Indians Are Well-Armed, But Lacking In Catchers 14 Pitchers, One Catcher On Hand For Start Of Camp

An abundance of sun, enthusiasm and pitchers Friday marked the opening of the Spokane Indians’ four-day minicamp at Seafirst Stadium.

Greeted by 80-degree temperatures and a smattering of hard-core fans, 26 of the 29 players on the Indians roster worked out the kinks in preparation for Tuesday’s Northwest League opener in Everett.

Fourteen players in attendance were pitchers, and a 15th, Spokane’s 1995 statistical leader Modesto Villarreal, is expected by Sunday.

High hopes were infectious on the warm day. If anything were missing from the scene, catchers would top the list. Roman Escamilla of the University of Texas was the lone true catcher listed on the roster, although utilityman Kit Pellow of Arkansas was moved behind the plate for workouts.

“If you have 14 pitchers, you should have more than two catchers,” said Indians manager Bob Herold.

Outfielders were also sparse, although their absence had less effect. Rick Pitts of Seattle, Brandon Berger and ‘95 Indians holdover Tony Miranda took their cuts in batting practice and roamed the outfield, although Miranda limited his throwing because of recent elbow surgery. The other outfielders on the roster, Carlos Beltran and Jeremy Giambi, hadn’t arrived in camp.

“(Beltran) started off slowly last year (at rookie league),” Indians hitting coach Jeff Garber said of last year’s second-round draftee, “but at the end of the year he was one of the one or two players who could have been MVP.”

This year’s second-round selection in the draft, pitcher Taylor Myers, drew much of the attention from the attending media. Myers and the other hurlers threw briefly in the bullpen, but will switch to batting-practice as minicamp continues.

“Spokane is better than I expected,” Myers said of the Seafirst facilities. “We have a Triple-A stadium in (Las) Vegas (where Myers lives), and this is just as nice.”

Pitching coach Buster Keeton said his first impression of Myers was that the 18-year-old displayed impressive control and a good work ethic.

“There’s no pressure on him,” Keeton said. “There shouldn’t be any pressure on any of these guys.”

The Indians coaches, and visiting minor league hitting instructor Tom Poquette, spent the first day getting to know most of their players. Herold and Keeton, who have worked together for three years, already know Pitts, Beltran and pitchers Alonso Aguilar and Jamie Burton from the Gulf Coast League.

“What I noticed is we have a lot of guys who are good athletes,” Herold said. “Usually, there are three or four ‘rounded’ bodies. Whether they can play, I’ll tell you in about four days.”

Garber was impressed by the players’ general adjustment from aluminum to wooden bats. He said it would take two or three weeks to teach the system used in the Tribe’s parent Kansas City Royals’ organization.

The coaches planned to discuss a starting pitching rotation Friday night. Myers and Villarreal, who was 8-2 at Spokane last year, are the closest to sure things in the starting rotation. “Most of these guys were starters in college,” Keeton said. “Now a lot of them have to adjust to being relievers.”

One of last year’s better Indians relievers, Craig Sanders, was greeted warmly by the faithful in attendance. He and Allen Sanders, an effective starter last season, didn’t need to be shown around.

Neither did Miranda, last year’s NWL leader in runs scored. When he took a water break, Miranda was greeted by a hearty, “Welcome back, Tony,” from an appreciative fan.

The minicamp continues at 10 a.m. today and 1 p.m. Sunday. Monday’s times have yet to be determined.

After a three-game series in Everett, the Indians return home Friday for a four-game set with Eugene.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: SPOKANE INDIANS ROSTER No. Pitchers Ht. Wt. B/T Birthday Hometown 6 Taylor Myers 6-0 170 R/R 11-8-77 Henderson, Nev. 14 Brandon Baird 5-10 165 L/L 9-18-74 Enid, Okla. 15 Enrique Calero 6-2 170 R/R 1-9-75 San Juan, Puerto Rico 20 Aaron Lineweaver 6-2 205 R/R 7-26-73 21 Allen Sanders 6-3 195 R/R 1-29-73 Deer Park, Texas 22 Donald Quigley 6-1 190 R/R 11-17-74 Fremont, Calif. 23 Jake Chapman 6-1 180 L/R 1-11-74 Rensselaer, Ind. 28 Modesto Villarreal 6-4 170 R/R 10-29-75 Panama City, Panama 29 Scott Mullen 6-2 185 R/L 1-17-75 30 Jason Simontacchi 6-2 185 R/R 11-13-77 Sunnyvale, Calif. 32 Alonso Aguilar 6-0 185 R/R 12-15-74 Los Angeles 34 Jamie Burton 6-5 195 R/L 5-28-75 Central Point, Ore. 37 Craig Sanders 6-4 225 R/R 7-31-72 Lincoln, Neb. 42 Ethan Stein 6-7 210 R/R 11-11-74 Cary, N.C. 18 Stephen Huesten 6-0 195 R/R 9-25-73 Pacifica, Calif. Catcher 11 Roman Escamilla 6-0 202 R/R 1-21-74 Corpus Christi, Texas Infielders 1 Brett Taft 5-7 175 R/R 11-9-73 Birmingham, Ala. 7 Scott Harp 5-10 170 R/R 12-11-73 Dallas 8 Courtney Arrollado 6-1 175 R/R 6-18-74 El Cajon, Calif. 10 Kenderick Moore 5-10 175 R/R 5-17-73 Ardmore, Okla. 17 Kit Pellow 6-0 195 R/R 8-28-73 Olathe, Kan. 19 Eric Sees 6-2 185 R/R 11-9-74 Bothell, Wash. 24 Kristopher Didion 5-11 185 R/R 12-23-75 35 Jason Layne 6-2 215 L/R 5-17-73 Tyler, Texas Outfielders 9 Rick Pitts 6-1 175 R/R 3-13-73 Seattle 33 Tony Miranda 5-10 175 R/R 5-23-73 Lynwood, Calif. 36 Brandon Berger 6-0 205 R/R 2-21-75 Mitchell, Ky. Carlos Beltran 6-1 175 S/R 4-24-77 Manati, Puerto Rico Jeremy Giambi 6-0 190 L/L 9-30-74 Covina, Calif. Coaches Manager - (25) Bob Herold. Batting coach - (26) Jeff Garber. Pitching coach - (31) Buster Keeton.