Italian Weekly: Unexpected Sweeps on second Weekend of IBL
by Riccardo Schiroli
Everybody could have previewed the 3 wins Telemarket Rimini got against Rangers Redipuglia and the 3 wins T&A San Marino celebrated against De Angelis Godo, but the other 2 sweeps of the second week end in the Italian Baseball League are a different story.
Montepaschi Grosseto won 3 in Nettuno against Danesi, the team that is supposed to be their strongest competitor for the Pennant. What happens to Danesi is that their stars are not performing as they are supposed to. Menechino is hitting only .210 and Carrara has allowed 18 hits in less than 12 innings. Sure, we are at the beginning of the season and some players (especially Latin American imports) may not be familiar with the weather, especially during night games. Nothing of the sort is happening to Grosseto, though. Montepaschi has the best hitting team (over .300 average) and the best pitching staff (1.17 ERA as a team).
Next week Grosseto will host San Marino in a series that will reveal a lot about both teams. Nettuno will travel to Rimini to face a squad that has been difficult to judge so far. Rimini has played horrible baseball in the first weekend against Parma and has swept Redipuglia, a team that is hitting only .180 and was not a test for Rimini’s pitching.
As said, Cariparma was off a good start but came back as a disappointment from the series against Bologna. The Parmesans are really struggling with their defense (15 errors in 6 games are a league high) and are not hitting (.220 as a team). Defense and offense are offering no support to a pitching staff that has its problems. Ace Javier Ortiz is not available (he may pitch against Nettuno in a couple of weeks), Stefano Bazzarini has just come back from an injury and Venezuelan import Romero is really not impressing. Parma needs badly to win 3 against Redipuglia next weekend.
Italeri on the contrary has impressed. Solid starting pitchers (the well known Matos, Cillo and Betto) and timely hitting, with new import Richard Austin connecting for a couple of homers, even a grand slam on Sunday. All this, combined with a pretty good defense, gives us a competitor.
