Healthy, happy and hitting
For Jovan Rosa it's as simple as the 3 Hs.
That's healthy, happy and hitting.
Rosa has been all three this year, his second season with the Wild Things. And the veteran third baseman is a big reason why Washington is knocking at the ceiling of the Frontier League East Division's standings.
Entering Saturday night's game against first-place Evansville, Rosa is leading the Wild Things in batting average (.361), hits (35), doubles (9) and RBI (17). He's also been Washington's best defensive third baseman since either 2006 (Pat Peavey) or 2007 (Eric Earnhardt).
In Washington's doubleheader early this month at Windy City, Rosa was 9-for-11 with two doubles and had eight consecutive hits.
Rosa's early season play has a marked improvement over last year when the former Chicago Cubs farmhand was limited to only 24 games because of an assortment of leg injuries. Washington signed Rosa in late July after he was released a month earlier by Normal.
"Last year was difficult for many reasons. I didn't play baseball in 2011," Rosa explained. "Then I signed with Normal about two months before spring training and didn't have a full offseason to get ready. I was at Normal for three weeks and had three injuries, each a leg injury."
It started, like many leg problems, with a pulled hamstring.
"Then I came back, and two weeks later I had a right hip flexor injury. Then I injured the flexor in my left hip. When I signed with Washington, my range and mobility was very limited," Rosa said.
That's why Rosa played four games at first base for Washington last season. This year, Rosa is healthy and back at third base, displaying some of the form that helped make him the Cubs' 22nd-round draft pick in 2006. He spent four years in affiliated ball before being released in 2010.
"I'm finally healthy and I've been working hard," Rosa said. "Every game, I'm just trying to have good at-bats, get ahead in the count and then be aggressive."
Aggressive was what Rosa was Friday night when he hit a two-run homer off Evansville starting pitcher Ryan Zamorsky (3-1) in the first inning. They were the first runs Zamorsky had allowed all season. In his second at-bat, Rosa roped a double to the wall in right centerfield.
Zeller said Rosa's fast start comes down to one simple thing: the guy is happy.
"He likes it here. He likes the chemistry. He likes the ballclub," Zeller explained. "He became a father this spring and his life is in order. He wants to continue to be productive and get out of here, get back to affiliated ball."
Today, Rosa will settle for spending some time with his son, Jovan Jr. Rosa left Washington early in spring training to return home to East Hartford, Conn., for his son's birth. A few days later, Rosa returned to the Wild Things and hasn't seen his newborn son since.
"I'll see him today. And Sunday will be my first Father's Day with him. That will be nice," Rosa said.
That's healthy, happy and hitting.
Rosa has been all three this year, his second season with the Wild Things. And the veteran third baseman is a big reason why Washington is knocking at the ceiling of the Frontier League East Division's standings.
Entering Saturday night's game against first-place Evansville, Rosa is leading the Wild Things in batting average (.361), hits (35), doubles (9) and RBI (17). He's also been Washington's best defensive third baseman since either 2006 (Pat Peavey) or 2007 (Eric Earnhardt).
In Washington's doubleheader early this month at Windy City, Rosa was 9-for-11 with two doubles and had eight consecutive hits.
Rosa's early season play has a marked improvement over last year when the former Chicago Cubs farmhand was limited to only 24 games because of an assortment of leg injuries. Washington signed Rosa in late July after he was released a month earlier by Normal.
"Last year was difficult for many reasons. I didn't play baseball in 2011," Rosa explained. "Then I signed with Normal about two months before spring training and didn't have a full offseason to get ready. I was at Normal for three weeks and had three injuries, each a leg injury."
It started, like many leg problems, with a pulled hamstring.
"Then I came back, and two weeks later I had a right hip flexor injury. Then I injured the flexor in my left hip. When I signed with Washington, my range and mobility was very limited," Rosa said.
That's why Rosa played four games at first base for Washington last season. This year, Rosa is healthy and back at third base, displaying some of the form that helped make him the Cubs' 22nd-round draft pick in 2006. He spent four years in affiliated ball before being released in 2010.
"I'm finally healthy and I've been working hard," Rosa said. "Every game, I'm just trying to have good at-bats, get ahead in the count and then be aggressive."
Aggressive was what Rosa was Friday night when he hit a two-run homer off Evansville starting pitcher Ryan Zamorsky (3-1) in the first inning. They were the first runs Zamorsky had allowed all season. In his second at-bat, Rosa roped a double to the wall in right centerfield.
Zeller said Rosa's fast start comes down to one simple thing: the guy is happy.
"He likes it here. He likes the chemistry. He likes the ballclub," Zeller explained. "He became a father this spring and his life is in order. He wants to continue to be productive and get out of here, get back to affiliated ball."
Today, Rosa will settle for spending some time with his son, Jovan Jr. Rosa left Washington early in spring training to return home to East Hartford, Conn., for his son's birth. A few days later, Rosa returned to the Wild Things and hasn't seen his newborn son since.
"I'll see him today. And Sunday will be my first Father's Day with him. That will be nice," Rosa said.
posted by Chris Dugan at
3:10 PM
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