The Career of Julien Henri - A look back in time

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I just got the news two hours ago and rushed to Le Diamant. I was fitted for my first FBL uniform. I am now in the major leagues. And, if that is not enough, the skip has me batting lead off. Excited? Scared? Proud? Yeah, you got it, All of the Above.

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When Laurant Mercier went down with a herniated disc injury (2 weeks) club management decided to dip into the minors for another outfielder. That brings the Diamonds back up to 5 OF's.

The bench coach has me leading off and in CF vs RHP, but, on the pine vs. lefties. I am not currently listed as a starting pitcher.

No guarantees as to how long I will stay with the Diamonds once Mercier returns to the line up. 25 year old OF David Lenoir is probably having an off-year but is expected to stay with the club. However, Bench Coach Claude Torres encouraged me to give it all I have and then see what happens and who goes where. So, that's the plan.

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City: Montreal
Pitching: Montreal P Daniel Tardieu (9-4)
Batting: Henri first batter up in the game

Outcome: A ground single to left field!

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Down 2-0 in the top of the second, with 2 out and bases loaded Henri sends a deep fly to center. It is caught at the wall.

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Lamy (subbing for a tired DeLage) hits a solo shot to cut the deficit to 4-1. With 2 out, Julien Henri lines a single to CF. He is stranded at second base.

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Julien Henri works a walk but is stranded at first base. The score remains Montreal 4, Le Diamant 1.

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PH Delage K's.
J. Henri lines a base hit to right giving him singles to all three fields.

Le Diamant gets one more runner on base but ultimately falls short.

For Julien, quite a debut.
Note: He was cut down stealing second base in the first inning when the #2 batter whiffed on a pitch.

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We lost our first 3 games after I joined the ball club. On the 4th day, we bested the Snake Eyes in a 4-2 contest. Angel Lepine moves his record to 11-4 as he played the role of the stopper.

Herve is helping me with the adjustment at the PRO level. Little things about getting ready for road trips, when to get rest, and it's nice to have a good friend when we go out to eat.

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A loss to the team with Laurant on the sidelines for an even longer period of time. For me, it probably means my stay with the Diamonds is more secure. My goal is to play well enough in his absence that they will not want to send me back to Le Marin. It's happened to other players, so why not me?

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I guess it was no surprise that I wouldn't keep hitting above .400. So, yeah, I came down to earth in the FBL this week. Especially, playing Fountain Bleu who just pounded us in France this week. They out hit us, and out pitched us. We lost all three.

Fortunately, we got a bit of revenge from another team French team, Giverney. We won the first two games in Le Diamant. Sunday we will finish off the 3 game set. So, a .500 week.

Other notes:
The skip gave me a start this week as I'm currently the #5 player in the pitching rotation. I wish I could have had a better outing. I was nervous, finding it hard to concentrate in the early innings. Clement Monnet took me deep in the 2nd inning with 2 runners on base. Huge mistake. The pitcher was up next. I know better than that. I did settle down and made it through 7 innings before Fourcade took me deep in the 7th. All 5 runs were by way of the bomb. But, hey, we won the game and that is all that really matters.

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The IAFA pool was less than outstanding according to our scout, Patrick Beck. He encouraged management to go after two players. The Diamonds snagged one of the two, Jose Urrutia, from Costa Rica. He profiles as either a CF or RF. Definitely has the arm according to Patrick.

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Two players took in big dollar deals in the FBL. Mr. Beck expressed only mild interest in both. He encouraged the team to put the dollars into the minor league facilities to help the current group expand their skills in a modern environment. You can see why most of the young players like and respect Patrick Beck. He's a players, scout, is what he is. Here are the new 'rich kids' on the block.

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A strange week in Le Diamant, at least for me, as I adjust to not being an every day player. No issues with the skip's decisions, but, it's been quite some time since I actually watched the game from the dugout. The only exceptions were the day after I pitched in Le Marin.

One look at the standings and you can see we've slipped to .500 and are now looking up at two teams, not one. I'm hitting .333 with two RBI's. My only start this week was a good one. No decision, but, I worked deep into the game.

Word has it that Laurant may be activated mid-week. Will I be sent down? Your guess is as good as mine as it's not something you discuss in the dugout. I'm a rookie so I sort of stay in the background on that kind of stuff.

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25 year old OF David Lenoir demoted to AAA Le Marin.

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We started and finished well but the 4 consecutive road losses spelled out a losing week. My bat has cooled off. My only start of the week was a 3-1 loss. I gave it all I had but it just wasn't our day.

The club is happy to have Laurant Mercier back in the clubhouse. Sort of a quiet guy that lets his bat do the talking. He had 3 hits in our last game, a win.

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A 3-3 week for us. I had a no decision start in the on July 21st. Some very nice relief pitching kept the game within reach for us. In the bottom of the 9th Yannick Sicard unloaded with his 13th round tripper of the year giving the Diamonds a walk off W, much to the delight of the 14,000+ crowd.

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A great final week for our Diamonds as we reel off four in a row on our way to a 5-1 week. Le Diamant is back in the thick of the pennant race.

I had my most memorable game in my young career starting out the week. The skip gave me the nod, handed me the ball, and I delivered a CG while throwing just 111 pitches. We beat a pretty good team in the Expedition. To top it off, I blasted my first FBL home run on an 0/1 pitch, 366'.

We head to July feeling very confident. I told Herve after the game that I'm starting to feel like I belong. "Don't ever doubt it, Julien", was the reply.

We have Saint Michel and Montreal at home for the first 6 days of the week.

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Here is the recap of this evenings Le Diamant win. Rosters were expanded today so we got Matthieu Michel from Le Marin. His first AB was a ground out in a pinch hit role. As we all know from AAA (.344 BA), Michel can rake.

The Waves won today but the Sting Rays lost a close one. Cap Chevalier and Le Diamant cut the lead to 1 game behind Anse d'Arlet.

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The club was informed by our trainer, Michel Pillet, that our #1 prospect from the draft went down with a torn labrum. Maxence is lost for the season.

He was probably over his head in AA with the Parrots but apparently came with such a strong rep that they leap frogged him over Single A.

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The only player selected in front of Maxence in the last draft was Alvidrez. He hails from Venezuela and is one of the few completely non-french speaking players in the FBL system. Not to worry says, Manual, he has a full time tutor helping him with his language skills.

On the mound he appears to have ample pitching skills. Our scout Patrick is not sold on him, but, most other scouts give him an excellent chance of success. Right out of college, Manual was sent to AA where he got a taste of French Baseball. He is in the Snake eye system, so he will be playing up north in Canada.