July 4, 2003

Gators grab honors

Vent, Freire, Cervenak, Correia named to All-Star team

By STEVE NALBANDIAN
Norwich Bulletin

NORWICH -- Kevin Vent's wife is understanding. With the Eastern League All Star break set for July 15 and 16, the Norwich reliever was going to see his wife for the first time since before he left for spring training -- in March.
The reunion will have to wait a little longer, as Vent was one of four Navigators selected to play in the Eastern League All Star Game, July 16, in New Britain. Also chosen Thursday were first baseman Alejandro Freire, third baseman Mike Cervenak, and starter Kevin Correia.
Last year's Double-A All Star Game at Dodd Stadium was the last between the three Double-A leagues. The Eastern League game will feature the Northern Division (Norwich, Portland, New Haven, New Britain, Binghamton, Trenton) against the Southern Division (Akron, Altoona, Bowie, Erie, Reading, Harrisburg).
"I'm happy for them and they definitely deserve to go," manager Shane Turner said. "Any time anyone gets a chance to go to an All-Star game, it's a chance to create some memories. You're going to be on the same team as some future major leaguers. You look back at it years later and look at that team photo and say, 'Oh my gosh. He was on that team and he was on that team.'"
Vent, 26, has gone 6-4 with a 3.16 ERA in 30 appearances. But no matter how good his numbers are, making an All-Star team as a middle reliever isn't all too common. That's one of the reasons his wife was flexible with the plans.
"Not too many long relievers are asked to go to an All-Star game," said Vent, a first-time all-star. "She understands."
Vent has been especially adept at not allowing inherited runners to score, the greatest responsibility of any reliever.
"Him making the team makes me happy because he pitches in middle relief and it's so easy to overlook him," Turner said. "But Kevin Vent has probably saved us more times out of the bullpen than anybody else on the staff."
Meanwhile, Correia has been the staff's most consistent starter. In his first full professional season, the 22-year-old has gone 6-5 with a 3.71 ERA.
"It's just the beginning for this young man," Turner said. "His stuff is as good as anybody's in this league. For him to be in his first full season, and it's at Double-A and to make an All-Star team, that's impressive."
As Vent and Correia have anchored the pitching staff, so too have Cervenak and Freire solidified the lineup.
The 26-year-old Cervenak is in his third season with the Navigators. He could have been a Double-A All-Star last season but will get his first his first taste of the game after batting .263 with 10 homers and 57 RBIs, which are second-most in the league. The unassuming Cervenak didn't think his numbers were good enough to warrant a spot on the roster, but he's happy to go just the same.
"It's definitely something nice," he said. "I really didn't think I was going to be picked but any time you get recognized, it means something."
Said Turner: "It's hard to leave a guy off an All-Star team when he's second in the league in RBIs. And coming off the season he had in this league last year, people know him, so they haven't exactly been giving him good stuff to hit either."
The easiest pick of the bunch was Freire. He's batting .320 (fourth in the league) with 15 home runs (tied for first), 50 RBIs (in the top 10), a .542 slugging percentage (tops in the league) and 31 extra-base hits (third).
The 28-year-old Freire is in his 10th minor-league season and has put up numbers that could certainly warrant a call-up.
"I've been in Double-A for four or five years and to get through it and have a good season . . . I'm here because I love to play this game," he said. "If I didn't, I wouldn't be playing. I'm hoping that next year, if it's not the Giants, that someone gives me a chance. We play for that chance.
"It's hard sometimes but when it's 7 o'clock, it's game time and you forget about it."
Still, he's looking forward to going to his third All-Star Game.
"It's always fun," he said. "It's a good time to go and relax and enjoy yourself. It's always a good feeling to get picked for a team like this."
Turner acknowledged Freire's selection was a no-brainer.
"All-around, he's been our most consistent guy in the lineup," Turner said. "He's the guy, if there's a situation for other teams not to pitch to him, they don't pitch to him. He's got that respect around the league."

Vent providing relief

BY ROB KEYS, Arkansas Democrat / Gazette

July 6, 2003

The spotlight is finally shining on Kevin Vent.
Vent, a 26-year-old former Arkansas Razorback, will make his first professional all-star appearance Wednesday, when he represents the Class AA Norwich (Conn.) Navigators in the Eastern League All-Star Game. It's a rare honor for a player who is used to doing a team's dirty work. "Actually, it's quite a bit surprising," said Vent, a right-handed relief pitcher who spent a large part of his childhood in Van Buren. "It's usually starters and closers that make it to all-star games.
" I mean, I felt like I had pitched well enough to make it, but those kinds of things are decided by managers and media and fans, and it just seems like they usually go with starters and closers. It was really a nice surprise to find out I made it. "
Working exclusively as a long and middle reliever, Vent has been rock-solid during the first half of the season. In 31 appearances through Friday, Vent was 6-4 with a 3.29 ERA. Opposing batters were hitting just . 250 against him,. 024 lower than the Navigators' staff average. Vent was named one of the San Francisco Giants organizational players of the month in April.
Still, being a middle reliever isn't exactly a flashy role, something Vent said he learned while playing two seasons at Arkansas after spending two years as a starter at Mineral Area (Mo.) Community College.
" You're not going to find a middle or long reliever signing a 10-year, $250 million deal, but that's fine with me, "Vent said with a laugh." I don't need the glamour or whatever. I just love playing baseball and am happy to be doing it. "It doesn't make me any better and it doesn't make me any worse if [the media or fans] talk about me or not."
Instead, Vent has concentrated on learning his craft. Relying primarily on a fastball, curveball and changeup, with an occasional slider mixed in against right-handed hitters, Vent has overcome a slow start to his professional career. Of the five Razorbacks taken ahead of him in the 1999 draft, only Dan Wright of the Chicago White Sox has had markedly more success.
Vent's success hasn't come easily. Following an "OK summer" after being drafted by San Francisco, Vent underwent surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow in January of 2000. Not until the last six weeks of the following season did Vent begin to feel 100 percent healthy.
Since that time, Vent has made a steady climb. He credits much of his improvement to learning from players who have enjoyed success at baseball's highest level, former major leaguers like Lee Smith, Dave Righetti, Ross Grimsley and Steve Renko. "It's great to be able to listen to those guys and pick up any little tips you can," Vent said. "They've been there and done it and know what it takes, but you have to do more than just take it in. You have to be able to apply it, too.
" As a reliever, usually when you come in, it's because the other team is in the middle of a rally. It's your job to stop it, and that's what your focus has to be. "
With his first all-star nod under his belt, Vent is focused on continuing forward on his path toward the major leagues.
" I'd like to be in Triple-A before the end of the season, but it's really out of my control, "Vent said." To get moved up, somebody has to get hurt, which I don't want, or someone has to like you a lot. There's just a lot of different factors, and none of them really are in your control. "I just want to keep doing my job and playing the best I can."
If he does that, Vent just might stay in the spotlight.

Page Created: 7-5-03

Page Last Updated: 7-6-03