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15-13 in May, not great baseball. We are 1/2 behind the Reds and we need to make some moves this month. Although we are 2nd in ERA, we have 2 starters with ERA's higher than 4 and I would like to improve our staff. Terry Kennedy has been displaced by Mike Stanley at catcher, and if I can package him with another piece, I think I can do that.
Dave Clark hit 10 home runs in May, including home runs in 4 straight at bats over 2 games. In the 1st game, Karl Best of the Cardinals and 4 Dodgers combined for 8 1/2 shut out innings. In the bottom of the 9th, Best struck out Tom Brunansky and Jack Clark on 8 pitches to make them his 10th and 11th strikeout victim. He had Dave Clark down 0-2, about to strikeout the 3-4-5 hitters on 9 pitches, when he took Best over the wall for a very exciting 1-0 win.
The next day, he hit home runs in the 1st. 3rd in the 4th to make it 4 in 4 at bats. He added another home run the next day, we really needed it as Brunansky and Jack Clark each had poor months.
Rookie Jeff Carter has come out of nowhere to win the RF job. I thought it was Dave Martinez job to lose and if not him, Franklin Stubbs was there. I thought Carter would be a utility man, but he has gone .342/.420/.470 with 19 steals and combines with Mike Cole to give us a great 1-2 punch. Cole is hitting .284/.391/.350 with 20 steals, so the tables were being set.
I have to give the AI GM of the Angels, I thought they would start to struggle, but they still lead the AL West by 1 over the A's. The Yankees are up 2 in the East and the Phillies have raced out to a 7 game lead.
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