Sticking Points 2041.1: Pikemen Leading At Midseason

[aaronweiner]

The Rockville Pikemen have continued their long run of successful seasons this year, starting the year 51-34 despite repeated roster upheavals. Four years ago, when Rockville won their most recent title, nobody was mentioning the names Julio Barajas, Wilson Alomar, Pedro Diaz, or Bing-de Zhao, but those are four of the top five players in the lineup in terms of WAR. Nobody had heard of closer Dave Houston, or team captain Manuel Rivera, or Daniel Pepper. But the Pikemen just keep pushing forward all the same.

"We're very grateful to our front office for making sure we're able to stay in contention," said Arthur Dempster, long-time Rockville ace. "We do our jobs and they do theirs and everyone's happier for it."

Alomar probably won't win the Joe Gillstrom Award this year, but he's certainly a contender for the honor. Hitting .383 with an OPS over 1.000 is a phenomenal way to start a career, and he has been a breath of fresh air on the team this year.

"We're grateful for all our talented young guys," said Rockville manager Duane Whitley. "This is a very blessed group."

The Pikemen are currently third in runs scored and fourth in runs allowed,which demonstrates the team's balance, and have been solidly out in front of the division all year long. There are still some holes on the squad which the team may choose to fill before the trade deadline, but for the most part the team has been rock-solid.

"There isn't any part of our team that's weak," said rotation ace and two-time reigning Steve Nebraska Award winner Dan Cannon. "We're exactly what everyone expected us to be, and that's what we want."