The Portland Press Herald
Thursday 1st April 2004

If the Portland Sea Dogs' roster remains the same for next week's opener, about half of them will be familiar with Hadlock Field.

The roster, which is still being finalized, and has at least one opening, was sent to the Sea Dogs this week by Boston Red Sox officials.

Portland, which is the Double-A minor-league affiliate of the Red Sox, begins its season April 8 in Altoona, Pa.

The home opener is April 15.

At least 12 among the current roster have played for the Sea Dogs.
Five were regulars last season - pitchers Tim Kester, Eric Glaser and James Johnson, and infielders Sean McGowan and Raul Nieves.
Four were called up to Portland last year for part of the season - pitchers Jerome Gamble, Charlie Zink and Juan Perez, and third baseman John Hattig.
And three played for the Sea Dogs when Portland was affiliated with the Florida Marlins - catcher Jeff Bailey, infielder Jesus Medrano and outfielder Brett Roneberg.

PITCHERS
The pitching staff has at least one opening, and that could go to another Portland alum, either Charlie Weatherby ('03) or Brandon Sloan ('02).
The starting pitchers could call themselves "Kester and the Kids."
Kester, 32, is entering his 12th season of pro ball, which has included stints in the Astros organization, Taiwan, Italy and an independent league.
He went 10-10 for Portland last year, leading the team with 164 innings pitched.
Kester's colleagues in the rotation range from age 21 to 24.
The youngest may have the best future.
Abe Alvarez, 21, was pitching for Long Beach State this time last year.
He was a second-round pick by Boston in June.
The Red Sox limited his outings last year, so he pitched only 19 innings for short-season Lowell, and put up impressive numbers with 19 strikeouts, two walks and a 0.00 ERA.
Gamble and Zink, both 24, offer extremes, with Gamble a fastball pitcher, and Zink a knuckleballer.
Both pitched in higher Class A Sarasota last season, with a taste of the Double-A life in Portland.
Chris Smith, 22, pitched mostly for lower Class A Augusta last season.
The bullpen will again feature Glaser and Johnson and (maybe) Weatherby. Lefty Juan Perez, Sarasota's closer (18 saves), also made 18 appearances for Portland last year.
Jason Howell is also being promoted from Sarasota.
Jeremy Lambert was a minor-league free agent from the Cardinals.
Joe Nelson did not pitch last year while recovering from arm surgery.
He has two-games of major-league experience (Braves, '01).

CATCHERS
The catchers will be Edgar Martinez, promoted from Sarasota, and Bailey, who was in Portland in 2001.
Bailey played the past two seasons in the Expos organization.
John Nathans, a Sea Dogs catcher last year vying for a spot in spring training, did not make the team.

INFIELD
The infield again will have McGowan at first and Nieves roaming the middle infield.
Medrano, a Double-A all-star second baseman in 2002, was signed as a minor-league free agent by Boston in the fall.
Hattig, the third baseman, and shortstop Kenny Perez, are both being promoted from Sarasota.
Hattig arrived at the end of last season and played eight games.
Joe Kilburg, once with the Indians, signed with Boston after three seasons of independent ball.

OUTFIELD
The outfield will be completely changed from last year.
Roneberg played in Portland in 2001, then spent one season apiece with the Expos and Pirates.
Mike O'Keefe comes from the Cardinals where, like Roneberg, he spent the past two seasons in Double-A.
Sheldon Fulse came to the Red Sox late last year from the Mariners, as the player to be named in the Matt White trade.
Eric Johnson started with the Indians organization.
Both Fulse and Johnson have not played at the Double-A level.

Greg Catalanotte. who was promoted to Portland last year for 21 games, was expected to return this season.
But he was included in a trade to St. Louis last week.

The Sea Dogs will complete spring training this weekend and are expected to arrive in Portland in time for the annual welcome-back dinner Tuesday at the Portland Expo.

Of course, the roster that begins the Sea Dogs season rarely resembles the one that finishes it.
Some of Boston's top prospects may make it to Portland before the season is over, including shortstop Hanley Ramirez, outfielder David Murphy and pitcher Juan Cedeno.

WMTW CHANNEL 8 will once again televise the Sea Dogs' home opener, April 15 at 6 p.m., against the Binghamton Mets.
That is just one of 10 games to be televised from Hadlock Field this season.
WMTW will televise six games, with Norm Karkos calling play by play and Bob Tewksbury providing color commentary.
In addition to the home opener, Channel 8 will televise games June 4, June 16, July 2, Aug. 17 and Aug. 25.
NESN will broadcast games on May 24, June 28, July 24 and Aug. 19.

All 142 Sea Dogs games can be heard on WMTW 870 AM.