[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-2
Seasonal Record: 54-58 (5th, 16 GB)
Stars of the Week
George Sutterfield : 16 AB, 6 H, 1 HR, 4 RBI, .375 AVG, 1.037 OPS
Duke Bybee : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 3 BB, 6 K, 0.00 ERA
Leo Mitchell : 20 AB, 7 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, .350 AVG, .800 OPS

Schedule
8-7: Win vs Saints (2-3)
8-8: Loss vs Saints (12-11): 10 innings
8-9: Win vs Saints (3-6)
8-10: Loss vs Kings (2-0)
8-11: Win vs Kings (0-5)
8-12: Win vs Kings (3-4)

Recap
No!!!!!! Now we start winning!?!?!?!

Remember guys help the Saints, not the Sailors! S-A-I-N-T-S!

I guess it could have been worse, we could have swept them, but we took two of three from both the Saints and Kings as we continue to play good ball at home. I think the funniest park is we've gone now almost a month (July 14th) since we've lost a game by more then three runs. You think that would be a good thing, but we're just 14-13 in that span, with all but five of those games decided by three or fewer runs.

Along with trying to win every game that isn't against the Saints, my new focus for the season is getting Duke Bybee his Allen Award, as after two 5-run starts in Philly and Cleveland, Bybee was dominant. The All-Star Game winner threw a 5-hit shutout with 3 walks and 6 strikeouts, improving to 12-6 in our 5-0 win over the Kings. The record alone makes him worthy of the award, as he's one of only two pitchers with a winning record. And he has fewer wins and more losses. More importantly, he leads all Continental pitchers in ERA (2.84), ERA+ (146), BB/9 (2.6), WHIP (1.11), rWAR (5.7), and quality starts (17), though in that he's only tied for the lead. This is the guy that entered the season as the "fifth" starter, showing just how good our rotation is. It's still not going to have Bob Allen, though this time he had "just" a complete game win with 7 hits, 2 runs, a walk, and 6 strikeouts, as current #5 George Polk just keeps on going. The 25-year-old still can't buy a win, but he threw 7.2 quality innings with 3 hits, a run, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. David Molina "won" that one, walking 4 and allowing a run, but he did keep the game tied so Clyde Zimmerman got a pinch-hit walk-off home run against the FABL team that drafted him in the 5th Round and unceremoniously released him a year later.

We actually did plenty of hitting for a change, led by George Sutterfield who went 6-for-16 with a double, homer, walk, 3 runs, and 4 RBIs. Red Bond hit his league leading 25th homer, 5-for-20 with 4 walks, 6 runs, and 2 RBIs. Chubby Hall went 4-for-13 with 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, 3 runs, and 4 walks. Leo Mitchell swiped his 24th bag and went 7-for-20 with 2 doubles and 3 runs scored. Jimmy Hairston, who will get some starts now in right, and was 4-for-11 with a homer and 3 RBIs. But the guy we all wanted to succeed, Frank Reece, wasn't one of the key contributors, just 7-for-27 in his first week in the pros. He didn't draw a walk, but added a double, triple, 2 runs, and 3 RBIs. Small sample defense is dangerous, but his was actually good (0.4, 1.044), and he made the only remote (lowest likelihood catches) opportunity that came his way. Jerry Smith continues to hit well in AAA, but I don't expect him to come up until at least September. Reece has time to turn things around, but when Smith comes up he'll play some. How much will depend on how Reece can hit.

Looking Ahead
Off to start the week before three with the Saints and Kings, this time on the road. As much as I'd like for our winning ways to keep on going, I don't think we're beating the Saints in Montreal, but I do like our chances with the Kings in Brooklyn. As expected, Ron Berry (6-9, 5.49, 77) looked like the rookie version against us, twirling a 4-hit shutout that actually preceded Bybee's shutout. I hope we miss him this time, as I expect Joe Potts (12-8, 3.28, 65) to have a chance for revenge. Facing both would make things much harder on us, but the Kings lineup looks a lot different without Ralph Johnson (.302, 18, 61, 5) and our pitching staff should do a good job keeping them in check. Maybe another 4-2 week is on the way?

Minor League Report
C Danny Noonan (A Lincoln Legislators): Don't have too much time today, but want to make sure I cover Danny Noonan's Player of the Week Award in the Heartland League, as he went 7-for-19 with 2 homers, 7 walks, and 10 RBIs. That's almost a third of his 33 RBIs in 218 plate appearances, as he's drawn 39 walks with 7 doubles, 9 homers, and an impressive .263/.399/.434 (133 OPS+) batting line. Unfortunately for Noonan, he has the misfortune of being older and less talented then Garland Phelps, making his FABL prospects quite low. Still, he's hit really well with Lincoln despite almost all of his previous experience in La Crosse, and will continue to make starts if he keeps hitting like this.

CF Fred Crawford (C La Crosse Lions): Fred Crawford also got a Player of the Week, and it may earn him a promotion from a crowded Lions infield. The 20-year-old went 10-for-23 with 6 runs, 3 walks, 2 homers, and 4 RBIs, which is much better then he's done the rest of the season. It's only 119 PAs, but he's hit just .340/.412/.434 (88 OPS+) and he hadn't homered before this week. His defense in the outfield hasn't been great either, and since the prospect pickers have soured on him things weren't looking good. A former 3rd Rounder, Crawford once looked like a future starter, but both OSA and Dixie view him as a bench piece now. Lucky for him, he can play second and third as well, but I'm sure he rather be an everyday center fielder then someone who you hang onto just so he can play whatever position needs covering.