Everyone knew Spike Owen's stay in the regular lineup wouldn't last too
long. In actual fact, it lasted only 6 days. Spike Owen was obtained as a
late pick for the Montreal Royals in the year's Free Agent Draft. He's a
character guy and a reliable shortstop at age 37, but he doesn't pack much
punch on the field.
In those 5 games, he managed 4 hits in 22 AB. "I didn't exactly measure up
to the team's standards," commented Owen. "I guess I will have to
contribute to the team from the bench."
Pokey Reese, a young shortstop, will offer one of the best defensive games
a shortstop in this league can offer. In 121 games last year, he made only
1 error. Still, his offensive capabilities are questionable. The Royals'
manager, Gary Carter, doesn't expect him to achieve better than his totals
last year: a .219 batting average and 5 home runs.
"We didn't acquire [Reese] for his offensive abilities," said Carter. "If
he can provide the solid defense he did last year, that will be good enough
for us. Any offensive production will be a bonus."
Now that Reese is taking over shortstop and Roberto Alomar is gone, Rafael
Bournigal will be able to return back to the position where he's most
comfortable--second base. While his pivot is a bit rusty, he should be able
to work it back into his system in no time. "I've been working on the
double play with Pokey. We were both a bit rusty because he's only played a
few games so far this year, but I'm real excited to be back [at second
base]."
Pokey Reese was sent to Montreal in exchange for a sparingly-used reliever,
Nealy Becker. He spent a good part of the 1997 season in the minors, but
managed 50 innings for the team. Nealy was given several chances to improve
his play because of his impressive abilities he showed to scouts in the
minors, his stats were not good. His ERA last year was 5.68 and he recorded
a 1 loss and 4 wins.
