His friends and family members in Houston still talk about it and wonder whether it was the wisest of moves. So do several of his old college teammates. But Aja Barto, the Spokane Indians’ physically gifted right fielder, refuses to second-guess the decision he made three years ago to accept a scholarship from Tulane University in New Orleans and play baseball there rather than sign a major league contract with the Philadelphia Phillies right out of high school.

The Spokane Indians have developed a perplexing habit of treating their fans to free baseball – but precious few victories. That was the way things played out again at Avista Stadium on Tuesday night as the Indians used a two-run homer by Miguel Alfonso to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning, but dropped another extra-innings affair to Northwest League rival Tri-City 6-5.

Uncle Vin, not one second, a day or a game goes by without thinking of you. Grandma says I remind her the most of you. Although it makes her cry, it makes me proud. I wish that I grow up to be half the man you were. I miss you, and every baseball game I play, every kid I throw out, is dedicated to you … who else? Dad taught me to hit, but he told us both that we were morons for going behind the plate. Thank you for teaching me more things in life than anyone I know. I love you more than anything. God bless you. – Little Vinnie DiFazio, age 15, Hampton, N.J., 2002 Vinnie DiFazio hit his first professional home run the other night, wearing a Spokane Indians uniform, in a tidy little stadium in Everett.

Finding a decent investment in these troubling economic times can be difficult, if not impossible. But from all early indications, the Texas Rangers might have stumbled onto a real future money-maker in Robbie Ross, the left-handed pitcher they drafted out of high school last spring, later signed for just more than $1.5 million and recently assigned to the Spokane Indians.

Even as a 19-year-old pitching phenom fresh out of high school, Robbie Ross knew he never wanted to be THAT guy. So when the Texas Rangers dropped a little more than $1.5 million in his lap last August, he immediately sought assistance in handling both his money and his manners.

For the 34 big league hopefuls who took part in the Spokane Indians’ first practice at Avista Stadium on Wednesday night, the learning process has officially begun. In the next few days leading up to Saturday night’s 6:30 season and home opener against the Northwest League rival Yakima Bears, the young players on this year’s roster will be drilled extensively on the mechanics of team defense.

Former Washington State standout Jared Prince and two other players with ties to junior colleges in the state are among the players the Texas Rangers have assigned to the roster of the Spokane Indians to start the 2009 Northwest League baseball season. Prince, an outfielder from Poulsbo, Wash., batted .343 and drove in 38 runs as a senior at WSU this spring in helping the Cougars to a 32-25 overall record, a second-place finish in the Pacific-10 Conference and an at-large berth in the NCAA Division I Championship. He tied for the team lead with 21 extra-base hits that included seven home runs.

In the hierarchy of minor league baseball, nobody wants to move down. But that’s what happened to David Paisano, and that’s how he joined the roster of the Spokane Indians. He’s their hot-hitting center fielder. Heading into tonight’s home game, Paisano was second in the Northwest League in RBIs with 30. He had a .270 batting average and nearly hit for the cycle (he needed a triple) on July 22. So why, earlier this year, did the Texas Rangers send Paisano down from the Clinton (Iowa) LumberKings to the short-season single-A Indians?

The Spokane Indians held a youth baseball clinic before their home game July 16, 2008.

You'll never hear Tim Hulett say he's more focused on developing his players than on the Spokane Indians' win-loss record. The second-year Indians manager is in it to win. Don't get him wrong – he'll work all season to get his players ready for advancing. But he doesn't buy the idea that short-season Class A ball is simply about development.