Scrappers notebook More from Eastwood Field

Welcome back: Mahoning Valley manager Ted Kubiak is entering his fourth year as the team’s manager. He also managed the Scrappers in their first two seasons, 1999 and 2000, as well as 2003. He replaces last year’s manager, Dave Wallace. Four Scrappers are back after spending at least part of the 2011 season in Mahoning Valley: pitchers Enosil Tejeda and Jack Wagoner, infielder Evan Frazar and outfielder Aaron Siliga. “We had a chance [to make the playoffs last year] but we lost it in the end,” said Frazar, who signed late after getting drafted in the 27th round and batted .304 in 19 games for the Scrappers, who went 41-34 and missed the playoffs by 21⁄2 games. “Guys were getting tired. The good thing is, some of us are back and we know what kind of a grind it is. You don’t necessarily need to come out here doing 180 percent. You have to know how to maintain 100 percent for the entire season. If we do that, we won’t have anybody dropping.”

Talented group: Kubiak has spent the last few months at the Indians’ spring training facility in Goodyear, Ariz., where he worked with several Scrappers. “I think this group of players we brought up here were probably some of the best I’ve seen with my 20 years in the organization,” said Kubiak, who won Pinckney-Stedler Division titles his first two seasons and finished second in the division in 2003. “They were pretty impressive in spring training and the program they run down there. The guys had a lot of energy, day in and day out. We went through a little lull but for the most part they were really good.” The Indians moved from Winter Haven, Fla., to Goodyear in 2009. “It’s great,” Kubiak said of the new site. “Big, roomy, lots of stuff, lot of area to work.” The state-of-the-art facility is a far cry from the team’s previous site, where he always had to be on the lookout for alligators. “That was kind of fun, actually,” he said. “I was running that trail [next to a lake] one time and I saw an alligator right on the bank eating one of those white birds.”

Texas flavor: Although the Scrappers’ roster will change throughout the season, the early 30-man list is heavy on players from the Dominican Republic (nine), Texas (seven) and California (five). When asked why there are so many Texans on the team, pitcher Geoffrey Davenport (Fort Worth) smiled and said, “Obviously, Texas produces the best baseball. Texas has a large population and baseball is right up there with football, so you’ve got a lot of people playing. And we’ve got great weather all the time, so you’re able to get better constantly.”

Joe Scalzo