JetHawks get warm welcome

By Brian Golden
Valley Press staff writer

The 2000 Lancaster JetHawks alighted in their majestic nest on a gloriously windless Tuesday, and wondered what all the thermal underwear warnings were about.

"I'm scared," said catcher Craig Kuzmic, who's back for his second tour of duty in Lancaster. "The guys asked me how cold it was. I hear it's freezing in Wisconsin right now.

"What is this? I had my windows down driving over (from Peoria). It's nice and hot. We drove back from opening night in Bakersfield last year through a snowstorm.

"This scares me," Kuzmic quickly added. "It's beautiful. But you know it's coming."

"It," of course, is April in Lancaster. Not to be confused with April in Paris, or even Perris, for that matter.

At Candlestick, they called it The Hawk. Here, naturally, it's The JetHawk - a jetstream-propelled wave of wind that qualifies as the world's largest razor blade.

"I hear it gets pretty cold here in April," said Chris Mears, who's been set up in the rotation for the, ah, honor of pitching opening night next Wednesday vs. the Mudville Nine.

Truth is, talents like Mears could make it a very hot time in The Hangar in 2000.

Not to load any expectations on rookie manager Mark Parent, but he's been blessed with arguably the best Lancaster JetHawks team in the franchise's five seasons.

How they'll do remains to be seen, and it will be the most fun we've had here.

What is no longer in question is the Seattle Mariners' fervent desire to remain affiliated with The Ellis family in Lancaster beyond 2000.

It's eerily reminiscent of April of 1996.

To thank the city council members who voted to make the JetHawks deal the previous July and faced imminent re-election, Seattle signed a then-unprecedented four-year player development contract (PDC) with Lancaster.

Then they furnished The Hangar with the likes of future big leaguers Jose Cruz Jr., Shane Monahan, Ken Cloude and Brett Hinchliffe.

Other than the miserable weather of a year ago that presaged a nuclear winter season, the only thing this 1999 team lacks is left-handed hitting.

Fall League alumni Bo Robinson (13 homers, 102 RBI at Wisconsin) and Harvey Hargrove (.294, 80 RBI here) are back. Outfielder Juan Silvestre hit 21 home runs, drove in 107 runs and batted .288 at Class A Wisconsin.

Patrick "Peanut" Williams clubbed 28 home runs in 300 minor league at-bats last summer, including one they're still looking for in Lake Elsinore. He's established himself as one of the premier power prospects in the Mariners' system.

The shortstop merely traded for Ken Griffey Jr., Antonio Perez, was pried loose from Cincinnati Reds general manager Jim Bowden's untouchable list in the only discernible element of protest in the Junior swindle.

Then there's the best pitching staff Lancaster's yet seen. Mears worked in the Pan-Am games and the Futures Game in Fenway, and likely is merely making a cameo appearance in Lancaster this season.

Melqui Torres was 13-9 with Wisconsin last year, and Brandon Parker (9-7) was a Cal League allstar here.

Tying it all together is Parent, a detail man of a skipper who's going to run a ship so tight it makes Rick Burleson resemble Captain Stubing by comparison.

"I'm really excited," said Hargrove, our honorary mayor during a 183-game stay last year when he led Lancaster in hits, bases, smiles, autographs and ambassadorial goodwill.

Already, Harvey's got the clubhouse lead in professionalism, smiling rather than sulking at not beginning the year in Class AA. He senses there could be a payback tour in store for last year's 30games-under-.500 nightmare.

"We've got some guys who can swing, we've got some good arms on the staff. We're going to give teams trouble in the Cal League this year," he predicted.

"(This weather) is about how it was during most of the fall league. Maybe it is an omen."

Uploaded April 5, 2000