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[05.06.03] Written by: Bob Pinter

Streaks: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Even though it's too early to crown a champion in the PWFBL season, the season is about a third over and some of the trends that defined it early on have started to change...with one exception. The Wisconsin Wannabes extended their season-opening winning streak to five games with a win over the Rocko Leopards. While this certainly isn't Sue's most convincing victory, she did crack the 300-point barrier...proving that it's not a fluke. How do the Wannabes do it? For the most part, they have guys who can be counted on to deliver...and they do. Alex Rodriguez is right where you'd expect him to be, and the pitching corps of Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, and Urbina are posting the numbers that made them high draft picks to begin with. And while Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza, and Luis Gonzalez are still waiting to break out, draft-day gambles like Kevin Brown and free-agent gambles like Carl Everett have begun to show flashes of their old selves. Seattle Skunks (in their throwback uniforms) celebrate their first win of the season at the hands of Hummels Wharf. Let's move on to the Bad: After jumping out to a 3-0 start, the Hummels Wharf Braves have dropped their last two. While the loss to Wisconsin may have been expected given their performance so far, the Week 5 loss to Seattle points out some glaring weaknesses in the Braves' lineup. It starts on the mound, where after Mark Prior, Barry Zito, and Mike Mussina, things drop off. Wade Miller picked up his first win on Monday and Roy Oswalt has been Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. GM Bob will try to offset the starters' woes by playing Billy Koch and Keith Foulke every day, giving him five relievers and more chances to pick up points. Meanwhile, the Braves' balanced offense has been anything but. Pat Burrell and Adam Dunn have been missing more than they've been connecting with the ball, and they're among the league leaders in strikeouts. Alfonso Soriano, Barry Bonds, and Jeff Bagwell haven't been able to pick up the slack by themselves, though, and the Braves' pure hitters like Ichiro Suzuki and Jimmy Rollins haven't been able to get on base. That's what led to the Ugly in Week 5...or, at least, the end of it. Hummels Wharf lost to Seattle, giving the Skunks their first win and dropping the Braves into a tie with Michigan in the Mars Division. While the Skunks' move to drop Miguel Tejada was less than brilliant, other players who had struggled to start the season are finally beginning to come around. It's hard to believe that a team with Pedro Martinez, Juan Gonzalez, Bartolo Colon, Roger Clemens, and Carlos Delgado is 1-4, but it seems as if everyone is beginning to gel at just the right time.

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Last Updated: May 6, 2003