Monday, Sep. 07, 2009

The wait is over for Dust Devils, Volcanoes

By Jack Millikin, Herald staff writer

PASCO — The Tri-City Dust Devils and Salem-Keizer Volcanoes both clinched their respective divisions about 20 minutes apart last Saturday.

Each team has had nine days to rest, recuperate and recharge its jets for the Northwest League championship, which begins at 7:15 p.m. today at Gesa Stadium.

Finally, it's go time.

"We're all excited," said Dust Devils manager Fred Ocasio after Sunday's 7-6 loss to Boise. "We've had a lot of fun relaxing and we gave some people some rest. But this is what we've been waiting for all year."

Both teams have different strengths and weaknesses, but -- unlike past seasons -- there is not a prohibitive favorite for the 2009 NWL title.

This one's up in the air.

Five reasons Tri-City will win:

-- Middle relief: This is the reason the Dust Devils are playing for the NWL championship. Although the starting pitching has improved, Tri-City has been able to erase early deficits because the bullpen holds opposing offenses down.

The Dust Devils pitching staff leads the league in ERA at 3.43. But here's the difference: The starters came in at 4.69 over 316 1/3 innings while the relievers -- led by NWL all-star Craig Bennigson, Craig Ballard and Rod Scurry -- combined for a 2.36 mark in 373 innings.

-- Hot hitters: Tim Wheeler, Ben Paulsen, Kent Matthes and Joseph Sanders were all picked in the top five rounds of this year's draft, and all were expected to produce. Lately, they've all been paying their dues.

Wheeler brings an 11-game hitting streak into the series, and Paulsen, Matthes and Sanders are all batting over .350 in their last 10 games. Bo Bowman, Tri-City's RBI leader, has five multi-hit games in his last 10.

-- Comeback ability: The Dust Devils have come from behind to win 21 times this season, nearly half of their 47 wins. They also erased deficits in seven other losses.

Ocasio keeps saying this team never gives up. Now he's got the evidence to prove it.

-- Charlie Ruiz: The 10th-round pick out of Long Beach State is flat-out the best closer in the NWL, converting 17 of 18 save chances to lead the league. His out pitch is a devastating split-finger fastball, but he's got three others -- fastball, slider, changeup -- he throws for strikes.

If Tri-City can get to the ninth with a lead, it's lights out.

-- Defense up the middle: Joey Wong may never drive in 100 runs, but he just might be able to save that many with his defense. Wong, who helped lead Oregon State to the 2007 College World Series title, is the unquestioned leader of the infield. He already plays at a major-league level on defense, and his consistent play helps inspire his fellow players.

Five reasons Salem-Keizer will win:

-- Starting pitching: The Bucardo brothers -- Jorge and Wilbur -- have combined to go 10-4 with a 2.80 ERA atop the Volcanoes' starting rotation, which has combined to go 25-13 with a 3.69 ERA. Both have great command and can go deep into games. Chris Gloor (7-1) -- S-K's lone left-hander -- has been effective against both right- and left-handed batters.

-- Run production: The Volcanoes play in a fairly neutral park, but they still get it done on offense with low strikeout totals (league-low 526) and high run totals (league-high 443). Though he's tapered off a bit, league MVP Drew Biery still ranks in the NWL top 10 in runs, RBIs and batting average.

-- Seizing opportunities: In their last six games against Tri-City -- five of them at Gesa Stadium -- S-K scored seven runs off eight Dust Devils errors. The Volcanoes have always been good at capitalizing on opponents' miscues, and they don't make many mistakes themselves.

-- Managing: True, Tri-City manager Fred Ocasio earned NWL Manager of the Year honors, but there's no denying that Tom Trebelhorn has a gift for getting the most out of his players. The former major-league skipper is a teacher at heart, and you can bet he's taught the Volcanoes not to panic under pressure.

-- Winning tradition: It's difficult to argue with success. S-K has played for the championship seven times since 1997, and four straight seasons.

A nice fan base helps, too -- S-K has cracked the 100,000 barrier every season since 1997.

Only once in the last nine years have the Volcanoes finished under .500 -- they finished two games under in 2004.