Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • 65

Austin American-Statesman Sports: Minor-League Baseball Wednesday, July 11, 2001 C5 End may be near Texas League by the numbers Double-A leagues might soon disappear 5 All-Star deal between Enjoy it while you can. The Double-A Ail-Star Game, offering an up-close preview of the not-so-distant future of the major leagues, is a rare and special treat for baseball fans. But by the time tonight's festivities at Dell Diamond conclude, the annual Double-A extravaganza may well be history. League meetings today will determine the future of the Double-A All-Star Game, and all preliminary signs point to its early retirement. Next year's contest is already scheduled for Norwich, home of the New York Yankees' Eastern League affiliate.

But the three Double-A leagues will probably go their own way with all-star exhibitions in the 2003 season. The dozen-year run of the Double-A All-Star Game has been exciting and star-studded, but the logistics of trying to unify the far-flung franchises located has frequently made the event more trouble than it was worth. The advent of the Futures Game and its attendant publicity as part of Major League All-Star activities has radically undercut the Double-A event's media appeal, as well as limiting the participation of some players. The Double-A All-Star Game set an attendance record last year, drawing more than 14,000 fans at Bowie, Md. It will hit five figures again tonight, as a capacity crowd of 11,000 or so fills up Dell Diamond.

But the problem with the game, which only drew an average of 7,000 fans before the turn of the century, has more to do with individual league preferences than attendance numbers. The three Double-A components of the minors the Eastern, Michael Point Commentary Southern and Texas Leagues have a baseball bond but little else in common. The contrasts in styles and presentations of the game create a culture clash as pronounced as the difference in the Opening Day chill in New Haven, and the sizzling summer heat of Midland. Each league prefers to play its own all-star game and all are committed to doing so in the future. The Texas League's adventurous but erratic all-star series with the Mexican League, one that prevented the necessary travel days around the Double-A game, will most likely be either scrapped or radically reconfigured.

By the time the summer of 2003 arrives, each of the Double-A leagues will likely have retreated back into its own personalized world. Much of the attraction of the Double-A game is getting to see how the star players from each league match up with their counterparts. The talent levels of the leagues, predicated almost totally on the ever-changing organizational strength of the affiliates' parent clubs, is open to debate. Attendance, however, is an easily quantifiable comparison. Through the end of May the 12 teams of the Eastern League averaged 3,895 fans per game.

The eight teams of the Texas League were close behind at 3,831 and the 10-team Southern League was averaging 3,325. Round Rock obliterated the all-time Double-A attendance record last year and is on track in 2001 to to its unprecedented total. But attendance figures, especially in the Texas League, display a wide First things first Above: Round Rock Express Royce Huffman gets back to first base safely as Midland Rockhounds' Todd Mensik tries to put the tag on him during sixth inning action that saw the Express trail the Rockhounds 5-2. Below: Round Rock Express' first baseman Charley Cartert picks off Midland Rockhounds' Brian Luderer at first base during sixth inning action that saw the Express trail the Rockhounds 5-2. Standings Western Division i gb San Antonio (Mariners) 12 8 .600 x-Round Rock (Astros) 10 10 .500 2 Midland (Athletics) 8 12 .400 4 El Paso (Diamondbacks) 5 15 .250 7 Eastern Division pet gb Wichita (Royals) 17 3 .850 Tulsa (Rangers) 14 6.

.700 3 x-Arkansas (Angels) 9 11 .450 8 Shreveport (Giants) 5 15 .250 12 x-won first-half title Monday's games Round Rock 9, Midland 5 Wichita 7, Shreveport 6 Arkansas 12. Tulsa 11 San Antonio 4, El Paso 3, 15 innings Tuesday's games Midland 6, Round Rock 5 Shreveport 6, Wichita 4 Tulsa 4, Arkansas 0 San Antonio 2, El Paso 0 Today's game All-star game, 7:05 p.m., Dell Diamond Thursday's games San Antonio at Round Rock, 7:05 p.m. Arkansas at Shreveport, 7 p.m. Midland at El Paso, 7 p.m. Wichita at Tulsa, 7:35 p.m.

Express report Tuesday's box score RockHounds 6, Express MIDLAND ROUND ROCK 1 1 Pecci ss Lockwood rf Salazar 3b Landry If Ludwick cf Mensik lb Luderer Madonna dh German 2b Totals 1 Bruntlett ss 2 0 1 1 1 0 1 Matranga 2b 0 Lane If 1 Bumsdh 12 3 Carter lb OOO Logan cf 10 0 Huffman 3b 0 10 Altarorf OOO Fathereec 6 6 Total Midland Round Rock 301 010 010 6 1 010 OOl 012 13 Landry. DP: Midland 3, Round Rock 1. LOB: Midland 8, Round Rock 9. 2B: Lockwood, Matranga, Logan. 3B: Ludwick.

HR: Landry, Ludwick, Lane, Carter. SB: Salazar, German, Bruntlett. IP ER BB (O Harang (W, 5-5) Cotton Yates (S, 14) Round Rock Shearn (L, 2 5) Robertson Puffer 2 1 5 1 1 Lira 1V4 WP: Yates, Shearn, Robertson. HBP: bv Shearn (Luderer); by Robertson (German). Umpire: Moser, Payne, Bolick.

Tim 3.15. Attendance: 9,857. On deck DATE OPPONENT TIME Today All-Star Game 7:05 p.m. July 12 San Antonio 7:05 p.m. July 13 San Antonio 7:05 p.m.

July 14 San Antonio 7:05 p.m. July 15 San Antonio 6:35 p.m. Leaders Through Monday, July 9 Batting Player, Team Jason Lane, ROU Lyle Overbay, ELP Dave Matranga, ROU Royce Huffman, ROU Eric Bruntlett, ROU Alfredo Amezaga, ARK Brandon Berger, WIC Brian Dallimore, ELP Robb Quinlan, ARK Jake Weber, SAN Doug Devore, ELP Oscar Salazar, MID Bo Robinson, SAN Craig Kuzmic, SAN AVO AB It HR RBI .349 332 70 116 2B 90 .335 334 46 112 7 55 .323 294 65 95 9 53 .319 320 49 102 4 30 J16 335 64 106 3 31 285 50 89 4 21 .312 269 56 84 23 72 303 323 41 98 4 37 303 317 52 10 57 .295 278 42 82 1 42 .292 288 42 84 13 53 -291 327 59 95 18 81 .290 300 51 87 8 46 .286 297 53 85 10 57 In Double-A faceoff tonight, top prospects will feel right Blunders cost Express asHockounds roi Ralph Barrera photosAmerican-Statesman wake up the fans. Lane's homer, his 29th of the year, broke the Express franchise record set last season by his former USC teammate Morgan Ensberg. Charley Carter hit an even taller shot in the eighth, skying a ball to the top of the left-field lightpole.

But until the final inning, when the Express made it interesting by narrowing the lead to a single run with the tying runner at second, home runs were easier to come by than manufactured runs. Joe Cotton and Tyler Yates, the latter picking up his 14th save, kept the Express at bay, but barely, after Harang was out of the game. Jacques Landry added to his minor league-leading home run total in the third inning, blasting an opposite field shot over the bullpen for his thirty-second bomb of the season. Only Alex Cabrera, currently leading the Japanese League, had more home runs last year, and he finished with 35. Landry, who defeated Lane in the pregame Double-A All-Star Game home run competition, has 50 games remaining to top Cabrera's total.

Meanwhile, the Express was collecting 13 hits to go with a Midland error and three walks. Royce Huffman by himself had half as many hits as the six posted by the RockHounds lineup. Eric Bruntlett, Kevin Burns, Kyle Logan and Carter all had two hits but rarely did they occur in clutch situations. disparity, with a top tier doing very well and the bottom level doing very poorly. hi 2000 the number two and three teams in the Texas league, Tulsa and San Antonio, outdrew the Southern League leader Birmingham, but nine of the 10 Southern League franchises outdrew Arkansas, Midland, Wichita and Shreveport, one half of the Texas League.

All 12 Eastern League teams outdrew Midland, Wichita and Shreveport. The Express success gave the Texas League the top team among the 30 Double-A franchises. Combined with Tulsa and San Antonio, the Round Rock total gave the Texas League three of the top nine Double-A draws. The Southern League, by contrast, placed only Birmingham, number 10, on the list The Texas League, however, also had numbers 27 (Midland), 28 (Wichita) and 29 (Shreveport). Attendance in the minors is always a fluid situation, affected greatly by new affiliations, stadium construction and weather.

And, despite the unbalanced attendance numbers, the Texas League is clearly on a roll. More upgrades, from a new stadium in Midland to a rumored relocation of the Shreveport franchise to far north Dallas, could be on the immediate horizon. At this point the Southern League appears to be the weakest link in the Double-A chain. The older Texas League and the larger Eastern League seem to be steadily advancing while the Southern League is in a sort of stasis. But all are alive, well and offering high quality professional baseball in family settings.

You may contact Michael Point at auspterosaol.com Express' at home despite the fact it comes in the middle of important four-game series with divisional rivals Midland and San Antonio, "I'm really looking forward to the competition and the crowd and all the festivities around the game," Matranga said. The easygoing Lane is equally enthused. "You just try to enjoy it all and having it here should make that easier," he said. Only the fifth member of the Express delegation, Manager Jackie Moore, sounded a cautionary note. "The game is a great event for the players and the fans," he said, "but when Thursday rolls around we'll be right back in the middle of fighting for a second-half divisional title." i Round Rock's All-Star delegation happy to bask in the hometown hoopla By Michael Point American-Statesman Correspondent POUND ROCK It may be the biggest Double-A event of the season but for four members of the NL all-star squad it's just another home game in front of the usual 10,000 or so fans at Dell Diamond.

Outfielder Jason Lane, who participated in Sunday's Futures Game in Seattle, enjoyed the travel but he certainly doesn't mind having the Double-A Star Game on his home turf. "Getting to play in a game like this at home is the best of both worlds," he said. "You get all the excitement of an all-star game and you get it where you're used to playing, so there's no airports or hotels to worry about. You can just concentrate on the game and having a good time." The three-time Texas League player of the week and the logical choice to succeed Express ex Keith Ginter as Texas League Player of the Year has hada spectacular season and he's enjoyed it all. A year ago at this time Lane was in the ingle-A Midwest League, with less than half as many home runs as he has now.

But Lane who leads the league in batting average, hits, RBI and slugging percentage isn't dwelling on his success. "Everything is going so great that I'm not asking how or why," he said. "I'm just trying to have fun and do my best and let things work out however they will." After an unsure start things have worked out very well for second baseman David Matranga. During spring training, the 2000 Express shortstop was worried about playing time. But the move to second base and a season-long hitting groove has seen him challenging for the league batting average lead, while reinforcing his reputation as a defensive ace.

As a result Matranga has rarely been out of the Express lineup. Now he's in the Double-A All-Star Game lineup. "It's a great honor to be selected," he said. "I tried not to think about it when the season started because I had other things to take care of, but knowing it was going to be played at Dell Diamond meant it was always in the back of my mind." For pitcher Travis Smith the game is an honor but it's also yet another high-profile career step backtotheprominenceheenjoyed before being derailed by injury. By Michael Point American-Statesman Correspondent ROUND ROCK Multiple missed scoring opportunities on the basepaths and consistent control problems on the mound, combined with a couple of Midland home runs, doomed the Express to a 6-5 defeat as the visiting RockHounds managed a split of the series.

The loss pushed the Express two games behind San Antonio, which opens a four-game series at Dell Diamond Thursday, in the second-half West division race. After six innings the Express had twice as many hits as the RockHounds but still trailed 5-2, having failed to get a run home in two bases-loaded situations. Express Manager Jackie Moore was disappointed in his team's performance. "We gave them too many baserunners and we couldn't get ours home," he said. "You'll lose every time that happens." The Express was trailing 3-0 before it came to bat as starter Tom Shearn couldn't get command of his pitches in the top of the first and the RockHounds took advantage.

Midland's first three batters, two of whom walked, scored as a result of doubles by Mike Lockwood and Ryan Ludwick. Aaron Harang never looked dominant but only surrendered a single run in five-plus innings. It took a mammoth Jason Lane home run, arguably the longest hit this season at Dell Diamond, to Bohls: Stephens, Continued from CI 1997. The 6-foot-l-inch right-hander can barely smudge glass, much less break it, with a fastball that has no more than an 86-mph giddyup, but he gets people out He pitched much better than his 0-3 record during his recent stint at Triple-A Rochester suggests. Their progress is no small feat, with backgrounds in a country where high school baseball is infrequently played and the Australian Baseball League recently folded due to financial difficulties, giving way to a modest four-team league owned by Aussie native and former big-league catcher Dave Nilsson.

Thomas became the 14th Australian in a major-league box score, although even the most ardent ro-tisserie fan might be hard-pressed to name one besides former Home runs Jacques Landry, MID Jason Lane, ROU Brandon Berger, WIC Ryan Ludwick. MID Oscar Salazar, MID Charley Carter, ROU Todd Mensik. MID Doug Devore, ELP Jeff Guiel, ARK Kevin Mench, TUL RBIs Jason Lane, ROU Oscar Salazar, MID Jacques Landry, MID Ryan Ludwick, MID Brandon Berger, WIC Charley Carter, ROU Craig Kuzmic, SAN Robb Quinlan, ARK Lyle Overbay, ELP Doug Devore, ELP Hits Jason Lane, ROU Lyle Overbay, ELP Eric Bruntlett ROU Royce Huffman, ROU Brian Dallimore, ELP Jeremy Luster, SHR Robb Quinlan, ARK Dave Matranga, ROU Oscar Salazar, MID Ryan Luther, SHR 116 112 106 102 98 98 96 95 95 93 Stolen bases Esteban German, MID 28 Alfredo Amezaga. ARK 24 Willie Bloomquist, SAN 22 Trent Durrington, ARK 22 Corey Wright TUL 21 Jacques Landry, MID 20 Nelson Castro. SHR 18 Elpidio Guzman, ARK 17 Eric Bruntlett ROU 16 Pitching PUyer.Team ERA IP ER BB SO Tim Redding.

ROU Travis Smith, ROU Dave Elder, TUL Mario Ramos, MID Jon Adkins, MID Jeremy Affeldt WIC John Lackey, ARK Corey Thurman, WIC Jeff Heaverlo. SAN Juan Pena, MID Corey Lee, TUL 2.18 902 64 2.91102.0 89 3.00 72.0 64 3.08 93.2 71 3.38101.1 96 3.42 97.1 97 3.46127.1 106 3.57103.1 77 3.64106.1 104 3.90 92.1 101 4.00 92.1 83 4.03 85 4.05111.0113 26 22 25 113 40 33 13 56 28 24 43 78 37 32 28 68 41 38 24 47 43 37 31 90 55 49 29 94 48 41 44 103 54 43 29 105 56 40 28 74 44 41 30 80 45 43 51 127 60 50 31 80 C. Hernandez, ROU Ryan Baerlocher, WIC 8 trademark that batters know they'd better be swinging away. Thomas, a 6-3 right-hander, has walked only 15 in 79 innings and Stephens has a mind-boggling 14 walks in 92 innings with 85 strikeouts. "His slow curve makes his 86-mph fastball look like 96," Thomas said.

Did he say slow? Stephens' manager, Dave Machemer of the Bowie (Md.) Baysox, raves about his ace's control and said, "He throws one curve ball at 57 mph where guys almost swing twice. We just laugh." Both Stephens and Thomas are on the fast track to the majors and have been Americanized. Stephens even has an American girlfriend, a college student from Tampa. "Yeah," Thomas said, "he sold out" You may contact Kirk Bohls at kbohlsstatesman.com Thomas on fast track to the majors Brian K. DiggsAmerican-Statesman 'Getting to play in a game like this at home is the best of both said Round Rock's Jason Lane of tonight's contest.

Brewers catcher Nilsson. Shortstop Craig Shipley emigrated from Australia to play for the University of Alabama and later the Dodgers, Astros and others. While some 60 Australians are now beating the minor-league bushes, journeyman reliever Graeme Lloyd toils in relative obscurity for the Montreal Expos and Adelaide's Luke Prokopec pitches for the Dodgers. Thomas did as well, signing with Los Angeles in 1995, but he was released after an injury and signed by the Twins in 1997. "It was the best thing that ever happened to me," Thomas said Tuesday night.

"The Twins are a much better organization." Thomas and Stephens are similar only in terms of their control, because Thomas' fastball has hit 97 mph on the radar gun. Both are so stingy with walks an Australian Smith, a Texas League all-star in 1997 as a member of the El Paso Diablos, made it to the big leagues in 1998 but hurt his arm in his first appearance. The Texas Tech ex is slowly but surely working his way back, and with 10 wins and the league's best earned run average from an active pitcher, he may well be ready to move onward and upward in the near future. Chris Tremie, chosen to replace the promoted Corky Miller, was a last-minute addition to the NL team. The veteran Tremie doesn't have eye-popping offensive stats but he's' undoubtedly the best catcher in the Texas league.

There is no shortage of enthu-. siasm for the all-star exhibition, 4 4.