WAIPAHU—While O'ahu is not technically home for Kanekoa Texeira, at least it's in the same time zone as his residence in Maui.

The 2004 graduate of Kamehameha (Kapalama) joined the Honolulu Sharks of Hawaii Winter Baseball last week as a roster substitution. Unfortunately for Texeira, the call to join HWB came after the league played its six scheduled games at Iron Maehara Stadium in Wailuku.

"It feels good to finally get to pitch at back home," he said. "I thought I'd never get to pitch at home again in front of everybody."

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound right-hander made his league debut Friday with two scoreless innings against the West Oahu CaneFires in a 7-2 loss at Hans L'Orange Park. He is the second player from Hawai'i to join the league late. Catcher Matt Inouye (Mid-Pacific 2002) joined the Waikiki BeachBoys several weeks ago, also as an injury replacement.

Unlike Castle graduate Reid Santos, of the CaneFires, Texeira and Inouye were not originally scheduled to play because their parent club, the Chicago White Sox, did not provide players. Texeira, who signed a letter of intent to play at UH his senior year at Kamehameha, ended up going to Saddleback JC in California, where the White Sox picked him in the 22nd round of the 2006 draft. Inouye was drafted in the 21st round that year after his senior season at UH.

Texeira pitched in the rookie Appalachian League for Bristol and Low-A Kannapolis of the South Atlantic League in 2006. He returned to Kannapolis this past season, going 5-2 with a 3.69 earned run average and 16 saves. He had 58 strikeouts to 22 walks in 54 2/3 innings.

Although he wasn't in the league while the teams played on Maui, Texeira said he was a volunteer helper during the series.

"Next time, hopefully, I'll be playing when they play on Maui," he said.

Texeira said he grew up with HWB, having attended games as a kid when the Maui Stingrays played from 1993 to 1997.

"I watched the Maui Stingrays play all the time," he recalled. "I always thought I'd be in there one day. Now I'm here, so ..."

Like the others in the league, he wants to further develop his skills. He said he wants to be consistent at keeping his pitches down.

"Guys in this league, they just hack and they can hit it a long way," he said. "That's why I want to keep my pitches down and hit my spots."

He noticed that the hitters are aggressive in the league.

"These guys are just swinging away," he said. "You miss your spot, that ball is going a long way."

SUZUKI SIGNING

Oakland Athletics catcher Kurt Suzuki will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before tomorrow's 6:30 p.m. game between the Honu and CaneFires at Hans L'Orange Park, HWB announced yesterday.

The 2001 graduate of Maui's Baldwin High will be available for photos and autographs when the gates open at 5:30.

Suzuki was a second-round pick by the Athletics in 2004 after his junior season at Cal State Fullerton. He helped lead the Titans to a College World Series title in 2004 and won the Johnny Bench Award.

Suzuki made his big league debut June 12. He played in 68 games this past season, batting .249 with 13 home runs and 39 RBIs.

Suzuki became the starting catcher when Oakland traded veteran Jason Kendall in July.

CHECKING IT OUT

It's not unusual for big league teams to send representatives to check on their players in HWB. Roving instructors, scouting directors or minor league directors have been here in previous seasons.

Baltimore Orioles minor league hitting instructor Denny Walling has been in town to monitor the players on the Sharks from his organization. The position players here are catcher Matt Wieters, first baseman/third baseman Brandon Snyder and second baseman Miguel Abreu.

"I had a nice little session with them the other day ... got them in a (batting) cage and worked with them for an hour," Walling said. "It's a long season. They're doing well. They're being pretty selective up there and using the whole field."

Wieters is the most touted player in the league after signing for $6 million as the fifth overall pick in the June draft. Because he signed late, HWB was his pro debut. After a week of watching him play, Walling liked what he saw.

"A lot of talent, but more than that, he's a baseball player with good character," Walling said. "A cerebral player. He's smart. You can tell he's soaking up everything you bring up to him. He has a nice swing, great frame to work with. I think he's going to go quick."

Walling said the caliber of play in HWB is of High-A or Double-A so it's beneficial to the participants.

"The caliber of the league is great and I think it's great for baseball," he said.

He said Orioles' assistant general manager/director of minor league operations David Stockstill and scouting director Joe Jordan also will be making trips here.

Walling played 18 seasons in the big leagues, mostly with the Houston Astros. The left-handed hitting outfielder's best season was 1986, when he had career highs with 23 doubles, 13 home runs and 58 RBIs.

Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.