SCRAPPERS NOTEBOOK From Cafaro Field

Fan favorite: Bryce Uegawachi -- the fan favorite shortstop from Honolulu, Hawaii, returns with his glove as sweet as a tropic pineapple and smile as large as the Pacific sky. Though diminutive in build (5-foot-6, 150-pounds), Uegawachi, 23, had a .325 on-base percentage in 2001. "The fans liked me, I guess," he said. "I think a lot of it has to do with me being a little bit smaller. I guess they liked to see someone with my frame make a little noise." In the offseason, he concentrated on training at home, primarily with Rodney Choy Foo, who also is in the Tribe minor league system. "He's a middle infielder, too, so we could do a lot of drills together. It worked out pretty good." Uegawachi, who turned in some dazzling defensive plays last summer, isn't disappointed to be back for another season. "This is one of the better facilities, better than most clubs have at this level." He played in 55 games with just nine errors.
Facing adversity: Jonathan Van Every's first year in professional baseball started well. But in the middle of last season with the Scrappers, the outfielder from Jackson, Miss., began to feel pain in his left shoulder. "I woke up one morning and it was absolutely killing me," he said. "It felt like somebody was stabbing me in the back of my shoulder with a knife." Turned out, Van Every was suffering from a rare nerve injury in the shoulder that didn't require surgery. Van Every played in 41 of the Scrappers' 75 games last season. Because of the injury and his brother being diagnosed with melanoma, Van Every returned home during the season. Now, he's ready to test the shoulder. "I want to let it rip to see what happens," he said. "If it's not right, I want to know it's not right. I want to put it to the test."
Golden Flash: Chris White, a first-year pitcher, just completed a career at Kent State. Although the Golden Flashes have played several games at Cafaro Field against Youngstown State, White never faced the Penguins on his new home turf. White had a 5-2 record for Kent in the spring with 74 innings of work. "I thought I threw real well. I did pretty good [for] a first-year starter." He also threw in the NCAA regional at Ohio State as a junior. The Indians drafted the left-handed pitcher in the 20th round. Although he was raised in Frankfort, Ohio, White was a Yankee fan as a child, since his parents are from New York. "I'm real happy to be playing for them," White said of the Tribe. "They're a great organization and a good team." He's looking forward to appearing in front of a large crowd at Cafaro Field. "The most people I've thrown in front of is 3,000 last year at the regional. Throwing in front of this many here is real exciting." He struck out 72 and started 13 games earlier this year at Kent. Other Ohio natives on the team are Jeff Haase (Eastlake) and Sean Manfredonia (Independence), both catchers.
Speaking of Haase: The former Cleveland State player was with the Scrappers two years ago and finds himself back at Mahoning Valley again this season. "I didn't get to go to spring training, so this is my spring training," Haase said. The Eastlake native underwent right elbow surgery last December and his rehabilitation is ahead of schedule. "I just need to get my feet wet," he said. "This is an A1 program. I like being here with these guys." Haase batted .250, with 12 doubles, five triples, four home runs and 45 RBIs with the Scrappers. He spent last season at Class A Columbus and Kinston, where his production dipped. "Once the year was over, the doctor confirmed the worst," he said.
Finding his form: Right-handed pitcher Kyle Evans was with the Scrappers during the 2000 season and returns this season to work his way back from right elbow surgery. Evans, of Albuquerque, N.M., made a spot start with the Double-A Akron Aeros on Thursday night before rejoining the Scrappers. In 2000 at Mahoning Valley, he made 11 starts, going 5-2 with a 3.14 ERA. Last season at Kinston, he was 2-1 with a 2.70 ERA in seven starts.
Scrappers' voice: For the first time in the Scrappers' four-year history, Chad Krispinsky won't be behind the public address announcer's microphone at Cafaro Field. Instead, he'll assume full-time duties as the team's play-by-play radio broadcaster for WNIO-AM (1390). "I've had the opportunity to do some of the road games," said Krispinsky, who broadcast last season's road games for WBBW-AM (1240) and doubled as the public address announcer at home. "I always wanted to do games here and feed off the energy." Krispinsky graduated from Cardinal Mooney High in 1996 and attended Ohio University, where he majored in broadcast journalism. "It's going to be weird, a different feeling," Krispinsky said of not working the Cafaro Field microphone. "Since the team's been here, that's what I did," he said. "I'll miss it."
-- Brian Richesson, Bill Sullivan