[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 2-4
Seasonal Record: 3-8 (6th, 7.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
Russ Combs : 17 AB, 8 H, 0 HR, 3 RBI, .471 AVG, 1.315 OPS
Doc Love : 24 AB, 8 H, 2 HR, 3 RBI, .333 AVG, 1.137 OPS
Mike Taylor : 22 AB, 9 H, 0 HR, 2 RBI, .409 AVG, 1.019 OPS

Weekly Schedule
4-23: Loss vs Cleveland (5-6)
4-25: Win at Toronto (7-5)
4-26: Win at Toronto (6-4)
4-27: Loss at Toronto (4-5)
4-28: Loss at Cleveland (4-5)
4-29: Loss at Cleveland (3-5)

Is it time to panic?

Of course not! Sure, the pitching has been rough, but it's really hard to pitch at home and the defense is still adjusting. It's too early to draw anything from the numbers, but they haven't quite killed us. I'm glad we took two out of three in Toronto, but we have to steal the finale where we likely see Dean Astle. Dick Leudtke takes the mound for us, so it's a battle of the #2s. Cleveland has won all five contests so far, and we cannot afford to drop this one. Today is the last date of April and we'll start May back home to host the Sailors. They are sitting just above .500 at 6-5, four and a half behind the 11-1 first place Saints. We're off on the fourth and we'll use that day to travel to New York. We'll get three against the Stars (3-9), who find themselves tied with the Cannons for last. We really have to put together a good week, as back to back sub .500 seasons is unacceptable.

In some good news, Russ Combs is riding an 18 game hit streak into today's contest. Just 10 of those games came this season, but Combs is hitting an impressive .382/.432/.529 (124 OPS+) with 3 walks and 4 RBI's. Of course he's not as good of a shortstop as he his second basemen, but he's made 10 putouts, 28 assists, and 6 double plays in 40 total chances. Combs sees some time batting 8th, and I'm going to keep it that way. He's going to get so much to hit and with his speed he'll be in scoring position for the top of the order. The problem is that everyone other then Combs, Mike Taylor, and Doc Love aren't hitting.

Now that Love has been freed from the horrors of Thompson field, the two homers Love hit match his career total and that number is going to keep rising. The 27-year-old is hitting .333/.413/.590 (151 OPS+) with 2 homers and 5 RBI's in 46 trips to the plate. Love has always hit, but the lefty was stuck behind Henry Jones in Detroit and their stadium suppresses lefty power. The North Side grounds are the easiest park to hit home runs in for lefties, but he also got a homer out in Toronto which is tough to do as well.

Taylor is hitting the best though, .372/.460/.558 (156 OPS+) with 2 homers, 7 RBI's, and already 7 walks. He's absolutely crushing everything he's seeing and the 27-year-old continues to be one of the best offensive catchers in the game. He's been able to play all 11 games this season with all the off days, although he'll get one to start the week. I'm a big fan of what he's done so far and I can't wait till everyone else catches up.

I'll probably regret losing Claude Purvis to the Foresters on waivers, but I wish him the best of luck. I could've optioned Bill Kline, but he's so good that it wouldn't be worth it. I had have faith in Don Grossman and Herm Lowman is a much needed leader, but I feel like either had a chance to slip through. I didn't want to take the risk, so I let Purvis go. He's been a really effective reliever for us, but I think a lot of it was luck. There's a chance he'll be great for the Foresters, but we are already carrying more relief arms then most.

There isn't much to report on in the minors, but we do have the makings of a breakout prospect down in La Crosse. 19-year-old Neal Wilkinson has done great in four starts, working to a 2.45 ERA (201 ERA+), 1.32 WHIP, 6 walks, and 15 strikeouts in 4 starts. The former 16th Round pick is a groundballer from Elmira HS who didn't make any starts last season. He worked really hard in the offseason, adding four miles on his fastball which has made his four pitch arsenal so effective. He also has a curve, slide, and change with the curve the best secondary offering. Even though he isn't too tall, he can reach the 90s before wearing down. Done of his starts have seen him finish the 7th, but I'm okay with him starting slow. He was a decent pitcher in high school, but the speed bumps are coming in handy and I think we've got a future big leaguer on our hands.

Before I finish, I have to talk about the tragedy that is Tommy Wilcox. No, it's not because he's pitching poor; in fact it's quite the opposite. The tragedy is that he's 0-3. He's drawn Cleveland twice and has a 2.77 ERA (168 ERA+) and 1.38 WHIP with 4 walks and 12 strikeouts in 26 innings. The defense has let him down a bit, but no more then the recent 6-5 loss where Lou Kelly and Russ Combs made an error while Dick Lyons made two.

Yes, you read that right...

Dick Lyons...

In a Tommy Wilcox start...

I accidentally started Dick Lyons in left field...

I don't even want to know how that happened...