JETHAWKS LOOK TO HONE DEFENSE.Byline: Dave Desmond Daily News Staff Writer The Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks are a minor league baseball team in Lancaster, California, USA. They are a Class-A Advanced team in the California League, and are a farm team of the Boston Red Sox. begin their second season in the California League The California League is a minor league baseball league which operates throughout the state of California. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High-A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth Thursday with some old faces, some new faces and a couple of aces. The JetHawks, the Seattle Mariners' Single-A farm team, went 71-69 last year but missed the playoffs despite having the services of some of the Mariners' top talent. Nine players who played with the JetHawks are back but gone is the entire coaching staff. Last year's manager, Dave Brundage, was promoted to Double-A and coaches Juan Eichelberger Juan Tyrone Eichelberger (born October 21, 1953 in St. Louis, Missouri) was a pitcher for the San Diego Padres (1978–82), Cleveland Indians (1983) and Atlanta Braves (1988). He graduated from Balboa High School of San Francisco, California in 1971. and Delwyn Young Delwyn Rudy Young (born June 30, 1982 in Los Angeles, California) is an outfielder in Major League Baseball who plays for the Los Angeles Dodgers. High School Years were not retained. Replacing them are manager Rick Burleson Burleson said defense will be the key to the JetHawks' playoff chances. ``From what I've seen so far, this club will hit and the pitching will be competitive,'' Burleson said. ``The thing will be whether or not we're consistent catching the ball.'' The JetHawks begin the 140-game season with a five-game homestand with the High Desert Mavericks The High Desert Mavericks are a minor league baseball team in Adelanto, California, USA. Their Major League parent club is the Seattle Mariners. They are a "high-A" class team in the California League, and had been a farm team of the Kansas City Royals since 2005 before the switch. (Thursday, Friday and Saturday) and the Stockton Ports (Sunday and Monday). A position by position breakdown: Pitching: The pitching staff could be the JetHawks' backbone. The starting rotation of Kevin Gryboski, Damaso Marte, Aaron Scheffer, Eric Morgan and Jeff Farnsworth should be solid. Farnsworth, the Mariners' second-round draft pick last June, is rehabilitating a sore arm at the team's spring training site in Peoria, Ariz., however, and won't join the team until the second week of the season. Until then, Rob Luce will fill his spot in the rotation. Marte, the only left-handed starter, was on Seattle's 40-man roster. He wowed the Lancaster crowd during Sunday's exhibition game with Seattle when he struck out Ken Griffey Jr. Scheffer and Morgan both are making the transition from the bullpen. Scheffer had 14 saves at Wisconsin last season, while Morgan served as a reliever for the JetHawks. Jim Slaton has indicated that Lancaster will not rely on any one man to serve as a closer, instead rotating the job between several relievers. Hard-throwing right-hander John Thompson, who led the club in saves in '96 with 14, will be joined by Chris Beck, Jason Bond, Denny Bonilla, Rafael Rivera, Allan Westfall, Brian Sweeney and Luce. Catcher: Dusty Wathan batted .260 for Lancaster last season and spent much of this spring playing at higher levels. He rejoined the JetHawks just before breaking camp and will start. Mike Martin, a ninth-round pick by San Diego in '95, will back him up. Thousand Oaks High School Thousand Oaks High School is a high school established in 1962 and located in Thousand Oaks, California. It is a California Distinguished School, and offers curriculum at all levels for Thousand Oaks students. The mascot is the lancer. product David Skeels will serve as the third catcher. Infield: Burleson will start an infield that should look very familiar to JetHawks fans. Five of the six players who figure to see time played with the club last season. James Clifford, who slugged a team-high 20 home runs and drove in 85 runs, will share time with Shawn Buhner, who had an injury-plagued '96, at first base. Both will get time at designated hitter. Second baseman Chris Dean joined the JetHawks at midseason last year and batted .276 with five home runs and 22 RBI RBI abbr. Baseball runs batted in Noun 1. rbi - a run that is the result of the batter's performance; "he had more than 100 rbi last season" run batted in . Shortstop Luis Molina got off to a solid start last year, batting .254 through 37 games. However, his season ended early when he tore an anterior cruciate ligament anterior cruciate ligament n. Abbr. ACL The cruciate ligament of the knee that crosses from the anterior intercondylar area of the tibia to the posterior part of the lateral condyle of the femur. in his knee. Carlos Villalobos batted .292 and drove in 63 runs last season, but his 43 errors at third base were a team high. The only new member of the group will be Joel Ramirez, who will serve as an extra infielder. At Wisconsin last year, he was named to the Midwest League All-Star team. Outfield: There are no familiar faces in the outfield, as all four of the JetHawks who played there last year - Jose Cruz Jr., Shane Monahan, Jesus Marquez and Marcus Sturdivant - have moved up within the organization. Center fielder Joe Mathis will lead off and serve as Lancaster's ignition switch. The quick 22-year-old hit .285 last year at Wisconsin. Starting right fielder Tarrick Brock has been within a step of the major leagues. A third-round selection of the Detroit Tigers in 1991, he advanced to Triple-A Toledo in '95. Brock was acquired by the Mariners last December in the Rule V Draft. Luis Tinoco served as designated hitter in Sunday's exhibition, but when healthy, should factor into the outfield equation. 1997 LANCASTER JETHAWKS ROSTER (as of 3/30/97) Pitchers No. Pitcher B/T B/T Between B/T Boost and Orbit Transfer Propulsion Systems HT. WT. Age '96 Club 40 Chris Beck R/R R/R Rest & Relaxation R/R Remove/Replace R/R Race Replica R/R Rise Over Run (mathematics) R/R Retention/Retirement R/R Repeat/Recur 6-3 203 24 Lancaster 26 Jason Bond L/L L/L Lids & Lashes L/L Land Line 5-11 175 22 Everett 49 Denny Bonilla L/L 6-1 204 23 Wisconsin N/A Jeff Farnsworth R/R 6-2 190 21 Everett 39 Kevin Gryboski R/R 6-5 220 23 Wisconsin 27 Robert Luce S/R S/R Subroutine S/R Storage and Retrieval S/R Sustained Release S/R Send & Receive S/R Sunroof S/R Suspend/Resume S/R Shipping and Receiving S/R Safety/Relief S/R Screen Role (basketball) S/R Shipping Request 6-0 168 22 Everett 48 Damaso MarteL/L 6-0 170 22 Wisconsin 32 Eric Morgan R/R 6-0185 24 Ever./Lanc. 31 Rafael Rivera R/R 5-11 190 21 Everett 44 Aaron Scheffer L/R L/R abbr. left/right 6-2 165 21 Wisconsin 34 Brian Sweeney R/R 5-11 190 22 Lafayette 21 John Thompson R/R 6-2 200 24 Lancaster 42 Allen Westfall R/R 5-11 190 21 College Catchers 11 Mike Martin L/R 6-1 173 24 Clinton 15 David Skeels R/R 6-2 195 23 Everett 33 Dusty Wathan R/R 6-4 215 23 Lancaster Infielders 37 Shawn Buhner R/R 6-2 200 24Lancaster 45 James Clifford L/L 6-2 225 27 Lancaster 4 Chris Dean S/R 5-10 165 23 Wisconsin/Lancaster 22 Luis Molina R/R 6-1 160 23 Lancaster 8 Joel Ramirez R/R 5-10 155 23 Wisconsin 23 Carlos Villalobos R/R 6-0 160 21 Lancaster Outfielders 24 Tarrick Brock L/L 6-3 170 23 Jacksonville 47 Yuni Kim R/R6-2 200 25 Japan 20 Joe Mathis L/R 5-11 180 22 Wisconsin 28 Luis Tinoco R/R 6-2 165 22 Wisconsin Manager: 7 Rick Burleson Pitching coach: 41 Jim Slaton Batting coach: 25 Dana Williams CAPTION(S): 2 Photos, Chart Photo: (1) The JetHawks are expecting speedy leadoff hitter Joe Mathis to jump start the offense. (2) Allan Westfall is one of eight relievers the JetHawks plan on rotating in the role of closer. The others are John Thompson, Chris Beck, Jason Bond, Denny Bonilla, Rafael Rivera, Brian Sweeney and Rob Luce. Pitching is considered a strength this season. Shaun Dyer / Special to the Daily News Chart: 1997 LANCASTER JETWHWKS ROSTER (see text) |
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