Texas League report

— Coach has a passion for racing

It was a good thing for Arkansas Travelers pitching coach Ken Patterson the team was playing a night game Saturday.

The 7:10 p.m. start against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals allowed Patterson, an avid horse racing fan, to catch the Preakness Stakes broadcast Saturday afternoon.

On Thursday, Patterson waswilling to make a prediction in favor of the favorite, Big Brown.

"Big Brown is going to get out in front, he's going to take a lead, and he's going to hold it all the way around thetrack and he's going to win by about 6, 7 lengths," Patterson said.

Patterson's prediction wasn't entirely true. Big Brown came from slightly off the pace, but took charge with a sudden burst at the top of the stretch and pulled away to win Saturday's Preakness 1 by 5 /4 lengths at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.

Patterson used to have an ownership stake in several horses in Texas and became an aficionado.

"Eight years ago we had, at one time, we had four horses," Patterson said. "A friend of mine owned an insurance company down in Waco, and he raises horses, and he kind of let five or six of my golfing buddies get in and buy half the horse so it was a great time."

Patterson's horses raced at Lone Star Park and Sam Houston Horse Track in Texasand at Louisiana Downs. They had a measure of success, especially Patterson's first horse Gray Eagle, but they were also dogged by tragedy.

"We bought the horse, he won 90-some thousand [dollars] in his first year. We took half the money, and we bought his full brother the next year," Patterson said. "His full brother was the 2-yearold coming up. Two weeks before his first race, his name was Rumble in the Jungle, he shattered his shoulder in training and they had to put him down before we even ran a race."

Patterson's ownership group also had a pair of claimed fillies used as broodmares who met with a similar fate. Even his favorite, Gray Eagle, ran into hard times.

"Gray Eagle won a stakes race for us, and about a month after Rumble in the Jungle broke down [Gray Eagle] developed a throat problem with his flapper and he'd get to the end of the race and he couldn't breathe. ... He had to have surgery and he never was the same," Patterson said.

Patterson's experiences allowed him to empathize with the owner of Eight Belles, whose horse had to be put down at the end of the Kentucky Derby and sparked a national debate over safety concerns regarding the horses.

"It's tough. You know, I know how owners get," Patterson said. "Gray Eagle, he was our first horse, he won his first race. ... We'd go to the stables before and after the races, I mean you'd get attached to the horse because they have personalities.

They're intelligent animals." Try, try again

Springfield Cardinals righthander Jess Todd, a former Arkansas Razorback, will take a third crack at his first Class AA victory when the Cardinals play Tulsa today.

Todd was only allowed to go four innings in his debut at Northwest Arkansas, disqualifying him for the victory May 7. Then he pitched six innings of two-hit, shutoutbaseball with one walk and two strikeouts on 77 pitches at Arkansas on Tuesday.

But Arkansas rallied for a 5-4 victory as Todd got no decision.

"Hats off to him. He really kept the ball down and kept us off balance," Arkansas center fielder Adam Greenberg said.

Fitting in

Adam Greenberg has had his share of hard knocks since the Chicago Cubs took him in the ninth round in the 2002 draft.

But Greenberg, signed as a free agent by the Los Angeles Angels and assigned to Class AA Arkansas a week ago, has been getting his knocks in with his new organization.

"If you just show consistency, good things can happen. Fortunately, I'm in a situation and I know I've gotten better, continuing to improve," said Greenberg, batting .409 with the Travelers entering Friday.

Greenberg's toughest knock came July 9, 2005, when, in his only major league at-bat as a pinch hitter with the Cubs, he was hit in the head by Florida Marlins pitcher Victor de los Santos. He has not played in a major league game since.

Greenberg was unable to take his base, went on the disabled list and battled positional vertigo when he tried to come back.

"I kind of rushed back too soon, getting on the field, playing a few days and then sitting. ... It just kind of lingered," Greenberg said "It was just one of those unfortunate things."

Greenberg also had a brief stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers' Class AA affiliate in the Southern League in 2006 and was with the Kansas City Royals Class' AA club in Wichita, Kan., last year.

When the Royals released him, he was preparing to play for the independent Connecticut Bluefish when the Angels called and offered a contract.

"Ever since I was with the Cubs, I've bounced around," Greenberg said. "This is my third organization [since the Cubs]. You know, I'm really looking just to play, and these guys certainly gave me the opportunity. Great group of guys."

Greenberg, a tough out and a savvy base runner with a career .268 average to start theseason, always felt he would fit in well with the Angels, who promote aggressive base running as part of their "small ball" approach.

"When I got released that was one of the teams that I was looking at," he said.

"Obviously I can't control it.

... It's a perfect fit for my style of play. They're very, very aggressive. What I do they appreciate. Not to say the other organizations didn't, but this organization in particular is very aggressive, first to third, stealing all the time. It's a good fit."

Greenberg, 9 for 22 with the Travs entering Friday, said he is playing his best baseball, and his recent efforts bear him out.

He was 2 for 3 with 2 RBI in Monday's victory over Springfield, got the game-winning hit against the Cardinals on Tuesday, scored the game-winning run on Wednesday, and made a running catch on the warning track with his back to the infield to help preserve Thursday's victory as Arkansas completed a four-game sweep of Springfield.

"I feel real good at the plate," Greenberg said. "The defense has always been there. And so it's not just the consistency part of it."

Roving memories

Todd Takayoshi has been a familiar face around the Arkansas Travelers, even as his job has changed from time to time.

Takayoshi is in his second year as the Los Angeles Angels' roving hitting coordinator after serving previously as the roving catching coordinator. Before that, Takayoshi was the Travelers' hitting coach in 2004-2005.

"I like the roving. It gives me a chance to get home and see my family," said Takayoshi, who lives in Spanaway, Wash., and was making his second visit of the season to Arkansas during last week's homestand.

"I'm able to touch more careers in the organization.

As an affiliated hitting coach, I enjoy that because you get your group of guys and you're with them from Day 1 and you get a chance to see them improve and make changes and that's fun. But overall for my family, it's best that I can get home once in a while."

When working with Arkansas' hitters these days, Takayoshi might have toencourage his players to focus more on live drives in spacious Dickey-Stephens Park, which in its second year has made its name as a pitchers park.

"It's a nice place. I never had a problem with Ray Winder Field. It had some character, it had its quirks," Takayoshi said.

"But this is state of the art here. It's nice to be in here."

The Travelers led the TexasLeague in home runs each of their last two seasons at Ray Winder (2005-1006). While the dugouts and clubhouses were cramped, the field was uneven and air conditioning was hard to find, Ray Winder's lights and right-field fence made it a haven for sluggers.

"I think that had a lot to do with it. I think the short right-field fence," Takayoshi said. "I remember [2003-2004 Traveler] Dallas McPherson telling me it's the best park to hit in, he can see the ball so well. I think the lights did have something to do with it."

McPherson hit 40 home runs between Class AA Arkansas and Class AAA Salt Lake in 2004, 20 at each stop.

Few doubles, triples

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals have a ton of speed, as evidenced by their Texas League-leading 59 stolen bases.

The Naturals have been hitting much better in recent weeks, raising their team batting average to .247, and they are up to 33 home runs, which puts them around the middle of the pack in that department.

But the speed and improved hitting haven't resulted in many doubles or triples. The Naturals rank last in the Texas League in both categories, with 49 and 6, respectively. Every other Texas League team has hit at least 66 doubles.

"I think they're just a byproduct of a good solid approach [at the plate] and good contact," Naturals Manager Brian Poldberg said.

"Doubles and triples, you don't get too nervous [about not hitting many].

"Hopefully the guys are going to get better as the summer goes on. We've hit more home runs than I thought we would, but I hope the doubles will increase."

Because of their lack of extra-base hits, the Naturals are last in slugging percentage (.365) and total bases (481).

BY THE NUMBERS0.36Northest Arkansas Naturals right-hander Carlos Rosa's ERAin his final four starts before being promoted to Class AAA.409Average for Adam Greenberg in five games with Arkansasentering Friday.667Slugging percentage of Frisco catcher Max Ramirez, 60 pointsbetter than anyone else in the league1Where Carlos Rosa ranks in the Texas League in ERA, WHIP and walks-tostrikeout ratio2Four-game sweeps by the Arkansas Travelers this season2Hits allowed by former Arkansas Razorback and current Springfield CardinalJess Todd against the Travelers on Tuesday11-1Northwest Arkansas Naturals' record in their past 12 homegames

Sports, Pages 39 on 05/18/2008

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