The Everett AquaSox just completed a dominating Northwest League season. They finished with easily the best record in the league, and they set a new record for wins since the team affiliated with the Seattle Mariners 16 years ago. The Sox should be the heavy favorites to give Everett just its second championship trophy since joining the league in 1984.
But there’s one question hanging over the heads of the Sox. Is there enough of the team left to turn that championship dream into a reality?
Everett begins its quest for its first title since 1985 when the Sox face the Vancouver Canadians today in the first game of their best-of-three divisional playoff series.
But the Sox are not the same team that ripped through the first half of the season. A bevy of player promotions mean that in some ways Everett is a shell of what it was during its peak.
“It’s part of the business, guys get shipped through,” Sox outfielder Kevin Rivers said. “The guys we have now, that’s our team. We’re going to roll through with them. We’re going to keep playing hard and hopefully we’ll come through with a big series win.”
Everett was lights out during the first half. The Sox compiled a 27-11 record, finishing a whopping 10 games ahead of Vancouver and Salem-Keizer in the West Division race. Everett clinched the first-half title, and thus a playoff berth, with more than a week remaining in the first-half schedule.
But the Sox may have been a victim of their own success. Shortly after the first half ended a steady stream of players matriculated from Everett to Clinton of the mid single-A Midwest League, which is one step above the Northwest League.
And the Sox were not able to maintain their pace during the second half. Everett still had a solid second half, but the Sox finished behind Vancouver in the division.
So it can be argued that the Canadians hold the momentum. Yet Sox manager Jose Moreno is undeterred.
“We’ve been playing a solid season all year round,” Moreno said. “The players are getting excited about playing Vancouver. It’s a short series that could go either way, but we’re ready. We’re focused and we just have to make sure we don’t try to do too much, just play the game and have fun.”
Nowhere was Everett’s player drain felt more strongly than with the pitching staff. A total of eight pitchers who played key roles on Everett’s staff have moved on. That included solid starters Tom Wilhelmsen and Yoervis Medina, as well as bullpen dominators Forrest Snow and Stephen Pryor.
And the hits kept coming right up to the end of the season. Converted infielder Ogui Diaz was just beginning to excel after altering his delivery to throw sidearm. So naturally he was called up to Clinton last week, after being expected to play an important role in Everett’s bullpen during the playoffs.
The Sox have seen those pitcher numbers replenished, either by players demoted from higher levels or promoted from rookie ball. However, none of the newcomers have performed as well as the pitchers they replaced.
“We lost a bunch of guys who helped us out a lot, but at the same time we’ve got guys in who helped us out since they left,” said Sox starter Chris Sorce, who’s scheduled to start the if-necessary Game 3. “I’ve been here the whole year and my start I’m going to pitch my butt off, put the game on my shoulders.”
The good news for Everett is that the offense remains largely intact. The only position players who were promoted were third baseman Mickey Wiswall and outfielder Ryan Royster. Neither player began the season with the team, and the Sox had sufficient depth to deal with both their departures.
And the big bats are still here. The power-hitting pair of Rivers and third baseman Kevin Mailloux gives Everett a potent middle of the lineup. Second baseman Terry Serrano and outfielder Robbie Anston are pesky hitters who are quality table setters at the top of the lineup.
All of which is crucial for Everett as, given the lack of proven depth on the pitching staff, the offense is going to have to carry the Sox.
“One through nine, even the guys on the bench, they always come up with good approaches,” Rivers said. “We’re coming up with hits in the right situations. Even if the lineup is shuffled up we’re not losing any power.
“We’ve just got to keep playing with what we have,” Rivers concluded. “You can’t control who leaves, who stays, you just have to play hard.”
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