Former Pirate in charge of Reading
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By Jarrod Prugar
For the Mirror
The Altoona Curve offense struggled mightily en route to a 4-1 loss to the Reading Fightin' Phils Friday night in front of 4,908 people at PNG Field.
Leading the Fightin' Phils is a name familiar to Pirates fans of the late 1980s as they're managed by Al Pedrique who suited up for the Buccos in 1987 and 1988 during his three-year Major League career.
In his time with the Pirates, he was teammates with a multitude of players with dynamic personalities such as Barry Bonds, Andy Van Slyke and Bobby Bonilla while being managed by Jim Leyland.
It was in that clubhouse, surrounded by those personalities and Leyland where his coaching style began to take shape even if he wasn't geared up to coach just yet.
"We had a clubhouse full of guys with different personalities," Pedrique said. "There were guys who were very aggressive, or guys who were very nice and calm or very moody. It was a combination. And I think that helped us as a team to come together. And we got along well, the one thing we understood the ones who stepped on the field, it was about winning."
Having that common goal made it easier to deal with balancing the multitude of attitudes and personalities in the clubhouse, but also took off the stress of a long season.
"In the clubhouse and batting cages during batting practice, we had a lot of good times." Pedrique said. "Leyland ran the clubhouse nice and loose so we knew our job was as soon as the game started. And as a team I thought we did a great job of that."
For Pedrique, it was Leyland who made the most significant impact during his playing career and helped mold him into the coach he is today.
"I would say he's beside my dad. He was one of the guys that was a big influence on my playing career," Pedrique said.
It was also Leyland who put the thought in Pedrique's head about becoming a coach after his playing career.
"One day I was taking ground balls at short and he got behind me and he said, 'when you are ready to retire, I think you can be a good manager.' I said, 'come on, Jim. I'm not even thinking about that.'" Pedrique said. "That was Jim Leyland. He always found time to communicate with his players, whether you're a position player or a pitcher. He always had time for everybody in the clubhouse."
That level of relationship building has helped Pedrique connect with his players in much the same way Leyland was able to when he was a manager. Making time for his players no matter who they were is something that rubbed off on Pedrique in a big way.
"He found the time to make sure that he said hello. He asked about your family, how you feel. If you need a day off, are you okay?" Pedrique said. "That's where he's helping me, I guess to stay in the game this long as a coach, be able to communicate with the players and remember number one is we're all human beings and then we're professional athletes."
On a day where Roberto Clemente's No. 21 was retired before the game, the focus on the human aspect of things is an important them in the game of baseball and also to building connections and relationships.
"Anytime you send a message with honesty and consistency to your player that you care about them and then their careers, I think you can get a lot out of the talents," Pedrique said.
PITCHER'S DUEL
For the game itself, it was an old fashioned pitcher's duel for most of the game. Curve starter Anthony Solometo went 4ª innings allowing three runs on six hits while striking out seven.
"I thought Solometo did a pretty good job," Altoona manager Callix Crabbe said. "I know early on the ball seemed to be coming out of his hand really cleanly, really nicely."
On the flipside, he was outdueled by Reading starter Griff McGarry who went a career-high seven shutout innings while yielding only three hits and striking out 10. At one point, McGarry sat down 13 Altoona hitters in a row.
"I knew he had good stuff. He threw a lot more strikes than I think the reports probably showed, so he definitely put it together tonight," Crabbe said. "He's going to pitch in the big leagues. There's no question. That was actually what I thought was a good battle and good test for our guys and he got the better of us."
The Curve notched a run on a Lolo Sanchez single in the bottom of the ninth, but that was all Altoona could muster against the Fightin' Phils Friday night.
GORSKI TO THE IL
Curve outfielder Matt Gorski was placed on the 7-Day Injured List prior to Friday's game after leaving Thursday's game with a hamstring strain.
Replacing Gorski will be INF/OF Mike Jarvis who was promoted from High-A Greensboro.
"Jarvis plays multiple positions. He can give us coverage on the infield and then in the outfield as well as a really good center fielder and he's a really good clubhouse guy," Crabbe said. "He'll fit in nicely with the style of play that we've been playing with recently where we don't have a ton of power right now. He'll be someone that can come in and manufacture really good at bats and keep the line moving."
NEXT UP
The Curve will send RHP Sean Sullivan to the mound for Saturday's game while RHP Braxton Ashcraft is in line to start Sunday.
Sullivan is 2-2 with a 4.10 ERA on the season while Ashcraft is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in four starts since arriving in Altoona.