May 5, 2005 ROBSTOWN,TX - All of 32 years old, Chad Tredaway managed the Edinburg Roadrunners to two championships, won top manager honors in his four seasons as the field boss and was named the independent manager of the year in 2001 by Baseball America. So he knows a little bit about baseball. Now the Roadrunners' director of player procurement, Tredaway got a first-hand look at the Coastal Bend Aviators when they traveled to the Rio Grande Valley for an exhibition doubleheader Monday night.
"He said, 'Man, you've got a good ballclub,' " new Aviators manager Murray Wilson said. "So that's good to hear." The manager in Amarillo the past two seasons, Wilson concurs with Tredaway's assessment. When the Aviators take the diamond at Fairgrounds Field tonight to open their third Central Baseball League season, they may indeed have a good ballclub. They definitely will be young, with 14 rookies dotting the lineup. That total may trim when the team cuts to 22 players two weeks into the season. "It's just the way it worked out. With this type of baseball, you're only going to be as good as your rookies," said Wilson, whose team opens the 94-game season against the defending CBL champion Roadrunners in a fourgame series. "If there's a manager who thinks you build around veterans, you're not going to win." League rules dictate that teams can have a maximum of four "veteran" players - those with at least five years of service - and at least five rookies. "You can't build around them because four guys aren't going to do it. It's like the Yankees spending all that money on A-Rod and still don't make the playoffs," Wilson said. "You've got to have other players." And Wilson thinks he has. With pitchers J.J. Trujillo from Ray and James Lira from Bishop, catcher Steve Morales and infielder Jack Joffrion as the veterans, returning pitchers Jose Luis Lopez from Moody and Dan Henderson from Calallen, outfielder Matt Mann, designated hitter-first baseman Mike Guerrero and infielder Edwin Maldonado aboard, Wilson likes his ballclub's chances. "It goes back to the rookie players. If you don't have the rookies, you're not going to win," Wilson said. "That's what Chad was saying. With the mix of the veteran guys and the younger players, we should be pretty good." The team leader in victories last season with nine, Lopez will get the start tonight against Edinburg. Trujillo, who spent 2004 with Kansas City's Texas League affiliate in Wichita, had a 3.17 ERA in 57 relief appearances. He is penciled in as the No. 2 starter, followed by left-handed rookie Matt Rohr and righties Elliott Shaw and Henderson in the rotation. Lira and Shawn Morgan, Wilson's closer last season with eight saves for the now-defunct Dillas, give the Aviators the potential for a solid bullpen, pending the development of the setup hurlers. Morgan allowed only two runs as the Dillas claimed the CBL's West Division second-half title last season. Lira was solid with the Aviators two seasons ago before moving on to the San Francisco Giants but was hampered with arm problems upon his return to Texas last season. "I want our (starting) pitchers to throw six, seven innings," Wilson said. "Lira and Morgan definitely get it up there 93, 94 (mph). If we can get to that point with the starters we look like we could win a few ballgames."
The Aviators also added rookie pitchers Brad Koenig and Marc Acierno. The left-handed Koenig caught the eye of James Wilson, the Aviators' pitching coach and Murray Wilson's older brother. "Probably the biggest surprise is Brad Koenig. He came down here for our local tryout camp and threw well enough for us to invite him to spring training," Murray Wilson said. "James is the one who saw Brad and said he could bump some of our guys right now. He works quick and throws strikes."
The 25-year-old Mann, who started the season with Coastal Bend before being a part of the trading binge by former manager Glenn Wilson, wound up hitting .277 with seven home runs and 37 runs batted in for Amarillo. The 2003 CBL rookie of the year also swiped 13 bases.
"He's probably the best all-round player on the club," Murray Wilson said. "He's a team player. Well, they all are, really. At his age I can't see why he hasn't signed yet (with an affiliated organization)." Guerrero was second in the CBL with 27 doubles and Maldonado drove in 37 runs with 16 stolen bases. Playing with Newark in the independent Atlantic League, Joffrion hit .269 with 41 RBI and 10 homers in his second professional season.
Originally a 26th-round pick by the Florida Marlins, the 27-year-old Morales has spent parts of three seasons at the Class AAA level in his nine-year career in the minors. He hit .235 in 56 games with San Diego's Mobile team in the Class AA Southern League.
The Aviators also figure to be quick on the basepaths, too, with Mann and Maldonado and the addition of three rookies, center fielder Jason Edmonds, right fielder Chris Judkins and utilitysecond baseman Kenny Hansley. Judkins hooked on after attending the league-wide tryout camp in Fort Worth earlier this spring.
Wilson said the Aviators have the potential to be a better team than his Dillas club last season, certainly a better crew that faded late last season, dropping 10 of the final 11 games. "We don't have the power we had there, but we've got the pitching," Wilson said. "If we had this pitching with last year's club we'd have been awesome. The championship would've been no problem. We've got a good balance. It should be fun."