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June 29, 2008
Pickering On The Move
Calvin Pickering downplayed his aggressive baserunning in Saturday’s 7-3 victory over the Lancaster Barnstormers as much as possible today. To him, he was only taking what the Barnstormers were giving him.
But to manager Tommy John, it went way beyond that. John went as far as saying that Pickering’s second stolen base of the season and tagging up on a fly ball helped the Bluefish win the game. Rafael Bergstrom pitched a one-hitter over seven innings. Yet, Pickering, the team’s the mountainous designated hitter, also made a sizeable impact.
``He’s got the green light any time because I just want to see him get dirty,’’ John said. ``I really want to see him slide headfirst. Really, what he did it pepped the guys up and got them going and got some fire going and laughing at him running. But him stealing second, tagging up and going to third and scoring that was a key run and essentially won the game for us.’’
With the Bluefish leading 1-0 in the second, Pickering led off with a single to left. He then stole second – his first stolen base since May 24. He would tag up and move to third on fly ball to center by Jay Caligiuri and he scored on an RBI single by Brian Munhall.
``They gave it to me,’’ Pickering said. ``If they’re going to play behind me I’m going to take off. Basically, it’s like a slap in the face. Because I’m big or whatever you think I can’t run? Ok, if they want to do it let them keep doing it. I just took off. They weren’t holding me. Plus, (Josh Hall) had a big leg kick. So it wasn’t that big of a deal. The fly ball to centerfield was deep. (Jutt Hileman) was backpedaling at the same time so I tagged up and went to third. I just play the game.’’
Pickering said today that he doesn’t know if he’s lost any weight this season. He isn’t paying attention to it either. What matters most to him is that he is producing each time he steps on the field. And through his first 57 games, he has.
Pickering, who has spent part of five seasons in the big leagues, is hitting .260 with 11 doubles, seven home runs, 32 RBIs and 26 runs scored in 57 games this season. He has reached base in 20 straight home games.
John would like to see Pickering, 31, get in shape and make another run at landing a job with a big league organization.
``He can hit,’’ John said. ``He just has to get in shape. If he would get in shape, get a trainer, he can play for somebody. And with the money that’s being thrown out there now ... I mean, this is my thinking, you’ve got to give it your best shot because there’s a ton of money out there for guys with far less talent than he’s got.’’
Rich
Posted by Elliott on June 29, 2008 6:20 PM
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