The Mississauga MapleDogs at one point had a chance to break the PVBL
record for wins in a season. Some might have even thought they would,
with their dominant rotation and potent offense. But after a series of
injuries and some bad management the M-Dogs have slumped over the past
month and a half and their lead in the Riker has dwindled down to only
3.0 games over a charging Tijuana.
"I don't know what to make of it. Same team as earlier in the year,
they just aren't performing the same." GM Gouldson said at a press
conference.
The rotation had been spectacular until the all-star break, with Kevin
Brown being himself, Rolando Arrojo recovering from his rookie year and
Curt Schilling being near perfect. Then Schilling went down with an
injury and Arrojo went back into his 1999 form. David Wells and Steve
Trachsel have both been consistent so far, though Trachsel has a nagging
injury.
The M-Dogs offense remains one of, if not the best in the PVBL. They
lead the PVBL in average with .302 and in several major categories. They
have 7 players hitting over .300 and 6 with 20 homers or more. So the
problem isn't there...
The bullpen has always been the achilles heel of the franchise. They
brought in 37 year old rookie Taffy Colbert to try and help. "We figured
he'd be greatful for a shot at the bigs after all these years. He's done
okay, but not what we had hoped." Word is that he may be sent to AAA
soon and Randy Myers, who had struggled earlier in the year, will be
brought back up.
John Paschall is gone for the season and has always been the most
dependable reliever on the team. Darren Oliver has tailed off in both
starting and relieving roles, as he has done for the past 3 years. "I
don't know what it is. I guess I just crack under the pressure." Oliver
said.
There is another theory floating around the clubhouse though...
Pitcher Erick Plunk, among many other M-Dog pitchers have been feeling
very strange since a road trip to Deadwood recently. "I don't know what
it is. We were there for a few days and basically all the pitchers
started feeling under the weather. We haven't been able to shake it
either. Now I know why they've got that 7.02 ERA." This would explain
the injuries to Schilling and Trachsel that just won't seem to go away.
Jesse Gouldson apparently thinks Plunk is on to something. "There's
something seriously wrong over there. I call it 'DPS'. It stands for
Deadwood Pitching Syndrome. I did some research and found out there's a
new experimental power plant a block away from Deadwood's stadium which
is using a Maple Cookie based fuel. It specifically says on the package
that the cookies are not to be used as fuel and that it may cause loss
of feeling in the arms. The condition isn't permanent but it does take a
couple months to get it out of your system. I implore Commissioner Peck
to look into this immediately and my team will not travel to Deadwood
until the situation is resolved. It's obvious that since his team
couldn't pitch, Mr. Raisor made sure that no one else's could."
Deadwood owner and GM Phil Raisor wasn't available for comment.
