By Mark Derewicz

September 13

ATLANTIC LEAGUE

Homers In His Arsenal

It's only appropriate Darrell Evans is managing a team called the Arsenal. In a 21-year major league career he slammed 414 home runs, had 1,354 RBIs and scored 1,344 runs. He teamed with Hank Aaron and Davey Johnson to become the first group of three teammates to each hit 40 homers in a season, accomplishing the feat for the Braves in 1973.

Every eligible player with more than 400 home runs is in the Hall of Fame, except for Evans and Dave Kingman. And only Evans and Stan Musial have posted a slugging percentage higher than .500 in a season after age 40.

Evans, 53, credits Ted Williams's book "The Science of Hitting" for teaching him how to hit and Eddie Mathews, his manager with the Braves, for instructing him to pull the ball. Evans is successfully passing that knowledge on to the players for the first-year Aberdeen Arsenal of the Atlantic League. The Arsenal was leading the eight-team league with a .277 team average and their 608 RBIs were second to Newark. The problem for the 50-72 club had been its pitching. Aberdeen ranked last in the league with an ERA of 6.03 despite the efforts of pitching coach and former big leaguer Rick Wise.

The Arsenal has also been plagued by off-the-field problems. Ground has not been broken for the $25.7 million baseball complex that would include 6,000-seat Ripken Stadium and a youth baseball academy. Orioles third baseman Cal Ripken, who was born in Aberdeen and is a part owner of the team with Maryland Baseball, has contributed $9 million toward the project. The local business community has not committed to any of the luxury boxes and skyboxes. Maryland Baseball is asking for $50,000 for each skybox and $15,000 per luxury box for a minimum five-year contract.

With no ballpark to call home, Evans' club has played before sparse crowds at Harford County Community College.

"The players have persevered," noted Evans, who managed at Double-A Huntsville last season. "They look at it as an opportunity to be able to play baseball again. They're certainly not playing for the money."

—EVERETT MERRILL, North Plainfield, N.J.

• Newark's Ozzie Canseco is 40 points behind Bridgeport's Angel Espada for the league lead in hitting but at .307-46-123, Canseco is eighth in the league in hitting and first in the other triple-crown categories. His .667 slugging percentage and 57 extra-base hits are also first in the league. Canseco was ahead of second place slugger Somerset's Jose Viera, who has 36 homers and 108 RBIs and is hitting .282.

• Newark's Bobby Hill cracked the top ten in hitting. He is seventh at .309-11-66 and is second with 72 stolen bases, 134 hits, a .430 on-base percentage and 94 runs scored. He's also second with 31 errors. Hill, who was drafted by the Cubs in the second round this year, has yet to sign. He was drafted by the White Sox last year but never signed. Scott Boras represents him.

• Long Island closer Matt Wagner is leading the league with 35 saves—one reason the Ducks were two games up on Bridgeport with a 38-19 record in the competitive North Division. Third place Nashua has a better record (30-25) than the South Division first-place team—Somerset (28-28). Long Island had won 21 of 25 games before dropping the first game in a series with Bridgeport 6-4. Starter Al Sontag got the win over the Ducks by allowing three earned runs on four hits to improve to 11-9, 2.77, the best ERA in the league. He struck out six and walked four over seven innings. On the season, he has 145 strikeouts, 44 walks, 152 hits allowed in 192 innings.

• Nashua's Daron Kirkreit is 10-5, 3.68, sixth in the league in ERA, and had allowed 141 hits in 142 innings while striking out 80 and walking 58.

• Aberdeen is hitting .277 as a team to lead the league but the Arsenal pitching staff is at the bottom of the league with a 6.10 ERA. The only team with a worse record is Lehigh Valley at 45-81. The Arsenal is 51-74.

• The regular season for the Atlantic League ends on Sept. 25, and the playoffs begin immediately following the conclusion of the season.

FRONTIER LEAGUE

The Johnstown Johnnies defeated Evansville three games to one in a best-of-five series to win the league title for the second time. The Johnnies won it all in 1995.

Matt Sheets went the distance in the championship clinching 7-2 win, allowing two runs (one earned) on 10 hits while fanning five and walking five. Sheets went 2-0, 0.50 during the post season. He went 9-6, 2.50 on the season with 72 strikeouts, 33 walks and 85 hits allowed in 108 innings. His 2.50 ERA was good enough for second best in the league behind River City's Ryan Bauer, who went 9-3, 2.15 with 94 strikeouts, 34 walks and 95 hits allowed in 117 innings.

Sheets pitched nine complete games to tie Springfield's Tony Harden for the league lead. He had three shutouts to lead the league.

Evansville's Dustin Delucci went 10-for-20 with one RBI and four runs scored to lead all post-season hitters in average. Johnstown's Dan Morse hit .455-1-7 and David Ferres hit .440-1-5. Evansville's Rodney Clifton had the most RBIs in the playoffs. He hit .409-1-8 in 22 at-bats.

Johnstown led the way in team hitting with a .322 average and 10 stolen bases but Johnstown's pitching staff was dominant. As a team, the Johnnies went 5-1, 2.89 with 35 strikeouts, 21 walks and 48 hits in 53 innings.

The MVP of the series was Johnnies shortstop Elliott Sarabia, who had the highest fielding percentage of any shortstop during the regular season. He didn't commit an error during the post-season and batted .381 with three RBIs and four runs scored.

Going Unnoticed

The Frontier League is a bit off the beaten trail but that shouldn't stop scouts from noticing talented players in towns like Chillicothe, Evansville or in the case of outfielder Rick Nadeau, London, Ontario.

Nadeau, 24, was named the league's player of the year after hitting .330-19-71. He led the league in home runs and RBIs and tied Chillicothe's Greg Strickland for fifth in hitting. He was second with 103 hits, third with 21 doubles, second with a .587 slugging percentage, second with 41 extra-base hits and first with 78 runs scored. He also swiped 11 bases.

"It boggles me sometimes to see guys in affiliated ball without the tools Ricky has," London manager Andy MacCauley said. "He should never have been in this league a second year."

Nadeau got a quick look with the Northern League's Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks during spring training, but they put him in center field. He has thrived as a corner outfielder with the London Werewolves.

"He's not going to impress you in a workout where they time you in the 60-yard dash, let you take a few cuts in the cage and watch a few throws from the outfield," McCauley said. "But to see him over the course of the season is impressive. What he lacks in a 60 time, he makes up for in the angles he takes to balls and the jumps he gets. He's baited guys by starting in slow on balls and then he throws them out by 20 feet. He has a strong, accurate arm. He's exciting to watch."

Nadeau, who was the NAIA player of the year at Oklahoma City University in 1999, hit .348-8-81 with 32 doubles in his first pro season a year ago. He came into this season determined to turn some of those gappers into home runs, and that's exactly what he did.

"He'd run through a wall to catch a ball if he had to," McCauley said. "He's a great kid and a hard worker."

• River City outfielder Mike Robertson wound up atop the hitting charts despite signing with the Red Sox a month ago. He batted .401-10-44 in 197 at-bats. Dubois County's Scott Marple finished second at .343-1-31 in 245 at-bats.

• Chillicothe's Andy Lee finished off a heck of a year, going 5-5, 3.10 with 120 hits allowed in 113 innings. His 126 strikeouts led the league. He gave up just 24 walks and four home runs all season.

NORTHERN LEAGUE

The Duluth-Superior Dukes' roller coaster of a season was on the upswing as they swept Fargo-Moorhead in the Central Division championship series three games to none.

The Dukes lost eight straight games to end the regular season, which put them in a one-game playoff with Madison. The Black Wolf ran off four straight victories against the Dukes to force the playoff but lost 6-3. The Dukes dropped the first game of the Division Series to St. Paul 8-2 but won three consecutive games to win the series 3-1 to earn a trip to the championship with the red-hot RedHawks, who swept Winnipeg in the West Divisional Series.

In the Northern League-East, the Adirondack Lumberjacks took a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five series with Elmira. The Lumberjacks won the first game 3-2 on veteran Darryl Motley's solo home run in the eighth inning. The Pioneers took the second game 10-9 despite blowing a 7-1 lead. They needed a leadoff solo homer by Mitch Lyden in the ninth to tie the game 9-9 and won the game on a suicide squeeze by Brian Downs. Ron Bush singled after Lyden's bomb and advanced to third on another single by Alex Asencio.

Adirondack won Game Three 6-2 and host the Pioneers again tonight.

Duluth-Superior starter Chris Swiatkiewicz went 8 2/3 strong innings to beat Fargo-Moorhead 4-1 in the series opener. He fanned six, walked one and allowed nine hits. Closer Terry Pearson got the save when he got Raul Rodarte to ground out to short with the bases loaded. Andy Wilson (3-for-5) singled home a run in the ninth for Fargo but that was it.

The Dukes scored a run on a sac fly by Eddie Lantigua and added three more in the sixth on a Tony Mitchell two-run homer and an RBI single by Lantigua.

In Game Two, Central Division rookie of the year Jim Rushford launched a three-run homer immediately after Tony Mitchell hit a solo shot to overcome a 3-1 deficit in the eighth inning.

The Dukes survived a six-run comeback by Fargo to win Game Three 7-6 in 10 innings to complete the sweep. The Dukes lead 1-0 on Anthony Lewis' homer but added five more in the seventh. Steve Serafin had a two-run double and Tony Mitchell hit a two-run homer.

Fargo's comeback was sparked by Kirk Pierce's two-run shot in the seventh and Eddie Rivero's solo job in the eighth. Fargo committed three errors in the game and seven in the series. Duluth committed two in the entire series.

This marked the second time Duluth-Superior has won the (Central Division) championship since the Northern League was reformed in 1993. The Dukes will meet the winner of he East Division series for the league championship. (Last year, the league joined forces with the Northeast League to form a 16-team circuit).

• One reason for the Dukes success is the power hitting attack of Lewis, Mitchell and Rushford. They finished in that order on top the Central Division hitting charts, With Lewis winning the Triple Crown by hitting .365-33-89. Mitchell was right behind him in every category at .352-26-87. Lewis won the Central Division player of the year, Rushford (.329-12-53) won rookie of the year honors and first-year manager Benny Castillo won manager of the year.

• Allentown's Trey Beamon led the league in hitting at .381-5-49, and teammate Scott Samuels hit .352-16-74 to finish third in average. Samuels, who was named the East Division player of the year, was second in homers behind Quebec's David Kennedy (19), but his RBI total led the league. Samuels also ranked first in doubles (29), slugging percentage (.628) and extra-base hits (47). He was second behind Beamon with a .464 on-base percentage. Beamon had a .484 OBP and was fourth with a .526 slugging mark. He was second with 72 runs scored.

• Elmira's Jon Debus was named manager of the year for leading the Pioneers to a 47-38 record and to the championship series in the East against Adirondack.

• Lewis also led the league with a .777 slugging percentage, 70 extra-base hits, 88 runs scored, a .444 on-base percentage, 34 doubles and 123 hits.

• For the first time in league history, the St. Paul Saints did not finish at the top of the attendance charts. Winnipeg, playing its second season at CanWest Global Park, drew 271,513 fans compared to the 266,206 who attended Saints games. Both teams had 42 openings. Winnipeg averaged 6,465 while St. Paul averaged 6,338. Schaumburg was third (215,838), averaging 5,264; Fargo-Moorhead was fourth at 175,898, an average of 4,188. Despite muddling through another losing season, Sioux Falls drew 144,783 to its revamped stadium.

• Despite the population crunch of the northeast, the Northern League cities in the East Division are smaller, for the most part, and don't draw nearly as well as their Midwestern counterparts. Quebec led the way in attendance at 127,303 in 39 openings, an average of 3,264. New Jersey, which plays in Little Falls, had another good year, drawing 119,686, an average of 3,069. Allentown averaged 2,437 while playing in a slightly modified American Legion Stadium downtown. Albany-Colonie averaged 2,227 and Elmira drew 2,010 a night. Adirondack drew 1,268 in the sticks of upstate New York. Waterbury and Catskill will have to be replaced if the current numbers persists. Both franchises drew less than 1,000 a night.

• Schaumburg's Todd Genke led the Central Division in pitching at 5-3, 2.49 with 68 strikeouts, 25 walks and 86 hits allowed in 98 innings.

• Duluth-Superior's Jordan Romero led the league with 123 strikeouts in 128 innings. He issued 42 walks and allowed 11 hits while finishing sixth in the division in ERA at 7-6, 3.45.

• Waterbury righthander Finley Woodward pitched 119 innings this season without giving up a home run but in the first pitch of his post-season, he gave up a long ball to Elmira's Dan Singletary. Woodward, 25, went 9-4, 2.72 with 94 strikeouts and 111 hits allowed. He walked 53 batters.

• Madison's Bob Spangler hit .303-3-11 in 152 at-bats, mostly as a DH this season. What's more impressive is that he wasn't even supposed to be on the team. It was hit first pro season and he may never have joined the Black Wolf if not for a friend. Shortstop Dan Grice was injured and recommended his friend Bob. Grice quickly returned to the lineup but Spangler was impressive enough to stay with the team. He hit safely in 35 of the 37 games in which he appeared, and also strung together a 25-game hitting streak.

• Waterbury's Mike Bertotti finished with the best ERA despite finishing the season in the at Triple-A Columbus. The Yankees signed him in the first week of August and he went 1-1, 4.50 as a spot starter and reliever. He fanned 23, walked eight and allowed 23 hits in 24 innings. For the Spirit, he went 5-7, 1.99 with 86 strikeouts and 53 hits allowed in 81 innings.

• Second to Bertotti was Adirondack's Chad Ward, who went 10-5, 2.44 with 100 strikeouts, 28 walks and 106 hits allowed in 122 innings. Quebec's Luis Ramos finished the year with the best record, 11-3, 2.89 with 82 strikeouts and 85 hits allowed in 106 innings. He walked only 24 batters and had four complete games.

TEXAS-LOUISIANA LEAGUE

The San Angelo Colts had a great inaugural season finishing in second place, seven games behind Amarillo, with a 69-43 record. The Colts, though, never got a shot at the Dillas in the post-season. They lost in the first round Rio Grande Valley.

The WhiteWings, who defeated San Angelo two games to one, beat Amarillo in Game One of the championship series 4-3 but dropped Game Two 4-0 to even the best-of-five series.

In Game One, Rio Grande used a pair of two-run homers. Joey Martinez launched his two-run shot in the eighth and Hector Roa hit his in the sixth.

In Game Two, Amarillo got a dominating performance by staff ace Mike Leach, who shut out the WhiteWings 4-0. Leach fanned seven, walked one and allowed four singles for the complete-game win. He went 16-4, 3.63 during the regular season. Mike Hardge and Shawn Hughes hit solo home runs and Jorge Alvarez belted a two-run shot.

• The Dillas outlasted Ozark in the first round despite dropping the first game 5-4. They won the next two 6-1 and 6-3. Rio Grande Valley beat San Angelo 6-4 in Game One, dropped Game Two 8-7 and won the series with a 7-4 victory.

• The league announced the relocation of the Lafayette Bayou Bullfrogs to Edinburg, Texas, where the team will play in a new stadium. League spokesman Rick Carden said the league had found it difficult to use college facilities, which was the case with Lafayette and previous franchises like Abilene and Lubbock. Edinburg will give Rio Grande Valley company near the Mexican border.

WESTERN LEAGUE

The Chico Heat came on strong to win the final three games of a best-of-five series with Solano to advance to the championship series against Zion.

In the Game One of the title series, Chico beat the Pioneerzz 6-5 on a lazy double down the left field line by Bao-Nhan Vinh in the 11th inning. Vinh's hit scored Shawn Scott, who beat Joe Trippy's through to the plate. Trippy bobbled the ball, allowing Scott to score. There looked to be a play at the plate but the ball skipped away from the catcher.

Zion jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first on a two-run single by Robert Muro and a two-run homer by Tim Belk (3-for-5, two runs, two RBIs). Rod McCall singled home Belk in the third for a 5-0 lead.

After Chico scored a pair of runs in the third, Kevin Clark (2-for-5, two RBIs) drove in two more on a bases-loaded single. Ray Brown scored on a botched pick-off play.

Heat starter Ruben Niebla settled down after giving up five in the first. He went 6 1/3, allowing seven hits and three walks while fanning five. Josh Montgomery shut down Zion for 3 1/2 scoreless innings, striking out four, walking one and allowing one hit. Eric Bennett pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win.

The Heat took a 1-0 lead in the championship series. There's one more game at Chico before the series shifts to St. George, Utah.

•In the divisional series, The Pioneerzz defeated Yuma three games to one. They dropped Game Two 14-5 but rebounded with a pair of impressive wins, 9-4 and 5-1.

Chico lost a pair of close games 1-0 and 5-4 and looked destined to lose the series before coming back to win three straight games. The Heat eked out a 7-6 win in Game Three and won the next two 3-0 and 9-6.

• Chico's Shawn Scott, Bo Durkac and Lance Downing each had two hits and two RBIs, while Brad Gennaro went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs in a 9-6 Game Five win. Gennaro and Scott both hit a pair of homers during the series, including one in the final game of the set. Reece Borges allowed five runs, four earned on nine hits in five innings to get the win. Erik Bennett earned his second save of the playoffs by striking out four, walking none and allowing one earned run on four hits over the remaining four frames.

• Eric Estes fanned four, walked four and allowed four hits in seven scoreless innings to earn a 3-0 win in Game Four. Josh Montgomery struck out two and allowed one hit over the final two innings to earn his only save of the series. Tim Cooper had an RBI sacrifice fly, Ray Brown hit a solo shot and Gennaro also picked up an RBI.

• In Zion's clinching victory against Yuma Mike Smith fanned four, walked none and allowed one earned run on seven hits over eight innings for the 5-1 win. Smith, who went 10-5, 3.13, went 2-0, 2.25 in the series.