The Career of Julien Henri - A look back in time

[stevem810]

Rachid Henry holds the big bat for the Aviators. Michel wants me to pitch him down and in until I get ahead in the count. Then, make him go fishing on the outside of the plate. I like that sequence.

[stevem810]

Game 1
We began this series on the road starting with an L. We stranded 11 and I went 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter. Final Aviators 4, Parrots 1.

Game 2
Awesome game. I went 8+ and got the W. The recap will give you a feel for the drama, especially in the 9th.

Game 3
The Parrots came out swinging our bats as we pounded the Aviator pitching for 7 runs on 13 hits. I was 0 for 4 with a walk (.227). Final score was 7-2. Le Vauclin takes 2 of 3!

[stevem810]

The 41-48 Red Sox are next up for the Parrots with a 3 game set in Le Vauclin. They are in 3rd place in the South Division. Their best hitter is Gerald Ferry who plays a solid second base for the Sox. I've been told that he has to pitched either up and in or down and away. Anything over the plate and it is 'au revoir'.

[stevem810]

We have worked our way out of the cellar.

[BirdWatcher]

I need to do more with the baseball card feature. I always enjoy it so much when you share those here.

[stevem810]

The teams split the first two games with Sox winning the first game 8-2. Ferry went 1 for 2 with a double. I had a homer and walk in 4 plate appearances.

The Parrots bounced back in game 2 with a 4-1 win. I went 0 for 3 with a walk.

Game 3 I was the starting pitcher and I felt great out there. My RBI single in the 2nd put us up 1-0 but it my pitching that I thought was at its highest level. As oft the case, errors can be disruptive to both the pitcher and team. Here are two jams that I was in as a result of errors by the infield.

[stevem810]

I was sitting on 111 pitches and just couldn't come up big when I needed to as the Sox scored on a passed ball to tie it at 1-1. Then the bullpen took over and it was pretty much downhill after that. I'm having a tough time swallowing this loss. I didn't have the energy to do the game write up but you can read the account from the Sainte-Florine Gazette.

I mean I'm a team player and support my fellow Parrot team members. You have to be that way. At the same time, the keystone of the infield has 42 errors between them. That's all I'm going to say. Except, we will get better. Here is the box:

[stevem810]

While on our way to Vauvert for the series beginning today (Saturday) Fabrice and Laurant approached me to apologize for the shoddy infield play last night. They both felt bad about the errors.

I really appreciated those guys doing that for me, a new guy to the team. They didn't have to do that. I told them as much. It also gave me a chance to apologize for being a bit of a 'baby' over the final outcome. Those guys are both good players doing their best out there and it's no different than me striking out 3 times in a game. Everyone is trying the best. So, we'll turn this into a positive.

[stevem810]

We start a 3 game set with the Vauvert Sluggers today on their home field. Their pitching has been spotty, similar to the Parrots. They have a few hitters that can do damage to your team if you are not careful. I will not be pitching in this series, at least not starting.

At the top of the order 23 year old Sebastian Lejeune is getting on base at a .459 clip. He's batting .360 with 0 homers.

In the 4th or 5th spot will be Aurelien Lasserre who has 76 ribbies which ties him for 2nd place in the league.

[stevem810]

I felt like we could have swept this series. We outscored the Sluggers but come away with a win (game 2 of the series) and two losses. Some notes:

Lejeune went 3 for 10 with 3 walks and scored 3 runs
Lasserre went 3 for 12, 1 HR, and 4 runs batted in
I went 2 for 9, 3 walks, and scored one run. (Benoit usually gives me the day off after I've pitched. I had a pinch hit opportunity but that was it.

[stevem810]

The Loudec Bears are in town for a 3 game set. Then we are back on the road. The Bears are a scoring machine as they lead all of AA in runs scored. One of the reasons is they have a 25 year old catcher hitting the daylights out of the ball. Seriously? It's like me going back to high school to compete. I know there is some league talk about establishing age limits in the off-season. Benoit tells me to bank on it, it's going to happen. I will probably pitch the finale of the series.

Here are the stats for the Bears:

[stevem810]

Game 1
Entertaining game. Each ball club banged out 17 hits.
Final Parrots 9-8.
(I learned before the game that I would be pitching the middle game)

Game 2
Crazy game. Crazier than last night! We left 10 men on base. The Bears stranded 17! I was exhausted after this contest. Game Time: 3 H 48 M

Game 3
Loudeac finally got enough pitching to capture a W. They won 6-2. We head to Beauvis to take on the Vigilantes, next.

[stevem810]

Checking out the paper this morning I noticed that Herve's Waveriders were in a pennant race. The good news being they are tied for 3rd and only 3 games out of first. The bad news being that all the teams in AAA Central are below .500.

I was talking on the phone with Herve this morning and he's not happy with his season that started so promising. He's got a decent OBP of .336 but less power with a .355 SLG. (below last year). He says they are pitching him different this season. More curve balls.

Still, our buddy has walked more than he has fanned and has played terrific defense. They have been playing him at the hot corner lately.

I spoke with Mr. Beck and he says the Org. is still very high on Herve. He's just 23 and facing pitchers that are more refined that what he saw in single and double A. He's got a nice 8 game hitting streak going. No question in my mind, he's a hitter and a darned good one.

[stevem810]

With the latest release of the Top Prospect List, Montreal owns the player most likely to succeed. Jacques Jung is currently on the Royals roster at the big league level. He's hitting .268 while playing CF.

The big question isn't whether he has enough talent to succeed. The consensus is he has plenty of it....good bat speed, great base path speed and instincts, and better than average defense. The question is, 'Will he stay healthy?'

He's not lost a lot of time to injuries but some have been nagging. That might be the only barrier to a stellar career for Jacques. I've seen him play. I would not bet against him becoming an All Star. That is how good he is.

[stevem810]

I know as a baseball fan I've always appreciated the rare feats and unusually outstanding performances. I love to look at the box scores to see if anyone went 5 for 5 or hit for the cycle.

Well, Le Diamant was on the short end of some history 2 weeks ago. Here is the news clip from the game. Pretty cool, eh?

[stevem810]

The Parrots took on the Beauvis Vigilantes. The ballpark is located 67 kilometers north of Paris and is home to many historic churches, including the Beauvis Cathedral.

Game 1, July 27
The Parrots came up flat as Edouard Da Silva went 4 for 4 at the top of the line-up and cruised to an easy 11-3 win. Mike David (10-6) went the distance for the Vigilantes. I went 1 for 4 with a walk while playing CF.

Game 2, July 28
Le Vauclin eeked out a narrow 2-1 win behind Yves Mignon (5-12) as he allowed 3 hits in 7 IP. I was batting in the two hole and went 2 for 4 scoring one of our two runs.

Game 3, July 29
Patrick DuFour came up big for us as we won back to back 2-1 contests. Patrick went 7.1 IP and he allowed just 3 hits. Benoit had me hitting clean up today and I went 3 for 5, all singles.

So, the Parrots take 2 of 3 from the Vigilantes.

[stevem810]

I enjoyed my time at the park in Beauvis as we had a very successful series. There wasn't much time to take in the sights but we had the morning to walk around a bit before we chartered our bus to take us to Parigny. I thought everyone might enjoy the picture of the cathedral. Then it is on to Parigny, located east of Paris.

[stevem810]

We will definitely pitch carefully to 22 year old Michel Gomes. His numbers and credentials are readily apparent with the graphic.
On the mound our biggest challenge may come from the journeyman 26 year old Kevin Rocher, the #1 pitcher in their rotation and set to pitch the opener.
Skip is pretty certain I'll be opening up the series on the mound.

[stevem810]

It's hard to take some of these losses. Twice we coughed up leads in the extra innings. This one hurts. I went 2 for 3 at the plate, not that it matters. Five hours at the park and nothing to show for it.

[stevem810]

The sooner we get out of town, the better.
I went 3 for 7 the final two games of the series. Small consolation for all the losing that took place.

The Comets come to our place for 3 games as the string of games we play consecutively will be 12 before we get a day off. I miss Alize.