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Questdog · 08-14-2020, 02:04 PM

Thursday, August 30, 2001

CF Danny Stewart (30-L) has been cleared to play by Trudy the Trainer, so he was activated from the DL. But we need to send someone to Daytona (A) to make room. The obvious choice and the previous plan was C Jim Hess (31-R), but he just hit a Grand Slam, so I can't do that. Maybe you could, but I can't. We don't need 6 outfielders, either, but which one would go? If you go just by stats, then Dennis Brown (27-L), but he is starting right now, because Mike Volkman (33-) has gone cold. He will move to the bench with Stewart back, but it still does not seem right to tell him he is going from starting to the minors. I can't send Volkman down; he has the 2nd highest OPS of the bunch. Frank Wendell (33-R) is obviously the least talented of the group, but he is the only right-hander. We have two 3rd baseman, though, neither of whom deserves a job in the Majors. Since we are starting the youngster Bobby Scrogham (25-R) right now, we sent Brian Porter (34-S), the fella who was leading the league in doubles in May, down.... He'll be back as soon as Scrogham's stats get too ugly to stomach. That leaves our roster with only 4 players who can cover 2nd, 3rd and short, which is too thin for me, but Stewart probably will be hurt again, soon, anyway....

We are back home for the final extended home stand of the season. We'll be here for the next 11 days. First up is the Syracuse Sycamores with 4 games through the weekend to finish up our season series. We were swept in 4 games at Syracuse, June 21-24, and scored 10 total runs in the series. They are the hottest team in the League right now. They just won a pair of games in Hartford and have won 5 in a row and 18 of their last 21. When we faced them the first time, they had a losing record and were in 6th place and were having a hard time scoring enough runs to take advantage of their excellent starting rotation. They were 11th in scoring. But they are scoring now and are up to 3rd place on the list with 4.38 runs per game (Jacksonville is up to #15 with 3.55!). But the Sycamores pitching will probably put us back in last place by the end of this series.... They are 2nd in fewest runs allowed with 3.48 per game (Jacksonville is last with 5.28). But after the Louisville series, our ERA is under 5 (4.94)! Their run differential is +119, the best in the League, and ours is -225, by far the worst. New Orleans, in the middle of a long losing streak, is down to 2nd worse at -72.

Syracuse Sycamores (76-56 .576 1.5 GB in 2nd place in the Northern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (44-86 .338 29 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division)

SYR: Frank Cane (25-R) (2-1 2.72 ERA 53 IP, 38 H, 3 HR, 19 BB, 34 SO) vs.
JAX: Marco Gonzalez (27-R) (3-12 4.90 ERA 132.1 IP, 150 H, 9 HR, 63 BB, 65 SO)

With Ron Wisham (31-L) on the DL for another week, the Sycamores have Cane listed as their #1 starter. He did not pitch his 1st game of the season until July 19, because of an injury in Spring Training. We have not faced him before. He has made 8 starts and he gave up 4 runs once and won that game. All other games were 3 runs or less. In his lone loss, he only gave up 1 run to Ottawa, but Syracuse was shut out.

Gonzalez gave up 6 runs (5 earned) on 12 hits, 1 home run and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts in 6.2 IP in a loss to Memphis last time out. But for our pitchers against the Mules, that was a pretty excellent outing!

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
SYRACUSE
1: CF Frank Bates (29-R .270-504-25-73-.839-30 C) All-Star
2: LF Jeff Garrigus (32-R .244-499-16-61-.735-19 A)
3: 1B Don Bruns (31-R .307-433-9-56-.800-7 C+)
4: 3B Octavio Garcia (25-S .213-390-11-50-.650-3 B)
5: C Lee Dean (28-L .251-386-9-54-.739-0 C)
6: SS Buddy Elliott (31-R .268-328-5-39-.720-1 B)
7: RF Dave Bess (25-R .239-465-4-48-.637-6 B+)
8: 2B Sal Esquivel (33-R .203-320-11-50-.609-4 B+)
9: P Frank Cane (25-R .200-15-2-4-.850-0 B)

JACKSONVILLE
1: SS Leander Gooding (30-R .282-277-0-26-.679-13 B)
2: RF Joe Roberts (30-L .300-426-1-41-.716-27 B)
3: LF Cal Doty (24-L .277-495-2-44-.701-17 B+)
4: C Garrett Bender (27-R .259-294-5-39-.702-0 B+)
5: 1B Tony Becerra (32-L .240-346-13-40-.692-5 A+)
6: CF Danny Stewart (30-L .229-83-0-11-.571-2 C+)
7: 2B Frank Roadman (26-R .212-363-5-29-.567-34 B)
8: 3B Bobby Scrogham (25-R .225-120-1-7-.626-3 C) Rookie
9: P Marco Gonzalez (27-R .176-34-0-0-.376-0 F)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 89 F, Clear Skies, with a 9 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 3,394

Top of the First:
Frank Bates, predictably, hits a home run to left... 1 to 0, Sycamores. Jeff Garrigus flies out to right. Don Bruns grounds out to 2nd. Octavio Garcia swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 2nd.

Bottom of the First:
Leander Gooding grounds out to short. Joe Roberts pops out to 2nd. Cal Doty strikes out....

Top of the Fifth:
Dave Bess leads off with a double to center. But the next three, including Frank Bates, make outs!

Top of the Sixth:
Jeff Garrigus takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. The Bullpen gets active. Don Bruns pokes a little hit to center and Garrigus beats the throw to 3rd... Octavio Garcia swings at a 3-2 pitch and gets fooled, but pops a hit to center and Garrigus scores... 2 to 0, Sycamores. Lee Dean lines a hit to left and the bases are loaded with no outs... Call to the Bullpen: Roger Wallace (26-R). Buddy Elliott strikes out looking. Dave Bess grounds a hit up the middle and 2 runs score... 4 to 0, Sycamores. The next two strike out.

Bottom of the Eighth:
Frank Roadman swings at the first pitch and lines a double to the left field corner. Bobby Scrogham takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. But the next three make outs...

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Barry Finney (26-R). Dennis Brown (27-L), who pinch-hit last inning, stays in to play right. With 1 out, P Frank Cane grounds a hit up the middle. Frank Bates pokes a hit to center. The Bullpen is back up... Jeff Garrigus doubles to right and P Cane scores... 5 to 0, Sycamores. Pia! A train ticket! Fun fact: P Finney had an ERA of 0.00 in April. It is 5.47 since... And he has more runners on the bases... Don Bruns lines a hit to right and Bates scores... 6 to 0, Sycamores. Call to the Bullpen: Bill Grant (30-L). A passed ball scores Garrigus.... 7 to 0, Sycamores. With 2 outs, 2 more consecutive passed balls score Bruns... 8 to 0, Sycamores. Lee Dean doubles to center. Buddy Elliott hits a home run to left, inches over the fence... 10 to 0, Sycamores. Unspeakable....

Who the heck is the scout that rated C Garrett Bender as a B+ on defense? He now has started 86 games and has made 14 errors and has 14 passed balls, both figures leading the League over a lot of other catchers who have played a lot more games.... Editor's Note: In the pre-sim, he was a starter for 3 seasons and had a .989 FA, averaged 96.7 innings per PB and threw out 41.3% of base stealers, had a ZR of 3.4 per 1000 innings and an EFF of 1.063. This season he has a .973 FA, has averaged 53.2 innings per PB, has thrown out 34.6% of base stealers, has a ZR of -3.2 per 1000 innings and has an EFF of .845. In 1999, he led all catchers in ZR and was 3rd in CS%. In 2000, he was 2nd in ZR and led all catchers in CS%. It is incomprehensible how he has been so bad this season.... He never hit a lick in those seasons either, and he is hitting great for a catcher this year! It's like he is not even the same player in any respect....

Lost - 10 to 0

We had 4 whole hits and made no errors (but 3 passed balls in 1 inning)
Syracuse had 14 hits and made 1 error

Marco Gonzalez (L 3-13) went 5+ innings, allowed 4 runs, 5 hits, 1 home runs, 4 walks and struck out 4. At bat, he hit a double.
RHP Roger Wallace went 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 hit and struck out 3.
RHP Bob Craig went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 2 hits and struck out 1.
RHP Barry Finney got 1 out, allowed 4 runs and 4 hits.
LHP Bill Grant got 2 outs, allowed 2 runs, 2 hits and 1 home run.

Frank Cane (W 3-1) pitched 9 shutout innings (CG), gave us 4 hits, 2 walks and struck out 5. 112 pitches. At bat, he had a hit and a walk and scored a run.

2B Frank Roadman hit a double.

For Syracuse, CF Frank Bates had 3 hits with his 26th home run of the season, drew a walk and scored 2 runs.

08-14-2020, 02:04 PM	#191
Questdog Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: In a dark, damp cave where I'm training slugs to run the bases...... Posts: 16,142	Thursday, August 30, 2001 CF Danny Stewart (30-L) has been cleared to play by Trudy the Trainer, so he was activated from the DL. But we need to send someone to Daytona (A) to make room. The obvious choice and the previous plan was C Jim Hess (31-R), but he just hit a Grand Slam, so I can't do that. Maybe you could, but I can't. We don't need 6 outfielders, either, but which one would go? If you go just by stats, then Dennis Brown (27-L), but he is starting right now, because Mike Volkman (33-) has gone cold. He will move to the bench with Stewart back, but it still does not seem right to tell him he is going from starting to the minors. I can't send Volkman down; he has the 2nd highest OPS of the bunch. Frank Wendell (33-R) is obviously the least talented of the group, but he is the only right-hander. We have two 3rd baseman, though, neither of whom deserves a job in the Majors. Since we are starting the youngster Bobby Scrogham (25-R) right now, we sent Brian Porter (34-S), the fella who was leading the league in doubles in May, down.... He'll be back as soon as Scrogham's stats get too ugly to stomach. That leaves our roster with only 4 players who can cover 2nd, 3rd and short, which is too thin for me, but Stewart probably will be hurt again, soon, anyway.... We are back home for the final extended home stand of the season. We'll be here for the next 11 days. First up is the Syracuse Sycamores with 4 games through the weekend to finish up our season series. We were swept in 4 games at Syracuse, June 21-24, and scored 10 total runs in the series. They are the hottest team in the League right now. They just won a pair of games in Hartford and have won 5 in a row and 18 of their last 21. When we faced them the first time, they had a losing record and were in 6th place and were having a hard time scoring enough runs to take advantage of their excellent starting rotation. They were 11th in scoring. But they are scoring now and are up to 3rd place on the list with 4.38 runs per game (Jacksonville is up to #15 with 3.55!). But the Sycamores pitching will probably put us back in last place by the end of this series.... They are 2nd in fewest runs allowed with 3.48 per game (Jacksonville is last with 5.28). But after the Louisville series, our ERA is under 5 (4.94)! Their run differential is +119, the best in the League, and ours is -225, by far the worst. New Orleans, in the middle of a long losing streak, is down to 2nd worse at -72. Syracuse Sycamores (76-56 .576 1.5 GB in 2nd place in the Northern Division) at Jacksonville Jays (44-86 .338 29 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division) SYR: Frank Cane (25-R) (2-1 2.72 ERA 53 IP, 38 H, 3 HR, 19 BB, 34 SO) vs. JAX: Marco Gonzalez (27-R) (3-12 4.90 ERA 132.1 IP, 150 H, 9 HR, 63 BB, 65 SO) With Ron Wisham (31-L) on the DL for another week, the Sycamores have Cane listed as their #1 starter. He did not pitch his 1st game of the season until July 19, because of an injury in Spring Training. We have not faced him before. He has made 8 starts and he gave up 4 runs once and won that game. All other games were 3 runs or less. In his lone loss, he only gave up 1 run to Ottawa, but Syracuse was shut out. Gonzalez gave up 6 runs (5 earned) on 12 hits, 1 home run and 2 walks with 5 strikeouts in 6.2 IP in a loss to Memphis last time out. But for our pitchers against the Mules, that was a pretty excellent outing! Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF) SYRACUSE 1: CF Frank Bates (29-R .270-504-25-73-.839-30 C) All-Star 2: LF Jeff Garrigus (32-R .244-499-16-61-.735-19 A) 3: 1B Don Bruns (31-R .307-433-9-56-.800-7 C+) 4: 3B Octavio Garcia (25-S .213-390-11-50-.650-3 B) 5: C Lee Dean (28-L .251-386-9-54-.739-0 C) 6: SS Buddy Elliott (31-R .268-328-5-39-.720-1 B) 7: RF Dave Bess (25-R .239-465-4-48-.637-6 B+) 8: 2B Sal Esquivel (33-R .203-320-11-50-.609-4 B+) 9: P Frank Cane (25-R .200-15-2-4-.850-0 B) JACKSONVILLE 1: SS Leander Gooding (30-R .282-277-0-26-.679-13 B) 2: RF Joe Roberts (30-L .300-426-1-41-.716-27 B) 3: LF Cal Doty (24-L .277-495-2-44-.701-17 B+) 4: C Garrett Bender (27-R .259-294-5-39-.702-0 B+) 5: 1B Tony Becerra (32-L .240-346-13-40-.692-5 A+) 6: CF Danny Stewart (30-L .229-83-0-11-.571-2 C+) 7: 2B Frank Roadman (26-R .212-363-5-29-.567-34 B) 8: 3B Bobby Scrogham (25-R .225-120-1-7-.626-3 C) Rookie 9: P Marco Gonzalez (27-R .176-34-0-0-.376-0 F) Game Start: 7:05 PM Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium Weather: 89 F, Clear Skies, with a 9 MPH wind blowing out to right Attendance: 3,394 Top of the First: Frank Bates, predictably, hits a home run to left... 1 to 0, Sycamores. Jeff Garrigus flies out to right. Don Bruns grounds out to 2nd. Octavio Garcia swings at the first pitch and grounds out to 2nd. Bottom of the First: Leander Gooding grounds out to short. Joe Roberts pops out to 2nd. Cal Doty strikes out.... Top of the Fifth: Dave Bess leads off with a double to center. But the next three, including Frank Bates, make outs! Top of the Sixth: Jeff Garrigus takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. The Bullpen gets active. Don Bruns pokes a little hit to center and Garrigus beats the throw to 3rd... Octavio Garcia swings at a 3-2 pitch and gets fooled, but pops a hit to center and Garrigus scores... 2 to 0, Sycamores. Lee Dean lines a hit to left and the bases are loaded with no outs... Call to the Bullpen: Roger Wallace (26-R). Buddy Elliott strikes out looking. Dave Bess grounds a hit up the middle and 2 runs score... 4 to 0, Sycamores. The next two strike out. Bottom of the Eighth: Frank Roadman swings at the first pitch and lines a double to the left field corner. Bobby Scrogham takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. But the next three make outs... Top of the Ninth: New Pitcher: Barry Finney (26-R). Dennis Brown (27-L), who pinch-hit last inning, stays in to play right. With 1 out, P Frank Cane grounds a hit up the middle. Frank Bates pokes a hit to center. The Bullpen is back up... Jeff Garrigus doubles to right and P Cane scores... 5 to 0, Sycamores. Pia! A train ticket! Fun fact: P Finney had an ERA of 0.00 in April. It is 5.47 since... And he has more runners on the bases... Don Bruns lines a hit to right and Bates scores... 6 to 0, Sycamores. Call to the Bullpen: Bill Grant (30-L). A passed ball scores Garrigus.... 7 to 0, Sycamores. With 2 outs, 2 more consecutive passed balls score Bruns... 8 to 0, Sycamores. Lee Dean doubles to center. Buddy Elliott hits a home run to left, inches over the fence... 10 to 0, Sycamores. Unspeakable.... Who the heck is the scout that rated C Garrett Bender as a B+ on defense? He now has started 86 games and has made 14 errors and has 14 passed balls, both figures leading the League over a lot of other catchers who have played a lot more games.... Editor's Note: In the pre-sim, he was a starter for 3 seasons and had a .989 FA, averaged 96.7 innings per PB and threw out 41.3% of base stealers, had a ZR of 3.4 per 1000 innings and an EFF of 1.063. This season he has a .973 FA, has averaged 53.2 innings per PB, has thrown out 34.6% of base stealers, has a ZR of -3.2 per 1000 innings and has an EFF of .845. In 1999, he led all catchers in ZR and was 3rd in CS%. In 2000, he was 2nd in ZR and led all catchers in CS%. It is incomprehensible how he has been so bad this season.... He never hit a lick in those seasons either, and he is hitting great for a catcher this year! It's like he is not even the same player in any respect.... Lost - 10 to 0 We had 4 whole hits and made no errors (but 3 passed balls in 1 inning) Syracuse had 14 hits and made 1 error Marco Gonzalez (L 3-13) went 5+ innings, allowed 4 runs, 5 hits, 1 home runs, 4 walks and struck out 4. At bat, he hit a double. RHP Roger Wallace went 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 hit and struck out 3. RHP Bob Craig went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 2 hits and struck out 1. RHP Barry Finney got 1 out, allowed 4 runs and 4 hits. LHP Bill Grant got 2 outs, allowed 2 runs, 2 hits and 1 home run. Frank Cane (W 3-1) pitched 9 shutout innings (CG), gave us 4 hits, 2 walks and struck out 5. 112 pitches. At bat, he had a hit and a walk and scored a run. 2B Frank Roadman hit a double. For Syracuse, CF Frank Bates had 3 hits with his 26th home run of the season, drew a walk and scored 2 runs.