THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 27, 1995 TAG: 9508270162
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
Norfolk Tides first baseman Omar Garcia sat out the last two games before Saturday, and not just to give Aaron Ledesma or Tracy Sanders a chance to familiarize themselves with the position.
Even though a couple days off for Garcia would seem natural in the wake of the Tides winning the International League's West Division pennant, Garcia's tendency to coast on balls that he hits for outs continues to annoy the Tides' coaching staff.
Garcia, a midseason All-Star still batting .307 despite a three-week slide, particularly upset the Tides and members of the Mets minor league staff in attendance Wednesday. In a 4-2 victory over Rochester, Garcia grounded into an eighth-inning double play, but only because he slowed to a jog a few feet from first base. He appeared to have the play beaten had he run hard.
Garcia hasn't played since then. Tides manager Toby Harrah admitted he was trying to send Garcia a message with the benching, though it was a less drastic move than the one he made Aug. 12.
That was when Harrah, for maximum effect, pulled Garcia from the field with two outs in an inning late in a game at Richmond after he failed to run out a fly ball that ended the previous half-inning.
AWARDS SWEEP? All-star voting has been conducted around the league, and the Tides figure to capture at least two positions and possibly sweep the individual honors for most valuable player, pitcher, rookie and manager of the year.
Butch Huskey is the strong favorite to be named the all-star third baseman as well as most valuable player. Huskey, who has been up with the Mets for more than a week, will probably be surpassed for the RBI-title by Columbus' Don Sparks, who trails by four. But Huskey remains four home runs ahead of Pawtucket's Glenn Murray, 28 to 24, for that crown.
Throw in Huskey's .284 batting average and you have the Tides' first potential league MVP since Tom O'Malley, now a star in Japan, was honored in 1989.
Jason Isringhausen, though he worked only seven innings more than the minimum 80 required for consideration, could be the all-star starting pitcher, most valuable pitcher and rookie of the year after causing a sensation with his 9-1, 1.55 ERA performance in 12 starts.
Harrah, of course, probably will take the top manager award, even though the Tides' talent has been superior to the rest of the league all season. He has maintained a light, player-friendly touch that has won plenty of allies in the clubhouse, not to mention plenty of games.
ROGERS OVER IZZY?: Even if the high-profile Isringhausen claims those honors for capturing the league's attention as he did, it is an ironic possibility that he won't earn the same awards from the Tides.
The Tides' staff, at least, picked reliever Bryan Rogers as its most valuable pitcher in balloting among the players and coaches that was done last week.
Results of the entire voting will be announced when the Tides close the regular season at home next Friday and Saturday.
Rogers is second in the IL in appearances with 52, has eight saves, an 8-2 record, a 2.13 ERA and perhaps a dozen or more games in which he held leads for the closer. Since June 24, he has yielded just four runs in 30 innings.
``Izzy won nine games for us, but he's not here right now,'' pitching coach Bob Apodaca said. ``That's all he won for us. Brian's been here all year, and I think he's due some credit for the work he's done.''
MINORS STUFF: For the first three weeks of August, Omar Garcia's .202 average was the third-worst in the International League. Jay Payton's .189 mark (17 for 90) was the worst. . . . Ironically, Payton put together a 25-game hitting streak at Double-A Binghamton in June that was this season's top streak in the minors at the time. It has been surpassed twice. Nashville's Doug Brady is the new leader with a 30-game streak. . . . Outfielder Fernando Ramsey, who hit .102 in 19 games for the Tides last year and was released, is hitting .306 for Nashville this season. . . . Ex-Tide Joe Roa, the righthander who went to Cleveland last winter in a trade for Jeromy Burnitz, is 15-3 in Buffalo. by CNB