Justin Vaclavik grew up in
Bay City, Texas, which is located 80 miles southwest of Houston
The 22-year-old right-handed pitcher, in his first year in Altoona,
hasn’t been in many cold-weather situations, but he will
be this week when the Curve begin the season in Erie
According to the Weather Channel Web site, the high temperatures
for Erie from Thursday through Saturday will be 31 degrees, 28
degrees and 30 degrees, with snow showers every day
---------------NOTE - the above temperatures are Fahrenheit
---------------Now we convert them to Cairns Celsius
readings
---------------The range is from Minus 2.22
to Minus 0.55
---------------That is VERY COLD!!!
On a warm, sunny Tuesday at Blair County Ballpark, you could almost
detect a shiver from Vaclavik when he was asked about opening
in the cold
“I’m not a cold weather guy” Vaclavik said grinning
“but I’ll have to get used to it, I guess
Hopefully, it will only be for a little while
It will be interesting
I haven’t thrown in cold weather that much
But once I get going, the adrenaline will take over, get your
body heated up and it will be all right”
“I’m not very
happy about it to be honest” Aussie outfielder Brett Roneberg
said
“Five inches of snow is the latest report I’ve heard
But I’ve played in cold weather before, and once you get
used to it, it’s OK, but it’s going to be a cold, cold
start”
Curve outfielder Adam Boeve, who grew up in Rock Valley, Iowa,
said the cold weather doesn’t bother him
“I’ve played all my college ball up north, and I’m
from Iowa originally, so I’m definitely used to the cold”
Boeve said
“Typically, I’d like it to be 60 to 70 degrees and cloudy
I’m definitely going to enjoy the sunshine while it’s
here”
Happy to be back
Boeve hit .333 in 38 games for the Curve last season before he
was promoted to Class AAA Indianapolis, where he hit .269 in 91
games
Many were surprised when it was announced that Boeve would be
starting the 2007 season in Altoona
While some would be pouting publicly, Boeve wasn’t on Media
Day
“I’m happy to be back and ready to get started”
Boeve said
“I’m a little disappointed, but it’s a great place
to play, too
I’ve had some good times here, and we’ve won a lot of
games here
It’s a great park, and it’s a great place to play”
“I’m definitely
surprised he’s here” Roneberg said
“I didn’t see that one coming at all until the last
couple days of camp
I’m sure he’s not the happiest to be here, but you’ve
got to go out and hit and do the best you can”
While he started out slow, Boeve said he was happy with what he
did in spring training
“Spring training is always the same for me” Boeve said
“I work out some kinks for a little while, and toward the
end I start feeling good
The same thing happened this year
Toward the end, I started feeling comfortable again, and I’m
definitely ready to get started”
It’s a safe bet that if he hits like he did last year, Boeve
won’t be in Altoona long
But when asked what his goal was, another promotion didn’t
come up
“My goal is just to stay focused, take each day as they come
and play as well as I can that day” he said
“I don’t try to do any number goals
I don’t want to waste any at-bats and get better every day”
Finding a home
Most of the Curve players are living in hotel rooms until they
can find places to stay
That probably won’t happen until after the season-opening
six-game road trip
“You just have to ask around” said pitcher Kip Bouknight,
who was an Eastern League All-Star last year with Harrisburg
“The front office does a great job here
John Prosperi is kind of head of housing here, and he takes care
of us very well
We’re very fortunate here in Altoona because a lot of people
take care of the players
It’s certainly different than it has been in years past for
me”
“I’m getting a little help” Vaclavik said
“There’s a few guys that I know, and it’s been
a help, because they’ve been here longer
I was supposed to go to Lynchburg, but in the last two weeks they
told me I was coming here
So, I’m still undecided about where I’m going to be
living”
Family connections
Don Kelly, a career minor leaguer, made the Pirates’ opening
day roster
One of the happiest to see that happen was Curve third baseman
Neil Walker, whose sister, Carrie, married Kelly in the offseason
“It’s amazing” Walker said
“He put in a lot of work in this spring
He has no major league service time and pretty much went in and
took a job
Nobody got hurt
He earned the utility job with the Pirates
He can play eight of the nine positions on the field
It’s a lot of fun
We learn a lot from each other, obviously, being around each other
I’ll take a lot from him when the time comes for me to be
there
Hopefully, he’ll be able to make the transition easy for
me”