ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, August 6, 1996 TAG: 9608060063
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
Is the Salem Avalanche a farm club for the Colorado Rockies or is it the other way around?
Once again, there will be some familiar major-league names in the lineup for the Avalanche tonight when All-Star outfielder Larry Walker begins a rehabilitation assignment with Salem and right-hander David Nied takes to the mound against the Winston-Salem Warthogs at 7.
Walker, who has been out of action since May with a broken collarbone, will play three games with Salem before moving on. Walker was batting .283 with 14 home runs, 43 RBI and 12 steals through 53 games with Colorado.
Walker, a native of British Columbia, already has a Roanoke Valley tie. His older brother, Carey, was a hockey player with the Virginia Lancers in the mid-1980s and still resides in the Roanoke Valley.
Nied, who pitched the first game in the history of the Colorado Rockies in 1993, continues his attempt to make it back to the big leagues when he makes his debut in the City of Salem tonight.
It will be the second Avalanche start for Nied, acquired by the Rockies from the Atlanta Braves with the first pick in the 1992 expansion draft. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound right-hander was not involved in the decision in a game last week in Frederick, Md.
The Englewood, Colo., native still is trying to come back from a slightly torn ligament in his throwing elbow that has dropped him all the way from the majors to Class A ball in one year.
``I know my career has fallen a long way,'' Nied said. ``I've had setbacks. Major setbacks. Now, it's just a series of little steps I have to make to get back to where I was.
``I know how to pitch. If I work hard, I can turn it around. I wasn't upset coming to A ball or coming to Salem. It just made me wonder if I was being told that my time had come and gone.''
Nied, 27, has a 17-16 major-league record. He gained the attention of big-league observers in 1992, when he was called up by the Braves during the pennant race and went 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA.
He was 5-9 for Colorado in 1993 and 9-7 in 1994 before hurting his elbow during spring training in 1995.
Earlier this season, Colorado second baseman Eric Young rehabbed in Salem before going on to lead the National League in hitting.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN SPEARMAN Staff. Dave Thaler (center) waits out aby CNBrain delay with a couple of other hearty fans before Monday night's
Avalanche game against the Winston-Salem Warthogs at Salem Memorial
Baseball Stadium. The Avalanche won 2-1 behind Nate Holdren's homer.
color. KEYWORDS: BASEBALL