OOPS I did it again

[gehrig38]

PLAYER OF THE MONTH- 3B Gus Garcia .351/.438/.557 6 2B 4 HR 19 RBI 4-4 SB 13 K 14 BB
PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Joey Morris 3-1 2.41 41 IP 39 K 6 BB 32 H 0.93 WHIP 4 QS 1 CG after a horrid start he's clearly back on track.


MINOR LEAGUE POTM- AA 1B Dae-Sung Lee .395-7-18 on the year he's hitting .404-10-22. Signed as a minor-league FA in 2011 he had a very good year hitting .284/.352/.474 with 20 HR. Romano has him as a solid 2-star prospect and an elite 1B.
MINOR LEAGUE PIOTM- AA Tony Mejia 4-1 1.76 ERA 30.2 IP 38 K 4 BB 0.95 WHIP Another minor league signing in 2011. Another guy our scouts have as a solid 2-star prospect, nothing special.

• New Orleans went 13-15 and they are 1.5 GB. Jesus Ramirez was raking the first few weeks after being sent down but has cooled off to .259-3-17. They are hitting for zero power, last in HR's. 19 year old Bob McIImoyle was called up from AA after our catching situation had us recall Rivera. Hitting just .188 but with a .435 OBP. They're actually throwing really well. Ferguson is 4-4 2.71, Hawkins 3-3 2.89. Micah Miles has been hurt but when closing he's got a 0.87 ERA. Graham Marx, the OF we got from Utah who our scouts loved his hit tools? Hitting just .134/.190/.216 in 25 starts and 107 PA's

• Milwaukee went 21-8 after a 4-16 start and their pitching is tearing it up and some bats are heating up as well. Jimmy Young has rebounded from a tough start and is now hitting .230-11-27 while POTM Dae-sung Lee is leading the world at .404-10-22 while leading off for them. Their 6 man rotation is working spledidly with no SP having an ERA above 4.00. John Slavin (3-1 2.29) and Aaron Warren (2-2 2.81) lead the staff.

• Albuquerque went 19-10 and are mashing, and throwing well. Allan Vasquez continues to get better, he's 6-0 3.42 while Kyle Fay is 1-2 but sporting a 2.60. At the plate Ryan Smith (.336-6-26) Troy Zehnder (.272-8-28) Jim Martin (.310-8-26) and Matthew Brittingham (.314-7-20) are pacing the offense. 2011 draft picks there are SS Enrique Garza (.263-4-21), Zehnder, Josh Dufault (.212-4-14) with Martin and Brittingham on fire right now.

Speaking of the draft, 6 days until the 2012 draft.

[gehrig38]

Lottery results

[gehrig38]

2012 1st YEAR PLAYER DRAFT
1st ten players projected to be taken:

[gehrig38]

As a reminder we are picking 17th overall and then have the following in the top 100 selections:
Round/pick/Overall pick
2/15/55
2/16/56
2/17/57
3/16/92
3/18/94
No picks in rounds 4 and 5.
We have allocated well north of our slot number to insure money does not impede taking the best player available. I am very keen on going pitching heavy with the first 5-6 picks.

Round 1 Pick 18- You can see where Romano is and I are not even close. While I don't think we have a Johnny Bench in the organization catching is not a position I feel we are shallow in talent, in fact I feel the opposite. Woodruff was the mock pick but Ornelas is my preference here. Kuhn is a Canadian kid with pretty huge upside across the board. But pitching is what wins, power pitching. No riskier pitching than HS arms but the makeup, and delivery are there and he's already operating in the upper 90's with room to grow.
Luis Ornelas (18) RH SP Franklin HS, Wisconsin 6'2” 180

[gehrig38]

• 3 straight picks here. Another HS RH SP is on my radar and while it may be early I think the College lefty reliever is too good to pass up. He's already AA-AAA ready I think. My debate now comes at the plate. Four of our top 6 bats are catchers, 2 college kids. None grade out above a 12 or so defensively. Blackwell as a LHH with monster power and .425 OBP potential is enticing.

2/15/55 Nate Shackelford (18) RH SP Rancho HS, Nevada 6'2” 185
2/16/56 Allen Henderson (21) LH RP U. of Oklahoma 6'1” 200
2/17/57 Tommy Beach (18) RHH OF Bangor Christian, Maine 6'3” 190 40/40 power/speed at a corner OF position but also a decent CF
3/16/92 Jaden Finkelstein (18) RH SP Yucaipa HS, California 6'4” 195 Romano had him as the pick last round and he was still available
3/18/94 Johnny Blackwell (19) LHH OF New Town HS, Maryland 6'1” 200 Corner outfielder with 50 HR raw power and a .400+ OBP approach. Was our scout's pick last round as well?
6/15 Nick Turner (19) Switch C Thornton HS, Illinois 6'1” 200 6th round and a talent Romano has as a 5-star, quite a lot riding on my head scout this draft.
7/15 Yoseikazu Suzuki (19) Switch OF Narita Kokusai HS, Japan 5'11” 175 4-star switch-hitting OF.
8/15 Olivier Charlot (18) RH SP Pecos HS, New Mexico 6'1” 185 solid 3-star righty
9/15 Dave Knott (18) RH SP Rogue River HS, Oregon 6'1” 180 3-star RH starter
10/15 A.J. Lanigan (18) LHH Infielder Lutheran West HS, Ohio, 6'1” 185 Potential middle IF + defender rated 3.5 Stars

[gehrig38]

2 vs New York, OFF DAY 3 @ Phoenix 1 @ Las Vegas
RUNS SCORED: 273 (10th)
RUNS AGAINST: 268 (4th)
OBP: .313 (11th)
STARTERS ERA: 3.99 (3rd)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.80 (8th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .696 (3rd)
ZONE RATING: +13.3 (2nd)

• Redundant question and obvious but is defense that huge of a change for us? We're quite literally at the opposite end of the spectrum and also our 28 errors are third best in the league. But I have to think the pitching progression is enormously impacted by our drastically improved defense. I should also mention we are 2nd in the NL in K's at 530 as well as hits and Opp Average however all of that is offset by the 237 walks, which is dead last in the league.

RESULTS
1-1 vs New York OFF DAY 1-2 @ Phoenix 1-0 @ Las Vegas
6/3- CIP 5 NYP 3 Morris 5-3 3.91 7 IP 3 H 5 LK ER Gross SV (12) Roberts 3B HR 2 R 2 RBI Dietz HR RBI
6/4- NYP 9 CIP 0 3 errors 3 unearned runs Guijosa (L) 5-3 3.61 4.1 IP 7 H 4 BB 4 ER Dietz 1st error Garcia 4th
6/5- OFF DAY
6/6- PHX 3 CIP 2 (12) Dietz throws out winning run bottom 9. Pelletier 7 IP 6 H 8 K 2 ER Ricks (L) Nieves HR (15) 2 RBI
Peterson (PHX) 3H 2B HR 2 RBI
6/7- PHX 7 CIP 6 (10) Powers ND 6 IP 7 H 5 BB 2 ER Gross BS (2) H 3 BB 0.2 IP Rivera GW HR 10th Nieves 2H SB (3) E (4) Ayala H R 2 RBI 2 BB
6/8- CIP 3 PHX 1 Floyd 4-6 3.95 6.2 IP 5 H 6 K 1 R Nicol SV (2)Garcia 2H HR (8)

• Our reach for a closer in the 2nd round, Allan Henderson, signed. He's headed to 1st place Albuquerque to close.

6/9- CIP 7 LV 4 Morris 6-3 4.03 6.2 IP 5 H 5 K 4 ER Camarillo SV (3) Nieves 2H 2B (16) 3 RBI (41) Garcia HR (9) 3 RBI (35)

• Camarillo is turning into a great surprise. I expected bumps and bruises, but he's been elite and with Gross throwing the last two days he came in to close. He's 2-0 3 Saves 1.67 over 37.2 IP 32 K 10 BB.
• Justin Krieg is DtD for 5-6 days and did not play today. His knee flared up so he'll play sparingly over the next week.

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- LF Sergio Santiago (SI) 11-24 3 HR 10 RBI
NL POTW- 3B Jonathan Obie (NYP) 11-24 4 HR 7 RBI

• Fresno signed 5 time all-star Jesus Diaz to a 1 year 2.9 million dollar deal. The 38 year old was 2-3 33 Saves 1.89 last year in Portland. He has 174 career saves including a league leading 42 in 2003 with Austin. He led the league with 91 appearances in 2004.
• All the questions about the signing were elevated by the fact Diaz signs and is immediately placed on the 60-day IL. He'll be there until mid-August.

IRON PIG NEWS

• Tommy Beach (2nd round 57th overall) and Oliver Charlot (8th round 248th overall) both signed and arrived in Minneapolis. Charlot was thought to be a tough sign and we took a gamble.

[gehrig38]

2 @ Las Vegas 3 @ Pittsburgh (9 game road trip ends) 2 vs Atlanta
RUNS SCORED: 317 (t-9th)
RUNS AGAINST: 294 (3rd)
OBP: .317 (9th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.04 (4th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.48 (5th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .697 (2nd)
ZONE RATING: +12.8 (2nd)

RESULTS (41-30 1GB)
2-0 @ Las Vegas 2-1 @ Pittsburgh 2-0 vs Atlanta
6/10- CIP 4 LV 3 (15) Guijosa 6 IP 2 K 3 BB 4 H 3 ER 'Pen 9 IP 8 H 8 K 2 BB 0 R Williams (W) Camarillo SV (4) Calkins 3-7 2B HR (2) 2 R RBI Gutierrez 0-7 3 K 2 Errors

• The pen is beat to hell again after the 15 innings. Nicol is optioned and Wilfredo Diaz is recalled to provide at least 1 fresh arm for tomorrow.

6/11- CIP 2 LV 1 Pelletier 3-4 4.13 8 IP 5 H 7 K 0 BB 1 ER Becker SV (2)
6/12- CIP 14 PIT 4 club record 22 hits Calkins 3H 2B 2 RBI Stachowski 2 HR 3 RBI Nieves 3H 2 R Chavez 2H HR 2 RBI Roberts 2H HR (7) 2R 2 RBI Martinez 2H 2R RBI Johnson 2-3 2BB 2B 3R Tripp 3H 2B HR (3) 2 RBI Dietz 3H 2 RBI every starter had 2H or more.

• Justin Krieg's knee is now a conundrum. It's apparently not bad enough to IL, but it went from what looked to be a week at most to uncertain. To avoid any potential issues he's going on the 10 day. Given he was DH'ing a lot Jesus Ramirez will get another shot. He hit .303 with a .370 OBP in New Orleans so hopefully the **** is righted. Dae-sung Lee is in New Orleans now after tearing up AA so he'll get every day AB's for the next few weeks.

6/13- CIP 10 PIT 6 Garcia 2B 2 HR 10 total bases 4 R 5 RBI Floyd ND 6 ER 4 IP 2 HR Camarillo (3-0 1.56) 2 IP 2 K 0 R 'Pen 5 IP 2 H 6 K 3 BB 0 R.
6/14- PIT 6 CIP 5 Morris ND 5 IP 9 H 5 ER Rivera (L) 2-2 7.56 Roberts HR (8) RBI Ayala HR (4) RBI

• Rivera has been a nightmare. Not even helping in situational appearances. Just 23 and with a huge arm, he's going to be sent down to get innings and experience. Nicol, another lefty, will ride the roller coaster again and be recalled.

6/15- CIP 3 ATL 1 Guijosa and Camarillo injured. Guijosa on the 4th pitch of the game. Garcia 2H 2B GW 1B in the 8th

• Well the move would have been to spot Camarillo into Guijosa's rotation spot if it was serious, turns out it is. An elbow issue that will sideline him for at least 3 weeks. Camarillo is not yet known so we can wait, but we have to make moves asap as the 'pen is once again dog tired and Camarillo is unavailable. Nate Draper is recalled to take Guijosa's spot and with Camarillo down and the pen beat I can't just wait to see what's the matter. I'll put Camarillo on the short term IL until more is known and 20 year old Dan Ferguson can move from the New Orleans rotation into the pen on the short term.
• Lots of moves made across the minor leagues to fill holes in pitching staffs. None major other than 2012 2nd rounder Allan Henderson moves to AA after 3 scoreless innings in A ball.

6/16- CIP 6 ATL 5 blown leads all around. Draper starts 5 IP 9 K 5 BB 2 H 0 R Nicol comes in with RISP and serves up a 9th inning Grand Slam to Atlanta's Jorge Cortez (14). Chicago idol Jesse Roberts, having a horrid season so far (.213-8-30) wins it with a walk off 2R 1B.


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- CF Justin Reynolds (CHA) 12-25 2 HR 3 RBI
NL POTW- LF Lourenco Manhas (SD) 13-23 2 HR 10 RBI

• Staten Island lost OF Sergio Santiago (.309-9-45) for at least 2 months after he fractured his hand on a HBP.
• Austin's Brad Eldred became the youngest P in IBL history to throw a no-hitter in a 4-0 7 K win. He's 4-4 3.12 on the year.
• In other shocking news, Zach Stewart has not homered in 6 games and his pace has 'dropped' all the way to just 82 HR's!. 7 games ago he hit 2, and that set a new season high for him in just 58 games.
• Nothing like karma. On Sunday Stewart hits 2 more HR's and his pace moves to 83....

IRON PIG NEWS

• 1st rounder Luis Ornelas agreed to terms. He'll start in Minneapolis.
• 2nd rounder (55th overall) Nate Shackelford reports to Minneapolis today. Their rotation is headed by two 5-star prospects now.
• Dan Ames, our AAA starting SS was hurt and is out around a month. All that to say 2011 draft pick Enrique Garza will move up to AA to see where he is at.
• Johnny Blackwell (3rd round 94th overall 5-star) signs and we'll jump him straight to Class A and see how that plays out and Jaden Finkelstein (3rd round 92nd overall 4.5 star) signed as well and will start in Minneapolis.
• New Orleans OF Matt Chiquete took home AAA POTW honors going 10-18 2 HR 10 RBI. The 23 year old was a minor league FA signing in February of 2011.

• Not a major news item but in listing the leagues youngest players the Iron Pigs occupy two of the five spots. Jose Nieves is the youngest at 19 years 224 days while P Dan Ferguson is 4th at 20 years and 93 days.
• We also reached our highest point ever in the weekly power rankings, placing 3rd this week. Boston is first and Jacksonville is right behind them.
• The weeks ends on an enormous down note. Aaron Camarillo fractured his coracoid and will miss the rest of 2012. He'll be transferred to the 60 day IL.

BACKROOM CHATTER

• I was concerned all winter and as I sit here I am even more so. I think my scouting director is a potential bust.
• I scouted Mike Johnson to the point I could claim his as a dependent on my taxes. Romano assured me this kid was 5-star no doubt impossible to miss. Today, I look at Romano's Pre-draft report he submitted:
• 5-star, potential Contact 18, power 21, eye 19
• Today? Those three numbers are 10/16/10 2.5 stars. We are at the 1 year mark.
• OSA still loves Johnson having him at 16/21/20 today and a 5-star but we had him far more “pegged' as far as 'eyes on' time. If we missed it was HUGE, and it was with the 1st overall selection.
• The pitchers are much the same, none are the 5-star monsters he thought they were.
• So I started quietly looking around. Two legends of the game are both employed and neither is interested in leaving their jobs. I didn't make offers because I think doing that without 100% intent is wrong.
• However, if this draft, God forbid, turns out the same way and these kids start dropping in our scouts eyes it will be 'heave-ho' time for Romano and I will spend whatever it takes to get the right guy. I said before the draft and during I felt like there were far too many 5-star guys and it still feels that way. Looking at my system it feels like it's “filled” with potential stars, but our system now ranks 10th.

[gehrig38]

WEEK 12
1 vs Atlanta OFF DAY 3 @ El Paso 2 @ Fresno
RUNS SCORED: 351 (t-8th)
RUNS AGAINST: 317 (3rd)
OBP: .319 (8th)
STARTERS ERA: 3.90 (4th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.62 (5th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .699 (2nd)
ZONE RATING: +13.7 (2nd)

RESULTS 46-32 (t-1st)
1-0 vs Atlanta 2-2 @ EL Paso 1-1 @ Fresno
6/17- CIP 5 ATL 0 Pelletier 4-4 3.74 8.1 IP 4 H 9 K Garcia 3H 3 RBI Dietz 3H 2B 2R
6/18- OFF DAY
6/19- EP 6 CIP 5 Led 4-1 after 6. Nicol, Ricks, McKitrick, Becker 2.2 IP 7 H 2 K BB 5 R Powers ND 6 IP 6 K 4 BB 4 H 1 R Dietz 4-4 2B 2 RBI Roberts 2H 2B (8) 2 SB (11) 2 RBI (32) Offense 14 K's.
6/20- CIP 5 EP 4 (10) Led 4-0 into bottom 7. Ricks, Williams 3 R 1.2 IP Gross SV (13) Floyd 6.1 IP 3 H 3 BB 4 K 1 ER Gutierrez 3H R Stachowski 2 2B (12) R RBI Ayala GW PH 1B
6/21- CIP 7 EP 6 Garcia 3H 3B HR (12) 2 RBI (49) Tripp 3H 2B RBI Johnson 3R 3B Gross SV (15) Diaz 3H .2 IP hurts his back.

• Wilfredo Diaz headed to the 15 day. Matt Hawkins (5-4 2.75 in 14 starts in New Orleans) will be recalled. Hawkins, some may remember, went 8-16 5.15 in 36 games last year up here.
• The decision has also been made to move Nate Gross into a setup role and make Chris Becker the closer. Gross's stamina just does not allow him to throw back-to-back days with any consistency. Gross will be the guy to get the opportunities when Becker isn't available.
• Justin Krieg is cleared to come off the IL but physically he asked out. Says he's not ready. So we wait.

6/22- FRE 3 CIP 2 Draper ND 6 IP 10 H 2 ER 6 K
McMillion (FRE) 8.2 IP 13 K 2 ER (7-4 3.30) Jensen (FRE) 2 2B HR 2 RBI
6/23- CIP 5 FRE 2 2-2 tie in 9th, Stachowski GW 3R HR Pelletier ND 6.2 IP 4 H 5 K 2 BB 2 ER Becker SV (3) Gutierrez 2H SB (6) 2 R Dietz Error (2)


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- CF Ray Taylor (BRK) 11-27 3 HR 8 RBI
NL POTW- C Adam Reitsma (WAS) 13-20 2 RBI


WEEK 13
1 @ Fresno 3 vs Washington 3 @ Jacksonville
The Panthers are the cream of the crop in the NL right now, sort of banged up but it'd be nice to show well.
RUNS SCORED: 386 (8th)
RUNS AGAINST: 353 (6th)
OBP: .322 (7th)
STARTERS ERA: 4.06 (6th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.66 (5th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .697 (2nd)
ZONE RATING: +15.5 (2nd)

RESULTS (49-35 3GB)
1-0 @ Fresno 2-1 vs Washington 1-2 @ Jacksonville
6/24- CIP 5 FRE 2 Powers (7-5 3.62) 6 IP 3 H 3 BB 6 K 1 R Becker SV (4) Garcia HR (13) RBI (50) Roberts 2H 2B RBI
Tony Clark (FRE) 3-4 2 HR (14) 2 RBI

• Justin Krieg was activated, still DtD but ok to play. Martinez was sent down to get at-bats.

6/25- WAS 6 CIP 5 Floyd (L) 6.1 IP 4 ER 7 H 4 K 4-7 4.29 Garcia HR (14) RBI (51) Nieves 2H 2B (18) SB (6) Roberts Error (1) Chavez Error (2)

• Gus Garcia is leading the NL in All-Star voting at 2B. Brian Stachowski is 3rd for Catchers.
• Both Rookie and Short Season open their schedules today. Our Minneapolis roster is stacked with Finkelstein (4.5 stars) Ornelas (5 star) and Shackelford (5 star) and 2 3-star arms. Both clubs will feature 6-man rotations. Tommy Beach is the top rated (4.5 star) bat in Minneapolis.
• In Nashville Catcher Nick Turner (5-star) and Yoseikazu Suzuki (4-star) are the top rated bats while the 6-man rotation has 2011 2nd rounder David Arroyo (who has dropped to 3-stars per our scouts) at the top.
• Also should mention P prospect John Timmerman, acquired last year from Fresno in the Cook deal, came off the DL to toss 5.1 innings of 2 hit 1-run ball in his 1st start back after going down in early April.

6/26- CIP 5 WAS 4 (12) Krieg 3H 2 2B including game-tying 2B in the 9th. Roberts 2H 3B 2 RBI

• Jesse Roberts is still struggling, hitting just .218 as of today. His average is down 70 points with his OBP down almost 100. Fans have not turned on him, he's still the most followed and loved player in uniform.

6/27- CIP 5 WAS 3 Krieg 3H 2B GW 1B in the 8th.Draper ND 5.2 IP 7 K 4 BB 4 H 3 ER Becker SV (5)

• 1st rounder Luis Ornelas went 6 scoreless and fanned 11 in a ND on opening day for Minneapolis

6/28- JAX 8 CIP 6 Pelletier ND 4.2 IP 8 H 6 ER Nicol 2 ER 3.1 IP (L) Roberts 3H 2B 2 R Ramirez 2H HR (2) 3 R 3 RBI Stachowski 3H 2B 2 RBI Krieg game tying PH in the 7th.
6/29- JAX 6 CIP 4 (11) Led 4-0 into the bottom of 8. Powers ND 7.2 IP 5 H 6 K 3 ER Gross BS 3R HR in the 8th allowing both IR to score. Hawkins .2 IP 2 H HR 2 ER (L) Chavez 3H 2 2B 3 R RBI Roberts 2H 2 RBI (.228) 18 LOB
6/30- CIP 10 JAX 9 (10) Led 9-4 after 7 ½ Dan Ferguson .2 IP 5 H 3 HR! 5 ER Floyd ND 5 IP 5 H 7 K 4 BB 4 ER Becker SV (6)
Calkins 3H 2B (22) BB R RBI Nieves 2H HR (16) 2 R 2 RBI GW SF Roberts 2B (13) HR (9) 2 R 3 RBI (.231) Chavez 2B HR (7) 3 RBI Stachowski 3H Johnson 3H 2B (19) SB (11) CS (5)
Danny Lamar (JAX) 3H 2 HR (13) 5 RBI


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- RF Jose Villa (BRK) 11-24 HR 4 RBI
NL POTW- LF Jorge Mayorga (PHX) 12-24 3 HR 6 RBI

IRON PIG NEWS
Matt Chiquete of New Orleans added another trophy to his mantle this week. Going 10-23 3 HR 11 RBI to win AAA POTW/

[gehrig38]

MID-SEASON STUFF AND TOP PROSPECTS

• Chris Hanson, taken 1st overall this year, went straight from the U. of Memphis to Oklahoma City. He's hitting .357/.400/.452 through 12 games with a HR and 4 RBI and he's now the IBL's #1 ranked prospect.
• We dropped to 10th overall with our top prospect Luis Maya (IF) at #9. Last years 1st overall pick Mike Johnson dropped to 88th. Our top pick in this years draft, P Luis Ornelas is already at #32. 2011 pick Catcher Troy Zehnder is 82nd while Japanese teenager Yoseikazu Suzuki arrives at 83.

Top 10 IBL Prospects (age) team year drafted/signed rd/overall pick Current level

1. OF Chris Hanson (22) OKC 2012 1/1 IBL
2. 1B Chris Rowland (20) AUS 2010 1/1 IBL
3. 1B Chris Garcia (19) SJ 2011 1/ 2 IBL
4. SP Jason Romero (20) PHI 2011 1/36 Short-season (acquired via trade from Utah 12/8/11
5. 2B Will Navarro (18) LA 2012 1/5 AA
6. SP Paul Smith (21) LA 2011 1/10 IBL
7. SP Bobby Woodruff (19) PIT 2012 1/28 Rookie league (this was our scouts choice at 18)
8. CF Josh West (22) PHX 2011 1/18 AAA
9. 2B Luis Maya (17) CIP 2011 Int FA sign
10. SP Chris Andrezejewski (23) PIT 2011 1/3 IBL The SP we passed on for Mike Johnson....

CHICAGOS FARM SYSTEM
There is some good news here. We've gone from 8 of the top 200 to this year where we have 14 of the top 200
Our ranking/IBL rank

1. 1/9 2B Luis Maya (17) INT
2. 2/32 SP Luis Ornelas (18) Rookie league
3. 3/82 C Troy Zehnder (20) Class A .264/.353/.424
4. 4/83 OF Yoseikazu Suzuki (19) Short-season .353/.353/.706
5. 5/88 1B Mike Johnson (19) Short-season .235/.263/.412
6. 6/89 RP Allen Henderson (21) AA 3 G 2 SV 0.00 ERA
7. 7/118 CF Tommy Beach (18) .333/.412/.733
8. 8/129 OF Johnny Blackwell (19) .279/.392/.395
9. 9/135 SP Dan Williams (19) Short-season
10. 10/155 SS David Vasquez (16) INT
11. 11/159 SP Nate Shackelford (18) Rookie league
12. 12/161 OF Diego Martinez (16) INT
13. 13/185 1B/3B Bill Brumfield (20) AA .236/.416/.536
14. 14/199 SP David Arroyo (19) Short-season

Really need to dig at years end on this stuff as I think we should have more high end talent than we do. Maybe I am missing something, that or my head scout did.

[gehrig38]

• 7 coaches from the IBL rosters to rookie ball have expiring contracts.
• IBL hitting coach Kevin Roberts did a great job last year that I saw. Team average is down just .002 but the offense has been underwhelming at best with some guys in season long funks (Jesse Roberts). I don't see him as a generational talent in any regard and want more from this spot so I am going to let this one expire and see what happens. I can always work to re-sign him.
• None of the 6 minor-league coaches are my hires and none are anything to write home about nor are their areas improving, or have improved though it is early for SS and the Rookie club.
• I'll let them expire and work to get better options from top to bottom. I want to also respect the fact that the chemistry in the big league locker room is very good on the players and coaches side.

[gehrig38]

MID SEASON OWNERS MEETING

• Mr Johns was effusive in his praise almost across the board. What's not to like? Every economic metric is one that he should be ecstatic about.
• Season ticket sales up 32% from 15.8K to 20.8
• Per game attendance is up 26.6%, from 35.9 to 45.5
• Per game revenue is up almost 50% (47.7).
• Before he puts his hands in the till the club is projected to show a profit of 33.09 million dollars on 72.1 million in revenue.
• The on the field stuff he's elated about for the most part.
• Our team is statistically better this year in most every category it needed to be pitching wise. Which was his concern pre-season.
• The coaching staff is far more in tune and aligned, another pre-season worry of his.
• His one “big” gripe was, as he put it “you're actively alienating our foreign fans with your disrespect of the international market”.
• Say what????
• Our top prospect is a Cuban kid, with a Dominican SS and OF in our top 15 prospects.
• Oh well, I'll try and decipher whether this was nit-picking for nit-picking sake or something more at work here, but it didn't make much sense nor is it backed up with any actual, factual, data.

[gehrig38]

2012 JUNE IN REVIEW

AL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- LF Zach Stewart (PHI) .300-10-19 (he's hit 40 as of today, on pace for 77)
NL PLAYER OF THE MONTH- 1B Kevin Terry (NYP) .316-8-29
AL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- CL Jim Bruckner (WYO) 2-0 9 Saves 0.69
NL PITCHER OF THE MONTH- SP Sergio Ramirez (WAS) 5-0 0.90
AL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- SP Joe Goff (DET) 3-0 0.27
NL ROOKIE OF THE MONTH- P Guillermo Rodea (IND) 4-1 2.45

[gehrig38]

PLAYER OF THE MONTH- Gus Garcia for the 2nd month in a row. He hit .324/.384/.627 with 6 2B 2 3B 7 HR 21 RBI with an OPS of 1.011
PITCHER OF THE MONTH- Andy Powers 3-0 2.85 41 IP 30 H 30 K 6-6 QS 1.17 WHIP


MINOR LEAGUE POTM- AAA CF Matt Chiquette hit .473-9-33 on the month. Hitting .305-11-53 on the year.
MINOR LEAGUE PIOTM- A Alan Velazquez 3-1 1.30 ERA 0.76 WHIP 27.2 IP 15 H 22 K 4-4 QS

• New Orleans went 15-13 and are 38-38 1.5 GB of Fremont. As stated earlier, Matt Chiquette had a huge month and is hitting .305-11-53. Dave Wheeler (.314-4-23) Dae-sung Lee hitting .346 since being called up. Tyler Arrant is 5-2 2.33 and Toshihiko Miyamoto is 16 for his last 35 5 HR 13 RBI but sitting while Javier Mariscal finishes his rehab.

• Milwaukee went 16-11 and are 41-35 2 GB. 1st in the league in HR's, led by Bill Brumfield (.231-19-40 with a .409 OBP) and Jimmy Young .240-17-42. 2012 2nd Rounder Allen Henderson was recently promoted and is closing. John Slavin (4-2 2.94) is leading the staff.

• Albuquerque went 18-9 following their 19-10 May and are 48-28 leading the league once again. Hitting off the rails, 1st in Runs, Hits, AVG, OBP, 2nd in SLG, OPS, WAR, 3rd in HR.
• Pitching they're 1st in fewest walks allowed, 3rd in SP ERA, WAR, HRA.
• 2011 2nd rounder Allan Velazquez leads the staff at 9-1 2.71 (4-1 1.27 in his last 5 starts) with John Timmerman just returning from the IL. John Tite (.261-16-44) Jim Martin (.289-11-43), Andy Williams (.264-11-31) and Troy Zehnder (.260-11-38) are leading their best in class offense. 2011 2nd rounder Josh Dufault is hitting .222-10-34 after a real slow start.

• Nashville and Minneapolis have just started this week. Funny note, Minneapolis is 0-5, last in almost all hitting categories while their starters lead the league with a 1.37 ERA and their bullpen is sporting a 10.30 ERA due to some early blowouts.

[gehrig38]

OFF DAY 3 vs Oklahoma City 3 @ Los Angeles
RUNS SCORED: 415 (7th)
RUNS AGAINST: 366 (3rd)
OBP: .322 (8th)
STARTERS ERA: 3.91 (5th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.55 (4th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .700 (2nd)
ZONE RATING: +16.9 (1st)
44 Errors are 5th in the league

RESULTS (53-37 3 GB)
2-1 vs OKC 2-1 vs LA
7/1- OFF DAY
7/2- OKC 1 CIP 0 Morris 8 IP 11 K 7 H 1 ER 6-4 4.49
Grieshop (OKC) 4-9 3.61 8 IP 4 H 5 K BB Underwood SV (13) Gabe Dunn 4-4 HR (4) RBI
7/3- CIP 8 OKC 1 Nate Draper 15 K's 7 IP 2 H 0 R (1-0 1.65). Iron Pig record. Garcia 4H HR (15) 3 R Calkins 2B HR (3) 3 RBI Chavez HR (8) 3 RBI
7/4- CIP 9 OKC 1 Pelletier 5-4 3.86 7 IP 6 H 8 K 1 ER Dietz HR (4) 3 RBI Johnson 3 RBI (41) Krieg 3H 2B (24) RBI Garcia 2B (18) R Gutierrez 2H 2B 2R

• The Lynx are on a 9 game win streak, and 9-1 in their last 10. Gaining 3 games on us in that span and we're 4 back now.

7/5- CIP 7 LA 3 Powers 8-5 3.47 7 IP 2 H 6 K 4 BB 1 R Nieves 2H RBI Garcia 2H 2R Roberts 3H HR (10) 2R 3 RBI (44)
Indy wins their 10th in a row.
7/6- LA 5 CIP 1 Floyd 5 ER 5 H 4 HR 3.1 IP 4-8 4.71 Chavez HR (9)
7/7- CIP 4 LA 2 Morris 5 IP 10 K 2 H 0 ER Becker SV (7) Stachowski 3H RBI Tripp 2H RBI

• Calkins 2 errors giving him 10. He's absolutely picked up the defense and the team metrics show that. However looking at his career he's always been a 10+ ZR guy and a 1.000+ Efficiency as well. His ZR last year was 10.5 and right now it's just 4.2. His range is sub 4 (3.95) from 4.5 last year and his efficiency is 1.041 from 1.042 last season.
• Juan Mariscal broke his finger and just like that he's back on the DL. Newly acquired utility man Dave Pedraza is called up.
• Bobby Guijosa is ready to come off the IL but having been out a month he'll get some rehab starts in New Orleans who will go to a 6-man rotation to accommodate the move.
• Wilfredo Diaz is off the DL and on the active roster
• Milwaukee's won 9-4 today and Bill Brumfield and Jimmy Young both homered twice and drove in all 9 runs.
• Luis Ornelas went 7.1 scoreless innings, fanning 9 on 3 hits with 1 walk. He's 2-0 0.89 in 3 starts going 20.1 IP with 24 K's and 8 BB.

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- SS Tony Gallegos (CHA) 15-30 7 HR 16 RBI
NL POTW- 3B Eric Hamilton (NE) 15-33 HR 6 RBI

• On Monday San Diego's Juan Laurel, the 2011 NL Koufax winner, threw a CG 2-hit SHO to beat Jacksonville 10-0. He fanned 10 to pull even at 6-6 4.12 on the year.

IRON PIG NEWS

• On Tuesday 2 waiver claims I had placed went through. 21 year old Dave Pedraza was claimed from Pittsburgh. Pedraza, rated 2.5 stars by Romano, is a jack-of-all trades. He plays, according to our scouts at a 10+, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, and rated a 9 in right. He hits left-handed and supposedly has power that grades out at 19 potential. This year he hit .294/.380/.738 with 21 HR and 47 RBI's in 43 AAA games and then .242/.330/.447 in 70 games, 45 starts with the parent club. Homering 10 times and driving in 23. No idea what made them do this with such a young player but we wont' complain.
• RHP Bae-Hee Kim is a 23 year old South Korean with a 20 Slider and 17+ Cutter rated 2.5 stars. He was 0-0 1 Save 2.57 with Denver this year in 28 innings with 31 K's to 11 walks allowing 16 hits. Last year in 27 games in AAA he was 0-2 2 Saves 1.95 and in 27 games with San Francisco he was 1-1 2 Saves 3.38. Can never have enough pitching. I had room for both and they're optioned to AAA.
• Jesus Ramirez is over the Mendoza line and hitting a bit better but Anthony Tripps versatility will keep him here. Ramirez is optioned and recently acquired Javier Mariscal will be called up off his rehab.
• Mariscal will be a late inning defensive guy and get some at-bats around the IF to spell guys.
• By Wednesday Kriegs knee issue had cleared up and he was good to go.
• With the claims and trade our 40 man is at 39 players. I'd prefer 2-3 open spots but accumulating talent in a myriad of ways that includes waivers it's to be expected that I will bump up against the limit.
• New Orleans OF Dave Wheeler went 13-26 2 HR 7 RBI to win AAA POTW
• Bill Brumfield went 13-26 4 HR 9 RBI to win AA POTW. He's hitting .256-23-49 on the year and likely close to getting a call to AAA.

[gehrig38]

CHICAGO-INDIANAPOLIS TRADE
The Iron Pigs and Lynx agreed to a 2 player swap on Tuesday. Chicago sent Catcher Salvatore Rivera and their 2012 6th round draft choice to Indianapolis for 26 year old RHP Gerardo Carlos and the Lynx 2012 4th round pick.

BACKROOM CHATTER
This was about clearing roster space and moving assets we felt ok moving. Rivera is a solid backup and Indianapolis will likely have him in the same role we did. Carlos is a 26 year old Starter/Reliever who our guys have at 2.5 potential and still developing. A 4 pitch mix with everything still developing and what Romano thinks could be a 4th or 5th starter, or a swingman, in a year or two. Solid arm, very solid guy off the field and a leader. He moves into the New Orleans rotation for the rest of the year.

[gehrig38]

3 vs San Francisco 3 @ New England (all-star break coming next week)

RESULTS (58-38 1 GB)
3-0 vs San Francisco 2-1 @ New England
7/8- CIP 6 SF 4 Draper (2-0 2.36) 7 IP 7 H 6 K 4 ER Gross SV (15) Nieves 3H R RBI (50) Roberts 2B 3 RBI (47) Dietz 3H 2B CS (6) RBI
7/9- CIP 5 SF 4 Pelletier ND 4.2 IP 4 H 6 K 2 ER 99 pitches Becker SV (8) Garcia 3-3 HR (16) 3 R 2 RBI (54)

• Brian Stachowski is 2nd, Gus Garcia leads at 2B, Jose Nieves is 3rd in all-star voting. The game is next week.
• Andrew Jacobi (SJ) is at 2.51 million, and San Diego's Lourenco Manhas is at 2.52 million as the AL and NL leading vote getters.

7/10- CIP 13 SF 3 Powers (9-5 3.58) 6.2 IP 8 H 4 ER Calkins 4-6 2B 2 R 3 RBI Krieg 3H 2B 2 RBI Stachowski 3H 2 RBI Andy Tripp 2H HR (4) 3 R 2 RBI Mike Johnson 2H HR (5) 2 R RBI Dietz 3H (.242)
7/11- NE 11 CIP 5 Floyd (4-9 5.15) 7 ER 7 H 2 HR 3 IP Krieg 3H 2B (27) 2R RBI Chavez 3H 2B R RBI
Steve Urmanski (NE) 4-5 2 2B (24) HR (8) 2R RBI
7/12- CIP 5 NE 1 Morris (8-4 4.06) 5.2 IP 4 H 0 R 5 K 108 pitches
7/13- CIP 7 NE 5 Draper (3-0 2.92) 5.2 IP 8 H 4 ER Becker SV (9)
7/14- OFF DAY


LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 2B Colin Courtright (BRK) 10-21 4 HR 7 RBI
NL POTW- 1B Mike Geiselman (SD) 11-22 2 HR 6 RBI

• 2008 Koufax winner Aaron Zuch (CHI) has been rehabbing all year and looked ready to come back. After having surgery last year the 26 year old was making his 2nd start for the Hitmen on Friday and came out with an aching shoulder. Tragic news followed. He has a torn rotator cuff and will undergo surgery and be out for at least a year, if not more. He was 15-8 2.11 in winning the award back in '08 and in 2010 went 16-6 3.03. Chicago leads the AL Central by ½ game over Dallas and their 3rd ranked rotation was gearing up for his return.

IRON PIG NEWS

• This week was a good example of underlying numbers telling a different story. Our starters just can't seem to get past the 6th without throwing 100+ pitches, which is crushing our bullpen.
• New Orleans 1B Jesus Ramirez went 7-11 with an RBI to win POTW in an abbreviated All-Star week.
• Albuquerque's John Tite went 4-8 2 HR to win Class A POTW. Tite is hitting .259-19-52 after a .265-22-65 year at Albuquerque last year. The 19 year old OF was a minor league FA signing.

[gehrig38]

3 @ Indianapolis ALL-STAR BREAK

RESULTS
1-2 @ Indianapolis
7/15- IND 6 CIP 3 Pelletier (5-5 4.03) 6.1 IP 7 K 5 ER Chavez 3H 3B 2 RBI
7/16- CIP 14 IND 3 Powers (10-5 3.62) 6 IP 6 K 3 ER Nieves 2H HR (17) 4R (ties club record) 2 RBI Garcia 2H HR (17) 3 RBI (57) Krieg grand slam (5) 4 RBI (40) Tripp 2 HR (6) 3 RBI
7/17- IND 8 CIP 2 Floyd (4-10 5.24) 3.1 IP 5 H 3 BB 4R 3 ER 101 pitches.
7/18-7/21 ALL-STAR BREAK

• Wyoming OF Michael Mcvaugh hit 3 HR's and drove in 6 in a 10-3 win over Boston.

IRON PIG NEWS

• On Monday Milwaukee SP Marcos Acosta fanned 9 in an 8-0 CG SHO. The 23 year old is 8-4 4.01.
• Bill Brumfield is called up to New Orleans, promptly homers in his 1st AB and then strains his tricep and will miss the next 6 weeks.

[gehrig38]

• Gus Garcia and Jose Nieves are the lone Iron Pigs at the 2012 game. Garcia was voted the starter at 3B.
• Lourenco Manhas (SD) beat Andrew Jacobi 2.952 million to 2.38 million to win the fan vote.
• Utah's Dave Larios (10-6 2.02) will start for the AL while San Diego's Juan Laurel (8-6 3.80) will start for the NL.
• Patriot OF'er Zach Stewart enters the break hitting .289 with 47 HR's and 90 RBI's. He's on pace to beat the 69 HR projection by 9.
• El Paso OF'er Alex Bazaldua beat San Francisco's Luis Corona 10-9 in the Derby's final round to win the 2012 HR derby. Alex is hitting .256-31-76 on the season. The 25 year old was signing back in 2005 as an International FA and has hit 34, 55, 36, 36, and this year so far 31 home runs. He was the league MVP in 2009 hitting .296-55-144 with an OPS of 1.025 leading the league in PA (710) R (130) HR (55) RBI (144) BB (90) SLG% (.623) and OPS.
• Corona is a 2007 draft pick (2nd round 48th overall) out of Illinois St. Univerity. He came up in 2008 before grabbing the everyday job in 2009. He his 52 HR's and then 50 in 2010. 37 last year and is hitting .256/.299/.581 with 31 HR and 78 RBI's this year. In 2010 he led the league with 50 HR's and 126 RBI's and K's with 207. Led the league in K's again in 2011 with 227.

• The American League scored 4 times in the bottom of the 9th to win the All-Star game 7-6. San Diego's Mike Geiselman took him MVP honors going 1-2 with 3 RBI's.
• Gus Garcia led off and went 0-3 2 K's and Jose Nieves was 0-1.

[gehrig38]

Been quite a year since last break.
Clearly a far better team but still a large number of holes starting with the rotation. 5th in the league in ERA but far from being a legitimate post-season threat.

• The pitching staff is 1st in Hits allowed, Opp Avg, and our defense is 1st in ZR. 2nd in BABIP, K's and Defensive Efficiency. The number impacting everything remains walks, where we are dead last, still.
• Offensively 1st in H, 2nd in AVG and SB, 3rd in XBH, K, 4th in WAR, Runs, 5th in OBP, 6th in OPS and Base Running (-2.4 is 6th, does anyone understand fundamentals anymore?). We're lagging in HR's (11th) and walks (12th).
• 29-16 at home and 30-24 on the road.
• 42-26 vs RHP 17-15 vs LHP
• I expected the LHP to be far worse as our numbers up and down vs LHP are terrible.
• 17-15 in 1R games, 5-4 in extras.
• We are 59-40 2B and leading the WC with a Pythag. Record of 56-43.
• Since June 1st we're 29-14.
• Issues?
• Danny Floyd is 4-10 5.24 and the only starter I'd consider “struggling”. Romano continues to tell me he's still got room to progress. He's 28 and coming off an 11-11 4.39 year. His WHIP is 1.39 vs 1.36 last year, although he's on pace to surrender 41 HR's after just 22 last season. BABIP is .272 vs .279 last season so no freaky stuff going on. His sinker is elite but his 4 seamer is average at best and his curve and change are well below average offerings. I think he may be better suited coming out of the bullpen.
• After discussion with the staff the thought is to let Guijosa get another rehab start or two in, get him back up here and move Floyd to bullpen and give Bobby that rotation spot moving one of the righties down or dealing them. McKitrick has huge promise and is just 23, Ricks is 26 and Diaz 27. Nicol is the only lefty down there not named Williams so I kinda need him.

The rotation is going to be juggled out of the break:

1. Morris (8-4 4.06) been a wild ride with big month followed by bad month
2. Draper (3-0 2.92) his 15K outing came out of nowhere but a pleasant surprise
3. Powers (10-5 3.62)
4. Pelletier (5-5 4.03)
5. Floyd (4-10 5.24)

• Coach has put Gross (15 SV 3.48) into the closers role again with Becker (4-2 9 Saves 2.25) as the setup guy with McKitrick (2-1 4.00).
• Ricks is the middle man (3-1 3.70) with three long guys in Nicol (2-1 5.23) Hawkins (0-1 2.92) as the emergency starter and Diaz (2-1 3.31). Williams (4-0 3.24) gets lefties out and can setup/close when needed.

• Jesse Roberts (.239-10-49) is climbing out of his funk, Garcia is turning into the 5-star talent our scouts predicted (.319-17-57) while Nieves (.291-17-55) finds his way as the youngest position player in the game. Calkins (.308-3-40) has been solid leading off but his 10 errors are an unpleasant thing. Justin Krieg (.287-5-40) won't challenge for the batting crown but is solid once again.
• Brian Stachowski (.280-8-37) has been solid at the plate with a sub-4 ERA catching. Our backup role is in dire need of punch.
• Anthony Tripp (.267-6-28) has found his legs a bit while Michael Johnson (.259-5-46) is driving in a ton of runs at the bottom of the order.
• Kevin Dietz (.244-4-30) is just fine sitting down there while shagging everything he can rnaking plays. He's 2nd in the NL with a ZR of 12.4, trailing Indianapolis's Justin Ward.

AAA NEW ORLEANS

• They've gotten hot and are the top ranked AAA club. 48-45 and 1.5 in back of the Fremont T-Bones. They're 1st in AVG and last in HR's. Dave Wheeler (.319-8-34) Rocky Weir (.323-4-21) and out of nowhere prospect Matt Chiquete (.326-14-67) pace the offense which is also 1st in runs. Their starters are middle of the pack (.392 7th) and led by Tony Mejia (2-0 1.98) is 1-0 1.06 over his last 3 starts and Dan Ferguson (5-4 3.05). Recently called up power bat Bill Brumfield homered in his first AAA appearance and then went on the DL for the next 5-6 weeks. Angel Molina 1-1 0.46 is anchoring a 3rd ranked bullpen. Romano has no one in New Orleans, that's healthy, higher than 2.5 stars.

AA MILWAUKEE

• 51-42 2 GB of the Jersey City Beacons. 3rd in runs and 1st in HR's they're pounding the ball with mid tier pitching.
• Last years revelation Jimmy Young was horrible in April but has bounced back and is currently hitting .241-23-55. They're 12th in AVG, 3rd in OPS.
• Aaron Warren (5-5 3.32) is 1-1 1.20 in his last 2 starts. Acquired in the April deal with Utah he's a 2-star guy as of today.
• 2012 2nd rounder Allen Henderson, the college closer we fell in love with, was banged up but is back and has 5 Saves and a 3.52

A ALBUQUERQUE

• Once again running away in a league they won the title last year.
• 1st in Runs, AVG, 2nd in OBP, OPS HR.
• 5-star 2012 draftee Johnny Blackwell is settling in (.252-3-7) and Andy Williams (2-star) is having another great year hitting .300-15-40 (.467-2-3 over his last 7 games). 2-Star prospect John Tite is lighting it up, hitting .260-21-55.
• Marshall Tidrick is bouncing in between starting and the pen and is 2-1 2.11 including a 0.89 over his last 7 games and 20.1 IP. Kevin Foor (2-star) is 1-1 0.57 over his last 15 appearances. I am going to have to look at that staff as well when I consider new coaching hires. They've been exceptional both years now.
• In May of last year I made a deal with Fresno acquiring SP prospect John Timmerman. This kids been a pretty consistent member of the IL. Romano has him 2.5 stars but he has yet to be healthy for any amount of time. 1-0 2.05 over 5 GS and 22 IP.
• His sprained ankle will sideline him for another 5 days.

SHORT SEASON NASHVILLE

• They are 11-14 and the home of many 2011 and 2012 draft picks. 1st overall pick Mike Johnson is back, hitting .239-6-17 with a .327 OBP. This might be the guy that gets Romano fired if things don't pick up. 2012 10th round pick AJ Lanigan is leading off hitting .325-3-13.
• 4-star (down from 5 draft day) OF Yoseiokazu Suzuki is hitting .291/.371/.468 through 23 games with 3 HR and 12 RBI's.
• Their pitching started the season with one of the worst weeks on record, but is coming around. Todd Barbour (0-2 5.29) is 0-0 0.93 in his last 2 starts. David Arroyo (down to 2.5 stars from a draft day 4) is 3-1 2.81. 2011 7th rounder Derek Dames, drafted as a potential everyday SS (15+ defender) is hitting .288/.321/.577 with 4 HR and 8 RBI. He's playing all over the field right now as 2012 draftee AJ Lanigan is hitting .325/.415/.537 through 22 games with 8 2B and 3 HR.
• 2011 2nd round pick Allan Velazquez is 11-1 2.71 and 6-1 1.79 over his last 8 starts.
• 3.5 star C prospect (down from 4 stars) Nick Turner is struggling at .140 0 HR 1 RBI and might need to be pushed back to Minneapolis.

ROOKIE LEAGUE MINNEAPOLIS

• Started the year 0-6 and getting crushed. Their offense is putrid, no other word for it as they are 16th in every category but HR (13th) and SB (4th).
• Minor league FA Phil Richards (.344-7-19) is the lone bright spot.
• Both lower clubs opened with 6 man rotations and 2nd rounder Jaden Finkelstein is on the IL still.
• Minor league FA C Carlos Mendez, just 19, is hitting .303/.378/.621 with 6 HR and 15 RBI's.
• 1st rounder in 2012 Luis Ornelas is 3-0 3.13 with 38 K's in 31.2 IP but also walked 15.

[gehrig38]

3 vs San Diego 3 @ New York 1 vs Phoenix
RUNS SCORED: 509 (3rd)
RUNS AGAINST: 447 (8th)
OBP: .328 (3rd)
STARTERS ERA: 4.12 (8th)
RELIEVERS ERA: 3.72 (6th)
DEF EFFICIENCY: .698 (2nd)
ZONE RATING: +20.2 (1st)

RESULTS (63-43 1 GB)
2-1 vs San Diego 2-1 @ New York 0-1 vs Phoenix
7/22- SD 10 CIP 3 Morris (8-5 4.24) 6 IP 7 H 2 HR (grand slam) 5 ER Garcia HR (18) Calkins E (11)
Mike Geiselman (SD) 4-4 2B HR (22) 2 R Joey Syck 3H 2B Grand Slam 6 RBI
7/23- CIP 6 SD 3 Draper (3-0 3.15) 5.2 IP 8 K 3 BB 3 ER Gross SV (16) Ayala 2B HR 3 RBI
7/24- CIP 5 SD 3 Powers ND 7 IP 5 H 5 BB 111 pitches Gross SV (17) Tripp 3H 2B 3B R RBI Stachowski GW 1B
Sort of a big trade made today (see below)
7/25- CIP 4 NYP 0 Pelletier (6-5 3.81) 7 IP 5 H 4 K 3 BB Garcia 2H HR (19) 2 RBI (6) Nieves 2H Dave Pedraza 2B 2 RBI
7/26- CIP 9 NYP 3 Floyd 6 scoreless 1 K 1 BB (5-10 4.98) Ricks 3 ER 2 HR 1 IP. Garcia 4-4 2 2B 2 R Amling 2H 2B 3 RBI 2-0 lead end of 7. 7-run 8th.
7/27- NYP 7 CIP 4 Morris 7 ER 9 H 3.2 IP (8-6 4.62) Mike Johnson 3H 2B RBI
7/28- PHX 9 CIP 3 Led 3-1 end of 6. Williams 3 ER 0 IP McKitrick 3 ER 1.2 IP 2 HR Garcia 3H 2B Draper ND 6 IP 6 K 3 ER

• Gus Garcia is hitting .332, 2nd to Lourenco Manhas (.350) of San Diego
• Kevin Dietz has a back injury and will be out 3-4 weeks. Dave Wheeler gets the call up moving Krieg from DH to CF, with Wheeler taking on DH duties.

LEAGUE HIGHLIGHTS
AL POTW- 2B Dave Horowitz (UT) 15-30 4 HR 10 RBI
NL POTW- 1B Kevin Terry (NYP) 14-29 4 HR 11 RBI

• Pittsburgh Miners prospect Tyler Fisher (19) threw 6 1-hit innings vs Milwaukee to run his record to 12-0 2.60 for AA Seattle.
• On Wednesday 1st place Charlotte learned closer Tim Clubb (2-0 19 Saves 2.08) suffered a torn-rotator cuff and is lost for the year. The Defenders are 11.5 up on 2nd place San Jose. 25 year old Ross Sander will move into the role for now.
• Coming out of the break Philadelphia slugger Zach Stewart homered in 4 straight, he's now at 51 on the year with 96 RBI's. His pace is now at 79.

IRON PIG NEWS

• On Wednesday Milwaukee's Jimmy Young his 2 more HR's. A Grand Slam and a 1st inning solo shot. He's now hitting .240-25-62.
• Also on Wednesday 1st rounder Luis Ornelas lost his 1st professional game 2-0. He went 5, walked 6, fanned 7 allowing 2 hits and 1 run. He's 3-1 2.95