ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, April 9, 1997 TAG: 9704090033
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: JACK BOGACZYK
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
According to Webster, the definition of ``avalanche'' includes the words ``slipping'' or ``suddenly and swiftly sliding down ... ''
So, why does the baseball team in Salem think it has to live up to its nickname?
For a franchise that has had 17 consecutive losing half-seasons in the Carolina League, it makes for some anxious moments - particularly so when it's in front of the home folks and includes the largest crowd in Salem Memorial Stadium history.
It makes you wonder whether club owner Kelvin Bowles also is anxious for the Avalanche's four-year player development contract with the Colorado Rockies to end, which is not scheduled to occur until after the 1998 season.
With Salem taking an 0-4 start into Tuesday night's game, the best thing that can be said is it's early. Baseball is about the long season, and believe me, in these parts we know about long seasons. Since a 40-29 finish in the first half of 1988 - on the heels of Salem's last league championship - the Buccaneers and Avalanche are a combined 122 games below .500 for eight managers.
Bill ``Moose'' McGuire is the latest of those, the former big-league catcher sent here by Colorado for a second consecutive season. His team has no power, and he's still trying to figure out how to piece together a lineup that won't have to bunt twice in a row in the fifth inning with a four-run deficit.
This Avalanche will have to roll with pitching, aggressiveness and situational success. McGuire also knows what number is up.
``The .500,'' he said, ``I heard that number this winter in my sleep. Even in spring training, almost every day, I heard it. And we're going to have to keep hearing it until we get there. I'm not one to panic. I'm not that type of manager, not that type of person.''
Fortunately, McGuire says his 1997 club doesn't remind him of the one here last year that was nine over .500 more than halfway through the first half, then turned truly Avalanche, finishing 14 under for the season. He is reminded instead of his 1995 Asheville, N.C., club that matured and rallied to win the second half title in the South Atlantic League.
``We were 13 below .500 with 10 days left in the first half and finished the half three below,'' McGuire said. ``We finished 13 above .500 for the season. This club has a looseness. Last year here, we were loose, too much so, loose to the point of not caring. These guys won't get frazzled.''
Not only does the roster say this Avalanche should be better than the one that broke apart last season, McGuire does, too. Although Mike Vavrek is the only starting pitcher who was here this past April, McGuire likes this rotation's depth better than the strong group that opened the 1996 season.
The bullpen isn't as experienced as a year ago, but McGuire and pitching coach Bryn Smith see big Lariel Gonzalez as the closer-to-be. Led by can't-miss catching prospect Ben Petrick and third baseman Clint Bryant, the Avalanche has four or five everyday players who should end up at Coors Field, or some other big-league park.
Smith, the 13-year big-leaguer who picked up the first victory in Rockies history in 1993, is a first-year pro coach with a staff to whom he's preaching location, change of speed and more. ``Pitchers have to have imagination, a little arrogance and a lot of confidence,'' Smith says. ``Each one just has to figure out where the happy medium of those is.''
Yes, baseball's bushes are about development. However, the Avalanche should understand that in these parts, what has developed is a complex. Since the Carolina League grew to eight clubs in 1980, Salem has experienced 28 losing halves and six winning ones.
Although it would be a freak of nature for an Avalanche to go uphill, the percentages would seem to be in our favor. For starters, even .500 would be nice.
dG:wq!
LENGTH: Medium: 76 linesby CNB