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The 2006 Season

Signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates

The following article was published in the......

Monday 6th March 2006

A note from Sports Reporter, Cory Giger
Geoff
Good to hear from you again
Cory Giger here - The Altoona Mirror
I'm still covering the Curve, and yes,
we featured Brett prominently in a story earlier this week
I've pasted the story below
We also ran a huge picture of Brett on the cover of our Sports Section
The headline of the story was "Oldies, but goodies?"
This is a reference to the number of veteran players we'll have this season
I'll see what I can do about having one of our photographers e-mail you a copy of the photo
If you want to give me your address 'down under', I'll mail you a copy of the paper
CG

......and here is a copy of the article



and click on the picture to see enlargements of the page and photo

*********************************************************

"Oldies, but goodies?"
Curve to have large veteran presence

The Curve might resemble a Triple-A jayvee team more than a Double-A club this season

It's been a great run over the past three years as Altoona has welcomed an abundance of talented young players
So many of them - Zach Duke, Paul Maholm, Brad Eldred, Nate McLouth, etc. - have come and gone so quickly that it's created a talent gap for the Pirates in Double-A
The only way to fill that gap was to sign a large group of free agents who know what it takes to succeed in Double-A


Such as
------1B baseman Brett Roneberg
Yeah, that Brett Roneberg, the Aussie who came to bat to Men at Work's "Land Down Under" for the Curve in 2003 but who missed all of 2005 with a shoulder injury
------Utility man Simon Pond
A 29-year-old who hit 19 homers with 75 RBIs for Bowie last season
------3B Travis Chapman
An Eastern League postseason All-Star for Reading back in 2002 who's been injured most of the past two seasons
------LHP Rob Henkel
The Detroit Tigers' No. 4 prospect just two years ago who went 6-7 with a 5.70 ERA for Erie in 2005

There's talent among the large group of veterans, but it's a group of wild cards
Since you never know what to expect from minor league free agents, their contributions will be the Curve's biggest unknown

Of the 29 players on the preliminary roster, the average age is 25.5 years old, and 14 players are at least 26

The bottom line, though is, a Double-A team stacked with older players can win
Will the Curve win with their veteran group?
That will be the key question entering the season

"I'm very pleased with the level of minor league free agents that we've brought in" Pirates farm director Brian Graham said

The Bucs open minor league spring training this week in Bradenton, Fla
Some of the veterans now slated for Altoona could wind up at Triple-A Indianapolis with a solid showing, Graham said

As usual, the Curve's roster won't begin taking shape until the end of the month, after the trickle-down effect from big league camp

Graham excels at finding the right mix of minor league free agents, and he's always looked out for the Curve
He had a greater challenge this year, though, needing so many stopgap-type players

Altoona General Manager Todd Parnell has said Graham likes to think of himself as the on-field GM of the Curve, and Graham's talent evaluation process will be put to the test this season
"He knows that winning is something that our fans want" Parnell said

And something the fans here have gotten used to as the Curve have reached the playoffs three straight years, the longest run in the Eastern League

"I certainly put my stamp of approval on a team when it goes on the field" Graham said
"It makes no sense to not put a good team on the field when you're trying to develop prospects"

There will be a few recognizable prospects with the Curve, just not the big names like years past

Seven of the Pirates' top 10 prospects already have come and left Altoona, leaving right-handed reliever Matt Capps (No. 10) as the highest-rated farmhand slated to wear a Curve uniform

Instead of studs like the departed Eldred and Jose Bautista, the Curve offense will be built around mid-level prospects like Craig Stansberry (second base), Adam Boeve (right field) and Javier Guzman (shortstop)
"We've gotten so many players so quickly to the Triple-A and big league level" Graham said
"Your next wave of really nice players are the Stansberrys, Boeves and Guzmans"
Those are good players who should have good seasons, but it's unrealistic to expect Eldred-or McLouth-type production from any of them
Stansberry walloped an impressive 18 homers for Altoona last year, while Boeve hit .288 in 47 games

The Curve cannot afford slumps from those two in particular, but they won't be asked to carry the offense
Instead, the older players like Roneberg, Pond, Chapman, third baseman Brant Ust and returning catcher Carlos Maldonado will have to hold their own at the plate


Infielders Brandon Chaves and Taber Lee and outfielders Vic Buttler, Chaz Lytle and Bobby Kingsbury will be fighting for spots on the Curve roster this spring

"It's going to be a nice group that's going to compete every day" Graham said

Catcher Neil Walker, the Pirates' most prized prospect, is scheduled to begin the season at Single-A Lynchburg
If he performs well and stays healthy, he should be moved to Altoona by mid-summer

The strength of the club will be the bullpen, anchored by Capps, righty Josh Sharpless and perhaps lefty Brady Borner, the Curve's pitcher of the year last season
That trio, along with right-handed newcomer Chris Hernandez, would be expected to slam the door in the late innings

Lefty James Johnson is in line to return to the Curve for a second year, while righties Jonathan Albaladejo and Marcus Davila could get bumped up from Single-A Lynchburg

Leading the charge in the starting rotation will be Matt Peterson, a highly regarded right-hander who endured a tough season in 2005
Peterson led the Curve with 11 wins but also had a 5.51 ERA, then got hammered for a 10.71 ERA in the Arizona Fall League

Lefty Shane Youman spent most of 2005 in the Curve bullpen, then dazzled to a 4-0 record in five August starts to help the club reach the playoffs
He's battling for a Triple-A job this spring, and if he doesn't make it, he could be one of Altoona's top starters
Along with Henkel, veteran right-handers Chris Rojas and Jason Roach and lefty Derrick Van Dusen will battle for starting jobs or could end up in the bullpen
The same goes for righty Landon Jacobsen, who could be back with the Curve for a fourth straight year
Lefty Josh Shortslef may be the lone Double-A newcomer in the rotation after winning 10 games for Lynchburg last season

"If this group of names shows up on opening day it would be a good club" Graham said of the preliminary roster

There will be a wide variety of older and younger talent on the roster, the same type of team Curve manager Tim Leiper had last season at Lynchburg
The initial roster of candidates includes 16 players managed by Leiper a year ago
"I'm looking forward to the season because I know the kind of guys we have" Leiper said
"They know me, I know them and you can go into a season with a lot of the walls already broken down"