ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, June 16, 1996 TAG: 9606170015
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-9 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: BASEBALL
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR.
A five-day All-Star break could not have come at a better time for the Salem Avalanche and its closer, Luis Colmenares.
Colmenares, who has only two saves since May 4, surely would like to start the season over. He'll get that chance when the Carolina League's second half begins Friday.
The 19-year-old Venezuelan had registered 10 saves before the season was a month old. On May 20, he led the league with 11 saves, and the Avalanche had worked its way into first place in the Southern Division.
Since then, Colmenares and Salem have gone south. Although Avalanche leads have been scarce in recent weeks, Colmenares hasn't done much when given the chance to protect one.
``Luis has struggled,'' said Bill McGuire, Salem's manager. ``He hasn't been able to get a feel for his curveball. If he can't get his curveball over and he falls behind, everybody in this league should be able to hit a fastball.''
Not many players could hit Colmenares early this season or last year, when his 21 saves for Asheville (N.C.) led the Colorado Rockies' minor-league organization.
In the past four weeks, though, Colmenares is 1-2 and has given up 10 earned runs in 122/3 innings.
``You keep putting him into situations,'' McGuire said. ``He's been used the most in the whole league. He's gotten his work in. His appearances top the league. ... He's here to save games and he's had a really, really tough time.''
AROUND THE LEAGUE: The best players from the Carolina League will meet the California League's stars Tuesday in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., in the first All-Star game between the two leagues. The Carolina League formerly held an intraleague all-star game at venues throughout the league, including the 1992 game at Salem Municipal Field and last year's game in Lynchburg. The idea for a Carolina-California grudge match was floated during the 1995 winter meetings and was approved by owners from both leagues before this season.
Tuesday's game will be played at the Epicenter, the home of the Ranch Cucamonga Quakes. Next season, the leagues' stars will meet at Durham (N.C.) Athletic Park.
The Carolina-California game can be seen live on Home Team Sports at 9 p.m. or heard on WROV (1240 AM) beginning at 8:45 p.m. ...
Durham's Andruw Jones came to bat in the bottom of the eighth inning in a tie game with Wilmington on Monday needing only a single to hit for the cycle. Instead, he hit his second home run of the game to send the Bulls to a 4-3 victory. The center fielder's errorless streak had reached 51 games by week's end. ... Wilmington and Durham could have clinched the first-half championships in their respective divisions on the same night on the same field Tuesday. Three events needed to occur for that to happen (a Durham victory, a Frederick loss and a Winston-Salem loss), but only one did (the Frederick loss). The Blue Rocks wrapped up the Northern Division title with a 15-9 victory over the Bulls, whose magic number to win the Southern stood at two heading into the weekend.
Winston-Salem outfielder Andre King, who was on the Cincinnati Reds' 40-man roster during the winter, is with his fourth organization and third Carolina League team. King was drafted by the Atlanta Braves and has been traded to the Chicago White Sox, St.Louis Cardinals and Reds. He has played in the Carolina League with Durham, Prince William and Winston-Salem. ... Lynchburg's Jimmy Anderson was leading the league with a 1.93 ERA when he was called up this past week by the Class AA Carolina Mudcats.
SNOWBALLS: Left-hander Bobby Seay, who was drafted in the first round by the Chicago White Sox, recently broke the career strikeouts record at Sarasota (Fla.) High School previously held by Avalanche lefty Doug Million. Seay registered 347 strikeouts, Million finished with 343. ... Million gave up two earned runs or fewer in six consecutive starts from May 15 through June 11 (44 innings pitched, 25 hits, 10 runs, 6 earned runs, 25 walks, 45 strikeouts), but a lack of offensive support left him 2-1 with three no-decisions in that span. Million was added to the Carolina League All-Star team Friday as a replacement for Anderson. ... Salem center fielder John Giudice ranks among the league's top five in home runs, doubles and extra-base hits. No other Avalanche player is in the top five in any offensive category. ... Two guys likely to be called up from Asheville soon: right-handers Scott Randall (10-3, 3.03 ERA) and Chandler Martin (8-0, 2.25 ERA). Martin has spent time with Class AA New Haven (Conn.) as an emergency call-up and stayed in the Ravens' rotation for a couple of weeks.
APPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN: The Martinsville Phillies begin the 68-game Appalachian League campaign at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Hooker Field against the Danville Braves. Ramon Henderson returns as manager and Carlos Arroyo will be the pitching coach.
The Philadelphia Phillies have yet to sign their top three draft picks, including first-rounder Adam Eaton. Martinsville could receive as many as six more players after the season begins, most of them right out of high school.
``Most of the kids we have here now seem to be 21 or 22 years old,'' said Troy Potthoff, Martinsville's general manager. ``We had heard all along that this was going to be a young draft. It looks like [the Phillies] used most of their high picks to take younger players and the later rounds to pick college guys.''
The highest-drafted player on Martinsville's roster so far is B.J. Schlicher, a catcher/first baseman from North Montgomery High School Crawfordsville, Ind., who was taken in the seventh round.
LENGTH: Long : 102 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Headshot of Colmenares.by CNB