DEVIL DOODLES - 3-31
Connecticut opened play in its 38th season in the FBN coming off an 85 win season in 2023 good enough to make the playoffs as a Wild Card team. Management is hoping for a better season in 2024 with a couple off season acquisitions and expected improvements from a few players. Veteran lefty Clayton Kershaw was added to the pitching staff to add some solid depth behind top starters Merrill Kelly and Zach Eflin. Improvement is expected from Bobby Witt Jr in his 2nd season and Jeimer Candelario should rebound from a rough 2023. Along with the one-two punch of Freddie Freeman and Corey Seager, the Blue Devils should be a pretty solid team to deal with.
Connecticut has started out at 10-6 with one remaining road series vs. Taxachusetts. The offense, as expected, has been led by the trio of Freeman, Seager and Witt combining for 26 runs, 9 HR's and 32 RBI. Leody Tavares has also started strong batting .395.
Pitching wise - the starting staff has been solid combining for a 2.76 ERA. Jon Gray has allowed just 1 run in 2 starts while Aaron Civale has allowed just 2 runs in 2 starts and they are the 4th and 5th starter. Unfortunately, the bullpen - expected to be very strong has struggled early with high leverage relievers - Clay Holmes (7.36 11 hits in 6 IP), Evan Phillips (8.10) and Raisel Iglesias (12.79 17 hits in 6 IP). Can't imagine those results continuing . . .
Should be a fun season for Connecticut with the main goal of making the playoffs and avoiding the initial Wild Card round.
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ADMIRALS ORDERS - 4-15
Thanks to the never-ending weirdness of HAL in the late innings, the Admirals were able to gain a split at Bissel Cove, which appears to have been an accomplishment given BC's start. 19-9 would put most teams in 1st place, but it's only good for 4th at last check of the standings in the tough 2024 FBN American League . . . .
2024 draftee Ernie Clement surprisingly earned the 2B job out of training camp, and he didn't disappoint the first block, winning 2 games in the 9th inning and running up the following numbers in 55 at bats: .436 average, 3-2-4, .446 OBP, 1.055 Slgpct, 1.501 OPS. Unfortunately, in the last game of the block, Clement suffered a broken leg when his cleat got caught trying to turn a DP. He's expected to be out the rest of the season . . . .
Corbin Burnes is 5-1, 3.19 and the 3 headed bullpen monster of Vest-Borucki-Hader has combined for: 45.3 innings, 30 hits, 7 walks, 51 Ks, 0.79 ERA, 3 wins, 2 losses, 7 saves.
The Admirals have several players with good cards, but only about 2/3 of a season of AB or IP. Juggling will begin to be key as Block 2 continues.
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BLUE NOTES - 4-22
The first round of games is in the books (+2 of round 3). After 5 years of retooling and recovering this was hoped to be our return to quality baseball. The prognosticators (Ed) agreed, projecting the Blues to be the AL team to beat. We were off to a fast start (11-1) but the wheels fell off against Louisville and Urpaign, going 1-7. Our record now stands at 29-17. The team batting average is .269 with 72 HR and the team ERA is 3.58. Offensively it is no longer the Bichette/Arozarena show. Ha-Seong Kim and Yanier Diaz lead the team -- Kim - .324/.411/.540 -- and leads the team in 5 other categories, Diaz - .321/.367/.607. On the pitching side, Webb, Bradish, and Verlander all have 6-3 records with ERAs around 3.0. Holton and Fairbanks are a combined 2-1 with 9 saves and a WHIP of about 0.9. The AL seems to be a tough league this year, but we hope to end up in the top 5 and get into the playoffs for the second year in a row!
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DEVIL DOODLES - 5-1
Connecticut finished Block 2 play going 18-6 and now have an overall 31-13 record - its best start in well over 15 years. The Blue Devils have not lost a series yet this season. They have won 8 series so far and split the 3 other series. The team has played well overall getting some explosive offense scoring 5.75 runs/game, strong pitching allowing just 3.73 runs/game and solid defense on pace to make just 77 errors for the season.
Freddie Freeman has been the leader batting .316 with 37 runs, 13 doubles, 11 HR's and 41 RBI with a .407 OB% and .999 OPS. Corey Seager has been productive batting .271 with 10 HR's and 33 RBI. Jeimer Candelario is having a rebound season after a rough go of it in 2023. Candelario is batting .272 with 15 doubles, 8 HR's and 29 RBI.
Pitching has been extremely solid all around with a 3.37 team ERA. Only 1 starting pitcher has an ERA over 4.00 (Clayton Kershaw 4.37 but he is still 5-1). Jon Gray has been outstanding going 7-1 with a 2.47 ERA and Zach Eflin is right behind at 5-1 2.59. The bullpen has been solid in general but a few rough games have skewed some of the stats. The team is allowing just 2.75 walks/game with a 3 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio.
The Blue Devils will now test themselves against the AL in the next block . . .
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DEVIL DOODLES - 5-30
Connecticut finished recent play against the AL going 13-2 and improving their overall record to 44-15 - the best start in franchise history - even better than the 1995 team that won 116 games. The Blue Devils have yet to lose a series this season. They have won 12 out of 17 series with 5 splits. The team is on pace to win 120 games. Will be difficult to keep up that pace but the Blue Devils have a good chance to reach the 100 win plateau which they haven't done since 2004. (102-60 record)
The overall pitching has been excellent as the team sports a 3.31 ERA - that would be the lowest team ERA in 30 years going back to the 1993 season. Starters Zach Elfin (7-1) and Jon Gray (8-1) have ERA's right around 2.60. Aaron Civale (7-2) isn't too far behind at 3.30. Last year's 20 game winner Merrill Kelly (5-6) has been solid at 3.66. The bullpen has been overall effective going 11-4 with 23 total saves. Evan Phillips has been the main closer at 2.59 2-2 with 18 saves.
Offensively, the Blue Devils are averaging 5.7 runs/game on pace to score 928 for the season. That would be the most runs since 2001 when the team scored 1,001. Freddie Freeman continues to be the MVP leader for the team batting .335 with 42 runs, 57 RBI, 15 doubles and 14 HR's. Corey Seager has been productive as well with 14 HR's and 44 RBI batting .284. A nice surprise has been a bounce back season for Jeimer Candelario. After being relegated to the minors for most of last season, Candelario has locked down the 3B job this year batting .264 with 18 doubles, 11 HR's and 35 RBI.
It will be difficult to maintain the current pace for the remainder of the season but this great start certainly puts Connecticut in a prime position to make the playoffs and possibly secure home field advantage. We'll see . . .
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DEVIL DOODLES - 7-10
Connecticut finished Block 5 play going 13-7 and now sit at 73-30. They have still not lost a series all season. They have won 18 series and split 11 series. A big reason for some of their success has been the close games. The Blue Devils are 18-9 in one run games and 6-1 in extra innings.
Freddie Freeman's latest numbers in his quest for MVP:
.341 142 hits, 75 runs, 36 doubles, 23 HR's 97 RBI .414 OB and 1.013 OPS
Bobby Witt Jr continues to have a spectacular sophomore season batting .289 with 75 runs, 22 doubles, 26 HR's 75 RBI 15 stolen bases and .873 OPS. He has also been outstanding on defense making only 7 errors in 101 games. Brandon Drury has slid under the radar as a part-time 2B/DH but has been incredibly productive. In only 176 AB's, he has 16 HR's and 51 RBI and Thairo Estrada is batting .335 with 14 HR's and 43 RBI as platoon 2B.
The pitching staff has continued to be solid overall with a 3.50 Team ERA. Jon Gray leads the team with 12 wins while Zach Eflin leads starters with a 3.18 ERA 10-4 record. After a bit of a rough start, closer Evan Phillips has rounded into form going 5-2 2.56 with 27 saves to lead a strong bullpen.
Finally, in the "I've never seen this before" category, in a recent series split vs Zanti Misfits, Zanti won 2 games with just 3 total hits!!! They won the first game 2-0 getting 1 hit - a 2 run HR after a walk. They won the last game of the series 1-0 with just 2 hits. Needless to say both offenses were terrible in the series. CT batted .195 with just 1 HR while the Misfits hit only .145 but blasted 4 HR's to help gain the split.
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DEVIL DOODLES - 8-15
After going 29 series in a row from the start of the season not losing a series, Connecticut recently lost 4 of their last 8 series. The Blue Devils have still not been swept this season and currently sit at 85-41 heading down the stretch run. The team is currently on pace for 109 wins which would be 2nd most in franchise history behind the 116 wins in 1995.
Offensively, the team continues to maintain a .275 team BA - the highest since batting .295 in 2004 during the "juiced" ball era. Team is scoring almost 6 runs/game.
Freddie Freeman's latest numbers in his quest for MVP:
.336 170 hits, 91 runs, 46 doubles, 28 HR's 118 RBI .411 OB and 1.012 OPS
Bobby Witt Jr has taken over the team lead in HR's with a hot streak and now has 33 dingers and is close to the 100 RBI mark - currently with 94. Jake
McCarthy was brought up from the minors during the last AL block and is pushing for playing time batting .413 over his first 21 games. Right now he is replacing
Mike Tauchman who hit only .214.
The pitching staff, although not having big name guys, has continued to maintain an excellent Team ERA of 3.57. This would be the lowest ERA in franchise history since 3.18 all the way back in 1993. Jon Gray continues to pitch amazingly at 15-4 3.99 - a big surprise from the #3 starter slot. Merrill Kelly, a 20 game winner last year has started to come on lately and is now 13-9 3.39. Aaron Civale, the #4 starter has contributed a 10-4 record 3.42 ERA.
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US JARHEAD SCUTTLEBUTT - 9-1
40-40 Man
US Jarhead MVP Candidate Ronald Acuna became the first Jarhead to record over 40 HRs and 40 Steals in a season. At the
end of block 7 Acuna has 41 HRs and 45 steals. With 20 games to go Acuna is also flirting with the all-time USJ Batting
Average mark of .361 set by Travis Fryamn in 2001. Currently he is at .365 and leading the entire FBN. Acuna also leads
the FBN in runs scored with 124. His 41 HRs is currently 2nd in the NL and is just one off of his career high in HRs of
42 in 2020. With 210 hits he needs 19 more to surpass Fryman's USJ record of 228 hits in a season.
SHRAPNEL:
HOW DID THEY DO THAT?
With "Brootal" cards and records to match, Patrick Corbin 3-14, 5.94 and Jordan Lyles 5-15, 6.25 have each fired a CG shut-out
this season. Corbin's gem came against the AS 89ers. He allowed 4 hits, 4 walks and fanned 4 in a dominating 2-0 win.
Jordan Lyles was even more dominant vs The Powderkegs, allowing 6 hits, 1 walk and 9 Ks, again in a 2-0 win. Without the shut-outs Corbin's era would be 6.35 and Lyles 6.60.
JARHEADS RE-SIGN RYAN FELTNER
The Jarheads re-acquired right handed Starting Pitcher Ryan Feltner from the in-season Temporary Player Draft. He was originally
drafted by USJ in 2023 and he posted a 4-11, 5.55 record. He was released by the team just before the 2024 draft. Manager Jeff Kent
said Feltner will go right into the starting rotation for the final block.
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US JARHEAD SCUTTLEBUTT - 9-9
BROKEN RECORD
Ronald Acuna has set a new Jarhead record for hits in a season. His 4 hit game vs The Blue Devils pushed him
to 229 hits, surpassing Travis Fryman's 2001 mark of 228. Acuna's BA is .365 with 8 games remaining as he
chases Fryman's USJ BA record of .361.
AGAIN I ASK, HOW DID HE DO IT?
MLB 2-4, 5.82 Card.
Strat = LH 41 OB - RH 34 OB
Ryan Feltner, recently re-signed as a temp player, was put right into the starting rotation by Manager Jeff Kent. His first start was on the road at Burlington. Unbelievably, Feltner fired a CG 1 hit Shutout. He walked 4 and struck out 10 batters. The only hit was a clean single by Polanco in the 3rd inning. Feltner faced a tough jam in the 7th. A walk, error and walk loaded the bases with 0 outs. But he bore down and fanned Castellanos. Then got Marsh on a soft liner and then fanned PHer Velasquez to get out of trouble. Feltner finished strong striking out 5 of the last 7 batters. Feltner joins Jordan Lyles 5-17, 6.56 and Patrick Corbin 3-16, 5.85 as the only Jarheads with CG Shutouts in 2024. Amazing!
SHRAPNEL:
Jeff McNeil had 7 straight hits in a recent series vs the Chiefs. He singled in his last AB in game 1, went 4-4 in
game 2, and began game 3 with a HR and a single before striking out to end the streak. In game 4 McNeil struck again
with a HR. His next plate appearance he was drilled in the ribs and had to leave the game.
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DEVIL DOODLES - 9-14
Connecticut broke the 100 win mark in a recent series vs. the Powderkegs moving their record to 101-49 with 12 games left to play. This is the first time the Blue Devils have won 100 games since winning 102 in 2004. Overall, this is the franchises' 7th time with over 100 wins. The team won't catch the highest win total of 116 in franchise history back in 1995 but should become the 2nd winningest team in their history needing to surpass 106 wins for 2nd place.
Some potential team records that could be broken:
Saves - team record: 55 - currently have 52
Shutouts - team record: 17 - currently have 16
Hits allowed - team record: 1,215 - currently at 1,145 with 12 games left
Least Errors made - team record: 55 - currently at 52
One potential individual record that could be broken:
Saves - Darren Holmes 43 in 1994 - currently Evan Phillips with 39
For the playoffs, the Blue Devils acquired Gerrit Cole to be their ace. So far, Cole has made 2 starts winning both allowing 2 runs in 14 innings with 12 K's. The playoff rotation behind Cole will be a difficult decision as 4 starters have ERA's under 3.72 and another starter Jon Gray 4.07 leads the team with 15 wins. There will certainly be a couple disappointed pitchers come the playoffs.
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DEVIL DOODLES - 9-27
Connecticut completed its 38th season in the FBN with a 106-56 record - tied for the 2nd most wins in franchise history behind the 116 wins in 1995. The Blue Devils also won 106 games in 1992 and 1993. This will be the teams' 20th playoff appearance and 33rd season with a winning record. After taking over 1st place in the NL from the Klubbers at the beginning of May, Connecticut held the top position for the remainder of the season.
Freddie Freeman was clearly the team MVP batting .335 with 110 runs, 62 Doubles, 31 HR's and 130 RBI while making just 3 errors in the field. Also had a 1.001 OPS. His biggest competition for League MVP would be Ronald Acuna of the Jarheads.
Other Notable offensive performances:
-Thairo Estrada batted .330 with 30 doubles, 18 HR's, 76 runs and 14 Stolen bases
-Bobby Witt Jr led the team with 37 HR's along with 116 RBI, 104 Runs and 30 SB's
-Corey Seager was solid at .287 with 29 doubles, 31 HR's and 101 RBI
-Brandon Drury in just 290 AB's hit 22 HR's with 66 RBI
-Gary Sanchez hit 16 HR's with 34 RBI in just 171 AB's
The pitching staff was excellent all season long finishing with a Team ERA of 3.56 which was the lowest since 1993.
Top Pitching performances:
- Evan Phillips established himself as the Closer with 41 saves in 60 games 2.15 ERA
- Jon Gray led the team with 15 wins but was somewhat fortunate with a 4.29 ERA
- Clayton Kershaw performed as expected going 12-6 3.33 ERA
- Merrill Kelly got the least run support as he had a 3.49 ERA but only a 14-12 record
- Aaron Civale (11-5 3.57) and Zach Eflin (13-10 3.82) rounded out the rotation
The Blue Devils will now rest up and get ready to face the winner of the NL Wild Card Series between Zanti and Norwich. The Blue Devils went 6-6 vs Zanti and 8-4 vs Norwich during the regular season. However, Connecticut didn't have Gerrit Cole when facing those teams so we'll see if Cole can make a difference. Cole went 3-1 2.34 in his 5 starts in the last block.
GOOD LUCK TO ALL PLAYOFF TEAMS - HAVE FUN!
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