Strike talk looms large amid 51s’ PCL championship run

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2002 | 9:48 a.m.

Powered by a solid start by Dennis Springer, spectacular defensive plays and clutch hitting, the Las Vegas 51s defeated the Fresno Grizzlies 7-4 and moved closer to a Pacific Coast League playoff berth Monday night at Cashman Field.

If the 51s (77-53) beat the Grizzlies tonight or the second-place Tucson Sidewinders lose, the 51s clinch the PCL's South Division title and a trip to the playoffs.

But for some players, the thought of a potential Major League Baseball players strike on Aug. 30 weighs just as heavily as the thought of winning a PCL championship.

"We talk about it," 51s reliever Bryan Corey said. "We think about it because it does affect more than a few guys on the team."

Nine Las Vegas players are on the Los Angeles Dodgers' 40-man roster. The group, including Corey and prospects such as Joe Thurston, Luke Allen, Chin-Feng Chen and David Ross, would be prime candidates for a Sept. 1 call-up, the day when major league teams expand their rosters.

According to 51s manager Brad Mills, Las Vegas players on the 40-man will still be allowed to compete during the playoffs even if there is a strike.

"It's difficult just knowing that there could be a chance of some of us getting called up to the big leagues Sept. 1," Thurston said. "But if there's a strike, that's not possible whatsoever. It's just one of those types of things that you just have to go with it.

"The way I approach it is just going about my business here. As of right now, we're in the minor leagues. We play here. You just hope that everything does get resolved to where 10, 15 years from now, it doesn't happen again."

In 1994, the last time there was a work stoppage, Dodgers infielder Jeff Reboulet was a player representative for the Minnesota Twins.

Reboulet, an 11-year major league veteran, joined the 51s Aug. 10 for a rehab assignment. His future is the most uncertain of all the 51s because he is supposed to rejoin the Dodgers the day after the strike date.

Now, he must wait to see if he's going to fly to Houston where the Dodgers are scheduled to face the Astros, or head to Los Angeles to pick up some personal belongings before flying home to Dayton, Ohio, to join wife Jana and their three sons.

Unlike the last time negotiations broke down between the players association and the owners, Reboulet is hopeful things can be resolved.

"It was a little bit different then than it is now," he said. "I think the sides are a little bit closer. Back then, it was apples and oranges. So it got pretty ugly.

"They were trying to change the entire structure of baseball and it just wasn't going to happen. So the players are vehemently against a (salary) cap and still are. But now they're using different terms and different tax amounts to create a cap so if you can get it low enough, it's not a cap.

"The game needs some help. We're willing to work with the owners on that."

Strike or no strike, the players contend it is business as usual.

"It doesn't change anything as far as when we're down here," Corey said. "We're here to finish out our season and we're going to the playoffs.

"And hopefully we'll win the whole thing here. We've had a great year. We've had a lot of fun. All we can do is what we can do here. Everything else is totally out of our hands."

Chen went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBIs and left fielder Jolbert Cabrera went 3-for-5 and also scored two runs. Chen's two-run double highlighted a three-run seventh inning before Fresno answered with two in the eighth off reliever Phil Devey.