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Baltimore Prepares For The Iron Birds
Mike Sorochen, 10/10/05
Seattle -- A little over an hour after watching the Seattle Iron Birds
triumph over the Anaheim Ants in a deciding Game 5, Baltimore Stars' advance
scout Darryl Strawberry was on a plane heading back east. Strawberry had a noon
meeting the next day with Stars' Owner/General Manager Mike Sorochen and manager
Gary Carter to discuss preparations for their upcoming Division Series Round 2
match up.
"Seattle has a very dangerous team", Strawberry replied to reporters afterwards.
"That trio of starting pitchers is probably the best we'll have seen all year.
Rocket, Oswalt, and Garcia are flat-out dealing. We'll have to have our heads
in the game and swing the bats like we know we're capable."
Gary Carter agreed. "Straw gave us a good report about what the Seattle
hitter are doing, in terms of their approach to their at-bats, stuff like that.
From the video, its pretty clear that they are playing with confidence, and we
are going to have to get their starters out of the game early and get to that
bullpen."
While Carter declined to confirm his final roster plans, the speculation is that
he will give the Game 1 start to a fully rested Randy Johnson. The probable NL
Cy Young winner, Johnson (21-5, 2.16 ERA) has proven to be a big-game pitcher in
the postseason throughout his career, first with the Texas Tortillas, and now
with the Stars.
After JohnsßÜX@ÐÞîÊìÊäX@èÐÊ@äÞèÂèÒÞÜ@æÒèêÂèÒÞÜ@ÄÊÆÞÚÊæ@ÚêÆÐ@ÚÞäÊ@ÚêÈÈò\LÜÄæàv@®ÒØØ@†ÂäèÊä@æèÒÆÖ@îÒèÐ@–Êääò@®ÞÞÈ@ÒÜ@ŽÂÚÊ@d~LÜÄæàv@®ÞÞÈ@PbbZjX@h\`j@Š¤‚R@ÐÂæ@ÄÊÊÜ@îÒØÈØò@ÒÜÆÞÜæÒæèÊÜè@èÐÒæ@òÊÂäX@Äêè@ÐÂæ@ÂØæÞ@àÊäÌÞäÚÊÈ@îÊØØ@ÒÜ@ÆØêèÆÐ@æÒèêÂèÒÞÜæ@ÒÜ@èÐÊ@àÂæè\LÜÄæàv@®ÒØØ@¨ÞÚ@ŽØÂìÒÜÊ@ÚÊäÒè@ÆÞÜæÒÈÊäÂèÒÞÜ~LÜÄæàv@‚ØØ@ŽØÂìÒÜÊ@ÈÒÈ@ÂÌèÊä@ÄÊÒÜÎ@ÂÆâêÒäÊÈ@ÒÜ@”êØò@îÂæ@ÎÞ@nZb@ÈÞîÜ@èÐÊ@æèäÊèÆÐ\LÜÄæàv@‚ÜÈ@îÐÊäÊ@ÈÞÊæ@”ÂäÊè@®äÒÎÐè@PbdZbbX@h\`n@Š¤‚R@ÌÒè@ÒÜèÞ@èÐÊ@ÚÒð~Lnbsp; Manager Carter is known for thinking
outside the box, so it should be interesting to see how he handles this.
The bullpen picture appears much clearer, with roles having been properly
defined. John Smoltz (41 saves) is one of the best closers in the history of
SPIBL, and Eric Gagne (2-0, 1.11 ERA in 32 innings) has been lights out in a
setup role since being acquired in July. Veterans John Franco, Alan Embree, and
Mike Remlinger are along for the ride in what may be their final taste of the
postseason.
All of the Stars position players have vast postseason experience, particularly
Jeff Bagwell, Mark Loretta, Lance Berkman, Rafael Furcal, and Craig Biggio.
Steve Finley and Chipper Jones were picked up during the season primarily for
their past postseason accomplishments. This is a seasoned, veteran squad, and
they will not be daunted by the prospects of playing in front of a national
audience.
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