For the fourth time in five seasons, the Punxatawney Groundhogs are taking home
the Riker Division title. Last time they made the playoffs, they fell one
victory short of a World Championship at the hands of the self-proclaimed King
of the PVBA, Phil Raisor. This time, they bring a totally healthy squad to the
playoffs. And it is a squad with a great deal of playoff experience as well.
"Even with three amazing 100 game winners in the playoffs, I still believe this
may be our best chance to win yet," said Shapiro.
Punxatawney's offense boasts one of the best 1-2 combinations in baseball.
Tony Batista, who played in just 94 games this season and batted .328 with a
.372 OBP, .455 SLG, and 24 stolen bases, has hit leadoff all year. Scott
Rolen, the top young thirdbaseman in the game, hit .312 with a team-best 112
runs created, .364 OBP, and .511 SLG. 1997 MVP Jose Valentin continues to hit
third and new superstar Jason Giambi batted .273 with 34 homers and 114 RBI.
Ryan Klesko bats 5th, struggling through his worst season yet, but still
boasting 20 homers and a .281 average in only 110 games. Ex-leadoff man Dave
Martinez brings some speed to the 6th spot, as he stole 42 bases and drove in
58 runs. Alex Ochoa and Dan Wilson hold the 7th and 8th spots. Both has
mediocre years.
But the biggest story is the 9th hitter, DH Jeremy Giambi. Giambi, a rookie,
played in 34 games this season, batting .354 in 127 at bats. He had 7 homers,
drove in 25 runs, and a had the best OBP and SLG on the team, .411 and .598.
"Jeremy earned this spot," said Shapiro. "He worked damn hard and we're
rewarding him with a chance to show his stuff in the big time."
Giambi and third baseman Joe Netzel are the two rookies on the postseason
squad, earned his role by stealing 10 bases in limited action off the bench.
The pitching staff is the same as it has always been. Ace Jon Lieber will
start game one, as his 17-5 record and 1.87 ERA were some of the best of any
PVBL'er this year. Rocky Coppinger will throw game two. He went 13-7 with a
3.35 ERA. Tossing the third game is hard-luck hurler Bobby Thomas. He was
just 9-7 this year but had a 3.09 ERA. Tossing the 4th game will most likely
be Masato Yoshii, who had 15 victories and a 3.88 ERA for the year.
"We don't have the most dominant staff out there, but they're consistent," said
Shapiro.
The bullpen is fairly solid, but they are not invulnerable. Long man Jeff
Taylor had a 4.26 ERA and walked nearly as many as he struck out. Middle
relief is being covered by Tim Worrell, who came back from a horrific 2000
season to post a 3.40 ERA in 2001. Juan Guzman, the only pitcher not to appear
in relief at all this year, has been handed the other middle relief role after
going 14-14 with a 4.24 ERA. The two setup men are Scott Ruffcorn and Bobby
Munoz, both of whom had double digit holds and ERA's under 3. Ruffcorn notched
his impressive line in 101.1 innings while Munoz has a 2.11 ERA and gave up
only 2 homeruns in 72.2 innings. The closer is the always solid Ricky
Bottalico, who saved 18 and got 7 holds in 41 appearances over 38.2 innings.
"We're solid from A-Z," said Rolen. "It's not gonna be easy anyway, not with
Sacramento, Washington, and Phoenix in the way."
The defending champion River Otters currently stand in Punxatawney's way. With
a talented young team with stars like Myles Tauscher and Kerry Wood in the
rotation. Their offense is led by a few players, one of them being the
much-despised J.D. Drew.
"We're looking forward to this series. We'd like to leave J.D. Drew crippled
in a wheelchair if we could," said Shapiro. "He's an ass and any team that
would have him doesn't deserve a title."
Sacramento's biggest apparent weakness is their bullpen, with only a few
players holding an ERA below 4.00. Other than that, they match up to the
Groundhogs quite well. Beating a team like Washington or Phoenix...well,
that's a whole other story we'll get to look at in a week or so.
