Baseball

Players experiencing playoff chase

Guy Cipriano

They couldn't stomach looking at standings, nor did they want to.

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Their team struggled so much that they ended the season trailing the division winner by 18 games, an unfathomable feat considering it takes less than three months to complete a New York-Penn League season.

Forget the one-day-at-a-time mantra.

Some State College Spikes spent last August looking forward to Sept. 6, the day the misery finally would conclude.

Now that it’s mid-August and the NY-PL playoff scenarios can be dissected, last year’s debacle has entered a sealed bin.

The Spikes are in a playoff chase. We’re not kidding. Really. Losses such as Friday’s 5-3 setback at Vermont sting. Victories such as Thursday’s 10-2 triumph over Oneonta bring the team closer to its goal.

“It’s definitely a lot better than being so many games below .500 and just playing for stats,” said right fielder David Rubinstein, a second-year Spike. “Now that we have a goal in mind and we’re in the chase for the playoffs, it makes us more aggressive. It’s definitely a good feeling.”

For the record, last year’s Spikes finished 38 games below .500. But who’s counting now?

Players, coaches, fans and team executives are wondering whether manager Gary Robinson can coax enough victories out of this year’s team to make late-August and September the most intriguing period in team history.

Even the Pittsburgh Pirates, the team’s parent club, appear enthralled by this year’s turnaround.

“It’s obviously encouraging,” director of player development Kyle Stark said Friday evening. “It’s one of those things where we tried to say it was going to be better and it’s understandable that people wanted to see it. Last year was the perfect storm, with what was already there and how aggressive we were with the draft. The overall mentality that the team can win on any given night has solidified.” The details:

The Spikes have won 28 games. They have lost 27.

They trail Staten Island by 41/ 2 games in the race for the league’s lone wildcard

spot. Williamsport and Oneonta rest between the Spikes and State Island. The regular season ends Sept. 6 at Mahoning Valley, a team the Spikes trail by six games in the Pinckney Division standings.

The Spikes play 21 more games. The schedule includes six against Williamsport, three against McNamara Division- leading Brooklyn and two at Mahoning Valley. They also play two more at Vermont, five at Batavia and three at Jamestown, teams with losing records. Only six games — Aug. 19- 21 vs. Brooklyn and Aug. 28-30 vs. Williamsport — are at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

“We are definitely aware of where we are,” third baseman/outfielder Pat Irvine said. “We are just glad to be in position to be in the hunt for the wildcard. If we get real hot, I think we can make a run at the division. Right now we’re just focused on making a postseason run.”

Before getting carried away with playoff chatter, some essentials must be mentioned.

The Spikes entered Friday hitting a league-worst .227, so unless something drastic changes a horribly-timed slump is plausible.

A stable roster also could change. The Pirates’ entry in the rookie Gulf Coast League finishes its season Aug. 31, which means some new players could make their way north for the final week.

“You want to reward guys for getting to a specific spot and keep those guys together,” Stark said. “On the flip side, if you can add something to help a team, you want to do that as well. There might be some guys in the GCL looking to play under the lights. We might want them to get a week of exposure in a new league and maybe a chance to play in the postseason.”

Stark and his staff face one of the most difficult jobs in baseball. They must juggle the Pirates’ developmental needs with an affiliate’s competitive desires.

Daunting? Sure.

But it’s better than handling last year’s problems.

“Whenever you play for something, it makes it more fun,” pitcher Tyler Cox said. “It makes it more competitive and it makes your everyday work ethic that much better knowing you’re only a few games out of a wildcard.”

Guy Cipriano covers the State College Spikes for the Centre Daily Times. He can be reached at 231-4643 or gciprian@centredaily.com.