Posted Sept. 22, 2002
Manager pleased with pitching staff's performance
By Mark McKenna
Herald staff writer
Tri-City Dust Devils manager Ron Gideon has had a few weeks to reflect on the Northwest League season, and the more he thinks about how his team performed the better he feels.
The Dust Devils finished 40-36, second in the East Division behind league champion Boise.
"I think we got as much out of our team as we could," Gideon said from his home in Hallsville, Texas. "Our pitching was solid all year, but we didn't have the bats some of the other teams had and we didn't have the depth we needed.
"We would have loved to give some guys a day off once in a while, but we couldn't. Still, they accepted the challenge and never griped about anything."
The Dust Devils were also stripped of their top draft picks early in the season. Left-hander Jeff Francis, the Colorado Rockies' No. 1 pick (ninth overall) out of the University of British Columbia, pitched in only four games before being elevated to Asheville (N.C.). Ben Crockett, their third-round pick, made just seven appearances before getting the call to Asheville.
"If we would have had those guys, we definitely would have won some more games," Gideon said. "But we're here to teach players and move them on their way, and that's what we concentrated on."
Gideon said he was impressed with nearly all of his pitchers, especially Mike Davies, Isaac Pavlik and Jentry Beckstead.
Davies, a left-hander from Beaverton, Ore., began the season in the bullpen but moved to the rotation after the departure of Crockett. He finished 5-0 with a 2.79 ERA, allowing 55 hits in 6823 innings.
"He was one of our hardest working, most dedicated players," Gideon said.
Gideon called Beckstead and Pavlik his "surprise players."
Beckstead, a right-hander from the Salt Lake City area, was 1-3 with a 1.21 ERA and a league-high 19 saves in 21 opportunities.
"I first saw Beckstead in extended (spring training), and I had my doubts whether he would be a good closer," Gideon said. "He had control problems at times, and he did during the season, too. He always found a way to get out of a jam."
Pavlik was another one Gideon wasn't enamored by at first sight. The left-hander, who stands only 5-foot-7, had a 93 mph fastball but struggled finding the strike zone.
"The first couple of games he pitched, he was all over the place," Gideon said. "But he settled down and had a great season."
Pavlik, a native of Rutherford, N.J., finished the year 5-3 with a 1.13 ERA.
A pair of low-budget pitchers - Jason Dooley and Peter Dunkle - also caught Gideon's eye. Dooley was selected in the 42nd round out of Bethune-Cookman College, and Dunkle was signed as a non-drafted free agent from the University of San Francisco.
Both, however, made major contributions. Dooley was 3-3 with a 3.59 ERA, and Dunkle was 4-2 with a 2.91 ERA, allowing only 22 hits in 4313 innings. Gideon said Marcel Lachemann, the former Florida Marlins manager who now serves as a special assistant to the Rockies, was impressed with Dunkle.
"It just goes to show you that there are good prospects like Dunkle who sneak through the cracks every year," Gideon said.
Dunkle was so impressive that he earned an invitation to instructional league this fall. Davies, Pavlik, Beckstead and right-handers Doug Johnson and Darren Clarke will also attend.
While the Dust Devils pitching flourished, their offense struggled most of the season. They finished with a .224 average for the second straight year.
The most productive offensive player was shortstop Oscar Materano, who led the team with nine home runs and 39 RBI while hitting .259.
Second baseman Walkill Guance, who played his second season in Tri-Cities, was second among Dust Devils regulars with a .266 average.
"Materano put up his numbers, but he wasted a lot of at-bats, too," Gideon said. "He needs to improve on working the count and playing situational baseball. Guance is in the same boat."
Both middle infielders will attend instructional league, as will catcher Andrew Bushey and outfielders Jeff Salazar (.235, 4 HR, 21 RBI), Ryan Spilborghs (.230, 4 HR, 34 RBI), Sean Barker (223, 1 HR, 23 RBI) and Bernie Gonzalez (.283, 3 HR, 36 RBI).
Gideon said Bushey, a third baseman at Notre Dame, will concentrate mostly on catching, while the outfielders must work on their approach to hitting.
"All four of them need to learn how to use their strengths," Gideon said. "Salazar needs to get rid of that college approach of trying to hit the ball out of the park and hit the ball on the ground to take advantage of his speed.
"Barker is a big kid who needs to learn how to use his power. Gonzalez needs to hit with more discipline and stop chasing breaking balls out of the zone, and Spilborghs needs to learn how to hit to all fields."
One player Gideon was hoping would be invited to instructional ball was utility infielder Doug Bernier, a non-drafted free agent out of Oral Roberts University who hit only .197 but finished with a .380 on-base percentage.
"He has better baseball instincts than any position player we had," Gideon said. "He just needs to get stronger and put on a few pounds, and his numbers should improve drastically."
Gideon said he thinks most of the position players will have better numbers next season, when the majority of them will be assigned to Asheville.
"The Northwest League level is just a place to get your feet wet," he said. "You really can't judge a player until two or three years down the line."
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