The word that many Groundhog fans have been waiting for finally came from
the front office today. GM Dan Shapiro had found a player to give the
Groundhogs more long-ball power at a relatively low current cost. This
player is Jay Buhner, coming over from Ann Arbor. In return for Buhner,
Shapiro sent two of his top prospects, Webb Messenger and Karim Garcia.
"We're killing our farm system every year," said Shapiro. "But we aren't
satisfied with anything less than a division title. After making the series
last year, we really figured we'd make a return trip. This year that will
be tough, but we can't miss the playoffs."
Buhner has been called a major cog in the Ann Arbor offense, but he is being
brought into Punxatawney for one reason, and one reason alone. To hit
homeruns. Buhner has hit 30 homers and driven in 62 runs this year, both
more than any Groundhog. He will bat 4th for the Hogs, behind Dave
Martinez, Tony Batista, and Scott Rolen.
"With Valentin missing most of the season, we haven't had anyone to smash
the ball over the fence when our hitters get on. 4th and 5th hitters
Geronimo Berroa and Jason Giambi have combined to hit 35 homers and driven
108 runs--not bad, but certainly not Valentin-type numbers," said hitting
coach Bernie Carbo.
Certainly, this is a high-pressure situation that Buhner enters. The Hogs
are a very frustrated team, with players like Tony Batista struggling to put
the ball in play consistently and nobody stepping forward to lead. The
pitching staff has been solid, but has gotten very inadequate run support.
According to many people in management, Buhner is the answer to all the
problems.
"All I can do is play my best," said Buhner. "I can't let myself think that
everything relies on me. This is a great team, and if they start playing
better because they think I'm the answer, that's fine. But I can't carry a
team myself."
The two departing prospects were both outfielders. Karim Garcia was
selected in this season's free agent draft and had a decent year in AAA,
hitting .254 with 8 homers. Messenger batted .252 with 30 extra base hits
and 11 steals in his first full AAA season.
"We came back from a lot more than 4 games last year," said third baseman
Scott Rolen. "We can do this. All we have to do is play like we're capable
of for the last 40 games and see how it turns out."
