Jim Seip: May 2009 Archives

It has all the makings of a bad separation.

This is not a recent development. Go back to last season, when Revs manager Chris Hoiles wanted to return for a third season. He received a lukewarm response from ownership. Hoiles had not signed an official contract, even though the team announced he would return. And then the Revs started the season 10-22, the third straight terrible start for a York club under Hoiles.

Hoiles may have had reason to fear for his job earlier this month, but it appears the dangerous time has passed. Hoiles appears to be in place for the remainder of the first half. For one, he hasn't lost the clubhouse, and that is unlikely to happen with so many loyal players back from last season's playoff club.

So his job is safe, but the second half of this season could determine his future with the franchise. My sense is the team needs to compete, maybe not win a playoff spot, but improve drastically.

York Daily Record/Sunday News reporter Steve Navaroli sat down with me to chat about the latest news about the York Revolution.

Infielder Brandon Pinckney left the Revolution Wednesday, and the team announced today he has been signed by the Baltimore Orioles organization. He played Thursday night for Double-A Bowie, going 1-for-3. He also grounded into a double play.

Pinckney batted .315 in 16 games for York, hitting two triples in his short time with the club. The spring training roommate of Matt Esquivel, Pinckney discovered the Atlantic League when Esquivel convinced him to call the Revolution about a possible job opening after the Indians released the two players on the same day.

Pinckney posed for the worst mug shot in franchise history -- seriously if he was trying out for a spot as an extra in "Dude, Where's My Car?" or "Half Baked" he would have been hired just for submitting this photo -- but he was also one of the best infielders the team has signed. He solidified the shortstop position before the arrival of Danny Sandoval, and he could also play short and second. He becomes York's fourth position player (OF Tike Redman '07, OF Peter Bergeron '07 and INF Kenny Perez '08) to earn a contract in affiliated baseball. (Seven Revolution pitchers have also earned contracts to return to major league organization.)

Former Mariners prospect Matt Rogelstad has replaced Pinckney's spot on the roster.

Starting pitcher Mike Smith (1-3, 2.86) has been placed on the suspended list, accepting a contract offer to pitch in Taiwan. He registered his only win of the season earlier this week, notching a victory Monday after registering 6 1/3 shutout innings. Smith promised to be one of the best pitchers in the league this season, regularly hitting 90 mph with pinpoint control.

York has now lost its top two starting pitchers. Rick Bauer left the team earlier this month for a lucrative deal in Korea. Not surprisingly, leagues from outside the country have picked up York's best pitchers with major league experience. (In parts of two seasons, Smith appeared in 15 big league games.)

Smith had been York's best starting pitcher during the first four weeks of the season, but he had no run support. The Revolution scored 13 runs during Smith's five starts, but the Revs had not scored more than two runs in any of his starts before plating six runs Monday.

Former Revolution right fielder Tike Redman signed with the Newark Bears today. Redman (pictured above during his time with Pittsburgh) is the only player in Revolution team history to go from York to the majors in one season.

One of the original Revolution players in 2007, Redman never played an actual game in York but he batted .464 in seven games during the time when the Revs waited for construction at Sovereign Bank Stadium to be completed. He batted .318 in 40 games as a late-season call-up for Baltimore.

Expected to return to the Orioles in 2008, Baltimore sent him down to Triple-A Norfolk out of camp and never called him up to the big leagues. He batted .292 in 116 games for Norfolk. The Revolution contacted Redman and his agent in the offseason, but a deal could not be reached. Now he shows up with the first-place Bears as York struggles to avoid the tag of worst professional baseball team in the country.

So what do Revolution fans think of this move? Is York doing enough to turn around what continues to be the worst start in franchise history? And could a deal to acquire Redman and ship out some of York's underachieving players helped?

The gist of a players-only meeting before the Revs game Tuesday went something like this: Some of this stuff may fly in other leagues, it doesn't work here.

Revs outfielder Matt Esquivel noted how teams in this league get their "tails kicked" when they go through the motions one week. He and the rest of the Revs didn't want to see that happen to a team as talented as York.

York seemed to sleepwalk through a rain-shortened week at The Vault last week before being swept by defending champion Somerset over the weekend. The five-game losing streak ended with a 4-3 victory against the Bridgeport Bluefish Tuesday.

Former major leaguer Travis Hughes and former Revs reliever Saul Solveson have joined the team. If both pass their physicals, the two new relievers could be available for Wednesday's game against Bridgeport.

Hughes has appeared in 24 major league games with the Rangers and Nationals. The right-hander spent last season pitching in Japan. He had 24 saves for Triple-A Pawtucket in 2007. He last appeared in the majors in 2006.

Solveson is also a right-hander. He went 1-1 with a 3.96 ERA for the Revs last season.

When a team doesn't produce, players are shown the door. So despite entering the season with a roster that appeared to be a first-half title contender, the York Revolution are 3-12 -- owners of the worst record in the Atlantic League.

More bad news came when York's opening day starter Rick Bauer, left the Revolution after Friday's game when he signed a contract with a team in Korea. Bauer's absence caused reliever Dan Foli to move into the rotation and Dave Gassner -- who appeared to improve in a rain-shortened start in York last week -- to pitch on three days of rest Sunday. Pitching on three days of rest in May never goes well. Not surprisingly, Somerset swept York.

Revolution officials expect to add a pitcher to replace Bauer, and an announcement could come as soon as Tuesday.

Fans should expect more changes.

The following is an excerpt of a story that will appear in this week's edition of the Sunday News.

Tom Collaro doesn't have the typical resume to be a succesful No. 3 hitter.

He doesn't walk: He earned a career-high 34 free passes in 2007.

He doesn't hit for average: He owned a seven-year career average of .245 entering the season.

And he doesn't wow anyone with a high on-base percentage: He has compiled a .290 career OBP.

Yet after the first two weeks of the season, he may be in line to be the first Revolution player signed by a major league organization.

Jody Roof, a former Dillsburg resident and 2000 Northern York graduate, expects to join the U.S. Military All-Stars when they take on the York County All-Stars July 3 at Sovereign Bank Stadium.

Stationed on the Japanese island of Okinawa, Roof expects to report to the U.S. Military All-Stars June 1 and remain with the club until the game in York.

"I am looking forward to coming home and I will definitely bring a big crowd with me," Roof wrote in an e-mail he sent to the York Revolution.

Reached by phone Friday night -- or Saturday morning in Japan -- Roof talked about his experiences of playing against locals on a base team in Okinawa. A story on Roof will appear in the Sunday News.

Longtime Barnstormers catcher Lance Burkhart has burned the Revolution before. A walk-off homer against closer Dave Veres stands out as the biggest example of his clutch hits against York last season. But Burkhart switched teams in the offseason after Lancaster asked him to take a back-up role.

Now with Southern Maryland, Burkhart homered with one out in the seventh to propel the Crabs to a 2-1 victory in the first game of a doubleheader.

The defending Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year Joe Gannon (2-1) earned the win, holding York to five hits. He surrendered a solo homer to Matt Padgett in the fourth, and only one other baserunner advanced past first base all game.

York right-hander Mike Smith (0-2) pitched a complete game. He allowed five hits and his velocity remained in the 90s throughout the game. He struck out four and walked two.

For two years, many of the fans and players in the local adult baseball leagues in York kept their distance from Sovereign Bank Stadium. It appears those days are long gone, especially after a preseason scrimmage featuring the Revolution and an All-Star team of locals drew more than 5,000.

The York County All-Stars will play the United States Military All-Stars at 7 p.m. Friday, July 3 at Sovereign Bank Stadium. Fireworks will follow the game.

The roster for York County will once again be split between players from the Susquehanna and Central leagues. But many of the talented college baseball players who could not play in the April 18 scrimmage will appear in the contest.

Daily Record/Sunday News reporter Steve Navaroli sits down to talk about the week that was, including a 2-7 start and York's momentum-building win Monday night to snap a five-game losing streak.

York manager Chris Hoiles did not know the health status of Revs pitcher Steve Andrade Tuesday, although the Revs closer was scheduled to see a member of the Revs medical staff regarding his shoulder -- Hoiles said. Pulled from his appearance in York's victory Monday, Andrade shook his arm between pitches and told Hoiles he felt something in his shoulder.

Andrade was not available for comment Tuesday after the rainout, because he retired to the training room.

"If he needs some time off we're just going to play the game as if everything is normal," Hoiles said. "We're not going to classify anyone as the closer, and I suspect we'll decide on the closer as the games go."

The game ended with Danny Sandoval, the newest member of the York Revolution, being surrounded by his teammates after he drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th to lead York to a 7-6 victory against Southern Maryland.

Sandoval (pictured above with Syracuse in 2008) had been 0-for-4 in his Revs debut before knocking a single through the hole between first and second to score Jeff Eure from third.

The Daily Record/Sunday News game story can be found here.

The game featured some memorable moments: York hit into a triple play. A ninth-inning double was ruled foul and a heated argument followed, causing the ejection of Crabs coach Andy Etchebarren. But the story of the night was the performance of York's bullpen.

Infielder Danny Sandoval joined the Revolution Monday. And that's no surprise. The former major league shortstop had been expected to join the club since he arrived in York Wednesday.

But the Revs released three players including the franchise's opening day starter and victories leader Wayne Franklin. The left-hander had played parts of three seasons with the Revs, jumping to Taiwan for a brief stay in 2007 and Mexico in 2008. Both times he returned to help the club.

As is customary for the veteran, he did not look sharp early this season -- appearing in three games and pitching four innings with a 4.50 ERA. The 25 batters he faced hit a combined .353 against him, but Franklin usually improves as the season progresses.

UPDATE: Reached Monday night through a text message, Franklin wrote that he would not retire and has an offer to sign with an Atlantic League club. Revs radio broadcaster Darrell Henry was the first to report Franklin signed with Camden.

The Revs also released infielders George Sandel and Rayner Bautista, two men caught in the Revs overstocked middle infield. Capable of playing second, short and third -- Sandel and Bautista just did not earn enough time in the opening games this season to solidify a roster spot.

York pitching coach Tippy Martinez didn't try to avoid the topic. He's concerned about his bullpen, so much so that he plans to sit down with his relievers after watching York implode in a 14-4 loss to the Lancaster Barnstormers.

He needs to know what his pitchers are thinking, because they have struggled. York relievers entered Saturday's game with a 8.90 ERA, and they allowed eight runs during a two-inning stretch.

"We're all talking about it," Martinez said. "I don't know if it's a case of our guys trying to be too fine or getting away from what works for them.

"We're going to sit down and talk with them about it, find out what's in their heads. We want to just try to get a read on what's happening. We know these guys can do it, they can handle the work. There needs to be more communication before anybody panics."

I sat down with Daily Record/Sunday News reporter Steve Navaroli to talk about the York Revolution's home opener and the first week of the regular season.