US JARHEAD SCUTTLEBUTT - 3-30
Mike Trout Hits 400th Homerun ... named Jarhead of the Month.
Mike Trout edged Jeff McNeil for the JOM award. Trout hit HR #400 off the Chiefs Kyle Freeland at Municipal Stadium. #401 came the next day and leaves him just 4 HRs from breaking the all-time USJ HR record, now held by Edwin "The Big E" Encarnacion with 404. For the Month, Trout hit .319 with 7D, T, 5HR and 15RBI to edge out McNeil who made a strong case with a .370 BA.
SHRAPNEL
Andres Munoz named USJ Rookie of the Month: Appearing in 9 games the rookie was 3-0, 0.59. In 15.1ip he allowed only 8 hits with 26Ks and 0 Walks.
Victor Caratini avoids an OFF DAY at P.I.
Yasmani Grandal will spend USJ's 'off day' with "Motivation Platoon" at Parris Island. Grandal started the season 0-25 and sits at 1-30 .033. Caratini was also slated for a P.I. 'off day' based on his start. Coming into the 19th game of the block Victor was 2-27 .074. But in game 3 vs the Chiefs, Caratini earned his day off. RBI double in the 2nd, RBI double in the 3rd, single in the 5th, solo HR in the 7th and was HBP in retaliation in the 9th. With a 1 for 4 in game 4 Caratini raised his BA to .200 and avoided a trip to The Island.
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DEVIL DOODLES - 3-31
The Blue Devils started play in their 37th season in the FBN with an 11-5 record - a huge Improvement over last year when the team started 4-16. That poor start derailed the season and led to substantial turnover in the roster. Key new players acquired included Corey Seager, Brandon Drury, Mark Canha, Jon Gray and Patrick Sandoval. In addition, CT drafted Bobby Witt Jr and Jake McCarthy in the first round of the 2023 draft along with new closer Evan Phillips.
So far in 2023, the offense has seen a solid improvement producing 5 runs/game with a .259 team BA along with 23 HR's. Last year at this point, the team was scoring just 3 runs/game with a .219 BA. Freddie Freeman is off to a strong start leading the team with a .391 BA to go with 11 runs, 12 RBI and 5 HR's. Corey Seager has flashed his power potential with 7 HR's, 16 RBI and 12 runs with a .278 BA.
The pitching has been equally strong with a 3.30 team ERA allowing just 40 walks with 134 K's. Merill Kelly (0.40 ERA) and Jon Gray (1.35 ERA) both have won their first 3 starts to lead the way. New closer Evan Phillips has not allowed a hit or run in his 5 appearances going 1-0 with 4 saves. On the down side, young southpaw Patrick Sandoval has struggled mightily going 1-3 with a 9.35 ERA allowing 26 hits and walking 12 batters in 17 innings. Can only get better from here ....
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89ER NEWS - 4-17
Connecticut at Allyn Street - Game 3
Merrill Kelly had an outstanding outing for the Blue Devils. Kelly retired the first 7, 89ERS before Jorge Alfaro hit a come backer that Kelly could not reach. Alfaro's infield single was the only hit for the 89ERS. Alfaro was also the only 89ER base runner. Kelly retired the next 10, 89ERS before leaving the game after 6 innings.
Clay Holmes and Evan Phillips finished the 1 hitter as they retired the last 9, 89ER batters.
Blue Devil Pitching Line
Kelly 6IP 1H 0BB 6K
Holmes 1.2IP 0H 0BB 1K
Phillips 1.1IP 0H 0BB 1K
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DEVIL DOODLES - 4-29
The Blue Devils completed Block 2 basically treading water going 12-12 to now sit at 24-20 for the season. However, this continues to be a big improvement over last year's start of 17-27. Connecticut looks like they can hang in contention for a playoff spot all season - won't be looking to turn over the roster like last year.
Merrill Kelly has been the star of the season so far having a career year going 8-1 in 9 starts with a 1.61 ERA. Kelly has allowed only 53 base runners in 62 innings and more importantly - only 2 HR's. Jon Gray has been solid at 5-4 3.40. New closer Evan Phillips has been dominant with 1 win and 8 saves in 11 appearances allowing no runs, just 2 hits and 2 walks in 12 innings. CT needs to get him involved in more games though.
Block 2 was a disaster for the offense. After finishing the first Block batting .250, the team hit a pathetic .219 for Block 2 dropping the team BA down to .233. Freddie Freeman is currently in a huge slump ending Block 2 with a 0 for 14 series vs. Wall Street. Freeman was hitting .354 after Block 1 but batted a ridiculous .129 for the entire Block 2 getting just 11 hits in 24 games plummeting down to .238 BA. Blue Devils were fortunate to play .500 ball with their best hitter turning in that sucky performance. Brandon Drury and Corey Seager have produced solid power numbers with 9 HR's and almost 30 RBI each but they are hitting .209 and .229 respectively.
Can the pitching staff continue to carry the team? Offense must turn it around vs. AL.
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DEVIL DOODLES - 5-13
Starting play against the AL, the Blue Devils have floundered going 1-6 so far to fall under .500 for the first time this season at 25-26. After winning the opening game vs. Bissel Cove, Connecticut dropped 6 in a row. The offense continues to be atrocious. In the last 4 games vs. Hotlanta and Belmont Street, the Blue Devils batted .156 scoring just 6 runs with 21 hits, only 4 walks with 35 K's. Just pathetic . . . .
The team will try to turn it around finishing the block against Blue Grass, Louisville and Arsenal.
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US JARHEAD SCUTTLEBUTT - 5-21
Jarhead of the Month
Last month's JOM winner Mike Trout continued his all-around mashing. For the AL Block Trout hit a blistering .390 on 16-41 with 7HRs and 19 RBI bringing his NL leading totals to 20HR and 48 RBI and raising his BA to .326... And yet, he didn't win JOM this month.... What! Instead, Jeff McNeil won the honor with an unbelievable block. In 69AB McNeil ripped 35 hits for an astronomical BA of .507, including 7D 2HR, 12RBI and 16 runs scored in the 15 games. During his run he raised his BA from .333 to an NL league leading .381 .
Motivated Grandal
Yas Grandal returned from Parris Island's Motivation Platoon and the 24 hours spent at PI delivered results immediately. Facing the Blue Devils Sandoval, Yas ripped an rbi double in the 2nd, singled in the 5th and singled in the 6th for a 3 for 3 day. Since his return Grandal is 11-34. Combined with his 1-35 start his average is up to .174. Stay Motivated Yas!
Very Good & Very Lucky
Jordan Lyles and Wade Miley were called up for 3 starts each vs The AL.
Miley 3-0 0.53 17ip 10h 1er 0hr 7bb 20k.
Lyles 0-0 16.71 7ip 13h 13er 3hr 4bb 5k
Somehow Lyles didn't take a loss and The Jarheads actually managed to win 2 of his 3 starts.
SHRAPNEL:
Bench Press
Lars Nootbaar is doing some heavy lifting from the bench. In only 101 AB Nootbaar is hitting a modest .267. But with 9D, 2T and 4HR he keeps coming through and is 2nd on the team with 32 RBI.
Designated "Mop Up" Reliever Michael Rucker has appeared in 9 games. In 22.1 ip he's given up just 10 hits and hasn't allowed a single run for a 0.00era. He even picked up a 3 inning save!
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BLUE GRASS BLUES - 6-5
Power Outage
The Blues have now played 59 games as of the end of round 3. While we are slowly creeping up on a .500 winning percentage, the home run ball has been a very rare occurrence for the Blues. We have hit 38 long ones to date but have given up 69 with Hunter Greene leading the way with 17 gopher balls in 59 innings. Arozarena leads the team with 6 home runs. We have relied on some timely hitting, defense, and (some) decent pitching.
With a third of the MLB season under our belts, we hope to see a big swing up in the home run department next season. Several of our players have started the season very well - Arozarena, Bichette, and newcomer Josh Jung are all on a 35+ homer pace. Jimenez and the venerable Kevin Pillar will also add to the team total in 2024. As usual our pitching (except for Logan Webb) will again be our main concern. We have 22 pitchers on our roster - 10 of whom are now on the DL or in the minors. Hunter Greene has so far dodged Bill James prediction of "most likely to be injured". We'll keep our fingers crossed.
The 2023 BG rookie draft may go down as one of the best for the Blues. Hunter Greene, Josh Jung, Kyle Bradish, TJ Friedl, and Dylan Lee will all contribute significantly in 2024 and beyond.
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DEVIL DOODLES - 6-24
Connecticut finished play in Block 4 going 17-7 - best block by far this season boosting their record to 47-36 in a battle for a playoff spot in the NL. The offense continues to be inconsistent with only a .237 team BA and on a pace for just 150 HR's which would be the lowest total since 2016 when the team hit only 139 HR's. However, the pitching staff is carrying the team with an ERA of 3.39 which would be the 4th lowest in team history going back to the 1990's pitching staffs. Not sure they can continue this pace but should hopefully finish with a team ERA under 4.00 which hasn't happened since 2019.
Merrill Kelly is having a Cy Young type season looking to be the first 20 game winner for CT since CJ Wilson in 2012. Kelly is 12-1 2.62. Jon Gray has been a solid #2 starter going 8-5 2.85. After that, there's a drop off as all other starters have been inconsistent. But the Blue Devil bullpen has generally been excellent with every reliever except one having ERA's under 3.00. Rookie Evan Phillips has been great at closing games with a 1.05 ERA and 19 saves.
Offensively, not one Blue Devil is batting over .300 which is certainly disappointing. After a long slump, Freddie Freeman got hot in his last two series and brought his BA back to .280 but still well under what was expected. He has been productive with 16 HR's and 56 RBI. Brandon Drury, despite a .214 BA has produced 14 HR's and 50 RBI. Corey Seager has struggled batting just .201 with only 34 RBI. If he can turn things around in the 2nd half - that would certainly help the offense. Although the team's HR total is disappointing, hitters still on pace for 334 doubles - would be the most since 2010.
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DEVIL DOODLES - 7-30
Connecticut has started off pretty well in play vs. the AL going 6-4 with 5 games left. This puts the Blue Devils at 62-51 - right in the thick of the NL playoff race. The offense has shown improvement this block pushing the team BA up to .242 after hanging around the .230 mark for most of the season. Not coincidentally, Freddie Freeman has finally gotten hot boosting his BA to .293 after dropping at one point in the .250's. Freeman leads the team in RBI (76), Runs (64), Doubles (30) and tied in HR's (21). The Blue Devils go pretty much as Freeman does - certainly the key cog in the lineup.
On the pitching front, Merrill Kelly continues to have a stellar season closing in on joining the team's 20 win club - would be the 14th 20 win season in team history. Greg Maddux had five 20 win seasons, Mark Gubicza had 2 seasons and the rest have one 20 win season including Bret Saberhagen, Jose Rijo, Kevin Tapani, Mike Hampton, Orel Hershiser and C.J. Wilson. Kelly is currently 16-2 2.79 ERA. Rookie closer Evan Phillips has 26 saves and is on a pace for 38 saves for the year which would be the most since 2006 (Jose Valverde).
One other statistical note - the defense has committed just 40 errors so far this season putting them on a pace for 57 which would be the 2nd lowest total in team history. The lowest total was 55 errors in 1992.
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US JARHEAD SCUTTLEBUTT - 8-5
MILES MIKOLAS JARHEAD OF THE MONTH
Miles Mikolas Fires a No Hitter vs The Louisville River Bandits. Down 0-2 in the series The Jarheads' Miles Mikolas took the hill vs Louisvilles' Garret Whitlock.
The game was scoreless through 5 innings. Whitlock scattered 4 hits and Mikolas walked 2. In the 6th Cedric Mullins put the Jarheads up 1-0 with a solo HR. In the 7th Grandal doubled and Goldy singled him in for a 2-0 lead. LeMahieu homered in the 8th for a 3-0 lead heading to the 9th inning.
Earlier in the game the Bandits had only a few chances. In the 3rd Siri lined a gapper (Triple 1-8 FO) that Mullins made a fine play on. Two chances in the 4th on a single 1-3 LO and a 1-9 BPSi were grabbed by McNeil. In the 6th a single 1-2 was a easily handled by IKF.
Mikolas took the mound in the 9th with a No Hitter intact, but in POW condition. Facing the top of the order Mikolas continued his dominance getting a K and 2 soft flyouts to complete his Masterpiece.
The Jarheads acquirred Mikolas mid-season in 2019 from Burlington. In 10 starts for USJ he posted a 7-2, 3.58 record helping the team to a 4th place Wild Card spot. Once the 2019 playoffs started Mikolas helped propel the Jarheads to thier 2nd World Championship.
2019 NL WILD CARD SERIES #4 US Jarheads vs #5 Hazardville Powderkegs. Series MVP Miles Mikolas 2-0, 2.19
2019 NL DIVISIONAL SERIES #1 Allyn Street 89ERS vs #4 US Jarheads. Series MVP Miles Mikolas 2-0, 0.00
US JARHEAD NO HITTERS
1995 - Jim Bullinger vs KC Monarchs FTF vs The Dean of Strat Morris (now Arsenal).
1995 - Jim Bullinger ties Nolan Ryan for two no hitters in a season. This one FTF vs Bob Mendez' Windham Warriors (now Burlington).
2014 - Matt Harvey same week FBN's second perfect game, vs Illinois Prairie Dogs on the road with Larry Huck rolling.
2023 - Miles Mikolas vs LV River Bandits netplay vs Tony Childers.
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DEVIL DOODLES - 8-30
Connecticut has basically treaded water so far back in NL play. The Blue Devils played two strong series vs. the Chiefs and Bucs taking 3 of 4 games in both series but had a disastrous performance against the Jarheads getting outscored 30-15 while being swept 4 games. Blue Devils then split with the 89ers to go 8-8 so far in Block 7 and sit at 73-61 still in a tenuous playoff position.
Merrill Kelly has moved closer to a 20 win season at 18-3 3.01. Jon Gray has pitched very well recently winning his last 4 starts to move to 12-7 3.05. On the downside, southpaws Patrick Sandoval (4-8 5.06) and Alex Wood (7-9 5.28) continue to struggle as the team searches for some consistency from the back of the rotation.
The offense has picked up a bit moving the team batting average to .248 after bottoming out at .232 a couple months ago. Freddie Freeman is posting an excellent all around season batting .302 with 82 runs 93 RBI 38 doubles and 24 HR's along with stealing 11 bases in 13 attempts. Corey Seager and Brandon Drury each have hit 23 HR's but are both batting only .212. The defense continues to be stellar overall committing just 45 errors now putting them on a pace for 54 errors which would beat the team record of 55 errors in 1992.
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US JARHEAD SCUTTLEBUTT - 9-29
VICTORY!
From 6th place to first place with an incredible final 44 games. The all-out assault on the NL saw 5 series sweeps including 3 on the road ... CT, KK, @BB, @AS, @NN. There was a 9 game win streak, two 6 game streaks and stretch of 15 out of 16 wins for a 33-11 record over the final 2 blocks.
And MVP candidate Mike Trout .326, 52, 136 was a force during the incredible pennant drive. He hit .345, 13HR, 40RBI, and came through again and again. Versus CTBD Trout hit a walkoff HR in game 1 and a walkoff GS HR in game 2. Versus Kegs in game 3 Trout hit a PH 3run HR in a 5-3 win and in game 4 he hit two 3 run HRs. Game after game Trout was the leader and clearly the Jarhead of the Year.
Gold Is Where You Find It:
Waiver wire pickup Nomar Mazara was finally called up from Parris Island for the final 20 games of the season. In his first game facing the Kegs, Mazara had quite the debut. He went 4-4 with a HR and 3 runs scored. And Nomar did not stop hitting the rest of the block. In 17 games Nomar sizzled with a .476 BA on 20-42! Mazara also had 3D, 3HR and 8 rbi. ??? Did he earn a spot on the post season roster???
Another Gold Nugget:
Reliever Tanner Rainey was signed during the in season FA draft for the final block. He added desperately needed innings to a rapidly depleting BP. And Rainey stepped up and delivered a quality effort in long relief. In 10g 1-0, 2.79, 19.1ip, 14h, 4hr, 7bb, 16k.
SHRAPNEL:
CY Young candidate Brandon Woodruff finished his season in style. A complete game 4 hit shutout of the AS 89ers bought his final numbers to 17-3, 2.47.
Jeff McNeil won the NL batting championship with a .355 average ... 2nd best average by a Jarhead. Travis Fryman hit .361 in 2001 but did not win the NL BA crown.
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DEVIL DOODLES - 9-30
Connecticut completed its 37th season in the FBN with an 85-77 record - good enough for 4th place in the NL and the team will make its 19th playoff appearance in team history. That makes the Blue Devils tied for 3rd overall with Belmont Street for the most playoff appearances in league history.
Team MVP for the season goes to Freddie Freeman despite the fact he had a very inconsistent up and down performance. But in the end he put up all around solid numbers. Freeman batted .290 with 43 doubles, 26 HR's, 102 RBI and 97 runs and made only 1 error in the field. Freeman ended the season in a 7 for 46 slump (.152 BA) over his last 12 games that lowered his BA from .301 down to .290. Brandon Drury had a very productive season blasting 29 HR's with 90 RBI but batted only .218. Corey Seager also flashed decent production with 25 HR's and 79 RBI but a .201 BA was way below his normal level. Much improvement is expected from him for next season. Rookie Bobby Witt Jr. had a solid 1st season batting .246 with 24 doubles, 5 triples, 11 HR's, 61 RBI and 22 stolen bases. Big things are also expected from Witt in the coming years.
Merrill Kelly was the clear leader of the pitching staff and could have been Team MVP as well. Kelly reached the 20 win mark in his last start vs. Illinois becoming the first Blue Devil starter to win 20 games since CJ Wilson in 2012. Kelly should garner some Cy Young votes going 20-4 in 34 starts with a 2.86 ERA, 1.02 WHIP with 183 K's. Jon Gray was a solid #2 starter going 13-7 3.05. Rookie closer Evan Phillips was excellent getting 34 saves going 5-3 1.54. Patrick Sandoval was the biggest disappointment going 5-12 5.37 in 27 starts giving up 153 hits in 125 innings which was unexpected. He's still young and will get more chances.
After a 2 year hiatus from the FBN playoffs, the Blue Devils are back and will wait to find out their opponent for the Wild Card series as Wall Street and Hazardville face off in a one game playoff. Connecticut went 5-7 against the Kegs and 6-6 vs. the Barons during the season so it will be a tough fight against either team in the Wild Card series.
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CHIEFS CHAT - 10-24
Joe Carter will be returning as manager of the Chiefs in 2024. The Chiefs finished 81-81 despite trading off some of its best arms during the season. (First half ERA 3.99. Second half ERA 4.94.) The Taxmen struggled at home (34-47) and had a poor year from its best player, Marcus Semien, who followed his NL MVP season by hitting just .215. But, despite not having a 30-HR performer, the Chiefs finished 2nd in the NL in runs scored, trailing only the mighty Jarheads. The team continued to play hard for Old Joe.
There is some speculation as to whether long-time pitching coach Mike Henneman will return. The Chiefs finished dead last in ERA in the NL. And in the last six weeks of the season, Henneman was at the center of a major controversy. Rookie Alexis Diaz was pursuing Henneman's team single-season saves record of 44. But all of a sudden, the Chiefs started using Diaz in high leverage situations earlier in the game rather than saving him for the 9th. It looked like Henneman was trying to protect his record. But at the end of the season, the Chiefs went on a winning streak, and Diaz broke the record, finishing with 48 saves.
The 2024 Chiefs will look more like the classic Chief team with an improved lineup with two rejuvenated stars: Cody Bellinger (.307, 26 HR, 97 RBI, 20 SB) and Marcell Ozuna (.274, 40 HR, 100 RBI). The Chiefs will be expecting big contributions from young outfielders Kerry Carpenter (.278, 20 HR, 120 OPS+) and Matt Wallner (139 OPS+), and second year catcher Shea Langliers (22 HR). The projected lineup is Baddoo/Wallner/Margot lf, Bogaerts ss, Bellinger cf, Ozuna dh, Carpenter rf, Semien 2b, Bell 1b, Davis 3b, Langeliers c.
The back end of the pen is in good shape with the righty-lefty tandem of Alexis Diaz (3.07, 37 SV, 11.5 K/9) and Tanner Scott (2.31, 12.1 K/9). The problem is that the rotation is dreadful. German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela were out with season-ending injuries. Lance Lynn led MLB with 44 gopher balls. Edward Cabrera couldn't find the strike zone (6.0 BB/9). And Kyle Freeland (5.03 ERA, .848 OPS) didn't miss many bats. The Chiefs will hope to get some quality starts from Ranger Suarez (4.18 ERA, 138 fbn IP) and Nick Martinez (3.43 ERA, 123 fbn IP).
In other news, officials have discussed having a contest to name the seats above the left field wall at Municipal Stadium. Nothing is iminent as the team is still receiving a lot of fan pressure to return to War Memorial Coliseum. We'll have to see how that plays out in the coming months.
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