Local Brews
We got off to our typical slow start again this year, posting a 10-9 record in the abbreviated schedule for April. A 5-2 final week pushed the club’s record above .500 and has us 1 GB in the Porter race. It’s a long, long season and many unforeseen things will happen between now and the end of the season.
Our starting staff has the best ERA in the league despite shipping off two of our top starters in offseason deals. Obviously it’s a small sample size, but the early returns are promising from a starting staff that houses 4 new members (6 man rotation, holdovers from last season Ben Irving and Joe Arredondo). The bullpen has been a bit of an up-and-down affair, but I think it will settle itself down over time. Newly acquired RP Chad Mullen has grabbed the CL role for the moment (as we wanted him to do) and has converted 6 of 7 save opportunities. We expect some rough spots with him this year, but will give him every opportunity to hold down that job for the year (and foreseeable future).
Our offense seems to take the month of April off every year. I think it’s the cold weather. We look forward to getting things heated up soon. We are dead last in the IL in AVG, SLG, OPS, RS and Hits. So, with all that factored in we are certainly happy with our position in the standings and look forward to a long, close race in the division/wild card.
A couple of player highlights from the month of April:
3B Jim Newlin - Picking up right where he left off last season, Jim Newlin was a consistent presence in the lineup for the first month of the season. He sprayed the ball all over the place to the tune of a .333 | .417 | .508 | .925 line including 4 doubles, 2 triples and a HR. His 21 hits and 32 total bases are both club high water marks for the first month.
SS Geoff Scott - Recently promoted to the Top Players List (#6 on your program), Scott did what he does best: get on base, draw walks, drive in runs and score runs. He is easily the best player on the team. He produced a line of .290 | .430 | .500 | .930 including 6 doubles, 2 triples and a HR. He drove in a team high 13 RBI and scored a team high 10 runs.
SP Joe Arredondo - Leads the league in ERA at 0.31. Won 3 out of his 4 starts, losing only his 1st start of the season despite only allowing 1 ER in that game. He produced a quality start in each of his 4 outings and earned his first ever Pitcher of the Month award for his efforts. He’s allowed only 17 hits in 28 2/3 IP and only 1 ER, a solo home run.
Micro Brews
OF Pat Gibson -He would be on the big league squad right now had we not signed Campo the first week of the season. We have a crowded OF right now, but we may try to find a way to get him some action soon. With the fragile Bing (already on the DL) and Campo (just suffered a minor injury) patrolling the outfield, I’m sure he’ll get an opportunity soon. He certainly didn’t take his post Spring Training AAA assignment as an insult, instead treating it as a challenge to prove himself to his new organization. He’s certainly making us take notice: .377 | .543 | .536 | 1.079 with 16 RBI, 15 runs, an astounding 22 BB to only 9 K. He also threw in 6 stolen bases in 8 attempts. Not bad for his first month in AAA baseball.
SP Gene Meadows - An 11th round pick from all the way back in 1982. He’s 26 years old and a bit of a AAAA type starting pitcher. He sports a ridiculous 79% groundball to flyball ratio through the first month (and 71% for all of last year). He’s on the verge of getting a call-up to pitch out of the big league bullpen. We don’t need him in the rotation, but we have a pitcher at the big league level that is on the verge of losing his opportunity. For the month Meadows posted a pitching line of: 3 - 1 | 2.22 ERA | 28.1 IP | 21 HA | 7 ER | 21 K | 7 BB | 0.99 WHIP.
These Pretzels Are Making Me Thirsty!!
A “quick hit” look at goings on around the league in the fifth month:
- PIT SP Curt Goodwin pitched an unexpected no-hitter @ Denver on 04/22. The 23 year old youngster struck out 4 and walked three. It was the 7th CG of his brief career.
- Maine OF Don McGuire cranked 3 HR’s two days later against Pawtucket in a day for the record books. 4 for 7, 3 HR, 8 RBI and 4 runs scored.
- McGuire’s day for the record books turned into a week for the record books two days later when he hit for the cycle against those same Patriots. It will be a while before the Pawtucket faithful forget his efforts against their team.
- Pawtucket just can’t catch a break. Their ownership situation is in flux. Their day to day operations have been taken over by the league office and their pitching staff is allowing historic achievements at an alarming rate. PIT 2B Teodor Leal racked up 6 hits against the Patriots staff, meaning in the span of a week the Patriots gave up a 3HR game, a cycle and a 6 hit game. That has never been achieved (if that’s is the proper term) by any team in league history.
- Newly signed Freedom OF Cesaro Campoveroe scored the 1,000th run of his career on 04/17. He celebrated by hurting his arm about a week later.
- DEN 3B Pedro Zamarida crossed the same milestone off his list of career accomplishments by scoring his 1,000th run in a game a day later. At the age of 31, Zamarida has a real chance to accumulate some eye-popping numbers by the time he hangs up his spikes.
-Have’s and Have Nots - No-Hitters: - updated with Goodwin’s no-hitter
With:
California - 2 ( Berru and Toapanta)
Carolina - 1 (Issam Ghaniy)
Denver - 1 (Romano Gonzalez)
Hyuandai - 2 (Tommy Drewery and Erasmo Rubancava (PG))
Indianaoplis - 1 (Bill Fyson)
Los Lunas - 1 (Alonzo Gugierrez)
Maine - 1 (Gil O’Moore)
Pawtucket - 1 (Joe Ponte)
Pittsburgh - 2 (Tommy Lang and Curt Goodwin)
Syracuse - 1 (Joe Soto)
Virginia -1 (Eric Cafferty)
Washington - 3 (Joe Santoyo, Joe Chavarraga and Charlie O’Rogan)
Windy City - 2 (Dunmore Theodore (PG) and Jim Fletcher)
Without:
Baltimore
Batavia
Dallas
Davenport
Hartford
Los Alamos
Mississippi
Morgantown
Philadelphia
Sin City
Wilmington
-IL Pitcher of the Month - PHI SP Joe Arredondo
-IL Batter of the Month - WIL 1B Dani Alveraz
-IL Rookie of the Month - BAL OF Loren Wallace
-DL Pitcher of the Month - DAL SP Denver Brode
-DL Batter of the Month - MAI OF Don McGure
-DL Rookie of the Month - Sin City OF Pancho Perez
Broken Taps
- Sin City suffered a big blow on Opening Day when SP Billy Noke was lost for the year with a torn rotator cuff.
- Denver lost young OF Fernando Pargas for 5 weeks with a partially torn labrum on 04/11.
- Davenport’s OF was a bit thinner after their game on 04/12 after Scott Neville was lost for 3 weeks with a strained hammy.
- Denver’s lineup lost another piece on 04/12 after losing young SS Kip Higgins to a strained quad. He missed two weeks with the injury.
- Clowns’ DH Sergio Lumar missed the month of April with a strained Lat suffered 04/13.
- Los Lunas lost young up-and-coming RP Jody Griffin for essentially the whole year after doctors discovered a partially torn UCL.
- Dallas lost perennial All-Star OF Jose Guzman for 4 weeks to a strained oblique on 04/16
- They lost OF Tim O’Fay in the same game for 2 weeks with a bruised knee
- Hyundai saw 2B Neil Hildebrand suffer a separated shoulder in a collision at a base on 04/18. The injury was expected to sideline the 2B for 4 weeks.
- Virginia OF Mel Woodbury bruised his foot in an awkward defensive play on 04/19. He was expected to miss two weeks, but suffered a couple of setbacks in his recovery and will miss an additional week.
- BLB old-timer and lifetime Whaler Marv Snyder was expected to miss about a month after breaking a foot on 04/19
- Batavia 2B Juan Nava suffered a terrible injury while making a defensive play, fracturing a bone in his elbow. The young IF will miss at least 4 months with the injury.
- SYR OF Greg Josey fractured a shoulder blade and is expected to miss 4 weeks on 04/22.
- California OF Jose Compres suffered a sprained wrist while attempting to catch a ball on 04/24 and is expected to miss 4 weeks
- Davenport lost the services of young 2B Len John for 3-4 months to a torn calf muscle on 04/25
- The Baltimore rotation lost a key member for about 2 months when SP Tommy Lang left his start on 04/26 with a sore shoulder.
- Two Catchers with ties to the Playboys’ organization suffered injuries on the same day (04/27). Former Windy City property (now with Philly) Tex McLerlan was lost for about a month with an oblique strain. Current Playboys’ standout C Cliff Burgett suffered a much more serious injury that could have long term implications when a torn rotator cuff was diagnosed after Burgett complained about shoulder soreness. He’s expected to miss 4-5 months.
LINK
We got off to our typical slow start again this year, posting a 10-9 record in the abbreviated schedule for April. A 5-2 final week pushed the club’s record above .500 and has us 1 GB in the Porter race. It’s a long, long season and many unforeseen things will happen between now and the end of the season.
Our starting staff has the best ERA in the league despite shipping off two of our top starters in offseason deals. Obviously it’s a small sample size, but the early returns are promising from a starting staff that houses 4 new members (6 man rotation, holdovers from last season Ben Irving and Joe Arredondo). The bullpen has been a bit of an up-and-down affair, but I think it will settle itself down over time. Newly acquired RP Chad Mullen has grabbed the CL role for the moment (as we wanted him to do) and has converted 6 of 7 save opportunities. We expect some rough spots with him this year, but will give him every opportunity to hold down that job for the year (and foreseeable future).
Our offense seems to take the month of April off every year. I think it’s the cold weather. We look forward to getting things heated up soon. We are dead last in the IL in AVG, SLG, OPS, RS and Hits. So, with all that factored in we are certainly happy with our position in the standings and look forward to a long, close race in the division/wild card.
A couple of player highlights from the month of April:
3B Jim Newlin - Picking up right where he left off last season, Jim Newlin was a consistent presence in the lineup for the first month of the season. He sprayed the ball all over the place to the tune of a .333 | .417 | .508 | .925 line including 4 doubles, 2 triples and a HR. His 21 hits and 32 total bases are both club high water marks for the first month.
SS Geoff Scott - Recently promoted to the Top Players List (#6 on your program), Scott did what he does best: get on base, draw walks, drive in runs and score runs. He is easily the best player on the team. He produced a line of .290 | .430 | .500 | .930 including 6 doubles, 2 triples and a HR. He drove in a team high 13 RBI and scored a team high 10 runs.
SP Joe Arredondo - Leads the league in ERA at 0.31. Won 3 out of his 4 starts, losing only his 1st start of the season despite only allowing 1 ER in that game. He produced a quality start in each of his 4 outings and earned his first ever Pitcher of the Month award for his efforts. He’s allowed only 17 hits in 28 2/3 IP and only 1 ER, a solo home run.
Micro Brews
OF Pat Gibson -He would be on the big league squad right now had we not signed Campo the first week of the season. We have a crowded OF right now, but we may try to find a way to get him some action soon. With the fragile Bing (already on the DL) and Campo (just suffered a minor injury) patrolling the outfield, I’m sure he’ll get an opportunity soon. He certainly didn’t take his post Spring Training AAA assignment as an insult, instead treating it as a challenge to prove himself to his new organization. He’s certainly making us take notice: .377 | .543 | .536 | 1.079 with 16 RBI, 15 runs, an astounding 22 BB to only 9 K. He also threw in 6 stolen bases in 8 attempts. Not bad for his first month in AAA baseball.
SP Gene Meadows - An 11th round pick from all the way back in 1982. He’s 26 years old and a bit of a AAAA type starting pitcher. He sports a ridiculous 79% groundball to flyball ratio through the first month (and 71% for all of last year). He’s on the verge of getting a call-up to pitch out of the big league bullpen. We don’t need him in the rotation, but we have a pitcher at the big league level that is on the verge of losing his opportunity. For the month Meadows posted a pitching line of: 3 - 1 | 2.22 ERA | 28.1 IP | 21 HA | 7 ER | 21 K | 7 BB | 0.99 WHIP.
These Pretzels Are Making Me Thirsty!!
A “quick hit” look at goings on around the league in the fifth month:
- PIT SP Curt Goodwin pitched an unexpected no-hitter @ Denver on 04/22. The 23 year old youngster struck out 4 and walked three. It was the 7th CG of his brief career.
- Maine OF Don McGuire cranked 3 HR’s two days later against Pawtucket in a day for the record books. 4 for 7, 3 HR, 8 RBI and 4 runs scored.
- McGuire’s day for the record books turned into a week for the record books two days later when he hit for the cycle against those same Patriots. It will be a while before the Pawtucket faithful forget his efforts against their team.
- Pawtucket just can’t catch a break. Their ownership situation is in flux. Their day to day operations have been taken over by the league office and their pitching staff is allowing historic achievements at an alarming rate. PIT 2B Teodor Leal racked up 6 hits against the Patriots staff, meaning in the span of a week the Patriots gave up a 3HR game, a cycle and a 6 hit game. That has never been achieved (if that’s is the proper term) by any team in league history.
- Newly signed Freedom OF Cesaro Campoveroe scored the 1,000th run of his career on 04/17. He celebrated by hurting his arm about a week later.
- DEN 3B Pedro Zamarida crossed the same milestone off his list of career accomplishments by scoring his 1,000th run in a game a day later. At the age of 31, Zamarida has a real chance to accumulate some eye-popping numbers by the time he hangs up his spikes.
-Have’s and Have Nots - No-Hitters: - updated with Goodwin’s no-hitter
With:
California - 2 ( Berru and Toapanta)
Carolina - 1 (Issam Ghaniy)
Denver - 1 (Romano Gonzalez)
Hyuandai - 2 (Tommy Drewery and Erasmo Rubancava (PG))
Indianaoplis - 1 (Bill Fyson)
Los Lunas - 1 (Alonzo Gugierrez)
Maine - 1 (Gil O’Moore)
Pawtucket - 1 (Joe Ponte)
Pittsburgh - 2 (Tommy Lang and Curt Goodwin)
Syracuse - 1 (Joe Soto)
Virginia -1 (Eric Cafferty)
Washington - 3 (Joe Santoyo, Joe Chavarraga and Charlie O’Rogan)
Windy City - 2 (Dunmore Theodore (PG) and Jim Fletcher)
Without:
Baltimore
Batavia
Dallas
Davenport
Hartford
Los Alamos
Mississippi
Morgantown
Philadelphia
Sin City
Wilmington
-IL Pitcher of the Month - PHI SP Joe Arredondo
-IL Batter of the Month - WIL 1B Dani Alveraz
-IL Rookie of the Month - BAL OF Loren Wallace
-DL Pitcher of the Month - DAL SP Denver Brode
-DL Batter of the Month - MAI OF Don McGure
-DL Rookie of the Month - Sin City OF Pancho Perez
Broken Taps
- Sin City suffered a big blow on Opening Day when SP Billy Noke was lost for the year with a torn rotator cuff.
- Denver lost young OF Fernando Pargas for 5 weeks with a partially torn labrum on 04/11.
- Davenport’s OF was a bit thinner after their game on 04/12 after Scott Neville was lost for 3 weeks with a strained hammy.
- Denver’s lineup lost another piece on 04/12 after losing young SS Kip Higgins to a strained quad. He missed two weeks with the injury.
- Clowns’ DH Sergio Lumar missed the month of April with a strained Lat suffered 04/13.
- Los Lunas lost young up-and-coming RP Jody Griffin for essentially the whole year after doctors discovered a partially torn UCL.
- Dallas lost perennial All-Star OF Jose Guzman for 4 weeks to a strained oblique on 04/16
- They lost OF Tim O’Fay in the same game for 2 weeks with a bruised knee
- Hyundai saw 2B Neil Hildebrand suffer a separated shoulder in a collision at a base on 04/18. The injury was expected to sideline the 2B for 4 weeks.
- Virginia OF Mel Woodbury bruised his foot in an awkward defensive play on 04/19. He was expected to miss two weeks, but suffered a couple of setbacks in his recovery and will miss an additional week.
- BLB old-timer and lifetime Whaler Marv Snyder was expected to miss about a month after breaking a foot on 04/19
- Batavia 2B Juan Nava suffered a terrible injury while making a defensive play, fracturing a bone in his elbow. The young IF will miss at least 4 months with the injury.
- SYR OF Greg Josey fractured a shoulder blade and is expected to miss 4 weeks on 04/22.
- California OF Jose Compres suffered a sprained wrist while attempting to catch a ball on 04/24 and is expected to miss 4 weeks
- Davenport lost the services of young 2B Len John for 3-4 months to a torn calf muscle on 04/25
- The Baltimore rotation lost a key member for about 2 months when SP Tommy Lang left his start on 04/26 with a sore shoulder.
- Two Catchers with ties to the Playboys’ organization suffered injuries on the same day (04/27). Former Windy City property (now with Philly) Tex McLerlan was lost for about a month with an oblique strain. Current Playboys’ standout C Cliff Burgett suffered a much more serious injury that could have long term implications when a torn rotator cuff was diagnosed after Burgett complained about shoulder soreness. He’s expected to miss 4-5 months.
LINK
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