Sept. 1: Hurricanes or Tropical Depression?

At the end of August, the top three position in the league are looking pretty stable. Wichita State continues to win at a torrid pace, with 109 so far and counting;  their 19.5 game lead over Texas A&M should allow the Shockers to clinch things within a few weeks. The Longhorns continue to hold down 3rd place, but moving into 4th with an eight-game winning streak are the ASU Sun Devils, who must have read last weeks column and decided to pitch Gary Gentry every day. Falling into 5th, three games under .500, are the 2001 Miami Hurricanes, the subject of this week's analysis.

Who's Getting It Done:  This team specialized in speed and pitching, and the 'Canes are living up to their reputation in the speed department. Their 367 stolen bases are second only to Wichita State, with eight players in double digits and Jimerson and both Javy and Mike Rodriguez sure bets to break 100. Javy R.'s .276 leads the team, while DH Danny Matienzo's tops the squad in RBI's with 74. The heart of the batting order has provided some power, led by Kevin Brown's 20 HR. Finally, most of the starting rotation has been decent, with closer George Huguet (1-2, 2.09, 37 SV) representing an excellent candidate for Fireman of the Year.

I'm betting he misses it

Who's Not:   Like many teams, the Hurricanes have struggled against the high quality pitching in this league.  The team batting average of .226 is among the league's worst, and Miami is not patient at the plate, drawing relatively few walks. Charlton Jimerson (.219, 289 SO) and Kevin Brown (.164, 264 SO) have been prime offenders in this regard, both striking out roughly half of the time they come to the plate.  Only the LSU Tigers have struck out more frequently than Miami.  A team built on speed needs to get on base to take advantage of those talents, and the Hurricanes' problems in that regard explain their failure to contend.

Miami Hurricanes **Team Batting Stats**

Last           First     AVE   G    AB   SO   BB   H    2B   3B   HR   R    RBI  SB   E   

Jimerson       Charlton  .219  141  612  289  43   134  19   4    15   83   42   84   13  

Rodriguez      Javy      .276  141  566  64   47   156  17   6    6    69   63   79   18  

Rodriguez      Mike      .244  141  561  80   72   137  36   1    3    82   35   99   30  

Howard         Kevin     .250  141  529  92   41   132  31   1    1    47   49   26   13  

Mannix         Kevin     .245  141  507  139  62   124  19   5    1    46   46   27   15  

Clute          Kris      .194  141  496  84   53   96   17   1    4    43   38   28   9   

Brown          Kevin     .164  141  477  264  94   78   23   1    20   48   56   0    8   

Matienzo       Danny     .267  114  453  135  36   121  20   0    15   44   74   11   0   

Lovelady       Greg      .177  104  379  102  13   67   14   1    7    28   36   0    12  

Dirosa         Mike      .148  44   122  61   20   18   3    0    5    10   17   0    0   

Nettles        Marcus    .243  39   103  20   12   25   1    0    0    14   7    13   0   

Dryer          Matt      .200  9    5    2    3    1    0    0    1    1    2    0    0   

Burt           Jim       .000  6    2    0    1    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    1   

Safchik        Brad      .000  1    1    1    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0    0   

-              -         .226  1656 4813 1333 497  1089 200  20   78   515  465  367  125 

Miami Hurricanes **Team Pitching Stats**

Last           First     ERA   G    GS   CG   W    L    SV   IP    SO   BB   H    R    ER  

Farmer         Tom       3.63  36   36   0    15   14   0    250.2 170  62   264  119  101 

Bengochea      Kiki      3.34  34   34   1    6    14   0    237.1 189  66   240  103  88  

Walker         Brian     3.79  34   34   0    9    13   0    223.1 140  90   229  110  94  

Sheffield      Chris     1.87  32   22   0    11   6    0    187.2 269  78   129  44   39  

Debold         Luke      2.37  96   0    0    14   8    2    152.0 166  18   120  45   40  

Reboin         Jeff      6.36  20   15   0    5    11   1    97.2  69   68   124  79   69  

Smith          Dan       1.43  50   0    0    8    2    1    88.1  80   42   53   24   14  

Huguet         George    2.09  41   0    0    1    2    37   38.2  34   11   26   12   9   

Touchet        Danny     6.43  6    0    0    0    1    1    7.0   11   1    8    5    5   

Vazquez        Vince     4.50  2    0    0    0    1    0    2.0   3    4    1    1    1   

-              -         3.22  351  141  1    69   72   42   1284.21131 440  1194 542  460 

College Greats League Standings

Year      Team                     W    L    PCT   GB   L10  STRK 

1982      Wichita State Shockers   109  33   .768  -    8-2  W1   

1989      Texas A&M Aggies         89   52   .631  19.5 7-3  W1   

1983      Texas Longhorns          75   66   .532  33.5 6-4  L1   

1967      Arizona State Sun Devils 71   71   .500  38.0 8-2  W8   

2001      Miami Hurricanes         69   72   .489  39.5 5-5  W3   

1997      LSU Tigers               64   79   .448  45.5 5-5  L1   

1995      Cal State Fullerton Titan63   80   .441  46.5 1-9  L6   

1971      USC Trojans              58   85   .406  51.5 2-8  L6   

1985      Miss State Bulldogs      57   84   .404  51.5 6-4  W2   

1985      Oklahoma State Cowboys   55   88   .385  54.5 3-7  L2