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BATON ROUGE SILVER BULLETS - 11/2
The 2011 FBN season for the Baton Rouge Silver Bullets will go down as one of the best ever for the franchise. While we didn’t win that 100th game as some other Bullet teams have, several players had banner seasons that will go down as some of the best ever. Overachieving was the norm. Ryan Zimmerman was the team MVP and Tommy Hanson was the team Cy Young winner. Zimmerman lead the team in almost every category. He hit .325 to lead the team, 40 home runs to lead the team, 109 RBI to lead the team, 119 runs scored to lead the team, 71 walks to lead the team. Justin Morneau was limited in at bats due to injury but crushed the ball when he was on the field, hitting .367, with 23 homers and 33 doubles in 327 at bats, .451 on base percentage, and .691 slugging percentage which was the highest ever for a Bullet with >300 at bats. He scored 75 runs and knocked in 59 in his shortened season. The trade for Vlad Guerrero paid big dividends as he hit .321 with 30 home runs and 101 RBI. Jim Edmunds was picked up in the draft and he hit .309 with 29 doubles, 10 homers, 48 RBI and 45 runs scored in less than 300 at bats. The pitching staff had its share of heroes as well. Tommy Hanson had three shots at becoming the Bullets 6th starter with 20+ wins but lost all three. Nevertheless his 3.59 ERA lead all starters. Chris Volstad was the surprise of the staff and overachieved to win 16 with a 3.86 ERA. The strength of the pitching staff however was the relief core. The relief staff overall ERA was only 2.49 giving up just 350 hits in 500 innings pitched with 510 Ks. The relievers were lead by Joe Thatcher (1.16 ERA, 16 saves), Chris Perez (1.83 ERA, 7-2 with 3 saves), and Chad Hensley (1.96 ERA, 8-2 with 9 saves). This was easily the best relief staff ever assembled in Baton Rouge and has to rank very high on the all-time list of FBN staffs.
The 2012 FBN season won’t be so kind to the Bullets as injuries and slumps hit many of our key players – Morneau, Crawford, Zimmerman, Hanson, Jurrjens, and Zambrano. Looks like it is back to sub-.500 for another year but we certainly enjoyed the bright lights of the 2011 season while it lasted.
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CALIFORNIA DREAMERS - 10/1
The Dreamers started the season at 32-32. Then after a 13-21 record against the NL the Dreamers fell 8 games under .500. Management had to make some tough decisions. Their star player, Carlos Pena was hitting under his weight at .147 with 113 strikeouts in 91 games. The Dreamers had just given Pena a new contract before the season. Pena and two other players Brendan Ryan and Willy Aybar were sent to the minors. Ryan was batting .187 and Aybar .157. Replacing them were Kendry Morales, Ian Desmond and Rusty Ryal. Morales finished the year hitting .3296 with 10 HR and 13 Doubles in 216AB since replacing Pena. Desmond was not been much of an improve batting .192 replacing Aybar. Ryal was a disappointment batting only .185 but that still beat Aybar’s .157. Lucas Duda was called up later and played in 32 games. Duda hit only .196 but had 9 HR in only 97AB.
The Dreamers went 12-8 back in their own division after Inter-League games. Then they went 13-11 with the AL East. In the final block the Dreamers finished the year at 11-9. The Dreamers finished 36-28 to give their interm manager, Leo Durocher his wish of finishing the year at .500.
“I’ll miss these kids but they are in good hands", said Durocher as he drove off in the USJ Jeep, back to the school yard.
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DEVIL DOODLES - 10/1
The Blue Devils finished the 2011 regular season with a 90-72 record – good for 3rd place in the tough NL West and grabbed the final Wild Card slot for the playoffs. This is the 17th season in the team’s 25 year history to reach at least 90 wins and the 15th playoff appearance. CT is back in the post season after missing out the last two years.
The 2011 Blue Devils were a team of balance. There was solid pitching with a 3.92 team ERA (first time the team ERA was under 4.00 since 2003). There was team speed with 162 stolen bases led by Chone Figgins 54 steals. There was power as the team hit 187 HR’s led by 42 from Paul Konerko and consistent defense as the team made just 99 errors. Offensively, there were no outstanding seasons by anyone as the highest batting average on the team was Marlon Byrd at .293, however, 7 everyday players batted between .265 and .293. For pitching, again there were no great individual seasons but overall, the highest ERA of any pitcher was 5.04 and 8 pitchers with significant innings had ERA’s under 4.00 (5 had ERA’s under 3.00)
Paul Konerko was the Team MVP with an all-around solid year. Konerko batted .279 with a .360 on base% and .542 slugging %. He scored 98 runs, had 117 RBI’s, 29 doubles and 42 HR’s while making only 6 errors at 1b. Alex Rios was extremely productive batting .290 with 20 HR’s and 99 RBI while scoring 90 runs. Andres Torres showed surprising power blasting 30 HR’s with 82 RBI and 84 runs scored.
On the pitching side, C.J. Wilson was the best starter going 16-11 with a 3.95 ERA. Cliff Lee disappointed again going 13-16 4.40 but did lose some tough games when the offense couldn’t score. The bullpen was tremendous all year. They combined for a 32-16 record with 46 saves including 6 different pitchers getting a save. Matt Belisle was the main closer and workhorse in the pen logging 97 innings in 66 appearances. Belisle went 12-7-22 with a 2.77 ERA. Jose Valverde was the backup closer going 6-3-11 with a 1.59 ERA. The pitching staff was successful with two key elements – control and keeping the ball in the park. The staff allowed just 133 HR’s – the lowest total in 17 years!! They also allowed just 441 walks – the 3rd best mark in the team’s 25 year history.
Next up . . . the Wild Card round vs. the Wall St. Barons . . .
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ALLYN STREET - 9/15
School Yard Talk
We finished the block against the NL West strong but in need of bullpen innings. We hope that those innings now will be completed by David Aardsma and Jensen Lewis. Also added to the roster are Stephen Drew and Ian Snell. Drew will be our regular shortstop and Snell will get 2 or 3 starts replacing Takahaski in the rotation. Furcal will DH and Morgan will be a late inning pinch runner.
Joel Peralta, did everything and more since his arrival from USJ. "The kid gets people out! He doesn't care if you're right handed or left handed, he gets you out with his right", said Casey. Peralta is 1-1-1 with 1.64ERA. "The Jeep that Peralta and Lewis "borrowed" from the USJ motor pool will be returned on September 21st with a full tank of "gas", said Casey.
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CALIFORNIA DREAMERS - 9/11
DREAM ON: "We back at .500 after going 1-3 at Baton Rouge, said Durocher. But, the boy's have done a hellava job this block. We've won or split all the other series so far. Just have to get to Lake Wobegon and fight those Whippets."
Team average is now .236. "I think we can get to .240 by the end of the season. We'll have to wait and see", said Durocher. Joe Blanton has earned a regular spot in the rotation as the Dreamers will go with a 6 man rotation in the final block. "The kid is 4-2 with a 2.79 ERA. He throws strikes. 27K's in 32 innings." Weaver is back but the veteran will not be able to try for 20 wins as he only has 23 innings left for the year. "I guess I shouldn't have completed 7 games. I'd like those innings back now to try for 20 wins. But, if I get 17 I'll be very proud", said Weaver.
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ALLYN STREET - 8/15
School Yard Talk
Rajai Davis is on a 9 game hitting streak raising his average to .300. AJ Pierzynski is on a currant 7 game hitting streak raising his average to .306. Allyn Street will be adding Joel Peralta to the team for block 7. To make room on the roster Trevor Bell has been sent down to AAA Insurancemen. Peralta was traded from the Jarheads. On hearing of the trade Peralta "borrowed" a Jeep from the motor pool and drove right over to the School Yard. When the MP's showed up looking for the Jeep Casey's only reply was "What Jeep?"
During the last series of block six, long time rivals Burlington hit us on the chin taking 3 of 4 very easily from us. "I hope that the team woke up after that beating. I sent Clemente a bowl of fruit thanking him. You know from that edible group, said Stengel.
All-Time 89ER Numbers: Shane Victorino 35 triples to pass Inge for 6th All-Time. Alfonso Soriano 4300AB. Albert Pujols 2900AB. Pujols 906th Hit to pass Berkman for 8th All-Time. Rafael Furcal 300th Stolen Base.
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CALIFORNIA DREAMERS - 8/15
DREAM ON: "The team is playing very well at this time. I'm proud of the guy's. Everyone is doing their best, said Durocher. The only losing series for the Dreamers last block was against the mighty Dogfish. They split with the Admirals and went 9-3 against the rest of their division. "We have high hopes going into block 7", said Durocher. We started well with a 3-1 series win with Illinois." The Dreamer team average continues to to climb as the team is now batting .233 on the season which is up from a team low of .225 just 24 games ago. "I got rid of the pitching machine and I started to throw batting practice. If the guy's swung at a ball the next pitch was right on their numbers. (Durocher smiling) They stopped swing at bad pitchers and started to think about each at bat. I like that."
Joe Blanton in his first start of the year in replacing ACE, Jared Weaver went 8 2/3 innings before he gave up 2 runs to Illinois. Blanton had 10 strikeouts while walking only 2. "I'm just happy to have a chance to help this team", said Blanton. With "Wev" out, I hope to pick up some of the slack." Blanton will have his chance he is scheduled to pitch against Maine, Urpaign, Baton Rouge and Lake Wobegon. "I may need him to replace Weaver for two starts next block too. I'll wait and see", said Durocher.
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DEVIL DOODLES - 8/15
The Blue Devils completed recent divisional block play with a 10-10 record. This was somewhat disappointing after starting the block off with a sweep of Hazardville but gave it all back losing 3 out of 4 games to New England and Middlesex back to back. However, the Blue Devils still hold a 5 game lead for the last Wild Card spot.
On the pitching side, Cliff Lee continues to struggle with a 4.52 ERA and 8-15 record. With about 8 starts remaining, he could lose 20 games with that excellent card. Bet that would be the first time in FBN history that a good Strat card lost 20 games!! C.J. Wilson continues to be the best starter going 13-7 with a 4.00 ERA from the 4th spot in the rotation. The bullpen continues to be solid combining for a 21-7 record with 32 saves. All 7 relievers have ERA’s under 4.00.
The offense continues to be led by Paul Konerko’s production (33 HR’s 91 RBI’s) while Marlon Byrd leads the team in batting at .316. Andres Torres has shown surprising power as he is 2nd on the team in HR’s with 21. Speed has been a big part of the offense this season as CT is averaging almost 1 stolen base per game. Chone Figgins leads with 40 SB while Torres and Alex Rios have combined for 45 SB’s and only 10 CS.
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MIDDLESEX COUNTY - 8/12
The MudCats are holding onto 2nd place in the NL West with hopes of overtaking the Chiefs for the top spot. The offence (after a few in season tweaks) is clicking on all cylinders. The insertion of Ryan Ludwick into the starting lineup vs. RHP has been a big boost. Josh Willingham was brought in to be that but has hit only .180 for the season 6 HR. Chase Headley has found a home in the leadoff spot. Recent additions of Miguel Tejada and Jason Kendall help out vs. LHP.
The pitching staff has been the anchor most of the year led by Hiroki Kuroda and Ryan Dempster. John Lester continues to be the hard luck man with a losing record overall. The bullpen has become a real strength with the additions of Evan Meek, Arthur Rhodes and Burke Badenhop to go along with Gregerson, Kuo and Batisita.
The MudCats as a whole are ready to fight it out the last 2 blocks and hopefully on to our 3rd straight playoff appearance.
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ALLYN STREET - 8/1
School Yard Talk
Robinson Cano extended his hitting streak to 23 games in game one at Maine. Cano went 1 for 4 as he had a double leading off the 4th inning off righty, Tim Wakefield. In game two Cano was facing right hander, Armando Galarraga. Cano struck out in his first at bat. In his next two at bats he grounded out first to the pitcher covering. Cano had one additional at bat left to lead off the 9th. In the 9th Cano would face lefty, Sean Marshall. With the scored tied at 2-2, Cano worked the count and took ball four. His 23 game hitting streak came to an end. The 23 game streak is his longest of the year. Cano had an 18 game streak to start the season and he just had a 10 game hitting streak stopped just before he went onto the 23 game streak. Asked how he felt now that the streak was over, “I'll have to start a new one because I just love to hit”, said Cano.
Matt Cain recently pitched a 2 hitter and a 1 hitter. "Bob Feller gets the credit. He has me thinking about just being a pitcher and not worrying about the batter," said Cain. All Feller had to say was, "the kid is being nice."
All-Time 89ER Numbers: Billy Wagner 350th game. Roy Halladay 2300th inning. Matt Cain 1082 inning to pass Jimmy Key for 7th. Josh Johnson 600th K in 626IP. Rafael Furcal 5600thAB. Albert Pujols 474RBI to pass Edgar Martinez for 6th. Pujols 899th Hit to pass Shane Mack for 9th. Shave Victorino 34th Triple to pass Jose Vizcaino for 7th.
TEAM NUMBERS: 3,900th Stolen Base. 2,300 Win.
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DEVIL DOODLES - 7/15
The Blue Devils completed interleague play with a solid 20-14 block keeping them in 3rd place in the tough NL West and in place for the last Wild Card slot with a 54-44 overall record. The pitching staff slipped a bit in interleague play entering the block with a 3.52 ERA and leaving with a 4.04 ERA. Cliff Lee was simply awful going 1-5 in the block and seeing his ERA rise from 3.12 to 4.96. C.J. Wilson has been the best starter so far this season going 11-6 in 21 starts with a 4.08 ERA. Carl Pavano who was 3-10 not too long ago has pitched well of late going 5-1 in his last 6 starts to get to 8-11with a 4.99 ERA – first time all year his ERA is under 5.00 . . . barely!
The offense showed some strong production during the interleague block as the team is now scoring over 1 run/game more than their opponents. (5.44 to 4.35). Paul Konerko has easily been the Team MVP at the top of almost every offensive category on the team, .288 BA (3rd) 71 runs scored (1st) 85 RBI (1st) 32 HR (1st) 107 hits (2nd). Marlon Byrd has been solid batting a team leading .330 with 53 runs and 58 RBI and leading the team with 28 doubles. Overall, the Blue Devils are out homering opponents 119-87 and have shown some team speed stealing 93 bases in 98 games getting caught only 27 times for a 78% success rate.
Connecticut now heads into a crucial divisional block of play as they try to gain ground on Middlesex and division leading Taxachusetts. The Blue Devils have struggled so far in divisional play going just 18-22 against their rivals. Can that improve??? . . . .
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DREAM ON - 7/15
DREAM ON: Leo the Lip has gone crazy. "If you can't hit your weight you're out of here", said Durocher. Caros Pena is leading the team with 15HR. She is tied for first with 42R and is second with 35RBI. Durocher has farmed out Pena to Triple A. "He's hitting a buck 49. I can do that and I'm dead, said Durocher. I told him to go down there and get straightened out or he can stay there for the rest of the year." Other changes that Durocher has made for the next block are sending down Willy Aubar (.157) and Brendan Ryan (.182). Aybar leads the team with 18 errors. Replacing them in the show are Kendry Morales, Rusty Ryal and I. Desmond. Matt Treanor is going on the DL (AB limitation) and Rob Johnson will be added to the Dreamer Roster. No changes will be made to the pitching roster. The only move Durocher will be making is resting Jared Weaver. "The kid just doesn't want to miss a start or come out of the game. I've got to limit his starts to 7 or 8 for the rest of the year plus watch his innings per start. He'll pitch only within the division for the rest of the year, said Durocher.
The Dreamers were 32-32 going into Inter-League play. After finishing 13-21 in Inter-League play the Dreamers will try to fight back and finish the year strong.
The team ERA is 3.65. The team hitting is .225.
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ALLYN STREET - 7/15
School Yard Talk
When asked about how he felt the team was performing so for this season Casey said, "What do you mean performing. We're not on Broadway. We're a baseball team. We play baseball and so far we're playing good sometimes and at others I'm sleeping." As of this report Casey and Ralph Houk have only made one decision on pitching changes for the next block against the NL East. T.Bell will start against Norwich, Burlington, Arsenal and US Jarheads in place of Takahaski. Takahaski will be used in the bullpen for this block. But, they have not decided on bringing back Tejeda and Sipp yet or keeping either Hermann or Gutierrez and keeping Sherrill on the major league roster.
All-Time 89ER News: Robinson Cano is on a 15 game hitting streak to go along with the 18 game hitting streak that he started the year with. Raji Davis is on a 7 game hitting streak. Albert Pujols had an 8 game hitting streak stopped at Lake Wobegon.
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BATON ROUGE NOTES - 7/7
I WANNA GO HOME! SEND ME HOME!! GET ME OUT OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE. Oh, there’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. click click click I’M HOME! WOOHOO! I’M DONE WITH THE NL AND BACK IN THE AMERICAN LEAGUE. Oh, Auntie Em, it was horrible. The wicked witch of the computer was trying to kill me. She kept hitting all the numbers on my pitchers for hits, and walks, and homers. Hits and walks and homers…
Actually not a lot of hits and walks and homers, but just enough to beat me by 1 run. After the first three rounds of games within the AL, the Bullets were 10-4 in one run games. Against the NL we went 3-9 in one run games. That against what is arguably the best overall pen in either league. The overall W/L record of the relievers went from 20-1 to 27-9 increasing the pen ERA from 1.8 to 2.0 – still great but the increase lead to 8 losses charged to the pen against the NL. The final record against the NL was 17-17 but it could have been so much better. We feel the pressure of Salem and Lake Wobegon – who should both be ahead of us in the standings.
The pickup of Guerrero and Hudson from Salem has been a key to whatever success we have had to date. Vlad is one of our top hitters (.313, 18 HR, 64 RBI) and Hudson has been turning double plays at all the right times. #2 draft pick Clay Hensley (8-1, 5 saves, 1.69 ERA) has also been a key pickup. Hanson and the surprising Chris “no-hit” Volstad lead the starting staff with 9 and 8 wins respectively. Zimmerman, Morneau, and Joyce are also hitting over .300. (Oh, to have Morneau (.351, .438 OB, .658 SP) for the whole season!) Despite the hitting stars, the Bullets are on a pace to score only 802 runs which would be 14th highest in the Bullets 24 year history – BELOW average! Feel the pressure Feel the pressure…
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ALLYN STREET - 7/1
School Yard Talk
Allyn Street made some minor roster changers for the final block of Inter-League play. J.Gutierrez and G.Sherrill were promoted from Triple A to give R.Tejeda and T.Sipp a rest. Gutierrez has performed well with a 1.05ERA while Sherrill has been hit hard with a 5.09ERA. For block 6 Allyn Street will bring back T.Bell as a spot starter and use H.Takahashi out of the bullpen. Takahashi has been doing a great job at 11-4, 3.80ERA in 32GA with 12 starts. R.Cano is on a 13 game hitting streak lifting his average to .340. R.Davis has been on hot also with a 5 game hitting streak lifting his average to .303. Roy Halladay leads the team with 13 wins. Josh Johnson leads the team with a 2.17ERA and Matt Cain leads the team with a .089 whip.
All-Time 89ER News:
Cano 3100th AB, 400th R, 80th HR. Inge 1010 Game to pass O.Merced for 9th. McGriff #1 at 2,375. Furcal 58th triple to pass C.Knoblauch for #1. Josh Johnson 50th win and 600th IP. Team 18,900th RBI
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DREAM ON - 7/1
Interim Manager, Leo “The Lip” Durocher says that Jered Weaver is the work horse on this team. Weaver is 10-9, with a 2.63ERA. The other starters on the team are 17-29 with a 4.51ERA. Weaver also has 4 complete games and 1 shutout in 171 innings. After the Inter-League games Leo will have to limit Weaver to 6 innings per start and rest him. “The kid wants to go out there every 4th day. What can I say? He reminds me of Bob Feller”, said Durocher. Weaver will be limited to facing his division only after the Inter-League games due to innings limitation. Joe Blanton will replace Weaver in block seven. Plus, Pat Misch will get some starts in the final block of the season. The bullpen is 14-7-26 with a 2.72ERA. That is including “mop up” man Brian Tallet’s 4.55ERA.
The team is hitting .228 with 64HR. The home record is 19-30 while on the road the Dreamers are 22-15. “I use the same strategy at home as I do on the road (both home and away games are played by the CM). If you ask me the batters hate the ballpark. But, the pitchers love it. It’s like how I felt about my sixth wife, Durocher said, I hated her and loved to see her leave.”
Ian Kinsler is batting .300 in 190AB’s and my get more playing time in the second halve of the season. Ben Zobrist has been seeing most of the playing time against RHP’ing but his .189 batting average is not pleasing Durocher. Ruben Tejada who has been playing short against LHP and is batting .296 and he may also see some playing time at 2b against RHP. RF’er, Kosuke Fukudome who was hitting .295 in his first 105 AB’s of the season went into a tailspin in his next 105 AB’s hitting only .219. His average is now .256. That still puts him third on the team for hitting. Players batting below their weight: C.Pena .154, W.Aybar .167, B.Ryan .192, Shoppach .205 and G.Parra and R.Raburn at .226.
NEWS FROM CHICAGO: Frank sent me and email on a scouting report on the Dreamers for 2012. “The team batting looks the same for 2012 but the pitching looks ever better for next year.” This reporters note: Could the 2012 Dreamers be the next 1969 Mets?
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NAVIGATORS NOTES - 6/18
The team has performed as expected, with some great pitching by Clayton Kershaw and Brett Anderson, solid offensive efforts by Choo and Ortiz, and a decent closer in Bard (15 saves).
Surprises would be Eckstein batting .363(?!?) and the fielding being bad at an epic level.
The future looks pretty bright though, or at least in an upward direction. Hopefully this will be the last year of playing simply to make usage, and will be looking forward to competing.
There is a long way to go both in FBN and the current MLB season, but Norwich will entertain offers for Kyle McClellan (Nice to have a solid rp card this yr, and a competent SP card the next), and am willing to be overwhelmed for David Ortiz, bring an everyday position player at 2b or LF to start talks…
GL to all the rest of this way, Norwich should be sailing to about 100 losses and a top 5 pick for next yr.
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WALL STREET - 6/15
"Insider Info"
Wall Street continues spin its wheels as frustrating loses mount up. In a very weak NLE - other than AS - the Barons are floundering at 36-39. Barons 39 errors have led to 38 unearned runs while opponents 53 e's have only led to 20!!! Longoria 1e15 has 14 errors. Opponents have 76 more BB and 16 more HBP than Barons and in MLB players like Ad Gonzalez, JD Drew, Holliday, Longoria, and Jeter drew walks. V Wells 40 BB/mlb 7 for Barons!!!
Exacerbating current frustrations is looking ahead to the 2012 FBN season - Ad Gonzalez is having an MVP season but 2b Prado* ss Jeter* 3b Longoria, C Napoli*(and Laird*) LF Holliday* CF Wells, RF Dominic Brown (WS#1 dp) all are on*or have been on the DL. SP Zito* Niemann* Morrow, and Duchscherer have also been shelved. In all, 18 Barons are or have been walking wounded!! Oh well…
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ALLYN STREET - 6/15
School Yard Talk
Allyn Street finish their first block of Inter-League home games at 7-1 with a very lucky sweep of Milford. Everything went the 89ERS way in that series. The Dogfish would have the lead and it wouldn't matter, the computer liked the 89ERS that night. Baton Rouge on the 15th and Salem on the 22nd.
Scott Podsenik was been on fire since coming over from Illiniois. As the new lead-off man he's batting .371 with an OBP of .389. He's also scored 9 runs in 8 games. Shane Victorino now starting only against LHP has raised his batting average to .258 as he gone 4 for 8 in his two games with LHP.
In the last series not one starting pitcher had a victory as each game was won by the bullpen. Roy Halladay leads the team with 10 victories followed by Matt Cain with 9 and Takahashi with 9 as a spot starter/reliever. Josh Johnson leads the team with a 1.87 ERA.
89ER NUMBERS:
Farcal 1800the Game. Pujols 534 RS to pass D.Hamilton for 5th on the 89ER All-Time List. Cano 915 H, to pass Vizcaino for 6th. Cano & Pujols 211 D, to pass L.Berkman for 5th. Pitcher: Wagner 338th game to pass B.Looper for 9th. Halladay 1500th K. Halladay is number 1 All-Time for Allyn Street. HRA - Halladay gave up his 169th HR to pass D.Kile for 4th most by an 89ER.
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LAKE WOBEGON - 6/1
The Whippets, picked to cruise in the AL West, are scuffling along as the season passes the 1/3rd mark. Lake Wobegon is being out-homered and has only drawn as many walks as they have issued--both of which are uncharacteristic of the standard Whippets M.O. While the pitching has been acceptable, the offense (the on-base pct in particular) is significantly lower than one would expect. Nothing to blame but the questionable RNG in the SOM software! In other words, my die rolling is leaves a lot to be desired.
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DEVIL DOODLES - 6/1The Blue Devils continue to play solid ball staying in the thick of the difficult NL West division race. The pitching staff has been excellent overall with a 3.31 ERA. They have allowed 4 less hits than IP and are averaging only 2.5 walks per game. They are also keeping the ball in the park allowing just 41 HR's in 56 games. The bullpen has been outstanding - combining for a 12-1 record with 15 saves and a 2.07 ERA. Connecticut is 5-0 in extra inning games thanks to the relief staff. 5 different relievers have saves with Matt Belisle being somewhat of the "closer" going 4-0 with 7 saves and a 1.84 ERA. Most impressive is that the bullpen has allowed only 8 HR's in 153 IP! Cliff Lee continues to get no luck - although sporting a 2.97 ERA and 1.12 WHIP - he's only 4-6.
Paul Konerko has been the most productive on offense with 38 runs scored, 37 RBI's, 13 HR's and a .287 BA. The 3B tandem of veteran Chipper Jones and rookie Pedro Alvarez are struggling with a combined .197 BA but they also have combined for 8 HR's and 33 RBI so they have contributed some production too.
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Who are these guys!! This old photo is from the March 1988 issue of the Strat-O-Matic Review featuring opening day at Strat. Do you believe that was 23 years ago!!!!
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