Columnist Dean Juipe: Roster moves part of life for the 51s

Dean Juipe

Monday, July 14, 2003 | 9:37 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

There's a common perception that the injury-riddled and underachieving Los Angeles Dodgers are raiding the Las Vegas 51s and unfairly confiscating players at the Triple-A team's expense.

The evidence, some say, is in the pure volume of interteam transactions. To date, the Dodgers have made no fewer than 14 moves that resulted in a player leaving Las Vegas for the major leagues.

Yet it strikes me that this is hardly unusual, and 51s manager John Shoemaker seems to agree.

"It's part of the minor leagues," he said Sunday before his team defeated the Iowa Cubs, 2-0, before 1,313 at sweltering Cashman Field, giving the 51s a record of 55-42 at the All-Star break.

"It's a 144-game season and there's something new every day," Shoemaker said. "The roster is not the same every day. In fact, I think if you took a team picture on opening day and another team picture on the last day of the season, you'd really be surprised at the changes no matter what (minor-league) team you're talking about."

If you don't believe him, look at the Iowa Cubs as a random example. They have had 11 roster moves this season in which the Chicago Cubs took a player from them.

What has made the 51s transient situation more noticeable is not only the abundant changes of late -- first baseman Larry Barnes, outfielders Chad Hermansen, Wilkin Ruan and Chin-Feng Chen and pitcher Steve Colyer have all been recalled within the past three weeks -- but the fact the team was left fairly intact throughout last season. That continuity contributed to a franchise-best record of 85-59.

But last year was an exception. As fans of the 51s and their predecessors, the Stars, might easily recall, the general rule of thumb throughout the club's 21-year existence is that the parent team is going to make wholesale changes throughout the year.

When the Stars were affiliated with the San Diego Padres, players seemed to be going up or coming down from the major leagues on a daily basis. And with the Dodgers in the midst of a disappointing season that has had more than its share of slumps and injuries, they have repeatedly dipped into the well at Las Vegas.

"I don't really have anything to compare it to, because this is my first season at Triple-A," Shoemaker said. "I just feel fortunate and happy that we've had players the Dodgers are confident in.

"I haven't given it a whole lot of thought and we (coaches) haven't talked much about it, because our primary purpose is to be ready to help the Dodgers in any way we can. Whatever we have to do to help them be at full strength is what we are going to do.

"Anything else is secondary."

Winning games is also secondary, as difficult as it is for fans of a minor-league team to accept. Yet those who follow the 51s needn't panic or complain about Shoemaker and/or the Dodgers, in spite of the fact the team went 20-7 in April and appeared to be the early favorite in the Pacific Coast League.

While May (15-14), June (13-15) and July (7-6) haven't been as impressive, bear in mind the 51s went through a similar midseason funk a year ago (13-18 at home in May and June) before rebounding to finish with a stellar record.

The current team would seem to have the same potential.