A New Kind of Brew

[mcdswrkr]

wow lots of wierd trades. The astros must think Betemit is going to be god to trade Oswalt. The Grienke deal was interesting. Great thread.

[jaykno14]

Yeah there have been a lot of wierd trades that I don't really get. There's a few more coming up in this next update, also.

[jaykno14]

7/24: vs Pirates (51-49/29-21 Rd), win 8-3 - WP: Shields
Well Zach Jackson faired pretty well in his second start. He went seven innings and gave up three runs, but was losing 3-0 when he came out. We then went on to score three runs in the bottom of the seventh, and five in the eighth. All eight runs came off one pitcher, relief pitcher Damaso Marte. Jeff Mathis had his first home run as a Brewer today, Corey Hart hit his third home run of the year, and Juan Rivera had a home run. We had eight hits as a team, and leading the way was our six and seven hitters. Corey Hart was 2-3 with three RBIs and two run scored (he also had a double), and Jeff Mathis was 3-4 with a run and two RBIs.

7/25: vs Pirates, win 4-3 - WP: Calero (7-0)
In his first start, Carlos Villanueva struggled out of the gate giving up six hits and all three runs in his first two innings, but settled in to go five innings allowing only seven hits and striking out six. Jose Capellan and Kiko Calero each had great outings out of the bullpen both going two innings of scoreless ball. We were down 3-1 going into the bottom of the ninth. Bill Hall led off the inning with a solo shot to left field. They then were able to get Hart to ground out to third, but that would be the final out they get. Three straight singles from Mathis, Aybar, and pinch hitter Mike Rivera led to a two-run game winning single by Rickie Weeks to end the game. Erick Aybar was 3-4 with two runs, and Rickie Weeks was 2-5, but those were the only two people with a multi-hit game.

7/26: vs Pirates, loss 2-3 - LP: Bush (6-9)
Bush gave up two runs in 4.2 innings, but a lack of hitting led to a 2-3 loss. As a team we pulled out six hits, and one of our runs came off a home run from Dave Bush. Geoff Jenkins also had a pinch hit RBI to drive in the second run. We are now only a game and a half behind the Pirates in the division.

7/27: OFF

7/28: vs Cincinnati (57-45/26-24 Rd), win 7-1 - WP: Blanton (9-3)
Joe Blanton went seven inning giving up four hits, and striking out six. He did not allow a run. Rickie Weeks was 3-4 with two RBI and two runs on the day. Prince Fielder was 0-2, but he had two RBIs and a walk. Bill Hall, Jeff Mathis, Gabe Gross, and Juan Rivera all had a hit, with Gross hitting an RBI double in the second inning. Juan Rivera came in in the seventh, when they brought in a lefty to pitch. Geoff Jenkins had an RBI in the game also. In total, we only had seven hits as a team.

7/29: vs Cincinnati, loss 3-8 - LP: Sheets (5-10)
Sheets struggled again, and five of the runs today were unearned. Capellan relieved Sheets, who gave up six runs total, and three unearned in 6.2 innings, and gave up two more unearned runs, before giving away to Yovani Gallardo who pitched 1.1 scoreless innings. We only had six hits as a team, and Juan Rivera had the biggest day going 2-4 with a run.

7/30: vs Cincinnati, win 6-0 - WP: Jackson (2-0)
Zach Jackson pitched 6.2 innings and gave up four hits and two walks. He also struck out 11 batters. Jose Capellan and Derrick Turnbow both pitched scoreless outings as we picked up another shutout. Juan Rivera had two home runs today, good for a 2-4 day with two runs and three RBIs. Rickie Weeks had a two RBI double and went 1-4 with a walk. Bill Hall was also 1-4 with a run, and Prince Fielder went 1-3 with a run.

Jay's Thoughts: Another good week, and we were able to move up to only six games back of the Reds. However, we are 8.5 out of the wild card. I am hoping that sooner or later Sheets can pick it up, but as of now it doesn't look as if that is going to be the case for a while. Jackson has been pitching very well out of the rotation so far, and Villanueva will go in the opener of this coming week. We are still only 2.5 back of the second place team, the Cardinals, in the Central, 1.5 back of the Cubs, and a half game back of the Pirates.

Team Stats
Record: 52-53 (4-2), six games back
Streak: Won 1
Batting Average: .255 - 12th in NL
ERA: 4.82 - 15th in NL
Power Rank: 12th, 92 points

Down on the Farm
1. SP Yovani Gallardo (MLB): 2 G, 0.00 ERA, 2.0 IP, 2 HA, 1 K
2. SS Erick Aybar (MLB): 15 G, 54 AB, 13 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 5 RBI, 10 R, 5 BB, 6 K, .241/.305/.296, 2 SB
3. SP Carlos Villanueva (MLB): 1 GS, 5.40 ERA, 5.0 IP, 7 HA, 3 ER, 0 HRA, 1 BB, 6 K
4. SP Zach Jackson (MLB): 7 G, 3 GS, 2-0, 0.92 ERA, 29.1 IP, 14 HA, 3 ER, 0 HRA, 7 BB, 33 K, 3 QS
5. 3B Evan Longoria (R+): 40 G, 152 AB, 52 H, 4 HR, 25 RBI, 26 R, 22 BB, 16 K, .342/.425/.480
6. 2B Rickie Weeks (MLB): 100 G, 397 AB, 97 H, 21 2B, 5 3B, 14 HR, 51 RBI, 67 R, 61 BB, .244/.357/.428
7. C Jeff Mathis (MLB): 98 G, 352 AB, 95 H, 20 2B, 2 3B, 12 HR, 45 RBI, 47 R, 40 BB, .270/.348/.440
8. OF Tony Gwynn (AAA): 71 G, 287 AB, 95 H, 22 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 36 RBI, 48 R, 38 BB, 25 SB, .331/.407/.425
9. OF Corey Hart (MLB): 67 G, 107 AB, 27 H, 8 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 13 R, .252/.310/.411
10. OF Charlie Fermaint (A+): 103 G, 419 AB, 131 H, 17 2B, 3 3B, 9 HR, 45 RBI, 57 R, .313/.380/.432

Team Minor League System Rank: 15th - Gallardo (54th), Aybar (56th), Villanueva (63rd), Jackson (72nd), Longoria (87th)

Hitting
OF Gabe Gross: 20 G, 21 AB, 7 H, 3 2B, 5 RBI, 4 R, .333/.348/.476
OF Brady Clark: 86 G, 238 AB, 70 H, 10 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 29 R, 20 BB, .294/.365/.424
3B Bill Hall: 104 G, 400 AB, 95 H, 19 2B, 6 3B, 11 HR, 46 RBI, 62 R, 26 BB, .237/.285/.398, 6 SB
C Mike Rivera: 59 G, 173 AB, 44 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 17 R, 10 BB, 44 K, .254/.294/.335

Pitching
SP David Bush: 21 GS, 6-9, 132 IP, 132 HA, 13 HRA, 55 ER, 33 BB, 75 K, 3.75 ERA, .260 OAVE
MR Ben Hendrickson: 14 G, 0-1, 25.1 IP, 24 HA, 4 HRA, 13 ER, 6 BB, 23 K, 4.62 ERA, .247 OAVE
CL Derrick Turnbow: 31 G, 2-2, 19 S, 39.1 IP, 28 HA, 3 HRA, 10 ER, 25 BB, 33 K, 2.29 ERA, .200 OAVE

Around the League
It was a very busy week on the trade market again, but there were also some contract extensions as a result of some of the trades that were made this past week. Alfonso Soriano signed a five year, $90M contract with the Devil Rays, which came as a slight surprise that the small market Devil Rays would make such an investment. Taking a look at their front office part of the team, it does appear that they would preffer to win now. The other extension was with Carlos Lee, the former Brewer. He agreed to a three year deal that will be worth $51,120,000 over the span of the contract. With Los Angeles he has hit .271 with two home runs and seven RBIs.

There were also a LOT of trades this week, where we saw contending teams picking up some talent for the late season run, and not so contending teams stock the minor leagues. There were a lot more smaller trades, but I am just going to give you the trades that will affect the big league level so that is why there are not many trades listed.

7/24:
WASHINGTON trades
CL Chad Cordero: 24 yrs old, 3-3, 15 S, 3.96 ERA, will be the set up man in Atlanta
ATLANTA trades
SP Brady Endl: 24 yrs old, 2-7, 3.47 ERA at AAA, will report to AAA


TEXAS trades
MR Broc Coffman: 21 yrs old, 1-3, 13 S at AAA, will take Cordero's spot as Closer
WASHINGTON trades
RF Edgardo Baez: 21 yrs old, .256, 4 HR, 41 RBI at A, will report to Rookie ball
CF Jordan Schafer: 19 yrs old, this is the third team he has been with this season


7/26:
CLEVELAND trades
CF Jonathan Van Every: 26 yrs old, 13 HR, 57 RBI at AAA, will play CF for Florida
FLORIDA trades
2B Dan Uggla: 26 yrs old, 13 HR, .253, 43 RBIs, will play 2B for Cleveland
SP Sean West: 20 yrs old, 4-6, 3.02 ERA at A, will report to AAA


7/28:
ARIZONA trades
SP Micah Owings: 23 yrs old, 7-4, 3.37 ERA at AAA, will be in Atlanta's starting rotation
ATLANTA trades
SP Jose Ascanio: 21 yrs old, 3-7, 3.76 ERA at A, will report to A


ARIZONA trades
SP Brandon Webb: 27 yrs old, 4-14, 5.50 ERA, will be in Chicago's starting rotation
CHICAGO (N) trades
SS Dylan Johnston: 19 yrs old, .270, 3 HR, 26 RBI, will report to AAA
LF Jesus Valdez: 21 yrs old, .256, 3 HR, 36 RBI, will report to AAA


7/29:
TAMPA BAY trades
SP Scott Kazmir: 21 yrs old, 9-6, 3.20 ERA, will be in Seattle's starting rotation
SEATTLE trades
CF Michael Saunders: 22 yrs old, .262, 3 HR, 25 RBI at A, will report to AAA
SP Shawn Nottingham: 21 yrs old, 9-6, 3.54 ERA at A, will report to AAA


7/30:
FLORIDA trades
1B Mike Jacobs: 25 yrs old, .300, 18 HR, 49 RBI, will start at first for the Pirates
LF J.T. Restko: 21 yrs old, .241 at A, will report to AAA
PITSBURGH trades
MR Damaso Marte: 31 yrs old, 6.65 ERA, 3-1, will be in the bullpen for Florida
2B Craig Stansbery: 24 yrs old, .211, 6 HR at AA, will report to AAA
$1,900,000 in cash

What's On Tap?
7/31: @ Rockies (52-52/29-22 Hm)
8/01: @ Rockies*
8/02: @ Rockies
8/03: OFF
8/04: @ Cardinals (54-50/25-25 Hm)
8/05: @ Cardinals*
8/06: @ Cardinals

[mcdswrkr]

wow. The Mariners are building a nice young staff with the additions of Grienke and now Kazmir to go with Hernandez. The Cubs also getting Webb was interesting. Keep up the good work.

[jaykno14]

Thanks mcdswrkr. I appreciate the comments.

[mcdswrkr]

no problem. Also in Atlanta they added Oswalt and Owings to go with Cordero in the pen. Thats alot for a team 3.5 back. I smell a playoff push.

[jaykno14]

July 31, 2006

I am going to make this post containing both the game we play today, and all the moves and deals that were made. I am doing this so that I can then go along with the July 2006 review, and then I am going to do something special I think, if I can figure out how exactly I want to do it. First, let's get the actual game out of the way we have today.

@ Colorado (52-52/29-22 Hm), win 8-5 - WP: Kolb (4-3), S: Turnbow (20)
We scored six runs in the final two innings to overcome the Rockies, and reach .500 for the first time since April 24. Villanueva struggled early again, but settled down. Kiko Calero had another good outing out of the pen, and Dan Kolb got the win, but he gave up a run to let them tie it up again. Derek Turnbow pitched the ninth to get his 20th save. Chone Figgins and Bill Hall both had solo home runs. Jeff Mathis was 2-5 with a run and three RBIs. Prince Fielder was 1-3 with two runs and two walks, and Geoff Jenkins was 0-3, but had a run and an RBI.

TRADE!
We decided to part ways with Brady Clark, who was traded to the White Sox for their wild card/division chase as a option off the bench. In return the White Sox offered us their 2006 1st Round draft pick, SP Joba Chamberlin, who will report to Single A West Virginia. To replace Clark, we called up Tony Gwynn Jr.

Well it appears that that was the only trade made. The teams must have just decided to take that day off and were content with what they had. I suppose I can understand that a little bit considering the last week has been very productive for those teams looking for that final piece. I have to say that I look at the Braves as favorites in these last two months. The Mariners really did well on the selling spectrum of things and got a very good trio of starters in that rotation now that could carry them in the future. Tampa Bay comes off as a surprise to me with the Soriano move being the reason for that, as that was the last place I expected him to end up.

[jaykno14]

July 2006

TEAM STATS
Information
Overall Record: 53-53, 5.5 GB
Position in Division: 4th place
Position in Wild Card: 7th place
Home Record: 29-26
Road Record: 24-27
Xtra's Record: 8-2
One Run Games: 12-11
Record vs Lefties: 16-12
Record vs Righties: 37-41
Last 10 Games: 7-3
June Record: 15-10

Batting
Batting Average: .255 - 12th in NL
On-Base Percentage: .334 - 5th in NL
Slugging Percentage: .417 - 8th in NL
OPS: .751 - 6th in NL
Runs Scored: 525 - 4th in NL
Hits: 926 - 12th in NL
Extra-Base Hits: 309 - 8th in NL
Home Runs: 126 - 4th in NL
BBs: 398 - tied for 4th in NL
Strikeouts: 651 - 11th in NL
Stolen Bases: 44 - tied for 9th in NL

Pitching
ERA: 4.82 - 15th in NL
Starters ERA: 4.86 - 14th in NL
Bullpen ERA: 4.76 - 12th in NL
Runs Allowed: 566 - 15th in NL
Hits Allowed: 1011 - 14th in NL
Opponent AVE: .269 - 13th in NL
BABIP: .296 - 10th in NL
Home Runs Allowed: 143 - 15th in NL
BBs: 356 - 7th in NL
Strikeouts: 677 - 5th in NL

Hitting Report
2B Rickie Weeks: 101 G, 401 AB, 98 H, 22 2B, 5 3B, 14 HR, 51 RBI, 68 R, 62 BB, 86 K, .244/.358/.429
CF Chone Figgins: 16 G, 62 AB, 17 H, 4 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 8 R, 7 BB, 6 K, .274/.348/.387*
1B Prince Fielder: 106 G, 405 AB, 114 H, 15 2B, 1 3B, 21 HR, 61 RBI, 78 R, 61 BB, 71 K, .281/.378/.479
3B Bill Hall: 105 G, 404 AB, 96 H, 19 2B, 6 3B, 12 HR, 47 RBI, 64 R, 27 BB, 69 K, .238/.287/.403
LF Geoff Jenkins: 97 G, 325 AB, 89 H, 14 2B, 3 3B, 18 HR, 70 RBI, 50 R, 47 BB, 65 K, .274/.374/.502
RF Juan Rivera: 15 G, 57 AB, 17 H, 5 2B, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 9 R, 7 BB, 5 K, .298/.375/.596*
C Jeff Mathis: 16 G, 51 AB, 17 H, 3 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 10 R, 6 BB, 11 K, .333/.414/.451
SS Erick Aybar: 16 G, 58 AB, 15 H, 1 2B, 1 3B, 5 RBI, 10 R, 5 BB, 6 K, .259/.317/.310
OF Corey Hart: 67 G, 107 AB, 27 H, 8 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 13 R, 9 BB, 22 K, .252/.310/.411
UT Vinny Rottino: 52 G, 101 AB, 28 H, 4 2B, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 14 R, 14 BB, 22 K, .277/.371/.436
OF Gabe Gross: 21 G, 22 AB, 7 H, 3 2B, 5 RBI, 4 R, 1 BB, 3 K, .318/.333/.455
C Mike Rivera: 59 G, 173 AB, 44 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 17 R, 10 BB, 44 K, .254/.294/.335
OF Tony Gwynn Jr.: 21 G, 43 AB, 10 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 4 R, 6 BB, 7 K, .233/.327/.326

*With Milwaukee

The guys that came over in the Lee trade have for the most part performed well as Brewers thus far. I debated whether to give you season stats, or just stats since they've been here, and I felt it'd be more meaningful to show the stats since they've been a Brewer. I am hoping that Weeks can produce these last two weeks, and the same with Hall also. Fielder has also slowed down, and I hope that isn't a sign of things to come with his one star rating and potential. We're going to use these last two months to see what we've got in some of the younger guys like Corey Hart, who will get to start against left handed pitchers in right field, and Tony Gwynn, who might start from time to time on Sundays. Aybar will also play every day and we can find out what he will be in the future for us too. I really like what we've got in Rottino, who can play basically anywhere on the infield and can give Fielder some days off.

Pitching Report
SP Ben Sheets: 16 GS, 5-10, 99.2 IP, 110 HA, 13 HRA, 53 ER, 27 BB, 81 K, 4.79 ERA, .271 AVG, 8 QS
SP Joe Blanton: 18 GS, 9-3, 110.2 IP, 99 HA, 16 HRA, 44 ER, 29 BB, 85 K, 3.58 ERA, .236 AVG, 10 QS
SP Zack Jackson: 7 G, 3 GS, 2-0, 29.1 IP, 14 HA, 0 HRA, 3 ER, 7 BB, 33 K, 0.92 ERA, .139 AVG, 3 QS
SP David Bush: 21 GS, 6-9, 132.0 IP, 132 HA, 13 HRA, 55 ER, 33 BB, 75 K, 3.75 ERA, .260 AVG, 10 QS
SP Carlos Villanueva: 2 GS, 0-0, 11.0 IP, 15 HA, 1 HRA, 7 ER, 2 BB, 9 K, 5.73 ERA, .341 AVG, 0 QS
SP Yovani Gallardo: 2 G, 0-0, 2.0 IP, 2 HA, 1 K, 0.00 ERA, .286 AVG
MR Ben Hendrickson: 14 G, 0-1, 25.1 IP, 24 HA, 4 HRA, 13 ER, 6 BB, 23 K, 4.62 ERA, .247 AVG
MR Jose Capellan: 39 G, 3-3, 1 S, 46.2 IP, 61 HA, 5 HRA, 24 ER, 30 BB, 20 K, 4.63 ERA, .328 AVG
MR Kiko Calero: 38 G, 7-0, 51.1 IP, 49 HA, 5 HRA, 19 ER, 23 BB, 48 K, 3.33 ERA, .249 AVG
MR Danny Kolb: 39 G, 4-3, 2 S, 43.0 IP, 40 HA, 7 HRA, 18 ER, 21 BB, 29 K, 3.77 ERA, .252 AVG
MR Scot Shields: 5 G, 1-0, 6.2 IP, 4 HA, 1 HRA, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 1.35 ERA, .167 AVG
CL Derrick Turnbow: 32 G, 2-2, 20 S, 40.1 IP, 29 HA, 3 HRA, 10 ER, 26 BB, 34 K, 2.23 ERA, .201 AVG

This is pretty much set in this area too. Gallardo might be coming out of the pen for a while, as I don't see where he would go at the moment. He might trade starts with Villanueva if we have to do that. I like what I've got in pitching here. I think we've got five starters (six in reality) that can easily make up one of the better rotations in years to come. I also think that the middle relief core of Hendrickson, Kolb, Shields and Turnbow is one of the better ones in the league or can be one of the better ones. I look for Hendrickson to someday become a setup man or possibly even a closer when the time comes. He definitely has the stuff and the movement to do so.

July Awards
AL Batter of the Month: SS Michael Young, TEX
July: .402/.417/.701, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 27 R
Season: .298/.338/.500, 10 HR, 35 RBI, 64 R

AL Pitcher of the Month: SP Mark Buehrle, CHA
July: 5 GS, 4-0, 3.89 ERA, 34.2 IP, 36 HA, .267 AVG
Season: 21 GS, 9-7, 4.62 ERA, 142.1 IP, 144 HA, .256 AVG

AL Rookie of the Month: SP Thomas Diamond, TEX
July: 3 GS, 3-0, 0.92 ERA, 19.2 IP, 10 HA, .149 AVG
Season: Same as above

NL Batter of the Month: RF Brady Hawpe, COL
July: .361/.456/.763, 11 HR, 29 RBI, 23 R
Season: .325/.410/.603, 27 HR, 80 RBI, 81 R

NL Pitcher of the Month: SP Chris Carpenter, STL
July: 5 GS, 4-0, 2.45 ERA, 33.0 IP, 28 HA, .233 AVG
Season: 21 GS, 10-5, 2.91 ERA, 130.0 IP, 113 HA, .234 AVG

[COLOR=black]NL Rookie of the Month: RF Jeremy Hermida, FLA (for the second time)
July: .366/.430/.699, 8 HR, 17 RBI, 16 R, 2-2 SB
Season: .304/.388/.511, 18 HR, 55 RBI, 59 R, 7-9 SB

Around the League
Power Rankings

Rank Last Week Team             Pts Tendency Record PCT AVG  ERA  Pyt.Rec Diff 
1st (1st)      Oakland          114 o        66-41 .617 .271 4.36 63-44   3 
2nd (2nd)      New York (N)     113 o        60-44 .577 .267 3.69 60-44   0 
3rd (3rd)      Philadelphia     113 o        61-44 .581 .265 3.97 61-44   0 
4th (4th)      Chicago (A)      109 o        62-43 .590 .276 4.81 59-46   3 
5th (5th)      Minnesota        107 o        62-42 .596 .275 4.38 58-46   4 
6th (6th)      Boston           103 o        61-45 .575 .278 4.88 60-46   1 
7th (7th)      St. Louis        100 o        54-50 .519 .268 3.93 55-49   -1 
8th (8th)      Los Angeles (A)   99 o        59-47 .557 .267 4.03 56-50   3 
9th (9th)      Milwaukee         96 o        53-53 .500 .255 4.82 49-57   4 
10th (10th)    San Diego         95 o        55-50 .524 .258 4.36 53-52   2 
11th (11th)    Cincinnati        94 o        58-47 .552 .253 4.42 54-51   4 
12th (12th)    Detroit           94 o        54-52 .509 .266 4.09 55-51   -1 
13th (13th)    Houston           91 o        48-57 .457 .253 4.69 50-55   -2 
14th (14th)    New York (A)      90 o        50-54 .481 .271 5.54 52-52   -2 
15th (15th)    Pittsburgh        89 o        53-53 .500 .264 4.16 57-49   -4 
16th (16th)    Washington        89 o        51-56 .477 .250 4.57 47-60   4 
17th (17th)    Atlanta           88 o        54-52 .509 .259 4.26 57-49   -3 
18th (18th)    Colorado          87 o        52-53 .495 .275 4.42 53-52   -1 
19th (19th)    Florida           86 o        55-50 .524 .265 3.81 56-49   -1 
20th (20th)    Cleveland         85 o        48-57 .457 .259 4.91 49-56   -1 
21st (21st)    Tampa Bay         84 o        50-56 .472 .260 4.19 53-53   -3 
22nd (22nd)    Texas             82 o        45-61 .425 .261 5.73 48-58   -3 
23rd (23rd)    Los Angeles (N)   82 o        53-52 .505 .258 4.13 54-51   -1 
24th (24th)    Chicago (N)       81 o        53-52 .505 .273 4.33 53-52   0 
25th (25th)    Baltimore         80 o        52-56 .481 .265 5.08 53-55   -1 
26th (26th)    Seattle           77 o        43-62 .410 .259 4.85 45-60   -2 
27th (27th)    Toronto           73 o        46-59 .438 .261 5.08 47-58   -1 
28th (28th)    Arizona           69 o        41-64 .390 .258 5.36 41-64   0 
29th (29th)    Kansas City       69 o        45-62 .421 .263 4.86 42-65   3 
30th (30th)    San Francisco     66 o        38-68 .358 .248 4.57 42-64   -4

I will give you an updated standings after I play the current week in my next weekly update. I'm very surprised at our position in the power rankings.

[jaykno14]

7/31: see post # 47

8/01: @ Rockies, loss 3-4 - LP: Capellan (3-4)
This was a game we let get away and probably should have won. Dave Bush pitched pretty well again, going six innings, giving up five hits and three runs, but a two run homer was the difference between another quality start and a Brewers win, and a 3-3 tie. Kiko Calero pitched well for two innings, actually was perfect ball, but was then pinch hit for in the top of the ninth. Jose Capellan then came in and walked the bases loaded, but then got a guy to ground out so there was one away. They pinch hit with Matt Holliday then, so I decided to bring in Ben Hendrickson to pitch. He was able to get Holliday to fly out with the outfield in, but they still were able to tag up and score the winning run. Juan Rivera was 3-4 with two RBIs, but the rest of the team only had seven hits, and eight guys left on base.

8/02: @ Rockies, loss 7-10 - LP: Turnbow (2-3)
We were up 4-1 going into the seventh inning, and they were able to get six runs off of Jose Capellan and Yovani Gallardo, going with four off of Capellan and two off of Gallardo before Shields was able to come in and stop the damage. We then were able to tie the game up in the top of the ninth at 7-7, but Derrick Turnbow gave up a three-run home run to Tory Tulowitzki to give the Rockies the win. Prince Fielder went 2-5 with a run, but the big offense came from Juan Rivera who hit a solo home run, and also had an RBI double to go 3-5 with a run to go along with that. Bill Hall was also 2-3 with two runs, and Jeff Mathis hit a three-run home run going 1-4 on the day.

8/03: OFF

We have some extension news to talk about today, as we agreed to a three-year, $9,350,000 contract, with a team option for the third year. We feel that he will be a big part of the bullpen in the next couple of years, and his three year contract will start next year. He could even step into the closer's role if needed to at some point.

8/04: @ Cardinals (55-52/26-27 Hm), loss 2-6 - LP: Sheets (5-11)
Ben Sheets pitched five innings and gave up five runs with five walks, which is the total amount of walks he had in the month of July. Juan Rivera had two more RBIs today with a two out two run RBI double in the seventh inning. Bill Hall, who was 2-4, and Jeff Mathis were the two guys that scored those runs.

8/05: @ Cardinals, loss 2-4 - LP: Jackson (2-1)
Jackson pitched very well again, but did struggle with some control problems. He threw three wild pitches, which didn't help out his cause, but two errors kept both runs scored off of him unearned. Kiko Calero gave up a two-run shot to Jim Edmonds in the eighth to put the game out of hand, and it ended up hurting us because we were only down 2-1 at the time of the home run, and we got one in the ninth that would have tied the game up. Chone Figgins had a big day, going 4-4 with two runs and a walk. We left a total of 13 guys on base.

8/06: @ Cardinals, win 12-9 - WP: Villanueva (1-0)
Villanueva din't pitch very sepctacular ball, giving up five earned runs in five and a third innings. He did strike out eight, which was nice to see. We then brought in Yovani Gallardo who pitched the rest of the game, and gave up three unearned runs in the ninth, with an earned run in there also to finish it out. Offensively, we had 17 hits, and Rickie Weeks and Geoff Jenkins both homered. Figgins continued his hot streak going 4-6 with three runs and an RBI, and had two stolen bases. Prince Fielder had a two-RBI double and went 2-6 with a run. Geoff Jenkins finished a powerful day 3-5 with his home run, and two doubles. He had four RBIs and two runs scored. Tony Gwynn got a Sunday start in center field and went 2-5 with three RBIs and a run scored, and Gabe Gross started in right field and went 2-5 with a run scored.

Jay's Thoughts: I was hoping for a better week, especially in the Colorado series, but I guess I'm just glad that we didn't get swept in the St. Louis series. The Colorado series we let two games get away, especially the final game in which we could have taken a key series. I am expecting that we're going to go on a home stretch here in a while, which will be nice. Figgins has really heated up, he played third base for Hall in that final game, and has really been nice out of the two hole. He is 8-10 in his last two games with five runs scored. I am also pleased at the fact that we are able to put up a 12 spot when sitting two of our everyday hitters, in Hall and Rivera. Rivera's one of the hotter hitters on our team right now also. Capellan better shape up, or he could see Nashville soon. He might have cost us two games this week.

Team Stats
Record: 54-57 (2-4), 7.0 games back
Streak: Won 1
Batting Average: .256 - 11th in NL
ERA: 4.87 - 15th in NL
Team Rank: 19th, 87 points

League Standings

 
American League Standings  
Eastern Division  
Team                    W  L  PCT  GB   Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
Boston Red Sox          64 48 .571 -    63-49   1    35-18 29-30 3-2  16-8  41 L1     6-4 
Baltimore Orioles       55 58 .487 9.5  56-57   -1   34-28 21-30 5-3  15-19    W2     5-5 
Tampa Bay Devil Rays    54 58 .482 10.0 56-56   -2   29-26 25-32 5-8  15-19    W1     5-5 
New York (A) Yankees    52 58 .473 11.0 54-56   -2   27-29 25-29 5-5  12-17    L2     5-5 
Toronto Blue Jays       50 61 .450 13.5 50-61   0    28-31 22-30 4-7  12-19    W1     5-5 
 
Central Division  
Team                    W  L  PCT GB    Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
Minnesota Twins         66 44 .600 -    61-49   5    31-23 35-21 10-4 18-14 52 W2     6-4 
Chicago (A) White Sox   65 45 .591 1.0  62-48   3    30-24 35-21 5-4  17-10    L1     6-4 
Detroit Tigers          57 55 .509 10.0 58-54   -1   28-25 29-30 9-10 17-18    W1     5-5 
Cleveland Indians       50 61 .450 16.5 52-59   -2   33-23 17-38 5-4  17-17    L1     5-5 
Kansas City Royals      46 67 .407 21.5 44-69   2    25-32 21-35 4-8  19-15    L2     1-9 
 
Western Division
Team                    W  L  PCT GB    Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
Oakland Athletics       70 42 .625 -    67-45   3    34-19 36-23 4-3  16-9  42 W2     7-3 
Los Angeles (A) Angels  61 51 .545 9.0  59-53   2    30-25 31-26 3-10 14-17    L1     4-6 
Texas Rangers           48 64 .429 22.0 51-61   -3   26-30 22-34 3-3  8-14     W1     7-3 
Seattle Mariners        45 65 .409 24.0 47-63   -2   25-32 20-33 6-4  15-19    L2     4-6 
 

National League Standings  
Eastern Division  
Team                    W  L  PCT GB    Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
Philadelphia Phillies   66 45 .595 -    66-45   0    34-25 32-20 2-0  12-11 47 W4     9-1 
New York (N) Mets       60 50 .545 5.5  60-50   0    28-26 32-24 5-6  16-13    L6     3-7 
Florida Marlins         59 52 .532 7.0  60-51   -1   29-26 30-26 8-3  15-16    W1     4-6 
Atlanta Braves          56 56 .500 10.5 60-52   -4   23-27 33-29 3-6  18-18    L1     2-8 
Washington Nationals    53 59 .473 13.5 49-63   4    23-28 30-31 8-7  20-12    W1     6-4 
 
Central Division  
Team                    W  L  PCT GB    Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
Cincinnati Reds         61 50 .550 -    57-54   4    34-24 27-26 1-6  13-14 50 W1     4-6 
Chicago (N) Cubs        59 52 .532 2.0  59-52   0    30-26 29-26 3-6  12-11    W6     6-4 
St. Louis Cardinals     57 53 .518 3.5  58-52   -1   28-28 29-25 11-3 16-12    L1     6-4 
Pittsburgh Pirates      55 57 .491 6.5  59-53   -4   25-31 30-26 4-5  19-18    L4     4-6 
Milwaukee Brewers       54 57 .486 7.0  51-60   3    29-26 25-31 8-2  12-12    W1     4-6 
Houston Astros          50 61 .450 11.0 53-58   -3   26-30 24-31 5-6  14-16    L4     6-4 
 
Western Division
Team                    W  L  PCT GB    Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
Los Angeles (N) Dodgers 57 54 .514 -    58-53   -1   28-27 29-27 5-5  16-21 52 L1     5-5 
San Diego Padres        57 54 .514 -    56-55   1    30-29 27-25 5-3  18-15 52 L1     4-6 
Colorado Rockies        55 55 .500 1.5  55-55   0    31-23 24-32 3-8  13-20    L1     5-5 
Arizona Diamondbacks    44 67 .396 13.0 42-69   2    26-29 18-38 3-2  18-12    W3     4-6 
San Francisco Giants    42 69 .378 15.0 46-65   -4   28-31 14-38 5-7  12-19    W1     7-3

The Dodgers, Padres, and Rockies look to be in for a good pennett race to end the season, and it will be interesting to see who comes out on top in that one. The Reds still continue to squander, and as of now it appears the Cubs, who we have a set with coming up this week, are going to try to catch them. The aquisition of Brandon Webb seems to have helpedthe northsiders out, and it will be interesting to see what they look like when they come into town. That rotation of Zambrano, Prior, Webb, Mateo, and Guzman looks filthy.

Hitting
1B Prince Fielder: 110 G, 425 AB, 120 H, 18 2B, 1 3B, 21 HR, 64 RBI, 80 R, 61 BB, 75 K, .282/.375/.478
3B Billy Hall: 109 G, 419 AB, 101 AB, 20 2B, 6 3B, 12 HR, 48 RBI, 67 R, 28 BB, 72 K, .241/.290/.403
LF Juan Rivera: 88 G, 257 AB, 77 H, 16 2B, 13 HR, 61 RBI, 33 R, 27 BB, 31 K, .300/.361/.514
SS Chone Figgins: 108 G, 447 AB, 131 H, 24 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 39 RBI, 61 R, 31 BB, 49 K, .293/.338/.394, 20 SB

Pitching
SP Ben Sheets: 17 GS, 5-11, 104.2 IP, 117 HA, 15 HRA, 58 ER, 32 BB, 84 K, 4.99 ERA, .275 AVG
MR Jose Capellan: 41 G, 3-4, 1 S, 47.1 IP, 64 HA, 5 HRA, 29 ER, 34 BB, 21 K, 5.51 ERA, .335 AVG
MR Scot Shields: 45 G, 3-1, 6 S, 61.2 IP, 58 HA, 5 HRA, 27 ER, 34 BB, 44 K, 3.94 ERA, .251 AVG

Minor League Records
Nashville (AAA): 56-60, 2nd Place
Huntsville (AA): 60-53, 5th Place
Brevard County (A+): 61-53, 3rd Place
West Virginia (A): 57-56, 3rd Place
Helena (R+): 17-26, 4th Place
Arizona (R): 22-16, 2nd Place

Around the League
The only news around the league today is a contract extension for All-Star Cincinnati Red 2B Felipe Lopez, who agreed to a $20.9M contract for the next two years. On the season, he is hitting .306 with 17 HR and 56 RBIs. He also has 15 stolen bases.

What's On Tap?
8/07: OFF
8/08: vs Cubs (59-52/29-26 Rd)
8/09: vs Cubs*
8/10: vs Cubs
8/11: @ Braves (56-56/23-27 Hm)
8/12: @ Braves*
8/13: @ Braves

[jaykno14]

8/07: OFF

8/08: vs Cubs (59-52/29-26 Rd), loss 2-4 - LP: Bush (6-10)
Dave Bush did not pitch bad ball, allwoing four runs, three of them earned, in 6.1 innings, but our offense just could not figure out Juan Mateo, the starting pitcher for the Cubs. The only Brewer player that hit halfway decently was Bill Hall who went 2-3 with a run scored to raise his average to .244. Prince Fielder was also 1-3 with a run, but that is about it. We had seven total hits as a team.

8/09: vs Cubs, loss 1-6 - Blanton (9-4)
Brandon Webb had another good outing for the Cubs, and Joe Blanton had one of his not so hot outings for us so far. Blanton gave up four runs in seven innings pitched, and Jose Capellan pitched an inning of relief and made sure it was out of reach by the time up in the eighth. Hitting wise Rickie Weeks and Chone Figgins both had pretty good days, both going 2-4, with Weeks scoring a run, and Figgins driving him in. Figgins also had a stolen base.

8/10: vs Cubs, loss 6-11 - LP: Sheets (5-12)
Sheets continued his struggles. He got ONE out. That's right ONE out. He gave up six runs and four hits, but only one of those runs were earned, after three errors. Yovani Gallardo then came in and showed what he could be as a starting pitcher out of the rotation for years to come, pitching five innings, giving up two hits, one unearned run, one walk, and TEN strikeouts. Dan Kolb gave up the other four runs, and three of those were earned. Hitting wise, Jeff Mathis, Chone Figgins, Bill Hall, and Gabe Gross all had home runs. All of them were solo shots except for Mathis', who had a two-run shot. Bill Hall was 2-4 with two runs, but was the only BRewer with a multi-hit game. We had four total errors in the game. This really stinks to get swept by the Cubs.

8/11: @ Braves (57-58/24-29 Hm), loss 1-5 - LP: Jackson (2-2)
Jackson had his worst outing since getting called up, and 20-year old sinker ball specialist Matt Harrison had his best outing of the year going a complete game giving up five hits and striking out ten. Our bullpen pitcheed decently, which was a plus, and it was nice to see that Dan Kolb was actually able to get an out. Chone Figgins was 3-4 with a triple, a double, and a single, but was the only guy that hit anything all night. I'd be nice to end this losing streak.

8/12: @ Braves, win 9-4 - WP: Villanueva (2-0)
Carlos Villanueva pitched phenomonal ball, going seven strong innings of four hit ball, giving up one run and striking out eight. The run came in the first inning, as did three of the hits he gave up. Jose Capellan just signed his ticket out of town. We brought him in with a 9-1 lead in the eighth inning and he walked for and gave up two hits. He also gave up three runs. He will report to AAA Nashville, and I'm not quite sure who we'll call up yet. Erick Aybar had a big day for us at the plate, going 3-4 with two runs and three RBIs. He hit his first career home run. Juan Rivera also added two more RBIs to his total. Jeff Mathis had another home run, and also had a big sacrifice bunt later in the game, moving guys from first and second over to second and third, which lead to two much needed runs in the eighth (we were only winning 3-1 at the time).

8/13: @ Braves, loss 2-6 - LP: Bush (6-11)
Dave Bush was only able to go 3.1 innings and only gave up one run, but did walk four. Scot Shields then came in, which I am disappointed at and gave up three runs, all earned. Dan Kolb was not able to get an out either and gave up two hits and a run. Prince Fielder was the only one that really hit, and went 1-3 with a two RBI single. We left eight guys on base.

Jay's Thoughts: This was a very disappointing week for us. Getting swept by the Cubs was bad enough, and then to go to Atlanta and get our butts handed to us didn't make it feel much better. I think we found that we still have a year or so to go before we start talking playoffs in Wisconsin. I am going to send down Jose Capellan at this time, and purchased the contract of AAA closer Robert Hinton, who will be a middle reliever for us here at the ML level. I am hoping to get a good look at the young guys from here on out, especially since we don't really have anything to play for.

Team Stats
Record: 55-62 (1-5)
L10 Games: 2-8
Batting Average: .254 - 13th in NL
ERA: 4.87 ERA, 15th in NL

Top Ten Prospects
1. SP Yovani Gallardo (MLB): 6 G, 3.00 ERA, 12.0 IP, 14 HA, 4 ER, 1 HRA, 4 BB, 16 K
2. SS Erick Aybar (MLB): 27 G, 92 AB, 24 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 14 R, 8 BB, 13 K, .261/.320/.337
3. SP Carlos Villanueva (MLB): 4 GS, 2-0, 5.01 ERA, 23.1 IP, 28 HA, 13 ER, 2 HRA, 5 BB, 25 K, 1 QS
4. SP Zach Jackson (MLB): 9 G, 5 GS, 2-2, 1.77 ERA, 40.2 IP, 26 HA, 8 ER, 1 HRA, 9 BB, 39 K, 4 QS
5. 3B Evan Longoria (A): 7 G, 7 AB, 2 H, 1 3B, 1 BB, .286/.375/.571
6. C Jeff Mathis (MLB): 110 G, 396 AB, 103 H, 21 2B, 2 3B, 15 HR, 54 RBI, 55 R, 45 BB, 78 K, .260/.339/.437
7. LF Tony Gwynn (MLB): 31 G, 62 AB, 16 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 7 RBI, 6 R, 7 BB, 12 K, .258/.333/.355, 4 SB
8. CF Corey Hart (MLB): 74 G, 121 AB, 28 H, 8 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 14 R, 10 BB, 25 K, .231/.288/.372
9. CF Charlie Fermaint (A+): 116 G, 471 AB, 151 H, 19 2B, 4 3B, 9 HR, 50 RBI, 70 R, 46 BB, 113 K, .321/.389/.435
10. RF Michael Brantley (A): 119 G, 466 AB, 145 H, 20 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 72 RBI, 60 R, 67 BB, 62 K, .311/.401/.391

We promoted Michael Brantley to A+, and we will see how he does there before we decide where he goes next season. I really like the type of player he is, as he doesn't strike out much, and gets on base at a good rate, and even has some speed to boot. Right now we have plenty of the big swinging, strikingout, home run type of guys.

Hitting
C Jeff Mathis*: 27 G, 90 AB, 23 H, 3 2B, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 17 R, 11 BB, 21 K, .256/.343/.422
2B Rickie Weeks: 112 G, 446 AB, 106 H, 24 2B, 5 3B, 15 HR, 53 RBI, 72 R, 65 BB, 101 K, .238/.346/.415
3B Vinny Rottino: 57 G, 107 AB, 28 H, 4 2B, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 14 R, 16 BB, 25 K, .262/.363/.411
LF Geoff Jenkins: 107 G, 361 AB, 99 H, 16 2B, 3 3B, 19 HR, 75 RBI, 56 R, 49 BB, 73 K, .274/.371/.493

Pitching
SP David Bush: 24 GS, 6-11, 147.2 IP, 147 HA, 15 HRA, 62 ER, 38 BB, 87 K, 3.78 ERA, .260 AVG, 12 QS
SP Joe Blanton*: 12 GS, 5-2, 66.2 IP, 61 HA, 8 HRA, 28 ER, 23 BB, 60 K, 3.78 ERA, .243, 5 QS
MR Kiko Calero: 28 G, 5-0, 34.1 IP, 28 HA, 2 HRA, 11 ER, 19 BB, 34 K, 2.88 ERA, .220 AVG

Around the League
In this addition of "Around the League", we are going to visit some former Brewers (in the majors) and see how they are faring so far with their new teams. I'm just going to give you a list and a little description under each guy traded, starting with:

SP Doug Davis, Texas
traded for: C Kevin Richardson (AAA)
Before Trade: 16 G, 11 GS, 4-6, 8.65 ERA, 60.1 IP, 78 HA, 58 ER, 15 HRA, 24 BB, 40 K
Since Trade: 5 GS, 2-2, 4.78 ERA, 26.1 IP, 25 HA, 14 ER, 5 HRA, 12 BB, 21 K
Jay's Thoughts: Davis was sent to AAA to begin with, but was called up in July, and has settled down a bit in Texas. I am happy to see that, as he was always well liked in Milwaukee. Here's to hoping his change of scenery continues to do decently for him. The home run differences seem to be the big factor in the differences in stats.

LF Carlos Lee, Los Angeles (A)
traded for: OF Juan Rivera (MLB), C Jeff Mathis (MLB), UT Chone Figgins (MLB), MR Scot Shields (MLB), SS Erick Aybar (MLB)
Before Trade: 89 G, 352 AB, 103 H, 22 2B, 3 3B, 23 HR, 67 RBI, 58 R, 41 BB, 49 K, .293/.368/.568
Since Trade: 26 G, 99 AB, 28 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 17 RBI, 15 R, 13 BB, 19 K, .283/.360/.465
Jay's Thoughts: Lee cashed in on a new three year deal with the Angels, gaining him $51,120,000 total. It seems that he hasn't quite found the power stroke he had with us in Los Angeles, but I am sure he will be able to find it sooner or later.

MR Matt Wise, Los Angeles (A)
traded for: same as above
Before Trade: 32 G, 1-1, 3 S, 6.81 ERA, 38.1 IP, 49 HA, 29 ER, 7 HRA, 16 BB, 23 K
Since Trade: 10 G, 3-0, 1 S, 1.10 ERA, 16.1 IP, 9 HA, 2 ER, 1 HRA, 6 BB, 5 K
Jay's Thoughts: Wise also appears to have cashed in with the Angels, but in a different way. The change of scenery seems to have helped him also. I am also happy to hear that he has done so well with the Angels, and hope his sucess continues.

P Chris Capuano, San Diego
traded for: OF Kennard Jones (AA)
Before Trade: 20 GS, 4-5, 4.77 ERA, 115.0 IP, 116 HA, 61 ER, 21 HRA, 35 BB, 82 K
Since Trade: 7 G, 3.09 ERA, 11.2 IP, 6 HA, 4 ER, 3 HRA, 6 BB, 9 K
Jay's Thoughts: Since being traded to the Padres Cappy has been made a middle reliever, and has had some succes in it since making the transition. I would have liked to do this with Capuano, however I felt that we already were a bit crowded in the bullpen, and didn't need to send anybody down. At this time I am kind of wishing he could be in a our bullpen instead of Hinton, but maybe I'll be surprised.

RF Brady Clark, Chicago (A)
traded for: SP Joba Chamberlain
Before Trade: 86 G, 238 AB, 70 H, 10 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 26 RBI, 29 R, 20 BB, 20 K, .294/.365/.424
Since Trade: 10 G, 39 AB, 14 H, 4 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K, .359/.419/.538
Jay's Thoughts: It's good to see that Brady got a starting job in Chicago, but we just felt that he wasn't a part of our future here, even though he's the type of hitter we need. I think Chamberlain could be a starter at some point for us here in Milwaukee. I am hoping that Clark can get a chance to play in October, as I will enjoy watching him.

What's On Tap?
8/14: @ Pirates (58-60/27-32 Hm)
8/15: @ Pirates
8/16: @ Pirates
8/17: vs Astros (54-63/24-31 Rd)
8/18: vs Astros
8/19: vs Astros
8/20: vs Astros

[jaykno14]

8/14: @ Pirates (58-60/27-32 Hm), win 6-1 - WP: Blanton (10-4), S: Calero (1)
Even though he only allowed a total of five baserunners (two hits and three walks) the computer manager decided to pull Joe Blanton after five innings and go to my already slightly depleted bullpen. Robert Hinton pitched well, facing eight guys and striking out five of them. Kiko Calero then came in and pitched the final 1.2 innings and got a save because of a late surge by us. We had nine hits, with Rickie Weeks doing well out of the lead off spot getting on base three times (two walks and a hit) with two runs and a RBI. He hit his 16th home run of the year also. Chone Figgins was 2-5 with a RBI and stolen base. Bill Hall was 1-4 and also had two RBIs. Corey Hart went 2-4 with an RBI taking Jenkins place in right for the day.

8/15: @ Pirates, win 8-4 - WP: Turnbow (3-3)
We scored all eight of our runs in the final three innings, including the last four in the top of the ninth. Ben Sheets pitched pretty well going seven innings and giving up only three earned runs. Scot Shields blew a 4-3 lead in the eighth and gave up two walks and two hits. Chone Figgins hit his fifth home run of the year, and was 3-5 with a double and triple also. He also had four RBIs and two runs scored. Rickie Weeks was 2-4 out of the leadoff spot again. Erick Aybar had a big two RBI single to give us the lead in the top of the ninth and was 1-4.

8/16: @ Pirates, win 10-0 - WP: Jackson (3-2)
Our computer coach seems to have a pretty quick hook, as Zach Jackson went six innings allowing only one hit, and the computer pulled him after that. Yovani Gallardo pitched well the rest of the way out giving up only three more hits and striking out two. Erick Aybar was 1-1 with two runs and three RBIs and two walks. His one hit was a three run home run. Geoff Jenkins was also 3-4 with a double, run, RBI, and walk. Chone Figgins continued hitting well going 2-5 with two RBIs and a run scored.

8/17: vs Astros (56-64/24-31 Rd), loss 3-5 - LP: Villanueva (2-1)
Carlos Villanueva did not have a very good outing, lasting only five innings. He allowed seven hits, four runs, three walks, and a home run in his outing. Ben Hendrickson saved some bullpen arms and came out of the pen to go four innings and allowed only three hits and one earned run. He struck out six. We left eight guys on and nobody had more than one hit on our team. We had four total hits as a team.

8/18: vs Astros, win 5-0 - WP: Bush (7-11)
Well again the computer decided to deplete my bullpen, as Dave Bush is going along perfectly, but after 5.1 innings of three-hit ball, we are going to bring in Robert Hinton. The bullpen obviously pitched well, but it would have been nice to be able to leave Bush in there a little longer to eat up some innings. Oh well. We only had seven total hits as a team. Prince Fielder hit a three-run home run to put us up 5-0 in the seventh. Rickie Weeks had another good game and was 1-2 with a run and two walks. Erick Aybar seems to be getting hot, and was 3-4 with two runs out of the eight spot. It's always nice to have someone hit well in that part of the lineup.

8/19: vs Astros, win 6-1 - WP: Blanton (11-4)
Managing this game myself, I was sure to extend Blanton's outing by probably an inning, and he was able to go the full game. He gave up eight hits, and the run was unearned. Chone Figgins always seems to do well when I manage the game, as he was 3-4 with two runs and a RBI. Prince Fielder was 2-3 with a run and a RBI, and Geoff Jenkins was 2-3 with three RBIs and a run scored. He had a three-run shot in the third. Erick Aybar also had a solo shot and is starting to come along nicely for us.

8/20: vs Astros, win 6-5 - WP: Gallardo (1-0), S: Turnbow (21)
Ben Sheets was only able to go three innings and allowed four hits and one run before being taken out due to a bruised finger. Yovani Gallardo came in and took control going 3.1 innings allowing two hits, a run, and striking out seven for the win. Scot Shields had a struggle again out of the set up spot, and will be demoted to a middle reliever for next week. Calero will become the set up man. We only had five total hits as a team. Rickie Weeks got on again going 1-4 with two runs and a walk. Tony Gwynn had a big pinch hit single in the seventh that led to to runs being scored. Vinny Rottino also had a big two RBI hit. Juan Rivera hit his 14th home run of the year.

Jay's Thoughts: We had a very good week. I'll take a 5-1 week any week. Hitting really picked up. Rickie Weeks has found ways to help out the team even without hitting for a very good average. He has now gotten on base 18 of his last 20 games. He has also scored in four straight games. Chone Figgins has also gotten hot hitting .414 with a homer and eight RBIs last week. He also had seven runs, and six of those 12 hits were extra bases. Shortstop Erick Aybar hit .381 with a .435 on base percentage and two home runs this week also. He scored seven times. Kiko Calero has had a good month allowing only five hits in 10.2 innings. He has struck out ten. and has a save also.

Team Stats
Record: 61-63, 6.5 GB
Streak: Won 3
L10: 7-3
Batting Average: .254 - 13th in NL
ERA: 4.71 - 14th in NL
Power Rank: 12th, 96 Pts
Minor League Rank: 16th, five guys in top 100

League Standings

 
American League Standings  
Eastern Division  
Team                    W L   PCT  GB  Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
Boston Red Sox          67 57 .540 -    67-57  0    38-24 29-33 4-4  17-9  35 W2     3-7 
Baltimore Orioles       64 61 .512 3.5  64-61  0    36-29 28-32 5-3  18-20    L1     8-2 
Tampa Bay Devil Rays    59 65 .476 8.0  62-62  -3   32-29 27-36 5-8  16-22    W1     5-5 
New York (A) Yankees    56 67 .455 10.5 59-64  -3   29-34 27-33 5-7  12-20    L2     3-7 
Toronto Blue Jays       54 70 .435 13.0 54-70  0    29-33 25-37 4-7  13-23    W1     3-7 
 
Central Division  
Team                    W  L PCT   GB   Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
Minnesota Twins         74 49 .602 -    70-53   4    38-26 36-23 11-4 21-18 36 W2     7-3 
Chicago (A) White Sox   70 53 .569 4.0  68-55   2    34-30 36-23 5-6  19-13    L2     3-7 
Detroit Tigers          66 59 .528 9.0  66-59   0    32-28 34-31 11-11 20-20   W2     7-3 
Cleveland Indians       55 68 .447 19.0 58-65   -3   35-27 20-41 5-5  20-20    L1     4-6 
Kansas City Royals      55 71 .437 20.5 50-76   5    30-33 25-38 7-8  20-16    W1     6-4 
 
Western Division  
Team                    W  L  PCT  GB   Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
Oakland Athletics       75 49 .605 -    72-52   3    38-24 37-25 4-4  19-9  35 L1     4-6 
Los Angeles (A) Angels  72 53 .576 3.5  68-57   4    34-25 38-28 5-10 21-17    W8     9-1 
Seattle Mariners        53 71 .427 22.0 56-68   -3   27-33 26-38 6-5  16-22    L4     5-5 
Texas Rangers           52 73 .416 23.5 55-70   -3   27-35 25-38 4-3  10-17    L2     3-7 

 
National League Standings  
Eastern Division  
Team                    W  L  PCT  GB   Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
Philadelphia Phillies   74 50 .597 -    73-51   1    40-29 34-21 2-1  13-12 33 L1     6-4 
New York (N) Mets       67 56 .545 6.5  68-55   -1   32-28 35-28 7-8  17-16    W4     6-4 
Florida Marlins         66 57 .537 7.5  67-56   -1   31-27 35-30 8-3  18-17    W2     7-3 
Atlanta Braves          64 61 .512 10.5 68-57   -4   26-30 38-31 3-6  18-20    L2     7-3 
Washington Nationals    58 67 .464 16.5 53-72   5    27-34 31-33 9-8  23-12    W1     3-7 
 
Central Division  
Team                    W  L  PCT  GB   Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
Cincinnati Reds         68 56 .548 -    64-60   4    39-26 29-30 4-6  16-16 39 W2     4-6 
Chicago (N) Cubs        67 56 .545 .5   67-56   0    32-27 35-29 3-7  13-13    W1     6-4 
St. Louis Cardinals     62 61 .504 5.5  63-60   -1   30-29 32-32 11-5 18-15    L1     5-5 
Milwaukee Brewers       61 63 .492 7.0  59-65   2    32-30 29-33 8-2  13-12    W3     7-3 
Pittsburgh Pirates      59 65 .476 9.0  63-61   -4   27-35 32-30 4-6  19-19    L2     4-6 
Houston Astros          57 67 .460 11.0 60-64   -3   32-33 25-34 5-6  15-17    L3     5-5 
 
Western Division  
Team                    W  L  PCT  GB   Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
San Diego Padres        63 61 .508 -    61-63   2    33-33 30-28 7-3  20-17 37 W2     4-6 
Los Angeles (N) Dodgers 61 63 .492 2.0  62-62   -1   31-34 30-29 5-6  18-24    W1     1-9 
Colorado Rockies        57 67 .460 6.0  59-65   -2   32-29 25-38 4-8  14-23    L8     1-9 
Arizona Diamondbacks    52 72 .419 11.0 50-74   2    29-32 23-40 3-3  20-13    L2     7-3 
San Francisco Giants    52 72 .419 11.0 54-70   -2   30-32 22-40 6-7  14-19    L1     8-2

As you see the Angels have moved into the wild card lead, and its good to see that Wise and Lee are cashing in for the Angels. The Cubs and Mets appear to be figting it out for the NL wild card.

Hitting
C Mike Rivera: 66 G, 188 AB, 45 H, 6 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 20 RBI, 17 R, 10 BB, 46 K, .239/.277/.324
SS Erick Aybar: 34 G, 116 AB, 32 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 21 R, 10 BB, 16 K, .276/.333/.405
LF Tony Gwynn: 36 G, 67 AB, 17 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 9 RBI, 6 R, 8 BB, 14 K, .254/.333/.358, 4-5 SB
CF Corey Hart: 77 G, 125 AB, 30 H, 8 2B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 14 R, 11 BB, 26 K, .240/.299/.376

Pitching
SP Zach Jackson: 10 G, 6 GS, 3-2, 46.2 IP, 27 HA, 1 HRA, 8 ER, 11 BB, 44 K, 1.54 ERA, .163 AVG
MR Ben Hendrickson: 20 G, 0-1, 34.1 IP, 29 HA, 4 HRA, 14 ER, 9 BB, 32 K, 3.67 ERA, .228 AVG
CL Derrick Turnbow: 36 G, 3-3, 21-24 S, 44.0 IP, 32 HA, 4 HRA, 13 ER, 29 BB, 37 K, 2.66 ERA, .203 AVG

Around the League
Francisco Rodriguez cashed in this week, agreeing to a three year contract with the Angels. It is being reported that the set up man will make $5.27M a year. He has a 6-3 record with a 2.50 ERA. On the other side of LA, another reliever got an extension. Eric Gagne and the Dodgers agreed to a one year deal that will pay him $10M next season. This season he has 23 saves with a 3.24 ERA.

A lot of injuries this week. The Indians lost DH Travis Hafner (fractured cheekbone, 5-6 weeks), the Yankees MR J.B. Cox (tender shoulder, 1-2 weeks), the Orioles 3B Melvin Mora (strained back, 3-4 weeks), San Diego's RF Ryan Klesko (fractured elbow, 8 months), Florida's 3B Miguel Cabrera (strained groin, 2 weeks), and the Diamondback's MR Adam Bass (strained bicep, 2 weeks).

In other news, Brady Clark was able to pound out five hits against the Royals with a double, three singles, and a home run. His White Sox remain behind in the wild card chase though.

What's On Tap?
8/21: OFF
8/22: vs Rockies (57-67/25-38 Rd)
8/23: vs Rockies*
8/24: vs Rockies
8/25: @ Marlins (66-57/31-27 Hm)
8/26: @ Marlins
8/27: @ Marlins

[jaykno14]

8/20: OFF

8/22: vs Rockies (57-67/25-38 Rd), loss 2-7 - LP: Jackson (3-3)
Two errors led to three unearned runs on Zach Jackson, and he only lasted three innings scattering seven hits and five runs, only two earned. Ben Hendrickson did well out of the pen going five innings allowing only one run to keep us within manageable distance, but we could just not figure out Jason Jennings. We had three hits as a team, and they came from Vinny Rottino (two) and Geoff Jenkins. Rickie Weeks did walk twice to continue his on base rate.

8/23: vs Rockies, win 2-0 - WP: Villanueva
Villanueva was able to go all nine innings, and didn't even break the 100 mark (99 pitches). Villanueva gave up only five hits and struck out seven, while walking one. Rickie Weeks got on base again going 1-3. Chone Figgins scored a run and was also 1-3, and Prince Fielder was 1-3 with a run and RBI. Corey Hart, who started for Geoff Jenkins in right field versus a lefty, was 2-4 wiht a RBI. Jeff Mathis went 3-4 and Erick Aybar was 2-4. We did leave ten guys on base.

8/24: vs Rockies, loss 5-6 - LP: Shields (3-2)
We had a 5-0 lead after the first inning, but could do no more as their bullpen held us to just two more hits after that inning. Our bullpen let them get back in it. Dave Bush went 6.1 innings giving up seven hits and striking out seven, but the bullpen could not hold on for his eighth win. Jeff Mathis and Juan Rivera hit home runs, both two-run shots. Prince Fielder was 1-2 with two walks and a run, and Rickie Weeks was 0-3, but walked once.

8/25 @ Marlins (67-59/33-29 Hm) - LP: Blanton (11-5)
Joe Blanton went six innings and only allowed four hits, but gave up four earned runs en route to a loss. We only had seven hits as a team and left nine guys on. Rickie Weeks and Billy Hall were both 2-4, but other than that no one else had more than one hit. Erick Aybar did have two walks. As a team we struck out 12 times against a pitcher making his major league debut. Not good.

8/26: @ Marlins, win 3-2 - WP: Sheets (6-12), S: Turnbow (22)
After allowing two men to cross the plate in the bottom of the first, Ben Sheets pitched spectacular and allowed only four more hits the rest of the game. He lasted eight innings giving up two runs, six hits, and striking out five. We scored all three of our runs in the top of the ninth, which was started by Vinny Rottino's pinch-hit RBI double. Rickie Weeks then drove in him and Erick Aybar for the go-ahead run. Dan Kolb pitched to a batter in the ninth (to allow Turnbow to finish warming up) and the Turnbow came in and got the last two outs.

8/27: @ Marlins, win 5-2 - WP: Jackson (4-3), S: Turnbow (23)
Zach Jackson pitched five innings of four hit ball and struck out seven while allowing only one run to cross the plate. Ben Hendrickson, Scot Shields, and Yovani Gallardo all pitched well in relief allowing the save from Derrick Turnbow in the ninth. Rickie Weeks was 2-5 with two runs scored, and Figgins had a RBI and two stolen bases. Bill Hall was also 1-3 with an RBI, and Tony Gwynn drove in a run. They had four errors as a team, which led to three unearned runs being given up by their pitchers.

Jay's Thoughts: It was good that we were able to win those final two games of the week to get back to .500 for the week. One of these days we are going to get over that hump and maybe get over the .500 mark. The bullpen has done well for us lately, especially Hendrickson and Calero. I am also becoming fond of the type of hitter that Erick Aybar is turning into. I like him at the bottom of the lineup for us. In September we are going to really try to see what we are going to have in our hitters for next season.

Team Stats
Record: 64-66 (3-3)
L10: 6-4
Streak: Won 2
Batting Average:.252 - 14th in NL
ERA: 4.64 - 14th in NL

Down On The Farm
1. SP Yovani Gallardo (MLB): 9 G, 1-0, 1 S, 2.37 ERA, 19.0 IP, 19 HA, 5 ER, 1 HRA, 4 BB, 26 K
2. SS Erick Aybar (MLB): 40 G, 135 AB, 37 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 22 R, 12 BB, 23 K, .274/.338/.385
3. SP Carlos Villanueva (MLB): 6 GS, 3-1, 4.10 ERA, 37.1 IP, 40 HA, 17 ER, 3 HRA, 9 BB, 37 K, 1 CG/SHO
4. SP Zach Jackson (MLB): 12 G, 8 GS, 4-3, 1.81 ERA, 54.2 IP, 38 HA, 11 ER, 1 HRA, 12 BB, 56 K, 5 QS
5. 3B Evan Longoria (A): 20 G, 64 AB, 15 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 7 R, 5 BB, 9 K, .234/.290/.375
6. C Jeff Mathis (MLB): 121 G, 435 AB, 110 H, 22 2B, 2 3B, 16 HR, 57 RBI, 56 R, 46 BB, 88 K, .253/.327/.423
7. LF Tony Gwynn Jr. (MLB): 40 G, 72 AB, 18 H, 5 2B, 1 3B, 10 RBI, 7 R, 8 BB, 15 K, .250/.325/.347
8. RF Travis Snider (R+): 55 G, 201 AB, 65 H, 3 2B, 17 RBI, 26 R, 21 BB, 34 K, 5 SB, .323/.391/.338
9. CF Charlie Fermaint (A+): 129 G, 521 AB, 167 H, 19 2B, 4 3B, 10 HR, 58 RBI, 80 R, 49 BB, 117 K, .321/.388/.430
10. RF Michael Brantley (A+): 10 G, 26 AB, 7 H, 3 RBI, 5 R, 2 BB, 5 K, .269/.321/.269

Minor League System: 16th, 43 Pts: P Gallardo (51st), SS Aybar (54th), P Villanueva (61st), P Jackson (69th), 3B Longoria (74th)

Minor League Team Records:
Nashville: 61-75, 2nd Place
Huntsville: 70-63, 5th Place
Brevard County: 72-61, 3rd Place
West Virginia: 69-64, 3rd Place
Helena: 25-38, 4th Place
Arizona: 33-22, 1st Place

Hitting
C Jeff Mathis: See above
UT Vinny Rottino: 66 G, 118 AB, 33 H, 6 2B, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 15 R, 20 BB, 26 K, .280/.388/.432
OF Tony Gwynn: See above
OF Geoff Jenkins: 118 G, 390 AB, 108 H, 19 2B, 3 3B, 20 HR, 81 RBI, 61 RBI, 53 BB, 79 K, .277/.372/.495

Pitching
MR Robert Hinton: 4 G, 6.0 IP, 5 HA, 0 HRA, 3 ER, 4 BB, 11 K, 4.50 ERA, .217 AVG
MR Danny Kolb: 46 G, 4-3, 2 S, 49.0 IP, 46 HA, 8 HRA, 23 ER, 24 BB, 34 K, 4.22 ERA, .251 AVG
CL Derrick Turnbow: 38 G, 3-3, 23 S, 45.2 IP, 34 HA, 4 HRA, 13 ER, 29 BB, 38 K, 2.56 ERA, .207 AVG

Around the League
Not much news around the league. Rafael Betancourt signed a one year extension with the Indians for $1.94M next season.

The Reds are beginning to pull away in the Central with a 3.5 game lead over the Cubs. In the wild card race it is beginning to get tight as the Marlins and Mets are tied and a half a game ahead of the Cubs, a game ahead of Atlanta (come on Braves!), and two games ahead of the Cardinals. The Twins have pulled away in the AL Central and have a 8.5 game lead over the White Sox, and it appears that the Angels are pulling away with the wild card.

What's On Tap?
8/28: @ Marlins (finishing up the series in Florida)
8/29: @ Astros (61-70/32-33 Hm)
8/30: @ Astros
8/31: @ Astros
9/01: vs Marlins (68-61/35-30 Rd)
9/02: vs Marlins
9/03: vs Marlins

[jaykno14]

This report is going to be more brief as we are going to post the monthly report following this report, and there will have been only three more games played since that report was made so any stats of any sort will appear in that report.

8/28: @ Marlins, loss 0-2 - LP: Villanueva (3-2)
We were only able to get a total of four guys on base all game, and had only two hits as a team. Rickie Weeks and Carlos Villanueva had those hits. Villanueva got taken out of the game early for some reason (that I don't know) and only went 3.1 innings allowing two hits and one run. He struck out seven. Robert Hinton, Scot Shields, Dan Kolb, and Kiko Calero all came out of the bullpen and only allowed one run (Kolb) the rest of the game. However, it was too little too late. Jason Johnson lasted 8.1 innings for them only allowing two hits and two walks.

8/29: @ Astros (61-70/32-33 Hm), loss 1-6 - LP: Bush (7-12)
Bush lasted five innings giving up all six earned runs. We only had five hits as a team again. Weeks, Figgins, Jenkins (2) and Mathis all accounted for those hits. Figgins stole a base. Geoff Jenkins drove in the only run (Figgins) on a RBI single and was 2-4. Wilson Betemit had a three RBI double for them.

8/30: @ Astros, loss 2-6 - LP: Blanton (11-6)
They scored five runs in the second inning, and Joe Blanton suffered his second straight loss. He was able to last six innings though, saving our bullpen. Yovani Gallardo pitched the final two innings striking out four and allowing one hit and a walk. Tony Gwynn batted leadoff for us today and went 3-5 with a run. Jeff Mathis moved down to the eight hole to allow Rickie Weeks to hit sixth and went 2-2 with two walks and a home run. Gwynn was only a home run away from the cycle.

8/31: @ Astros, loss 3-8 - LP: Sheets (6-13)
We have experience a bit of a slide to end the month of August, which is sort of unfortunate. Ben Sheets lasted seven innings giving up four runs and two home runs. Ben Hendrickson then pitched an inning of relief and gave up six hits and four runs to extend their lead to 8-3. Mike Rivera got a rare start today at catcher and came through with a three run home run, but other than that we were pretty dull offensively today. Rickie Weeks did get on base again, but that was bout it on the offensive spectrum of things.

We called up Nelson Cruz for the September call-ups, but as of now he was the only Brewer to get the call.

9/01: vs Marlins (71-62/37-31 Rd), win 3-2 - WP: Hinton (1-0), S: Turnbow (24)
Zach Jackson pitched very well. He lasted 7.1 innings and allowed seven hits, two earned runs, and struck out nine. The bullpen then pitched very well also, as Robert Hinton, Scot Shields, and Derrick Turnbow finished it off with perfect pitching. We scored the go ahead double and a RBI double from Bill Hall, who went 3-4 today with a run, in the eighth inning, which set up Hinton for the win. Juan Rivera was also 3-4 with a RBI, and Rickie Weeks was on base again with another walk.

9/02: vs Marlins, win 6-3 - WP: Calero (8-0), S: Turnbow (25)
Carlos Villanueva only gave up one earned run again and struck out six in another very good start, and the bullpen also performed well to hold down the lead for our second victory. We also hit very well. As a team we had 13 hits, and the best thing is (in my opinion) that we didn't even have to hit a long ball to score runs today. The top of the order really came trough today, as Rickie Weeks was 2-5, Chone Figgins was 3-5 with two runs, Prince Fielder scored a run, Juan Rivera scored two runs, Bill Hall was 2-4 with a RBI, and Corey Hart was 3-3 with a run and three RBIs. Jeff Mathis also had a RBI and was 2-3.

In other news today, we agreed to a new contract with our AAA pitching coach, Leonardo Cabanes, who I am very high on. He has really handled the pitching well down at AAA, and even since the three prospects have left, they've continued to pitch very well. He could someday find himself on the big league coaching staff.

9/03: vs Marlins, win 5-0 - WP: Bush (8-13)
David Bush did not pitch spectacular ball, but pitched well enough not to give up a run and lasted 6.2 innings with four hits allowed and four walks. Scot Shields and Robert Hinton (0.1 and 2.0 innings respectively) closed out the game by only allowing one hit the rest of the way. We went without a home run again, but had four doubles in our seven hits. Rickie Weeks was 2-3 with a run, RBI, and walk and continues to raise that batting average inch by inch. Erick Aybar also had a big day going 2-4 with two runs scored and a RBI.

Jay's Thoughts: We should have played better against the Astros, who are at the cellar of the NL Central, but it was still nice to then sweep the Marlins as they came into Milwaukee. This was a big series for them too. Bill Hall is starting to get hot. He hit .381 last week with a double and three RBI and two runs scored. However, Prince Field continues to really scuffle going 3-27. Looking at his ratings, it seems as if he was due for a stretch like this because he is only one star with very bad hitting ratings (both potential and current, which is odd). Zach Jackson had another good week of starts. He went 1-0 with 12.1 IP, 11 HA, and 16 K's. He had a 2.19 ERA on the week.

Team Stats
Record: 67-70 (3-4)
GB: 6.0
L10: 5-5
Batting Average: .251 - 14th in NL
ERA: 4.60 - 13th in NL

[jaykno14]

August 2006

TEAM STATS
Information
Overall Record: 64-70, 8 GB
Position in Division: 5th place
Position in Wild Card: 8th place
Home Record: 33-32
Road Record: 31-38
Xtra's Record: 8-2
One Run Games: 14-13
Record vs Lefties: 20-15
Record vs Righties: 44-55
Last 10 Games: 3-7
August Record: 11-17

Batting
Batting Average: .250 - 14th in NL
On-Base Percentage: .326 - 11th in NL
Slugging Percentage: .405 - 9th in NL
OPS: .732 - 9th in NL
Runs Scored: 639 - 5th in NL
Hits: 1138 - 16th in NL
Extra-Base Hits: 382 - tied for 8th in NL
Home Runs: 147 - 6th in NL
BBs: 481 - 7th in NL
Strikeouts: 875 - 10th in NL
Stolen Bases: 70 - 6th in NL

Pitching
ERA: 4.68 - 14th in NL
Starters ERA: 4.66 - 13th in NL
Bullpen ERA: 4.74 - 12th in NL
Runs Allowed: 695 - 15th in NL
Hits Allowed: 1242 - 14th in NL
Opponent AVG: .266 - 14th in NL
BABIP: .298 - 12th in NL
Home Runs Allowed: 168 - 14th in NL
BBs: 450 - 7th in NL
Strikeouts: 898 - 4th in NL

Hitting Report
2B Rickie Weeks: 129 G, 505 AB, 120 H, 27 2B, 5 3B, 16 HR, 56 RBI, 82 R, 79 BB, 113 K, .238/.351/.406, 13 SB
CF Chone Figgins: 43 G, 173 AB, 51 H, 13 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 27 R, 13 BB, 26 K, .295/.342/.445, 19 SB*
1B Prince Fielder: 132 G, 500 AB, 133 H, 20 2B, 1 3B, 22 HR, 75 RBI, 89 R, 72 BB, 90 K, .266/.361/.442
3B Bill Hall: 130 G, 495 AB, 118 H, 25 2B, 6 3B, 13 HR, 55 RBI, 78 R, 34 BB, 94 K, .238/.288/.392, 10 SB
LF Geoff Jenkins: 121 G, 400 AB, 111 H, 19 2B, 3 3B, 20 HR, 82 RBI, 61 R, 53 BB, 83 K, .278/.372/.490
RF Juan Rivera: 40 G, 145 AB, 36 H, 9 2B, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 18 R, 13 BB, 24 K, .248/.310/.455*
C Jeff Mathis: 16 G, 51 AB, 17 H, 3 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 10 R, 6 BB, 11 K, .333/.414/.451*
SS Erick Aybar: 43 G, 144 AB, 37 H, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 16 RBI, 22 R, 13 BB, 25 K, .257/.323/.361*
OF Corey Hart: 85 G, 144 AB, 33 H, 10 2B, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 15 R, 11 BB, 33 K, .229/.282/.361
UT Vinny Rottino: 69 G, 124 AB, 33 H, 6 2B, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 15 R, 20 BB, 29 K, .266/.372/.411
OF Gabe Gross: 31 G, 44 AB, 11 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 7 R, 2 BB, 13 K, .250/.277/.432
C Mike Rivera: 70 G, 193 AB, 46 H, 6 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 23 RBI, 18 R, 10 BB, 46 K, .238/.275/.337
OF Tony Gwynn Jr.: 43 G, 80 AB, 21 H, 6 2B, 2 3B, 10 RBI, 8 R, 9 BB, 15 K, .263/.337/.388, 4 SB

*With Milwaukee
We really cooled off this month. Jeff Mathis hit the most home runs, five, but still only hit .188 for average. Prince Fielder has cooled off, and I think that it may be the fact that it is his first full season in the majors and he is not very high on endurance at this point in his career. He only had one homer and hit .200. Chone Figgins was one of the hotter hitters and hit .306 with 13 extra base hits and even stole 13 bases and only got caught twice. He also had 19 runs. Tony Gwynn hit .297 in seeing some more action than he has seen this year. Geoff Jenkins also hit .293 with two home runs and 12 RBIs. We are going to bring up some guys to see what they can do at the ML level and it may have an effect in what we do this offseason.

Pitching Report
SP Ben Sheets: 22 GS, 6-13, 130.2 IP, 145 HA, 19 HRA, 69 ER, 37 BB, 103 K, 4.75 ERA, .274 AVG, 10 QS
SP Joe Blanton: 24 GS, 11-6, 148.2 IP, 132 HA, 18 HRA, 60 ER, 46 BB, 110 K, 3.63 ERA, .236 AVG, 11 QS
SP Zack Jackson: 12 G, 8 GS, 4-3, 54.2 IP, 38 HA, 1 HRA, 11 ER, 12 BB, 56 K, 1.81 ERA, .191 AVG, 5 QS
SP David Bush: 27 GS, 7-12, 164.1 IP, 163 HA, 18 HRA, 71 ER, 42 BB, 98 K, 3.89 ERA, .259 AVG, 13 QS
SP Carlos Villanueva: 7 GS, 3-2, 40.2 IP, 42 HA, 4 HRA, 18 ER, 11 BB, 44 K, 3.98 ERA, .271 AVG, 2 QS
SP Yovani Gallardo: 10 G, 1-0, 21.0 IP, 20 HA, 1 HRA, 5 ER, 5 BB, 30 K, 2.14 ERA, .250 AVG
MR Ben Hendrickson: 23 G, 0-1, 42.1 IP, 41 HA, 5 HRA, 20 ER, 13 BB, 38 K, 4.25 ERA, .258 AVG
MR Robert Hinton: 6 G, 7.1 IP, 6 HA, 3 ER, 6 BB, 15 K, 3.68 ERA, .214 AVG
MR Kiko Calero: 50 G, 7-0, 1 SV, 64.2 IP, 57 HA, 7 HRA, 22 ER, 27 BB, 60 K, 3.06 ERA, .233 AVG
MR Danny Kolb: 48 G, 4-3, 2 S, 52.2 IP, 50 HA, 8 HRA, 24 ER, 26 BB, 35 K, 4.10 ERA, .254 AVG
MR Scot Shields: 14 G, 1-1, 15.1 IP, 14 HA, 3 HRA, 8 ER, 8 BB, 13 K, 4.70 ERA, .241 AVG
CL Derrick Turnbow: 38 G, 3-3, 23 S, 45.2 IP, 34 HA, 4 HRA, 13 ER, 29 BB, 38 K, 2.56 ERA, .207 AVG

Zach Jackson continued to pitch well, but not as well as he did last month. He had a 2.84 ERA. Yovani Gallardo has really made a contribution to the team since getting called up pitching 19 innings allowing 18 hits and striking out 29. We are going to need to find a spot to start him sometime soon here. Carlos Villanueva also pitched well this month and had a 3.34 ERA and a 3-2 record. He had a complete game shutout also. Scot Shields did not have a very good month and stumbled through the month with a 7.27 ERA and a 0-1 record. Kiko Calero on the other hand had a very good month out of the bullpen making nine appearances with a 2.03 ERA.

August Awards
AL Batter of the Month: CF Corey Patterson, BAL
August: .296/.342/.537, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 23 R, 5 SB
Season: .305/.355/.506, 27 HR, 90 RBI, 95 R, 23 SB

AL Pitcher of the Month: SP Matt Garza, MIN
August: 6 GS, 5-0, 1.40 ERA, 38.2 IP, 20 HA, .150 AVG
Season: See Above

AL Rookie of the Month: C Kelly Shoppach, CHW
August: .313/.383/.635, 8 HR, 15 RBI, 19 R
Season: .280/.366/.507, 11 HR, 33 RBI, 36 R

NL Batter of the Month: 2B Chase Utley, PHI
August: .306/.360/.622, 10 HR, 29 RBI, 24 R
Season: .295/.378/.531, 29 HR, 87 RBI, 100 R

NL Pitcher of the Month: SP Cole Hamels, PHI
August: 5 GS, 5-0, 2.25 ERA, 36.0 IP, 26 HA, .200 AVG
Season: See Above

NL Rookie of the Month: SS Stephen Drew, ARI
August: .351/.417/.632, 6 HR, 21 RBI, 17 R
Season: .304/.370/.451, 7 HR, 24 RBI, 20 R

Around the League

Power Rankings
Rank Last Week Team            Points Tendency Record PCT  AVG ERA  Pyt.Rec Diff 
1st  (1st)     Philadelphia    118    o        83-51 .619 .268 3.91 80-54  
2nd  (2nd)     Minnesota       118    o        81-51 .614 .276 4.10 76-56  
3rd  (4th)     Oakland         114    +        81-52 .609 .272 4.35 78-55  
4th  (3rd)     Los Angeles (A) 108    -        78-56 .582 .266 3.87 74-60  
5th  (8th)     Los Angeles (N) 104    ++       69-64 .519 .258 4.07 68-65  
6th  (11th)    Baltimore       101    ++       70-64 .522 .268 4.71 71-63  
7th  (12th)    Detroit          99    ++       72-63 .533 .269 4.04 72-63  
8th  (9th)     Florida          97    +        71-62 .534 .259 3.58 73-60  
9th  (21st)    Houston          94    ++       64-70 .478 .254 4.41 66-68  
10th (20th)    Chicago (N)      93    ++       70-63 .526 .270 4.19 72-61  
11th (7th)     Atlanta          92    --       69-65 .515 .257 4.07 73-61  
12th (13th)    New York (N)     91    +        69-63 .523 .258 3.89 72-60  
13th (6th)     Cincinnati       91    --       72-62 .537 .254 4.35 69-65 
14th (10th)    St. Louis        90    --       67-65 .508 .265 4.12 67-65  
15th (19th)    Cleveland        90    ++       61-71 .462 .255 4.73 61-71  
16th (16th)    Chicago (A)      89    o        72-61 .541 .276 4.73 72-61  
17th (5th)     Boston           88    --       71-64 .526 .271 4.87 71-64  
18th (14th)    San Diego        85    --       66-67 .496 .254 4.26 66-67  
19th (25th)    Tampa Bay        85    ++       63-71 .470 .261 4.24 65-69  
20th (24th)    Washington       84    ++       62-72 .463 .248 4.66 57-77  
21st (23rd)    Colorado         83    +        62-71 .466 .266 4.72 62-71  
22nd (22nd)    Seattle          83    o        59-74 .444 .262 4.75 60-73  
23rd (27th)    Arizona          82    ++       58-75 .436 .256 5.06 55-78  
24th (18th)    Pittsburgh       81    --       63-71 .470 .260 4.20 67-67  
25th (17th)    Kansas City      80    --       60-75 .444 .263 4.58 56-79  
26th (15th)    Milwaukee        78    --       64-70 .478 .250 4.68 62-72  
27th (29th)    Toronto          74    +        57-77 .425 .257 4.95 57-77  
28th (28th)    New York (A)     71    o        58-75 .436 .262 5.31 63-70  
29th (30th)    San Francisco    71    +        55-79 .410 .249 4.23 58-76  
30th (26th)    Texas            70    --       56-79 .415 .255 5.66 59-76

League Standings

 
American League Standings  
Eastern Division  
Team                    W  L  PCT  GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
Boston Red Sox          73 65 .529 -    74-64 -1   41-26 32-39 5-4  18-11 24 W1     5-5 
Baltimore Orioles       71 66 .518 1.5  72-65 -1   39-32 32-34 5-3  19-20    L2     6-4 
Tampa Bay Devil Rays    66 71 .482 6.5  67-70 -1   36-32 30-39 6-8  18-22    W5     6-4 
New York (A) Yankees    59 77 .434 13.0 65-71 -6   31-38 28-39 5-8  12-24    W1     3-7 
Toronto Blue Jays       58 79 .423 14.5 58-79 0    31-37 27-42 4-7  14-27    L1     3-7 
 
Central Division  
Team                    W  L  PCT  GB   Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
Minnesota Twins         83 52 .615 -    78-57   5    40-27 43-25 12-4 22-18 18 L1     8-2 
Chicago (A) White Sox   74 62 .544 9.5  73-63   1    35-35 39-27 6-6  19-14    W2     3-7 
Detroit Tigers          72 66 .522 12.5 73-65   -1   35-32 37-34 11-11 21-22   L3     4-6 
Cleveland Indians       63 72 .467 20.0 63-72   0    40-28 23-44 5-5  23-20    W2     8-2 
Kansas City Royals      61 77 .442 23.5 57-81   4    33-36 28-41 7-10 22-19    L2     4-6 
 
Western Division  
Team                    W  L  PCT  GB   Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
Oakland Athletics       83 53 .610 -    80-56   3    42-26 41-27 5-4  20-10 24 W2     7-3 
Los Angeles (A) Angels  81 56 .591 2.5  76-61   5    39-26 42-30 5-11 26-19    W3     7-3 
Seattle Mariners        59 77 .434 24.0 60-76   -1   33-36 26-41 8-7  21-24    L3     4-6 
Texas Rangers           57 81 .413 27.0 61-77   -4   29-42 28-39 4-4  10-19    L2     3-7 
 

National League Standings  
Eastern Division  
Team                    W  L  PCT  GB   Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
Philadelphia Phillies   85 52 .620 -    82-55   3    42-30 43-22 4-1  17-12 14 L1     8-2 
New York (N) Mets       71 64 .526 13.0 74-61   -3   33-33 38-31 7-9  18-19    W1     4-6 
Florida Marlins         71 65 .522 13.5 73-63   -2   34-31 37-34 8-3  19-20    L3     4-6 
Atlanta Braves          70 67 .511 15.0 75-62   -5   31-34 39-33 3-8  18-23    W1     5-5 
Washington Nationals    65 72 .474 20.0 59-78   6    31-36 34-36 10-8 25-12    W4     6-4 

Central Division  
Team                    W  L  PCT  GB  Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
Cincinnati Reds         73 64 .533 -   70-67   3    40-28 33-36 4-8  18-17 25 L1     4-6 
Chicago (N) Cubs        71 65 .522 1.5 73-63   -2   33-33 38-32 3-9  14-16    W1     4-6 
St. Louis Cardinals     68 67 .504 4.0 68-67   0    34-34 34-33 12-5 23-16    L2     4-6 
Milwaukee Brewers       67 70 .489 6.0 64-73   3    36-32 31-38 8-2  15-13    W3     5-5 
Houston Astros          65 72 .474 8.0 67-70   -2   36-35 29-37 5-6  17-18    L1     6-4 
Pittsburgh Pirates      65 72 .474 8.0 70-67   -5   30-39 35-33 4-6  19-21    W2     5-5 
 
Western Division  
Team                    W  L  PCT  GB   Pyt.Rec Diff Home  Away  XInn 1Run  M# Streak Last10 
Los Angeles (N) Dodgers 72 64 .529 -    72-64   0    37-34 35-30 6-6  20-24 23 W6     9-1 
San Diego Padres        68 68 .500 4.0  68-68   0    35-37 33-31 8-3  20-20    W1     5-5 
Colorado Rockies        62 74 .456 10.0 62-74   0    35-32 27-42 4-8  17-24    L4     4-6 
Arizona Diamondbacks    58 78 .426 14.0 56-80   2    32-35 26-43 4-4  22-14    L3     4-6 
San Francisco Giants    57 80 .416 15.5 60-77   -3   31-38 26-42 8-8  14-23    L1     5-5

Whewee. Look at that Yankee record. Meanwhile the Orioles sure have caught up to the Red Sox and the Phillies now have the best record in baseball. It appears that the Marlins, Mets, Cubs, and Braves are all going to make a run at the wild card, and we are only five back of that infamous position in the playoffs .

Roster Expansion
OF Nelson Cruz

In what is already a crowded outfield we are going to give Nelson Cruz a shot to show what he can do that the big league level. He will take part in some starts and pinch hits, but we're going to have to find a way to spread playing time throughout the roster for the guys that have been here all year also.

[jaykno14]

Do people feel that this has been too much of a stat dump so far? I guess I just feel that this isn't a very appealing dynasty thread to many people, and I would like to know how I can improve. I have been enjoying writing this so far, and I know that is important, but are some things (stats) just going too far?

Maybe I'm just getting too worked up and shouldn't worry so much because my dynasty is still somewhat young, but I just don't want it to be at the scrapheap of long running dynasties, as this is getting close to its fourth page and it maybe has five replies that are not from me.

Maybe this will become better as new players arise and backgrounds are created. Until then I will continue to look for ways to make this more interesting for the readers that I have.

[RoyalsBlue]

I think you're doing great, jaykno! KUTGW.

Replies would be great to have, but keep in mind your views are going up as well. Sometimes people don't have much to say or don't want to put a reply in just saying "good job". As long as you're still interested in it and enjoy doing it, that is what's important.

That being said, I have a bad habit of reading and not responding for a while, so Consider those flowers as my apology!

[darkcloud4579]

Wow, I have to say that I really admire guys like you who have the patience to do writeups for entire games and stuff like that over a whole season. I used to be able to get very immersed and it's a lot harder years into doing this. I wish I could, because these are truly the BEST kinds of dynasties, when the people reading can read about the team, get invested into it and really become part of the 'virtual' fan base.

This is a great work you have here. Keep it up!

[darkcloud4579]

I'm always interested in a GM's player development philosophy. So like, are you looking to build through the draft over the years or if you were close in a race, would you deal guys to get someone who could help you now?

It's interesting to see how divergent some folks are on this versus others. I guess it depends on where your team stands, but...still. Curious where you are on this.

Considering that your guys are sputtering as the year winds down, being within .500 and perhaps an outside chance at doing something isn't the worst place in the world to be. You have an uphill battle with this team, but you have some nice pieces to build with.

[jaykno14]

Thank you DC and RoyalBlue for the feedback. The flowers are excepted RB.

In response to what you asked DC, it really depends on what the weakness is on a team. Obviously if I am a player away from going from a division winner/qualifyer to a world series contender, I am going to make a move to improve whatever weakness it is that I have. I think that by stocking up prospects in the minors will allow for me to do that in the future, as the depth will offer a backdrop if I have to trade a guy that is closer to the MLB. That is why I will always go for the best player available in a MLB Draft. It creates sufficient depth that is needed to build up a farm system.

It's going to be interesting as most of my top prospects are all at the MLB level already so we are going to have to really build from scratch here in the next few years. I am banking on the Major League team being successful with these prospects, but it will still be a goal of mine to have a farm system in the top half of the league. I am going to obviously have to do that through not just the draft, but trades as well.

One guy I really don't understand is why Prince Fielder's ratings in the game are so low. He has reached his potential already and has dismal ratings and is only one star overall. I may have to fix that this offseason, but I am considering just finding a way to work around it. I'm not a big fan of tweaking ratings.

[cochrane]

This is awesome, Jay. Fantastic work with this thread. It's inspired me to try my hand at a Giants version with a real roster.

Well done, sir.

-- ZC