Sal, the Barber Presents . . .

[Sal, The Barber]

As some of you know, Sal is a barber; he owns a shop in Louisville, KY. Sal used to be a no body; well, Sal had the life, just no body noticed who Sal is. Then Otto Orcin came to town to run the Louisville Cardinals, and Mr. Orcin wandered one day into Sal's shop. Mr. Orcin was taken with the place; there is no other explanation. Sal's has become the official barbershop of the Louie-ville Cardinals and a stop on the Louisville city tour bus. But you do not have to take Sal's word for this. See Orcin's Story in the dynasty reports for confirmation.

Sal loves what he does. He cuts hair, yes. You can come to Sal's in Louie-ville for the haircut. Yes, Sal will admit, now that he's old, you won't get the best of the haircuts. But Sal's is still the best of the places to get the haircut. How is this so, you want to know? Because Sal's is a place filled with the boys who talk the baseball. Sal's shop is filled with the green of the grass, the sticky of the pine tar, the shells of the sunflower seeds. And Sal's is filled with the stories.

Sal is a solitary man. Oh, he loves the shop filled with the people. But in the evening Sal likes to sit with the newspapers, and the ballgame on the radio, and perhaps a whisky or two. Sal likes to cook up the catfish and the beef ribs and make the salad with the lettuce just picked from Sal's garden. Sal likes the people to go home at night.

In the late morning (Sal does not get up early anymore), Sal welcomes the boys back and is renewed by the socialness of the barbershop. Sal's solitariness is nourished by his relationships. Sal has always had the many friends. And because this is so, Sal has the stories.

Sal has a particular friend that he would like to introduce to you. Now Sal is not the writer; Sal is the talker. So Sal is presenting to you the story of Boo Bentley. Some have said it is like Sal and Boo share the DNA. But Sal has not seen his friend Boo in the many years. But Boo's story is worth telling; Sal is merely the means by which it is told. Sal has been many things. Why cannot Sal be this too?

Sal presents ... Boo Bentley.

[jaa36]

It's about time that Sal had a spin-off.

[zukes]

go on....

[Sal, The Barber]

Sal wants to be clear. Sal is not telling this story; Sal is just receiving it and posting it. Sal will stay out of this--as much as that is possible for Sal.

[Sal, The Barber]

21 May 2002
Lincoln, NE

Today Paul Lyons earned it, earned the nickname that had been waiting for him, waiting as a dog waits to bark at the mailman. The Lion. Today The Lion went the distance: 9 innings, 3 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, 6 strike outs. He threw 109 pitches. King of the Jungle.

Paul Lyons is supposed to be the ace of the Cheyenne pitching staff. In 2000, as a 27 year old, he went 18-7 with a 3.39 ERA for a team that finished 24 games under .500. He threw 230 innings. In 2001, Cheyenne finished 2 games under .500; Lyons went 15-10 with a 3.38 ERA. He pitched 226 innings.

This year, Lyons discovered progress isn't something left under the Christmas tree; improvement, development--whatever you want to call it
--is never guaranteed or promised. It's sometimes earned. Sometimes it comes simply by luck. One doesn't usually roll out of bed and be a better pitcher. But this year he's 29; this year is prime. And as the team's ace, Lyons was expected to lead a 3rd year growth spurt; the team, after all, finished 22 games better last year than the year before. With Lyons in the lead, they could make a similar leap in 2002. For the Cowboy fan, the division, the playoffs were in reach. To get there, The Lion would just have to run down a few gazelles.

Cheyenne won today 1-0 behind Paul Lyons. Substitute second baseman Bernardo Vasquez (Carlos Campos was still sidelined with "heart palpitations") hit a solo home run in the third inning, and that would prove to be all The Lion needed. The Cowboys were able to punch out only 3 hits themselves. But they won. They won as part of a pride. A pride led by a certain Lyon.

It was a huge win for a club that started the year with an all-too-promising 8-5 come-from-behind victory (we scored 7 runs in the 8th for those of you who don't remember), a victory that was too sweet, so sweet it could only be followed by a stomachache and vomiting. 5 straight losses after that first win. But then some life. A couple of 2 games to 1 series wins; a couple of four-game series splits. Would we play only .500 ball and finish, like last year, a couple of games below break-even?

No. No, we wouldn't. Because May began with a 6-game losing streak, and the season began falling in a direction that would be difficult to turn around. Paul Lyons' ERA, at that point, was around 6.00. What kind of number one was this?

But the Cowboys aren't dead. They are proving not to be gazelle and zebra and wildebeest. They swept Wichita 4 straight in Wichita. Then went 4-2 in their next 6. The pitching staff found their pride and, today, their lion to lead.

Today Cheyenne beat Lincoln 1-0. GM Boo Bentley, in response to a barrage of reporters' questions, said they have enough offense, said he believes they have enough offense. In the 12-team Western League, they rank 11th in runs scored, 12th in batting average. Do they have enough offense? They rank 5th in home runs. Perhaps Bentley is right. If he is, and if they have enough offense it is because they rank 4th in runs against, 4th in ERA, and 4th in defensive efficiency. That and the fact that they have a lion, Paul Lyons, at the front of the pride.

[Sal, The Barber]

29 May 2002
Cheyenne, WY

Boo Bentley took the Cheyenne job, well, because why wouldn't he? The Cowboys were clearly a team on the rise. Good, young pitching. And a huge year in 2001. Bentley had been on the fence when the association began play in 2000. He was in then out. Then in again. And finally out. He waited 2 years, which was all he could wait, apparently. There was no reason for Cheyenne owner Matt Ellis to fire his GM, but then Bentley was all-of-a-sudden available. For sure this time. And word on the street was that Bentley was interested in Cheyenne.

If Bentley jumped in, all observers were sure it would be with Youngstown. But the Steelmen had gathered a group of prospects considered by most to be the best in the association, and they finished first in the Eastern League in 2001. Youngstown couldn't fire its GM after that, even for Bentley.

So those close to Bentley speculated that if he couldn't guide the Steelmen, he'd go far away from home, to the other side of the Mississippi, to that other league out west.

Once he arrived, he kept the manager and pitching coach and head scout. He seemed to go out of his way to keep the boat from rocking. After all, a team on the rise should keep rising, shouldn't it? But he did make trades, trying to stockpile talent. That's how he explained each one--"stockpiling talent." And all was well until he traded Yang-Cheng Lai. Lai hit 44 HRs for Cheyenne in 2000 and 38 in 2001. But Bentley acquired Pedro Ibarra from Youngstown, and the Cowboys already had promising prospect Jim Thompson. At first base, Bentley installed a platoon of two young players with big-P potential. He'd wait to see if one came out ahead.

And Bentley made it clear he'd rely on his pitching. Just about all of Cheyenne's best-rated players are pitchers. Ben Koch, the 26 year old, is 1-7, but his ERA has come down now under 4.00. Roy Horton, also 26, has an ERA under 3.50. And John Cummings, who Bentley brought in to be the fifth starter, has improved in each start; he's now 3-3 with a 4.47 ERA.

On offense, Bentley put his stock in his outfield. He reacquired Shawn Clark, who had been traded away by Cheyenne the previous year. Clark hit .288 in '01 and had an .841 OPS. Clark was to pair with centerfielder John O'Flanagan; O'Flanagan hit .277 with an .874 OPS in '01. Both are outstanding outfielders. The other corner was to belong to Jesus Soto, playing his first full major league season. Of the three, Soto has the most power and is himself an outstanding fielder. Unfortunately, Clark remains on the disabled list with a ruptured Achilles tendon; he has seen no action this year. O'Flanagan, too, has spent time on the DL, and Soto just landed there as O'Flanagan returned. So the three have yet to play together in 2002. When they do, we'll see if hiring Bentley was the right thing for Matt Ellis to do. And if these three play like Bentley thinks they will, and if the Cowboys continue to pitch as they are starting to, then Bentley will know why he chose Cheyenne. Ride 'em, Cowboy!

[jaysdailydose]

Mr. Orcin is going to be sore at the Sal for forgetting that it's the Colonels and not the Cardinals. Can't wait to read more, Sal, thanks for doing this!

[Sal, The Barber]

2 June 2002
Cheyenne, WY

Funny how things can change quite suddenly. Boo Bentley was downright surly until the bottom of the 11th inning of yesterday's game. After game two of the four-game series with Seattle, he had refused to answer questions and also given reporters the stink-eye. But then Carlos Campos (.295 4 25) hit a 2-run homer in that 11th inning, a 2-run homer that came after the Cowboys had given up a run in the top of the inning. And things changed.

Cheyenne entered this four-game series with Seattle tied with the Rainiers for second place in the Pacific Division of the Western League. The series started well enough; Roy Horton (4-5 3.55), the Cowboys' game one starter, fanned the first two Rainiers he faced. The Cowboys took a 3-0 lead. Then they pissed it away. Jim Thompson (.238 9 26) hit a solo HR in the 8th inning of that game to tie the score, which made the 5-4 loss in 11 innings all the harder to take.

And Bentley didn't take it well, especially after his club was shut out in game two, 2-0. Reporters wanted to know if he thought he had enough offense now. Bentley hid out in Cowboys' Park for a while, then acted surprised to see reporters still hanging around waiting for him. He was so surprised he was speechless; he offered no response. Well, unless you count the stink-eye.

But what a disaster it was turning out to be that Cheyenne, after climbing out of an early season hole, was getting dismantled by Seattle, a team whose record was identical to theirs. And this was in Cowboys' Park, for gosh sakes!

So the third game was crucial, and it too looked like disaster, especially for the offense. A 1-1 ballgame through 10 innings? Jason Bryant (2-3 4.29) pitched well, didn't he? He went 7, giving up 4 hits and 1 run.

And then the top of the 11th. When they let Seattle score to take a lead. Gary Williams (1-0 2.91 2saves) gave it up--a single and run-scoring double. So when Tim Barr (.246 5 20) walked, Campos came up. What did that at-bat look like again? First pitch, foul ball; second pitch, foul ball, third pitch, foul ball. 13 pitches and 13 foul balls in a row. Then blammo. Bentley came out of his seat. Bentley went out of his mind. All the sudden the stink-eye was no where to be found. Was that a wink? a glint? instead?

Jim Thompson hit a 3-run homer in game four, putting Cheyenne up 4-0 in the 5th inning. Ben Koch (2-7 3.61) outdueled Seattle's ace, Jerry McKee (7-4 3.33); Koch went 6 1/3, walking 2 and striking out 8. Frankie Howard (1-1 2.84) closed it--save #14. Cheyenne won 4-2, splitting the series with Seattle. But after the first two games, these last two feel like winning the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are now 29-26; they sit, along with Seattle, 3 games back of division-leading Sacramento. Cheyenne ranks 4th in the Western League power rankings.

But there's a lot of season left, and things can change quite suddenly.

[Sal, The Barber]

5 June 2002
Boise, ID

These days, the word incredible is used often to mean great or spectacular, but the root of the word comes from Latin, and that root word means to believe. Incredible means unbelievable.

Baseball is not an unbelievable game. The game takes place right before the eyes; it has materiality. Baseball is also a game of numbers, statistics; it has a public record. Things happen. They take place. When something happens, that happening isn't incredible, even though it may be great or spectacular. When something happens that is hard to believe has happened, it is perhaps more accurate to describe the event as improbable. Not likely to have happened. But happened nonetheless.

What is improbable? Finding a $20 bill on the sidewalk? Realizing you were switched at birth? Winning the lottery?

If you're like me, nothing improbable ever happens to you; my life is all too ordinary and probable. Frankly, I like it that way.

But one can't use the words probable and ordinary to characterize the 2002 Cheyenne baseball season. At least not credibly. Take a look at recent events:

• Cheyenne sweeps Boise, winning all 3 games of their latest series.
• Paul Lyons pitches 7 & 1/3 shut-out innings, allowing 4 hits in his latest start.
• Cheyenne puts a man on second base 6 times in their latest ballgame without bringing one of those runners home.
• Carlos Campos comes through again in extra innings.

All of these things are incredible--great, spectacular--but not unbelievable. All are, in a modest way, improbable. Each improbable event adds to a catalogue, making up what is becoming the unlikeliest of seasons.

Today's game with Boise just capped a remarkable three days. Today, Cowboy pitchers delivered 10 innings of shut-out ball, and Carlos Campos singled in Mike Beck with 2 outs in the tenth. Beck, my friends, was the seventh Cowboy runner to make it to second base, but the first one to make it round third. The Player-of-the-Game was clearly Lyons, though, who continues to lead by example.

What is so remarkable about a 1-0 win? Well, Cheyenne has a limited offense, limited partly because they've been all year without rightfielder Shawn Clark, because centerfielder John O'Flanagan is back on the DL (he went out in the 4th inning of game two with Boise with an elbow problem), and because leftfielder Jesus Soto is out with a sprained wrist. So who's playing the outfield? Jorge Reyes, who has played there all year even though he was the 4th outfielder on the depth chart to start the season and Carl Reed, who started the season at AAA, and Jimmy Vaughan who has played at AAA all year except for today. This is an offense starving for offense. How many games can you win 1-0?

But maybe it's not all that bad. After all, they did score 9 runs yesterday and 6 the day before that. I guess it's just that you expect that they might not win when they've got their starting outfield on the DL, that they most likely won't be able to win five games in a row, and that they'll win when they don't score a run in 9 innings. But they do. Feels pretty incredible to me.

[Orcin]

True story... When my future wife and I were in college, different colleges during our freshman year, I drove the three hours to see her one weekend. (Yes, they did have cars then.) I spent most of my money to get there and I was still alert enough to save the rest for gas to get back to my school. So we had no idea what we were going to do for entertainment. Ok, we had some idea, but even rabbits do something else now and then.

We were walking across the parking lot of her dorm and the wind blew a $20 bill across the concrete right to my feet. I picked it up, and exclaimed, "Unbelievable!" However, I now understand that I meant to scream, "Improbable!" Thanks.

What were we talking about again? Oh yeah, the LION! I love this guy. I want more data please. Where is he from, height, weight, what pitches does he throw, how does your scout rate him... anything else that they put in the media guide. No rush, just work it in sometime.

Gotta go, there's another game I have to see.

[Sal, The Barber]

13 June 2002
Cheyenne, WY

The record is becoming well-worn. It's only the middle of June. 90 games yet to go. But let's look back. Let's recap the month of June:

June 1 & 2 vs. Seattle: Win, Win.
June 3, 4, 5 vs. Boise: Win, Win, Win
June 6: Off day
June 7, 8, 9 vs. Topeka: Win, Win, Win

An unheard of 8-0 June. Some Cowboy fans were riding this bronco through October, claiming Cheyenne would never lose. Other Cowboy fans kept one eye clamped shut, waiting for the rodeo clown to get gored by the bull. The ball club, I guess, wasn't gonna please either fan group.

June 10, an off day. June 11, 12, 13 vs. Sioux City. Game one features Paul "The Lion" Lyons for Cheyenne. The Soos tag Lyons for 3 runs in the fifth inning. The Cowboy offense, as usual, struggles. The Soos add 2 more runs in the seventh; they cruise to a 6-2 win. Cheyenne's first loss in June. The Cowboys wilt without a whimper. The Doomsayers climb onto their soap boxes.

Game two is vintage Cheyenne baseball. Roy Horton pitches 8 and 1/3 shutout innings. The Cowboys scratch home one run. Frankie Howard gets the final two outs; Cheyenne wins 1-0. The third time Cheyenne has won a ballgame 1-0 this season. The Doomsayers give way to the Naive Optimists.

Game three is headed back in the Doomsayers' direction. SP Jason Bryant can only muster four innings. But after six innings, the Cowboys have tied the score, 3-3. In the seventh, the Soos score three; the Cowboys counter with two. Sioux City adds one in the ninth. It's 7-5 going into the bottom of the ninth. The Cowboys ninth: LF Adrian Sanchez reaches on an error. SS Mike Beck singles. CF Jorge Reyes grounds into a fielder's choice. 1B Pedro Ibarra hits a 3-run HR. Cheyenne wins, 8-7!

8 innings of doomsaying; 1 inning of naive optimism.

The record is getting worn. Cheyenne loses their first game in June but salvages the series against the Soos with ninth inning magic. They appear at times both unbeatable and utterly beatable. 90 games to go. What Cheyenne team emerges?

[Sal, The Barber]

16 June 2002
Cheyenne, WY

The Omaha Robin Hoods just blew through town, and they brought with them a problem for our Cheyenne Cowboys. They can hit. The Robin Hoods' lineup features Bill Beauman who leads the Western League with a .392 batting average, Lee Krant who is hitting .343 with 11 HRs and 51 RBI, and Dan Davis who is hitting .293 with 11 HRs. The stress going into this series would clearly be on the Cheyenne pitching staff.

Fittingly, the clubs split the first two games of the series; game one exemplified the kind of sticky wicket Omaha could present. Ben Koch made one mistake; Omaha turned that mistake into a 3-run HR. But the game remained tied at 3 through nine innings. In fact, Omaha hadn't scored since that HR in the third inning. But there lies the problem. For how long can the Cowboy pitchers keep Omaha off the board?

They made it until the thirteenth when Omaha exploded for 5 runs. Ballgame. 8-3, Omaha.

Game two went better for the Cowboys. Cummings went eight; Howard saved it. 4-3, Cheyenne.

Perfect, really. Because fans wanted to see the pitching duel between Omaha's Rafael Pina and Cheyenne's Paul Lyons. Pina is a two-time all-star; he won 19 games in '00 and 17 in '01; both years his ERA landed well below 3.00. Lyons isn't quite so decorated, but he's our guy.

Pina's current ERA is 1.58, but he would only go five innings today. Not because the Cowboy offense got to him. No. Although we did scratch out 1 run against him. Tim Barr singled and stole second. He scored on a Will Byrd single. Pina just doesn't go the distance anymore. And Cheyenne batters work the count, take pitches, deliver quality at bats; this is the most productive part of their offense.

Omaha would eventually score. After two walks, Chris Short, their weak-hitting shortstop, drilled a home run. His second this season. Omaha had a 4-1 lead.

But Cheyenne came right back and got 2. A two-out single from Mike Beck scored Byrd and Campos. 4-3, Omaha.

And at that point, Cheyenne went to the bullpen. The pitching duel never really materialized, but Cheyenne fans realized they had a ballgame on their hands.

The very next inning, Cheyenne tied it when Barr scored from first on a Carl Reed double. In the ninth and tenth, we grounded into double plays to end innings while runners sat on second and third, respectively.

And so when Omaha went down in the thirteenth, they had gone another six innings without a run. They had another problem, too; they were out of pitchers. Manny Gutierrez pitched the last inning and a half exhausted. And Cheyenne made him pay, taking strikes, waiting, waiting, wearing him down even further. The Cowboys got a hit batsman, and two singles to win the game. Carlos Campos delivered the final hit. The 5-4 win gave Cheyenne the series and proved that they could hold a good offense off the board just long enough. The press can still ask Cheyenne GM Boo Bentley if the Cowboys have enough offense. In fact, it's kinda fun to see Bentley's feathers get ruffled up each time he is asked about his offense. But there are no games to play when it comes to questions about the pitching. They appear capable to do enough.

[Sal, The Barber]

MEMO
To: Boo Bentley
From: Phil Green, Scouting Director
RE: Paul "The Lion" Lyons

Bio:
29 yrs. old
6'6" 210lbs.
Mt. Pleasant, WI

General Info:
Righthanded pitcher
Front of the Rotation Starter
High desire to win
4.5 Stars/4.5 POT

Ratings (/100):
Stuff: 53
Movement: 55
Control: 82
Throws fastball, slider, splitter (all above-average); 90-92 mph
Best Pitch: Slider
Trouble Pitch: Curveball, which he tends to hang
Strength: Control--pinpoint accuracy
Weakness: Questionable work ethic

Misc:
Holds runners well; average stamina
OSA Scouting likes Lyons a little better than I do

Stats:
2000 18-7 3.39 ERA 1.17 WHIP
2001 15-10 3.38 ERA 1.09 WHIP

Contract: $3.6 2002; $3.75 2003; $4.25 2004; $4.75 2005

Awards:
Western League All-Star in 2000

[Sal, The Barber]

19 June 2002 (This is the best Sal can do with the format; Sal doesn't even know what a computer is.)

Pacific Div W-L % GB
Cheyenne 40-29 .580 -
Sacramento 40-30 .571 .5
Hollywood 34-37 .479 7
Seattle 33-37 .471 7.5
Boise 30-40 .429 10.5
Oakland 27-42 .391 13

WL Rankings
RS 12th
Avg 12th
OBP 11th
HR 5th
SB 12th
RA 6th
SPERA 9th
RPERA 4th
DF EF 5th

Starting Pitch IP W-L ERA WHIP K/9 BB/9 VORP FIP
P. Lyons 95.2 7-5 3.95 1.28 5.5 1.3 13.7 4.26
R. Horton 88.1 7-5 2.85 1.17 5.3 1.2 23.3 4.25
J. Bryant 73.1 3-4 4.17 1.58 5.9 1.6 8.7 5.18
B. Koch 79.1 3-7 3.40 1.40 5.7 1.4 16.0 4.06
J. Cummings 78.1 6-3 4.02 1.37 4.0 1.4 10.5 4.60

Relief Pitcher IP W-L-S ERA WHIP K/9 BB/9 VORP FIP
F. Howard 21.2 1-1-17 2.49 0.78 7.1 2.5 6.6 3.06
G. Williams 29.1 2-0-3 2.76 1.33 8.6 4.0 8.1 3.30
B. Mangoni 35.1 2-0 2.80 1.16 6.9 3.6 9.6 3.23
L. Martin 33.0 1-1-2 3.82 1.15 8.4 1.9 5.2 4.32
J. Garcia 33.2 2-1 4.81 1.46 5.1 2.9 1.5 5.84
M. Flores 38.2 3-0-1 3.72 1.40 7.7 4.4 6.5 4.54

Lineup Avg HR RBI OBP OPS Runs SB VORP
SS M. Beck .261 0 18 .326 .688 28 5 3.0
RF J. Reyes .274 7 23 .328 .743 37 3 3.5
1B P. Ibarra .320 10 32 .429 1.001 25 0 20.2
LF J. Soto .255 12 31 .343 .843 34 11 10.0
3B T. Barr .232 7 36 .340 .688 28 7 1.3
C R. Johnston .246 7 29 .333 .761 19 1 4.1
CF C. Reed .225 1 8 .382 .720 9 4 1.0
2B C. Campos .290 5 30 .318 .730 34 0 7.2

Bench
C W. Byrd .274 4 17 .404 .888 15 0 10.8
C A. Bryan .188 0 3 .316 .503 1 0 -1.1
1B J. Thompson .222 10 28 .317 .766 20 0 2.7
UI B. Vasquez .161 2 6 .213 .481 10 0 -3.2
OF A. Sanchez .220 1 12 .308 .648 18 1 -5.4

DL
OF J.O'Flanagan .325 3 12 .435 .902 10 6 9.3

WAR Leaders
P. Ibarra 2.2
P. Lyons 1.5
J. Soto 1.4
B. Koch 1.4
R. Horton 1.3
W. Byrd 1.0

[Sal, The Barber]

22 June 2002
Sacramento, CA

There wasn't anything particularly special about today, was there? Perhaps I missed something. Clear skies. 70 degrees. A typical California evening. Cheyenne had already won 2 from Sacramento, and Paul Lyons was on the mound. The wind wasn't blowing hard, but it was blowing in. I didn't expect much scoring. I didn't expect anything special.

But the ball seemed to jump off the Cowboys' bats right from the beginning. Mike Beck led off with a double. Jesus Soto doubled him in. Pedro Ibarra hit a 2-run HR that traveled just under 400 feet. A three run lead with "The Lion" on the mound seemed like an awfully good sign.

In the bottom of the first, though, McCants and Wilson, the Solons' first two hitters, doubled. Barney Tiller hit a 2-run HR, and the game was tied.

In the fifth, Cheyenne got 3 more runs on a Jesus Soto HR. That ball traveled 446 feet! But the Solons' Curt Conrad matched Soto's blast in all but distance. Then Jose Ortiz added a 2-run shot, and Sacramento had tagged Lyons for 8 runs.

In the seventh, Mike Beck hit his first HR for the Cowboys, and Soto hit his second of the game, a 2-run shot (441 feet) that put Cheyenne on top, 9-8. In the bottom of the inning, the Solons, for the first time on the day, failed to match with any runs of their own. The lead held until the ninth.

Frankie Howard was unavailable tonight, so the inning started with Miguel Flores on the hill. He gave up a lead-off single. Cheyenne went to Juan Cabral, a lefty, for a string of three Solon lefthanded hitters. The first doubled. Cabral intentionally walked the next to load the bases. Then he gave up a sacrifice fly, tying the game. With the lefties out of the way, Cheyenne went back to a righty, Lee Martin. Martin got them out of the inning.

In the tenth, the Cowboys scored six. Yes, six. The highlight was a Jesus Soto bases-loaded triple. It was a highlight because Soto's night went like this: double (RBI); single; HR (3 RBI); HR (2 RBI); ground out; triple (3 RBI).

The notes on today's box score also mention this: Soto's 5 hits tie the league record for hits in an extra inning game; Soto's 9 RBI set the league record for an extra inning game; Soto's 4 runs tie the Cheyenne record for runs in an extra inning game. And, by the way, in case you hadn't noticed, Soto hit for the cycle.

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, there was still a bottom of the tenth to play. And the Solons decided to attempt to match Cheyenne's 6 runs. They fell short, but they did get 2. The final score was 15-11. Cheyenne had 15 hits; Sacramento banged out 20. It wasn't a good day for a pitcher's ERA. And it wasn't a good day for Cowboy relief pitcher Gary Williams; he left after one batter in the tenth. It appears to be ligament damage; early estimates are that he'll be out the rest of the season and then some. Ouch.

[Sal, The Barber]

23 June 2002

He's from Barcelona. Nope, not that one. Barcelona, Venezuela. He's 23. He got into 24 games last year. 94 at bats. He hit .202 with 1 HR.

But Phil Green, Cheyenne Director of Scouting, said he'd be in the running for top prospect in any organization. Looks like Green was right, except that Jesus Soto is no longer a prospect. Green classifies Soto as an "elite power hitter," calls his defense "excellent," and adds that Soto has "top of the scale" speed. With injuries too-plentiful in the Cowboy outfield, Soto has been leaned on so far this season, and Soto has delivered.

Yesterday's 5 for 6 performance, the one that included hitting 2 HRs and hitting for the cycle, raised Soto's average to .282. He is currently in the midst of a 13-game hitting streak.

Soto is modest. He still says that he expects to be an extra outfielder on this club. I don't think so. The days one can expect to see Jesus Soto on the bench are over. The days one can expect Soto to be a star have just begun.

[Sal, The Barber]

1 July 2002
All-Star Break

All-Star rosters were announced yesterday. Cowboy fans were disappointed to not find Roy Horton's name on the roster. Horton is 8-5 with a 3.04 ERA. He appears to have been edged out by Wichita pitcher Gary Romaine (7-5 3.07). These two pitchers have had incredibly similar seasons, haven't they? Romaine has pitched 111 innings, has a 1.19 WHIP, and a 140 ERA+. Horton has thrown 100.2 innings, has a 1.20 WHIP, and a 141 ERA+. The only difference? Strike outs. Romaine has 119, double the number Horton has.

But Cheyenne fans will have two players to watch at the All-Star Game, Jesus Soto and Pedro Ibarra. Ibarra got off to a slow start and then had to take away at-bats from Jim Thompson, so his .333/.438/.598 14HR 46RBI stat line is pretty impressive. He still doesn't yet qualify for the Western League leader board, lacking a few at-bats, but his OBP and SLG would be among the leaders.

Soto is also having an outstanding year. His .285 average is lowest among All-Star outfielders, but his 18 HRs rank first and his 49 RBI rank second among that same group of OFs. Soto is among Western League leaders in SLG, HRs, ISO, and Extra base hits. Soto was also rookie of the month for June.

As a team, the Cowboys seem greater as a whole than they do as individuals; their record (48-32) is pleasantly surprising. They lead their division by 3 games. They rank 3rd in the latest power ranking poll, right behind Kansas City who they just took a series from. The offense is getting better; it's ninth in runs scored and batting average, 3rd in HRs and SBs. And pitching remains solid--3rd in runs against, 4th in SPs' ERA.
OF Shawn Clark is due back right after the break, so the offense might even get better. The bullpen is perhaps not yet settled, the injury to Gary Williams setting things back a bit. And the starting rotation is not deep; if there is an injury to a pitcher, this rolling train could come off the tracks.

But, for the moment, we remain, with owner Matt Ellis, "ecstatic."

[Sal, The Barber]

12 July 2002

Two 3-game series after the All-Star break, the Cheyenne Cowboys are in the midst of an oddly placed three day vacation. Since the break, Cheyenne is 4-2. The Cowboys are healthy at the moment, except for Gary Williams. Shawn Clark is back and playing, although he is yet to make an impact. And Paul Lyons pitched a whale of a game two days ago, going 9.2 innings, allowing 2 runs. Lyons actually gave up what might have been the winning run in the tenth, except that Mike Beck hit the game-winning 2-run HR to steal the game in the bottom of the inning. But if Lyons can keep pitching like that, Cheyenne is going to be tough to unseat in the Pacific Division.

Boo Bentley is also looking ahead. He completed a big trade with Halifax a couple of days ago, acquiring Javier Gomez. Gomez is currently in the Cheyenne bullpen, but Bentley says his scouts project him to be a top of the rotation starter. Bentley gave up struggling reliever Danny Perry and two 1B prospects, Butch Adkins and Manny Zumaya. Zumanya was discovered and signed early this year in Venezuela, but the Cowboys drafted 1B Sam Marion in the second round this year and are apparently higher on him than they are on Zumaya. Perry is a fine pitcher but one who hasn't pitched well yet this season; the Cowboys' bullpen, though, is a strength. Bentley's fear, he has told the press, is a lack of depth in the starting rotation. An injury to one of his five starters could make their grip on the division a lot less secure.

Sunday, Cheyenne begins a 4-game series in Kansas City. The Monarchs lead the Cornhusker Division by 8 games. Cheyenne's lead in the Pacific is 5 games. These two teams may very likely meet for the League Championship. The Cowboys played KC right out of the gate in April and lost all 4 games; they played again just before the All-Star Break, and Cheyenne took 2 of 3. They'll meet again in September, but, for now, this series will be a nice test for both teams looking to solidify their place at the head of the Western League.

[Sal, The Barber]

18 July 2002
Kansas City, MO

The July heat has cooled down the Cheyenne Cowboys. After a cool start--the Cowboys went 12-15 in April--Cheyenne began a warming trend; the Cowboys went 15-11 in May and 21-6 in June. July has started lukewarm; Cheyenne is 5-5.

The big series with Kansas City opened with a bang, a KC bang. The Monarchs scored a bunch early and never looked back, winning game one 10-1.

Game two appeared to be a reversal as Cheyenne jumped out to a 4-0 lead. But they couldn't add to it, and KC found some offense. Still, Cheyenne held on, winning 4-2.

Paul Lyons pitched well in game three, but Cheyenne couldn't answer when KC scored 2 off Lyons in the eighth inning. The Cowboys lost 4-2.

And the Cowboy offense continued to sputter in game four; KC beat them 4-1.

There's no doubt that KC has perhaps the best pitching in the entire Association. Merlet, Henry, Anderson, and Flournoy are a dominant starting rotation. But the numbers place this staff second in the Association. It's actually the offense that's the better rated half of the KC ballclub. Which tells us two things.

The first is that Cheyenne's pitching is pretty good. Good enough, we think. The bullpen, especially after the acquisition of Javier Gomez, appears particularly strong. And the starters keep the Cowboys in just about every ballgame.

The second thing we know about our ballclub is what we've known all along and what a hot June simply covered over: the offense isn't yet up to par. To go far in the playoffs, the bats will have to get hot and stay hot. It's possible, although not probable. And this isn't a problem that can be fixed with a fast trade. Sure, it would help if Shawn Clark got a hit now that he's back from injury, but his hitting will more than likely still not be enough. Our Cowboys are young and getting better, but they're not elite hitters yet. This is a club that doesn't need a quick fix; it needs to grow, slowly, evenly. We're pretty sure Boo Bentley knows that. After all, no one expected them to be where they are now, 5 games in front in the Pacific Division.

[Sal, The Barber]

20 July 2002
Cheyenne, WY

Coming off of their disappointing performance versus Kansas City, Cheyenne was lucky to run into Oakland next. The Oaks are at the bottom of the Pacific Division. But let's take a look at some numbers.

Game One
Oak 0 5 0
Che 4 10 1

Game Two
Oak 0 2 0
Che 2 4 0

Say what? The Cheyenne pitching staff threw 18 innings of shutout ball? 0 runs? 7 hits? That's good work. Who is responsible?

J. Cummings 7IP, 5H, 4K, 1BB
R. Horton 8IP, 2H, 5K, 2BB

And throw in a scoreless inning for Basilio Mangoni, Kevin "Buddha" Funk, and Frankie Howard.

That's the only way you win a ballgame when you pump out 4 hits. You can do that against Oakland. It is yet to be see if Cheyenne can win this way against Kansas City.



21 July 2002
Cheyenne, WY
UPDATE

Boxscore:
Oma 0 5 1
Che 1 4 1
P. Lyons 9IP, 5H, 5K, 2BB


22 July 2002
Cheyenne, WY
UPDATE

The scoreless innings streak ends at 27IP.