OakTrib: Powell, two others sent down ...
Steven Chan, quoting John Shea of The Oakland Tribune
Powell, two others sent
down to Triple-A Fresno
-----------------------
By John Shea
STAFF WRITER
The Oakland Tribune
Sunday March 22, 1998
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. --Teary-eyed Dante Powell sat in silence as he
rubbed his hands across his Giants uniform hanging from his locker. It
was his last day on the job.
Powell and two others, catcher Doug Mirabelli and lefty Erik
Plantenberg, were cut on Saturday. They'll open the season with
Triple-A Fresno.
"I'm disappointed, of course," Powell said long after hearing his fate
from manager Dusty Baker. "This was a chance for me. It's harder
(getting cut) this year than last year. ... What it sounds like is,
they knew all along it would happen like this."
Powell wanted to be the fourth or fifth outfielder, but the Giants are
leaning toward Marvin Benard and Jacob Cruz even though Cruz is
6-for-34 (.176) this spring. Powell was hitting .250.
The Giants consider Cruz more advanced than Powell because Cruz batted
..361 in Triple-A last year while Powell batted only .241.
"I went through my personal, mental brain lapse last year," Powell
said. "A lot of personal reasons off the field affected my game. It's
a different year, and everyone will see that."
Veteran outfielder Darryl Hamilton, who met with Powell behind closed
doors, said, "I see a lot of me in Dante, and I know he's frustrated.
He thinks he should make the team. I told him to do the right things
and force the Giants to bring him back here."
DARWIN DILEMMA: Despite Danny Darwin's sloppy 4 innings in Saturday's
6-2 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Baker said Darwin -- not young
Russ Ortiz -- remains the leading candidate for the final rotation
spot.
"The old dudes, they usually start slow, anyway," Baker said of the
42-year-old Darwin, who allowed six runs and nine hits, including
three homers.
Darwin, whose ERA soared from 2.84 to 6.75, emerged as the favorite
after Osvaldo Fernandez reinjured his right elbow Friday.
"I'm not worried about it," Darwin said. "I'm not going to cause any
controversy. I've said this for a long time: You do what the
organization wants you to do."
Meanwhile, trainer Mark Letendre called Fernandez's status "guarded,"
and the club is waiting for his MRI results to be compared with the
MRI he had before his July surgery.
"I don't feel any better," Fernandez said.
WILLIAMS' RETURN: Ex-Giant Matt Williams' goal is a World Series
championship, yet he wants to finish his career with the Diamondbacks.
Realistic?
"I think it's realistic, given the fact it's a franchise that's
appealing to a lot of players and free agents," Williams said. "I
think it's a possibility, sure."
Playing at Scottsdale Stadium for the first time since his Giants
days, Williams went 1-for-2 Saturday and received nice applause from
the record crowd of 11,117.
NOTES: In a minor league game, Shawn Estes threw 94 pitches in seven
innings, allowing five hits and two unearned runs. He'll get one more
start before his Opening Day nod. ... Catcher Brian Johnson was back
in uniform, two days after leaving for Chicago for personal matters.
"Everything went as well as could be expected," Johnson said.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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Gregg Pearlman
Steven Chan, quoting John Shea of The Oakland Tribune wrote:
>
> SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. --Teary-eyed Dante Powell sat in silence as he
> rubbed his hands across his Giants uniform hanging from his locker. It
> was his last day on the job.
>
> Powell and two others, catcher Doug Mirabelli and lefty Erik
> Plantenberg, were cut on Saturday. They'll open the season with
> Triple-A Fresno.
>
> "I'm disappointed, of course," Powell said long after hearing his fate
> from manager Dusty Baker. "This was a chance for me. It's harder
> (getting cut) this year than last year. ... What it sounds like is,
> they knew all along it would happen like this."
Well, yeah.... Same thing when he was demoted after coming up as an
injury replacement. He was genuinely surprised, and I'm convinced that
his demotion led to a rather crappy attitude, which further led to
rather crappy performance. Larry Taulbee might be able to shed some
light on this.
> Powell wanted to be the fourth or fifth outfielder, but the Giants are
> leaning toward Marvin Benard and Jacob Cruz even though Cruz is
> 6-for-34 (.176) this spring. Powell was hitting .250.
>
> The Giants consider Cruz more advanced than Powell because Cruz batted
> ..361 in Triple-A last year while Powell batted only .241.
>
> "I went through my personal, mental brain lapse last year," Powell
> said. "A lot of personal reasons off the field affected my game. It's
> a different year, and everyone will see that."
Then bide your time; you should be up soon enough.
> Veteran outfielder Darryl Hamilton, who met with Powell behind closed
> doors, said, "I see a lot of me in Dante, and I know he's frustrated.
> He thinks he should make the team. I told him to do the right things
> and force the Giants to bring him back here."
Exactly. It sucks, but... for professional reasons, he pretty much has
to make lemonade out of it.
> "I don't feel any better," Fernandez said.
Says it all.
Gregg
Richard Booroojian
The irony of this, of course, is that the quickest thing Powell could
have done to bring this about would have been to step quite firmly on
Hamilton's sore toe.
rb