Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 21

Sunday, May 28, 1989 Reno Gazette-Journal 3B California League A I sV'" I fWe can play. We've got guys who can hit the ball 1 and catch the ball. We're not your average co-op team. Joe Strong pitcher week. In relief, Joe Strong, who pitched at Reno last season, is 2-0 with four saves and a 3.38 ERA.

"We can play," says Strong who pitched in the Oakland Athletics organization for several seasons. "We've got guys who can hit the ball and catch the ball. We're not your average co-op team." There is one aspect of Reno's operation that seems to be fairly typical of independents. Players come and go in rapid-fire order. So far, Patton has made 14 transactions, starting early in the season when he released pitcher Ranfred Johnson.

Last Sunday, Patton made his latest move, signing tree-agent pitcher Carlos Carrasco. Of the 22 players on the opening-night! Sox roster, 16 are left. Eight new faces have been added, giving the Sox a 24-man roster. The coming and going won't stop. Since they have no major league team giving them orders about personnel, Grba and Patton can wheel and deal as they please.

"Our phone rings all the time with guys who want to play ball," says Grba. But, they aren't stars, at least not yet. If they were, the Sox would be i contending for first place instead of clawing toward .500. If a player becomes a star in Reno, he won't stay with the Sox. 1 "You need guys who aren't going to be satisfied to be here all season, says Patton.

First baseman Milt Harper, who has hit five home runs in little more than a month, might be one of those players. Harper joined the Sox three weeks into season. How long will he stay? "Milt's a marvel in the field," says Grba. "If he gets his bat going, he won't be here long." Grba wants more players like Harper, even if it means Reno's roster will be constantly changing. "There are some kids here who have never gone beyond their comfort zone," says Grba.

"They're satisfied. They've never made themselves uncomfortable by stretching to improve." That frustrates Grba. There are players, such as Nails, who are willing to stretch. Nails was released from the California Angels organization. Grba wants Nails to change the position of his hands at the plate.

Nails, who wants to improve his hitting, seems willing to try. "I didn't really put up good numbers with the Angels," says Nails, who reached the Class AA minor league level before he was released. Nails, Harper and the other Sox are competing. "We've lost seven games by one run," says Patton. "We haven't been blown out." Notebook Trader Jack gets cash, cases of balls for pitcher Wire service and staff reports Reno Silver Sox general manager Jack Patton made an unusual deal when he sold pitcher Tim Fortugno to the Milwaukee Brewers organization recently.

In addition to the $2,500 selling price, Patton will receive a dozen cases of baseballs from the Brewers. "I guess that's pretty unusual," he said. "I know I've never done it before, but I wanted a little more than $2,500 for Fortugno. Sometimes it's easier to deal in a product than in cash, so I suggested they throw in a couple of cases of baseballs." The Brewers agreed, and the Silver Sox will play with Milwaukee baseballs for part of the 1989 season. Reno recently swept Bakersf ield in a three-game series at Moana Stadium, giving the younger Patton bragging rights against his father, Bakersfield owner Lowell Patton.

"After the second game, I called him," Jack Patton said. "I told him he'd better call the (Los Angeles) Dodgers and get them to send him some help." What did he say after the third victory? "Nothing," Patton said. "I figured if I called him again, he might disinherit me." Jack Patton worked for his father last year as general manager of the Bakersfield Dodgers. Infielder John Balfanz, who drove in 19 runs in April only to hit a prolonged drought, has regained his RBI stroke. Balfanz batted in 11 runs in five games to lift his total to 31 and put him back among the Cal League leaders.

BAKERSFIELD: The Dodgers are the top hitting team in the league so far this season. They are batting .269 and their nearest rival is Visalia, 23 points behind at .246 Eric Karros and Braulio Castillo are 1-2 in the league In hits. Karros has 60, Castillo 58. Bill Bene, Los Angeles' first pick in last year's free-agent draft, was taken out of the starting rotation after his fifth unsuccessful start, May 7. He didn't pitch in a game again until May 21, when he worked one inning in relief.

He gave up no runs or hits, but walked the bases loaded before getting the third out The Dodgers have added right-hander Albert Bustillos who started 1989 at Vero Beach in the Florida State League where he was 2-4 with a 2.93 ERA, 2-1 after losing his first three starts. In 1988 he was 6-3 with the fourth best ERA (1.46) in the Gulf Coast League, striking out 65 and walking only 12 in 68 innings. He is a cousin of 1988 Bakersfield pitcher Carlos Carrasco, now with Reno. MODESTO: Modesto, with a .221 team batting average, has been struggling for runs all season. It had one of its better offensive days May 17 with 1 1 hits against San Bernardino's Troy Evers.

The A's were shut out anyway, with Evers getting the help of four double plays in the 8-0 win. Center fielder Darren Lewis had his nine-game hitting streak snapped Wednesday against Stockton. He got off to a slow start, batting .243, but has since raised his average to .302, the highest among players who've spent the entire season in Modesto. Left fielder Joe Hillman, known more for his exploits at guard for Bobby Knight's Indiana Hoosiers basketball team, is batting .234. PALM SPRINGS: The Angelsr batting slump continues.

Recent proof of that came Wednesday night as Visalia pitcher Willie Banks threw a no-hitter against the Angels, striking out 11. The Angels were hitting just .221 through their first 43 games. Since May 5, the Angels have hit just .185 with more strikeouts (125) than hits (104). In those 18 games, Palm Springs has averaged 5.7 hits, 3.5 runs and 6.9 strikeouts per game. In their first 25 games, the Angels had hit .247 and averaged 5.2 runs per game.

Not surprisingly, the Angels were 15-10 in their first 25 games but lost 1 1 of their next 18. RIVERSIDE: The second-largest home crowd in the Red Wave's two seasons, 3,427 fans, turned out to see The Famous Chicken perform at Riverside's game against Modesto on May 19 Through games of Wednesday, Red Wave reliever Saul Soltero had yet to yield an earned run in 21 innings. Riverside's 6-5 win over Modesto in 10 innings on Sunday was its fourth victory in as many extra-inning games this season. SAN BERNARDINO: The Spirit is well ahead of the pace it must set to break the league attendance record it set two vears ago. San Bernardino has drawn 61,940 fans in 21 home dates, an average of 2,950 per date.

It must average 2,263 over its final 44 home dates to surpass the total of 161,512 it attracted in 1987, the Spirit's inaugural season The Spirit's Mike Goff became the first California League reliever to reach double figures in saves when he recorded his 10th on May 20. The 23-year-old right-hander got his 11th save in a 5-2 win over San Jose on Wednesday and has been successful in 10 of his last 1 1 save opportunities Pitcher Jody Ryan, who was in his second season with the Spirit, was demoted this week to the Seattle Mariners' other Class A club at Wausau, in the Midwest League. Ryan, a 25-year-old right-hander, was 1-0 with a 4.32 ERA in 16 innings this season. SAN JOSE: For the second time in less than a month, the Giapts have lost one of their key players and top base-stealers because of injury. On April 25, it was ahnrtntnn Andres Santana.

out for the d' Team of unwanted players gets offer they can't refuse By Don CoxGazette-Journal The Reno Silver Sox are struggling lust for the right to be called an average baseball team in the Class A California League. It's not easy for the Silver Sox, who are playing as an independent, without major league affiliation. But, there is at least one good reason for the Sox to keep working. If the Sox reach .500, their general manager, Jack Patton, has promised to cook every player steak and eggs for breakfast. "We're only 10 games below .500," Patton says a few hours before the Sox raise their record to 18-28 with a 4-3 victory against Salinas at Moana Municipal Stadium.

Win 10 in a row and eat steak. Patton, who will be happy to do the cooking, and Sox manager Eli Grba, who Erobably would be delighted to help, now they are in for a tough season. Because their team is independent, the roster is made up, at least in part, of players major league organizations didn't want. Reno lost its player development contract with the San Diego Padres after the 1987 season. This is the second straight season Reno has fielded an independent team.

A player, such as Gary Nails, is released by a big league team. He comes to the Sox for another chance. "He was the last guy to make our team," says Patton. Nails, who starts in right field, is hitting .275. "I think some of these kids don realize they're as good as a lot of kids in this league.

We're close to being there," says Grba, a pitching coach in Reno for several years before Patton hired him to manage. Before this season started, Patton and Grba designed a team based on defense and pitching. Although Moana is supposed to be a hitter's park, they're sticking to that basic baseball foundation. Fans seem to notice. "We're getting better pitching than I thought we'd get," says Clarence Becker, a member of the Washoe Youth Foundation, which operated the team before selling it to Patton and two other partners.

Reno's staff is led by Jorge Candelaria, who was 4-2 with a 4.53 earned run average at the start of this I think some of these kids don't realize they're as good as a lot of kids in this league. We're close to being there. Ell Grba manager 0 (te Craig Sailor Gazette-Journal PITCH MAN: Reno general manager Jack Patton is quick to make a pitch for his Silver Sox baseball team, which has more money, more wins and more fans than last season at this time. i A Craig Sailor Gazette-Journal manager Eli Grba works with pitcher Bob B8, Milt Harper, 1b, signed as free agent. B9, Joe Kmak, signed as free agent.

10, Jeff Whitney, signed as free agent. fl 11, Chris Martin, if, signed as free agent. 12, Steve Meredith, if, signed as free agent. 13, Brian Sullivan, signed as free agent. 14, Carlos Carrasco, signed as free agent.

We've got $600,000 invested in this franchise. It's a business. It's not a hobby, not to me it's not. Jerry Lelderowner Leider. "I damn near jumped out of my sox when our shortstop hit a home run." Leider, Cohen and Sheldon leave day-to-day baseball operations to Patton, 31, who spent four years as assistant general manager in Bakersfield.

Patton's father, Lowell, owns the Bakersfield franchise. Cohen's legal clients used to include Lowell Patton and Michael Viner, a producer at ITC. That's how Jack Patton got together with Hollywood to buy the Sox. "Jack Patton called and said there was this opportunity. I had to locate investors.

I introduced Leider to Jack Patton and that's how we did it," says Cohen, who declines to reveal franchise percentages owned by each partner. No matter who owns what, it's up to Jack Patton to make the Sox work in Reno. He's got to make the team competitive. He's got to put people in seats. He's got to follow through on stadium improvements.

In exchange for upgrading the stadium, the city of Reno, which owns Moana, is granting Patton rent-free use of the ballpark for five years. That's a key to the deal keeping the Sox in Reno under new ownership. "Everything goes back to the Washoe Youth Foundation if we don't make the improvements," says Patton, whose group paid the foundation $200,000 for the Sox. So far, the arrangement between Patton and the foundation seems to be working. New lights raised Moana's visual rating for night baseball to Class AAA level.

The new seats raised Moana's seating capacity to approximately 3,500. More than 2,500 fans watched Reno's season opener in April. "Jack is doing a good job. We still have the responsibility for seeing the team stays here," says Clarence Becker, a STUDENT AND TEACHER: Silver Sox Ayrault of Reno. Revolving door Reno Silver Sox transactions since the start of this season: 1, Ranfred Johnson, pitcher, released.

Q2, Brian Palma, catcher, released. a 3, Claudio Carrasco, 2b, sold to the California Angels. B4, Mike Anderson, reassigned by the New York Mets. 0 5, Tim Fortugno, sold to the Milwaukee Brewers. 6, Doug Carpenter, of, retired.

B7, Rubio Malone, signed as free agent. Changing Sox From page 1B There is no major league team supplying the Sox with players. To establish that pipeline, which is vital to the survival of most minor league teams, Patton must sign a player development contract with a big league organization. "There aren't many out there to get," says Patton, who insists he is committed to keeping the Sox in Reno. "Once you lose one, they are tough to get back." The Washoe Youth Foundation, the nonprofit corporation that operated Reno's Cal League franchise during most of its history, lost its contract with the San Diego Padres after the 1987 season.

The foundation kept the team in Reno as an independent in 1988, then sold the Sox to Patton and two principal partners, motion picture executive Jerry Leider and Los Angeles attorney Robert Cohen. Like Patton, Leider, chairman of ITC Entertainment Group in Los Angeles, and Cohen say the Sox will stay in Reno. There is, however, a fundamental change. Patton, Leider and Cohen aren't a non-profit group. They will run the Sox as a business.

"We are profit oriented. We've got $600,000 invested in this franchise. It's a business. It's not a hobby, not to me it's not," says Leider, whose movie production credits include "Sophie's Choice" and "On Golden Pond." Says Cohen, "Reno is the most dynamic location in the Cal League. If it's moved, it's because of tremendous failure on our part.

Everybody in Los Angeles just loves Lake Tahoe and Reno." Reno's baseball team, which is playing its 33rd year in the Cal League, has deep roots at Moana. But this season, the Sox have developed a connection with Hollywood and celebrities. Along with Leider, Cohen and Patton, team owners include 20 limited partners. Among them novelist Sidney Sheldon. Leider's baseball team in Reno, apparently, gives Hollywood moviemakers something new to talk about.

"It's terrific dinner and lunch conversation," says Leider, who watched the Sox open their season in Reno and sees the team when it plays in Southern California. Reno's Cal League road trips include stops in Riverside, San Bernardino, Palm Springs and Bakersfield, where Leider last saw the Sox. "It's kind of easy for us down here. I love just watching the games," says member of the Washoe Youth Foundation's board of directors. "We have at least a two-year commitment.

If he pulls out, we're on the hook (as owners)." Patton doesn't sound like a man ready to leave when he discusses his four-year outline to make the Sox a model franchise in the Cal League. Next year's plans include a new press box and improved concession facilities. i "On big nights, we have a terrible time with lines. We just can't service our fans," says Patton. At this early point, Patton's blueprint doesn't include any designs for making the Sox a Class AAA franchise, big enough to join Las Vegas in the Pacific Coast League.

i "You'd never go AAA unless you had! a new ball park in place. It would have to seat 10,000 to 15,000," says Patton. Moana is Class but Patton thinks the city could be graded AAA. "Reno would be an attractive place. You've got the big airport and lots of hotel rooms.

It's easy to get to. You'd have i a natural rivalry with Las Vegas," says Patton. "Right now, with the park, this is as far as we'll go." If Patton's basic plans work, what wjll baseball in Reno look like four years from now? "This first year, we want to show stability. I think in four years we can be as successful as Bakersfield," says Patton. In 1986, Patton drew crowds in Bakersfield, despite a losing team, with a variety of special promotions.

One night, he gave away one color television per inning to lucky fans. Another night, customers took home free bags of barbecue charcoal. In Reno, Patton will stress similar giveaway promotions. He will reduce the number of "buy out" nights, when local businesses purchase every seat, then giVe the tickets away. "They've always had Friday and Saturday buy outs.

I don't want to have So many free tickets out there," says Patton. Paying customers. That's what Patton wants. Free TV sets might help. A winning team usually is the best draw.

"I have confidence if we put a good product on the field people win come and see us," Patton says. For now, the Sox are staying in Reno. That seems to be enough for Doyle as he sits in his brand new seat, in the front row, behind home plate. I "The seats are real nice, real comfortable," says Doyle. "I'm glad they stayed." I season after sustaining an ankle injury which required surgery.

Just a week ago, center fielder Jamie Cooper, tops in the league with 28 stolen bases in 33 tries, sustained a broken left hand when he was hit by a pitch thrown by Riverside right-hander Kelly Lifgren. Cooper will be lost for an estimated six weeks. Replacing him will be Greg Conner, who hit .282 with nine home runs and 62 RBI for the Giants in 1988. He had played with Shreveport (La.) in the Texas League. STOCKTON: Of the 22 games played at the Ports' Billy Hebert Field, eight have resulted in shutouts, seven by Ports' pitchers.

Stockton's staff already has 10 shutouts, including back-to-back shutouts three times Moraanna "The Kissing Bandit" is appearing at the Ports' June 2 game against Reno, it win oe ner nrsi-ever iiass a VISALIA: Willie Banks, a former No. 1 draft Dick of the Minnesota Twins, was struggling at 1-4 with an earned run average novenng arouna o.uu oerare no took io me mound against Palm Springs Wednesday night. Banks, a hard thrower, broke out of his slump in a big way by spinning Visalia's first-ever nine-inning no-hitter. He struck out 11 Angels and walked tour in tnrowing 114 Ditches. The 19-vear-old's fastball was clocked at 94 mph in the ninth inning.

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