LITTLE FALLS, NJ – To call the journey former Bangor Lumberjacks relief pitcher Donnie Thomas embarked on Thursday night/Friday morning a “trip from hell” might be sugarcoating it a bit.

Thomas, who was told after Thursday night’s home game that he was “the player to be named later” in a recent trade with the New Jersey Jackals for catcher Mikaela Dworken, jumped in his car to drive to Little Falls from Bangor to join his new teammates as they hosted – coincidentally – the Lumberjacks.

Things went from bad to worse as Thomas and hundreds of other drivers became stuck on the George Washington Bridge after a truck caught fire and forced the closing of the bridge for more than four hours.

“I was sitting at a dead stop. After awhile I just shut the truck off, got in the shade, and waited for the traffic to start moving again,” said Thomas, who was stuck for a little more than two hours.

As he waited for traffic to start moving, Thomas figured things couldn’t possibly have gotten any worse, but that was before he got a call from Bangor manager Kash Beauchamp. Beauchamp informed him that New Jersey no longer wanted Thomas as the player to be named later and he was officially in limbo.

“Kash called me and told me what was going on and I decided to come anyway because I was already here,” said the 27-year-old lefthander. “We talked about it and I stayed with the guys at the hotel [Friday] night.”

Thomas, a four-year pro player who was a ninth-round draft pick of the Houston Astros, finally arrived in New Jersey late Friday and worked out with his former teammates Saturday and Sunday while waiting to see if he had been claimed by a team.

“Since I wasn’t on either team, I was released and had to wait a couple days to see if I cleared waivers,” Thomas explained.

The Louisiana native did not get claimed and became a free agent Monday. Once he cleared waivers, he decided to head back to his home in Birmingham, Ala., to be with his wife Angie. While en route to Birmingham, he got a call from the San Angelo Colts of the Central League (previously the Texas-Louisiana League) and they offered him a contract.

“I’m not sure what I’m gonna do. I asked them to give me a couple days to think about it and I would get back to them,” the 6-foot-2, 185 pound Thomas said. “I just need some time at home.”

It’s a disappointing development in a season Thomas never intended to play.

“I wasn’t going to play this year, but Kash offered me a good contract and I decided to play one more year,” said Thomas, who was a nighttime manager of a Piggly Wiggly grocery store. “I left a good job back home to come here and sure, I’m upset. I go from having a job to not knowing if I’m going to play.”

Still, the three-time Major League Baseball draft pick remained philosophical.

“You never know what the next day will bring. There’s always greener pastures somewhere else. I’m not on a team for a reason and one day I’ll find that reason out,” he said. “You can get motivation from failure or other successes and I have the Lord, so I just hope things work out. For every door shut in your face, there’s another one to open, but it’s up to you whether you open it.”

Orlando comes back to Maine

Bangor’s signing of Orlando Woodwards last week turned into both a homecoming and a reunion for the 25-year-old righthanded reliever.

The former college teammate of Bangor righty Brandon Bowe also pitched for the Portland Sea Dogs with Bowe last year before being promoted to Triple A Calgary.

This year, both he and Bowe were with the Florida Marlins in spring training before both were cut on the final day of spring training. Now they’re back together again.

“I can’t seem to shake him. I’m trying,” Woodwards said with a hearty laugh. “He’s a jinx for me and we joke about that, but it’s good being here with him and everything. I guess it looks like I’m following him, but I’m trying to stay as far away from him as I can. We’re both still chasing our dreams.”

Bangor was an attractive destination for Woodward because his current girlfriend, who he met while playing for the Sea Dogs last year, works for a law firm and lives in South Portland.

“She’s going to be up on Monday when we’re home,” said the 6-foot-2, 200 pound pitcher.

Woodward became available as a free agent after the Canadian Baseball League, which his Calgary Outlaws played in, abruptly ceased operations for financial reasons two weeks ago, just a couple days before the league all-star game.

“We had a great team with great chemistry and we were halfway through the season,” said the 1996 Toronto Blue Jays 40th round draft pick. “We were named CBL champs and we’re at least getting rings for that.”

Woodwards said his team was averaging 1,400 fans per game while the other seven teams were down “around 700 or so.”

Shortly after getting the bad news, it was back to the Pine Tree State for the Sacramento, Calif., native.

“This is my second year in Maine and it’s great,” Woodwards said. “I’m kind of growing out of going out and partying, so I like the area, and the people are real nice. That’s what I like about it.”

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600, or aneff@bangordailynews.net