If familiarity breeds contempt, the Memphis Redbirds and Keith McDonald are
dancing dangerously close these days. Now in his fifth year
wearing a single cardinal, McDonald bows only to Rockey
and maybe Stubby Clapp in terms of
recognizability at AutoZone Park. While the dream of every pro
ballplayer is to spend his career in one happy home, the nightmare
is to be cast for the sequel to Bull Durham. Sure,
minor-league baseball is charming … for everyone but the players.
McDonald and relief pitcher Rick Heiserman are
the only two Redbirds to have played in each of the
team’s five seasons in Memphis. Only Clapp has played in
more games as a Redbird than the 29-year-old backstop
from southern California. So McDonald has enjoyed the
highs of a Pacific Coast League champion (2000) and the
lows of a last-place finish (2001), with countless faces
alongside him, either on their way up to St. Louis or on
their way out of baseball. While his sights are firmly set on
a big-league job, McDonald is magnanimous in
describing his Triple-A home. “I enjoy Memphis,” he says. “It’s
hard not to like the facility and the fans. When you’re
moving up, [minor-league] level to level, you don’t really get
to know a place. I’ve got some really good friends in
Memphis now, and that’s nice. The die-hard fans we have
here are really good people.”
Triple-A rosters change as frequently as the cast
of NYPD Blue. McDonald has become Andy Sipowicz
with shin guards and a catcher’s mitt, trying to match
new names with new faces, all the while keeping his sights
set on a permanent promotion. As the Redbirds’
everyday catcher, McDonald’s job is made all the more
challenging by the new faces on the mound. “Position
players moving up and down don’t have near the impact on
a team as does the pitching,” explains McDonald. “We’re
using [pitchers] that didn’t break camp with us. Trying to get the
best out of them is the hardest thing. It’s kind of organized chaos.”
While McDonald’s time in the big leagues to date
might best be described as a cup of coffee, his short stint was
worthy of the finest mug of joe ever poured by
Starbucks. McDonald celebrated the Fourth of July in 2000 by
becoming only the third St. Louis Cardinal in history to homer
in his first at-bat, drilling a pinch-hit tater off Cincinnati’s
Andy Larkin. Two days later, McDonald homered in his
second big-league plate appearance, joining the St. Louis
Browns’ Bob Nieman who pulled the trick in 1951 as the
only players in more than a century of major-league baseball
to homer in their first two at-bats. In only nine career
at-bats in The Show, McDonald has three hits all of them
home runs for a nice little slugging percentage of 1.333.
“I’ve only watched [the homers] on tape once,”
says McDonald. “The Fourth of July, the stadium packed …
it was a great feeling. The second one, I was more
worried about getting Rick Ankiel through the game than the
record. What I have in my head, as far as memories go, is a
lot better than what video can reproduce.”
After getting off to a dreadful start at the plate,
McDonald has pushed his batting average above his career mark of
.271. For a player who feels his glove is his ticket to the
major leagues, that kind of hitting is well above the norm for
his position. If he can carry that figure to the next
level, McDonald feels certain his minor-league career will be
over. “I don’t think my skill level is an everyday catcher’s,”
admits McDonald. “But I think I can back up.”
When you take into consideration some of the
pitchers McDonald has caught in Memphis Ankiel, Matt
Morris, Alan Benes, Bud Smith, Gene Stechschulte you
realize he’s been 60′ 6″ from big-league arms, though still
miles away from the roster spot he covets. While a love affair
with Bluff City fans has its virtues, McDonald would be
the first to tell you that five years of Triple-A ball is enough.
“I haven’t really been given an opportunity to show [the
Cardinals] I can play every day up there,” he says. “[A
promotion to St. Louis] is out of my control, unless
somebody gets hurt or gets traded, or I get traded.”
Does McDonald fear having plateaued at
Triple-A? “I wouldn’t say I’ve plateaued” is the catcher’s quick
answer. “It just hasn’t worked itself out
yet.”
Dajuan, Drew, Or Dunleavy?
By James P. Hill
The Grizzlies look for an impact player with their fourth pick.
Grizzlies management walked away from the NBA draft lottery in New Jersey having learned that
it will pick fourth overall in the first round and 32nd and
44th in the next two rounds. Now the focus shifts to
available talent. The Grizzlies are looking for the type of player
who can make a quick transition to the NBA.
“That’s the most important thing. You need a player
that can step in and make some contribution almost
immediately, particularly when your team is not where you want
to be,” said Grizzlies GM Jerry West.
So who would you pick with the fourth selection in this
year’s NBA draft? How about Yao Ming, the 7′ 5″ center/forward out
of China? Chances are Ming will probably be in New York City
on June 26th smiling and wearing a Houston Rockets cap.
“Somebody that big who’s played fairly successfully
for China and played very well in the Olympic Games,
people will have an interest in him,” West said.
What about going small and picking a guard? Well,
if you’re thinking about Jay Williams from Duke, he may
be in New York grinning and holding up a Chicago Bulls
jersey or even sporting a Golden State Warriors hat.
Since Chicago picks second and Golden State third, there’s a
strong chance Williams will be unavailable. Many observers
believe Williams is arguably the best prospect in this draft.
How about selecting Caron Butler, a 6′ 7″ forward
from UConn? Butler can flat-out score, averaging 19.5 points
per game in the Big East. And Butler goes to the glass
and snatches 7.6 rebounds per contest. He possesses hoop
skills, which can surely help the Grizzlies, but is Butler the
right fit for a team that already has four forwards?
Another player with smooth moves and a solid
post game is 6′ 10″ Kansas forward Drew Gooden,
whom many experts expect to be a lottery lock. The Big
12 MVP is ready to play at the next level, but with
Lorenzen Wright healthy and playing well, what would the
rookie bring to Memphis that the Grizzlies don’t already have?
How would Mike Dunleavy Jr., the 6′ 9″ Duke
standout, look wearing a Grizzlies uniform next season?
Probably pretty good. Dunleavy can dribble, pass, score, and run
the floor. If Dunleavy is available at number four, the Grizzlies
may be hard-pressed to pass him up. He’s a player and not just
because of his father’s legacy. Mike Jr. has proved he’s got game.
How about Dajuan Wagner, last season’s
University of Memphis freshman phenom? After leading the
Tigers to the NIT championship, he’s ready to test his game at
the highest level. But the question remains: Is Wagner
coming out too early? And with Jason Williams and Brevin
Knight playing the point, can the Grizzlies use a quick-scoring
lead guard? Many fans in Memphis would love to see
Wagner stay and play in the Pyramid one way or another.
Finally, a sleeper in the draft may be Western
Kentucky’s 7 ‘ 1″ center Chris Marcus. He brings a big low-post
game to the blocks that could be helpful in freeing up more
scoring opportunities for the Grizzlies’ power forwards.
Whether the Grizzlies decide to go big or small
with their pick, you better believe Mr. Clutch will bring in
a player he knows can help the Grizzlies next season
and for the long haul.
