Stryker Brigade News

On the good end of the stick is outfielder Eric Nielsen, selected in the 12th round by the Jays in the 2004 draft after hitting .402 with 16 homers and 87 RBI in 61 games for the Mountain West-conference-winning UNLV Hustlin' Rebels.

He spent the remainder of the 2004 summer at single-A Auburn, the next year at single-A Lansing and this summer at single-A Dunedin where he hit .286 with six homers and 47 RBI in 115 games.

"Compare Lansing in early April with Hawaii? Hmmm, well it doesn't compare," Neilsen said. "At Lansing in early April some games there was snow on the ground.

"The weather in Hawaii, you can't beat. There are so many things to look at, the palm trees, the water, the beaches."

On the sticky, dangerous end of the stick, brother Ryan is eating dust in Iraq. He has had his picture taken in front of Saddam Hussein's palace.

"I try not to worry about my mom but I do," said the voice on the AT@T connection from Iraq, who introduced himself on the phone as "Eric's little brother."

"I try to concentrate on stuff here. I know mom has friends with sons in the military, I don't know how much she talks with them. She goes through a lot when Eric is away for ball ... and now I'm away."

But for a mom clicking on a box score to see an 0-for-4 has to be less stressful than watching CNN nightly ... fearing the worst.

"I get too upset, so I don't watch a lot of TV," Anne said, adding her sons have become "really close and support each other."

A writer and photographer from the Tacoma News Tribune spent time with Ryan's platoon, now being considered for a medal of valour.

"Ryan is getting recognition," Anne said. "We'll go seven to 10 days without hearing from Ryan, then he'll call someone every day for a few days. You just hope he contacts someone.

"Ryan looks at box scores to check on his brother."

Anne, a bookkeeper, and her husband, William, a physician's assistant, have five children and live in Henderson, Nev., north of Vegas.

John, 26, works for America West airlines, Kyle is 19, Katlyn is seven and Erin is five.

The family keeps tabs on the troops and the Jays.

Usually Ryan, an M249 SAW gunner, is one of the first out of their Stryker combat vehicle, looking for insurgents.

Ryan says the Stryker is like a tank but much faster and carries more people "as many as 11 or 12."

"You think you have an idea what it's going to be like in a combat zone until you see it with your own eyes ... it's like WOW!" Ryan said. "The most impressive thing is how everyone backs everyone up. Our guys show a lot of heart.

"We haven't lost anyone ... knock, knock."

On the other end of the receiver, listening to this brave young man -- and thinking of your toughest experiences as a 21-year-old -- you can't help but quietly knock the wooden part of your desk.

"After this I'm going to go to college. The Army taught me a lot about options. Maybe I should have listened to my parents and gone to college, but I enlisted," Ryan said.

"The Army gives you maturity. I already had some from Eric.

"Originally, Eric didn't think I would make it through basic training. Now he says I'm one of his heroes."

SHIPPED OUT

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Ryan says he stands 5-foot-9. Eric the outfielder is listed at 6-foot, 222 pounds.

On June 29, Ryan shipped out. The next month Eric's offence took off to the point he won the Jays' organizational player of the month honours for July. Eric hit .420 and had a .532 on-base percentage.

"I don't know if it was coincidental with him going over there, but as soon as he left, I annihilated the ball," Eric said.