For the first time in club history, the York Revolution were shut out in their season opener when the Bridgeport Bluefish won 1-0 Thursday night at Sovereign Bank Stadium.

Click here to read the full game story.

Click here to read a feature on how retired manager Andy Etchebarren is spending his time.

Click here to read a feature from York Dispatch reporter Eyana McMillan on the fans’ reaction to the new season.

Click here to check out all of the photos from Thursday night’s action.

Click here to check out video of the pre-game ceremony retiring the numbers of Andy Etchebarren, Brooks, Robinson and Jackie Robinson. There’s also a video of the Revs’ mascot, Downtown, skydiving out of an airplane and landing in the outfield to deliver the game ball.

The Revs mustered just three hits and had a runner in scoring position in three of the nine innings. Right-hander Corey Thurman (0-1) took the loss despite giving up just one run on on four hits in five innings of work. His eight strikeouts were the most by a Revolution starter in Opening Day history.

Thurman, who hadn’t faced live hitting at all during spring training, was unavailable for comment because he had already left the stadium just minutes after the game ended. But here’s what York Revolution manager Mark Mason had to say on the outing:

“Considering that’s the first time he was ever on the field he was able to make his pitches when he was behind in the count,” Mason said. “I like the way he was able to work both sides of the plate more than he’s ever done in this ballpark. That’s something we really stressed with him. I stressed it with him last year a lot but today he went inside more than what he normally does here. I think that’s why he was real successful. And he changed speeds great. (Catcher Salvador) Paniagua called a great game.”

Making a club record fourth straight-start on York’s Opening Day, Thurman threw first-pitch strikes to 13 of 20 batters.

Even more impressive than Thurman was Bridgeport starter Mike Parisi, who gave up just two hits in four innings of work, striking out four with no walks. The right-hander threw 42 of 67 pitches for strikes. It’s a wonder why Parisi is even in the Atlantic League. Two years ago, he posted a 6-4 record and 3.50 ERA in 13 starts for the Long Island Ducks before getting picked up by the Los Angeles Dodgers and assigned to Class AAA Albuquerque.

He had a 5.20 ERA at Albuquerque in nine starts there in 2011 and then posted a 2.72 ERA there last year in nine starts before being shut down early due to a shoulder injury. Parisi, 30, is trying to make it back to the big leagues since only pitching 12 games there in 2008 with the St. Louis Cardinals.

Revs’ bullpen: York’s bullpen was equally impressive Thursday night. Right-handers Stephen Penney and Josh Judy were both throwing in the low 90s. Each worked 1.1 innings. Relievers Joe Torres and Yunior Novoa each tossed 0.2 scoreless.

Fio’ note: Revs’ outfielder Jeff Fiorentino was replaced by Johan Limonta in the sixth inning. Afterwards, Mason said Fiorentino left the game because of stiffness in the back of his left leg.

“Fio’ just came in to me and said he had a little bit of tightness,” Mason said. “It was something behind his knee but they said he should be fine.”

Also worth note here is that outfielder Jason Repko had a fantastic game defensively playing balls off the left-field wall, which is even more impressive considering it’s the first time he’s played in York.

Umpiring, league changes: As noted in the game story, players are adjusting to the high strike, something umpires are being encouraged to call in an effort to speed up games. When chatting at the stadium before Thursday’s game, Atlantic League president Peter Kirk said the high strike has always been in the Atlantic League rulebook, it just hasn’t been enforced until now.

Kirk also confirmed that pace-of-game rules of 12 seconds between pitches and 90 seconds between half innings are also being enforced. And he said there is no limit on mound visits. Kirk said he and Atlantic League executive director Joe Klein met with umpires in York on Tuesday to discuss the changes. He said the league will be sending out a press release sometime soon detailing the pace-of-game rules.

Also worth note is the fact that Kirk, a chairman of the league, was voted into being the league president at the league’s board of directors meeting last fall. The board also voted in Patrick Day to be Southern Maryland’s general manager. Kirk also said Matt O’Brien is no longer the Sugar Land Skeeters’ general manager.

Day comes to Southern Maryland after being the general manager for the Lansing (MI) Lugnuts, the Class A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Lansing ranked 46th in attendance (per game average) in all of minor league baseball last year. That’s important to keep in mind considering Etchebarren said Tuesday he’s working with Lansing and the Crabs to increase the club’s attendance, which ranked second-to-worst in the Atlantic League last season with an average of 3,294 fans a game.

New website: The Atlantic League launched its new website on Thursday evening. Atlantic League founder and CEO Frank Boulton told me last week that the new website is being managed by Maroon PR, a sports marketing and public relations agency.

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The York Revolution announced Monday that it will hold its open tryout for the 2013 season April 5. For all the details on the tryout, click here.

Of the 42 hopefuls who participated in York’s open tryout last year, then 24-year-old Alex Lentz was the only one who earned an invitation to the Revs’ spring training.  However, the former Messiah catcher would be waived by the Revs at the end of spring training.

Some have been successful in earning contracts in past tryouts for York. Left-handed pitcher Brian Holliday, local sandlot legend Shawn Hedrick and outfielder Colin Roberson all played for the Revs in 2009 after participating in the tryout. (Of that bunch, Roberson is the only one still playing professionally. Last season, he saw 81 combined at-bats between the Long Island Ducks and Camden Riversharks, batting .148)

Etch’ remembers Weaver: Check out an interesting read from YDR reporter Steve Navaroli, who caught up with former Revs’ manager Andy Etchebarren over the weekend to chat about his time playing for former O’s manager Earl Weaver, who died at the age of 82 on Saturday.

 

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The Revs had been chasing them all year in the Freedom Division, even moreso in the second half. York finally caught up to them on the final day of the regular season. But the Lancaster Barnstormers flexed their offensive muscle over the last four days. And York committed too many mistakes while it’s pitching faltered. Yet, it feels as though Lancaster would have came out on top in the Atlantic League Freedom Division championship series even if the Revs played their best three games of the year.

Lancaster made quick work of York in the best-of-five series, capping it off with a 12-8 Game Three victory in York in front of a Revs’ playoff-record crowd 6,437 fans at Sovereign Bank Stadium. Click here to read the full game story.

Offense: The game went back and forth until Lancaster ultimately gained the upper-hand. Lancaster took an early 1-0 lead when Gilberto Mejia scored from second in the first inning on a throwing error by Travis Scott when he tried to get Mejia stealing third. The Revs answered with a pair of runs in the first and a run each in the second and third innings to take a 4-1 avdantage. Lancaster then scored four in the fourth and three in the fifth to take an 8-4 lead.

But the Revs didn’t go away, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to draw within 8-7.  It wouldn’t matter, though, since Lancaster proceeded to score four runs in the top of the sixth, capped off by a opposite-field three-run homer to right from Tommy Everidge off of Revs’ reliever Kris Regas. It marked Lancaster’s seventh homer of the series.

Pitching: It didn’t really matter who was on the mound for the Revs in the series. The starters (Ryan Feierabend, Corey Thurman and Chris Cody) combined to allow 17 runs (16 earned). The bullpen surrendered 12 runs.

Hot Hitters: The Barnstormers outscored York 30 to 16 in the series, although the teams were nearly even in hits – York with 35 to Lancaster’s 34. Second baseman Andres Perez, third baseman Chris Nowak, first baseman Johan Limonta and designated hitter Michael Hernandez paced York’s offense in the series. All hit .300 or better. Nowak led the group with a .769 average, going 10-for-13 at the plate with a homer, four RBIs and three runs scored. Perez batted .538 (7-for-13) with four RBIs and four runs scored. Hernandez went 4-for-12 (.333) with a homer, four RBIs and two runs scored. Limonta held a .300 average (3-for-10) with a double, RBI and three walks.

Next up: The Barnstormers will now move on to the Atlantic League Championship Series to face the winner of Southern Maryland -Long Island from the Liberty Division series. The Blue Crabs forced a Game 5 by coming back from 0-2 hole in the series.

Playoff notes: With the 2012 playoffs over and done for the Revs, here are some York-related playoff notes (special thanks to Revs’ play-by-play man Darrell Henry on this with his superb game notes): The Revs are now 2-2 all-time in elimination games….York got swept in three games in a best-of-five series for the first time in club history….The 2001 Somerset Patriots are still the only team in Atlantic League history to come back from down 0-2 in a playoff series (although Southern Maryland could become the second team to accomplish the feat should the Blue Crabs win Sunday)….Should Long Island beat Southern Maryland on Sunday, that will still leave just two teams to win a second-half title and go on to win the league championship (2003 Somerset, 2011 York). Also, it will mean the league champions in eight of the last nine years will have also won their first half.

Solid season: Despite the playoff loss, the Revs have enjoyed their two winningest regular seasons the last two years, combining to go 152-112, now within four games of the .500 mark overall. York’s 79 regular season victories in 2012 established a new club record for wins in a season, topping 2011′s 79 victories. The Revs’ 43 wins in the second half of 2012 is also a new club record for a single half (won 41 games in second half of 2008).

Grimes done?: Longtime Revs’ center fielder Scott Grimes, 29, said Saturday night he’s unsure about his future as a ball player.

“I haven’t even given it a thought. It’s going to take awhile to digest this one,” he said. “I’m going to sit back and take a look at things. I’ll take about a month off and do nothing. We’ll see what happens after that.”

Grimes spent his third season in York in 2012. The 2010 Atlantic League co-MVP, Grimes’ numbers have dropped off a bit the last two seasons. The former New York Mets’ prospect hit .312 with 59 RBIs and 138 runs to go along with 28 stolen bases in 2010. In 2011, he batted .268 but had a strong second half as he collected a total of 42 RBIs, 97 runs and 21 stolen bases on the year. The 2012 season saw him go from York’s lead-off man to the No. 9 hitter – basically being used the “extra” lead-off guy. He batted .246, drove in 52 runs but crossed the plate just 62 times. He still had 19 stolen bases, though. And he upheld his reputation as one of the best defensive outfielders in the league – his jumping catch at the wall in Lancaster in Game Two of the FDCS saved a run off the bat of Tommy Everidge.

Harrison: Former York Revolution third baseman and last year’s Atlantic League Championship Series MVP Vince Harrison received his 2011 championship ring on the field during a pre-game ceremony. Harrison also threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Harrison spent the season as a bench coach at Class A West Virginia (Pirates).

Hill: Former Revolution pitcher Shawn Hill tossed three scoreless innings for the Toronto Blue Jays against the New York Yankees to pick up the win in his return to the big leagues Saturday. Hill becomes the first Revs pitcher to earn a major league win after pitching for York. He’s also the second former Revs player to return to the big leagues after playing for York earlier in the season (Tike Redman did it in 2007). Read all about it here.

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As the Atlantic League’s 2012 regular season nears an end, there were plenty of noteworthy items happening across nearly all eight ball clubs this past week. And none of it involved Roger Clemens. Thanks to a double-header-palooza Saturday, several attendance marks were set league-wide. Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson also made an appearance in York to honor Revs’ manager Andy Etchebarren. And Butch Hobson’s club in Lancaster is nearing the league’s all-time win mark. So, before we get to the transactions, here are some newsworthy items:

 

Ducks: In a ceremony Sept. 11 outside Bethpage Ballpark in Long Island, retired New York City Fire Officer and Long Island 9/11 Memorial President Ken Dolan dedicated a steel beam from the World Trade Center to Frank Boulton and the Long Island Ducks in recognition of their long-time support and friendship of the organization. The piece of steel will be placed on the ballpark plaza in front of the flag poles.

 

Attendance: The Atlantic League recently announced that three split double-headers in Long Island, Lancaster and York last Saturday along with a regularly scheduled doubleheader in Bridgeport has earned the league a new one-day attendance record of 36,979 breaking the old record of 30,257 for 5 games featuring a split double-header in Long Island on September 17, 2006. Saturday’s attendance for the double-headers was led by Long Island with 12,388 while Lancaster drew 11,189 and York totaled 10,622. Bridgeport rounded out the day with 2,780 for the new league total.

The league said the new daily total swelled the 2012 attendance to an all- time record of 2,257,334 easily besting the previous high-water mark for the league set in 2008 at 2,208,734 with 28 dates remaining.

Etch: The York Revolution honored skipper Andy Etchebarren, who is retiring at the end of the year, prior to Sunday’s game. After Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson chatted about Etch’s success, the team honored Etch’ with a plaque that will be hung in the stadium concourse. The Revs are also retiring Etch’s No. 8 Revs’ jersey – the first game-worn Revs’ jersey number to be retired. It’s the third jersey number to be retired by the club, joining No. 42 (Jackie Robinson) and No. 5 (Brooks Robinson). Speaking of Brooks and Etch, check out the recent article from the Baltimore Sun discussing the iconic 1966 World Series photograph, with quotes from several O’s players that day, including Robinson and Etch.

Hobson: Since Etch and Lancaster manager Butch Hobson, both good friends, are competing against each other presumably for the final time (Etch’ is retiring at the end the season) when the playoffs start next week, I just wanted to point out a recent (and fantastic) article from Lancaster reporter Mike Gross on Hobson and his success to this point. Hobson’s club is nearing the league’s all-time win mark – they need just two more wins in the final six regular season games to set the new record. Hobson also makes quite a declarative statement in the article regarding his championship aspirations.

State College update: A few months ago Opening Day Partners’ chairman Peter Kirk sent a letter to State College Spikes officials expressing interest in bringing the club into the Atlantic League. Well, it appears that won’t be happening, at least not any time soon. The Spikes’ Player Development Contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates expired after this season. The Pirates and Spikes, part of the short-season New York Penn League, have been struggling to reach a new deal since then. News broke late Sunday that the Spikes have apparently reached a PDC with the St. Louis Cardinals for the next two seasons. The Centre Daily Times first reported the news.

Now on to the transactions….

 

Several clubs were very active in the last seven days mainly thanks to the Sept. 17 deadline for Atlantic League clubs to sign players that have yet to be involved in previous transactions with their clubs this season. A total of 10 players and five Atlantic League teams were involved in transactions last week. Seven of those players were acquired via trades. One is a former big leaguer.

BRIDGEPORT BLUEFISH: Acquired RHP Mike Ness from New Jersey Jackals (Can-Am League)

Ness, 24, joins the Bluefish during his third season of pro ball. The right-hander split time earlier this season between Can-Am clubs Newark and New Jersey. In 20 combined starts, he posted an 11-3 record with a 3.15 ERA and 97 strikeouts over the course of 143 innings pitched. The New Jersey native is just two years removed from playing at NCAA Division I Duke University, where he went a combined 9-9 with a 4.58 ERA in 85 appearances (10 starts) during his four years there. The Houston Astros drafted Ness in the 33rd round in 2010. The 6-foot-4 righty spent all of the 2011 season at High Class A Lancaster, putting up a 4-6 record and 5.98 ERA in 42 games (one start).

CAMDEN RIVERSHARKS: Acquired RHP Steve Fox from New Jersey Jackals (Can-Am League) in exchange for a player to be named later, acquired RHP Adrian Martin and RHP Jon Velasquez from Rockland Boulders (Can-Am League) in exchange for 2 players to be named later; traded RHP Leo Rosales to Long Island to complete the previous trade for OF Reid Gorecki

Fox comes over to Camden after posting a 13-3 record and 3.57 ERA in 20 starts for New Jersey this season. He also pitched in one playoff game for the Jackals, holding Quebec to three runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings of work. Fox, 26, is in just his fourth pro season – spending three of those in indy ball. He spent all of the 2010 season in the Boston Red Sox minor leagues, pitching mostly at Low Class A Lowell, where he went 4-2 with a 4.96 ERA in 16 relief appearances.

Martin, 28, might another big upgrade for Camden – “upgrade” referring to Camden’s roster next year if he stays on board seeing as how the ‘Sharks are out of playoff contention in 2012. The 6-foot-1 right-hander collected a 6-3 record and 1.26 ERA with 19 saves in 46 relief appearances for Rockland this season. The former Long Island Ducks’ pitcher and longtime Toronto Blue Jays’ prospect has been in Rockland for the past two seasons. He topped out at Class AAA Las Vegas (Jays) in 2009.

Velasquez, 26, is a former Philadelphia Phillies prospect who has also spent his time playing in Rockland since 2011. Signed by the Phils’ as an undrafted free agent in 2009, Velasquez mostly played at High Class A Clearwater the next two seasons, collecting a 3.25 ERA there in 58 combined games (18 starts). The right-handed starter had a 4.95 ERA and 6-7 record this season for Rockland, striking out 85 and walking 60 in 129 innings.

In 34 appearances for the ‘Sharks this season, Rosales put up a 1.52 ERA.

LONG ISLAND DUCKS: Acquired LHP Matt Way from the Laredo Lemurs (American Association) in exchange for future considerations; acquired RHP Leo Rosales from Camden to complete the previous trade for OF Reid Gorecki; signed RHP Chris Flinn

Way, 25, comes to the Atlantic League for the first time in his short career. Once considered a big-time Phillies’ prospect, Way was cut by the Phils in March mainly thanks to injury issues he battled during his three years in the organization. His 2010 season was cut short due to back inflammation and he subsequently missed all of the 2011 season. Just three years removed from playing college ball at Washington State University, the Alaska native had a 10-7 record and 3.98 ERA in 20 starts and one relief appearance for Laredo this season.

Rosales is a former big leaguer who joined the ‘Sharks in early July. The 31-year-old reliever is a former 20th round draft pick of the San Diego Padres in 2003 who later reached the majors with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2008. In all, Rosales has 76 games of big league experience under his belt, with a career 5-2 record and 5.01 ERA in the majors, having last pitched there with the D’Backs in 2010. It’s unclear where he played, if at all, in 2011. In 34 appearances for the ‘Sharks this season, Rosales put up a 1.52 ERA.

Flinn had returned to the Ducks in early July for the second year in a row after putting together a 1.59 ERA in four games with the Ducks in 2011. But Long Island released the right-hander in the third week of August after he had an 0-4 record and 13.20 ERA over seven games (three starts).

SOMERSET PATRIOTS: Released OF Rian Kiniry

Kiniry, 25, is a former Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim prospect who came to York earlier this season after hitting .142 in 60 games at Class AA Arkansas. But the Revs shipped him to Somerset a short time later after he batted 2-for-11 (.182) with an RBI in three games in a Revs’ uniform. He hit just .233 with five RBIs and 11 runs scored in 46 games for the Patriots.

 

 

YORK REVOLUTION: Acquired RHP Mike Benacka from Laredo Lemurs (American Association) in exchange for a player to be named later

Benacka succeeded as Laredo’s closer this year by posting a 2-2 record, 2.39 ERA and 12 saves in 43 appearances. The 6-foot-2 right-hander struck out 92 and walked 35 in 52.2 innings of work. He played college ball at Lindenwood (MO) University before joining the independent Frontier League’s River City ball club in 2007. He would be picked up the next year after starting off the season with River City by going 3-0 with a 0.35 ERA in 22 appearances. The Oakland Athletics picked him up that year and assigned him to High Class A Stockton. Benacka, 30, reached Class AAA Sacramento in 2009 and would accumulate 54 games there through 2011, posting a career 6-4 record and 3.84 ERA there.

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There have been some big events and historical marks set at Sovereign Bank Stadium. Still, I’d venture to say the event-filled Sunday would make that list. From the pre-game ceremony including Brooks Robinson to honor Revs’ skipper Andy Etchebarren, to the many fundraising marks announced, to longtime York pitcher breaking his own club record in wins, to slugger Chris Nowak extending his home run marks, to a new weekend-attendance mark being set, to the Revs’ post-game playoff-clinching celebration, Sunday had it all.

To catch up on everything, here’s a quick one-stop shop:

- Click here to read about all of the events from Sunday.

-Click here to check out all of the photos from Sunday.

-Click here to check out a fantastic four-minute video featuring everything Etch. Seriously, if you’re a Revs’ fan, this is worth checking out. York Dispatch photo editor Randy Flaum did a great job of getting pictures and videos from a collection of Dispatch photographers to some fans. The video features a look back on previous championship celebrations, argues with umpires and the words Etch’ had for fans before Sunday’s game.

-Click here to read my Monday column on York second baseman Andres Perez, who has been putting up stellar numbers this year despite being overshadowed by those from Chris Nowak.

For a brief recap, here are some notes from Sunday:

- Etch:  Etchebarren, who is retiring at the end of the season, was honored on the field before the game by Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson — both were given standing ovations from the crowd. The team dedicated a plaque to Etchebarren that will hang in the concourse at the stadium. Revs’ president and general manager Eric Menzer also said the club will retire Etchebarren’s No. 8 jersey. It will become the third jersey number to be retired by the club, joining Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 and Brooks Robinson’s No. 5.

- Revs’ marks: Thurman improved to 14-3 on the season to snap his own club record in wins that he set a year ago. Chris Nowak extend his league lead in homers to 34, marking the most homers by an Atlantic League player since 2005. The Revs set a single-season club record for wins (74) this weekend. The Revs also need just two more wins to tie the club record for most wins in a half (41).

- Attendance: With 5,281 fans at York’s final regular season home game Sunday, the Revs set a four-game series attendance record with a total of 21,757 fans.

SUGAR LAND plans:

The Revs will fly out of Baltimore-Washington International Airport on Monday down to Hobby Houston Airport to begin a six-game series there Tuesday. The series will cap off the regular season for both clubs. York will fly back next Monday morning to get ready for the Atlantic League Freedom Division Series that starts on Wednesday, Sept. 26.

Etch’ said he will not travel with the team to Sugar Land, citing that he’s “worn out” and he wants to rest his back for the playoffs. Pitching coach Mark Mason will manage the series in his absence.

Roster move coming?: Etch’ said he’s not sure about the health of outfielder Michael Hernandez, who was pulled from Game One on Saturday with a groin injury. He said he’ll have to check with Hernandez on Sunday night. It sounds like if Hernandez isn’t good to go for the playoffs, York might make a roster move to put someone in Hernandez’s place. The Revs still have three outfielders without Hernandez (Scott Grimes, Brandon Haveman and Jeff Fiorentino). Infielders Chris Nowak and Andres Perez have also played the outfield during their career.

While we’re chatting about the potential playoff roster, Etch’ said Sunday night he’s not sure who his No. 1 starter will be in Game 1 of the FDCS against Lancaster. He’s also unsure of the rotation at this point.

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Before we get to the column on Mark Mason, just wanted to point a couple things from over the weekend…

-Standings: York will finish up a four-game series at Southern Maryland on Monday night. The Revs won Game One on Friday night then split a double-header Sunday (Saturday’s game was rained out). Click here to read the full game details from Sunday’s double-header. York now has a seven-game lead on Somerset in the wildcard but still trails Lancaster by 4.5 games in the Freedom Division second-half race. The Revs have 14 games remaining in the regular season, with 10 of those coming on the road.

-Waters: Starting pitcher Chris Waters continued his up-and-down season with a bounce-back performance Friday night against the Blue Crabs, holding Southern Maryland to two runs in six innings of work. He had surrendered a combined 10 runs in his previous two starts (8.1 innings).

-Rotation problems? Revs’ starting pitchers Ryan Feierabend, Chris Cody and Corey Thurman haven’t looked good in their most recent starts. Thurman gave up five runs in five innings of work in a 7-6 win over Sugar Land on Thursday. Cody surrendered six runs (five earned) on 10 hits in a 9-6 win in Game One of Sunday’s double-header. Feierabend pitched well enough for York to win in Game Two on Sunday, but allowed four runs in six innings. Collectively, the trio has a combined 8.22 ERA (15.1 IP, 14 ER) over those three starts.

-Espinosa: Newly acquired infielder David Espinosa is still hitless in his first seven plate appearances for the Revs, although he has recorded three walks to go along with two strikeouts in the two games he played in over the weekend.

 

 

One reason Andy Etchebarren gained respect in York is that he turned the Revolution into a winner.

Sometimes that required making difficult roster decisions.

Just look at York’s current crop of players, which includes only four members from the Revs’ 2010 championship team.

But there was more to Etch than just winning. His competitiveness comes quickly to mind.

There was the time he had a shouting match with a fan in the stands, who turned out to be the father of an opposing player.

There were the many times he grabbed a base and carried it to the clubhouse after getting ejected.

Or the time he covered up home plate with dirt, upset with the umpire over the strike zone.

Or the time he buried Atlantic League umpiring with comments made to reporters, which earned him a four-game suspension this season.

Click here to continue reading.

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