Spokane Splits 4-game Opening Series April 10, 1998
Spokane lost a little momentum today, letting the Washington
Sea Dogs (What the hell is a Sea dog?) win two to split the four
game opening series in at The Captain Morgan Dome.
Said Stephens, "Well, I had a talk with Mark [McGwire]
after the games, and he said that the guys just partied too hard
last night. Celebrating allowing just three runs in two games.
That kind of pitching effort was a first for us. That put a lot
of pressure on our starters today. Sele and Guzman felt the
scrutiny of 409,000 Pirates fans, both in the stands and on
local television station KHQ channel six. These fans expect
a lot from this team. We spent a lot of money to get these
pitchers, and the fans expect them to perform. I talked to
Guzman and Sele this afternoon following the games. They
had some concerns that their starting jobs may be in jeopardy.
Its no secret that we have a few pitchers lying around that can
start. I just let them know, the pitching roles are set for the first
weeks, after that they better start to worry. I can understand
that after the show Cone and Blackjack put on yesterday, they
might be nervous, but were expecting those guys to do that
every time they pitch, so they better get used to it!"
"The good news is we split the series with Washington, I
think if you lose a series to those guys you get kicked out of
the league, right?"
"Besides were not taking these games too seriously, more
than half our team is new. They're still getting used to playing
together. Not to mention that they are still in awe of being in
a city as wondrous as Spokane."
"Now that we're done with the exhibition team, let the real
season begin!"
When we asked if there was anything positive he could say
about his opponents of the last two days, Jeremey replied, "They
DEFINITELY played better today with those corked bats."
