[Ben E Lou]

JULY 2002

THIS MONTH’S RECORD: 13-12
OVERALL RECORD AT MONTH-END: 55-53
CURRENT STANDING: Third place, 4 games behind the division-leading Mets.

TRADES
3B Schuster has struggled offensively (.235-7-28), and has another year on his contract. Anaheim has an aging 3rd baseman in the final year of his contract who is still hitting a ton. I have a shot at the Division Title, and I want him for the stretch drive. On July 30th, I trade Schuster and 4-star SP prospect William Bent to Anaheim for 3B Philip Dileo. Dileo is 36 years old, and is nearing the end of a great career. He has 370 lifetime homers, and 2064 hits. This season, he’s hit .285 with 23 homers and 59 RBI’s to date. Like Schuster, he has “B” range at 3B. Dileo is a 6-time All-Star.

TEAM NEWS

Sunday 7/22/2002:
Michael Sylvain hits a 455-foot homerun!!

Tuesday 7/24/2002:
Ruben Rodriguez hits a 452-foot homerun!!

Monday 7/30/2002:
Eugene Lamb hits 2 homers against New York (N).

INJURIES DURING MONTH:
No major ones.

MAJOR LEAGUE PERFORMANCES OF NOTE/LINEUP CHANGES/ROTATION CHANGES:
The staff ERA dropped 24 points to 4.10 (19th) this month. Nice! Dominguez, now 8/7/6, is looking to be ready now. He went 1-1 with a 3.77 ERA during the month.

The biggest news offensively is that “Superfly” Sylvain is starting to show some of his promised power. His ratings are now 7/6/6, and he slugged .514 in July. I’ll move Dye into the leadoff position, and let Sylvain bat second, to give him more RBI chances.

SEASON-TO-DATE TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
AVG: 2B Dye--.311
HR: 3B Dileo--23
RBI: C McDonald--68
SB: CF Sylvain--42
SP ERA: Prahl—3.51
RP ERA: Boykins—2.49
SAVES: Dinger—20
SP K’s: Figueroa--121

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:

Monday 7/2/2002:
Andres Cobo plate discipline seems to have faded...
Alan Dye positions himself better now, his range at SS increases to A !

Monday 7/9/2002:
Joshua Dinger is hitting his spots better, his command improved!
Jacobo Sousa seems to have lost some bat speed, resulting in less contact...

Monday 7/23/2002:
Lucas Fernandez has worked out more, his duration raises to C ...
David Bischoff increased his bat control, resulting in more contact!
David Bischoff has improved his plate disclipine!

Cobo is washed up…Great news about The Hammer!….Can Dinger get any better??? Wow!….Looks like Sousa is going to end up being nothing more than a potentially decent left-handed bat off the bench...Fernandez is a MR in AAA…Bischoff, a 3B/2B in AAA, now has 3.5 stars, Good/Fair/Avg talent, and “B” range at 3B. He could be a contributor….

AAA NOTES
SP Dean Sipe—5-2m 1,82 (8/7/8), his stars have gone from blue to gold. He has 2.5 gold now.
MR Lucas Fernandez—0-4, 3.19, (5/8/5), 3 stars—He dropped 2 points in “stuff.” Bummer.
1B Danny Anderson--.745 OPS, (4/3/8), 4 stars. Developing pretty quickly now. He may be ready for the bigs before Lamb’s contract runs out in 2004. Nice!
RF Bryan Heasley--.873 OPS, (6/3/4), 4 stars. I want one more improvement in contact and/or power before I call him up.

AA NOTES:
SP Danny Robinson—8-5, 2.97 (3/3/5), 3 stars
SS Robert Pauli--.765 OPS, (3/3/4), 4 stars

A NOTES:
SP Greg Benedict—6-5, 2.91, (1/3/4), 4 stars (Out for season with ruptured disc…)
SP Donovan Wade—3-1, 2.88 (0/2/5), 3.5 stars.
1B Hugh Anderson--.846 OPS (2/3/5), 4.5 stars
1B Tyler Poulson--.755 OPS, (2/2/3), 3.5 stars
CF Joseph Gillenwater--.793 OPS (2/3/3), 5 stars

PERSONAL DIARY ENTRIES:
None.

TRADES
None.

MONTHLY AWARDS
American League-Pitcher of the Month:
Benito Vargas (KC)!
He had a record of 3-0 in 4 games started, with an ERA of 0.89.
American League-Batter of the Month:
Adrian Cortes (DET)!
He batted .355 in 93 AB, with 5 homers and 19 RBI.
National League-Pitcher of the Month:
Amando Medeiros (SD)!
He had a record of 2-1 in 4 games started, with an ERA of 0.98 and 1 shutouts.
National League-Batter of the Month:
Maximo Farmer (PIT)!
He batted .386 in 88 AB, with 9 homers and 31 RBI.

IMPORTANT LEAGUE NEWS
None.