Revs plan on playing winter ball
Revs’ slugger Chris Nowak plans on playing winter ball in Venezuela. Bill Kalina file photo.
In case you haven’t check out these blog entries yet, click here to read the final notes and observations from the Freedom Division Championship Series or here to read about former Revs pitcher Shawn Hill making history when picking up a win in the big leagues Saturday with the Blue Jays.
Also, check out my column reflecting on the Revs’ 2012 season.
THANK YOU! I understand if most of you check out on baseball for a little while. So, just in case, I want to say thank you to all of those who daily check in on this blog throughout the year. It definitely makes me feel like all the hard work I put in for you all is worth it.
For those of you who stick around, I’ll be posting stuff on here at least through October related to the Revs and the Atlantic League, maybe recapping the pitching staff, outfield and infield, notable roster moves made that aided down the stretch (and moves that didn’t happen), as well as recapping the Atlantic League players who earned affiliated contracts this season. There’s also going to be an article on the final 2012 attendance numbers coming looking at the Revs and the rest of the Atlantic League.
Revs playing winter ball: No. York is not going to be suiting up during the months of November and December. Rather, there are quite a few Revs’ players planning on playing winter ball during the so-called “off-season.”
According to York baseball operations manager Andrew Ball, there are at least seven players who have expressed interest in playing somewhere this winter. He said slugger Chris Nowak, short stop Joe Thurston and first baseman Johan Limonta plan on playing in Venezuela. Starting pitcher Chris Waters, reliever Kris Regas, second baseman Andres Perez and outfielder Michael Hernandez also plan on playing somewhere this winter.
Roster moves: There are always outs and ends to tie up at the end of every season, sometimes there are previous deals like “player to be named later” or “future considerations” to seal up. Ball said the Revs could make roster moves right now, but Atlantic League clubs are advised to wait until the playoffs are finished to do so. As a result, clubs will likely start messing with their rosters around Oct. 10. As for the 2013 season, teams can’t begin to put their rosters together until Jan. 1, 2013.
Championship Series: The Long Island Ducks defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, 5-4, in the deciding Game Five of the Liberty Division series on Sunday night. Long Island scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to eventually to win it. Two of those came on a two-run homer from former Rev Bryant Nelson. Former Rev Matt Esquivel scored the final run on Shawn Williams RBI single. The Ducks will now move on to face the Lancaster Barnstormers in the Atlantic League Championship Series, which begins Wednesday in Lancaster. That will mean eight of the last nine league champions will have won a first-half division crown.
