Yet another dominating win for the Groundhogs. While the Hogs led only 7-6
through 7 innings, they piled on 6 more runs in the final two frames,
beating the Mets 13-6 for their 8th straight victory.
Led by leadoff man Dave Martinez (3-6, 2 runs), SS Jose Valentin (2-4, 2
runs, 4 RBI, HR), and C Dan Wilson (3-5, 3 runs, 3 RBI, HR), the Hogs piled
up double digit runs for the 5th or 6th straight game.
Bobby Thomas took home his 13th victory, striking out 10 in 5 innings.
Relievers Jim Burright, Bobby Munoz, Dustin Hermanson, and Curly Karkovice
finished out the game.
However, Houston won twice today. So going into the final 12 games for both
teams, Houston seems to have the advantage. They have a 2 game lead, and
both teams have identical schedules. There are 6 games against eachother,
and each plays 3 against Tampa and Springfield.
Coming up next is a huge series, where a Punxatawney sweep could result in
the lead changing hands. The two teams play eachother 3 times in Houston on
Tuesday and Wednesday. The Hogs will send Rocky Coppinger, Jon Lieber, and
Sean Bergman, their 1-2-3 starters, against Pat Hentgen, Mariano Rivera, and
Cal Eldred, the 2-3-4 of Houston.
The matchups:
Coppinger (16-9, 3.52, 20/28 QS) vs. Hentgen (12-10, 4.90, 13/32 QS)
Lieber (9-10, 2.94, 17/30 QS) vs. Rivera (15-6, 2.77, 20/31 QS)
Bergman (14-7, 2.71, 16/30 QS) vs. Eldred (12-11, 4.42, 13/31 QS)
If the big three on the Hogs can put away the Hellraisers, the ball would be
in the Punxatawney court in the final week of the season. Even a 2-1 series
victory would give them a great chance at a victory. Anything less than two
wins would put the Groundhogs playoff future in danger.
Keep watching this exciting playoff race!
STATS 'N STUFF
Dan Wilson has finally become what he was supposed to be for his whole
career--one of the top offensive catchers in baseball. While he has missed
37 games due to injury, his stats through 113 games are quite impressive.
.323 average, 66 runs, 131 hits, 22 doubles, 26 homeruns, 60 RBI, 86 runs
created. He has the best average, OBP, and slugging percentage on the team.
The Hogs boast 10 players with 12 or more homeruns. 8 of these players have
22 or more. Only Jose Valentin has over 30, at 35.
Unfortunately, the Hogs playoff run might result in their having to once
again participate in the free agent plan. If that happens, they will most
likely select the 24 and under option, which would result in the following
notables being protected and unprotected:
2B Tony Batista (age 22)
3B Scott Rolen (age 21)
RF Alex Ochoa (possible, age 24)
P Rocky Coppinger (age 21)
P Curly Karkovice (age 23)
P Dustin Hermanson (age 23)
Only 4 of the following players could be protected/franchised:
P Jon Lieber
P Sean Bergman
P Bobby Thomas
P Masato Yoshii
P Ricky Bottalico
P Juan Guzman
C Dan Wilson
1B Geronimo Berroa
1B Jason Giambi
SS Jose Valentin
LF Ryan Klesko
CF Dave Martinez
RF Roberto Kelly
Obviously, if the Hogs make the playoffs, they will certainly lose a very
valuable player. Rumor has it that superstar Ryan Klesko may be willing to
go into the free agency pool, but its hard to tell now which players will
end up being protected.
