Revs' 1b Chris Nowak (above) and SS Ramon Castro were both named to Baseball America's All-Independent Team. Bill Kalina photo.

Two York Revolution players have garnered some more postseason honors.

Chris Nowak and Ramon Castro were both been named to Baseball America’s All-Independent Team, it was announced Tuesday. It marks the second consecutive season that at least one Revs’ player has been recognized by the national publication.

Nowak was honored as the All-Independent Team’s designated hitter, after blasting 25 home runs in just 84 games played this season, while driving in 66 runs and batting .330 after joining the Revs in mid-June. Had he been with the Revs the entire season and maintained that pace, his projected final numbers for last season’s 126-game schedule would have been 38 home runs and 99 RBIs. As it stands, Nowak’s 25 homers established a new club record for a single season, surpassing Jason Aspito’s total of 24 in 2008. His batting average ranked second highest in the league, while his home run total finished tied for third most in the league. Nowak also led the league with a Revs’ record .646 slugging percentage.

Castro batted .323 with 14 home runs and 62 RBIs in 80 games with the Revs this season, and ranked second in the league in on-base percentage at .427. Castro is a career .341 hitter in the Atlantic League.

Last season, York center fielder Scott Grimes became the first player in Revs’ history to be selected to the All-Independent Team.

The national recognition adds to the postseason honors for both Nowak and Castro, who were among five Revs selected Atlantic League All-Stars for the 2011 season.

Also selected to the Baseball America team from the Atlantic League was Long Island Ducks’ right-handed pitcher Mike Loree, the Atlantic League’s Pitcher of the Year for the 2011 season.

Revolution manager Andy Etchebarren was named the 2011 Atlantic League Manager of the Year. Randy Flaum photo.

Andy Etchebarren is back home now.

The York Revolution manager left York to return to his home in South Carolina in the middle of last week.

He’s had time to reflect on this past season, one in which he guided the Revs to their second-straight Atlantic League championship.

“Well, it was a good team. There’s no doubt about that,” Etchebarren said by phone on Monday evening. “It was a better team than we put out there a year before. You always have to be looking out for good players because some of them get signed during the season.”

But as competitive as the 68-year-old skipper is, he prefers to spend more time on what lies ahead rather than reflect on past accomplishments.

“I’ve already started working on next year’s team in my own notebook. There are some people in our league that want to come here and play in York,” he said.

Etchebarren was named the 2011 Atlantic League Manager of the Year on Monday. Etchebarren said he appreciates the honor. But for a man who has spent more than 50 years in the professional game at the major and minor league level as a player, instructor, coach and manager, he’s not making a big fuss about it.

“It’s not a real big thing for me. I’ve been in baseball for so long, it’s not a big deal,” he said. “(Long Island Ducks manager Kevin) Baez could have gotten it real easy. It was his first time managing and he won both (Atlantic League Liberty Division) halves. It’s a nice thing, but I didn’t win it last year when we won the whole thing.”

Etchebarren led York to the franchise’s winningest season with an overall record of 73-51. The Revs won the Atlantic League Freedom Division second-half crown over the Lancaster Barnstormers by 51/2 games. They became just the second team in league history to only win its second-half division title and go on to win the championship. York is also just the second team in league history to win back-to-back championships.

Revs’ players earn all- star honors: The Atlantic League all-star first-team and second-team honors were also announced Monday. The Revs placed four players on the all-star first team, and one on the second team.

The first-team second baseman was York’s Ramon Castro, who was again a valuable addition to York in June after beginning the season in the Mexican League. Castro, who helped lead the Revs to their first championship as the league’s 2010 postseason MVP, followed that effort with a .323 average in 80 regular-season games on 2011, nailing 14 home runs with 62 RBIs. The Venezuela native was also named to the first team a season ago.

The first-team third baseman was York’s Vince Harrison, who was also named the 2011 postseason MVP after hitting .529 in nine playoff games, with five doubles and a triple, to go with five RBIs and three runs scored. In the regular season, Harrison hit .323 with 10 home runs and 61 RBIs in 115 games.

Revs’ outfielder James Shanks was named to the first team for the second year in a row after batting .314 with 12 homers and 61 RBIs in 101 games this season.

Player of The Year: The race for Player of The Year came down to first basemen Tommy Everidge of Lancaster and Chris Nowak of York. Everidge was named Player of the Year, hitting .319 with 28 homers and 94 RBIs. Nowak blasted 25 home runs with 66 RBIs, while batting .330 in 84 games after joining the Revs in mid-June. That effort earned Nowak first-team honors alongside Everidge.

If Nowak had been with the Revolution for the entire 2011 season and maintained his pace, his projected final numbers would have been 38 homers and 99 RBIs. As it stands, Nowak’s 25 home runs are a single-season franchise record, surpassing Jason Aspito’s 24-homer 2008 season.

The right-handed starting pitcher on the second team is Corey Thurman, the long-time Revs’ pitcher who just wrapped up his fourth season with the club. Thurman went 13-3 in 2011, with a 3.33 ERA in 25 regular-season starts. It is the first all-league recognition for Thurman in the Atlantic League. He is the Revs’ all-time wins leader by 18, with 38 career winning decisions against 25 losses.

Long Island’s Mike Loree was named the Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year, while Southern Maryland’s Keith Lupton was selected General Manager of the Year. The 2011 Ballpark of The Year was Long Island’s Bethpage Ballpark in Central Islip, NY.

James Shanks grimaces as he is tended to by the trainer after he was hit by a pitch during game one of the Freedom Division Championship Series against Lancaster at Sovereign Bank Stadium Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011. He suffered a broken right thumb. Bill Kalina photo

A nearly six-month long season with more than 120 games is bound to take a toll on the body eventually.

And entering Wednesday night, the injury bug had been nagging a few York Revolution players.

Both Vince Harrison and James Shanks were battling through knee injuries, while Ramon Castro was recovering from a skin ailment.

All three were in the starting lineup on Wednesday night, but only two ended up finishing the contest.

In his first at-bat in the bottom of the third inning, Shanks was hit by a pitch in his right hand by Lancaster starter Jeff Bennett.

Shanks suffered a broken right thumb as a result, and Etchebarren said afterwards that the slugger is done for the season.

Oddly enough, Shanks had recovered from being hit by a pitch in his knee on Sept 8. at Camden and returned to the Revs’ lineup in the team’s season finale on Sunday against Southern Maryland.

Shanks, who played in left field most of the year, had been batting in the designated hitter spot on Wednesday, likely because the health status on his knee was too questionable for Etch to put him in the outfield. Shanks batted .314 with 12 homers and 61 RBIs in 101 games for York this season.

Though York will likely miss his bat in the lineup, his loss should be off-set by the reacquisition of Val Majewski, who rejoined the club on Wednesday after hitting over .300 at the Texas Rangers Class AAA Round Rock affiliate.

Castro and Harrison still aren’t 100 percent. But they’re OK to play, according to Etch.

Castro was checked out by a doctor on Wednesday and was given the OK to play. He went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout in Game 1.

Harrison, meanwhile, said Wednesday night he is battling tendonitis in his knee. It’s nothing new, though. The 31-year-old veteran said he’s been battling through it most of the season. He provided a game-tying RBI triple in the eighth inning for the Revs on Wednesday night.

“It’s one of those things where I’m getting old and the temperature doesn’t help if it’s raining or if it’s cold,” Harrison said of his knee. “Hopefully, I’ll try to fight through it for a couple more weeks.”

Etchebarren said Monday night that he plans to use infielder Eric Eymann as a utility player and possibly play him four out of every seven games.

Eymann has been York’s everyday short stop since joining the club in early June.

“I’m gonna move Eymann around,” Etchebarren said. “He was a utility guy when he got here. Maybe I’ll move him around the infield and give some other guys some rest. He’ll only play four times a week instead of seven.”

Etchebarren’s changes came after Eymann was pulled in the first inning in Monday’s game against Somerset following a play in which he scooped up a groundball on the run, overthrew it to first base on an error and then landed on his butt. Eymann said after the game that he felt dizzy after the play happened, and Revs’ athletic trainer Bob Burton and Etchebarren sat him down as a precaution because of concussion concerns.

Although it may only be for a few games each week, the move seems odd to sit down a guy that is batting .332 with 38 RBIs in 51 games. Though it should be noted that Etchebarren did not indicate any of the following, maybe this is his way of seeing how much Eymann really wants to play.

Eymann had returned to the lineup for York on Friday after missing four games because of a sore hand that was injured when he was hit by a pitch during an at-bat on July 30.
The move to utility player came as news to Eymann following Monday’s game, but he said he is on board with whatever Etchebarren wants him to do for the team.

“I’ll do whatever he needs me to do,” Eymann said.

While Eymann has been swinging a hot bat, he has struggled defensively at short stop, committing his 13th error on Monday. Etchebarren plans on making infielder Ramon Castro his everyday short stop. Castro has mostly been playing at second base since he joined York in mid-June. He has just four errors in 44 games (through Monday).

After Eymann left Monday’s game, infielder Liu Rodriguez went to play shortstop. But an inning later, Rodriguez switched positions with Castro, who was playing second base.

“Liu came over to me and told me Castro looks more comfortable at short stop. So, I’m gonna try him there,” Etchebarren said.

OK. So, lets recap the moves made by the York Revolution in recent weeks. Gone is relief pitcher J.J. Pacella and infielders Mark Ori and Juan Martinez. Added are relief pitchers Geoff Geary and Ricardo Gomez and infielders Ramon Castro and Jose Herrera.

And while we’re at it, lets throw in the release of shortstop Tanner Townsend and the signing of shortstop Eric Eymann back in early June.

The moves have turned out to be big upgrades for York.

Short stop: Lets start with shortstop. Townsend batted .209 with a home run and four RBIs in 12 games for the Revs. Eymann, meanwhile, has gathered a .299 batting average (through Wednesday) with three home runs and 16 RBIs in 19 games.

Eymann’s production hasn’t gone unnoticed by Revs manager Andy Etchebarren, either.

“Not taking anything away from Tanner (Townsend), but (Eymann) has played in Triple-A for a little bit. Tanner never even played affiliate. Taking nothing away from Tanner (Townsend), but (Eymann) is just a higher caliber player,” Etchebarren said after Wednesday’s 8-1 win over the Road Warriors.

Second base: Next, lets take a look at second base, where Castro has started since Sunday. Liu Rodriguez had been York’s everyday second baseman for most of the year until Castro arrived, but he’s struggled at the plate, batting just .254 with eight RBIs in 42 games.

Castro has collected a .400 batting average in five games (through Wednesday), seemingly picking up where he left off from last year when he set Revolution records with a .339 batting average, a .437 on-base percentage and 37 doubles, ranking second in the Atlantic League in all three categories.

Designated hitter: Like Castro, Herrera is also putting up solid numbers just like he did for York a year ago, when he batted .337 with 10 home runs and 87 RBIs.

Herrera joined York on June 10 just days after being released from Southern Maryland, where he struggled at the plate with a .239 batting average in 29 games.

Herrera has returned to his 2010 form with York, though, batting .382 (13-34) in his last eight games in the designated hitter spot for the Revs.

And Etchebarren believes the combination of Herrera and Castro has had an impact on the rest of the lineup.

“We’re starting to hit the ball a little bit. I really believe having Herrera and Castro makes guys relax. That’s what I think. I can see it. I feel it,” Etchebarren said Wednesday. “Guys aren’t going out there saying ‘I gotta do it. I gotta do it.’ They’re getting five, six hits in a game. Everybody wants to do it.”

Since June 14 the Revs have won seven of nine games (through Wednesday), averaging just over 10 hits and nearly six runs in those nine contests.

Pitching: York got two solid right-handed relievers with the addition of Geary and Gomez to the bullpen. Gomez made his debut for York on Wednesday night, and pitched two scoreless innings in relief, collecting four strikeouts along the way.

Etchebarren said he will look to use Gomez this season as a multiple-inning relief pitcher.

Geary, a former major league reliever with the Philadelphia Phillies and Houston Astros, arrived in York on Thursday. Last year, he pitched in a total of 31 games at Class AAA last year at Oklahoma City and Albuquerque, going 4-6 with a 5.32 ERA. Geary, 35, has pitched in total of 287 games in the majors with the Phillies and the Astros.

Chris Nowak (submitted)

The Revs signed infielder Chris Nowak on Tuesday. Nowak, 28, was recently released by the Tampa Bay Rays after batting .159 in 19 games at Class AAA Nashville.

A career .285 hitter in the minor leagues, Nowak’s best season came in 2008 when he collected 15 home runs and 77 RBIs in 122 games at Class AA Montgomery before moving up to Nashville, where he had a .315 batting average in 14 games.

Nowak, a Wisconsin native, has played at first base and third base for most of his career.
Nowak’s signing puts York at the league maximum of 25 players.

Infielder Ramon Castro is expected to arrive in York on Friday, at which point York is expected to release a player to stay at the league maximum of players, according to Revs’ Director of baseball operations Michael Kirk.