Jim Seip: January 2008 Archives

The full force of Ryan Minor's absence may not be seen on gameday. There are other men who can fill the role of hitting coach and third base coach. But the Revolution lost one of their most valuable employees in terms of knowledge and history of the quirky Atlantic League.

An independent league that relies heavily on veteran players, Minor had played or coached against many of the men on the field.

Minor played parts of four seasons in the major leagues, starring for the Orioles and Expos. He ended his career by playing two seasons (2004-05) in the Atlantic League before becoming an assistant coach for the Road Warriors in 2006.

"I don't think you can replace a Ryan Minor," Revs Director of Baseball Operations Adam Gladstone said. "He brought a lot to the table as a former player in this league and an experienced coach."

Defections in the Atlantic League are understandable, to the point where the front office expects them. In independent baseball, everyone is trying to work their way back to affiliated baseball and hopefully the major leagues.

Revolution hitting coach Ryan Minor returned to the Orioles organization Friday, accepting a job on the coaching staff with the Class A affiliate Delmarva Shorebirds.

A resident of Salisbury, Md., Minor will work near his home and family.

Former major leaguer Wayne Franklin made a pitch to return to the York Revolution. But he had one request.

He wanted to be the closer, not a starter.

York's Opening Day starter, Franklin notched York's first and last victories during its inaugural season. He went 8-3 with a 4.19 ERA. He is expected to pitch strictly out of the bullpen in 2008.

But now the Revs are looking at a difficult situation. They lost their two most effective starters from 2007. The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs drafted former major leaguer Frank Castillo in the expansion draft, and Franklin doesn't want to start. York suffered through the first half last season, in large part because it lost Franklin (he left for Taiwan in May) and Ryan Baerlocher signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves.

The York Revolution have lost arguably their best pitcher from the inaugural 2007 season.

The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs selected right-hander Frank Castillo in the Atlantic League expansion draft. The Revolution had the ability to protect 13 players, and on paper the move to leave Castillo available looks questionable.

But after talking with Revolution Director of Baseball Operations Adam Gladstone, it's understandable why the team did not protect him. The Crabs only acquired the rights to Castillo, and it's possible Castillo will not even pitch in the U.S. this year.

As expected, the Atlantic League scrapped its traditional geographic divisional alignment Thursday.

But in a rather unexpected move, the league managed to pick new divisional names that only Lee Greenwood could appreciate.

We lost the North and South.

We gained Freedom and Liberty.

That’s right, the York Revolution will be playing in something called the Freedom Division next season.

Ah, God bless the Atlantic League.