After a majorly disappointing 2000 season, ending in a nearly-miraculous
comeback that fell 1 victory short of a 4th straight division crown, the
Punxatawney Groundhogs are back on top of the Riker with a comfortable 12.5
game lead over Carolina with less than a month until the playoffs. The return
of Ryan Klesko and rise to dominance of young superstars Scott Rolen and Tony
Batista have been the pirmary sparks behind the Groundhogs return to glory.
Combined with a solid pitching staff who simply gets the job done, it seems
like a mere matter of time before the playoffs begin.
The real team leader this year has been Scott Rolen, who is batting .315 with
44 doubles, 23 homers, 80 RBI, a team-best 112 runs created--and only 22
strikeouts with 48 walks.
"Sometimes when you see how talented Scottie is, you forget he's only 23 years
old," said GM Dan Shapiro. "He worked damn hard last offseason and its really
showing this year. Hasn't made an error all year."
Tony Batista, who missed nearly half of the year due to injuries, is also doing
well. Though his power numbers are way down, Batista is hitting .314 with 18
doubles, 50 RC, and 22 steals in just 77 games. And the biggest power source
has been Jason Giambi, who has ripped 28 homers and driven in 99 runs.
"Giambi took a lot of fire from commish Peck and others for being an
underproducer, but he's finally showing his worth this year," said Shapiro.
And while the pitching staff doesn't have a whole slew of stars, Jon Lieber's
15-5, 2.03 season is certainly one of the better one's for this season. Rocky
Coppinger, continuing to improve as he ages, recently notched his 69th career
victory, improving to 13-7 on the season with a 3.32 ERA. Masato Yoshii's 14
victories making him one of the top game winners this season, and Bobby
Thomas's 9-6 record is complemented by a solid 2.89 ERA.
The bullpen, as well, is made up of a group of hurlers having fairly good
season. Young Jeff Taylor has shown signs of promise with a few excellent
starts, and has done an acceptable job as the long man. Tim Worrell returned
from the minors this year and has held his own as a middle man, while an
assortment of others like Mike Trombley and Henry Neale have tried their hand
at the other middle role. But Scott Ruffcorn and Bobby Munoz have been rock
solid setup men this year. They have combined for 31 holds and 9 saves. And
they are setting up for Ricky Bottalico, 4-2 witth 18 saves and 6 holds and a
2.58 ERA.
Now, as the team heads for the final few weeks and postseason, they are
beginning to prepare for a challenging playoff series. Their likely opponent
is Area 51, as the Abductors have a 7 game edge on defending champ Sacramento.
Area 51 is a big hitting team, boasting 6 hitters batting near or over .300.
Their pitching staff leaves something to be desired with the exception of Troy
Percival, as three of their starters have ERA's over 4.5. They will rely
heavily on Lee Sosa and Jason Dickson in the playoffs.
"It gets harder and harder to win it all every year, cause Phoenix doesn't get
any worse. Neither does Washington. We have a lot of work ahead of us to win
the World Series, but we have the ability. We were one win away from a
championship in 1999, and we're back in 2001 to take another crack," said
Rolen. "Its just a matter of time."
