MINERS’ FAN FEST: “EXPECT SUCCESS”

The Gold River Miners held their first Union City Fan Fest this weekend and boasted “Expect Success”. Manager Jasper Nelson and President/GM Mitch Watnik both spoke like believers. Nelson, whose reputation is to favor the running game, said to the assembled season ticket holders and other fans, “I love having Omar Moreno, Garry Maddox, UL Washington, and Jerry Royster on my roster, but I also love having a heart of the lineup that has Reggie Jackson, Johnny Bench, Richie Hebner, and/or Joe Rudi.”

The Miners’ only resigned free agent was Aurelio Rodriguez. Nelson said “Yes, he had a subpar year in 1977 [.198, 6 HR in 187 AB]. I can’t believe that a young talented third baseman and power hitter was still around in the fourth round, though! Having him hit 6th or 7th will take some of the pressure off.”

Regarding some of the changes from last year, Nelson noted “We were especially vulnerable against lefties. Dan Ford [.208, 4 HR in 332 AB] and Rodriguez underperformed. At times, I was hitting Bob Randall third against southpaws and, while Randall had a good year, you just can’t count on winning when he’s the heart of your order.”

In addition, the bullpen was problematic. “Not this year,” the skipper said.
“We targeted relievers and got Skip Lockwood, Jim Willoughby, Ken Brett, and John Urrea. Put them behind pitchers like Ed Figueroa, Dennis Eckersley, Mike Flanagan, Joe Niekro, and Chris Knapp and you have to think that the MLB Radio Fans.com Field of Dreams will give opposing hitters nightmares!”

The GM had some reflections and observations. “Bobby Valentine, Don Kessinger, Jerry Royster, Frank Duffy, Aurelio Rodriguez…. There were so many bad offensive years in our infield last year. While the defense was good, it wasn’t great. We needed to upgrade offensively and we think we did that with Tim Foli and UL Washington. We think that Royster and Rodriguez will have better years. Plus, with the flexibility Richie Hebner brings us around the infield, we are going to get Joe Rudi some more at bats by having him play first. Our backup catching situation is also improved with young Bruce Bochy. Johnny Bench doesn’t have to be behind the dish 130 games now, and Jasper might have him play third or outfield to get him more at bats with less wear and tear.”

He had a few more boasts about the Miners’ organization: “Many teams sacrifice their futures for a lineup like ours. We have all of our draft picks and we have Willie Mays Aikens, Alfredo Griffin, Jeffrey Leonard, Alex Trevino and Len Barker, among others, down on the farm. That doesn’t mention the young guns on the big club like Mike Flanagan, Chris Knapp, Bruce Bochy and UL Washington. We are ready to win this year, next year, and the year after that!”

He continued: “When we signed Tim Foli to be our shortstop this year, we made it clear that he’s a stopgap. If we agree to keep him for 1979, he’ll be a utility player. We expect Griffin and Washington to play up the middle for us for a long time to come. If Rodriguez or Steve Ontiveros doesn’t pan out, perhaps Foli or Royster will play third in 1979. We’ll see. The clock is ticking for Dan Ford, Joe Rudi and Richie Hebner, too.”

The fans were enthusiastically buying Watnik and Nelson’s predictions. The season starts in just over a week. It is then we’ll see if they are soothsayers or snake oil pitchmen.