Stars to shine on Sunday afternoons

Steve Guiremand

Thursday, Feb. 26, 1998 | 11:56 a.m.

Look for the Las Vegas Stars to put the "sun" back into Sunday home games this season.

The club has decided to play all of its Sunday home games at 1:05 p.m., a departure from past years when the team would play most of its Sunday games in the evening when temperatures were normally cooler.

"In June, July and August we've normally played our Sunday games at night," said Stars general manager Don Logan. "But I don't care where you are, now with ESPN having Sunday night baseball games, you can't draw."

So the Stars will give Sunday afternoon games a try.

"(Stars manager) Jerry Royster convinced me that the hottest part of the day is usually around 4 p.m.," said Logan. "Our night games start at 6 or 7, so our guys are out there working out in pregame warmups during the hottest part of the day.

"Now, with our games starting at 1:05, our guys will be doing their hard work at 10 or 11 in the morning before it really heats up."

Logan doesn't believe the mid-day heat will hurt Stars' attendance.

"If you live here, you learn to deal with the heat," said Logan. "It's not nearly as oppressive as the heat in someplace like Phoenix."

New-look PCL

Six of the eight teams from the old American Association have been absorbed by the Pacific Coast League, which will split into four four-team divisions this year.

Joining the PCL are teams from Nashville, Memphis, New Orleans, Iowa, Oklahoma City and Omaha. That's good news for fans of major league teams like the Cubs (Iowa), Cardinals (Memphis), Pirates (Nashville), Rangers (Oklahoma City), Astros (New Orleans) and Royals (Omaha), because their top farm teams will now visit Las Vegas at least once each season.

Las Vegas will join Salt Lake City (Twins), Tucson (Diamondbacks) and Fresno (Giants) in the PCL's Western Division. The Stars will host those teams twice during the season and will also visit those three cities twice during the season.

The Stars will have home-and-home series with the rest of the PCL. The Northern Division will consist of Edmonton (Athletics), Calgary (White Sox), Vancouver (Angels) and Tacoma (Mariners). The Southern Division will include New Orleans (Astros), Oklahoma City (Rangers), Memphis (Cardinals) and Nashville (Pirates). The Eastern Division is set to include Colorado Springs (Rockies), Albuquerque (Dodgers), Iowa (Cubs) and Omaha (Royals).

The four division winners will then advance to the playoffs.

Logan is hopeful that a deal can be made to have the PCL champion face the International League winner in what would amount to the World Series of AAA baseball. Las Vegas, New Orleans and Orlando have expressed interest in hosting such a playoff series. It also would seem like a natural for ESPN or FoxSports to televise.

"If we don't get something worked out in the next two or three weeks we may have to table it for another year," said Logan. "But I do think it's going to work out. It would be very worthwhile to the host city and also would be important for baseball. AAA baseball is the second best baseball being played in the world behind Major League Baseball."

Familiar faces

Logan said a number of former big leaguers and past Stars players appear to be ticketed for Las Vegas this year.

Longtime PCL star Eddie Williams, who hit .352 with 20 homers in just 59 games with the Stars in 1994, will likely begin the year in Las Vegas along with outfielder Doug Dascenzo.

The biggest name who could start the year in Las Vegas is veteran reliever Rob Dibble, who is attempting a comeback from a shoulder injury that forced his retirement after the 1996 season. Dibble recently was clocked with a fastball in the mid-90's during a workout at Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., and figures to challenge for a setup role with the Padres.

Also expected back on the Stars are first baseman Jason Thompson, who played in Japan last year, second baseman Dave Hajek, third baseman George Arias, catcher Mandy Romero and highly touted pitching prospects Matt Clement and Heath Murray.