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ApL Princeton WhistlePigs

P-Rays update

January 7, 2006 - Appalachian League (ApL)
Princeton WhistlePigs News Release


Happy New Year to our readers and by now all of you should have received a copy of the Princeton Devil Rays 2006 schedule by e-mail. Please let us know if you have not by e-mailing us at raysball@sunlitsurf.com and we will see that one is sent (e-mailed) to you. That way you, like all of the rest of us, can circle June 21, 2006 as the date we are now all looking forward to: the Princeton Devil Rays versus the Pulaski Blue Jays at Princeton's Hunnicutt Field in the opening game of the 2006 Appalachian League season. With that said, now it is time for you to dig in for a big helping of information to digest as we target the new year ahead with the January, 2006 edition of "Raywatch," the official monthly e-mail newsletter of the Princeton Devil Rays.

SPEAKING OF THE SCHEDULE: Once again, the P-Rays are scheduled to play 34 home games in 2006. The big change in the 2006 schedule is the switch of game times on Sunday to 5:30 p.m. From 1988-2000, the team played its Sunday home games at 7:00 p.m. before moving to 4:00 p.m. prior to the 2001 season. This current switch was made with the thought that, with rare exceptions, it (Sunday games) will still be a game played completely in daylight but now moved back to get fans and players alike further away from the midday heat for the game. Monday through Saturday single games in 2006 will remain at 7:00 p.m. while all doubleheaders will be scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. There will be one exception to our standard game times and that is the Wednesday, July 26 game versus the Greeneville Astros which will begin at 12:00 p.m. All the daycare centers in the area are invited to attend the July 26 game free of charge courtesy of Wal Mart of Princeton while all business persons are invited to spend their lunch hour watching baseball by bringing their business card and being admitted for only one dollar! Gates open for all games one hour prior to game time.

NEW FRONT OFFICE STAFFER: The P-Rays invite you to join us in welcoming Andy Bradley to the team's front office staff and to southern West Virginia. Andy began work January 3 as an intern and will be assisting in all facets of the team's operations through the conclusion of the 2006 Appalachian League season. Andy received his Bachelors Degree from Southern Indiana University before going on to obtain a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina.

STILL PITCHING: Pitcher Kevin Jarvis (1991 Princeton Reds) signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks on December 9. Over an 11-year career in major league baseball, Kevin has a career record of 34-47 in 178 major league appearances (114 starts) with an earned run average of 5.97. Last year, Jarvis, 36, spent his time with the Cardinals organization, where he appeared in four games on the major league level with an 0-1 slate and a 13.50 ERA. He spent the bulk of the 2005 season with the Cardinals' AAA affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds, where he led the Pacific Coast League in ERA at 3.38 with an 11-6 record in 26 games (25 starts).

MOVIN' WEST: Travis Schlichting, who was the regular third baseman for the 2003 Princeton Devil Rays, was traded to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for major league catcher Josh Paul on December 19. Paul is projected at the moment to be on the 2006 major league team for Tampa Bay as the backup to regular TB catcher Toby Hall.

ANOTHER SIGNING: Infielder Pokey Reese (1991 P-Red) signed a one-year contract on December 29 with the Florida Marlins. He spent all of 2005 on the disabled list of the Seattle Mariners after having surgery on his right shoulder. In 2004, he hit .221 in 96 games as a member of the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox. He has eight major league seasons under his belt and has a career major league batting average of .248 with 44 homers and 271 RBI's. He is the only former Princeton player to win the "Gold Glove" award as a major leaguer for fielding excellence.

ANOTHER ACCOLADE FOR GOMES: In the December 21-28 issue of USA Today Sports Weekly, the magazine released it's 2005 player rankings of major league right fielders. Tampa Bay's Jonny Gomes (2001 P-Ray) finished 16th in their rankings in front of names like Jacque Jones, Jeremy Burnitz, Aubrey Huff, Jeff Francoeur, Trot Nixon, J.D. Drew, Larry Walker, and Casey Blake. He also finished in front of Sammy Sosa, Bobby Higginson, and Raul Mondesi, all three of whom were labeled by the magazine as "disappointments."

PROMOTION FOR A PAST HERO: Brad Kelley, who was the pitching coach for the 1994 Appalachian League champion Princeton Reds, and then as a manager piloted the P-Reds to a second place finish in the Appalachian League East in 1995, was recently named as a major league advance scout for the Chicago Cubs. He has been in the Cubs organization since 1996 and has worked as an area scout in northern California before working as a crosschecker for the team in the Midwest and West. He remains, along with John Stearns, one of only two people to have their uniform numbers retired by the Princeton organization in the franchise's history..

MUSIC, PLEASE: The P-Rays are always looking for musical acts of all genres of music to entertain our fans as they enter the gates for the hour prior to each game. Also, we ask all of our readers to help us find more national anthem singers. Please tell any interested parties (or forward your suggestions to us) to please contact the front office of the Princeton Devil Rays by e-mail at raysball@sunlitsurf.com or by telephone at (304) 487-2000.

FORMER P-RAY INTERN GOING "IVY": Jeff Tessier, who was an intern for the 2001 P-Rays and then was the team's Clubhouse Manager in 2002, is now the Associate Manager of Athletic Equipment Operations for Harvard University. Prior to going "home" to Harvard and his native New England, Jeff was working in the baseball operations department for the University of North Carolina. He is another in a long line of former P-Ray interns who has progressed into a fine career in sports administration.

TWO FORMER CATCHERS NOW "SKIPPERS": Two former Princeton Red catchers are carving out fine careers in high school coaching. Bill Dreisbach (1991 P-Red) has been head baseball coach at Lakota West High School in West Chester, OH since the 1998 season and is currently teaching Health and Physical Education at the school. His team in the spring of 2005 posted a 16-12 record. Bill played in the minors for the Reds from 1991 -1993 before becoming the bullpen catcher for the major league Cincinnati Reds from 1993-1995.

Brian Hucks (1996 P-Red) is the head coach at Brookland-Cayce High School in Cayce, SC. He was president of the South Carolina Baseball Coaches Association during the 2004-2005 school year.

CONCLUSION: Wow, wasn't it great to start off your new year with all this great baseball information? Once again, we are already hard at work to bring you the best in promotions at every P-Ray home game in 2006, where family-oriented entertainment is the rule every game, not the exception. We do have several exciting announcements that we hope to pass along to you over the next month, so keep your eyes on that e-mailbox for the next installment of "Raywatch," the official e-mail monthly newsletter of Princeton Devil Rays Professional Baseball. See you next month!!

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