First off, my apologies on not having regular updates lately. This week has been a little busy with local York County teams in various district playoffs.

Anyway, this is more of a Q&A I had before Sunday’s game with former Revs’ reliever Jason Richardson, who is back from Tommy John surgery pitching for the Lancaster Barnstormers this season.

Before we get to that, though, just wanted to recommend checking out the game story from the Revs’ 6-5 loss to Sugar Land on Tuesday, when York outfielder James Shanks made history by setting the club’s new all-time hits record.

Also, here’s the game story from York’s 7-6 loss to Sugar Land on Wednesday night. It ended up being Brett Tomko’s worst start of the year as Sugar Land improved to 27-5 and York fell to 17-16 overall and 3-10 in one-run games.

 

Former Revs’ reliever Jason Richardson spent all of last season in York rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. After a year off, Richardson is back in baseball with the Lancaster Barnstormers. In five appearances through Wednesday, Richardson has held opponents scoreless over 4.1 innings of work, striking out three with no walks.

Richardson, who played a big part in York’s championship clubs in 2010 and 2011, was holding out hope he could return to the game this season with the Revs.

“I was originally holding out to come back to York. I wanted to come back here. They took care of me last year and let me work and getting healthy,” he said. “We never could work anything out. I think they may have been a little bit timid about the elbow. (Lancaster manager) Butch (Hobson) brought me in on a tryout about a week before (spring training). I’ve been up here (in Lancaster) since. They (the Barnstormers) have so many quality arms. We had a couple guys get picked up (by major league teams) in  (Joe) Mather and (Tim) Dillard and that opened up a spot for me.”

Richardson, 32, said he was healthy enough to come back near the end of last season, but York didn’t want to take a chance on the right-hander at that point.

“I got cleared (to pitch) right around 11 months. The doctor over here cleared me (in late August),” he said. “I got cleared then and I had been throwing well. I understand why (York didn’t take a chance on me). I thought I had a shot to come back. I was thinking more along the lines of I wanted to come back and pitch. I can understand why they didn’t want to bring me back that early on. From a business standpoint they had three weeks to a month left before the playoffs start. They would’ve had to keep an eye on me. I wouldn’t have been able to go out there in a close game with a team that’s trying to make a playoff run they don’t want to trust a guy who’s just coming off surgery.”

Richardson said his only other serious injury of his now 14-year pro career came in 2001 when he had to get bone spurs taken out of his throwing elbow. In his comeback this season, Richardson first pitched for the Long Island Storm, a team comprised of current and former Atlantic League players that scrimmages teams down in Florida during Major League Baseball’s spring training. He said his fastball was topping out at 92 mph in spring training, but has been clocked at 95 mph at Lancaster’s Clipper Magazine Stadium.

“I feel like the velocity is as good, if not better, than it was before surgery,” he said. “I think that first outing (in spring training) I was 92 or 93. As far as being this early in the year for me normally my velocity doesn’t peak until June. So if I can add another couple miles an hour it could be fun.”

Richardson spent the off-season getting healthy and working as a substitute teacher for the second year in a row in his native Florida. He’s also two classes away from obtaining a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Phoenix.

“My wife teaches middle school. I like the idea that when I’m done playing having the summers off with her,” he said. “She’s been able to come up and stay with me for months during the summer. I like that idea but I want to get into coaching high school baseball and things like that.”

But Richardson, who has never played in the majors and has only played one season at the Class AAA level in 2006, said his teaching career won’t start for at least another couple years.

“We’ll play this year and next year and see what happens…as long as I feel good,” he said “I’d love to get an affiliated deal. What’s the chances at my age honestly (at getting signed my a major league team)? If I didn’t get picked up at 27 or 28 (years-old) what’s the chances I could get picked up at 32? I feel like I can be one of the better pitchers coming out of the bullpen in this league. And I know this is a good league. So if I can be a guy to come in and have a job here, why not?”

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Every now and then a name will pop up in my mind or in conversation around this time of year regarding a former Revs’ player and his potential of coming back to York. Given the success left-handed starter Chris Waters had for the Revs in 2012, I figured he’d be a lock to come back in 2013.

So it surprised me a couple weeks ago when I broached the subject with Revs’ manager Mark Mason, who informed me Waters had found a player-coach deal with a pro team in Hawaii. Now that I’ve found time to get around to this, Revs’ baseball operations manager Andrew Ball recently provided me a phone number for Waters, which I called Wednesday to get to the bottom of what is going with the former big league starter.

Before we get to that, he’s a refresher on what Waters did last season:

Waters joined the Revs in mid-June shortly after the club released Jesus Sanchez. The former Baltimore Orioles starter came to York 15 months removed from Tommy John surgery to his throwing elbow. But the southpaw didn’t suffer the injury in typical fashion. Rather, it was caused in 2010 when Waters was at-bat while playing in a game for Nashville against Albuquerque, the Class AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. An Albuquerque pitcher drilled Waters in his throwing arm with a pitch. Anyway, Waters had a pretty good year considering his health factors. The 32-year-old posted a 6-7 ERA and 4.38 ERA over 18 starts, striking out 59 and walking 29 in 90.1 innings of work. Among his 2012 highlights, Waters threw a complete-game one-hitter at Sugar Land on Sept. 18, marking the first time he accomplished the feat since 2008 as a member of the Baltimore Orioles. Overall, it was 10th complete game of his now 12-year pro career. He was one of three York pitchers to throw a complete-game nine inning shutout in 2012.

Given his success and his health factors, I figured the 32-year-old Waters would have a good shot at getting picked up in 2013 should he come back to York and post solid numbers again while showing he’s healthy.

Unfortunately for the baseball vet and his family, some factors outside of the game caused him to contemplate retirement.

Paralyzed: It was the day before Waters’ Aug. 28 start when he learned his younger brother, a husband and father to two young kids ages eight and seven months, was involved in a serious motorcycle accident.

“He was an electrician in Florida,” Waters said. “He was on the way home from Universal Studios, where he was working on a ride. He got in a wreck around 3 a.m.”

The accident left Waters’ brother, who will turn 27 later this month, paralyzed from the chest down.

“To be honest after last season I basically hung ‘em up. I was retiring after this past year. My brother getting in the wreck and breaking his neck…the mental side of it being away from my family. That put family in a different perspective for me.”

Waters said his brother is doing as well he can recovering in a hospital in Tampa, Florida.

“He’s in a wheelchair,” Waters said. “He’s paralyzed from the chest down. He’s working hard to gain ground.”

Opportunity: Waters is living in South Carolina with his wife and their two-year-old son this off-season. The couple is expecting is their second child in July. It’ll be Waters’ fourth child – he also had two kids with his ex-wife.

He’s spent the off-season working towards a business degree online through the University of Phoenix while staying in baseball shape at The Dugout, an indoor baseball and softball facility in Myrtle Beach. It’s there he met Jeff Brooks, a former Arizona Diamondbacks’ and San Diego Padres’ prospect who played high school ball across the Susquehanna River in Lancaster County for the Solanco Mules. Brooks last played in 2006 as a member of North Shore (Can-Am League) and is taking over the managerial reigns this season for Na Koa Ikaika, which plays its home games on the island of Maui in Hawaii.

In search of a pitching coach, Brooks kept pushing Waters to help him out and come to Hawaii, a place Waters has never been.

“He (Brooks) is one of the guys who gives lessons down here (at The Dugout). He was the hitting coach last year (for Maui) and asked to be the manager for them this year. He asked me for two months straight to be his pitching coach. We got to talking and were able to work out a deal where I could coach and also continue pitching.”

According to Waters, Maui is a lot like the Atlantic League in that it puts together a new roster of pro players each season. However, the schedule is a bit different to say the least. Maui  plays teams on the Hawaiian islands, in addition to trips to San Francisco, Japan and South Korea. It’s those latter trips that made the deal more appealing for Waters.

“Before I had Tommy John surgery, I was talking with a team in Japan and they were talking big numbers (for a contract) and then I got hurt,” Waters said.

So, there’s a chance Waters could end up pitching against some teams in Japan. And if he does well, it could lead to a gig with a team there. Plus, the Maui deal offers other benefits for Waters. He said he’ll be able to make a lot more money than he would in the Atlantic League. And he’ll be able to test being a coach, something he’s had thoughts of doing after his playing days.

“I figured I’d give it a shot this year and see what happens,” Waters said. “My ultimate goal is to be a scout or a police officer. That’s the two things I can do if I’m done with ball.”

Return to York?: Waters said he’ll be leaving South Carolina for Maui at the end of April. The season starts around the end of May.

“But the season ends at end of August,” Waters said. “I told Mason if they had an opening around that time then I could potentially come back. I really enjoyed it last year. But as far as financially, it wasn’t quite feasible to come back (this season).”

J.Rich update: Waters said he still keeps in touch with former Revs’ pitcher Jason Richardson. The players were high school teammates and later teammates again in the Atlanta Braves’ organization. Richardson had a locker next to Waters’ in York last season while Richardson rehabbed from Tommy John surgery. If you remember, Richardson was putting up arguably his best numbers of his career in 2011, going 4-0 with a 3.33 ERA in 19 relief appearances, before the season was cut short due to injury problems, which led to TJ surgery.

Anyway, Waters said Richardson is still hoping to sign on with a team somewhere this season.

“I told him we don’t have much money (in Maui) to offer, but I would love to have him,” he said.

 

DeSalvo update: Revs’ manager Mark Mason said Wednesday evening that he thinks former Revs’ starter Matt DeSalvo has signed to play in Taiwan again this season. Last season, York was hoping to add the right-hander in September to bolster its starting rotation going into the post-season. But DeSalvo couldn’t give a clear timeline as to when he could become available since his team in the Chinese Professional Baseball League made the playoffs. York eventually had to proceed without him.

DeSalvo helped York capture back-to-back Atlantic League titles in 2010 and 2011 – his first ever championships won as a pro. In 2010, he came to York in mid-August after pitching for Class AAA New Orleans (Marlins). The former big leaguer went on to post a 5-2 record and 4.67 ERA in seven starts and five relief appearances for the Revs. He followed that up in 2011 with a 6-3 record and 3.89 ERA in 18 starts and five relief appearances.

Loudon Hounds update: The Loudon (Va.) County Planning Commission approved plans for a soccer and baseball stadium at a meeting Tuesday night. Should the stadium ever come to fruition, it would be home to the Loudon Hounds, which is aiming to become a member of the Atlantic League. While it’s good news for the Hounds, it sounds like the stadium still has some hoops to jump through before getting a plan finalized. For more more details on it, click here.

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Around this time last year, Chris Nowak was in the midst of still establishing himself in a Revs’ uniform. After starting the year at Class AAA Nashville (Brewers), Nowak came over to York only to put up eye-popping numbers. In 84 regular season games, the 6-foot-5 slugger set a club-record 25 homers to go along with 66 RBIs. Had he joined York earlier in the year, he likely would have nabbed Atlantic League MVP honors.

The slugger has picked up where he left in his second year with the club in 2012. The Wisconsin native had his third two-run home run performance of the season Thursday night to lead York to an 11-0 victory over Long Island, pushing the Revs’ winning streak to a season-high seven games, one shy of matching the club record

(You can check out the full game story here with full details on the stellar pitching performance of lefty Chris Waters. With the win, York finished off a four-game sweep of the Ducks to move 5.5 games up on Somerset in the wildcard and 1.5 games back of Lancaster for the Atlantic League Freedom Division second-half race).

With his pair of homers, Nowak is now just one shy of matching the club record he set last year. But things haven’t always come this easy for the 29-year-old.

Chatting a little bit about his career path, he said he’s always put up close to 40 doubles and 100 RBIs while coming up through the Tampa Bay Rays’ farm system. And he’s right for the most part. Here’s a look at his numbers:

2005: Second year as a pro, 28 doubles, 65 RBIs in 103 games at Class A Southwest Michigan

2006: 45 doubles, 103 RBIs in 130 games at High Class A Visalia

2007: 21 doubles, 55 RBIs in 104 games at Class AA Montgomery

2008: 15 doubles, 77 RBIs in 122 games at Class AA Montgomery.

But Nowak said he was never really a home run hitter. He had five in 2005, 11 in 2006, seven in 2007 and 15 the next year at Montgomery.

“I had some success when I was with the Rays. Some big years. Not the success of home runs but I was hitting more doubles. I had a couple seasons with 40 doubles and 100 RBIs,” Nowak said Thursday.

So, what has changed between now and then? Well, in an interview nearly a year ago, Nowak had told me about the instructions of Milwaukee Brewers’ minor league hitting coach Al LeBoeuf being the turning point in his career. And he touched on it again Thursday.

Nowak joined the Brewers’ organization in 2010 after he opted to take his release from the Tampa Bay Rays – he started the year at Class AAA affiliate in Durham but saw little action, so he opted to go down to Class AA Montgomery so he could see playing time, but just a month into the venture a player returned from injury to the club.

It was at Class AA Huntsville in the Brewers’ organization where he learned from LeBoeuf.

“The hitting coach in double-A was one of the biggest reasons. Just talking about my leverage and keeping my posture. Not falling over and losing all that power that I can create. And then finally understanding what he was talking about,” Nowak said Thursday. “I would lean over the plate to get a low-and-away pitch instead of staying tall. Even hitting to right or left-center you see guys taking outside pitches that’s what they’re giving, they’re using their leverage, they’re not leaning out and pulling it. They’re staying there and hitting doubles.”

Nowak said his ability to stay back on the ball instead of leaning over the plate has meant the difference between hitting for average with plenty of homers and hitting for average without the power numbers.

“You can get away with it (leaning) when you have good eye-hand coordination,” he said. “Now it’s putting it together and hitting with the power.”

MVP candidate?: Had it not been for a slow first few weeks of the season, and a rough patch for a couple weeks after coming back for playing at Mexico City, Nowak would likely be a shoe-in for Atlantic League MVP honors – or Player of the Year”, whatever you want to call it is fine – this season. Sure, he has 78 RBIs (through Thursday) and is on pace for a 100+RBI season and will easily crush the club-record 25 homer mark he set last year. But his .282 average (through Thursday) might hold him back. Still, his slumps appear to be behind him. Plus, York’s lineup at this point is so deep that Nowak has been batting in the No. 6 spot recently. It will only help Nowak when he has solid hitters around him.

Road Trip: York will next hit the road for a six-game trip, starting Friday in the first of three at Somerset followed by three at Southern Maryland. The Revs will return home next Thursday for a makeup game with Camden before hosting Long Island for three and Sugar Land for four games.

J.Rich out of town: It was a little weird when chatting with Revs’ starting pitcher Chris Waters in the clubhouse Thursday night and seeing an empty locker next to him. That locker was being used by former York Revolution pitcher Jason Richardson most of the year – Richardson and Waters were high school teammates and later teammates again in the Atlanta Braves’ organization.

Anyway, Richardson left town Tuesday after learning the Revs’ weren’t interested in his services. Richardson, you see, has been spending his summer in York rehabbing from Tommy John surgery to his throwing elbow. He was never officially under contract with York this year, but I guess he wanted to spend his rehab with a club he’s played with each of the last three years.

Richardson was putting put up arguably his best numbers of his career last year, going 4-0 with a 3.33 ERA in 19 relief appearances, before the season was cut short due to injury.

Revs’ skipper Andy Etchebarren said team doctors recently cleared Richardson to play. However, although the Revs have one open roster spot with 24 active players – one below the league maximum – Etch said he didn’t want to take a chance bringing a reliever on board who is just 11 months removed from T.J. surgery.

“There’s no way I’m going to use him. He’s eleven months out of Tommy John,” Etch’ said. “(Lancaster manager) Butch (Hobson) signed a guy this year 13 months out of Tommy John. The first time he pitched he blew out his arm and he’s been on the DL (disabled list) the whole year. They gotta pay him. There’s no way I’m gonna do that.”

“They cleared him (Richardson) but there’s no way I’m going to pitch him. The other guy was cleared, too, at 13 months. It’s not worth the chance. I got to get rid of somebody because I want to keep that spot open.”

Lancaster loses Everidge: Etch’ said Thursday night that Lancaster manager Butch Hobson informed him Barnstormers infielder Tommy Everidge (injury) are done for the year.

Everidge, last year’s Atlantic League Player of the Year, is batting just .260 with nine homers and 37 RBIs. A year ago, the first baseman batted .360 with 28 homers and 94 RBIs.

It remains to be seen what impact, if any, this will have on the Barnstormers down the stretch. We’ve already seen Lancaster lose players leave this year only for other guys to step up and help the Barnies continue their winning ways. Plus, it’s not like Everidge was putting up solid numbers anyway. Still, one would think it has to hurt a little bit losing two position players at this point in the year.

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Before we get to Tuesday’s practice, just wanted to point out a couple things Revs’ related:

–Feature story from Tuesday’s practice is on right-handed reliever Adam Thomas, which will be featured in Wednesday’s York Dispatch newspaper (check out the online story and video here). Thomas last pitched for York in 2007 when he was picked up by the Oakland A’s. He retired from baseball following the 2007 season but returned last year and put up lights-out numbers.

–Check out the first “REVS WRAP UP” here. The show will be featured on White Rose Community Television. Myself, YDR reporter Jim Seip, play-by-play man Darrel Henry and Revs’ media guru Paul Braverman give our pre-season thoughts.

Tuesday’s practice: Featured the first scrimmage for both York and the Sugar Land Skeeters. The game was somewhat of a lull until the later innings. The Skeeters led 3-0 until York, wearing their new blue and yellow jerseys, put a run on the board in the bottom of the seventh inning on a Salvador Paniagua that scored James Shanks from third. York broke the game open the next inning, with Travis Scott driving in Andres Perez to start things off. With runners on the corners, James Shanks scored on a past ball and after a few bad throws all around the infield, Joe Spiers came around from first to score to make it 5-3. Stephen Douglas then followed that with a solo homer to right field to make it 6-3. After Michael Hernandez reached on a single, Chris Nowak broke an 0-for-4 slump by knocking a two-run homer to center field to make it 8-3, which would end up being the final score.

Skeeters’ starter Matt Wright shut down the Revs in four innings of work, allowing just two hits and striking out six. He struck out the side in the second inning.

Revs’ starter Ryan Feierabend  allowed a run on three hits in four innings, striking out one and walking one. York’s LHP Yunior Novoa gave up a hit but struck out one in one inning. RHP Omar Javier allowed two runs (including a homer) on two hits while striking out two and walking one in one inning of work.Lhp Kris Regas, RHP Adam Thomas and RHP R.J. Rodriguez each pitched an inning and struck out one.

“I thought (Feierabend) threw the ball well except he kind of decelerated on his breaking ball a little bit,” Revs’ pitching coach Mark Mason said. “So, we talked about that. Novoa just tried to overthrow a little bit. Just trying to rush to the plate and throw the ball extra hard. Other than that, I thought Regas, Thomas and R.J. threw the ball really well. Overall I thought we threw the ball well. The bullpen was good.”

As far as who played where…Shanks, Grimes and Hernandez were the LF, CF and RF. Nowak played third and Scott played first, Spiers at short stop and Perez at second. Paniagua caught. Some of the positions (like Nowak at third and Scott at first) happened mainly because some infielders have yet to arrive in York (more on that later).

Starting nine: Following the scrimmage, Revs’ manager Andy Etchebarren named his starting nine to begin the season: CF Scott Grimes, OF Stephen Douglas, 3B Ramon Castro, 1B Chris Nowak, OF Michael Hernandez, 2B Andres Perez, OF James Shanks, SS Danny Gonzalez, C Paniagua/Scott (Yes, there are four outfielders in there, so it just depends on who will DH).

“Pretty good, ain’t it?” Etchebarren said. “You got Shanks hitting seven. Gonzalez can hit, too. And the catchers will be able to drive in some runs, they’re going to have some guys in front of them.”

Set-up man: Etch’ also named right-hander Adam Thomas the team’s set-up man for closer R.J. Rodriguez.

“And we have a lot of choices of who can pitch the sixth and seventh,” he said.

Arrivals: RHP Adam Thomas showed up Monday and pitched in the scrimmage Tuesday. Right-hander Stephen Penney is expected to be in York by Tuesday night. Etch’ said he expects Castro and Liu to be in York no later than Saturday. Gonzalez could be here by the end of the week as well. It’s still unclear when Dumas Garcia might arrive. In a related note, the team has removed RHP Ricardo Gomez, who is pitching in the playoffs in Panama, to open up a roster spot. However, Gomez will join York when he’s finished in Panama.

Plans for Wednesday’s practice: The Revs will take BP in the afternoon before they meet up with the Skeeters under the lights for a scrimmage (closed to the public). LHP Chris Cody will get the start for York. Mason said RHP Shaun Garceau, RHP James Houser, LHP Ian Thomas, RHP Santo Luis will also see action. Penney might also pitch.

Geary/Richardson: Mason said RHP Geoff Geary, a former Philadelphia Phillie who pitched for York in 2011, has retired. RHP Jason Richardson underwent Tommy John surgery to his throwing elbow in October and will rehab this season in York.

Quotebook: I would have told you what some of the Skeeters’ players did on Tuesday, except every player wore number 12. Etch’ asked Sugar Land first-base coach Vic Gutierrez (former York Revolution player in 2007) about it, to which Gutierrez responded:

“It’s our first year as a franchise in 2012.”

Also, Octavio Martinez made his return to York. Martinez, who was York’s catcher for most of the 2011 season, is now catching for Sugar Land. During the scrimmage, Martinez dropped his facemask to catch a pop fly. After the play, Martinez showed off his blue mouth guard by smiling at Etch’, who responded:

“O, you got something in your teeth.”

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York Revolution manager Andy Etchebarren is confident in all parts of his team except one — the bullpen.

And he has reason to be concerned.

Over the last ten games, the Revs’ bullpen has accumulated a 9.13 ERA, allowing 29 runs, 23 earned, over 22 2/3 innings.

“I really like our starting pitching at this point. The only thing I’m concerned about now is our bullpen,” Etchebarren said Monday night following a rainout between the Revs and Road Warriors. “I like our hitting, I like our defense, I like our starting pitching…our bullpen has gotta step up. There are guys in that bullpen that have got to step up. And they know it.”

To improve the bullpen, Etchebarren might be planning on a couple of things before he has set the playoff rosters by Sept. 12.

First, he has to figure out which starting pitcher will become a reliever.

Currently the Revs have six starting pitchers in Corey Thurman, Shaun Garceau, Lorenzo Barcelo, Nick Schumacher, Jino Gonzalez and Justin Edwards.

“I got six starters, which is a blessing. I have not told one of the starters are going to the bullpen yet. As soon as I do that, I’ll let you know,” Etchebarren said.

Next, York could look to move a make either through a signing or trade. Etchebarren said he wants to make one more move by Sept. 12, but he wouldn’t specify at which position.

Schedule: Garceau tossed two scoreless innings before York’s game against the Road Warriors was called at 0-0 after two innings due to rain on Monday night at Sovereign Bank Stadium.

York has no more off days remaining in the regular season. As a result, if York has to make up Monday’s game, it will likely have to come in the off-days between the end of the regular season and the start of the playoffs, something Etchebarren would prefer to avoid.

“Yeah, absolutely I wanted to get the game in,” Etchebarren said. “Now, we might have to play it after the (regular) season if the game means anything. If we make the playoffs and it’s that late, I don’t want to have to play games right before the playoffs. If it doesn’t mean anything then we won’t have to play.”

With Lancaster’s loss to Bridgeport, 11-4, on Monday night, York moved five games up on the Barnstormers for first place in the Atlantic League Freedom Division second-half race. York’s magic number to win the second-half division crown is now at nine games for York.

The Revs are scheduled to play at Long Island on Tuesday night to make up for the Aug. 27 cancellation. The Revs will then play three games at Camden and four at Somerset. York will return home to play six games at home to close out the regular season — three against Bridgeport and three against Southern Maryland.

Here is York’s scheduled starting pitchers for the next three games:

Tuesday at Long Island: Nick Schumacher (1-0, 3.68 ERA).

Wednesday at Camden: Jino Gonzalez (1-0, 4.05 ERA).

Thursday at Camden: Corey Thurman (11-3, 3.26 ERA).

Richardson done: York reliever Jason Richardson said Monday night that he will not be making a comeback anytime soon. The right-hander said he is slated for Tommy John surgery. Richardson (4-0, 3.33 ERA) has been shut down since July 8. At the time, the 31-year-old said there was inflammation in his throwing elbow.

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On a warm spring training day back in April, York’s Jason Richardson decided to help his team out. The relief pitcher wasn’t pitching that day, though. Instead, the 31-year-old Richardson opted to volunteer as bat-boy for the game.

It was funny at first seeing a 6-foot, 3-inch grown man take on the role normally assumed by a boy. By the end of the game, though, Richardson looked sunburned and exhausted.

But that’s just the kind of fun-loving guy that Richardson is, according to Revs pitching coach Mark Mason.

“Not only is he big on the field. He’s big in the clubhouse,” Mason said.

That’s why Mason said it’s bothering everybody on the team to see the right-hander out of action.

The team placed Richardson on the disabled list on Monday. And it’s unlikely he’ll be back this season.

What makes his absence even more disappointing is that Richardson, a multiple-inning reliever, seemed to be having one of his best seasons in his career, going 4-0 with a 3.33 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 19 games.

That came after a 2010 season in which Richardson’s 63 strikeouts set a new club record for for Revs relievers.

“He’s had a really big role for us this year and he’s done really well,” Mason said. “He’s probably throwing the ball as good as I’ve ever seen him throw it, which makes it more disheartening for him and for us.”

Richardson has been battling injuries to his throwing arm most of the season. His appearance against Long Island on July 6 was the first since June 12. At the time, Richardson had recovered from soreness in his throwing elbow. After his next appearance on July 8 at Lancaster, though, something felt wrong.

“That last time I threw it was bugging me while I was throwing. And then the next day I couldn’t even throw. It was pretty bad pain and stuff,” Richardson said.

Richardson has been shut down with inflammation in his throwing elbow. He will rest the next six weeks, at which point he’ll begin a throwing program to get his arm back in game shape. The throwing program will likely take about three weeks to complete, which puts Richardson’s return somewhere around the second week of September at the earliest.

York’s regular season ends September 18, when it hosts Southern Maryland.

But Mason said that all Atlantic League teams have to set their end-of-the-season rosters around Sept. 8.

“And (Richardson) might just be beginning throwing a baseball before that,” Mason said. “So, it seems like he is gonna be done.”

Though it’s bad news for Richardson, the reliever said he is just glad the injury isn’t more serious.

“There is no structural damage with the ligament or anything like that,” he said. “But with the way everything is taking course right now it’s heading in a pretty bad direction. So, they just want to slow it down and rest it just to make sure we cover all the bases.”

York reliever Shaun Garceau, a former Revs’ starter earlier this season, will take on the role of Richardson.

“Obviously (Garceau) is used to going six, seven innings because he was a starter,” Mason said. “We’re gonna give him that opportunity and see what he can do with it.”

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