Some Top Prospects Will Put Sunny Side Up
The ingenuity of minor league executives knows no boundaries when it comes to putting fans in the seats.
Should it be any surprise that the idea to put Dodgers who once played for the Jacksonville Suns in their old uniforms today for an intrasquad game came from Sun President Peter Bragan Jr.?
“They were just going to come and divvy up the players for a game,” Bragan said. “I told them, ‘Hey, I’ve got to fill the stands, and the way to do that is to make it a ballgame between the Dodgers and the Suns.’ ”
More than 6,000 tickets have been sold, and Bragan expects a large walk-up crowd at the gleaming, $34-million Baseball Grounds. Folks want a last glimpse of the players who won the Southern League championship last season.
“I’m counting the hours,” said Sandi Anderson, a longtime season-ticket holder. “Those boys were like family, and it’s like they are coming home. That’s the cool thing about it.”
The Suns were named minor league team of the year by Baseball America with a roster of top prospects, including Chad Billingsley, Joel Guzman, Russell Martin, Jonathan Broxton, Andy LaRoche, Justin Orenduff and James Loney.
“It will be great to go back to the stadium,” Broxton said. “I have great memories.”
The presence of Nomar Garciaparra, Bill Mueller and a few other established major leaguers also should help attendance. They will be in Dodger uniforms, facing the former Suns.
“Now we’ve got a ballgame,” Bragan said.
It has been a long time coming.
Bragan said the Dodgers agreed to the game as part of the 2001 agreement with the double-A Suns but never got around to fulfilling the obligation. Logistics have been an issue -- Jacksonville is 220 miles north of Dodgertown in Vero Beach, a long bus ride for big leaguers who already face Grapefruit League trips to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers and other far-flung locales.
The veterans aren’t grousing, though.
“It’s Florida, so you know going in that you’re going to ride buses,” Mueller said. “That’s what I’m here for. If I had a problem with it, I would have signed with a team that trains in Arizona.”
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Dodger anxiety over Odalis Perez’s pitching in the World Baseball Classic was lessened when Dominican Republic team officials decided starting pitchers can remain with their major league teams until one day before their scheduled start.
Perez is scheduled to start March 9 against Italy. Manager Grady Little said Perez probably would make a Grapefruit League start before leaving.
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Garciaparra received a first base tutorial from Eddie Murray, with topics including footwork and stretching properly for errant throws.
Murray, the Dodger batting coach, played first base his entire 21-year major league career.
“I have a lot of questions, and here’s a guy who played all those years and at a high level,” Garciaparra said. “He’s helping me quite a bit.”
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Little was impressed by left-handed reliever Tim Hamulack, who befuddled top prospects Guzman, LaRoche and Matt Kemp. Hamulack was acquired from the New York Mets along with starter Jae Seo in a trade for relievers Duaner Sanchez and Steve Schmoll.
“He changes speeds, has good location and the quality of his stuff was good,” Little said. “Hamulack had that big thunder group glad to see a coach come out to throw batting practice after he was done.”
Little said he would like to have two left-handers in the bullpen -- one in a situational role and one who can throw multiple innings.
