The York Revolution wrapped up the spring training exhibition schedule Tuesday afternoon with a 6-4 loss to visiting Camden at Sovereign Bank Stadium. York went 4-1-1 in spring training competition (the Revs tied Somerset, 1-1, on Monday night under the lights).

After the game, Revs’ manager Mark Mason revealed his plans for the starting rotation and bullpen (more on that later). Tyler Graham (1-for-3), Andres Perez (1-for-4), Jason Repko (1-for-2, walk), Salvador Paniagua (1-for-3, RBI) and Johan Limonta (1-for-3, RBI) each had a hit in Tuesday’s game. Perez hit a solo homer to left-center in the ninth inning.

Right-hander Nick Green got the start for the Revs. He went four innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits with five strikeouts and one walk. Here’s what York pitching coach John Halama had to say on Green afterwards:

“I liked exactly what I saw. He gave up ground-ball base hits. He got weak contact. When you get contact there’s nothing he could’ve done differently,” Halama said. “When you start getting frustrated and make a mistake and a ball gets hit into a gap, that’s a different story. But when you’re talking about a jam shot, a seeing-eye base hit, a ball down the line to start the inning and then you mix in some of those other hits.”

Halama said he’s been working with Green, who pitched the last two years with Southern Maryland, on establishing the fastball and the changeup.

“That’s the pitcher he was when he was in Southern Maryland was fastball, changeup,” Halama said. “He told me he needs to pitch inside more to right-handers. The results are there. He’s just got to stick with it. He’s got to be aware and conscious of it. He’ll be very good.”

Right-handers Nick Schumacher, Juan Rincon, Stephen Penney and Julio DePaula each tossed a scoreless inning in relief for York. Right-hander Mike Wuertz allowed two runs on four hits with a strikeout in one inning of relief and lefty Yunior Novoa gave up a run on two hits in one innning of work.

Pitching plans: Mason said Tuesday starters Corey Thurman and Brett Tomko will be followed in the rotation by lefty Chris Cody, Green and lefty Kris Regas. Right-hander Matt Fox will “piggyback” on Regas when Regas starts, Mason said.

Mason said Rincon will be York’s closer “to start the year.”

“He (Rincon) has the most experience of the guys I have,” Mason said. “Here’s the plan going in, he’s throwing the ball better and better every time out. He’s a professional. He knows what he’s doing. There’s a lot of guys who threw the ball well out of the bullpen. (Julio) DePaula is throwing the ball well. Penney is throwing the ball well. Novoa is throwing it well. Wuertz has gotten better. Josh Judy has been really good, too. It could be Rincon, it could be Judy. But for right now it’s Rincon.”

Not including Pedro Liriano, who is still not with the team because of visa issues, York’s roster currently sits at 28 players. It has to be paired down to 27 by Opening Night. Mason said he’ll make a decision on the roster Wednesday.

“There’s just a couple things I gotta check on. Position-player wise we’re going with what we have, 12 guys,” Mason said. “Pitching-wise it’ll probably be 14 guys.”

Opening Night: To get ready for Opening Night, click here to read a full-length feature previewing York’s upcoming season and some key points to watch out for.

Quote of the day: “I would win, even with a bad back.” – From former Revs’ skipper Andy Etchebarren, now retired, chatting in the pressbox Tuesday when jokingly pitched a promotion idea that would have him mud wrestling Lancaster manager Butch Hobson.

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Erin James, the York Dispatch City Hall reporter, wrote a good feature in Friday’s paper on all the new upgrades and amenities made at Sovereign Bank Stadium for the upcoming season. Click here to read the story.

The York Revolution were back home Friday morning for an 11 a.m. practice. Thanks to overnight rain, however, the tarp stayed on the field. As a result, pitchers scheduled to toss practice sessions had to do so in the indoor cages at Sovereign Bank Stadium — Chris Cody, Corey Thurman and Kris Regas pitched.

Some hitters took batting practice in the cages afterwards.

A day before, the Revs improved to 2-0 in spring training with a 7-4 victory at Somerset. Starting pitchers Nick Green, Matt Fox and relievers Josh Judy, Joe Testa, Wade Korpi and Julio DePaula pitched in Thursday’s exhibition (not in that order).

Here is what Green, who comes to York after pitching for Southern Maryland the last two seasons, had to say on the outing:

“Well, for one it’s just nice for me to put on the blue and yellow and be part of the Revolution,” he said. “It was good. I was establishing things I wanted to get done.”

Green spent this past off-season playing winter ball in Venezuela with the Lara Cardinals, where he was teammates with former Revs’ players Joe Thurston and Ryan Feierabend. In three starts and one relief appearance for Lara, Green was 0-1 with a 7.43 ERA.

“I got back from winter ball in late January and I took the rest of January off into mid-February and after that I started throwing again,” he said.

Prior to arriving in York, Green spent about the last month playing for the Long Island Sound, a team comprised of current and former Atlantic League players that scrimmages teams down in Florida during Major League Baseball’s spring training.

Green, 28, said the prior experience of having gone through an Atlantic League spring training helps.

“Definitely. You still have a month-and-a-half of getting ready,” he said. “You come here the first day, work on fastball and changeup. The next day fastball, changeup, curveball. I throw also a cutter.”

Fan Fest: Friday was the final warm-up for the Revs before Saturday’s Fan Fest exhbition against a team of retired Atlantic League alumni. Right-hander Brett Tomko is expected to get the start for York.

“Considering it’s the first real live-game situation, it’s just getting that one out of the way,” Tomko said Thurdsay evening on his thoughts about this Saturday. “We’ll try to run up to about 65, 70 pitches depending on how the innings go.”

Tomko began throwing in December in order to be ready should any big league team invite him to spring training. He spends the off-season pitching on fields at his El Dorado High School in San Diego.

“I live right by my high school,” he said. “I throw to high school kids, whoever is around. I have a lot of resources from living down there. I try to mimic as much game-speed as I could.”

Aspito out: Revs’ play-by-play broadcaster Darrell Henry, who is responsible for putting together the alumni team for Saturday’s exhibition, said former Revs’ slugger Jason Aspito will not be able to participate. Aspito, the Penn State York baseball coach, has a double-header with the Lions against Penn State Fayette on Saturday starting at 2 p.m.

Fan Fest: For all the details on Saturday’s Fan Fest, including a noon concert on Brooks Robinson Plaza, click here. Revolution players will come out on the plaza just before 1 p.m. to sign autographs for fans. Gates to the stadium open at 1 p.m. Saturday’s forecast calls for sunny skies with a high of 65, according to weather.com.

Win a ‘fridge: One lucky fan attending York’s Opening Day next Thursday will get a free refrigerator. Here’s the full press release from the team on the promotion:

It’s a dilemma as old as minor league baseball itself; you get the team magnet schedule on Opening Day, but no have no fridge to put it on. The York Revolution is out to correct this promotional injustice.

On Thursday, April 18, when the Revolution open the 2013 season at home against Bridgeport, fans will receive a 2013 schedule magnet presented by Pizza Hut, which includes a detachable logo car magnet. However, one lucky fan will leave the ballpark with not just a schedule, but the refrigerator to go with it.
Consider the minor league magnet schedule giveaway “Revolutionized.”

“We’ve always received such great fan support, that we wish we could give each family in the ballpark a fridge to go along with their magnet schedule,” said Revolution President & General Manager Eric Menzer.

“It’s not so much the cost, as it is the poor sight-lines fans would have on opening night if everyone took the fridge they received at the gates to their seat. So we figured a fair drawing would be the better way to go.”

Indeed, fans interested in winning the brand new refrigerator may enter the drawing on the Brooks Robinson Plaza on their way into Sovereign Bank Stadium on Opening Night. In the fourth inning, we will randomly draw a winner and send one lucky fan home with the proper means to display their brand new schedule magnet.

Game time against Bridgeport is 6:30 p.m., and the gates will open at 5:30 p.m. as we raise the curtain on the 2013 season. The fridge drawing is open to all – from season ticket holders to those just passing from ballpark to ballpark.

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He would like to say he planned it this way. That he knew all along his Opening Day roster in his inaugural season as the York Revolution manager would feature a stellar starting rotation. But Mark Mason admits he’s a little surprised by the way things have fallen into place.

Mason anticipated the returns of veteran starters Corey Thurman and Chris Cody. What he didn’t know was that former big league pitcher Matt Fox would jump on board. Or that right-hander Nick Schumacher, who dazzled for the Revs in the 2011 post-season, would become available.

Or that former Southern Maryland Blue Crabs’ starter Nick Green would want to come to York. The Revs announced the signing of Green on Friday, along with utility man Brian Burgamy and former big league reliever Juan Rincon.

Green’s addition rounds out York’s starting rotation.

“I’m thrilled with the rotation we have,” Mason said. “It could possibly be one of the best rotations we’ve had since I’ve been here. On paper I think we have five guys who are proven. Every guy brings something to the table. We have guys with big league experience and some who are Atlantic League All-Stars.”

Green, 28, is a former prospect of the Los Angeles Angels and Milwaukee Brewers who has spent the last two seasons pitching for Southern Maryland, going a combined 19-16 with a 3.81 ERA 53 games (51 starts).

Looking for a change of scenery, Green opted to join York shortly after a contract to pitch for a team in Taiwan fell through last month. He’ll join former teammates Cody, Rincon and catcher Patrick Arlis in York.

“I’ve always thought highly of York,” Green said. “Mason called and he expressed interest as soon as I was available. From Day One it was one of those things, you always want to feel wanted. I had a couple days to think about it.”

Regas out of picture?: The starting rotation pretty much set with (in no particular order) Thurman, Cody, Fox, Schumacher and Green. As a result, Mason said left-hander Kris Regas will likely be back in the bullpen. Mason had said previously he planned on giving Regas a shot to start in spring training.

“We had talked about Regas and letting him have an opportunity to start but with the way it came together, I’ll still give Kris an opportunity but most likely he’ll be a long guy out of the bullpen,” Mason said.

 

Green: Unlike a lot of pitchers in the Atlantic League, Green has been healthy his entire nine-year pro career.

“I had a scare my sophomore year in college. My (right) labrum was torn,” Green said. “I went to go see my trainer and told me it was torn. I went to see the famous Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham and he said that wasn’t the case at all. I was just really weak. I needed to stay on top of arm exercises. In 2009, I strained my (right) lat muscle. That put me out for about a month.”

Although he’s been healthy, Green has thrown a ton of innings the last two seasons, logging a total of 318.2 innings. By comparison, Thurman has thrown 288.1 innings in two complete seasons the last two years for York. But Mason isn’t concerned about possible wear and tear on Green’s arm.

“I’m really not. He’s just one of those kind of guys that he’s healthy and in some ways it’s like freak-healthy sometimes,” Mason said. “I just think that’s who he is. We’ll let him be himself. We’re not gonna overwork him.”

Mason said he was visiting family in Pittsburgh last month when he and Green first chatted by phone.

“What Nick said was ‘I really like the way you guys run the business there. It’s fun. It’s real professional,’” Mason said. “He was real impressed with the way things ran in the (Atlantic League) All–Star game when it was in York in 2011. We also have a few guys who are playing here this year who were former teammates of his.”

Green spent the off-season playing winter ball in Venezuela with the Lara Cardinals, where he was teammates with former Revs’ players Joe Thurston and Ryan Feierabend. In three starts and one relief appearance for Lara, Green was 0-1 with a 7.43 ERA.

Burgamy: York acquired the switch-hitting Burgamy, 31, from Camden in a trade that sent catcher Salomon Manriquez to the Riversharks. A former prospect of the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets, Burgamy will enter his sixth season in the Atlantic League in 2013. Last season, he batted .292 with 20 homers, 81 RBIs and 82 runs scored in 122 games.

“The thing I like about Brian is I know Brian can play short (stop), first base, third (base) and outfield,” Mason said. “He basically told me ‘I don’t care where I play, I want to win.’”

Revs’ baseball operations manager Andrew Ball said York tried acquiring Burgamy near the end of the 2012 season, but Camden and York couldn’t come up a with a deal.

“Brian started talking to Mason at the all-star game and said ‘I like what you guys do in York,’” Ball said.

Rincon: Rincon, 34, comes to the Revs less than three years removed from pitching for the Colorado Rockies in the big leagues. He has seen a total of 444 games at the major league level, pitching for Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and Colorado from 2001 to 2010.

The 5-foot-11 right-hander posted a 1.88 ERA in 20 games for Bridgeport last season before being picked up by the Los Angeles Angels and assigned to Class AAA Salt Lake, where he compiled a 3.12 ERA in 17 games (three starts). Rincon pitched for the Magellan Navigators in the Venezuela Winter League this off-season, going 2-2 with a 3.12 ERA in 17 games (three starts).

Rincon is the eighth former big leaguer on the Revs’ 2013 roster. York now has 20 players under contract for the upcoming season — 11 pitchers and nine position players.

Tidbits: Here’s other bits of information about these players:

—Although Burgamy can fill multiple positions, York is still in search of an everyday short stop, according to Ball.
“We’d like to sign a short stop still ideally,” Ball said. “Who knows what will happen with (short stop Joe) Thurston and Mexico. We’d like to play Brian at first, move Limo (Johan Limonta) around a little bit.”

—Green said he grew up playing baseball from a young age. He also played basketball through his freshman year of high school and football through his senior year.

—Green served as wide receiver, tight end and kicker on his Tift County (GA) High School football team. He said he made a 50-yard field goal in practice and 40-yard field goal in a game.

—Green said growing up he idolized his uncle, Darrien Teals, who Green said helped Tift County win the school’s only state championship in football. Green said Teals played baseball and football at NCAA Division II Valdosta State University. To read more about Teals’ athletic and professional accomplishments, click here.

—In his final year as a prospect for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2010, Green said the organization tried moving him into a closer role.

“It was a situation where they had recently gotten Trevor Hoffman. He’s known for his changeup,” Green said. “All throughout my career that’s been my pitch. They wanted to experiment with me. In spring training they told me to use the fastball and the changeup.” “I like the mentality (of being a closer). But I’ve been closer to the big leagues as a starter.”

—When asked to explain Burgamy’s up-and-down seasons in the Atlantic League the last four years, Mason had this to say: “I just think that’s baseball. If a guy hits .300 or .250 it’s a hit every 10 at-bats. If it’s .320 and then .180, that’s a big difference. But when it’s 50 points, that could come down to who’s doing the scoring as well. If something is ruled an error or a hit, and that happens once a week over the course of a season, that adds up.”

—Here’s what Mason had to say on what Rincon and Green bring to the mound: “They both have a ton of movement down and away from right-handed hitters. Juan has three pitches, Nick has four.”

YORK INFIELD (Position Name, Age, Bats L/R):

C Patrick Arlis, 32, R

C Salvador Paniagua, 29, R

3B Andy Marte, 29, R*

2B Andres Perez, 28, R

1B Johan Limonta, 29, L

UT Brian Burgamy, 31, S

YORK OUTFIELD

CF Tyler Graham, 29, R*

RF Jeff Fiorentino, 29, L*

LF Jason Repko, 32, R*

YORK STARTING PITCHERS

LHP Chris Cody, 29

RHP Corey Thurman, 34*

RHP Matt Fox, 30*

RHP Nick Schumacher, 27

RHP Nick Green, 28

YORK BULLPEN

LHP Yunior Novoa, 28

RHP Josh Judy, 27*

RHP Stephen Penney, 26

LHP Wade Korpi, 26

LHP Kris Regas, 27

RHP Juan Rincon, 34*

*Former big leaguer

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Before we get to news on the recent signings across the Atlantic League, here’s an update on the York Revolution ticket sale this Saturday, Feb. 4:

Individual tickets for the Revs’ 2012 season go on-sale this Saturday at 10 a.m. both online and in-person at the Apple Chevrolet ticket office as part of the “Home Runs for Hearts” event presented by the American Heart Association and Lincolnway Flower Shop. Longtime York pitcher Corey Thurman will be on-hand signing autographs from 10 a.m. until noon at the ticket office. Visit www.YorkRevolution.com for more details

Now back to the news…

Outside of York, there has been a flurry of signings across the Atlantic League this week. More recently, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, Bridgeport Bluefish, Long Island Ducks and Somerset Patriots have announced signings. And a lot of the usual suspects are returning. Here’s an update on all the recent announcements:

SOMERSET: Infielder Dan DeGeorge and starting pitcher Joe Augustine were announced on Jan. 30 as the Patriots’ first player signings of the New Year.

DeGeorge, who turns 25 in February, returns for his second campaign with the Patriots. The Princeton University product topped out at Class AA in 2010 as a Cleveland Indians prospect. DeGeorge, who is a right-handed batter, joined Somerset last year after the Indians released him. The New Jersey native went on to finish the year at Somerset by batting .256 with eight doubles and 20 runs scored in 58 games for the Patriots.

Augustine, 27, is a former Kansas City Royals prospect who has spent each of the last three seasons in independent baseball with the Southern Illinois Miners, of independent Frontier League. Last season, the right-hander went 3-2 with a 5.40 ERA in six starts. Augustine owns a career 8-3 record and 3.35 ERA in five minor league seasons.

BRIDGEPORT: The Bluefish also announced their first signings of 2012 on Feb. 1. Bridgeport welcomed back relief pitcher Jorge Julio and veteran infielder (and former Revolution player) Luis Lopez.

Lopez, 38, returns for his seventh season in the Atlantic League and 17th of professional baseball. In 121 games with Bridgeport last year, he recorded a .276 batting average with 67 RBI and 59 runs scored in 456 at-bats and also reached a career milestone by collecting his 2,000th career hit.

York was one of five teams Lopez played for in 2007. That year, he batted .276 with a homer and four RBIs in eight games for the Revs. Lopez reached the majors twice in his career, playing in 41 games for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2001 and 11 games for the Montreal Expos in 2004. While he does own a career .228 big league batting average, the Coastal Carolina University product also has a career .299 minor league batting average, including a .288 average in the Atlantic League.

Julio, who turns 33 in March, is a former long-time major leaguer who last played in the Atlantic League with Bridgeport in 2010.  Last year the Pittsburgh Pirates invited Julio to spring training, but he suffered an arm injury early in camp and was forced to sit out the 2011 season.

Over his nine-year big league career, Julio spent time with the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Florida Marlins, Colorado Rockies, and Cleveland Indians. He has accumulated a career 4.43 ERA and recorded 17 wins and 99 saves over 453 big league appearances. He last pitched in the majors in 2009 with the Milwaukee Brewers.

SOUTHERN MARYLAND: The Blue Crabs brought back four players in announced signings on Feb. 1. Re-signing with the team are pitchers Nick Green and Eduardo Morlan, outfielder Richard Giannotti, and player/coach Jeremy Owens.

Green, 27, had an outstanding 2011 campaign in his first time playing in independent baseball. One of six Blue Crabs players named to the 2012 Liberty Division Atlantic League All-Star team, Green led the Southern Maryland in wins (11-6), had the best ERA of any Blue Crabs’ starter with 10 or more starts (3.96) and set a club record for innings pitched (150). The right-hander is a former prospect of seven different major league organizations, which includes the Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Toronto Blue Jays.

Morlan, who turns 26 in March, also made his first appearance in independent baseball in 2011 by playing for the Blue Crabs after spending part of last season with the Atlanta Braves Class AA affiliate Mississippi. The right-handed reliever finished last season with a 1.96 ERA in 38 apperances (36.2 innings) for Southern Maryland. A former third-round pick of the Minnesota Twins in the 2004 draft, Morlan has also spent time in affliates of the Braves, Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers.

Owens is a 35-year-old veteran outfielder and former prospect of the San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox and Tampa Bay Rays. He served as the club’s first-ever player/coach in 2010. A Padres’ eighth-round pick of the 1998 draft, Owens last season batted .236 with 13 homers and 48 RBIs in 110 games for Southern Maryland.

Giannotti will enter his fourth season with the Blue Crabs. Despite spending majority of the first half of 2011 on the disabled list, Giannotti returned to the lineup in July and went to bat .276 with two homers and 11 RBIs in 33 games. The University of Miami product is former prospect of the Los Angeles Angels and St. Louis Cardinals. He previously played in the Can-Am League, helping lead the Pride to a league title in 2007.

With the signings, the Blue Crabs now have eight players under contract for the 2012 season.

LONG ISLAND: The Ducks announced their first player signings on Jan. 31 by inking relief pitchers Jeremy Hill and Travis Minix.

Hill is a veteran relief pitcher who briefly appeared in the big leagues in 2002 and 2003 with the Kansas City Royals. A former prospect of the Royals, New York Mets and Los Angeles, the 34-year-old right-hander last season compiled an 8-2 record and 2.91 ERA in 48 regular season games for Long Island. In the post-season, he helped the Ducks win the Liberty Division Championship Series. Against York in the Atlantic League Championship Series, Hill was credited with allowing two earned runs on three hits in a 9-6 defeat to York in Game 3. He did allow just one hit in one inning of relief in the Revs’ Game 4 6-3 victory to capture the league crown.

Minix is a former Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies prospect who has spent each of the last three seasons entirely in independent ball. The 34-year-old has reached Class AAA four times in his 13-year baseball career. Last season, Minix went 0-1 with a 3.13 ERA in 19 games for the Somerset Patriots.

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