The American Baseball League

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• Patriot League Starting Lineup
• P – Josh Viens (NYP) 13-3 2.27 158.1 IP 222 K 42 BB
• C – Yodo Takahashi (BUF) .314/.367/.429 5 HR 2.7 WAR
• 1B – Brendan Robbins (NYP) .330/.422/.689 35 HR 5.9 WAR
• 2B – Nagahisa Takagi (DET) .336/.396/.505 12 HR 25 SB 4.3 WAR
• 3B – Michael Nettles (SF) .296/.378/.580 27 HR 3.6 WAR
• SS – Dale Roberts (NE) .302/.354/.419 6 HR 0.9 WAR
• LF – Daniel Contraras (DAL) .391/.434/.639 16 HR 26 SB 6.4 WAR
• CF – Omar Torres (DET) .360/.380/.630 23 HR 7 SB 6.2 WAR
• RF – Chris Whitten (SF) .311/.393/.597 28 HR 18 SB 5.1 WAR
  
  
• Colonial League Starting Lineup
• P – Tomohiro Masuda (LEX) 6-3 2.96 134 IP 218 K 3.5 WAR
• C – Scott Comerford (LEX) .339/.413/.516 9 HR 4.3 WAR
• 1B – Josh Sims (MON) .322/.371/.627 31 HR 3.8 WAR
• 2B – Ricky Gutierrez (NYE) .309/.389/.621 29 HR 4.3 WAR
• 3B – Matt Sandoval (CHA) .282/.332/.536 23 HR 2.7 WAR
• SS – Manny Ramirez (CHA) .335/.363/.457 1 HR 12 SB 3.6 WAR
• LF – Dustin Fahey (CHA) .321/.389/.552 13 HR 2.3 WAR
• CF – Jorge Hernandez (SAN) .381/.482/.602 16 HR 41 SB 6.7 WAR
• RF – Shane Johnson (CHA) .329/.408/.567 19 HR 19 SB 4.7 WAR
  
  
• HR DERBY
• Ricky Gutierrez (NYP) edged San Francisco Bears RF Chris Whitten 22-21 in the final round to win the 2011 HR Derby.
  
• Whitten would get his revenge in the Patriot Leagues 4-1 win drilling a homer and being named the games MVP.
  
• Chris Johnston went 1-2, Chisholm went 0-2, and Behrens and Laskey each pitched a scoreless inning.
  
  
• RUSTLER ALL-STARS
• SP Matt Behrens 13-5 2.99 132.1 IP 151 K 3.1 WAR
• RP Ranan Laskey 4-0 25 SV 0.69 ERA 39 IP 15 H 52 K 1.6 WAR
• 1B Aaron Chisholm .304/.416/.611 30 HR 5.6 WAR
• 2B Chris Johnston .354/.394/.522 7 HR 4.3 WAR
• RF Dave Nolasco .332/.377/.548 11 HR 4 SB 3.5 WAR
  
• A case could be made for 3 of these guys, Behrens, Chisholm, and Johnston to be starters. That and the fact that Luis Orozco not only didn't get voted in, but didn't even make the team. Best team in the game can't land a starter in the All-Star game.
  
  
• FUTURES GAME PROSPECTS
• SP Steve Robique 3-4 3.01 (R )
• RP Jeff Baker 5-6 16 SV (A)
• SS Joe Tighe .327/.421/.451 7 HR 27 SB (AAA)
• LF Jeff Anderson .295/.398/.614 24 HR 9 SB (AAA)
  
• San Antonio Broncos prospect and the 1st overall pick in 2008 2B Bill Tucker took home the futures game MVP going 2-2 HR in the Colonial Leagues 8-5 win. Salt Lake reliever Jeff Baker threw 4 innings of relief for the save, striking out 6 and allowing a run. Joe Tighe led off and was 1-3 2B 2 RBI 2 BB

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• RECORD: 66-33
• STANDINGS: 1st (+20)
• RUNS SCORED: 534 (1st)
• RUNS AGAINST: 373 (1st)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .701 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +14.2 (1st)
• ERRORS: 44 (t-3rd)
• OWNERS MOOD: Good
• FAN INTEREST: 67
  
  
• 1st week of inter-league play in ABL history. Each team will play a 3 game series vs 1 club in the opposing league. We start with the San Jose Hawks. The Hawks are 3rd in the Patriot Leagues California Division, trailing San Francisco by 5 games. They're struggling to score runs but are 2nd in the PL in Avg (.266). They're middle of the pack as a pitching staff despite one of the leagues best defenses. 24-year-old Andrew McGlasson is their star. The RF is hitting .390/.403/.592 31 2B 9 3B 9 HR with just 23 K's and 8 BB in 390 PA. He was a rule 5 draft pick from Pittsburgh and is the leading candidate for the PL's Jackie Robinson Award. The Hawks home park is the most offensive friendly in the game.
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (0-3) 0-3 vs San Jose
• 7/22: SJ 3 AUS 1
• POTG: Jamie Wren (SJ) W (4-9 5.71) 8 IP 7 H 2 K 1 ER
• Behrens L (13-6 3.03) 7.1 IP 5 H 4 K 3 ER Reardon 3-3 2B
• 7/23: SJ 8 AUS 3
• POTG: Manny Baxter (SJ) 3-3 3 R
• Paul Garza (SJ) 3-5 2B 26 game hitting streak. Allen L (12-4 3.48) 6.2 IP 9 H 3 ER Laskey 0.1 IP 5 H 4 ER
• 7/24: SJ 6 AUS 4
• POTG: Rich Whitaker (SJ) W (5-8 3.88) 8.1 IP 6 H 10 K 4 ER
• Brooks L (10-6 4.86) 4 IP 8 H 4 K 5 ER Cass 5 IP 2 H 6 K 1 ER Chisholm 1-4 1st inning GS (31) 4 RBI (93)
• NEXT WEEK: 3 vs Lexington 3 @ San Antonio
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 7/22: Jordan De Jesus (MON) shut out Buffalo. He scattered 9 hits and struck out 9 while walking 4 in a 3-0 win.
• 7/23: Fadeuka Kajlev (HOU) went 3-4 hitting 3 HR and driving in 4 in the Roughriders 6-1 win over San Francisco. The 25-year-old switch-hitting RF is at .275 with a Colonial league high 34 home runs.
• 7/24: The Philadelphia Patriots lost superstar Seung-Hyeon Kim to a fractured rib. The two time MVP will be out 5-6 weeks. The Patriots are currently 4 ½ games behind the New York Punishers and will be calling on the services of 26-year-old Onel Ocaya to replace their star. Kim was hitting .316/.378/477 32 2B 10 HR 44 RBI 53 R and was 32-41 in SB which led the CL. The 2010 CL Babe Ruth Award winner is in the 2nd year of an 8 year 75 million dollar contract.
• 7/24: John Del Bianco (DET) won his 11th game with a 4-hit 5-0 win over Denver.
• 7/24: Victor Saucedo (LEX) fanned 12 and walked 1 in a 3-0 5-hit shutout to beat Baltimore. The 31 year old was making the start for Feng-xiang Chuang who was diagnosed with a torn Labrum and is out for the remainder of the year. The 32-year-old was 8-4 3.63 in 13 starts. The fans in Lexington were distraught at the news as Chuang and 27-year-old Xie-Li Au-Yong are both from Tawain and with Japanese ace, Tomohiro Masuda they made up 3/5th of the Rebel Rotation and the fans have labeled them the Asian Aces.
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 7/24: Salt Lake City OF Joe Stadler, a 2006 draft pick, was named Mid-West League POTW going 4-5 2 HR 3 RBI
  
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: David Saunders (DAL) 6-13 3 HR 7 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Ricky Gutierrez (NYE) 8-15 3 HR 7 RBI

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• THIS WEEK: (2-5) 0-3 vs Lexington 2-2 San Antonio
• 7/25: LEX 11 AUS 8
• POTG: Scott Comerford (LEX) 3-4 3 HR 7 RBI 3R HR 1st inning, 3rd inning
• Game was 5-3 after 1 inning with us in the lead. Masuda 4 IP 10 K 5 ER Pope L (10-5 4.20) 2.2 IP 5 H 3 HR 8 ER Rebels hit 5 HR Colon PH 2R HR in the 7th, solo HR in the 9th 2-2 3 RBI Bermudez HR (15) 3 RBI (56) first 4 game losing streak of the year
• 7/26: LEX 6 AUS 2
• POTG: Scott Comerford (LEX) 2-3 2 HR 2 RBI – now 5-7 with 5 HR and 9 RBI's in 1st two games
• Au-Yong (LEX) W (7-7 3.15) CG 8 H 3 K 0 BB 2 ER Anderson L (10-9 5.26) 6 IP 8 H 5 ER Bull 3-4 2 2B RBI Nolasco 3-4
• 7/27: LEX 7 AUS 4
• POTG: Dylan Rucker (LEX) 2-4 HR 2 R RBI
• Behrens L (13-7 3.18) 4.2 IP 10 H 8 K 2 BB 7 R 4 ER Orozco 3-4 3B 2 R
• 6 straight losses
• 7/28: SAN 6 AUS 5 (12)
• POTG: Corey Furr (SAN) 3-4 2B 2 BB R RBI
• Allen ND 7 IP 7 H 8 K 3 ER Laskey error to load the bases with 2 outs in the 9th, walks in tying run BS (3). Barrett BS (1) comes into 5-4 game in the 10th, leadoff HR. Bull 3-6 Chisholm 2-6 HR (32) 2 RBI (96) Cowan HR. 7 straight.
• 7/29: AUS 11 SAN 3
• POTG: Dave Nolasco 3-5 2B (36) HR (12) 4 RBI (63)
• Chisholm 3-6 R Bermudez 2-5 HR 3 RBI Aasen 3-5 2 R Brooks W (11-6 4.75) 6.2 IP 8 H 7 K 2 ER
• 7/30: AUS 4 SAN 3
• POTG: Trevor Pope W (11-5 3.98) 7 IP 0 R 7 K 5 H
• Laskey SV (27) Tighe 2-4 R 1-2 SB Chisholm 2-4 HR (33) 2 RBI (98) Sullivan (SAN) CG L (5-12) 8 H 3 ER 7 K
• 7/31: SAN 2 AUS 1
• POTG: Larry Huffman (SAN) W (8-5 3.66) 8 IP 4 H 3 K 1 ER
• Dave Anderson CG L (10-10 5.07) 3 H 9 K 2 ER Chisholm HR (34) RBI (99)
• NEXT WEEK: OFF DAY 3 @ Providence 3 @ Ft Worth
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 7/25: Jason Keeton (DET) lost his no-hitter with 2 outs and 2 strikes in the 9th inning of a 7-0 win. The 32 year old was vying for his 1st career no-no. It was his 14th win (14-4 3.14)
• 7/26: Danny Gariepy (OH) went the distance striking out 7 and allowing just a 1st inning single in a 9-0 1-hitter.
• 7/26: David Gullion (PHX) threw a 2-hitter for his 9th win (9-5 2.41) of the year beating San Antonio 8-0.
• 7/26: Matt Reichlin (NYE) shut out Denver on just 4 hits in a 3-0 win.
• 7/29: Datu Zape (OH) upped his record to 12-5 2.91 with a 4-hit shutout of Baltimore. He fanned 6 and walked none in the 8-0 win. In that game LF Chad Lucas homered 3 times and drove in 4.
• 7/29: New England 1B Dan Frazier went 5-6 in the Minutemen's 15-6 thumping of Buffalo.
• 7/30: Pete Cox (FW) went 5-5 and drove in 3 in a 7-6 loss to Providence.
• 7/30: Tomohiro Masuda (LEX) fanned 15 Saints as Lexington downed Denver 4-1. Masuda allowed 5 hits, walked two in 8 innings of work. He now has 259 K's in 154 IP with a 3.04 ERA
  
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 7/28: Rustlers deal Bull and picks to Chicago
• In a deal that caught many by surprise the Austin Rustlers sent 24 year old IF Wally Bull to Chicago, along with a 2012 6th and 7th round draft pick, in exchange for 25 year old P Prospect Sam Rhoads and minor league C Matt Becker and a 2012 3rd round pick. Bull was having a great year hitting .339/.365/.490 in 64 games and Rhoads was 12-7 5.74 for the Hitmen. Becker was an 8th round pick in 2006 out of Clemson and is widely renowned for his gold glove caliber defensive skills.
• Immediately following the announcement Austin recalled top IF prospect Joe Tighe, and optioned Rhoads to AAA Warren. Becker was sent to AA Modesto.
• Rustler Manager Andy Brown has said that Tighe will assume leadoff duties vs RHP. Tighe is a switch hitter with a very significant left handed bat. Mike Aasen is rumored to be the SS taking the at bats vs LHP.
• 7/30: Salt Lake City (A) pitcher Chris Lawson went 4-0 2.91 34 IP 20 K to win Mid-West league pitcher of the month.
  
  
• BACKROOM CHATTER:
• This was both a financial and skill move. Joe Tighe is ready, and versatile. Wally Bull had done nothing but good things and this certainly wasn't a case of looking to deal the guy. With the 7 game skid it was time to shake it up a bit and wake some guys up. The remaining move is to create a spot for Sam Reyes but barring injury I don't think he'll be promoted until September as most of the scouts think he needs every day at bats and still has room to improve offensively.
  
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Aaron Kooiman (SF) 10-21 3 HR 7 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Scott Comerford (LEX) 9-16 5 HR 9 RBI (you're welcome)

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PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Chris Whitten (SF) .333-8-21 21 R .429 OBP
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Ricky Gutierrez (NYE) .426-8-21 15 R .486 OBP
PATRIOT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Jordan Carroll (SF) 5-0 1.82 39.2 IP 40 K
COLONIAL LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Tyler Kody (MON) 4-1 8 SV 1.17 ERA
PATRIOT LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Andrew McGlasson (SJ) .333-2-18 15 R
COLONIAL LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Aaron Chisholm (AUS) .343-8-25 22 R

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• RECORD: 72-40
• STANDINGS: 1st (+21 ½)
• RUNS SCORED: 606 (1st)
• RUNS AGAINST: 442 (4th)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .699 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +17.7 (1st)
• ERRORS: 49 (t-3rd)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 67
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (4-2) 1-2 @ Providence 3-0 @ Ft Worth
• 8/1: OFF DAY
• 8/2: AUS 5 PRO 3 (15)
• POTG: Behrens ND 7.2 IP 13 K 6 H 1 ER Laskey BS (4) Tomlin 2R PH 2B GW Johnston 3-7
• 8/3: PRO 12 AUS 11
• POTG: Chris Johnston 4-5 HR 2 R 3 RBI
• 10-10 into the 9th. Allen ND 3.2 IP 9 H 3 HR 5 ER Laskey BS (5) L (4-1) 0.2 IP 3 H BB 2 ER Orozco 3-3 2B 2 BB 2 R RBI Bermudez HR (17) 4 RBI (64)
• 8/4: PRO 2 AUS 1
• POTG: Travis Brooks CG L (11-7 4.61) 6 H 8 K 2 ER 1-3 R
• Johnston 3-5 Bermudez 3-4 2B
• 3-10 since the All-Star Break. July was the first sub .500 month 12-14.
• 8/5: AUS 5 FW 4
• POTG: Pope ND 7 IP 10 K 4 ER
• Down 4-0 entering the 7th. Laskey SV (28) Chisholm HR (35) 2 RBI (101)
• 8/6: AUS 11 FW 7
• POTG: Aaron Chisholm 3-4 2 3R HR's 2 R 7 RBI (.305-37-108)
• Nolasco 3-4 2B 3B 4 R Anderson W (11-10 5.05) 7.2 IP 6 K 4 ER SS Joe Tighe hurt, no word yet.
• 8/7: AUS 4 FW 3
• POTG: Matt Behrens W (14-7 3.11) 7.1 IP 5 H 7 K 3 ER
• Nolasco HR (13) 2 RBI (67) Cowan 0-4 4 K
• NEXT WEEK: 3 @ Pittsburgh 4 vs Memphis
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 8/2: Elijah Pulliam (FW) struck out 12 and walked just 1 in a 3-hitter to beat Pittsburgh 4-0.
• 8/5: Daniel Contraras (DAL) went into a massive slump, his average dropped from .445 to .390 over the last month. Today he went 5-5 and is now hitting .396-17-84
• 8/7: Yermolay Zhulyabin (MEX) beat Lexington 6-0 on a 5-hitter to move to 11-10 3.01
• 8/7: Stuart Abel (DEN) tossed a 3-hitter, striking out 7 in a 6-0 win over Charlotte.
• 8/7: Steve Breitbarth (PHI) fanned 8 and walked just 1 in a 4-hit shutout of San Jose
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 8/6: Sam Rhoads, the pitcher acquired in the deadline deal with Chicago gave up 5 hits, struck out 5 in a 2-0 win over Augusta. He's 1-0 2.12 in 2 Starts since coming over.
• 8/7: Joe Tighe and Mike Aasen were hurt today. Aasen suffered a sprained knee and will be out 5-6 weeks, Tighe suffered a strained muscle in the abdomen. He'll be out 1-2 weeks. Both will head to the DL and I've finally been 'forced' to call up Sam Reyes. Super utility man Steve Wilkinson will be added to the 40 man as well and recalled. That leaves 1 spot on the 40 man open and also makes me rethink being so hasty to trade Willy Bull.
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Daniel Contraras (DAL) 18-28 3 HR 10 RBI (.400-19-89) back up to .400
• COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Khalil Harris (PHX) 9-17 4 HR 5 RBI

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 77-42
• STANDINGS: 1st (+22 ½)
• RUNS SCORED: 645 (1st )
• RUNS AGAINST: 465 (3rd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .699 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +20.3 (1st)
• ERRORS: 49 (3rd)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 67
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (5-2) 3-0 @ Pittsburgh 2-2 vs Memphis
• 8/8: AUS 16 PIT 2
• POTG: Chris Johnston 4-4 3B 2 R 3 RBI
• Reyes ABL Debut 2-4 2B 4 R RBI 2 BB Nolasco 3-6 GS (14) 5 RBI (72) 2 R Allen 7.2 IP 5 H 7 K 2 ER
• 8/9: AUS 5 PIT 2
• POTG: Travis Brooks W (12-7 4.48) 8 IP 6 H 2 ER 9 K
• Reyes 1-3 2B 2 BB 2 R 2 RBI SB Kucher 3-4 2B (.345)
• 8/10: AUS 3 PIT 2
• POTG: Trevor Pope ND 6 IP 6 K 6 H 2 ER
• Laskey SV (31) Reardon 3-5 2B 3 R Nolasco 9th inning 2B (38th) wins it.
• 8/11: MEM 7 AUS 4
• POTG: Chris Vetter (MEM) 2-5 2 HR (29) 5 RBI
• Led 4-3 into the 9th. Villa BS (2) L (0-1) 2 IP 5 H 1 HR 4 ER Anderson hurt, see news. Reyes 3-5 HR (1st ABL HR) Chisholm 3-4 2B 2 RBI (112)
• 8/12: MEM 7 AUS 2
• POTG: Mike Simon (MEM) W (7-10 4.77) 8 IP 4 H 6 K 2 ER
• Behrens L (14-8 3.31) 3.2 IP 10 H 10 K!! 2 HR 5 ER 10 punchouts in 11 outs. Nolasco 2-4 HR (15)
• 8/13: AUS 3 MEM 2 (15)
• POTG: Eric Allen ND 7 IP 3 H 8 K 2 ER
• Chisholm walk off HR (38) 2-6 Kucher 3-5 2B Villa, Laskey, Lohse, Cass (W) 8 IP 5 H 0 R 14 K
• 8/14: AUS 6 MEM 1
• POTG: Travis Brooks W (13-7 4.31) 8 IP 4 H 11 K 1 ER
• Johnston 2-4 HR 2 R 3 RBI Nolasco HR (16) Orozco 2-4 2 2B (30)
• NEXT WEEK: OFF DAY 3 vs Mexico 3 @ Houston
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 8/8: Steve Griggs (LEX) struck out 9 in a 7-0 shutout of New York. He is 12-9 4.37
• 8/9: Do we hand him the Koufax now? Punisher Josh Viens fanned 15 Baltimore Blackbirds in a 8-2 win. He is now 16-3 2.42 with 263 K's in 186 IP.
• 8/9: Cameron Mears (CHA) threw a 3-hit shutout to win his 14th in a 5-0 victory over San Antonio. The 2010 CL Rookie of the Year is 14-5 3.41. He struck out 11 and walked just 1.
• 8/9: Ryan Logan (BUF) beat the Punishers 2-0 on a 6-hitter.
• 8/12: Steve Forney (HOU) threw a 4-hitter, fanning 9 in a 5-0 shutout of Charlotte
• 8/12: LA extended the contract of 1B Bill Tribett for 4 years and 36 million dollars. The 32-year-old is hitting .274-27-61. In his 9 year career he has 360 HR's and 844 RBI's. He was LA's 1st pick, 31st overall, in the 1997 draft out of Lee County HS.
• 8/14: Dave Bottini (DET) moved to 6-3 3.80 since being acquired from Pittsburgh with a 5 hit 7 K 4-0 CG win over Brooklyn
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 8/10: Dave Anderson was diagnosed with a “dead arm” and will hit the 15 day DL. Recently acquired P Sam Rhoads will be recalled.
• 8/13: Jordan Carroll (SF) won his 14th game with a 1-0 2-hit shutout of Baltimore.
• 81/3: Jamie Wren (SJ) beat Dallas 9-0 on 3 hits, fanning 8. In that game Rookie Andrew McGlasson went 5-5 and is hitting .394. 2 % pts behind Dallas' Daniel Contraras.
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Dalton Cordova (NYP) 14-29 6 HR 13 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Brian Gracie (DEN) 7-11 3 HR 8 RBI

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 83-42
• STANDINGS: 1st (+25)
• RUNS SCORED: 686 (1st)
• RUNS AGAINST: 480 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .701 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +22.8 (1st)
• ERRORS: 50 (3rd)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 67
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (6-0) 3- vs Mexico 3-0 @ Houston
• 8/15: OFF DAY
• 8/16: AUS 8 MEX 3
• POTG: Aaron Chisholm 3-4 2B HR 2 R 3 RBI
• Pope W (12-5 3.87) 7 IP 5 H 7 K ER Tomlin 2 IP 2 ER Johnston 3-5 2 2B (40) 3B (9) 2 R
• 8/17: AUS 2 MEX 1
• POTG: Sam Rhoads ND 7.1 IP 5 H 9 K 1 R
• Down 1-0 bottom 9 Nolasco 2 out 2 strike walk off HR Vargas (MEX) CG L 8.2 IP 5 H 5 K 0 BB 2 ER
• 8/18: AUS 13 MEX 0
• POTG: Joel Moss 4-5 2B HR 2 R 4 RBI
• Matt Behrens W (15-8 3.16) 8 IP 5 H 14 K 0 BB Johnston 3-5 2 2B (42) 3 R RBI Nolasco 3-5 3B 2 R 2 RBI Orozco 2-4 HR (20) 4 RBI
• 8/19: AUS 5 HOU 4
• POTG: Eric Allen ND 6 IP 4 H 3 ER
• Laskey SV (32) Chisholm 2-4 2 RBI (120) Bermudez 3-4 Colon HR (10) Crawford L (8-13) 8 IP 11 K 5 ER Tom Barrett came out late in the game, no diagnosis yet.
• 8/20: AUS 8 HOU 6
• POTG: Aaron Chisholm 3-3 R 2 RBI (122)
• Keegan 2-5 2 2B 3 RBI Reyes 2-4 HR 2 R RBI SB Bauer (HOU) 4-5 2 R Wiggins 2-4 3B HR 2 R 3 RBI Brooks W (14-7 4.26) 8 IP 9 H 6 R 3 ER 2 K Laskey SV (33) 1 IP 3 K
• 8/21: Austin 5 HOU 1
• POTG: Pope W (13-5 3.73) 8 IP 7 H 8 K 1 ER
• Reyes 2-4 HR 3 R 2 RBI BB Nolasco 3-5 2B (41) RBI
• NEXT WEEK: 4 @ Denver 3 vs Phoenix
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 8/15: Jon Jones (MON) beat Houston 4-0 fanning 7 and allowing just 4 hits.
• 8/16: Ryan Logan (BUF) fanned 14 Charger hitters en route to a 6-0 win.
• 8/19: JJ Welker (NE) fanned 9 and scattered 9 hits to win his 13th game of the year beating the LA Storm 6-0. The 33 year old has won 13 or more 4 straight seasons and 5 of the last 6. In his 12 year career he has won less than 10 games just twice. His first season when he was a swing man and in 2005 he was injured most of the year. He's 152-97 in 369 starts with a 3.23 ERA. He's a 7 time all-star and was the 1st overall pick in 1995 out of Southwest Dekalb HS by the Montreal Paragons.
• 8/20: Scott Hunter scattered 8 hits in a complete game 2-0 win over Pittsburgh
• 8/21: Rich Whittaker (SJ) beat San Francisco 1-0 scattering 5 hits and striking out 9
  
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 8/27: If you paid attention on draft day I mentioned my 8th rounder as a potential “sleeper”. Aiden Nakagawa is 3-3 4.06 at Ft Wayne. Just 18, but there's something there. His peripherals in school didn't match up and they don't now. He has 59 K's 39 H and 16 BB in 57.2 IP with a WHIP of 0.95. He's going to end up being a stud. In his 3rd win last night he went 7 giving up 4 hits punching out 13 and walking just 1.
• 8/30: Joe Tighe is not recovering as expected and will be out a while longer with no definitive date. Reliever Tom Barrett has elbow inflammation and is likely out for the remainder of the year, and post-season. Vince Aspinwall will be recalled and moved to the bullpen.
• 8/21: AA OF Robby Mercer took home POTW honors going 11-22 5 HR 11 RBI Mercer is a 6th round pick and is hitting .356-32-83. Hartford OF Pat Erickson also took home POTW honors going 12-27 5 HR 16 RBI. He's hitting .295-20-62
  
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Daniel Contraras (DAL) 11-25 2 HR 7 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Dave Nolasco (AUS) 13-29 HR 7 RBI

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 88-44
• STANDINGS: 1st (+27 ½)
• RUNS SCORED: 729 (1st)
• RUNS AGAINST: 506 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .701 (1st)
• ZONE RATING: +23.1 (1st)
• ERRORS: 58 (4th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 67
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (5-2) 2-2 @ Denver 3-0 vs Phoenix
• 8/22: AUS 8 DEN 4
• POTG: Sam Rhoads W (1-0) 8 IP 5 H 7 K 3 ER 2-5 2B 4 RBI
• Reardon 3-5 2 2B 2 R
• 8/23: AUS 3 DEN 0
• POTG: Behrens W (16-8 3.01) 8.1 IP 8 H 7 K 1-4 RBI
• 0-0 game into the 9th. Keegan, Kucher and Behrens back to back to back RBI singles.
• 10th straight win and now 27 games up in the division with a magic # of 9 on the 23rd of August. No one alive saw this turnaround coming, not even me.
• 8/24: DEN 8 AUS 3
• POTG: Alco Wind (DEN) W (3-3 4.29) 7 IP 6 H 3 K 6 BB 2 ER
• Led 2-1 going into bottom 7. 7 run inning with just 1 ER Allen L (13-5 3.54) 6.2 IP 9 H 6 K 7 R 1 ER
• 8/25: DEN 4 AUS 3
• POTG: Travis Brooks ND 7.1 IP 6 H 6 K 3 ER
• Villa L (1-2) 1 IP 2 H 1 R Kucher 2-4 1-2 SB R RBI Jeremiah Smith (DEN) walk-off double
• 8/26: AUS 5 PHX 1
• POTG: Pope W (14-5 3.60) 8 IP 3 H 7 K 1 ER
• Chisholm 2-4 2B HR (40) 2 RBI (126) Moss 1-2 HR 2 RBI BB 2 E
• 8/27: AUS 10 PHX 7
• POTG: Chisholm 2-5 2B HR (41) 3 RBI (129)
• Nolasco 3-5 2B (43) 3B 2 R 2 RBI Rhoads W (2-0) 7.1 IP 6 H 3 HR 7 K 5 ER
• 8/28: AUS 11 PHX 2
• POTG: Luis Orozco 2-4 HR (21) 3 RBI
• Reardon 2-4 2 2B 2 RBI Colon PH HR 2 RBI Behrens ND 5.2 IP 3 H 3 BB 6 K 1 ER 109 pitches Cass 2 IP 5 K
• NEXT WEEK: OFF DAY 3 vs Ft Worth 3 vs Charlotte
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 8/23: Jason Jaeger (BAL) scattered 8 hits in a CG 4-0 win over Los Angeles.
• 8/23: Tomohiro Masuda (LEX) struck out 15, walked none and allowed 4 hits in a 5-4 win over Memphis to move to 11-4 2.71. He now has 306 K's in just 185.2 IP. It was the 8th 15+ strikeout game of the year for him and the 20th of his career.
• 8/24: Andrew McGlasson (SJ) went 5-6 in an 11-6 win over New York. It's the 2nd 5-hit game in the past 11 days for the 24-year-old. He trails Daniel Contraras .392 to .387 in the race for the Patriot league batting title. McGlasson is all but a lock for Rookie of the year and also on pace to record a rookie record 255 hits.
• 8/25: Juan Ford (SJ) shut out the New York Punishers in his first ABL start. The 24-year-old fanned 5 and walked 1 in the 3-0 win. Ford was the 22nd overall pick in 2007 out of Harvard.
• 8/28: Matt Reichlin (NYE) won his 14th game with a 4-hit 8 K 6-0 victory over Charlotte. In that game teammate, Thomaz Coqueiro went 5-5
• 8/28: Readers might remember last year, and into the winter, I was trying to pry 1B Terukatsu Yoshino from the LA Storm. Well things worked out for us as Aaron Chisholm is an MVP candidate. However LA did end up trading the kid to Buffalo. He went 3-5 today hitting 3 HR's in a 14-10 win over San Francisco.
• 8/28: Matt Welch (SJ) went 5-5 in the Hawks 9-3 win over Baltimore.
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 8/23: Reliever Jason Lipsky suffered a major setback in his battle to recover from a torn rotator cuff and will be out an additional 8 months.
• 8/23: Salt Lake City OF Joe Laporte went 3-4 hitting 3 HR's and driving in 5 in their 10-1 win over the Chandler Firebirds. In 13 games since being called up he is hitting .225/.380/.550 with 4 HR and 7 RBI. He hit .268-12-36 in 44 games at Hartford with a .433 OBP. LaPorte was one of three 2nd round selections (53rd overall) in the 2010 draft out of Temple College.
• 8/23: AAA Warren clinched a post-season berth and will be looking for their 3rd AAA Championship this year.
• 8/27: AAA Warren won their division (75-55) Modesto season is over (57-73) Salt Lake City has a 1 game play in against Des Moines after tying (74-56). Hartford (31-30) is 3.5 games out and Ft Wayne (29-31) is 4 games back.
• 8/27: Dave Anderson is due off the DL. Instead of making moves 3 days before rosters expand he will start gm 1 of the AAA playoffs and Rhoads will make another start.
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Omar Torres (DET) 13-26 3 HR 8 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Chris Vetter (MEM) 11-24 7 HR 11 RBI

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 92-47
• STANDINGS: Clinched
• RUNS SCORED: 767 (1st)
• RUNS AGAINST: 539 (1st)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .697 (3rd)
• ZONE RATING: +22.5 (1st)
• ERRORS: 63 (5th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 67

• THIS WEEK: (4-2) 2-1 vs Ft Worth 2-1 vs Charlotte
• 8/29: OFF DAY
• 8/30: AUS 5 FW 3
• POTG: Eric Allen W (14-5 3.56) 7 IP 8 H 8 K 0 BB 3 ER 1-2
• Laskey SV (35) escapes 2nd 3rd 0 out jam. Chisholm 3-5 2B HR (42) 2 RBI (132) Keegan HR Reardon 2-4 R RBI SB
• 8/31: FW 9 AUS 8
• POTG: Luis Orozco 3-5 2B (33) HR (22) 3 R 2 RBI
• Reyes 2-5 HR 2 RBI 2 R Brooks ND 6 IP 7 H 9 K 5 ER Laskey BS (6) Villa L (1-3)
• 9/1: AUS 5 FW 4 (10)
• POTG: Chisholm 3-4 2B R Jason Pratt PH walk-off HR (1) Laskey 1 IP 4 H 2 HR 2 R BS (7) Villa W (2-3) Pope 5.2 IP 5 H 8 K 2 ER Win clinches Division title.
• 9/2: CHA 7 AUS 2
• POTG: Andy Zerbe (CHA) W (11-15 3.79) 7 IP 8 K 6 H 1 ER
• Reyes 1st leadoff HR (5) Jason Pratt 2-2 as a PH
• 9/3: AUS 9 CHA 2
• POTG: Jeff Reardon 4-4 2 2B R 3 RBI
• Chris Johnston 3-5 2 2B (46) HR (10) 3 R RBI Bermudez 1-2 HR 2 BB 2 RBI Anderson W (12-10 4.86) 9.1 IP 5 H 8 K 0 BB 2 ER
• 9/4: AUS 9 CHA 8
• POTG: Sam Reyes 3-4 2B 2 R RBI SB
• Crappy game Laskey blows his 8th save but ends up getting the win when Jeff Anderson drills a walk-off HR bottom 9
• NEXT WEEK: 3 @ Mexico OFF DAY 3 @ Lexington
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 8/31: Ben Sullivan (SAN) fanned 7 in a 3-0 win over Memphis
• 9/1: Hila Kula (SD) beat the LA Storm with a 1-hitter fanning 8, walking 3 in the 1-0 win.
• 9/3: Tomohiro Masuda (LEX) does it again. Punching out 15 for his 9th 15+ K game of the year. He beat Montreal 3-2, scattering 6 hits in 8 innings while walking none to move to 13-4 2.69. For those counting that's 334 K's in 200.2 IP which is a 401 K pace. Masuda shattered the ABL single-season record last year with 426 strikeouts.
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 8/29: Salt Lake City lost their 1 game playoff.
• 8/31: AAA Warren lost their opening series 2-1 to the McKinley Brahmas (PRO)
• 8/31: Robby Mercer (AA) won the Northern League POTM hitting .276-9-21 18 R
• 8/31: Jeff Anderson (AAA) took home the Western League POTM hitting .382-5-16
• 8/31: Pat Erickson (SA) took home the NY Penn League POTM hitting .312-12-39 23 R
• 9/1: An organizational decision has been made to move to a 6 man rotation for September. Our staff is extremely young, and many will hit innings marks they never have before. We have 6 legitimate starters which makes this far easier, but both Rhoads and Anderson will start this month along with the big 4.
• I've recalled 10 players since Warren's season ended.
• PITCHERS - Dave Anderson (off his rehab) RP Bobby Thompson (1-4 3 SV 3.03 AAA), Stefan Filizat (6-3 28 SV 2.09 AAA)
• HITTERS – 1B Stu Rosinski (.233/.319/.387 12 HR 44 RBI AAA) 1B/3B Ryan Crabtree (.298/.375/.422 8 HR 49 RBI AAA) 2B/3B Ernesto Ortega (.279/.337/.409 4 HR 16 RBI AAA) 1B/3B Bob Williams (AAA) Jeff Anderson (LF AAA) Jason Pratt (OF AAA) Jerry Breaux (OF AAA). Anderson, Reardon and Moss will split up LF duties and Nolasco, Reardon and Breaux will handle RF but Nolasco will be the ever day guy.
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Brendan Robbins (NYP) 10-24 3 HR 6 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Josh Sims (MON) 11-26 4 HR 9 RBI

[gehrig38]

• RUSTLER PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Aaron Chisholm .394-8-33
• RUSTLER PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Trevor Pope 3-0 2.25 36 IP 38 K 3 BB 26 H
• RUSTLER MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Robby Mercer (AA) .276-9-21 18 R
• RUSTLER MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Jeff Anderson (AAA) .382-5-16 14 R
  
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Dalton Cordova (NYP) .364-15-34 31 R
• COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Aaron Chisholm (AUS) .394-8-33 23 R .477 OBP
• PATRIOT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: William Marcial (SF) 5-1 2.06 48 IP 41 K
• COLONIAL LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Matt Reichlin (NYE) 5-1 1.15 47 IP 41 K
• PATRIOT LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Andrew McGlasson (SJ) .368-4-20 22 R
• COLONIAL LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Aaron Chisholm (AUS)

ABL PENNANT RACES SEPTEMBER 3rd
Detroit and Lexington got hot while their divisions absolutely tanked. In the CL Misfit Division Lexington went 16-11 in August while Phoenix crashed and burned going 8-20.

In the PL Harbor Detroit went 13-13, opening up space for a race but Ohio went 10-17, and Chicago went 17-10 to make a mess of the PL Wild Card.
Buffalo went 18-11 to pickup 7 ½ games on Ohio and overtake them for the WC lead.
San Jose started the 2nd half sweeping us and then went 21-8 in August to not only catch the wild card clubs but more importantly gain 4 games on division rival San Francisco where they are now tied.

No matter how I look at this, be it Montreal, Phoenix, or Providence as the WC I can't help but look ahead to that 2 headed beast fronting the Lexington rotation.

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 94-50
• STANDINGS: Clinched
• RUNS SCORED: 793 (1st)
• RUNS AGAINST: 566 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .696 (3rd)
• ZONE RATING: +20.5 (1st)
• ERRORS: 67 (5th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 67
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (2-4) 2-1 vs Mexico 0-3 vs Lexington
• 9/5: MEX 8 AUS 1
• POTG: Former Rustler Brett Gerber W (8-9 3.26) 8 IP 7 H 2 K 1 ER
• Allen L (14-6 3.65) 5.1 IP 6 H 3 K 4 ER Mike Scott (MEX) 8th inning GS (27) 4 RBI (84)
• 9/6: AUS 16 MEX 5
• POTG: Sam Reyes 4-5 2 HR 2 R SB 5 RBI
• Bermudez 5-6 (ties Austin single game record)2B HR 3 R 2 RBI Nolasco 3-5 HR 2 RBI Orozco 2-5 2 HR (25) 3 R 3 RBI (81) Anderson 3-5 HR 2 R 2 RBI Brooks W (15-7 4.32) 7.1 IP 6 H 8 K 3 ER
• 9/7: AUS 4 MEX 2
• POTG: Trevor Pope 6.1 IP 7 H 7 K 0 BB 2 R 1 ER W (15-5 3.51)
• Laskey SV (36) Chisholm 2-3 BB HR (43) Moss 2-4 2 2B 2 R RBI
• 9/8: OFF DAY
• 9/9: LEX 2 AUS 1
• POTG: Xie-Li Au-Yong (LEX) W (11-8 2.83) 8 IP 6 H 5 K 1 ER
• Charles Smith (LEX) SV (45) Rhoads L (2-2) 6 IP 7 H 4 K 2 ER
• 9/10: LEX 5 AUS 1
• POTG: Walt Davis (LEX) 7 IP 7 K 4 H 1 ER W (14-6 3.23)
• Anderson L (12-11 4.90) 6.1 IP 10 K 5 R 4 ER Moss PH HR Former Rustler 1B Chiang-hui Xu 3R HR
• 9/11: LEX 5 AUS 3
• POTG: Steve Griggs W (16-10 4.08) 8.1 IP 6 K 8 H 3 ER
• Behrens L (16-9 3.22) 6.1 IP 6 H 6 K 4 ER Anderson PH bases loaded 2B in the 9th.
• Swept without facing Masuda. Xu (LEX) hits another HR 2 RBI
• NEXT WEEK: 3 vs Montreal OFF DAY 3 vs San Antonio
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 9/5: Mark Rioux (NYE) the 2007 1st overall pick fanned 7 in a 5-0 2-hitter beating Denver.
• 9/6: Steve Griggs (LEX) shut out Pittsburgh allowing just 4 hits to win his 15th (15-10 4.12)
• 9/6: In what looks more and more like a 3rd straight Koufax for New York's Josh Viens he fanned 15 San Diego hitters in a 6-4 win. He went 7.1 IP to win his 20th for the 2nd straight season. He's 20-4 2.66
• and is now leading all three triple crown categories. It would be the 1st pitching triple crown since 2000 when Providence ace and 3 time Koufax winner Jeff Hall went 20-7 2.90 with 295 K's.
• Of even more importance was the game's final inning. Closer Leo Montes finished the game for his 37th save this year and his 500th Career save. He is the 1st pitcher in ABL history to achieve that mark.
• 9/6: The other New York club got a stellar 3-hit 9 K performance from Chris Lefeber as the Empire pounded Denver 13-0.
• 9/7: Kerry Davis (FW) whiffed 10, walked 1 and allowed just 2 hits in a 2-0 win over Memphis to win his 13th (13-7 2.97)
• 9/7: Ft Wayne ended their season 31-37
• 9/8: For the 3rd time in 4 starts Tomohiro Masuda (LEX) struck out 15 and walked none. This time it was in a CG 3-hitter to beat Pittsburgh 5-0 and run his record to 14-4 2.58. Masuda has fanned 58 hitters in his last 4 starts going 4-0.
• 9/8: Bobby Marino (OH) went the distance allowing 4 hits in a 3-0 win over the Brooklyn Blackhearts.
• 9/9: Ft Worth P Zach Willis held Montreal to just 3 hits, fanned 10 and walked none in the Cowboys 7-0 win over the Paragons.
• 9/11: Marvin Rivera (PIT) gave up 4 hits, struck out 9 and walked 1 in a 7-0 shutout of the Empire.
  
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 9/6: Joe Tighe is finally ready to play. That creates a good problem in many ways. Against RHPTighe will play SS and Reyes will move to 2B with Johnston on the bench as a defensive replacement and bat. That doesn't seem all that fair to a guy 2nd in the league with a .353 average (Jorge Hernandez SAN is 1st at .365) but there will be enough bats to go around.
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Brendan Robbins (NYE) 13-26 3 HR 8 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Pete Cox (FW) 10-26 2 HR 4 RBI

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 100-50
• STANDINGS: Clinched
• RUNS SCORED: 823 (1st)
• RUNS AGAINST: 575 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .699 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +20.5 (1st)
• ERRORS: 70 (5th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 67
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (6-0) 3-0 vs Montreal 3-0 vs San Antonio (9 runs allowed in 6 games)
• 9/12: AUS 3 MON 2 (13)
• POTG: Eric Allen ND 8 IP 9 K 0 R
• Montreal scores 2 in the top of the 13th Kucher PH 2B makes it 2-1, Williams 1B walks it off Creason (MON) 10 IP 5 H 5 K 0 R Filizat 3 IP 1 H 3 K
• 9/13: AUS 5 MON 3
• POTG: Travis Brooks W (16-7 4.30) 7 IP 6 H 8 K 3 ER
• Laskey SV (37) Villa H (19) Nolasco (19) Bermudez (21) homer
• 9/14: AUS 4 MON 2
• POTG: Pope W (16-5 3.48) 6.2 IP 5 H 6 K 2 ER
• Laskey SV (38) Villa H (20)
• 9/15: OFF DAY
• 9/16: AUS 4 SAN 0
• POTG: Sam Rhoads W (3-2 3.89) 6 IP 5 K 4 H 2 BB
• Kucher 3-4 2B (35) Reardon 2-3 3B 2 RBI
• 9/17: AUS 1 SAN 0
• POTG: Luis Rivera L (7-13 4.88) CG 6 H 7 K 1 ER
• Chisholm 2-3 HR (45) RBI (139) Anderson 1 IP comes out with shoulder issues. Cass, Lohse, Laskey 8 IP 2 H 9 K 3 BB Lohse W (4-1) Laskey SV (39)
• This win breaks the Austin single-season record for wins at 99 and is just the 3rd time in club history the Rustlers have won 90+ games (93 in 1990, 98 in 2004).
• 9/18: AUS 13 SAN 2
• POTG: Sam Reyes 2-3 2 BB 2 HR 3 R 2 RBI SB
• Johnston 2-5 2B (48) HR (11) 2 R 3 RBI (75) Keegan 3R HR Behrens W (17-9 3.15) 7 IP 10 K 4 H 1 ER 2-4 2B R score was 10-0 after 2.
• NEXT WEEK: 3 @ New York OFF DAY 3 2 Houston
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 9/14: San Jose pummeled San Francisco 16-7 and in the game Cliff McWhorter 5-5 4 RBI and Andrew McGlasson 5-6 HR 3 RBI had 5 hit games.
• 9/14: Lexington clinched their 3rd straight division title.
• 9/17: Tim Keen (LA) won his 14th game (14-9 3.75) shutting out Philadelphia 2-0 on a 5-hitter.
• 9/17: Tommy Berger (PRO) fanned 8, walked 1 and allowed just 3 hits in a 6-0 blanking of Denver. The 31-year-old moved to 15-10 3.47.
  
  
• RUSTLER NEWS:
• 9/12: SLC pitching coach Tim Winter has retired. I'll be looking ASAP for a replacement.
• 9/14: Managed to snag Tampa Pirate (R ) pitching coach Rich Barnes to handle SLC duties. He has a very good reputation working with young pitchers
• 9/17: Dave Anderson came out after the 1st complaining of shoulder soreness and will be out a few days. Joe Tighe has still not been able to get on the field.
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Kineji Harada (BAL) 12-19 2 HR 6 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Brian Bauer (HOU) 10-21 HR 4 RBI
  
  
• AUSTIN RUSTLER MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: OF Jeff Anderson .311/.438/.654 22 2B 27 HR 88 RBI 51 K 63 BB 12-21 SB (AAA)
• AUSTIN RUSTLER MINOR LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Stefan Filizat 6-3 28 SV 2.09 ERA 56 IP 53 K .208 OppAvg (AAA)

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 103-53
• STANDINGS: Clinched
• RUNS SCORED: 861 (1st)
• RUNS AGAINST: 596 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .699 (1st)
• ZONE RATING: +22.2 (1st)
• ERRORS: 71 (5th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 67
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (3-3) 1-2 @ NY Empire 2-1 @ Houston
• 9/19: NYE 2 AUS 1
• POTG: Dennis Russell (NYE) W (11-7 3.15) 8 IP 6 H 6 K 1 ER
• Allen L (14-7 3.48) 6.1 IP 4 H 10 K 2 ER Gutierrez (NYE) HR (42)
• 9/20: NYE 6 AUS 5 (10)
• POTG: Jack Headan (NYE) 2-4 HR 2 RBI
• 90 min rain delay in the 4th. Brooks 3.2 IP 7 H 4 ER Reyes 1-4 leadoff HR 2 R RBI SB Tighe PH 2R 3B
• 9/21: AUS 15 NYE 2
• POTG: David Nolasco 6-6 2B HR 3 R 6 RBI sets Austin record and ties, Colonial league, 9 inning game record with 6 hits.
• Joe Tighe 4-5 2B 5 R ties Austin record for 9 inning game. Orozco 3-5 HR (27) 3 RBI (88) Pope W (17-5 3.44) 7.1 IP 8 H 4 K 2 ER
• 9/22: OFF DAY
• 9/23: HOU 3 AUS 0
• POTG: Pedro Martinez (HOU) 7 IP 7 K 5 H 0 BB W (11-14 4.40)
• Rhoads L (3-3 3.77) 6 IP 5 H 4 K 2 ER
• 9/24: AUS 12 HOU 6 (14)
• POTG: Dave Nolasco 3-8 3 HR (23) 4 R 3 RBI (100)
• Aaron Chisholm 5-7 2B 3 RBI (145) Reyes 3-8 Both teams scored in the 10th, 12th, and 13th. Anderson ND 8 IP 7 H 5 K 3 ER Tighe HR (1st ABL HR)
• 9/25: AUS 5 HOU 2
• POTG: Matt Behrens W (18-9 3.13) 7.1 IP 6 H 4 K 2 ER 1-4 RBI
• Villa H (22) Laskey SV (40) Chisholm 2-5 2B (36) HR (46) 2 RBI (147) Orozco 3-5 2B (38) 2 R
• NEXT WEEK: 3 vs Ft Worth OFF DAY 3 vs Mexico Season Ends
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 9/21: Tony Delgado (LA) fanned 10, scattering 3 hits in a 2-0 win over Buffalo.
• 9/21: 25-year-old Jaden Davis (MEX) lost a no-hitter in the 8th but settled for a 1-hit 1-0 win over Houston.
• 9/21: Charlotte clinches at least a wild card berth.
• 9/22: In the midst of a woeful season (7-15 5.02) LA's Omar Nieto struck out 1, walked none, and allowed 6 hits in a 3-0 win over Buffalo. It was LA's 2nd straight shutout of the Bisons.
• 9/22: Detroit clinched at least a wild card berth in the Patriot.
• 9/22: Montonobu Nakasone (DAL) scattered 5 hits in a 5-0 win over Baltimore
• 9/22: Charlotte clinches their 7th Skyline Division title.
• 9/23: Mark Rioux (NYE) beat Montreal on a 5-hitter 7-0
• 9/23: Danny Gariepy (OH) struck out 7 in a 3-0 win over San Jose
• 9/23: Luke Meschi (NE) went 1-3 in the Minutemen's 4-2 win over Chicago hitting his 400th career HR. The 34-year-old is a career .267 hitter with 1618 hits, 903 runs, and 1098 RBI's.
• 9/23: Detroit clinched their 5th Harbor Division title.
• 9/24: John Del Bianco (DET) tossed a 3-hitter to beat Baltimore 10-0
• 9/24: Kyle Harris (MON) went 5-5 2 HR 5 RBI in the Paragons 16-12 win over the Empire.
  
  
• PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Dennis Montanez (NYP) 11-22 HR 8 RBI
• COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Larry Peet (PRO) 11-24 3 HR 10 RBI

[gehrig38]

• RECORD: 107-55
• STANDINGS: Clinched (+32)
• RUNS SCORED: 903 (1st)
• RUNS AGAINST: 634 (2nd)
• DEFENSIVE EFF: .696 (2nd)
• ZONE RATING: +21,8 (1st)
• ERRORS: 74 (4th)
• OWNERS MOOD: Happy
• FAN INTEREST: 67
  
  
• THIS WEEK: (4-2) 2-1 vs Ft Worth 2-1 vs Mexico
• 9/26: FW 8 AUS 4
• POTG: Tyler Dagger (FW) 4-5 2 2B R 4 RBI (93)
• Allen L (14-8 3.77) 3.2 IP 10 H 8 ER Reyes leadoff HR (3rd) Cass 3 IP 3 K 1-1 2B
• Chris Johnston trails Jorge Hernandez .359-.351 for the Colonial Batting Title.
• 9/27: AUS 11 FW 7
• POTG: Dave Nolasco 3-4 2B (48) HR (24) 5 RBI (105)
• Brooks strained hamstring (DtD 5 days) 3 IP 5 K 4 BB 2 ER 5 run bottom of the 8th Cowan GW PH 2 R 2B Johnston 2-5 still trails by .008% points.
• 9/28: AUS 4 FW 3
• POTG: Trevor Pope W (18-5 3.35) 8IP 4H 7K 1ER
• Laskey SV (41)
• 9/29: OFF DAY
• 9/30: AUS 12 MEX 11 (11)
• POTG: Jeff Anderson 4-7 2B 2 HR 3 R 2 RBI GW HR
• Rhoads ND 3 IP 8 H 8 R 6 ER Keegan 4-62 RBI Scott (MEX) 3-6 2B (38) HR (34) 3R 3 RBI 6 run 6th to take the lead 11-10.
• Providence has a 2 game lead in the Wild Card with 2 games to play. In the Patriot, Buffalo is 1 up on Ohio and 2.5 up on Chicago.
• Chris Johnston now trails by just .004 in the CL Batting Race.
• 10/1: AUS 5 MEX 2
• POTG: Dave Anderson W (13-11 4.64) 7 IP 5 H 6 K 1 ER
• Laskey SV (42) Chisholm 2-4 HR (47) RBI (148) Bermudez 3R HR (23)
• No regulars will play on the seasons final day. Matt Behrens will start game 1 of the playoffs. It will be a “Johnny Wholestaff” on the mound.
• 10/2: MEX 7 AUS 6
• POTG: Joe Tighe 4-5 R 2 RBI
• NEXT WEEK: PLAYOFFS!
  
  
• ABL HAPPENINGS:
• 9/28: San Francisco captures their 6th California division and the Punishers lock up their 10th Metro division title.
• 9/28: Dave Bottini (DET) scattered 6 hits in a 1-0 win over Brooklyn.
• 9/28: Angel Olivas (LEX) tossed a 1-hitter, fanning 8 in a 3-0 win over Denver.
• 9/28: Josh Viens (NYP) pulled to within a win of tying the single-season record with his 23rd victory of the year (23-4 2.71). He fanned 10 and allowed 6 hits in a 2-0 win over Dallas.
• 9/29: 24-year-old Ryan Ruch (BRO) beat Detroit 5-0 allowing 3 hits while striking out 5.
• 9/30: 2010 PL Rookie of the Year Cameron Mears ended his regular season in style. The 23-year-old fanned 12, walked 1 and gave up just 5 hits in a 2-0 win over Montreal to end his season 18-7 3.43. He tossed 246.2 IP striking out 279 to 53 walks and 231 hits.
• 9/30: Larry Peet (PRO) who took home POTW last week finished this week in style slamming 3 HR's in a 14-0 win over the Empire.
• 10/1: Buffalo and Providence both clinch the wild card with final-day victories. We will face the Black Sox in round 1.

[gehrig38]

AUSTIN RUSTLER PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Jeff Anderson 19-55 4 2B 6 HR 13 RBI
AUSTIN RUSTLER PITCHER OF THE MONTH: Trevor Pope 4-0 2.12 34 IP 32 K 29 H 10 BB 1.15 WHIP


PATRIOT LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Brendan Robbins (NYP) .427-10-28 30 R (My MVP pick)
COLONIAL LEAGUE PLAYER OF THE MONTH: Larry Peet (PRO) .329-12-32 18 R
PATRIOT LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: John Del Bianco (DET) 5-0 2.31 50.1 IP 64 K
COLONIAL LEAGUE PITCHER OF THE MONTH: David Gullion (PHX) 4-0 2.45 47.2 IP 52 K .202 OppAvg
PATRIOT LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Bobby Marino (OH) 4-1 1.82 34.2 IP 34 K
COLONIAL LEAGUE ROOKIE OF THE MONTH: Jaden Davis (MEX) 3-2 2.08 43.1 IP 37 K

[gehrig38]

[gehrig38]

• 2011 REGULAR SEASON NOTES
• We ended the year drawing 3,138,194 fans. The first time in the past 6 years we've drawn 3 million plus and just the 6th time in 20 years (3,591,917 is the record set in 2004, the last time this team won the division)
• Our regular season attendance per game jumped 52.1% from last year. Going from 25,478 to 38, 743.
• Our regular season revenue per game jumped 51.9% from last year. From 382,578 to 581,147.
• In our original budget which was an even 70 million, we projected 11.9 million in gate revenue, we ended at 27.6 million
• Our Merchandise projection was 5.6 million, we made 5.4 million but I am guessing that will rise with the post-season appearance.
• Our projected revenues were 61.06 million, we made 76.5 million and our expenses came in at 58.7 million on a budgeted 58.7 million.
• In total our projected balance was +3.3 million.
• As of today, prior to our 1st playoff game our balance is 18.8 million.

• The lineups on this page are the lineups that will be used in the playoffs. Some tweaking and I am not all that comfortable doing it, but I went straight sabermetrics with the matchups since we will likely see 4 LHP in the first 5 games.

[gehrig38]

• 2011 POSTSEASON
• Our first-round opponent, the Providence Black Sox, went 82-80 to win the wild card on the seasons final day.
• A major story right now is the status of star 3B Larry Peet. He hit .280-30-92 over the course of the season but was hurt in the season's final game. Many question why, in a 14-5 blowout, he was still in the game in the 9th inning. He was 3-5 with a 2B and HR and 5 RBI coming off his 3 HR game just 2 days earlier. Either way the 25-year-old is TBA for game 1.
• The Black Sox ranked 2nd in the league in HR (228) and 1st in SB (129). Their SP ERA was 9th but they had the leagues best bullpen at 2.81.
• There are rumors that 24-year-old closer Willie Montoya 4-6 41 SV 2.56 ERA will move into a setup role to allow the ABL's 2nd best pitching prospect in 23-year-old Juan Esquerra to take over the closing job. Juan was a September call up and went 0-1 4 SV 2.70 with 30 K's 8 BB and 17 H in 20 IP.
  
• 26-year-old CF Manny Lopez kicks it off for the offense. He hit .289-28-90 with 33 2B 12 3B and was 47-55 in SB. He's a two-time gold glove winner. Two-hole hitter Bobby Sheffer (.300-9-22) is the only batter with fewer than 10 HR in their primary lineup.
  
  
• In the other three series it is the Wild Card Bisons taking on the 1 seed Detroit Chargers and the 2 seed San Francisco Bears visiting the New York Punishers.
  
• In the Colonial it will be Charlotte heading to Lexington to take on the defending world champs.

[gehrig38]

• POSTSEASON DAY 1
• Word out of Providence is that star 3B suffered a fractured thumb and will miss at least 3 weeks.
  
• Tommy Berger 17-10 3.35 vs Matt Behrens 18-9 3.13
  
• 2-2 game into the 6th with Matt Behrens throwing 106 pitches, striking out 7 and giving up 2 earned. With 2 outs and a runner on 2nd they walk Bermudez to get to Behrens, obviously thinking he would hit. Mike Aasen PH's and singles to left. Sam Reyes gets down 1-2 and then lines a ball down the line in left for a bases-clearing 2B. A double switch before Jesse Kucher lines a single to center to make it 6-2. Lohse gives up a HR to Jason Bowdish in the 8th to make it 6-3 but Ranan Laskey has a perfect 9th and we have a 1-0 series lead.
• Reyes 2-5 2B 3 RBI Kucher 3-5 2B RBI Orozco 2-3 HR RBI
  
• 

[gehrig38]

• Bobby Dare (14-10 3.93) vs Trevor Pope (18-5 3.35)
  
• Providence strikes 1st with a 2 out RBI 2B by Chris Ladd. Pope works out of a jam and holds it. The game enters the bottom of 6 with the Black Sox up 1-0 and an almost identical scenario unfolds. Reardon singles, Bermudez K's and Mike Aasen comes in to PH for Pope. He doubles to put runners at 2nd and 3rd one out. Sammy Reyes again gets into a 1-2 count and lines a single to left to drive in 2. Kucher then singles and Chris Ladd misplays the ball putting runners at 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. Dave Nolasco then lines a 1-1 pitch to left and both runners scored to make it 4-1. Aaron Chisholm punches out, Johnston singles before Orozco grounds out to end the inning.
  
• Justin Lohse tosses a perfect 7th and for the 1st time, this season Manager Andy Brown brings in closer Ranan Laskey for a 6 out save.
• Laskey walks the leadoff hitter in the 8th before setting them down.
• He needs just 7 pitches to get three outs in the 9th and send us to Providence up 2 games to 0.
  
• 
  
  
• Kyle Gould (NYP) drilled a 2 out 2 strike 2B to give the Punishers a 2-1 walk-off game 1 win.