On the same day that the Punxatawney Groundhogs saw their ranking in the
PVBL power rankings plummet from 3rd to 7th, the 3-time Riker champs fought
off the Springfield Atoms twice in a row to move back into the front of the
Riker division after heated early season battles between all four teams.
But just after the games were over, one Groundhog was brought into the
manager's office to be notified that he was traded.
The player was backup catch A.J. Hinch, taken recently in the 1st round of
the free agent. He has played in only one game as a Hog, going 0-1 as a
pinch hitter. Hinch, a 26-year old rookie with a rifle arm and a good power
stroke, was not likely to ever get much playing time over fan favorite Dan
Wilson.
"A.J. wasn't happy here, and he made no secret of that," said Shapiro.
"He's only a rookie, but he paid his dues in the minors and he wants to play
everyday. We couldn't give him that chance here."
So Hinch is now off for his new team, the New Diggens Budweiser Frogs. In
exchange for him, the Hogs are receiving 24 year old lefty Jeff Taylor. He
has not seen any action with the Frogs this season, but has a 17-14 record
with a 4.87 ERA in 281 innings of work in his career. Used mostly as a
reliever, Taylor notched 17 holds and 5 saves over the last few seasons.
"Pure talent wise, he's great," said pitching coach Mark Fidyrich. "But
he's got a chronic control problem we need to iron out before he ever really
contributes."
Despite his problems, Taylor is a highly touted prospect by many scouts.
Most agree that he's capable of working through his control problems and
becoming a dominant starter. One thing he does have is an impressive
sinker, which Shapiro is very happy about.
"I'll admit it, I'm a sucker for the sinker," he said. "A sinker gets
grounders, and with our infield defense that usually means an out."
Taylor will most likely spend most of his year in AAA Roswell, but Shapiro
hasn't ruled out the possibility that he'll see action in the majors. He
was quoted as saying Taylor would be a likely callup in case of injuries.
Some local reporters are touting this as a great move for the future of the
franchise. With an aging pitching staff, with most players around age 27,
the Hogs certainly had no immediate problems. But their plans for the next
decade weren't set in stone--until now. This trade gives the team three
talent pitchers under age 25--Coppinger, Karkovice, and Taylor--who could be
the cornerstones of the franchise in the years to come.
And of course, while all this was happening, the Hogs were playing baseball.
They beat Springfield 2-1 and 6-0 in both ends of a twin bill today. The
first game was a great pitching duel between aces Rocky Coppinger and Joey
Hamilton. Both threw very well and after the 7th, when both had left the
game, each team had 1 run and 4 hits. But it was settled in the 9th inning
as Jose Valentin crushed his 11th homerun of the year, a solo shot, that put
Punxatawney ahead 2-1. Bobby Munoz took the win (4-0) and Ricky Bottalico
notched his 4th save.
The next game was not nearly as close, as the Hogs easily handled Justin
Thompson, Jaime Moyer, and Barry Manuel, scoring off each Springfield
pitcher for a total of 6 runs. Jon Lieber, Masato Yoshii, Jim Burright, and
Scott Ruffcorn combined on the shutout.
"I would have gone more with Jon," said Shapiro, "but his arm tightened up
during the rain delay."
Every Groundhog had at least 1 hit in the winning effort and Scott Rolen hit
a homerun. Four other players hit doubles and the team drew 8 walks while
only striking out once.
"That was the best part of the game," said Bernie Carbo, the Hogs hitting
coach. "We were patient, we made them throw strikes, and they ended up
giving us more free passes than a circus owner."
The Hogs will play three games in the upcoming days against arch-rival
Houston before they final begin out of division action--against the very
challenging Phoenix Gila Monsters in a rematch of last year's DLCS.
"We're looking forward to it. We'll have a few real tough games coming up,
but that's what baseball is about," said co-captain Scott Rolen.
