The Aberdeen IronBirds have two goals in the New York-Penn League. The first is player development; the second is to win games. This year, the team is accomplishing both.
The IronBirds (35-30) have won four of their last five games through Monday, while outscoring opponents, 33-20. They have also pulled back into second place in the McNamara Division and remain a game behind Oneonta in the wild card race.
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Player development for Aberdeen is also moving fast. On Monday, the team brought up three players from rookie-league Bluefield (W.Va.), including Billy Rowell, Baltimore?s top pick in 2006.
In Rowell?s first game in Aberdeen, the third baseman went 1 for 4 and scored the winning run on a walk-off single by Zach Davis. The offense over the last week has been solid, but manager Andy Etchebarren knows that young players need constant work.
“We need to get focused,” Etchebarren said. “When a guy is throwing the ball high, you need to get focused down, and anything above the belt you have to take it. But that comes with at-bats.”
Run production for Aberdeen has been a problem all season, but Etchebarren said it has not worn on his young pitchers.
“It is not a problem at this level,” he said. “If you are in the big leagues or the Triple-A level, that is a different story.”
Pitcher Jeff Moore has gone 6-2 with a 2.30 ERA for Aberdeen this season and said he does not worry about run support.
“You cant think about that,” he said. “If you worry about run support, if you worry about runs, it is going to snowball on you and you will give up more hits and more runs than you want.”
Offensively, Aberdeen is batting at the bottom of the league with a .227 team average. David Cash, a recent singing from the 2006 draft, said the only thing he or anybody can do to improve at the plate is consistently work at it.
“The pitching is solid,” Cash said of the NYPL competition. “They move the fastball in and out, and they change speed now and then, but I feel comfortable at the plate.”
WILD CARDS
» Pitcher James Hoey became the eighth Aberdeen alum to make it to the big leagues. Hoey was in Aberdeen in 2005 and played 49 games between Delmarva, Frederick and Bowie before being called up to the Orioles last Wednesday.
» Today, the IronBirds start a three-game series in Oneonta that could determine whether or not they make their first postseason appearance.
