Punxatawney Deals for a Leadoff Hitter April 16, 1998
Punxatawney, PA (AP)--Through eight games this season, the Punxatawney
Groundhogs have battled the Houston Hellraisers, their biggest rival, to
identical 5-3 records, though Houston did win the first series between the
two, 2 games to 1.
"We lost something crucial to this team over the offseason. Rondell White
was snatched away in the supplemental draft, and we found ourselves without
a true leadoff hitter," said team owner Dan Shapiro.
This year, without anyone to start the offense up, production has really
fallen off. However, compared to everyone else, 39 runs in 8 games, or
nearly 4 per game, has not been that bad. Only two DL teams--Spokane and
Larimer--both of whom have played an additional game, are far ahead of
Punxatawney in runs scored.
"We might not look that bad in comparison, but we aren't happy with
ourselves," said team captain Ryan Klesko. "Sure, I'm up near .300, Marty
[Cordova] is doing great, he's almost .400. But the rest of us aren't doing
a whole lot. I'm not blaming Tony [Batista], he's not used to hitting
leadoff. But we aren't getting rallies going like we did last season."
So, in order to improve the team's offensive potentcy, they sent
troublemaker Luis Gonzalez, who was hitting an anemic .207 with only 2 extra
base hits in the first week of action, packing off to Duluth. However,
before telling him, Shapiro had Gonzalez sedated and carried onto the plane
so he couldn't cause any damage to the Hogs clubhouse, as he did a few weeks
ago when he was trading to Punxatawney.
He'll be leaving with Joshua Ludolph, one of the top young bullpen arms in
the game. "We may have lost Josh, and that will hurt us a little. But
Henry Neale really deserved a spot on this team, we just didn't have room.
He'll be the lefty anchor of our pen," noted Shapiro.
Gonzalez and Ludolph both have fairly impressive career numbers. Luis is
hitting just under .300 in the last two years with 26 homers while Ludolph
sports a 1.98 ERA in his first 13 2/3 innings of major league work.
SO...who will Punxatawney be getting in return for these two? How about
seasoned veteran leadoff man Dave Martinez. Though he is 30 years old,
Martinez still has fantastic speed and a solid bat--exactly what Punxatawney
needed at the top of their order. Although he has only hit .250 so far this
year, he already has 3 doubles, 2 triples, and a homer in his 8 hits. He
has also stolen 3 bases.
"He's a lot like Rondell," said Jon Lieber, the Hogs ace. "Just older.
He's exactly what we need--a guy with speed and enough power to get rallies
going for our big bats."
Martinez was a cornerstone of the Bjork offense last seaon. His career
stats so far: 131 games, batting .316, stroking 47 doubles, 8 triples, 16
homers, and creating 110 runs. He's also stole 40 bases--far more than any
Hog. He also played flawless defense in centerfield while striking out
fewer times than he walked.
"Eight triples? Wow. I don't think our whole team hit eight triples last
season," said last year's DL MVP Jose Valentin.
Martinez could not be reached for comment but he was expected to arrive in
time for the second game of today's doubleheader.
Stats 'n stuff
Punxatawney's pitching has been phenomenal so far. Rocky Coppinger has
lived up to his high billing and is now 2-0 with a 0.63 ERA in 2 starts. He
has only given up 6 hits in 14 1/3 innings. Mike Hampton, though sporting
an 0-2 record, has a 2.70 ERA. Jon Lieber is 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA in 2
starts and Bobby Thomas won his only start so far. Scott Aldred had the
only bad outing thus far, and hopes to improve his 7.50 in his next outing.
The bullpen has been equal as good, only giving up a handful of runs so far.
Scott Ruffcorn has already thrown 6 2/3 innings and has 1-1 record with a
save in 3 outings. Sean Bergman has given up 1 run in 5 innings. Ludolph
had thrown 4 1/3 perfect innings, but he will now be heading to Duluth where
he will get a chance to close.
