The American Baseball League

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 4-2
• STANDINGS: 27-16 +2 ½
• RUNS SCORED: 214 (t-3rd)
• RUNS AGAINST: 175 (3rd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .681 (6th)
• ZONE RATING: +10.6 (2nd)
• ERRORS: 17 (t-1st)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 95
• POWER RANKINGS: 3rd

THIS WEEK: 2-1 @ Green Bay (14-24) 2-1 @ Houston (21-17) OFF DAY

5/12: AUS 11 GB 5
Tighe 3-5 2 SB (15) R Harrison 2-4 2B (4) 3 R 3 RBI (11) Adrian 3 RBI (20) SB (9) Whittaker (W) 7 IP 2 ER 4 K (3-3 5.20)
HR: Archer (5)
POTG: Nick Archer 4-4 2 2B (13) HR (5) 4 R RBI (24)

5/13: GB 4 AUS 3 (14)
Haske 1st BS unearned run Archer 3-7
HR: GB-Henry walk-off (1)
POTG: Steve Forney ND 8 IP 4 H 1 ER 13 K Winless in 8 starts 55 IP 81 K 4.04 ERA

5/14: AUS 6 GB 4
Bermudez 3 R HR 3 RBI (10)
HR: Bermudez (3) Nolasco (2) GB-Schade (4)
POTG: Dave Steele (W) 7-7-4-4-3-6 (2-3 4.35)

5/15: AUS 6 HOU 4
Haske SV (10-11) 1 IP 2 K 0.00 ERA Behrens (W) 6 IP 4 K 4 BB 4 ER Archer 2-4 HR (6) R 3 RBI (28)
HR: Orozco (6) Archer (6) HOU-Rivera (11) A White (7)
POTG: Luis Orozco 3-4 HR (6) R 2 RBI (20)

5/16: HOU 6 AUS 2
Lach (L) 6 IP 7 H 7 K 6 ER (4-2 4.02)
HR: Anderson (5) HOU-Rivera (12)
POTG: Mike Crawford (W) 8-8-2-2-1-7 (5-2 4.29)

5/17: AUS 11 HOU 5
Whittaker ND 4-8-5-5-1-5 Antonelli (W) 3 IP 4 K 1 H 0 R Adrian 3-5 3B (3) 2 R 2 RBI 922) SB (10)
HR: Adrian (7) Anderson 2 (7)
POTG: Jeff Anderson 3-5 3B (3) 2 HR (7) ties club record with 8 RBI's. 2 3R HR 2R 3B

5/18: OFF DAY

NEXT WEEK: 3 @ Charlotte 3 vs Memphis 1 @ Dallas

ABL HAPPENINGS:
5/13:
Alex Grant (PRO) shutout Buffalo on 4 hits in an 8-0 win.
5/14:
Orlando Flores (NYE) went 5-5 HR (2) and 2 RBI in a 9-2 win over New England.
Danny Sanchez (SF) struck out 5, walked 2, and allowed 6 hits en route to a CG 5-0 win over San Diego.
5/16:
The Lexington Rebels won their 10th straight game
5/17:
Mike Laffey (SD) punched out 8 and scattered 7 hits in a 4-0 win over San Jose. Laffey is 2-7 4.75 on the year.


PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Zach Tallent RF (MEX) 14-21 HR 15 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Orlando Flores 1B (NYE) 15-32 HR 6 RBI

[gehrig38]

WEEK 9

• RECORD: 4-2
• STANDINGS: 37-19 +5
• RUNS SCORED: 294 (3rd)
• RUNS AGAINST: 220 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .698 (4th)
• ZONE RATING: +15.8 (1st)
• ERRORS: 24 (3rd)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 95
• POWER RANKINGS: 1!!!!

THIS WEEK: 1-2 @ Dallas (28-22) OFF DAY 3-0 vs Mexico (32-18)

5/26: DAL 10 AUS 1 Behrens (L) 5.1 IP 8 H 5 BB 5 K 7 ER
5/27: DAL 7 AUS 6 Comerford 2-4 3B (1) HR (6) 4 RBI (20) E Lach (L) 6.2 IP 7 H 7 K 4 ER
5/28: AUS 8 DAL 3 Whittaker (W) 8.2 IP 3 H 2 ER 12 K (5-3 4.56) Haske loads the bases but Laskey (SV 2) bails him out. Still 0.00 ERA Reyes 3-3 2B (9) SB (8) 2 R 2 RBI (16) Anderson 2-5 HR (10) 3 RBI (48) 2 R
5/29: OFF DAY
5/30: AUS 13 MEX 1 Forney CG 106 pitches 3 H 10 K 0 BB 2-4 2 RBI (3-4 3.32) Tighe 3-5 2 2B (11) 3B (4) Archer 3-4 2B (16) HR (9) RBI (38) Harrison 4-5 2 R HR (3) 3 RBI (14) Orozco 2-5 2B (12) HR (7) 3 RBI (24)
5/31: AUS 6 MEX 2 Steele CG 7 H 9 K 2 ER (4-3 4.61) Nolasco 3-4 HR (6) RBI (18)
6/1: AUS 4 MEX 0 Behrens CG 4 H 10 K (7-3 2.92) Orozco 2-3 HR (8) 3 RBI (27)

NEXT WEEK: 3 vs Ohio (24-33) 3 vs Houston (32-24) 1 @ San Antonio (29-26)

ABL HAPPENINGS:
5/26:
John Del Bianco (DET) fanned 14 LA Storm hitters en route to a CG SHO 2-0 win. The win was just his 2nd this year (2-9 6.19)
5/27:
Rotation mate Jason Keeton (DET) followed up the effort with an 11K 0 BB 3-hitter as the Chargers shut out the Storm 2-0. The win evened the 2013 Koufax winner's record at 5-5 2.70
5/28:
Xie-Li Au-Yong fanned 15 Ohio Generals over 8 innings of a 4-3 Lexington win. It was his 3rd career game of 15+ K's. He's 5-1 3.12 for the surging Rebels.
17 game-winner Jake Byers (NYP) whiffed 11 and walked 1 in a 2-hitter to beat Phoenix 2-0.
5/29:
27-year-old Lexington 1B Alonzo Rodriguez went 4-5 slamming 3 solo HRs in an 8-4 win over San Diego during the club's interleague play.

RUSTLER NEWS:
5/28:
2011 2nd overall pick P Steve Roblique fanned 8 in a 2-hit CG SHO of the Hamilton Buzz. The win was his 1st of the year (1-4 3.50)
5/30:
Austin has sent minor league OF Chris Renfrow (.218-14-33 at AA) and minor league 3B Aaron Allphin to Las Vegas for 27-year old P Nate Pompeo. The clubs also exchanged 2nd round draft picks.

After all the wheeling and dealing here are our June Draft picks as of today.

• 1st Round 22, 29
• 2nd Round 1 (41) 2 (42) 26 (66)
• 3rd Round 11 (83)
• 5th Round 16 (141)

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Abdul-Muta'al Rhodes RF (PHI) 14-24 8 HR 13 RBI 12 R
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Jerry Steimel 1B (PRO) 10-21 6 RBI 10 R

RUSTLER PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Nick Archer .408/.452/.680 10 2B 6 HR 20 RBI 16 R
RUSTLER PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Steve Forney 3-1 2.79 42 IP 21 H 54 K 12 BB OBA .151
RUSTLER MiL PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Jeff Hanna (AAA) .330/.421/.505 6 2B 2 3B 2 HR 11 RBI 12 R 5 K 13 BB
RUSTLER MiL PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Nate Pompeo (AAA) 0-1 12-13 SV 13 IP 8 H 2.08 ERA

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Pat Baker RF (PIT) .313-7-23 24 R
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Jerry Steimel 1B (PRO) .389-15-35 33 R .425 OBP
PATRIOT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Danny Sanchez (SF) 4-1 2.54 49.2 IP 28 K
COLONIAL LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Alex Serrano (PRO) 5-1 3.07 44 IP 34 K 5 BB
PATRIOT LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Danny Sanchez (SF) 4-1 2.54 49.2 IP 28 K
COLONIAL LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Carlos Rivera (HOU) .302-8-19 15 R


WEEK 10

• RECORD: 3-4
• STANDINGS: 40-23 +5
• RUNS SCORED: 327 (3rd)
• RUNS AGAINST: 253 (3rd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .697 (4th)
• ZONE RATING: +17.3 (1st)
• ERRORS: 26 (t-3rd)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 95
• POWER RANKINGS: 4th

THIS WEEK: 1-2 vs Ohio (24-33) 2-1 vs Houston (32-24) 0-1 @ San Antonio (29-26)

6/2: OH 8 AUS 4 Lach 7 IP 6 ER 3 HR 7 K 4 BB (L) 4-5 4.46 Reyes 2-4 2B (10) HR (7) 2 R RBI (19)
6/3: AUS 5 OH 2 Whittaker 8 IP 7 H 2 ER 5 K (W 6-3 4.34) Haske 1 IP 2 K SV (12) 0.00 ERA
6/4: OH 4 AUS 2 Forney (L) 13 K 4 ER 8.2 IP (3-5 3.40) Nolasco 3-3 2B (7) HR (7) Honda (OH) 2 2R HR
6/5: AUS 7 HOU 2 Archer 3-4 2B (19) HR (10) 2 R 2 RBI (41) Adrian McLaughlin 3 H each
6/6 HOU 8 AUS 7 (10) 4-4 after 9 Behrens 9 IP 4 ER Haske gives up 4 in 2/3rd on 5 H 1 BB HR ERA from 0.00 to 1.59 (L) Anderson 3-6 2 2B (10) 2 R 2 RBI (52)
6/7: AUS 3 HOU 2 Lach (W) 8 IP 6 H 1 ER 9 K (5-5 4.18) Adam Cush (HOU) homers off Haske for 2nd straight night Haske SV (13) 1 IP 1 ER 1.90 ERA
6/8: SAN 7 AUS 5 (10) Reyes (9) Archer (11) Anderson (12) all homer Whittaker 3 ER 6 IP 7 K 4 BB

NEXT WEEK: 3 @ San Antonio (33-29) OFF DAY 3 vs Lexington (44-18)

ABL HAPPENINGS:
6/2:
Xie-Li Au-Yong fanned 6 in a 3-hitter to move to 6-1 2.88 beating Buffalo 7-0.
6/3:
Buffalo claimed 27-year-old Aaron Wisniewski off waivers from New England. The former 14 game-winner was in a dust-up with an unnamed coach and asked to be traded.
John Mullen (PIT) stopped Baltimore on 4 hits in a 1-0 win.
6/4:
23-year-old backstop Alan Monson (CHA) was 3-5 driving in 7 on 3 2R HR's and a 3 run shot as the Cyclones beat New England 13-7
Brad Ullrich (PHI) scattered 6 hits in a CG SHO 9-0 win over Montreal to improve to 6-2 1.90
Jerry Steimel went 3-4 drilling 2 HR's and driving in 4 to extend his hitting streak to a season-high 25 games
Michael Hall (BRK) threw a 4-hitter fanning 6 and walking 1 in a 3-0 win over Chicago to move to 7-4 3.40
6/5:
Pat Svensson (OH) threw a 3-hitter, striking out 8 in a 2-0 win over Green Bay to even his record at 5-5 5.83
6/8:
Xie-Li Au-Yong found himself on the topside of another CG SHO this week. He threw his 2nd CG 3-hit SHO this week, fanning 7 Blue Sox in a 5-0 win to move to 7-1 2.57


RUSTLER NEWS:
6/6:
Tim Premo (2nd round 42nd overall) has agreed to terms and reported to Ft Wayne
6/7:
Brad Hathaway (1st round 22nd overall) has agreed to terms and reported to Ft Wayne
6/8:
Cody McNutt (3rd round 83rd overall) has agreed to terms and reported to Ft Wayne
6/9:
Warren (AAA) 1B Brennan Jungles went 15-31 HR 4 RBI to take home the Western League POTW honors. The 24-year-old is hitting .300-2-19. He was a 2nd round draft pick in 2009

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Abdul-Muta'al Rhodes (PHI) 13-25 2 HR 5 RBI 6 R
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Xi-Li Au-Yong (LEX) 2-0 0.00 18 IP 6 H 13 K


WEEK 11

• RECORD: 2-4
• STANDINGS: 42-27 +4
• RUNS SCORED: 353 (4th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 292 (3rd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .696 (4th)
• ZONE RATING: +20.7 (1st)
• ERRORS: 28 (2nd)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 95
• POWER RANKINGS: 4th

THIS WEEK: 1-2 @ San Antonio (33-29) OFF DAY 1-2 vs Lexington (44-18)

6/9: SAN 10 AUS 4 Forney (L) 4.1 IP 9 K 6 ER (3-6 3.83)
6/10: AUS 6 SAN 4 Steele ND 7 IP 7 K 1 ER 2-3 2B (2) RBI (1) Laskey BS (2) W (5-0) Haske SV 14 3rd HR allowed last 4 games 2.19 ERA Archer 3-5 2B (21) RBI (46) Comerford 3-5 2B (7) up to .270 after horrendous April
6/11: SAN 5 AUS 4 (18) Behrens ND 8 IP 4 ER 9 K Haske, Laskey, Lytle 6.2 IP 4 H 13 K Former Rustler Trevor Pope ND 8 IP 2 ER 7 K (7-1 4.15)
6/12: OFF DAY
6/13: LEX 11 AUS 2 Lach (L) 6 ER 6 H 4 IP (5-6 4.56) Antonelli 5 ER 1 IP
6/14: LEX 6 AUS 4 Whittaker (L) 7.2 IP 10 H 6 ER (6-4 4.56) Au-Yong ND 6 IP 8 K 4 ER
6/15: AUS 6 LEX 3 Forney (W) 8.1 IP 8 K 3 ER Haske SV (15) Reyes SB (12) 3 RBI (29) Nolasco HR (8)

NEXT WEEK: 3 vs Ft Worth (28-40) 3 @ Denver (23-46) OFF DAY

ABL HAPPENINGS:
6/9:
Nagahisa Takagi (DET) went 5-6 in a 9-8 win over Montreal's
Former Rustler Vinny Martinez (BAL) fanned a career high 15 in a 3-0 win over Chicago.
6/11:
Larry Peet 3B (PRO) went 5-5 in a 10-8 win over the New York Empire.
Houston learned CL Jeff Williams will be lost for at least 4 more weeks. On top of that, they lost 22-year-old Phenom Phil Dunivent to Tommy John's surgery. Green Bay managed to pounce as they sent 26-year-old Billy Collins (2-3 13 SV 2.67) to the Roughriders for 22-year-old RP prospect Eric Stucky and 2 minor league prospects. Stucky was the 41st overall selection in the 2011 draft out of North Alabama.
6/12:
New York's Josh Viens fanned 15 Bears in a 2-hitter to beat San Francisco 6-0. It was the 14th time in his career he fanned 15 or more. 2nd all time to Tomohiro Masuda's 24.
6/13:
Mexico lefty Brett Gerber fanned 12 and allowed just 4 hits in a 4-0 win over Montreal.
Dakota Eddleman (BRK) struck out a career-high 16, walking just 1 and scattering 8 hits in an 8-3 win over San Diego.
6/15:
Jon Jones (BAL) threw a 2-hitter and struck out 9 in a 2-0 win over Montreal to win his 1st game of the year. The 29-year-old has recovered from a troubling AC joint problem and was making his 3rd start of the season.
Chris Nosal (DET) allowed just 1 base runner in a 2-0 win over Chicago to move to 8-4 4.31



RUSTLER NEWS:
6/10:
Ryan Avant (1st round 29th pick) agreed to terms and reported to Ft. Wayne. The consensus is he was the steal of the draft in the 1st round.
6/11:
Nick Romero (2nd round 66th pick) signed and reported to Ft Wayne.


PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Nagahisa Takagi 2B (DET) 15-28 2 HR 5 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Larry Peet 3B (PRO) 10-22 3 HR 10 RBI 9 R


2014 JUNE DRAFT
Green Bay and Las Vegas sit atop the draft.

1. Green Bay- Paul Reed (19) RHP College of Southern Idaho JUCO looking for 2.8 million. Ace potential 6 legitimate offerings.
2. Las Vegas- Jim Dover (20) LHP George Mason U. 6'8” triple digit lefty. Absolute #1 in the making.
3. Denver- Jim Kelley (18) L/L CF Iowa Western JUCO 5 tool 3 hole hitter with power. We had him as the best overall talent
4. Buffalo- Michael Fritz (20) RHP Duke Big righty, upper 90's 4 pitch mix.
5. Brooklyn- Bryce Allen (20) RHP UTEP another big righty with 5-6 legit pitches.
6. San Antonio- Josh Stang (19) RHP Yavapai JUCO Has the makings of an elite Change, solid top of the rotation arm
7. Pittsburgh- David Thomas (20) OF Clemson Big power big arm
8. Houston- Matt Phillips (20) OF Kansas State monster power bat
9. Mexico- Mike Matos (17) LHP La Jolla HS 1st HS pitcher taken, elite potential 3 pitch mix
10. Chicago- Pat O'Neill (17) RHP Warren Township HS mid to upper 90's horse, bit on the small side 6' 170
11. Phoenix- J.R. Schuh (18) L/R CF UHV JUCO Can fly, 3 hole bat
12. Ft Worth- Corey Tenhundfeld (18) RHP UHV JUCO Has 4+ legit pitches. Big time sinker GB guy
13. Los Angeles- Evan Woods (19) LHP McLennan JUCO Big 6'6” lefty, elite changeup already
14. Baltimore- Jim Casey (18) RHP Wabash Valley JUCO 5'10” mid to upper 90s FB with wipeout cutter
15. Memphis- Justin Fortichiari (18) LHP LSUA JUCO Low 90's 3 pitch lefty with high baseball IQ
16. San Diego- Mike Gilreath (17) P RHP Highland HS 6'4” righty with elite Change up
17. San Francisco- Howie Valverde (20) 1B R/R Iowa State light tower power but lots of swing and miss
18. New England- Jayson Taylor (18) 1B L/L Chipola JUCO The guy Frisco should have taken. Monster power with great OB potential
19. New England- Kelly Stuffle (17) OF L/L Notre Dame Prep HS Big power, line to line, questions around ability to put the bat on the ball
20. Ohio- Tom Tamblyn (17) RHP Lee County HS 6'6” righty with 3++ pitches
21. Montreal- Christian Meyer (17) CF R/R St Pius X HS has the makings of a .300-35+ HR bat. Good speed potential GG CF
22. Austin- Brad Hathaway (18) OF L/L outstanding upside on offense elite runner

AUSTIN DRAFT
PICK/PLAYER

• 1 (22) Brad Hathaway (18) OF LHH
• 1 (29) Ryan Avant (20) 1B LHH
• 2 (41) David Bone (17) 3B Switch
• 2 (42) Tim Premo (18) RHP
• 2 (66) Nick Romero (18) LHP
• 3 (83) Cody McNutt (17) OF

WEEK: 12

• RECORD: 6-0
• STANDINGS: 48-27 +7
• RUNS SCORED: 391 (3rd)
• RUNS AGAINST: 308 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .698 (4th)
• ZONE RATING: +22.3 (1st)
• ERRORS: 32 (t-2nd)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 94
• POWER RANKINGS: 1st

THIS WEEK: 3-0 vs Ft Worth (28-40) 3-0 @ Denver (23-46) OFF DAY

6/16: AUS 9 FW 4 Anderson 2-4 Grand Slam (13) 4 RBI (57) Reyes 3-5 2B (13) HR (10) SB (13) Steele ND 6 IP 4 ER 7 K Laskey 2 IP (W) 6-0
6/17: AUS 3 FW 2 (11) Behrens 16 K 8 IP 3 H 0 R 1-3 Haske BS! (2) 2.2 IP 3 H 1 ER 6 K HR Laskey W (7-0) Nolasco 2 out solo HR for the walkoff (9) Tighe 3-6 2 2B (18) SB (24)
6/18: AUS 5 FW 0 Lach CG SHO 4 H 6 K 2 BB (6-6 4.17) Archer 2-4 2B (23) 2 R 2 RBI (50) McLaughlin 3-4 2 2B (11) 3 RBI (14)
6/19: AUS 6 DEN 2 Whittaker (W) 7 IP 5 H 6 K 2 ER (7-4 4.43) Tighe 2-4 2 2B (20) SB (25) R 2 RBI (30) Orozco 2-3 2B (15) 3B (2) 3 R
6/20: AUS 7 DEN 5 (12) Reyes 2-5 HR (11) 2 R RBI (32) Archer 3 RBI (53) Lytle BS (2) Forney ND 6.1 IP 6 K 3 ER
6/21: AUS 8 DEN 3 Anderson 3-5 3 HR (16) 4 RBI (61) Reyes 3-4 2 HR (13) 3 R 2 RBI (34) Steele (W) 7.2 IP 4 H 8 K 3 ER 130 pitches (6-3 4.25)
6/22: OFF DAY

NEXT WEEK: 3 vs Green Bay 3 @ Providence 1 vs Dallas

ABL HAPPENINGS:
6/16:
Jonathan Ray (MEX) punched out 13 in a 2-0 2-hitter to move above .500 at 6-5 4.00
6/18:
In the all-star voting as of today Brian Lundy is leading all Patriot League players at 1.49 million votes. Former Rustler Aaron Chisholm is leading PL 1B. On the mound Philadelphia has Collins (2) Ullrich (3) and Cameron Mears at 5 in the voting as well as SS Melvin Alvarez leading all SS and Abdul-Muta'al Rhodes is 2nd to Lundy in RF with 1.29m votes.
In the Colonial it's Dallas Texan Daniel Contreras with 1.58 million leading LF. Nick Archer is at 1.378 to lead 1B, Sam Reyes 1.15 is 2nd at 2B to Ricky Gutierrez of Buffalo. Joe Tighe is 3rd at SS with 1.13 million while recently injured Andy Adrian at 1.1 trails San Antonio CF Jorge Hernandez. Matt Behrens comes in at #3 for SP and not a single reliever from this monster pen is on the ballot. Lexington has Davis, Shrader, and Masuda as starters, Charles Smith leading relievers followed by teammate John Guerin.

AGING LIKE FINE WINE, MURPHY BELTS 3
The ABL's best power hitter just improves with age. Mike Murphy, the only player to surpass 800 HR's (as well as 600 and 700!) went 4-6 and slammed 3 HR's in a 15-7 win over San Jose.
The 39 year old is hitting .273-16-39 with a .370 OBP. The 3-time MVP and 3x World Champion is now sitting at 862 career HR's. Mike becomes a free agent at season's end and many speculated that after 2013, the 'worst' in his storied 17-year career, which saw him hit a career-low .225 and a career-low 27 HR that he was nearing the end. His 35 HR pace this year seems to have settled folks down.
Over the 17 years, he has hit 36 or more HR's every year but last. He has hit 41+ HR 15 years, 50+ 9 times, and 60+ 3 times.
His 862 are clearly leading all active players (by 396 actually, over Phil Rautenstrauch). He has a 273 HR lead over HOF'er Micah Tufts. The 396 he leads all active players with is a total that would actually make him 28th all-time in itself. Think Wayne Gretzky.
This is the 5th time in his career he has hit 3 HR in one game. He has also scored 1500 runs and driven in 1500. He has 9 HR titles to his name as well.
He has hit 17 career Grand Slams and has 15 walk-off HR's as well.

6/20:
Kenny Fairweather (MON) struck out 5 in shutting down Lexington 7-0 to win his 10th game of the year. (10-3 3.97)
Chris Nosal (DET) fanned 6 and allowed 6 hits in the Chargers 3-0 win over Green Bay. Nosal is 9-4 3.96
Mexico's Yodo Takahashi went 5-5 in the Black Bandits 14-4 win over Ft Worth. He hit 2 1B a 2B and 2 HR driving in 5.
6/23:
After reports surfaced the 2013 PL Saves Leader Roy Fearon was extremely unhappy in San Jose due to being moved from the closer's role, the Hawks made a trade with Montreal and sent the 31-year-old north. Montreal sent OF Ken Hanrahan P Vince Chiesa and OF Seong-ho Kim to the Hawks in exchange for the right-hander who saved 43 games and won the Rolaids relief award last year.

RUSTLER NEWS:
617:
2nd rounder (41st overall) Dave Bone agreed to terms and will report to Ft Wayne
CF Andy Adrian was hurt during a routine workout. On his morning run he 'felt a pull” in his leg and will be seen by team docs this afternoon. He's likely to miss a couple days.
6/18:
Well that escalated quickly. Adrian has a grade 3 strain of his left hamstring and will head to the 15 days DL. The hope is that will be the maximum time, but Dr. Cowell has informed us it could be longer depending on how he responds. A 'minor' deal a few weeks ago with Buffalo now becomes major. OF/2B Shigeru Otake will be recalled from AAA and take over vs RHP. Jesse Kuchar will platoon with him in the center. Otake was signed (for 1.9m) out of Japan by the Bison in 2007. He was promoted to Warren when acquired and in 45 AB's hit .400/.455/.575 with 5 2B 1 3B and 6 RBI and was 3-3 in SB. He has Olympic speed and can handle the bat, being a fantastic bunter for a Sac and/or a base hit. He's not done improving, hits from the left side, and could end up being a huge steal if he pans out.

Two former Rustler's top the charts this week

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Joel Moss LF (SJ) 13-18 HR 8 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Chris Johnston 1B (MEM) 12-19 6 RBI


WEEK 13

• RECORD: 4-3
• STANDINGS: 52-30 +8
• RUNS SCORED: 427 (3rd)
• RUNS AGAINST: 340 (3rd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .695 (4th)
• ZONE RATING: +23.2 (1st)
• ERRORS: 36 (4th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 93
• POWER RANKINGS: 2nd

THIS WEEK: 2-1 vs Green Bay 1-2 @ Providence 1-0 vs Dallas

6/23: GB 8 AUS 7 Behrens 6.1 IP 11 H 11 K 6 ER (L) 7-4 3.20 I manage G1 of each series and I KNEW I left him in too long. Led 5-2 going into the 7th Reardon 3-4 2 R Reyes 2-3 2 2B (15) R 3 RBI (37) hurt running the bases (see news)
6/24: AUS 5 GB 3 Anderson 2-3 3B (6) HR (17) 3 RBI (65) Lach 8 IP 7 H 6 K 2 ER (W) 7-6 4.04 Haske 1 IP 2 K SV (16)
6/25: AUS 5 GB 3 Whittaker (W) 8 IP 10 K 1 ER (8-4 4.20) Haske SV (17) Anderson 3-4 2 2B (14) RBI (66) Nolasco 2-4 HR (10) 2 RBI (24)
6/26: AUS 5 PRO 4 McLaughlin 2-2 3 BB 2B (12) R RBI (15) Anderson HR (18) Forney ND 7 IP 8 K 4 ER
6/27: PRO 6 AUS 2 Steele (L) 6 IP 6 H 3 K 5 BB 3 ER (6-4 4.26)
6/28: PRO 5 AUS 3 Twice in one week. Behrens leads 2-0 into the 6th. 6.1 IP 9 H 7 K 5 ER (7-5 3.40) Chris Whitten (PRO) 2-4 2 HR (24) 4 RBI (60)
6/29: AUS 9 DAL 3 Lach (W) 7 IP 10 K 3 ER Anderson 2-4 2B (15) HR (19) 2 RBI (70) Archer HR (13) 2 RBI (57) Harrison HR (5)

NEXT WEEK: 3 vs Dallas (44-38) OFF DAY 3 @ Buffalo (35-46)

ABL HAPPENINGS:
6/23:
Juan Esquerra (PRO) struck out 12, walked 1 in a 1-hitter as the Black Sox beat Buffalo 7-0.
Bill Elliott (CHI) jumped over the .500 mark (8-7 3.78) on a 4-hitter as the Hitmen downed Detroit 1-0.
Tony Delgado (LA) struck out 10 and allowed just 3 hits in the Storm's 4-0 win over Montreal. He evened his record at 6-6 4.49
27 year old Dakota Eddleman (BRK) fanned 10 in a CG 5 hit shutout of Las Vegas to move to 7-7 3.43



RUSTLER NEWS:
6/23:
He cannot stay healthy. Reyes strained an Oblique and it's looking like 4-5 weeks at best. Skyler Joshua will be recalled and we'll move the utility trio around to accommodate. Reyes is having a fantastic season hitting .320/.410/.610 15 2B 2 3B 13 HR 13-17 SB and scored 41 times. The problem is he's on pace to play just 103 games. Played in 105 last year and 121 is his career-high.
6/25:
2nd rounder (42nd overall) Tim Premo went the distance in his first professional start in a 2-0 win over the Henderson Bengals (LV)

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Matt Giles 1B (CHI) 11-21 2 HR 5 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Chris Whitten RF (PRO) 9-20 4 HR 9 RBI

WEEK 14

• RECORD: 4-2
• STANDINGS: 56-32 +11
• RUNS SCORED: 449 (4th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 361 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .697 (3rd)
• ZONE RATING: +26.3 (1st)
• ERRORS: 37 (3rd)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 91
• POWER RANKINGS: 2nd

THIS WEEK: 2-1 vs Dallas (44-38) OFF DAY 2-1 @ Buffalo (35-46)

6/30: DAL 7 AUS 3 Whittaker (L) 7 IP 6 H 4 ER 8 K 3 HR 1-2 HR (1) Archer HR (14)
7/1: AUS 6 DAL 5 Forney (W) 8 IP 2 ER 8 K (5-6 3.78) Haske SV (18) 1 HR 7 HR's in last 14 app. Tighe 3-5 2B (22) R 2 RBI (37) Anderson HR (20)
7/2: AUS 4 DAL 2 Steele (W) 8 IP 3 H 7 K 2 ER (7-4 4.12) 1-1 R RBI (3) Kucher 3-4 RBI (13) .333
7/3: OFF DAY
7/4: BUF 5 AUS 4 Behrens ND 7 IP 2 ER 10 K 0 BB Haske W/HR/HR BS (3) Laskey (L) 7-1
7/5: AUS 1 BUF 0 Lach CG SHO 3 H 8 K 5 BB (9-6 3.75) 0-0 into the 9th, Comerford GW HR Former Rustler P prospect Pat Madison CG (L) 6 H 9 K (5-10 4.26)
7/6: AUS 4 BUF 2 Whittaker (W) 8 IP 6 H 2 ER 4 K 4 BB 1-3 (9-5 4.13) Nolasco 4-4 2 HR (12) 3 R 3 RBI (29)

NEXT WEEK: 3 @ San Antonio (43-43) ALL-STAR BREAK

ABL HAPPENINGS:
7/1:
International FA signing period starts. 1.92 M budgets restrain most teams aggression. I have 3 potential targets, a SP, 3B and a CF.
7/5:
Aguinaldo Gasto (GB) whiffed 8 in a 1-0 win over Houston.

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Joel Moss 9LF (SJ) 11-24 4 HR 8 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Felipe Acosta SS (BUF) 13-26 3 HR 6 RBI 4 R


RUSTLER PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Sam Reyes .313/.396/.675 6 2B 3B 7 HR 19 RBI 4 SB
RUSTLER PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Ranan Laskey 3-0 1 SV 3.18 11 IP 6 H 16 K
RUSTLER MiL PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Brock Stoll (A) .306/.390/.681 4 2B 7 HR 13 RBI 9 BB 8 K 1 SB
RUSTLER MiL PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Jose Hernandez (AAA) 4-0 3.11 37.2 IP 27 H 25 K .206 OBA

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Abdul-Muta'al Rhodes RF (PHI) .439-9-25 24 R
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Daniel Contreras LF (DAL) .412-8-26 22 R
PATRIOT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Josh Viens (NYP) 5-1 2.16 67 K 50 IP
COLONIAL LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: David Guillion (MEM) 4-1 1.97 40 K .161 OBA 45.2 IP
PATRIOT LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Akitada Kawaguchi 3B (BRK) .369-3-22
COLONIAL LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Richard Macmaster 2B (OH) .341-5

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 2-1
• STANDINGS: 58-33 +11
• RUNS SCORED: 462 (4th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 371 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .698 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +28.3 (1st)
• ERRORS: 37 (t-2nd)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 91
• POWER RANKINGS: 2nd

THIS WEEK: 2-1 @ San Antonio (43-43) ALL-STAR BREAK

7/7: SAN 2 AUS 1 Forney ND 7 IP 7 H 4 K 1 ER Adrian 3-4 RBI (33)
7/8: AUS 9 SAN 8 5 run 7th Archer HR (15) 3 RBI (63) Steele ND 5 ER 6.2 IP Lytle BS (3) 3 ER 1 IP Laskey (W) 8-1 Haske SV (21)
7/9: AUS 3 SAN 0 0-0 into the 9th. Archer leadoff 3B, Anderson 2B, Adrian 1B, Harrison 2B. Behrens CG SHO (league-leading 5th) 3 H 5 K 1-3 (8-5 3.14) and named to the All-Star team

ALL-STAR BREAK

NEXT WEEK: 3 @ Green Bay (36-55) OFF DAY 3 vs Lexington (58-31)

ABL HAPPENINGS:
7/9:
21-year-old San Antonio OF prospect Koju Sato took home the futures game MVP
Juan Esquerra (PRO) tossed a 4-hitter in beating the Empire 2-0.
Ryan Logan (BUF) threw a 3-hitter in New England, beating the Minutemen 5-0.

ABL All-Star game selections:

• SP Matt Behrens 7-5 3.36
• 1B Nick Archer .335/.399/.552 15 HR (starter)
• SS Joe Tighe .314/.409/.463 HR 29 SB

2014 ALL-STAR GAME
Former Rustler Joel Moss (SJ) won the HR Derby 17-16 in the final round over Khalil Harris (BAL)
The Patriot League won 11-0 and San Jose OF Brian Lundy went 3-3 2B HR 3 RBI to win MVP honors. The Coastal league had just 4 hits with Nick Archer 1-1 and Joe Tighe 1-2 having half.

RUSTLER NEWS:
7/9:
ABL Prospects game selections:
Alex Arregui (AAA) RP, Nate Scott (AA) RP, Jeremiah Bidet (SA) C, Ben Gallo (R ) SS, Tommy Dziedzic (AA) OF
7/11:
Minor league FA David Gosson tossed a no-hitter for AA Modesto. The 26 year old is 6-10 5.48

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 3-3
• STANDINGS: 61-36 +12
• RUNS SCORED: 484 (4th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 392 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .700 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +31.6 (1st)
• ERRORS: 40 (2nd)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 90
• POWER RANKINGS: 3rd

THIS WEEK: 3 @ Green Bay (36-55) OFF DAY 3 vs Lexington (58-31)

7/14: AUS 8 GB 3 Lach (W) 7 IP 5 H 8 K 0 ER (10-6 3.56) 1-4 2B (2) RBI (2) Anderson 2-4 2B (18) 3 R Comerford 3-5 2B (13) R 2 RBI (29)
7/15: GB 4 AUS 0 Whittaker CG (L) 8 IP 6 K 4 ER (9-6 4.15) 1-3 Beckers (GB) CG SHO 6 H 6 K (5-8 2.95)
7/16: AUS 5 GB 0 Forney CG SHO 14 K 4 H (6-6 3.41) Bermudez 2 2B (8) 2 RBI (18)
7/17: OFF DAY
7/18: LEX 5 AUS 3 Steele ND 7 IP 6 H 3 ER 4 K Griggs (LEX) 8 IP 3 ER 7 K (W 8-6 3.49) Smith (LEX) SV 26 Beckworth 2R HR in the 9th (16)
7/19:AUS 3 LEX 2 (10) Behrens ND 8 IP 10 K 4 H 1 ER Haske BS (4) 2 IP HR 2 K (8th HR 41 IP, 8 HR all of last year) Offense = 6 singles Smith (LEX) walks in winning run .2 IP H 3 BB
7/20: LEX 7 AUS 3 Lach (L) 7 IP 8 H 5 ER (10-7 3.70) Masuda (LEX) (W) 8.1 IP 10 K 3 ER Smith (LEX) SV (27)

NEXT WEEK: 3 vs New York Empire (44-53) 3 @ Brooklyn (56-40) OFF DAY

ABL HAPPENINGS:
7/14:
David Miranda (MEX) struck out 8, walked 2 in a CG SHO 4-hitter to beat Las Vegas 5-0
Tony Delgado (LA) fanned 11 in a CG 3-hitter to beat San Jose 5-0
7/16:
Victor Abrica (SD) allowed just 3 hits as the Missions beat San Francisco 3-0
7/19:
Jeff Alexander (PHX) won his 10+ game for a 6th straight year as he struck out 7 in a 3-hit 6-0 win over Detroit. He's 10-7 4.14
7/20:
Josh Viens (NYP) fanned 14 in a dominant 2-hitter to beat Los Angeles 5-0. The 14 k's moves his season total to 200 in just 150.1 IP. He's 11-5 2.75
7/21:
Montreal, in the thick of things in the PL (51-45 3 back of Denver in the Harbor Division and in a 3-way tie with Pittsburgh and San Francisco for 2nd in the WC) sent 3 pitching prospects to Denver who are 21.5 back in the Southwest Division, for Denver Ace Allen Gies. Gies and his 9m dollar contract will hit free agency at year's end and he's endured a nightmarish season at 4-12 5.55. He does have 125 punchouts in 136.1 IP and is coming off a 2013 season that saw him go 14-15 3.30 with 233 K's in 239.2 IP with a 1.16 WHIP. He was 11-16 4.41 in 2012 with 229 K's in 236.2 IP and a 1.19 WHIP. He surrendered 38 HR's in 2012 but just 18 last year before giving up 25 in 136.1 IP this year so far. Montreal was backed into a corner last week after losing their 3rd SP (Brendan Taylor 3-4 3.29) since the season began. Chris Peterson (5-7 4.86) is due back in 2 weeks while Justin Ness (4-4 3.38) will likely be out the remainder of the year as his torn meniscus has not healed as expected.


RUSTLER NEWS:
7/16:
Nick Archer had to come out of the game with some knee issues. Dr's say he has tendinitis again, the same knee. It's the 5th time in the past 3 years. Given the date, and the standings, rather than dance around it and work him in when he feels ok, he'll go to the 15 days DL, and Brennan Jungles will be recalled. Brennan was a 2nd round pick (64th overall) in 2009 and has hit .296/.345/.394 the past 2 seasons in AAA Warren with 18 2B 19 3B and 6 HR. No power to speak of but he can fly (78-100 SB the past 3 seasons) and he's an outstanding defender at 1B. He's already on the 40-man so no need to take another spot.
7/17:
The #1 pick in this year's draft, Paul Reed (GB) threw a 1-hitter to beat AA Modesto 3-0. He's 3-1 1.64


PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Bill Tribett 1B (LA) 9-20 4 HR 8 RBI 5 R
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Dustin Fahey LF (FW) 9-19 5 HR 11 RBI

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 5-1
• STANDINGS: 66-37 (+11)
• RUNS SCORED: 513 (4th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 412 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .699 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +32.1 (2nd)
• ERRORS: 47 (5th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 89
• POWER RANKINGS: 1st

THIS WEEK: 3 vs New York Empire 3 @ Brooklyn OFF DAY

7/21: NYE 5 AUS 2 Laskey (L) 1.2 IP 4 H 3 ER (8-2) Whittaker ND 7 IP 3 H 11 K 2 ER 1-2
7/22: AUS 4 NYE 3 Forney (W) 7.1 IP 6 H 3 ER 11 K 0 BB 1-3 RBI (6) Adrian 3-4 2B (14) SB (20) R RBI (37) hitting .314-11-37
7/23: AUS 5 NYE 2 Steele (W) 8.1 IP 4 H 7 K 4 BB 2 ER 2-4 R RBI (4) Anderson 3-4 2B (20) SB (15) Jungles 3-4 2B (2) 2 SB (3)
7/24: AUS 8 BRK 4 Behrens ND 5 IP 6 H 4 ER Lytle SV (1) 2 IP 5 K Tighe 1-3 2 SB (31) 3 R 2 BB Anderson 3B (8) HR (21) 5 RBI (79) 2 R in the 7th, 8th and 9th. Comerford 3-4 2B (15) Adrian 3-4 R RBI 3 SB (23)
7/25: AUS 3 BRK 0 Lach (W) 8.2 IP 14 K 6 H (11-7 3.49) Haske SV (24)
7/26: AUS 7 BRK 6 Whittaker 7.1 IP 8 H 2 ER 6 K (W 10-6 3.99) 1-3 Bermudez 3-4 2B (9) 2 RBI (21) Reardon 2-4 HR (1) 2 3 RBI (13)
7/27: OFF DAY

NEXT WEEK: 3 @ Ft Worth (45-57) 3 @ Houston (49-54) OFF DAY

ABL HAPPENINGS:
7/22:
Xie-Li Au-Yong (LEX) went the distance allowing 5 hits, striking out 8 in a 7-0 win over Houston. He's 9-4 3.07
7/24:
Tim Collins (PHI) fanned 13 in a 3-hit 2-0 win over Ft Worth. The 27-year-old is close to being the best FA acquisition of the winter. He's 10-3 2.45
7/25:
Dave Skelly (BUF) went 5-5 with a walk, driving in 3 in a 10-4 win over Los Angeles.
7/27:
Bob Beckers (GB) threw his 2nd CG SHO of the year, striking out 5 and walking no one in a 2-0 win over their expansion partners in Las Vegas.


RUSTLER NEWS:
9/22:
Sam Reyes is unable to come off the DL for reasons relating to the injury. The problem is there is no timetable for him to return. His persistent presence on the DL would be a HUGE problem were it not for both Skyler Joshua, Brian McLaughlin, and Joe Tighe's versatility. The problem is it requires 3 players to comfortably man 2 positions.

BACKROOM CHATTER
In the past 3 weeks, I have been seriously exploring the trade market. Probably more so than a club with the game's best record should be. Looking at shedding payroll, staying young, and getting equal or better talent where possible. Two names I've literally been a hair from pulling the trigger on are Jake Lane in Dallas and Andy Hudson in Philadelphia. Both mid-'20s mid to top of the rotation arms are ready for a spot right now. That appears to be over, on both ends as they were dealt for each other today in a 4 player swap between the two clubs. Both guys enter the other team's rotation.
I've almost decided I won't do anything at the deadline. We have our team, we've managed to reach the pinnacle as far as talent and the league right now and this is the team I'm fine going into the playoffs with. Should something major present itself I will certainly listen but I will bite the bullet, eat the money against ownership's wishes and go all in to win it all this year. If that happens who knows how it shakes out. If it doesn't I “sell it all” this winter and go young and cheap. I have the talent across the board to do so.

9/31:
RUSTLERS, MISSIONS TRADE STAR PROSPECTS
The San Diego Missions sent 3B prospect Jose Garcia to the Austin Rustlers for CF prospect Pacio Bertrand. Both players are results of the ABL's international free agency process with Bertrand being signed at 16 out of Brazil. He is the league's 35th ranked prospect. Garcia, the league's 9th ranked prospect was signed out of Venezuela as a 17-year-old.
Bertrand is a consummate 5 tool Center Fielder, Garcia is a gold glove caliber defender with 50+ HR power.

BACKROOM CHATTER
CF is a spot I have depth and extreme talent. I expect Adrian to win gold gloves, plural, and be an offensive force with Kuchar a fantastic potential platoon, backup.
Luis Orozco is a good player but the 2011/12 seasons (.293/.344/.495 27 HR 2011 .302/.350/.468 19 HR 2012) appear to be outliers.
In his last 200 games over 2013 and 14 he's hitting .230/.298./385 25 HR 203 K 55 BB 37 2B. He is playing very good defense, His contract has 4 years and 29 million after this year and I have been told we are not allowed to be over budget. So money has to go out. San Diego is in the midst of a horrendous year at 39-67 and has made the postseason just twice since coming into the league in 2001.
Bertrand will be a stud but we think Garcia is a perfect fit on and off the field for where we are going.

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Brian Gracie LF (DEN) 13-22 5 HR 11 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Romeo Pirelli (LF) (NE) 13-24 2 HR 8 RBI

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 5-1
• STANDINGS: 71-38 +13.5
• RUNS SCORED: 546 (4th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 426 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .700 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +34 (1st)
• ERRORS: 49 (t-4th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 89
• POWER RANKINGS: 1st

THIS WEEK: 3-0 @ Ft Worth 2-1 @ Houston OFF DAY

7/28: AUS 4 FW 0 Forney (W) 7.2 IP 15 K 5 H 1-2 (8-6 3.25) Haske SV (26) Adrian 3-4 2 2B (16) R 2 RBI (41)
7/29: AUS 3 FW 1 Steele (W) 8 IP 12 K 3 H 1 ER (9-4 3.94) Haske SV (27) Anderson 2-4 2B (21) HR (22) 2 R RBI (81)
7/30: AUS 9 FW 2 Behrens CG (W) 7 H 9 K 2 ER (9-5 3.10) Anderson 2-5 Grand Slam 2 HR (24) 6 RBI (87)
7/31: AUS 6 HOU 2 Lach CG (W) 2 H 10 K 2 ER (12-7 3.40) 1-4 Jungles 3-4 RBI (5) hitting .413 Comerford 3 RBI (32)
8/1: HOU 4 AUS 3 Whittaker CG (3 straight) 8 IP 10 H 3 ER 5 K (10-7 3.96)
8/2: AUS 8 HOU 5 Forney (W) 7 IP 12 K 5 ER (9-6 3.39) Adrian 3-5 HR (12) SB (25) 2 R 2 RBI (45)
8/3: OFF DAY

NEXT WEEK: 3 vs Ft Worth (47-62) 3 vs Houston (50-59) OFF DAY

ABL HAPPENINGS:
7/29:
23-year-old Michael Hall (BRK) won his 12th in a 3-0 triumph over Pittsburgh. He's 13-5 2.65
Michael Cawthon (MEM) scattered 6 hits en route to a 3-0 win over Green Bay to move to 9-10 3.40
7/30:
Michael Del Bianco (DET) interrupted his career-worst year (7-14 6.06) by fanning 16 Chicago hitters in a 6-2 win.
8/1:
Justin Wilson (PHI) punched out 9, walked 3, and allowed just 6 hits in a 6-0 win over Brooklyn.


RUSTLER NEWS:
8/4:
Star OF prospect Tommy Dziedzic (AA) has rebounded from a horrid start and is now hitting .240-23-57 at Modesto. He went 10-25 4 HR and 7 RBI to win PotW honors.

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Gerek Szmiczek 1B (PIT) 12-22 3 HR 5 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Andrew Lopez C (LEX) 7-12 4 HR 9 RBI


RUSTLER PLAYER OF THE MONTH: TIE Jeff Anderson .379/.448/.828 7 2B 2 3B 5 HR 17 RBI 17 R 3 SB
RUSTLER PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Andy Adrian .457/.471/.609 7 2B 11 RBI 10 R 5-6 SB
RUSTLER PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Steve Forney (AUS) 4-0 1.38 52 K 39 IP
RUSTLER MiL PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Tommy Dziedzic (AA) .282/.333/.627 11 HR 28 RBI Those numbers with a .200 BABIP
RUSTLER MiL PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Bill Meza (AA) 3-2 2.30 43 IP 24 H 31 K

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Brian Gracie LF (DEN) .400-10-25 22 R
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Shane Johnson RF (CHA) .387-11-24 34 R
PATRIOT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Jon Jones (BAL) 5-0 2.79 39 K 42 IP
COLONIAL LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Steve Forney (AUS) 4-0 1.38 52 K 39 IP
PATRIOT LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Michael Hall SP (BRK) 3-0 1.80 34 K 40 IP .184 OBA
COLONIAL LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Bob Beckers SP (GB) 2-1 0.54 26 K 33.1 IP

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 5-1
• STANDINGS: 76-39 +15 ½
• RUNS SCORED: 578 (4th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 448 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .699 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +36.8 (1st)
• ERRORS: 51 (4th )
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 89
• POWER RANKINGS: 3rd

THIS WEEK: NEXT WEEK: 3-0 vs Ft Worth (47-62) 2-1 vs Houston (50-59) OFF DAY

8/4: AUS 4 FW 3 (10)
8/5: AUS 6 FW 5 (11)
8/6: AUS 9 FW 8
8/7: AUS 4 HOU 1
8/8: AUS 9 HOU 2
8/9: HOU 3 AUS 0
8/10: OFF DAY


NEXT WEEK: 3 vs Dallas (58-58) 3 vs Baltimore (64-50) OFF DAY

ABL HAPPENINGS:
8/8:
J.R. Jones (SJ) tossed a 4-hitter to down Las Vegas 7-0
8/9:
Omar Torres (DEN) went 5-5 driving in 4 in a 9-6 win over San Francisco
8/10:
Tim Keen (LA) struck out 8 and walked 3 in a 3-0 win over Mexico to move to 12-7 3.17



RUSTLER NEWS:
8/6:
Dave Miller (AAA) fanned 5 in a 4-0 win over McKinney. He's 10-11 4.35 this year after going 6-6 3.87 in Austin last season after being acquired from Houston. He's one of the potential rotation replacements this winter if and when we begin to move payroll.

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Omar Torres CF (DEN) 12-20 2 HR 8 RBI 5 R
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Richard McMaster 2B (OH) 12-23 3 HR 6 RBI 6 R

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 3-3
• STANDINGS: 79-42 +14 ½
• RUNS SCORED: 613 (4th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 474 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .695 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +37.4 (1st)
• ERRORS: 56 (4th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 89
• POWER RANKINGS: 3rd

THIS WEEK: 1-2 vs Dallas (58-58) 2-1 vs Baltimore (64-50) OFF DAY

8/11: DAL 5 AUS 1 (12) Behrens ND 8 IP 6 H 9 K 1 ER Peric (DAL) 8 IP 4 H 3 K ND Lipsky 4 ER .2 IP 9 Singles Anderson 3-5 WSB (18)
8/12: DAL 8 AUS 6 Lach ND 5 ER 5.1 IP 10 H Antonelli L (3-3 4.42) 1.2 IP 4 H BB 3 ER Nolasco 2-4 HR (15) 3 RBI (39)
8/13: AUS 5 DAL 4 Jungles 2-4 2R walk off 1B Anderson 2 HR (28) 3 RBI (97) Whittaker CG 7 H 3 ER 9 K (12-7 3.79)
8/14: AUS 14 BAL 2 Forney (W) 7 IP 7 K 2 ER 2-4 RBI (7) Tighe 3-6 R Adrian 3-5 2B (20) 3B (6) HR (13) 3 R 2 RBI (50) Reyes 2-3 2 BB 3 R 2 RBI (40) Anderson 2-4 2B (26) HR (29) 3 R 2 BB 2 RBI (99) Nolasco 2-3 2B (15) Grand Slam (16) 6 RBI (45)
8/15: AUS 6 BAL 3 Steele (W) 8 IP 9 H 7 K 3 BB 3 ER 1-3 RBI (5) (10-5 3.80) Haske SV (30) Tighe 2-4 2 RBI (47) SB (40)
8/16: BAL 4 AUS 3 (10) Behrens ND 9 IP 12 K 3 ER Haske (L) 1 IP 1 BB 1 H 1 ER (5-2 2.53) Nolasco 3-5 SB (7) Archer HR (16) 2 RBI (66) 2 errors
8/17: OFF DAY

NEXT WEEK: 3 @ New England (56-64) 3 vs Houston (54-67) OFF DAY

ABL HAPPENINGS:
8/11:
Tomohiro Masuda (LEX) tossed a 2-hitter striking out 16 and walking 1 to beat Green Bay 1-0. The win made him 11-9 3.33 with 241 K's in just 162.1 IP.
8/12:
Jake Byers fanned 15 in a 1-hitter, walking 2, in a 9-0 win over the New York Punishers. He's 8-10 3.63
8/14:
Brad Ullrich (PHI) won his 11th by blanking Pittsburgh 5-0 on a 6-hitter. He's 11-5 2.66
8/16:
Jeremy Buttitta (MEM) whiffed 10 and walked just 2 in a CG SHO of Brooklyn for a 2-0 win.
Terukatsu Yoshino (BUF) went 3-3 with 3 HR's and drove in 5 in the Bisons 9-5 win over Denver.
8/17:
Aguinaldo Gasto (GB) went the distance scattering 7 hits in the Blizzard's 4-0 win over San Francisco.


RUSTLER NEWS:
8/15:
Joe Tighe's RBI single in the 2nd extended his hitting streak to 20 games.

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Matt Foley 1B (MON) 12-26 2 HR 6 RBI 3 R
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Romeo Pirelli LF (NE) 12-19 4 HR 7 RBI

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 6-1
• STANDINGS: 85-43 +16.5
• RUNS SCORED: 653 (3rd)
• RUNS AGAINST: 494 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .694 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +37.3 (1st)
• ERRORS: 59 (t-3rd)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 89
• POWER RANKINGS: 1st

THIS WEEK: 2-1 @ New England (56-64) 3-0 vs Houston (54-67) 1-0 vs San Antonio

8/18: AUS 5 NE 3 Lach ND 7 IP 9 K 2 ER Haske SV (31)
8/19: AUS 8 NE 2 Whittaker (W) 8.2 IP 9 K 9 H 2 ER Orozco HR (10) 3 RBI (52)
8/20: NE 3 AUS 2 (10) Forney ND 7.1 IP 8 H 2 ER 12 K Haske (L) .2 IP 0 ER 2 K (5-3)
8/21: AUS 3 HOU 2 (11) Steele ND 7 IP 2 ER 8 K Reyes 3-4 R SB (15) Reardon 2-4 3B (3) 2 RBI (17) hitting .322
8/22: AUS 6 HOU 5 Reyes 3-5 2R walk off 2B (17) SB (16) 3 RBI (44) HR (14)
8/23: AUS 13 HOU 3 Lach (W) 8.2 IP 8 H 9 K 1 ER (13-7 3.77) 1-4 R RBI (3) Adrian 5-5 2 2B (22) 2 R 4 RBI (54) 2 SB (35) Tighe 3-4 3 R RBI (52) 2 SB (43) Harrison 3-5 HR (7) 3 R 2 RBI (36)
8/24: AUS 3 SAN 2 Whittaker ND 11 K 5 BB 6.1 IP 2 ER 1-2 Adrian 2-4 HR (14) 2 R RBI (55)

NEXT WEEK: 3 vs San Antonio 3 vs Memphis OFF DAY

ABL HAPPENINGS:
8/18:
Andy Zerbe (CHA) lost a no-hitter with 2 outs in the 9th but hung on for a CG SHO in a 3-0 win over Houston. Zerbe punched out 15 and walked 1 to move to 14-11 4.00
8/20:
Adrian Van Baarle (BRK) went 4-6, hitting for the cycle and driving in 6 in a 14-4 win over Baltimore. He hit a 2R 2B, 2R 3B, and a 2 R HR (2) and is hitting .341-2-51 on the season.
8/22:
Joe Farmer (SJ) fanned 9, walked 1, and allowed just 3 hits in a 1-0 win over San Diego to up his record to 10-7 3.73
8/24:
Brad Ullrich (PHI) tossed his 2nd CG SHO in his past 3 starts scattering 8 hits, striking out 6, and walking 1 in a 4-0 win over Pittsburgh to win his 12th (12-5 2.82)
Victor Abrica (SD) struck out 10 tossing a CG SHO to beat LA 6-0.



RUSTLER NEWS:
8/20:
Minor league FA signing Orlando Nunez (3B) went 3-5 in a 7-6 loss but all three hits were solo HRs.
8/22:
Joe Tighes 6th inning HR, just his 2nd this year, extended his hitting streak to a team-high 25 games.
8/25:
Star prospect Tommy Dziedzic (AA) took home another POTW honor after going 10-22 2 HR 3 RBI. He's now hitting .243-26-68 and has hit a combined 37 HR between Salt Lake City and Modesto this year. He was hitting .191 with a .250 OBP on June 1st.

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Heriberto Perez RF (PHX) 13-32 5 HR 10 RBI 11 R (former Rustler)
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Adrian Kessler CF (GB) 12-28 3 HR 11 RBI 7 R

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 5-1
• STANDINGS: 90-44 +20.5
• RUNS SCORED: 695 (3rd)
• RUNS AGAINST: 528 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .694 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +39.6 (1st)
• ERRORS: 66 (5th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 89
• POWER RANKINGS: 1st

THIS WEEK: 2-1 vs San Antonio 3-0 vs Memphis OFF DAY

8/25: SAN 14 AUS 12 Up 9-1 entering the 7th Broncos score 13! in the 7th Lipsky allows bases-loaded IR to all score then 3 ER .1 IP Lytle 6 H 6 ER 0 IP Nolasco 6-6 2 2B (17) 2 HR (18) 4 R 4 RBI (49)
8/26: AUS 12 SAN 7 Orozco 2-3 HR (11) 4 RBI (56) Adrian 2B (23) HR (15) 3 RBI (58) Steele (W) 5 IP 5 H 5 K 5 ER 3 HR (11-5 3.90)
8/27: AUS 3 SAN1 Behrens (W) 8 IP 7 K 1 ER 0 BB (10-5 3.19) Larkin 3-4 2B (7) HR (1) 2 RBI (14) Haske SV (33)
8/28: AUS 5 MEM 4 Lach ND 7 IP 3 ER 8 K Adrian HR (16) 4 RBI (62) Comerford walk-off 1BGullion (MEM) (L) 8 IP 10 K 5 ER (15-9 3.26)

8/29: AUS 5 MEM 4 (26) yes, 26 innings. Whittaker ND 8 IP 8 H 9 K 3 ER Bullpen = 18 IP 4 H 2 BB 1 ER 32 K's Haske, Lytle, Antonelli = 13 IP 3 H 25 K's Lipsky (W) 4 IP 1 H 5 K (3-1 3.43) Reardon 4-7 2B (6) Orozco 3-10 HR (12) Adrian 3-9 2 R 3B (7)
Both teams scored a run in the 23rd Orozco 1B wins it in the 26th longest game in ABL history.
Records set:
Hae-chan Choi C (MEM) 1-10 8 K's
Jeff Anderson (AUS) 11 At bats

8/30: AUS 5 MEM 4 Forney (W) 7.1 IP 5 K 4 ER 4 solo HR's (12-6 3.47) Hobart SV (2) Anderson 3-4 3B (9) R Orozco 2-3 2B (25) 2 RBI (60) HBP error
8/31: OFF DAY


NEXT WEEK: 3 @ Ohio OFF DAY 3 @ Detroit

ABL HAPPENINGS:
8/27:
John Del Bianco (DET) fanned 9 in a 4 hit 1-0 win over Montreal. He's 9-15 5.22 and will likely not reach 16+ wins for the first time in 6 seasons.
8/28:
Mike Boston (MON) fanned a season-high 12 in a 4-0 1-hitter to beat Las Vegas.
8/30:
Jason Walker (N E) allowed just 4 singles en route to a 7-0 CG SHO of Houston.


RUSTLER NEWS:
8/25:
Dave Nolasco ties a Coastal League record going 6-6 in a 9 inning game. His day went 2R HR, 1B, RBI 1B, Solo HR, 2B, and 2B. He's having a monster season at .344-18-50 in just 282 ABs. In 2013 he was fantastic as well hitting .301-20-80 but in 522 AB's He's been platooning a lot with Travis Harrison in RF but getting more at-bats lately due to him being hot as hell for almost 2 months.
8/30:
2nd rounder (42nd overall) Tim Premo ended his inaugural pro season in style as he went the distance on a 2-hitter to end the year at 5-4 2.44 in 12 starts. Over 85 IP he allowed 65 H 55 K 35 BB and just 3 HR.

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Isaiah Harris RF (DET) 11-25 4 HR 7 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Romeo Pirelli LF (NE) 11-21 3 HR 6 RBI

RUSTLER PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Dave Nolasco .532/.589/.936 25-47 4 2B 5 HR 16 RBI 12 R
RUSTLER PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Chris Haske 6-6 SV 14.1 IP 6 H 27 K 3 BB
RUSTLER MiL PLAYER OF THE MONTH: David Bone (R ) .298-9-28 19 R also won league POTM
RUSTLER MiL PITCHER OF THE MONTH: David Miller (AAA) 2-2 1.91 47 IP 41 H 35 K

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Omar Torres CF (DEN) .434-4-22 21 R
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Romeo Pirelli LF (NE) .429-8-21 19 R
PATRIOT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Jason Keeton (DET) 5-0 1.63 46 K 38.2 IP
COLONIAL LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Jalen Jones (NYE) 5-1 9 SV 1.93 ERA 23.1 IP 26 K 5 BB
PATRIOT LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Dale Gill 3B (NYP) .418 8 2B 1 3B 1 HR 11 RBI 16 R
COLONIAL LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Ben Englert 2B (CHA) .396-7-23

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 2-4
• STANDINGS: 92-48 +18.5
• RUNS SCORED: 721 (t-3rd)
• RUNS AGAINST: 565 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .693 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +35.8 (1st)
• ERRORS: 70 (5th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 84
• POWER RANKINGS: 3rd

THIS WEEK: 2-1 @ Ohio (64-70) OFF DAY 0-3 @ Detroit (78-56)

9/1: AUS 11 OH 7 Adrian 2-4 2 R 3 RBI (65) SB (37) Hanna PH HR on 1st pitch of ABL career Steele (W) 6 IP 6 H 5 K 5 ER (12-5 4.02) Archer hurt (see news)
9/2: AUS 5 OH 4 Behrens (W) 8 IP 8 H 10 K 2 ER Haske SV (34) Harrison GW 2R HR (8) in the 9th 2-3 2B (18) 2 RBI (41)
9/3: OH 9 AUS 5 Ohio 7 run 6th Jonathan Hamilton (OH) GS (22) Lach (L) 8 ER 10 H 5.2 IP (13-8 4.03)
9/4: OFF DAY
9/5: DET 4 AUS 1 Nosal (DET) 8 IP 4 H 1 ER (W) (14-9 4.39) Whittaker (L) 4 ER 3 K 3 BB 6 IP (13-8 3.74)
9/6: DET 5 AUS 2 Forney (L) 6 IP 9 K 5 ER 3 HR (12-7 3.59) Horning (DET) (W) 8 IP 2 ER 8 K )9-6 4.70) Boland (DET) SV 39 Comerford HR (10)
9/7: DET 8 AUS 2 Steele (L) 5 run 1st 5 IP 5 H 3 K 5 ER (12-6 4.15) Comerford HR (11) Del Bianco (DET) CG W 4 H 2 ER 11 K (10-16 5.07)


NEXT WEEK: 3 vs Providence (83-58) 3 @ Houston (61-78) 1 vs San Antonio (73-66)

ABL HAPPENINGS:
9/1:
Bobby Dare (BRK) fanned 7 in a 3-hitter to beat Chicago 4-0 and move to 14-8 3.20
Juan Rio (NYE) also won his 14th (14-9 3.55) on a 5-hitter, striking out 10 in a 2-0 win over Ft Worth
9/2:
Former 1st rounder (31st overall) Chris Jones (BRK) gave the Blackhearts consecutive shutouts by tossing a 2nd straight 3-hitter at Chicago in a 2-0 win.
Justin Wilson (PHI) fanned 10, walked none, and allowed just 5 hits in a 3-0 win over Montreal to move to 10-12 4.40
9/3:
Xie-li Au-Yong (LEX) whiffed 8 in a CG 4-hit win over Buffalo 4-0.
Andy Zerbe (CHA) won his 16th after striking out 10 in a 2-hitter over Memphis and a 4-0 win.
9/4:
Datu Zape (OH) struck out 6 in winning his 15th (15-11 3.98) in a 5-0 downing of Pittsburgh.
9/5:
For reasons unknown the Buffalo Bisons handed 24-year-old closer, Brendon Biernacki, the ball and he responded by going the distance and striking out 12 in a 1-0 win over Mexico. He's 6-8 with 28 SV and a 2.55 ERA
Brian Bauer (HOU) went 5-5 with a 2B and a HR in an 8-4 loss to San Diego

RUSTLER NEWS:
9/1:
Nick Archer's knee is bothering him again and trainers are concerned it could be 3-4 weeks before it gets better. He won't play until we are sure. The hope is that it will not carry into October.

9/4:
RUSTLERS DEAL BERMUDEZ
Long a fan favorite as well as owners, C Ryan Bermudez was sent to San Francisco for IF Cliff McWhorter in a waiver trade. The Bears will assume the final 2 years and 6 million dollars of Bermudez's contract while Austin adds yet another solid middle IF option. The off-season signing of Scott Comerford left no doubts as to Bermudez's future in Austin but fans were still vocal in their displeasure even with the backstop hitting just .181 at the time of the deal. His magical 2011 (.247-23-82) was an aberration the past few seasons as he hit .208 in 2012 and .193 last year while still winning 2 gold gloves.

BACKROOM CHATTER
While the hit at the box office might be something, this deal was far past due. The payroll must come down and this, albeit just 3m annually, was a beginning and a move that could be made without impact to the post-season chances of the club.

PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Mathew Welch 3B (SJ) 9-20 2 HR 9 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Corey Furr RF (SAN) 11-23 2 HR 7 RBI

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 5-2
• STANDINGS: 97-50 +20.5
• RUNS SCORED: 756 (3rd)
• RUNS AGAINST: 594 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .694 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +37.6 (1st)
• ERRORS: 71 (4th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 84
• POWER RANKINGS: 2nd

THIS WEEK: 2-1 vs Providence (83-58) 2-1 @ Houston (61-78) 1-0 vs San Antonio (73-66)

9/8: AUS 5 PRO 3 Behrens just 1/3rd of an inning (see news) Haske SV (35) Dziedzic 1st ABL hit 5th inning 3B Adrian 2-3 2B (25) 2 RBI (68) hitting .341-16-68
9/9: AUS 5 PRO 3 Lach (W) 8 IP 9 K 3 ER (14-8 4.00) Haske SV (36)
9/10: PRO 6 AUS 5 Whittaker (L) up 4-0 after 6 7.2 IP 6 ER 8 H 5 BB 6 K Hanna 3-3 2B (1) R Reyes HR (16)
9/11: AUS 8 HOU 3 Forney (W) 7 IP 2 H 1 ER 10 K (13-7 3.52) Comerford 3-4 2B (21) 3 RBI (51)
9/12: HOU 9 AUS 5 Steele (L) 5.1 IP 10 H 4 BB 4 K 6 ER (12-7 4.32) Jungles 3-5 2B (7) (San Antonio loss clinches the division title)
9/13: AUS 3 HOU 2 Sung-hyun Lee ABL debut (W) 8 IP 9 K 4 H 1 ER Haske SV (37) 1 IP HR 1 ER Reyes 3-4 HR (17) R 2 RBI (53) CS (9)
9/14: AUS 4 SAN 3 Behrens ND 8 IP 8 K 2 ER Haske BS (5) W (6-3 2.32) Orozco 3rd HR in 4 games (14) Reardon 2-2 walk off 2B (7) Adrian 2-4 2B (28) 2 RBI (72) SB (38)

NEXT WEEK: 3 vs San Antonio 3 @ Lexington

ABL HAPPENINGS:
9/8:
Jason Keeton (DET) fanned 10 in blanking San Jose on a 3-hitter 6-0. Running his record to 15-8 2.55
David Miranda (MEX) allowed just 4 hits and struck out 8, walking no one in a 1-0 win over the New York Punishers.
Tasuki Nakata (CHI) scattered 6 hits in going the distance in a 6-0 win over San Francisco.
9/11:
Ohio 1B Dave Gonzalez's 3rd inning single extended his hitting streak to a career-high 25 games.
Aaron Peterson (CHA) tossed a CG SHO to beat San Antonio 1-0 and win his 11th (11-9 5.16)
Zach Jaime (PHX) scattered 5 hits, struck out 7 in a 2-0 win over the Las Vegas 51's.
9/12:
Troy Gillon (PIT) shut out the Punishers in New York, striking out a career-high 11 en route to a CG SHO and a 4-0 win. It was just his 6th win in 27 starts this year (6-16 5.05)
Brendan Taylor (MON) tossed a CG 2-hitter to beat Chicago 3-0.
Brendon Biernacki (BUF) followed his 1st career start, a 12K 4 hit shutout, by fanning 16 New York Empire hitters in a 10-4 win.
9/13:
Chicago's Tasuki Nakata followed his shutout of SF by tossing another. This time a 1-hit 5 K gem to beat Montreal 5-0
9/14:
Andy Zerbe (CHA) won his 17th game of the year (17-12 3.59) in a CG SHO of Green Bay. He fanned 8 in the 6-0 win.
Lexington clinches their 6th straight division title and 7th in the past 8 seasons as they hunt for an ABL record 5th straight world series title.

RUSTLER NEWS:
9/8:
Matt Behrens suffered a hamstring strain and will have his next start pushed back a day or two
Jeff Anderson came out with a shoulder issue but will be ok and likely DtD


PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: John Ventre CF (BAL) 9-22 5 HR 14 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Decker Blue LF (LEX) 12-24 HR 3 RBI

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 4-2
• STANDINGS: 101-52 +21.5
• RUNS SCORED: 781 (3rd)
• RUNS AGAINST: 614 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .696 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +41 (1st)
• ERRORS: 74 (4th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 84
• POWER RANKINGS: 2nd

THIS WEEK: 2-1 vs San Antonio (76-70) 2-1 @ Lexington (94-52)

9/15: SAN 2 AUS 1 (14) Lach ND 8 IP 7 K 6 H 1 ER leadoff HR
9/16: AUS 5 SAN 3 Whittaker (W) 8 IP 8 K 8 H 3 ER (14-9 3.84) 1-1 2B (3) RBI (6) Reyes HR (18) Nolasco 2-4 HR (19) R 2 RBI (56)
9/17: AUS 7 SAN 6 Forney ND 7 IP 11 K 4 ER Haske (W) 7-3 2.25 Reyes 2-3 walk off 1B SB (22) Comerford 2-4 HR (12) 3 RBI (54)
9/18: AUS 7 LEX 2 Steele (W) 7 IP 4 K 2 ER (13-7 4.26) 2-3 2 R RBI (6) Jungles 3-5 R SB (15) 2 RBI (17) Hanna HR (2) 2 RBI (5) Reyes HR (19) 2 R 2 BB 2 RBI (58)
9/19: AUS 4 LEX 1 Behrens (W) 8 IP 4 K 3 BB 7 H 1 ER (12-5 3.08) Reyes 2-4 2B (23) 3B (3) 3 RBI (61)
9/20: LEX 6 AUS 1 Lach (L) 7 IP 9 H 3 HR 5 K 4 BB 5 ER (14-9 3.97) Jungles 3-3 2B (8) 3B (2) RBI (18) hitting .361 Griggs (LEX) (W) 8 IP 8 K 1 ER (16-10 3.32) 1-3 HR (4) RBI (16) Childress C (LEX) 4-4 HR (2) RBI (7)
9/21: OFF DAY

NEXT WEEK: 3 @ Charlotte 3 @ San Antonio OFF DAY

ABL HAPPENINGS:
9/16:
Abdul-Muta'al Rhodes (PHI) went 3-4 2 BB 3 HR driving in 6 in a 7-5 11 inning win over Pittsburgh. The last HR, #41, puts him into the league lead
9/17:
Tony Delgado (LA) moved to 12-10 3.97 in an * K CG SHO 3-hitter to beat San Diego 8-0.
Carlos Rivera (HOU) went 5-5 and broke an ABL record by hitting 5 2B's in a game. He drove in3 in the 9-6 win over Dallas.
9/18:
Joe Farmer (SJ) fanned a career-high 15 Patriot hitters in a 7-1 win. The lefty is now 12-9 3.83
9/19:
Ft Worth fired GM Miles Thomas. The 60-year-old, in his 4th season as Cowboy GM, was unavailable for comment. The club is 61-89, 38.5 games out, and hasn't won more than 76 games under Thomas' leadership.
The club also announced it had parted ways with the Manager. In just his 2nd season (after taking over early last year (club went 60-61 under him)) he had taken home the 2009 Manager of the year with Philadelphia after their world series win, lost in the post-season a year later, and then failed to make it and was hired by Ohio were he lasted just a year.
9/20:
Ramon Gonzalez (BUF) allowed just 5 hits in a CG SHO and 6-0 win over Houston
Juan Galvis (CHI) tossed a 2-hit CG SHO to beat Denver 3-0.
9/21:
Danny Gariepy (LEX) allowed just 1 hit, struck out 9, and walked 1 in a 3-0 win over Memphis.
Jason Wenrich (CHA) struck out 10, walked none, and allowed 5 hits in the Cyclones 8-0 rout of Dallas.


PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Michael Nettles 3B (SF) 8-20 4 HR 10 RBI
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Orlando Flores 1B (NYE) 14-29 2 HR 4 RBI

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 4-2
• STANDINGS: 105-54 +22
• RUNS SCORED: 816 (3rd)
• RUNS AGAINST: 633 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .697 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +42.6 (1st)
• ERRORS: 75 (3rd)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 84
• POWER RANKINGS: 1st

THIS WEEK: 3-0 @ Charlotte 2-1 @ San Antonio OFF DAY

9/22: AUS 8 CHA 3 Tighe 3-5 HR (3) 2 R 2 RBI (56) SB (49) Jungles 4-5 SB (16) R (.374) Orozco 3-5 2 2B (30) R RBI (65) Whittaker (W) 6.2 IP 8 K 3 ER (15-9 3.85)
9/23: AUS 10 CHA 3 Anderson 4-5 2B (34) HR (30) 3 R 4 RBI (108) Tighe 3-5 2 R RBI (57) SB (50) Jungles 3-5 (.381) Forney (W) 6 IP 2 ER 2 K (worst game of the year K wise. Now needs 14 in his last start for 300) (14-7 3.55)
9/24: AUS 3 CHA 2 Steele (W) 7 IP 6 K 5 BB 6 H 2 ER (14-7 4.19) Haske SV (39) Reyes 2R HR (20)
9/25: AUS 8 SAN 2 Behrens (W) 6 IP 4 H 8 K 1 ER (13-5 3.04) Hanna 2-5 2B (3) 2 R 2 RBI (8) McWhorter 2-3 HR (1) 2 RBI (2)
9/26: SAN 4 AUS 3 Lach (L) 7 IP 7 H 5 K 4 ER (14-10 4.01) McGuire 2-3 2B (2) HR (1) R RBI (2)
9/27: SAN 5 AUS 3 Whittaker (L) 7.1 IP 9 H 7 K 5 ER 2-3 2B (4) 3 RBI (9)
9/28: OFF DAY

NEXT WEEK: 3 @ Ft Worth () END OF REGULAR SEASON

ABL HAPPENINGS:
9/22:
Bill Elliott (CHI) fanned 4 and scattered 8 hits in a 4-0 win over Montreal to extend his career-high in wins to 16-10 4.11
9/23:
Jason Keeton (DET) went the distance, striking out 11 in a 1-0 3-hit win over Baltimore. He's 16-8 2.45. Keeton leads the ABL in ERA 2.45, K/BB 9.9, BB/9 0.8, WHIP 0.93, ERA+ 173, rWAR 8.0
Michael Cawthon (MEM) fanned 11 in a 5-hitter as Memphis downed Lexington 3-0
Spot starter Dennis Pippen (CHI) fired a 3-hitter to down Montreal via shutout for a 2nd straight day 8-0.
9/25:
Scott Bradley (SJ) struck out 6, walked 2 and allowed just 2 hits in a 5-0 win over San Francisco.
Detroit LF Steve Collins joined the 400 HR club in a 7-2 loss to Montreal. He is the 5th youngest player to ever reach that total.
9/26:
Tim Collins (PHI) held Pittsburgh to just 4 hits while fanning 7 in a 2-0 win. He's 16-5 2.49 in the 1st year of his massive FA contract with Philadelphia
9/27:
Jonathan Ray (MEX) struck out 11 in a 3-0 win over Phoenix. He allowed just 4 hits and a walk. He's 15-8 3.62



PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Michael Nettles 3B (SF) 12-24 2 HR 8 RBI 5 R (2nd week in a row, 20-44 6 HR 18 RBI)
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Mario Luna RF (LEX) 11-25 3 HR 10 RBI



SEASONS FINAL WEEKEND, RACES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

• In the PL Harbor Division, it's Detroit 91-68 over Baltimore 90-69. Detroit goes to Chicago while Baltimore hosts Montreal.
• San Jose clinched the California Division.
• Philadelphia just clinched the Metro and Mexico won the Southwest.
• Philadelphia will have the #1 seed. San Jose is the #4.
• Detroit/Baltimore winner will play Mexico and those teams are within 1 game of each other for 2-3 seeds.

In the PL statistical races:
Batting Title
Bruce Mesa (LV) .347
Adrie van Baarle (BRK) .346
Dale Gill (NYP) .344

HR
Abdul-Muta'al Rhodes (PHI) 42
Matt Giles (CHI) 41
John Ventre (BAL) 40

RBI
Rhodes (PHI) 131

ERA
Keeton (DET) 2.45
Collins (PHI) 2.49

WINS
Hall (BRK) 19

K's
Delgado (LA) 296
Viens (NYP) 296
Ray (MEX) 285

SAVES
Pink (BAL) 47
Baker (PHI) 46

Over in the CL
Seeding is pretty much done

• Austin #1
• Lexington #2
• Providence #3

WC

• Ohio 83-76 (3 @ Memphis 76-83)
• San Antonio 83-76 (3 vs Houston 71-88)
• Charlotte 82-77 (3 vs Lexington 100-59)
• Dallas 80-79 (3 @ Green Bay 57-102)

Batting title
Daniel Contreras (DAL) .362
Orlando Flores (NYE) .355

HR
Whitten (PRO) 42
Steimel (PRO) 41
Frazier (NE) 40

RBI
Contraras (DAL) 125
Frazier (NE) 122

ERA
Walt Davis (LEX) 2.56

W
Zape (OH) 19

K
Masuda (LEX) 308
Zerbe (CHA) 291
Forney (AUS) 286

S
Roth (SAN) 41 (95 Rolaids pts)
Jones (NYE) 40 (108 Rolaids pts)
Haske (AUS) 39 (115 Rolaids pts)

[gehrig38]

AUSTINS ARCHER HAS A SETBACK
Austin Rustler star 1B Nick Archer has reportedly had another setback with his troublesome knee. No specific date has been given but it appears he will not play in the final regular-season series this weekend to better prepare him for the 1st round of the playoffs.
“The knee has not responded,” said GM Curt Schilling. “So our best course of action to assure us Nick is ready is to rest according to Dr's and given his experience, we don't envision him having issues getting back into the flow of playoff baseball next week”
Rookie Brennan Jungles has made Archer's DL stint much easier to tolerate as the 24-year-old is hitting .364/.395/.429 in 49 games with 10 XBH 17-24 SB.
In other news, it comes as no surprise that veteran Ace Matt Behrens will skip Sunday's start and be handed the ball for game 1 of the playoffs vs the Providence Black Sox.
Rookie Sung-hyun Lee who was brilliant in an 8 inning effort earlier will get the ball.

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 1-2
• STANDINGS: 106-56 +21
• RUNS SCORED: 827 (3rd)
• RUNS AGAINST: 648 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .697 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +45.1 (1st)
• ERRORS: 75 (2nd)
• OWNERS MOOD: Very Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 83

THIS WEEK: 3 @ Ft Worth END OF REGULAR SEASON

9/29: FW 6 AUS 3
9/30: AUS 5 FW 4
10/1: FW 5 AUS 3


NEXT WEEK: POSTSEASON

ABL HAPPENINGS:
9/29:
Juan Esquerra (PRO) threw a 3-hit CG SHO to beat Buffalo 4-0. He ends the regular season 13-14 3.90
9/30:
Anthony Bobbitt (DEN) fanned 10 and went the distance in a 3-hitter to beat Phoenix 2-0. The 24-year-old ends the year 10-14 4.40


PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: John Ventre CF (BAL) 333-13-32 19 R
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Mario Luna RF (LEX) .365-13-30 24 R
PATRIOT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Michael Hall (BRK) 4-0 2.50 ERA 43 K 39.2 IP
COLONIAL LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Datu Zape (OH) 5-0 1.37 43 K 39.1 IP
PATRIOT LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Michael Hall (BRK) 4-0 2.50 ERA 43 K 39.2 IP
COLONIAL LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Jake Meagher (OH) 1-2 10 SV

[gehrig38]

[gehrig38]

Baltimore enters the 9th trailing 3-1.
Khalil Harris F8
John Ventre BB
Mike Randazzo 1B
PH-Kineji Harada 1B
PH-Jeremy Wilson 1B RBI
PH-Mike O'Brien 1B RBI
Gerardo Espinoza 1B 2 RBI's

3 Straight PH 1B's to take the lead and hold on for a 4-3 win

Former Rustler Brad Cass (SJ) tosses a CG 3-hit SHO to beat Tim Collins (PHI) 2-0. Collins went 8-11-2-2-1-10 in the loss.

[gehrig38]

Matt Behrens 13-5 3.04 vs Andy Zerbe 17-15 3.83
Charlotte strikes first in the 3rd before Comerford and Harrison both hit 2R HR in a 4 run 4th. Matt Behrens gives it back in the 6th before leaving the game in the 7th (6.2-6-4-4-4-4). Ranan Laskey holds it down and the offense explodes in the bottom of the 8th to turn a 5-4 lead into a 10-4 rout.
Adrian 2-5 3B 2 R Archer 2-5 R 2 RBI Reyes 3-5 R 2 RBI Orozco 3-4 2B 2 R


Baltimore drubs Mexico 10-2 to go up 2-0
Lexington downs Providence 3-2 to take a 1-0 lead
San Jose beats Philadelphia 10-7 to go up 2-0

[gehrig38]

Down 3-2 entering the bottom of the 9th Nolasco lines a PH 1B before Reyes works a 12 pitch walk.
And in a sight I'd never expected to see the next three hitters go down LOOKING to end it. Archer homered. Whittaker (L) went 7.1-4-3-3-1-7.

Providence's Chris Whitten hit 2 solo HR's off Tomohiro Masuda as the Black Sox evened the series in a 4-3 win at 1-1.