Goodbye Adam Heether….Welcome Back Katin! (posted June 7, 2010)

It is so funny how the daily routine of baseball can alter, especially when it comes to one person. Last week, in one game against the Albuquerque Dukes at Greer Stadium, Adam Heether hit two home runs in that game. Unfortunately, it would turn out to be the last game for the former Sounds Third Baseman as he was placed on waivers the following day and picked up by the Oakland Athletics. Of course, I was sorry to see Adam go, but it was nice to see him go out with a bang. In a way, it’s a blessing in disguise for Heether because he is from California and grew up as an A’s fan, but he will get a chance to perhaps move up quicker in the A’s organization since they could use a guy like Heether with his bat and glove. Now with Mat Gamel activated on Nashville’s roster and Casey McGehee being the regular third baseman for the parent club, the Milwaukee Brewers, it was going to be difficult for Heether to move up the Brewers’ hierarchy. I believe in the long haul, it will turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Heether since he is back out West. He was assigned to Triple-A Sacramento, where the Sounds were on their previous road trip. Adam, you’re a great guy and a fine talent and I wish you nothing but the best! You will be missed!

It’s too bad that I don’t have John Sebastian’s “Welcome Back” song that he performed back in the mid 1970s when “Welcome Back Kotter” was a hit TV show on ABC-TV then. This is the appropriate song for the man that I am about to discuss about. For Brendan Katin, it is a wonderful welcome back after all. He got off to a great start with his powerful bat this season until he went down with a knee injury on Friday, April 16th, in the home opener against the Iowa Cubs at Greer Stadium. Katin would eventually undergo knee surgery and rehab his knee in Florida. He came back on this road trip in Round Rock, Texas and already, his impact is being felt. Katin had three hits (including an RBI triple) this past Saturday in the Sounds’ 9-6 win over the Express at the Dell Diamond and despite Nashville losing to Round Rock, 8-2, last night, Katin crushed a long home run over the centerfield wall. It is the kind of lift that the Sounds have needed since they’ve been basically playing .500 ball since their 7-1 start this year.

Brendan certainly has the tools to make it to the major leagues. The only thing he needs to do to get that chance is being consistent. Katin will certainly give you more than 20 home runs and 70-90 runs batted in per season, but cutting down on the strikeouts and being consistent is what will get him to that next level. Like everyone else on the team and in baseball, I wish Katin the very best in getting that opportunity. He also has the attitude and determination to do it.

It is so nice to be back in Texas (where I lived in San Antonio for a decade). Nice to see some old friends and even ones from my hometown in New York, who transplanted to the Lone Star State. The only thing that I don’t welcome is the oppressive heat that is common in Texas during this time of the year and throughout the summer. Still, I go through it and focus on doing my job in Round Rock (which I consider one of the best places I’ve ever been in during all of my years in baseball).

Tonight, Sam Narron will get the nod for the Sounds. He pitched for them in the past and was just re-signed by Milwaukee after performing well for Camden in the independent Atlantic League. Camden is Camden, New Jersey, where the ballpark is just right across from Philadelphia via the Ben Franklin Bridge. Narron was released by the Tigers’ organization in early April and I wish him the best in his latest chapter of his baseball career.

The broadcast can be heard over nashvillesounds.com at 6:50PM tonight. Hope you tune in and hope the Sounds can get back on another winning streak and be consistent themselves!

• Posted on June 7, 2010 at 1:17 pm