Slow start, poor pitching doom Scrappers

September 8, 2015 at 12:05a.m.

Scrappers finish with NYPL’s worst record thanks to lackluster start, poor pitching

NILES

When Mahoning Valley Scrappers manager Travis Fryman met with the media in mid-June, he vowed to be a more patient and understanding skipper than he was during his prior tenure from 2008-2010.

Instead, Fryman was ejected from three games over the past two months. Prior to this season, he was ejected just once in his managerial career.

It was that kind of summer for the Scrappers, who on Monday concluded their 2015 campaign with an 8-2 loss to West Virginia in front of a Labor Day crowd of 2,798 at Eastwood Field.

With their win, the Black Bears (42-34) clinched the lone wildcard spot in the New York-Penn League.

The Scrappers finish with a 31-44 record, the worst in the NYPL.

“This league is about development, but I’m a competitor before anything else and in that regard I didn’t have much fun this year,” Fryman said. “I don’t enjoy getting my butt kicked. I do enjoy the challenges of trying to be a teacher of the game, but the losing is tough.”

The Scrappers were never able to find their grove. They began the season 3-2, but then lost five straight and never made it back to .500. After pulling to within one game of even (21-22) on Aug. 5, they went 10-22 in the final month of the season.

Adding to the season-long woes, catcher Li-Jen Chu missed a month due to an injury, while first baseman Emmanuel Tapia suffered an ankle fracture in early August, ending his season.

“The injuries are real disappointments; you never want to see someone go down,” Fryman said. “The injury to Tapia was a big blow to our club, and to me personally. I think a lot of him, he’s a great young man and he’s got a long road back.”

There were individual bright spots for the Scrappers. Infielder Mark Mathias led the team in RBIs (32) but it was his play at third base that really caught Fryman’s attention. Left fielder Ka’ai Tom led the team in batting (.284), hits (73) and runs scored (68). Catcher Daniel Salters batted .279 with 26 RBIs and played solid defense.

“Mark [Mathias] looks to be a very nice player. I look forward to watching him continue to progress and develop,” Fryman said. “Defensively, he’s there.”

“Ka’ai handled himself very well this summer, he made some improvement on the bases and in the field, and he was very solid at the plate as the scouting report suggested he would be. Daniel [Salters] was a surprise. He has a chance to be a very good catcher.”

Fryman said the Scrappers “were all over the place on the mound,” and showed little improvement from June to September.

“Individually, there were bright spots, but collectively we struggled to throw strikes all year,” Fryman said. “We had a lot of mound issues. We were always having to deal with extra base runners.”

As for those ejections, Fryman said they were in large part due to the fact that “the umpiring was atrocious at times, and I get upset for my players.” He urges his players to avoid confrontation, and instead allow him to discuss questionable calls with the men in blue.

“I want them to learn how to control their emotions a little better than I did when I played at this level,” Fryman said. “Sometimes I gotta get on an ump so I don’t have a mutiny on my hands in the locker room. I want the guys to know that I have their back.”

Fryman is unsure of his future with the Scrappers, saying his role with the Indians is something both he and the organization evaluates at the end of each season.

“I’ll look at my role here and whether it’s something I want to continue or not,” Fryman said. “The Indians have been unbelievably flexible with me. They have been great. But even with that, you sacrifice a lot. This winter I will be investing in my three sons, and in the meantime we’ll decide where we go from here.”