2009 OPENING SIM
04/07 - 11-5 loss vs Massachusetts - Lowell Stang struggled, but it was the bullpen that cost us this game. Stang allowed 4 runs in 7 innings, but Garrard allowed runs in 0.1 innings and Salguero 4 runs in an inning to seal our fate. Pat Galyon was 2-for-2 with a triple to lead our offensive attack. Horizon was hitless but drove in a pair of runs.
04/08 - 4-2 loss vs Massachusetts - A nice start by Kearns was wasted by our defense, who made 3 errors today. The offense didn't help much either, though Carlos Martinez homered (1).
04/09 - 7-3 WIN vs Massachusetts - We avoid the sweep with a nice win, pounding out 14 hits including homers by Claus (1) and Martinez (2). Clowers earns his first win as a Freedom pitcher, allowing 2 ER in 7 IP.
04/10 - OFF DAY
04/11 - 4-2 WIN @ Connecticut (10 innings) - Frank Scull, who nearly cost us the game, picks up a win as the Freedom score twice in the 10th to hold off the Marines. Angelo had 3 hits and Claus homered (2) to lead the Freedom offense. Nietz had a brilliant performance, but gets a no-decision. He also hit his first career homer.
04/12 - 5-2 loss @ Connecticut - Claus homered again (3) but we didn't do much else. Robert Jones allowed 4 ER in 7.1 innings.
04/13 - 10-7 WIN @ Connecticut - Talamantez homered (1) and Stang survived a poor performance as we squeak past the Marines to take the series, 2-1. Pat Galyon now has a 10-game hit streak.
04/14 - 9-1 WIN @ Virginia - Kearns was brilliant, as was Horizon, who had a double, 2 homers (2), and 5 RBI. Kearns and Lopez combined on a two-hitter.
04/15 - 14-1 WIN @ Virginia - Clowers is now 2-0 with Pennsylvania, as he blanks Virginia for 7 innings. Claus was the offensive hero, going 4-for-6 with 3 doubles and 4 RBI. Keith Tracey homered (1) and had 3 RBI of his own.
04/16 - 8-2 loss @ Virginia - Well, I'd rather end our first sim on a win, but I'm happy with the results nonetheless. Horizon homered (3), but Nietz brought his C game as he allowed 5 ER in 6 IP.
Standings
Code:
team w l pct gb L10
New York 7 3 .700 - 7-3
Pennsylvania 5 4 .556 1.5 5-4
Massachusetts 4 4 .500 2.0 4-4
Connecticut 3 6 .333 3.5 3-6
After losing our first series, we rebounded to win the next two. Not a bad start for a young team.
Pitching
Code:
Name G GS W L SV ERA IP HA R ER BB K
SP L. Stang 2 2 0 0 0 6.75 14.2 20 11 11 3 12
SP C. Kearns 2 2 1 1 0 2.84 12.2 10 5 4 6 9
SP C. Clowers 2 2 2 0 0 1.29 14.0 12 2 2 0 6
SP A. Nietz 2 2 0 1 0 4.15 13.0 11 6 6 7 3
SP R. Jones 1 1 0 1 0 4.91 7.1 5 4 4 3 3
MR J. Salguero 3 0 0 0 0 13.50 4.0 5 7 6 2 1
MR A. Lopez 3 0 0 0 0 0.00 5.0 3 0 0 2 0
MR E. Cruz 2 0 0 0 0 3.00 3.0 3 2 1 2 1
SU M. Garrard 5 0 1 1 0 13.50 2.2 8 4 4 1 1
SU M. Welch 2 0 0 0 1 0.00 1.2 0 0 0 0 0
CL F. Scull 2 0 1 0 1 4.50 2.0 3 1 1 3 0
Clowers and Kearns have been strong out of the gate, while Lowell Stang hasn't found his best stuff yet. Nietz has had a good start and a bad start, but the real question will be whether Robert Jones's 12-win season last year was a fluke.
The bullpen recovered after a rough first 3 games. Salguero has been ineffective in 2 of his 3 appearances, so I'll need to keep and eye on him. He's got great potential, so I don't want to let him get roughed up too much.
Lineups
Code:
Name G AB H 2B 3B HR RBI R BB K AVG OBP SLG
1 LF M. Rodriguez 9 38 12 1 0 0 0 9 5 0 .316 .395 .342
2 CF O. Angelo 9 42 15 1 0 0 6 5 0 3 .357 .357 .381
3 2B L. Claus 9 36 12 4 0 3 9 8 2 5 .333 .368 .694
4 3B B. Horizon 9 35 14 2 0 3 8 6 2 6 .400 .421 .714
5 RF K. Tracey 9 37 11 3 0 1 4 5 2 7 .297 .350 .459
6 1B P. Galyon 9 28 9 1 1 0 1 4 1 3 .321 .387 .429
7 CA C. Martinez 9 36 6 2 0 2 8 4 2 0 .167 .225 .389
8 SS M. Talamantez 9 34 9 3 1 1 7 3 1 0 .265 .306 .500
A. Pooler 2 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1.000 2.000
A. Manning 5 6 2 0 0 0 1 2 0 1 .333 .333 .333
F. Thom 5 4 1 0 0 0 2 3 0 0 .250 .250 .250
A. Stafford 7 7 1 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 .143 .143 .143
J. Leto 5 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 .000 .167 .000
J. Espino 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 .000 .500 .000
The only change to the lineup was the dropping of Carlos Martinez two spots, which means Tracey and Galyon each move up one spot.
I haven't had this many guys batting over .300 since, well, ever. Lobster Claus, a doubles-hitting machine in '07, looks to be back to his old self. The thing that impresses me the most is the strikeout column. We often would K 10 or more times in a gae last season. This year, we've got 3 starters who haven't struck out yet, and they all have more than 30 at bats. Our 29 K's are the lowest in the FFL, and the second lowest (to Minnesota's 23) in the NPBL.
Team Rankings
Batting AVG: .285 (5th)
Homeruns: 11 (T-5th)
Walks: 17 (T-20th)
Stolen Bases: 6 (16th)
Runs Scored: 55 (4th)
Pitching ERA: 4.39 (17th)
Opponents AVG: .259 (15th)
HRs Allowed: 10 (17th)
Walks Allowed: 29 (20th)
Runs Allowed: 42 (15th)
FWIW, we are 9th in the Power Rankings and have the #6 minor league system.
Upcoming Schedule - (Record, Power Rank, Our Record VS Them)
April 17th-20th - vs Florida Bluefish (3-6, 21st, 0-0)
April 21st-23rd - vs Massachusetts Patriots (4-4, 13th, 1-2)
April 24th-26th - @ Tennessee Hounds (5-4, 10th, 0-0)
The records/rankings don't mean much this early; I'm just staying in the habit of showing them.
