Andre Chiefs

Medford, MA- The Lunenberg Phillies of the Central Massachusetts League will travel to Medford on Sunday afternoon for a non-league doubleheader against the Chiefs. The first game at Huskins Field on the campus of Tufts University will get underway at 2:00 PM.

First year Southpaw David Garcia (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/ Colorado Rockies) will get the start in game one. Another lefty, Dylan Ellis (Gloucester, MA/ Merrimack College) will get the nod in the nightcap. Ellis was 2-3 for the Chiefs in 2007 with an ERA of 3.02 in nine starts.

The Chiefs will conclude the non-league portion of the schedule on Monday when they travel to Playstead Park to take on the Americans at 5:30 PM. The Chiefs Intercity League opener is on Tuesday when they will send righthander Keith Forbes (Newton, MA/San Diego Padres) to the mound against Woburn at Tufts University at 6:00 PM. Forbes was 3-1 last season for the Chiefs with a league leading 79 strikeouts in 44 innings. Forbes signed with the Sussex of the Cam-Am League following the 2007 season where he made two starts for the New Jersey based club.

Greenville, South Carolina- Catcher Matt Cooney, who caught for the Chiefs last season and signed with the Boston Red Sox in early July, collected his first hit of the 2008 season drilling a double for the Single A Greenville Drive in a recent game against the Columbus Catfish.

The former Eastern Connecticut State star hit .313 for the Chiefs last summer before signing with the Sox. In 2007, Cooney appeared in 24 games for the Red Sox in both Fort Myers and Greenville.

Medford, MA- As the pre-season schedule gets into full swing this week, a sight that Chiefs fans will be pleased to see is the promise of a healthy Keith Forbes re-assuming his spot at the top of the pitching rotation.

The former San Diego Padres righty showed signs of brillance last season, his first back after two shoulder surgeries. Forbes was dominant while going 3-1 and posting an ERA of 1.75 despite some nagging shoulder issues. He threw the first Chiefs no hitter since 1995 when former Red Sox hurler Mike Carista accomplished the feat. Forbes was overpowereing in his no-no in Wakefield on June 13. He nearly duplicated that effort two weeks later when he took another no hitter into the last inning and settled for a one hit win over the Americans. Most impressive was Forbes 79 strikeouts in just 44 innings, a strikeout to innings pitched ratio not seen in the ICL in over a decade.

As a professional, Forbes climbed up the ladder in the Padres organization, eventually setting a record for the most minor league apperances in season with 74 in 2000. Forbes recorded almost a strikeout an inning, 209 in 214 innings, in his four year stint with the Padres.

At the conclusion of the 2007 Chiefs season Forbes, now 31, signed another professional contract making two starts for Sussex Skyhawks of the Can-Am League. 

Medford, MA- Pre-season began for the Chiefs on Sunday when the Chiefs hooked up with the Medford Americans at Playstead Park. From an original field of 77 hopefuls, 40 players are still in the running for one of the 26 final roster spots.

Below is a tenative schedule of the Chiefs pre-season and non league contests leading up to the Intercity League opener on Tuesday, May 27. The final three games of the pre-season, a doubleheader against Lunenberg and a single game against the Americans, will be uniformed non league games.

Medford, MA (April 29) The Chiefs continued the upgrade of their 2008 pitching staff with the recent addition of pro journeyman lefthander David Garcia.

Garcia was originally a product of Colorado Rockies system in the late 1990's. Following a stint in the Netherlands, where he pitched a couple of seasons in the Dutch Major League, Garcia returned to his native Domincan Republic where he continued his professional career in Dominican Winter League. In 2003 his career took him north of the border where he pitched for Saskatoon of the Canadian League before returning to the Domincan League for the last few seasons.

Despite his long pro resume, the imposing 6' 5 southpaw is just 27 years old.