop:

"Eric obviously is a great player. He has hurt us (SkyChiefs) a little bit over in Buffalo (two home run game on July 2nd). I'm excited about getting a chance to play with him. ... I played against him in Akron last year in Double-A and of course this season in Triple-A. He seems like a real friendly guy, a good teammate and a good addition to the club."


Guillermo Quiroz, catcher:

"He's a pretty decent hitter. He's been around for a little bit. I've been playing against him the last couple of years - last year in Double-A and this year. ... He's another lefthander and he has power. It'll be good to have a bat like that here. He's a natural. He's a great (defensive) first baseman."

Quiroz also mentioned the recent incident in which Crozier was hit by a pitch thrown by Skychief Talley Haines:

"He thought we hit him on purpose when we didn't. That's all old news. It'll be great to have him here."

Syracuse manager Marty Pevey says that he hasn't heard from Dick Scott about Crozier's destination within the organisation. Pevey theorises that Crozier may go back to Buffalo to get his things before joining Syracuse (if, in fact, Crozier is assigned to Syracuse).

Pevey: "Losing Gabe was big. But Crozier is going to help us in the middle of the lineup, if he's coming here. We'll welcome him with open arms; we'll be glad to have him.

Ed Gonser notes that after playing games against Syracuse and then moving on to face Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Crozier will now face Buffalo twice when they visit Syracuse before the Skychiefs go to Scranton for a four-game set. That's a lot of Buffalo, Syracuse and Scranton on the menu.


On Gabe Gross's promotion


Matos:

"He tried to conceal his smile when he came back into the clubhouse from Marty's (Pevey) office. I was in the clubhouse at the time Marty called him in, we (the veterans in the clubhouse) knew. We said as soon as he walked through the door into Marty's office that he's gone. Gone to the big leagues."


Adams:

"I'm really excited for Gabe. He has been swinging the bat real well all year and deserves to be there right now. What a great place to get your debut ... in Yankee Stadium! I was in the clubhouse as he came back from Marty's office. It was hard to read the expression on his face. He was a little excited and a little rushed because he was in a hurry to get there. He had to get to the airport (for a 7:50 PM flight when he found out at approximately 6:00PM). It has to be a great feeling for him. (A debut at Yankee Stadium) would probably be how he would write it up."


Quiroz:

"Gabe's a great guy and he deserved it. He's been hitting the ball well all year. His arm was hurt for a while and he could only DH, but the last couple of games when he was in leftfield he was making the plays. He threw a couple of runners out at the plate. It's awesome - he's one of us and has been with us for the last couple of years and I feel great for him. Gabe was doing a good job of trying to keep his emotions in check but it looked as if he was going to cry"

As Ed put it - tears of joy, no doubt. Ed notes that Gabe Gross was riding a 15-game hitting steak going into tonight. The season high for a Skychief is 16 by Russ Adams, which ended in the second game of Tuesday's doubleheader against the Bisons in Buffalo.


Pevey:

"(Gross) started the year off a little slow. He has made his own breaks. ... He is swinging the bat a lot better and that's partly due to getting healthy. ... The main thing was getting called up, making his debut at Yankee Stadium is something else. We had to hurry and get him out of here and catch a flight: he had to be at Yankee Stadium tonight. I'm sure he caught the end of the ballgame."

Welcome, Mr. Crozier. There's a place for you on our top prospects list. | 22 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
_A - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 01:16 AM EDT (#44696) #
You guys bring a new meaning to putting in overtime...The quotes provide for some great insight.

I probably don't say it enough but thanks for all the work.
_Ron - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 01:37 AM EDT (#44697) #
Once again Da Box proves it's the best fan site in the Majors.
_Joel Heitin - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 01:43 AM EDT (#44698) #
I was interested to read Quiroz's assessment of Crozier as a good defensive player.
_Jobu - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 01:56 AM EDT (#44699) #
Well, I'm impressed. Fantastic work!

Is it just my browser, or are the pictures wreaking havoc on the text?
_firstrounder - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 01:56 AM EDT (#44700) #
Great quotes guys, very interesting!
_R Billie - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 02:04 AM EDT (#44701) #
Welcome to the big leagues Gabe. I've been awaiting his arrival since he breezed through the Florida State League straight out of college and he sure looks ready.

Crozier seems like a good player but he's 26 years old and is still in AAA after being in AA last year. Let's hope it works out for the Jays but if they were going to get a 26 year old I was hoping it would be a guy with big league exposure.
_Mike Forbes - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 02:23 AM EDT (#44702) #
I like the sounds of this more and more all the time. Crozier doesn't look much like a power hitter though does he? But then again, neither does that Soriano guy in Texas. ;)
_IainS - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 02:29 AM EDT (#44703) #
Did you ever see Cecil Fielder's rookie pictures?
Thomas - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 03:01 AM EDT (#44704) #
Outstanding work Ed. Great to get the reactions so fast, and its interesting to see what the guys are saying.

I agree, it's nice that Quiroz thinks of Crozier as a good defensive first baseman. I think Mientkiewicz and Erstad are the only 1B to wear high socks, like Crozier does. If he emulates their defence and the effort of Reed Johnson, he'll be an extremely welcome addition to the club.
_John S - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 03:01 AM EDT (#44705) #
Great Pictures and Quotes. :) Thanks for posting them.

I'm excited about Gabe Gross coming up now. His AAA numbers indicate he's ready to go, and he fits right into the lineup.
_David R. - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 05:03 AM EDT (#44706) #
Great article, great perspective. Well done!

Looks like Chad Hermanson part 2 to me. Not being negative, this trade could work out very well. Crozier has power and a good idea at the plate. Could be a valuable fourth outfielder and backup at first base. If he plays well between now and spring training he'll be a threat to Reed Johnson and Dave Berg.
Gerry - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 08:36 AM EDT (#44707) #
Thanks Ed, very interesting.
_miVulgar - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 09:21 AM EDT (#44708) #
Really, this is amazing.

Your efforts are appreciated Ed.

Can't wait to see how this pans out.
_S. Bialo - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 08:21 PM EDT (#44709) #
For what it's worth, Crozier isn't the one in the top two pictures with the high socks - he's the Craig Counsell-like baserunner.

Great work, guys.
_Ryan Lind - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 08:57 PM EDT (#44710) #
Ummmm you sure about that?

I kinda asumed he was the one in the Bisons jersey.
_Gwyn - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 09:10 PM EDT (#44711) #
This is a picture of Crozier from the Bisons site:

_Rob - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 09:19 PM EDT (#44712) #
http://www.thomasoneil.com/bbphoto.php?f=366
Also, here is the following picture of Mr. Crozier, from the AFL:



COMN for the page.
_Rob - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 09:20 PM EDT (#44713) #
Glenn Williams is the runner on base, judging from the number.
_Rob - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 09:22 PM EDT (#44714) #
Yet another post:

To clarify, the picture I provided above is from the 2002 Arizona Fall League. So he was a good prospect two years ago, not this past fall.
_StephenT - Saturday, August 07 2004 @ 10:22 PM EDT (#44715) #
Jobu, the text wraps around the images properly in my web browser (Internet Explorer 6.0 on Windows XP).
_S. Bialo - Sunday, August 08 2004 @ 02:09 PM EDT (#44716) #
Gotcha, my mistake... who's that in the third picture above then? Gross?
_Rob - Sunday, August 08 2004 @ 02:20 PM EDT (#44717) #
Well, the picture is right below "On Gabe Gross's promotion"

Yeah, it's Gross. ;)
Welcome, Mr. Crozier. There's a place for you on our top prospects list. | 22 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.