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The Manager is Pissed, But What Else is New?
After starting the season 16-6, the New York Patriots tailed off big time to end the first day of play in Silver .294. At 16-11, they find themselves in a tie with the Sunnyvale Dope Growers for first place in the division. As April wore on, they were finding out more and more that they cannot rely on their starting pitching to win ballgames, because at this point, only Joey Hamilton is pitching to an ERA under 4.00, and that simply won't cut it at this level. The bullpen, however, is pitching to a strong 2.87 ERA. However, there is a lot of skepticism about being able to maintain that performance.
On the offensive side of things, Jose Reyes and Tony Fernandez have had strong opening months, but Frank Thomas has yet to really come to life in the heart of the lineup. The Patriots have historically had a big problem getting power hitters to produce, and even though it's early days, it's looking like more of the same type of struggles past power hitters Andy Pafko & Jeff Conine have had. The Big Hurt will need to start putting a hurt on opposing pitchers if the Patriots are going to get back on track.
On the transaction front, the Patriots added Jeff Russell. The 1989 Hardware Hero joins a bullpen already loaded with high-stuff pitchers in Charlie Kerfeld, Mike Jackson, and Butch Metzger. He also has a great mustache, just like Gene Garber. Garber's still our pick for best team mustache though.
TEAM LEADERS
Batting Average: Tony Fernandez (.373)
Home Runs: Frank Thomas (4)
Runs Batted In: Vladimir Guerrero (15)
Stolen Bases: Tony Gwynn (7)
WAR: Tony Fernandez (1.1)
Wins: Omar Daal, Mark Mulder, Ismael Valdez (3)
Earned Run Average: Joey Hamilton (3.66)
Strikeouts: Mark Mulder (26)
Saves: Gene Garber (5)
Pitcher WAR: Joey Hamilton (0.7)
Wanted to try something different with this season's daily reports. Full stats will return at the end of the season.
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