Pregame interview with Coach Falcon - 7/7/08

Coach Falcon sat down with me for a few minutes before Monday night's game against Danbury to discuss the roster, the rotation, and the new guys. This interview should also clear up some confusion that I caused regarding the current pitching rotation (my apologies).

JG: The newest member of the team is John Folino, a former Danbury Westerner. What do you expect him to bring to the table?

JF: He's going to get a start tonight for us. We've been running with a six man rotation, and we wanted to get some guys some extra rest. We're going to give Gallo a little bit of a rest. We skipped his spot in the rotation. Same deal with Adams. I'm not 100% sure what Folino will be doing for us, but he's getting a start tonight.

We're playing a lot of games in the next few weeks, and we have some doubleheaders on the schedule, too. He's probably going to be used in that role as well. But who knows - it's all going to depend on how he does, how he feels, and how comfortable he looks out there in the next couple of nights.

JG: We've seen a lot of pitchers get starts for you this year, and we've seen some starters come out of the bullpen as well. Can you talk about where your rotation is at this point in time - is it still a work in progress, or do you have a good idea about what your rotation will be going forward?

JF: Well, nothing is ever set in stone. We wanted to give guys like Gallo and Adams a start off here and there, because they had a long season at school and we wanted to cut down on their innings. Right now we're working with probably seven starters but at some point we'll get back to a five or six man rotation depending on how many games we've got that week. All of the decisions about pitcher use have been more physical than anything else. We're just going to play it by ear.

JG: Herter as well?

JF: Same with Herter. Herter didn't throw many pitches last time, but we gave him an inning to set himself straight. I think he did very well last night, and that's often exactly what pitchers need to get back on the saddle.

JG: Peter Fatse moved on to Holyoke. What do you know about that situation?

JF: He wasn't comfortable here and he lives closer to Holyoke, so it made him much happier to go back there. We wish him the best.

JG: Are you expecting any other additions to the roster, or are these the bullets in your gun as you head forward toward the playoffs?

JF: I've got one more spot available and we've got until the 15th to do something. If we were to pull the trigger, it would probably be for another outfielder, but we haven't made our minds up yet as to what we're going to do.

JG: Is Costello back in the cleanup spot tonight?

JF: Yeah, he's gonna DH for us. He'll probably be in that role for us.

The newest member of the Navigators...

is Matt Costello, a left handed pitcher from West Barnstable, MA. The 6'1'' 208 pound hurler pitches for Volunteer State Community College in Gallatin, TN. In 14 starts with Volunteer State, Costello went 9-4 with a 2.86 ERA, striking out 93 and walking 57 in 91.1 inning pitched.

He also swung a hot bat for Vol St., hitting .377 in 29 games playing first base.

He'll be in the lineup tonight as the Navs take on Holyoke at Fraser Field.

New Additions + Weather Situation

Jonathan Keck will not be playing for the Navs this summer. To fill the void in the roster left by Keck and Beau Brooks, the Navs have added Jay McConnell and Jonathan Griffin. McConnell is an infielder from Mount Holly, NC. Griffin is a 1B/OF from Bradenton, FL.

Coach Falcon on the new additions:

On new addition Jay McConnell:

“McConnell I think is going to be a great complementary catcher for us. He’s got a great arm, great attitude and a pretty swing. In this league if you don’t have two good catchers you’re in trouble. I think we’ve got two very, very strong catchers right now with a good Derek Trent backing them up.”On new addition Jonathan Griffin:

“Griff is someone that we got kind of late. We heard some things about him. He was drafted and he’s a young kid whose still trying to learn some things. With some time and some work I think he’s going to be a pretty good ball player.”

***

As you can see, it's pretty crummy outside, so there's still a question as to whether or not there will be a game tonight. According to Phil Rosenfield, the game is still on, and they will begin work on the field at 1 PM.

We will have all the updates for you right here.