2011 REGULAR SEASON SIM 19 Complete - Next SIM Sun 05/10

[Matt]

...and my wife wonders why I drink...

You're 3-10 this month. If you go 3-12 the final 15 games of August you'll still have more wins than my June!

[umd]

67-51 1st in the Stout
Last Week: 6-1
3-1 @ MOR and 3-0 vs WAS

The Good:

A 6-1 week with a sweep of WAS gets us back to an 8 game lead in the Stout. We've been strangely up and down alternating strong months (34-18 in April and June) and weak months (25-28 in May and July) which is frustrating. We sit at 8-5 this month.

Our rotation continues to be terrific with Brummett (2.14), Pulido (3.42), Clarke (2.74), English (3.44), Bell (3.42), and Honea (3.53) all looking like reliable top half of the rotation starters. Pulido and Clarke are two of my favorite pitchers I've ever had. Getting Pulido at 2.1 because of his arm injuries in 2004 was a major coup and Clarke being there at 2.2 in 2007 is also looking like a steal. My scout has always seen him as a #4 type, but I think his ceiling has always been pretty high with great velocity and 4 plus pitches.

Something has got to give with this rotation in the offseason - most likely it'll be Robby English headed elsewhere. Hopefully we can use him to reload our picks and minor league system. If I can broker a similar deal to sending Lindsey to PHI, it could provide us with some more assets for the future. That PHI deal landed us two very good cornerstones in Honea and Nara (.268/.343/.469 with 13 HR, 53 RBI, 64 R, a 22.8 VORP and 2.2 WAR) for the future.

Our bullpen continues to pitch better and gets stronger with Bell's return. Bryant (1.17) has been terrific in his LS role, Marrujo (3.79) has emerged as the perfect low maintenance MR and a late inning menu of Bell (3.42)-Melgoza (2.85)-Gruell (1.99)-Manning (2.47) is one of the best in the league and championship caliber. Even CJ Goodhart has decided to play, lowering his ERA from 10+ to under 5.00.

The Bad:

Prior to moving Tom Bell back to the bullpen, we had lost 9 of his starts in a row. He still sees himself as a SU/CL, so he wasn't upset with his transition to the bullpen.

Sid Bourne got shelled in his 1st start - 9 ER on 3 HRs and 4 BBs in 3.0 IP. We'll trot him out first this week vs HAR and hope for some better results. He should be fine and there's little pressure on him. I expect him to emerge as a #3 starter type but he can pitch at the back of the rotation for at least 4 more seasons in this rotation.

Two of our best offensive players have been out in Cole and Garza. Until they return, our offense is in a bit of a funk. Garza has been excellent and I'm glad I got no serious offers for him and just held onto him.

Dave Perkins has been underwhelming, but he's been in a heavy rotation because of injuries. I'd expect him to play better once we can find a way to clear our glut of OFs. Or, I may just move him in the offseason.

This offseason it is looking more and more like I'll be moving on from English and RJ Manning. Add in possibly moving Perkins, and it should be interesting for us next year.

On the Farm:

Tristan Jackson's stats look good 2-3, 3.27. However, his ratings will have a long way to climb at just 19 as evidenced by that 52-25 K:BB ratio. He reminds me a lot of a cross between Stinger (all the pitches) and Brendan Lindsey (Plus Stuff and Movement, average control) which is why I took him at #1. With our present and future rotation, we won't rush him at all.

This week - 3 vs HAR and then 3 at MAI.

[Pat]

Has Sonny Marshburn ever played for a winner?

He deserves better.

[umd]

Has Sonny Marshburn ever played for a winner?

He deserves better.

He won in Dallas with Jim.

[Delandis]

He won in Dallas with Jim.

He was pretty successful early on with California.