There were 2 outs in the 9th. Alex Gonzalez stood at the plate, ahead in
the count, 2-1. A tired Jon Lieber stood on the mound, breathing heavy and
trying to finish off the game. Why was this out so important? Because the
first 26 batters Phoenix sent to the plate returned to the bench without
reaching base. Lieber was 1 out away from a perfect game, which would be
the second in PVBL history.
But the magic of the evening was abruptly broken by a determined Gonzalez.
Phoenix had more or less conceeded a loss, already down by 7 runs with 1 out
to go, but none of the Gila Monsters wanted to be no-hit, much less
perfect-gamed. Lieber left a 2-1 changeup high in the strike zone and
Gonzalez poked it through the left side of the infield for a base hit, just
past a diving Scott Rolen.
"I could have had that," said Rolen. "I mistimed my dive a little, and I
can't say if I could have thrown him out even if I had come up with it. But
I had a chance at that ball."
Lieber, however, disagreed. "You can't blame Scotty. That was a solid base
hit through the hole, and there's nothing he or Jose [Valentin] could have
done to prevent it."
With the perfect game and no-hitter gone, Lieber settled for the next best
thing--a shutout. He retired Derek Jeter on flyout to center to end the
game, and the fans absolutely erupted, cheering and screaming for Lieber.
After grabbing a cup of water in the dugout and cooling off, Lieber came
back out for a curtain call, acknowledging the fans and thanking them.
"I'll admit it was really heartbreaking to get that far and not finish it
out. But holding these guys down for 8 2/3 innings was not an easy task. I
only struck out 4 guys all day, so I have to thank the other 9 guys out
there for getting 23 of those outs. But if this wasn't the best outing of
my career, I don't know what was," said Lieber.
While he didn't need much offensive support, homeruns by SS Jose Valentin
and Dan Wilson accounted for 5 runs while a Scott Rolen double drove in
another, and another scored on an Alex Gonzalez error.
"This was truly a team effort," said third base coach Mike Schmidt.
"Everybody played great defense, seven different guys scored our seven runs,
nearly everybody contributed something to the game."
The victory was only Lieber's 4th in 9 outings, improving his record to 4-3.
His ERA is down to 3.00. While these numbers might be good for some, they
have disappointed Lieber who came into the year with a career 29-16 record
and 2.85.
"Jon just went out there and said, 'It's time to get serious,' today," said
Shapiro. "He realized that he wasn't pitching his best this year and wanted
to remind everyone that he was still capable of dominating."
It was only his 3rd career complete game, and left him 1 strikeout away from
his career 300th.
"If he keeps throwing like that, I keep throwing well, and Sean [Bergman]
keeps it up, I don't see how we can lose. Bobby [Thomas] and Scott [Aldred]
aren't exactly weak links either," said staff ace Rocky Coppinger.
Stats 'n Stuff
More stuff than stats today.
Shapiro is said to be considering making a few changes to the pitching
roles. He has talked of replacing Bobby Thomas in the rotation with Curly
Karkovice. Thomas is 0-3, 4.25 in his first 8 starts while Karkovice sports
a 2.11 ERA in 21 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. Mike Hampton (1-0, 2.73)
and Tim Worrell (2-0, 2.70) are also being considered for a starting role.
Two other relievers may soon find themselves exploring Roswell where the
Punxatawney's AAA Roswell Weather Balloons make their home. Bobby Munoz
(2-2, 10.93) and Scott Ruffcorn (0-5, 10.13) have both been atrocious in
their setup roles. Between the two, they account for over 1/3 of the team's
losses.
"We've heard good things from our AAA coaches about Jim Burright," Shapiro
noted. "His curveball is supposedly a lot sharper. And Dustin Hermanson
has shown us amazing control and he throws hard. We're deciding whether his
fastball is ready. We also have a kid down in [LOW Minors] Rhyolite, Steve
Green, who has great control and a nasty sinker who is due for a callup."
This statement was basically taken as a challenge by Munoz and Ruffcorn to
shape up or sit out--or maybe even get shipped off to another team.
"I don't know what the problem is. I feel like Mark Wohlers out there,"
said Ruffcorn. "Hopefully we'll get it figured out soon. I'm very happy
here in Punxatawney, as is my family. We've been settled here for the
greater part of three years. None of us want me to be traded, but Shapiro
did mention to me that there was interest."
On a closing note, Punxatawney is looking to acquire first round draft
picks. We have a lot of good young pitching prospects, and some established
relievers with good ratings who have struggled this year to offer.
