St. John's -
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
Pasadena Pirates pitcher Greg Barry will do just that this week after being picked up by the St. John's Capitals in advance of the 2009 Senior Men's National Baseball Championship in Dartmouth, N.S.
It will be the second straight trip to the nationals for Barry, who's Pirates were recently swept by the Caps in the Molson Provincial Senior A Baseball Final, something he admits makes his inclusion on the squad somewhat of a bittersweet experience.
"I'm a Pirate number one," Barry told The Western Star Monday from St. John's. "But it's nice to be picked up by them. It's such a great team with a lot of good players and it's hard to crack their lineup so it's definitely good for me."
Mixed emotions or not, Barry said there's little doubt he's pumped at the chance to compete on Canadian baseball's biggest stage again.
"I'm pretty excited," he said. "I played last year and we didn't do as well as we thought we could have. This year we've got our team a little bit better and I'm really thankful that they picked me up again this year and I'm looking forward to it."
The southpaw said that while he had some nervous moments last year in his national debut, he anticipates feeling more comfortable this time around. Barry, who tossed several innings in last year's tournament, isn't yet sure what his role on the team will be but is looking forward to a change of pace from the responsibilities associated with his position as a veteran on the Pirates.
"It's definitely a different role," he said. "I'm kind of a player/coach in Pasadena. I'm a positional player when I don't pitch and I hit so it's a totally different role to take on. But I definitely enjoy sitting back and relaxing and getting my shot when I can have it."
Joining Barry as pickups on the team will be Gander native Dave Parsons, who suited up for the Pirates in the provincials, and Mount Pearl's Jason Kearley. Also joining the squad will be hard-throwing right hander Matt Bannister, a highly-touted prospect from St. John's who played this season for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.
Looking at how the squad might fare in the tourney, Barry feels with the pitching staff in good hands, the key will be generating offence against the tough pitching the other province's will likely feature.
"The level of pitching up there is really strong so these guys have to adjust to the quality of pitching and the harder throwing," he said. "They don't see it every game in the St. John's league, I'm sure. Our pitching and defence was fine last year, so maybe we can get our sticks going a little more."
The Capitals open the tournament this morning against Nova Scotia.
