Here it is, the fourth and final recap of the 2012 York Revolution squad, this time on the bullpen and catchers (sorry catchers, no separate post for perhaps the toughest position in baseball). My apologies on getting around to this late, been a little busy covering high school sports as we get into the time of the year for league titles, playoffs, districts and beyond, as well as catching up on reading all the Sports Illustrateds that have been laying around the house for weeks (seriously, who can read those things front to back each week?) and breaking my ankles jumping on and off the Baltimore Orioles’ bandwagon (don’t act like you weren’t doing the same). Anyway, before we get to that, wanted to point out a couple newsworthy items worth checking out:

- Atlantic League expansion…to the Caribbean?: YDR Revs’ beat writer Jim Seip did a good job reporting on Peter Kirk’s intentions of possibly expanding the Atlantic League to the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico or Cuba (yes, really, Cuba). This would make sense, considering at least a fifth of most Atlantic League rosters are made up of players from the Caribbean. A roster could easily be filled should the league want to travel far down south. And if it can be any kind of draw like Sugar Land, why not give it a shot? The only question mark would be travel costs. It makes no sense to do it if the league loses money.

- Camden front office: The Riversharks sent out a press release Monday announcing longtime general manager Adam Lorber is being promoted to general manager AND team president. Lorber has served as the team’s GM since 2003. In addition, Lindsay Rosenberg, who has spent the last four seasons in group sales has been promoted to the position of assistant general manager. Rosenberg earned a bachelor’s degree in Sports, Entertainment and Event Management from Johnson and Wales (Rhode Island) University in 2009. While attending school, she had opportunities to work at both Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA and at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Now on to the recap….

 

As far as publicity goes, the guys in the bullpen have it tough. Position players and starting pitchers normally get most of the attention. On the rare occasion a reliever gets anything said about him, it’s normally because he’s been lights-out as a closer or a set-up man or he made an impressive spot start. So, if a reliever doesn’t fit that category, he’s probably left out on the street with the rest of the guys who don’t get much attention, even if they might have an interesting back-story. So, lets just say this blog post is my attempt at making up for all of that….

At the start: At the start of the year, York’s bullpen consisted of right-handers Dumas Garcia, Ricardo Gomez, Omar Javier, Santo Luis, Stephen Penney, R.J. Rodriguez, Shaun Garceau and Adam Thomas and left-handers James Houser, Yunior Novoa and Ian Thomas. By the end Gomez, Novoa, Penney, Rodriguez and Thomas were all that were left of the original bunch. Newcomers on York’s year-end roster included right-handers Mike Benacka and Kris Regas and left-hander Wade Korpi.

Come and go: Garcia (1-0, 6.00 ERA, 27 games), Garceau (0-0, 7-71 ERA, 3 games), Houser (2-1, 5.50 ERA, 33 games), Javier (1-6, 5.66 ERA, 22 games) and Luis (0-0, 4-50 ERA, 3 games) were all released at some point in the season, while right-hander Andy Wells (0-0, 16.61 ERA, 3 games) and left-handers Matt Chico (1-3, 7.50 ERA, six starts) and Victor Garate (0-0, 5.40 ERA, 1 game) were on the short list of pitchers who joined York mid-season but would be released before the end of the year.

Picked up: Thomas the only York reliever and one of three Revs’ players to earn a big league contract this season (all three were pitchers)  in 2012. The 25-year-old earned his first affiliated contract after putting together a 0.96 ERA in 9.1 innings of relief for York. He had spent his first three pro seasons with independent club Winnipeg (Northern League/American Association) before coming to York. In 26 relief appearances for Rome, the lefty went 5-0 with a 3.15 ERA, striking out 58 and walking 15 over 45.2 innings pitched.

8th/9th inning guys: Right-hander R.J. Rodriguez started off the year as the Revs’ closer but lost the job to Ricardo Gomez when he left for the Mexican League mid-season. Adam Thomas served as the Revs’ set-up man the majority of the first-half and then split the duties with Rodriguez when he returned. Rodriguez did fill in as the ninth-inning guy occasionally in the final couple months. Rodriguez went 2-3 with a 2.02 ERA and 13 saves over 55 appearances. Thomas had a 8-2 record and 3.65 ERA in 67 appearances (64 innings), striking out 42 and walking 15. Gomez collected 17 saves, 2.66 ERA and 4-1 record in 46 games (47.1 innings).

Middle relief: Left-handers Yunior Novoa (2-6, 4.71 ERA, five starts, 38 games), Kris Regas (3-2, 2.78 ERA, 44 games) and Wade Korpi (4-0, 2.26 ERA, 3 starts, 18 games) and right-hander Stephen Penney (2-1, 3.13 ERA, 62 games) had good seasons in the ‘pen.

Novoa went back-and-forth between the bullpen and starting rotation at the start of the year before serving mainly as a reliever in the final few months. Korpi ended up being a good mid-season pick-up for the Revs. The lefty was lights-out in his three spot starts, putting up a stellar 1.93 ERA in 9.1 innings.

One other middle reliever, Mike Benacka, joined York in the final month of the season and had a 1-0 record, 3.00 ERA and one save in six relief appearances. But he took the loss after giving up four runs on one hit and two walks in 2/3 of an inning in Game Two of the Freedom Division Championship Series against Lancaster. The Revs didn’t like what they saw, either, sending him back to the Laredo Lemurs (American Association) after the season.

Catchers: Instead of dedicating a whole blog post to the catchers, it’ll be included here as more an honorable mention (sorry Travis Scott and Salomon Manriquez). York started off the year with Scott and Salvador Paniagua behind the dish. Etch’ used the left-handed hitting Scott and right-handed hitting Paniagua as a platoon. York released Paniagua on July 19 and signed Manriquez the next day. It’s tough in the Atlantic League to find a solid defensive catcher who can also hit well. And when that rare guy comes along, he’s normally picked up right away by a big league club since that’s so rare. That’s why it’s tough to be hard on Atlantic League clubs about not finding a solid-hitting catcher. Plus, it has to be hard on catchers to have a good batting average considering they’re not playing every game for obvious reasons.

With all that being said, Scott had a .228 average with seven homers and 28 RBIs in 81 games while Manriquez finished with a .287 average, two homers and 16 RBIs in 32 games. Manriquez upped his batting average in his final 18 games, during which he went he hit .387. Paniagua departed mid-season with a .227 average over 40 games.

(Note*The following stats are through Game 2 of the FDCS) As far as how they performed behind the plate, Paniagua caught in 40 games (38 starts) and caught a total of 328.2 innings. York pitchers had a 4.11 ERA with Paniagua catching. Revs’ pitchers were about the same in the 601.1 innings with Scott behind the dish with a 4.12 ERA. Manriquez, meanwhile, made 32 starts to help Revs’ pitchers get a 3.63 ERA in his 275.1 innings catching. However, all three had trouble throwing out runners at second and third. Paniagua caught 5 of the 40 guys who stole on him, while Scott gunned 12 of 48 and Manriquez nailed down just three of 25 base-stealers. That’s a combined percentage of 17.7 (20 caught of 113 base-stealers).

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I’ll try to provide a series of recaps (hopefully have them all published by the end of next week when I find time) taking a look back at parts of the the 2012 York Revolution roster, both reviewing the season and giving my thoughts on the future at that position. We’ll start off with the outfield.

At the start: York’s opening day outfield consisted of Scott Grimes, James Shanks, Michael Hernandez and Stephen Douglas. Two of those players would no longer be with the team by the of the season.

York traded Douglas on May 23 to Laredo (American Association) in exchange for a player to be named later. Revs’ skipper Andy Etchebarren didn’t like what he saw out of Douglas defensively and he wasn’t putting up stellar numbers, either. Douglas batted just .221 with two homers, six RBIs, six runs scored and one stolen base in 21 games for York.

That left the Revs with three outfielders. But at the time, Grimes was dealing with bone chips in his right wrist. Just days earlier York brought in ex-major league outfielder Bobby Kielty that same week. Kielty wouldn’t stick around long, though, playing in just 19 games before ultimately deciding to retire, ending a 13-year pro career. He hit just .221 with three homers and eight RBIs for the Revs.

Roster moves: Just a day after shipping away Douglas, York signed speedy outfielder Brandon Haveman just hours after Lancaster released him. Haveman ended up being the spark plug that the Revs were looking for. Filling in for an injured Grimes in center field, Haveman took over duties as the lead-off as well and proved to be a big mid-season pick-up for the Revs. He finished the year batting .290 with six homers, 48 RBIs, 68 runs and 21 stolen bases in 106 games.

York later added outfielder Jeff Fiorentino in mid-July at a time when a couple outfielders were dealing with injuries. Like Haveman, the former big leaguer proved to be another big mid-season addition for the Revs. He went on to hit .311 with four homers, 27 RBIs, 49 runs scored and four stolen bases in 66 games.

Shanks: Shanks entered the season batting a combined .320 with York in 2010 and 2011. But he looked every the bit of his 33 years of age this season, often missing time with lower body injuries. His production also dropped off dramatically. The Revs cut ties with Shanks in early August after he hit just .249 in 77 games. Shanks soon found work in Southern Maryland, but not much changed there, as he held a .225 average in 25 games with the Blue Crabs.

Future: By the end of the 2012 season, York’s outfield consisted of Brandon Haveman in left, Scott Grimes in center and Jeff Fiorentino in right. Michael Hernandez mainly served as the designated hitter the final month or so.

The Revs’ outfielder could be very different come 2013. Grimes said Saturday night he’s not sure about his future as a ball player. That makes sense for the seven-year pro veteran. Grimes has been struggling the last two seasons to get back to the level he was at as the 2010 Atlantic League co-MVP. He batted .312 with 17 homers, 59 RBIs, 138 runs scored and 28 stolen bases that year as the Revs’ lead-off man. In 2011 he got off to a rough start but had a nice second half to finish the year with a .268 average to go along with 15 homers, 42 RBIs, 97 runs scored and 21 stolen bases. Grimes lost his lead-off spot in 2012, in part because of his struggles at the plate and also because Haveman excelled at the spot when filling in for an injured Grimes. When Grimes returned, Etch’ put him at the No. 9 spot in the lineup, basically serving as York’s “extra” lead-off man. Grimes finished the season batting .246 with 13 homers, 52 RBIs, 62 runs scored and 19 stolen bases. I would say it would be a smart move for York to cut ties with Grimes despite him being a fan favorite and a big part of the ball club since 2010. But Grimes is just too good defensively in center field. Only if York can find someone as adequate to play center (which is asking a lot) should the Revs think about that move.

Revs’ baseball operations manager Andrew Ball said Fiorentino would be a good candidate to be invited to spring training by a big league club in 2013. Should that be the case, and Fiorentino is successful in earning a spot, York would lose a solid outfielder and No. 2/No. 7 hitter in the lineup.

Though there are things he needs to work on, Haveman should definitely be brought back. in 2013. At 26 years old and just four seasons removed from playing college ball at Purdue, the speedster is definitely young enough to attract the interest of big league scouts (again, you have to remember the Atlantic League’s ultimate purpose is to get guys to the big leagues. Haveman still has to become more patient at the plate. There were too many times this season where he would swing at the first or second pitch of the at-bat. Etch’ repeatedly told me Haveman needs to take advantage of his best tool, which is his speed. That means Haveman needs to get on base more often. And he can do that by drawing walks. But that doesn’t happen when he goes down on just a few pitches. He could also improve his glove in the outfield, but that could come with time at Sovereign Bank Stadium, where the left-field wall can be tricky to deal with at times.

Of the four outfielders on York’s 2012 playoff roster, Hernandez is the only one I wouldn’t mind seeing go. He reminds me a lot of James Shanks last year. He put up good numbers despite being hobbled with knick-knack injuries throughout the season. Who knows how he’ll be at age 29 next year with those legs being a year older. And Ball said Hernandez might be playing winter ball during the off-season. One would think after being banged up for the last five months or so he’d just rest his body and get ready for 2013. Sure, he batted .303 with 13 homers, 55 RBIs and 55 runs scored. But he’s not the fastest outfielder in the world. So, if the Revs can find a replacement who can hit for average and is a little bit faster and younger (obviously easier said than done) then it would make sense to part ways with Hernandez.

 

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Center fielder Scott Grimes is dealing with bone chips in right wrist. Left fielder James Shanks has tendonitis in his right knee.

So, as much as York Revolution manager Andy Etchebarren wanted to play Wednesday night, the Revs might benefit from having a night off.

York(8-16) had to postpone Wednesday’s game against the Sugar Land Skeeters (11-14) because of rain. The game will be made up as part of a double-header with the Skeeters on June 19.

Outfield: Many things are in motion at this point withYork’s outfield. A day after declaring he would make changes, Etchebarren on Thursday traded outfielder Stephen Douglas to theLaredo (Tex) Lemurs, of the independent American Association, in exchange for a player to be named later.

 

 

Douglas batted just .221 with two homers, six RBIs, six runs scored and one stolen base in 21 games forYork. Etchebarren also didn’t like what he saw out of Douglas defensively.

The trade of Douglas comes on the heels of York signing ex-major league outfielder Bobby Kielty on Monday. Kielty was set to make his Revs debut in Wednesday’s game in the designated hitter spot.

Injuries: With the departure of Douglas,York now has four outfielders on the roster. And two of them are battling minor injuries.

The bone chips in Grimes’ right wrist were caused when he was by a pitch in a game atLong Islandon May 8. He missed the next nine games as a result and returned to the lineup last Friday. But the injury is still bothering him.

“I’m probably about 90 percent. Some pitches hurt really bad when they come off the bat, others I’m fine,” Grimes said Wednesday.

Grimes might sit out the next few games to recover, Etchebarren said.

Shanks, meanwhile, is dealing with soreness in his right knee caused by tendonitis. It’s something the 33-year-old outfielder said he’s dealt with the last couple seasons.

“It’s just something I have to play through,” he said.

Lineup changes: Had York played Wednesday, the lineup would have seen a couple changes. Etchebarren moved outfielder Michael Hernandez, who leads the Atlantic League with eight homers, to the No. 4 spot and bumped slugger Chris Nowak back to the No. 5 spot.

A year removed from batting .330 with 25 homers in 84 games for the Revs, Nowak is hitting just .238 to this point with four homers. Etchebarren said he feels confident in Nowak turning it around after chatting with him Wednesday.

“He’s trying to pull it and he didn’t do that last year. He hit balls to right center and left center (last year). He trusted his hands,” Etchebarren said. “He’s not trusting his hands right now. He’s cheating to get to the ball.”

Blue Crabs preview: York will next face the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs on Thursday in the first of a four-game series. The Blue Crabs enter having won six of their last nine games. In the previous match-up this season with York, the Crabs swept the Revs in a three-game series from May 15-17. Southern Maryland (13-13) enters ranking 1st in the league in doubles (61), triples (11),  fourth in hits (236), fifth in batting average (.267), sixth in runs scored (126), seventh in RBIs (115) and last in home runs (14),

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His team had just come off a 5-1 loss to the Sugar Land Skeeters. Andy Etchebarren had just watched his team collect five hits, a night after the York Revolution used nine hits to beat the first-place Lancaster Barnstormers, 6-3. Yet, the Revs returned to their inconsistent play again Monday. The last two days sort of sum up what York has been like the last couple weeks. A sweep of the Somerset Patriots, getting swept by the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, then taking two of three from Lancaster. York (8-15) now sits 5 1/2 games back of first-place Lancaster (14-10) in the Atlantic League Freedom Division.

Despite York’s hitting woes on Monday night, Etchebarren appeared confident in his ball club. And a lot of that may have to do with the flurry of moves York made on Monday (and the possible moves that could be looming in the near future). Maybe the Revs skipper feels that help is on the way.

York made three moves on Monday, signing ex-major league outfielder Bobby Kielty and relief pitcher Andy Wells while trading away utility infielder Joe Spiers to the Lincoln Saltdogs, of the independent American Association, for a player to be named later.

Though Kielty is 35 and has yet to play this season, he could be an upgrade to the current crop of York Revolution outfielders. (Etchebarren said Monday night that Kielty will be in uniform for Tuesday’s home game against Sugar Land but will not play).

Kielty has played in 599 career major league games for Minnesota, Toronto, Oakland and Boston between 2001 and 2007. In the majors, Kielty has accumulated 53 home runs and 253 RBIs, with a .254 average. His last at-bat in the majors was a homer in Game 4 of the 2007 World Series that gave Boston a 4-1 lead. The Red Sox ended up winning the deciding Game 4 by a final score of 4-3.

Primarily a corner outfielder during his career, Kielty does have major and minor league starts in center field and at first base as well. What that means for the current crop of Revolution outfielders remains to be seen. But it’s clear York has made the move to upgrade its offense, which sits last in the Atlantic League in several categories.

Kielty gives York five outfielders, joining centerfielder and lead-off man Scott Grimes, corner outfielders Michael Hernandez and James Shanks and outfielder Stephen Douglas.

Douglas and Grimes have given York little to no production at the top of the lineup thus far. Grimes returned to action over the weekend after missing nine games because of bone chips in his right wrist that were caused when he was hit by a pitch in a game against Long Island on May 8. Grimes is batting .222 (4-for-18 through Monday) since his return. And he was seen during Monday’s game shaking his wrist. So, who knows how healthy he is? For the year, Grimes is batting just .161.During Grimes’s absence, Douglas served as York’s lead-off man, but hit just .129 (4-for-31). For the season, he’s batting .207.

Michael Hernandez has been one of York’s best hitters. Despite his .261 average, Hernandez’s seven home runs is tied for first in the Atlantic League and his 19 RBIs is third among all players.

With all the moves made Monday, York now has 25 players on the active roster (12 position players and 13 pitchers). Atlantic League clubs can carry as many as 27 players until the end of the month, at which point rosters have to be paired down to 25. So, York could very well keep its current group of active players. Still, it’s likely we’ll see an outfielder be moved (either off the active roster or away from the team) at some point in the near future considering York doesn’t need five outfielders.

WELLS: Wells, 24, is mainly being brought on board to give York some pitching depth over the next couple weeks. York will play seven games this week and eight next week (there’s a double-header scheduled at Long Island on June 2) And with reliever Ricardo Gomez and Shaun Garceau still recovering from injuries and reliever Ian Thomas recently being picked up by the Atlanta Braves, the Revs are in need of some bodies in the ‘pen. Wells had a 6.88 ERA in five collegiate seasons split between Siena College and Wagner College. He’s split time between four independent ball clubs in his first two pro seasons, accumulating an 8.68 ERA.

Hill scratched from start: There’s only been a handful of times where York Revolution starting pitchers have gone past the fifth inning in a game so far this season. And the best pitcher, by far, has been left-hander Ryan Feierabend (2-1, 2.67 ERA). It’s likely just a matter of time before a big league club comes calling for Feierabend’s services, which won’t help York one bit.

Then on Monday, Etchebarren said right-hander Shawn Hill is being scratched from his Tuesday start because of soreness in the left part of his back. The right-hander went four scoreless innings against Southern Maryland on May 17 in his first start for York. But there should be reason to be concerned about Hill, who has undergone a number of surgeries and missed plenty of playing time since 2004. Etchebarren hopes Hill will miss just one start.

Left-hander Yunior Novoa will start in place of Hill on Tuesday against Sugar Land. That doesn’t help York’s bullpen, which combined to toss 5.2 innings on Monday night. Novoa has started three times for York this year, but only made it past the fifth inning once. The ‘pen will likely be called upon again to do some heavy lifting on Tuesday unless Novoa has several short-inning outings.

So, while the Revs are busy figuring out how to improve the offense, they might soon be turning their attention to the pitching given the number of innings the relievers have thrown to this point and the possibility of Feierabend being picked up in the near future. The good news is that, if a move needs to be made, Etchebarren and his counterparts have already proven they’re not fine with just sitting still.

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When it comes to surgeries, Shawn Hill could probably write a medical book.

–Tommy John surgery to his right throwing elbow in 2004.

–Surgery to repair a separated left shoulder in 2007.

–Tommy John surgery again to his right elbow in 2009.

–Oh, yeah, he also had his elbow scoped in 2008 and 2009.

–Finally, he’s hoping his most recent surgery in February will be his last.

Hill, a former major league starting pitcher, arrived in York on Thursday. The right-hander is set to see game action on Saturday against Bridgeport, and he’ll likely be worked into the starting rotation sometime soon.

He says this is the healthiest he’s felt since 2004 when he first reached the big leagues with the Montreal Expos.

The reason for his optimism is somewhat complicated, but Hill basically feels like he’s been misdiagnosed for the past eight years. And the most recent surgery in which he had a rib removed may have finally fixed him.

Vascular surgery: While he had been feeling pain in his right elbow, the problem wasn’t with the elbow after all. Rather, it was a matter of correcting a blood circulation issue.

“Essentially I wasn’t getting the right circulation (to my arm) so the nerves (in my elbow) ended up getting damaged and not functioning properly,” Hill said.

To repair the problem, the 31-year-old Hill underwent vascular surgery in February, this time to remove a rib under his right clavicle.

“It’s a small rib. You would never even know it’s there,” Hill said. “So, they removed that and the part of the muscle that goes through the area.”

Hill had been dealing with the pain in his arm for years. He reached the big leagues for the sixth time in his career at the end of the 2010 season with the Toronto Blue Jays.

He said he pretty much pitched through that entire season despite experiencing severe pain after games.

The following spring training, the then Florida Marlins released Hill because the pain returned in his elbow.

“Last year after spring training it was basically up to me to find an answer,” he said. “So, I had stem cell treatment done to see if it would help. I don’t know if it did or not.”

Hill went on to pitch for Team Canada in the 2011 Pan-Am Games in October, all the while still looking around for answer to fix his arm.

The Florida resident ended up talking to the team doctor of the Tampa Bay Rays, who suggested seeing a vascular surgeon in Dallas.

Effective: Given what he’s been through, Hill has thought about walking away from the game. But he’s put up decent numbers in the majors, despite not feeling 100 percent.

In 44 combined starts spanning from 2004 to 2010, Hill has a career 9-18 record and 4.47 ERA at the big league level.
“It’s just tough to say why I should be walking away from everything when I can be effective if I’m fine,” he said.
Hill said he feels fine now. He just has to show he’s still effective.

Revs’ Upgrade: If Hill is healthy, he might end up being a good addition to a starting rotation that, quite frankly, hasn’t been very good. Before Ryan Feierabend’s start on Wednesday (Feierabend threw five scoreless innings against Camden on Wednesday), Revs starters had a combined 6.87 ERA. With Chris Cody surrending nine earned runs in 3.1 innings on Thursday, the ERA for Revs starters has ballooned to 7.76.

Results from Thursday’s game: York fell to 2-5 with a 15-10 loss in the series finale against the Camden Riversharks on Thursday at Sovereign Bank Stadium. While the pitching wasn’t great, the bats finally came alive. York collected double-digit hits and double-digit runs for the first time this season, and also surpassed six hits in a game for the first time this year.

Scott Grimes hit two solo homers. He became the all-time leader in home runs hit by a Revolution player at Sovereign Bank Stadium (18). He moved into a second-place tie with Matt Dryer for the most homers in a Revs’ uniform (35). It marked the fourth time in his Revolution career he had a multiple-homer game, tying Jason Aspito for the club record.

Second baseman Andres Perez also clubbed a grand slam in the sixth inning. Outfielder Stephen Douglas made it back-to-back homers after Grimes hit his first in the fourth inning. Douglas has now hit safely in five straight games, the Revs’ longest hitting streak so far this season.

Roster moves: We found out Wednesday that Etch’ moved lefty Jesus Sanchez out of the starting rotation and into the bullpen. He also named righty Omar Javier and lefty Yunior Novoa the team’s No. 4 and No. 5 starters. It’s likely Hill will be moved into the starting rotation sooner rather than later, so somebody is going to be the odd man out. Jesus Sanchez is scheduled to see time out of the bullpen on Friday. Javier and Novoa will start on Friday and Saturday, respectively. So, the performances of Sanchez, Javier and Novoa this week might have an effect on their future with the Revs.

It sounds like the Revs are going to make some roster moves on Friday. Etch’ had said earlier in the week he didn’t like what he saw out of reliever Ricardo Gomez. And he has been upset in the past with reliever Santo Luis, saying he thought Luis was going to be a guy that could throw in the mid-90s, but has only thrown in the high 80s. Luis surrendered a two-run homer in Thursday’s game. When asked about Luis afterwards, Etch’ had this to say to reporters:

“I’ll have a meeting with my coaches here after you guys leave, and I’ll let you know tomorrow.”

Bridgeport preview: The Revs will next host the Bridgeport Bluefish for a three-game series. (Note* All stats through Wednesday for Bridgeport) The ‘Fish thus far have a team .269 batting average (second-best in the Atlantic League) and 3.15 team ERA (fourth in the league). Their 24 total runs through Wednesday is tied with Lancaster for second-worst in the league. Bridgeport is the only team left (through Wednesday) in the league to not hit a home run.

With Thursday’s 10-run, 11-hit performance, York upped its team batting average from .163 to .184 (which still ranks dead last in the league). York’s 19 total runs is also last in the league. Since I’m posting this before the league’s other three games are played Thursday night, take this stat for what it’s worth: York’s team ERA is now 5.40, which is second-to-last at this point in the league.

Here are the projected starters for the three-game set with Bridgeport:

Friday, 6:30 p.m.: York RHP Omar Javier (0-0, 6.75 ERA) vs. Matt Pike (0-1, 2.25 ERA)

Saturday, 6:30 p.m.: York LHP Yunior Novoa (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. LHP Isaac Hess (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

Sunday, 5 p.m.: York RHP Corey Thurman (0-1, 6.35 ERA) vs. LHP Gilbert De La Vara (0-0, 7.71 ERA)

Quotebook: Revolution officials on Wednesday said they were looking for a bat boy for Thursday’s game. So, York Dispatch columnist Larry Hicks took the Revs up on the offer. When asked about the performance of Hicks after the game, Etch’ had this to say:

“He looked worn out. He’ll probably go home, have three beers and go to bed.”

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With the performance left-hander Jesus Sanchez showed out on the mound on Thursday at Sovereign Bank Stadium, he may have secured a spot on the roster.

Sanchez first pitched in camp on Sunday, tossing pitches off the game mound to stand-in batters, who weren’t swinging. By all accounts, he didn’t look impressive in that outing. But his efforts on Thursday against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs were a different story. Sanchez held the Crabs scoreless in three innings of work, allowing three hits and striking out four. He threw a total of 43 pitches. It’s a good sign for a veteran pitcher who had a down year in 2011 after a superb season in 2010.

“Last year for Sanchez was, I think, he came into camp. There was a lot distractions for him. His son signed a big contract. He was pitching in Taiwan but (only) once a week,” Revs’ pitching coach Mark Mason said. “I don’t how much work he was really doing. So, when he came here he wasn’t in the best of shape and it showed. And then he went back home to (his native Dominican Republic) to help his kid sign (a minor league) contract and then they get hit with a hurricane. We didn’t here back from him.

“I give Etch’ a lot of credit for giving (Sanchez) another opportunity. He came back, he’s in much better shape. He’s in about the shape he was in in 2010. I thought he threw the ball well today. Around 86 mph, sometimes 87. He kept the ball down. He had command with three pitches. He’s not dumb. He knows the score. Guys look around the room and they know what they got to do to stay. And he’s showed up and I give him credit for that, too. If he would have went out there and he would have had a horrible day today, then maybe decisions becoming a little more clear. But he manned up and he made decisions tough for us and that’s what he’s supposed to do.”

RHP Shaun Garceau and LHP Ian Thomas pitched on back-to-back days for the first time this spring and didn’t look sharp. Garceau surrendered a run on three hits and Thomas gave upa two-run homer to Travis Garcia. But Mason and Revs’ manager Andy Etchebarren aren’t concerned.

“(Thomas) threw a change-up to the best change-up hitter in the league,” Etchebarren said. ” So, what’s he do? He pulls an R.J. and throws it and gives up a homer.”

LHP Kris Regas, RHP Adam Thomas and RHP R.J. Rodriguez all looked solid. Regas struck out two in one inning of work. Thomas struck out one in an inning. Rodriguez also struck out a batter but gave up a homer.

Chris Nowak and Salvador Paniagua each homered for York.  Nowak is now 3-for-12 in spring training, with all three hits being homers. York lost Thursday by a final score of 4-2.

Douglas: Check out a feature story on Revs’ outfielder Stephen Douglas, which will be featured in Friday’s York Dispatch (for the online story click here). Some interesting tidbits that weren’t able to make the story: Douglas was convinced to come play for York by Revs’ slugger Chris Nowak. The pair played together in the Mexican League with the Puebla Parrots, which wasn’t a great experience for either of them…Douglas, who played for the Barnstormers last year, said he checked with Lancaster manager Butch Hobson first about coming to York. Hobson said his roster was full with outfielders, but there was still room on York’s roster…Douglas trained with former Revs’ outfielder Chris Walker (who’s back in Camden) during the off-season…Douglas’s wife, Rebecca, had their first child, a baby boy named Brantley, on Feb. 13…Douglas had an offer to play in Japan this year but turned it down to be closer to his family stateside.

Friday’s plans: The Revs will depart York at 8:30 a.m. on Friday for a 1 p.m. exhibition at Southern Maryland. RHP Omar Javier and LHP Yunior Novoa will receive most of the work Mason said. RHP Stephen Penney, LHP James Houser and RHP Santo Luis will also see some action. York will return home on Saturday for Fan Fest, where they’ll face an all-star team of local players. RHP Corey Thurman will get the start in that contest.

Pitching/Roster cuts?: Mason said he’s very pleased with what he’s seen from all of York’s pitchers thus far. In a total of 25 innings, Revs’ pitchers have tossed 327 pitches, an average of 13.1 innings per inning. There has been only one walk and one hit-by-pitch.

York currently has 15 pitchers and 12 position players on the roster (27 total). Atlantic League squads can start the season with 27 players on the roster, which has to be paired down to 25 by the end of May. It’s likely the Revs will go with three catchers to start the season (catcher Alex Lentz is a spring training invite), but Mason said the team might not have to make any cuts to pitchers being that Dumas Garcia has yet to arrive in camp.

“If we made decisions, we would have to make it Monday at the latest because we have to go to Sugar Land on Tuesday. My anticipation is all 14 of these (pitchers) go to Texas. That would be my bet.”

Arrivals: Etchebarren said he expects infielders Liu Rodriguez and Ramon Castro to arrive in York on Friday and possibly play on Saturday. Infielder Danny Gonzalez should arrive by Saturday, Etchebarren said.

DeSalvo/Barcelo update: It sounds unlikely that right-hander Matt DeSalvo will play for York anytime soon, according to Mason. DeSalvo is currently playing overseas in Taiwan. The club he’s playing for has the option of extending his contract on May 1.

“He’s not gonna know until May 1 because that’s when his option’s up. If he goes from Taiwan to Italy and then here,” Mason said. “And Lorenzo Barcelo (currently playing in Mexican League) still wants to come at the end of the year. Those guys are done at the end of August and want to come. They don’t care about the money they want to come win a championship.”

Quotebook: Panigua had a couple attempts to chase down a pop fly behind the dugout on Thursday, but failed to make it to the ball each time. Etchebarren had this to say:

“He told me after that one by the dugout, ‘I want to steal a couple bases this year.’ I told him if he can’t catch that ball he ain’t stealing any bases.”

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