Twenty-four years plus one ultra-successful "homestand" later, Casey Candaele will finally put on a Buffalo Bisons uniform again Tuesday night.
The Herd's new manager, an emotional leader on Buffalo playoff teams from 1995-97, has his club at 9-3 and off to its best start since 2007 after its first homestand in Trenton, N.J. But the club wears Trenton Thunder jerseys and their colors of blue and black at home. Tuesday night's series opener at Worcester will be the first time since the end of the 2019 season that the red, white, blue and gray of the Bisons will take the field.
"That's right. I've been trying it on all week and looking at in my locker," Candaele cracked on a video call. "It's kind of cool, man. I looked at it and I actually was like, 'Oh, yeah, that's right.' And I saw that Bisons travel bag. And I saw the helmet and the jerseys. And I was like, 'Oh my gosh, they kind of made them a little nicer now.' They're more colorful, but just really cool to be able to do that. So I'm excited."
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Candaele is excited about the way his club has been playing, too. The Bisons won the final five games of their six-game series against the Rochester Red Wings and took Sunday's finale, 2-1, on infielder Dilson Herrera's two-run single in the seventh. The Herd leads all of minor league baseball with a glossy 1.82 team earned-run average, and leads Triple-A East in strikeouts (132) and team batting average (.291).
Infielder Christian Colon leads the Herd with a .417 batting average and is tied for the team lead in home runs (3) with outfielder Logan Warmoth. Utility man Breyvic Valera is batting .341 with a team-high 13 RBIs.
"These guys are pretty resilient to start the season. They're battling and they're grinding stuff out," Candaele said. "They're going to put together quality at-bats. So in the end, that's all you can ask to kind of grind it out and play good defense and pitch. Those are the recipes for success. You pitch well, go after people and play solid quality defense, you're going to be in most games."
The Bisons and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre are tied atop the Northeast Division at 9-3. Worcester and Lehigh Valley are both 7-5 while Rochester and Syracuse are 2-10. All teams are off each Monday during the season.
Manoah mania returns Wednesday
Bisons pitcher Alek Manoah was named the first Triple-A East Pitcher of the Week after throwing 12 shutout innings with 17 strikeouts in his first two outings. He will start Wednesday's game in Worcester after impressing Blue Jays GM Ross Atkins, a visitor to Trenton, with six innings of one-hit ball Thursday against Rochester.
Manoah was originally slated to start Tuesday but the Bisons and Blue Jays announced a change Tuesday afternoon with the return of Nick Allgeyer to Buffalo. T.J. Zeuch will start Tuesday, with Allgeyer following him as a piggy-back reliever.
The Toronto media is agog over the potential of a Manoah callup and Atkins did nothing to defuse that during a video chat with reporters Sunday.
"Obviously, his effectiveness is a huge piece of that equation," Atkins said. "The objective and subjective views of how effective he will be at the major league level are all really encouraging. It's just not as simple as, 'OK, he's had two starts now, let's just see if it works.' ... As that continues, he's making that very much something that we're discussing and talking about."
Atkins said he was impressed by the entire operation he saw in Trenton.
"Obviously we wish we were in Toronto and Buffalo ... but Trenton has done a great job," Atkins said. "Our players had everything they needed to get ready for their days. They're performing well, working through their days consistently, had what they needed. The playing surface was great, the fans were engaged and having fun. It was enjoyable to see that level of play again."
Tough battle vs. Strasburg
The Bisons were shut out for 4 1/3 innings Sunday by rehabbing Washington right-hander Stephen Strasburg, who is working through shoulder inflammation. The 2019 World Series MVP struck out six and allowed two hits before leaving after 75 pitches and thus getting a no-decision.
"I think he's got a career ahead of him. He's gonna do all right," Candaele said, tongue firmly planted in cheek. "He throws the ball where he wants it most of the time, and he's coming back and being able to spot his stuff like he did. I think we did a great job of kind of making him work a little bit. There were a couple of times where we threatened to get the big hit and it was a good battle. That's what you want."
A new park in Worcester
Tuesday's game will be the Bisons' first in Worcester's Polar Park, the new home of Boston's Triple-A affiliate that was formerly in Pawtucket, R.I.
"It will be interesting. We saw the Worcester team here and talked to the coaches and they said the field was great," Candaele said. "Both teams have a batting cage so we won't have to share it. It's kind of cool that you're going into a new facility and kind of get a chance to see how it works. We'll check the outfield out, see any quirks and stuff that go on there. But one good thing about being in a place for six days, you probably get to know it by the time you leave."
