Roster Set, Outlaws Ride Off To Tijuana To Open Season With New Outfit
May 20, 2010 - Golden Baseball League (GBL)
Chico Outlaws News Release
(Chico, CA.) - With opening day set for Friday, the Chico Outlaws today announced their 22-person 2010 Opening Day roster. Among those making the cut was the 18-year old female knuckleballer from Japan, Eri Yoshida. Throw in five guys with major league time and a host of players with Double and Triple-A experience and the upcoming GBL season looks to be one of promise for the veteran Outlaws.
With only four returnees from the 2009 campaign, the Outlaws completely overhauled their roster. Chico also did a makeover with the staff, with new additions General Manager Mike Marshall and field manager Garry Templeton, both ex-major league players, coming in over the off-season.
"Our plan is to 'Bring Back a Winner' to Nettleton Stadium this year," said Marshall. "We feel we can compete immediately whith this team full of experienced guys. We are built to win right now."
Only pitchers Wayne Franklin and Jesse Oster, along with outfielders Blake Gailen and Rich Janeway, return from last year. Janeway led the team last year in homeruns with nine and RBI's with 59, while Gailen was seventh in the league with a .355 batting average. Oster was 4-0, 2.20 ERA in 41 innings of relief.
Players with big league time on the roster include ex-Chicago Cub and Pittsburgh Pirate infielder Bobby Hill (four MLB seasons), catcher Mike Rose (three MLB seasons), left-handed pitcher Mark McLemore (one MLB season), left-handed pitcher Matt Perisho (eight MLB seasons), along with Franklin (seven MLB seasons). Franklin also will serve as the pitching coach, while Garry Templeton II rounds out the field staff as hitting coach for the Outlaws.
Pitching wise, the Outlaws are deep with hard throwers. Besides the three ex-big leaguers, newcomers Kris Honel (former #1 draft pick of the Chicago White So and Garret Holleran (5-2, 3.46 for Gary-Northern League) will add depth to the rotation. Stacked with left-handed arms, Perisho looks to be the closer, with Rusty Jones, Demetrius Banks, Josh Dew, Justin Segal, David Dinelli and Oster working in a variety of roles.
Yoshida, who is scheduled to make her first start with the team on Saturday May 29th at Nettleton Stadium in Chico, adds another element to the Outlaws. With an impressive two inning, no-hit performance in her last outing of spring training, anticipation to see her pitch is sky-high.
Around the infield, power hitting first baseman John Urick joins the team after a solid 2009 season in Sussex (Can-Am League), hitting nine homeruns. Bucking the experience trend, two players drafted by the Outlaws out of the 2010 Arizona Winter League, third baseman Jerry Madueno and shortstop Pascual Del Real join Hill to complete the infield.
In the outfield, playing time will be competitive between returnees Janeway and Gailen and newcomers Mitch Einertson, Mikael Jova and JJ Sherrill. Einertson had eight homeruns for Double-A Corpus Christi (Texas League-Houston Astros) last year, while Jova smacked five round-trippers for Sussex. Sherrill brings a solid line drive stroke and a .373 batting average over from the Long Beach Armada, where he finished fourth in the GBL in hitting a year ago.
Behind the dish, Mike Rose brings veteran leadership handling the pitching staff, while Robby Alcombrack will back Rose up. Rose split time in 2009 between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Alburquerque in the Dodgers system. Alcombrack, who spent the early part of 2010 in the Texas Rangers' spring training camp, knocked 10 balls out of the park for Traverse City (Frontier League) last year.
The Outlaws open the 2010 GBL season on the road tomorrow night, Friday May 21st in Tijuana. The home opener for the Outlaws is on Wednesday May 26th at 6:35 pm against Tijuana. Full-season tickets and mini-plans are available, as are single game tickets. To purchase tickets, you can call the Outlaws office at 530-345-3210, buy them online at www.chicooutlaws.com or stop in person at the Outlaws office located at 313 Walnut Street, Suite 110.
About The Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League, Presented by Safeway Inc./VONS, is a professional baseball league operating in the western United States and Canada. Golden Baseball League teams include the Calgary Vipers in Calgary, Alberta Canada; the Chico Outlaws in Chico, CA; the Edmonton Capitals in Edmonton, Alberta Canada, the Orange County Flyers in Fullerton; CA, the Na Koa Ikaika in Maui, HI; the St. George Roadrunners in St. George, Utah; the Yuma Scorpions in Yuma; AZ; the Victoria Seals in Victoria, British Columbia Canada; and the Tucson Toros in Tucson, AZ. Over 100 GBL players have been acquired by major league baseball or professional international baseball organizations during the last four years and over 70 former major leaguers have played in the GBL including MLB All-Stars Rickey Henderson, Jose Canseco, Jose Lima, Robert Fick, Junior Spivey, Scott Spiezio and Felix Jose. For general information, please visit our League web site at www.goldenbaseball.com.
Golden Baseball League Stories from May 20, 2010
- Toros Win 11-6 in Albie Lopez' Debut - Tucson Toros
- Vipers Surrender Seven in Seventh - Calgary Vipers
- Yoshida to Make Girl Power Night Appearance - Chico Outlaws
- Outlaws Open up on the Road Tomorrow Versus Tijuana Cimarrones - Chico Outlaws
- Roster Set, Outlaws Ride Off To Tijuana To Open Season With New Outfit - Chico Outlaws
- Victoria Seals Unveil Opening Day Roster - Victoria Seals
- Flyers 2010 Roster Finalized, Season Opens Friday In St. George - Orange County Flyers
- Toro's Deliver 5-4 Walkoff Victory On Opening Night - Tucson Toros
- Capitals Lose On GBL's Opening Day - Edmonton Capitals
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