[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 1-6
Seasonal Record: 78-79 (2nd, 27 GB)

Schedule
9-15: Loss at Kings (3-4)
9-16: Loss at Kings (1-7)
9-17: Loss at Kings (0-5)
9-18: Win vs Wranglers (2-3)
9-19: Loss vs Wranglers (2-0)
9-20: Loss vs Wranglers (6-3)
9-21: Loss vs Wranglers (9-7)

Recap
Yeah so we kind of suck now and the season is almost over, so this will be short and not very sweet. We lost all three to the Kings, and they threw a debut pitcher who shut us out instead of one of their Allen winners, and the Wranglers somehow took three of four from us in Chicago. A complete and utter shock.

Of course, the only win came form Bill Bartlett, but even then it wasn't really a Bill Bartlett like win. I guess because it was tied and Pug wanted a pinch hitter, Bartlett was taken out after just 6, throwing just 76 pitches. He did get the win, 6 innings with 3 hits, 2 runs, and 2 strikeouts, and he's now officially qualified for the ERA title with 164.1 innings in 21 starts.

Now the sad thing is this pretty much effectively ends his regular season. Sure, I could give him a start against the Kings in the final week, but since he threw so few innings and didn't really dominate, is it even worth risking his season stats over a meaningless start? I mean 18 of his 21 starts were pretty much the best ever, and even with three three awful starts, he leads all FABL pitchers in ERA (2.14), WHIP (1.05), ERA+ (183), and BABIP (.214), and even though he could lose the sole lead, I don't think any FABL pitcher is getting two shutouts in the last week, and for it to impact Bartlett that pitcher would have to be Marco Middleton (14-3, 1, 2.90, 125) or Herm Quinn (15-12, 2.94, 166). Sadly, the Allen is likely out of reach, and I'm not even sure he has my vote, after the stinker against the Mavericks, but he'll be the 1975 Kellogg winner, and a favorite for the 1976 Allen now that he'll make his first Opening Day roster.

I guess one other thing worth talking about is Tom Halliday, who pretty much had all of our offensive production for the week. An even 10-for-20, Halliday added a double, 2 homers, 4 RBIs, 3 walks, 2 runs, and a steal. Red hot in September, he's hit .343/.397/.537 (157 OPS+), raising his season line to a pretty solid .274/.314/.395 (95 OPS+). Somehow his WRC+ is up to 101 in 139 games, and he's added 19 doubles, 5 triples, 10 homers, 51 runs, 53 RBIs, and 13 steals. His defense has hovered around a 3.4 zone rating at short, still great for a guy who will be 37 soon, and it seems like his early season struggles were a true aberration.

Looking Ahead
I won't waste too much time on what's next, as I can't wait for this season to end, but we host the Kings twice, are off, and then visit Dallas for three more. Not only am I shutting down Bartlett, but Roger Alford, who's been awful all month. His best start saw him allow 4 runs, followed by three with 5, and then 8 runs in less then 2 innings. His ERA has jumped from 3.17 to 3.76 (104 ERA+), dropping him outside the top-5 for pitchers. I'm guessing it's bad luck, he's way better then this, and five starts don't erase 29 of dominance. With no Alford or Bartlett, Hal Adams returns, and with the day off Pug White will get two starts. I'd love to at least win once, but it's so disappointing that what looked like an easy over .500 season has evaporated due to 12 losses in 14 games.

Good thing we weren't in a pennant race!