Sticking Points 2035.8: Pikemen In First Place

[aaronweiner]

It's hard to remember the last time that the Rockville Pikemen were in first place in June. There's a real chance you'd have to go all the way back to 2027 or 2026, the last time the Pikemen were a consistently competitive franchise. However, the Pikemen, at 32-23, look every bit like the playoff contenders they were last season, when they ended their season in the Cartwright Cup.

"We're showing off all of our skills right now, and it's fun playing baseball again," said reigning the JL Steve Nebraska, SP Arthur Dempster, who once again looks like a candidate for that award. "We've got a lot of spunk and a lot of guys even younger than me and there's so much energy."

Rockville celebrated their first appearance in first place this late in the season by making a serious contender move, adding Dan Cannon in a heavily scrutinized deal for three prospects, including Rockville's two top pitching prospects. Cannon, 26, has a big money long-term deal but has been one of the league's best and most consistent starters for the last five seasons despite having a winning record just once in that time span.

"We are really pumped to have Dan in the fold," said Rockville GM Aaron Weiner. "There's no two ways about it: we made this deal because we're serious about bringing home a Landis, and we hope that Dan can help us manage that."

The Pikemen, it can be argued, are not even playing up to their ability yet. Several players are playing below their career norms. One player who has been playing above last year's totals, however, is Robbie van Mierlo, as the Snow God has been fantastic all year long.

"I'm inspired by how many young players like myself we have here - we're just having fun and playing hard every day," said van Mierlo. "It's great being with this awesome bunch of guys."

The Pikemen have a tough week ahead of them, with one more game against contender New Orleans, then facing off with Brooklyn for first place in the division, and ending the week against Las Vegas.