[stevem810]

As improbable as it seems Julien Henri lost his fifth straight start in the mountains of Le Morne Rouge. Julien, after his opening day win in Le Diamant, can't seem to right the ship when it comes to earning the W.

OK, so 1-5 looks weak and at first glimpse which prompts the question, 'what is wrong'? To answer it, you have to drill down a bit into the other stats. In Henri's case, and you can make a case for him, he's actually pitching pretty close to his lifetime numbers. In truth, he's having a good year on the mound (see graphic).

While it's fun to follow the Henri numbers from both sides of the dish, J.H. would tell you it's all about the team, the Paris Artists. How is the team doing?, is the question.

Mixed results might be one answer,but only because the bar is set so high. When you are the champs of the FBL the only encore is a repeat. Is 16-11 a good record? It's relative to who you are are. The Nice Orchids think it is a good record because they know they are tied with Paris for first place in the France League.

The Anse d'Arlet Sting Rays think 16-11 is a great record. They know they are one game up on Le Diamant and in first place ahead of the Diamands for the first time since anyone can remember.

The larger picture may be that this years FBL teams are overall stronger than any other point in recent memory. Teams that have struggled for years are posting winning records and only two teams, Cap Chevalier and Giverney, appear over matched. At 11-16 the Herons are hardly out of it, too.

This sets the stage for the most competitive season in recent years. It's no longer Le Diamant, Ottawa, Quebec, Cap Chevalier, and Paris as the post-season picks. The field has been expanded to as many as ten teams, at least at this juncture of the season.

Returning to the just concluded series in Le Morne Rouge, the teams split the first two games in very close contests before Paris rolled over the Toucans in the final game as their offense finally showed some spark. They tallied 17 hits, 3 apiece for Kobayashi and Yamada (both below Mendoza line batters), as Paris won 10-1.

Note: The Henri pitching line is for the game 2 loss, not the 3rd game that was pitched by Sam Smith.