Well, LHP Kris Regas just made the lives of Revs’ manager Andy Etchebarren and pitching coach Mark Mason a little bit easier.

York learned Monday that Regas has signed with Saltillo, of the Mexican League. Mason also said Monday the team has placed RHP Shaun Garceau (shoulder) on the inactive list.

As a result, York will head to Sugar Land on Tuesday with 12 position players and 13 pitchers. A couple days ago, York had 27 players on the active roster – 12 position players and 15 pitchers. And Etch’ wanted to trim the roster down by one by getting rid of a pitcher. With Regas departing and Garceau on the inactive list, Etch’ and Mason no longer have to worry about making roster decisions. For now, anyway.

Garceau is dealing with tendonitis in his right throwing shoulder. He will stay in York this week and will be re-evaluated when the team returns home next week. Mason said RHP Dumas Garcia will arrive in York from Colombia next week.

“Because (Garcia) probably hasn’t thrown much I think we’re going to keep him inactive for maybe most of the homestand next week and see what we got,” Mason said. “So, the 13 (pitchers) we’re going to Texas will be the 13 guys who are on the active list and will be on the active list when we come home.”

So, the roster is set for now. But Etch’ and Mason might have to make some tough roster decisions in a couple weeks when Garceau and Garcia are evaluated.

Regas: Regas, 32, came to York late last season from Lancaster in a trade for future considerations. The left-hander is a former New York Mets’ and Detroit Tigers’ prospect. He held opponents scoreless in nine appearances for York last year, including five postseason appearances. He also looked sharp in spring training.

Being that York still has three left-handed options in the bullpen (LHP Yunior Novoa, LHP James Houser and LHP Ian Thomas), Mason said he isn’t worred about the depature of Regas.

Regas said Monday this will be his first time playing in a foreign country.

“During the off-season I teach, so I’ve always had a pretty stable job and I was never able to play winter ball anywhere outside of the country,” he said.

Regas didn’t rule out returning to York at the end of the season when the Mexican League season wraps up in August.

“I’m going to leave my car with my host family here (in York), so whenever it ends for me I’ll have to come back here,” Regas said.

Regas said he’ll leave York later this week, flying out of Harrisburg International Airport.

Garceau: Garceau said Monday he’s never dealt with an arm injury before and he believes the tendonitis in his right throwing shoulder is minor.

“I think it’s really minor. They said they want to get me back as soon as possible. I’m going to stay here, put all temptation aside to go and stay here and rest up,” he said.

Garceau started off spring training by throwing and then having a day off. He did that twice until he threw on back-to-back days on Thursday and Friday. Garceau said he had been throwing regularly over the off-season, but he didn’t throw at all the week before he arrived in York, which may have played a role in the injury.

“I was throwing and throwing and just the last week I was doing a lot of stuff trying to get here. Maybe I kind of rushed into it considering where I was a month ago,” he said.

Arrivals: RHP reliever Ricardo Gomez and SS Danny Gonzalez arrived in York over the weekend. Gomez is fresh off pitching in the playoffs in a league in Panama and Gonzalez said he recently played in a league in Puerto Rico.

Starting rotation: Mason re-affirmed on Monday that York’s first four starters at Sugar Land will be RHP Corey Thurman, LHP Ryan Feierabend, LHP Chris Cody and LHP Jesus Sanchez. But it sounds like Sanchez will need a good outing if he wants to keep his job.

“And then when we come home you’ll see the same four and then the fifth day at home will be the first time for the fifth starter, probably RHP Omar Javier. But there’s a chance maybe Sanchez gets bumped out of there and maybe Javier or LHP Yunior Novoa will be the four and five. We’re pretty set on our first three.”

Starting lineup: Etchebarren said his starting lineup on Thursday will be 1. Scott Grimes (CF), 2. Stephen Douglas (RF), 3. Ramon Castro (3B), 4. Chris Nowak (1B), 5. Michael Hernandez (DH), 6. Andres Perez (2B), 7. James Shanks (LF), 8. Danny Gonzalez (SS), 9. Salvador Paniagua (C).

Travel plans: The Revs will depart from York by bus at 8 a.m. on Tuesday for Baltimore Washington International Airport, where the team will fly out of to Sugar Land. Etch’ said the team may practice at Constellation Field on Tuesday.

Mariners sign a Bluefish: The Bridgeport Bluefish announced on Sunday that outfielder Chris Pettit has been picked up by the Seattle Mariners and assigned to Class AAA Tacoma. Pettit enters his sixth of professional baseball. The 27-year-old began the 2011 campaign in the Major Leagues with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and would finish the year splitting time between Triple-A Salt Lake and Double-A Arkansas. Pettit is the first Bluefish to be picked up by an affiliated club this year.

New radio home for Barnstormers: The Lancaster Barnstormers announced on Monday  that its new radio home is WLAN-AM, 1390, a Clear Channel station based in downtown Lancaster, and on the station’s web stream at 1390wlan.com. The Barnies have been looking for a new radio home since last month after WLAN-1490 dropped them for Philadelphia Phillies games.

Atlantic League team in Boston?: An article on BallparkDigest.com reported on Monday that Alex Bok, president of the Boston Baseball Field of Dreams LLC, is interested in putting an Atlantic League franchise in Boston. The article reports a $50 million price tag for a new ballpark and if everything goes according to plan, Bok is eyeing a 2014 opening. Then again, we’ve seen what has happened with plans like these before (i.e. Loudon Hounds), so proceed with caution.

 

 

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At the end of the 2011 season, Revs manager Andy Etchebarren said he sat down with management and front office personnel and figured out who the team wanted to pursue on the Road Warriors’ end-of-season roster.

Etch’ chose three players.

“I wanted Javier, Thomas and Gonzalez,” Etchebarren said Monday.

Javier is right-hander Omar Javier, who is projected as the team’s No. 5 starter to begin the season after posting a 5.65 ERA in eight starts and three relief appearances for the Road Warrios last year. Thomas is Adam Thomas, the Revs’ set-up man who collected 17 saves and put together a 1.73 ERA a year ago for the Road Warriors.

And, finally, Gonzalez is infielder Danny Gonzalez, who returned to the Atlantic League last season after a two-year hiatus. He will be York’s everyday starting short stop to begin the year.

A former Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs prospect, Gonzalez put up good numbers in the Atlantic League with the Lancaster Barnstormers from 2005 through 2008. In his final year with Lancaster in 2008, Gonzalez batted .299 with 11 homers and 59 RBIs. After not hearing interest from any affiliated clubs following the 2008 season, Gonzalez wanted to try something new. So, he opted to play in the Mexican League, where he could continue to play the sport he loved while also making more money than he would if he returned to the Atlantic League.

“I did good here (in the Atlantic League) and nothing happened so I decided to go for the experience and it was fun,” Gonzalez said Monday.

The veteran infielder spent the 2010 season playing in Italy. He felt the itch to return to the Atlantic League in 2011, so he joined the Road Warriors. Compared to what he did with Lancaster in 2008, Gonzalez’s numbers in 2011 weren’t outstanding (.289 batting average, four homers, 37 RBIs). But they were impressive considering Gonzalez said he played with a separated left shoulder for nearly the entire season. He said he injured the shoulder when benches cleared in a game at Long Island early in the 2011 season.

“We got into a fight against Long Island and somebody grabbed me from behind and threw me into the the ground,” Gonzalez said.

As a result, the switch-hitter was forced to bat from the right side of the plate until he felt fully healed in the final week of the season.

Gonzalez, 30, said he played winter ball this year in Panama and his native Dominican Republic, where he helped his Escogido squad capture the Carribean Series championship in February.

Gonzalez, who arrived in York over the weekend, said he’s spent the last couple months playing in a league in Puerto Rico, so he’s ready to go for the Revs (he’ll bat eighth in the lineup on Thursday). He’s also looking forward to seeing what kind of numbers he can produce in a full healthy season.

“Last year I had dislocated my left shoulder and I still hit near .290,” he said. “Now that I’m healthy, hopefully I can get back to where I used to be.”

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It’s unfortunate to hear, but it sounds like the weather might play a role in the future of a current York Revolution player.

Following the Revs’ 10-1 win over the York County All-Stars on Saturday at the 2012 Fan Fest event at Sovereign Bank Stadium, Revs’ manager Andy Etchebarren let out a few details on where the roster stands. (Check out full details from Saturday’s game here)

Atlantic League teams can begin the season with 27 players but rosters have to be paired down to 25 players by the end of May. As of Saturday night, York has 12 position players and 15 pitchers on the roster – 27 total (not including spring training invite catcher Alex Lentz). Etch’ said he would like to begin the season with 26 players – 12 position players and 14 pitchers.

York’s scheduled game on Sunday against the Lancaster Barnstormers has been cancelled due to inclement weather. Position players will take batting practice in the indoor cages instead on Sunday at 1 p.m. The Revs are still scheduled to host the Somerset Patriots for an exhibition on Monday (closed to the public), but the weather forecast doesn’t look too good for that game, either. So, it looks as if Revs’ baseball operations manager Andrew Ball, Etchebarren and the rest of his coaching staff will have to make decisions on the roster based on what they’ve seen through Saturday.

Who will be the odd man, or rather, pitcher, out?

Well, RHP Dumas Garcia is basically not on the roster right now as the team is still dealing with his VISA issues.

LHP starter Jesus Sanchez pretty much secured a roster spot after an impressive outing in an exhibition against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs on Thursday. By all accounts, York will likely enter the season with the following starting rotation: RHP Corey Thurman, LHP Ryan Feierabend, LHP Chris Cody, RHP Omar Javier and LHP Jesus Sanchez.

RHP Ricardo Gomez is expected to arrive in York on Saturday night. Gomez is fresh off pitching in the playoffs in a league in Panama, so he’s ready to go.

We already know RHP Adam Thomas is the set-up reliever and RHP R.J. Rodriguez is the team’s closer. Mason and Etch’ are also high on LHP Ian Thomas, and LHP Kris Regas has been impressive in spring training. Etch’ has said a couple times he really likes 6-foot-7 RHP Stephen Penney. And it sounds like LHP James Houser’s job is safe.

So, that leaves RHP Santo Luis, LHP Yunior Novoa and RHP Shaun Garceau as possible candidates who might be leaving York soon.

And Etch’ didn’t exactly give a ringing endorsement for Luis on Saturday.

“Am I impressed with Santo at this point? No. I’m not impressed at this point with what I thought I was getting,” Etch’ said. “Sporting News picked him best arm in independent league baseball last year. He’s throwing 89-91. We have a lot of guys throwing 89-91. I thought I was getting a guy who could throw 93-95. I haven’t seen that yet. He might throw 93 to 95 a month from now. I don’t know that. If he does, I want him.”

But if York is unable to have an exhibition game on Monday, pitchers won’t have another chance to prove themselves before the season opens on Thursday.

“It puts me in a bind,” Etch’ said. “If we don’t play the next few days, I’m in a bind on my decision.”

If he does have to make a roster move, Etch’ said he’ll likely do it on Monday.

“I’m going to break (spring training camp) with 26 (players). I just can’t break with 25. I just can’t do it,” Etch’ said. “It wouldn’t be fair to some of these guys. I would love to be able to break with 25. Would that be an honest thing to do because of six or seven hundred dollars? I’m not sure. I’ll be honest with you. I’m not sure. Everyone of these guys look pretty good.”

Whether the move will be a release or trade remains to be seen. York does still owe Somerset a player from the Michael Hernandez trade, and Etch’ had said previously he would like to send the Patriots a pitcher. But Somerset could always say ‘No’ to one of York’s players. Should that happen, who knows where things will go from there?

Arrivals: Ball sure has been busy this weekend. On Friday night, he picked up infielders Ramon Castro and Liu Rodriguez at Baltimore-Washington International airport. Castro and Rodriguez both played in Saturday’s exhibition. On Saturday night, Ball said he is driving to Lancaster to pick up Gomez at the Amtrak train station and then to Harrisburg International airport to pick up infielder Danny Gonzalez.

Gomez’s arrival puts York in somewhat of a bind. The team wasn’t expecting Gomez to arrive from Panama for at least another week. If that would’ve happened, the Revs would have had room to take 26 players to Sugar Land, where York opens the season on Thursday. That would’ve given Etch’ and Mason a few more games to evaluate some of their pitchers before Gomez came on board. Now with Gomez in camp, Etch’ will be forced to make a roster decision sooner rather than later.

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Back in 2009, Travis Hake was just a couple years removed from playing in the Atlantic League. The Brogue resident was still staying involved in the game by playing in the local men’s Susquehanna/Central League.

And the York Revolution was set to play an exhibition spring training game against an all-star men’s league team for the 2009 Fan Fest event. But when Hake was approached about starring for the men’s league squad, he turned it down.

“I just wanted to let the other guys play because I played here before,” Hake said Saturday. “It’s a big deal to people. And I just got out of the league, so I figured I’d let them play.”

The infielder played in the Susquehanna League for three different teams after a stint in the Milwaukee Brewers’ minor league system in 2000 and 2001. He went to play for the Revs in 2007, and also spent two seasons with the Lancaster Barnstormers in 2005 and 2006.

It’s unclear if Hake’s presence would have made a difference in the 2009 game, as the Revs won, 18-1.

This time around, Hake didn’t turn down the offer to play for the men’s league team, dubbed the “York County All-Stars.” For the first time since that 2009 event, the men’s league team squared off against the Revs on Saturday in the 2012 Fan Fest event.

Coming into the contest, Hake reminisced about the time he played for Division II Carson-Newman College.

“When I was in college at Carson-Newman, we were Division II and we played Tennessee, they were D-I. And we beat them like 13-6, they were just livid,” Hake said.

The York County All-Stars weren’t able to have the same success against the Revs on Saturday, falling to the Revs, 10-1.

Still, the game provided plenty of entertainment. Starting for the York County All-Stars was Shawn Hedrick (Susquehanna/Red Lion), who had pitched for the Revs in 2009 and 2010, combining to start, allowing 16 earned runs over 26.2 innings (5.41 ERA) with a 1-3 record.

The Revs scored two runs, one earned off of Hedrick in one inning of work. Scott Grimes reached third on a double steal and came home on a throwing error for the game’s first run, and Chris Nowak posted his seventh RBI of the spring with a double to right-center, plating Stephen Douglas to give York the 2-0 lead.

York County’s Kyle Cook (Central, Mt. Wolf) surrendered a run on three hits in the second inning. An RBI single by Salvador Paniagua scored James Shanks to give the Revs a 3-0 lead.

York County drew to within 3-1 in the top of the third when Jason Aspito (Susquehanna, Red Lion) scored on an error by Grimes in center field.

The Revs’ second baseman Andres Perez made it 5-1 in the bottom half of the third with a two-run homer to left-center off of Austin Hinkle (Susquehanna, Red Lion).

York County pitchers Jake Schoelkoph (Hallam), Brian Bossom (Jefferson), Jason Enoch (Red Lion) and T.J. Thomas (Stoverstown) combined to hold the Revs scoreless the next four innings.

The Revs put up five runs in the eighth off of Chris Stoudt (Windsor) behind a two-run homer from James Shanks and a three-run homer from Scott Grimes.

Revs’ starter Corey Thurman allowed the unearned run on two hits while striking out two and walking two. Revs’ relievers Santo Luis, Kris Regas, Adam Thomas and R.J. Rodriguez held York County scoreless in the final five innings but did give up four hits.

Talent: The York County All-Stars entered Saturday’s match-up with a roster that featured seven players with pro ball experience.

That included Aspito, who went 2-for-2 at the plate and reached base on an error in another at-bat. The Revs’ franchise leader in home runs (42), Aspito retired from the pro game in 2009 and is in his second year coaching the Penn State York baseball program. Prior to the game, Aspito held a home run derby to raise money for PSY baseball. Fans could pledge a certain amount of money for each home run Aspito hit. He ended up knocking three out to right field, which raised a total of $407.

Hake ended up going 0-for-3 at the plate. Enoch once played for the Barnstormers. Hinkle had a stint in the Tampa Bay Rays’ farm system until playing for the Barnstormers for the entire 2010 season.

Trent Kline (Central, Mount Wolf) is a West York High School grad who reached High Class A San Jose as a San Francisco Giants prospect in 2009. Todd Meyer (Central, Pleasureville) is a former York College ballplayer who pitched a couple seasons in the minors for the Montreal Expos (sic Washington Nationals) in 2002 and 2003. Meyer reached base safely in all three of his plate appearances on Saturday, going 1-for-1 and reaching two other times on errors.

A total of $1,051 was raised Saturday for the Susquehanna and Central leagues.

York County manager Rod Seitz (Susquehanna, Hallam) said he would love to see the Revs welcome back the York County All-Stars again in the future.

“Absolutely. This gives the notoriety to York County baseball,” Seitz said. “It helps the Revs out a little bit, too. It’s their pre-season and it’s hard for them to find teams around here to play. As long as they keep wanting to have us we’ll keep coming back.”

American Idol: American Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina had an autograph signing outside the stadium before the game. She later threw out the ceremonial first pitch, but didn’t fair too well – it went over the head of catcher Travis Scott. Alaina didn’t sing the national anthem, though. Apparently she had to be in Harrisburg for a concert later in the night.

York Dispatch editor Mark Franklin, who blogs about American Idol, covered Alaina’s detail to York in full detail. Check out the full story here.

 

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Before we get to all the events of Saturday…York traveled to Southern Maryland on Friday for its fourth exhibition game of spring training. The Revs defeated the Blue Crabs, 6-5, to improve to 3-1 this pre-season.

FAN FEST: The York Revolution’s annual Fan Fest event is set to take place on Saturday at Sovereign Bank Stadium. In preparations for the event, the stadium this week has been getting somewhat of a facelift. The team’s new logos were being replaced this week pretty much anywhere the old logos could be found. Perhaps the biggest change are to those above the front  gates, where the old display included action shots of Revs’ players surrounding the old logo. Team officials were set to be putting up new stickers throughout the park later in the week, and the team store should be ready to go by Saturday. (Check out the pictures of the re-furbished store here). Upgrades to the store included new carpet, paint, and shelving – apparently some of the shelving is designed by a local company operated by the man who last year worked as the Revs’ mascot, Downtown.

As far as the schedule of events for Saturday, Fan Fest will include a country music show and an appearance by a special celebrity guest. The event is presented by Great Country 107.7 WGTY.

The day will kick off at 10:15 a.m. with a free concert on the Brooks Robinson Plaza featuring Mountain Road, a York County band which was a finalist in WGTY’s contest to play at the York Fair this past summer.

Former American Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina will then greet fans with a question-and-answer session following the Mountain Road show. That will begin at 11 a.m. on the plaza and last until 11:15 a.m., when she will hold an autograph session with fans until noon. Alaina will be unable to perform because she has a show later in the day in Harrisburg.

While the autograph session is going on, a group of Revs’ players will officially debut the team’s updated uniforms for the 2012 season on the plaza, featuring the new color scheme of navy blue and gold. Players will also model new-look Revs’ merchandise for the upcoming season.

Before Saturday’s game, the Jason Aspito Home Run Derby fundraiser will be held from 12:30 p.m. until 1 p.m., which will benefit the Penn State York baseball program.

Aspito is the Revs’ all-time home run leader who is now the Penn State York head coach. He will also be a member of the Central League/Susquehanna League all-star team. Aspito will take 30 swings, and fans will be able to pledge an amount of money of their choosing per home run that Aspito hits.

Aspito: Aspito played for York for a part of the 2007 season and all of 2008 and 2009, clubbing a total of 42 homers over that time. He retired from being a pro player after the 2009 season and has spent the last couple years playing in the local Central/Susquehanna League while also coaching the Penn State York baseball program. The Nittany Lions haven’t faired so well in either of the two seasons under Aspito – they’re currently 3-15 with four games left on the schedule.

When I caught up with Aspito earlier this season, he said the money raised Saturday will likely go towards funding a trip down south next season for PSY. He said most of PSY’s opponents are able to get games in earlier in the year by playing in warmer weather climates down south, such as when York College traveled to Georgia in late February to begin its season. PSY didn’t start this season until late March. It’s interesting that Aspito is set to take part in the game on Saturday, too, considering PSY is set to play a double-header at Penn State Brandywine beginning at 2 p.m.

Other notable players: Aspito isn’t the only former player with minor league experience who will suit up for the men’s all-star team on Saturday.

Former Revolution and Lancaster Barnstormers player Travis Hake (Susquehanna, Conrads) will also be participating in the game as part of the men’s league all-stars. Hake, born in York and a Brogue resident, played in the Susquehanna League for three different teams after a stint in the Milwaukee Brewers’ minor league system. He went to be the only former Susquehanna League player to play for the Revs in 2007, and also spent two season with the Lancaster Barnstormers in 2005 and 2006.

Former Revs’ pitcher Shawn Hedrick (Susquehanna, Red Lion) pitched for York in 2009 and 2010, combining to start five games, allowing 16 earned runs over 26.2 innings (5.41 ERA) with a 1-3 record.

Former Barnstormers pitcher Austin Hinkle will also return to York for the first time since 2010. A Hempfield High School grad, Hinkle had a stint in the Tampa Bay Rays’ farm system until playing for the Barnstormers for the entire 2010 season. That year, the righty went 0-2 with a 5.76 ERA in 29 relief appearances, striking out 33 batters over 45.1 innings of work.

Infielder Trent Kline (Central, Mount Wolf) is a West York High School grad who played a couple years at Division I South Carolina before being drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 2007. A catcher in the Giants organization, Kline reached High Class A San Jose in 2009. Infielder Todd Meyer (Central, Pleasureville) is a former York College ballplayer who pitched a couple seasons in the minors for the Montreal Expos (sic Washington Nationals) in 2002 and 2003.

Men’s league roster: The game between the Revs and the Central League/Susquehanna League all-star team is set to start at 1:15 p.m. This is the first meeting between the local all-stars and the Revs since 2009. In that first meeting, the Revs rolled to an 18-1 triumph over the local stars.

Tickets for the game are $3 for Revs’ season-ticket holders and $5 for the general public. Tickets may be purchased at the Apple Chevrolet Ticket Office or at YorkRevolution.com. With every ticket purchase, $1 will benefit the Susquehanna and Central leagues.

York Revolution right-hander Corey Thurman is set to start for the Revs on Saturday. Following is the 31-player roster for the local all-star team. Each player is listed with his team and league:

Pitchers

Brian Bossum, Central, Jefferson; Andy Clemens, Central, Manchester; Kyle Cook, Central, Mount Wolf; Jay Enoch, Susquehanna, Red Lion; Shawn Hedrick, Susquehanna, Red Lion; Austin Hinkle, Susquehanna, Red Lion; Jason Kelly, Central, Manchester; Jake Schoelkoph, Susquehanna, Hallam; Chris Stoudt, Susquehanna, Windsor; T.J. Thomas, Central, Stoverstown; Jarrod Yecker, Central, Mount Wolf.

Catchers

Ryan Meyers, Central, Glen Rock; Mark Schauren, Susquehanna, Columbia; Justin Seitz, Susquehanna, Hallam.

Infielders

Logan Allison, Central, Manchester; J.W. Beshore, Central, Stoverstown; Anthony Ferrell, Susquehanna, Conrads; Travis Hake, Susquehanna, Conrads; Trent Kline, Central, Mount Wolf; Dustin Kuhn, Central, Dover; Eric McNeil, Susquehanna, Red Lion; Todd Meyer, Central, Pleasureville; Jason Seitz, Susquehanna, Hallam; Rick Thompson, Susquehanna, Windsor.

Outfielders

Jason Aspito, Susquehanna, Red Lion; Mike Austin, Susquehanna, Jacobus; John Benchich, Susquehanna, Hallam; Brian Crimmel, Susquehanna, Jacobus; Steve Gentile, Central, Jefferson; Aaron Meyers, Central, Mount Wolf; Austin Rickrode, Central, Dover.

Coaching staff

Rod Seitz, manager; Chad Kennell, coach; Tim Poff, coach; Jeff Barkdoll, coach; Tim Brenner, coach.

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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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