Dolphins hope to swim away with another title
Blue Sky Machine hard-pressed for an encore
Manager Isaac Bacarisas (lower right) will need several key players to perform up to potential if the Dolphins hope to defend their title. (Photo - Joseph Ventura)
Six months ago, the Cebu Dolphins captured the Baseball Philippines Series 2 crown in a grueling three-game series against the Manila Sharks. Currently, they are once again in the hunt to capture yet another championship.
After a slow start, the Dolphins have won six of eight heading into the playoffs.
Two months ago, Cebu was in rough sod. They won the first two games of their campaign, but took a quick nosedive, losing by seven runs to the Sharks in a rematch of last season's finals before a crushing 8-6 defeat to the Batangas Bulls.
Since then, the Dolphins have dominated all but the two teams ahead of them, Manila and Batangas, both of whom have swept the Dolphins in Series 3 by a combined score of 15-7 and 22-8 respectively.
"Noong una talaga, kinulang kami sa mga players dahil may mga kinoach silang mga bata," Bacarisas said in tagalog. "Pero nung bumalik naman sila, doon halos tuloy tuloy na din ang panalo namin."
One of the surprise players for Bacarisas' team has been Jeffrey Ardio, who perhaps is one of the main benefectors of the current rule for a pitcher to get a one-game rest after throwing more than six innings in his previous outing.
The southpaw hurler from De La Salle University has been a perfect 3-0 with a 3.50 earned run average and surprisingly has a better record than reigning 2007 Most Valuable Player Joseph Orillana (3-2), one of his coaches with the Green Archers. At the plate, Ardio ranks second on the team with a .462 BA behind catcher Fulgencio Rances.
Rances meanwhile has been the backbone of the Dolphins offense. His consistent hitting and base running have enabled this national team member to rank among the league leaders with a .548 batting average and team-high 16 runs scored, in addition to his hustling play on defense.
While Rances is a mulit-tool player, wide-bodied Miggy Corcuera is notorious for getting the big hits, batting .333 while smacking four home runs to go with 12 rbi on the season. Known as "Big Daddy", Corcuera connected for two home runs in one game against Dumaguete, making him one of only two players in BP to accomplish the multi-homer feat.
As for Orillana, the southpaw has struggled all season long as opponents have found ways to defuse him. His 5.26 earned run average is a huge difference from his 4-1 win-loss record and miniscule 1.19 ERA in Series 2. Despite that, his offense has remained steady, batting .429 while appearing as an outfielder or first baseman during games which he does not pitch.
Other contributors include Emerson Atilano, who has hit at a .367 clip while driving in ten runs, newly-acquired infielder Jonard Pareja (.231 BA), national team centerfielder Jonash Ponce (.310 BA, 14 runs scored, 7 rbi), the 42-year old Joel Binarao, who after blasting the league's only grand slam home run, has still some sock, and movie star Richard Gomez whose stint in Series 2 is now an afterthought (.400 BA, 8 runs scored).
While their record speaks for itself, the Dolphins' dismal showing against Manila and Batangas will be the focal point if Cebu is going for an encore.
"Maganda pinapakita ng Taguig sa ngayon, tapos ang Batangas naman malakas din ang lineup nila, lalo na't nadagdag pa si Justin Zialcita sa kanila," Bacarisas said on the two other teams most likely to challenge the Sharks for the Series 3 title.
Unlike last year, where the competition was not as stiff and with their pitching being suspect, it appears that the Dolphins have a difficult task ahead of them in order to repeat as champions.