Spring Biscuit Notes, Nets, Cuba, History

There have been a few preseason moves, most of the players that will suit up for Montgomery have been sent to minor league camp, but its not like the Rays to announce rosters early.

I stick by my predictions in January for the most part, also I expect more wins from the Skitz in '16 than last year. Not that last year wasn't pretty good, but this season could be just a little better!

PLAYER NOTES
Willy Adamas has been used sparingly in major league camp, 12 innings through March 20th. After a good year at Charlotte, Adamas is expected to be the starting shortstop for the Biscuits.

Brent Honeywell retweeted the link to an article on the Screwball pitch that discussed how nobody throws it anymore. He followed with a vine of him throwing his best fadeaway. Honeywell and his elite screwball should spend time in the 'Skits starting rotation this summer.

Taylor Guerrieri was assigned to the Biscuits roster, but that doesn't lock him in here. However I predicted that he was likely to start the year in Montgomery's rotation, free from the pitch counts that limited him after TJ surgery.

OVERSEAS BISCUITS

Two former Biscuits are spring training in Japan with the Hiroshima Carp - Bradin Hagens and Jason Pridie are in camp with the NPB Central league team. They seem pretty happy about it.

Hagens, left, and Jason Pridie are excited to play in Japan

A GOOD CREW COMING

The report from spring camp is that Montgomery will have "...a good crew coming your way this year."

That's from Durham Bulls hitting coach Ozzie Timmons, who described the Biscuits new 1B coach Dan Dement as down to earth, a "regular guy, with a lot of energy".

A nice scouting report on the players and the new coach. If Timmons likes 'em thats good enough for me.

MEET THE TEAM
Back on the schedule again this year is the Meet Your Biscuits event. An opportunity to get a first look at the players and coaches will happen on Tuesday April 5th.

Usually a chance to fans to catch up with each other as much as anything, the team will shake hands with the crowd after two days of workouts at Riverwalk. On Wednesday they will travel to Jackson Tn where they will open the season against the Generals.


WORKING WITHOUT A NET

I spoke with a well placed member of the Biscuits front office who assured me that there won't be any different netting unless the wording from the league changes.

"Its a recommendation, not a mandate" was the bottom line and Biscuit fans can breathe a sigh of buttery relief.

Fans in Montgomery, like everywhere, want safety but are less interested in having their views obscured. Teams could see a drop in demand for those seats, which are usually sold at premium prices compared to other areas.


SUNS LOOKING AT NETS
The Jacksonville Suns new owners are looking into adding nets but have yet to decide.

Almost more interesting, in the article about Suns netting debate, its revealed that the nets are supplied by Fernandina Beach-based company Burbank Sports Nets. The Net company says it was inundated with work after the "recommendation" by baseball to increase net size.


 
NO FAUXBACK BISCUIT JERSEYS
A bummer bit of news in that the concept of wearing false-throwback uniforms for the Biscuits history night was shot down.

Themed jerseys are quite the item recently, last summers Back To The Future jersey brought fans from all over to the game to bid on the odd tops. It would have been a nice addition to the history-themed weekend!



BISCUITS HEAD TO CUBA

Several former Biscuits are on the roster for the Rays exhibition against the Cuban National team, including Cuban ex-pat Dayron Varona. Its a great story, Varona is on the roster because Rays teammates basically demanded he be included.

Due to thawing international relations, Varona should be among the last of the Cuban defectors.

 
Varona is not the first Cuban Biscuit to meet a president. Former Skit 1B Leslie Anderson, also Cuban, got some hitting advice from Fidel Castro...

NEW ONFIELD EMCEE
The Biscuit Bunch will have a new leader this year, an energetic and outgoing character who has been with the team in another capacity for the past season or two. I admit I failed to write his name down, but I am sure Skitz fans will have it memorized before long. My bad!

This day week in baseball history is a busy one for Montgomery, hosting exhibitions and facing major league clubs in spring contests that take place in the capitol city.

MARCH 23 1934 
Chattanooga vs Minn Millers in exhibition game at MGM

MARCH 23 1936 

Chicago Cubs vs Giants in Selma

 
 MARCH 24 1910 
Chicago Cubs vs Montgomery in Montgomery
 No box score/game notes found yet, I am on the hunt for this one!

1910 Montgomery Climbers

MARCH 24 1936 
Cubs vs Giants in Dothan

NY Slugger Mel Ott at the March 26th game in Dothan

Cubs vs Giants in Dothan, game photo

MARCH 24 1911 
Mgm defeats Philly NL in exhibition game, walkoff style.

Manning Smith hit walkoff double vs Phillies

MARCH 25th 1941 
Cincinnati Reds play in Montgomery
No box score/game notes yet!

1941 Cincinnati Reds

Marching In Against the Nets

Spring training has begun, so we get to start enjoying baseball again. And the things that go with it...

There isn't alot of Biscuits-related news, but we do have some things happening around the league worth noting. Most of them kinda stupid.


AGAINST THE NET!
Teams are scrambling to protect fans who refuse to put down their cell phones and pay attention to the game they paid to see. In our league, Pensacola, Chattanooga, Birmingham already announced they plan to install excessive nettings behind the dugouts.

Pcola Net plan

When I quizzed the Biscuits office about Riverwalk getting more netting I was told there was "no information on that right now". It wont be long before we see all teams kowtow to the demands of the attention-deficient attendees.

NOT PROTECTING THOSE CLOSEST
Another mystery about the nets - why are they being installed BEHIND the dugouts? I have seen people hit and even injured by foul balls and stray bats flying into the dugouts as much or maybe more than what goes into the stands.

Luis Salazar

Wouldn't it stand to reason that if safety was the prime motivator, players would also gain from being sheltered behind the massive nets?

Put them in front of the dugouts if teams want to protect those who sit nearest the danger. If you doubt that, check out Luis Salazar when he gets to town. He lost an eye to a foul shot while standing in a dugout.


DON'T DO IT RIGHT, DO IT NOW
And should we just arbitrarily install nets without first doing a study to determine the places nets are actually needed the most? When the debate about bats breaking dangerously was an issue, every broken bat in MLB was taken and studied over the course of multiple seasons before any action could be taken.

In Japan they leave gloves on seats exposed to dangerous views for fans to use. Because fans there actually WATCH the games they attend.

Obviously, I am not a fan of more nets.
I am a fan of watching the game. If you don't want to watch the game you are at, simply sit where you have less chance of being hit and stop punishing those of us who do watch. 

With most MLB and MiLB games shown either on tv or online, there are plenty of ways to watch the game in the safety of your own home. If you do attend a game, bring a glove or at least pay attention, stop blaming baseball for not protecting your kids. You are ruining it for the rest of us.



PINK POLES IN P'COLA
The Wahoos have installed pink fair/foul poles, replacing the yellow ones.

Yeah, they didn't just re-paint the yellow ones, they bought new ones in pink.

HISTORY LESSON
MARCH 7 1905 NY Highlanders, later known as the Yankees, start spring training in Montgomery, Clarke Griffith and Hal Chase stir controversy when Chase jumps contract to join NY.

New Man in Bham, Skippers, Nets, Dothan Update

Not much happening right now, but here is what I have collected over the past month or so....

RICKWOOD ANNOUNCEMENT
 
The Rickwood Classic will be held on June 1st, obviously at Rickwood Field in Bham. It will feature Rollie Fingers as guest of honor. Chattanooga will be the opponent, though I would have been much happier to see the Biscuits take on the Barons in a rematch of the first ever game at the old ballpark.

Some things never change, like the parking at Rickwood - Opening Day 1910

NEW MAN IN B-HAM
The Barons announced their new manager would be Ryan Newman, a veteran minor league catcher turned manager Newman has skippered as high as triple-A.

Jamie Dismukes will be the Barons hitting coach and J.R.Perdue handles the pitching coach duty. Both Perdue and Dismukes are Southern league coaching veterans, getting another look courtesy of the White Sox.



BILOXI BROS
The Biloxi Shuckers announced their coaches for the 2016 season, Mike Guerrero was named manager and his brother Sandy as hitting coach will make a family coaching tandem not seen in the Southern League - maybe ever!

Incoming skipper Mike Guerrero and outgoing manager Carlos Subero have traded roles for the Brewers, Subero will take over as the Milwaukee base coach for Mike G.

The pitching coach will be Chris Hook, a former SF Giant reliever Hook is familiar with the Southern league hotels from his time as pitching coach with Huntsville.


SUNS SKIPPER
Dave Berg has been named as head of the Jacksonvile team - the former big leaguer with the Marlins and Blue Jays at second base, third base and shortstop returns to the dugout for the Suns.

Also returning are hitting coach Rich Arena, assistant coach John Pachot. The new guy is pitching coach Storm Davis. Davis won a world series ring with the Orioles in 1983, went 35w-14L in a two year stint 1988-89 and won over a hundred games in his major league career. The last time he saw the Southern League was 1981 when he pitched for Charlotte's O's.

DOTHAN SHUT OUT

The city of Dothan, satisfied with its recently completed feasibility survey, called on MiLB. City leaders were told flat out Dothan was not going to get a team anytime soon, be it Southern League or SALLY league.

League presidents of both circuits were asked directly by Dothan officials and were shut down completely. They were told the wiregrass area didnt offer enough people with finances to spend on baseball and lacked a corporate base to support the team.

The takeaway from this is multi-faceted. For starters, it means a city can no longer lure a team simply by offering a newly built ballpark. For a long time that was about the only requirement, but now there are higher expectations.

With places like Mobile and Jackson Tn scrambling to patch their parks to lure fans, there is a chance a team could be had, so secondly it sounds to me as though the Southern League has other ideas on potential host cities.

NEW NETTING IN DURHAM

The Durham Bulls will update their nets as per request of major league baseball. Now a net will cover seating behind both dugouts, instead of just the home plate area.

DBAP netting design

Could this be in store for the Riverwalk Stadium too? No announcement as such has been made, but with the current trend being to shield inattentive fans at the cost of those actually watching the game, it could only be a matter of time.

Price West Doesn't Know Who You Are Either

Price C. West Jr. passed away on New Years Day, he was a former Montgomery player. I didn't know him before this, and he likely didn't know who I am. But I learned we should know him if we are to truly know Montgomery's baseball story.


I know he died because baseballreference.com lists recently deceased players and I often check to see if the players have any connection with the Southern League. A look at his BRef page tells us that Price Charles West Jr. was on two teams in Montgomery in the 1950s.

Born in 1934, no birthdate listed, Bref says West appeared in just 21 games in two seasons, 7 games in the first in 1954 and 14 more in 1956, even those could have taken place when the team had moved to Knoxville. He did not appear to hit well in his short stint on the roster. Those two seasons are all that is listed of his professional baseball career.

DIGGING IN A LITTLE FURTHER
When looking into a Rebels player history, it can be a tough search, since records are sketchy and info lacking. Its easy to skip past players who only appear in a weeks worth of games. However 1954 and 1956 are very notable seasons for the Montgomery team, so further reading ensued, even though West was only in a handful of games.

Quite fortunately there is an obituary on Mr.West that helped establish a few important facts about Price West Jr.

1954 was the season Montgomery put an integrated team on the field for the first time.

George Handy

Price West was among those to wear a Rebels uniform that year and along with veteran Negro Leaguers Johnny "Piper" Davis & George Handy, helped erase the color line in Montgomery.

Price West Jr's 7 games in '54 are a lot more significant than the mere numbers imply.


A HOME TOWN HERO UNRECOGNIZED
The obituary is short but it tells us much that Bref doesnt, that Price was a Montgomery native, born in February 1934. It also tells us he was known as "Pie" and briefly describes his baseball past, shedding light on an important event in Montgomery that transcends the game.

Price West was integrating his own hometown team at just twenty years old, a prospect shortstop starting a bright career in 1954. He didn't play much but got noticed, he went from Montgomery Rebels straight to the big time - playing in Yankee Stadium for the New York Black Yankees of the Negro National League. And seeing the country on barnstorming tours, of course.


PRICE WITH N.Y.BLACK YANKEES 

Price West considered his career highlight to be a home run hit off Satchel Paige, hard to argue with that. But it was hardly the only high point for the Montgomery slugger.

West played for the legendary N.Y Black Yankees, the equally legendary KC Monarchs and illustrious Detroit Stars in his Negro Leagues career. Even his military service in Korea featured his appearance at shortstop with the 24th Infantry Division team.

1955 Black Yankees, #21 Price West on far right

Price West is described as one of the top hitters for the Black Yankees in '55 before being sold back to Montgomery as an outfielder for 1956. Negro teams were in the business of dealing talent in the mid-1950s and Dick Lundy's Black Yankees sold a handful of stars that summer, obviously Price West was among the prospects being offered.

SEASON NUMBERS EXCELLENT
The Center for Negro League Baseball Research lists top individual season stats for each year, the 1958 leaders include Price West with Detroit. West was 4th in batting average at .298, his 37 RBI were third in the league.

His teams should be listed as:
1954 Montgomery
1955 NY Black Yankees
1956 Montgomery/Knoxville - Price obit names Knoxville
1957 Army 24th I.D.
1958 Detroit Stars (aka Detroit Clowns)
1959 Rochester Yankees
1960 KC Monarchs

After West played for the first integrated Montgomery Rebels team in 1954 he went to New York and was touted a prospect for one full season before being sold back to the Rebels in 1956.

PRICE WEST RETURNS TO MONTGOMERY? 
Probably not...

The Montgomery team was in transition after the death of owner Hoke Vandigriff, essentially run out of town in favor of segregated D-League ball. Price Wests obit lists Knoxville as a team he played for, the Rebels moved from Montgomery to Knoxville in midsummer and likely welcomed Price West back after leaving Alabama.

ON FABLED TEAMS
Two years in the military for Korea took one season away from the pro career but West signed quickly with the famous Detroit Stars upon his return. The Rochester Yankees picked up the outfielder for 1959 and in 1960 Price plays for the legendary KC Monarchs.


Price West wound his career up early after 1960 - he met Shirley, leaving the Monarchs and baseball to find another slugger. Price West Jr. would start a family as well as several businesses, had his own tv show and once ran for mayor of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Predicting the Skitz 2016

Every New Years we take a look at who will be a Biscuit and again it is that time when we employ the black arts and take a peek into Stengels Magic Orb at the roster of the future!

Signed with the Tampa Rays thru 2018, Montgomery will again see some good players moving up the chain, particularly from the rich crop of draft picks made in 2011.


BUCKLE UP FOR A GOOD RIDE
Are you excited about Biscuits baseball yet?
If not, well, its okay. I will let you slide at least till spring training starts!
However its a great time for a little excitement, the team is coming off a playoff appearance and has banished the belief that Montgomery can't win at home. The future is bright.

There are alot of things that have yet to come into view, and of course one can never predict trades or injuries, yet there are some favorable influences and auspicious omens pointing to good things for Montgomery in the season ahead....

It was announced that the coaching staff would be Brady Williams, RC Lichtenstein and Dan DeMent, just as predicted on 12/21, the winter solstice, just after the 12th Biscuits season.A fine start to our prognostication!


These Biscuits should be even better than last years fine team, I expect them to win nearly ten more regular season games than last summers 77 victories.

On paper, these Biscuits have the talent to be a force in the North Division - we could see Montgomery win both halves of the season, if the stars maintain their current alignment.

I also expect that should the Skitz punch a playoff ticket, the team will post more than the one victory the 2015 Biscuits mustered,

There will be several returning Skitz from last year, after making a playoff run this next batch of Biscuits may rise even higher. We should look for top prospects at shortstop, second base, as well as in the outfield, in the starting rotation and the bullpen.


1b Mike Marjama
2b Kean Wong
3b Patrick Leonard
SS Willy Adames
C Justin O'Conner
RF Jake Bauers
CF  Braxton Lee
LF Granden Goetzman

2b Tommy Coyle
Of Marty Gantt
C Armando Araiza
2b/ss/mi Andrew Velazquez
UT Pat Blair


SP Brent Honeywell
SP Chris Kirsch
SP Buddy Borden
SP Chih-Wei "Robin" Hu
SP Taylor Guerrieri

RP Ryne Stanek
RP Jeff Ames
RP Josh Kimborowicz
RP Issac Gil
RP Steve Ascher
RP Kyle McKenzie


other possibles:
RP Kyle Bird
RP Brian Miller
SS Jake Hager
3b Jace Conrad

Bob Dustal Passes, Was Mgm Pitcher

Former Montgomery Rebels pitcher Bob Dustal passed away in November - Bob was with the Rebs in 1967 and '68. Bob Dustal pitched in 50 games during his time in Montgomery posting an 8-5 record. Dustal's sub-1.00 WhIP ratio as a Rebel is evidence of excellent control and minimal baserunners by the veteran righty, a hallmark of his career as a pitcher.

Bob got to the bigs with Detroit in early 1963, appearing in seven games as a reliever before being sent down in May. Dustal's lone MLB decision was a loss, one in which he snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Everyone wants a chance to play in the majors... Unfortunately...I just didn`t get anyone out.

DUSTAL DENIED

Dustal Rookie Card 1963

The surprise was that he registered a decision at all for the Tigers, every game he was in resulted in a defeat for the Motor City Kitties. Most of his work was in a mop-up role and he hadn't been pitching well so it was only in emergency situations that he would pitch with the game on the line.

Of course its baseball, that is exactly what happened.

Bob's only chance at participating in a Tigers victory was snatched away at Fenway on April 20th, 1963. Dustal was pitching in relief that day, as he had the day before when he worked a total of three innings in both ends of a doubleheader.

So with a run one lead and already two out in the fifteenth inning Bob was called on, needing only one out to pick up the save. But he was unable to close the door. The Tigers fell 4-3 as Dustal gave up back-to-back hits and took the loss on a Roman Mejias' 15th inning, two-run walk-off double.

MINORS CAREER
As a minor league pitcher, Dustal saw much more success. He posted 111 wins to 76 losses and an ERA of 3.06 in just under 500 games over 15 seasons. The New Jersey native had worked his way thru the minors, from low-D level ball, posting a winning record at every level in cities such as Jamestown, Durham, Knoxville, Birmingham, Denver, Syracuse and others.

Described as "rubber armed", Dustal bragged that he once pitched 119 games in a single year, throwing from January to January in combined league campaigns. Indeed, he was named MVP of the Puerto Rican league and given a $500 watch in an era supposedly before "specialty relief pitching".

REMEMBERED IN SYRACUSE
Bob Dustal is a member of the Syracuse Chiefs "Wall Of Fame" and is remembered as much as his great relief pitching as for leaving a prize fishing catch in a hidden trashcan, where it created a legendary stench in the clubhouse.

'68 MONTGOMERY AT THE TAIL END OF CAREER
1968 was a busy year for Bob, he opened with the Montgomery Rebels, where he would earn the last three of his 111 career victories. Dustal was released after a dozen games but reassigned by Detroit as manager for Batavia in the NYPL.

Bob's last appearance as a player was in 1971 for Key West, where he was managing when pressed into duty by the team as a pitcher in two games.


AFTER THE GAME

Bob Dustal was 80 years old when he passed away in Florida. After baseball, Dustal enjoyed managing a team in the Keys before buying a restaurant and "tiki bar" known as The Bacchus By The Sea.

"It seems like every baseball player wants to own a bar. So here I am." Bob said in an interview in the 1990s.

I found a write-up of the bar in Conde Nast Traveler which described the owner as "a lean, brown, soft spoken man with suggestions of the status he'd enjoyed as a pitcher..."


I also found a great description of the old bar and grille, though under different ownership when this word-picture was crafted. I felt it was a sweet snapshot of the life Bob may have enjoyed.


"....a very nice restaurant called Bacchus By The Sea located down near the Seven Mile Bridge. The front of the restaurant had an Old World feel and was very formal with linen tablecloths and beautifully set tables. But in the back, along the waterfront, the atmosphere dropped a few degrees.

Here, shrimpers who had been out trawling for two weeks at a time came in to shake off the saltwater, find their favorite stool and catch up with their shrimpmates at an open air tiki bar right at the docks.

Seven Mile Bridge

Pelicans perched along the dockposts, and shrimp boats lined up neatly in their port. It was a privilege to enjoy the most beautiful sunsets each evening, and I always tried to savor the fiery ball as it dipped and reached to touch the indigo horizon.

Quickly then, it would slip away from sight as dusk settled in and the tiny white lights strung between the posts behind the bar twinkled and shined down on the deeply tanned and weathered faces of fisherman and their girlfriends or wives, ready to blow off some steam on a Friday night. The thump-thump beat of Dire Straits’ Money For Nothin’ sailed out on an invisible current disappearing over the night’s black ocean. There were quite a few characters that hung out there. It has always been said that if you want to disappear or hide, go down to the Keys. I guess that’s why they were all there. Or maybe no one would have them.

Fights often broke out once the beer and rum began flowing. There really was a Mudsucker, Shrimper John and other bizarrely-named shrimpers who frequented the waterfront bar. Near the tiki bar were outdoor dining tables for customers who wanted to enjoy the ocean view with their dinner. Usually the clientele at the restaurant were upscale tourists, as well as the infrequent celebrity such as Ted Turner, who occasionally seemed horrified at the display of obscenities and violence that they may have accidentally sat near, too close to the tiki bar revelry. It was always worth a chuckle or two."