Sal, the Barber Presents . . .

[Orcin]

Pitcher: Pearce looks like a guy that will give up a lot of dingers to me. Koch probably puts more guys on base and doesn't have the strikeout pitch to get out of it. In a big park, I might go with Pearce. Small park or hitter's park, I would take Koch, especially if my defense is good.

3B: Gustin would be better in the long run, but he doesn't look ready for the majors to me. Is his eye ever going to get better than that? He swings at the bag of peanuts thrown to a customer in the third row.

[Sal, The Barber]

21 June 2003

A GM is not a player. You can't step out of the front office and go down on the field and swing for the fences, cuss at the opposing pitcher, and slide hard into second base. There's nothing to do as a GM when you're frustrated. Except make a trade.

That's why they say the best trade is often the one you don't make. You've got to have the discipline to reel in your feelings of frustration and stand pat. You can't call the twit in the third row at the press conference a twit. Even when, let's face it, you and I both know, he's a twit. You have to answer that same question again, for the tenth time.

We are four weeks from the all-star break. We are 37-30, 2.5 games behind Boise for the division. It has felt like we've had a horrible year, but we don't have a horrible record. Gosh, we've played badly--errors in the field, we don't hit with runners in scoring position, poor bullpen work. We've been terribly streaky. But, remember, a couple of those streaks were winning streaks--9 games to start the season, for example. We're not out of it, even though it has felt like we have been out of it at moments this season.

So how do we win it?

Looking at our hitters, every one of them is performing below the level they performed at last season, except for Randy Johnston and Carlos Campos. Johnston's performance has taken bats away from Will Byrd and is just about equal to what Byrd did for us last year. So let's call that a wash. Campos is hitting just slightly above last season's pace, and he slowed in the second half last year. So perhaps he's a wash too.

So we should be able to count on some of these guys to have better second halves, just based on the law of averages. So we'll get better without doing anything.

Something about that line of thinking that I don't find persuasive.

We could look at our problems. Defense at 3B, a fifth starter, and what? bullpen? offense? Our lowest ranking in the WL is 8th for batting average (actually, we're ninth in HRs, but I don't care much about that stat). Our bullpen ERA is fourth, and I think we're working through our bullpen problems and finding what roles to use our guys in--and figuring out which guys to keep up on the big club.

Our problems are our fifth starter and defense at 3B. We won't need a fifth starter in the playoffs. So if we just keep shuffling can we get to the playoffs? I don't want to trade Ben Koch, and he certainly could have a solid second half. Julio Garcia went 7 innings today in his third start of the season. His first two he went four. Maybe he can fill in. And if he can't we can give Koch or Cummings one more shot. I think we stand pat here.

If we try to find a better defensive third baseman, we'll cost ourselves offense. Judson can hit. He's a good fit for us since we have no other leadoff hitter. I was so happy to get him last year that I'd be a fool to trade him a year later. We're not trading Judson. What we'll have to do is substitute for him later in games. This would be easier to do if Cy Sanders could stay off the DL. Beck and Sanders on the left side of the infield would be as good as it gets defensively. I'll have Taylor talk to Judson when Sanders comes off the DL.

So we do nothing. I've talked myself into that. Except. What do I do with John "Fragile" O'Flangan? This kid is 22. He played 149 games as a 19 year old and hit over .300. He played 58 games in 2001. 93 games last year. He's truly an offensive weapon when he's in the lineup. Maybe we identify a real need and explore a trade in the off-season? Otherwise, we have to have a fourth outfielder who can play, who will not like sitting on the bench when Johnnie O is healthy. You have to ask what kind of toll all the injuries are taking on Johnnie O's defense, too.

[Sal, The Barber]

22 June 2003
Cheyenne, WY

A big three game series with the Wichita Linemen wrapped up today at Cowboy Park. Paul Lyons went out to try and win the rubber game for the Cowboys. Wichita, while not in the same division as Cheyenne, has a record that is just a few victories short of the Cowboys'. Cheyenne needed to show itself and its fans that it could beat a good team. And they had Lyons going, after all. Wichita was starting Eugene Bowden, a back-end starter with control problems.

It was difficult to watch, then, when Paul Lyons exhibited the problem that's been plaguing Cheyenne pitchers all year in the first inning. He couldn't get out of it. After two quick outs, Lyons gave up a bloop single. Clean-up hitter Jesus Ortiz, a prize free agent pick-up in the off-season, took Lyons deep for a 2-0 lead. Clearly miffed, Lyons then delivered a twin and found himself down 3 runs right off the hop.

When Cheyenne is going well, they are patient at the plate; they draw walks and see lots of pitches. With Bowden on the mound, Terry Taylor just pushed the club to follow the game plan: take a strike--'cause this guy doesn't throw many of them.

It didn't take long. In the bottom of the second--after Lyons blew threw the Linemen in the top of the inning--Jesus Rivera tripled with the count full. Randy Johnston singled on a 2-1 pitch. Vasquez struck out. Beck doubled. Lyons flew out. And with two out and two on, Kelly Judson drew a walk. Shawn Clark drove a 2-1 pitch 436 feet. Grand salami. Paul Lyons now had a 5-3 lead. What are the chances he's giving that away?

Wichita got one more run from Lyons, but Cheyenne had already tacked on two more. And in the eighth, Cheyenne had another 5-run inning. Lee Martin gave up a run in the ninth, but the game was over. Cheyenne won, 12-5.

That's how the Cowboy offense works. It's why Lyons works so well on this club. He gives up runs but rarely too many. And he seems to be toughest when leading 4 or 5 to 3. The patient approach really gets to a club like Wichita who has a bullpen full of guys with control problems. Cheyenne drew 8 walks today. That's a winning formula, but one that's been a challenge to repeat consistently. There's plenty of season left, though.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by Sal, The Barber

So we should be able to count on some of these guys to have better second halves, just based on the law of averages. So we'll get better without doing anything.

Something about that line of thinking that I don't find persuasive.

I've been there.

[deandean1998]

Originally Posted by Orcin

I've been there.

We have ALL been there

[Sal, The Barber]

26 June 2003
Cheyenne, WY

Cheyenne traded catcher Randy Johnston and relief pitcher Zac Brimmer to Sacramento today for catcher Doug Broomhead. Broomhead is just about the only player in the Association who is able to say that he's a better defensive catcher than Johnston. Johnston, however, is having a career year with the bat.

Cheyenne GM Boo Bentley explained that Johnston had asked for more playing time about a month ago. He had been getting it these past couple of weeks, but Bentley noted that Will Byrd was starting to come on at the plate, and that would inevitably cut into Johnston's time on the field.

Still, it seems a strange time to cut Johnston loose. He's a valuable player and the club's senior member. If Johnston really did ask for a trade, then I guess it's fair to say that Bentley made the most of it. But it's hard not to see this move as a salary dump. Johnston was making around 4 million, and 4 million is a bit steep for a backup catcher.

And to throw in Brimmer? Brimmer was a surprise to make the club out of spring training. He was out of options, so the Cowboys gave him a chance. He pitched fairly well. However, Bentley called up Tim Fields, an offseason waiver wire acquisition. Fields had been tearing it up in the minors.

Cheyenne begins a 4-game series with Sacramento today; the Solons lead the Pacific Division. They have a 2.5 games lead on Cheyenne.

[Sal, The Barber]

26 June 2003

I think I made a hasty trade today. Johnston and Brimmer for Broomhead. I always saw Johnston as a backup, good defensively. I got that back in Broomhead, and he's younger and cheaper. He doesn't have the power Johnston does, and I'm not sure about the OBP. Johnston walked. Broomhead has good minor league OBP numbers, but we'll see.

Getting rid of Brimmer doesn't bother me. We've got relievers, and Fields appears ready.

But here's the real reason I traded Johnston. Well, there are two reasons. For some reason, his request for more playing time unnerved me. It still bugs me. He was playing every third day. I think we made him happier when we reversed his role with Byrd. But now Byrd is hitting, and Byrd's our catcher. I don't think Johnston would have stirred things up the rest of the year. We could have told him we'd trade him in the offseason. Why wouldn't he want to stick around for the pennant race? But I didn't feel like doing that. Maybe because he's a veteran. I don't know. I felt like I owed him something. I moved him to the division leader, too. I can't explain why I did that.

The other reason to move him is because I need money. Matt Ellis is cheap. I've got no money to sign my draft picks. I've got two still unsigned, and no money to do it. I really want Sourface Racine. So I tried to move salary enough to secure the future. Problem is I didn't move enough money to sign Sourface. I have 3.2 mil now. Racine wants 3.4. I also haven't signed Nieves, a shortstop. He wants 3. I can at least sign him, although I'd prefer to get Racine. I've got only one more shot with Racine. I offered him all I had before I made this trade. He wasn't happy with the offer. Before I can make another, though, I'll have to find some more money.

We won this division last year. We upset KC in the LCS. We're in the division this year. But I don't know. I don't trust that we're that good yet. I want to sign draft picks, develop players, have a pipeline of talent. We have to. We'll always have to let vets go once they become expensive. We've got to have replacements to win. That's what working for Matt Ellis means.

I got a backup catcher in return for Johnston and some money. I think I had to do it, but I don't like thinking that I might have sacrificed a pennant. I'd feel better if I had gotten another 200K. Another 200K. I've got to go see if I can find that.

[Sal, The Barber]

29 June 2003
Cheyenne, WY

Sacramento series recap:

Game one: 5-4 LOSS, winning run was unearned.
Game two: 9-1 WIN, Paul Lyons was brilliant.
Game three: 10-8 LOSS, Shawn Clark tied the score with a 3-run double, we took the lead, and Frankie Howard gave up 6 runs in the 9th to blow the game.
Game four: 9-8 LOSS, Ricardo Diaz gave up 4 runs in the first inning, but we battled back and tied it at 8. Basilio Mangoni gave up a solo HR in the 9th, and we failed to answer.

Cheyenne is 40-34, 4.5 games behind Sacramento, 3.5 behind Boise.


A trade was announced today in the Association. Cheyenne sent last season's "Magic Man" John Cummings to Oakland for minor league pitcher Jimmy Cooper. Cummings wasn't able to recapture the magic he displayed last season and was unhappy in the minor leagues. Cooper is a kid with a lot of potential but who doesn't seem to be able to fulfill it. He's got inconsistent control and not a lot of movement on his pitches. He's basically a fastball/curveball pitcher. It's hard to know if Cummings was becoming a clubhouse problem in AAA or if Cowboy GM Boo Bentley was trying to do him a favor by moving him. The Cowboys seemed to have a couple of extra starters who weren't pitching well, but it's clear that Cooper is not a top-flight prospect.

[Sal, The Barber]

1 July 2003
Cheyenne, WY

Jesus Soto was named Western League hitter of the month for June, and Paul Lyons was named WL pitcher of the month for June--a clean sweep of those awards for Cheyenne. Too bad that didn't translate to anything better than a 14-13 record in June.


Cheyenne announced today that 7th round pick Jeff "Sourface" Racine signed with the club. GM Boo Bentley called the negotiation process grueling but spoke at length to the importance of building this club by drafting and developing players. Racine's demands were high, which was why the pitcher fell to the 7th round of the draft. Bentley did not reveal the amount of Racine's signing bonus, but it was suggested that it was at least 3 million.

[Sal, The Barber]

6 July 2003

Three Cowboys were named to the 2003 Western League All-Star squad. Jesus Soto, Carlos Campos, and Paul Lyons were all selected for the WL stars.

Cheyenne dropped their final game before the break, 6-5 to Omaha. However, Cheyenne took 3 of 4 games in that series. Julio Garcia gave up 4 runs in the first inning of 6-5 loss but settled down to go 6 total, not allowing another run. Garcia seems to have taken hold of the fifth starter's job in the rotation. He's had 6 starts to date and his place looks secure at the moment, especially with John Cummings being traded last week.

[Sal, The Barber]

Cheyenne did not drop their final game before the break by the score of 6-5; they, in fact, lost 10-5. I posted while still playing last night, and a couple of games later, the program crashed. I lost 4 games. So these had to be replayed. The replay changed my mind about Julio Garcia.

Garcia gave up 5 runs in the second inning of that 10-5 loss, an inning in which he should have only given up 1 run. Then, once we got 2 runs back, he gave away 3 more. That was enough. I decided in the midst of the game to send him back down to AAA. Partly because I've got options. Ben Koch is going to be given one more shot. I also have a prospect that the minor league coaches are telling me is ready for the show--Tze-mang Tang. Koch is gonna get the call up, and if he fails we'll try Tang. Then, I've made an offer to free agent starting pitcher Wilbur Reeves. I need another arm at AAA, and he's big-league rated. He could come up and pitch if we need him to.

But Garcia failed at just the right time. At game's end, I got a trade offer for him from Cincinnati. The Outlaw Reds are in win now mode, and they need pitching. They really wanted Garcia, and I was happy to turn him over. I got a 4.5 star first base prospect in Keith Cooper and a pitcher with 4 star potential, Nicolas LeBreton. LeBreton was starting in Cincinnati's minor league system, but we're switching him to a reliever.

There's more big news. Right before the all-star break, Kansas City made a big trade with Sacramento. These are the two division leaders. KC traded one of their excellent starting pitchers, Pascal Merlet, for one of the Solon's sluggers, Lee Krant. Krant had just come over to Sacramento this season as a free agent. I guess this makes both teams better--not good news for us.

One more note. Halifax, the club that beat us in the World Series last season, is 16 games under .500, so they fired their manager. That's a huge turnaround and not a good one.

[Sal, The Barber]

16 July 2003
Kansas City, MO

Roy Horton pitched a 5-hit shutout today to salvage the final game of the 4-game series that just concluded with KC. Cheyenne won the game 1-0. The Cowboys managed just 3 hits, but one of them was a run-producing triple by Bernardo Vasquez. Horton only struck out one KC hitter, but he seemed to induce a double play anytime he got in trouble.

Yesterday, KC won 2-1 with a home run in the bottom of the tenth off of Frankie Howard. The first two games of the series weren't close.

The win today broke a 4-game losing streak for Cheyenne. Cheyenne was 5-1 in July before the All-Star break, but they're 2-4 so far after it.

The Cowboys are 47-40, in third place, 5.5 games behind Sacramento.

[Sal, The Barber]

22 July 2003
Topeka, KN

Cheyenne lost to Topeka for the third straight time today 5-4 when Frankie Howard gave up 2 runs in the bottom of the ninth. Howard's blown save wasted Roy Horton's 8 inning performance--he allowed 3 earned runs. Horton's work came on the heels of Ben Koch's and Paul Lyons' complete games the last two days, also losses. Koch gave up 2 runs and lost 2-1. Lyons gave up 3 earned and lost 4-2. Cheyenne hasn't gotten a stretch of pitching as good as that in a long time, yet the offense is killing the club at the moment.

The Cowboys have dropped to 4th place in the division and remain 4 games over .500.

[Sal, The Barber]

25 July 2003
Cheyenne, WY

John O'Flanagan returned from the disabled list with thunder in his wrists. O'Flanagan had two hits, a bases-loaded triple and a 2-run HR, leading Cheyenne to a 7-4 win over Oakland. The Cowboys scored their 7 runs on just 4 hits. Paul Lyons pitched seven innings, allowing the 4 earned runs. Javier Gomez went an inning, and Frankie Howard pitched the ninth, picking up the save. Cheyenne plays one more with Oakland tomorrow, and then Wichita comes in for a 4-game series.


NOTES:
Ewen van der Knaap, our least favorite Boise Brave, has a 30-game hitting streak. van der Knaap is from Aruba and has got to be the only baseball player of significance ever to come from the island.

[Sal, The Barber]

1 August 2003
Seattle, WA

Ben Koch pitched wonderfully for a third straight start and was finally rewarded with a win. Cheyenne swept Seattle in a short, two-game series and overtook the Rainiers in the Pacific Division standings. Koch pitched a complete game shutout today; the Cowboys won 3-0.

Yesterday, behind Jason Bryant and 4 strong innings of relief from Miguel Flores, Lee Martin, and Tim Fields, the Cowboys won 7-3.

Cheyenne sat out the activity at the trade deadline and are setting their sights on a late season run for the division crown. They are currently 3.5 games behind Sacramento. Pedro Ibarra is starting to hit better; Kelly Judson has a 12-game hitting streak; John O'Flanagan has been hot since returning from the DL; and Carlos Campos is back from a short DL stint. And the Cowboy pitching has been strong all season.

The missing piece to the puzzle may be a more consistent Jesus Soto whose batting average has dropped to .257. Soto does have 25 HRs, tied for fifth in the WL, and 80 RBI, which ranks sixth in the WL.


NOTES:
Ewen van der Knaap's hitting streak ended at 32 games.

[Sal, The Barber]

8 August 2003
Sacramento, CA

The Cheyenne Cowboys rolled into Sacramento on an 8-game winning streak (on the heels of a 4-game sweep of Sioux City), and, today, they took the first game of a four-game series with the Solons. Ben Koch was masterful again, and the Cowboys won 3-1. Basilio Mangoni pitched a scoreless eighth after the Cowboys had put two on via fielding errors. Javier Gomez pitched the ninth--both Frankie Howard and Tim Fields were unavailable.

The Cowboys' win puts them just a half game back of Sacramento in the Pacific Division standings. The Cowboys hope to jump Sacramento in the standings during this series. The only problem is that Boise came in to the day on a 6-game winning streak, and they won again today, as well. The Braves now lead the division by 3 games over Sacramento and by 3.5 over Cheyenne.

The Cowboys have a showdown series with the Braves next week.


NOTES:
John O'Flanagan has an inflamed elbow and, while not on the DL, is out about a week. The fragility of this guy is becoming legendary.

Kansas City has an 11-game lead in the Cornhusker Division, and they possess the best record in the Association.

[Sal, The Barber]

10 August 2003
Sacramento, CA

The expected pitching duel between Paul Lyons and Pascal Merlet, the ace pitcher Sacramento traded slugger Lee Krant for, never materialized. Merlet was chased after three innings and after giving up 6 runs. But Lyons wasn't sharp either; he gave up 5 runs.

Cheyenne, in fact, lost a 8-4 lead, and the game went into extra innings. In the tenth, Jesus Soto hit his second HR of the game, a 3-run blast, to cap a 4 run inning. Cheyenne held to win 12-8.

The victory gave Cheyenne a third win in the four-game series and catapulted the Cowboys past the Solons in the Pacific Division. The Cowboys sit 3 games behind Boise.

[Sal, The Barber]

13 August 2003
Cheyenne, WY

August has been good to the Cheyenne Cowboys. They started the month with a win over Seattle to surge past the Rainiers in the Pacific Division standings. Then they swept Sioux City four straight. Next came two wins out of three versus Sacramento and another leap frog in the division standings. Today, they finished off a three-game sweep against Omaha.

That's a damn fine start to the month. 11-1!

Later today, the Cowboys are off to Boise for a 3-game showdown with the division leader. The Braves have a two-game lead over the Cowboys.
Game one will feature Boise ace Victor "No Trump" Reyes against Ricardo Diaz. Travis Stokes will go in game two against Paul Lyons. Javier Torres and Jason Bryant are slotted to meet in the concluding game. John O'Flanagan returns to the Cheyenne lineup, so the Cowboys are at full-strength heading into the division showdown.

[Sal, The Barber]

16 August 2003
Boise, ID

The series with Boise didn't go as planned for the Cheyenne Cowboys. "No Trump" Reyes beat them in game one, and Boise won game three, as well, to take the series.

The series started well enough; Cheyenne got 2 runs off of Reyes in the first inning. But Richardo Diaz couldn't hold the lead, and, when he gave up a 3-run HR to Tom Todd in the third inning, the tide turned Boise's way. Reyes and the Braves stuck it out and won, 5-2, even though Cheyenne outhit Boise 10 to 9.

Game two was ugly, and it made visible the Cowboys' strategy for beating Boise. The Braves started Travis Stokes; he went only three innings and walked three. Stokes isn't the strongest starter and doesn't often last deep into games. Cheyenne wore him down early, taking pitch after pitch. When Stokes left in the third, it was 4-1. But the Boise bullpen is full of guys with spotty control, and Cheyenne kept making them work. The Cowboys had a 5-run fourth, a 3-run sixth, and a 3-run seventh. Boise pitchers would walk ten Cowboys and also give up 18 hits!

Still, it got ugly for Cheyenne as well. Miguel Flores gave up 7 runs by himself in the seventh. Paul Lyons started and went 5.1, giving up four earned runs. Lyons, to this writer's eye, is tired.

In the end, Cheyenne won 17-11.

In game three, Cheyenne implemented the same strategy, trying to drive Boise starter, Javier Torres, out of the game early. Torres didn't fall for it.

Cheyenne also didn't come through in clutch situations. Starter Jason Bryant walked two after two were out in the third, and both of those runners came in to score. In the eighth, Cheyenne loaded the bases and put Jesus Soto at the plate. There were two out, and Soto struck out to end the threat and essentially the ballgame. Boise won, 5-2.

So Cheyenne goes home to lick its wounds. They do see how to beat Boise. Take pitches, get to the bullpen. But they have to get better pitching from both the starters and the bullpen to complete the task. They'll need to rest Lyons down the stretch and have recently brought up Tze-meng Tang from AAA to do that. They've also got to find one more arm in the bullpen. Flores has been awful. Javier Garcia is struggling. Frankie Howard has blown more saves than you'd like him to. But we're only through 113 games. There are a few more to play yet.

[Jabez54]

Well ... It certainly was a fun, Game 2 day for the crowd ...