Power Pros Forum

Series Preview: Oakland Athletics (8-14) vs.Honolulu Gunmen (10-12)
April 25th-27th

Key Players:

DH - Frank Thomas
.342, 2 HR, 13 RBI
3, C, B, F, F, F, D
Bio: Frank is pushing 40 and has all but abandoned fielding, but can still hit the ball quite well. He still hits for power very well and consistently makes contact.
Analysis: He's the A's leading hitter at this point, and while he has just two home runs (and two extra base hits, for that matter), he's always a threat at the plate.

LF - Emil Brown
.243, 4 HR, 17 RBI
2, D, D, C, D, B, C
Bio: Emil Brown is a top-tier outfielder with good speed and relatively average hitting skills; however, he is widely known as a clutch hitter and excels against left handed pitching.
Analysis: Brown is leading the A's in home runs and runs batted in. He bats fifth, right after Frank Thomas, so lefties will have to be careful with those two.

2B - Mark Ellis
.324, 2 HR, 10 RBI, .435 OBP, .451 SLG%
3, D, B, C, E, C, B
Bio: Mark is an excellent mixture of power and speed that blends well with leadoff man Ryan Sweeney's mixture of contact and speed.
Analysis: Mark's 14 walks are good for second in the American League, behind Cleveland Indian Casey Blake. Still, pitching at him doesn't seem to be a great plan either, what with his .324 average.

Projected Pitching Match-ups:

Game 1
Joe Blanton (2-1, 4.56) vs. Michael Davis (0-1, 9.60)

Game 2
Lenny DiNardo (1-2, 3.72) vs. Cesario Castillo (0-3, 6.46)

Game 3
Dallas Braden (0-0, 0.00) vs. Brendan Bikowski (0-1, 6.75)

Some nice pitching the Gunmen have got going on there

April 25th, 2015

Oakland Athletics (8-14) vs. Honolulu Gunmen (10-12)

When arrived at the stadium just before 10:00 for our 12 o' clock game, I saw Michael Davis getting a massage in the trainer's room. I knocked on the door and walked in.

"Michael, how are you feeling?" I asked nervously.
"Fine, skip," he assured me.
"Really?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."

I nodded and stepped out, but I wasn't convinced. Later, while Michael warmed up, I spoke to pitching coach Manny Cortés and told him to get the radar gun out. He did, and I followed him as we went to clock Michael's speed. Michael wound up and threw, and Manny showed me the radar gun.

"What was that, Michael?" I asked.
"A... A fastball?"
"A 78 mile per hour fastball? Are you in high school?"
Michael looked hurt, and I told him to throw a slider. He did, and we clocked it at 72. Additionally, it moved approximately two inches. I went to talk to him.
"Are you sure you're feeling all right?"
Michael hesitated, but nodded anyway.
"Well you're going to have to do better than this if you expect me to start you." Michael nodded again, and I walked back over to Manny. Michael threw another fastball.
"81!" I shouted. "Better, but not good enough."
Michael's next pitch came in at 83, and the next two each came in at 84. I stopped him.
"Is today just not your day, or what?" I asked.
Michael looked at is shoes. "I don't know, maybe not," he mumbled.
"Well I don't have any other option, so you better make it your day."
Michael's expression was hard to read, and I felt sort of guilty for being hard on him. "Hey, just don't get too cute out there. 80% fastballs, alright? Just keep the ball down and get through five. Can you do that?" Michael nodded, and I left him to his warm-ups.

The game started not long after, and Michael was still throwing cheese. 84, 85, 84 again, it was a wonder he didn't get shellacked, but against all odds, he kept the score at 0-0 for three innings. He allowed a run on three hits in the fourth, but settled down again to get the A's 1-2-3 in the fifth. I decided to send him back out for the sixth, and he prevailed shutting them down without another hit.

Meanwhile the offense had been retired 15 times in a row since Jose Medrano's leadoff single. So, when Steve Bernard singled to start the bottom of the sixth, I signaled for Colin Raines to bunt. His first two attempts went foul, but I kept the sign on, and he managed to get it down. Bernard advanced to second, and then to third on a fielder's choice gone awry. With runners at the corners and one out, Marcus McElroy lifted a fly ball to right field, where it was caught by Ryan Sweeney. Bernard broke for home and was easily safe, tying the game at one.

With Michael Davis done for the day and the score tied, I decided to send Mike Colyer out for the seventh inning. He took just six pitches to get through the 4-5-6-7 hitters, so I sent him out again in the eighth, when he shut down the 8-9-1 guys in just ten. So when we headed into the ninth inning with the score still at 1-1, I decided to roll with him again. He started off okay, retiring Mark Ellis and giving up a soft single to Jack Hannahan, but Frank Thomas smashed a 410 foot home run on the first pitch he saw. I buried my head in my hands as he rounded the bases, the crowd silent. When I looked up it had been officially changed to 3-1. I subbed in Devin Edwards, who struck out Emil Brown and forced Bobby Crosby to ground out, ending the inning.

Given our current state of affairs (three hits), I wasn't feeling to confident going into the bottom of the ninth down by two. Marcus McElroy, however, started things off with a single. Then, Juan Hernandez did the same. Did I dare get my hopes up? Well, apparently it was a mistake to do so, as McElroy was caught off the base on Matt McCarthy's lineout, resulting in one of the most embarrassing double plays I've ever seen. With two outs and Hernandez on first, Joe Blanton settled in to finish his complete game. His second pitch, a slider, was wild and got away from Kurt Suzuki. Hernandez advance to second. Wayne then worked the count to 3-1 before blasting a deep fly ball to center field. It initially looked like a game tying homer, but it bounced off the very top of the wall and back towards Chris Denorfia in center. Wayne advanced to second and Hernandez scored easily, but we still had one more hit to go...

Up to the plate stepped Patrick Warr, 0 for 3 on the day. His swing had looked about as good as I felt, I prayed for a walk or something, but Warr didn't see it the way I did. He swung at the first pitch, a curveball, and lined it right between the center and right fielders. Wayne was waved home and scored easily, and Warr pulled into second base, pumping his fist. Unfortunately, Donnie Wilde flew out to left, so we headed into extras.

Devin Edwards breezed through the top half of the tenth, and I was surprised to see Joe Blanton come out in the bottom half. Steve Bernard was retired to start the inning, but Colin Raines lined a single to right field after that. On Blanton's first pitch to Medrano, Raines broke for second and slid in safely, just ahead of the tag. Medrano, though, flew out, leaving things up to Marcus McElroy. And on what appeared to be a late decision to swing, Marcus slapped a line drive to left. I immediately knew we had won, and Raines scored easily thanks to his excellent speed.

Final Score(10):
Oakland Athletics - 3
Honolulu Gunmen - 4

Box Score
Win: Devin Edwards (2-0)
Save:
Loss: Joe Blanton (2-2)
HR: Frank Thomas (3)

J. Medrano - 1-5, .257
M. McElroy - 2-4, 2 RBI, SF, .229
J. Hernandez - 1-4, R, .281
M. McCarthy - 0-4, .295
D. Wayne - 1-4, 2B, RBI, R, .270
P. Warr - 1-4, 2B, RBI, .258
D. Wilde - 0-4, .313
S. Bernard - 2-4, R, .194
C. Raines - 1-2, R, 2 SH, SB, .299

M. Davis - 6 IP, 6 H, 6 K, ER, 7.29
M. Colyer - 2.1 IP, 3 H, K, 2 ER, HR, 6.23
W: D. Edwards - 1.2 IP, H, K, 2.79

April 26th, 2015

Oakland Athletics (8-15) vs. Honolulu Gunmen (11-12)

Millwood is going to start in center today against lefty Lenny DiNardo.

Final Score:
Oakland Athletics - 2
Honolulu Gunmen - 6

Our fourth consecutive win! And it was a great game, too. Castillow was great, the offense was great (16 hits!), and we didn't make any errors. Now let's complete the sweep tomorrow.

Box Score
Win: Cesario Castillo (1-3)
Save: Rick Allen (6)
Loss: Lenny DiNardo (1-3)
HR: Matt McCarthy (7), Derek Wayne (4)

J. Medrano - 2-5, R, SB, .264
M. McElroy - 1-4, 2B, .230
J. Hernandez - 2-4, R, .290
M. McCarthy - 2-4, HR, RBI, 2 R, .303
D. Wayne - 3-4, HR, 2 RBI, R, .290
P. Warr - 1-3, RBI, R, SF, .261
D. Millwood - 2-3, RBI, .316
DR - C. Raines - 1-1, .309
D. Wilde - 1-4, .310
S. Bernard - 1-3, RBI, SF, .200

W: C. Castillo - 8 IP, 3 H, K, 4.24
P. Casey - 0.2 IP, 5 H, 2 K, 2 ER, 4.26
SV: R. Allen - 0.1 IP, K, 1.42

April 27th, 2015

Oakland Athletics (8-16) vs. Honolulu Gunmen (12-12)

Final Score:
Oakland Athletics - 1
Honolulu Gunmen - 0

My goodness... I guess after 16 hits yesterday, four was all we had left. And fourteen strikeouts? Come on.

Box Score
Win: Alan Embree (1-1)
Save: Huston Street (2)
Loss: Mike Colyer (0-2)
HR: Frank Thomas (4)

J. Medrano - 2-4, .273
M. McElroy - 0-4, 2 K, .220
J. Hernandez - 1-4, 2B, K, .288
M. McCarthy - 0-3, K, .294
D. Wayne - 0-3, 3 K, .281
P. Warr - 0-3, K, .250
D. Wilde - 1-3, 2B, 2 K, .311
S. Bernard - 0-3, K, .192
C. Raines - 0-3, 3 K, .296

B. Bikowski - 7 IP, 2 H, 6 K, 2 BB, 5.16
L: M. Colyer - 1.2 IP, 2 H, 3 K, BB, ER, HR, 6.00
A. Wilson - 0.1 IP, K, 2.93

Nice, I'm liking this.

Series Preview: Honolulu Gunmen (12-13) vs. Sacramento Dolphins (12-13)
April 28th-May 1st

Closing out our first month with a 4-game set against Greene and the Dolphins. We have a chance to pull over .500 if we can duplicate our 3-1 victory from last time.

Key Players:

Sylvester Coddmeyer III - CF
.341, 8 HR, 10 RBI
4, C, A, C, D, D, D, VS Lefty 4, Power Hitter, Slugger
Bio: Coddmeyer is an incredible power hitter, and in his younger days was referred to as "The Kid Who Only Hit Homers". Now, at the age of 24 and after breaking several college records, he is ready to take on the Majors.
Analysis: Coddmeyer has been on an absolute tear since our last meeting with the Dolphins, raising his batting average by 87 points and crushing eight home runs.

Bobby Canfield - 3B
.312, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 7 2B, 2 3B
2, E, E, B, D, D, C, Stealing 4, Base Running 4, Tough Runner, Breakup DP, Aggressive STL, Aggressive RUN
Bio: The easily unnoticeable 25-year old third baseman out of the Australian Baseball League is faring quite well in his American debut. With his great speed and base running instincts he more than makes up for his mediocre hitting skills.
Analysis: Bobby is leading the Dolphins in doubles and triples and thus is second on the team in slugging percentage, behind home run machine Sylvester Coddmeyer III. He's been doing an excellent job scoring 8-hitter Stan Martin, who is batting .313, and setting the table for leadoff men Terry Delaney and Danny Walker, who combine for 15 RBI's.

Danny Walker - SS
.276, 1 HR, 10 RBI
3, C, C, D, B, B, B, Throwing 4, Gold Glover, Barehand CTH, Pivot Man
Bio: Walker is a solid hitter, but his real talent lies within his fielding. Experts say he'll be a gold glove candidate throughout his career, and his ability at shortstop is only overshadowed by veterans such as Adam Everett, Omar Vizquel, and David Eckstein.
Analysis: Walker has maintained a steady production in the #2 spot on offense and has been all over the highlight reels for his defensive endeavors.

Projected Pitching Match-ups:

Game 1
Charlie Huff (2-1, 3.42) vs. Eddie Cicotte (2-0, 3.69)

This match-up is identical to one from our last series against the Dolphins and was our only loss in that series. Cicotte handled our offense pretty well and we lost 4-2. We'll have to do better than that this time.

Game 2
Akinori Otsuka (2-2, 5.06) vs. Koby Caplin (1-3, 6.23)

Two great rookie pitchers that have been struggling unexpectedly face off in this game.

Game 3
Johnny Rivera (1-2, 3.04) vs. Jimmie Todd (2-2, 4.88)

Johnny Rivera has been one of the surprises of the Gunmen thus far. Meanwhile, Dolphins swing man Jimmie Todd has been overworked due to poor endurance by the team's starters. We should be able to take advantage of this and score at least three or four runs off him.

Game 4
Michael Davis (0-1, 7.29) vs. Bill Bailey (2-1, 3.51)

Bill Bailey is small, but packs quite a punch with his upper-90's fastball. He's left handed, so Danny Millwood will probably start in this game either in left or center. Meanwhile, Michael Davis' stats may look ugly, but he performed very well in his last start. If he plays well again, I think I can safely say he won't be sent down to AAA anytime soon.

... How does 2EE translate to .312??

Uh...

Hustle.

April 28th, 2015

Honolulu Gunmen (12-13) vs. Sacramento Dolphins (12-13)

Today's game was an 8:35 start, which was later than usual. My curiosity was solved, however, when I learned that it was being broadcast on national television. This presented a whole new level of nerves for me, and I prayed we wouldn't screw things up. Especially not against the Dolphins.

Eddie Cicotte was on the mound and looking as good as ever for Sacramento, and he set us down in the first inning 1-2-3. Charlie Huff allowed a single in the bottom half, but Matt McCarthy threw Danny Walker out stealing to end the inning after just three batters. In the second inning, McCarthy and Derek Wayne lined out and grounded out to start what was shaping up to be another easy inning for Cicotte, but Roy Schapp singled. The dugout started to pick up in energy, and Donnie Wilde followed with a hit of his own. Steve Bernard did the same, loading the bases for Colin Raines, who lined the first pitch he saw to center field. Schapp and Wilde came around to score, breaking the game open and giving us a 2-0 lead.

In the bottom half of the inning with one out, Yuri Dotzen slapped a hard ground ball to the hole between first and second. Steve Bernard dove and made the play, but came up clutching his arm. Head trainer Lyle Fisher went out to attend to him, and Bernard came off the field with him a minute later. I told Matt MacKenzie to get out there, and he did so eagerly. Huff retired Jody Sinclair to end the inning.

Both offenses fell silent until the bottom of the sixth inning, when the Dolphins put runners on second and third thanks to two singles and a wild pitch. After Charlie Huff got Yuri Dotzen to fly out, Sylvester Coddmeyer grounded a ball up the middle, scoring a both runs and tying the game at two, where the score stayed until the ninth inning, when Matt McCarthy got a hold of an Art Colt changeup. He put everything he had into it, and the entire stadium knew it was gone immediately. It finally landed somewhere near the small shopping center that's about 450 feet deep in right field.

I was sure we had the game locked up as Rick Allen threw his warm-up pitches in the bottom half, but just the second pitch he threw was taken into the right field stands by Sylvester Coddmeyer III. I pulled him in favor of Paul Casey, prepared to have him go deep into extra innings, but Yuri Dotzen would not have that be, as he bombed Casey's first pitch over the wall in center field for a walk-off home run. I was stunned as the Dolphins charged the field and mobbed Dotzen at the plate, and I'm sure the cameras were on me at some point as I hung my head in the dugout.

Final Score:
Honolulu Gunmen - 3
Sacramento Dolphins - 4

Box Score
Win: Art Colt (2-1)
Save:
Loss: Paul Casey (1-1)
HR: Sylvester Coddmeyer III (9), Yuri Dotzen (3), Matt McCarthy (8)

J. Medrano - 0-4, .263
M. McElroy - 0-4, K, .211
J. Hernandez - 1-4, .287
M. McCarthy - 1-4, HR, RBI, R, .292
D. Wayne - 0-4, .270
R. Schapp - 2-4, R, K, .400
D. Wilde - 1-3, R, .312
S. Bernard - 1-1, .203
M. MacKenzie - 1-2, .214
C. Raines - 1-3, 2 RBI, .297

C. Huff - 8 IP, 6 H, 5 K, 2 ER, 3.15
BSV: R. Allen - H, ER, HR, 2.84
L: P. Casey - H, ER, HR, 4.97

Great bullpen you have there.

April 29th, 2015

Honolulu Gunmen (12-14) vs. Sacramento Dolphins (13-13)

Final Score:
Honolulu Gunmen - 5
Sacramento Dolphins - 4

We struck first in this game, scoring two in the first inning, and never looked back. Akinori Otsuka pitched better than his stat line suggests, as the Dolphins really jumped all over the few mistakes he made.

Box Score
Win: Akinori Otsuka (3-2)
Save: Rick Allen (7)
Loss: Koby Caplin (1-4)
HR: Terry Delaney (2), Sylvester Coddmeyer III (10), Yuri Dotzen (4)

J. Medrano - 0-4, .254
M. McElroy - 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R, .222
J. Hernandez - 2-4, 2 2B, RBI, R, .295
M. McCarthy - 2-4, 2B, RBI, R, .300
D. Wayne - 2-4, RBI, .279
P. Warr - 0-2, .243
PH - Danny Millwood - 0-2, .300
D. Wilde - 1-4, 2B, R, .309
S. Bernard - 0-3, K, .195
C. Raines - 0-3, R, .286

W: A. Otsuka - 7.2 IP, 8 H, 7 K, 4 ER, 3 HR, 4.98
H: E. Lorrier - 0.1 IP, 1.08
SV: R. Allen - IP, H, 2.45

April 30th, 2015

Honolulu Gunmen (13-14) vs. Sacramento Dolphins (13-14)

Final Score:
Honolulu Gunmen - 9
Sacramento Dolphins - 5

We scored three times in the opening frame and had seven by the fifth, and Johnny Rivera was able to pitch well enough to get the win.

Box Score
Win: Johnny Rivera (2-2)
Save:
Loss: Jimmie Todd (2-3)
HR: Matt McCarthy (9)

J. Medrano - 2-5, RBI, R, K, SB, .260
M. McElroy - 1-5, R, .221
J. Hernandez - 3-5, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R, K, .308
M. McCarthy - 3-5, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R, K, .318
D. Wayne - 0-5, K, .266
P. Warr - 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB, .256
D. Wilde - 3-5, RBI, R, K, .324
S. Bernard - 1-4, R, K, E, .198
C. Raines - 1-4, RBI, 2 K, .284

W: J. Rivera - 5 IP, 4 H, 4 K, 2 BB, 4 ER, 3.69
H: A. Wilson - 3 IP, 2 H, K, 2.45
R. Allen - IP, 3 H, ER, 3.24

Oh thank god an update! I was secretly reading this, thanks tigers!

Heh, yeah, I was caught up with MLB 13 the Show for a while there. Next update will be a recap of the month awkwardly placed in the middle of a series.

Weeeeeeelp. The save file was corrupted, somehow.

I think I'll just simulate to May 1st again and go from there. If anyone has a better idea, let me know.

April In Review

And so, the Honolulu Gunmen's first month came to a close. It was pretty good for a first month, if you ask me. A 15-13 record is nothing to sneeze at, and I expect us to have even more success in the future. I only have a few concerns; Matt McCarthy has been under performing, and I think it's starting to get into his head. Meanwhile, our top three pitchers (Bikowski, Huff, and Otsuka) all have ERA's over five. We're really going to need them to play to their full potential if we plan on making the playoffs.

Player Statistics

Hitting

SS Jose Medrano - 37-112 (.330), 10 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 14 RBI, 24 R, 20 K, 13 BB, 4 SB, 1 CS, .406 OBP, .482 SLG
LF Marcus McElroy -34-108 (.315), 5 2B, 5 3B, 0 HR, 13 RBI, 13 R, 22 K, 16 BB, 5 SB, 1 CS, .400 OBP, .454 SLG
1B Juan Hernandez - 35-106 (.330), 5 2B, 0 3B, 10 HR, 32 RBI, 21 R, 25 K, 12 BB, 0 SB, 0 CS, .398 OBP, .660 SLG
C Matt McCarthy - 27-109 (.248), 5 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 14 R, 20 K, 12 BB, 2 SB, 2 CS, .322 OBP, .376 SLG
RF Derek Wayne - 34-104 (.327), 2 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 8 R, 23 K, 7 BB, 4 SB, 1 CS, .366 OBP, .433 SLG
DH Patrick Warr - 27-96 (.281), 4 2B, 0 3B, 6 HR, 16 RBI, 15 R, 23 K, 10 BB, 1 SB, 2 CS, .355 OBP, .510 SLG
3B Donnie Wilde - 27-95 (.284), 3 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 12 R, 13 K, 12 BB, 2 SB, 1 CS, .376 OBP, .453 SLG
2B Steve Bernard - 32-107 (.299), 3 2B, 1 3B, 8 HR, 24 RBI, 15 R, 16 K, 3 BB, 1 SB, 1 CS, .318 OBP, .570 SLG
CF Colin Raines - 30-99 (.303), 7 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 17 R, 23 K, 10 BB, 3 SB, 1 CS, .367 OBP, .424 SLG

LF Danny Millwood - 6-16 (.375), 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 4 R, 2 K, 1 BB, 1 SB, 0 CS, .444 OBP, .938 SLG
2B Matt MacKenzie - 2-13 (.154), 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 R, 6 K, 1 BB, 0 SB, 0 CS, .214 OBP, .154 SLG
RF Roy Schapp - 4-19 (.211), 0 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R, 4 K, 0 BB, 1 SB, 0 CS, .211 OBP, .368 SLG

Pitching

SP Brendan Bikowski - 2-2, 5.27 ERA, 27.1 IP, 29 K, 11 BB
SP Charlie Huff - 2-2, 5.54 ERA, 26.0 IP, 12 K, 14 BB
SP Akinori Otsuka - 2-0, 6.39 ERA, 25.1 IP, 21 K, 15 BB
SP Johnny Rivera - 1-0, 2.37 ERA, 19.0 IP, 23 K, 7 BB
SP Michael Davis - 3-0, 3.52 ERA, 30.2 IP, 25 K, 7 BB
SP Cesario Castillo - 1-2, 5.28 ERA, 30.2 IP, 21 K, 12 BB

LRP Paul Casey - 0-0, 7.36 ERA, 11.0 IP, 10 K, 8 BB, 0 SV, 1 HLD, 0 BSV
MRP Viet Trieu - 0-0, 5.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 9 K, 7 BB, 1 SV, 3 HLD, 0 BSV
MRP Evan Lorrier - 1-1, 2.45 ERA, 7.1 IP, 5 K, 3 BB, 0 SV, 2 HLD, 1 BSV
MRP Devin Edwards - 1-1, 4.35 ERA, 10.1 IP, 11 K, 6 BB, 2 SV, 1 HLD, 1 BSV
SU Adam Wilson - 0-0, 3.20 ERA, 19.2 IP, 20 K, 5 BB, 0 SV, 4 HLD, 2 BSV
SU Mike Colyer - 2-3, 3.43 ERA, 21.0 IP, 15 K, 7 BB, 0 SV, 5 HLD, 1 BSV
CP Rick Allen - 0-2, 10.80 ERA, 8.1 IP, 1 K, 4 BB, 6 SV, 0 HLD, 0 BSV

Team Statistics

Batting/Baserunning

AVG: .299 (6th)
R: 156 (t-9th)
H: 321 (2nd)
HR: 38 (t-4th)
SB: 25 (t-6th)

Pitching

ERA: 4.79 (18th)
RA: 135 (18th)
H: 255 (9th)
HR: 26 (t-3rd)
SO: 202 (23rd)
BB: 106 (24th)

AL West Standings
1. Sacramento Dolphins - 17-11
2. Los Angeles Angels - 16-12
3. Honolulu Gunmen - 15-13
4. Seattle Mariners - 12-16
5. Texas Rangers - 12-16
6. Oakland Athletics - 8-20

American League Players of the Month

Player of the Month: CHW 1B Paul Konerko (.378, 9 HR, 37 RBI)
Rookie of the Month: HON 1B Juan Hernandez (.330, 10 HR, 32 RBI)
Pitcher of the Month: SEA SP Erik Bedard (5 W, 1.67 ERA, 33 K)
Reliever of the Month: CLE CP Rafael Betancourt (1 W, 6 SV, 1.04 ERA)

National League Players of the Month

Player of the Month: CIN LF Adam Dunn (.347, 9 HR, 33 RBI)
Rookie of the Month: ARI RP Gregorio Ortiz (1 W, 1 SV, 3 HLD, 1.83 ERA)
Pitcher of the Month: NYM SP Oliver Hernandez (4 W, 1.72 ERA, 39 K)
Reliever of the Month: Not Awarded

Series Preview: Honolulu Gunmen (15-14) vs. Texas Rangers (12-17)
May 2nd-4th

After losing to the Orioles on May 1st, we packed our bags and flew to Alrington, Texas, where we'll take on the struggling Rangers.

Key Players:

Tony Centeno - SP
3-1, 2.90 ERA, 31.0 IP, 34 K
92, B, B, 2SFB(2), SCB(3), CHG(3), H-SNK(4), Spin 4, Groundball P, Safe Pitch, Gd Reflexes, Unlucky, Star
Bio: Tony is a 33-year old right hander notorious for getting little to no run support. His bread and butter pitch is his sinker, which is he uses frequently to induce ground balls.
Analysis: Along with C.J. Wilson, Centeno is pretty much the only reason the Rangers aren't doing even worse than 12-17.

C.J. Wilson - SP
1-3, 2.97 ERA, 36.1 IP, 37 K
94, D, A, SLD(3), CB(3), CHG(2), SIFB(2), Groundball P, Gd Delivery, Power P
Bio: C.J. Wilson is an excellent complement to Tony Centeno. His biggest flaw is his tendency to under-use his breaking pitches, as he mostly relies on his fastball.
Analysis: Although he's just 1-3, Wilson has pitched extremely well to this point.

Josh Hamilton - CF
.204, 2 HR, 12 RBI
3, B, A, D, C, D, E, Clutch Hit 4, Power Hitter, Spray Hitter, VS Lefty 2, Aggressive HTR
Bio: Approaching his 28th birthday, Hamilton is currently one of the best power hitters in the game. He regularly is among the league leaders in batting average, doubles, home runs, and slugging percentage.
Analysis: Josh's stat line pretty much sums up the Ranger's season. His season has been woeful at best, and the team as a whole is batting just .216.

Projected Pitching Match-ups:

Game 1
Cesario Castillo (1-2, 5.28) vs. Vicente Padilla (2-2, 5.40)

Game 2
Charlie Huff (2-2, 5.54) vs. Tony Centeno (3-1, 2.90)

Game 3
Brendan Bikowski (2-2, 5.27) vs. Sidney Ponson (1-0, 5.14)