ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, June 7, 1996 TAG: 9606070007
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 SPORTS EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
JOHN ``JUICE'' GIUDICE is a real live wire on and off the field, but he still is trying to harness that energy.
There may be a debate in the major leagues about whether or not the ball is juiced, but there's no question in the Carolina League that John Giudice is.
Giudice, the Salem Avalanche's center fielder, has a flair for the dramatic. At his most spectacular, he has been known to dive on the green-carpeted stage of the outfield to catch sinking line drives, gun down runners with the howitzer that hangs from his right shoulder and launch majestic home runs that even the towering walls of Memorial Stadium cannot contain.
He also has been known to take a bat and splinter it into toothpicks after a disappointing plate appearance, yell at umpires from the outfield, play practical jokes on teammates during games and disrupt bus rides with his constant, high-decibel banter.
``I've always been high-strung,'' Giudice said. ``Always loud. Champ [pitching coach Bill Champion] is always telling me to keep the noise level down when we're on the bus.''
Giudice (pronounced ``joo-DEESE'') speaks loudly and carries a big stick. It is a stick that does the talking for him at the plate. A stick that had launched a team-leading seven homers heading into this weekend's four-game series at Frederick.
His teammates know him as ``Juice,'' a nickname that fits his personality.
``Juice knows two speeds: park and overdrive,'' said former teammate Brian Culp.
Even before games, Giudice has the throttle open. Once, while he and Culp were playing catch in the outfield, Giudice fired a ball from deep center field into the stands along the left-field line. Culp told an observer: ``We're trying to get him to cut out the caffeine.''
Turned out he wasn't joking. Giudice confessed he and his roommates - Culp, Nate Holdren and Scott LaRock - were consuming ``two or three cases'' of DrPRETTY SURE THIS IS CQ, BUT CAN'T FIND IT IN STYLE BOOK OR DICTIONARY, NOR CAN I FIND A BOTTLE OR CAN Pepper per week. Giudice drinks as many as six or seven Dr Peppers a day.
Maybe that's why he plays like he's on a sugar high. The Portland, Conn., native plays baseball with a ferocity and intensity that make him one of Salem's most dynamic players. Sometimes, though, he inadvertently turns that ferociousness on himself.
If you gaze hard enough at the Colorado Rockies' insignia on Giudice's sleeve, you probably can see his emotions there. He rarely disguises his feelings, whether it's after a home run or a strikeout.
``He can be a dominating player,'' said Bill McGuire, the Avalanche's manager. ``He catches everything [in the outfield], he has an above-average major-league arm and he hits with some power. He's got some tools, but if things don't go well, he gets frustrated. I've told him that frustration causes confusion, confusion causes failure. So, you could say frustration causes failure.''
On May 25 in Lynchburg, Giudice was having one of those days. He struck out in three of his first four trips to the plate, nearly got tossed from the game after a confrontation with an umpire and smashed his bat against the dugout wall after his second punchout.
Later, McGuire wrote ``$20'' on the bat, a fee that would be extracted from Giudice should he not be more careful with the equipment.
When he came up in the ninth inning with the bases loaded - or ``juiced'' - Giudice ripped a grand slam as Salem won 10-5. You could say he hit it with a mood swing.
``That day was unbelievable,'' said Giudice, who hit another slam two days later. ``It turned around with one swing of the bat and went from as low as you could go to as high as you could go.''
There's no in between with Giudice.
``Sometimes I can control my emotions. Sometimes I get upset,'' he said. ``Moose [McGuire] tells me not to get upset over nothing. I try to keep on an even keel.''
Giudice might be one of Salem's most intense players, but the intensity comes with a comic edge. He also is one of the team's top practitioners of the practical joke.
When Culp was doing a television interview early in the season, Giudice and catcher Mike Higgins nailed him with the old ``shaving-cream-pie-in-the-face'' gag.
LaRock once took the mound in a relief appearance and held up the game briefly as he emptied his glove of several large rocks Giudice had stuffed into the finger holes.
``Just kidding around,'' Giudice said.
It's a lighter side that belies his desire to make it to the big leagues. Giudice was told he probably never would make the varsity at Eastern Connecticut State University and was relegated to two years on the junior varsity. As a senior, not only was Giudice on the varsity, he helped lead the team to an appearance in the NCAA Division III World Series in 1993.
That's why he'll never give up his big-league dream.
``I never think I'm not going to get there,'' he said. ``For now, though, I'll have a good time while I'm here.''
LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. Avalanche center fielder Johnby CNBGiudice is known for having a flair for the dramatic - and for
having the talent to dominate a game. color.