Valley Would Be Major Player With These Guys

Expansion is always on the major league horizon.

We have the perfect fit for when the next call comes, a team of Valley-Ventura County players ready to play not only for the big bucks, but for area pride.

It would fit right into the four-team American League West, a division crying not only for another team, but also for one with a little chutzpah.

At first glance, the lineup doesn’t exactly resemble the Bronx Bombers. But closer inspection indicates this team would battle not only for an AL West title, but could be a few breaks short of the October Classic.

The team is young, talented but not flashy, and the payroll of $42.69 million would rank 23rd among the 30 major league clubs, so maybe we’ll be able to keep them around for a while.

Every player has roots in the region, so we’d hope to start with a strong season ticket base.

With more than 150 area players in professional baseball, some tough decisions had to be made. Some were based on talent, others on chemistry.

Pitching is a key at any level, so that’s where we started.

Veteran right-hander Kevin Appier, 32, of Antelope Valley and the Oakland Athletics leads a tender starting staff with an average age of 25.6 years old.

Following Appier in the rotation will be left-hander Jim Parque of Crescenta Valley High and the Chicago White Sox, left-hander Randy Wolf of El Camino Real High, Pepperdine and the Philadelphia Phillies, right-hander Russ Ortiz of Montclair Prep and the San Francisco Giants and left-hander Barry Zito of Pierce College and the Oakland Athletics.

The rotation entered the week with a combined 48-37 record. The division-leading Seattle Mariners’ starters were 53-37. The Angels’ top five were 25-27.

With two Cy Young Awards, eteran Bret Saberhagen of Cleveland High and the Boston Red Sox will lend experience to our youngsters and some quality innings as a long reliever, if he is healthy.

Right-hander Jeff Suppan of Crespi High and the Kansas City Royals will serve as the other long man, and Mike Magnante of Burroughs High and the Athletics will be used as a situational left-hander.

Rod Beck of Grant High and the Boston Red Sox has 260 saves in his career, but none since 1999.

His experience and savvy make him a great set-up guy for Mike Fetters of Pepperdine and the Dodgers, who showed this summer he can be an adequate closer.

Although we haven’t found a suitable role for him yet, we’re carrying talented 20-year-old right-hander Jon Garland of Kennedy High and the Chicago White Sox. We just know it would be silly to trade him (see Chicago Cubs, 1998).

Our 11 pitchers entered the week with a combined earned-run average of 4.54, which would rank behind only the Red Sox (4.15) and Cleveland Indians (4.42) in the American League. That’s a good foundation.

Next, we set out to build a lineup of solid hitters and fielders.

You won’t find any 50-home run guys or defensive wizards who will appear nightly on the highlight reels.

But the routine plays will be made. Our club has a fielding percentage of .984, which would rank fourth in the league, and only two teams have committed fewer errors.

And we challenge opponents to find someone in our lineup they think they can pitch around in a jam.

There are four right-handed hitters, four left-handed and one switch hitter, every one capable of hurting you.

The 14 position players have a combined .283 average, which would be tied with the New York Yankees for fifth in the AL, and their 169 home runs would rank seventh.

With no natural leadoff hitter, we go with second baseman Adam Kennedy of Cal State Northridge and a rookie of the year candidate for the Angels. He’s stolen 22 bases and we like his attitude.

Steady shortstop Mark Loretta of the Milwaukee Brewers is a perfect hit-and-run guy and is willing to take a few pitches or bunt if we need it, making him a great No. 2 hitter. The table is set.

All-Star third baseman Jeff Cirillo of Providence High and the Colorado Rockies is our best hitter, so he’ll hit third.

Forget that he’s played in the thin air of Denver. He’s a .310 hitter in his career, walks more than he strikes out and has driven in more than 100 runs this season.

The cleanup job goes to center fielder Garret Anderson of Kennedy High and the Angels.

Always a solid hitter for average, he proved this season that he can hit the long ball and will finish with 30-plus homers and about 100 RBIs. His left-handed bat fits nicely behind the right-handed Cirillo.

People keep counting out first baseman Todd Zeile of Hart High and the New York Mets, but at the end of every season, the 12-year veteran always ends up with about 20 home runs, 90 RBIs and a .270 average. It’s almost a given. He bats fifth.

Not many teams can boast a 30-home run, 100-RBI man in the six hole, but that’s what we’ll have with designated hitter Brad Fullmer of Montclair Prep and the Toronto Blue Jays.

With no defensive responsibilities in the American League, Fullmer has shown what he can do when he focuses on offense. He’s had an all-star-caliber season.

Switch-hitting left fielder Dmitri Young of Rio Mesa High and the Cincinnati Reds is a .295 hitter in his career and is on pace this season to set career highs in home runs and RBIs. We’ll match him against any of those banjo-hitting No. 7 hitters the other clubs have.

Hitting eighth will be All-Star catcher Mike Lieberthal of Westlake High and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Earlier this summer, he was voted best defensive catcher in the National League, so go ahead and try to run on us.

He’s no easy out at the plate, either. In 1999, he had 31 home runs and 96 RBIs.

We need a No. 9 hitter who can run. We can’t have the bases clogged for the top of the order.

We choose right fielder Gabe Kapler of Taft High, Moorpark College and the Texas Rangers.

He has eight stolen bases, good on a club that would rank 12th with only 58. We also like the idea of our No. 9 hitter having one of the majors’ longest hitting streaks this season.

During the course of a 162-game season, there will be injuries, so the bench is important.

We chose catcher Gregg Zaun of St. Francis High and the Royals to back up Lieberthal. Zaun can also play the outfield, and he’s won a World Series ring while backing up Charles Johnson with the Florida Marlins. A perfect role guy.

Our utility infielders are Matt Franco of Westlake High and the Mets and Steve Sisco of Thousand Oaks High and the Atlanta Braves.

A clutch pinch-hitter with six years of experience, Franco has played six positions, including pitcher.

Sisco, a 30-year-old rookie, also is versatile, and his first major league hit was a home run. That got our scouts’ attention.

Our extra outfielders are Damon Buford of Birmingham High and the Chicago Cubs and Jacob Cruz of Channel Islands High and the Cleveland Indians.

Buford has played for five teams in eight seasons, mostly as a reserve. As a regular this season, he entered the week with 15 home runs. It’s nice to have some pop off the bench.

Cruz, once the prize prospect in the Giants organization, has battled injuries recently and his stock has dropped. It would be nice to have him on our side when everyone finds out what he can really do for a full season.

If it doesn’t pan out, outfielder Joe Borchard of Camarillo High and the White Sox’s first-round pick in June might be ready by next July.

Until then, we’ll leave him in the minors, along with about 125 other players from the region.

Manager Larry Dierker of Taft High and the Houston Astros is a good start in the dugout.

He led the Astros to National League Central Division titles his first three seasons. This season, Dierker’s fourth, we won’t discuss.

Jeff Pentland, formerly of Grant High, will be the hitting instructor and first-base coach. As a coach the last four seasons with the Chicago Cubs, Sammy Sosa has looked to Pentland for instruction. That’s good enough for us.

TV analyst Kevin Kennedy is the third base coach. Formerly of Taft High, Kennedy has managed the Texas Rangers and Red Sox.

The bullpen coach will be Mike Borzello of Taft High. He’s been in the New York Yankee bullpen for three world championships. That’s good enough for us.

Jim Benedict, formerly of Chatsworth High and Valley College, served briefly as the pitching coach for the Montreal Expos and is a pitching coordinator for the Dodgers. He’s our pitching guru.

Rick Dempsey, a Dodger assistant who went to Crespi High and had a long career as a major-league catcher, is our bench coach.

We believe we’ve put together the best regional team this side of San Pedro de Macoris.

Now, if we could only negotiate a deal for a new stadium.