Cards Hope To Lock Down Playoff Spot

Mark Magdeleno Sr. has only spent a couple short weeks in total in Yorkton, but you'd think he'd been here all season by his knowledge of the Cardinals baseball team and how badly he wants them to win.

Magdeleno, a hitting instructor in the college ranks, is the father of Mark Jr., a catcher for the Cardinals.

This isn't a slight against any of the great Canadian coaches that both Yorkton and Melville have, but it's usually a little different talking baseball with an American. This guy was very passionate about the game and the Cardinals on the Coach's Show this morning.

CS: So you came up to watch your some play summer ball and they ended up making you work a little?

MM: Yeah, I'm pretty fortunate they let me in the dugout. I haven't been in a dugout for about two months since our season was done in California, so it's been a lot of fun. I'm the hitting instructor at Ventura College, it's my 25th season as a professional baseball coach, and Jason and Bill have been gracious enough allow me to come in a crack a few jokes, and do dumb things in the dugout.

CS: And it's not the first time you were here... you were here at the start of the year too right?

MM: Yeah I was here for opening day, and watched us jump out to a 4-and-1 start, and I came back to watch the rest of the season after my baseball camps were done.

CS: Zach Anderson, who plays for the Cardinals, he's one of your guys from down south?

MM: Yeah Zach played right field for our team that lost in the Regional Championships in California this year, he did a great job for us and he's starting to come on strong for the Cardinals now too.

CS: The Cardinal record for home runs is 7, and he's tied that, so obviously he's a power guy?

MM: He's got lightning in his bat. What he is, is a run-producer. Everyone's got a role for us and he was a run producer, everytime he swings the bat he's got an opportunity to hit a home run or hit the ball hard in the gaps.

CS: Big win last night, Mark scored the winning error on a throwing error to third, but it's a run you sure had to have.

MM: Anytime you win a baseball game, no matter how you win it's a big deal, and it doesn't matter who scores the run, it's about playing hard and playing hard for Yorkton, and I'm happy we won.

CS: If you would have lost, you'd be tied with Weyburn with 2 games left, now you're 2 up. That's a huge swing.

MM: It's a big deal for Bill and Jason and the club. They've worked real hard and they've been hit by the injury bug and different distractions. So in my opinion after 25 years, what you're seeing is a pretty good managing job, not a pretty good, a VERY good managing job by those two. They've keeping the Cardinals in the hunt and the players playing hard despite some of the bad things that have happened.

CS: I came to Saturday's game against Melville to find Nick Longmire wasn't there, he's one of 3 or 4 guys to leave the team in the last month or so, can you address what's happening there?

MM: Well, first of all you've got an injury bug. You've got a couple players playing for the last 4 or 5 weeks with injuries. Not with hurts, not nicks and pains, because when you play baseball you're always hurt, you're always banged up, the only time you're healthy is opening day. The guys that have left, like Nick, with a back strain, those are legitimate, and those happen. But then again we've lost some guys who've gone home, and that's nobody's fault but their own. It's just a lack of commitment on their part. One of those guys is my guy, and when I get home I'll talk to him personally, that's Max Gutierrez. He should still be here, he should be here, and he let down the club and he let down Yorkton, and he let down me, because I was the one who recommended him here, and it hurt us here in Yorkton.

CS: And when you've only got 7 pitchers left, with playoffs coming up where you might play for 5 days straight, that's tough.

MM: Well, I keep saying this, on your off-days, pitchers have routines, and by your second day off after a start, they've gotta be throwing flat work, or bullpens. Well you can't do that here right now because of the shortage of arms. So Jason and Bill are forced to use innings in games, as bullpens, and it's worked out perfect, a tremendous job of adapting. If you don't adapt, you die, the dinosaur didn't adapt, it died.

CS: Regina's in town tonight, you've got a home and home with them to finish the season, I know you can't get first, but if you win tonight, you just about lock up a spot.

MM: Yeah, right now it's mathematically possible the club could miss the playoffs. But Weyburn would have to sweep their four, we'd have to lose 2, I can't see that happening. Getting to the playoffs with the rash of injuries, it's a tremendous job, and the city of Yorkton outta be proud of them. That's one thing I can tell you, the people of Yorkton are definitely baseball people. I know Canadians are hockey people, but here in Yorkton you guys love baseball and it's fun to be here, it's fun to be part of it. Great crowd support. It's our final home game of the regular season tonight, and I hope the crowd shows up, and gives an ovation to those guys that are still here. A lot of those guys are banged up, but all those guys are committed to Yorkton, and to baseball in Yorkton and to the Cardinals.