Punxatawney, PA (AP)--In two games that were far easier than the final
scores indicated, the Punxatawney Groundhogs completed a 3 game sweep of
their supposed arch-rival, the Houston Hellraisers.
"That wasn't even hard," remarked Hogs designated hitter Jason Giambi after
game 2. "We heard a lot about them in the offseason, they beat us 2-1 in
that first series, but they played like a bunch of little leaguers today.
We're wondering if we should worry more about them or the Atoms."
Both games had a final score of 5-3. However, the first was "closer" in
that Houston was actually in this game until the later innings. They even
held a 2-0, then a 3-2 lead. But Punxatawney prevailed with 2 runs in the
7th and held on to win.
"Here's a direct quote from Jay Scudieri, Houston's owner. We were talking
about today's game, and he asked who my ace was. Confidently, I replied
that it was Jon Lieber. His response: 'OoOoOoO, he REALLY scares Alex
Fernandez.' Well, Jay, what do you think now?" said Hogs manager Dan
Shapiro after the game.
Although Lieber did not get the win, he pitched far better than his
opponent. A comparison of the two:
IP H ER R BB SO
Lieber 6.0 11 3 3 1 5
Fernandez 7.0 11 5 5 2 7
The win went to reliever Sean Bergman, his second. He tossed 2 innings,
allowing 3 hits. Ricky Bottalico, actually getting some usage this year,
picked up his second save with a scoreless 9th.
"Yeah, its nice to actually do what they're paying me to do," joked
Bottalico. He has thrown 2 2/3 scoreless innings so far, recording 2 saves
in 2 chances over 3 outings. Combined with setup men Munoz and Ruffcorn,
they have only given up 1 run, combined, over 14 2/3 innings.
Hittingwise, both teams left an excessive number of men on base and didn't
take advantage of many scoring opportunities. Both Klesko and Giambi
homered in game 1 and all of the RBI's came from the 2 through 5 hitters.
Dave Martinez, in his second game as a Groundhog, went 2-4 and scored once.
Scott Rolen began to break out of his early season slump with a 2-4 day as
well. Houston left a whopping 10 men on base and only got 2 extra base
hits, squandering many opportunities.
Game 2, while having the same final score, was not nearly as close.
Punxatawney never trailed in that game, scoring once in the first and 4 more
times in the 4th. All 3 runs were given up in the 9th inning. Rocky
Coppinger had his third incredible start of the season, facing a top team
for the first time and shutting them down. In this game, he tossed 8
frames, giving up 2 hits and walking 2 while striking out 4. Sean Bergman
and Tim Worrell had a shaky 9th, but managed to stop Houston before they got
any closer than 5-3.
This time it was Punxatawney leaving too many men on base, but it didn't
cost them the game. Martinez went 2-3 and got hit by a pitch to improve his
Punxatawney stats to 5-12 with 2 runs and 2 RBI in 3 games--not bad for the
leadoff man. Jason Giambi had 3 hits but didn't drive in any runs from the
5 spot in the order. Scott Rolen had a double to drive in a pair during
this game while Roberto Kelly had two hits to help break out of his slump.
"Its a team effort. Houston has a bunch of prima donna superstars that
don't get along. We've had this core of a team together now for almost a
full year. Shapiro hasn't made many significant trades since the middle of
last year and we're happy this way," remarked the young 3B Rolen.
Stats 'n Stuff
After a week of sputtering early season offense, Punxatawney once again has
one of the top offensive crews in the league. Tony Batista has elevated
his average to .308 since moving down from leadoff to 6th in the order and
now ranks 2nd on the team in runs created with 9. Jose Valentin, last
year's MVP, is off to a solid start, batting .294 with 10 RBI in 12 games.
Marty Cordova has had the hottest bat of everyone, currently hitting .347.
He doesn't have much in the way of extra base hits or RBI, but that is
because he has moved into the 2-spot in the order.
Ryan Klesko is starting to get up to the pace where he was at last season.
So far he is batting .327 and has stroked 4 homers with 9 RBI in the first
12 games. Scott Rolen has brought his average from well below .200 up to
.244, though he has yet to show the power stroke that he had last year.
Jason Giambi has been an adequate DH, batting .289 with 3 homers. Rick
Wilkins has been a pleasant surprise with a .318 batting average so far.
And Dave Martinez, batting around .250 when he came to Punxatawney, is now
hitting .295. Roberto Kelly is the only one struggling majorly, mired down
at .205. Even so, he has used his hits effectively and has driven in 7
runs.
Pitching has also been pretty good so far. Rocky Coppinger has exceeded his
high expectations so far and is now 3-0 with a 0.40 ERA in 3 starts. He has
walked too many guys--already 10. But he has also only allowed 8 hits and
has a WHIP below 1. He is making quite the bid for April Pitcher of the
Month already and has most likely 1 start left to prove himself worthy. Jon
Lieber is only 1-0 so far but has a 2.65 ERA while 0-2 Mike Hampton has an
ERA of 2.70. He will start tomorrow, as will 2-0. 0.69 Bobby Thomas,
against the Springfield Atoms. Scott Aldred has struggled greatly in his
first two starts and may find himself in the bullpen soon if he doesn't
shape up.
