Yuma Yard Sale

Here's an interesting story about the Yuma Yard Sale that took place over the All-Star Break in Tucson:

Departing Scorpions shine in All-Star game
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July 14, 2010 11:30 PM
BY EDWARD CARIFIO - SUN STAFF WRITER

TUCSON — In their last game wearing Yuma Scorpion uniforms, Daryl Arreola pitched a scoreless inning and Timmy Rodriguez scored a run after hitting a single.

But the performances of the two now former Yuma players wasn't enough for the Golden Baseball League all-stars, which lost to Northern League all-stars 9-3 on Wednesday at Hi Corbett Field.

Rodriguez and Arreola were among four players traded by the Scorpions on Wednesday, all for future considerations. Arreola went to Edmonton, while Rodriguez will play for Victoria. Also traded were Zach Cline to Orange County and Santo DeLeon to Chico.

Scorpions vice president Peter Young said the moves were made for financial reasons.

“We're in a situation where we didn't win the first half, so it was difficult to keep the highest paid players when we're getting 100 butts in the seats,” said Young, whose Scorpions finished percentage points behind Maui for the South Division title in the first half.

The team hasn't paid its players since early June. Both players said they have mixed feelings about leaving Yuma.

“I hear so many good things about the place, I'm just looking forward to the fresh start,” Arreola said. “I'm looking to get out of Yuma and continue the season I've been having. I think we're all pretty happy to move on to a new place … maybe we'll play better because we're actually being taken care of the way we're supposed to be taken care of.”

Rodriguez said he learned a lot in his time from manager Darryl Brinkley and hitting coach Dave Cash, who was a World Series champion during his major league career.

“I'm excited to go play baseball and be in an area I can be a little more comfortable,” Rodriguez said. “I learned a lot in Yuma but, still given what happened, I learned from a World Series champion and a career .300 hitter. Given everything, I was really able to progress.”

Yuma's All-Star duo did well in their final game representing the Scorpions. Rodriguez batted cleanup and played the first five innings in right field for the GBL before being lifted for Edmonton's Tom Collaro. He scored the first GBL run in the fourth, singling, stealing and scoring on a single by Chico catcher Mike Rose. That cut the lead to 5-1.

Arreola pitched a perfect top of the fifth inducing two pop-ups to the outfield and striking out the last batter of the inning in mowing down the middle of the Northern League's lineup.

GBL starter Wes Etheridge of Maui gave up three runs in the first inning as the NL banged out six hits and stormed out to the big lead. Etheridge hadn't given up more than two earned runs in a game this season.

The GBL cut the lead to 5-2 in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI single by Orange County's Jimmy Rohan that scored pinch hitter J.J. Sherrill of Chico.

After the NL pounded Etheridge in the first, they added solo runs in the second in third, including a solo home run by Brad Correll of Joliet.

Northern League starter Andrew Cruse, who plays for Kansas City, was the only pitcher to throw more than an inning, pitching two shutout frames.

The NL broke the game open with four in the seventh, capped by a three-run triple off the bat of Amos Ramon of Lake County.

Former Scorpion Emiliano Fruto, who pitched for Yuma last season, struck out two in the ninth representing the Toros. The GBL added a run with back-to-back doubles in the ninth.

$corpion $truggles

With the news that the Flyers acquired Scorpions LHP Zach Cline today, it appears he just escaped a crazy situation in Yuma where players haven't been getting paid and the roster -- one that had the Scorpions within a fingertip of winning the 1st half South Division title -- is coming apart at the seams.

The first report came from the Yuma Sun newspaper on July 13 when a report that players hadn't been paid in quite some time. Here's the story:

Drama surrounding Scorpions may be too much for Yuma to handle
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July 13, 2010 10:47 PM

I was talking with someone familiar with the Yuma Scorpions and the Golden Baseball League last week about last year's situation.

We were talking about the long road the current management group had to overcome from last year's sudden roster turnover 48 hours before the start of the season. His take on the situation summed it up perfectly.

“My friend has an old saying — you can't put the (manure) back in the cow.”

But Golden Glove Baseball tried early on. They brought in talent that competed well — well enough to win the first-half South Division title if it weren't for some unfortunate breaks.

Fans, however, haven't responded. The crowds have been sparse when at one time they had made the team successful — or at least sustainable — prior to 2009. Behind the scenes, apparently, there was turmoil as well.

Chuck Heeman was brought in as general manger. He parted ways with the club after a month. But that wasn't the biggest internal struggle.

Not compared to the players not getting paid.

Of course, it's important to stress that the team is within its contractual rights. Players may file a written request for free agency with the commissioner after 14 business days past due. Commissioner Kevin Outcalt met with the team last week on what was the 14th business day. Nobody filed a letter with him, although players — including Bill Pulsipher (also the team's pitching coach) and Daryl Arreola — said Outcalt indicated the meeting counted as their written request. But Outcalt said no player has filed with the league, and that he could not talk about the closed-door meeting.

Golden Glove is based in Venezuela, and Scorpions president Ricky Smith said the team has had issues getting money from Venezuela, but has not missed a per diem payment. But that is a point of contention among the players.

Arreola told a story about having to eat at player's parents' house just to get fed. He and Pulsipher both said during three games at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, the players did not receive meal money.

Again, who do we believe? Was there a mix-up? The Scorpions lost a 20-2 game on the last day of that trip, then split two games in Yuma against the Toros before winning the last two games of the strange seven-game series — all played without an off day — in Tucson. If Arreola's telling the truth, that would explain a 20-2 loss and a three-game sweep against a team that finished below .500. It would also mean, most unfortunately, that maybe if the players had eaten, they would have won one of those games and made the playoffs ahead of Na Koa Ikaika Maui. It wouldn't have mattered about the Na Koa forfeit win against Tijuana, or the half dozen more games it played against the league-worst Cimarrones than Yuma did, or the fact Maui and Yuma didn't play in the first half.

Now, if the team makes the playoffs, they'll have to spend an estimated $35,000 to go to Maui for the first two games of the postseason. And if they do make the playoffs, they'll have to do it with a different roster.

Smith said the team can turn over 40 percent of its roster and still be competitive. If the team is strapped for some liquidity, wouldn't it make sense to trade some of its high-profile players for cash?

Of course, good luck selling that to a market that has been burned to the point where it has pretty much given up on the team. This was a fan base that was pretty much complacent when the rumors surfaced early in the year the team was moving to Mexicali — rumors that still persist and won't go away.

I like the Scorpions, I like the GBL, I like the leadership of both. I like Peter Young, the vice president of the Scorpions. He provided the most memorable podcast I have ever done. I like Outcalt. For the most part, he's been one of the most and patient sources I've dealt with. I like GBL CEO Dave Kaval.

I like covering the team and the league. I like baseball.

But I don't like the fact I have to write the following sentence.

The cow manure has been piling up during the last two years. It might be beyond the point of being able to be cleaned up.

After that, a story hit Edmonton newsstands today about the Scorpions are in Canada to take on the Capitals without paychecks coming in and their roster being depleted. This from the Edmonton Journal:

Scorpions owner hasn't shown them the money
Capitals footing Yuma's hotel bill
Jim Matheson, Edmonton Journal
Published: 4:05 am

While the Edmonton Capitals go for a Golden Baseball League record 13th straight win tonight at Telus Field, the visiting Yuma Scorpions will be playing catch for fun and for free because they haven't been paid since early June.
"No money," said one of the Yuma players, who wished to remain anonymous when contacted Wednesday, hoping things would get resolved and the Yuma players would have more than per diem in their pockets for the rest of the Scorpions' 12-day road trip, which starts here.

"Can't go there, buddy," said Yuma manager and former Edmonton outfielder Darryl Brinkley, when asked to comment on his players not getting any salary for weeks, even though they came close to winning the first-half title in the South Division, barely beaten out by Maui Na Koa Kaika.

Maybe Brinkley's embarrassed or dismayed, or both.

Two Yuma coaches -- pitching coach Bill Pulsipher and hitting coach Dave Cash -- have left the team.

Yuma's Darryl Arrelola, who led the GBL with seven wins and 49 strikeouts and ranked third with a 2.59 earned-run average, had his contract purchased by the Capitals.

All-star outfielder Tim Rodriguez went to the Victoria Seals and slugging third baseman Santo DeLeon moved on to the Chico Outlaws, the team owned by Golden League commissioner Kevin Outcalt.

The rest of the Scorpions showed up in Edmonton, ready to play and putting on a happy face but disgruntled under the surface, hoping that president Ricky Smith pays them.

There was conjecture that Capitals manager Brent Bowers might have to make some calls to local players so Yuma could field a squad for the series with the red-hot Capitals, but that wasn't true.

"I don't know where that (story) came from. That's bad," Brinkley said. "Everybody is here and ready to play."

"I feel bad because I was a player at one time," said Bowers, who has a much better financial situation here, with the Capitals owned by the Oilers.

The Yuma players felt they would be free agents on July 10 after a meeting with Outcalt in their clubhouse four days earlier, airing their complaints that they hadn't been paid their salaries.

But it's July 15, and most of the players are still tugging on Yuma jerseys.

Why are they here, with the Capitals footing the bill for their hotel rooms through Sunday? The owners paid for their flights, but no salary.

"They have given us their word they are going to pay us," said the anonymous player. "We get meal money by the day but not cheques (salary)."

Why did he come to Edmonton? "Because I am here to play."

But he is playing for free? "Maybe," he said with a laugh.

"We went on some road trips this year where we didn't have meal money," Arreola told the Yuma Sun.

"We were fortunate enough to have (former pitcher) Gilbert (de la Vara, now playing Triple-A in Toledo, the Detroit Tigers' top farm club) when we were in Tuscon. He's from there and his family supplied us with food. The first time we were there, guys were showing up to the field not even eating at all. It makes it extremely hard to try and get your mind right when your body is trying to shut down."

Arreola, 27, will make his first Capitals start on Monday against the Tijuana Cimarrones at Telus Field.

"The way our offence is rolling, you throw another arm into our rotation and it's going to make our team that much harder to beat," said Bowers. "He's got seven wins now and, hopefully, he can get seven or eight more in the second half."

jmatheson@thejournal.canwest.com

I will say this, the note about the Capitals paying for Yuma's hotel bill doesn't matter. The home team always pays for the visiting team's hotel stay, with each team getting 16 rooms. That's always been the case.

What does it all mean? I guess we'll have to wait to find out.

Scorpions not moving to Mexicali

Looks like after reports of a potential move from Yuma to Mexicali, the Scorpions will be staying in the only home they've ever had in the southwest corner of Arizona. A report in yesterday's Yuma Sun - the local newspaper - says that according to GBL CEO Dave Kaval there are no plans to move the team midseason, but they will try to play a game or two, maybe a series, in Mexicali during this season.

Here's the report from the Yuma Sun:

Scorps staying in Yuma
June 10, 2010 10:09 PM
ROB WEILER - SUN STAFF WRITER

Reports of a potential move of the Yuma Scorpions organization to Mexicali, Mexico are being denied by the Golden Baseball League and explained as a miscommunication according to team and league officials.

GBL CEO Dave Kaval said the league is trying to work out a deal to showcase the Scorpions for a select number of games in Mexicali this season, similar to what the team has done in previous years in San Luis, Ariz. and El Centro, Calif.

“We've been in serious conversation with moving select series' to Mexicali for the last nine months to make it a more regional team,” Kaval said. “Obviously the logistics of playing in Mexico need more time to get worked out, but I think we will still have a series there, and that's a win for the league, but it's not that we're moving the whole team.”

Local CBS affiliate KSWT-13 reported on its website on June 6 that the team was leaving the city, citing a conversation with team president Ricky Smith. Smith is the owner and president of Golden Glove Professional Baseball, which owns the Scorpions.

“He (Smith) says between having the highest payroll in the Golden Baseball league and the poorest fan attendance in the league, it is time to move on,” the report said. “As for their new home, he has decided to move the team to Mexicali and the move could come as early as next week.”

Yuma Scorpions vice president of baseball operations Peter Young said Smith could not be contacted because he was in San Luis Rio Colorado, Mexico with the Tecate Brewers, who are also affiliated with the organziation.

“Somebody in the office called and asked if we were moving, and I had no idea where that came from,” Young said. “Some of the fans were even buzzing about it a couple nights ago. I didn't understand.”

Young confirmed there is still a chance of hosting a Scorpions game in Mexicali but not likely an entire series, and that there are no plans as of yet to visit El Centro or San Luis.

“The El Centro field is not good enough,” Young said. “There is a possibility for San Luis, but we'd have to go down there with the pitching coach and a couple others to make sure they have a look at that field and the mound and that everything is safe for our players.”

The Golden Baseball League has a history of moving in and out of cities, particularly the past two years with the league's expansion and addition of teams in Canada, Mexico and Hawaii, but has never moved a team during a season.

“It's not forbidden, but that's not the plan,” Kaval said of a mid-season move. “We have an agreement and a great relationship with the city of Yuma.”

The Scorpions (14-5) begin a two-game series at Chico tonight, then have two days off before hosting the Outlaws Tuesday night at Desert Sun Stadium.

So that's good news for the folks of Yuma, who have called the Scorpions their home team since the 2005 inaugural GBL season.

Yuma moving to Mexicali this week?

While this news doesn't surprise me, it also catches me off guard. According to a TV news station in Yuma, the Scorpions could be moving to Mexicali within a week, meaning the Flyers road trip to the desert June 21-24 could have a different destination. Here's the story, word for word from KSWT 13 News:

Yuma Scorpions Moving To Mexicali
Posted: June 6, 2010 09:58 PM

Yuma, AZ June 6 - At Saturdays game, the Yuma Scorpions manager told KSWT News 13 the team is moving.

He says between having the highest payroll in the Golden Baseball league and the poorest fan attendance in the league, it is time to move on. As for their new home, he has decided to move the team to Mexicali and the move could come as early as next week.

The owner of the team, Rickey Smith says next week he will give KSWT News 13 an exclusive interview with all the details.

So that'd be a shakeup. Yuma hasn't drawn well in the last couple of seasons as unemployment has hit that city/county worse than many other markets. And unlike Orange County - where there are at least plenty of people in the community, it's just a matter of reach them - there are only so many folks in Yuma, and if 1/3 of them are unemployed, it's tough for a ball club to succeed.

Desert Sun Stadium 7,500 and potentially up to 10,000 as an old spring training facility for the Padres, but that's in the past now.

As for the Mexicali market, it's located on the other side of the border almost due south of El Centro, Calif., which is about 50 miles west of Yuma. The Scorps did play a few games in El Centro in 2008 to test the waters of the area, but that field was rough to say the least.

Could we see a two-team set up south of the border before this season is out? Heck, it's entirely possible. And it's still closer than/less expensive of a trip than flying to Canada. No GBL team has ever moved before in mid-season, but the team is on the road from now until June 15, so if there are going to do something, they would have to do it quickly.

The Scorpions schedule has a pair of longer road trips, a Canada swing (July 15-25) and a Maui/OC trip (Aug 11-21), if they wanted the most time to make a move, but moving in August would almost be a "why bother?" unless they wanted to play in Mexicali for a long-term future. If they are going to move this season, it'd almost have to be done before the GBL's All-Star break, and even then, I wonder if/how the team would be able to get out of the lease at Desert Sun. Then again, we've already seen the league get screwed out of a lease in one market, so who knows how that will work.