THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, June 5, 1994 TAG: 9406050180
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940605 LENGTH: Medium
``No problem,'' Navarro said. ``As long as I'm playing. I'll play where they want me to play.''
{REST} Navarro has been moved, primarily to centerfield, to lessen the chance of him making an off-balance throw that could re-injure his arm. Throwing from the outfield gives him more opportunity to set up and throw properly. And longer throws can help strengthen his arm.
He had never played the outfield as a pro but so far appears to have quickly picked up the fundamentals, according to manager Bobby Valentine, though Valentine suspects shortstop still could be in Navarro's future.
``This gets him his at-bats, gets his playing under his belt while his arm is rehabilitating,'' Valentine said. ``Once they feel his arm is good and sound, there could be some infield time.''
FARM FRESH YOUTH DAY TICKETS: Twenty free reserved seat tickets are available to all youth league baseball teams for the Tides' game Sunday, June 26 with Pawtucket at 1:15 p.m.
An adult representative of the team may pick up a voucher for 20 tickets beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 11 at the third-base gate of Harbor Park. Vouchers will be distributed as long as the supply of 6,000 lasts.
The vouchers can then be exchanged for tickets at the third-base ticket window, or they can be upgraded to box seats for $1.50 apiece.
Call Mike Dotts at the Tides office, 622-2222, for further information.
OH BOTTALICO: Ricky Bottalico, famous around here for yielding two enormous last-inning rallies to the Tides, hadn't fared particularly well against anybody before he was sent to Double-A Reading on Thursday.
The Phillies' supposed closer of the future had a 9.28 earned-run average thanks to the 12 earned runs the Tides scored in two innings on May 8 and 19. But even without those games factored in, Bottalico would have had a 5.30 ERA for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre,
Down in Class-A Clearwater, Fla., another projected Phillies' bullpen ace, former Old Dominion star Wayne Gomes, is having his troubles, too. Gomes, the No. 4 selection in last year's draft, is starting, and not all that well. He is 3-3 with a 5.97 ERA, with 30 walks, 31 strikeouts and nine wild pitches in 28 2/3 innings.
AROUND THE LEAGUE: Jeff Manto, traded from the Tides to Rochester, arrived with the Red Wings torrid. Manto was 7-for-16 with two doubles, three home runs and 13 RBIs in his first four games. ... Pawtucket's Greg Blosser, the Red Sox' top draft pick in 1989, hit in 17 of 19 games in May and raised his average from .174 to .344. ... Tides shortstop Aaron Ledesma led league shortstops with 11 errors heading into June. ... Syracuse outfielder Shawn Green has bolted to the league batting lead with a .374 average. His 74 hits also leads the league. ... Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's Phil Geisler hit 18 home runs in Double-A last season but was still awaiting his first Triple-A home run. ... Rochester first baseman T.R. Lewis broke a finger last week and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. He was batting .326. by CNB