OOPS I did it again

[gehrig38]

MONTH IN REVIEW
AL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- 2B Colin Courtright (BRK) .358-10-24 21 R 2nd consecutive month
NL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- 2B Luis Corona (SF) .297-11-39 (IBL record for 1 month)
AL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Travis Hilly (CLE) 5-1 3.07
NL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Brent Risinger (NYP) 4-0 1.21
AL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- SP Dave Herber (PHI) 3-0 0.85
NL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- RP Frank Leonard (SF) 4-0 4 SV 17 K 16 IP

IRON PIGS MONTH IN REVIEW
PLAYER OF THE MONTH- Justin Krieg .313/.343/.515 8 2B 4 HR 20 RBI
PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Pete Ricks 0-0 1 Save 0.00 ERA 12.1 IP 11 H 10 K 2 BB
MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH- Matt Chiquete .348-7-20 with 25 runs
MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH- (AA) Maurice Acosta 4-1 1.98 36.1 IP 39 K 6 BB 0.85 WHIP

[gehrig38]

WEEK 14
3 vs Phoenix 3 @ Washington
RUNS AGAINST: 481 (2nd)
OBP: .330 (4th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.50 (11th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.88 (4th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .692 (5th)
ZONE RATING: -0.5 (6th)
ERRORS: 44 (t-6th)

RESULTS (52-38 +4)
2-1 vs Phoenix 1-2 @ Washington
7/1- CIP 5 PHX 1 Draper (W) 1-0 1.50 6 IP 6 H 5 K 1 ER Nieves 2H 2R Krieg HR (9) 2 RBI (40) E (1)
7/2- PHX 5 CIP 3 Morris (L) 5-4 3.27 6.1 IP 5 H 2 HR 5 ER blew 3-1 lead in the 7th
7/3- CIP 2 PHX 1 Wood ND 8 IP 5 H 0 R 4 K McKitrick BS (3) HR leading off the 9th (W) Roberts 2H 2B (17) R
7/4- WAS 10 CIP 0 Ferguson (L) 3-3 6.58 6 IP 5 H 2 HR 6 ER Gross 4H 4 ER 0 IP

CHICAGO, INDIANAPOLIS STRIKE A DEAL
A little after midnight, Chicago GM Curt Schilling called a quick presser to announce a trade. The Iron Pigs have sent 28-year-old OF Michael Johnson and 21-year-old C prospect Bob McIlmoyle to the Indianapolis Lynx in exchange for 34-year-old closer Matt Wright, 27-year-old RP Trevor Carlson, and 33-year-old P Ricky Avendano. Chicago will apparently take on all of Wrights remaining money, as he's owed 8.3 million this year and next. Avendano is a free agent at year's end, and Carlson has less than a year of service.

BACKROOM CHATTER
Just couldn't watch this any longer without shaking something up. Wright had 42 saves last year and is a legit shut down arm. He won the Rivera in 2008 and '09 and has 294 career saves, leading the league in 2004 (37) and last year with 42. A career 2.70 ERA over 669 IP with 796 K's and a 1.12 WHIP.
He will close starting tomorrow.

• Carlson, 27, had just been called up by Indy. He's a legit power lefty who will take on that role here.
• Avendano is 7-4 3.55 in 18 starts over 114 IP 117 H and will start immediately.
• SP Dan Ferguson is sent down to try and right the ship, he's struggled mightily (3-3 6.58)
• Fred Amling is optioned to New Orleans and Dan Ames is recalled (he was hitting .349/.407/.524) and will man either a backup IF spot and get some starts.
• Adrian Nicol was optioned out and early in the morning sent to San Diego for minor league P Sergio Zapata.
• Cory Dillon's contract was purchased and he was recalled.

7/5- WAS 7 CIP 4 Guijosa (7-4 3.99) 2 IP 6 H 2 HR 2 BB 6 ER Carlson 3 IP 1 ER Garcia 2H HR (17) RBI BB SB (9) Dietz 2H HR (4) 3 RBI Ames 2-4 R Brumfield 0-5 3K
7/6- CIP 7 WAS 6 Draper ND 5 ER 9 H 4 IP Wright SV (1) Brumfield 2B HR (22) 2R 2 RBI (50) Roberts 2H SB (8) Krieg 2H 2B (25)


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 2B Colin Courtright (BRK) 11-28 5 HR 10 RBI 11R
NL POTW- 2B Luis Corona (SF) 11-29 4 HR 14 RBI (hitting .258-37-101 and on pace to drive in a record 180 runs)

IRON PIG NEWS

• Class A POTM Rick Arbuckle opened July 5-5 with a HR to help newly acquired Blake Reynolds win 9-2. Reynolds went 7 on 4 Hits 6 K's 1 ER.
• Angelo Molina (5-2 2.09) and Matt Chiquete (.321/.384/.500 11 HR) were named to the AAA All-Star team.
• New Orleans OF Matt Chiquete went 12-26 2 HR 5 RBI to win AAA POTW again.

[gehrig38]

WEEK 15
3 vs Las Vegas 3 vs El Paso OFF DAY
RUNS SCORED: 506 (2nd)
RUNS AGAINST: 430 (6th)
OBP: .329 (4th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.49 (12th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.77 (4th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .691 (3rd)
ZONE RATING: +5.5 (5th)
ERRORS: 45 (t-4th)

RESULTS (56-40 +4)
3-0 vs Las Vegas 1-2 vs El Paso
7/7- CIP 6 LV 5 Down 4-0 early. Morris 5 ER 2 HR 9 H 6 IP Williams (W) 5-0 2.02 Scored 3 in the 9th to tie, Nieves walk off 1B 2H RBI (56) Gutierrez 3H SB (33) R Davis 2B 2 RBI
7/8- CIP 4 LV 3 Avendano ND 6.1 IP 9 H 4 K 3 ER Wright SV (2) Garcia GW 1B
7/9- CIP 5 LV 0 Wood (3-4 3.31) 7 IP 6 H 6 K Roberts 2B (18) HR (14) BB SB (9) 2 R 2 RBI Ames 2H HR (1) 2 RBI Gutierrez 2 2B (15) R
Big series starts tomorrow. From 10 up to 5 in the past week to ten days and Fresno comes to Chicago for three., Guijosa, Draper, and Morris get the ball.
7/10- CIP 8 EP 7 Guijosa ND 6 IP 6 H 4 ER left with 7-4 lead. Wright BS (1) 1.1 IP 4 H BB 2 ER Krieg 3H 2 2B (28) 3 R 2 SB (9) Brumfield HR (23) 2 RBI (52) Garcia 2H 3B walk off 1B 2 RBI (61) Dietz 2-3 2B (9) SB (9) (.267)
7/11- EP 4 CIP 0 Nate Thomas (EP) 8.1 IP 5 H 5 K BB (7-5 3.91) Draper (1-1 5.28) 5.1 IP 8 H 4 K 3 ER
7/12- EP 4 CIP 2 Morris (L) 5-5 3.52 6.1 IP 7 H 4R 3 ER Roberts 3H 2B (19) Krieg H 2 SB (12) Nieves E (12)
7/13- OFF DAY


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- RF Garrett Nelums (WYO) 10-23 HR 8 RBI
NL POTW- 3B Alex Aguillon (FRE) 8-15 3 HR 8 RBI

IRON PIG NEWS

• Marcos Acosta (8-4 3.35) Alex Perez (1-2 2.72) Adam Higgins (.308/.383/.551) Adam Brigham (.329/.382/.554) Marcos Hernandez (.312/.421/.483) Andy Williams (.246/.315/.509 22 HR) Mathew Brittingham (.319/.400/.519) and John Tite (.241/.352/.509) 18 HR) were all named to the AA All-Star team.
• They lost the game 7-3, but Mathew Brittingham was named the game's MVP, going 2-2 with 2 solo HR's.
• He then went 8-10 3 HR 5 RBI to win the AA POTW coming out of the break
• At Class A, John Timmerman (6-6 2.90), Rick Arbuckle (.340/.412/.503), Jason Schwartz (.277/.364/.605 25 HR), and Yoseikazu Suzuki (.284/.356/.484 16 HR) were named to the Class A All-star team.
• Schwartz went 6-14, 3HR, 3 RBI to win POTW after the break.

[gehrig38]

BLOCKBUSTER OUT OF CHICAGO!
Chicago and the Fresno Enforcers have agreed in principle to a massive trade involving 9 players and a load of the games top prospects.
Chicago has sent Luis Maya (ranked 6th) OF Yoseikazu Suzuki (76th) OF Ricky Gutierrez, P prospect Jaden Finkelstein (drafted in the 3rd round last year) P Prospect Allan Velazquez (drafted in the 2nd round in 2011) and SP Danny Wood to the Enforcers for SP Joe Bush (26) and Fresno's top two prospects OF Daniel Perez and P Juan Arevalo. No one saw this coming as the rumor mill was air-tight. Chicago's recent slide is thought to be the impetus as both clubs work towards building their dynasties.

BACKROOM CHATTER

• The largest haul of talent I've ever traded, and it was a lot. Bush (a 4-star rated arm) goes into the rotation immediately, he's a potential 2 or 3 and just 26. He's 64-52 3.82 lifetime and is signed through 2016 with 16.6 million remaining and the 2016 year is a player option. A 6' 5” lefty with upper 90's stuff and a worm killing sinker. Last year he was 15-10 3.35 and in 2011 he was 15-6 3.43. He fanned 215 in 212 IP last season.
• Danny Perez was Fresno's 1st round pick (30th overall) last month out of Louisiana Tech. He was taken 10th overall back in 2010 by Atlanta and did not sign.
• He's a 5-star 5-tool RHH corner outfielder who can play Center. He is a + runner and reputed to have a high baseball IQ with the ability to “adjust on the fly”.
• Arevalo is a 4.5 star RH power arm for the bullpen, and just 20 years old. Fresno took him in the 6th round last year.
• The trade dropped us to 18th in system rankings, with Fresno jumping to 4th.

[gehrig38]

WEEK 16
3 @ San Francisco ALL STAR BREAK

RESULTS
2-1 vs San Francisco
7/14- CIP 4 SF 2 (10) Avendano ND 6 IP 5 K 4 H ER Wright SV (3) Krieg 2H leadoff HR (10) 3R RBI Nieves 2H Garcia 0-1 2 RBI 2 BB
7/15- CIP 6 SF 4 Bush ND 6.2 IP 9 K 7 H 4R 3 ER McKitrick SV (15) Garcia 5-5 2 2B (23) 3 R SB (10) Stachowski HR (5) 2 BB 2 RBI (47) Nieves 3H
7/16- SF 6 CIP 2 Garcia 3H 3B HR (18) BB RBI and starts 3-3, amassing 8 straight hits Roberts HR (16) Guijosa (7-5 4.35) 4.1 IP 5 H 8 K 4 BB 3 HR 5 ER
7/17-20 ALL STAR GAME


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- CF David Franzen (DET) 8-13 4 RBI
NL POTW- 2B Gus Garcia 10-15 2 HR 3 RBI

• The 34-65 Columbus Black Knights signed 26 year old FA OF George Hood to a 1 year 3.04 million dollar contract. Apparently a huge misunderstanding led to his release by Brooklyn last week, stunning baseball folks as the Islanders are 55-44 and just 1.5 games in back of East leading Philadelphia and a game behind 2nd place Staten Island. They currently hold the 2nd WC spot in the American League and boast the AL's top ranked offense.

[gehrig38]

2013 ALL-STAR GAME

• C Brian Stachowski, 2B Gus Garcia were selected to the NL all-star team with Garcia elected to start and Stachowski missing by just 1,000 votes.
• Sand Diego's John Laurel (7-6 2.98) will start for the NL while Cleveland Gladiator Jose Martinez (10-5 3.06) will start for the AL.
• New York 1B Kevin Terry lead all vote-getters while Colin Courtright (BRK) led the AL and finished 2nd.

• Bears 2B Luis Corona beat Denver's Frank Gamble in the HR Derby final round to top off an incredible 1st half. He's hitting .256-40-107 at the break.
• The NL beat the AL 5-1 and Jacksonville's Ricky Ramirez went 3-3 to take home MVP honors.
• Garcia was 0-1 2 BB SB

[gehrig38]

WEEK 17
3 vs New York 3 @ Atlanta 1 vs Indianapolis
RUNS SCORED: 543 (2nd)
RUNS AGAINST: 475 (7th)
OBP: .329 (4th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.61 (13th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.62 (4th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .691 (2nd)
ZONE RATING: +4.8 (5th)
ERRORS: 48 (4th)

RESULTS (61-45 +5)
3-0 vs New York 0-3 @ Atlanta 0-1 vs Indianapolis
7/21- CIP 4 NYP 2 (10) Morris ND & IP 6 H 8 K ER McKitrick BS (4) Ricks (W) 5-1 1.67 Krieg 4H 2B (29) HR (11) 2R 2 RBI Nieves 3H SB (3) Garcia 2H walk off HR (19) 2 RBI (67)
7/22- CIP 5 NYP 0 Bush 7 IP 3 H 9 K BB Wright SV (4) Krieg 2B (30) 2 RBI (46) Nieves 2H 2B (20) RBI (58)
7/23- CIP 5 NYP 2 Avendano (W) 6 IP 5 H 7 K 2 ER Wright SV (5) Krieg 2H 2B 3 RBI (49) Nieves 2H 2B (21) Brumfield dropped to 6th, 2H R RBI BB
7/24- ATL 8 CIP 2 Guijosa (7-6 4.71) 5 IP 7 H 7 ER Brumfield HR (24) (54)
7/25- ATL 7 CIP 5 Draper (1-2 7.11) 6 ER 6 H 3.2 IP Nieves HE (19) 2 RBI (62) Garcia 2H 3B (8) SB (12) RBI (68) Roberts HR (17) 2 RBI (54)
7/26- ATL 8 CIP 1 Morris 13 H 7 ER 5.2 IP (5-6 3.72)
Hysh (ATL) (10-8 4.80) 7.1 IP 4 H 1 ER 304th career win.
7/27- IND 6 CIP 3 Bush (1-1 3.66) 6 IP 5 ER 4 K Nieves 2 2B (23) R Brumfield HR (25) 3 RBI (57)


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 2B Colin Courtright (BRK) 14-29 4 HR 8 RBI
NL POTW- LF Ricky Ramirez (JAX) 16-31 4 HR 11 RBI

IRON PIG NEWS

• Rick Arbuckle went 4-7 with 2 2B (18) 2 HR (16) including the walk-off game winner and 6 RBI (55) in an 8-6 13 inning win at Albuquerque.
• The following day in a 12-11 loss he goes 3-4 2 HR 5 RBI and is hitting .331/.407/.523 with 18 HR and 60 RBI
• C prospect Gil Ermatinger went 4-5 and is hitting .299/.359/.465 in 32 games since the draft with 5 HR and 19 RBI

[gehrig38]

WEEK 18
2 vs Indianapolis 3 @ San Diego OFF DAY 1 vs Los Angeles
RUNS SCORED: 573 (2nd)
RUNS AGAINST: 510 (9th)
OBP: .329 (5th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.53 (12th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.79 (4th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .689 (4th)
ZONE RATING: +7.9 (4th)
ERRORS: 51 (4th)

RESULTS (65-48 +4)
1-1 vs Indianapolis 2-1 @ San Diego 0-1 vs Los Angeles
7/28- IND 4 CIP 2 (17) Club record game length. Avendano ND 7 IP 3 H 10 K 0 BB 0 R Wright gives up 2 out 2R HR BS (2). Becker loses it in the 17th IP 4 H BB 2 ER (7-3 3.02) Chavez 0-5 4K Brumfield 0-6 4K Ames 1-7 5 K team fans 20 times.
7/29- CIP 6 IND 2 Guijosa (8-6 4.50) 7.1 IP 10 K 4 H 1 ER Carlson SV (1) Roberts 2 HR (19) 3 RBI (57) Brumfield 2H HR (26) 2 RBI (59) Dillon 2H Krieg 2H 2B (33)

• Claimed 21 year old RHP Hayden Eichele off waivers from the Miners. Solid arm legit shot at a big league middle innings role. He's added to the 40 man (at 37 now) and optioned to New Orleans
• Yoseikazu Suzuki, recently dealt to Fresno, went 5-5 2B HR and an RBI and is hitting .328/.420/.483 in 14 games since being traded.
• Deadline looming and I cannot find a deal worth doing. Already queasy at the prospects I dealt earlier but I cannot get a tried and true top of the rotation arm, with one exception and he's got an IL history that looks like the yellow pages, for anything resembling a respectful deal.
• San Diego coming in for 3 and we miss Laurel.

7/30- CIP 9 SD 7 up 9-1 into the 6th Draper (W) 2-2 7.92 6 IP 7 H 5 BB 7 ER McKitrick SV (16) Garcia 2H 3B (9) R RBI Nieves 2H HR (20) 2 RBI (64) Calkins 2H 2B (15) 2 RBI (35)
7/31- CIP 8 SD 7 (12) Up 4-2 end of 7. Morris 5.1 IP 6 H 5 K 2 ER Carlson 0.2 IP 3 H BB HR 3 ER BS (1) Wright SV (6) see news Brumfield 2H HR (27) go ahead HR in the top of 9 2 RBI (61) Roberts HR (20) 2 RBI (60)
Geiselman (SD) 3H 2 HR (27) 3 RBI (79)

• Need a fresh arm as the bullpen is taxed. Will send out Trevor Carlson and recall Matt Hawkins.
• Hawkins will take Nate Drapers rotation spot. Something's gotta give. I am not expecting a Cy Young campaign, but I have to get more innings from my starters and quality innings would be nice.

8/1- SD 12 CIP 2 A historic bullpen implosion. 3-2 game end of 7. Draper (3 ER) McKitrick (3 ER) and Henderson (3 ER) give up 9 in just 0.2 IP on 9 H a walk and a grand slam. Krieg 3H 2B (35) SB (13)
8/2- OFF DAY
8/3- LA 2 CIP 1 Avendano (L) 7 IP 6 H 5 K 2 ER
Tim Orzolek (LA) (5-4 3.90) 8 IP 3 H 5 K Alameda SV (28)


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- RF Bryan Jones (DAL) 10-22 3 HR 7 RBI
NL POTW- 1B Mike Geiselman (SD) 9-23 4 HR 9 RBI

• Two drafts ago I went against advice and passed on LHP Bobby Woodruff. He went 6-0 1.87 to win AA PIOTM. He's 9-1 2.08 and the games #2 ranked prospect.

IRON PIG NEWS

• Jesus Ramirez has had a phenomenal season at New Orleans. He hit .402-3-21 to win AAA POTM and is hitting .352-7-39 with a .404 OBP and playing GG level defense.
• Rick Arbuckle continues a monster year. He hit .352-8-21 to win Class A POTM. The 20 year old is hitting .332-18-61 with a .411 OBP and is slugging .522.
• On Friday AAA OF Jimmy Young, who is coming off two fantastic seasons 42 HR 118 RBI in 2011 (A) and then 30 HR 76 RBI in Milwaukee, but had had a difficult time adjusting to AAA pitching, went 4-5 slamming 3 HR's and driving in a career high and club record 8 runs. Anthony Tripp, hitting in front of him went 4-5 as well hitting 3 2B's and scoring 4 times.
• P Prospect Luis Ornelas is experiencing the bumps and bruises of a 19 year old in AA. He's 6-5 4.87 over 98 IP with 96 K and 38 BB. He's also experience real bumps and bruises. His sore elbow lands him on the IL for a few weeks.

• I have a litany of guys having fantastic seasons in the minors, most on the offensive side of the ledger. That is except for the 1st overall pick 2 years ago, Mike Johnson. Johnson has gone from a 5-star HOF caliber talent to a 2-star 1B hitting .246/.311/.352 with 7 HR and 35 RBI in 95 games for Albuquerque.
• But there are a bunch of guys having fantastic seasons. I have held myself back from promoting almost all of them due to not wanting to move anyone ahead of their curve and I am a 100% firm believer in allowing a player to 'master a level'' before moving them up. Injuries can change that both ways but for the most part I want my 21 or younger prospects to master Rookie, and Short Season before they get to play the full 140+ game grind of A-AAA ball.
• But this off-season there will be no shortage of promotions for a ton of guys in the lower rungs and that will push the upper tiers to hit or cut bait on 2.5 star guys who can't seem to take the next step.

[gehrig38]

WRIGHT REACHES MILESTONE IN 8-7 CHICAGO WIN
As the last out was recorded, a huge smile spread over the face of closer Matt Wright.
The 4-time all-star, famous for his Al Hrabosky scowl and act, recorded career save #300 in the Iron Pigs 8-7 win over San Diego.
“I take this game seriously, but it's hard not to smile when I think back to all the time, work, blood, sweat and tears it took to get here.”
His teammates mobbed him on the mound as the much beloved hurler tried to act as casual as can be.
Wright, acquired just a few months ago, is 55-39 2.72 with 300 career saves and 806 K's in 678.1 IP. He becomes just the 11th pitcher ever to record 300+ career saves and he is 7th among active pitchers.
Wright has won 2 Rivera Awards (2008-9) and the Trevor Hoffman award last year when he lead the league with 42 Saves. In his 10+ year career he has spent 9 of those seasons in Chicago, the first 8 on the south side with the Chicago Hitmen where he made 3 of his 4 all-star appearances. Wright is signed through the 2014 season.

[gehrig38]

MONTH IN REVIEW

• AL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- 1B Jordan Johnson (UT) .396-10-25
• NL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- 2B Luis Corona (SF) .337-16-38 (he has 48 HR and 125 RBI's on August 1st, a pace of 71 HR and 184 RBI's which would set the all-time single season mark.
• AL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Brian Wilbourn (UT) 4-0 0.55 .165 OPP AVG
• NL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Oscar Villarreal (WAS) 5-1 1.74 41.1 IP 39 K 7 BB
• AL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- RF Mike Merritt (AUS) .244-10-19
• NL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- RF Dave Taylor (ATL) .299-4-20 .339 OBP 18 R

IRON PIGS MONTH IN REVIEW

• Look no farther than that pitching report for July. 3/5ths of the Rotation with ERA's north of 5.6. That we went 15-11 feels really hollow and I assume that's why. Nothing since the winning streak has been easy. Worst part is we've been very healthy. Just pitching like crap.

• PLAYER OF THE MONTH- Jose Nieves .283/.322/.611 8 2B 4 3B 7 HR 25 RBI .933 OPS
• PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Bobby Guijosa 5-0 2.75 39.1 IP 40 K 21 H 16 BB
• MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH- TIE
• Jason Schwartz 3B (A) .284/.375/.632 4 2B 9 HR 21 RBI 1.007 OPS
• Marcos Hernandez 3B (AA) .299/.413/.609 6 2B 7 HR 17 RBI 1.023 OPS
• MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH- (A) Joe Holsinger 4-0 1.30 38K 34.2 IP (6-0 1.24)

[gehrig38]

WEEK 19
2 vs Los Angeles 3 @ Pittsburgh 2 @ OKC
RUNS SCORED: 612 (2nd)
RUNS AGAINST: 555 (9th)
OBP: .330 (3rd)
STARTERS ERA: 4.72 (13th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.75 (5th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .688 (6th)
ZONE RATING: +5.1 (4th)
ERRORS: 56 (5th)

RESULTS (69-51 +3)
2-0 vs Los Angeles 1-2 @ Pittsburgh 2-0 @ OKC
8/4- CIP 2 LA 1 Guijosa ND 5.2 IP 6 K 4 BB 2 H 1 R 112 pitches Wright SV (7) Henderson (W) 3-0 3.78 Garcia 3H 2B (27) SB (13) Stachowski 3B (2) GW HR (6)
8/5- CIP 6 LA 5 (11) Hawkins ND 5.2 IP 6 H 5 K 3 BB 3 ER Henderson BS (2) Williams W 6-0 2.43 Krieg leadoff HR (12) 2R Brumfield HR (28) 2R BB RBI (63) SB Stachowski 2H walk off 1B 2 RBI (53) Roberts 3 2B (23) R RBI (61) Calkins 3H 2B RBI (37)
8/6- PIT 5 CIP 4 Morris (L) 5-7 3.83 7 IP 8 H 7 K 0 BB 5 ER Stachowski 3H HR (7) 2R 2 RBI (55)
8/7- CIP 4 PIT 1 Bush (2-2 3.48) 6 IP 4 H 8 K 1 R Gross SV (3) Garcia 3H Perez HR (1) SB (4) 2R RBI Chavez GW PH 3R HR (11)
8/8- PIT 12 CIP 5 Avendano 8 H 8 ER 1.1 IP (1-2 4.28) Draper 5 H 4 ER 0.1 IP (9.79 ERA) Stachowski HR (8) RBI Brumfield HR (29) 2 RBI Garcia 2H HR (20) 2R RBI Ames 2H HR (2)

• Nate Draper was DFA'd after the game and lefty Trevor Carlson was recalled.

8/9- CIP 8 OKC 7 Guijosa ND 4 IP 4 BB 7 H 5 ER Wright SV (8) Krieg 2H R RBI Nieves 2 2B (26) R RBI Garcia 3H 3B (10) HR (21) 2R 2 RBI (72) Roberts 2H SB (11) 2R Dillon 2-2 2 BB 2R 2 RBI SB (1)
8/10- CIP 10 OKC 7 Hawkins (W) 6 IP 8 H 5 ER Chavez (2B HR) Dietz HR (6) and Krieg HR (13) go back to back to back in the 7th to win it. Garcia 2H HR (22) 3 RBI (75) Brumfield 2H 2 SB (5) Chavez 2B (12) HR (12) 3R BB 2 RBI (45)

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- LF Jake Tillie (CLE) 13-25 4 HR 4 RBI
NL POTW- RF Mike Weems (SF) 13-26 2 HR 5 RBI

• Black Knight closer Jeremy Sacks recorded his 300th career save in a 2-1 win on Monday.
• Jacksonville star Ricky Ramirez continued his run at the Hank Aaron going 4-4 and hitting for the cycle. He hit a GW HR in the 9th to complete the feat and is now hitting .322-33-82 on the year.

LOPEZ JOINS EXCLUSIVE CLUB
2-time Hank Aaron award winner Marco Lopez went 2-4 in a 4-1 loss but his 7th inning 2B was his 3000th career hit. The 36 year old 13-time all-star and 1st ballot Hall of Fame 1B joins Andy Peterson as the only players in IBL history to achieve the mark. He's a career .329/.398/.517 hitter and his .329 average is 1st all time, with 684 2B (3rd all-time) 104 3B (5th all-time) and 274 HR's with 1367 career RBI's (14th all-time). He's fanned 950 times to 1035 career walks (20th all-time). He was the 1998 Jackie Robinson Award winner. He's won 7 batting titles, led the league in hits 6 times including 5 200-hit seasons. He will enter free-agency this winter after the final year of his 7 year contract signed in 2007.

IRON PIG NEWS

• At rookie league Minneapolis Alex Espinosa (1-5 3.99) was the only player named to the All-Star game.
• Minneapolis 18 year old David Vasquez went 5-5 2B HR 5 RBI in a 15-8 win. He's hitting .362/.434/.553 in 14 games. David was an Int. FA signing in 2012.
• Nashville OF Edwin Mejia was the lone representive for the Short Season club at the All-Star game. He's hitting .292/.378/.528 with 6 HR. He was acquired from the Hitmen in a July trade that sent Fred Amling to the other side of town.

[gehrig38]

PERSONNEL CONTRACTS THAT NEED ATTENTION

• 4 coaches and the scouting director all have expiring contracts. I have no intention of inking our current scouting director to an extension and will once again work to bring in a superstar. I am incredibly dissatisfied with our scouts ability to recognize pitching talent.
• Bench Coach Raul Chavez will be offered an extension.
• I am going back out into the market, or hiring from within for our next hitting coach. I am unimpressed with Leong's work as I feel our offense has been inconsistent, even though we are ranked pretty high in many cases.
• I am unsure about both base coaches, and may wait on both to see what's out there.
• Both AAA manager Sonny James and AA manager John Wellman are potentially offers, I think Wellman has done a great job with that club this year.

[gehrig38]

WEEK 20
1 @ Oklahoma City 3 vs Fresno OFF DAY 2 @ New England
RUNS SCORED: 634 (2nd)
RUNS AGAINST: 570 (9th)
OBP: .330 (3rd)
STARTERS ERA: 4.64 (13th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.71 (5th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .688 (6th)
ZONE RATING: +5.3 (5th)
ERRORS: 59 (6th)

RESULTS (72-53 +2)
0-1 @ OKC 3-0 vs Fresno 0-2 @ New England
8/11- OKC 8 CIP 2 Morris (L) 5-8 4.03 3.2 IP 4 BB 5 H 7R 5 ER Nieves 2 2B (28) R RBI
8/12- CIP 5 FRE 3 Bush ND 6 IP 9 H 3 ER Wright SV (9) Chavez 2H HR (13) Roberts HR (22)
8/13- CIP 6 FRE 2 Avendano (2-2 3.92) 7.2 IP 7 K 2 ER Krieg 2 2B (38) 2R Dillon 2H 2B (5) RBI Chavez 2B (13) HR (14) BB 2R RBI (48) Stachowski HR (9) Calkins HR (6)
8/14- CIP 6 FRE 2 Guijosa (9-6 4.34) 7.1 IP 6 K 2 H 3 BB 0R Wright SV (10) Brumfield HR (30) 2R RBI (67) Stachowski 2H 2B (16)
8/15- OFF DAY
8/16- NE 4 CIP 2 Hawkins 5 IP 6 H 5 BB 4R 3 ER (1-3 7.98) Dillon 2H leading off Nieves 2H HR (21) RBI (68) Garcia HR (23)
8/17- NE 4 CIP 3 Morris ND 5.2 IP 5 H 119 pitches 3R 2 ER McKitrick (L) Krieg 2 2B (40)


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- LF Sergio Santiago (SI) 11-23 2 HR 9 RBI
NL POTW- 1B Bryan Taylor (LV) 14-27 4 HR 9 RBI

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WEEK 21
1 @ New England 3 vs Jacksonville 3 @ Phoenix
RUNS SCORED: 668 (t-2nd)
RUNS AGAINST: 599 (8th)
OBP: .329 (3rd)
STARTERS ERA: 4.67 (13th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.57 (2nd)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .687 (5th)
ZONE RATING: +4.0 (5th)
ERRORS: 64 (6th)

RESULTS (77-55 +2)
0-1 @ New England 3-0 vs Jacksonville 2-1 @ Phoenix
8/18- NE 4 CIP 2 Bush (L) 6 IP 5 K 5 H 3 ER
George Crilly (NE) 10-8 4.87 8.1 IP 8 K 4 H 2R 0 ER
8/19- CIP 4 JAX 3 Avendano ND 6 IP 7 H 7 K 3 ER Wright SV (11) Krieg 3 2B (44) Dillon 3H 3B R Brumfield HR (31)
Ricky Ramirez (JAX) 0-4 4K
8/20- CIP 9 JAX 8 Guijosa ND 4.2 IP 8 H 5 ER Wright IP 3K SV (12) Nieves 3H HR (22) 4R RBI (69) Garcia 2-2 2 BB HR (24) 3R 2 RBI (81) E (12) Perez 3H 2B R

• El Paso is on a 7-game winning streak, and remains just 1 back.

8/21- CIP 1 JAX 0 Hawkins 8 IP 5 H 4 BB (2-3 6.60) McKitrick SV (17) Roberts HR (23)
8/22- PHX 5 CIP 4 Morris blows 3-0 lead. 5.2 IP 10 H 5 K 5 ER
Andy Peterson (PHX) 2H HR (18) 2 RBI (66)
8/23- CIP 9 PHX 6 Bush W 3-3 4.25 5.2 IP 6 H 2 HR K 3 BB 5 ER Wright SV (13) Nieves 2H HR (23) RBI (70) Dillon 2H 3B 2R 3 RBI
8/24- CIP 5 PHX 3 Garcia 3H 2B (30) R Nieves GW PH HR (24) Krieg 2H 2R Stachowski 2H 2B (19)


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- RF Eddie Cook (SI) 16-30 3 HR 11 RBI
NL POTW- LF John Mcdermott (LV) 11-23 3 HR 16 RBI

• On Sunday Boston won their 10th straight to pull into a tie in the AL East with Staten Island at 71-55.

• Washington has been the leagues best team almost all year. They're 13-9 this month after two 18-9 months in a row. They lead the NL East by 13 games over New York who is 72-60. They are top 5 across the board on offense and lead the league in most every pitching category. We get Sergio Ramirez (8-7 2.91) Oscar Villarreal (12-7 3.29) and David Porzos (13-4 2.90) in the opening series of the week. Meanwhile Vegas leads the NL South at 71-61 and are 4 games up on Jacksonville and 5 on a 66-66 Atlanta team.
• Brian Taylor (.343-21-83) paces their offense with Hank Dini at .326, they're 1-2 in the NL batting race, and we'll draw ace Matt Horton (14-4 3.08) in the series finale.
• Big week as El Paso seems to have found their stride going 8-2 in the last 10.

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WEEK 22
3 vs Washington OFF DAY 3 @ Las Vegas

RESULTS
2-1 vs Washington 1-2 @ Las Vegas
8/25- CIP 5 WAS 2 Guijosa 6.2 IP 9 K 2 ER (10-6 4.43) Wright SV (14) Nieves HR (25) RBI (72) Garcia 2 2B (32) BB 2R 2 RBI (83) Stachowski 2H 2B 2 RBI (61)

• Kevin Dietz back is acting up again and it's bad enough he won't be able to be near 100% to play. No IL is required but we're doing it anyway. Dan Wheeler gets the call even though I wanted to get Bittingham up. He doesn't have a 40 man spot, yet, and New Orleans has turned their season around and is playing their asses off.
• Luis Ornelas came off the DL today and will start at AA.
• Top 2013 pick (31st overall) Ryan Czarnomski hit a grand slam for Nashville today. He's keeping his head above water, hitting .224-5-22 on the year.

8/26- CIP 7 WAS 4 depleted lineup, some guys needed a day off. Nieves 2 RBI (74) Calkins 3H 2B (19) 2 RBI (45) Roberts 2H SB (14) 3R RBI (70) Hawkins 3-3 6.36 6 IP K 2 BB 6 H 4R 3 ER Gross SV (5) McKitrick walks bases loaded, 0 outs, Gross gets out of it.

• El Paso loses so the lead is back to 4.

8/27- WAS 10 CIP 2 Morris 7 ER 7 H 5.1 IP (5-10 4.38)
8/28- OFF DAY
8/29- CIP 3 LV 1 Bush CG 5 H 4 K BB (4-3 3.75) huge effort. Brumfield 3H 2B (9) HR (32) 2R RBI (72) Roberts 2H HR (24) 2 RBI (73)

• Albuquerque (A) clinched their 4th consecutive division title.

8/30- LV 5 CIP 0 2 hits. Avendano (2-3 4.03) 7 IP 7 H 3 K 0 BB 3 ER
Bryan Taylor (LV) 2B (41) HR (22) 2R 3 RBI (86)

• Mike Johnson went 3-5 homering twice including a grand slam to drive in 5. He's hitting .244-13-53. Our scouts have him as a 2-star prospect. Could be the biggest whiff in draft history for a #1 overall pick. Feels very “Ryan Leaf” like. The thing is, when asking around, other teams still have him as an elite prospect. Are our guys that off?

8/31- LV 6 CIP 3 Guijosa (10-7 4.61) 4 IP 2 H 2 HR 3 BB 5 ER Stachowski 3H 2B (21) 2R
Kyle Wise (LV) 2 HR (18) 5 RBI (53)


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- LF Jorge Cortez (POR) 10-22 2 HR 6 RBI
NL POTW- 3B Alex Aguillon (FRE) 10-21 4 HR 9 RBI

GRAHAM MAKES IT THREE
43-year-old 1B Matt Graham went 4-5 on Sunday, collecting career hit #3000. The 1B is a 19 year vet with 7 all-star appearances a 2003 MVP, 2 Silver Sluggers and has won 3 championships. He's a career .280/.353/.478 hitter with 442 2B 551 HR's and 1888 RBI's. He's led the league in hits (1), HR (1) RBI (1) SLG% (1) and OPS (1).
He is the IBL's career leader in games (2837), AB's (10737) 1B (1994) RBI's (1888) and ranks 3rd all-time in HR's, while leading all active players.

CORONA SETTING RECORD PACE
The IBL Single-season record for RBI's is 149 set in 1993 by Ethan Brooks. Brooks is also 2nd on the single season list at 144, tied with Takeya Yasuda (2 times), Alex Bazaldua, and Luis Corona.
Luis Corona, on August 29th, is hitting .266/.321/.663 with 54 HR's and 144 RBI's, on August 29th.....
He's clearly going to shatter the record if he is healthy. He could make waves at the HR record, set last year by Zach Stewart, of 71, if he were to explode over the last 5 weeks.
His 54 area already tied with Jay Anguiano (2001) and no other hitter has ever had 60 in a single season. Ethan Brooks is 2nd, 3rd, and 4th on the list with 3 56 HR seasons (incredibly in 3-consecutive seasons, 1992, '93, and 1994. Alex Bazaldua his 55 in 2009.
There have been just 18 50 HR seasons in the IBL's 24 years done by 12 players with Corona and Brooks tied for the most such seasons with 3 apiece.
His 243 career HR's are good for 65th on the all-time list.

IRON PIG NEWS

• Albuquerque's Jaden Brown went 8-17 2 HR 6 RBI to win Class A POTW

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MORRIS' SLIDE CONTINUES
After busting out of the gate with a 3-0 1.83 April, then going 2-2 2.57 in May, Joey Morris has struggled mightily. The recent beneficiary of a 8-year 26.45 million dollar extension, the 26 year old has not won since early May.
His ERA has risen each month, 5.01 in June, 5.65 in July and he sports an ugly 7.90 ERA for August. He's 0-8 in his last 16 games started with an ERA of 6.07. Surrendering 113 H in just 96.1 IP while fanning 94 and walking 19.
Nothing can be done really, he's got to find his way through this. Fans may remember Joey was an original expansion pick out of the Boston organization. He's a top of the rotation pitcher when right, and right now? He's not “right”. It might behoove everyone to skip a start if the schedule permits.

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MONTH IN REVIEW

• AL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- 1B Michael Mcvaugh (WYO) .280-10-20 28 R
• NL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- 3B Alex Aguillon (FRE) .356-10-24 23 R
• AL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Jima Zahur (CLE) 4-0 7 Saves 0.61 ERA
• NL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Mike Connolly (EP) 5-1 3.57 35.1 IP 37 K
• AL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- 1B Kenny Andrew (CBK) .260-8-19 17 R
• NL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- 1B Devin Howard (JAX) .358-1-13 (waiver claim from Chicago Hitmen)

IRON PIGS MONTH IN REVIEW

• PLAYER OF THE MONTH- Gus Garcia .327/.391/.582 6 2B 2 3B 5 HR 15 RBI 6-6 SB .973 OPS
• PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Pete Ricks 0-0 0.00 12 IP 6 H 13 K 3 BB 0.75 WHIP
• MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH- (AA) Andy Williams .330/.381/.600 9 2B 6 HR 25 RBI 12 R 60 TB
• MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH- (A) John Alex 0-2 9-9 Saves 1.50 ERA 12 IP 11 K 2 BB 0.67 WHIP

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ROSTER EXPANSION

• We are “in it to win it” even if I have less than zero confidence in this rotation. That means call ups will be made with no real concern for minor league standings. The one exception is Matt Chiquete, who is not on the 40 man, but will be recalled once New Orleans finishes.
• RP's Bae-hee Kim (4-1 1.70) Hayden Eichele (1-0 1 SV 0.87 since being acquired)
• 1B/OF Jesus Ramirez hit .328/.385/.449 and earned this one
• C Vince Gonzalez is added to the 40 man and recalled, giving us that third C I always like to have. He hit .225 in limited time between AA-AAA
• IF Dave Pedraza was recalled for his defensive versatility and he hit decently after a mid-season injury (.233/.374/.534 with 10 HR 24 RBI in 40 games).
• IF/OF Anthony Tripp, again for his defensive versatility and he actually hit a little bit (.265/.342/.407 8 HR 43 RBI in 119 G)

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WEEK 22
3 @ El Paso 3 vs San Francisco 1 @ New York
Clearly the biggest series of the season. We won't see each other again so a sweep either way would be huge.
RUNS SCORED: 713 (3rd)
RUNS AGAINST: 665 (10th)
OBP: .327 (4th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.75 (14th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.57 (2nd)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .687 (8th)
ZONE RATING: +1.7 (6th)
ERRORS: 68 (5th)


RESULTS (82-63 t-1st)
1-2 @ El Paso 0-3 vs San Francisco 1-0 vs New York
9/1- EP 7 CIP 6 (10) Blew early 5-0 lead. Gross (L) serves up walk off on 1st pitch in the 10th. Wright BS (3) Krieg leadoff HR (14) Garcia 2H HR (25) 2 RBI (86) Nieves 2H 2R
Susuni Hirabayashi 3H 4R walk off HR (24)
9/2- CIP 5 EP 0 Morris (6-10 4.20) 7.1 IP 11 K 3 H 1st win since May. Calkins 3-3 HR (7) 3 RBI Roberts HR (25)

• Midst the roster shuffling 3B prospect Andy Williams got the call to AAA and promptly homered in his 1st AB. He ended up hitting .275/.333/.543 with 32 HR and 92 RBI

9/3- EP 2 CIP 1 Wright serves up walk off HR to 1st hitter in the 9th. Krieg 3H Brumfield 0-4 4K
9/4- SF 12 CIP 7 Avendano (2-4 4.98) gives up 6 in the first two. 7 run 4th puts us ahead. SF hits 4 consecutive HR's, 3 off Avendano. He gives up 10 H 4 HR 9 ER in 4.2 IP Krieg 2H HR (15) 2 RBI (58) Stachowski HR (10) 2 RBI (63)

• Staten Island, 3 GB of Boston in the AL East, lost it's best hitter in Sergio Santiago (.323-18-83) for 3 weeks after he was HBP.

9/5- SF 12 CIP 4 Guijosa 6 ER 6 H 2.1 IP (10-8 4.88) Carlson 3 ER 3 H 0.1 IP Nieves 2H HR (26) 2R RBI Roberts 2H HR (26) RBI (75)

• El Paso beats New England 9-7 and pulls even. 1st day since early April we have not been alone in 1st.

9/6- SF 5 CIP 1 Hawkins 8 H 5 ER 3 BB 3.2 IP Pedraza HR (1)
9/7- CIP 1 NYP 0 Morris 5.1 IP 4 H 9 K 101 pitches (7-10 4.07) Wright SV (15)


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 2B Curtis Conley (SI) 14-28 5 HR 8 RBI
NL POTW- 1B Bobby Cotter (NE) 13-28 3 HR 7 RBI

IRON PIG NEWS

• Milwaukee clinched their division on Monday,

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WEEK 23
2 @ New York OFF DAY 3 vs Atlanta 1 @ Indianapolis
RUNS SCORED: 746 (3rd)
RUNS AGAINST: 688 (9th)
OBP: .328 (4th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.68 (12th)
RELIEVERS ERA:3.56 (3rd)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .688 (7th)
ZONE RATING: -0.2 (7th)
ERRORS: 72 (t-5th)

RESULTS (86-65 -1)
1-1 @ New York OFF DAY 3-0 vs Atlanta 0-1 @ Indianapolis
9/8- CIP 5 NYP 3 Joe Bush (5-3 3.36) 7 IP 1 H 5 K 1 ER Wright SV (16) Nieves 2B (32) 2 HR (28) 3R 2 RBI (78) Calkins 3H 2 2B (23)
9/9- NYP 1 CIP 0 Avendano 6 IP 4 H 0 K BB 1 ER (2-5 4.69)
Reese (NYP) 6.1 IP 7 K 4 H (13-5 2.22) Myers SV (27)

• On the same day we fall out of 1st former Iron Pig prospect Luis Maya goes 4-5 and homers 3 times for Short-season Grand Rapids.

9/10- OFF DAY
9/11- CIP 12 ATL 4 Guijosa (11-8 4.76) 6 IP 6 H 7 K 3R 1 ER Nieves 3H 2B Grand Slam (29) 4 RBI (82) Tripp PH HR 2 RBI Brumfield HR (33) 2 RBI (78) Roberts 2H HR (27) 2R 2 RBV (77) Stachowski HR (11) 2 RBI (66)
9/12- CIP 5 ATL 4 Hawkins ND 6 IP 7 K 4 H 3 ER Wright SV (17) Stachowski 2H 2 RBI (68) Chavez HR (15) 2 RBI (56) Brumfield HR (34) RBI (79)
9/13- CIP 6 ATL 3 Morris (8-10 3.99) 8.1 IP 11 K 4 H 2 ER Wright SV (18) Nieves 2H HR (30) 4 RBI (86) Stachowski 3H R Dillon 3H R RBI
Beat Yaaqov Hysh 14-12 4.39 6.2 IP 8 H 4 ER

• Milwaukee swept their opening round in the Class AA playoffs

9/14- IND 8 CIP 5 3 errors Bush (5-4 3.80) 3.2 IP 8 H 4 BB 4 K 2 HR 8R 5 ER Dillon 2B HR (3) leading off Garcia HR (26) RBI (88) Krieg HR (16) RBI (59) Chavez HR (16) Ramirez 2H HR


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- SS Jonathan Flores (PHI) 13-28 HR 6 RBI
NL POTW- 1B Bryan Taylor (LV) 11-23 3 HR 8 RBI

• Washington clinches the NL East, San Francisco clinches the NL West.
• On Saturday Luis Corona hit his 57th HR, a Grand Slam, and now has 154 RBI's on the year.

IRON PIG NEWS

• Kevin Dietz is due off the IL but is still having back trouble. Seems to be a recurring theme. He'll be activated and will sit vs LHP.