Groundhogs Regain First at High Cost April 28, 1998
Punxatawney, PA (AP)--While the seesaw battle that is the top of the Riker
division continues to teeter back and forth, at the moment the Punxatawney
Groundhogs find themselves a half game ahead of the suprising Springfield
Atoms and 3 ahead of the Houston Hellraisers. However, the battle to reach
first place has been very hard on the health of the Hogs and many players
have been spending time in the Hogspital recently.
Mostly notable are the injuries to the Groundhogs #1 and #2 starting
pitchers as well as their leadoff hitter. Jon Lieber, the staff ace, is
nursing a tender elbow but is still slated to start tomorrow's second game.
Rocky Coppinger, a top contender for the April pitcher of the month,
suffered a far worse injury with a severly inflamed bicep muscle which has
resulted in his placement on the disabled list. He should be ready to
return by the 2nd or 3rd week of May. Dave Martinez, the recently acquired
leadoff hitter, dislocated his finger last week and has been rehabbing in
AAA Roswell with the Weather Balloons as they prepare for their inaugural
season of actual gameplay.
All three of these guys have had great starts to the season. Lieber was 1-0
with 3 quality starts in 4 games and a 2.25 ERA. Coppinger, currently on
the DL, has won all 4 of his starts and has an 0.31 ERA for the month. His
control has been shaky, walking 11, but he has only given up 13 hits in
nearly 30 innings so his WHIP has not suffered.
"Rocky is still having some of the control problems that killed him last
year. But he's developed to the point where nobody can hit him anyway, so
even when they walk, they aren't able to get around the bases," noted Hogs
pitching coach Mark "The Bird" Fidrych. "Plus he's talking to the ball now,
and that helps a ton."
Dave Martinez was also doing quite well. He has brought his average up to
.288 from the mid .200's since he arrived in Punxatawney, but the injury
forced him to take a week or so off. In his place, offseason acquisition
John Cangelosi has been getting playing time in CF and Roberto Kelly has
moved into the leadoff spot. Cangelosi has played like a man inspired,
currently hitting .400 with 4 stolen bases and 4 extra base hits in 15
games. Kelly has brought his average from below .200 up to .250 since he
movd into the top spot of the order.
"John has been a great pickup. We got him as a toss-in from Galena when
they took Myers off our hands, and he's been coming off the bench in most
our games and he's now doing a great job filling in for Martinez," said Hogs
owner Dan Shapiro. "Roberto isn't hitting like he did last year, but he's
certainly doing better up on the top of the lineup. He won't stay there,
but its helping him get some confidence back."
Although no one Groundhog really stands out offensively right now, the team
as a whole is performing quite well. Their .279 average is second only to
the red hot Larimer Knights and their 26 homers rank third behind Larimer
and Spokane.
Pitching wise, they have been strong also, but rank only in the middle of
the Defiant in most categories. However, a 3.39 ERA and .257 opposing
average are both quite good and compliment the great hitting nicely.
The two main offensive leaders have been, not surprisingly, Jose Valentin
and Ryan Klesko. They have combined for an average near .300 and 22 extra
base hits with 30 runs created between the two. The rotation, except for
Scott Aldred, has been phenomenal. Coppinger coasted through May at 4-0,
0.31. Hampton was 1-3, but only 3.08 ERA. Thomas is 2-1, 2.52, and Lieber
is 1-0, 2.25.
Bullpen help has come from Scott Ruffcorn, who has already tosses 12 2/3
innings. Except for one bad outing, he has been stellar, going 1-1 with a
save. Bobby Munoz has been even better, going 11 innings giving up just 1
run. Ricky Bottalico has not yet allowed a run and has converted all 4 of
his save opportunities. Even rookie Curly Karkovice picked up a win in his
first appearance of the year with a scoreless inning of relief.
However, tomorrow will be a crucial series for the Groundhogs. They play
two games against the Springfield Atoms. Due to pitch is Aldred and Lieber,
but that will be changing. Sean Bergman, currently in the #2 spot in the
rotation replacing the injured Coppinger will move to the #5 spot and start
game 1 tomorrow while Lieber starts game 2.
"Scott has been really struggling so far. Sean hasn't been great out of the
pen, but he had the great start for us in the playoffs. We think he can get
the job done--a good start might even win him a spot in the rotation
permanently," Shapiro said. "Jon says he's healthy enough to throw game 2,
so we'll let him give it a shot. But if is hurting at all, he'll be yanked
quick."
