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And suddenly, the Sin City Gamblers have the lowest magic number in the DL.
Aside from a 9-0 whitewashing by Dallas, the league's best pitching staff gave up 7 runs in the other 5 games, all victories. Seika Sumita continues to impress, winning his third straight start to begin his big league career while holding Hartford to one run on five hits through 7.1 IP while striking out eight.
We also claimed Joe Iliquez and Manny Banuelos off waivers this week, from Pittsburgh and Baltimore respectively. Iliquez in particular is expected to fill what has been a gaping void in our OF since the beginning of the season. Following our 5-1 week and the acquisition of Iliquez, fan interest is surging as the All Star Game comes to town. High times in Vegas....
SIN CITY GAMBLERSsince 1990 NEW ORLEANS DUKESsince 1993
1998 BLB Champions
2000 BLB Champions
Our starting pitching is so atrocious it's obscene. The curse of being a SP for the Muckdogs continues. Have we ever even had a guy finish over .500? And if you have talent be prepared to lose it...yes Sasaki and Stephens I'm looking at you.
We could easily be a decent team if we didn't give up 4 runs before the 4th every single game. Last year we couldn't hit, this year we can't pitch. Unbelievable.
Baltimore Bulldogs (41-29; 7 GB-Porter, 2 GB-WC)
2-1 vs. CHI
2-1 vs. DAV
4-2 sim and we still fall two more games behind Philadelphia? I can only hope that Philly slows down in the 2nd half of the season like last year to give us a chance to catch up. However, looking at how they are playing, its not likely to happen. Our best bet will probably to keep an eye on a potential wildcard position.
The Week in Review
- It looks the Jack Dynes trade may have lit a fire under the asses of every infielder, especially Ivan Garcia. After not doing anything for the first three months, Garcia had his first impressive week going 7/17 with 9 walks. Earlier in the season, I noticed that Garcia was swinging a lot more often on 3-0/3-1 pitches. With 9 walks, he obviously was letting those 4th balls go by this week.
- To date, Tim Nathan is probably my all-time favorite Bulldog. I love the fact that he doesn't have half the stuff that he had just 6 or 7 years ago (let alone in his 20's), but is still a dominanting pitcher. Batters seem to get the bat on the ball, but never seem to be able to make good contact. As my scout says, "Nathan just knows how to win."
- I just noticed that, according to my scout, Lonnie Grady isn't finished with his maturation as a big league pitcher. It looks like his changup has the potential to get better. I'm loving this kid as a Bulldog in a revamped Phillips Field over the next few years.
Other News - I really wish Noah George would decrease his contract extension demands. He's a great 2nd baseman, a great leader, and we'll lose a lot of offense if he leaves.
- We say good-bye to (OF) Manny Banuelos, who was picked up from the waiver wire by Sin City. Banuelos was projected to be a replacement for Takanibu Sato this year, but things just didn't work out as planned. After being relegated back to the minors, Manny began to pout and play terribly. That is unacceptable in our organization. We wish him luck with the Sin City organization.
-The Carter Griffin (RP) Experiment is over. Both he and Romano Gonzalez (RP) haven't worked out as I had hoped. However, at least Gonzalez has outings where he has good stuff and can sit a few batters down. Griffin seems to come in and always give up a few hits, walks or runs. The Bulldogs' 1989 Minor League Player of the Year, Shawn Catron, will be called back up to replace Griffin on the roster.
The Injured NONE (fingers crossed )
Next
We finish out Bock tour with a six game road trip against struggling Bock memebers, Carolina and Los Alamos. We've played well against both teams earlier in the season, and I can only hope for more of the same.
Prediction:
2-1 @ CAR
2-1 @ LOS
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