Camp: Day 1

It was an unseasonably chilly day in Lakeland, so those of us poor saps who only packed for 90-degree heat were left to shiver while holding a tape recorder.

The Barnstormers went through the typical Day 1 routine – which includes some stretching, some infield and outfield defensive work and then live batting practice off the team’s pitchers. There was also an afternoon hitting session in the big-league batting cage behind Joker Marchant Stadium.

Manager Von Hayes was impressed.

“I thought the guys swung the bats extremely well off of live pitching this morning,” Hayes said. “The first few days are so darn tough even seeing the ball and these guys were hitting real well. I like the way everybody worked today. Everybody is very excited about a new season.”

This team is going to hit. You don’t fully grasp the depth of the lineup until you see them step into the batting cage one by one. There could be some defensive issues and the pitching has its questions, but this team should score a lot of runs.

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In other news …

*As is often the case in the Atlantic League, not everyone made it here because of visa problems. Pitchers Sendy Rleal and Jose Cabrera are in the Dominican and INF Juan Francia is trying to make it from Venezuela. There’s no timetable for their arrival at this point.

This is a potential problem for the Barnstormers because Rleal and Cabrera represent the back end of the bullpen. Usually, these issues get worked out prior to the start of the season.

“If they don’t show up, it’s a tremendous level of concern,” Hayes said. “We’re just going to have to make do with what we have out there. There are some people we haven’t seen in action yet. Somebody might step up. Right now we’re saying our prayers that these guys will be here tomorrow or the next day at the latest.”

*Former Road Warrior Jeff Tam, who reached the big leagues with the A’s, threw a bullpen session for the Barnstormers and other AL teams. Tam is a Florida resident so it was an easy trip for a tryout. Tam won’t be signed by Lancaster, at least not now.

“Our pitching roster is probably full,” Hayes said. “We took a look at him and if somebody doesn’t sign him, we’ll keep him in mind for future use. On a day-to-day basis, once the season starts, you never know what can happen.

“Hopefully, somebody will give him a chance. If not, we might need him in a few weeks.”

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Odds and ends …

*I conducted interviews with six players: SS John Nelson, OF Brian Stavisky, OF Jason Perry, 3B Vasili Spanos, 1B Ian Bladergroen and P Derek Forbes. There will be stories either in the paper or on this site on each of them between now and opening day.

No one is more excited to be with the Barnstormers than Forbes, who has fought through Tommy John surgery and bone spurs in his elbow to get this chance. He’ll be Lancaster’s fifth starter.

*It was interesting to learn that P Pat Cassa pitched in the Little League World Series in 1998. He represented Cypress, Calif. and his team advanced to the U.S. championship game before losing to Toms River, N.J.

*Derrick DePriest and Glenn Murray were in camp in their new uniforms.

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Line of the day …

Hitting coach Boots Day threw his first BP session since the end of last season. He was asked about icing his arm.

“They didn’t have ice when I played,” he said. “It wasn’t invented yet. There was only beer and hot dogs.”

Yes, the media is going to like Boots.

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In the paper …

*The feature story in Wednesday’s New Era will focus on Nelson. There will also be a blog entry on him later tonight. He talked about his brief stint in the big leagues, owning a World Series ring and coming to indy ball for the first time at age 29.