[EMSoccerCoach]

Pastime Baseball League – Baseball Bi-Weekly
Vol. 6, Monday, June 15, 2009 (cont.)

Southern League Profiles

Alabama Airmen

Record: Last 2 Weeks (5-6), Overall 25-34

2-Week Synopsis: Lost 2 vs New Orleans, Lost 2 of 3 at Memphis, Won 3 of 4 vs Orlando, Split 2 vs Philadelphia

Leaders:
Avg - George Van Haltren .308
HRs - Mike Tiernan 13
RBIs - Mike Tiernan 40

Wins - Vic Willis 6
ERA - Joe Corbett 2.88
Ks – Joe Corbett 127

Top Performance: Vic Willis threw a 1-hit shutout, striking out 7 in a 4-0 win over Orlando on June 12. Willis had a no-hitter through 6 2/3 before a Claude Ritchey single found the hole between short and third for the Orcas' only hit.

Round Trip (Four miscellaneous points about the team):
1) One of the wildest stats in the PBL so far: The Airmen pitching staff has allowed the lowest opponents batting average (.247) in the Southern League...but they have allowed the most walks (219).

2) CF George Van Haltren returned from the DL with a vengeance, hitting .361 to start the month with a .452 OBP.

3) After a strong May (.351-5-17) 1B Mike Jacobs has stayed hot into June, hitting .478 so far this month with a homer and four doubles, posting an OPS of 1.338. A great last 6 weeks have raised Jacobs' season numbers to .314-6-25. The power shocks few, but the average is stunning for a guy expected to hit in the .250 ballpark.

4) Ted Breitenstein was bombed in his past two starts, and skipper Earl Weaver has decided to give young Scott Olsen a crack at the #5 spot. Olsen has posted a 2.11 ERA in 15 relief appearances so far this season.

Arizona Sandmen

Record: Last 2 Weeks (5-6), Overall 31-28

2-Week Synopsis: Split 2 at Los Angeles, Lost 2 of 3 vs Las Vegas, Split 4 at San Antonio, Split 2 vs Wichita

Leaders:
Avg – Nap Lajoie .344
HRs – Nap Lajoie 10
RBIs – Nap Lajoie 45

Wins – Ben Sanders 9
ERA – Ben Sanders 2.36
Ks – Clark Griffith 58

Top Performance: 2B Nap Lajoie went 3-for-5 with a homer and 6 RBI in a 10-8 win over San Antonio on June 9. He's currently riding a 12-game hitting streak - now his third streak of 10+ games already this season.

Injuries: Alex Cintron, who was having a torrid spring, hitting .400, went down March 23 with a strained MCL. He is expected back in 2 weeks. Mike Koplove came off the DL May 3, threw a third of an inning on May 4 and was shelved with what has been diagnosed as bicep tendinitis. The injury is expected to keep Koplove out until August. Willie Keeler has been diagnosed with a torn elbow ligament, and will miss the remainder of the season and possibly the first half of next year as well. LF Pete Hill left the game against San Antonio June 11 with a hamstring strain. He's expected to miss 3 weeks.

Round Trip (Four miscellaneous points about the team):
1) As if the season-ending injury to RF Willie Keeler wasn't bad enough, the Sandmen now deal with the loss of their second-biggest power threat, LF Pete Hill, who is out with a hamstring strain. Though hitting only .241, Hill's 8 homers and 26 RBI are both second on the team. The Sandmen have slipped to last in runs scored in the Southern League, and show no sign that's going to change soon.

2) Staying with the offense, a batch of frightening numbers for batting average so far this month: CF George Gore (.146), SS Kid Elberfeld (.150), RF Frog Redus (.175), 1B Dan McGann (.162) and LF Carl Crawford (.167).

3) Hard to figure out what manager Patsy Tebeau is trying to do with teh shortstop/third base situation except try to make things click. SS Pee Wee Butts worked his way into the lineup, moving Kid Elberfeld over to third base in a platoon with Nash. But now Jose Reyes has worked his way into the picture as well, hitting .353 this month.

4) With the league's worst offense, the best ERA in baseball has kept Arizona afloat. But with Anibal Sanchez and Cherokee Fisher posting a combined 6.67 ERA this month, the Sandmen could see their division lead vanish quickly.