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2051/2052 Season - February

Notable Performances

2 Feb: The Pioneers pulled out of their nosedive, Sterling Dunlop leading them to a 7-0 victory over Perth with an excellent 8 inning display. The Pioneers had lost 12 straight before this game.

5 Feb: February’s 1st PotW went to Yong-jun Chu. The high-flying Whangarei 2B hit .563/.559/.719, with 1HR, over the last week.

7 Feb: Chu’s rbi-double in the 1st inning of Whangarei’s 10-3 pasting of Perth saw him reach 20 consecutive games with a hit. His .360 BA placed him atop that leaderboard by 13 points.

7 Feb: Logan Neilson, back in Auckland’s rotation, threw a strong 8.0 innings against Hobart, allowing 8 hits for 2 earned runs. Auckland eased to an 8-2 victory, giving Neilson his 195th career win.

10 Feb: Jesus Rodriguez allowed Melbourne just 6 hits and 1 walk, striking out 4, as Darwin gave them a 13-0 thumping.

10 Feb: The Prospects had started the month with a 5-game lead over the Cavalry. Today marked their 8th straight loss, going down 5-3 to Brisbane. This put their record at 62-61 but, more importantly, saw Canberra, who’d won 4 straight, pull level with them at the top of the division.

12 Feb: Patrick Maggs won PotW. He had a stat-line of .542/.560/.958, with 2HRs, over the last 7 days.

12 Feb: Hobart continued their freefall, losing their 10th straight, Brisbane scoring 6 in the top of the 9th to run out 11-8 winners. Hobart would level out with a win the following night.

12 Feb: Christos Hutchinson had plenty of material for his reality show, going 5-5 today for Darwin against Melbourne. Unfortunately, Darwin dropped the game 8-5. Cue plenty of angst about whether to be happy or sad.

13 Feb: Chu extended his hit streak to 25 games. Unfortunately, he would go hitless tomorrow.

16 Feb: Attempts were being made among fans to give Brad King a new nickname, ‘Strikeout,’ as in, ‘Strikeout King.’ King had broken the 200K mark for the season in his last start, and was ahead of his closest rival, Lance Ralston, by more than 50Ks. Today, though, Ralston gained some ground, and reminded everybody that there were other contenders for the title of Strikeout King. In 7.1 innings of 2-hit, no-walk ball Ralston fanned 15. It was the 1st 15+ strikeout performance since 2040, when Xing-hua Ling rang up that same number. Brisbane won the game 5-0 and Ralston said regarding King in the post-game presser, in his best old-West accent, “One day soon, we gonna draw, him and I, and y’all will write it up that night as the best shootout you’ve ever seen. But we all know who’ll come away winner, and it won’t be no guy waving a wand, I’ll tell you that right now.”

17 Feb: Dermott Downes blanked the Thunder on the back of 6 hits, 1 walk, and 7 strikeouts. Canberra romped to a 9-0 victory.

17 Feb: Downes’ teammate Rick Clohessy was doing it in 2s. On both the 11th and 12th he’d hit 2 dingers in a game to take him to 38HR. This day, in the 9-0 defeat of Central Coast, Clohessy again went deep twice, driving in 3 runners. He now had 40HR for the year, and was on track to hit 50HR and drive in 150 runners. Alastair Mildren was sought out for comment as to how he would feel if Clohessy equaled or broke his record. Mildren replied, “If he does all power to him. But it would always have an asterisk next to it, wouldn’t it?”

18 Feb: The wildcard was getting hot. Christchurch dropped their 7th straight today, going down 4-2 to Kununurra. This meant Cairns were only 1 game behind, courtesy of their 9-6 defeat of Sydney. Canberra and Hobart were still locked up at the top of the Southern, but were also in with a wildcard shot, only 2 games behind the faltering Cowboys.

19 Feb: Clohessy capped off a fine 7 days with PotW honours. He’d hit .400/.438/.867, with 4HR.

19 Feb: Clohessy’s 2-run HR in the 3rd of an eventual 9-7 win over Auckland gave him 41 homers for the year.

19 Feb: Christchurch lost and Cairns won, putting them in a tie for the 2nd wildcard slot.

21 Feb: The Cowboys slumped to their 10th straight defeat, dropping them to 1 game back in the wildcard race.

23 Feb: Clohessy’s 3-run shot helped Canberra get over Brisbane 6-3. Home run #42.

23 Feb: The Crocs lost 3-2 to Newcastle, meaning the Roos had climbed into a share of the 2nd wildcard slot with Cairns. The Cowboys lost #11 in a row, putting them a game behind, alongside the Prospects.

24 Feb: The Roos’ 5-2 defeat of Cairns gave them a 1-game lead in the wildcard. Both the Crocs and Propects trailed by 1 game, while Christchurch’s 12th straight defeat saw them fall to 2 games back.

25 Feb: Jason Rawnsley finally had a shutout to his name. He allowed Christchurch just 3 hits and walked 3, fanning 5, to see Whangarei beat the hapless Cowboys 3-0.

25 Feb: Clohessy hit #43 today, a solo affair as his Cavalry got drubbed 16-5 by Brisbane.

25 Feb: The Crocs got one back against the Roos to the tune of a 6-0 victory, while the Prospects overcame Perth 6-2 to see a 3-way tie for the 2nd wildcard slot. Central Coast still had a comfortable 8-game buffer in the 1st slot, but might be a little worried as they’d just dropped their 5th in a row.

26 Feb: Patrick Maggs won PotW with a .500/.556/1.083 effort. 4 of his 12 hits cleared the fence.

26 Feb: Sam Ross’s 5-5, including a triple, was instrumental in Cairns’ defeating Newcastle 9-3. This put Cairns a game clear of the Roos in the wildcard, though Hobart won their 4th in a row, disposing of Perth 15-2, to see them level in the wildcard and in their division, thanks to Canberra again getting spanked by Brisbane, 14-5.

26 Feb: Meanwhile, the Cowboys finally won a game, beating Whangarei 5-1. They’d lost 13 on the trot. They were 2 games back in the wildcard.

27 Feb: The eagerly anticipated matchup between Brad King and Lance Ralston had arrived. And it didn’t disappoint. Norman Lawless got 2 on the board for Cairns before an out was recorded, his 2-run shot over left bringing the crowd to their feet, a veritable hailstorm of catcalls from the large amount of Cairns fans who’d traveled to the game raining down on Ralston. Ralston responded by striking out 2 of the next 3 batters swinging, the hometown fans getting into the noise-making action.

King notched up a solitary K in the bottom of the 1st, Crocs fans painting the stadium with their multi-coloured wands. Ralston struck out 2 in the 2nd, and King 1 to make the strikeout score 4-2. It became 7-2 in the 3rd as Ralston struck out the side, and Brisbane’s fans were the ones in full roar, even with their team down 2-0 on the scoreboard.

Adam Guiney led off the bottom of the 3rd with a solo HR, and when King lost control of a 2-out 2-2 pitch to Norman Ladds, hitting him on the thigh, the laughter that echoed off the outfield walls had to be demoralizing. But King was made of stern stuff. He induced a 1st-pitch ground-out to the next batter and then bowed to the most vocal sections of the crowd.

Ralston struck out the 1st hitter of the 4th, before Sam Stubbs launched a solo HR to put Darwin ahead 3-1. Ralston gritted his teeth and got back to business, fanning the next 2 hitters. King didn’t strike anybody out in the bottom of the inning, but did surrender a 2-run jack to Young-tae Lee. Even on the scoreboard, but Ralston way ahead in the strikeout race.

Neither team scored until the 7th, King striking out 3 to Ralston’s 2 in that time. Ralston rang up 3 in the 7th, though (to go with 1 walk), while King fanned 1 and allowed the go-ahead run to score. Ralston didn’t come out for the 8th, and while King did, he headed to the showers after 1 out.

The final score was 4-3 Brisbane. Ralston struck out 15 to achieve that rare feat twice in his last 3 starts. He turned up to the aftermatch presser wearing a crown. King struck out a paltry 6 and took the loss. His response, after the game? “See you in the playoffs, hot stuff.”

27 Feb: Both Cairns and Hobart won, yet Cairns gained the outright lead in the wildcard. How? Hobart’s victory put them a game ahead of Canberra, who’d now lost 3 in a row, at the top of the Southern Division. Newcastle and Christchurch also won, to keep them in the hunt.

28 Feb: Craig Hardy recorded a milestone hit today: #2000. He did so with a 3rd-inning single, but couldn’t inspire his team to victory, the Blue Sox getting destroyed 14-5 by Hobart.

Notable Injuries

1 Feb: 3 games behind in the NZ, but holding onto a wildcard, the Cowboys got news this morning they wouldn’t have wanted to hear. Angelo Rankin (.323/.365/.500, 15HR) would be out for the rest of the season after spraining his ankle.

3 Feb: Benjamin Ziersch (.281/.334/.449, 12HR from 293PA) had already spent the better part of 2 months on the DL this season. Now he’d torn the meniscus in his knee and faced another lengthy stint out of the game. It was possible he’d make it back in time for the end of the regular season, but with the Venom so far out of touch, it was equally likely medical staff would give him the extra rest.

13 Feb: Newcastle had dipped below .500 to put them 6 games adrift in the wildcard race. To make an unlikely task even harder, they’d be without linchpin Ashley Snijders (.331/.437/.600, 29HR) for the next 3-4 weeks while he recuperated a strained rib cage muscle.

16 Feb: Metros’ star Brendon Stennings (.299/.343/.444, 10HR) was out for the rest of the season after tearing a muscle in his back.

19 Feb: Fighting for a playoff berth, Hobart would be without the veteran influence of Jing-zhong Ling (7-9, 4.10 ERA, 4.87 FIP, 1.47 WHIP) for the rest of season after he strained a hamstring.

24 Feb: The Diggers would be without Mike Wurfel (.319/.370/.420, 4HR) for the next 3 weeks. He’d strained a hammy.

24 Feb: Rob Lane (.339/.399/.556, 16HR) could book himself an early holiday after tearing the meniscus in his knee.

Notable Trades/Signings

15 Feb: 30 y/o Roger Mangan (15-4, 3.92 ERA, 4.34 FIP, 1.16 WHIP) was having a strong season - with a bit of help from his teammates. His smile would be even bigger now, with news getting out that he’d signed a 6-year extension with the Sluggers. However, there was no word from Whangarei management on the man fans were desperately hoping would be re-signed: Alan Sneddon. Sneddon’s agent wasn’t talking either, fueling speculation that he would head to market at season’s end.

Month Awards

Rookie of the Month: Edwin Hayes scooped his 2nd RotM award in a row. In February he was .330/.383/.547, 35-106, with 13 runs, 5 doubles, 6HR, 18RBI, and 5BB.

Hurler of the Month: Wilson Lara picked this one up, though he was quick to say he felt it should’ve gone to teammate Lance Ralston. Lara’s 5-0 month was good enough in the eyes of the selection committee, and put him only 1 win away from 20 for the season. To go with his 5 wins, Lara recorded a 2.38 ERA, 3.82 FIP, and 1.06 WHIP in February, as well as 30Ks from 34.0IP. Lara led the league in wins (19), ERA (2.93), H/9 (7.15), and OAVG (.217). He was also 2nd in FIP, with a mark of 3.53.

Slugger of the Month: Patrick Maggs battered his way to SotM. The Whangarei Slugger had a .447/.484/.798 stat-line in February, 51-114, with 20 runs, 10 doubles, 10HR, 30RBI, and 5 walks.

Other Notes

Coastal Division: Darwin (13-14) finally had a par month, while Cairns (17-10) put themselves in charge of their own destiny when it came to a wildcard.

East-West Division: Brisbane (19-8) continued to pull away, their lead over Central Coast (13-14) extended to 11 games by the end of February. Newcastle (13-14) seemed to be running out of gas as the final stretch appeared.

NZ Division: Whangarei (17-10) left a crumbling Christchurch (9-18) in their wake, 11 games adrift.

Southern Division: Hobart (13-14) had just pushed their noses in front on the morning of March 1st, 1 game ahead of Canberra (17-10).

Wildcard: The Thunder had a 7-game buffer in the top wildcard slot, while Cairns had battled their way to a 1-game lead in the 2nd slot. Canberra was the team 1 game back, with Newcastle 2 and Christchurch 3 to set up an exciting race to the line.

#

After a February where he was finally just average, the only top leaderboard spots Justin Auger (.330/.399/.599, 34HR) now held were the WAR boards (8.0), and XBH (79).

Yong-jun Chu (.367/.407/.526, 16HR) was having a season most experts called ‘an outlier.’ That was a big call to make with only 2 and a half big league seasons of previous data to go on, but they were probably right. Mechanically, Chu had plenty wrong, often chasing pitches that never looked like hitting the zone while watching other pitches sail over the heart of the plate, and regularly appeared to overbalance as he completed his swing. Still, the Sluggers’ 2B had as much a case for February SotM as his teammate Patrick Maggs did, Chu hitting .450/.475/.685, 50-111, with 18 runs, 6 doubles, 1 triple, 6HR, 28RBI, 2 walks, and 1SB, in the month. He led the league in BA and hits (199), with his WAR of 7.1 good enough for 2nd.

Rick Clohessy (.263/.298/.528, 43HR) was on-base less than 30% of the time, and had a nearly 2:1 HR to doubles ratio. On the upside, he was hitting .297/.333/.599 with runners in scoring position. He was still a possibility to get 50HR, and looked on track to become only the 2nd player to record 150 or more ribbies in a season (137 so far, best in the league).

Jacob Blanksby (.321/.418/.606, 28HR) had appeared from the ethers somewhere to claim the best SLG in the league heading into March, as well as the best ISO (.285).

Alan Sneddon (.320/.463/.462, 7HR) was the only player so far to have reached the runs-walks double-double (112-124), leading the league in both categories. He also had the best OBP and had stolen the most bases (36).

Lance Ralston’s (15-10, 3.90 ERA, 3.44 FIP, 1.03 WHIP) barnstorming month saw him jump to the head of the FIP and WAR (4.9) boards.

Nemesis Brad King (15-9, 3.12 ERA, 4.04 FIP, 1.25 WHIP) had crashed through the 200K barrier, notching up 218 so far. His K/9 was 10.31, far better than any other qualified pitcher.

Jay Cummins (9-17, 3.78 ERA, 3.96 FIP, 1.21 WHIP) was having a season he didn’t deserve. He led the league in losses even though his ERA and FIP were below 4, and his WHIP 7th-best among all qualified pitchers.

Rex Herbert had 40 saves, 1 more than Jose Diaz in 2nd.

Standings, Mar 1