[illeracula]

Current Week: 4-3 (overall 29-36 9 GB 4th place)
Next Week: 3 vs Chesapeak, 3 vs Richmond
Power Ranking: 14
Fan Interest: 51
Owners Mood: Worried

Game 59
Ocean City 4, Norfolk 5
Scott Smith pitched a solid 8.0 innings, giving up 1 run on 4 hits. This is how we were expecting him to pitch all season... the bad news is he was pulled in the 9th complaining of stiffness in his arm... Jack Clow came in for the save (14) has Theo Petherick let the 4 run lead almost slip away. Tim Garner and Pablo Freitas both had 2 hits, Ralph Pierce added a 2-run shot (3)

Game 60
Ocean City 2, Norfolk 8
Tsuneo Sato (4-5) threw well for 7.2 innings, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits, then handed the ball over to Theo Petherick who closed the door. Patrick Shelton, must of heard he is on the trading block, blew up going 4-5 with 3 doubles and a HR (7). Tim Garner added 3 hits, including 2 doubles of his own.

Draft Update:
We received a phone call from Jack Dooley's agent saying he wasn't pleased with the amount we offered and whats us to come back with a better offer. Dooley our 3rd round pick was offered $660,000, but is demanding $1,100,000. It was told to us before the draft he would be extremely hard to sign. We up our offer to $899,000.

Game 61
Ocean City 0, Norfolk 6
Don Sweetapple wishes he could pitch against the tourists every game. Throwing a 4 hit shutout, while striking out 9, as he becomes the leagues first 10 game winner (10-2). 3 homeruns, one each by Pablo Freitas (13), Ralph Piece (4) and Julio Romero (6) paced the Cav's offense.

Injury News:
The phone call we didn't want to receive came in... after visiting with the doctors Scott Smith is done for the season. He will be out 11-12 MONTHS with a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament. A date for surgery hasn't be set yet. He will be immediately placed on the DL.

Draft News:
Maurice Noble our #2 pick has come back and said "Show me the money!" Asking for 1,600,000, we offered him slot at $1,130,000. I will increase the offer as we have plenty of budget space currently. The Offer: $1,301,000 (this is our final offer, if he doesn't sign we will let him go)

Game 62
Ocean City 1, Norfolk 4
Carlos Mateo (4-6) capped off the series sweep with a solid start, going 6.1 innings, allowing 4 hits and 1 run, while striking out 9. Jack Clow threw the 9th for the his 15th save. Pablo Freitas had 2 hits, both HR's (15) and drove in 3 to lead the offense.

** We will be sad to see Ocean City go...

Draft News:
Our #1 pick overall has signed! Arturo Ramirez will be sent to Jacksonville (A) to begin his quest to the majors. At 6'5" and 17 years old he should have no problems living up to that 4* potential (** knock on wood **)

Game 63
Norfolk 3, Washington 4
Jack Clow blew his 5th save and took the loss (1-6) and is getting close to being removed from the closer role. He gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th, as Karl Armstrong watched his win slip through his fingers. Karl went 6.2 innings, giving up 6 hits and 1 run. Mauro Candelaria and Jacob Chaney each had 2 hits, Chaney had a solo HR (6).

Game 64
Norfolk 0, Washington 7
Andrew Donnely (0-1), a long-reliver, took the hill in his first start, filling in for Scott Smith. Donnelly, who got the start because Mushy Martinez wasn't fully rested, threw 5.2 innings, giving up 7 runs on 10 hits and 5 walks. Pablo Freitas had 3 of the Cav's 6 hits.

Rotation News:
Jose "Mushy" Martinez was recalled and is now slotted as our #4 starter. He wasn't rested enough to go last game, but he will be for the next. Mush went 0-1 6.30 ERA in 2 previous starts for Norfolk... Mushy will be on a short leash. Jorge Serna has decent ratings and his LH, which is something our staff is missing.

Game 65
Norfolk 4, Washington 6
Tsuneo Sato (4-6), goes by "Chuckwagon" in the clubhouse, but we are thinking he should change that to "Mr Inconsistent". Sato allowed 6 runs on 6 hits over 4.2 innings. Brian Cline, who hasn't hit the ball lately, showed up to play ball going 2-4 with 2 solo shots (15).

** I was hoping that we would have some momentum going into the Washington series after sweeping Ocean City. I guess not.

Players of the Week:
Delaware: Pedro Morin (Dover Generals) 14-31 5 HR, 13 RBI
Marva: Virgil White (Baltimore Barons) 9-15, 3 HR, 12 RBI, 10 Runs

Power Rankings:
1) Richmond Cardinals
2) Dover Generals
3) Washington Senators
4) Milton Brewers
5) Wilmington Iron Pigs
14) Norfolk Cavaliers