Anchorage Fails to Continue EL Dominance October 21, 2000
Anchorage AK (AP) - The Abominations failed in their quest to continue EL
dominance in the PVBL. After a Cinderella-type season, they were shocked by
Kerry Wood, Miles Trauscher and the rest of the Sacramento River Otters in
five games. "There is something to be said for pitching. Sacramento just
proved the old addege that good pitching beats good hitting" said Abominations
owner/manager Nick Tulach. "I'm proud of what my guys did this year. Its
no easy task to win a pennant."
Sacramento relied heavily on their two ace pitchers to get them to the
championship. Anchorage decided to give each of their starting five a shot.
Willie VanLandingham and Scott Aldred both pitched very well for the 'Boms.
"We didn't match up well, our two pitching staffs. They had those two guys
(Wood, Tauscher) and we have five quality guys, but no real ace." said
VanLandingham in the post-game interviews. "We've gotta start preparing
for next season."
Free agency will likely hit Anchorage hard as they have left a number of
talented players available. Position players John Jaha, Jose Canseco, and
Marquis Grissom, as well as closer Eddie Guardado, are all free agents. "We'd
like to have everyone back next year, but it looks like that's not going to
happen. I'm pretty sure we'll be able to sign most of those guys, but not all"
said Anchorage GM "the Man".
Abominations players are already getting ready for next season. They have
scheduled mini-camps for as early as next week to begin preparing for another
run at the title. "We want to be able to maintain our level of excellence.
In the past, most teams have faultered the year after a World Series visit.
Not us. We've tasted it, now we want more." said catcher Mike Lieberthal.
