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Punxatawney, PA-----
The Pepper Virtual Baseball League is nearly a full month into its inaugural season and competition is already heating up in many divisions. The earliest hints of rivalries are forming and every game is becoming more and more important. This edition of the "State" will focus on three things--first, the two .700 teams, Punxatawney and Hartford (as well as due notice of the other division leaders), second, a special focus story on Kevin Elster, and finally a note about the many injuries that have affected the league.
We begin with the team currently with the best winning percentage and the largest lead in their division, the Punxatawney Groundhogs. At 18-6, they lead Los Angeles by 6 games already. They are led by the bat of Ryan Klesko, who's 17 homers and 40 RBI astound many (but Mark McGwire of the Picard leading Spokane Paladins has 19 home runs and 47 RBI) and Roberto Kelly is hitting over .400. Mike Stanley has contributed 8 HR and 22 RBI as well. More or less everyone on the team is hitting at .300 or better as Dan Shapiro, team owner, attributes the offensive production to "a total team effort." Youngsters Scott Rolen and Norberto Martin, as well as recently acquired Rondell White, provide much needed youth to the team.
The Hogs pitching staff is also incredibly strong with Roger Clemens and Pete Schourek, the 1-2 pitchers, compliling a combined 9-1 record so far. Rocky Coppinger has been strong in the 3rd spot with a 3-2 record and a 2.35 ERA. Arthur had occupied the 4th spot until he was traded for Jon Lieber. Lieber won his first Groundhogs start with 6 scoreless innings to make him 2-1 with a 2.42 ERA for the year. Aaron Sele was 3-0 in the 5th spot but was traded to Hartford. Dustin Hermanson, making his first start tommorow, will replace him.
The bullpen has been shaky at best, but closers Randy Myers and Curt Leskanic have saved the day many times. Shapiro has made many efforts to improve the pen, including the recent Sele trade where he acquired Pat Mahomes and Butch Henry. Rookie Jim Burright will be a setup man in the pen as of next game.
Shapiro has been very active in trading and making other roster moves to keep his team ready to go. In fact, Klesko and Kelly, as well as the entire starting rotation and Randy Myers were not original members of the franchise. Jeremry Chrabascz has done a similar job with his Hartford Whalers, making a large number of transactions as well. The Whalers are 18-7 and still over .700 for the season.
Our other featured team, the Hartford Whalers, are just slightly behind Punxatawney in win/loss record at 18-7, but they have played one more game. Rather than tell you about the club, feel free to read the interview with team owner Jeremy Chrabascz that follows:
State: Do you feel that your constant pressure on the players and the threat of fast demotion has inspired your team to play any better?
Chrabascz: Yes and no. I think that veteran players such as Tony (Gwynn), Ken (Griffey, Jr.) and Greg (Maddux) appreciate the fire I have to win and the desire with which I run the club. I don't think many of the younger players truly understand that yet. But I have managed to get the very best out of many of them so far.
S: Hartford has been far more active on the trading and AAA demotion/promotion front than most teams. Have your many moves paid off, or is most of your production still coming from players you originally owned?
C: I went out and got Gwynn for his experience, leadership and consistency. I also went out and got Griffey and Daryl for similar reasons. I wanted a wealth of experience on my club. Fortunately, I was able to trade a lot of quantity for quality at the time. I have an urgency to win now, not later. As far as AAA goes it has served as an excellent way to maintain some solid players on my 40-man roster. Anytime someone slumps I have a solid replacement for the most part.
S. You're obviously winning a ton of games. Do you credit your offense or pitching and defense more?
C. Our relief pitching has been suspect overall and our defense has been sub-par thus far. Therefore, I guess you could say I very much credit our offense. Our run production has been excellent overall and we have won 2 extra inning games and a few 1 and 2 run ones. And, by the way, I wouldn't consider 18 a ton of games. It's early.
S. You've made a lot of noise about rookie John Burke. Do you think he'll be able to keep up this excellent pitching all through the year? Any other rookies we should watch out for on your club?
C. John was a gamble but I knew he had the ability and desire to win on every level. He has not allowed more than 3 runs in an outing. I don't have a crystal ball, though, so I don't know if he'll maintain this pace. If not...he can certainly rehab in AAA awhile. He's already done enough. We had NO set fourth or fifth starter at the time when John stepped up.
S. Who have been your star players so far? Do you think that owning what many consider the best outfield in the game with Griffey and Gwynn has made a major difference?
C. The combination of Griffey, Gwynn and Strawberry was awesome. Unfortunately, Straw went on the DL for 15. We're anxious to get him back. Vince (Coleman) has hit around .300 in his place while stealing a couple of bases so we've been fortunate. As far as who our legitimate stars are I'd have to say Paul Sorrento, despite the unfortunate number of errors he has already accumulated, is our star player-period. Paul leads the Enterprise league in home runs, RBI and runs produced. We are very pleased that he has even surpassed our expectations. Other stars would include Griffey, of course, who is having a phenomenal year again. I must say, however, that our biggest surprise and a pleasant one at that has been the performance of Kenny Rogers. Many clubs had given up on Kenny but he has proved them all wrong. He's 5-0 and even if he loses his next 5 he's already outdone himself.
S. Your team, like the Defiant best Groundhogs, have yet to play a game outside of your own divison. Do you think that perhaps the McCoy division is weaker and it will be more difficult to continue winning at this pace once you are playing teams like Cockeysville, Galena, and Brooklyn?
C. I would never insult my fellow division rivals, especially Seattle. I have a feeling Seattle will continue to knock on our door throughout the season. As far as playing teams from the Defiant League goes...we're very anxious and excited to be doing so soon. I much admire Brooklyn but truly dread getting hammered with injuries the way they have. I also think Galena will rebound from its recent slump and ake some noise in the not so distant future.
S. Are you comfortable with a 5 game lead over Seattle at this point 25 gmes into the season, or are you hoping for more?
C. More...MUCH more. I wouldn't be comfortable with anything less than a 10-game lead-period.
S. Any major surprises so far, any great performances out of unlikely heroes? Have you faced any major or minor injuries that hurt your team thus far?
C. Well, as I said before, Kenny Rogers has been our diamond in the ruff...plain and simple. As far as injuries go we have truly been lucky and others should only look at us as an example of what a healthy team can do. We could wind up like Brooklyn in a day or two without warning. The only real hit we've had is Daryl's hamstring but he should be back in the lineup soon. It will be difficult to pull Coleman after what he's done in the meantime but maybe we might just give him a shot at DH or the infield.
S. Your starting rotation, with Kenny Rogers, Greg Maddux, John Burke, and a smattering of others (including newly acquired Aaron Sele) have all performed amazing well so far. Do you expect Maddux to keep his ERA below 2.00 for the year?
C. It's hard to say what Greg or I "expect," however, we both know he is capable of such. I certainly think that he and Kenny may just end up competing with each other for Cy Young, though. Sele was a nice acquisition and I was hard on him after his first outing (if you can call it that). I'd like to apologize to him. It can't be easy switching clubs, cities and hometowns overnight and still performing right away. Not to mention he might have still be somewhat jet-lagged. We still expect great things from Aaron and John but you will see Cordova, Davis (again) and Rothrock before the season's through. We may experiment with a four-man rotation as well.
S. Do you have any other comments about your team or anything in the league in general so far?
C. I would just like to thank all the other owners for what has shaped up as one hell of a league so far. I think interleague play is going to put fans in their seats and on the edges of them nightly. As far as the success of Hartford so far I'd have to say we've been blessed with consistency and the avoidance of injuries. To take us farther I think that, in the long run, I admittedly must learn to be more patient with everyone. Tolerant, no. Patient, yes.
With that, the interview ended. It is rather obvious that Hartford is a force to be reckoned with in the Enterprise League. Only time will tell if the Whalers, as well as the Groundhogs, will be capable of continuing to win at this astounding pace.
One reason these teams have been so strong is that they have been lucky enough to avoid the injury bug going around the PVBL. A brief list of top-notch players with major injuries: Rick Aguilera, Mickey Morandini, Andy Pettitte, Sandy Alomar, Andres Galaragga, Jose Valentin, Benito Santiago, Tony Phillips, Will Clark, Fred McGriff, Charles Johnson, Jeff Kent, Albert Belle, Rick Wilkins, Brent Gates, Barry Larkin, Terry Steinbach, Charles Nagy, Tim Belcher, Jason Bere, Javy Lopez, Dean Palmer, Brady Anderson, and Ray Durham. Hardest hit has been the Brooklyn Flaming Skulls and the Duluth Bjork. The Skulls have seen injuries to Pettitte, Alomar, Galaragga, Valentin, Brian Boehringer, and Manny Ramirez. Bryan Harvey, Sterling Hitchhcock, Bob Patterson, Johnson, Kent, John Jaha, Belle, and Geronimo Berroa have all gone down with a major or minor injury for the Bjork. Flaming Skulls owner Ryan George remarked, "There are too many injuries. Every second another important player is hurt, it is very annoying." It is highly likely that many owners would agree. However, due to some trading and a deep bench, the Flaming Skulls still find themselves perched precariously atop the Kirk Division of the Enterprise League. At 13-10, they are one game ahead of the Bellingham Aqua Sox and Detroit. Other division leaders not yet mentioned are Chicago (N) leading the Data Division by 2 games and the Cockeysville Crazies who overtook the Galena Hamsters and now lead the Spock division by 2 games.
Our final spotlight is on Kevin Elster, surprise of the year so far. He has played SS for Houston, playing in all 22 of their games. Though the team is only 10-12, Elster can take no blame for that. He is currently hitting .494 and has been over .500 for much of the year. He also has 11 homers and 28 RBI. He has 46 runs created, approaching half the team's offense. Elster has not yet made an error at short and is batting .563 against lefties. In fact, Houston's offense overall is one of the best in the league with a .317 batting average. A team ERA of nearly 6.00 explains why they aren't a better ballclub recordwise.
Just a note about the format of the "State." Each week, 2 teams will be highlighted as well as one or more star players. If you have nominations for "player of the week" or whatever, feel free to send them to dshapiro@andrew.cmu.edu. Also, I would like to welcome new owners Aaron Weiner and Scott Watterson to the league and wish them the best of luck with the Sea Dogs and the Border Patrol.
Written by Dan Shapiro