Back at Square One

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Back at Square One
07/07/2009 3:05 PM ET
By Mike Sharp / Boise Hawks

BOISE - People say minor league baseball is a heartbeat from the show.
If that's true, Joe Simokaitis was checking his pulse, waiting for that moment.
Simokaitis played AAA baseball as a shortstop, and watched many of his friends make it the big leagues as he worked hard for his shot. But it didn't come as a position player.
Now 26, he's back at square one, attempting to hear the heartbeats again.
"I hoped I'd get picked up, but I got no calls," Simokaitis said. "Then someone mentioned I might be a good pitcher. I made some calls and the rest is history."
Those calls reached Oneri Fleita, Vice President of Player Personnel for the Chicago Cubs, and now Simokaitis is playing for the Cubs' Single-A Short-Season affiliate, the Boise Hawks, as a pitcher.
"I think he deserves a shot," Fleita said. "I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt because of the type of person he is."
Fleita knows something about shortstops making the move to the mound.
When he was playing in summer college league and the minor leagues, he played with what he describes as a "very accurate shortstop." In an 18-2 game with his Nevada Griffins leading, the coaching staff called on that shortstop to pitch out of the bullpen.
That shortstop was none other than Trevor Hoffman.
"You saw how he turned out," Fleita said.
But now Simokaitis has the task of playing with a crew as much as 8 years younger than him, and give himself a chance.
"Everyone is very accepting, actually," Simokaitis said of the Boise squad. "In this game it's all about being a sponge. You sit with these guys that have been to the big leagues and you try to learn everything they know. You learn what a hitter is trying to do. It's so much about the mental aspect.
"In a lot of aspects, I'm way ahead of the game. My maturity will help. But really, I'm an infant. My goal is to learn the mechanics and stay injury free. I know my age, and I know the window is closing."
If there's one person with as much confidence in his ability as Simokaitis, it might be Fleita, who returned to the character of the player, as opposed to the strict numbers.
"As a scout of talent, I can obviously see his athletic ability," he said. "But really, he's an exciting person. His work ethic will do him the biggest favors of anything. He's still healthy, and confident.
"I'm really sure if I asked him to drive the bus or ump, he'd do it."
Simokaitis made it clear, he's willing to do what it takes.
"I know what I have to do," he said. "That's one of the things I have going for me. I have a good relationship with the Cubs and I'm really trying to get my foot back in that door.
"I want the opportunity to prove myself...I just have to worry about controlling what I can control, and not worrying about the rest."
The "rest" is the heartbeat. Minor League Baseball is a fickle game, and the more he puts the proverbial shoulder to the wheel, Fleita made it clear, the more he'll be able to hear the faint heartbeat growing louder.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.