Washington Goes Into Break 9.5 Games Ahead July 13, 1999
(AP) WASHINGTON, D. C.--In what may be Washington's most dramatic victory
of the season, Washington came back from a 5-run deficit in the ninth to
sweep the Spokane Pirates.
The final score, 6-5, didn't reflect how much the Pirates dominated most
of the game. Jack McDowell started the game and pitched eight shutout
innings and was taken out with a five-run lead going into the ninth.
But in the ninth inning, all hell broke loose. Washington started out the
inning with a pair of hits by Barry Larkin and Larry Walker and Tim Salmon
stepped to the plate and cleared the bases with his first Sea Dog home
run.
"Listen, when a first-place team trades for you, you don't give any less
than 100%," Salmon said. "I'm glad to be here."
Salmon's shot made the score 5-3. Then, Mike MacFarlane knocked a single
and Harold Baines walked. Kevin Orie knocked in MacFarlane with a double,
then All-Star Ernie Young stepped to the plate and delivered a two-RBI
single to center that proved to be the game-winner.
Young, who had two hits on the day to raise his average to .297, said
that he was pumped up because of his All-Star selection.
"Well, hearing that I'd be playing during the Break, I was just ecstatic,"
Young said. "I carried that emotion onto the field today."
Ben McDonald had started the game for Washington, and while he allowed
four runs over seven innings, only one of them was earned. McDonald, who
was shooting for his 16th win, allowed eight hits and a walk, striking out
seven.
Getting the win for the Sea Dogs was Delino Wilson, who collected his
second win of the week and of the year. Nealy Becker got his seventh
save.
Washington goes into the All-Star Break in first place by 9.5 games, as
Phoenix lost yesterday. Washington has won six games in a row and now
stands at 62-25, on a pace for 115 wins.
"We're almost sorry we're going into the Break now," Weiner said. "We
don't want to lose any of our momentum."
All-Star Notes and Quotes:
"We just hopped the team bus over here."
-Chuck Knoblauch
"It's too bad that the game doesn't make any sense."
-Joey Hamilton, Springfield pitcher
"If you think anyone from Binghamton is getting into the game besides
Bagwell, you've got another thing coming."
-DL Manager Aaron Weiner
* * *
It's midseason, and therefore an excellent time to recap the Sea Dogs'
first half.
Washington has made several earth-shaking moves this year, but their two
biggest are undoubtedly the addition of centerfielder Larry Walker and
starting pitcher Alex Fernandez.
"I think you can pinpoint the moment we became a great team from the
moment we got Larry," Weiner said. "We'd been a very good team up to that
point, but once Walker joined us, we had our first guy who could hit 40
homers."
Walker has been an MVP candidate to this point in the season. His 28
homers rank second in the league, his 78 RBI third and his .328 batting
average ranks 11th. He is in the top 11 in every statistical category but
doubles and triples.
What makes Walker's season even more amazing was that he came to the Sea
Dogs on April 27th with just one homer and a .280 average. He has slugged
over .800 for Washington and is the league's frontrunner for MVP.
"Well, I don't know if all this talk is true, but I do know that I've been
having a big-time season," Walker said. "I mean, I'm not sure I'm going
to break any records, but it's really fun to try."
Behind Walker, Washington has become the best offense in the league.
"He just makes the whole offense better," said fellow All-Star Ernie
Young. "He's certainly helped me immensely."
Chuck Knoblauch, enjoying his best season, concurred.
"I've got so much confidence now that when I come up to the plate that
somebody will drive me in," Knoblauch said. "The guys I have hitting
behind me now are so great, I don't even worry going up there."
Washington's offense is now ranked first in the PVBL, and the
ripple effect that Walker has had on the lineup has been a big
rason why. They've certainly come a long way from 1997, when the middle
of the order featured such players as Warren Newson and Matt Stairs.
"We're not even close to the same team we started with," Knoblauch said.
"I knew it had all changed when I was batting fifth last year, that it was
no longer important for me to be #1 or #3 every game.
"It's a whole new lineup."
Fernandez's acquisition has been just as important for Washington.
Acquired at a large price - Chad Ogea and Ben Hamlin - Fernandez has more
than lived up to his strong billing.
Fernandez, during his Sea Dog stay, has already won a Pitcher of the Month
award, won 11 games and earned an All-Star berth, his first.
"I can't tell you what having a guy like Alex has done for the rest of the
rotation," Sea Dog starter Shawn Estes said. "Having a guy like him in
our rotation has allowed us to know that the guy coming after you will
always make up for your mistakes."
Fernandez said that he's just doing the job that Washington acquired him
to do.
"Well, they got me to be a rotation stopper, and that's what I've been,"
Fernandez said. "I'm just going out there and trying to do my best every
day."
Fernandez, who has always been a hard-luck pitcher, was acquired with an
ERA over 5 and a winless record against six losses. He seemed frustrated
in a Medina uniform, pitching with mostly prospects behind him.
But since Fernandez has come to Washington, his whole attitude has seemed
to change.
"It's just the fact that I'm playing on such a together team," Fernandez
said. "All these guys are so solid, I just can't help but do my best
out there."
Other major acquisitions for this season have been Tim Salmon, Kevin Orie,
John Wetteland, Tim Belcher and Bill Mueller.
* * *
The Sea Dogs' consistency was somewhat unexpected, because Washington lost
their leadoff man, Lance Johnson, in April.
"When Lance went down, a sort of hush fell on the team," Weiner said.
"Larry Walker was batting .240 at the time, Chuck wasn't at .300 yet,
Ventura and MacFarlane were struggling with the Mendoza line. But Lance
was playing like Ty Cobb."
The comparison was a fair one, as Johnson had hit .432 in the month of
April with 13 steals before going down with a broken hip. Should Johnson
still be healthy, there's no telling what Washington's record would be.
"Can you imagine this lineup with Johnson at the top of it?" Weiner asked.
"Larry might have 100 RBI already."
Johnson will be back in two weeks, so Weiner will have a chance to prove
his claim. But for one Washington player, the season is over.
That player is Fred Smith, one of Washington's few original Sea Dogs and
the unquestionable leader of the bullpen. Though Smith is, in theory,
blessed with less talent than anyone in the bullpen, he has pitched better
than almost anyone for most of his Sea Dog career.
"The truth is, the Sea Dogs will miss Fred Smith more than anyone can
imagine," Weiner said. "Smith was the guy who kept everyone loose in the
bullpen, the guy who always knew what to say to the guys to keep them
focused."
Smith was the Sea Dogs' second-best reliever in their inagural season,
pitching well above his abilities. He's been solid for the last two
years, serving as a middle-to-long man.
"I'm just sorry that I won't be able to help the team," Smith said
regretfully. "I've made it my entire life to help out the Sea Dogs."
Other injured Sea Dogs are Devon White, acquired injured from the Houston
Hellraisers (in Weiner's words, "couldn't help getting that kind of a
pro") and John Burkett, who has a strained triceps and may be placed on
the DL right after the All-Star Break.
* * *
How dominating is Washington?
3.31 - WAshington's ERA. This is the lowest ERA in the PVBL, but more
importantly, a quarter-point ahead of Punxatawney for the top rank in the
Defiant League. What makes it more incredible is that the second and
third ranked offenses, Calgary and Larimer, are in Washington's division.
526 - Washington's run total. Perhaps just as notably, the top offense is
in Washington's division as well - the Sea Dogs themselves. Washington is
the first team to pull the daily double at the All-Star Break.
71.3 - Washington's winning percentage. Washington is on pace to smash
the PVBL record for wins, 109, set by Galena last year - they are
currently on pace for 115 victories.
29 and 33 - the win totals for Washington at home and on the road,
respectively. Washington has both the best home and road record.
78.5 - Washington's winning percentage outside their division. Washington
has lost only nine games outside the Data.
11 - Amount of wins over current wild-card team Phoenix. Washington has
gone 11-4 against Phoenix this year.
37 - the combined win totals of Ben McDonald, Alex Fernandez and Mackenzee
Leefenhaufenhauz. This is as many as the entire pitching staffs of seven
PVBL teams have assembled.
288 and 256 - Washington's strikeout and walk totals. Both lead the
league - the former a low, the latter a high.
58 - Washington's stolen base lead over Punxatawney. Washington has 127
steals, Punxatawney 69. Their lead is greater than 15 teams' stolen base
total.
And so on. It makes for some pretty solid evidence that Washington's
dominating lead in the Power Rankings is deserved.
* * *
Washington's bench players have played a huge role so far in Washington's
success.
Chief among Washington's bench players are Ben Petrick and Chris James,
who have both performed well above expectations for the year.
James, who was expected to back up several players before the season
began, has put up tremendous numbers. Batting .272 in 136 at bats, James
also has seven homers and thirteen doubles, leading to a .522 slugging
average.
James, who was a valuable bench player for the Sea Dogs last year, filled
gaps at first base, DH and outfield with adeptness. He says that filling
gaps defines his role.
"I'm just trying to use my experience to help out the team," James, a
13-year veteran said. "Whatever I can do to help out, I'll do it."
Petrick has been as good as any Sea Dogs regular this year, and has
regularly outperformed the PVBL's career leader in homers at catcher,
Mike MacFarlane. In just his first full season in the majors, the
20-year old has hit .295 with fifteen doubles and is already platooning
with MacFarlane.
Petrick says his success has come mostly due to the fact that he's been
hitting the breaking ball.
"I worked a lot in the offseason at trying to hit the offspeed," Petrick
said. "Coming right out here from high school, it was tough last year
adjusting to major-league stuff."
Petrick, a superb athlete and considered to be the fastest catcher in
baseball, also has 10 stolen bases on the season in just 170 plate
appearances. Projected over a full season, Petrick would hit 40
doubles with 30 steals, good enough to be many teams' leadoff hitter.
He says, however, that he's comfortable with his role.
"Listen, Washington drafted me a year ago, and they thought enough of me
that they put me on the postseason roster of a pennant-winner," Petrick
said. "Why would I want to play anywhere else?"
Petrick's attitude and hard-nosed has seemed to make a difference for some
of the veterans as well. Barry Larkin, who led the league in stolen bases
for much of the year, said that he ran more because he was inspired by
Petrick.
"Ben makes us all want to play harder on the field, makes us all want to
give our all," Larkin said. "I couldn't help but run watching this kid
out there running hard on every pop-up."
* * *
Washington is reportedly not done trading for this year. According to
front office people, they have been actively pursuing relief pitchers.
"We've been trying to add to our talent base all year," Weiner said, "but
in doing so, we've had to subtract from our bullpen depth. It's shown up
in the numbers."
While Wetteland, Nigel Fernandez, Delino Wilson and Nealy Becker have been
solid, the rest of the bullpen - admittedly, even Fred Smith - are having
problems. Burkett has allowed 22 homers in 62 innings and Bubba Veres has
not been consistent.
"We want our pen to go six or seven-deep," Weiner said. "In a game of
unpredictable bullpen shifts, it's vital that all the members be solid."
Reportedly, Washington has come to terms with a ballclub already for a
bullpen arm, but terms have not yet been released.
* * *
Washington traded away all of their amateur draft picks this season. Why
would a team that has benefitted more from drafts, picking up players like
Mackenzee Leefenhaufenhauz, Ben Petrick, Dennis Abreu, Chris James and
others allow themselves to deal away all their picks?
"Two reasons," Weiner said. "One is Bill Mueller. The other is Eddie
Murray."
Mueller, an original Sea Dog, was traded earlier this season in a deal for
Robin Ventura. While he cost a high price - Washington's first and second
rounders - Weiner said that there is no remorse.
"Mueller may be starting for us as soon as next year," Weiner said.
"There's a lot of off-season scenarios that could make Mueller vital for
our ballclub."
There were other reasons for Mueller's pickup.
"Well, he's an original Sea Dog, and we dealt him right after the pennant,
so we felt horrible," Weiner said. "He was one of very few at the time
left, and so we wanted him back. Plus, he's a gritty guy and good in the
clubhouse."
The other second round pick was sent to Houston in exchange for veteran
Eddie Murray. Murray, who has played 21 years, is there mostly for his
experience.
"He's great to have in the clubhouse, always helping us out," Ben Petrick
said. "He's helped me a lot with my stance."
Murray is expected to retire after the season, but says he would like to
win one more championship.
"It's always a thrill to be there," Murray said. "I just hope we can do
it."
* * *
While Ben McDonald looked terrible in the All-Star Game, Weiner was
sympathetic.
"He was gritty enough to go out there and pitch at all, and that was good
enough for me," Weiner said. "I'm just pleased that he was so tough,
that's all."
Every Sea Dog besides Ernie Young, who did not get into the game, was a
factor. Alex Fernandez and John Wetteland provided over four innings of
scoreless relief, and Larkin and Walker provided all the RBI, Knoblauch
scoring once.
Young said that was not angry with Weiner despite not playing.
"He told me that if we went into extra innings, we needed somebody on the
bench to fill any position on the field, and that's what I'm good at,"
Young said. "He was very clear about that before the game, so I'm not
angry."
