DAN DUQUETTE’S THE BACK OFFICE

Hoping Inspirational Bentz Makes It Back To The Bigs .

Sat, 30 May 2009 14:59:09 -0400

On, Thursday May 28 the American Defenders of New Hampshire, an independent team in the Canadian American League signed a contract with LHP Chad Bentz. Bentz is no ordinary lefty, he pitched in the Major Leagues with the Montreal Expos and Florida Marlins as a reliever as recently as 2006. At 29 years old Bentz is making a comeback of sorts with the Nashua NH based Defenders who play at beautiful Holman Stadium. He has a good fastball with life and a nice overhand curveball with 12 to 6 rotation. In the Major Leagues he was a lefty reliever but in Nashua this year we hope that Bentz will be a starting pitcher. He is a big bear of a man listed at 6'2" 210 lbs but is much closer to 250+ and conditioning will be a challenge for him if he is to mount or sustain any credibility to make a comeback to ML form. Bentz shows up at the park right after lunch for evening games in Nashua and genuinely happy to be back in the game, he greets staff,fans, grounds crew and just about everybody as they join him at the ball park. If you look closely at the picture you will see why I say that Bentz reminds me of former major league LP and college Hall of Famer from the University of Michigan, Jim Abbott. Not only are they LHP's who pitched successfully in college and professional ball but they also do their job with only one hand; Like Abbott, Bentz was born with out a right hand and like Abbott he switches his glove from right to left hand after he delivers the ball from the pitchers mound to home plate. Now it is hard enough to deliver the ball consistently to the plate but Bentz has the added challenge of automatically switch his glove to his throwing hand while getting into a fielding position waiting for a hit ball.
Personally, I want to see this man get back to the ML and I am rooting for Chad Bentz to succeed; if you want to see how he is doing check in on him at Holman Stadium in Nashua New Hampshire on monday night June 1 at 6:30 pm and for the rest of the summer you can follow him at www.americandefenders.us Not only will you see a young pitcher mounting a comeback to the ML; I bet you will be personally inspired like I am when you watch Chad Bentz pitch!

Dan Duquette Interview From Stone Cold Sports.com “Red Sox Years of Talent on the Farm”

Sun, 17 May 2009 13:37:27 -0400

Lou Merloni Clarifies Steroid Statement

Sun, 10 May 2009 20:30:35 -0400

On Saturday I was told that Lou Merloni said the Red Sox organization were educating players how to utilize steroids even though he couldn't remember the year or the Doctor that he said gave this message during my time with the team.

Today he acknowledged "It wasn't Dr. (Arthur) Pappas or anyone like that but I don't recall who it was," Merloni said. "We'd had many meetings and talks about how bad steroids were, but this one was different. It was the team acknowledging there were people taking it and they were trying to inform us about not abusing steroids. In no way were they telling us to take steroids or encouraging us to do so."

Thank you Lou. Let's be clear the Red Sox organization educated players on 3 specific items in regard to the team's Drug Education policy:

1)Steroids should not be taken unless prescribed and administered under the care of a licensed physician.

2) If they are taken under any other circumstances other than 1 above,they are a violation of federal law, the drug policy administered to by MLB and the club and there are specific sanctions, fines and counseling programs outlined in writing in the policy which the player or any employee is subject to if detected using.

3)The team also educated the players on potential health risks associated with steroid use and abuse.

I know this is a sensitive issue for players and clubs alike and I appreciate Lou clarifying what he said on Saturday in his recent statement. Lou is a friend of mine and a darn hard working player and analyst that I respect........but I think on Saturday he just might have 'misremembered'.

Bill Thurston’s Last Dance

Wed, 6 May 2009 16:18:57 -0400

Sunday May 3rd marked the 150th anniversary of the 1st college baseball game ever played between the colleges of Amherst and Williams. On July 1, 1859 on the corner of "North and Maplewood" in Pittsfield Massachusetts the two schools began a rivalry unparalleled in duration which continues today.

Sunday also marked the final game for Amherst Head Baseball Coach Bill Thurston who celebrated his 44th season with the Lord Jeffs and closed a great career with over 800 wins, the most of any coach in school history, which included induction into the ABCA Hall of Fame in 1997 . Thurston's legacy includes a long list of leaders and professional baseball people whom he mentored during his tenure at Amherst;the baseball pitch was his classroom and the mound and 3rd base coaching box the pulpits he utilized to impart to his student's his passion for the game.

The walls of Thurston’s office are adorned with side-by-side pictures of professional players and Amherst players allowing for comparisons of proper baseball mechanics. So it is no wonder that tiny Division III school has had 23 alumni sign professional baseball contracts and sent 17 former players to work as coaches and executives in professional baseball (very few other Division III school have had two players fill similar roles).

“Coach Thurston sets a standard for the baseball program that is pretty similar to professional baseball. He works extremely hard to make sure every practice is run with a purpose, that every player is given a chance to reach his potential, and that preparing to win every game is instilled in the culture. Those are qualities that any good organization strives for,” recalled Ben Cherington (Amherst 94)who now works as the Vice President of player personnel for the Boston Red Sox.

Coach Thurston mythologized the Amherst Class of 1980, of which I was proud to be a member, which was a club that had close to a dozen players who went into professional baseball and as Thurston described "Best Talent we ever had!" LHP John Cerutti (82) was our ace and first round pick of the Blue Jays who finished with a lifetime ML record better than .500 and an ERA under 4.00. RP Rich Thompson (80) played in the Vintage game on Sunday and he pitched in the ML Leagues for Cleveland and Montreal. IFer Dave Jauss(80) is the current bench coach of the Baltimore Orioles and has won the Caribbean World Series for the Dominican Republic and been named Eastern League Manager of the Year. 2B Mike Ryan(81) was Vice President of Broadcasting for the New York Mets and currently is Senior VP of Programming for ESPN. SS Mark Manning (80) owner of the Stockyard Restaurant in Boston played with John Gibbons and Daryl Strawberry in Rookie Ball with the New York Mets. C Rich Lundgren(80) played in Rookie Ball with the New York Yankees, Utility man Mike Lavery played in the minors with the Blue Jays, LHP Dave McCarthy(82) pitched in the minors for Cleveland, DH Tommy Bourque(80) actively scouts for the Cubs and signed LHP Juan Nieves the only Brewer to ever throw a no hitter. Other members of the team include Dr. Paul Harasimowicz(79) who went on to become an orthopedic surgeon and distinguished sports medicine professional in Harvard MA and Ron Howard(81) VP for the Philadelpia Eagles football team.

Coach Thurston instilled a love for the game in his players which encouraged these men to follow his lead to combine their passion and livelihood. Thurston who grew up on a farm in Maine followed the advice of another noted New England farmer and Amherst professor:

"But yield who will to their separation
My object in living is to unite
My avocation and my vocation
As my two eyes make one in sight.
Only where love and need are one,
and the work is play for mortal stakes,
is the deed ever really done
For heaven and the future's sakes."
Robert Frost "Two Tramps in Mud Time"

Thank you Coach Thurston and May God Bless You! for sharing your time and talent with so many fortunate Amherst Men!

Remembering The Bird.

Sat, 18 Apr 2009 17:02:06 -0400

I went to Mark Fidrych's funeral on Friday to pay my respects to the family and a man that I worked with to raise money for the Jimmy Fund, which fights childhood cancer and for the Genesis Fund which raises money to help families of children that have birth defects. For six years I worked alongside Mark at "Fenway Park Tryouts" as he entertained baseball lovers and benefactors of the charities in the bullpen and on the field while teaching a little baseball.

Six people spoke of Mark's attributes including his sister, Carol Duda, who said "You were our only brother, but big enough to make us feel like we had 10 brothers,"
Bob Murphy, a friend, recalled Fidrych riding around Northborough in his truck, and how he would sometimes plow the driveways of elderly people who needed the help. "If more people were like Mark Fidrych in the world, it would be a much better place," Murphy said.
Jay Bocci, a businessman from Detroit whom Fidrych worked with, spoke of fans mobbing Fidrych at a shopping mall, a casino in Las Vegas and while visiting Ford Motor Co."He was truly a rock star and he never knew it," Bocci said. "He was an extremely unique individual and I loved him since the first time I had contact with him."
E. J. Jaxtimer talked about meeting Fidrych nearly 20 years ago when the two were paired up for a Jimmy Fund fishing tournament on Nantucket. Their families soon became close friends, he said.
Jaxtimer called Fidrych a one-of-a-kind, genuine guy who valued charity work and even made time to watch Jaxtimer's sons play baseball."It was the little things Mark did so freely that meant so much to our family and others," he said. "Mark loved life, his joy was contagious and his smile infectious."

And finally,Willie Horton, a left-fielder and designated hitter for Detroit, represented the Tigers went to bat for Mark one last time really hit the ball out of the park on his behalf as he remembered Fidrych's rookie season in 1976, and how everyone wondered what he was doing when he waved batters into the box and introduced himself to opposing pitchers.
Fidrych's popularity with fans and sportsmanship had a lasting impact on baseball, Horton said.
"I saw him bring growth to the game," he said. "In a short period of time, what he did was unbelievable. He brought families into the game of baseball."

One of my friends Ari Alexenberg captured how the boys of New England felt about Mark, he told me "I watched in awe and excitment that summer. He merged the playground games of home with the major leagues. I was a kid and he was one of my buddies playing with the big boys. He was a rare bird and now extinct. I am bummed."

Mark Fidrych a magical personality. Imagine if Ralph Houk and the Tigers had protected him a little and he hadn't thrown 24 complete games as a 21 year old. That's right 24 complete games in a little over 41/2 months work because Mark wasn;t inserted into the rotation until around May 15! Last year Toronto led the American League with 15 complete games as a staff .........The Tigers two years after Fidrych's rookie year added Alan Trammel, Lew Whitaker, Jack Morris, Dan Petry, Lance Parrish and Kirk Gibson to their roster. With a healthy Fidrych, who knows how many championships they might have won. The Bird was a Good Hearted Man who will be missed.