Chillicothe Gazette from Chillicothe, Ohio • 11

090 a 3B Chillicothe Gazette Sunday, March 19, 2006 Field "There was an edict that (Frontier League) owners put out this winter that, without singling us out by name, they made it known that the smaller franchises either need to move or to upgrade their facilities," said Hanners, while strolling atop the Field'Turf at VA. "We like it in southern Ohio and we have plans to expand on what we have." In short, the Paints had no plans to go anywhere. But something was missing, making the Paints a little hesitant to make any bigmoney moves. "With the lease we're negotiating, it gives us the opportunity for the Paints to step up," Hanners said. "When people come out here and see this, they'll see the turf first.

But you're also going to see a lot of improvements that I think our area is going to be very surprised at." While the Paints did not foot the bill for the turf that cash came from the 1.25 percent bed tax applied to local hotel rooms the team did dig into its own pockets for the new party deck down the third-base line (a big expense) and the new, expanded dugouts (a bigger expense). Also, the team had to basically rewire the electricity at VA (a pain in the pocket book and in the neck) and it shelled out the cash to patch the roof over the grandstand. It's kind of a complicated thing how all this fits together. Maybe the biggest thing was the edict from the owners to fix the field. While that would have been honored would have had to have been honored, in fact with or without the bed tax, simply shoring up the playing surface would have still left the Paints woefully behind the rest of the Frontier League's facilities.

Plus, it would have cashed out the team's finances- much like the sorry sod did last year and would have put off any other hopes of improving the VA at least another year. So, with the county's help with the turf, the Paints were able to move forward in other directions. "This is the perfect example of the federal government the VA as well as county officials, Congressman (Dave) Hobson (R- Springfield) and private individuals throwing all their differences out and coming together as a unit," Hanners said. "This is what can happen. Without those four entities, a project like this doesn't happen in a community our size." The "this" Hanners was talking about wasn't just the turf, though, again, it's the most visible change to the ballpark.

It's the party deck, the new paint on the clubhouse walls, even the new plastic green sleeve the team plans to put atop the wire fencing around the field a CALL For get HERPES Kevin This view from what will be the infield at VA Memorial Stadium shows the crushed rock base in the foreground, with the high and everything in between. There's a lot of money going into the ballpark north of town this winter, and that's why Hanners singled out the importance of locking up a long-term lease. "The county is securing a lease from the federal government, and they in turn are leasing it to me for 25 years," Hanners said. "It lets us invest privately into something like this when we have the ability to play for a while here." It's a money thing, and it's a comfort thing. Take away the turf and you're still looking at a couple hundred thousand dollars going into the park this year.

Then add the $1 million or so it takes to run a team for a summer player and staff salaries, gas for the bus, hotels, stadium upkeep and everything else- and you're looking at a whopper of a expense for a Piketon dentist and his baseball team. The long-term lease, combined with the county's commitment to come through with the money for the Field'Turf, gave Hanners and the Paints the comfort they needed to dig into their pockets a little deeper. In the end, the whole thing added up in a pretty nice way. "My very first boss told me one time that there's a difference between major league and minor league, but there's a bigger difference between first class and second class," Frontier League Commissioner Bill Lee said. "You might not make the majors, but you can FieldTurf being unrolled in always do things first class.

That's the Chillicothe Paints, and they aren't taking a back seat to any- one." FieldTurf This stuff isn't just pretty. "I actually believe it will draw some players to town," said Paints manager Glenn Wilson. "Mainly infielders. It should cut down their errors. Take a guy like Jose Rodriguez, who hit .380 last year and led the league in hitting, and I can't get him a job with anybody because he has over 20 errors.

Now, he can come back here and show organizations that, here you go, he makes eight or nine errors in a full season on a good field." Field Turf is more than just a good field. "It's designed to play like a prescription grass field," said Jim Knazek, Turf's sales director for the Midwest. "It's engineered to play like the best grass field you can have." Without any of the maintenance. Through the whole process of talking turf and realizing the renovations, the Paints keep coming back to the notion of turning the VA into a true multi-purpose facility. Their commitment to that idea is strong enough that the team decided to build nine anchors for bases into the infield three at 60 feet for Little League, three at 80 for softball, and three at 90 for high school baseball and up.

Ditto anchors for football goal posts and Narron happy lefty getting work The Associated Press KISSIMMEE, Fla. Cincinnati manager Jerry Narron was happy to get left-handed starter David Williams some work. Williams, obtained in a trade with Pittsburgh for Sean Casey, had a rough outing for the second straight start in the Atlanta Braves 10-6 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Williams REDS allowed eight earned runs on 10 Notebook hits in innings. He struck out three but walked three.

"He got some pitches up which hurt him," Narron said. "He made some good pitches too. We didn't execute a rundown on defense and that hurt him. But he threw 75 pitches and he only threw 65 in his last start. We'll continue to stretch him out." One of the few Reds pitchers this spring to pitch in all of his regular turns, allowed three earned runs in innings against Minnesota on Monday.

Williams faced the Braves at a time when they were full strength for the first time. Williams also allowed a first inning home run to Edgar Renteria. Williams has an even 9.00 ERA over innings, losing both his spring decisions. Back home Chipper Jones and Jeff Francour returned after playing with Team USA in the World Baseball Classic and Andruw Jones recently returned from playing with the Netherlands. The trio was 6-for-8 combined with Francoeur 3-for-3 with a home run and five RBI.

Still strong Although Jake Robbins allowed two singles in relief of Williams, which allowed both inherited runners to score, the Reds bullpen pitched innings and allowed two runs on five hits. Narron acknowledged that Robbins, Todd Coffey, Brian Shakelford and Ryan Wagner threw well. But tempered his remarks because they faced the more inexperienced Braves batters in the latter stages of the game. "We need to get some of them out there early in the game against some front line hitters," Narron said. Coffey and Wagner pitched a scoreless inning.

Shakelford has allowed just one run in six innings coming into the game and retired the first four batters he faced before allowing a two-run home run to Jonathan Schuerholz, the son of the Braves general manager. Wise still hot Dewayne Wise, a candidate to win a job on the Reds bench, hit his fifth home among his three hits. He also doubled and is now hitting .394 this spring. "He's making a huge impression," Narron said. "We knew he was a good outfielder and baserunner but he's showing that he's a pretty good hitter." Also hot Encarnacion stayed at the .500 mark with a 2-for-4 day.

Encarnacion doubled for the fifth time on Saturday and drove in two more runs. He leads major league hitters in RBI with 16. He has six home runs good for second behind Ryan Howard of Philadelphia. Perez relishes WBC experience HAVEN, Fla. The used excuses for early exit from the Classic were: The didn't have their best they weren't in mid-sea- son shape.

Even then, winning the tournament would have been tough. Indians first baseman Eduardo Notebook Perez, who played for Puerto Rico, said the baseball globe is much more balanced than people realize. Notebook By TOM AP Sports WINTER most frequently the U.S. team's World Baseball Americans players and WITHERS Writer "It's a reality check," Perez said of the U.S. team's sudden elimination.

"These other countries took it seriously. You have to realize that other countries play the game and that anything can happen in three-game series. It's do, or die." Perez returned Friday after Puerto Rico was knocked out the tournament with a 4-3 loss to Cuba. It was two weeks the 36-year-old Perez, who signed with Cleveland as a free agent in January, will never forget. 1-877-789-3129 Services Adelphia may not be bracket-bursting available in all Digital areas on this right now.

I think we have the ability to get things organized, to help different organizations come out and enjoy their experience here." The future All this money and all this change at the ballpark beg a simple question: What does this mean to the team's plan to build a new park north of Chillicothe on U.S. 23? Fact is, it does nothing to the team's plan. The Paints are still committed to building a new stadium off a major highway, thus putting them more in step with the high-dollar, high-tech stadiums such as the ones just outside St. Louis and the new one in Traverse City, Mich. And, with the team holding a 25-year lease at VA, the idea of having two solid facilities makes the notion of a new park even more enticing.

"The commissioners know this and everyone knows this -I'm not going to be here long term," Hanners said of the VA. "There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. Even with them putting the new turf down, I was up front with them in that we're not going to be here forever. "But, our feasibility studies show that there are a lot of towns that have facilities like this bigger towns, we're small to have this but very few towns that have two. And those same studies show that we can aggressively go after the baseball business, and that's what we plan on Think about it: Two ballparks, both brimming with a huge district baseball tournament maybe similar to the setup for basketball at the Convo in Athens.

Dozens of teams, hundreds of players, scattered around Chillicothe all buying food, buying gas in other words, spending money in Ross County. "I'm excited about that," Hanners said. "I'm excited about all this from the selfish standpoint of the Paints, but I'm equally excited that it helps from Tee Ball to high schools to colleges in all sports, and it helps the community." Baseball on the new surface is about two weeks away. The Paints plan to open VA to high school baseball the first week of April, followed by the annual regional baseball tournament in early May. And, if an early look at the new turf is any indication, whole thing has been worth the wait and worth the money.

"The county made a wise investment," Knazek said. "It's the best you can do." (Gray can be reached at 772-9302 or via e-mail at FOOTBALL coverage TODAY ESPN 119 find From Page 1B FIELD LAYOUT Paints management plans to use the new field for more than just baseball. According to them, VA Memorial will begin hosting high school sports the first week of April and will be equipped for soccer and football, as well. Here's an idea of how the field will lay out for other events: 365ft. 380ft.

390ft. the background. goals, meaning the team, at least, is living up to its plans. "This is heaven-sent for the Paints, but it is also going to make a lot of kids proud to work hard and come out here and play," Hanners said. "The Paints are only going to use this a very small percentage of the time, and when the high schools or the Little League teams come out here to play, it's going to be very nice for them." Hanners hopes to entice new events and tournaments to the facility as soon as possible, beginning with a visit by Ohio High Schools Athletic Association Commissioner Dan Ross later this month, in hopes of luring lacrosse and soccer tournaments to town.

Such is the beauty of having a Field'Turf field. You open the gates for whatever lacrosse tournament, baseball game, bluegrass concert and you forget about the problems that come with grass. Here's the hypothetical question posed to the Paints: Any concerns about, say, opening the field up to 1,000 people and letting them walk around for a few hours, then clearing off the field and playing baseball game? The answer from General Manager Bryan Wickline: "No. None. Absolutely no concern at all." "I'm excited to meet with Dr.

Ross, and I think it's good for our area if we can entice him to play more tournaments out here," Hanners said. "We want to start moving Source: Chillicothe Paints Graphic by Chris WHO'S YOUR TEAM? 230 Turn to ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN Classic throughout the month of March for heart-pounding College Basketball action. You'll also some of the hottest match-ups from the NCAA Women's Tournament. It's your chance to stay on top of your favorite team and keep up with the competition the best in post-season play! more "It was a great experience," he said. "Everyone was playing for their country.

The fans were unbelievable. It was definitely above and beyond a playoff atmosphere." During the tournament, Perez kept a close eye on the Cubans, who advanced to the semifinals. He has roots in Cuba since that's where his father, Tony, the Hall of Fame first baseman from the Cincinnati Reds, is from. "I have two cousins who play in Cuba," he said. "So once they knew who I was, I talked to the Cuban players a lot." Perez said Cuba's team was always surrounded by security, primarily to keep any of its players from defecting.

"There were rumors that they didn't have phones or TVs," Perez said. "But they did." Perez said while talking to the Cuban players he learned how important this tournament was to them. Pen pals Four pitchers. One job. The race for the final spot in Cleveland's bullpen is heating up with two weeks left.

Danny Graves, Steve Karsay, Jason Davis and Andrew Brown are all in the mix to make the roster. On Saturday, Graves, Karsay and Davis all pitched in Cleveland's 6-5 win over the Houston Astros. It was the first time this spring that Graves and Karsay had thrown on consecutive days and both were better than they were on Friday. Both pitched a scoreless inning with Karsay picking up the win. Davis was the most impressive of the group, needing just six pitches to get through the seventh.

Check mates Chess has become one of the Indians' locker room diversions at training camp. Each day, a few players sneak into a back corner of the clubhouse or move into the media dining room for a match. On Saturday, pitchers Andrew Brown and Jeremy Guthrie were locked into a matchup of moves and minds. Travis Hafner and Paul Byrd are two more members of Cleveland's chess club. Hafner has been a little thrown off by some of the board strategies employed by Byrd, whose in his first season with the Indians.

"He's got that grizzled-veteranwith-deep-concentration look." Hafner said. "His hair is all messed up, a little intimidating." and ESPI Classic 2 Adelphia GET. WATCH. DO. WHAT YOU WANT.

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