[jamus23]

Denver 3 @ Knoxville 9
Denver 5 @ Knoxville 8
Denver 2 @ Knoxville 5
Denver 10 @ Knoxville 0
Miami 11 @ Denver 0
Miami 4 @ Denver 5(11 innings)
Miami 11 @ Denver 4



With series against Knoxville and Miami this week, the Broncos knew it was going to be tough. It wound up being even more difficult than Denver could have expected. Robert McNett's streak of consecutive winning decisions came to an abrupt and painful end. The 79ers battered McNett for 6 first inning runs, and when Brooks Branco attempted to get the Broncos back in the game with a 2-out, 3-run homerun in the fifth inning, Knoxville just tacked on a few more runs to secure the victory in the first game of a four game series. Thomas Fons battled respectably for over 5 innings in the second game, but fell apart in the sixth. A 2-2 game turned into 6-2 Knoxville lead, and Denver couldn't recover. Brooks Branco led off the third game with a homerun, and that 1-0 lead held up until the bottom of the sixth inning. The 79ers scored 3 runs in the sixth, and added 2 more in the eighth inning to take control of the game. The Broncos led out all of their frustrations in the final game, avoiding a sweep with a 20-hit pummeling of Knoxville. Ray Lockridge, Larry Waltz, and Lyndon Gwinn combined to keep Knoxville off the scoreboard.

Miami absolutely embarrassed Denver in the first game of the series. The Dolphins erupted for 22 hits- 14 off of Broncos' ace Kenny Pillsbury- in the rout. First-baseman Aaron Shorts produced 5 hits and 4 runs scored for Miami, while DH Edmond McGurk and catcher Jake Foss each had 4 hits and 5 RBI. McGurk belted a pair of homeruns. The second game got off to an ugly start, when McGurk smashed a 2-run homerun in the first inning, but it remained a close affair. Miami led 2-1 until making it 3-1 in the top of the fifth inning. Denver scored 1 run in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings to take a 4-3 lead. James Virgen lost the lead in the eighth inning, and the game went into extra innings. In the bottom of the 11th inning, left-fielder Arthur Elbert delivered a 2-out, run-scoring double to win the game for the Broncos. Denver led the final game 3-2 after 2 innings, but McGurk and Thomas Fuentes, Jr. hit back to back homeruns in the third inning to take a 5-3 lead(McGurk's was a 2-run shot).The Broncos cut the lead to 5-4 in the sixth inning, but a gassed bullpen imploded in the ninth and gave up 6 runs to ensure the Miami victory.



Lee Chappel led the offense this week with a 1.343 OPS, a double, 3 homeruns, 5 RBI, 6 runs scored, and 9 walks. Brooks Branco delivered a 1.294 OPS, a double, and 2 homeruns. Michael Phillips reached base at a .483 clip, and had a .918 OPS. Marvin Lore hit .387 and had 12 hits, but they were all singles, so his OPS was an unimpressive .793.

There were numerous poor performances this week. Jack Rumfelt had a .697 OPS. Booker Romero had a .656 OPS. Alexis Vazquez had a .644 OPS. Ellis Bolling had 2 doubles and a homerun, but hit .158 with a .621 OPS. Arthur Elbert was 3 for 15, with a .600 OPS. Emanuel Abadia and Adrian Mingo combined to go 0 for 24.

The pitching wasn't a whole lot better. Ray Lockridge gutted out 5 scoreless innings, and struck out 7 batters. George Buentello gave up 3 runs in 6 innings. Robert McNett made 2 starts, and surrendered 10 runs(8 earned) in 10 1/3 innings pitched. Thomas Fons made 2 starts, and gave up 18 hits, 9 walks, and 9 runs in 11 innings. Kenny Pillsbury surrendered 14 hits and 8 runs in 5 innings pitched.

Poor starting pitching leads to an overworked bullpen, and that naturally leads to poor performance as well. Omar Lopez gave up 3 runs(2 earned) in 7 2/3 innings, with 9 hits allowed and 6 strikeouts. His was the only solid performance. Larry Waltz gave up 7 hits and 2 runs in 4 innings pitched. Lyndon Gwinn allowed 3 runs in 4 innings. Robert Soto allowed 5 runs in 4 2/3 innings. James Virgen gave up 5 runs in 4 1/3 innings pitched.


Once again, Denver has been hit with an injury. Ellis Bolling sustained an injury to his thigh, and will be out for at least another week. Instead of calling someone up from AAA, Denver elected sign 37 year old free agent reliever Laverne McCullum. The veteran right-hander is expected to serve as a mopup and long relief man, and hopefully, he will ease some of the pressure on Denver's bullpen. In 503 career big league games, McCullum has an uninspiring 6.45 ERA, however, he did have a respectable 4.32 ERA in 8 1/3 innings for Sacramento this season before getting released in May. McCullum has good velocity, decent control, and doesn't allow many fly balls.




Around the league:

The National League Batter of the Month Award went to Sacramento's left-fielder, Ramon Montalvo. It is the 3rd BOTM award of Montalvo's career. During the month of June, he hit .394/.439/.707/1.146, with 4 doubles, 3 triples, 7 homeruns, 24 RBI, and 22 runs scored. For the year, Montalvo has hit .344/.415/.632/1.048, with 6 doubles, 6 triples, 23 homeruns, 67 RBI, 67 run scored, and a 36/31 BB/K ratio.

The National League Pitcher of the Month Award went to San Diego's Carlos Lozoya. It is the 5th POTM award of Lozoya's career. In 6 June starts, Lozoya went 5-0, with a 1.85 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP, and a 45/13 K/BB ratio. He tossed 2 complete games and 1 shutout(a 1-hitter against Harrisburg). For the year, the 2-time Cy Young Award winner is 13-2, with a 1.78 ERA, a 0.99 WHIP, and a 109/40 K/BB ratio in 18 starts. He has pitched 8 complete games and 4 shutouts. He leads all of baseball in both wins and ERA, and is second in the National League in strikeouts.

The American League Batter of the Month Award went to Denver's Alexis Vazquez. It is the the 4th time that Vazquez has won the BOTM award. In June, he hit .383/.437/.635/1.071, with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 8 homeruns, 23 RBI, and 25 runs scored. For the year, Vazquez has hit .365/.416/.571/.987, with 9 doubles, 1 triple, 20 homeruns, 70 RBI, and 63 runs scored. He is second in the American League in batting average.

The American League Pitcher of the Month Award went to Tucson's Christopher Kirk. It is Kirk's first ever POTM award. During the month of June, Kirk was 6-0 in 6 starts, and had a 1.86 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP, and a 34/5 K/BB ratio. He threw 2 complete games and a 1 shutout(an 8-hitter against Charlotte). For the year, Kirk is 12-6, with a 2.95 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and an 82/19 K/BB ratio in 18 starts. He has 9 complete games and 2 shutouts. Kirk is tied for the AL lead in wins.

The National League Player of the Week Award went to Harrisburg's third-baseman, Coy Drews. It is Drews' second career POTW award, and second POTW award of this season. Drews hit .429(9 for 21), with a 1.519 OPS, 4 homeruns, 9 RBI, 6 runs scored, and 5 walks. He had 3 hits, including a solo homerun in an 8-2 loss to Phoenix. He had 3 hits, including a pair of homeruns, and 6 RBI in an 8-4 win over the Cardinals. The first homerun was a 2-out, 3-run bomb that erased a 3-2 Phoenix lead in the fifth inning. The second was a 2-run blast in the seventh inning that put the game out of reach. He had 2 hits, including a homerun, 2 walks, and 2 runs scored in a 7-6 loss to Phoenix. He had a single, a walk, and an RBI in a 4-2 win over Rochester.

The American League Player of the Week Award went to Miami's catcher, Jake Foss. It is the 3rd POTW award of Foss' career. He hit .579(11 for 19), with a 1.566 OPS, 1 double, 2 homeruns, 10 RBI, and 5 runs scored. Foss had 3 hits, including a double and a homerun, 3 RBI, and 3 runs scored in a 12-0 drubbing of Green Bay. He had 4 hits, including a grand slam, and 5 RBI in an 11-0 pasting of Denver. His third inning homerun turned a 1-0 game into a laugher. He also had 4 hits, 2 RBI, and a run scored in an 11-4 rout over the Broncos.



In other news, San Jose Sharks' first-baseman Ugo Momoru delivered the 500th homerun of his career. The steady batting stroke of the 35 year old Momoru has been the driving force behind San Jose's resurgence this season. Momoru has hit .305, with an .888 OPS, 12 doubles, 14 homeruns, 57 RBI, 51 runs scored, and a 50/15 BB/K ratio. Momoru is a 5-time All Star and a one time Silver Slugger Award winner(2081). He is also one of just two players to ever reach 60 homeruns in more than one season(Hall of Famer Scott Border was the first). Momoru accomplished the feat in 2077 and 2081.



Injury News:

Los Angeles suffered a couple of injuries this week. Twenty-two year old rookie starting pitcher Ted Neer(0-2, 6.10 ERA) will miss about 3 weeks with an elbow injury, and left-fielder Ray Renard(.707 OPS, 4 homeruns) will miss more than a month with a torn groin muscle. Meanwhile, New Jersey lost shortstop Brian Hall(.769 OPS, 24 doubles, 7 homeruns) for at least a month with a strained PCL.




Trading News:

There were two trades in the past week, and both were rather questionable. In the first trade, Tucson acquired veteran shortstop Jimmy Adams from Grand Rapids in exchange for 21-year old starting pitching prospect Christopher McKissick. With Sabas Riva on the disabled list, the Diamondbacks were in need of a better shortstop than any of their current in-house options. The 37 year old Adams isn't much of a hitter(.635 OPS this season), but he is a good fielder. There's nothing wrong with Tucson acquiring Adams, but the Diamondbacks definitely overpaid. McKissick isn't yet an elite prospect, but he has a lot of potential. Grand Rapids made out well in this trade. However... the Tigers have elected to rush their new acquisition to the big leagues. McKissick has a 3.56 ERA in 15 AA starts this year, but he is not ready for big league action yet. Grand Rapids may negate its trade victory by ruining the young pitcher.

The second trade this week was almost incomprehensible. Portland, which had already traded away catcher Gary Jones in a somewhat suspect transaction, traded 25 year old starting pitcher Aldo Barnes to Knoxville in exchange for 27 year old Bruce Congdon and 20 year old relief prospect, Toby Cramer. This trade is baffling for both parties. Although Congdon hasn't always been the most reliable pitcher, he has performed quite well this season, going 6-1 with a 3.93 ERA for the 79ers. Given that Knoxville is battling to stay in control of the second place playoff spot in the Southeast Division, trading Congdon appears to make very little sense. This is especially true when you consider the return. Aldo Barnes is a very talented left-hander, but he has struggled badly in his big league time so far, and that includes this season. For Portland, Barnes went 4-10, with an 8.44 ERA. For the Trailblazers' part, one would think that the perennial bottom-feeder would be trying to build around the likes of Barnes. With the season already in the toilet, Portland can afford to be patient with the growing pains of a young player. What does Congdon do for them? Maybe he helps them avoid 100 losses or a last place finish. I'm not sure that's worth it. As for Toby Cramer, he's more minor league filler than anything else. But who knows? He's only 20, and could eventually develop into something useful.





In the final week before the All Star game, Denver has a 4-game series versus Atlanta(42-40), and a 3 game series at Charlotte(36-47).



Coming up: The league standings this far, and Denver's batting and pitching statistics.