[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 3-3
Seasonal Record: 80-65 (5th, 13 GB)
Stars of the Week
John Mitchell : 1 Win, 9.0 IP, 1 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA
Henry Watson : 24 AB, 7 H, 1 HR, 2 RBI, .292 AVG, .862 OPS
Jerry McMillan : 25 AB, 7 H, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .280 AVG, .840 OPS

Schedule
9-18: Loss vs Wranglers (5-4)
9-19: Win vs Wranglers (0-2)
9-20: Win vs Wranglers (2-4)
9-21: Loss at Sailors (0-3)
9-22: Loss at Sailors (1-6)
9-23: Win at Sailors (4-3)

Recap
While it's been known for a while, we were officially eliminated from playoff contention this week, fittingly by the Sailors in San Francisco. Then to finish the week, we won our 80th game, fulfilling my "goal" for the team in my first season back. There's a lot to build on, much of which I'll dive in depth into at some point, but no need to get ahead! We still have some games left!

Best performance of the week goes to John Mitchell, who's second half hasn't gone as planned. He was great against the Wranglers, spinning a 6-hit shutout with a walk and 3 strikeouts. His first of the season and the 4th of his career, he lowered his season ERA to 4.36 (104 ERA+) in 30 starts and 200.1 innings. He'll get two more starts, and if he can keep his ERA where it is, he'll finish with four consecutive seasons with an ERA+ above 100.

We pitched pretty well, in the rotation and the pen, with Pug White picking up his 12th win of the season. In a starters workload, he threw 8 innings, allowing 5 hits, a run, and 2 walks with 7 strikeouts. He won't hit the innings qualifier, but our talented stopper has thrown 133.2 innings in 71 appearances, 12-8 with 16 saves, a 3.16 ERA (143 ERA+), 1.19 WHIP, and 104 strikeouts. The only guy with mores strikeouts then him is Roy Ellis, who struck out 2 in a 4-2 win over the Wranglers. He didn't get the decision, 6 innings with 3 hits, 2 runs (1 earned), and a walk, lowering his ERA and WHIP to 3.54 (128 ERA+) and 1.16. A huge breakout from our new #2, he's been one of our most effective pitchers all season, and if his next start lasts 4.2 innings, he'll reach 200 innings for the first time in his career. He's one of the few guys I'm willing to guarantee a rotation spot to next year, and he has a chance to be a fixture in our rotation this decade.

Offensively, not much was done, though our outfield did the best of the bunch. Henry Watson and Jerry McMillan were the only two guys with 10 or more PAs and an OPS+ above 100, and each of them added a home run. Watson was 7-for-24 with a double, triple, walk, 2 RBIs, and 3 runs, while McMillan was 7-for-25 with 2 doubles, a triple, a steals, 3 RBIs, and 4 runs scored. A bit better was Bobby Martinez, though he only made 8 PAs. 3-for-7, he added a walk and RBI, continuing his amazing start to his career. Our last outfielder, Jim Barton, might have had a 97 OPS+, but the 104 WRC+ would make him a little above average. 6-for-17, he added a double, RBI, and two runs. It sucks seeing the offense slump like this, but we did still go 3-3, and two of those losses were against the #1 staff.

Looking Ahead
Nine more games left, six this week, with three hosting the Stars and three in Cleveland. Both teams have more wins then us, with the Stars at 82 and the Foresters at 84. It's going to be tough to end this week on the positive, but anything other then a sweep at this point is acceptable. The games don't really matter, and while we can get to 3rd or 4th, we at least can't fall out of 5th. I want to win as much left as we can, but for the first time all season, we have no-stress games where we can build on what we do for next season.