Blue Brothers
A baseball career is like a murder: You need means, motive, and opportunity. Las Vegas 51s infielder Joe Thurston, and outfielder Chin-Feng Chen are long on talent and motivation, but frustratingly short on opportunity.
Joe Thurston has been so close to hanging up his uniform in the clubhouse at Chavez Ravine that he actually appeared in the 2003 media guide as part of the major league club. He was a cover player in an MLN feature “Joey Ballgame is Ready to pLAy”
“It’s frustrating,” Thurston admits after three years, “to get close enough to reach [your dream] and not get all the way.”
The tide has swept out Alex Cora, Robin Ventura, Jose Hernandez, and Adrian Beltre, but a wave of big dollar signings, players like Jeff Kent, César Izturis, and Jose Valentin, may come crashing down on Thurston’s chance to make the major league club again.
“I have to do whatever it takes,” says Thurston, known as “Joey Ballgame” by friends and teammates for his overwhelming drive. “I’ve been close enough.”
Thurston has performed well in the AAA. He is a stand-up guy, well liked by both teammates and sources in the Dodger organization. He’s a valuable asset, hard to want to deal. While no one is talking trade, Thurston, who wouldn’t even entertain the idea two years ago, is keeping his options open.
“Whether it is this club or another club, I have to keep working hard. I do not regret anything that I’ve done. I’ve given it my all. I don’t want to look back and say that I didn’t try harder.”
Chin-Feng Chen, a Taiwanese born player plucked by the Dodgers from their national team, likewise has performed well, but finds that the Dodger farm system, which once was the yellow brick road to major league stardom, has a few roadblocks like the Drew acquisition, in front of his shot at being in the Dodgers outfield this season.
“We’ll see what happens,” shrugs Chen fatalistically, stretching out by his locker as he dials in a little break on his iPod.
“I try hard to play every day,”he says trying to find the right words in English, as there is no longer a translator for Korean and Taiwanese players. “Somebody see what I can do.”
Shopping at StarMart
There are eighteen invitees, and almost as many men on the forty man roster whose fates are destined to a year in the minor leagues with the Dodgers or another club. Manager Tracy’s mix still leans toward the current conventional wisdom of shopping for talent at StarMart rather than picking up a lot of fresh produce from the farm. Yet he repeatedly tells the media that he’s keeping an open mind, and listening to the evaluations of his coaching staff daily.
Players like Rose acknowledge that they are getting a fair shake.
“Every day we have a five minute meeting where you sit with the coaching staff, and they tell you exactly where you are, and what they expect of you,” says Rose. “I’ve never seen that before. They care about how they treat people.”
