Scrappers skipper ready to bring troops to Cafaro

Mahoning Valley opens its third season next week in Utica, N.Y.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
The Mahoning Valley Scrappers and first-year manager Dave Turgeon will arrive this week in Niles. A change of scenery is exactly what they want.
"We've been in camp for three-plus months, and we're ready to get under some lights and have some fans in the seats," said Turgeon, who replaces Ted Kubiak. "These guys are champing at the bit and so am I."
Turgeon and a select group of minor league players have been working out at extended spring training in Winter Haven, Fla.
"These guys are here for various reasons," said Turgeon of players who have been held back from a full-season affiliate.
"Some guys here were injured and couldn't break with a club," he said. "Some guys here went to a full-season club and weren't ready, so they were sent back. There's also a lot of rehab guys down here."
Player development: Turgeon said the importance of the player development program in extended spring training is often overlooked.
Players go through stretch and agility work in the morning before breaking into position-specific groups, in which they focus on fundamentals. Batting practice precedes a break for lunch. Then, at 1 p.m., a game between the Indians' minor league players and another club takes place.
"It's a long work day, and it's a grind," Turgeon said.
But that intensity will only increase beginning this week when players arrive at Cafaro Field in preparation for the Scrappers' season, which opens June 19 with a four-game series at the Utica (N.Y.) Blue Sox. The home opener is June 23 against the Williamsport (Pa.) Crosscutters.
The Scrappers' front office is working to finalize the official team roster, which will include familiar names from the past two seasons, in addition to players taken in last week's draft. That team will be in Niles by Wednesday for Media Day.
Kubiak moves on: While the 36-year-old Turgeon begins his second season as a manager -- he debuted with Rookie League Burlington last season -- Kubiak has been leading the Class A full-season Columbus (Ga.) RedStixx.
Heading into play last weekend, Kubiak had a young RedStixx team sitting atop the South Atlantic League.
"Because it's a full season, I have a whole different outlook," said Kubiak, who managed the Scrappers during their first two years in the Valley and led them to consecutive Pinckney-Stedler Division titles.
"I can't cram stuff down their throats. It takes a helluva lot longer working fundamental stuff," he said. "Up there [at Mahoning Valley], there were mostly college kids, and they were a little more mature. In 21/2 months there, you could push them a little bit."
richesson@vindy.com