Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 9, 1993 TAG: 9305090033
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: E5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Well, maybe not delighted, but he didn't heave an equipment bag full of bats through the clubhouse wall when he heard he was being demoted from Class AA Carolina a couple of weeks ago.
"The organization figured it was in my best interest to come back to Salem and I appreciate that," he said.
Something Thomas appreciated even more was getting out of the traffic jam in Carolina, where he batted .132 in 13 games.
"I was platooning with five other guys in the outfield," he said. "I'm used to playing every day and mentally, I was screwing myself up."
The numbers suggested he was struggling, but he denied that.
"I was seeing the ball very well and to me, that's the key to hitting," he said.
Thomas hit well enough at Salem last year, leading the league in slugging percentage (.513) and tying for second in triples (eight). He led the team with 16 home runs and was batting .277 when he was called up to Carolina. He hit .295 with four homers there.
"They wanted me to come back down here [to Salem] to regain whatever it was that caused me to do what I did here last year," he said. "I'm glad I'm here."
Chalk up the feeling as mutual for the Bucs, for whom Thomas has hit .370 with two homers and five RBI in seven games before Friday. It may not be a coincidence that Salem had won six of those, including five in a row.
Said Thomas: "Sometimes it takes somebody new to help get things going for a team."
\ JUSTICE IS SERVED: In just about every clubhouse in the land, kangaroo courts of vigilantes maintain team discipline by administering fines and other sanctions for offenses both on and off the field. The manager is court of last resort.
But not even the grand inquisitor is above the law, as Salem Buccaneers boss Scott Little found out one day last week.
Little, pitching coach Dave Rajsich and roving instructor Rocky Bridges were entertaining guests, one of whom was a 5-year-old girl, in Little's office after a game. The 5-year-old was being charmed by Rajsich and Bridges while sitting between them on the office sofa. Little was watching an NBA playoff game on television.
Just before intermission in the basketball game, Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls took a shot from just south of half-court and nailed it.
"Look at that [naughty word] shot!" Little said, almost immediately covering his mouth in dismay.
"I can't believe that," Rajsich said. "I am going to ring you up."
\ UP IN THE MORNING AND OFF TO SCHOOL: Virginia Tech shortstop Dee Dalton is likely to sign when he is drafted, as expected, in June. "He wants to get on with it," said Doug Dalton, father of the former Timesland player of the year. . . . University of Virginia pitcher Frank Lankford, drafted last year by St. Louis in the 18th round, may have cost himself some money when he decided to return to the university. After leading the team last year in wins, innings pitched and strikeouts, he fizzled this year. Although scouts say they don't pay much attention to statistics, his 7.32 earned run average in 71 innings and a .328 opposing batting average may be taken as a warning. . . . Radford University has received commitments from infielder Kelly Dampeer and catcher Ben Taylor of Northside High. Dampeer, a four-year starter, is the Vikings' all-time hits leader with well over 100. Taylor is considered to have potential as a slugger and behind the plate.
Right-hander Chris Slonaker of James Madison tossed a six-strikeout four-hitter to beat Howard recently. For Slonaker, son of UVa football show host Tom Dulaney, it was his first career shutout and 10th victory. Devin Floyd, a freshman from Independence, hit his first collegiate homer in the same game. . . . While fireballer Billy Wagner has been getting most of the attention at Ferrum this spring, he may not be the only one to be drafted in June. Scouts also like outfielder Jeremy Hill from Nelson County. Hill can hit with power and has an arm that scouts say is well above average. . . . VMI's 4.94 team ERA was the lowest since 1974. . . . Former All-Timesland shortstop David Groseclose of Alleghany was selected to the Southern Conference all-tournament team after hitting .476 (10-for-21) with nine runs and four RBI to help lead VMI to its stirring charge from the No. 8 seed to the final. Third baseman Louie Napoleon, a freshman, also made the team. . . . Proof that Cary Perkins of Emory & Henry and Grundy may be one of the most versatile and talented athletes in Old Dominion Athletic Conference history came when he was voted to the all-conference team in baseball. Perkins has been an outstanding football player and also played for the Wasps' basketball team.
Nelson Metheney, the former Salem High right-hander now hurling for Clinch Valley College, is being mentioned favorably as a possible draft pick. Metheney has struck out 77 in 52 innings and has three shutouts. Posey Oyler, the Roanoke American Legion coach, was accosted recently by a scout, who wanted to know, "Why didn't you tell us about this Metheney kid?" Oyler, the Post 3 South coach, didn't coach Metheney; Billy Wells of Post 3 West did.
\ WHO SCOUTED HIM? Maybe stuff like this is among the reasons the Cleveland Indians haven't been getting much done in the past 30 or so years. They gave up on right-hander Greg McMichael after spring training in 1991. The next thing anybody knows, McMichael is catching on with the pitching-rich Atlanta Braves. And he can't make the Indians? The first thing McMichael did when he found out he'd made the Braves' team this spring, by the way, was to call Roy Clark of Martinsville, the scout who signed him. . . . The 171 pitches that knuckleballer Tim Wakefield of the Pittsburgh Pirates threw in a recent outing against the Atlanta Braves was the most by any major-league pitcher in the 1990s. Wakefield, a former Salem Buccaneer, had 657 pitches in five starts, most in the bigs.
\ THREE BLIND MICE: Kelvin Bowles, the Salem owner, was one of many griping about the umpiring at the Bucs' last homestand. "Every year, [Carolina League president] John Hopkins comes to the winter meetings with a proposal to add a third umpire and every year I lead the fight against it," Bowles said. "Once they start sending some [umpiring] prospects in here, I'll be happy to pay the money for a third umpire. Right now, we already have two bad ones, what do we need a third for?" . . . Mike Williams of Newport and Virginia Tech was 2-0 with a 3.44 ERA in his first three starts for Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. . . . Phil Leftwich of Radford University and Lynchburg is 1-1 with a 5.66 ERA after one good start (six innings, seven hits, one earned run, six strikeouts, one walk) and one mediocre one at Class AAA Vancouver.
by CNB