OOPS I did it again

[gehrig38]

3 @ Phoenix ALL-STAR BREAK

RESULTS
0-3 @ Phoenix
7/17- PHX 8 CIP 1 recently traded Mike White (PHX) 3-3 BB 2B 3 R 2 RBI Jesse Roberts HR (15) SB (17) Joey Morris (L) 4-1 3.21 6 IP 9 H 8 R 7 ER
7/18- PHX 7 CIP 3 Hawkins (L) 6-10 4.81 4.2 IP 7 R 3 ER 7 K Garcia's 4th error leads to 4 undearned and a loss.
Miguel Rodriguez (PHX) 2H Grand Slam 5 RBI's (38)
7/19- PHX 7 CIP 3 Guijosa 5 outs 3 walks 6 H and 6 earned runs. Wynn HR (5)
Takeya Yasuda (PHX) Grand Slam (10) 5 RBI's (53).

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 2B Josh Potillo (CHA) 9-12 RBI
NL POTW- LF John Cleary (EP) 8-15 2 HR 8 RBI

IRON PIG NEWS

• 22 year old Class A 3B Marcos Hernandez went 8-17 4 HR 9 RBI to win POTW.
• 3B Andy Williams was 11-17 2 HR 3 RBI to win the Short-season POTW. He's hitting .390-4-9 early on. He was a minor league free agent.
• The day before the break Sam Bunn's dtd problem became more. He's headed to the IR and IF Anthony Tripp will be recalled. He'll be the 5th or 6th IF after hitting just .159 in his first trip through the IBL.

[gehrig38]

Four Chicago Iron Pigs made the 2011 All-Star game.

1. Catcher Brian Stachowski is hitting .258/.343/.390 8 HR
2. Shortstop Juan Chavez is hitting .284/.316/.455 10 HR
3. Left Fielder Jesse Roberts is hitting .291/.348/.517 15 HR 17 SB
4. Center Fielder Justin Krieg is hitting .332/.365/.505 11 HR 15 SB

• New England's Alberto Merera was selected to start for the NL, he's 11-3 3.66 and there's much debate over a few other guys being passed on. Juan Laurel of San Diego enters the break 14-3 2.14 while Pittsburgh's Adam Sharpe is 11-4 1.73.
• Opposing Merera will be 5-time all-star Michiro Miyamoto of Portland. He's 11-2 1.65 at the break.
  
• San Jose OF Andrew Jacobi took home the honors of top vote getter with 3.1 million votes beating Denver 1B Oscar Aviles who tallied 2.87 million to pace the American League.
  
• Charlotte OF'er Joe Davis defeated San Francisco's Luis Corona 12-11 in the final round to win the 2011 HR Derby. Davis was the 1st overall selection by Charlotte in the 2006 draft from North Carolina and finished 2nd in the 2007 Jackie Robinson voting. He led the league his rookie year with 41 HR's an has 160 in his 5 year career. He's never been able to get the other aspects of his offense up and running, slashing .217/.307/.451 over 705 IBL games and almost 3000 plate appearances.
  
• The NL beat the AL 2-0 and 2B Mark Drake (FRE) took home MVP honors with his 2 run pinch-hit 2B.
• Jesse Roberts went 1-2, Brian Stachowski was 0-1.

[gehrig38]

3 vs Jacksonville 3 @ New England 1 vs Fresno
RUNS SCORED: 490 (5th)
RUNS AGAINST: 568 (16th)
OBP: .323 (4th)
STARTERS ERA: 5.14 (16th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.45 (13th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .678 (9th)
ZONE RATING: -12.4 (12th)

RESULTS (45-62 12 GB)
2-1 vs Jacksonville 0-3 @ New England 0-1 vs Fresno
7/24- CIP 6 JAX 4 Nate Gross 2nd and 3rd 0 outs, fans the side in the 8th. Guijosa 6.2 IP 7 H 7 K 4 BB 122 pitches W (8-9 5.48) Juan Chavez 2H Grand Slam (11) 4 RBI (49)
7/25- JAX 9 CIP 0 Scott Herman (JAX) CG 6 H (13-5 3.37) Andy Powers (L) 5 IP 11 H 6 ER (6-8 5.70)
7/26- CIP 6 JAX 5 (11) Morris ND 6 IP 5 H 4 K 2 ER Jesse Roberts 2H 2 RBI Garcia 2 2B's RBI Stachowski 3H 3 R
Top pick Mike Johnson did hit his 1st HR this week, but is now below .200. On Tuesday, he's sent down to Minneapolis
Phoenix has placed 12-time all-star and former MVP Andy Peterson on the trading block. There is no deal in place and he's in the final year of his contract at 14.2 million.
7/27- NE 8 CIP 5 Floyd L (7-8 4.72) 7 IP 8 H 4 ER Diaz 1/3rd 4 ER Rogers 3H 2B HR 3 RBI
Alberto Merera (NE) 8 IP 5 ER 4 in the 9th (12-3 3.78)
Deadline looming and while I want to trade like crazy it takes two, and I'm not seeing much as of today. Tons of high priced veterans on the market.
7/28- NE 5 CIP 0 Hawkins L (6-11 4.72) 6 IP 5 H 2 ER Rogers 3H
7/29- NE 3 CIP 2 Tied it top of 9 2-2. Stachowski 4-4
7/30- FRE 5 CIP 0 Powers 7.1 IP 8 H 3 ER (6-9 5.59)
Zach McMillion (FRE) 7.1 IP 3 H 6 K (12-3 3.19)

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 3B Curtis Conley (SI) 14-26 2 HR 9 RBI
NL POTW- 2B Jeff Hicks (ATL) 11-26 2 HR 7 RBIs

• San Diego's Juan Laurel shut out Washington 5-0 for his 16th win. He's 16-3 1.92. The 22-year old struck out 10 and did not walk a batter. Laurel led the NL with 225.2 innings last year going 15-15 4.27.

[gehrig38]

There were 10 trades made on the final day before the deadline. The Iron Pigs were involved in exactly none. I tried hard and threw offers everywhere, but sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make. No major deals, the contenders all strengthening bullpens and grabbing extra bats and teams trying to unload potential free-agents.
Teams in the IBL place extreme value on prospects so I just couldn't find a match. Three hours to go until the deadline.

Thinking back to the expansion draft and my desire to draft players other clubs saw value in I may have erred. There was interest in many of our players but no one had enough to warrant an offer I wanted to consider. That doesn't mean anything as far as the future is concerned, there's the entire off-season to continue building the roster.

[gehrig38]

3 vs Jacksonville 3 @ New England 1 vs Fresno Deadline is the 31st
RUNS SCORED: 514 (5th)
RUNS AGAINST: 590 (16th)
OBP: .322 (6th)
STARTERS ERA: 5.14 (16th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.28 (11th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .679 (9th)
ZONE RATING: -11.4 (12th)

RESULTS (48-64 10 GB)
2-0 vs Fresno 1-2 vs Washington 1-0 @ Pittsburgh
7/31- CIP 6 FRE 5 Becker loads the bases in the 9th with 0 outs, gets out of it SV (6)/ Morris 6 IP 5 H 4 ER W (5-1 3.39) Chavez 2H HR
8/1- CIP 4 FRE 1 Floyd 8 IP 1 H 0 ER 7 K 0 BB (8-8 4.43) 7 total hits in the game.
8/2- WAS 8 CIP 4 Hawkins 6 ER 3.2 IP (6-12 5.01) Roberts 2B HR (16) 2 R RBI SB (19)
LHP Bryan Pelletier came off the DL and will begin a full 20 day rehab in New Orleans. The 27 year old was our 34th pick in the expansion draft and was recovering from Tommy John surgery before having a setback at the end of camp. He won a World Series in 2009 with Fresno.
8/3- WAS 5 CIP 2 Guijosa 7 IP 8 H 7 K 0 BB 4 ER (8-10 5.37) Krieg 3H 2 2B Ayala 3H 2B
Top overall pick Mike Johnson went 5-8 3 HR 8 RBI over the past 2 days. Since being sent down he's hitting .273/.429/.864 with 4 HR 9 RBI in 6 games.
8/4- CIP 5 WAS 4 (12) Rogers 3H RBI Krieg ties it in the 9th with a 2 out 2B, Garcia HBP with the bases loaded in the 12th to “walk it off” literally. Stachowski 0-6 4 K Andy Powers ND 5.2 IP 8 H 4 ER 6 K 'Pen 6.1 IP 2 H 10 K 1 BB
8/5- OFF DAY
8/6- CIP 9 PIT 4 Up against 20 year old phenom Adam Sharpe (L) 3.1 IP 7 H 7 R (11-7 2.71) Joey Morris (W) 6 IP 8 H 3 ER 3 K (6-1 3.46) Krieg 3H 2 2B 2 R 2 RBI (65) Chavez E (10) Kevin Rogers was HBP and had to come out, no word yet.

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 2B Nick Lowry (BRK) 11-26 HR 3 RBI
NL POTW- LF Isaiah Hart (NYP) 12-26 3 HR 8 RBI

• On Tuesday the Cleveland Gladiators announced they'd be without the services of OF Roman Martin for the remainder of the year. Martin tore his labrum diving for a ball in their Sunday night ESPN game. The Gladiators are atop the AL's southern division, leading Charlotte by 5.5 games. 23 year old Nate O'Connell will step into Martin's role. The youngster is a ++ defender who has hit .362/.438/.692 over 36 starts and 150 PA's this year.
• Wyoming 3B Jeremy Schaus went 4-5 hitting 3 HR's and drviing in 6 in a 14-2 win over Denver on Thursday. Schaus was the 3rd overall pick in the 2004 draft.

IRON PIG NEWS

• Nashville 3B Jason Schwartz took home Short-season POTM for July, hitting .379 9 HR 22 RBI 16 R

[gehrig38]

AL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- LF Sergio Santiago (SI) .410-3-18 20 R
NL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- LF Danny Lamar (PIT) .366-5-27 18 R
AL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Cooper Broussard (BOS) 4-0 1.50 33 K 30 IP
NL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Juan Laurel (SD) 5-0 1.38 52 K 45.2 IP
AL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- SP Alberto Cedillo (DEN) 2-0 0.70 25.2 IP 26 K 16 H
NL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- SP Rogelio Velazco (SD) 3-1 1.67

[gehrig38]

POTM- Jesse Roberts .303/.337/.592 7 2B 5 HR 16 RBI
PiOTM- Nate Gross 0.00 ERA 11.1 IP 15 K 0 BB

Nate Gross will be moving into the closers role with some other roles being shuffled in the bullpen.

This club has turned out to be one that can hit. 2nd in average, 4th in OBP and 2nd in OPS. 5th in HR's. But it's a nightmare on the mound. Last or near last across the board.

As I look at the roster I'll be doing an update soon. I have far more offensive talent at young ages than I thought I did. I need a massive year of adding pitching value and hopefully the market will allow us to grab some veteran arms. I am not saying I contend next year but I will have a shot at a .500 season I think.

[gehrig38]

What the hell?

• Our latest scouting reports came in for July.
• Some of the young bucks on the IBL roster are developing even better than we'd hoped.
• P Rick McKitrick has improved across the board and gained velocity. He's working upper 90's now.
• Nate Draper's stuff has improved and he's moved from 2 to 2.5 stars.
• Juan Chavez has improved defensively at 2B.
• Gus Garcia has exploded. Lost a step apparently but his current and potentials all jumped this month. He's gone from 2.5 to 3 stars per our scouts and they've upped his ceiling from 3.5 to 4 stars.
• The good news pretty much ends there.
• All, and I mean ALMOST all of our prospects regressed!
• SP Dan Williams went from 5 star potential to 3.5 He's 5-1 3.30 but was hurt yesterday and has been dtd for a week. He's going to sit until he is 100%.
• SP Kyle Fay went from 4 star potential to 2.5 but his velocity did kick up.
• SP Todd Barbour went from 3.5 stars to 2.5 and his potential stuff dropped from 19 to 12??? He's 5-0 2.39 at Nashville.
• SP David Arroyo dropped from 5 to 4.5 stars. Arroyo is sporting a 6.99 ERA at Nashville and had one more start. He went 7 and punched out 10 with no walks.
• SS Enrique Garza dropped from 3.5 to 3 stars but his defense got a bit better.
• SP Steve Carder saw his potential stuff drop from 18 to 15 per our scouts and he went from 3 to 2.5 stars.
• Mike Johnson is 1 for his first 12 in rookie ball, the 1 being a solo HR.
• Josh Dufault has 10 homers at Nashville.

• This is the sort of thing that gets people fired. This gets whole departments fired. You cannot, in any organization much less an expansion team in the early stages of a full-on rebuild, miss the draft, you just can't. Now I am not going to panic, though it sounds like I am. I am not going to knee jerk. I'm going to wait and see this through the end of the year where these guys land. If this is real, and these new projections hold, I will fire everyone, and I mean everyone.

[gehrig38]

“No hard feelings but I want to be traded”. That's pretty much how the meeting began. He said if he got into the lineup every day he'd rescind the demand but he doesn't think that's best for either party, nor does his .261 OBP.
It's 48 hours past the deadline so that will present a major issue. But this is also one of the things the GM's build reputations on, trying to do what's best for both parties when possible.

[gehrig38]

The New York Punishers issued a press release early Wednesday announcing the passing of team owner Seth Creque. The beloved philanthropist passed away while on vacation in Puerto Rico. No details have been given.
Creque's 42 year old son Tyrone has assumed the mantle of ownership. Punisher fans filled the chat boards worried sick that the profit driven son would do harm to their beloved club. Tyrone is a huge fantasy baseball fan and word is he likes to 'meddle' in the day to day of running a team. But also well know as a very kind and caring man. New York is currently 56-53 in the NL Eastern Division, 8 games back of 1st place New England, and 3 behind the surprising expansion team out of Pittsburgh.

[gehrig38]

2 @ Pittsburgh 3 vs Las Vegas 2 @ Oklahoma City
RUNS SCORED: 549 (4th)
RUNS AGAINST: 616 (16th)
OBP: .322 (3rd)
STARTERS ERA: 5.01 (16th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.24 (10th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .678 (10th)
ZONE RATING: -9.3 (11th)

RESULTS (53-66 10 GB)
0-2 @ Pittsburgh 3-0 vs Las Vegas 2-0 @ Oklahoma City
8/7- PIT 6 CIP 5 5 run 1st Chavez 2R HR (13) pen blows it late. Danny Floyd ND 5.1 IP 10 H 5 K 3 ER
Rogers fractured his finger and will miss 5-6 weeks. Sam Bunn is due off the DL in 2 days so I am going to give Jose Nieves 2 starts to get his feet wet. He'll go back down when Bunn is activated. He is added to the 40 man (now at 38) and called up.
8/8- PIT 6 CIP 5 Hawkins 6.1 IP 6 H 4 BB 5 ER down 5-2 we tie it in the top of the 9th then blow it in the bottom. Wynn 3H leadoff HR Stachowski 0-5 3 K Ayala 2H HR Nieves 0-3 BB
8/9- CIP 1 LV 0 Guijosa CG 2 H 8 K 2 BB 128 pitches (9-10 5.01) Nieves 0-3 K
Russell Matson comes off a short rehab stint and Nieves heads back to New Orleans 0-6 BB K Bunn heads to New Orleans for a rehab stint
8/10- CIP 3 LV 2 Krieg 2B GW HR 2 RBI (70) Andy Powers ND 6.1 IP 5 H 2 ER Gross SV (2)
8/11- CIP 8 LV 4 Frank Abbott (playing 1B) hits 2 HR's including a grand slam and sets an Iron Pig record with 7 RBI's. Krieg 2H 2B (39) Morris W (7-1 3.40) 7 IP 5 H 5 K 2 ER
8/12- CIP 9 OKC 5 (16) 'Pen blows 3 run 9th inning lead. Floyd 6 IP 2 ER 8 K Robles 3 IP 4 K Cook 3H Krieg 4H 2 2B (41) 3 RBI (74) Abbott GW HR (3)
8/13- CIP 4 OKC 3 Hawkins 6 IP 8 K 3 ER ND Wynn GW 1B in the 9th Cook 3H 2B

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- LF Zach Stewart (PHI) 10-27 5 HR 12 RBI
NL POTW- LF Jorge Cortez (ATL) 14-27 HR 7 RBI

• On Friday 39 year old 4 time Koufax winner Yaaqov Hysh tossed his 12th career SHO striking out 5 in a 2-hit 14-0 win over Columbus. He's 6-11 3.66 over 24 starts this year and he is the only pitcher in IBL history to strikeout 4000+ hitters. His 4336 strikeouts pace all-time leaderboard.
• Also on Friday 2004 Koufax winner and 7 time gold-glove winner Rob Kilmer of Detroit announced his retirement, effective immediately. The 41 year old made just 2 starts this year before tearing his meniscus. He finishes his 17 year career 177-174 3.95 over 550 games. His 2582 strikeouts rank 7th all-time.

IRON PIG NEWS

• Nashville 3B Jason Schwartz, who is destroying pitching for the Buccaneers, won the Short Season HR Derby. The 20 year old switch hitter is hitting .403-15-41 leading all three triple crown categories.
• AAA OF Ricky Gutierrez went 11-23 HR 6 RBI to win AAA Western League POTW
• A 5-2 week feels good this late. There are some concerns off the field and mainly in the coaching locker room. The staff is not getting along and it is spilling out. I never expect to hear anything out of the coaches room certainly nothing to the detriment of the club. Most of the unrest seems to be centered around Bench Coach Marco Delgado.

[gehrig38]

Chicago 1B Andy Tripp is in hot water with manager Bill Belfiore for a series of pranks. “These guys are more than ok to joke and goof around if they were on a team that wasn't 10 games out of 1st place and 14 games under .500. Why he's acting like a clown, especially considering the season he's had, is beyond me.”
Tripp was visibly upset at being called out “I'm just having some fun, trying to loosen the guys up, it's been a nightmare season here. I don't need to be called out in public, and a fine?? Seriously?”

BACKROOM CHATTER
Zero tolerance for this BS. Granted he's 21 years old and the litany of idiocy I executed at that age would sink the Titanic. But Matson being involved is a bridge too far.

[gehrig38]

1 @ Oklahoma City 3 vs San Francisco OFF DAY 2 @ San Diego
RUNS SCORED: 577 (4th)
RUNS AGAINST: 648 (16th)
OBP: .323 (3rd)
STARTERS ERA: 4.91 (16th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.33 (13th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .678 (9th)
ZONE RATING: -7.4 (10th)

RESULTS (56-69 11 GB)
0-1 @ OKC 2-1 vs San Francisco 1-1 @ San Diego
8/14- OKC 7 CIP 2 Guijosa (L) 6 IP 6 H 4 ER (9-11 5.05)
Nate Grieshop (OKC) 8 IP 2 ER 4 K (10-11 3.04) Nate was the 2nd overall selection back in 2003
8/15- CIP 4 SF 1 Andy Powers (W) 7 IP 4 H 8 K 1 ER (7-9 5.29) Cook 2 2B RBI 2 R Draper escapes 2 on 0 out 9th SV (3)
8/16- SF 6 CIP 5 Joey Morris ND 5 IP 6 H 4 R 2 ER defense lets us down again. Stachowski 3H
8/17- CIP 11 SF 8 Ayala 3H 2 2B 2 RBI Tripp 2H 2 2B 4 RBI Chavez 3H Wynn 2H 2B 2 SB (11) Floyd (W) 9-8 4.19 6.2 IP 6 H 0 ER 6 K Draper gives up 5 on 2 walks 3 hits and a grand slam in the 9th.
8/18- OFF DAY
8/19- SD 7 CIP 2 Hawkins solid ND 6 IP 3 H 6 K 2 ER 'pen implodes Draper, Bick, McKitrick combine to walk 4 allowing 4 runs on 2 hits with 2 WP and 2 HBP. Ayala 2H HR 2 RBI
8/20- CIP 4 SD 3 (14) Garcia 4H 3B HR RBI Wynn 3 H HR (7) SB (12) Guijosa 5.1 IP 0 K 4 BB 103 pitches 'Pen shuts it down. 8.2 IP 7 H 0 R10 K 5 BB Diaz (W)
Mike Geiselman (SD) 4-6 2B (33)

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 1B Bernard Gruber (WYO) 13-29 HR 4 RBI
NL POTW- RF Mike Mcintosh (SF) 8-14 2 HR 6 RBI

IRON PIG NEWS
COACHING CHANGE IN CHICAGO
Iron Pigs GM Curt Schilling announced the team had fired Bench Coach Marco Delgado hired former IBL outfielder Raul Chavez, signing him to a 3-year deal.
“We are nowhere near where we want to be, but having said that I expect every single person in uniform to be pulling the rope in the same direction. I did not feel like that was happening and changes were made.”
Manager Bill Belifore had no comment when asked about the move he was clearly not made aware of before hand.

BACKROOM CHATTER

• There is outright “feuding” going on in our coaching room. This will not be the last change. The following day 1B coach Andres Vasquez is let go and veteran bench coach Dave Stephens joins the team on a 3 year 225K deal, Both Stephens and Chavez are reputed as outstanding teachers and coaches and both will take on a larger share of the day to day duties.
• Staying on this topic, Josh Toney, former New York Punisher Pitching coach and one of the best minds in the game with regard to pitching, has let it be known he is ready to get back in the game. Toney, just 47 years old, led the Punisher staff to 4 consecutive post-season appearances from '06 to 2010. No idea why he was canned but this is a very rare opportunity to grab an elite baseball teacher and coach. Nothing public but I've extended a healthy 5-year offer.
• Truth be told could our current pitching coach act even remotely surprised if he was fired? He can't pitch I know that, but we're last in everything and you can't fire the players.

[gehrig38]

1 @ San Diego 3 vs Los Angeles 3 vs New York
RUNS SCORED: 606 (4th)
RUNS AGAINST: 668 (16th)
OBP: .322 (4th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.78 (16th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.25 (13th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .681 (9th)
ZONE RATING: -6.5 (9th)

RESULTS (61-71 10 GB)
1-0 @ San Diego 1-2 vs Los Angeles 3-0 vs New York
8/21- CIP 7 SD 4 Wynn 3H SB 3R Krieg HR (13) 2 RBI Abbott HR RBI Powers (W) 5.2 IP 7 BB 6 H 6 K 120 pitches (8-9 5,33) Gross SV (3)
Justin Krieg homered in the 1st and came out in the 2nd with a 'tired arm'. He'll get some rest of the next 2-3 days.
8/22- CIP 1 LA 0 Morris 7 IP 5 H 5 BB 2 K W 8-1 3.20 Gross SV (4) Garcia leadoff HR (11)
8/23- LA 5 CIP 3 Floyd ND 7 IP 7 K 1 K 1 BB 2 R Becker 3R 2/3rd IP Cook HR
Joe Nichols (LA) PH bases loaded 3B in the 8th.
8/24- LA 5 CIP 3 Hawkins 7.1 IP 3 H 3 K 3 BB 3 ER L (6-13 4.94) Anderson BS (7) Robles 2 ER 3 BB 2/3rd IP Cook 3H 2B (26) 3B 2 RBI
8/25- CIP 2 NY 1 Guijosa 6.1 IP 4 H 4 BB 6 K (10-11 4.90) Gross SV (5) Garcia HR (12)
8/26- CIP 8 NY 3 Powers W 9-9 5.27 3 ER 7 K 4 IP 110 pitches Gus Garcia 2H HR 3 RBI Elijah Jones HR 2 RBI Stachowski 2H 2 R BB Chavez 14th error Tripp 7th
8/27- CIP 5 NY 2 Morris 9-1 3.09 6.2 IP 2 H 7 K 1 R Gross SV (6) Roberts 3H 2B SB (26)

• LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS

AL POTW- LF Sergio Santiago (SI) 12-25 2 HR 5 RBI (2 time winner this year)
NL POTW- SS Susumi Hirabayashi (EP) 11-22 3 HR 7 RBI 7 R

• On Monday LA starter Bob Wells went 6 innings, fanned 6 allowing 1 run and lost 1-0. His record dropped to 4-12 and his ERA dropped to 2.73!
• He's made 14 quality starts and on the year is getting 1.7 runs of support! In his last 7 starts the Storm has been shut out 5 times! 3 1-0 losses. On the year he's been shut out 7 times and lost 4 1-0 games.

IRON PIG NEWS

• Pretty amazing that the team is playing .640 ball in August. 16-9. 37-32 at home, 20-18 in 1-run games which is surprising since that usually indicates a strong bullpen. Really was not expecting this sort of run but it beats going 1-6 every week. The pitching is still a trash heap for the most part but the rotation is beginning to at least get some consistent starts. The real challenge is the lack of control leads to insanely high pitch counts which put the burden on the bullpen. A couple days from now we will call up quite a few guys from New Orleans to lighten the load.
• One other issue? The offense it 12th in walks and last in strikouts. The pitching staff is 7th in K's and last in walks with 517.

[gehrig38]

WEEK 22
3 @ El Paso 3 vs Indianapolis
RUNS SCORED: 643 (3rd)
RUNS AGAINST: 689 (16th)
OBP: .324 (4th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.70 (16th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.18 (13th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .682 (9th)
ZONE RATING: -6.6 (9th)

RESULTS (66-72 8 GB)
2-1 @ El Paso 3-0 vs Indianapolis
8/28- CIP 7 EP 2 Floyd (W) 10-8 4.04 7.1 IP 3H 8K 2 ER Wynn HR 2 RBI Garcia 3H 2B 2 R SB Krieg 2H 2 RBI (79)
8/29- CIP 9 EP 5 (11) 'Pen 5.1 IP 1 H 4 BB 6 K 0 R Wynn leadoff HR (9) 2H 2R Krieg 2H 2B (44) Cook H 3BB 2 R Ayala 3H 2 2B 4 RBI Miller 4-5 2 2B 3 RBI
Wilfredo Diaz has a shoulder strain. We have to make a move but the roster expansion will be here in 2 days. Brian Pelletier went 3-1 2.88 over 25 IP in his rehab, walking 5 fanning 25. We are going to go with a 6-man rotation this time around and reassess after the rosters expand. He will pitch tomorrow. Sam Bunn ends his rehab and Tripp is sent back for a few days.
8/30- EP 5 CIP 4 Bick BS 3 H 2 R 1 ER Pelletier 6 IP 6 H 7 K 3 R 1 ER Bunn 2 Errors 4-4 2 2B R RBI Wynn 3H game tying 9th inning HR (10) Krieg 3H 2B (45)
Dallas, in 1st in the AL West by 9 over the Chicago Hitmen, lost SP Jabari Durham for at least a year after he underwent Tommy John surgery. The 28 year old was 10-11 4.35 in 27 starts. Chris Frisk (12-8 4.45) is also on the DL and his return is unknown.
8/31- OFF DAY
9/1- CIP 2 IND 1 Guijosa (W) 7.2 IP 9 K 0 BB 6 H (11-11 4.72) Roberts HR (17) Gross SV (7) throws his back out on the games final pitch! Likely done for the year.
9/2- CIP 3 IND 2 Stachowski 8th inning GW 3R HR (9). Powers 6 IP 2 H 5 K 1 ER
9/3- CIP 12 IND 6 Morris carried a 12-2 lead into the 9th 8.1 IP 9 H 5 ER 7 K 0 BB (10-1 3.24) Roberts 4H 2B 2 RBI Krieg 2H HR (14) 3 RBI (83) SB (18) Matson 4-4 2B HR (6) 2 R 3 RBI Ayala 3R HR (3)

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- LF Andrew Jacobi (SJ) 14-22 7 RBI (had a 5-5 day Thursday)
NL POTW- CF Ricky Ramirez (JAX) 10-21 5 HR 8 RBI (think this is two POTW)

• On Thursday Jacksonville lefty Scott Herman went 5.2 innings in an 8-0 win over San Francisco for career victory #200. He has spent all 14+ years of his IBL career in Jacksonville where he is 200-146 4.01 in 463 games, all starts. A 2001 and 2010 World Champion with Jacksonville he's led the league in starts 5 times, innings 3 times WHIP once and BB/9 one time as well. His 200 wins are 8th all-time and 5th among active pitchers.
• On Sunday the Chicago Hitmen learned ace Aaron Zuch would be undergoing exploratory shoulder surgery and be lost for at least the next 9-10 months. The 25 year old 2010 Koufax winner was 9-6 3.23 for the “2nd place” Chicago club. I put the “” around 2nd place because they are 65-74 and 12 games behind Dallas.

[gehrig38]

SEPTEMBER CALL UPS

• For now just a couple guys, rosters are maxed at 35.
• P Luke Artino already on the 40 man for an extra arm in the pen.
• Catcher Alejandro Rodriguez was added to the 40 man and recalled as a reward for a fantastic season. The 22 year old hit .275/.340/.469 with 18 HR's and 56 RBI's. He's as good defensively as both our rostered guys so that's of no concern.
• Star prospect Juan Nieves will get called up and get some AB's at DH and at 3B.
• OF Bruce Graves was an expansion pick who had an ok season at AAA (.263/.330/.363) and is an elite defender.
• For now that's it. New Orleans is 7 out so I don't see them contending and we will bring up a few arms when their season ends.
• The plan is most likely to stick with the 6-man rotation from here on out too.
• Speaking of New Orleans, OF Ricky Gutierrez went 11-27 5 RBI to win AAA POTW. Gutierrez was acquired in our one deadline deal with Phoenix in late June. A former top prospect (86th in 2007) he is a RHH corner outfielder who has 100 steal potential and a very good bat. His off the field makeup might be as valuable as his on the field skills. He'll likely get a call up when their season ends.
• 19 year old 3B Andy Williams went 9-26 2 HR 8 RBI to win Short-season POTW. Williams is hitting .308-14-33 on the year.
• At weeks end the Chicago club had hit 16th in the power rankings. The first time all year we were not in the bottom half of the rankings.

• Albuquerque is the only minor league club contending and they've clinched a spot at 80-53. We will wait to make any more roster moves at AAA since the trickle down effect would harm the Albuquerque roster and the more post-season experience these kids can get the better.

[gehrig38]

3 @ Atlanta 3 vs Phoenix 1 @ Jacksonville
RUNS SCORED: 678 (4th)
RUNS AGAINST: 719 (15th) first week of the year we have not been 16th
OBP: .323 (4th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.69 (16th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.10 (10th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .683 (9th)
ZONE RATING: -4.3 (8th)

RESULTS (71-75 6 GB)
1-2 @ Atlanta 3-0 vs Phoenix 0-1 @ Jacksonville
9/4- ATL 5 CIP 4 Floyd 7 BB 5 ER 4 IP L 10-9 4.22
9/5- ATL 4 CIP 3 Hawkins (L) 6-14 5.12 4,2 IP 2 BB HR 5 H 4 ER
9/6- CIP 7 ATL 6 Pelletier (W) 5 IP 6 H 5 K 3 BB 2 ER (1-0) Robles 3 ER 1/3rd IP McKitrick SV (1) Garcia 2H HR (14) 3R 3 RBI Ayala 3-3 2 2B HR 4 RBI 5 for his last 11 2 2B 2 HR 9 RBI
Jeff Hicks (ATL) 8th inning Grand Slam 4 RBI
9/7- CIP 4 PHX 2 Guijosa (W) 12-11 4.55 6 IP 3 H 9 K 4 BB 0 R Anderson works out of bases loaded jam in the 8th Draper SV (4) Roberts HR (18) 2 RBI
9/8- CIP 7 PHX 3 Powers (W) 10-9 5.06 6 IP 4 H 2 ER 6 K 119 pitches Roberts 2H 2B 3 RBI
9/9- CIP 5 PHX 3 Joey Morris (W) 11-1 3.27 7.1 IP 5 H 8 K 2 R Artino SV (1) Krieg HR (15) 3 RBI (86) Jonathan Miller 3-3 2B
9/10- JAX 4 CIP 1 Floyd (L) 10-10 4.28 6 IP 8 H 8 K 4 ER

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- LF Jake Tillie (CLE) 10-21 HR 8 RBI
NL POTW- 1B Jesus Ruiz (SF) 9-18 3 HR 4 RBI Leading the IBL with 39 HR's and 109 RBI's. He's a 25 year old Int. FA signing from 2004.

• Brooklyn trails 1st place Boston by 3 games and were expecting 28 year old Mike Mitchell back this week. He apparently injured himself again after his May injury and will now be out at least another year, so likely to miss all of 2012 as well. Mitchell was 13-8 3.77 in 33 GS last year and 4-4 4.26 before going down in May.
• Portland Closer Jesus Diaz tore his labrum on Tuesday. The 37 year old 5-time all-star was in the midst of a career year at 2-3 33 Saves with a 1.89 ERA fanning 63 to 9 walks in 57 innings. He's out at least 10 months, likely more, and sadly was in the final year of his 5 year deal.
• On Thursday Pittsburgh dropped an 8-1 decision to Las Vegas to fall into a 1st place tie with New England at 78-65. Pittsburgh has ridden phenom Adam Sharpe (15-7 2.55) and Ricky Avendano (14-7 3.53) to a stunning season in their inaugural year. But word came down that 38 year old 'swing man' Tae-sang Jeon will undergo season ending, and possibly career-ending shoulder surgery. The 14 year vet signed this winter as a minor league free agent and was 7-6 3 saves with a 2.48 ERA in 41 games, 16 starts over 116 innings and a huge glue piece to that pitching staff. The 2008 all-star was non-committal when asked about his future plans.
• Fresno clinched the NL West about as early as anyone I can remember. With 17 games left their 92-53 record topped San Diego at 74-71. The Missions trail Pittsburgh by 5 for the 2nd wild-card spot. They lead the league in both runs scored and runs against, a pretty good combo. Former Iron Pig Closer Mario Mendoza has gone 3-1 with 19 Saves and a 2.52 ERA in 39 games, fanning 51 over 39.1 innings. No one on their offense jumps out with Ryan Ward and Adam Finch pacing the club at 24 HR apeiece and Ward and 2B Mark Drake leading with 83 RBI's. Finch is a 7-time all-star seeking his 3rd World Series title and the teams undisputed leader and captain. On the mound 24 year old Zach McMillion is the undisputed ace at 17-3 3.08 with 25 year old lefty Joe Bush following up at 14-6 3.47.

IRON PIG NEWS

• Class A Albuquerque clinched their division this week (83-53) and in surprising news short-season Nashville went 11-4 over their last 15 to clinch a post-season berth. This was El Paso native Jason Blakeman's 1st coaching job anywhere in baseball and he's signed to a 3 year deal. Things like this are what you have to demand from your minor league coaches, goal oriented and focused.

[gehrig38]

All things considered and after the nightmare 9-20 May we were 21-33. We've gone 50-42 since. Stunning, truly stunning. Our offense has out-performed our wildest expectations while our pitching has so drastically underperformed as to take my breath away. There's no good news to be found deep in the peripherals and I'll give you one number that's the cause of it all.
570.

• 570 base on balls. That's the worst number in the game. The negative effects are too numerous to speak to other than to say walking hitters = losing games, always. You can see it in the pitch counts and one reason I note them often. It shortens outings, which lengthens demand on the bullpen. It's a true killer. Take a look at Nolan Ryan's career. Can you fathom how much more insane his numbers are cutting his walks in half? Teaching young pitchers that the best hitters in the game MIGHT hit .400 on a 3-0 fastball vs the 1.000 OBP of ball four is a lesson they have to learn.
• I've asked our development coaches to focus on ALL of your young pitchers and their control as they develop.
• The other thing you'll note is how badly it impacts late game hold and save situations. I am hoping our change in pitching coaches begins to reap dividends this winter.
• But to honestly have a shot at a .500 season is pretty amazing. I remember my rookie year in Elmira, I think we were 31 or 32 and 39 and our coach challenged us to a .500 finish. We won out and after the final win it felt like we'd really won something. I need that here.
• On a side note there is still issues inside our coaches room and the feedback leads me to believe that manager Bill Belfiore is the reason. In multiple conversations he's made it clear he has issues with our new Pitching coach, 1B coach, 3B coach, scouting director and our head trainer. Raul Chavez, in my brief talks, is the only coach to actually complain about Belfiore and we knew that when we signed him. I can't and won't fire the entire staff and Belfiore is doing a great job this 2nd half, so I'll need to watch how this plays out.

[gehrig38]

2 @ Jacksonville OFF DAY 3 vs New England 1 @ Fresno
RUNS SCORED: 703 (4th)
RUNS AGAINST: 755 (15th)
OBP: .324 (4th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.72 (16th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 4.23 (12th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .681 (11th)
ZONE RATING: -4.9 (8th)

RESULTS (73-79 7 GB)
1-1 @ Jacksonville OFF DAY 2-1 vs New England 0-1 @ Fresno
9/11- CIP 4 JAX 3 Hawkins (W) 7-14 5.07 7 IP 7 H 3 ER Nieves 2H 1st IBL HR 3 RBI
9/12- JAX 6 CIP 2 (8) Called after 8 Pelletier (L) 1-1 3.24 5.2 IP 5 H 7 K 3 BB 3 ER Elijah Jones 2H HR (6)
Scott Herman (JAX) wins 20th. 20-7 3.36 6.1 IP 8 H 6 K 2 ER

• Milwaukee's season ends so we're calling up a few more players for the final 2 weeks.
• 19 year old prospect Dan Ferguson will be recalled and take Matt Hawkins rotation spot. Matt's 7-14 and can use the breather.
• OF Cory Dillon hit 17 HR's and played exceptional corner OF and at 25 I want to see what he's about. He is another RHH though. Several DL players were moved to the 60 day DL to open 40 man slots but I don't forsee problems making adjustments as they come back.
• OF Tom Martinez and OF Ricky Gutierrez will come up after New Orleans season is out. Martinez was our 6th pick in the expansion draft from Philly and had a great year, hitting .316/.362/.433. No pop to speak of but an elite eye. He's also a LHH. His defense is far from good enough to play every day.
• Gutierrez is a player built to run. He's 36-42 in the minors this year in SB and makes exceptional contact. His .345 OBP for New Orleans was nice to see. He's an older brain in a 25 year old body and can play elite corner OF, with a cannon in right.

9/13- OFF DAY
9/14- CIP 7 NE 0 Guijosa (W) 13-11 4.35 7.2 IP 2 H 10 K 4 BB Garcia 2H HR (15) 2 RBI Krieg 4H SB (19) Wynn hurt again. Graves 1-4 2 R SB (1)
9/15- CIP 9 NE 7 Andy Powers 12 K 7 IP 3 ER (11-9 5.01) Anderson SV (2) Jesse Roberts 3H 2B (31) SB (30) 2 RE 2 RBI Krieg 2 2B 5 RBI (92)
9/16- NE 9 CIP 1 Morris pounded 7 R 6 ER 2.2 IP (11-2 3.60)
Gutierrez and Martinez are added to the 40-man and recalled. P Melvin Lazoya is already on the roster and recalled filling up the expanded 35 man roster.

• Pittsburgh beat San Francisco to move into sole possession of 1st place in the NL East. Big time pitching duel tomorrow in Pittsburgh. Adam Sharpe 15-7 2.45 vs Juan Laurel 19-4 2.42.
• Xavier Wynn is hurt again and I placed him on the 60-day. That makes 5 players on the 6-day. Dave Wheeler is called up. The lineup will look different these final 12 games as we balance trying to win with maximizing playing time for the kids. Dan Ferguson gets his 1st start in the big leagues tomorrow.

9/17- FRE 5 CIP 2 Ferguson ND 5.1 IP 4 K 4 BB 2 ER Hawkins BS (L) 7-15 Ayala 2H HR RBI

• The duel in Pittsburgh lived up to the hype somewhat. Sharpe went 6 innings in a no-decision, allowing 2 earned on 6 hits. Laurel surrendered a 3R HR to Danny Lamar to break a 2-2 tie in the 8th. He fanned 12 on 9 hits over 7 1/3rd innings to fall to 19-5 2.55 on the year.

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 1B Carlo Ambrogi (WYO) 11-23 HR 7 RBI (signed and released 5 years ago by Portland as an Int. FA. He hit .300-10-57 last year winning the everyday job, and is hitting .319-22-93 this year.
NL POTW- 2B Matt Cameron (NYP) 13-27 3 HR 7 RBI

• On Sunday Philadelphia defeated Denver 2-0 as the Saints chase a wild-card berth. Why is this a topic? In that game Philadelphia (62-90 18 GB) SP Tom Rowland fired a 6-hit shutout and fanned 5. The win “improved: his record to 3-14 6.19 on the year. In fact 3 starts ago Rowland was 1-14 7.19 and has tossed 20.2 innings, winning twice, allowing 4 earned runs in his last 3 starts. The definition of tough luck last year he was 12-14 with a microscopic 2.62 ERA and led the league with 227 innings.
• Also on Sunday Las Vegas announced SP Kyle Taylor (5-13 4.35) will have surgery to remove bone chips. The 38 year old was the third SP to hit the IL and 2nd to have season ending surgery. Denver leads Phoenix by 1 game with 10 left to play. Vegas will host us for the seasons final three games.

[gehrig38]

• A reminder that the IBL switched to a 4 division 4 team per division format in this 2011 season.
• Starting in the AL East where Boston ,leads Staten Island by 5 games, and Brooklyn by 6. Boston was 77-85 and finished in last in 2010 21 games behind Staten Island.
• In the Central Dallas has already clinched, leading the division by 15 games. Dallas won the central last year.
• In the west Utah clinched yesterday, leading Wyoming by 11. Utah won their division last year.
• In the south, the AL's new division, Cleveland and Charlotte are tied at 87-65. Cleveland was a wild card team last year. Staten Island, 75-77, won the AL last year but trails Boston by 5 in the East.

• Over in the NL the leagues most shocking team and story reside in the East. In their 1st season the expansion Pittsburgh Miners are 84-68 and 1 game up on New England. In our division one of the 2010 NL Wild Card teams, El Paso, is 80-72 and 1 game up in Indianapolis.
• In the west the class of the NL, Fresno, clinched early and at 96-56 are 20 up on San Diego, the other NL WC from last year. In the south the 2010 World Champion Jacksonville Panthers are 2.5 games back of Las Vegas (79-73) while 2nd place Phoenx trails by 1 game.
• The AL Wild card has Cleveland and Charlotte tied, with one of them being their division winner and the other likely the #1 WC seed as they are both up 7 games on San Jose. Wyoming and Denver are both 2 back with Staten Island 5 and Brooklyn 6 behind.
• In the NL New England is 4 games up on 2nd place Indianapolis. The Lynx are just a game up on 3rd place Phoenix, and 2 up on the Punishers. Jacksonville (2.5) and San Diego (3) are next in line.
• It feels crazy to even mention this but we are tied with San Francisco at 73-79 and still alive, 6 games behind Indianapolis.
• Jacksonville beat Staten Island in last years series to win their 2nd world series (2000 was the other) and the Panthers are in danger of missing the post-season for the first time in 13 years.