The American Baseball League

[gehrig38]

RUSTLER PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Chris Johnston .333/.386/.484 HR 7 RBI 7 2B 2 3B SB
RUSTLER PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Eric Cox 3-2 2.21 36.2 IP 21 H 35 K 9 BB .164 OppAvg 0.82 WHIP
RUSTLER MiL PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Ryan Harris (AA) .360-11-28 30 R
RUSTLER MiL PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Joe Blake (A) 4-0 2.27 35.2 IP 43 K .199 OppAvg


PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Brad Janczak (NE) .323-6-21 24 R
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Josh Sims (MON) .390-7-19 19 R
PATRIOT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Tim Soledad (BAL) 4-0 2.25 40 IP 34 H 47 K 15 BB (he's 11-1 3.13 on the year)
COLONIAL LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Dennis Russell (NYE) 5-0 1.59 39.2 IP 36 K
PATRIOT LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Matt Giles (CHI) .360-7-18 17 R
COLONIAL LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Dennis Russell (NYE)



The single-season record for saves in the ABL is 59.
A bit over halfway and Ricky Gutierrez is not letting up.
Lexington's Tomohiro Masuda is on pace to set all kinds of records including 412 K's in a season.
I think our goal now, though it's not one ever to be made public, is getting the top pick, again, in the draft.
That being said I do like a couple of the young infielders we have dealt for and the fact that Orozco is starting to hit.
I should also mention the single-season record for ERA is 1.73 set in 2002 by David Faulkner.

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 33-62
• STANDINGS: 5th (16 GB)
• RUNS SCORED: 324 (14th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 482 (14th )
• DEFENSIVE EFF:.694 (5th)
• ZONE RATING: -9.6 (11th)
• ERRORS: 47 (10th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Ecstatic
• FAN INTEREST: 65
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (2-5) 1-1 vs Mexico 1-2 @ Pittsburgh 0-2 vs Montreal
• 7/5: MEX 4 AUS 3 Cary L (2-4) CG 6 H 13 K 0 BB 4 ER 4 solo HR's. POTG
• 7/6: AUS 4 MEX 3 Davis W (1-4) 6.2 IP 9 H 7 K 3 ER
• 7/7: AUS 8 PIT 6 7 run 8th Orozco GS (14) 4 RBI (37) Bermudez 3R HR (9) Allen W (6-4) 7 IP 8 H 8 K 4 ER Laskey Save (12) Hutter (PIT) 3-4 2B (11) 2 HR (13) 2 RBI (29)
• 7/8: PIT 7 AUS 3 Faulkner (PIT) 7 IP 5 H 11 K 3 ER POTG W (5-10 3.66) Brooks L (3-10) 6 IP 6 H 4 ER
• 7/9: PIT 3 AUS 0 Hart (PIT) W (9-7 2.96) 7.2 IP 7 H 6 K 7 BB POTG. Cox L (10-9 2.85) 7.1 IP 4 H 8 K 2 ER Bermudez 3-3 Kardell 0-0 4 BB Hicks 3-5
• 7/10: MON 7 AUS 5 Foley (MON) 3-4 2B (28) HR (14) 2 RBI (47) POTG Hicks, Johnston 3 H each Cary 6 IP 5 ER 9 K ND
• 7/11: MON 15 AUS 1 Crawford (MON) 4-6 2B (16) HR (17) 4 R POTG Davis L (1-5) 6 ER 2.1 IP Wagner 3 ER 1.2 IP Alarcon 4 ER .2 IP
• NEXT WEEK: 1 vs Montreal 3 @ Ft Worth OFF DAY 2 vs Houston
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE POTW: Seung-Hyeon Kim (PHI) 12-25 3 HR 9 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE POTW: Matt Foley (MON) 12-28 4 HR 10 RBI
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 7/6: Tony Delgado (LA) struck out 10 to beat Baltimore 3-0.
• 7/7: Andy Zerbe (CHA) fanned 15 Roughriders in the Cyclones 2-1 win. He allowed just 2 hits and walked 2 to win his 10th (10-5 3.10)
• 7/7: Jason Keeton (DET) threw a 3 hit shutout to beat San Jose 2-0.
• 7/8: Jake Byers (NYP) struck out a career-high 15 in beating Baltimore 4-0 on a 2-hitter. He's 10-2 1 Save 2.97 on the year.
• 7/9: In the past 10 days the Memphis Blue Sox have made 2 trades. They rank 2nd in the Colonial Leagues misfit division, 4 games behind Lexington, and they are 4 games in front of Phoenix in the Wild Card. They also have the 2nd best bullpen ERA. That doesn't appear to matter as they have dealt a total of 5 players to Ohio and Charlotte for 2 33-year-old relievers.
• The first deal netted them Ohio General closer Robby Carrera (1-3 20 Saves 5.45) and the second Charlotte closer Roberto Calva (2-5 18 Saves 3.61). Their current closer, Danny Villa, is on a record pace with 32 Saves and a 2.02 ERA. Villa is signed through 2013, Carrera through 2011 and Calva through 2011 as well.
• 7/10: Ryan Aleshire (BUF) allowed just 3 hits as Buffalo downed Brooklyn 4-0.
• 7/11: John Lewis (FW) gave up just 3 hits as the Cowboy offense pounded Providence in a 12-0 win.
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 7/10: SP Kerry Davis, out for most of the 1st half, has requested a trade. Given his age, salary and performance, I will gladly accommodate him if I can find the right deal.
• 7/10: Austin Ships Correa to Pittsburgh
• In light of the news veteran, Kerry Davis had asked out most at the press conference expected an announcement of the trade that would see Davis dealt. It was a literal curveball then when GM Curt Schilling started the announcement off with the name Manny Correa, then added OF prospect Sean Greenwald and a 4th round draft choice. Those players and that pick are headed to the Pittsburgh Miners in exchange for 29-year old P Dana Alarcon and OF prospect Joel Moss and Pittsburgh's 2011 3rd round draft pick.
  
  
• BACKROOM CHATTER
• Correa was not the answer long term at 1st. He's never hit, minors or majors as a professional. He has 50 HR pop but he just doesn't seem like it will happen for him here. I was looking for a decent arm and found the Miners and Alarcon and the talks took a left-hand turn. Joel Moss is the games #63 prospect. He is an average LF and can serve as an RF if the house is on fire. He's got huge upside offensively and has started to show that. He's just 23, was the Miners 1st pick (16th overall) in 2006 out of Southern Idaho (which is proving to be a virtual baseball factory). Alarcon will move into a middle relief role in Austin, Jason Lipsky (9.26 ERA) heads to AAA to get innings and this also leaves us without a lefty in the pen. Ryan Crabtree is optioned to Warren as well to get at-bats and the contract of Lauro Giammona is picked up and he's recalled to take over 1B duties. He's mashing since opening day this year hitting ..255/.335/.755 with 36 HR's in 67 AA/AAA games.
  
  
• 7/10: Rookie league Ft Wayne beat the Davenport Demons 17-8 and Joe LaPorte 2 (7) Roberto Barbarossa 2 (4) Nate Davis 2 (6) JR Hunt and Andy Adrian hit a combined 8 home runs in the win. The Warriors are 11-7 and lead the league in OPS and Home Runs and are 2nd in Runs, Batting WAR and wOBA. 2nd rounder (37th overall) HS 1B Kyle Yadon was eased into the lineup and in 12 games, 40 at bats, he is hitting .375/.326/.750 as the youngest player in the league. He has 5 HR's and 12 RBI's.

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 36-65
• STANDINGS: 5th (14 GB)
• RUNS SCORED: 16
• RUNS AGAINST: 24
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .695 (5th)
• ZONE RATING: -10.2 (11th)
• ERRORS: 53 (10th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Ecstatic
• FAN INTEREST: 65
  
  
• THIS WEEK:
• 7/12: AUS 3 MON 2 Allen W (7-4 3.36) 6.1 IP 8 H 8 K 0 BB 2 ER Laskey Save (13) Orozco HR (13)
• 7/13: FW 4 AUS 0 Nieto (FW) CG 4 H 6 K POTG Vargas (FW) 4-4 R
• 7/14: FW 4 AUS 3 (11) Cox ND 8 IP 4 H 3 K 1 R Laskey BS (3) 1 IP 2 ER Blau (FW) 3-5 walk off HR
• 7/15: FW 11 AUS 1 Kim (FW) W (4-10) CG 6 H 11 K 1 ER Onoda (FW) 3-3 2 2B (20) 2 R RBI (37)
• 7/16: OFF DAY
• 7/17: AUS 6 HOU 1 Abel W (1-0) 7 IP 7 H 8 K 1 R POTG Britton 2 IP Save (6) Hicks 3-4 BB R RBI Colon 2B (14) 3B (3) 2 R
• 7/18: AUS 3 HOU 2 (10) Allen ND 7 IP 5 H 9 K 2 ER POTG Pantojas PH GW 1B
• NEXT WEEK: 1 vs Houston 3 @ NY Empire 3 vs Phoenix
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE POTW: Andy O'Brien (SD) 10-22 5 HR 7 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE POTW: Decker Blue (LEX) 10-20 3 HR 6 RBI
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 7/13: The Punishers beat Ohio 1-0 behind a 5-hitter from Steve Parker (7-7 3.56) who struck out 5 and walked none.
• 7/14: Montreal will be without the services of 2007 world series MVP OF Marshall Wiborg for the remainder of the year after he ruptured his Achilles tendon. Montreal trails NY by 5 in the Colonial league's Skyline Division.
• 7/13: Travis Bridges (PRO) fanned 6, walked 2, and allowed just 3 hits in the Black Sox 3-0 win over Houston.
• 7/15: Ryan Aleshire (BUF) whiffed 8 and walked 2 in the Bisons 4-0 win over Dallas.
• 7/15: New York Punisher Josh Viens tied the all-time ABL record for strikeouts in a game by fanning 19 San Jose Hawks in a 2-hit 3-1 win. Viens is 13-6 2.96 with 238 K's in just 155 IP.
• 7/17: Jake Erwin (NYE) fanned 9 and walked 3 giving up 4 hits in the Empire's 3-0 win over Providence.
• 7/18: Lexington's Nick Bauguess hit his 400th career HR in the Rebels 6-3 win over San Antonio.
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• Sam Reyes is off to a great start at Short-Season Hartford. In 10 starts he's hitting .341/.408/.636 with 4 2B 3 HR 11 RBI and 3-4 SB.
• 7/12: Warren's Brad Cass struck out 13 Hamilton hitters in the Warriors 3-2 win.
• 7/16: Rustlers deal veteran Davis
• The Austin Rustlers announced a deal with the Ft Worth Cowboys today, sending 31-year-old veteran Kerry Davis and 23-year-old minor league 3B Jalen Thompson and their 2011 5th round draft pick to the Cowboys in exchange for 30-year-old SP Stuart Abel and 25-year-old minor league P Vince Aspinwall and Ft Worth's 2011 4th round draft choice. It was widely known that Davis had told GM Curt Schilling he wanted out a few weeks ago.
  
• BACKROOM CHATTER
• Davis and 32.4 million dollars are off to Ft Worth. Abel will replace him in the rotation for now and he's got 2 years and 7.6 million left on his deal. Thompson was having a good year at Class A Salt Lake but as a 3B only option he was behind a few prospects at a minimum. Aspinwall is a starter and will head to Warren to do just that. He was the Cowboys 1st pick (14th overall) out of the University of Arizona in 2006.

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 39-69
• STANDINGS: 5th (15 GB)
• RUNS SCORED: 369 (14th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 540 (14th)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .691 (6th)
• ZONE RATING: -11.1 (11th)
• ERRORS: 54 (11th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Delighted
• FAN INTEREST: 64
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (3-4) 0-1 vs Houston 1-2 @ NY Empire 2-1 vs Phoenix
• 7/19: HOU 5 AUS 3 Willis (HOU) 8.1 IP 8 K 5 H 1 R POTG Brooks L (3-12) 6.1 IP 8 K 7 H 3 ER Marshall PH 3R HR 9th
• 7/20: NYE 4 AUS 3 (13) Orozco error walks it off Rienstra (NYE) ND 9 IP 8 H 7 K 3 ER POTG Cox ND 7 IP 6 H 10 K 2 ER Giammona 1st ABL HR SB (2) Johnston 4-6
• 7/21: AUS 8 NYE 5 Orozco 3-5 HR (16) 2 R 2 RBI (42) POTG Cary W (3-5) 6 IP 4 H 10 K 3 ER Laskey Save (14)
• 7/22: NYE 8 AUS 5 Colon 3-5 3 2B (19) 2 R Moss 3-5 2B 2 RBI (5) Orozco HR (17)
• 7/23: PHX 7 AUS 3 Lilliquist (PHX) 3-3 2 BB 2B (11) 2 HR (23) 4 RBI (57) POTG Nakata (PHX) W (12-5 2.34) 7 IP 7 K 6 H 1 ER
• 7/24: AUS 2 PHX 1 Brooks W (4-12 4.36) 8 IP 6 H 6 K 1 ER POTG Laskey Save (15) Lilliquist (PHX) HR 24
• 7/25: AUS 5 PHX 4 Cox W (11-9 2.66) 7.1 IP 7 H 8 K 1 ER 1-3 2B RBI POTG Laskey Save (16)
• NEXT WEEK: 3 vs Denver OFF DAY 3 @ San Antonio
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE POTW: Kineji Harada (BAL) 16-29 2 HR 5 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE POTW: Caleb Degand (MEM) 15-30 2 HR 10 RBI
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 7/20: Brandon Walker (MON) went 5-5 with 3 1B 2B and a grand slam in the Paragons 11-4 win. He drove in 5.
• 7/20: JJ Welker (NE) won his 10th of the year striking out 15 in an 8-2 win over LA.
• 7/21: Sam Rhoads (CHI) scattered 9 hits en route to a CG 6-0 win over San Francisco.
• 7/22: Kineji Harada (BAL) went 5-5 in the Blackbirds 4-1 win over Dallas.
• 7/22: Philadelphia's Malik Bernard threw just the 4th perfect game in ABL history. It was a 1-0 win not decided until the 9th. He struck out 15 in recording just the 7th game score ever of 100+.
• 7/23: CJ Clinton (PHI) struck out 11 and scattered 8 hits in the Patriots 13-0 win over Detroit.
• 7/23: Dave Gonzalez (OH) went 5-6 in the General's 5-3 win over Dallas.
• 7/24: Jordan De Jesus (MON) struck out 15 Roughriders in the Paragon's 7-2 win.
• 7/24: Chicago P Chris Nosal tossed a 5-hitter to up his record to 12-4 3.89 in a 3-0 win over Buffalo.
• 7/25: Josh Viens (NYE) threw a 5-hitter in beating New England 6-0. He fanned 10 and walked just 1 to move to 15-6 2.72.
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 7/25: Salt Lake (A) closer Jeremy D'Amico in his last 28 appearances has 20 Saves 32 IP 39 K and an ERA of 0.84. D'Amico was a 10th round pick in 2004 (278th overall) out of Temple College.
• 7/25: Ft Wayne beat the Buffalo Blue Sox 33-1 yesterday hitting 11 home runs. 4 players hit 2 each. Nate Davis was 2-3 4 BB 5 R 2 HR 5 RBI Andy Adrian was 3-6 HR 2 RBI 6 R

[gehrig38]

I am unsure if I am a true buyer or seller, or both. I have cleared an immense amount of budget room but to date, I've dealt most of the bigger contracts.
I feel very good about the young talent I've started to assemble.
Stuart Abel is 30, the only player over the age of 29 on the ABL pitching staff. I feel very good about the rotation and I don't stress much over the bullpen year to year as long as there are some staples. I think Britton and Laskey are two of them, Laskey just 25, Britton 27. Jeremy Wagner is just 21. If his changeup does not develop over the next year or three he'll end up being a reliever.
Offensively I really like the initial moves we've made so far. Cowan C (21) Johnston 2B (27) Orozco 3B (23) Hicks SS (29) Kardell LF (25) Moss OF (23) Rowan (28) and Marshall (27) are all players I can see on the roster next year making this team competitive.
So as far as “assets' go I have Bermudez, signed through 2013, Colon, signed through 2012, Abel signed through 2012.
I have tried like hell to pry 1B Terukatsu Yoshino from LA but they aren't budging. Every deal starts and ends with Michael Behrens and that's a non-starter. This kid has monster pop and a 3 hole bat with + defensive skills. LA Is in win-now mode with a 2 game lead in the Patriot League's Coastal division over San Diego, and 4 games over Dallas. I will keep trying this week and it's likely I will have to include a top P prospect to make it happen or have a chance.

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 43-71
• STANDINGS: 5th (11 GB)
• RUNS SCORED: 390 (14th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 557 (14th)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .690 (7th)
• ZONE RATING: -11.2 (11th)
• ERRORS: 58 (11th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Delighted
• FAN INTEREST: 64
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (4-2) 3-0 vs Denver 1-2 @ San Antonio
• 7/26: AUS 1 DEN 0 Cary W (4-5) 7 IP 3 H 9 K Britton 2 IP 3 K Save (7) Lach (DEN) L (8-11) CG 5 H 12 K 1 ER
• 7/27: AUS 4 DEN 1 Abel W (2-1) 6 IP 3 K 5 H 0 R POTG Britton Save (8) Giammona 2-4 HR (2) 2 RBI (5)
• 7/28: AUS 4 DEN 0 Allen W (8-5 3.28) 7 IP 8 H 9 K POTG Giammona 2-3 HR (3) 2 RBI (7)
• 7/28: Three game sweep, first of the year. Gave up just a single run in the series.
• 7/29: OFF DAY
• 7/30: SAN 8 AUS 5 Furr (SAN) 3-5 HR (23) 4 RBI (74) POTG Johnston 4-5 HR (3) Brooks L (4-13) 1.2 IP 5 H 5 BB 4 ER
• 7/31: SAN 5 AUS 2 (13) Bolton (SAN) ND 8 IP 6 H 8 K 0 R POTG Cox ND 7 IP 8 H 6 K 1 ER Moss 3-5 game-tying HR (3) in the 9th Paque (SAN) 2-2 HR (2) GW HR 13th
• 8/1: AUS 5 SAN 3 Marshall 4-5 HR 2 R 2 RBI SB (5) POTG Cary W (5-5) 7 IP 5 H 7 K 0 BB 1 ER Laskey Save (17) Orozco HR (19) Kardell HR (7)
• NEXT WEEK: 3 vs Lexington 3 @ Charlotte 1 vs Memphis
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE POTW: John Moffitt (LA) 11-18 HR RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE POTW: Tony Barraza (PRO) 10-24 5 HR 8 RBI
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 7/27: Lexington's Tomohiro Masuda tied the ABL single-game strikeout record by fanning 19 Memphis hitters in a 9-0 1-hitter. He finished with a game score of 102. He also needed 141 pitches to complete the game. The 19 K's give him 301 on the season and mark the earliest date in league history a pitcher achieved their 300th strikeout.
• 7/28: Tim Collins (CHI) struck out 6 Minutemen in a 10-0 win.
• 7/28: Memphis Blue Sox P Lazar Peric won his ABL high 15th game (15-3 2.23) by shutting out their division-leading rivals Lexington's 4-0. He took a no-hitter into the 8th before settling for the 1-hit 9 strikeout win.
• 7/30: Jordan De Jesus (MON) fanned 8 in the Paragons 10-0 drubbing of Phoenix. He allowed just 2 hits and walked 1 to win his 12th (12-4 4.97)
• 7/30: Cameron Mears (CHA) won his 13th (13-5 2.16) in a 5-hitter to beat Memphis 7-0.
• 7/30: Brooklyn's Chris Goldman evened his record at 8-8 with a 7 hit 1-0 win over Los Angeles.
• 7/30: Chris Nosal (CHI) struck out 15 in the Hitmen's 5-3 win over Baltimore. He's 13-4 3.87.
• 7/30: Myeong-Han Jung (SF) struck out a career-high 16 San Jose Hawks over 8 innings in the Bears 11-2 win.
• 8/1: Bill Elliott (CHI) won his 10th (10-7 4.21) in a 2-hit shutout of Baltimore.
• 8/1: Jeff Hall (DAL) moved to 12-7 3.00 fanning 6, walking 1 and allowing just 2 hits in the Texans 3-0 win over Detroit.
• 8/1: San Diego 1B Sean Hoffman went 3-3 hitting 3 home runs, scoring 3 and driving in 3 in the Missions 10-3 win over New England.
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 7/30: Ft Wayne Warrior Travis Harrison went 3-4 slamming 3 home runs in the Warriors 13-10 loss. Harrison, the clubs 3rd round pick (75th overall) in this years draft is hitting .295/.402/.600 with 8 HR 31 RBI in 29 games.
• 7/31: Austin-Buffalo Trade prospects at the 11th hour
• Coming in just under the deadline the Austin Rustlers have sent top P prospect Pat Madison and 20-year old P Min-jin Kim to the Buffalo Bison for 1B prospect Aaron Chisholm and 23-year-old OF prospect Omar Polk.
  
  
• BACKROOM CHATTER
• I have a ton of depth in the pitching department. I would like a 1B that has pop and can play defense now. Madison was the 32nd ranked prospect in the game, Chisholm was #82 and Polk #89. Both come with huge power, good D and Omar is a big-time intangibles guy. Madison was certainly an arm I liked in our rotation in another year or two but the ability to get two power bats at such a young age made the move a bit easier. I never like to trade young pitching of any kind but I have built up what I think is an incredibly deep roster of talent on the mound.
• Quite a few moves in the minor leagues shuffling players and releasing others to make room. Ryan Harris was promoted to AAA after destroying AA pitching (.254/.392/.644 35 HR 75 RBI 95 G). Omar Polk is sent to AA Madison to play every day and Aaron Chisholm will get some at bats in Warren before a September call up (if not earlier).

[gehrig38]

RUSTLER PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Chris Johnston .360/.383/.568 9 2B 4 3B 2 HR 7 RBI 17 R
RUSTLER PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Eric Cox 2-1 1.84 44 IP 33 H 44 K 5 BB .202 OppAvg 0.86 WHIP
RUSTLER MiL PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Joe LaPorte (R ) .289/.426/.803 13 HR 25 RBI 23 G (all this with a BABIP of .220) Sam Reyes (SA) .337/.444/.750 12 HR 31 RBI 3-4 SB
RUSTLER MiL PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Chris Lawson (SA) 4-0 1.91 37.2 IP 39 K


PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Seung-Hyeon Kim (PHI) .444-6-26 23 R .513 OBP
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Ricky Gutierrez (NYE) .398-7-19 20 R .491 OBP
PATRIOT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Josh Viens (NYP) 6-0 1.48 48.2 IP 69 K .164 OppAvg
COLONIAL LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Michael Cawthon (MON) 5-0 0.97 37 IP 40 K
PATRIOT LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Andy O'Brien (SD) .304-11-23 RBI 20 R
COLONIAL LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Ian Gurr (HOU) 4-0 2.77 26 IP 39 K

• A pitching and hitting triple crown in play with 60'sh days to go.
• Where does Masuda end up? 400?
• Seung-Hyeon Kim and Gutierrez have to be the odds on for the Babe Ruth award right now don't they?
• Some outstanding races. The Patriot Coastal and Metro could be tight, but the wild card appears to be wrapped up.
• Lexington is pulling away, Mexico in first in our division despite being 5 games under .500.
• The Skyline looks like it will be fun to watch.
• We went 14-14 in July, our first month at .500 or better this year. You can see the improvement as the trades and signings come. I feel like there's just no comparison to what we opened with and where we are right now.

[gehrig38]

• The 9 picks I obtained in this year's 1st 3 rounds are going to go a long way to determining how quickly this franchise becomes a legitimate contender. Going in I knew that and I wanted to focus on hitting and depth for position players. I ended up taking 3 pitchers when I had planned on taking none but a GM has to be flexible AND listen to their scouts when it comes to drafting. Here are their up to date numbers.

1. #1 IF Sam Reyes 19 RHH (R/SA) .353/.447/.789 17 HR 44 RBI 24 K 25 BB 36 G (ABL #9)
2. #26 LF Nate Davis 17 SH (R ) .235/.359/.597 2B 14 HR 28 RBI 47 K 17 BB 32 G
3. #37 1B Kyle Yadon 17 RHH (R ) .267/.336/.683 9 2B 11 HR 25 RBI 39 K 12 BB 30 G
4. #50 P Jeff Baker 19 LHP (SA) 0-3 4.95 7 GS 40 IP 47 H 44 K 13 BB 9 HR 1.50 WHIP
5. #53 IF/OF Joe LaPorte 18 RHH (R ) .278/.411/.739 2 2B 17 HR 35 RBI 36 K 21 BB 33 G
6. #54 P Chris Lawson 20 RHP 5-1 2.42 8 GS 48.1 IP 52 H 53 K 9 BB 1.26 WHIP
7. #62 1B Dave Bates 21 LHH (SA) .267/.376/.700 15 HR 29 RBI 36 K 19 BB 36 G
8. #75 OF Travis Harrison 18 LHH (R ) .289/.390/.588 10 2B 8 HR 32 RBI 25 K 16 BB 31 G
9. #90 RP Jonathan Salazar 19 RHP (R ) 0-1 9 Saves 3.95 13.2 IP 10 H 16 K 8 BB 1.32 WHIP

• Minor League Update
• Around the minors, I am pleased with the talent and the output. Lots of players having good seasons and I feel like that position player depth I was looking for is starting to fill out.

• AAA Warren is 55-53 and just 2 games back
• Matt Behrens (6-3 2.88) Vince Aspinwall (5-5 2.68) and Chris Miller (4-1 3.57) are having good years.
• Brad Cass is 4-5 3.90 since being acquired. In 10 starts he's tossed 62.1 IP 41 H 62 K 24 BB but allowed 15 HR's.
• If 1B Steve Silva could defend he'd be playing everyday in the ABL. He's hitting .325/.375/.458 in 74 games. 16 2B 6 HR 22 RBI 23 BB 23 K 11-17 SB.
• OF Ryan Harris was just promoted after hitting .254/.392/.644 15 2B 5 3B 35 HR 75 RBI 115 K 75 BB 14-17 SB in AA Modesto

• AA Modesto is 59-47 and 3 games ahead of the Athens Hoplites.
• Chris Bowerman (8-5 3.99) and Justin Lubin (9-4 3.50) are leading the rotation. Jim Holt 7-5 4.03 as well.
• Some very odd offensive seasons. Heriberto Perez is hitting .193/.305/.415 with 24 HR 53 RBI 153 K's and 53 BB and is 22-26 SB
• 1B/OF Jose Ruiz .294/.370/.444 21 2B 2 3B 6 HR 37 RBI
• 3B Bob Williams .326/.352/.505 21 2B 16 HR 47 RBI 65 K 13 BB 100 G
• 1B Stu Rosinski .198/.295/.438 10 2B 25 HR 71 RBI 125 K 42 BB 95 G
  
  
• A Salt Lake City has rebounded after a slow start and is 57-48 trailing 1st place New Orleans by 6.5 but leading the Aina Haina Parakeets by 1.5 in the wild card.
• Mike Carter (10-7 3.85) Joe Blake (9-3 3.36) Noel Hardy 7-4 3.88) anchor the rotation with closer Jeremy D'Amico saving 32 with a 2.36 ERA
• RF Joel Stadler .297/.355/.494 20 2B 3 3B 18 HR 46 RBI 99 K 33 BB 29-24 SB is leading off
• IF Yasumasa Yamamoto .251/.314/.524 19 2B 2 3B 25 HR 71 RBI 127 K 18 BB is hitting 2nd
• LF Gordie Kreitlow .266/.381/.605 12 2B 24 HR 47 RBI 77 K 47 BB 76 G is hitting cleanup
• 1B Danny Seabolt was just sent down to Hartford. .192/.306/.596 2 2B 19 HR 30 RBI 68 K 21 BB 41 G
  
  
• Short Season Hartford is 17-20 and 7 games back of the Albany Chiefs.
• Chris Lawson (5-1 2.42) is the ace of the rotation Eric Lewis is 3-0 4.35
• Top pick Sam Reyes .337/.444/.750 7 2B 12 HR 31 RBI 20 K 17 BB in 28 G
• Dave Bates .267/.376/.700 5 2B 15 HR 29 RBI 36 K 19 BB 36 G
• IF Phil Bonaiceti .323/.344/.476 4 2B 3 3B 3 HR 12 RBI 23 K 3 BB 4-8 SB 28 G
• RF Robby Murcer .264/.385/.545 5 2B 9 HR 23 RBI 31 K 25 BB 35 G
  
  
• Rookie League Ft Wayne is 21-15 and 2 games up on the Davenport Demons
• The staff is extremely young and the stats show it. They're 10th or worse in almost all categories but the prospects are showing progress.
• Offensively this team is the class of the league. 1st in Runs, OPS, Batting WAR, wOBA, HR.
• CF Andy Adrian .313-9-28 OF Billy Lipken .284-9-22 OF Travis Harrison .289-4-32 Nate Davis .235-14-28 Joe LaPorte .278-17-35 C Roberto Barbarosa .323-7-29 1B Kyle Yadon .267-11-25 as the leagues youngest player
  
• All in all the minor league coaching has come up huge. This past month's reports have seen almost every prospect make gains in categories across the board
• To that end, the league's prospect rankings now show Austin with 11 prospects in the top 100 and 16 in the top 200:

1. #4 SP Behrens (21)
2. #9 IF Reyes (19)
3. #35 C Cowan (21)
4. #39 SP Sassi (19)
5. #40 SP Pope (22)
6. #63 OF Moss (23)
7. #74 SP Cary (25)
8. #76 SS Tighe (20)
9. #82 1B Chisholm (22)
10. #87 OF Kardell (25)
11. #89 OF Polk (23)
12. #100 SP Cass (25)
13. #108 OF Perez (22)
14. #115 OF Bertrand (17)
15. #137 OF Adrian (18)
16. #191 SP Lewis (19)

• 6 SP, 1 C, 1 1B, 2 IF, 6 OF

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 46-75
• STANDINGS: 5th (13 GB)
• RUNS SCORED: 412 (14th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 583 (14th)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .689 (8th)
• ZONE RATING: -11.7 (11th)
• ERRORS: 64 (11th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Delighted
• FAN INTEREST: 63
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (3-4) 3-0 vs Lexington 0-3 @ Charlotte 0-1 vs Memphis
• 8/2: Masuda game 1 (11-6 2.76) and Au-Yong game 2 (13-4 2.21)
• 8/2: AUS 5 LEX 4 (12) Kardell walk-off solo HR Masuda (LEX) ND 7 IP 8 H 12 K 4 ER Rustler Pen 5.1 IP 2 H 5 K 0 BB Beckworth (LEX) 3-3 2 2B (20) R Bermudez 2-4 HR (11) 3 RBI (37)
• 8/3: AUS 5 LEX 4 Allen W (9-5 3.12) 8.2 IP 7 H 13 K 1 ER POTG Rowan 2-3 2B (11) HR (8) 3 RBI (28)
• 8/4: AUS 3 LEX 2 (13) Marshall Sac Fly wins it after PH HR in the 9th tied it. Au-Yong (LEX) ND 8 IP 3 H 0 ER 10 K Brooks ND 6.2 IP 11 H 5 K 2 ER Rebels score 2 on 18 hits to our 3 on 6 hits. That's a 3 game sweep of the best team in the Colonial and a 4-0 start to August
• 8/5: CHA 3 AUS 0 Otsubo (CHA) W (7-7) 8 IP 3 H 11 K POTG Cox L (11-10 2.67) 6 IP 6 H 5 K 3 ER
• 8/6: CHA 4 AUS 2 Taylor (CHA) ND 6 IP 3 H 8 K POTG Cary L (5-6) 7 IP 9 H 4 K 3 ER Colon 3-4
• 8/7: CHA 7 AUS 6 (11) Carpenter (CHA) ND 7 IP 4 H 10 K 1 ER POTG 2 run error by Moss after taking the lead in the top half. 4 errors in total
• 8/8: MEM 2 AUS 1 (10) Peric (16-3 2.14) loses no-hitter with 1 out in the 9th then gives up 1-0 lead. 8.2 IP 2 H 10 K 1 ER POTG Allen ND 9 IP 5 H 7 K 0 ER
• NEXT WEEK: 2 vs Memphis OFF DAY 3 vs Ft Worth 2 @ Houston
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE POTW: Steve Collins (BUF) 15-28 4 HR 8 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE POTW: Greg Long (MEX) 10-25 4 HR 6 RBI
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 8/2: San Diego's Jon Hogg threw a 1-hitter striking out 6 and facing the minimum of 27 hitters in the Missions 5-0 win over Philadelphia
• 8/4: Danny Gariepy (OH) fanned a career-high 18 in a 3-hitter to beat Chicago 2-1.
• 8/4: Andy Irving (NYE) allowed just 3 hits in a 2-0 win over Houston
• 8/4: Montreal's Jordan De Jesus won his 13th game (13-4 4.67) fanning 10 and walking none in a 6-0 win over Denver.
• 8/5: Dave Angyal (SD) struck out 8 in a 1-0 win over Brooklyn.
• 8/5: Yermolay Zhulyabin (MEX) allowed just 3 hits while striking out a season-high 11 in a 2-0 win over the Empire.
• 8/7: Lexington's Tomohiro Masuda continues to roll by fanning 17 Pittsburgh Miners in 8 innings of 3 hit ball in a 4-1 win. He is now 12-6 2.78 with 330 K's in just 184.2 IP.
• 8/8: Dallas Texan RF Jared Weathers hit his 400th career HR in their 4-3 win in San Diego. Career is a .309 hitter with 2315 hits 1261 RBI's and 1212 runs.
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• Sam Reyes took home the Short Season All Star game MVP in their 6-2 win.
• 8/4: Recently acquired 1B prospect Aaron Chisholm went 3-5 and hit 3 HR's and drove in 6 in Warren's 8-4 win over the Augusta Linksmen.
• 8/6: Top picks Sam Reyes and Dave Bates were promoted to Salt Lake City for the seasons final 20 games
• 8/8: In their 2nd game up Reyes homers and Bates hits 2 in a 10-2 win over the Savannah Sabre-Tooths.

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 49-78
• STANDINGS: 5th (12 GB)
• RUNS SCORED: 430 (14th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 614 (14th)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .687 (9th)
• ZONE RATING: -9.6 (10th)
• ERRORS: 65 (t-9th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Delighted
• FAN INTEREST: 63
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (3-3) 1-1 vs Memphis 1-2 @ Providence 1-0 @ Mexico
• 8/9: AUS 5 MEM 4 (10) Pantojas 2-3 2 BB HR (13) RBI (24) Giammona PH 3R HR in the 8th. Cowan walk off 1B Hicks DtD with bruised knee
• 8/10: MEM 10 AUS 3 Cox L (11-11 2.92) 4.2 IP 11 H 6 ER
• 8/11: OFF DAY
• 8/12: AUS 5 PRO 0 Cary W (6-6) CG 4 H 9 K POTG Orozco 3-5 RBI (50)
• 8/13: PRO 10 AUS 1 Marvel (PRO) 2-4 2 HR (21) 5 RBI (44) Abel L (2-2) 4.2 IP 9 H 6 ER
• 8/14: PRO 5 AUS 1 Dare (PRO) W (8-16) 8.2 IP 11 K 7 H 1 ER Allen L (9-6 3.01) 7 IP 7 K 8 H 4 ER
• 8/15: AUS 3 MEX 2 Brooks W (5-13) 6 IP 4 H 4 K 2 ER Laskey Save (19) Marshall HR (10)
• NEXT WEEK: 2 @ Mexico 3 vs Pittsburgh 2 @ Montreal
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE POTW: Dalton Cordova (NYP) 9-21 4 HR 6 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE POTW: Ricky Gutierrez (NYE) 10-25 3 HR 6 RBI
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 8/9: Jason Jaeger (BAL) struck out 11 in a 4-0 win over San Jose.
• 8/10: JJ Welker (NE) fanned 9 in a 2-hit 3-0 win over Ohio.
• 8/12: David Guillon (PHX) upped his record to 13-8 2.40 by striking out 16 Black Bandits and allowing just 3 hits in a 6-1 win. This marks the 4th consecutive season he has won 13 games.
• 8/13: Joe Taylor (DAL) threw a CG SHO in beating Philadelphia 5-0.
• 8/14: Tomohiro Masuda (LEX) struck out 15 in 7.1 IP in the Rebels 5-3 win over Ft Worth. He now has 345 K's in just 192 IP and he has set a new single-season record, surpassing Pittsburgh Miners David Faulkner who held the previous mark of 337 set in 2002. There has been a total of 22 pitching seasons with 300 or more strikeouts. Buffalo's Joey Elliott leads the ABL with 5 seasons of 300+ with Hall of Famer Ryan Ferguson having 4 being the runner up. Detroit Charger John Del Bianco has 3 seasons with 300+ and is at 252 right now.
• 8/15: Montreal's Jordan De Jesus tossed his 3rd shutout in his past 4 starts and his 5th shutout of the 2010 season by 1-hitting Memphis, striking out 10 and facing justs 1 batter over the minimum. He's now 14-5 4.49
• 8/15: LA Storms Tim Keen struck out 10 in a 2-hitter and LA beat the visiting Blackbirds 3-0.
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 8/9: Ryan Crabtree has hit .330/.413/.596 in 26 games at Warren since he was sent down. He's pissed about being there but doing what he needs to, to get back on the radar. He's an exceptional defender at the infield corners but as a switch hitter, he's almost a non-factor from the right side. He can hit RHP. The corner versatility (he's a gold glove caliber 1B and a ++ defender at 3B) is huge if he can manage to get his offense going.
• 8/9: It has now been over a month since IF prospect Joe Tighe went down with some elbow inflammation. He managed just 12 games (.326/.491/.349) after being acquired but he's been down for almost 5 weeks since then. It was supposed to be a week but he has not been able to get on the field and the past 3 weeks there has been no real timetable for him to get back. I was really hoping to get him at-bats and get him up here in September.
• 8/9: Short Season Hartford got destroyed 23-8. Grand Forks 2B Josh Wisniewski went 4-5 with 2 2B 2 HR and a league record 9 RBI's. Teammate Dylan Caudill hit 2 HR's and drove in 6. 7 Hartford pitchers gave up 23 runs with just one giving up less than 3.
• 8/9: Billy Lipkin, Joe LaPorte, and Andy Adrian hit 1,2,3 for Ft Wayne, In a 15-2 win they went 12-18 scored 8 runs drove in 10 with 4 HR's.
• 8/10: 22-year-old 2B Yasumasa Yamamoto went 4-5 slamming 3 HR's and driving in 8 in the Bengals 23-1 win over the New Orleans Buccaneers. For the year the 2B is hitting .255-30-83. In that same game, Sam Reyes went 3-3 hitting 3 home runs himself, and scored and drove in 5.
• Reyes is 7-14 2 2B 4 HR 6 RBI in 4 games since being called up.
• 8/10: Ft Wayne 2B Joe LaPorte (pick #53 this year) in his last 13 games is 18-52 10 HR 22 RBI and is hitting .261-21-45.
• 8/15: Warren's Matt Behrens struck out 7 in 6 strong innings of their 5-2 win to up his record to 8-3 2.94 in 20 AAA starts.
• 8/15: Sam Reyes (A) took home POTW honors going 13-28 4 HR 9 RBI 10 R and is hitting .429-5-10 in 9 games since being called up to Salt Lake City

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 53-81
• STANDINGS: 5th (12 GB)
• RUNS SCORED: 460 (14th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 640 (13th) Two 1-0 wins and a 3-0 shutout this week
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .686 (9th)
• ZONE RATING: -12.0 (11th)
• ERRORS: 70 (11th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Delighted
• FAN INTEREST: 63
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (4-3) 1-1 @ Mexico 2-1 vs Pittsburgh 1-1 @ Montreal
• 8/16: AUS 1 MEX 0 Cox CG SHO 4 H 6 K POTG (12-11 2.77) Zhulyabin (MEX) CG 2 H 11 K L (12-8 3.44)
• 8/17: MEX 8 AUS 2 Long (MEX) 3-5 HR (12) 3 RBI (47) MEX 2-5 hitters 12-20 6 R 7 RBI Cary L (6-7) 3.2 IP 10 H 5 ER
• 8/18: PIT 8 AUS 5 Abel 2 IP 4 H 1 ER stiff back DtD Johnston 3-4 2B (22) 3 R
• 8/19: AUS 9 PIT 2 Bermudez 3-4 2 2B (23) HR (12) 2 R 2 RBI (41) POTG Allen W (10-6 2.99) 7 IP 6 H 8 K 2 ER 1-3 2B 2 RBI
• 8/20: AUS 1 PIT 0 Brooks W (6-13 4.16) 8 IP 3 H 13 K 1 BB POTG Laskey Save (20) Bottini (PIT) CG 7 H 9 K 1 ER
• 8/21: AUS 7 MON 0 Cox W (13-11 2.65) 8 IP 6 H 4 K 0 R 117 pitches POTG Pantojas GS (15) 4 RBI (33) Sims (MON) 4-4
• 8/22: MON 8 AUS 5 Crawford (MON) 3-5 HR (23) 2 R 2 RBI (57) Cary 4 IP 7 H 2 K 4 ER 1-1 HR (1) Hicks hurt, Diagnosis pending
• NEXT WEEK: 1 @ Montreal OFF DAY 3 vs Ft Worth 2 @ Houston
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE POTW: Justin Hart (BAL) 5-9 4 HR 7 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE POTW: John Ritter (SAN) 8-19 5 HR 11 RBI
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 8/17: Alan Dover (PRO) went 5-5 with a walk-off 1B in the Black Sox 3-2 win over Pittsburgh
• 8/17: Cameron Jang (HOU) drove in 7 hitting 3 HR's including a tie-breaking 8th inning grand slam.
• 8/17: Jorge Negrete (BAL) struck out 7 and surrendered just 4 hits in the Blackbirds 2-0 win over Los Angeles.
• 8/19: Michael Cawthon (MON) tossed his 3rd shutout of the year and struck out 10 or more for the 9th time as he beat Providence 3-0 on a 2-hitter to move to 14-6 3.21. It was the 12th start this year in which he has surrendered 1 run or less.
• 8/19: Bison Rookie Joe Farmer went the distance on a 3-hitter to beat Philadelphia 5-0 for his 2nd shutout of the season. Farmer was a rule 5 draft pick out of the Chicago organization last year.
• 8/21: John Ritter (SAN) went 3-5 hitting 3 HR's and driving in 5 in a 13-6 loss to Denver.
• 8/21: In just his 4th career start 22-year-old Tsuruki Tanioka (FW) struck out 15 Providence hitters in the Cowboys 7-1 win. Tanioka, the leagues 21st ranked prospect, is 3-1 3.46 in 4 GS with 26 IP 17 H 43 K 8 BB. In his August 5th debut he threw 8.1 scoreless allowing 3 hits while fanning 13.
• 8/22: Jeff Hall (DAL) punched out 5 and scattered 6 hits in a 3-0 win over San Francisco
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 8/20: AAA Warren clinched their division.
• 8/20: Catcher Ryan Bermudez leads all of baseball with a 44.4% Caught Stealing rate.
• 8/21: Top draft pick Nate Davis went 3-5 hitting 3 HR's and driving in 6 in the Warriors 17-10 win. He now has 22 HR and 44 RBI.

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 54-86
• STANDINGS: 5th (15 GB)
• RUNS SCORED: 475 (14th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 660 (14th)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .686 (11th)
• ZONE RATING: -13.0 (11th)
• ERRORS: 74 (11th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Delighted
• FAN INTEREST: 63
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (1-5) 0-1 @ Montreal 1-2 vs Ft Worth 0-2 @ Houston
• 8/23: MON 2 AUS 1 Jones (MON) 8 IP 7 H 9 K 1 ER POTG Abel ND 7 IP 7 H 5 K 1 ER
• 8/24: OFF DAY
• 8/25: Mexico, Ft Worth and San Antonio are all 65-70 entering today's games.
• 8/25: FW 5 AUS 0 Davis (FW) CG 12 K 5 H POTG POTD Allen L (10-7) 6 IP 4 H 10 K 3 ER
• 8/26: AUS 9 FW 2 Marshall 2-3 BB 2 HR (12) 4 RBI (34) POTG Brooks W (7-13 4.00) 6.1 IP 2 H 4 BB 10 K Rowan 3R HR (11)
• 8/27: FW 5 AUS 4 Cox L (13-12 2.61) 6.1 IP 7 H 8 K 1 ER POTG Giammona (5) Bermudez (13) Orozco (20) all homer Orozco 14th error.
• 8/28: HOU 2 AUS 1 Crawford (HOU) W (10-9 3.39) 7.1 IP 4 H 11 K 0 R POTG Cary L (6-8) 7 IP 5 H 6 K 2 ER Orozco HR (21)
• 8/29: HOU 4 AUS 0 Forney (HOU) W (7-9) 7 IP 15 K POTG POTD
• NEXT WEEK: 1 @ Houston 3 vs NY Empire 3 @ Phoenix
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE POTW: Abdul-Muta'al Rhodes (PHI) 8-18 4 HR 8 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE POTW: Caleb Degand (MEM) 13-26 2 HR 5 RBI
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 8/23: Ryan Aleshire (BUF) scattered 5 hits and struck out 9 in a CG 4-0 win over Brooklyn
• 8/23: Joe Taylor (DAL) struck out 9 in a 6-0 shutout of San Francisco
• 8/25: Joe Farmer (BUF) fanned 11 and the Bison offense pounded Dallas pitching in a 15-0 win.
• 8/29: Tim Soledad (BAL) won his 17th game of the year blanking Brooklyn 2-0.
• 8/29: Elijah Pulliam (FW) fanned 13, walked 2 and gave up just 4 hits in the Cowboys 3-0 win over Pittsburgh
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 8/23: Hicks has a mild hamstring strain and will be DtD for a week
• 8/23: 1B prospect Aaron Chisholm went 3-4 with a 2B 2 HR and scored 5 times in the Warriors 21-8 win. He's hitting .299/.402/.736 with 11 HR 25 RBI in 22 G since being acquired at midnight of the deadline. He's the 82nd ranked prospect in the ABL
• 8/25: Warren won their division and is awaiting the 1st round. AA Modesto is tied with the Tacoma Squids with 2 games to play. Salt Lake City is 1 game back with 2 left to play and 2 out of the Wild Card.
• 8/28: AA Modesto will play the Tacoma Squids for the division title. Salt Lake City lost its season finale 2-1 to miss the playoffs by 1 game. Rookie league Ft Wayne is 5 games up with 10 to play.
• 8/29: Modesto's Matt Delaney drilled a 9th inning PH HR to give the Beasts a 4-3 win and their division title.
• 8/29: 19-year-old Ft Wayne OF Billy Lipkin went 14-28 2 HR 5 RBI to take home POTW honors. A 2009 9th round pick he's hitting .320-16-40

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 57-90
• STANDINGS: 5th (14 GB)
• RUNS SCORED: 497 (14th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 691 (13th)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .687 (11th)
• ZONE RATING: -11.9 (11th)
• ERRORS: 77 (t-11th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Delighted
• FAN INTEREST: 63
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (3-4) 0-1 vs Houston 2-1 vs NY Empire 1-2 @ Phoenix
• 8/30: HOU 5 AUS 1 Willis (HOU) 5 IP 5 H 1 ER 7 K POTG
• 8/31: NYE 7 AUS 1 Erwin (NYE) CG 4 H 6 K 1 ER POTG Brooks L (7-14 4.03) 5.1 IP 8 H 4 BB 3 ER
• 9/1: AUS 8 NYE 5 Marshall 3-4 2 2B HR (13) 4 RBI (38) POTG Cox W (14-12 2.61) 7 IP 8 H 9 K 2 ER 2-3 3B 2 RBI
• 9/2: AUS 2 NYE 0 Cary W (7-8) 8.1 IP 3 H 12 K POTG Laskey Save (22) Kardel 2B 2 RBI Johnston 3-4
• 9/3: PHX 6 AUS 2 Alexander (PHX) 7.2 IP 6 H 9 K 2 ER POTG Abel 5 ER 4.2 IP L (2-4) Chisholm 2-4 2B
• 9/4: PHX 5 AUS 4 (11) Murphy (PHX) 3-5 2 HR (17) 2 RBI (33) Laskey BS (6) L (2-4) 1.2 IP 2 HR 2 ER Rowan HR (12)
• 9/5: AUS 4 PHX 3 Brooks W (8-14 4.03) 7 IP 4 H 6 K 3 ER 1-2 RBI POTG
• NEXT WEEK: OFF DAY 3 @ Denver 3 vs San Antonio
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE POTW: Adrie Van Baarle (BRO) 17-29 4 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE POTW: Xie-Li Au-Yong (LEX) 2-0 0.00 18 IP 7 H 24 K 1 BB
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 8/30: Tony Delgado (LA) beat New England 1-0 scattering 9 hits and striking out 9
• 8/30: CJ Clinton (PHI) struck out a career-high 16 in a 7-0 win over Ohio. The 27-year-old is 13-3 2.80
• 8/30: Tomohiro Masuda (LEX) struck out 15 San Antonio Broncos and permitted just 3 hits to win his 14th of the year (14-7 2.61). He upped the single-season K mark to 386 in just 217 IP.
• 8/30: Andy Zerbe (CHA) struck out 15 in a 6-3 win over Denver.
• 8/31: Xie-Li Au-Yong (LEX) won his 16th game (16-4 2.10) fanning 13 and allowing just 2 hits in the Rebels 4-0 win over Mexico.
• 9/1: Former Rustler Matt Dickes (NYP) struck out 12 on 3 hits in beating LA 12-0. He's 9-2 4.28 since being dealt.
• 9/2: David Guillion (PHX) whiffed 11 and allowed just 3 hits in his 15th win (15-8 2.42) over Providence.
• 9/3: Jamie Stevens (SJ) went 3-5 and hit 3 solo HR's in an 8-4 win over Brooklyn
• 9/3: Memphis P Jeremy Buttitta struck out 15 San Antonio Stallions, walked none, and allowed just 3 hits in a 3-0 win.
• 9/4: Andy Zerbe (CHA) continued his monster year striking out 12 Lexington Rebels in a 4-hit 3-0 win. The 22 year old is 16-8 3.20.
• 9/4: Philadelphia locked up the Patriot League WC.
• 9/4: Lexington's Tomohiro Masuda was beaten 3-0 by Charlotte's Andy Zerbe but Masuda fanned 12 to give him 398 for the year.
• 9/4: San Diego's Jon Hogg leads the Patriot League in pitching WAR at 8.1. He's just 10-11 3.01 but has had a phenomenal season. In 206 IP he's punched ou 232 and given up just 7 HR and 191 hits. The Mission are just 2 games behind LA in the Patriots Coastal division.
• 9/5: Bob Mitchell (BRO) tossed a 3-hit shutout to beat San Jose 4-0. The 33 year old is 9-9 20 SV 3.19
• 9/5: Mexico's Ryan Logan fanned 10 Ft Worth Cowboys en route to a 4-hit 1-0 win.
• 9/5: Lexington's Xie-Li Au-Yong went the distance for his 9th CG and ABL record 6th shutout of the season. He struck out 11, walked none and scattered 5 hits. The 26-year-old lefty is 17-4 2.02.
• 9/5: Datu Zape (OH) struck out a career-high 15 allowing just 4 hits in a 4-2 win over Dallas. The 25-year-old is 10-9 3.73 and making it known his 2009 season (18-5 2.88) was no fluke.
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 8/30: Ft Wayne took home their division crown going 40-23. Manager Josh Morgan was given a 4 year 360K extension and Hitting Coach Pat Weeks a 2-year extension. PC Adam Zucker has a year left on his current deal.
• Other minor league staff that received extensions: AAA Hitting Coach Mike Samuel 2 yrs 126K, AA Pitching Coach Aaron Fields 2 yrs 68K, Class A Pitching Coach Tim Winter 2 yrs 56K, hitting coach Zenon-Alejandro Castro 3 yrs 141K.
• Hartford manager Jamar Davis and Hitting Coach Tyler Biddle will not be re-signed.
• 9/2: AA Modesto took a 6-3 lead into the 9th before Fall River tied the game on a 2 out 3R HR. The game went 16 before Fall River ended it with a 7-6 win.
• 9/3: The Warren Warriors are headed to the AAA world series after Matt Behrens threw 6 strong innings (4 H 6 K 1 ER) to beat Athens 2 games to 1. They'll meet up with the Sherbrooke Squadron, the San Diego Missions AAA affiliate. 2010 top pick Sam Reyes will be added to the Warren roster.

[gehrig38]

Warren is playing in the finals so it'll be a week before final decisions but for now P Vince Aspinwall, Chris Miller, 1B Aaron Chisholm are called up. Chisholm is added to the 40 man roster.

[gehrig38]

• RUSTLER PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Chris Kardell .289/.372/.526 5 HR 11 RBI
• RUSTLER PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Travis Brooks 3-1 2.15 37.2 IP 35 H 40 K
• RUSTLER MiL PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Roberto Barbarosa .347/.473/.813 10 HR 34 RBIA
• RUSTLER MiL PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Vince Aspinwall 4-1 2.20 32.2 IP 19 H 34 K 9 BB
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Steve Collins (BUF) .357-9-25 22 R
• COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Caleb Degand .367-7-24 21 R
• PATRIOT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Joe Farmer (BUF) 5-1 2.35 46 IP 33 H 48 K
• COLONIAL LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Elijah Pulliam (FW) 6-0 1.41 44.2 IP 62 K .184 OppAvg
• PATRIOT LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Joe Farmer
• COLONIAL LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Elijah Pulliam
  
  
  
  
  • Drama brewing in our division with 1 game separating the three clubs. Still no one above .500
  • Lexington is pulling away and it looks like Memphis and Phoenix will battle for the right to play the Rebels in round 1.
  • The Punishers already clinched a post-season birth.
  • Some unprecedented seasons on the mound for sure. Looks like Seung-Hyeon Kim is running away with the PL MVP.

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 61-92
• STANDINGS: 5th (13 GB)
• RUNS SCORED: 521 (14th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 711 (13th)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .687 (9th)
• ZONE RATING: -12.1 (11th)
• ERRORS: 82 (11th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Very Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 64
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (4-2) 1-2 @ Denver 3-0 vs San Antonio
• 9/6: OFF DAY
• 9/7: DEN 4 AUS 3 Bradburn (DEN) W (16-11 4.43) 7 IP 11 K 2 ER POTG Cox L (14-13 2.65) 7 IP 6 H 10 K 3 ER Chisholm strikes out with the bases loaded to end it. Johnston 3-5 SB Hicks 3-4 2B (20) Chisholm 2 2B
• 9/8: AUS 3 DEN 2 Cary ND 7.1 IP 2 H 9 K 0 R Laskey SV (24) Orozco 2-4 2B (17) GW HR top 9 (22) RBI (56)
• 9/9: DEN 6 AUS 2 Lach (DEN) W (12-15) 7 IP 12 K 2 ER 1-3 2B RBI POTG
• 9/10: AUS 4 SAN 0 Orozco 3-3 2 HR (24) 2 RBI (58) Heriberto Perez 1st ABL HR Allen W (11-8 3.11) 8 IP 6 H 4 K Lipsky 1 IP 1 K
• 9/11: AUS 6 SAN 5 Chisholm bases loaded walk wins it Brooks ND 7 IP 3 H 7 K 3 ER POTG Orozco HR (25) 3 RBI (61)
• 9/12: AUS 6 SAN 3 Cox W (15-13 2.70) 6.2 IP 11 K 6 H 3 ER POTG Laskey SV (25) Chisholm 1st ABL HR
• NEXT WEEK: 3 @ Lexington 3 vs Charlotte OFF DAY
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE POTW: Dan Frazier (NE) 9-22 4 HR 5 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE POTW: Luis Orozco (AUS) 10-20 4 HR 6 RBI
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 9/8: Mike Crawford (HOU) threw a 2-hitter to beat Ft Worth 5-0
• 9/8: Luis Rivera (SAN) fanned a career-high 16 while walking just 1 in the Broncos 5-3 win over Providence
• 9/8: Justin Wilson (PHI) tossed his 3rd shutout of the season blanking Los Angeles on 5 hits and striking out 6. The 23-year-old righty is 16-7 2.98
• 9/9: Jeremy Buttitta fanned 9, walked none, and scattered 4-hits in a 4-0 win over Charlotte. The 30-year-old Buttitta has won 10+ games the past 6 years and is 93-79 3.51 in 251 career starts. He was the San Diego Missions 1st pick, 2nd overall, out of Marshall in 2001. He signed with Memphis this past off-season for 6 years and 49.9 million.
• 9/9: With just 11 games left in the regular season just 2 teams have clinched a post-season berth. New York and Philadelphia.
• 9/10: Tomohiro Masuda gave up 5 in 7.1 IP in a 5-4 loss to Providence. In that game, he fanned 13 to run his single-season total to a record 411. He also extended his record of games with 10+ K's to 30. He has also set the single-season record with 9 games of 15 or more strikeouts including tying the single-game record of 19 in his 1-hitter vs Memphis in July.
• 9/11: Pittsburgh Miner P Eric Hart threw a 3-hitter to beat Denver 7-0 and win a career-high 15th game (15-11 3.42)
• 9/11: Xie-Li Au-Yong (LEX) extended the single-season shutout record to 7 and threw his 10th complete game striking out 13 in a 2-0 win over Providence. He's now 18-4 1.94 with 286 K's in 236.1 IP.
  
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 9/7: Eliminated from the post-season for the 17th time in 20 years. That streak is about to end.
• 9/8: The Warren Roar swept the Sherbrooke Squadron to win the AAA World Series. It was their 2nd AAA title in their 8th post-season appearance. They won it back in 1993.
• 9/8: Matt Behrens, Jason Lipsky, Vince Aspinwall, Brad Cass, and Trevor Pope are recalled. 1B Stu Rosinksi, 2B Toby Murray, OF Joel Moss, Heriberto Perez, and Hyun-Woo Kang are recalled as well. With 40 man additions, the roster is now at 39.

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 62-97
• STANDINGS: 5th (15 GB)
• RUNS SCORED: 543 (14th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 742 (13th)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .682 (11th)
• ZONE RATING: -14.3 (11th)
• ERRORS: 86 (12th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Very Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 64
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (1-5) 0-3 @ Lexington 1-2 vs Charlotte
• 9/13: LEX 5 AUS 2 Olivas (LEX) W (11-10 3.43) 8 IP 6 H 12 K 2 ER 1-3 R POTG Beckworth (LEX) 3-4 HR (38) RBI (81) Chisholm HR (2) Cary L (7-9 4.10) 6 IP 5 H 6 K 4 ER
• 9/14: LEX 6 AUS 3 Green (LEX) 3-4 HR (32) 3 RBI (76) POTG Behrens ABL Debut 2.2 IP 4 H 4 K 1 ER pulled with forearm tightness and shut down for the year.
• 9/15 LEX 4 AUS 2 Masuda 7 IP 15 K (10th 15+ K game) 426 K's POTG
• 9/16: Game suspended 1-1 top 6th due to rain.
• 9/17: G1 CHA 7 AUS 4 (12) Orozco 3-5 2B (20) HR (26) 2 RBI (64) Hicks injured, diagnosis pending
• 9/17: G2 CHA 6 AUS 5 (12) Pantojas 2-5 HR (17) 2 RBI (37) Cass 5 IP 9 H 3 HR 5 ER Charlotte clinches the Skyline division
• 9/18: AUS 6 CHA 3 (10) Rosinksi 2-5 walk off 3R HR 3 RBI POTG Orozco 3-5
• 9/19: OFF DAY
• NEXT WEEK: 3 @ Memphis
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE POTW: Mike Murphy (LA) 9-19 4 HR 8 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE POTW: Josh Sims (MON) 8-21 4 HR 8 RBI
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 9/13: Chris Nosal (CHI) struck out 12, walked 1 and scattered 5 hits in beating Ohio 9-0.
• 9/14: Jordan Carroll (SF) shut out Detroit 4-0 striking out 8 and allowing just 4 hits.
• 9/15: Dustin Harrison (BRO) fanned 10, walked 2 and allowed just 3 hits in a 6-0 shutout of New York.
• 9/15: Jeremy Buttitta (MEM) ran his scoreless innings streak to 33.1 IP with his 2nd straight SHO in beating Mexico 9-0. In his past 4 starts he is 4-0 0.00 ERA 33.1 IP 12 H 44 K 4 BB
• 9/16: Richard Dobie (PRO) beat Memphis 1-0 with a 2-hitter.
• 9/16: Eric Hart (PIT) fanned 10, walked 2, and allowed 5 hits in a 5-0 win over Lexington. He's now won a career-high 16 games (16-11 3.28)_
• 9/17: Mat Renzi (HOU) tossed his 1st career SHO fanning 10 in a 7-0 win over Phoenix.
• 9/17: Lexington clinched the Colonial Leagues Misfit division.
• 9/19: Victor Herrada (BUF) went 5-5 in an 8-5 win over Detroit
• 9/19: David Gullion (PHX) lost a no-hitter with 2 outs in the 9th but settled for a 15 strikeout 1-hitter and a 4-0 win over Houston. He's 17-9 2.57
• 9/19: Jake Byers (NYP) fanned 15 in just 7 innings yielding 3 hits in a 4-2 win over Dallas. The 21-year-old is 16-4 1 SV 2.65 ERA
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 9/16: Ft Wayne, down 2-0 in the Rookie league semi-finals, stormed back to win 3 straight. After a 7-5 loss, they are headed to game 7.
• 9/17: Warren Roar Pitcher Brad Cass took home a AAA Gold Glove

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 63-99
• STANDINGS: 5th (17 GB)
• RUNS SCORED: 552 (14th)
• RUNS AGAINST: 751 (13th)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .683 (11th)
• ZONE RATING: -15.4 (12th)
• ERRORS: 87 (12th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Good
• FAN INTEREST: 64
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (1-2) 1-2 vs Memphis
• 9/20: MEM 1 AUS 0 Peric (MEM) ND 8 IP 17 K (298 for the season) 2 H Pope ND 7 IP 1 H 6 K
• 9/21: AUS 6 MEM 4 Allen W (12-8 3.19) 7 IP 7 H 4 K 4 ER POTG Laskey SV (26) Orozco HR (27) Rosinski 3R HR (2) Buttitta (MEM) L (14-10 3.36) 1.2 IP 6 H 5 ER
• 9/22: MEM 4 AUS 3 Simon (MEM) W (14-11 3.70) 8 IP 7 H 8 K 3 ER Brooks ND 7 IP 6 H 8 K 0 BB 2 ER
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 9/20: Jon Hogg (SD) shutout Dallas 2-0 on a 2-hitter, striking out 9. The win clinched the Patriot Leagues Coastal division.
• 9/20: San Francisco axed GM Billy Dondero and 1st-year manager Jesus Garcia after the 4th straight losing season. The Bears have never won an ABL title in their 21 years.
• 9/21: Hila Kula (SD) struck out a career-high 16 Dallas Texans in the Missions 2-0 win. He walked none and gave up just 3 hits.
  
  
  
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 9/20: AAA Skipper Andy Brown took home the Manager of the year award. It was his 3rd win.
• 9/23: Salt Lake City 2B Yasumasa Yamamoto (.249/.318/.527 32 HR) and LF Gordie Kreitlow (.244/.358/.583 32 HR) won Class A Silver Slugger Awards

[gehrig38]

• RUSTLER PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Luis Orozco .365/.422/.689 6 2B 6 HR 11 RBI
• RUSTLER PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Ryan Cary 1-1 2.28 27.2 IP 17 H 33 K
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Abdul-Muta'al Rhodes (PHI) .375 5 HR 25 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Josh Sims (MON) .364 9 HR 22 RBI
• PATRIOT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Steve Breitbarth (PHI) 3-0 1.15 31.1 IP 37 K
• COLONIAL LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Ryan Logan (MEX) 3-0 0.53 34 IP 34 K .140 OppAvg
• PATRIOT LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Andy O'Brien (SD) .324 7 HR 22 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Willie Montoya (PRO) 0-0 7 SV 8 IP 8 K

[gehrig38]

• 9/26: San Diego's Jon Hogg shut out New England in game 2 of the Wild Card round 5-0 on 9 strikeouts.
• 9/26: Xie-Li Au-Yong picked up where he left off striking out 11 Blue Sox in Lexington's 2-0 win. He allowed just a 2nd inning single.
• 10/1: On the brink of elimination Philadelphia pitcher Dennis Pippins stifled San Diego on 5 hits in a 2-0 season-saving win.
• 10/2: Xie-Li Au-Yong spun a second gem and took home WC Series MVP striking out 15 Blue Sox in a 4-0 series-clinching win. He did that in just 7.2 IP. His series line 2 GS 2-0 0.00 ERA 16.2 IP 5 H 26 K 1 BB 0.36 WHIP
  
  
• WILD CARD ROUND RESULTS
• Charlotte beat Ft Worth 4-1
• Lexington beat Memphis 4-2
• New England beat San Diego 4-3
• New York Punishers beat Philadelphia 4-3
  
  
• DIVISION SERIES
• The Lexington Rebels, down 3 games to none, became the 1st team in ABL history to come back and win a 7 game series after being in a 3-0 hole.
• The Rebels took game 4 in rather easy fashion 8-2
• In game 5 they entered the 8th down 8-2 and scored 6 to tie it before 3B Nick Bauguess homered an inning later for the 10-8 come from behind win.
• In the 11th inning of game 6, Lexington was down 5-4 with 2 outs before OF Jason Bagby's 2 out game tying 2B. An inning later PH Kyle Odom slammed a 2 out 2 strike game-winning home run.
• Game 7 featured leading rookie of the year candidate Cameron Mears (13-10 3.14 296 K 235 IP and had spun a 2-0 10K 2-hitter in game 3) against the likely Koufax winner in Lexington's Xie-Li Au-Yong whom Charlotte had beaten earlier in the series. Au-Young took a 3 hit shutout into the 9th before tiring and Walt Davis came in to get the final 2 outs and preserve the series-clinching 2-0 win. Au-Yong fanned 10 and walked none.
  
  
• DIVISION SERIES RESULTS
• New York Punishers beat New England 4-2
• Lexington Rebels beat Charlotte 4-3