Sea Dogs Escape Binghamton, Beats Richmond June 19, 1999
(AP) WASHINGTON, D. C.--Perhaps designated hitter Harold Baines put
yesterday's game into perspective with just one comment.
"We're just glad to be the hell out of Binghamton."
That was the general sentiment in the Washington clubhouse yesterday, for
even as the Sea Dogs managed enough emotion to beat Richmond 4-3 in extra
innings, they were just glad to be home.
"It was basically a war zone there," shortstop Barry Larkin said. "I was
just glad to see my wife and kids again."
The Sea Dogs, who were forced to play in the final game at Binghamton,
were visibly shaken on the field, but somehow managed to not commit an
error. Furthermore, they won the game, 5-1, behind a strong pitching
performance by Alex Fernandez.
"I just thought that it would have taken a pretty good shot to nail me,"
Fernandez said. "The fact that Mike (MacFarlane, his catcher) wasn't
shaken behind the plate gave me a lot of confidence."
Manager Aaron Weiner said that the Binghamton players looked flat in the
third game.
"Well, put it this way," Weiner said. "I can't prove it, but I think they
were as shaken as we were. I'm not sure any of them have been that close
to violence before, and it showed on the field."
The Washington owner was absolutely furious that the game had to be
played.
"The league turned down our forfeit appeal and our forfeit request,"
Weiner said. "We didn't want to take the field for the second game."
Perhaps the largest difference between the third game and the melee that
ensued in Binghamton after the second game of the series was that when
Larry Walker hit his 22nd homer of the year, the Binghamton crowd didn't
throw it back.
"That surprised me more than anyone," Walker said. "I figured they'd
tossed worse stuff at us before."
Indeed, the crowd seemed almost repentant for their violence. They
even gave a standing ovation for the starting lineup of the Sea Dogs.
"It was a nice thing to do," right fielder Ernie Young said. "But it
doesn't erase what they did. It's like bombing somebody and then saying
you're sorry to them."
Washington had a day off after the Binghamton debacle, but Weiner had the
team go through a light workout anyway.
"After going through something like that, you want to keep yourself
focused on the job at hand," Weiner said. "But more importantly, this
event brought us closer as a team, and we have to stay close."
The only circumstances that could bring Washington back to Binghamton
would be if they faced them in the playoffs. Washington is pushing for a
neutral site for all the games should this happen.
"We're hoping that the league office will at least grant THAT request,"
Weiner said. "There's no way we're going to be terrorized like that
again, or even have the thought of it."
The game against Richmond was relatively uneventful. Tim Belcher pitched
his second quality start in two tries, and Nigel Fernandez pitched four
shutout innings for the win. It was Fernandez's longest outing since last
year's League Championship Series.
"I just kept getting the hitters off-balance," Fernandez said. "That was
all it took."
Washington also got homers from Barry Larkin and Chris James, their tenth
and seventh respectively, and two hits from Robin Ventura, who continues
to try and keep a spot in the everyday lineup.
"I feel like I'm fighting for my job now," Ventura said. "I know I
haven't been any kind of a help to this ballclub, and it bothers me."
The win pushes Washington to 47-19, still the best record in the PVBL.
Notes and Quotes:
"We played Paul Simon's Silent Night before the third Binghamton game.
Just to put things into perspective."
-Captain Chuck Knoblauch
"How many hitters does one team need? Does it make any sense to go
16-deep?"
-Garrett Anderson
* * *
All reports so far suggest that Washington's new acquisition, Garrett
Anderson, isn't going to be too happy in a Washington uniform. What does
Sea Dogs GM Aaron Weiner have to say about that?
"Tough noogies," Weiner said. "We need Garrett to help us win ballgames,
and we're just hoping that he shapes up and flies right."
Anderson complained initially about being off the West Coast, but has also
refused to buy a residence in Washington despite the fact that he has a
two-year contract.
"We asked him, and he said he'd rather live in an apartment, so fine,"
said the GM. "We offered to help him look, but no dice."
Anderson refused to comment on his status as a Sea Dog, saying only that
he would try his best.
"Listen, I wear the uniform of the team that I'm on," Anderson said. "If
Washington wants to play me, then I wear theirs, too."
Anderson, who has played on Tucson and Anchorage in his career, had
expressed a desire to be traded to a West Coast team. Instead, he is now
on the highest-profile team in the PVBL, and being counted on to perform.
"We've got a lot of good guys on this team," said pitcher Delino Wilson,
"and we'll be more than glad to help break Garret in. We're actually
pretty glad he missed the Binghamton riot."
Anderson was hitting .325 with 3 homers and 17 doubles in Anchorage, but
just 17 RBI. That total is expected to go up dramatically in Washington.
"How much are we counting on Garret to produce?" Weiner said. "We're
batting him #3 in the order in his first game, that's how much. He's
going to be a very important part of our pennant run."
Anderson will replace the platoon of Petrick and Chris James, allowing
both to return to their normal backup positions. But it has been
speculated that James, who has had seven homers in limited action, may see
quite a bit of time in the outfield, perhaps replacing Mickey Kelly.
"Chris has really performed beyond anyone's beliefs except his," Weiner
said. "I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am with his
performance."
* * *
Washington had a deadline deal voided that would have brought them two
draft picks in the amateur draft. Nigel Fernandez was supposed to go to
Anchorage for the #26 and #37 picks in the draft, but the deal was voided
due to lateness.
"We sent it in on time," Weiner said, "we just didn't get it in on league
time."
Instead, Nigel returned to the Sea Dogs in time to pitch in two
consecutive games, lowering his ERA back to 3.89. Nigel is pitching for a
contract this year, which brought speculation that he was on the trading
block.
"I don't mind it," Fernandez said. "I'm just pleased to still be on the
team."
* * *
One thing about the Sea Dogs - they never come up broke. Despite not
having a pick in the amateur draft, Washington was able to pick up three
players from the free-agent wire.
Red Bernard was the largest of the three Washington pickups. The 20-year
old righthander is a solid swingman prospect.
"Bernard uses his pitches very well for his age," Weiner said. "He's got
a nice reportoire, and his control should get a lot better with age. He's
also got the added plus of being able to start games."
The other two pickups were reliever Wayne Gomes and outfield prospect
Gordon Wood.
"Both Gomes and Wood are projectable players; that means, they've got all
kinds of tools, but their skills aren't really well-developed," Weiner
said. "We're especially happy about Wood, however. We think he's one of
the best A-ball right fielders around."
Bernard and Wood were both assigned to short-season A-ball Ocean City.
Gomes was put into AA Annapolis.
