Pastime Baseball League – Baseball Bi-Weekly
Vol. 3, Monday, May 18, 2009 (cont.)
Hitmen Taking Shot After Shot
Injuries the latest plight in disappointing season
CHICAGO -- The offense has been abyssmal, the defense porous and the pitching at best mediocre. So it's no surprise the Chicago Hitmen sit in the Northern League East Division cellar.
Still, two weeks ago, the team was coming off winning 5 of 6, the hope being that a turnaround could be in the air. Those thinking this, however, were sadly mistaken.
The quick two-game set with Memphis was supposed to be a jumpstart for Chicago. At the very least, they could split and venture home for an 8-game homestand, perhaps chipping away at Wichita's lead and letting fans know they were ready. Instead it became a house of horrors.
Ace Cy Young started the opener and made it until the fourth batter of the game before being lifted. But it wasn't performance, it was injury. Young has been diagnosed with elbow inflammation and is expected to miss a total of 6 to 8 weeks.
Less than 24 hours later, the red-hot Troy Tulowitzski went down in a heap running the bases. He had hit .500, going 8-for-16 with a double and two triples to start May, but Tulowitzski's season was over, as a hip injury will shelve him for the remainder of the year.
The Hitmen dropped both games in the series, then came home to be swept in three by New York as part of a 3-5 homestand. They stand now with two regulars batting over .220 (King Kelly at .316 and Albert Pujols at .282) and one pitcher with an ERA below 4 (closed Bobby Jenks at 2.00).
"It's been unreal," manager Joe McCarthy said with exasperation. "I take responsibility for my share of our struggles, but everything that can go wrong has."
If you're a fan of the Hitmen, hope seems a long way away right now. How long depends on the development of the PBLs best prospect pool, including five pitchers among the sport's Top 30 prospects. But for 2009, the Hitmen look to be left only to reload.