Pilots On Roll In Carolina League -- Four New Players Improve Outlook For Mariners' Peninsula Farm Team
No longer the Carolina League doormat, the Peninsula Pilots began the second half of the season this weekend with new confidence.
"We're thinking we can win games, not hoping the other team will give us games," Peninsula Manager Steve Smith said.
After struggling for two months, the Pilots finished the Class A league's first half with a rush. They won 12 of their last 17 games, capping the surge with a three-game sweep of the Frederick Keys that left the Baltimore farm team with the first half's worst record. Peninsula made it to the halfway point with a 27-43 mark, one game better than Frederick.
Several factors figured in the Pilots' improvement. Outfielder Ron Pezzoni has been swinging a hot bat. Catcher Greg Pirkl has been driving in runs. Right-hander Paul Perkins has continued to win. Jim Converse and Manny Furcal, young pitchers who took their lumps earlier, have improved notably.
The arrival last week of four new players - outfielders Darren Bragg and Lavell Cudjo, shortstop Craig Bryant and second baseman Raul Rodarte - added speed and bolstered the Peninsula defense.
Bragg, 21, a 5-foot-9, 180-pound outfielder from Georgia Tech, was Seattle's 22nd-round pick in this month's amateur draft. After 12 plate appearances for the Pilots, Bragg was batting .375, with three hits and four walks.
"He has a little speed, a good eye," Smith said. "He can run 'em down in center field. So he'll help."
Cudjo, 22, who was taken from the Cincinnati organization in the 1990 minor-league draft, provides more outfield speed.
Smith said his new infielders - Bryant, an 18th-round draft pick out of North Alabama, and Rodarte, a 14th-round selection out of California's Rancho Santiago Community College - already have turned some snappy double plays.
Pezzoni was 8 for 21 last week with two doubles, a home run and six runs batted in. Pirkl improved his Carolina League average to .295 with a big week. He was 7 for 15 with two doubles, a home run and 11 RBI.
Furcal, 21, a 5-9, 170-pound left-hander, closed the first half with a three-hit, 9-0 victory over Frederick. He has a 3-4 record and 3.13 earned-run average.
CANNON SHOTS -- Chuck Jackson, whose 17-game hitting streak (25 of 67, .373) ended Monday in Vancouver, got one of Calgary's biggest hits of the season Friday night. His bases-clearing, seventh-inning double powered the Cannons to a 4-3 victory over Tacoma, ending a team-record 10-game Pacific Coast League losing streak. . . . Jeff Nelson, promoted from Class AA Jacksonville in midweek, retired the final Tacoma batter for his first AAA save. Nelson, 24, is a 6-8, 225-pound right-hander who was switched to the closer role late last season at Peninsula. At Jacksonville, he had a 4-0 record, 12 saves, a 1.27 ERA, 34 strikeouts and nine walks in 28 1/3 innings. . . . First baseman Tino Martinez (.333, 12 homers, 41 RBI) had an eight-hit week, with three doubles and three home runs. . . . Left-hander Shawn Barton (3-3, 3.12 ERA) also was promoted to Calgary from Jacksonville. He replaced Cannon left-hander Dave Richards (0-2, 7.63), who was claimed off the waiver list by the Houston Astros.
AROUND THE FARMS -- Kerry Woodson, highly regarded right-hander who started the season on the disabled list, is expected to join the Jacksonville Suns' pitching staff soon. He has been tuning up at San Bernardino, where he has a 2-0 record and a 1.95 ERA in 27 2/3 innings. . . . Infielder-outfielder Brian Turang was the Suns' hottest hitter last week. He was 10 for 27. -- San Bernardino outfielder Jesus Tavarez raised his batting average to .282 with a 13-for-23 week. He also stole seven bases, increasing his season total to 45 - second in the league to teammate Tow Maynard (56). . . . Spirit right-handers Jim Gutierrez and Jeff Darwin remain on the DL with shoulder strains.