Bob Graber can't complain to the manager

By Gary R. Blockus
Of The Morning Call


Bob Graber's got no one to complain to if he doesn't see his name penciled into the starting lineup.

The 23-year old pitcher/third baseman, a former Kutztown University baseball player, can't go off and complain to the manager - he is the manager.

Graber is in his first year managing Upper Perkiomen's Tri-County League team, and if experts will tell you a youngster doesn't really know how to manage, Graber will be more than happy to give them a look-see at what they are missing.

Graber has piloted his crew, one of the younger teams in the traditionally competitive Tri-County league, to a 18-4 record as of last Wednesday. Upper Perk had a game lead over rival Gilbertsville after a bitter 4-2 loss two weeks ago, with the rest of the division lagging far behind.

"It kind of got handed down to me," Graber explained of his managerial duties. "Bill Sullivan, the previous manager, left for the fact that he was just moving on with life. He didn't want to get out of baseball, but he didn't want to be tied down either."

Last year, Upper Perk ended up tied for first place in their division, but lost a possible spot in the league playoffs after losing a special one-game divisional playoff to Gilbertsville.

"Our pitching has been our No. 1 strength," Graber offered of his team's splendid success thus far. "We've got a fine staff, all right-handers."

Craig Kriebel comes on as the ace of the staff. The mound wizard has a 7-0 record with a mighty tough ERA of just 1.2. He has also registered 56 strikeouts in 41 innings, and mixes a sharp assortment of curves with his fastball to keep opposing batters off-balance. Kriebel is also 23-years-old.

He has tossed three one-hitters in a row and had a streak of 28 scoreless innings.

Tim Fox, a 20-year-old, boasts a fine 5-3 record, while Perry Sweatt, the grandfather of the staff (actually, he's in his mid-20's), is 3-0. Graber is carrying a 2-1 record and Todd Swenk is 1-0.

"Actually," Graber declared, "we've got five capable starters. The team ERA is under 2 at something like 1.98."

While Graber points to the mound staff as the key, the team's offense hasn't been hiding from the headlines, either. Despite a lack of real power hitting (no one's got more than three home runs), the team really knows how to slap the ball around.

"Everybody has really done a good job, and from my standpoint, it's really been easy," Graber noted. "We've been averaging around eight runs a game."

The top hitter on the club is Swenk, who is also one of the team's best outfielders. Swenk is batting a very impressive .404 while Tom Cichocki, a legion player who shares duties at third, is next, hitting .385.

Pett Hoff, the team's shortstop, has a hefty .381 average and Graber is clicking with a fine .373 performance. Part-timer Jim Stratton, who plays in the outfield, has a .417 average, but that is with a minimum number of plate appearances.

Graber noted that the team's lineup is hardly ever the same, but detailed some of Upper Perk's depth. Joe Ricapito is at first, and is backed up by the squad's only out-of-area player, Keith Leamer (he's from Quakertown).

Curt Hitchens is at second, followed by Biz Keeny, and Hoff is at short. Graber shares time at third with Cichocki (when Tom's not playing legion ball) and Jon Yeakel is behind the plate, along with another legion player, Mike Svanson.

The outfield consists of Glen Mensch, Swenk, Jim Stratton, Kevin Stahl, Greg Saylor, Kurt Werkheiser and Lon McFarland.

Designated hitter Mike Buck is a pretty instrumental part of the team and Matt Duka, yet another legion player, has shown up from time to time to also contribute.

"As a whole, everybody has contributed," offered Graber. "The pressure has never been on just one person. Everyone has come up with their own big hits.

The squad varies in age from the 17-year-old legion players to Mensch, who is around the 30-mark. "I'd say it's a fairly young team," Graber concluded.

"It's hard to find many things wrong when you're 18-4 and play consistently all year long," the young manager observed.

And for Graber, this is one case where the old baseball axiom is certainly true. If he's not penciled into the lineup, it's his own fault.



  

From The Morning Call -- July 25, 1985

Copyright © 1985, The Morning Call