Punxatawney, PA (AP)--159 games have come down to this. Punxatawney leads the Springfield Atoms
by 3 games with 3 to play. For their final three games, the two teams will
face eachother in Springfield. Punxatawney needs just 1 win in 3 games to
win the Riker division, and the worst they can do is tie for the Riker
crown.
"Its been a long road. It hasn't been easy, and we're just happy to still
be up top. But we control our fate now and we're in total control of the
situation," said Hogs GM Dan Shapiro.
In their final regular season game against the Tampa Bay Mets, Punxatawney
had a solid 4-0 shtutout victory behind Sean Bergman in his 16th victory of
the season. A surprising source of offense in this game was DH Jason
Giambi. He went 3-4, driving in two runs with a homer and a double.
"I haven't hit the ball much this year, honestly," said Giambi. "I've often
wondered when Shapiro was gonna hand me a seat on the bench."
Last season, Giambi hit 36 homers and drove in 118 runs in just 113 games,
but this season he is hitting only .240 with 14 homers and 62 RBI. But with
Kelly and Cordova on the bench with injuries, Giambi's bat is required for
team success, and he's responded well.
Bergman had a great start to cap his first season as a starting pitcher. He
allowed just 4 hits and 2 walks through 7 1/3 innings. Scott Aldred and
Mike Hampton finished up without allowing a run. He now leads the team with
16 victories. He has walked just 27 batters through 155 2/3 innings with a
3.06 ERA.
"He's been amazing. Reminds me of Jon [Lieber]. We can't ask much more of
him," said Rocky Coppinger, the ace of the staff.
After the weekend break, the final series will begin. Ken Hill will try and
win his 16th game of the season in the first game, and if he can't win, Jon
Lieber and Rocky Coppinger and scheduled to throw the final two games. They
will face Jim Deshaies, Kevin Tapani, and Mark Gardner.
Stats 'n Stuff
Quote of the day:
"Do we like being the worst team in the playoffs, recordwise? No. Do we
care? Not at all. If last year didn't prove that, we'll be happy to prove
it again this year."
--GM Dan Shapiro, remarking on the fact that neither the 106 win Hamsters
nor the 105 win Groundhogs were able to make it to the World Series last
year.
On the injury wire, Marty Cordova and Roberto Kelly have both been on the DL
for 14 days, but are still expected out another 2-4 weeks. Dave Martinez
and Robin Jennings, two other outfielders, each are playing with day-to-day
injuries.
However, with Livan Hernandez, Justin Thompson, and Jim Tejeda out, and Dan
Consedine hurting badly the Springfield pitching staff seems no match for
anyone at this point. But the Atoms have found a way to get things done all
season, and even this lead doesn't feel like a guarentee to anyone in the
Punxatawney camp.
"We'll play. We'll work hard. And we'll win. Just one, that's all we'll
need. We want the playoffs. We want them bad. And we aren't going to give
up until we get there," said team captain and slugger Ryan Klesko.
