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August 1 update
Despite having a winning month, we're mucking around in fifth place in a very strong WC South. We're currently 6 1/2 games out of the wild card, so there's still a shot, but we'd have to beat out five teams that are ahead of us. The Dallas Rattlers went 21-6 in June and an amazing 25-3 in July, winning 19 straight games and 27 of 28 to become the surprise leaders in the division. Both our power and speed numbers are pretty miserable, though we still have four .300 hitters. Graciano Ribas and Luis Molina share the home run lead with 19, though Ribas is currently on the DL, leaving a big hole in the lineup. Among the pitchers, Curt Wright has turned things around nicely, and Matt Johnson has put together a fairly good season.
Despite their solid production this year, I remain skeptical about bringing back Kendrick Boyd, Orlando Ramirez, or Ribas. All three are asking $10M+/year and are getting up in years, and we aren't financial equipped to offer long-term deals to these types of players. It's looking more like we're going to have build around a younger core. We attempted shopping Ramirez, Ribas, and Jose Gutierrez at the deadline without success, so no trades this year.
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