RSN: Chad, could you bring us up to date regarding the circumstances of your injury?
CS: To tell the truth, I’m not really sure. The doctor here thinks it is a mid-foot sprain. Right now, I am not really sure how long I will be sidelined.
RSN: Do you remember how it happened?
CS: I felt it as I was swinging. It was in a game against Binghamton a couple of weeks ago. I got a little too forward on my swing and rolled over on my foot, and I have felt pain ever since.
RSN: Is it on the same leg (left) where you suffered the knee injury a couple of seasons ago?
CS: Yes, it is.
RSN: Are you completely recovered from that?
CS: Yes, until this point I have been feeling really good all season. I felt great at the plate, and defensively as well. I was looking forward to finishing on a healthy note, and then this setback happened.
RSN: Have these injuries been as difficult to deal with mentally as they have physically?
CS: Yeah, it has been. Like now -- when my options are limited as to what I can do on and off the field. It is hard coming to the park every day and seeing everybody working and knowing that you can’t do anything. It is frustrating.
RSN: Chad, you really rebounded this year offensively. What do you credit that to?
CS: Hard work this past off-season. Also, being more patient at the plate and waiting for a good pitch to hit. They say it takes 1500 or so ABs before guys usually figure it out. The more AB’s I am having, the more I am starting to recognize pitches and not miss the pitch down the middle or a good fastball. I am still figuring myself out a little bit, and getting used to hitting the pitches I should be hitting.
RSN: Russ Morman, the Sea Dogs hitting coach, was with you in Augusta and is with you here at Portland. What influence has he had on your development?
CS: Quite a bit, especially this year. I got off to a slow start in April, and when we were on the road Russ and I got into the batting cage and he asked me, “Do you want to have the numbers you had back in 03?” [.312-5-63 in low-A Augusta] I said, “Of course. Who wouldn’t?” So he got me back into what I had been doing with the bat back then, and ever since I have just shot up and still was progressing when I got hurt.
RSN: As a Southerner, is it particularly difficult to get the bat going in the cold months like April?
CS: Not really, but when you look back on it, it seems like it has been. I don’t mind playing in cold weather. If we were down south in April, it would be smoking hot and I kind of enjoy it like it is now. That being said, our whole team did struggle with the bats in April and our pitchers really picked us up.
RSN: What aspect of your game has improved most in the last couple of seasons, and which do you feel could still use work?
CS: Obviously, I could work on everything, but the one thing that I have really worked on, and carried into this season, is on defense -- my first-step quickness. I am getting to balls that in the past I wasn’t. When the ball leaves the bat, I am now getting a much better jump on it.
RSN: In an interview you did in 2004, you mentioned arm-strength as something you wanted to improve. Have you done that?
CS: I have improved. I have worked on long toss quite a bit, and the more you throw the ball across the diamond, the stronger you get. I was very solid during the first part of the season, and then there was a stretch I went through where I got a little crazy with my throws and my all around defense, but overall I feel real good now about my arm-strength and my defense.
RSN: This season your batting average is almost 50 points higher against left-handers, yet your power numbers are about the same. Is there a difference on how you approach hitting left-handers versus right-handers?
CS: No, not really. To tell the truth, I have always felt better facing a right-hander. I guess when I was growing up just about everyone I faced was a right-hander. Whether I am more accustomed to seeing the ball come out of the window from the right side…I am more comfortable seeing it from that perspective. This season, I have improved a lot facing left-handers and I feel real comfortable at the plate facing all pitchers right now.
RSN: Another number that impresses me is that your batting average with runners in scoring position and less than two out this season is near .330. Is there a difference in how you approach those situations?
CS: When I come up to bat in those situations, it seems that my focus is sharper. My desire to drive in the run and get the RBI is intense. My focus-level seems to really increase when I have a runner in scoring position.
RSN: Your batting average at home this season was significantly better than your batting average on the road, but your power numbers are just the opposite. Is there any explanation for that?
CS: A lot of guys on the team don’t enjoy hitting at Hadlock, but I really enjoy hitting here. I see the ball well here and I think I have hit several balls off the Maine Monster that would have been homers in other parks. You take the good with the bad, and some balls that you don’t hit as well often hit the wall here on the way down and end up as doubles. It all balances out, I believe.
RSN: Right now, how close do you feel you are to being Major League ready?
CS: It is hard to realize it, but seeing the guys who have gone up, it is just like you are a phone call away. Obviously, I have to be healthy, but I feel I am only a click away from being an average Major Leaguer. I still have to refine a few things both offensively and defensively, but I feel like I am getting pretty close.
RSN: Are there any plans of you playing in the Arizona Fall League, or in winter ball, this off season?
CS: I have no idea. The guys that went last year told me that they did not find out until the first of September. It is possible, if I am healthy, to go out there and get some more quality at-bats, but it will be up to the front office.
Editor’s Note: It was announced in the August 23rd Boston Globe that Spann has been scheduled to play in the Arizona Fall League.
RSN: Last question, Chad: To this point of your short professional career, what has been the highlight for you?
CS: The biggest highlight for me was getting up here for the playoffs last year and hitting a walk off grand slam home run to win a game against Trenton. The atmosphere last year in the playoffs was unbelievable. Knowing that you are playing for a ring is a lot different than coming to the ballpark every day during the regular season. That has been my highlight so far.