2011 REGULAR SEASON SIM 18 Complete - Next SIM Fri 05/08

[Pat]

Tank? I think our record is better after the trades then before.

Tank is the wrong word, you are right. I just wish I would have found buyers for my older players on the trade block. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful.

[Z]

That sounds like a pretty big cleanup.

It is. Better get Ron Wessel a mop and a big bucket. He's gonna start earning that salary!

[Pat]

It is. Better get Ron Wessel a mop and a big bucket. He's gonna start earning that salary!

[BDub]

It is. Better get Ron Wessel a mop and a big bucket. He's gonna start earning that salary!

He doesn't deserve the mop. All he gets is the bucket and a toothbrush.

[Pat]

He doesn't deserve the mop. All he gets is the bucket and a toothbrush.

"Come watch Ron Wessel, 7th All-Time second basemen hits leader and six time All-Star, clean up shit!"

[Z]

"Come watch Ron Wessel, 7th All-Time second basemen hits leader and six time All-Star, clean up shit!"

It is a better sales pitch than "Hartford Whalers Baseball! Sure, our entire team has fewer home runs than T.J. Dunn and Fujiya Yamamoto combined, but who's counting?"

[Delandis]

"Come watch Ron Wessel, 7th All-Time second basemen hits leader and six time All-Star, clean up shit!"

[Delandis]

2 more injuries.

This time to Oscar Sanchez (OF) and Alex Herrera(MR). Both playing well of course. But hey, we went 4-2 so I guess I shouldn't complain.

[Delandis]

(59-53; 2nd in Porter, 9 GB)

The Week
4-2? I'll take it. As I said last week we needed to continue to battle against the upper crust and win the one we can. This week we did just that losing 2 of 3 against Carolina (with one of the losses by just one run in extra innings) and sweeping Los Alamos.

The Good: Abraham Santana and Tara Tanaka (yes that Tanaka) were monsters this past week. The two combined to go 16/37 (.432) with 7 home runs, 17 RBI and 8 walks. If our #4 and #5 hitters always swing the bat like that, we are going to be in good shape.

Also, Todd Taylor picked up 2 more wins this week. The man was filthy, putting in 16 innings of work with 17 K and just 1 BB. It doesn't look like it if you just look at his ERA and raw numbers on the surface, but he is having a Pale Ale type of year.

The Bad: Just as we are ready to celebrate Santana's return from a 6 week stay on the DL, Oscar Sanchez goes down for a couple of weeks with some inflammation in his knee. We were also glad to see Danny Ybarra come back. Ybarra was placed on the DL as a precautionary measure, luckily his injury seemed to just be a bit of soreness in his hamstring. But his return also didn't come without a price as 26 year old reliever (and last of the Rule V draftees) takes his place on the DL with a tired arm. Just not our year for injuries.

Other News: We re-signed 40 year old future HOF, Al Hamilton, to a 868K contract. After the Terumoto Chiba injury, we reached out to his agent and were told he'd accept an near minimum contract. He played well with limited PT in Maine last year and if there is anything left in the tank, playing in Baltimore will only help him succeed at his age. He'll probably just pinch hit off the bench for us and hopefully give us an offensive spark over the final stretch.

Next Week: Away games at California and Philly and this will be a big week for us. We've got to get something going against California if we plan to stay in the hunt for that final wildcard spot.

[BDub]

It is a better sales pitch than "Hartford Whalers Baseball! Sure, our entire team has fewer home runs than T.J. Dunn and Fujiya Yamamoto combined, but who's counting?"

Embarrassing

[Pat]

I've been offering Hamilton a minor league deal about twice a month since the off-season. I have no budget room otherwise I would have given him a look for less than $1M.

It's a good story. If he leads you to Wild Card #2....

[Z]

Rooting for Al Hamilton in Baltimore. He'll still draw walks.

[Pat]

Rooting for Al Hamilton in Baltimore. He'll still draw walks.

I love it when legends return to where it all started. I won't be surprised at all if Hamilton has a return to form...

#parkfactors

[Z]

I love it when legends return to where it all started. I won't be surprised at all if Hamilton has a return to form...

#parkfactors

My all-time favorite is the Tino Suarez/Kyoden Kubota one-hit shutout goodbye.

[Matt]

Hamilton started in Batavia! I should have brought him back.