NOTEBOOK Scrappers vs. Williamsport
New venture for skipper: While the Scrappers players are learning the game at the professional level, they are not alone. Although manager Travis Fryman has a vast amount of major league playing experience, the 2008 campaign marks his initial venture in the managerial ranks at the pro level. So what has Fryman learned thus far in his 32 games? “You learn a lot in a hurry,” said Fryman. “It is not a case of selfishness, but when you play, the best way to be a good team player is do your job as well as you possibly can. Your job is to protect that little piece of real estate you patrol while you are on the field or when you are in the [batter’s] box. But as a manager, you have to think about every player as well as what we are going to do tomorrow and the day after that. You are planning a week ahead and there are a lot more things to consider. One of the biggest things I am learning as a manager is how to slow the game down. You learn to process your thoughts more quickly, plan ahead and manage your time. You also have to learn what your strengths and weaknesses are as a manager, but obviously, you can’t do that until you get out here and actually do it. It doesn’t matter how many games you played, it is a completely new role and it takes time, experience and patience to be able to do it well.”
Small world: A few years ago, Kaimi Mead, Troy Hawanza and Jonathan Hee played high school baseball against each other in Hawaii. Following graduation, the three athletes found themselves as teammates on the University of Hawaii baseball team. Now a few years later, Mead, Hawanza and Hee are still hanging around in the same neighborhood as members of their respective teams in the New York-Penn League. Mead is with the Scrappers, Hawanza is with Williamsport and Hee is with the Lowell Spinners. Mead didn’t face Hee when the Scrappers played the Spinners a week ago, but Mead and Hawanza have hooked up several times thus far. In the third game of the season, Hawanza faced Mead twice. In the first at-bat, Hawanza doubled off the righthander, while Mead retired Hawanza on a harmless groundout the second time around.
Bill Albright