All signs point to solid pitching There's no better time to work on the basics than the first day of the season. Fellow Tri-City Dust Devils pitchers Devin Collis and Sheng-An Kuo sat along the first-base stands Wednesday after the team's opening workout at Tri-Cities Stadium, working on the finer points of one of the game's fundamental skills. That's right, autographs. "I want to learn how to write my name in English," Kuo said through a translator. "In Chinese, it takes a lot more time to write." The 21-year-old free-agent pitcher from Taiwan is expected to be the opening-day starter when Tri-Cities opens a five-game series in Vancouver beginning Tuesday. Kuo, who played for Taiwan's Junior National team in 2004, brings a low-90s fastball, slider and curve, but he claims his changeup, which tails in toward right-handers, could be his best pitch. "He's got great stuff," Collis said. "He throws strikes and he gets ahead of guys." Kuo will be followed by Robinson Fabian, a right-hander who spent 2006 with the Casper Rockies, and Marco Duarte, a free-agent right-hander from Oaxaca of the Mexican League. Other than those three, the rest of the Dust Devils starting rotation has yet to be determined. "We've got a lot of lefties, which is a vast difference from last year," said Tri-City pitching coach Doug Linton. "Last year, we had guys like Shane Lindsay, (Josh) Sullivan and (Anuery) Rodriguez, who could all blow it by you. The guys coming in don't have the arms to blow people away. "We'll have to pitch to this ballpark. More balls are going to be put in play this year." With more balls in play, having a strong defense will help. Shortstop Helder Velazquez and second baseman Everth Cabrera led the Pioneer League in double plays last year. "We won't know until we step between the lines, but on paper we're looking good," said Tri-City manager Freddie Ocasio. "We've got a good mix of younger and older guys, and they all look pretty excited to be here." During batting practice, a strong wind coming in from right field kept a few moon shots from clearing the wall, prompting some frustration among the hitters. "The lefties were not real happy today," Ocasio said. "We were telling them in extended (spring training). They would hit one out and we'd tell them, 'That's a flyball out in Tri-Cities.' " Velazquez, the team's youngest player at 18, had heard the scouting report about the Tri-City park during his stay in Casper last year, where he hit .255 and drove in 19 runs in 40 games. "I heard it's a hitters park," Velazquez said, smiling. "There's no homers here. I think it could be hard to hit for a great average." Only a handful of the Colorado Rockies' 2007 draftees were in Tri-Cities as of Wednesday, as some were still en route. Lars Davis, a catcher out of the University of Illinois chosen in the third round, will arrive today, as will third baseman Darin Holcomb, a 12th-round pick out of Gonzaga. The 2007 draftees will receive their physicals today and should join team workouts Friday. "Right now, they're Andy's babies," Ocasio said, referring to team trainer Andy Stover. The Dust Devils will hold a free open house today between 11 a.m.-2 p.m. at Tri-Cities Stadium. Activies include an inflatable batting cage, a Dust Devils autograph session, several raffles/giveaways for prizes, and baserunning for the kids. Hot dogs will be available for $1, a portion of which goes to the local YMCA. Fans can also listen to the Seattle Mariners game, which will be piped in on KFLD over the stadium loudspeakers. Source: http://0rz.tw/e22IY --

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