OOPS I did it again

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CHICAGO AND SAN JOSE DEAL INFIELDERS
Reports surfaced early in the week that Chicago GM Curt Schilling was nosing around again in his bid to strengthen the Iron Pig roster.
Today he announced they'd sent 26 year old INF Juan Ayala and 24 year old P Prospect Luis Artino to San Jose for switch hitting infielder Fred Amling. Amling is currently hitting .306 with a .387 OBP.
The deal awaits physicals for final sign off.

BACKROOM CHATTER
Amling was a name San Jose had put on the table in a few other deals and it piqued the interest enough to look at him. The off the field stuff was checked off, great teammate, hard worker. He was 6th overall selection in the 2009 draft out of Wichita State University. Rising as high as 35th on the prospect list. He's had some nagging injuries but nothing career threatening. He switch hits, though LH is his power side. Elite 2B defender with above average capability at SS and 3B as well.
Ayala has been exceptional in the backup role and there was no urgency here. This came down to getting younger (Ayala is 26, Amling 24) and potentially better with the added perk of getting better defensively.
Amling will move into the everyday 2B role vs RHP with Garcia moving over to 1st, his best position. Anthony Tripp will move to the bench as a bat and defensive replacement for Jose Nieves at 3B. Artino is an 'old” prospect at 24 and one we were ok including in the deal.
Amling has just over a year of service time, so 5 more years of team control.

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2 vs Phoenix 3 @ Las Vegas OFF DAY 1 vs Pittsburgh
RUNS SCORED: 529 (4th)
RUNS AGAINST: 470 (6th)
OBP: .326 (4th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.16 (9th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.58 (4th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .696 (3rd)
ZONE RATING: +22.3 (1st)

RESULTS (66-46 1GB)
1-1 vs Phoenix 2-1 @ Las Vegas 0-1 vs Pittsburgh
7/29- CIP 6 PHX 4 (11) Amling 2H walk off 2R HR (1) 3 RBI Nieves HR (18) 2 RBI Roberts HR (11) Powers ND 7 IP 4 K 3 ER Becker BS (4)
7/30- PHX 7 CIP 5 Pelletier 7 ER 4 IP (6-6 4.18) Krieg 2H HR 2R Amling 2H HR (2) 2 R RBI
7/31- LV 5 CIP 1 combined 1-hitter. Johnson HR (6) in the 6th. Floyd (5-11 5.03) 6 IP 6 H 2 K 4 BB 5 R 4 ER

• Danny Floyd is coming out of the rotation, Bobby Guijosa is going to be called up to start tomorrow. Wilfredo Diaz will be optioned to NO.

8/1- CIP 5 LV 1 Guijosa (6-3 3.44) 7.1 IP 7 H 1 ER 5 K

• Luis Ornelas picked up a ND going 7 fanning 10 with 3 ER at Minneapolis.

8/2- CIP 3 LV 2 Morris ND 6 IP 4 H 8 K 4 BB 106 pitches Gross SV (18) Stachowski GW SF Johnson 3-3 HBP
8/3- OFF DAY
8/4- PIT 4 CIP 0 Calkins fans in the 9th with the bases loaded. Powers (10-6 3.71) 7 IP 8 H 4 ER
Chris Andrezejewski last years 3rd overall pick (2-4 5.14) 6 IP 2 H 3 BB 2 K Orlando Cintron 3-3 2B 2 R RBI BB


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- RF Mike Klotzbach (CBK) 10-25 4 HR 9 RBI
NL POTW- LF John Cleary (EP) 12-24 2 HR 7 RBI

• On the other side of town the Hitmen announced loser Chad Hare was done for the year with elbow problems. The 35 year old was 5-6 23 Saves 3.98 for the 1st place club. Dallas is 3.5 back.

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Trying something a little different for the monthly look, better or worse? Let me know.
AL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- SS Tony Gallegos (CHA) .344-11-22 26R
NL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- 2B Fred Amling (CIP) .376-7-12 19R
AL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Alejandro Rodriguez (AUS) 5-1 2.10
NL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Juan Laurel (SD) 5-0 1.63 44 K 38.2 IP
AL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- SP Jorge Castro (PHI) 3-1 2.27
NL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- CL Allan Risinger (ATL) 1-1 9 Saves 0.60

IRON PIGS MONTH IN REVIEW
PLAYER OF THE MONTH- Gus Garcia .367/.424/.611 5 2B 3B 4 HR 10 RBI
PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Chris Becker 1-0 3 SV 2.16 0.84 WHIP
MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH- Mathew Brittingham (A) .400/.420/.708 6 HR 14 RBI
MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Angelo Molina (AAA) 1-1 1 HLD 0.00 ERA 15.1 IP 15 K 0.72 WHIP

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2 vs Pittsburgh 3 @ Atlanta 2 vs El Paso
RUNS SCORED: 565 (4th)
RUNS AGAINST: 495 (5th)
OBP: .324 (5th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.06 (8th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.49 (3rd)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .699 (2nd)
ZONE RATING: +23.4 (1st)

RESULTS (72-48 1st)
2-0 vs Pittsburgh 3-0 @ Atlanta 0-2 vs El Paso
8/5- CIP 2 PIT 1 Draper (5-0 3.09) 6.2 IP 9 K 2 BB 1 ER Gross SV (19) Garcia 3-4 HR 2 RBI (.325)
T.J. Della Bella (PIT) 5.2 IP 1 ER (1-12 5.00)
8/6- CIP 6 PIT 3 Pelletier (7-6 4.14) 7.2 IP 5 K 3 H 3 ER Becker SV (10) Nieves 2H HR (19) 2 R RBI Roberts 2H 2B R RBI (.243) Calkins 14th error.
8/7- CIP 10 ATL 1 Guijosa (7-3 3.31) 6 IP 2 H 9 K 4 BB 1 R 113 pitches Nieves HR (20) 2 RBI (62) Krieg 2B 3B 3 R 2 RBI Amling 2B HR (3) 2 R 2 RBI Johnson 2H HR (7) RBI (52)
8/8- CIP 6 ATL 0 Morris (9-6 4.22) 7.2 IP 9 K 1 H 109 pitches
8/9- CIP 3 ATL 2 (10) Powers 8.2 IP 2H 12 K 2 ER Gross SV (20) Chavez 2H 2 RBI Garcia 3H 2 R (.322)
8/10- EP 5 CIP 0 Draper (5-1 3.36) 6 IP 6 H 4 ER
8/11- EP 12 CIP 6 Pelletier (7-7 4.34) 4 IP 6 H 2 HR 5 ER Floyd 4 unearned in 2/3rds of an inning. Roberts 3H 2B (23) HR (12) 2 R 2 RBI Calkins Error (15)
John Cleary (EP) 3 HR Grand Slam 7 RBI's.


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- LF Vince McGinnis (BOS) 12-25 3 HR 8 RBI
NL POTW- LF John Cleary (EP) 11-25 4 HR 9 RBI (you're welcome)

• On Tuesday Frenso announced 2009 World Series MVP Darius Harper had a significant triceps injury and would be lost until late September at the earliest. Fresno is tied with San Francisco in the NL west and heading there for a 3 game set tomorrow. Harper is hitting .319/.389/.511 in 60 games this year.

IRON PIG NEWS

• 3B Ben Towns (AA) went 5-6 in a 10-8 win over Rochester.
• On Tuesday a waiver claim for RP Justin Tar of Charlotte went through and the 27 year old was placed on the 40-man and sent to AAA. The 6'3” righty was Charlotte's 2nd round pick in 2008 out of the University of Akron, Ohio (45th overall). As recently as 2010 he was the #66 prospect.

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STEWART SETS THE RECORD
“No matter how easy it looks it's not, hitting a HR is hard as hell.” That's what Zach Stewart told reporters after setting a new single season HR record with his 57th blast off Staten Island closer Angel Lopez in the 10th inning to give the Patriots a walk off win. Stewart is hitting .291-57-111 through 115 games and his pace of 80 HR's and 156 RBI's would shatter league records. No player has ever recorded 150 RBI's in a single season. The 26 year old was Philadelphia's 1st overall selection out of Boston College in 2008. In just 4 years he has 141 career HR's and 325 RBI's with a career slugging % of .529. Some may remember the pre-season predictions had him hitting a record 69 HR's this year.
The all time HR leader in the IBL is Jay Anguiano with 579, followed by Ferdynand Kmiecik at 565. Denver's Matt Graham is the current active leader in 3rd at 547.
Stewart's 57 surpassed the old record held by Ethan Brooks who hit 56 in three consecutive years from 1992-94.

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BACKROOM CHATTER
Mike Johnson is “heating up” a little bit. Up to .265/.331/.484 with 8 HR and 22 RBI's. That being said, monthly reports are showing our top talent dropping in potential ratings. I will fire Chris Romano at the end of the season if not before. I need to find and spend as much as I have to, to fill that spot with the best of the best. The game's best scouts are all employed, and I don't like tampering. I will see what shaking the tree at year's end reveals, if not before. I'd REALLY like to have someone in place before the off-season.

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1 vs El Paso 3 vs Fresno OFF DAY 2 @ Washington

RESULTS (74-52 1GB)
1-0 vs El Paso 0-3 vs Fresno 1-1 @ Washington
8/12- CIP 3 EP 1 Guijosa ND 5.1 IP 5 K 4 BB 3 H 0 R 96 pitches Gross SV (21)
8/13- FRE 6 CIP 2 Morris (9-7 4.32) 5.1 IP 8 H 4 ER 8 K 111 pitches Garcia 2H HR (21)
8/14- FRE 6 CIP 2 Powers (10-7 3.81) 6.1 IP 6 ER 10 H 4 BB Hawking 3 IR, all three score Roberts 2B (25) HR (13) 2 RBI (.248)
8/15- FRE 6 CIP 2 Draper (5-2 3.93) 6 ER 4.1 IP
Rusty Lovelady (EP) CG 8 H 2 ER 3 K 0 BB (9-7 4.37)
8/16- OFF DAY
8/17- CIP 8 WAS 5 Pelletier (8-7 4.34) 6.1 IP 7 H 7 K 3 ER Nieves 2H HR (21) 2 R BB 2 RBI Roberts 2B (26) HR (14) 2 RBI (.251)
8/18- WAS 6 CIP 1 Guijosa (7-4 3.47) 3.2 IP 3 BB 6 H 2 HR 5 ER Calkins 3H 2B HR (3) R RBI
Sergio Ramirez (WAS) 7.2 IP 1 ER 15-4 2.44


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- CF Josh McDowell (DET) 13-25 HR 6 RBI
NL POTW- LF Justin Watkins 10-19 2 HR 6 RBI

• On Tuesday Zach Stewart (PHI) became the 1st player in history to hit 60 home runs in a season. His pace is 79 now as he has 60 HR's and 116 RBI's.
• However the pace will be put on hold. Sunday he suffered an elbow “contusion” after being HBP and he'll be out a week or so. He's sitting on 62 HR's with 120 RBI's.

IRON PIG NEWS

• Troy Zehnder (AA) went 10-21 3 HR 6 RBI to win AA POTW. The 2011 2nd rounder is hitting .273-16-58 at Albuquerque

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1 @ Washington 3 vs Jacksonville 3 @ Oklahoma City
RUNS SCORED: 606 (5th)
RUNS AGAINST: 551 (7th)
OBP: .321 (8th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.22 (11th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.41 (2nd)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .697 (2nd)
ZONE RATING: +26.4 (1st)

RESULTS (76-56 1 GB)
El Paso is 1 game up and we're tied with Indianapolis.
1-0 @ Washington 2-1 vs Jacksonville 0-3 vs Oklahoma City (swept at the last place clubs house)
8/19- CIP 6 WAS 2 Down 2-1 end 7. Morris (10-7 4.21) 8 IP 6 H 9 K 2 ER Gross SV (22) Garcia 3H 2B (26) 3B (7) SB (10) R Chavez 2H HR (2) 3 RBI Gutierrez 3H 2B SB (12)
8/20- JAX 4 CIP 2 Powers (10-8 3.83) 3 ER 4 BB 5 H 6 IP Nieves 3H 2B
8/21- CIP 10 JAX 2 Draper (6-2 3.79) 7.1 IP 2 ER 7 K Nieves 3H 2B (25) 2 RBI Garcia 2B HR (22) 2 RBI (71) Wheeler 3H 2 2B 2 RBI
8/22- CIP 5 JAX 3 Pelletier (9-7 4.24) 5.2 IP 9 K 1 ER 94 pitches Gross SV (23)
Kevin Dietz is off the DL, and Dave Wheeler is optioned back to AAA. Wheeler did a great job in the short time he was up.
8/23- OKC 3 CIP 0 Guijosa (7-5 3.43) 6.1 IP 5 H 5 K 3 BB 2 ER 116 pitches
Eric Ward (OKC) 3-3 2 HR (29) 3 RBI (70) Josh Benjamin (11-8 3.07) 8 IP 7 K 3 H

• Allen Henderson saved his 14th (2.11 ERA) for AA Milwaukee

8/24- OKC 5 CIP 2 Morris (10-8 4.37) 5 ER 8 H 2 HR 4.2 IP Roberts HR (15) 2 RBI (65)
8/25- OKC 8 CIP 1 Powers (10-9 4.05) 9 H 6 ER 4.1 IP Amling HR (4)


AL POTW- LF Zach Stewart (PHI) comes off being injured and sitting to go 12-24 4 HR and 11 RBI. Now at .301-66-131
NL POTW- 2B Justin Gonzalez (EP) 12-23 5 HR 15 RBI 10 R

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3 vs Los Angeles OFF DAY 3 @ San Francisco
RUNS SCORED: 631 (5th)
RUNS AGAINST: 581 (8th)
OBP: .319 (8th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.22 (10th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.43 (2nd)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .700 (1st)
ZONE RATING: +28.6 (1st)

RESULTS (80-59 1.5 GB)
1-2 vs LA OFF DAY 2-1 @ San Francisco
8/26- LA 5 CIP 4 Draper ND 6 IP 3 ER Calkins 3H R Jonathan Miller HR (1)
8/27- CIP 8 LA 4 Pelletier (10-7 4.29) 6.1 IP 6 H 1 K 2 BB 4 ER Garcia 2H (.326) Pedraza 2H 2 R 2 SB HBP Tripp grand slam (7) 4 RBI (35)
8/28- LA 10 CIP 5 Guijosa (7-6 3.76) 3 IP 6 H 5 ER 2 BB 1 K Hawkins 3 ER 1.1 IP Garcia 3H 2 3B (10) R RBI Stachowski HR (9)
8/29- OFF DAY

• Mariscal off his rehab and recalled, Tripp back to New Orleans and top slugging prospect Bill Brumfield comes off the IL for New Orleans

8/30- CIP 5 SF 4 Morris (11-8 4.42) 6.2 IP 4 ER 4 BB 10 K Gross SV (24) Garcia 2B (30) HR (23) 2 RBI (75) trailing Manhas (SD) .333 to .331 in the NL Batting race
8/31- CIP 1 SF 0 Powers (11-9 3.87) 8 IP 4 K 1 H Gross SV (25) Krieg 3H 2B RBI
Jesus Ruiz 2 out 8th inning 2B breaks up the no-hitter.

• Brumfield homered in his 1st game back, I am seriously thinking of calling him up

.
9/1- SF 7 CIP 0 Draper 6 R 3 ER 4.1 IP (6-3 4.07)

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- LF Bryan Jones (DAL) 15-31 4 RBI
NL POTW- CF Roberto Escamilla (EP) 14-26 3 HR 8 RBI

• On Monday Atlanta 3B Damian Giron slammed his 400th career HR in a 9-3 loss to Indianapolis. Giron is a career .250 hitter with 2101 hits (33rd all-time) and 1291 RBI's (18th all-time). He's the 17th player to reach the 400 plateau and is currently 5th among active players in HR's.
• Speaking of home runs, Zach Stewart hit 2 on Tuesday, and 2 more on Wednesday to raise his total to 68 with 135 RBI's and actually increased his pace to 82.
• However in Wednesday's game he pulled up after slipping on home plate and is out, with no word yet on the severity.
• The team announced Thursday that Stewart would miss at least the next 3 weeks.
• New York learned that 2004 MVP and 4-time all-star Isaiah Hart will be lost for the season after he suffered a “torn” back muscle. The 34-year-old was a key piece in their 73-61 record. They lead the NL East by 1 game over the Washington Jets. He becomes the 9th player they have on the DL as of Monday.
• On Tuesday, Chicago Hitmen 1B Juan Carbahal went 3-4, hitting 3 HR's in a 5-2 win over Boston.
• On Thursday, Dallas announced closer Bill Gamblin (3-3, 25 Saves, 1.88) was lost for the season to a shoulder injury. The 2-time Rivera Award winner and 2011 Trevor Hoffman Award winner will be replaced by 28-year-old Jeff Sharp as Dallas, 5 games in back of the Chicago Hitmen in the AL Central, tries to catch the north-siders. Dallas' bullpen ranks 3rd in the AL behind a 13th-ranked rotation.

IRON PIG NEWS

• On Sunday 2012 draftee Nate Shackelford won his 1st professional game with 8 shutout innings of 5-hit 9 K baseball. He's 1-6 5.48 (and now 3.5 stars from his draft day 4.5 star rating). Given up 10 HR's and 32 walks in 47.2 IP over 10 starts.
• Minneapolis's dreadful season continues. Hammered 18-2 on Wednesday they are just getting decimated. They're 21-36. Jaden Finkelstein gave up 4 in 5.1 IP and his ERA rose to 2.37 but the rest of the staff got crushed to the tune of 14 runs (9 earned) over 2.2 IP on 11 H and 5 BB.
• 2012 2nd rounder Tommy Beach is hitting .207/.309/.320 with 5 HR 14 RBI and is 22-29 SB.

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AL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- LF Zach Stewart (PHI) .379-15-34 (on the IL now but hitting .306-68-135)
NL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- 2B Justin Gonzalez (EP) .340-12-38
AL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Gabe Warren (CLE) 4-0 1.51
NL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Josh Benjamin (OKC) 5-0 0.59
AL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- LF Bryan Jones (DAL) .342-1-16
NL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- SP Jimmy Boyce (LA) 2-1 1.80

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IRON PIGS MONTH IN REVIEW
PLAYER OF THE MONTH- Gus Garcia .350/.385/.621 1.007 OPS 8 2B 4 3B 8 HR 14 RBI
PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Nate Gross 0-0 8 Saves 1.00 ERA 9 IP 15 K 3 BB 0.78 WHIP
MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH- TIE
Matt Moretti (Rookie League) .355/.487/.677) 1.165 OPS 6 2B 4 HR 19 RBI
Troy Zehnder (A) (.362/.490/.613) 1.103 OPS 5 2B 5 HR 16 RBI
MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Justin Tar (AAA) 2-0 4 HLD 0.00 ERA 10.1 IP 3 H 17 K 1 BB 0.39 WHIP

• Catcher Troy Zehnder hit .362-5-16 to win Class A POTM for Albuquerque

IRON PIGS STATE OF AFFAIRS

• Before the complaining, let me preface this. I could not be happier with the pace at which the entire organization is proceeding.
• That being said, one look at the pitching numbers will tell you how far from being the “Dynasty” we will become, we are. Sorted by ERA, not the best metric, but look at where 4/5ths of the rotation sits. My rotation is by no means ready to make a deep run. Oh, we will try and hope we win it all, but this staff is where I expected it to be now. The bullpen is firming up nicely, power arms across the board, and I would like more R/L parity in arms.
• But the rotation, as I look now, I see 2 realistic options for 2-3 years down the road. Draper and Morris. Draper has a been a nice revelation, Morris is going to be very very good. The rest are guys that have issues throwing strikes consistently. Morris and Draper, at best, will be 4th- or 5th-starters on a dominant staff. Pelletier might have a shot, but none of these are opening day arms on a legitimate pennant contender.
• Now the bullpen is a different story. McKitrick, Gross, Becker, Williams all are guys I expect to be here or bring parts that will. Henderson is progressing nicely in AA and is my future Closer barring a move. The rest will be a 'fill as needed' sort of thing if the current crop doesn't mature.
  
• On the offensive side of things, Gus Garcia, Jose Nieves, Jesse Roberts, and Mark Calkins are 4/9ths of what a dominant offense looks like. I think Garcia ends up being a Hank Aaron contestant, if not this year, then soon. Nieves defense will hold him back from the true 5-tool star he could be. But his bat will play with any hitter in the game as he gets better. The contracts I managed to extend look to be huge steals right now. I mention Roberts in that group because I could see burning, looting and pitchforks if I even hinted at trading him,
• All the rest of the talent is good, not great, but good. I am up in the air on Stachowski's long-term viability. An above-average defender but not elite, with a 6-7 hole bat as of today.

• Which leads me to this last point. The disappointment I feel in our two drafts is 100% focused on my scouts. I think we screwed ourselves by going almost “all-in” on their recommendations. The pitchers we passed on are already in the IBL, Mike Johnson, while he's absolutely gotten better, is now considered a 2.5-3 star talent. He was the #1 overall pick. That's Ken Griffey Jr, Arod, territory. The pitchers have all dropped in potential ratings, all. We worked like hell to bunch picks in those top 100, and I think we got some good players, but almost to a player, they have all fallen in potential ratings since they were drafted.
• The worst part is I fully expect to be picking at the back half of the draft from here on out. That limits the potential superstar options with a great scout, much less a guy who I think missed enormously to date.

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3 vs New England 3 vs Indianapolis 1 @ San Diego
RUNS SCORED: 656 (8th)
RUNS AGAINST: 614 (7th)
OBP: .317 (9th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.31 (11th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.37 (1st)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .697 (2nd)
ZONE RATING: +26.7 (1st)

RESULTS (84-62 1.5 GB)
3-0 vs New England 2-1 vs Indianapolis 0-1 @ San Diego
9/2- CIP 2 NE 0 Pelletier CG SHO 4 H 9 K (11-7 4.06) 115 pitches Garcia 2H 2B (31) (.331)

• Rosters expand. New Orleans isn't in the hunt so I'll grab some bodies. RP Wilfredo Diaz, Justin Tar, IF Jesus Ramirez, OF Bobby Graves are called up. All on the 40-man so no issues with roster spots. Brumfield may get a call when their season ends, and he's not on the 40 man. I'd like to add a 3rd catcher but right now there are only two on the 40 man, need to address that soon.
• 2012 draftee Allan Henderson is promoted to AAA for the last 10 days .

9/3- CIP 5 NE 0 Guijosa CG SHO 2 H 9 K 0 BB 1st time in club history for back-to-back CG SHO. Roberts HR (16) Johnson 2H R RBI
9/4- CIP 3 NE 2 (10) Gutierrez GW PH 2B Morris ND 6.2 IP 9 K 2 ER Becker (W) 7-3 2.35 Garcia 3H 3B (11) HR (24) 2 RBI (77)

• Gus Garcia now leads the NL batting race .332 to .328 vs San Diego's Lourenco Manhas.
• Big series incoming with 3 at home vs 1st place Indianapolis. This is the last time we see each other this year. We enter the series 1-8 vs the Lynx on the year. We end the year vs Atlanta, who we're 9-0 against. Also 8-1 this year vs Las Vegas.

9/5- CIP 7 IND 4 Down 4-3 in the 7th, Amling grand slam (5) 4 RBI Roberts 2H HR (17) Gross SV (26)
9/6- IND 6 CIP 1 Powers 7 H 4 BB 5 ER 5 IP (11-10 4.01) Garcia HR (25) breaks up SHO in the 9th.
9/7- CIP 6 IND 5 (10) Stachowski walk off 2B Krieg 3H 2B (38) R Mariscal 2 2B 2 RBI Garcia 2H 2B (32) R RBI (80) (.331) Draper ND 7.1 IP 7 K 3 ER Gross BS (4)
9/8- SD 8 CIP 1 Guijosa 8-7 3.97 3.2 IP 9 H 3 HR 8 ER
Goode (SD) 3H HR (6) 3 RBI 4 HR's last 2 days


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- CF Mike Klotzbach (CBK) 12-26 7 HR 12 RBI
NL POTW- 2B Chris Goode (SD) 16-32 4 HR 11 RBI

• San Diego 2B Chris Goode went 4-6 hitting a 2B and 3 HR's and drove in 8 in a 14-8 win over New England. The 28 year old has played 122 games in his career with 487 AB's, and before today had 5 career home runs.
• The highest paid player in the IBL, SP Kosuke Matsumoto of the Philadelphia Patriots will undergo shoulder surgery and be out at least 8 months. His 20.8 million dollar deal runs through 2013. He was 13-6 2.84 in 29 starts this year with 203 K's in 190.1 IP.
• The Storm were also eliminated on the same day the above announcement was made.

IRON PIG NEWS

• Albuquerque 1B Josh Dufault hit his 3rd grand-slam of the year, and 2nd in two weeks on Sunday. He's at .212/.314/.367 with 16 HR 59 RBI in 118 starts. Josh was a 4th round pick last year as a 4-star prospect. He's now rated as a 2-star guy........
• Nashville Catcher Nick Turner went 5-5 in an 11-9 loss. The 6th rounder is hitting .242-9-29 this year.
• Romano drafted him on a 5-star recommendation, he's now ranked as a 2.5 star prospect.
• Bill Brumfield hit a-off solo shot for New Orleans on Friday. He was recently recalled to AAA and in 12 starts he's hitting .350/.480/.800 with 6 HR's and 13 RBI's.

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2 @ San Diego OFF DAY 3 vs New York 1 @ Phoenix
RUNS SCORED: 680 (8th)
RUNS AGAINST: 636 (7th)
OBP: .318 (8th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.28 (11th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.37 (1st)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .698 (1st)
ZONE RATING: +28 (1st)

RESULTS (88-64 +2)
1-1 @ San Diego OFF DAY 1-2 vs New York 1-0 vs Phoenix
9/9- SD 8 CIP 2 Morris 6 H 3 BB 6 ER 2 IP
Laurel (SD) 8.2 IP 9 K 0 BB 2 ER (14-8 3.31) Goode 3H 2B 3 R Max Torres (SD) 4-4 3B HR (18) 3 R 3 RBI SB
9/10- CIP 9 SD 2 Pelletier hurt, out a week. Becker SV (11) Roberts 3H 2B (27) HR (18) 4 RBI Calkins 2H HR (5) 4 RBI (57)
9/11- OFF DAY
9/12- CIP 2 NYP 1 Powers ND 6.2 IP 7 K 7 H 1 ER Gross W (2-2 2.66) Mariscal walk off 1B
9/13- NYP 2 CIP 1 Draper (6-4 3.88) 8.1 IP 6 H 2 K 2 ER Nieves 3-3 2B (28) SB (8)
9/14- NYP 8 CIP 0 Guijosa (8-8 4.18) 4.2 IP 5 H 5 BB 2 K 5 ER
9/15- CIP 6 PHX 5 Hawkins 7 IP 5 H 5 K 3 ER Gross 2R HR Save (27) Krieg 2 2B (40) R RBI


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 2B Dave Horowitz (UT) 13-23 HR 7 RBI
NL POTW- LF Pedro Rodriguez (NE) 11-21 HR 10 RBI

• On Thursday Charlotte clinched the AL south, leading by 13 games.

IRON PIG NEWS

• In New Orleans season finale Catcher Bob Mcilmoyle went 5-5 2B 4 RBI 2R in a 13-11 loss.
• On the 15th there was some shuffling of the 40 man roster. Pitchers Micah Miles and Alex Robles were DFA'd while Bill Brumfield was added and called up. Dan Ferguson was called up as were OF'ers Cory Dillon and Dave Wheeler.
• Brumfield will DH vs RHP, with Krieg moving to left, Roberts to right.
• Albuquerque, down 7-1 after 6 ½ hit three HR's and scored 7 times to win their playoff opener 8-7
• On Sunday 1st round pick Luis Ornelas got a start for Short Season Nashville after going 5-2 3.71 at Minneapolis. He fanned 10 in 7 IP to win POTG.
• He went 7, allowed 3 hits, fanned 10 allowing 1 run in a 3-2 win over Pierpont.

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2 @ Phoenix 3 vs Las Vegas 2 @ Pittsburgh
8-1 vs Las Vegas this year, 5-4 vs Pittsburgh
RUNS SCORED: 706 (8th)
RUNS AGAINST: 668 (7th)
OBP: .317 (9th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.30 (11th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.35 (1st)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .699 (1st)
ZONE RATING: +28.8 (1st)

RESULTS (90-69 3-way tie for first place)
1-1 @ Phoenix 1-2 vs Las Vegas 1-1 @ Pittsburgh
9/16- CIP 6 PHX 4 Morris ND 6 IP 9 H 3 ER 9 K Gross SV (28) Gutierrez 2 2B inc. game winner 3 RBI Garcia 3H HR (26) 2 R (.327)

• New England LF Pedro Rodriguez has taken over the NL Batting lead at .328.
• The win makes us 88-64, 2 games up on Indianapolis with 10 to play.
• Justin Krieg has swelling in his knee and is DrD for 2-3 days.
• 9/17- PHX 5 CIP 4 (21) Yes, 21 innings. Powers 7 IP 7 H 3 ER Teams traded single runs in the 11th. 'Pen went 14 IP 10 H 9 K 5 BB 2 ER Nicol (L) CIP turned 5 double plays. Stachowski 4-9 2B HR (10) including 11th inning HR. Brumfield 2-8 including 1st IBL hit.
• Phoenix bullpen 15.1 IP 13 H 1 R 11 K 3 BB

• Garcia (.328) and Rodriguez are now tied. Lourenco Manhas is 3rd at .324.
• We remain 2 games up as El Paso won, moving into a tie with Indianapolis who lost.

9/18- LV 6 CIP 2 Draper (6-5 4.11) 5.1 IP 7 H 3 HR 5 ER Gutierrez 2B (14) HR (1) R RBI Calkins 2 2B (41) R
9/19- LV 7 CIP 4 Guijosa (8-9 4.45) 2.2 IP 5 H 3 BB 6 K 5 ER Garcia 3H HR (27) 2 R 2 RBI (84)

• Garcia (.328) trails Rodriguez (.330)

• El Paso has won 4 straight, now tied, Indianapolis is 1 back.
• We were 8-1 vs Las Vegas coming into this series.

9/20- CIP 7 LV 1 Hawkins (3-1 2.87) 6.2 IP 2 H 0 R 4 BB Brumfield 2 HR 3 R 3 RBI BB Garcia 2H HR (28) 2 RBI (86) Roberts HR (20)
Beat Dave Prieve (17-8 3.46)

• We clinched a post-season berth with the win! El Paso did as well. We're a Wild-Card at worst, Indianapolis looks to make it so both Wild Cards come from the Central.
• Garcia and Rodriguez are tied at .330. Manhas is at .326

9/21- CIP 7 PIT 2 Morris (12-9 4.52) 7.2 IP 2 H HR 6 K 5 BB 2 ER 5 HR's Calkins (7) Nieves (22) Garcia (29) Stachowski 3H 2 HR (12) 2 R 4 RBI (52)
Beat Chris Andrezejewski who'd beaten us earlier this year. Just a reminder he was the arm we passed on in what may become known as the "Mike Johnson" draft. A Sam Bowie feel to that one.
9/22- PIT 8 CIP 0 Powers (11-11 3.97) 6 IP 6 H 5 K 3 BB 4 ER
T.J. Della Bella 8 IP 5 H 2 K (4-15 4.44)

• In the AL Boston clinched the East, Utah the West, and Charlotte the Southern.
• Jacksonville clinched the NL Southern, and Fresno the west.
• We are tied with El Paso at 90-68, Indianapolis is 1 GB.
• Washington leads New York by 2 in the East.
• In the AL Denver, and Wyoming lead the WC, Dallas (2 GB), Brooklyn (3 GB) and Portland (4 GB) are still alive.
• Two of us, El Paso, and Indianapolis will win the NL Wild Card with the third team winning the Central. All three of us are at 89 or 90 wins, which would be the 1 seed today.
• Fresno and Jacksonville are at 88 wins each.
• Gus Garcia leads Pedro Rodriguez .330 to .329, and Lourenco Manhas at .325.
• We get Adam Sharpe in the series finale.

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 1B Garrett Nelums (DET) 11-24 2 HR 6 RBI
NL POTW- 1B Brian Taylor (LV) 12-25 3 HR 6 RBI

• The “Other” Chicago team clinched the AL Central on Friday, their 6th division title as they still seek their 1st World Series win.
• On Friday Zach Stewart returned for the first time in almost a month, and promptly went 3-5 drilling his record 69th HR.
• On Saturday he went 2-6 and hit #70, driving in 3. He has 139 RBI's.

IRON PIG NEWS

• On Monday we were ranked #1 overall in the IBL power rankings for the first time.
• Albuquerque won G2 2-1 to take a 2-0 lead on Monday.
• 3B Andy Williams hit his 2nd HR of the series, a 9th inning GW.
• In Game 3 Williams went 2-4 and hit 2 more HR's, driving in 4 in a 9-0 win. Marshall Tidrick was hurt in the 1st inning and two relievers combined to go 8.1 IP allowing 0 runs.
• He wins the MVP in a 3-0 sweep.
• Tidrick needs surgery and is out. 2012 first rounder Luis Ornelas has been called up to start for their playoff run.

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1 @ Pittsburgh OFF DAY 3 vs Atlanta End of the Regular Season

9/23- PIT 3 CIP 2 Draper (6-6 4.08) 7.1 IP 8 H 3 ER Krieg 2H HR (7) Brumfield HR (3)
Adam Sharpe 6.2 IP 7 K 4 BB 1 ER (13-16 4.45)

• Enter the off day with a 3-way tie for first place.
• Denver clinched the 1st wild-card in the AL.
• Garcia leads Rodriguez .329 to .327 with Manhas at .326
• Oh ya, Zach Stewart homered again, 71, 140 RBI's.

9/24- OFF DAY

SEASONS FINAL 3 DAY PLAYOFF CHASE

• All three of us have clinched but winning the division matters.
• We end with 3 vs Atlanta, a team we're 9-0 against this year.
• Indianapolis is at Phoenix. Indianapolis is 8-1 vs the Roadrunners this year.
• El Paso hosts New England. El Paso leads the season series 5-4
• Feels like the ultimate reverse jinx.
• Guijosa is 0-3 in his past 3 starts going 11 IP on 19 H 18 ER 4 HR 10 BB 14 K's. He will be skipped this final series and Matt Hawkins will open the Atlanta series.
• At the last minute manager Sean Spicer overrules the decision and hands the ball to Guijosa.....

9/25- CIP 3 ATL 0 Guijosa 7.1 IP 1 H 6 BB 5 K (9-9 4.21) Gross SV (29) Becker HD (17) Garcia 2-2 BB HR (30) 2 R RBI Roberts 2H HR (21) 2 RBI (77)

• Washington clinches the NL East.
• El Paso and Indianapolis both win.
• Gus Garcia leads Lourenco Manhas .332 to .328, Pedro Rodriguez is now at .324
• Zach Stewart did NOT hit a HR!

9/26- ATL 9 CIP 2 Hawkins bombed 4.1 IP 8 H 5 ER (3-2 3.43)

• Wyoming wins the 2nd AL Wild Card.
• Indianapolis wins, their 4th straight, El Paso loses with us. Indy by a game with 1 left.
• Garcia .331 leads Manhas at .327.

• With the off day Andy Powers will get bumped up to take the ball in game 162.

9/27- ATL 3 CIP 2 Powers ND 6 IP 3 H 9 K 1 R Gross BS!!!! (5) Gives up a 2 out 2 strike HR to Gus Sifuentes to lose it.

• Indianapolis and El Paso both win, and will have to play a 163rd game to determine the Division champion.

• El Paso jumps out 4-0 after 1 and enter the 8th up 5-0. 19 year old Chris Nicholson's 1st career HR in the 8th makes it 5-2 and in the 9th Denzel Leek hits his 3rd of the year and ties it at 5!
• In the bottom half Alex Bazaldua hits his 50th HR of the season to walk it off and give El Paso the division crown!

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IRON PIG NEWS

• Allan Velazquez tossed 6.2 scoreless and Andy Williams hit another HR, now 5 in 4 post-season games, homering in every one, with 11 RBI's in a 5-0 win over Chandler in G1 of the semi-finals.
• In game 2 John Timmerman tossed 7 scoreless and Andy Williams did NOT homer! Albuquerque wins 2-1 to take a 2-0 series lead.
• Luis Ornelas goes 7.1-6-1-1-4-5 and Albuquerque sweeps again. Williams wins another post-season series MVP award.

CHICAGO WINS A PAIR OF BATTING TITLES!

• Chicago Hitmen 2B Manny Martinez won the American League batting title hitting .319 to best Detroit's Garrett Nelums .318 and Dallas's Bryan Jones .317.
• In the National League Chicago Iron Pig 3B Gus Garcia hit .332 to beat 2011 batting champion Lourenco Manhas and his .330 average.
• Philadelphia slugger Zach Stewart set an IBL record with 71 home runs, besting Ethan Brooks record of 56 (done 3 times in 3 straight seasons) by 15.
• Stewarts 142 RBI's was the 7th highest total in league history, trailing Brooks 149 (1993). 3 players have had 144 RBI seasons (Brooks) Takeya Yasuda (twice) and Alex Bazaldua (2009).

2012 POST-SEASON
Here is the playoff tree prior to the Wild Card series.

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2012 PLAYOFFS
In the AL

• Denver vs Boston
• Wyoming vs Chicago Hitmen
• In the NL
• Indianapolis vs Washington
• Chicago vs Jacksonville
• Boston is looking to repeat as World Champions after beating Vegas last year.
• Denver has 1 title (2001 over Washington)
• Wyoming is looking for their 1st, having lost to LA in 1995
• The Hitmen are looking for their 1st, having lost to El Paso in 2008.
• Indy is trying to make their 1st ever series appearance.
• Washington looks for their 1st, havin glost in 2001 to Denver.
• Jacksonville has 2 titles (2000 over Philadelphia, and 2010 over Staten Island)
• Charlotte and Utah are looking to make their 1st WS appearances.
• El Paso won in 2008 (beating Chicago) and Fresno won in 2009 (beating Denver).

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OUR SERIES

• Jacksonville held the season series 5-4.
• They rank 11th in Runs at 711 and 3rd in runs surrendered at 658
• We finished 8th in runs at 708 and 7th in runs surrendered at 680.
• We were 46-35 at home (.568) and 45-36 (.556) on the road
• Jacksonville was 49-32 (605) at home and 41-40 (.506) on the road.

• They will be without ace Scott Herman who is out for the year. They are going to hit our weakness for games 1 and 2, left-handed pitching.
• G1 is Danny Apker (LH 11-6 3.33) and G2 is John Simmons (LH 9-13 4.49) with Miguel Dieguez (13-7 2.97) in G3 and Eric Hart (12-9 3.48) in a G4.
• Their pen, ranked 3rd, is led by closer Demetrius Leonard with 35 Saves and a 3.67 with 3 lefties and 4 righties.
• Their offense was paced by CF Ricky Ramirez who hit .284-28-96 (RHH) 6.1 WAR and by WAR 2B Matt Senff (3.0) hit .227-23-77. They had 4 20+ HR guys and 8 of 9 hit 10 or more HR's/ They finished 3rd with 206 HR's on the year.

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DAY 1
Denver beat Boston 4-2 behind Frank Woods 7 IP 2 ER 9 K performance.
Boston beat Wyoming 3-1 as Ted Zerryp went 7, allowing a run on 7 K's.

DAY 2
GAME 1
Just an abysmal performance. 3 errors and a 4 run 1st allowed by Morris. He went 5-5-6-5-2-5 allowing 3 HR's.
Garcia, Nieves, and Johnson all had errors
Matt Senff went 2-3 with a 1st inning HR and 3 RBI's. Apker went 7 allowing 3 earned on 5 hits with 4 K's and no walks.
JACKSONVILLE 8 CHICAGO 4
Jacksonville leads the series 1-0

Sergio Ramirez (WAS) shut out Indianapolis 6-0 on a 1-hitter fanning 10.
Denver and Boston went into the 8th 0-0 before Denver scored single runs in the last two innings to take a 2-0 series lead.
Wyoming got 7 scoreless from Felipe Fuentes to beat Chicago 3-1 and even the series.

DAY 3
Game 2
Andy Powers grinds out 6.2 IP 9 H 6 K allowing 2 ER, Becker gives up 1 and Gross gets a DP to end it as we hit 4 HR's
Fred Amling 2 HR 2 RBI, Garcia HR RBI Johnson HR 2 RBI
CHICAGO 5 JACKSONVILLE 3
Series ties 1-1

Denver blows a 9th inning lead but Mike Villegas 2nd HR of the game in the 13th wins it 11-9 and the Saints sweep the defending champs 3-0.
Denver 3B Jeremy Schaus went 5-7 with a 2B.
Denver Catcher Dana Love wins the series MVP going 7-17 with a HR

Chicago and Wyoming go 12 before Hitmen 1B Mario Lopez hts a game winning 2R HR.
Chicago leads the series 2-1

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DAY 4
Game 3
Down 2-0 entering the 8th Nieves ties it with a 2R HR. Williams allows an inherited runner to score and Drapers day ends (7 IP 3 ER 9 K). The bullpen, Williams, McKitrick, and Ricks go 5 IP 1 H 6 K 1 BB before Diaz gives up a walk off 1B in the 13th.
JACKSONVILLE 4 CHICAGO 3
Jacksonville leads the series 2-1

Indy destroys Washington 18-5 as Sam Reeves drives in 5, Mike Hogarth goes 4-6 scores 4 homers and drives in 4 and they collect 22 hits.
Indianapolis leads the series 2-1

DAY 5
Chicago beats Wyoming 4-2 to win the series 3-1.
1B Marco Lopez wins the series MVP going 7-18 HR 4 RBI

DAY 6
Game 4
Guijosa gets the ball with a short leash.
5, count'em, 5 double plays. Guijosa (W) 5.2 IP 8 H 4 BB 4 K 3 ER and 3 inning ending RISP double plays. Went 1-1, 4-1, 4-2, 5-2, 5-3, 5-4 before a 4 run 9th wins it 9-4.
4 HR's. Stachowski 3-5 2B HR 3 RBI, Krieg 3-5 HR 2 RBI, Amling hits his 3rd of the series and drives in 3.
CHICAGO 9 JACKSONVILLE 4
Series tied 2-2

Washington beats Indianapolis 10-7 to tie that series at 2-2.