Border Patrol Off to a Strong Start April 12, 1999
After losing the season opener at Macon, Tucson has run off 6 straight
road victories. This winning streak is due in part to the solid
offense, which has picked up right where they left off last season.
Rondell White, one of the premier leadoff men in the game will be
missed this season, but Tucson need to bolster their pitching staff
and sent him to Montreal along with RHP Jason Schmidt. Tucson
acquired Randy Johnson in that trade, along with relief pitcher Lance
Ternasky.
Tucson, at 6-1 has the best record in the PVBL at the moment. "Our
pitching staff is really doing a great job keeping us in games. In
particular, it looks like our bullpen will be much improved over last
year." said owner/GM Scott Watterson. "Jeff D'Amico might have been
rushed a little bit last year, so we're going to use him in long
relief for the moment." D'Amico appears to have responded well to
that plan, as he already has 2 wins in relief, to go along with a
nifty 1.93 ERA.
Tucson has outscored their opponents 49-25 in 7 games this season.
The staff ERA of 3.48 is down more than half a run over last season.
"If our pitchers can keep this up, we're going to have a heck of a
season." said Watterson. Tucson has also started up the running game,
stealing 11 bases, third in the league. "We don't have to worry about
guys running on us, either. Sweeney does a heck of a job behind the
plate. Any offense we get out of him is a bonus." Tucson has limited
their opponents to only 1 stolen base.
